The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 711 Is There Anything Wrong

Sheryl reluctantly accepted Laura's order. She was exhausted from carrying two large suitcases for Laura, but Laura tried to give her more to carry. "Junia, come here. Give your suitcase to Miss Xia. She will carry it for you," she told Junia.

Junia nodded in agreement and said to Sheryl, "Thank you, Miss Xia."

Looking at the three suitcases, Sheryl didn't know how to deal with them.

Waiting beside the car with Laura, Anthony frowned slightly as he noticed Sheryl was in trouble. "Mom, wait a minute. I'll help Sher," he said to his mother.

"No, you can't go!" Laura commanded him seriously. "If you dare help her, I will not like it!" she warned.

Anthony arched a brow in puzzlement. "Mom, why do you treat her like this? How can she carry so many suitcases by herself? She has done nothing wrong, so why are you punishing her in this way? Clearly, you are just... troubling her on purpose," he said.

"I am troubling her? Really!" Laura gave a cold smile and told Anthony, "Yes, you are right. I am causing trouble for her, so what?"

Then she glanced swiftly at Anthony and said, "She is just a shameful single mother. Her child was born out of wedlock and she has stolen my son. So why should I be friendly with her?"

"Don't say such harsh words, mom." Anthony said with a frown, "Sher is not the kind of woman you think her to be. You will know it after you get to know her better."

"Okay. I will try to know more about her." Laura sneered and said to Anthony, "I want to see what kind of a person she is. I caused trouble for her only to test her obedience and patience with me. If you help her at this point, the test will become invalid and a failure."

"Mom, what do you mean? You are doing all this just to test her?" Anthony asked his mother in surprise.

"Of course." Laura flashed a cool look at Anthony and said, "What did you think my intention was? Did you really think I was troubling her just for the sake of it. How could you think of me, your mother, in this way?"

"No, I didn't mean that," he explained. Anthony felt reassured as he heard Laura's words. He requested Laura, "Mom, please don't go too far with your test. Show some mercy."

"Okay. Don't worry. I know my limits," Laura promised him. Laura glanced at Anthony and said, "I know how to deal with her. I will stop when I see what I have achieved."

At the same time, Sheryl was struggling with the three suitcases and wondering how to reach the car.

She knew Laura was testing her and trying to teach her a lesson. But she was an elder and Anthony's mother after all, so Sheryl would bear it for his sake. As she finally dragged all the suitcases to the car, Anthony tried to help her load them in the trunk but was held back by Laura. "Anthony, just leave all that to Miss Xia. I believe she can handle them easily by herself," she said.

Sheryl was rendered speechless. She quietly did as Laura said.

So Laura, Junia and Anthony just watched Sheryl load all the suitcases into the trunk by herself. She had to use all her strength and was totally exhausted after that. Sheryl thought that she would be spared further trouble now and was ready to get in the car. But Laura was not done with her. She created a new trouble immediately. She glanced at Sheryl and said, "Miss Xia, can Junia sit on the front passenger seat? She has motion sickness and feels dizzy if she sits at the back."

Normally, the front passenger's seat is meant to be occupied by someone close to the driver. Sheryl didn't care about all that. She was perfectly happy to sit on the back seat.

"Mom..." Anthony was unhappy. He dragged Laura to a corner and said to her, "You promised me that all this is just a test. But what you did just now goes too far. Sher is my girlfriend. Rightfully, she should sit beside me. Why did you tell Junia to sit beside me?"

"Is there anything wrong in that?" Laura asked in an innocent manner, "I don't think it matters who sits where. I asked Junia to sit in the front because it would help reduce her motion sickness and also... It's more convenient for me to chat with Miss Xia if she is sitting beside me."

"Really? That's sweet of you Mom." Anthony was convinced by Laura's words.

Laura sneered and answered, "Have I ever lied to you? Of course, I want to use this time to get to know your girlfriend."

"Of course not. You would never lie to me, I am sure." Anthony was delighted. He agreed to have Junia sit in the front while Sheryl and Laura in back. But nobody uttered a single word to each other on the drive. They all sat in a stiff silence.

As they reached Hong Fu Restaurant, Anthony consoled Sheryl, "Sher, just be a little patient with my mother, please. She told me she is doing all this just to test you. I know it is humiliating but please, for my sake..."

"What are you doing, Anthony? Where are you?" Laura deliberately broke up their conversation. She called out to him, "Come here now! Junia and I don't know the way inside."

"Okay." Anthony nodded and quickly said to Sheryl, "Sher, please remember what I told you."

Sheryl nodded slightly. She noticed a familiar figure as she entered the restaurant, but it disappeared when she tried to check it out.

Anthony had reserved a big private room. It looked very empty with only four people seated in it.

Sheryl found that Laura and Junia had seated themselves on either side of Anthony. She was left with no choice but to sit alone on the opposite side of them. She just took her seat in a calm manner. She felt a little weird as she sat down. She found the three of them were sitting together as one unit, while she sat alone like an outsider and stranger.

She felt like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. Or a criminal waiting to be sentenced.

But it was impossible to change her seat now. It was the only choice she had. So she just tried to keep easy and calm.

'It's just a meal. I can tolerate it,' she convinced herself.

Laura kept Anthony engaged in conversation on random topics. Meanwhile, Junia carefully inspected Sheryl and found Sheryl to be very beautiful without any signs of being a mother. Laura had caused so much trouble for her and humiliated her deliberately, but she didn't show any discontent. Junia could tell that Sheryl was a kind woman and very tolerant also.

'No wonder Anthony loves her so much,' Junia thought.

Sheryl could sense that someone was closely scrutinizing her. She looked up and met Junia's eyes inspecting her.

Junia flashed a smile at her and she also smiled back out of politeness. Both of them kept silent.

Sheryl guessed that this girl was here for a purpose.

"Mom, let's start our dinner now. I will order the waiter to serve our food. I am starving!" Anthony suggested.

"Okay," Laura replied. She gave him a smile and said, "Place the order and tell the waiter to serve the meal swiftly. I'm hungry now."

"Sure Mom. Please eat as much as you like and relish the food," Anthony said with a smile. "This restaurant is famous in Y City for its fantastic cuisine. It is difficult to get a table here. The bookings get full very soon."

"Oh, really. I'm going to enjoy myself then. I love to try new dishes and restaurants." Laura gave a fake smile.

She didn't care about the food or the restaurant. Her only purpose of coming here was to tear Anthony and Sheryl apart and to cause tension between them.