The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 755 That's enough!

"Haven't I had enough?" Laura repeated Anthony's question in an angry tone. She couldn't believe that her son would think she was being unreasonable. Laura got infuriated when she heard what Anthony said. She didn't think that Anthony would still stand by Sheryl, no matter what happened! Now, not only did he ignore her feelings, he had condemned his own mother! She sneered and said, "What has gotten into you? I'm doing it all for your own good. How can you blame me for that?"

"That's enough!" Anthony shouted. He didn't think that he was wrong, either. "You keep saying that you did that just for me, but do you really know what's good for me? Do you know what I really want?" he asked. His tone was cold and clipped. "All you've given me are material things I don't want. From my childhood until now, you've meddled with my decisions. You controlled everything. You made decisions for me without even considering what I would feel. Those decisions were made for your own good, not mine!"

Anthony was fuming. It seemed that all his feelings bottled up inside of him all those years, being under his mother's control, took over and just blew up. "You..." Laura began. But she, too, was too angry to continue.

Sheryl was standing near them, silently watching everything. "I don't want to be involved in your problems. Anthony, please take care of your mother. But make sure she stays away from me or you won't like what I'll do."

Even though Sheryl tried her best to be polite with her statement, Laura still thought she was looking down at her. Laura demanded that Sheryl apologize for speaking to her so arrogantly, but failed, as Sheryl had no intention to continue their conversation. With Arthur and Amy, Sheryl left Sue's house.

Amy could no longer contain her anger towards Laura. How could she talk that way to such a nice person like Sheryl? "Laura has gone too far today," Amy said. "It was not your fault! How could she blame you? Sher, don't be afraid of her. If she dares to trouble you again, call me and I'll help you take care of her."

Still reeling from what had happened, Amy remained angry. It was all because of Anthony, she thought. "And if Anthony dares to come after you again, you must call me, too. I'll help you take care of him as well."

"Thanks, Grandma Amy. I know you care about me so much. But trust me, and let me handle this myself," Sheryl assured her. "Now I just hope they will never bother me again. If they would just leave me alone," Sheryl said what she really wanted. She didn't want anything to do with them anymore.

"I agree. You would be so much happier without them," Arthur agreed. He said to Sheryl, "I really don't know why Anthony has changed so much. But if Graig were still alive and he saw this, he might die out of anger."

Sheryl didn't want to think about Anthony anymore, and why he had changed into a person she couldn't recognize. From now on, she wouldn't care. It was none of her business. All she wanted now was to go home and be alone.

Junia saw that Laura was finally with Anthony, so she decided to leave. "I feel better now that you're with Anthony, Aunt Laura. I should probably get going. I have a flight back at 2 p.m., so it's time for me to leave."

Junia couldn't help reminding Anthony, "Aunt Laura has been in the hospital for a long time. She's not in very good health. I know you are angry now, but be careful what you say. Don't let her get angry anymore."

Junia left right after, leaving the room with only three people - Laura, Anthony, and Sue.

At first, Sue was very eager to meet Laura, but she did not expect that they would meet during such a situation. She was not prepared at all. 'Will she like me? What will she think of me? What can I do if she doesn't like me?' Sue had a lot of questions. She was so nervous to meet Anthony's mother.

She went to the kitchen and turned off the gas stove. She then prepared some fruit and tea for them. She tried her best to be polite and act composed in front of Laura. "Aunt Laura, please sit down and have some snacks. Make yourself at home." Sue smiled at her, trying to make a good first impression.

It was only during this time that Laura noticed Sue who was standing by her side. She glanced at Sue and studied her. She found her good looking but not as natural and graceful as Sheryl. She really didn't understand her son's taste. Why did he date a girl who was less graceful than the last?

"You are?" Laura asked Sue, not bothering to hide her condescending tone. She found no reason to act differently towards Sue.

Sue just wanted to introduce herself, but Anthony stopped her. He glanced at Sue, with no hint of his feelings for her in his eyes, and said lightly, "She is just my friend." He avoided Sue, unwilling to look her in the eyes.

'Friend? Is that all?'

Sue couldn't help but think so after what he said. She smiled bitterly, constantly wondering what she ever meant to him.

After all the time they had spent together, she had hoped that he'd say at least that they were lovers. She had no idea that deep in his heart, she was just a friend to him. A friend! Was she that kind of friend he could easily have sex with?

Sue felt dizzy. She didn't want to be with Anthony and Laura, and lose control of her emotions. So she stood up, needing to leave the room. "I'm not feeling well. I'll just get some rest," she told Laura and Anthony. "Please make yourselves at home and go on talking."

She excused herself and went to her bedroom. As her door closed, Anthony realized he had said something that upset Sue.

He felt bad and wanted to make it up to Sue. But his mother was still here, and he didn't want to confront Sue in front of her.

He wondered whether his mom would treat Sue as badly as she treated Sheryl if she knew the nature of their relationship. He didn't want the same thing happen again.

Even though Sheryl looked poised and soft-spoken, she had never let anyone bully her. She fought back as best as she could. Sue was different. If she was bullied, she would have no idea how to approach the situation and face the difficulties.

So for Sue's own good, he felt that it would be better for him to keep this matter a secret for the time being. The less his mother knew about their relationship, the less harmful it would be for Sue.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Laura asked. Laura knew her own son well. She knew him so well that she knew he was lying about his relationship with Sue. Despite what he might think, she couldn't be fooled so easily. She had just found his clothes strewn on the balcony. If they were truly just friends, what reason would they have to live together?

She looked at Anthony with reproach and said, "Oh, don't make a fool out of me, Anthony. At least you have the courtesy to tell me the truth. Who is that girl to you?"

"We are just friends," Anthony repeated. "What do you want me to say, Mother? That we're lovers?" he asked. Anthony took a deep breath, trying to hold his anger in, but he had fed up. "Why won't you trust me? What else do you want me to say? Do you so desperately want me to admit that she's my girlfriend?"

Hearing her son's frustration, Laura backed away. "All right. All right. You don't have to be so angry." Laura held her hands up in surrender. She didn't want to fight with Anthony about this anymore. She hadn't even dealt with Sheryl yet. And now, there was her problem with Sue. With how things were going, she had to worry about her son her entire life.

"Remember what you told me today, Anthony," she pointed out. "So don't come home, going around, telling everyone that she's your girlfriend. I'm telling you, this girl is not good for you. Sheryl might even be better than her. Even though Sheryl was once married, at least she runs in the same social circle as us, unlike this Sue."

"That's enough!" Anthony shouted. He frowned at her and continued, "Haven't you said enough? And can you actually hear yourself? When I was with Sheryl, you were so convinced she was bad for me and now you're saying that she's not? What do you really want, Mother?"

"I... I don't want anything." Laura pulled her lips into a thin line and continued, "I just don't want any of those two girls for you. Whatever fun you're having with Sue, I hope you know enough to not take your relationship seriously. Do you understand?" Laura knew that these girls just didn't deserve her son.

Anthony couldn't help but smile bitterly. He knew what Laura really thought of Sheryl and Sue, so he went along with it. "Wow, Mother. If I didn't know any better, I'd actually think you're quite open-minded." Laura's eyes narrowed. "Is that supposed to be a joke?

Don't ridicule me like that. And besides, all I'm saying is that you're not bound to lose anything if you just treat your relationship with either of these girls as child's play."

"Enough!" Anthony felt upset and frustrated, knowing that he could never understand what was going on in his mother's head. "Why have you come here anyway? If you have nothing nice to say, you should go home now."

"But what about you? Why don't you come back with me?" said Laura worriedly. She added, "It's impossible for you and Sheryl to be together again. And I don't think you and this girl can have a happy ending either. What's the point of you staying in this city now? Why don't you just quickly pack your bags and come with me?" Laura didn't even bother to hide her eagerness, trying to get her son to come home with her.