The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 757 Do You Know What Happened

"Mother, you thought the worst of Sheryl too. You thought she was greedy and after my money. Now you have changed your mind. Do you know the truth now?" Anthony retorted and glared at Laura in contempt. He couldn't understand why his mother had thought poorly of Sheryl. Her perception of Sheryl was baseless and fully wrong. He had been in a relationship with her for three years, yet his mother never accepted her as her prospective daughter-in-law. 'My mother was not satisfied with Sheryl earlier. Now she thinks Sue is not good enough for me. Who does she want me to marry? In her opinion, no woman in this world is good enough for me, ' he thought.

Laura blushed with embarrassment. She forced herself to stay calm. She looked at Anthony and argued, "Sheryl is an exception. She doesn't want your money as she is from a rich family. But even she had ulterior motives. As she has a child she knows it is impossible for her to get married into a rich and powerful family. So she seduced you and you were stupid enough to become involved with her." If Sheryl hadn't had a daughter, Laura might have accepted her in these changed circumstances.

"Enough. We are going to pick up dad, aren't we? Let's go or we will be late," Anthony interrupted Laura's tirade and urged her. He was already fed up of his situation with Sheryl and Sue and Laura's words annoyed him further. He wished his mother would give him some space and stop interfering with his love affairs. He would be grateful if she left him in peace for some time.

When they reached the airport, Carlson's plane had not yet landed. They waited for several minutes and soon Carlson was walking towards them. Carlson's face was gloomy, but Anthony didn't pay much attention to it. He thought his father was tired and probably had a bad flight. He greeted his father with a smile but Carlson slapped him hard right across the face. Anthony saw stars. Laura was shocked at her husband's behavior.

She screamed as she held onto her husband's arm, "Are you crazy? Why did you slap Anthony? What the hell are you doing? This is a public place and he is a grown man. Have some sense."

"Let go of me. I will beat him to a pulp. Just ask your damn son what he has done. I will teach him a lesson he will never forget today," Carlson furiously pushed Laura away and shouted. He was so ashamed to be blamed by Arthur because of what Anthony had done to Sheryl. Anthony had sunk so low that it was unforgivable. Carlson was tormented after Arthur narrated the whole incident to him.

"Carlson! Let us go home first, shall we? We can talk about whatever has happened once we reach home, okay? People are watching here. It is shameful," Laura scowled and said persuasively. Although she had no idea what had happened and why her husband was furious at their son, she managed to bring him back to his senses for some time at least.

Carlson said in an unfriendly voice to Anthony, "Hurry up and drive. Let's go home. I will teach you a lesson when we reach there." It was impossible for him to forgive his son.

Anthony was completely confused. He thought, 'Why is my father so angry? What did I do? I can't think of what I did wrong.'

On their way home, Carlson and Anthony kept silent. Laura kept asking about what had happened, but got no reply. She tried her best to get Carlson to talk but her effort was useless. As soon as they reached the house, Carlson turned around and slapped Anthony. On seeing this Laura burst out, "What are you doing! Stop it! What has happened to you?"

Carlson, seething with anger, tried to hit Anthony again, but was stopped by Laura. Laura placed herself in front of Anthony and cried, "If you want to hit him again, you have to beat me to death first."

"Laura, you have spoiled Anthony. If you continue spoiling him, he will become a characterless person. He will let you down," Carlson stared at Laura and said with a frown. He threatened Laura to get out of the way not realizing that Laura did not know what their son had done. His whole being was on fire. The only thing he wanted to do was give his son a good thrashing.

"I don't care. I will always protect him. I am sure he is a good human being. I carried him for nine months. I love him as you never can," Laura said in a sarcastic tone.

Carlson kept quiet. She continued with a sneer, "Has my son murdered someone? Why are you so angry at him? Why did you slap him? Don't you dare hurt him before you tell me the reason."

"You want to know what happened? Ask him what he has done? Ask him about the wound on his forehead," Carlson glared at Anthony and replied coldly. He found it hard to tell Laura what their son had done. He thought, 'Anthony tried to rape Sheryl. Why did he do such a shameful thing? I will never be able to show my face to Uncle Arthur in the future.'

Carlson's words startled Anthony. He had been injured by Nancy. He felt guilty for his behavior. Although he was drunk at the time and regretted his indecent behavior, it was embarrassing to tell his parents about the whole sordid incident.

"Wound?" Laura echoed Carlson's word. It was then she realized her son had a wound on his forehead. She gazed at Anthony and asked anxiously, "Oh, my God! What happened? How did you get hurt?" Laura had noticed Anthony's wound and had asked about it, but Anthony was evasive. As she reached out to check his wound, he moved his head away.

Anthony avoided eye contact and said, "I am okay. Don't worry."

"What happened, Son? Tell me. Don't make me more tense," Laura stared at Anthony anxiously and insisted.

Carlson said contemptuously, "Anthony, just tell your mother how, why and where you got injured."

He sneered, "Now you are ashamed of your behavior. But you didn't feel any shame while stooping so low. Why were you so bold then?"

"Dad..." Anthony whispered. He furrowed his brow and stood still. He was silent for a long time. Then he hung his head in embarrassment and said to Carlson, "I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have done that. I will make up for it."

"Make up for it? What will you do to make up for it?" Carlson said irritably. He was enraged by Anthony's irrational behavior. As he thought of Arthur's accusation, his face turned redder.

"What are you talking about? I am confused. I am not able to follow your conversation. Tell me what happened," Laura asked. She was clueless about what they were talking and was eager to know. "Tell your mother what you have done. I am so ashamed of you," Carlson ordered impatiently.

After some consideration, Anthony told Laura he had tried to rape Sheryl and that her servant had hurt him to save her. Laura's reaction was so unexpected that Carlson was stumped. She grew even angrier with Sheryl and cursed her loudly. She didn't blame Anthony at all. Being upset over Anthony's wound she cursed, "What did you say? That damn bitch's servant hurt you? How dare she do that! Wait and see, I'll teach her a lesson." Laura's love was misplaced. Any rational mother would have scolded her son for attempted rape but Laura did not even register the magnitude of it. She didn't realize her mistake. Maybe, in her heart, she didn't care about who was right. All she cared about was the injury sustained by her beloved son.

She looked at Anthony with tears in her eyes and said, "Let me have a look at the cut. Let me change the bandage. Oh, my poor boy! How are you feeling now? Does it hurt badly? Is the wound very deep?" She felt sad and angry at what her son had suffered. She even regarded her son's behavior as normal. She thought, 'They were a couple. It is normal for the man to expect intimacy with his girlfriend.'

Laura's words infuriated Carlson. His heart froze and he yelled at Laura, "Do you know what you are saying? You son did such a shameful thing. His behavior was worse than that of an animal. How can you care about his wound and ignore his mistake?" He looked pale with disgust. He knew his wife loved their son, but he hadn't expected the love to be so blind and unconditional.

"What do you want me to do? Give him a good beating and then what? I don't care what you think. He is my son and his well-being is of supreme importance to me. I am worried about his wound and nothing else!" Laura stated in no uncertain terms. She had loved Anthony more than Carlson ever had. She didn't mind Carlson ignoring him, and she wouldn't stand by and allow him to beat him up for an outsider. She understood that Carlson wanted to maintain a good relationship with Arthur. But Sheryl was Arthur's granddaughter, not his. She wouldn't allow her husband to beat their son in order to please Arthur. "A loving mother always stands up for her son in all the right things. You are a mother with no standards and are supporting his despicable actions. You have lost all reason," Carlson wagged a finger at Laura's nose and shouted angrily.

"You are a not qualified as a good father. I had told you several times that Sheryl was not right for our son. But you chose not to interfere with their relationship. Now your son is hurt and yet you support an outsider. Are you sure you are a good father? What do you do when your son is bullied? You back up that Sheryl and promise to teach your son a lesson!" Laura raged. She was terribly upset that Carlson should support an outsider rather than his own son. Although their son had committed a crime, he should still have their support.

"Do you even know what happened? I was on duty when Uncle Arthur called and accused me of bringing up my son with no moral values. If you were in my place, wouldn't you be furious? Your son has committed a grave mistake. He could even be jailed for this if Sheryl complains. You don't even scold him a little and instead blame the girl he tried to rape. Are you in your senses, woman?" Carlson shouted wrathfully. He was extremely agitated and thought Anthony had lost face forever. Laura's blind love and devotion to Anthony made him more vexed.