The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 758 Don't Stand In Our Way

"What has he done?" Laura asked aggressively. She stared at Carlson and then asked again, "Didn't you hear what Anthony said? He didn't do anything, yet got hit on the head with a bottle. I let it slide and didn't do anything about it, yet had the audacity to call and complain. What a joke!"

Laura's upper lip curled in disdain as she continued, "What's more, Sheryl and Anthony are dating. It is perfectly normal for them to be intimate with each other. She is definitely not a virgin and has been sexually active before. Why did she act so modest and prudish in front of Anthony, her own boyfriend?"

Laura was getting more and more worked up. She took a deep breath to calm herself down before continuing her rant. Glaring at Carlson, she informed him, "I am not going to take any more of this. They did not suffer any losses but my son has been badly injured." Turning to Anthony, she said in a softer tone, "Anthony honey, let's get you to the hospital. You need to be examined by a doctor. I'm worried about you."

She stared at her son for a few beats and said in a rush, her tone getting higher and higher, "If the doctor doesn't replace anything wrong with you, then I will drop this. But if they replace even the slightest hint of problems, I'm declaring war on that family. I will get even with them."

"Are you finished yet?" Carlson bellowed, unable to take it anymore. "Are you really that blindsided? Don't you realize your son was at fault?" He was determined not to let her make the situation worse. "Can you just stop putting the blame on others?" he added.

"Really, Carlson? What did he do wrong?" Laura replied sarcastically. "If Sheryl is so modest, then she shouldn't have agreed to be with Anthony in the first place. After being together for so long, now she tries to act like a pure woman. What a snake," she said, scornfully.

Laura's harsh, disrespectful words made even Anthony feel sick. He frowned and told his mother, "Mom, that's enough! I admit, this whole thing was my fault in the first place."

"Darling, don't say that. You didn't do anything wrong," Laura said insistently.

"But I..." stuttered Anthony. He stared at his mother, and was frustrated that he suddenly couldn't replace the right words to say.

Carlson gave an irritated snort and interrupted, "Laura, just listen to yourself. You are going to ruin our son someday if you keep babying him like this."

He replayed the call he had received earlier and heaved a huge, helpless sigh as Arthur's words rewinded themselves in his head. It had come as a huge shock to him that his son was dating Arthur's granddaughter.

To Carlson, Arthur was not only a good friend of his father's, but also one of the men he looked up to and respected the most, besides his own father. He was so embarrassed that his son had done such a thing and felt like hiding his face from Arthur forever. Thank God Sheryl hadn't gotten hurt. Shirley, on the other hand, was a whole different story. The poor child!

"Oh, would you stop being such an alarmist, Carlson!" scoffed Laura. She gave her husband a cold glare and continued, "Of course I know the man whom I carried for 9 months. I know him extremely well, much better than you. So good luck waiting for the day I 'ruin his life'."

Anthony frowned and asked his father in a low voice, "Dad, you got the call from Sheryl's grandfather, didn't you? Did he... uhh..." His voice trailed off. "Did he tell you the whole story?" he managed to ask, after clearing his throat a few times.

"That goes without saying," replied Carlson shortly. He laughed and added grimly, "In all my 50 plus years of life, I have never gotten such an earful like that. If he had been standing in front of me, I would have probably dug a ditch to hide in shame."

"You are being way too nice to that old man. Well, I am not going to take any of his blame at all," said Laura impatiently. She glared at Carlson and growled in dissatisfaction, "I don't see Arthur as a respectable elder. He doesn't even act like one. In no way is he worthy of our respect, especially now that your father is gone. If he calls you again, you pass the phone to me. I'll give him a taste of his own medicine!" "Mom!" yelled Anthony, half shocked, half frustrated. Frowning so hard, he continued, "Don't be the pot calling the kettle black. Just take a look at yourself. Are you being a respectable elder to Sheryl? It is no wonder that she is reluctant to show respect to you. Please do some reflection. You know you reap what you sow."

As soon as he finished talking, Anthony turned away from his mother and addressed his father. "Dad, I'm so sorry. Did Arthur mention anything about Sheryl's condition? Is she okay? I'm so worried about her." Anthony knew that he was in the wrong and had been bathing in shame ever since he had realized what he had done. The guilt made it hard to even imagine meeting Sheryl. He was terrified that she would refuse to accept his apology.

He could only rely on his father to provide the news that would lighten the burden on his chest.

"Of course she is fine," scoffed Laura. "You didn't manage to do anything, did you? She knew you were drunk, yet she let the servant hit you with that bottle. What kind of drastic action was that? It is clear that she doesn't really care about you. What if you'd really gotten hurt?"

Anthony raised his eyebrows at his mother's words, but clenched his jaw to prevent himself from replying. Both father and son knew it was pointless to keep arguing with the bitter old woman. Carlson was still for a while, lost in his own thoughts. He seemed to be debating whether or not to tell Anthony but finally, he said, "Sheryl is fine. Don't worry. But the same can't be said for the girl." "The girl? You mean Sheryl's daughter? Shirley?" asked Anthony, starting to feel a wave of panic sinking into his heart. He had never thought that the incident would affect Shirley. He had always thought of the little girl as his own daughter and hearing that something had happened to her made him anxious. Knowing the fact that it was caused by none other than himself made him feel like smashing another bottle onto his own head.

"What's wrong with her? What happened?" asked Anthony, fighting hard to control his emotions. He looked at his father with bated breath, waiting for his reply.

"I don't know, Anthony," replied Carlson briefly. Carlson frowned slightly, before sighing and continuing, "From what Arthur said, Shirley seemed to be traumatised after witnessing the events of that night. But he didn't go into further details so I don't know how serious the issue is."

"Of course he didn't dare to go into details. There's nothing wrong with her!" scoffed Laura again. Giving a cruel triumphant smirk, she continued, "I saw her just this morning. She seemed perfectly fine. You two need to stop scaring yourselves. They're just trying to make you feel bad," she finished, in a dismissive tone.

"Laura! That's enough!" thundered Carlson. He could no longer contain the burning fire of rage that kept building every time she opened her mouth. He stuck his finger into Laura's face and growled, "Not another word from you starting from this very moment. Otherwise I'll be sure to make you regret it."

Laura was taken aback by her husband's words since she had never seen him like this before, so she wisely decided to stop talking.

He looked his son and said, "That's exactly why I'm here. I need to go apologize to Arthur. You were obviously in the wrong and we need to go make things right. I'm worried about the little girl too, so this will be the perfect opportunity to go check on her and see if there's anything we can do to help."

"Okay, dad. Understood." Anthony nodded his head once. He continued hesitantly, "Shall we go now, then?"

Anthony's guilt had grown to a mountain size after hearing that Shirley may have been affected. He needed to see for himself that the little girl was okay. He didn't even care how Sheryl would treat him, and at the moment all he wanted to do was see Shirley's condition. Poor, innocent Shirley!

"You're not going," said Laura firmly. She ran forward and blocked their path. "What's the point of going in unannounced like this? They may not even want to entertain you and chase you away. It is not the righ time to pay them a visit."

Carlson stared at his wife incredulously and decided that was enough. He looked straight at her, letting her see the fury in his eyes. "Laura, all this while I've just let you do whatever you pleased and never stopped you from doing what you wanted. This time is different. This is a matter of principle. Anthony was in the wrong and the right thing to do is to go and apologize. You can stay here if you want, but don't try to stand in our way and stop us from going. Be reasonable for once in your life," he said coldly.