The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 811 She's Not Here

Andy gave a wry smile and continued, "If Ferry comes back, he might target Sheryl again. We have to stay vigilant and keep her protected. Unfortunately my people have lost track of him. We have no idea where he is or what he's planning."

Charles' face was somber as he smoked his cigarette in silence. He only spoke to Andy after it was finished. "Well, this sounds like a huge inconvenience."

He paused and continued, "On the positive side, if he tries to strike again, there'll be no escape for him this time. He caused so much trouble three years ago, hurting Sher so badly and tearing me away from her. I have a huge score to settle with him. No mercy for him, he's not getting away with it."

Even though Andy knew that Charles was a man of his words, and perfectly capable of making it happen, he still couldn't chase away the worry deep in his heart. After all, Ferry was now in the shadows and they were in plain sight, making them easy targets for him.

He looked at Charles and told him, "If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

"Of course," Charles replied with a nod. He looked inside the house, watching Sheryl chatting and joking with her family. The happiness on her face warmed his heart, but also brought a combination of guilt and concern. He couldn't let anything destroy her new-found happiness. He turned to Andy and said, "Andy, I don't want Sher to know about this. Would you mind keeping it secret for a while?"

"Don't worry. I'm not going to tell them," Andy agreed. "It's better if we're the only ones who know about this. I don't want them to worry, either."

Charles smiled with relief and went back in to join the family. He chatted with Sheryl for a while, acting as if nothing had happened. Then he got up and told her, "It's getting late. I hate to leave but I really should go home and get some rest. Don't forget about the new product launch tomorrow, Sher. Have a good rest and sleep in tomorrow morning. You don't need to be at the rehearsal. Just attend the show in the afternoon."

"Got it, boss." Sheryl smiled and nodded obediently. Then she walked Charles out and watched him leave. Afterwards she immediately retired to her room and went to bed.

She tossed and turned for a while, going over her plan again. As soon as the launch event ended, she was going to look for a suitable house to move into. She didn't feel comfortable staying at the Zhao family house.

Even though this was her own family who welcomed her with open arms, she still felt that it was a little inappropriate for her to be staying there.

After all, she was already married and had her own children. It wasn't proper for them to be staying there.

The new product launch took place at a hotel in downtown Y City. Sheryl had heard that Charles invited a well-known star as a special guest.

But when she caught sight of the star backstage, she was taken aback. 'Is that Roger?' she asked herself.

"Mrs. Lu?" In the past three years, Roger had put in a lot of hard work and effort, and it had all paid off. He was now an A-list celebrity and a popular household name.

His good looks and squeaky clean, scandal-free image had also helped a lot in his rise to becoming one of the most popular heartthrobs.

Roger might have played dirty at the beginning when he was just starting out, but he had never forgotten those who had helped him get there. When Charles asked him to attend the show, he immediately agreed without a second thought.

The reason was simple. He wanted to repay the favor that Sheryl had done for him all those years ago.

Much to his surprise, the woman presumed missing for the past three years was there in the flesh right before his eyes.

Initially, he had thought he was mistaken, but when Sheryl turned around to face him, he was sure that it was indeed Autumn.

Overjoyed, he quickly made his way over to Sheryl. "Hi! What are you doing here?" he asked excitedly. "Do you remember me? Roger Han."

He didn't know that Sheryl had recognized him the moment she had seen him. She just hadn't acknowledged him.

In the first place, they had barely known each other. It was true that she had given him a hand before, but at the end of the day, they had only been making use of each other.

And now, Roger was a famous celebrity and she was just some unknown model. She hadn't expected Roger to remember her and didn't want to look like a desperate suck up if she approached him first. She was surprised that Roger had not only come over to talk to her, he also seemed genuinely enthusiastic to see her.

"Don't you remember me, Mrs. Lu? When I was still a rookie, you helped me out, remember?" Roger hastily introduced himself, seeing Sheryl remain silent.

In his nervousness, he unconsciously grabbed Sheryl's arm. Sheryl winced slightly and gently pushed his hand away. She took a small step back and looked away briefly while she gathered herself. Then she looked up at him and answered, "Yes, I remember you. What are you doing here?"

"Well, Mr. Lu invited me to the show and I accepted his invitation," Roger answered with a big smile. Suddenly, he realized that the dress that Sheryl was wearing was one of the latest designs from Shining Company. "Mrs Lu, why are you..." he began, puzzled.

"It's a long story," Sheryl cut him short, with a bitter smile on her face. "I have to get to work. We'll talk about it some other time."

"Wait!" Roger stopped Sheryl as she turned to leave. "I'm having a party tomorrow night and I'd like to invite you. To be honest, since you disappeared, I've been asking people to help me replace you. Now that you're back, I don't want to waste this opportunity. Will you do me the honor of attending my party?" Roger asked, looking at her hopefully.

"Sure," Sheryl responded, smiling gently at his excitement.

Making a new friend was much better than adding more foes.

News of Roger's attendance had spread far and wide, attracting many young girls to the event. Despite the good turnout, the director was fuming. "Don't you models have an ounce of professionalism? This huge event is about to start, and yet one of you still hasn't shown up yet. Where is she!? Why can't any of you call her?"

"Director, it's gone to voicemail..." a crew member replied timidly.

"Keep calling until she picks up!" the director barked. "I really don't understand how she managed to become a model with this kind of attitude. I tell you, I will never ever work her again after this event," he continued ranting.

"What's going on?" Sheryl whispered to the model beside her. "Why is the director so angry?"

"You don't know?" The model looked at Sheryl in surprise. Then she said lightly, "Since you're close with her, you'd better give her a call and ask her to get here as soon as possible. This is an important event, it's inexcusable to be this late. If she doesn't show up, she's going to damage her modeling career. No one will want hire her after this."

"You mean... Sue isn't here yet?" Sheryl was dumbfounded. The work for the models was carefully distributed and one less model meant less clothes were going to be displayed. Sue had been in the industry for a few years now and it was impossible that she did not know this yet. There had to be some kind of emergency that was causing her to be late.

Sheryl suddenly remembered the phone conversation that she had overheard the day before. 'Could anything have happened to Sue?' she wondered anxiously.