The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 834 A Gentle Reminder

As Sheryl fell into silence, Peggy hastened to explain further. She kept looking at Sheryl's face trying to read her expression. As she noticed Sheryl becoming thoughtful, she immediately started speaking in order to stop Sheryl from reading too much into the matter. "Sue will give the money back to you for sure, I promise you. You should trust her. You are her best friend, aren't you?"

Sheryl's lips suddenly twisted in a mirthless smile. It did not take her long to realize what Peggy was targeting at. This old woman was just taking advantage of Sheryl's politeness and wanted to fraud her with despicable tricks. She was so greedy! She just wanted to extort money from her.

Peggy continued trying to put up a genuine and truthful expression on her face. "I have no one else to seek help from, Sher. That is the reason I am sharing my concern with you. Being Sue's best friend, you are just like my own daughter. I really don't want to trouble you or burden you. It's just that, I am just helpless. Will you..." Peggy was perturbed. But her reality was harsh; she was pushed up the wall. There was no alternative way for her other than trying to exploit whoever she could. She had to do it.

Also she had to be alert that Sue did not get to know about it. Because If Sue came to know that she borrowed some money from Sheryl, she would be furious and reject the money immediately. Given the recent condition of their relationship, she would not want a single penny from Sheryl. Peggy knew that she had to contrive in such a way that she would extort money from Sheryl and would not let Sue come to know about it.

"Could you please help me with that, Sher?" Peggy asked again as she pleaded, "I know you are a kind-hearted girl. Sue is just so conscious about her self-respect that she can't talk to you about the money no matter how much burdened she is. So I thought of talking to you it on her behalf. If you can help me with the money, it will be a great relief for her as well." Sheryl had become absolutely calm by now. As Peggy requested her, Sheryl gave her a meaningful glance and asked, "Well, Aunt Peggy, I am just wondering, is this your idea or Sue's? Just asking."

"It's mine," Peggy spoke with a solemn expression on her face. Peggy heaved a sigh in the most distressful manner, as if she was under a lot of pressure and resentful about Sue. "Since, you are Sue's friend, have noting new to tell you about her temper. She is that kind of person who will never ask you for any help even if she is going to die. She is just so stubborn. But as her mother, I simply can't tolerate the fact that she will be under so much of financial burden because she needs this 500, 000. If she even comes to know anything about me borrowing money from you, she will be really annoyed with me."

"Yea, I know. It's true. She is like that." Sheryl generously agreed with Peggy's comment regarding Sue's personality. "As far as I know, she would never like to trouble anyone else except herself. She just wants to get through all the things along, no matter how difficult her life is. I can tell."

"Yes, yes, exactly! You are right." Peggy sighed once more. "So, Sher, are you willing to..."

"No worries, Aunt Peggy, I can help you with that. It's not a big deal." Sheryl agreed. However, Sheryl was wary and cautious this time. She asked, "I can lend you the exact amount of money you need. But, it is conditional. Before that, I need you to do something for me."

Peggy's face was wreathed in smiles when she got Sheryl's consent. However the finishing line spoken by Sheryl wiped her smile off her face. She stammered as she made an extremely awkward face, "Oh! you want something in return? I thought you and Sue are very good friends. That is the reason I asked you for help. But now... You are asking... what is my capacity? What can I do for your? This is so strange."

"Take it easy, Aunt Peggy. You know, there is a widely known saying which reads 'short account makes long brotherhood'. This should also apply to Sue and m as well. Isn't it?" Sheryl was staring at Peggy as she still looked puzzled and clueless. She continued, "No worries, it's not gonna be a difficult task. Just that... I want something as a guarantee. Even you are aware that 500, 000 is not a small number, right?" Sheryl spoke in a very cool voice.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Peggy was trying to look at the positive side of it. Moreover, she felt reassured when she heard Sheryl say that it would not be difficult. It was perfectly reasonable to ask for something to safeguard one's own belongings.

"Given that this is not something that you want Sue to know, I will keep it completely to myself. You can rest assured about that." Peggy smiled and looked at her expecting to speak further. She was eager about the deal. Sheryl gave Peggy a serious look. "You can't know her temper more well, Aunt Peggy. If she knows about it, it surely can't be done. If that's the case, even if I feel so strongly to offer you help, it may be too late. I am sure you agree with me?"

"That's right. I agree with you completely. What you said makes perfect sense, but..." Peggy frowned as she spoke. It was just that all she wanted was free money. If at all there would be any payback, that had to come from Sue. Hence, she couldn't make up her mind.

"Aunt Peggy, I will not ask for anything beyond the line. I just want you to write me an IOU note on your behalf. It will be better if both you and Allen could sign on that note. If you do as I say, I will give you the money right away." Sheryl spoke in her flat voice and stared at Peggy's face.

"You want an IOU note?" Peggy's face became grim. She seemed to be worried and hesitant about the whole thing. Obviously she was very cautious about this idea. She felt, she had misjudged Sheryl's politeness.

"Yup." Sheryl nodded. "You don't have to worry about this. It is a mere formality to go through and for me to feel assured. Otherwise I will be worried and keep thinking about this. I promise I won't really chase you to pay back with this IOU note."

Sheryl smiled and then continued to reaffirm her, "How about this? When I have the money prepared for you, Sue will get to know about this as well. Then I will tear this note right in front of you, and let Sue to write another note for you."

"Well..." Peggy was unable to make up her mind.

"Aunt Peggy, I won't force you." Sheryl smiled and took her business card out from her purse. Handing it to Peggy, she said, "Anyway I would still need some time to get the money ready for you. You can take your time to make the decision. If you have decided, just call me and I will come to you with the money. In exchange, I just need an IOU note from you. It's like killing two birds with one stone. What do you think?"

Darting a glance at Peggy, Sheryl continued, "Even I am also trying to do a favor on Sue. Why don't you discuss with your son about this?" Sheryl could make out from Peggy's face that she was not expecting this kind of a condition to be put forward from her side.

"Indeed, it's not a big deal." Peggy nodded, and replied to Sheryl, "I need some time to think about it. I will give you a call after I've made up my mind."

"No problem." Sheryl nodded. As the conversation drew to the end, just to provoke Peggy's suspicion towards Doris, she added, "Aunt Peggy, I have something in mind that I can't stop myself from mentioning to you."

"What is it?" Peggy replied with a frown on her face.

"I'm not sure how long they have been togther, but... it seems to me that the baby in Doris' belly is way beyond four months old. You have been pregnant before yourself, so you should know it. I just feel that the size of the belly looks weird to me and is a complete mismatch to the term they are claiming." Sheryl glanced at Peggy's face and stopped there without further analysis. She knew that Peggy was clever enough to continue on this train of thought. All Peggy needed was just a spark to ignite the fire of suspicion and investigation. That was exactly what Sheryl offered her.

"I have packed up everything," Sue said as she walked out from the other room. As they were talking, Sue finished gathering all her belongings. Though she was truly reluctant and unwilling to move out, she had no other choice.

"Then we will leave now." Sheryl smiled and stood up as she prepared to leave. "Aunt Peggy, I hope that you would think through my words."

"Okay, noted," Peggy replied with a cold face and accompanied both of them out. The woman who did not spare a thought of concern towards Sue all her life, now pretended to be the most doting mother one could ever have. "Sue, take care of yourself. I know it is not easy for you."

"Alright, Aunt Peggy. Please stop here. No need to come after us. It is already very late. Hope you rest well tonight," Sheryl spoke with a big grin.

As they came out of the house, Sue didn't want to bother Sheryl any furhter and said, "Sher, it's late and you should go back now. Don't worry about me. I'll just replace a hotel to sleep tonight and think about where to go tomorrow."

Sue wanted to be considerate for Sheryl, but Sheryl was not willing to leave her alone in the middle of the night.

"Sue, what do you mean by that?" Sheryl showed her discontent with a frown and asked, "Don't be ridiculous Sue. Why do you want to put up in a hotel? Come with me to my house."

"Sher, I didn't mean to reject your help." Sue tried to explain, "I just don't... want to cause you any more trouble."

Sue heaved a sigh and continued, "Because of me and Anthony, you even had to leave the dorm. You yourself don't have a place to go. How can I even add to your trouble?"

"It's no big deal." Holding Sue's hand, Sheryl offered, "Now I am living with my grandparents. They have a huge house. Don't worry. You can live there and sleep in my room." "But..." Sue looked embarrassed and said in a worried tone, "I know your grandparents dislike me. They..."

"You don't have to worry about that," Sheryl assured Sue. "They are easy to get along with. Trust me. There will be no problem."