The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 921 You Can Try

For a while, Holley had been closely observing Chuck's progress. The man, it seemed, could not wait to lay his filthy hands on Sheryl's slender waist. When Sheryl detected the hands of this wicked man on he body, she knocked his hands away angrily. With her eyes ablaze with disgust, Sheryl demanded, "Mr. Zhang, please be more respectful."

"Respectful?" Chuck derided as he heard the word, which was never part of his principles. "So funny of you to say so. I paid for it. You are mine now. Why do I have to bow to something I own? Let me warn you. You better be more tamed."

"Don't touch me!" the furious woman warned him with another harsh look as his hands tried replaceing their way on her waist again. "I dare you to touch me again!"

"Well, well, so spicy," commented Chuck as he gave her a suggestive once-over. "Very good, very good. You're definitely my taste," he continued. It was as though he were looking at a piece of artwork. With a cold look, he asked in a disdainful tone, "Out of curiosity, what would you do if I touch you?"

"Try and replace out!" she challenged him, narrowing her eyes. "Mr. Zhang, I believe you are someone of importance in this city, and the status of the people attending the party with you can't be low, right? Many o them are even potential partners and investors. If they ever replace out about the secret deal you have with Holley, will your fame be affected? And by extension, I guess, your business as well?"

"Are you threatening me now?" sneered Chuck. The hunter was clearly offended by the supposed prey's counter-attack. Even at this stage, she still refused to give in despite his attempts of overpowering her. "Very good. You are not like any other woman. No wonder Charles desires you."

His sudden words confounded her. "You know Charles?" she asked. Seeing her in a daze pleased the vicious man.

"Of course," retorted the man. "I know him. And not only that, I even had a business negotiation with him just now."

"Then he is..." she said, her words trailing off. The woman examined her surroundings, hoping to see the familiar face. If he were there as well, she would be perfectly safe. No one would be able to hurt her, no in his presence.

"I know what you're thinking. You can stop looking for him now," advised the man. "Your dear Charles isn't here."

The tiny tad bit of hope she had immediately subsided at his words. Disappointment was clearly written on her face, which only brought Chuck more joy.

At long last, a sign of defeat could?be observed on his strong-willed prey. Chuckling, he scorned at her, "Look at yourself. What a depressing face! So pathetic!"

The man showed no sympathy for the pitiful woman. More so, he even added to her pity. "What's so good about Charles that you are falling so much for him? Why not choose me instead? I'll provide a satisfactory amount of money to you every month, which would be enough for you to spend on your hobbies. I'll secure you a grand house here; you?won't be alone, and I'll frequently visit you. I'd say it would be even better if you have my baby. If you can give me that, I'll give you more money. What do you say? Do we have a deal? Isn't it worth more to be with me than with Charles? How much does he pay you? Tell me."

The man sounded serious enough to make it appear like a real deal to her. "So? Tell me what you think about it. You can make your decision now."

"Aren't you scared?" she asked, which confused the man. To Sheryl, none of his words was worth considering. She ignored his entire 'generous' offer, and returned the topic to Charles. "You know," she went on, "Charles will not be happy if he hears about your attempts to steal me.

If you are aware of that, then why do still to do this to me?" Glaring at Chuck, she challenged, "Aren't you scared that Charles cancel the deal with you after knowing about this?"

"Scared?" repeated Chuck, laughing at her as though it were strange to hear the word coming from a mature woman. "I don't have to wait for him to know about this. We've already canceled the deal." After all, the sole reason he had agreed to Holley's plans was to one-up Charles and experience a sense of superiority, which in other cases was impossible for him to get. "Charles, yeah right. He's such an arrogant person, completely ignoring my offer and me. I'll teach him a valuable lesson on how he should regard other people. I wonder if he'd be regretful when he sees his woman in my hands.

If you really want to blame someone, that person shouldn't be Holley or me. The one who put you in this situation is none other than Charles! I was pissed off with him being so bossy at my place, so now I'll have a taste of his woman. This ought to teach the man to be humble around others."

"If you dare touch me, I'll scream!" After her attempt to bargain using Charles' name had failed, she could not maintain her composure any longer, and became terribly worried. The woman did not expect that Holley and Chuck would be so well prepared. All of her efforts to escape their trap had been unsuccessful so far. And since Charles was blocked from her emergency, she had no other way but to resort to screaming just to get help from the attendants of the event.

The panic on Sheryl's face did not go unnoticed by the culprit who plotted everything. Casually watching Sheryl's suffering, Holley basked in the euphoria of her successful revenge.

"Sheryl, just accept your fate. I've spent so much effort to make this happen. It's impossible for you to escape this time," she quietly murmured to herself. Still unsure why Sheryl was trying so hard to resist, Holley thought it was now time for the final part of her plan. The last step was important as it would ensure Chuck's success. After receiving a glass of wine from a waiter, she dropped a pinch of white power into it, and called Coral to come over.

"Miss Ye, do you need me for something?" asked the girl. This whole time, she had her eyes on Sheryl as well, and felt sorry, as she could not do anything to help. Secretly, Coral just hoped that someone would appear to save the poor woman.

"Here. Hand this glass of wine to Sheryl and make sure she drinks it," Holley instructed. "Remember, just pretend to be your normal self and do not reveal anything to Sheryl, verbally or physically. I'm going to be standing here and watching you. If you get this done, you'll receive a handsome reward for your efforts."

Slowly taking the wine Holley gave to her, Coral asked, "This glass of wine... Did you add anything to it?" "You shouldn't be concerned about that," Holley replied with a cold face.

"What you should only be concerned about is how to make her drink it. Do you understand me, Coral?"

"No... I can't do it," Coral refused, shaking her head. Though she had a few fights with the woman before, they were just arguments without real harm. She wasn't a person who would go looking for revenge just because of some mild feelings of discontent, particularly not with Sheryl.

It was innate for Coral to be kind-hearted. Otherwise, she wouldn't have offered to help Sheryl the other night. But now... their manager Holley, was asking her to commit a real crime. As she was highly uncomfortable with what Holley was asking her to do, she hesitated.

"You have to do this," Holley pressured her. Her expression immediately shifted to a softer one. "Coral, we're in the same boat now. You have to do this favor for me. She trusts you, doesn't she?" "Miss Ye, please replace someone else to do this for you. I... I really can't do it," Coral said, panicking. "I can't do what you're asking me to do." The younger woman's eyes glistened with apprehension. "You can do it," Holley asserted, holding Coral's shaking hands with hers. "Don't forget that you have to support your younger sister's college fees. If you get this done for me, the money would be a non-issue. I'll give you enough money for her to finish her college degree.

Coral, I believe you are smart enough to pick the right choice." Seeing that Coral was about to be convinced after she mentioned her sister, Holley pushed the former and gave her final instruction, "Go act normally. Hide your true intentions. Don't get noticed by Sheryl."

When Coral held the glass of wine, it felt as though she were holding the weight of a mountain. Not even a minute later, she realized it was because of her morality's pressure. Unlike Holley, she did have her morality. However, on the other side of the balance was money, which could dictate the fate of her younger sister. With the money that she direly needed, her beloved sister could enjoy a much brighter future with a decent college degree. In the end, her morality lost this battle and yielded.

Quietly, she whispered to herself, "Sheryl, please don't blame me. I have no choice."

Walking up towards them, she stood in front of Chuck to shield Sheryl from being molested by the horny man.

"Mr. Zhang, what happened? Why are you so angry?" she started. "Who are you?" Chuck questioned impatiently.

Smiling back, she replied, "My name is Coral. I'm in the same company as Sheryl. Holley asked me to tell you that she needs to talk to you right now. She is right there waiting for you."

She then pointed to where Holley was standing. Right on cue, the aforementioned woman waved innocently at him.

"Well, I'll be back in a few minutes," he threw his words to Sheryl, and then left.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Coral asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," replied Sheryl. "Why are you here? Aren't you afraid of Holley? Don't you know there's a consequence for getting involved in this mess?"

"I don't care about her at this moment," Coral answered, frowning. "We have to go."

Pointing her finger at the exit, she advised, "Now, while no one is paying attention to you, run!"

"It's useless," Sheryl stated the truth helplessly. As much as she wanted to run away, she knew that there was no way to escape. Holley had arranged her people to guard the exit, and made sure that she would be sent back inside the moment she tried stepping out.

"Then what do we do now?" Coral asked. "Do we just do nothing and wait for that nasty man to come back?"