The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 942 A Plan

"There's no need for that, Grandma." Sheryl spoke in a soft voice stealing her eyes from Amy. She felt shy. "It has been so many years since I married Charles. Moreover, now we are parents of two kids. Won't it be so strange for us to hold a wedding right now?"

"Why would it be strange?" Amy answered with a frown. Then she looked affectionately at Sheryl and her heart melted when she saw Sheryl blush at the mention of marriage. She kept her hand on Sheryl's head and continued, "Charles owes you a decent wedding, my child. He did not even know who you really were when you got married to him."

"But..." Sheryl frowned as she said. She didn't want to have this wedding, but she knew how much Amy wanted to see it happen. Sheryl also realized how incredibly happy both her grandparents would be if she and Charles hold a wedding. Hence, she agreed.

She smiled and said, "All right, since grandma and grandpa both look forward to this wedding, I will discuss it with Charles."

"That's like my good child," Amy smiled contently as she said. She then glimpsed at Sheryl and said, "I will talk to Charles about it later."

Sheryl took it casually. She thought it to be just a passing thought that came to Amy's mind and she would get over it very soon. Little did she know that Amy would stick to her words.

Sheryl did not expect that in the evening, when Charles came to pick her up, Amy took it up directly with Charles.

After the family had dinner, Sheryl and Amy were watching television on the couch together. Abby was also present there. Amy cut some fruit into pieces and offered it to Charles and said, "Charles, I have something to discuss with your grandfather, something we think you should do."

Charles responded to Amy with regards and said, "Grandma, you can tell me about it directly. I will do whatever I can as long as I'm capable of doing it." Amy looked relieved as she heard him speak. A contented smile spread on her face.

"Here's the thing," Amy said to Charles. "When you got married with Sheryl, you did not know her. And now, I hope that you will give her a decent wedding to make it up for that. She had a difficult and unlucky life. I feel so sorry for her. And she got married to you as a substitute bride in another person's name, which means that she never had a wedding of her own. And now, when both of you have been through so many ups and downs, I think you should have a ceremony and take your marriage vows once again, so..."

Amy cast a very loving and sympathetic glance at Sheryl as she said, "Don't worry. Your grandfather and I will pay for the wedding. It does not have to be a big one. You only have to get married with all your friends and family to witness it."

"Grandma, are you joking?" Charles blurted out almost instantly with his eyes fixed at Amy. Charles' face froze as he spoke. Unable to read his expression, the smile on Amy's face slowly disappeared. Even Sheryl and Abby looked at Charles with a startled expression. Without bating their eye lids, they gazed straight at him. They were all very certain from the look on his face that he would most definitely turn down Amy's advice.

Sheryl's heart sank as she saw him react in this manner. Nevertheless she managed a smile and tried to make the atmosphere better. "It doesn't matter at all, grandma. We already have two children. Why on earth do we need to hold a wedding again? So, grandma, we don't need to have this ceremony." Sheryl gestured for Amy to be quiet and sported a happy look so that no one had any regrets about the proposed wedding being cancelled.

"But..." Amy frowned as she said. She could not believe that Charles would turn down her request.

Charles took a quick glance at them and realized that they misunderstood him. Immediately, he changed his expression and said, "No, you all got me wrong. I mean, we are definitely going to have a wedding. But how can I let you and grandpa pay for it?"

Charles smiled as he turned his eyes towards Sheryl and took her hands in his own. His voice softened as he said, "It's true. I've been with Sheryl for a long time, but I still feel that I owe her a lot. I want to make it up for her, especially about the wedding. To be honest, I've thought about giving her a wedding before, but I didn't have the courage to bring it up. Don't worry. I will plan this wedding well."

A contented smile spread over Amy's face as she heard Charles speak about his heartfelt wish to hold a wedding for Sheryl and him. Abby, who was just a silent spectator for all this, smiled and added her opinion as well. She said, "That would be really nice. Clark and Shirley can be the ring bearer and flower girl of your wedding. That sounds good." The atmosphere turned into a joyful one with the laughter and niceties shared by the four of them about the wedding.

Sheryl's eyes sparkled with joy. In just a matter of few seconds, myriads of emotions played on her mind that were also reflected on her face. She laughed aloud, visualizing Shirley and Clark as the flower girl and the ring bearer for them and then she lowered her head shyly.

Soon it was time for Charles and Sheryl to leave. Charles helped Sheryl to get her luggage into the car. Shirley was already sound asleep. Sheryl put her in the backseat and turned around to wave goodbye to Amy and Abby. It was an emotional moment for all of them. Amy could not take her eyes off from Charles and Sheryl, secretly praying in her heart for their well being. Her eyes swelled up with tears, when she thought about all the ups and downs they had been through. She pushed those thoughts aside and kept repeating in her mind that it was all the things in the past and she could just let those things be there. 'May Charles and Sher move towards a harmonious life,' she thought to herself.

Arthur, who was not around for the whole night, also came to see them off. He stood there and watched Sheryl in silence with a frozen face. But his heart reiterated the same feelings as Amy.

As Amy bid goodbye to Sheryl, she took her in her embrace, placed her hands on her head and kissed Sheryl on her forehead. She smiled lovingly and blessed her. Sheryl spoke with Abby for some time. Then she approached Arthur. Both Charles and Sheryl stood in front of Arthur to say goodbye to him.

Though Arthur did not say much, Sheryl knew that he was the one who cared about her the most. He was just not good at showing how much he cared. Having Sheryl standing in front of him, he looked at her with a straight face but his eyes softened.

"Grandpa, I'm leaving." Sheryl choked as she spoke and her eyes became teary. She didn't know why, but when she stood in front of Arthur, she couldn't help but feel like crying.

"All right," Arthur responded calmly. "Take care of yourself. If you get some spare time, you can come back to visit your grandmother."

"I know," Sheryl nodded. "Go, then."

Arthur spoke in a heavy voice. He looked at Charles and said, "Sher belongs to you now. Take care of her and do not let me down."

"Don't worry, grandpa. I will definitely take good care of her," Charles held Arthur's hands and assured him.

Finally, Sheryl left the Zhao family in the car. As she turned back from the rear window, she saw her grandpa's eyes fixed on her as long as she could see him. Sheryl couldn't hold back her tears. Charles was behind the steering wheel. All he could do was to watch her cry from the rear view mirror and heave a deep sigh. Sheryl broke into a momentary sob as she sat in the backseat holding Shirley in her arms. Charles could only comfort her by his words on their way back home.

After they got home, Gary was still awake. The moment Charles entered the house with Sheryl and Shirley, Gary became busy instructing the servants to attend them. He asked them to serve food for them. Sheryl had a brief meeting with Gary and felt warm with his welcoming gesture. How much the elderly people of both the families had been affected by their long separation. It was so heartening to see them so contented as Sheryl and Charles came together once again.

"Nancy! When did you come back?" Sheryl was surely surprised to see that Nancy had reached Dream Garden before her.

Nancy laughed and said to Sheryl, "When you were on your business trip, Charles told me to move back. Sheryl, please taste these wontons and check if they taste the same as they did." Sheryl smiled at her and roved her eyes around the house. After such a long time, she really felt at home in Dream Garden.

Gary was sitting there as food was being served to Sheryl. Sheryl didn't want him to stay up so late and said, "Grandpa, Nancy, please go to bed. You don't have to wait here for me to eat. It's late now." After putting Shirley into her bed, Charles went downstairs to Sheryl for the dinner.

Seeing Charles coming down to join Sheryl, Gary and Nancy smiled and went back to their own rooms, allowing the couple some privacy.

Sheryl took a few bites and put down the spoon. Her mind was preoccupied with several things that made her lose her appetite.

Charles held Sheryl's hands and said gently, "If you don't want to eat, then don't force yourself."

After the dinner, both of them came back to their room. Charles gave Sheryl the towel and pajamas he had prepared in advance. He said to Sheryl, "You can go and have a bath. We will discuss other things after you finish it." Sheryl smiled and looked around her bedroom.

Then she entered the bathroom to take a shower. Sheryl took a long and comfortable bath to wash off her tiredness. When she got out in pajamas, Charles had already prepared a cup of hot milk. He handed the milk to her and said, "Have a cup of milk before you sleep. It'll help you have a nice dream." Sheryl was touched by the care and concern showered on her by Charles.

"Charles, I..." Sheryl hesitated for a long time and still didn't know how to say it.

"Sher, if you want to tell me something, go ahead and speak it out. You don't have to hide anything from me and you don't have to hesitate about whether you should say it or not," said Charles gently.