The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 973 Love On The Brain

"You are lying!" Helin cried out. She clearly couldn't accept such absurdity. Roger seemed unfazed, however. Her glares did not intimidate nor move him. She pointed at Bessie and, with her head towards Roger, began yelling once again. "What is it about this woman that attracts you? Why are you marrying her instead of me? What makes you think she is any better than me?"

"Helin! Please, come to your senses!" Her father called out. Heron felt really embarrassed to see Helin humiliate herself in front of so many eyes. He would have done anything to make it all go away, to get her out of the rabbit hole she was sinking herself into. He had a hard time containing his disappointment. Despite that, he tried to calm himself down and addressed Helin with a stern face, "You drank too much today. You need to go get some rest."

"I'm not drunk," She asserted forcing a smile. Then, her demeanor suddenly changed as if she had just had an epiphany. She turned to Heron with a hostile look and started blaming him. "It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, Roger wouldn't do this to me. You'd better stay out of my business from now on and leave me alone!"

At the sound of her words, a smirk flashed across Roger's face as if Helin's accusations pleased him.

His reaction revealed what was really inside his mind, but he didn't think anyone would be paying attention to him or notice it. However, when he raised his head, he was met by Sheryl's blazing eyes. Heron was overcome by anger, but he still managed to put on an act in front of the crowd. He responded to Helin's comments on a low but patronizing tone, "You have to get hold of yourself! You can't allow alcohol to turn you into this kind of person all the time. I'm going to start restricting your drinking from now on! You have crossed the line tonight."

He then turned towards the crowd with a fake smile, attempting to persuade everyone that Helin was indeed drunk. "I am really sorry. My daughter has had too much to drink. I hope everyone doesn't..." As Heron was trying to appease the crowd with a statement and prevent the dinner party from turning into a disaster, Helin was not about to budge on her request.

Ignoring the inopportune timing, she kept asking for her answers. "You have to tell me. What does she have that I don't? Why are you doing this to me? I don't get it." She sighed and continued, "You know that I've loved you ever since I met you. You mean everything to me. All these years, the looks, the talks, the raised heartbeats... you can't say you haven't felt them too. If you really don't love me as you claim, then why have you strung me along? Why have you deceived me for so long? Please tell me that what you just said isn't true. Tell me you don't mean it."

Helin grabbed Roger's hand and looked him in the eye for a few moments, then inquired, "Has my dad said something to change your mind? You have to tell me. If so, you shouldn't pay attention to it. This concerns only us two. No matter his words, my love for you will never change. Trust me. Don't let his words get in between us."

"Helin, all these years... that's not how I see them. You have been misinterpreting everything," Roger began explaining. He paused to think and then clarified, "My affection for you is nothing like what you are insinuating. I have always regarded you as my sister. Yes, I've heard the rumors about other people's interpretations of our relationship but I haven't realized that you actually believed them. Should I have kept my distance from you because of them? I never..."

Roger paused once again. He was playing his part quite well. Adopting a guilty stance, he apologized, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I should have known you may misinterpret this and should have clarified it to you."

Helin's heart sank deep in her stomach and her eyes swelled with tears. "I couldn't have been mistaken for all these years. How can you just deny it all? How can you let it all go down the drain?" she yelled, no believing her ears.

She took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves. Her eyes were staring down and her hands were clenching her purse as if she was on the verge of making a move. Finally, with trembling hands, she took ou a platinum ring embellished with a priceless diamond and confessed, "You know... Today, I was going to propose to you. It was going to be a big surprise; at least I thought it would be. But I was wrong. What you've just said makes me realize that you're not the one. I have just been too stubborn to see it." Roger turned to stone at the sight of the ring. All eyes were on him in that moment. Shocked, he declared, "Oh wow. I don't believe this. As far as I'm concerned, her feelings and intentions are news to me as well!"

Helin's confession provoked a frenzy among the journalists present. To them, there couldn't have been smoke without fire and that was definitely going to be big news. So they all began asking question after question, in order to get to the bottom of the story. They strained against each other, inching closer to Helin and creating a huge commotion.

"How long have you loved Mr. Han for, Miss He? Have you been intimate? Can you tell us more?" They kept shouting without any respect.

The cameras started clicking too. Blinded by flashes, Helin remained silent.

However, the questions kept coming. "Miss He, what kind of relationship do you and Mr. Han have exactly? What has made you buy him that ring? Has he ever hinted at marriage?"

They were not about to stop running their mouths. Eventually, the questions started sounding more like insults, purposely thrown out to trigger a reaction from her. Sheryl grew worried watching Helin get attacked by the group of journalists. She kept glancing over to Roger, hoping he would pull her out or jump in her defense. However, Roger remained silent, acting like nothing was happening. Sheryl finally had enough and rushed to her side. She gave Helin a glance and then turned to face the journalists. "Everyone, please step back. You all can see that Miss He is not quite sober right now. Therefore, anything she may say cannot be counted on. Please do not use her state against her or ruin her reputation based on an erroneous slip of the tongue."

"And who are you? What is your involvement in the matter?" a journalist retaliated. It wasn't every day that they got such a big and juicy story. So the journalists were not about to back off. Sheryl's interference only made the matters worse. They began verbally assaulting her as well. They were using their best scare tactics to get Sheryl out of their way.

In spite of her embarrassment, Sheryl didn't let them have their way. Eventually, someone seemed to recognize her and stated, "Oh! You are Mrs. Lu, right?"

Wherever Charles went, he always had Sheryl by his side. Her presence was not a surprise. Realizing who she was, the journalists started to calm down and stop with the threats.

Even if they were not pleased with her involvement in the matter, they respected Charles. So they slightly backed away from the two women and did not ask any more questions either.

Sheryl felt pretty happy and surprised to learn how well-regarded she was in society. She had hoped this would be the end of the night's problems, but Helin wasn't done yet. She was still unwilling to believe what Roger had told her. Desperate for closure, she asked him, "Roger, I just want to ask you one last time. Whom are you choosing to marry, me... or this woman?"

Roger gave her the barest hint of a smile. He had never loved Helin and didn't care much about her feelings either. Plus, he was getting fed up of her scenes.

So he decided to be straightforward with her. "Bessie and I have a real, solid relationship. Helin, you are too young to understand what love is. For me, you've always been a sister. As for your feelings towards me, they're probably infatuation at best. This is not love. I trust that you will soon realize it too." His answer left Helin numb. He had crushed any of her remaining hopes and dreams.

She took a deep breath. She had never felt so stripped off of her dignity. After what felt like an eternity, Helin finally accepted the truth. "Fine, I get it."

With nothing else left to say, she set out for the gate. A minute later, she was gone. Sheryl intended to chase after her but was stopped by Roger, who held her arm tightly. Irritated enough, she turned and shouted at him, "What's wrong with you? Let me go."

"Why are you here?" he pried. Roger had not expected to see Sheryl there. The situation was a bit awkward for him but all he could do was to act calmly and continue to play along.

He had a goal in mind and was willing to do anything for it.

"Why are you asking? Huh? Tell me!" She demanded, infuriated. She pulled her arm out of his hold and expressed her disappointment. "Roger, now I really regret giving you a hand when you were in trouble three years ago. You don't deserve it. You aren't half the man I thought you were."

Sheryl didn't want to waste any more time talking to Roger. She immediately rushed out in hopes to still catch up to Helin.

However, Helin was gone without a trace.

That caused her to turn into a bundle of nerves, as she was afraid that Helin might do something stupid. She decided to reach out to Heron and ask for his help. Seeing Sheryl's honest concern, Heron got really moved. With a resigned expression, he instantly consoled her, "Oh, this child of mine! Never a dull moment with her! Sorry to make you worried but you don't have to be. She knows how to take care of herself. She always has."

Heron then caught sight of Roger in the distance, who had just raised his glass and was about to propose a toast. The image felt like adding salt on the wound for the poor father.

So he excused himself, "Well... Looks like I'll be leaving now." The hostess was gone anyway, so it was impolite even for Sheryl to stay there any longer. She offered Heron a respectful bow and then made her way out of the venue as well. Her driver was waiting outside patiently. As soon as she opened the door, a large shadow of a man overcast her.

"Wait a minute, Sheryl," Roger called out.

Sheryl turned around, a little surprised to see him approach her again. Then her brows creased into a demeaning stare. She was appalled by his earlier disregard for Helin. No matter what had happened between them, he should have at least tried to defend her reputation publicly. Instead, he humiliated her even more. That kind of a person could not call himself a man.

Moreover, Sheryl could easily tell that he didn't love Bessie either.