The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1714 He Only Cared About The Kids

"Sheryl, why don't you give Charles a chance? Talk to him," Isla finally said and turned to look at Sheryl. It was obvious that Sheryl was still in love with Charles. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in so much pain. "That won't be necessary. I have nothing to explain, besides, for men, sex comes first. He doesn't care if I decide to leave. He only cares about the kids!" Sheryl explained, forcing a smile. She tried her best to sound like it was not a big deal, but her tone betrayed her, so she looked away.

Isla felt bad when she heard the sadness in Sheryl's words. Gently patting Sheryl's left hand, she said, "Sheryl, no matter what you decide to do, I will be here to support you!"

"Isla, don't worry about me. I will move on. Believe me, I can do this!" Sheryl never tried to hide her love for Charles because it was so deep. It was not like she could just forget him as she wished. He would always hold a special place in her heart.

"Yes, I know you can." Isla replied, giving her a reassuring smile.

Cloud Advertising Company had a lot of business clients recently. Isla tried to leave most of them to Sheryl because she knew that keeping her busy would take her mind off the sad things happening in her life. Therefore, Isla had a lot of free time, while Sheryl was as busy as a bee.

At the Dream Garden

Charles just got home from work. Entering the living room, he handed his coat to Nancy, who was waiting by the door. Melissa saw him the moment he came in and welcomed him in a gentle voice, "Charles, you're home. How was your day today? Are you tired?"

"No," Charles replied, his expression was blank.

Hearing such a short response, Melissa felt worried. She had worked out their plan smoothly with Leila the other night, but since then, Charles seemed to have been down in the dumps.

"Charles, you're making me worry. I hate seeing you so gloomy." Taking Charles' hand, Melissa tried to stop him as he was about to go upstairs.

"Mom, what else do you want me to do?" Charles impatiently asked his mother.

As if on cue, Melissa covered her chest and started coughing.

Seeing his mother coughing endlessly, Charles suddenly felt worried. He completely forgot about his earlier coldness to her, and concern was now written all over his face. "Mom, are you okay?"

"You are making me deliberately angry. Maybe you really want me to be sick. Am I right? I'm your mother. You're my son. Do you think I would do anything to harm you?" Looking at Charles, Melissa did her best to convince him.

"Mom, what are you talking about? Why don't you sit down and take a moment's rest first? Here, let me help you," Charles offered.

He knew about his mother's poor health condition. At the same time, he also knew that his mother hated Sheryl like sin. It upset Charles that Melissa was urging him to divorce Sheryl, using her illness to constantly bring it up. But the truth was, Charles didn't want to divorce Sheryl, so he avoided the discussion whenever he could.

Charles assisted Melissa as she sat down on the sofa, asking Nancy to get her a glass of water.

"Mom, drink this," Charles said softly, feeling worried as he handed Melissa the glass.

"Charles, I don't want to pressure you. As you know, Sheryl doesn't want to stay with you anymore. And since you and Leila already slept together, don't you think it's only right that you marry her?" Melissa commented sincerely.

Thinking about what his mother just said, Charles knew that she was right. But he couldn't just move on and marry Leila. So every time she mentioned it, he would remain silent. Melissa knew that she should stop now, saying more wouldn't help. "Well." Melissa sighed. "Do whatever you like. It's not like I will have many years left. Just do as you please!" "Mom, please. Don't worry about me and Sheryl. I will handle that." Furrowing his eyebrows, Charles looked at his mother patiently.

Charles felt that he was in a difficult position. Everyone kept pushing and forcing him to make a decision now. He was used to it before, but now it was different.

"Ahem! Ahem!" Melissa started to cough again. She looked miserable.

"Aunt Melissa, are you okay?" Leila asked as she rushed in. She had just arrived from work. Hearing Melissa coughing, she felt extremely worried.

Immediately running to Melissa's side, she rubbed her back gently, hoping to ease her pain.

"Leila, you're back! I'm fine." Forcing a smile, Melissa welcomed her

"Charles, it's okay. You can go back to your work. I'll take care of Aunt Melissa!" Leila said in a considerate tone.

Knowing that Charles must feel helpless in such an awkward situation, Leila decided to take over instead.

"Okay then. I'm going back to my room. Please, take good care of my mother." Without doubt, Charles was worried about his mother. But he couldn't help but lose his patience whenever she started talking about Sheryl and the divorce.

After they confirmed that Charles was already upstairs, Leila and Melissa started chatting.

"Leila, why didn't you get back together? Is it because he didn't want to?" Melissa whispered in a low voice.

Leila looked around, making sure that no one would hear them, before she replied, "No. Don't worry, Aunt Melissa. Charles is nice to me. After that night, he doesn't treat me coldly anymore!" "Really?" Leila's news sounded like music to Melissa's ear.

Leila nodded shyly.

"That's great!" Melissa heaved a long sigh with relief. She pat her chest, feeling fulfilled.

"Madam, dinner is ready." Walking out from the kitchen, Nancy went to where Melissa and Leila were seated, her face showing no emotions at all.

"Okay. Tell Charles to come down and join us." Melissa ordered Nancy in an annoyed tone. Now that Sheryl had left Dream Garden, Nancy was the only eyesore in this household.

Noting her instructions, Nancy went upstairs to get Charles and left Leila and Melissa.

The door of Charles' study was shut closed, so Nancy knocked twice and waited.

"Come in." Tilting his head, Charles looked to check who was at the door.

Pushing the door open, Nancy came in quietly. Seeing that Charles was busy working on some paperwork, she slowly walked towards him to announce, "Sir, dinner is ready."

"Okay, I got it. Thank you, Nancy." Forcing a smile, Charles closed the file he was working on then followed Nancy out of the study.

While walking down the stairs, he saw Melissa and Leila laughing in the living room. Charles had to admit that Leila had her own way with his mother. To be honest, he never heard Melissa laugh happily while talking with anyone, aside from Leila.

"Mom, let's go and have dinner now," Charles called out to Melissa before going straight to the dining table.

Leila straightened her face and led Melissa to the dining table.

After Nancy had finished setting the table, they started to have dinner.

"Charles, have more," Leila said, adding another serving to his bowl. "There are so many things to deal with in the company. Look at you. You seemed to have lost weight." Leila wanted Charles to feel that she was concerned with both him and the company.

But Charles didn't respond. Although Leila put another scoop of food into his bowl, he didn't even look at it. He continued eating another dish on his plate instead.

Feeling embarrassed, Leila turned to Melissa. She felt awkward that all her efforts were in vain, but she still managed to pull up a smile.