The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1720 Be At Ease

Sheryl was in despair. Charles noticed this, but he couldn't bring himself to say something. He felt a little threatened and worried as he rarely saw Sheryl like this.

By now, Leila was also scowling like Sheryl was. She'd figured Charles would have noticed the efforts she'd put into pleasing him. To her dismay, things didn't happen as she expected. Charles didn't treat her any differently; instead, he still suspected her. She didn't know what to think of Charles because he was acting like a cold-blooded animal right now.

"Charles, it wasn't me! You have to believe me! How could I do something like that?" Leila denied. She gave Charles a look as if to try and dispel his suspicion.

"Enough! I'm not an idiot! I've had enough of this! You've never trusted me!" Sheryl shouted angrily at Charles.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was now letting out all the distress and pain that had been bottled up in her heart.

Charles could feel Sheryl's pain. He tried to reach out his hand to wipe her tears away, but his hand was just shoved aside.

"Sher, I trust you. Of course, I trust you!" Charles tried to reason with Sheryl.

As he spoke, his hand was still reaching out for Sheryl. Sheryl only kept staring back at him. As Charles was about to caress Sheryl's face, she avoided his touch and slapped his hand away. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and yelled, "I don't care if you trust me or not! I just want Shirley back. If she doesn't come back, you're all paying for it."

Sheryl was at a loss-she didn't know what she was going to do as no one trusted her, not even her husband. She felt she was going crazy, especially if she continued to stay in this room any longer. Without missing a beat, Sheryl turned and rushed out of the room, ready to leave Dream Garden.

Upon seeing this, Charles felt anxious. He attempted to follow Sheryl, but he felt a grip on his arm from behind. It was Melissa. She acted fast as she knew she couldn't let Charles follow Sheryl. "Charles, why are you being so stupid? If Shirley really is missing, then why would she waste time on us, instead of just putting all her efforts into looking for Shirley? I think she's just making this up. I don't think Shirley's even missing," Melissa said firmly.

Charles hesitated upon seeing the determined look on Melissa's face. He stayed put while he thought this over.

When Melissa noticed that Charles was hesitating, she continued, "The reason why Sheryl came here in the first place was just to mess with us! She must be up to something! Maybe she wants you to chase after her! I don't think she truly cares about you. If she did, why would she lie to you like that?"

"Enough! Mom, Sheryl won't risk Shirley's life just to trick me!" Charles interrupted Melissa before she could finish talking. He couldn't stand hearing Melissa talk about Shirley like that.

"Charles, I'm going to tell you something. Yesterday, I went to talk to her. She must've gotten angry with that, so she came here today to tell us off. She's just looking for trouble. If Shirley is really missing, why have we not heard about it from the press? It would be a major event that would definitely be reported on! But only Sheryl seems to know that Shirley is missing. Don't you think that's strange?" Melissa said, trying to prove her point.

Leila was quietly standing next to Melissa and watched the shift on Charles' face as Melissa tried to reason with him.

"Charles, when Sheryl came here and saw that you weren't here yet, she threatened us. You should've heard all the things she was saying! She wasn't even listening to us. It was all ridiculous. Then she threatened all of us again right to your face! Can't you see what kind of woman she is? She doesn't even care about you anymore!" Leila finally added when she noticed Charles' doubts growing.

It worked as Charles was convinced that Sheryl had indeed changed. She didn't love or care about him anymore. If she did, how could she say such spiteful words to him?

Taking a deep breath, Charles suddenly shook off Melissa's grip on his arm and said, "Mom, stay out of it. This is between me and Sheryl!" Then he left before Melissa could say another word. He was too late. Sheryl had already left.

Melissa was upset that her own son wouldn't listen to her. As she recalled how violently Charles had shaken off her grip on his arm, she fell to the sofa out of distress.

"Aunt Melissa, relax!" Leila quickly sat next to Melissa and gently rubbed her back to soothe her.

After a while, Melissa was able to calm herself down. Then she cursed, "Sheryl is such a terrible woman! Why is she messing with this family?"

Melissa felt so helpless as the situation had spun more and more out of control. She realized how much Charles valued Sheryl, and he wouldn't just let go of her that easily. She noticed now that there were some flaws in their plan. Sheryl and Charles' relationship was becoming increasingly difficult to destroy.

"Aunt Melissa, don't get upset! Charles will see Sheryl's true colors one day. When that day comes, he will turn his back against her. Then we will have succeeded! So don't give up!" Leila said.

However, this was just a front, as Leila understood what Melissa was feeling. She, too, was feeling dejected. She was worried Shirley might have really gone missing. If Sheryl wasn't lying, she was scared that Sheryl might hold them accountable. After all, Sheryl might have something on them. Leila didn't know what to expect.

"Leila, are you all right?" Melissa asked curiously as she had tried calling Leila's name several times, but Leila wasn't answering her. Melissa was thirsty and wanted Leila to bring her some water. So she turned to look at Leila and noticed Leila was deep in thought. "I'm fine. Aunt Melissa, what were you saying?" Leila said with a smile. Melissa's voice snapped her out of her daze.

"Could you bring me some water?" Melissa asked weakly. She looked at Leila expectantly.

"Okay, Aunt Melissa. Just wait here, and I'll be right back!"

Leila said. She didn't leave until she had helped Melissa lie down.

Charles was driving his car at a great speed. He was phoning Sheryl all the while, yet she wasn't answering. He figured that Sheryl must have turned her phone off. He decided to go to her office, as he didn't know where she was. He could only hope that she would be there.

Soon, he arrived at Cloud Advertising Company. Wasting no time, he parked his car and rushed out to the gate. However, before he was able to enter, he was suddenly blocked by security.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lu. Mrs. Xia has ordered that no one from the Lu Family may enter!" the security guard said helplessly.

This angered Charles. When he raised his head to look at the security, he saw the dilemma in the man's eyes.

Charles didn't want to give the security guard a hard time as he knew that the man was only doing his job. All Charles could do was sigh and shake his head as he turned and left.