The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1743 A Careless Mistake

Sheryl was fuming as she thought hard about everything that had been going on. Finally, she had had enough. The moment she made up her mind to go to Shining Company and see Charles, she began gathering her things.

No matter what was bound to happen this time, Sheryl was determined to replace out everything she could. If Charles still refused to sign the divorce papers, she would fight with everything she had. She didn't mind butting heads with anyone.

As soon as Sheryl stepped out of her office, her phone rang. It was Isla calling.

As a matter of fact, Isla had been calling the entire day, but Sheryl's phone had been busy during each call. It had been driving Isla nuts. When the call finally connected, Isla pouted and asked with exaggerated sadness in her voice, "Sheryl, who have you been talking to this entire time? I couldn't reach you. It seemed like you were on the phone with someone for an unbelievably long time. Should I be jealous?"

Isla had said all this in jest, but Sheryl was not in the mood to participate. It was fortunate that they were talking on the phone. This way, Isla had no way of seeing the look of sorrow on Sheryl's face. If they had been talking face to face, Isla would have felt just as sad for her friend.

Sheryl drew in a deep breath and spoke into her phone, "Isla, Charles is with Leila again. I want a divorce, but he's not cooperating. Right now, I'm on my way to Shining Company. I'm about to clear things out and replace out exactly what's going on. You and Aron enjoy yourselves. I have to hang up now."

Sheryl, in an anxious state, had said all this in one breath. She was about to end the call when she heard Isla's slightly panicked voice.

"Ah, wait a moment!" Isla shouted. Sheryl's finger was hovering over the End Call button, but she didn't press it.

"What?" Sheryl had no choice now but to let Isla speak. There had been genuine urgency in Isla's voice.

"It's possible that there's one thing you still don't know. It's important, and I think you should know..." Isla hesitated.

She didn't know if it was the right time to tell Sheryl. After all, Sheryl was undoubtedly already feeling terrible at the moment. Isla had always thought it was because of things that remained unclear between Charles and Leila.

"What's the matter? Just tell me," Sheryl asked, feeling confused. If Isla had been there, she would have seen Sheryl's bemused frown.

"Charles' company lost a big project recently, greatly damaging the company's reputation. I think this is not the best time to go there. I heard from some of the Shining Company employees that Charles is dispirited these days. I heard that he drinks every day to deal with his worries."

Just like Sheryl had before, Isla also said all this in one breath. As she was speaking, she noticed that Sheryl had not reacted at all, so she stopped and waited to see if Sheryl had anything to say. When Sheryl heard this revelation, she felt uneasy.

She knew Charles wouldn't make this kind of mistake. Something suddenly occurred to her. What if Charles couldn't focus on his own issues because she was pestering him about the divorce? Could this have caused him to make the careless mistake that endangered the company?

At this thought, Sheryl shrank back. The will to confront Charles was gone. Only guilt remained in her heart.

"Sher, are you okay?"

Isla waited for a long while and didn't hear a peep from her friend. She began to worry that she had made Sheryl feel worse than she had at the beginning.

Sheryl detected a hint of worry in Isla's voice. She instinctively shook her head, but then she remembered that they were talking on the phone and that Isla could not see her.

She cleared her throat and responded softly, "Don't worry. I am fine. Have a great time with Aron. I can't wait for you to get back."

Her response had been casual. It was as if they had not been talking about anything serious at all. Her calm tone broke Isla's heart.

Isla knew that Sheryl was hiding her emotions and keeping her pain to herself again.

She wanted nothing more at the moment than to fly home and hug Sheryl. If only Sheryl knew that she needed to treat herself better. Isla wanted to comfort her and tell her that all this would pass. "Okay, I see. Take care of yourself," Isla responded. She was about to hang up when an idea occurred to her. "Sher, I think you need to talk to Charles."

"What is there to talk about?"

Sheryl was now both alarmed and confused. She had just decided not to talk to Charles, and now Isla was suggesting that she should, in fact, go to him.

She had wanted to see Charles and talk about the divorce. She had already stepped out of her office when Isla had called, hadn't she? However, because of issues that Charles' company was facing, Sheryl knew it was not the best time to do so.

"Sher, since you have made up your mind about your divorce, I think you and Charles must talk."

Isla no longer went into detail, but she had expressed the idea clearly enough. She knew that Sheryl understood what she meant, and so, she stopped talking.

After a long while, Sheryl said with a tone of resolve, "Isla, I will talk to Charles. Don't worry. I will handle it."

As soon as she was done speaking, she ended the call.

She didn't want Isla to worry about her, so she didn't tell her how she truly felt. After all, Isla was so far away. She was on vacation and should be enjoying herself. Sheryl thought it was selfish to unload all her sorrow onto Isla.

After ending the call, Sheryl stared at her phone. She hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to go and see Charles.

It was clear that there was no escape from this. Whatever was coming her way now, she simply had to face it.

Charles' company had been in trouble this whole time, and it was foolish to think that Charles didn't care. So, Sheryl decided to talk to him. She thought she could even help him figure out a solution. Armed with a sense of purpose, Sheryl marched out of the building and made her way to her car.

Soon, Sheryl reached the building of Shining Company. She didn't go upstairs to replace Charles but sent him a message instead. However, she didn't know if he saw it.

"Charles, I am in the building of Shining Company. Let's have a talk."

Earlier, Sheryl had made it clear that she would end her relationship with Charles and would never see him again. But now, she was asking him to meet her. She thought about how embarrassing the situation was, but she also knew she had no other choice. She couldn't just let this pass without doing anything about it.

Sheryl was a nervous wreck after sending the message. Even if Charles saw it, there was no guarantee that he would agree to meet her.

She waited anxiously in the car. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally saw Charles coming out of the building and walking toward her. But soon, dread took over. Charles was finally here. They were finally going to talk. What was going to happen after that?

Charles walked over to her car. He had a look on his face that Sheryl found hard to read.

Charles hadn't expected this at all. He had thought that she would never want to see him again. He had thought that if they met, it would be because he had insisted.

"Let's go to the coffee shop," Sheryl said as she got out of the car and gestured to the shop right across from them.

Charles didn't respond nor protest.

Taking this as a yes, Sheryl led the way.

The two remained silent as they walked. Fortunately, the shop was very near. Otherwise, both would have suffocated from the silence and the tension.

Charles and Sheryl had both frequented the coffee shop in the past. This time, however, Sheryl felt strange being here. It was as if she hadn't been here for a very long time.