The Apple of My Eye

Chapter 1783 Couldn't Take It Anymore

Sheryl hesitated, thought for a while, and then responded with a nod and a bright smile. "Don't worry,

the company is doing just fine!"

"How are things between you and Charles?" Isla asked in a more tender tone.

Isla was actually dying to ask about Leila, but with a great deal of self-restraint, she decided not to.

Instead, she asked a less direct question.

Hearing Charles' name made Sheryl turn into ice. Her chest suddenly felt tight, and it seemed hard to

breathe. She quickly controlled her emotions and gave a non-committal shrug. "Nothing has changed

on that front too. He still refuses to divorce me, and there's nothing I can do. The only option left is to

wait and go to court. Hopefully, they'll help to settle things."

"But you're still in love with him, aren't you?" Isla looked at Sheryl with a hint of disappointment.

Sheryl avoided meeting Isla's eyes, her action speaking louder than her silence. Isla knew she had hit

the nail on the head.

Knowing full well that Isla had seen right through her, Sheryl was temporarily stumped and didn't know

how to react. She remained silent for a while before attempting to change the topic, "You just arrived.

You must be so tired, aren't you?"

"You can try to change the subject as many times as you like and try to act like everything's fine, but I'd

like to see how long you can last. You know you have to deal with this, eventually,"

Isla told her with a combination of concern and annoyance. But seeing the look on Sheryl's face, she

knew she wasn't going to get any further and was forced to drop the subject for the time being.

But she knew now that her gut feeling was correct. Sheryl was still deeply in love with Charles and

didn't want to let go.

Isla was suddenly glad that she made the right decision. It was definitely not a good idea to tell Sheryl

that Charles had gone travelling with Leila.

They walked out of the airport in silence. Aron went straight home, while Isla went to the office with

Sheryl. Since Sheryl had planned to hold a welcome-back dinner for Isla, everyone in Cloud

Advertising Company got off work earlier than usual and made their way to the restaurant where Sheryl

had made a reservation.

"Miss Zhao, you have no idea what has happened while you were gone! Miss Xia was so busy running

here and there. She barely had time to rest!" Phoebe exclaimed dramatically, looking at Isla with

widened eyes.

Isla immediately saw through Phoebe. She knew there was a deeper motive behind Phoebe's playful

complaining.

She couldn't help laughing at Phoebe's words. She raised her glass and said, "Oh, Phoebe dear, you

really need to work on your acting skills. I know with your superior assistance, there's no way Sheryl

would have overworked herself to death. You're trying to make me feel guilty, aren't you?"

Phoebe laughed guiltily when she realized she hadn't deceived Isla at all. "Oh Miss Zhao, you're too

sharp! You saw right through me!"

"Okay, that's enough you two. You start jabbering like crows as soon as you meet! Don't you get tired?"

Sheryl tried to stop them halfheartedly. She helplessly shook her head at Isla and Phoebe's joking

around. How were they ever going to get any work done if they were like this every time they met?

Since everyone in the company was present today, Sheryl decided to take the opportunity to turn it into

a team-building activity; and, the whole company was out till nine in the evening eating and chatting.

Some of her staff wanted to go for karaoke afterward, and Sheryl was happy to foot the bill. She and

Isla decided not to follow them since they both had families, with their children waiting for them at

home. If they didn't leave immediately, their children would be asleep by the time they arrived home,

and they would waste a whole night of quality time with the kids.

"Miss Xia, please, drive carefully, okay. Let me know when you two have reached home safely,"

Phoebe told Sheryl with genuine concern.

Sheryl saw Phoebe's sincerity and was touched by her loyalty. She nodded gratefully and said, "Don't

worry, I'll take Isla back home. You have fun now, okay?"

Sheryl hadn't touched a single drop of alcohol, so she took on the responsibility of driving Isla home.

Isla, on the other hand, had drunk way too much. All the way home, she had a lot to say, especially

about Charles. She seemed to be a lot more upset than Sheryl was about the whole thing, and

continuously cursed Charles.

"Sheryl, you know what? Charles has to be one of the biggest morons I've ever met! Out of so many

women in this town, he has to go for Leila!? What does he even see in her? She's nothing but a bitch!"

The more Isla spoke, the more emotional she got. She started moving around so much that the car

started shaking. If Charles had been there in front of her eyes right at that moment, she probably would

have punched him a few times.

"It's okay, Isla. I've got this under control. Don't worry about it, I'll take care of everything. Thank you so

much for your care and concern."

Sheryl didn't mind Isla's cursing because she knew that Isla was thinking only of her friend. In a way,

she was actually happy to see Isla like this because it showed how much she cared.

If she were only pretending to care about Sheryl, she wouldn't be behaving like this. In fact, she

wouldn't even have drunk so much. Isla was only being this way because she was really angry and hurt

on her friend's behalf.

"You always say that! You always say that you've got it and not to worry about you. But I still worry!

You've been through so much, and you always keep it to yourself. How long are you going to keep

withstanding your pain? How long can you bear this? I don't know about you, but I can't take it

anymore. Next time that I see either Charles or Leila, I'm not going to let them walk away just like that!"

Isla gestured furiously at Sheryl, her frustration magnified by the alcohol she had consumed.

Sheryl couldn't help smiling. Drunk Isla was so furious and yet so adorable at the same time. She

shook her head in amusement and said in a comforting tone, "Okay, okay. I'll make sure you don't see

either of them ever again!"

Isla never stopped talking and never seemed to get tired. Sheryl just listened to her patiently, nodding

and giving all the responses Isla demanded. By the time they finally arrived at Isla's place, she felt so

relieved to see Aron waiting at the door.

"We had a great time at the company dinner, and she's had quite a lot to drink. I'm sorry she's so

drunk. Please, don't be mad," Sheryl told Aron apologetically.

Aron and Isla had just arrived home from their travels, and Isla really shouldn't have been drinking so

much. Sheryl felt extremely guilty for not being able to stop her and letting her get that drunk.

"Sheryl, don't be so hard on yourself. Isla had already planned to have a good time with you guys upon

returning home. Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. It's late now, and you should get home quickly.

Have a good rest, okay!" Aron couldn't bear to see Sheryl feeling so guilty and comforted her instantly.

Sheryl didn't leave until she saw that Aron and Isla had gone upstairs safely.

A while later, Sheryl arrived at her own house. Her children were still awake, so she decided to tell

them a bedtime story.

"Mom, can you tell us this story tonight?" As soon as she had washed her face and brushed her teeth, Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

Shirley eagerly pounced on the bed and held out a book to Sheryl.

"Which story is it?" Sheryl took Shirley into her arms and took a look at the storybook.

She read the title and saw that it was about dinosaurs. Since when had her children gotten so

interested in dinosaurs? She couldn't remember.

"Okay, dear. I'll read you this story."

Although she found it odd that her children had suddenly switched to a heavier topic than their usual

fairy tales, she wasn't going to deprive them of their fun. After all, it wasn't such a bad thing to be

interested in dinosaurs.

Lately, the children seemed to fall asleep easily. These days, before she could even finish telling a

story, they had already fallen asleep. Hearing their slow, steady breathing gave her an instant sense of

gratification.

She touched their sleeping faces tenderly and suddenly felt a lump in her throat, and her eyes turned

watery. She fought the urge to cry and willed herself not to let any more tears fall.

Before leaving the children's room, she double-checked for the last time that her children were sound

asleep.

As soon as she walked out of the room, she heard Joan crying.

Sheryl was so alarmed, her own urge to cry immediately disappeared. She quickly made her way to

Joan's room and called out, "Joan, are you okay? Did anything happen at home?"