Nancy knew what her absence would do to Sheryl once she left the Lu family. Melissa would surely bully Sheryl, who couldn't even find anymore a friend whom she could share her personal dilemmas with.
Just by thinking about this, Nancy couldn't help feeling sorry for Sheryl. So after a moment's silence, she didn't protest anymore. Instead, she started sweeping the floor.
For Melissa, she was glad to see Nancy not contradicting her any more. It made her feel as if Sheryl was groveling before her.
Putting down her teacup, Leila took Melissa's hand and examined it. She saw there was no swelling, but only a little red spot on the skin.
"Aunt Melissa, save your breath. She's not worth it. Instead, let's run your burn under the cold water in the washroom. Then, I'll apply burn ointment. I don't want to see your burn untreated. It might turn worse!" When Leila raised her head to look at Melissa, her eyes were red, tears ready to flow. She looked as if she wished she had been burnt instead of Melissa.
In the washroom, Leila did first aid on Melissa's burnt hand. She ran it under the cold water and applied the ointment. She even blew her breath on the affected area as she treated it so that Melissa wouldn't feel the pain it caused.
Looking at Leila attending to her, Melissa felt her heart warm and light, like there was a breeze. She felt so comfortable and moved, like being on the clouds.
"Aunt Melissa, are you feeling better?" Leila asked.
"Thank you, dear. I feel much better now. You're so sweet!" Melissa looked at Leila with satisfaction.
'She's such a nice lady! Oh, I don't understand why my son doesn't like her and insists on being with Sheryl. What does Sheryl have that Leila doesn't have?' With each passing day, Melissa grew fonder of Leila. She couldn't help sighing inwardly as she thought of the situation.
She gently removed her hand from Leila's touch and said, "Thank you, Leila. Wait here for a moment. I'll go upstairs to check why Charles hasn't come down yet."
Melissa was trying so hard to manipulate the situation, preventing Sheryl from finding a chance to win Charles back.
Top on Melissa's list was to keep Charles and Sheryl from being alone together and add the conflict between the two of them and the presence of Leila as spices. She believed that the lesser time Charles and Sheryl had for each other, the better chance of separating them. And, rating her efforts in putting her plans into action, she could say that she was highly successful. All she was waiting for was for Charles to eventually shift his attention to Leila.
Returning from her reverie, Melissa left Leila and went upstairs.
Leila's eyes were sparkling. She was as determined as Melissa.
All she had to do was always be in the good side of Melissa. She knew once Melissa succeeded in breaking Charles and Sheryl apart, she would land the spot in the Lu family. She could see herself as the future wife of Charles under the support of Melissa.
Meanwhile, moans filled the room at the other side of the door. Sheryl and Charles were making out in the bedroom when someone suddenly knocked on the door.
The knock made Sheryl froze. Her face turned bright red. It woke her up from the dreamy reality. Then, she tried to push Charles away, but her efforts were wasted.
For Charles, the moment was so amazing. He was enjoying every bit of the moment that made him so reluctant to stop whatever he was doing to the soft body underneath him. He definitely heard the knock but decided to turn a deaf ear. Seeing his expression, Sheryl knew that he wouldn't stop unless being forced to.
"Charles! Stop! There's someone outside!"
Starting to get nervous, Sheryl worried that they could be heard by the person outside.
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