The Apple of My Eye novel Chapter 1362

As Charles fixed his gaze on her, Leila felt as if she were sitting on thorns. With the atmosphere as cold as death, she lost her appetite, and abruptly stood up to leave the dining hall. She kept walking until she found a secluded corner before pulling out her phone and answering Jim.

"Where the hell have you been? Why haven't you been answering my calls? Are you out of your mind?" she half-whispered, half-shouted furiously.

"Please calm down! Put your heart back in your chest, won't you? I'm not going anywhere. Just take it easy," he replied all too casually as if he was playing with some naughty kitten. The tone made Leila so insecure, and her instincts told her something was wrong.

"Okay, I'm serious! Where is Shirley? You need to bring her back to me now! Charles has his eye on me. Things will get too complicated if he figures anything out. You'd better do exactly what I tell you to do!" Leila blurted out in one angry, restless breath.

Meanwhile, all Jim could think about as she rambled was how much he despised her—all he could do was wonder how much of an idiot she could be. Things had already gone so far, but she still had no idea what would happen. Never would Jim loosen the falcon until he saw the hare. Only when he got what he wanted would he bring Shirley back. Now that he had bet his happy and free life on her, Shirley was his ready source of money.

Even though Leila was too stupid to get a clue, he didn't give a damn what Charles would do to her. The only thing on his mind was the ransom of 10 million. With that money in his account, he could get any woman he wanted, and Leila was a complete history to him at this point.

But, on the flip side, he thought not to waste such a perfect chance. He couldn't deny that he longed for Leila for quite a long time, and thinking of her delicate skin and pretty face made his blood go rushing.

"Since you care so much about that little girl, why don't you come over and take a look at her yourself? I'll text you my location. We can talk about this when you're here. I'll be waiting for you," he said, absentmindedly rubbing his chin with a vicious smile.

If he was standing in front of a mirror, he would see himself looking like a starved wolf.

His eyes were furious and deadly sharp, aiming at his target with greed and malice.

If Leila was around, she'd be scared to death by the expression he wore. Jim thought about how she would look as she hurled herself obliviously into the trap he set.

So eager to see how Shirley was doing, Leila let her guard down, thinking nothing of Jim's invitation.

"Okay, give me your location. I'll be there as soon as possible," she said in a haste.

"You need to keep in mind that Shirley's life is in your hands now," Jim threatened. "If I find that you're not alone when you arrive, I'll slit her throat without batting an eyelid. Do I make myself clear?"

His harsh tone took her aback and triggered something in Leila's head. Something felt off, but she couldn't tell exactly what it was. Weren't they pretending to kidnap Shirley to intimidate Charles? Why did Jim sound like he was making some pretense into a reality? That absolutely wasn't her plan.

It was clear that Jim was leading Leila by the nose now. If he had shown her before that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, she would be paying enough attention. Forgetting they were on the phone, she nodded hastily before agreeing with a stammer.

Immediately after the call, she received a text containing only the location, and nothing else. Something about this felt ominous.

Jim had always been careful about being found out. Learning from him, Leila realized that she needed to take early measures in case anything happened. With that in mind, she opened up the automatic tracking software on her new phone, only to find out that Jim had thought of it before her. The phone he used must have been thrown away because it wasn't moving at all, according to the map on Leila's phone. A moment later, any trace of it was lost, and Leila guessed Jim already destroyed it.

Heaving a long, deep sigh, Leila returned to the dining hall in low spirits.

"Leila, take a seat and have some more! You barely ate," Melissa invited hospitably, afraid that Leila wasn't eating too much.

"Thank you, Aunt Melissa. You're too kind. But I've had enough. I need to go now. My friend called me, and something urgent came up, so he needs my help. I'm sorry. I really have to go. Please take your time eating. See you, Charles," Leila explained rather hurriedly as to not arouse any suspicion.