The Apple of My Eye novel Chapter 1457

Leila's body went rigid at the mention of Melissa. She was a little embarrassed to tell Holley the truth.

She had already made contact with Melissa. The result was not satisfactory at all. Superficially, Leila had asked Melissa to help her with her financial dilemma, but in reality, she had wanted to take advantage of the meeting to have a progressive talk with Melissa, to repair the relationship between them. But Leila was repelled by her. Besides, Melissa even demanded that they stop contacting each other any further.

Telling Holley the truth about their meeting would mean admitting her failure. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

"It's just so-so. Why?" Leila replied, after some hesitation.

"If you want to be back in Dream Garden, you have to regain Melissa's trust. She is your only way in. With her help, it will be easier for you to go back and stay with the Lu family."

Secretly, Leila rolled her eyes and whined in her heart, 'Regain Melissa's trust? It's easier said than done. Why don't you help me repair my relationship with the old hag?'

The debit card seemed to have been the last thing Melissa was willing to give her as a genuine gesture of their friendship. Now that she had taken the money, they were even. Leila knew that Melissa was only willing to look out for herself. When Charles had demanded her to leave Dream Garden, Melissa didn't stand up for her. And because of that, she was now living this miserable life.

"How am I supposed to win back her trust? Do you have any bright idea? To be honest, Melissa and I had a falling out. We are not in a good place right now."

Holley was pissed. She inwardly cursed Leila and considered her an utter fool. Leila had stayed in the Lu family's house for quite a while, and should have had numerous opportunities to bring down Sheryl.

However, she wound up getting driven out of Dream Garden instead and even worse than that, she had completely lost Melissa's trust. Holley was tired just imagining what was going through Leila's mind. She remembered how Melissa had adored and trusted Leila back when she had first moved into the Lu family. Holley was rather disappointed by Leila's poor tactics. In her opinion, Leila's misery was no one's fault but hers. She was the only one to be blamed for her downfall.

Silently, Holley closed her eyes without responding. Clueless, Leila wondered whether Holley was just ignoring her, or was just sunk into some deep contemplation.

The massage helped relax their tense nerves. When Holley opened her eyes again, her cheeks radiated energy and vigor, and her eyes looked sharp and bright.

Feeling refreshed, she finally broke the silence between them and suggested, "Think about it. How long have you stayed by her side? You must know her very well. Consider what Melissa cares about the most. If you want to win her trust back, you will have to give her what she desires the most. That's her weakness, and you can take advantage of it."

Leila contemplated Holley's words. With a blank expression, she ran her fingers over her lap.

'What is it that Melissa desires?' Leila asked herself. Countless assumptions crossed her mind in a flash, but she failed to pin-point the right answer.

Holley saw that Leila was struggling with her memories, and decided to not add excess pressure on her. She was confident that Leila would figure it out sooner or later. Besides, to discredit Sheryl was not an easy thing. All Holley had now was time. She thought it was better to take advantage of the time she had and proceed slowly.

Leila frowned and pressed her lips together into a thin line. She kept looking back to how much she got along with Melissa. She was sure that Melissa cared about her, but she didn't know how much. As she continued to follow that thought, Leila got stuck in the chaos of her mind.

To her knowledge, Melissa had always sought to get absolute authority over the Lu family, and she fancied luxurious items.

Even with that information at hand, Leila still found it hard to figure out what exactly she could use as a leverage.

Holley patted Leila on the shoulder, and said as gently as she could, "Relax. Take your time to think about it. I am not in much of a hurry; I can wait. Just let me know when you have a clear picture in your mind. We'll then make a solid plan together to lure Melissa into our trap."