The Apple of My Eye novel Chapter 1769

'What is wrong with people nowadays?' Phoebe thought with irritation. Charles was still married to Sheryl, yet he had the audacity to be in the mall, shopping with another woman. Phoebe couldn't help but wonder whether those rumors online were true.

A look of sadness crept onto her face. She thought how disheartened Sheryl would be if she came to know about this.

"President Lu, I paid for this. Shouldn't it belong to me then?" Phoebe gathered some courage and asked Charles.

In Phoebe's eyes, Charles was a serious man. Normally, while speaking to him, she always sounded submissive.

But now, thinking about what Charles had done to Sheryl, Phoebe felt no respect for him. Hence, she mustered up the courage to confront him.

Charles hadn't expected to see Phoebe here either. He hadn't felt like coming in the first place. And now bumping into Phoebe, he cursed himself for making this decision. He tried his best to look composed. There was no way he would show his disappointment to them.

"President Lu, it has been a long time since I saw you," Josef said and greeted Charles with a smile. He had noticed the manner in which Phoebe was glaring at Charles. Not wanting to make any trouble, he decided to step in.

"President Zhang?"

Charles looked at Josef and then at Phoebe. 'Wait, what is happening? Are these two dating?' Charles thought to himself.

No one had told Charles that Josef and Phoebe were together, so he was confused to see them shopping like a couple.

"Charles, this is for Aunt Melissa!" Leila was annoyed that Charles was talking to the man who seemed to be Phoebe's boyfriend, so she grabbed Charles' arm and complained.

"It's just clothing! Since Phoebe has already paid for it, I think she deserves it more. Plus, I am certain we can find something else for Melissa," Charles snapped at Leila, knowing that she was trying to seek attention.

Leila was embarrassed as she felt Charles push her away. But she didn't want to lose face, so she asked the manager, "I pre-ordered this, right?"

The manager turned his head around, embarrassed. Leila had pre-ordered the item. She also mentioned that she would stop by and take it yesterday. But she hadn't shown up yesterday, so he thought Leila didn't want it anymore, and he sold it to Phoebe. Never had he anticipated that such a thing would happen.

"Leila, let's go to another store."

Charles didn't want to fight with Phoebe over a piece of clothing. In truth, he wasn't doing this for Phoebe; instead, it was for Sheryl's sake. The second Phoebe went back to the office she would inform Sheryl about what happened. This was something he knew with certainty. He didn't want Sheryl to hate him more than she already did.

But to Leila, this whole thing was absurd. 'After all, Phoebe is just a secretary. Why should I be a bigger person and give it to Phoebe?' her mind reasoned.

Leila had thought that since Charles hadn't seen Sheryl for such a long time, he wouldn't care about her anymore. However, Leila's suspicion turned out to be wrong. Just by seeing Sheryl's secretary, Charles had once again gone back to thinking of Sheryl. 'It seems like Charles' heart is still with that wretched woman, ' Leila realized with annoyance.

With no other choice, she suppressed her anger. What else could she do? In this dire situation, all she could do was follow Charles and leave the store.

After Charles left, Phoebe's anger still remained. Phoebe had never really liked Leila, who had caused Sheryl endless trouble. If it wasn't for Josef's presence, Phoebe would have slapped Leila right across her face. 'That woman is in need of a slap, ' she thought angrily.

Josef patted Phoebe's back and attempted to calm her down. In his soothing voice, he said, "It's okay, Phoebe. We should let President Xia and President Lu deal with their problems. I'm sure they will sort it out one day. As outsiders, it is not our place to interfere."

Phoebe nodded her head understandingly. She knew that Josef was right, but the sight of Charles and Leila together repulsed her. She prayed that Sheryl wouldn't find out about it. 'I can only imagine what she will go through if she comes to know about it, ' she thought with a sigh.

"Uh-huh, let's go."

Phoebe took her purchase and left with Josef. But obviously, Leila had ruined her day.

Josef could tell Phoebe had lost her interest in shopping, so he took her home.

Things weren't going very smoothly for Leila, either. A lot was going on in her mind right now. She had a tough time hiding her annoyance.