The Apple of My Eye novel Chapter 1949

"Okay, Daddy. Please, go and get some rest, and we'll be on our way!" After Clark had spoken, he held Shirley's hand, and both turned to leave. Clark was quite wise beyond his years. Despite his age, he voluntarily shared the burden of taking care of Shirley.

Charles managed a pleased yet bitter smile as he watched his children's receding figures. He was beyond grateful that they grew up well, but he could not help but feel a bit of emotional distance between him and them.

After the kids had left, Charles lay down on the bed, feeling exhausted. The waft of a light, familiar scent reached his nose, intoxicating him. It made him feel as though Sheryl was right there next to him.

In the meantime, Sheryl was downstairs receiving some late guests. When she spotted Clark and Shirley hobbling down the stairs, she politely excused herself and walked toward her two kids.

"Clark, where's your father now?" Sheryl could not wait to find out what Charles was doing, and her slightly raised voice revealed her anxiety.

Clark shot Sheryl a frustrated gaze and then turned to Shirley. The two exchanged a knowing look. As if they had rehearsed, both of them shook their heads at the same time.

Seeing the look of frustration on Sheryl's face, Clark cuddled up to her in an attempt to soothe her worries. "Mom, what is it? We don't know where Daddy is, but we figured that he must have drunk too much."

"I see. Go over there and play with the other kids. Have some fun!" Sheryl gently patted the kids on their heads and promptly rejoined the conversation she had left.

An hour later, things had quieted down. The little gathering was about to end.

Only after Sheryl had sent away all the other guests, did she walk with Damian to the front gate.

"Thank you again for coming," she said warmly.

"My pleasure. By the way, I don't know if this is out of line, but may I call you 'Sher' from now on?" Damian looked at Sheryl expectantly.

Although Sheryl knew that there wasn't a deep connection between the two of them, nor had they known each other for a long time, she still trusted him very much. So she nodded with a smile. "By all means."

Damian laughed. "You just made my day. It's getting late. I must go now. Please, Sher, take care of yourself and have a good night's sleep!" He could barely hide his smile, as the tiny change in the way he addressed Sheryl had truly overjoyed him. After bidding Sheryl goodbye, Damian took off.

Seeing Damian leave, Sheryl dragged her exhausted body back into the house. She could really use a good night's sleep, but not before she had tucked the kids in first.

The kids were also exhausted from all the playing they had done during the day. Before taking them to their beds, Sheryl hugged them affectionately, took them to brush their teeth, and wash their faces.

After cleaning up here and there, Sheryl finally tucked them in.

Almost immediately, Clark and Shirley drifted off to sleep, making Sheryl feel warm. Finally, she gave each of them a good night kiss, took one last look at them, and then left their bedroom.

Because of everything she had done the whole day, Sheryl was bone-weary. She was even more exhausted now than when she was in Cloud Advertising Company. With eyes that could hardly open, Sheryl managed to take a quick shower with the lights out. She had no strength left to turn them on. At last, she headed to the bedroom for that long-overdue rest.

Sheryl crashed onto the bed. She was about to grab a blanket when she suddenly felt somebody getting closer to her. Before she could even react, this person—a man—had already positioned himself on top of her.

Sheryl, now shocked, was about to call for help when she recognized who the man was; it was Charles!

She immediately relaxed, and her once-elevated heartbeat began to slow down. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. Now, she was no longer scared, but she was still annoyed.

"Hey, what are you doing? Knock it off!" Sheryl tried to push Charles away from her.

However, Sheryl's strength was no match for that of Charles'. Even after several attempts, Sheryl failed to push Charles away, and now their bodies were pressed intimately against each other.

Despite Sheryl's resistance, Charles began kissing her all over. Moments later, he was trying to take her clothes off by force. Sheryl couldn't help but notice how different this was from Charles' gentle and polite attitude earlier that day. It was clear that he was still under the influence of alcohol.

All of a sudden, his warmth, his scent, his power over her, and all these familiar feelings overpowered Sheryl. When she felt that she was about to succumb, she came to her senses and, with all her might, tried to push him away one last time.

Finally, she succeeded in fending him off. However, pushing him away with such force caused Sheryl to fall from the bed as well.

She immediately got up to her feet and ran for the door.