Chapter 549 An Odd Reunion


    Although excited, Sheryl was also fidgety as she was waiting for Charlie in the parking lot of a


    restaurant. She was worried that he might get entangled in the middle of the same horrendous road


    traffic she had experienced thest time. She knew that with that kind of chaos, the possibility that


    Charlie would lose direction while on his way to meet her was huge. Little did she know that Charles


    apanied and drove Charlie to their rendezvous.


    Charles carefully drove toward the entrance of the restaurant''s parking lot. As soon as he entered, he


    quickly spotted an open slot. He reverse-parked his SUV and pushed the ''Engine Off'' button on the


    car''s dash board. An hour before they headed to the meeting ce, Charlie already showed him from


    his cell phone the photo of the woman they would meet. He was stunned to see that the woman that


    Charlie named Sheryl was his wife, Autumn. He was so intrigued by the coincidence that he was more


    anxious than Charlie to meet her.


    Nervousness and extreme eagerness enveloped Charles. He tightly held the car''s steering wheel for


    support. He was just seconds from finally seeing his wife. Ironically, his ever burning desire to be with


    Autumn again somehow eluded him.


    Charlie scanned the parking lot with his eyes looking for Sheryl. It wasn''t long until he caught a glimpse


    of her. Charlie excitedly got off from the rear seat of the SUV and rushed toward Sheryl who was


    patiently waiting for him. Charlie greeted heartily,"Sheryl, nice to meet you again."


    Ecstatic, Sheryl lovingly hugged Charlie and chuckled,"Nice to meet you too, kiddo!" Sheryl and Charlie


    were not able to contain their happiness upon seeing each other. The pleasant exchanges of actions


    and words of affection wereparable to a mother and son who didn''t see each other for a very long


    time. Charles who remained sitting in the driver''s seat finallyid his eyes on the woman. At that


    moment and with a bit of a distance from both Charlie and Sheryl, Charles was greeted with a very


    familiar face: simple, refreshing and unforgettable.


    ''She is Autumn. Her face... her body... her voice. I can''t believe it. She is my wife!'' Charles wondered in


    his mind.


    Charles was extremely jubnt at the uncanny reunion with Autumn.


    But, he could not also deny that such an unusual reunion was not easy. It brought back a lot of


    memories about Autumn. The good and bad times they both shared filled his heart with mncholy.


    In a pit of happiness, Sheryl briefly lifted Charlie up after the blissful greetings. She spoke to Charlie in


    a ming tone,"Charlie, I really hope that you have informed your mom of your whereabouts lest she


    be very worried."


    "Sheryl, I''ve found my dad," Charlie quickly responded in an effort to cate Sheryl. Charlie seemed


    pouring his childish affection to Sheryl. He held her hands, looked at her eyes and gleefully


    uttered,"Sheryl, you have nothing to worry about. It was my dad who drove me here."


    "Really?" Sheryl was somewhat stunned and inquired,"Where is your dad?"


    "There he is." Charlie, in an assured voice, pointed at the direction of Charles''s car. He then dragged


    Sheryl to the parked vehicle to show her his dad. At that moment, Charles saw them as they


    approached. He then lifted himself from the driver''s seat to straighten his suit. His hands trembled as


    he was seized with severe nervousness.


    Charles decided to meet Charlie and Sheryl half-way. He opened the car door, and got out hesitatingly


    only to see Sheryl already standing in front of him. Her well-poised manner and elegant look sttered


    on a face of a perfect stranger like him. Sheryl disinterestedly gazed at him and nonchntly waited for


    him to speak.


    In Charles mind and heart, he wondered, ''How could my dear Autumn treat me like this? She treats me


    like someone quite irrelevant and insignificant?''


    Charles awkwardly avoided being close to Sheryl. Charlie who was holding Sheryl''s right hand quickly


    sensed his father''s uneasiness, He decided to do the introduction for the two of them. "Sheryl, he is my


    dad, Charles Lu.


    Dad, this is Sheryl Xia, my dear friend." Then, Charlie with a big smile on his face jokingly added," May


    both of you please dance?"


    Sheryl burst intoughter at Charlie''s humorous introduction. Actually, Sheryl and Charlie considered


    each other as best friends despite their age disparity.


    "It''s nice to meet you, Mr. Lu." Sheryl braced up to shake hands with Charles. "My name is Sheryl Xia,


    Charlie''s friend."


    "It''s my pleasure to meet you too Miss Xia" Charles coyly stretched out his right hand to meet Sheryl''s.


    The familiarly tender feel of Sheryl''s soft hand brought Charlie back to his hallucination. He secretly


    vowed, ''I will not lose you again, my beloved Autumn.


    My persistent efforts and undyingmitment to you will soon be paid off.''


    Charles was too lost in his reveries that he forgot to draw back his hand for a long time. He maintained


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    holding Sheryl''s hand. Sheryl already felt ufortable by the long hand shake. She candidly sensed


    an ulterior motive from Charles.


    Sheryl surmised that Charles, for that moment, was treating her like a prey.


    Charles suddenly read the difort on Sheryl''s face. He was taken aback and instantly let go of


    Sheryl''s hand and apologized. In a fleeting moment, he recovered and then smilingly questioned,"Miss


    Xia, are you a native of Y City?"


    At Charles seemingly probing question, Sheryl''s eyes twitched and her face visibly showed a growing


    suspicion. Sensing Sheryl''s uneasiness, Charles immediately exined his good intention,"Please


    don''t get me wrong, Miss Xia. I asked because you are Charlie''s friend. I just want us to talk more and


    know each other better."


    Sheryl nodded gently. "I perfectly understand it, Mr. Lu."


    In her mind, she though ''I would also be suspicious and interrogate anyone posing as Shirley''s friend.


    Particrly if he or she is a stranger.


    A natural response by parents to protect the interest and safety of their children.''


    Sheryl looked Charles in the eyes and then answered,"I have been living in America for years now. I


    just returned to Y City for a couple of business opportunities."


    Consecutively, Charles threw questions at Sheryl. His ardent desire was for her to stay as long as


    possible in Y city. "So how long do you n to stay in Y City?


    A week more?" Sheryl smiled and said,"I will leave the city upon thepletion of my business agenda


    here."


    She gave an indefinite answer because she was hesitant to part ways with Charlie.


    Charles was determined to detain Sheryl with every possible means. So, he again inquired,"Why not


    settle down in Y City, Miss Xia?"


    "Probably not. America is my home now," Sheryl replied with a gentle smile. She had to honor the


    promise she made to Anthony not to visit Y City again once she returned to America.


    Ironically, Sheryl''s thought about keeping that promise felt much less. She shrank at the thought of


    meeting Shirley''s biological Dad.


    Charles frowned and wondered what had happened to her in the past three years and why she became


    Sheryl Xia. But since he met her again, he would never give up on her.


    Charles held his thought but was confident that Sheryl was being partially dishonest to him about


    something, and he intended to figure that out.


    As they promenaded at a nearby park with Charlie in the middle, the three definitely looked like a


    happy andplete family. Charles checked his watch and then offered,"It is time for supper. Why


    don''t you join us? It is my treat!"


    After reflecting for a moment, Sheryl managed to give her consent,"That sounds good." She sighed and


    thought, ''Sue, anyway, will be out to attend a ball. I''ll just stay and spend more time with Charlie


    tonight. I''ll be leaving soon. I might as well take advantage of this moment, as I won''t be seeing him in


    person again for... possibly forever.''


    However, Sheryl found it quite embarrassing to stay along with Charles.


    Charles selected a posh Japanese restaurant opposite the park. The fine dining restaurant was


    elegantly nestled on top of a carved, wellndscaped hill. Inside, he booked the best corner with a full


    view of the entire park and the city. Charles finally regained hisposure. He began to create a


    scheme on how to win Sheryl''s attention. After ordering their food, his well-trained tongue started to


    weave interesting topics.


    Even though Sheryl was seized with memory loss, she indeed found Charles so attractive, as she


    indulged in his flowing speech.


    Totally absorbed in listening to Charles'' prolific way of story telling, she gazed at him and gradually


    developed an uncertain affinity with the handsome man. As she was tossed in reveries about nothing,


    her expressive eyes were fixed on Charles.


    "Miss Xia, a penny for your thoughts? Are you still with us? Am I boring you?" Charles awakened


    Sheryl from her seemingly state of soliloquy. She immediately made an apology,"Oh, I''m so sorry,


    please never mind." Charles replied with a smile. Charles'' constant references to fictional short stories


    were intended to please Charlie. But it also unexpectedly drew Sheryl''s full attention.


    Charles'' face showed a very naughty grin, and in an apologetic tone he told Sheryl,"Miss Xia, I''m so


    sorry. I think, I bored you with my stories."


    "No... not really! I... I was actually hooked by the way you interpreted those fictional stories. It was


    definitely entertaining and rather... very engaging!" Sheryl replied with a smile as she tried to regain her


    The dinner food that they ordered took a little longer than usual to prepare. But Charles, who was


    usually known for being impatient, didn''tin about it. If not for Charlie''s sleepiness, Charles


    would have sustained their lively conversation.


    While Charles was carefully arranging his thoughts on a pretext of dating Sheryl again, Charlie blurted


    out,"Hey Sheryl, are you avable tomorrow? My dad promised to take me to the amusement park


    tomorrow. I''d really love it if you could join us?"


    Charlie''s childish and very naughty request was hard to decline.


    Sheryl was torn by indecision. She remembered a very important appointment she already finalized


    with Sue concerning a big client. With a pain in her heart, she tried to politely rebuff Charlie''s


    request,"Charlie, You.. you know, I... I''d love to... but... I do have to attend to a business presentation


    rehearsal with Sue the whole day tomorrow..."