Chapter 803 Meet Anthony Again


    Sheryl decided to hold her words after eyeing Charles wearing a sulky expression on his face. She


    knew she would have to wait. When she noticed that his countenance was a little calmer, she then


    continued, "Initially, I nned to stay in the hotel for several days. As soon as I find a good ce to


    settle, then I will move out. But unfortunately, Grandpa disagreed. So I was left with no choice but to


    move to the Zhao family house for a while."


    "But Sher..." Charles quickly cut in. He let out a deep sigh as he carefully studied her. He looked


    impatient, as a small frown could be easily seen appearing on his forehead. But his voice sounded


    warm and worrying at the same time when he questioned her, "Dream Garden is also your home. Why


    didn''t you call me after such a thing happened?"


    Sheryl could only respond by staring openly at him. And she started to feel that his intense gaze


    burned with conflicting emotions. Though she was mentally groping for words in her head, she still


    couldn''t find her voice to say something.


    The truth was, she had no idea why she did it. Maybe she didn''t want Charles to get involved and be


    over worried about her. Besides, she was the one who provoked Anthony.


    "Alright." She conceded after a brief moment. She held his gaze and begged, "Charles, I do understand


    your feelings. But I would appreciate it should you consider mine as well. Until now... I''m still not able to


    visualize what is going to happen in our future; and what willy ahead of us. So please, give me some


    time and personal space to think it through."


    After Charles heard what she said, a sudden pang of sadness engulfed him and made him silent.


    Lowering his gaze briefly to conceal his disappointment, he began to start mulling over something.


    Then in a low mutter, heined, "You have been saying this for countless times. But Sheryl, I


    really don''t know how long I need to wait for that day toe."


    "Soon. I''m almost there." Sheryl leaned forward while eyeing him and gave him a t response.


    No sooner had she finished her sentence, than the waiter came over to serve their orders. Sheryl


    feasted her eyes on the spread of food on their table. Then she helped herself to the delectable dish


    near her, gave it a bite and savored its taste. A small smile crept on her lips and shemented, "Well,


    the taste is exactly the same as it was three years ago."


    "I''m so d to hear that. You can eat as much as you want," Charles quickly replied as he smiled at her


    appreciatively. To his heart''s content, Charles helped Sheryl in refilling her te while she ate silently.


    Since Sheryl was too engrossed in nibbling at her food, she didn''t notice Charles'' kind gesture at all.


    And whether or not she undeniably enjoyed the food or the ce, she didn''t care in the slightest


    anymore.


    Charles appeared to be happier seeing Sheryl''s hearty appetite back. It was quite a satisfying feast for


    him that finally, Sheryl could eat a lot.


    After their sumptuous meal ended, they readied themselves to head back to thepany. While on


    their way out, Sheryl forced a small smile and mentioned about Shirley. "Charles, Shirley asked mest


    night if you were her father, and I told her the truth."


    "Excuse me?" eximed Charles when he heard the matter-of-fact tone of voice used by Sheryl. His


    heart was skipping a bit. And he halted his steps. Charles whirled around to nce at Sheryl. He was


    getting a little bit nervous as he confirmed that he heard it right. Zoning out, he remained motionless.


    He then took a moment to gather himself and asked her, "You... Do you really mean what you said?"


    When Charles learned that Shirley was his daughter, he always found himself contemting. And the


    mere thought of ''how to make Shirley ept his presence'' incessantly haunted him. And now, a sigh of


    relief escaped his mouth; there seemed nothing to be worried about as Shirley had known about it all.


    But strangely, why was he still so nervous?


    "Of course I do. I mean it." Sheryl slightly nodded her head to reaffirm him about it.


    Since the restaurant was within walking distance near thepany, Sheryl had previously expressed


    that she preferred to take a walk after the meal. That was why they were trailing their way back on foot.


    As they were walking, she found Charles quite amusing with the way he was acting. She realized that


    they had known each other for years, but this was the first time she saw him in his unguarded


    moments, revealing her his predicament.


    "Hey, what''s going on in your mind? Are you all right? Why do you suddenly nk out?" Sheryl made a


    series of questions to snap him out of his musings. Charles was startled, but he did not show any sign


    of a desire to move at that precise moment. So in the interests of time, Sheryl intended to give him a


    fun prompt. "Let''s move faster, shall we? Otherwise, I''m afraid I will bete for the rehearsal this


    afternoon."


    "Err... Wait," Charles stammered. Panic-stricken, he immediately held on to Sheryl''s hand and asked,


    "Hmm, tell me, how did Shirley respond? I just want to know whether... whether she likes me or not? Or


    was it that she found it hard to ept me as her father? So what was her attitude towards me in the


    end? What did she say? Quick, tell me! I want to hear the truth. I''m just wondering."


    By the end of his words, Sheryl waspletely amused by this man standing in front of her. She tried


    suppressing herself hard but she let out a giggle. Then she could not help bursting outughing as she


    couldn''t contain it any longer. This scenario really intrigued her, to the extent that she utterly could not


    stopughing at him.


    While Sheryl wasughing hard at him, Charles, who was looking helpless, became even more


    nervous. He was puzzled by herughter. He then tried to guide her back to the focus of their


    conversation. "Can you notugh like that? Can you just quitughing? You haven''t answered my


    question yet. How was her attitude? I just want to figure it out, okay?"


    "Oh, are you so much bothered by what she thought about you?" Sheryl retorted back. Sheryl was


    obviously having fun teasing him. She had never had a goodugh like this. So instead of giving him


    the answer he longed to hear, she answered him back with a question.


    "Of course I do. I do care about how I am in her opinion," Charles exined almost pleadingly. He was


    oblivious of the deliberate yful act of Sheryl. Charles nodded giving Sheryl a positive confirmation.


    Then he said, "After all, she is my daughter. She is also an extremely important girl in my life, just like


    you."


    At this point, Charles was already hell-bent in trying his best to urge Sheryl for the answer. "Just tell me


    her real response. I have been waiting for so long now. And we have wasted much time already. You


    still have your rehearsal."


    Sheryl found the whole scene hriouslyical. She couldn''t bear seeing him on the verge of


    breaking his calm demeanor andposure. He was looking impatient and at the same time feeling


    dejected. Sheryl shook withughter until she gasped for air. She then steeled herself to quit chuckling


    at his antics. ncing at Charles, she squeaked, "Oh my! Just give me a minute! I need to catch my


    breath. I could have diedughing and my tummy hurts."


    "Alright..." Charles said as he dubiously stared at her flushed face. Charles lifted his hand motioning


    her to go on and calm herself down. He let out a deep sigh. His face showed both patience and


    indulgence. Inside his heart, he thought, ''What could I do about it? Nothing at all. I have no choice but


    to wait, wait, and wait some more.'' He was mentally preparing himself when finally she was more than


    ready to resume the conversation. However, he felt that he was already at his limit, so he urged her,


    "Oh my goodness, have you had enough fun of this? Couldn''t you just let me know what happened?


    Tell me how she reacted."


    "Huh, easy, man, take it easy. You know, Shirley is a quite understanding girl at her age." Sheryl finally


    conceded and decided to satisfy his curiosity. She said, "Okay, let''s get back to your burning question.


    Kidding aside, I did ask her how she thought about itst night right after I shared her the whole story. It


    might sound surprising but she did not show any sign of rejection against you. And she seemed to be


    quite d about the fact that Charlie is her brother. Well, I guess you are epted by her mainly


    because of this. Ha! Ha! Ha! So, you are supposed to thank Charlie for he has left a good impression in


    Shirley''s mind."


    "That''s indeed a piece of good news. It sounds great. So d to hear that! And of course, I will surely


    consider Charlie''s help." Charles felt a surge of overwhelming happiness engulfed him when he heard


    that Shirley didn''t reject him at all. And like a fool, he couldn''t stop grinning from ear to ear.


    But Charles did not stop there. He enthusiastically began concocting ns to win her daughter''s heart


    and to heal the gap between them. Then he suggested, "Sher, why not we bring Shirley out for dinner


    tonight? I just realized that we -- four of us -- have not had a meal before as a family."


    "Well, tonight is not good timing as we won''t be avable," Sheryl replied amiably. Lifting her eyes at


    Charles, she exined, "I promised Amy that I would have dinner with her this evening. Then why don''t


    we n this way? The conference of Shining Company will beunched the day after tomorrow. Since


    both of us will be there anyway, we can bring them along. After that, our four family members can


    officially have a meal together. What do you think? Is it a good idea?"


    "Alright, alright. Sure, I agree with that," Charles happily chimed in. The phrase "our four family


    members" sounded very pleasing to his ears; for these sweet words were said by his dearest Sheryl.


    It was already veryte when the rehearsal in thepany wrapped up. Sheryl grabbed all her things


    and quickly made her way out to get home. She was longing to have a quick shower as her entire body


    was full of sweat. She could no longer stand the ufortable feeling in her own body.


    As soon as she came out of thepany, she caught a glimpse of the silhouette of a man standing


    right at the main entrance. He looked vaguely familiar from afar. She felt hopeless when it turned out to


    be Anthony, thest person that she would want to see in this lifetime.


    She purposely moved to live in another ce to stay away from this man. But why did she have to see


    his face again?


    "Sher!" Anthony shouted. Sheryl wanted to hide herself the moment she saw Anthony, but it was too


    Having no choice but to talk to him, she impatiently turned her head to face him and coldly asked,


    "Anthony, why are you here? Didn''t I make everything crystal clear to you? What brings you here?


    What on earth have I done wrong? Did I make you suffer that much? That you have to treat me in this


    way?" Her voice was filled with miseries and pain.


    He was deeply hurt by Sheryl''s indifference. She was no longer the same Sheryl he used to know. He


    watched her silently as he tried to gauge her expression.


    He knew she was annoyed and angry at him, but he was left with no other choice. He had to do it for


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    his parents -- for Carlson and Laura.


    Feeling somewhat embarrassed he promptly said, "Sher, I know that you may not want to see me right


    now. But... I havee for you. I... I really have to get your help on something."


    "Help?" Sheryl scoffed. Then she raised her eyes to look at Anthony with growing impatience and


    asked, "Anthony, have I not made myself clear enough? Listen, I want you to get out of my way. You


    will have your own life as I will have my own. And I also want you to remember that we don''t owe each


    other a single thing. Your family must stay away from my daughter and me. Such a simple wish, isn''t it?


    Is that too hard for your family to grant? Is that too much to ask?".


    Sheryl stood her ground as she red at Anthony. And in total exasperation, she sarcastically said,


    "You consider yourself a man of power, don''t you? And I thought you could handle everything? What is


    it that you cannot fix which you think I can?"