Chapter 1339 Reluctance


    Charles didn''t notice anything strange with Sheryl''s face until he saw her reaction. He grew anxious,


    however, when he realized that she was intentionally lowering her head to avert his gaze.


    "Sher, what happened to your face? What happened tonight? Will you please talk to me?" Charles


    squatted down and gently asked Sheryl, who was sitting on the bed, twiddling her thumbs.


    No matter how many times Charles asked or what he said to her, Sheryl just kept her head down and


    her mouth shut.


    Having run out of patience with Sheryl, Charles came downstairs. When Melissa saw Charles, she tried


    to grab his hand for a chat, but he just ignored her. He waved at Nancy and she walked to him.


    "Nancy, what happened tonight? Please tell me everything in details." Charles'' voice was low and


    stern. It sounded like he was trying his best to suppress his anger.


    Melissa recognized the timbre of Charles'' voice and feelings of anxiety and apprehension arose within


    her. She was afraid of what would happen once Charles insisted on getting to the bottom of the matter.


    As if that weren''t bad enough, Melissa knew that Nancy wouldn''t have anything nice to say about her


    since she was on Sheryl''s side. Anger took over Charles'' face as he went upstairs. Melissa gritted her


    teeth in displeasure, almost certain that Sheryl must have gone behind her back.


    "Yes, Mr. Lu." Every word Nancy said struck fear in Melissa''s heart and made Charles angrier.


    "At tonight''s dinner, Miss Zhangined that the dishes were too oily, so Mrs. Lu asked Sher to


    cook for her. Mrs. Lu was very picky and she scolded Sher, but she didn''t say anything back. She just


    listened and remained silent. Then out of the blue, Mrs. Lu lost her temper and threw the dishes to the


    floor and pped Sher."


    Nancy reported everything to Charles, sparing no details. Judging by Nancy''s words, Charles could feel


    her resentment towards Melissa and her sympathy for Sheryl in her voice.


    As Charles listened to Nancy, his eyebrows furrowed and slowly a grimace spread over his face.


    When Charles had heard enough, he cast a vicious nce at Melissa and said, "Mom, is that true?"


    Melissa hemmed and hawed, deliberately avoiding Charles'' eyes. "It''s... it''s not like that. Sheryl was the


    one who started it."


    Unfortunately for Melissa, Charles knew her too well. As outrageous as it sounded from Nancy''s


    mouth, he knew that she did not exaggerate a single word. Otherwise, Melissa wouldn''t have hesitated


    to give Nancy an earful.


    "Then why does Sher''s face look like that? Did you p her?" Charles squinted his eyes as if he was


    trying to read the information from her face.


    "I… It was an ident. But that''s because…" Charles snapped, his eyes filled with fiery anger and he


    didn''t even bother to listen to Melissa''s words.


    "Mom, you can''t just abuse Sheryl whenever you feel like it. Let me remind you that she is my wife. No


    one has the right to hurt her like that. Let''s be clear, if you continue this nonsense then I am afraid that I


    will have to ask you to leave. It won''t be difficult for me to find you another ce to stay. But I can


    promise you, it won''t be asfortable as the Dream Garden."


    Charles would not condone his mother''s abusive behavior, especially not towards his wife. He felt mad


    at Melissa and sorry for Sheryl, both at the same time.


    Needless to say, Melissa was dumbfounded by the harshness of Charles'' words.


    Her mind went back and forth in between two feelings. On one hand, she couldn''t believe that her son


    would even consider kicking his own mother out of his house. And on the other hand, if indeed Charles


    kicked her out, what was she supposed to do?


    Living away from Charles, without his care, would be difficult for her. Not to mention the rumors! What


    would people say about her? Even her own son, her flesh and blood, refused to live with her? The


    people who already hated her would have a field day, defaming her again. After all, there was nothing


    snarky people loved more than adding insult to injury.


    Melissa had no intentions of returning to that life. No!


    Melissa shook her head, without a conscious thought, struggling to find the right words to defend


    herself with.


    At this moment, even Le, who was standing next to Melissa, felt intimidated by Charles'' facial


    expression. In an attempt to hide herself, she took a step back.


    In spite of everything, deep down, Melissa felt angry and aggrieved. Why was she being treated


    unjustly? Why did Charles value Sheryl over his own mother? Melissa was jealous of the way Charles


    treated Sheryl because even as his mother, she never received treatment of such kindness and


    generosity from him.


    However, Melissa allowed none of that anger to seep through her expression. Her priority was to


    secure her residency in this house and the fastest way to do that was to calm Charles down.


    After hesitating for a moment, Melissa broke down, shedding crocodile tears. "Charles, I didn''t do that


    on purpose. I promise I won''t do it again. Would you please forgive me?"


    Charles stared at Melissa tly, and finally he made a concession.


    He knew that Melissa was a difficult person to deal with, but seeing her crying and begging softened


    his heart.


    "Charles, please forgive Aunt Melissa. She made a mistake. I''m sure she didn''t mean to hurt Sheryl."


    Le held Melissa, to keep her from falling to the floor. Le was a wolf in sheep''s clothing. With two


    simple sentences she shifted the entire me on Melissa. She sounded like she had nothing to do with


    it, as if she wasn''t the one to add fuel to the fire.


    Charles lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. He looked as though he was carefully mulling over


    whether to believe Le or not. All of a sudden, an awkward silence permeated the room.


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    Melissa stole a few side nces at Charles, driven more anxious by his silence. A deathly pallor took


    over her face and she pursed her lips.


    "Charles, don''t you believe your own mother? Tell me!" Melissa sobbed unceasingly, hands clutching at


    his shirt. She put on a remorseful expression on her face, hoping to move Charles with her disy of


    weakness.


    Nancy, all the while, didn''t feel an ounce of sympathy for Melissa at all. Melissa got what she deserved,


    nothing more, nothing less. After all the troubles she had caused, Melissa had to pay her dues on way


    or the other. Nancy hoped that Charles could understand what kind of person Melissa truly was so he


    wouldn''t be fooled by her again. Otherwise, there would be no end to Sheryl''s hardships.


    After brief deliberation, Charles finally opened his mouth, "I don''t care whether you are telling the truth


    or not. If this kind of thing happens again, you won''t be allowed to stay in this house any more, I


    promise that. As for what happened today, I want you to apologize to Sher and tell her that you will


    never ever do that again."


    ''Me? Apologize to Sheryl? Are you out of your mind? I will never apologize to Sheryl. Who does she


    think she is?''


    Melissa''s face darkened with a mirthless re. The fact that Charles wanted her to apologize to Sheryl


    was a bit over-the-top, even by his standards.


    Charles continued, "Mom, if you have done something wrong, you need to fix it. You''re not a child. I


    expect you to act ording to your age."


    Melissa and Le had never seen this side of Charles before. It was as if he was engulfed in a ball of


    anger. Even his breath was cold and frightening. They wouldn''t dare to get close to him, let alone cross


    him.


    Finding no respite, Melissa had no choice but to agree to Charles'' condition even though the reluctance


    on her face was obvious.