Chapter 1610 Melissa''s Shameless Reproach
"Stop it! I, stop talking nonsense! I know you want to defend me and I know you resent the fact that
Charles once betrayed me, but he''s my husband. Can I ask you to stop nursing a grudge against him?"
Sheryl felt annoyed. In the past, she had sessfully avoidedshing out at her best friend. This time,
however, she failed to put up with I''s tone and had to ask her to put Charles'' and Le''s offense in
the past.
When I saw that she had upset Sheryl, she immediately covered her mouth with her hand. With an
apologetic smile, she softly said, "Ah, I was only kidding. Why are you mad? All I meant to say was that
you don''t have to worry. The doctor hasn''t reported anything bad about Charles'' condition. Right?"
Sheryl rxed her shoulders and dropped her head. After a moment of silence, she said, "I''m not mad.
I just didn''t want to lie to Nancy. But I didn''t want to worry her."
"Then you just have to keep it from her. What she doesn''t know won''t worry her. You should take it
easy as well. Don''t worry too much about Charles. I remember you telling me about the promise that he
made, that he would never leave you. Remember?" I reminded Sheryl in an attempt to cheer her up.
Sheryl stared into I''s eyes. Despite her confusion, she gently nodded, letting her friend know that
she was going to be fine and that she was staying optimistic and hopeful.
I decided to respectfully change the subject. She said, "Oh, Sheryl, I think it''s time for you to call the
kids. They might be asleep if you call anyter."
"That''s right! I would''ve forgotten if you hadn''t reminded me!" Sheryl was immediately brought back to
her senses. She shifted her weight, took out the phone from her pocket, and dialed Joan''s number.
Joan was putting the kids to bed when she received Sheryl''s call. She beamed and said to the kids,
"Hey, sweeties! Guess who''s calling! It''s your mom!"
"Oh! Let me talk to her!"
Shirley shrieked in excitement. She leaped, attempting to grab the phone from Joan''s hand. Thetter
gently handed it to her. In a sweet voice, she asked, "Mom, when are youing home?"
The question rendered Sheryl speechless. In a hurry, she thought up an excuse. "Mom still has a lot of
work to do with your auntie I. I can''t make it tonight. You have to behave and listen to your brother
while Mom''s away. Understood?"
"No! I want to see you. I miss you so much!"
Shirley hadn''t seen her mother the whole day. As a result, she felt uneasy and had some trouble
sleeping.
But Sheryl had no choice. All she could do was to make up excuses to shield her children from terrible
truths.
In the middle of the conversation, Shirley, seemingly recalled something, and burst intoughter. After
pausing topose herself, she started narrating a story. "Mom, today at school, a little girl said she
liked rk. But rk turned her down. The poor girl was hurt and cried on the spot!"
When he heard what his sister had said, rk lost hisposure. He snatched the phone away from
Shirley''s grasp and exined, in a hurry, "Mom, that''s not true! I didn''t make that girl cry!"
"Take it easy, rk. Mom believes you! Our rk is a good boy. You''re not running around school
making girls unhappy. Right?" Sheryl bothforted rk and pretended to scold him, all in an
attempt to make him smile.
They talked for a few more minutes, and then Sheryl instructed her kids to get some sleep as it was
gettingte.
After hanging up, Sheryl shot I a look of helplessness. She asked, with a tinge of disbelief, "Now,
even kids in kindergarten know what love is. How do they get to be that smart at that age?"
"Don''t underestimate kids these days! My sweet girl had told me that she had found a boyfriend!" I
confirmed.
Sheryl couldn''t take I seriously. She quietly pondered about what little kids were capable of
understanding. Could they possibly understand love? Romance? She didn''t think so. She thought they
were just too young to understand affection. Sheryl knew it was the way kids made friends and had fun
with each other. But she was also aware of a serious, inescapable truth of life. She knew that Shirley
and rk were going to get older. When that time came, it would be important to have a proper talk
with them about love. She didn''t, and wouldn''t, allow them to behave as casually as the youth of today
often did.
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I noticed Sheryl''s silence and decided to turn things down a notch. "Take it easy! They''re just kids.
Don''t take their ideas so seriously. Besides, you know your own kids well. They''ll be fine. By the way, I
have to say, rk seems to be taking after his father. He''s a decisive boy, just like Charles! I bet he''ll
be a man in the blink of an eye!" I stopped talking. She immediately tensed when she realized she
had unintentionally and carelessly mentioned Charles.
She feared that hearing his name might upset Sheryl. Pressing her lips tightly she cautiously stole a
nce at Sheryl. To I''s relief, Sheryl seemed like she hadn''t heard a thing.
I''s face was contorted with concern. It was impossible for Sheryl to ignore. With a helpless shake of
her head, Sheryl said, "Why are you so cautious all of a sudden? Don''t worry about me. Hearing his
name won''t hurt me. I can take it! There''s no need to avoid Charles when we talk. I am not that
sensitive!"
Sheryl was so convincing that I had to believe her.
"Okay. That''s good. I was probably overthinking things. I should get going now. You''d better get some
rest. Aron must be waiting for me at the hospital''s entrance. I''m going to show myself out and head
there. I''ll pick you up tomorrow morning!" I raised her arm to check her watch. She was right. It was
"Sure. You should go. You must be exhausted having taken care of me all day. Rest assured I''m fine
now." Sheryl shed I a thankful smile as a farewell gesture.
When I left, the room grew silent. The atmosphere immediately turned frightening. Feeling
ufortable, Sheryl jumped out of bed. She put some clothes on and headed to the intensive care
unit where Charles was.
She expected that Melissa and Le were long gone. It waste. To her surprise, before she even got
to Charles'' room, she ran into the two women.
Melissa had asked for a private room for her son. After Le and Melissa had transferred all of Charles''
things into his new VIP sickroom, they decided to check on him for onest time for the day before
heading back home. To their surprise and annoyance, here came the uninvited Sheryl, making her way
to Charles'' room.
Melissa blocked Sheryl''s way as she looked at her coldly. It was already past midnight, and there were
few people around the hallway. With Melissa in the way, it was not easy for Sheryl to pass. Sheryl had
turned back and was ready to give up when she suddenly felt someone grab her by the arm.
"What are you doing here?" Melissa grumbled. A look of irritation clouded her face.
Sheryl didn''t know how to respond. She didn''t want a public altercation with Melissa. At that point, she
just had to wonder, ''Why does Melissa treat me like an enemy every time we run into each other? Am I
not Charles'' wife? Not her daughter-inw? Why does she have to treat me this way all the time?''
When Sheryl was younger, she had learned that one day, she would have to get married. And when
she did, she coulde across a terrible mother-inw. She had heard that this was a nightmare for
most women. In her youth and innocence, Sheryl had simply hoped that kindness could solve any
misunderstanding. This notion did not seem to work on Melissa.
"Obviously, I''m here to see my husband." Sheryl no longer backed down. She had done nothing wrong,
but Melissa''s anger seemed not to need any reason.
"Is that right, Sheryl? You always say that you love my son, but look at him now! Is this how you show
your love for him? Since you two got married, how many bad things have happened to him, to this
family? Do you know how much damage you''ve caused this family? Don''t you feel even just a little
guilty?" As shameless as she could be, Melissa started to criticize Sheryl with her own, twisted truths.