Chapter 1736 Worried


    ck was taken aback by the drastic change in Holley''s attitude, but before he could respond, he


    realized that she had locked him out.


    "Holley, I''m sorry. It''s all my fault, and I want to apologize. Please! Just let me in, okay?"


    ck''s voice shook as he softly knocked on the door, hoping Holley would open it again.


    Holley, however, had a different worry on her mind and thought, ''Ferry has already decided that I will be


    marrying Jason in a few days. We are in a quiet war, not the type with guns and fire, but just as deadly.


    I can''t just drag ck onto the battlefield. He doesn''t deserve this.''


    Tears formed in Holley''s eyes as she thought about what they had be. Emotionally exhausted,


    she leaned against the door.


    ''If I had met ck earlier, I could have gotten away from Ferry. But now, there''s no other way to go. I''m


    stuck where I am, '' she thought. The wet hot tears that had filled her eyes, finally fell, as her knees


    buckled. She knelt on the ground, sobbing.


    "Go away! I don''t love you anymore. I only want to be with Jason. Please, go away," Holley said


    through the door as she choked on her sobs.


    He felt the pain in her voice and was equally devastated. ck responded in a soft voice, "Alright,


    Holley. I''ll go, but please, don''t cry. Don''t cry."


    ck thought he must have been making things harder for Holley, and that Holley was in more pain


    because he couldn''t let her go. With this, he gently backed away from the door and silently went away.


    After a moment, Holley noticed how quiet it was outside the door. She took a deep breath, shut her


    eyes, and opened the door. ck was gone. Right then and there, she knew it was the end. She could


    never be with him again.


    It was nighttime in the crowded and prosperous city. The dazzling lights against the background of a


    dark sky would astonish anyone. Colorful lights from buildings and streets illuminated ck''s way, but


    he was unable to appreciate any of it.


    He walked like the dead, unaware of anything that went on around him. In his head, memories of


    Holley yed over and over. First, it was the happy things, like her face and her smile. Then came the


    memories of her words and the determination that had shown so clearly on her face when she rejected


    him. He felt a sharp pain in his chest. Who knew that memories could physically hurt?


    Although Sheryl was in apletely different ce, she was hurting just the same at that time.


    I and Aron were on vacation and were traveling abroad together. Naturally, I''s absence meant


    more work for Sheryl. However, she didn''t feel tired at all. In fact, all the work she had been doing had


    been a good distraction from Charles'' heartlessness.


    Thest time she had crossed paths with Charles was at the kids'' school. And now that she thought


    about it, she hadn''t really even seen him then. She had only known he was there because she had


    seen his car that day. She had never seen him since. It was as if he was disappearing from her life


    In the past, Charles had diligently waited at the gates of Cloud Advertising Company to meet Sheryl.


    She managed a sad smile at the thought of how sweet he had been. But her smile disappeared as


    quickly as it had formed when she realized she was losing Charles.


    Sheryl suddenly became aware that she was not as strong as she had previously thought. She had


    thought that by this time, she would no longer feel anything about Charles and the divorce. However, at


    the moment, her heart was in a strange ce ofplete awareness and honesty.


    She knew she couldn''t just give up on her love for Charles that easily. However, Charles no longer


    cared about her. She had no choice now but to go along in this way. Ironically, this was exactly how


    Ferry wanted it to be.


    The moment Sheryl arrived home, she put her things down, locked the door, and silently walked to the


    children''s room. Upon seeing their innocent faces, she managed a more sincere smile.


    After kissing the two children on their foreheads, Sheryl dragged herself into her bedroom. She didn''t


    have the energy to wash her face or brush her teeth, so she went straight to bed and tried to sleep.


    Sleeping was so difficult all of a sudden. After more than two hours of tossing and turning in bed, she


    began to ept that she wasn''t going to get any decent rest that night. She was actually used to losing


    sleep at night these days, so she didn''t react to this by getting angry. Shey wide awake on her bed


    and let her mind wander.


    At Dream Garden, Charles had just returned home.


    It was not the first time that Charles had gotten home at midnight. Le and Melissa were wide awake


    at the time. They stood quietly at the top of the staircase and studied Charles, who was sitting on the


    couch and staring into space. Silently, they made their way back to Melissa''s room.


    They had done this so quietly and so carefully that Charles didn''t notice a thing.


    "Aunt Melissa, Charles had beening home sote every night. I''m worried that work might wear


    him out," Le found herself whispering, even though they were already out of earshot. While Le''s


    concern was real, Charles'' health was not her only worry.


    At that time, Le was more worried about her reputation. She didn''t want people gossiping about her


    when she finally became the Mistress of Shining Company. If Charles fell ill as soon as she became his


    wife, people would talk. The possibility of this happening was dreadful.


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Besides, she had already heard enough gossip about what made Charles this way. People at the


    Suddenly, Le flinched. The memory that Sheryl was Charles'' wife caused an unpleasant feeling.


    "Le, is there really that much work to do at thepany? What does Charles work on every night?"


    Melissa asked Le. Unlike Le, Melissa sincerely cared about Charles'' health.


    It was difficult for Melissa to watch her son falling into depression and being exhausted all the time. She


    was terrified. If something happened to her son, she would lose everything that she had.


    Le shook her head and sighed. Then she said, "There''s not much to do in Shining Company at the


    moment. I think Charles has been stressing over a specific project. He has been on that project for a


    while now."


    As soon as Le said this, she unintentionally looked away. She couldn''t look Melissa in the eyes.


    Shining Company had been doing very well since Charles became president. However, their project


    with Star Company has been Shining Company''s biggest this year. Le had not expected the number


    and magnitude of the problems that they had been facing since their ns for the project went awry.


    The situation had be much worse than anyone had anticipated.


    At that point, there was no going back. Le couldn''t just give everything up. If she did, years of effort


    would be in vain.


    Therefore, no matter how Charles felt, Le couldn''t give her n up.


    "It''s just a project. Charles has handled so many of those in the past. I don''t think a single project would


    bother him or stress him out as much as this one is doing. Sheryl must be causing this. That bitch


    knows she has a hold on Charles'' heart. She has been causing him so much suffering, and this must


    be why he''s exhausting himself on purpose. He''s trying to forget everything that has happened


    between him and Sheryl. So, Le, we can''t let him be by himself right now. You should spend more


    time with him and take care of him. Okay?" Melissa said.


    As soon as the thought of Sheryl crossed Melissa''s mind, she felt vexed.


    "Yes, I get it, Aunt Melissa. Don''t worry about it. I will take good care of Charles. Look, it''s gettingte.


    Please, go to bed and get some rest. I will go downstairs to talk to Charles and make sure he''s okay,"


    Le said reassuringly.


    After Le had made sure that Melissa had gone to bed, she quietly went downstairs and walked over


    to Charles.


    Le wanted to show how concerned she was about Charles, and how thoughtful and sweet she was—


    the perfect wife-to-be! Unfortunately, Charles had been so exhausted that he had fallen asleep on the


    couch. Le tried to wake him up several times, but he couldn''t respond as he was sound asleep.


    She stopped trying. Instead, she grabbed a nket and put it over Charles'' body. She stood still and


    studied his face. ''His eyes were like stars in the night, so sharp and full of life. Too bad I can''t see them


    right now. He looks so weak and vulnerable, '' Le thought to herself.


    Le let herself get lost in thoughts of Charles'' perfect face for a while. When she became vaguely


    aware that she was blushing, she took onest look at Charles, stood up, and made her way up the


    stairs and into her room.


    The following day, Charles awoke to find himself sleeping in the living room.


    He felt like his bones were not where they should have been, so he stretched a few times.


    "Charles? Did you sleep here against night?" Melissa called out from the second floor as she


    gestured toward the living room.


    She noticed that Charles was still wearing the clothes he had been wearing the day before and


    assumed that he did not sleep in his room again.


    "Yes. I was exhausted. I wanted to rest on the couch for a bit, but then I dozed off," Charles replied


    nonchntly.


    "Charles, you have to take better care of yourself. You want me to worry about you, don''t you?" Melissa


    said as she approached her son. She was wearing a worried look on her face.


    Charles didn''t want to do this to his mother on purpose. The guilt rendered him speechless.


    When Le noticed Charles'' expression, she told Melissa, "Don''t worry, Aunt Melissa. Charles is a


    grown man. He will take good care of himself. I know he will."


    "I hope he does," Melissa replied to Le as she pretended to be unhappy about what Charles had


    done.