Chapter 2112 What Was She Hiding


    When rk''s teacher ushered him towards the school gate, I was already waiting for him.


    "Aunt I, why are you here?" rk''s surprise was reced with excitement as he squealed and ran


    towards I.


    rk and Shirley were always fond of I. It was not only because she was their mother''s best friend,


    and they got to see each other often, but because I treated them as her own children. She would


    always spoil them by bringing them snacks and presents every time she visited them.


    I walked up to the teacher and told her that she would be picking up the children. She held rk''s


    arm gently and looked at him. "Where is Shirley?"


    "Shirley is sick. She''s in the hospital now. Didn''t mom tell you that?" rk said innocently.


    I was stunned. She hadn''t known a thing about Shirley. She had thought that Shirley was at school.


    Even Sheryl hadn''t said a word about her daughter.


    I thought that something must be wrong.


    Otherwise, there wasn''t a reason for Sheryl to hide this from her. The more she thought about Sheryl


    hiding this from her, the more confused she became. It was normal for kids to catch a cold or a fever,


    but being hospitalized wasn''t normal. She wanted to immediately run to the hospital and see if Shirley


    was okay.


    I squatted down and looked into rk''s eyes. "rk, why is Shirley staying in the hospital? How is


    she doing now?"


    "Shirley and I went to the Dream Garden. Shirley was saying that she had a stomach ache after dinner.


    Dad took her to the hospital," rk answered. "I don''t know why she got sick."


    I was shocked. "You went to the Dream Garden to have dinnerst night? Was your mom okay with


    it?"


    rk nodded. "Yes. Grandma and dad picked us up from school yesterday. Mom agreed to us having


    dinner at the Dream Garden." rk looked at her with an innocent, curious look. "Aunt I, what''s


    wrong with that?"


    Everything was wrong about that. It made no sense to I.


    I stood up. She still hadn''t gotten over the shock. She couldn''tprehend as to why Sheryl''s


    attitude towards Charles would change all of a sudden.


    Sheryl was supposed to keep the kids as far away from Charles as possible. Why on earth would she


    let Charles take the kids with him?


    Or had something happened that she wasn''t aware of?


    The endless possibilities drove I mad. She was mad at Sheryl for letting the kids have dinner with


    Charles.


    Charles was not only a terrible husband but also a terrible father. First, he cheated on Sheryl. And now,


    he couldn''t even take care of his child. What could Charles possibly have given to Shirley that made


    her fall sick?


    I was shaking with rage. She asked rk to get into the car and drove to Sheryl''s apartment.


    rk was terrified on their way home as he could see I''s eyes redden with anger. He was worried


    that he had said something wrong that had annoyed I.


    I was grumpy until she realized that rk had been silent all this time. The boy usually didn''t shut


    his mouth, and it was a ritual for him to tell I about everything he had learned in school. He was


    unusually quiet throughout their drive home. She looked at rk and found him sitting upright and


    tense.


    That was when it dawned upon her. She had scared the poor boy. A wave of shame washed over her.


    She smiled at rk. "Did I scare you, rk?" she asked softly.


    "N-no, not at all." rk nodded. He thought for a while and asked, "Aunt I, are you worried about my


    sister?"


    ""Yes, I am, Honey. You and Shirley are my babies, and it breaks my heart to hear that Shirley is


    hospitalized. I won''t let anyone pick on you," I said sincerely.


    rk shook his head vigorously. "But no one is picking on us, Aunt I." ''Except for those annoying


    kids in ss who say that we don''t have a father. I don''t like them.'' rk stopped himself from saying it


    out loud when the images of the kids mocking him and Shirley floated in his head.


    rk lowered his head, trying to suppress his frustration.


    But I had noticed it and thought that she had upset the boy. "rk, how about we go to the


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    amusement park when Sheryl is free?" I asked, trying to cheer him up.


    I couldn''t think of any other way to cheer rk up. Things like toys and chocte that children


    usually loved had never caught his attention. An amusement park was the only thing he had always


    been fond of.


    rk''s eyes lit up just the way I had expected them to. "That would be great, Aunt I. I''ve been


    thinking about going to the amusement park with mom and dad," rk squealed in excitement.


    Mom and dad?


    I swallowed the anger that was forming in the pit of her stomach. There was no way that she would


    let Charles join them.


    But I hadn''t said a word. She nodded, shing a fake smile. As long as rk was happy, she would


    do anything, even if that meant she had to spend time with Charles.


    As soon as they had arrived at Sheryl''s apartment, I got out of the car and walked to rk''s side to


    open the door for him. rk hopped out of the car and walked towards the door.


    Sheryl had just arrived home from the hospital. When she got out of the car, she bumped into rk and


    I in the driveway. rk looked over his shoulder and saw Sheryl. He ran to her in excitement.


    "Mom, you''re home!" He grabbed Sheryl''s hands. "How is Shirley? Is she doing okay?" he asked, his


    voice filled with concern. "When can shee home? I miss her."


    "She''s fine. Don''t worry. The doctor said that she could be discharged from the hospital tomorrow."


    Sheryl patted rk''s head. Sheryl turned towards I. "Thank you for driving rk home." She smiled


    gratefully.


    I sneered and looked away. I was mad at Sheryl for not telling her about Shirley. This wasn''t the


    first time Sheryl had hidden something important from her. Sometimes, I couldn''t help but feel that


    she was being pushed away by her, and Sheryl never considered her as a friend because friends were


    supposed to share their happiness and troubles; but Sheryl had never done that.


    Sheryl shook her head and smiled at I. "rk, go wash your hands. There is fruit on the dining table.


    Finish them like a good boy," she said, ruffling rk''s hair.


    "Uh-huh, see youter, Mom. See you, Aunt I!" rk ran into the house.


    "See you!" I grinned at rk.


    As soon as rk was gone, the smile on I''s face disappeared. "So what happened?" she asked


    coldly.


    Sheryl shook her head. She knew that I had sensed that something was wrong.


    "What do you want to know?" Sheryl asked, rolling her eyes.


    I red at her. "Have you changed your mind? Are you going to get back with Charles now, huh?


    Have you forgotten what he has done to you?" she asked through gritted teeth.


    "I haven''t," Sheryl answered curtly.


    "Then why would you let Shirley and rk go to the Dream Garden to have dinner with him? I am


    confused. If it was just a casual dinner, then why the hell was Shirley hospitalized?" I''s voice had


    grown louder with every word.


    "It''s nobody''s fault, I." Sheryl shrugged. "You know Shirley, she can''t eat anything cold. After dinner,


    she had dessert, and she ended up having a stomach ache."


    "No matter what you say, it''s Charles'' fault, Sheryl. He''s the father of your children. Shouldn''t he know


    about that? And look at you. You''re defending him now, Sheryl? I can''t believe it. I am very


    disappointed in you." The more Sheryl spoke, the angrier I became. She wanted to confront Charles


    and p him in the face.


    "No one would have thought that such a thing would happen, I. Moreover, what''s done is done.


    Shirley is better now. We''ll be more careful in the future." Sheryl touched I''s shoulder in an effort to


    calm her down.


    But Sheryl''s words hadn''t reached I''s ears as her brain was fuming in anger. How could she stand


    up for Charles? That scumbag. Poor Shirley was in the hospital because of him. "So you''re still going to


    let Charles see the kids in the future?" I screamed. "Haven''t you had enough already? How much


    suffering are you going to put your kids through?"


    "It''s not that serious…" I was overreacting and exaggerating everything. Sheryl didn''t know what to


    do to calm her friend down.


    I got furious, seeing Sheryl defend Charles. "You have a kind heart that softens easily, Sheryl. If you


    had listened to me and cut your ties with Charles a long time ago, none of this would have happened."


    "I, Charles is still the father of my children." I''s inability to understand annoyed Sheryl.


    "So what?" I could be extremely irrational when she was mad. She wouldn''t think twice before


    saying a word.


    "So what do you want to do?"


    "What do I want to do? I want to tear him into pieces!" I spat.


    Sheryl broke into a fit ofughter after hearing I''s remark.