Chapter 571 Unpleasant Encounters


    Since Sheryl was present, the two men pretended that they were meeting for the first time. But she felt


    the tense atmosphere as if the two were ready to beat each other up any time.


    It irked Charles to see Anthony''s hand on Sheryl''s shoulder.


    With a snort, he challenged,"Are you?"


    His voice was full of contempt.


    A sly smile had formed in his lips. Charles thought, ''She is Autumn, and she is still legally my wife. If I


    don''t let her go, Sheryl will never get married to Anthony.''


    Turning to Anthony, Sheryl suggested,"It''s alreadyte. How about we leave now?" With a frown, she


    went to get her daughter, but Shirley refused to leave and wanted to continue ying with Charlie and


    Amanda. It was the first time she had children to y with because, in America, Shirley had no friends.


    "What''s your name?" Charles suddenly asked the little girl. His mellow tone and loving look drew


    Shirley to him.


    The little girl was not shy. Tilting her head, she surveyed the gentleman who had spoken from head to


    toe. Then she gave her name.


    Charles stared at the cute girl with doting eyes. ''She is my child, I am sure of it. But where is the other?''


    he wondered.


    "I learned that today is your birthday. Is that right?" He continued to speak gently.


    "Yes," Shirley replied, her head bobbing up and down. There was no awakwardness between the man


    and little girl.


    Turning to Sheryl, Charles proposed,"Now that your daughter is here, why don''t you all stay so we can


    celebrate the children''s birthdays together?"


    He was doing everything possible to keep Sheryl with him and ensure she would never leave again.


    "But…" Sheryl hesitated. She wanted to stay but looked at Anthony to check his reaction.


    Charles looked at Anthony and extended the invitation. "Mr. Xiao, I hope you can stay. It is our first


    meeting. And please forgive me for not paying much attention to you," he said politely.


    Anthony noted how Charles stressed the words "first meeting". ''What is he trying to do?'' Anthony


    wondered. Laughing, he turned to Sheryl and said,"Sher, it''s impolite to turn down Mr. Lu''s kind


    invitation. Shirley is having fun now. So, how about we stay a little longer?" Sheryl looked at him in


    gratitude.


    Giving his consent made Anthony feel that he was showing Charles how intimate his rtionship with


    Sheryl was. ''Besides, she''s my girlfriend now, '' he assured himself.


    The tension between the two men was so palpable that everyone there felt it. And Sheryl, who sensed


    it quickly, couldn''t understand why. She thought, ''It''s only their first meeting. How could they detest


    each other like this?''


    Among those present, Gary was the happiest. He was celebrating his great-grandson''s birthday, and


    his granddaughter-inw was back. Feeling content, he said to himself,"I will have no regrets even if I


    leave this world now."


    But Anthony''s arrival did turn the merry atmosphere into a slightly awkward one. The people in the


    party all knew Anthony and now realized he had hidden Autumn. So, it wasn''t only Le who felt like


    she was unwanted. They all scoffed at him, and some even got mad. Le giggled at his predicament.


    She decided to change her mood drastically.


    "Miss Xia, you and Mr. Xiao look like a good match. When do you n to get married?" Le asked


    Sheryl unexpectedly. She was enjoying the slightly embarrassed look the other woman gave her.


    "I…" Sheryl stammered with a bit of a frown. While she and Anthony had discussed marriage, she had


    not made a decision. Knowing her feelings for Anthony, Sheryl was notfortable discussing


    personal matters with other people, especially a new acquaintance. She decided to let nature take its


    course.


    ''Maybe in time, I will learn to love him, '' she thought to herself. Sheryl didn''t want to think about it for


    now.


    But Anthony was the exact opposite. Laughing aloud, he joined the conversation. "Soon. Sher and I


    have been nning our wedding," he said with confidence.


    "Is that so?" Le replied with an ear-to-ear smile. She was snickering inside, ''It doesn''t even matter


    that Autumn has returned. Because she loves Anthony now, and not Charles.'' Le felt victorious.


    With a fake smile, Le spoke to Sheryl,"Miss Xia, you are a lucky woman. You not only have a lovely


    daughter, but you also have a handsome fiance who adores you."


    N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    There was a hint of contempt in her voice which she could not control. Le mistook Shirley as Shery''ls


    adopted child, not knowing the woman had given birth to twins.


    Anthony cut in with a courteous smile,"Miss Zhang, you are also quite fortunate." Sheryl only kept


    quiet. "You have a very cute son. I hope we''ll be hearing good news about you and Mr. Lu soon," he


    said.


    His statement pleased Le tremendously, and she chuckled and said,"You will." The exchange had


    Charles gripping his cup tightly and his brows drawing together to form a frown.


    Unable to control his temper, he tossed the chopsticks on the table and gave Le a hard look. "I


    promise you will regret it if you continue talking rubbish," he threatened.


    Anthony may be standing in between him and Sheryl, but he did not care. Charles was confident of


    winning his beloved wife back. What he hated was for Sheryl to misunderstand his rtionship with


    Le.


    His threatening words worked. Le was terrified, and she held back her tongue. She didn''t dare utter


    another word.


    I was curious how Autumn lost her memory. To satisfy her curiosity, she finally asked,"Mr. Xiao, I


    heard Miss Xia lost her memory. And she''s forgotten about her past. What happened to her?"


    I thought to herself, ''Perhaps, Anthony is the only one who knows what Autumn went through and


    suffered three years ago.''


    Anthony had never spoken about it to others. This time, he smiled and replied,"Sher was in poor health


    after giving birth to Shirley. She began taking pills to make her well. But the medication had a


    downside: it made people forget their past."


    "Did Miss Xia choose this option?" I asked. It puzzled her to hear that Autumn would do this. "Of


    course, it was her decision," Anthony asserted.


    "But it was good for her since she didn''t have very happy memories in her past," he added. He spoke


    casually while looking at Sheryl. "Thankfully, Sher and I lead a happy life now," Anthony said. Sheryl


    stared at Anthony. She had never heard him be so chatty with strangers about her.


    And she felt very ufortable when he touched her affectionately in front of Le.


    "What is wrong with you? You''re not behaving like yourself!" she hissed at him. His behavior was


    annoying and embarrassing, and she didn''t like it.


    But Anthony simply ignored her questions.


    The meal ended, and so did the two men''s acrimonious debate. Sheryl and Anthony headed back to


    the hotel with Shirley. The child had fallen asleep on her mother''s shoulder. Perhaps she was


    exhausted from jetg.


    Fearing Sheryl would get tired from carrying Shirley, Anthony offered,"Sher, let me help you with


    Shirley. You must be exhausted," he said worriedly.


    "No, thank you. I can handle this," she refused firmly. She moved aside to continue walking.


    "Are you mad at me?" Anthony finally asked. "What''s wrong? Are you angry with me foring over


    with Shirley without telling you?" he persisted.


    Scowling, Sheryl retorted,"Anthony, your behavior at the party was quite rude. Did you know that?" She


    was trying to be calm but was already exasperated.


    "I don''t like that man," he finally admitted. "Sher, you''re my girlfriend. I can''t and won''t allow another


    man to get close to you like we are. Besides, he likes you. And I can sense that," Anthonyined.


    "Now that your show is over, we''re going back to America. Our flight is for tomorrow morning," he


    dered presumptuously.


    "You even bought tickets?" Sheryl asked dumbfounded. Anthony making decisions without asking her


    opinion was quite upsetting for Sheryl.


    "Yes, I did," Anthony replied, not realizing his decision would displease his girlfriend. "I knew you''ve


    been busy these past several days, and I didn''t want to bother you with these trivial matters," he


    exined.


    Anthony never expected Sheryl to be so annoyed with him. She snorted in disgust. She took a deep


    breath, and then told him,"Why are you so unreasonable? If you want to leave, you can go. But I''m


    staying here."