Chapter 779 Shirley''s Hesitation


    "I''m not an idiot." Charles goaded her on while hurling her with a cold and hard stare. His voice was


    heavy with sarcasm. Le was panic-stricken as she couldn''t get hold of her nervousness. She felt a


    sudden gripping fear crawling tightly in her chest, while she looked at Charles'' livid expression. Her


    instinct told her that there was something off.


    She was mentally convincing herself that she had securely hidden the kids in a secret ce. Finding


    them would be so futile and next to impossible. Charles should have a hard time figuring out the


    whereabouts of the children.


    Le prevented herself from averting her eyes from Charles. She thought that by keeping eye contact


    with him, he wouldn''t notice the turmoil rising within her. That behind her serene andposed self,


    she was already trembling inside. Then she cautiously asked, "What do you mean?"


    Charles, who seemed to be scrutinizing her face and was trying to gauge her reaction earlier, nced


    briefly at his wristwatch and spoke in a slow and consciously unhurried manner, "I mean, the police are


    out in force today. By this time, they have broken into your house and rescued the two kids. So do you


    think there is still a possibility that you can go back safely?" Charles said while unting a wry and


    humorless smile.


    "No! That''s impossible!" Le shrieked in total disbelief. Her mental rejection was too strong that she


    stood rigidly frozen. Never did she expect that Charles could be this cunning, leaving her defenseless.


    He met up with her here, only to create a chance for the police to save the kids.


    Coming to her senses, Le felt infuriated and screamed at him, "Charles Lu! You''re such a jerk! How


    can you deceive me? How dare you?"


    "How dare I? Of course, I dare! The lives of the children are on the line." Charles retorted in a mocking


    tone while shaking his head in great disapproval and added, "Le, don''t overestimate your ability."Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    As he watched her closely, Le looking shattered and defeated didn''t escape Charles'' notice. He then


    asked, "Do you want to go alone or be with one of my men?"


    Suddenly, several men in suits appeared behind Le. One of them stepped near Charles and urged


    him, "Mr. Lu, we need to hurry up. The police areing."


    "Then go and take her away. I''ll deal with the police," Charles uttered nonchntly. His face exuded


    calmness.


    Le was taken away by these men. And as soon as their retreating figures were out of his sight,


    Charles closed his eyes momentarily and let out a sigh of relief.


    Sooner than expected, the policemen arrived with Shirley. Charles became restless when he didn''t see


    his son, Charlie. He was apprehensive when he asked the policeman, "Where is the boy?"


    "Don''t worry. He is alright," the policeman said grinning. "When we arrived at the scene, the boy was


    trying to take the girl out of the room. She was wrapped in a bed sheet. He broke his arm by ident


    when he fell down. Probably, he was startled by the loud crashing sound when we broke in. But the


    doctor said it wasn''t severe," the policeman genially concluded.


    "His arm was broken?" Charles instinctively asked, arching a brow. He then approached Shirley and


    carefully examined her. After making sure that she was all right, a rush of relief washed over him. He


    turned back his attention to the policeman and said, "Thank you, Sir. I''m going to see Charlie now."


    "Hold on!" the officer said in amanding tone. He suddenly remembered Le. Charles halted on


    his tracks when he heard the policeman ordered him to wait and asked him, "Where is Le? I have


    asked you to spare more effort than necessary to keep her, right?"


    "She..." Charles stammered. Charles paused for a moment as he was mentally considering a usible


    exnation. A slight frown was visibly creasing on his forehead. And he said, "I''m sorry. I''ve tried my


    best to retain her. But she''s supremely devious and way too scheming that she ran away."


    "What? She ran away?" the policeman countered expressing wariness. In a stare-down with Charles,


    he initially set aside his extremely dubious assumptions. He thoroughly scanned Charles'' face trying to


    figure out whether he was lying or not, but he couldn''t find anything.


    Charles was rtively calm andposed to show any hint.


    "Mr. Lu, it''s such a piece of bad news for you. Unfortunately, Le is still atrge, posing a great threat


    to your children''s safety."


    "I know," Charles acknowledged and nodded slightly. Then he added, "I will be more vignt in


    protecting my kids. As for Le, I believe you can catch her one day. I''m more than positive that she will


    soon be apprehended."


    Charles nced at the policeman with anticipation and asked, "Can I see my son now?"


    "Sure," the policeman relented. Then he made way for Charles.


    Charles came with Shirley in his arms. Seeing that the doctor was still preupied dealing with


    Charlie''s arm, he decided to watch his son. Charlie stood up right off as his gazended on them. He


    was about to walk towards their way. But he was immediately pulled back to the seat. The doctor


    helplessly asked, "Sit here! Don''t you want your arm?"


    Charlie had no choice but to sit back and keenly inspected Shirley with concern. "Dad, is Shirley


    alright?" he asked worriedly.


    "Don''t worry, she''s okay." Charles couldn''t help letting out a chuckle seeing his son''s face fretting. Then


    he bent down to look at Charlie squarely and teased, "Silly boy, why did you try to escape from the


    window with your sister? Did you want to die?"


    Charlie threw a contemptuous nce at his father and quickly said, "That''s all because you''re toote.


    It''s all your fault."


    "You..." Charles couldn''t speak for a while. He was taken aback by the cutting remarks of his son. He


    was slightly annoyed. But he couldn''t me his son for doing such act of bravery. Charles was very


    pleased as he thought of the fact that both of his kids were sound and safe.


    Recalling that he hadn''t given Sheryl a call, he promptly dialed her number. He informed her that


    Shirley was safe. He heard Sheryl gasping on the other line and she sounded like she couldn''t stop


    crying.


    I was in Sheryl''spany when the phone rang. While looking at the gamut of emotions in Sheryl''s


    face, she handed her a piece of tissue. "It''s okay, baby. Shirley is safe now. You should stop crying.


    She''s all right," she consoled Sheryl.


    "I..." Sheryl managed to croak after some time as she breathed deeply. "I am just so happy to hear that


    news," she continued as she struggled through a hup. "I''m so happy, really!" she added with


    excitementcing her tone.


    "So why are you still sobbing?" I gently asked with utmost concern. "Stop crying. Charles and


    Shirley must think I have bullied you when theye back and see your tears," I added teasing


    Sheryl.


    Sheryl heaved a sigh of relief. She wiped out the tears that kept on spilling out and replied weakly at


    I, "You can''t imagine how I spent these days. And I wouldn''t be able to forgive myself if Shirley got


    killed by Le. If that happened, I''d rather die. I couldn''t bear it to live without her. She''s everything to


    me. She''s my life."


    "I can understand your feelings," I said softly. I patted Sheryl''s hand to coax her and said, "If


    Amanda met the same situation, I would do the same things as you did. But Sher, you know Charles


    worked hard in rescuing the children. He exhibited exceptional skill in handling it. And that proved that


    he is such a capable man. So why not be with him once again? Give your rtionship a chance."


    I was kind of insistent in persuading Sheryl. She seemed like recounting a tale when she said, "In


    the past, during the years that you were not around, I witnessed the hardships he had gone through.


    Every single day he lived in regret. He was in deep pain. But there was nothing I could do to make him


    feel better. I felt sorry for him. He is a good and kindhearted man. And he loves you so much. So


    please forgive him."


    "I..." Sheryl cut in gently as she gave her a knowing stare. Sheryl found herself got into such a


    predicament. She was confused. Her mixed up emotions made her mind even more a total mess. "I


    don''t want to think about this matter right now. Please give me some more time," she concluded in a


    soft voice that sounded like she was asking for a bit more of patience.


    She knew how painful it was for Charles then. But now, many things had changed. Shecked the


    confidence to be with Charles again. She was in self-doubt and she couldn''t trust herself.


    "Okay, I won''t push you," I said with a grin. She then quickly nced at her hand and carried on with


    peeling the apple for Sheryl. Then she said, "I know it''s your own business. And the decision is yours to


    make. I want to give you a suggestion though because I don''t want to see you two break up knowing


    that you love each other so much."


    Sheryl kept mute the whole time as she listened to I''s insights. She knew that I was genuinely


    concerned about her. But she didn''t want to think about this matter at this moment. She was not ready


    yet to put the whole thing into consideration.


    Charles knew how devastated Sheryl had been about Shirley''s disappearance. So after they arrived at


    the hospital, he hurriedly sent Charlie to another doctor for further treatment. Then he held Shirley''s


    small hand and led her to Sheryl''s ward.


    The door of her ward burst opened and Shirley showed up at the doorway. Sheryl, who had just calmed


    down, felt her tears began to well up in her eyes as she saw her daughter''s silhouette. She helplessly


    started weeping again.


    When Shirley saw her mother crying, she felt hesitant. She stood in a daze. Then she raised her head


    and looked at Charles.