Chapter 1084 Midnight Scream


    "Mommy, look!" rk shouted happily as he approached Sheryl. He was holding something in his


    hand. "This Transformer is fantastic! Grandma bought this for me." What he didn''t understand was why


    his grandma ignored his mom. ''Was there something wrong with Mom''s greetings?'' thought he.


    Anyway, this was his way of rescuing his mom from embarrassment, by showing her his new toy. ''I


    don''t like toys anymore. They are for little kids. I prefer now those technical or battery-operated ones.


    But I understand. Grandma just got out of jail. She doesn''t know my likes and dislikes yet, '' thought


    rk. He knew exactly how to behave and was willing to get along well with Melissa. He pretended to


    be happy so that Melissa would feel good about him. Family harmony needed everyone''s effort.


    "That really looks great. Did you say thank you?" Sheryl responded with a sweet smile. She was


    surprised by rk''s words, for she knew the interests of his son. rk was really very mature for his


    age. Still, there were times that she still felt surprised at his precocious talent formunication.


    Looking at her son''s face, she was filled with pride.


    "Yes. I told her that, and Grandma said I was wee," rk replied as he held his mother''s arm.


    "That''s very good. You are such a polite boy." rk blushed at his mother''s praise. He was shy in


    nature. Because of Le''s busy work, he was used to being alone. It was a new experience to be


    praised due to his politeness.


    "Mommy, mommy! Grandma also bought something for me. Look at these Barbie dolls! And, I also said


    thanks," a sweet voice chimed. Shirley''s full attention was on her new dolls. But when she heard her


    mother and brother talking, she rushed to Sheryl and showed off her new toys.


    "Oh, Shirley is as good as rk," Sheryl said and then kissed both of them on their cheeks. She


    always saw to it that she talked to her children every day when she came home from work. It made her


    happy. It also seeped all her tiredness away after an exhausting day. Buttely, she worried about living


    with her mother-inw. She found it hard to adjust. She was also worried that it might also be hard for


    the children to adjust living with their grandmother. But, tonight, seeing the children happy was a relief.


    Melissa had a good time with the children. But Sheryl''s arrival dampened her mood. She saw the


    children liked Sheryl more than her. This made Melissa''s face darken. She remembered that Charles,


    in his childhood years, was not close to her. How could rk and Shirley be attached to Sheryl? She


    wanted them to be closer to her than to Sheryl. She was overwhelmed by jealousy. Gone was the smile


    on her face. She didn''t nce at Sheryl and kept sitting still on the sofa.


    Meanwhile, Charles was looking at his wife and children. When he turned his gaze at his mother, he


    saw that his mother was unhappy, and was obvious what the reason was. He went to Melissa, winked


    at Sheryl, and said, "Mom, Sher has a gift for you. I hope you will like it."


    Charles knew Sheryl bought something for his mother. He thought it was a good way to lessen her


    mother''s anger.


    "Yes, Mom, I bought you a gift. I don''t know your taste, but I hope you will like it. Have a look," Sheryl


    said as she took out a Patek Philippe watch from her handbag. "If you don''t like it, I will exchange it for


    something you like." Respectfully, she held the watch to her. But Melissa did not take it. Nor did she say


    anything.


    For the second time, Sheryl felt embarrassed. Choosing a proper gift was exhaustive and time


    consuming. Anyone would feel insulted after receiving such treatment. ''I thought Melissa is kind and


    easy-going. It''s obvious that she doesn''t like me. I have no idea why she feels bad about me. And I am


    afraid our rtionship will be hard to handle, '' thought Sheryl. Even though she was unhappy, she


    stayed put. She knew it was important to have a good rtionship with Melissa. She would show her


    sincerity and respect. She would do everything in her power to get along with her. After all, they would


    live together for many years.


    Everyone could feel the awkwardness of the situation. To lighten what everyone felt, Charles took the


    watch from Sheryl and showed it to Melissa. "Mom, Sheryl bought this to show you her respect. Just


    have a look," said Charles with a ttering smile.


    Melissa was not satisfied with the gift. Since Charles was there, she tried to hide her unhappiness. She


    took the watch and just nced at it. But she did not wear it. "Is this a warning for me to cherish my


    freedom after 15 years in prison? For me to live and enjoy every moment of my freedom?" asked


    Melissa sarcastically. She did not like Sheryl, and regarded her as a greedy woman. Why? Because


    she believed everything Le had told her. That was unfortunate on Sheryl''s part. She was judged


    without knowing her first. So anything Sheryl did would just make Melissa unhappy.


    "No, Mom! The watch is attractive. That is why I bought it for you. No malice included. I hope you will


    like it. Please don''t take this the wrong way," exined Sheryl as she shook her head. She felt


    frustrated and sad because her good intention was ridiculed and given a bad meaning. Having such a


    difficult mother-inw was causing her a headache.


    "Okay, stop exining! I don''t care about your intention. Since you bought it, I ept it. It''s gettingte.


    Let''s have dinner," Melissa nced at Sheryl and sniffed. Though she epted the gift, she didn''t hide


    her distaste. The watch was thrown on the desk. Deep inside, she never epted Sheryl as her


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    daughter-inw. No matter what Sheryl had given her, she would never appreciate it. She was even


    confident that no matter what she did, Charles would always tolerate her behavior.


    Sheryl was sad. She was doing everything she could to please Melissa. She even bought her an


    expensive watch. But look at what she did. If Melissa didn''t like the watch, she would understand it. But


    what hurt her the most was Melissa''s facial expression. She saw on her face that whatever she bought,


    Melissa would not ept it with all her heart. ''My instinct tells me that she thinks bad of me. She may


    give me much trouble, '' thought Sheryl. She was right. Melissa didn''t like her; she liked Le. If it was


    possible, Melissa would ept Le as her daughter-inw.


    Charles felt Sheryl''s grief. He picked up the watch from the desk and persuaded Melissa to wear it.


    "Mom, since you epted this, why not wear it? Sher bought it to make you happy. Please don''t give


    any meaning to her actions. Sher has a good taste. This Patek Philippe watch is very elegant. It suits


    elegant women like you. Give me your hand." Upon hearing that, Melissa gave him her hand and let


    him put the watch on her wrist.


    She could never say no to Charles. Whatever happened, she didn''t have a heart to reject him. But that


    didn''t mean she was willing to start a good rtionship with Sheryl. She still didn''t like Sheryl. Melissa''s


    face was still a reflection of distaste even after Charles put the watch on her wrist. She pulled a long


    face and impatiently said, "Enough! Let''s have dinner."


    "Okay, let''s have dinner," answered Charles. Then he turned to his wife and said, "Sher, go wash your


    hands. You must be hungry after the day''s work." Being a husband and a son, he had to be a mediator.


    He was trying his best to connect his wife and his mother. When Sheryl went upstairs, he turned his


    attention to the children and told them to follow him. "Shirley, rk, stop ying. Let''s wash your


    hands and get ready for dinner."


    Charles and the children went upstairs. While he was washing the hands of the children, he noticed


    Sheryl was still sad. He instructed the children to continue washing their hands. Then, he approached


    her. He put his arms on her shoulders and told herfortingly, "Sher, I know Mom was wrong for


    doing that to you. But will you please be more understanding with her? Forgive her rudeness? She has


    just gotten out of the prison. I am sure that you will get along well with each other as time goes by."


    Charles didn''t understand Melissa''s behavior towards Sheryl. He knew very well that it was impolite on


    the part of Melissa to ignore and misunderstand Sheryl''s kindness. And he didn''t know how to solve the


    problem. His only hope was to ask Sheryl to be more patient with Melissa. He knew there would be a


    big problem once Sheryl couldn''t take Melissa anymore.


    Sheryl gave Charles a small smile. "Don''t worry. It is okay," she said in a low voice. But deep inside,


    she was full of questions. ''Why is Charles giving excuses for his mother? Doesn''t he care about my


    feelings anymore?'' She didn''t want to think about it, but she couldn''t help it. She was afraid that her


    husband was bing a mama''s boy.


    Meanwhile, Charles was feeling guilty. He didn''t want to see Sheryl so sad. He knew that Sheryl


    already had problems at work. Then, here came his mother adding to her problems. He heaved a deep


    sigh and continued, "Sher, I know you are suffering a lot these days. If my mother keeps making


    trouble, I will talk to her. Just give her two more days, okay?" Though he said those, he was still not


    sure if they would be okay. How to achieve a harmonious rtionship between his long-suffering


    mother and his wife was a conundrum for him.


    "Okay, I am fine. Let''s go downstairs. They are already waiting for us. If we stay longer, your mother will


    be angry again," answered Sheryl. Despite how she felt, she understood his husband. It was difficult to


    be torn between the twodies of his life. She also felt that Charles was feeling guilty for giving excuses


    for his mother. To show him she understood and ease his guilt, she gave him a smile, though bitter.


    But Charles didn''t hear her answer anymore. His attention was now focused on her face. He noticed


    that her face was slightly swollen. He asked worriedly, "Wait, what''s wrong with your face?"


    "Oh, nothing. I was so tired I fell asleep in the office. Maybe my face was pressed for too long,"


    muttered Sheryl. In fact, what she told him was a lie. Vivi pped her and Duncan embarrassed her. If


    Charles would have known about this, he might have gone to Tarsan Corporation and would have


    given Duncan a beating.


    Though they did something bad to her, she did not wish them ill will. It would be enough to stay away


    from them and not to have any dealings with Tarsan Corporation.


    Charles was very concerned with his wife. He touched Sheryl''s swollen cheek. Then he said, "Sher,


    your workload these past few days is very overwhelming. You don''t usually sleep at work. Promise me,


    after this big project, you will take a holiday. You deserve it." Sheryl felt her heart beat so fast. Actually,


    she could hear it! She was so nervous. She slowly released the breath she was holding. Charles had


    no difficulty believing the lie. It was a good thing the fingerprint already faded since several hours had


    already passed. It wasn''t obvious anymore that she had been pped.


    "Um, I see. Don''t worry, my emergent work is almost done. If you notice, I didn''t work overtime


    anymore today." Sheryl fought back her tears and smiled at Charles. She was touched by his tender


    care. He was really thoughtful and very considerate. Their love for each other helped sustain her. She


    could really face anything as long as Charles was with her, and even brave a difficult Melissa.


    "That''s good news," replied Charles. Somehow, his worry over his wife''s work lessened after he


    learned that she was almost finished with the project.


    Then, Charles stood up and helped Sheryl stand. Sheryl called the children, then held their hands.


    Together they went downstairs. Gary and Melissa were already waiting for them. During dinner, silence


    reigned except for the asional sounds of the spoons, forks and sses. Everyone was looking


    down at their tes, focused on eating. It was just like lunch, all over again. It was Melissa who broke


    the silence. "Charles, after careful consideration, I decided just to use the bedroom next to yours. It will


    be too much trouble for you to move out of the room."


    "Don''t worry, Mom. It''s okay. I came home early today. After dinner, I will take our things out with


    Charles. It won''t take too much time," answered Sheryl. Sheryl and Charles made eye contact as she


    offered her assistance to him in moving their things to the next room.


    "There''s no need, really. I realized that it has been your room ever since you got married. How could I


    take it away from you?" Melissa countered. "Just stay in your room. I am already old, and I really do not


    mind where to live. Besides, I went upstairs earlier and found the vacant room situated between yours


    and the children''s. I like it more," Melissa said in a fake courtesy. In reality, Melissa didn''t really care


    which bedroom she would be in. She just decided to take the master''s bedroom out of whim just to piss


    off Sheryl. But after seeing the rooms upstairs, she liked the middle room more. She would be nearer to


    the children.


    It was only during lunch that Melissa told them that she wanted their bedroom for herself. Actually,


    Charles didn''t like to move out. He just couldn''t say no to his mother, because he didn''t want her to be


    disappointed. That room witnessed their happiness and sorrow. So, Charles felt relieved and happy


    that his mother gave up.


    Seeing Sheryl was about to speak, he interrupted her and said, "Since Mom already decided to use the


    next room instead, let''s just respect her decision."


    "Okay," Sheryl simply replied. She then nodded as she understood the hidden message beneath


    Charles'' words. She was not willing to move out of their room either. But out of respect to Melissa, she


    couldpromise. Anyway, she was really trying to win her.


    Melissa was so happy that Charles and Sheryl agreed with her decision.


    Around midnight, when everyone was already sound asleep, a piercing scream shattered the silence of


    the night. Sheryl was the first to wake up. She turned to Charles and saw that he was also awakened


    by the sound.


    "Charles, did you hear something?" asked Sheryl. Though she heard the scream, she wanted to be


    sure that it was real. She might just be dreaming of it. After all it was midnight.


    "Yes, I heard it! It was definitely a scream. It came from Mom''s room," Charles replied after judging its


    direction. They were now totally awake. Charles stood up quickly. Sheryl followed as fast as she could.


    They were worried about Melissa.


    Before they could go out, there was another scream!


    They ran fast to the next room. Charles grabbed the doorknob and turned it. It was locked! Charles


    banged the door loudly and shouted anxiously, "Mom, open up! What''s wrong?"