The Apple of My Eye

Chapter 541 Gary Meets Charlie

"Okay!" Leila said, nodding her head in agreement. Chris then left and made her way to Gary.

The sun had set in the horizon. The old man recently took up a new hobby — gardening. And he took

great pleasure in the activity. An area in his backyard had already been set aside as his garden. When

Chris arrived, he was taking care of the flowers.

She headed to the backyard and saw Gary removing weeds. He wore a leather apron and had a sickle

in his hand.

Chris paused at the entrance of the garden. She took a moment to watch her grandfather working with

his flowers. Smiling, she called out,"Grandpa!" Upon hearing her voice, Gary straightened and turned

towards the girl. "What brings you here? As you can see, I'm busy," he said.

"Grandpa, can you leave your flowers for a while and come with me? Our guests have arrived," the

young woman urged. When he didn't move, Chris became impatient and walked towards the old man.

She thought of dragging him out with her.

"Stop! Stay there. I'm coming," Gary exclaimed. He had just finished watering the flowers, so the

flowerbeds were a bit muddy. Gary feared his pregnant granddaughter might be injured walking on wet

soil, so he did not want her to come closer.

He may be old, but Gary was sturdy and walked towards his granddaughter steadily. Then he stopped

and brushed off the dirt on his clothes and apron. "Who are your mysterious friends? Are you not going

to tell me?" he asked curiously.

"You'll know when you see them," she replied with a mysterious smile. Chris was determined to

surprise her grandfather. The old man took off his apron and strode towards the house. He stopped as

the girl grabbed his arm, looking puzzled. "Aren't you going to change clothes before meeting our

guests? You have mud all over them," she pointed out with a slight frown.

Gary looked at his clothes and agreed with his granddaughter's assessment. So, he headed upstairs to

put on clean clothes. As he came down the stairs, Leila was fidgeting on the couch, her expression

tense. She felt so uneasy that she didn't even notice the boy was no longer beside her.

Leila's presence was a complete surprise for the old man. He remembered the time Autumn and

Charles were fighting a lot over this woman. 'Is she the guest Chris was referring to?' he wondered.

"What's going on?" the old man asked, as he turned to his granddaughter with a stern look. Autumn

might no longer be with them, but Gary was not about to allow a wretched woman to take her place as

his granddaughter-in-law.

Chris didn't answer him. Instead, she looked around for Charlie and wondered where he was. "I'll

explain later," she told Gary.

She turned to Leila and asked,"Where is Charlie?" The boy was nowhere to be seen. "Bring him in

now," she ordered Leila.

"If Charlie doesn't come in soon, grandpa will lose his temper," she muttered to herself.

Leila whirled around to look for the boy and found him staring at a chessboard. "Charlie, come here.

Say hello to your great grandpa," she directed the child.

Both Gary and Chris were looking at where the boy stood. When Charlie turned around, the old man

was stunned.

Charlie stared at Charles' grandfather, and then looked at him from head to foot. Finally, he greeted him

courteously,"Hello, great-grandpa." Text content © NôvelDrama.Org.

"Great-grandpa?" Gary mumbled in disbelief. 'I wonder who's going to tell me what is happening, ' he

thought, giving the ladies a puzzled look.

Chris took it upon herself to make the introductions. "Grandpa, this is my brother and Leila's son,

Charlie. Isn't he a spitting image of Charles?" she said cheerfully. She motioned for him to come

nearer. "I was struck by their resemblance the first time I saw him. I'm still amazed when I look at

Charlie now," she said, while looking at her adorable nephew, and smiling sweetly.

"You mean to say..." Gary paused. "You mean he is Charles' son?" he asked. His eyes widened as he

pointed at Charlie.

"That's right, he is," Chris affirmed with a nod. Looking back at the boy, she continued,"Look at him. He

looks exactly like Charles. I'm sure even if I didn't tell you anything, you would have guessed their

relationship."

Gary couldn't hide his confusion. He asked,"What is this?" After a brief pause, he instructed his

granddaughter,"Follow me."

The pregnant woman knew her grandfather would be having many doubts. She turned to follow Gary,

but before leaving the room, she told Leila,"Make yourself at home. We'll be right back."

Chris knew that bringing Leila and the boy to the Lu family home was not a good idea. But she truly

wanted to help her brother finally let go of his wife and move on with his life. It was for his sake that she

decided to plot to bring Charles and Leila together.

"Close the door!" Gary hissed at Chris as soon as he entered his study. She obeyed his command.

Then she became excited again and chattered,"Grandpa, doesn't the boy look very much like

Charles?" She ignored Gary's silence. "You know what? When I first saw him, I freaked out." There was

no change in his grave expression, so Chris quickly changed her strategy. "It wasn't easy for Leila to

raise him by herself. So, I was wondering..." There was only stony silence from Gary. "Maybe if she

and Charles gets married, it will do both father and child good. What do you think?" she persuaded, as

she used her most persuasive tone.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gary asked, his tone full of reproach. "You know how much Charles

loves Autumn. Do you think he will accept them?"

She was hoping for a change in reaction. "That's why I brought them to you," Chris added. With a wry

smile, she reasoned,"We both know how stubborn Charles can be and he will never accept Leila. But

she is the child's mother. Shouldn't that count for something? If we can help her get married to Charles,

then maybe he will finally forget Autumn. You don't want to see my brother suffering forever, do you?"

"Do you think your plan will work?" Gary asked carefully. Then he sighed. "Your brother is obstinate.

And even I can't force him to do something he doesn't want to."

"Grandpa..." Chris pleaded, her brows furrowed. "I'm doing all this for Charles' sake. Autumn has been

away for three years. I can't bear to see my brother hurting from her loss for the rest of his life. I only

want to help him."

She saw the hesitancy in her grandfather's face. But she was not going to give up. "Charlie is such an

adorable kid. Can you bear to see him growing up with only a single parent?"

"Is that boy really Charles' son?" he asked with narrowed eyes. 'Is grandpa softening up?' Chris

wondered. "Of course he is!" she assured the old man.

Reaching out for his hand, she squeezed it for comfort. She went on,"You saw the boy yourself. He

looks exactly like my brother. No one will doubt he is Charles' son."

Then Gary burst out,"What has Charles done?" The situation truly bothered him. 'I'm glad to see my

great-grandson, but I just don't like his mother, ' he thought.

"How could he have cheated on Autumn with Leila when they were so good together?" A heavy sigh

escaped his lips.

"Grandpa, it's not time for this," she cautioned her grandfather. "It's done. Charles and Leila are old

enough. And if they get married, it will be a good thing for all of us. Don't you think so, grandpa?" she

prodded.

Gary said nothing.

When they finally came out of the study, Gary kept staring at Charlie and couldn't take his eyes off the

boy.