The Apple of My Eye

Chapter 567 I Underestimated You

It was Charlie's birthday. Charles left no stone unturned to make it the best and the most special

birthday party for his son. Sam attended the party alone as Chris was recovering from post delivery

weakness.

Leila and Charlie were the last to arrive at the party. Charlie dressed like a gentleman. In his looks and

mannerisms, he looked like a miniature version of Charles. It did not take long for him to get spotted by

little Amanda who had always been fond of her handsome uncle — Charles. Now, a boy who looked

exactly like Charles drew her attention.

She came closer to Charlie and stood behind him. She was happy to stay with him.

As for Charlie, he was rather miffed at being followed by a girl. He frowned at her and moved away

from her as fast as he could.

"What are you doing here?" Isla asked, as she was flabbergasted to find Leila in the party. She just

knew that Charles had a child with another woman. But it was really unbelievable to accept the fact that

the woman was none other than Leila. She sneered at Leila and blurted out,"What a shameless woman

you are! Tell me, how did you manage to hook up with Charles? And you even gave birth to a little

bas..."

Isla stopped herself for uttering "bastard". 'I can't blame the innocent boy for his mother's fault, ' she

told herself and tried to calm down.

Isla could not bear the sight of her. She did not spare her from her scornful remark. She snorted at

her,"It looks like I underestimated you."

Leila had dressed up for the party. She already considered herself as the mistress of the Lu family. She

was beaming with joy. Heart of heart, she considered this party from Charles to be a gesture of

accepting her in his life.

She was in an excellent mood. Even Isla's harsh words failed to dampen her spirit. However, she

withdrew her smile in front of Isla. "I know I owe a lot to Autumn. But now she is no more. And Charles

and I... we have our child. I hope you can forgive me," she said trying to look apologetic in front of Isla.

It was a coincidence that Charles chose this day to celebrate Charlie's birthday. Today was his real

birthday. It was the same day three years back, when she took the boy away from Autumn.

"Forgive you?" Isla sniffed at Leila,"What are you thinking? Charles will marry you? Never! Stop fooling

yourself. Just keep in mind that you will never be Charles' wife even if Autumn has left the world. Don't

forget who you are. You don't deserve him."

Isla was getting uncontrollable. Each and every word uttered by Leila stung her so hard. Her heart bled

for Autumn. "You can never take Autumn's place even though you have his son. No matter how many

kids you have from him, he will never accept you. Mark my words. You were, are and will always be

just a shameless mistress. Nothing more than that," Isla cursed, as she took out her wrath on Leila.

"You..." Leila faltered at the face of such blatant humiliation. She was just too angry to even utter

another word. Isla's face turned red as she blurted out her anger on Leila. Her harsh words pierced

Leila's heart like a sharp dagger.

"Well, that's enough. Don't get angry. It's sheer wastage of time speaking to her," Aron interfered. He

drew closer to his wife and took her hand. He actually was observing them from a distance. Knowing

how much his wife hated Leila, he just waited till she vented her feelings out on her.

Charles witnessed the entire episode. But he had no intention of coming to her rescue. Instead, he

blasted on her right after Isla finished scolding. He walked up to Leila and spoke to her in a very cold

voice with a very stern look on his face. "What are you doing? I did not invite you here to put up a fight

with Mrs. Gu. If you continue to behave like this, you can feel free to leave the party now," he said, as

he made himself very clear to her.

"She started..." Leila stammered, abashed with a pitiful expression on her face seeking sympathy from

Charles. All of a sudden, she felt like an outsider. 'No one is willing to speak for me, ' she thought with a

bitter smile.

Her dreams came crumbling to see how indifferent Charles was towards her. Even though she was

completely broken inside, she didn't let it come on her face. She didn't want to leave a bad impression

on the guests.

'Isla gave me a hard time just because she thought I won the game. Even Charles can't forget Autumn.

But none of it matters to me. I will be there for him. I will wait for him and have the last laugh of victory. I

will win him over, ' she kept remembering the ultimate goal of her life which comforted her and helped

her to calm down.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." Charles turned around and welcomed the guests with a cheerful voice.

"Thank you very much for attending my son's birthday party. You must be feeling curious about him, but

I'm not going to explain to you. Charlie is my son and I have no doubt about this," he announced

looking at Charlie with a proud smile on his face.

Leila stood close to Charles gracefully, as if she were his wife.

When Charles finished his speech, she opened her mouth. "Thank you for coming here. I never

expected Charlie could have such a grand birthday party. Thank you for coming here to celebrate my

son's birthday," she expressed, and then bowed to the crowd deeply.

However, to her disappointment, no one paid attention to her.

Leila was not expecting such cold reaction from the guests towards her. No one was with her in the

party. Not even Charles. She felt really embarrassed to be left out like this. Still, she forced a fake smile

on her face and pretended as if nothing had happened. "Well, please have a seat. There is no outsider, NôvelDrama.Org: owner of this content.

so you can enjoy the meal," she continued politely, turning to the guests.

'No outsider?

Except me, '

Leila ridiculed herself inwardly.

"Wait," Charles summoned the attention of the guests once again. The enthusiasm in his voice echoed

in the hall as the guests turned around and waited for his next announcement. Charles turned towards

his friends and relatives, and continued,"Today I invited you here to introduce my son. But more

importantly, I'd like to introduce someone else to you."

"Now, who is he talking about?" Leila mumbled to herself. A mix of apprehension and fear filled her

heart.

'Something bad is going to happen, ' she thought.

"Charles, who else did you invite?" Gary asked, as he looked at his grandson with curious eyes. 'We've

got all on our list. Who else did he invite?' he wondered.

"Please wait for a moment. I'll be back right away," Charles gave a mysterious smile as he excused

himself from the guests. He headed up the stairs to look for Sheryl.

Sheryl was worn out after the rigorous rehearsals these days. She had called for a masseur and was

enjoying a relaxing message. The hands of the masseur moved over her skin making her feel

comfortable.

Charles pushed the door open gently to find Sheryl lying on the bed in a tranquil state. He gestured the

masseur to keep silent and asked him to leave. Then he tiptoed beside her bed and stood there. Sheryl

had no idea that Charles was standing near to her.

With her eyes still closed, she pointed to her waist and said,"I want a massage here, please."

"How are you feeling now?" Charles asked tenderly as he rubbed her waist softly. Charles voice out of

nowhere inside her room startled Sheryl. She opened her eyes to confirm her assumption. She was so

petrified to see him inside her room that she sat up instantly. She was absolutely flabbergasted.

"What... What are you doing here?" she asked, dumbfounded. 'Where is that masseur?' she wondered.

Then suddenly, she blushed and lowered her eyes. Charles kept looking at her. The same coy look on

her face that still tugged at his heartstring.

Charles gazed at her lovingly. "I found you look so tired, so I didn't think of waking you up. The party

has begun already. Let's go," he said politely.

"Well, okay," Sheryl replied meekly, her face not yet over from the state of shock. When she was with

Charles, she behaved like an obedient child.

She got up from the bed and approached to get her shoes that were lying at a distance. Watching her

walking barefooted, Charles promptly brought the shoes for her.

He squatted down in an attempt to help Sheryl wear her shoes. Once again, she grew red with

embarrassment and stopped him at once. "Well... I can handle it myself," she muttered.

'How can I allow a man to help me wear my shoes? It's so awkward, ' she said to herself.