The Apple of My Eye

"Why didn't you just call instead of coming here? Are you that stupid?" Sheryl asked, putting on a weak smile. "Uh, yeah, I don't know what I was thinking," Isla murmured then scratched her head, seemingly in a daze. Sheryl was rendered speechless. She did not know how to respond.

"Let's talk about Charles first. How are you feeling about Charles recently? You know, he's been helping you a lot lately... Do you like that he's been helping you?" Isla bombarded Sheryl with questions. Sheryl fell silent, not knowing what to say. She didn't know how to face Charles, and she wasn't able to prepare either.

"I'm telling you! Charles has hurt you before, and he's had affairs. He isn't good for you! Even though he's been very helpful lately, that still doesn't change the past. I just don't want you to hold out hope for him I won't allow it, okay?" Isla said earnestly.

However, Sheryl wasn't listening to Isla. She knew how devoted she and Charles had been to one another when they were still married. Sheryl's stomach was tied in knots.

"Alright, alright! Isla, don't you have anything else to do? Have you finished your work?" Sheryl suddenly said, purposely changing the topic.

"Oh, my God, I completely forgot! I have an appointment! I need to leave, Sher, but you haven't told me about Charles yet!" Isla said.

Isla then realized that she came to visit to check on how Sheryl was doing in terms of her feelings toward Charles. Was Sheryl really willing to get back together with Charles after all he's put her through? Sheryl didn't say a word as she pressed her lips together.

"You still look like you're in love with Charles! I can't help but be worried about you, Sher. I want to give you some advice. You have to move on from the past. Damian's been pursuing you for so long. Why don' you..." Isla asked. She didn't know what to make of Sheryl's strange behavior.

"I can't possibly marry him," Sheryl blurted out.

Isla couldn't understand why Sheryl was being so stubborn. She knew it would take some time before Damian grew on Sheryl, but it's not like she was completely averse towards him.

Isla knew that Damian was a well-educated man. It also helped that he was quite good-looking too. He adored Sheryl, and Isla couldn't understand why Sheryl wouldn't just give him a chance. "Please, listen to me, Sher. Men like Damian are rare! You won't find anyone else like him!" Isla kept trying to convince Sheryl. To her, Sheryl was being unreasonable.

Sheryl was already starting to get annoyed with Isla. She didn't say anything, though, as she just kept her eyes glued on the TV.

Sheryl was busy thinking about Charles and what he was going to do next. 'What would Charles think if I date Damian? Is he still going to visit me in the next few days?' Sheryl thought to herself nervously.

"Did you hear me? Sher. Sher. Sher!" Isla said, nagging. She knew Sheryl wasn't listening as it was obvious that she was lost in her own thoughts.

Sheryl snapped out of her trance. She had actually heard Isla, but she didn't care for what Isla was saying as she only had eyes for Charles. She was with Isla, but her mind was elsewhere.

"I already told you that I'm not interested in him, Isla. Why won't you listen to me?" Sheryl shrugged her shoulders in response.

"But why? Just tell me why you won't give him a chance, and we'll see what we can do about it," Isla pressed.

Upon seeing the serious look on Isla's face, Sheryl knew that Isla wasn't going to let this go if she didn't make herself clear.

"Damian is intelligent, and he's a great guy, but he's not my type," Sheryl said, sighing.

"All right, then what's your type? We can look for someone you can date." Isla was pretty passionate about this.

Sheryl didn't utter a word.

"Why do you love Charles? He's had affairs, he's hurt you. You're just being stubborn, Sher. I don't know what to do with you anymore," Isla said.

Sheryl's face suddenly darkened.

Isla glared at Sheryl. She knew what she said had hit Sheryl hard as it was true.

"Charles has hurt you so much, Sher. I'm telling you, he's not going to get back together with you. Even if it seems like he's been of great help recently, I bet he's just doing it for his own good. He just doesn't like Damian, and he doesn't want you seeing other people. Why can't you understand that?"

Sheryl nodded and sighed. "Probably. I don't want to talk about it anymore, and you should stop talking about it too."

"Fine. Whatever you want. I can't understand you. No matter how hard I try, I just can't understand you," Isla growled as she glared at Sheryl. Soon, she was walking out of the room.

Isla was surprised to suddenly run into Damian in the doorway. For a moment, they just awkwardly stared at each other.

"What are you doing here, Damian?"

Isla asked. She was extremely shocked to find him here.

"Shh! Sheryl will hear you," Damian whispered as he pointed to the window.

Isla winked at Damian knowingly. She immediately understood that Damian probably wanted to discuss Sheryl with her. "Okay." Isla nodded in agreement.

She and Damian decided to go to the coffee shop just a few minutes away from the hospital.

Isla took a sip of her coffee as she glanced at Damian. She already knew what he'd come here for.

"I feel so embarrassed, Ms. Zhao! I didn't mean to listen in on your earlier conversation. I'm so sorry!"

"It just so happened that you were there, and you overheard us?" Isla asked, her tone quizzical.

"Oh, a bit, yeah. I really came here to visit Sher," Damian said rather awkwardly. For some reason, his face was flushing.

"Oh, you were coming to see Sher? Why were you coming to see her?" Isla pressed.

"I watched the live telecasts today, so..."

"As Sheryl's best friend, I feel obliged to quiz you about your intentions, Mr. Li," Isla said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, okay. I'm telling you everything I know," Damian said defensively upon noticing the cold look on Isla's face.

"Do you love Sher?" Isla asked.

"I love her more than anything else!" Damian hesitated for a millisecond before answering with a slight nod of the head.

Isla was quite satisfied with this response.

"Tell me what you love about her," Isla nodded in response before continuing her questioning.

Damian grinned before saying, "Well, I love her because she's so positive and optimistic. Back when I was in Australia, I met all these beautiful girls, but I never really thought much of them. Sher is different. She's open-minded, she's kind, and she has a strong character. She holds her ground and takes things in stride no matter what happens,"

Damian finished with a triumphant look on his face. Then he asked again, "Have you felt that way before about someone else, Ms. Zhao? That whenever you're with the person you love, you feel happy and satisfied even if you're not doing anything. Just being with that person is enough to make you happy."

Isla was nodding in agreement.

She really believed Damian to be sincere as Damian's words tugged at her heartstrings.

She felt as if what Damian had just said really spoke to her soul.