ENCHANTED LOVE, VOLUME 2 - Season 9 Episode 2

For the entire morning, Sheryl focused on practicing. The performance was just around the corner, and she had taken a lot of breaks over the past few days. If she allowed herself to slack off for much longer, she would more than likely make a fool of herself during the actual performance.

Charles was made aware the moment that Sheryl returned to work. He had secretly come to watch her practice once, but because she was so focused on what she was doing, she was completely oblivious of his presence.

Everyone went out for lunch around noon. Sue was a little hesitant for a moment, but then she approached Sheryl and said, “Sher, let’s go and have lunch together.”

Showing very little interest, Sheryl said, “No, thank you.” Sheryl shook her head slightly. She grabbed a towel nearby, wiped off her sweat and said to Sue, “I’m already so far behind, I’ll just pass on lunch. You should go with everyone else.”

Sheryl did not really want to have lunch with Sue. If it were not for the fact that they worked in the same place, she would not even want to have anything to do with her.

It was not because she disliked her, or because of any other negative personal opinions. It was just after all that had happened recently, Sheryl felt that the friendship between the two of them was no longer as it had been, and since they were no longer friends, there was no need to feign the pleasantries.

Not to mention that Sue was now Anthony’s girlfriend, and his family’s social status was quite a bit higher than her own. Sheryl did not want to get herself into any more trouble.

“Sher…” Sue looked at Sheryl, who was standing in front of her. There was something that she wanted to say, but not knowing exactly what to say made her stop for a moment.

She briefly flashed a regretful smile at her former friend. Finally, she said, “Sheryl, I saw you move out this morning, I’m so sorry Sher. I didn’t expect things to turn into such a mess like this. Actually, I…”

Sue hesitated for a while, as she contemplated on if she should continue. “I know what I did was wrong, but I just couldn’t help myself. I’m sure you can understand that, right.”

“It’s okay,” Sheryl said with pure disdain. Sheryl looked at Sue with a look that could break the highest fever, and said, “There’s nothing right or wrong, as long as you can live with yourself and are happy with your choice. It shouldn’t matter what I feel or anyone else feels.”

She stared straight into Sue’s eyes and said, “Sue, since you’re already with Anthony, I only have one request: do not disrupt my and Shirley’s lives ever again. If you can just do that one thing for me, I would really appreciate it.”

With that, Sheryl turned and walked away, not giving Sue a chance to respond. As Sue watched her leave, she felt a sudden, sharp pain piercing her chest. It just felt so final.

‘As long as you can live with yourself and are happy with your choice.’ Sheryl’s words echoed through her head once again.

But the question was, was she really happy now?

Not long after Sue left, Charles came down to look for Sheryl. Because she was still practicing on the stage, he wasn’t getting any response as he called out for her.

“Let’s go, it’s time for lunch.” Charles called out to Sheryl as she was still on stage.

There was a special allure about her. Whenever she was focused on something with a determination he very rarely saw in others, he could not take his eyes off of her. He was completely captivated by her tenacity to succeed.

“I’m not going to lunch. You can just go without me,” Sheryl replied absently, not missing a moment of her practice.

Without asking for her permission, Charles went up on the stage and physically removed her from it, while lecturing her fervently, “Food is the essential pillar of life. Hurry up.

Sustenance needs to come before everything else.”

Sheryl resisted a little bit, but knowing he was right, she agreed. She could use this mealtime to have a discussion with him.
Charles picked one of Sheryl’s favorite restaurants. The last time he visited here, it was with Leila. After they had ordered, he finally began to ask Sheryl, “Do you still remember this place?”

“I do.” Sheryl nodded gently. “Never thought that it’d still be open after so many years. I wonder if the food still tastes the same.”

“The taste is still the same.” Charles said softly, “In the years after you left, I would often come here alone.”

“Did you really?” Sheryl asked in an unsteady tone. Upon hearing what he had just said, Sheryl felt a little uneasy. She wasn’t quite sure how she should respond to that.

For she knew that Charles had suffered a lot after she left. However, there was still the matter of the three years of separation between them, and this relationship still needed time to heal from all the pain that was felt.

She had been too busy recently. After all these things were over, she would actually like to sit down and have a good conversation with Charles, and see how they could continue this relationship.

“Oh, there’s something I forgot to tell you,” Sheryl said, changing the subject. She poured a cup of water, helped him clean his utensils, poured out the used water and arranged them neatly for him, just as she had always done before.

Charles gazed at her. Even though she had been keeping her distance from him, she still retained the habits of three years ago, which meant she never completely let go of the times they shared.

People’s emotions and mentalities might change with time, but not habits.

“What? What are you thinking about?” Sheryl realized that Charles had been watching her intently as she completed her routine, so she asked hastily.

“Nothing.” Charles quickly regained his focus, and asked, “Isn’t there something you wanted to tell me?

“Right, so…” Sheryl stared at Charles, not sure how to put it into words. Charles had always wanted her to move to Dream Garden, yet she had refused to do it then. Now that she had moved, Charles was still unaware.

Sheryl swallowed hard and said, “This morning I… I packed my things and brought them to the Murphy family house. From this point forward, I’ll be staying there.”

“What?” Once Sheryl said that, Charles stood up from his seat abruptly. He frowned, glaring at her and demanded, “Why do you wait until now to tell me something so important?”

“I’ll tell you. But please, just sit down first.” Charles’ reaction was so excessive, that everyone in the restaurant stopped what they were doing and looked towards the two of them in an instant. Sheryl looked at Charles, a little embarrassed, and said in a slightly hushed voice, “Calm down. I am telling you now, okay?”

Charles sat down, but did not look very pleased. He looked at her and said, “Sheryl, you better explain this to me clearly. I have no objection as far as you moving out from that apartment, but why the Murphy family? Without saying a word to me about it? You…”

Charles was too angry to even speak smoothly.

“Please, don’t be mad.” Sheryl hastened to add, “I didn’t keep it from you on purpose. It’s just, things happened too quickly, and it was a last-minute decision.”

“What exactly happened?” he asked, still visibly angry. Looking at how Sheryl was behaving now, Charles finally realized that things were not as easy as he had first thought.

Sheryl pondered for a while, but eventually told him everything that had happened the night before. Then she sighed and said,” I don’t really want much right now. I just wish for me and Shirley to have some peaceful days. I don’t want to go on and on with them anymore.”

Charles frowned and said, “Even if that’s the case, you can still move to the Dream Garden. There’s still a room for you there. Why do you need to…”

“Charles, you know me.” Sheryl smiled wryly and said to him, “If it didn’t happen so last-minute, I wouldn’t even have moved to the Murphy family house.”