ENCHANTED LOVE, VOLUME 2 - Season 9 Episode 77

The bright sunlight bounced off the sterile white walls of the hallway. It was quiet and peaceful, save for a few voices talking by the door.

“Grandma, I will handle it,” Charles told Amy. “Shirley told me she’s a little hungry,” he added.

“Okay. I’ll cook for her right now.” Amy nodded and went inside the room.

Charles simply took a glance at Anthony and then asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m not here for Sheryl,” Anthony explained as he felt Charles’ hostility towards him.

“I heard Sue is pregnant with my baby. So… I want to visit and talk to her,” he continued.

Charles had no idea that Sue was pregnant. However, he had heard some stories about them. He sneered at Anthony’s response and said, “Talk? Talk about what?”

“I…” Anthony paused. He had to admit that he was taken aback by Charles’ aggressive questioning.

“Anthony, if I were you, I wouldn’t be here. Instead, I would try to help her solve her problems right now. If you can’t do it, then you don’t deserve to talk to her,” Charles said in a serious tone after a while. However, this was not the response Anthony seemed to expect.

“Who do you think you are?” Anthony questioned him. He was pissed off by Charles who just tried to lecture him. “What do you know about Sue and me? You know nothing! Don’t ever think that you can judge me!” he angrily shot back.

“I don’t know much exactly,” Charles started. “But at least I know she almost went crazy because of what happened in her family. I know her mother asked for money from her, and her dear brother even beat her. I also promised Sheryl to solve the mess for her. But how about you? What have you done?”

The cold voice of Charles responded icily in return as his eyes regarded Anthony with contempt. He stepped closer to the man across him and added, “I don’t want to know your relationship with Sue, but she is not in the mood to deal with you now. You better leave right away!”

After hearing Charles’ accusations, Anthony went deep in thought and suddenly realized that Charles was right. He had done nothing for Sue, whether as her friend or the father of her baby.

“So… Is she alright now? And is the baby all right now?” he asked in an embarrassed voice. Anthony felt guilty after Charles’ interrogation. How could he not? He didn’t deserve to meet Sue because the accusations against him were true. However, it didn’t mean that he would give up the attempt to know how she was doing now.

“I don’t know either. I just came here,” Charles admitted as he scratched his head. Upon seeing Anthony’s vexed expression, he tried to console him by saying, “But I’m sure she will be fine since Sheryl and Amy are taking care of her.”

“That is great!” Relief flooded Anthony’s response. He looked at his companion in the eye and reassuringly said, “You are right. I don’t deserve to meet her right now. But… I will prove that I’m trustworthy through my actions!”

“I hope that you are not just saying that.” The thick eyebrows of Charles shot up dubiously as he commented.

“I’m not just saying that, I promise!” the father of Sue’s baby said in a firm tone to dispel Charles’ worries about him.

Strangely enough, something melted his heart and made him feel soft and tender the moment he heard about Sue’s pregnancy.

At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to envelope Sue tightly in his arms, even without any words passing between them.

After the short silence, Anthony’s eyes seemingly pleaded to Charles as he said, “Could you… Could you please bring a message to Sue for me?”

“What message?” he asked.

“Tell her to take care of herself and the baby. Tell her to trust me. I will prove to her through my actions that I can be a reliable husband and a good father!”

Anthony said with all the courage and determination he could muster up in his voice. He hoped that Charles would at least have faith in him.

“Are you sure? Have you made up your mind?” Charles’ eyes went wide as he asked in amazement. He didn’t expect that Anthony would give up Sheryl so easily since he used to love her so much.

“Absolutely yes!” A hopeful Anthony nodded enthusiastically. “I was too stubborn in the past, but now I’m a father. I have to take responsibility for Sue and our child,” he added.

“No problem. I will tell her every word you said,” Charles nodded and assured him. “However… I can’t promise you anything. I’m not sure whether she is willing to accept it or not,” he continued.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m grateful as long as you can deliver my words. Thank you!” The hopeful eyes of Anthony glimmered as he finished saying everything he wanted to express. He thanked Charles once again for all his help, and then took his leave.

He walked out the doors and went directly to his car. Meanwhile, Charles just stood there and watched him until he had driven away. When Anthony’s car had disappeared into the distance, he returned to the house.

The house was a bit too cold because of the strong air-conditioning. Shirley lay next to Sue and observed her belly with inquisitive eyes. She pointed at her flat stomach and asked in a curious voice, “Auntie Sue, do you really have a little baby in your belly?”

“Yes, there is a little baby.” The pregnant lady nodded and smiled gently. Sue couldn’t help but imagine how the baby would look like. She thought that it would be great if the baby was a cute girl like Shirley.

‘What if it is a boy?’ She felt herself shiver inwardly. Her eyes darted to Clark who looked like a grown up.

‘No! No! No!’ She tried to convince herself that even if it was a boy, he wouldn’t be as precocious as Clark, because neither she nor Anthony were as intelligent as Clark’s parents.

“Well… Is it a little sister or little brother?” Shirley’s big, bright eyes sparkled as she continued to ask.

In return, Sue smiled and returned the question to her, “Shirley, do you prefer a little sister or a little brother?”

The little girl thought about it for a while. Then, her eyes lit up which meant she made up her mind. “I want a little sister!” she exclaimed. She then looked at Sheryl who sat on a nearby chair and asked, “Sher, can I share my beautiful clothes with the little sister?”

“Of course you can!” Sheryl replied with a smile.

Their little conversation was slightly interrupted when the door opened, and revealed Charles. “How is it going? Where is Anthony?” Sheryl asked when he stepped inside the room.

The man walked closer to them and sat beside Sheryl. “He left,” he said in response.

Sue’s eyes sank slightly when she heard Charles’ answer. Even though it was the answer she expected, she still felt disappointed when she heard the words herself. Then again, she refused to meet him and she pushed him away.

‘He really doesn’t care about me, right?’ Sue couldn’t help but ask herself.

“Sue!” Her train of thought was cut off when Charles abruptly called her attention. “Anthony asked me to bring a message to you,” he continued.

“What?” Now, Sue was stunned. She didn’t expect to hear that.

“He wants you to take care of yourself and the baby. He wants you to trust him. He will prove to you through his actions that he can be a reliable husband and good father,” Charles repeated what Anthony had told him.

“Did he really say that?” Sheryl said in a surprised voice who stood beside him. “Yes, he did.” Charles nodded. Sheryl immediately turned around to look at Sue for her reaction, wanting to share her excitement with the mother-to-be.

However, there was no hint of any excitement or joy on Sue’s calm face. She just remained passive like before.

Upon seeing her neutral expression, Sheryl worriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Sue? Isn’t this what you are waiting for? Why do you look unhappy?”

“I…” The sentence was cut off as Sue hesitated. She instead forced a smile on her face and tried to change topics.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about me,” she smiled. She turned to Shirley, took her small hands in her own and asked, “Shirley, can you show me your beautiful clothes?”

The little girl’s eyes sparkled with excitement at the mention of sharing her clothes. “Wow! Okay!” she exclaimed.

She was definitely thrilled to share her beautiful clothes with Sue’s little baby. Her small hands grasped Sue’s and she pulled her up to go outside the room. The door closed softly and they ran upstairs as their footsteps echoed down the hall.

Their recklessness worried Sheryl to no end, especially since Sue was pregnant and Shirley was a little girl. “Walk slowly! Mind your step!” she yelled after them. She knew that Sue wanted to leave so she and Charles could have some privacy together.

“See! Once you are here, Sue is scared away!” Sheryl looked up at Charles and teased him, her eyes filling with mirth. “Humph! I’m not finished with you!”

Charles said in an aggravated voice and pretended to be angry at her. His voice seemed even more demanding when he asked, “Tell me, why were you so happy when you heard Anthony’s statement!”

“I…” Sheryl stammered, her face flushed red in embarrassment. “I’m happy for Sue,” she finally answered in a low voice.
“Did you see she was happy? Why were you happy for her while in fact she was not happy?” At her response, Charles appeared to get even angrier.

“What? Are you mad at me?” Sheryl asked and tried to comfort him with a hug, as she stared at his angry but still handsome face.

“Mad? Of course not!” Charles simply scoffed, denying the accusation.

“Take it easy. I can explain,” Sheryl said carefully. The only thing she could do now was to tread cautiously with her next words in order to appease him. “I just thought that Anthony finally grows up and is willing to take responsibility. I felt happy for Sue. She has been waiting for this day for too long. I didn’t think about others, only Sue. Don’t be mad at me!” Sheryl reasoned and looked at him with pleading eyes.

Charles’ brows shot up in curiosity when he saw her anxious face. “Really?” he asked her in a teasing voice.

“Of course it’s true!” Sheryl’s voice was solemn as she spoke out sincerely. She didn’t realize that Charles was only making fun of her until she saw his wicked smirk.

“You! How can you do that? You’re playing with me again! I’ll punish you!”

Her eyes widened as she accused him. Sheryl pounced on Charles and pushed him back on the sofa, with his body trapped under hers. However, in the next moment she was quickly flipped and pinned down by Charles. This time, he was the one on top of her.

Their eyes locked together for a while before Charles slowly leaned down. Sheryl saw his face inching closer and closer to her own, until she could almost feel his breath on her lips. Her heart pounded so fast that it could almost come out of her rib cage.