ENCHANTED LOVE, VOLUME 3 - Season 11 Episode 91

“Well if you say so, we will wait for your answer. Please think about our offer. I will call you tomorrow,” Irene replied with a low-spirited smile. “Well, if there isn’t anything else, I have to go. Bye!”

“Bye!” Sheryl replied before ending the call.

“What’s wrong with you, Sher? It is a good opportunity. Why didn’t you just say yes?” Isla whined. Isla could not agree with Sheryl’s decision to turn down such a brilliant opportunity. In fact, she did not expect Sheryl to turn it down in the first place.

“Yes, you are right, Isla. It is indeed a very good chance for Cloud Advertising Corp. But it happened all of a sudden. I am not ready for this at the moment,” Sheryl replied with a little frown. Sheryl assessed the whole thing in her mind. The time was not apt to grab any and every opportunity that came in the way. She had just received a threatening call from Duncan, and immediately after that, the assistant for the CEO of Tarsan Corporation called up. It seemed like everything made sense. But she still felt that something was wrong.

But she could not identify exactly what was wrong.

Hence, Sheryl decided to take each and every step with caution.

“Is it because we received this opportunity all of a sudden that you are feeling so uneasy?” Isla asked, staring at the wistful Sheryl.

“I don’t know. I need a day to think about this,” Sheryl shook her head and replied without looking at Isla.

Isla took note of the fact that Sheryl was a little out of sorts. Observing that she wore a troubled look, Isla didn’t want to push her any further. Yet after some hesitation, she blurted out her opinion. “Think over it, Sher. But I think Tarsan Corporation really wants to work with us. Besides, it is a big company. We have nothing to worry about.”

Although Sheryl didn’t respond, she agreed with what Isla said. In fact, Isla’s confidence in Tarsan Corporation and her assuring words helped her assess the positive aspects of the deal if she accepted it. ‘Isla has a point. Tarsan Corporation is not a small company. Maybe I am just thinking too much? I don’t think they will have the time to waste in fooling me.

Perhaps I have become too paranoid after what happened at home,’ she mused.

As she went on assessing all the pros and cons, the stern frown on her face gave away to a much more focused look. She picked up her phone and dialed Irene’s number. As Sheryl informed Irene about her willingness to continue their cooperation with the Tarsan Corporation, Irene got really excited. She rushed to the CEO’s room as soon as Sheryl ended the call.

“Ms. Turner, she agreed,” Irene reported. Rachel looked up from her laptop. Sheryl’s denial had made her upset. As Irene disclosed the news of Sheryl’s decision, her scowling face was replaced by a smile. She let out a sigh of relief and said, “I see.”

When Charles reached Dream Garden, Sheryl was on her way home. As he entered the hall, the lights were dim at their living room. It was evident that Sheryl was not there in the house. Melissa was sitting on the couch staring out of the window. She seemed to be in a pensive mood. As she glanced at Charles, she let out a smile. Charles looked around the house and asked, “Where is Sher, Mom?”

“Oh, Sher? Someone had called her. She took the call and went out,” Melissa replied in a cool manner without a single trace of guilt anywhere in her voice or her face about the fact that she had misinformed her son about his wife.

Charles felt a little strange. ‘Now that she agreed to look after Mom today, how could she just leave her alone? This was not expected of Sheryl,’ he brooded. He said politely, “Mom, she must have something important to deal with. I am going to give her a call and ask her what happened.”

“There is no need. If she wanted to tell you, she should have called you,” Melissa snapped in a sullen voice.

Charles marked a tint of disappointment in his mother’s voice. Placing his phone back in his pocket, he took a few steps towards her and asked gingerly, “Did you have some argument at home?”

Melissa looked at Charles lovingly and smiled. She looked happy to him concerned about her. However, the very next moment, a pitiful expression surfaced on her face. She muttered in a low voice, “I know it’s my fault. After all, I’ve been away from this house for many years. Now that I appeared all of a sudden, Sher must be feeling a little awkward…”

And there she paused. She framed her statement in a very crafty manner. Taking the blame on herself instead of speaking ill of Sheryl in front of Charles would establish her as a noble soul in front of her son. She knew that was the only way to earn his sympathy.

A frown appeared on Charles’ face. “What happened between the two of you, Mom?” he asked anxiously. Melissa felt happy to see the growing concern in his mind for her. She was playing it slow and steady. She didn’t utter a single word about what happened between her and Sheryl after he left. Rather she took advantage of Sheryl’s absence and continued, “Nothing important. Perhaps she is displeased to sleep with me. I thought over it and found that it was rude on my part. You young couples love sticking together. But now you have to sleep apart because of me. I…” Melissa looked hesitant and a little awkward as she spoke. Charles’ face changed completely as he heard her statement.

“Mom, it’s not a big deal. Besides, you are unwell, and she is aware of that. She will not get angry because of that. Is there any misunderstanding between you and Sher?” Charles reasoned with Melissa. He could not believe that Sheryl would get mad at Melissa because she had to sleep in her room. “No, there isn’t. But Sher threw a tantrum. It is entirely my fault. I shouldn’t have asked her to stay with me last night,” she replied in an earnest tone, with an innocent look at Charles. Melissa passed the entire blame on Sheryl while winning Charles’ sympathy for herself. She felt contented inwardly as she could see how Charles’ mind was slowly changing towards Sheryl.

“Easy, Mom. Let me just call up Sher first. If it is her fault, I will ask her to apologize to you. And don’t worry. I will talk her and convince her to keep you company in the evening. She will listen to me,” Charles comforted, with his eyes glued on his mother. As Melissa looked rattled, he didn’t dare to speak in Sheryl’s favor to avoid annoying her. The physician had advised them to avoid upsetting Melissa in the morning. Melissa maintained a very innocent look on her face and pretended to allow Charles to have his way in dealing with the matter between his mother and his wife without ever letting him realize that whatever he was doing, it was all as per Melissa’s wishful planning.

Melissa behaved differently at different situation. In front of Charles, she pretended to be a sensible and fragile mother. However, when she was alone with Sheryl, she was aggressive and arrogant. In this way, she could leave a good impression on her son. Most importantly, she tried to infuriate Sheryl.

‘Once Sheryl loses control of herself and vents her anger on me in Charles’ presence, she will be the bully who is to blame.

My son will be upset with Sheryl for her rude behavior towards me.

And that’s all I want,’ she snickered inside.

When Melissa was in her thoughts, Charles got through to Sheryl over the phone. “Where are you, Sher?” he asked in a low and emotionless tone.

“I am on the way. I will be home soon. What’s up?” Sheryl asked.

“We can talk about this later,” he replied. Charles’ voice was devoid of any emotions. As she was about to say something, he already ended the call.

Charles was not being able to bring himself to believe that Sheryl misbehaved with Melissa. But at the same time, he could not even believe that his own mother was lying to him about his wife. Melissa was such a good actor that she fooled him. Somehow, he started to suspect his wife.

Sheryl was bewildered since Charles had never spoken to her in that tone. Her brows creased as she stared back at her phone screen after Charles had disconnected. Such an abrupt way of ending the call hurled a blow right on her chest. Was it really Charles on the other side? She could not believe that Charles could do this to her. Then suddenly she had an intuition that it had something to do with Melissa.

‘Melissa must have said something to Charles. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked me where I am,’ she thought. Slowly the frown disappeared from her face. She reasoned it out in her mind and came to the conclusion that it must have been Melissa.

She was trapped in her drifted thoughts on her way home. As she entered the house, she saw Melissa seated in the lounge watching TV with Charles. The old lady laughed as innocently as a child did, and she rested her head on Charles’ shoulder occasionally.

Charles offered his wide shoulder to his mother willingly. As Sheryl could only watch the back of the mother and son, she found it to be a warm and candid moment. A smile played on her lips and disappeared in a jiffy. She felt a sting in her heart. She felt that she was the only outsider in Dream Garden. She stood still with her eyes fixed on Charles and Melissa. A shadow of sadness fell on her face.

“You’re back, Sher,” Nancy greeted as she came towards Sheryl, who was standing at the door.

Sheryl nodded at her and returned, “Oh, yeah, I am back.”

Hearing Nancy greeting Sheryl made Charles and Melissa aware of Sheryl’s arrival. Charles had an instant urge to get up from the couch, but his mother’s head was still rested on his shoulder. Melissa’s eyes were glued on the screen as she laughed loudly.

“Sher,” Charles called out to her while being seated on the couch.

“What’s the matter?” Sheryl asked, her heart beating faster than normal. She had a vibe that something bad was going to happen. Even though she had no idea what Melissa had said to Charles, she had a very clear idea but what was she trying to do.