The Apple of My Eye

Chris did not add anything and just remained silent. She didn't want to suspect Autumn in this manner, but her gut feeling led her to believe that Sam must have been with Autumn in Z City. She knew one thing for certain, that Autumn wouldn't betray Charles. But for another, she couldn't help feeling angry and betrayed with Autumn at the thought of Sam.

With a bitter smile, Autumn continued defending herself, "You must be mad at me because of him." She explained, "Chris, Sam and I are in the clear. I ran into him on the airplane. I went there as a tourist while he was on a business trip. It was a mere coincidence that we were staying in the very same hotel."

"That doesn't sound like a mere coincidence," Chris impatiently said as she was incredibly distraught with Autumn. She continued, "Yvonne, HKind Group has no cooperative company in Z City. How could he possibly go there for a business trip? He went there because of you."

With raised eyebrows, Autumn asked, "Are you certain of this?" She was taken aback by this vital piece of information, for she never expected that Sam would have lied to her about this. 'Now, Chris just won't believe me anymore. Everything I say will sound like an excuse fabricated to defend myself.'

"Of course, I am. Or you can ask him in person." Chris continued while staring at Autumn, "Yvonne, although you sleep and share the bed with Charles every night, Charles has not touched you yet. Is it because of Sam that you refused to indulge and share a sexual relation with my brother?"

Hearing this, Autumn was anxious and her face flushed into a bright pink. She recalled what had happened the previous morning. As Chris noticed the sudden flush on Autumn's cheek, she was assured about her guesses. She snorted, "It seems that my assumptions are true!"

She stammered, "What... what are you talking about?" As she took a moment to come back to reality and her senses, she tried to explain the situation to Chris in a hurried manner, "You misunderstood us. Sam and I are just friends..."

Autumn wondered whether she should tell Chris about what had happened the previous morning in a bid to prove that she had no feelings for Sam. She decided to just proceed, "Chris, I had dated Sam, but that was in the past. The only one I love is Charles, and I just want to spend the rest of my life staying with him. As for Sam... I don't care about the feelings and thoughts he harbors for me. All I want to say is that I'm done with Sam."

Chris was surprised and yet glad after hearing every bit of what Autumn said. With eyes wide open with shock, she asked, "Do... you mean all of it?" Autumn nodded with her pink cheeks, "Of course I do."

Chris's mind was still wavering with doubt. Still concerned about Sam's wound on his hand, she asked, "But... what about the wound on his hand?"

"At the time the hotel caught fire, a mother and her daughter we had gotten acquainted with had been trapped inside. While trying to save them from the raging fire, he got injured." Autumn paused for a moment, and then continued, "That grateful family then treated Sam and me with dinner in a bid to thank us, and your brother were there too."

As soon as Autumn finished her sentence, she heard the soothing voice of Charles's voice. "What are you girls talking about? I heard you mentioning me."

Autumn was delighted to see Charles. She asked, "How come you have come home so early?" She was mentally prepared to sleep alone as Charles had repeatedly told her that he had a lot of work to deal with and it would consume the whole day and possibly the night as well. Now, it wasn't even 9 pm and he was already home.

Charles replied with a slight hesitation, "Things went more smoothly than I expected, so I came home early." Autumn did not notice or sense the hesitation. Charles held her in his arms tightly and kissed her on lips as though Chris wasn't there at all. He then asked Chris, "What were you talking to Yvonne about?"

Observing their good chemistry, Chris had no intention to continue her interrogation. In a hurry, she said, "Nothing that important really." With a grin she looked at them and added, "I won't interrupt you. You can continue!"

Chris turned around and went away from there as soon as she possibly could. Autumn turned to look at Charles and sweetly asked, "Have you had dinner? How about me cooking some delicious food for you? "Unfortunately, I have already eaten dinner." Charles with a little smile asked, "Was Chris giving you a hard time?"

Charles had heard part of their conversation. To help Autumn get rid of Chris's question, he had walked up to her deliberately. Autumn replied as she shook her head, "It was just a mistake."

Soon they walked upstairs holding hands. While Charles entered the bathroom to take a quick shower, Autumn received a call from Wendy. The second she received the call, Wendy's screeching and yelling voice came from the other end. Without one pleasant greeting and nothing good to say, Wendy was busy calling her an shameless and ungrateful bitch. She continued cursing Autumn and calling out the most indecent cuss words at her. Hearing this, Autumn just strengthened her grip on the phone. Even though she was accustomed to all of this it never ceased to hurt and bother her. But this time the tears did not fall from her eyes.

Wendy picked up a louder tone as she finished abusing her, "Autumn. I asked you to stay away from Charles, but look at what you are doing instead. You are now travelling around with him. Are you not taking my words seriously?"

Autumn remained silent, leaving Wendy the only one in the conversation. Then, she heard Wendy's voice retaliate with a sneer, "Don't you want to get your grandma back?"

Once she heard Wendy mention her grandma, Autumn couldn't resist her anger or hold back her tears anymore. It broke her, a little bit more. She walked to the balcony and cried, "What do you want? She is my only family and I'm your child too, you know? I have never complained about the way you have always been partial to Yvonne. I made concessions with her as you required. Now, the only thing I want is to have my grandma back with me. Why won't you satisfy my little wish?"

She had endured and suffered so much for long, in silence without the support of her family. She had almost died in that fire, but Wendy who was her mother didn't even care to check if she was injured, if she was okay but instead blamed her for traveling with Charles.

She trembled with rage as tears trickled down her cheeks. She shouted at Wendy through the phone, "Wendy, tell me the truth. Are you really my birth mother?"

Autumn didn't get a response from Wendy immediately. After what seemed like a long pause, she heard Wendy's voice in a rather oblivious tone, "Of course, I am your mother. I brought you to this world. As you are your father's daughter as well, you are supposed to make amends for what your damn father has done to me."

"When did he do something wrong to you?" Autumn asked as she couldn't keep from bursting into laughter. "My father listened to you since I can possibly remember. He was simply poor. If you couldn't accept his poverty, why did you marry him? You seduced another woman's husband which obviously hurt and offended him. Finally he died in despair due to your betrayal. That's how he owed you?"

"You know nothing about what happened between us, so stay out of it!" Wendy berated, "It is not like what you imagined. Anyway, your father owed me a great deal, and you simply need to pay me back on his behalf."

In that split second, Autumn finally came close to understanding what she meant to Wendy. 'For her, I'm just a tool. when she needs me, she will approach me. If I come to become useless for her, she will simply throw me away.

It's ridiculous to talk about kinship with her.'

Autumn then attempted to compose herself through the myriad of feelings. Then, she asked resolutely, "Okay, let's skip this topic for now. I just have one question, when will you let me meet my grandma?"