The Apple of My Eye

Autumn stared at Wendy in confusion. Wendy fixed her eyes upon Autumn and sternly stated,"Although you are Charles's wife now, remember, you are the substitute of Yvonne and a fake. You should have a clear estimation of yourself. Don't you dream of something you don't deserve."

Wendy laughed scornfully and continued, "You and Charles are from different strata. You must always keep that in mind, Charles is your brother-in-law. You should help Yvonne to win his love. Do you understand?"

Wendy's warning agitated Autumn.

Before she married Charles, she loathed him. But the longer she stayed with him, the better she knew him. He was not the kind of playboy as the media described him.

She tried so hard not to fall in love with him, but the more she tried to stay away, she found herself more attracted to him. Autumn didn't respond. Wendy keenly perceived Autumn's unusual behavior and asked, "Are you... in love with him?"

"No!" Autumn immediately denied, but dodged Wendy's eyes with guilty haste, "How can I fall in love with him?"

"Well, you better not." Wendy sneered, "Remember what you said today. If I catch you lying to me, you would be really sorry."

Autumn finally calmed down. She stared at Wendy and asked coldly, "I've done what you asked me to do. Now, when can I meet my grandma?"

"What's the hurry?" Wendy picked up the teacup on the table and looked away. "I'll let you meet your grandma after Yvonne marries Charles."

"You..." Autumn suddenly stood up and questioned Wendy, "Wendy Ye, what the hell do you mean by that? You said I can meet my grandma after I did that. What have you done to her?"

"What can I possibly do to her?" Wendy answered indifferently,"She is in a stable condition in hospital. If you want to meet your grandma, help Yvonne get close to Charles. That's what you should really be doing."

"Wendy Ye, don't take this too far." Autumn's voice shook with anxiety. She had been worrying about her grandma for a long time now. If it were not for her grandma, she would have never married Charles. But she was still unable to meet her grandma now.

"I haven't seen grandma in a long time. Mother, I beg you, please let me meet her. As long as I know that she is fine, I'll do anything you want me to do..." The hard look on Autumn's face before was only a mask. Grandma was her weakest point. She earnestly begged Wendy with tears in her eyes.

Nobody knew how difficult it was for her to call Wendy "mother."

"I'm also your daughter. You never treated me like a daughter, and I'm still fine with that. But you can't take my grandma away from me. She is my only family." Autumn's cries were heartbreaking. However, Wendy looked nonchalantly at Autumn. Autumn was her daughter, but she hated Autumn's face as it looked like her ex-husband.

She irritably shook off Autumn's hands and scolded, "Stop making that noise. Your grandma is not dead. Leave that for her funeral".

Wendy stood up and demanded, "Do what I said. After Yvonne marries Charles, I'll give you a certain sum of money. You must leave Y City with your grandma and be out of my sight forever. Understand?" Autumn also stood straight. Other daughters could cry in front of their mothers as mothers were the powerful backing and peaceful haven.

But Autumn had no right to cry as crying would solve no problem.

How naive of her to believe that Wendy would take pity on her!

Autumn stopped herself from crying more. The moment she stood up, Wendy showed her the door, "Well, I've said all there is to be said about it. Leave, don't stand in my way."

Before Autumn left, Wendy added, "Remember, do not expose your identity until the right time, understand?"

Autumn gave a bitter smile. She lifelessly walked out of Gu family, holding the box that she had packed from the company.

The world is such a huge place, but she had nowhere to go.

Autumn and her grandma used to live in a small house that she inherited from her father. In order to pay her grandma's medical bills, she sold the house without telling her grandma and rented one. But now... she had nothing left.

Autumn wandered aimlessly around the streets with the box. Her cell phone was on silent mode. She didn't know Charles had called her numerous times.

Hearing the busy tone, Charles was annoyed. He threw the phone across the desk.

Charles had been worrying for Autumn since he knew that she resigned. He had called her many times, but she didn't answer. He was painfully anxious about her. "David! " Charles shouted.

"Mr. Lu, what can I do for you?" David answered, standing at the office door.

Charles had been in a bad mood since he knew about Autumn's resignation. David was afraid Charles might vent out his anger on him.

"I asked you to keep a check on Yvonne. Any results?" Charles felt his wife held many secrets. She was sometimes very strong, and sometimes in low spirits. He was dying to know what had happened to her. Only by knowing her he can get close to her.

Although it was disgraceful for him to have her investigated, he was left with no other choice.

"The private detective called me this morning, but I was busy at that moment and missed the call. Should I call him back now?" Seeing Charles's furious expression, David immediately corrected himself,"I'm calling him right now."

Before long, David went back with the detective. "Mr. Lu, Mr. Zhang has been waiting downstairs for a while. So, I brought him here." David explained.

"You leave us alone." Charles signaled David. After David carefully closed the office door, Charles opened his mouth,"Mr. Zhang, so tell me, what did you find?"

"Mr. Lu, as you expected, your wife is not Yvonne Gu." Mr. Zhang took out a document bag from his briefcase and handed it over to Charles. "I have an introduction of your wife. Please have a look." Charles took over the bag and took out a document. He attentively read every single word of the document.

His wife was not Yvonne Gu, but Autumn Ye.

Autumn Ye had been brought up by her grandma. She had been accepted by a well-known foreign university for an excellent academic performance. However, she had chosen a local university because no one would take care of her grandma if she went abroad. She had gotten through university relying on scholarships.

She had joined Cloud Advertising Company after graduation. She had been promoted to the current position from a Planner Assistant.

Charles looked at a smiling photo of Autumn with a frown.

"She is not Yvonne Gu. Then why did she marry me?" Charles was inquisitive about what had happened to Autumn.

"That's what I was going to talk about next." Mr. Zhang took another document from the briefcase. "Have a look at this one. According to my investigation, Yvonne Gu had eloped with a man called Joe Zeng a few days before the wedding. Joe Zeng is a male prostitute, working at a bar. He disappeared a few days ago, and reappeared these days. He seems to have made a fortune as he spends money like water at the bars. I spent some money and bribed him. He told me something you should know."