Ch. 1571..1575
Chapter 1571
John kissed her again.
Sherry placed her palms against his body defensively, but she did not attempt to push him away. It did not take long before she lost herself in the kiss they shared.
Even after when he let her go, she was still holding on to John’s wrist.
He chuckled.
Sherry was deeply embarrassed. She stammered shyly, “I... | couldn’t control myself, you’re..” She drew the blankets over her face and wanted to burrow herself into a hole.
John smiled and hugged her. “Sherry, if you still need time to process your leftover trauma from what happened three years ago, I'd be more than willing to give you time. But one thing | won't do is let you go. I’ve had enough of this marriage of ours which is nothing more than a formal arrangement.”
Sherry’s breathing was becoming erratic, but she did not utter a word. Astiff silence loomed over the two of them.
John raised his palm and brushed Sherry’s hair with it. “Right, have you considered the offer | made you yesterday about coming to Stockton Corporation?”
Sherry frowned faintly. “No.”
John asked, “Apart from the prestigious position you hold and the handsome salary you're paid, do you receive any other special treatment at Sager’s?”
What sort of question was this? What more special privileges would anyone need from a job apart from a handsome salary? She answered, “Yeah, why do you ask?”
John proposed, “If you come to work with me, | will not only triple the salary Sager pays you, | will also let you own shares in the company.”
Company shares? Sherry glowed at the prospect. “So, what do you say?” There was a hint of seduction in his voice as he said this.
Shares were indeed more tempting than just a large paycheck, but at the moment, she did not plan to remain in Glanchester long-term. Besides, she also signed a contract with the Sagers and had a verbal agreement with Madam Sager that she
would take over the reins of the corporation along with Carl.
“I'll think about it.” It was a difficult choice to make. She could not make any promises yet.
John smiled softly. “Okay.”
With one final pat on her head, he said, “Enough lazing around, Caprice should be up any moment. We should go see her.” He let go of her.
She poked her head out from underneath the blanket and saw that he had already put on his clothes. He flashed a quick smile at her, then he went into the bathroom.
Sherry pried the blankets off her and reached for her clothes thrown on the edge of
the bed.
After getting dressed, she walked to the door barefoot and opened it.
She was immediately greeted by Caprice.
Her hair was braided neatly into a twin pigtail that poked out of the top of her head. She stood rather authoritatively, her tiny fists perched on both sides of her waist as she pouted quite angrily at her mother.
Sherry was alarmed by this. She quickly bent down so she could meet Caprice at eye level and asked, “Caprice, what’s the matter?”
Caprice would not speak to her and grunted, “Hmmph!”
It seemed like she was going to blow fumes out of her nose like what one would see
in a cartoon.
Though she was mostly harmless, Sherry felt like she had to be careful in her
approach.
Aunt Wanda was standing in the corridor behind Caprice as Sherry darted a glance at her
Aunt Wanda informed her, “Mrs. Sherry, Caprice is upset because neither you nor Master Stockton spend the night with her.” Sherry frowned a little when she heard this.
Aunt Wanda added, “She woke up half an hour ago and was very upset when she saw that she was all alone in her room. This is the first place she came after she woke up.”
The child seemed very upset, it looked like the dam would give out any moment and tears would come pouring like a biblical flood out of her eyes.
Sherry pulled Caprice into her warm embrace. She apologized and tried to comfort her, “I’m sorry, Caprice, it’s all Mommy’s fault. Mommy shouldn’t have made you sleep alone.”
Caprice pouted. “And Daddy.” Mommy and daddy have both abandoned her! They did not sleep with her!
Sherry agreed with everything Caprice said, “Yes, Daddy is a big meanie, he was the one who brought Mommy back to his room, otherwise Mommy would’ve slept with you last night.”
That was when a large figure appeared from behind, casting a shadow over the two of them.
“Sherry, what are you talking about?” John grimaced, his tone was quite intimidating.
Chapter 1572
Sherry was alarmed by John’s presence. She took Caprice in her arms and shuffled forward while murmuring, “Nothing, | was just apologizing to Caprice. | wasn’t saying anything else.”
John grinned, then he looked at Caprice who was wrapped tightly in Sherry’s arms, and spoke gently, “Sorry, it was Daddy’s fault, | brought Mommy back to my room last night, that’s why we didn’t spend the night with you.”
Sherry was taken aback by his honesty.
Aunt Wanda took her leave to give them some privacy.
Caprice pouted grumpily, but she was no longer upset as she was though she was still feeling down.
Sherry felt guilty when she saw Caprice in this state and promised her, “Caprice, I’m very sorry. I'll never leave you alone again.” Caprice made a look and remained silent.
This was the first time Sherry saw her daughter in such a depressed state so she
was at a loss for what to do.
John motioned. “Give her to me.”
Sherry had run out of ideas of how she could comfort Caprice, so she yielded Caprice to John without protest.
John took Caprice in one arm and gently patted Sherry’s head with the other. “I'll bring her to the living room, you can go wash up first.”
Sherry was still wearing yesterday's clothes, her hair was a tangled mess.
She looked at Caprice who seemed to be feeling a little better in John’s arms. This brought great relief to her. She nodded and left.
She headed back into the room.
Meanwhile, John took Caprice to the living room and sat on the couch.
The child continued wearing the same pout and refused to speak. She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to be coaxed into speaking.
John smiled and pinched her cheeks. “Hello, Caprice?”
Caprice snapped grumpily. “What?”
“| want to apologize, it was my fault,” he said.
Caprice looked at him and decided that he was truly sincere. She thought about it and pardoned him graciously. “Alright, | forgive you.”
John smiled and continued, “Caprice, you’re almost three years old. Do you know that Uncle Carter’s children stopped sharing a room with their parents after they turned three years old?”
Caprice grunted and seemed to not understand what John was trying to imply. John frowned.
He could not help but compare himself to Odell. He wondered why all three of Odell’s children seemed so mature beyond their years while her three-year-old daughter still seemed to have some ways to go. She was not good at communicating her thoughts and seemed to have some trouble catching on to what was being said at times.
Oh well, this was his daughter.
Besides, Sherry wanted to have a chance to bond with her, he figured it was better to continue the current arrangement for the time being.
Sherry went back to her bedroom and took a quick shower. After changing into a set of clean clothes, she went to the living room.
She saw Caprice coddled in John’s arms, she was holding a piece of bread and nibbling it like a hamster.
She seemed very quiet and very well-behaved as she always was. It looked like she
was in a much better mood now.
When Caprice noticed Sherry entering, she immediately called out after her in an affectionate voice, “Mommy!” Sherry quickly went to her and lifted her into her arms without a word.
“How's the bread?” she asked.
Caprice nodded with approval.
“Can you give me a bite?” Sherry asked with a smile.
Caprice generously stuffed the entire piece of bread into Sherry’s mouth.
Sherry was not expecting this.
She let Caprice stuff the entire piece of bread into her mouth until her cheeks bulged like a hamster’s cheeks would. Caprice was humored by this and giggled.
Sherry smiled.
John did not move from the couch as he silently watched the pair and smiled at the pleasant sight of them having a cute moment together.
Chapter 1573
Sherry had nothing on her schedule today. She had already given herself and her employees several days off.
As for John, he had some important work to attend to. He was going to go on a business trip and would not return for three days. Even before they finished their breakfast, Peter and his driver were already waiting for him outside the courtyard.
Sherry took Caprice with her to see John off.
When Caprice knew that she would not be seeing her father for the following three days, she became very sad again and bid farewell reluctantly. “Goodbye, Daddy.”
John pinched her cheeks, then he looked at Sherry with a gentle glow in his eyes.
Sherry caught the look in his eyes and assured him, “Don’t worry, I'll take good care of Caprice.”
John smiled, then he patted her head. “Take care of yourself too. If anything happens at all, just call me.” Sherry felt a fuzzy feeling in her chest as she answered, “Alright. Go on, you need to
be there on time.”
John gave her one last look before burrowing into the car.
The car immediately accelerated and drove out of the main gate.
Sherry brought Caprice back to the house.
She already prepared plenty of nifty games for Caprice as she planned to stay at home for the next two days and spend every waking hour playing with her.
Shortly after, Queenie showed up. She must have somehow caught wind that Sherry was going to be free for the coming days. She appeared with countless adorable dolls as well as snacks she specifically prepared for the occasion.
Caprice was obsessed with the dolls she brought. She was trying her best to juggle her attention between the dolls and the array of snacks.
Sherry and Queenie played and snacked with her.
They would play, then eat, then rinse, and repeat.
The day passed in the blink of an eye.
Soon, the sky darkened, it was evening.
Sherry had just finished a doodle with Caprice when Queenie, who went away a while ago, joined them again.
She looked at Sherry worriedly and seemed to have trouble expressing what was on her mind. “Hey Sherry, | was thinking... if you could... um...”
Sherry peered at her. “Just say what’s on your mind.” This sort of second-guessing was very uncharacteristic of Queenie.
She sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on with my mom lately. She’s in an especially bad mood today. Aunt Emerence told me that she hasn’t been eating all day. She wouldn’t even listen when | tried to get her to eat! | was wondering if you could borrow Caprice for a second, maybe she'll feel better when she sees Caprice and have the appetite to eat something at least.”
Sherry turned to Caprice right away. “Caprice, Grandma is in a bad mood today. Would you like to keep her company?” Caprice nodded.
Sherry smiled and kissed her. “Good girl.”
Caprice beamed with pride.
Queenie immediately took Caprice into her arms.
Sherry was slightly worried so she followed them until they reached Madam Stockton’s section of the courtyard. After watching Queenie bring Caprice into the living room, she decided to head back. She had only taken a few steps when she bumped into Julie.
She donned a fur coat with her long silky hair draped over her shoulders. She looked every bit like an exalted lady, a prideful socialite.
She smiled pleasantly at Sherry.
Sherry met her eyes, then she continued walking.
“Sherry, why aren’t you going in with Queenie and Caprice?” Julie suddenly asked.
This made her stop. She asked crossly, “Why does it concern you whether | go in with them or not?”
“It doesn’t concern me, | was just curious,” Julie remarked with the same blank smile.
Sherry sneered. “Julie, it's just you and me here. You don’t have to keep faking that smile, it’s very uncanny and you know that.”
Julie’s eyes immediately sharpened. This time, she smiled in a wry, mocking manner. “I wasn’t lying, | was very curious. Why would you walk Caprice here but not head inside with her? What, are you afraid that you'll be kicked out of Madam Stockton’s room?”
Her disdain for Sherry when she spoke was impossible to ignore.
She had a sense that Sherry was trying to get on Madam Stockton’s good side by bringing Caprice to her. She felt like her position was being threatened again.
Chapter 1574
Contrary to Julie’s belief, Sherry was hardly interested in trying to suck up to Madam Stockton as she barely cared about what Madam Stockton thought of her at all.
Sherry answered curtly with a condescending smile, “Sorry for disappointing you, but | never planned to go inside in the first place.”
Julie was suspicious. “Then why did you send Caprice to her?”
Sherry chuckled. “Heh... Julie, do you truly think that | sent Caprice to Madam Stockton just to please her?” Julie asked cautiously, “What else?”
“No comment.” Sherry smiled and walked on.
A thought suddenly occurred to her while she was walking away. She suddenly halted and approached Julie again, stopping only a step in front of her. “Julie, there’s something I’m curious about as well. Is pleasing Madam Stockton the only thing you care about?”
Why else would her immediate assumption of seeing Caprice being sent to Madam Stockton be that Sherry was trying to get on the madam’s good side?
Julie looked ashamed to have been exposed so directly, she screwed her face in
anger.
Sherry noticed her scowl and it brought a smile to her face. She walked away without another word. “Sherry, | just want you to know that | have no bad intentions toward you,” she proclaimed suddenly. To this, Sherry asked, “Am | supposed to take this to mean that you only have good intentions?” Julie did not answer.
She had gone pale suddenly. When she noticed Sherry preparing to march off again, she sneered and stated, “I just wasn’t expecting you to come back after you've been away for three years. Back then, it looked like the only thing you ever wanted was to get away from John.”
Sherry stopped and turned back to look at Julie.
Julie was smiling sarcastically.
Sherry felt like there was more Julie had to say and tried to pry it out of her. “What do you mean by that?” Julie smiled sardonically. “I’m just saying, it seems to me that you have some ulterior motive for coming back.” Sherry considered this theory, then she replied curtly, “Then you're going to be
disappointed again. There’s no particular reason for my coming back. | just felt like doing it.”
Julie questioned her again, “What you're saying is that you came back here so you could spend the rest of your life with John? Are you not going to go back to Coastrock?”
She stared into Sherry’s eyes intently.
Sherry frowned and stated, “I don’t think it's any of your business whether | choose to spend the rest of my life with John or head back to Coastrock.”
“I'm just curious, that’s all.”
“Next time, keep your curiosity to yourself,” Sherry said and prepared to walk away
again.
Julie provoked her again. “Sherry, do you still remember what you did to John nine years ago?” Sherry stopped.
Nine years ago? Why was this woman bringing up something from so long ago?
Julie noticed Sherry’s reaction and continued pressing. “If | were you, I'd be too ashamed to show my face around here again. John might claim that he doesn’t hold it against you anymore, but I’m sure he still thinks about it now and then.
“You'd better watch yourself and make sure you don’t step out of line. If you do, I’m sure you’lll end up worse than three years ago.” Sherry, felt tightness seizing her around her chest, she darted a cross look at Julie. Julie, why are you telling me all this now?”
“While you weren't around, things couldn't be any more peaceful at home. All I’m saying is that I’d like to keep the peace in our household,” Julie continued with a scornful smile, “Also, I'd like to give you a little advice. If you’re going to spend the rest of your life with John, you’d better watch yourself and make sure you don’t do anything stupid again.”
With that, she walked away before Sherry could even utter a word. Agust of cold and harsh wind blew down the pathway and beat against Sherry.
Nine years ago, she was the one who dumped John because she thought he could not provide the financial security she needed. When she evoked these memories, the trauma imposed by John three years ago came to rise to the surface as well.
She was shivering all over.
She tucked her hands in her pockets in a feeble attempt to get some warmth, then she shuffled back to her room.
Meanwhile, Julie was hiding in a dark corner. She watched Sherry retreating miserably to her courtyard with great satisfaction. She grinned menacingly and mumbled to herself, “Sherry, you’d get out of here if you know what's good for you.”
She had always seen Sherry as nothing more than a crass, lowly woman who suckled up to the wealthy class because she could not stand her own poverty. Judging by the history of her ditching John for superficial reasons, she must be a wretched woman.
She hoped Sherry would be wise enough to take her advice back there. She should know that if she ever misstepped again, John would unravel the past and unleash his fury in full upon her.
Meanwhile, at Madam Stockton’s.
She was resting in the living room, slumped on the couch like a lifeless sack. Her face was ashen and her limbs were without strength.
That was until Queenie entered with Caprice.
Chapter 1575
Chapter 1575 Caprice immediately cried out, “Grandma!”
Her voice was like that of an angel's. It had an instantaneous soothing effect that washed away the sorrowful mood of Madam Stockton.
“Caprice!” she rose and cried out in stark surprise. Queenie hurriedly handed Caprice to her. She joyfully took Caprice into her arms.
She had been sitting around all without so much as a bite of food and was rather exhausted by now. She hardly had the strength to carry Caprice and was worried she would drop the child, so she took great care to quickly put Caprice on the couch.
She asked inquisitively, “Caprice, what brought you here?”
Caprice remarked with her eyes shining bright, “Mommy asked me to come.”
Madam Stockton was suddenly struck speechless.
She turned to Queenie.
Queenie made a look and informed her, “I told Sherry that you were in a bad mood, so she asked me to bring Caprice here.” Madam Stockton did not know what to make of this, evident by her troubled
expression.
She felt a soft palm pressing against her cheeks.
She turned back to Caprice and met her charming adorable eyes.
Caprice suddenly declared, “Grandma, | want to eat something.”
She was trying to get Madam Stockton to eat something.
Madam Stockton smiled. “Alright, what do you want to eat? Would you like to eat with Grandma?” Caprice nodded agreeably, she was a diligent child.
Sherry went back to her courtyard.
Dinner was laid out across the dining table.
If it was three years ago, she would never even dare to hope to enjoy such delicacies.
However, she had no appetite whatsoever at the moment. She only took several reluctant bites before she retreated to her room and nestled on the couch, ready to shut out the world. What Julie said to her continuously replayed in her mind.
The only images running through her mind now were her harrowing experiences in the house, and the horrible abuses she was subjected to three years ago.
She was terrified of having to go through all that again.
She had no malicious intent when she dumped John all those years ago, but she could not deny that her actions must have left a significant imprint in his mind.
She found solace in the fact that John was nothing like what he was three years ago. Even John himself said that everything had changed and that they could move on from the past and focus on building a future together.
Surely, he would not abuse her as he did in the past, would he?
The sheer idea made her feel sick. She frowned tightly, there was no outlet for these
emotions.
After sitting idly for a long time, an idea suddenly came to her. What if she reverted to her original plan of stealing Caprice away? Ding!
Suddenly, her phone rang.
She glanced at the display, it was a message from John.
He was checking in on her, “Have you had dinner?”
She was relieved to have someone check on her and replied, “Yeah.” John sent another message, “Are you with Caprice?”
Sherry replied, “Queenie took her, they're visiting your mom.”
John asked, “What are you up to then?”
Sherry replied, “I’m not doing anything right now.”
Ring!
Her phone rang, it was John calling.