Ch. 1576..1580
Chapter 1576
Sherry was taken aback by this as she shifted the phone to her ears.
John kicked off the conversation. “So, you’re not doing anything at all right now?”
His voice was gentle and soothing.
Sherry felt like a weight was lifted off her as her somber mood was at least slightly alleviated. She answered, “I’m just hanging out in the room.”
“How long has Caprice been with my mom?” he asked.
She thought for a second and stated, “About half an hour.”
“Did you eat dinner by yourself?”
“Yeah.”
There was a short silence on the other end of the phone, then he spoke again, “Is there anything you want to ask me?” What should she ask?
She thought for a moment and asked, “Well, what are you doing?”
“| just got back to the hotel.”
“Have you had dinner?”
“| had dinner outside before the driver sent me back here.” After a pause, he added, ” The weather here is pretty nice, | can take you and Caprice here in the future when |
have time.” Sherry smirked. “Could it possibly be better than Glanchester over there?” “Definitely not as remarkable as Glanchester, but it still has its unique flavor which is nice. I’d say it's worth checking out at least.”
That seemed like a good enough conversation point. They continued chatting about all kinds of casual matters from there on and an hour passed without notice.
Sherry only realized that an hour had passed when Queenie returned with Caprice. She wrapped up the call with John. “Caprice is back, goodbye for now.”
“Alright, get a good night’s sleep with Caprice.”
“I got it.”
She hung up.
Queenie came into the room with Caprice. The child was still very energetic and cried out the moment she entered, “Mommy!”
She put her arms out and demanded a hug.
Sherry obliged and took her into her arms.
Queenie thanked Sherry, “Hey, thanks for tonight.”
Sherry was perplexed by this. “What are you thanking me for?”
“For letting me borrow Caprice. My mom was so happy when she saw Caprice and ate an entire day’s portion of food in one sitting.”
Sherry was relieved to hear this. “Don’t worry about it, you should be thanking Caprice.”
“Yes, definitely!” Queenie agreed and quickly turned to Caprice, smiling brightly.” Caprice, thank you for spending time with your grandma and getting her to eat dinner.”
Caprice smiled from ear to ear and was glad to have contributed. “You're welcome!”
Queenie smiled and gently brushed Caprice’s hair, then she had a quick chat with Sherry before leaving.
Sherry took Caprice to the shower.
After she got Caprice all cleaned up, she took her to the bed and helped her settle in for the night. She then picked up a book and began telling bedtime stories.
The child was very easy to take care of. She lay still on the bed and listened to the bedtime story. Soon, she was asleep. Sherry kissed Caprice on the cheeks, then she pulled her into a warm embrace before closing her eyes.
The night was tranquil, the room was the perfect temperature.
Caprice’s breathing had a soothing quality that helped Sherry calm down. Although her mind would still replay what Julie had told her now and then, it was ultimately Caprice’s rhythmical breathing that acted as a lullaby and sent her into a deep sleep.
The next morning.
After breakfast, Sherry and Caprice walked out of the courtyard in a pair of matching outfits.
She was going to take Caprice somewhere to play.
When they passed by Queenie’s room, she called out for Queenie. She emerged in no time.
After that, the trio went to a community playground where they spent the better half of the day playing and mingling with other children. After that, they went shopping until late evening before finally returning home.
The child was exhausted from the day’s activities and fell asleep in the car on the way home.
After the car stopped outside the courtyard, Sherry carried Caprice out of the car. As she headed back to their room, she noticed Madam Stockton waiting for her in the living room.
Chapter 1577
Chapter 1577 They were both surprised to see Madam Stockton here. Queenie was the first to voice her surprise. “Mom, why are you here?”
Madam Stockton glanced at Caprice who seemed to be sound asleep in Sherry’s arms, then she darted her attention to Sherry. “It's freezing out there, you shouldn't let her spend so much time outside in this weather. It’s not safe for a young child.”
Though she was reprimanding Sherry, her tone was not as spiteful as the way she spoke to her in the past. Queenie turned to look at Sherry.
Sherry seemed like she was going to say something, then she decided against it and answered, “I understand.” Madam Stockton rose and excused herself. “I’m leaving, make sure you get enough rest.”
With that, she left.
Queenie followed after her.
Sherry gazed at Madam Stockton’s figure and felt a tinge of suspicion.
It seemed to her that Madam Stockton was more cordial with her at least compared to before, but there was something about her demeanor that struck her as rather strange. It seemed like there was something on the old lady’s mind.
Her thoughts went to what happened last night. She had let Queenie take Caprice to Madam Stockton to keep her company in hopes of cheering her up.
Perhaps something bad happened again after Caprice’s visit.
She decided to not worry so much about it and went back to her room with Caprice.
As soon as she had put Caprice into bed, John called.
She asked Aunt Wanda to help her look after Caprice while she went outside to answer the call. John’s deep, masculine voice rang through the other end of the phone. “Are you home yet?” Sherry answered swiftly, “Just got home, what's up?”
“Nothing, | just missed you, that’s why | called.”
She instantly felt her cheeks burning and did not know how to respond to this.
John seemed to have sensed her embarrassment. After a brief silence, he broached the topic with a satisfied smirk on his face. “What did you girls get up to today?”
Sherry gave a quick account of what they did today.
John listened patiently, then asked, “I see, what are your plans for tomorrow?”
“Probably going to take her out to play somewhere again.”
John asked, “Where to?”
Sherry considered for a moment. “Maybe to the park on the western edge of town. |
heard a lot of parents take their children there, we could fly kites there.”
They chatted for some time before finally saying goodbye.
Sherry returned to the living room with a faint smile on her face.
Unbeknownst to her, there was a figure creeping in the shadow in the corner of the courtyard. As soon as she stepped into the living room, the shrouded figure slithered away through a gap in between the wall. Shortly after that, the shrouded figure slipped into Julie’s courtyard.
Julie was lazing on the couch in her living room, nibbling on snacks while zoning out when the figure appeared in her room. She perked up and asked, “Is Sherry back
home already?”
Mia informed dutifully, “She’s been home for a while, she just had a very long chat with Master Stockton on the phone.”
Julie did not seem pleased to hear this. “With John? How long have they been chatting on the phone?” “At least twenty minutes.” Julie asked in a snappy voice, “What did they talk about?”
Mia jogged her mind and relayed what she heard, “Sherry told him something about her plans to take Miss Caprice to the park to fly some kites tomorrow. Other than that, they were just rambling about unimportant stuff, but Sherry seemed very happy on the phone. | can’t tell if it's because Master Stockton said something romantic to
her, but she was blushing.”
She seemed happy? She was blushing?
Julie frowned icily.
From what she could remember, Sherry seemed distraught after the last conversation they had. Was she able to bounce back so quickly because of how kind John had been to her lately? After a sustained silence, she gestured for Mia to approach.
Mia promptly walked up to her, lowered herself, and brought her ears close to Julie.
Julie whispered, “I heard the Browns are going to move back to Westchester. Here’s what you're going to do. Bring up Sherry taking Caprice to the park tomorrow in front of...”
After a while, Mia rose and flashed an evil smile. “Got it, consider it done.”
Julie smiled and dismissed her. “Go.”
Chapter 1578
Chapter 1578 It was a night without dreams. Shortly before noon, Sherry had put Caprice into a lovely dress. Her hair was tied
neatly into two braids, mimicking the look of the little red riding hood. After they were ready to head out, they walked out of the courtyard.
Queenie did not join them today as she was going on a blind date arranged by Madam Stockton. Sherry took Caprice in her arms and stepped into the car. She went to the park with Aunt Wanda and Jason accompanying her. This was the largest park in Glanchester, located in the middle of the jungle.
There was not much exotic view to speak of in this season, but there were certainly plenty of parents who brought their children here to spend the day. A lot of people were flying kites on the large field.
Caprice did not like rowdy activities so kite-flying seemed like an ideal sport for her.
Sherry had her pick out a large kite that she liked from the store. After that, they stepped into the field.
It was a sunny day and the wind was moderate.
Sherry launched the kite into the sky first and made sure it glided at the appropriate height before handing it over to Caprice.
Unlike the other children who were running wildly across the field, Caprice only sat down on the ground and watched with a dazed look in her eyes at the giant kite gliding in the air as if it had a will of its own.
She gestured at the kite while turning to her mother with a proud glow in her eyes. ” Mommy, look! It’s flying!” Sherry squatted next to her and showered her with praises, “Wow! Good job Caprice! Wonderful!”
Caprice grinned with pride.
She was adorable as always.
Sherry suddenly had an idea. She took several steps backward.
Using the other children running across the field as a backdrop, she used her phone to frame a picture with Caprice flying a kite at its center. It was a beautiful scene that
deserved to be remembered.
After she was satisfied with the angle of the shot, she clicked the shutter and took the picture. The result was just as beautiful as she imagined. She did a good job of capturing Caprice’s reserved and adorable look. She took several additional pictures after that, then she picked the best one out of
them and sent it to John.
At one point, she noticed a familiar figure from the corner of her eye.
She turned to the said figure with clear confusion in her eyes. “Mason?”
Ayoung man who looked dashing in a set of casual sportswear walked up to her.
He greeted her with warmth, “Hey Sherry, long time no see.”
Sherry smiled and asked, “Why are you here?”
Mason mentioned with a glow in her eyes, “I live nearby. | come for a walk here from
time to time.”
He was not lying about living nearby, but he was not telling the whole truth either. He only came here because someone had informed him that Sherry was in the area.
Sherry nodded.
He suddenly asked, “What about you, what brings you here?” “| brought Caprice here to fly some kites,” she gestured to Caprice as she said this. Caprice was still sitting calmly on the ground with her neck craned toward the sky, holding the kite string tightly in her hands.
Mason seemed rather taken aback by the sight of Caprice and could not conceal the confusion in his voice, “She... isn’t she Master Stockton’s daughter?”
“Have you met Caprice before?” Sherry was surprised that Mason recognized Caprice.
Mason nodded. “Back then | went to see Master Stockton to finalize a contract. When | went to his office, | saw her sitting on his lap munching on some snacks.”
He suddenly turned to Sherry with a queer look in his eyes. “Is she your daughter?” Sherry smiled faintly. “Yeah, mine and John’s.” “| see,” Mason remarked with a knowing smile.
Everyone worth his salt in Glanchester knew about John Stockton and his darling daughter who he brought with him everywhere he went. Yet, nobody knew who the mother was. It was especially confusing because John had only married one person in the past and that was Sharon who was now in prison.
If Sharon was the mother of the child, she would probably not get thrown into prison to begin with. It was safe to assume that she was not the mother since word would have gotten out if she was.
Therefore, the mother must be someone else.
He did have his suspicions that it was Sherry at one point, but Sherry vanished shortly after, and nobody had heard anything about her since.
Chapter 1579
The revelation that Sherry was the mother did come off as a shock.
That explained why John was so fond of Caprice.
He observed Caprice for a while longer and remarked, “She does look like you.” Sherry grinned. “Of course.”
Mason grinned as well and turned back to her. “So | guess the rumors that you were President Sherry at Sager Corporation are true?”
Sherry did not attempt to hide it. “Yes.”
Mason was impressed. “You're more capable than | think you were.” Sherry returned the compliment. “You're not so bad either.”
Mason’s face suddenly darkened. “Me? No, | don’t think so.”
“What's wrong? Did you run into any problems lately?” Sherry was surprised to see the usually confident Mason suddenly becoming so doubtful of his abilities.
“No, everything is fine. It’s just-” He suddenly paused and seemed to have difficulty continuing. “It’s just, my family will be moving back to Westchester in a few days.”
Sherry was shocked to hear this. “Why are you guys moving back to Westchester ?”
Mason grimaced and confessed the truth, “Our projects in Glanchester these past two years aren’t working out so well. In the end, we feel like Westchester is a better site for future developments so the final decision was to move our base of operations back to Westchester.”
Sherry was perplexed by this. “Weren't things progressing pretty well back then? What happened these last two years?” Mason hesitated for a moment and said at last, “Well, unfortunate timing, | guess.” “Is this about John?” Sherry suddenly brought up.
Mason took a deep breath. “Three years ago, Master Stockton withdrew his funds initially going toward two of our projects. | know he wasn't intentionally sabotaging our operations, but-”
“But things still took a hit, didn’t they?”
“Yeah,” Mason remarked with a strained smile, “It’s alright, he has helped us more times than | can count in the past. | don’t want to have to rely on him for everything.” Sherry frowned.
Three years ago, that meant it coincided with when she left Glanchester. Did John withdraw his funds because he was upset because of her leaving?
“Hey, are you free at noon? We're probably not going to meet again in the future so I'd like to treat you to a meal one last time,” Mason asked with an eager look in his eyes.
Sherry thought about it for a moment and answered hesitantly, “I don’t think | can make it this afternoon. | promised Caprice that I'll take her to eat something nice.”
“How about tonight?” “Tonight should be fine.” Just a quick meal, that was all.
She also hoped to find out more about the difficulties Mason was facing, perhaps she would be able to help out in some way.
She was aware that John was not fond of Mason because of what happened nine years ago. Mason did not deserve to be treated this way. After all, it was she who enlisted his help back then. They exchanged some pleasantries after that before Mason took his leave.
Sherry went back to Caprice and resumed playing with her.
Unbeknownst to her, someone was creeping amid the bushes when she was
chatting with Mason. This suspicious individual had taken many pictures of the two chatting.
After Mason left, Mia switched off the camera.
She sent all the photos she had taken to Julie, followed by a message. “Ma’am, they said they were going to meet for dinner tonight.”
Julie’s reply was almost instantaneous, “Where are they eating?” Mia replied, “I don’t know, he hasn’t told her yet. Should | keep following her?” Julie called it off. “No, come back right away. Make sure Sherry doesn’t see you.” Mia replied, “Got it.”
Meanwhile, Julie was sitting comfortably at home. She went through the pictures Mia had sent her and was very pleased with the splendid quality of the pictures.
Chapter 1580
Chapter 1580 Shortly after that, she picked out one of the pictures and sent it to John,
accompanied with a message. “John, a friend of mine ran into Sherry when she was at the park and sent me this picture. | thought really hard about whether | should send this to you but | think it’s the right thing to do.”
Meanwhile, in another city miles away from Glanchester.
Asilver car was cruising down the highway.
Ding!
Aphone rang inside the car, indicating a message had been received.
John was seated by himself in the back row. He reached for the phone in his pocket and read the message. In an instant, a gleam of ice flashed past his eyes.
Ding!
The phone rang again, it was a follow-up message from Julie, “My friend said that those two chatted for some time. It doesn’t look like they're up to anything in particular, maybe it’s just a coincidental meeting at the park.”
Amere coincidental meeting? Glanchester was a large city. What were the odds that they just happened to bump into each other at the park?
John clutched the phone tightly in his palms and seemed like he was going to crush it with sheer force. He silently looked at the picture of Sherry and Mason standing together, both with bright smiles on their faces. His mind immediately jogged back to the harrowing memories from nine years ago.
He recalled how he had severed ties with his family because of Sherry. He went on a desperate job hunt to no avail and had to resort to renting a cheap apartment with Sherry, where the two had to live frugally. Soon, Sherry proposed to break up because she could not stand the condition they were living in.
Even now, he could remember how dejected he felt then. He blamed himself for not being motivated enough and failing to provide a cozy life for Sherry. He was not willing to let go of the relationship and was practically begging Sherry to give him two years. He would slave away, taking all sorts of labor work to ensure a better life for the two of them.
On a fateful rainy night mixed with a thundering storm, he managed to leave work
early and head back to their cheap rental apartment. That was when he stumbled into the scene of Sherry sharing the bed with Mason...
What he saw that night was scalded into his memory.
After being caught cheating, Sherry did not express any signs of remorse. On the contrary, she took the chance to vent out all of the pent-out frustration inside her, blaming him for subjecting her to such poor conditions of living and expressing that she had had enough. She insulted him and said that Mason was a much better man than he was and wanted to be with Mason.
He gave in and let her walk away with Mason.
She did not even bother to pack up her things. She put on her clothes and left with Mason without another word, leaving him all alone in that desolate house on a stormy night...
Was it a mere coincidence that the two happened to bump into each other while he
was on a business trip?
His eyes twitched uncontrollably. Even his veins were beginning to bulge when the implications came to him. He shut his eyes and tried to calm his nerves.
After a while, he opened his eyes and announced solemnly, “Peter, book me the earliest flight back home.” Peter was surprised by this sudden order. “Sir, you mean right now?”
“Right now.”
“But you have an important meeting scheduled later.”
“| said, right now!” He roared without warning.
Peter recoiled and quickly obliged. “Yes, sir. I'll book a flight right this moment.”
The morning passed quickly.
Just as she promised, Sherry took Caprice to the food district and treated her to her favorites.
After they ate, they went shopping.
Around evening, she brought Caprice back home.
As soon as they got back, they ran into Queenie. She quickly took Caprice into her arms and greeted her warmly.
Sherry recalled that Queenie went on a blind date arranged by Madam Stockton today and asked out of curiosity, “How did the blind date go?”
Queenie answered quite frankly, “He’s a nice guy, but he’s not my type.” Sherry smiled and made no further comment.
Queenie took the opportunity to ask, “Hey Sherry, can | take Caprice to my mom’s again today? She’s not in a very good mood today and | can’t cheer her up after what | do. Really, | wonder what’s been going on with her lately.”
Sherry quickly noted, “Sure, | happen to have something planned for tonight. Feel free to take Caprice.” “Alright, thanks!” Queenie thanked her and brought Caprice to Madam Stockton’s .
Sherry trailed after them as usual and turned back at the entrance to Madam Stockton’s courtyard after she made sure that the two had gone inside.
She then sent Mason a message and asked where they were going to grab dinner. Mason replied with a location tag.
Without wasting any time, she got into the car and went straight for the location Mason had sent her.