Chapter 2109 At Shirley's Mercy

Sheryl came back to a video call from Joan.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Xia. Something has happened," Joan said hastily, her voice cracking as she began to sob.

It took Sheryl a moment to respond. "What happened?"

'The last time Joan requested some leave, she didn't explain the reason either. Could something serious have happened?' Sheryl thought worriedly.

"My grandson…" Joan started. "He's gone..." A choked cry came from her throat.

"What? How could that be?" Sheryl asked, her eyes widening at what she'd just heard.

"My daughter-in-law had a fever. I had offered to go back home and take care of my grandson, but she refused. Soon after, he had also contracted a fever. At first, it was just like any other illness. My daughter-in-law thought that it was nothing that needed a visit to the hospital. But that night, he started burning up. His body temperature went up to 40 degrees Celsius. I had been careless. During the second day, the child was delirious with fever. He could barely form sentences. We rushed him to the hospital, but the doctor said that there was permanent brain damage..." Joan's breathing came as harsh inhales and exhales of air. Tears flowed down her face as her hands clutched her chest.

Sheryl listened grimly as the other woman told her story. "But even if his brain had been damaged, it shouldn't have killed him, right? What did the doctor say?" she asked.

Joan broke into another fit of weeping. "The doctor said that there was no longer any hope for recovery. His body might recuperate, but his mind would always be that of a child's for the rest of his life. My daughter-in-law went hysterical upon hearing that, and she…" Joan paused as if unable to continue. "She carried her son..." As if the admission had taken too big of a toll on her, Joan burst into a loud and heavy wailing.

Sheryl's heart was slamming inside her chest. Her skin felt clammy as a sudden thought chilled her. 'Did she commit suicide together with her son?'

"Joan, take deep breaths. There is no need to rush. What happened next?"

"She carried the child and jumped from the third floor. She... She was able to survive, but the child is dead..."

Sheryl was dumbfounded at the turn of events.

'Why did things turn out this way?' she lamented inwardly.

Joan had all but crumbled to a weeping figure. Sheryl saw

doubled. "Mom, I told grandma that you're young and beautiful and that many uncles like you..."

'What!'

Sheryl was equal parts baffled and embarrassed by her daughter's words.

She couldn't believe that her own daughter's innocence would put her on the spot like this.

'What kind of logic is that? Does she think that being beautiful is all there is when a man likes a woman?' she thought.

Melissa's expression had also stiffened. Stealing a glance at her, Sheryl decided to change the topic to save both of them from embarrassment.

"Shirley, do you still have a stomach-ache?" Sheryl attempted to shift the little girl's attention to something else. If this girl was to continue with her stories, there would be a bigger risk of misunderstandings.

But then again, children were oftentimes given too little credit. And Shirley was no ordinary child with an ordinary amount of mischief in her. She was a girl who would cause a huge headache even to the most patient of teachers in the kindergarten. She wasn't going to be tricked so easily.

"Mom, why are you blushing? Are you shy because I was praising you? The teachers in the kindergarten told us that people blush when they are shy."

Shirley's innocent words made Sheryl's cheeks flame up even further.

She desperately wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide in it, if that would mean she wouldn't be at the center of her daughter's impishness.

Unfortunately, there was no hole for her to hide in. Sheryl sat down and suffered in silence, at the mercy of her own dear daughter.