Elliot had thought that the woman he spent that night with was Avery!He would never have touched Zoe if he had known it was herOn the other side of the city, Avery was having dinner with a few good friends at Golden Beach Street.If it were not for the care and support of her friends, she would not have been able to get back on her feet so quickly after her mother's death.Although the thought of her mother's passing continued to pain her, Avery was not so impulsive as to go down with Wanda.Mike poured Wesley a glass of wine, but Wesley declined, saying, "I drove here."Avery then poured Wesley a glass of juice and said, "Wesley isn't a good drinker. I'll drink with you tonight, Mike!""Are you underestimating me, Avery? My tolerance is pretty good!" said Tammy."I know it is, but Jun already told me to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't get too drunk."Tammy grunted nonchalantly, then began to drink with Mike."Pace yourselves, you two. I called you out tonight fo

Wesley's question left Avery silent for a moment."Have you ever loved somebody, Wesley?" Avery asked quietly. "If you have, then you probably won't have such a tough time understanding how I'm feeling."Wesley shook his head."You become possessive when you love someone. I want everything he owns, and I want to be the only one he sees. Most importantly, I want the relationship to have no reservations," Avery said. Then she smiled and continued, "You've seen it yourself. He has Shea, and he's willing to sell himself out for her treatment.""Before I knew about Shea's mental disability, I saw her as a thorn in my side. After I discovered she wasn't normal, the hostility I felt against her slowly began to fade away. Of course, I can carry out Shea's second surgery, but I won't do that."Wesley stared blankly at Avery."How do you think Elliot would react if he found out I could treat Shea?" Avery asked. She poured herself a glass of wine and continued, "How has he been treating Zoe

"Didn't we agree to stop being upset with Shea?" Layla asked dejectedly.Hayden took his sister's hand and walked back into the classroom.Shea's surgery was going to happen no matter what.Coming to see them in her nervousness and fear would not change a thing.She should have gone to see Elliot Foster and seek his comfort.Elliot received a call from Mrs. Scarlet at three in the afternoon."Shea's missing again!" cried Mrs. Scarlet. "The bodyguard and I have been looking for her for over an hour. We've searched through the entire Starry River neighborhood and we still can't find her!""Why did you go to Starry River?!" Elliot exclaimed as he picked up his keys and walked toward the front door."Shea's been begging to see Hayden since she got to school this morning… She threw a tantrum when I told her she couldn't. She refused to eat or drink anything. She never used to be like this. I had no other choice but to take her to see Hayden," Mrs. Scarlet said as she sobbed pitifull

Layla and Hayden rushed to the front door. They saw the man standing outside via the security system. "Mommy! Dirtbag Dad is here!" Layla cried in a panicked yet excited voice as she ran toward her mother.Avery took off her apron and picked up her daughter."Don't be scared, sweetie. Go to your room with your brother, she said as she glanced at Hayden.Hayden reluctantly entered the bedroom with Layla. Avery exited the children's room and walked past the living room to the front door. She opened it. Elliot was standing right outside the door.The glow from the setting sun illuminated his chiseled features."Shea's missing. Her nanny said she lost her in your neighborhood," Elliot said. "I've looked through all the houses around here and still can't find her.""Are you saying you want to search my house?" Avery asked as she gazed at him coldly.Elliot met her icy eyes, then said calmly, "I'm here to find someone, not to raid your home.""What happens if you don't find her

Was Elliot going to hold onto the things Avery had said in a fit of rage against her for the rest of their lives?After dinner, Avery dialed Mike's number, then put her phone on speaker and began to clean the kitchen."I'll be home late today, Avery!" Mike said in a stern and serious voice. "I'm not going to the bar tonight. It's for work… It's about the company! I'll tell you about it tomorrow.""Okay. It's nothing too serious, is it?" Avery said. "I'm not used to this sudden discipline in you."Mike chuckled and said, "I was just worried you think I'm out messing around. You don't need to keep dinner for me.""Okay."After Avery hung up, she glanced around the empty house and could not help but think of her mother.She had refused to hire a nanny because she wanted to do all of the things Laura used to do.She wanted to guess what her mother was thinking about when she did those things.The more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt.Laura had always taken care of

At Elliot's mansion...Elliot did not get a wink of sleep all night.Logically, Shea's mental state was better than it was before.She could even memorize Elliot's phone number.There was no reason for her to spend all night hiding outdoors by herself.The night before, Elliot stationed some of his people in the Starry River neighborhood.He had not received any news since, which means that there was still no trace of Shea.The weather was warmer than it was during the new year, but she could still catch a cold if she was roaming around the streets.Where could Shea be hiding?Did a good samaritan take her in?Elliot blamed himself.Shea had run away before when she had heard of her first surgery. Since her intellect had improved, Elliot thought that she would not be as afraid of the surgery. He had explained to her, again and again, the reason behind the surgery, so he had thought that she had understood him to some extent.Who would have thought that she would still b

Elliot shot up from his seat. Shea was at the hospital?!Who had sent her there?Why had he not been informed of the surgery?"Who sent Shea to the hospital? Which hospital is she at?!"Elliot's hand clenched tightly around his phone, and he stormed out of the surveillance center."I'm sorry, I'm not too clear on the details myself. We are at Elizabeth Hospital," the woman said, then hung up."Elizabeth Hospital!" thought Elliot in bewilderment. It was Elizabeth Hospital again!Zoe had planned to carry out Shea's surgery at Central Hospital.This meant that someone had told Zoe that Shea was at Elizabeth Hospital, and she had gone there.Who was the one who had sent Shea to Elizabeth Hospital?Was it Avery?However, Shea had not been at her house when Elliot had gone there the last night.Shea had a stubborn streak, but she was always well behaved in front of Elliot.It was impossible that she would not react if she had heard Elliot's voice.Elliot's mind was a mess!

Elliot dialed Avery's number once again but was still met with the bot's message.He could not believe his ears!How dare Avery not take his call? Or was her phone turned off?Elliot searched for Mike's number in his contacts and called him.They lived under the same roof and worked at the same company, so they were practically together 24/7.Mike was confused when he received Elliot's call.Why was he calling him?Were they that close?Mike glanced at Avery who was lying on the large bed, and he figured out why Elliot was calling him. He answered the call, but before he could say a word, Elliot's vicious voice came right at him."I'm looking for Avery!"Mike was dumbfounded.What was he being so aggressive about?!"Avery's asleep! What do you want with her?"Mike watched Avery's sleeping face. He did not raise his voice.She had arrived three hours ago and had fallen asleep without a word. Mike was thinking of leaving, but in the end, he had decided to stay once he

"Are you finally up?" Elliot asked mockingly.Avery laid back on the bed, massaged her aching temples, and said, "Weren't you the one who called and woke me up? Why did you call?""I saw you drive out of the neighborhood last night at 10.30 p.m., Avery. Where did you go that late at night?" Elliot asked.Avery gave Mike, who was sitting at the end of the bed, a little kick and shot him a look.Then, she answered Elliot's question."Mike had too much to drink last night. The bar called me. They wanted me to settle his bill. That's where I went. When I got there he was already in a drunken craze. I was worried that he would wake the kids if I brought him home, so we got a room at a hotel. What's up? What's up? Are you interested in going bar-hopping? Should I get him to invite you next time?"Elliot's brows furrowed.Why was Avery's answer different from what he had imagined?"Is there anything else?" Avery asked as she yawned. "Mike kept me up all night last night… I'm exhausted

When Mike realized he said something wrong, his hand shot up to cover his mouth."You've been infiltrated!" Avery sighed."No way! He hasn't been asking about us recently," Mike said as he rolled his pale blue eyes. "I'm sure! He's not as good a drinker as I am. I get him drunk every time we drink together. He isn't capable of getting anything out of me."Avery did not doubt the veracity of his words.She was just worried that he was hiding something from her, or that someone had managed to get plenty of information out of him. "If you fall for Chad's pillow talk—"A pained expression appeared on Mike's face.Then, he changed the subject and said, "Are you planning on continuing to help Shea unconditionally? It's a huge loss to not ask Elliot Foster for medical fees!"Avery shook her head and said, "There won't be a next time. It's not that I won't help her. It's just that her condition is too severe, and there are limits to my abilities. There's no telling what would happen t