Perhaps it was because Elliot had not shown favor to many people in his life so far that when he showed the slightest feeling for someone, everyone assumed that he was in love with that person. The kind of love that Avery dreamed of was one of mutual respect and not one where one party held all the control and power in the relationship.When the car arrived at the Foster mansion, the bodyguard got out and walked right up to Elliot."Miss Tate told me in the car that the things she said last night were simply to test out the lie detector," explained the bodyguard, probably in fear of Elliot losing his temper.Avery was taking her time changing into her house slippers at the front door. She was alert, listening in to the conversation. "She even said that she never meant to anger you," added the bodyguard."Does she not have a mouth? Why are you speaking for her?" snapped Elliot.The bodyguard immediately dismissed himself, but not before throwing a threatening glare at Avery, as

Avery wondered if she would be his mistress if that woman was still alive. If she was dead, then was she her replacement?Either way, it made her heart ache and left a bad taste in her mouth.While Avery was lost in thought, Elliot's thoughts also wandered."Tell me, what exactly do you like about Cole?" he asked as he pulled out his cigarette box. His face was the epitome of an enigma. "I don't like him anymore," Avery said coldly.If they had not talked things out earlier, she might have continued to use Cole to anger him.It was childish, but Elliot was always losing his temper over the smallest things.If she did not retaliate, she would lose her mind."Is it because you realized he was nothing but a penniless loser?" Elliot asked as he held the unlit cigarette between his fingers."Is money all you think about?" Avery retorted. "Back when Cole was pursuing me, he would write me love letters every day. On the weekends, he would take me to art galleries and music recital

Why was Elliot asking about art galleries and recitals?What led to his massive change in taste?"Pick something that a woman in her early twenties would like," Elliot said.Chad finally understood where all of this was going."Of course, sir. I'll send you the tickets once they're booked."Elliot was not in his office at Sterling Group the next morning.Ben and Chad seized the opportunity to gossip about their boss. "Mr. Foster might as well have told me straight up that he wanted to take Avery out," Chad said with a chuckle. "I wonder what happened between them. I didn't expect things to progress so quickly. I thought they were getting a divorce!"Ben was analyzing the situation, then said, "I'm guessing they slept together again. Elliot is a stone-cold b*st*rd, but after he slept with Avery, I bet he couldn't control his urges even if he hated her to death.""Chelsea would lose her mind if she found out," said Chad."Don't tell her. She's spent the past few nights getting

The little commotion between Avery and the guard attracted everyone's attention to look toward the door. When Elliot recognized Avery's slender figure, he got up from his seat and said, "What are you doing here?"Avery shook off the bodyguard's grip once again, smoothed her clothes, and walked into the office."I'm here to see Professor Hough," she said, then looked curiously at Elliot and asked, "Are you here to see him, too?"Professor Hough examined the two, then adjusted his glasses, and asked, "Do you two know each other?"Avery was about to tell the professor that they were acquaintances, but Elliot was one step ahead of her. "Professor, please keep the matter we talked about private.""Of course," answered the professor. "It's doctor-patient confidentiality.""I'll be off, then," Elliot said.The professor nodded in response.Elliot turned toward the exit. When he walked past Avery, he glanced at her, but said nothing and walked out.Avery was a little stunned.Why d

Avery did not know whether to laugh or cry."Relax… I was forced into it. When our family was struggling with money, my stepmother married me off for the engagement gifts and cash. I'm still waiting to get a divorce!""What the hell was she thinking?!" Tammy exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? We should go to the police!"Avery reached out to calm her down, then said, "It's not as bad as you think. We're from two completely different worlds, so we should get divorced anytime now."Tammy was still not convinced."Who is he? Tell me… You husband… D*mn it! I still think this is insane!""It is pretty nuts. I'll tell you who he is after we're divorced.""Absolutely not! You need to tell me right now! I'll stand up for you!"Avery knew about Tammy's bad temper all too well.If she found out about Elliot, she would definitely go after him.Her relationship with Elliot was already on the rocks, and Tammy's involvement would just add fuel to the fire."Just focus on looking i

"No idea," the bodyguard shrugged.Avery took a deep breath and glanced at her surroundings.If her memory served her right, the recital that Tammy mentioned earlier was this exact one!However, she had declined Tammy's invitation.In the end, she found herself here anyway!The only thing was that she was here with Elliot instead.She would be mortified if she bumped into Tammy in the concert hall.As her palms began to sweat profusely, she prayed that she would not run into Tammy.It was impossible to end up being seated close to each other in such a large concert hall, right?Chad reserved the whole front row for Elliot.Avery saw him the second she walked into the hall.He was sitting by himself. He sat ramrod straight, and he emanated arrogance. Since the concert had not yet begun, he was looking at his phone.Avery felt as if her feet were glued to the ground, and she could not move.Elliot stood out too much!What made him want to invite her to a recital?Did he

Elliot felt like a joke.Why did Avery not want to be discovered by her friend?Was it that embarrassing for her to be seen with him?The recital began soon after, and Avery calmed down.It was a good thing that Tammy did not see her!She wondered where Tammy was seated.She wanted to turn and look around, but reason stopped her from acting rashly.Tammy was at the recital with another friend and was seated in the fifth row. "Who's that on the first row? Three people taking up all those seats. What a waste!"Tammy was complaining to her friend who was scrutinizing the row of nearly empty seats. "Probably someone rich! We're on the fifth row and the tickets cost over a hundred and fifty bucks, so I bet first row tickets are expensive! It looks like they reserved the whole row. You can tell right away that that guy in the middle is super-rich. The woman next to him is either his daughter or his lover. The muscular guy on the other side is definitely his bodyguard."Tammy agr

The more Avery thought about it, the more erratic her breathing became.Was this proof that Elliot was in love with her?Otherwise, why would he go and do something that he considered a waste of time?She felt a sudden chill run down her spine.Her hand instinctively drifted to her lower abdomen.She was now more than three months pregnant. She had been watching her diet, so her baby bump was not showing at all.By the time she reached the fifth and sixth months, she could still hide her bump under loose clothing.What would happen when she was near the end of her term?No matter how skinny a pregnant mother was, she would not be able to hide her baby bump once that time came.If she was still by Elliot's side by then, she would definitely get caught.Avery wandered aimlessly around the streets.She was holding her jacket in her arms, and she was wearing nothing but a light t-shirt, but she did not feel the cold breeze. Her feelings for Elliot confused her. It was exactl

"Mr. Foster, are your legs alright without the wheelchair?" Chad asked gently.He knew that Elliot had not used the wheelchair today as he had not wanted there to be any obstructions while he was on his date with Avery. Him having to roll the wheelchair would have definitely been a bad experience for Avery. It was a shame that she did not appreciate his boss's thoughtfulness.Elliot pushed Ben and Chad aside.His expression was cold as he curtly said, "I'm fine.""Let's go have a drink, Elliot!" Ben said as he grabbed onto Elliot's arm once again. "Charlie Tierney's around, so let's get him to join us."Elliot's ominous expression concerned Ben.Charlie was Chelsea's older brother.Ben was the one who called Charlie when Chelsea angered Elliot.The Tierney family business was based in Rosacus City.As the heir to the Tierney empire, Chalice spent most of his time in Rosacus.After a moment of silence, Elliot said, "No."He made his way to the elevator. He did not walk qu

Cold sweat dripped down Avery's back.Instinctively, she slammed her laptop shut.She would not have done that if she were working on her thesis.In her earlier frenzy of wild thoughts, she started a new file and wrote down a plan.It was a plan to get a divorce within the next three months.Avery hoped to get a divorce from Elliot before she was seven months pregnant.That was the only way she could survive her last trimester and give birth to the twins peacefully.If her plan failed and the divorce did not go through, then the only thing she could do was disappear.That would be the worst-case scenario.Aryadelle was her home, and she wanted to continue to live and work here. She also hoped that her children could be born and grow up where she did.Avery's overly cautious reaction revolted Elliot.Did she think that he would be interested in her thesis?Or perhaps she was not working on her thesis at all, and she was doing something else?Avery saw Elliot's sullen expres