"Okay… Yes, Sir! Let's go play with Shea!" Layla dragged Hayden and headed in Shea's direction. "She said she'll take us out to play! She's getting the bodyguard to drive us!"At five in the afternoon, Elliot helped Avery down the stairs.Everyone watched the couple walk down. They looked warm and harmonious. All kinds of thoughts began to fill the minds of the watchers. An hour was the average time for an afternoon nap. Two hours were normally considered rather long for a nap. However, Elliot and Avery had spent the entire afternoon resting upstairs.How was it possible for them to nap for that long?They were all adults, so everyone had an idea of what had happened without having to ask."Weren't you guys playing poker?" Avery blushed as realized that everyone was looking at them, and she tried to change the subject. "We stopped playing at four in the afternoon and started helping Chad with dinner! Were you two really sleeping so soundly upstairs that you couldn't hear any

After dinner, Layla held Avery's hand. She looked exhausted, "Mommy, I want to go to bed… Give me a bath…"The nanny immediately rushed over to help.Layla threw a tantrum because she was tired."I want Mommy to give me a bath!" she sobbed.Tammy walked over with a smile and said, "Layla, your Mommy's belly is going to grow even bigger soon. She won't be able to give you a bath by then!"Layla froze for a moment, then she stroked Avery's flat belly."Your Mommy's belly is going to grow this big," Tammy said as she gestured at Avery's abdomen.Layla's jaw dropped in shock as disbelief washed over her little face.Tammy carried Layla upstairs and said to Avery, "Go take a break!"Avery was a little worried and wanted to go up with them.Elliot grabbed her arm and said, "Come outside with me.""What is it?" Avery said as she walked ahead of him. "Shea should be tired too. You should head home.""The bodyguard will take her home." Elliot held her hand and led her outside. "Let'

Avery: [Maybe he figured I need to eat more because I'm eating for two now.]Tammy: [Hahaha! What did he buy for you? Send me photos!]Avery took a photo of that night's haul and sent it to Tammy.Tammy looked at the photo, then immediately called Avery."Why did he buy jewelry again? Haha! Do men like giving the women they love jewelry?" she laughed.Avery placed her head in her hands, "He had a motive."Tammy froze, then asked, "What motive?""It's because of an event next Monday."Avery truly experienced how petty a man could be that night.She had declined his offer to buy her clothes and jewelry, but Elliot had insisted on buying her both. When she asked for his reason, he gladly gave it.When Avery had attended the meet-and-greet at the hotel with Eric Santos, they had both worn cream sweaters and were mistaken as lovers. She had worn the necklace that Eric had given her and that too had caused quite a bit of controversy. It was all in the past, but Elliot had never

"Why aren't you saying anything, Avery?" Tammy asked. "Do you think there's a possibility that Cole was the father of the child Zoe was pregnant with? After all, the chances of getting knocked up after sleeping together once are really low! Besides, if Zoe would date a major sc*mbag like Cole, it's enough to prove that they're the same type of people!"Avery felt an ache in her heart, then croaked, "I'm not sure if they really are dating or not… I'm a little tired now, Tammy…""Okay. Hurry up and get some rest, then," Tammy said.Avery hung up and stared out into the night. Tears fell silently down her face.She had thought that Elliot and Zoe were just like other couples while they were together.He had thought that the child Zoe was carrying was the result of their many nights of loving passion."What a joke!"she thought. All the loathing she had felt for Elliot was because of his relationship with Zoe. She had despised and resented him to the point that she had wanted

Elliot, Chad, and Ben had not left since their arrival that morning.They had spent their time touring Tate Industries.At least, that was their excuse. Their true motive was to stay for lunch."Wanda Tate is a master of marketing," Ben said with his phone in his hand. "She hit a brick wall running into us though.""Even so, their sales aren't bad," Chad said. "There is still huge potential in the lower-income market.""They're selling their products for cheap, after all! They are sacrificing profit for reputation… Their original plan was to quickly take over the market and run Tate Industries out of business, and when they have a monopoly of the market they raise their prices," Ben said. "Now, they've realized that Tate Industries isn't as easy to take down as they'd thought. Which is why they're coming up with other ideas.""Are they cutting down costs? Or are they planning on conquering the lower and middle-income markets as they continue to make big promises to their investor

Avery parked the car at the villa's entrance.The delivery man was waiting for her at the front gate.After she got out of the car and signed for the package, her phone, which was in her bag, began to ring.She held the package in one hand while she pulled out the phone with her other.She answered the call after opening the front gate."Where are you?"Elliot's deep, low voice came through the phone."At home," Avery answered."Are you not feeling well?" Elliot asked with a hint of worry in his voice."I'm fine. I came home to collect a package."Avery walked past the front yard and stopped when she reached the front door. She opened the door.Once she was in the house, she placed the package on top of the shoe rack."What's up?" she asked as she changed into her house slippers and walked over to the couch."Zoe Sanford is, in fact, dating Cole."Elliot's bodyguard had dragged Cole to him. Cole had confessed to everything, so Elliot called Avery."How did you find out?"

Chad was sitting in Ben's office at the Sterling Group building. He was sipping on a cup of tea. "It's been a while since I've been Mr. Foster this happy!" Chad chuckled. "I was standing by his office door— on purpose when I saw him bring in a huge bag of fruits and snacks. Can Avery eat all of that? Hahaha!""Did Avery finally come around? Women are so difficult to figure out!" Ben said with furrowed brows."Could she be coming because Zoe and Cole got together?" mused Chad. "I can't think of anything else that might make her come here.""Let's hope that's the case." Ben raised his own cup of tea and clinked cups with Chad.Avery pulled up in front of the Sterling Group building half an hour later.After his little tea session with Ben, Chad had been waiting at the building's entrance.When he saw Avery's Land Rover, he immediately ran up to it.Avery rolled down her window when she saw Chad approaching, then said, "Chad, the parking lot is full. I'll go find somewhere to par

Half an hour later, the vice president of Sterling Group burst into Ben's office."I've looked everywhere for you, Chad. I knew you'd be here!"The vice president slumped down next to Chad.Noticing the vice president dripping in sweat, Chad asked, " What happened? You're making me think the company's in some kind of trouble."The vice president poured himself a glass of water, then said, "Did the two of you know that Avery Tate was here? Why didn't you tell me?" He drank the entire glass of water in one gulp. "I went into Mr. Foster's office just now— Aaah! Just the thought of it makes me want to dig a hole and bury myself! What the hell did I just see? I think I'm about to get fired!" Ben and Chad were shocked."Don't tell me they were…" Ben spoke but he did not complete his sentence. The vice president nodded furiously and said, "That was not the worst thing. The worst thing was that I was with a team of people, and all of them saw it too! … Honestly, I might as well pack u

'No way,' the vice president thought to himself. 'Did Avery Tate leave?'He took a deep breath, then knocked on the open door to Elliot's office.Elliot looked up, saw who it was, then immediately said, "Come in and shut the door."The vice president was terrified!Elliot's tone was no different than usual, but there was something scary about the way he said the words 'come in and shut the door'.The vice president timidly walked into the room and closed the door behind him."Where's Miss Tate Sir?"Elliot pushed the file he was working on aside, then said coldly, "Do you need to talk to her about something?" He paused, then continued ominously, "You scared her off."The vice president felt sweat trickle down his back."I'm so sorry Sir! I'll go and apologize to Miss Tate right away!"Elliot's brows furrowed tightly as he asked, "Don't you think you've embarrassed her enough?"The vice president humbly hung his head. His face said, "Do what you want with me.""I don't want

Tammy shook her head and said, "Nope! Wasn't there the sender's name on the package?""I just glanced at it. I think it was the name of some company." Avery then revealed the suspicious nature of the package, "I had told the delivery man to leave it at the neighborhood's counter or to give it to the nanny, but he had insisted that I receive it in person." "Maybe it's something expensive. You usually have to sign for something like that." Tammy flashed a mysterious grin and said, "Could it be something from Elliot? Aren't the two of you in the middle of a passionate relationship?"Avery responded without hesitation, "It probably isn't him. He has never used a courier service to send me gifts. Even if he orders something from a different country, he would normally have it sent to his place, check it, and then only give it to me." "Tsk! Hearing you say all this is making me fall in love with him all over again. After all, he once was my dream man!" Tammy picked up her teaspoon and s