Elliot was stopped by the Tierney family's bodyguards on his way to the south side of the villa."You can't go in there, Mr. Foster.""Let me in!" Elliot roared with a savage fury. "My wife's inside!""Do you mean Miss Tate?" asked the bodyguard, then added, "She just went hiking with Mr. Tierney."Elliot pursed his lips as his eyes turned into glacial orbs of ice colder than the abyss.The bodyguard pointed in the direction of a hill not too far away and said, "They went that way, but it's already dark out, and it's a pretty steep walk. If you are unfamiliar with the path, I suggest you wait for them inside. I'm sure they'll be back soon."Elliot clenched his fists, then he stormed up the hill. …In the living room in the south wing of the villa, after listening to Charlie's father's two-hour history lesson on the establishment of his company and his thoughts on Tate Industries, Avery was desperate to escape."Thank you for taking the time out to talk to me, Mr. Tierney. Sin
Charlie patted down his wrinkled shirt, then snapped coldly, "I'm not his bodyguard, Chelsea! I don't have time to keep tabs on him! Go look for him yourself!"Chelsea violently punched Charlie in the chest and shrieked, "I can't reach his phone, and I can't find him! His bodyguard doesn't know where he is either! Stop pretending! You installed that signal blocker on purpose! This is all part of your crazy plan!"Charlie clasped a hand over her mouth and he flung her over his shoulder with the other. "Listen to me, Chelsea! I have to lock you in your room for now. You won't suffer again after tonight!"Back in the banquet hall, Avery shot to her feet.The uneasiness in her heart rose as she took in the unfamiliar faces around her.She pulled out her phone and noticed Elliot's missed calls and text message which read: [Look for me when you see this! I'll be in the banquet hall!]Avery was in the banquet hall, but where was Elliot?She tried calling him, but her call was immedia
The villa was located halfway up the hill.There was a winding but smooth road starting at the bottom of the hill that led straight to the villa.From there onwards, however, there were no roads leading to the top of the hill.It was already dark out when Elliot had begun his journey from the villa.Using his flash as a torchlight, he hurried up the hill. He was worried for Avery's safety.Charlie had bad intentions when it came to Avery, and Elliot was terrified of what might happen to her if he was too late.He would never have allowed Avery to come alone if he knew about Charlie's evil plans.Half an hour later, Elliot was breathing heavily, but it was nothing compared to the hell his legs were going through. His doctor had ordered him not to do any extraneous activities for the next six months.He was only allowed to walk normally and not for long periods of time either.Activities like hiking that wore out the knees were out of the question and carried extreme risks.
A glimmer of light not too far away suddenly grabbed Avery's attention.She shone the flashlight of her phone in the direction of the glimmer.At the bottom of the sprawling ravine was the clear silhouette of a man lying on the ground."Elliot!"Avery let out a shrill cry before she got down on all fours and crawled toward the ravine."I'm coming, Elliot! Don't be scared! You'll be fine… You'll be okay!"Hearing her cries, the bodyguard stood on top of the hill and yelled, "Did you find him?!""Yes! He fell! He's covered in blood!" Avery yelled as she tried to contain her emotions. "Get over here!"She took a deep breath and jumped down to where Elliot was.Her foot slipped upon the sudden impact, which caused her to draw a sharp breath of pain.She swiped the tears off her face and quickly scrambled to where Elliot was and took him into her arms. "Elliot! Wake up! Don't fall asleep! Stay awake!"She held his face that was cold to the touch in her hands, lowered her head,
Avery was cooped up at the library at Avonsville University after having dinner on campus.A sudden cheer made her look up from her book. "It's snowing! It's the first snow of the year! Look, it's getting heavier! Let's go out and play!""Sure! I want to take some pictures!"…Half of the people in the library left.Avery walked over to the window and looked out at the snow gracefully fluttering down from the sky.It was a beautiful scene.It was no wonder there was a saying that you shall surely succeed if you asked someone out during the first snow. Things of beauty put everyone in a good mood, after all."Your phone's ringing!" someone said as they came up behind Avery and tapped her on the shoulder.She snapped out of her daze and said, "Oh, thank you!"She then limped her way back to her seat.Avery had not gone to the hospital to get her foot treated till much later.The swelling was so bad that it was taking a while to heal.Even so, none of this affected her da
"I don't think the reason why Elliot won't see Avery is that he's upset…" Jun said. "His bodyguard told me that his face was covered in scratches from the fall. I doubt someone as proud as him would want anyone seeing him in that condition.""So, that's what it is! I have to tell Avery before she overthinks things," Tammy said, then sent Avery a text telling her what she just heard from Jun.Avery simply replied with a smiling emoji.Tammy: [Elliot's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. Have you thought about what you're getting him?]Avery: [Not yet. I don't know what to give him.]Tammy: [Since it's getting cold out, you should try knitting him a sweater!]Avery: [Are you serious? Who wears knitted sweaters anymore?!]Tammy: [Just do it. Men like stuff like that.]Avery: [Problem is, I don't know a thing about knitting!]Tammy: [The people selling the yarn would teach you! Or you could look for tutorials online. You're a smart girl. You'll figure it out!]Avery: [Why
"I prescribed some medication to help, but he won't take them," said the doctor with a frown. "He won't get better if he continues to refuse help.""I'll talk to him tomorrow," said Rosalie."I heard that he listens to Miss Avery. Maybe we should—""Absolutely not!" Rosalie snapped furiously. "She's the reason my son is like this. That woman brings nothing but bad luck!"The doctor did not argue.His only responsibility was to Elliot's health. "I know you didn't mean to take her side…" Rosalie said as she tried to quickly reach a compromise. "Let's see if he listens to me tomorrow."She only hoped for her son's speedy recovery.Everything else could wait.…After Avery took a shower, she walked to the window and looked outside.The snow on the ground looked like a layer of silver powder that illuminated the night.She felt a strange compulsion rise within her.She picked up her phone and wanted so badly to give Elliot a call.She wanted to hear his voice.After some tho
"Yes, sir," Chad responded.Soon after, a cup of coffee was placed in front of Elliot.As Chad exited the room, he bumped into Chelsea who was charging toward Elliot’s office.She was not wearing any makeup, and her face looked unusually haggard.Chad approached her, intending to speak to her, but in the end, he did not say anything. Chelsea entered Elliot's office and shut the door behind her."I'm sorry, Elliot," she said in a hoarse voice as she stood in front of Elliot. "This was all due to my brother's scheme. He knew that you were still recovering, so he made you go up that hill. It's an especially steep hill. We don't usually go up there ourselves. He wanted you dead."Elliot stared silently at her pale face, then said, "I know.""I'm sorry. He won't apologize to you. He already left the country." There was a lump in Chelsea's throat as she spoke. "Please forgive my family, Elliot. My father's getting old, and I'm afraid he won't be able to handle the backlash. If you h