"How is it not scary if you say you're going to bring us to see Hayden without bringing Daddy along?" Layla had a sad expression. "Are you two going to get a divorce?""No." She wiped her daughter's tears with a tissue. "Daddy and I haven't gotten our marriage certificate yet. If we separate, it'll just be a breakup, not a divorce.""How is that any different? Sob sob sob!" Layla's tears streamed down even more fiercely when she heard that explanation."Don't cry, Layla. Listen to me, okay." Avery said softly, "No matter what happens to us, we'll always love you, Hayden, and Robert. I'll always be with all of you, okay?""I don't like it when you two argue!" Layla roared as a grieving look appeared in her eyes. "But that's what you always do!"Avery didn't know how to answer, so she was silent.After about a minute or two, Layla looked at Avery's face and said in a soft voice, "I'm sorry Mommy. I shouldn't have yelled at you.""It's okay. Daddy and Mommy are the ones who aren't
Back at Elliot's Mansion, Layla cried her eyes out the previous night until they became red and swollen. She seemed to be in rather low spirits too, so Avery decided to bring the two children out for some fun."Didn't you say you wanted to go to the amusement park, Layla? Why don't we go today?" Avery wanted to make her daughter happy.Layla shook her head. "I don't feel like going there. Robert doesn't have to go too. It’s not like he can enjoy himself anyway, since he's so young.""Then where do you want to go?" Avery grabbed a sweat towel and put it on her back.Layla lay belly-down on the sofa and said angrily, "I don't want to go anywhere! Everywhere sucks!""Then let's take a walk outside! Or if there's anything you want to buy, I can bring you to buy it." Avery squatted beside her daughter and tried getting the little girl to come around. "Didn't you say you wanted new stickers last time?""I already have them. My classmate gave them to me.""Then let's go buy some little
Elliot carried Robert from the bed and touched the boy's forehead with his fingers. "How did you get all these mosquito bites in the two days that I was away?" After a pause, he looked at Mrs. Cooper, "Didn't you get rid of the mosquitoes? Prepare a mosquito net for him.""I did. I already bought a mosquito net yesterday and I was planning to set it up later today," Mrs. Cooper replied.Robert grabbed Elliot's shirt buttons and had a great time playing with them."Master Elliot, Layla got suspicious when you did not come home the night before last. She might be young, but she understands a lot of things at her age," Mrs. Cooper advised. "You must take into account the children's feelings, or else it'd be very difficult to win back the heart of a child."Elsewhere, Cole finally met Harvey, with the former looking around cautiously when they met.Harvey arranged to meet him at a high-end cafeIt was that time of day when not a lot of customers were in the cafe."Mr. Goodman, is El
Avery and Layla returned home more than an hour later.They bought a lot of saplings and flowers from the market.The bodyguard opened the trunk and carried everything out of the car.Mrs. Cooper came out with Robert in her arms and glanced at their haul. "That's a lot of flowers you bought! They're so beautiful.""I chose them, and Mommy chose the saplings!" Layla seemed to have forgotten her unhappiness and had a bright smile in her eyes. "Mommy bought fruit saplings!""What kind?" Mrs. Cooper asked."She brought grapefruit, cherry, and... uh…what other saplings do we have?" Layla looked up at Avery."Peach and pear," Avery added."Yes! A peach tree and a pear tree! I like to eat peaches! So, Mommy bought a peach tree!" Layla lifted the bag of flowers excitedly. "I'm going to put them in a vase.""I've readied a couple of clean vases on the table. You'll see them when you enter the house," Mrs. Cooper said to Layla. "Be careful not to prick yourself on the thorns when you ta
"Are you telling me that Elliot transferred his shares because of Avery?!""I wouldn't dare to make such an assumption. I'm just telling you what I know." Harvey said sternly, "Elliot changed his mind when he found out it was for Adrian and transferred all of it, rather than just one-third."Ben gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "God darn it! What the hell is Avery doing?! What in God's name does she want to do?!"Harvey advised Ben. "Mr. Schaffer, please calm down.""Don't tell me to calm the hell down! This company can no longer call itself the Sterling Group if Elliot leaves!" Ben said irritably. "He was its founder and poured all his money, enthusiasm, and hard work into this company. What right does Avery have to ask him to transfer his shares to Adrian? Avery's stupidity is costing Elliot! Darn it!"Harvey continued to persuade him. "Elliot has made up his mind. Being angry about it isn't going to change a thing.""Where is he? I want to see him!" Ben got up from th
Avery removed her gardening gloves and took the cell phone.The caller was Tammy.She answered the phone and heard Tammy's hurried voice. "Tammy! Ben crossed the line! He cursed you! He sent those unpleasant messages to their group chat and deleted it soon after, but Jun read everything and decided to tell me because he felt that Ben had gone overboard."Avery was stunned. "He was cursing me?""Yeah! He said some really awful things! I didn't read the messages, but Jun said that it was horrible. Even if you quarreled with Elliot, it's something that should remain between you two. Ben has no right to be scolding you!" Tammy was so furious that it was almost as if she was the one who was being cursed. "He deleted the messages after Jun and Chad chastised him in the group chat, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen." Tammy continued. "Remember to just ignore him in the future, Avery. He's probably irritable because he's having a mid-life crisis or something."Avery was relatively ca
"It's not a big deal. I just want to chat with you," Mike whispered."Then we can just talk out here!" Avery took him to the yard. "Alright, what's up?""What else? Don't you know?" Mike put his hands on his hips. "I know Adrian is special compared to other people, but you can't prioritize Adrian over Elliot!""I didn't!" Avery said."But that's what everyone thinks right now." Mike sighed heavily. "Avery, if Elliot isn't willing to fork out his money to save Adrian, you shouldn't keep on forcing him to!""I haven't even talked to him about this!" Avery frowned. "Do you really think I'd force him if I discussed it with him and he clearly refuses to help me?""You haven't talked to him yet?" Mike was a little surprised."No! I have a feeling that someone leaked this to him." Avery stared at his face. "Mike...""The main question now is how are you going to solve the problem?" Mike changed the subject immediately. "I'm here to advise you that you should explain everything to Elli
Mike's pent-up unhappiness disappeared immediately after hearing her words.What she said was true.Elliot had an irritable temper, and he would almost certainly lose his mind if he knew that Shea was still alive. He would even go so far as to kidnap Adrian and tie him down to the operating table just so Shea could get the kidney transplant.On the off chance that the operation failed and he saw Shea dying before his own eyes, how was he even supposed to face that immense blow?"There's only one way to solve the problems you mentioned," Mike said after calming down, "Bringing Shea to him if her surgery is successful."Avery nodded. "I know. That was my plan all along. Elliot would have been so happy to see her.""But he has misunderstood your intentions right now!" Mike roared. "He's not the only one who hates you right now. The people around him hate you too, including Ben and Chad...""Tammy told me." Although Avery was a little heartbroken, she was not concerned with their vi