"Ivy, look! It's Daddy!" Ruby carried Ivy out of the crib and turned the camera so that it faced her and Ivy. "Ivy, remember what your Daddy looks like! Daddy is a really brilliant man..."Elliot did not hear a word she said and focused on the child in her arms.Ivy was too young to know anything at all, but it was precisely her innocent face that broke the defenses he had put around his heart.He had never seen Layla as a baby, but he could distinctly see the resemblance Ivy had with Layla."Elliot, our daughter is a wonderful child. She came down with pneumonia when she was born because she was weak. For about a week, the doctors wouldn't even let me visit her, but they told me that she was wonderful and that she rarely cries, so she had a speedy recovery."Ruby sobbed. "She's really great... Elliot, I know that you can't come to see her, but can you video call me from time to time so that Ivy gets to see you?""No," Elliot rejected her request without a moment of hesitation.
Elliot had not hung up, which confirmed the fact that he cared deeply for Ivy. No one could ever sever the bond between families."Elliot, I didn't do that on purpose. I won't lose control like that again. I will take good care of Ivy and raise her well," Ruby promised."It's late. Get her to sleep!" Elliot said and hung up.He held onto his phone tightly as he was overwhelmed by his emotions.He had seen what Ivy looked like in her photos, but it was not as shocking as seeing her in the video. Her every move caught his attention, and it tugged at his heart. Had his senses not stopped him earlier, he would have traveled to Ylore to hold Ivy the moment she had burst out crying.Someone knocked on the door and he sobered.Chad pushed the door open and placed a cup of coffee on his desk. "Are you okay, Mr. Foster?"There had been a meeting earlier, and Elliot had left after answering the call. Had it not been something urgent, Elliot would not have left without saying a word."She
Elliot was impressed by his imagination. "What's in that brain of yours? Does Ben seem that desperate to you?"Chad scratched his head. "I've never met Ruby before, but my instinct tells me that she's a formidable enemy. She managed to find a way to create a child in secret after getting married to you. After that, she killed her own father. That's not what ordinary people do, so she's definitely someone who will do anything to get what she wants.'"Are you concerned that she will bribe Ben into going against me?""Not to go against you but to seduce you," Chad said. "She has never been discreet about wanting you for herself."Elliot took a sip of coffee. "Ben won't betray me.""True. I'm worrying over nothing. I just keep getting worried, probably because Ruby has your child right now. If only we can get custody of that child. I know it's difficult for you, though. You definitely don't want that kid."Before today, Elliot had thought and believed whole-heartedly that he would no
"I'm sorry, but I don't have parents who were that tolerant, nor have I ever been loved, so what Elliot's doing simply disgusts me. How is this any different from cheating?" Mike finished his drink and slammed the glass onto the table. "I can't do anything to him, but I can teach Ruby Gould a lesson!"Chad was stunned. "Do you have a death wish? Ylore is the territory of the Gould family—""Gary Gould is dead! Ylore is no longer their territory!" Mike mocked. "The reign of the Gould family is over!""Even so, you can't just go challenging Ruby! She's not alone right now. She has a newborn baby, so just let them settle what's between them on their own! If Mr. Foster really decides to take the baby back, he won't be able to keep it a secret from Avery. Avery will decide what to do on her own then!""F*ck this! Avery is always the one who gets hurt! Why?!" Mike stood abruptly from the chair.Worried that he would act out, Chad immediately pushed him back into the chair."Don't act r
Elliot relaxed slightly.The two went to lay down on the bed, and Avery turned off the lights. She kept her eyes wide open, unable to fall asleep.She knew that Elliot could not fall asleep as well.She had failed to convince Shea to give up earlier that day, and when Wesley walked her outside, he told her that Shea was behaving this way because of his mother.Avery felt even more helpless after hearing that.Though Wesley said that he would talk to his mother to get her to talk to Shea, Avery knew that it was unlikely that they would be able to convince Shea to get the abortion.She did not have the courage to tell Elliot about this. If she did, he might go after Wesley's mother, and the situation would only escalate further."Avery, what are you thinking about?" He noticed that her eyes were open through the faint moonlight.It unsettled him that she was lying in bed with her eyes wide open in silence."About all sorts of things... It's a mess in my head right now." She turn
There were no missed calls or unread messages.No one from Aryadelle was looking for him. He felt slightly disappointed and sorrowful.He had been in Ylore for a day and a night. Did Elliot not care about him at all? Even if he did not about him, did he not care about Ivy as well?He went into the bathroom to wash his face and walked out of his room to find Ruby playing with her daughter in the living room.Ivy was laying in her crib with eyes wide open as Ruby swung a toy above her.It was a heart-warming sight to wake up to."Ben, you are awake!" Ruby noticed Ben and immediately set the toy down. "I told the nanny to make some soup. Why don't you have some?""Where is Paul?" Ben walked over to the crib to look at Ivy.Ivy was as adorable and innocent as she was the day before. If it wasn't for the scent of alcohol still lingering on him, he would have held her."I asked the driver to send Paul back last night," she said. "He doesn't live with me.""Oh... You could have trie
Avery set his phone down and went back to bed.Her mind sank into chaos as she discovered that though Elliot had promised her that he would not acknowledge the child as his, his best friend was trying to take the child away from Ruby in private."How ironic," she thought. "it's a shame that Ruby doesn't want to hand the child over. I wonder if she would cave if it was Elliot doing the asking."Avery's heart felt as though it had been pricked by countless needles. She had thought that she and Elliot had overcome all difficulties, and hand in hand, they would not break no matter what lay ahead. She had not imagined that it was all just an illusion and that they were dreaming of different things.Avery could not sleep. She lay awake and stared out the window until the ink-dark sky slowly turned white. Her eyes felt sore, but the ache in her heart had not subsided. She closed her eyes and forced herself to go back to sleep.At seven in the morning, Elliot woke up and glanced at Avery
She rubbed her eyes and recalled what had happened last night. "Nothing... It's probably because I didn't take a nap yesterday." She sat up in bed. "What time is it? Are you going to work now?""You overslept so I was worried that you weren't feeling well."She shook her head with a smile. "I'm fine... Go to work!""Okay. If you didn't sleep well, you should go back to sleep. Leave work behind for now." He planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'm going now."She hummed in response and watched as he left the room.After he was gone, she lay back down in bed. Her head felt dizzy from lack of sleep, but she simply could not go back to sleep.She picked up her phone, but she was not sure what to do. She wanted to talk but was not sure who she could talk to because it did not seem appropriate to mention what had happened to anyone. After all, Elliot had yet to tell her the truth. One thing she was certain of was that Elliot had developed feelings for his daughter in Ylore.In Sterling Gr