"Thank you," Eric said. "There will be dinner later. If it's okay with all of you, we can all go together."Avery glanced at Layla, and without another word, Layla turned and left.Avery and Elliot hurried after her."What's going on?" Ben mumbled. "Eric, are you and Layla fighting?""I'm sorry," Eric said apologetically."She was fine on the way here, and she knew that this was going to be your last concert. Is she angry at you all of a sudden because you started dating?" Ben was smart enough to figure it out on his own."I didn't want to upset her, Mr. Schaffer, but I can't help it," Eric said with resignation."I get it! Go ahead and celebrate!" Ben figured out the truth and left.Once they arrived home, Layla shut herself inside her room.Elliot stared at the table filled with food. He did not have an appetite. "Avery, what on earth did Layla talk to you about the last time she dragged you into her room? Are you two hiding something from me? Eric found himself a girlfriend
Avery could not bring herself to nod when she saw the shaken look on Elliot's face."That happened on the day Layla called you into her room?" Elliot asked."Yeah. Elliot, Layla didn't dare tell you because she didn't want you to get mad, so you should know what to do, right?" Avery said.He breathed heavily and asked, "So what should I do? Avery, tell me."Avery felt troubled. "Just pretend that you don't know anything, alright? Don't go looking for trouble with Eric, and don't try to console Layla. If you go and talk to her, she will feel uncomfortable. The last thing she wants is for you to find out about this.""Am I really that scary?" Elliot struggled to pretend that he did not know anything.Since his daughter had refused to eat because of it, Elliot knew that he was going to lose sleep over it that night.He had spoiled and treasured his baby girl with all he had, and Eric had the audacity to reject her. "How dare that guy do this to my daughter?!" he thought to himsel
The smile on Irene's face disappeared. "Mr. Lucas, I'm done."She did not know Sam all that well, as he had been overseas the entire time and though he would occasionally return home during holidays, he had only come back once a year ever since he entered university.Before Lucas was brought back into the fold of the Woods family, Sam was the one member of the family who was willing to speak to Irene. She usually kept to the back kitchen, and Sam would often enter the kitchen to talk to her."Are you that scared of him, Irene?" Sam sat down on the couch. "Is he mistreating you? I can talk to Father...""Don't say that Mr. Sam. Mr. Lucas has treated me kindly." Irene realized that Sam was trying to divide her and Lucas. Since Lucas was hot-tempered, she did not want to be the person to trigger a fight between the two siblings."Is that so?" he asked suspiciously before turning to look at Lucas. "I heard that you are on bad terms with stepmother and that you had beaten up the second
"Who gave you permission to cook for him as well?" asked Lucas the moment he looked at the food. "Mr. Lucas, I only cooked the portion I usually do," she said gingerly."Send the food to my room," he commanded not wanting to give Sam the chance to eat with him.Not daring to disobey, Irene immediately placed the food onto a tray and started walking toward Lucas's room.Sam had not expected Lucas to go to such lengths to avoid him. Not only was Lucas hot-tempered and selfish, but it looked like he was not all that bright either, or he would not have caused Irene this much trouble. To top it all off, Lucas was also refusing to eat with him.After this interaction, the two siblings had become enemies.Sam stormed out, and when Irene heard the front door slam shut, she opened the door to Lucas' room. "Mr. Lucas, Mr. Sam is gone. Let's just go back to the dining room to eat, or your room is going to smell like food!" she said before hurrying back to the dining room with the food.Ir
When Robert was in Bridgedale, Hayden had taken Robert on a tour around the company and introduced Robert to his employees."The guys around Hayden aren't that old, and I recall seeing a few handsome guys, too," he said. "Sis, why don't you ask Hayden to show you their photos? Maybe you will like them."Layla did not want to continue the subject and turned to her older brother. "Hayden, do you hate women that much? You didn't have to hire only men, did you?""Don't listen to him," Hayden said not wanting to alert his parents. "I am not the one who hired them.""Then there is an issue with your HR. Why are they only hiring men? What are they plotting?" asked Layla."My HR manager is a woman," Hayden said, "don't listen to Robert."Layla turned to look at Robert. "Robert, you look slimmer, too! Is it from fixing cars?"Robert rubbed at his face and muttered, "... Maybe! But I'm certain that I didn't lose as much weight as you.""It's just because I'm tired from working." Layla re
"Even if I date Eric, you can beat him up if he mistreats me!" Layla looked up. "Hayden, there's no point in discussing this. He already has a girlfriend.""Stop crying. You are pathetic." Hayden clenched his fists at the sight of his sister crying."I'm just upset, Hayden. I didn't mind his age, yet he turned me down," she muttered before walking over to hug Hayden. "You all protected me so well as I grew up. I had everything that I asked for, and everyone heeded my every wish. no one has ever turned me down on anything, so I guess... this is the gods' way of telling me that things don't always go my way..."Her tears melted Hayden's heart. "Layla, you will eventually find someone who will cherish you for life.""Before he turned me down, I was so happy whenever I saw him or texted him, Hayden. It wasn't the same type of happiness I experience with family or friends, so I thought that it has to be love." She wiped her tears away on Hayden's shirt and sniffed. "Whatever. I don't wa
When it came she could finally remove the prosthetic scar, and she can show Lucas her true face. She had not thought of his reaction when she revealed her true face to him, but she was tired of living in shame.She was turning eighteen soon, and like all the other girls, she wanted to look beautiful. She had never hoped to look beautiful before, and no matter what she did, everyone saw her as the ugly duckling. Once she turned eighteen, a new life awaited her.Ordinary people would never understand her dream of wanting to lead an ordinary life free from all the gossip and cold looks from others about her face.Lucas studied her face for a few moments, before nodding. "What kind of birthday present do you want?"She shook her head. "I want you to spend it with me, but it's not because I want a present from you. I just want to tell you a secret.""Is it the same secret you mentioned the last time?"She nodded. "Yes. I want you to be the first to know, because..." She paused, real
Irene knew that Lucas could be very stubborn and accepted his offer with a smile."I don't know what I want yet, so let's walk around!" She took his hand and walked toward the night market where there were more people.To avoid trouble, Irene wore a face mask, leaving only her eyes visible.Lucas had gotten lost in those eyes many times, and he thought to himself, "If only she didn't have that scar on her face, maybe someone would have adopted her, and she wouldn't have to lead such a miserable life."Soon, Irene pulled Lucas into an accessory shop."Mr. Lucas, I want a hair tie for a birthday present," she said."What's a hair tie?" Lucas did not have a single clue what accessories girls used."It's something that I can use to tie my hair." She showed him a hair tie that she already had. "It's getting a little loose, and it can't hold my hair as tightly as before. Buy me a hair tie, Mr. Lucas!"Lucas had not expected her to ask for such a cheap gift."Pick whatever you want.