The little commotion between Avery and the guard attracted everyone's attention to look toward the door. When Elliot recognized Avery's slender figure, he got up from his seat and said, "What are you doing here?"Avery shook off the bodyguard's grip once again, smoothed her clothes, and walked into the office."I'm here to see Professor Hough," she said, then looked curiously at Elliot and asked, "Are you here to see him, too?"Professor Hough examined the two, then adjusted his glasses, and asked, "Do you two know each other?"Avery was about to tell the professor that they were acquaintances, but Elliot was one step ahead of her. "Professor, please keep the matter we talked about private.""Of course," answered the professor. "It's doctor-patient confidentiality.""I'll be off, then," Elliot said.The professor nodded in response.Elliot turned toward the exit. When he walked past Avery, he glanced at her, but said nothing and walked out.Avery was a little stunned.Why d
Avery did not know whether to laugh or cry."Relax… I was forced into it. When our family was struggling with money, my stepmother married me off for the engagement gifts and cash. I'm still waiting to get a divorce!""What the hell was she thinking?!" Tammy exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? We should go to the police!"Avery reached out to calm her down, then said, "It's not as bad as you think. We're from two completely different worlds, so we should get divorced anytime now."Tammy was still not convinced."Who is he? Tell me… You husband… D*mn it! I still think this is insane!""It is pretty nuts. I'll tell you who he is after we're divorced.""Absolutely not! You need to tell me right now! I'll stand up for you!"Avery knew about Tammy's bad temper all too well.If she found out about Elliot, she would definitely go after him.Her relationship with Elliot was already on the rocks, and Tammy's involvement would just add fuel to the fire."Just focus on looking i
"No idea," the bodyguard shrugged.Avery took a deep breath and glanced at her surroundings.If her memory served her right, the recital that Tammy mentioned earlier was this exact one!However, she had declined Tammy's invitation.In the end, she found herself here anyway!The only thing was that she was here with Elliot instead.She would be mortified if she bumped into Tammy in the concert hall.As her palms began to sweat profusely, she prayed that she would not run into Tammy.It was impossible to end up being seated close to each other in such a large concert hall, right?Chad reserved the whole front row for Elliot.Avery saw him the second she walked into the hall.He was sitting by himself. He sat ramrod straight, and he emanated arrogance. Since the concert had not yet begun, he was looking at his phone.Avery felt as if her feet were glued to the ground, and she could not move.Elliot stood out too much!What made him want to invite her to a recital?Did he
Elliot felt like a joke.Why did Avery not want to be discovered by her friend?Was it that embarrassing for her to be seen with him?The recital began soon after, and Avery calmed down.It was a good thing that Tammy did not see her!She wondered where Tammy was seated.She wanted to turn and look around, but reason stopped her from acting rashly.Tammy was at the recital with another friend and was seated in the fifth row. "Who's that on the first row? Three people taking up all those seats. What a waste!"Tammy was complaining to her friend who was scrutinizing the row of nearly empty seats. "Probably someone rich! We're on the fifth row and the tickets cost over a hundred and fifty bucks, so I bet first row tickets are expensive! It looks like they reserved the whole row. You can tell right away that that guy in the middle is super-rich. The woman next to him is either his daughter or his lover. The muscular guy on the other side is definitely his bodyguard."Tammy agr
The more Avery thought about it, the more erratic her breathing became.Was this proof that Elliot was in love with her?Otherwise, why would he go and do something that he considered a waste of time?She felt a sudden chill run down her spine.Her hand instinctively drifted to her lower abdomen.She was now more than three months pregnant. She had been watching her diet, so her baby bump was not showing at all.By the time she reached the fifth and sixth months, she could still hide her bump under loose clothing.What would happen when she was near the end of her term?No matter how skinny a pregnant mother was, she would not be able to hide her baby bump once that time came.If she was still by Elliot's side by then, she would definitely get caught.Avery wandered aimlessly around the streets.She was holding her jacket in her arms, and she was wearing nothing but a light t-shirt, but she did not feel the cold breeze. Her feelings for Elliot confused her. It was exactl
"Mr. Foster, are your legs alright without the wheelchair?" Chad asked gently.He knew that Elliot had not used the wheelchair today as he had not wanted there to be any obstructions while he was on his date with Avery. Him having to roll the wheelchair would have definitely been a bad experience for Avery. It was a shame that she did not appreciate his boss's thoughtfulness.Elliot pushed Ben and Chad aside.His expression was cold as he curtly said, "I'm fine.""Let's go have a drink, Elliot!" Ben said as he grabbed onto Elliot's arm once again. "Charlie Tierney's around, so let's get him to join us."Elliot's ominous expression concerned Ben.Charlie was Chelsea's older brother.Ben was the one who called Charlie when Chelsea angered Elliot.The Tierney family business was based in Rosacus City.As the heir to the Tierney empire, Chalice spent most of his time in Rosacus.After a moment of silence, Elliot said, "No."He made his way to the elevator. He did not walk qu
Cold sweat dripped down Avery's back.Instinctively, she slammed her laptop shut.She would not have done that if she were working on her thesis.In her earlier frenzy of wild thoughts, she started a new file and wrote down a plan.It was a plan to get a divorce within the next three months.Avery hoped to get a divorce from Elliot before she was seven months pregnant.That was the only way she could survive her last trimester and give birth to the twins peacefully.If her plan failed and the divorce did not go through, then the only thing she could do was disappear.That would be the worst-case scenario.Aryadelle was her home, and she wanted to continue to live and work here. She also hoped that her children could be born and grow up where she did.Avery's overly cautious reaction revolted Elliot.Did she think that he would be interested in her thesis?Or perhaps she was not working on her thesis at all, and she was doing something else?Avery saw Elliot's sullen expres
Avery felt suffocated under Elliot's fiery yet solemn gaze."Are you talking about leaving the recital early today?" Avery began to explain after a moment's hesitation. "My friend texted me saying that she wanted to take a photo with you after the show. I figured that you wouldn't like taking photos with strangers, and I didn't want to explain to her why we were there together.""Why not?" Elliot asked, his voice as cold as ice."It wouldn't exactly be a quick conversation, would it? Besides, you and I are too different from each other. Not only in status but also… in age. Would you be willing to hang out with my friends? We can be pretty immature… Wouldn't it be annoying if they bothered you because of our relationship? Wouldn't you rather have one less thing to have to worry about?"In truth, the true reason why she did not want him to meet her friend was because they could get a divorce at any moment. There was no guarantee that they were going to spend the rest of their lives t