Were they that close?
Mike glanced at Averie who was lying on the large bed, and it suddenly dawned on him.
He answered the call, but before he could say a word, Elyette’s vicious voice came right at him.
“I’m looking for Averie!”
Mike was dumbfounded.
What was he being so aggressive about?!
“Averie’s asleep! What do you want with her?”
Mike watched Averie’s sleeping face and did not raise his voice at Elyette.
She had arrived three hours ago, but laid down and fell asleep without a word.
Mike was thinking of leaving, but decided to stay and wait for her when he noticed she did not bring a thing with her.
“Wake her up! I have something to talk to her about!”
Elyette’s tone was overbearingly domineering.
Shea went missing in the Starry River neighborhood last night, and Averie drove out in the middle of the night. Then, Shea ended up being sent to Elizabeth Hospital.
By some strange coincidence, several surveillance cameras in key locations at the hospital broke down the night before.
Elyette hated being dragged around in circles!
Was he being taken for a fool?
He was certain that Averie had something to do with this!
Mike could tell from Elyette’s tone that things were not as simple as they seemed.
He leaned down, then gently patted Averie’s back and said, “Wake up, Averie! Your ex husband’ s looking for you!”
Ex husband!
The title made Elyette frown!
He absolutely hated it!
Even so, Mike was always addressing him that way.
Averie did not move a muscle and did not react at all.
She must have stayed up all night to be this exhausted!
“Averie! Elyette Foster’s looking for you! Elyette Foster! If you don’t wake up now, that b*st*rd going to come here and get you!” Mike threatened into Averie’s ear in a raised voice.
Averie was successfully awakened.
She rubbed her tired eyes and glanced blankly at her surroundings.
“You said Elyette… Where is he?”
“Here!” Mike said as he handed the phone over to Averie. “He’s looking for a fight. Prepare yourself.”
Averie narrowed her eyes, then took the phone from Mike.
At the same time, she gestured at the bottle of water on the nightstand and said, “Give me some water. I’m thirsty.”
When Elyette heard Averie’s hoarse voice, he was even more certain!
She was definitely with Shea all night and did not get any sleep!
Otherwise, how could she still be in bed by now?
Mike opened up the bottle of water and handed it to Averie. Averie took a big gulp of water, then placed the phone by her ears and lazily said, “Hello?”
“Are you finally up?” Elyette asked mockingly.
Averie laid back on the bed, then massaged her aching temples and said, “Weren’t you the one who called and woke me up? Why did you call?” “I saw you drive out of the neighborhood last night at 10.30 p.m., Averie. Where did you go that late at night?” Elyette asked.
Averie gave Mike, who was sitting at the end of the bed, a little kick and shot him a look.
Then, she answered Elyette’s question.
“Mike had too much to drink last night. The bar called to ask me to go settle his check for him, so I drove out to where he was… He was in a drunken craze. I was worried he’s wake the kids if we went home, so we got a room at a nearby hotel… What’s up? Are you interested in going bar hopping? Should I get him to invite you next time?”
Elyette’s brows furrowed.
Why was Averie’s answer different from what he had imagined?
“Is there anything else?” Averie asked as she let out a yawn. “Mike kept me up all night last night… I’m exhausted. I’m hanging up if that’s all!”
Just as she was about to end the call, she asked as if something just occurred to her, “By the way, did you manage to find Shea?”
That final sentence made Elyette give up hope.
Averie was not the one who sent Shea to the hospital.
She had gone to the bar when she left the neighborhood last night!
She even went to a hotel with Mike and slept until now!
“I found her,” Elyette said, then hung up the phone.
Averie gave up her act the moment she saw that the call had ended.
She handed the phone back to Mike.
“Why did you lie?” Mike exclaimed in bewilderment. “Also, did Shea go missing again?!”
Averie pulled up the covers and shut her eyes, then said nonchalantly with a stagnant face,” That’s right! Why do you think she’s so good at picking a place to hide? Why did she have to hide in my wardrobe of all places? If she was in yours or Mom’s closet, she would be dead by now.”
When Averie found Shea last night, her face was pale and her breathing was shallow.
She would have died if she was discovered later.
Shea’s mental state might be disabled, but it was a good thing luck was on her side.
She was at Averie’s house the both times she went missing.
“Holy sh*t! You didn’t operate on her again, did you?” Mike guessed after he processed the situation. “Are you letting Zoe Sanford take credit for everything again?”
Averie’s eyes shot open upon hearing his words.
“What do you mean by credit? It’s more like a hot potato. If she wasn’t close to death when I found her last night, I would have handed her over to Elyette right away. If I didn’t treat her, Elyette would definitely think I did something bad to her.”
“Just admit it! Yoù couldn’t bring yourself to let Zoe operate on Shea,” Mike said, instantly seeing right through her. “You’ve felt bad this entire time about calling Shea an idiot before. This was a chance for you to redeem yourself, so you went ahead and carried out the surgery on her!”
Averie said nothing.
Mike’s comprehensive skills were surprisingly impressive!
“You don’t want to get entangled with Elyette Foster again, so all you can do is do good deeds in the dark!”
Averie frowned and said, “Can you shut up and let me sleep? I’m exhausted!”
“Fine, i’ll let you sleep! You better get all the sleep you can get just in case you lose sleep over some other bad news when you wake up!” Mike goaded.
Averie did not fall for his trap.
“Get out, then! Is watching someone sleep some weird fetish of yours?”
“Hey! You didn’t bring your phone or your wallet. When we have to pay for the room later…”
“Can’t you just go and pay at reception right now? I wonder how the kids are doing. Go home and check”
“Got it! I called Hayden earlier. He said they didn’t go to school today because neither of them felt like it.”
Averie’s expression instantly turned stern.
She took a breath, then waved her hand at Mike and said, “Go home and watch them, then! They should be hungry by now.”
“Oh, please. They know how to order takeout. How’s the search for a bodyguard going?”
Averie was suddenly no longer tired.
She pulled the covers off, then tied her disheveled hair up into a ponytail.
“I haven’t decided on anything yet. I’m worried whoever I find won’t be reliable, but I’m also worried about the children’s safety. They’re always running around.”
Mike raised his brows, then said, “Should I ask Chad for a recommendation?”
Averie looked at him in shock and said, “Do you think my children have lived long enough and can’t wait for them to die? Why don’t you just go ahead and get Elyette to come be their bodyguard?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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