Elyette’s Adam’s apple rolled in his throat as guilt overcame him.
Every time Shea told him she felt dizzy the past few days, he had told her to get more rest.
He did not expect sleeping pills to be the cause of her discomfort.
If Averie had not taken her to the hospital for the checkup, who knows how long she would have continued taking the pills.
Elyette felt grateful towards Averie, but he did not know how to express his thanks.
The next day, Mrs. Cooper showed up at Averie’s house first thing in the morning.
Averie was surprised, and quickly invited Mrs. Cooper into her home.
“I’m sorry for showing up without notice, Averie,” Mrs. Cooper said as she handed two food to you.”
“Thank you! Why did you come by this early?” Averie said as she poured a glass of water for her guest.
“To be honest, Master Elyette was the one who asked me to come by and thank you,” Mrs. Cooper said warily. “It was a good thing you took Shea to the hospital yesterday. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know what could have happened.”
The smile on Averie’s face vanished.
“You have no idea how scary things were, Averie,” Mrs. Cooper said as fear lingered inside of her. “Zoe said she had instructed Mrs. Scarlet to only give Shea the pills for three days, but Mrs. Scarlet said Zoe never mentioned any of that to her. Mrs. Scarlet was in tears when she confided in me last night… I’d much rather trust her. After all, she’s been taking care of Shea for over twenty years. She would never hurt her.”
Averie picked up on a key point and asked, “Mrs. Scarlet’s taken care of Shea for twenty years? Does that mean Shea’s been with the Fosters for twenty years?”
“I think so! All Mrs. Scarlet ever told me was that Shea was a poor little thing. She never revealed anything else to me.”
Averie recalled how Elyette had kept his lips tightly sealed whenever she used to ask him about Shea.
“I didn’t expect Zoe to be such a scheming woman.” Mrs. Cooper suddenly let out a sigh, then said, “Master Elyette’s about to be engaged to her. I’m afraid she’s not a good person.”
“He’s not worried, so you shouldn’t be either,” Averie comforted her.
“I’m sorry, Averie. I shouldn’t talk to you about these things. I’m sure you’ll find a much better man in the future,” Mrs. Cooper said. Then, she rose from her seat and said, “Give me a call if you finish the pickles and want more. I’ll send more over.”
“Okay. Thank you,” Averie said, then sent Mrs. Cooper on her way.
She wanted to pretend as if she was too busy to care about the news of Elyette’s engagement.
However, she spent the entire time tossing and turning in bed the night before.
In the end, she went on social media and searched for some key words.
She accidentally came across Zoe’s social media page.
Zoe had uploaded several new posts in the past few days. She showed off photos of high-end wedding gowns, expensive diamond rings, and… photos of her pregnant belly.
Every single photo was accompanied by captions of pure bliss.
Apart from Zoe’s social media page, Averie also came across a bunch of related images.
For example, there were photos of Žoe and Elyette that people took when they bumped into them while shopping.
S
Averie opened up the photos and saw Zoe clinging onto Elyette’s arm. They looked as close as a couple on a shopping spree.
Some of their friends also posted photos of the invitations they received for their engagement party.
Averie clicked on the invitation.
Elyette’s and Zoe’s names were right next to each other, and they had signed the invitations off personally.
A strange feeling of disappointment washed over Averie! This was because she never received an invitation to their engagement party.
Five days later, Elyette showed up at the Sterling Group offices at ten in the morning as usual.
“Your engagement is tomorrow, sir. Don’t you want to take the day off?” asked Chad as he greeted Elyette.
“I don’t,” Elyette said, then walked through his office doors.
Chad followed closely behind him.
“Sir, I heard from Mike that they’ve successfully talked Bohmer Holdings into starting a new company here in Aryadelle to supply high-end lenses to them.”
“If I’m not mistaken, doesn’t Bohmer Holdings work with Alpha Technologies?”
“That’s right. This shows just how good the relationship is between Miss Tate and the owner of Bohmer Holdings. Otherwise, they wouldn’t come all the way to Aryadelle to set up a new company just for her,” Chad deduced. “I looked into the head of Bohmer Holdings and found something interesting.
“What is it?” Elyette asked as his curiosity got the better of him.
“The current head of Bohmer Holdings is the son of Professor James Hough’s cousin,” Chad reported the findings of his recent investigations. “Alpha Technologies’ success was not a coincidence, but the result of several people’s hard work.”
Elyette’s brows furrowed.
of all his students, why did Professor Hough’s cousin’s son know Averie?
Did the professor introduce them, or was it purely coincidental?
“The problems that Tate Industries will have to face moving forward have nothing to do with their product quality, but with their sales and reputation,” Chad continued. “I advised Mike to engage a professional marketing agency, but he said Averie refused. She has always insisted on focusing on product quality…”
Elyette lifted his gaze to look at Chad, then asked, “Why are you reporting Tate Industries’ situation to me? Who exactly do you work for?”
Chad was taken aback.
Who was the one who was listening so intently just moments ago?
Elyette withdrew his gaze, then turned on his computer and said, “Averie and I are officially over. You don’t need to purposely report to me about her or her personal life.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chad walked out of Elyette’s office and bumped into Ben.
“The boss said that things were officially over between him and Averie,” Chad said. “We both know he’s in denial.”
Ben burst into laughter, then said, “When did you become so brave? How dare you mock your superior? Mike’s a bad influence on you!”
“I know you won’t snitch on me to him. He’s about to get engaged tomorrow, but he’s in a terrible mood. I feel like I’m watching a tragedy unfold.”
“It’s his own choice,” Ben said. “We should just sit back and watch the show.”
“I feel like you’re taking pleasure in his misfortune, Ben.”
“That’s nonsense. I’m thinking of forging his signature and sending an invitation to Averie,” Ben said as he contemplated fanning the flames of the situation.
“He might not end up getting engaged to Zoe if that happens,” Chad reckoned. “Isn’t the reason why he’s so against sending an invitation to Averie because he’s worried he’d regret his decision if he sees her?”
Ben coughed slightly, then patted Chad on the shoulder.
“What’s wrong, Ben? Don’t you think I’m right? I think…”
“Chad Rayner! Get in my office right now!” Elyette snapped coldly with a menacing expression on his face.
Chad felt like he died on the spot.
Around lunchtime, Averie received a call from the preschool.
“Miss Tate, Layla isn’t feeling too well, so we sent her home to get some rest. Please go home and take a look if you have the time,” informed the teacher.
Averie instantly lost her appetite.
She put down her knife and fork, then picked up her bag and rushed home.
Everything was fine when she dropped the children off at school that morning.
Why was Layla suddenly feeling sick?
Averie called Hayden the moment she got into the car.
Hayden had a smartwatch that could make phone calls.
Her call was answered moments later.
“Hayden, your teacher called to tell me Layla isn’t feeling well. What’s going on?”
While Averie was speaking, she heard a whistling noise coming through the phone.
This meant that the children were not at home.
“Layla’s dizzy, Mommy. She’ll be fine after she gets some rest,” Hayden said. “You don’t need to worry.”
“I see… That’s good. Take care of your sister.”
“I will.”
After she hung up the phone, Averie did not return to the office.
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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