No matter how you looked at it, Elyette was in the wrong this time. Even if there was something he could not talk about, what did Averie do wrong to deserve this? Mike got into the passenger seat and fastened his seat belt, then remembered what Mrs. Cooper asked him to do.
He pulled out his phone and called Tammy. Over in Bridgedale, Tammy immediately drove over to Averie’s place after receiving Mike’s call. Averie had taken medication for her fever the night before, but her fever only subsided temporarily. In the morning, her fever came back. She had planned on explaining the change in her relationship with Elyette to the children after she got up that morning.
However, she was worried that she would pass her fever to the children, so she spent the entire time resting in her room. After Tammy entered the room, she shut the door behind her. Averie heard her and opened her eyes. “Are you not feeling well, Averie?” Tammy approached the bed and touched Averie’s forehead. “You’re a little warm. Did you take any medication?”
“I did.” Averie gazed at Tammy and asked weakly, “Who called you here?” “Mike called me.” Tammy sat by the bed and began to sob a few seconds later.
Averie was stunned.
“Averie, I thought I was having a rough time, but you’ve got it worse than I do… Why are our lives like this? I’m so upset! I feel like crying every day but I’m afraid to cry in front of other people. I’m worried they would laugh at me. He’s just a man. There are plenty of them in the world. I could just pick any one of them… But my heart aches every time I think of how the man I’ll be with in the future won’t be Jun.”
Averie listened to Tammy’s woes and quickly sated up.
“Lie down, Averie. I’m fine.” Tammy helped Averie lie back down on the bed. “Maybe I had it too easy in the first half of my life, so going through a lilttle bit of hardship now feels like the world is crumbling around me. You’re so much braver than I am. I’ve always been envious of you. Not only can you take care of yourself, you’re also so good at taking care of the kids. I can’t even take care of myself.”
“I’m not as brave as you think, Tammy,” Averie said slowly.
She thought of how she had cried her eyes out at the airport when she broke up with Elyette yesterday. She also recalled how she had fallen several times when she ran to the airport in the snow. If the cars on the road were driving just slightly faster at the time, she would not have a fever today, but would be at the hospital after a car crash instead.
Tammy gazed at Averie’s haggard yet flushed face and asked, “Why is Elyette marrying Chelsea Tierney?”
“He didn’t say,” Averie said coldly. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” Tammy wanted to comfort her, but her mind was blank. “Get some sleep, Averie! I’ll go check on Layla and Hayden.”
“Alright.” Averie was exhausted, but every time she fell asleep she would wake up shortly after. It was as if a rock was pressing down on her heart and she could barely breathe.
Her lack of sleep was probably the cause behind her never-ending fever.
Tammy walked out of the room and went to see the two children. Hayden was working on a new puzzle in the living room while Layla sat on a stool next to him and watched intently.
Neither of them made a sound and were very well behaved.
It was slightly different than usual.
Tammy watched them for a bit, then broke the silence and said, “Elyette Foster broke up with your mother.” The children’s heads immediately shot up and they stared at Tammy at the same time.
Tammy felt she was being too cruel.
She could have waited until Averie had recovered and let her tell the children about the matter herself, but she could not bring herself to let the children stay in the dark.
“Hayden told me about it this morning, Aunt Tammy.” The moment Layla spoke, her eyes reddened. “I won’t trust Daddy anymore. He’s a bad man!”
Tammy pulled Layla into her arms and cooed, “Don’t cry, Layla. Even without your father, you still have your Mommy, your brother, and me. We will always love you.”
“I’m mad at Daddy for lying to me.” Layla rubbed her eyes, then said, “I’m also mad that he made Mommy sad. Mommy’s so upset that she got sick. I can’t cry… Mommy would be even sadder if I cried.”
Tears were streaming down her face as she said those words.
“I’ll try to cry softer…” she sobbed.
Tammy’s heart was breaking. “Let’s stop crying after this, sweetie. That dirtbag isn’t worth your tears. He could be living his best life in Aryadelle right now!” Layla felt betrayed, then mumbled, “He was so nice to me. When we went out, he would always carry me because he was worried I’d get tired from walking.”
“He was also good to your mother.” Tammy had seen the sweet photos Averie had posted on social media in the past few days. “However, he’s about to marry another woman. The world that adults live in is too complicated and you might not understand it right now. You and your brother just need to focus on growing up well and not let anything else bother you.” Layla pursed her lips in distress. “How about I take you and your brother out to play, Layla?” Tammy wanted to take the kids out to get some air.
Layla shook her head and said, “I don’t want to go out and I don’t want to play. I want to stay home. Mommy’s sick. I’ll wait until she recovers.” “You’re such a good girl, sweetie.” “I’m not as good as Hayden. He knew from the beginning that Daddy was a bad man,” Layla said, then glanced at Hayden and added, “I’ll listen to Hayden from now on.” Back in Aryadelle, after a night’s rest, Elyette called Chelsea to set up a meeting.
An hour later, Chelsea showed up in a black face mask and kept a low profile. Elyette was sitting on the couch reading the latest issue of a finance magazine.
When Chelsea took a seat on the couch across from him, he casually put down the magazine.
He lifted his gaze to look at her.
Chelsea hung her head and did not take off her mask.
Her eyes were the same as before, but her gaze was different now.
She used to be hardheaded and would not show weakness even if she made a mistake. However, her low self-esteem could clearly be seen in her eyes.
“Take off your mask,” Elyette said. Chelsea slowly lifted her hand and took off her mask. When Elyette saw the left side of her face, his gaze instantly stayed fixed on it. It was pretty much as Ben had said. Chelsea’s face was utterly disfigured. “Do you hate me, Chelsea?” he asked. Chelsea did not expect him to say that and was slightly taken aback. “I don’t hate you. I hate Charlie.” “I was the one who started the fire.”
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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