The children were staring at her without blinking their eyes.
Averie’s cheeks flushed as she said, “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Mommy, will you still love Hayden and me once the baby’s born?” Layla asked.
“Of course!” Averie exclaimed. “Of course I love you and your brother.”
It was because she loved them too much that she did not want Elyette finding out about them.
Layla felt relieved. Her eyes that were filled with curiosity blinked as she asked, “Is the baby a boy or a girl?”
Averie could not help but chuckle.
“The baby’s still really tiny, sweetie. It’s too early to tell if it’s going to be a boy or a girl.”
Layla was surprised.
“I see…”
“It’s even smaller than an egg right now!”
Layla was even more shocked.
“Were Hayden and I like that when we were babies, too?”
“That’s right. We all start out as tiny babies and grow up slowly.”
Layla nodded, then raised another question.
“Why aren’t you eating much, Mommy? Is it because the baby won’t let you?”
Hayden thought his sisters incessant questions were interrupting Averie’s meal, so he pulled Layla away and took her back to their room.
Mike took a sip of water, then walked over to Averie’s side.
“Your pregnancy was a huge surprise this time. You should’ve told the kids about it first… They’ve been upset since yesterday,” Mike said softly.
“Elyette wanted this baby,” Averie said bitterly.
“What? Are you giving the baby to him to raise once it’s born?”
“That’s the plan for now, but I don’t know if I’ll change my mind later on.”
“That’s right. You might as well just give birth to it first!” Mike said as he very quickly accepted the situation. “You shouldn’t go to the office, then. Stay home and take care of yourself and the baby.”
“Early pregnancy symptoms only happen during the first trimester. I’ll go back to work once the nausea goes away.”
“Why are you working so hard? What if something happens to the baby?” Mike said as he shot Averie a look. “Since Elyette wanted the baby, he’d go insane if you suddenly lose it.”
“How do you know him so well?”
“I just have to see him as a lunatic!” Mike shrugged, then said, “If you accidentally miscarry, I bet he’ll force you to get pregnant again.”
His words put Averie’s stomach in knots.
Over at the Foster mansion, the black Rolls-Roice pulled into the front yard. Elyette emerged from the car, but Shea grabbed onto his arm before he could stand upright.
“Give me my ID, Big Brother.” Elyette sighed internally when he saw the nervous expression on his sister’s face.
“Am I more important, or is your ID more important?”
Shea froze for a moment, then said, “Both are important.”
Elyette did not expect Shea’s clear thought process and high adaptability.
This was the happiest day of his life since his mother’s passing.
Not only was Shea’s condition improving, Averie was also pregnant with his child.
Elyette entered his study, got out Shea’s ID and gave it to her. “This is an important document, Shea,” he said. “You have to tell me right away if you lose it.”
Shea nodded and said, “I’ll keep it in my room. I won’t lose it.”
“Good. Have you had dinner yet?” Elyette asked.
“I did! I ate at the hotel with Hayden.”
“You seem to like Hayden a lot,” Elyette said as he recalled the way she switched seats with Mike that afternoon.
When they used to go out, Shea would never leave his side.
Today, however, she actually preferred sitting next to Hayden.
“I like Hayden and Layla,” Shea said.
She had a strong feeling that she was not only Hayden’s aunt, but also Layla’s.
This was because the relationship that Hayden and Layla had was the same as the one she had with Elyette.
Elyette could not help but recall the way he almost strangled Hayden to death back at the mansion in the forest.
When they met that afternoon, Hayden did not once look at him.
It was as if he was avoiding him on purpose.
Elyette was sure that the boy was traumatized.
He felt guilty as he recalled what happened.
He never used to feel guilty about anything he did because he would never do anything wrong unless someone angered him.
He would not have lost his reason if Hayden had not provoked him.
In retrospect, however, although Hayden was wrong, Elyette himself did not handle the situation well either.
At dinner, Shea suddenly walked over with her ID.
“Why isn’t my last name ‘Foster’, Big Brother? Didn’t you say we were siblings?”
Shea had sent a photo of her ID to Hayden earlier.
Hayden was the one who pointed this matter out.
“Isn’t Shea a nice name?” Elyette asked.
“It is, but I want my last name to be Foster, too.”
“You’re too good for that last name, Shea. Your name’s Shea. It’s a good name.”
Shea froze for a few seconds, then nodded and said, “Okay, Big Brother.”
She returned to her room and explained things to Hayden.
When Hayden looked into Shea’s ID number, it was an individual account that had no relation to Elyette.
“There’s another way to prove it,” Hayden said.
Shea walked over to the dining room once more to see Elyette.
“Say I’m your biological little sister, Big Brother,” she said as she sneakily turned on the voice recorder on her phone.
Hayden told her that he would not believe her unless he heard it from Elyette’s lips.
Elyette put down his knife and fork, then looked at Shea and asked, “Why do you want me to say that? Are you sure you’re the one who wants to hear it?”
He quickly figured out what was going on when he noticed Shea hiding her hand behind her back.
“Don’t tell too many people that you’re my little sister,” he said earnestly as he gazed at Shea. “I’m worried that my reputation would get you in trouble. If people found out that you’re my sister, they would follow you, harass you and even kidnap you.”
Shea did not fully understand, but said, “I won’t tell Hayden about it, then.”
“I’ll go public with our relationship when the time is right, Shea,” Elyette promised. “You’re still recovering right now. There’s no need to rush.”
“Okay, Big Brother.”
The next day, Averie was a trending topic online. This time, she was not trending with a certain man, but with her two children.
The viral headlines were sensational. (Goddess or Single Mother?! The scandalous Averie Tate is a mother of two!)
Averie almost passed out when she saw the trending topic online that morning.
It was not because it called her private life a mess, but because the immoral business account had posted photos of her two children!
It was a paparazzi shot that did not show the front of the children’s faces, but it was just the same!
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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