“It’s a good thing we use trash bags in the house,” said the bodyguard as he tried to lighten up the awkward atmosphere. “The gift box still looks pretty clean!”
Averie’s hands clenched tightly around the box, then she went back into the house.
The bodyguard trailed along behind her and rambled, “Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Miss Tate, but Mr. Foster has been really polite since he got here earlier… Maybe you shouldn’t have rained on his parade. Since you picked up his gift, it shows that you’re not a heartless, cold blooded person. Why are you always acting like such a cruel woman?”
Averie suddenly turned to face him.
“There isn’t enough time in the world to explain the grudge between us. You don’t need to know what happened between us, but you shouldn’t come to your own conclusions about it.”
She raised the box in her hand, then continued, “As to why I went back for this… It’s because I’m not used to seeing people trample on beautiful things! I hate him because this is something he always does!”
The bodyguard was speechless.
The Memorial Day weekend went by in a breeze.
At the president’s office at Sterling Group, Ben knocked on the office doors and entered the room.
He walked towards the desk, then placed a few books on top of it.
“Elyette, I got these from the bookstore for you. I hope they’re helpful to you.”
Elyette glanced coldly at the pile of books. “The Pregnancy Bible” “The Sears Encyclopedia of Intimate Parenting”
“Caring for your Fetus”
“Caring for your Baby”
Elyette shoved the books into his desk drawer.
Ben pursed his lips, then said with a confused look on his face, “Why do you look so depressed when you’re about to be a dad? Don’t you want the kid? From what I heard, you seem to really want this kid!”
“Why didn’t you hear about my fight with Averie, then?”
“Oh… About that… I might have heard something about it. Women lose their temper easily when they’re pregnant. Hang in there.”
“She’s upset about my past with Zoe. She knew I was forced into it, but she doesn’t care about the reason, only the result,” Elyette said as a wave of gloom washed over his face. “She doesn’t love me, so she can’t accept even the smallest mistake from me.”
Ben took a seat and listened closely to Elyette’s woes.
“It’s true that you were forced into being with Zoe, but that wasn’t because of Averie. It was for Shea’s sake,” Ben said bluntly. “Averie still has no idea about your relationship with Shea, so it’s understandable for her to be upset.”
Elyette’s deep set eyes were moved as he asked, “What do you think my relationship with Shea is?”
Ben chuckled lightly, then said, “Are you really asking me to guess?”
“I know you’d figure it out,” Elyette said confidently. “You know me well.”
“Are you upset that Averie doesn’t trust you enough?”
Ben had a feeling that, if he was right, Elyette’s relationship with Averie was about to worsen.
“Wouldn’t that explain the problem?” Elyette retorted.
Ben stroked his chin and said, “Not everybody is as calm and reasonable as you are. Besides, love is a completely different matter. You were jealous of Mike last year. You weren’t as calm as you are right now.”
The light in Elyette’s eyes dimmed, and his voice was feeble as he said, “This entire mess is my fault.”
“Of course not!” Ben said as he noticed Elyette’s dejected mood. “Shea’s your sister, right? I bet Averie never even thought of that. You’ve never specifically told her about it, so she could never confirm it herself. The more someone cares about something, the easier it is to think negatively about it.”
A pained expression flashed across Elyette’s face.
“Everyone has their secrets, Elyette. You’re not wrong, and neither is Averie. You’re just not meant for each other,” Ben consoled. “It might sound harsh, but I don’t think she’s worth the pain you’re going through. You’ve given up way too much for this. It’d be even harder to walk away if you don’t retreat in time.”
Elyette raised his brows, then said, “You want me to walk away while she’s pregnant with my child?”
Ben coughed, then said, “That’s not it. I just don’t think you should be putting in so much energy on her anymore. She’s a doctor and she knows how to take care of herself. Once the baby’s born, you should take the child and finally end things with her.”
Elyette fell into deep thought after hearing Ben’s suggestion.
Perhaps he was right.
It would only hurt him and Averie if they continued to get entangled with each other.
If Averie successfully gave birth to his child, he would grant her freedom in return.
There was a symposium going on at a five-star hotel in the city.
At 10.30 a.m. that morning, Averie stealthily entered the venue under the company of her bodyguard.
Wanda Tate was sitting up on stage with a few other entrepreneurs as they shared their startup experiences and secrets to success.
Averie took off her shades and stared coldly at Wanda.
The night before, Mike had found out the person bought off the business account that revealed the children’s photos online.
She was not surprised to find out that it was Wanda’s assistant.
Wanda’s assistant’s deeds were Wanda’s own.
Why would her assistant do something like that without her boss’s orders?
After all, it was not cheap to buy off the business account and make the news viral!
Halfway through the symposium, the host opened up the floor to the audience for questions.
When Averie raised her hand, the host pointed her out.
Averie stood from her seat, then asked, “Can I ask my question on stage?”
The host froze for a moment, then nodded and said, “Of course!”
Averie could feel the eyes of everyone in the hall on her, including Wanda’s.
Since Wanda did not expect Averie to be there, there was a hint of shock on her face.
The bodyguard took a deep breath. He did not expect Averie to be this brave!
The bodyguard felt like things were about to go out of control.
He quickly sent their location to Mike along with a text message.
(Miss Tate’s going head to head with Wanda Tate! Get over here once you see this!]
When Mike saw the hotel location that the bodyguard sent over, he was in complete shock.
Averie had thrown up this morning after barely having a bite or two of her breakfast. She could barely get out of bed.
How did she manage to go find Wanda Tate?!
Mike grabbed his keys, then rushed out of the office.
Back at the hostel, Averie casually walked onto the stage.
She took the microphone from the host, then turned to Wanda.
“I have a question for you, Madam Tate,” she asked loudly. “Is your assistant’s name Faye Johnson?”
Wanda’s eyes were cold as she said, “I don’t think that question has anything to do with our talk today.”
“Aren’t we discussing the advantages of marketing in the success of a business?” Averie said, then pulled out a few pieces of paper.
Everything on stage was being projected onto the large screen in real time, which made it easier for the audience to clearly see what was happening.
“On the night of Memorial Day, your assistant bribed a certain entertainment business account to release a slanderous news article against me the next day. After that, she incessantly contacted the trending topic team at a certain social media website… All in all, you spent about seventy five thousand dollars. Did you report these expenses?”
Wanda’s expression turned livid as she faced the evidence in Averie’s hand.
“Since you’re so shameless, of course I’ll expose you in public!” Averie said, then threw the papers in Wanda’s face and continued, “I’ve already reported this to the police! You just need to sit and wait for a subpoena!”
Seeing this, Wanda’s bodyguard rushed onto the stage, grabbed Averie’s arm and yanked her off the stage.
The entire venue broke into chaos!
Averie’s bodyguard charged towards her and roared, “Let go of her! F*ck! She’s…”
He wanted to say that she was pregnant, but he held back when he remembered that it was a private matter that she had not made public.
“Get your hands off me!” Averie cried in pain.
Two of Wanda’s bodyguards had tightened their grips around each of Averie’s arms.
Her bodyguard rushed over, then jerked away one of the bodyguards. The other bodyguard violently shoved Averie away, then said, “She started it! Don’t blame me for being rough! Get out of here now!”
Averie was shoved out and fell to the ground with a hard thud.
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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