Elyette simply could not figure it out.
He lay on the bed, trying to force himself to sleep, but he could not regain his former composure.
That evening when the two children had returned home from school, Averie had inspected their school bags. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The only thing in there were spare clothes and textbooks.
“Mom, what are you looking for?” Layla batted her doe like eyes, curiously. “Layla, Hayden, have you two taken a red box from Elyette‘s house?” Averie bent down to look the two of them in the eyes. Layla instantly flushed as she panicked, and her heart throbbed nervously.
“No,” Hayden responded calmly.
“Really?” Averie checked with her son repeatedly.
“No,” Hayden repeated without a trace of emotion on his face.
Averie could only call the quits. If they did not take it and she continued to ask them about it, the children might think that she did not trust them.
Hayden took Layla’s hand and led her back to their bedroom to store their school bags.
Once they were inside the room, Layla whispered, “Hayden, why are we lying? We shouldn’t lie to Mom.”
Layla had only managed to keep it a secret because Averie was not aware; but now that she was asking her about it, Layla did not dare lie.
“Elyette must be going nuts now that he realizes the box is gone,” said Hayden coldly. “If we return it now, he will just blame us for taking it. We are not returning it. Let him worry.”
“Oh… Okay!” agreed Layla. Between their dirtbag dad and her brother, she would definitely side with her brother.
He had originally kept the box under his bed, but they had moved it. They buried it under a tree in the yard two days ago. They had done it as Hayden had discovered the contents of the box, a piece of paper. Once he realized how important the box was, he knew that it could not be left carelessly under the bed, so, they moved it.
It was a good thing that they did, or the box would have been discovered.
“But what happens if Elyette worries so much that he dies?” Layla was still concerned. “He is still our dad!”
“Don‘t worry, bad people don‘t die that easily.”
With that, Layla finally relaxed.
After dinner, Averie sent Elyette a message that read, (I asked the kids, and they said they didn’t take the box.)
She had thought that he was resting, but he replied immediately and said, (Got it.)
She sent a reply that asked, (You still haven‘t gone to sleep?).
When Elyette received the message, he did not reply, because he did not know how to. It had been thirty-six hours since he had last closed his eyes, and he could feel his mental defenses
weakening
In the midst of despair, he thought to himself, “So what if someone goes public with the content of the box? I will lose money, and friends will leave me… as for a lover… I no longer have one. I have earned more than enough money for this lifetime, so I don‘t have anything to worry about even if I can‘t earn any more from now on. As for friends, I don’t care if they go away. At least Shea won’t leave me.”
Prepared for the worst outcome, Elyette slowly began to relax and drifted off to sleep.
Averie kept waiting for his reply, but three days had gone by, and she had gotten nothing in return.
The next time she heard about him was when she was talking on the phone with Tammy.
“Do you know that Elyette has been admitted to the hospital? Not sure what happened, but he refuses to eat! I‘ve never imagined that someone as composed as he is would refuse to eat!” Tammy exclaimed.
Averie stood abruptly at the news.
It was no wonder she had been feeling uneasy these past three days. She had not thought the box to be that important to him.
“I shouldn‘t have believed him when he said that nothing was going to happen even if he doesn‘t find it. If that was true, he wouldn‘t have stayed up all night looking for it,” she thought.
“How is he doing now?” Averie headed for the door anxiously but stopped at the last minute.
“He is getting an IV infusion in the hospital!” Tammy said. “Jun just came back from the hospital, saying that Zoe has been looking after him. Averie, do you want to go see him?”
Indeed, Averie wanted to visit, but with Zoe already there taking care of him, she decided against it. Even if she did go to the hospital, Zoe would not allow her into the room.
“It‘s better you don‘t go. Shea is there as well, and with those two there guarding him, you are definitely going to feel provoked, ” Tammy said. “Elyette‘s isn‘t all that mentally stable. I had thought that maybe his company had run into trouble, but Jun said nothing has happened. I was thinking that it has something to do with you?”
Averie walked back to her office chair and sat down. “You‘ve overestimated me, Tammy. He didn’t break down when I divorced him, so I don‘t think that I matter that much.”
“Then why is he acting so oddly? It can‘t be because of Zoe, right?” Tammy muttered in confusion. “I heard that she has been visiting the old Foster mansion frequently lately. That woman is too good at scheming!”
The more she heard about Elyette and Zoe, the more composed Averie found herself becoming. Perhaps, she might be able to maintain her calm if they were to get married one day.
Elyette and her were two parallel lines running in the same direction but never crossing, and they would only move further and further apart in the future.
“Tammy, how are things between you and Jun?” Averie changed the subject.
“Same old, same old! He decides to keep trying until the end of the year, and if my parents aren‘t satisfied by then, he will go home and carry on the family business next year,” Tammy sighed. “Not everyone has Elyette‘s mind for business. Maybe both Jun and I are destined to take over our family businesses.”
“You really are a spiritual high–born.”
“As if I can be in front of you,” Tammy chuckled and said, “Averie, I‘m actually quite glad that you are not going to visit Elyette in the hospital.”
Averie pretended not to be concerned. “It‘s not like he is terminally ill.”
“Will you go see him if he is?”
“If he is, then out of humanitarianism, I have to pay him a visit before he dies.”
Tammy laughed. “It‘s going to be his birthday soon; will you attend the party if he invites you?
“No.”
“Oh, well, he doesn‘t plan on celebrating anyway. He never does.”
“Then why are you asking me?”
“Just checking to see how determined you are!” Tammy acknowledged Averie’s resolve and
After hanging up, Averie hesitated for a while, before finally calling Mrs. Cooper.
Mrs. Cooper picked up almost instantly. “Averie?”
“Mrs. Cooper, it‘s me.” She hesitated for a few seconds, before asking, “I heard that Elyette is in the hospital, what happened?”
Mrs. Cooper sighed. “It‘s his stomach. Something happened, and he had not slept for two whole days. In the end, he was so exhausted that he slept for two days, and because of that, he hadn’t eaten for three days. His stomach acted out.”
“Oh, so it’s not that he refused to eat on purpose?”
“No. He wanted to eat when he woke up, but he vomited blood after eating.” Mrs. Cooper thought back to the scene and felt terror flood her veins.
Averie was relieved. As long as Elyette had not refused to eat, it should be nothing serious.
“Don’t worry, he will get better in a few days,” said Averie to comfort her.
“Yeah. Have you visited him in the hospital?” Mrs. Cooper asked.
“No, I‘m quite busy,” Averie explained.
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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