Avery and Layla returned home more than an hour later.They bought a lot of saplings and flowers from the market.The bodyguard opened the trunk and carried everything out of the car.Mrs. Cooper came out with Robert in her arms and glanced at their haul. "That's a lot of flowers you bought! They're so beautiful.""I chose them, and Mommy chose the saplings!" Layla seemed to have forgotten her unhappiness and had a bright smile in her eyes. "Mommy bought fruit saplings!""What kind?" Mrs. Cooper asked."She brought grapefruit, cherry, and... uh…what other saplings do we have?" Layla looked up at Avery."Peach and pear," Avery added."Yes! A peach tree and a pear tree! I like to eat peaches! So, Mommy bought a peach tree!" Layla lifted the bag of flowers excitedly. "I'm going to put them in a vase.""I've readied a couple of clean vases on the table. You'll see them when you enter the house," Mrs. Cooper said to Layla. "Be careful not to prick yourself on the thorns when you ta

Avery removed her gardening gloves and took the cell phone.The caller was Tammy.She answered the phone and heard Tammy's hurried voice. "Tammy! Ben crossed the line! He cursed you! He sent those unpleasant messages to their group chat and deleted it soon after, but Jun read everything and decided to tell me because he felt that Ben had gone overboard."Avery was stunned. "He was cursing me?""Yeah! He said some really awful things! I didn't read the messages, but Jun said that it was horrible. Even if you quarreled with Elliot, it's something that should remain between you two. Ben has no right to be scolding you!" Tammy was so furious that it was almost as if she was the one who was being cursed. "He deleted the messages after Jun and Chad chastised him in the group chat, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen." Tammy continued. "Remember to just ignore him in the future, Avery. He's probably irritable because he's having a mid-life crisis or something."Avery was relatively ca

Mike's pent-up unhappiness disappeared immediately after hearing her words.What she said was true.Elliot had an irritable temper, and he would almost certainly lose his mind if he knew that Shea was still alive. He would even go so far as to kidnap Adrian and tie him down to the operating table just so Shea could get the kidney transplant.On the off chance that the operation failed and he saw Shea dying before his own eyes, how was he even supposed to face that immense blow?"There's only one way to solve the problems you mentioned," Mike said after calming down, "Bringing Shea to him if her surgery is successful."Avery nodded. "I know. That was my plan all along. Elliot would have been so happy to see her.""But he has misunderstood your intentions right now!" Mike roared. "He's not the only one who hates you right now. The people around him hate you too, including Ben and Chad...""Tammy told me." Although Avery was a little heartbroken, she was not concerned with their vi

"I'll send you a location. You can come when you're ready!" Cole said. "We'll talk about everything else when we meet."Cole hung up after he finished speaking.Avery's body froze and her heart was beating ridiculously fast.She wondered if Elliot had been up to all that when he disappeared in the past couple of days, and the answer appeared in her mind immediately following that thought.After all, no one could take Elliot's shares if he did not give the nod.Her tears immediately blurred her vision.She finally realized why everyone around Elliot hated her so much—they already knew about everything well in advance.How could they control themselves not to yell at her if Elliot transferred the shares?She felt as if she had done an unforgivable sin!They must have felt that she forced Elliot into doing that, but the truth was that she had every intention of discussing it with him before. Unfortunately, she did not get the chance to do so.The result was the same regardless o

Shea's surgery, however, was the priority."Adrian, let's go to Bridgedale to see your sister!" Avery got into the driver's seat and drove the car towards the airport.She called Mrs. Cooper during the journey."I'm in a rush, Mrs. Cooper. I'm going to Bridgedale right now and I don't know when I'll be coming back.""What do you mean you don't know when? Didn't you promise Layla to bring her to Bridgedale during her summer vacation?""That plan still stands. Mike will bring her to Bridgedale," she said."Oh... What's so urgent? Layla's going to want to know when she gets home tonight.""An operation." Avery was stunned for a moment and said succinctly."Okay, I understand. Go to Bridgedale with peace of mind and don't worry about everything at home."Mrs. Cooper put down her phone and turned solemnly to Elliot who was sitting on the sofa."Master Elliot, Avery is—""Don't tell me about her," Elliot interrupted Mrs. Cooper. "She's free to go wherever she wants."Mrs. Cooper