"Hayden! How could you say something like that to your dad?!" Avery's blood ran cold, stricken by the shock that her son would say such a thing to Elliot.

"I don't want someone like this to be my father!" Hayden shouted. "You've never given up on him, so what gave him the right to give up? What else can he do apart from causing you trouble?! He's a good-for-nothing!"

Slap!

Unable to contain her rage, Avery slapped Hayden on the face.

It was the first time she had ever hit her children. Her palm felt numb, and her heart twitched with pain.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the look of disbelief on Hayden's face.

She wanted to apologize right away, but Hayden beat her to it and turned to run away.

"Hayden!" Avery wanted to go after her, but the nanny came and stopped her.

"Avery, you've just slapped him. He probably hates you for it right now. Just let the bodyguard go after him," the nanny said. "Hayden is your son. He won't be mad at you for long. It'll be fine once he fig