The villa was located halfway up the hill.There was a winding but smooth road starting at the bottom of the hill that led straight to the villa.From there onwards, however, there were no roads leading to the top of the hill.It was already dark out when Elliot had begun his journey from the villa.Using his flash as a torchlight, he hurried up the hill. He was worried for Avery's safety.Charlie had bad intentions when it came to Avery, and Elliot was terrified of what might happen to her if he was too late.He would never have allowed Avery to come alone if he knew about Charlie's evil plans.Half an hour later, Elliot was breathing heavily, but it was nothing compared to the hell his legs were going through. His doctor had ordered him not to do any extraneous activities for the next six months.He was only allowed to walk normally and not for long periods of time either.Activities like hiking that wore out the knees were out of the question and carried extreme risks.
A glimmer of light not too far away suddenly grabbed Avery's attention.She shone the flashlight of her phone in the direction of the glimmer.At the bottom of the sprawling ravine was the clear silhouette of a man lying on the ground."Elliot!"Avery let out a shrill cry before she got down on all fours and crawled toward the ravine."I'm coming, Elliot! Don't be scared! You'll be fine… You'll be okay!"Hearing her cries, the bodyguard stood on top of the hill and yelled, "Did you find him?!""Yes! He fell! He's covered in blood!" Avery yelled as she tried to contain her emotions. "Get over here!"She took a deep breath and jumped down to where Elliot was.Her foot slipped upon the sudden impact, which caused her to draw a sharp breath of pain.She swiped the tears off her face and quickly scrambled to where Elliot was and took him into her arms. "Elliot! Wake up! Don't fall asleep! Stay awake!"She held his face that was cold to the touch in her hands, lowered her head,
Avery was cooped up at the library at Avonsville University after having dinner on campus.A sudden cheer made her look up from her book. "It's snowing! It's the first snow of the year! Look, it's getting heavier! Let's go out and play!""Sure! I want to take some pictures!"…Half of the people in the library left.Avery walked over to the window and looked out at the snow gracefully fluttering down from the sky.It was a beautiful scene.It was no wonder there was a saying that you shall surely succeed if you asked someone out during the first snow. Things of beauty put everyone in a good mood, after all."Your phone's ringing!" someone said as they came up behind Avery and tapped her on the shoulder.She snapped out of her daze and said, "Oh, thank you!"She then limped her way back to her seat.Avery had not gone to the hospital to get her foot treated till much later.The swelling was so bad that it was taking a while to heal.Even so, none of this affected her da
"I don't think the reason why Elliot won't see Avery is that he's upset…" Jun said. "His bodyguard told me that his face was covered in scratches from the fall. I doubt someone as proud as him would want anyone seeing him in that condition.""So, that's what it is! I have to tell Avery before she overthinks things," Tammy said, then sent Avery a text telling her what she just heard from Jun.Avery simply replied with a smiling emoji.Tammy: [Elliot's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. Have you thought about what you're getting him?]Avery: [Not yet. I don't know what to give him.]Tammy: [Since it's getting cold out, you should try knitting him a sweater!]Avery: [Are you serious? Who wears knitted sweaters anymore?!]Tammy: [Just do it. Men like stuff like that.]Avery: [Problem is, I don't know a thing about knitting!]Tammy: [The people selling the yarn would teach you! Or you could look for tutorials online. You're a smart girl. You'll figure it out!]Avery: [Why
"I prescribed some medication to help, but he won't take them," said the doctor with a frown. "He won't get better if he continues to refuse help.""I'll talk to him tomorrow," said Rosalie."I heard that he listens to Miss Avery. Maybe we should—""Absolutely not!" Rosalie snapped furiously. "She's the reason my son is like this. That woman brings nothing but bad luck!"The doctor did not argue.His only responsibility was to Elliot's health. "I know you didn't mean to take her side…" Rosalie said as she tried to quickly reach a compromise. "Let's see if he listens to me tomorrow."She only hoped for her son's speedy recovery.Everything else could wait.…After Avery took a shower, she walked to the window and looked outside.The snow on the ground looked like a layer of silver powder that illuminated the night.She felt a strange compulsion rise within her.She picked up her phone and wanted so badly to give Elliot a call.She wanted to hear his voice.After some tho
"Yes, sir," Chad responded.Soon after, a cup of coffee was placed in front of Elliot.As Chad exited the room, he bumped into Chelsea who was charging toward Elliot’s office.She was not wearing any makeup, and her face looked unusually haggard.Chad approached her, intending to speak to her, but in the end, he did not say anything. Chelsea entered Elliot's office and shut the door behind her."I'm sorry, Elliot," she said in a hoarse voice as she stood in front of Elliot. "This was all due to my brother's scheme. He knew that you were still recovering, so he made you go up that hill. It's an especially steep hill. We don't usually go up there ourselves. He wanted you dead."Elliot stared silently at her pale face, then said, "I know.""I'm sorry. He won't apologize to you. He already left the country." There was a lump in Chelsea's throat as she spoke. "Please forgive my family, Elliot. My father's getting old, and I'm afraid he won't be able to handle the backlash. If you h
Elliot was lying through his teeth, but Ben had no reply.Of all the years they had known each other, Ben had never once seen Elliot in a sweater.Although, perhaps a sweater that Avery knitted for him was much more meaningful than one that was bought with money."Your mom called me saying your nephew was discharged from the hospital," Ben said. "She wants you to go home for dinner tonight.""She can tell me that herself," Elliot said."Did she upset you recently? She was pretty cautious when she talked to me earlier. Don't be mad at your mom, Elliot. There's nothing like a mother's love in this world—""Please stop talking."Ben burst into laughter."Do you want to go back to the old mansion for dinner with Avery?"Elliot thought for a moment, then said, "Didn't you say she's been busy knitting?""That's true! There's only a week left. I wonder how she's doing."…When Elliot arrived at the old mansion that night, Rosalie was beside herself with joy.Everyone else, on the
Cole's previous debt with the loan shark had forced Henry to lose a huge sum of money."Let's accept it since Elliot offered!" Henry's wife, Olivia, chimed in. "We're one family, there's no need to feel embarrassed."Henry's face turned crimson. He picked up the check and said, "You don't need to do this again, Elliot.""I'm done eating," Elliot said. "I'll leave now."Rosalie got up and sent him off.Once they were out of the house, Cole slammed the spoon to the ground."Dad! Why did you take his money?!" He felt humiliated.He hated being treated like charity."How dare you, you spineless piece of sh*t?!" Henry roared furiously. "Return to me three million dollars that I had spent to discharge your loan if you can!" Olivia also chimed in, "Your uncle may look down on us, but there's no reason to reject free money! Do you know how much he just gave us? Eight hundred thousand dollars! Your dad's company don't even make that much in a year!""Is our situation really that bad?