"Shelly, why are you so silly?" Courtney sighed. "You could have gotten rich overnight, and y yet you choose to remain in poverty because of your pride. If I were you, I would have told the Fosters the same day I found out that I was pregnant. Even if Hayden Tate doesn't want the baby, his parents will let you keep the children."Shelly blushed. "Courtney, I will send Audrey over to your place tomorrow. Is that okay?""Of course! It's Elliot Foster’s granddaughter we are talking about here. Aren't you worried that I'm going to take her to Elliot and ask him for money?" Courtney burst out laughing."... I trust you.""My family runs a business, and I'm a businesswoman at heart. If I take Audrey to Elliot, he is going to pay me at least 150,000," said Courtney running the numbers, "and that's just the minimum. He might let me name my price and pay me 780,000 or even 1.5 million if I ask for it."Shelly fell silent before Courtney's words. "Naturally, I won't do that. I'm just mess
"Why didn't she deliver her child here herself? If she doesn't want the baby, why give birth to him in the first place? If she wants money, she could have said so. There's no point for her to do all these things," he thought."Hayden, why are you awake so early? You should sleep in," Avery said when she spotted him."Did you two sleep well?" Hayden asked.Since his parents slept with the baby the night before, Hayden assumed that they had not been able to get a good night's sleep."Hahaha! I slept fine, but your dad didn't." Avery beamed. "Your son woke up every two hours crying for milk. Hahaha!"A devastated look appeared on Hayden's face. "Are babies all like that?""Babies at his age are pretty much all like that." Avery had accepted the fact that she was a grandmother and was rather pleased by it. "Do you want to try sleeping with your son?""Let's just hire a nanny!" Hayden said."Sure. Have you found the mother of your child?""I'm close.""Do you have her number?" Ave
Haydne could barely taste his food during breakfast because Elliot was sitting next to him with the baby.The baby was well-fed and rested, so he batted his big eyes as he stared at Hayden.Hayden left the table shortly after eating his oatmeal."Avery, Hayden doesn't seem to like his son," Elliot whispered."He was taken by surprise, after all," Avery said."But this is his son! I might be a jerk back then, but I still loved my children." Elliot was upset that Hayden was so cold to his own son."Hayden is already acting differently by not turning the baby away," Avery consoled him. "I've read books that said it takes men more time to build a relationship with their children because they don't go through the process of carrying the baby and giving birth to it.""Alright! I hope the books are right."Hayden dialed the number he received from the hotel manager the night before, and his call was answered right away.His heart raced and he blurted out, "Hello. I'm Hayden Tate. The
"Today?" Shelly asked."Yeah. Today," Hayden said sternly."Mr. Tate, we don't have to meet." Shelly did not want to meet Hayden in person as she was worried that she might not be able to lie.After all, a man like Hayden had seen enough people to tell when he was being lied to."You are contacting me because of the baby, right?" Shelly said. "I did get someone to deliver the baby to you. I'm poor and can't afford to raise a child, so I figured he will be better off with you.""Why did you give birth to him if that's the case?" Hayden questioned. "Just so that you can deliver him to me without getting anything in return?"Shelly blushed.Hayden's tone was confronting and harsh, and she was thankful that she did not have to face him directly."It's not that... People are complicated, and they might feel differently at different times. I wanted to get rid of the baby at first but didn't have the courage to go through an abortion. After some delay, I was too far along to go throug
"You should just talk to her! If you don't know how much you should pay her, you can give her an allowance each month to make sure that she doesn't struggle," Avery said. "After all, the child would be upset if he grows up to find that his mother has been suffering.""Mom, if the child doesn’t get to interact with his mother, he won't feel anything toward her. Just look at Dad. He doesn’t feel anything for his biological mother," Hayden argued.Avery stared at her son in shock. "Mom just put the baby down! Aren't you tired of carrying him around?""I'm fine. He isn't sleeping right now so I want to interact with him more. It would be boring for him to lay in bed all the time.""You can get a stroller and put him in it then." Hayden had carried the baby before and knew that he was quite heavy. While it might be fine to hold the baby for a while, one would definitely feel sore if they had to carry the baby all the time."Yeah. Your dad and I are going out shopping later!"Avery a
Shortly after, Robert came downstairs."Don't you have classes today?" Hayden asked."No. Hayden, don't you have something to do this morning?" Robert yawned. "Where's your son?""The paternity test results aren't released yet," Hayden reminded him."But we all know that's your son! I've never touched a woman before, so I can't create a baby out of thin air," Robert said with amusement. "Hayden, are you still struggling to accept reality?"Hayden ignored his brother's mockery."Hayden, it's normal for a man your age to be a father, so why are you having such a hard time accepting this? I would be quite happy to know that I've become a father! Our parents have been dreaming of having grandchildren, after all," Robert said with a smile, not understanding why Hayden seemed unhappy."Eat your breakfast," Hayden said, not wanting to continue the discussion.Robert was a child in Hayden's eyes, and he would remain so no matter how old he became.Robert had never been through hardshi
Hayden ordered a cup of coffee and turned his attention back to Shelly."I don't like to owe others," he said. "Name a price!""You want to buy my son?" Shelly asked in confusion. "Are you trying to say that you won't let me see him again?""No. I can arrange it if you want to see him. I don't have the right to stop my son from seeing his mother.""Why are you offering me money, then?" Shelly asked. "I was the one who willingly gave birth to him and delivered him to you. You don't owe me anything!""You were pregnant for ten months and had to go through labor all alone. I'm offering to compensate you for the hardship you had to endure," said Hayden. "Oh... The pregnancy didn't really affect me that much because I worked during that time as well," Shelly said honestly. "If you want to compensate me in any way, just treat our child right.""Naturally, I won't mistreat my own son," Hayden promised."You aren't married yet, so I'm sure he won't be mistreated." Shelly was mainly co
Shelly chuckled. "Mr. Tate, your question makes me feel kind of uncomfortable, but I can tell you that I don't have any pursuers.""Why would you feel uncomfortable?""Because it's my private life that you are asking about."After receiving her response, Hayden was about to end the conversation when his phone rang.He took it out and realized that it was a call from Avery.Knowing that Avery was calling to check on him, he answered the call in front of Shelly."Hayden, have you met with the baby's mother? How's the conversation going? What's her name? What does she look like?" Avery fired question after question. "What is she like in person?""We met. The conversation ended. Her name is Shelly Taylor. She now works at a cafe. She looks alright."Shelly was rendered speechless by how insensitive Hayden was, talking about her as if she was not there. "She is quite decisive," Hayden added. "I wanted to pay her, and she turned me down. She isn't playing hard to get."Shelly had