Since she was now a single mother, Shelly's relatives would look down on her if she returned to her hometown.Fortunately, her close family members understood her situation and offered to visit her instead.Shelly still lived in the same apartment as she had before, and ever since Courtney had returned home, she had had to bear the cost of rent entirely by herself.After she had given birth, her mother had moved in to help care for the baby, and the apartment of two rooms had just enough space for them.The apartment seemed a little crowded once her father and brother arrived.She had offered to get her younger brother a hotel room instead so that she could be in the same room as her baby while her parents shared a room, but he had declined.Her brother, Samuel, was currently in his first year of high school, and while most teenagers his age were in their rebellious phase, he was a rather understanding young man because of his family background.He knew that Shelly managed a caf
Ivy was the first one to spot Shelly and called out excitedly, "Shelly!"Shelly immediately turned around and was stunned when she saw Ivy and Robert.It was a big city filled with countless people so she could not fathom the odds of running into them."Ivy, Robert." Shelly instinctively hid the bag containing baby formula behind her. "Are you here to buy flowers?""Yeah!" Ivy's attention was drawn to Samuel. "Shelly, is this your family member?""Yes. This is my younger brother, Samuel," Shelly said. "Samuel, these two are Ivy and Robert. They are Hayden's younger siblings.""Hello," Samuel said politely."Hello, Samuel. What are you two looking for? I will buy it," Robert offered generously. "Pick anything you want. We are here to get plants as well.""It's fine. We were just walking by and came in to have a look, so we might not even buy anything," Shelly said."Since you are already here, just buy something!" Robert said before starting to pick plants for them. "I think th
Shelly nodded with a smile. "Yeah! I wanted to buy clothes for him, but I was worried that the ones I bought might not fit him. Besides, I found out that he has a lot of new clothes during my last visit.""Hahaha! Layla likes buying clothes for him, so you don't have to buy him any more clothes. He has more clothes than he needs. Just make sure you come over to see him more often." Ivy knew that Shelly was struggling financially and did not wish for her to spend unnecessarily."Yeah. You two should proceed with your shopping! My brother and I should get going now." Shelly smiled politely.After leaving her address with the owner and confirming the time for delivery, Shelly left with her brother.Robert walked over to the owner and took a picture of Shelly's address."Robert, why are you taking down Shelly's address?" Ivy asked."What if something happens, and we need it?" Robert said. "I think Shelly is nice and not a pretentious kind of woman. I like her.""I think so, too. She
"Babies' tongues work differently," Avery explained patiently. "Just think of it this way: he hasn't tried anything else so he can put up with the taste of the formula.""Oh. Do you really not get sick of taking care of a baby all day, Mom? You can just hire a few more nannies so that you can go outside with Dad!" Robert was still young and could hardly stay put in one place, so he could not understand why his mother would choose to stay home all the time."It's cold outside, so what's there to see? Besides, your dad is going to take over later. He is spending far more time with Aiden than I am!" Avery smiled. "He is so full of energy. He works two to three hours every day and still makes time to take care of Aiden. He hasn't once complained about feeling tired.""I guess it's because Aiden looks so cute." Ivy was growing increasingly fond of her nephew."I think Aiden looks a lot like his mom. I should send Shelly some gifts for New Year's," Avery mused. "Do you think she would ac
"I see!" Relieved, Elliot said, "Our darling Aiden must be starving."The servant brought a bottle of milk over. Aiden responded by reaching his arms out for it.Just then, Hayden returned home and scowled when he spotted his son drinking milk as he changed into his slippers."Why is he eating whenever I come home?" Hayden recalled seeing the same thing the past two days.Avery was not sure how to respond to his question and smiled as she tried to change the subject. "Maybe you should come home at a different time, then. Robert and Ivy went out shopping and ran into Shelly.""Mom, I came home at a different time yesterday. Are you overfeeding him? He is getting chubby.""Babies are like this, and they look really chubby when they're around a year old. Why don't I show you the photos of you, Layla, and Robert when you were one? He will start to slim down once he starts taking solid food.""Your mom has raised enough children to be qualified for caring for your son," Elliot said.
Shelly paled at Avery's words. "Aunty, when will your driver arrive?""Probably in a while because he is dropping someone else off right now. Are you home today?""I am, but my apartment is messy.""It's fine. I've bought quite a lot of things for you, so I will get him to carry them up to your apartment. You don't have to tidy your apartment for that. I know that you are busy with work...""Sure. Thank you, Aunty Avery." Unable to refuse Avery's offer, Shelly said, "I will come to visit you when I have the time.""Of course. Just let me know when so I can be prepared," Avery said enthusiastically.Shelly massaged her temples after hanging up. "Mom, Aunty Avery is sending someone to deliver gifts to me, and her driver will be here later. You need to take Audrey outside with you." Shelly was having a rather relaxing day up until the moment Avery called."It's so cold out there so where on earth am I supposed to go with Audrey?" Shelly's mother asked. "Everyone should be on holida
"There's wine here, too!" Mr. Taylor's eyes lit up. "Is this for me? You don't drink.""I guess... Maybe these supplements are for Mom," Shelly said. "I told her that Mom has recently gone through surgery.""Avery is such a nice person." Mrs. Taylor was moved. "She has sent so many gifts, so you ought to pay her a visit in a few days to thank her, Shelly.""Mom, even if I do, I can't afford to give them gifts of equal value.""They don't care what gifts you bring with you. Just be a joy and make them happy. That will do you good," Mrs. Taylor said."Alright. It's not like I want to make them hate me on purpose, anyway!" Shelly put the gifts away.Still, it was not until a week later that Shelly finally paid the Fosters a visit.The Fosters were no ordinary family, and she knew that they would be swarmed by relatives who came to visit, so she waited a week before going to their house.Avery had called her a few times during that time, asking if she wanted to join them for dinner
Avery felt relieved. "How's business lately?""Ever since we launched the new cakes after New Year's, our sales have been going up! We have a lot of repeat customers, so we are making profits," Shelly said. "Aunty Avery, thank you. If it weren't for you, our business wouldn't run so smoothly.""Don't thank me. I can't rest until I see you living a great life yourself," Avery said. "By the way, Shelly, I wanted to ask how many cakes you can make each day. My daughter's company would like to order cakes for its employees once a week, but I don't know if you can supply that many cakes."Shelly was thrilled. "We sell approximately a thousand cakes each day, and since that's way past our usual daily sales, we intend to hire a few more employees.""Haha! That's great! Layla's company will need about five hundred cakes, and you can have those delivered to her every Friday. Will that be okay?" Avery was worried that Shelly might not accept it and said, "The cakes distributed to employees a