"Mom, don't you think you're particularly enthusiastic about Shelly's family?" Layla sat beside her, watching her busy mother with a smile. "They're not even your in-laws yet! You haven't even mentioned sending something to my in-laws." Avery glanced at her daughter. "Would your in-laws appreciate these snacks? The reason I'm more concerned about Shelly's family is because Shelly's mother had surgery recently and needs to eat well for her recovery. Besides, Shelly comes from a less fortunate background, so it's only right for me to take care of them. It's a different case with your in-laws. They're so wealthy, so why would they need my help?" Layla was not genuinely blaming her mother for being biased and only meant to tease Avery. "If Shelly and my brother really become a couple, I'll have Shelly give you a commemorative plaque that says 'Best Mother-in-law!'" Layla continued to tease her mother. "You're truly the best in-law!" "Sure! I'll appreciate whatever Shelly gives me." A
If Hayden was to never come back to his mansion again, Samuel would have claimed all of his niece's toys as his own. When Elliot's driver pulled into the yard, the guard recognized Robert and opened the gate right away. When Samuel heard the noise, he walked outside and recognized Robert right away. "Mom, someone is here! They are from the Fosters!" Mrs. Taylor immediately set her chores aside and glanced outside and realized that her son was right. Startled, she immediately told her husband to hide upstairs with Audrey, and Mr. Taylor hurried up the stairs hastily. "Take it slow! Don't fall! Don't let my little Audrey fall," Mrs. Taylor anxiously interjected. "Alright, you attend to the guests! Don't worry about me." Mr. Taylor hurriedly carried Audrey upstairs. Robert and his bodyguard approached the villa's entrance, carrying gifts. Mrs. Taylor, with her son by her side, immediately welcomed them. "You must be Robert, right? What brings you here? And you brought so m
Robert immediately paused and looked up the stairs as the cry came from the second floor. "Is there a baby here?" he thought. Mrs. Taylor paled, desperately wishing she would hurry upstairs to take care of Audrey. However, she could not do so because Robert had not left. "Mrs. Taylor, is there a baby upstairs?" Robert asked with a sheepish smile. Mrs. Taylor nodded stiffly. "Yeah! I have a relative over, and they have a child. I didn't know you were coming. I'm so sorry about that!" Robert smiled. "It's fine. It's normal for you to invite relatives over. I won't tell Hayden. Besides, he won't say anything even if he finds out. Relax and enjoy the holiday! I will get out of your hair now." After seeing Robert out of the door, Mrs. Taylor sighed a heavy breath of relief. Samuel went upstairs and called his father down. Mr. Taylor came down with Audrey, whose face was streaked with tears. Anxious and unsure, he handed Audrey over to his wife. "I don't know why she's cryi
[Where are you? Can you at least take some photos and show me where you are?] Hayden furrowed his brow as he finished reading Courtney's messages, feeling a mix of emotions. Courtney was Shelly's best friend, so it was normal for them to have these kinds of private conversations, but the thought that Courtney was cheering Shelly on felt strange. He opened the camera and took a photo of Shelly's sleeping face then sent it to Courtney. Upon seeing the photo, Courtney immediately responded with a string of question marks with a message. [What's going on? Shelly fell asleep? Who sent me this photo? Huh?!] Hayden did not feel like typing, so he opened the camera and took a selfie of his own face, before sending it over.Courtney began to panic when she saw Hayden's photo. "What?! How did Hayden end up with Shelly's phone?! Did Shelly lend Hayden her phone? Has their relationship progressed to the point where they looked at each other's phones?" She thought frantically. After
Everyone else around them instantly turned their attention toward Shelly. No one paid Shelly any attention before Fergus asked the question because Shelly wore the same uniform as everyone else, so the others had mistaken her for one of them. Before taking a better look at Shelly's face, they all thought that Shelly might be one of Hayden's secretaries. Hayden had always been a private person who rarely appeared in public. Therefore, not many people knew who reported directly to him. However, once everyone saw Shelly's face and recognized her as the owner of Courtney's Cafe, they instantly realized that there was more to the story than meets the eye. None of them expected that Hayden would invite the owner of a cake shop to join the team-building event. Shelly's face turned red under everyone's gaze. Afraid that Hayden would be placed in a difficult position, she immediately answered Fergus's question, "No, I was told that you were having a team-building event, and I wan
Avery had told her that Hayden was brilliant at work but was hardly capable of taking care of himself. Since he invested much of his energy into work, he always had servants taking care of him. Since everyone was to spend a night in a tent for the team-building event, Avery was quite worried that Hayden might not be able to sleep or eat well. Shelly understood Avery's concerns. People raised in wealthy families tended to be quite bad at caring for themselves. Courtney could not cook or do any house chores either, and since Hayden grew up in a much wealthier household than Courtney, Shelly would not be surprised to discover that Hayden had little to no life skills. Avery mentioned that Hayden could not take spices and preferred plainer food that was not overly seasoned, yet Shelly noticed that they were having barbeque. The meal was probably to cater to the tastes of the majority of the employees, so there were not many dishes that Hayden would like. Shelly glanced around a
After getting some rest, the activities for the afternoon began. After Hayden's speech, he stepped out of the hotel with Shelly. "Are we really going shopping?" Shelly asked. "Don't you need to take a nap?" "I didn't reserve a room," he said. "If you want to take a nap, we can go to a hotel."Nothing about the statement was suggestive in the slightest. She shook her head and said, "I slept enough in the car. I'm just worried that you might be tired." "I'm not." Hayden felt relaxed since he did not have to work. "Let's walk around, then!" Shelly smiled. "Let's see if there's anything worth buying as souvenirs." Hayden agreed with a nod. He did not like shopping and would normally only go shopping with his family; he would never go shopping alone. However, shopping with Shelly felt like shopping with his family, so he did not mind. "What else did my mom tell you?" Hayden asked. "Should I show you?" Shelly took out her phone. "Your mom messaged me." She unlocked her
After Hayden paid, he took the water from her. "When you take a shower tonight, make sure your finger doesn't touch water," Shelly said as she looked at his injured finger. "The wound is quite deep. Even when I peel shrimp and get pricked, I have never bled like you did. You scared your subordinates." "It doesn't actually hurt," Hayden said. "Although it's a small wound, it's still better to take care of it. After all, we're in unfamiliar territory. If your mom finds out, she'll definitely be worried." Shelly continued walking with him. "Your mom said you've never been in a relationship before. Have you never encountered a girl who made your heart flutter?" "I never thought about it before. Every day when I wake up, I'm faced with numerous challenges at work," Hayden revealed. "When I was very young, I set a goal for myself: to surpass my father's career." Shelly looked at his face, shocked. "When I was a child, I had a bad relationship with my father, so I was eager to sur