'Why is he here all of a sudden? I've already returned the box to him!' Layla thought.Scared that he was here looking for trouble, she immediately ran out of the living room and shouted, "Uncle Mike!"Layla's scream had frightened Avery.When Layla dropped the phone to the ground, the camera was faced at the ceiling of the living room so Avery could only attempt to guess what had happened from the noises as she couldn't see anything at all.One thing that she could be certain of was that Layla was in a dangerous situation."Layla!" Avery grabbed onto her phone tightly and stepped out of her room.Her heart sank; though she was in Bridgedale at the moment, if something was about to happen to her daughter, Avery would not hesitate to travel back to Aryadelle right away.Elliot scowled when he saw the way Layla ran off in fear. He had met with Layla plenty of times and though she had never been polite with him before, she had never acted so frightened either.He raised his hand t
Layla took the phone and looked at her mother from the screen, before muttering, "Mom, he didn't knock when he came in…so I thought bad people had come inside…"She did not have the courage to confess to Avery.If only her brother was around.Layla decided that he would tell her brother about what happened when he got home so that he could help come up with a solution.Avery relaxed at Layla's explanation and said gently, "Layla, I feel like you are in a bad mood today. Did something happen at your classmate's place? Don't be scared, you can tell me anything."Elliot stood by the side and felt odd when he heard what Avery said.'Layla went to her classmate's house today?' He thought, 'it must have something to do with why she is acting odd.'"I'm fine, Mom," Layla said while sneaking a glance at Elliot's direction."If something happened, you have to tell me. You can call me anytime you want," Avery reminded."I know, Mom," Layla said and blew a kiss at the screen.After the
Layla became even more upset after that.Elliot was not at all surprised.Everything would make sense if Layla was the one who took the box; it explained why they couldn't seem to find out who stole the box because no one would suspect a four-year-old child.Layla was very dependent at the time, and who would suspect a child who couldn't take care of herself?Apart from that, it also explained why the content inside the box was never publicized or used to blackmail Elliot after it was taken."Layla, what kind of clothes did that woman wear?" Elliot sat her down on a chair, before wiping her tears away with tissue. When her sobbing had ceased, he continued, "was she a gray coat?""How do you know?" Layla looked at him, red-eyed. "Did you get the box back?"Elliot remained thoughtful for a while, before he decided to tell her the truth. "No, that lady who lied to you had died in a car crush. Whatever's in the box had been taken. Don't be sad though, what's lost is lost.""But my
The only reason Layla would so obediently call him Daddy was because they were the only ones in the room.If Hayden was there, Layla would never dare to do so.Hayden hated Elliot so much. Between Hayden and Elliot, she would surely stand with Hayden.Elliot's dark eyes instantly turned into a gentle delight."If you don't get angry with Robert, I'll call you Daddy once more." Layla saw the smiles on Elliot's face, so she started bargaining with him, "Robert is still young. I have to protect him."Elliot's eyes reddened a little. He said hoarsely, "Layla, I'm not angry at Robert. I'm angry at myself. I wasn't thoughtful enough. I did not care enough for Shea.""Daddy, this has nothing to do with you," Layla corrected him sternly. "Shea wanted to save Robert. Even if you didn't let her do it, she would still secretly do it. Just like how I wanted to steal your things. I knew it was wrong, but I still wanted to do it."Layla's analogy was somewhat inappropriate, but she called him
Layla said confusedly, "Hayden, what do you mean by the new son? Are you talking about Robert? Is there a difference between new and old? You and Robert are all his sons, right?"Hayden was speechless."If he were to have another daughter with Mommy in the future, will I be the old daughter then?" Layla said, "Hayden, I don't think Daddy is the type of person that only likes new things.""He treats you well so you think he is a good person, but he does not treat me that way!" Hayden did not want to think about anything that has to do with Elliot. "Don't mention him in front of me, I don't want to hear about him.""Hayden, when he was bad to you back then, that's because he didn't know that you're his son. It has to be that way." Although Layla was a little afraid of Hayden getting angry, she did not want to see Hayden and Elliot in such a bad relationship."Even if he didn't know I was his son, he knows that I am Mommy's son," Hayden retorted, "When he goes mad, he wouldn't think
Elliot did not know the owner of this cake brand, so he felt that there must be someone else behind this."Mr. Foster, this event is indeed done by our marketing and promotion department. As for how they pick the kids to work with, I don't know. I only see results," The owner of the cake brand said to Elliot honestly, "I'll look for the person in charge of this activity, please wait a while."When Elliot heard the explanation, he took up his cup and took a sip.A moment later, the owner of the cake brand finished the call and looked at Elliot strangely in surprise."Mr. Foster, my manager said that people from your company contacted us and requested that we add that kid to the list of our promotional activities. My manager did it because of you, which was why he contacted that kid…"Elliot's gaze instantly darkened. The person behind this was extremely bold! How dare they use his name throughout the entire process. What was unbelievable was how they could trick everyone there.If
After Elliot explained his reason, Mike bawled in a fit of laughter."From your gift-picking skills, I have reasons to believe that you only attracted Avery because of your face and your money," Mike teased him mercilessly."She doesn't like my money," Elliot corrected him."You can earn money, that means you have capabilities. You're not all useless." Mike roared in laughter, "By the way, I heard that Layla has called you Daddy last night. You got a daughter for free. I'm sure you're delighted?""You sure don't mince your words." Elliot furrowed his brows.What did he mean by free? Layla was his daughter. This was a fact. If Layla was willing to let him raise her, he would take the time out to do so too."The truth is always harsher. How are you and Avery doing? Are you still at a standoff?" Mike changed into a subject that made Elliot feel worse. "Shea's funeral has been done. Let her rest in peace! You still have to live your life.""Are you asking me to go to Bridgedale and
That way, Elliot could pass on what he wanted to say to Hayden.Hayden accepted the gold bar to see what was engraved on it.'Happy New Year.'Hayden harrumphed and put the gold bar back into the box."There's still engraving on the back!" Mike placed the gold bar in Hayden's hands once more. Hayden was spirited. He looked at the gold bar closely once more.'I'm sorry.'Hayden was speechless. Was Elliot apologizing to him through the gold bar? How comical! Does Elliot not have a mouth? Why did he not apologize in person instead?"Big H, the gold bar it's quite heavy. It should be worth quite a lot! Why don’t you keep it!" Mike placed the gold bar and the box in Hayden's hand. "Elliot gave you a gold bar because he thinks you're golden. You're shiny and glittery. You burn bright.""You're describing a star.""Oh, what he means is that you have a bright future. You'll do great things.""I will surpass him in the future!" Hayden threw the gold bar aside. "I don't need his apolog