Chapter 8

Rosalie stood looking into the room from the opened door.

Avery was curled up in a ball with her arms around her knees as she leaned against the wall.

Her hair was down, and it was a mess.

She looked up in a daze when she heard the commotion at the door.

"Avery! What happened to you?" Rosalie exclaimed. When she saw Avery's face, which was white as a sheet of paper, her blood pressure instantly shot up.

"How did you become like this? Was it… Was it Elliot? Is he abusing you?"

At this point, there was a slight tremble in Rosalie's voice.

Avery had lost a lot of weight.

Her face was void of any color, and there were faint cracks on her dry lips.

Her chest rose and fell unsteadily. She wanted to speak, but she could not find her voice.

Mrs. Cooper walked over with a glass of warm milk and passed it to Avery.

"Have a glass of milk first, Madam. Don't be afraid. Now that Madam Rosalie is here, you can eat."

Rosalie's brows furrowed furiously as she said, "What's that? Elliot isn't letting Avery eat? How did she get so skinny? Is he trying to starve her to death?"

The incident shocked Rosalie to the core.

She stormed over to the living room and stood before her son.

"Elliot, Avery is the wife that I arranged for you. What would you have me think if you tormented her this way?"

"She should be punished for her mistakes. If it weren't for your sake, do you think I would have allowed her to stay until now?" Elliot said in a cold, nonchalant voice.

The way he saw it, starving her for two days was a lot more merciful than breaking her arm.

She touched something she was not supposed to. She crossed his line. How could he easily forgive her?

"Mistake? What did Avery do?" asked Rosalie.

In her eyes, Avery was a sensible, well-behaved, and observant girl. She would never be stupid enough to deliberately anger Elliot.

Elliot pursed his lips and did not answer his mother.

"I know… I know why you never wanted to get married and have children," said Rosalie. "Elliot, it's because I know too well exactly what you're thinking that I can't allow you to do this. Avery is a good girl. It's fine if you don't love her. You just have to stay together, even if you're only husband and wife in name!"

At this point, Rosalie's eyes welled up with tears of agony.

She became even more worked up the more she spoke, and her eyes turned bloodshot.

Elliot was about to retaliate when he noticed his mother's condition. He signaled to his bodyguard to hold on to her.

"As long as I'm sure, you can't chase Avery out! Divorce isn't out of the question… You just have to find a girl you like. I won’t allow you to spend the rest of your life alone!" Rosalie said as the bodyguard helped her to the couch. Her head was spinning even more.

She could feel herself running out of breath as she said those words.

Thirty seconds later, Rosalie's head tilted and she fell back onto the couch.

The old woman, who just had been discharged that morning, was then rushed back to the hospital.

Elliot did not expect his mother to be so stubborn. He also did not expect her to be so furious.

He had thought that the matter with Avery could be settled quickly, but it seemed that there were some obstacles.

He did not only hate Avery, but he also refused all women.

It was impossible that he would find another woman for the sake of divorcing Avery.

…

In the guest bedroom, Avery sipped on the glass of milk as her condition improved slightly.

She heard everything that was happening outside the room.

Elliot did not say much, but he still managed to provoke his mother to the point of fainting.

Mrs. Cooper brought Avery a bowl of oatmeal. She then picked up a brush and began combing through Avery's disheveled hair.

"Did you hear that, Madam? As long as Madam Rosalie is around, Master Elliot won't kick you out," consoled Mrs. Cooper.

Avery had starved for two days. She was tired and out of energy, but there was one thing she was certain about.

"I want a divorce," she said in a husky voice, but each of her words was clear. "Whether he wants to or not, I will absolutely divorce him."

She did not want to linger in this hell hole for another second!

She never wanted to see that devil, Elliot Foster, ever again!

"Don't be upset, Madam," Mrs. Cooper said awkwardly. "Have some oatmeal. I'll go and take a look at what's going on."

When Mrs. Cooper arrived at the door, she saw the bodyguard pushing Elliot over in his wheelchair and immediately said, "Madam's condition isn't stable right now, Master Elliot."

Elliot's expression was no different than usual, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

When Mrs. Cooper moved aside, the bodyguard pushed Elliot to the room's entrance.

Avery's head shot up suddenly, and her eyes met his.

It was as if there was the crackling of sparks in the air.

"Let's get a divorce, Elliot!" Avery said as she put down the bowl of oatmeal.

She picked up her luggage and walked over to him.

She had packed her things two nights ago and was prepared to leave the place at any moment.

"Go marry someone you actually like!" she said in a much tougher tone.

Elliot's eyes narrowed as he said, "You hate me that much. Do you not think you were wrong?"

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have used your computer," Avery said as she tried to control her breathing. "I've already gotten my punishment, so we should be even. Do you have the divorce papers with you? If not, I can go get them made right now…"

Seeing the way she could not wait to distance herself from him, Elliot drawled, "Did I say that your punishment was over?"

Avery was stunned. It was as if she just took a blow to the head.

"Since it's so agonizing for you to stay by my side, you'll continue to be Mrs. Foster!"

Elliot's tone showed that the matter was not up for discussion. It was an order.

"We will get divorced, just not right now," he added before his bodyguard pushed him away.

Avery watched his back as she gritted her teeth in distaste.

Who was he to tell her whether to go through with the divorce or not?

Did he think that just because he would not, she would not find a way?

Avery was hit by a sudden dizziness. Her ankles went weak, and it felt like all the energy was sucked out of her.

She immediately went to lie down on the bed.

Once she was lying down, she slowly began to calm down.

It was not like Elliot said he would not divorce her. His mother was not well, so he was just holding back for now.

If that were the case, she just needed to be patient and wait.

Avery recovered a week later.

She went to the hospital for a checkup after breakfast.

She had a strong feeling that she had lost the baby.

Elliot had starved her for two days. She did not have a bite to eat and only had tap water to drink when she was thirsty.

Under those circumstances, she could only try to survive. The child in her womb was sure to have starved to death by then.

When she arrived at the hospital, the doctor ordered an ultrasound scan for Avery.

She was dejected during the ultrasound examination.

"Doctor, is my child gone?"

"What makes you say that?" the doctor asked.

"I didn't eat anything for two days… The baby's condition was already not great…"

"Oh, not eating for two days is fine. Some pregnant mothers have such awful vomiting spells that they don't really eat for a whole month," responded the doctor.

Avery's heart tightened.

"So, my baby…"

"Congratulations! There are two gestational sacs in your womb. You're having twins."