Elliot had thought that the woman he spent that night with was Avery!
He would never have touched Zoe if he had known it was her
On the other side of the city, Avery was having dinner with a few good friends at Golden Beach Street.
If it were not for the care and support of her friends, she would not have been able to get back on her
feet so quickly after her mother’s death.
Although the thought of her mother’s passing continued to pain her, Avery was not so impulsive as to
go down with Wanda.
Mike poured Wesley a glass of wine, but Wesley declined, saying, “I drove here.”
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Avery then poured Wesley a glass of juice and said, “Wesley isn’t a good drinker. I’ll drink with you
tonight, Mike!”
“Are you underestimating me, Avery? My tolerance is pretty good!” said Tammy.
“I know it is, but Jun already told me to keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t get too drunk.”
Tammy grunted nonchalantly, then began to drink with Mike.
“Pace yourselves, you two. I called you out tonight for some good seafood, not for you to get drunk…”
Avery cautioned.
“What’s so great about seafood? What’s a party without booze?” Mike said.
Tammy chimed in, “Exactly! If we’re going to have a party without booze, then we might as well just sit
at home and munch on some peanuts!”
Avery decided to ignore them.
After a few drinks, the two began to drunkenly banter. Once Avery was done peeling shrimps and crabs
for her children, she began to eat.
Noticing that Mike and Tammy were immersed in their drunkenness, Wesley turned to Avery and said,
“Eric really wants to thank you personally, Avery.”
“He should focus on rehab for now. We can meet once he’s able to stand on his own two feet.”
She lowered her gaze, pondering something, and then said, “I wouldn’t have to be so cautious if he
was just an average person. But he’s still a popular celebrity. If anyone was to discover where he is,
there’d be a real ruckus made; and, if that were to happen, not only would it get in the way of his
rehabilitation, his personal life would be affected, too.”
Wesley nodded and said, “You’re right. He’s young, so he’s a bit more impulsive.”
He passed some crab meat to Avery.
“Eat it yourself!” Avery said, her cheeks turning pink.
“I don’t eat crab,” Wesley replied. “You were tending to the children this entire time and haven’t had a
bite to eat. You should eat more. I’m worried you’ll get blown away by the wind one day.”
Layla lifted her head, then said seriously to Wesley, “Hayden and I will hold on to Mommy’s legs! We
won’t let the wind blow her away!”
“No matter how strong the wind is, I won’t have to worry as long as I have the both of you around!”
Wesley chuckled. He turned to Hayden and asked, “Are you getting used to things at your new
school?”
Hayden nodded.
Hayden might not have been sociable, but he never bothered the other children, so his teachers
favored him.
“Why did you bring your laptop with you?” Wesley asked as he noticed the laptop sticking out of
Hayden’s unzipped bag.
Hayden quickly zipped his bag shut. Avery glanced at her son, alarm bells beginning to ring in her
head.
She did not immediately interrogate Hayden.
Instead, she pulled out her phone to check if Elliot had contacted her.
It was a good thing he had not!
Avery was relieved.
“I heard Zoe’s planning on carrying out another surgery on Shea,” Wesley said, his expression
conveying his mixed feelings. “I don’t know if Zoe is being too generous, or if Elliot’s being a fool. Zoe’s
skills might not end up killing Shea, but I doubt the results would be ideal.”
Avery’s hand clenched tightly around her fork.
“Are you sure you don’t want to tell Elliot that you were the one who operated on Shea the first time?”
Wesley asked softly.
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