Avery set his phone down and went back to bed.
Her mind sank into chaos as she discovered that though Elliot had promised her that he would not acknowledge the child as his, his best friend was trying to take the child away from Ruby in private.
"How ironic," she thought, "it's a shthat Ruby doesn’t want to hand the child over. | wonder if she would cave if it was Elliot doing the asking." Avery's heart felt as though it had been pricked by countless needles. She had thought that she and Elliot had overcall difficulties, and hand in hand, they would not break no matter what lay ahead. She had not imagined that it was all just an illusion and that they were dreaming of different things.
Avery could not sleep. She lay awake and stared out the window until the ink-dark sky slowly turned white. Her eyes felt sore, but the ache in her heart had not subsided. She closed her eyes and forced herself to go back to sleep.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAt seven in the morning, Elliot woke up and glanced at Avery by reflex.
She was deeply asleep, probably too exhausted from the day before.
He picked up his phone and saw the message from Ben.
[I just tested Ruby by asking her if | can take Ivy withso that she could start fresh. Damn, she literally exploded!] Half an hour after the message, Ben had sent a few other messages.
[I told her to date, Paul. Not only did she refuse to listen, but she felt insulted and chasedout of her place! | am heading to the airport now, and I'm on my way back to Aryadelle!] [By the way, | forgot to tell you that despite having booked myself a hotel room, Ruby askedto stay at her place so it's easier forto see Ivy. You have no idea how cute Ivy is! If no one had toldthat Ruby was the mother, | would definitely have thought that Ivy belonged to you and Avery! She looks so much like Layla! | took a lot of photos; I'll show them to you when | get back.] The two messages were received afterward so Avery did not see them.
Elliot read all the messages and glanced at Avery.
Ben said that Ivy looked like she was Avery :b#?ULW; his. If only that was true, there would not be any conflict surrounding the child.
Unfortunately, fate did not always work in people's favor.
He got out of bed to wash up before heading downstairs for breakfast. When he went back up again, Avery was still deeply asleep.
He reached out to touch her cheek, which felt soft and warm to the touch. Her temperature and breathing were normal, so he did not know why she was still sleeping.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmShe would usually wake up at the stas him.
"Did she not sleep well last night?" he thought to himself.
After changing his clothes, he went to sit down by the bed without hurrying out for work.
Half an hour later, Avery turned and Elliot noticed that it was almost nine in the morning, so he tried calling her name.
She immediately opened her eyes at his voice.
"Avery, you didn't sleep well last night?" he asked. "Did you wake up during the night?"