"He hasn't found a suitable one yet, right? Let's wait until he finds a girlfriend!" Layla's gaze returned to her papers. "Mommy,
you're suddenly so serious!"
"Am I?" Avery was afraid that her attitude would scare Layla, so she immediately started to laugh. "I'm only worried because Uncle
Eric doesn't have that many holidays. If you spend all your winter and summer breaks with him, he won't have tto find a
girlfriend. This would affect him quite badly."
Layla pouted.
"You also know that Uncle Eric's parents are forcing him to go on blind dates. They really hope that he will quickly find a girlfriend
and start a family. After all, he is not young anymore." Avery subtly implied the age gap Layla and Eric had between them.
"Mommy, why do you think the sway everyone else does? Uncle Eric is not old at all. If he doesn't want to find a girlfriend and
doesn't want to get married, you can't force him." Layla looked at Avery once more, feeling injured on Eric's behalf.
Avery smiled. "Baby, I'm not forcing him. I'm only telling you his situation. We're not forcing him, but his parents are still urging him
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtto get married. If you kept spending twith him, what would his parents think? Wouldn't they think that you take up too much of
his time?"
"lI don't know his parents. | don't care what they think! As long as Uncle Eric plays with me," Layla said dismissively.
"Layla, I'm worried about you." Avery hesitated for a while before saying, "You're not that young anymore. I'm afraid that you will
start to have thoughts about Eric that go beyond your usual relationship."
"Mommy, | like Uncle Eric. | like spending twith him because he treatswell. He listens to me," Layla said, uninhibited. She
was confident about her feelings for Eric.
Avery nodded. She understood how her daughter felt. Eric did not only treat Layla well. He treated Avery well, too.
Just when Avery thought that she had over-thought this, Layla said, "Mommy, when | graduate from college... If Uncle Eric still
hasn't gotten a girlfriend yet, I'll marry him! What do you think?"
Avery was speechless.
"Mommy, don't you like him? Uncle Eric is amazing! He is handsand rich. Most importantly, he is a nice person. Not only does
he treatwell, but he also treats our whole family well! Wouldn't you want such a son-in-law?"
Avery was bewildered. She was struck dumb by what Layla had said.
Son-in-law... What?!
She wondered what Eric's reaction would be if he heard what Layla had said. One thing she was certain of was that, if Elliot were to
hear about this, he would be infuriated!
"Mommy, why are you in a daze?" Layla reached her hand out to tug on Avery's arm. She asked worriedly, "Mommy, are you going
to scold me?"
Avery shook her head reflexively.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
"Of course, I'm not. You don't know about many things yet at this age..."
"What do | not know? You married Daddy because Daddy likes you, and you like Daddy, right? So, | like Uncle Eric, and he likes me.
Why can't we get married?" Layla looked at Avery in confusion.
"Your age gap is too big," Avery explained. "Also, Uncle Eric won't agree to it."
"Mommy, letask you something," Layla said calmly. "Is the age gap between Aunt Shea and Uncle Ben huge? It's rather huge,
right? Why didn't you guys object to the two of them being together?"
Avery was speechless.
"Mommy, don't you like Uncle Eric, too? Then, why won't you letmarry him?" Layla was confused. "If | marry him, then won't
we be a family? Won't we be able to be together forever?"
"Layla, you can say these things in front of me, but don't say this to your Daddy. If he ever hears you say that, he might go mad.
He might even find fault with Eric," Avery said seriously. "Your studies are the most important thing right now. It's still a long time
before you get married!"