Filed to story: Love Entangled with Her Unconscious Husband Novel >>
Layla’s eyes widened as she gazed at Cole’s photo on the laptop screen.
“Whoa! Our dad’s so good-looking!”
Hayden shut the laptop, then thought to himself, “So what if he’s good-looking? A spineless freeloader isn’t worthy of our mom!”
“When can we go see Daddy? Do you think he’d be happy when he finds out about us?”
The only concept that Layla had about their father was a pure one, as Avery had never once spoken ill of him in front of them.
Every time Layla asked Avery who their father was, Avery would always patiently answer,” You don’t have a father.”
Hayden climbed back into bed, lay down, and stared at the ceiling.
“He won’t,” he answered bluntly.
Layla was upset.
“Why not? It’s not like we want his money. I just want to spend some time with him!”
“Go to sleep.”
“I can’t sleep,” Layla huffed. “I want Dad.”
Hayden was disappointed in their so-called father, which put him in a bad mood.
“Shut up,” he snapped impatiently.
Layla immediately quieted down.
She could feel that her brother was annoyed, so she wrapped her little arms around Hayden, and cooed, “I’m sorry, Hayden. I didn’t mean to make you mad. If you don’t want to look for Dad, I won’t either.”
Hayden pushed Layla’s arms off of him, then said in a much calmer tone, “I’ll let you know.”
Layla ecstatically threw her arms around her brother once again and said, “Okay! I’ll do anything you say!”
Avery stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the master bedroom and gazed blankly at the vista in front of her.
Four years had passed by in a flash.
It felt as if everything had changed, but it also felt like everything had stayed the same.
Avery had not been in contact with Elliot at all for the past four years, but they were still tied by the law.
Elliot had never signed the divorce papers.
Avery picked up her phone and called her lawyer.
“Ask him again tomorrow, Mr. Vaughn. If he still refuses to sign it, then please inform him that I will be taking this to court.”
She heard her own calm and determined voice and could not help but recall the way she almost fainted from crying in the airport on the night she left four years ago.
What a fool she was!
Elliot was completely unaffected.
When she had left the country, she had looked him up online because she missed him.
That was when she saw all the news and photos of him attending all kinds of social events.
His world continued to turn even without her in it.
Avery moved on quickly after seeing how well Elliot was doing.
“Are you back in the country, Miss Tate?” asked Mr. Vaughn.
“I am.”
“Since you’re back, why not go and meet him yourself?” Mr. Vaughn sighed. “He stopped answering my calls a long time ago. I’m guessing he already blocked my number.”
Avery was surprised.
“However, if you insist on having me represent you, I can use a new number to contact him,” continued Mr. Vaughn. “To be honest, there’s a higher possibility of success if you meet him yourself.”
“In that case, please contact him using a new number!”
“Understood.”
Avery hung up the phone, then scrolled through her contacts.
Other than the fact that Aryadelle was her home, there was another reason had she returned to the country.
She wanted to rebuild the company that had gone bankrupt in her hands.
Not only did she want to rebuild Tate Industries, but she also wanted to make it even more glorious than it ever was.
She will get back every single penny and more that was stolen from her father.
She found the contact for the former HR manager of Tate Industries and dialed the number.
The phone rang for a while before someone answered.
“Hi, Uncle Fred. This is Avery Tate. Do you remember me?”
“Avery Tate? Of course, I remember you! Our company wouldn’t have gone under if it weren’t for you! How dare you call me? Did you lose all of your money abroad and want to borrow some from me? Let me tell you right now that you won’t get a penny from me!”
Avery remained calm despite the hostility coming from the other end of the line.
“That’s not why I’m calling. I was just wondering if you have plans to switch companies.”
“Switch companies? Are you a headhunter now?”
“I’m planning on rebuilding Tate Industries. If possible, I’d like to bring back the old staff. If all of you are willing to come back, I can double your current salaries.”
Fred Dover’s jaw dropped!
“Are you interested?” Avery asked.
Fred took a deep breath, then said, “Did you hit the jackpot? Do you know how much doubling everyone’s salary would come up to?”
“I can afford it,” Avery responded.
“If you’re serious about it, then, of course, I’ll come back! I have nothing against money!” Fred said without hesitation, then muttered, “Did you actually hit the jackpot?”.
“Not exactly, but rebuilding Tate Industries isn’t a problem. By the way, I’ll need you to find out who bought the old company building before. I’d like to buy it back.”
“Looks like you’re for real! Give me some time… I’ll check it out right away! I’ll let you know once I find out.”
Avery glanced at the time, then said, “It’s late. Ask around tomorrow! I’m calling you now because I’m happy to be home.”
No matter how well things were abroad, she had always felt like she had never belonged there.
The next morning, Avery took Layla out for a tour of the private preschool in the neighborhood.
The preschool was designed and built to look like a castle.
It was only natural for a preschool in a high-end neighborhood to be impressive.
“Miss Tate, if you’re worried that Layla might not be used to things here, you’re more than welcome to send her here for a trial period,” said the school’s director.
She was especially fond of Layla because she looked as beautiful as a little princess.
Avery looked Layla in the eye before asking for her opinion.
“Do you want to give it a try, baby girl? It’d be a lot easier on Grandma to take you to school every day if you go here.” Layla’s hands were clenched into tiny fists as she stared at her mother with obsidian eyes and asked, “Are you sending Hayden to another school, Mommy? Can I go with him?”
Avery patted her daughter’s head, then explained gently, “I’m sorry, Layla. Your brother’s situation is different. Once he is ready, I’ll make sure the two of you will never be separated, okay?”
Layla’s expression was somber, but she nodded her head anyway.
After handing her daughter over to the school director’s care, Avery made her way home.
Laura was washing the dishes in the kitchen while Hayden was playing with his new toys.
Avery walked over to her son, then said, “Shall we go take a look at a new school, Hayden? We’ ll just check it out and come straight home if you don’t like it.”