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“There's no way you can answer the call in your current condition.” Allie knew who was on the line
without even looking.
Hanging her head, Avery couldn't stop the flow of tears.
“Come. Wipe off your tears, and come up with me.” Unable to think of any words of comfort, Allie
handed Avery a tissue, as if that was the limit of the concern she would ever show.
Nonetheless, Avery rejected it. After taking a deep breath, she wiped away the tears on her face before
heading into the hospital.
Even though a crying soul would attract attention inside, it wasn't much of an issue, for it was a
common sight.
As the hospital elevator wasn't busy in the afternoon, Avery quickly arrived at the floor where her father
was warded.
“I'm heading to the restroom,” Avery muttered.
She didn't want him to see the miserable look on her face, lest he got worried.
In the meantime, Allie waited outside the restroom in silence.
Upon entering, Avery gave her face a cold splash before staring into the mirror and seeing herself with
eyes reddened from crying. With her brows slightly knitted, she failed to ease them no matter how hard
she tried.
By the time she came out, Allie reminded her, “If you don't want your dad's condition to worsen, you'd
better put on a smile.”
Raising her gaze at Allie, Avery was tempted to question the latter on how she was supposed to cheer
herself up after everything that had happened.
Subsequently, she walked past Allie and entered the ward.
When the nurse saw the patient's daughter coming in, she left the room to give them some privacy.
At the sight of his daughter, Leonardo broke out into a smile that quickly faded when he caught a
glimpse of Allie.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Dad,” Avery greeted.
The way Leonardo was staring at Allie could only mean one thing. It was clearly the look of a man who
hated his ex-wife.
During the journey to the hospital, Avery had grown to understand that Allie wouldn't have dared to
make such a brazen claim unless it was the truth.
“I'm just here to tell you something.” Allie took the initiative to explain to Leonardo. “All this while, I had
never wanted to bother the two of you, but a coincidence brought Ery to me. Due to how sensible she
was, I grew fond of her and was excited to learn that her surname was Rumpley.”
While speaking, Allie feigned closeness by holding Avery's shoulder and cracking a blissful smile. “I
didn't expect my daughter to have grown into an adult and am glad that fate has brought us together.
Since you're sick and Blake has been sent back from Jetroina, Ery has a heavy burden to bear.
Therefore, I feel that it would do her good to have her mom by her side.”
Worried that her father would see through the ruse, Avery didn't shake Allie's hand off.
In response, Leonardo scrutinized the two of them.
Even though he was deeply suspicious of Allie's sudden attempt to acknowledge her daughter, he
wasn't going to restrict Avery for his own selfish reasons as long as she had no objections. As her
father, he clearly understood that it was her decision to make.
“Why don't both of you have a chat while I wait outside.” With her arm still hanging over Avery's
shoulder, Allie gave the latter a tap to warn her not to say the wrong thing.
When the only people left in the ward were the father and daughter, Leonardo hesitated before saying
in a weak voice, “Ery, come closer. Let me ask you—”
“Dad, don't say anything.” Avery didn't want to be forced to relive the painful memories of being
abandoned through her father's words.
All she wanted to do was sit there in peace, for it never mattered to her who her birth mother was.
Moreover, the problem now was about whether she should acknowledge Allie as her mother or not.
Okay. Take some time to recollect your thoughts. I won't say a thing.” Unaware of the true situation,
Leonardo simply assumed that Avery couldn't accept the fact that her mother had found her.
With her head lowered, Avery remained silent for a long while.
“It's your decision whether you want to accept her as your mother or not. From my perspective, at least
you will still have someone close once I'm gone.”
In the end, Leonardo couldn't resist sharing his thoughts as he wanted his daughter to have an
objective picture of the pros and cons.
Finally, Avery responded with a shake of her head. Looking up, she asked, “Back then, the neighbors
told me that she had given birth to me before eloping with a rich man. Grandpa, too, said the same
thing. So why is it that she had a son that's four years older than I am?”
After dwelling upon the matter, she had finally structured the messy thoughts in her head.
Unfortunately, she didn't see the reaction that she wanted from her father. Instead, Leonardo wasn't
surprised by her question at all. “About that, I was actually aware... Back when your mother got
together with me, she was no longer a virgin. Not only was she hurt by someone else before, but she
had also given birth to his child. It was just that the child... wasn't acknowledged by the other party. It
was much later that I learned the man who hurt your mother was a rich and powerful businessman.
Also, the child that she had given birth to was a son. At that time, I had a feeling that the illegitimate
son of such a prominent family would sooner or later be accepted back. Furthermore, I was worried
that your mother would return to that monster's side for the sake of her son.”
At that moment, Leonardo stopped abruptly, for the worst-case scenario in his mind played out in the
end.
The illegitimate child was brought back to the prominent family together with his mother, whose status
was elevated accordingly for bearing a son. With that, she ended up leaving the ordinary man who
tended to her “wounds” when she was hurt and returning to the rich man's side.
Avery didn't know how she got home that day.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAs if she had lost her soul, she went around like a zombie to prepare dinner for Blake and Nina.
While chewing on her food, Nina observed Avery before asking curiously, “Why do you seem so
distracted today?”
“I'm not. Here, have some more food.” Avery tried to act normally and even forced a smile.
“Stop smiling. It looks worse than when you're crying.” Nina was certain that something was bugging
Avery. Ever since the latter had returned in the afternoon, she looked increasingly disturbed.
Not wanting Blake to worry, the two women didn't further the conversation.
After struggling through dinner, Avery did the dishes with her head hung low.
Standing by her side, Nina remarked with a frown. “I can see that you were crying earlier.”
“My dad's condition hasn't improved at all.” Avery cooked up an excuse to explain the tears.
“Is it really because of that?” Nina didn't believe her.
Worried that she couldn't resist baring her soul to Nina and telling her everything, Avery clenched her
teeth and hurried the latter home after the dishes were done.
From that night onward, Nina officially went back home to stay.
Meanwhile, Blake was sitting on a rocking chair on the balcony, playing with some birds.
Nina had bought them for him in the afternoon and hung the cage there.
After holding back her tears, Avery couldn't do it anymore. Not long after closing the door behind Nina,
she stayed in the empty living room and burst into tears while leaning against the bathroom door.
Creak!
Suddenly, a key was inserted into the door, and the door was pushed open.
A weary figure stepped into the house next.
Dressed in a suit and leather shoes, Cayden wore a frown on his mature-looking face, his features
looking exceptionally frosty. Other than holding the car keys, he also held in his hand the house key
that Nina had just left with.
The instant their eyes met, the teary-eyed Avery was stricken by panic.
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