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Dylan did not turn Talia down.
Indeed, he needed an opportunity to bury the hatchet between him and Toby.
To some extent, Dylan recognized that he was more stubborn and prideful than his father.
In fact, Toby had never really raged at his unfilial son. His anger at his son, if any, never lasted longer
than ten minutes.
Watching a movie or a play with his parents was something Dylan had agreed to five years ago when
he started serving his prison sentence.
His parents had visited him together. He remembered being led out by a warden, handcuffed and
dressed in a prison uniform.
After taking his seat, Dylan stared at his parents wordlessly. He did not know what to say when he
noticed their weary appearances.
It did not help that he barely spoke to his parents in the first place.
With a thick plexiglass partition between them, Talia said between sobs, “Don't give up hope while
you're inside, Dylan. Focus on turning over a new leaf and leave your law-breaking days behind you.
We still love you very much. Once you're out of prison, we can spend time together as a family again.
You can get married and have kids; there's still a beautiful future to look forward to...”
Dylan remembered that his mother had said many things to him that day, all muffled by sobs.
A particular sentence stood out to him. Talia had said, “If you feel sorry toward your father and me, you
can make it up to us once you're out of this place. We don't need you to become an overachiever or
anything. Just watch a movie or a play with us, and we'll be happy.”
Though Dylan had listened to her mutely and expressionlessly, he was stunned by his parents'
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtsurprisingly low expectations.
It turned out that being a filial son was as simple as accompanying one's parents to a show.
He could not believe he had never done it for his parents in the twenty or so years of his life before he
entered prison.
At that moment, Dylan was driving on the road as a free man.
When his mother called and told him she had ordered three tickets to a play, memories of his parents'
first visit five years ago replayed in his mind.
Now that I'm starting to remember everything, it's time for me to make good on my promise.
Meanwhile, Avery did not allow Cayden and the kids to enter Blake's ward with her.
After all, she had told her grandpa not too long ago about Cayden's unsuitability as a partner. If she
showed up with him now, it would be an awkward situation for everyone.
She fed Blake lunch, then took her leave, citing some matters to attend to.
Before she left, she grabbed the laptop she had left behind in the hospital after work the day before.
Avery had carried the laptop around in case Cecelia had urgent tasks for her to complete.
After having his meal, Blake walked around his ward and waved his granddaughter goodbye.
When Avery walked out of the hospital, she immediately spied a familiar black Land Rover outside the
entrance.
She approached the car, reaching it at the same time as Cayden, who had been smoking elsewhere.
He swiftly took her laptop with one hand and opened the car door with another, ushering her into the
car.
“What do you want to eat?” he asked before she had a chance to thank him.
Avery turned to look at him, replying, “Let's see what Zach and Rory fancy.”
Cayden nodded, indulging in his role as a perfect husband who automatically deferred to his wife's and
kids' wishes.
He concentrated on driving while Avery googled a list of restaurants for Rory's and Zachary's selection.
Zachary set his phone aside and took Avery's before both he and his sister scrolled through it.
Rory blinked rapidly as she stared at the screen.
“Have you decided?” Avery asked.
Zachary continued staring at the phone as he mumbled, “Not yet.”
“It's okay. Take your time.” Avery had already taken the day off to accompany the kids, so she had all
the time in the world.
While the kids stewed in indecision, two WhatsApp notifications popped up on Avery's phone.
The messages came from Nina, who wrote: My mom came to the office. I just shooed her out five
minutes ago. Thank god you were not here, or my mom would be all over you! God, she's horrifying!
Why doesn't she ever see herself as the problem?
The next message read: My mom spoke to the lawyer, and Zayne's getting at least a year in prison. I
wasn't even sad or angry when I heard that. I don't even know why, but I was craving a plate of
jambalaya. I'm pretty sensible, huh, Ery? Zayne's obviously in the wrong, and he needs a few years in
prison to fix his morals.
Zachary and Rory did not understand Nina's message, but they immediately noticed the jambalaya she
had mentioned.
It sounded delicious.
Zachary lifted his head and asked Avery, “Ms. Ery, what's jambalaya?”
Jambalaya?
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Confused, Avery took her phone back from the kids and scrolled through it. I googled a bunch of high-
end restaurants. There shouldn't be anything like jambalaya or mac and cheese on the list. Their dad's
eating with us, after all, and he only frequents expensive restaurants.
Just then, Nina sent her another message. Avery clicked on it and saw her earlier texts.
Now, she realized why the kids had mentioned jambalaya.
Though Avery knew the answer to her question, she asked, “You probably haven't tried jambalaya,
right?”
As expected, the kids replied, “No.”
Avery could not help but wonder how the kids would have turned out if they were raised by her instead
of Cayden.
After all, the wealthy led unimaginably different lives from the average population.
Even though the kids had expressed their wish to eat jambalaya, Avery thought it was prudent to get
Cayden's opinion.
She thought jambalaya was delicious, but someone as haughty as Cayden would probably scoff at it.
It was not a particularly healthy dish, and establishments serving the dish were prone to subpar
hygiene standards.
Avery did not want to argue with Cayden in front of the kids. She remembered she had saved Cayden's
number once they affirmed their relationship, and she quickly typed out a message to him on
WhatsApp.
The kids want to eat jambalaya. Are you okay with that?
After that, Avery awaited his reply.
Cayden focused on driving and did not check his phone.
Two minutes later, Avery squirmed impatiently and asked, “I think I heard a WhatsApp notification from
your phone.”
Cayden had not heard it, but he checked his phone nonetheless.
He quickly read Avery's message and chuckled before replying: Up to you.
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