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Avery and Alina went upstairs to continue their chat while Cayden accepted an international call to
discuss the partnership.
As he was talking on the phone, Cayden noticed the awkward interaction between Avery and Aline.
However, he couldn't hear anything they said because he was far away.
Soon, Cayden hung up the call only to see Avery and Alina disappearing into the yard together.
Xavier walked over then. Without daring to conceal the truth, he reported, “She said she is Ms. Avery's
aunt.”
With that, Cayden retracted his gaze from where the duo disappeared before instructing Xavier, “Look
into her aunt's background.”
Xavier nodded in response.
Cayden's stern eyes landed on an ordinary-looking, opened aluminum alloy window on the second
floor. Even though there were no emotions on his face, his possessiveness began to emerge internally.
On the other hand, in the bedroom on the second floor, Avery was feeling awkward being around Alina
while, at the same time, her heart was racing because the room was filled with Cayden's scent. It was
as if she had done something bad, and she didn't want anyone to find out about it.
Alina scanned the room before asking curiously, “The man who went downstairs with you was your...”
Avery panicked the moment Alina asked her question. She interrupted the latter's sentence and
explained, “He is my boss.”
As Avery was young and inexperienced, she couldn't stay composed and relaxed in front of certain
issues. To Alina, Avery was a blank slate and she was innocent. At the very least, she didn't have what
it took to hide her secrets.
As Alina's thought landed on that, another idea came into her mind. Hmm... Maybe our relationship is
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtnaturally close because we are related by blood. That's why Avery didn't try to hide anything from me. I
like the way Avery is around me.
Alina sat down and she told Avery to take her seat too.
Avery sat down cautiously, using her finger to caress the bedsheet beneath her. She was afraid that the
bedsheet was creased and that the signs of her being intimate with Cayden were left behind. After
quite some time, she finally remembered that she had already changed the bedsheet. The bedsheet
that she and Alina were sitting on now was fresh and clean.
The cooling wind of the early fall blew in through the opened window, bringing freshness to the air in
the confined room.
Alina jumped straight to the question that she cared about the most. “Are you staying with your grandpa
and your dad now?”
Avery nodded. Truth be told, she held a slight grudge toward Alina.
“My dad is still in Ackleton. I brought Grandpa to stay with us. I couldn't bear to see him having
sleepless nights and a poor appetite, living alone in the old house in the small town. Every
granddaughter would feel the same when they see their grandpa bending their body to start a fire for a
meal,” said Avery.
“I'm sorry. It's all my fault,” Alina apologized, admitting her mistake. She looked at Avery before
continuing, “I had just divorced my husband during that period. I wasn't feeling great. I had a serious
case of depression, and I tried to end my life multiple times but did not succeed. In a fury, I sent your
grandpa home without thinking about how he would live out the rest of his life. I'm sorry.”
Avery looked at Alina. Even though she wanted to complain further, the moment Alina said she had
severe depression after her divorce, Avery paused. I know a little about depression from watching the
news. I know how much torture depression could inflict on a person.
Just like that, the beguilement Avery felt vanished.
Alina spoke slowly. “I'm all sincere to come and see you.” Then, she took off the watch on her wrist.
Avery had no idea what Alina was trying to do. But then, she was shocked when she spotted the
multiple scars on Alina's wrist. The scars were horrifying as one intertwined with another, many
repeating the same pattern.
Good god!
Alina mocked, “All these were left behind when I hurt myself multiple times. Your grandpa witnessed all
the bloody scenes and the rescue. Now that I've recovered from my depression, I wondered why I
wanted to hurt myself so much during that time. Not only does it look awful on my wrist, but the process
of ending my life will also be slow and painful too.”
Avery lifted her head as she listened to Alina tell her story in a calm voice and with a gentle smile.
Terrified, Avery's body went cold in an instant. She wondered inwardly. How painful is it to suffer from
depression? How much it tortures someone? I didn't even suffer from depression when Dad was
diagnosed with liver cancer all those years ago. What exactly has Aunt Alina been through?
Alina put the watch back onto her wrist. Her fingers caressed the band as she said without lifting her
head. “I'm here to entrust something to you. I don't have any young relative other than you in the
Rumpley family.”
Avery asked instinctively, “What is it?”
After all, Alina was her elder. If what she wanted to entrust to Avery wasn't evil, Avery could agree to
anything.
Alina continued, “I have some money for your grandpa. I'm sure you are aware that your grandpa is
old. We don't know when illness will strike him. Your financial status is unstable. But wait, before you
misread my words, I'm not looking down at you.” She was afraid that Avery, who she had only seen
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
after Avery turned into an adult, would overthink the situation after listening to her words.
Avery nodded. She knew that Alina wasn't malicious with her words.
With that, Alina added, “It's quite a big amount of money. I'm going to transfer it to your account. Since
you live in Ackleton with your grandpa, it is easier to take care of him. Plus, you no longer have to
worry about money.”
“You are not staying in Ackleton?” Avery asked in confusion.
Alina pondered for a moment before deciding to tell Avery the whole story. She knew if she didn't do so,
her niece wouldn't be convinced by her.
Avery stood at the entrance of the yard after sending Alina off. She stared at the disappearing white
sports car as her mind wandered around. Aunt Alina said she wouldn't leave and would stay in
Ackleton. But, she has her reasons and she wouldn't visit Grandpa.
Unable to come up with advice and a solution for the desperate Alina, Avery could only feel sorry for
her aunt so she expressed her empathy and comforted the latter.
Avery realized that the yard was empty after her conversation with Alina.
The mission for their work trip today was to head to a river in a small town to survey the topography of
the area. With a laptop in hand, Avery wanted to call a bike taxi to send her to the river, for she was
familiar with the place. However, when she turned the corner of the yard, Avery saw a car parked on
the road.
Xavier rolled down the window on the driver's seat while Avery quickly ran over apologetically. Oh,
dear! He must have been waiting for me here. Why did I delay the team's work again?”
After getting into the car, Rory immediately stuck to Avery's side like gum before she started humming
a song.
Zachary, who was reading a book on the side, suddenly lifted his head and looked at Rory. “Ms. Ery will
think you're annoying if you keep pestering her.”
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