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As soon as the two children reached downstairs, they saw a luxury car parked right outside the house.
It's a black Land Rover! Daddy's back!
“We've missed you, Ms. Ery!” The children rushed out, and Rory was the first to hug Avery, who had
just gotten out of the car. When Rory threw herself at Avery, it almost caused the woman to lose
balance.
“I've missed you too!” uttered Avery after lowering herself to pinch Rory's soft cheeks.
Jeffrey could not help but rejoice to see such a heartwarming scene, convinced that Cayden had finally
sealed the deal. If the adults are happy with each other and the children welcome their future
stepmother, I don't see what could go wrong.
“You two, be good and give Ms. Ery some space.” Cayden stepped out of the car and glanced sternly
at his children.
Pouting, Rory lowered her head and muttered, “Daddy just wants Ms. Ery all to himself, but I remember
how he made her cry last time.”
Upon hearing that, Avery immediately turned bright red.
“So you're the one the children call Ms. Ery, huh? I've got to say. Cayden's a lucky man to have you.”
Jeffrey hurried over to flatter his future granddaughter-in-law.
With his straight back, the elderly man, who wore a pair of dark gray trousers and a plaid shirt with a
vest on top of it, looked gentlemanly and as fashionable as a model on a magazine cover.
Avery immediately stood up to greet the man respectfully, “It's a pleasure to meet you, Old Mr. Moore.
I'm Avery Rumpley.”
“The pleasure's mine. Please come inside. It pleases me to see how much the children like you.”
Jeffrey treated the woman as if she was already his granddaughter-in-law.
The housekeeper hurried over to help carry the gifts Avery had brought.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEven though they were not expensive, Jeffrey was happy with them. He thought Avery was down-to-
earth and not a hypocritical bootlicker.
After dealing with his mother, Kendrick came downstairs. “Hello, sister-in-law. I'm Kendrick, Cayden's
younger stepbrother. We share the same father.”
Avery quickly stood up once again when the man addressed her as his sister-in-law. She knew Cayden
had a stepbrother but not much else beyond that since the Moores was a complicated family.
After all, no one could really tell what was true about the family just by reading about them in
magazines.
“Hi there! I'm Avery Rumpley,” greeted Avery.
The family then sat down to talk with her.
Cayden had Avery sit beside him and made sure his grandfather, stepbrother, and children only asked
questions that were appropriate.
“How old are you, Ery?” inquired Jeffrey.
“Twenty-four.”
“Then Cayden's five years older than you. That's good. I just so happen to have an article that you
should read.” With that, Jeffrey took out a newspaper from the drawer of the coffee table and handed it
to Avery.
Kendrick thought that was deliberate of Jeffrey. We just got the new coffee table, so why would there
be a newspaper in its drawer? He probably had somebody put it there after learning that she is five
years younger than Cayden.
Avery took the newspaper and started reading.
According to the paper, a study showed that couples where the man was five years older than the
woman were less likely to have arguments and that their marriage would be happier and more stable.
“Where's Grandma?” asked Zachary suddenly with a frown.
The boy looked so serious that one could be forgiven for thinking that he cared more about Avery's visit
to their house than everyone else.
Cayden looked at Zachary and noticed that his son was dressed in a black suit and a bow tie. If the
man did not know any better, he would have thought that Zachary was a father waiting for his son to
introduce him to his daughter-in-law.
“You have so much product in your hair that your head's probably turned highly flammable. You used
up all my hair products, didn't you?” joked Kendrick while rubbing the back of his nephew's head.
However, Zachary did not appreciate the humor. Uncle Kendrick is embarrassing me in front of Ms. Ery!
Fortunately, Avery smiled at Zachary and gestured for him to come to her side, which immediately
mitigated his embarrassment.
Sitting next to Avery, Zachary turned to meet Cayden's cold stare, convinced that his father was just
jealous that he was younger.
Afraid Avery would misunderstand and think that the family had anything against her, Jeffrey quickly
explained, “Cayden's mother had an important event to attend today. This is my fault, really. I heard
that Cayden has a girlfriend, so I couldn't wait to meet you. I should've picked a better time to invite you
over. Anyhow, I'm sure she'll be back home soon.”
Avery had seen Allie before in magazines. The older woman would always be invited to parties
attended by socialites and celebrities.
Just when Avery was about to assure Jeffrey that she understood, she heard a car drive in.
“Grandma's back?” Rory leaped out of her great-grandfather's arms and went straight to the door to
welcome her grandmother.
After getting out of her car, Allie strutted into the house.
Avery quickly swallowed her words and rose with Cayden instead.
“Grandma, Ms. Ery is here,” informed Rory after taking Allie's handbag and slinging it over her petite
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmshoulder.
Allie was all smiles when she addressed the only stranger in her home. “Sorry for making you wait. I
didn't know you were coming.”
“It's fine; I just got here. Sorry for messing up your plans,” apologized Avery after accepting Allie's
warm hug.
“Take a seat, Mom.” Cayden did not want Avery to be exhausted from the unnecessarily long
formalities, so he quickly removed her from his mother's arms.
Jeffrey nodded in satisfaction when he saw that. If that's any indication of Cayden's love for his future
wife, he'll probably end up a henpecked husband.
“Ery, is it? I know that's what Rory keeps calling you. What's your last name?” inquired Allie, finally
seated.
“It's—” Before Avery could answer Allie, she noticed a middle-aged woman in a floral gown walking
down the stairs with a glass of red juice and an unfriendly expression.
“To hell with you and your hypocrisy, b*tch!” cursed Lily while moving her slightly overweight body to
pour her juice onto Allie's face. Then, she slammed the glass on the table before turning to her other
family members. “You were afraid I'd make a scene, so you had my son lock me in my room?”
Avery was so shocked that she jumped to her feet, wondering who the woman in the branded gown
was.
The housekeeper hurriedly grabbed a tissue to wipe off the juice on Allie's face without a word, while
Cayden remained seated as though his mother was not the one who got assaulted.
The children pursed their lips and stayed silent, seemingly used to situations like that.
“Listen to me, Mom. You should get back upstairs.” Kendrick tried to stop Lily from making things
worse, but his mother would not have it.
Lily, who reeked of alcohol, then turned around to smile at Avery. For some reason, there was a hint of
malice in that smile of hers.
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