Avery saved a lot of people in the past and helping Eric did not mean much to her. Eric, however, saw Avery as his savior. In the yard, Layla had said goodbye to Eric, and he was about to leave when Avery came over and invited him inside. "Eric, since you are already here, why don't you come inside?"Eric hesitated."My mom is inviting you in. Why are you still standing here?" Layla teased before opening the car door for him.Eric stepped out of his car and followed them into the mansion. Once they entered the living room, Layla pulled Ivy to the dining room and started digging into the barbeque ribs Ivy brought home.Ivy glanced into the living room. "Layla, aren't you worried that it would be awkward for them to be alone?" Ivy felt awkward when she tried to put herself in Eric's shoes."Eric is extremely scared of our parents, so he's probably dying from nerves right about now!" Layla giggled."Oh, you are doing this on purpose!""He is too timid. It's a good chance for him
"What are you talking about?" Avery walked over to Elliot."Nothing much," he said. "I need some time alone with Layla.""Oh, are you asking me to leave?" Avery asked sarcastically. "You want to talk to her about Eric, right? Did you really think I wouldn't know what you were thinking? You are trying to get me to leave as if I couldn't figure out what you guys were talking about."Hearing his pride shatter, Elliot blushed."Mom, show Dad some mercy!" Layla said calmly.Avery hummed and turned to look at Elliot, "Come to the bedroom once you are done talking to Layla. I need to talk to you as well."Elliot felt uneasy, sensing that he was about to be lectured by his wife.After Avery left, Layla suppressed her laughter as she looked at Elliot, "What were you trying to ask me, Dad?"Elliot took a sip of water to regain his composure before saying, "Eric has a girlfriend now, so I trust that you won't do anything out of line, will you? There are plenty of good men out there, and a
"Layla won't do such a thing!" Avery interrupted him. "We raised our daughter. Don't you know what kind of a person she is? Don't you trust her?""Of course, I trust her. I am just worried that Eric might put her under his spell.""Eric isn't that kind of a man.""Avery, do you know Eric that well? We didn't raise him, and we aren't even that familiar with what kind of a man he is.""How can you say that? He is our friend, and we ought to trust our friends. We only came to know Jun, Tammy, and Ben later in our lives, so why can we trust them but not Eric?""Don't get so worked up. I will be more careful next time I see him." Elliot did not wish to fight with Avery over this.It had been a while since they had a fight, and he was not used to having an argument."I'm not worked up. You are the one who is out of line here. If Eric really is the kind of man you think he is, do you really think that Layla would still be here? She would have taken off with Eric a long time ago," Avery
Lucas' face appeared in Ivy's mind.She knew that she might be in love with Lucas, or she would not have gone all the way to Edelweiss just to see his university. She had felt happy despite not being able to see him. "Layla... I..." Ivy did not want to tell Layla about Lucas as she knew that the chances of her meeting Lucas again were slim."Why are you blushing? Are you shy? You haven't found anyone you like, or are you too shy to tell me about the guy you like?" Layla studied the look on Ivy's face. "It's fine. You will find someone even better. I'm sure there are plenty of brilliant boys in your university."Ivy nodded. "I guess, but I don't know them, nor do I want to get to know them. I just want to focus on my studies.""Do you like studying that much?"Ivy nodded again. "I like what I'm studying, and since I fall short in a lot of aspects, I want to be better.""You are so ambitious! I could never be like you." Layla realized that she had never been so dedicated to anyth
"Alright. There's no point in feeling embarrassed. Go find Nadia Raven if that’s what you want! It's not that big of a deal," Mike said. "Eric doesn’t know you are here, does he?""I don't have the obligation to share my schedule with him." Layla cut into her steak. "Do you know where Nadia works?""I can find out from the internet. Should I come with you?" Mike started looking Nadia up on his phone."It's fine. I will get there myself.""Fine. Rest well and go find her tomorrow!" Mike studied her face and teased, "You look like a mess after the long flight.""I want to get this out of the way soon so I can go home. My parents are going to be disappointed if they find out why I'm here.""They won't exactly be disappointed; more like, worried!" Mike cut a small piece of steak and placed it into his mouth. "Your dad doesn't like Eric, just like how he disliked me in the past. He would probably be treating me the same way he is treating Eric had I not started dating Chad. He holds a
"What did Eric say when you asked him about it?" Nadia asked."He told me to not worry about it." Layla got the feeling that Eric had refused to answer her question because he had not wanted to lie."Oh. So what do you think of... me and him?" Nadia wanted to hear Layla's view on the matter and knew that Layla had probably come all this way because she already knew what had happened."I don't think you two are actually dating. If you were actually dating, he would have told me about it a long time ago. Ms. Raven, I asked if he had a girlfriend before asking him out, and I only did so after he told me that he was single," Layla explained."I see... That's rather suspicious of him!" Nadia chuckled."What do you mean by that, Ms. Raven?" Confused, Layla asked, "Are you admitting that you're not really dating? Did he ask you to play the role of his girlfriend?""Layla, what will you do once I confirm your theory?" Nadia asked curiously. "I doubt your parents will accept Eric, and, if
But Layla's heart had already flown back to Aryadelle."I will come and stay for a few more days next time. I came here behind everyone's backs this time, and, since I've gotten what I wanted, I should hurry back," Layla said gleefully, not feeling tired at all because she had received a satisfying answer from Nadia.Nadia informed Eric about her conversation with Layla as soon as Layla left, and Eric felt incredibly troubled by Layla's recklessness. He also wondered what she might do now that she knew the truth.He stared at his phone and breathed heavily while thinking to himself, 'Layla hasn't reached out to me yet. Is she planning to look for me once she gets back? She's in Bridgedale now, so there's no point in me getting all worked up over it. I guess I'll have to wait until she gets back.'...By the time Layla arrived home, it was night. She felt exhausted from the total of twenty hours she had spent flying, so she looked horrible.Avery immediately stopped Layla in her p
"Dad," Ivy called out."What else did Layla say?"Ivy shook her head."She didn't tell you what she plans on doing?" Elliot had a feeling that Layla would neglect everything for Eric's sake."Ivy said she didn't hear anything else. Why are you still asking?" Avery glared at him before turning her attention back to Ivy. "We will talk to Layla once she wakes up, and, no matter what happens, we will resolve this peacefully."Ivy nodded, and Avery pulled Elliot back into their bedroom.Since Layla was asleep, they would all need to wait until she woke up to speak to her.Inside the master bedroom, Elliot paced back and forth."Alright, stop walking around. I feel dizzy just looking at you." Avery took out her pyjamas from the closet and said, "Why don't you go to the gym? You won't be able to sleep tonight if you don't exercise."Avery knew Elliot like the back of her hand; the matter had not been resolved, and none of them knew what Layla might say when she woke up, so Elliot was