Kabanata 333

Kabanata 333 Inaayos ni Shea ang kanyang mesa sa tulong ni Mrs. Cooper.

Ang Adam’s apple ni Elliot ay gumulong sa kanyang lalamunan habang nanaig sa kanya ang guilt.

Sa tuwing sasabihin sa kanya ni Shea na nahihilo siya nitong mga nakaraang araw, sinasabihan siya nito na magpahinga pa.

Hindi niya akalain na mga pampatulog ang dahilan ng kanyang discomfort.

Kung hindi siya dinala ni Avery sa ospital para sa checkup, sino ang nakakaalam kung gaano katagal niya ipagpatuloy ang pag-inom ng mga tabletas.

Nadama ni Elliot ang pasasalamat kay Avery, ngunit hindi niya alam kung paano ipahayag ang kanyang pasasalamat.

Kinabukasan, unang dumating si Mrs. Cooper sa bahay ni Avery sa umaga.

Nagulat si Avery, at mabilis na inimbitahan si Mrs. Cooper sa kanyang tahanan.

“Paumanhin sa pagpapakita ko nang walang pasabi, Avery,” sabi ni Mrs. Cooper habang inaabot niya ang dalawang pagkain sa iyo.”

“Salamat! Bakit ang aga mong dumating?” Sabi ni Avery habang nagsasalin ng isang basong tubig para sa kanyang bisita.

“To be honest, Master Elliot was the one who asked me to come by and thank you,” Mrs. Cooper said warily. “It was a good thing you took Shea to the hospital yesterday. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know what could have happened.”

The smile on Avery’s face vanished.

“You have no idea how scary things were, Avery,” Mrs. Cooper said as fear lingered inside of her. “Zoe said she had instructed Mrs. Scarlet to only give Shea the pills for three days, but Mrs. Scarlet said Zoe never mentioned any of that to her. Mrs. Scarlet was in tears when she confided in me last night… I’d much rather trust her. After all, she’s been taking care of Shea for over twenty years. She would never hurt her.”

Avery picked up on a key point and asked, “Mrs. Scarlet’s taken care of Shea for twenty years? Does that mean Shea’s been with the Fosters for twenty years?”

“I think so! All Mrs. Scarlet ever told me was that Shea was a poor little thing. She never revealed anything else to me.”

Avery recalled how Elliot had kept his lips tightly sealed whenever she used to ask him about Shea.

“I didn’t expect Zoe to be such a scheming woman.” Mrs. Cooper suddenly let out a sigh, then said, “Master Elliot’s about to be engaged to her. I’m afraid she’s not a good person.”

“He’s not worried, so you shouldn’t be either,” Avery comforted her.

“I’m sorry, Avery. I shouldn’t talk to you about these things. I’m sure you’ll find a much better man in the future,” Mrs. Cooper said. Then, she rose from her seat and said, “Give me a call if you finish the pickles and want more. I’ll send more over.”

“Okay. Thank you,” Avery said, then sent Mrs. Cooper on her way.

She wanted to pretend as if she was too busy to care about the news of Elliot’s engagement.

However, she spent the entire time tossing and turning in bed the night before.

In the end, she went on social media and searched for some key words.

She accidentally came across Zoe’s social media page.

Zoe had uploaded several new posts in the past few days. She showed off photos of high-end wedding gowns, expensive diamond rings, and… photos of her pregnant belly.

Every single photo was accompanied by captions of pure bliss.

Apart from Zoe’s social media page, Avery also came across a bunch of related images.

For example, there were photos of Žoe and Elliot that people took when they bumped into them while shopping.

S Avery opened up the photos and saw Zoe clinging onto Elliot’s arm. They looked as close as a couple on a shopping spree.

Ilan din sa kanilang mga kaibigan ang nag-post ng mga larawan ng mga imbitasyon na kanilang natanggap para sa kanilang engagement party.

Nag-click si Avery sa imbitasyon.

Magkatabi ang mga pangalan nina Elliot at Zoe, at personal nilang nilagdaan ang mga imbitasyon.

Isang kakaibang pakiramdam ng pagkabigo ang bumalot kay Avery! Ito ay dahil hindi siya nakatanggap ng imbitasyon sa kanilang engagement party.