Single Mom's Sweet Husband (Charlotte)

Chapter 439

Olive shook her head as she spoke, "They didn't bully me. I’m not here because of them. I just heard that the workers wanted to take me back, and that they were going to negotiate the terms with you. I honestly don't know why I've turned into a bargaining chip for them to use. I didn't know who to talk to, so I came out here to clear my head."

Charlotte rubbed her temples and cast Avery a glare.

Avery smiled awkwardly and coughed. "Well, I'll make sure to take my surroundings into account whenever I make phone calls in the future...”

He walked up to Olive and squatted next to her. "Olive, why didn't you just come to me with your worries? You can’ t possibly keep everything bottled up inside. I know you' re sensible, but I don't want you to think that you can't talk to me about things, alright?”

"I'm sorry." Olive lowered her head.

It was not that she didn't want to talk to Avery. She just couldn't gather up enough courage to do so. She was afraid that the workers on the phone would continue to pester him, and thought that he might send her back to them out of annoyance.

Avery sighed and said, "Alright, don't overthink it. Come back with me and let's talk about this."

"Okay." Olive nodded obediently.

Avery led Olive back to the villa.

Charlotte and Irena trailed behind them.

After a short while, Irena suddenly asked, "Are you and Avery close?”

"We’ re alright," Charlotte replied. "If you want to know more about him, I can gather some of his information and send the file to you later.”

"I don't want to make him feel like I' m investigating him. All these years, I've done nothing but let him down. In the past..." Irena trailed off with a smile and shook her head. "Speaking of which, I forgot to thank you. If it were up to just me and Avery, we wouldn't be able to deal with the Stevens Family by ourselves."

"Have you spoken to Rick yet?”

Irena nodded. "I know he has Kendall with him. When I first heard her name, I already made the connection. What's more, she looks so much like her brother."

"Irena, there’s something I don't quite understand."

"What is it?" "After so many years abroad, did you not want to return to the country? Didn't you miss Avery at all? Why did you come back so much later? Your family missed you very much, you know?"

Irena tilted her head and looked up at the blue sky. She muttered to herself, "But I've already had a change of heart, why would I come back? All I want is to remain in the shadows and erase all traces of the old Irena. I feel indebted to Avery, that's all there is. If the both of us stayed together, it would just be painful."

"Did you fall in love with Nathan?"

Irena shook her head and said, "No, I haven't. To be honest, if you’ re up to speed with the international news, you will know that Nathan has a younger brother. Although he's a genius, he's certifiably insane. He used to lock himself in a room for an entire day, and he has proclaimed that my existence is his only ray of sunshine."

"Does he like you?"

"He does. But because he works for the government, he can't get married to me. If he marries me, I will be investigated by the country. If they do that, I won't be able to hide my identity anymore. What's more, the wound on my face is too horrifying to look at so I can't show myself in public. And because Nathan didn't have anyone else to marry, he settled for me instead so that I can take care of his younger brother and Freddie."

"Then...

"A few months ago, Nathan's younger brother died on a mission for the country. Freddie thought that it would be best if I explained the situation to Avery and made amends, so he brought me here. I have no way of refusing both Nathan and Seven after all. If I leave them, I will have nothing to live for." Irena smiled bitterly.

"I understand." Charlotte nodded thoughtfully and remarked, "Poor Avery."

"I know I've wronged him..." Irena sighed.

Charlotte didn't reply after that.

Avery was indeed pitiful, but Irena's actions were not the main problem. She had become a 'walking corpse' due to Avery's relationship with Caleb. In this situation, it was already very difficult for her to stay alive, not to mention fall in love with someone. For her, her main priority is to live a meaningful life.

Once the four of them returned to the villa, Avery took the child to his room upstairs.

Irena sat on the sofa alone and decided that she would have a good talk with Avery after he was done with Olive. When they had been by the sea last time, they were in a hurry, so she didn't have time to explain the situation to him clearly.

"Mom," Freddie called out and sat beside her. "I've asked around and found out that Avery hasn't taken to any other women these few years. Charlotte's the only one he seems to be close to." Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.

"I know. I've also asked around..."

"So you understand that it's better for you to return to his side, right? You should stop trailing after me and my father all the time. I really don't think you' re suited to be part of our family," Freddie stated mercilessly.

"Freddie, Avery deserves so much better than ___ n me...

"Do you really think someone like Avery, who has not given up on you after so many years, will find happiness with anyone else? Mom, although I am just a child, you can't possibly lie to me like this."

Irena was rendered speechless all of a sudden.

Freddie had a point.

This was an extremely interesting paradox.

If she thought that Avery could acquire more happiness with someone else, then she would have to falsely admit to herself that Avery wouldn’t be happy with her. But she knew better than anyone that even if she wanted nothing to do with him and merely hung around, Avery would be content with just that, because he still loved her.

Freddie patted Irena on the shoulder and advised, "No matter who you end up with, I'm still going to regard you as my mother. I just hope you can try to reclaim your happiness instead of living in the shadows for the rest of your life."

"Thank you, Freddie."

"Don't worry. As long as you have a proper chat with Avery about everything, my father and I will definitely give you our blessings."

Irena could not help but laugh.

As the two chatted, Charlotte made her way downstairs and called out to them, "Freddie, Irena, do you two want to go out for a meal together? Shane wants to eat out today, do you guys want to come along?"

"Yes." Freddie immediately accepted the invitation.

If Charlotte and Shane went out to eat, they would definitely bring Sheryl along with them.

And wherever Sheryl went, Freddie would follow.

"Alright then. How about you, Irena?"

"I'll come as well. After all, I need to keep an eye on Freddie."

Charlotte nodded and took out her phone to inform everyone else. After a short while, Sheryl and Shane made their way downstairs, Avery followed behind.

Irena did not expect to see Avery at that moment, so she didn't know what to do.

Unexpectedly, Avery didn't even look at her. He walked straight towards Charlotte and said, "Olive cried a bit just now and is sleeping upstairs. I wanted to tell you about this matter a few days later, but it seems like we'll have to settle this now."

"You should have told me when you first got the news."

"I'm sorry." Avery sighed and continued, "They threatened me. Now that Shane is in such a state, and with how busy you are with official business...

I didn't want to burden you with this. I didn't expect Olive to hear me."

"Avery, are we friends or not?" Charlotte shook her head, not knowing what else to say.

Avery also felt immensely upset with the situation.

He had originally wanted to help lessen Charlotte’ s burden, but in the end, he had dragged her into this mess. Moreover, he even wasted her time today searching for Olive. D*mn, why did everything go wrong like this?

"I'm hungry."

At this time, Shane interrupted the two of them.

"I'm hungry too. Sheryl, what about you?" Freddie added.

Sheryl nodded, looking a little confused. She didn’t understand why they felt the need to proclaim their hunger.

"We should get going then." Freddie grabbed Avery’ s arm with his left hand and Irena's with his right and added, "Let's go eat now. I'm so hungry."

Once Charlotte saw that the three of them had already walked out of the door, she helplessly shook her head and muttered, "That child has both the shrewdness of an adult and the innocence of a child. I wonder what nationwide disasters he'll cause once he grows older.”

The main reason why Charlotte thought Freddie might wreak havoc in the future was because of his innocent appearance.

It was too deceiving for its own good.