The waiter continued serving the food, then backed off.
The restaurant was designed with private space in mind, and there was a kind of artistic vibe to its layout as well. Silvia didn't intend for all of her customers to be from the upper class. Whether she welcomed a customer in or not depended on her mood and impression of them.
Those who dined there were either regulars or people whose character satisfied the owner and chef. No matter how much money one had to offer, if their attitude wasn't up to par and they were of low merit, they wouldn't be able to experience the chef's special cooking skills.
Naturally, considering Silvia's strict standards, it was no surprise that she had offended a few big shots. They were mostly rich kids who wanted to try some good food but had terrible personalities.
Nonetheless, the reason why Silvia had no qualms about offending people was that her husband and son were powerful figures.
Avery only took a few bites before turning to feed Rory, who was clinging to her. Even if Rory were to throw a tantrum and adamantly refuse to eat any of the food that had been served, insisting on going home and eating her home-cooked food, Avery might actually give in to her requests, leaving the silent Cayden and Zachary behind.
While Rory chewed on the food, she stared at Avery with her eyes wide open and mumbled, “Ms. Ery, try this. It's sweet!”
Avery grinned while she used her slender fingers to wipe the sauce on Rory's mouth away.
Right then, Silvia came back upstairs.
Cayden seemed to be surprised as well. Logically speaking, it wasn't very appropriate for an outsider to disturb them for no reason when they were having a meal together.
Silvia let out a dry cough as she was clearly aware that it was rather impolite of her to show up out of the blue. Moreover, she wasn't the type to take advantage of her seniority to do whatever she wanted, nor was it how she typically liked to handle things.
However, she could no longer hold back when she thought of Claire's younger self and Avery's appearance.
Despite that, she grabbed a chair and sat down calmly. While gazing at Avery, Silvia asked, “How is it? Is the food here good?”
“It's wonderful. You definitely live up to your name,” Avery replied.
Cayden had given her a brief overview of the private kitchen before. It was incredibly difficult for regular people to get a taste of the food there.
Silvia nodded in satisfaction. A moment later, she directly asked the question she had been most curious about, “There's something I want to know, Ery. How old are you?”
“I'm turning twenty-four this year.” Even though she was clueless as to why Silvia asked that question, Avery still gave an honest answer.
There was no reason for her to hide her age, after all.
“Twenty-four, huh...” Silvia murmured. Then, she seemed to be in a daze.
From what she remembered, Claire and William had their first child twenty-four years ago. She contemplated for a while as it had been too long, and Silvia couldn't be sure.
In any case, that child didn't end up surviving.
That was something that caused Claire and William great sorrow. Even as Claire's schoolmate and good friend, Silvia never dared to ask about the child even after so many years.
The two of them didn't have any children after that.
William had been born into a powerful family. Since they were no ordinary people, it was impossible for the elders in the family to accept the fact that their daughter-in-law was unable to bear children.
Silvia had no idea how the family ended up dealing with the situation. She only heard that William personally told his parents and grandparents that he was infertile and that their inability to have children had nothing to do with Claire.
Since Silvia had known Claire since they were in elementary school, she also knew when the latter got pregnant. In fact, she was the one who had gone to the hospital with Claire to confirm the pregnancy.
When William found out that Claire, his fiancée, was pregnant, he immediately got started on the wedding preparations out of excitement. He ignored the wedding date that his grandparents had suggested and instead chose a closer one.
After their marriage, Claire and William went overseas.
All of a sudden, their child, which had been perfectly healthy, was suddenly gone. Naturally, nobody dared to ask about what had happened to the baby, whether it died before or after the delivery.
Throughout the following years, Claire didn't get pregnant again.
In the present, when Silvia saw Avery's familiar-looking face, she couldn't help but wonder if someone had abducted the child all those years ago.
Could Avery be Claire's daughter? she wondered.
While she was in the kitchen downstairs, Silvia couldn't accept that it was a simple coincidence no matter how she thought about it. Suddenly, she recalled a headline that she had seen on the news a few days ago. A boy discovered that he was an avid lover of spicy food, even though his parents had never been able to handle spice. For some reason, he then decided to take a DNA test for fear that he wasn't their biological son. The moment he did, he found out that he was actually adopted.
As such, she believed that nothing was impossible. Silvia felt that she wouldn't be able to get any sleep that night if she didn't go upstairs and ask.
After all, Claire was her best friend. Silvia couldn't bear to see her without any children for the rest of her life. If Silvia somehow managed to find her biological daughter, Claire's life would be complete.
Cayden watched their interaction for a moment before he piped up, “Mdm. Wright?”
“Yes?” Silvia finally snapped back to reality. After a while, she smiled and said, “Cayden, I'm sure you're well aware of your mother's temperament. She's impressive but a picky woman. Even if Ery were to give birth to two children, your mother still might not accept her.”
Cayden, Avery, and even their children were well aware of the kind of person that Allie was.
Even so, Allie had never posed a threat to their relationship.
Cayden didn't care what anyone else had to say. Nothing could change the fact that he only wanted her, other than Avery's own desires.
Silvia once again glanced at Avery. “Don't worry about it, Ery. I'm not criticizing you. I'm just saying that Allie isn't someone you can afford to provoke. I genuinely just think that you're a wonderful person, which is why I'm worried that Allie might not welcome you. Let me ask you one more question. What are your parents' jobs?”
That was the question Silvia had truly wanted to ask in the first place.
Despite that, she didn't want to make herself seem like a busybody. She decided to go on that tangent first so that her question wouldn't seem too abrupt.
At that moment, Silvia was expecting Avery to say that she was an orphan without any parents. If that was the case, it was likely that she was Claire's daughter. Even if the chances were minuscule, there was still hope for Silvia to find Claire's daughter.
Hearing that, Avery looked up at Cayden. He didn't want to make things difficult for her, so he was about to give a dismissive reply in her stead. Right then, Avery was expressionless as she stated, “My father is just a regular office worker. I've never met my mother before.”
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