Holding her fork in hand, Avery cast an apologetic look at Cayden, who was sitting across from her.
He probably hates Zayne to the core, but now, Grandpa keeps calling him Zayne. I feel sorry for him since he can only accept it without saying anything.
“You should eat more too, Grandpa!” Cayden didn't reveal his identity but attentively urged Blake to eat first.
After he had taken some food for the older man, he took two pieces of spare ribs for Avery.
“Thank you.” Avery took a few strands of pasta with her fork. Not daring to look up and meet his eyes, she took a bite of pasta before eating the spare ribs he gave her.
Only then did she notice that all the spare ribs he took for her and her grandfather were the best cuts.
It was the kind where the meat would easily detach with a single bite.
Conversely, he was eating the substandard cuts.
The town wasn't rich, so spare ribs were also sold together with other cuts.
Avery took a piece of the better cuts and placed it on his plate. “Here, have some as well. Don't just serve me and Grandpa.”
“I'm not hungry yet.”
Cayden resolutely placed the spare rib back onto her plate.
Clocking their interaction, Blake felt very much gratified.
He had lived for more than seventy years and had seen too many people of various characters. Hence, he could tell whether the man was genuine or acting.
“I was the one who raised Ery single-handedly, and our life was harsh. She hadn't had much to eat when young, and all she had to wear were other children's old clothes. When she was young, her father went out to work and couldn't stay with her, while her mother never came back to visit her after she was born. She didn't have it easy, but she was exceedingly sensible. Verily, I feel guilty whenever I recall the past.”
Blake's words were heartfelt, and he appeared to be lost in the past, for his eyes shimmered with tears.
“Grandpa, the granddaughter you raised single-handedly is far more sensible than those from affluent families, so you don't have to feel guilty,” Cayden comforted him even as he looked at Avery.
“Let's eat and not talk about the past anymore. I'm fine now, no?” Avery understood her grandfather's guilt, but that wasn't his fault. Nor was her father to be blamed. Instead, it was all on the woman who gave birth to her but abandoned her in the next second.
Subsequently, Blake scrutinized Cayden. “At first, when I saw your clothes and the car outside, I was really worried that you weren't sincere toward Ery but were merely toying with her. From the look of things now, I was too shallow and misunderstood you.”
At that, Cayden reassured him by countering, “You've got it the other way round, Grandpa. I came to visit you this time to trouble you to coax Ery. I'm worried that she'll jilt me if I'm lacking in some aspect or other.”
Upon hearing that, Blake immediately declared solemnly, “If she dares to jilt you and cast you aside, I'll go to the city and break her leg!”
Avery was rendered speechless.
After bustling around for the entire day, Avery sent Cayden to the inn in town when night fell.
On the way there, she wanted to remind him that the facilities at the inn were limited. However, upon remembering that he once stayed in a town for a whole year, she closed her mouth and said nothing.
The black Land Rover was still parked in front of the house as the two of them headed over on foot.
Walking on his left, she lifted her head and eyed him, murmuring, “I'm sorry for allowing my grandfather to address you as Zayne. If I were to clarify that you aren't Zayne, he'd definitely ask countless questions out of worry. Even after explaining everything to him, he'd still fret and lose sleep over it.”
“It's okay. I don't mind as long as the future grandson-in-law he sees is me.” Cayden stared at Avery with his ebony eyes that brimmed with intense possessiveness.
A shop ahead was still open for business.
Avery went in and asked the proprietress, “Do you sell chargers?”
Seeing that the two of them were strangers and reckoning that they were from the city based on their clothes, the proprietress replied hesitantly, “Let me have a look at the phone.”
Avery was using an iPhone, so her charger wasn't compatible with Cayden's phone.
Cayden took out his phone and handed it to the proprietress for a look.
The proprietress didn't dare take it, merely taking a look from afar before shaking her head. “A small place like this only sells phone chargers for HP and Purism. I've never even seen your phone.”
“It's okay. Thank you.” Avery had no other choice but to leave with Cayden.
They asked a few shops in town, but the answer remained the same.
Avery knew that Cayden only forgot to bring his phone charger because he was in a hurry to drive over. Ugh! I'm to blame for this! I was frantic to see Grandpa, so I failed to tell him about everything clearly, making him worry.
“What should we do now? How about this? You drive back tonight. It's just a two-hour drive anyway.” She hoped that he would do that.
A man was career-minded, attaching great importance to his business. Furthermore, Cayden was responsible for managing a huge company, but his phone had died then, and no one could contact him.
Cayden pursed his lips silently, obstinacy written all over his face.
Nothing will go wrong at the office since there's still Xavier to handle things. Otherwise, what's the use of me paying a king's ransom to employ a group of people to manage the company?
“Nothing is more important than you.” His voice was deep and bewitching.
Fortunately, it was night, so the darkness concealed the blush on her cheeks. “Let's go. I'll walk you to the inn first.”
“What about you? Where are you staying?” Cayden queried.
By then, Avery had already reached the inn entrance.
“A room, please, sir. Preferably, one with a better environment.” She took out some cash and asked the man behind her for his ID card. All the while, she prayed that there would be a good room for him.
As the inn owner checked the room availability, he looked up and glanced at Cayden.
The man's ID card indicated that he was from Ackleton, and he appeared tall and imposing as he stood there, his features sharp and chiseled. At once, it felt as though someone of high standing was gracing the plain inn with his presence, lighting up the entire place.
“All done. It's the room at the end.” The inn owner offered them the best room.
Taking his ID card and room key with one hand, Cayden grasped Avery's arm with the other.
When they arrived at the room door, he used the key to open the door and brought her in.
After sweeping his gaze around the room, he pinned her against the wall as in the movies. Gazing down at her, he murmured, “The environment here isn't all that great. How about I stay at your grandfather's house with you?”
Avery glanced around the room, but no matter how bad the inn's environment was, it was a hundred times better than her grandfather's old house.
“That won't work. There aren't enough rooms in Grandpa's house. Mmph!”
She had just started speaking with a shake of her head when the man captured her lips with his scorching ones.
Cayden wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her domineeringly, forcing her mouth open with his tongue. After kissing her for a while, he scooped her up and placed her on the bed while breathing rapidly.
“Mmph! Stop...” Avery looked up at the man above her with her eyes opened wide, her hands pushing against his broad and muscular chest.
Alas, the man in suit and leather shoes pinned her down and came down on her like a beast.
At that precise moment, a woman's voice that had Avery freezing drifted over from the adjacent room.
“Hey... When did you... come in... Ahh... Are you not afraid that your wife... Uhh... will come looking for you...”
It was none other than Henrietta's voice!
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