The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 144

She rolled her eyes and was about to berate Shirley for showing up, but her mind instantly rushed back to the day Angel went missing. Shirley had been a suspect back then and now that she was back...

"Angel," She hissed in panic.

"Julie would call if anything were to go wrong."

She didn’t hear a word he was saying and grabbed her phone frantically to find Julie’s number. She sat up as she made the call and when Julie answered on the second ring, she let out the breath she was holding in relief.

"Hey, Vivi. Are you enjoying your date?"

She smiled. She and Julie had become fast friends and were now using nicknames on each other. "I did. It’s over now."

"So soon?" Julie asked in surprise. "You can take the whole night to yourself, you know. It’s not every day you have time off from mothering. You should enjoy your free time when you have the chance."

She nodded. Julie sounded calm enough, so everything must be alright. "How are the kids? Can I video call?"

"Sure."

She tapped the button to request a video call and Julie immediately accepted it as she walked down the stairs to find the children. A few minutes later, she held the phone for Avery to see the little friends, playing with what looked like slime and kneading it in their little hands. Aubrey had colorful specs in her hair and slime on her cheeks. She was quite a mess compared to Angel, whose play area was spotless.

"Hi, baby." Avery called out gently.

Angel looked up and his eyes lit up. "Mommy?"

Aubrey looked up too, and she was excited. "Aunt Avery, Angel is sleeping over tonight."

While it sounded like she was telling her the reason why she was happy, Avery knew better than that. The little girl was warning her against trying to take her friend away after promising they could have a sleepover.

"I know, sweetheart." She chuckled. "I called to say goodnight."

"We are not very sleepy yet." She protested.

Avery smiled in understanding. "Do you want me to read you a bedtime story?"

They both nodded.

It would be their bedtime soon, so Julie helped them clean up and change into their pajamas. She chuckled to Avery when Angel insisted on wearing his own clothes, in fear that Aubrey would think he didn’t know how to dress himself up.

When they were done, Julie put them in Aubrey’s bed and sat beside them, holding them as Avery and Damon took turns reading them a story. Finally, Angel sleepily found his stuffed tiger and pushed it into Aubrey’s arms so she would hug it to sleep. He then wrapped a protective arm around Aubrey and closed his eyes.

Julie’s heart melted. "I no longer have to worry about my daughter not having someone to take care of her when I’m gone. Angel is so protective of her."

Avery was too lost in the kids’ little world to immediately realize what Julie had just said. When she did, she frowned.

"Don’t say things like that. It’s amazing that Aubrey has Angel to take care of her but you are there for her too. I have a feeling Angel will always want to protect her but so will you, right?" She chided.

Julie’s smile faded as she quietly left the children. "Avery, not everything is black or white."

"What does that even mean?"

"I should go to sleep too. My husband will not be very happy if I’m away for long." She winked, made a joke about her keeping Damon happy as well and ended the call.

Staring at her phone for a while, Avery set it aside and glanced up at Damon. "What does she even mean?"

"That sounded like a joke about the future to me." Damon scratched his chin in thought. "Maybe she is shipping the two."

Avery doubted that. Although Gabriel and Mina had constantly joked about Aubrey being her future daughter-in-law, she knew that was the last thing Julie wanted to hear. If there was anything they had in common, it was the fact that they were caught in between wanting their kids to be babies forever and wanting them to grow up and see what life had in store for them.

She knew Julie meant it when she insinuated that She would not be in Aubrey’s life forever. Why she was so certain of that was a mystery, but they had other urgent matters to think about right now.

"So, Shirley did not try to invade Julie’s house to kidnap Angel or anything, but for how long can that be true?" Avery asked, feeling it would only be a matter of time before the woman changed her mind about keeping things peaceful. "Or who knows? Maybe it just wasn’t the right time and she might try again when she feels the timing is perfect."

Damon paced. "I don’t think she will try to go for Angel. Even if she does, she will not be able to." He assured her.

"Why are you so certain of that?"

"After what happened last time, wouldn’t I be an idiot if I didn’t put in place ways to make sure nothing ever happened to our son?" He stopped pacing but he was not any less distressed.

"Maybe I should call Chloe and ask what it seemed like Shirley wanted." He suggested, only to be stopped by Avery.

"She was going out with Mabella tonight." She informed him, then her cheeks flushed when she caught the shock on his face. He didn’t know.

"I didn’t mean to be the one to push her out of the closet. I thought..."

"No. Mabella has been out since eight grade." He chuckled. "I just didn’t think she would fall for a woman as wild as Chloe. But now that I think about it, they might just be the best match possible. One of them a wild and carefree firecracker, the other a bossy workaholic."

She rolled her eyes as she crept up behind him and snuck her arms around his torso. "We are both bossy CEOs. What does that say about us?"

"That we are a match made in heaven." He held her hands and turned around to embrace her. "Do you think two workaholics ever make it down the aisle?" Even if they do, it doesn’t often last—not when they both prioritize their work over everything else. But for us, it is different. We are each other’s priority."

She tiptoed and kissed him softly. "Let’s not get carried away here. Though I have to admit, it was nice to not think about Shirley for a moment. But we have to."

"Right."

Damon pulled her over to sit on the couch in the room and helped her out of her shoes as he spoke.

"Are you sure you want to talk about Shirley?"

She shrugged. "We were not together when you dated her. I don’t really care about her anymore." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He nodded, so she asked, "You said she was not with you because she liked you. Why was she with you?"

"She was a swindler." He reminded her.

"Do you think she is back for the same reason, to try to swindle you?"

It was the biggest possibility, but she had a feeling it was more than that. Why would she appear before Mabella and Chloe if her aim was him?

"Do you still have her contact details?" She asked.

"I’m not calling that woman, Vivi." He immediately rejected the idea before she could say it.

She was not surprised by his response. "That’s okay. I didn’t want you to talk to her anyway."

He was relieved but only momentarily. "What do you have in mind?"

"Dig dirt." She smirked.

He didn’t think it was going to be nearly as easy as she was making it sound but it was their best option. "I know a private investigator..."

"No. She will be wary of those. She probably has one of them on us, which is why she knew where to find Mabella." She interrupted. "We are going to investigate us ourselves, make her PI see us and let it all play out like a coincidence."

"Okay. But you are not coming. You are not going to do anything dangerous when you are..."

"Pregnant?" She cut him off. It only means there are two of us now. Not that I’m any less capable of swatting a fly."

He ran a hand through his hair. Of course it was not going to be easy to talk her into staying. He had not expected it to be an easy feat but she was more stubborn than ever, so he reluctantly agreed. "Fine. But if there is anything we both agree is in the slightest bit dangerous, you have to stay away from it. I will not argue with you about this."

"Okay." She pulled up her phone and did a quick search on social media, scrolling for ages before she finally smiled. "Just our luck. She posted about being invited to Le Perle’s anniversary tomorrow. Guess who else got an invitation?"

"You did?" He asked. She had not mentioned it.

She nodded. "I had Mina RSVP that I was not going but you know her. She will confirm my attendance and then show up at my house four hours before the start of the event and guilt trip me into going." For the first time, she was glad Mina never followed her instructions about her attendance in events.

"You and I are going to meet Shirley tomorrow. Let’s see what she has in mind."