Chapter 23
Howard knew that eventually, Clyde would find other women. Instead of letting some other woman win his heart, it would be better for Abigail to hold onto him.
Avery could secure her position as Mrs. Smith, and Abigail could keep Clyde’s heart. In the end, that would still benefit the Sinclair family, right?
As a businessman, he always viewed things through the lens of profit. To him, his daughters were merely tools for strategic alliances, nothing more. He couldn’t care less about their feelings.
Just after Joshua had finished applying cream to Avery’s injury, he noticed Clyde staring at her intently. A cold smile flashed in his mind. He turned to Avery and said in a voice laced with mockery, “Did you forget what you promised me?”
Avery froze. What had she promised him? She couldn’t remember.
“You said we’d register our marriage on your birthday. What, are you planning to back out?”
Avery was even more confused now. Had she really promised that? She didn’t remember it at
all.
However, sensing the cold edge in Joshua’s tone, she decided to play along for now. After all, getting him angry was hardly going to be beneficial for her.
She wrapped her arms around his, leaning in as if to coax him, “But I have a wound on my face. The photos would look awful. Can we wait until it heals?”
Joshua took the opportunity to pull her closer. He placed his arm around her waist in a protective gesture as a playful smile tugged at his lips. “I’ll listen to you, but…”
He paused for effect. “If you forget again next time, it won’t be so easy to get away with it.”
Avery felt as if she had stepped right into his trap. She looked up angrily and saw that his eyes were glinting with mischief.
Seeing her get riled up, he chuckled softly and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “If you want to drive them crazy, just play along with me.”
She immediately quieted down, no longer in the mood to argue.
On the bed, Abigail was watching them closely while clutching the blanket so tightly that it was about to rip. Why did Avery get all the luck?
She had Clyde’s child, and yet he was hesitating to give her the recognition she wanted.
But with Avery, it was different. After breaking off her engagement with Clyde, she didn’t end up disgraced as Abigail had hoped. Instead, she swiftly moved on to Joshua, who, without her asking, was already offering her the status she desired.
Abigail couldn’t help but feel that no matter how things turned out, she would always be one step behind Avery.
She had fought hard to win over Clyde, all in the hopes of taking what Avery had. But in the end, she was still no match for her.
She turned her gaze to Clyde, silently hoping he would step up and marry her so that she could at least have one moment to feel triumphant.
But Clyde was still staring intently at Avery, completely oblivious to the longing in her eyes.
Howard saw this, and his heart sank. Was Clyde truly going to back out of his responsibility to Abigail? He had promised to support her, but now, it seemed that had just been a tactic. It wasn’t genuine.
If Clyde refused to acknowledge the child, then the Smith family would never accept the child either. That would leave Abigail completely abandoned. She would be another one of Howard’s investments that saw no returns.
After a moment’s hesitation, Howard gritted his teeth and decided to fight for Abigail one last time. “Clyde, now that things are this way, you still need to give Abby an answer, don’t you?”
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