Chapter 201 I Knew You Had Bad Intentions
"A sense of belonging?" Lisa looked all confused. "I thought you didn't have any family. Got yourself a boyfriend now?"
Evelyn gave a sly smile. "I just don't keep in touch much, but I do have family."
"A woman like Ms. Taylor? No way she's short on admirers," Jackson joked.
Lisa waved it off. "You don't get it. Evelyn's all about her career. If it wasn't for that Liam guy..."
She scrunched her face, trying to remember his full name, then gave up. "Anyway, if Liam hadn't chased you so hard, you'd probably still be single."
Lisa suddenly remembered Evelyn and Liam had split and quickly shut up.
In fact, Lisa didn't know much about Evelyn's life after that. If it weren't for this competition, she wouldn't have seen Evelyn again. She only recently caught up on Evelyn's story.
"It's cool," Evelyn said with a casual smile. "That's all ancient history."
"So, got a boyfriend now?" Lisa asked carefully.
Evelyn thought for a sec. "I guess you could say that!" She actually had a husband.
Thinking about that title made Evelyn chuckle to herself. She'd never called Samuel that. If she tried in front of him, she'd probably choke on the words.
"I never heard you mention him! You gotta introduce us!" Lisa was genuinely happy for Evelyn, thinking she had moved on.
"Mr. Taylor's boyfriend must be quite the catch," Jackson said with a smirk.
"Yeah," Evelyn nodded. Samuel was indeed top-notch, deserving all the praise.
Jackson was a bit taken aback by Evelyn's straightforwardness, giving her a curious look.
The meal was going great, but just as Evelyn was about to say goodbye, a ruckus broke out near the stairs.
"Let me in! Do you know who I am? How dare you stop me!" A woman's voice, kinda familiar. Before Evelyn could place it, the woman had already stormed up the stairs.
"Jackson, you can't keep me from seeing Ethan!" Avery yelled.
Avery had somehow found her way here. The staff downstairs were probably told to keep her out, but they couldn't stop her from barging in.
Hearing Avery's voice, Ethan instinctively shifted, but seeing Jackson next to him, he stayed put, sitting obediently.
"Ethan, mommy's here!" Avery shouted, not caring that they were in a public place.
"Mr. Parker, I'm so sorry. Avery, she..." a waiter rushed over, sweating and apologizing.
Jackson calmly wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Let her come up."
The waiter sighed in relief and quickly signaled Avery to come up.
Avery rushed over. She hesitated for a moment when she saw Evelyn and Lisa, then turned her gaze to Jackson. "Jackson, I heard you discharged Ethan from the hospital. Why didn't you call me? Do you know how worried I was?"
"Now that you see he's fine, you can leave," Jackson said, not even bothering to look up.
Avery, not getting anywhere with Jackson, turned to Ethan. "Ethan, I'm so glad you're okay! You have no idea how worried I was. It's all my fault you had to go through this! Are you feeling any discomfort? Do you want me to stay and take care of you? I want to make it up to you!"
She opened her arms to hug Ethan, but he dodged.
"No need for your care, just stay away from him!" Jackson snapped.
"Jackson, how can you do this? No matter what, I'm still Ethan's mother! You can't strip me of my rights!" Avery screamed.
Jackson sneered. "Really? Do you actually want to be a mother?"
"Of course!" Avery shot back without missing a beat.
Jackson nodded. "Alright, I'll give you that chance."
He continued, "From today onwards, Ethan will be yours. I'll petition the court to transfer custody to you. I'll make sure you get monthly child support and cover his education until he's of age. But don't expect another dime from me. How's that sound?"
Avery's face fell, while Ethan clutched Jackson's sleeve, looking down and pitiful.
Ethan stayed silent, but the argument between Jackson and Avery was all about him, making Evelyn's heart ache for the kid.
"Jackson, you can't do this to me!" Avery shrieked. "Ethan needs a complete family; you can't do this!"
"Am I the one responsible for this mess?" Jackson retorted with a cold laugh, exposing Avery. "Avery, don't think everyone is a fool. We both know what you're up to. For Ethan's sake, I'm willing to let it go. But if you keep pushing, don't blame me if you end up with nothing!"
"Jackson—" Avery started.
"Get out of my face while I still have patience!" Jackson said, ice-cold.
Avery, not daring to show her anger, turned her gaze to Evelyn and Lisa. "Why are you here? Why are you in this place?"
Evelyn looked puzzled.
Avery sneered. "I knew you had ulterior motives from the start. You're trying to get close to Jackson, aren't you?" Avery's old grudge against Evelyn flared up; Jackson always scolded her but treated Evelyn kindly. Plus, Evelyn was beautiful, clearly up to no good.
Avery continued, "Don't think you can replace me! Ethan is my child, and your scheming is pointless."
Evelyn stayed silent.
"Avery! Don't say such harsh things. Evelyn has a boyfriend; we're just here to thank her for saving Ethan. If not for her, Ethan would have almost..." Lisa, outraged, defended Evelyn.
Avery cut off, "Lisa, shut up! I thought you were my friend, but you're teaming up with others to bully me! You deliberately introduced Evelyn to Jackson, didn't you?"
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