Chapter 353
She checked and found Fryderyk didn’t seem close to any other women.
Little did she know, he liked Aria.
Amanda gave a small smile. “I see.”
Amanda smiled and said, “Ms. Saxon is truly wonderful.”
After a brief pause, she picked up her fork with practiced ease and, in a deliberately casual tone, said, “Let’s dig in then.”
Aria’s gaze swept over Fryderyk, and she was about to speak–but catching the relieved smile on Amanda’s face, she held her tongue.
Fryderyk felt the faint but unmistakable weight of glances settling on him–for the first time, eating felt like pure torture
Derek’s curious stare, Caleb’s assessing look, and a veiled, guarded gaze mixed with wariness.
He didn’t even need to guess whose that was.
Fryderyk decided to straighten things out immediately once this dinner was over and Amanda left.
But just as they finished dinner, Alice arrived to pick up Avery.
Alice immediately noticed the damp spots on her daughter’s clothes and the wiped marks on her face. Her expression tightened. “Avery, what happened?”
Before Derek could get a word in, Avery blurted out, “It was Derek! He sprayed water all over my face!”
Lexie, Terry, Lennox, and Lennox’s three classmates came over one after another.
At these words, the entire group’s expressions shifted dramatically.
“Derek!” Lennox’s mother snapped. “If you have a problem with Lennox, just say so. Why take it out on a seven–year–old?” Alice’s face darkened.
Lennox darted to his little sister’s side, heart aching as he gently wiped her face. “This is all my fault, Avery,” he said guiltily. “I should have stayed with you the whole time.”
Derek pressed his lips together and snorted derisively. “Fine, think what you will.”
Even if Derek tried to explain, he knew Lennox and his mom would never believe him anyway.
Avery squirmed uncomfortably as Lennox wiped her face, ducking away from his hand. Then, in her clear, childish voice, she piped up, “It’s not Derek’s fault. He just got scared by Fryderyk!”
Upon hearing this, Lexie breathed a sigh of relief. “At least it wasn’t Derek’s fault,” she thought.
Lexie approached slowly and asked gently, “Avery, what startled Derek so much?”
While eating, Avery listened in on the adults‘ conversation. Tilting her head, she said, “This lady said she came to meet Fryderyk for a date and asked if he wanted a pretend marriage.
“But Fryderyk said no, because he already likes someone. The lady asked who, and he said, ‘It’s this lady right here.“”
As she spoke, Avery pointed straight at Aria.
The room plunged into icy silence once more.
10:27 Tue 17 Jun
Chapter 353
O-
Fryderyk closed his eyes in despair. ‘Great, now it’s even harder to explain, he thought
Amanda wished the ground would swallow her up in that moment.
Amanda thought to herself, “I planned for everything… except the clueless kid right here.”
The others‘ eyes widened in shock. Even Lennox’s mother completely forgot about her daughter being sprayed with water, her gaze like everyone else’s -fixed on Fryderyk and Aria.
Fryderyk actually had a crush on Aria.
After explaining everything, Avery looked up with curiosity and asked, “Grandma, what’s a marriage of convenience?”
Avery was only seven. She knew what a blind date was, but had no idea what a marriage of convenience meant.
Once again, the room fell into an awkward silence.
Avery suddenly piped up, “Since Fryderyk likes Aria, don’t make him go on any more blind dates! She’s so pretty and nice—I want her to be my sister–in-
law!”
Aria even asked if she could eat shrimp and crab, checked with Derek, then gave me the peeled ones.
If she became her sister–in–law, Avery bet Aria would treat her
even better.
Owen listened in silence, the corner of his mouth twitching eve
SO slightly.
The best part about being a kid was they didn’t have to overthink things–they just say what they felt, and sometimes they even helped move things
along.
‘Why doesn’t my family have a little kid to help out like that?‘ Owen mused, a bit envious.
Owen blamed his brother for being so unhelpful.
Even with a wife and a kid, he still couldn’t get ahead.
Owen guessed he’d just have to take matters into his own hands.
AD
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