The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 130

"Angel!" Chloe cheered as the boy drove towards him. "Don’t you look charming in your new car? Do you want to give me a ride?" She asked, even though there wasn’t enough space in the toy car for an adult. It was realistic but a toy nonetheless.

"No." He scoffed at her and got out of the car, and only then did Chloe realize he was not stopping for her. He reached behind her and held the small hand of the girl who had become his best friend. He smiled at her and she seemed to instantly understand him.

When he helped her into the other side and got in to resume driving, Chloe and Mabella cheered to Avery who was becoming convinced that the toy had an obstacle sensor of sorts.

"I think we just met your future daughter-in-law." Mabella joked to Avery who was making her way towards them.

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes. The kids were innocent and cute. The party kicked off with Angel cruising happily in his toy car. He let his friends have a turn too and Avery couldn’t be happier. Her son was beginning to care about other people’s feelings. He was outgrowing his symptoms each new day and seeing him so jovial made her feel her life was finally complete.

The kids played in the yard while the adults sat around to watch them. Angel received innumerable gifts and she had prepared thank-you tokens in return, which she handed to each parent for letting their children come. When she gave one to Chloe, the latter was baffled.

"Why do I get a gift?"

Remembering what Damon had said about not letting her know it was a birthday gift, she made a random excuse. "Angel prepared a gift for each of his friends to let them know how happy he is that they are here on his special day."

Chloe knew she was bullshitting but didn’t call her out for it. She unwrapped the box and as soon as she caught sight of the red negligee, she stared down at Avery. "You found out, didn’t you? Angel doesn’t know a thing about this kind of clothing."

Avery didn’t deny it. "I didn’t say the words. I just thought you should at least get a gift since you mean a lot to me and all. And besides, all the wishes Angel is receiving were bound to remind you."

Chloe nodded and covered the box. "Thank you."

She pulled a rattan chair over and sat next to Avery staring off into the swimming pool. "Did you design your swimming pool? How did you child-proof it?"

Avery would have answered her but she knew Chloe had no interest in the swimming pool. She was only trying to make sure they wouldn’t talk about her birthday.

She placed her hand over Chloe’s. "If you don’t wish to talk about it, you have every right to keep it to yourself. I will not blame you for anything."

Chloe was visibly relieved. She was glad Avery respected her wishes but again, she couldn’t keep it in forever. "She gave herself to me on my birthday. That’s how we got together."

Avery didn’t need her to continue to figure out what went down. For the rest of the years that she and Shirley were together, she must have treasured her birthday as it also signified their anniversary. However, after their break up, she must have been crushed so much that she hated everything to do with her—including her own birthday.

"It is your day, Chloe. Not hers. She does not own it." She reassured her.

Chloe forced a smile. Her attention had shifted fast and when Avery followed her gaze, she caught sight of Mabella, surrounded by at least a dozen kids, trying to guess which hand of hers had the candy. Every time a kid got it right, she would give them one of the lollies she was carrying around in a basket.

"She is lovely, isn’t she?" Avery prompted, to which Chloe nodded. But then she sighed.

"Sometimes I think I’m unfair to her. I don’t deserve her."

"Says the woman who got her to confess her feelings by hook or crook." Avery looked like she was ready to beat her up if Chloe said anything about breaking it off with Mabella.

"That’s the point. She was living her own life away from unnecessary emotions and I dragged her out of that world, to fall in love with me. What if she was right about what I feel for her?"

"What did she think you feel for her?" Avery pried.

"Some twisted kind of rebound. She thinks I love her only because I resent Shirley and once I forgive the latter, I will no longer want her."

"There’s only one reason why you would ask yourself so many questions. You are scared that if something goes wrong, you would lose her." She speculated. When Chloe nodded, she added, "That’s because you love her. You treasure her. This fear in your heart...you feel it because you don’t want to hurt her."

"I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I ever hurt her." Chloe added, admitting that Avery was right.

"Then don’t think about it. You would never hurt her if you don’t want to. If things happen beyond your control and they end up hurting her, that would not be your fault because, well, they are beyond your control."

"You are starting to sound like her. Are you sure you are not a love expert?" Chloe joked, earning a playful smack on her head.

"Uncle!" An excited yell announced Gabriel’s arrival, with Angel blazing towards the door to meet him. He placed his wrapped boxes aside and picked the boy up, kissing his forehead.

"I’m sorry I’m late. Did I miss out too much?" He asked. In response, Angel took his hand and showed him his new car and showed it off.

"Your parents got you that? Then my gift for you will complement it." He winked but didn’t immediately reveal what he had brought.

Avery’s attention was caught by a woman who had just arrived. Mina. She had made herself scarce after their last argument and it was unexpected for her to come here, especially since Avery had not invited her. Damon definitely wouldn’t do so behind her back so unless Gabriel brought her with him, she had decided to come on her own when she heard about the party.

She immediately caught on Avery’s gaze and walked over to her with a curt smile that looked forced. "I know you don’t want to see me. I just wanted to wish Angel a happy birthday. I consider him my...friend." She refrained from saying ’godson’, knowing Avery would chew her out for indirectly putting his life in danger.

"I left a present among the others. If you don’t want him to have it, you can toss it away. I’ll be on my way."

"Wait." Avery stopped her, standing to catch up. "I think Angel will be happier if you told him what you want him to hear on your own."

Mina was pleasantly surprised. "You would let me get close to him?"

"Oh, Mina." She pulled her into a hug. "I have been hard on you. While I admit I still don’t trust you as much as I used to, I know you would never hurt my son. So go ahead. Tell him how you feel."

Mina pulled her into a sudden hug. "Thank you." She muttered and walked off to Angel who was still introducing his friends to his uncle.

Avery watched as Mina got close to them, told the boy something and hugged him. Gabriel pulled him aside and whispered something in his ear. In the next moment, Angel ran back to Mina wide-eyed, as if confirming what he had been told, and when Mina nodded, he curiously inspected her belly and rubbed it. They must have told him they were expecting a child.

It was bittersweet. In the past, she and Mina had joked about the latter needing to get married soon so she would have kids and let Angel play with them. Now that she was expecting a child, neither of them thought they would be in contact for long.

Mina returned to her side once she had wished Angel. "I will not stay for long. I have things to get back to."

"Do these ’things’ have anything to do with why you have not been coming to work lately?" She interrogated her. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Mina blinked in confusion. Wasn’t she the reason why she had been working from home? The last thing she wanted was to make Avery uncomfortable, so she had chosen to stay away from her unless she didn’t have a choice.

Avery shook her head when she said that. "Come back to work. I need you—for work." She specified, making Mina laugh.

"I don’t assume you would need me for anything else."

"Stay a little longer? It’s almost time to cut the cake. Angel would want to feed you a piece." She convinced her. Mina didn’t mind staying so she did, and she had to admit Avery had outdone herself. A race was happening on the cake and there was no way to convince her otherwise. The kids agreed with her, especially the boys who cheered for their favorite cars and the girls who cheered for Angel.

After getting the excited group to sing a birthday song, he and Damon helped Angel cut the cake. Naturally, he wanted to feed his parents first. Damon enjoyed his piece and she had to admit it was perfect. He didn’t often appreciate cakes. But when Angel put a piece in her mouth, it took all her willpower to not throw up.