Chapter 695 After the Breakup, They Found Peace 2
Avery glanced at his phone. Isadora had replied: [Okay.]
The reply was very brief, only one word. Nothing more.
Yet he read them over and over, as if they held a secret. They had never been this calm, not even in their best days.
Back then, every conversation had been a battle, every word a weapon. Now, apart, they could finally speak without drawing blood.
He tried not to think about the fact that Isadora would soon belong to someone else.
In the quiet of the night, he kept returning to her message, letting it loop in his mind until half the night had slipped away.
From the hallway, Henry peeked in. Later, when he returned to the bedroom, he told Amelia, "We've got a hopeless romantic in the family. Can't decide whether to feel sorry for him or tell him he had it coming."
Amelia said nothing, her expression thoughtful.
Earlier, after Avery had taken Maggie upstairs, Amelia had done a little digging into Tobias.
By coincidence, the person she asked knew Tobias's ex-wife. They had married young, divorced because they weren't a good match, but stayed in contact for the sake of their son.
Amelia had stumbled upon a secret.
Tobias's ex-wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She had kept it from Tobias. If he found out now, Amelia thought, it would be a test of his conscience.
Old love or new — which would he choose?
She kept the information to herself. For now.
Morning sunlight spilled into the bedroom.
Avery woke to find Maggie curled against him. She was small but warm, her tiny feet pressed against his stomach, her cheek resting against his neck. He didn't move. He just held her and studied her face.
Last night, he had sworn to himself that he and Isadora were finished. But looking at Maggie, he couldn't help the pull of memory.
He knew he had to start over. Find a good woman. Someone who would be kind to Maggie.
As for the Montague Group's inheritance, that could wait. But Maggie's future — that he could secure now. Lying there with one arm behind his head, he made a decision: he would take Maggie to the office today.
At breakfast, Henry listened to Avery's plan.
"You're giving all that to Maggie?" Henry chuckled. "For a second there, I thought it was a wedding gift for her mother."
Avery's jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
Henry's words might have been sharp, but he reached over and ruffled Maggie's hair. "A Montague child shouldn't want for anything. Make sure your father puts up the money."
"He has wronged your mother." Henry did not say this out loud in front of Maggie.
Amelia caught the look on Henry's face and squeezed his hand. "Every cloud has a silver lining. Don't tell me you've gotten too old to take a hit."
Henry gave her a long, wounded stare, and she laughed.
Avery stayed quiet. Henry and Amelia knew he wasn't in the best mood, but with Maggie around, at least there was some comfort. They told him to take care of her and not get lost in work.
He gave a faint nod.
Driving to the office, Avery had installed a pink child seat in the back. Maggie loved it.
Half an hour later, they pulled up in front of the Montague Group's headquarters.
A single father bringing his daughter to work — and her mother about to marry Tobias — was bound to stir attention.
It didn't take long for the unmarried female employees to circle, offering toys and candy, some with shy smiles, others with open intent.
Jennifer, unimpressed, chased them off.
Avery barely noticed. He was already buried in work, one hand absently resting on Maggie's head.
"Call the lawyer. I want a property transfer drafted."
Jennifer glanced at Maggie and smiled. Her father was a CEO. Her mother was a CEO. Even her stepfather would be a CEO. Born with a platinum spoon in her mouth.
She made the call. Soon, Maurice, the company's lawyer, arrived. Avery stood to greet him and waved Maggie over. "Come say hello."
Maggie climbed onto his lap. At five, she wasn't exactly small anymore, but Avery wanted to keep her close.
Maurice studied her face and smiled. "Seventy percent you, thirty percent Ms. Penrose."
Avery felt a flicker of warmth.
What could be more romantic than sharing a child with the woman you once loved?
"Daughters usually take after their fathers," he said.
They talked briefly before Maurice opened his laptop. At Avery's direction, he began drafting the agreement: five percent of Montague Group shares to Maggie, plus two luxury villas in prime locations and a commercial building. Altogether, worth upward of twenty billion dollars.
More than Isadora's entire net worth.
Years of her work, outmatched by the value of a single child she had with Avery.
Maurice frowned. "Have you discussed the share transfer with your father? Five percent is no small amount."
"My father adores Maggie," Avery said simply.
Maurice let it drop. It was his job to ask, but he knew a stake that size could cause waves in the boardroom.
For all his talk, Avery was spending like a man in love.
Officially, it was for Maggie. But everyone knew who would ultimately benefit. To an outsider, it might look like Isadora was marrying Avery, not Tobias.
Maurice worked fast. By evening, Maggie was officially a twenty-billion-dollar heiress. Out of courtesy, he called Isadora to inform her.
She was silent for a long moment.
She wanted to refuse, but Maurice's voice was gentle. "It's Mr. Montague's gift to his daughter. You should accept it."
Isadora said nothing more. Her feelings were tangled. The gentleness she had never received from Avery, he was now giving entirely to their daughter. Why now?
The moment she hung up, Tobias called, inviting her to try on wedding dresses.
She agreed without hesitation. But as she set her phone down, she thought that it was time for both her and Avery to move on.
Across town, Tobias was not at peace.
That afternoon, a friend had called with news. His ex-wife, Ivy King, had been diagnosed with a difficult-to-treat form of breast cancer.
Now, more than ever, Ivy and their son needed someone by their side.