"Dad, I will stay with Mom!" Ivy moved a chair so that she could sit next to the bed. She saw the tears still rolling down Avery's cheeks and knew that Avery must be regretting not supporting Layla in her pursuit of Eric.Had they agreed to the relationship, Layla and Eric might be planning their wedding by now. They would not have come all the way to Cambrode, and neither would they have been on that mountain when the avalanche occurred. Elliot let go of Avery's hand. "Let me know when your mother wakes up.""Of course," she said obediently. "Let me know when Layla comes out of the emergency room.""Sure."Time went by slowly, and Ivy started to doze off after she dried Avery's tears.Many thoughts drifted through her mind, but they flitted by so quickly that she should not grasp onto any one particular thought. In the end, she only focused on how much she wanted Layla and Eric to wake up.If Layla woke up to find out that Eric had died, both Avery and Layla would be trau

Tears instantly rolled down her cheek and it was a while before she could make a sound. "Don't cry, Honey. Eric isn't dead. He is alive for now." Avery immediately grabbed Layla's hand. "I know that you are in shock now, but it's all over now. It's in the past."Layla held onto her mother's hand, unable to stop her tears.Elliot walked over and wiped away her tears. "Don't cry, Layla. We are doing everything we can to save Eric. You are not to blame for this, so don't you blame yourself. Don't feel guilty about this." Despite his effort, Layla's tears simply kept falling."I was the one... who got him into this..." Layla pushed Elliot's hand away. "If only I hadn't called him here, he wouldn't be in this... Mom, Dad, I killed him..."Elliot and Avery stood by the bed, not knowing what to say when they saw how heartbroken their daughter was because they knew that nothing they said could convince Layla that what happened to Eric was not her fault.They understood how she had reach

Toward the end, Layla was sobbing so hard that she could no longer speak, and Ivy immediately wiped away her tears with a tissue. "Don't cry, Layla. You are both fine... you are both alive! You will soon be discharged, and Uncle Eric is going to get better," Ivy said. "This kind of disaster won't happen again. Once Uncle Eric gets better, our parents won't be opposed to the idea of you marrying him anymore.""Ivy, I don't think he's in that good a state..." Layla had been with Eric the entire time, and she knew how close to death Eric was. "He gave me his jacket and was only wearing a really thin sweater. It was so cold, and he was wearing so little. He never intended to survive and told me that it would take some time for rescue to come, so I needed to survive until then..."Ivy started sobbing as well. "Layla, I thought that Uncle Eric was a great person, but after what happened, I realize he is so much more than that. He has a tender heart and a beautiful soul. Once he recovers,

Layla turned to Ivy. "Ivy, go home! You've already wasted a lot of time staying by my side.""I can always get a tutor afterward, Layla. I want to stay with you.""I'm better now," Layla said and glanced at Robert. "Robert, take Ivy back. The two of you need to go back to school.""Let us stay with you for a few more days!" Robert said."I'm fine. Besides, I have Mom, Dad, and Hayden with me.""Fine!" Robert said in resignation. "But we are still coming to Bridgedale with you because I want to see Uncle Eric."Layla did not argue further.The four boarded a private jet and arrived at Bridgedale ten hours later.Once they arrived at Avery's house, she grabbed Layla by the arm and studied her up and down."Mom, I'm really fine. I felt weak at first, but they dripped me for three days in a row, so I'm much better now," Layla said. "How is Eric doing, Mom?"Knowing that Layla would ask about Eric, Avery had already prepared her answer ahead of time. "He needs a new heart and lung

Mike burst out laughing. "It's probably the same concept as polishing a shoe.""Dyeing someone's hair is definitely going to be more difficult than that," Chad said. "But Avery is a smart woman so she should be alright as long as she followed the instructions."Elliot shuddered."Mom, why don't you just take Dad to a salon? Your hands might get dirty," Hayden suggested.Hayden had always been skillful with his words when he wanted to be. He was concerned that Avery would fail but simply said that he did not want Avery to get her hands dirty."Your mom wants to do it for your dad. Don't you know what this is?" Mike threw his arm around Hayden's shoulders and said, "It's called 'spicing things up'. You don't have a girlfriend, so you won't understand."Hayden responded to his sarcasm with silence."It's getting late, so Chad and I will leave now," Mike blurted out before Hayden had the chance to retort.Avery saw them out the door and returned to the house before asking Hayden, "