Chapter 9 The Marshall Family's Invitation

• As soon as Abbie finished her sentence, a sickly and soft feminine voice was heard from afar. "Here you are, Peyton." A lady whose face was pale came closer, but by just hearing her voice, Abbie was already able to tell who it was. Olivia Newman.
• Over the course of six years, Olivia seemed a lot healthier than ever before, which was clear that she had received proper care; otherwise, her health would deteriorate as she aged.
• When Olivia saw Abbie and Riley, she couldn't help but feel stunned for a second. Then, she avoided their gazes and walked up to the boy. "What are you doing here, Peyton? Do you know how much I'm worried about you, Son?"
• "You're not my mom." The boy grunted with a glacial look on his face.
• Abbie paused as it began to dawn on her. Now, I know why I find this kid so familiar. He is Liam and Olivia's son. No wonder he is about Yanira's age.
• "Come on, Peyton. You're a good boy, aren't you? A good boy shouldn't let everybody worry about him. Now, let's go." Olivia tried to coax the boy like how a loving mother would.
• Meanwhile, Abbie couldn't help but feel uncomfortable seeing that, yet she couldn't explain why she would feel that way. Why am I worried about this kid? He is Olivia's son, not mine.
• While the child, whose name was Peyton, continued to fix his gaze upon Abbie with a bitter look on his face, Yanira stepped in and stood in front of her mother. "Your mother is here, so leave mine alone!"
• "Hmph!" The boy repeatedly stomped the ground before walking away unhappily.
• Abbie stared at the kid's silhouette in a preoccupied manner. So, this is Liam and Olivia's child, but why is he so much naughtier than my girl? Nevertheless, he also looked pretty cute when he pissed Olivia off.
• "I'm sorry. Please forgive my child's mischief. Peyton has always been quite a bit of a playful kid since young," Olivia apologetically said.
• "Um. In that case, you might want to go after him because if he goes missing again, you're going to regret it." Abbie reminded Olivia.
• Nevertheless, Olivia responded with a cocky chuckle while trying to sound mysterious. "Of course, that boy is my child and Liam's."
• "Well, it certainly seems that your child doesn't like you too much."
• Olivia's face turned red. A few seconds later, she talked back. "That still doesn't change the fact that he is our son."
• "I see." Riley sniggered. "Is that how you compliment yourself? If that's true, why aren't you Liam's legal wife yet?"
• Abbie clicked her tongue and replied, "I think you have a point, my friend. It's no wonder her child doesn't treat her as his mother at all." Deep down, Abbie was impressed by Riley's impressive quick wit that she displayed when she roasted Olivia. That's quite a burn, Olivia! That's going to hurt a lot. Despite Riley's humiliating and sarcastic remark, Abbie couldn't help but feel curious about why Olivia still hadn't managed to marry Liam. She later assumed that it was Peter who didn't agree to let her marry into the Henderson Family because of her health. She'll never marry into the Henderson Family so long as her heart condition remains untreated. Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! What a pity!
• On the other hand, Olivia's face darkened. "Hmph! I'm still better than you are because I have Liam's heart!" She then gave one last hostile glare at Abbie and Riley before stomping off madly.
• Abbie knew Olivia was referring to the divorce she had with Liam back then, but to her, she reckoned she did the right thing as she couldn't care less about who had Liam's heart. Too bad that kid's mother is a b*tch, although I must say he is a cute little guy.
• Although Riley managed to roast Olivia with her witty words, her mood was still ruined by Olivia. "This is literally a bad day for us both. Out of the people we could have run into in the world, we ran into her and her son. I can't believe that kid is Liam's son. What a 'small world'!"
• "Yeah, you're right, indeed, but it looks like Olivia has trouble getting along well with her son."
• Riley got excited when she heard that. "You know what? You're right. Everyone in Jamswell seemingly knows that the child, Peyton, and his mother, Olivia, are not on good terms. In fact, he doesn't even seem to like his father either, but a few moments ago, he…" Riley paused mid-sentence for a while and added, "Well, I initially thought he was your son. Who would have thought a difficult child like him would call you 'Mom'?"
• "He probably did that because he wanted to piss Olivia off. Didn't you just say it? Both of them are hardly on good terms. In fact, he might have done some digging about me, which was why he called me 'Mom'," Abbie inferred, although she couldn't care less about the matter.
• Yanira wrapped her arms around her mother's leg when she heard that, trying to play on her mother's sympathy. "No, Mom is mine!"
• "Aw! You're indeed Mommy's good girl! I'm already starting to like you, sweetheart!" Riley rubbed the little girl's head.
• Nevertheless, Abbie only pursed her lips upward when she heard Riley's compliment to Yanira. If she is really Mommy's girl, then why did she run off halfway through for Liam? Fine, I have something else more important to do than argue with Yanira.
• "I'll leave Yanira in your care. I have some important business to attend to, and I have to go, or I'm going to be late." Abbie took a look at her watch and stretched out her arm, flagging down a cab before she left.
• Stunned by Abbie's response, Riley couldn't believe that she would just leave her daughter and her luggage with her and walk away like that. "Hey, Abbie. Your daughter and I just met, so are you sure it's a good idea to leave her to me? Is she not going to cry?"
• Yanira gazed at Riley with her eyes wide open, enjoying her lollipop while waving at the lady. "Don't worry, Riley. I'm going to behave myself."
• "Alright then, let's go, sweetheart." Riley caressed Yanira's head, feeling satisfied with her obedience.
• Not long after they left, a luxury Stretch Lincoln Limousine passed by. Inside the car sat a man with an indifferent look on his face, along with a boy who had the exact same expression as his father.
• "Sir, we were supposed to take the girl to the police station, but shortly after that, she went missing," Cedric said.
• "It's fine. I couldn't care less about it." Liam didn't seem to be bothered by that, but deep down, he couldn't help but find the child adorable. In fact, it seemed to him that Yanira was even more adorable than his own son, Peyton.
• After a brief hesitation, Cedric soon handed over a paper note with a few words on it. "This note is from that little girl. She said it's for you."
• As soon as Liam unfolded the paper note, he saw a phone number along with a few Castonia words below it. 'Mister, I like you. Give me a call whenever you miss me.'
• Before Liam could react, Olivia, who was sitting at the back, curiously asked, "What little girl? What's the paper note that you guys are talking about, Liam?"
• "Oh, it's nothing. It's a child's prank."
• "Kids nowadays are pretty naughty, aren’t they?" Olivia smiled gently.
• Holding the note in his hand, Liam eventually put it inside his pocket. Although he didn't plan to give the child a call, he couldn't help but find her handwriting adorable, thinking he could take a look at them once in a while.
• "Oh yeah, there is one more thing—the Marshall Family sent an invitation earlier for Miss Marshall's wedding. Their residence is just along the way, so are you sure you wouldn't want to drop by, Sir? After all, Old Mr. Henderson and the others will be there," Cedric asked, skimming through Liam's schedule.
• Although the Henderson Family and the Marshall Family had always been on good terms, Liam's relationship with the Marshalls seemed to take a turn for the worse, especially after he divorced Abbie. In spite of that, Cedric still reckoned it was better for Liam to drop by for the sake of Peter.
• "No, I won't be attending." The man turned down the invitation.
• "Cedric, do us a favor and stop mentioning anything about the Marshall Family, okay? Liam doesn't like hearing it," Olivia blinked and said.
• "Sure, of course. It's just that Old Mr. Henderson called up earlier and said it was quite a crowded occasion at the Marshall Residence. Furthermore, since Miss Marshall will be attending, he wanted me to let Mr. Henderson know about it."
• Cedric's words made Olivia clench her fists nervously. However, judging from Liam's cold and silent response, she knew Cedric had probably failed to convince Liam to attend the event. As for Cedric, he considered his job done so long as he informed Liam about Abbie's return.
• Noticing Liam's nonchalance, Olivia chuckled and sat closer to the man intimately. "Would you be free to go shopping with me later, Liam?"
• "Cedric will go with you." Liam implied that he would not tag along.
• Upon hearing that, Olivia gritted her teeth unhappily while Peyton only kept his eyes somewhere outside the window in an indifferent manner, without any regard for what was going on in the car.