Avery's Game Of Revenge
Chapter 164: Stuck With A Rich Brat

Chapter 164: Stuck With A Rich Brat

Stephanie had spent years quietly observing his obsession, so the possibility that he had married Avery three years ago, whether with her knowledge or not, didn’t surprise her in the slightest.

"Are you okay?"

The gentle voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she looked up to find worry etched across Avery’s face. A rush of relief and happiness flooded her, warmth spreading through her veins. Any lingering doubts she might have had vanished in that instant.

There was no mistake.

The woman standing before her was Avery.

And suddenly, everything made sense.

Archie had orchestrated this entire situation—sending her here, provoking Valentina, ensuring the confrontation escalated just enough to attract Avery’s attention. Because he knew Avery. He knew she wouldn’t stand by and watch her friend get hurt. Especially not if Valentina was the one delivering the blows.

Stephanie exhaled slowly, her heart hammering.

She wasn’t here by accident.

She was here because he had wanted them to meet each other.

If Avery was standing here, worried and asking if she was okay, then she must have seen what happened inside. And if she had seen it, then she must have been the one who sent that actress to step in while she herself slipped outside—probably to avoid drawing attention to her presence.

Stephanie took a shaky step forward, her chest tightening as emotions threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted to throw herself into her best friend’s arms and finally let it all out. To shed the tears she had swallowed back the day she watched the news, the day the world declared Avery McCallum a murderer who had taken her own life while fleeing the police.

She wanted to hug her, to feel her, to know she was real.

To ask if she was okay.

To ask where she had been all this time, even though she already had a good idea.

To ask what she had been up to.

And finally, to ask how she was walking so freely when the entire country had branded her a fugitive—a dead one, at that.

Archie must have helped her. But even for someone as powerful as him, pulling off something like this shouldn’t have been easy.

Stephanie opened her arms, ready to wrap them around Avery, only for her best friend to take a measured step back.

Her expression shifted in an instant, closing off into something unreadable—stern, almost unrecognizable.

"Follow me at a distance. We can’t hug out here, Steph," Avery said, her voice low but firm. Then, her gaze darkened. "And be ready to tell me what the hell you were doing with Valentina in a place like this."

Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and walked away, knowing without a doubt that Stephanie would follow.

☆♡♡♡☆

Avery walked for a full five minutes without glancing back, ignoring the curious stares of pedestrians as she moved with purpose. Her only concern was finding a discreet spot—somewhere away from prying eyes and surveillance.

Finally, she spotted a narrow alleyway without any visible cameras. Without hesitation, she slipped inside, the noise of the street fading as she stepped deeper into the shadows. Reaching the end of the alley, she turned a corner and pressed her back against the rough surface of the building, exhaling quietly.

Meanwhile, Stephanie strolled down the same path, her fingers flying across her phone’s screen as she eagerly typed out a message to Archie. Just as she was about to hit send, her screen lit up with an incoming text from him instead.

"I assume you saw her already. Yes, that is your best friend. No, she is not dead. Yes, she’s my wife. No, she doesn’t know I have her brother, and that he’s alive. You are expected to do your very best to keep that information from her. No, she also wasn’t expecting to meet you today, and she has no idea I sent you. You are expected to act like it’s a completely coincidental meetup, which is actually what it is."

Stephanie stopped walking, her brows furrowing as she stared at the screen of the phone. Why didn’t he want Avery to know about Arthur? And the fact that he sent her here?

She wasn’t ready to dwell on anything else when her best friend was just a few feet away, waiting for her. With that thought, she tucked her phone into her pocket and hurried down the rest of the path.

The moment she turned the corner, a firm hand caught hers, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Stephanie choked on a sob, her arms tightening around Avery as tears streamed freely down her face. "Oh my God, I missed you," she wept.

"Same," Avery sniffled, her voice thick with emotion. "I missed you more."

They stood there for what felt like forever, wrapped in each other’s arms. Stephanie sobbed uncontrollably, while Avery only sniffled from time to time. She had cried so much over the past months that her tears no longer came easily. Instead, for the first time in a long time, she wanted to smile.

A ray of sunshine after months of darkness. She wasn’t about to welcome it with more tears.

Stephanie’s voice broke through her thoughts. "Oh my God, my tears stained your shirt," she said, pulling back with a guilty look. "It looks super expensive. I hope I didn’t ruin it."

Avery glanced down, then smirked. "Archie bought five of these in different colors, so don’t worry. I have plenty of backups. But just in case, you better start saving up to replace this one."

Stephanie rolled her eyes, a wet smile tugging at her lips. "Save up? Do you really think I’d ever manage that, considering how much I already owe you?" she teased.

Avery squinted playfully, feigning deep thought. "Oh... that’s true," she mused, then let out a chuckle. "I guess that means you’re indebted to me forever."

Stephanie sniffled, her smile wobbling as fresh tears threatened to fall. "And I’m stuck with a rich brat like you forever," she murmured.

Avery grinned. "Damn right you are."

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