âTheyâre held at a place where you wonât be able to reach them. I have a question, though. Why would you want to marry the man who imprisoned your father?â
Nicole smiled bitterly when she realized that Murphyâs daughter had no idea what was going on in the Wicked Palace.
Seeing that Nicole had fallen silent, Avril held her hand and advised her seriously, âListen to me. Donât marry Levant. Him imprisoning your father is reason enough to stay away from him.â
Nicole had mixed feelings about the marriage that was to come, but she did not have many options since Levant was holding Stephen and Evan captive. Itâs indeed despicable of Levant to imprison my father, but heâs also saved my life. He has feelings for me and is good to me. âIs there any way you can bring me to see my father?â
The question stunned Avril. âIf you have something to say to him, I can pass the message along, itâs too difficult to set up a meeting.â
âBut youâre Murphyâs precious daughter, and this is your home! Surely you can find a way. Please, help my Mommy, pretty lady,â begged Juan.
Maya approached Avril and fished out her favorite cake pop to give to the woman. âIf you help my Mommy, I promise to share all the goodies I have with you.â
Good food had always been Mayaâs most precious possession, and she was willing to share it with Avril to help her mother.
Avril reached out to pinch Mayaâs chubby cheek. âFrom now on, you can call me Avril or Grandma.â Although getting called Grandma would make her seem old, Avril thought it would get her closer to the childrenâs Grandpa.
Maya was puzzled by the womanâs peculiar thinking. Most women would like to be deemed young and beautiful, why would she want to be called Grandma? How weird! Is that a trend now?
Nina, who cared a lot about appearances, was also left scratching her head at Avrilâs words. After some thought, she concluded that the people in the Wicked Palace must have some screws loose in their head, hence, theyâre different from the average Joe.
âPlease help Mommy, Grandma!â Juan had no problem calling Avril that.
Feeling like an elder to the family, Avril continued to hold Nicoleâs hand as she thought to herself. If I help her this time, sheâd better not have any problem with her father eloping with me. Iâm only doing this as a favor.
âOkay. Iâll bring you to see your father tomorrow night.â
But Iâll be getting married to Levant the day after tomorrow. Will tomorrow be too late? What if something happens?
âCan we go see him right now? My weddingâs the day after tomorrow, Iâm afraid that tomorrow⦠â
âAfter midnight then, but I hope that youâll reconsider marrying Levant,â replied Avril after serious consideration.
Nicole thanked Avril from the bottom of her heart when the woman agreed to help her.
Juan and Kyle wanted to tag along, but Nicole and Avril rejected their request because they wanted to avoid complications. Left with no choice, the children could only go to bed obediently.
After midnight, Avril cautiously brought Nicole to Stephenâs residence.
âThis is it.â
The two waited for more than an hour so that they could sneak in when the guards change shifts.
Evan was on alert even when he slept, so when he heard movements outside, he patted and woke Stephen up before climbing out the window at the back.
Stephenâs heart was racing as he listened to the approaching footsteps.
âYour father must be sleeping in his bedroom right now. Iâll keep watch while youâre inside.â
âThank you.â
âDonât mention it. I have my reason for doing this,â responded Avril with a smile.
Even though Nicole had no idea what the woman meant, she couldnât be bothered to find out. She proceeded to knock on her fatherâs bedroom door.
âWho is it?â
âDad, itâs me, Nicole.â
Stephen quickly opened the door and got extremely emotional when he saw Nicole.