Aveline’s POV A day slowly passed after the conference that Draven had, a conference where I couldn't do anything but watch what he had to say, which is to claim the whole glory of my hard work all for himself and spared a portion of that, not for me, but for his sister, who barely lifted her fingers while the company was in turmoil and did what I couldn't do, which is sleep peacefully through it, barely looking bothered. I don't even want to remember the conversation that we had in his office where he spoke to me like every error in this company has always been my fault, no matter who did it, where it was done, or whatever. If there is just one benefit I gain from all the work that I have been silently putting in to save this company, it is the way almost every single worker now looks at me.While working on something, another thing out of the many that I needed to complete and close, so that I can peacefully make my way out of the company without any negative emotion making its w
AvelineI have accepted a lot from the Harrington family lately, but today was a bad one, like every other day, or maybe even worse than the others.When I secured the previous deal, I thought Draven failed to recognize my support and the role I played in doing it all because Emily had her way of putting herself in the limelight, but this time, it was clear that no matter how hard I tried, I would never get the recognition I deserve. First, Emily took the glory upon herself and now it's Sophie. I guess it's high time I stop putting in any effort. My deal with the family would soon be over anyway, so I guess there's no use in putting in any more effort. After all, I'd already paid all my debt to them; there was nothing left for me to do, so I just had to act like every other person. "Good day ma'am," a man with a brown moustache greeted me immediately I walked out of the building. "Yeah," I held the file across my chest tightly. "A good day it is."We were some distance away, he wa
AvelineWhy would he need my help with such? There are other people who he could have called to get the job done; the maids that he employed, for example, can get it done. What Grace was thinking seemed to be quite different from what I was thinking at that moment, given what she told me. She placed her hands on my shoulder. “You see, the reason why Draven might have called you to get this errand done for him might be because he sees you as the only person who can get the work done for him.” I know Grace is trying to make me see the good sides of everything; the only thing I know that she should know is that there aren’t any good sides any longer. I just hope she can see what I am talking about and see the logical side of things from now on. “I don’t think so any longer; there are other people that could have gotten this work done for him, and there is no good side to this errand he is sending her on. No matter how hard I think about it, I just can’t see it,” Roy said. Finally! He
Draven Draven was surprised by the way Aveline responded to him and threw questions at him. Lines appeared on his forehead as Aveline kept throwing questions at him in an angry tone. From her expression and the look in her eyes, you could tell she had gone through enough already, and she just couldn't take it anymore. It was evident in her face…in her eyes."You do not even hesitate to do something that would hurt me, and I keep asking myself what my offense was, but I can't even find one." She raised her index finger. "One!" "You are talking outside the box and it's not in a positive way," he fires back at her. "It's in a stupid and negative way.""I'm not mad because you chose someone over me but you don't have to treat me the way you do!" She pointed towards Emily. "You can do whatever you want with her, but why do you seem to treat me this bad, why?!" Draven squinted his eyes and took a step forward. His gaze was plastered on Aveline, but she did not seem to be fazed by the
AvelineThat's dumb and very stupid of me to think that Draven might harbor even a tiny seed of feeling that has a chance of blossoming. "What more does he have to do to me for my dumb self to finally realize that there is no single atom of feeling for me inside that rock-hard heart of his?" I asked myself immediately. We entered the room where Grace wanted to restyle me."The party isn't over yet; maybe Draven is just acting out of stress and not in his right senses like he should be," Grace said just like other times, coming to his defense. "Nah, I can't take it any longer; I am too exhausted for this. Trust me when I say that I have been drained," I said to her, shaking my head slightly. My voice was filled with conviction, and slightly, you could sense tiredness in it. For the first time, I feel like Grace finally understands me; she inhaled deeply and let out a slow exhale. "I know and I understand," she said, going on with her restyling. Putting effort into making me look as
AvelineStill staying in the bathroom with a shattered heart, shattered more into dust already, and a tear-covered face. I pulled out my phone and entered into my contact app, strolling through it. I was searching for a number—not just anyone's number, but my best friend's, Sabrina's, to be exact. I scrolled up and down endlessly searching for the number but failing to find it. I don't know why it was proving hard to do. Why can't I just find one goddamned number?! I was frustrated and pissed, I won't lie. After what was obviously a minute but had felt like an eternity, it was like my brain hadn't been working properly the past minute after hearing what Sophie had said, and it just clicked right now. I tapped on the search space in the contacts app, then inputted what I had saved Sabrina's contact with; before I even tapped the search button, her contact had already pulled up, and I just tapped on it and dialed her contact.She picked after the second ring, "What's up, Ave?" She
Aveline.Emily fell to the floor with a loud gasp and I saw blood flow from her right shoulder. Was this how she was determined to take complete charge of Draven's heart?It's not like she does not have complete control already, but…this is beyond my expectations, and I can't help but wonder.Why did she run in the first place?! What was she trying to do?!"What happened just now?!" A woman with blonde hair screamed beside me and I shot her a deadly glance. She bent her head low. "A bullet was sent into someone's body," I spoke in a low tone and she nodded. "I'm sorry for shouting that way," she apologized and I just nodded. My gaze went to Emily again. I warned her, but she turned a blind eye; she was plotting something against me, I know that, but I never knew she could lay down her life all in the name of shredding me and Draven apart. What if she did it knowing she would survive? What if?Different questions flooded my head, and I just gasped and swallowed hard; my knee
AvelineI looked at the phone til it stopped ringing and a hiss escaped my lips. "Why is he calling?" I poured the milk into the cornflakes and walked out of the kitchen with the plate in my hand. The sigh that escaped my lips was a relieving one and I crossed my legs after taking a spoon from the plate. My phone rang again and I tapped my forehead lightly. "What the fuck is wrong with him right now?" I picked up the call and placed it close to my ear without saying a word. "Are you there?" His voice was calm over the phone, and I just squinted my eyes. "State your reason for calling," I spoke in a rash tone. "I don't have all day.""By the way, I have somewhere I need to be," my words tumbled out in a rush. He just chuckled over the phone and I scoffed. "We need you at the office right now." Was that a command or a plea?"There are times when you pretend like I'm important Draven," I paused after calling his name and drew a long breath. "But in the end, you just put me
Aveline I heaved a sigh when I got to the office. Certain that Draven and some people from his company would be inside already, waiting for me courtesy of the stern condition I gave them the last time.Thinking back to it, it felt like I was a little too harsh, but one reminder about the worse he'd done to me, I shoved the guilty thoughts away.Nodding slightly to the bows of the staff at the door, I walked past them into the hall that led to the meeting room.Mr Kade stood at the entrance of the meeting room. "Good day ma, trust you had a good night rest?" He asked but I could hear the impatience in his voice."I slept alright Kade. Are they in already?" I answered, referring to the reason behind his tension."Yes ma, they've been here for thirty minutes at the very least." He replied, looking worried."Very well then." I replied, wanting to make my way into the meeting room but he step ahead of me, stopping me in my tracks."Is there something wrong?" I inquired, with a firm voice
Aveline Shifting my attention to the audience who waited for me to speak, I began, reflecting on how far I'd come but not forgetting about the business struggles the city had to face over the years. Working with Draven for years has helped keep me conversant with the business world and all the happenings in it. So even when I was away for three years, I knew the development in the business world. After my speech, as the applause rose in the crowd, I saw Draven walk back into the hall, but this time around, without Emily. I didn't want to think about the many different reasons why she didn't follow him back in. Maybe he sent her back home, or maybe he told her he didn't want her for the rest of the occasion. I didn't know but one thing I knew was that I was glad. I was glad she didn't return with him. I was glad he sent her away for a change.Happy with the turnouts of events. I got to my feet and headed towards the door.Darting my eyes to where Draven sat, I saw him talking to s
AveAcknowledging the moderator on the stage with a wave of hands, I smiled brightly at the congregation that cheered at the mention of my name, and also at the lady who had suddenly gone pale.Emily. She looked like she'd seen a ghost or was probably in a nightmare. With a confused face, she looked around the hall, trying to comprehend the strange news that was dished.The moderator continued to acknowledge more prominent people in the meeting but Emily didn't move an inch from where she sat. Her gaze pinned on me.After years of seeing her, I knew that she was going to be at the conference and a part of me was anxious about seeing her. Thinking about the possible outcome of our meeting.Thinking about how pretty she would probably be looking especially as someone who hadn't gone through the kind of stress I did these past few years. But seeing her that day, I knew that there was no way I could be compared to her. She looked basic. And I was just not about basics anymore. The event
AvelineI held Kade by his wrist and dragged him to a corner in the huge room. "What do you mean by Draven Harrington?"He slowly removed my hand from his wrist and smiled. "You kept on refusing to meet with his company, why?"My hands were across my chest and I sighed, Kade's gaze still fixed on me, he was obviously waiting for an answer. An answer that he might never get. "It's been three years Ms Nova," he smoothed his hair by pushing it backward slowly. "Three years." "Are you sure it's three?" I let out a light chuckle. He heaved a frustrated sigh. "Yes, three. They are not as successful as they used to be about four to five years ago but we can benefit from them also." I sat by the edge of the long table in the meeting room and my eyes were fixed on the floor. "I thought they said I was able to do nothing without the help of those bitches." I felt my finger going into my palm. "What did you say?" Kade pulled me out of my thoughts and I just lifted the corner of my lips. "U
AvelineSlowly, I turned to the woman but her gaze was not even on me. She packed the trays and other items before turning to take her leave. "Thank you, ma'am," I managed to voice out, and she turned to me. "You're welcome," she spoke in a calm tone. With that, she took her leave from the room after she and Lucas exchanged a smile. "How did I get here?" My face was etched with worry. I looked at the child in my hands; she had fallen asleep. Lucas walked further into the room with his hands in his pocket and he sat down on a metal chair close to the bed. "Did you have any idea where you were before I came to save you?" "I do remember that I was surrounded by some thugs," my words were slow but steady. "I passed out…too quick."He nodded slowly. "You were unconscious when I found you." "How did you know where I was?" My curiosity piqued the more I threw questions at him. "Were you tailing me?"A silent chuckle escaped his lips and he brought out his phone before handing it to me
AvelineMy eyes widened and a gasp escaped my lips. This was not the time I was supposed to give birth, not in this kind of situation…not in this kind of place…not even in the midst of these bastards. I swiftly turned my face sideways; even after they saw the water rolling down my legs, they still had an indifferent look on their faces. "Trust me we don't give a fuck about what is happening to you right now," it came from my left side, and I turned to him. He seemed like their boss if we were to place them by their body size. His eyes were deadly, so was his face, and he had a scar just under his right eye. "Yeah, we don't!" Another one from my right-hand side barked. I was surrounded. 'What…what do you think we should do?' I heard my wolf stutter. She could not hide her fear. Neither could I, but there was nothing I could do; I didn't know what might happen to the baby if I messed up, so I just stood in a particular spot. "Please," I was barely able to find my voice but they
Aveline "You look beautiful." He remarked, taking a seat opposite me."What will you like? The cheeseburger here bangs. I recommend that." He said, looking back at the menu.I was still trying to recover from him pulling out the chair for me before he hit me with a compliment I'd only heard from my friend for the past nine years."So, what are you doing now? Did you get a job elsewhere?" He asked after we placed our orders."Nothing yet, for now, it's hard getting a job around here with this big bump," I said, laughing at myself but he wasn't amused.I could see the sympathetic look on his face."Is there anything you'd like to do?" He asked again, making me lose the smile on my face.Thinking about all the dreams and plans I'd had before finding out that I was still pregnant, it felt like a bad memory but I shrugged it off."I wanted to own my own business, my empire. Satisfying the needs of the public while making enough money in the process." I replied with a distant smile on my f
AvelineThe next day, I woke up with hunger from not eating as well as I should have the previous day.Pushing myself to my feet, I slowly made my way to the kitchen I searched for anything I could munch on before going to the supermarket and I thanked the stars for one apple left in the fridge.Munching on the apple with relish, I changed from my pajamas and brushed my teeth before going grocery shopping and, the baby shower photos.I got thinking about what Sabrina said to me the previous day and she was right. I let my bad experiences cloud the beautiful gift I'd been given was one that would hurt me in the future.I felt the baby move and I smiled to myself, it must've heard my thoughts and agreed with my resolve to leave the past behind and move forward starting now.After a few minutes of walking to the grocery store, I got there and went shopping. Picking up a cart, I strolled down each role in search of what would be needed to keep me going for at least a month and by the time
AvelineI settled for a bag of chips and a cold milk from the fridge. I was so tired and famished and I felt like if I didn't satisfy my hunger at this moment, I'd join my ancestors with the moon goddess. I couldn't tell if it was the growing child in my womb or the stress and frustration from work, but I felt like I could eat a full house. Munching on the chips like I'd stolen them and gulping the milk with satisfaction, I found myself thinking about Draven.What he would be doing by that time, if he was still with Emily if Sophie was still as sassy as before and if they'd found someone else to continue their evil on..A sad smile crossed my face and I shook my head in regret of the many years I'd spent wasting off with Draven, working like a slave and treated like one indeed but not receiving any reward in return.Speaking of rewards, I was supposed to receive a hundred thousand dollars after the contract was completed but I didn't have the mind to tell him about it.Hell, I was to