AVAI sat in the dimly lit library, my heart pounding as I rifled through the stacks of old family records and documents. The mansion was asleep, but my mind was wide awake, driven by a single purpose: uncovering the truth about Eleanor and what she was hiding or better still, plotting.Tamy had managed to help me gain access to these records, sneaking the key to the library from John’s study while he was distracted. Mark had suggested the idea and right now he was around, ransacking the house downstairs for clues.The Tysons had gone out for what I hope was an eventful family outing without me. And truthfully I was happy they didn’t invite me to their little gathering. I needed time to gather evidences and get Liam out of that place and time wasn’t by my side.I knew that this was risky, and if anyone caught I and Mark, it would raise more than a few eyebrows, but I had to know more about Eleanor. Her behavior had been too calculated, her knowledge too specific. She wasn’t just a pa
AVAI had waited long enough. Days had passed since I uncovered Eleanor’s dark secrets in the library, and every minute since then had been filled with a mix of anger, fear, and a relentless drive to confront her. Eleanor might have fooled the entire world with her calm demeanor and carefully crafted lies, but I knew better now. I needed answers, and I needed them directly from her.The mansion was unusually quiet as I made my way through the grand hallways. Everyone else seemed to have gone out or retired to their rooms. This was the perfect moment to catch Eleanor alone, to make her face the truth without any of her usual defenses. I found her in the drawing room, standing by the large bay window, staring out at the darkening sky. She didn’t hear me approach, her back turned to me, the only sound in the room the soft ticking of the grandfather clock.“Eleanor,” I called out, my voice steady despite the storm brewing inside me.She turned slowly, her expression calm but curious. “Ava
AVA Dinner was a quiet affair that evening. The clinking of silverware against fine china was the only sound that echoed through the dimly lit dining room. My appetite had vanished, replaced by a gnawing sense of dread that curled in the pit of my stomach. Eleanor sat across from me, her eyes like cold steel as they flickered over the table. Every word she spoke was laced with an edge that no one else seemed to notice, but it cut into me like a knife. I knew she was watching me, calculating. Her presence had become unbearable, her silence even more so. The tension in the air was palpable, and I could feel her eyes on me as I forced down another bite, trying to appear unbothered. But deep down, I knew something was coming. Something I wasn’t prepared for. As the meal drew to a close, the others excused themselves one by one, retreating to their respective corners of the mansion. I lingered a moment longer, hesitating to leave the table, dreading the inevitable encounter with Eleanor
The fluorescent lights in the boardroom of the mental asylum flickered slightly, casting a cold, sterile light over the long wooden table where the board members sat. Ava stood at one end of the room, her hands gripping the edges of a file folder that held weeks' worth of work and hope. Beside her, Mark adjusted his glasses and gave her a small nod of encouragement. They were about to present their findings—evidence that could change Liam’s fate.Ava took a deep breath. “Thank you all for meeting with us today,” she began, her voice steady but charged with emotion. “We have compelling evidence that my husband, Liam, is not a violent man. His recent outbursts were caused by being drugged, not because of any inherent mental instability.”She opened the folder and began passing out copies of the report Mark had meticulously compiled. The board members, a mix of doctors, administrators, and legal experts, took the documents and scanned them with varying levels of interest and skepticism.
AVAThe warm glow of the golden lamp stand danced against the walls of the house, casting its shadows and feeling the living room with its warmth. The room was silent, devoid of any other inhabitant apart from I and Liam.I half expected to see Uncle John standing like a barricade in front of the house but he was nowhere to be found the moment we got back home, neither were Clara and Davies.We were in absolute peace and I loved it. I just wish it would last .I still can’t believe it , my Liam is finally back! He sat on the couch, expectantly waiting for dinner as I worked like a bee in preparing his favorite meal. This was the first evening he was spending with me and in this house ever since his release from that goddamn asylum. It still felt so surreal to me that I’d glance repeatedly at him as I set up the dining table to make sure Liam was actually there and I wasn’t hallucinating. Having set up everything, I called out to Liam, beckoning on him to come eat, “Liam dinner
AVADAYS LATER“No wait Liam let me help you out of it..” I helped Liam take off a tight fitted vest after he had been struggling with it for what spanned like a century.“I genuinely thought it would be my size Ava” he said after exhaling a breath of relief the moment the vest came off.I shook my head at him, a mild chuckle leaving my lips, “I did tell you before hand that this vest looked too small” A frown spread across his lips causing me to laugh more, “what a waste of good wool. I’ll have to toss it out now” “Toss it out? Why don’t we drop it in the towns voluntary home? You know it’s still a good vest and it could size anybody else and you would be doing a good deed” I suggested.A wide smile lit up his face and he concurred, “Brilliant Ava, you are brilliant. We’d go this evening then yes?” He asked to which I nodded in affirmation.I loved moments like these, moments were it was just the both of us in our own little world, happy and at peace. Lately we’ve been having a bit
AVAThe drive up the mountain had been long and winding, the kind that made my stomach churn as we climbed higher and higher into what felt like the middle of nowhere. I glanced over at Liam, his face pressed against the window, marveling at the view with the same wide-eyed wonder he always had. He looked… peaceful. That’s what made me bite my tongue, keeping my concerns about this entire trip to myself. After everything we had been through, I figured he deserved a moment of peace.Uncle John’s unexpected invitation still lingered at the back of my mind like a bad taste. A trip to a remote villa in the mountains, just Liam and me, to help us reconnect after the madness of the past few months. I hadn’t trusted him for a second. Why now? Why the sudden generosity? What was he planning? I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being lured into something dangerous. But then Liam had insisted we go, practically begging me to give it a chance. For him, I had agreed.The car’s tires crunche
AVAI clunged tightly onto Liam as he carried me like an egg towards our bedroom. I can’t believe this is happening.Are we really going to be intimate tonight?Like an answer to my thoughts, Liam used a leg and pushed open the door to our room.He laid me gently on the bed, his touch ever so delicate and soothing on my skin whilst his lips plundered mine so fiercely and desperately. His lips moved from mine, trailing downwards to my collarbone and I let out a sharp gasp, shocked at the electrifying effect I got when he nibbled on my skin.I let out an airily moan, the night unfolding in a way I hadn’t expected. “You are so so beautiful my sweet Ava” Liam whispered against my skin, his breath caressing me and sending goosebumps rolling across my body.His eyes looked up to mine and I breathed heavily, my body tingling from the flurry of sensations I was getting.“I have waited far too long Ava” his voice was hoarse with a suppressed need. I nodded, unable to even utter a single wor