Ava wiped her tears and shot a glare at samantha. “You knew about this too?”"Oh, come on, Ava," Samantha teased. "Don't be stupid now. We were business partners. I had no idea about your secret one night stand. I became partners with Norman after your father threatened to ruin my career, because he wanted to protect his beloved family reputation.”Ava went pale and her head spun. She thought samantha really cared about her when she advised her and helped her to get shawn back, but she had came to her with ulterior motives, and Norman was behind her all along. "You joined hands with Norman to hurt me. I've done nothing to deserve this from you, Sam.” She said with tears pouring down her eyes.Norman stepped closer, with a firm expression. “Don't play the victim here, Ava. You did everything you did for yourself. It was for your own selfish needs.”Ava wiped her tears and shot him a death glare "What are you saying?""Don't play dumb with us," Samantha cut in, "Yes, it was part of my
There was heavy tension in the room, as Shawn's burning gaze was focused on Ava. His eyes sucked the air out of her lungs, and she stood stil with a wide eye, trembling in fear with her fist clenched on both sides."What the bloody hell are you doing here with Norman?" Shawn's tone sliced the air like a sharp blade.Ava flinched at his voice, and she stepped back, still trembling. "I—I can explain," she whispered.Shawn's face went cold. "You better have a good explanation for this."Ava's knees wobbled under her. She didn't know how much he heard or where to start her explanation from. "I didn't mean to do any of it, Shawn." she moved closer to him with tears in her eyes, hoping it would make him pity her. "I was used and manipulated by them. I swear– I would never betray you on purpose. Please believe me.”“Used and manipulated?" Shawn let out a bitter chuckle."That's your excuse?"Ava's heart crushed. He didn’t believe her. "I was scared! I was trapped and didn't know what to do.
The ride home was silent as Ryan drove Ava home in her carAva's knuckles were whitening as her fist clenched on her laps. She could hear the sound of her heartbeat as she thought about what she was going to face when she got home.Ryan gripped tightly on the steering wheel, jaws clenched in a hard line. He was furious and seething, but beneath the anger was something else. He was supposed to be angry and yelling at her, but all he felt was pity for her.She could feel it also, she hated being treated like that- being vulnerable and pitied but that was the only thing she could hold on to now."Are you ready?" Ryan finally said, rolling up in front of the Wadsley house. The house loomed above, the lights flickered through the windows but not stopping the storm raging in Ava's brain.Her head was spinning, she let out in a soft tone "No." She shivered, her voice quivering. "But do I have a choice?”Ryan sighed and relaxed back into his seat. "You always have a choice in every decision,
Darlington's mansion loomed over him as Shawn grasped the steering wheel with hands tightly clenched, his mind thinking a mile a minute per second. He never imagined that he would find himself here today, but with everything that had just transpired in seconds ago, he had more pressing things to attend to. All he had to do was learn.The instant he drove into the driveway, he cut off the motor and stepped out, teeth gritted in a granite smile. Air was nearly as cold as ice as he strode up to the front door.A servant flung the door wide open for him before he would have gotten there on his own two pounding feet. "Welcome home, Mr. Darlington." The maid greeted with a smile on her face.Shawn tried to greet back with a smile, but he wasn’t in the mood and he couldn’t fake it."Where's my father?" he asked immediately.Her expression changed at his cold demeanour. She could instantly tell that he was in a bad mood."Your father is in his study," She said.Shawn remained silent. He st
"Please, Eva. Just this once. I need you to go." Ava leaned against the doorframe, eyes pleading she clasped her hands together. "It'll be easy, just like always.”Eva stared at her twin sister, her belly twisting. "I don't know, Ava," she muttered. "This... it's getting out of hand. He still doesn't know it's me, and every time I go, I feel like I'm lying to him.”Ava waved a hand dismissively. "You really are worrying too much. Shawn's practically into me already, there's no risk. Besides," she added, grinning, "you've been having fun, haven't you? Getting out of the house, meeting people, finally enjoying yourself a bit?"“It's not that simple," Eva said, refusing to look at her sister. Fun? Each date with Shawn had left her exhilarated, yet guilty, a feeling she could not tease apart. She knew she was enjoying his company far too much, more than she could admit to herself. But what was also more difficult was pretending to be Ava night after night. "What if he finds out?”"He won'
"You did what?" Ava's voice cut through the silent quiet of their bedroom. Wide-eyed with shock, her tone was ice-cold with anger. "Eva, I told you to go and keep him company-not accept his proposal!”Eva stumbled backward, her heart racing in her chest, as if she'd been punched. She did her utmost to steady her voice. "I-I didn't mean to, Ava! He just…he asked and I couldn't bring myself to hurt him like that."“Hurt him?" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up for emphasis. "You're telling me you couldn't say one word? No, Eva. That's all you had to say. Instead, you made him think that he was proposing to me, and now I have a fiance who I don't even care about?”"'I thought you cared,' Eva snapped back, her angry flush reaching to meet Ava's. “Or at least I thought you cared about keeping him around for business. Isn't that why you wanted me to keep going on these dates in the first place? To make sure he stayed close?"Ava curls her lips up in a sneering smile. "Fine, fine, Eva. Don'
"Ava, what are you doing?" Eva's voice shrill, echoing off the walls of the bridal suite. She stood in the doorway, staring in incredulous horror as Ava hastily gathered her things, the fragile wedding dress left ignored on the mannequin beside her. “Where are you going?”Ava whipped around to face her, her features set in a determined glare. "Anywhere but here. I'm not going through with this, Eva."“What?" Eva's heart was racing, her mind refusing to believe what it was hearing. "But everyone's here, the guests, our families. Shawn's waiting.""Well, I didn't ask them to wait on me, did I?" Ava snapped, the bitterness ripe in her tone as she crammed another dress into her suitcase, her eyes never straying to her sister. "This is all your fault, you know.”Eva's breath caught, the pang of guilt tight around her heart. "My fault? Ava, I went on that date because you asked me to. I did it to help you, you literally beg me to go on every date with him.”"Precisely," Ava retorted, her ey
As she came onto the plush carpet, circling her arm around her father's, the heels echoed against the polished marble floor. A chandelier of a thousand glittering diamonds seemed to hang above the crowded guests of this ornate hall in a warm, golden glow. Delicate white roses and ivy adorned the aisle as every step brought her closer to the altar. Shawn was standing there, with his well styled short black hair, poised in his white suit, fitting his athletic build perfectly. She couldn't look at Shawn; who was throwing a bright smile in her direction, she couldn't bear all the love and trust in his eyes, knowing what she had done."Dad… I'm scared," Eva whispered, shaking from the heaviness of her thoughts.He smiled proudly and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You look perfect, my darling. You'll do great. Shawn's waiting for you, he's a good guy. You have no reason to be scared, dear."She forced a smile, the words like an emptiness in her mouth. They reached the front, and then,
Darlington's mansion loomed over him as Shawn grasped the steering wheel with hands tightly clenched, his mind thinking a mile a minute per second. He never imagined that he would find himself here today, but with everything that had just transpired in seconds ago, he had more pressing things to attend to. All he had to do was learn.The instant he drove into the driveway, he cut off the motor and stepped out, teeth gritted in a granite smile. Air was nearly as cold as ice as he strode up to the front door.A servant flung the door wide open for him before he would have gotten there on his own two pounding feet. "Welcome home, Mr. Darlington." The maid greeted with a smile on her face.Shawn tried to greet back with a smile, but he wasn’t in the mood and he couldn’t fake it."Where's my father?" he asked immediately.Her expression changed at his cold demeanour. She could instantly tell that he was in a bad mood."Your father is in his study," She said.Shawn remained silent. He st
The ride home was silent as Ryan drove Ava home in her carAva's knuckles were whitening as her fist clenched on her laps. She could hear the sound of her heartbeat as she thought about what she was going to face when she got home.Ryan gripped tightly on the steering wheel, jaws clenched in a hard line. He was furious and seething, but beneath the anger was something else. He was supposed to be angry and yelling at her, but all he felt was pity for her.She could feel it also, she hated being treated like that- being vulnerable and pitied but that was the only thing she could hold on to now."Are you ready?" Ryan finally said, rolling up in front of the Wadsley house. The house loomed above, the lights flickered through the windows but not stopping the storm raging in Ava's brain.Her head was spinning, she let out in a soft tone "No." She shivered, her voice quivering. "But do I have a choice?”Ryan sighed and relaxed back into his seat. "You always have a choice in every decision,
There was heavy tension in the room, as Shawn's burning gaze was focused on Ava. His eyes sucked the air out of her lungs, and she stood stil with a wide eye, trembling in fear with her fist clenched on both sides."What the bloody hell are you doing here with Norman?" Shawn's tone sliced the air like a sharp blade.Ava flinched at his voice, and she stepped back, still trembling. "I—I can explain," she whispered.Shawn's face went cold. "You better have a good explanation for this."Ava's knees wobbled under her. She didn't know how much he heard or where to start her explanation from. "I didn't mean to do any of it, Shawn." she moved closer to him with tears in her eyes, hoping it would make him pity her. "I was used and manipulated by them. I swear– I would never betray you on purpose. Please believe me.”“Used and manipulated?" Shawn let out a bitter chuckle."That's your excuse?"Ava's heart crushed. He didn’t believe her. "I was scared! I was trapped and didn't know what to do.
Ava wiped her tears and shot a glare at samantha. “You knew about this too?”"Oh, come on, Ava," Samantha teased. "Don't be stupid now. We were business partners. I had no idea about your secret one night stand. I became partners with Norman after your father threatened to ruin my career, because he wanted to protect his beloved family reputation.”Ava went pale and her head spun. She thought samantha really cared about her when she advised her and helped her to get shawn back, but she had came to her with ulterior motives, and Norman was behind her all along. "You joined hands with Norman to hurt me. I've done nothing to deserve this from you, Sam.” She said with tears pouring down her eyes.Norman stepped closer, with a firm expression. “Don't play the victim here, Ava. You did everything you did for yourself. It was for your own selfish needs.”Ava wiped her tears and shot him a death glare "What are you saying?""Don't play dumb with us," Samantha cut in, "Yes, it was part of my
It was already dark when Ava stepped out of her car. The secluded building stood at the outskirts of the area and she had to walk there. Her grip tightened on the big bag she was holding as she got to the door. She took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder one more time before twisting the door handle. The creak of the open door pushed the bitter scent of scorched cement and motor oil back into her nostrils. Samatha leaned her shoulders against a pile of crates, crossed arms, pursed lips curled into a crazed smile as she saw her. Norman Darlington, however, was sitting in a comfortably broken-in leather armchair in the far corner, whiskey sloshing back and forth between his fingers. A whirlwind of excitement churned in his head as Ava walked toward him.She did not even bat an eyelid. She raised the bag she was holding and slammed it on the table in front of Norman. "There," she spat. "There's the money you both asked for. Now stop this madness before my dad's company goes ban
Henry Darlington was on his phone in his home office when he received a message from one of his clients, Edward Langstone. It was a voice message, and he wondered what was in it. He stopped what he was doing and played the message. There were murmurs of far-off voices, glass clinking, and soft music playing a party, then a familiar voice came in. "Richard Wadsley and Henry Darlington thought they were unstoppable and everyone else, or at least wished they were. They were just emotional fools. I sabotaged their business deal to ruin it in their faces, and they did not even know it was a sabotage. After all those years of friendship and partnership, it was so easy to break them apart. Without the support of each other, they are as good as weak, but my main target was Henry, I only wanted to remove Richard from the picture. “Wow, that's brilliant.” Another voice came in. “So how's the result going?” He chuckled. “Trust me, it's going great. Darlington Enterprises hanging by his fing
Ryan forced through the doors of Shawn's office without bothering to knock. His jaw was set in a line of urgency, his head a whirlwind of possibilities. The dim light inside the office cast shadows on Shawn's face, who sat behind his desk with his expression filled with controlled fury. The door slammed into the wall but shattered no portion of his stubborn fury. His fingers drummed slowly and deliberate over the fine polished wood. Ryan's pale blue eyes sparkled. "You said something about an emergency," he said, entering and closing the door. "What is it?” His voice was a little coarse and impatient Shawn exhaled, the weight of it coming down hard as it laid on his chest. He did not even look at Ryan, but instead allowed his eye to track the line of the desk in an attempt to put some sort of control on the anger in him. His tightened on the edge of the desk, and his knuckles whitened."Ava knows something.” Ryan's eyebrows sprang. "Knows something about what?"Shawn's head jerked
Ava shoved Shawn's brown front door wide open and took a deep breath, waiting there as the door creaked shut behind her. The day's activities hung heavy on her shoulders like a damp cape. And she couldn't wait to relax and have a good night's sleep. She walked in expecting to see Madam Tess all over the kitchen, but the house was quiet. It was at this time tonight that Madam Tess would be cleaning the kitchen and also preparing Shawn's study for his arrival from work. Her hand rested on the chill of the console table as she placed her handbag down. The reflex wasn't comforting. A cold, shivery scuttering feeling crawled down her spine as though someone was standing behind her, watching her.And she saw him.Shawn was at the bottom of the stairs, lit by the faint light of the hallway chandelier. One hand was in his sweatpants pocket, the other clumsily holding a tumbler of amber liquor. His eyes, which met hers, were dark and impenetrable.Ava's heart skipped a beat.She swallowed.
Chapter 166: Betrayal UncoveredThe blood-curdling, ear-splitting alarm ripped the air in Shawn Darlington's office, widened at the sight of the bug alarm wailing close to his desk. He shot Logan a furious look, their eyes that groaned with agony as he went on sweeping stuff off his desk, clearing space one-piece at a time.“There's a bug on my desk? Scan them all, one by one" Shawn commanded, his voice cracking. "We have to get that son of a bitch bug.”Logan rampaged through the desk, pens, folders, a glass frame shattered into pieces but there was nothing in it. The scanner kept roaring like a rabid animal.Shawn's hands were clenched into tight fists. He'd been thinking just how his cousin got all his ideas, but now he had proof. There has been a bug in his office all along, on his desk for that matter. Every plan, every conversation, every confidential meeting and information was being listened to.Logan removed the desk lamp. The beeping became more urgent.Shawn's teeth pressed