Chapter 007

AVA

“Grrrrrr!” The harsh sound of the alarm clock filtering into my ears had me groaning as I woke up with a start. I massaged my temples and stretched, letting out a small yawn. 

“Freedom at last,” I muttered under my breath when A chuckle filtered into my ears again, making me jolt. My hands flew to my chest to stop the beating organ from bursting out in fright.

Emily? Standing right in the middle of my room with a wild smile on her face was the maid who helped me escape that day.

I stared at her for a minute, blinking and rubbing my eyes to be certain she was the one.

“It’s me, Ava” She said, smiling, and I jolted from my bed, running to meet her. 

“It's you!” I squealed in delight, throwing my arms around her in a tight hug. “How did you get in here? Did he see you?!” I whisper-yelled after releasing her from my grip. 

She nodded, raising her hands in a placating manner. “Yes, he saw me”

What?!

I hugged her again. “I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that because of me.” I apologized profusely. 

She wrinkled her nose, confused, before staring at me deeply. “I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. I went away for a few days on a personal assignment.” 

What? 

“You mean you have been unharmed all this while?” I inquired to be sure of what I was hearing. I had lost sleep because of this issue, and now she tells me that she has been fine all along. 

“That's right, ma'am.” 

Wow. I blinked at her, not understanding where all of this was stemming from. 

Seeing my confusion, she decided to put me out of my misery. “Mr. Zayn never punished me, only issued a stern warning, I think that it's a ploy to control you and scare you from escaping again.” 

The hell he was! He was probably one of those wealthy men who refused to acknowledge the fact that not everyone could be controlled. 

A rush of emotions filled my heart, bordering on gratitude, relief, all at once. I tapped her arm instead. “I'm glad that you are back.” 

“Yeah, me too. I'm going downstairs to prepare the table. Breakfast starts in twenty minutes.” She announced before turning away. 

Good. 

Twenty minutes later, I headed downstairs, feeling a sense of excitement since I had received permission from Mr. Arrogant.  I double-checked my outfit in the corridor mirror and nodded. At least I looked presentable.

From my vantage point, I spotted Zayn sitting at the dining table with his head buried in his phone with his brows furrowed in concentration. 

Feeling bold, I decided to join him. My slippers clicked on the linoleum floor, but he refused to look up until I stopped at the seat beside him. “Good morning to you, Mr. Arrogant”. I said, reaching for the chair tentatively as I waited for him to respond.

He raised his head to look at me and after staring at me for a while, he finally spoke up, “You’re not supposed to eat with me” He responded, his voice cold and detached. 

A grin spread widely on my face “Ooopsie,” I started to say, “I’m so sorry sir, but the baby wants to eat her and if I’m right, the baby gets whatever he wants right?” I asked jokingly, my voice dripping with sarcasm, but he didn’t respond.

He returned his focus to his phone, making me roll my eyes and dig in the baguette. 

They smelt delicious, and I could feel my insides leaping for joy at the thought of consuming the lovely meal. 

He had wonderful maids. I just hoped that he treated them nicely. 

I noticed his gaze on me and raised my face to meet his, “Do you have something to say, Mr.?” I asked, raising my brows.

“Stop munching loudly, it’s irritating” He spoke up before continuing on his phone and I increased the sound, for unknown reason I enjoyed making him annoyed. 

Everything was going on smoothly until a chunk of baguette got stuck in my throat and I tried as much as possible to bring it out to no avail. 

I cleared my throat various times just to get rid of the lodged chunk in my windpipe. My throat was beginning to hurt from the pain of swallowing. I grabbed the glass of juice in front of me to wash it down, but it only worsened the situation. 

“Z-zayn,” I called him, but he ignored me like I didn't even exist. I tapped on his side of the table, yet he refused to answer. 

“Zayn!” I yelled out in frustration. 

That proved disastrous because, at this point, I had already begun to choke, coughing out loudly. His head piped up like a bullet. His eyes widened in horror. 

“Holy shit!” He cussed and sprang into action, reaching for a jug of water that was opposite me. “Take this.” he poured the water into the glass, spilling a few drops in the process. “My goodness! Are you okay?” He asked before patting my back gently like a child.

The water helped to ease the tension in my throat, and I found myself swallowing again, but this time, it ran through my throat freely. 

I sighed in relief and blinked back the tears threatening to fall off as a testament to the pain I was feeling.

“How are you feeling?” He asked again with concern flickering in his eyes. 

Zayn’s eyes locked unto mine and I felt a shiver run down my spine.“Yeah, yeah, I'm better now,” I swallowed from the intensity of his gaze. “Thank you.” 

He kept staring into my eyes, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, avoiding his intense gaze. “Umm…” I trailed off. 

“You should be careful next time, chew slowly.” He said, and the only thing I could notice was the little distance between us. He was so close. 

I give a slight shake of the head. “Yeah, it was a total mistake.” I chuckled nervously. “It's not as though I would want to…”

He nodded while still staring into my eyes, “I understand, you have to be careful next time, it’s not good for the baby” 

Way to mess it up, Mr. arrogant. He was only acting concerned because of the baby. Why was he staring at me so much? I fought the urge to ask him to sit down and stop pretending like he cared about me. 

His gaze dropped to my neck and I instinctively swallowed. “Do you want to continue eating this, or can the maids get you something else?” He inquired from me. 

Yeah, that made sense. We had still not broken eye contact. “I'd go for another meal,” I muttered. 

He stood up, straightening himself when an angry voice thundered. “What the hell is going on here?” 

I turned back to see his wife, Sophia, staring daggers at me.