ZAYN'S POV.“Shit!” I yelled, hitting the steering as I sped down the highway. Carter’s words still echoed in my mind, “Ms Ava has been involved in a home accident”.My grip on the steering tightened, an image was already forming in my head; An image of Ava hurt and vulnerable like the night of the painting and my heart was already racing, I had promised that no harm would come to her.I screeched to a halt in front of the mansion, not caring to pack inside as I ran into the mansion, minding the stares from my workers. My only concern was Ava’s safety.Carter was standing in front of the kitchen, looking more relaxed than I'd have expected him to. “Carter!” I called out as I walked to where he stood, my voice laced with urgency and concern. “Were you able to catch the culprit?”He looked at me, confusion etched on his face, “There was no culprit sir, it was just a minor home accident in the kitchen”.“And why are you here instead of safeguarding her room?” I asked, my voice cold and
AVA’S POV.I pounced on my bed, heaving a deep breath. That conversation escalated into a quarrel real quick, and I was at fault.My emotions were all over the place and coupled with the dream I had, I just felt like releasing all my frustration on him. He just… Why did he have to blast out of nowhere screaming at me when I was still having a hard time defining what the heck was going on between us?I had to apologize. Tomorrow I was going to be in the same office with him and this tension between us won’t help. After minutes or perhaps hours of contemplating, I strode out through my door, as I headed to his home office. My hand rose to knock on his door, “Ma'am. He's not in.” One of the men told me curtly, and my hand fell. I turned to look at him, “Do you have any idea where he might have gone?” I asked, my voice low and calm. “I’m afraid I do not know that, ma'am.” Right. That was pointless. Why did I even ask?I left the hall, looking around, but eventually decided to go out
AVA’S POV.I pushed the door open, striding into the room, heading to my closet. “Sweater, sweater….” I muttered continuously, as my fingers brushed through the clothes. There it was, hiding behind a dress. I snatched it, and closed the closet door. However, before I could turn, a shrill sound rang out, and my eyes were drawn to the bed stand, where a phone lit the room.Wait, that wasn't mine. I walked to it, peering down into the screen. Then the call ended abruptly, and I saw 29 missed calls. This was Emily's. “So forgetful.” I muttered, shaking my head fondly, as I kicked up the phone. Almost immediately, a message came in. I wasn't going to look, but… I saw it anyway.What?! My fingers went weak instantly, and the phone slipped out of my hand, clattering to the floor. My feet fell back, as my heartbeat rose, pounding in my chest as I kept staring at the phone, with trembling parted lips. I kept swallowing, trying to calm myself down, but it seemed impossible. My body was
AVA'S POV “No….please no!!!” I yelled as I jolted up from my sleep, my body drenched in sweat despite the air conditioners, Zayn who was sitting on the chair beside me was also awake as he came closer to the bed.“Are you okay?” He asked, concern etched on his face and I nodded, still reeling from the dream.I heaved a deep breath, “it’s just a dream” I spoke up, my voice cracking as the tears threatened to fall. These days I was becoming an emotional mess and I hated it so much; perhaps because of the pregnancy.“Care to share?” He asked, breaking me away from my thoughts and I turned to face him, “It’s nothing, just a replica of what happened hours ago”.“It’s fine, don’t let that bother you. She’s gone now. If anyone else is going to come after you, I’ll get them before they can get to you” He assured me, stroking my hair gently. I settled back into my bed,“But she said something.” “Who?” “Emily.” I started to say, my voice low and calm. “She's following orders. Someone made h
AVA'S POV “What the fuck are you doing here?” Zayn yelled, his tone icy as he stared daggers at the lady who had just walked in. “And what happened to knocking before walking into someone's office?” I stood there frozen, unsure of what to do. The lady walked closer, her eyes on me as she scanned me from head to toe before turning back to face Zayn, “That’s not how to greet your sist…” She was still saying when Zayn cut her short.“Step-sister! And you’re yet to tell me what you’re doing in my office”. Zayn had a sister? But why was he so angry? “Stop barking Zayn, you might scare the pretty lady here” She started to say, a girl formed on her face, “Who’s she and where’s your supposed fiancée?”Zayn's face darkened, “None of your business, Cassandra!” He responded, his voice cold and detached. “And now if you would excuse me, I have important things to attend to, Get out!”The tension was so thick as they both stared at each other, not breaking contact. Shit. This was a very awkwa
AVA’S POV After lunch break, the day ran by quickly. It was already night and I believed almost everyone had ended their day. My gaze lingered on Zayn’s office door, he hasn’t come out or spoken to me since I rejected the offer to eat lunch with him.I looked at the clock, 8:50pm. What was he still doing? Or perhaps he was asleep?After a few minutes of waiting to see if he would come out, I finally stood up and headed straight to his office, knocking softly before pushing the door open. He was seated in his chair, going through some files, he didn’t even look up, “Mr. Beckham, it's almost 9pm” I started to say, my voice low and calm, “I want to go home”. I added, but he didn’t respond, Instead he continued flipping through the pages of the file he was holding.“I’m sorry if I’m disturbing, but it’s quite late and…..” I trailed off, he wasn’t even listening to me and I could feel my frustration rise. “You know what, don’t bother. Carter will take me home and return to come pick you
AVA'S POV My mind was already jumbled, and I couldn’t bear to witness another argument between them, “Goodnight” I muttered before walking out and heading straight to my room.As I entered my room, I collapsed on my bed, feeling extremely weak and exhausted. My eyelids drooped and felt heavy, and I let out a deep breath. The ceiling above me became a blur as my gaze drifted lazily, and before I knew it, I slipped into a deep sleep. I woke up the next morning, feeling a bit disoriented and hazy. As I sat up, my gaze fell on a small note on my bed stand, “Hey, I didn't want to wake you up since you looked tired, Carter will take you to the hospital. I have an important meeting to attend to, sorry I couldn’t accompany you. —Zayn”I guess this was his way of apologizing for the stunt he pulled yesterday. Stretching my arms, I got down from my bed and headed to the bathroom. In no time, I was ready and walked out of my tell only to bump into Cassandra.“Oh…. I’m sorry. I was about to c
AVA’S POV“So Ava, I’ll prescribe some drugs for the weakness, and I’ll also recommend gyming for you, it helps a lot during pregnancy”. Doctor Kimberly said as we all exited the test room. Cassandra and I branched at the pharmacy to get the drugs before returning to the car, I had to convince her not to say a word to Zayn.I just had to look for the perfect way to start a conversation, “Cass…” I was about to say when she cut in.“You still seem so dazed.” She began to say, “I know it's awkward since it's your first time having a child. I mean, children, but I guess the news is so good you can't believe it.” She chuckled, turning the wheel.“No. I've… I've been thinking about something else.” I said, fidgeting hard with my fingers.This was an opportunity. I had to seize it. “What is that?”“About the triplets, can you please not tell Zayn? I want it to come as a surprise, or perhaps tell him myself”.She looked at me for a while, with parted lips, but eventually looked away. “Hmm,
CARTER.United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Cleveland Clinic, 9am. The sound of the beeping machines was the only thing that could be heard in the room. I walked to where she was laying down…looking so pale but her beauty remained untouched. She was still as beautiful as ever. Infact the most beautiful lady I have ever seen. I heaved a deep breath taking a seat beside her, my eyes fixed on her. I couldn’t stop wondering— what if I didn’t get there in time? When I called that fateful day, and she didn’t pick my calls, I knew something was wrong. My men confirmed it when they spotted her car speeding out of her house. We tracked her location but by the time I got there, it was already too late. The divers began their work and Ava was found deep in the water. It was a miracle that she still had a faint heartbeat. We made sure to clean all our tracks before leaving the vicinity. Treatment commenced immediately in New York but when I discovered Zayn still believed she was alive I had t
ZAYN. I staggered into the house, my head spinning. This had been my daily routine for two months now, and I didn’t care. Ava has left a deep void filled with darkness in my heart and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to accept she was dead. I ended up getting drunk every day, so I could see her in my dreams. Immediately I stepped into the sitting room, the light was turned, and I covered my eyes with my hands. “Who the fuck is that? Turn off that light!” I yelled, my head pounding. “When are you going to stop this?” Cassandra’s brittle voice spoke up, “For goodness sake, Zayn, it’s 4am in the morning, and you have been in the bar all day.” She continued, “You think this is what Ava would want? You drinking yourself to stupor?” “I …w…wasn’t drinking.” I lied. She scoffed, “You reek of alcohol, Zayn. From your clothes to your scent, everything about you and it’s so infuriating since you’re supposed to be a father of newborn babies.”
ZAYN I heard it. A gunshot. My stomach twisted as I redialed her number, but it wasn’t going through. Without hesitation, I dashed out of my office—running. I didn’t care about the stares I was receiving as I shoved past anyone in my way. The last words of Ava kept ringing in my ears. “Save the kids…” My breath was ragged as I ran down the stairs. I couldn’t wait for the elevator. The panic…the fear… in her tone shook me to the core. They are in danger. My family is in danger! In minutes, I was at the parking lot. I got in my car, my hands trembling as I started the engine. “Nothing is going to happen to them.” I kept muttering to myself, like a prayer I was trying so much to believe. I tried her number once again, but it kept redirecting to voicemail. My heart sank. With one hand on the steering, I called the police. “Ava and the kids are in danger.” I said, my voice laced with urgency, “I need your men at my house, now.” The ch
AVA My eyes widened in shock as tears threatened to fall from my eyes….Casandra…was the…. “Fuck you!” I yelled at her, “What did I ever do to deserve this from you?!”I trusted her.I thought we had a sisterly bond, but she wanted me dead all along. She couldn’t look me in the face and from where I stood I could see a teardrop from her eyes.“Why the hell are you crying, you witch?” I continued, as tears rolled down my cheeks, “Zayn warned me….he did! But I choose to trust you.”Why did everyone I trust always end up hurting me? She raised her face to look at me, “I… I’m sorry, Ava…it wasn’t supposed to happen like this. This is not about you, and I’m so sorry you got dragged into all this, but it has to happen.”What was she saying?“What…”“Oh, dearest Ava,” Sophia cut in with a smirk on her face, “let me answer your questions.”She stepped closer, the gun still in her hand, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.“Cassandra has never been the angel you thought she was…..remember Am
AVA It’s been a day now since the wedding and Carter’s warning, and even though I didn’t appreciate his intent, I knew there had to be some truth in what he was saying. “Zayn…” I called out, tapping him gently. It was already noon, but we were still resting from the wedding. “It’s urgent.” I added, and he stretched his arms before sitting up, he looked at me and could sense that something wasn’t right, “Are you okay?” “Yes…actually no.” I muttered incoherently, “I want us to leave the country tomorrow.” “Why?” He asked, his face scrunched up in confusion. I heaved a deep breath. We just got married, and the last thing I wanted was to start our marriage with lies or secrets. “Carter was here.” He froze for a second before responding, “When? Why? How?” Zayn questioned all at once. I narrated to him our ordeal and why Carter left. I also told him about the encounter with him on our wedding. “Why didn’t you tell me all this while?” “I didn’t w
AVA A MONTH LATER Today was finally the day. The day I would be officially called Mrs Beckham. I sat in front of the mirror as the makeup artist worked her magic on my face, sitting next to me was Cassandra—my maid of honor. It had to be her. Over the past four weeks she had taken the preparation seriously that one would think she was the bride. To the extent, Zayn had to compliment her the other day. “You look so beautiful.” her charming voice interrupted my thoughts. A warm smile spread across my face, “Thanks.” The makeup artist finished and I stood up, staring at myself in awe. I looked…. magnificent. If someone had told me a year ago that this would be my life, I would have laughed in disbelief. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes but Cassandra noticing that, immediately pulled me into a warm hug, “Don’t let the tear fall.” She whispered. I bit my lip, trying to hold it in. “Zayn is going to lose his breath when he sees you walking dow
AVA MATURE CONTENT (18+) A shiver ran down my spine, the words, ‘looking forward to our reunion’ still lingering in my head. I couldn’t tell if the message was genuine or if he had malicious intent. A reunion with Carter could only mean two things—unfinished business or new threats. And I wasn’t ready for either. Perhaps I should tell Zayn? No…at least not today, the last thing I wanted was to ruin this blissful moment. Zayn must have noticed my silence, and so he spoke up, “Are you okay? You have been in that spot.” I forced a smile on my face. “Yes. I’m still shocked by the whole thing.” I lied, feeling guilty already, “when did you have the time to plan this?” I shifted the topic quickly. “It’s a long story.” He answered, wrapping his hands around my waist as his lips brushed my ear, “it’s been a long time since we had quality time with each other.” I chuckled. “For the record, you haven’t left my sight in the past two months.” He turned me gently so that I
AVA. My body…..ached so badly. I opened my eyes slowly, Zayn was seated beside me, a warm smile spread across his lips as I sat up. “How are you feeling?” “Sour, exhausted,” I was still saying when he came closer, holding my hands. “How do you feel?” I asked him. “Complete. Excited for this new beginning.” I smiled, repeating the words, ‘new beginning’ My mind wandered back to Ethan and the doctor, “Zayn?” I called out, and he hummed a reply, “did they die? Ethan and the doctor.” “No. But they would never come close to you, the rest of their lives would be spent in jail with lots of labor.” I heaved a sigh of relief. As much as I hated Ethan, I didn’t wish him death. He needed to suffer for everything he did to me, only recalling it sent shivers down my spine. I had thought all this ended after Cassandra had dealt with him for the blackmailing and stalking. I froze. Casandra, I haven’t seen her since the kidnap. “What of Casandra?” I voiced out, my voice l
ZAYN I walked into the hospital with the babies’ bag and a food flask Leaving Ava with Casandra had been tough, but I doubted anyone could harm her in the hospital since there were a lot of cameras. My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. I stopped, bringing it out to check who it was, Doctor? I placed it on my ears, “I’ll be in your office, now.” I said, not waiting for him to speak before cutting the call. First thing was to drop this for Ava, then see why he was calling me, I approached her room and I couldn’t help but notice the security guards moving around. Did something happen? I pushed open the door,“Babe, I….” I trailed off at the sight of an empty bed. No Ava. No Cassandra. My breath hitched as I dropped the food flask and babies bag on the ground before rushing out. Shit! It was now adding up, the doctor call, the security guards. Something had happened to Ava. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted Casandra. I swiftly ran to the doctor’s office,