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,
ZAYN’S POV I woke up to an ear-piercing scream, “Zayn!” Sophia shrieked, her voice echoing through the room. Fucking hell! This had to be the first time I was sleeping properly since this week, and she just had to interrupt it. Ava was seated at the edge of the bed quietly.Sophia turned to face me, her eyes blazing with anger “What the hell are you doing in her bed?”. She screeched, her chest heaving heavily, and fire breezing through her nostrils. I grudgingly stood up from the bed, ignoring her questions. She wasn’t going to barge in here after a month of ignoring my calls and asking me silly questions. “You're not about to walk out on me, are you?” She asked, her fingers tightening around the arm of my shirt. “Tell me why I’m coming back home to see my fiancée with this Slu..”I cut her short, “Don’t you dare complete that statement!” I thundered, my voice cold and detached, “I owe you no explanation, Sophia” I jerked my arm out of her hold, with a look of contempt on my face
ZAYNIt’s been three days since Sophia arrival, and it seemed like an eternity, staying at home has now become so unbearable and suffocating. I knew I had to find a way out and here I was, seated at my father’s lawyer office awaiting my uncle.Talk about the devil, he strolled into the office majestically with a stern look on his face, “This had better be important”. He spoke up as he settled down on the chair. Left for me, I wouldn’t even include him, but he is the only person who has an insight on this ridiculous arrangement between Sophia’s family and I.I signaled for the lawyer to begin, he heaved a deep breath before speaking up,“Mr. Beckham here, informed me that he wants to break off the engagement with the Davis family”.“What?!” My uncle thundered, interrupting him as he turned to me staring daggers at me, “That’s impossible! You have got to be joking”.I cleared my throat, “Unfortunately I’m serious about this, not that you have a say” I replied, my voice firm and sharp,
AVAThis was more like my favorite place currently, the tension in the house was unbearable, and I always had to hide myself here. Just the heavenly scent of the flowers was able to calm down my nerves, I sat down on the bench for a mini rest as I stared at the flowers. Whoever decorated this place did an impressive job, the transparent glass, variety of flowers, just then the blaring sound of a car horn broke me away from my thoughts as I turned to see who it was. Zayn. The last time I saw or talked to him was three days ago, I’d made sure to avoid him ever since the bedroom situation and although it was so difficult, it had to stay that way.My breath hitched as he came down from his car, his face was burning with fury and eyes blazing with anger and I couldn’t help but wonder what must have gone wrong. I watched him walk briskly into the house and for a moment, my heart felt heavy knowing I won’t be able to ask him what went wrong. I heaved a deep breath as I stood up, continu
AVAI’ve lost count of how many days I've stayed here. Escaping proved more difficult than I thought it would. The other day I found out that Carter had changed my name, and even created a new passport.How he was able to do that in my unconscious state still amused me. Everything about the house was creepy, from the colors of the room, to the old maid, to the numerous bodyguards. Who knew Carter, Zayn's supposed bodyguard and trusted servant, could be this rich? I’ve not been allowed to leave the house and anytime I ask why, Carter's excuse was that I am not strong enough to start moving out. And when I persisted, he said I didn’t have the right clothes to go out with. And so today, he decided to get me the ‘RIGHT’ clothes. The sound of his horn broke me away from my thoughts. I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me he’d arrived. I hurriedly went into the room and laid down on the bed. In no time, the door was open ajar and Carter walked in. This has been the normal routine of com
CASSANDRA I stepped out of the house for the first time in two months. I couldn’t leave the kids for a second with the fear that my mother would strike. Seconds, minutes, days and now two months, I have cried every night and woken up to different nightmares. Her face haunted me—I could still remember how she looked when she found out I had betrayed her. Guilt was killing me slowly, and it only worsened when I looked into Zayn’s eyes. I see him struggling every time, the other day I found him crying in the garden. The last time I’d seen him like this was when he lost his mother, and it hurts that I partook in his pain. I was stupid, wicked and misled. Sometimes I felt like coming clean, but that will make him hate me and distance me from the kids I’d vowed to protect with my life. And now, I was in my car, going to see the mastermind behind all this—Rebecca Beckham. My mother. I was done hiding, it was time to stand up to her. It was a three-hour journey and
ZAYN It’s been 74 fucking days since I last saw her. Papers, files, documents, and lots more were scattered on the table, all contained clues and places I’d already searched. But I wasn’t stopping anytime soon.If I have to, I’ll search the whole world for her. I refused to accept that she died. It seemed too convincing. The shrill of my phone rang loudly, and I didn’t bother checking it, “Any news?” I asked, immediately, my voice hoarse from days without proper rest. It was my agent, Noah. “No sir.” He responded, “But one thing is confirmed, she is not in the waters. In all my years of expertise, if someone dies in the water, the current always returns to the body after a few days, a week, or even a month. But in Ava’s case, there’s nothing to show even after continuous searching.”I heaved a sigh of relief. This was what I wanted to hear—that she didn’t die in the water, that’s why I asked them to search.This was also confirmation that Ava was RESCUED. She had been pulled out,
AVA The door creaked open, and I shut my eyes immediately, pretending to be asleep. I could hear footsteps coming closer to where I laid. And then—strong, sweaty hands roamed around my body and I felt like I was being pricked by a needle. I already knew who it was…his fragrance was choking the hell out of me. His hands reached my chest and I stiffened. What did he want to do? My heart was racing and just as I was about to hit his hands off, the shrill of his phone rang. His hands left my body as he stood up, I heaved a deep breath. “Blackwood speaking.” His irritating voice spoke out, and I peeked my eyes open to see him by the window. “I can’t believe it worked. The universe seems to work in my favor.” I froze, my ears listening attentively, I couldn’t hear what the other person was saying but from Carter's response, I already had an idea. “She doesn’t remember a thing, Noah!” He squealed in delight and I tightened my hands underneath the bed. “I’m not let
AVA What was he saying? Christopher? My husband? Why was Carter telling lies to me? Or were we in any sort of trouble?Every nerve in my body screamed at me to react, to shout, to call out the lie—but I didn’t. Something about the way he was looking at me…the way his words were so carefully chosen… told me this wasn’t just a misunderstanding.This was a setup.My heart was racing beneath the calm facade I put on my face. The last thing I could recall was the sound of the gunshot…falling from the cliff and sinking deep into the river. And then…darkness clouded by vision. But here I was, Alive and Awake with Carter spilling lies to me. My eyes scanned around the room before landing back on Carter, he had a smug expression on his face. “Where are we?” I asked, my voice low.My body ached so bad, especially my legs and I could barely sit upright. “My love, we are home.”Home? This didn’t look like home. The vicinity didn’t even look familiar, and it made me wonder where I was.
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