Chapter 4: Misunderstanding

She keeps hiding, following, and running just to see the relationship status between the reporter girl and her ex-husband. Ava Nicole tries to find her answers to her many questions five years ago.

Before she decided to come to New York and show her identity to her past family, she thought of hiding her feelings, hardening them, and enduring them to torture her past lover, seeing her better healing. But this time, none of them are managed because her jealousy dominates.

Gerald and Stacey go to a place where her tracker points. It's an empty, broken building full of dust covered with a black net as a fence. Neighborhood buildings are far away from it. It seems that the vast whole area is occupied with grassland and a small destroyed construction.

They don't have bodyguards to safeguard them, but rather they go alone, which makes Ava Nicole think wicked ideas of what they both do.

"As you can see, Ms. Stacey, this area is dirty and abandoned, but I have a big plan for this. A plan I made up five years ago," he states, showing his asset as the woman in front of him is writing notes while listening.

Ava Nicole thinks one thing: her ex-husband may be planning to build a new home for her coming new wife after they settle for marriage. 

It may be possible.

"I like this kind of trash because someone likes it. Now that I have enough money to fulfill her wish, maybe I should start cleaning this." His smile is genuine and seemingly portrays an imagination of happy moments.

"Oh, what romantic words you have said, Mr. Hallway. I'm sure she'll be happy if she sees this after you rebuild this in a new, beautiful, and elegant home for the both of you. I felt honored to know your plans in the future, sir."

The man opens her arms, enabling her to hug him. Stacey is in full of gayness in this moment, with the ex-wife mumbling outside after seeing in her own eyes the confirmation of her guess. It hurts her inside, but her misunderstanding brings her to plan evil deeds to torture the man.

As she attempts to leave far from the area, the dog barks very loudly, causing her to feel fear. She is not friendly to animals, as she has the trauma on it. She was bitten by a wild cat months ago; that is why she hates animals.

"What's that?" Stacey turns her head to the outside as she hears a loud noise of a dog barking.

"Someone is there, sir," she adds.

"No. It can't be. You're the only one I trusted to see this; nevertheless, my surprise for her would be made for nothing," the man worries as his face expresses terrible disappointment.

They run towards the noise of barking. Suddenly, the noise is fading. It is something that happens to the animal, so they continue searching for it.

Not until a loud shout is being heard by them.

"Heeeelp?" Ava doesn't bother herself to scream, enabling her to release the biting of the dog in her shirt.

"Ava," Gerald calls, as he sounds worried about her. 

The dog becomes more aggressive when Ava cries more for help. Her scream does not loosen up its bite.

"Jambo, release her. Your kind right? She's your boss, remember?" Gerald commanded his pet calmly. 

Jambo is a bulldog who came from England, where Gerald and Nicole bought it during their eight months of marriage. It's their favorite pet among their nurtured dogs in their house. 

When they got divorced, Jambo declined to stay at their house but rather escaped, going to the vacant lot where Gerald planned to build their new home. Since that day, Gerald decided to make him a guard in his new habitat, living alone. Every day, he visits his dog to feed, clean, and talk to him.

"Jambo? He's Jambo?" Ava clears as her eyes are tearing heavily.

The man nods once, making the woman touch her chest, blaming herself for hating an animal. She loves Jambo so much and misses him for five years of leaving. No wonder; the dog doesn't want her to be hurt but just wants to stop her from leaving him again.

"Oh my Jambo, baby. You're big now. It's been a long time we see each other again. Thank you for not biting me. You just prove me that you love me even though I hated you a while ago. I'm sorry for not recognizing you, my baby," she states, hugging the pet so tight and showing her full of love.

"I think he recognizes you, Ava. Dogs are smart; you can't disguise them," Gerald says.

Stacey is starting to doubt for the both of them. She analyzes their relationship from the pet to their bond until she claims one thing: Ava Nicole might be Nicole Roque, Mr. Hillson's ex-wife.

After missing each other, Ava thinks of her new identity and the relationship between them. What if Stacey knows her past life now? What if she misunderstands her and breaks up with Gerald? She has to say anything to clear her name.

"Stacey, I gave Jambo to Gerald as a gift for his success five years ago. I just sent it through my dad since I'm busy schooling. So, don't think malicious thing between us," she clearly says.

"Oh! Y—yes, I'm not. Never mind about me. I understand," she replies without thinking what Ava means by her sentence.

"Nice to hear that. I should have to go. I will leave you both now," Ava states. Right after, she kisses her pet, saying goodbye.

"Ava, it's not what you think," Gerald shouts, but his ex-wife walks faster towards the location of her car.

"What's going on in her? Did she think we're a couple?" Stacey asks, staring at the man whose face is deformed.

"Maybe. I should have to clear this up with her," he replies with a weak voice.

Ava Nicole misunderstands everything, not just now but since five years ago. She thinks the reporter girl, Stacey, stole her husband from her when she was sick. She thought the two were loving each other behind her, but the truth is they're just close relatives.

Gerald's mom and Stacey's mom are siblings. The only difference is that Stacey is just an adoptive daughter of her mother, but still they think of her as a blood relative. Their closeness is so strong that many people always misunderstand them. Including Ava Nicole and Annie, whose thinking is contrary to the truth.

"So what are you doing now? Follow her!" commanded by Stacey, who is always supporting her cousin.