[Ava]I glanced at my phone for the umpteenth time, curled up on Ashley's bed, it's been two days since Gabriel told me to my face that we shouldn't have happened, I've been with Ashley since then, I had to take a leave from work because I knew I would not be able to go even if I wanted to, I had expected Gabriel to call me after that night, but no he didn't, I already lost count of how many times I've called him from yesterday up until this morning But Gabriel was ignoring my calls, refusing to pick up or even open my messages. I felt tears well up in my eyes, he definitely meant those words, I thought he said he loved me. Did he mistake what he felt for me as love, just as Logan said?My jaw clenched tightly as Logan's name crossed my mind. I stiffened back my tears at the sound of a door opening, I cleaned up my tears with my head still bent low, staring at my phone, which I was stupidly hoping would ring. "Ava!" Ashley called as she plopped down on the bed, sitting close to me
[Ava]"Is this the fucking love?" My heart was beating hard against my chest as I stared up at Gabriel holding his hand, tears threatened to slip down, but I stiffened it back, hoping to hear him say something at least."Ava!!" Logan called me from behind, taking steps towards me. I turned back him, my hand still clutching Gabriel's hand tightly, I raised my hand to prevent Logan from getting any closer to me."Don't!! I don't want to hear you mention my name!" I yelled at him, he took a step back. I turned my attention back to Gabriel, who was still standing still"Gabriel, I am talking to you!!" My voice was low as the tears I was trying to keep back slipped out of my eyes. Gabriel turned his attention back to me, his features softening, his lips parted as if to speak, but he bit back the word, turning his gaze away from me"Let go!" Gabriel said softly, my heart clenched, I bit down on my lower lip and moved much closer to him."What did you just say?" I asked Gabriel, his eyes wen
[Ava]"Fucking tell me how it's not the same?" I yelled at the top of my lungs staring at Logan, my heart arching so badly"Ava, Gabriel lost his zeal for love years ago, you might not understand me and some things are better left unsaid, please just know that I would never intentionally deprive you of your happiness if Gabriel is all that, I wouldn't have been this way remember he is my best friend, but I can't, Ava, you will not understand, I fucking can't, I can't watch my sister get hurt, it will break me!" I could not help but laugh at what Logan was sayingI shut my eyes for a moment, if only Gabriel had stood by his words about not letting me go, I wouldn't have given a fuck about Logan's opinion about us, but not only is Logan not in support, Gabriel has already backed away, I guess what we share is not worth fighting for, maybe Logan is right? Perhaps he is not all I think he is."You know what Logan, I am tired of this conversation, Gabriel is already giving me the cold shou
[Ava]"Ava!" I tilted my neck, looking at the familiar figure staring back at me"What are you doing here?" Austin asked. "Nothing, just chilling," I said with a painful smile, letting my shoulder sag in disappointment, I was actually expecting it to be someone else"Can I sit?" Austin asked, pointing to the stool next to mine."Sure you can," I said to him, and he sat next to me before asking for a glass of wine from the bartender."It's been a while," Austin said, his lips curving into a smile, I locked my eyes on him, my mind wandering back to the last time we sat this close, it didn't end well, and he ended up with bruised face, I let out a chuckle, shaking my head, it's not like Gabriel would walk in here and drag me out just like the last time, but why do I really want it to happen?"Do I look that funny tonight?" Austin's voice jolted me out of my thoughts as he stretched his hand and took the glass of wine from the bartender. The dim light danced across his face as he sipped,
[Ava]Austin crashed his lips on mine, my body stiffened instantly with my eyes wide open, his tongue rolling all over my lips, biting and sucking them to the point where I knew he was going to draw blood.I shut my eyes tightly, parting my lips for him to go ahead, ignoring my body's protests against his touch.My hand on Austin's shoulder tightened, and I pressed my body towards him. My heart skipped a beat, racing with discomfort. I gritted my teeth as Austin's hands kept moving all over my ass, grabbing and squeezing, making me squirm beneath his touch. I fucking wanted to be lost in this moment, but why is it so damned hard, why is it difficult to take Gabriel off my mindFor all I know, he could be having fun with someone else, for two days, he has not even tried to ask how I was doing or take my calls, when I saw him earlier this morning, I thought he was going to retract those words, but instead he asked me to let go and walked out on me, "Hmm, oh..." Austin's moan jolted me
[Gabriel]"Boss, I think you should call her back, you've been staring at your phone for over an hour!" Jaxon's voice drew me out of my thoughts, I stared at him, rubbing my temples Two days of torture, not holding my baby in my arms! My heart tightened as the look on her face early this morning crossed my eyes, the way her little hands tightened against mine.The pain in her voice when she asked if I was ignoring her, and why I wasn't taking her calls, all I wanted to do was hug her tight and apologize, to get down on my knees and tell her how sorry I was, how I never meant any of that, but I had to do what I did to get exactly what we both want. But the fact that it's not working my way is eating me upThe fact that I've spent these last two days tailing Logan, desperate to make him understand me, even if is just a little is infuriating. Yet the hatred in his eyes is nothing to write home about I took a deep breath, snapping out of my thoughts as I stared back at Jaxon"Do you thi
[Gabriel]My heart immediately stopped as my phone slowly slipped from my ear. I went numb, feeling my body dissociating from me."No little doll!!!" I muttered under my breath, running out of my office, I pushed the door to my room open and walked straight to my wardrobe, I threw in a black shirt, picking up my car key, I ran out, heading for the stairs, a bead of sweat forming on my forehead, fear clawed at my insides, tearing me apart with every passing momentI rushed out to the parking lot, ignoring my guards who came rushing towards me, I raised a finger in their direction, making them halt in their tracks, giving a simple nod, I hopped into my car, Igniting the engine as I inputted the address Ava's friend forwarded to meI tore through the streets, My tires screeching in protest as I sped down the highway.My heart pounded against my chest like a jackhammer, threatening to shatter my ribs, each beat felt like a scream, a primal roar that echoed through my veins."Fuck!!! Fuck!
[Gabriel]"Fucking say something?" My hand tightened on the doctor's neck, my jaw clenching hard as I glared hard at him"You're going to strangle him, let him speak!" Logan tapped my hand, I let go of him, and his gaze dropped to mine as he took a step back"If you keep staring at me without saying anything, I might do something worse, how is my girlfriend? And you better not say anything that will make me lose it, or else this hospital will be burned down tonight, and I mean every damn word!" I snapped at the doctor who was still trying to rub his neck"Doctor!!" Logan called outThe doctor stared at Logan and continued. "We tried everything we could... But she... she's in a comatose state and with her condition we don't know when or if she will wake up," the doctor's words cut through me like a knife, and my phone slipped from my trembling fingers, crashing to the floor, I felt the ground beneath me give way"She...she...what? You are not sure when she...she will wake up?" Logan's
[Gabriel]"How did you know I had the video? I never mentioned it to you." I asked Ashley, and she cleared her throat."Logan told me you had the video for over five years and one of your fears was Ava finding out about it, but he didn't tell me past that, he said he wasn't in a position to tell me what happened, but he said you didn't do it," Ashley said, and I noddedA small smirk curved on my lips as I rubbed my temples"Up until now, I still give it to whoever was behind that murder, and I'm sure it wasn't their first kill because De Achors guest house belonged to a very good friend of mine, and it's where I spend the majority of my time when I don't want to be home, and when I say the security is top-notch, it's one of the best." My hand clamped around my glass as I took another sip, shutting my eyes for a moment."We took her to the hospital to ensure it was confirmed by the medical personnel, and she was eventually confirmed dead. I contacted my friend and told him about it, ur
[Gabriel]"What's up, dude!" I walked into the warehouse, watching Jaxon with his hand crossed over his chest, with a few underlings busy packing and unpacking some goods."You are here!" Jaxon said to me walking over to me."Is everything okay? You sounded like something was wrong.""Because something might go wrong if we don't act quickly to stop them!" Jaxon said, making my brows crease even more."You should see this!" He walked over to the inner room inside the warehouse, while I walked behind him, my eyes darting around the crates being packed.I walked into the room, plopping down on the leather seat near Jaxon, with my eyes fixed on the computers and laptops. I watched as Jaxon's fingers danced across the keyboard before he zoomed in on a specific video motioning for me to look.I stared at the video, watching as about ten men surrounded our warehouse, and from what I could tell, they looked like FBI agents."I'm guessing that fucker gave them some information!" Jaxon said as
[Gabriel]"Momma, are you okay?" I asked Remi, I could hear her heavy breathing over the phone."I'm...I am fine, no, I am not, oh God, please can I see you, I mean, where are you?" Remi asked making my brow crease even more"I'm heading to my guest house, I will send you the address, are you sure you are okay?" I asked, knitting my brows together."Yes, I'll be waiting!!" Remi said and immediately ended the call. StrangeI swiped over to my message and immediately sent her the address of the guest house where I lodged as well as the suit number. I revved my engine to life and drove off, ignoring the thought of who I wanted to call earlier.I drove right into the parking lot of the guest house, turned off the engine, and made my way inside, greeting the few staff who were present at the reception. Digging my fingers into my scalp, I marched to the elevator and headed to my suit on the top floor of the guesthouse.I walked right into my suit, slid off my clothes, and headed to the show
[Gabriel]"If you don't mind, I would like to know what exactly happened. We are alone here, so I'm hoping you will be honest with me." Ashley said staring at me, I shut my eyes for a moment, my hand drumming on the counter as the memory of that day five years ago flashed before my eyes."I met her at a Mall at first," I said, and Ashley drew her stool closer to mine. I reached for the next shot that the bartender had dropped and gulped the entire content, gritting my teeth as the hot liquid melted through my throat."There is this particular Mall I always visited and I always noticed this pretty girl staring at me strangely. She was about about eighteen at the time," I rubbed my temples, recalling the exact day I caught sight of her."So on a faithful evening, she walked up to me and tried to talk to me. I was in a terrible mood, so I ignored her, but a few days later, I met her again, she stuck a piece of paper in my hand and ran away, I read the things she wrote, she was expressin
[Gabriel] I watched as the warmth in her gaze dissolved giving way to a frightened expression that seemed to whisper a thousand unspoken terrors. My heart ached as I watched the look of terror in her eyes. I couldn't take it any longer, the fear in her eyes, the way her body trembled like a watered leaf, and how the first look in her eyes when I walked all vanished, replaced by hatred. My fist clenched into a ball as I turned on my heels and made my way out, halting in front of Caleb, I looked up at him, and he furrowed his brow. I could see a look of amusement dancing in the idiots' eyes. My hand ached so much to pin him to this wall and unleash all of my fury, but I bottled it up and moved much closer to him. "Make sure to keep your hands to yourself, if you try anything funny, you will not last another hour on this planet!" I snapped at him, his lips stretching into a smirk that he quickly concealed before walking out on me I wanted to go back there, grab her, and walk out
[Ava]Caleb had asked me to eat something for the third time, but I refused, eating was the least of my concerns right now. I had turned on my phone earlier for no stupid reason, I should be hating myself so much right now that I am concerned about a man who murdered my best friend. Why do I have to turn on my phone to stare at his picture? And then Ashley's call came in. I didn't want to talk to her because I was still upset about what she said at the studio, so I asked Caleb to pick up and tell her I didn't want to speak to anyone"Thank you!" I muttered to Caleb as he handed me back my phone. I took the phone from his grasp and switched it off, putting it aside."Sunshine!!" Caleb called out, taking a seat next to mine where I was seated in the dining room. I stared up at him. I had been crying for hours nonstop since we stepped into his house, and Caleb had been trying to ask what the problem was, but how could I say a word to him?"I don't like the way you are, it's breaking my h
[Gabriel]"Where the fuck is Ava? Put my woman on the phone right now if you don't want me to burn you alive! What the fuck are you doing with her damn phone?" I snapped, and I heard a slight chuckle on his end. Was my mind playing tricks on me?"She's in my house and like I said before, she's not in a good state to take calls right now," the idiot repeated."What the fuck do you mean by that?" I cursed loudly, and within seconds the phone beeped and immediately went dead on his end.I groaned, raking my hand on my hair as I handed the phone back to AshleyI marched towards my car ignoring Ashley who was asking me what was wrong, I stepped into the car and Ashley ran over to the passenger seat, sliding in"Gabriel, what's wrong? Who picked up her call?" Ashley gripped my hand, her finger digging into my skin as she quivered slightlyI ignored her, dialing Jaxon's number, I'll fucking skin that dude alive. I groaned pressing the phone to my ear and on the first ring Jaxon picked up"B
[Gabriel] I was pacing back and forth in Logan's sitting room, it was 9 p.m., and Ashley had called me making me drive as fast as I could over here when she said she had not heard from Ava, and if I said I was not on the verge of losing my mind, then I must be lying. Where has she gone? Ashley said she left her at the studio during break hour and she had not heard from her since then. I paused on my track, turning to Ashley, who was seated beside Logan, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You didn't hear her mention going anywhere at all? Is there anywhere you think she might be? Or a place she normally goes?" I asked Ashley, and she shook her head. "She angrily left when I tried to talk to her, I could have just stayed by her side, I shouldn't have said what I said, this is my fault!" Ashley said, bursting into tears "Nothing is your fault here, will you stop blaming yourself?" Logan scolded Ashley, pulling her closer to his body. I dug my fingers into my scalp, staring at
[Ava]We got out of the car, and every breath I took felt like a suffocating weight crushing my lungs as we walked slowly into the cemetery. I knew my way around because I always visited her.We walked slowly, and I tilted my neck to look at Caleb, who was holding the cake box while I held the bouquet. As we got closer to Remi's grave, I noticed Caleb's forehead creasing into a big frownTime seemed to warp and distort, stretching out seconds into agonizing minutes as we got closer. We paused in our tracks as we stood before her grave. My heart skipped a thousand beats as my eyes wandered up to her name elegantly etched into the granite headstone.The entire environment spun around me like a carnival ride, making me disoriented and dizzy. I felt as if my entire being was leaving my body as pain and guilt coursed through my body"Are you okay?" Caleb's voice almost made me jump, jolting me out of my reverie. I stared up at him, seeing that he had placed down the cupcake he had in his