Trigger Warning: This chapter contains references to a traumatic car accident, medical distress, fainting, and emotional trauma. Reader discretion is advised.Ava's POVI didn’t know where I was, but I found myself watching a little girl in a joyful state, jumping up and down with an innocent smile lighting up her face. She held the hand of a young boy beside her, both of them lost in their own world. Their voices sounded distant, muffled. I wanted to hear them, to know what they were saying, so I took a few steps closer.I stood right in front of them, waving slightly with a curious look on my face. "Hello... Hello there." But they didn’t see me. They continued laughing, talking, completely unaware of my presence. Confused, I wondered, Why couldn’t they see me? Was I—no, that couldn't be.I turned to take in my surroundings. We were in a school compound, with a lush green landscape that was so vibrant it almost felt alive. The colors, the so
Liam's POVI held Ava in my arms as she cried, her tears falling freely, her sobs breaking into hiccups and gasps. The doctor stood just a few feet away, his face etched with concern, but he stayed silent. I rubbed slow circles on her back, waiting for her to let it all out, though my heart was pounding with worry. What could have happened? Why was she crying so badly?“Doctor,” I finally spoke, unable to endure the torture of not knowing any longer. “What’s going on? Why is she crying?”The doctor glanced at me, then at Ava, hesitating. “Well, Mr. Blackwell, Mrs. Black—I mean, Ava…”I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why are you calling her by her name?” I demanded, the possessiveness in my tone undeniable. He had no right to address my wife so informally.“Sorry, Mrs. Blackwell,” he corrected, looking visibly uncomfortable. But then Ava abruptly stopped crying, detaching herself from my arms and glaring at him. The doctor shifted awkwardly, fidgeting as though he couldn’t wait to escape. W
Liam's POVAfter telling Ava everything, I noticed that she didn’t want to look me in the eyes anymore. She had broken down and cried, but now she was facing away from me once again. I ran a hand through my hair as I stared intently at her.“Ava, baby, come on, tell me something—anything. You're just quiet; it's frightening me.” But she didn’t reply.“Ava, baby, please…”“Liam, please.” She finally spoke, her voice soft but firm. “Can I have some time alone? I have just had a revelation about my past after discovering that you had been lying to me for the months we have been married. My whole life has been a lie. Can I just have some time alone?”I nodded, even though it felt like my heart was breaking. “It’s true, Ava, I should let you rest. The doctor will be here to check on you, and then I’ll give you the space you need. But rest assured, I’m going to be making dinner for you—anything you want to eat.” I said it, hoping it would lift her spirits, but she just sighed.“No, I’m not
Ava's POVLiam surely didn’t know what he was agreeing to, because I planned to make his life as miserable as possible—well, not really hurt him, just make him suffer. That’s why I was currently in my room that same night, about to go to bed.“Liam!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the house.His feet pounded down the hallway, and he quickly appeared in the doorway. “Baby, yes, you called for me. What do you want?”“Ahh, my back hurts. I can’t even walk. I need a massage.”“Okay, okay, let me get a masseuse for you right away.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and I rolled my eyes. What was this idiot doing? It's 9 p.m.“Liam, I don't want someone else. I want you to give me a massage. Come on. Hurry before our baby gets sad.”He gulped, hesitating. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel uncomfort–”I stood up, letting the robe I was wearing fall away, leaving me in a bikini. It left very little to the imagination, and I could see his eyes widen. “Of course, I am! Now, get
Liam's POVI lay on the couch, fighting the urge to sleep, even though my eyelids kept drooping. I didn’t want to sleep. I just wanted to spend every moment admiring the contours of Ava’s beautiful face.My baby girl was stunning, and I counted myself lucky to have married her. Honestly, I was grateful for Natalia’s blackmail—it somehow brought us together faster than I'd thought.Every part of me wanted to be close to her, and I was a bit mad at myself for messing up and falling into her punishments. God, I hoped I’d never have to go through that again. Ava’s punishments were no joke.She’d made me stay hard the whole evening after grinding on me like an innocent vixen, then refused to give me any relief. Now, as I looked at her, I just wanted to hold her and let our bodies connect, like we were meant to be. But I was respecting her choices. Or maybe I was just scared of her leaving me.Just as I decided to let myself drift off, I heard a soft murmur from Ava. She was talking in her
Ava's POV*Three months later*I woke up feeling really exhausted. The morning sickness had lasted longer than usual. I was told it could last for the first three months of my pregnancy, and I really wished it would end soon because now I felt like I was spilling out everything.Liam, on the other hand, had grown more caring and attentive. He was always there, holding my hair back, making sure I was fine a million times before stepping out of bed. When I went to freshen up, he told me he would make breakfast so I could replenish my energy.Yes, I had punished him, but two months ago, he took me out on a date and properly apologized. I realized there was really no need, although watching the punishments had been fun. I missed him. So, I forgave him, and it ended with us relieving ourselves of the stress in a passionate lovemaking session.I still got red when I thought about it. Liam showed he had really been frustrated and took it all out on me. Not that I was complaining—I enjoyed my
Ava’s POV“So, I want all these files on my desk by Monday,” Tina snapped, her voice sharp as always. She was the head of the marketing department, and honestly, I regretted asking Liam to bring me to work here. Tina had been a nightmare, and now that she knew I was pregnant, she made sure every day was harder than the last.“Yes, Madam Tina,” I muttered, trying to keep my tone neutral, while clenching the papers tightly in my hands to avoid snapping at her.“You’re going to work double on this project because you came in late today. No excuses, okay? Now, everyone else, you can go.”I wanted to roll my eyes. Sure, I came in late—though Kelsey, her friend, had shown up thirty minutes after me and didn’t get a single task—but my morning sickness had been pretty bad today. I just couldn’t make it in early.The only reason I hadn’t complained to Liam and had her fired was because I didn’t want to seem weak in front of him. I wanted him to see that I could stand on my own and handle every
Ava’s POVLiam laughed, his voice echoing in the room. "Oh goodness, baby, you scared me! I thought you had a nightmare, only to wake up and find out you were worried about my guard overhearing us.""Just tell me, Liam!" I said, slapping his chest. "It isn’t funny. They must have seen—oh my God, they must have heard me! Was I loud? Oh my God, was I too loud?" I started to panic."Yes, baby, you were pretty loud. I’m sure all of New York heard you. But why wouldn’t you be? I’m your man, right? And I was taking good care of my wife."I squeezed his nipple, and he cried out, "Ouch, baby, that hurt... but it was hot. Do it again.""Liaaamm...""Okay, baby. The guards left the car after parking. I think someone was too hungry for me to fill her up that she didn’t notice." He wiggled his brows.My mouth dropped open. "Goodnight, Liam," I muttered, turning over to sleep, ignoring his loud laughter.The next day passed quickly, and soon it was Sunday. I decided to go to the supermarket to get
Ava's POV Two months later Andrea was giving me a headache. Being a mother was lovely, though, and I wouldn't want to switch it for anything else in the world. "Come on! You just ate! I haven't even eaten!" "And what is going on with my beautiful wife and baby?" Liam walked into the room where I sat, staring at her as she cried. She glanced at me with her doe eyes, wanting to be fed again. "Your daughter is eating too much." "Uh, nope. See how tiny she is? Give my princess whatever she wants. Go on, feed her." "Do you think I am a milk-producing machine? I am a human being." "A human being who has enough breast milk here and here," Liam said, palming my boobs. I tried slapping his hands away. Not only was he doing this in front of our two-month-old baby, but his hands there were sending desire coursing through me. "Liammmm." "Yes, Ava? What is it you want to tell me?" "Liam, stop it." "Yep, you want me to stop it, and yet you are not pushing my hands off. Is there somethin
Ava's POV"Mother.""Charlotte," Liam and I echoed at the same time."What the hell did you do?" Liam boomed, walking toward us while I still stood frozen in front of her.The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fit together in my mind. My baby had been kidnapped—by my mother."Yes, Ava," she responded, as if reading my thoughts. "I kidnapped her, and I'm sorry. You can go ahead and arrest me now. I need to suffer for my crime.""Crimes, you mean?" Miriam spoke, emerging from behind.Charlotte's eyes widened at the sight of her. "Miriam? How? But you are—""Yes, I'm supposed to be dead, as you planned to kill me, right? Well, shucks to be you. I'm not dead. I'm very much alive. And I believe it really is time for you to suffer for everything you've done before anyone else gets hurt. You even have some nerve kidnapping my grandchild.""The child is my grandchild too," Charlotte argued back.Funny enough, I could only stand there watching them fight. She had some nerve claiming the c
Ava's POVI squinted my eyes, trying to get rid of the excess sunlight that was boring into them. A beeping sound beside me caught my attention, and when I turned, I saw a heart monitor with various cables wired toward me.Everything in the room was white, save for a few pieces of equipment. I shook my head, trying to remember anything that had happened, but I could only let out a groan as my head throbbed.Soon, however, a memory flashed before my eyes—a picture of a jet.I was pregnant.My hand immediately flew to my stomach as I remembered how Jim had taken me onto the plane.Oh my God, my baby!I panicked, feeling my stomach a little lighter than before.No, no, no, no—my baby!I got up and out of the bed, disconnecting the monitor's wires from my body and pulling myself out of the hospital room.The corridor was empty—no nurse, no doctor in sight.I remembered being saved from Jim by someone. Maybe Carlos or Domenico... So where were they, and why was this hospital so empty?Coul
Liam's POV"Well, thankfully, we managed to save both mother and child."A chorused sigh of relief rang through the hallway when we heard that they were both fine."Fortunately, the drug she was given hadn't gone far into her system to cause any damage, but she will be unconscious for a little while. However, your baby is in the nursery. She will be out soon if her examinations prove she is fine.""Thank you so much, doctor. Thank you.""You're welcome, Mr. Blackwell, and congratulations on becoming a father to a beautiful baby girl.""Oh my God." Tears filled my eyes as I sat back on the seat I had woken up from.I am now a father.I have my own little princess.Oh my God.Is this what it feels like?My heart couldn’t stop jumping, and I felt multiple people tap my shoulder and whisper congratulations. When I lifted my head, I saw that everyone had mixed reactions.Mom and Dad were visibly excited at the thought of having a grandchild.Grandpa hurried to call Grandma and tell her the
Liam's POVBarely two weeks after I was rescued, and this just had to happen.We had expected trouble from all angles but missed one—Jim Dallas.I never thought he had the balls to go after my wife, let alone kidnap her, even after finding out she was a Blackwell.Grandpa and Grandma—not my mother's parents, but my father's parents, whom I hated so much—were the ones who had kidnapped me.I don’t know how they found a way to capture me and have no family member suspect them, but they had been the ones, alongside a few of their trusted guards, who held me captive until Grandpa Blackwell saved me the week before Ava's dad's memorial.Apparently, it was just a vendetta because of my uncle and their daughter's condition, although I knew someone else was working with them. But Grandpa assured me that it had nothing to do with any family member.Of course, many shocking things had been happening, like me discovering that Miriam was alive.Yes, I had paid her a visit, asking her why she had
Ava's POVI groaned, my head throbbing as I squinted my eyes to adjust to the light. When I finally came to, I noticed I was sitting in a moving car, speeding through an isolated area. My head was resting on someone's lap.When I remembered what had happened in the restaurant, I shot up from my seat."Jim, what's going on? Where are we driving to? Wait, what have you done to me? Answer me, damn it!" I tried hitting him when he paid no attention to me, focused on his phone instead.But in the confines of the car, there was only so much I could do, even as I tried to open the moving vehicle. Jim just sat leisurely in his seat."Ava, you need to rest, you know. What you're doing is stressing you out, and it's not good for the baby."All I could see when I stared at him was a devilish smirk—a smug look. He knew he had the upper hand."Help!" I screamed, banging on the windows. But to no avail. No cars had passed by since I woke up, and neither had I seen any houses.Finally, the car slowe
Ava's POV"Shit, Ava, wait! Ava!"The voices echoed behind me, almost in the distance, as I ran off. Thankfully, the elevator opened and closed just in time before they could get to me.Inside, I tapped my feet incessantly, praying that before they could use the stairs, I would be out of this building.I couldn’t stay with the Blackwells anymore. They had outdone themselves with secrets. It seemed like every one of them had a secret they were keeping from me—including the fact that Miriam was alive.My own mother was alive, and I hadn’t known it for 25 years of my life.No. There was no way I was staying here.The ping of the elevator barely reached my ears when I dashed out, ignoring the concerned glances of the people in the lobby, seeing a pregnant woman rushing out of the building.I thought of taking the car, but the keys weren’t with me, so I had to use my legs and rush down the street, hoping they wouldn’t know the exact direction I had gone.It worked because, for almost 10 mi
Ava's POVWe sat in one of Mr. Blackwell’s lush, elegant vehicles. Three cars were ahead of us, and four more trailed behind. This kind of power never went without heavy security. Unfortunately, that was one of the downsides.However, the last thing on my mind was his cars—I had more important things to worry about.For instance, how he had managed to get those pictures of Natalia. Had they been photoshopped?I had known my sister for a while, and even though I had been away at school for half of our lives, one thing I was sure of was that she wouldn’t become promiscuous.No, she would rather date one man at a time, and if things didn’t work out, she would move on to another.So what exactly had pushed her into that—if it was true? Something must have caused it."And what has my angel's mind far away?" Grandpa Blackwell’s voice called out, pulling me from my thoughts."Oh, I’m sorry, I was just—""You don’t have to apologize. Thinking is pretty normal. I just don’t want you to dwell o
Ava's POVGasps echoed around the massive living room after the declaration had been made. I swiveled around, my eyes landing on the most powerful figure I had ever seen—Liam's grandfather.No. Not Liam's dad's parents.No. This man walking in with a black suit and hat, holding a walking stick more expensive than the dress I was wearing, was the Mr. Blackwell. The powerful father of Elena Blackwell. The man whose name made grown men shit their pants.He was the one who had spoiled my husband so much and made him become the great CEO he currently was. And he was currently walking into the Patel mansion, commanding attention like he owned the place. No. This place was definitely beneath him.My mother—Charlotte Patel's businesswoman side—took over, and she rushed forward, her eyes darting nervously, her mind probably wondering what was going on that had brought this man here.It seemed like everyone had forgotten what he had said a few seconds ago. All the wealthy elites started arrang