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
Liam's POVThe entire day at the office, I barely registered a word from my dad or Jason. My mind kept wandering back to Ava, wondering how she was doing. She had insisted on going shopping alone and practically forced me to go to work, though I'd have much preferred to spend the day with her. It’s not like this meeting mattered anyway. I was starting to feel bored, and I needed to go home.Since I hadn't revealed my true identity, I didn't attend meetings directly. Instead, I stayed in my office on the top floor, watching through the cameras while my dad and Jason handled things face-to-face. They both wore earpieces, allowing me to communicate my decisions to them as meetings went on.At one point, feeling particularly fed up, I said, "Dad, deliver this message for me, will you?" I leaned closer to the microphone. "You have three days, Mr. Ransom. Three days to return every single cent you’ve taken from this company. If not, I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth. And don’t wo
Ava's POVI married the most handsome, charming, and caring man in the world—I’m not exaggerating. I woke up feeling relaxed and refreshed after a blissful twelve-hour sleep, and my darling husband had let me sleep in. The only problem was that it meant I was late for work.Luckily, he’d handled all of my tasks, though I hadn’t had a chance to check everything. Now, here I was, frantically running around the bedroom, trying to get my shoes on, find my clothes—basically doing everything to get to the office as quickly as possible."Baby, calm down. Come back to bed," Liam said, his body half-covered by the duvet, exposing his toned torso to my view.Temptations in the morning when I’m already late? Really?"Liam, please, leave me alone. I’m already mad at you," I huffed, slipping my shoes on. "How could you let me sleep in? You know I have a job to get to!""Come on, baby. I’m the CEO. You don’t need to worry. I can call in for you," he replied with a smirk."Nope. I don’t want you to
Liam's POVTeasing Ava had never been more fun, and I really loved seeing my wife running around the room with that cute pout on her face. Oh, if only she knew the surprise I had in store for her today, I don’t think she'll be as happy with me as she was earlier.She wasn’t happy with you at all, Liam, my subconscious reminded me.Rolling my eyes, I got out of bed, seeing that the time was 10. It feels good to be the boss, and I don't know why my wife is so adamant about working herself when she could relax and sleep in forever, eat, and just rest. Sometimes, I wish I were her, and she were me. I would spend my whole life just eating, sleeping, and eating some more. Oh, so good."Don’t be silly, Liam. Go to work," my subconscious reminded me. "Don’t forget that something big has to happen today. You cannot miss this." I smirked at the thought. Everyone was in for a surprise at the company.I got into the company through my private elevator, going straight to my office. When I sat down
Ava's POVI flinched and closed my eyes, waiting for the second impact of Tina's hand on my cheek, but nothing came.I opened my eyes slowly, and there it was—a hand wearing a familiar wedding ring, gripping Tina's hand mid-air. My heart dropped as I turned to see Liam standing there.Not only Liam—behind him stood Mom, Dad, and Jason, all with eyes wide open.Uh-oh. This wasn’t supposed to happen. What were they even doing on this floor?I swallowed, preparing to call out to Liam, but a voice beat me to it.“Liam? What are you doing down here? I didn’t know you’d come here so soon. Missed me already?”It was Tina speaking, and she was smiling at Liam. My Liam! My brows furrowed. Wait—what the hell is going on?Liam and Tina know each other?I shook my head, trying to push away the sudden flood of thoughts, then shot Liam a questioning look. He didn’t even spare me a glance but turned to Tina, smiling brightly.“Tina, of course, I had to come. The most beautiful gem in this building w
Ava's POVI held my breath, feeling tears stream down my face as the man walked closer. This is it. My baby and I are going to die. I'm so sorry, baby. I failed to protect you, I whispered, rubbing my stomach.Once the man got closer—so close I was sure he could see the car—a deafening sound erupted from the store. Once. Bang. Twice. Bang. And then, like a chorus. I froze, my eyes wide as my mind reeled with different possibilities of what could be going on. Oh my God, what if they've killed my husband. No. No, this can't be happening.My prayers were slightly answered when the men who went in started filing out, dragging an extra person between them. There's no mistaking it. That was Liam.Although relieved that he hadn't been shot, my heart still clenched when I saw the state he was in. His suit jacket was nowhere to be found, his shirt torn in different places with blood seeping out, and bruises littered his entire body."Oh my God. Please save us," I cried, knowing that I couldn't
Ava's POVTen minutes went by as I stayed in the car, waiting for Liam to return. Boredom slowly crept in, and I kept tapping my fingers on my knee while singing a song to distract myself from the eeriness of the surroundings.The driver sat still, his eyes focused on the direction Liam had gone in. When it got to 15 minutes, I sighed and pushed open the door, stepping out into the chilly dark night. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself to prevent the cold from biting my bones.The driver's door opened behind me just as I started walking in. "Mrs. Blackwell, where are you going, ma'am?"I shrugged. "He's taking too long. I'm going to check on him," I said and continued strolling towards the building but halted when the driver gripped my forearm."Ma'am, please stay in the car. I'm sure he will be here soon. He might not be happy if you go in."I hated the fact that he was right. Liam had told me to stay back. But what was taking him so long? I couldn't stop the clenching of my
Ava's POVSoft kisses on my jaw, running down to my chin and the back of my neck, woke me from the deep slumber I had been enjoying. “Liam, let me sleep, please,” I groaned, but he chuckled, his warm breath tickling my skin.“Come on, baby, just once again.”Was he serious? Hell no. I frowned into the pillow, cuddling further into it as the chilly breeze from the open window hit my skin when Liam pulled the sheets down my shoulders.“Liam, it’s cold. Give me back,” I murmured, extending my hands without raising my head from the pillow.“Babe, no. Not until you give me my birthday present.”“I’ll give you at the party, Liam. Come on.”“No, I want it now. You know what I mean,” he whispered, his voice husky as he bit my earlobe.Gosh, I married an insatiable beast.“Liam, I gave you your present as requested two times last night. Now just leave me alone.”“Babe, just once more, and I’ll be the happiest birthday boy ever.”I pretended not to have heard him and pushed myself further into
Liam's POVAva's soft black curls called out to me, and I didn’t hesitate. I ran my fingers through them, my eyes taking in every inch of her face. Her parted lips seemed to invite me to taste them, but I held myself back. I wasn’t going to be a creep while my wife slept.My thoughts raced toward what she had just requested of me. It wasn’t an impossible thing, just very difficult. Fixing things with the twins' side of the family? Hell no."You don’t understand, my love," I whispered to her, though she couldn’t hear. "So much of this rivalry revolves around you. I want to protect you, and I promise I’ll die before someone harms you."I left a lingering kiss on her cheek and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind me so it wouldn’t wake her. I walked with no destination in mind, but my feet took me back toward the twins' room.As I barged in, I had just one thought in mind: I was doing this for Ava and no one else."If I didn’t know better, I would think you had a secret
Ava's POVThe room descended into a tense silence. All eyes were stuck on the brooding muscle of the man at the doorway. Liam's chest rose and fell fast, his hands and jaw muscles all clenched. But what bothered me was the murderous glare he was giving his cousins.Deciding to intervene before anything happened, I called out, "Liam, why would you just barge into someone's room like that? Don't you know how to—" The words were sucked out of my throat as he strode in, brushing past me and the boys, and walking straight into a room on the side.Maybe the bathroom? "Oh, maybe he has diarrhea and couldn't make it downstairs in time," I said with a chuckle. Dom joined me while Carlos just shook his head at us. A few seconds later, the door burst open again, and Liam emerged, holding out some clothes in his hands."Put these on," he tossed them towards Carl and Dom.Understanding dawned on me at that moment. He was angry because his cousins were shirtless in front of me. For goodness' sake,
Liam's POVAfter telling Ava to stay in the room, I marched out of the house, feeling frustration simmer beneath my chest. I needed to let this rage out. After everything these people had done, they still had the nerve to show their faces here.And that’s not the only issue. They just had to know my Ava. They were the ones Ava had been talking to on the phone all this while."Dang it!" I exclaimed and kicked the tire of my car, ignoring the beeping sound it started making.My mind was racing. What the hell do I do now? I need to get rid of these guys in order to have peace of mind. I don’t want them anywhere near Ava. Not after all the psychotic things their mother did.I just hope she isn’t coming here. Yes, she's very much alive, and I don't think she has gotten over the silly crush she had on my dad. It's a good thing he cut off all ties with her.At the thought of their mother, I remembered mine. When the family came in, I noticed she disappeared. I hope she’s okay. This had, and
Ava's POVMy heart raced as I waited for Domenico or Carlos to tell me what was going on. But they just stared at each other as if trying to figure out who should go first."Guys, come on," I groaned. "Just tell me. It can't be that bad, right? Unless you're scared that something will happen to me. Remember, I'm a strong girl. I can take it."Dom scoffed, and I glared at him. Carlos just shook his head at his brother's childishness in serious moments."So, Uncle Nathan, Liam's father, is the reason why everything is going on."My brows creased with confusion. "What do you mean? How is he the reason when he was welcoming you guys? If there was a problem, shouldn't he have been angry like Liam too?""Will you just shut up and listen?" Domenico interrupted me.I rolled my eyes at him but shut up still because it seemed like I was delaying it further."Our dad died when we were barely five. Remember when we told you?""Yes?""Liam's dad stepped in like a father figure to us. He took utmos
Ava's POVIf Liam thought I was going to listen to his stupid order, then he was really dumb and needed to get his brain checked. The minute he was out of the room, I shot up from the bed, wrapped my arms around my chest, and glared at the door as if I were glaring at his head. Then I quickly stood up, put on my flip-flops, and went out of the room.I was walking around the house aimlessly, trying to find where the twins' room could be. Finally, I realized that it would probably be upstairs, where I wasn’t supposed to go, but who cared at this moment?I called one of the maids who was passing by to set the table for dinner and asked her where their room was. She tried telling me that I couldn’t go there because it was upstairs, but I told her I would go, and no one would do anything about it.When we got to one of their rooms, I turned to her and told her to make sure Liam didn’t find out and that she shouldn’t tell him I was here unless he asked. She nodded and left. I took a deep b
Ava's POVThe moment I left Domenico's arms, Carlos' cedar and sandalwood scent hit my nostrils as he engulfed me in his own hug.Tears flowed freely down my face. I couldn't believe it. What are they even doing here?"What are you guys doing here?" I cried out, my voice muffled against his shirt.Domenico responded in a gentle voice, "I told you we were coming immediately after we got finished with our family meeting... well, this is our family."I froze, only now realizing that they were indeed standing in Liam's family home, which means..."Family? Wait, you guys are members of this family?""Yes, Ava. And we didn't know you were here," Carlos answered, stepping backward and placing his hands in his jeans.I stepped away from them and took my time scrutinizing their appearance. Only now seeing the resemblance between them and Mr. Blackwell.The only thing they shared with Liam was the blue eyes that dad also had. I guess they were his nephews then. Which means they were Liam's cou