As the elevator doors opened, Nathan and Mike stepped out, the soft chime of the bell echoing faintly down the hall."On second thought, Mike, I need you to go to finance and tell them that if I don't have that report in the next twenty minutes, it’s not going to be a very good day for them," Nathan said, stopping abruptly mid-stride.Mike sighed but nodded, checking his wristwatch with a quick glance. "Alright, I’ll head over right away," he replied, already turning on his heel."Call me when you have it," Nathan added, before he resumed walking down the hallway."Sure, boss," Mike muttered under his breath, shaking his head slightly.He wasn’t surprised by Nathan’s abruptness; especially with the way the day started.A few minutes later, Nathan entered the office that had once belonged to his grandfather. All traces of vacancy had been scrubbed away, leaving the space feeling vibrant and lived-in once more."Hello, Dad," Nathan said as he stepped inside, nodding toward Peter, who sa
"What was that?" Bella muttered, her head snapping around towards Daphne."Oh, wow," Ava muttered, surprised by Daphne's confidence.All through the exchange, Daphne's head was bent, not in the least bothered by their presence."I'm going to tap her," Ava stated, standing up from her seat."No, don't, let me," Bella replied, grabbing Ava's arm and pulling her back to her seat."Okay, if you say so," Ava stated.Bella stretched out her hand and tapped on Daphne's shoulder, since she was the one sitting close to her.Daphne raised her head slowly, a scrowl appearing on her forehead as she turned in their direction."We were just trying to be friendly," Bella said, meeting Daphne's pissed-off look with a peircing gaze.Daphen shook her head, looking at them like she didn't understand what they were trying to say."I meant, what you said was kind of offensive," Bella added.Daphne raised a hand in the hair, signaling Bella to stop speaking. Then she nodded her head, waited a few seconds,
Ava stared at the paper Nathan Crawford, her husband, kept in front of her like it was a piece of art she needed to understand."Ava, sign the damn document; I don’t have time for this,” Nathan shouted, his brows drawn together as he tapped his feet on the floor impatiently.“I… I don’t understand Nathan; did I do something wrong? Does grandfather know about this?” Ava stammered as she looked up at the man she had loved for most of her life.Nathan brushed a hand through his hair in frustration as he sighed deeply, trying to contain his irritation with her.“We both know this is not going to work, and three years is long enough for us to cut it loose, don’t you think?” Nathan said calmly, trying to get through to her.“It’s just been three years, Nathan. I know we can make this work after that night…” Ava was saying, but Nathan interrupted her.“Don’t!” he said, his voice hard as he glared at her before adding, “That was a mistake, one night of drunken mistake on my part, okay.”“It me
“How could you be so dense? You probably brought this on yourself. All you had to do was remain silent, be a faithful wife, and be obedient. Would it have killed you to not have signed those damn papers?” Charles Parish shouted at Ava, his eyes almost bulging out of his skull.His face was squeezed in anger, his brows drawn together as he stared at his firstborn daughter, wondering how he had gone wrong with her.“Is that all you have to say to me?” Ava replied, her eyes filled with tears.She had walked through the rain, hoping she would at least find some solace with the man she called father.“What were you expecting, a hug? After the shame you have brought on this family? How could you get yourself divorced from him?” Amelia Parish, Ava’s stepmother, said, trying to look dissatisfied with the outcome of her stepdaughter’s marriage.“Oh, I don’t expect that from you, seeing as you pretty much did exactly what she did to me with my father,” Ava said, her voice dropping a notch as she
Ava Smith stared out the window of the airplane at the clouds and sighed deeply. She never thought anything would bring her back to New York.It was the city where she had almost lost her life, been betrayed and stabbed in the back by the person she had loved the most. It was also where she had gotten the greatest gift of her life.“You really should get that look off your face; someone might think you are headed to a burial,” Isabella Brown murmured beside her.“I just might be Bella; it’s been six years, but it doesn’t reduce the pain I suffered,” Ava replied, trying to keep her voice low.“Who suffered?” Jenna asked, looking from her mother to Bella.“What do I always say?” Ava said, raising her brow at Jenna.“Never interrupt Mummy when she is talking to Aunt Bella,” Jordan said, mimicking his mother.“Jordan Smith!” Ava said, rolling her eyes at him.“That was a good one,” Bella said, winking at him.Jordan grinned as he looked at his mother, and Ava shook her head, staring at the
“Ava!” Bella shouted, adding, “Snap out of it and get to your son.”Ava shook her head, her thumping heart overshadowing every other sound in the airplane. Then her eye, which had suddenly become blurry, cleared up as she saw those who were gathered around her child.“Such a poor boy,” one of the passengers on the other line murmured as they watched what was going on.Ava unbuckled her belt with clumsy hands as she fell to the ground beside Jordan.“Jordan, can you hear me, baby?” Ava said as she lifted him to her lap.“What is wrong with Jordan?” Jenna asked, her little voice trembling and filled with fear.“Jordan is going to be fine, sweetheart,” Bella said, pulling Jenna away before asking one of the air hostesses, “Do we have a doctor on board?”“Someone is making that announcement now,” the air hostess replied.Just then, someone walked up to them and said, “Everybody move back; let me take a look at the boy; I’m a doctor.”The doctor looked at Ava and said, “Hello, I’m a doctor;
It was then that Bella realized someone was actually calling her name. As she looked in the direction Jordan was pointing, she saw her name on a placard.“Oh god, I almost forgot,” Bella said, murmuring.As she watched her cousin approach, she heard Ava’s voice say, “Jenna?”Ava rushed over to Jenna as soon as her eyes landed on the cut on her elbow.“A scary-looking lady was shouting at Aunt Bella,” Jordan told his mother instantly.“What happened?” Ava asked Bella.“I’ll explain it on the way; for now, let’s get out of here,” Bella replied.At that moment, Brad Willow got to them, a broad smile on his face."Hello, Cousin,” Brad said, taking Bella into his arm as he hugged her.“Someone’s excited to see me,” Bella muttered with a grin.“At least one of us missed the other,” Brad replied before pulling away and turning towards Ava and the twins.As soon as he saw the cut on Jenna’s hand, he said, “Hello Ava, I’ve heard a lot about you and the twins, and I do think we need to attend to
Ava felt like time had stopped. Like all that was left were just the two faces she had hoped never to cross paths with forever.Ava could see the shock on both their faces. Nathan’s brows were drawn as he stared at her, and beside him, Nora’s face had instantly paled.How amusing, Ava thought.“Oh my god! Are you alright?” Daphne Summers muttered.And just like that, the frozen moment ended.“Ava?” Nathan called, his voice as melodious as it had always been, almost like music from his perfectly formed lips. He used those same lips to destroy her world.Elliot signaled one of the ushers to attend to the mess as he asked, “Is something wrong?”"No, I'm fine; thank you, Elliot," Nora replied quickly.“Hello Nathan,” Ava said sweetly, her tone almost too pleasant that Bella had to turn to look at her face.“Oh, no, not the smile,” Bella murmured.At the entrance to the hall, Charles Parish and his family had just arrived.“I can’t believe we were invited to this; surely it’s going to turn