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
Ava watched as the man approached her, escorted by an usher, who most likely was coming to show him his seat.“Now, I know we all must have a lot of questions for us tonight,” Elliot Sage said from the stage.Ava realized she was still standing and quickly had her seat without taking her eyes off the doctor.“Here’s your seat, Mr.” the usher said.“First of all, I’d like to say it’s an honor to be here. The Sage…” Daphne Summers was saying, her voice overshadowing the usher.Ava turned to the man and said, “Hello, we meet again.”He looked at her through deep blue eyes with a look of puzzle on his face.“You probably don’t remember, we...” Ava was saying when an usher walked over to her.“Ms. Rachel, you are needed backstage,” the usher said.“Oh, uhm,” Ava muttered, looking from the usher to the man who had helped Jordan.“I’ll be right back,” Ava told the stranger.When they got backstage, the usher directed her to a big and angry-looking guy.“This is Ms. Isabella's PA,” the usher s
"Oh, one would think you're about to pounce on me," Nora said as she walked up to Ava.She had witnessed part of the conversation and hoped that the resentments from her family would push her out of town once again.Ava's lips lifted up in a smile when she realized it was Nora. There was no way she was going to give Nora the chance to pity her."Hello Nora, you look better," Ava replied."I always did look better, you know, probably why you're there and I am here," Nora said with a smile, the underlying message like a soft jab to Ava's heart."Probably, well, like they always say, trash is better kept in the bin," Ava replied.Nora's eyes narrowed intantly, but before she could say another word, Ava turned away.Standing behind her was Nathan, looking at her through very hard eyes. Without saying a word, Ava walked past him.As she entered, Ava saw Bella wave to her, and she walked towards the big round table where she was."That took long, are you okay?" Bella asked, taking her hand a
Nathan stood up and walked a few feet away from the table before turning back to face Elliot."I need to speak with your designer," Nathan stated.Elliot was silent for a few seconds, unsure what Nathan was trying to imply."Okay, would you care to explain? Because I'm aware you already have a designer for your project," Elliot responded."I can't really go into specifics right now," Nathan stated."Okay, who specifically do you want to speak with?" Elliot asked, adding, "Bella or some other fashion house designer, who I know you can meet on your own without coming to me.""I can't explain anything for sure right now; I need to speak with your major partner," Nathan stated."Okay, hold on, what exactly is going on? You don't sound like your usual self," Elliot said, his eyes squinting in concern before adding, "Does this have to do with your grandfather?"Nathan's head snapped to Elliot in surprise at his words."What? I should know there is only one person who has the capacity to mak
"Dad, what do we do?" Emily asked her father.The embarrassment of the day before had been weighing heavily on her mind."What else can we do? She is practically untouchable right now," Amelia stated.Emily raised her eyebrows, an angry look crossing her face as she responded, "Says who, Mom?" She is going to pay for this; I swear she will. How high can she rise again?""Enough, the both of you! We need to come up with a plan," her father snapped at them, his brow furrowed in thought."I really don't think we should go against Ava anymore; she is no longer the girl we used to know. What if she decided to come make us pay for what we did to her all those years ago?" Amelia asked in concern."She won't, because I won't let her," Emily stated firmly."Shut up! Nobody is making anyone pay; we need to find a way to get into her good books right now," Charles stated.Emily's hand clenched into a fist beside her at her father's words."Why do we need to do that?" Emily shot at her father."W
Nathan's eyes narrowed, his hand clenching into a fist, as his jaw tightened.His voice was cold and sharp as he responded, "I have no idea what Tyler is talking about.""I don't think we should do this here," Peter interjected, looking between Timothy and Nathan."I agree," Mike stated, a nervous look coming to his face."Shut the f*ck up; you don't have a say here," Tyler responded to Mike."It's not going to be much of a problem if Tyler just tells us what he knows," Wyat said with a satisfied grin."I don't want that," Peter snapped, shutting Wyatt up."We will have this conversation at the office tomorrow then," Timothy stated, signaling for someone in the crowd."That would be better; we can't have everyone staring at us for having a family spat right now," Peter added."Okay, if that would be all, I guess we are done here, right?" Nathan stated, looking at everyone before adding, "Good night."He walked away from the group and headed to the entrance. Mike followed him closely,
"Hello ma'am, nice to meet you," The staff greeted Ava.Their faces were filled with pleasure at meeting their new CEO. Oliver and Mr. Clark were walking her through the various departments in the building."Thank you all for the good work over the years. I hope to have a splendid time working here with you all," Ava responded with a smile.As they left the office, Ava looked at Oliver and asked, "How many offices do we have to go to?""Not much; I think it's just the human resource department and IT department," Oliver replied."Okay," Ava muttered as they entered an elevator at the end of the hall."After the introductions, we would be heading to your office on the last floor," Mr. Clark interjected."Okay, and what is the last floor?" Ava asked curiously.Mr. Clark only grinned at her and kept mute as Oliver tried not to laugh beside them."What?" Ava asked, but they didn't give her a response.After a few seconds, Oliver stated, "I guess we'll find out soon enough.""Oh, and that
"Really? Who is it?" Someone asked from the group.All eyes were glued to Mick, expecting his answer, wishing it was their own design that won."The winner for the design submission is," Mick replied."I have something to say before that," Daphne stated coldly.Her voice cut through the excitement like a sword as she stood up to face the crowd.Mick turned to look at her, noticing her expression for the first time."Hmm, of course," Mick muttered, stepping aside for her."So, the winner announcement would be put on hold for now," Daphne stated.There were silent murmurs as everyone looked confused, glancing from her to Mick."Okay, hold on, why? Mick just mentioned that he has the winner's name with him." Bella stated.Daphne turned towards her, her gaze freezing as she turned her icy stare at her."I see no reason why I should give you a response here; if Elliot is not around, I'm as good as being in charge." Daphne muttered.A surprised gasp rose up from the crowd as they all stood
"Don't you think we need to go see them at the school?" Bella asked as she packed her bag."Stop running!" Ava shouted to Jenna, who was running after Angel up the stairs."Come on, buddy, the competition is going to happen eventually. Okay, I'm sure they probably have a reason for shifting it forward," Brad said, patting Jordan on the back."I don't think there is any point in going; Nora was probably just messing with me when she called," Ava replied with a shrug."Why would she do that?" Bella asked."If I know her, which I kind of do, she is just trying to rub it in my face," Ava muttered."Well, I guess the joke is on her now, Ms. CEO," Brad teased.Ava smiled, moving over to Jordan as Brad stood up to head out the door."I'll see you guys later," Brad called over his shoulder."Bye, Dad!" Angel shouted from the stairs where she was now sitting with Jenna."Bye, darling," Brad replied, blowing her a kiss before stepping out the door."Hey sweetheart, don't worry; the competition
Monday morning came faster than anticipated after the long weekend with its shock and unexpected turn of events.The Crawford Group head office was abuzz with activity as guests moved through the lobby. The event was taking place at one of the halls located in the building."Looks like it's going to be a big one." A staff member whispered to another as they directed guests through the lobby.There were reporters stationed outside, and a live broadcast of the event was being streamed."Well done, Tyler, that was a good one," Peter stated with a warm smile as Tyler walked up to him.The event had come to an end with a final speech from Tyler. Now the ball was in the court of the guest to actually invest in the project."Thank you, Dad," Tyler said, grabbing a wine glass from a passing waiter.Timothy Crawford was seated in one corner of the hall, silently observing and exchanging pleasantries with guests."Tyler, that was a good one. I guess you took the bull by the horns," Mr. Lee stat
For a few seconds, Nora struggled to find the words with which to respond to Tyler."Didn't mean to get you all scared, you know, just saying how bad it's going to look if Nathan finds out what happened in LA," Tyler muttered."You wouldn't dare!" Nora replied, her voice low and hardened as her eyes darted around the room, a flicker of tension betraying her tough behavior."Oh, you should worry about yourself; I just might tell him when you least expect it. That's why they say karma's a b*tch," Tyler responded, folding his hand on his chest."Then I bet you, you're going to lose all you ever hold dear; hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Tyler. Thomas is going to get acknowledged as Nathan's heir, and then you're going to be worthless like you are meant to be," Nora spat at him in disdain.The smile on Tyler's face faded away as he took three steps closer to Nora, pushing back against a couch.Tyler leaned close, his lips to her ear as he whispered, "Oh, I would like to see you tr
"Uncle Tyler," Thomas shouted in excitement as they all saw him standing at the door.A few feet behind him stood Nathan, with his face drawn into a scowl. He signalled for one of the house keeper to clean up the broken vase he had mistakenly knocked off."What is it with you all and standing by the door?" Timothy stated, looking up."Nothing," Tyler stated, walking more into the room before adding, "How are you, champ?""I'm fine, Uncle Tyler," Thomas shouted."Shhh, you're at the table," Nora chastised Thomas, her tone hardened as she cast a sideways look at Tyler."Sorry," Thomas whispered, looking down at his plate."What makes you want to see Ava?" Nathan asked."Why should I not see her?" Timothy asked, not in the least bothered."I don't think this is a good time to talk about this," Clara stated, staring straight at Nora."Nathan, keep your reservations to yourself; let's talk about it later," Peter stated.Nathan looked at Thomas's plate and realized the boy still had a lot o