The New Arrival

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 that cut as soon as possible.”

“Hello Brad, and yes, I would appreciate that,” Ava replied.

As they exited the airport, Jordan saw the woman who had shouted at them earlier and drew his mother’s attention: “Mom, see, there she is.”

Ava looked down at Jordan and asked, “Who?”

"Mom, look, she is entering the car, the one who shouted at Aunt Bella,” Jordan said.

By the time Ava looked up, she saw a car drive past them, the window slowing closing.

“Ava, I know that look,” Bella whispered as she came to Ava’s side.

“What? Someone just caused that injury on Jenna’s hand; what do you expect?” Ava replied.

“I know you’re pissed, but can you please just forget it? It’s not like we are ever going to see her again,” Bella replied.

“I hope not, because if we do, it’s not going to end well for her,” Ava muttered angrily, walking towards Brad, who had already gotten to the car and was waiting for them.

Bella shook her head almost in pity for whoever that lady had been. She, for one, never prayed to meet an angry Ava, especially if it had anything to do with her babies.

In a matter of minutes, they were out of the airport and on their way.

About thirty minutes later, Brad drove into the parking lot of his home and said, “Here we are.”

“Aunt Bella!” a cute little girl shouted from the house as she came running out the door.

“Don’t run,” the housekeeper, Lucy, shouted from behind the little girl.

“Here comes my favorite baby,” Bella said as she stepped out of the car and scooped the little girl up.

“How are you, Angel?” Bella said with a wide grin.

Angel grinned, showing off her gum with missing teeth as she replied, “I’m fine.”

“What about me?” Jenna asked from her mother's arm.

Bella looked back and took her from Ava, carrying both Jenna and Angel at the same time as she said, “You’re both my favorites.”

“Let’s all head in; I know you have an event to be at in a few minutes,” Brad said, adding, “I’ll get the bags later.”

Angel whispered something into Bella’s ear, which made her chuckle as they walked into the house.

“Thank you for having us, Brad,” Ava said from behind.

“Naah, it’s nothing; Bella is always welcomed here, and you are now too,” Brad replied.

“Bella I believe you know Lucy, so, Ava, Lucy is my housekeeper, more like a family to us, and here is my little Angel,” Brad introduced.

“You look so beautiful like Barbie,” Angel said.

“Hey, where’s your loyalty?” Bella said, looking at Angel funny.

The twins and Angel laughed at her expression, lightening the mood a bit after the incident at the airport.

“It’s nice to meet you, and thank you, Angel,” Ava replied with a soft smile, adding, “This is Jordan and Jenna, my twins.”

“Hello,” the twins replied quietly, an act Ava knew was their way of observing a new environment.

“You have a beautiful home,” Ava complimented.

“Thank you,” Brad said with a smile, adding, “Okay, let’s get something on that hand of yours, Jenna.”

“I’ll bring the first aid box,” Lucy offered as she walked over to the kitchen.

The house was beautiful, with its large windows and wide living and dining area. Ava took in the beautiful colors, which showed careful and delicate taste.

“You look like her,” Angel said, moving towards Jordan and pointing at Jenna.

“That’s the meaning of twins,” Jordan replied, looking at her skeptically.

“I know,” Angel replied, crossing her hand on her chest.

As Lucy attended to Jenna, Bella put a call through to her assistant as she walked away to answer the call. A few minutes later, she entered the room looking concerned.

"Bella, are you alright?” Ava asked as soon as she saw the expression on her face.

“Rachel won’t be able to make it down to New York,” Bella replied.

“Why? What happened? Everything was fine before we left LA,” Ava said.

Jenna and Jordan were happily getting to know their new environment and were basically following Angel around the house.

“Her husband was involved in a car accident,” Bella replied.

“Oh my god,” Ava muttered in shock.

“I can’t tell her to come; not after hearing that, it’ll be heartless of me,” Bella added.

“Hey, you’re going to be late for your event,” Brad said, walking into the living room as he brought in the last bag from the car.

As he stared at the two ladies, he instantly realized something was wrong.

“Rachel isn’t coming,” Bella replied, explaining what happened.

“You can go alone, right?” Brad asked.

“No, I can’t; I can’t be on stage and off stage at the same time,” Bella replied, pacing in frustration as she added, “I would need someone to attend to all other stuff behind the scene.”

“How about you go with Ava?” Brad suggested, adding, “It’s only for a few hours, at least until you can get a stand-in for Rachel.”

A big smile instantly spread across Bella’s face as she looked at Ava, who was shaking her head and said, “Save your friend.”

A few heartbeats later, they were standing at the entrance to the venue, the Diamond Hall. It was famous for its allure and hosting of numerous high-profile events.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Ava murmured to herself.

She could not tell Bella the real reason she didn’t want to be at the event, so here she was.

"Welcome, Ms. Isabella, please come with me,” one of the ushers said as soon as Bella and Ava got to the entrance of the hotel.

They were handed tags to wear and then escorted towards the front of the hall, where Elliot and Daphne were seated.

“That’s Elliot Sage, CEO of Sage Group of Companies, and Daphne Summers is the lady beside him; she is the CEO of Delicate Stitches,” Bella whispered to Ava quickly before they got to Elliot.

“Hello Isabella, It’s great to have you here; thank you for honoring our invitation,” Elliot Sage said.

“The pleasure is mine, Elliot, and thank you for having me,” Bella replied with a smile.

As she turned to introduce Ava, her eyes landed on the lady from the airport. She was standing close to a man and purring all over him like a cat as they came close to them.

“That b*tch,” Bella murmured under her breath, but Ava, who was standing close, heard it and raised her brow at Bella.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Ava; it’s the b*tch from the airport,” Bella whispered.

At that same moment, Elliot looked up and saw the new arrival and said, “Hey man, it’s an honor to have Nathan Crawford in this event.”

At the mention of that name, Ava’s heart froze as she heard the name of the man who had shattered her life.

As Ava turned, she saw them, Nathan and Nora, and just as her heart had frozen, the wine glass in Nora’s hand slipped and fell to the ground; it’s shattering sound was an echo of the war to come.