Meeting again

Seven years has passed. Seven years since she left the man she loved the most in the world. Seven years of hiding from him.

Ava stood in front of her mirror, dressing and lost in her thoughts.

She misses everything about him; his touch, his voice, the way he calls for her, the way his eyes fills with love and lust for her.

A part of her yearned for Lucian's embrace once more, to feel the warmth of his body against hers. But another part of her wished they never crossed paths again.

She had left him shattered and broken. All alone in the darkness.

“Promise me one thing amore!”. Luciano whispered in the middle of their love making.

“What?!”. She moan.

“Promise me you won’t leave me! Because I can’t live without you Ava!”. He begged.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, hugging him tight as he thrust deeper into her.

And that was their last night together before she left him… with his seed in her.

“I’m sorry Lucian!”. She wiped the tears in her eye.

She applied a light make up on her face, covering her now puffy eyes. Carrying her small hand bag, she walked out of her room.

In the seven years since she had left Lucian, she had managed to make a new name for herself. She had built her own fashion company, turning her dreams into a reality.

But her dreams had once included not only fashion, but also jewellery. Now, she had only the fashion company.

She had changed her name, from Ava Luciano Russo to Daisy Addams. She had scrubbed all traces of her former identity, as if it had never existed.

"Mom!" A light, yet deeply resonant voice called out to her as soon as she stepped into the dinner room.

“How are you son?”. She asked, bending down to give her son a peck.

Her son, Nathan, sat at the dining table, his posture straight and proper, almost regal in its perfection. He was only seven years old, but he seemed wise beyond his years. He even looked older than he was, towering over other boys his age, his features already taking on a more adult appearance.

Nathan was the spitting image of his father, right down to the way he held himself and the tone of his voice.

The only resemblance he had of his mother was her oceanic blue eyes.

Nathan was incredibly intelligent, just like his father had been. And, like Luciano, he was fiercely protective of his mother. He was like a little bodyguard, always watching out for her.

Luciano had chosen the name Nathan for his son.

"If we have a son, let's name him Nathan," Luciano said, kissing her on the forehead. "And if it's a girl, we'll name her Aurora."

Ava blushed, embarrassed by his forwardness. “I am not even pregnant yet!" she exclaimed, pushing him away playfully.

But Luciano just smiled, pulling her closer. "How about we make you pregnant right now?" he whispered, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Ava laughed, swatting him away.

Ava smiled as she recoiled those happy memories, it was fresh in her mind like it happened yesterday. Even though Luciano couldn’t be with his son at least she had given him the name he chooses for their first child.

“I’m fine mother!”. Nathan responded.

“Common, let’s eat!”. She dished out his food for him.

“Where is your nanny?”.

Nathan growl.

“I sent her home mom, I told you I don’t need a nanny. I’m old enough to take care of myself”.

“Says the seven years old boy!”.

“With ten million in his account!”. He responded proudly.

Ava smiled.

Even at the age of seven, Nathan was a prodigy when it came to computers. He had a natural talent for programming and coding, and he was already helping to run the computer systems for Ava's company. In fact, his contributions had helped the company rise to the top five in the country. And as a reward, he requested a 30% share of the company profit.

“Nathan, I will be meeting some important client later, when you’re done with class. You can come meet me there! I will share you the location, make sure to text me before coming!”. Ava said, taking the last bite of her pancake.

“I will get going now! Jeff will drop you off at school, I love you and take care of yourself!”. She pecked him once more, cleaning her hands with a napkin.

“You too mom!”. He responded.

She smiled and walked out of the house.

"Where to, ma'am?" Jeff asked, opening the car door for her.

Ava shook her head. "No need for you to drive me today, Jeff. I'll take care of myself. But please make sure Nathan gets to school safely," she said, climbing into the car and starting the engine.

**********************************

*AT THE OFFICE*

"Good morning, Miss. Addams!" her staff greeted her as she walked through the office.

Ava smiled warmly, nodding and returning the greetings. She loved the friendly atmosphere at the office, and it always brightened her day to see her staff.

She made her way to her office, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

"If it isn’t Miss Fashion herself!" a voice called out from behind her, causing her to jump in surprise. She turned, a hand on her chest to see Derek grinning at her from the door.

“Oh my goodness!”. She jumped.

“You almost gave me an heart attack Derek!”. She smiled, giving him a hug.

“How are you daisy? Or should I say Ava?”. He teased, returning her hug.

She playfully hit his shoulder.

“Stop it Derek!”.

Derek had been like a godsend to Ava, helping her change her name and create a new identity, ensuring that the name Ava Russo disappeared from the world. He had even helped her move to a new city, helping her with a fresh start and a chance to start over.

Derek had a younger sister, Lucy, who had taken to Ava like a mother figure.

“How’s Lucy doing?”.

“She’s fine. But she misses you!”. Derek pout.

“Nathan and I will come see her this weekend”. Ava responded with a smile.

"I also have a client I need to meet," Derek said. "It's a quick walk over to the jewellery company. Would you like me to walk you over? I can escort you to your meeting, and then you can follow me to mine." He requested nervously.

Ava laughed.

“Sure!”. She smiled.

“Alright, I will pick you up in two hours!”. He gave her a quick peck before leaving

Ava called her design team into the office and they got down to business, discussing the new designs they were working on.

The discussion quickly devolved into an argument, with everyone having different opinions on what direction to take. Ava let them hash it out for a while, but eventually she had to step in and make a decision.

"Okay, let's save this for tomorrow," Ava said, cutting the discussion short. "I have another meeting to get to."

The team members all nodded, and began to file out of the room. Ava took a deep breath, relieved to have a break from the tension.

Just then, her phone buzzed with an incoming message. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the screen.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," the message from Derek read.

Ava didn't bother to reply, simply sliding her phone back into her pocket and gathering her files. She stuffed them into her bag and hurried out of the office, not wanting to keep Derek waiting.

Ava stood at the gate, waiting for Derek to arrive. When his Lamborghini pulled up, she rolled her eyes as he executed a flashy three-point turn, stopping the car in front of her.

"I know you're wealthy , Derek, but you don't need to flaunt it like this," she teased, opening the passenger door and climbing into the car.

Derek laughed and shook his head, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street.

“What is the use of wealth if you don’t show it off!”.

"Why are you partnering with the jewellery company?" Derek asked, turning his attention to the road.

"Well, I can't have my own jewellery company, so why not partner with the best?" Ava replied. "Besides, they're the top company in Paris. Partnering with them will only boost my own company's reputation and reach."

Derek nodded thoughtfully, considering her words. "That makes sense," he said.

The rest of the drive was silent. Shortly after they arrived at AL jewellery.

A gasped escape Ava’s lip, it was supposed to be a company but this is too gorgeous to be called a company.

Although she heard it belongs to a man whose identity still remains a mystery.

As they stepped inside, a staff member greeted them.

"We're here to see Mr. Alex," Ava said with a smile.

"Right this way, Miss," the staff member said, leading them to the conference room.

"Sir, your guests are here," the staff member announced.

"Let them in," a deep, hoarse voice replied from inside the room.

Ava froze in her tracks as she heard the voice. She knew that voice, and it couldn't be who she thought it was.