Chapter 4

Ava’s POV

“Did I just call someone ‘hot’?”

I asked lowly as I stared unashamedly at the guys that just entered the café. I wasn’t really interested in both of them, only of them caught my attention and I just couldn’t stop myself from admiring him.

“He is so hot!”

I said again, expecting to get an agreement from Jasmine, but I heard nothing. This made me take a quick break to look at my best friend only to see her looking at these same guys with her mouth wide open.

“What was I expecting? For someone like me to find them hot, I have no doubt that they seem heavenly to Jasmine.”

I thought to myself as I looked back to the guys who were now at the counter, trying to order their coffee. I mean, can you blame us, these two guys were too handsome to be considered humans. For the first time, I concurred with Jasmine’s common saying that some people just look too beautiful for humans.

I couldn’t stop looking at them as they slowly approached their table on the other side of the room. I especially studied the guy on the right side. He was so good-looking to be even considered a real person. He looked so perfect with a great body build that looked like that of a mannequin. 

He was exuding a royalty aura as he spoke gently with his friend at the table. I never knew black on black could look so good on someone until I saw them on him. He made the color look so exquisite on his porcelain white skin. He was in a black shirt and black trousers. The first two buttons of his shirt were undone, giving me an incomplete view of his broad muscular chest.

“God! Is this man real?”

I thought aloud as I stared openly at the guy. I knew that was so unusual for me but I didn’t care. Every cell within my body was excited. They just wanted to admire the beauty that was sitting not too far from my table and that was exactly what I did. 

“Oh, my God. Ava, I can’t believe this! That is the guy!” 

Jasmine exclaimed silently with surprise after she first seemed to have lost her voice for a few minutes. 

“Wait! What are you talking about?” 

I asked curiously. I hoped it isn’t what I was thinking.

“The Guy! The guy I was talking about yesterday. The guy that was giving off the werewolf vibe. That’s him!” 

Jasmine explained happily with dreamy eyes, while Micheal on the other hand was just looking at the way the two ladies sitting with him were blatantly staring at other guys without shame. He was mostly looking at me. I was sure he didn’t believe that his sister could also admire guys blatantly.

“I’m sorry, brother. But I can’t resist this.”

I thought to myself but my brain quickly picked up a piece of information out of the things Jasmine said earlier. I hoped the guy she was talking about wasn’t the guy I was admiring. For some reason, I couldn’t stand the thoughts of another lady crushing on him.

“He’s mine!”

A voice within me said possessively and that shocked me a little bit. What was wrong with me? I was never the type to fall at any guy’s feet, talk less of being possessive over someone that didn’t even know I existed. 

“Get a hold of yourself, Ava.”

I reprimanded myself subconsciously as I finally summoned the courage to ask Jasmine which one of the guys she was talking about. I didn’t even know why I was scared in the first place. Why did I need to summon my courage just to ask a little harmless question?

“Which of them?” I asked timidly.

“The one in the white shirt. The guy sitting on the left side of the table. Isn’t he so hot?”

Jasmine ranted excitedly and I felt a sense of relief wash over me. She wasn’t referring to my guy. Else, I wouldn’t have known how to respond to her.

“Wait a minute! My guy? My guy? Did I just refer to someone I was just seeing for the first time as ‘my guy’? And I just did it without a sense of reproach? Really?”

I thought as I tried to assess what was wrong with me at the moment. I was never the type to admire guys. They always seem the same to me. I never saw that specie as people I could trust, except for my brother of course.

I was never the type to let down my guard by falling for a guy. Not again! Not after what happened twelve years ago. Not after I have seen their true color. I would never forget it! I could still remember everything that happened that day vividly to the extent that I could write a book about it if I was told to.

Why was I acting stupid over some mysterious guy? How was that even possible? After that incident, I ensured that I shut my feelings away. I had gotten so used to that thought to the extent that I never even thought I would get married because of love. I only ever thought of getting married just to procreate. How could I possibly be crushing on an unknown guy? I didn’t need the genius to tell me that I was beginning to crush on the guy, and I so much wouldn’t want that to happen.

“What are you thinking, Ava?”

I thought as I slammed my hands on the table angrily. I was beginning to get angry at myself. How could I forget my principles just because of a beautiful face? How could I? How could I fantasize over something that almost ruined my life? How in the hell could I?

“Are you okay, Ava? Do you need to get out of this place?”

Micheal asked protectively as he tried to calm me down. He understood why I was so vexed. He was also there twelve years ago. He knew what happened. He could tell how angry I was at myself at that moment. How could I possibly feel that emotion called “love” again?

“Let’s get out of here. Come on.” 

Micheal said gently as he helped me get up from the chair. Thinking about the incident again after a long while made my muscles lose all their strength. I gently accepted my brother’s help as I slowly got up from the chair.

“Why does it seem like you guys are speaking in parables? What is wrong? Did I do something wrong? Are you okay, Ava? What is happening? Do not put me in the dark!”

Jasmine exclaimed when she saw how serious the situation was getting. Except for the times when she defended me from my bullies in school, I was sure she had never seen me so weak as I looked at that moment.

“Everything is fine, we just need to get out of this place.”

Micheal answered her in my place. I couldn’t even speak at that moment. I had lost the will to do anything. I just needed to get out of that tense atmosphere. I knew Jasmine was still worried about me, but I’d explain everything to her some other time. I just needed to leave at that moment.

As we turned towards the door to leave, it was like my soul left my body temporarily when my eyes instinctively located his amber eyes. Everything seemed to stop. The only thing I could see where the intensity in his eyeballs that wouldn’t stop looking at me. 

His eyes were already on me. They were so alluring and inviting. I could instantly feel a sense of connection with them. No doubt, my outburst earlier must have attracted some attention to our table.

But there was something about the way he looked at me. There was so much intensity and emotion in his amber eyes as he looked at me seriously as if he recognized me from somewhere. At that moment, a part of me wanted to look into his astonishingly beautiful eyes for as long as I could, but my brain reminded me of why I decided to leave.

“Oh my gosh, I am doing it again.”

I thought angrily as I urged Micheal to take me out of the café as fast as possible. I couldn’t believe I was still attracted to the unknown guy when I knew I shouldn’t. But a part of me couldn’t deny the fact that there was some weird connection between us. I could feel it. And I was sure the guy felt it also with the way he stared at me.

The more I thought about it as we left, the more scared I got for myself. I could feel the mysterious guy’s eyes boring a hole in the back of my head. Something told me that his eyes were still on me. But I really didn’t want to get myself entangled with any guy again, regardless of whether there was a connection between us or not. Thinking about it made me feel like the air within me was being sucked out.

“Breathe, Ava. Breathe. Just forget about everything for the moment. We are out of that place.” 

Micheal tried to help me regulate my breathing as he patted my back gently. He gently led me to where I parked my car and opened the passenger’s door for me to get in. He slowly sat me down and squatted beside me.

“You are safe, Ava. You are with me right now. You trust me, right?”

Micheal said gently to me as I nodded my head. I tried to relax and focus on my environment. I could finally feel the air in my lungs again.

“Good! You know I will always protect you. I promise you that, Ava.” 

Micheal reassured me. He didn’t need me to say it out loud. He could already guess what I was thinking about. He knew exactly what I was feeling.

“I’m so sorry, Mike. I didn’t mean to ruin the moment over there.”

I apologized the moment I finally felt like myself again. I knew Jasmine would be feeling so bad at the moment. I didn’t handle the situation as well as I expected myself to. I had been hiding everything from Jasmine ever since I met her. And at that moment, it seemed like I just exposed the things I so much wanted to keep hidden.

“It’s okay. But can I ask you a question?”

Micheal asked and I could already guess what his question would be about.

“You want to know why I hide everything from Jasmine, right?”

“Yes, Ava. She is your best friend. I think she should also know so she would stop hurting your feelings without knowing. I know the way she admires guys on every occasion takes a toll on you. But I know she’s not doing it intentionally. If you tell her about it, she will definitely adjust. Isn’t that right?”

Micheal asked and I understood what he meant. But I wasn’t ready to show my ugly side to Jasmine yet. I wanted the perfect image she had of me to remain. I didn’t want to ruin it by telling her about my shameful past. I didn’t want her to see me as a damaged person. So I just dismissed the discussion as I told Micheal to drive me home.

“Some other time, Micheal!”