Chapter 119“Shouldn’t we spice this thing up?” Sebastian asked Ava, fondling his arms around her waist. He trailed kisses around her neck, watching as Ava moaned down under his lips. The voice of her moans was lustful that it turned him on. He was right afterward. There was something very special about how Ava made her feel that no other girl had made him feel before. It felt special that it tingled his sensation.“How?” Ava asked, turning to Sebastian to see his face properly. She was a little bit shorter than he was, so it was easy for her to look up to him and read his lips for how it moved and formed. “Let’s go out and spend some time together. I mean, we still have more places to explore in Greece.” Sebastian replied, holding up Ava’s cheeks as he slurred through his words one by one. “What are we going to tell Kim? You of all people should know how sneaky she can be sometimes.” Ava said as she unwrapped herself from Sebastian’s grips. She paced slowly around the room before s
“So, where are we heading to?” Asher asked, tagging behind Kim who kept on telling him to follow her from behind. She waved down a car by the streets, and gave them the address of a particular location where Asher knew nothing about.“Yes.” Kim responded the cab driver who had asked her to confirm the details of her destination once again. She opened the door, pushing Asher right into it and entering it herself too.“Why does the place sound so local?” Asher asked, expressing his disapproval in the open. He had probably expected a lot seeing how much Asher had bragged about the places Ava and Sebastian had been to together, and how interesting those places were. It bored him knowing that Kim had only exaggerated the experience after all.“Do you no longer trust me?” Kim asked again, wondering why Asher would not simply trust her and kept on grumbling over and over again beside her ears.“I do, but….”“You can just not go if you don’t want to. It’s not new to meagain, so I can simply g
Sebastian wouldn’t overstate it, but then it won’t be a lie either if he had said all he could think about when hewas alone office was about the good time he had together with. It reached a point where he couldn’t take it all together anymore until he decided to ask Ava to another date with him. He made his plans to make the dinner a surprise this time around. He re-checked the place he had booked for the date earlier today. Even that was a hard choice. Hehad to constantly suffer from the decision to see if going to sail in one of the islands that were around would be better, or if he should just take a hot air balloon ride with Ava. In the end, he didn’t choose either of them. He ended up choosing reserving the whole restaurant for themselves, since it was closer, andas he believed, more elegant.Sebastian placed a call over to Ava, asking her to dress up and meet him downstairs. She was confused over the phone, asking him where exactly they were heading to, but Sebastian wouldn’t r
Knock knock! Kim was interrupted in her sleep by the series of knocks that reverberated on her hotel door. Her sleep had first been interrupted by the rays of the light that shone through the windowpanes. She had hated the sun for that very same reason. Or, better still, she disliked too much of brightness. Kim always considered it to be an element of invasion. It always invaded into everything that kept her peace — the night, her sleep, and the moon. Kim’s philosophy didn’t care about anyone else. As long as you don’t think she is right with her belief, she believed you are a common man.“Who is there?” She asked, wiping off her puffy eyes as she drawled on the duvet that was on her. She felt her back ache, and stretched to relieve herself from her slight discomfort. She looked back directly at the door when she didn’t receive a response from the question she had thrown out to nobody in particular.Knock knock!“I said who is there?!” Kim shouted this time around, placing a syllabic
123“I almost nearly said today was the best day of my life. I’ve never enjoyed myself this much. It was fun.” Sebastian said, chuckling between his teeth while they were all trailing their steps back to the hotel.Apparently, they had walked into one of the restaurants that was around after their sightseeing, and was stunned when Sebastian was gently tapped on his back. Both Ava and Sebastian shifted their focus immediately away from their foods, plastering it on whoever it was whose shadow lurked behind them. “I’m sorry, but you really looked like one of the billionaires in my country whose name is over the news these days. But then, what would Mr. Sebastian come to do in Greece?” The man, showered by a blue t-shirt and a grey flannel trouser said, smiled sheepishly at each of their faces. Ava felt uneasy immediately. They had come to Greece for a vacation not just to have fun, but to put all that scandal about Kim’s behavior behind them. This scenario that is playing out right no
Everything came as a rush towards Sebastian. It was as if everything was happening all at once, and he was at the center of it. If anything at all, this was not how he had envisioned to spend his vacation. He had come here to de-stress, not to relive another trauma he thought he had left behind.He got to his door and turned the handle, but it had beenlocked from the inside. Pissed off by how life was currently playing him, he let out a faint growl and banged on the door loudly as though he was taking out some of his frustration out on it. Ava, who was on the inside, was taken aback when she suddenly got disturbed by the disconcerting sounds of the bangs.“Who’s there?” She called out, standing up from the bed and heading towards the door to see who was tampering with the serenity of her room with such noises.“Open the door.” Sebastian’s voice came through — almost like a growl, but in a very definitive and scary tone. Ava recognized the voice, so she turned the key, and let him in.
“I’m sorry if I startled you. I didn’t mean to.” The man who was styled in a black short and a blue top took off his arms from Ava’s body. He stepped back a little, and Ava was able to see the entirety of his body. From the way his hair had moved back behind his forehead —slightly grey, she was able to immediately guess that he was probably in his fifties or sixties. Someone that old wouldn’t really have approached her to sexually assault her. Maybe he was saying the truth. “I thought you were someone else.” She replied, jerking off the frenzied state she was in due to the alcohol. The man let a smile slid out of his mouth, and was about to say something when a random woman entered the bar and did the very same thing the man had done. She hugged Ava, as if she had known her since a very long time. Startled by what was going on with the people before her, Ava broke a sweat, reflecting her tense state. “Again, I’m sorry.” The man apologized again, but Ava wanted more than an apology. I
There was more than one thing that made the day remarkable, part of which was the serene atmosphere which flooded across the city like a fog — cool, yet beautiful. This has to be a normal atmosphere in Greece. All this beauty and what it held. Another was the breeze. Some would say it blended well with the cool atmosphere, but then it wasn’t a regular breeze, only the people who have been riddled by distance understands the gravity of it. Sebastian was one of those people.He had woken up to find his bed empty. For a moment, there was the clear space that filled in the slot of his memory. All that foggy memories of what happened last night. He was very sure of the fact that he had seen Ava yesterday, he just couldn’t quite point it out well.“Where is she?” He asked himself once more, opening the bathroom door to confirm if she wasn’t right in there taking her bath. She wasn’t. So, Sebastian had to stop himself to contemplate on whatever had happened yesterday.It came to him slowly.
One month laterThe wedding had been a splendid affair and from the start, Ava was practically forbidden from lifting a finger for herself by Kim, Renee, Violet, and the flock of servants at her disposal due to how heavy she had become and she resorted to staying put unless she risked the ire of the women helping her dress up. Sebastian had planned a proposal with the rest of their friends leaving her in the dark. It was unexpected and it felt real and different this time around, they had come through so many difficulties and they both knew it was the right time to make it all real this time around.At the stroke of midnight on her wedding, Ava was standing at the entrance of the hall already adorned with palatial decorations with cascading floral arrangements hanging from every side of the grand room, sparkling white chandeliers hung high above with delicate draperies completing the settings designed to evoke an atmosphere filled with love and warmth. A group of violinists was posit
It’s been two months since Sebastian was released from the hospital and Ava moved into the mansion with him. The penthouse held too many hurtful memories and she wasn’t eager to go back there and be plagued by nightmares during her sleep. Jake’s trial hadn’t taken a lot of time either, there was a ton of insurmountable evidence against him and the jury didn’t take much liking to him either, or the judge. In reality, no one was going to take the side of a journalist with murderous intentions over New York’s most desirable couple. Their return to the spotlight had been a field day in the media world especially as articles and gossip about their breakup had been going on for a while now, their appearance together had all but quietened every rumor going on about them. Ava was becoming used to being pregnant and after a few weeks of tedious work down at the agency, she had gone on maternity leave that would run well into a few months after she gave birth.One of her favorite parts of be
Damian looked back and forth between Ava and Sebastian and it was pretty obvious that they had eyes for just each other right now, everything else faded into the background. He didn’t need any further clue, his time here was up.“I believe it’s best I give you both some space to talk things through.” Damian cleared his throat, gave Sebastian a nod, and patted Ava’s shoulders as he walked past her. “Do you think they’re going to be fine?” Violet asked Damian as soon as he got to the door. Sebastian spared them a glance over his shoulder before returning his gaze to Violet. “I can’t possibly say for sure but if what I noticed between them was true then we’ve got nothing to worry about.As soon as Ava heard the door shut behind her, she walked towards the bed, maintaining a friendly distance as she pulled out a chair and sat on it. Sebastian didn’t know how to start tackling their issues so he decided to make small talk first, it always worked for him and he was hoping that it wouldn
Ava made her way outside the building and towards the parking lot, it was lonely, just how she wanted it to be. She didn’t want any disturbance or interference from anyone. All Ava had wanted was for Sebastian to wake up from his coma. She spent days at his bedside, urging him to come back to her and he eventually did but she ran. There was no telling why she ran and she didn’t even have any logical explanation as to why she did it, the only thing she could say is that she was scared shitless and that was all she could say. She would eventually have to go back and talk to him afterward but she didn’t know if she could bring herself to do it. “Hey, sis.” Ava looked up to see Kim walking towards her flanked on either side by Renee and Violet, they all wore worried expressions on their faces and she could tell from their hesitation that they didn’t know if they should come any closer or maintain a healthy distance. “How did you guys find me?” Ava asked, her eyes were fixed to the g
“I’m only trying to look out for you,” Kim sighed. “I’m tired of seeing you crying after a couple of months where you think you’re in love and your troubles are behind you. It hurts me as much as it hurts you, Ava.” “I know,” Ava smiled sadly. Kim was right, she’d always been eager to jump right back into it without putting provisions in place in case her assumed fairytale moment didn’t come to pass. But things were different this time around, she had been through a lot and as a result, she’d been forced to put herself first for now before anyone else and if anything was going to happen, she would be the last person to instigate anything. She’d done enough and it wasn’t going to work, she wasn’t going to invest her time lifting a finger. She’s done enough already. “Things aren’t going to be the way it once was. I promise you that.”“Tell me you’re sure you know what you’re doing?” Kim nibbled on her lower lip. “I can’t promise you I know what I’m doing, Kim. But my heart is in the
“You really should stop feeling this way and making us feel like we’re strangers as well,” Kim frowned. “We’re here because we love and care about you, that’s the truth. You’re part of our lives so I don’t see how you keep interfering in what you’re a major part of. You’ve got to accept that so you’d stop feeling like you owe us something because you don’t.”Ava sighed. “Okay, you’re right and I’m sorry for feeling this way. It’s unusual to see a lot of people wanting to help me at the same time and that’s why I reacted that way,” “It’s okay, we don’t hold it against you. We know your past and how you’re still getting used to a couple of good gestures. Kim suffers from the same problem as well.” Violet assured her. “So, you mentioned that Sebastian woke up a while ago?” Kim asked, eager to steer the conversation away from their childhood. She wasn’t prepared to visit memories that she had worked so hard to repress. “Yes, he did. He wasn’t a hundred percent conscious and the doctors
Ava walked back into the hospital room as soon as the doctor mentioned it was okay for her to return. She walked back into the room to see Sebastian soundly asleep. “Is everything alright, doctor?” Ava sounded worried. “Did he go to sleep on his own or did he pass out?”“We gave him a sedative to keep him under for a couple of hours until he regains his full strength, he should feel much after he wakes up this time around and that’s what we’re hoping for. When that happens, we can then begin the final stage of his recovery process.” Ava nodded. “Thank you, doctor. We’re so grateful for the help you’ve rendered.”“It’s my pleasure to help. I’ve known Sebastian since we were both boys and my father has been the Bancroft’s family doctor for decades. He’s like family to me as well.” “Do I need to call you guys once he wakes up?” Ava asked, her eyes fixed on Sebastian. “You don’t need to, we’d be counting down the hours ourselves and carrying out checkups before midnight. You’ve got no
It’s been a week since the ugly incident and Sebastian hadn’t woken up yet. Ava was struggling to pull it together but she knew she didn’t have any other option, she couldn’t afford to break down right now not when she had to look after herself and the baby as well given the fact that the pregnancy was entering into its crucial phase.The doctor urged her to give him time and be patient till he decided to come around. His vitals were good and his condition was improving, he was going to wake up any moment from now, the doctor would always say giving her a warm smile in return. The conviction in his voice always seemed to calm Ava’s nerves so she waited calmly until Sebastian decided to come around.She was in his hospital room, sitting on a chair next to the hospital bed, her knees were pulled up under her chin with her face buried between a historical romance novel by Nora Roberts. Reading helped her calm down and forget her worries and she’d been doing a lot of it during the past f
“Life isn’t meant to be fair to everyone,” Damian offered Ava a soft smile. “It’s just the way life is and we’ve got to make the best out of what we’re given.”“Sebastian doesn’t deserve this,” Ava grumbled.“No one does but shit happens.” Damian shuffled his feet as he struggled to find a comfortable situation. “Do you think he’s going to come out of this? Be honest with me. I could use that right now if you don’t mind.”“Sebastian’s tough as nails. He’s one of the most stubborn men I’ve ever met and if there’s anyone I know who’s going to come out of this, it’s Sebastian.”“Thank you, Damian.” Ava rubbed her arms, trying to calm her nerves. “You’re welcome. If there’s anything you need, please, do not hesitate to inform me.”“I’m good. Besides, I have a lot of people doting on me already and you have work to do.” “If you say so but I’m still here if you need anything.”“I should’ve done this a long time ago but I want to thank you for talking to Sebastian and managing to convince