Sebastian took one glance at his phone when it rang and decided he didn't want to do shit that day. Natasha. As if the turmoil he faced with Ava wasn't enough, his ex girlfriend seemed to think adding salt to injury was fucking wonderful. He wondered what she wanted to shrug. Whatever she wanted, had nothing to do with him. Natasha, Ava heck all women were crazy and he wanted peace of mind. As much as he could get.But you miss her. You know you do. His mind taunted and as if trying to distract himself from the obvious fact that he did, he stared hard at the document before him. Who cared if he missed Ava, there was serious shit to worry about. Like how much his parents were spending per year. Fuck it was a huge ass amount of money. He stared at the balance sheet in shock, wondering what exactly they were doing to spend that much. Ordering pizza every ten minutes? Buying a Ferrari? Buying a whole ass island? What on earth did they need a whole.island for? And the worst part of it
Ava stared, her jaw wide open in shock as she took in the scene before her. The door to Sebastian's office was wide open and right in the center of it all was her fiancee- fake fiancee- but her fiancee nonetheless getting his face sucked off by a particular blonde woman she had slowly come.to hate..Natasha. Natasha was in Sebastian's arms. The corners of her eyes burned and she blinked rapidly to rein in the tears. She failed however. They slid down her cheeks in big fat droplets as she took in the scene. "Sebastian" she whimpered, totally damaged by the sight. When she had walked out of the studio, she had locked herself up in the toilet feeling incredibly tense at what she had just done. She had stood up to Natasha and despite the fear that pulsed in her veins. It had felt good. Really good. And she had the slightest, just the tiniest inkling to do the same to Sebastian. To confront him. He couldn't avoid her forever- well he could try but she had a breaking point and she was
The club was too loud. The thumping music made it quite difficult to do anything but move your body and go crazy. On a regular day, this would not be Ava's kind of scene. But this wasn't a regular day. It was a horrifying one. She had seen Sebastian kiss another woman; a woman she had come to despise; and the scene seemed stuck in her head. She was unable to forget it. It replayed over and over like a movie.She was dressed in a spaghetti strapped black dress that, according to her sister, clung to her curves and made her look like a goddess. Ava didn't believe that one bit. If she looked like a goddess, why would Sebastian kiss another woman? He would have eyes for her only. He would be hers only. Her eyes flitted around, trying to make sense of what exactly was going on in the club. She had been to a club perhaps only five times in her entire life. She just couldn't see the appeal. But now she did. The noise, the dancing, sweaty bodies gyrating against each other, these were peop
"Where is she?" Sebastian asked through the earbuds as he drove home. He had asked one of his security men to locate Ava. If she were home, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths. But she wasn't home. He had arrived at the penthouse to see it was as empty as ever and not a soul was in there. And it terrified the shit out of him. What if she had left him for good? He knew she had feelings for him, hell they'd had an issue over it because he hadn't wanted to acknowledge her feelings for him. If she interpreted what she had seen on his office wrongly then he was fucking doomed. He didn't want to lose her. Yes he was mad at her. Yes he was pissed and had allowed distance to grow between them. It was all his fault. What if she tried to break off the contract? What if.... No! His mind fought vehemently. She could not break it. It was a damned contract and until a year was up, she was his. His and nobody else's. "She's at a club sir," the security man said on the other line and Sebasti
"Your woman?" Jake asked, brows furrowed in confusion. His eyes flitted from Sebastian's intimidating face to Ava's surprised one. "What's going on Ava?" "I'm trying to figure that out as well," Ava mumbled, staring at Sebastian in surprise. "What are you doing here?" "What am I doing here?" She repeated not processing the question on time. She blinked rapidly, recalled what she was doing and why and the surprise expression in her face morphed into anger. "What are you doing here?" She tried to yank her hand away from his but Sebastian would rather get mauled by a bear than let her go. "I came to get you. What were you thinking coming to a fucking night club?!" She laughed. It was one heavily laced with sarcasm. "Oh I don't know, maybe because I can't get the image of my fiance kissing his ex-girlfriend.""She kissed me!" He spoke without thinking and regretted it immediately. "Yeah sure, that makes me feel so much better," she replied dryly and yanked her hands away with a forc
Sebastian stopped the car abruptly, dragging the vehicle to the road side. Her words rang in his head as he turned to face her in the vehicle. "You love me?" Yes he was stunned. She must have said it before. He had known she felt strongly for him. He just hadn't recognized or realized that it was love. Even now as he stared at her heaving chest, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Ava folded her arms and pursed her lips feeling quite silly for saying all her feelings in one breath. She had been agitated and had felt infuriated because he insulted her and it had simply just come out. Overall she felt lighter. Getting it off her chest seemed to help. What made her uncomfortable was the look on his face. As if she had said something outrageous. "It doesn't matter," she grumbled, looking somewhere else. Anywhere but his face. Sebastian sighed deeply and turned to face the front. "I... I'm sorry," he muttered. "I don't need your apologies!" She snapped. "I don't need anything
Desire. He made him know Desire. He had heard that desire was intoxicating. It messed with the head and made a man tremble. Sebastian watched his hands, hell, his whole body tremble as he stared at her supple body. With the dress out of the way, her breasts exposed, supple pink nipples winking at him, begging for his attention. "Ava," he breathed, his body shuddering. "Ava, lay down. Fuck I have missed you so much," Her blue eyes heavy lidded with passion, she obeyed his bidding and laid on her bed, her hair splaying all over the white sheets. "Come here," She whispered. She didn't have to tell him twice. He yanked at his shirt, tossed it aside and lowered his body to hers, capturing her lips in a kiss at first. She was addicting. Innocent, yet so fucking addicting. Her body's scent tickled his nose and made his pants tighter at the thought of him buried in her arms. His lips left her lips, traveling down the length of her neck. Ava moaned at his open mouthed kisses, licking a
"Get back here right now!" Sebastian thundered through the house, shaking it by its foundations. He was a sight to see. A half naked hulking male dressed in nothing but black pants and flour all over his face. He snorted and sniffed most likely trying to get some flour out of his nose and glared at a figure before him. The figure was a giggling Ava dressed in his shirt. It looked so fucking good on her. She had her hands over mouth, stained with flour as she laughed her ass off at Sebastian. Sebastian's green eyes narrowed in what seemed to be anger, but when he spoke, his voice showed that he was anything but angry. "Come here you naughty little minx!" He boomed. "No!" Ava taunted, taking steps back from him. "Ava," he growled and she giggled again. Obviously enjoying their game of chase. Sebastian adored the look of glee on her face and loved the fact that he was the one who made her feel that way. He felt mildly silly. Standing in his living room, playing tag with his fake
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