96When Ava finally opened her eyes, it was late in the afternoon and there was a loud pounding in her ears. It rang incessantly, driving her crazy. Groaning, her eyes flitted up, taking in the ceiling of her room and then sideways to search for a pillow. Instead of a pillow beside her, however, there was a man. A very sexy shirtless man. He had his arms wrapped around her waist, broad chest towering above her as she laid on her back, and his scent... Oh damn, she purred, closing her eyes. His musky scent assaulted her senses, dulling the loud ringing that disturbed her earlier. Sebastian. What exactly had happened? Still closing her eyes, Ava tried to recall what had happened the day before. Flashes of Kim's call with her, the video of her sister slamming her purse into the face of a rather huge guy that had stormed the internet, and then the crazy paparazzi at the gates of Angel Modelling Agency. If Addison hadn't been around, she really would have been mauled by that mob. She
97. Ava groaned. "Who could that be?"Sebastian smirked. "Probably your sister Kim. She's probably still mad at me yelling at her last night."Ava dug her head into the pillow, letting out a muffled scream. "You haven't apologized?""Why should I?" Sebastian asked, frowning,"I was right, she was wrong, end of story." Ava roller her eyes, "Sometimes you are sooo immature."Sebastian shrugged rolling of her and rubbing his eyes. The knock sounded again, louder and more insistent this time."I know you are in there Sebastian you jerk! Open up to I will stay here all day."Sebastian looked at her, mock worry on his face. "Do you think she would do that?"Ava chuckled quietly, "That girl is as resilient as a cockroach in a nuclear testing site okay? One day when we were little, my mom refused to let her go for a tea party next door and she went on a hunger strike for days.""What?!" Sebastian was shocked."Yeah, my mom had to throw her own tea party to appease her." Ava finished, smiling
98They made their way to the downstairs suite, Sebastian on tow practically skipping through the staircase. Summer vacation in some exotic European and Caribbean nation for free was of course one of the perks of dating a billionaire business man. Immediately opening her laptop, Ava went online to find the hottest vacation locations for summer that year. Soon they were browsing through pages and pages of exotic pictures over their Bacon and scrambled egg breakfast."Ooh, Bali looks amazing," Kimberly said, pointing to a picture of a luxurious resort.Ava shook her head. "I don't know, I feel like we should go somewhere with more history and culture."Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you're such a nerd. I just want to relax on a beach."Ava laughed. "Well, we can do both. How about Italy?"Kimberly perked up. "Ooh, that could work. I heard they have amazing food."Ava nodded. "And beautiful architecture."They continued to browse through the magazines, discussing different locations and
Sebastian walked into the firm, taking the short elevator upstairs, trying to avoid the awkward stares frim the office. He had seen the news from that morning, everywhere was buzzing with Kim and Ava's story the previous night. He knew exactly what that meant. Such a high profile case involving his company? Investors where going to be nervous.For good reason too.The moment he walked into his office, his secretary handed him a phone, quickly whispering just received a call from one of his investors, and he knew what they were going to ask. He took a deep breath and answered the phone."Hello, Mr Jenkins," he greeted, trying to sound as cheery as possible."Sebastian, how are ya?""I am doing fine, and you?""Good, good." He paused for a moment, "Sebastian , we need to talk about the recent scandal involving your fiancé," the investor said.Sebastian rolled his eyes, of course he did. Jenkins was the most cautious venture capitalist Sebastian had ever courted, he didn't like any sense
100"I don't know if I can pull off a maxi dress," Ava said, holding her phone up to her face. "I feel like I'll just look like a walking curtain."Kim laughed. "Trust me, you'll look amazing in anything. You're like a supermodel." "Please, I'm just a normal person. But thanks for the compliment.""Haha, the fake modesty is fooling no one ma'am""What fake modesty?" Ava asked, feigning innocence."Kim scoffed. "Oh shut up. But seriously, you should try a maxi dress. They're perfect for the beach."Ava nodded. "Okay, fine. But only if you try a crop top. I think you'd look great in one.""Ugh, I don't know. I don't want to show off my stomach." She pouted, "It has gotten a little too pudgy."Ava smirked. "Come on, live a little. You have a great figure, why not show it off?" "Fine, I'll try one. But only if you promise to wear a jumpsuit.""Haha, no way." Ava said, her voice dripping with sarcasm."Oh, come on!""A jumpsuit? Really?" Ava asked raising an eyebrow. She had a feeling Ki
101Ava and Kim lounged on their hotel room bed, still jet-lagged from their flight to Greece. Their room had a window over looking the blue Mediterranean, a cool breeze coming in from it."So, Ava, do you have any ideas of where we should go?" Kim asked, flipping through a travel magazine.Ava shrugged. "I don't know, maybe we should just stay in bed all day and order room service.""What?""I am serious, I am really tired right now, I can't think of another whole day of activities tomorrow, it's giving me a headache already."Kim rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ava. We didn't come all the way to Greece to stay in bed.""Fine, fine," Ava relented. "Let me check my laptop."She pulled out her laptop and started searching for popular tourist destinations in Greece. "How about the Acropolis? It's supposed to be one of the most iconic landmarks in Greece."Kim nodded. "Definitely. And what about the Parthenon?"Ava nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's on my list too. And we can't forget about th
102He walked down the beach with Ava and Kim, admiring the crystal-clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The white sandy beach was dotted with colorful umbrellas, and the sun was beating down on them. He felt a sense of calm wash over him as he walked, enjoying their company, still lost in thoughtAfter a while, He left them to go get a drink at the bar. As He sipped his cocktail, He couldn't help but think about my parents. How did Damian find them? What were they doing? Did they ever feel guilty? Did they even remember him? Their son? He took another sip of his drink, feeling the alcohol numb his thoughts.He wandered down the beach, lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly, He stumbled and nearly fell over. He realized then that he had had too much to drink. He tried to focus on his surroundings, but everything was spinning.He decided it was time to go, straining to call Ava and Kim, he changed his mind.They were having too much fun, he didn't want to ruin it with his issues.Steppin
103Sebastian lay restlessly in his silk-sheeted bed, unable to find the sleep that had escaped him for so long. He remained awake, even as the effects of his long binge drinking began to overwhelm him, filling his head with a raging headache that felt like seven hefty men were wrestling in his skull.Sighing, he made a mental note to never trust a bar tender that kept serving drinks even when a customer was clearly drink beyond his wits.His mind soon began to wander, Sebastian hated when his mind wandered, because more often than not, it settled on his parents.And this time was no different.They had ignored him all through his childhood, not giving two shits about his life, from his education, to his romantic life, to anything at all. One would think they were childless. They had been practically strangers to Sebastian for all he knew about them.Seb had ignored them as well, trying to soldier on with his life. But apparently, he wasn't as strong as he thought, he couldn't stop th
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