"I can't accept this," Ava stated, pushing the keys across the table. Sebastian felt like he had been smacked on the face. Hard. What on earth did she mean she couldn't accept it? "Is it too small?" He demanded. "you haven't even seen the house or car yet-" "Do not insult me!" She spat and he held his tongue immediately. She seemed really mad this time and would probably have his head. Which one? His mind quipped as his trousers grew uncomfortable. "What is the problem?" Ava took in a deep breath to calm her angry self. "I don't want your money or possessions. I believe I made that clear when I asked for connections in return." His jaw dropped at her words. She could not be serious! He had thought she had assumed that he would provide material things when she didn't ask for them. What woman could pass up on such an opportunity to make it big within a year? Heck even after their breakup, she would still be known as his ex-fiancee and retain the benefits that came with that title.
“O.M.freaking G!" Kim screeched when she and Ava pulled up before the building Sebastian had urged her to move into. Forced her more likely. “This is where we’re staying?! No fucking way!”“You can move back home if you want to.” Ava teased, stepping out of the car. True to his word Sebastian had sent a driver to pick her and Kim up from their old home. Kim had refused to go to college, eager to see what kind of home the "hot as hell”- Kim’s words, not hers- billionaire had for them.It was a freaking skyscraper. One of the best palaces owned by Bancroft himself. Olympia. Ava had only read about such a beautiful place that the media claimed to be so regal, you would feel like you were in a freaking fantastical world. Just staring at the glass panes that caught the light from the early morning sun, Ava already felt that way. This all had to be a dream, She sure as heck wasn’t standing before an expensive as-hell skyscraper, while the movers hauled her tiny luggage into the building wi
“Kim!” Ava yelled in horror, yanking the device. “I am so sorry. Kim can be quite too much.” Sebastian gave a good-natured laugh. “It’s okay. She is quite refreshing. I have to go now.”“Oh,” She whispered, then almost smacked herself in the face for sounding disappointed. “S-sure.”“We have a date at six. My assistant will come to get you by two so you can get ready.”She frowned at his words when he hung up. What did he mean so she could get ready? She didn’t need his assistant’s help to dress up. She could do quite fine on her own. “If you’re done being such a killjoy,” Kim taunted. “Come help me pick a room.”Ava tossed the brat a glare, feeling angry yet amused at Kim’s antics. She supposed it was hard to stay mad at Kim because she was all the family she knew. A grin formed on her lips and she shrugged. “I’m taking the biggest room anyways.”#####Sebastian found himself smiling as he walked to the board room. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why after the call with
Sebastian swerved into the car park of Le Mignon restaurant, one of the best steak restaurants in New York City. At least according to his taste. He was an avid lover of meat and thoroughly enjoyed the way the chefs in Le Mignon prepared theirs. It was a few minutes to six. He would bet his entire company that the paparazzi was somewhere around, ready to record the events of his date with Ava. Exactly why he had sent his assistant to help her dress up for the event. Ava cleaned up quite well, but she was naïve when it came to recent dresses and the trends of celebrities. Heck, he was certain that whatever dress she would have picked would probably be a copy of one a celebrity had worn sometime ago. He could not have that. As his wife-to-be, pretend or not, she was supposed to always appear flawless in public. He could only hope that his goal would be achieved. Stepping out of the car, dressed immaculately in a three-piece navy blue suit, he whipped his phone out to call his assista
To say Ava was nervous was an understatement. Her hands trembled when she reached for her glass of wine and trembled further when she heard Sebastian clear his throat telling her with his eyes that was a wrong move. She froze in mid air stuck in between dropping the glass and looking like a total idiot or drinking the wine and still looking like an idiot anyways. She hadn't known she couldn't drink the wine first before eating! Who made stupid laws like that?! Sebastian pretended to be interested in the steak served before him but in reality he was lost in his head imagining the different weird as hell headlines about his new fiancee.. "The Bancroft Fiancee - More like a Bancroft Mess." "The poor choice of Sebastian Bancroft. She doesn't have a single sense of Etiquette!" Oh yeah, he was doomed big time. He couldn't blame her though however. It was his fault. He had assumed that she would know the proper rules of dining in a large classy restaurant like this. Oh fuck, he had e
Already? Sebastian wanted to say, his eyes dropping into a frown. He was having fun. He didn't want to leave yet. "Maybe after another story about Kim?" He asked, hoping she would take the bait and tell him some more.His shoulders drooped when she shook her head and leaned forward to whisper. "I think I'm drunk." Drunk? She was just on her third glass! Damn, he'd chosen a light weight. He would have to watch out for that whenever they attended events together. He couldn't have his fiancee getting tipsy and blurting out to the entire world that their engagement was a fake. That would sooner kill him than death itself. "Okay," he whispered in reply and rose to his feet, holding out a hand. Ava took it with a giggle and held on to him as tightly as possible. Together, they walked out of the restaurant and slipped into his car. "How…" hiccup. "How did I do?" Ava asked when Sebastian got into the driver's seat and turned on the ignition. "Good Ava." He replied. "You did good…" Whate
"I did nothing to your sister!" He spat, stepping closer to the girl in anger. "I now see how exasperating you can be and frankly I do not understand how your sister can put up with your rattling behavior!"Kim laughed like she had lost her marbles. "Rattling?" She asked, a wild look in her eyes. "You haven't seen ratling yet, you piece of-""Will you keep it down?" Ava groaned, turning on the hard sofa sleepily. "Some of us are trying to sleep here.""Ava!" Kimberly squealed, brushing past the sulking billionaire to kneel beside her sister. "Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?" Ava groaned at the infiltrating voice of her sister wondering what the kid was yammering about. She was so damn tired and needed to sleep some more. "Leave me alone Kim," she mumbled. "I'll advise you to answer her," a familiar deep voice said in irritation, drawing her farther away from the folds of sleep. "Whaaaa…" she trailed off, opening her eyes to see Kim's worried face so close to hers and a pi
Sebastian did not contact her the next day. Ava felt stupid staring at the phone, hoping and waiting for his call. She had considered calling him when she woke that morning but she had reasoned he was probably already at work. He definitely would not want to be disturbed. Besides if she called him, he might think she was only doing so to confirm if the deal between them remained valid- Which was exactly why she wanted to call. It sounded like a bad idea, however. Either that or she was simply being chicken. Sighing deeply, Ava pushed the phone aside and turned her attention to the broth cooking on the electric stove. It had been a long long while since she made any delicacies and considering she had no job; for now, since Sebastian had asked her to give up the gigs she did because they would embarrass him; cooking had seemed like a great way to while away time. And to stop herself from storming into Kim’s room and giving her a tongue-lashing. The crazy girl had stolen her car out o
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