“Hmm … so Steve and your ex-wife, huh? That is so unbelievable. I'll have to give it to him, that guy is got balls made out of steel.” Damien said to Derek as soon as Ava and Steve left and it was just the two of them in the house.“Yeah. She told me that they're seeing each other. He seems to make her happy though, and maybe he truly has changed as he keeps claiming. Fame, money, and adulthood may have changed him, so I’ve decided not to judge or interfere.”“So you’re just going to stand by and let Steve of all people steal the woman who was once your wife? The same woman you're still very much in love with?”“What? I’m not in love with …” Derek started to deny this allegation, but Damien cut him short.“Yeah, yeah. You can lie to yourself and everyone else all you want, but don’t forget that I know you only too well. I mean, I'm not judging you if that's what you're worried about. Far from it ... I think it's better you’re in love with Ava than with Denise in my opinion. Ava is a g
EIGHT PLUS YEARS AGO "I’m making a huge mistake. I'm making a huge mistake!” These words kept reverberating in Derek’s head as the short wedding ceremony between him and Ava took place. In fact, his expression and doubt must have been quite noticeable because Damien looked him over with concern and whispered to him. “Hey, man. What's up? Are you alright?” “Yeah, yeah, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?” Derek managed to say. “Listen, man. You look really pale, and I’m guessing you’re beginning to regret this impulsive decision. Your soon-to-be wife seems like an okay person, but then this is marriage we’re talking about, and not just a mere fling. It is not too late to snap out of it and call the whole thing off right here, right now. In my opinion, it’s better you hurt her now rather than take a vow to protect and love her, only to break her heart in the end.” Derek considered this for a moment, but then, he happened to glance at Ava, who was beaming at him as though this was th
Derek unconsciously tried to prolong their stay at the restaurant for as long as possible. In the end, though, he couldn't delay any longer without it seeming weird, so they had to leave and go back home.Ava was already living with him since she had been the one who was taking care of him after the accident, so all her stuff was at his place. Nothing had really changed in their day-to-day life ... except for the fact that they were now man and wife.“How did you manage to convince your parents not to come to the wedding?” He asked her on the drive home.“Oh, we had a small fight because they wanted me to marry someone else. It was easy after that because we were mad at each other.”“Oh. You didn’t want to get married to this person? Why not?”“Heavens, no! I can't stand the thought of him.” Ava exclaimed, laughing a little. Derek had to smile at that.“So have you told them that you got married to someone else then?”“No, not yet. I’ll tell them when we get home.”“Cool, cool,” Derek
Somehow, they managed to make their way up to his bedroom after they were done having sex and promptly fell asleep there. They woke up in the middle of the night and had sex again after which they fell asleep in each other's arms. Derek woke up the next morning to see Ava staring at him and this startled him somewhat.“Hey … is everything okay?” He croaked out in a sleepy voice.“Yeah … everything is perfect. Good morning. I was just admiring how handsome you are … even when you sleep with your mouth open and you’re snoring.” She replied, laughing gaily.For some reason, Derek did not find this funny though. He wanted to be alone and he did not like being stared at while he slept, but he did not tell her this.“Did you sleep well?” He asked her instead.“Yes, I did. I slept like a baby. And you?”“I slept well too. Uh, not be an ass, but do you mind if I could be alone for some time?”“Derek, I understand that we’re not a match made in heaven, but we’re married now. Don’t you think w
“Yes, I indeed am pregnant. Can you believe it? To think that we weren’t even trying to get pregnant, yet here we are. I’m so so happy. I’ve always wanted a baby.” Ava gushed on and on, while Derek remained quiet and let her talk.She was quite the talkative and anytime she was extremely excited about something, she would literally talk the head off of anyone who cared to listen to her.That was what she was doing now. In fact, she had launched into a long excited speech about what gender she thought the baby might be, who she thought the baby was going to look like, and all of that.Her excitement was palpable and Derek found himself smiling indulgently at her. A baby? He could feel happiness stirring up within him at the thought of having a baby, even though they hadn't exactly planned it.“Um, wait! You haven’t said anything since I told you that I am pregnant. Are you not happy about it? I swear I didn’t know I was going to get pregnant. It must have happened the few times we had
The sound of his alarm jolted Derek out of his reverie. If only he hadn't gone on that trip, maybe somehow, things would have been different from the way they were now. Yet how was he supposed to have known what he would find when he came back, or how it would change him into the uncaring and unfeeling husband that Ava didn’t deserve after that? “Earth to Derek. You seemed to have zoned out there. What are you setting an alarm for in the middle of the day?” Damien asked him, looking amused. “Oh, I set it so I won't be late to pick up Barry from school.” “Aren’t you supposed to be resting instead of going around driving?” “I won't be driving. One of my drivers would take me. Barry specifically requested that I pick him up from school today. He didn’t even want to go in the first place and I'm sure that if not for the fact that he wanted to see his best friend, he would have thrown a tantrum and refused to go. I think he’s scared that I'm going to disappear again. Besides, I need to
Somehow, Ava was not surprised to find herself in this situation. In fact, it felt like on a subconscious level, she had been hoping that Derek would find out that he had a daughter from her this way.He had not yet pieced the puzzle together, but was instead, smiling and looking at her uncertainly, probably wondering why she was acting strangely.Ava willed herself to smile … do something … say something, but all she could manage was to open her mouth and close it several times like a fish out of the water, totally at a loss as to what to say.“Well, fancy meeting you here, Ava. What are you doing here, if I may ask?” Derek asked.“Hello,” Harper said to Derek before her mother could answer the question, choosing that moment to greet him, and he smiled warmly down at her and told her hello in return.“Um, well … I …” Ava stammered, her face flushing. Harper came to the rescue in the next second.“This is my mom. Mom, this is Barry’s Dad. He has many nice cars.” She introduced Derek t
Ava braced herself for whatever his reaction would be, ready to defend herself if the need arose, although she knew that Derek wasn’t that sort of person. The last thing she expected was for tears to gather in his eyes. He blinked the tears back rapidly and stared at her with a very hurt look that made her feel guilty. “Why didn’t you tell me, Ava?” He asked. “I … I …” “Would you ever have told me?” “Of course, I would have! I wanted to tell you earlier today. That was why I asked to see you privately, but I guess I lost my nerve. It’s not exactly an easy thing to say.” Ava replied. “You were afraid I would not want her. You were afraid that I would reject her.” Derek stated. “Yes, I was. You can't blame me. You know how adamant you were about me not getting pregnant. Look, this is not a topic we can discuss here. We’re beginning to get a lot of curious looks from small, inquisitive eyes.” Ava told him. They were having this conversation in whispers because they did not want the
“It was by sheer luck, if not, they never would have found you on time, and what would have happened then does not bear thinking about. Apparently, they managed to arrest the guy that Amanda initially hired to do all this sometime yesterday.Once the asshole realized that there was no chance in hell that he would get out of this and that he was well and truly done for, he began to sing like a canary. He led the police right to the house, and the rest, as they say, is history. I'm so thankful we got there on time.” Damien said.“Yeah, me too. It’s still hard to believe that Amanda could be filled with so much hate in her heart and that she was willing to go to such lengths to harm Derek, me, and even our child who has done nothing to her.”“I was surprised as well. I always knew that she was a mean person, but I never imagined that she was downright evil. I'm glad you followed through on your instinct.”“Me too. So is Amanda still …” Ava asked, unable to finish the question.“Unfortuna
Mother and daughter hugged each other for what felt like decades, and when they finally pulled apart, Ava's arm was hurting where she had been shot."I'm so sorry, baby. No one will ever hurt you again, I promise. Not when I'm alive." Ava said, ruffling Harper's hair, and wincing when she saw where the area on her head that had been shaved because of an injury there."The bad woman hit me with a gun. She shot Uncle Steve with the gun. Uncle Steve wanted to run away with me and Gracie, Mom." Harper explained, noting that Ava's eyes were on the wound.Ava gulped and averted her gaze immediately, unable to imagine the horror that Harper and Gracie had been through. Little children like them should never have to see someone murdered in cold blood.Seeing such a thing messed with even grownups like her, not to talk of children.The girls were going to need loads of therapy. Once again, Ava damned Amanda and Denise to hell and back in her mind. Suddenly, she realized the implications o
Ava had grabbed Denise because she wanted to use her as a human shield, and her plan worked pretty well, as it was all that saved her from what would have been certain death.The bullets that Amanda had just fired hit Denise point blank and in rapid succession. She died quickly, although the other two women didn’t know it yet.Ava felt Denise’s body jerk with the force of the shots at the same time that she saw Amanda crumple to the ground as though in slow motion.That was confusing, and Ava stared at her in surprise, unable to fathom what had just happened.She glanced down at Denise, whom she still held, and who was clearly very dead, and let go of her body immediately, feeling extremely sickened.She needed to focus on not getting killed, which was what Amanda was bent on doing to her.Amanda was trying to get back up, but before she could manage to do that, someone tackled her, and hit the gun out of her hand,Within moments, policemen swarmed the room, and Ava collapsed in relie
Denise and Ava stared warily at each other after Amanda left the room, and a few seconds later, Ava decided to try to reason with the other woman, even though she wasn’t sure that Denise was going to listen to her. “Denise, please, let us go. I promise not to press charges against you. You must know from all indications that there’s no way the both of you are going to get out of this unscathed. It doesn’t matter what Amanda says now. I can see in your eyes that you know it.” Ava tried to get to Denise. It was all she could do not to rush straight at Denise and grab Harper, who was whimpering in fear and trying not to move so that the knife would not nick her, away from the woman. She could see the fear and indecision in Denise’s face. Apparently, she was wise to realize what Amanda clearly failed to realize, which was that Ava was right and there was no way she and Amanda going to get out of this without being apprehended by the police. “Shut up!” Denise muttered. “Think abou
Ava didn’t wait to see what would happen next. She rushed straight at Amanda, faintly aware that her arm was hurting weirdly, but her adrenaline was too great for her to think anything of the pain right then. She had taken self-defense classes several times in the past, and although it had been a long time since she took them, those classes came in handy at that moment. Her life, as well as those of Harper and the other little girl, Gracie, depended on her. She couldn't let them down. She began to try to wrestle the gun away from Amanda, who struggled fiercely with her. As they struggled with the gun, it kept discharging, but by some miracle, neither of them was hit. Finally, the gun was out of bullets, and Amanda let go of it while yelling for Denise to come at the same time. Ava wasn’t done with her, though. She thought of poor Harper and her friend who were somewhere in that house, scared to death and definitely not in the best shape. She thought about Derek, who had been throug
Adrenaline pumped through Ava’s entire body, and utter rage filled her entire being. She was right! She had been right all along. These evil women were the ones who had abducted her daughter and another innocent child. She would have called for help, but there was no service on her phone, and she could only hope that Damien and the police would be somehow able to find her and soon too, before something bad happened to her or the girls. Had it been she had thought things through earlier, she would have gotten a car tracker before coming on this solo adventure. Unfortunately, never in her wildest dreams had she imagined what the night would bring, and so she had failed to take this necessary precaution. One moment, she was standing outside the house in fear, and the next moment, she found herself beside the door. Without caring what was waiting on the other side of the door, she threw herself against it as hard as she could. She thought fleetingly of the poor soul that was growing in
Ava didn’t go back home after driving away from Denise’s place. Instead, she parked her car the next block away from Denise’s house in a spot where her car would not easily be detected.Then she waited for what felt like an eternity for Denise to leave her house because she had every intention of following the woman to wherever it was that she was going.Her phone was blowing up with calls from Damien, who had left her several messages, asking her not to do anything drastic that could cause Denise to have the power to get her arrested or something.She ignored the messages and continued to wait. After a while, she saw a car, which she recognized as one of Amanda’s cars, come from the opposite direction and drive towards Denise’s house.Ava’s heart immediately began to beat really fast. Amanda was picking Denise up? Where the hell were both of them headed by that time of the night? Several minutes later, the car appeared again and drove off into the night.Ava let a few minutes pass, a
Ava sat in her idling car outside Denise’s house, her nerves failing her now that she was here.What was she thinking, sneaking out of her house like a thief in the night and coming here to the house of her sworn enemy?She just couldn't continue to sit at home, wringing her hands and crying while waiting for something positive to happen.She wasn’t sure what to do now that she was here, but she had to do something.Taking a deep breath, she took her phone and texted Damien to tell him where she was, just in case somehow, her hunch was right.If it was, then it would be incredibly dangerous and foolhardy to just walk into Denise’s waiting arms without telling anyone where she was.Even though it was only a little past eight in the evening, the streets were deserted, and there was no one around.Ava was about to open her car door and get out of the car when the lights in Denise’s house went off. Apparently, she was preparing to go to sleep.Ava sat still for a few minutes, wondering wh
It had been several days since Amanda and Denise paid their so-called courtesy call to Ava at her house … a move that Denise thought was incredibly stupid and dangerous.After all, the three women weren't friends and all of their acquaintances knew that, so it was surely going to look weird and suspicious that Denise and Amanda decided to visit Ava.Unfortunately, once Amanda put her mind to something, especially in recent times, it was practically impossible to change her mind, and so Denise had no choice but to go along with whatever she wanted, even if she thought it was foolhardy.“I’ve got a bad feeling, Amanda,” Denise said.“About what?” Amanda, who was in a terribly foul mood asked.It was now common knowledge that Derek had not only survived the gunshots but had also gone on to regain consciousness. Ever since this news broke out, Amanda had been unconsolable and had even taken out her frustration on Derek’s daughter, whom she still held captive.“I don’t know … I’ve got a ba