It was Amanda, Derek’s sister, and she was glaring daggers at both of them. She was seated alone at a table on the other end of the restaurant and was toying with the food that was in front of her. “Oh wow! Fancy running into her here.” Ava said in equal amusement, turning back to face Steve, and taking a sip of her drink. “I know, right?” “She seems really pissed. I guess she’s mad at the fact that her love interest is having dinner with another woman … Or rather to be precise, he's having dinner with the woman she loathes most in the world. That knowledge is bound to make a bully like her quake in indignation." Ava joked, but Steve did not smile. He was wearing a pensive and thoughtful look that suddenly had Ava worried. “Is everything alright, Steve?” She asked. “Yeah, yeah. I just realized that the fact that you and I are dating and the fact that Derek still clearly likes you has given both Amanda and Denise the perfect reason to dislike you even more.” Steve told her.
"Amanda, dear. That is not the way to greet old friends now, is it? I would have thought that your mother taught you to have better manners than that … oh, wait, my bad! She didn’t teach you anything other than to be a mean little girl who is always jealous of other people and what they have.” Ava said to Amanda, enjoying the way Amanda's expression darkened at her words. “Keep my mother’s name out of your filthy mouth, Miss Goody two shoes. You think you're the shit, don’t you? Coming back into town and prancing about like you own the place, just because you got lucky. Tell me, how did you manage to become so famous? Did you sleep your way to the top?” "Is that sour grapes, I hear? Oh, you poor thing. How have the mighty fallen? If anyone had told me that the day would come when you would be jealous of me, I would have probably laughed out loud in their faces.” “Me? Jealous of you? Oh, please, don’t be delusional. You may be prancing about and feeling like the best thing in town
Another security guard had now come up to the table too because now Amanda was yelling at the top of her voice and being totally unreasonable.“Don’t think I'm going to stand by and watch you choose this ugly bitch over me. I would rather die than allow that. Do you hear me? Do you hear me? You can’t just use me and dump me like that and think you're going to go scot-free. It's not going to happen. Over my dead body. If I can't have you, then no one … least of all her is going to have you either.” Amanda screamed.So great was her rage that she reached for Ava, but before her hands could touch Ava, the two security guards grabbed one of her arms each and began to lead her away from there, trying to be gentle at first, but it seemed like she had lost all sense of reasoning.She fought them like a hellcat, so that she even managed to break free of their hold, but they were quick to capture her and this time around, dragged her out of the restaurant with as much force as was necessary.P
Coming here had been a huge mistake. Denise realized this the moment she stepped foot into Andy's house. But what was she supposed to have done anyway? Refuse to come as his royal highness Andy ordered and have him blaring her secret to everyone who cared to listen? She could not antagonize this asshole who was bent on making her life a living hell if she did not want any more problems on top of the ones that she currently had. “Make yourself at home Denise,” Andy told her, disappearing into another part of the house, while Denise sat gingerly on the closest couch to her and looked around in disgust. “That’s highly unlikely.” She muttered to herself, looking around her in distaste. The house looked as cheap as Andy’s car looked. The man had indeed fallen upon bad times, but she could not bring herself to feel sorry for him. If anything, he deserved everything that he was going through and then some. A few minutes later, Andy returned to the living room with a glass of cold
"Well, last I heard, but your boyfriend’s ex-wife is back in town and he’s got the hots for her,” Andy replied, smiling at her and showing his crooked teeth.Denise heaved a sigh of relief. She already knew this, so it wasn’t news to her at all.“I already knew that. I worked with her on this last movie, you know. She’s such an insufferable bitch. You act like you know a lot of things when in reality you know nothing. If you were truly as knowledgeable about everything that is going on in my life as you claim, you would know that I worked with her and so I know she is back in town.”“Hmmm. Denise, my dear friend. You’re always quick to talk, but so slow to listen. And yes, I know things … A lot of things that even you don’t know. Things that are right under your nose, but you’re blind to them.”“Can you please go to the point and stop wasting my time?” Denise snapped at him, already at the end of her patience.Suddenly, she was afraid … afraid of what this man was going to say to her.
EIGHT-PLUS YEARS AGOThe minute Denise stepped foot in the airport on her way to meet Andrew Tanner, and subsequently to pursue her dreams, she felt happy, fulfilled, and free!No longer would she have to listen to Derek tell her all about his oh-so-boring plans about how he was going to run his company and all the money that he was going to make from the company.She could go out into the real world, meet famous stars, become a star herself, and travel to wherever the hell she wanted. It was a dream come true and she couldn’t wait.The first sign she got that it wasn't going to be as Andy had promised her was when she and Andrew arrived, tired as hell at a run-down and shady-looking motel which did not befit someone of his status after they landed.“Um, is this where we’re going to stay?” She asked him tentatively, not wanting to offend him, but unable to believe her eyes all the same.“Yes. Why’d you ask?”“Oh, um, nothing. It doesn’t look quite safe is all.”“Don't worry, it is qui
"Are you insane? Are you bloody insane? You’re crazy and you must be joking. You want me to act porn?” Denise shrieked at Andy in righteous indignation, unable to believe her ears. How had her life come to this for chrissakes?How could she have let the expensive wristwatch and expensive shoes and clothes that Andy had obviously borrowed on that fateful day that she met him deceive her into thinking that he had any connections?She was also to be blamed because had it been she did her research well before jumping at his offer, then she would have realized that there was not a single recent news about him and this was a red flag.Enraged, she flew at him in anger, kicking and punching him and he tried to hold her back, but her anger was so great and he was drunk, so he had a difficult time doing it. Infuriated as well, Andy gave her a resounding slap across her cheek that sent her reeling back from the force of it and somewhat calmed her down.“It’s not a big deal. Many people do it.”
It had been ages since Denise heard anything about him, because first of all she was in another country, and his family clearly wanted privacy and kept their affairs out of the eye of the media.This was to be expected since they were mourning the loss of Derek's father, as well as Derek’s unfortunate accident.On TV, Derek looked … different. She did not know how to describe it, but there was something about him that she could not put her finger on.The news was talking about how his company’s values and profits had skyrocketed more than anyone could have imagined would be possible in such a short time … especially since he spent some time recovering from his accident.Denise stared at the TV screen, unable to believe her ears. It had been almost a year and a half since she left and in that time, Derek had morphed from an ambitious twenty-six-year-old who staked his entire trust fund, on his dream company, as well as took huge loans from his father to well being on his way to becomin
“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