EIGHT YEARS AGO“I would like to get married to you,” Ava said. The weight of the words hung heavily in the atmosphere between Ava and Derek. At first, Ava thought that Derek did not hear her request. She herself could barely believe that those words had come out of her mouth.Of course, she had fantasized about being in a relationship with Derek and having him fall in love with her, but that was all it had been… a fantasy since she had somehow caught feelings for him during the period of time that she took care of him.So how come did her traitorous mouth open of its own accord to utter the words that it had just uttered? Derek continued to stare at her passively for a long time, while she averted her gaze, and wished that the ground would open up and swallow her.“You would like to get married to me.” He said at last. It was not a question, but a statement.“Uh, well.”“Why would you like to get married to me?”“I …” Ava began and then trailed off, embarrassed beyond words. Her ch
That had been eight whole years ago and a lot of time had passed now, just as a lot of water had passed under the bridge. Derek was a stranger to Ava now, and that was all he would ever be, even if she ever told him about her daughter.“I have to go check out something. Later.” She said, making a hasty getaway from there before either of the men said something, thus leaving them alone together.It was the first time both men were alone in close proximity to each other in years, and the hostility between them was palpable enough for anyone watching them closely to feel.“So are you going to spend all day pouting? Come on. I’ll show you around.” Steve told Derek, extending his hand toward him, but Derek pushed the hand away irritatedly.“Stay the fuck away from Ava.”“And why on earth would I want to do that? She’s a lovely lady and she is exactly my type. I think that something may be brewing there.” Steve replied, his tone so mocking that it was all Derek could do not to drive his fis
Derek knew that he should leave Ava alone. It was clear that she wanted nothing to do with him, and besides, she had told him so in so many words, but he just couldn’t help himself.He found her in a small room by herself, and she was talking on the phone, totally oblivious to his presence since she had her back turned to the door.“Alright, honey. I’ll see you in two days, okay? I miss you so much too, but I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later this night.” She said into the phone and waited while the other person spoke before she spoke again.“I love you too, baby. Kisses...” She finished and then hung up the call. Her voice was filled with unmistakable love … much like the love she used to have for him.To hear her sound the way she used to when she talked to him as she talked to someone else made Derek feel like a dagger had been plunged straight into his heart. Apparently, he had been barking up the wrong tree all this while.Ava had someone in her life, and this mysterious per
"Look, it doesn’t matter. As I said before, it’s all in the past. Damn, you’re beginning to make me sound like a broken record.” Ava told him, making to walk past him, but he stepped in front of her, his gaze pleading.“Ava, please, tell me what you’re talking about. I’m not trying to justify my horrid behavior to you while we were married, but I also need to know what you’re talking about.”“It doesn’t matter,” Ava told him stubbornly.As much as she liked to think that she was over Derek … and she was actually over him, thinking about his betrayal and the callous way in which he had discarded her still stung a bit.“Please, Ava. I need to know.”“Fine, fine. Whatever. I’m talking about the text that you sent to me the night I caught you kissing Denise at the restaurant that night you asked for a divorce. It was your mother’s birthday and I organized a dinner date at the restaurant, but left early when we had a confrontation and I saw you and Denise ... well …” Ava trailed off.Derek
SIX YEARS AGO“You’re not going to believe who called me today.” Amanda Turner told her brother, Derek, as they sat in a restaurant together, having drinks. She had appeared in his office out of the blue and demanded that he take her out, and short of being rude, there was no way he could refuse the demand, so here they were.“Really? And who was it?” Derek asked politely. It wasn’t like he was really interested because he did not exactly roll in the same circle as Amanda’s friends.“Guess.”“I can't guess, Amanda. I’m not in the mood for playing guessing games. Finish up your drink so I can drop you off at home and go back to my house. I have to be at the office early tomorrow.” Derek replied.Amanda was not pleased with this reply, and she pouted to show her displeasure, but her excitement was too great, so she continued talking, ignoring Derek’s unenthusiastic response.“It was Denise!” She revealed triumphantly, knowing that the name was bound to provoke a sort of reaction from he
Derek soon found out that reuniting with Denise was not as bad as he had thought it was going to be. They had been friends since college, after all, and he had actually missed her.She also knew a lot of things about him and his companies, so having her around was good. His mother and sister were thrilled at this reunion, but Derek wasted no time in telling them that it wasn’t what they were thinking at all.She had to work with his company, and that was the only reason he was hanging out with her so much. Soon, he realized that he was simply deceiving himself. Despite everything, he still had feelings for Denise, which had to make him the dumbest man on God’s green planet.He kept these feelings firmly under check, however, and immediately tried to distance himself from her, but since they had to work together, it was difficult to stay away from her entirely.Denise for her part, seemed to regard him as just a friend and did not seem to have any romantic feelings whatsoever towards
PRESENT DAY The phone rang shrilly in the almost empty room, and Rooney, a one-time criminal who was very notorious for having committed several crimes in the past years, but somehow, always managed to get out of prison in record time, answered it on the third ring. “Yes?” He said into the phone in that gruff and gravelly tone that never ceased to make people afraid to cross him. “Rooney?” A female voice came from over the phone. “This is him. What ya want?” “Do you know who is speaking?” “I do. What ya want?” Rooney asked again. He had never been known for his warm or patient nature. “Okay. I just wanted to make sure. Listen, it’s time.” “Time for what?” “Time for what we discussed some months ago.” The female voice said. “Sure thing. I need my money before anything else, though.” “And you’ll get it in full and then some if you execute what I want perfectly.” “That’s good news to me ears. So it’s time for me to do it then? Do you want it to be done today, tomorrow, or some
"Great work today,” Steve said to Ava, slipping into the empty stool beside her and signaling for the waiter to come over.She was sitting in a bar close to her hotel and slowly sipping a drink while thinking about the events of that day.“Oh, hey! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be resting after today’s hectic activities?” Ava asked him, noting how strong and handsome he looked and how good he smelled.A couple of women who were sitting close to where Ava was seated muttered excitedly to themselves, covering their mouths and giggling as they cast not-so-covert glances at Steve. He nodded and smiled politely at them before sitting beside Ava.“I was indeed about to go rest, but then I realized that I needed a drink, so I came down here, and lo behold, who should I run into but the very woman whom I haven't been able to get off my mind these past few days? God indeed works in mysterious ways.” Steve replied to her question, smiling mischievously at her, his pearly white