Ayva's POVMy eyes were glued to Justin's, I couldn't look away no matter how much I tried to. My heart, wrenched tightly in my chest as if I'd just been betrayed by the only person I trusted in the world. 'He didn't betray me. He did no wrong. She's his wife.' I kept chanting in my head as I tried to convince myself that Justin didn't do anything wrong and I had no right to feel heartbroken by the fact that his wife was his date. But they were supposed to be getting a divorce. Did he change his mind on that? Did he lie to me about getting a divorce with her?'You shouldn't have come here.' A voice in my head said and I couldn't agree anymore with it. I should have turned down Aiden's invitation to be his date at the party. I should have trusted my gut feeling and stayed home instead. I glanced at Aiden wondering if he'd purposefully left out the part that Justin would be present at the party. Maybe he'd thought doing that would increase my chances of accepting his invitation. And
Justin’s POV“What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here!” Ayva spat, her eyes throwing angry daggers at me. With both hands in my pants pocket, I took a step closer to her. “Why did you come here with him?” I asked her and the rage in her eyes intensified. She clenched her teeth and took an intimidating step forward so that the space between us was just a little short of two feet. Her neck was craned back, so she could meet my eyes in a fierce glare.“What? You’re allowed to be here with your wife and I can’t do the same?” She scoffed bitterly, before looking me dead in the eye again. “Don’t piss me off because I swear you would regret it if you do.” She snarled before stepping out of my way to walk towards the door. I grabbed her wrist before she could leave and yanked her back towards me so hard that her body slammed against my chest. She shoved at my chest and tried to get out of my grasp but I only tightened my hold around her waist. She was fuming with rage, every
Ayva’s POV‘I’m in love with you, Ayva.’ Justin’s words echoed in my ears. It wasn’t my imagination, he’d truly said it. He’d just told me how he felt about me. Justin, the man who never voiced out his emotion just told me that he loved me, why? Was it because he knew it was exactly what I wanted to hear or did he genuinely mean it? Was he just saying it to get my attention? To get me to not leave him behind?I couldn’t understand the motive behind his confession so I turned around to face him. “Why?” I questioned. He couldn’t just drop a bomb like that without an ulterior motive. I mean if explicitly asked him about his feelings for me and he never said the words I wanted to hear. He never said the words he said just a few minutes ago. His brow furrowed in confusion. “I… don’t understand what you’re asking me.” “I said, why?” I reiterated, taking a few steps closer to him. “Why are you saying this? Why did you say that? Why now? What’s your motive behind this.” I couldn’t keep m
Justin’s POV“What the fuck is going on here?” Aiden spat, his eyes glowering at me. I paid him no mind and instead picked up my shirt and jacket that I’d discarded earlier. His gaze remained on me as I got dressed. “Ayva,” he called, directing his gaze to her. Ayva frantically tried to arrange her hair that had been disheveled by me, she looked guilty as if she’d been caught doing what she wasn’t supposed to. “Why the hell were you here with him? How could you do this with him when you came here as my date.” He sounded disappointed taking a step closer to her when she didn’t reply to any of his questions. I quickly moved to her front, as if trying to protect her from him. “Back off!” I spat, taking a threatening stance. I noticed how tightly his hands were balled up and with the way he glared at me, I could tell he wanted nothing more than to just punch me in the face. And I was waiting for him to do that. I was waiting for him to throw the first punch so that I’d have an excuse
Justin’s POVI stood still, my expression blank as I tried to make sense of the words I thought I’d just heard. “I’m… not sure I heard you clearly. Did you just say you’re pregnant? And the child is mine?” I asked with furrowed brows, waiting for Bella to tell me that I’d heard her wrong and that she didn’t actually say that but something else entirely. She shook her head, her tears falling freely down her face. But I didn’t care, her tears didn’t matter at that moment.“I tried to tell you, I didn’t know how to.” She sobbed into her palms as if she was too ashamed to look me in the face. She was making no sense. Nothing she was saying made sense to me and it frustrated me to no end. My jaw clenched tightly as I tried to keep my anger in check and not yell at her to speak up and explain what the hell she meant by she was pregnant with my child. “Bella, you have two seconds to start talking or I swear I’ll…” I trailed off, gritting my teeth to keep myself from saying something I m
Justin’s POV“Do you just plan to leech off me without even telling me why you had to come here?” Jace asked me again and I didn’t pay him any mind. It’d been three days since I had moved to his place and he’d since then continued to pester me to know what had happened between me and Bella.“Why don’t you ask her?” I’d tell him every time he asked and he’d whine about how he was supposed to hear it from me because I was his best friend and how he couldn’t just ask Bella to explain to him why I’d left the house. “Maybe it’s time I throw you out.” He threatened. “Believe it or not but I’ll throw you out if you don’t tell me what happened. You know I’m not bluffing.” “Why can’t you just mind your business?” I scowled at him, downing the rest of my drink in one go. “Trust me, you would hate it if I started minding my business with you. And you can’t be here in my house and expect that of me. So yeah, speak up.” He snapped his fingers impatiently waiting for me to start explaining mysel
Ayva’s POVIt was the day for my final driving test. Aiden was supposed to come with me, I was supposed to call him and tell him about it but since what happened between him, me and Justin the previous week, I’d been up too embarrassed to contact him and he didn’t try to contact me either. I guess he was still mad about what I’d done. Honestly, that night when he walked in, I felt so embarrassed that I couldn’t even say anything. I didn’t understand the intensity of what I’d done until he had to spell it out with me. I didn’t realize how much I’d disrespected him until he was vocal about it. I realized then that no matter how much I wanted to be with Justin, I should have honored the man who invited me to that place. I owed Aiden an apology and I promised myself that after passing my driving test, I’d call him to share the good news and then use the opportunity to apologize to him. “How are you feeling?” Olivia asked me just as we made our way into the driving school. She’d insisted
Ayva’s POVI was stunned and confused. I couldn’t say a word, as I looked from Aiden to Amanda and then Aiden again. I kept looking at him, trying to make sense of what I’d just witnessed. Aiden noticed my presence first and the way his eyes popped so wide showed that he never expected me there. Amanda on the other hand looked… amused. Maybe I was wrong and thought too much of her expression but I thought she looked quite satisfied that I had seen what I’d seen. And like the two faces that she was, her expression changed instantly to feigned shock. She gasped, quickly picking up her blouse from the table as if she had so much decency and wanted to protect herself from being seen indecently. “Ayva, you didn’t say you were coming here.” She said as she started to put her clothes back on but I wasn’t paying attention to her but rather to Aiden whom I was now utterly disappointed in. I felt… betrayed because I thought he was a friend, I thought he was by my side. I told him everything, h
Justin’s POV“Mom!” I warned with a glare as I tried to caution her. She continued glaring at Ayva whom I’d now pulled to stand behind me, shielding her from any other impending attack from my mom. “Oh my, oh God! What is happening? My son has- oh lord! I no longer recognize the man I birthed.” She staggered, but Emily held her before she could fall. “Where is he? What happened to my son?” She cried out dramatically, attracting unnecessary attention from passersby. My jaw ticked, “Mom, this is not the time or place for this.” I gritted through my teeth. “Oh Emily what has happened to your brother? How could he be so cruel to me?” She continued, ignoring my warnings. “Stop this now or I’m going to leave.” I kept on clenching and unclenching my teeth, trying to keep the anger and irritation o felt away. “Now he’s threatening me. He’s threatening his own mother. He’s not my—” “Mom!” I barked, gaining more eyes on us. She looked stunned and so did Emily. And their shock was because
Justin's POV"What do you mean by that?" I inquired, casting a skeptical glance at Samantha.She approached my desk, placing an iPad on the surface. I eyed her suspiciously before picking up the iPad.True to her words, there was a video of Bella on live TV. I was taken aback. What was she doing there? She had mentioned feeling unwell that morning, causing me to arrive at work late, yet there she was on TV, looking nothing like she had described earlier.The presenter was asking her questions, but I couldn't hear clearly as the iPad's volume was low. I quickly connected my AirPods to the iPad to listen to what she was saying."Oh, that's all false. My husband and I are stronger than ever. All the divorce rumors are just tabloid trash," Bella claimed. "Did I mention that we also have plans to renew our wedding vows?"We do?"Really?" The presenter seemed surprised by the news. Well, that made two of us. "That's great news, Bella. We heard rumors about Mr. Mount having a mistress. Ther
Ayva's POV"Ms. Wesley, Ayva, are you still here?" Martinez's voice jolted me out of what I was reading on my phone.I blinked multiple times, sat up in my chair, and nodded. "Of course, I am. What were we talking about again?" I said, placing my phone down on the desk with the screen facing down. I intertwined my fingers together as my elbow rested on the desk."I said the only way to prove his identity is false is to confirm if he's truly Allison's father," Martinez said. "But you know we can't use DNA samples acquired illegally, so he has to be aware of the DNA test.""But then he'd know what I'm onto," I said, and Martinez slowly nodded. "There has to be another way," I mumbled. Although I'd yet to scientifically confirm if Aiden was truly Zion like Justin had claimed, since that day that he said it, I'd been unable to shake off that idea from my head. As days went on, I slowly accepted that Justin might be right.It'd been two months since I decided that we needed to take a break
Ayva’s POV"Ms. Wesley, Ayva, are you still here?" Martinez's voice jolted me out of what I was reading on my phone.I blinked multiple times, sat up in my chair, and nodded. "Of course, I am. What were we talking about again?" I said, placing my phone down on the desk with the screen facing down. I intertwined my fingers together as my elbow rested on the desk."I said the only way to prove his identity is false is to confirm if he's truly Allison's father," Martinez said. "But you know we can't use DNA samples acquired illegally, so he has to be aware of the DNA test.""But then he'd know what I'm onto," I said, and Martinez slowly nodded. "There has to be another way," I mumbled. Although I'd yet to scientifically confirm if Aiden was truly Zion like Justin had claimed, since that day that he said it, I'd been unable to shake off that idea from my head. As days went on, I slowly accepted that Justin might be right.It'd been two months since I decided that we needed to take a break
Justin’s POVI felt like shit. Seeing Ayva so broken, shocked, and disappointed in me made me want to disappear. I was beyond embarrassed.And the worst part was I had no excuse, nothing I could say to fix how she felt about me now, which just made everything worse.I’ve had my suspicions about Allison for years but didn't confirm it until a month ago when Amanda called Ayva to the hospital. I half expected Ayva to catch on when she was told she was a match with Allison. It seemed fishy that neither Amanda nor Aiden was a match, but Ayva was. And when I realized she hadn't figured it out, I promised myself I'd tell her when the time was right. If only I knew that jerk would beat me to it.Ayva wiped her nose with the back of her hand. I offered her a handkerchief, but she didn't take it, choosing to wipe her tears with her sleeves instead."What else?" She sniffed. "What else are you keeping from me? It feels like there's always something you're hiding." Her words hit hard. "Tell me
Ayva’s POV“Ayva, how did you-”“Answer my question, Justin!” I snapped before taking a deep breath to steady my nerves. I shouldn’t be getting angry with him, not when he was most likely the only one who could help me find her. “I…” I sucked in a deep air into my lungs. “I just want to know Justin. I need to know where she is and— please,” I grabbed his hand, my desperation evident in my eyes. “Tell me the truth, I promise I won’t get mad.” I wasn’t exactly sure I could keep that promise but it didn’t matter at that moment. I was ready to do anything, say anything to make him tell me what I wanted to hear. He sighed, casting his gaze downwards to his desk before looking up at me again. With a heavy breath, he asked, “How did you find out? Who told you about this?” I shook my head at him in disappointment. “Seeing as you’re avoiding answering my question, that means you knew about it. How long Justin? How long have you known this? How long have you… watched me suffer in silence. W
Justin’s POV"What do you mean by that?" I inquired, casting a skeptical glance at Samantha.She approached my desk, placing an iPad on the surface. I eyed her suspiciously before picking up the iPad.True to her words, there was a video of Bella on live TV. I was taken aback. What was she doing there? She had mentioned feeling unwell that morning, causing me to arrive at work late, yet there she was on TV, looking nothing like she had described earlier.The presenter was asking her questions, but I couldn't hear clearly as the iPad's volume was low. I quickly connected my AirPods to the iPad to listen to what she was saying."Oh, that's all false. My husband and I are stronger than ever. All the divorce rumors are just tabloid trash," Bella claimed. "Did I mention that we also have plans to renew our wedding vows?"We do?"Really?" The presenter seemed surprised by the news. Well, that made two of us. "That's great news, Bella. We heard rumors about Mr. Mount having a mistress. Ther
Ayva’s POVI suddenly shot up in bed, startled by a dream that had felt more like a nightmare and had sent cold sweat down my back. My breath came in short gasps, and I was drenched in sweat as if the nightmare had seeped into my waking world.Letting out a heavy sigh, I turned my gaze to the alarm clock resting on the bedside table. It had just ticked past ten. Despite sleeping for nearly ten hours, it felt like only ten seconds had passed since I closed my eyes.I fumbled around the bed, searching for my phone, and finally unlocked it. As I scrolled through my missed calls and messages, a text from my boss caught my eye. He’d asked if I was still interested in being a part of the company or if I’d simply removed myself. At that moment, his message held little significance to me; the thought of losing my job didn't faze me. Instead, my mind lingered on the absence of any message or missed calls from Justin, the one I had been eagerly anticipating.The disappointment that I felt was i
Ayva’s POVBella, with a stern look, asked me, “Are you going to tell me why you were in my husband’s room, why you are in my house, or do I have to call the cops for trespassing.”I felt her gaze pierce through me across the corridor. I guessed I had indeed trespassed. After all neither Justin nor Bella were aware that I was going to drop by."I'm sorry, I was just heading out," I muttered as I made my way towards the stairs.But Bella wasn't letting me off that easy. "I asked you a question," she stated firmly, making me stop and turn to face her. "I think I deserve to know why you were in my husband's room while he was sleeping."Her stress on 'husband' was clear, like she was reminding me she was still married to him and had every right to ‘interrogate me.’ "I mean, you've gotta be a whole new level of shameless to show up here knowing full well that his wife was gonna be home with him," she remarked, taking deliberate steps toward me. "For seven days, my husband was off with you