Chapter 7

"Call Freddie" Mia muttered softly as she pulled up to the highway. Her small hands tightened around the steering wheel as she listened to the line ringing. From how rigid her facial expression was, it was quite clear that she was irritated.

"Hello?" she heard the masculine voice said from the other end of the line. "Mia?" Fred called out again after a moment, this time, managing to get Mia's attention.

"I'm here, Freddie" Mia replied softly.

"How did it go with Brandon?" Fred asked and Mia only groaned softly.

" Bad. Really bad. He didn't buy into it" Mia said in frustration. She bit down her bottom lip then scoffed softly. "He's a fool to think Ava's going to give him anything on a silver platter but we need him. I just need to figure out an alternative incase he bails" she said while she shifted her attention from the road to look at her phone for a moment.

"Well, think of something soon. We can't loose this opportunity. Not after how much we've invested into getting those properties" Fred said and Mia hummed softly . "I know. Don't you think i know?"

"Look, call me as soon as anything comes up. If i don't hear from you soon, i'll have to proceed. Ava can't file for a divorce. If she does, everything's over for us" Fred reminded Mia, as if she already didn't know what was at stake.

When she hanged up on the phone, Mia made a turn and drove to Hopkins elementary school. She had been the one picking up Ava's kids from school while she had been away after all. She wasn't doing it out of the kindness of her heart, she was looking for an opportunity to see Ava alone.

"Jesse! Javier! Over here!!" She called out to the kids after she had spotted them approaching the school gates. Excitedly, the twins ran towards her and each wrapped their arms around her. They liked her very much, she was after all, like a second mother to them.

"Hiiii. Are you boys okay? I'm here to pick you up. We can get ice cream on the way back" She cooed softly but Jesse frowned slightly.

"Auntie Mia? Mommy said she was picking us up. Is she not coming?" the question caught Mia off guard but she managed to recover in time.

"She's going to ran alittle late but she asked me to come get you" Mia assured Jesse then walked them to her car, with the boys on either of her side, holding her hands. She settled them in car and walked around the driver's side. As soon as she was inside the car, she turned the ignition and the car roared to life. She drove off with a smile on her face.

Meanwhile, Ava was just wrapping up her work at the office so she could go get her boys. Ever since the separation with Brandon, everything had just gone wrong in her life. She couldn't even juggle her every day duties. Before, she could handle being a mom and her business pretty well. Now, she was just a mess. If she did one well, the other would just go wrong and vice versa.

A few minutes past the pick up time, Ava finally gave up on trying to finish what she knew she couldn't. Instead, she pilled up the documents into a file, grabbed her laptop and heels and started for the door. Seeing the sandals she had on, she hurriedly rushed back to her seat, settled down and started changing into her heels. She got up once again and headed for the door.

Ava stuffed the files messily in the passenger seat of her car. She checked the kid's safety car seats before he got in and drive towards the school. Before she could get there though, she worried that she had ran too late and her twins were scared so she pulled out her phone and dialed Jesse's and Javier's teacher. At the third ring, the call was answered and Ava sighed in relief.

"Miss Davis? This is Ava Thompson speaking-" Ava started and when the teacher recognised her, she smiled softly.

"I'm sorry to have to bother you but i think i'll ran a few more minutes late. Do you mind sitting in with my kids until i get there?" She asked, very humbly too.

"Kids? Jesse and Javier have already been picked up" Miss Davis' panicked voice came through the receiver. From the shock, Ava hit the brakes suddenly, almost getting herself injured in the process.

"W-hat? What do you mean they've been picked up?" She asked, panick settling in her own voice. "By who? Who picked them up?" She asked with a trembling voice. Ava already suspected that Brandon had gone behind her back and decided to play dirty. It was just wrong to use the kids against her. That too for mere properties.

"It was Miss Brooks. She said she was here in your stead? She's been picking them up all week and last week too" Miss Davis clarified and Ava's hands tightened on her steering while until her knuckles turned white.

"I see. I'll call you right back" Ava said and even without letting the teacher finish, she hanged up on the phone. Brandon's ability to surprised her knew no bounds. So after desecrating their matrimonial home, their matrimonial bed, he still had his mistress pick up their kids? Ava really wouldn't be surprised if Mia cooked for her kids with those filthy hands.

Ava tossed her phone over the scattered files on her passenger seat and slammed her head gently on the wheel. She sat there for what seemed just eternity but in reality, it was just a few minutes. She snorted for a moment before it turned into a chuckle and finally, she started crying. She was a mess. She couldn't even do anything right and now Brandon was giving Mia all the privileges as if she had become her children's step mother.

"That vile, hypocritical, cheating bastard" Ava cussed Brandon under her breath as she pulled her head back and used her hand to wipe her cheeks dry. She reached for her phone again and dialed Brandon's number. Her fingers were shaking against the steering wheel while she waited for him to pick up and when he did, Ava was hysterical.

"Ava?" Brandon's voice, the voice that had once been Ava's safe zone. The voice provided consolation was now Ava's worst nightmare. She couldn't stand the fact that she liked it at some point in her life.

"Where are they?" She asked almost immediately after Brandon had called her name.

"Who?" Brandon asked, hesitation evident in his voice. "Where's who, Ava?" he repeated and Ava scoffed.

"My children. Where is Jesse and Javier?" She asked again and this time, she was close to screaming at Brandon.

"How...why.. how am i supposed to-" he started to ask and Ava cut him off.

"To know?" Ava interjected then rubbed her forehead. "Because your mistress took them. Mia lied and picked them up from school!"

" Wait, what?" Brandon got up from his chair and clenched his phone tightly. He wasn't over Mia suggesting they kill Ava and now she had his sons. Of course he was very terrified.