Chapter 8

"No way! How could she leave me?"

The bright white papers with Ava's name signed at the bottom hit Marcus like a punch to the gut. He stumbled backward, his face going pale.

Sophia watched Marcus fall apart and spoke in her sweetest fake voice.

"Marcus, I probably shouldn't say this, but Ava has hated me since we were kids. She always told mom and dad she would run away from home. She's done this before just to get attention."

"This is crazy!" Marcus's voice echoed through the mansion, cold and angry. His hands shook as he held the papers.

He grabbed Sophia's arm tight and pulled her toward the door. The marble floors of their Versace-decorated hallway clicked under their feet as they rushed outside into the dark night.

"Get in the car now! Ava has nowhere else to go except her grandmother's old place. She has to be there."

"Marcus, don't be mad at her. She grew up with simple country people. After being around them for so long, she doesn't know what's right or wrong."

Before Sophia could finish talking, Marcus grabbed her shoulders hard. His eyes looked wild and scared.

"When we get there, you're going to lie. You'll say I never slept with you. I was just playing games with her all these years, but she has to love me like she always did."

"But Marcus... what about me? Won't you marry me now that she's gone?" Sophia's voice broke as she started crying. She couldn't believe how upset Marcus was about my leaving.

"She's not gone! Ava can never leave me - I won't let her! You don't get it, Sophia. I have to be the one to leave her, not the other way around!"

Sophia sat in the black Bentley without saying another word, still shocked by how Marcus was acting.

The leather seats felt cold against her skin as they drove through the empty streets.

"I... I've waited so long to be with you... I can wait longer." Marcus felt bad for the woman next to him and tried to be gentle.

"I'll marry you, but not now." Sophia's hands turned into fists as they drove through the night. The city lights blurred past the tinted windows.

When they got to my old grandmother’s place, Marcus felt his heart sink. They found out I’m not at my grandmother’s old place.

"I can't believe Ava would do something this big without even talking to you first. I'll take care of your house until she comes back."

"No. We'll talk about this later."

"What?"

"Get out. Let's talk tomorrow."

"Marcus! I'm your true love, so why are you treating me like this?" Sophia couldn't take it anymore. Tears ran down her cheeks like rivers.

"After living with my sister for so many years, are you... are you going to leave me too?"

"You don't understand! Years ago, I told my grandfather clearly that I would break up with Ava and marry you. But she used dirty tricks to force me into this marriage. She even got seven percent of the Moretti company shares!

I hate people who try to play games with me. That's why I can't let Ava go free. She has to suffer until the very end."

Sophia couldn't say a word after that. She just nodded.

Marcus dropped her off at her Chanel-filled apartment and rushed home. He called my number over and over, but it just went to voicemail every time.

"Damn woman!" Marcus cursed as he told his assistant to get him a new phone number the following day at his office.

It was past midnight when I got a call from a number I didn't know. Thinking it might be one of my friends, I answered quickly.

"Ava, when are you coming back from your Canada trip?"

Marcus's deep, rough voice made me sit up in bed. My whole body started shaking when I realized my husband knew exactly where I was.

"If you hang up on me, I'll make sure no hospital in Canada will help your."

My finger stopped right over the hang-up button. I took a deep breath.

"Didn't you already cheat on me with Sophia? Now that I'm gone, you should be happy—"

"NO! That only happened once. It was a mistake!

Didn't you marry me for money and the fancy life? You got shares in Moretti Corporation. You had everything you could only dream of before. Now you're my wife - the woman married to the richest CEO in the country.

You have everything other people can only wish for. So stop acting like a child and listen to me. Come back tomorrow."

A small smile came to my lips as I laughed and cried at the same time.

"Wife of the richest CEO? My life was worse than someone living on the streets.

The terrible life I've lived these past years... I couldn't even eat one meal a day. Is this what you call fancy living?

Do you know how many days I worked until I passed out from being so tired? Do you know how many nights I went to bed hungry just to stay thin so you wouldn't be disappointed in me?

The fancy life you talk about... I don't want it anymore."

Marcus felt guilty for a moment, but then he remembered how his grandfather forced him to marry me. His face got hard again.

"You said you wanted to work. You're not a baby, Ava. Did you expect me to feed you with a spoon? Everything that happened to you was your own fault."

My heart broke completely when I heard Marcus say that.

When I didn't answer because I was so shocked, he kept going.

"Don't forget - I was the one who took care of you after your brothers kicked you out. Even your parents were disappointed in you. You have no one in this world except me, Ava. Not a single person who would accept how messed up you are.

Come back to me and I'll forgive you. All the problems you had before - I'll fix them. Whether it's the servants treating you badly or the disrespect you got from your place of work, I'll take care of everything—"

"I don't need your help."

Marcus stopped talking. The silence between us felt heavy.

"What did you say?"

"I don't need any of you anymore. My parents threw me away as soon as I was born. Even after they found out I was their real daughter, they loved Sophia while I was always just a problem to them.

I don't need you to control me anymore, Marcus. I might not be perfect, but at least I'm not heartless like you. In this world, I've finally found someone I can call my own. I can survive and be happy without you. I don't need your help."

I touched my belly gently, thinking of my twin babies. They were my happiness and hope, even when everything else was sad.

When Marcus heard what I said, he got so angry I could hear things crashing in the background. Then he started laughing in a scary way.

"Sophia was right. You're nothing but a cheap woman raised by nobody in some small town. Since you couldn't stick to me like a leech, you moved on to the next man without feeling bad about it!

Tell me, Ava - how many men have you tricked so far? Are you living with another man when we're not even divorced yet?"

"Marcus!"