Chapter 7

As she finished drying her hair, her phone began to ring, prompting her to pick it up to see who was calling. Noticing it was Chris, she answered the call promptly.

"Hey," Chris's calm and smooth voice greeted her as the call connected. "Are you settled in?"

"Yeah. Aurora just fell asleep," Ava responded, her gaze lingering on her daughter.

"I'm going out for lunch soon. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure. Just give me a minute to get dressed," Ava said, rising from the bed and walking towards the wardrobe to choose an outfit.

"Okay. I'll wait for you in the lobby," Chris replied before ending the call.

After deciding on a simple casual outfit, Ava let her hair down and checked on Aurora once more before grabbing her bag and phone and leaving the room.

Chris sat comfortably in the hotel lobby, his gaze fixed on his phone as he made necessary schedule changes for the upcoming movie shoot, scheduled in two days, while waiting for Ava to arrive.

Finally, he caught a glimpse of her approaching him from the corner of his eye and lifted his head to watch her as she got closer.

Despite her casual attire and light makeup, she looked stunningly beautiful. Chris had always been struck by her warm aura ever since they first met. He smiled as she approached, rising from his seat as they made their way to the hotel's restaurant to order their meal.

Chris felt the urge to compliment her appearance, but decided against it, not wanting to say anything inappropriate.

"The movie director informed me that they moved the shoot up. They'll be filming in two days," Chris informed her.

"Oh." Ava dabbed at some cake crumbs on the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

"It's a good thing we arrived a day earlier than planned," Ava remarked, to which Chris nodded in agreement.

After chatting about casual things for a while, Chris eventually brought up what had been weighing on his mind since the airport.

"Did something else happen at the airport after you found Aurora?" Chris inquired, his voice as calm as ever. "You seemed upset when you returned with her."

Ava's movements paused as she recalled the event.

"I ran into Celeb," she revealed after a moment of silence.

Chris's eyes widened slightly, his expression shifting to one of concern.

"Did you two talk?" he inquired.

"No," Ava replied, her tone dry as she recalled Celeb's shocked face.

"I guess he was just too shocked to say anything to me, which was probably for the best," Ava added, remembering how Caleb had held Aurora delicately in his arms as if he already knew she was his. "That jerk had Aurora in his hands, like he was her father." She clenched her fist on the table in frustration.

"Forget about him, Ava. Don't let him ruin your mood. He's not worth it," Chris reassured, placing a comforting hand over her clenched fist.

Ava gave a small smile and nodded in agreement.

Chris couldn't understand why Ava's ex-husband would divorce such an amazing woman like her. He must have been lacking in brain cells and reasoning, because who would want to end a relationship with someone as perfect as Ava?

Chris returned to his meal, not wanting Ava to dwell on her brainless ex and risk ruining her mood even more.

*******

It was completely dark when Caleb arrived home, despite leaving his office early. He had stopped by a bar for a drink or two before coming home.

"Honey!" Sophia chimed excitedly like a child as she descended down the stairs. She threw herself into Caleb and hugged him lovingly.

"How was work?" She asked, finally releasing him from her tight embrace.

Caleb simply nodded in response, forcing a tight smile on his face.

"You look so tired, my love," Sophia pouted as she stared at his face. "I'll ask the maids to serve your food."

"No need. I don't have an appetite," Caleb said as he kissed her on the cheek then brushed past her heading for the stair.

"But I made your favorite," Sophia said, a slight frown settling between her brows as she watched him go up the stairs.

"I'll eat next time," Caleb said curtly, without sparing her a single glance.

Sophia gritted her teeth the moment he was out of her sight. She called to a maid, harshly ordering her to dispose of the food immediately.

"What an assh***. He just had to ruin my perfectly laid-out plan."

She bit her thumbnail angrily, but with a thoughtful look on her face before going up the stairs.

She relaxed her facial expression before pushing the bedroom door open and entering. She could hear the sound of the shower coming from the bathroom, so she took the opportunity to change into a sexy red lingerie and climbed onto the bed as she waited for Caleb to come out.

Caleb came out from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, revealing his well-defined waistline, his abs looking even more alluring now that he was wet.

Sophia gulped as she watched him run the towel through his wet scalp. Despite all her preparations for what she had planned, his presence still made her nervous.

She casually sat down from the bed when Celeb's gaze rested on her, and sexily walked towards him. Even though Caleb immediately averted his gaze from her, Sophia had no intention of stopping.

Stopping only an inch from him, she tried to touch him, but he held her wrist, stopping her, as his eyes settled on her face, avoiding going anywhere downward as she was almost practically naked.

The tension in the room was slightly rising. On one hand, Sophia had a sultry look, while on the other hand, Caleb wore an indifferent expression, as if he didn't even want to be standing this close to the woman in front of him.

Sophia smiled shyly and leaned forward, planting a kiss on his cold lips.