Chapter 23: Temptation(Damon's POV)It took me a few minutes before the reality of what was happening hit me with full force.This wasn't a dream!I wasn't imagining this. I was actually sharing a kiss with Ava, who clearly wanted this as much as I did. Her tongue danced with ease past my lips, swirling around in my mouth like it was the most natural thing to do.My breath caught, and I suddenly knew that something was not right. Why was Ava kissing me back? Why didn't she try to push me away or ask me to leave? Or call me a pervert, as usual? Did she want me too?Without thinking, I pulled away from her lips as my confusion mounted. I needed to be sure that I wasn't kissing someone else while thinking it was Ava.My eyes ran over her face."I can't believe this," I muttered, taking a deep, steadying breath. I reached out to cup her oval face in my large palms.She was breathing heavily, and her eyelashes batted at me.A faint red blush crept up her cheeks as her lips curved into a s
Chapter 24: Unspoken Desires(Damon's POV)I was still enjoying the warmth of my bed and the comfort of sleep until I felt someone shaking the hell out of me. My eyes were heavy... I was sincerely hoping to sleep a little longer. I tried opening them, only to meet Adrianna's troubled face. Her breath was heavy, and her eyes held a depth of emotions while I tried to get a hold of the situation."Ava... Damon! Ava... Ava is missing," Adrianna screamed.My once-heavy eyes flung open, and I immediately sat up.How could Ava be missing?This time, I did the shaking. I held her shoulders and looked into her eyes."What do you mean Ava is missing?" I asked, letting go of her as I rushed out of bed."Explain to me, Adrianna. What happened?" I asked, my voice raised.My heart was beating faster than a crazy drum. It felt like my whole world was about to come crashing down."I was... I planned to take her shopping very early this morning, so I got up, got dressed, and decided to go to her to te
Chapter 25: What next? (Ava’s POV)I sat across the table, my arms folded as Bianca stared me down from the other side. She had her legs crossed, hands resting on her lap, her sharp gaze slicing through me like a mother who just found her daughter sneaking out of a man's house.I shifted uncomfortably, sighing before finally breaking the silence. "Can you stop looking at me like that?"Her stare didn’t waver. If anything, it intensified."Why wouldn't I, Ava?" she shot back. "You just got up and left your sister's house without a word and came straight here! What the hell is going on?"She wasn't wrong. I had left Damon and Adrianna’s house abruptly. I hadn’t given them a heads-up, no message, no call—nothing. Just packed a bag and walked out.I knew how crazy it looked. But staying there was unbearable. Every second, my mind replayed the kiss—the way Damon’s lips molded against mine, the heat that ignited between us, the way I had almost lost myself completely.I needed to get out b
Chapter 26: How did I end up here?(Ava's POV)How do you know you've hit rock bottom? Is it when you're drowning yourself in alcohol to numb the pain? When you're making reckless choices just to prove a point to someone who probably doesn't even care? Or is it when you look in the mirror and don’t recognize yourself anymore?I wasn't sure.But as I stood there, surrounded by a world I didn't belong to, I knew I was close. I was still at the party. Somehow, the party had lost its slow, elegant charm and was growing wild by the minute. Now, it felt like I had stepped onto the set of an R-rated film.The warm white lights had been replaced with flashing red and blue, casting an eerie glow over the large living room. Women pressed their bodies against men who didn’t even try to hide their erections.In the corners, people kissed feverishly, hands wandering without restraint. Some even placed women on tables, allowing their fingers to trace over exposed skin as if they were in a private r
Chapter 27: No fuckin' way!!(Ava's POV)I woke up to a splitting headache.Damn.I groaned, pressing my fingers against my temples, trying to ease the pounding pain. My head felt like it had been run over by a truck. I slowly forced my heavy eyelids open, squinting against the dim morning light filtering through an unfamiliar set of curtains.Wait.I blinked.Where the hell am I?My breath hitched as I took in the unfamiliar ceiling above me. The intricate design was nothing like the one in my room at Bianca’s place or Adrianna’s house. Panic shot through me, sending a shiver down my spine. My pulse quickened.How the fuck did I end up here?I pushed myself up on the bed, my body aching from what I assumed was a long night. My heart pounded wildly against my ribs as I slowly lifted the blanket covering me—only to find my bare skin underneath.My breath caught in my throat.I was naked. Completely naked.A choked gasp escaped my lips as I clutched the sheets against my body. My mind r
Chapter 28: The Morning After Regret(Ava's POV)My head throbbed. I felt embarrassed, humiliated and reduced to nothing."Congratulations, Ava. You’ve successfully made a fool out of yourself. Anytime Walter sees you, he’ll always remember you as the drunk woman who stripped herself naked and desperately begged him for sex." A small voice mocked in my head. The thought made my stomach churn. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying that when I opened them, I’d wake up in my bed and realize it had all been a bad dream. But when I peeked, reality hit me like a freight train. I was still here. And worse, Walter was staring at me.My lips curled in a mix of disgust and frustration. I bet he could draw my naked body with his eyes closed at this point.Oh, fuck!What if he told Damon? Damon would mock me for life, saying I refused to sleep with him but had no problem throwing myself at his best friend.A groan bubbled in my throat, but I swallowed it down. I shouldn't have come to that damn party
Chapter 29: I knew I had fucked up.(Ava's POV)How do you make a terrible first impression on your first day at work? Well, let me demonstrate.Step one: Oversleep.Step two: Miss the bus.Step three: Show up thirty minutes late to your brand-new job.Perfect! I said underneath my breath. I wanted to disappear into the ground as I rushed into the building, my heels clicking against the polished floor. My heart was already racing, and the disapproving stares from a few passing employees didn’t help. But, of course, fate wasn’t done screwing me over yet.Because guess who I ran into?Mr. Mark.The same senior manager who had interviewed me. The one who had looked at me like I was a cockroach he wanted to squash. His cold, piercing eyes locked onto mine, sending a chill down my spine.I swallowed hard and slowed to a stop, offering a small, awkward bow. His gaze traveled over me like he was assessing a lost cause.“You know what time it is, right?” His voice was sharp, laced with pure
Chapter 30: Mine to claim (Damon’s POV)I never thought betrayal could feel like this—sharp, suffocating, and searing through my veins like fire. But here I was, sitting in my office, gripping the edge of my desk so hard my fingers ached. I felt like breaking everything around me after hearing the conversation Ava had with whoever it was. I kept wondering about the call. The other person on the call seemed so happy to know whether or not Ava fucked Walter. Ava had met with Walter. Why him? Of all the men in the world, why did it have to be him? I began to pace my office. I was fast becoming sweaty despite the two air-conditioning units in the office. The conversation I overheard kept replaying in my head, looping like a damn nightmare.Had she slept with him? I wondered again. I wasn’t sure. She hadn’t answered. If she hadn’t seen me, maybe she would have. Maybe she would have admitted to everything right there on the phone, laughing as she told her friend how good he was, how muc
Chapter 43: Dark Longings(Ava’s POV)Damon drove off without even looking back.I stood there like an idiot, arms hanging by my sides, shoulders dropped. I must have looked pathetic, just standing in the parking lot like that. He didn’t have to say much; his silence said enough. I was only trying to help him… but Damon? He was doing an excellent job of making sure I stayed as far away from him as possible.I sighed and dragged myself back inside, my heels clicking against the tiled floor, echoing too loud in my ears. His voice still lingered in my head—sharp, cold, final. And the way he looked at me just before he left? God. It left me unsettled, like the ground under me had suddenly turned unstable.The rest of the day was a blur. I kept getting up from my desk and heading to the restroom, splashing cold water on my face, washing my hands for no reason, staring at my reflection like I was searching for something that made sense. Then I’d go back to my desk and pretend to sort throu
Chapter 42: Losing Control Again. (Damon’s POV)Two weeks had passed, and I still felt like I was slowly losing my mind. Every day, I found myself questioning whether it had been a mistake to hire Ava. Was it really a good idea, or had I only set myself up for torture?No matter how many times I asked myself those questions, I couldn’t seem to come up with an answer I believed. What was clear, though, was that things hadn’t gone the way I thought they would. Not even close.I had envisioned something different when I made the decision to bring her back into my life. I pictured her working by my side, growing comfortable with me again, slowly softening to the idea of being mine. I thought there would be stolen glances that turned into lingering touches. I imagined the thrill of catching her alone in my office, pressing her back against the door as we shared kisses that left us breathless, the kind of kisses that made us forget who we were supposed to be to each other. I even thought—n
Chapter 41: When Guilt Tastes Like Desire (Ava’s POV)How do you convince yourself you’re doing the right thing when your heart already knows you’re not?That question kept looping through my mind as I sat at my desk, my fingers slack over the keyboard, staring blankly at the screen.Last night, I had been wrapped in warmth. I had been in Walter’s arms, the comfort of his bed, the false security of thinking things might be normal again. But today? Today felt like I was balancing on the edge of something sharp, something that could slice me open at any second.No matter how many times I tried to push it away, the memory came back. Damon’s voice, low but furious, vibrating through the room as he slammed his hands on the table. The sharp crack of ceramic as he broke the mug in his grip. His eyes—God, those eyes—wild and dangerous, like he was seconds away from snapping.I inhaled slowly, pressing my palms into my temples as if I could squeeze the memory out of my head. But it stayed. It
Chapter 40: A pang of jealousy (Damon’s POV)“So, you’ve been sleeping with him?” I asked again, my voice low but thick with barely restrained anger. The words tasted bitter in my mouth, but I had to hear them from her lips. “Tell me, Ava… you’ve been sleeping with Walter, haven’t you?” I pressed, each word cutting deeper, laced with suspicion I could no longer hide.I didn’t want to believe it. God knows I didn’t. But the thought had taken root in my mind, growing, twisting, poisoning everything I felt. I needed her to deny it, to tell me I was wrong. That I was paranoid. That my jealousy had made me delusional. But instead, she stood there, silent, staring at me as if I’d just spoken a foreign language.Her silence was deafening. It wasn’t just silence—it was confirmation, at least in my mind. She didn’t need to say a word. I saw it in her eyes. She had slept with him. And now, standing there, she was too ashamed to admit it… or maybe she wasn’t ashamed at all. Maybe she just didn’
Chapter 39: You don't own me!!~Ava’s POVDamon picked up his mug of coffee and flung it at the wall. The sharp sound of glass shattering against the floor made me jump, as my eyes widened in shock. I froze, staring at the jagged pieces scattered at my feet, my heart pounding in my chest. I didn't understand why Damon was suddenly being so violent. I looked at the shattered pieces of glass on the ground, and I felt fear creeping beneath my skin.I took another look at Damon, and I found it so hard to understand what he had become. He was so desperate to have me, and I knew it, but never did I expect that he would throw a tantrum and act this way.“Damon….” I mouthed."You're pushing me, Ava!" Damon sneered.He walked towards me and closed the distance between us. My body was pressed against the table, and he looked directly into my eyes.My heart raced… I didn't know what Damon was up to or why he acted like that.I thought he didn't want to talk. I thought he wanted to keep treating
Chapter 38: The line we shouldn't crossAva PovWalter drove me to work this morning, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think his life depended on it. The way his hands gripped the steering wheel, how he slowed at every bump in the road, even the way he stole glances at me from time to time—it was like he was guarding something precious. Or someone.And the worst part? I couldn’t stop smiling.It was embarrassing, honestly. I’d spent most of last night acting like I didn’t care, keeping him at arm’s length with that cold, distant attitude I’d gotten so good at. But now… now I was sitting beside him like some schoolgirl with a crush, smiling at him like he’d hung the stars just for me.I didn’t recognize myself.And I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.By the time we pulled up in front of the office building, my cheeks already hurt from smiling too much. Walter shifted the car into park but didn’t move to open his door. Instead, he leaned back in his seat like he wasn’t ready
Chapter 37: Wrapped in his armsAva’s POVThe feeling of Walter's lips on mine was tender. Gentle. His hands cupped my face so carefully, it almost made me want to cry. There was no rush. No hunger. Just… warmth. Pure affection. I hadn’t felt that in so long, it almost scared me.For the first time in forever, kissing a man didn't make me feel like I was drowning. There wasn’t that desperate need to fill an empty space, or the reckless pull toward something I knew I’d regret. No guilt clawed at my chest. There was no bitter taste of wrongness on my tongue.It wasn’t a kiss that would lead to another mistake. It wasn’t something I’d hate myself for tomorrow.It was just a kiss. Simple. Honest.And God, it felt good.Our lips moved slowly, and when his fingers brushed my cheek, I sighed into his mouth. The world around us seemed to fade out, like a movie with the volume turned low. Nothing existed at that moment but him. His warmth. His scent. The faint taste of mint on his lips.I didn
Chapter 36: Lost and found. (Ava’s POV)I sat there, staring at nothing, my mind drowning in memories I didn’t want to relive. I thought about everything—how much I had loved Gregory, how deeply he had broken me, and how I had stupidly believed we were meant to get married. I had actually pictured us growing old together, waiting for the day he’d walk me down the aisle with tears in his eyes. But what did I get instead? Betrayal. Humiliation. Heartbreak. Gregory had shattered me, not just by revealing he was a porn star, but by telling me he never really wanted to propose in the first place. That he had only done it because I was "pressuring him." I still remembered the way he said it—flat, emotionless like it was just another casual confession. No regret. No shame. Just the truth, dropped in front of me like a pile of garbage. At that moment, it was like my entire world collapsed. My love for him disappeared in an instant, and maybe, just maybe, I lost a little bit of myse
Chapter 35 - In the arms of another(Ava's POV)Walter drove us through the quiet streets, his hand loose on the wheel, humming under his breath. Meanwhile, I sat stiffly in the passenger seat, my head turned completely away from him, resting against the cool glass of the window.The silence between us wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was better than the alternative-me glaring at him for bringing me out tonight, when I didn't even want to be here in the first place.I wasn't angry with him, not really. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was sweet, considerate even, and that was the problem. I wasn't sure if I could handle sweet. Not after Damon. Not with Damon still carved into every broken piece of me.The weight of Damon's cold gaze earlier today still burned like a bruise on my skin. And now here I was, pretending to be okay on a date with someone else. It all felt wrong.But Walter, on the other hand, looked like he was about to explode with happiness. His face glowed like a man