Chapter One:
(Ava's POV )
I bit back a scream as one of my hands flew to cover my open mouth, while the other clutched the phone tightly."This has to be a dream! This can't be true!" I muttered under my breath.
My heart pounded against my chest as my eyes remained glued to the picture boldly displayed on my phone screen.
It was a nude video of my fiancé, Gregory, in bed with two women. He was drilling into one of them while the other fondled herself.
All of them were stark naked, and they seemed too engrossed in their activities to notice the camera behind them.
A thought struck me. Maybe they knew. Maybe they knew they were being recorded.
I whipped my head to the side, struggling to stop myself from throwing up. I edged backward and slumped onto the couch behind me. I was just about to leave the house to pick Gregory up from the airport. He was returning from a two-week work trip, and today was supposed to be special—it was our four-year anniversary.My eyes filled with tears as I let the phone slip from my shaky hands and fall to the floor.
How was I supposed to drag myself to the airport to pick up a cheating partner?
It felt worse knowing I had watched that video so many times that it now vividly replayed itself in my head.
My mouth turned dry. Wrapping my arms around my small frame, I sobbed.
Suddenly, the phone rang. I glanced at the screen. The caller ID read, "My Love."
That was how Greg’s number was saved on my phone. I knew why he was calling—his flight must have landed, and he was now searching for me at the airport.
"Fuck you, Gregory!" I cursed aloud, breaking the silence in the room. I picked up my phone, turned it off, and stormed into the bathroom.
One thing I knew about Gregory was that he would never admit to being wrong unless there was undeniable evidence against him. In the last four years of dating this man, I had never suspected he would go as far as kissing another woman. And now, there he was in a video, having a threesome.
I bent over the bathroom sink, nausea rising. I let the contents of my stomach out into the sink.
Feeling dizzy, I washed my face and dragged myself back to the living room to wait for him.
I knew he would book a ride home once he got tired of waiting at the airport. He had called several more times, but I ignored him.
Half an hour later, the front door opened, and I sprang to my feet as Gregory walked in.
"Sweetheart!" he exclaimed, closing the door behind him. He dropped his suitcase on the floor. There was a wide grin on his face, and his eyes shone with excitement as he looked at me.
"Welcome home, Gregory," I said coldly.
He cocked an eyebrow. "Gregory? It’s been a long time since you called me that. Are you okay, Sweetie?"
I folded my arms across my chest and stared at him in silence. My heart raced, but I held back from yelling.
He took a few steps toward me, then stopped. "I called multiple times when my flight landed. You weren’t there to pick me up, Sweetie."
"What do you do for work?" I asked.
He frowned. "I thought you knew. I’m a personal assistant to—"
"Oh, spare me that bullshit!" I shot back. "Tell me why you travel so often to places I know nothing about."
He stepped back, eyeing me as though trying to piece everything together.
"Did someone tell you something? Is there something you want to talk about?" he asked calmly.
I pulled out my phone, swiped through until I reached the video, and held it up in his face, fuming.
"Yes, we need to talk about this, you lying bastard!" I said, raising my voice slightly.
His eyes fell on the screen, and within seconds, his expression shifted. It went from surprise to shock, and then to anger. His brows knitted together.
"Honey, can we not do this right now? There's nothing to talk about." He muttered, turning to pick up his briefcase by the door.
"Gregory!" I yelled. "You cheated on me, and this is the reaction I get?"
"I did that for you!" he growled, pointing at my phone. "That video you saw is completely true, and I did that for you!"
His words hit me with a shock. I could barely believe what he had just said.
How could he say that he had sex with another women because of me? Different questions swirled around my mind and my breath hitched.
"Gregory" I said, my voice breaking as tears welled in my eyes, "Tell me you're joking. Please, tell me that this isn't true."
He rolled his eyes, wagging a finger in my face, "You started this mess, so let me complete it for you."
"Gregory, you slept with other women and you aren't even guilty about it?"
"You asked what I do for work, huh? I’m a fúcking pornstar." He sneered. Then, he paused for a moment before he continued talking, "Yes, I sleep with other women and get paid for it. How else do you think I’ve been able to maintain our expensive lifestyle?"
Gregory? A pórnstar?
His words came at me like a brick, and I staggered backward as my mind reeled. He closed the distance between us and stood right in front of me. I looked up into his ocean-blue eyes—the same eyes that made me fall in love with him.
"Ava, now that you’ve found out what I’ve been trying to hide, I have a surprise for you," he said.
Tears streamed down my face. "You cheated on me," I mumbled.
"Yeah. I’ve been doing this for months, and you don’t have to forgive me."
I blinked at him in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
"I’m breaking up with you, Ava. I’m ending this shitty relationship today."
"What? Are you serious, Gregory?"
"Yes. The only reason I get excited to travel for work is because I get to have good sex, which I barely get from you. Ava, you’re so boring in bed, and I’m tired of putting up with it."
"You proposed to me last month," I gasped, pinching my arm to wake myself from this nightmare.
He let out a mirthless laugh. "Oh, Ava. Why are you so daft? Did you really think I’d marry you?"
"You proposed!"
"I did it because you practically forced me! With your endless nagging about how your sister is married, I just got a ring to shut you up!"
My eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yeah, that’s it," he said, his deep voice echoing as he walked away. When he reached the staircase, he turned to face me.
"I’m going upstairs to shower and change. By the time I’m done, if you or any of your things are still here, you’ll regret it."
Something snapped in my brain. "You’re worse than the devil!" I yelled. "You have the guts to break up with me on our anniversary?"
"Anniversary?" He chuckled. "Just get the hell out of my life. Don’t make me force you."
With that, he went upstairs. I collapsed to the floor, holding my head in my hands as I broke down in tears.
Ava’s POVThe room gradually fell into a hush as Damon stood up, the soft clink of his glass against silverware drawing every eye toward him. The soft hum of chatter died off like a candle being snuffed out.I froze, my hand tightening slightly around my glass. There was something in Damon’s expression. I could tell, deep in my gut, that whatever he was about to say wasn’t going to be good news.He cleared his throat, trying to steady his voice. "Uhm... I—" his eyes flickered toward me for a brief second before settling back on the crowd. "I have a brain tumor."Just like that, the air was sucked out of the room. My heart sank."Some of you already know," he continued, his voice firm yet trembling around the edges, "and for others, this might be your first time hearing it."I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even blink."The surgery..." Damon glanced down briefly, a subtle twitch in his jaw betraying the weight he carried. "It was supposed to happen a few weeks ago, but I had to postpone it.
Ava's POV"Good morning, sunshine," I heard the familiar, velvety voice that never failed to make my heart skip, followed by the warmth of soft lips brushing against mine.My eyes fluttered open slowly. And there he was—Damon. My Damon. Standing over me like some gorgeous miracle, completely healed, as if the past week had never happened."Good morning, Damon," I murmured sleepily, blinking away the haze of sleep. "You seem… chipper this morning. What’s the occasion?"He gave me that boyish grin that melted me every single time. "Well, it’s been a week since everything happened. You've been on meds, doing endless tests, getting poked and prodded. I figured... it’s time we celebrate you getting better."I groaned lightly and stretched my arms above my head, pretending to be more tired than I was. “Getting better? Damon, I still feel like my body’s made of wet noodles,” I complained playfully. “Maybe you should let me sleep for a few more days.”He chuckled, not buying it for a second.
Damon's POVA small smile crept onto my lips as I watched Susan and Bianca throw their arms around Valarie. It was such a beautiful moment. I stood there for a second, taking it all in, completely caught up in the emotion of it. I was so caught up, I didn’t even notice Walter until he suddenly pulled me into a tight, emotional hug.“I’ve missed you so much, Damon,” he whispered into my ear.His voice shook a little, and it hit me right in the chest. My heart swelled and stung at the same time. My throat tightened, and tears stung the corners of my eyes.I hadn’t expected this. A hug from Walter? Not after everything I’d put him through. Not after the pain I’d caused.“I... I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, my voice barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry for messing everything up. For hurting you. For ruining what you and Ava had. I tried, Walter. I really tried to push my feelings down because I saw how happy she made you. But I couldn’t stop loving her. I just... couldn’t. And I’m so sorry. I ha
Ava’s POV"Adriana, don't—"Before Damon could finish his sentence, Gregory's fist connected with his face in a brutal punch that sent him staggering."Don't you dare say another word, Damon," Gregory growled, his voice sharp and menacing.Across from him, Adriana still had the gun pointed directly at me. Her hand didn't tremble. Her eyes were locked on mine.I felt my chest tighten. My mouth was dry, but I forced myself to speak."Before you pull that trigger… before you do something you’ll regret forever, I need to say something." My voice shook, but I didn’t back down. "You’re not as innocent as you think, Adriana."I hadn’t wanted to bring it up. I never planned to expose her. But my life was literally hanging in the balance. And if I was going to die, I wouldn’t do it holding back the truth.Adriana blinked, scoffing. “Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”I looked straight at her. “It means I know you were seeing someone else. I saw the way your face lit up when you were mes
Ava's POVJust when I thought the day couldn’t possibly get any worse… she showed up.My sister.Adriana.She stood at the door like a storm cloud ready to burst, and my heart dropped straight into my stomach.I froze.My throat dried up, and my mind started racing in all directions. I didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know how to move. I just… stood there.Gregory had told me he'd been sending her videos. Every day. Every single day. Videos of me and Damon. Together.That meant she knew. Everything.And if she knew everything... then she was probably burning with rage. And hurt. And betrayal.She was going to kill me.How do you even begin to talk to your sister after you’ve slept with her husband? What could I possibly say that wouldn’t make her explode?Adriana stood in the doorway for a long moment. Her face was partly hidden by shadow, but I could see her nostrils flaring and the way her jaw tightened.The silence in the room was loud. Too loud. Even Gregory kept quiet for once.Sh
Damon’s POV~~~~My head was pounding like a damn drum. As I slowly opened my eyes, the pain shot through my skull, sharp and relentless. Those masked bastards had knocked me out cold after dragging me out of the trunk, and now it felt like my brain was trying to claw its way out of my skull.Everything was blurry at first. My cheeks ached. They were bruised while my eyes stung as I squinted, trying to make sense of where I was.Then I saw them.A man standing in front of a woman, leaning close, whispering something that made her shoulders shake with sobs.It took me a second to register—but when I did, my blood ran cold.That wasn’t just any man. And that girl… that girl was my Ava.And the man hurting her?Gregory.“Mmmm!” I tried to yell, to get her attention, to do something…anything!!! But my mouth was gagged, and my hands were tied behind my back.Beside me, Marcus lay unconscious. He wasn’t moving much, but I kept watching for the small rise and fall of his chest. As long as he