HE CAME BACK

Ava’s POV

I sat under an oak tree, my eyes heavy from crying. It was break time and Liana stood beside me.

“Ava, crying won’t change anything. The whole world has seen your nude, and Chris…” she paused, her voice tight. “I can’t believe he’s behind this!”

I glanced up at her, teary-eyed.

“I just feel like we shouldn’t let this go. Chris can’t hurt you like this and go scot-free. Ava, I’m willing to help you get back at him.”

I nodded but couldn’t stop the tears. “I don’t think I can,” I whispered. “I can’t, Liana.”

“What do you mean? There’s nothing anyone can…” she trailed off. Her eyes locked on a figure walking toward us. “Ava, Chris is coming,” she murmured, barely audible, trying not to look his way.

I turned sharply. Yes, Chris was approaching, holding a bunch of roses.

“Just stay calm. He might not be coming for you.”

I counted his steps in my mind and stopped when he halted in front of us. His face was full of remorse, his eyes shifting between the two of us.

“Ava, please. I need to speak with you.”

Liana frowned, glancing at me as if expecting me to lash out, but I remained still. Chris was here to apologize, and maybe explain why he did that.

“About what, Chris?” I asked, already in tears.

“It’s about us, my love,” he pleaded.

Liana exploded. “You must be joking! Ava’s not talking to you!” she snapped, stepping in front of me, now face to face with him. “Believe me, Chris, you’ll pay for what you did to my friend.”

I stood up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back sharply. “Enough, Liana. Let me talk with him.”

“Ava? Really? You want to talk to him? After he played the video of the sex you guys had in a hotel room for the whole class to see? After he humiliated you? After he broke your heart and cheated on you? Come on…”

“Stop!” I yelled, cutting her off. “Stop it, Liana. I know he did all that, but you don’t have to take it so personally!”

Liana’s eyes widened. She didn’t see that coming. Her mouth opened to say something, but she swallowed it and walked away.

I turned back to Chris, tears in my eyes. “Why? Why are you here?”

He knelt and swallowed so hard I heard it. “I didn’t do it, Ava. It was never me. I…I…I was just as shocked and angry as you when I saw it. I was heartbroken. Everything I said or did afterward was out of rage.”

I turned away, my back faced him as I wiped my tears with the back of my palm.

“I’m sorry. Forgive me.”

“Just like that, Chris? Did you ever love me?” I asked, turning to face him. He stood and took my hands in his.

“I love you. I cherish you. I would never hurt you. I still want you back, Ava. I can’t let you slip through my fingers.”

I snatched my hands away from his.

“You’ve hurt me so badly, Chris. I thought you were different,” I paused, trying to steady my voice.

“So what do we do about the nude you showed to the whole class?”

“That’s exactly why I came. Believe me when I say, I was never involved. It wasn’t me, Ava.”

My eyes narrowed. “Liar! You’re a bloody liar,” I said, hitting his chest over and over until he grabbed my wrists.

“Listen, Ava. Someone else is behind all this, and that’s all the more reason I am here. I want to show you who.”

My mouth dropped open.

He pulled out his phone and opened a message from an unknown number. “Look,” he said, holding the screen to my face. I read the message silently.

He continued, sweat dripping down his face. “I forwarded the messages to Alex and asked him to track the sender. I wanted to know who sent them,” he explained, opening Wh*tsApp to show proof.

He tapped something that looked like a file or document, and I saw the person behind the message.

It was Liana. Her picture appeared too.

I froze. My heart stopped.

“Liana?” I whispered. The name echoed in my head.

“And that’s not all. The same unknown number texted me again, asking me to come to Makimama Way, which I did. Guess what I saw there, Ava?”

My pulse pounded. My mouth opened, but no words came.

Tears filled his eyes.

“What?” I managed to ask.

The tears finally spilled down his cheeks.

“Say it!” I shouted, my eyes burning.

“What did you see, Chris?”