#5: Ava’s Still Obsessed With You

Scott:

“What the heck was that!” Belle screamed once Ava was out of earshot.

I said nothing, because I was still trying to figure it out myself. I stood rooted in place, staring at the door Ava had just stepped out of, the image of her speaking back in my face and confidently walking away afterwards, replaying over and over again in my head.

She’d worn that outfit to spite me, I knew, but thinking about the fact that she was outside with her curves showing off for all to see, and with all that makeup on made me furious.

I couldn’t believe she’d actually argued with me and gone against my word, but most especially, I couldn’t believe I’d actually let her go.

“She actually laughed in my face when I told her we’d go with her. And she rejected my herbs. She never rejects them. She actually spoke back when we told her what to do.”

Belle was losing it but that was understandable. I was too, inwardly.

Something was wrong, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Just yesterday, Ava had been normal. She’d mentioned wanting to go to the cinema to see the movie with us, but I’d cut her down as usual and she had agreed readily, sleeping off right after she took Belle’s herbs. It was as if the real her had somehow disappeared and a new fiery spirit had taken over her body.

I did not like that spirit.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Belle continued, facing me. “This is bad. Really bad.”

“You don’t think I know that?” I seethed, getting irritated.

This wasn’t supposed to happen, at least not like this. Ava had always adored me, believing she was lucky to breathe in the same air as me, not to mention be married to me. I’d never held any interest toward her, having only married her to get my parents off my back.

I would have lost my inheritance; the film company if I’d gotten married to Belle. My parents had added the clause when they realized I was still involved with Belle even after the scandal that almost ruined her life. In a way, I was thankful to them. If not for their random rule about me having to marry someone else, I would never have discovered Ava’s talent.

She’d written three scripts for three movies in the span of two years, and each one had been better than the last. I couldn’t afford to lose her yet.

“How could she possibly still want to hang out with Amelia? You’ve always been her weak point. There’s no way she’s indifferent about another woman hitting on you,” Belle continued, pacing the room with her hand under her chin as she tried to make sense of it. “Something is wrong somewhere.”

“There was something different about the way she looked at me,” I said, more to myself than to Belle. “She even kicked me.”

“What?” Belle exclaimed. “How? Where? When?”

I shook my head, not willing to tell her how badly my balls still hurt, even after the ice I had applied to it.

“She apologized immediately and mentioned something about just waking up from sleep, but that kick felt deliberate,” I said, a sense of dread washing over me.

“Do you think she…she knows everything? About us, about the marriage?” Belle swallowed, the grim look on her face mirroring mine.

“That’s not possible. No one knows about it except me and you. All the evidence is locked far away from here. She never leaves the house so there’s no way she could have gotten access,” I explained.

“Where though? What if someone found out and ratted out to her.” She gasped as another thought formed in her head. “What if Amelia found the proof. She’s always been vocal about how much she doesn’t trust us. What if she knows more than she let on and told Ava everything?”

I pulled Belle next to me to prevent her from spiraling.

“Everything is locked away in a safe in that new house I built. No one else goes there, except us. Even if they did, they can’t possibly enter the room not to talk of opening the safe. So relax okay?,” I said, kissing her forehead. “Something is up for sure, but one thing I can bet on with my life is the fact that Ava does not know anything. I’ll always get everything under control. You should know me by now.”

Belle nodded, smiling at me.

“It’s true. You always do. That’s why I love you.”

I smiled back as she kissed me, although an ugly thought reared its head. Belle’s scandal had almost broken me. I never thought I would ever see her the same way after it, but my love for her superseded common sense. Since it had happened before she’d met me, I just made sure to make it go away, but not until after my parents already found out about it.

I blinked away, trying to erase the image from my head. There was something more pressing than some stupid mistake from the past which I had to deal with, before it cost me everything.

Never believing there’d be a time when Ava would grow a spine, or ever see beyond her love for me, I hadn’t gone the extra mile to prevent such a situation from ever happening. However, this was a sign that somehow there was now a crack that I had to fix.

“Of course she’s still obsessed with you. It’s just that Amelia that’s beginning to get in her head. We need to do something about her as soon as possible,” Belle said and I nodded.

“You’re totally right,” I said, my anger rising at the thought of my wife hanging out with Amelia. “I thought we’d gotten rid of her, but clearly, she still has her fangs in Ava somehow. Lying against her won’t do.”

“We should do something more permanent,” Belle muttered, tracing her finger along the lines of my jaw, something I’d always loved, but now felt like a slight inconvenience for some reason.

My eyes widened. Belle had never suggested anything of that sort before.

“We don’t have to go that far. I’ll figure it out, don’t worry…”

I imagined Amelia taking Ava to a club, getting her drunk and making her sway those alluring hips of hers in that skintight dress, for every man out there to see. I balled my hands into fists as the thought did something to me.

“Oh,” Belle murmured, giving me a sly smile. She adjusted herself on my thighs, where she could feel the length of my sudden erection. She leaned forward to place her lips on mine. “I knew you couldn’t resist me like this.”

Sh*t. What the hell just happened?

I broke the kiss.

“We need to do something about Amelia,” I said quickly, trying to put my wandering thoughts in order.

Belle rubbed against me, pushing her small breasts toward me as she whispered in my ear. “Can’t it wait?”

I let her down carefully before standing up. I went to change my clothes, avoiding Belle’s confused stare.

“There’s no time,” I explained. “Amelia could be telling her anything right now. We need to follow them, find out more, know how serious this is.”

Belle frowned. Nothing was ever too serious for me to reject her. I was just as confused as she was.

“What about my acting classes?” She asked.

“That can wait. If we lose Ava, there’ll be nothing left for you to act.”