CHAPTER 5_ Pain

Ava snapped her head to the door with a sad look on her face. She touched her neck and shook her head slowly which had Ryan freezing the room with his cold glare.

Ryan closed the gap between them and scooped Ava into his arms. His eyes fell on the two who were stricken with fear and confusion in their eyes.

“What did they do to you? Tell me!” He snapped. A million and one thoughts running through his mind on what to do to them if they really did say or do something to Ava.

Ava lifted her head, her eyes red and teary. “No Ryan, I don't want you to get in trouble for hurting them.”

Ryan's jaw clenched, the more her eyes watered, the worse his anger rose. He brought his finger under her chin and raised her head up to stare into her eyes.

“Mia, tell me..” He urged through clenched teeth.

Ava sniffed bringing her finger under her eyelids to wipe her fake tears.

“Uh..He said that I'm a bitch who is set out to destroy you and he won't mind slitting my throat if he gets the chance. And She supported his words before trying to choke me to death.. luckily you arrived just on time or i'd have been dead by now”

Agnes and Matt's jaw dropped in shock. They exchanged brief glances before snapping their heads to Ryan who was now glaring lasers at them.

“W—hat?” Matt stuttered. “No uncle, that's not true! This bitch is a liar!”

Ryan stepped away from Ava and approached the two. “The only way you'd ever learn to have respect for your aunt is only if you're punished greatly..”

Matt wasn't done processing his uncle's words before he dropped to the ground after a hit at the back of his head.

“Matt!” Agnes screamed out in shock as she reached down to Matt laying flat on his belly on the floor. When he didn't budge, she slowly raised her head up.

She caught the smirk on Ava's lips which had her boiling in anger. Her jaw tightened.

“Ryan,” Ava called softly, she held his arm and pushed him away from Matt and Agnes slightly. “This is what I was scared of. I was scared that you'd lost your temper this way and now look..” she pointed to Matt on the floor. “You killed him..”

“He is not dead, unfortunately.” Ryan gritted. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and raised it to his ear.

A few minutes later, some men burst in through the door and at Ryan's gesture, they grabbed Agnes and Matt.

“W—here are you taking me to? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken that way to Aunt..”

Agnes pleas fell on deaf ears, she was dragged out of the room like a bag of nothing. Silence returned to the room once more.

“Are they going to be okay?” Ava inquired.

“Not exactly..” He smirked. “You've had a long day, have a rest. I have some work to do..”

“What? You're leaving?” Ava asked, her eyes clouded in worry.

Ryan heaved a deep breath, he pulled off his suit jacket and loosened his tie. “If you want me to stay behind, just give the word..”

“I want you to stay..” She replied almost immediately.

The truth was that she was scared of staying alone with these people who wanted her dead. Whatever she was doing to them right now, they deserved a hundred folds of it.

“As you wish..”

****

As promised, Ryan stayed behind for Ava's sake. He watched her closely as she took a nap on the bed. His eyes trailed her luscious hair sprawled on the pillow to her face which was relaxed.

He picked his glass of whiskey and brought it to his lips. A sip in, he was able to digest his long look at her.

It still felt surreal to him, the woman whom he had stalked and loved for years was right before him, napping under his sheets.

His phone rang on the table before, afraid that he was going to disrupt her sleep, he answered the call right away and excused himself to the balcony.

“I thought we both agreed not to contact each other anymore, what do you want now?” he took a glance back to the room. “I'm busy right now..”

Yes! Busy staring at his woman's sleeping face.

A low hiss left his lips, he was forced to disconnect the call. By the time he returned back to the room, he was surprised to see Ava up, she was curled up with both knees to her chest.

Her face was sweaty and her breathing was uneven. She looked scared, almost like she had a bad dream.

Ryan understood what was wrong with her at once, he tossed his phone to the couch and rushed to the bed.

“Ava.. are you alright?”

He scooped her into his arms and made her place her head on his shoulder. Her hands went around him instantly and her sobs gradually died down.

“I don't wanna die. They are going to push me down from the terrace.. I'm scared”

Ryan's grip on her tightened, he pulled her closer to himself and planted a kiss on her forehead.

“Shh..I'm right here with you, no one is going to harm you..” He cooed, he stroked her back tenderly until she relaxed in his arms. “Just take a deep breath..”

Ryan lost count of how many hours he spent with her cuddled up in his arms. He wasn't comfortable with his posture but he didn't want to disturb her sleep so he endured the pain in his lower back and neck for her sake.

After Ava woke up from her coma, she wakes up at odd hours screaming. Her nightmares were as a result of her fall. That scene where Matt released his grip on her and left her to fall always gets to her.

The doctor handling her case said it was nothing to worry about, with time she'll recover from the trauma.

But that doesn't seem like it, it pains him to know that the people who tried to kill her were walking around freely like nothing happened. While she's the one suffering from the fall.

“I'm going to make them suffer for what they did to you. And when I'm done with them, I'll make them choose a worse fate than death itself..” he whispered to himself.

He slowly reached for the pillow behind her and gently, he guided her back to the bed. He sighed in relief as he massaged his nape that hurt from sitting in a wrong posture for too long.

Ryan pulled the sheets over her and left for the bathroom.

Not too long after he left, the door opened again and a figure crept in. Anna's eyes scanned the room, she noticed Ryan wasn't in sight. Her eyes fell on Ava's sleeping figure on the bed.

She wanted to confirm her suspicion, the real Ava should have a scar on her belly as a result of the stab wound which took the life of her unborn baby.

If this lady doesn't have the scar, then she'd believe that this was Mia and not Ava.

She tiptoed to the bed and surprisingly, she heard the door to the bathroom open. Turning on her heels, she came face to face with her brother.