LOGINAVERY WINTERS Slowly, I fluttered my eyes open and the first thing they landed on was Bernard's smiling face. It seemed... like he's been up for a while now and had been staring down at me for what felt like eternity.His right hand was resting under his chin, supporting his weight as he gaze down at me."Hey," I muttered, my voice coming out hoarse."Good morning, beautiful," he greeted, kissing me softly on the lips."Good morning, Ben," I replied, flashing him a sweet smile.I couldn't believe we actually slept off in here. Would my friends notice my absence?Of course, they would!"What time is it?" I asked, attempting to get up but he stopped me, forcing me to laid down back... though gently."It's just past 9 AM, it's still early to worry about anything," he answered."What? 9 AM?!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening in horror. "I swear, Scarlet will skin me alive today," I complained, swiftly getting up from the bed and putting on my clothes. I haven't even taken my bath yet."Of
AVERY WINTERS For a moment, we all froze on the spot as we heard Bernard's voice. He walked closer to us and I hurriedly leaped up from my seat, standing right in front of him. I clutched my hands around his arm, tilted my head to a side as I met his gaze. "Hey, my love, what are you doing here?" I asked, my voice laced with a bit of nervousness.Thank goodness he didn't hear the part where Caden's name was being mentioned. I'm still wondering how he suddenly got here? I thought he was with the boys."You all...." he trailed off, his index finger darting between us. "you still haven't told me yet what you've been hiding from me. What shouldn't I know? What's that secret you're all hiding?"Everyone looked nervous, and no one is ready to say a word. One wrong move, and everything might get ruined. "We're talking... I'm sorry, Ben, but I can't tell you. It's a girl's thing," I lied, flashing him a sweet, smiling face.Harper and Ivy, on the other hand, gestured with their hands to m
AVERY WINTERS Even though wasn't here, I'm still not comfortable with the fact that I'm in the same space with Caden, and talking to him. If Ben gets to know about this, he might misunderstood the situation and even do something crazy. We had come here to have fun and forget about everything, I wouldn't want us to start having issues again.We got into the car ,and I did the driving this time around. But, there was no amount of questions my friends asked, that I reply to any of it. I didn't want to talk about it now, and I'm glad they didn't push it too. Harper, especially..The drive back home was kind of fast, and just 35 minutes later, we're back home. Bernard, Caleb, Ezra and Asher walked closer, as soon as we stepped out of the car. "What took you guys so long? I almost thought something had happened," Bernard said, hugging me and kissing me on the lips."It's not our fault, brother. Avery bumped into someone," Harper began to explain. "What was his name again? Ca-" Before
AVERY WINTERS "What do you mean, no?" I asked, raising a brow, my gaze darting between them."There's no way I'm going to let you leave the house all by yourself, driving for forty minutes.""I'm not going alone, Ben. I have the girls with me. Besides, I can do the driving while going, and when coming back, Harper, Ashley or Charlotte can take over too," I reasoned.After a lot of persuasion and everything, they finally let us go to the market to buy the food stuffs. Plus, a time frame too. Bernard gave us time to return back home.Right now, I'm going with Harper and Charlotte. While Scarlet is expected to stay back and relax, as she had suddenly started complaining of weakness.While Harper took the driving spot, I took the back seat and Charlotte took the passenger seat."To be honest, Avery, you're so lucky to have someone like Bernard as your husband," Charlotte said, breaking ge silence in the car.I raised a brow, staring at her amusingly. "Why did you say that?""Did you se
AVERY WINTERS "What?!!" Charlotte gasped, her eyes widening in horror as her eyes darted between us. Weirdly, or should I say... coincidentally, we all found ourselves in the living room and it's already past 3 AM. I only came downstairs to get a water to drink, as I was finding it hard to sleep... which I didn't even know why. But, as soon as I headed downstairs, and walked into the living room, I met Ivy, Ashley and Charlotte in the living room.Just Harper and Scarlet were still in their room, sleeping soundly. It turned out... they all couldn't sleep too. However, after a few minutes, Scarlet joined us too. And guess what she came to do? TO EAT!!This is someone who hardly eat... always eating small portion of food. But now, I'm beginning to doubt if she's really the girl I know, or could there be something wrong with her?— I thought, a bit concern about her sudden change. I wondered why she's always hungry now. And.... to the reason why Charlotte just exclaimed. Well....
AVERY WINTERSEverywhere became silent afterward, as Harper began to press her phone, while Bernard and Hazel fall asleep. I know he needed it though, because he hardly sleep. He was always busy with work and work every time. I helped reclined his seat so he can relax properly and won't feel any numbness when he wake up. A few hours passed, and Ezra's car came to a halt again. I stopped mine too, right close behind them because they'd already overtook us. While Caleb's car parked right behind us.I wondered what it is this time around— I thought, looking around and taking in our surrounding. Everywhere was filled with trees and empty land. So, I doubt if this is about Scarlet wanting to order for a food again. "This isn't about Scarlet again, is it?" Harper asked, teasingly. We both laugh, and I shook my head. Bernard was already deep asleep, but I didn't know how he came to know that the car had stopped moving. He opened his eyes and sits up straight. "Babe, is everything oka
AVERY WINTERSI stared at him, my heart with fear. "Yes, Bernard. That's all he was to me. My ex, and my past. Please, don't listen to his words," I pleaded, my voice trembling with fear.I didn't know how things suddenly turned around between us, just a moment ago, we were both happy, things were
AVERY WINTERSStuck between Bernard's question and the worried thoughts swirling in my mind, I clenched my hand into a tight fist. I don't know what exactly is going on. I kept wondering how Caden got my contact, and what exactly was he after? I had thought meeting him at the mall was merely a co
AVERY WINTERSA heavy sigh escaped my lips as I pulled out my phone from my purse and dialed Ivy's number."Girl, isn't it too early for you to call?" she teased, chuckling. "Is Bernard not there with you or what?" she added."He knows about everything," I muttered, worriedly. Her tone instantly t
AVERY WINTERSIt's been two months already. Two months of torture of Harper staying with us. I'm still in the dark about whether Bernard had resolved the issue with the Nikolai psychopath or not.Maybe, he has, considering that he's been assuring me everything was now fine. His men had also stoppe







