Why He Kept You Away

AVA’S POV;

“Me… y-yes… I’m Davis’ sister.”

Okay, so this stranger was seriously making me lose my mind.

He kept staring down at me, and now I was suddenly realizing just how short I was.

But something about the way he called me “little” annoyed me.

He stared at me for a while, one eyebrow slightly raised.

The silver piercing caught my attention again. Annoyingly enough… I liked it.

“Then follow me,” he said, turning away.

“Follow you? I don’t even know you. Did Davis send you?”

“I don’t kidnap kids. Yeah, he sent me,” he replied, glancing back over his shoulder before continuing toward his car.

Why would he call me a kid when I was eighteen?

“Wait!” I ran after him. “What is Davis doing that he can’t come for me himself?”

“Get in,” he replied.

I felt defeated. I wasn’t someone who stopped talking just because I was told to.

I rounded the car and sat in the front seat.

“Let’s take him with us,” I said, looking at the driver.

“This isn’t a taxi,” he replied as he opened the car door and settled inside.

“So you’re just going to leave him here?” I asked, shocked.

How could someone be so… So hot…. Shit.

How could he not care at all?

My mind was seriously playing games with me.

Immediately the engine started, I turned to look outside the window at the driver, who was still standing there watching us leave.

I couldn’t help him, and somehow that made me feel weird.

The car moved almost immediately.

The night breeze blew against my face, pushing my hair back.

The guy beside me kept his gaze fixed on the road, but after a few minutes, he brought out his phone and called a cab to pick up the driver.

I smiled, he actually cared.

I stretched my hand out of the window, loving the feel of the breeze against my bare skin.

“Hands in. I don’t want your brother nagging me if you get even the slightest injury.”

“I’m not a kid!” I said, not willing to let him control me just because he picked me up.

“You are to me,” he replied, his foot pressing harder on the accelerator, making my hand swing slightly.

I quickly pulled it back inside. He did that intentionally.

I looked at him and rolled my eyes. He caught it, but didn’t react. Instead, I turned forward quickly and started playing with the hem of my skirt.

The rest of the journey was silent.

We pulled up in front of my brother’s place. I hadn’t been here since he got it. No wonder he got higher allowances than I did from Dad. The house was big. It even had a driveway.

The car slowed into the driveway, and the engine died. The guy got down and walked toward the main door.

I opened my door and stepped out just in time to see my brother coming out of the house.

The other guy simply walked past him, and I noticed he only shook his head when my brother said, “Thanks, guy.”

“Hey, Labubu,” my brother said.

He loved calling me that because I was short, and he was always hovering over me.

Davis had the kind of face people noticed instantly: sharp jawline, messy dark hair, and bright blue eyes that stood out so much they almost didn’t look real.

He wasn’t overly muscular, but he had that effortless college-boy charm that made girls stare a little too long whenever he walked past.

Honestly, I still didn’t understand why everyone was obsessed with him… but then again, maybe I was just used to seeing his face every day.

“Don’t call me that,” I said as he pulled me into a hug, laughing and messing up my hair.

“Stop it. I’m not a kid… where were you?”

“I was busy with something,” he said.

“When I called you, why didn’t you say anything?” I asked.

“It wasn’t me. It was Christien,” he said.

“Who’s that?” I asked, curious.

“The guy who picked you up,” he replied.

Christien… I liked the name somehow. His name and behaviour would have done well for a male lead in a web novel.

“He didn’t introduce himself?”

“No, he didn’t. I felt like I was being kidnapped,” I said, and my brother laughed.

“That’s how he is… very emotionally detached,” he said, then added, “Let’s get you settled in.”

He turned toward the car and opened the boot.

“Who owns this car… you?” I asked. I already knew it wasn’t Davis’s; I just wanted confirmation.

“Nope… Christien’s,” he said.

“He must be super rich,” I said, looking at the car again.

“Wrong. He’s super rich,” Davis laughed, slamming the boot shut.

“Really… son of the President?” I laughed at my own words.

“Probably richer than the President’s son…” Davis laughed, then continued, “His dad is a global oil tycoon who controls one of the largest private oil empires in the world. Countries and big companies negotiate with him. He doesn’t just sell oil, he controls supply chains.”

I went quiet for a second.

That didn’t sound like normal wealth. That sounded dangerously rich.

“So that’s why he acts like that,” I said under my breath, more to myself than Davis.

Davis raised an eyebrow. “Acts like what?”

“Like he owns the world,” I replied softly.

“Enough talking, Labubu. Let’s go in,” Davis said quickly, dismissing me.

I followed him as we laughed about something Dad once told us, and we entered his house through the main door.

When we got in, I saw Christien in the sitting room, his head bent. He was on his laptop, and he had full concentration.

“Dude, aren’t you eating?” my brother asked him, dropping my luggage by the door.

“No,” he replied without looking up. I must say his baritone voice was something else.

He suddenly looked up, and I almost forgot how to stand properly, his black eyes cold.

I quickly pretended to adjust my hair, like I hadn’t been caught staring.

Calm down, Ava. He was just a guy.

A very annoying, very attractive guy.

Unfortunately…

“Davis’ sister,” he said, and I turned back to face him.

Then he tilted his head slightly and added,

“Now I see why he kept you away.”