002

AVA

A sigh escaped from my lips for the umpteenth time.

Mom suggested I pack, and my mind wouldn't stop replaying everything that happened this evening. 

“You’re overthinking again,” my mother said from across my room, neatly arranging my books into a small box.

“I’m not overthinking.” I shoved three random shirts into my bag. “I’m reacting appropriately to trauma.”

She chuckled softly. “Living with Caden isn’t trauma.” 

So easy for her to say.

She wasn’t the one moving in with the person she’d spent the last two years fantasizing about in every embarrassing detail.

I fell back onto my bed dramatically. “Mom, you didn’t see the way he looked at me… I think he has a secret vendetta against me, or he hates me.”

“Honey, you're thinking this too far. He looked annoyed obviously, but trust me when I say it's not because of you.” 

“Then who? You? His father?”

She heaved a deep breath and stood up, walking towards the bed and sitting down gently.

“It's a long story,” she replied. “Ava, I know this is sudden, but it’s only until we sort things out. Grant just wants to make things easier for you.”

Easier?

Right.

“He doesn’t want me there,” I muttered quietly.

My mom’s expression softened. “Caden has always been… difficult.”

No. He was cold, rude, arrogant, and unfortunately attractive also belonged on the list.

“I just don’t want things to be awkward.”

“Ava.” My mom called out again, tucking a strand of hair behind my ears. “You’re overthinking this. You’ll barely see each other.”

That almost made me laugh…barely see each other? The man existed in my thoughts rent-free already. How was I supposed to survive living with him?

She zipped the box I was arranging and stood up. “I think you should get some sleep. Grant and I will drop you off first thing tomorrow.”

“More like Grant and I will ship you off to prison.”

“Stop being dramatic.”

“I read novels; drama is literally my personality.”

She rolled her eyes affectionately, placing a light peck on my forehead before leaving my room.

The second the door shut, silence filled the room.

I stared at my neatly packed bags, then at my laptop.

Sleeping seemed impossible, because no matter how hard I tried to, all I could hear was Caden's demeaning voice. 

I opened my laptop, clicking on my writing document.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard for barely three seconds before the words started pouring out.

Cade Hunter just couldn't contain his arrogance; his face was stone cold anytime their eyes met… And the first impression Avaline had of him was that of a proud, arrogant jerk! 

I paused, heaving a deep breath before deleting it and replaced it with ‘he looked devastatingly hot while being rude for absolutely no reason.’

Pathetic.

A low groan escaped my lips as I buried my face into my pillow.

This was bad.

Really bad.

Because no matter how cold Caden Duke acted, my stupid brain kept romanticizing him.

I ended up writing until nearly two in the morning before exhaustion finally dragged me to sleep.

The next morning came far too quickly.

And by noon, I was standing outside Caden Duke’s penthouse, feeling like I was about to make the worst decision of my life.

Mom and Grant had rushed off to some emergency meeting after dropping me off at the gate.

Which had me alone…outside his door with two suitcases and anxiety dealing with the hell out of me.

I counted from one to twenty in my head before finally mustering the courage to knock.

No response. 

Perhaps he wasn't home? 

I waited for another one to twenty counts before knocking again.

Still nothing.

Grant wouldn't bring me here if Caden wasn't home, so it's either he was intentionally ignoring my knock or—I banged on the door this time.

Still silence.

“Caden, I promise, if you don't open the fucking—”

The door swung open, and I instantly forgot my intended words.

Jesus Christ!

Caden stood in the doorway wearing nothing but a pair of grey briefs, hanging dangerously low on his hips.

His messy dark hair was all over the place, and on his face was an expression filled with irritation.

I ignored it, my eyes dropping before I could stop them. 

A very huge mistake, because his body looked even better than my imagination had created.

And trust me, my imagination had done overtime.

“Done gawking?” His voice was sharp. “Or should I give you a minute to finish drooling?”

Embarrassment was an understatement of how I was feeling now.

“I wasn’t gawking,” I managed to say.

“So drooling, right?"

I opened my mouth to defend myself when another body appeared behind him.

A brunette, which was surprising because I thought he was dating Mara Jennings, a blonde.

My eyes quickly raked over her; she was whispering something in his ears, one arm slid around his waist possessively.

She wore only panties and one of his shirts.

My stomach twisted unpleasantly, immediately understanding what it meant.

They were definitely busy before I knocked.

The brunette glanced at me, slowly eyeing me from head to toe before speaking. “You should be the new inconvenience."

I shot her a glare. “And I'm guessing you're the one-night stand who doesn't know what time it is?” 

Her mouth fell open in shock, and I could feel Caden's eyes on me. I turned to him. "Move.”

He scoffed. “Already showing your true colors, I see…didn't predict you to be the bitchy type.”

“Neither did I think you'd be less of a gentleman,” I shot back. “I’ve been standing at your doorway for more than five minutes with two suitcases, and I need you to move.”

To my surprise, he didn't argue; he and his girl stepped aside as I walked into the house.

My eyes scanned the surrounding immediately, and to be honest, I was wowed.

The penthouse was massive, from the floor-to-ceiling windows to the furniture. The entire place screamed 'rich,' spoiled athlete.

It also looked like a crime scene after a party because beer bottles were littered on the ground, unfinished pizza was around the table, and clothes were tossed everywhere. 

My gaze flickered to him. “So you live like this?”

He shut the door behind me. “You’ll get used to it.”

“I really won’t.”

“And I don't give a shit.”

The brunette disappeared somewhere down the hallway while Caden leaned against the wall.

“There will be rules,” he began, his voice firm.

“And what makes you think I'll follow them?” I responded.

“Because you are in my house! This arrangement already pisses me off, so let’s make one thing clear. I don’t want you here.”

The jealousy from earlier mixed with irritation ran down my spine, and before I could stop myself, I snapped.

“Trust me, I already hate it here,” I lied. "And if you hate this so much, maybe fight your father about it if you can.”

He pulled away from the wall. “It's a good thing the feeling is mutual. Your room’s at the end of the hall.”

That was it.

No help with bags, he walked out, and then I heard the loud shutting of the door.

I dragged my suitcase down the hallway muttering insults underneath my breath, and soon reached my room.

The beauty stunned me a bit; unlike my former room, this was two times bigger. 

A huge bed, a private bathroom, and even a bookshelf. A smile formed on my face; I'm sure that was Mom's doing.

Maybe this wasn't such a terrible idea.

That was what I thought until I fell onto the bed and immediately froze.

What the fuck?

Something cold, rubber-like, and slimy, and I already had an inkling of what it could be.

I looked down, and just like I thought—a fucking used condom!

A wave of disgust filled me instantly. “You absolute manwhore,” I yelled, reaching for tissues immediately.

~~~~~~

The next few hours passed in a blur, with me changing sheets, unpacking clothes, disinfecting every visible surface, and trying not to think about Caden.

By the time I was done with everything and freshening up, it was nighttime, and my stomach was growling loudly.

After debating internally if I should order or grab something from the fridge, I finally left my room quietly.

The penthouse was dark and quiet, except for the dim kitchen lights.

I opened the fridge carefully and couldn't believe my eyes.

Every shelf had labels.

DON’T TOUCH.

MINE.

CADEN'S MEAL PREP.

PROPERTY OF CADEN.

“What the fuck are you?” I muttered. “A psychopath?”

I grabbed a soda anyway, and the second I shut the fridge door, I nearly screamed.

Caden stood opposite me, with an expression I couldn't decipher.

“How do you walk so quietly?”

His eyes dropped to the can in my hand. “I talked about rules earlier.”

I swallowed hard as he stepped closer—too close. “You’re already breaking them.”

“I was hungry, and for goodness sake, why would you label food?”

He took a step closer again, and I moved backwards. “Rule number one,” he murmured, his voice dangerously low. “Stay away from me,”

And here he was, coming closer to me! I kept retreating backwards, my heart beating so hard.

He leaned closer…was he doing this intentionally? Because I could feel his breath on my lips, he was so close that I noticed the tiny scar near his jaw.

My nipples tightened hard, peeking at the silk nightdress I had on. “Can you mo—.”

He grabbed the soda from my hand, and just then my back hit the counter.

“Rule number two,” he continued, our bodies one fucking inch apart. “Don’t ever touch my food.”

I could barely think straight because all I could focus on were his lips.

His eyes flickered downward briefly, like he was thinking the same thing.

“Third rule,” he said quietly, his hand reaching for my chin. He raised it up slightly until our eyes were fixated on each other.

I took a deep breath, not knowing if I should close my eyes, and then—“Stop gawking at me like a freak.”

My face immediately burned hot with humiliation, but he wasn't done.

“Erase whatever sick crush you have on me. It's embarrassing.”