RECLAIMING AVA

Ava sat in front of the doctor, her hands folded neatly in her lap as she waited for him to speak about the results.The room smelled faintly of antiseptic and something floral, an attempt at comfort that only made her stomach churn harder. The ticking clock on the wall felt louder than it should have been, each second stretching, dragging, reminding her how long she had waited for this moment. Five years of waiting. Five years of questions no one wanted answered.The doctor adjusted his glasses, eyes scanning the file in his hands. He had that careful look people wore when they were about to say something that couldn’t be taken back.Ava forced her shoulders to relax.She had prepared for this…or at least she thought she had.She had imagined being told there was something wrong with her. Something small, maybe. Something fixable. Or something big enough to finally justify all the whispers, the insults, the disappointment that lived in the Donovan household. At least then, it would m

She had signed the papers. Packed her things. Walked away from ten years of devotion like she was shedding a skin that no longer fit.The night air felt sharper than she expected when she stepped outside. Cold enough to bite through the thin fabric of her sleeves. The house behind her stayed lit, bright and alive, like nothing had ended at all. Like she hadn’t just been erased from it.Ava didn’t look back.She walked down the driveway with her bag over her shoulder and suitcase in hand, her movements controlled. Her hands shook slightly, but she didn’t stop walking. She refused to let that house see her hesitate. She reached her car, opened the door, and sat behind the wheel for a moment longer than necessary.Only then did she let out a breath.Her phone buzzed in her hand. A message from Landon’s lawyer. Formal and Final.She turned the phone off.The engine started smoothly. The road stretched ahead of her, quiet and dark, streetlights spaced far apart. The city felt distant, lik

The door opened before Ava could even move.She had already shifted her body, already decided she would step back quietly and come another time. She had heard enough to know this was not a conversation meant for her ears. But the handle turned anyway, abrupt and careless, and the door swung outward.Liam stepped out mid stride.He was already pulling his phone from his pocket, his attention halfway elsewhere, his face set in irritation like the argument inside had merely delayed him. He almost walked straight into her.They both stopped.For a second, neither of them spoke.Ava’s body went still on instinct, the same way it always did when she walked into unexpected confrontation. Her spine straightened. Her shoulders squared without conscious thought. She lifted her gaze and held it there, calm on the surface even as her pulse jumped.Liam looked at her like she was a problem he hadn’t planned for.His eyes moved over her slowly, deliberately, from her face to her clothes and back ag