Rejected by her father and betrayed by Nathan Crawford, the man she had loved all her life, Ava Parish leaves town on the brink of death six years ago, but now she returns to New York, now known as Ava Smith, a successful product manager, using her twins as her excuse to cover up her secret of returning to town. Her return stirs up an already brewing war and just when she thinks she was safe, she receives the surprise she never expected. “Will you marry me?” Noah Bright asks Ava, shocking everyone in the room, now Ava is stuck between her ex-husband, her new lover, and the man who admires her as the suspense of their unknown past unfolds.
Lihat lebih banyakAva stared at the paper Nathan Crawford, her husband, kept in front of her like it was a piece of art she needed to understand.
"Ava, sign the damn document; I don’t have time for this,” Nathan shouted, his brows drawn together as he tapped his feet on the floor impatiently.
“I… I don’t understand Nathan; did I do something wrong? Does grandfather know about this?” Ava stammered as she looked up at the man she had loved for most of her life.
Nathan brushed a hand through his hair in frustration as he sighed deeply, trying to contain his irritation with her.
“We both know this is not going to work, and three years is long enough for us to cut it loose, don’t you think?” Nathan said calmly, trying to get through to her.
“It’s just been three years, Nathan. I know we can make this work after that night…” Ava was saying, but Nathan interrupted her.
“Don’t!” he said, his voice hard as he glared at her before adding, “That was a mistake, one night of drunken mistake on my part, okay.”
“It meant something for me, Nathan; it is proof that we can make this work if only you give us time,” Ava pleaded, tears gathering in her eyes.
Frustrated and more pissed, Nathan stood up, placed a hand on his waist, and said, “Ava, I can’t do this any longer; I don’t want to spend the rest of my life this miserable, okay, and moreover, I...”
“Your grandfather won’t be happy about this, Nathan; let’s think about him too,” Ava said, trying to push some sense into him.
“F*ck, you really are going to make me say this,” Nathan muttered under his breath before adding, “You signed the damn contract, Ava, so quite this pretense and sign the papers.”
Ava’s brow went up in puzzle as she looked clueless at her husband, unsure of what he meant by a contract.
“What do you mean? I married you because I loved you, Nathan. I have for a long time. What are you saying about a contract?” Ava said, standing up to face him.
Looking up at him made her feel less of herself. His eyes looked at her like she meant nothing to him.
Nathan grimaced and said, “Really? Did you really sign that prenup without reading it?”
“The prenup?” Ava asked.
She remembered the morning her father had told her she was to be married to Nathan; it had been a dream come true for her. Everything she had been asked to do to ensure the wedding was done she had done without complaining, including sighing the prenuptial without going through it.
“I know you look stupid sometimes, but I never thought you would be that stupid,” Nathan said in irritation as he looked at her.
At this point, tears were beginning to stream down her face just as the sound of lightening erupted through the house, as if to compliment the chaos within Ava’s heart.
“Why are you doing this to me? Do you hate me that much? Why then did you marry me?” Ava asked, her legs shaking as she fell down to the couch. Her hand went to her belly, as if to hide the baby that was already growing in her belly.
Nathan stood there silent as he looked at her, refusing to let her tears sway him.
He sighed deeply and said, “Ava, the prenuptial contract specifically stated that we are allowed to get divorced after three years, a fact you would have known if you actually read it.”
“That is not reason enough for you to divorce me, Nathan; I know you, and for the last year you have not been the same person I lived with for the first two years of our marriage,” Ava said, forcing herself to walk towards him.
Nathan took a step away from her as he said, “Let’s not make this harder for you than it already is; we should both be glad that there is no child between us; we can have a clean break, and we will both live our lives in peace.”
"Nathan, please, I beg you don’t do this to me; I would do whatever it is you want, please,” Ava pleaded, as a heartbreaking sob poured out of her.
“Don’t do that, Ava, don’t!” Nathan shouted more frustrated than he had been, as he added, “For god sake, can you grow up and act like the adult that you are?”
“No, I don’t want to, please,” Ava replied.
“F*ck, I have a child, okay!” Nathan shouted, adding, “Damn it.”
Ava felt like a hammer had hit her heart at those words. Her sobs seized, but the tears continued to pour down her checks as she stared up at her husband. She had been excited to inform him of her pregnancy, but now her world had just shattered.
“Wha…at did you jus..st say...” She asked, stammering, hoping she had heard wrong.
“I have a child, Ava; someone is pregnant for me,” Nathan replied.
Ava staggered, her legs almost giving out on her as she walked backward, away from Nathan.
“That has got nothing to do with you, Ava; okay, just sign the documents and be on your way,” Nathan said, in response to the emptiness that suddenly filled Ava’s eyes.
“How? Was that why you’ve been different this last year? Was that why you were more pissed that you slept with me that one night after not touching me since we got married?” Ava said, her voice shaking.
Before Nathan could answer, his phone rang, and just before he could pick it from the center table, Ava saw the name displayed on it.
It was her; it had always been her. Like a shadow, she had lucked over their marriage, and now she had succeeded in breaking them apart.
"Hello, dear,” Nathan said, before turning his back to Ava.
Ava could feel herself suffocating; there was only so much she could take. Ava had seen the resolve in his eyes as he picked that call, and she knew there was nothing she could do, not even news about their unborn child that would change the situation.
“No, she hasn’t; I know, I’m not; it won’t,” Nathan was responding into the phone.
Ava stood up, her face devoid of any emotions as she walked upstairs, almost like she was being remote controlled.
After a few minutes, she came back down with her box just as Nathan was ending his call.
“I’ll end this tonight, and I’ll be with you shortly, okay,” Nathan said into the phone.
Ava walked over to the paper on the table as she thought, Should I sign this? Or I should just leave?
Ava took a step towards the door, but Bella held her back, shaking her head at Ava."No," Bella said.There was a bit of silence in the room before they heard Noah speak again."She does not know, nor does she know about the contract," Noah said."Wow, I can't seem to believe that she does not. Well, it's a good thing that she accepted your proposal; all we need to do now is speed up the wedding process." Beth said."Of course, that should be real easy." Noah said."After all the groundwork you have put in, it should be easy. I actually thought Philip was going to spoil things for us; it turned out he was only after his own pocket," Beth said."Yeah, there was no need to worry. As long as it did not affect what I had planned with Ava." Noah replied."It all feels like yesterday, though," Beth muttered."Yeah, it's a good thing my proposal to partner with Elegance and Style all those years ago was not successful. Now I get to own a part of it all, which is much better. My dream to ventu
Nathan was frozen, unable to move an inch as he stared at Noah on his knees before locking his gaze with Ava."Say yes," people chorused around them.Ava took a deep breath and then looked at Noah and said, "Yes."A round of applause and gleeful cheer rose from the group around them as Noah slipped the ring on Ava's finger."Thank you," Noah said as he stood up and hugged her."Congratulations," everyone said as they walked past them."Let's find our table," Ava said.They both walked into the main hall, leaving a frozen Nathan still standing there.As soon as Bella saw Ava, she jumped up and walked over to her and hugged her tightly."Didn't seem like you both were that serious yet," Bella whispered, a forced smile plastered on her face."Neither did I," Ava whispered back with a forced smile."I need to check something at the back; my store is showcasing some of our latest collection." Noah explained."Okay," Ava said.Noah kissed the back of her hand and excused himself. Ava watche
The room went silent as they all looked up to see who the man was pointing at."Oh my god!" Ava exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared at her.She could not believe her eyes. How could she do something so wicked, so heartless?"Mom?" Tyler called, looking confused, "Did you do it?"Clara had her head to the ground, unable to lift it up to face Timothy."Oh, God," Peter said, falling back against the couch as he held his chest.Nathan's hand clenched into a fist at his side as he looked at Clara through death-stricken eyes."Take him outside; there are a lot more persons that would need to follow him to the police station." Timothy instructed the security guys.Clara went to her knees and begged, "I didn't know what I was doing; I'm sorry.""So you killed my mother? Why? What did she do to you? And then you threatened me to leave town. What did I ever do to you?" Ava asked, choking back tears."No, your mother's accident was a natural cause; I had nothing to do with
Nathan's words fell like a bomb as jaws dropped in shock. Everyone in the room looked from him to Nora, waiting for her to refute his statement."Did he speak with you?" Nora slipped, the words coming out of her lips before she could think."Oh my god," Wyatt exclaimed.Everyone started to speak at the same time, the whole room going into an uproar as they all tried to speak over each other.Ava sat there, her face neutral as she took in what was happening."Quiet!" Tyler shouted, bringing the room to a sudden silence.Nora's eyes darted from Nathan's to Timothy's, who sat awestruck, staring at her."Where is Thomas?" Ava asked."None of your f*cking business!" Nora shouted at her.Nathan turned, noticing Ava for the first time since he walked into the house."Ava?" Nathan called softly."Surely you do not want him to hear all this, right?" Ava snapped, getting visibly angry at Nora's lack of consideration."I will go make sure he isn't anywhere near and get one of the housekeepers to
"Thank you for having me, doctor. So you're saying he can get the transfusion tomorrow?" Nathan asked."Yes, he can. We have taken quite a bit from you, and it's a good thing that it matches, and we can give it to him. However, this might be a temporary fix, but let's get over this hurdle first, and then we can talk about the next step." The doctor explained"Okay, thank you so much. Do I get the results?" Nathan asked."Of course, I believe you would want to have a read-through yourself." The doctor replied and added, "You can pick it up at the lab on your way.""Thank you, doctor. I'll be on my way. Tomorrow, I'll be here with Thomas," Nathan said."We will be expecting you." The doctor replied, standing up to shake his hands before Nathan left.Nathan walked over to the lab and requested his results from the nurse at the station."Good day, Mr. Crawford, give me a minute, please." The nurse said and walked towards a table.She picked up an envelope and discovered there was another
"They have taken the sample; we would get the results tomorrow," Nathan explained."That was fast," Clara muttered."I will stay with him; you guys can go home; it's been a long day already," Nathan said."Okay, call us if you need anything, okay?" Peter said."I will," Nathan responded."I am staying with my son too," Nora insisted.There was no reasoning with her, so Nathan allowed her.The night was long, but by the time it was morning, Thomas was feeling much better."The results are not out yet, but he can be discharged. We should be able to book an appointment for when he would come in for the transfusion in the next two days," the doctor said."Okay, that's good. Thank you, doctor." Nathan responded.By the time they got home, it was almost midday. Everyone was waiting for them in the living room."Hey there, champ, How are you feeling?" Tyler asked."I'm fine, Uncle Tyler," Thomas responded.Timothy walked down the stairs at the moment, smiled at Thomas, and said, "You feel bet
By the time they got to the garage, the sun was setting, and Nathan was already exhausted."Now it's good we all came here as Nora suggested. We haven't been seen in public together for a while." Peter said, a satisfied smile on his face."I agree," Wyatt seconded.Thomas held his mother's hand, who had refused to give him a smile or say as much as a word to him since losing the competition."Why do you look so sad, champ? You'll win the next one, okay? Tyler said, ruffling his hair.Nora pulled Thomas away from him and placed him behind her.Nathan picked him up and smiled at him, saying, "Do you want ice cream? Don't worry about the competition, okay? You'll get another chance."Thomas nodded, finally smiling at his father as he replied, "Okay."Nathan touched his forehead and looked over at Nora to ask, "Is Thomas on any medication? Why is he running a temperature?""Nothing is wrong with him. He is probably just pretending since he does not want to get scolded for losing the compe
"How did you find out?" Timothy asked."That has nothing to do with the answer you are supposed to give me," Ava responded as she folded the tissue and walked over to a wastebasket in the corner of the room.Timothy stood up and walked over to the window, a grim expression on his face.Ava stood silently behind him, waiting for him to speak, and at last he did."Your mother saved me from a car accident," Timothy stated.Ava was not so sure what he was talking about. She was vaguely aware of the accident but not her mother's involvement in it."Olivia was at the location of the accident that day. Ruth, Nathan's mother, and I were on our way to the factory that fateful day when it happened." Timothy narrated."The same accident Nathan's mother died in?" Ava asked."Yes, your mother pulled me out of the car, but it was too late for Ruth; she died as the car blew up." Timothy said, his voice cracking up, so he paused for a second."Is this why you built a whole textile factory with my mom
Nathan turned back to face Nora and asked, "What are you talking about?""I... I mean, did he…" Nora replied, trailing off as she took in the confused look on his face."Did who?" Nathan asked again, before adding, "I really don't get a word of what you are saying.""Oh, I mean, did you have a discussion with Tyler because you sound like him blaming me for whatnot?" Nora quickly said to cover up her slip."What in God's name did Tyler do this time around?" Tyler asked, coming up behind Nathan."What don't you do?" Nora asked, not really in the mood to get on his bad side since she still needed his help."This is not the time for this. Where is Grandpa?" Nathan asked the both of them."Where else? He has gone home, something you would know if he had told you, but oops," Tyler muttered, covering his mouth as he added, "You both aren't exactly on good terms right now, right?"Nathan's face hardened, but he forced himself to relax, keeping in mind they were at a public event."Tyler, you'
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