CHAPTER 4: THE RETURN

Two days later, Ryan was idling over a bottle of wine in his office— an attempt to clear the bustling thoughts in his head. He was yet to get any handy information about Ava.

The door opened and his friend, Erik, walked in swiftly.

“Good morning, Ryan,” he greeted him as he got to the table.

“Any luck?” Ryan asked immediately, waving the greeting off.

Erik heaved a sigh and stroked his hair. “Nothing yet, man.”

Ryan punched hard on the table. “Ava couldn't have disappeared into the thin air, Erik. That's not even possible.”

Erik straightened his posture and rubbed both hands together. “Well, it seems so. I went to where she used to work. And yes, the restaurant has been shut down. Perhaps, they moved.”

There was a moment of silence. Ryan said nothing. His frustrations were visible on his face. He thought about the pregnancy. Ava didn't say a word to him about it. He wanted to make things right. But Ava was not giving him the ground to do so.

“Hmm,” Erik exhaled. “Ryan, there's something I haven't told you.”

Ryan's face beamed with hope. “Did you find her?”

Erik cleared his throat. “Ava left the country.”

On hearing that, he sank into his chair. At this point, there was nothing he could do. He lost her….. and his unborn child.

FIVE YEARS LATER

Ryan dusted his tuxedo with pride while standing before a mirror in his bedroom. It was going to be one of the biggest days in his life— a deal with Avalon corp was underway, and no one was more suitable to go and get this deal other than him.

The door opened and his wife, Kristie, walked in with a broad smile on her face.

“Is everything ready?” She asked him.

Ryan turned and nodded. “Yes.”

Kristie walked to him and kissed him lightly on the lips, a gesture Ryan was not so fond of. Truth was, he didn't marry her out of love. He simply had the interest of the business at heart. Perhaps, it was out of his personal lust to inherit the business.

“I wish you the best, sweetheart,” Kristie said calmly. “Get this done.”

Ryan nodded and smiled partly. Then, he packed a few more documents into his briefcase and left the house.

Many moments later, he was driving into the parking lot of Avalon corp's headquarters in California, United States of America. He grabbed his briefcase and stepped out, absorbing the magnificence of the place. Nothing ever brought him there.

He took the elevator and eventually found himself on the chairman's floor. No, chairwoman. Ryan had heard about the rumors. It was a trend in the city among elite business moguls that Mr Avalon Woods had stepped down as the chairman of the business enterprise. As a matter of fact, his daughter was the new person in charge. And somehow, she was around.

“Hello,” he said calmly to the secretary with a grin on his face.

The secretary's face beamed with a smile. “Good morning, sir,” she greeted him. “Welcome to Avalon corp.”

Ryan smiled broadly. He had heard that many times already. “Thank you. I'm Ryan Blake. I have an appointment.”

“What time is your appointment, please?” She asked him politely.

“Now,” he replied firmly.

“Please, hold on.”

While Ryan watched, she rose and walked into the chairwoman's office. A few minutes later, she stepped out.

“She will attend to you, shortly,” she said to him.

Ryan sat down in the waiting area. While he waited, he thought about Ava. How was she doing? For the past five years, the thought of her well-being was always in his head. He never stopped searching till last month when he finally chose to give up.

Well, it was a necessary sacrifice. He comforted himself. After marrying Kristie, the family's fortune increased. Both families helped each other. Ava was in his past— a past he found hard to overcome.

“Please, when will she be available to see me?” He asked after thirty minutes of waiting.

The secretary smiled at him. “Please, calm down, sir. She will pass her orders when she is ready to see you.”

He kept his cool and waited. Thirty minutes turned to an hour and eventually two hours. He was frustrated beyond his own imagination. Despite the power Avalon wielded, it was still not debatable that his family was the richest. That was solely because Mr Avalon wasn't residing in the country. Avalon corp might be the undisputed ruler in the business class, but his family was the richest.

“Damn it!” Ryan cursed under his breath out of frustration. “I can't do this anymore.”

He got up to walk away. But then, he heard the office telephone ringing. The secretary took the call.

“Okay, ma,” she said and the call ended. It was brief.

“Sir, she's ready to see you now. You can go in.”

Ryan quickly forgot all about his disappointment and smiled. He dusted his tuxedo— a way of keeping himself in check.

“Okay,” he replied.

When he got to the door, it slid open and he entered. He could feel the authority of whoever occupied that office.

A lady with an hourglass figure stood close to the window with her gaze out there. Her dress sense screamed ecstasy— Black pants, a red jacket and hair that was evenly stretched to lap on the midsection of her back— everything showed class. The scent of her perfume was all over the room.

Ryan could not help but feel humbled by her presence.

“Good morning, ma'am,” he greeted the lady with his head tilted down. “I am the—”

His words were interrupted by her. “Good morning, Ryan Blake.”

Ryan raised his head in that instant. That voice….it was too familiar. He would never forget it. But no! It wasn't possible. Ava? Damn it!

When she turned to face him, he was hit by his past. The past that hunted him returned. Just when he thought he had moved on, it reappeared.

Ava!! She was standing right in front of him. She was the rumored chairwoman of Avalon corp. How was that possible?

“Ava?” He said with shaky lips.

His briefcase dropped from his hand to the ground. “How…is this possible?”

Ava maintained her composure.

Shiver, Ryan. Crumble before me.

She had power and she was back for revenge. They would all crumble at his feet, starting with him.

Ryan was dazed by her sight. It wasn't possible. There was no way to reconcile this reality. Her red lip gloss and slight makeup with hands folded against her bursts accentuated the power she oozed.

“Ava, is this—”

His next words were cut off completely by cute little voices.

“Mommy!!”

“Mommy!!”

Two kids, a boy and a girl of the same age, ran into the office and clung tightly to Ava. They were twins!

Everything was happening so fast. Ava was pregnant. She gave birth to twins. They had to be his.

“My.. my—”

He was going to call them his children. However, an intruder walked in. It was a grown man.

“Baby,” he said as he walked past Ryan, nudging him with his shoulder.

He embraced Ava and the kids. That man called her baby. Ryan was dying.

“You're the best, sweetheart,” Ava replied and kissed him.

In that moment, Ryan's eyes fell on the glistening piece of jewelry around Ava's fourth finger…. Was she married?