Nine

Out of the hundred people Ava has greeted tonight, she knew not a single one of them. Thanks to her photographic memory, she was able to recognize some from the pictures Eva had shown her a few hours earlier.

She had always known that Eva was admired by people, but damn, not this many people.

Amongst all, it was so hard pretending to be friendly and smile at people she had never met in her lifetime.

Guests were mingling around, all dressed in attire that its worth a large fortune. It was almost like a fashion show, everyone dressed to impress, eager to outshine the other.

“Hi,” The manly voice came from behind, making Ava instantly spin around.

She was surprised to find a tall, good-looking man with dark hair and brown eyes standing right behind her.

She instantly recognized who he was. He was Dean Frost, Devlin's cousin, the second brother to Elliot Frost.

It has been so long since Ava had seen any family members of the Frosts. After they were all done with high school, they were all sent abroad to attend college.

Of all the Frosts, Dean has always been the nice one. Devlin was a cold and condescending robot, Elliot was vulgar, easily annoyed and cursed a lot, Jackson was the thug with his pants always sagging, and Dean was the nice and friendly one.

Simply put, Dean was the normal one.

“Dean,” Ava smiled at him, then hugged him, “It's been a while.”

Dean shrugged with a smile, eyes not leaving Ava for a second, “Yeah, I guess. You've grown.”

“You too,” Ava laughed lightly, “No one would have believed you were a nerd in your high school days if they were to see you now.”

“Nah, I'm still a nerd,” Dean joked, with a little laugh, “Once a nerd, always a nerd. I'm just downplaying it for the occasion tonight.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

Dean's eyes still never left Ava; they were admiring her, making her pulse increase.

“Congratulations on your wedding, Eva.” He said, but Ava could still detect the subtle jealousy and hurt in his voice.

If Ava’s memory serves her correctly, Dean used to have a crush on Eva, and he even got her to help him get Eva. They tried, but failed. Eva's eyes were for Devlin and Devlin alone.

“Thanks, Dean,” Ava replied, a little awkwardly.

“How does it feel getting married to the man of your dreams after all these years?” Dean asked. This time, the sarcasm laced to his voice wasn't subtle.

“Um…”

“How can you stand there and pretend that nothing ever happened between us?”

Ava blinked.

Huh?

What?

“Um, Dean, I don't know what you're talking about…”

He leaned forward, voice deadly, “You know you're just a narcissistic attention seeker who feeds off every little attention she gets. You toyed with me, Eva. It broke me. So much. I thought what we had was real, but I was wrong. You were playing me all along. I was a fool for falling for your act. I will never forgive you for that. Never. And yet you stand there and act like nothing ever happened. Good luck with your blind and crippled husband… bitch!”

With that, he pushed past her and walked off.

Ava was stunned. She never knew that Eva and Dean were once a thing. How in the world could she withhold that information? And now she's here getting chewed out for something she has no idea about. That girl just loves screwing her over.

Are there other things that she's not telling her?

She quickly pulled out her phone and slipped away from the crowd, then dropped her a text.

Ava: You never told me you and Dean were a thing!

Eva: Oh, he's here? Say hi to him for me. And for the record, Dean and I were not a thing. It was just a casual no-strings-attached fling. I didn't know he would get attached so easily.

Ava: You are such an attention-seeking seeking bitchy liar! As if you don't know he's always had a thing for you since high school.

Eva: We're not doing this right now. Why are you texting?

Ava: Are there other of your “flings” that I should be aware of?

Eva: Not that I could think of at the moment.

Ava: I mean specifically in this boat!

Eva: No. Now get back to greeting guests. Shoo.

“Eva!” A woman's excited voice called, making Ava snap up her head.

And yet again, Ava was dragged into the crowd of strangers. Not long after, Logan Frost, Devlin's uncle, made his speech, congratulating his nephew on his successful wedding.

Richard Summers stepped forward and made his own speech.

Ava couldn't help but notice that there was no sight of Devlin's mom and sister. Shouldn't they be here, considering that it's their son and brother's wedding?

After the dreadful speech, the attendants began to move around the boat, handing out food and drinks to the guests.

It was then that Ava realized she hadn't eaten the whole day. She slipped away from the crowd once more and skidded down the narrow terrace to the back of the boat, which was usually secluded, where she could eat in peace.

However, it came as a surprise to her to find Devlin sitting out there by himself, quiet, staring out into the dark sea. Oh, sorry, he's blind. Correction, facing towards the sea.

Ava spun around sharply, instantly realizing that coming here was a bad idea.

“Leaving already?”

The incredibly cold and piercing voice made her halt in her tracks. She swiftly spun around again.

How did he know she was here?

“How did you know I was here?” She asked.

“I'm blind. Not deaf.”

“I was starting to think you were.” Ava snapped, taking steps forward, “Since you've been ignoring me throughout the whole day. But that wasn't what I was asking. How did you know it was me?”

“Your footsteps. Perfume. The rustling of your clothes.”

Ava came to a halt in front of him, making a face, “How could you perceive the scent of my perfume from such a distance and my footsteps? I don't walk noisily? Are you like Daredevil or something?”

A little smirk appeared on his face. An usually amused one which surprised Ava. “When someone becomes blind, their other senses heighten. So, how does it feel?”

“How does what feel?”

“Getting married to the man of your dreams?”

“Huh?” Ava blurted. This is the second time someone has asked her this. And it felt totally weird coming from the man of the dreams himself.

Clearly, Devlin was mocking her.

“You must really love me, Eva.” He stated, “I thought your disturbing obsession with me would end the moment your minion tells you about my condition. But I thought wrong.” He turned his head to her, “You still went ahead and married me. Me, a pathetic, blind and crippled man. It must be love.”

Ava didn't like his tone. Not one bit. It terrified the hell out of her. She tried to back away, but he grabbed her wrist.

“Let go of me!” Ava tried to wriggle free from his tight grasp. “Let go of me!”

“What's wrong?” He enquired, his fingers digging into her skin, almost drawing our blood, “This is what you've always wanted, wasn't it?”

“Let go of me!” She cried out, “Let go! You're hurting me!”

“Welcome to hell, wife!” He snarled, teeth gritted tightly, voice low and calm, yet chilling and deadly. “You made me like this! You! I'm gonna make sure I love you till your dying breath! Wonderful years to us!”

He finally let go.

Ava lost her balance, slipped and tumbled over the boat, falling into the cold sea with a loud splash.

A woman screamed from the upper deck, followed by the clamoring of guests. Devlin was swift to roll his wheelchair out of sight before anyone saw him.