One

Ava Summers stiffened, blinking in confusion as she tried to make sense of the bomb her father, Richard Summers, had just dropped on her.

“What?”

“I said, you will be getting married to Devlin… Devlin Frost.” He repeated, “Do you hear me now?”

She heard him quite alright. It was the words; it just didn't make sense.

“But… Dad… I thought… I thought Eva was the one getting married to…”

“There has been a change of plans.” He cut her off sharply, not giving her a chance to complete her statement, “You will be marrying Devlin in her place.”

Her eyes widened. Is this a joke?

“Dad…”

“Ava, that's final.” He didn't need to shout; there was no need to. His voice was authoritative and had a tone of finality laced to it.

And Ava instinctively knew that this was no joke and also that there was nothing else she could say or do that could change that.

Right from when she and her twin sister, Eva, were born, she has always been the simple and neglected one, whilst Eva has been the delicate, overpampered, and celebrated one.

Anything Eva wanted, no matter what, would be granted by her parents without any hesitation. Eva has always been the one who made them proud… their perfect heiress.

Yeah, of course. Eva was the smart one, easily likeable, and such a ray of sunshine everyone wanted to be around. And she? The complete opposite.

Ava never wanted people's admiration nor praise nor acknowledgement. Hell. To hell with those! All she ever wanted was not to be neglected by her own parents and to be shown the same type of love Eva gets, even if it was just a little tweeny amount.

But now she had given up on that wishful thinking and come to the realization that she would never get that.

Never. Not on her life.

Eva has always been the perfect bride for the one and only Devlin Frost; their marriage was sealed by fate, arranged by both powerful families long ago.

And it was a widely known fact that Eva had always been crazy for Devlin Frost, right from their childhood years. The marriage arrangement was influenced by her.

Eva wanted Devlin. She told Richard. And Richard took care of the rest.

And now here they were, one week away from their wedding day, and her father was sitting right there telling her that she would be taking Eva’s place.

Is this a fucking joke? A prank, perhaps? Where are the cameras?

What could have made Eva suddenly change her mind one week before their wedding? Ava couldn't help but wonder. Did she get cold feet? No, that's impossible. Eva has been infatuated beyond reason with Devlin for several years now; getting married to him would be the most wonderful thing that could happen to her.

So, why the sudden change of heart?

“No.”

“What?”

“I said no.” Ava repeated, voice cold, face as hard as stone as she stood her ground, “I'm not getting married to that cold, emotionless robot just because Eva had a sudden change of heart. I'm not doing it.”

Richard's jaw tightened, gaze hardening, “You will, Ava. You're my daughter, and you live under my roof; whatever I say goes.”

Ava scoffed in disbelief, “You can't just marry me off like I'm some kind of rebound tool, Dad; I'm a person. A person with feelings and emotions, unlike you.”

“Ava, don't try to make this conversation any longer than it needs to be,” Richard stated. “I was only telling you so you could be aware before the wedding day arrives.”

Ava's eyes flicked over to her mom, Emily Summers, who had been sitting in utter silence throughout the entire conversation.

“Won't you say something?” She asked, her voice breaking.

Emily glanced up and met her daughter's eyes. “Ava, please, don't make this harder than it needs to be.”

Tears welled in Ava's eyes and began to trickle down her cheeks.

As if being neglected and unloved wasn't enough, she was now being married off like a piece of tool with no human feeling.

Pain gnawed at her; she wanted to say thousands of horrible things to her parents, curse at them, swear at them, lash out, and throw a tantrum, but none of that would change anything.

Without uttering another word, she spun on her heels and made her way to the stairs but came to an abrupt halt just at the bottom of the stairs.

Eva stood there, her slender arms folded across her bosom, her long, silky blonde hair resting on her perfect shoulder, her succulent lips twitching in a pout. Obviously, she had been listening to the entire conversation.

“Ava…”

Ava didn't give her a chance to finish; she just passed her like she never even saw her.

“Ava.” Eva softly called after her, but she still ignored her.

Entering her room, she shut the door behind her and leaned against it, hot tears still rolling down her cheeks.

She curled up against the door and cried her little eyes out, wallowing in self-pity and self-hatred.

Only if she were perfect and lovable like Eva, then none of this would be happening.

No. She thought suddenly. I won't get married to that cold robot, not on my life. I can't let them dictate my life or who I get married to. I can always run away; after all, I have Cole.

Suddenly finding her confidence and courage back, she wiped her tears and sprang to her feet.

No way in hell is she getting married to Devlin Frost!

She tried calling her boyfriend, Cole, to tell him all about what was going on, but he wasn't picking up, so she figured he might be asleep since it was late.

As a last resort, she finally sent him a text, alerting him she would be coming over to explain everything. Grabbing a bag, she packed some of her clothes and her essentials, then sat down and waited.

The clock finally struck 12:00 AM… the official time, the butler turns off the lights, and every maid retires back to their quarters.

Her heart pounding on her chest, her mouth dry, she tiptoed down the stairs to the foyer, barefoot. She carefully made her way to the garage and drove her car out, driving to Cole's penthouse.

Richard Summers stood on the banister, a cigarette clenched between his fingers as he watched his daughter drive away.

His phone immediately rang.

“Mr. Summers, she just left.” A man's voice reported.

Richard blew smoke into the air. “I know. Keep following her, but stay out of sight. Cole will take care of the rest.”

“Yes, sir.”

The line went dead.

Emily walked out of the room and wrapped her arms around Richard.

“Aren’t you cold?” She asked, burying her face in his back.

Richard stubbed out his cigarette, turned around, and hugged her. “I was just about to come inside.”

“Has Ava left?” She inquired.

“Yes.” Richard grinned mischievously. “Marc is following closely behind her. Come on, let's go to bed.”

As Ava sped down the road, full of optimism, she didn't know it yet, but she was in for a heartbreak.