Seven

Ding!

The elevator bell dinged, came to a halt, and then the door swung open.

Ava, Ben and Pat stepped out into the hallway. Throughout the rest of the elevator ride, Ben had engaged Ava in a conversation and surprisingly enough, they were getting acquainted. The conversation flowed very well, and Ava couldn't be more glad.

Ben was nice, talks a little too much, but still nice. Ava didn't mind. She hadn't formed an opinion of Pat yet, as the only exchange they've had was their little introduction.

She had asked Pat about what Devlin told him to give to her, and he had told her that it was some kind of rules she was to abide by during the years of their marriage. Seriously? That jerk.

Not that Ava minded the rules, though. The last thing she wanted was to get in the way of that robot. But really, though, rules? Seriously?

Pat unlocked the door and ushered Ava in.

“Welcome to your new home, Miss Eva.” He said warmly.

“Thank you.”

Ava glanced around the place. It was nice. Really nice. The lush, high-quality furniture, the soft golden lighting, and the faint scent of sandalwood in the air all screamed luxury, and yet somehow, it didn’t feel welcoming.

Everything was perfect, spotless, arranged with precision… almost too perfect, like a display meant to impress rather than a home meant to be lived in.

But damn, this guy really knows how to live. Even the view from up here was one-in-a-million. Too bad he didn't have the eyes to see it.

Ooh, that was harsh, wasn't it?

“How do you find the place, Miss Eva?” Ben asked, anticipation filling his voice.

Ava shrugged. She hasn't always been the materialistic type. “Nice. I guess?”

Ben smiled, “I arranged the place. I'm glad you like it.”

“Oh, I do!” Ava said energetically. Okay, maybe a little too energetically. She was trying to please him. “I really do. You did a wonderful job, Ben. I love it.”

“Thank you.” Ben blushed.

Aww, so cute.

“Let me take you to your room, please,” Pat gestured to her.

Ava followed behind Pat.

“So, do you and Ben both live here or…”

“Yes, we do,” Pat answered shortly.

“Why?”

“Well, I'm Mr Frost’s personal assistant and Ben is his personal doctor who's also his chef, and cleaner and well, I'm sure he must have told you.”

“Yes, he did.”

“He needs us, so instead of going and coming every day, we live here with him.”

Ava nodded, “Right, I get it. That actually makes a lot of sense.”

Great! Living with three guys! So awesome!

“We're here.” Pat announced and stepped to the side, “Your room.”

Ava inhaled, then opened the door, expecting to find Devlin in there, but much to her surprise, there wasn't any Devlin.

She quickly turned, “Where's Devlin?”

Pat adjusted his glasses, “Oh, you and Mr Frost won't be sharing rooms. This is your room.”

What was Ava thinking? That she would be sharing rooms with Devlin Frost?

Ha! Ha ha!

What a joke! Ava, everyone knows you're dumb, but not this dumb! How could you seriously think that the high and mighty Devlin Frost would be sharing rooms with you? You! The same guy who said you stink on the first day you met!

Oh, please! Get, get off your delusions.

“Oh, right.” She mumbled, feeling so embarrassed and miserable, “Thanks, Pat.”

“No problem, Miss Eva.”

“Oh, please, Pat, you can call me A…” The word died in her throat just in time. Damn it! “Eva. Please, call me Eva.”

“Sure thing. Eva, it is.” Pat stated, turned to leave, remembered something, then swung back around, “Oh, right. In case you forgot, you should be dressed and ready before 04:30 PM.”

Ava made a confused, “04:30 PM? What's happening at 04:30 PM?”

Pat pulled his brows in a confused stare, “You're kidding, right?”

“Um…”

“The wedding reception.” Pat said, “Have you forgotten?”

“Oh, oh! Yes! Yes! No, no. I mean, it just slipped my mind.” She lied, chuckling nervously, hoping he would believe it. “I will be dressed before 04:30 PM.”

Goddamn it, why didn't Eva tell me there was a wedding reception? Ava cursed at her family. They just keep trying to find a way to screw me over!

Pat gave her a skeptical look, “I thought you had an assistant, where is she?”

“Oh, she isn't feeling really well, so she's at home.” She lied again, cursing her family again for the umpteenth time.

“Alright, see you at four.”

And then with that, Pat swung around and walked off.

Ava shut the door, threw herself on the huge bed, then let out a muffled scream.

How in God's name is she going to live like this? Could she do a really great job pretending to be Eva? And also, how long till they're caught?

It still felt totally weird. Being married. And to Devlin Frost at that, who's now blind and crippled. What in God's name happened to him that made him sustain both disability?

Her phone rang just then, interrupting her thoughts. Seeing it was Eva, she sprang to her feet, tiptoed to the door, made sure no one was around, and locked the door before picking up.

“Hey, Sis…”

“You fucking moron!” Ava screamed into the phone, “How could you do this to me?! You must really enjoy screwing with me, huh? You do, don't you?”

“Geez, Ava, you nearly busted my eardrums!” Eva snapped at her, “Take it easy for God's sake!”

“Take it easy?” Ava gritted her teeth in disbelief and anger, “Take it easy? How dare you tell me to take it easy? Why didn't you tell me there was a wedding reception?”

“It slipped my mind because of how hectic things were, but should I, though?” Eva shot at her, “Shouldn't your dumb ass know that every wedding has a reception?”

Ava gasped, “Don't you dare call me dumb, you two-faced bitch!”

“Then stop acting like a dumb bitch!”

“You…”

“I'm gonna hang up right now if you complete that statement.” Eva warned, instantly shutting Ava up, “I called to help you, and if you don't wanna accept my help, I'd be glad to see you fall in your face.”

Ava rolled her eyes. Of course, Eva would certainly enjoy seeing her fall on her face. Literally and figuratively.

“Alright, help me then.” She said in resignation.

“Send me your address and I'll send you everything you need.”

“Alright, the address is…” She paused, “Wait. I don't know the address. Hold on, let me ask Ben.” She rose to her feet.

“Who's Ben?”

“None of your business!”

“Ooh, making friends already, are we?”

“Shut up! Just shut up, Eva.” She disconnected the call.

A knock came on the door.

Ben stood in the doorway with a friendly smile, “I'm sorry if I'm disturbing, I just wanted to know if you needed anything.”

“No, Ben. Well, actually, I do need your help. What's the address of this building?”

Ben told her, and she sent it to Eva.

“Thanks, Ben.”

“No problem, Miss Eva.”

“Please, A-Eva. Call me Eva.”

“Alright, Eva.”

Ben turned and walked away.

Aw, he's so nice. At least, she's made a new friend.

Ava shut the door.

“Now, how to get the hell out of this wedding dress, it's been killing me.” She muttered to herself, looking for a way to take the dress off, but when she didn't find one, she sighed, then groaned in frustration, “Oh, Eva, you bitch!”