ชื่อหนังสือ : เขารักคนอื่นสุดหัวใจ

The doors to the ballroom opened, causing the people in suits and shimmering gowns to turn their heads towards the entrance. 

Ava Sinclair, clad in a golden gown, walked in, her embellished heels clicking on the floor. 

She approached the couple at the center of the hall, her face devoid of any emotion. 

When she was in front of them, she glanced at the man whose face turned pale upon seeing her. 

“Ava, what are you-”

Ava cut him off with a hard slap to his face. 

The man’s eyes grew wide in shock. He glared at Ava, his face contorting into a frown. 

“This… is for wasting my time for three whole years, Rick!” Ava’s voice was cold and filled with anger as she glared at him with hatred.  

Silence fell over the hall, save for the gasps and murmurs that rippled through the crowd. 

“What the fuck-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ava cut him off with another slap. A backhand this time. 

Her eyes were filled with anger as she glared up at him coldly. “This is for using me and stomping on my heart like it’s nothing.” 

“Ava, are you fucking crazy-”

Ava landed another slap on her boyfriend of three years, Richard Caldwell’s face, the sound echoing in the hall like a broken record. 

“This is for being a cheat!” She yelled in his face, her eyes welling up with tears, but she didn't let them fall. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction. “Remember this, I dumped your ass for being a cheat. Not the other way round.”

“Ava, you got it all wrong. Rick is not cheating on you. He just threw me this party to comfort me. You know how I lost my mother two years ago…”

Ava turned to her stepsister, her lips curling into a sneer at her words. 

“Cheryl, why is it that you’re always the one who needs comforting?” Ava questioned, coiling her hands into fists. 

It had always been like this. Ever since Ava’s father remarried, he always put his new wife and stepdaughter first. Ava had to give up everything that belonged to her, including her father’s love. 

But it seemed Cheryl wasn’t satisfied with that, seeing as Ava had to give up her boyfriend to her as well. 

“Ava, stop being jealous for nothing! This is why I didn’t tell you I was throwing Cheryl a party to cheer her up. I knew you’d act like this! Why are you so bad-hearted?” Richard yelled, both his cheeks sporting red palm prints from the slapping he got. 

Ava scoffed, looking at the couple who were wearing matching outfits. It was like they were the real couple here, and Ava was the intruder. 

They sure do suit each other. 

She had been busy working her ass off at her part-time job at Kash cafe when her best friend, Nicole Anderson, called her to tell her about the party. 

A few minutes later, she received a notification from the bank. All her savings were gone. 

Richard had withdrawn everything to throw her stepsister a luxurious party.

Despite being a fourth-year computer science student, Ava had been doing several part-time jobs in order to support her boyfriend who was yet to find a job. 

She paid his rent. Paid all his bills and also supported his parents who lived in the countryside. She took over the role of providing for him as he looked for the job of his dreams. 

After all the time she had invested in the relationship, Ava couldn’t just sit back while her boyfriend spent her money on another woman. That’s her sweat! She endured so much to save up that money for three years. There’s no way she would sit back and let her stupid boyfriend be without confronting him. 

So, she borrowed a dress from Nicole and came to the party. And just as she expected, giving Richard those slaps was satisfying… Although her heart was still in pain, she loved that she was able to confront him for his behavior for the first and last time. 

“I just came here to dump your cheating ass. I’m out of here,” Ava said before turning to leave. 

“What? You’re joking, right?” Richard managed to say when Ava’s words sank in. He made to follow her, but stopped short when Cheryl suddenly doubled over, clutching her stomach while moaning in pain. 

“Ah… Richard, I don’t feel so good… I think my stomach ulcers are back. It hurts so much...”

Richard immediately rushed to Cheryl’s side before carrying her in his arms. 

“Let me take you to the hospital. Don’t worry, I won’t let you be in pain for a long time,” he said and rushed out of the hall, bypassing Ava as she made her way out of the ballroom. 

Ava stopped in her tracks, looking at Richard’s back as he took Cheryl away. She clenched her fists tightly, trying hard to ignore the painful lump in her throat. 

He didn’t even look back to check on her. To him, Cheryl was more important than his girlfriend. 

Ava had always known this fact, but she thought things would change as long as she tried hard enough to satisfy her man. 

Alas… everything she’d done so far had been a sheer waste of time. 

As she walked out of the ballroom, Ava’s phone rang in her purse. She took out her phone and frowned when she saw an unknown number on the screen. 

“Hello,” she cautiously answered. 

“Is this Miss Sinclair?” 

“Yes, it is.”

“Ma’am, your loan of two million dollars is due this month. However, your account is empty. Please make your payment within five days, or we will take legal action.”

"Excuse me? What loan?" Ava asked, feeling confused. 

"The loan you took from K Loans Limited a month ago. We have your names and signature on the loan contract..."

Ava zoned out as a lightbulb went off in her head. She recalled how Richard asked her to sign some papers for a medical insurance scheme the previous month... and her world tilted off its axis.