All Chapters of When He Begs Me To Stay: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Ava The words rang in my ears as thunder which could not fade. I did not move, though. I did not even blink. I just continued gazing at my reflection in the mirror, the woman in the robe, the one with the stain of mascara on her cheeks and a heart that could not again be broken. This boy, this child, this secret i was already informed of. I saw the video, i recognized the boy's eyes, and I knew what it meant. The backstabbing was not new and the wound did not sting as new, it was just a reminder. Behind me I heard the voice of Killian. "I didn't tellher to come." I turned to him slowly, like to something that is already broken. "You sure? Cause the last thing i did was to trust that silence when i signed my name away." He was aggrieved and I did not mind. "I didn't want to lose you." He walked over, and said: "You lost me anyway.” "Don't say that." "Why not?" I laughed. “What are you afraid to hear the truth?" Just then something wild occurred. Wha

The strobe lights were everywhere, white and blinding against my eyes until the world blurred into fractured bust of colors. Each camera flash felt like a strike, a minute explosion that burned my vision and stole my breath. The voices came next, rising above one another in a frenzy and each word meant to hurt me. “Ava Blake, do you have a comment?” “Is this the end of your c-career” “Did you really—?” Their questions cut through me like glass, sharp and designed to injure. The microphones were pushed so close to my mouth that I could almost taste the metal and the crowd pressing forward as if my humiliation was the show they had all paid to see. The cuffs dug into my wrists, cruel and unyielding, pulling my arms back until my bones ached and every step sent a shock of pain up my arms but pain was better than panic, because if I stumbled, I know they would capture it, they would freeze me in that moment and sell it to the world. Somewhere in the chaos someone whispered low but l

The sound of the lock turning is almost louder than the silence that follows, I tried to convince my and also imagined that the door will shut and I will rot in here while the whole world forgets my name but then the guard appeared and said the words I wasn’t expecting to hear, like he read my mind. “Blake you have been released and free to go home.” It took a moment to process what I just heard-so impossible but then the cuff was gone and the door was wide open, I just walked out. The corridor was so bright and as I walked out the first thing i see is a storm of flashing lights, camera, microphones and voices that crash over each other and each question cuts deep than the last. “Is it true you laundered money?” “Do you regret working will Killian?” “Are you guilty Ava?” I walked through it without answering of the questions with my shoulder high and chin steady because If they wanted to see a woman broken then they would have to look else where. A car waited at the parking lo

The city hums like it never sleeps, cars, voices, the faint rhythm of some street musician spilling through the crowd then it all blurs into noise I don’t want to hear. The scene looks like it was about to rain and it has the kind of scent that clings to your hair and your memories. I walked without a plan or maybe that’s the plan, to keep moving until I stop thinking about the people who ruined me, or the one man whose name still burns when I try to say it out loud. Killian, well i pushed it out while my hands were still buried in the pockets of a borrowed coat, my phone turned off, my thoughts too loud and every step feels like shedding skin. I wanted a fresh start, but it turns out you can’t start over when your heart is still dragging behind you. I stoped at a coffee shop near the square. The window glass is fogged, the kind that softens everything behind it. I step inside, grateful for warmth that feels almost human. The barista’s smile barely lands. “What can I g

The city outside was fast asleep, or maybe pretending to be from the small balcony of my rented apartment, i watched the street lamps paint pale orange circles on the cobblestones. Lisbon had that deceptive peace, soft light, slow nights, the ocean breathing somewhere in the distance but my mind didn’t rest, in fact it hadn’t in weeks. The laptop screen flickered from inside, throwing me the reflection across the glass like a ghost that refused to disappear. I turned back and walk towards it, bare feet silent on the cold tiles, and as soon as I sat down, a message blinked in from Lucas on my phone. “One of the dummy account got flagged, i’m checking how deep the trace goes.” My stomach tightened, not from panic, but the sharp awareness that my little world could collapse in a second. I typed back, with my fingers calm even as my pulse picked up. “How long until we know if it’s compromised?” “Working on it. Don’t log into anything connected. I’ll clean your end.”