Falling for the enemy

Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

The morning after the winery, Leo woke up with Ava curled against his chest.

Her hair was spread across his pillow like a brown silk fan, and her face was soft with sleep, free of the careful masks she wore in public. She looked younger like this, more vulnerable, more real.

Leo watched her for a long moment, his heart so full it almost hurt.

He had never let anyone this close before. He had spent years building walls, pushing people away, protecting himself from the kind of hurt that came with caring too much. But Ava had broken through those walls without even trying.

She had seen the broken parts of him, the ugly parts, the parts he had spent years hiding from the world. And she had stayed.

That meant everything.

"I can feel you staring," Ava mumbled, her eyes still closed. "It's creepy."

"Then stop being so pretty."

She cracked one eye open. "That's a terrible compliment."

"It's the best I can do at eight in the morning."

"Eight?" She sat up abruptly, her hair a wild mess around her face. "Why didn't you wake me? I have a meeting with my agent at nine."

"Relax. I already called her and rescheduled."

"You did what?"

"I told her you weren't feeling well. She was fine with it."

Ava stared at him, her expression caught between gratitude and annoyance. "You can't just make decisions for me."

"I didn't make a decision. I made a suggestion to your agent, and she agreed."

"That's the same thing."

"It's really not."

She threw a pillow at him. He caught it easily and pulled her back down onto the bed.

"Stay," he said. "Just for a little while."

"I really should get up."

"Five more minutes."

"Leo."

"Please."

She sighed, but she settled back against him, her head resting on his chest. "You're impossible."

"So you've told me."

"I mean it. You're the most stubborn, infuriating, impossible man I've ever met."

"And yet you're still here."

"That's the mystery, isn't it?" She tilted her head up to look at him. "Why do I keep coming back?"

"Because you love me."

"That's arrogant."

"It's true."

She laughed, that infectious laugh that made his heart skip a beat. "Fine. It's true. But don't let it go to your head."

"Too late."

They lay there in comfortable silence, the morning light filtering through the curtains. Leo could have stayed like this forever, just holding her, just being with her.

But the real world was waiting.

---

Ava's phone buzzed on the nightstand. She reached for it, read the screen, and went pale.

"What is it?" Leo asked.

"It's my mother." She handed him the phone. "She wants to see me. Alone."

"I'm not letting you go alone."

"She specifically said alone."

"I don't care what she said."

Ava sat up, her expression troubled. "Leo, I need to do this. I need to face her. On my own."

"Why?"

"Because I've been hiding behind you. Letting you fight my battles. And I can't do that anymore. I need to be strong. For myself. For us."

Leo wanted to argue. Every instinct screamed at him to protect her, to shield her from the cruelty of her mother. But he could see the determination in her eyes, the steel beneath the softness.

"Okay," he said finally. "But if she hurts you, I'm coming in."

"She won't hurt me."

"She always hurts you."

Ava was quiet for a moment. "I know. But I need to face that. I need to show her that she can't control me anymore."

---

The meeting was set for noon at a restaurant in midtown.

Ava arrived fifteen minutes early, wearing a simple black dress and minimal makeup. She wanted to look confident but not threatening. Wanted to show her mother that she was her own person, not a puppet to be controlled.

Victoria Laurent was already there when she walked in.

She was seated at a corner table, sipping a glass of white wine and scrolling through her phone. She looked perfect, as always, her hair coiffed, her makeup flawless, her designer suit immaculate.

"Ava." She looked up with a cold smile. "You came."

"You said it was important."

"It is." Victoria gestured to the seat across from her. "Sit."

Ava sat. She clasped her hands on the table to keep them from shaking. "What do you want, Mother?"

"Straight to business. I like it." Victoria set down her wine glass. "I want to talk about the boy."

"Leo. His name is Leo."

"I don't care what his name is. He's not good enough for you."

"That's not your decision to make."

"As your mother, I have a responsibility to protect you."

"You have a responsibility to love me. Which you've never done."

Victoria's eyes narrowed. "I've given you everything. Money. Clothes. A career. Do you think any of that came easy?"

"I never asked for any of it. I never wanted any of it."

"Then what do you want?"

Ava leaned forward, her voice steady. "I want to be happy. I want to be loved. I want to build a life with someone who actually cares about me, not just what I can do for them. And I have that with Leo."

"Leo is nothing. He's a nobody from nowhere. He'll drag you down with him."

"He's the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Don't be naive." Victoria's voice was sharp. "He's using you. He wants your money, your connections, your name. Once he gets what he wants, he'll leave you."

"That's not true."

"It's always true. People like him, they're all the same. They take and they take and they never give anything back."

Ava shook her head. "You don't know him. You don't know anything about him."

"I know he was a foster child. I know he has nothing. I know he's been a threat to this family from the moment he walked into our lives."

"A threat?" Ava laughed bitterly. "He was a child. An orphaned child who just wanted to be loved. And you destroyed him."

Victoria's face went pale. "What are you talking about?"

"I know what you did. I know about the abuse. The neglect. The cruelty." Ava's voice cracked. "He was just a kid, and you made his life a living hell."

"Ava."

"Don't." She held up a hand. "Don't try to deny it. I know the truth. And I know you haven't changed. You're still the same cruel, controlling woman you've always been."

Victoria was silent for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was cold. "I did what I had to do. That boy didn't belong in our family. He was damaged. Broken. He would have ruined everything."

"He was a child."

"He was a threat."

"He was a human being." Ava stood up, her hands shaking. "And you treated him like garbage. You made him feel worthless. And you've been doing the same thing to me my entire life."

"Ava, sit down."

"No." She grabbed her bag. "I'm done. I'm done with you, done with the family, done with all of it. I'm going to go build a life with the man I love. And you're not going to stop me."

"Ava!"

But she was already walking away.

---

She made it to the lobby before the tears came.

They poured down her face, hot and angry and cathartic. She had finally said everything she had been holding in for years. She had finally stood up to her mother.

And it felt amazing.

Ava wiped her eyes and pulled out her phone. She needed to hear his voice. Needed to know he was still there, still waiting for her.

"Hey," Leo said, answering on the first ring. "How did it go?"

"I did it." She laughed through her tears. "I told her everything. I stood up to her. And I walked away."

"I'm proud of you."

"I'm proud of me too."

"Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

"The restaurant on Fifth. Near the park."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

There was a pause, and she could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke. "I love you too. More than anything."

---

He found her sitting on a bench in Central Park, staring out at the pond.

The afternoon sun was warm on her face, and the breeze was playing with her hair. She looked peaceful, calmer than she had looked in weeks.

"Hey." He sat down next to her. "You okay?"

"I'm okay." She leaned against him. "I just needed to breathe."

"Take all the time you need."

They sat in comfortable silence, watching the ducks paddle across the pond. Families walked past, children laughing, couples holding hands. The world was going on around them, oblivious to the battle they had just fought.

"She's not going to give up," Ava said finally. "My mother. She's going to try to destroy us."

"Let her try."

"She could ruin your career. Your reputation. Everything you've built."

"She can try." Leo took her hand. "But I've survived worse. And as long as I have you, I can survive anything."

Ava looked at him, her eyes shining. "You really mean that?"

"I really mean it."

She kissed him, soft and sweet and full of promise. When she pulled back, she was smiling.

"Let's go home," she said.

"Home?"

"Our home. The one we're going to build together."

Leo smiled. "I like the sound of that."

---

They walked back to the apartment hand in hand.

The lobby was quiet when they entered, the doorman nodding politely as they passed. The elevator ride up to the nineteenth floor felt different somehow. Lighter. Like they were leaving the past behind with each passing floor.

When they reached their apartment, Leo pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.

And froze.

The apartment was a wreck.

Drawers were pulled out, their contents scattered across the floor. Cushions were ripped open, stuffing everywhere. Papers were strewn across every surface, and the contents of Leo's desk had been dumped onto the ground.

"What the hell?" Ava breathed.

Leo stepped inside, his heart pounding. His laptop was still on the desk, untouched. But everything else had been ransacked.

"Call the police," he said.

"Leo, who would do this?"

"I don't know."

But he had a feeling.

Victoria Laurent. She had threatened to destroy them. And it looked like she was making good on that promise.

The police arrived within fifteen minutes. They took statements, dusted for fingerprints, tried to find any sign of forced entry. But the door had been unlocked. The intruder had had a key.

"My mother," Ava said, her voice hollow. "She must have had a spare key."

"Can she do that?" Leo asked.

"She's the building owner. She can do whatever she wants."

Ava sank onto the couch, her head in her hands. Leo sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms.

"It's going to be okay," he said.

"How can you say that? She's trying to destroy us."

"Let her try." He tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. "We're stronger than her. We're stronger than anything she throws at us."

"You really believe that?"

"I really do." He kissed her forehead. "We've been through worse. And we're still here. We're still together. That's what matters."

Ava nodded, wiping her eyes. "You're right. She's not going to win. We're not going to let her win."

"That's my girl."

---

They spent the rest of the day cleaning up the mess.

It took hours. The intruder had been thorough, going through every drawer, every cabinet, every hidden corner. But nothing had been taken. Nothing except Ava's peace of mind.

"They were looking for something," Leo said, picking up a pile of papers. "But I don't know what."

"Maybe they were just trying to scare us."

"They succeeded."

Ava looked at him, her expression unreadable. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For all of this. For my mother. For the chaos she's brought into your life."

"None of this is your fault."

"Maybe not. But it's my family. My name. My legacy."

"Your legacy is what you make it." He pulled her into his arms. "And I choose you. I choose the family we're going to build together. Not the one you were born into."

Ava hugged him tight, burying her face in his chest.

"I love you," she whispered. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." He kissed the top of her head. "And I'm never letting you go."