CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
1536 Words
Ava sat down on the chair and looked at her self in the mirror. She smiled, no one could believe that
She just witness murder,
Lost her friend,
Betrayed her crush,
And lied to the world.
Ava sighed in relief. She was a really good actress. Ava picked up her lip balm and used it on her lips, she smacked her lips.
" Make up isn't everything" Miriam said from behind.
Ava sighed frustrated, and turned around
" What do you want?" She asked dryly.
" It's been four months"
Ava paused, and dropped her lip balm and the table
" Four month of what?" Ava asked uncertain.
Miriam scoffed
" Am I the only one keeping count of your relationship?"
Ava chuckled.
" You must really have a lot of free time to keep count" Ava frowned " in other words, you must be jobless "
Ava smiled as she watched Miriam frown. It was like watching the sun set. So peaceful.
" Bring him here"
" Who?"
" Kofi"
Ava stared at Miriam confused
" What do you want?" Ava asked seriously.
Miriam smiled
" You will find out" Miriam said dubiously and left.
Ava swallowed hard and forced a smile
" Not gonna let you ruin me"
It's been two weeks after the press conference. Two weeks of trying to forget. Ava hoped she could forget. She wanted to let go of all this nightmare.
She has to go back to her normal life- a life of pretence.
* * *
Ava sat quietly at the round table, scrolling through her phone, trying to ignore the noise around her. She didn’t expect Kofi to come sit beside her, but he did — pulled out a chair and placed his hand gently on hers. She froze.
Miriam, standing nearby, raised a brow and smirked.
“Wow, you two are close now?” she said, loud enough sarcasm
Ava looked up slowly.
“Is there a problem?” Ava asked rudely
Miriam smiled sweetly, her tone fake.
" of course not. Can't I properly express my feelings"
Kofi gave a small laugh.
“ express your feelings doesn't have to be about noise” he said, squeezing Ava hand gently.
Ava blinked. Was this part of the plan? They were only pretending to date — but Kofi was doing too much.
Miriam rowned then quickly formed a smile.
Kofi turned to Miriam, still calm. “this place is nice, isn't it?"
" sure." Miriam paused " so how's the business coming along?"
Ava looked at kofi. Since the day she met Kofi, she has never bothered about his business. She doesn't even know what he does.
" Fine. Not perfect. But good "
Miriam smiled widely
" All business have their flaws" Miriam faced Ava " even people. "
Ava stared at Miriam
" Some greater than others " Ava said rudely.
Kofi looked away from Miriam and faced Ava. He smiled. He was loving this drama. Especially since Ava is winning.
Miriam sighed annoyed then faced Kofi
" What about your father?"
Kofi frozen, then slowly faced Miriam
" You must know, he's dead " Kofi said cautiously.
Miriam scoffed
" And you must know. The walls have ears"
Kofi formed a dark smile
" If you have anything to say to me. Make sure it comes from a reliable source. "
Miriam stared at Kofi for a while then faced Ava who had a little smile on her face
" Excuse me" Miriam faced Kofi " I have better things to do" Miriam stood up and walked away.
Kofi sighed in relief
" That was well done"
Aba glanced at Kofi.
“You didn’t have to do all that.”
He smiled. “Yes I did. Putting Miriam in her place is quite entertaining "
Ava chuckled lightly
" Kinda thought I was the only one who enjoyed it "
Kofi faced Ava
" It's kinda nice to feel you can hurt them to." Kofi sighed " they've done more harm to us. And nothing but their pain can heal us." Kofi said seriously.
Ava stared at Kofi. This side of him was nice and emphatic. Ava looked at his hands that was still on her's. He never removed it.
This side of him. Was different. Was warm. Was hidden.
" Do you want to go somewhere with me? " Ava asked softly.
" As long as it's not another reservef restaurant with no food" Kofi smiled.
Ava laughed.
" Trust me. It's better than that"
* * *
Ava looked at the stars, smiled then stared at Kofi, who was sitting on the dock’s edge, legs dangling above the water.
“You know, I expected you to be bad,” she said quietly, voice a little shaky. “I thought you’d be some kind of monster.”
Kofi raised an eyebrow, surprised. “A monster?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “Someone who didn’t care about anything. Someone cold and distant.” Ava said slowly.
“But I’m not?”
“No.” She shook her head. “You proved to me you’re human. You care. You’re not perfect, but you’re real. That’s what threw me off.” Ava sighed " you are not the monster I always saw but, you are human"
Kofi smiled softly.
“I didn’t think you’d ever see me that way.”
“Why not?” she asked, voice softer now. “You don’t talk much. You act like you don’t want anyone to get close.”
“Maybe I’m scared to show who I really am,” he admitted.
Ava looked at him for a moment, her eyes searching. “I get that.”
There was a pause. The sounds of birds and water illing the empty silence.
“Do you want to know who Dark Shadow is?” Kofi finally asked.
Ava blinked, caught off guard by the change in topic..
“Yeah… I do. But if you wanted to tell me I would have known. "
Kofi nodded.
“Fair.”
He took a deep breath. “Dark Shadow…he's a part of me I can't erase. A part of me I can't hide. Sometimes I want to wake up and forget knowing him. But I can't. He's a permanent scar. A scar that can never heal"
Ava frowned. “you said he's a part of you. What part?”
“The side that’s been hurt. The side that’s angry but tries not to show it.”
“Sounds heavy.”
“It is,” Kofi admitted. “But it’s also the reason I don’t trust easily. I’m afraid if people see that side, they’ll run away.”
Ava’s voice was gentle. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Kofi stared at Ava
" People say that a lot. But never do it"
Ava shrugged, a small smile tugging at her lips.
“Yeah. People don’t usually stick around when things get tough. But I’m not like that.”
" Then what about Femi?” Kofi asked seriously.
Ava sighed.
"The moment I agreed to pretend to date you. My loyalty was going to be with you. I chose you. I chose us, over Femi. It kills me. It hurt me. But it's us or no one "
They sat in silence for a moment, watching the water ripple under the soft glow of the setting sun.
“So,” Ava said, breaking the silence, “tell me more about this Dark Shadow thing. Why do people even talk about him like he’s some kind of scary secret?”
Kofi chuckled softly.
“ his name alone has powers that money can't have. He's ruthless, heartless and a cold blooded killer . He's someone that uses. Someone that can never be understood. Sometimes it's like he's fighting back against..." Kofi voice cracked
“Fighting back against what?” Ava asked, leaning forward.
“that person. That monster in him. That night. "
Ava nodded, understanding more than he realized. “Sounds like we both have our monsters to deal with.”
He smiled at her again, feeling a little lighter.
After a pause, Ava stood up and stretched.
“You know what? It’s too hot to just sit here talking. Let’s go swimming.”
Kofi looked at her, eyebrows raised. “Swim? Seriously? You don’t want to cool off?”
Ava grinned, stepping closer to the edge.
“You said you can’t swim, remember?”
Kofi’s face flushed a bit.
“Yeah, I don’t swim. It’s weird.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Well, I’m jumping in first.”
Before he could say anything, Ava took a running leap and splashed into the water.
" Wooo. It's cold. Come on Kofi, you are gonna like it!!!"
Kofi stood there, shaking his head.
“I can’t swim, remember?”
She turned back, water up to her shoulders.
“Liar! Get in here!”
“It's weird! What if something touches my leg?” he shouted.
“Stop being dramatic, Kofi! Come!”
After a few seconds, he sighed and ran in, splashing beside her. “Happy now?”
She laughed. “Finally! Took you long enough.”
- Writer
