Chapter 5: Unwanted thoughts
1549 Words
The next morning, Ava woke up with the lingering thought of the conversation she had with Jed the previous day. His words replayed in her mind again and again, refusing to fade.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
The sentence echoed so clearly that it felt as if he were standing right beside her saying it again.
She stared at the ceiling for a long moment, frowning slightly.
How could he know?
How could Jed possibly see through her so easily?
Ava had always been good at controlling her emotions. She had spent years learning how to smile even when she was tired, how to look calm even when her heart was unsettled. Yet somehow, Jed had looked at her for only a short time and claimed to know she was lonely.
It irritated her.
“He’s just being arrogant,” Ava muttered quietly to herself as she pushed the blanket aside and sat up on the bed.
“He doesn’t know everything he claims to know.”
Still, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered that maybe he had noticed something she had tried very hard to hide.
She shook her head immediately, refusing to entertain the thought.
When Ava stepped out of the bedroom, she realized Leo had already left the house.
One of the maids informed her that he had gone to the office earlier than usual because he had an early meeting.
The news didn’t surprise her.
Leo leaving early had become something normal in the house.
The mansion felt unusually quiet again.
The long hallways were calm, the large windows letting in the soft morning sunlight that made the house feel both peaceful and strangely empty.
Ava ate breakfast alone at the dining table.
Afterward, she decided to spend the day in the library.
The house library was one of her favorite places in the mansion. The tall wooden shelves were filled with hundreds of books, and the large window beside the reading chair gave a perfect view of the garden outside.
It was the only place where Ava could truly relax.
Or at least, it used to be.
She picked a novel from the shelf and settled into the chair.
But twenty minutes passed, and Ava realized she hadn’t even finished a single page.
Her eyes kept moving over the words, but her mind refused to focus.
Instead, Jed’s face kept appearing in her thoughts.
The confident look in his eyes.
The teasing smile on his lips.
And the way he had spoken so casually about her loneliness.
Ava closed the book with a soft sigh.
“Why do I keep thinking about him?” she murmured to herself.
Reading had always been her escape.
Yet today, she couldn’t concentrate at all.
It annoyed her.
After another failed attempt to read, Ava finally gave up.
When she glanced at the clock, she realized it was already noon.
Her stomach growled slightly.
Since reading clearly wasn’t working today, she decided she might as well cook lunch.
Cooking had always been another thing she enjoyed. It helped her clear her mind.
Or so she hoped.
Ava walked toward the kitchen, tying her hair loosely behind her as she entered.
But the moment she stepped inside, she froze.
Jed was already there.
He stood near the counter, casually pouring water into a glass cup.
The sunlight from the window behind him illuminated his figure, making the scene feel strangely intimate.
For a second, Ava considered turning around and leaving.
But that would make it obvious.
So she forced herself to act normal.
Jed noticed her immediately.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
“I see you’re avoiding me,” he said casually as he lifted the glass to drink.
Ava raised an eyebrow.
“Avoid?” she repeated in a defensive tone.
“I wasn’t avoiding anyone. This is my home. I can choose to be anywhere I want to be.”
Jed chuckled softly, clearly amused by her reaction.
“Relax. I was just teasing.”
For a brief moment, silence filled the kitchen.
Then Jed cleared his throat slightly.
“You know… I’m sorry about yesterday,” he said.
Ava looked at him in surprise.
“I shouldn’t have said all that to you. It wasn’t my place.”
His apology caught her off guard.
She had expected him to continue teasing her, not apologize.
Ava said nothing for a moment as she opened the refrigerator and brought out the ingredients she needed.
She placed vegetables on the counter along with some frozen protein.
As she began preparing the food, Jed pulled out a chair and sat down beside the counter.
Without asking, he picked up a knife and started helping her cut the vegetables.
Ava glanced at him briefly.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said.
“I know,” Jed replied calmly.
“But I’m bored.”
Despite herself, Ava felt a small smile tug at her lips.
As they worked together, the conversation slowly became easier.
One topic led to another.
Soon Jed began talking about Leo.
“You know,” Jed said thoughtfully, “Leo has always been like that.”
“Like what?” Ava asked.
“Busy.”
Jed leaned back slightly in the chair.
“Even when we were younger, he was always serious. Always thinking about responsibilities.”
His voice softened slightly.
“After our parents died, he had to grow up even faster. Taking over our father’s company wasn’t easy, but he did it anyway.”
Ava listened quietly.
She had never heard Leo talk much about his past.
“Since then,” Jed continued, “work has always been his number one priority.”
Ava stirred the food in the pan slowly.
“I’m grateful he’s my big brother though,” Jed added with a small smile.
“He’s done a lot for me.”
Ava nodded.
Then Jed suddenly laughed.
“Did you know Leo actually liked a girl in high school?”
Ava blinked in surprise.
“Leo?”
“Yes.”
Jed grinned.
“He admired her for months but never had the courage to talk to her.”
Ava couldn’t help laughing.
“That sounds impossible.”
“I’m serious,” Jed said, laughing as well.
“He would just watch her from a distance like some silent admirer.”
Ava shook her head.
“I never imagined Leo being shy around someone.”
“Well,” Jed shrugged, “I’m pretty sure he didn’t approach any woman until he met you in college.”
That comment made Ava pause slightly.
Still, the conversation continued easily.
They laughed while cooking together, the atmosphere surprisingly comfortable.
For a brief moment, Ava forgot everything else.
The tension.
The boundaries.
Even the complicated feelings she had been trying to ignore.
But suddenly, reality returned.
Jed wasn’t just anyone.
He was Leo’s younger brother.
Her brother-in-law.
Ava felt her chest tighten slightly.
She placed the spoon down.
“Jed… could you watch the food for a moment?” she said.
“I think I have a headache from laughing too much.”
She reached for the kitchen towel and wiped her hands quickly without looking at him.
“Just turn off the gas when the food is done. I think I need to rest.”
Jed studied her quietly.
Somehow, he felt she wasn’t actually having a headache.
But he didn’t question it.
“It’s fine,” he said gently.
“Go rest. Maybe when you wake up, we’ll continue our conversation.”
Ava forced a faint smile.
“Maybe next time.”
Then she quickly left the kitchen.
Jed watched her disappear down the hallway, thoughtful.
Something about her reaction didn’t quite make sense.
Meanwhile, Ava walked quickly to her room.
Once inside, she closed the door and leaned against it.
Her heart was beating faster than it should.
She walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, rubbing her forehead.
“What am I doing?” she whispered to herself.
She kept thinking about Jed more than she should.
The way he laughed.
The way he spoke.
The way the conversation had felt so easy.
Ava stood up and began pacing slowly around the room.
“I can’t be seen chatting like that with him,” she said firmly.
“He’s my brother-in-law. Leo is my husband.”
Even if Leo was always busy.
Even if he barely noticed her loneliness.
None of that justified crossing boundaries.
Ava stopped pacing and looked out the window.
“I know what I must do,” she said quietly.
“I will keep my distance.”
“No more conversations like that.”
“No more comfortable moments.”
She folded her arms as if convincing herself.
“I need to stop this before it leads to something I may not be able to control.”
Yet even as she said the words, a small part of her wondered if it was already too late.
And somewhere downstairs in the kitchen, Jed stood silently beside the finished meal, thinking about the way Ava had laughed at his jokes.
Neither of them realized that the line between innocent conversation and dangerous emotions had already begun to blur.
- Writer
