SPECIE OF LOVE

THE CALL

*Chapter 10 — Ava's POV: _The Call*_

We got to Marie’s house, and the first thing she did was push me into the bathroom.

“Shower. Now. You need to wash tonight off your skin.”

I didn’t argue. The hot water hit my back and I cried until the bathroom filled with steam. I scrubbed Damien off my skin, scrubbed Mrs. Cole’s words off my ears, scrubbed the video off my mind. It didn’t work. But I felt human again when I stepped out.

Marie seized my phone the moment I entered the bedroom. She held it up like a judge.

“You need sleep, Ava. Not notifications. Not Twitter. Sleep.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but she gave me _the look_. The one that said _I will sit on you if I have to_.

I slept soundly.

For the first time in days, I slept without dreaming of Damien’s hands or his mother’s laugh. Just deep, black, empty sleep. The kind that heals you.

Marie had her shower too and came to sleep beside me. I felt her arm come around my waist in the middle of the night. Safe. Warm. Sister.

_Bing bing bing bing_ was what woke me up.

I yawned and stretched countless times. My bones cracked. My eyes felt heavy but rested.

See, someone slept soundly.

Marie walked into the room with a tray in her hand and a big smile on her face. She placed the tray on the bed and the smell hit me first. Toasted bread, fried sausage, hot tea.

“It’s bread, sausage and tea,” she announced like a five star waiter.

Then she hugged me tight. Her arms were strong, her perfume was light.

“How was your night, sweetie?” she asked, brushing my cheek and moving my hair backwards. Her fingers were gentle. Motherly.

“It was good. Thank God. Marie, thank you,” I said innocently to her. My voice was still thick with sleep.

“And I’m sorry for disturbing you. I just didn’t have anyone else to call.”

She hugged me again. Tighter this time.

“It’s fine, baby. It’s fine.”

She pulled back and pointed at the tray. “But you really have to taste this. It’s actually nice.”

I took a bite and nodded affirmatively. The sausage was spicy. The bread was warm. The tea burned my tongue in the best way.

“It’s nice,” I said, licking my lips. For one second, life felt normal.

Then I reached for my phone.

And what I saw next made me weak to my panties. I started shivering.

The headline was in bold red letters.

*SECRETARY TURNED MAKING OUT MACHINE*

Under it was another line: _THE DAUGHTER OF A MAN CALLED WILLIAMS_

And the s*_ tape was attached to it. Our faces didn’t show, but the audio was clear. My moan. His groan. The sound of the desk. The video was blurred, but people kept asking for my face reveal and name in the comments section.

_Who is she?_

_Drop her @_

_We need the full video_

_Is this Ava Johnson from Cole Enterprises?_

My hands shook so hard the phone fell on the tray. Tea splashed on the sheets.

I showed Marie. My voice was gone. Only tears came.

“Listen,” she said quickly, grabbing my shoulders. “Your name wasn’t mentioned. Your face didn’t show. So calm down. Breathe, Ava. Breathe with me.”

Another message came in before I could breathe.

Unknown number.

_Call Damien on a voice call. Add me to it. End things with him in five minutes. Or I satisfy the wish of the fans._

My blood turned to ice.

I dragged my phone, scrambled through the contacts, and tapped Damien. My fingers were wet with tears and tea.

The dial rang. One ring. Two.

He picked. “Ava?” His voice was raw. Hopeful. Broken.

I added the blackmailer number without saying a word. Three people on the call now. Me. Damien. The devil.

“Hello Ava,” Damien started, his voice rushing with relief. “I know you might have seen the video but don’t worry. I have this under control. My team is—”

“Damien, I’m done,” I cut him off. My voice was steel and glass. “I haven’t slept in days. The thought of being with a billionaire had been on my mind. Now I’ve come to a conclusion that…”

“Stop,” he cut my speech off. His voice cracked. “I don’t want to hear it. All I know is I LOVE YOU and I’m not stopping. Whether under duress or blackmailed, I’m not letting go of this feeling.”

My chest hurt.

“Ava, I know the meaning now,” he continued, desperate. “I have a name for those beautiful moments of ours. I love you, Ava.”

“No, no, you’ll listen to me, DAMIEN COLE,” I roared at him. Marie patted me to comfort me, rubbing circles on my back. “I’m done with this. Yes, I’ve loved you for five years. Nothing flinched. Yes, this is what I wanted. But I never imagined the problem that comes with it.”

I took a shaky breath.

“You are the source of every problem and every obstacle against the beautiful thing we had. You impregnate a lady. You recorded our good moments just to humiliate me and win a bet. To show you can get everybody and anybody at the snap of your finger.”

“Ava, I didn’t—”

“How do I even know this is not your plan to discard me, Damien? How do I know?” My voice rose. “If you want to discard me, just do it. You don’t have to rub my family name in the mud this way.”

Now the tears came. Hot and angry.

“The name we’ve worked so hard to build,” I started crying, remembering how my dad labored at his mechanic shop and my mom toiled selling fabric in the market just to send me and my siblings to school. “The name we’ve worked for, Damien. Just because of a bet, you want to get it ruined.”

I could hear his faint _sorry Ava, calm down_. He was breaking down now too. I heard it in his breath.

“You can imagine how broken my parents would feel when they realize their golden girl is now a…” I stuttered, crying really hard. The word tasted like poison. “I’m now a MAKING OUT MACHINE.”

Silence. Only my sobs and his shaky breathing on the line.

“Damien, I’m done,” I whispered. “Stop calling me. Do not text me. Do not call me. In fact, as soon as I end this call, I’m putting a restraining order on you.”

I said it and wiped my tears, waiting for his reply. My whole body was shaking.

“Yeah,” his voice was a whisper. Defeated. “You should do that. I would leave you to reset. Whether a month, a week, or even days. I don’t mind.”

He paused. I heard him swallow.

“But please don’t disappear on me. Please.” Another pause. “If they post the video, I would go out on social media and also bring myself out as the man. Therefore making both names perishing.”

My heart stopped.

“But I’ll leave you for now,” he finished, voice hoarse. “And besides, who is this third person on the call?”

He said it curiously, suspicion finally breaking through his pain.

I hissed and ended the call.

My mind was at ease for three seconds. Three whole seconds.

Until my phone beeped again.

This time I wish the ground would just open and swallow me.

This same MRS COLE IS INVITING ME FOR DINNER.

One part of me is scared of her next action. Another part is hopeful she changes her mind. Another part is praying not to see Damien at all that day and after the visit.

I want no more trouble, I said looking at Marie, who nodded and hugged me.

Then another message.

It’s her again.

_It’s the address._

_Tomorrow evening 7pm. Don’t be late. This meeting determines whether or not I would do as the wish of the people._

Right there and then I planned on how I would get to the COLE’S PALACE.

Not until I started feeling nauseous. Although it’s been going on like that for a while now, but today felt different. It felt like I wanted to throw up.

Boom, it came.

I ran to the bathroom. Marie followed me.

I vomited a lot. Everything I ate. The bread. The sausage. The tea. My dignity.

When I’m done, Marie cleaned me up. She wiped my face with a warm towel. She held my hair back. She didn’t say a word.

Then she started staring at me like a mother who wanted answers immediately.

Her eyes moved from my face to my stomach. Then back to my face.

“Ava…” she whispered.

I knew that look. I knew what she was thinking.

And I was terrified she was right.

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