Chapter 4: A Hidden Relative?
1365 Words
Ava Duval
By the time Ava recovered, it had been close to three weeks, and not once did Damian call to check up on her or ask where she had been, not until today. And his voice was extremely soft.
"Ava..." Damian sounded really broken, and Ava thought that maybe he realized his mistakes and was ready to make amends for their marriage to work.
"I've been so worried about you. The children miss you. Where are you?"
Ava almost scoffed. Hadn't she told him that she had an accident and was in a car crash? Why was he acting this way? What did he want from her?
"I'm in the hospital, Damian. I've told you that a thousand times already in the texts I've been sending to you."
"Texts?" Damian sounded shocked. "I haven't received any texts from you in the past three weeks. I thought you were still angry and needed some time to cool off. I thought... Serena told me you would call and pretend to be in pain so I would come rushing... I didn't..."
He breathed heavily on the other end, and Ava could hear the frustration in his voice.
"I didn't know, baby. Which hospital? Where are you? I'll be on my way to you at once..."
Ava could hear the shuffling in the background and the jingling of keys, and his hurried footsteps. Her heart skipped a beat and hope bloomed in her chest.
He was going to come to see her?
Thirty minutes later, Damian burst into the hospital room, drenched in sweat as if he had been running a hundred miles.
"Babe... Oh my goodness!" His eyes were wet as he rushed to Ava's side, falling on his knees. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I mean..."
He paused and closed his eyes tightly as if to blink the tears away.
"I mean you did tell me, but Serena... She poisoned my mind, babe. She was the one who deleted all your texts, babe. She was the one who was wrong this whole time and I kept blaming you."
He burrowed his head between her thighs and was begging for forgiveness.
"Damian..." Ava could only whisper, at a loss for what to say or do. She had already made up her mind to leave him forever, but here he was on his knees like a man broken.
Begging for her to come home with him. Begging for her to be the mother of their children and his wife. Asking for forgiveness for all the lies he had ever told her.
"Please, come home, baby." Damian lifted his face up, and his eyes were red when they met with Ava's gaze, and something in her heart broke.
"I will spend the rest of my life blaming myself for what happened, for every bad thing I've ever done. I'm sorry for raising my hands on you because of that witch!"
Witch? He was calling Serena a witch now? What had she done to make him act this way? Did Serena sabotage him too?
"You've been the better woman, the better wife and mother of our kids, but I was so blind to see it, Ava. My love. My heart. I'm sorry."
He sniffed hard. "The kids have been crying all week for you. Serena was hurting them all these while..."
That was the statement that got all of Ava's attention as she jumped off the bed.
"What do you mean? Hurting Leo and Isla? Why haven't you had her arrested by now? Why? Damian, why? Where are the children?"
Ava was already throwing on the clothes that had been finely laundered for her by the hospital, all in a hurry to go back home to her children.
"She fled." Damian cried hard. "She abandoned the children in a park and left. Please, come home, Ava. I swear on my entire existence never to hurt you again."
***
The car drive back home was filled with Damian's apologies, and Ava didn't know what to feel about it.
The last few weeks of her life opened her eyes to things she didn't know about herself, and now...
Damian was back to make amends. In fact, he sounded so genuine that Ava was willing to put everything behind her and work out this marriage with him.
Serena was the distraction in their marriage, and now she was gone, she and Damian could continue their peaceful lives together.
"What? Why are those..." Damian cursed under his breath, and Ava looked up to see a group of men standing by the intersection to block their way.
"Who are they?" Ava squinted, and a fresh wave of fear ran through her. "Highway robbers?"
"I don't know..." Damian murmured as the men up ahead beckoned for them to park the car.
"It's broad daylight. It can't be... Let's just listen to what they say, but let's have 911 on speed dial just in case."
Once they parked, six heavily armed men stepped out of the expensive car in front of them, escorting a frail old man with graying hair and blue eyes.
The men came towards Damian's car and opened the backseat for the man to get in, and they stood outside the car as protection.
"No way..." Damian gasped as the recognition of who was in his car hit him.
Had he been noticed by Marcus Vance? The top politician and the owner of multiple companies across the countries?
Every company he invested in always became a goldmine. Had Marcus recognized his talent and come personally to invest in his company?
"Mr. Marcus Vance." Damian began, his eyes shining in happiness, no more the sad crying man he was a few moments ago.
"It's an honour to have you in my car, and—"
"Ava Duval." The man dismissed Damian at once and turned towards Ava who straightened at how stern his voice sounded.
"Do... Do I know you?" Ava was confused because she searched her memory and everything came up blank.
"You don't have to know me." The man continued firmly. "I am your biological father, and I'm aware that your grandfather, Arthur Vance left you his entire inheritance, including the ownership to several of the companies I have toiled for years to build."
His smile was so cold that it sent shivers down her spine.
"I'm sure that by now, the lawyer has already contacted you as we lost him a few days ago, and I would like you to forfeit everything, and I promise you will be settled accordingly. I would invest in your husband's company when you do that."
The man did not waste any more time with them as he knocked on the window, and the armed security outside opened the door for him to step out.
"You have only one week to think about it."
***
That night, Damian was all over her, doing everything for her and making sure she was comfortable at home. Just like the old days.
"Babe... Listen up..." Damian knelt in front of her when he found her worried in the living room.
He held her chin and stared into her eyes, speaking softly to her. "You don't have to make a choice if you don't want to. If you want to fight for your inheritance, I am here for you, and if you want to forfeit it, I am still here for you. And if you want to do neither of that, I will still be here for you."
He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her mouth. "You are much more than all of those. You are everything to me."
That night, Damian littered her body with kisses and made Ava feel loved and seen once again.
He took her to the climax she had craved, and she pleasured under the warmth of his gaze. Her heart was full again with love for him. Damian still loved her. Their marriage was still save and intact. And she was right where she wanted to be. Saved and loved.
"Good night, sweetheart." He whispered into her ears as he covered her body with a duvet, and her eyes slowly shut down.
- Writer
