Mending The Broken Pieces

Chapter 5: Please Don't Hurt Me

Their coffee date had turned out to be something very different from what she had expected - him ordering her to drink coffee with him so he wouldn't feel lonely and scolding her for mincing her drink.

But it turned out to be something else. He had asked questions about her that seemed too genuine to be true and he had laughed lightly - something she hadn't known he was capable of doing.

On another day of work, she had fastened on her usual look. Chin held up high, shoulders at a concise height, and a head prepared to nod at every request and tantrum thrown by Ethan. However, he wasn't as cold as he used to be and leaned towards the personality he had portrayed back at the cafe.

“You know, you still owe me a cup of coffee from the first day you bumped into me,” He had said with a cunning smirk of his when she was about to leave his office after placing some files on his desk.

“I'm sorry sir. I'll try to get you another coffee to make up for it,” She nervously smiled, slowly feeling like she was going to melt under his gaze if he continued staring any longer.

“I'll be waiting,” His smirk flattened into an outright smile that showed how much he had begun to enjoy teasing her

“Y-yes sir,” She nodded and scurried out of the run, wishing the ground could open up and swallow her as she imagined his eyes on her as she hurried out and a small smile of mockery.

From then on, things between them had begun to blossom into something much more than just employee and employer. Things she wanted to resist. Things she didn't want to feel again. Things she didn't want to wish for again.

A corporate gala had come up, and the CEO of Cornell Enterprises had been invited. Since she was his assistant, he had ordered her to go with him. To her surprise, he had sent her a red dress and a black pair of heels to wear for the event.

And when she had arrived at the gala, his words made her stomach churn from a feeling she was trying so hard to suppress.

“You look beautiful in red. You compliment the night so much that I wish you were one of the stars,” He had said, planting a small kiss on the back of her palm as he led her back into the enormous hall room.

“Thank you sir…You look good too,” She rushed her reply as though the words hurt her tongue.

“Perhaps we should drop the sir for now.”

The way he looked at her somehow made her uncomfortable in a good kind of way. The kind of discomfort that brought butterflies to her belly and made her heart sink with every compliment and gaze of his.

Still, it wasn't something she wanted…Just not yet.

They had somehow ended up on the quiet and empty terrace of the tall building, and his arms were already tightly wrapped around her waist with his lips going for hers.

“I can't…” her voice cracked as the strength to push him off had suddenly come from nowhere.

“Why? Does my breath smell bad?” He raised an eyebrow at her, probably too embarrassed to even smell his breath.

“I just don’t want any of this,” her hands frantically moved in the air like a maniac.

“I like how you play,” He slowly nodded, sounding somewhat impressed.

“We can't continue like this…I can't continue like this,” She was on the verge of breaking into tears. She believed he may have noticed as his demeanor had changed to one of worry and concern.

“No one will know about us if you want. We can keep all of this a secret if that's what's getting to you,” He shrugged.

A sigh escaped her lips. He wouldn't understand. He was rich and could have any woman he wanted at his beck and call. Perhaps he was just like the others - playing “casanova” games with her.

“That’s all you think?” Disbelief was written all over her and he frowned, wondering what could have possibly turned her mood sour.

“You think this is all about you, don't you?”

Tears were already rolling down her cheeks.

“Ava…” his voice trailed off and when he tried to reach for her, she took a step back.

“What do you really want from me? To toss back into the very same pit I just climbed out of. You're cold at first and then you're all over me…”

Even before she could finish, the next four words that left his mouth threw her into a state of shock.

“I love you, Ava.”

At first, she hadn't really considered talking to Dani about her new relationship with her boss since she would be very mad at her for even thinking about letting another man into her life after what five of them had already done to completely break her.

In the end, she spilled the tea.

“What?!!” Dani had screamed so loud that she had to take the phone away from her ear for a while before taking it back.

“I love him too, Dani. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know if to trust him, b-b-but I'm trying to clear him out of my head but it's not working. Nothing is working.”

“Take care of yourself, Ava. Just don’t be too hard on yourself. You have power over your feelings and all you need to do is to learn how to harness that power.”

Despite knowing deep down that what she felt for Ethan may be even greater than what she had felt for Mark, she refused to admit for a long time until he had come to visit her at an empty park she had come to spend her evenings whenever she felt frustrated or worried about something.

“You'll be fine,” was the only thing he said when he joined her on the iron bench.

“Just go away,” She wanted to say but found herself succumbing to the touch of his hand that moved to gently squeeze hers.

She stared at him with pursed lips. Could she trust him?

“Please just don't hurt me. I love you,” She managed to say and took shelter for her small figure under his towering figure.

“Tired of playing hard to get huh?” He smirked and proceeded to stroke her hair gently.