Bound To The Mafia King

Ava's Pov I gripped the steering wheel tighter, humming along to the pop song spilling from my speakers as I pulled into Ryan's driveway. Today was his twenty-fifth birthday, and I had driven two hours straight after work just to surprise him.  There was a bright red gift bag sat on the passenger seat. It was his favorite takeout, that ridiculously expensive whiskey he loved, and the sleek watch I had saved up for months to buy.   He always said he hated surprises, but I knew better. Or at least, I thought I did.  The late afternoon sun bathed everything in golden light. Perfect. I killed the engine, i grabbed my bag, and practically skipped to the front door.  It was unlocked.  This was unusual   My steps slowed down  Ryan was paranoid about security and took his safety very seriously. He always double-checked every lock .   He wasn’t supposed to be home yet anyways, his firm kept him late on Fridays.   Maybe he had left early to surprise me? The thought made my heart flutter as I pushed the door open gently.  “Ryan?” My voice echoed in the quiet hallway.  There was no answer.  Then I saw the clothes.  His crisp white dress shirt lay crumpled near the entry table. His navy tie, the one I had given him, trailed down the hall like a breadcrumb.   Then I saw a pair of black heels that definitely weren’t mine resting halfway to the stairs, and a lacy bra hung off the banister like some twisted decoration.  My stomach dropped.  The gift bag crinkled loudly in my suddenly tight grip. This isn’t what it looks like.   It can’t be.  But my feet kept moving, carrying me upstairs as a low, breathy moan drifted down from the bedroom.   Feminine.  Followed by a deeper groan, I knew in my bones was his.  My heart hammered so hard I could feel it in my throat.   I should’ve turned around. I should’ve just ram back  Instead, I crept forward like a ghost in my own nightmare and pushed the bedroom door open.  There they were.  Ryan, shirtless, his back muscles flexing as he moved over her on the bed,our bed, the one we had picked out together.   His hand was buried in long, dark curls I braided a hundred times.   Lila.   My best friend. Her nails dug into his shoulders exactly the way mine had so many nights, her head thrown back in pleasure.  “Yes… just like that,” she gasped.  The world fractured.   Everything I thought I knew shattered in that single heartbeat.   The birthday balloons I had tied to the bedpost earlier in the week still floated lazily above them, mocking me.  A broken sound tore from my throat before I could stop it.  Ryan's head snapped up.   His eyes.  Those warm brown eyes that had whispered promises of forever, widened in panic.   “Ava”  Lila’s gaze met mine over his shoulder. Shock flickered across her face for a split second, then something colder. Almost… satisfied?  Tears burned my eyes, but I didn’t blink. I didn’t even scream. I didn’t throw anything.  A strange, icy calm washed over me, cutting through the heartbreak like a knife.  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whispered, my voice steady even as my world burned.  “On your birthday?”  Ryan scrambled off her, fumbling with the sheets, nearly tripping over his pants on the floor. “Baby, wait this isn’t what it looks like. Let me explain”  Lila sat up slowly, not even bothering to cover herself completely, her lipstick smudged.  “Ava, I’m so sorry. It just… happened.”  The words hung there like poison gas.  I stared at them,at the two people I had trusted with every fragile piece of my heart and felt something inside me snap clean in two.   But beneath the crushing pain, something darker stirred. A cold resolve I barely recognized.  I took one step back, then another.  “You know what?” I said, my voice dropping to a dangerous calm.  “Stay right there. Both of you.”  I turned and walked out, leaving stunned silence behind me.   Down the stairs.   Past the scattered clothes that told the whole ugly story.   Out the front door.  My car was still running.   The gift bag lay forgotten on the floor inside.  As I slid behind the wheel, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out with trembling fingers. It was a text from Lila, sent just ten minutes ago: Hey girl, running late for our movie night? Can’t wait to catch up!   I stared at the screen, then at the house where everything I loved had just been destroyed.  Ryan burst out the front door, shirt half-buttoned, shouting my name.  A sharp, unfamiliar smile tugged at my lips as I started typing a reply, my thumbs flying across the glass with eerie precision.  They had no idea what was coming.