Chapter 16
1160 Words
CHAPTER 16
Ava had expected peace after rejecting Ethan.
Instead, she found herself at the centre of everyone's attention.
By Monday morning, two of her neighbours had already stopped her outside the apartment building.
"Was that Ethan Walker outside yesterday?" Mrs. Jenkins asked, trying but failing to hide her curiosity.
Ava smiled politely.
"He was."
"And?"
"I told him goodbye."
Mrs. Jenkins's eyes widened before she gave Ava's shoulder a gentle pat.
"Good. About time."
Ava laughed as she walked away, feeling lighter than she had in weeks.
For the first time since the breakup, she didn't feel like the girl who had been cheated on.
She felt like herself again.
---
At the studio, Chloe was unusually quiet.
That alone was enough to make Ava suspicious.
"What?"
"What, what?"
"You've been staring at me for five minutes."
Chloe grinned.
"You smiled."
"I always smile."
"No."
Chloe shook her head dramatically.
"That wasn't your polite customer smile."
"It wasn't your fake 'I'm okay' smile, either."
"It was the smile of a woman who went on a coffee date."
Ava rolled her eyes.
"It wasn't a date."
Alex's tiny voice echoed in her head.
"Dad's date."
Heat crept into her cheeks.
"It was coffee."
"Mhmm."
"Stop looking at me like that."
"I'm just waiting."
"For what?"
"For the moment you realize you're falling for him."
"I'm not."
Chloe burst into laughter.
"That's exactly what every woman says before she's completely doomed."
---
Across the city...
Richard Walker slammed a newspaper onto the dining table.
The headline covered almost half the front page.
WALKER ENTERPRISES SECURES RECORD-BREAKING CONTRACT
Nathan's photograph dominated the article.
Richard's expression darkened.
"He loves the attention."
Victoria calmly sipped her tea.
"He earned it."
"He embarrasses this family."
"He built half this family."
Richard stood abruptly.
"You always defend him."
"Because someone has to."
The room fell silent.
Just then, Ethan walked inside.
His tie hung loosely around his neck, and exhaustion showed clearly on his face.
Richard looked at him.
"Did you see her?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
Finally...
"Yes."
"And?"
"She wouldn't even let me finish apologizing."
Richard scoffed.
"Find another woman."
"I don't want another woman."
Victoria glanced toward Ethan.
It was the first honest thing she'd heard him say in a long time.
Richard wasn't impressed.
"You're embarrassing yourself."
"I made a mistake."
"You made several."
Ethan rubbed a hand over his face.
"I love her."
Victoria looked away.
Sometimes...
People only realized what they had after losing it.
---
Meanwhile...
Erica Carter stared at a photo on her phone.
Nathan.
Someone had snapped a picture of him leaving the café with Ava.
She zoomed in.
He was looking at Ava.
Not the camera.
Not the reporters outside.
Only Ava.
Her jaw tightened.
"So that's the look."
She had spent years chasing wealthy men.
None of them had ever looked at her like that.
She hated it.
Because if Nathan could look at Ava that way...
Why couldn't he look at her?
Her lips curved slowly.
"Challenge accepted."
---
That evening...
Nathan was finishing paperwork when someone knocked on his office door.
"Come in."
His assistant stepped inside.
"Mr. Walker..."
She hesitated.
"A Miss Erica Carter is here."
Nathan didn't even look up.
"I don't have a meeting."
"She insists it's personal."
Nathan closed the file.
"Five minutes."
---
Erica entered with effortless confidence.
She wore an expensive black dress that left very little to the imagination.
Her perfume filled the room before she even reached his desk.
Nathan didn't stand.
Didn't smile.
Didn't even pretend to be pleased.
"What do you want?"
Erica crossed one leg over the other.
"I thought we could get to know each other."
"No."
She blinked.
"...No?"
"I'm busy."
She laughed lightly.
"I don't think you understand."
Nathan looked up.
"I understand perfectly."
She leaned forward slightly.
"I'm nothing like my sister."
"I know."
That surprised her.
"You do?"
"Yes."
A smile spread across her lips.
"So you've noticed me."
"I noticed you're nothing like Ava."
The smile disappeared.
Nathan continued reading the document in front of him.
"You may leave now."
Her pride took a hit.
"Are you rejecting me because of her?"
"No."
"Then why?"
Nathan finally met her eyes.
"Because I don't like women who mistake attention for affection."
Her face stiffened.
"You don't even know me."
"I know enough."
"You think she's better than me?"
"I know she is."
The words landed like a slap.
For several seconds...
Erica couldn't speak.
Nathan pressed a button on his desk.
"Dante."
The office door opened almost immediately.
"Yes, boss?"
"Show Miss Carter out."
Dante nodded once.
"This way."
Erica stood slowly.
"You'll regret humiliating me."
Nathan didn't even glance in her direction.
"I doubt it."
She walked out with her head held high.
But the second the elevator doors closed...
Her expression twisted with rage.
"No one humiliates me."
She tightened her grip around her purse.
"If I can't have him..."
Her eyes darkened.
"...then Ava won't either."
---
That same night...
Ava sat on the floor of her apartment, surrounded by unfinished canvases.
Mochi purred lazily beside her.
She dipped her brush into blue paint.
Her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
She smiled before opening it.
Have you eaten?
She looked at the instant noodles sitting untouched on the counter.
Not yet.
Three dots appeared.
Then,
You're a terrible liar.
She laughed.
How do you know?
A reply came almost immediately.
Because every time you're painting, you forget dinner.
She stared at the message.
He remembered that, too.
She typed slowly.
You've been paying attention for a long time.
This time...
His reply took longer.
Long enough to know when you're smiling at your work... and when you're pretending you're okay.
Ava's fingers hovered over the keyboard.
She didn't know how to answer that.
Instead...
She took a picture of the half-finished painting and sent it.
A minute later...
Beautiful.
She smiled.
It's not finished.
Neither are we.
Her heartbeat skipped.
Before she could reply...
Another message appeared.
Goodnight, Ava.
She stared at the screen for a long time before typing back.
Goodnight, Nathan.
For reasons she couldn't explain...
That simple exchange made her smile more than the coffee date had.
Maybe Chloe was right.
Maybe this wasn't "just coffee" anymore.
---
Across the city...
Erica sat alone inside her apartment.
Nathan's rejection replayed in her mind again and again.
"I know she is."
She grabbed the wine glass beside her and threw it across the room.
It shattered against the wall.
Her breathing became uneven.
For years...
She had taken everything Ava loved.
Friends.
Attention.
Even Ethan.
This was supposed to be no different.
But Nathan hadn't even looked at her.
Her phone lit up.
A message from an unknown number.
I hear you don't like Ava Carter very much.
She frowned.
Who's this?
The reply came seconds later.
Someone who also wants to see her lose.
Erica slowly smiled.
Maybe...
She wasn't fighting alone.
- Writer
