Chapter Four
1517 Words
%Ava's%
At home, Ava stepped out of the shower, steam still clinging to her skin as she wrapped herself in a silk robe. She moved with purpose, her expression already hardened with thought. After getting dressed in a fitted evening outfit, she walked straight down the hallway toward Sabastian’s room without knocking—something she had grown used to doing over the years.
She pushed the door open.
Sabastian was inside, loosening his tie, his back half-turned as he stood near the dresser. He barely spared her a glance at first.
“Who was the girl I bumped into at your office today?” Ava asked, her voice flat, straight to the point.
Sabastian paused slightly, then turned fully to look at her, brows knitting in mild confusion.
“What girl are you talking about?” he asked calmly, studying her face.
“The petite… clumsy… naïve looking girl I walked into at the office,” Ava clarified, her lips curling faintly in distaste as she recalled the encounter.
Recognition flickered briefly across Sabastian’s eyes, but it vanished just as quickly.
“And what about her?” he asked, his tone sharpening with quiet caution.
Ava didn’t hesitate.
“I want you to fire her.”
The words landed heavily in the room.
Sabastian’s expression darkened almost instantly.
“And why should I fire her?” he snapped, his voice rising a notch as irritation seeped through.
Ava folded her arms, unfazed by his reaction. “I don’t like her,” she said bluntly. “She’s too clumsy… too plain… she doesn’t fit into your empire. Just fire her, please.”
Silence stretched between them for a brief second—but it was thick, tense.
“You are not in any position to tell me who I should fire or not,” Sabastian fired back, his voice dropping into something deeper, colder, more dangerous.
Ava’s eyes widened slightly at his reaction. She had expected resistance—but not this intensity.
“And since when did you start caring about staff welfare?” she pressed, stepping closer. “It’s just a secretary, Sabastian. Replace her.”
Sabastian’s jaw tightened, the muscles flexing visibly.
“This discussion is over,” he said firmly, turning away from her again, signaling dismissal.
But Ava didn’t move.
“If you’re not going to fire her, then I will, with or without your permission.”
With that, Ava turned sharply, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she made for the door, her pride bruised but her resolve unshaken.
She had barely taken two steps when she felt a firm grip wrap around her wrist.
Before she could react, Sabastian spun her around and pushed her back against the wall.
The sudden force knocked the breath slightly out of her lungs.
He stood close, too close—one hand still gripping her wrist, the other braced against the wall beside her. His towering frame caged her in, his presence suffocating, his face inches from hers.
But it was his eyes that froze her.
Cold. Deadly. Unblinking.
“You dare not go anywhere near her,” he said slowly, each word laced with quiet danger. “Do not lay a single finger on her.”
His grip tightened slightly—not enough to hurt, but enough to make his warning clear.
“This is not a warning,” he continued, his voice dropping into a dark whisper that sent a chill down her spine. “It’s an order. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want to go against me.”
For the first time in a long while, Ava didn’t respond immediately.
She simply stared at him.
Instead, her gaze darkened—because at that moment, she realized something unsettling.
She had never seen Sabastian react this way toward anyone.
Not toward business rivals.
Not toward employees.
Not even toward her… his contract wife.
But for that girl?
The intensity.
The protectiveness.
The anger.
It was different.
The girl… meant something.
And that realization curled into something poisonous inside Ava’s chest.
Jealousy.
Hatred.
Possession.
Sabastian released her wrist and stepped back, but the damage was already done.
As Ava straightened herself slowly, smoothing invisible creases on her dress, her lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile.
And that alone made her dislike Lilly even more.
Because now…
Firing her was no longer enough.
She smiles coldly and says:
“Interesting… you’ve never protected me like that.”
He goes silent.
She leans closer and whispers:
“Don’t worry, I won’t touch her, but I will definitely make sure she leaves on her own,” she turned around and walked out.
Sabastian senses danger and immediately calls his assistant.
“Keep an eye on Lilly Harper and report anything unusual,” he ended the call.
Ava lay in her bed staring blankly at the ceiling, the soft glow from the bedside lamp casting faint shadows across the walls. Sleep refused to come no matter how tightly she shut her eyes.
Every time she tried, the same face kept appearing.
The girl.
That petite, clumsy, naive looking girl from the office.
She exhaled sharply and turned to her side, frustration building in her chest. That was when she suddenly realized something that irritated her even more—
She didn’t even know the girl’s name.
Her fingers tightened around the bedsheet.
But what disturbed her the most… what truly unsettled her… was not the collision, not the apology, not even the girl’s presence in Sabastian’s empire.
It was Sabastian’s reaction.
She had never seen him react that way before.
The way his eyes darkened.
The way his voice dropped.
The way he held her wrist and warned her like she had crossed an unforgivable line.
Ava sat up slowly, her mind spiraling.
What does she mean to him?
Why protect her like that?
Why her?
She kept replaying the scene over and over, analyzing every detail like a puzzle she needed to solve.
Restlessness consumed her.
For Ava, Sabastian was never just a contract husband.
He was more.
Much more.
He was an achievement, yes. A powerful man every woman wanted, a man whose name alone opened the door and commanded respect.
But beyond the status… beyond the empire… Sabastian Kingsley was the love of her life.
Even if he had never loved her back.
Her gaze softened faintly as memories crept in—the day their families signed the contract of marriage, the cold way he had looked at her when he said:
This marriage is strictly business. Nothing romantic will ever happen between us.
The words had hurt.
They still did.
But she accepted it anyway… because staying beside him, even as his contract wife, was enough for her.
At least she could wake up in the same house.
Attend events by his side.
Bear his name.
And deep down, she had always nurtured a silent hope,
That maybe… with time…
His frozen heart would thaw.
That one day he would look at her not as a business arrangement… but as a woman.
As his woman.
But tonight, that fragile hope felt threatened.
Because for the first time…
She saw him react emotionally toward someone else.
Her expression hardened as jealousy coiled tightly in her chest.
“If she thinks she can take my place…” Ava whispered into the empty room, her voice low but venomous, “then she has no idea who she’s dealing with.”
Sleep never came that night.
Only plans did.
She picked up her phone from the bedside table, the screen lighting up her face in the dim room. Her fingers hovered over the screen for a second before she unlocked it and scrolled to her contacts.
Her Personal Assistant.
Without wasting another moment, she typed quickly,
“I want full details on the new CEO secretary. Name, background, family, finances, everything. I want it on my desk first thing tomorrow morning.”
She paused, then added another line.
“And make sure no one knows I requested it.”
She hit send.
The message was delivered instantly.
Ava dropped the phone beside her and slowly leaned back against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling again but this time, her restlessness had taken a darker turn.
Her mind began to work… calculating… dissecting… plotting.
If the girl was poor—as she suspected—then she had weaknesses.
Family.
Money.
Status.
Fear.
Ava’s lips curved faintly.
Everyone had a breaking point.
She crossed one leg over the other, her thoughts sharpening with each passing second.
If Sabastian won't fire her…
Then I’ll make her leave on her own.
She imagined scenarios
Overwhelming her with pressure.
Destroying her confidence.
Humiliating her publicly.
Making the elite world reject her.
A slow, satisfied breath left her lips.
By the time she was done…
The girl would beg to resign.
Ava finally laid down fully, pulling the sheets over herself, but her eyes remained open—glinting with quiet determination in the darkness.
And as sleep slowly crept in this time…
So did the first outline of her plan for Lilly Harper.
- Writer
