The rain was pouring intensely that night when Ava heard a loud knock on her door. She rested her book right next to her cup of tea on the coffee table and got up from her rocking chair.
Ava hurriedly put on her robe as the knock got louder and more aggressive. She then rushed to her front door and peeped into the spy hole. At that moment, tears fell from her eyes as her hands trembled to get the door open.
"Rake, what are you doing here?" Ava softly said, yet there was anger in her tone.
She stood at the opened door, staring at a man that had left her broken for so many years, and finally, when she came to accept the fact that he was never coming back, here he is, standing in front of her house soaking wet in the rain."I need your help. Your house will be the last place that they will ever think about looking for me at, so please help me." Rake said with his hand pressed against his side.
"Who's they? What have you gotten yourself into, Rake?" Ava worriedly asked.
But when she looked at his side, and her eyes caught a red liquid dripping on the ground, Ava decided to keep the questions for later.
"Come in." She softly said as she folded her arms and stepped to the side.Rake gave her a soft smile before walking into the house. Ava then took a deep breath and shut the door.
"Wow, this place still looks the same." Rake mumbled as he stared around the living room.
"You don't get to do that!" Ava coldly said with wet eyes.
Rake did not reply as he stared at Ava's angry expression since he knew that whatever he said would only make the matter worse.
"Is that a bullet wound?" Ava asked out of concern as she stared at Rake's side.
"It's just a wound. I will be fine." Rake said.
Ava frowned at Rake's remark. She could not believe how clueless and heartless he could be.
"That's good then! Because not everyone is fine after badly getting wounded." Ava stated.
"Ava, listen. I am..." Rake tried to say, but his words got cut short.
"No, you listen here! You don't get to walk back into my life after years have passed and pretend as if nothing had happened between us."
"I understand that. But there's so much that you don't know."
Ava was in a state of rage at this point. She did not want to pretend as though she was fine and happy in the way she had been doing with her friends and family over the years. All Ava wanted to do was yell out all the rage and hurt she felt inside her heart.
"Haha! What could that be then? Was it so important for you to leave me on the day of our engagement party and vanish without a trace!" Ava screamed.
"Yes, it was." Rake said as he stared at the ring on Ava's finger.
The living room was quiet for a while, and only the melody of the rushing rain could get heard throughout the house.
"I will get the First Aid kit." Ava mumbled while fighting back her tears.
Without looking back, she walked out of the living room and headed upstairs to her room.
"I am sorry, Ava. But my life is too dangerous for you to be a part of. I was naïve back then to think I could keep you with all the danger surrounding my life. It's best that you hate me then to get hurt because of me." Rake mumbled as he removed the bloody shirt from his body.
Ava angrily opened her drawer and took out the first aid kit. She turned around to leave the room, but then dropped to her knees and bitterly sobbed.
"How can he still have this much effect on me? It's been so many years already. I should be over him by now. But why isn't it so?" Ava mumbled with an aching heart.
After some minutes had passed, Rake got worried that Ava was not down with the kit yet. Therefore, he went upstairs to check on her.
When Rake arrived at Ava's room door and overheard her soft cry, he rested his hand against the wooden frame and listened as his heart hurt.
"Ava, are you okay?" Rake called when he could not hear her sobbing anymore.
"No, I'm not." Ava harshly said.
"Can I come in?"
"If you want to do so."
Rake pushed the door open and entered the room. At that moment, he saw Ava on the floor with her head bent against her knee. With his eyes fixed on her, Rake slowly walked over to Ava and squatted in front of her.
"I am sorry. I know saying this does not make up for what I did to you or the pain I have caused, but I really am sorry." Rake softly said.
"Then why did you leave if you knew that it was going to hurt me?" Ava asked as she lifted her head and gazed at him.
"I can't say." Rake honestly answered while staring deep into her eyes.
Ava knew that he wasn't lying to her, and that caused her to be more curious about the reason he left her.
"Did you even love me?" Ava asked with concern in her eyes."I am bleeding. I don't think this is the right time for childish questions." Rake said.
He grabbed the first aid kit and headed into the bathroom, leaving Ava speechless and more hurt.
A minute later, after Rake had patched up his wound and bandaged it, he came out of the bathroom."Here your pillow and comforter. You can sleep on the couch for tonight, then I want you out of my house by tomorrow morning." Ava coldly said.
"Are you being serious right now?" Rake asked out of shock.
"Yes, I am."
"Fine."
Rake took the pillow and comforter from Ava's hands. He then walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.
"It's okay, Av. You have been doing great without him, and you don't need him now." Ava mumbled to herself, yet she was not confident about her words.
The moment Rake threw the stuff on the sofa, his phone started ringing in his trouser's pocket.
"Hello, boss." Rake said after he answered the call.
"Did you get the target?" A rough and cold manly voice harshly flowed into Rake's ears.
"No, boss. The mission was a bust. Someone tipped off the target, and he got prepared for my attack. I was lucky to get out of there with only a bullet wound?."
"Excuses! I need the job done tomorrow, or else a bullet wound will be the last thing you have to worry about."
"Yes, boss."
After the call ended, Rake tossed his phone onto the couch. He then sat down and covered his face with both his hands.
"By tomorrow, I will be gone, and you won't have to see or experience the other side of my double life." Rake mumbled out of frustration as he relaxed on the couch.Ava opened her eyes to the bright morning light from the rising sun. She tossed on the bed a bit, then Rake came to her mind, so she raced to the living room. The thought that had kept her up for half of the night had come true."He's gone." She mumbled as her eyes pitifully stared at the comforter folded nicely on the couch and the pillow beside it.Ave was about to head back upstairs and sob for a few minutes when a note on the table caught her attention."I made you breakfast as a way of saying thank you. I am sorry for every pain that I have caused you. I also hope you can forget about me and move on with your life and find someone better who will be a better partner and man than I ever was to you." The note said.Ava allowed her tears to escape her eyes as she let the paper slip from her hand."You fool! Don't you know that there's no other man for me except you? I have waited for years for you to come back and explain why you left me and my heart
"What are you doing here, Ava?" Rake asked as he lowered his gun."You killed my boss! Are you an assassin?" Ava asked.She was still in a state of turmoil over everything, and the sight and scent of blood were not helping her think straight."You work here?" Rake asked.He put his gun back in the black bag on the floor, then stood up and stared at Ava's upset face."Is that all you can say? How about explaining why you have a gun and the reason you killed my boss?" Ava screamed."Okay, this is not the time and place for such a conversation! You don't know the enormous problem you have created for being here! I tried so hard to keep you out of this mess. I guess fate had to mess up everything!" Rake angrily said.Ava folded her hand into a fist in rage as she gazed into Rake's restless eyes. She felt furious, and yet she was more worried about him."We've got to get out of here. You ruined my mission." Rake said."What did I do!
Ava steadied her breath and tried to calm the panic she felt, yet she could no longer control her hands as they shook in an odd trembling rhythm. "Ava!" Rake called. Even though it was the fifth time he had said her name, she was not responding. He could see the fear in her expression as she ushered her dark eyes shut, then opened it. "I want to go home." Ava mumbled as tears rolled down her face. "You can't." Rake said. She then turned her head and doubtfully gazed at him as though he was talking nonsense. "Why is that?" Ava harshly asked. "Because you stand the risk of getting you and everyone you love killed." Rake casually replied. For a while, Ava didn't know how to respond to his statement or how to feel about what he had said. So she just gazed at him with annoyance in her eyes. "I know it's hard to accept, but your old life is over. Your boss' son will not take his father's death lightly. In this game, a
Rake stepped down from the vehicle, then he turned around and helped Ava out of the car. Once her feet were stable on the green grass, she lightly shook her arms to signal him to let go of her.Rake got the signal and his fingers slowly slip of Ava's arm as he stared at her with concern in his eyes."Hey Jax." Rake called out as a man with blonde hair approached them."Hello, boss." Jax replied.He then turned his head and gazed at Ava, who didn't pay him much attention since she was mad at Rake. He then looked at Rake, whose expression seemed aloof."Who's this pretty thing?" Jax said."She's just a chick that was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Rake replied with coldness in his tone."Are you going to take her to the big boss?""No. He can not know about her! I will handle her myself.""It's your prey, so you call the shots on it."Ava didn't know what to think or which words to use in such a situation. The entire
The chopper landed on an enormous field, and Jax was the first to get out, leaving Ava and Rake alone.Ava gazed at Rake, but the soulless expression on his face made her quickly look the other way."Is your ass stuck to the chair or something?" Rake coldly stated."What?" Ava harshly asked with a shocked expression on her face.She angrily gazed at Rake. However, from the coldness in his eyes, she knew that he wasn't the Rake she loves, and it tore her heart apart, but she kept silent instead of crying."You are not the man I hope to have spent eternity with and love even in death. I feel so cheated for loving you." Ava pitifully said."If you want to survive this side of my life, you better keep those cheesy statements to yourself." Rake stated."Haha... Cheesy. You are really not Rake."Ava angrily wiped her face, then stood up from her seat and got out of the chopper without looking at Rake.Jax saw Ava walking towards him, a
Ava stepped back slowly as the three bloodthirsty wolves circled her, leaving only a little distance between them and her."Nice fellows. I am not tasty at all. You don't want a skinny woman like me." Ava calmly mumbled.However, she was freaking out inside, and with every step that the wolves took closer, Ava felt as though her heart was going to explode in her chest."Stay back!!!" Ava commanded."Growl!!!""Growl!!!""Growl!!!"Ava’s bossy tone only made the wolves more alarmed and agitated as they closed in with their aggressive red eyes center on her."Ohh, this is not good. Rake! Rake! I am sorry. I didn't mean to act stubborn! I don't feel ready to die! So please save me!" Ava hastily screamed.At that instant, one of the wolves vigorously charged toward her. Ava couldn't breathe because of fear, and she immediately shut her eyes tightly."Bang!!!"The gunshot sound didn't help Ava’s panic attack either, but sh
Ava stared at Rake and then Jax. She could tell that whoever this big boss was, he wasn't someone she wanted to meet and the way how Carter coldly gazed at her made the to shiver a bit.She took a few steps closer towards Jax then bent her head down to avoid any eye contact with Carter.At that moment, Rake grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from Jax and the others, then stopped walking when they were far enough.“Hey.” Ava cried as she struggled to free her hand from his.“Listen carefully! The danger starts from this exact moment! Do not trust anyone except me, and don’t follow any instructions except it's mine! Do you understand?” Rake said.“I heard you! Now let go of my hand! You are hurting me, and this handcuff is the worst. When are you going to remove it?”Rake slowly released her hand. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny key, then unlocked the cuffs.“There. Now listen up. Jax is going to take you to my house.
Ava could feel the blade so close to her skin. She shut her eyes tightly when she felt a liquid running down her neck. “Lady Belle. I advise you not to do that.” Ava heard a familiar voice say, and she finally allowed herself to breathe. “Who dare interfere?” Belle screamed. “It's Jax. Look, Sir Roland told me to bring her to his home, and he won't be happy if he comes back and meets her dead.” Jax said as he slowly approached Belle and Ava. “She is just a plain and ugly woman. I will be doing Roland a favor if I kill her.” “You got a point.” Ava immediately opened her eyes. She eyed Jax as though she was trying to tell him, “ Hey! What hell are you doing? Are you trying to get me killed?” Ava saw Jax stare back at her for a moment. But she couldn't tell if he got her signal or not. “I wouldn't stop you from carrying that knife deeper into her skin since you have already started. But we both know my boss, and the last t