Ayva’s POVMy heart skipped a beat as Justin went down on one knee. I felt all color drain from my face and I was so sure that there was no difference between me and a ghost. A series of emotions passed through me. I was flustered, shocked, confused, and dumbfounded. What the heck was going on?Why was he on his knees? Why was he looking at me like that? What was the ring in the box for? Who was it for? Me? Why? I blinked multiple times with the thought that if I was dreaming, it should wake me back to reality but, it wasn’t a dream. Justin was still on his knees, he was still holding the black box, the shiny jewelry sitting pretty in the box was still staring at me!“Justin what is… I mean is this… no, how can I… this can’t be… I mean, what is going on?” I spluttered, my mind was a jumbo mess. I was utterly shocked and dumbfounded. ‘Why is he pro… I mean is that even allowed? When he’s still legally married to someone else?’ He chuckled, “I’m not proposing, Ayva.” “You’re not?”
Ayva’s POV “Is something wrong? Are you okay?” Justin asked as I stared out the window of the plane after landing at LAX. There was a shift, and I felt different, unlike when we arrived at Santorini, I wasn’t excited. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, though not completely true. I was fine to some extent, but a lingering sadness hung over me. The past week had given me a break from reality, but now I had to face it again, picking up where I left off.Why couldn't life always be like it was in Santorini? Why couldn't I stay carefree forever, without any worries?“Something is wrong, Ayva, I can tell,” Justin said. I turned from the window to look at him. He searched my face, a bit unsettled by my expression. “It’s me, isn’t it? I did something to offend you, didn’t I?” I shook my head, he couldn’t be any more wrong. He’d shown me a different life, a happy, stress-free one I never thought possible. Perhaps the reason I felt that was way because I was selfish for wanting to stay in that p
Justin’s POV“Mom!” I warned with a glare as I tried to caution her. She continued glaring at Ayva whom I’d now pulled to stand behind me, shielding her from any other impending attack from my mom. “Oh my, oh God! What is happening? My son has- oh lord! I no longer recognize the man I birthed.” She staggered, but Emily held her before she could fall. “Where is he? What happened to my son?” She cried out dramatically, attracting unnecessary attention from passersby. My jaw ticked, “Mom, this is not the time or place for this.” I gritted through my teeth. “Oh Emily what has happened to your brother? How could he be so cruel to me?” She continued, ignoring my warnings. “Stop this now or I’m going to leave.” I kept on clenching and unclenching my teeth, trying to keep the anger and irritation o felt away. “Now he’s threatening me. He’s threatening his own mother. He’s not my—” “Mom!” I barked, gaining more eyes on us. She looked stunned and so did Emily. And their shock was because
Ayva’s POVI stared at the woman standing in front of me. She looked different from what I remembered. Her eyes seemed to sparkle more, and her skin radiated a healthy glow. Despite the angry red marks on her face, she looked happy and beautiful.As I observed her, a question lingered in my mind: was I truly happy? Maybe if I’d asked myself that question an hour ago, I might have answered yes, but now, I seemed to struggle with the answer. I felt… strange, numb, and— My body, my soul, they felt different things. My body seemed so out of touch with reality, almost as if it believed I was in a world that was not as tumultuous as my own, as if my world was not filled with turbulence.‘Do you even know that while you were away with that woman, Bella was at the hospital fighting for her life? She slipped on the stairs and bled so much. It was a miracle she didn’t lose your child’When I remembered those words, only one thought crossed my mind. If he hadn’t been with me, would he have be
Justin’s POVBenson smoothly parked the car in the driveway as we reached my house. Without waiting for him to open my door, I stepped out of the car and into the compound."Look who decided to come out from his hiding spot," Jace taunted from upstairs. I looked up, the sun almost blinding me as its rays shone directly into my eyes. I shielded my face with both hands to see him clearly. Jace stood on the balcony of my room, leaning against the glass doors with his arms crossed. I recognized the shirt and pants he wore; they were mine.Turning back to Benson, I instructed firmly, "Richard will bring some bags. I need you to drop them off at Ayva's.""Yes, sir," Benson acknowledged.I headed inside, passing through the corridor into the living room. As I made my way towards the stairs leading upstairs, Jace suddenly appeared in front of me."What were you doing in my room?" I asked, my tone unyielding.He shrugged indifferently. "I needed some condoms and figured you might have a few I
Ayva’s POVMy heart raced as Aiden’s words hung heavy in the air. They echoed in my ears, reverberating through my very being. My daughter, alive? That couldn’t be true, Zion never said- I mean how? I barely survived the crash so, how did she…I looked up at Aiden, my eyes wide with utter confusion. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to make sense of the situation, but it just didn't add up. How could she be alive, and Justin knew, yet never mentioned it to me? Justin wouldn't keep something like that from me, right? He knew the impact of her death on me."This isn't something to joke about, Aiden. I don't appreciate it," I accused, hoping against hope that he would tell me I was wrong, that it wasn't a joke."Ayva, you know I wouldn't joke about this. I would never do that to you," he reassured me, and I let out a shaky breath I hadn't realized I was holding.Tears blurred my vision, my hands trembling as I reached across the table to grasp Aiden's hand. A flood of emotions thre
Ayva’s POVBella, with a stern look, asked me, “Are you going to tell me why you were in my husband’s room, why you are in my house, or do I have to call the cops for trespassing.”I felt her gaze pierce through me across the corridor. I guessed I had indeed trespassed. After all neither Justin nor Bella were aware that I was going to drop by."I'm sorry, I was just heading out," I muttered as I made my way towards the stairs.But Bella wasn't letting me off that easy. "I asked you a question," she stated firmly, making me stop and turn to face her. "I think I deserve to know why you were in my husband's room while he was sleeping."Her stress on 'husband' was clear, like she was reminding me she was still married to him and had every right to ‘interrogate me.’ "I mean, you've gotta be a whole new level of shameless to show up here knowing full well that his wife was gonna be home with him," she remarked, taking deliberate steps toward me. "For seven days, my husband was off with you
Ayva’s POVI suddenly shot up in bed, startled by a dream that had felt more like a nightmare and had sent cold sweat down my back. My breath came in short gasps, and I was drenched in sweat as if the nightmare had seeped into my waking world.Letting out a heavy sigh, I turned my gaze to the alarm clock resting on the bedside table. It had just ticked past ten. Despite sleeping for nearly ten hours, it felt like only ten seconds had passed since I closed my eyes.I fumbled around the bed, searching for my phone, and finally unlocked it. As I scrolled through my missed calls and messages, a text from my boss caught my eye. He’d asked if I was still interested in being a part of the company or if I’d simply removed myself. At that moment, his message held little significance to me; the thought of losing my job didn't faze me. Instead, my mind lingered on the absence of any message or missed calls from Justin, the one I had been eagerly anticipating.The disappointment that I felt was i