Chapter 136 Falling into the Water
Bruce Howard figured that anyone Samuel stuck so close to must be some favored daughter of the Thomas family or something. But he'd been around the whole social circle - how come he'd never seen this beautiful woman before? Maybe she just came back from studying abroad.
He quickly accepted this explanation himself.
Bruce pestered Samuel, "I'll just say a few words to this lady, absolutely won't make her drink, don't worry, don't worry."
"No, I'm very sorry Mr. Howard..."
"Why are you so stubborn? I just want to talk to her, get to know each other a bit."
Samuel kept a straight face - you want to get to know Joshua's wife? Are you crazy?
Samuel said, "What do you want to talk about? I'll chat with you."
Bruce was dumbfounded, "Am I crazy? What would I talk about with a grown man like you? You're weird."
Samuel was speechless.
Ava was speechless.
"Stop blocking me, hey you really..." Samuel and Bruce got tangled up together.
Ava really couldn't stand watching them anymore and said with a light smile, "Mr. Howard, what can I do for you?"
"See, she's talking to me, move aside, move aside." Bruce took advantage of Samuel's moment of confusion and darted right in front of Ava.
He smoothly ran his hand through his hair, that handsome face wearing a playfully wicked smile, "Ahem... Miss, let me introduce myself, I'm Bruce. What's your name?"
Ava smiled gently, "Hello, Ava."
Ava noticed Bruce was just smiling to himself. Did she have reason to think Bruce wasn't quite right in the head?
"Ms. Davis, how about we exchange contact info and keep in touch? When you're free, I'll take you out to have fun."
Ava directly refused, "No thanks."
"Don't be so quick to refuse. I know everyone in this area. From now on, I'll look out for you, guarantee you can walk around here like you own the place..."
Ava's gaze slowly moved up from Bruce, and she slightly pulled at the corner of her mouth.
"Ms. Davis, what's wrong? Not feeling well? Is it a bit cold? To be honest, I suddenly feel like the temperature dropped too..."
Bruce's collar was grabbed from behind. He got angry - someone dared to grab his collar? Looking for death.
Just as he turned around ready to curse someone out, he came face to face with an extremely handsome face. That face had dark eyebrows tightly furrowed, eyes full of gloom, thin lips pressed into a line, radiating an icy coldness!
This person was... Joshua!
Bruce still didn't realize how serious things were, and greeted Joshua with a smile, "Joshua, long time no see." Joshua had a stern face. Ava calmly picked up the wine glass in front of her and slowly took a sip.
"What are you doing?"
"Joshua, I'm chatting with your cousin."
"...Cousin?" Hayden, standing behind Joshua with one hand in his pocket, just laughed.
Ava's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably.
"Ava, since when did you become Joshua's cousin?"
Ava shrugged slightly, "I don't know."
Bruce's face froze, no time to react.
Joshua had already walked to Ava's side, his long arm naturally wrapping around Ava's waist, pulling her into his embrace.
Ava naturally didn't refuse, slightly lifting her head, "Why so late? Did something happen at the company?"
Joshua's attitude toward Ava in his arms was completely different - his gaze gentle, he reached out to tidy Ava's slightly loose hair, "Nothing major, don't worry."
"Okay."
"Bored?"
Ava pressed her lips together, "A bit."
"I'll go say hello, then we'll leave."
"Alright, I'll wait for you outside."
Bruce stood frozen in place, his eyes showing nothing but shock.
What had he just done? What on earth had he done?
He'd just been hitting on Joshua's wife!
He slowly turned his head to look at Samuel who had desperately tried to stop him, "Is it too late for me to go die now?"
Samuel shrugged.
Bruce wasn't the only one shocked by this scene - everyone around was stunned.
Joshua's appearance naturally attracted everyone's attention. They watched as Joshua headed in that direction, originally thinking he was going to find Bruce, but his gaze stayed on the woman in front of Bruce the whole time.
That woman was actually Joshua's wife!
Many men cast grateful looks at Samuel who had stopped them from going over to chat her up.
Those looks were like they were looking at their savior.
Thea stood to the side, taking in the whole scene.
She had just been standing at the entrance, wanting to greet Joshua, but his gaze swept around the banquet hall and finally landed on a corner, his eyes never wavering as he walked straight over.
Perfectly ignoring her.
And his eyes only had Ava.
A crack finally appeared in Thea's perfect expression. Her hands clenched tight as she watched a figure follow closely after Ava from a distance. In an instant, a cold smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
The Ellis family estate was about the same size as the Thomas Villa, with ornate architecture, winding paths, scenery every few steps, and people everywhere.
Ava quietly walked out.
"Ava."
An icy voice called from behind.
Ava stopped and turned around, her brow moving slightly as she saw Mia standing behind her.
Meeting Mia here didn't surprise Ava much.
Her expression was calm and composed, her cool eyes showing little emotion.
"You made me suffer so much, are you satisfied?" Mia said while approaching step by step, her gaze sweeping over the pool nearby before moving back to Ava.
Ava furrowed her brow, her gaze growing colder, "You brought it on yourself."
"No, you did this." Mia roared, "You got my mom killed, our whole family is in chaos now."
Ava's expression was cool, her voice calm and unhurried, "You got your mom killed yourself. Don't you know that? Isn't ending up like this your own doing?"
"Ava, I want you to pay with your life for my mom..." As Mia finished speaking, she suddenly grabbed Ava's arm and violently pulled her into the pool.
Ava's heart tightened - she couldn't swim. Mia held her arm in a death grip, pulling her down, determined to kill her.
"Let go."
Ava struggled desperately to break free from Mia's grip.
During the struggle, she sank down further.
Mia was completely crazed, "Ava, how does it feel? You bitch deserve to die. All the pain I suffered, I'll make you suffer it all too. Go die."
Ava thrashed in the water, her feet couldn't touch the bottom at all, and she swallowed several mouthfuls of water.
Mia laughed loudly. When someone came, she desperately shouted, "Help... help, help..."
Suddenly someone jumped in.
Two men swam quickly toward Ava at the same time.
Ava didn't know how many mouthfuls of water she'd swallowed, only feeling her body continuously sinking.
Suddenly an arm grabbed her hand, pulling her into an embrace, holding her waist to keep her mouth and nose above water.
Timothy Yan's brow was dark and gloomy, "Hold on a bit, I'll get you up right away."
"Joshua save me, save me." Mia shouted.
But Joshua's gaze never left Ava for a moment. He pushed Timothy aside and quickly pulled the woman into his arms. Ava's hand naturally rested on his shoulder.
Timothy Yan watched as the person was forcibly taken by Joshua, his expression growing increasingly cold.
Joshua rescued Ava ashore at the fastest speed. Fortunately, he got there in time - Ava had only swallowed a few mouthfuls of water and coughed violently on the shore.
Joshua's face was dark as he continuously patted Ava's back, helping her breathe, "Are you okay?"
Ava covered her chest and nodded.
Hayden followed right after. Seeing both Joshua and Ava soaking wet, his face darkened and he couldn't help but quicken his pace, "Joshua, Ava, what happened?"