Chapter 157 I Love You, More Than My Life
Hayden's breathing tightened. He squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to look at what was inside.
Ava's fingertips were trembling. The room was a complete mess. Mia lay naked on the floor, clutching her chest and sobbing uncontrollably.
The bright light from outside startled the person inside. When Mia saw Ava at the door, her expression froze for a moment, then she deliberately put on a look and glared at Ava.
Ava scanned the room but didn't see Joshua anywhere. However, there was the sound of running water from the bathroom...
Ava squeezed her eyes shut hard. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed, making it hard to breathe. Everything in the room seemed to be telling her what had just happened here...
Ava took several deep breaths, but even breathing in felt like being cut by knives.
Joshua, aren't you being too cruel...
Ava walked step by step toward Mia, who was smiling triumphantly. She looked down at her from above.
"Ava, I won. I'm Joshua's woman now..."
Ava slapped Mia hard across the face.
That triumphant voice stopped abruptly.
The private room fell silent for what felt like forever.
Mia's face, covered by her hair, kept letting out sinister laughs.
"Ava, go ahead and hit me. Even if you beat me to death, it's already happened. I'm Joshua's woman now."
Ava looked at her coldly. "You really enjoy seducing other people's men, don't you?"
"I just like Joshua. I love Joshua. What's wrong with that? Ava, you're the one who pushed me to this. It's your fault, all your fault." Mia screamed accusations like a madwoman.
Ava's lips curled coldly, her eyes filled with icy coldness everywhere. She looked at Mia as if looking at a dead object, with no emotion at all.
A loud crash came from the bathroom - the sound of glass breaking.
Ava's heart jumped. Her eyes fell on the bathroom, and she unconsciously moved her feet toward it.
She gripped the door handle but hesitated for two seconds before pushing the door open.
In an instant, Ava's pupils shrank sharply.
The huge mirror on the wall had shattered into a spider web, with a bloody fist print smashed into the center from the powerful impact.
Joshua's white shirt was unbuttoned several buttons, his sleeves rolled up. His strong arms were braced against the sink as he hung his head low, his face dark, like a demon crawling out of hell.
Joshua heard the sound and slowly moved his gaze to Ava.
Suddenly, rage surged in his eyes, as if he wanted to kill her.
Before Ava could react, the man pinned her against the wall. Her back hit the wall with a loud thud. She felt her insides shake - you could tell how much force Joshua had used.
His large hand gripped her neck tightly. The feeling of suffocation came immediately. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at her, as if he had lost all reason and just wanted to kill her.
"Joshua... what are you doing? I'm Ava!" Ava struggled to make a sound.
Joshua's face still showed no emotion. "Mia, you're looking for death, and you dare to impersonate Ava!"
Joshua gritted his teeth in pain, lowered his eyes, and suddenly shook his head, as if forcing himself to stay conscious.
The large patch of blood red on his hand stung Ava's eyes.
Ava realized something was wrong with Joshua. He couldn't recognize her right now and thought she was fake.
That sentence he just said - Mia had just impersonated her.
So he still thought she was Mia in disguise.
Ava's heart ached. His burning palm was giving off an abnormal temperature.
He'd been drugged, and with a very large dose. He had just hurt himself to stay conscious.
"Joshua, wake up. I'm Ava, I'm really Ava..." The large hand on her neck kept tightening.
"Joshua, look at me carefully. I'm Ava, I'm the real Ava!" Joshua still showed no sign of letting go.
If this continued, Ava would be strangled to death by him. "Hayden!"
Hayden, who was at the door of the private room, immediately rushed in when he heard Ava's call, only to see a scene he couldn't believe.
"Joshua, what are you doing? She's Ava! Are you crazy? Let go quickly." Hayden hurried to pry Joshua's hands away.
Ava could barely catch a breath before being gripped tightly again.
Hayden desperately tried to pry Joshua's hands away. "Joshua, calm down, really calm down. She's Ava, it's Ava! Are you trying to strangle her? What's gotten into you?"
Joshua was really acting crazy. Samuel also rushed to help, and it took a lot of effort to finally rescue Ava.
Ava covered her numb neck, with no time to catch her breath. "He's been drugged. Get him to the hospital quickly."
Hayden's eyes instantly turned cold. "Drugged!"
That damn Mia outside actually dared to drug Joshua.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry! If we're any later, he won't make it." Based on Joshua's current condition, this drug must be extremely strong.
Hayden and Samuel quickly supported Joshua on both sides and headed out.
Ava barely managed to support herself and get up, immediately following them out.
Mia was covering herself with clothes, still lying on the floor. As Ava passed by Mia, she stopped, her eyes coldly sweeping over her. "Joshua never touched you."
Mia shook violently. "No, he and I were together..."
"If he really touched you, he wouldn't have hurt himself like that. Mia, this isn't over between us. You had thoughts you shouldn't have had, and I'll make you pay the price."
Ava didn't give her another glance. She grabbed a wine glass from the table and walked out of the private room.
The truth had been exposed.
Mia felt her last bit of dignity completely shattered.
Even when she stripped naked and stood in front of Joshua, he had no reaction to her. Even when she pretended to be Ava and gave him such a heavy dose of drugs, he would rather hurt himself this badly than touch her.
Joshua had his stomach pumped, took medicine, and his emotions had stabilized.
Ava sent the wine glass and the wine inside it from the private room for testing. The analysis showed the wine contained an extremely strong forbidden drug.
This drug was colorless and odorless but extremely powerful. Just one drop could easily make someone hallucinate, and without an antidote or finding someone to resolve it, it would be extremely torturous for the body.
Ava really didn't know how Joshua had endured without touching Mia. His mind had completely lost control.
How much willpower must it have taken to lock himself in the bathroom?
This proud man would rather hurt himself like that to stay rational than touch another woman or resolve it himself.
That drug not only harmed the body but could be fatal in serious cases.
How vicious the person who drugged him was.
Ava's heart ached terribly.
After dealing with everything until the next day, as Ava walked out of the hospital room, she received a call from Finn.
"Mommy, where are you?" Finn and Cleo woke up early and didn't see Ava, so they were very worried.
"I have something to deal with. I'm outside. You're awake now, so have Sabrina make you something to eat," Ava said.
"Mommy, did something happen?"
"Don't worry, it's nothing. Oh, baby, I need you to do me a favor."
"Tell me, Mommy."
"It's something you're good at. Help me pull up the surveillance footage from the 9th floor of Elysium Club from 10 PM to midnight last night."
Ava believed Mia couldn't have pulled this off alone. Someone must have been helping her, and that kind of forbidden drug wasn't something she could have gotten her hands on.
This wasn't as simple as it seemed.
"Okay, Mommy. I'll do it right now and send it to you later."
"Good."
Ava hung up the phone and let out a long breath. When she turned around, she bumped into someone's embrace. Her nose brushed against Joshua's shirt fabric, and the next moment, Joshua held her tightly in his arms.
His kiss fell on the top of her head, his low, magnetic voice hoarse. "I'm sorry."
Ava didn't refuse Joshua's embrace. She raised her hand and hugged him back. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes."
"Last night, I..."
Ava lifted her head from Joshua's embrace and looked up at him with heartache. "Nothing happened. I believe you."
Joshua's pupils froze, replaced by a trace of surprise. He had thought she wouldn't listen to his explanation, that she would blame him for hurting her.
But she said, nothing happened, I believe you!
Joshua pulled Ava even tighter into his arms, lowered his head, touched his nose to hers, and asked softly, "In that situation last night, I almost didn't believe myself. Why are you so sure? Hmm?"
"You're such a proud person. How could you allow another woman to defile you?"
Joshua smiled and kissed her lips.
How much had he not cherished her before? How stupid had he been to lose such a treasure? Fortunately, this treasure was still by his side now.
This was good!
"But... Joshua, if there's a next time..." Ava paused and looked at him seriously. "I hope..."
Ava's lips were kissed hard. He knew what she was going to say, but he wouldn't allow her to continue.
"If there's a next time, I still won't touch another woman because of this."
Joshua's low voice spoke. Ava's heart trembled. "But don't you know that if you don't release it with this kind of drug, you could really die in serious cases?"
"I can handle it. Trust me."
"Joshua." Ava's eyes reddened. His bloodshot eyes last night had really scared her to death. "Don't you know that life is more important than anything else?"
Joshua lowered his head and kissed her eyes tenderly with infinite affection. "No, you're the most important, more than my life."
If he had been with another woman, forget about whether she would still want him - he would feel he wasn't worthy of her anymore.
And if he had really done something with Mia last night, how heartbroken she would have been.
He wouldn't allow that to happen, so when he realized something was wrong, he immediately pushed Mia away and desperately used pain to maintain his last bit of consciousness and reason.
Ava looked at him. Their eyes met.
She pressed her lips together, her emotions incredibly complex. She looked at him, her eyes seeming to have endless things to say.
Finally, she asked, "Joshua, do you really love me that much?"