Chapter 22

Ava’s POV

A whole week had now passed of me holed up in my room. Crying my heart out and suffering heartbreak. My emotions were all over the place. One minute I would be cursing Damien out for breaking my heart. The next I would be crying on my pillow all because I missed him.

“All this stress you are putting on yourself is not good for the baby Ava. Please my daughter let Susan come and take you out so that you get some fresh air.” I heard my mother’s voice plead from the door.

And she was right. I had to stop being this mess.

Why should I when Damien had to be busy right now enjoying life with his new celebrity pregnant fiancee? And forgetting all about me.

“Tell Susan to come,” I spoke and went to take a bath.

Still, although I was trying to put up a front that I could be okay, inside I felt empty.

As I removed my bathing robe and was trying to decide what to wear. I looked down and noticed that there was now a noticeable bump on my stomach.

“My baby, I am going to take care of you, do not worry. It will all be alright,” I whispered also finding courage from my own words. Even if I had to work as a maid I would do it to support us.

Susan arrived and hugged me happily saying how she had missed me. And I had missed her too. Seems my mother had not told her about my pregnancy or why I was here. So, I was glad to be able to act normal as if everything was okay. I would tell her everything later.

I changed the subject whenever she tried to ask me about my life in New York and she noticed and decided to talk about our old days in college instead. I was proud of her as she told me that she was now working as a detective. Pursuing her dream of bringing justice to the world.

As we walked around shopping, she left me to go greet an old friend and was coming back. I decided to take a walk around.

My eyes widened as I spotted a familiar black limousine now following me.

“Go away, Aleksander,” I shouted annoyedly while stopping to stare at him as the limousine door opened with him sitting in the back seat.

“Is that any way to greet an old friend? How rude,” he replied with an amused smirk.

“Not when that old friend is the brother of my ex,” I replied, not even wanting to look at him. For his eyes reminded me of Damien’s and I would end bursting into tears again.

“Still, I need you to come into the car, Ava,” he then said now with a serious look.

“No, leave me alone or I will go and call the police on you,” I replied, giving him a glare. He could take his Mafia ways and go stuff them somewhere else “Man, pregnancy has really turned you into a Godzilla, must be the hormones,” he teased, but I gave him another glare, not amused.

“Ava here is the thing. You have no choice in this. This concerns my little brother whom I'm overprotective of. Either you get in the car with no fuss or I call my men to kidnap you and throw you inside.” My eyes quickly widened as he spoke with a very deadly serious look. Quickly shifting from the playful Aleksander.

I turned around to see another car stop and inside really were those two burly muscled men who had kidnapped me before.

“I have been here for three days waiting for you to finally come out of your house. So, either we do this the hard way or the easy way future sister-in-law.” I turned to glare at him as playful Aleksander was back again.

“I hate you, you’re just like your brother.” I angrily said to him while getting into the limo.

“Well thank you for the compliment of likening me to my little brother. Even if it was said in maliciousness.” Aleksander replied while closing the limo car door and locking it.

“Oh, and sorry that you could not say bye to your little friend. She is cute though, after this you should give me her number,” My eyes widened as I saw Susan standing there and looking confused as she searched for me.

“You are not compatible. She is a detective who loves upholding the law while you on the other hand love breaking it,” I replied, snarkily.

“Well, I do love a challenge,” Aleksander replied with an arrogant smirk, still looking very interested in the caramel beauty. One whom he could not take his eyes off as the car drove past her. And he had never dated a black woman before, yet this Susan seemed to have such a fire that he wanted to explore.

I gave Aleksander a scoff. As if I would unleash another Payne brother on one of my best friends. He wished. And he was the worse one, comfortable in his player ways. And Susan would eat him alive.

“Now tell me, why are you kidnapping me, a second time again!” I finally asked. Turning to stare at him and wondering where the car was heading too.

“As I told you, it's about my brother. Ben called me that he was no longer showing up for work and many important meetings had to be canceled.”

“So, I went to find him and what did I find? Damien looking like a disastrous mess. All because of you and whatever you did to him. right now, he is holed up in self-isolation and drinking himself to death.” As Aleksander told me this, great worry shined in his eyes for his brother.

“So, I came here to get you and fix things between you and my brother.” He added, “There is nothing to be fixed. He cheated on me with Annabell and is having a baby with her. Tell me where I fit in that picture?” I angrily replied.

“So stubborn, I blame my brother for wanting a strong-willed woman,” Aleksander replied while taking a glass of wine and putting it on to his lips instead.

My eyes widened as he also took his phone and was sending someone messages.

Before I knew it, the Limo stopped at the airport and he had me follow him to his private jet.

“You are wasting your time, you know. Take me back home,” I stated, with a scowl as we entered the Jet.

He did not reply but continued ignoring me with an earpiece on his ear.

I sat there with a frown during the whole 30 minutes flight back to New york.

Wondering how I had ended up here. I should have never listened to my mother and rather continued staying inside instead.