Chapter 165: One of Us Must Die, Who Do You Choose?
"Dinner's ready."
The meal had a good mix of meat and vegetables. Ava had arranged everything beautifully on the plates—it looked really appetizing. Ava was satisfied as she set the food on the table, wearing a sweet smile on her face. Clearly, she was in a good mood.
Finn and Cleo came over right away when they heard Ava calling. Ava looked around the living room but didn't see Joshua anywhere.
"Where's Joshua?"
Finn and Cleo shook their heads—they didn't know either.
Hearing some noise from the balcony, Ava walked over and asked with a smile, "What are you doing out here?"
Joshua was standing on the balcony, smoking one cigarette after another.
Seeing Joshua's expression, Ava quickly noticed something was off. The smile faded from her face.
"What's wrong?"
Joshua glanced at her coolly. His eyes were clouded with a hazy look that made it hard to read his emotions.
"You know Ryan, don't you?"
Ava's pupils contracted. The expression on her face froze because of Joshua's words.
The sudden questioning left Ava not knowing how to respond.
"Ava, you better answer me honestly." Joshua's voice was dark.
Ava's eyes dimmed. "When you ask that question, don't you already have the answer?" So why bother questioning her like this?
Joshua sneered coldly.
"No wonder every time he's mentioned, you always look off, always hiding something. So that's it. Ava, what's your relationship with him?"
"...Friends." Ava answered.
"Friends? What kind of friends?"
"What other kind of friends could there be? What are you getting at? What are you suspecting, Joshua?"
Ava was getting annoyed by his questioning tone.
Joshua irritably stubbed out his cigarette, took a deep breath, "Do I have to spell it out? Ava, you've been with him all these five years you were gone, haven't you?"
Ava clenched her hands tightly. "Yes. Is there a problem?"
During those five years abroad, Ryan had been protecting her. Ava couldn't deny that.
"Good. Just great, Ava." Joshua gritted his teeth hard. "I'm warning you now—cut off all contact with him immediately."
"Why should I? Can't I have friends?"
Joshua's cold voice let out an icy laugh. "Friends? Ava, do you even know how dangerous Ryan is? How much do you really know about him?"
"Dangerous?" Ava was angry inside and laughed coldly. "Joshua, please don't talk about my friend like that."
The dangerous person he was talking about was the one who had saved her life again and again after Joshua abandoned her in a foreign country, the one who desperately protected her when she was in danger.
Joshua had never seen her defend someone like this, as if she wouldn't allow anyone to say a single bad word about that person.
It showed how important Ryan was in Ava's heart.
Ava's eyes kept getting redder.
Joshua closed his eyes deeply, realizing his tone was too harsh and had upset her. He forced himself to tone down his temper and calmed down for a few seconds before continuing, "What do you know? Why do you trust him one hundred percent?"
"If I don't trust the person who risked his life to save me again and again, who should I trust?"
The person he was talking about had never hurt her—he was her lifesaver who had rescued her multiple times. What right did Joshua have to talk about him like that?
And why shouldn't she trust him?
If it weren't for Ryan back then, Finn and Cleo wouldn't have survived, and she would have died in that fire too.
Joshua's chest ached with anger. His hands at his sides kept clenching. Waves of emotion surged in his eyes, but he forcefully suppressed them. "You're defending him like this?"
She was defending Ryan like this!
Thinking about how she had spent those five years with Ryan day and night, Joshua was going crazy with anger.
Ava bit her lip and looked away coldly. "This is my business. You don't need to interfere."
Joshua clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his forehead in anger. He grabbed her shoulders with both hands, forcing her to look at him.
"Fine. Let me ask you—if one day he and I get into a fight, and one of us has to die, who would you choose?"
Ava frowned deeply. She stared into his eyes, completely not expecting him to ask her such a difficult question.
He was the person she loved.
Ryan was her lifesaver. She saw him as family.
She didn't want either of them to die.
"I won't choose."
"You have to choose."
"Why? Why does one of you have to die? Joshua, can't this be resolved peacefully?"
"Ava." Joshua's voice was full of anger. "He killed Zach. He has to pay for that life. There's no peaceful resolution between him and me. I'm determined to take his life, and he won't let me go either. This isn't something you can stop."
Ava's starry eyes were full of pain and complexity.
"Now I'm telling you—first, stay away from him and cut off all contact. Second, don't get involved in this. You just need to firmly stand on my side and firmly believe in me."
"Enough, enough. Stop talking." Ava took two deep breaths. "Just go. I need some time alone."
Joshua stared at her deeply, forced out a cold smile, and turned to leave directly.
At the entrance, the door slammed shut hard, making even the door frame shake.
Ava closed her eyes tightly. No matter how hard she tried to breathe, her chest still felt tight.
After two minutes, Ava finally walked out.
Finn and Cleo were standing by the dining table, not knowing what to do.
Ava looked at the table full of food, her eyes full of irony and bitterness.
......
The next day, Ava went to work at the hospital as usual. All the way until the end of her shift, Joshua still hadn't contacted her.
Ava had been in low spirits all day. Even Thora noticed. When it was almost time to get off work, she couldn't help but ask, "Ava, what's wrong?"
"What do you mean what's wrong?"
"You seem really down."
"No, I'm just a bit tired." Ava picked up her cup and took a sip of water, casually making up an excuse.
"I don't believe it. You're such a workaholic—I've never heard you complain about being tired even after several major surgeries in a row. Don't try to brush me off with that excuse." Thora wasn't buying it.
Ava smiled slightly. She still wasn't good at complaining to others about her family matters. "Really, it's nothing. Don't worry. Isn't your shift over? Go on."
Seeing that Ava really didn't want to talk about it, Thora didn't push. "Okay, okay."
Thora pulled out a chocolate bar from her bag and handed it to Ava. "Eating something sweet will make you feel better."
Ava smiled and took it. "Thanks."
"Well, I'm off. You're on night shift—drive carefully when you go home tonight."
"I know. Now go, or I'll make you stay and review some more medical records." Ava joked.
"No way, no way." Thora ran off immediately.
Ava shook her head helplessly and went back to work.
It wasn't until ten-thirty that Ava got off work. Sitting in her office, Ava opened her phone then closed it again, sighing softly.
......
The car pulled into the underground garage. Ava got out with her purse and keys. She had only taken a few steps toward the elevator when Ava felt something wasn't right.
Soon, she heard footsteps behind her.
In the dim lighting, several tall shadows were cast...
Ava immediately quickened her pace toward the elevator. The footsteps behind her sped up too.
A fist swept past her cheek. Ava quickly dodged backward and turned to face a pair of extremely fierce eyes, full of killing intent.
These were clearly not ordinary thugs.
"Who sent you?"
"You should ask yourself who you've offended."
"Ava." A cold female voice rang out. Mia walked out from the shadows wearing a black veil.
"Mia? Tough luck—Will hasn't killed you yet?"