CHAPTER 52

AVA'S POV.

The morning of the community outreach event was a whirlwind of emotion for me, as I bounced around the length and breadth of the place, checking and rechecking every detail to ensure everything was in place.

I didn't spend all this time planning this event for it to end badly.

As I hurried around, I paid attention to the chair setups and how they were neatly arranged in the hall, providing an ample, comfortable environment for the attendees.

I also went on to check on the sound engineers to see if they had also set up their equipment and they were also working perfectly.

I moved on to the lorry outside the venue where the palliative for the local business owners was stacked.

The boxes of essential supplies as discussed in the last outreach I organized, foodstuffs, and materials to support their businesses were ready in the way I wanted them and set to be distributed.

Satisfied with the look of the things, I greeted the security personnel safely guiding the lorry and I made my way to the food stand where the caterers I had hired hustled around.

Today was a very big day for me, and I wanted nothing but perfection as I have been planning this event for months now, and it would hurt me if it didn't go the way I envisioned it to go.

“Is everything ready?” I asked the head chef who was overseeing the whole cooking preparation.

“Yes ma’am, we are all set with everything you ordered, ready to swing into action on your call.” She replied with a confident smile plastered on her face.

Relieved that all was going as planned, I decided to head back to the hotel room I had lodged in just behind the venue of the event, to get ready.

The event was due to start in an hour which meant I had just one hour to get my makeup done, get dressed, and return to the venue.

I got back to the hotel, prepped my skin, and went straight into doing my makeup.

As I did my face beat, I kept getting calls from my team.

I had left back at the venue to hold down things for me before I arrived.

Balancing the phone on my shoulder, I shuffled between doing my makeup, jotting down things that I was being told over the phone, and giving directions when needed.

I was good at multitasking, so I did everything like a pro.

Just as I was putting a finishing touch to my makeup, Jane, who I had brought along with me to assist me in running some errands so I wouldn't get choked up with the work, knocked on the door and came in.

“A guest is here to see you,” she announced.

“Bring him in,” I said and she left. I was curious a little bit about who the guest might be, but a part of me suspected that it was Mark.

He was the only person I had in my life that was full of surprises, and also since he had been trying so hard to impress me, it was only normal for him to show up at the event I had blabbed about to him for two weeks now.

But then the door flew open again and this time Aiden walked in, he was the guest.

My eyes lifted in surprise, totally not expecting the plot twist that had just happened.

I was quick to mask my disappointment with my surprise and stood up to welcome him.

“What a pleasant surprise, Aiden!” exclaimed cheerfully, giving him a side hug.

“I know right,” He grinned widely like he always does, “I couldn't exempt myself from such a big day of yours.”

“That is so thoughtful of you,” I smiled. I know I might have been disappointed as I was expecting someone else to walk through the door, but somehow his presence soothed the anxiety that had been slowly building up in me.

“You look stunning by the way, I mean you always do, but this is different this time.” He went to compliment me with his eyes sparkling brightly.

“Thank you so much.” I beamed with joy.

“Come on in,” I added as I made my way back to where I was seated in front of the mirror to continue my makeup.

We went on to chat more about the event with Aiden endlessly raining praises on me for the arrangement that was perfect in his words, and the effort I had put into it all.

Soon I finished up with my makeup and I excused myself to change into my fit for the day.

I returned shortly after to meet Aiden waiting outside the room to escort me back to the venue.

I was so thankful for his company because it was a good distraction from my overthinking self but his presence did not completely wipe off the disappointment I felt for Mark not showing up at a time like this.

I know this is probably too early to conclude, but I was already feeling like what he was truly after was the kids, Kenny and Kendall as he desperately needed an heir, and not me.

The event finally kicked start a few minutes after we arrived with the MC giving an opening prayer and then going on to breeze through the order of the day before calling me up on stage for my welcoming speech.

I took in a deep breath as I matched up the podium, my eyes sweeping through the crowd before me.

“I want to especially thank you all for being here today,” I started with a smile plastered on my face.

“I am extending my heartfelt gratitude to all of you here because I know it is not easy to leave behind your activities and honor my invitation every single time.”

I added and paused for a while to study the crowd as I waited for their applause to die down.

“I know how hard it is to build something from nothing because I have been in that position myself, there were times I wished for someone to come to my rescue during my struggles and I got none. Now that I have gotten to the position where I can help, I want to give back and support those who are where I once was.”

The crowd clapped earnestly as I finished my speech and I felt a surge of pride swelling inside me.

After I had stepped down from the podium, the MC went on to introduce a special guest in our midst which was Aiden as I had earlier instructed him to do.

Aiden took the stage, his charm evident as usual as he started speaking, “Ava,” he turned back to look at me to stand behind him.

“Your dedication and compassion are truly inspiring to us all and the younger generation. I have always known you to be hardworking and kind-hearted, so it isn't surprising to see you do this.” He paused and turned back to the crowd.

“And to you all out here today, I want to say that I am here to support you and solidly stand behind you, and to show my support, I am pledging the sum of fifty thousand dollars to this outreach.” He continued.

The audience erupted in cheers at the sound of that, and I was dumbfounded and shocked to the bone.

First, he showed up randomly to an event that I didn't even invite him to and then he is pledging such a huge amount of money.

“Thank you so much Aiden, your generosity means the world to us,” I said, stepping back up on the stage, feeling emotional.

“This means a lot to me and everyone here as well, I can't even explain how..”

Just then I caught sight of Mark stepping into the venue, and without wasting any time as my heart exploded with excitement on seeing him I invited him up on the stage with us, announcing to the crowd that there was another special person in our midst.

I honestly don't know what I was thinking about when I called Mark up on stage, forgetting Aiden was right beside me and they were both always fighting.

As Mark walked up on stage smiling warmly to me, Aiden dropped the Microphone and left the stage.

“Without taking much of your time, I just want to thank Ava for always being who she is and having people in mind at all times, it is truly commendable and to encourage her, I would like to give the sum of a hundred thousand dollars to support this outreach” Mark stated and the crowd went wild with joy again, this time was louder than the first as they had just heard a double of the amount.

“Ava's dedication to this cause is inspiring and I am truly honored to be a part of it” Mark added before handing the microphone back to me.

After we all left the podium for the MC to continue with the event, I thanked Mark earnestly for his contribution.

“I think I have to be on my way now,” Aiden said immediately as I got to where we sat down before we went to the podium.

“Wait, Why?” I asked surprised.

Glaring hard at Mark, “I have something to catch up with.” he replied, rolling his eyes as he stormed away.

“Aiden, wait!” I exclaimed running after him.