Chapter 16
Ava rolled out of bed reluctantly. It had been a long weekend, and it was going to be an even longer week.
She was mentally exhausted from all the drama that had happened throughout the past week, and she knew it was far from being over.
Walking lazily into the bathroom, stared at herself for a while in the mirror.
In one weekend, her life had completely taken a different turn, one she had not seen coming
Everything was Jude’s fault. She begged him not to agree to this business, but he wouldn’t listen to her.
Now, she had practically nowhere to go. She could still stay at Jude’s, but she knew it would be short-lived. Once again, Damon has ruined her life.
Agh! She was so stupid to give in. Yes, she was drunk, but she could have stopped herself, but she didn’t
She loved him as much as she hated him. Maybe even more.
She washed her body absent-mindedly. She was so lost in thought.
The annoying part of the whole situation was that they still had to work together until the contract was over
She got out and walked into her closet. For the first time, she felt like wearing anything sexy.
And her wardrobe was not failing her at today of all days.
She looked back and forth, trying to decide what would be the best outfit to put on until she landed on a red body con dress. She decided to pair it with a black boot, put her hair in a high bun, and left some strands in front.
She picked up her black handbag, and put on some nude lipstick and some cologne.
She headed downstairs, didn’t bother to meet with Jude, and went to her car.
She took a deep breath and put the car in motion. As much as she dreaded going to Damon’s office and Westwood pack as a whole, didn’t actually have a choice.
Ava pulled into the parking lot, her thoughts disrupted by the low rambling of her stomach, reminding her that she had not had breakfast yet.
She hoped she would get something to eat at the office. she walked in and headed straight to her office.
Thankfully, she had all the things she had to do that day on her desk already, so she didn’t have to see Damon. Her plan was to avoid him the whole day and slip out of the office when it was closing time.
At least that was her plan until Will informed her that Damon asked for her in his office.
Annoyed and exhausted, she took a deep breath and walked over to his office.
She stood still for a while before entering the office after Damon’s approval.
She walked in slowly and sat opposite him.
There was something off about him that she could not pinpoint.
It was like he felt pity for her in some kind of way. He was not his usual, confident, domineering self, at least not with her.
“Sorry to disturb you.” He stated and paused for what felt like an eternity before he continued.
“I know you don’t want to discuss the weekend but….” he tried to complete his statement.
“….. But you’re right, I don’t want to talk about it.” She said softly, cutting him off from completing what he wanted to say.
He gave a weary smile, she could see his eyes held pain, or regret, she could not say.
Alpha Damon had always been a hard man to read. But she knew there was definitely something wrong with him. She didn’t want to ask, so as not to give him a wrong impression that she actually cared.
She was still mad at him for the stunt he pulled, but there was no way they could take it back. It was already done. They were completely bonded, but she couldn’t live with him, not after everything he put her through.
He respected her decision and decided not to bring it up again, but quickly apologized before she could stop him. He knew she resented him even more than she did before and if she could, she would not be here with him but unfortunately for her and fortunately for him, she was still here against her wish.
Damon quickly diverted to business as he saw that she was getting uncomfortable.
His eyes suddenly took note of how good she looked, the dress she wore perfectly suited her body.
She didn’t put effort into it, but she looked absolutely wonderful.
He tore his eyes off her as he noticed her staring at him.
They didn’t say anything for a while. The total silence that emanated from the room was loud enough to bring the building down.
He cleared his throat after a while and gave her some files he claimed to have left out in the documents he had dropped on her table, and informed her that they had more meetings that day.
Ava muttered a low “thank you”, collected the files, and headed back to her office. Damon’s eyes, not leaving her until she was completely out of sight.
He didn’t mean to rush her, after all, he had done enough the prior weekend. And after what he discovered, he felt like a terrible person.
After a while, he headed out for the first meeting they had of that day. He went earlier as usual, but this time he arranged the sitting position so that Ava could be closer to him.
If she didn’t want him still, he still very much wanted her.
About five minutes to the start of the meeting, everyone arrived except Ava. After waiting for about ten minutes, he decided to start the meeting without her so as not to keep the clients waiting.
He was about to start speaking when she opened the door. Discovering she was late, she hurriedly sat in the only empty seat which was beside him.
In between the meetings, he asked his secretary to serve them all tea before they went ahead.
In the course of serving Damon, Ava’s hand mistakenly hit the cup of tea, which resulted in it spilling over his pants.
She apologized over and over, admitting that she didn’t do it on purpose. She had been a bit clumsy and absent-minded after the meeting with Damon.
Damon assured her it was fine and proceeded to end the meeting so he’d have time to change before the next meeting.
Fortunately, the clients presented no issues, which led to the early dismissal of the meeting.
Ava apologized one more time before she left him in the meeting room.
As she walked out, his mind went back to when a similar case happened in high school.
Since he found out, his memory has been sharper.
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Damon and his friends strolled into the cafeteria to get food. They were known for their rude and notorious behavior so all the students avoided them as much as they could.
Everyone cleared the line for them except Ava. She was already being served when he asked her to get out of his way. At first, she ignored him, but then he yanked her by her shoulders, forcing her to turn.
She faced him fully, holding her tray in her hands. She picked up her cup of tea from her tray and poured it on his pants.
She immediately regretted it as Damon’s eyes held revenge as he looked at her. He made up his mind to disgrace her.
Damon ordered his friends to collect her tray and made sure that he poured the contents of every plate over her head.
His hate for he had stemmed more, it had gotten bigger and had grown massive branches.
It had given him even more reason to prey on her, reminding her every-time that she was a nobody and that he was someone to not be toyed with.
Damon didn’t leave her alone from then, he had made sure to bully her every day. He hated her because she questioned his authority. No one could dare to do that, and he hated her guts.
He made sure he made her life miserable every day at school until they graduated.
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He stood up from the chair and walked back to his office, his mind clouded.
He wondered if she would ever forgive him, or if she would make him pay for the rest of his life.
How could he tell her he was no longer that person when he pulled a stunt on her that was irreversible?
Damon walked into his office bathroom and quickly took a shower, changed suits, and settled in his chair.
He hated himself for who he had been to her, but unfortunately, he couldn’t change it.
Once again for the hundredth time between when he found out and now, he hated himself all over again.