41

Chapter 41
Ava could feel her heart pound violently in her chest as she rushed out, walking as fast as her legs could carry her. She had no set direction, but she knew she wanted to be as far from them as possible.
The ladies’ room was where her feet took her, and she heaved when she slammed the door behind her. Walking over to the mirror, she stared at her reflection.
Her face still looked baffled, and shocked. How long has that been going on? What was it between them? She asked herself as she dropped the files in her hand to wash off the clammy sweat on her palm.
All she wanted to do was return the goddamn files and head back home, but no, of course, having a normal day was not something she was familiar with.
It hurt a little, scratch that, it hurt a lot for someone she had convinced herself and successfully believed not to care about.
He did not look so into it, but she could not shake off the image of his lips touching hers.
Gathering herself and heading out of the bathroom, she inhaled a long breath to steady herself and picked up the files, shutting the door behind her.
Deciding a cup of coffee would do her some good, Ava headed for the break room. Cup of coffee in hand, she made to exit the room when a few colleagues waved her over.
She had never been much of the chatty type, but they seemed polite and welcoming, so she accepted their company, grateful that it had somehow served as a form of distraction from her thoughts.
Laughing heartily at a joke that one of the ladies made whose name, Ava, had out of bad habit already forgotten.
The door to the break room flung open, the room fell silent for a few minutes as everyone’s attention was drawn to it and alpha Damon walked in.
His eyes scanned the room hastily and Ava could tell what was going to happen next, so she braved herself for it.
Jane said something to her, and Ava answered politely, keeping her voice as low as she could. Her voice must have given her away because she instantly felt his eyes on her, making her look up at him too.
She looked away when his eyes fell on her, and she could make out his heavy steps as he walked over to her. Ava could feel her wolf stir a little, but she knew it was not the time for her to poke her body head, so she tamed her.
“Hi, Ava. Can I talk to you for a bit?” He asked when he stood in front of her. His eyes fixed on her while he thoroughly ignored everyone else at the table.
Ava wanted to say no, she wanted to look him in the eye and ask him to go back to Princess. But she could not…she could, but she would not.
Instead, she simply said “no”, returning to her coffee and taking a lazy sip.
Causing a scene that was not like her, and she could not let him see or know how much his actions had hurt her.
“Please” he pleaded, he did not have to say much more, his voice held everything that looked and felt like a genuine apology.
The whole table looked shocked, alpha Damon had just said please to her, literally begged her, of course everyone was shocked
“Okay,” Ava said, getting up and walking after him to a more secluded area to speak. She did it more to not get all these eyes on her. They were already peering at them, their curiosity very obvious, and some did not have the decency of being subtle.
“What you saw in there…” he started, but Ava knew where this was going an excuse, a defense Andy thing to make her seem like she was the blind one, the one who did not see clearly that they were kissing.
The Princess even said so comfortably at his desk like she had been doing it all her life. Ava winced at that last thought, she was not a fan of the idea.
“You do not have to explain yourself to me, you are a grown man with the freedom to do whatever and whoever he wants, we are not even together so it is not relevant anyway,” Ava said, cutting him short, she felt bad when she saw the expression on his face. She wanted to take back what she just said, but the damage had already been done.
He looked hurt and disappointed, Ava wondered what he expected. She listens to his sob story, and they go back to being…whatever it is they were.
His gaze faltered, and his eyes were cast on the floor for a minute, he looked deep in thought and Ava wished she could get into his head and know what he was thinking, she waited for him to say something, anything.
The break room was quieter than before and Ava looked around to see that they had drawn attention, almost the entire hall had their eyes on them and Ava suddenly felt very conscious.
Alpha Damon’s lips moved like he wanted to speak, and she waited to hear what he had to say, but his lips fell shut again, his eyes had what looked like hurt when they met hers.
Why was he hurt? Ava thought he was the one who kissed Princess, not her. She should be the one hurt.
“Okay,” was all he said, and Ava was stunned. Just okay, and he walked out of the break room. His usually buoyant steps looked lopsided.
What had she done? What did she say that was so wrong? All she said was the truth, he was a grown man who had the right to his choices, and they weren’t together.
She looked around the break room with a frown as if asking them to get on with what they were doing, the show was over after all.
Walking back to her seat, she felt a little dejected herself, and maybe angry. That he walked out, possibly she had hoped that he would persuade her to listen, even just a little.
Or perhaps it was her tone that had deterred him, she had come on too strong because she had wanted to prove a point, but now, she doubted that doing that was the best idea.
Suddenly, the coffee tasted stale and too cold, and she wanted nothing but to be in the comfort of her office or better still, her room.
Excusing herself from the table as politely as she could, Ava found her way back to her office, collapsing in her seat she felt her heart sink.
Fishing for her phone on the desk, Ava dialed the only person whom she could openly talk to about her situation with alpha Damon.
The only person who would not mind or judge her, the phone rang twice and Ava sighed in relief she heard a cheery hello from the other end.
“Are you okay?” Mika asked from the other end, and Ava could tell that she had sensed the tension and sadness in her voice.
Now this was what true friendship was, Ava thought. All she had to do was speak, and Mika would interpret her tone.
“I need to talk to you.” It was all Ava could away after a few minutes of looking for the right words.
“Okay, where shall we meet?” Mika asked a tinge of urgency in her voice.
“The usual spot, get a drink…or two please” she added
“Okay, now I am distressed. But okay, will do that nonetheless.” Mika said like the good and loyal friend she was.
It was in moments like this that Ava was grateful that Mika was back in her life, and she came just at the right time, too.
Ava stood up, grabbed her bag and keys, and walked out of the office, she could not bring hers to do any more work.
Her head was just too heavy for anything else at the moment. The garage still looked full as it was very much still working hours, and she sighed when she did not see his slick black BMW parked at the usual spot.
The drive to their favorite spot was a short one, and Ava could see Mika perched on the log of wood that they had turned into their seat.
It had their initials on the side from many years ago when they had made a promise to each other to be best of friends forever.
A smile painted her face at the memory, well looked like they had both kept their promise because over a decade later, amidst fate’s turns and being apart for so long, here they were, about to bond over some talk and wine.
“Ava, come on.” she waved Ava over, bringing her out of her reverie.