Orion laughed again, "Stupid wanted to apologize for liking your wife when I shouldn’t have. She was already married to you when I t her, and she might not love you yet as you just admitted, but I thought it still wasn’t in my place to like her. I guess I should have just stayed ho. Then I wouldn’t have heard and seen everything I heard and saw since I stepped into the room." He snickered, "Then I would have been in the process of helping myself move on."
Archie pushed his glasses up his nose.
"It’s a good thing you ca though. You got sothing like a reality check when you walked in, didn’t you?"
"Reality check?"
"That Ava might not love , but she is still married to . And because of that, I have, and will still, know her in ways you will never have a chance to." He shrugged, "So in a way, I think your coming here wasn’t a waste."
"I guess so. Main point; you don’t mind if my feelings for her doesn’t disappear, but you want to know she’s yours, and I must not act on those feelings except she’s in danger... that you’re posing."
"Perfect," Archie smirked. "You are a good friend, Orion."
"And you’re an evil friend, Arch," Orion bit back. He dropped the tray in his hand, allowing it to clatter to the floor as he turned and walked out of the room.
The door had barely closed behind him when Archie took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Ian," he said into the phone, as soon as the call connected. "Orion left just now. I need you to go after him and do everything you can to make sure he’s in a good mood by the end of today. Tell what he needs when you find out, and I’ll provide it..." he sighed, "Except it’s Ava, of course."
★★★
THE MCCALLUM’S HOUSEHOLD.
"We made sure of it. There’s no way Avery is alive. It’s either this particular woman just looks a lot like her, or she intentionally did a plastic surgery to have like Avery’s face..."
While her parents discussed what she told them on her arrival less than half an hour ago, Valentina wasn’t paying them any attention and had all her focus on her phone, her fingers furiously flying across the screen.
"And what the hell are you doing, Tina?" Jon hissed, his sharp voice instantly putting a halt to what she was doing.
Valentina rolled her eyes. "Ugh! Don’t call that, Dad. Your stupid accent is exactly what’s annoying the most in this whole shitty situation. How co Avery knows the perfect pronunciation of my na while you two, my supposed parents, pronounce it like it’s so wack na?" She darted her gaze from her exasperated mother to her annoyed father, rolling her eyes one more ti before deciding to dump the phone on the table in front of her. She could continue what she was doing later.
"What were you doing anyway?" Kathy asked.
All three were sitting in the library on the second floor so as to make sure none of the maids or workers would be able to eavesdrop on their discussion. The table in their midst had five glasses of juice, though only three people were present as of that mont.
Valentina sat up. Wrapping her hand around one of the glasses, she brought it to her lips and took a lazy sip.
"Leaving hate comnts on Avery’s page," she replied.
The door opened just then, and two pairs of footsteps resounded behind her.
"Avery is dead, Stupid. Stop calling her na unless you want her to haunt you at night," one of the new entrants said.
Without turning around to confirm who was talking, Valentina snapped, "You’re the stupid one, Rob. Avery is not dead. She’s the fucking Ava Donovan that has been causing sleepless nights for days now!"
"I’d say that’s just your paranoia talking, Sister. Avery died. I confird her death myself, and guess what?" Roberts finally ca into view, Brian Walker sauntering in after him.
The latter went to take his seat on the single seater sofa in the space, while Roberts proceeded to stand in the middle of the room, a manic smile on his face.
"Just get straight to the point and stop making us guess," Valentina hissed. She rolled her eyes again and inwardly chastised herself, thinking if she continued like this, her eyes would probably roll to the back of her head by the end of the day. "So of us have better things to do than to waste it listening to the trash you have to say."
"Oh really? I think that notion is gonna change when you’re done hearing out."
"I second your sister on this one, Roberts," Kathy deadpanned. "The ti’s running out and I have to get to church as soon as possible."
Robert chuckled, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
"I don’t think any of us should care that you’re going to church, Mom. In fact, why do you even go there when you don’t abide by the teachings taught in that place? Except... Mom." The amusent in his eyes disappeared to be replaced by mock seriousness, which Kathy assud to be genuine.
"What?" she raised a brow.
"There’s only one reason I think you can’t stay away from church for long. And it’s... are you keeping secrets from us, Mom?" Roberts questioned.
Kathy’s heart leapt in her throat and when she talked, the words ca out in a stutter, "What? What secrets can I... would I be able to keep from you three, my closest family, uh? Not like I have any other but then—"
Roberts interrupted her, "I an, secrets like you attending confessions and telling your sins to the priest. You know you can’t trust anyone, right?"
"Roberts is right for once, Mom. Tell us you don’t attend confessions," Valentina probed, a wary look in her eyes. She only just began enjoying the spotlight; she would hate for it to be taken away all because of a stupid mistake from her mom.
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