Serena almost rolled her eyes as the security guard blocked her path at the entrance to the offices. She was pretty sure there had to be a rule against people taking petty power trips, but clearly, that wasn’t the case today. Taking a deep breath, she tilted her head slightly, sizing him up before addressing him in a tone that carried both patience and a sharp edge.
"Look," she began, her voice calm but laced with a warning, "either you call whoever it is that instructed you to stop and explain how pointless this little charade is, or we can do this the hard way. And trust , you won’t enjoy that part, because I’ll get the lawyers involved. Then you can explain to them and your superiors why you’re taking the fall for soone else’s bad decisions." She offered him a tight smile. "So, Sir Security, please do the needful and let through. I promise it’ll be less painful for everyone."
The guard stood straight as he stared at the lady standing there and sighed. He had indeed been instructed by the director that no one was to be allowed inside today if they did not have the company identity cards. No visitor cards were allowed to be issued. And yet, this lady, did not seem to be joking. Should he be intimidated?
***
anwhile, Sidney stood in the conference room, watching the security footage as he looked at Ava and sighed," Do you really think you can use these petty tricks to stop Rena? Co on, Ava. Stop the childishness and instruct the guard to let her in. this is not the ti to antagonize her."
With that, Sidney moved to pick up the phone and call off the security but before he could Ava stopped the call from going through and glared at Sidney with resentnt as she snorted, "Of course,I cannot stop her from coming inside. After all, she already has soone here to rally support for her." She accused Sidney snidely before continuing with derision, "But just because I have to give in does not an I should just lie down and let her walk all over . I am not going to make things easier for her."
"The only person you’re making things difficult for is yourself, Ava. You really think dragging this out will hurt her? No, it’s going to backfire, and you know it. What happens when she shows up with the lawyers? When this whole charade blows up in your face and she exposes everything." He raised an eyebrow at her, his tone growing more serious. "You’ll be the one who becos the laughingstock, not her. This is not a fight you can win."
Ava’s expression hardened even further, but she didn’t respond imdiately. Instead, she folded her arms and turned her gaze toward the security monitor, watching as Serena stood unflinching against the guard’s attempts to delay her. She clenched her jaw. She knew he was right and hated the entire situation even more.
But this ti, Ava made no move to stop Sidney as he dialed the guard’s office, instructing them to let Serena in and guide her up to the conference room. She watched, her lips curling into a bitter smile. Of course, she couldn’t get Sidney to stop caring about Serena. It was almost pathetic, really. From the very first mont Serena had walked into their lives, Sidney had sohow cast himself in the role of her protector, her knight in shining armor. Ava almost hated him for it—for being so blind to everything else, for choosing to see only Serena.
If only she didn’t love him so much, she would have given up on this whole charade long ago. She would have stopped tolerating Serena’s presence, her influence, and her constant ability to pull everyone’s attention toward her like she was the only person in the world that mattered. Ava had hoped—no, she had believed—that when Serena disappeared, when she was no longer in the picture, Sidney would finally notice her. She had convinced herself that without Serena’s shadow looming over them, Sidney would eventually see her for who she was—loyal, devoted, soone who would never abandon him.
And yet, here they were. Serena was back, and Sidney was still standing up for her, just like always. Nothing had changed.
Ava’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, her nails digging into her palms. Just then, Sidney’s hand rested lightly on her shoulder, a gesture ant to soothe, but all it did was ignite the frustration she’d been trying to keep under control. She flinched, her eyes snapping toward him.
"What?" she snapped, her tone sharper than she intended.
"Ava, I know the two of you have your differences, but this isn’t the ti to cling to them. If anything, this is the mont to resolve them. Holding onto old grudges isn’t going to help anyone."
Ava let out a low, mocking laugh, rolling her eyes at him. "Of course, you would want us to resolve our differences. After all, she went off and married soone else, didn’t she? So, now the only way you can stay close to her is by playing diator between the two of us. How convenient for you." Her voice was laced with sarcasm, each word cutting. "But Sidney, aren’t you tired of always siding with her? Look at her! She didn’t even give you a chance, despite all that talk about you being her best friend. And yet, here you are, still trying to fight her battles. Still standing up for her, like she’s so kind of saint who can do nothing wrong."
Sidney’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening as the temperature in the room seed to drop. He pulled her arm and caught her chin," Thats enough, Ava! You know nothing! Nothing at all! So, I suggest you think very carefully before speaking on this matter again."
Before Ava could reply or pull away, soone cleared their throat," Oops. If I had known I would be interrupting, I would have stayed down with the security guard..."
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