Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Who Is She?
Ava Duval
The sound of my children reached my ears in the living room as they were jumping on the sofa in excitement. Today was their birthday, and I had promised them the biggest birthday party they had ever seen.
Five years ago, I thought my life was over. Losing my twins that night made me believe that my life was meaningless, until Damian, my husband, adopted these two for me, and ever since then I had poured my life into protecting and taking care of them as if they were my own.
"Babe? Can I have a moment with you?" I heard my husband call me with his serious voice, and my eyebrows pulled together into a frown.
"Is everything okay?" I dropped the clothes I was selecting for the party to give him my attention as I latched onto his arm and peered into his eyes.
Damian scratched the back of his hair, looking slightly uncomfortable about what he wanted to say, which brought some kind of unease to me.
"What's the problem, babe? Is something the matter with the company?" My frown deepened. "Is there an emergency? Do you need to leave?"
He shook his head vigorously. "No, dear." He touched the back of my palm and squeezed gently. "I just wanted to discuss something with you, and I wanted to make sure you were comfortable with it first before making the decision."
My eyes slightly watered because of his words. This man… This was a man who loved me so much and would always seek my opinions every single time.
I believed I was blessed to have him in my life ever since I met him. My sacrifice to leave my fashion business to build with him wasn't in vain at all.
"What is it?" I moved forward until my head was tucked into the crook of his neck. "Tell me, baby…"
He gently pulled away, which brought a frown to my face, but I didn't make a fuss about it. Maybe this was really serious.
"I need to go to the airport and bring home a friend of mine." He said quietly, staring at my face to see if there would be any change in expression. "My childhood friend, Serena… Do you remember her? I think I've told you about her before."
My brows pulled together in concentration. "The one you said was sick? Is she doing better now?"
Damian nodded. "Yes. She will be staying with us for a week. I could have gotten her a hotel, but her health still needs to be monitored. That's why…"
"You can bring her here, okay." My voice was almost a whisper, and my eyes were filled with genuine care for this Damian's friend even when I hadn't met her. That was one of my greatest flaws… blind trust.
My fingers found the silver chain at my throat, the locket with initials I had never understood. A.V.
It was all I had from my parents who left me on those orphanage steps, and I had stopped wondering about them years ago.
I had Damian now. I had built my own family. And it wasn’t as if I’d never looked. There’d been a father once, somewhere, according to the woman who ran the orphanage’s records.
I’d looked him up exactly once, found a photo of a stern-faced stranger, and closed the tab before I could read a single word about him. Some doors weren’t worth opening. If he’d wanted me, he would have come.
The party was going on in full swing when Damian came back with another woman attached to his arms.
Eyebrows from the guests were raised, and I knew they were misunderstanding things.
I put on my biggest smile and hugged the woman first. "Hello, Serena." I smiled brightly. "My husband has told me so much about you. Welcome to our home."
She didn't hug me back, which wasn't much of a bother, but it was her smirk that almost threw me off as she glanced at Damian. "Is that so?"
"Yes!" I was oblivious to their small exchange as I went to my husband's arms and placed a deep kiss on his lips. It was the instant discomfort on his face that made my stomach churn, and I began to question my actions.
What was going on? Was he uncomfortable? Didn't we kiss every time in front of people? Or did something happen on the way over?
"Babe…"
But he was gently pulling me out of his body. "The guests are waiting, Ava. You need to attend to them." He looked towards Serena, "Let me show you to your room."
Serena and Damian came down later, and Damian went directly to where his friends were to exchange greetings, while Serena came up beside me as I was serving the guests.
"Hey… You've done a good job with the children." She smiled for the first time at me, and I giggled, thinking this was a compliment. "For that, I think you need to rest up, and I can take over from here."
I chuckled and waved her off. "Oh please, these children are everything to me. And…"
"Ava…" Serena touched my arm. "I insist. You look exhausted, and you need to take a little break, okay? Just… sit back down and enjoy the party while I help out."
I was thankful after Serena had managed to convince me, and I took a step back to rest. For a while, everything seemed to be going great until Damian came into my line of sight, looking furious.
"How dare you, Ava?" He gritted his teeth as he tried so hard to keep his anger down.
"How dare you force Serena to work like a maid after I specifically told you she has health issues, huh? What if she passes out? What explanation do you have for her parents?"
I stood up almost immediately from the couch because the guests had begun to look our way, and I tried to smooth things over. "It's not true, Damian. She insisted."
"Liar! She told me you forced her. You said she should make herself useful because she is staying in our home for free and we would be taking care of her." His eyes were blazing hot, and my heart sank.
Where did he hear those lies from? Was it from Serena? But she sounded genuine when she wanted to help… Why was she twisting the truth now? And why was Damian believing her over me, his wife?
"I'm so disappointed in you, Ava." Damian finally said. "I expected much better from you."
I watched as he stomped out of view to carry Serena, who seemed to have sweat pouring down her skin from stress, and I was suddenly filled with guilt.
How had I forgotten that Serena wasn't feeling too well? Besides, Damian must have misread everything, and that's why he was saying that. I had to go after them and apologise.
By the time I reached the empty balcony, Serena was already pressed into Damian's body with very little clothing and was whispering to him.
I felt uncomfortable at the scene, but maybe Serena needed the air to help with sweat. I didn't make it to the door when I heard something that chilled me to the bones.
"When are you going to get her to leave, Damian?" Serena whined. "I want to be with you and my children, babe. I miss them. Have you seen them, babe? They've grown so much, and I just…" She sighed.
"I wanted to pull them into my arms and just say 'Mama is Back', but I couldn't. I just…"
"Shhhh…" Damian placed a slow kiss to her lips before murmuring in response. "I'm working on something."
