Chapter 22 - Her Defense
Ava
My heavy eyelids slowly opened up to a peeled ceiling, my head feeling extremely heavy.
It took me a little while to make sense of anything. When I did, I gasped and sat up on the white leather couch I had been lying down on. I scanned the entire room with my cautious eyes. It looked like a worn-out warehouse—completely creepy, like in the movies. The couch I was on looked new, though. It was the only thing that didn't look dirty.
"Look at that, the sleeping beauty has finally wakened up," Simon's familiar voice rang out, and I snapped my head in the direction of the door. He walked toward me with a devious smile.
"What the hell was in that lemonade you gave me?" I bellowed.
He took his sweet time to answer and sat down next to me on the couch. I shifted to the farthest corner, not wanting to stay closer to him, even for a bit. He was radiating ominous vibes.
"Haven't you figured it out yet, darling? I made that lemonade with a special medicine." It didn't take longer than a second to understand what 'medicine' he was talking about. This bastard drugged me. "You know, I was sure you would put up more protest than that to drinking something from my hand. Good thing you were angry with Ace, so it was a breeze bringing you here."
My blood boiled at his smug, lamentable voice. I had to restrain my hand from shooting out and slapping him across the face. But no, I couldn't do that. I had to get out of here on my own, and the easy way to do that was to trick Simon into believing me. I had to make him understand that this was all wrong. Worse comes to worst, I would just have to fight with him physically.
I couldn't always depend on Ace. I didn't know if he even knew I was missing or not, so I couldn't count on him to rescue me on time. I was strong, and I could definitely fight my own battles. I didn't someone else for that, especially not when that person didn't even consider me his better half, let alone like me back.
I just have to keep my calm—
"I love you, Ava," as soon as Simon said that, all my resolve to stay calm vanished into thin air.
"What the fuck are you saying, Simon? You love Liliana," I almost yelled. When he didn't dignify me with a reply, I continued, "And Liliana loves you. You two are having a baby. Are you forgetting that?"
"You are right," Simon spoke up at last. "I love Liliana, but not as much as you. Ever since I first saw you, you are all I have wanted. I want you like crazy, Ava." His eyes darkened as his gaze roved over my body.
Feeling conscious and disgusted, I fixed up my dress a little. Then I glanced back at Simon, and this time, he was a little closer to me.
"Ava, did you know you make people go horny just by one look from yours?"
I was appalled and shocked to hear those filthy words from him. I didn't realize I was about to marry such a cheap person. Thank God, I was married to Ace. At least, I knew my Ace properly.
"In case you forgot, I am married, Simon." I thought at least this would put some sense in his mind, but his next words shocked me.
"So what?"
I gaped at him. "What do you mean by so what? I am happily married, and I don't intend to cheat on my husband."
He curled his fists into a ball. "Damn that Ace! Why is he so lucky? I wanted to marry you just so I could use you as much as I want, but that Ace had me kidnapped. Now, he has you, and he can do all the stuff I wanted to do with you. That son of a—"
I ended up slapping hard on Simon's cheek before he could complete his sentence. "How can you even think of insulting my husband? Just be there for Liliana and your unborn child. You will find your happiness, Simon. There's still time. Let's go back, and I will act like this never happened."
Instead of considering my offer, Simon grabbed a clutch of my hair and yanked me forward, making me wince in pain.
"You bitch! How dare you?" he yelled, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't have a civilized conversation with this man; I had to fight back.
I took a deep breath and opened my eyes sharply, meeting his dirty, furious gaze. Without waiting for another second, I raised my elbow and hit his chin with full force. His grip on my hair loosened. I took that opportunity and stood up. I was about to make a run for it, but I was yanked back on the couch by the waist.
I landed on my back with Simon hovering over me, one of his legs locked in between my legs and my hands pinned over my head, keeping me in place.
"Did you think you are the only one who knows self-defense?" he spat out, looking down at me furiously. "But I have to admit, that was one hard blow."
My gaze flickered to the corner of his lips where blood was spewing out, then looked back into his eyes again, trying to struggle.
"It's useless, Ava. As good as you're in self-defense, you can't overpower a man—" I butted my head onto his forehead, earning a groan from him, but this time, his grip didn't lose. "Heh, did you think you can use the element of surprise again? No, sweet Ava, it's not going to work."
"And do you think that Ace will do nothing if he gets to know that you've got me locked in here?" I threatened.
He laughed. "That's too far in the future. I'm the type to live in the moment, and at this moment, I want you."
"Only in your dreams," with that, I slide my arm up and hooked his wrist before locking my ankles around his to throw him off the couch. He thought he was caging me, but he didn't know I knew more than one trick to escape his clutches.
As he fell to the floor groaning, I stepped on his stomach as I jumped down the couch, and ran towards the door.
But my head did a spin. Maybe the effect of the drug hadn't worn out yet as my speed slowed down and my vision got blurry. Just as I was about to hit the floor, I landed on a pair of strong arms.
I looked up with my blurry vision to find Ace. A relieved smile was its way to my lips, but it stopped when the sound of a gunshot cut through all the other noises. I peeked over my shoulder, and my heart leaped to my mouth when I watched blood spill out of Simon's neck.
I turned back to Ace's face, and he wasn't looking at me. I couldn't recognize that man at all. His eyes were cold and furious at the same time. His hands weren't shaking as he held the gun in his grip, as if he was used to it. A feeling that I had never felt with Ace surfaced in my heart— that was fear.
"Take him away," Ace ordered his guards coldly, sending another shiver down my spine. ""Bastards like this only deserve death," he muttered as the guards picked up Simon's motionless body like it was a piece of trash.
Only when the guards took Simon away, did Ace look at me and immediately his eyes softened. He pulled me into a tight hug, and all the terror was replaced by warmth in my heart. This was the touch I wanted over me—this familiar touch filled with affection. Yes, this was my Ace.
I must have been going crazy a minute ago to be scared of Ace.
"Are you okay, baby?" Ace whispered into my ear, still not breaking apart from the hug.
I hummed in response.
"I am sorry. I got a bit late because I was looking for you in the mansion at first," he informed me.
"It's okay. I managed on my own." I caressed his back to calm him.
After a few minutes, we pulled away from the hug.
"By the way, I know it's obvious, but you didn't really mean to kill him, no? You just shot him so that you could hand him over to the cops, right?" I asked.
I waited for him to reply, but he didn't. Instead, he asked, "Why did you leave like that, Ava?"
I sucked in a deep breath and said, "Because you never replied when I said that I liked you. It hurt more than our argument."
"Did you even give me a chance to reply?" Ace pointed out. When I averted my gaze, he sighed and cupped my cheeks, making me look straight into his eyes. "Is that something to reply to? Don't I make it obvious? I have liked you for a long time, Ava. I like you more than you can even imagine."
My heart fluttered hearing him say those words. A wide smile spread over my lips. "Really?" I asked once again. It all felt so surreal.
Ace nodded his head with a smile and brushed away a few strands of my hair. Then he cupped my cheek and leaned forward. I met him halfway, connecting both of our lips in a soft lock.
His other hand went behind my head, tugging me a little closer and moving our lips slowly. It was a gentle yet passionate kiss, one that was filled with warmth and security.