-Ava's POV-
"Letters?" I ask Margaret, not having a clue what she's talking about.
"The letters you sent to me and Thomas here letting us know you wouldn't be able to take over Katherine's role in the charities." She answers, looking at me like I have two heads.
"But I didn't send any letters.."
"But we got them just this morning." Thomas speaks up, "They were delivered to the office in Paris by messenger."
"But that's impossible, I never wrote or sent any letters." I shake my head.
"They had your signature on them darling. If you wish to reconsider, please just let us know." Margaret smiles at me, looking a little concerned.
I start to ask her another question, but we are interrupted by the caterer having some flan emergency, and suddenly Harry and I are left alone.
"I don't understand. How would they get letters from me?" I stare across the room, not focusing on anything as I try to think about what could have happened.
"Ava..." Harry starts but is cut off by Niall as him and Poppy walk up.
"What's going on?" Niall asks, taking in my worried expression.
"Margaret just told me she received letters from me this morning saying I couldn't work with her charities."
"What's the problem with that?"
"I didn't send any."
"What?" Poppy asks.
"I didn't send any letters." I repeat myself.
"Well what does it even matter? You're staying with us anyway." Niall shrugs his shoulders.
Harry grabs my hand, trying to get my attention but I ignore him.
"Why would you say that?" I ask, only getting more confused.
"Cause ya re-signed the contract! Are you getting daft in the head Ava?" He laughs.
"What? No I didn't."
"Saw it myself this morning. Had your signature on it. Harry showed it to me."
"What?.."
"Ava." Harry grips my hand tightly to get my full attention.
I look up at him and see what looks like fear in his eyes.
"Can I talk to you alone please?" He asks, his voice sounding forced.
I nod, a bad feeling sweeping over my body as we excuse ourselves from Niall and Poppy and head out onto a balcony.
Harry closes the door to the balcony behind us, leaving us with muffled sounds of music as he walks me over to the edge of the balcony and stops.
I wait for him to speak, but he just stands there staring at me.
"Can I kiss you?" He finally speaks.
"What? Harry what is going on?"
"Please Av... can I kiss you?"
"Yes, but I'm really confus..."
My words are cut off as Harry grabs my face and crashes his lips against mine. He walks me backwards until my back hits a wall and presses himself into me. He places one hand on the back of my neck and the other on my waist, his grip on me so tight I'm afraid he may leave bruises. The kiss is full of desperation, only making me feel more confused.
He finally pulls away once we're both out of breath, and leans his forehead against mine.
"Please don't leave me." He pleads, his hot breath hitting my face.
I look up into his eyes and it hits me.
"What did you do?" I whisper back, to afraid of the answer to speak up.
"God Ava, I'm so sorry. It was so so so stupid of me and I realized it right after and have been trying to fix it but I wasn't able to." He quickly rambles off.
I don't speak as I wait for him to continue, praying he didn't do what I think he did.
"The paperwork I had you sign yesterday morning wasn't to release the rights to the song.. It was your contract."
I widen my eyes at him, "You tricked me into signing it?"
He nods, "And then I had several letters written up and sent to the charities. I convinced our lawyer to notarize everything so they were legal documents."
"What were you thinking?" I ask, shocked.
"I wasn't. I was so bloody afraid of us being apart. I didn't want what happened to Louie and El to happen to us. I couldn't."
"How did you think I would be okay with this?"
"Honestly I wasn't thinking about you. I was thinking about us. It was mad Ava, I know it was. That's why I tried to undo it all."
"This is what you've been so upset about? What you wouldn't talk to me about?"
He nods, his eyes searching mine.
"You really thought you could just make that decision for me?" I question, déjà vu from years ago hitting me.
"I wasn't thinking." He repeats himself, "I'm so sorry love."
He tries to grab my hand, but I quickly pull it away.
"This is insane." I shake my head at him. "I can't believe you did this."
"Me either. It was wrong Ava... so wrong. Please forgive me.... Please Ava."
"Why?"
"What?" He asks, confused.
"Why should I just forgive you? So you can just do it again?"
"I won't Ava. I would never." Fear takes over his face as he stumbles over the words.
"How can I believe that? Now that I think about it you've always been trying to control this." I say, motioning between us.
He shakes his head and tries again for my hand, this time managing to grab it tightly so I can't pull it away. "No, please don't think this was because I was trying to control you. I love you."
"How have you not been controlling? You threw a fit when I spent the afternoon with Liam, you pretended you didn't care about me anymore to try to get me to be with you, you followed me into another country, and now this?"
"Ava, you know the reasons I did all all those things. How is this just now bothering you?"
"Maybe I was to blinded by.. by..." My voice fades away, unable to finish the sentence.
"By what?" He asks, "The fact you have real feelings for me? That you're in love with me?"
"I never said that." I say quietly.
"Oh believe me, I know." He scoffs at me.
"Are you seriously mad at ME?" I question, ripping my hand out of his. I really can't believe him!
"Look Ava, I know what I did was wrong. Terribly wrong. But I know what you're doing."
"And just what is that?"
"You're going to use this as an excuse to push me away. And that's exactly why I wanted to just make it right and you never know about it."
"It's not an excuse, it's a reason! What you did was ridiculous! Who does that?!"
"Excuse, reason, whatever the fuck it is.. You're going to push me away because of it. You do this every chance you get." His voice raises, the fear previously heard in it being replaced with anger.
"Have you seriously turned this into being about me? The problem here is my fault, not anything you did?!"
"Obviously I did some proper shit Ava. But we're the same here... you just don't see it."
"How in the world are we the same?" I ask, dumbfounded he would even suggest such a thing.
"I fuck up because I'm in love with you. You push me away because you're in love with me. We both do stupid things because we are so bloody afraid of what we feel for each other."
"You're wrong." I shake my head at him, even though I know he couldn't be more right.
"No I'm not. What else do I have to do to prove that I really love you? To prove you can trust me?"
I can't help but laugh, "How in the world could I ever trust you when you do shit like this?!"
"Fuck Av, I did it because I'm in love with you! Was a terrible idea, but it was with the intent of keeping us together."
"Well you did a stellar job Harry! This whole decision thing has been killing me. So thank you for making it for me. Sadly it is the exact opposite of what you wanted."
"I knew you'd leave me." He shakes his head at me.
"And someone I knew you'd make me want to." I choke out, trying very hard not to cry.
"You don't... you don't mean that. We belong together Ava. You know we do... You know it." His voices breaks, realization hitting him of what is really happening. "I'm in love with you."
I feel so betrayed by what he did. My whole life has been someone else trying to trick and force me into doing what they want. And now here I am, right back there. Is this really who I'm giving my heart to? Someone just like those I ran away from? I can't do that. I deserve better.
I bite my lip, trying to hold in the words I know are a complete lie. But they're also the only words I know will make him let this go.
"Well I don't love you."