Mafia Desire novel (Ava and Andrew)

Chapter

40

It had been two days since I had moved in with Travis, and Dalia was finally returning from her grandparent's house.

Despite the fact that the last two days have been hell and nothing but endless tears, causing my entire body to go numb, I am excited to see Dalia. Despite the fact that Andrew is still Dalia's brother, I am aware that I will be forced to interact with him on a daily basis; however, as Travis has previously stated, pain will only help to make me stronger.

"Ava, are you ready?" Travis asked, breaking my train of thought.

"Um... let's go." I sighed as I followed Travis to the car.

I got into the car and gave Travis Veronica's address. My legs shook with nervousness and excitement, and I tried to push out the thought of seeing Andrew, knowing I'd probably collapse again.

"We're here, and I'll pick you up at 6 p.m." Travis said as he approached the familiar black gates.

"All right, Travis, thank you." I replied, gathering all of my strength and exiting the car.

I approached the black gate and waited for the two guards to let me in. I passed through the gate and walked to the front door, past the rose garden. The beauty of the black roses enchanted me once more. I remembered Travis telling me about the roses.

I'm curious as to who the Jayson's lost.

I arrived at the front door, and before I could knock, the door flew open, I was enveloped in a giant hug.

"I've missed you, darling." Emily exclaimed as she squeezed the life from me.

"Hello, Emily," I said.

She drew back from the hug, and her face dropped. "Darling, what happened?" She inquired, concerned.

"What do you mean?" I asked Emily, perplexed.

"What made you cry?" She inquired, cupping my face in her hands.

Was it really that obvious?

"It's not obvious, I can just tell," Emily replied, as if she could read my mind.

"I don't want to discuss it." I choked, trying not to cry for the twentieth time.

"All right, darling, but I'm always here for you." Emily stated.

I nodded and walked away, hoping to find Dalia. I entered the kitchen and found her sitting on the stool next to the kitchen counter.

"Daliee!!" I squealed, overjoyed to see her.

When she saw me, she turned around and exclaimed, "AVAAA!" She yelled. She leapt from the stool and dashed into my arms. I embraced her petite frame in a bear hug, missing her giggles and silliness. "I really missed you, Princess." I hugged her even tighter. "You're squeezing me." Dalia laughed.

"I missed you as well." She said as I let go of her.

"You'll have to tell me everything about your trip." I said, picking her up and repositioning her on the stool. I took a seat next to her and set my bag on the counter, ready to hear all about her trip. "I'm leaving for work, little one. Be careful." I heard a familiar voice speak before he walked into the kitchen.

My heart clenched as I heard his voice, then broke as my gaze met his. He appeared to be in perfect health, with no sign of sadness or emotion. His emerald eyes were as deep as I remembered, but he gave me that familiar look, and on top of that, he barely acknowledged my existence. He came to a halt when he noticed me, but he ignored me and went over to Dalia, kissing the top of her head without looking at

me.

"All right, bye-bye." Dalia responded by kissing him on the cheek. He nodded and walked out of the kitchen, not looking back at me until he was out the front door.

My eyes began to water, and I felt my chest clench, making it difficult for me to breathe. "Are you all right?" Dalia inquired, observing my condition.

I nodded, unable to speak, and dashed to the sink, splashing cold water on my face. My chest opened up and I was able to breathe again.

I won't give him this much power over me.

When I returned to Dalia, she was staring at me as if I had three heads. "Sorry, Princess," I laughed.

"Are you all right?" With concern in her eyes, she inquired.

"Of course not, I was just thinking I had a bug on my face." I made it up.

"Ewwwww." Her face shriveled up in disgust as she replied.

"Haha, now tell me everything about your trip." I walked back to the counter, trying to distract myself from the fact that Andrew was completely fine without me and was only using me.

Dalia told me about her trip, including swimming with dolphins, holding a parrot, and riding on a jet ski. Her grandparents apparently owned a private island, and she spent the entire four weeks on the beach. Dalia and I spent the rest of the day outside, coloring and playing dolls.

"OK, Princess, it's 6 p.m., and I have to leave." I said as I set one of the dolls down.

"Aww, don't leave, I'm going to miss you." She frowned as she spoke.

"I'll be waiting for you when you wake up, Princess." I replied as I stood up.

"All right, I love you." She responded.

"I love you as well."

I gathered my belongings and went downstairs to wait for Veronica. The front door swung open to reveal a furious Andrew. I waited for him to move out of the doorway so I could leave. His fiery eyes met mine and his entire body relaxed; he began to walk towards me, but I only dodged him and walked towards the front door, where Travis's car was waiting for me.

"Av-" Andrew tried calling as I walked out of the house, slamming the door behind me.

I dashed to the gate and jumped into Travis's car. I sat in the Bugatti Chiron and took a deep breath.

"Are you all right?" Travis inquired.

"Yeah," I said.

Travis nodded and drove away from the house, leaving Andrew in the rearview mirror.

"Travis I know I've asked a lot, but...

"Yes?" As he walked through the streets, he responded calmly.

"Could I come to base with you on my off days?" I used to practice shooting at Andrew's base, but..." I began to ramble.

"Of course, we have a shooting range and every gun you can think of." He responded.

"Thank you," I said with a smile.