Ava’s POV

The door opened with a soft creak, and my heart froze in my chest. I had expected to find my room empty. I even thought I would feel the cold emptiness of the room that I turned into my sanctuary, and maybe ask Maria to move my things back, but not this.

The room was empty. Yes. Except for the sight that had anger and pain coursing through me.

Orion was there, pressed against Chloe, his lips on hers, their bodies molded together like they couldn’t get close enough.

I couldn’t breathe.

The world around me seemed to tilt, my vision narrowing on the two of them. My heart slammed against my ribs, and my stomach churned violently.

The man who had looked at me three days ago with eyes that pleaded, who had acted as though the thought of divorce would destroy him, was here—kissing Chloe like I hadn’t just been ripped apart by him.

Chloe’s eyes flicked open, landing on me. The smirk that spread across her face made my blood boil. She leaned into him further, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. Her hands slid up to his neck, pulling him closer, and she let out an exaggerated moan, one meant for me to hear.

I gritted my teeth. He still hadn’t seen me.

“Orion,” she whispered against his lips, loud enough for me to hear and he moaned, the sound making my insides crawl in disgust.

Only then did he pull back, his eyes still half-lidded, a dazed expression on his face. It was like he was waking from a dream, one where I didn’t exist, one where he didn’t see me standing here with my heart aching all over again.

When his gaze finally landed on me, the daze vanished. His eyes widened in shock, and his body went rigid, as if my presence had knocked the air out of him.

“Ava—”

I didn’t wait. I turned and stormed out of the room before he could utter another word. Why am I surprised? What did I expect? That he was suddenly being sincere? That he would finally choose me?

Wake up, Ava!

It shouldn’t hurt. It won’t be the first time. But it did.

The sound of my heels clicking against the marble floors was drowned out by the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears. The humiliation, the anger, the betrayal—it was all too much. I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.

“Ava, wait!” His voice echoed down the hall, but I didn’t stop.

I reached the staircase and gripped the bannister, my hand trembling as I ran to the west wing. For a moment, I thought I might collapse. My legs felt like jelly, my chest tightening as though the weight of everything was crushing me.

But I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart.

Not now. Not ever.

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Orion’s POV

The look on Ava’s face as she turned and walked away hit me like a punch to the gut.

I stood frozen, unable to move, unable to process what had just happened. She had seen me—seen me—with Chloe.

Damn it.

I ran a hand through my hair, my mind racing. How did this happen? How had I let this happen?

Chloe’s touch on my arm snapped me out of my daze. “Orion,” she purred, her voice soft and sweet, like she hadn’t just blown my world apart. “Don’t worry about her. She’s just being dramatic.”

I jerked away from her, the thought of her touch suddenly repulsive. When did Chloe’s touch become repulsive? When did I start caring about what Ava would think of me? Since Venice?

“Don’t,” I snarled, my voice low and dangerous.

Her eyes widened slightly, but then she laughed, the sound grating on my nerves. “Oh, come on. You can’t seriously be upset about her seeing us. It’s not the first time. She’s your wife in name only. You’ve made that very clear.”

Her words cut through me like a blade. She was right. Ava and I had never been anything more than a contract, an arrangement. So why did the look on her face, the pain in her eyes, feel like a knife twisting in my chest?

Do I have feelings for Ava? When? Why? I shouldn’t. She’s nothing but a gold-digger that my father passed over to me.

“It was just a kiss,” Chloe said, her voice light and dismissive. “Don’t let her ruin what we have.”

What we have? The thought made me sick. I had one thought in mind the whole day as I knew Ava was being discharged. The west wing was like a separate part of the mansion with its own living room and kitchen.

I appointed staff to work up there while we move I and Ava’s things up there. Maybe, just maybe, if we are alone and away from all these drama, I could understand what it is I feel and know what to do.

Chloe had come up to me while I was finishing up and in my moment of weakness, I thought it was Ava. I fucking thought I was kissing Ava.

I stared at Chloe, my jaw tightening. “Get out,” I said coldly.

She blinked, her confidence faltering. “What?”

“I said, get out.”

Her lips parted in shock, but when she saw the look in my eyes, she thought better of arguing. She grabbed her phone and sauntered toward the door, throwing one last parting shot over her shoulder.

“She’s never going to accept you, you know. You’ve made your choice and that’s me, whether you admit it or not.”

The door clicked shut behind her, and I was left alone in the suffocating silence of the room.

I sank onto the edge of the bed, my head in my hands.

What the hell was wrong with me?

The kiss hadn’t even meant anything. Chloe’s touch, her lips—it had all felt hollow, empty. I’d been thinking about Ava the entire time, her fiery spirit, the way she fought me at every turn, the way she looked at me like she wanted to set me on fire.

And now I’d gone and destroyed whatever fragile truce we’d had.

I stood abruptly, pacing the room like a caged animal. My thoughts were a whirlwind of anger and frustration, but the one thing I couldn’t stop replaying was the look on Ava’s face.

She had looked at me like I was the worst kind of monster, and maybe I was.

But damn it, I didn’t need her. I didn’t care what she thought. She could leave, she could divorce me, she could take her damn shares and make my life hell. It didn’t matter.

So why did I feel like I was losing something I couldn’t replace?

I stopped pacing, my chest heaving as I tried to get my breathing under control. My fists clenched at my sides, the anger bubbling over, but it wasn’t directed at her.

It was at me.

Because no matter how much I tried to tell myself that Ava didn’t matter, that she was just a pawn in this game, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had just lost something far more valuable than the inheritance, the company, or the fortune.

And that thought terrified me.