16 YEARS AGO
"look at our kids making faces to each other. my son is just like me, smart and handsome" Mr Damien (Lucas Damien) laughs
"Smart? Who was first in our class? Me! My daughter has my genes, smarty-pants" Ava's dad (Henry Kim) jokes
"Your daughter really is pretty. Yesterday, she called me uncle Damien. they are growing up so fast" Lucas says
"Ian's mom always wanted a younger daughter. She loves Ava so much. She was making sweater for her this morning" he adds
"Henry... I want to say something. although we couldn't have a daughter, we want Ava as our daughter in law" he holds Henry's hand.
"As your best friend, this is what I ask for. Ava is perfect for our Ian. let's extend our friendship and be relatives in the near future" he says
"I know it is not something to say when they are only 3 years old but trust me, when i see Ava and Ian play together, it reminds me of how me and Ian's mother, Sofia started. I want the best for our kids" he adds
present days
Ava comes out wearing a red off shoulder knee length dress with a golden choker and golden heels.
"Wow, my sister looks almost as good as me" Peter jokes
"Dad, I am sorry. I shouldn't have argued with you. I know whatever you are doing is for my own good and I will accept whatever decision you make" Ava says
"I knew it. I am so proud of you. I can finally keep my promise to my best friend" Henry, Ava's dad says being happy
"I am so sorry dad for lying to you. I truly am but I can't marry him, so I have to do this" Ava says to herself
****
The bell rings.
"Mr. Henry? please come in" a maid greets them
"aahhh... You guys are here..! It has been such a long time." Lucas hugs him immediately
"you have gone fat Dam, and old as well" Ava's dad jokes
"Haha. oh that must be Dara" he greets Ava's mom.
after the entire "parents greeting" session, they finally notice Peter and Ava
"Hi uncle Damien." Peter says
"Peter? you have become so handsome. The last time I saw you.. " suddenly Lucas and Sofia see Ava behind peter
"is that?... Sofia says
"yes. that is our Ava" Henry replies
Hearing that, she directly hugs her. "Ava, do you remember me? I was you fairy godmother. You gave me that name" she says
"I did? haha" Ava says awkwardly
"Come in, are we gonna keep them standing over here?" Lucas says and they make it to the living room
They all sit down and while the two best friends are busy talking,
Sofia asks dara "does she? I mean?. know?"
"Yes, she does, Sofia" dara says
"And??" Sofia replies with hope in her eyes
"I know it and would love to be a part of this family" Ava jumps in the conversation
Sofia hugs her again. "I knew it. you are still that small Ava who loved my company'
"I guess I never grew up" Ava says feeling a wave of guilt hitting her. 'she is so nice and I am lying to her"
"Enough about ourselves, Where is your son? Get him out of his cage will you? " Henry says in a jolly mood
"Betty, ask him to come out" Sofia tells one of the maids
Truly, the Damiens are rich and live luxuriously. Their house is well polished with maids but they seem very down to earth.
Ava is surprisingly enjoying Sofia's company. She is near-about the age of her mother but is a very friendly and welcoming person
"oh there he is, meet our boy IAN DAMIEN" Lucas says
Ava looks up and chokes on her drink.. Is she dreaming or what? She gets up from her seat and tries not to look too flustered.
"Focus Ava. Focus on the plan. Butt will my plan work with this jerk? Urrgh. Why did I fight with him today? He will never do what I say...I hate myself so much" she thinks to herself
Ian greets everyone and sits down. He is wearing a white shirt with tucked up sleeves and a blue denim pant.
He looks less bothered about Ava
"Why does it have to be this potter? I am not marrying this wandless harry ever." he thinks
"Umm, You guys should check out our house. lets go upstairs" Lucas says clearly signaling everyone to leave the room
"You too Peter, come with us" Henry says
Peter gets up glaring at Ian and shows a thumbs up to Ava from behind.
"Time to put my plan into action" Ava thinks
"Listen, I will cut it to the chase. Go ahead and reject me" she says
"Why will I do that" Ian replies
"Because none of us want this relation to happen." Ava tries to sound logical
"That's true but why should I look like the bad person? You go ahead and reject me" he throws the curve ball back at Ava
" I will not reject you. I already said that I want this marriage. So unless you reject me, there is no other way out"
Ian thinks for sometime
"No, I am not rejecting you. I can't let my dad down by saying no. It has to come from you"
Ava has now reached her limits. She gets up and heads towards Ian's sofa
"listen, you don't get it, do you? I am not rejecting you. and moreover I made a vow to kill my first husband when I was 8. So it is on you.. whether you want to be free or be killed?" Ava says as a last saving chance
"Ava" Ian says with a serious voice
"Can I say something? Let's forget that we ever met this morning for a second and think of our parents. I don't want my mom to be sad because she wants you as her daughter in law. And you don't want your dad to be embarrassed in front of everyone,right? Why don't we agree to it? "
" I am not marrying you" Ava replies with a thud
"Then won't I. We are not getting married now. They will give us time to know each other. We will pretend that we're trying hard to make this work and then fail so that they realize that we are not meant to be together. Isn't it better? a few days of fake drama instead of a lifelong vows?"
Ava thinks about it. " it's.. umm.. okay I am in" she says
Ian gets up to shake hands "deal done?"
"Done" Ava replies and shakes hand with him
"Oh and by the way, now we can't forget what happened this morning. I said that to persuade you. You will regret what you did" Ian says in a cold voice all of a sudden
"Haha, Mr. Damien, I may have agreed for this deal, but it clearly doesn't mean that we are allies. I don't forget nor forgive my enemies easily" Ava replies
And thus both if them agreed to be in a forced relationship just to part their ways in the end. Youth is funny, isn't it. We think we have everything planned out but life puts us in a completely new track