Ava kept her mouth shut throughout the ride and stared outside the window, refusing to look at the man sitting next to her. She knew she shouldn't be angry or anything because she expected something like that. However, looking at the current situation, she wouldn't have to feel guilty for leaving him later since they don't have any real feelings towards each other in the first place. It's better that way but she couldn't help feeling angry, disappointed, and used.
"Ava."
She looked at him as he heaved a soft sigh before taking her hand in his. "So, I'm here to assure your position as the leader, am I right?" she received silence as a response to her question. She knew that there must be some reasons he was willing to look for her but she couldn't help but feel hurt. Wow. I guess I am stupid for not guarding my heart better.
"I'll take your silence as a yes," she spoke before pulling her hand out of his and looked back outside the window. "Ava…" he called out to her softly.
"I'm okay, Alex. Don't worry about me. Just take me home."
"I can't do that."
Ava turned to look at him and tilted her head in confusion. "And why not?"
"You're not going anywhere alone. You're staying right next to me. I-"
"What the hell, Alex? I'm leaving and that's final. You have no right to decide where I go and where I stay! So, fuck off!" she shouted and opened the car door while the car was still moving. In one swift move, she was quickly yanked back to his side. "Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill yourself?"
"Might as well kill myself if I'm going to be imprisoned by you!"
"Can't you just stop and listen to me for a second?" he shouted as he grabbed both of her arms tightly. "You don't know how many people are trying to kill me. The moment we walked into that house hand in hand, you become my fiancée and my weakness. I can't keep you safe unless you stay right next to me."
"What a great way to know that I'll probably die in the nearest future."
"That's why I'm keeping you close. To make sure your head stays where it is supposed to be."
Ava kept her mouth shut and pushed his hands away softly. She knew she was being unreasonable. She knows clearly what it means to be the partner of a mafia leader. She'll have assassins going after her all the time. However, that's not a problem for her. No assassins would be a match to her. The only thing she's not satisfied with was she lowered her guard down and ended up become hurt. She looked outside the window and scoffed internally.
She spaced out most of the time during the ride when the car drove into a massive mansion. It was nothing special as she used to live in a place as big as that but it was not as big and as beautiful as the one she's seeing. "Please tell me you don't live here alone." she looked at him when they arrived in front of the entrance. It was a pair of big wooden doors with beautiful carvings on them.
"I don't. I live with my brothers."
"Thank god. Because I'm not going to live in this massive house alone with you."
"And why is that a problem?" A playful smirk danced on his lips as he eyed the woman in front of him.
"Because it would be boring!" she exclaimed and stared at him as if she had stated the obvious. He let out a soft laugh before placing an arm around her waist. "If we're living here alone, we'll have lots of fun. I assure you, you would never feel bored." He placed a soft kiss on her cheek before letting her go and went into the house.
"Oh, by the way. Even if we're living with four of my brothers, we will still have our very own fun time."
Ava's face flushed red when she finally processed what he just said. She quickly walked inside and walked into a beautifully decorated spacious living room. "Um, who are you?"
She jumped a little when someone spoke from behind her. She quickly turned around and saw two insanely good-looking guys staring at her. How did they sneak up on me? There's no way I would miss their footsteps. These must be the brothers he was talking about. "How did you get in here?" the shorter one said. "Um.. Alex brought me here?"
"Of course. I was waiting when he would break this rule." The taller one with broad shoulders spoke before heaving a heavy sigh.
"Rule? What rule?"
"We don't bring women here. This place is like our sacred home." He answered before eyeing her up and down. "You should leave. You wouldn't want to meet Ray. He'll be furious if he knows you step in here." He spoke before taking her arm and leading her towards the front door.
"Hold on a second." Ava pushed his arm away and frowned at him. "Come on. Leave now or Raymund will seriously kill you." The shorter one said softly before taking her other arm.
"What the hell is wrong with you people? Why are you treating me like some prostitute? Are you guys the type of people that treats women as playthings?" she glared at them, obviously pissed at them, before walking back into the living room. She bumped into a chest and looked at the owner of the hard-rock chest who was glaring at her as if she committed the worst crime in the whole world.
"Who the hell are you?" he growled before wrapping his hand around her neck, not hard enough to choke her. "Let me go." she gripped his arm and stared into his eyes, not cowering even a bit. "Ray. Let the girl go." Another one walked in and spoke as the hand around her neck slowly loosened.
"I'm Max. I'm sorry for Ray's behavior. He's just being careful."
"Alex brought me here."
"That kid-"
"And before you start talking, I just want you to know I'm not a slut and I'm not exactly happy to be here. Why you may ask? Apparently, your precious little Alex dragged me to his family dinner and now I had to stay in this house because people are going to hunt me down and kill me."
By the time Ava finished talking all three of them were staring at her in awe. Except for Ray, obviously. "Hello? Anyone listening?" Ava snorted when she received no answers from them. "I see. Then, I apologize for everyone's behavior including Alex's. Let's start over, shall we? I'm Max. These are my brothers, Ray, Aaron, and Felix. "
"Ava," she spoke as Maxwell flashed a small smile towards her in acknowledgment, his dimple showing on his cheeks. "Let me get Alex," Felix spoke before sending an apologetic smile towards her and walked towards the hallway. "ALEX! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" Ava stifled a chuckle when she heard Felix shouting nearby.