"Why're you all looking at me like that? It just happens, okay? No big deal." Alex rolled his eyes in annoyance when his brothers decided to give him judging looks instead of saying anything. "No big deal? You just simply brought someone you barely know and declare her as your woman and you say it's no big deal?" Felix stood up and glared at the man standing next to Ava who seemed to be unbothered by his stare. "You're exaggerating."
"This is serious, Alex. You basically just put her life in danger. Without her consent at that." Max shook his head while heaving a heavy sigh.
"Max, I don't think anyone would want to put their lives in danger voluntarily." the one called Aaron said. "Except him, of course." he continued as his eyes trailed to Alex. "Look. I brought her here so I can protect her from any harm 24/7. As far as I'm informed, that's called being responsible." Alex retorted in defense.
"You're not being responsible, Alex. You're being rash. There's a huge difference there." Felix spoke, trying to talk some sense into his brother.
"What if she's a spy from other gangs? What if she's one of the agents sent by the police?" Aaron spoke while eyeing her up and down with alert. "Okay, I'm sick of your bullshits! Stop talking as if I'm not fucking here!" Ava shouted, frustrated at all five brothers in front of her.
"And, I'm not from other gangs. I'm just a normal girl who happened to stumble into this fucking underworld because of a stupid incident! I didn't ask any of this to happen! I didn't ask to meet THE Alexander Young and I'm definitely sure I didn't ask to be brought into this damn house and become a prisoner because apparently NOW every gang in the world is trying to kill me!"
All of them stared at her in awe, mouth gaped and eyes blinking in amusement. "I don't care what you want to discuss between yourselves but I need to have some rest after having such an eventful day because of a certain SOMEONE," Ava stressed the last word and glared at Felix, making sure he got the message. He just chuckled as a response, showing his irresistible smile. She couldn't help but stare and adore his smile. Damn it. I can't control myself in front him.
"I'm sorry for our rudeness, Ava. Aaron, take her to one of the guest rooms upstairs." Max spoke as she finally looked away from him. "The guest room? Why? She should be in my room." Alex questioned his brother.
"Remember the rule? Whatever I say, happens." Max spoke with a stern voice as Alex just nodded without complaining more. Ava was quite surprised that he listened. For the first time ever. And she realized how delightful it was to see him so... good and tame. It made her want to take control of him. "Ava?"
She quickly shook her head and flashed a small smile towards Aaron, dismissing any sinful thoughts in her tainted mind. "This way." she nodded in response as she followed after him up the stairs. "We're sorry for dragging you into this." He spoke softly as they walked towards the end of the hallway. At the very end, there was a door with identical carvings as the front door. When they arrived at the door, Ava traced the design with her fingertips, trying to identify the meaning of the carvings. "Your room is here," Aaron spoke while pointing to a door right next to the room with the carved door. "Who carved this door? I'm pretty sure I've seen this somewhere."
"The door? It's probably the madam. She's a very famous interior designer. Almost every house in this neighborhood contains her masterpiece."
"I guess I must've seen them at one of my friends' house. Where's she, by the way?"
"We don't talk about Alex's parents in this house or anywhere. So, I'd advise you to avoid that topic at all cost when talking with him." Aaron warned as he opened the guest room's door and let her in. "Everything you need is here. There's the shower and some clothes in the wardrobe. If you need anything, just knock on this door. Alex will help." He smiled before leaving her alone in the room.
When Ava heard the door closed behind her, a heavy sigh escaped her lips. How did it get to here? I've sworn to leave this kind of life behind. What am I doing here? And a gang leader's woman? This is fucked up. I'm fucked up. What if they found out about my old identity? Will Alex be mad? Most importantly, will he kill me?
All the thoughts in her mind were tiring her both mentally and physically. She walked towards the bed and plopped down on it. It was extremely soft and comfortable.
She could almost fall asleep right at that moment but she had to give Melanie a call or she'd freak out. She took her phone out and dialed her number. "Ava? Where the hell have you been? Are you trying to kill me by making me worry?" she shouted from the other line. "Mel. I'm sorry. My phone was dead. I forgot to charge it last night."
"Are you kidding me? You forgot to charge your phone and here I am ready to call the police if you didn't call for another second."
"I'm sorry. I just got into a hotel to charge my phone. I'll be staying here for tonight. Don't worry about me and get some sleep."
"Give me the address. I'm coming over."
"Mel. I'm fine. You don't have to come here." The corner of Ava's lips turned up as she was thankful to have someone who would worry about her all the time. "Fine. But I expect you to come home before going back to work. I need to make sure you're fine." She spoke as Ava let out a chuckle and assured her that she'd be there. "Go to sle-"
"Ava? Are you asleep?" a soft voice from behind the door spoke. "No. Come in." Ava answered but her face palmed almost immediately when she realized that she's still on call with her friend. "Who's that? You're with a man? You lied to me, Ava Harold!" she giggled excitedly from the other end of the line. "I'm not. I'm hanging up!" Ava quickly ended the call as Alex walked into the room.
"Alex? What're you doing here?" she questioned but there was no response from him. He walked towards her and sat next to her on the bed before laying his head on her lap. His sudden action took her by surprise but she managed to keep her cool. "What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry."