Chapter 9

Ben cleared his throat " You'll pay for this, Ava " He swore softly.

" Yeah you will, I promise you that " Bobby added.

Ava looked unfazed by their threats " Well? "

Ben cleared his throat but couldn't get words out. Before they came here, they had been so sure Ava would fulfill their request but now, he was not so sure, especially not with the kind of cold welcome they received from her. He had no idea how she would receive the news. He sighed, they should have thought of a plan B before they left home. Taking a deep breath, he started to speak but Bobby beat him to it. He thought his father was too slow so he took it up on himself to ask Ava. Ben thought his son was brave, foolishly brave if he must add.

Clearing his throat and maintaining eye contact, Bobby started talking " The thing is, we're in real need of some urgent cash and we've tried all possible ways to get it but... " He let his voice trailed off. He looked at Ava to see if she was listening. Sure, she was and she motioned for him to go on. Bobby smiled to himself and licked his lips.

Gaining more confidence this time, he went on " So we thought, why on earth couldn't we come to you and ask? You work in a mansion after all, and getting us some cash shouldn't be a problem for you or whatcha say, Dad? " He looked at Ben for confirmation.

Ben nodded and cleared his throat again. Thank goodness he was able to get words out this time.

" Er... Yeah, we're in need of urgent cash and since you work here, we thought of asking you " He exhaled a deep breath, relieved that he didn't stutter too much.

" We're family after all " Bobby added, rubbing his palms together in anticipation.

Ava laughed so much that tears started running down her cheeks freely " I can't believe you guys actually came to ask me for money "

She laughed harder " Family? I was never part of your family, you said it yourself, Bobby. So why has your words changed? "

Bobby started to answer " I... It's just... "

But Ava cut him off and continued " You came to ask me for money at my workplace and you call yourself family?? Nah, family doesn't act like you do " She shook her head slowly.

" I never saw you as my family, the only family I had died few years ago so I'm all alone in this big world " She spread out her arms to emphasize.

Bobby was getting impatient " Are you gonna use that against us and not give us some cash? "

Ava glared at him " Sorry big brother, I have no money to give you "

Bobby lost his cool and shouted " You wouldn't dare! " He made to move close to her but Ben held him back.

" Calm down! " Ben shouted too.

Ava smirked and twisted her mouth in disgust " Try me " She said in a low voice and right then, Ben and Bobby knew she meant every word.

Ben inhaled a breath and tried to reason with her in a calm way. That might work, he thought.

" Remember I took you and your mother in when you had lost all hopes of surviving. I married your mother and brought you up to become this young, beautiful woman "

" Yeah sure, thank you so much " Ava said mockingly and huffed.

Ben continued like she didn't say a word " You shouldn't treat me this way, I'm your father you know "

Ava bursted out " To hell with you, you are not my father and will never be! "

" Hey! Watch your tongue! Don't you dare talk to my father like that! "

" Oh my bad! I'm so sorry! " Ava said sarcastically.

" Ava! " Ben's voice boomed, he meant to threaten her since coaxing didn't work with her.

It didn't work too, instead Ava threw him a deadly glare " You don't threaten me to get money from me, Ben. I don't have money to give you "

Bobby glared at her and she glared right back " Doing that won't help, Bobby. Your session is over, you should take your leave "

Bobby grabbed her arm as she turned to leave " You wanna make things difficult for us, huh? Maybe I should hit some sense into you "

Ava started to panic, oh no , he was going to hit her. She should have made a run for it the moment she made it known to them that she couldn't give them any money.

She saw his hand went up and she shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the pain but it never came. She heard him yelped in pain instead so she cracked her eyes open to see what was going on. Alas, Alex stood between her and Bobby and he had prevented him from slapping her.

" She's my sister! Who the hell are you?! How dare you interfere in our family matter?! " He screamed out in pain. Alex let go of his hold abruptly and Bobby fell down. He held his hands and tears were rolling down his eyes. Ben rushed over to help him. He couldn't speak as he saw who hit his son. It wasn't an ordinary person but the great Alexander King. So this was where Ava came to hide, he thought.

Bobby wanted to stand up but Ben held him back " Let go of me, Dad! I must deal with this idiot! " He shook himself free and went to Alex but stopped on his tracks when he saw who it was. Alex shoved his hands into his pockets and raised his eyebrows, waiting for him to carry out his threat. Ava's eyes welled up with tears of gratitude as she looked at him.

" A... Alexander King?! " Bobby stuttered on his words, his eyes huge. He staggered back and motioned for his Dad to get up.

" Dad, let's get out of here! " He said to Ben who stood up on his feet immediately.

Bobby looked at Ava to see her smiling " We'll be back " He mouthed to her and Ava smirked, daring them with her eyes.

They ran off, Bobby leaving his father who had a little trouble sprinting off like his son.

Alex turned to Ava and his eyes was filled with questions like ' Are you okay? Did those fools touch you? '

Ava shook her head as she tried to blink back her tears. Unable to control the urge, she flew into his arms and finally let go of her tears. He had saved her from her nightmares, if not for him, she was sure Bobby would have hit her and probably drag her back to the hellhole they called home for more punishment.

She could read Alex's expression so well as though he could talk. She had seen raw rage in his eyes when she was about to be hit. His eyes looked so fierce that she was shocked, she didn't mean anything to him so why had he looked so protective and defended her? These were the questions going through her mind.

He held her and nuzzled her neck, making her moan softly. She liked this new feeling, she thought as her face broke into a soft smile. They stayed that way for more minutes until they heard some footsteps coming in their direction. Ava drew back so fast that she almost tripped but for Alex who held her steady in place. Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment , she felt she was being clumsy.

Jack emerged from the house and he looked Ava over thoroughly in search of any bruise. He visibly relaxed when he saw none.

" Are you okay? " He asked her.

She nodded " Yeah I'm cool, thanks "

Jack turned to Alex and repeated the question. Alex just nodded, his gaze unwavering from Ava. Jack heaved a sigh of relief.

" You didn't tell me you have some issues with your family " He reprimanded her in a light .

Ava shrugged " It's nothing worth talking about and certainly nothing to be impressed about " She scrunched up her nose in irritation.

Jack sighed " But still, it would have done us a lot of good if we knew the kind of family you lived with "

Ava sighed too " I know, and I'm sorry about that. I just felt it's nothing to be impressed with and I didn't want to put you in an uncomfortable position "

Jack nodded " I understand and it's very thoughtful of you to think that way "

" Don't worry about them, they won't be allowed in here anymore, is that okay? " Jack added.

Ava nodded " Thank you " She whispered.

Turning to Alex, she whispered " Thank you " and he nodded. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

" Come in " Jack said and led the way back into the house.

Ava took Alex by the arm and they went in.

" Here " Jack intoned and handed a package to Ava.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise " What's this? " She managed to ask.

" What else? A phone of course. You need one, remember? " Jack asked coyly.

Immediately, her eyes became cloudy with unshed tears of appreciation. Unable to hold herself back, she drew him into an embrace. His eyes went huge in surprise as he didn't expect her to react that way.

He blushed " It's okay " He muttered.

She withdrew from the embrace and smiled up at him, holding the phone up close to her chest.

" Thank you " She said softly.

He nodded " It's nothing " and got busy with his phone.

Ava looked over to Alex to see if he shared her happiness. But she frowned in confusion when she saw his eyes had darkened to a deeper shade of their color. He clenched his jaw and she saw his mouth twitched with something close to rage, if not anger. What was the matter with him? She asked herself. He was obviously okay a few minutes ago so why did his mood changed suddenly? She was sure she didn't say something that angered him, neither did Jack.

Summoning up a smile in his direction, she said enthusiastically " Alex see, Jack got me a new phone! " And she held the package up.

Her smile disappeared when he didn't return her enthusiasm or smile back. Instead, he turned and went up to his room.

Her frown deepened as she turned to Jack, raising her eyebrows " Is something wrong with Alex? He was okay just before we came in "

Jack smiled knowingly " Oh don't worry about him, he'll come around eventually " He looked completely relaxed and not at all bothered by Alex's sudden mood swing. She nodded but was still perturbed, she contemplated going up to inquire what was up with him.

Jack seemed to have read her mind as he nodded and gestured in the direction Alex took " You can go on up to meet him, if you want to of course " He said smugly, a smile playing on his lips. He knew why Alex had acted that way but chose to keep quiet.

Of course she wanted to go to him, she thought as she replaced the phone package on the table and went towards the direction he took in a hurry. She bumped into Margaret who held her by the arm before she could run past her.

" Whoa! Where are you running of to? " Margaret asked.

Ava took in deep breaths " I... I wanna go see Alex "

Margaret mouthed an 'oh'

Ava nodded and proceeded to Alex's room.

" Come down later to get your food! " Margaret yelled but Ava barely heard her as her mind was on one person, Alex.

She got to his room and stood at the door, taking a breath of courage. She knocked and when he didn't give any sign or opened the door for her, she entered the passwords and went in.