CHAPTER 85: FUMING

What Shelby had not said to Ian about that day was the way the worker had shoved young Gabriel around as he was ’ushered out of the room’.

She had no place to say anything as it was her first few days in a new home as a contractual bride. No matter how good her treatment was, she was no Robin Hood to try to defend the child that day.

However, over the weeks, she had tried her best to bring them closer in order to avoid such occurrences. Shelby still felt bad for not standing up for the child that day, but she herself had never been able to stand up for herself ever in her life. How could she have done so for a child she hardly knew?

Shelby believed deep in herself that their ’father’ was the only one who could help in that case.

She looked on as Ian served the pasta dish, wiping the plate intently as if he were a real chef. She started salivating from the smell. Truthfully, Shelby did not know whether she was salivating from the meal, or his firm muscled body in the apron.

However, at the back of her mind, she was disappointed that he had had no reaction whatsoever to what she had told him.

’Did I overstep my boundaries?’

He walked up to her and placed the plate of pasta by her. Then Ian leaned in to kiss her forehead, "Thank you for telling me about them,"

She brightened up visibly, and the knot in her heart untied.

’He is not angry about it!’

He nudged the food to her, still seated on the counter, and she brought a forkful to her mouth.

Immediately, her tastebuds were activated.

She closed her eyes and took her time chewing it. "OMG! This is so delicious!"

She opened her eyes, so bright with so much excitement in them. Shelby smiled so wide that Ian couldn’t help but smile and used a napkin to clean her lips. He leaned over the counter and watched her eat attentively.

"What did you put in here? It’s amazing!"

Shelby took a second and a third, and the plate was empty within minutes.

"But why-" she frowned, thinking back to the few meals she had taken and why she could not taste anything.

Ian’s smile turned mischievous, and he settled himself between her legs. At the time, she was so full for the first time in the day past that she had relaxed her supposed vigilance around him.

He hooked his index finger underneath her chin. His grey eyes, holding her blue ones in a startling contrast and the tension between them unhinged. The kitchen was so quiet that she could hear his heartbeat as he drew closer to her with his eyes trained on her lips. She felt the anticipation grow...

***

The late afternoon before and outside the Dream Menu restaurant. Ava hurried through the winding alleys after leaving Shelby’s group with regret in her heart. She had planned to spend the whole second half of the day with Shelby and the adorable kids, but then, yet again, this had to happen again. At that time?

She smouldered with resentment, and rage flowed through her like lava. Ava was so angry that she could not even see the path on which she walked, but she had traversed that way to her home several times that she could even find her way blindfolded.

’Why does he always do that?’

The call had been from Ava’s guardian. She was an orphan but, thankfully, had grown up under the care of someone she saw as an older brother. He was Marvin, and the call had been from him or, rather, his phone.

Marvin had always associated with the wrong crowd while she grew up. He had no stable job but had looked after her and given her what she needed to grow up decently and not end up like him.

In reality, Marvin’s parents had adopted Ava because they had always wanted to have a girl but could never give Marvin a sister. Unfortunately, they had passed on early and the impact of that had driven him to start dealing drugs and the like.

Initially, Marvin had indeed protected his sister from all trouble, but later on, he could not even help himself not to think of another person.

Even before high school, Ava had to work multiple jobs to support herself, to the amazement of her friends. But Ava never shied away from hard work. She was the true definition of how hard work usually pays off.

Ava rounded the last corner after a thirty-minute walk to her old home. She had already moved out to get away from the chaos and madness that surrounded Marvin.

’Clearly, this will follow me wherever I go!’ She thought as tears threatened to prick her eyes.

There were always rowdy-looking men coming into their small house day after day. Ava was a strong girl who had fought her way from various unwanted circumstances, and she was determined not to let Marvin’s influence ruin her newfound life. She had gotten herself a new studio-like apartment about a five-minute walk from her new workplace and was determined to have a fresh start.

Nonetheless, Ava had a soft spot for her brother, so when she got a call threatening his life; she abandoned everything and ran all the way to his aid.

She only hesitated a little at their front door, which was wide open. For a couple of years at least, she had enjoyed the warmth of a family from this small, detached home. A ring of laughter from her late adopted parents flashed before her eyes and Ava wished they were still there.

Even from where she stood outside, she could see the flowerpots on the ground, smashed. Even the slightly overgrown hedges had been trampled upon and muddy footsteps could be seen all around the place.

She rushed through the small house and into their living room.

Four strong-looking men hovered in the place. One was comfortably seated with shades in the living room. He had a snack in his hand that he was munching on. From the looks of it, he was the leader, as he was the only one seated.

Two leaned against the opposite walls, playing with small knives. The last one leaned lazily against the door and he was the first one to spot her. The living room was not in good shape either. Nothing breakable had been left intact, including the urn that held the ashes of their parents.

Ava felt her heart constrict at the thought.

’I should’ve taken them with me!’

Marvin was beaten to a pulp but was kneeling in front of the ’leader’.

"The bitch came for her brother!"

"It’s about time she did! I thought I would die waiting for her," The leader of the gang said lazily and then got up to his full height. His head nearly touched the low-hanging ceiling fan. The man kicked Marvin in the stomach making him fall over. Ava trembled slightly but took brave steps forward hurriedly and crouched by Marvin’s side.

"What did you do?" She asked angrily. Even his swollen eyes and bruised bloody face did not draw much sympathetic demeanor from Ava. She had experienced this one too many times. Ava had hoped that she would get some time-out because she was no more living in their home. She was trying to hold back but did not understand why the twenty-three-year-old her, had to clean up after her thirty-two-year-old brother!

"She’s a pretty one, isn’t she? Young and ripe, just the way I like them!"

The man knelt on one knee and yanked Ava’s head back. Ava used her whole strength to yank herself back. A cold feeling crept up on her.

"She’s feisty, too!" The other three erupted in disgusting laughter that made her stomach churn.

"Ava, Please, just this once! You know how my parents raised you right....?"

"What are you saying, Marvin? What did you do?"

"He said... he said that he would forgive all the debts if you sleep with him once...."

He held up his index finger.

"Just once, Ava... that is all you have to do."

Ava flinched and stood up at once, shocked!

"WHAT?"

"Bitch! Your brother promised you to ALL of us once."

Ava’s disappointed gaze met that of Marvin. "Let me spell it out for you. You must open your legs wide for all of us to fuck you senseless, and then we will forgive his debt. But looking at how pretty you are, if you do it more than once, I’ll consider giving him more of these...."

He waved a small packet of white powder in front of her and lightly smacked her ass.

"... one packet for each round with us... sound like a good idea, right?"

Ava’s hand trembled, but she was determined not to give them the satisfaction by reacting.

"You’ll do that for me, right Ava? It’s just sex, and you have no boyfriend, so it should be okay. Please, Ava, do this for your brother."

Ava’s anger rose to unprecedented levels, and she felt as if she would collapse from all that blood rushing through her head.

"Why should I do that for you, Marvin? Give me one good reason why I should go out of my way to do this for you?"

Her face, though tensed, contorted into a semblance of a smile. But only those who really knew Ava would know what that meant, but sadly, her brother, whom she had grown up with, was not one of those people.

*********

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