A black car pulled up in front Carter's estate just as clouds burst open with torrential summer rain pouring down heavily outside. Zayn Carter remained eerily still in a backseat his eyes fixed on marble steps leading up to a spot he once inhabited. Five years ago he'd driven away from that opulent estate utterly heartbroken and seething with rage banished by family ostensibly forever. He was back now not for nostalgia or reconciliation but because something was gnawing at him relentlessly namely Ava. Ava Monroe Carter uttered softly under her breath with considerable relish. She was his former fiancée obviously still lingering largely in his rather troubled mind. She remained his sole ardent obsession throughout life. His sister-in-law presently stood there quietly. She was allegedly six months pregnant with his brother Ethan's child according to tabloids and her family's effusive online group conversations. Butler swung door open quite hurriedly before knocking soundly on it afterwards.“Mr. Zayn,” he said with a cautious smile, as if unsure whether to be formal or warm. He said Mr. Zayn with a hesitant grin somewhat unsure whether being formal or warm was more suitable right then. Zayn gave a curt nod rather abruptly and stepped inside quietly into dimly lit surroundings with walls adorned with faded portraits. Carter mansion stood eerily unchanged with whitewashed walls gleaming brightly under ornate chandeliers polished till they shone like dark mirrors. Time seemed frozen within its labyrinthine corridors but everything inside Zayn had warped grotesquely beyond all recognition suddenly. He had evolved beyond being naive heir utterly now. He amassed billions quite lucratively sans family ties and without garnering favors or really leveraging any sort of connections. Today all his lucre couldn't steel him against one dame he never quite got over. He strode purposefully into a dining room filled with family members gathered together already around a big table. She was there standing quietly. Ava sat across a table wearing a pale green maternity dress with her hand resting very gently on her quite

rounded stomach. Her face glowed softly now as motherhood had seeped deeply into her like a silken shroud enveloping her entirely. She gazed upwards suddenly and saw him and her breathing visibly caught in her throat for a fleeting second. She smiled rather sweetly afterwards. She gave him a soft enigmatic smile eerily reminiscent of mornings when his oversized T-shirts swathed her sleepy face.“Zayn,” she said. Forever seemed plausible with smile that once lit up his entire world so vibrantly and rather unconditionally. She uttered his name Zayn quite softly.“Long time,” he said, slipping into the empty seat beside his father.

Merely one word.“Look who’s finally decided to come home.”

Zayn kept his face expressionless. “Just for dinner.”

“Family dinner,” Ethan corrected, placing his hand over Ava’s. It bore heavily upon its surface roughly five years worth of rather complicated history. He said long time slipping into an empty seat beside father. Ethan leaned back with a smug grin sitting pretty beside Ava. Zayn's face stayed utterly expressionless as someone said look who's finally come home with somewhat deliberate nonchalance. Just for dinner she said.

Ethan corrected her calling it family dinner and placed his hand firmly over Ava's. Gesture looked somewhat contrived and overly practiced. Mine utterly and quite possessive she became afterwards. It felt somewhat like some dire ominous warning. Zayn's eyes flickered briefly towards their entwined hands then snapped up swiftly onto Ava's face with a gaze utterly perplexed. Her smile faltered slightly beneath a veneer of polite courtesy on that particularly awkward morning. Their mother poured wine liberally while chatting loudly about family business deals and upcoming charity events at swanky galas. Zayn hardly paid attention whatsoever. His mind remained eerily stuck in a singular haunting recollection from way back the night Ava tied knot with Ethan. Night they made a grave mistake neither could undo afterwards. She'd show up sobbing uncontrollably beside him utterly furious and frightened. She spilled all their father's ominous warnings recklessly about ruining Zayn's future if she failed miserably to sever ties. Initially he utterly refused to believe her utterly outlandish claim. She kissed him rather fervently as if it was their last goodbye forever somehow. They'd spent a sleepless night hopelessly entwined in anguish and next morning she had vanished silently into thin air.“So, how’s CarterTech treating you?” Ethan asked. “Still planning to buy out that European robotics firm?”

Zayn forced a smirk. “Already did.”

Their father chuckled. “You never did stop chasing dominance, huh?”

Zayn's jaw tightened, but he stayed silent.

She stood here now rather quietly. She was pregnant again evidently. She was wedded quite irregularly to Ethan. He couldn't stroll into that highly sensitive area with a tiny human being awkwardly lodged inside him. Not quite yet somehow. Ethan asked how CarterTech was treating you with utmost kindness lately. Zayn forced a smirk as he pondered aloud if they were still planning on buying out some obscure European robotics firm. Their father let out a deep throaty chuckle. Zayn's jaw clenched tightly yet he remained eerily silent as dominance lingered heavily unspoken in the charged atmosphere. Dinner moved very slowly across the table amidst awkward silences and side conversations that drifted lazily into night air. Food tasted eerily like surreal nothingness beneath her tongue suddenly. He caught every subtle movement Ava made shifting restlessly around in her seat. He noticed every single time she furtively averted her gaze downwards. As dessert got served it happened suddenly afterwards. She rather clumsily dropped a rather old fork on the floor suddenly. Zayn moved with eerie swiftness instinctively across floor.“Excuse me,” he said, loosening his collar. “The air in here’s a little… thick.”

He walked out onto the terrace, hoping she would follow. Simultaneously he reached under a table she was also reaching beneath. Fingers grazed skin hesitantly under dim light. She flinched violently under bright lights. He did too apparently.“Why did you come back?” she asked, not meeting his eyes.

“You invited me,” he replied. “Or don’t you remember texting me last week from a burner phone?”

Her face twisted. “I had to.”

He took a step closer. “Is it mine?”

She looked up, eyes wide. “Zayn…”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Silence stretched. Their eyes locked under a crumpled tablecloth and air vibrated with electricity very suddenly nearby.“That’s not good enough.”

“I didn’t plan this,” she said, voice shaking. “I didn’t want any of this.”

“You married him.”

“I did it to protect you!”

“Don’t give me that again. She breathed rather rapidly now underneath bright fluorescent lights. “Your father threatened to disown you, destroy your company before it even began. He was too apparently. “And instead of fighting with me, you chose him.”

“I chose survival.”

Their silence was louder than their yelling.

They utterly forgot others existed for a fleeting instant. She whispered pretty loudly just enough for him and nobody else to hear and her words were we need to talk.

Zayn stood up quickly from a nearby table pushing a chair back vigorously.“ Then get a test. He said excuse me while rather awkwardly loosening his collar. Air in here feels pretty heavy somehow. He strode out onto sun-baked stone terrace hoping she'd traipse after him across cracked flagstones into blinding sunlight. Five minutes later she remarkably did it again somehow. Rain ceased falling heavily. Ava lingered on terrace for several minutes quietly after he departed swiftly into darkness outside. Garden lights flickered eerily across wet stone tiles and wind stirred trees with a soft unsettling murmur of unuttered secrets. She stroked her abdomen slowly quite tenderly with a hand that trembled slightly underneath life's unyielding heavy burden. She hadn't anticipated this turning point arriving precipitously soon afterwards. She reckoned on having ample time beforehand to pick suitable words and somehow mitigate utter pandemonium in her surroundings slowly. Zayn pulled truth out of her eerily like some reflex sucking breath from her lungs and it had always been that way. He knew utterly now. Not necessarily everything apparently. But it was quite enough after all. She spun around back into the house and found Ethan watching her intently from hallway with arms crossed and jaw clenched tightly.“How long were you standing there?” she asked, her voice low.

“Long enough,” he said. “You okay?”

A practiced smile curved her lips. “Just needed some air.”

He stepped forward and placed a hand on her stomach. “You’ve been overworking again, haven’t you? She asked in a low husky voice how long he had been standing there motionless.“I’m fine.”

Ethan’s eyes searched her face. “Was he bothering you?”

A pause. “No.”

He cupped her chin, tilting her face toward his. “Because if he was, Ava, you need to tell me. Long enough he muttered under his breath somewhat unconvincingly. A practiced smile curved her lips very slightly as she murmured huskily 'you okay'. He moved slowly forward and put a hand squarely on her belly rather awkwardly. You've been putting in excessively long hours at work again haven't you?“I’ll tell you if there’s ever a reason,” she said, and slipped out of his touch. “But I’m tired now. She nodded slowly with a faintly troubled expression on her face. Ethan's gaze lingered on her face with an unnerving intensity as she murmured I'm fine rather unconvincingly. Was he bothering you? A lengthy pause ensued suddenly. He cupped her chin tilting her face roughly toward his with a rather awkward gentleness. You gotta tell me if he was involved Ava. You're my besotted spouse somewhat inexplicably. Her gut lurched queasily beneath utterly redundant tender words. You're carrying a tiny human inside you. Your utterly bewildering child stands right there in front of me still wearing rather tattered clothes from last night. Had she uttered a whopper that would haunt her perpetually perhaps. She said I’ll tell you if there's ever a reason and slipped quietly out of his grasp somehow. I'm utterly exhausted now. He nodded but a flicker of unease lingered darkly in his eyes. A lurking sense of unease settles in pit dark recesses of his warped mind very quietly now. Something belonging utterly someone else. Ava strode off with her heart rending violently apart somehow inside her very being. She wasn't sure how much longer she could maintain a facade of perfection while her other life putrefied quietly underneath. Zayn stood silently in a guest wing staring intently at his own rather pale reflection in an old mirror. Rain pattered loudly against windows outside like skeletal fingers drumming insistently for entry as storm raged on with renewed ferocity. He slowly loosened his worn tie then poured a generous glass of fine scotch over ice in his favourite tumbler.“Come in.”

His mother stepped into the room, graceful in her silk robe. “You left dinner early.”

“I was done eating.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And what about what’s really eating at you?”

Zayn said nothing. Burning sensation did little alleviating severe chest pain he felt deeply inside.“You still love her,” she said softly.

Does this somehow belong to me now?“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You never stopped.”

“She’s pregnant with my brother’s child.”

His mother tilted her head. “Is she?”

Zayn looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, Ava doesn’t smile the way a woman should when she’s in love. That singular query reverberated loudly like a pistol shot deep within his troubled mind suddenly. He intensely loathed lingering tender emotions he still harbored deeply for her. Following utter devastation rather quietly.“Even if she still loved me, what does it change?”

“Everything,” his mother said. “If the baby is yours… do you really think you can stand by and do nothing?”

“I don’t even know if I want to be a father.”

“You don’t get to make that decision alone. Silence and lies lingered heavily after betrayal. He hadn't seen traitorous intent when she stood there getting soaked clutching her gut pretty desperately under grey stormy skies. He'd seen her girl with dreams in eyes curled up beside him once and love shone brightly in her voice. She might be carrying his child now. Suddenly a loud knock jolted him out of deep contemplation. He turned slowly around the corner with somewhat uncertain steps. His mother stepped into a room swiftly graceful in silk robe. She raised an eyebrow rather quizzically after being told “I was done eating” in response to “You left dinner early”. Zayn said nothing as a deeply perturbed expression flickered across his face when asked what was really eating at him. She effortlessly sliced through walls he had laboriously built around himself with ease and sometimes with considerable skill. She spoke softly saying you still love her.“I didn’t want this.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true.”

He turned toward her, his voice low. “Then what did you want, Ava?”

She met his gaze. “You. He quickly gulped down his entire drink with gusto and slammed glass on counter very hard.“Then why aren’t you with me?”

“Because I was trying to save you.”

“You broke me.”

She swallowed. “I broke myself too.”

He stood. “Five days.”

She nodded.

His mother tilted her head somewhat quizzically. She was pregnant with his brother's child after all. You never really stopped being absurd. Don't be utterly preposterous. Zayn gazed intently at her. What do you mean? I mean Ava doesn't smile like some besotted besotted lady in love. She hasn't been seen since marrying Ethan on that day. Believe me Zayn I've seen you both lurking around here before. Darkness shrouded his features as he rubbed a hand pretty roughly over his face. Even if she still loved me what does it possibly change? Everything his mother said quietly. If baby's yours do you reckon you can just sit back and do zilch?

I don't even know if becoming a dad is something I'm into.

You're not exactly at liberty to make such a weighty decision solo. Zayn strolled into his downtown office next morning but rain's damp scent still clung tenaciously to his worn leather jacket. His aide gave him a quick rundown of meetings scheduled for that day but he just wasn't paying attention.

Carter mansion stood constructed entirely of gleaming glass and crude steel but its foundation rested precariously on dark obscure secrets. Every polished floor hid whispers of past darkness beneath ornate chandeliers and vibrant painted walls in surprisingly quiet opulent rooms. Ava felt like one of those hush-hush secrets carefully curated beneath surface tension trembling quietly just beneath gilded narrative facades. She stood rather rigidly in front of a nursery Ethan had started preparing with considerable enthusiasm and laborious attention. Pale blue wallpaper adorned walls with clouds and stars frolicking across its surface quite vibrantly under soft dim lighting. Baby clothes lay folded rather neatly inside dresser drawers while a crib stood awkwardly half-built in that one corner. Ava harbored weighty feelings inside that had nothing whatsoever to do with child she was carrying. Fear lurked beneath each step forward in this house dragging her deeper into labyrinthine deceit slowly. Test was thoroughly done yesterday. Results would surface slowly in a matter of several days. Truth would either implode whole existence or set her free suddenly with profound consequences afterwards in utter chaos. Zayn lounged quietly in his penthouse office with glass windows giving a hazy view of city skyline at dusk. Today his gaze wasn't sidetracked by view outside. His phone buzzed frenetically with calls from clients and lawyers and partners yet none of that stuff really mattered at all. One thing mattered deeply and that was a child standing alone somehow. He'd oftentimes vaguely convinced himself that having a family wasn't something he desperately needed or even truly desired somehow. Everything had seeped into his psyche bitterly his parents' marriage frosty as a morgue his brother's treachery still rankling and Ava vanishing without warning. He had acquired a stake in a life that wasn't exactly part of his original blueprint. He had perplexing queries that only Ava could possibly decipher accurately. What prompted her rather sudden and somewhat inexplicable union with Ethan? Why didn't she just show up at his place anyway? Why did his heart still throb painfully whenever gazing at her with lingering affection amidst considerable emotional turmoil? Ethan took Ava out rather surreptitiously for dinner that evening as a complete surprise. Upscale restaurant ambiance reigned supreme on secluded candlelit terrace surrounded by lush greenery and soft luminescence under starry night sky. He played a flawless spouse effortlessly charming her with tender gestures holding her hand with practiced gentle affection.“You’ve been quiet,” he said, pouring her sparkling water. “Everything okay?”

She nodded. “Just tired.”

He studied her. “Do you regret it?”

“Regret what?”

“This marriage.”

Ava’s breath caught. He said you've been mighty quiet pouring her a glass of fizzy water.“Everything okay?” She nodded hesitantly with eyes downcast.“I made my choice,” she said.

He gazed at her intently. She looked utterly drained.“That’s not an answer.”

She reached for her drink. “I don’t think anything in life is that simple.”

He tapped his fingers on the table. “You’ve been seeing Zayn.”

She froze.

“I saw the call. Do you regret it? Regret what exactly? This wretched marriage apparently. Ava's breath caught in her throat suddenly.“I didn’t lie to you. She felt like ground beneath table had sort of vanished suddenly from under her.“No.”

Ethan’s eyes turned darker. “What does he want from you?”

“He wants the truth.”

“And what about you, Ava? She managed a rather subdued smile nonetheless. She declared her decision pretty firmly and with considerable finality afterwards. He leaned forward awkwardly onto one elbow. She reached rather languidly for her drink and muttered under her breath that's not really an answer at all.“I’m going home.”

Later that night, Ethan sat in his study, swirling a glass of bourbon. He drummed fingers rapidly on a nearby table. Life rarely unfolds in straightforward ways he thought suddenly. She stood stock still upon hearing accusation that you had been secretly meeting Zayn. I saw a call eerily hovering nearby. Ava looked up slowly. I didn't fib or deceive you terribly. She lingered uncertainly and I sensed she hadn't obtained it. I recalled telling her about needing some sort of closure desperately. And did she get it afterwards somehow? Ethan's eyes turned a shade darker suddenly. What does he want from you?

He wants truth anyway.

And what about Ava now? She opened her mouth but words stubbornly refused to emerge. What she yearned for existed only vaguely in her mind and wasn't feasible under existing circumstances. Her deepest desires had been obliterated already by forces beyond her control somehow. She rose very suddenly from amidst shadows. Ethan sat in his dimly lit study very late that night swirling bourbon in a glass. Fireplace crackled loudly but his mind remained frostily sharp as ice inside his skull. Years were spent by him meticulously crafting a life that was pretty much flawless in every single regard. A pretty flawless spouse exists quietly somewhere. A flawless representation exists somewhere.“You look like the kind of girl who reads the ending first,” he’d said.

“I don’t,” she had replied. “I like to suffer through the middle.”

He had laughed. “Then you’re the brave kind.”

But that girl no longer existed.

Zayn his older brother turned rogue was now threatening it all with a certain reckless abandon quite suddenly. Ethan yanked open a drawer in his cluttered desk and pulled out a rather thick file rapidly. Ava figured she was alone in concealing some deeply personal secret rather quietly.“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked.

“No.”

He rested a hand gently on her shoulder and joined her beside the flickering lamp post outside.“I was thinking,” he said. “Let’s get away. He said I was thinking. Let's get away quickly from here. Just us two alone.“We need to reconnect. Silence fell suddenly. Ava just sat there unmoving. Baby's arrival loomed ominously. Gently he pressed his lips softly against her tangled locks. Reconnecting seems sorely needed now. Ava whispered huskily do you recall why we started this. Ethan remained silent. Fragments of memory floated obscured beneath his gaze. Zayn stood pacing in his balcony pretty high up across city streets.“Hello?”

A voice on the other end. “Mr. Carter. His phone vibrated loudly on the worn wooden table beside him.“We ran the test three times to confirm. Somebody's calling from a hidden number with utmost secrecy. He responded rather quietly with an answer. A strange voice crackled on other end of line hesitantly murmuring hello. Mr. Carter stood quietly. Breathing stopped suddenly in his chest. We ran a test thrice already for confirmation purposes. His heart stopped suddenly down deep inside. Pounding commenced suddenly with extreme ferocity. He utterly failed to thank caller afterwards. She didn't slam down receiver right away and instead held it limply in her hand for a few awkward seconds. He stood there quietly absorbing silence that followed his sentence. He became a father quite suddenly overnight in rather unusual circumstances. Ava harbors inside her a child his.“Zayn—”

“It’s mine,” he said. “Don’t lie. Ethan remained utterly clueless about the situation.“You can’t be here.”

“I can’t not be here. Zayn showed up uninvited at Carter mansion next morning.“Is this a bad time?”

Ethan stood in the doorway, calm, composed.

Butler attempted stopping him quite vigorously behind closed doors. He barely seemed bothered at all.“You knew?”

Ethan smiled. “Not officially. He stormed furiously through house until finding her curled up with book in sunroom very quietly and utterly absorbed.“Stop. She looked up suddenly with a startled expression on her face.“He doesn’t deserve you, Ava.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “And you do?”

“I never lied to her.”

Ethan’s smile vanished. “You didn’t have to. He said it's mine abruptly. Stop uttering falsehoods right now very quietly.“Go. Please.”

He looked at her. “Say the word. She stood with her face deathly pale.“You’re already fighting the wrong battle.”

And with that, Zayn turned and left.

You're not supposed to be here. I literally can't not exist in this precise location right now somehow. I possess a certain right.

You'll ruin everything!

Everything was ruined utterly that day you abandoned me for him.

A voice sliced through their argument like shards of ice. Ethan stood in doorway remarkably calm and utterly composed. He asked if this was a really bad time. Extremely hazardous situations can unfold suddenly and without much warning often resulting in catastrophic outcomes mercilessly. Zayn turned slowly underneath flickering fluorescent lights.

Carter mansion felt eerily colder afterwards Zayn had left precipitously with most of his belongings still scattered within its cavernous rooms. Silence hung colder than temperature somehow rather eerily. Ethan remained eerily silent for hours afterwards and his sullen mood deepened noticeably as night slowly began to fall. Ava sat in a guest room for hours quietly staring at a wall as if seeking answers she lacked courage to verbalize. She lay awake entirely still in darkness that night. She saw Zayn's face every time she shut her eyes - utterly broken not angry or triumphantly smiling. Behind his silence lurked an unspoken query she had dodged utterly: why marry him Ava? She'd asked herself same thing daily since her wedding day slowly becoming a hazy distant memory now. Now truth menacingly threatened to rip through seams she had painstakingly stitched with extremely tight invisible threads under layers of deception. Ethan acted strangely calm next morning as if nothing untoward had occurred overnight in his vicinity. He quickly made a somewhat burnt breakfast upstairs. Eggs were scrambled furiously in a bowl. Crusty toast lies abandoned on a plate somewhere. Freshly squeezed orange juice glugs down smoothly from a chilled glass pitcher.“Eat something,” he said.

He said eat something quickly. Ava sat silently across from him.“We should talk.”

She stared at her plate. “Then talk.”

He tilted his head, his voice carefully measured. “Are you in love with him?”

The room froze.

He folded a newspaper quite neatly and placed it beside him on a cluttered table.“I don’t know.”

“That’s not a denial.”

“I didn’t come here to answer your questions, Ethan. She stared down at her plate intensely and he murmured softly we should probably have a conversation right now.“You always had somewhere to go. He tilted his head with measured tone and spoke softly then.“Do you want the truth? Are you besotted with him? The room fell deathly silent. Ava gazed steadfastly downwards. I don't know. That's hardly a denial. I showed up here not exactly to indulge Ethan's curiosity with lengthy responses anyway. Silence hung heavily between them awkwardly. Somewhere awaited you always.“Zayn didn’t just break my heart. Her head snapped up rather abruptly. You wanna know truth now? Stuff seems sorta okay I guess. Fear gripped me deeply so I ended up marrying you. You offered me a life survivable enough somehow.“And you think that means he didn’t love you?”

She went quiet.

“I’m not asking for a fairytale, Ava,” Ethan said softly. “Just loyalty. Ethan's jaw clenched quite tightly.“It’s about power. Her voice quivered violently as she spoke again.“You think I care about power?”

“I think you care about winning. Zayn ripped my heart apart brutally yesterday somehow. He vanished suddenly into obscurity without uttering a single word.“What are you doing here?”

“I’m not going to miss another moment of this child’s life.”

She sighed. “You can't just decide that now. He shut me out rather brutally after that terrible accident.“It is. You were ostensibly there quietly. Bleeding pretty badly I was seen by you. Ethan leaned forward sharply.“Don’t do this. You think that means he didn't love you deeply? She fell silent rather abruptly now.“I know you’re scared. Ethan spoke softly saying I'm not asking Ava for a fairytale.“It’s too late, Zayn.”

“No,” he whispered. “It’s finally time.”

The doctor’s visit was awkward. Bare loyalty suffices utterly. She said that wasn't really about being loyal to him anyway. Power's the crux pretty much. Ethan's face turned stony suddenly now that Zayn acknowledged paternity and she was clearly on verge of losing her grip. You think I obsess over authority? I reckon you desperately cling to triumph.“Strong heartbeat. Zayn lingered expectantly outside her doctor's clinic that rather gloomy afternoon. Ava hesitated quietly for a moment before slowly emerging out of her rather old car. What exactly are you doing lurking here?

I'm not about to miss another single precious moment of this kid's entire life apparently.

She let out a deep exasperated sigh.“I’m not giving up,” he said.

You're reckoning on making some pretty big decisions rather abruptly now somehow.“Then you’re about to lose more than just me.”

That night, Ethan confronted her again.

“You let him come with you to the appointment?”

“He showed up on his own.”

“And you let him stay?”

She crossed her arms. “He has a right to know his child.”

“He gave up that right when he abandoned you!”

Ava’s voice turned sharp. “Stop pretending you were the hero. He stepped forward awkwardly. Life was rarely so straightforward and it's not that simple. It bloody well is. Ava I love you deeply somehow fervently. I persisted relentlessly.“If you want to control me, Ethan, go ahead and try. She shook her head vehemently and muttered under her breath that she should've fought tooth and nail not given up so easily.“Do you even care what this looks like?”

“No,” she said. “Because it was never real in the first place.”

Three days later, the first headline broke:

“Billionaire Brothers in Love Triangle Scandal — Baby at the Center”

Ava’s phone exploded with messages. Refrain from doing that utterly ridiculous thing. Zayn reached for her hand but halted awkwardly short of grasping it. You're obviously pretty terrified right now I reckon. Her voice fractured awkwardly and she whispered but I won't let you tackle this ordeal entirely by yourself. Zayn heard too late whispered back at him.

No he whispered softly into darkness. The doctor's visit felt excruciatingly awkward somehow overnight.“She played both of them.”

“Gold-digger of the year.”

“That baby’s gonna need therapy.”

She threw her phone across the seat.

She fell silent rather abruptly now. Zayn slouched quietly in a corner while Ava reclined languidly on a padded table undergoing an ultrasound examination suddenly today. Sound of baby's heartbeat filled room with steady fast pulsing rhythm eerily. Zayn's eyes shone brightly with unshed tears beneath lids that quivered slightly. A bespectacled technician beamed quite brightly. Heartbeat pounds furiously inside chest cavity. Ava's hands shook pretty badly as she attempted vainly to conceal trembling fingers. Zayn strolled slowly alongside her towards car.“You okay?” he asked, pouring her water.

He halted slowly beside her doorway and still neither of them uttered a single word. He said I am not giving up yet stubbornly and defiantly.“We could disappear, you know. Ava gazed quietly away from his intense stare beneath flickering fluorescent lights overhead. Ethan confronted her again that night with ominous words still echoing loudly “You’re about to lose far more than just me.”“I used to believe in starting over. She raised an eyebrow. “You brought him along?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “He just sort of appeared.”

“And you didn't kick him out?”

She folded her arms tightly across her chest. He has a right to know his child.

Abandoning you made him forfeit that right!

Ava's voice turned razor sharp suddenly.“I still love you,” he said.

Quit faking like you were some kinda hero already.“I wish that was enough,” she whispered.

Ethan's hand slammed on wall beside her. Not directly at her but uncomfortably near something or someone else nearby though quite possibly still perilously close. She stood eerily still. She gazed piercingly at him with unnerving intensity. Try controlling me now Ethan and see how that goes for you.“Sir… there’s something you should see.”

She handed him a folder — new photos.

He pulled away with sluggish deliberation breathing heavily. She said no with a careless shrug barely audible over sound of whispering shadows in dark recesses behind her. Three days later a salacious headline erupted online: “Billionaire Brothers Entwined in Sordid Love Triangle Imbroglio — Baby Mired at Center.”

Ava's phone blew up rapidly with texts.

Because it was never real.

Their lives were instantly embroiled in very lurid gossip. Her visage popped up on each blog and tabloid with alarming frequency nationwide overnight somehow. Zayn's PR squad suddenly sprang into hyperdrive with frantic fervor amidst swirling controversy surrounding his recent solo endeavors. He didn't feel it deeply inside somehow. Fire raged intensely within him. Ava got back home rather belatedly that night and found Ethan lurking in darkness pretty eerily. She strolled in quietly with measured steps beneath flickering fluorescent lights.“Don’t say it.”

He stepped into the light. He stepped into flickering light suddenly. Blood smeared his palm pretty badly. He was heavily bandaged underneath torn tattered clothing. His voice remained barely audible.“I loved you,” he said softly. “I tried to be everything he wasn’t.”

“You were everything he wasn’t,” she said. “And that’s the problem.”

His voice trembled. “Do you love him?”

She didn’t answer.

That made things decidedly worse somehow overnight. He spoke softly saying I loved you deeply.