CHAPTER 7-8

Ava calmed down her emotions, only to realize that she had not even washed her face before facing him after getting up from the bed.

She grabbed her hair in shock and made for the bathroom while covering her face.

Antonio eyed the way she seemed awkward and embarrassed, his elegant brows furrowing. “This isn’t our first day of marriage. It’s not like is the first time I’m seeing your face in the morning either. Why are you hiding?”

This had nothing to do with how long they have been married!

Especially since Ava was never conscious of the fact that she was married previously!

She did not explain, running into the bathroom mirror to check if her eyes were sore. When she looked down, she found that his bathroom did not have the products she used for washing up.

Who knew if after last night Antonio would directly move his things back to the main bedroom.

Seeing how Antonio had already left the room, she took the opportunity to run back to the main bedroom and moved the things she frequently used to his bedroom.

This way, regardless of which room he chose to stay in, she would occupy both! There was nowhere he could escape!

Ava changed her clothes and went downstairs for breakfast.

On the table was the custard toast she always loved to eat.

She had just sat down when Antonio placed a cup of warm milk Auntie Berta had brought over in front of her.

She sat by the table, took the cup of milk, bit on the toast, and took a glance at Antonio. She then took another bite of the toast and glanced up at Antonio once more.

As she ate her breakfast, her eyes rarely left Antonio.

Auntie Berta who was cleaning at the side saw this and could not help but smile, quietly tugging the helper at the side to return to the kitchen.

Ava took another bite of the toast, not even realising that a bit of custard was left on the side of her mouth. Her eyes were fixed on the man who had already finished his breakfast and was currently reading a business magazine.

He had a pair of stern and clear brows and eyes, a straight nose bridge and a handsome silhouette that seemed to be crafted by God himself. He was perfect to the point where no one could find anything to fuss about.

Antonio paused his actions of flipping the magazine, calmly turning to look at the little woman whose eyes seemed to be stuck on him. Her gaze seemed as though he would vanish at any instant.

Ava returned to her spirits and rushed to bring the toast in her hand up to cover her eyes. Picking up her glass of milk, she chugged a large mouthful.

Due to being too rushed, she choked and had to quickly put down her cup and toast, violently coughing twice: “Cough… cough cough…”

Antonio brought some napkins in front of her. Seeing how she was still coughing loudly, he directly helped her wipe the custard off her lips: “You’ve been acting strange since yesterday. Do you like to stare at me so much?”

“Cough, cough, cough…”

She actually did not choke so seriously but hearing his words she immediately coughed loudly several times on purpose.

Auntie Berta rushed out from the kitchen. “Madam, what’s wrong? You’re coughing so badly…”

“Cough, cough, nothing. I just choked on the milk.”

“So long as you’re all right. Oh yes, yesterday Miss Stella said that she wants to come and stay at the Bellevue Hill tonight. This evening, shall I prepare dinner for her as well?”

Ava’s expression did not change. After coughing twice more, she turned to say, “Auntie Berta, clean up the guest bedroom my sister always uses. From now onward don’t let her stay at the Bellevue Hill as much as possible.”

“But Miss Stella will be coming today…”

“I’ll speak to her about it. After all, the Bellevue Hill is not the Clifford family home. It’s not right for her to come in and out of here all the time.”

Hearing this, Auntie Berta’s heart became much more comfortable.

In the past, she always felt that that second lady who kept coming to the Bellevue Hill, loved to ask all sorts of questions about Mr. Sylvester, and even treated her like a family member, was really difficult to get used to.

Auntie Berta did not wait for even a second and rushed to clean up the guest room.

All of a sudden, Antonio’s phone—which was placed on the dining table—vibrated.

Ava initially thought it would only be a spam message. Seeing how his eyes remained fixed on a particular English article in the business magazine, mindless of his phone, her gaze flew towards his phone screen. Seeing the number on the screen her eyes flashed, and she reached over to take his phone.

136xxxx: [Brother Antonio, please don’t be mad at my sister. I didn’t expect that she would use such methods and drug you. She originally wanted to send you to another woman’s bed. I persuaded her for a really long time, but she wouldn’t listen. With the way you guys are interacting, will there be a happy ending? My heart aches for my sister, and I also feel that it is not worth it for you, Brother Antonio!]

After reading the message, Ava’s beautiful brows furrowed.

“Your phone number, do many people know it?” Ava looked up.

Antonio glanced at her, placing the magazine in his hands to the side.

“Many people? Whom does that refer to?”

Ava remembered that Antonio’s private number was not known to many people and was not easily accessible to others.

“I just did not expect Stella to be so concerned about our relationship and to message you because of my actions.” Ava smiled while intentionally allowing some jealousy to be revealed in her eyes.

Antonio eyed her restrained expression and asked, “Weren’t you the one who gave her my number?”

“…”

It seems like that did indeed happen.

Stella often took her phone to play. She had not paid much attention to when exactly she had memorized Antonio’s private number.

“She sends them, but that doesn’t mean I will read them,” Antonio calmly said.

Hearing this, Ava scrolled down, discovering many unread messages.

Aside from a few emails and messages from the company, there really were several unread messages from Stella.

After randomly reading a few, she discovered that they were mostly made to sound as though she was a kind younger sister speaking up for her older sister, but in fact, they made Ava sound as though she was often unreasonable and had a weird personality.

She was indeed full of schemes!

At the moment when she became silent, Antonio suddenly spoke calmly, “Being young doesn’t equate to being innocent. Family relations should not be trusted without question. That you can see things clearly early on is not a bad thing.”

Ava suspiciously eyed the man in front of her who seemed to have already known everything from the start.

No wonder Antonio rarely returned home when Stella was around. It seems like he had already seen through Stella’s thoughts.

She really wanted to beat up herself from ten years ago! Why was her heart so big!

Ava violently slapped her forehead and ended up hitting the wounded spot from last night. She hissed in surprise while her whole face scrunched up in pain.

Antonio sat up and walked over, pushing her hand aside. Seeing her sore forehead, he frowned. “Does it not hurt enough? Do you have to make the wound worse?”

Ava raised her head. It hurt to the point where tears were coming out. Glancing at his stern expression, she could not hold in her ashamed expression. “I won’t let anyone come in as they please anymore. In the past, did I cause a lot of trouble for you?”

“Everything concerning you is not any trouble. For this sort of thing, the decision lies in your hands.”

Antonio held her head, checking her wound before calling for a helper to come over. “Bring the medicine from last night here and apply it on her again.”

Everything concerning her was not considered trouble…

Ava’s heart rippled, and she threw herself into his embrace.

It was early in the morning, and she had already done so twice. By now, Antonio was somewhat used to her sudden outburst of sweet passion. He lowered his eyes to look at her little head that was buried in his embrace, gently holding it. “Once you’ve eaten, return to the room to rest. It’s already the beginning of autumn. Don’t catch a cold.”

“Going to rest right after eating, are you raising me like a pig?” Ava rubbed her face against his embrace.

Suddenly noticing that the helpers around them all seemed shy and awkward, she quickly stepped back from his embrace but noticed that Antonio’s gaze on her held a faint smile that was difficult to understand.

“Didn’t you always do that in the past?”

“That was…”

In the past, Ava never liked having breakfast with him. She always rushed to finish and would then find a random excuse to return to her room to rest. She was always unwilling to spend even a minute longer around him.

“Cough, that’s because I previously couldn’t sleep very well, so I had to regain some sleep in the day.” Ava explained, rubbing her face. “You see! Good rest will lead to beautiful skin!”

Antonio chuckled at her awkward explanation and refrained from attacking her obvious forced logic.

Seeing that he did not believe her, she grabbed his hand and pressed it on her face. “If you don’t believe me, touch it! Isn’t it soft and smooth?”

Antonio gently rubbed his thumb across Ava’s face. Ava held onto his hands but was unable to control his movements. He pinched her chin. Her face immediately burned red watching the man who was moving closer to her.

“Indeed, it is soft and smooth,” he whispered in a slightly hoarse voice.

These three words were initially used to describe her face, but hearing it come from his mouth somehow made her think that there was something else. It caused her face to turn red and her heartbeat to speed up.

“Mrs. Sylvester is seducing me so directly. Do you not wish for me to go to the company?” Antonio muttered right next to her lips. There was only the space of a finger preventing them from kissing.

Ava’s heart skipped a beat.

How could he tease her like this…

Antonio, how could he tease her like this!

In her past life, water must have entered her brain for her to push him a thousand miles away! Who said that a cold businessman would be extremely traditional and dull in a relationship!

He was obviously teasing her to the point of death!

Ava closed her eyes, yet after waiting for almost half a day, the kiss she expected did not happen.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Antonio’s gaze fixed on her.

He was always cold and quiet, keeping a distance from others and was very astute at noticing people’s changes. Ava’s character suddenly changed so much, although he did not ask, that did not mean that he did not notice these changes.

Ava paused in surprise. She felt that perhaps she had been too hasty and instinctually took a step back.

Just as she was about to move away from him, his arm wound around her waist and pulled her back.

Her lips were instantly sealed by his.

Earlier on, the helpers had already cleared the table. There was no one around them, and it was quiet to the point where they could hear each other’s breathing. Ava raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck tightly; her teary eyes filled with passion.

He closed his eyes.

There was no way to look, if he looked any longer, today’s meeting would have to be pushed back to tomorrow.

The fresh scent on this little woman’s body seduced him. Even if it was just a kiss, it was sufficient to make him want to press her down.

—-

Auntie Berta brought the blankets out from the guest bedroom. The moment she walked out she saw Ava sitting on the couch with a bright-red face, appearing as though her soul had been stolen.

The Bellevue Hill’s doorbell rang. Antonio, who had just received the company’s phone call and was about to leave, directly went to open the door.

The door opened and there stood Stella.

Stella wore a light-colored dress. Her face had some light makeup that accentuated her youth. The moment she saw that it was Antonio who had opened the door, her eyes lit up.

“Brother Antonio! Normally at this time, you would already be at the office! Why haven’t you left today?” Stella’s face was filled with joy.

Previously, Stella wanted to use the excuse of comforting Antonio to go look for him, but he was always at the office. The SLV office was so strictly managed that there was no way she could enter. The previous night she had only managed to catch a glimpse of him at the Bellevue Hill before he had pulled Ava to his room. It was a long time since she had stood so close to him.

That he had come to open the door was an amazing surprise for her!

Antonio’s body was tall and fit. He stood at the door with no intention of letting her in.

Stella glanced inside. From this angle, she could not see Ava, so she spoke softly, “Is my sister still sleeping? Ai, locking herself in the room for the whole day without seeing anyone, it’s no wonder that her character is becoming weirder and weirder. I’ll find time to persuade her.”

She dared to speak this way because she already had her plans.

Since Ava and Antonio had a barrier between them, regardless of why he returned to the Bellevue Hill yesterday, last night must not have been too peaceful here. Ava must have quarreled with him again.

“Came here so early?” Antonio’s voice was calm and it held no warmth whatsoever.

Stella was already used to his coldness and felt that last night there must have been some unhappiness between them.

She gave an understanding smile. “I’m worried that since my sister isn’t feeling too happy these few days, she might cause some unreasonable trouble again. So, I thought to come early and accompany her.”

“What unreasonable things have I done?” Ava’s voice suddenly came from inside the room.

Stella’s expression instantly froze.

Ava walked over to Antonio’s side, her hand naturally holding onto his elbow, smiling.

“Aside from having some bad temper, what other ridiculous things have I done? You remember it so well that you have to keep bringing it up?”

Stella stared at Ava with shock. She then glanced her hand around Antonio’s arm.

After the incident the night before, Antonio should have been thoroughly disappointed with Ava. How could this…

“You and Brother Antonio…” Stella spoke hesitantly.

Ava cut her off. “Stella, I’ve already been married for so long, why haven’t you changed the way you address him? He is your brother-in-law; you can’t call him Brother Antonio.”

Stella’s expression fell at sight of the scene in front of her. Breathing in, she suddenly asked, “Brother Antonio, did you do something to my sister? Previously she kept hiding from you. The moment you touched her, she would shower eight to ten times. Why is she suddenly so close to you…?”

Ava leaned against Antonio, looking amused. “Wouldn’t that cause my skin to peel? My sister is young and doesn’t speak seriously. It’s so exaggerated that it makes people want to laugh.”

Antonio glanced at her. “No wonder it’s so soft and smooth. So you showered up to eight or ten times a day.”

His hand moved to Ava’s waist, quietly whispering by her ear such that only she could hear his words.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***