A War with No Winner

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.

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