25. Ava
Chapter 25
Ava
The cool morning breeze caresses my skin as I walk along the shoreline, my bare feet sinking into the damp sand as I think about Silas’ revelation and his and Max’s hot and cold treatment of me.
They’ve gone from hating me to ... I don’t know.
Sometimes when I catch Max staring at me, I’m sure I find longing in his gaze. Other times, it’s pure contempt.
And then there is Silas. He thinks we are a scent match, but he’s hiding it.
But then he told me. But why?
Why couldn’t they leave it the way it was?
Why did my slick gush and my perfume emit as I sat between them?
Everything is changing. I’ve been here for less than one week, and I desperately need to escape this island. Escape from them.
I don’t think the omega in me will last for nine months.
I sigh as I look out at the vast expanse of the Mediterranean Sea. It stretches out before me, a canvas of blues and greens that goes on forever. My eyes follow the path of sunlight that travels to Ibiza.
I can just make out the hazy silhouette of the island, a reminder of the world beyond this gilded cage.
I need to escape.
My eyes scan the horizon, searching for passing boats or signs of life beyond the island. A wild thought crosses my mind— what if I just started swimming ?
Would some kind fisherman or carefree sailor spot me, a desperate woman fighting against the waves? Or would I simply vanish into the sea, another forgotten soul swallowed by its depths?
A shiver runs down my spine as darker possibilities intrude.
What if no one sees me?
Could I really make it all the way to Ibiza?
More likely, my journey will end abruptly, my body battered by the unforgiving hull of a passing yacht?
I shake my head, trying to dispel these morbid thoughts.
Glancing at my watch, I see it’s 7:30 am. A pang of longing hits me as I realize Lily will finish her breakfast soon.
Despite everything, I can’t help but hope to see her smiling face today.
Silas’ words echo in my mind, constant and haunting. “After everything. You owe me that much”
The weight of guilt settles heavy on my chest. If I’m truly the reason her mother left this world, I feel I owe Lily everything? Or at least, something.
With a heavy heart, I turn back towards the house, my steps slow and heavy.
Once inside my bedroom, I sink onto the edge of my bed, the plush mattress a stark contrast to the turmoil inside me.
Leaving this island will be easy, but leaving Lily behind will be excruciating. Just the thought threatens to overwhelm me. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I can already feel the phantom pain of her absence. She’ll leave a void in my life. She’s the child I never thought I wanted. But deep down, past the ache and the guilt, I know the truth: she’s not mine. She never was, and she never can be.
Don’t do this to yourself. Be strong, Ava.
My hand drops to my belly.
My thoughts drift to Seb, waiting for me in a world that seems impossibly far away.
Would he want to bring this baby up with me?
Or would he prefer I hand the baby over to Max?
My gorgeous beta wants a family.
Seb’s face, once so clear in my mind, now seems hazy and distant. But he’s the one I need. That and my freedom. Not this shiny cage disguised as a beautiful island.
My eyes fall on the picture-perfect blue sea beyond my bedroom, but it’s my hearing that heightens as the rotors of a helicopter get louder and closer.
Tears stream down my face as I rush to the window.
“Oh my God,” I whisper as I watch my chance of freedom, a black helicopter, getting closer. “It’s the food delivery.”
Memories of planning with Seb flood back. Staff changeovers on the boats, the twice-weekly helicopter deliveries. This could be my chance.
Without a second thought, I dash out of my room, my heart pounding in my chest. I stealthily maneuver down the corridors as years of training kick in.
My heart is thumping just as loudly as the sound of the rotors grows, which is deafening as I get closer to the destination of the landing area.
I find a hiding spot behind some crates, watching as the staff unloads boxes of fresh produce and other supplies.
My eyes dart around, searching for an opening, a moment of distraction I can exploit.
My heart is trying to break out of the surrounding bars, and I’m barely holding it together as I wait for a gap in the activity.
After another trolley full of boxes is loaded and pushed toward the house, the pilot heads back to the cockpit.
I wait.
And wait.
Only when the rotor slowly turns, getting faster and harder, do I know it is about the right time to run.
I make a break for it, bolting across the gardens, toward the helicopter without a second thought to my safety. The only thought I have is to reach for the landing skids as the helicopter rises. And then hold on for dear life.
Adrenaline courses through my veins.
My fight-or-flight mode has truly kicked.
And my freedom is so close I can almost taste it.
Five more steps and the helicopter will only be a few feet off the ground.
One more step.
This one is harder on the ground as I use my full strength to power off on one foot, like a long jumper when they hit the board and lift.
Suddenly, I’m tackled from behind. Strong arms wrapping around my waist as I struggle, kicking and twisting in the air.
I gasp as I stare above me at the helicopter now floating in the air, and taking my freedom with it.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Silas hisses, holding me against his hard body. My body sags against his as he strides away from the landing area with me tight in his hold.
“Put me down.” I hiss. I fight against him, but it’s futile. Silas has me in an iron grip and when he turns me to look at him, his face is red with rage.
He marches me through the house, his grasp painfully tight on my arm.
We end up in Max’s study. And he looks unsurprised by my attempted escape.
Max sighs. “You disappoint me, Ava.”
“I don’t care that I disappoint you. Just let me go and I’ll deliver this baby to you when it’s born.”
Then the realization hits me like a punch to the gut. “You knew,” I spit out. “Do you have cameras in my room? Do you? You do. You’ve been watching me this whole time!”
Rage boils up inside me, hot and dangerous. “You sick bastards! Is there anywhere in this prison I have privacy? Do you get off on watching me, is that it?”
Max sighs. “You are a strange omega.”
“Why? Because I have backbone. Because I don’t bow down to pathetic alphas?”
He shakes his head. “You’re so busy fighting your scent match, when you could make life so much easier for yourself.”
I glare at him. “My life has been ruined because of alphas. Don’t you get it. I don’t want you. You awakened the omega in me, but I was happier before. I’m strong. I can fight any urges I have.”
Max remains impassive in the face of my outburst, which only infuriates me more.
Silas, still holding my arm, looks conflicted, his earlier anger now tinged with something else. Could it be regret? Concern?
He pulls me close to him and purrs to calm me.
“Please don’t do that?” I whimper.
“Shh …”
“Ava,” Max says calmly, “you need to stop fighting. Let us help you.”
“Please, just let me go.” I beg him.
Max leans back in his chair, studying me with those cold, calculating eyes. He sighs deeply before he says softly, “We’ll see. Go to your room.”
I pull out of Silas’ grip and stride away.
“You purred.” I hear Max say to Silas.
“She’s my omega, Max. I don’t know how I can make her realize it. But I can’t let her go.”
It’s too fucking late.
I don’t listen to Max’s reply.
My heart aches too much as I walk away.
Inside my room, I lock the door and curl up on the bed, cover my face and silently sob.
After my escape attempt, Max has ramped up the amount of bodyguards around the island. I overheard five were sacked for letting me get as close as I did to escaping.
But like the cameras in my room, I ignore them.
I know they watch me all the time. Not just from the cameras, but I’ve caught both men staring at me as I walk around the island. When I play with Lily, even when I talk to the guards. They think they can break me, but they won’t get me down, nor stop me from escaping.
My wardrobe is now full of clothes and everything a girl could ever want. But this girl wants none of it.
I might be a thief who likes money, but Max Montgomery can’t buy me.
I slap a wide-brimmed hat on my head and wear a pair of large sunglasses and then, as per my usual morning routine, I walk around the island.
I know I’m being watched, followed, but I refuse to hide in my room and wallow. I also refuse to believe there’s no way to escape.
When I reach the highest point on the island, I sit on the ground, my knees to my chest, and rest my chin on my folded arms.
I stare at Ibiza in the distance. My gaze roaming to the boats all around. To the ferry on its way to Majorca.
My home.
And my heart sinks in my stomach.
Has Seb given up on me?
Even if I get away from here, can we get ourselves back to where we were?
As I scan the horizon, a boat catches my eye. There’s something familiar about the man fishing on it.
I squint, trying not to catch the attention of the security who followed me.
My heart races as I watch him more closely.
“Seb,” I murmur to myself, hardly daring to believe it.
He’s making deliberate movements, signs meant for me.
I watch intently as he places the fishing rod on the stand and takes out his binoculars. Now I’m sure it’s him. My Seb is here, watching over me.
With trembling fingers, I tap out our secret code on my leg and hope he sees it.
One finger, one tap, then four fingers, one tap again, and finally, three fingers. ‘I love you’ in our private language, developed for moments just like this when we’re separated during a job.
I omit the okay sign that usually follows, because until I’m with Seb, I’m not okay.
Seb nods slightly.
He’s received my message. Then, he moves his fishing rod in a specific pattern. I squint, focusing hard to decipher his message.
Five abrupt movements.
I think about what he’s trying to tell me. He does it again.
The number five.
Five o’clock.
An hour before I walk every morning.
Does he know that?
Has he been watching me?
My heart soars with hope and fear simultaneously. Seb has a plan. He’s coming for me. But what if I can’t get away? Will he try again the next day?
Can I keep this secret, knowing that every move I make is being watched?
I glance around at the bodyguards, but they are waiting for me to move.
When Seb lifts the binoculars again, I give him the okay sign, and just hope he is waiting for me at five in the morning.
Slowly, casually, I stretch and stand up, as if I’m just taking in the view. I can’t risk staying here too long, it’ll only raise suspicion.
As I make my way back to the villa, I notice Max is watching me again.
He does things to my body that I hate.
It’ll be over soon. When I’m free.
I have to stay strong, stay alert, and be ready. Seb is coming, and this time, we’re going to make it out together.
For the first time in what feels like forever, I have hope. Real, solid hope. And that’s enough to keep me going.
Max can throw anything at me at the dining table tonight. I don’t care.
I’ll smile. I’ll laugh.
I’ll do whatever it takes for him to drop his guard again.