32. Ava
Chapter 32
Ava
My heart races as I slip into Garrett’s penthouse, the New York skyline glittering beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Though the plush carpet muffles each of my steps, every tiny sound still seems amplified in the stillness.
I freeze as keys jingle.
Pulse pounding, I duck behind a massive leather armchair. A clock ticks somewhere, mocking me with each passing second I hide.
The door opens, and I hold my breath as footsteps approach.
A maid hums, the rustle of her uniform growing louder, and I know she is getting closer.
She pauses right next to my hiding spot, her musky perfume making my throat itch and I hold my breath to hold in a cough.
I wish I had Seb’s eyes watching me, but I don’t.
The mere thought of him causes my heart to sink.
After an agonizing moment, she moves on, and I release a silent sigh of relief.
But I know I have no time to spare and once the coast is clear, I make my way to Garrett’s study.
This is too easy.
I close the door to his office behind me.
Minutes later, the safe clicks open under my expert touch, and there it is—the pink diamond that should have been mine.
My breath catches.
The last time I saw this exquisite diamond, it was a single stone. Now it’s perched on a platinum band surrounded by smaller stones of exactly the same color, winking in the dim light.
It’s even more beautiful than I remember, and jealousy twists in my gut as I imagine it on another woman’s finger.
Does that mean he found his scented omega?
I smile. He’s not mine. I realize it’s not jealousy furling in my gut, but hurt from being rejected by him.
I lift the jewelry from its velvet cushion, and grip the band in my hand. A triumphant smile spreads over my face, but after all this time, I know it’s not rightfully mine. The ring is beautiful and my heart races as I hold it high, its facets catching the dull light, sending sparkles dancing across the walls.
What the hell am I doing here? I turn to place the ring back in the safe when a floorboard creaks behind me.
I freeze, my breath catching in my throat before I whirl around, and narrow my eyes, praying what I see is just my imagination.
But it’s not.
There, standing in the doorway, is a figure I never expected to see.
Layla.
“Ava,” my sister gasps.
The silence stretches between us, heavy unspoken words and years of separation, rendering us both speechless.
I clutch the ring tightly, my mind racing.
How did she get here?
Why is she in Garrett’s penthouse?
A thousand questions swirl in my head, but all I can manage is a whispered, “Layla?”
Her eyes roam to my hand, then back to my face. There’s something in her expression.
Is it guilt?
I open my mouth to explain why I’m here, and to ask why she’s here, but before I form the words, I hear heavy footsteps approaching. My heart pounds even harder. I know those footsteps.
Garrett.
I realize this night is about to become far more complicated than the revenge I sought.
I should have moved on from what happened. Now I’m trapped in a room with a stolen diamond, a sister I haven’t seen in years, and I’m about to be confronted by the alpha who rejected me.
“What the hell are you doing, Ava?” Garrett’s deep voice booms.
A chill runs through my veins, turning my blood to ice.
Then he whispers to Layla, “Are you okay, princess?”
“Layla?” I whisper, staring at my sister in disbelief.
I look at the pink diamond, its facets catching the dim light as I stare at it, then back at my sister. Layla’s eyes are fixed on the ring, a smile on her face.
“Ava, please,” Layla says softly. “I love Garrett.”
I scoff, my fingers tightening around the ring. “He’s too old for you, Layla.”
Garrett’s deep voice cuts through the tension. “She’s my scented mate. Age is unimportant.”
“No,” I whisper, disbelief coloring my voice.
“Yes,” Garrett replies firmly. “Why do you think I couldn’t touch you?”
My mind reels. “Then why did you buy me?”
“You don’t know yet?” Garrett shakes his head and sighs. “I didn’t. You stayed with me to protect you.”
“Protect me?” I ask, confusion clear in my tone. “From my stepfather?”
“Yes, and no. From being sold, and from other alphas, and until you were ready.”
I narrow my eyes. “Keep talking.”
“Maxwell Montgomery made an offer for you, but you rejected him,” Garrett states.
“I did not,” I retort, indignant.
“Your stepfather told him you did. I warned Max your stepfather was a greedy man, and he was trying to get him to up his offer.”
My heart thrums against the bars around my chest.
“He thought you rejected him, but Max couldn’t just let you go. He knew you were his but refused to play your stepfather’s games, so he backed away, infuriating your stepfather, who tried to renegotiate with Max.”
“And somehow you stepped in?” I say, confused about Garrett’s involvement.
“I paid your stepfather a much lower sum of money on Max’s behalf to take you. I made it part of the deal I offered for your sister.”
“Layla.”
“Yes, she’s my omega. And that’s why I claimed I bought you as collateral to ensure I got Layla when she was ready. Max was devastated when you rejected him, but he couldn’t give up on you without a fight. But he wanted you to have the time to change your mind. And that is why I kept you hidden. Nobody could ever know about you. Until Max was ready, and so were you.”
“But you let me go.”
Garrett walks toward Layla and wraps a protective arm around her shoulder. His fingers stroke over her skin in delicate circles. “I didn’t. The night of the ball when Silas St. James was here with his wife—”
I interrupt, “She died that night.” My heart plummets as I remember what Silas told me.
“She did. But before then, he was here to inform me that Max was ready for you. He couldn’t wait any longer. You were supposed to leave with Silas the next day.”
I must look confused.
He sighs. “But his wife saw how attracted Silas was to you. She was consumed with jealousy when she recognized you were his scented mate.” He hesitates.
“Max sent him on purpose?”
“I can’t honestly answer that question. But what I can tell you is, his wife knew if Silas took you the next day to Max, she was history. You can’t fight a scent match.”
I nod slowly, waiting to hear more.
“She wanted him to kill you when he picked you up the next day.”
I gasp. “Why?”
“To prove how much he loved her. She wanted him to kill his scented mate.”
I shake my head. “Oh, my God.”
“So, I made a deal with Silas when you went to your room, and while his wife was in the restroom. He wanted you safe. And he paid for you to disappear that night. Not me.”
“Silas? No. Silas isn’t that rich.”
Garrett laughs. “Silas is a millionaire many, many times over. His mother is a DuPont, and her family is the original owners of the DuPont island.”
“Not Max Montgomery?”
“They both own it now.” Garrett laughs. “After Silas’ wife died, it took him a year to decide to pursue you, and then he went back to Max with an offer. Max would return to him half of the island that his family sold him, and then they would find their omega together.”
“Wow.”
“Max countered. He wanted Silas as his pack mate and gave Silas fifty-one percent back, providing the first baby was his.”
“That’s—” My voice is shaky as I think of how much Max wanted my child. He gave up the majority ownership of the island.
“Yes. It’s what you think.”
“And Silas agreed because the island was more important to Silas than me?”
Garrett walks to me and touches my hand. “Nothing is more important to Silas than his daughter.”
I smile. “She’s pretty special.” I can hardly be jealous over a three-year-old who I love myself.
Garrett continues. He explains the complex web of arrangements and deals made on my behalf. As he speaks, I feel the ground shifting beneath my feet, everything I thought I knew crumbling away.
My voice is shaking as much as my body as I process the information. “I’m in shock. I thought they hated me.”
Garrett shakes his head. “It’s not the actions of men who hate. Yes, Max wanted a baby, but I think he’s still scared you actually rejected him. And Silas can’t hate you. A man who goes against the wishes of his wife, an omega herself, doesn’t hate you.”
Garrett touches my hand gently. “They aren’t bad men, Avaline. They’re confused. You’re an omega who fights her designation. I know your stepfather injected you with an anti-heat drug, but that’s gone now, and you’re still fighting.”
I swallow hard, my voice shaky. “That's all I’ve known. It’s become part of me.”
Layla steps closer, her eyes pleading. “Ava, please understand. This isn’t just about alphas and omegas. It’s about finding your place, your family.”
The weight of the ring in my palm is conspicuous as I turn to Garrett and slowly open my hand. “Was this your payment for looking after me?”
He nods. “It was. As you can understand, Max could have paid your stepfather many more millions, but him telling him you rejected him was what he found hard. So he offered me a deal instead, but that deal meant that I couldn’t take my omega until you were gone.”
I look down at the ring in my hand, then back at my sister. “And this is your place? With Garrett?”
She nods, a small smile on her face. “It is. I love him. Just like your place is with Silas and Max.”
“It’s with Seb,” I counter.
“Then tell them that,” Layla says, quietly. “Tell them Seb is your pack, too.”
I shake my head, still struggling to accept it all. “But how can I trust them after everything that’s happened?”
Garrett speaks up. “They’ve been waiting for you, Ava. They never stopped waiting, and I think they’ll wait forever.”
I close my eyes, feeling overwhelmed. When I open them, I see Layla holding out her hand.
I hesitate, looking between the ring, my sister, and Garrett.
Years of running, of fighting, of not trusting anyone weigh heavily on me. But beneath it all, there’s a flicker of something else. Hope, perhaps. Or maybe just curiosity.
With a deep breath, I place the ring in Layla’s outstretched hand. “I’m not promising anything,” I say firmly. “But I’ll listen.”