Chapter Four

Davide scoffed at her words as the atmosphere became tense for a moment. His lips are pursed tight as he stares at the woman indifferently.

He didn't know if she was serious or if he looked like a random stranger she thought to pull off a joke with. 

With this thought, Davide swallowed and squinted his eyes at the lady, waiting for her to bluff out that she was mainly joking.

As he contemplated within himself, the woman slowly got out of the car. 

"I'm sorry for coming at you like this, but you see, I'm sought of in a hurry." The lady walked closer to Davide, but he took a few steps backward.

"I'm sorry for not properly introducing myself." She cleared her throat and then stretched her hand towards him, "I'm Zeta, secretary of the West's accounting firm." 

Davide pouted. His eyes trailed her outfit and her shoes, and it instantly narrowed as he said,

"You are not joking, are you?"

The woman looked at Davide, and a proud smirk played on her lips, "You seem to know about the firm." 

West's accounting firm was famous. It was the biggest and most successful firm in the country. 

Davide had always admired the firm back then, so much that he looked it up and saw the only way to guarantee a permanent position was to be an intern.

But after marriage with Avery and the past three years of his life wasted, there was no way he could apply for a position at the company. 

Davide snorted, knowing how hard it was to get a job at the firm, he thought she was a scammer.

"I'm sorry, but I won't fall for your jokes. You can leave now." 

"I'm not joking." Zeta reached for her ID card in the car and showed it to Davide.

But Davide still didn't believe.

"Don't tell me that this was a well-thought-out plan? Is this how you pick a random stranger just to deceive them?" Davide's cold voice contained undisguised mockery.

Zeta's face immediately fell. The relaxed look on her face was gone, and a hint of hostility flashed in her eyes.

"I'm not some psychopath who derive joy in teasing people I don't know." 

She looked at Davide's hostile gaze and knew that there was nothing she would say that would make him believe her, so instead of trying to be civil, she folded her sleeves.

"What are you doing?" Davide wondered what she was up to until she grabbed his arm, trying to drag him towards her car.

He was baffled. He never knew she would result to such a low standard for someone dressed elegantly, and her car was just as luxurious. 

"Let me go." Davide frowned and tried to release her grip on him, but this woman wasn't an easy one.

Just then, a luxurious white car stopped in front of Zeta's car. Davide paused for a moment as he stared anxiously at the car. 

When the door opened, a familiar brand of red shoe gently collided with the ground.

Those shoes were similar to the ones he got for Avery on their first wedding anniversary. He saved money and had one of her diamonds pierced to the heel. 

The woman stepped out of the car, and indeed, It was Avery.

'How come she is here?' Davide's heartbeat suddenly skyrockets. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, despite the weather being cold.

Zeta had stopped trying to pull Davide to the car, and her gaze was fixed on the lady. 

Zeta's hand was wrapped around Davide's arms, and as they stood so close, it seemed as though she was latched romantically to Davide's arms.

"Avery..." Her name left Davide's lips so faintly that he didn't realize he had muttered her name.

Avery stopped in her tracks as she noticed Davide and the pretty woman. Her gaze fell onto their hands which looked as though they found it hard to be apart. 

There was a sudden impulse that rushed through her spine, one that made every bone in her marrow feel as though it was being crushed.

Avery tried to hold herself back, but she couldn't control the rage that engulfed her. 

However, as if Davide couldn't sense her anger, he glanced at her passively, "What are you doing here?" 

Avery tried to calm down after seeing his nonchalant expression. "Have you been here all this time? I've been trying to find you." 

Her tone was light, neither humble nor arrogant, but it pricked, "It seems like you're trying to find another wealthy woman." 

Davide found her words exhilarating. Despite being filled with rage, he said no words to her.

"Davide, why are you beside the road holding hands with a woman?" Avery's gaze drifted toward the woman latched onto Davide, and she balled her hands into fists, the muscles of her bottleneck tightening, making her veins visible. 

Avery felt a bit suffocated and parted her lips so as to breathe in the air to calm her nerves, but it didn't help. 

It felt as though the woman was trying to cross her territory. Avery has no idea why she felt threatened by the woman's presence. 

Seeing that Davide was in no way fond of the strange woman, Zeta lifted her head as she asked, "Who are you?" 

Upon hearing this, Avery scoffed at the woman. Avery had no business with her. She slowly walked closer and fixed her gaze on Davide, "You have to come back with me and do what you are supposed to do, to donate blood to my mother!" 

Her words pierced his heart. She was only concerned about his blood, "I'm never going back to you." 

Avery scoffed, "You know that isn't true; there's no way you can survive out here in the streets without anything. I'm your savior, Davide; without me, you can't survive." 

Avery's eyes drifted towards Davide's hands, still tightened around the woman's arms, and a scoff escaped her lips. 

'Pathetic!' Avery thought, seeing how Davide gripped the woman's arms.

For a moment, Avery wondered-  

'What is she to him?' Avery's eyes suddenly wavered anxiously-

"Let's go back." Avery stretched her hands to reach for Davide. 

There was a sudden glint of affection that was instantly overshadowed by hate when Davide erupted into laughter and locked hands with Zeta.

"You don't expect me to go with you and leave my girlfriend here, do you?" 

Zeta's eyes widened at Davide's words. She looked at him with great perplexity. Her gaze kept drifting between their hands and Davide's daring demeanor.

Zeta's gaze drifted towards Avery as she wondered-

'What relationship is there between these two?'

Avery's hands curled into fists. Her eyes fired shots at Zeta. She could feel the muscles of her heart tightening, making her unable to breathe. 

No response came from her lips for the longest time. Atlas, when she could part her lips to question Davide, it was rather late.

Davide walked towards the car, hand in hand with Zeta. He forced her inside the car and drove off.

Like a statue, Avery watched them leave, and her eyes reddened as if blood would trickle down her cheeks.

Her lips shook in a fury, and just when the rage coursing through her veins overwhelmed her, she stomped a foot on the ground and screamed.

...

In the car...

Davide's hands tightened around the steering. He was biting down his lower lips. His eyes were fixed on the road, but he didn't see the traffic lights turn red, and only when Zeta screamed did he step on the brakes forcefully. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He loosened his tie and took a deep breath. 

His gaze fell on Zeta, who stared at him as if nothing had happened earlier.

"I'm sorry for what I did, and I couldn't think of other ways to hurt her." 

"That's not a problem, sir." Zeta smiled. 

"Sir?" Davide's gaze flickered, waiting for Zeta to explain what she meant.

"Yes, sir. I will gladly follow each one of your others." The smile on the woman's face only widened, making Davide even more uneasy.

"Why do you refer to me as 'Sir'?" He questioned her.

"I'm only a maid of the West family, and you, sir, are the only heir."