"Tristan….," Ava called his name softly.

"Not now …," Tristan said while he was driving. He was ready to explode any minute, and he was trying his best to keep his control. He did not want to get distracted and cause an accident.

​​

He drove for some time and stopped to park when he found some large empty grounds. They needed to talk where nobody could intrude, he didn't want to bring her to his house because she might think he was pressuring her.

He got out of his car and walked to the trunk. He needed a little space before he said something mean to her, but Ava wouldn't have it, so she followed him out of the car. She did not like having him mad at her.

"Please talk to me," Ava begged as she pulled on his coat sleeve.

"Ava, do you love Alaric?" He asked her directly, he did not believe in beating around the bush. He wanted to know the truth, even if it could hurt him.

"I….," she stammered and lowered her eyes.

"So, it's true," his face darkened. She was in love with someone else, that was the reason why she hasn't said yes to his proposal, his heart broke knowing that she was lost to him. Can he still sway her decision? Should he do something to make her change her mind?

"No, no, it's not like that," she was frantic, she did not want Tristan to misunderstand.

"Tell me what it is Ava before I lose control," Tristan said in a commanding tone as he placed both his hands on Ava's shoulders, shaking her a little.

Tristan stared at her with his piercing gaze, it compelled her to tell him the truth, she needed to come clean once for all and clear all his doubts.

"Alaric became my friend because I met him at a company party when we were kids. His dad worked closely with mine. I was a very shy kid, and he was the only other kid I bonded with.

Sometimes he came to my house to play with me and my sister. When we were growing up, I started developing feelings for him, but unfortunately, he did not feel the same for me. Maybe it was my fault because, by the time I wanted to tell him how I felt, it was too late. He had fallen in love with someone else.

I was too shy to confess my feelings, but I thought he might realize it through my actions. I followed him around, eager to please him, but then he introduced his girlfriend to me, and I saw that she was everything that I was not.

They were the same age when they started playing the piano. They were both musically inclined, she was an extrovert and they bonded very well over music, playing it and creating it together.

He saw me as his little sister and nothing more. After he went abroad, I kept him at the back of my mind, thinking of him from time to time, wishing for him to come back and maybe reciprocate my feelings.

But then I met you, and I slowly started to forget about him. I even looked forward to seeing you. I never expected him to return all of a sudden.

Then when I met him again, I realized that I did not feel the same way about him. I was happy he came back, but nothing more.

Seeing him in front of me did not evoke any feelings from me. I probably had a crush when I was young, but what I learned is that I misunderstood his kindness for love.

When you are alone, and someone cares for you, you may mistake it for love," she explained because when she was with Tristan, it felt different. He seemed to draw out feelings she's never felt before, making her blush whenever he looked at her. It was like something in her blood woke up when Tristan was around.

Tristan's dominating and handsome presence attracted her to him, and when he touched her, something felt different, not bad, different, but good, different.

Tristan believed her but did not trust Alaric. He may have looked at her as his little sister before, but from what Tristan observed, Alaric saw her as a woman now, giving her longing looks that spoke of love.

He was glad that Ava was a little naive and did not notice that Alaric was giving her special attention, all that matters was that she did not like him anymore. It would be easier to deal with Alaric than convincing Ava to love him.

"Then why are you hesitating to be with me?"' Tristan wanted to know the reason.

"You told me that you would give me time," Ava reminded him.

Tristan did not say anything, instead, he lifted her up and made her sit on the trunk of his car and stood between her legs.

"I want to know the issue, so I can fix it," Tristan said.

She was surprised when he lifted her to sit on the trunk, she felt very shy about the way their bodies were positioned, they've never been this close to each other before.

She turned her face to the side, not knowing what to say. She's never been vocal about her feelings before, bottling everything up because she did not want to bother people with her issues.

Tristan knew Ava was different, she was not one of his subordinates he can order around. He had to be more patient, and he needed to use a softer, sweeter voice with his little one.

Tristan took a strand of Ava's hair and twirled it around his fingers. Her hair was so soft, and the smell was so intoxicating, he wanted to kiss her right now, but he knew it was not the time, he couldn't even make her talk about her feelings.

"Tristan, I'm scared," Ava whispered.

"About what?" Tristan would not have heard her if he was not standing so close to her.

"I don't know whether this will work out or not," Ava said.

"Ava, I will make it work, we will make it work. I never wanted anything as badly as I want you. I will do everything in my power and beyond to not lose you," Tristan said.

He was standing so close Ava started playing with one of his shirt buttons. It made him smile that she felt comfortable to touch him.

"Outclass is going to a trekking camp for three days in X city," she said.

"No, you can't go there," he said immediately.

"Why? Everybody's going," she started to pull on his button a little harder.

"The weather is unpredictable in that place and a lot of accidents happen in the mountains," he was worried.

"Tristan, our college has organized this trip already. They checked the weather forecast and have selected those days. It's a touristy area and a lot of college students go there. A lot of people do dangerous things all the time without thinking about their safety and they're okay. Accidents occur all the time," Ava said.

He was still not convinced, having her far from him meant he could not protect her or get to her in time if something happens, he didn't mean to sound so glum but now that he confessed to her the need to keep her closer to him got greater every day.

"Please, I really want to go," Ava showed her puppy dog eyes at him. He was helpless whenever she does that, so he agreed.

"You have to keep your phone with you at all times, and you call me immediately if anything happens," Tristan insisted.

"I promise," Ava said, and in her happiness, she unknowingly pulled off his shirt button.

She bit her lower lip and looked at him to see if ruining his shirt made him mad, "Oops…," she said.

Instead, there was a very big smile on his lips because of her childish actions, "Don't mind that, I have other shirts," he chucked.

All his suits were customized from an Italian brand, and they usually cost up to a few thousand dollars, but he did not mind if she ruined his clothes.

He usually got mad when his suits got ruined, but Ava was an exception. She can ruin all of his suits for all he cares, as long as she was with him.

He will let Ava do anything she wants.