Ava's safety was what mattered the most to Tristan. Tristan approached Ava and saw her shivering. He removed his coat and put it on her shoulders.

"Tristan..." She hugged him and started crying all over again.

​​

She couldn't imagine what could have happened if Tristan did not come at the right time. Alaric, she trusted him, he betrayed her.

"Shhh...," he whispered. His heart was heavy, if only he could take away her pain. He felt like what he did to Alaric wasn't enough. He wanted to wake up Alaric and beat him again.

Tristan and Ava got out of the restroom and headed to one of the VIP rooms.

Tristan asked Blake so set aside one for him and Ava. Ava needed some time to collect herself. He directed her to one of the sitting areas. Ava was still crying, she was really shaken up.

"Little one, please stop crying," Tristan said. She was making herself more miserable, and he couldn't bear it.

Too much crying made Ava's throat dry, which made her cough.

"Drink some water," Tristan said while patting her back. Seeing Ava like this was making him mad, he keeps on thinking of more ways to punish Alaric.

"You came for me …" Ava held his hand tightly. Tristan was her savior.

"I will always protect you," Tristan assured her.

"Did he hurt you?" Tristan asked.

"No," Ava replied. Tristan still removed his coat and checked for any injuries on her body. There were no injuries, and Tristan was relieved.

Ava was getting tired. She was feeling sleepy. Tristan asked her to lay down for a while.

Ava clung to Tristan and asked him to lay down with her. Tristan agreed and held Ava in his arms.

Ava was sleeping deeply, but Tristan was awake. He was watching her like a hawk.

Suddenly his phone rang, it was Blake. He was outside, and he wanted to talk to him. Tristan pried Ava off of him gently and went to see Blake.

"I heard what happened. How is Ava?" Blake asked. He cared about Ava, and he was concerned.

"She is fine now. I wanted to kill that bastard," Tristan scowled.

"You injured him very badly. He was taken to the hospital," Blake said.

"I want you to terminate his contract. Blacklist him in the industry, in the whole country," Tristan sternly said.

"Don't worry. I will take care of it," Blake assured him. The four aristocratic heirs always supported each other.

"Go back inside. Don't leave Ava alone," Blake said and walked away.

Tristan came back in and saw the tears that dried on her face. She was so innocent, how can anyone dare to harm her.

He was going to make sure that Alaric's career got ruined. He will make sure Alaric leaves the country.

Tristan got a wet towel and wiped her face.

He wanted to take her to his house, but he knows that her parents will be waiting for her. When she woke up, he dropped her off.

When Tristan got home, he got restless. He wanted to know how Ava was feeling, is she okay, will she be able to sleep.

He wanted to be with her. He set up a video call so he could see her. He dropped the call only when he saw she couldn't keep awake anymore.

At times like this, he thought, it would have been nice if Ava's parents knew about their relationship. He was waiting for Ava to break the news to her parents.

A few days passed, and Ava felt a little better. Alaric sent her a message saying he wanted to see her.

She ignored him. He kept calling and kept sending messages, so she blocked his number.

She was so mad. She vowed never to see him again.

This Alaric was not the friend that she knew. He had changed, and she had no idea who this new person was.

Mrs. Wesley called her downstairs. She said someone came to see her. When she got there, it was Alaric.

Seeing him made her remember, her hatred grew. Her mother didn't know what happened, so she could not be rude.

"Aunty, can I talk to Ava?" Alaric asked. She wondered why he had to ask. She knew him, and he always came to see her, so she left them alone.

"Ava…," Alaric said.

"Not here, let's go to the garden," Ava said sternly. She didn't want anyone to hear their conversation. Alaric followed Ava into the garden and they just stood there, staring at each other.

Ava saw Alaric's face was still black and blue. He looked very exhausted. There was a small bandage on his forehead.

It looked like Tristan gave him a beating. She didn't really feel bad for him. He deserved it.

Ava wanted to get as far away from him as possible. She did not want to breathe the same air as him.

She was trying to walk away, "Whatever you want to say, say it quickly and leave," Ava said rudely.

Alaric wanted to say a lot of things but did not know where to start. He swallowed and jumped in. He had to explain, he owed her.

"I am sorry. I know an apology cannot make everything right, but I hope it's a start," Alaric said with a shaky voice.

Ava raised her eyebrow and stared at him, prompting him to go on.

"I should never have forced myself on you. I feel ashamed. I hurt the most important person in my life. I was drunk, and things happened," Alaric said in a sorrowful tone.

"That's no excuse," Ava snapped at him. "People only do their innermost desire when they are drunk. Hurting someone, and saying it's because of alcohol is no excuse."

"I know it's not. Maybe I always wanted to do it, but alcohol gave me courage. I love you, Ava, that's all. When you said you loved Tristan, I could not control my emotions," Alaric said.

Each word that came out of his mouth was getting harder to say.

"I guess, now I will never have the chance," Alaric asked.

"Tristan is the one I love," Ava said.

Alaric let out a laugh. Did he lose the war even before fighting it? He knew Tristan beat him up yesterday, but Ava was only concerned about Tristan.

If he dies, it probably won't even make a difference to Ava.

"You loved me before, why can't you love me now?" Alaric asked.

Ava never expected Alaric to figure out what she felt for him. "You knew?" She asked shockingly.

"Your actions told me everything. The way you used to smile at me always made my day," Alaric remembered. Those were the times he cherished. His family, Ava, everything was perfect in his life.

"I thought you never knew how I felt. That's why you chose Melissa. You loved her so much. You even avoided me for her," Ava accused him.

A lot of things had happened, and she also realized that she never loved Alaric. He was just a silly crush she had while growing up.

"Yes, sometimes we make mistakes on who we choose. I know you were hurt when I avoided you," Alaric said.

Ava did not feel awful thinking about it now. Melissa was his girlfriend, and they were friends.

So technically, it was right that he should make Melissa his priority. He should give her more of his time.

"It's okay, I don't blame you," Ava said.

"I was wrong for cutting off ties with you suddenly. I avoided you because Melissa told me to," Alaric revealed the truth.

"What," Ava could not believe that Melissa would do someone like that. She gave the impression that she was a very nice person.

"Melissa hated you. She thought you were always seeking attention. She didn't like the fact that no matter how much you hid in the corners. People still noticed you. She didn't like how we were close to each other. She wanted me completely to herself.

She came from a poor background, and she always heard people say we were not a good match. She used to become really insecure. She wanted to hold onto me tightly.

She didn't want to be the bad guy, so she told me to avoid you.

I loved her too much. When I saw the pain in her eyes, I couldn't refuse her. I could never refuse her anything.

When she was with other people she used to behave like a kind and genuine person.

Behind closed doors, she would tell me that she didn't think she was worthy of me. I always assured her, but she didn't want it. It was only after I stopped talking to other women," Alaric said.

Ava could not process what Alaric was saying.

The image she had of Melissa and the person Alaric was talking about was not the same person.

Guess everyone is not always what they seem to be and everyone has their insecurities.

"How is she now," Ava asked.

"I don't know. The last time I saw her was four years ago," Alaric said.

"What? Why are you not together anymore?" Ava said.

"No, we broke up," Alaric said plainly.

"What happened? If you broke up four years ago then, why did you leave? You left without telling me anything," Ava was curious because he hid so many things from her.