Beatrice had just finished telling her side of the story and realized she would get away with it because the officials who pretended to be concerned were just interested in the money. Give them a couple of bundles and they'll easily turn the tables and take your side no matter what.

Beatrice became overly observant and attentive to everything, resulting in her becoming strong, powerful in a way she had never been before. She had learned a lot from Quinton, and she was ready this time. University week was still going on, and the Carnival Event was approaching. She had a lot of work on her hands, but it didn't bother her in the least.

Her mind quickly flashed back to Ava, who was resting and recovering in the hospital after the incident. Beatrice returned to the council office to check some paperwork before returning to her dorm. She felt her phone vibrate and immediately took it out of her pocket to check the message she had received.

Ava: I feel so lonely here.

Beatrice: You hit your head pretty hard, Ava. Few days of being stuck in there. Do you want me to bring some of your things to let you do something?

Ava: my sketchbooks and portfolio. I have to continue my portfolio project and do my other artworks.

Beatrice: wait you draw to?

Ava: maybe. Just to kill time, I haven't written anything yet, I haven't written anything for the past few weeks after the exams because we had to do this university week and prepare for the carnival.

Beatrice: I'll bring it when I visit. Any request for breakfast? I know how much you hated hospital food.

Ava: blueberry pancakes with cream cheese or whip cream on top, sprinkled with strawberry chunks.

Beatrice: noted ma'am. Go on and take your rest alright? I'll see you tomorrow morning.

Ava: I wish you were lying here with me again. You left your scent here on the pillow! *inserts heart eyes emoji*

Beatrice was looking at the post when she found herself laughing like a fool. That was the first time she had slept light and comfortable since reading it over and over. She didn't have any nightmares, and she didn't have the same difficulty sleeping as she used to.

Beatrice realized that it was possibly because she was with the love of her life, who did nothing but make sure she was safe and sound, that she could feel her own heart racing as she thought of Ava.

The office door flew open unexpectedly. Lea and Luna were on their way in, followed by Clara. They were talking about the carnival event booth assignment and who will be in charge of what. The three young ladies came to a complete stop when they noticed a presence.

"Oh, Beatrice. We didn't know you were back from the hospital." Luna said.

"Yes, I am. I apologize for not picking up any of your text messages." Beatrice replied.

"It's alright. Camila told me you were sound asleep so she didn't bother waking you up after we tried to call you regarding the punishment for Travis and his friends for breaking the rules." Luna said. Beatrice nodded her head slowly as the information sank in.

"How's Ava?" Lea asked.

"She ate pretty well before I left. Her head was wrapped in that white bandage, glad she did not break any more bones nor have any damages in her." Beatrice replied.

"I'm really sorry for what Travis did." Lea spoke. Beatrice gazed at her and nodded her head.

"Any news for me to catch up on?" Beatrice asked.

"Your parents asked you to be present with them at a business party tomorrow. Your mother had asked the officials to give you an excuse for the whole day. So basically I will be handling all your errands." Luna replied as she handed Beatrice an envelope.

The envelope was familiar; it wasn't a letter of any kind; it was the invitation of that guy she'd met years before and despised his guts and life until now. Beatrice sighed aloud, realizing she'd be dealing with a lot of strangers. Exchanging a few sentences, shaking their hands, and attempting to persuade them in order to give the appearance of being well-liked.

Since she was a child, her father has always told her that one of the most important things she can do in business is to make connections. She will gain authority, confidence, loyalty, influence, and control as a result of this. She didn't understand what her father was saying at first, but now that she is the president of the university council, everyone around her respects and follows the rules she has set, even though some students might have violated them.

The power of controlling everything here because you are the leader, Beatrice now understands why her father pressured her to be the best.

"Need a plus one?" Lea asked.

"It's alright, I can handle a little meeting of people. Anything else? " Beatrice replied. Luna shook her head no but Lea glanced at Clara.

"Clara, is there something you want to share with us?" Lea spoke to Clara.

"Ah. Um… I was helping out earlier at the food booth set up at the other department when I overheard about your next competition with the Adamsons, Clara is one of the co-judge.” Clara spoke.

"Luna, please excuse us?" Beatrice spoke to Luna who nodded her head right away and left the room.

"Did you figure out why she's back in town? I thought she left this place for good?" Lea asked.

"I have been trying to contact some of our old friends that we used to hang with but none of them could give me any real answers to that question." Clara spoke. Beatrice listened to the two ladies exchanging theories of their own about Quinton.

Beatrice's blood was already boiling just thinking about the name. She then recalled Bea, the little girl who looked just like her mother. She wondered whether Quinton had named the child after her on purpose, or if it was due to Beatrice's own feelings.

"But her child looks exactly like her. I didn't know she had a child." Lea spoke. Beatrice just remained calm while Clara gasped out loud upon hearing the news.

"How old was she? The child?" Clara asked.

"I think she was 3?" Lea replied.

"She's 4. The child is four, Danielle said it herself." Beatrice spoke, standing up from the chair and going through to one of the cabinets. Pulling a whiskey bottle and three on the rocks glasses.

"Whoa! What are you doing?" Clara asked.

"Better yet, how the hell did you know about those drinks in there?" Lea asked.

"Mr. Isaac loves sneaking in his alcohol and hiding it on a shelf where nobody would find it." Beatrice replied.

"Bathroom utensil shelves." Clara and Lea said in unison.

"How was your brother? Travis. Still sore?" Beatrice asked.

"Pretty much, you did him a solid. He's a spoiled brat he deserves that." Lea replied.

"Well not so much, Lea. Your brother got some serious injuries." Clara said.

"What do you expect from getting punched by Beatrice Hansen? Obviously, it's ugly." Lea replied, taking a drink from the glass that Beatrice had poured in.

"Right, I almost forgot how hard you throw punches." Clara said to Beatrice, almost whispering the last words.

"Tomorrow is another day of sports. Gotta prepare yourself Beatrice, the bitch you once love or at least tried to love is going to be watching you again." Lea muttered to Beatrice.

Beatrice, in her usual state. Her mind started thinking again and again, she will need to be present to her parents' business and that means sitting there and trying to socialize as much as possible. She didn't want to but knowing her parents especially her mother, she didn't take no for an answer. The three girls spend the rest of the hour to talk more about Quinton and her motives of coming back.

Despite the fact that Beatrice realized she didn't have to worry about Quinton's personal matters, the fact that she was always troubled by Quinton's presence in town, she hasn't forgiven the girl for making her life a living hell. It also follows her around everywhere she goes.

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.

.

Ava woke up happy, she doesn't know why but she was really feeling happy inside and out despite of the pain she is receiving from her head, she sat down properly on the bed while going through her phone. She received text messages from Camila and her friends, JC sent her a text but she wasn't still sure if she wanted to reply.

The only person she is expecting a text from, her best friend. She refreshes her inbox over and over just to see if the older girl had sent her a text message. She did it over and over until she did receive a text from the older girl that made her smile even more.

Beatrice: I'm here.

Ava doesn't understand why but the progress of being close again to her best friend was something she was really looking forward to. The older girl may be cold at most times, Ava was confident enough to say that Beatrice is soft and sweet when it comes to her.

The younger girl patiently waited for Beatrice, she was wearing her casual clothes since the doctors told her that she can go home right away but will still need to go for check up. The bleeding was bad but the wound wasn't that big and all she needed to do was change the bandage but the doctors have confirmed that she can go back to the university.

Few minutes later, she heard a knock on her door. The door swung open and Beatrice peeked her head through to see Ava smiling widely at her. Beatrice felt her butterflies in her stomach go crazy, Ava felt the same thing and thought it was weird but set it aside.

"Dr. James made a call at the office and told us that you are released today." Beatrice spoke.

"And you look like you are going to attend a fancy party. I didn't know you could pull off a red dress." Ava replied.

"There's a lot of things about me that you don't know yet, Ava. Here, I brought you breakfast." Beatrice said. The older girl handed her the brown paper bag, Ava immediately sniffed the aroma of the delicious blueberry pancakes.

"My blueberry pancakes, yes!" Ava happily spoke, clapping her hands together twice and opening it.

"I had to go down to the Cafés and Books to get those." Beatrice said.

"Where are you going anyway? You're dressed up." Ava replied.

"Family business, Ava. My parents are in town." Beatrice said.

"Oooh. Tell Mr. And Mrs. Hansen, I said hi." Ava replied, taking bites. The cream cheese made the pancakes more delicious for Ava and she was enjoying herself while Beatrice was awe struck by the younger girl. Beatrice always finds herself speechless whenever she looks at the girl in front of her, Ava has this effect on her where she just finds herself lost in paradise.

"You're so beautiful…" Beatrice whispered underneath her breath.

"What?" Ava asked. Beatrice suddenly realized what she had said and immediately took it back.

"I said, Luna and Camila will be coming here to pick you up since I have to attend a family business. I don't want mom and dad to be disappointed in me again for being just late." Beatrice replied.

"Boohoo. I thought you're the one who's going to take me home." Ava said.

"Trust me, if it wasn't only for my parents I would have." Beatrice replied.

"You're a badass afterall, Beatrice. What's stopping you now?" Ava said.

"Everyone." Beatrice calmly replied. Staring at the girl who gazed at her. Ava found herself shutting her mouth after hearing that, she slowly put the piece of pancake she cut off from the carton plate while her eyes were still glued on the older girl. Ava could see a different gaze of Beatrice and it is something new that she couldn't explain.

The silence between them resulted in a tension atmosphere, their eyes were just glued to each other, no words were said, just them staring at each other. Beatrice was calm while Ava tried to think of what she needed to do to break the ice.

"Ahem… What time are they going to pick me up?" Ava asked.

"In an hour, I told them how bored you are in here so they should pick you up right away before you lose your sanity." Beatrice replied. Standing up from the chair, walking over to the window to look at the view. Another quiet atmosphere occurred and Ava just watched the older girl walk towards the window.

"What's wrong?" Ava asked.

"Have you ever been to Amsterdam?" Beatrice asked.

"Nope, I wanted to visit the Vincent Van Gogh museum. I've seen some pictures of my friends visiting the museum." Ava replied.

"I've always wanted to go somewhere new and start a new beginning." Beatrice said.

"Amsterdam is your first choice?" Ava asked.

"Hmm, yep." Beatrice replied. Turning around to face Ava who was looking at her with such puppy eyes, Beatrice could feel herself restraining herself. The younger girl was looking beautiful, her red-ish plump lips were tempting for Beatrice as well.

She wanted to kiss her at that moment but restrained herself, she didn't want to freak the younger girl. Beatrice doesn't really know what is happening to her but all she knew was, she was crushing hard on the younger girl. Her breathing was deep and long, Ava noticed that.

"Is there something wrong?" Ava asked.

"Nothing. It's nothing." Beatrice replied, smiling at the younger girl as she slowly approached her and when she finally stood in front of the younger girl her phone started ringing. She quickly answered the phone call without looking at the caller ID.

"Yes?" Beatrice asked. She was staring down at the younger girl while Ava was busy savoring the delicious pancakes.

"Okay noted." Beatrice spoke, hanging up the phone call. She caught a glimpse of the cream being stuck on the younger girl's lip. At this moment, Beatrice just doesn't care what happens next all she did was bring her hand towards Ava's face, brushing her thumb gently over Ava's lip to remove the cream. Ava was caught off guard while Beatrice felt proud of herself.

"Luna and Camila are coming up, clean up yourself." Beatrice said, bringing the thumb to her mouth and taste the cream cheese. Sitting down on the chair and crossing her arms and legs together while giving a small smile to the younger girl.

Ava was so taken back of what happened, she felt the food stuck in her throat. The younger girl was questioning herself as to when did this cold hearted girl in front of her become so bold all of a sudden. Right before she could speak, a loud knock echoed throughout the room.

"Come in!" Ava shouted but her voice cracked at the same time. Beatrice held in her laughter but found herself smirking.

"Hey!" Camila greeted, running towards Ava and giving her sister a hug.

"How are you feeling?" Camila asked.

"I feel much better now and stronger." Ava replied.

"I thought you guys would be here after an hour?" Ava asked.

"Well your sister insisted to see you right away." Luna replied.

"Well here I am, tada, I feel much better now." Ava said.

"And you should be. I don't want mom and dad marching right through this door and sermon me." Camila replied.

"Here we got you some extra food." Luna said.

"I have to get going. Mom and dad are asking for me." Beatrice spoke. Approaching near Camila and Ava.

"I'll see you tonight?" Ava asked.

"Of course you will." Beatrice replied and smiled at the younger girl. Beatrice stood there for a good five seconds and then approached Ava and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"There you go, your goodbye kiss." Beatrice whispered as she bid farewell to Camila and Luna. Ava felt her inside became warm and all she could feel was the softness. She likes this side of the cold hearted queen.

"Earth to Ava. Might wanna stop daydreaming." Camila said.

"I wasn't. Anyway, you didn't have to buy me food. How much did you spend? I'll pay you back." Ava replied.

"No it's all good. Besides, Beatrice was the one who gave us the money to buy you extra food and told us that you like to eat as many as you can in the morning." Luna said.

"Wait. You mean Beatrice was the one who told you that I eat more than one meal for breakfast and ask you to buy this. She spent it all for me?" Ava asked.

"Don't be too surprised, sis. Beatrice knows you more than JC. So now eat." Camila replied. Ava found herself speechless, all she thought Beatrice forgot about her little habits when in fact she didn't at all. She found herself smiling, the two came with food with them as well and they all decided to eat together. Ava grabbed her phone and texted the older girl.

Ava: you already bought me pancakes and yet you bought me another food.

Beatrice: You need to eat and I know how much of a heavy eater you are especially in the morning. Gives you a boost to work more with energy.

Ava: But still, thank you.

Beatrice: Anything for you. You're welcome

Ava: come home safe tonight, okay?

Beatrice: I will mom.

Ava: Ugh. Too young to be called a mom.

Beatrice: Sure thing, ma.

Ava: stop!

Beatrice: I dare you to.

Ava felt herself blushing immediately, what the fuck is all she could say in her mind. She immediately put her phone down and thought about it over and over again, Ava was a mess and she doesn't know what to say at the moment. She tried to look somewhere else but found herself staring at Luna and Camila being sweet to one another.

She suddenly missed that feeling, with the problem she is facing with JC. She doesn't know if she's going to experience that soon, she quietly ate her food while the two were teasing and laughing.

Another knock echoed through and saw the door swung open, Clara came in with Dana and Sam. She suddenly heard also familiar voices, her parents and Lilith. Mary was with them as well, too many people in one room and early in the morning.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Camila squealed and ran towards their parents.

"Ava?! Hey! Are you okay? Please tell us that you are." Lilith said with a worried tone, approaching her little sister sitting on the hospital bed and hugging her.

"When did you all get here?" Ava asked.

"The school contacted us yesterday and we decided to travel here just to check up on you. What happened sweetie?" Her mother asked.

"It's just some punk kid, he didn't mean to push me hard he was just trying to break free from my grip when I was calling him out for disobeying rules and so yeah. Here I am." Ava replied, smiling innocently to all of them. Her mother gave her a gentle kiss on the head while her father was furious.

"That kid needs some beating. What's his name?" He asked.

"Sadly, he is JC's half brother." Camila replied.

"Sadly? Why does that sound like it's a bad thing?" Mary asked. They exchanged looks to one another and Ava knew they would ask her non stop and so she better tell them the truth.

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.

The whole morning, Beatrice spent her time entertaining a lot of her father's business partners from other countries and met her mother's friends and colleagues where she needed to interact with the children of theirs.

Beatrice was growing impatient, she wanted to head back to the university. Today's agenda was to introduce the future presidents of the companies worldwide and of course, the only child that she is. She needs to hold her head high, she takes her pride and proud of her parents with her as she stood up there in front of so many people.