"You really did lose your mind JC. Didn't the dean tell you to stay away from Ava?! What were you thinking?" Lea exclaimed.

"I just need to talk to her, Lea. I just need to talk to her." JC replied.

"JC, you two are done! Done! You traumatized the girl and you keep going back to Ava who obviously doesn't want to see you anymore." Lea said.

"I love her, Lea. She changed me and I know I hurt her but we can always try, I know she and I can try it again..." JC replied but he was staring at the ground, Lea noticed how messed up her brother was, she could see that he was not in his proper self anymore.

"JC, you gotta get your shit together, or else we will be moving again and mom and dad will put you right back in the fucking psychiatric ward!" Lea reminded him again. JC immediately stood up and grabbed Lea with fear in his eyes after hearing what his older sister said.

"No, no. We can't leave! We can't! Not when Ava and I are not done talking. We haven't talked properly!" JC said.

"You lost her, JC! You already lost Ava the moment Beatrice stepped in. The moment Ava met her again, you knew you would lose her the moment you make a wrong move on Ava, Beatrice is your end." Lea replied and pushed JC away from her, she stormed out of her brother's dorm room, leaving Travis watching his brother lose his mind again.

Travis never felt more scared of his brother, he knew something is going to tick off his older brother's mind and things will get messy sooner or later, he just knows that he needs to prepare himself if anything happens.

///

Ava spent most of the journey dozing off, so it was fortunate that Beatrice requested her private aircraft so they could fly quietly and Ava could request any food straight immediately. It was the following event on the schedule, and Beatrice was still in charge of the entire event, so she would keep an eye on her while reading the file she was carrying. She lives far from the university, but the school board still keeps her informed sometimes since that is what they do.

An incoming call from her mother appeared on her tablet as she was browsing it. Beatrice took a deep breath and answered the phone after gathering herself since she knew she would get another earful sermon from this woman due to her impulsive escape.

"Beatrice Hansen! Why did you leave Amsterdam without notifying any of us of your plan? And you dare take Rivers with you? He is not your personal driver!" Mom's sermon used to bother her but now that she was all grown and had become great at staying numb at her own mother's lectures, she was immune.

"It was an emergency, mother. It cannot wait." Beatrice replied in her usual calm and cold tone.

"That is not enough excuse, Beatrice. You better get yourself back here in Amsterdam." Her mother said.

"I am flying back right now, I just need to fix errands," Beatrice replied.

"Is she there with you right now?" Her father asked. Beatrice looked at her father and knew what he was asking about.

"She's asleep, she needs all the rest she can get. She barely had enough rest back at the university, I already talked to Lilith about her coming with me and that Camila and the rest of my friends will fly after three days. We will be staying at my suite, I'm sure you know where that is." Beatrice replied.

"There will be breakfast tomorrow at the mansion with some people I know you know. So you better come. You can bring Ava with you." Dad said.

"We will attend don't worry." Beatrice replied.

"We are not done talking, Beatrice. We will deal with this again as soon as you get here. – Alright! We're coming!" Her mother said as the call ended. Beatrice took off the earplugs and rested her back on the fabric seat as she let out a sigh.

"Bea?" Ava's voice distracted her for a moment. She saw Ava standing near the table.

"Hey, you're awake. Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Beatrice asked as she stood up and assisted Ava to sit on the unoccupied seat.

"No, I just woke up and didn't see you. I thought you left me again." Ava explained.

"I'm not going anywhere, not this time. I promise." Beatrice replied.

"How long do we have before we land in Amsterdam?" Ava asked.

"We will be landing soon enough, Ava. Relax, okay? You are far away from danger." Beatrice replied. Ava smiled softly after hearing from Beatrice that she is safe, Ava knew JC wasn't himself anymore after what happened.

"Ava? You're thinking about something." Beatrice spoke.

"It's just... It's so weird for JC to turn up so horrible like this when he was the one who did me wrong, I felt somehow guilty that he became so... Not him." Ava replied.

"JC has issues that he couldn't deal with, plus you got hurt because of him." Beatrice said. Her voice sounded bitter upon making a comment about the boy who she hates so much because he dated the love of her life.

"I couldn't take my mind off of him. His eyes, those eyes weren't the eyes I knew. It scared the hell out of me." Ava replied.

"And like I said, you are far away from danger right now. So think of the places we could visit around Amsterdam while we wait for them." Beatrice calmly said to Ava and grabbed her hand. Giving a soft squeeze and the two stared into each other's eyes.

Ava and Beatrice finally arrived in Amsterdam after a lengthy flight. They hopped into a limo and ordered the driver to take them to the mansion. Beatrice held Ava's hand the entire time because the younger girl appeared anxious about being in a new place and among a new crowd, though she didn't mind at all.

She actually enjoys Ava's clinginess toward her, the way Ava pouts at her when the younger girl has to plead for anything or hold her hand, or when Ava wraps her hand around her arm. She isn't sure why, but she enjoys Ava's presence around her and how she feels when she is near Ava.

"When we land, you can search anything you want about Amsterdam and what you want to visit around the city for the next three days before their arrival." Beatrice spoke.

"Really?" Ava asked.

"Yes, my driver would take us anywhere we wanna go." Beatrice replied.

"Is the driver really necessary?" Ava asked.

"Having the driver is fine, but try having more than three bodyguards whenever you go out and attend events with your family." Beatrice replied with a soft smile.

"No thank you, I can imagine the people staring and I hate it when people have their attention on me." Ava said.

"You are friends with me, Ava. I am an important person." Beatrice replied with a smirk and Ava caught that, she felt her cheeks blushing hard after seeing that, and she noticed how good-looking Beatrice is right now. She knew Beatrice is attractive with her uniform on but with her casual clothing, she was more beautiful than ever. Even with those small wounds on her face, Ava looked down at their hands intertwined and saw the bruise marks on Beatrice's fist.

"When was the last time you cleaned up your wounds?" Ava asked. Beatrice looked down at her hand and felt unease. Ava noticed the sudden change in Beatrice's mood when she asked the question. She held Beatrice's hand

"These wounds will always remind me of how much you care about me, Bea." Ava said to Beatrice while gently squeezing her hand, Beatrice felt relieved when Ava made it clear to her, that all she wanted was to protect the woman she loves and that's what Beatrice did, she was willing to hurt anyone who dares to hurt Ava.

"I know. And I would do it again. For you." Beatrice replied as their eyes connected again, Beatrice wanted to kiss her but knowing that she couldn't, it broke her heart again, all she wanted to do is tell Ava she loves her and kiss her.

//

"Welcome to Amsterdam." Beatrice whispered to Ava upon walking inside the hotel.

"I am really, really excited to go around but I would very much like to take a proper rest, I couldn't really sleep well inside the plane." Ava replied and smiled.

"Of course, we can do that. I mean you can do that, I have to meet up with some of my parents' friends. I have lunch with Mr. Cartel in an hour." Beatrice said as she checked her watch.

Ava unintentionally pouted after hearing what Beatrice had said, while they were walking out of the airport, Beatrice noticed Ava's sudden change of mood. She saw the younger girl pouting while walking toward the limousine car, Beatrice couldn't help but smile.

"What's with the pouting, hm?" Beatrice asked.

"I thought when I get enough rest, we would be going out somewhere," Ava replied.

"I'll make it up to you when I get back from the lunch meeting, I won't be late that much. Plus, I want to spend time with... I'll see you when I get back from the meeting." Beatrice said, catching herself in the middle of saying the words to the younger girl. She doesn't want to scare the younger girl now by saying those lines which sounded cheesy.

"You better keep your promise, Bea." Ava spoke.

"I haven't made any promises yet, Ava. What do you mean?" Beatrice asked.

"But I know you won't leave me hanging or I will go around on my own." Ava replied.

"Don't go anywhere, I'll come home as soon as I finish it early. If not, I will put the meeting on hold." Beatrice said. Ava's eyes widened after hearing what her best friend told her.

"Don't put anything on hold that is important for you and for your parents." Ava spoke softly.

"Those things won't matter to me. I can move everything aside... For you." Beatrice replied, realizing what she had said. She looked away and pretend it didn't make her heart beat faster. She's becoming more honest with the younger girl, and the more terrified she gets.

"I like how you become more honest now. You usually don't say a thing or don't tell me what's on your mind." Ava said with a proud smile, Ava placed her hand on top of Beatrice's hand and gently gave it a squeeze. Beatrice turned her gaze on the younger girl, she could feel herself melting in that situation, she knew to Ava is her ultimate weakness. Every little thing that would happen to Ava, she would freak out or get worried sickly.

"I like how annoying you are when you need something from me." Beatrice commented. Ava pouted and playfully smack Beatrice on her arm, Beatrice giggled as she apologized right away to Ava who crossed her arms and pouted while Beatrice was trying to bring back her mood.

Ava was mesmerized by the building. She already could see the luxurious life of her best friend, she suddenly felt an arm snaking on her waist, she glanced to her right and it was Beatrice who smiled down at her before telling her to go. They stopped by the lobby and a man in his early forty's approached them, he shook Beatrice's hand while Ava was still in her arm.

"Mario, this is Ava. Ava, this is Mario. My personal assistant is here in this hotel. If you need anything, you can ask Mario." Beatrice introduced, Ava shook his hand and gave him a sweet smile.

"Oh, she's gorgeous Ms. Hansen. You pick the right one this time." Mario spoke, and Ava and Beatrice got confused but Beatrice realized right away what Mario meant.

"Mario. She's not my girlfriend. She's been my best friend since I was child." Beatrice replied.

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't know. My apologies, mademoiselle." Mario spoke to Ava.

"It's alright, Mario. It really cannot be helped to be mistaken to be Beatrice's girlfriend. I get that a lot." Ava teased and glanced at Beatrice. She caught Beatrice looking away because she knew the older girl was blushing.

"Please take our bags to the suite, we'll be at the dining. I'm starving, Mario." Beatrice said.

"Right away, Ms. Hansen. Oh— should I prepare the usual?" Mario asked.

"Um, give her options for the appetizers and then replace one of my favorite entrées with Cajun shrimp and steamed veggies with mashed potatoes. And for the desserts, give us two slices of Blueberry Cheesecake and two slices of Dark Cocoa Chocolate." Beatrice requested.

"As you wish, Ms. Hansen. Please enjoy your stay, miss Ava." Mario said as he told his associates to carry on with our luggage.

"Did you just tell him my favorite food?" Ava asked.

"I know you've been missing that food since they don't serve it at school. And I know, your mother's recipe is way better but this one's good I promise. If it's bad, I'll buy groceries and cook it myself." Beatrice replied.

"I would very much prefer you cook for me." Ava said, letting out a soft giggle as they walk towards the elevator and get in.

The two finally reached the top floor of the building, the suite where Beatrice usually stays whenever she visits the place. Ava was awed by the place and started to walk around to look, she saw family portraits of the Hansen family, Beatrice's pictures, and her baby pictures. Ava smiled as soon as she saw the pictures of them together, and she picked up one of the picture frames.

"You cried out and did a bloody scream after seeing blood coming out of your knee." Beatrice said, cracking up a smile after remembering what happened that day, she was present when Ava got hurt she comforted the younger girl so she would stop crying.

"And we talked about barbie movies until I stopped crying. We went to your room and your nanny played with the barbie collections you have while we were eating fruits and the blueberry cheesecake." Ava replied as she set down the picture frame on the table and continued to look around.

"There are two restrooms; feel free to use mine. There are towels on the left corner of the bathroom mirror, along with all the other necessities. Before we go down and eat, freshen up. As soon as I'm done with my meeting tomorrow, we can discuss our future plans." Beatrice added. In response to the elder girl's instructions, Ava nodded and did so eager to see Amsterdam. She will be spending time with Beatrice in particular. When Ava caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she immediately started to smile when she imagined spending time with her closest friend.

Beatrice was watching the younger girl slink away when her phone abruptly rang—it was Luna. Beatrice forgot to leave everything to Luna when she answered the phone and began hearing complaints about the activities and complaints of students and instructors. As a result, the girl is now under pressure since the people surrounding the institution act in a superior manner. After telling Luna to take a deep breath, Beatrice instructed her to make a list of everything and email it to her.

"I'm sorry, Bea. I thought I could be as tough as you but damn, I can never be like you!" Luna complained.

"It's alright, Luna. Thank you for taking over, things here are quite messy as well. How's everyone? Did you prepare the letters before you guys fly here to Amsterdam?" Beatrice asked.

"Yep, everyone's excited. I told Camila and the rest we would be flying after the tests. The dean already sent the exams for you and Ava. You need to answer that at the given time that was given to you and then pass it before the semester break." Luna replied.

"Alright, thank you Luna. I'll see you soon with the rest." Beatrice said. Before she could end the call, she heard Camila talking in the background.

"Is that Bea? Tell her to take my sister around the museums, she loves those so much!" Camila shouted.

"Alright, noted. I'll tell Ava you guys said hi, and we will be taking our dinner to see you guys soon." Beatrice spoke before ending the call, just in time for Ava to come from the bathroom.

"Who was that?" Ava asked, the younger girl caught the phone in Beatrice's hand.

"Luna and Camila. Luna was complaining about the job I left her because she couldn't handle it. And your sister said hi." Beatrice replied with a soft smile. Ava nodded her head and approach the older girl and wrapped her arms around Beatrice's waist, the younger girl rest her head on Beatrice's chest and Beatrice didn't hesitate to hug her back.

"What's wrong?" Beatrice whispered.

"I'm just tired from the flight..." Ava whispered back.

"Do you want to eat here instead of going down to the resto?" Beatrice asked.

"No! I would very much like to see the place too." Ava replied.

"Are you sure?" Beatrice pulled away from the hug and caress Ava's cheek where the younger girl found herself slowly closing her eyes as soon as she felt Beatrice's hand on her cheek. Beatrice felt her knees going weak, she could have that effect on the younger girl. Ava hummed and then smiled at Beatrice.

"Come on, then. Let's go fill our stomachs with their delicious food." Beatrice spoke and the two started to leave the suite, headed back down to the lobby to visit the Resto.