Ava gulped as she looked into Ian’s furious eyes.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him.
She did not want to see him. And here he was! Why did he come to the room where she was? Could he not use another room?
“Same question to you. What are you doing here?” He asked and got to his feet.
At the sight of him coming closer, Ava blinked her eyes. She turned to the door and thought to leave the room immediately.
So she rushed to the door, but before she could even touch the doorknob, a hand grabbed her wrist and pressed her against the door.
The fact that she attempted to leave the room was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Ian
“Where are you running, nerdy?” His voice came out with mockery.
Ava was startled by his sudden action. Her thoughts went back to how he had treated her in the storage room.
Would he lock her here too?
“L–Leave me.”
“Why are you stuttering, nerdy? You didn’t stutter yesterday when you were going with Steph.”
Ava recalled that she had a chilly tone of voice when she spoke to Ian before going to the restaurant where she and Stephen went to discuss the situation with their parents.
She made an effort to regain her composure and bring herself back to a state of calm.
‘No, I can’t look weak in front of him,‘ Ava told herself and took a deep breath.
Ian stared at her with his dark eyes. With one hand still gripping her wrist, he lifted his other hand and took a puff from his cigarette.
The smoke caused Ava to cough. She began to cough and tried to push him at the same time.
But Ian did not move an inch. His eyes were observing her reaction.
The delicate appearance of her face caught his attention as he focused his gaze on it.
At that moment, he suddenly pondered the reasons why he had never before looked at her for once.
Was it because of her new appearance?
But then why was he thinking about her before the party? It was not because of her appearance; rather, it was something else that he was unable to determine.
Ava pushed his chest hard and took a look at the wall next to the door. It was the first time anyone had smoked in front of her. She could not stand the smoke and coughed violently.
Her attention was drawn to the water jar and the glass that was placed next to it on the nightstand.
She made her way to the bed and retrieved the jar from there. Despite the fact that she was coughing, she poured herself a glass of water and drank it down.
36
+25 BONUS
Ian turned around to her and leaned his back against the door.
“Done pretending?” he asked her.
After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, she turned her attention to him.
“I was not pretending,” she replied.
Her eyes became teary from coughing. The water helped her feel more at ease, and she was able to get some relief from the cough.
Though Ian accused her of pretending, he dropped the cigarette on the floor and smashed it with his boot.
Ava approached the door Ian was leaning against and said,
“Listen, Ian. I don’t know what you want from me, but I don’t want to talk to you. I am not interested. Please let me just go.”
He felt a fire in his heart that was stoked by her words. “What did you say? You are not interested? Do you think I am interested in a girl like you?” A muttering came from him as he clenched his teeth.
As he moved closer to her, she reversed her way and took a few steps backward.
“What did you think? I am not aware of your plans?”
Ava frowned at him while taking a step back. “What plan?”
“The plan you made to get my attention.”
She was stunned by his remarks. When did she try to get his attention?
“What did you think? Your ugly makeover can make you look pretty? Nothing can alter who you are. You were ugly and will always be ugly.”
Ava’s steps came to a halt. She looked directly into his eyes, which were filled with anger.
What was the reason that this man always hurt her? He was calling her ugly. The snide remarks he made cut deep into her heart.
There was no matter how hard she tried to keep her heart in check in front of him, she was unable to do so, “Stop acting like an innocent girl. What did you do to Stephen? Why is he behaving this way toward you?” Ava could not take any more humiliation. So she replied in a cold tone,
“Stop making accusations against me for no reason. It makes no difference to me what you think about me.‘
He was taken aback by her cold tone. He clenched his jaw to control his anger.
What was she thinking when she told him that she did not care?
Ian grabbed her arms and pulled her to him. Her body pressed against his.
“Or, because you could not get the Alpha, you are trying to get close to his Gamma?” he remarked.
Her eyes widened: How could he say that to her?
Beyond that point, she was unable to control herself.
She slapped him.
36
This time, his eyes widened. He was too angry to control himself.
He turned his head toward her. He growled at her as his eyes turned red, and he glared at her.
When she saw his red eyes, she let out a gasp. The sound of his growl shook her boy to the very core.
Her wolf was reacting to him! She felt a sense of submission toward him.
Before she could understand what was happening to her, he shoved her to the bed.
“Who gave you the audacity to slap me?”
+25 BONUS
