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She turned around and saw Ian leaning on his car. She had not noticed him or his car when she got out of Luke’s car a few minutes ago.
She tried to ignore him and started to walk again.
However, he grabbed her arm and stopped her.
“How can you just ignore me like that?”
His tone was angry as if he were furious. She tightened her fist and turned to face him.
She yanked her hand away from his grip and asked,
“What is your problem?”
Ian looked at her ignorant look. She seemed annoyed to see him again. He felt a pang in his heart as though her attitude was hurting him from the inside.
Ian had been standing outside Ava’s house waiting for her for quite some time.
He left after speaking with Stephen, but he could not go to the pack house. He went somewhere else.
There was something killing him inside. So, when he asked Ronald, he said Stephen and the others were not at Stephen’s home. He mentioned that Stephen’s parents had also left the house for dinner.
So Ian was worried for Ava and returned to Gamma Harper’s house. He parked outside and waited for Ava for quite some time, smoking, until a car pulled up and Luke emerged with her.
He was relieved that Luke had not gone inside the empty house with Ava; otherwise, he did not know when he would have lost his cool.
Ian closed his eyes to calm himself and opened them again to look at Ava.
“Let’s talk.”
His tone was soft, which caused Ava to feel like she was hallucinating again.
She folded her arms across her chest and asked,
“Ian Dawson, after making fun of me, you still think I will talk to you? What do you think of yourself?”
She could not understand why he wanted to bully her like that. She wanted to stay away from him.
When she noticed him getting closer, she took a step back.
“Do you really like Luke?” he asked out of the blue.
Ava’s steps were frozen by the direct question. She blinked her eyes and looked away from him.
“W–Why do-”
He interrupted her and asked,
“I asked, Do you like Luke? Reply to me yes or no. I don’t want to need anything in detail.”
She gazed at him with a confused look. “Excuse me? Why would I even give you any details? I was just asking why you asked me that. Who are you to ask me these personal questions?”
Ian tucked his hands into his pockets. It made her gaze shift to his tattoos.
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She noticed that the skin on his right wrist was red. Her eyebrows raised as she realized he had gotten a new tattoo. She looked carefully and caught a glimpse of a half moon that was almost exposed through the sleeve of his jacket. ‘Did he go to get a tattoo today?‘ she thought.
He noticed where she was looking. He pulled down his sleeves to hitle his wrist and said,
“I just asked a simple question. If you like that guy, just say it. What’s there to beat around the bush? Your brother has already lectured me enough. I don’t want to hear any from you.”
Ava’s gaze went back to lan’s face. She furrowed her brows What did Stephen say?”
Ian stared at her with a blank face, indicating that he was not interested in talking about it now.
The weather was chilly, and Ava began to feel cold. She cast a glance at the door to her house. She thought she should ignore him like an invisible man.
So she turned around to leave.
But once again he spoke out.
“I see you don’t like him. Otherwise, you did not brush the question aside.”
She turned to him and replied,
“You are wrong. I like him. I like him a lot. And you know what? He told me today that he also likes me.”
Ian’s calm face immediately turned enraged. His brows arched as his eyes turned cold.
“What? Are you wondering how a boy like Luke can like me? Did you think you could bully me for the rest of your life simply because I was your mate and you rejected me? No way, Ian. He says he will protect me from everyone because he cares about me. So I don’t need to think about my ridiculous past anymore.”
Upon hearing her, Ian shut his eyes and nodded his head.
“Okay, I got it.”
She was stunned. “What?”
He opened his eyes and gestured his head toward the house.
“Make your way to your home. Your parents are not at home. Stephen is outside with others. The maids are not at home because the chief maid has gone to see her sick daughter, so Stephen gave the others the day off.”
Ava was amazed by his details. “How do you know all of this?”
“Before it’s your house, it’s our safe place. We just did not go there in the last few days because Gamma Harper recently got married. But from now on, you will see us more often,” he replied very calmly.
Ava could not believe he could be this calm and composed. She doubted him, but her heart started to race when he said,
“You were right. I am not a good guy. Indeed, you should stay away from me.”
She felt strange. Wasn’t it what she wanted?
“Hmm,” she replied.
She saw him moving back and turned around to go to his car.
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At that time, his phone began to ring.
He paused and pulled out his phone from his pocket.
Ava was about to leave but stopped when she overheard Ian talking on his phone.
“What did you say? What happened to Steph?”
Her eyes widened as she listened to his words.
“Okay, I am on my way there.”
After saying that, Ian hurriedly unlocked his car and got inside it.
Ava dashed to his car and opened the front door. She bent down and asked,
“You were talking about Stephen. What happened to him?”
Ian looked away from her and said,
“Get back to your house. He will be fine. I am going to him.”
Ava hurriedly entered the car and shut the door. Ian looked at her with a frown.
“What are you doing?”
After glancing at him, Ava answered,
“I am going with you wherever you are going right now.”
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