Almost Lover (Harry Styles) - Book 1

Chapter 36: "Tell me."

-Harry's POV-

I can't even process what Poppy just said. My mind is a mess but my heart is breaking for her.

Ava. My Ava. Lost a baby. God I can't even process this.

I walk over to a nearby tree and slide down to the ground, sitting against it. Poppy follows me, sitting down just a few feet away from me.

"Tell me." I finally manage to choke out.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"Harry I'm not sure if that's a good idea."

"Everything Poppy. From the beginning. And don't leave any bits out." I lock eyes with her, willing her to do as I say.

She sighs, "I met Ava at Heathrow. I was saying goodbye to my sister, who was moving to Italy with her boyfriend. I was just walking away from the gate when she ran into me. She said a quick apology and I almost just went on my way but there was something about her that made me stop. I've never seen so much fear in someone's eyes before. So I turned around and followed her. She walked outside and just stopped. She looked completely lost. She pulled money out of her pocket and just counted it over and over again. Someone knocked over her bag on the ground and her things went everywhere. She just broke down sobbing at the entrance of Heathrow. I went over to her and asked if she was alright and if she needed help. She said it was her first time in London. I offered to help her find her destination but she didn't know where she was going, she had no friends or family."

I try to imagine Ava being so alone and it makes my heart hurt. I never want her to be alone.

"I invited her to dinner with Finn and I. She told us she needed a fresh start and so she moved to London. By the time dinner was done with I knew I wasn't letting her go off on her own. She moved in with me that night. Three days later I found her in her room crying and she broke down to me, telling me why she really came to London..."

Poppy's voice fades off and I know she's contemplating on if she should really go on.

"Please Poppy... tell me."

She wipes her face and I can tell there's already tears in her eyes.

"I should probably start with the fact that Ava's family is very very wealthy. They own the largest investment firm in the states. When Ava was 17, they moved to New York so her father could work on a large merger with Charles Black. The Blacks had the majority share in the second largest investment firm in the states. A merger with them would mean Ava's family would then be worth well over 800 million dollars. At Ava's first day at her new private school she met Scott Black, Charles's son."

Scott Black. I can help the anger that rushes over me at the sound of the bastards name.

"Scott was the sweetest guy she had ever met. He was funny and charming and gorgeous. It didn't take long before they were dating and fell in love. Ava lost her virginity to him on her eighteenth birthday. She said she loved him so much her heart hurt whenever she wasn't with him."

The thought of Ava loving another man that much makes me sick. I can't even let myself think about her sleeping with him.

"They got engaged two weeks after graduation. Her parents were ecstatic over the match. She knew it was because the merger between their two companies still hadn't gone through, but she didn't care. They were in love and she wanted nothing more than to spend her life with him. They got married during their second year at Harvard."

My mouth drops open in shock as the words come out of her mouth. Ava was married to the prick? Shit, is she still married to him?

My words come out a whisper. Afraid of the answer to my question, "Is she still married Poppy?"

"No."

I let out a huge sigh of relief, "Go on."

"Their marriage solidified the business relationship between the Blacks and Worthington's."

"Who are the Worthington's?" I ask, confused.

"Worthington is Ava's maiden name. Kelsey is her first name, she now goes by her middle name, Ava and her great grandmother's maiden name, McCain."

"What the fuck? Her real name is Kelsey?"

"Yes. Kelsey Ava Worthington."

"But why did she change it?"

"I'll get to that. The merger went through on the condition that personal relationships between the families stayed intact. The prenuptial agreement Ava had to sign stated that both her and Scott could annul the marriage at any time, however it would make the contract between the two businesses cease to exist, ending the merger."

"That is fucked up."

"All either of the families cared about was their bloody businesses. The prenup was basically a way both families could control one another. Ava was against it, but Scott convinced her that it didn't really matter what they signed, they loved each other and were always going to be together."

"And she believed him?"

"Of course she did, she was in love with him and he had never given her a reason not to trust him. The first three years of their marriage went well. They finished University together and moved back into Manhattan. Scott started working for the family business and Ava was accepted into Juilliard. But Scott was away a lot on business and they started drifting apart. On their third year anniversary Ava traveled to Spain to surprise him. She convinced the concierge at his hotel to let her have a key to his room. She found him fucking some whore."

I run my hands through my hair. God I want to beat the shite out of him.

"That was the first night he hit her. She had slapped him across the face in anger and he slapped her back before throwing her into the wall."

I feel the tears sting my eyes, "God Poppy I don't know if I can hear this."

She looks at me with sad eyes and shakes her head, "Well decide now Harry. Because I haven't even gotten started."

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