Vengeance

Chapter 15

Ava's POV

It's real.
I'm gonna get married to that psycho.
This is not some bad dream I'll wake up from.
This is real.
And Mr. Hunt is gonna announce it to the world tonight.

A knock on my bedroom door brought me out of my train of thoughts. I turned around to see Martha with a few other female servants. I hadn't talked to her for days now.
"It's time for you to get dressed. They'll do your hair and make up. Mr. Hunt want you to look absolutely perfect for his guests." Martha came in with a gorgeous ball gown.

It was a stunning red dress with beads at few places. I stepped forward to touch it. 

Holy fuck! 

The material was so soft and silky, it was slipping from my fingers. The ladies started leading me away from to the dress and began doing their jobs.

Once they were done, I looked at myself in the mirror. 

That's.... Me?

I couldn't recognize my own self. I was glad they didn't put pins all over my hair into a bun. My head was heavy enough with thoughts and anxiety. Instead they let it flow down freely. The make up was not too much, just enough to match the glamour of the dress. I decided not put on any jewellery, except a pair of single diamond earrings.

"It's time, Ava. Oh my! You look gorgeous!" Martha exclaimed.
"Mr. Hunt would be pleased. Let's go. They all are waiting for you."

As Martha led me outside, I started feeling jittery. She stopped at the top of the stairs and asked me to head down alone. I gave a her worried look.
With one hand, I held the railing of the staircase and my gown with the other and started heading downwards slowly. 

Don't. Fall. 

Don't. Fall. 

I was getting more and more nervous with each step I took towards the hall.

My feet stopped when I saw Arthur at the end of the stairs, wearing an cream colored suit and a tie matching the colour of my dress. His blue eyes raked over my body and I instantly felt exposed and uneasy. He smirked at me with an evil glint as soon as his eyes met mine. I shivered. 

This is going to be a long night.

I looked away from him towards the crowd of people who were staring at me. 

So many people.

Last time I was in this situation was 13 years ago, on my birthday. The only  difference here was that I didn't have anyone familiar nor was I happy.
When I reached the last step, Arthur extended his hand for me. I gulped looking at it unwillingly and tightened my hold on the dress. When I didn't respond, he grabbed my hand forcefully and pulled me closer.
"Don't you ever make fool of me in front others, Ava. You won't like the consequences." He said with gritted teeth. 

"You are hurting me, Arthur", I tried to loosen his painful grip on my arm but failed. 

"Smile for the crowd."
I looked up to see Mr. Hunt glaring at me. I instantly put on the best fake smile on my face.
Arthur's left arm came around my lower back, making me feel uncomfortable. He led us towards the center of the hall, where Mr. Hunt joined us.

My heart started racing as I felt all the eyes on me. I kept my head low avoiding everyone's gaze. Mr. Hunt gathered everybody's attention.
"Hello ladies and gentlemen. I'm glad that you are all here to witness the announcements I have, for which this party was organized. And now without wasting any more of your time, I would like to introduce you all to this beautiful young lady Ava DeLuca. Soon to be my son Arthur's wife and my daughter-in-law."
I shivered at the words 'wife' and 'daughter-in-law'. Arthur squeezed my waist making me look up.
My face was plastered with smile which didn't reach my eyes as I looked at him.
For the people watching us, we looked like a couple so much in love. But the reality was far away from that.
I heard a few ladies gasp and many cheers, applause and flashes of camera. 

Wow! The media is here. Just amazing!

I rolled my eyes internally.  Mr. Hunt continued making some announcements regarding his business.
I took that as an opportunity to remove my eyes from his evil ones.
But as soon as I looked straight ahead, I saw piercing silver-grey eyes on me.

Ryan! He came!

Our eyes met and everything stopped. The fake smile on my face faded. All the noises in the background, people chatting and music, all that faded away too. My eyes just zeroed on him. My nervous racing heart seemed to have stopped in that moment.

He was looking at me with a blank face until his eyes lowered onto my waist where Arthur held me. His eyes narrowed as soon as he saw Arthur's grip on me. For some weird reasons, I shifted a little making his hand fall to his side. He didn't complain. 

Thank god!

Ryan King was looking just like a king. The aura around him felt so powerful. I could feel it across the hall. He was looking more handsome than ever. I couldn't believe at the strength of attraction I felt towards him. I could feel something pulling me towards him.
He broke our eye contact when some men approached him. He turned towards them and shook their hands.

Arthur took my hand and pulled me with him. He led us around the hall, introducing me to various people and talking business with them. But I couldn't looking back at Ryan.
I saw a tall beautiful women wearing a golden gown which had a slit upto her upper thigh and an extreme deep neck which was exposing too much of her cleavage, had approached him and was talking to him with that slutty smile. 
I instantly felt a sudden surge of jealousy in me. 

What's wrong with you Ava?!! Stop being like this!!!! Control your emotions.

I excused myself from the guests and Arthur. He gave me a narrowed look but let me go. I hurried towards the washroom to calm down my nerves. When I got back, I saw Arthur surrounded by ladies, which made me roll my eyes. 

Let's leave him be.

I decided I could use a drink and so I headed towards the bar counter in the far corner of the hall. 

Mr. Hunt won't notice me drinking here for sure.

I couldn't wait for this night to be over.