The banquet (III)

No matter where she went, Ava could tell that there would be eyes on her. This wasn't the first event she attended after returning to the Willow Household. Yet, no matter how often she went to this kind of gathering, big or small, the attention given to her, she would never get used to them.

Today's event, however, was different than usual. It wasn't the kind of place where people just met and gossiped about random things. This was the event where all people associated with the W&J Corporation gathered and discussed business opportunities. Ava could see that the few children who were present were mostly those who had contributed to the betterment of society.

"Young girl, mind if I talk to you?" Ava was startled when a man approached her. Zen immediately put down the plate of cake in his hand and stand closed to Ava. He knew who the man was but remained silent since he seemed to show no evil intention. Yet.

"Zen Easton, you're still living at the Willow Residence?" the man asked. His face indicated that he was simply asking but both Ava and Zen noticed the little mockery in his voice.

"Who are you, sir?" Ava asked. After hearing him mocking Zen, she instantly hated him. The man in front of her had an egotistical face that deserved a punch right to his nose. Ava repeated a scene of Zen punching him again and again. She almost chuckled at the images inside her mind.

"You don't know who I am? It seemed that your grandfather hasn't told you anything about me?" the man jeered, his eyes were sizing up the little girl in front of him.

"You inherited most of your mother look and so little of mine. Hopefully, you didn't inherit her stupidity," Ava directly knew who the man was and her eyes constricted in annoyance. She was hoping that there would be a little kindness in him or some fatherly love like the way her grandfather described them. However, looking at the man in front of her now, she could tell how dark his heart was.

Ava remembered how she used to think about this man. She didn't want to judge him based on what she heard from people. But now that she listened to him deriding both Zen and her mother, she knew that hate was the lowest level of the feeling she had towards him.

"Why did you cheat on my mother?" she asked. Hell, there was no way she would spend time with the man to fulfill his desire to make fun of her. Right now, all she wanted to do was to question him and see if she could gain a little insight into her parents' past relationship.

"Were you after her only for the inheritance?" she asked another. The man was shocked at the comeback of the little girl standing in front of him. Her big brown eyes seemed to pierce through him.

Dorian Loki, the man who approached Ava and Zen sneered at the two children standing side-by-side. "That's what the old man told you but the truth was far from that," he leaned against the wall. "Do you want to know the real reason? or maybe not," he gibed.

"In this world, what matters the most is power. Without power, you are nothing. Look at where I am now, I'm one of the directors at Smith Corporation. All these were the power I achieved after divorcing your mother. And talk about your mother, where is she now? Heh, gone! Such a coward." the mockery left his mouth unguarded, unaware of the flame of anger that rose in Ava's heart.

"No wonder my mom didn't let my last name to be a Dorian. You're as smelly as the smell of durian." Ava's retaliation seemed to anger the man. But soon, a wicked smile popped on his face. "What a great insult," he laughed. "But a smelly durian is delicious, people keep wanting to eat it," he said confidently.

"Maybe. But only a few of them. Most would run away after smelling the smell of a durian especially one that is rotten," Ava couldn't help but chuckle. She glanced at Zen who just made the best counter-attack.

"Nice to meet you, sir!" Ava bowed before pulling Zen's hand. They left the man feeling toyed. "Shit! Jenny, it seemed that you raised your kid exactly like you! You bitch!" Dorian Loki cursed as he stared at the running figures of the two children who managed to anger him.

Away from the man, Ava and Zen regulated their breath. Soon, they were laughing about the situation earlier was really funny. Ava put up her palm for a high-ten. Zen reciprocated and the laughter continued.

"What's so funny?" a girl with curly hair approached them. Ava looked up to find out who was talking to them. Once she found out who that person was, her face instantly turned cold. But, it was momentary for no one except Zen noticed the change.

"I asked you a question. It's rude not to answer," the girl was annoyed. "Oh, Ivy! I was thinking hard about who you are. You look different than before. Your hair seemed bigger," Ava made a curious look. Her hand was hovering on the air, expressing the big hair she was referring to.

Ivy Cain was Ava's cousin. Her father was the elder brother of Ava's mother, Cain Willow Sr. There was a rumor that her father was the future CEO of W&J Corporation but according to her grandfather, the decisions were not finalized yet. Ivy Cain seemed to know about the rumor and every time they met, she would often talk about it. Hopefully, she would forget about it tonight.

"Ahh, this hair. Isn't it pretty? My mom hired the newly awarded hairdresser to do my hair. I loved it. It's so pretty!" Ivy then talked about who the hairdresser was and how much money he was paid to do her hair. Ava and Zen exchanged looks. Their eyes communicated on how to run away from the girl.

"Zen!"

The high-pitched voice of the girl's name Ivy broke their eyes conversations. They immediately paid attention to her who was looking at them in frustration. "She called you," Ava whispered in Zen right ear and she noticed it twitched. She giggled.

"What?" Zen's cold eyes dropped on Ivy's short figure. "I have a complete collection of the One Piece anime. I'll bring them to you soon!" Ivy was looking at him with worshiping eyes. Ava could tell that the girl was interested in Zen. She could almost read the praises she had for Zen inside her mind. Even though, she had blocked her mind from getting involved with hers. Yet, she failed, for she was curious at what she was thinking about. She was shocked by what she discovered. All curse words that were directed to her as the person closest to Zen.

"Arr...that. That's Ava's favorite. You can show them to her." Zen clarified. He didn't pay any more attention to Ivy who clearly was shooting daggers at Ava. "But I heard you told my brother that it was your favorite anime," Ivy insisted.

"Oh, then you misheard," Zen was too lazy to reply. Ava suddenly pitied Ivy for no matter what she did, it seemed too overboard that Zen always disliked them. Well, who wouldn't? Especially when one acted almost like a stalker just to find the opportunity to have a reason to talk to him.

If Ivy approached Zen in a normal way without doing things exaggeratedly, then she would have a chance to be listed on Zen's good book. However, the girl decided to overdo everything and brainwashed herself that Zen would love whatever it was. Ava cringed at how twisted the girl was sometimes.

"Hmm, then, I'll get rid of it." Ivy was clearly frustrated to see another attempt of hers went haywire. She stared at Ava before putting on her usual facade. The perfect poker-face smile. Little did she knew, that Ava could read her mind like it was the most natural thing to do.

Suddenly, there was a frown on Ava's face. At this moment, she regretted prying on the girl's mind. It was terrifying that she almost wanted to force the girl to vomit all the wickedness away. "What's wrong?" Zen realized the sudden change in Ava's behavior. She was stiffed like a statue.

"Nothing," Ava answered shortly after. She watched as Ivy left them with her hip swayed on purpose. "Are you sure?" Zen asked. "Yeah," Ava said. She decided to bury the matters away. Thinking that it was merely Ivy's attempt to curse her again.

The banquet lasted for two hours before people started leaving. Willow Sr., Ava, and Zen were among the last few people who left the banquet.