Choking Constraint

Lin Ancestral House

Earlier that day, Ava woke up to her phone ringing by the bedside table. She frisked the table with her eyes closed, and angrily shot her eyes open once she got her phone in her hand to see who dared wake her up so early in the morning.

"Ava," Ava said in her throaty morning voice as soon as she picked the call up. She scrunched her brows as she listened to Fiona chirp on the other end of the line.

"Darling! I'm free today. Do you still need help with your sister-in-law's birthday dinner preparations?"

Hearing Fiona's offer, Ava rolled on the bed towards Ollie's side and hugged the pillow that he placed in his stead. She combed her hair to the tip with her long and delicate fingers before going back to the scalp to gently tug her hair, massaging her head in the process.

"Yes, I do need help. Can you give me an hour? I'm not really a morning person and I just woke up. I'll give you a call back, Fiona," Ava excused before she ended the call. She needed to think about Fiona's offer first and get Ollie's feedback too.

It's not that she didn't like getting help but she knew Fiona wanted something in return for her 'help'.

Just in time, Ollie stepped out of the en suite, freshly showered and changed into his business suit pushing Ava to kneel on the bed, spreading her arms on a wingspan for Ollie's hug.

"You're up early," Ollie noticed. He gave the side of Ava's small head a kiss and pulled away from their embrace. Ava started to fix his tie for him like a diligent wife as she recounted Fiona's call.

"Yes, it's kind of weird actually. Fiona called and asked if I still needed help organizing Livi's birthday dinner. Just so you know… I badly needed help, sweetie. Auntie Martha had to be away for an emergency so she left the rest of unfinished preparations on my plate and it's not like I can say no to her request," Ava complained.

It was a last-minute call from Auntie Martha that Ava was left with no choice but to accept the challenge since she's the closest female relative to the celebrant.

"Accept her help but don't give her an invitation. Give her a token or something. Don't give Fiona a false hope in the guise of an invitation because you know it too. Maxen was never serious about her," Ollie said, grabbing the suit jacket on the tufted ottoman at the foot of the bed and slinging it into his arms.

Husband and wife knew the reason behind Fiona extending her hand for help and they knew too that Ava can't reject it because she badly needed an extra hand too especially now that there's a bad blood between Selena and Olivia.

Ava tilted her head to the side and smiled, captivating Ollie's heart for the nth time since they've met. "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Hearing his wife's words, Ollie gave Ava a kiss on the lips before refreshing his wife's memory saying, "Maxen found his 'O Sui', remember? Nobody takes the Sui name unless he's serious and he sure damn is."

"Ok. I understand. You don't have to spell it out for me." Ava hugged her husband and rubbed her head on his chest, inhaling his favorite shower gel scent. She pulled away and playfully slapped his butt, urging him to leave for work.

Ollie was already by the threshold when he stopped in his tracks and his eyes showed nothing but pity towards Ava.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ava asked timidly, tightening her robe around her waist. Ollie walked back to her and hugged her tightly that he almost lifted her off the bed.

"I wish people knew the real you, sweetie."

Ava cupped Ollie's face and gave him a reassuring smile. "As long as you know my heart, that's what matters."

…

"Oliviaaa!" Fiona purred inside the restaurant halting Olivia's steps. At first she thought she was hallucinating when she heard that purring voice; however, reality slapped her in the face when she looked over her shoulder and saw Fiona in all her doll-like glory.

"Are you kidding me?" Olivia sneered at Emily. She hasn't recovered from this morning's elevator trauma caused by Fiona's bangle and here they were, in a cruel twist of fate, meeting the gypsy for the second time today.

"I told you there are snakes insiiide," Emily sweetly whispered as she tugged Olivia's arm. Her brain was in overdrive as she thought of ways to escape this ominous encounter but Fiona found her way into the restaurant's receiving area.

They saw Ava sitting pensively at the round table with papers and a pen in hand. Emily glanced at her gal pal with a single brow raised in question as to why the heck Ava went out to lunch with Fiona.

"Hello, Ava," Emily went closer to Ava and gave her an air kiss that was quickly followed by the edgy Olivia.

"Olivia," Ava called, squeezing her sister-in-law's arm. "I didn't know you're acquainted with Fiona."

Without delay, Fiona answered on behalf of Olivia and narrated how she and Olivia met through Auntie Martha. "And this morning, I ran into her at the elevator. That's why I remembered you were looking for help, Ava."

The three elite ladies exchanged knowing looks when Fiona's hidden agenda was brought out in broad daylight by none other than herself. Ava tried her best to hide the smirk on her face, pretending to sip on her tea.

Emily, however, felt like playing today after feeling offended by Fiona's hypocrisy.

'Help Ava or snag an invitation to hump on Maxen?' Emily sneered in her thoughts.

But before she could have some fun, she glanced at Olivia and talked to the latter through her eyes and was given the get-go when Olivia elegantly shrugged, and went on to check the menu.

Ava noticed the little exchange between the two newly arrived guests and her women's intuition kicked in like a leaping horse.

What if Maxen's 'O Sui' was Olivia all along?

She started to comb the names in her memory to look for a lady whose name starts with an 'O' but came up with one person.

Constraint started to choke Ava on her seat that she subconsciously shifted and cleared her throat from its walls sticking together even after washing it down with the soothing tea.

If her intuition was right… then Fiona was about to be hit by Olivia's wrath.