Her Eyes Widened

Ryan shrieked in pain as blood streamed down his face, pooling at his neck. He pressed his hand tightly against the spot where Vivian had struck him and sank onto the couch, still groaning in agony.

"I told you to die! You've made my life miserable! If it weren't for you, I'd still be the perfect and beautiful Vivian that everyone knows…" Vivian spat, her voice a mix of tears and disgust, despite her weakened and drunken state.

She rarely ate but drank constantly. In situations like this, Ryan felt restless, and it often resulted in a bad day that made him cold toward everyone around him.

The thought of his mother, who would skip meals whenever he left home, always broke his heart. Even though she harbored resentment toward him, she was still his mother, and he couldn't help but worry about her well-being.

"I hate you so much! I'll kill you myself! I'll kill you!!" Vivian growled, grabbing another bottle from the floor, ready to strike Ryan again. But he quickly raised his hand to block the bottle.

"Maybe when you stop hating me, your life will go back to normal, like it was before," Ryan mumbled, his voice laced with pain. Vivian scowled at him, hatred burning in her eyes, before suddenly collapsing. As she began to fall to the floor, Ryan sprang to his feet and caught her just in time.

He sighed sadly as he gazed at her pale face.

"I know you've been through a lot, but can you please stop hating me? Let's fight this together," Ryan mumbled.

He studied her face for a moment before lifting her into his arms and starting to head upstairs, despite the blood still seeping from his wounds.

Vivian was only in her late fifties, but the weight of her struggles made her look much older. She had spent every day of her life engulfed in sadness and agony.

...

Since returning from school yesterday, Ava had been locked in her room, weeping uncontrollably. Her heart ached so deeply that all she could do was cry until exhaustion took over, only to wake up and cry again before drifting off to sleep once more.

This cycle continued until morning. Despite Juliette's persistent knocking on her door, Ava lacked the strength to respond. How could she possibly explain that she was heartbroken?

She lay in bed all day, weeping, and this morning was no different, she wasn't ready to face the world outside her room.

The image of Ryan with Delilah in the restroom replayed in her mind, an endless loop that brought her to tears until her face ached. It was unclear to her why her heart felt so heavy, especially since Ryan didn't know her or show any interest in her. Yet, the pain was undeniable, and it hurt more than she could express.

No matter how hard she tried to hold back her tears, they flowed freely down her cheeks. Eventually, she gave in, allowing her emotions to spill over.

Still crying and clutching the duvet in her hands, she heard a knock at the door.

"Ava, dear, will you please open the door and talk to us?" Robert called from outside. He had come home last night, but when he heard Ava arrive from school with tears on her face, he knew something was wrong. She hadn't come out of her room since then, and despite their persistent knocking, she remained silent.

After a long night of worry, they had finally gone to bed, but they woke up early this morning determined to persuade her to open the door.

"We love you so much, dear, and we're really worried. Please open the door, Angel," Robert mumbled.

"Okay, if you don't want to talk to us, at least come outside to eat. You haven't eaten anything since yesterday, and we don't want you to get sick," Juliette added, her voice laced with concern.

Ava pulled the blanket over her head. As much as she wanted to see Robert and discuss the emergency at the company, she just couldn't face them right now.

She didn't mean to worry them, but she wasn't ready to talk to anyone right now. All she wanted was to be in her room and cry in solitude.

Juliette and Robert continued to knock on the door, urging her to come out.

...

After several hours, night had fallen, and Ava finally pulled the blanket down from her head, sitting up in her bed as the hunger within her became unbearable. She had cried so much that her tears had run dry.

She placed a hand on her chest and murmured, "If this is what heartbreak feels like, I don't want to experience it again. I'd better stop loving him before it gets worse than this." A sad expression settled on her face as she spoke.

"But how can I do that when we're in the same school and class? How can I possibly avoid him?" Ava muttered to herself, frustration etched on her face.

"Is it really a bad idea to love him? I can't control my heart; it's still beating for him," she sighed, giving her chest three light taps with her palm before the ringing of her phone interrupted her thoughts.

"Who is it?" Ava mumbled, reaching for her phone on the table beside her bed.

It was an unknown number.

She stared at the phone, debating whether to answer the call from an unknown number.

When the ringing stopped, she felt a moment of relief, but it quickly resumed, prompting a frustrated sigh from Ava before she finally picked it up.

Ava: "Hello?"

Unknown Person: "The owner of this phone is drunk and causing trouble here. You need to come to Star Club right now."

The caller hung up before Ava could ask for any details about the phone's owner.

Lowering the phone from her ear, Ava felt a mix of concern and irritation.

"F*ck! Who the hell was that?" Ava muttered, tossing her phone aside onto the bed and leaning back against the bed frame.

Still clad in her pink silk nightgown, her stomach growled in protest.

"Oh, I forgot, I'm starving," she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Just as she was about to head outside, the words of the caller replayed in her mind.

"Is it someone I know? Should I go?" Ava wondered aloud, torn between her heart's urging and her mind's caution.

"No, it'll be dangerous. I can't put my life at risk," she mumbled, turning to walk outside again. But halfway there, she paused and let out a loud sigh.

...

It took an hour and a half to reach the destination the unknown caller had mentioned, and the word "Star" was emblazoned across the front of the club.

Ava took a deep breath before stepping out of the car. She had driven herself here, fully aware of the dangers involved, and she knew that if Juliette and Robert found out, they would be furious.

Initially, she had decided against coming, but curiosity gnawed at her, and her heart urged her to go. So, when everyone else was out of sight, she slipped away, determined to come to this place without anyone noticing.

Even if she found herself in danger, no one would know where she had gone. Ava pressed her hand against her racing heart, unable to shake the feeling of fear.

"Ava, relax. You're strong; you don't need to be scared. Fear is for weak people, and you're not weak. You can do this," she mumbled reassuringly to herself, exhaling loudly to release some tension.

With a brave face, she closed her car door and began walking toward the club, though her heart continued to pound with anxiety.

As she stepped inside, Ava felt the burning, hungry gazes of men on her body, but she pressed on, refusing to turn back or acknowledge them.

"Damn! She's so hot, I'm f**king hard. I want to f**k that hole between those sexy legs," a man on her left side said, his voice dripping with desire.

Ava's patience wore thin, and she was about to turn around and leave this awful place when she spotted two bartenders dragging Ryan out.

His head was bandaged, and his lips were bleeding as he struggled to break free from the bartender's grip.

"I said, let me go! I swear I'll kill you both if you don't let me go right now!" Ryan yelled, his words slurred by drunkenness. But the bartenders continued to drag him out, unfazed. Ava, who had been staring in shock, finally snapped back to reality and rushed toward them.

Ava was taken aback; she had never seen this side of Ryan before. Also, the scene in the restroom had caught her completely off guard, leaving her more than just surprised.

"Hand him over, I know him," Ava said as she approached them.

"You're one of those who we called earlier, right?" one of the bartenders asked, and Ava nodded in response.

"Good, he has caused so much trouble; we're glad you're here," the bartender said as they draped Ryan's arm over Ava's shoulder. She didn't know how they had gotten her number, but she pushed that thought aside for the moment.

The bartenders returned to their duties, leaving Ava and Ryan to deal with their problems.

"Oh my goodness! He's so heavy," Ava mumbled, struggling under Ryan's weight. She began to slowly guide him out of the club, but he kept stumbling, completely dead drunk, making it difficult for her to manage his unsteady movements.

But she managed to pull him out of the place, and they reached her car. Ava was about to open the back door when she was startled by Ryan suddenly grabbing her hand and turning her around to face him.

Ava's eyes widened as he leaned in closer, his gaze fixed on her lips. But she froze when she felt his hand slip under her skirt.