AVA
For a moment, she could only stare at Blake, stunned.
Did he just say Maxim's name? she asked herself, still staring at him. Did he really know about him?
It couldn't be, she thought. She'd never mentioned him once.
How would Blake know?
"What is it, Ava?" Blake asked, noticing her confusion. A bitter smile tugged at his lips. "Surprised that I know about your secret ex-boyfriend from not so long ago?"
Ava remained silent for another moment, unable to form a response.
"Who told you about him?" she eventually asked, bewilderment evident in her voice.
"My mother," he answered.
Ava's brow furrowed.
"She told me about your connection to him shortly after I informed her that I wanted to marry you." His expression hardened slightly. "She told me that Maxim Holloway abandoned you after your arrest, something, by the way, that you completely failed to mention to me, your current boyfriend."
"Blake, I can explain. I..." Ava began. But she stopped speaking, finding it difficult to continue.
She was beginning to suspect that despite knowing the truth about Maxim not abandoning her, it was, and would always remain, a sensitive topic for her.
Blake shook his head at her, as though her silence was answering his questions.
"Honestly, it didn't matter to me that you never told me about the guy. I figured you had your reasons. Maybe you wanted to leave the past in the past," he said, pausing briefly. "My mother, however, thought differently. She warned me that you might still not be over your relationship with Maxim."
He paused again, watching Ava carefully.
"I guess she was right."
"Blake, that's not what's going on," Ava said vehemently.
Actually, it kind of is, her mind immediately retorted. Though it's not all of it.
Blake must have seen the truth in her expression because he let out a frustrated growl.
"You're lying, Ava," he said through gritted teeth. "And doing a terrible job of it, by the way."
Ava bit her lip as a tear finally slipped down her cheek.
His taunting words cut like a knife.
"I'm so sorry, Blake," she whispered.
"Oh, you're sorry?" Blake said, taking a step back from her, his expression twisting with hurt and rage. "No, Ava. I'm the one who's sorry here. Sorry I wasted a whole year in this fucking relationship when you're clearly still hung up on your ex."
"Trust me, it's way more complicated than that!" Ava said loudly.
At that moment, she didn't care that telling Blake about Maxim would put him in danger. She just wanted him to understand her, to see that she wasn't as horrible as he thought. Anything to make him hate her a little less.
Though the good Lord knew, she deserved his hate.
Blake scoffed at her from where he stood near the wall.
"Okay, Ava. Why don't you break it down for me, then? Since it's so complicated," he said sarcastically. "Make me understand, because I'm incredibly confused!"
His voice had grown so loud that Ava winced, taken aback by its sharpness.
For a moment, she seriously considered telling him everything about Maxim. About his threat.
This would be the first time she'd speak to Blake about Maxim, and perhaps the only way to make him understand why she was rejecting his proposal.
But she couldn't bring herself to tell him in the end. She didn't want to drag Blake into this any further.
If he learned the truth about Maxim, Blake would only want to protect her, despite the fact that she was rejecting both him and Maxim.
And that would put Blake directly in Maxim's crosshairs. She couldn't bear the thought of him getting hurt because of her.
Well, more than he already was.
"I-I can't tell you much about it, Blake." Her voice trembled. "It's just so complicated. I'm so sorry."
Blake blinked angrily at her answer, his face contorting with rage. For a moment, he simply stared at her, as though he couldn't believe she was still refusing to explain herself.
Then he turned abruptly and drove his fist into the wall with all his might.
Ava gasped as the loud thud echoed through the room.
She stared at Blake in shock as he stood in front of her, breathing hard, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
She had never seen this side of Blake before. He was a bit... scary.
She reminded herself that he was still the same Blake she knew, just angrier than usual.
"Blake..." she finally called, her voice small.
He turned to her, his expression now one of disbelief.
"Is Holloway back, Ava?" he asked, making her freeze. "Is that the real reason you're rejecting my proposal? So you can break up with me and get back together with him?"
Looking at him, Ava swallowed.
She hadn't expected or wanted Blake to figure out that Maxim was back in her life.
And to make matters worse, he'd connected Maxim's return to their breakup.
He wasn't entirely wrong about the cause of the breakup, Ava thought, but his reasoning wasn't at all correct.
She should I tell him that, at the very least, she decided.
"Okay, Blake. I admit that Maxim is back, but that's not why..."
She didn't get a chance to say anything more.
"Oh my God," Blake interrupted in a shocked voice. "So I'm right after all."
"No, you're not, Blake," Ava tried to tell him again. "It isn't what you think. Trust me."
"Yes, it is, Ava!" Blake snapped. He sounded convinced. "You're breaking up with me to get back together with Maxim Holloway, the guy you really want to marry. Why won't you just admit it?"
"Because it's not true, Blake. I swear on my parents."
Blake let out a disbelieving sound.
"I wish I could trust you, Ava, but you've already proved that you can't be honest when it comes to your ex-boyfriend."
"I've never lied to you about him," Ava insisted.
"No, but you've kept your relationship with him a secret." Blake raised a finger. "And last I checked, lying by omission was still lying."
Ava dug her nails into her own skin when Blake said this, knowing he wasn't entirely wrong. Still, she felt the need to justify her actions to him.
After all, she hadn't meant any harm by hiding her relationship with Maxim from him.
"I didn't tell you about Maxim because I don't like talking about me and him. About how painfully things ended between us, okay? Not to anyone."
"Anyone?" Blake repeated bitterly. "I didn't know I was just 'anyone' to you, Ava. But I guess I've always been in that category of people in your life, haven't I?"
"Blake, please, can you just start listeni..."
"Can I just what, Ava?!" he asked harshly.
Ava shut her mouth, frightened into silence once more. Seeing her nervous expression, Blake turned away from her and seemed to regain control of his tone and emotions.
"Why Maxim Holloway?" he demanded after a moment's silence.
"What?" Ava asked quietly, not understanding his question.
"Why him?" Blake asked, sounding irritated and genuinely puzzled at the same time. "What did you see in Maxim Holloway that made you date and fall in love with that criminal five years ago?"
Ava closed her eyes at the question, considering it despite herself.
"Maxim wasn't a criminal at that time," she finally told Blake, her voice softening automatically when she said his name. "He was different then. Very different."
Blake turned to her sharply and gave her a sceptical look.
"And what's your excuse now? Why are you going back to him now that he's turned into an actual outlaw?"
"I'm not going back to him!" Ava said through gritted teeth.
"Is it because he's rich?" Blake demanded.
"How dare you, Blake?" Ava said. "You know that I wouldn't be with someone strictly for their money!"
"Actually, I'm starting to doubt whether I really know anything about you at all," Blake replied.
Ava bit the inside of her cheek at Blake's words before letting out a frustrated breath.
"If you're not going to believe anything I say, then we're just going to keep going around in circles, Blake."
"You're right. That's exactly what's going to happen unless you stop lying and tell me the goddamn truth already."
Every time Blake called her a liar, it cut into Ava's soul. She didn't think she could take much more of this.
"I'm going to leave now, Blake," Ava said quietly, looking away from him.
Blake fell silent for a moment.
"Yeah, of course," he said, turning back towards the wall. "I'm sure Maxim is eagerly waiting to hear about your newly single status, if that even makes a difference to your relationship."
Blake was on the verge of tears as he said this. Ava could hear it clearly in his voice.
She closed her eyes in an effort to stop her own tears from falling.
"Goodbye, Blake," she said before turning towards the door.
Her tears ran down her cheeks as she walked.
"I'm sorry it didn't work out, and for everything else," she added, her hand resting on the doorknob.
Blake didn't respond.
Sighing sadly, Ava just turned the doorknob and exited from the house.