Chapter 42:
We're Done* Rowan** I leaned against the wall, watching as Emma excused herself from the table. It struck me as odd that she would choose this moment to leave, particularly since Ava had just walked out minutes before her. A nagging urgency almost compelled me to follow her, twisted by the revelations Ava had shared about Emma. I needed answers, especially in light of Emma’s recent behavior. Gone was the excitement she had shown about attending the event; it had fizzled out the moment we realized Ava was the one hosting it. Suddenly, Ava was no longer the "loser" Emma had painted her to be. I couldn't shake the feeling that Emma's discomfort stemmed from this realization. As the others around me continued to enjoy themselves—Gabe dancing with a couple of ladies, and Travis, despite the lingering sadness in his eyes over Letty, seemingly fine with the evening—I felt a pull to confront whatever turmoil was brewing. I stood up slowly, ignoring the puzzled looks from our friends, and made my way outside. The scene that greeted me sent my heart racing—Ava and Emma locked in an intense confrontation. They were so engrossed in their mutual disdain that they appeared oblivious to my presence. “You think because you founded the Hope Foundation, you’ve somehow elevated yourself?” Emma shot at Ava, venom dripping from her words. Ava sighed, her patience wearing thin. “I don’t have the time or energy for your delusions, Emma. Will you step aside?” I continued to watch, a dark cloud looming over my thoughts. Something deep inside whispered that I’d been duped for too long—that everything I thought I knew was a grand illusion. “Nothing will ever change the fact that you’re nothing,” Emma shot back, her disdain palpable. “We all hate you, especially Rowan.” Yet, Ava remained unperturbed, her calm demeanor igniting a flicker of admiration within me. “Are you finished? Because all I hear is the same tired rhetoric you’ve been spewing since you returned,” Ava retorted, her voice unwavering. “Excuse me, I’m done with your nonsense.” She tried to walk past Emma, who, in a sudden burst of aggression, grabbed her arm, likely leaving bruises in her wake. I instinctively moved forward, but Ava shook off Emma’s grip with fierce determination. “Rowan is mine! Stay the hell away from him!” Emma barked, her eyes blazing with fury. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you’re his equal now.” Although Emma’s back was turned towards me, I caught a glimpse of Ava’s expression growing darker as her temper simmered. Ava threw her hands up in frustration. “How many times do I have to say it? I’m not pursuing Rowan! What will it take for it to sink into that thick skull of yours? I want nothing to do with him anymore.” At that moment, a disquieting sensation began to coil within me. “I don’t believe you! I witnessed him follow you to the balcony,” Emma shot back, her bravado unwavering. “You ruined my relationship with him once, and I won’t let that happen again. I will do everything in my power to destroy you.” “Is that why you lied to him? Why do you keep pretending to be the victim while I’m painted as the villain? Did you even tell him that you’re the one who brought chaos to my doorstep both times you accused me?” Ava’s question was sharp, slicing through the tension. My hands curled into fists. I had trustingly accepted Emma’s narrative, naively believing her every word—that she was the victim in our tangled web. But now, that illusion crumbled around me. “It doesn’t matter. He only needed my side of the story. Don’t you get it, Ava? Rowan will always choose me because he loves me—he will believe whatever I tell him over you,” Emma proclaimed with self-satisfied pride. I shut my eyes, desperately trying to deny the reality of her words. How many times had I allowed others' opinions to color my view of Ava? How many times had I unjustly punished her based on deceit? The weight of potential injustice settled heavily on my shoulders, and I despised the possibility that I may have been wrong. Ava snorted, bringing me back to the moment. “It’s pitiful, really, how you stoop so low to keep him. You claim to love him, yet you’re manipulating and deceiving him. What kind of love is that? His feelings may be genuine, but you’re using underhanded tactics. If your feelings were true, you wouldn’t resort to such dirty games.” Before Emma could muster a retort, Ava delivered another blow. “What will happen when Rowan discovers the truth? When he learns the lies you’ve spun about Noah?” At the mere mention of my son’s name, my body seized up. My mind raced—I needed to know what Emma had said, for anyone who dared speak ill of Noah would feel my wrath. “He’ll never know; you know why? Because he trusts me implicitly,” Emma sneered confidently. “That trust you’ve broken time and time again,” Ava countered, her tone firm. “I may not like Rowan, and I would gladly push him off a cliff for everything he’s done to me, but he doesn’t deserve to be blindsided by the woman he loves. It’s downright unfair to him.” With that, Ava attempted to step around Emma once more, but Emma’s fingers locked around her wrist in a display of bravado. “Let me go, or I’ll have my men toss you out like I did with Christine and Brenda,” Emma threatened, her voice dripping with malice. It was time for me to step in. The tension bubbled within me, demanding a release. “That won’t be necessary,” I interjected, my voice steady. “I will handle this.” Both women turned to me, surprise flickering across their faces. Ava broke free from Emma’s grasp and departed swiftly without a second glance. As I faced Emma, her shocked expression reminded me of a deer caught in headlights. “How long have you been there?” she asked, her voice trembling, betraying her facade of confidence. “Long enough to know that you’ve been lying to me,” I snapped, fury boiling over. “Now it’s your turn to tell me the truth. Dare to lie, Emma, and I swear you won’t like the consequences.” Her eyes widened, and she swallowed hard, caught in a web of her own making. “Did Ava slap you two weeks ago?” I demanded, my jaw tight with barely contained anger. “Yes,” she admitted, a whisper of regret in her tone. “Why?” I pressed, not giving her any room to evade the question. Silence fell between us as she stared at the ground, her resolve crumbling, seemingly lost for words now that I confronted her directly. “Answer me, Emma!” I thundered, startling her. She seemed to shrink under my gaze. No longer was I the naive young man who overlooked her flaws simply because I was enamored with her. “B—because…” she began, but her voice wavered, eyes brimming with tears. “I don’t like waiting,” I said firmly. “Either you tell me, or I’ll seek the truth from Ava myself. Trust me, you don’t want that. I want to hear the truth from your lips.” I could see her throat tighten as she swallowed hard, visibly wilting under the pressure. “I—I told her to keep Noah on a leash,” she stammered, the words tumbling out in a rush. “I won’t let him destroy what we have. If I have to, I’ll send him away to a boarding school just to keep him out of our lives.” She trembled with the weight of her confession. I stumbled back, struggling to process her admission. I had placed my trust in her. In anger, I had defended her to Ava. But now, the reality of her betrayal hit me like a punch to the gut. Emma, once the kindhearted girl I had fallen for, stood before me transformed into someone dark and bitter. Where had everything gone so wrong? “We're done,” I finally managed to spit out through clenched jaws. “W—what?” she gasped, disbelief coloring her voice. “I won't make you suffer for our history, but no one—no one—messes with my son,” I declared, every word resolute. “Please, don’t do this, Rowan,” she pleaded, reaching out to grasp my arm. “This is our second chance!” She lunged at me, desperation dripping from her every action. “Maybe, and maybe not,” I replied coldly, backing away slowly. Her cries trailed behind me as I turned my back, refusing to look back at her. This was the best decision for us. Not only because of her actions, but also because the chaos within my mind was unbearable. I didn't want to hurt her, but I knew the outcome was inevitable given my current mental state. I couldn’t pretend I loved her when the specter of Ava loomed large in my thoughts. What if—just what if—I hadn’t extinguished my feelings for Ava after all?