C15 14

The journey back to London was uneventful as Ava managed to stick to Ameya during her travel and surprisingly Zayed didn't make a fuss.

Back in the office, Ava was subjected to the scrutiny of her colleagues.

The word had spread that Zayed and Ava got stuck alone during their journey to Delhi.

The envious stares and whispers are getting on her nerves.

But she couldn't react. She didn't want anyone to know about her relationship with Zayed.

"Hello Ava" she looked up to see a woman caked in make up looking at her with a very

fake smile. But the malicious glint in her eyes gave it away.

"Hello" she said wondering what this woman, whose name is still unknown to her is doing at her desk.

"I'm Cassandra" she said smiling and Ava returned an equally fake smile back.

"How can I help you Cassandra" she asked.

"Oh no silly. I just came to introduce myself. You are new to our floor so you may not have many friends here and I thought why not make friends" she said

"Thank-you so much Cassandra"

"So how was the trip to India with the boss??" The woman probed making Ava

mentally roll her eyes.

So much for making friends.

"Oh the meeting was fine. And yes we are doing business with the Malhotras. Mr Karan Malhotra will be coming to our office to sign the deal tomorrow at 11.00 am." Ava said with a smile.

"Oh that's great!!" Cassandra said and walked away swaying her hips artificially making Ava scoff.

All the woman wanted was to extract personal information from her. As if Ava would breath a word!!

"Ava" Ava looked up with a smile hearing the familiar voice of Alexis

"Hello ma'am" she said

"It's lunch time. Come on" Alexis said and Ava stood up from her desk and went with Alexis to the office cafe on the third floor.

As soon as they entered the cafe the old man working in the cafe gestured Ava to come fast.

"Ava dear. Do you want some hot french style kababs" the man asked and Ava smiled excitedly

"Do you have to ask uncle. Get me two. Make it extra spicy" she said smiling widely and Alexis shook her head at the child like excitement of Ava

A nostalgic smile formed on Ava's face as she remembered the french style kebabs

she used to eat when she was in her hometown.

She used to run around the streets with her friends and she was addicted to street foods.

It was during one such day she met Zayed for the first time in her life.

Barely Village (France) , February 2012

It was the day off for Ava from her job as a chamber maid in the Marquis' house.

She was out with her friends enjoying the day.

Aveline Dupont was only eighteen years old then. She had to give up her studies at an early stage due to her father's sudden

death and her mother's illness.

The childless Dupont couple had adopted a six year old Aveline from an orphanage.

Ava had no memory of her real parents. The only person she remembers is her elder sister from who she got separated at the orphanage.

Her sister was four years older than her and was taken to a different orphanage separating the sisters.

A few months later, the Dupont couple had adopted her.

They had named her Aveline, the word means hazel nut tree. Her mother told her they named her Aveline because she had the prettiest hazel coloured eyes.

"Ava. See there. Kebabs. Let's go eat" A fourteen year old boy from her gang of friends told her.

They hurried to the street vendor who made kebabs for them.

Ava always does a stunt with kebabs. She takes out the kebabs and throws it up and in the air and catches it with her mouth.

That's her speciality. No one other than her can do it so perfectly and Ava loved to show off her skill.

Just like every other time, Ava did the same that day too.

But instead of the whoops and hoots what she heard was a voice with unmistakable

anger.

"You little fool. Are you mad?" Came the angry voice.

Ava looked up to see a tall handsome man looking at her with barely concealed anger.

Ava frowned. Who the hell is he to shout at her.

"Hello Mr Armani. Who are you? How dare you call me a fool. Do you know who I'm?" Ava was never one to back down.

The man in the black suit breathed hard.

"What stupid stunt were you doing with food. Is that the way to eat? What if you choked on it and died on spot" the man asked

Ava frowned. She had never thought of it before. But she couldn't tolerate the stranger pointing out that to her.

"Why do you care? It's none of your business" Ava said stubbornly

The man clenched his teeth so hard that Ava was sure a bit more pressure would break his teeth

"I don't care. You can die for all I care. But you are being a bad example for these kids. What if they tried to copy you and something happened to them. What will you do then?" The man asked

Ava frowned. The man is right. But he could have explained in more politely.

What was the need to shout at her and humiliate her like this, Ava thought

"Only Ava can do this. Nobody else does that" a little girl from her gang pointed out.

The man threw his hands up in frustration

"Why am I wasting my time and energy." The man said and walked away after shooting a glare at Ava.

**

Ava was lost in the memories of the past when she received a call from the school.

"What happened" Alexis asked seeing the irritated look on Ava's face.

"It was from the school" she said sighing.

"And??"

"Zahir drew hearts on the girl's washroom door" Ava said and Alexis choked on the water she was drinking.

"He did what??" Alexis asked again

"I don't know what I'm going to do with him" Ava sighed

"Maybe you should be a bit more strict with them Ava. Giving little punishments are not an offense" Alexis said

"I know, but, I just can't hurt them. I can't" Ava said sighing in defeat

"Maybe they need a father figure in their life Ava. I'm not telling you are not doing a

good job at this. You are a perfect mother, but they need a father too. Who can be a bit more strict and strong." Alexis said

"It's not possible Ma'am" Ava said.

"Does Mr Ahmed know about them??" Alecis asked and Ava choked on her own saliva.

"What?? Why would he know about my kids!!" Ava asked slightly panicking

"It's just, he is interested in you. So I thought maybe he should know about them too"

"He is not interested in me" Ava said in a tone which prevents further arguments.

Alexis sighed accepting defeat.

"You know, even though I haven't seen the triplets yet, from your descriptions I have a clear picture of the three in my head" Alexis said chuckling.

"Hot and Spicy kebabs for you" their order was placed on the table and Ava thanked the man for that.

Ava excitedly started eating the extra spicy meat kebabs without noticing the sudden silence that has fallen in the office cafeteria.

It was too hot and spicy and Ava started coughing and her eyes filled with tears.

A glass of water appeared in front of Ava and she took it without looking who it was.

She drank the water in a go but continued coughing.

"Careful Aveline. It is not going to run away if you slow down a bit." Zayed said patting her head and Ava's eyes widened in horror.

What is he doing here? Why is he behaving like this in front of the whole staff.

"What do I say Aveline. You behave like a kid when you see street foods like this. Thank god you didn't do your usual kebab stunt and give me a heart attack" Zayed said chiding her.

The stunned silence around them made Ava squirm in her seat as she refused to meet anyone's eyes in the cafe.

All the employees there were looking at the duo in utter disbelief.

That's when Zayed realized what the hell he has done.

Why does he care what happens to Aveline.

He is insane. Completely insane, he thought.

He cleared his throat and composed himself soon.

"I just wanted to inform you all about our new deal with the Indian company, Malhotra Industries. We will be signing the deal with them tomorrow" Zayed said and walked out of the cafe reprimanding himself for his carelessness.