Chapter One.

INTRO:

She moved in looking for peace and quiet but too bad I have a fetish for good girls. She’s got a smile made for angels and a body built to break sinners… guess I’m first in line because every time she calls me a ‘jerk' and tells me to stay away, I wonder how she’ll sound screaming it with her legs over my shoulders—JAXON CROSS.

He terrifies me. Bullies me. Says things that should make me want to run far, far away…

But not enough to stop wondering what his hands would feel like around my waist… my throat… or... my thighs.

— AVA SINCLAIR.

~AVA's POV~

I couldn’t stop smiling as I stepped out of colleague's car. The evening air was warm against my skin, and for once, it didn’t feel suffocating. I could finally breath at last.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said, brushing my hair behind my ear as I slung my bag over my shoulder.

Silas smiled, a casual nod that made me feel normal.

“Anytime,” he said. “See you tomorrow, Ava. Also looking forward to dropping you off at home again,” he said sheepishly, and giving me a wink.

I laughed heartily, "Oh, sure. Looking forward to it too and thanks for your help today!" I waved at his car as it drove out of sight and then turned toward my apartment after his car was far gone.

A sweet smile still hung on my lips as I got to my porch. It was a result of the small thrill knowing I finally got what I had always wanted for so many months and it pulsed in my chest like an adrenaline. A baby step achievement.

I had done it. I had applied for a job. And guess what? I got it with my certificates, without needing my parents to make use of their money, connection or whatsoever.

Plus, I didn't just get any job, it was one I actually liked. I wasn’t living off my parents anymore. I wasn’t caged. At least, that’s what I told myself.

My keys jangled in my hand as I unlocked the door to my apartment but the second I stepped inside, I knew something was oddly wrong and my smile gradually faded.

The air was too still, cold in fact, and I didn't know what could have been wrong.

“You seem to have been really busy.”

That voice. It may seem sweet but the deep, dark and sharp undertone it had...it made my skin crawl in fear and made my stomach drop.

Slowly, I turned to the voice, clutching tightly onto my bag that was slung over my shoulder.

I found him standing in the corner, half-shadowed by the curtain in the sitting room with the windows still opened.

His arms were crossed, jaw clenched, and his sharp green eyes burning a hole through me as the lamp from the dinning flickered in his eyes like some devil from the pit of hell while his ash brown hair fell freely over his face, giving him an unsettling look.

“Kayden?” I whispered. “What... what are you doing here? You didn't tell me you'd be coming around today,” I said quietly, trying to sound casual but he seemed to have read through me.

He stepped forward slowly, like a predator stalking it's prey. “Why should I? Or are you scared that I would find out?”

Scared, my heart sank as I asked in a trembling voice. “Find out what?” Could he be aware that I already got a job despite he told me not to?

“Don't play dumb, Ava," he hissed. "What did you think? That I haven't been watching your every move? Your every shift in expression and tone? I know when you're hiding something from me, Ava. So you can't lie to me."

I swallowed, "What are you talking about? I don't think I'm hiding anything except for the fact that I... I—um," I couldn't say it. I knew it'd piss him off really bad especially when he clearly told me that he didn't want me working but I went ahead and did the opposite of what he told me.

"You can't even say it," he sneered. "Because you know what you did. You know that you've been around whoring behind my back. I know you did that so you could use the job you got as an excuse to spend free time with other men outside!”

I flinched as my brows creased, “Excuse me?”

He scoffed, “Don't act innocent. I saw you getting out of his car and smiling like you’d just won a damn lottery.” His voice grew louder, trembling with rage. “You think I wouldn’t know what this job is really about?”

My lips parted. I was stunned. How could he think of me in such way? We've been dating for a whole three fucking years yet he doesn't have as much as a trust in me.

“You’re being ridiculous, Kayden," I snapped. "Silas is just a coworker and he offered to give me a HARMLESS ride. That’s it.” I said, my fingers curling and digging into my palm as I tried to hold back from saying more than I already did. I didn't want this argument to escalate out of hand.

“That’s it?” Kayden laughed bitterly, like an heartbroken soul then he raised three fingers.

“You’ve been holding out on me for three good years. Telling me you ‘aren’t ready’ for a goddamn sex. And now...now...you’ve got the nerve to go around with other men and lie to my face that he's just a coworker?"

"But, Kayden, I am telling you the truth. I don't have anything more to do with him—"

"Who even gave you the damn right to apply for a job without my consent?!" He cut in before I could explain further.

I frowned as I asked in a whisper. "What do you mean by that? Of course I have every right to do what I want as a citizen. I have the right to my life," I said firmly.

I took a shaky breath, then continued, louder now, more certain.

“Yes, I applied for a job. Because I can’t keep living like this. I can’t keep letting you dictate my every move. I’m tired of walking on eggshells. I’m tired of feeling like I don’t exist unless it’s through you. I’m not going to be your puppet anymore!”

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. “I love you, Kayden, yes! But no. You don’t get to control me like I’m some shitty robot with no voice, no feelings!”

Something flickered in his eyes. Then, suddenly, his hand shot out and gripped my jaw, fingers digging into my skin. He shoved me back until I slammed into the cold wall of my apartment in the darkness, the impact stealing my breath. His face loomed close, eyes dark and unreadable.

“Now listen to me,” he said, voice low but sharp as a blade. “I have every right and reason, Ava. I am your BOYFRIEND and I know what’s best for you.”

He said it like it was a promise, like he truly believed it. But I saw it for what it was. It was control, cloaked in care. Something I found to be gut churning.

“You don’t know the kind of men that are out there, Ava,” he went on, his grip tightening. “They’d do anything to get their hands on someone like you. They don’t care if you’re taken. You smile, you talk, and they think it’s an invitation. That job? It just gives them more access to you. And I won’t let that happen. I won’t share you.”

My eyes shut down tightly then snapped open, “Enough!" My voice was hoarse now.

I was tired of always hearing this from him. Disgusted and tired of hearing this whispered manipulations. Tired of this emotional blackmailing and bullshit that he called love.

“I’m done explaining myself to you, Kayden. Done justifying my every move while you accuse, manipulate, and belittle me. I’m done, Kayden. I don't want this relationship anymore if I won't get to own my life. I'm not a kid anymore and you know it. I know what Is best for me, not you. And I want to let you know that I AM BREAKING UP WITH YOU!" I said through my clenched teeth.

His face shifted. Confusion, then disbelief. And finally—rage. Pure, unfiltered rage.

“You think you can just walk away?” he growled. “You think you’ve found someone better than me now?”

I didn’t respond. I picked up my bag that had fallen to the ground then turned toward the door.

The next second, I heard a metallic click of a blade that made me pause, my back stiffening.

“I gave you everything,” he hissed behind me. “And now you want to throw it all away because your pretty little face got you a new man who you refer to as just a 'coworker'?”

I turned slowly as I held my breath, but it left my lungs when I saw what he was holding.

I gasped. He held a dagger...and it was pointed straight at me.