Chapter 33: Her Past

The room was silent after Avery said her answer. She was nervous that she made the wrong decision but it was the safest. It was the answer that could lead her to her goal.

Mr. Lee smiled, “I like this girl, Carson.”

Carson’s grip on Avery loosened as he chuckled nervously. All he ever did was please his father and it was saddening on Avery’s side. Ms. Lee then turned to her father, “So is everything settled? We can eat now?”

Mr. Lee turned to his wife. Mrs. Lee continued to stare at Avery. “Okay, I’ll approve of her. But be sure you wouldn’t wear anything that won’t match your new image.”

Avery chuckled, “That wouldn’t be a problem.”

After their conversation, the family ordered their meal. Avery was thankful she was used to eating at expensive restaurants like this. It’s not that she needed to impress them with what she knew but she didn’t want to make out a fool of herself.

When they were done eating, they decided to go on their separate ways. The press was also divided and only a few followed Carson and Avery. As usual, he kept his hand on her waist as they walked back to the building. The restaurant wasn’t that far and they both knew they had to make an appearance to please everyone.

The day went as usual. But Avery knew there was something different. Carson kept taking glances at her but not saying anything. She wasn’t sure if it was because of how she handled herself with his family or her end of the deal.

The room was silent all day until Carson went to her place at 7 pm. “Have any plans tonight?” She stopped typing and turned to him. He removed his blazer and is now wearing a white long sleeves polo. His hair was a bit messy but he didn’t look tired at all.

Without saying anything, she stood up and fixed his hair. His eyes widened at her sudden movement. She saw the way he looked at her, making her smile. “Yes, I am free. Where are you taking me?”

Carson didn’t respond and held her hand. “It’s going to be a secret”

Avery smiled and prepared her things. Carson, on the other hand, grabbed his blazer. When both of them are ready, they left the room and head to the parking lot. As usual, Carson brought his favorite car. The car was sparkling clean as he prepared for this night.

Avery’s eyes widen when the car stopped by the river. The city had this huge river wherein a bridge was located. There were lights around that highlighted the bridge.

“I love this place” he suddenly said out of nowhere.

“Why?”

“It’s calm. No one would go here at this hour.” He smiled as he looked at the view. The night was indeed peaceful. Avery always felt like this whenever she was with Carson.

When she didn’t respond, he spoke again, “I’m sorry about my family. They were usually like that. My mom was scared that a girl would just choose me because I’m the youngest billionaire. I agree with her totally but sometimes I wished she would tone down her words.”

Avery smiled and leaned on the seat. “It’s fine. Moms are just concerned about their children. They want what’s best for us.” Carson looked at her, “like your mom?”

She nodded. “My mom was the best person I ever knew. She did everything she can to help me achieve my dreams. She was amazing”

Her voice was shaky but she kept a cool aura. Carson smiled but there was something about her past that he was curious about but he knew he couldn’t ask about it.

He looked away then back to the bridge. “Your dad seemed nice.” She suddenly commented, making him chuckle at the sudden remark.

“He isn’t. All he cares is about that darn company.”

He then turned to her, “How about your dad? Why are you so angry whenever he was mentioned?”
She took a deep breath. She looked down as she debated how to answer the question. She looked at him. He looked at her with sincere eyes.

“He left me and my mom. He said he wanted to work somewhere to earn more money. As you know, we weren’t rich like you are so both of my parents had to work. But what we didn’t know was that he had a mistress there so he wanted to move away.”

Her eyes started to fill with anger. But as he analyzed her expression, he realized it was full of sadness as well. She held her bag tight as she told him their story.

“My mom just found out one day that he wanted to split up. A few years after that, he got married to that woman and fully abandoned us. He cut off all his communication with us and acted as if we didn’t exist at all.”

He then held her hands that were trembling. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” She lightly smiled and turned to him. His free hand went to her cheek as he wiped her tears.

He moved closer to kiss her forehead, her nose, and eventually her cheeks. He moved away as he looked at her. Her eyes were not closed but he can sense that she was sad. His thumb touched her lip. It was smooth and soft. He tried to resist himself but he couldn’t.

He then moved closer to her and slowly kissed her lips. The kiss was slow but passionate. She kissed back as she usually would. He expected that a kiss would last for a couple of seconds but he was wrong. Avery moved her body on top of him.

Her kiss got intense and rough. She started removing his blazer which he obliged. She didn’t know what she was doing but when she felt something underneath his pants, she knew she did the right thing.