Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Ava POV

Right after I saw who was inside the pool, I immediately withdrew back. I spun around, so ready to run out of that place but, right in the end, my damn foot slipped and I lost my balance.

I fell into the water with a splash. My mouth opened to let out a scream. However, my scream never came out because water filled my mouth, shutting off any sound that tried to escape.

I snorted some water while trying to scream but all that came out was a gurgling noise. Since my whole mouth was filled with water and I was unable to spit it out, either.

I flung my arms around frantically, trying to get on the surface when I felt two hands on my waist, gripping it in a firm hold before hoisting me up. When I did come out of the water, I was huffing and wheezing for air. Finally able to breath, I gulped down as much air as I possibly could.

The minute I succeeded in taking the much-needed air, I glanced up and saw the person who had pulled me on the surface of the water and saved me from almost drowning.

Jasper was staring at me.

I grasped his shoulder and stopped struggling for once.

Then I returned his gaze and looked him in the eyes.

And oh, Heavenly god!

I forgot everything.

Never in my life had I seen such beautiful eyes. He seemed like a creation of God. His masculinity could shame the greatest men in the world.

He had an amazing, breathtaking handsome face along with a sleek long jaw line that only sharpened his features more. His eyes were bright green that seemed to stare right through me.

As a result of swimming, his brown hairs had stuck to his forehead. My fingers itched to brush his hair out of his eyes but I did not. I held myself back and just let him hold me up on the water.

Even though he was holding me up on the surface, he still towered me with his extra long height. It made me feel really small and frail. Uncharacteristically, feminine.

My cheeks warmed at the realization and I could tell for real that my face had turned scarlet. Suddenly, I felt ashamed and shy.

All of a sudden, I felt that I was slipping from his grasp but his strong, rough hands pushed me up a little and held me fast. His only two arms were handling the weight of my whole body. His one arm was holding my waist while his other hand was beneath my thighs. I could feel strength radiating from every pore of his body.

We stared at each other with an intense expression. One, which ones meaning I did not want to decipher.

Suddenly, I became aware of our proximity and our closeness. I could feel my body pressed up against his. I could feel his muscles, his rock hard six packs, could feel the strength in his arms that were holding me up from keeping me going down. His thighs were pressed up against mine.

Jasper let out a harsh breath and I came back to my senses.

Pushing out of his hold, I let go of his support and swam backwards a little. Jasper let me go. As soon as I pushed out of Jasper's hold, he snapped out of whatever trance he was in. He looked away for a second and then back at me.

This time, his eyes were much less intense and he appeared more in control.

“You can swim?” He questioned me or more like stated the fact. His voice sounded rough. And way deeper than usual.

“Yeah, I can.” I answered looking right into his eyes like he was looking into mine. He tore his gaze away from mine and stared at the water when he asked the next question.

“Then why were you …?” I interrupted in the middle of his question.

“I can swim, but I was just caught off guard.” I told him. He nodded his head as if he understood the meaning of my words.

“What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be asleep by now?” He asked me.

“I could not sleep. I have slept enough in the afternoon.” I told him.

“Oh, right. You went to collect your stuff from your parents’ house. What happened? How did it go? Did you collect all your belongings?” He asked me. These questions soured my mood. Everything that I was feeling just a moment ago vanished like smoke in the air.

Jasper seemed to notice the change in my mood too because his face became serious.

“What happened Ava? Did your parents say something to you?” He asked in a serious voice. His face did not have a hint of any expressions that were on his face a few seconds ago.

I swallowed hard and bowed my head, staring at the water. With an ulterior motive of hiding my face from his, so that he could not see how upset I was from my visit to my parents.

“Ava … What happened?” He asked me. His voice was soft, like he was coxing a wounded animal.

“Ava …”

“They left.” I spoke. Jasper quieted down after hearing my answer. I raised my head and looked at him.

“They left.” I said in a whisper. My throat closed off with tears.

Without wanting to, my eyes filled up with tears and I looked away. After saying that, I swam to the end of the pool and began to get out of it.

The moment I began to step out, I heard the water splashing behind me. I jumped over the edge and stood up on the concrete. Two hands grabbed me by my arms and spun me around.

I looked up to find Jasper staring down at me.

“Wait for a second.” He spoke.

“Let’s sit down first.” He advised, nodding at the edge of the pool. I did not want to sit down, nor did I want to face Jasper. I did not want to tell him about my day but then I did want to spill my guts out and rant out everything.

Maybe, I should not stay here.

Sensing my resistance, he took the job upon himself and gently pushed me down to sit down. Stupidly, I followed his guidance and sat down. My whole body felt heavy and tired, completely out of my control. It was like my body and soul were not intact together.

I stared down on my lap and did not raise my head when the footsteps fade away. After waiting for a minute or so, the footsteps sounded again. Jasper appeared at my side and a towel was placed on my shoulder.

Then Jasper sat himself down beside me. I faced the other side and did not speak for a few more minutes.

“What happened, Ava?” Jasper asked me. I still did not answer him. Stubbornly, I kept my head facing away from his direction.

“Ava?” Jasper asked me. This time he reached out and grabbed my chin, turning me his way.

“What happened, Ava?” He questioned me. Very reluctantly, l looked into his eyes. His face held a soft expression and his eyes were kind.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked me slowly. I merely shook my head in a No, but then I opened my mouth and began speaking.

“No. I don’t want to talk about it. I just don’t want to talk about it.” I said and a sob broke out of me.

“I did not want to talk about how my parents left me stranded alone. How, just to save themselves from embarrassment, they decided to sell their house and run away from me.” I spoke.

“They sold their house?” Jasper asked in a disbelieving voice.

I nodded in a Yes.

“Yes. They took the easy way and got out of this problem by actually not facing me.” I told Jasper.

“Ava, tell me everything.” Jasper said. His voice held a hint of urgency.

“I had already messaged my parents about my upcoming visit. So, I thought that they would be prepared for my visit. But I did not expect them to be That prepared.” I said then sighed out loud.

I raised my head and closed my eyes. Feeling the cold air brushed my hair, making me feel a little lighter.

“Today, when I went to my parents’ house, their house was locked. The house was in complete silence. Which was very strange since my mom hardly ever left the house and especially never left the house in silence.” I said.

“What happened next then?” Jasper asked. I looked at him as I told him my next line.

“When I asked my neighbor, they told me that they had sold their house to a real estate agent and left my luggage with them. So that I could pick it up from them.”

“My neighbors told me that they were looking to sell this house three days ago.

Three Days Ago.

The day I told them about my pregnancy. The day I wanted to jump off the bridge and attempt suicide.” I told him, my voice rising a little.

“They ran away because they wanted to get away from me!” I yelled at him then I began shaking with crying.

Jasper’s arms came around me and he pulled me in for a hug. Without giving it a thought, I leaned in his embrace and buried my face into his chest. He was so damn tall that he completely engulfed me in his embrace. My head only reached his collar bone.

I cried in his chest, and he let me. My pain and the hurt coming back with full force. I felt like an orphaned kid. Who got left by their parents, whose parents never wanted them. Jasper rubbed my arms over and over again, trying to comfort me with only his touch.

“They left me Jasper. They left me. They left me because they did not want to face the humiliation that came with an unmarried pregnant woman. They left me without ever telling me or seeing me for the last time. They don’t want to do anything for me. I loved them so much and they just left me like this. How can parents leave their daughter like this?” I blabbered out. I went on and on with my complaint until I could not do it anymore.

Very soon, all of my sobs died down and I became a piece of sag. I stopped speaking and just remained in the arms of my boss.

BOSS!

I jerked back at the realization, faintly noticing his whole tattooed arm that was covered in ink. He let me go.

“I’m sorry. I did not realize that …” I said but did not look up to see his face. Embarrassment heated my cheeks.

“I’m sorry that was really inappropriate of me to do that.” I stuttered the words out.

“I did not mean to …” Jasper shook his head.

“That’s okay, Ava. You just needed a shoulder to cry. There is nothing wrong with that.” He told me.

I differed in his opinion. There was so much wrong in crying in your boss’s embrace.

I gathered myself and straightened. Clearing my throat, I gave him an awkward smile.

“I think it is the pregnancy hormones that have been making me all this crazy and emotional. I am not usually like this.” I told him.

But somehow, he always managed to find me in times like these. When I was the most vulnerable or going through a rough time. He always found me crying or complaining or combating various types of problems; most of which, I usually don’t do a good job handling.

“I am not judging you or anything, Ava.” Jasper told me.

“I’m just worried about you.” He said. Both his words and his tone sounded genuine. I almost cried at the sincerity of that. I took a heavy breath.

“Are you okay now, though?” Jasper asked me again.

I nodded my head and plastered a convincing smile on my face.

“Yeah. I am okay now.” I told him. Honestly, I was not alright, I mean how can I? Nobody can know the pain of losing someone so close to their heart, but he did not need to know that. He had seen enough of my crying. I always pour all my emotions in front of him.

Not anymore.

I got up and handed him the towel that he had thrown over my shoulder to cover me from the cold.

“Thank you for the towel, Sir.” I said and spun around to walk out of that place but halted in my step.

“Please, don’t tell this to anyone Sir. Not even your secretary. It is a request.” I said over my shoulder. With that being said, I looked ahead, heaved out a sigh and got out of that place.

Without waiting for a reply.