Chapter 37: chapter 37

Chapter 37Ava's POV'Stop pretending you didn't hear a word I said boys. ' My men stood in rigid postures, finding the walls interesting suddenly. 'This young woman here is my niece and well, my daughter. ' He paused drawing me closer to him and draping his muscular hand on my shoulder.'She deserves the best, make no mistake boys you will have me to contend with. ' He lowered his voice, allowing a warning tone to slip through. Satisfied with their couple of yeses, he gave them a nod. 'Ava, Ray, Bry. ' Renata called to us.'I'm sorry for talking shit back at the hotel. ' She paused, letting saliva flow down her throat audibly.'I accused you three of sleeping around even when I didn't know the truth. ''But we are..' Bry deadpanned, shrugging his shoulders with no care.'Bryson! ' Ray shouted at him, giving him 'you can't just say it like that look.' I widened my eyes in a fraction before realising that he was used to saying things straight up without a care in the world. 'What? ' He spread his hands, waving them dismissively. Ray just shook his head, allowing the conversation to continue. 'No Bry, I didn't have the right to say what I said back there. I was frustrated about you people finally knowing about my life as Ava's mum. ' She paused again.'I am really sorry. ' She finished, looking expectantly at us. 'It's okay mum, we forgive you. ' Ray spoke on our behalf.'Right? ' He asked for confirmation, which earned him a nod from Bryson and I.'Ava, ' Ray began, shifting on his feet. 'We have been wanting to talk to you about something for a while. I thought for a second there that Bryson had ruined our chances of ever making you our girl. ' Ray explained.'But it's even better now cause we get to do it in our parents presence. ' He turned to Bryson.'Don't you agree Bry? ' Bryson hummed. 'Totally. 'Both boys approached me, each one of them nervous to some extend. The amount of love and adoration in their eyes had me almost agreeing to whatever they wanted to ask.The over 6 ft men walked meticulously, both of them towering over my petite self. My heartbeat increased in anticipation of what was to come.My palms began to sweat while my mind threatened to explode with excitement. I blinked my bright eyes innocently, I was sure the sparkle in them matched the smile that my lips gracefully formed.'Ava. ' They both called me, each one of them taking either of my hands in to theirs. My heart fluttered as my name rolled out of their inviting mouths. 'Only you have managed to make me feel like a man. ' Bryson making my heart beat race even more. 'For long, I wanted to act like one, I wanted to want a girl for who she was. Then you came along and even though my stubborn nature didn't allow me to love you right away, your good heart and character had me where I had let cowardice draw me away from. ' Bry praised, with a grin.'We don't want any other woman apart from you angel. We are very happy where we are with you. These past few days have been extremely hard on all of us and yet we managed to stick together. ' Ray said.'It doesn't matter that what we have is unheard of in our society. Hell, we know people won't make it easy for us, and mostly for you. ' I had of course thought about the reactions from the community. Honestly, it terrified me to some extend.'I don't care about what people have to say about it. It's my life, and it's complete with you being apart of it. ' Their faces lit up at my assurance. 'What we are trying to say is that, we are grateful to you baby girl. ' Bry took in a long, deep, audible breath. I felt a stab of hope, anxiouslly tapping my fingers on my arm. 'So...' They uttered at the same time, nodding to each other before a hushed silence wrapped around us for a short while. I barely registered the presence of our parents, the only thing that mattered was the long awaited question from my men.'Will you be our girlfriend? ' They both asked. My guess was absolutely correct! 'Yes my boys, yes! ' I spoke with a broad grin on my face. A surge of joy flowed through me, bringing forth conntentmend in my heart and soul. I couldn't contain happy tears, hell I felt like my feet weren't even touching the ground. I was finally theirs as they were mine.Bryson pulled me for a small yet sweet kiss. As his lips moulded against mine, I could hear Renata, my uncle and my mother Eve whispering amongst themselves. When Bryson pulled back, I threw my hands around Ray's neck, standing on my tip toes. With a similar intensity, I tasted his full lips, humming as his hands went on my ass. It was only for a a few seconds yet it felt like we had kissed for minutes. The kisses sealed off our relationship and I could never have been more happier. I wished we were all alone, I yearned for more than their lips, but I knew time would come for that. 'Now that's more like this. ' Reynard talked, pulling all of us into a group hug.'Congratulations kids, all I ever wanted was to be there for every little step you took Ava. I'm glad I'm a part of this. ' Mum spoke, lightly touching my cheeks with pride. 'Boys, you know what will happen when you hurt her right? ' Renata was always giving out a warning. 'Why does it have to be us hurting her and not the other way round? ' Bryson pouted. 'Stop pouting, you look ridiculous. ' Ray pointed out, making all us laugh in agreement.'And for the record, we all know you'll be the one doing the hurting. ' Ray pointed at him, shrugging his shoulders and ignoring the hard gaze Bry directed at him. 'Why are you even...' 'Cut it Bry. ' Reynard cut him off, putting it a stop to any bickering that was about to go down. 'Mum. ' I whispered, the name mum referring to Eve sounding so natural. Like I had called her mum countless times. 'Yes honey. ' Her eyes crinkled at the corners in a sudden sparkle. She didn't anticipate me to acknowledge her barely hours after the revelation. 'Where is Uncle Rob and the kids? He was here when I came to see you before my men called me. ' It still hurt that he would come to see her while he never bothered to check up on me. 'Stop right there angel. ' Bry almost squealed like a baby girl.'You just called us your men. ' He happily and enthusiastically pointed out, almost jumping up and down. 'I love the sound of it. ' Ray calmly backed him up, the corners of his mouth only widening a fraction in controllrd emotions. 'Okay, I was taking to mum now shut up. ' I teased.'Your uncle left with a promise of coming back to visit me. I am still waiting for him to come. ' But why would he leave without waiting for me to come back? 'What about uumm...' I couldn't address them as such. The names jammed at my throat, my voice box refusing to let them out. I didn't even know why I was asking about them.'Aah yes, your grandparents haven't been returning my calls. They are apparently still mad at you for causing the rift in our family. ' She gave me a sad apologetic look.'That's what they think and they are allowed to as long as they don't hurt you in any way. I made my self clear to them that they had lost me as their child the moment they asked me to choose them over you. They blame you for everything but I blame them. They should have loved you as their grandchild and not let your father's threats get to them.So just let them be, if they come around, well and good. If they don't even better. I haven't talked to them for years and now that the won't even pick up my phone calls, I won't force it. ' I scoffed at their little minds. Only stupid people blamed children for uncontrollable negative happenings. I mean I had just learnt about the whole truth, and yet they pointed an accusing finger at me even when I had no clue. 'I've lived wondering why they hated Renata. Now I know it's because they thought that she had replaced you. I could tell the dislike they harboured but I don't mind. As long as you are here mum. ' I assured her, hugging her as she lay on the bed yet again.'That aside, how are you doing though? ''I'm doing better, I was this close( she demonstrated with her index finger and her thumb) to dying. Ren and Rey really came through, otherwise that bullet would have killed me.'Bullet? ' I was shocked and ashamed at the same time. I hadn't even asked why she was in the hospital and here I was learning about it in such a manner. My hand found it's way to the back of my head and scratched it.'Yes, your father...He. ' 'He attempted to kill you again, didn't he? ' It was pretty obvious to know that being a Mafia Leader he had to finish what he had started, no matter the time taken to achieve it. 'Yes honey, the bullet however missed by much and hit my left shoulder. He was going for the execution style but luckily he missed. I don't know how he knew where to find me. I thought that after all these years that he had given up, but I was wrong.He had finally found me in my car after hours of shopping. I had my head rested on the steering wheel, willing my body to relax after endless shopping at one of the malls. The shot he fired was only one, one that was meant to kill me. I still remember how the windshield shattered into pieces, some of the glass pricking me in the process.The bastard was desperate and stupid enough to hit me around 9pm. It didn't matter how scarce people were at that time, such a thing would attract a crowd in no time.He definitely used a silencer, but my screams had people running towards our direction. One patrol officer was around the parking lot at the time of the incident. He had reacted quickly, running towards my father in an attempt to disarm him. You would think after a bullet launching itself on my shoulder that I would be laying there helplessly.But no, I managed to remain aware of my surroundings while I still fumbled about my glove compartment to retrieve my gun. Just before he could fire a shot on the officer, I maneuvered my hurt shoulder, cocked the gun, aimed it at him and fired the one shot that would bring him down to his knees.He was very close to me and I could still see him struggling to fire at me. Only that I was more determined than him. I still wonder how a Mafia leader could be just stupid but after I fired a shot to his head, I knew how the feeling of wanting to finish me off felt.He was ready to risk everything just to satisfy his animalistic desires. He put the training he had behind him just to kill me. His desperation clouded his ability to make the right decisions and it cost him.' Mum paused after the detailed recap.'Did he...' She knew what I was asking because she cut me off, looked me into my eyes and uttered the words unemotionally.'I killed that bastard of your father. '