72


    Ava rolled her eyes and walked up to Luke. She heard Stephen reply ton,


    "He is Ava''s friend. So, he is here for her."


    Luke cast a quick nce at Stephen and his friends. His eyes stopped onn.. "Luke, hi," Ava said with a smile.


    Luke turned his gaze away fromn and toward Ava. He appeared to be amazed by Ava''s appearance.


    "Hi, you are ready to go out. Why don''t we actually go out?


    Ava could see that he was hesitant to enter the house. He was not on good terms with Stephen, either.


    Ava frowned as she grabbed his arm and said,


    "That is what I thought, too. But then I changed my mind. Why not let me show you around? I have a small library there. We can enjoy our coffee while sitting there."


    With a gesture, she indicated upstairs. Luke turned his head to look upstairs.


    Indeed, there was a beautiful small library set up. Two single couches with a small table were there for the people who wanted to enjoy reading books. There were small tree nts, which created a vibrant environment.


    His gaze moved from there and shifted ton. Luke noticedn''s brows arched. He was looking directly at him. There was some kind of warning he could see through that dark pair of eyes.


    Luke scoffed atn before patting Ava''s hand. "You are right. We should have our coffee here at your house. I just want to spend some time with you anyway. So who cares if it is in a coffee shop or at your house?"


    Ava nodded and drew him to the staircase.


    "Ava"


    She stopped walking when she heard a voice. She turned her head to look at Stephen''s friend.


    It was Ronald who called her out.


    "Yes?" she said.


    "Why don''t you and your friend spend some time with us?" Ronald said it with a smirk.


    "No, thank-"


    "Yeah, Luke replied, interrupting her.


    Ava looked at Luke with shocked eyes. He moved his head toward her. He tilted


    his head to get close to her ear and whispered,


    "It''s okay. I am not scared of them. You think I am a coward aren''t you?"


    She immediately shook her head. "No. I did not mean it this morning."


    He smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Calm down, cutie. I didn''t mind."


    She flushed when he called her ''cutie''. She cast a nce at the hand that was wrapped around her.


    Even yesterday, she could not think of anything. But after her friends told her that Luke liked her, she started to feel that way about his behavior. It was like she had been ignoring his signals all these times.


    72


    While they were looking at each other, a person in front of them did not look good at all.


    His eyes grew cold as he stared at them. His blood was boiling for some reason he did not understand.


    "What happened,n? Are you not fine with them sitting here?" Ronald muttered in a low tone.


    "You don''t look good. What''s wrong? Feeling something strange inside?" Ronald asked, ncing atn''s chest. Ian shot him a cold look and said, "No chance."


    Ronald nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah. Then stop making this dull face. Let us enjoy Stephen''s sister''spany. Can''t you see how beautiful she is? Or is her beauty too much for you to see?"


    Ava and Luke approached a couch and sat down. Stephen gazed at Luke. "How long have you known her?"


    Luke parted his lips as he hoticed Stephen acting like a possessive older brother.


    Ava cleared her throat, and responded, "Steph, we have been friends for quite some time. We used to meet in the library, right, Luke?"


    Luke chuckled, as if memories had flooded his mind.


    Yeah. She was a very attentive girl. I still remember when she first bumped into me. She apologized to me three times, and when I said it was okay, she said she would pay for me because she spilled coffee on my shirt."


    Ava was surprised. "You remember?"


    "Yeah. How can I forget our first meeting?"


    Memorizing the day as well, Ava grinned at him. After all, he was the only boy who became her friend, whereas others enjoyed bullying her.


    Ava heard a sneering from the other side. She turned her head to look atn, whom she had been ignoring the entire time.


    "It looks like she likes to bump into boys a lot."


    the day when she ran inton


    outside the basketball court.


    "What do you mean?" Luke asked.


    "I mean, perhaps she intentionally-"


    Luke cut him off and said,


    "She is not like other girls."


    Ava turned her gaze to Luke. His words gave her heart warmth. There was someone who always defended her at any moment and in any situation. "Oh, really?"n asked in a mocking tone.


    n"


    72


    Stephen''s voice rang out as a warning. He did not want to hear anything negative about his sister.


    Tan sighed as he looked at Stephan. “Okay, I am not saying anything.


    11


    But Luke wanted to telln what was on his mind. So he grabbed Ava''s hand in his hand and told Stephen, "She is very special to me. I know her. If she says she


    is not interested in someone, that means she wants to stay away from them. You


    are her brother now. I hope you will carry out your responsibility and always protect her."


    "I am aware of my responsibility. You don''t need to remind one," Stephen retorted back.


    Luke answered, "That is great.


    After ncing at Luke''s hand, Ava uttered,


    "I don''t need anyone''s protection. I was also fine earlier. It''s just that I never


    wanted to grab others'' attention, which I am getting right now a lot."


    After saying that, she nced atn, who was staring at her


    As if he were warning her, he said,


    "The truth is that whoever''s name is linked ton Dawson for once, gets attention from all sides. Well, positive or negative? It is up to their actions to decide what kind of attention they will get."