73


    Ava rose up from the couch. Luke looked up at her.


    "Let''s go upstairs."


    After giving her a slight nod, he got up from the couch. Even though he was eager to respond ton, he was concerned that Ava was not feeling well around him.


    While Luke was making his way toward the staircase, he asked,


    "You will have to see his face if hees here often?"


    Ava simply shrugged her shoulders. "I don''t care. He is invisible to me."


    Ava took Luke to the library, which was located on the upper floor. They sat on the couches in a rxed manner after Luke had grabbed some books.


    "Wow. "Tales from the Past of Mystic Falls''. You have this book!" Luke said it with an amazed tone.


    She grinned at him. "Yeah, Dad organized all of the book collections for me."


    Luke turned his head to look at her and asked, "Ava, how is your life going here? Is everyone treating you well?"


    Ava thought about the love Gamma Harper and Stephen were giving her.


    "I am very happy, Luke. I am living my life to the fullest. It''s just my past that never wants to leave me."


    After saying that, Ava nced downstairs. She was surprised to see thatn was looking in their direction from downstairs. One of his friends was smoking while the rest of his friends were engaged in conversation. On the other hand, his gaze was fixed on her.


    Ava averted her gaze from him and exhaled deeply as she did so. "I ampletely clueless about what is going on in my life, Luke. I am just-"


    Luke interrupted her and said,


    "There is something I wanted to tell you, Ava. That is why I wanted to take you somewhere where we could be alone. But it''s okay. The ce doesn''t matter anymore."


    Ava felt nervous, as she was already aware of what he was going to talk about.


    She bit her bottom lip and lowered her head while listening to him. "Ava, I-"


    She got to her feet and uttered,


    "I am going to ask the maids to prepare some coffee for us."


    Luke was dumbfounded. However, he was able to regain hisposure when he observed that her cheeks had be red.


    There was a grin on his face as he murmured,


    "Yeah, sure."


    As Ava made her way downstairs, she ignored Stephen and his friends, who cast a nce in her direction.


    She went to the corner where the kitchen was located in order to give the maids instructions to prepare two cups


    73


    of coffee.


    She noticed there were no aids. She was confused about where the maids were.


    She turned around to call the maids, but she let out a loud gasp when she sawn at the kitchen door.


    "What are you doing here?" she asked.


    He took a step forward, causing her to back away.


    "What is causing you to stutter? You did not talk in front of me like this when your special friend was with you," he said, approaching her.


    She turned around and moved to the counter. She calmed herself down and took a deep breath.


    She decided to prepare coffee for Luke herself. It was not like she did not know to do that. She did not need any maids.


    "Look, I am really busy right now. Stop bothering me," she said without stammering


    She was about to reach for the coffee mugs but her hands froze when she felt him behind her.


    Leaning down to her ear, he set his hands on the counter next to hers.


    "I am wondering if you are taking me too lightly. You don''t care about my warning, do you?"


    His cold voice, mixed with warm breath, touched her ear. She closed her eyes tightly and took a shaky breath.


    The sensation that she had experiencedst night was brought back to her mind by it. She recalled the kisses that he had ced on her neck.


    She immediately opened her eyes and turned around.


    However, as soon as she turned, her body brushed against his.


    She looked at his face. His eyes were on hers until they shifted lower on her top.


    She gulped at his gaze. His eyes darkened as his gaze returned to her face. "This dress-up, hairstyle, you put in all this effort for him, right?"


    She lowered her head, trying to move away from him. But he was caging her between his hands from both sides.


    "Where are you escaping? Do you really think you can escape from me?"


    His every word was making her nervous. She wanted to push him, but as if her body did not want it, she felt frozen in her spot.


    "What makes you so afraid of me? Do you really think that will kill you?"


    She felt her heart skip a beat when she heard his soft tone.


    She opened her eyes, as she could not believe her ears.


    She looked into his eyes. They were still dark, just as the moonlight was hidden in the darkness.


    "If you get close to him, I will take the matter very seriously."


    Ava slowly grabbed his wrist and tried to remove it from her chin. But he was like


    a stone. She could not move him


    away.


    73


    "Why? Why do you care if I stay closer to him or anyone else? What is it to you? Do you really think of him as your enemy? Even if he is your enemy, that has nothing to do with me."


    Jan leaned closer to her, which took her breath away. He closed his eyes and brushed his nose against her cheek


    "I don''t know why, but whenever I see him touching you, something inside me fumes."


    She blinks her eyes after hearing him. She turned her head to look into his eyes, which caused her nose to brush against his. He nced at her lips.


    She parted her lips and asked,


    "I-I am asking you again,n. What do you want?"


    After a moment of staring at her soft lips, he replied in a low tone that shocked her


    from the inside.


    "You. I guess I want you."