Page 93 of Cruel King

Finally, he says, “I’ll tell you what, Matthias. You have her. She would have told me about what happened between you two if she didn’t care about you. You remember that I know her better than anyone else, right? That’s how I know those couple of days meant something to her. There’s nothing in your way now. She’s right there and all yours. I wish you two good luck. Have a nice life.”

The call ends, leaving me sick to my stomach that I utterly failed to make him see he’s making the biggest mistake of his life. I could try again, but by the sound of his voice, I know he’s made up his mind.

I sit there for hours trying to accept what my brother said. He made it sound so easy. She’s all yours. As if Ava doesn’t remember all the terrible things I said and did. Damnit, he doesn’t seem to know her at all.

Then after a while, a tiny flicker of hope ignites inside me. Maybe he and Marius are right. Maybe she could at some point forgive me. I’d have to show her I deserve it and I deserve her. But that’s assuming she wants me like I want her.

“I guess I’ll never know if I don’t try,” I mumble to myself before standing up from under the tree.

As if my feet have a mind of their own, I find myself walking down toward the carriage house a few minutes later. I’m not sure what I plan on saying to her. I have no plan at all, in fact.

When I see her sitting on the porch reading a book, I almost talk myself out of this. No. I have to at least try.

I stop at the end of the sidewalk that leads up to her house and take a deep breath in, letting it out in an excited rush before I say, “Ava, would you like to come up to the house for dinner tonight?”

She lifts her head and stares out at me oddly for a long moment before saying, “Tonight? Okay. Is it some special occasion? You’ve never asked me to eat dinner with you up there before is why I ask.”

“Just thought you might like it. That’s all.”

Ava thinks about the offer for a moment or two and nods. “Okay. What time?”

My heart skips a beat when she agrees to come to dinner with me tonight. “Seven.”

“Okay. I’ll be there. Thanks!”

I hurry away back up to the house and make a beeline to the kitchen. Eleanor is busy peeling carrots for what looks to be a stew she’s cooking, but she’ll need to stop that because I have no intention of giving Ava stew for our dinner together.

“Ava is joining me for dinner at seven. I want you to make all her favorite foods, Eleanor.”

The older woman nods before a smile lights up her face. “Okay. What about you? Do you have anything you want me to make that you like?”

“No. Just concentrate on all of her favorites. I’m sure I’ll be fine with whatever you make. As long as she likes it is all that matters.”

“All of her favorites at seven it is. I’ll make sure to bring up a bottle of wine from the cellar that will complement the meal since she drinks wine.”

I nod, thankful Eleanor remembers things like that. I don’t drink wine, so I would have never even thought of what would go with the meal.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Matthias.”

Something in the way she’s smiling at me makes me think I’m not the only happy person in this house today. I don’t know how I’m going to focus on work for the rest of the day, but I don’t care.

Ava and I are having dinner together. I think this can be technically considered a date.

Now to see if she can forgive me for all I’ve done.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-SEVEN

Ava

I watchhim practically run back to the main house and wonder what’s going on. Yes, he’s been nicer since Theo left, but he’s never invited me to dinner. Maybe he’s just trying to be neighborly. We do live on the same estate.

That’s probably it, though there seemed to be something different in the way he looked at me when he asked if I wanted to come up to the house for dinner. Wait…is this a date? Is that why he looked like that?

Since Theo left, I haven’t even considered going out with anyone. Not that I have that many opportunities when I don’t leave this estate very often. My friends call and want me to come out with them to clubs, but it’s felt like it’s too soon. My lunch with Eden yesterday was the first time I left the estate since everything happened.

If I’m being honest, at least for the first few times my friends invited me to go out, I was still hoping Theo would come back. I’ve given up on that. He’s not coming back for me. He’s never responded to my texts or voicemails. Not a single one. Nothing I’ve said has worked.