My Ex-Husband Begged Me to Take Him Back - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Who is this man?

Gianna, who had been watching the whole incident from afar and clicking pictures, tensed as the man fled. “Shit,” she cursed under her breath. There was more in store for Ava.

A little ahead, a van had been waiting for her to kidnap her. She glared at the luxurious car; its sudden arrival dashed her plan.

“Who has arrived to rescue her?” she muttered with annoyance, her eyes narrowing as she zoomed in on the vehicle with her camera. She was eager to find out who was inside it. But she couldn’t see anything through the tinted windows.

The car door opened, and Nicholas stepped out, calm and confident.

Gianna’s eyes narrowed further as she tried to identify the man. Because he was facing his back to her, she couldn’t recognize him. Besides, it was getting dark, and they were standing a few feet away from the lamppost.

“Who is this man?” she wondered curiously.

Meanwhile, Nicholas picked up Ava’s bag from the ground and walked toward her. “Are you alright?” he asked, his gaze scanning her for any sign of harm.

Ava, still catching her breath from the ordeal, offered him a grateful smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.”

Nicholas studied her for a moment longer, ensuring she was truly unharmed. “Why are you out here alone?” he asked, handing her the bag.

“I was waiting for a taxi, but… that was unexpected.”

“You shouldn’t be wandering alone here. Get into my car,” Nicholas urged. “It’s not safe here.”

“Huh!” Ava laughed awkwardly, a bit hesitant. “Oh, I’ll be fine. I can catch a taxi.”

Nicholas, however, wasn’t having it. He opened the car door with a calm insistence. “Why take a taxi when I’m right here? Come on, hop in.”

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Ava relented, “Okay.” She got into the car.

Gianna’s eyebrows furrowed as she mumbled, “Who is that man with Ava? Ethan?” She stood there, dazed, watching the car run away.

Her phone buzzed, jolting her back to the present. “Hello?” she answered the call, her tone cold.

“We are aborting the plan,” a gruff voice replied. “We are leaving.”

Gianna’s temper flared at the thought of failure. “Alright. I’ll call you later.”

The man’s voice turned threatening. “Send the money by the end of the day.”

“What money?” Gianna grumbled. “You’re aborting the plan. Why should I pay for something that didn’t happen?”

The man wasn’t having it. “You promised us five million, remember? We’ve only got half. Send the rest, or I’ll expose you.”

Gianna’s jaw clenched, fury building inside her. She could feel her grip on the situation slipping. Right now, she had no choice but to agree to his demands. “Fine,” she hissed through gritted teeth. “I’ll send the money, but you’ll do what I say.”

“Money first,” he barked back, before abruptly hanging up.

Gianna stared at her phone, her chest rising and falling with barely contained rage. “Bastards! You think you can threaten me?” she muttered darkly. “Just wait. You will be punished soon.”

Her lips curled into a sneer as she scrolled through the photos she had taken. “This will be enough for now. Ava, you might have thought the rumors would die down after the press conference. You might be happy that Dylan had stood by your side, clearing your name. But soon, he himself will throw you into jail.”

It was all her plan to trap Ava with another false accusation.

Inside the car…

Ava glanced at Nicholas, his easy-going smile catching her off guard. “What a coincidence! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Neither did I,” he said, the smile never leaving his face. “Just happened to be passing by. Pleasant coincidence, don’t you think?”

Ava found herself smiling back, her earlier tension slowly ebbing away. There was something about his carefree attitude that gave her a strange sense of courage. He seemed to savor every moment of his life, never letting his illness bring him down. His resilience was contagious.

“Shall we stop somewhere for coffee?” Nicholas asked, his voice casual, though his eyes betrayed a hint of anxiety as he waited for her reply.

Ava didn’t reply instantly, only adding to his restlessness. His fingers tapped on the steering wheel as he waited.

“Alright. Coffee sounds good,” Ava relented.

Nicholas’s face lit up instantly, his smile stretching wider.

Gianna, on the other hand, walked into the villa with a renewed sense of determination. She spotted Dylan standing at the French window, facing the backyard garden, with his phone pressed against his ear.

She tilted her head slightly as she tried to hear what he was saying, her legs moving toward him carefully. As she neared him, she overheard a snippet of his conversation. “Do it as I say. I want result.”

“Dylan!” she called out softly, wondering who he was speaking with.

He spun around, irritation flickering in his eyes as he saw her. “I’ll call you later.” He ended the call, shoving the phone back into his pocket. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his tone clipped.

“I…” Gianna was at a loss for words under his cold stare. She quickly regained her composure. “I came to see Ava,” she lied smoothly, her expression turning solemn, “but I saw her on the road. She was in trouble.”

Dylan’s heart dropped as worry flashed across his face. “What trouble? What happened to her?”

“A thief tried to snatch her bag,” Gianna narrated, pretending to be worried. “I rushed to help her, but I was shocked when I recognized the man. Take a look.”

Gianna pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen. She held it up for him to see, showing a grainy image of a man trying to snatch Ava’s bag. “This is one of the men who kidnapped me and…”

She trailed off and didn’t finish the sentence.

Dylan snatched the phone from her and looked at the photo, his eyes ablaze. “Where is Ava?” he growled.

“Someone helped her and scared off the thief. I couldn’t get a good look, but… it might have been Ethan. I’m not sure.”

The mention of Ethan’s name was like gasoline on a flame. The muscles of his jaw tightened. ‘Ethan! I’ll make you pay,’ he vowed to himself. But right now, he needed to find this thief and his gang.

Dylan stormed out, his strides purposeful, tension radiating from his body.

“Dylan,” Gianna called after him with concern, though her heart was filled with something far darker. “Where are you going?”

“To find those thugs,” Dylan grumbled, never breaking his stride. He walked out the door, not even glancing back at her.

Gianna stopped at the doorway, watching him hop into his car and driving away. A sly, satisfied smile crept across her lips. Her plan to kidnap Ava may have failed, but things were still falling into place. All she had to do was wait for Dylan to capture that thief.

“Well, Ava, you will soon face Dylan’s wrath,” she said confidently.