A Lifetime With You

Chapter 58

“What…what are you doing?”

Damien was as still as a statue.

He merely stared into her eyes. The seconds ticked by… for about half a minute. Her lashes cast a shadow on her cheeks. The lamp above her head was rather glaring, and she was feeling a little light- headed.

She nearly lost her rationale. Finally, Damien stood up. He turned around and started taking off his jacket.

Ava subconsciously retreated deeper into the comforter.

Damien threw his jacket aside and told Ava, “I received news today that Beth may have fled abroad.”

Hearing about Beth made her heart ached once again.

Her half sister from another mother had repeatedly caused her agony. Ava had been thrown into a dark abyss of despair numerous times because of her, and she had even lost her unborn child because of Beth.

Even the police had been unable to pin her down. Ava never had high hopes that Beth would ever be caught. But Damien never gave up the chase. “I’ll be going abroad in two days. If we’re lucky, I’ll be able to catch her,” he told her. “Do you intend to capture her on your own?” Ava was in disbelief. He nodded. This made Ava feel bad, so she muttered softly, “Damien, you don’t have to do this for me, you know…” Damien cracked his knuckles and replied in an icy tone, “That’s my unborn child that Beth murdered too, not just yours.” “Is that why you’ve been extra nice to me lately? Is it pity or mercy that’s

driving your actions?” Damien did not reply. He only looked at her solemnly for a moment and patted her shoulders as if to comfort her.

“Just rest,” he said.

……

True to his word, Damien left the country with a few of his staff two days later. The world was infinitely vast and full of people. Ava did not know what were the chances of finding Beth, but if there was even a slim possibility of bringing her to justice, she thought it would be a form of condolence for her dead child. She took a day off and locked herself in her room. She did not feel like going anywhere. The loss of the child was so sudden that she never got to find out if it was a boy or a girl. Even if she wanted to create an altar to commemorate her child, she did not know where to begin. “I’m sorry, I failed to protect you…”

She whispered and her body trembled as she sobbed. Her phone picked this untimely moment to ring. The caller was her boss so Ava answered hurriedly. On the other end of the line, Mr. Hemsworth smacked the table angrily, “Ava, what’s the matter with

you?”

“What’s wrong, Sir?” “How dare you ask me? Are you trying to bankrupt our company? Just what have I done to deserve this?”

Ava collected herself and hurried to the office. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

At the office, the situation was a literal sh*tstorm. Over the phone, Ava had found out that the raw footage of Kelly’s promotional trailer had been leaked to the public, even though the final cut had not been released yet. Worse still, initial investigations by the company had revealed that Ava was the sole handler of the raw footage, which meant to say that she was the only suspect! When Ava arrived at the

office, Mr. Hemsworth was on the verge of smacking her head with his cellphone, if not for the fact that she was still the missus in the Radbury family. “Ava Nagel! Looks like you’ve outgrown our tiny company! “Please calm down Mr. Hemsworth, we haven’t sorted out the facts yet, so let’s refrain from pointing fingers,” Ava tried to advocate for herself.

However, the internet was littered with clips of Kelly’s new trailer video by now. Usually, the timing of video launches was discussed and coordinated with the marketing department. Any unplanned leaks could lead to massive losses for both parties.

“You’re the only person in this company who deals with this stuff. The final cut isn’t even released yet, and your computer is the only place we store these director’s cuts and poster shots. So tell me, who else can I blame but you?” Mr. Hemsworth roared at Ava.

“Actually, the photographer and Kelly’s agency also have a copy of these items, so they’re just as culpable as I am. How could you pile all the blame on me?” Ava retorted.

The photographer was incensed upon hearing this, he responded sharply, “Miss Nagel, what exactly are you insinuating here? Do you think I would leak my own work, and put my own professional reputation at stake?” The photographer had a point. He had no reason to do such a thing, and neither did Kelly’s agency. Ava had just stacked the odds against herself.

She could only steel herself and blurt out, “Mr. Hemsworth, I don’t care whether you believe me or not, but I’m telling you now that it wasn’t me who leaked the footage.” “If it wasn’t you, then why did you make a copy of the data before leaving the office yesterday?” a colleague asked. “It has always been my habit to make backups.” “Bah! The way I see it, you’re just jealous of my success. You leaked the footage to the press in an act of petty vengeance against me!”Kelly bellowed as she stormed into their office. Kelly stood tall in her high heels, and she looked down with contempt at Ava, “You’ve been

planning my downfall for a long time now, haven’t you? If that’s the case, I expected more from you than

these cheap tricks.” “I never!” “Hah, you are still trying to weasel your way out of this! What makes you think you deserve to be here in the first place?”

Kelly threw a tantrum in their office, and it was evident that she was extremely upset.

And yet, Ava had no defense against her accusations. Though Kelly did not produce any concrete evidence to condemn Ava, her accusations were almost certain to be accepted as truth with enough retellings in the rumor mill. Ava was trapped in a web of lies, and she was unable to acquit herself. Ava bumped into Selden as she was leaving the office in a hurry with a bundle of paraphernalia in her arms

“You’re…” “I’m fired, is what I am. Thanks to Miss Hensley.” She smiled helplessly. Selden rushed over as soon as he heard the news, but alas he was too late. It was because Kelly had finished her ranting and she left already.

“If you’re here to see Miss Hensley, she just left not too long ago, I think you can still catch up to her if you make a move now.”

“I didn’t come for her, but I came for you.”

Ava was stunned.

Selden held the door open and invited her in by saying, “I think it would be more appropriate for us to continue our conversation somewhere more private.” Ava hesitated for a moment, but she finally relented and hopped into the car. “What’s going on between you and Miss Hensley?” Ava asked as soon as she got in the car. “Oh, we just had a breakup, that’s all.” Selden chuckled. Ava had known Selden for many years now. As far as she could remember, Selden had always been a Casanova. On the surface, he appeared flirtatious and was quick to show affection to any females nearby. In reality,

he was a cold-hearted man who could never truly be attached to a woman. It was almost as if he could walk through a field of weeds without getting burrs on his pants.