Believe me (RHEKKER)

Chapter 22

It took Ava a month to get back to normal. It became easier for her to control her emotional outbursts, returning to her usual way of communicating. Only Connor could see the other side of her, knowing how gentle she was. The nightmares had stopped, too, and she was finally able to get a full night's sleep, feeling fine even though it was ten weeks pregnant and the nausea was still present.

After visiting Dr. Grace, of course, along with Connor, Ava became even calmer, because the baby was developing in accordance with the prescribed period without the threat of miscarriage. Tears of happiness were in both their eyes. After a routine checkup, they had a home-cooked dinner. Much to his surprise, Ava's tastes in food remained unchanged, although Connor was still waiting for a trick, preparing to buy what his girl wanted in the middle of the night.

Connor and Ava crossed paths often at work, especially because he wanted to see her.

"You look so cute when you cross paths with each other. It's not like it used to be when you were verbally fighting for patients" Natalie winked as she joined her in the dining room, picking up a tray of salad and juice.

"Oh, Nat... Is it that noticeable?" blushing slightly, Ava mumbled as she took the same food as hers and sat down at the far table, away from the noise.

"Very, you can't live without each other anymore" Manning laughed, resting her elbows on the table, her fingers laced together, her chin resting on them.

"Yes, he's so caring" Ava smiled involuntarily, picking up the sliced tomatoes with a fork.

Natalie hadn't finished her meal when she received an urgent call about last night's patient. Excusing herself, she ran off to the emergency room, leaving her friend behind. With a sigh, Ava pulled out her phone and sent Connor a few messages, determined to see if he had any free time for a snack. At such times, when he did not have time to eat, she tried to grab him something from the dining room. Because of the demand for a hybrid operating room, Connor could not leave.

As Ava waited for an answer, she found herself thinking that it had been a long time since she had seen Cornelius in the hospital, given that he was a significant member of the board of directors. However, the fact that she didn't run into him was a great stroke of luck. What Ava didn't know was that the day after her confession, Connor had gone to see his father, giving him an ultimatum to never show up at the hospital, especially not in front of Bekker. That was enough for now, though he wanted to hurt Cornelius more, considering the pain he'd caused his girlfriend.

Looking from table to table, slowly munching on a vegetable salad, Ava suddenly froze when she saw Connor. The fork fell from her hand as she recognized the other woman as Robin Charles. They sat opposite each other, without food, talking purely. And from the outside, it looked like they were discussing something extremely interesting. Just as Ava was looking at Connor, he smiled, and then Robin's hand came down on his hand, which was lying on the table. And he didn't do anything, just kept saying something, not moving while her hand was on his.

Ava wasn't jealous. At least that's what she thought, she just love keeping track of Connor's girls. But now, seeing him with his ex, it seemed to her that her teasing about a one-night stand was just a protective shell that covered the true motive. Ava was always jealous, even if she didn't realize it, pouring it into her bites, but it was just like that.

And now Ava felt sick. She set the half-eaten salad aside, cupping her hand over her mouth, taking deep breaths. Such manipulation often saved her from vomiting too much at the wrong time. Most of all, she wanted to leave the dining room without Connor seeing her. She didn't have the energy or desire to approach him, because she couldn't hide her true feelings.

Having managed to sneak out, Ava remained aloof for the rest of her shift. Most importantly, she was upset that Connor didn't respond to her messages until half an hour later, apparently after a nice chat with Robin. All of Bekker's composure evaporated the less time she had before the end of work hours.

Deliberately leaving ten minutes early, Ava got into a taxi, even though she knew that such an act would already give herself away. But the feeling of resentment was above the reasonableness of action.

At home, she wrapped herself in a blanket, sat on the couch, turned on the TV, completely oblivious to the boring commercials that were playing. Almost dozing off, she heard the sound of keys.

"Ava, why didn't you wait for me?" he wondered as he walked into the room, fearing that she was sick.

"Tired" she said indifferently, deliberately looking at the TV, but not at the man.

"Did something happen? Something with the baby?" Connor asked as he stripped off his outer clothing and squatted down in front of Ava, his hands resting on her lap.

"Why so many questions when I already answered that I was just tired?" Ava repeated her words in a monotone, tensing when Connor touched her.

"Okay" Connor breathed, only when he was sure something was wrong without moving. "Avie, we were talking about being honest".

Ava chuckled loudly, her eyes filled with resentment as she stared at Connor: " Really, Connor? And you're telling me to be honest while dating your ex?"

"Oh, Ava" Connor breathed, sounding relieved.

"No, Connor! I felt like a fool to write you a fucking message that you deigned to respond to after fucking smiles and touching hands like that!" shouted Ava, stung by Connor's reaction, abruptly getting up from the couch, colliding with the man's tight embrace. "Let me go! Rhodes!"

"No, you'll listen to me, my jealous girl" he breathed in her ear, not letting her escape, holding her back. "Robin's mother has a heart problem and she came to me, that's the whole story - I was just offering her treatment options, not what you thought".

"Really? And in the rush of discussion, she grabbed your hand" Ava said angrily, pursing her lips, no longer resisting, knowing that Connor wouldn't let her go.

"I wasn't paying attention, Avie. All the more, I immediately said that we were dating, and that's it, do you hear?" Connor urged, making it as sincere as possible.

Ava was instantly uncomfortable. She'd just lashed out at Connor, so stupidly jealous that her cheeks were burning. She buried her face in his shoulder with a groan.

"Honey, I only have you" Connor added, sitting down on the couch, pulling Ava along with him, settling her in his kneels.  

"Mm, uh-huh" Ava muttered, leaning her back against his chest, subconsciously still hating Robin.

"I've never seen you jealous before" Connor chuckled as he kissed her shoulder, immediately receiving a brief grin in return. "What?" 

"You're wrong" she drawled, tilting her head back so that she managed to look at Connor upside down, pleased with the result of his startled expression.

"When?" he blinked, trying to remember any hint of jealousy.

"Maybe when you brought a lady with a heart condition after a marathon of sex?" laughed Ava, slapping Connor on the thigh, instantly finding herself pressed back against the couch, drowning in his piercing blue eyes.

"Jesus, Ava. You didn't stop biting me back then" smiling, Connor shook his head, then leaned in, meeting her lips, kissing her.

"It was worth it" she snorted jokingly, wrapping her arms around his neck, looking into his eyes with a wide smile.

"Definitely" Connor chuckled, gently touching her belly with his palm, looking insanely happy next to his amazing girl, who shone like a bright sun. 

Happy New Year!