Secrets And Sins Part 3: Happy ever after

Chapter 18

~Ava~

Ava was nervous.

She sat in the back seat of the rental watching the landscape of London changing out of the windows. As they moved away from the bustling inner city the tightly packed flats and apartments slowly changed into more sprawling suburban houses, each getting bigger and more luxurious the closer they got to their destination.

The obvious increase in affluence did nothing to help settle Ava's nerves. The most money she had ever been in possession of was her week's paycheck from La Vasseur, and even then, by the time she had paid her share of the bills, there was little in the way of extra. Sometimes she would have just enough pocket money to buy an item of clothing or shout them both dinner one night. Really, the only thing of real value Ava had ever brought was the gold droplet necklace she had forged Bea's engagement ring from.

She stole a glance at her fiancé, Bea was also staring out the window lost in thought. Ava wondered what the sister warrior was thinking. As nervous as she was, Ava knew it was nothing compared to the stress Bea must be feeling.

They still hadn't really talked about whether they would tell Bea's parents about their engagement. Bea was understandably terrified when Ava had brought it up and though the Halo bearer was trying hard to ignore them, she couldn't help the little toxic thoughts telling her she wasn't good enough for the daughter of one of the wealthiest English families.

Seriously, what did she have to offer?

"Hey..."

A familiar hand came to rest on her anxiously bouncing knee, stilling it instantly. Ava turned to see Bea looking back at her, a small frown tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Everything, Ava. Absolutely everything... that's what you have to offer." Her fiancé said softly.

Ava smiled, just like that Bea banished the uneasy dread that had settled heavily in Ava's gut. She took the hand on her knee with both of her own and brought it up to her lips.

"Thank you." The Halo bearer whispered, brushing kisses across the back of the scarred, calloused knuckles she knew so well, "And I love you."

Bea ran her thumb over Ava's bottom lip, offering her a gentle smile, before turning her hand to interlace their fingers, "I love you too."

Their entwined hands dropped down onto the seat between them and Ava turned to look back out the window only to see that now it was nighttime, the lit streetlamps whizzing past the window in a soft golden blur.

She frowned in confusion, turning back to Bea, "What's..."

But the sister warrior was no longer there. Instead, a black and white soft toy dog sat beside her.

"No..."

Ava's breathing grew ragged and her heart climbed up the back of her throat. Her gaze was stuck on the soft toy's little black ears, worn from a child's hands.

She couldn't be here. This couldn't be real.

An eerily familiar song started to play through the car's cheap speakers.

"Ava?"

"I'm sorry Ava..." She looked up to meet the pale blue eyes of her mother in the rearview mirror, "I'm not strong enough. I love you."

"No, no, no, no... NO!"

The car jerked suddenly to the left; the drone of a horn drowned out Ava's shout.