Chapter 39

Ava’s Pov

Ethan came home from work the next day telling me that he’s increased the amount of public appearances we will be making. Apparently, he received dozens of invitations every day, but only accepted the ones that seemed the most prestigious.

With the chairman elections coming up, he wanted to make sure we were seen on the TV as much as possible. We needed as much publicity as we could get.

I was worried, at first, that it would interfere with the volunteering at the children’s home, but the appearances were mostly in the evening. That worked for me as I was able to balance the two different lives I was living.

For the past week, I spent every afternoon at the orphanage. Getting to know the children and Baron were the brightest parts of my day. When I’d go home, Ethan and I would get ready together to go to our interview or party and act like the perfect couple.

The next week, I was playing four-square with a group of the children out in the courtyard. Baron was watching me with an affectionate smile on his face. I looked up and waved at him, and one of the girls used that as an opportunity to get me out of the game.

“You sneaky little girl!” I smiled and shook my finger at her. She giggled and the girls restarted the game as I walked over to Baron who was overseeing the sandbox.

“You distracted me and cost me a win,” I playfully chastised him.

“Oh my apologies.” He pretended to feel remorse, chuckling as the girls continued playing across the yard.

Baron and I had actually developed to be quite good friends over the week. He knew I was married to Ethan, but I didn’t tell him it was a fake marriage. In return, Baron told me all about his childhood and his current life.

He hid nothing from me, offering every little detail I had a question about. As much as I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t help but keep comparing Baron to Ethan. They were nothing alike, not in looks or personality, and as awful as it was, I kept wishing that Ethan was like Baron.

I wished that he was forthcoming with his emotions, with the full truth at every moment. Even as friends, Ethan liked to hide from me. He hid the parts of himself that he thought were too dark or complicated for me to understand.

Baron never did that, though he didn’t have as difficult a life as Ethan.

“How’d your sister like that cake I brought yesterday?” I asked as we watched the children play.

“She loved it, coconut is her favorite.”

I beamed at that. Baron told me his sister needed a cake for her wedding, so I went and took a few days to whip one up for her, free of charge. Ethan chastised me, thinking I was secretly sneaking away during the day to go back to work.

I told him I wasn’t, but seeing such a big cake made him suspicious.

Ethan knew about the orphanage. He knew that I was volunteering and helping children, but for some reason I never told him about Baron. It seemed wrong - though, I don’t know why. It’s not like I was cheating on Ethan. Baron and I were only friends.

I just liked to have my own secrets from Ethan. He kept so many from me.

And, I thought to myself, if Ethan wouldn’t keep so many secrets then I wouldn’t have to assume so many things about him and his life outside of our marriage. I was an understanding person, I wished he would see that.

“Oh!” I looked at the time and saw that Ethan and I were supposed to be at an interview in less than an hour. “I’ve got to go back!”

Baron looked at his watch and sucked in a sharp breath, “Go on! I’ll tell Miss Hudson that you’re leaving.”

Miss Hudson was the old woman I met when I first found the childrens’ home. She was the matron in charge of everything at the home, including volunteers.

“Thank you!” I gave him a quick side hug, waved to the kids, and ran down the street back to the house. Luckily, Ethan and I didn’t live far.

I burst through the front door a panting heaving mess, Ethan shook his head and tapped on his watch.

“Hurry and freshen up!” He called after me as I bounded up the stairs, “We have to leave in ten minutes.”

I got changed quickly and combed through my knotted hair. Luckily with my new looks, it didn’t take me long at all to become presentable. I rushed down the stairs ten minutes later exactly.

Ethan gave me a playful glare, “Cutting it a little close aren’t we?”

I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed, though I saw his eyes linger in my mouth for a few seconds. The problem with being friends meant that the tension between us never really went away. We just tried to hold back our feelings and let them out little by little in front of the entire werewolf world.

It did make it so much easier to act the part of a love-drunk newlyweds.

We were scheduled to appear on a talk-show that night. I liked the talk-shows more than the parties or the traditional media interviews. They were quicker and less stressful. To me, anyway.

Ethan usually talked the most at the talk-shows, maybe that’s why they didn’t stress me out.

“Ava and Ethan Velasco!” The host grinned with his overly white teeth as we entered the stage. “Our favorite newlyweds!”

The audience applauded as we took our seats.

The talk-show went as it usually did. Ethan did most of the talking and I would chime in occasionally, but a majority of the questions were aimed at business.

The host looked at me, though, and addressed me for the first time that night.

“Ava, I hear you have been reported as volunteering at a children’s home, can you tell me a little more about that?” He grinned at me. Ethan looked at me, gripped onto my hand tightly with a proud smile on his face.

“Oh yes!” I grinned, happy to talk about something I accomplished. “I work with some of the children living at the home. I like to bring them cakes and play with them during the afternoons. It’s not a lot but their faces light up when they see the treats I bring.”

The audience aw’ed and Ethan was practically glowing at my response.

“So you like children?” The host asked with a mischievous grin.

“Yes, I love them!” I replied.

“So do you think you and Ethan will have children of your own anytime soon?”

I swallowed my spit in shock at the question. Coughing and sputtering I tried to catch my breath, but couldn’t. Ethan pat and rubbed my back to soothe my choking. The host only laughed, as did everyone else in the room.

“Seems like it may be too early for that conversation yet, folks!” The host grinned, and with that the talk-show was over.

I was embarrassed by my coughing fit, but Ethan thought it was hilarious. He said it made us look more human, more down-to-earth. I didn’t see how it helped at all, but Ethan assured me it did.

When we got home, I went to bed immediately. Sometimes Ethan and I would stay up to rewatch the interviews, but I was too tired that night.

I washed away my makeup and crawled into my bed, ready to drift off to sleep.

Just as my eyes started to close, my phone pinged. It was a text from Sammy. It was just a link, no context or message to accompany it.

I furrowed my brows and clicked on the link. It opened up a video that made my heart drop into my knees.

Dora popped up on my phone screen, her face fixed in a pitiable pout and the title of the video was displayed largely under her face:

‘The Truth About Ava Velasco: The Homewrecker’

A scream tore from my throat before I could stop myself.