Avenge Marriage Book 2 (Two Parts Combined Edition)

Chapter-6

"If I don't hear from you before the masquerade I will send my men to kidnap you," Vin warned and Amber rolled her eyes at him. 

"Your men?" She laughed. "What are you now, underworld Mafia?" 

"No, I am the heir of Vazquez family," He said, looking proud. "I, Vincent Vazquez...bla bla. Haven't prepared that yet," 

"Don't you think it's time you take over now?" Amber pointed out, remembering out of the blue that Ivan took over the Navarro legacy when was around twenty-three. He did a good job despite how young he was at that time, she marveled and just at the thought, her heart longed to see him. He was twenty-eight now. He must look older and she smiled to herself. 

"I will once we get the engagement done with," Vin answered. "Dad is making me go through our history these days. Honestly, my eyes start to hurt every time I see those gigantic books with their crumbling yellowish paper. Reminds me of those scrolls in Harry Potter. I don't how do he expect me to remember the name of my ancestors dating back to thirteenth century. I can barely remember my phone number sometimes," 

 Amber laughed at her brother's words and Vin smiled, glad to see the old Amber back before the whole marriage disaster happened. She has been his constant. Whether it be breakups or fights with Cecilia or just sudden anxiety at the idea that he has an empire to run all by himself, Vin has always find himself reaching out to Amber. There was a weird wisdom to her from a very young age and he admired that a lot. She knew precisely what to say to him to calm him down. She was kind and soft but hard and strong as iron inside. Despite the fact that she has no royal lineage, she was more of a princess than Vera. 

"You need to know all that so that you can pass it down to your next generation," Amber said and he rolled his eyes at her. 

"Yeah, that would be very soon," Enrique remarked drily. Amber was amused at his comment and dragged his eyes to Vin who blushed. 

"He is talking nonsense," He commented and Enrique snorted. 

"Really?" He demanded. "I have to move out for these two. I am staying with Ivan until you get married. Seriously bro, no offence but keep your hands off my sister until you are married, will you? Its honestly absolutely disgusting for me being her brother. Even Ivan was disgusted," 

"Shut up, will you?" Vin grimaced and Amber burst out into a hysterical laughter that amused both Vin and Enrique. The glanced at each other and exchanged smiles. After seeing her so distraught and broken, this was a welcome change. 

"You both are disgusting," She mumbled, wiping tears from her eyes. Vin opened his mouth to comment but he was distracted by a call from Cecilia. Excusing himself, he walked away leaving the other two alone. 

"I can't wait until you come back," Enrique said and Amber smiled at him. 

"Er...if you don't mind, can I ask you something?" She said and Enrique made a face at her. 

"Since when did you need permission. Fire away," He replied and Amber bit her lip. Was she even ready to hear this? 

"Ivan...how is he really doing?" She asked and Enrique's smile disappeared instantly. He looked troubled. 

"Not good. And that's putting it mildly," He answered. "The damage that Helena caused, it almost destroyed the very foundation of Navarro family. He has to work extremely hard to get everything back on track. And your absence also cause a big emotional blow for him. You know him, he doesn't expresses much but when a person is breaking down...you can see it reflected in their eyes. In their faces. You will barely recognize him, Amber. That's why you need to  come back now. He is holding onto just a small thread of hope, that one day you will come back. Guilt has transformed him as a person and until you forgive him, he will never forgive himself," 

A lump formed in Amber's throat and she looked away. It was weird that she can almost feel the pain in Enrique's words within herself. Her intention of leaving him was in no way to make him go through that kind of pain. She needed some time apart from him. She cannot undermine the fact that at some point he did end up completely destroying her. There was no way they could have worked because the bitterness was lingering in her heart. 

For five months she stayed right beside him. They crossed paths on the stairs or the hallway but he couldn't see the pain she was going through. Yes, she made him believe that she hated him but still, it was an aspect that left a sinking feeling in her heart. She wanted him to understand himself better, understand his feelings better but she didn't want him to suffer. Seeing him in pain or even hearing of it hurts her immensely. That's how much she loved him. And at the same breathe she admired Enrique for selflessly telling her the truth when he could have very well lied or hid the facts from her. 

"Don't blame yourself," Enrique distracted her. "You did the right thing. He is willingly inflicting all that pain on himself because he feels he deserves nothing but that after everything he made you go through. This is something you two need to talk out between yourself which is why come back as fast as you can, Amber," 

"I will be back before the masquerade," She answered and Enrique nodded. She could feel her heartbeat rising at the thought of seeing Ivan again at the same place where everything started two years ago. She still remember how she he held her that night and how his heart did recognize her even then. Two years later, she will meet him in the same manner again. 

Will he recognize her this time around? 

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Amber stared at her music sheet in the dressing room, trying not to panic. She has performed so many times in front of a massive crowd by now but the jitters never go away. She has to catch the early morning flight tomorrow back home and the thought makes her stomach churn. She pushed that thought out of her head and decided to focus on the music instead. However, she was distracted by an abrupt knock on the door and she looked up to see an unfamiliar face standing in front of her. Amber blinked and stood up as the lady smiled at her. She was tall and beautiful, a soft kind face with dark eyes and dark hairs. She wore an expensive cashmere suit, her beautiful glossy hairs were tied into an intricate French roll. She seemed familiar.

"Hi, Amber," She smiled and Amber was surprised that she knew her. "I am Elise Cartney. Nice to meet you," 

Amber's eyes widened in surprise. Elise Cartney was a big name in the music industry. She was the wife of David Cartney who was the owner of one of the most popular music labels in the world. Elise was known to be a prolific musician herself but she quit years ago and now she was heavily into doing musical charities all across the world. 

"Oh my...it's such a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cartney," Amber mumbled as she took her extended hand. She was probably in her early fifties and for some reason she felt very familiar to Amber. Like she has seen her before somewhere not just on internet. Though she was pretty sure it was her first time meeting her in person. 

"Please, call me Elise," She smiled, showing perfect white teeth. "I have wanted to meet you for so long. You are everything I imagined you to be," Amber frowned at her, undoubtedly surprise. 

"Its hard to believe that you know me," She murmured and Elise smiled, patting her shoulder. 

"Mrs. Brown told me about you and I have heard you play on several occasions. You are a splendid musician my child," She said softly and there was some deep emotions in her eyes for some reason. "You are admirable, Amber," 

"Wow...thank you so much," Amber murmured. "It's an honor, hearing these amazing words coming from you. It means a lot," 

"You are doing an amazing job, sweetheart," She said softly and Amber was thrown by the warmth in her voice. Was this really the first time they were meeting?

"Er...thank you so much," She said softly and Elise smiled. 

"I will see you again. Take care," She said and giving Amber a hug walked out, leaving her baffled and confused. She blinked at the door. What just happened? 

"Ready for your performance?" Mrs. Brown murmured as they waited at the backstage for her turn. "Home sweet home tomorrow,"

"And I am not ready for either," She answered, making  a face. "By the way, thank you so much for mentioning me to Elise Cartney. She was so humble, I can't believe my eyes when she stood in front of me," Mrs. Brown stared at her and frowned. 

"What?" She asked, looking blank. "Elise Cartney?" 

"You don't know who she is?" Amber asked and she rolled her eyes in response. 

"Of course, I know who she is," She said. "But I haven't seen her since the last event. And I absolutely didn't mention anything about you. It was a very formal meeting. That's all," Amber blinked at her and shook her head. 

"I think you have forgotten," She said. "She told me that you told her about me. She personally came to see me in my dressing room, this evening," 

"No, Amber. I did not mention you," Mrs. Brown pressed. "I would have told you if I did. And I didn't even know she was present here today," Amber stared at Mrs. Brown blankly as she processed the conversation in her head. 

"You are everything I imagined you to be,"

She was exceedingly puzzled. She was good but she was not famous enough that some random stranger would know her. Yes, she belonged to the same industry but why her of all the people? It doesn't make sense. And why would she lie about the Mrs. Brown thing? 

How did she know her?

"Forget about it," Mrs. Brown distracted her. "Its your turn now," Amber nodded her head and walked over to the stage, taking a deep breathe. She took her seat and pushed every thought out of her head as she slowly started to let the music flow from her fingers. 

The flight back home was jittery. She was not afraid of flying but this time, her stomach was in knots. She dreaded facing everyone especially Ivan. She was scared of what she might get to see based on what Enrique said. And neither could she forget Enrique's words. Her eyes drifted to the bracelet on her wrist. She was wearing both of their tokens and just like she can't choose which one was more beautiful, how could she choose between them? She don't want to. 

She loved them both. Maybe not equally. It was no possible to love both of them equally because Ivan was a part of her soul. Those feelings for him were not built in a day. Its been years. And the pull she felt towards him, it was unexplainable. Like she has known him for a hundred past lives if something like that existed. On the other hand, Enrique was like a comfort zone. Like a dress that fits you like a glove. Something like that. He has been standing like a strong unshakeable wall behind her without ever asking for anything. And now all he wanted was to give him a chance. He did deserve that much, didn't he? She closed her eyes, trifling with the little viola around her neck. She does that every time she gets anxious. It has become a habit now. 

She could feel it inside herself as she neared the Vazquez mansion that things will not be easier this time. Her gut was telling her that a storm was coming. But with Helena and Dario both in prison, what else could go wrong this time? Maybe it was her PTSD kicking in, although she felt a bit exaggerated about that. The cab halted in front of the Vazquez mansion and Amber smiled as she stared around. 

Everything was just the same. Nothing has changed. Maybe, a year was not that big a deal after all? As she walked in through the gates, everyone who was working around stopped, staring wide-eyed at her. Amber bowed at them, starting to relax a little. She pulled the old-fashioned bell at the front door and could hear it echoing inside. It sounded more like a bloody gong then a doorbell and she chuckled at the thought. The doors opened and Vienna Vazquez stood in front of her. Her eyes widened at the sight of her and just as abruptly they turned red with emotions as she silently stared at her. Amber smiled and stowing her luggage she wrapped her arms around Vienna. 

"It's good to be home, Mamá," She murmured as Vienna started sobbing silently. Amber smiled, finally feeling a bit glad to be back. But little did she know...

the storm was yet to knock on the door...

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A/N: Hello my lovely readers! Here's the next update. A little sneak into Enrique's dysfunctional family and of course Amber comes back. I hope you like both the updates and that you are enjoying this so far. 

Even though its two parts combined in one, I am not going to drag this guys. So I am hoping to finish it by the end of next month. I guess that's more than enough. And of course, I will keep it free until completed so don't worry about that. All I need is your support on my work. I haven't checked the ranking yet but I can see you guys voting whole-heartedly for both the books and my other stories as well. Thank you so much for that guys! Do keep up the voting  readers so that we can reach at least top 200 and get some promotion if nothing else. We were at 244 and 434 last night!  Avenge Marriage had gone down 6 places and book 2 has raised 10. 

Also for those of you, who cannot see the red gift box...you need to update your app and then check it. You could see it after that :)

And of course, get ready for tomorrow's update readers! Finally, the wait will come to an end :) Let's see how Ivan reacts! Thank you so much for all your support!