My Step Father's Son

Chapter 8 - Fiancee

Ava Summer

I try to learn everything I can at Edward's company. I realize that my knowledge about running a company is zero. Nonetheless, Rhys and Edward help me and give their support. They are patiently teaching me and showing me everything I need to know. I don't feel pressured because they didn't put pressure on me.

In fact, I feel more comfortable with Rhys around me. We're getting closer than we've ever been before.

Probably because of our closeness, which makes me nervous and even imagine things sometimes. I feel like he's going to do something more than he's supposed to.

It's like the other night when he came home late at night. I can tell he was drunk because he smelled like alcohol. That night, We were standing so close to each other in front of the fridge that I could even feel his warm, heavy breath on my face. At that moment, I felt so nervous to think that he's going to kiss me, causing me to quiver. I tried to suppress it, hoping that he didn't notice.

It turns out it was just my imagination. He was just grabbing a can of beer from behind me.

Of course, Rhys would never think of me sexually, because for him, I'll always be his little sister. How silly I am!

Some other times I felt some kind of electricity sting in my skin when we accidentally touched each other, just like what happened in the swimming pool last week. At that moment, he was trying to stop me from swimming by holding my waist. And shockingly, it stings. I was taken aback because it had never happened before.

I thought it was because I was too tense or too sensitive. It turns out, it wasn't the only time it happened. It happens again whenever we're brushing each other coincidentally.

Finally, today is our last day in the company. Edward invites both of us to have a family dinner at a restaurant. He wants to thank Rhys and me for helping him with the companies.

The dinner takes place in a prominent fine-dining restaurant. So I prepare myself.

I'm wearing my red one-shoulder dress just above my knee. The dress is sophisticated, with a slit in the middle thigh. I style my hair to the side and add a nice silver hairpin as an accessory. It's simple, but I think it looks elegant.

Edward said I could bring Joe with me. So I invited him. Wearing his black suit, he looks handsome tonight.

"You and Joe can go first, Ava. Your mom and I will catch up," Edward says.

"Where's Rhys?" I haven't seen him around. I thought we were all going to go together.

"He'll meet us at the restaurant. He has to pick up his fiancé first." Edward answers.

Fiance? Rhys has a fiancé? I was rather shocked, since I had never heard of it. He never told me that he had a fiancé. He never brought her home, either.

"Let's go, Ava." Joe's remarks divert me from my thoughts. I follow him to get to his car, and we drive in.

"You don't know he has a fiancé?" Joe suddenly asks.

I shake my head. "He never told me," I answer.

"Are you disappointed?" He asks again, taking a glance at me.

"Of course not. Why would I?" I deny it right away.

"I don't know," he says as he stares at me as if asking me back about how I actually feel.

I feel like he tried to see through me. Is he jealous? What is he jealous about? Rhys is my brother.

"I was just surprised because he never said anything about being engaged. That's all. Are you jealous?"

"I am," he answered straightforwardly.

"He is my brother, Joe. You shouldn't feel jealous about him."

"He is your stepbrother," he says, diverting his attention back to the road ahead.

"Fine. He is my stepbrother." I comply and then add, "And that's it, nothing more." I convinced him.

He's not saying anything, and we drive in silence.

We finally arrive at the restaurant and meet my parents there.

"Can you call Rhys and ask him where he is?" Edward asks me. We have already waited for him at our table for 15 minutes, but he hasn't arrived yet.

"Sure." I reach for my phone and dial his number.

"Yes Ava?" His voice rang not long after.

"Hey, where are you? We're all already in the restaurant."

"We are close by. Be there in a couple of minutes. You guys can order first." He replies. I can hear his car blinker's sound. He's probably near by, just at the turn of the road by the restaurant.

"He'll be here soon. He's close. He said, We can order first if we want." I explain what Rhys told me over the phone.

"Let's wait till he comes," Edward decides, and we all agree.

Not long after Rhys arrives, besides him stands a beautiful woman with long red hair. She wears a purple minidress that exposes her fair skin. Somehow, she looks familiar. Where have I seen her?

"Good evening, everyone. I'm sorry we are late." Rhys says, turning his eyes to each of us, and the last he stops at me.

And then Rhys introduces his fiancé. "This is Alicia, my fiance. Alicia, meet my family."

"Mr. Rivers, Mrs. Rivers, it's nice to meet you." Alicia greets Edward and Mom and shakes their hands. And then she turns to me.

"You must be Ava, Rhys stepsister, right? Rhys told me a lot about you." She says this as she offers me her hand.

"Yes, I'm Ava. Nice to meet you, Alicia," I reply, shaking her hand in return before I introduce Joe to her.

After the brief introduction, we all sit down and order our food.

"Rhys, she is so beautiful. Why didn't you introduce her earlier?" Mom asks.

"She's been working in Paris these past couple of weeks and just arrived this morning, Sarah," Rhys explains.

"Oh? What do you do?" Mom asks Alicia curiously.

We look at her, waiting for her answer. We're all curious.

"I'm a model," Alicia answers with a very sweet smile on her face.

"A model? That's why you look familiar. Maybe I saw your picture somewhere." Mom exclaims. It turns out I'm not the only one who's feeling familiar with her face.

"Perhaps. I've been working with Lemaire, Louis." Alicia mentions some famous women's brands she's been working with.

She turns to look at Rhys and touches his arm.

Rhys, who has been drinking his wine, turns his head and gives her a smile.

No wonder Rhys fell for her. She is not only beautiful but also a well-known model too.

We talk while enjoying our dinner. Alicia talks a lot about her job experience. Whom she's been working with and where she's been going for her jobs.

It looks like she's very fond of being the center of attention. Not to mention her gesture.

She'd been touching Rhys many times, as if she's showing us how close and intimate they are.

We all know they're engaged, but is it necessary to do that at family dinner? It's so annoying.

On the contrary, I don't really talk much tonight. I feel a little bit tired after my activity today.

"Are you okay?" Joe asks in a low voice near my ear as he moves closer and holds my back. He rubs it gently with his thumb.

I nod. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired." I also answer in a low voice.

"Do you wanna go now? I'm sure Edward won't mind. You can rest early. Or we can go to my place if you want. What do you say?" He asks, whispering in my ear.

I think for awhile, and I decide to go with his idea. We have already finished our desert anyway. "Okay. Let me go to the restroom first."

He nods. "Need me to accompany you?"

"It's fine. I can do it myself." I give him a reassuring look before I excuse myself and go to the restroom.

In the restroom, I take a pee, wash my hands, and fix my appearance.

While looking in the mirror, a glint of the scene plays in my head. Rhys and Alicia and their intimate gestures.

I feel a little bit upset when I think of them together. When I realize what I am doing, I put it aside and prepare to leave. It's when Alicia suddenly came.

"Oh, hello, Ava," she says.

I smile and reply, "Hi, Alicia."

She gives me a little smile. Somehow, I feel like it's a mocking smile. Am I imagining things?

Her next words take me aback.

"I'm glad your week with him is over. I can't stand him talking about you all the time." Alicia says as she stares at me.

What? What did she say?

If I don't catch a glint of hatred in her eyes, I might think I heard it wrong.

"Maybe because we just met again. I hope he talks well about me." I retort, reaching for my purse, intending to leave. I don't want to make a fuss out of it. She's Rhys's fiancé, after all. Besides, I don't know her well.

"It's boring. Who are you to him anyway? You are not even his biological sister." She snorts, as if she were saying something disgusting.

I stop in my tracks after hearing her words.

Boring?

She seemed like a nice person earlier at the table, with her sweet words and sweet smile of hers. But all I can hear now are harsh words and mocking smiles.

I turn around to face her. "It's because I'm precious to him. If you have any objections, you better talk to him."

After saying that, I turn around and leave.

"You..."

I don't see her expression at the moment, but I can hear her stomping her feet in anger. Somehow, it's damn good to piss her off.

I walk back to our table and give a sign to Joe with my eyes. I want to go home as soon as possible.

I turn to Edward and Mom. "I'm a little bit tired today. Is it okay if we go back first? I want to take some rest."

"Are you okay, honey?" Mom asks in concern.

"I'm fine, mom; I just need some rest. That's all," I answer. I don't want her to worry.

"Are you sure you are okay? Let me drive you home," Rhys also asks. He looks worried as well.

Joe clears his throat right away. "She'll be okay. I'll drive her home."

The two of them look at each other.

"You can go back, Ava; take some rest." Edward suddenly says, "Be careful on your way back, Joe," he adds as he turns to Joe.

Edward's words dissolve the argument between them.

Joe smiles wide. "Yes, Mr. Rivers. Don't worry about Ava. I'll take her home safely."

After saying goodbye, Joe drive his car with me.

"Where do you want to go? My place or yours?" Joe asks when we are about to leave the restaurant parking area.

"I'm really tired, Joe. Can you take me home?"

"Sure, baby," he answers as he drives to my family house.

Soon we arrive home, and he stops his car in front of our doorstep.

"Get some rest, Babe. I'll see you when I get back, okay?" Joe says this as he turns to look at me. He's going out of town for business tomorrow. So I won't see him for a couple of days.

"Okay. How long will you be out of town?""

"Two days at least. That's why I'm glad we had dinner tonight. I'm going to miss you." Joe moves forward and holds my face.

I smile at him and reply, "Okay, take care, Joe; I'll see you when you get back."

After giving a goodbye kiss, I step down and go inside the house. His car only leaves after I reach the door and wave at him.

I'm about to go upstairs to my room when Emily calls me. I picked it up right away.

"Hey Em!" I wonder what's she's up to. Is she going to tell me about her date with Will today?

"Ava..." Emily's voice is hoarse, and she is sobbing.

"Em, what's wrong?" I stop walking and worry about her. What happened to her? Why is she crying?

"Will, that scumbag, he cheated on me!" She shouts and cries.

"Wait what? Are you sure? How do you know?" I ask in disbelief. I thought they're just fine. But Will cheated on her?

"He'd been seeing someone else, Ava."

"Have you talked to him?" I ask, hoping she's wrong and this is just a misunderstanding between them. I know how much Emily loves Will.

"I saw it by myself. I caught him with that b***h!" Emily says it with anger and hurt all at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Em. Do you want me to come over?" I know she must be devastated. She needs me.

I took a glance at my wristwatch. It was only 9 p.m.

"Can you? It's late, but..."

"I'll be right there, Em. Wait for me."

I ask George to drive me, and I text Mom to let her know that I'm with Emily.

In the next fifteen minutes, I'll already be in Emily's room. She cries, and her eyes are swollen.

I feel sorry for her. I never expected that Will would cheat on her. I thought he liked her so much.

I stay with her, giving comfort and listening to everything she wants to say.

"You know what? Let's forget about him and have some fun!" I say this after trying to comfort her, but she's still sad and heartbroken.

"Let's go to the pub and have our night together!" I'm a little tired, but I don't like to see my best friend cry like that.

"I don't know Ava," she says, wiping her tears and snot away.

"Come on, Em! It's going to be more fun than crying for him. He doesn't deserve your tears!" I reach for her face and wipe her tears.

She looks hesitant, not sure if she wants to go.

I walk to her closet and pick out one of her black mini dresses after roaming for awhile.

The dress is simple, but it hugs her body tightly. She'll look sexy in it.

"Let's make all the boys look at us tonight!" I say this as I pull her up from the bed.

I helped Emily get changed and put some makeup on her. In the next 15 minutes, we are already on our way to the pub in Emily's car, with me driving.

The pub was close by, and in another few minutes, we're already there.

We walk hand in hand, where every man's eyes are looking at us.

We dance and drink to the fill all night. Honestly, it's not only Alicia who needs to drink to forget about her heartbreak, but I also need to drink.

I don't know why the thought of Rhys together with Alicia disturbs me. I don't like it. I even hated it when I saw how intimate they were. And I don't know why I keep seeing them in my head either.

I can't count how many glasses of vodka and Long Island tea we have drunk, but we're having fun.

Some guys came, and they wanted to join us. We rejected them. We rejected all of them because we just wanted to have fun together. No guy tonight. Just the two of us.