AVALYNN'S POV

"Are you sure we're suppose to be here?" I ask Kelly once more.

"That's what the schedule says. Come on. We don't want them to wait for us."

Why on earth does my schedule today include my presence in a gentleman's club? This club’s purpose varies, but the main reason for anyone to be here is for an interview from the owner of this club. She just happens to be one of Maestropolitan’s most famous reality tv people. I sigh. Since it's the afternoon, there are no dirty geezers wondering around for now. I thank God for that.

"Nicole?" I call out to my wife when I see her sitting on a couch waiting.

"Wait, Ava? What are you doing here?" She asks me back.

"I should ask you the same. I have work here."

She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out of it.

"What are you doing here of all places?" I ask.

"Mom asked me to come here today. She said she wanted to discuss something with me."

Suddenly my mom appears from the back door and walks towards us.

"Mom, what's going on right now?" I ask.

She just smiles before she forces us both to follow her to a place. I’m shocked when a series of lights begin to blind me, and I feel someone's hands on both my shoulders pushing me down. I hear distant music playing, and when I manage to look around my surroundings, I freeze at seeing cameras everywhere around us.

“Ava, what's going on? I can't see anything." Nicole grabs onto my hands tightly.

"It's fine. My mother’s just being a pussy, that's all." I'm going to kill that woman when this is all done.

"Why are there people clapping at us? Is this a prank? What's going on?" Nicole’s beginning to panic.

"It's fine. We're just guest celebrities for a certain talk show."

She releases her hands. "What? I don't want to have anything to do with this!" She is about to leave when I grab her hands.

"Remember our deal. If you run away now, the contract is pointless. Besides, I have a reputation to care for."

She wants to push me away. "I have a school life I want to maintain myself. Let me go!"

It’s too late to avoid this mess when I see the host walk out from the back room. "Ava, it’s nice seeing you again. And, Mrs Grimaldi, welcome. This is your first talk show correct? Don't worry, it will be done soon. I am aware of your busy schedule."

Nicole sighs hard. "Excuse me, what is this interview about?" She asks.

"Oh, What else? Your announcement about your marriage, of course. Aaliyah thought that it's time for the world to know about this marriage and how Ava will be taking over her family business from now on."

Say what now? Even I didn’t know that! I know I'm taking over the business, but they didn't say anything about announcing it. Ugh! Mom!

The interview went well, but I can't help the deathly glare Nicole has been throwing at me. I sigh. "Nicole, I don't know what's going on myself okay. Even if you’re mad at me now, it won't change the fact that we just announced our marriage to the world."

She is about to cry when her phone keeps ringing non stop.

"Ugh! This is not something I want to handle right now!" I signal for Kelly to deal with this mess.

Kelly smiles at her before she takes her phone away. "Look, I'm sorry. So what if they know your a Grimaldi now?"

I smile at her, but she scowls at me.

"Have you forgotten I have a boyfriend to care for?"

I scoff. "You have a wife to care for. But, did you ever hear me complain?"

She is about to retort, but nothing comes to mind I guess. "Fine! What do you want me to do?" She asks.

"Break up with Christopher and revoke the contract. Let's be happy forever. What else?"

Her eyes widen. "I've been together with Chris since middle school. Have you ever fallen in love before?"

I scoff. I can't believe she still thinks that he's dating her for love."Wake up, genius. I'm sure that since he's been changing jobs lately he's asking you to pay for his tuition, too, right? Knowing my parents send you a hefty amount of money each month, he's beginning to be lazy."

She’s taken aback. From her reaction, did what I just say actually happen? I was just trying to strike a nerve or two. I smirk. "I can assure you, if you do what I say you won't have to worry about paying anyone's tuition or bills. All you have to do is study hard and graduate, and if you want to build your own company, so be it. I have the money for all those things to happen for you."

She seems to be thinking.

"Look, we're married. All I want for you is a secure environment. I am not like a certain boy who uses you as he pleases.” Why can't she just accept this matter into her thick skull! He has been using her without her noticing it!

"Don't you think everything you said makes me feel like a whore?" I am surprised. “You’re treating me like I'm one of your mistresses. It's not all about the money. It's never been about the money. I married you for the sake of our parents. And, here you are, telling me you'll use your money for my future? Am I that cheap in your eyes?"

It seems like she’s misunderstood me.

"Nicole Grimaldi. What I'm saying right here is you’re the Lady of the house. You can do whatever you want. There’s no limit to how you can do things. It's your life, and if you want to stay with that boy, who's for heaven sake, USING you, be my guest. But, consider this. I will revoke the contract that states we will be married for only two years." I smile. "I will never let you go, Nicole Grimaldi. Not in a million years." I winked.

***

I walk out to the balcony of my apartment and look at the view. Wearing my see through lingerie, I wonder what I've been doing with my life till now. I raise my glass to the morning sun and drink every little sip of my wine.

"Is it wise for you to drink this early in the morning?" That voice, it's my sister.

"What are you doing in my apartment?"

Veronica smiles. "I tried calling you but you were not answering your phone. Why?" She asks.

My phone? Oh, I forgot to charge it last night. "The battery's dead. Why?"

She sighs. "The station called me. Nicole spent the night in jail last night."

My eyes widen. "What? You’re joking right?"

She's shaking her head. “She was at a party, and the house was raided by police. She was one of the unlucky ones."

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Why on earth was she at a party?! I didn’t even know about this party."

Veronica shrugs. "From what the police explained on the phone earlier, it was one of the frat’s parties. Some of the students were positive with drugs. Most of them are female students. It was believed that those drugs were normally used for you know what."

I go inside and get myself ready.

"Your going to the station?" My sister asks.

"Do you need Kelly for the media? If this matter is known by the media, your image as the next head of the Grimaldi Empire will be ruin."

I freeze. "For now, title, fame and such isn't important to me. All I care about is the well-being of my wife." I tell my sister before I rush out of the house and go to the station.

I walk inside the station and sigh before taking off my sunglasses.

"Jesus!" Exclaims one of the police officers when he walks passed me.

I ignore the staring and go to the officer behind a desk. "Excuse me. I'm here to bail out Nicole Grimaldi."

He looks up from his files with a straight face.

Fill out this form and take a number. We'll get to you shortly." Is every government worker as rude as this.

"But I am rushing to know what happen to my wife."

He once again looks up at me with a nonchalant expression. "Do I look like I care about your issues? If she's in here, that means she's done something wrong. Fill out the fucking form, get your fucking number and wait like fucking everybody else!" He shouts at me.

I slam both of my hands on his desk and glare at him.

"Listen here, you worthless piece of shit! I am here with such heavy heart because I'm worried about my beloved one. Don't tell me to fill out the fucking form and wait for God knows how many hours! LET ME SEE THE FUCKING OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THIS FUCKING STATION!"

He abruptly stands up with hand at the ready for his holster.

"Stand down!" A man walks up to us. “Honestly, Robert, your wife is leaving you exactly because of this behaviour of yours. Avalynn Grimaldi?"

I nod at him.

"President Harvey gave us a call just minutes ago. Seems like my officer made a mistake." Oh, he knows Uncle Harvey.

"President Harvey?" The rude officer breathes out.

"Yes Robert. She's THE President's niece. Right this way, Ma'am."

I am about to follow his lead when I face the rude officer. “If I were you, I’d better watch my back. If my uncle knew how rude this officer treated other people… I don't care if you have a sick child or wife or you’re about to die… you will be punish for your attitude." I slam my hands again before walking towards the back room. "Officer ..." I look at his name tag. "Stein. What's the real issue here? I'm sure my wife doesn't do drugs."

The officer asked me to sit. "It seems like she was a victim. If my officer was late, she might’ve been raped or worst. Some of the girls that we sent to the hospital were raped and drugged before it happened. Your wife was lucky."

I sigh in relief. “It was a frat party?" I ask.

"Yes. We apprehended the president of the fraternity and some of his pledged students. We interrogated him and the others but, they denied such a foul thing."

Of course, they denied it. If they did confess, their life as a student would be done."Did the person who did things to my wife also get apprehended?"

The officer shakes his head. "He managed to flee along with a few girls."

Damn.

"Can I meet her, my wife?"

The officer nods. "We placed her in one of the empty interrogation rooms with a female officer. Don't worry, she's safe."

Again, I sigh in relief.

"Follow me."

I do, and he leads me to an interrogation room where Nicole is.

When I enter the room, she is talking with the female officer. I can see she's wearing something that belongs to the station.

"Ava?" she stands up and goes to hugged me. "Ava!"

Whoa! What's up with this gesture? I hug her back. "What happened to you?" I whisper into her ear as she cries on my chest. I want to yell at her, but she’s gone through so much now. I sigh. "Let's go home and rest. Okay?"

She slowly nods. "Thank you, officers. If there's anything,, let me know. You may call my uncle or use this number on the card." I hand him Kelly's business card.

He nods.

I lead her out of the station after grabbing her belongings. I open the car door for her and close it before going to the driver’s side.

"Ava..." I hold my hand up.

"I heard most of what happened from the police. All you have to do now is rest." I turn on the engine and we go home. The real question that has been bugging me is … Where the hell was that boyfriend of hers to begin with?

***

I’ve been waiting for Christopher at the student parking lot since 6A.M.. I’ve kept my eyes open for him for hours before I notice him walking towards a building with his friends laughing and enjoying himself like nothing happened.

I get out of the car with a baseball bat in my right hand, jog towards him and literally hit his back with it. He falls face down and is in great pain. His friends are surprised to see me of all people. I aim my bat to them before they raise their hands surrendering themselves.

"Avalynn? The model!" A lot of people are whispering around me as I watch this man try to get up.

He is helped by his friend, and he freezes when he sees me. "Ava." He says lowly.

"SHUT UP!" I shout. "Who are you to call me by that name? Do you know what happened to Nicole?"

He looks down.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU!" I shout in his face. I used the same bat to lift his chin up. "Nicole told me everything. She said you invited her and Mary to this so call party by one of the seniors. Correct?"

He doesn’t respond.

"ANSWER ME!"

He nods.

"Do you know what happened to Mary, Nicole's best friend? That was your doing as well, right? You sold your own friends to monsters, correct?"

He shakes his head no.

"No..." no? I poke his chest with my bat. "No? What do you mean no?" I ask while poking him one more time. "Christopher, Mary suffered such a traumatic experience, she tried to kill herself countless of times in the hospital. She can't live with the shame and the imperfection she has become." I grab his collar. "Christopher, she was gang raped because you sold her. How much did they pay you that you were willing to betray their trust like that?" I wait for his answer but nothing. I ignore every single stare because I want some solid answers from this boy who was missing that night. It's my own fault for trusting such a boy in the first place. This is all my fault. I almost made my wife ...

"What's going on here? You there, release our student." A lecturer decides to butt in.

I aim my bat at him. "Shut up, or I'll shut it for you." I scowl at him. I return my attention to Christopher. "Tell me your reason for betraying her love for you." When he doesn’t say anything at all, I release his collar."Did you know that even after it all happened Nicole still sees you as a human being. But as for me, I don't see you as one at all. I see you as a piece of dog shit at the side of the road. You’re a disgrace to men. Why God create a human like you in the first place is beyond me."

By now there's another group of lecturers coming our way. "The police are on their way." Announces one of the adults.

"I hope you feel happy using the money you’ve received from selling your friends and former girlfriend."

He looks up at me with a shocked expression.

"Yes. FORMER girlfriend. I don't even want to see your face again near my wife. Got that, Christopher?” I am about to walk away when I remember something I must do. I grab onto the bat's handle with rage and hit his stomach as hard as I can.

The police patrol car comes by and they see what I just did. "Officers, that's the man I told your superior about. Arrest him for further questioning."

"Yes ma'am."

Everyone is surprised by the sudden change of events. The police arrest Christopher and I wonder to myself, who's that man and group of girls who ran off when the police raided the party. I want to capture every single one of them.

"Ava! Please no! I'll tell you the one who wanted Nicole. Please let me go!"

I hold my hand up when the police want to shove him inside the car. "What's his name?" I ask.

He looks up with blood coming out from the corner of his mouth.

"Gerrard Newman. He’s quite well known around the campus."

Gerrard. "He's the one who drugged Nicole?"

Christopher nods "He drugged them both, Nicole and Mary. I'm sure he's the one who started ... Mary ..." he can't finish his words.

"Take him away."

The police nod.

I grab one of the students by the collar. “Say, pretty boy, tell me where can I find Gerrard Newman, please."

He starts to tell me where I can find him. “You're not the model we all know!" He says before running for his life.

"You can't march into a faculty building like this. We have rules to follow. This is an act of violence! Why didn’t the police arrest you instead!" One of the nosy lectures expresses her thoughts.

"We have the obligation to protect the students’ safety!" adds another male lecturer.

"Protect the student's safety? Don't make me laugh!" I glare at them both. "You let your student hurt Nicole Bonavich! She's married to me now, and anyone who crosses a Grimaldi shall pay the consequences!"

I march down the hallways towards the student lounge area. I grab a passing student and ask him which is Gerrard. He points at one of the crowded areas before I let him go. Walking around on campus with a bat is really something. When this is done, I'm sure my mom will have a toll lecturing me about destroying my image as a model and the new head of the Grimaldi Empire.

"Gerrard Newman." I call out.

The student's make a path for me, and I come face-to-face with Gerrard himself.

"Oh wow! Avalynn Grimaldi, the world famous model. See guys, I told you every beautiful woman swoons for me."

I don’t wait. I hit his face with my bat. He falls down, and he starts to bleed profusely. “You're the one who raped Mary, correct? And, you drugged Nicole Bonavich, right?” I watch him suddenly laugh at the situation.

"What a feisty one? I like feisty women. So what I asked a few of the guys to rape that bitch up. She deserved it. And yes, I am the one who tortured them to bits."

I sigh heavily. My job here is done. "Heard that, officer?" I ask.

"Loud and clear. You have to come with us, Mr Newman."

I let the police do their job while I leave my bloody bat on the floor. I ignore every stare I receive. It's time for me to go back to Nicole.