Angel’s bliss by Dripping Creativity

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“Never. Gabriel is your friend, I will make sure he is safe,” Zane promised. 

“Okay,” she said and texted Gabriel. “He will take a cab and will be here at noon.” Zane found he was curious about a lot of things regarding Ava. He wanted to know everything about her. It was a new experience for him. One he didn’t 

know what to do with. 

“How did you and Gabriel meet?” he asked her as she had put her phone away and curled up against him. 

not the happiest of stories, I don’t want to ruin the mood,” Ava told him. 

“Don’t worry about that,” Zane said and played with her hair. He just wanted to get to know her, see all the sides she had. 

“I was just out of nursing school and had landed my first real job in the E.R. I wasn’t new to working, I have been working since I was fifteen. I started as care assistant in a nursing home, and I continued working there until I graduated nursing school,” Ava started. 

“Was that what made you decide to go into nursing?” Zane asked. 

“Maybe a part of it. But then it was also a stable career where work would be easy to find, and I knew I would be able to gain my independence if I became a nurse. And I like to help people,” she told him. “Anyway, I was feeling grown up and I started dating this guy my last couple of months in school. I met him when me and some friends were out and it was my first real serious relationship.” 

“Why is that? You are gorgeous and warm–hearted, men should be lining up to date you,” Zane commented before he could stop himself. 

“Thank you. I don’t know, I have trust issues. It’s hard for me to let people close to me, I like keeping them at armlength. That is also why I had a hard time letting someone… into my bed.” Zane had to smile at her difficulty of talking about having sex, it was adorable. “And that’s what screwed the relationship with Aaron over.” Zane already heated the man; he filed the name away and he would think about how he could find him later. “I wasn’t ready, but he was… insisting. It ended in a huge argument where he called me frigid and a lot of other names I don’t want to repeat. I told him that if all her cared about was sex, then e could just go. And that’s what he did,” Ava sighed. 3 

“He broke your heart,” Zane said, it wasn’t a question, and he felt his anger rise. 

“Yes, but it was lucky he did. It was my first week at my new job. I had worked so hard to get it and I couldn’t enjoy it because of Aaron. I was working the day shift and had a bad day. My mentor had been stressed and took it out on me. I was sitting in the cafeteria and was trying to eat lunch, but I was too miserable,” Ava remembered. Zane tried to calm his anger and focus on her story. “Thery, out of the blue, this man plopped down in the chair opposite me. He just gave me the biggest smile and introduced himself as Gabriel and started asking me about myself,” Ava said, and she smiled at the memory. 

“And you were friends from then on?” Zane asked. 

“God, no. I just stared at him that first day and mumbled a few polite things and walked away. The next day the same thing happened, and the next day. The fourth day I had enough, I told him to leave me alone and stormed off. He 

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followed me and when he caught up to me, I burst out in tears. Poor Gabriel thought he was the reason and desperately tried to apologise, which made my cry even harder. He ended up dragging me into a supply closet to let me cry against his shoulder. We spend our lunch breaks in there. He explained that he had started a week before I did and hadn’t found a group to hang out with. When he saw me the first day, he thought it looked like I needed a friend. A perfect match in his mind. I really needed a friend, and I poured my heart out to him in that closet.” Zane could hear the smile in Ava’s voice as she got to this part in the story. Even if it had to be a painful memory, the memory of gaining a friend over shun it all. 

“You love him,” Zane said. 

“I do. He really helped me through my first break up and he was the first one in a long while that told me I had the right to decide for myself. We both comes from less–than–optimal family backgrounds, and it became something we bonded over and supported each other with. When we had known each other a couple of months, one of his exes came back into town.” Ava paused for a moment. “It was bad,” she finally said. 

“Abusive?” Zane asked. 

“Yes, but not physical. It ended with me forcing Gabriel to live with me for three months. It was the only way I could keep him safe. After that, we became family. He is the only real family I have.” 

“Did his ex go away?” Zane needed to know if there was someone out there that held a grudge against his angel. 

“He did. We never knew what became of him. One day he was trying to call Gabriell none stop, the next he was gone,” 

she said. 

Your aunt and uncle must have been happy when Gabriel came to lived with you?” Zane heard a giggle from Ava and he smiled. 1 

“They hated it. My aunt is surprisingly conservative for someone married to a degenerate gambler. And my uncle hated that Gabriel stood up for me. They both wanted him out, but for the first time I stood up to them and told them it was my house and if they didn’t want to live with Gabriel, they were welcome to leave.” Zane felt Ava change position in his arms, and he enjoyed the feeling. He played with her hair and felt like he didn’t want the night to end. 

“Why were you living with your aunt and uncle?” he asked her. He already knew from the background check he had done. But he wanted to listen to her talk for a little longer. He felt her tense up in his arms and cursed at himself. Of course this was not a subject that she enjoyed talking about. 

I lost my parents when I was nine,” she told him. 

“I’m sorry angel, I shouldn’t have asked,” he said, placing a kiss on her head. 

“No, it’s fine. Before that, I had a fantastic childhood. My parents were kind and loving and when I think back on that time, it just seems filled with light and warmth. After they died, my uncle and aunt took me in. Uncle Jonas is my father’s brother, I didn’t have any other relatives. So, in a way, I was lucky that they agreed.” There was a small pause, as if Ava needed to gather herself. Zane was about to tell her she didn’t need to go on when she started talking again. “My parents weren’t rich, but my father had a good job and when I started school, my mother opened her own business which was a success. We lived comfortably. In their will, they set up a college fund for me and a fund that would cover my living expenses until I was twenty–one. After that, I would get what was left. The house was mine as well, but was held in trust. I guess my uncle and aunt saw an opportunity to get a house and not have to work, living off my money,” she said. 

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“Ava,” Bain started. 5 

“No, it’s okay. I know people think that I’m naïve and that I don’t know what is happening. But I’m not that naïve. I 

a gambling know they used me. They took care of me when I needed them to. The first time I found out my uncle had 

house. addiction I was seventeen and when I got home from school, there was a collecting agency standing outside my My uncle cried and told me he knew he had made a mistake, but he would never do it again. I chose to believe him and I wrote to the lawyer who handled my fund and asked for a large amount of money. I told him it was for the house. That was the last I heard of his gambling problem until your men showed up,” Ava told him. 

“I’m sorry angel, it had to be hard to go through all of that all alone,” Zane told her. 

“I still wonder what my parents would think of how I live my life. I try to honour them. It’s just really hard sometimes to remember the good parts.” 

“Yeah, I know what you mean. My mother died when I was fourteen. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering her without remembering everything that came after she died,” he told Ava. He shocked himself by telling her, he never spoke about his mother. 

“I’m sorry, Zane,” Ava said. 

“It is what it is. It a fucked–up world.” 

“Yes it is,” she agreed and snuggled in closer. Zane was happy when their conversation died and was replaced by the comfortable silence the two of them shared. He hadn’t counted on the conversation taken such an unexpected turn. He needed to watch his tongue around his angel. Even as they drifted off to sleep, there were words on the tip of his tongue that were forbidden. Words he could never speak, but was desperate to let fly. If things had been different, then maybe. But things were as they were. Zane was not one to live in a fantasy world. If you didn’t face up to reality, you got killed fast. 

The next day, Gabriel arrived just before lunch. Zane enjoyed the look on Ryder when he saw him walk in through the door. Gabriel had obviously not told Ryder he was invited to lunch. Ava gave Gabriel a hug and took him into the 

dining room. 

“Boss, may I ask what Gabriel is doing here? Ryder asked Zane as they walked behind the two friends. 

“I have a business proposal for him,” Zane said. Ryder just nodded. Zane could see the wheels turning in his head. He knew not to ask any more questions, but it didn’t mean Ryder didn’t want the answers. “He will be perfectly safe. Why -don’t you join us for lunch,” Zane offered. Ryder nodded again. The four of them sat down to eat and Zane discovered how right his angel had been when she said the two men needed a push. Both of them kept looking at the other, but they hardly spoke a word. Zane found it entertaining and wondered if he could make Jax join them. Then he and fax could get a bet going on when the two men would actually dare speak to each other. Zane doubted Ava would be interested in partaking in such a bet. After they had eaten the seared turbot, Anna and a maid served hot lava cake with vanilla ice cream. 3 

“Zane,” Ava whispered her objection 

“Angel, do I need to repeat yesterday’s exercise in front of your friend? You are perfectly fine. Eat your dessert,” he whispered in her ear. He had the pleasure of seeing a blush creep onto her cheeks and he smiled. When she took the first bite of the chocolate cake, he could see how much she enjoyed it. After lunch, Gabriel joined Ava and Zane in Zane’s office. Zane saw that Gabriel was nervous, but he did his best not to show it. Zane was quite impressed with the 

3/4 

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man. When Jax joined them, Zane could finally get to why he had invited Gabriel. 

“Gabriel, I asked you a hypothetical question yesterday,” Zane said. He had his hand on Ava’s knee, as had become his habit when he was in his office, and she sat next to him. 

“Yes Mr. Velky,” Gabriel said. 

“I liked your answer. It was better than the one I got from my accountant. Me and Jax has discussed it and we would 

‘like to offer you a position in our business,” Zane said and watched the surprised look on Gabriel’s face. 

“You are offering me a job?” Gabriel asked. 

Chapter Comments 

Morgan 

at arm’s lenght* 

Dianne Rundle 

Zane already hated the man