Ruined By My Brother's Best Friend (by Silverwriter) novel Chapter 36

His Coldness

ARABELLA’S POV

History was a dangerous thing. It held the power to either break or make the future. My history with Alvise Valerio was like a poison that ate away at me slowly every single day. Because now, as I halted at the doorway of the conference room, I couldn’t help but take deep breaths, trying my best to calm what I could only describe as my nervous wreck of a heart.

If there was anything Archie always said whenever he spoke about his best friend’s work principles, it was that Alvise hated) lateness. He was practically a cold beast when it came to work, regardless of who he was working with.

With that thought at the back of my head and one last deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, my steps almost wobbly as I walked towards the seat at the far end of the table without making eye contact with anyone.

The room suddenly fell silent, and I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. Before I could take a seat, a familiar deep, cold voice with a hard edge to it disrupted the silence. “And who are you?”

I straightened and turned towards the source of the voice, my face almost falling at the sight of him. His sharp features and dark hair stood out, making him seem like a diamond among stones. His blue eyes were almost distracting, prompting me to get lost in them, but the hardness of his gaze and the deep frown on his face reminded me of the coldness that was the man.

His question finally registered, snapping me out of my trance. “Ava Whitmore,” I said, smoothing my dress. “I’m part of the team.”

Alvise averted his gaze, his jaw hardening as he turned his attention to the stack of files in front of him, as if trying to confirm my claim. “I doubt it.”

Ignoring the weight of everyone’s gaze, I frowned, my full attention off the man sitting at the head of the table. “I’m actually part of the team,” I confirmed.

He raised his head but stared straight ahead. “I don’t think so.” His tone was now firm and hard. “Because there’s no way a member of a team that works with me would show up sixteen minutes late.”

I finally allowed myself to look around the room, my eyes clashing with Leah’s, There was a smug smirk on her face, her eyes glinting with what I could only imagine was triumph. This was her fault. She never informed me about the meeting ahead of time. And now, even while I was on the spot, she was smirking instead of helping me.

I took a deep breath and turned back to Alvise. “I’m sorry,” I breathed, clasping my hands together to keep them from shaking. I was such a nervous mess right now, and I hated it. “It won’t happen again.”

I despised being put on the spot, and that was the only reason I didn’t want to point out Leah’s obvious involvement in this. Not that it would matter anyway, because even if she had informed me, I still wouldn’t have made it on time because I’d cried myself to sleep. And the irony of it all? The source of those tears was the one reprimanding me for being late.

Alvise closed the open file in front of him abruptly. “Of course it won’t,” he said with so much certainty that I didn’t dare breathe a sigh of relief because something felt off. He continued, “because you are not part of the team anymore.” His eyes finally found mine, and with a hard, cold stare, he said, “Excuse us.”

I breathed out shakily and finally turned to face her. “He sent me out.”

Her face fell. “What do you mean he sent you out?”

I nodded, a bitter smile making its way onto my face. “I was late…” My voice shook, but I continued anyway. “So he removed me from the team and asked me to excuse them.”

Sierra gasped, her eyes widening. “What the hell? Why would he do something like that?”

A tear slipped from my eye, and I quickly wiped it away. “I don’t know… I don’t know!” I threw my head back, trying my best to push back the tears. “But I will not cry… I will not cry for him again.”

Sierra wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, burying my head in her shoulder and closing my eyes.

The tears were already falling, soaking her shirt, but she played into my delusion like she always did. “Yes, my dear, you will not cry for him again.”