Chapter 4
Ava woke up the following morning feeling rejuvenated. She took her shower and prepared a light meal which she devoured hurriedly.
She carried her bag and headed straight to the airport, went through the normal procedures, and was soon on the airplane.
The flight took hours, and she soon arrived back in her home country. She sighed as she breathed in the air of New York City, and memories rushed through her brain once again.
"Ava," Jim called out, and ran towards Ava.
"I missed you." He said.
Ava patted him on the back,
"You are a grown-up man, stop being childish. I missed you too." Ava replied.
"I am still a child in your hands," Jim joked and laughed.
"Where is my baby?" Jim asked immediately as he sensed the absence of Ava's child.
"They are over there, with the host." She said and pointed to the direction where she placed the children.
"They? How many children did you give birth to?" Jim asked in surprise.
"I wanted to surprise you. I gave birth to twins, a boy, and a girl," Ava replied with a smile.
"No way!" Jim screamed and rushed to the babies. He played with them for a while, and they soon got up to be on their way.
"I have gotten you an apartment, far away from Lincoln though," Jim said as he drove into a compound.
"You are funny," Ava replied.
"I know you still love him, don't deny it," Jim said, while Ava shrugged.
Jim helped her with her belongings and settled her down before taking his leave.
"Thank you." Ava greeted him while he exited the compound.
She went back to her room and prepared some food which she ate instantly. She had a serious case to defend the following morning, and she needed a lot of energy to defend the case well. She fell into a deep sleep not quite long after, preparing her mind against the following day's defense.
***
Lincoln could be seen pacing the front gate of the AirDroid group of companies, trying to plead with them to drop the allegations that were charged against them. The company had charged him and his company to court following a case of incompetency in project execution which had led to the loss of lives and properties.
"Good morning, Mr Lincoln. My boss said you could come in." Peter, Patrick's assistant, said to him.
Lincoln heaved a sigh of relief and headed into the company's main building. He silently prayed for a good result, as the AirDroid group of companies was his major threat and competitor in the business world. He and Patrick Brown, who was the CEO of AirDroid, had always competed for the title of Richest Billionaire over the years.
"Over here, sir," Peter said, directing Lincoln to Patrick's office.
Lincoln stood in front of the door, his heart pounded and his pulse raced. He tried to maintain his composure, but it could still be noticed that he was afraid. Still, he adjusted his bow tie and knocked on the door.
"Good morning, how are you…"
"We are not dropping the charges," Patrick said instantly, interrupting Lincoln from finishing his words. He disregarded Lincoln's greeting and also ignored his handshake.
"We could talk things through, we can cooperate on this matter and get it solved, there's no need to charge my company to court." Lincoln pleaded, and while Patrick remained adamant, all of Lincoln's pleas fell on deaf ears.
"Anything we want to talk about shall be discussed in court, the matter will be solved also in court, there's no need for private discussion between us. Now, if you may excuse me, I have lots of work to do. Thanks." Patrick muttered, stretching his hand towards the door as a means of telling Lincoln to leave.
Lincoln respectfully stood up from the seat and walked out of the room. He knew fully well enough that if he lost the case, then it was over for him and his company. The court was going to charge him nothing less than hundreds of billions of dollars, and he might even face a jail term.
"I just have to hope in God and my defending lawyer." He sighed, and hopped into his car, driving straight home.
The drive across a mini restaurant reminded him of his ex-wife. Her favorite food was always from that same restaurant. Somehow, he misses her badly and wants her to come back to his life. It seemed he had misjudged Tabitha as she suddenly grew into a stranger to him overnight, their days had never been peaceful since they got married, and it made him long for the everlasting peace he had when he was still with Ava.
His life with Tabitha was nothing short of hell. She made his life miserable and wouldn't give him the peace and quietness he longed for, which made him miss Ava even more.
He sighed and continued on his drive home. For now, there was something greater staring straight at him, he truly hoped he could win the case at the court, even though the odds were very much against him.
It was finally the judgment day. Lincoln woke up early and made the necessary calls and preparations before heading out to the court, which was supposed to commence by 10 am.
He walked into the courtroom, which was already filled with people, known and unknown. Lincoln knew fully well enough that they were there to witness the case, and also the company that would be going down the ruins, since the competition between him and Patrick was well known to most people in the city.
The judge also arrived not quite long after. He took his place on the high seat while he requested an order to be maintained within the courtroom. Everyone was well seated, and a huge silence swept across the whole room. Patrick sat opposite Lincoln, giving Lincoln a terrible smile which made Lincoln shiver, even though he still tried to maintain his composure.
"Mr Patrick, where's your lawyer? I can't seem to find him or her here." The Judge asked, and immediately, the door opened, and there stood a beautiful lady with two babies in her hands. People gasped at her beauty as the sunlight reflected on her.
She walked straight into the center of the room and Patrick smiled. He had hired the best lawyer in town and was fully certain he would win the case.
Lincoln lifted his head to glance at his opposing lawyer, and his eyes widened at the recognition of his wife, or probably, ex-wife. He stood up hurriedly, attracting the attention of the lady, his heart beat faster and he swallowed hard at the sight of his beautiful ex-wife. He felt a huge sensation surge within him, and he forgot all of his worries instantly.
"Ava? How could it be her?" Lincoln thought wildly, it was as if he was going crazy, her beauty was enough to make him shiver.
Ava also couldn't help the shock. She wasn't expecting that the person she would be opposing in court was her ex-husband, the father of her children.
Even though his heart bled for her, and he wanted her warm embrace, Lincoln collapsed back into his chair as the last warning Ava said to him on the phone rang in his ear.
"I will destroy you, even if it means destroying myself." The memory flowed.
There was no doubt that he was done for. As he held his head in his hand, his mother and sister who had come to support him nearly suffered a heart attack as they recognized Ava, remembering how they maltreated her while she was still Lincoln's wife, they knew they were done for.
"It was just in the space of a year. How did she grow into a successful woman within such a period? And…those children in her hands, wasn't she barren? Did she possibly remarry?" A multitude of questions flowed through his brain as he stared eye to eye with Ava, remorse and regret in his eyes as he knew fully well that things were going very much against him.