The tension in the air was thick, so thick that even a knife wouldn't cut through it. Ava stood in the middle of the room, calm on the outside but fuming inside. She wasn't going to let anyone—least of all Mrs. Hamilton bully her into leaving the man she loved.
"Is that really what Liam wants?" Ava asked, her voice steady and her smile firm, even though the confrontation was starting to sting deep in her chest.
"Does it make a difference?" Mrs. Hamilton's voice was cold, sharp like broken glass. Her gaze bore into Ava with judgment and superiority.
Ava didn't flinch.
"I mean, if that's what he wishes, then I'll do it," she said evenly.
"But if that's not the case, then you don't really have the right to interfere."
That struck a nerve. Mrs. Hamilton's face turned beet red with rage. She bolted up from her seat like she'd been stung.
"How dare you talk to me that way?" she snapped, her voice filled with venom.
