Strangers In Matrimony

In the bustling city of New Omicron, men, women, and young adults flooded the streets to go about their businesses.

However, somewhere downtown, Ava Waverly's landlord banged at the door to her house.

Bang! bang!! bang!!!

His husky voice blared loudly, "Miss Ava, I know you're in there!

"Come out now, and face me! I know what time you go to work now, and I know you go over to your best friend's house during the weekends so I don't run into you!"

The landlord's fist pounding on the door continued; each pound threatening to pull down the door of her cozy well maintained home.

Ava, who had her purse and keys in hand, recoiled with a startled yelp as she took two steps away from the door.

She was just about to head out now.

Before Ava's bakery business went downhill, Ava opened her shop by 8:30am every morning.

She only started going to the shop this early when the landlord began asking for his money and sending her threat text messages. She owed six months rent.

Luckily, the landlord did not know where her shop was or else he would've looked for her at the shop too.

Ava whipped out her phone to call Piper. She hid her inability to pay her rent for six months now from her best friend, Piper Reyes.

Her house rent was $1,500 every month, and now that she owed for six months, it summed up to $9,000!

When Ava Bakies was still in its prime, Ava's monthly income was around $15-20,000, so she never owed rent.

To make matters worse, she declined the landlord's calls and texts, and turned a blind eye to all of them.

She was a bad tenant, and she sure should be kicked out, but she had no money for rent in this place or any other place.

Her father and only true family passed on seven months ago in January.

He was in and out of the hospital for almost two years, and his treatment and welfare fell on her feeble shoulders.

Being an only child who was abandoned by her mother, Ava Waverly had nowhere to run to, to seek for financial help.

Her father's sickness sucked up all the profit from Ava Bakies, and even swallowed up her savings as well.

Coupled with her father's illness, death, and her unavailability for her business, Ava Bakies fell drastically to the point of bankruptcy.

She lost all her clients just within one year of being inactive, and her only surviving client was Liam Flynn.

"Ava, come out now or these men would pull down this door!" The landlord snarled from outside.

'These men?' Ava thought to herself. The landlord was not alone.

Beep sound.

"Piper..." Ava spoke in a hushed tone.

"Yes, Ava, it's unlike you to call me so early in the morning. Are you okay? I'm just getting my breakfast now." Piper Reyes said as her teeth crushed the crunchy fries she was having for breakfast.

Piper lived three blocks away from Ava. They also worked in the same area, so they were practically always together. Piper owned a bookstore, and her shop was next to Ava Bakies.

"Piper, I need your help, I..."

The sound of multiple fists aggressively hitting the door resounded again, causing Ava to instantly zip her lips.

Bang! bang!! bang!!!

"Speak up, Ava, I can hardly hear you. What's with the noise I'm hearing? Can you call me back when you're in a much quieter place? Jeez, I can barely hear you."

Ava quickly disconnected the line when the banging intensified. She couldn't even ask her best friend for help yet.

Faced with no other option, Ava yelled from inside, "Coming!"

The men outside were more than ready to pull down the door.

Ava ruffled her hair, and changed her shoes into some flip flops so that the men outside would think that she just woke up.

She quickly slipped into a bathrobe too.

She took quick unsteady steps towards the door as her legs wobbled.

She rubbed her sweaty palms on the bathrobe to make them dry, as she exhaled sharply.

Yawning extraordinarily, Ava unlocked, and opened up her door, "Good morning gentlemen," She plastered a fake outstretched grin on her cheeks.

The landlord glared at her with red eyes.

"What's good about the morning, Miss Ava? I've been out here banging at your door for over twenty minutes! How dare you act like you're just finding out that I was out here?!"

The large veins that popped up on the landlord's forehead sent shivers down her spine.

There were three able bodied men standing behind the landlord. They also glared at Ava. She wondered who they were. His sons? Or the men he had hired to give her a good beating.

"What do you mean? I literally...just woke up," Ava yawned and stretched as she spoke.

"Well I guess you slept off with a lipstick, huh? Quit playing games. You owe me rent. How are you paying? Transfer or cash?" The landlord asked, obviously not fooled by her act.

Embarrassed by her own ignorance, Ava replied, "Uhm...oh yeah...the rent I owe you."

"Mmhmm, $9,000. You're lucky I'm not summing it up to ten thousand." The landlord's throaty voice forced goosebumps out of her skin.

Staring at the faces of the four men glaring at her, Ava cleared her throat and asked instead, "Who are they? Are they your sons?"

"They're the men who would throw you out of here right now if you don't give me my money! And yeah, they're my sons." The landlord snarled.

"Throw me out? It hasn't gotten to that extent, has it?" Ava chuckled nervously.

"Try me. Do you have my money or not?"

Ava had no money to give to the landlord, but she had Piper to call and ask for some money even though she didn't want to.

Piper had been by her side, and even supported her dying father financially. Ava didn't want to be a burden to Piper, so she hid her inability to pay her rent from her.

She always went to Piper's house on weekends to run away from the landlord, but she told Piper that she was used to spending the weekends with her father, and that she was lonely now that he passed on.

Ava's mother came to mind, but that woman despised her, and would not spare her a dime even if she were dying.

Ava settled on calling her mother since she did not feel comfortable asking Piper for rent money.

"Uh, Mr. Landlord, can you hold on for a moment while I place a few calls to get your money sorted out?" Ava asked politely. She hoped that the infuriated landlord would give her the opportunity to call for help.

The landlord's scowl deepened, "That'll be an extra $200 for wasting our time."

Afterwards, he and his sons pushed past Ava, and made themselves comfortable in her living room.

Ava left the door unlocked for safety reasons.

She hastily dialed her mother's phone number.

Ring, ring, ring.

No answer.

The silence in the room spoke volumes.

"No answer? Girl, do you think we're here to play around with you?!" One of the landlord's son barked at Ava.

"No, not at all...it's just...I'll try again." With jittery fingers, Ava dialed her mom's phone number again.

Mrs Charlotte Waverly snapped the moment she picked up the phone, "What's wrong with you? Why do you keep calling me so early in the morning?"

Ava's tensed shoulders relaxed, and her eyes closed briefly as her mother's voice came on the line.

"Don't you know that every woman with a man is preparing his breakfast at this hour? I knew your father did a bad job at raising you after I left him, but you're beyond my imagination!"

Turning her back on the four men in front of her, Ava greeted, "Good morning mom."

"What's good about the morning? I was having a good morning before you called me!"

Before Ava could respond, she heard the thunderous voice of a man through the phone.

"Charlotte, is my breakfast ready? I'm running late!" He was Mr. Martin Brown, the man whom her mother left with when Ava was eighteen years old.

The two weren't married, but they lived together like a married couple. It's been seven years now.

Ava's mother still introduced herself as Mrs Waverly, the same surname Ava bore. It was a constant reminder of her complicated past.

"You vile child, now my husband is getting upset! What do you want? Speak fast or call me never." Mrs Waverly quickened her movement in the kitchen as she stirred and turned the dish she was making.

Ava quickly stated her request.

However, when she was done talking, Mrs Waverly burst out laughing.

Ava's brows furrowed.

"I'm serious, mom. I really need your help."

"What? Don't tell me you spent all your money taking care of your late father, Ava. Are you really your mother's daughter? Did I give birth to you?

"You should know better than to spend even a dime out of your pocket on a man.

"They say the apple does not fall far from the tree, but it's different for you and me. Why didn't you just dump his a*s like I did?

"Truth is, I don't have any money to lend to you, Ava. I don't have a job, remember? The money my husband gives to me doesn't even take care of my expenses so I can't give you out of it.

"I definitely cannot give my savings to you as well. You might just kick the bucket like your father did before you're able to pay me back."

Ava swallowed up the insensitive words from her mother, and continued to plead.

"Give me a timeframe, and I'll pay you back, mom. I really need your help this time."

"Charlotte! Don't let me come into that kitchen and get you! Put down that phone, and bring my food!" Mr. Martin Brown barked at Mrs Waverly from the dining table.

"Whoops, gotta go. Now, you've made him upset. Call me back in two hours."

Two hours? These men would've chased her away by then. She wasn't even certain if her mother would lend her the money.

The beep sound indicated that the call was disconnected.

Ava slowly turned around to face the men who glared at her.

Feigning composure, Ava relayed the result of the call to the men, "She'll send the money to my account in the next two hours."

The landlord's face twisted into an even deeper scowl, "Throw her out, boys! We don't have time for this nonsense!"

His sons were swift to begin work. They did the heavy lifting by throwing out all her properties, and within a short time, Ava's watery eyes were fixated upon her properties littered outside her home.

"You can move back in after you send my money. You must think we're jobless to wait here for two hours more."

With that being said, the landlord left the premises with his sons.

Ava fought to push back the tears that threatened to fall when her phone buzzed.

Ring, ring, ring.

With a glint of hope in her eyes, Ava looked at the caller ID, thinking her mother called back to help her.

However, it was Liam Flynn, her only surviving client. Did he place an order?

Tucking her emotions back in her pocket, Ava picked up the call, "Mr. Flynn. Did you place an order?" Ava's question came out in a rush before she remembered to add a greeting.

"Good morning to you too, Ava. I didn't place an order, but I will later. I'm calling to remind you of your blind date that's set for 10am."

Ava's face felt drained of color as she stared at the scattered remains of her belongings.

She totally forgot about her blind date!

It was already past 8am when she glanced at the time on her phone screen. Would she be able to make it? She had really pressing issues at hand right now.

"...Ava? Hello, are you there?"

The words slipped out of her lips before she could think properly, "I'll be there, Mr. Flynn. I'll be at the blind date by 10, just send me the address."