Bittersweet

The next morning, Ava woke early. She got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. Ava hoped her parents ate and left before she'd come down so she wouldn't have to deal with them, but unfortunately for her, they were sitting at the dining table waiting for her. She swallowed hard as she caught her mothers solid glare from across the room. Ava knew they were about to talk about the current events of last night and it was hardly something she wanted to discuss about especially, in the early hours of the morning.

Once the female seated, Ava picked at different kind of berries and placed them on top of her cereal before adding milk and then poured herself a cup of tea into a china teacup. Her parents watched her every move which made the girl shift uncomfortably in her seat. This is just what they wanted. To see Ava squirm under pressure. "How long is this silent behavior going to last?" Ava asked them, finally having the nerve to speak up. Lucia gave a simple shrug and pursed her lips, but still continued with her glaring. Ava ignored her and casually sipped her tea.

"Until you apologise." Ava snorted at her mothers reply and gave her an 'are-you-kidding-me' look.

"Apologise for having an opinion? I don't think so."

"Ava! Your behavior last night was unacceptable, the things you spoke of were out of line. They were unnecessary. Not only did you cause a bad scene, you made yourself look inappropriate in front of hundreds of guests and you made your mother and I very embarrassed." Vincent roared.

"I think I had a right to argue back, OK maybe not in the way you would of liked, but I was not going to let Marietta sit there and speak to me like that. She can't judge me, Marietta deserved what she got. I'll apologise to you both; certainly not her though." Ava said, angrily chewing on her breakfast.

"Whether she deserved it or not, there was no need for you to make yourself look bad in front of all those people, it was immature Ava."

"You know what? I'm not going to talk about this anymore because I had an opinion and I'm not taking it back, I don't care whether I spoke out of term, I stood up for myself while you two sat there and let Marietta constantly bash me, I hoped you would at least have said something to back me up, but as usual, your stuck up fancy life is far too important than my feelings." Ava snapped.

"Now Ava, that's not true." Vincent shook his head. He was so desperate to convince her to think otherwise.

"I'm done, and leaving." Ava dropped her spoon only for it to make a clanging noise as it hit the china dish. She stood up from her seat and stormed out of the dining room heading back to her bedroom where she would soon calm off. Ava simply couldn't believe her parents. After everything she went through for them, this is how they re-payed her. Ava felt let down more than anything.

-

By mid-afternoon, Ava had gone downtown to a local department store where she could spend some time on her own. It was nice to finally be out of the house. Ava was satisfied when she saw there were less designer stores and more of the current ones she was used to shopping in. She felt more comfortable buying the sort of style she had until her mother turfed out all of her old clothes. Ava bought a few jeans, shirts and two different pairs of Nike trainers. She then treated herself to a brand new makeover where she visited the beauty parlor and the hairdressers.

Within an hour of hair dying, washing, drying and cutting, Ava was now looking at someone entirely else in the mirror. She was ecstatic with the new outcome. Looking back at her was a woman with much darker hair. Chocolaty brown waves fell just below her shoulders and the hint of blonde highlights gleamed as they shown in the light. Ava paid, thanked the kind staff and left the salon before taking the direction towards one of the cafes she normally visited in Venice. It was definitely Ava's favorite as she was a returning customer and they certainly served the best coffee around. The place was usually empty by the time Ava got there, but today of all days, they were busy.

Ava stood in line and waited till it was her turn to order. The female was about to step up to the counter when someone collided into her, causing their cup of hot coffee to splash onto her white blouse. Ava let out a yelp at the burning and suddenly looked up to the stranger. She saw a tall brown-blonde haired male standing in front of her. "I am so sorry." the guy sincerely apologised. Ava held her breath at his cute Portuguese accent. She didn't know why, but she felt herself smiling at him.

Ava let out a chuckle. "It's totally fine, don't worry about it."

"No seriously, I am deeply sorry. I should of been looking where I was going." The brunette bit his lip. "Are you sure you're okay." to which Ava nodded. "Let me make it up to you."

"No! You don't have to do that, I told you it's fine."

"I'm being serious."

"So was I?" Ava confirmed. By now the pair had begun to stare at one another. The guy looked curiously at her as his eyes lingered up and down Ava's body. A tiny smile appeared on his face as he glanced back up at her.

"Do you always reject guys who offer their sincere apologies by buying you a cup of coffee?" the stranger asked which had totally took Ava off guard. She simply replied with a laugh and gave him a bewildered look. Ava was about to shake it off, but she thought for a while instead before sighing in defeat. He had won her over with a cute accent and a sweet smile.

"Oh fine, you win. I suppose one cup won't hurt." she said. Ava led him to one of the tables by the side of the window, right at the back of the cafe. She reached for a menu and passed the guy one who was sitting across from her.

"I'm Miguel by the way." he finally introduced himself with another one of his sweet smiles which nearly made Ava swoon in her chair.

"Ava."

"Ava?" Miguel repeated confusingly. "Is your last name Garcia by any chance?"

"Yes why?" Ava questioned the male with concern as Miguel rolled out the magazine he was carrying and placed it on the table in front of her. Ava glanced down and saw she was on the front cover with the headline 'Female Fury' "I see my life is the stuff of gossip now."

"You don't sound too thrilled."

"Having my life printed down in a magazine is not something I'm used to nor do I want it published either. This article is so biased anyway, I never said anything on the lines of calling her a two faced cow OK, I'm not that mean."

"Hey! You should be proud for making the headlines." Miguel reassured. "Nobody has ever stood up to Marietta like that, and hate to say it, but she had it coming."

"Wait-you know Marietta?"

"Who doesn't? You're not the first one to be downgraded by her, infact she's picked on quite a few people around here in the last month. My father one of them. He was a very good friend of hers until she found out what he did for a living and she flipped once she knew he was retired."

"What did your father do?"

"He was a professional footballer."

"So I guess you're one too, right?"

"Of course," Miguel grinned. "It has always been a dream to follow my fathers footsteps, playing for Benfica and then getting called up to play for the Portugal national team, it's an honor." Ava smiled in awe as she listened to Miguel talk passionately about football and how much it meant to him. It reminded her of Fernando and the way his face would light up whenever he spoke of his love for the sport. It was one of the things she missed about him. Miguel paused as he saw how quiet Ava had become. "Ava?" he called. "Are you alright? You look troubled."

"Sorry, um...I was thinking of someone. You reminded of him, that's all."

"Him? Anyone in particular." Miguel questioned, rather interested in the matter. Ava shook her head at him and the Portuguese nodded, deciding to leave it at that questioning no further. The pair remained quiet till they finished ordering and conversations sparked again once their drinks arrived. For the next hour or so, Ava had gotten to know Miguel a little better. She was surprised to find the male was quite open about his life. He seemed confident in answering all her questions and Ava found him rather amusing at times. She learned that Miguel was now playing for Genoa C.F.C in Italy.

"I might have to come watch you sometime."

"I'd like that." Miguel said honestly. Ava had taken quite a shine to him and she was a nice girl. He silently hoped he would see a lot more of her. The sound of a mobile ringing interrupted them both and Ava sighed when she realized it was hers. She apologised to Miguel before grabbing the device from her pocket and looked down to see 'Mum' flashing on the screen.

"Hello."

"Where are you?" Lucia demanded immediately. Ava's rolled her eyes at her mothers full concern. She couldn't go anywhere without her ringing.

"I'm at my happy place."

"And where's that exactly?" Lucia was an impatient woman. She required answers straight away and she didn't like anyone wasting time. Particularly whether it were Ava or not.

"That is for me to know. Is there something you needed?"

"We need you to return home immediately, it's important."

"Mum, we've already talked about this."

"Oh Ava, me and your father have agreed to let this one pass for now." Ava was shocked. Lucia's tone changed completely as she spoke more softer. It seemed sadder. Something was definitely wrong.

"What's happened?"

"A letter arrived earlier today at the house. It's from the court. William's trial is in 3 days time." Ava remained silent on her end.

"I didn't think it would be this soon." Ava sat still, frozen and afraid. She heard Lucia take a deep shaky breath.

"Ava, we have to go back to London."