Chasing His Scentless Mate-Chapter 315 His Knock, My Fire

Ava’s POV

I left Caroline’s apartment building to find Theo waiting by his car. He walked over and kissed my cheek.

"Ava, you look absolutely gorgeous!" Theo said enthusiastically.

Theo was indeed handsome. Not as tall as Joseph, but still taller than me, with shoulder-length wavy black hair, naturally tanned skin, lively eyes, and a thick beard that framed his brilliant white smile.

"You’re always so sweet, Theo," I said as he opened the car door for me.

"So, my queen, I’m taking you to a farm restaurant outside the city. What do you think?" Theo asked expectantly.

"I love that idea!" I answered, feeling a rare sense of lightness. Honestly, I was hoping to distract myself from Joseph, and maybe even make him jealous if word got back to him.

While driving, we chatted casually. Theo told jokes, keeping the atmosphere relaxed and pleasant, though I could tell he was curious about Joseph.

"My queen, not that I want to know about other men in your life, but I’m curious what Joseph did to you," Theo asked cautiously.

"He betrayed me, Theo," I said simply, the words still causing pain.

"What a complete idiot!" Theo grinned. "Lucky me!"

"Oh, really? Why’s that?" I laughed as he parked near the restaurant.

"Because now I might have a chance to win your heart."

"Look at you, being so bold!" I teased.

My afternoon with Theo was delightful. We had lunch, went horseback riding, boated on the lake, and talked extensively about our families. The entire experience was relaxed and fun, though I couldn’t help but notice it felt completely different from being with Joseph. There was no electric tension, no overwhelming pull. Maybe I should cool off on romantic feelings altogether for a while.

As evening approached, Theo drove me home and opened my door like a gentleman.

"My queen, when can I see you again?" Theo asked with that mischievous smile.

"I’d like that, but can we start as friends first? I just need some time to figure things out."

Theo’s smile softened. "Of course, my queen. Friends it is. No pressure."

"Thank you. So how about tomorrow night? Movie and dinner as friends?"

"Perfect! I’ll text you the details."

We hugged goodbye with a friendly kiss on the cheek. When I returned to my apartment, I checked my phone for the first time since going out with Theo. There were several messages from the girls and Antonio, and even missed calls from him. Growing concerned, I called him back.

"Auntie, my darling!" Antonio greeted me with his usual enthusiasm.

"Antonio, my sweet boy! How are you?"

"Missing you, Ava. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I went out with a friend this afternoon and missed your call, I’m sorry."

"Just a friend, Ava? Or are you looking for another friend like me?"

"Oh, my darling, even if I had a hundred young men, you’d still be my favorite!"

"And you’re my favorite auntie! Are you free to hang out this week?"

"I always have time for you, but it has to be after work. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of inviting you to that retro diner with the classic car theme on Wednesday, what do you think?"

"Road Hogs? Oh, I love that idea, Antonio! Let’s do it! I’ve never been there, but I’ve really wanted to go."

"Ava, you’re the best! But let’s change the subject..."

"I already know what’s coming."

"Did you hear about the drama at the company involving my mom, my uncle, and their father?"

"No, I haven’t heard anything about it. What happened?"

"Steward successfully made my mom hate him."

For the next half hour, I listened to Antonio describe the chaos at the company, how heartbroken his mother was, and the disgusting things Steward Garcia had been doing to women at the social club. All I could think about was how devastated Joseph must be right now.

"My uncle said he didn’t know his father was harassing you. Why didn’t you tell him?" Antonio was genuinely concerned.

"Because your uncle had enough on his plate, and I knew he would confront Steward if he knew." I sighed. "Now I’m sure he’s wondering why I didn’t tell him."

"It goes way beyond that, Ava. If you had told him earlier, a lot of problems could have been avoided."

"Antonio, what do you mean by that?"

"I can’t tell you. If I tell you before my uncle does, he’ll kill me."

"Antonio, since you’ve started, you might as well finish. Tell me."

"Ava, don’t do this to me."

"Come on, Antonio, I know you’re dying to tell me!"

"We try to help and get no respect!"

"Oh please, Antonio, don’t play innocent. You’re the family’s information network. But who am I to judge?"

Antonio burst into laughter.

"Auntie, I’m not gossiping; I’m documenting family history!" Now it was my turn to laugh. "But since you don’t know, you’d better sit down for this story."

I went to the kitchen, grabbed pizza and soda, and sat down. This was clearly serious. Good thing I was sitting, because what Antonio told me was shocking.

Antonio revealed that Sophia had taken a photo and sent it to Joseph the day his father harassed me at the social club. He said Joseph panicked afterward, and instead of talking to me, he slept with that woman. To make matters worse, that manipulative old man had been planting ideas in Joseph’s head.

I was furious—honestly, I should have cast a spell to make Joseph impotent when I found out about his betrayal. Maybe I should start working on some magical potions for cheating boyfriends.

"Auntie, my uncle made terrible mistakes, and you know I’ll always support you, but he’s really suffering now. Today he broke down in my mom’s arms like a child. I thought he came to comfort her about what her father did, but she ended up comforting him instead."

"Antonio, do you realize how foolish your uncle is? Why couldn’t he just come and talk to me? No, he had to go sleep with that woman!"

"I know it was a stupid, meaningless mistake. I think you should make him pay, but maybe also consider forgiving him eventually."

"Antonio, you’re preaching forgiveness now? What’s gotten into you?"

The doorbell rang, which was odd since the doorman hadn’t announced anyone.

I went to answer while listening to Antonio describe his uncle’s pain.

I looked through the peephole. Great.

I opened the door, ready for confrontation.

"Antonio, I’ll call you back. Someone just arrived." Antonio asked if it was his uncle. "Bingo!" Antonio begged me not to reveal that he’d already told me everything.

"Fine. See you Wednesday."

I hung up, closed the door, and stood in front of Joseph with my arms crossed, saying, "Look who decided to show up!"