Stars Waited Above Empty Streets by Lorin Wren 101

Finished 

Everything happened in a split second. Ava glanced at him and felt a little surprised. Ethan’s face stayed calm, and nothing showed at all. 

When they arrived at the Morren Residence, Mason suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand. He pulled back her sleeve. 

“Who did it?” 

A clear ring of finger marks circled her wrist. Ava pulled her hand, but she couldn’t pull it back. 

“It’s nothing.” 

“Was it Ethan?” 

“No!” Ava said. “Why are you asking about this?” 

“I’m worried some random guy did this to you.” Mason lightly touched the mark with his fingers. “Does it hurt?” 

“Who are you calling a random guy?” Ryan said angrily. 

“I knew you weren’t behaving when you made excuses to go out,” Mason said. He lowered his head and kissed her wrist. 

The warm, wet touch landed on her skin. His hot breath brushed against her. 

Ava’s whole body stiffened. She reacted on instinct and slapped him across the face. 

Ryan couldn’t hold it in and laughed. 

He tried to take advantage, and now he got slapped. 

He deserves it. 

After Ava slapped him, she felt her reaction was a bit much. There were so many people watching, and it made things awkward for him. Still, what was done was done. 

The slap didn’t really hurt Mason. He just didn’t expect her to react like that. 

“I… I didn’t mean to,” Ava said. “You suddenly kissed me.” 

“But when Laurent kissed your fingertips in the car, you didn’t hit him,” Mason said as he touched his face. “You’ve got quite some strength.” 

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19:05 Mon, Jan 12 

Chapter 101 The Slap 

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“That’s because my other hand was busy!” Ava said angrily. “I’m telling you all clearly. If you don’t respect me, we’re ending this right away!” 

Mason straightened up. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to look down on you. I actually like you. Maybe my way of showing it made you misunderstand. I promise that if you don’t agree, I won’t touch you again.” 

The words sounded strange to her ears. Ava stayed silent. 

Ethan said, “Ava, we’re leaving now. Go inside.” 

He handed her the bag he was holding. 

“The dress suits you very well.” 

Ava took the bag and glanced at Mason. She didn’t say anything else. She used the door scanner and went inside the Morren Residence. 

After they couldn’t see her anymore, they got into the hovercar. Keith set it to auto drive. He leaned back in his seat and spoke slowly. 

“Do you think Ava went through something bad before? I feel like she’s slightly resistant when men get close to her. She looks alright on the surface, but body language says more.” 

“Just say what you mean,” Laurent said. 

Keith looked at Ethan. 

“Given your job, you should know more than I do, right, Justice Brock?” 

“That’s just your guess,” Ethan said seriously as he looked at him. “Ava did have one boyfriend before. They only dated for half a year before they broke up. She sounded very calm when she talked about it. I checked her college social circle. Her ex was probably one of her teachers, Daniel Crowe.” 

“A school teacher? Some teachers really have no morals,” Ryan said. “They look proper, but they’re rotten inside.” 

“Daniel Crowe? That name sounds familiar. Is he from that Crowe family?” Mason sat up straight. This was the first time he had heard that Ava had a boyfriend before. 

“Yes,” Ethan said. “Daniel is a college teacher. He just got promoted to professor. He taught at Ava’s university for a year last year. At the start of this year, he officially accepted a position at a top school on the Central Planet. From what we know, the Crowe family is close to the Farnham family. Daniel’s fiancee is Ms. Farnham.” 

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19:05 Mon, Jan 12 

Chapter 101 The Slap 

“So he hurt Ava?” Ryan asked with a frown. 

Keith shook his head. 

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Finished 

“No. Ava’s original file at the Match Bureau shows she didn’t have any deeper relationship with a man. She hadn’t been with a man before.” 

Mason laughed softly. He looked Keith up and down, then looked at Ethan. 

“One of you checked her match file. The other checked her ex. You both did all that behind her back and acted normal in front of her. I really admire you.” 

Keith admitted it wasn’t a good thing to do. At that time, he didn’t mean to invade her privacy. They were forced to match, and he couldn’t contact her at all. That was why he used connections to get her original file. He only wanted to know what kind of person she was. 

“So Ava is actually that pure,” Ryan said as he scratched his head. His eyes showed clear shock. No matter what she was like, he liked her. Still, knowing she was still innocent gave him even more emotional satisfaction. 

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