Chapter 55 - 55

Alaric had rented a small studio to practice playing the piano every day. He was hell-bent on winning the "Best Pianist" award at the International Music Festival.

He was impressed with the way Anderson industries was handling his contract. He expected to be benched and neglected after that first meeting they had, which did not turn out so well. But they were very professional, and they were really treating him fairly and above his expectations.

He learned why they were the best in the entertainment industry, it was because they knew how to showcase their talents' capabilities, and they had the best work ethics.

The scores for the event depended on the judges and votes from the public. And because of this, he knew that he had to get on social media and promote himself to the public a lot, something he was not used to. But the company took care of everything for him, they chose a few events to showcase his talents and create a positive image.

He felt that he indeed made the right decision signing up with them because they were better than any company he has worked with before.

After practicing for the day, he wanted to see Ava while she was still on vacation. He had asked her to go to Green Paradise with him, and she accepted. Green Paradise was a very large, privately owned arboretum that displayed a variety of flowers from around the world where people can stroll around and admire the beauty of the different gardens. There was a Japanese garden with its own koi pond and red iconic bridge, a rainforest, a greenhouse, and a very romantic rose garden, to name a few of the areas. People usually spend the whole day in this garden to see different sights.

There was a restaurant, a cafe and a viewing area people usually use to watch the sunset with their loved ones.

"Big brother, this place is so peaceful and amazing, everything is so beautiful," Ava said as they walked around the different gardens.

"Yes, it is, I thought of bringing you here so we can spend more time together," he said, looking at her thoughtfully with a smile on his lips.

He wanted to make up for the time he missed with Ava. He had sacrificed so many years just so he could fulfill his dreams, and now that it looks like they are within reach, he wanted to make sure that they would always be together.

But what he didn't know was that some wishes do not come true, and he would have to learn this the hard way.

"How's your preparation going for the competition?" she asked.

"It's going well. Do you want to come to my studio and see me play? he asked.

"Really? Can I?" she asked with her cute little puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, you can come to see my practice whenever you want," he chuckled at her cute face.

"I'm excited," she said.

They were talking about a lot of things and catching up with each other. Enjoying each other's presence andtime went by quickly.

When Ava's phone rang, she answered it right away. She had promised Tristan that she would always take his call.

"Hey, what's up?" she asks him.

"Nothing much. What are you doing?" Tristan asked as he sat in front of his computer, checking some of his emails. He had some downtime, so he decided to call her.

"I'm at Green Paradise right now, and I didn't know it was very beautiful here," she said, gushing about the place.

"Are you alone? Tristan questioned.

"Oh no, I'm with a friend," she said.

"Who is your friend?" Tristan was curious.

"Oh, it's just Alaric," she said nonchalantly. She did not feel like she needed to hide it from him, so she just volunteered the information.

Tristan stopped working and got up from his seat, and stood near the window. Alaric did not sound like a woman's name, so this must be the guy she rode with, he speculated. He was silent for a second, not wanting to let Ava know he was affected.

"Oh okay, enjoy your time," Tristan said as he started to say goodbye.

"Thanks, bye!" Ava smiled and cut the call. She did not notice anything unusual with Tristan, so she went on with her visit with Alaric.

"Hey, that's the famous greenhouse, let's go there," Ava said excitedly, as Alaric followed her. After spending half an hour in the greenhouse, Alaric was hungry.

"They have a cafe out here, let's have some snacks," he suggested, and she agreed. When she turned around to head for the path leading to the cafe, she was shocked by what she saw.

Tristan Ambrosio was standing a few feet in front of her. He didn't sound bothered on the phone, so she was surprised that he suddenly decided to appear in front of her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Ava said excitedly as she walked to him. 

After the phone call, he could not go back and concentrate on work. It really irked him that Ava was out with another guy, so he decided to go and see her.

His mood lightened up when he saw her smile at him, she even looked excited to see him.

On the other hand, Alaric became moody, he did not like that someone interrupted his outing with Ava, and on top of that, she looked happy to see him. Who was this man anyway, why does it seem like he was important to her?

He felt jealous, this was not the greeting he got when she saw him this morning.

He was curious about this man she was talking to, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" he said with jealousy in his voice.

"Oh yeah, this is Tristan Ambrosio. Tristan, this is Alaric Mendes, my childhood friend," she introduced.

Alaric has heard of Tristan Ambrosio before, and he never thought he would ever meet him. He was as handsome and as domineering as everybody said. He had a very confident aura about him that looked like he could crush anybody.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ambrosio," Alaric wanted to be in his good graces, he might be a good person to know.

"Uhm hmm…," Tristan nodded, not giving Alaric much importance.

They were sizing up each other. Wondering who the other person was in Ava's life and if they were friend or foe, but Ava was clueless, she did not feel the tension between the men vying for her attention.

The more Tristan stared at Alaric, the more he realized that this younger man has nothing compared to him. He had definitely more to offer.

"Tristan, we were on our way to the cafe, come and join us," Ava invited.

"Sure," Tristan smiled, giving in to her demands. Ava started telling him where they've been in the garden and what they have seen, Alaric noticed that he used a very endearing tone when he talked to Ava.

Before Alaric could pull out the chair for Ava, Tristan had beaten him to it. So this is how it is, Alaric thought, we're here to compete for Ava's attention.

As Ava sat between them, Tristan acted like Alaric was interrupting their time together.