Avery's Game Of Revenge
Chapter 60: Mrs... Not Miss.

Chapter 60: Mrs... Not Miss.

’’Why is he calling me?’’ she muttered beneath her breath as she swiped the dial to pick the call.

"Mr James?"

"Miss Donovan! Thank goodness you haven’t gone to bed yet. Did you see the news?" the voice coming from the other side of the line sounded tense, shaking...maybe.

Avery frowned, standing immediately as she walked to the center table to pick up the remote.

"The news? I haven’t, but I will check now if there’s something—"

He interjected, "Sorry to interrupt, Miss Donovan, but do you know an Emma McCAllum? You mentioned earlier today that you only arrived in the country a few weeks ago, is that perhaps your way of..."

Her hand stiffening on the remote button, Avery subconsciously tuned out on Leroy’s voice, hearing nothing but the loud sound of her own heart beating incessantly against her ribcage. She had expected this question anytime soon.

Hell! She had expected it everytime she saw anyone who wasn’t Archie; from Nancy, to Jodi, to Orion, Alice who had been in the same career line as Emma, Leroy who was working in the same agency as her before she died, and even a random passerby who should have recognized her from the news. But no one had, except Valentina of course, seen and thought of her as anyone other than Ava Donovan.

At first, she had been kind of annoyed about it since it meant her sister had been forgotten so soon but after a while, she deduced it was because Avery McCAllum had really been registered as dead in everyone’s mind. So much that they had actually erased her or her face from their minds.

"Miss Donovan, are you listening? I will hate to think—"

Avery felt the phone slipping out of her hand and she looked back to see it was Archie pulling it out. Without questions, he simply glanced at the screen of the phone and placed it against his own ear.

"Don’t know if you’d hate this, Mr Leroy, but the person you were speaking to fell asleep just now," he said, his brows raised at her as if asking what was wrong.

"Uh? Miss Donovan..."

"Mrs—" Archie tried to correct, when Avery snapped out of her thoughts and snatched the phone from his hand.

"I’m so sorry for that, Mr Leroy," she apologized. "It’s so late. I think I almost dozed off there. What were you saying?"

"Again, I am sorry I am calling this late but I was asking if you know someone named Emma McCAllum."

"I do," Avery deadpanned, keeping her voice as neutral as she could. "She’s the star from your agency who was murdered last month, isn’t it? Jodi told me about it when we saw Valentina McCAllum earlier today."

"So if I am to get what you are saying, Miss Donovan, it is that you don’t know who Miss Emma McCAllum and neither did you know anything about her family before today?"

"I wouldn’t say that," Avery disagreed. Confused as she was as to why Leroy was suddenly asking her this late in the night, she knew that was no excuse to flop. She had to make her lies believable, "I think I’ve heard about her once or twice before I came to this country, but I didn’t really pay attention since I was so absorbed in the media of my country that I couldn’t spare the time to get into another’s. But about her family... apart from what the meagre news I heard on TV, i know nothing else."

"Then, Miss Donovan," Avery could hear the deep intake of breath from the other side and she knew what was coming, or at least, she could guess what was coming, "Has anyone ever told you about your resemblance to the actress? Or the person who murdered her, Avery McCAllum?"

"Not at all. You are the first person telling me that," Avery replied. She was still going good without a single hint in her voice to show she was lying, but she could feel the anxiety bobbing at her throat already and her chest tightening. But somehow, Archie’s eyes on her seemed to give her the strength she needed as she continued, "Why the questions tonight, Mr James? It kind of feels like I am being interrogated buy I don’t know if it’s in a good way or a bad one."

"I understand, Miss Donovan," his voice sounded exhausted from across the line. "But maybe you should watch the news afterall. You don’t know what trouble you might wake up to tomorrow."

Avery nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. It just made the lie all the more easier for her.

"I just tuned in to a channel now. If you could excuse me while I hang up and watch the whole thing," she asked for permission but didn’t wait for one before hanging up on the call.

"You stopped me from correcting him when he called you a ’miss’," Archie pointed out as soon as her hand dropped from her ear, his tone dripping in accusations.

Avery almost rolled her eyes at him. Was he seriously asking her than when she just received such an important call, one that might actually send her to jail, if she had flopped even for a second there? But she composed herself, after all, she could not ask for his help after a fight and his help she needed, now more than ever.

"I didn’t want him to know I am married. I am just starting out in the industry and it wouldn’t be good for anyone to know that. Besides," she tilted her head to meet his eyes through the round glasses he was wearing, a different one again. How many did he have anyway? "Besides, Neil also calls me ’Miss Ava’ and you haven’t done anything to stop him."

"That’s because he knows who you used to be. He knew you as Avery McCAllum," Archie deadpanned, like it was an obvious answer she should have figured out.