The Strongest Curse Master-Chapter 293 : Not Official Yet

"Dad, you promised I could have the Bronco if I moved to this shitty town and enrolled in their shitty school. You can't back out now," Ava protested at the Martins' family breakfast.

No one at the table looked particularly surprised by her outburst—except for Layla, who suddenly regretted showing up. She debated whether she should just skip breakfast and avoid the family drama altogether.

"Hey, I work there," Ms. Matthews cut in, frowning. "And for the record, our high school football team is the best in the county. We were this close to winning the championship last year."

"Awe, babe, you're so sexy when you talk about football," Cam said, eyeing his fiance with intense passion.

"Ewe, get a room," Ava shot her cousins a withering glare, effectively shutting them up. Then, turning back to her father, she watched him casually munch on a sandwich made from last night's leftover chicken and snapped, "Dad! Are you even listening to me?"

"No, I'm not," Principal Martins replied bluntly, not even looking up. "I plan to tune you out until you apologize to your mother and ask her to come home." Then, as if to emphasize his point, he took a huge, satisfied bite of his chicken and gravy sandwich.

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Ava clenched her jaw. She knew exactly what he was doing—holding the Bronco hostage until she caved.

'Fine. Have it your way,' she thought before taking a deep breath and apologizing to her father in a soft tone, "Dad, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said to her." She hesitated, then added, "She had just got here, but she was still distracted by work, and already making plans to leave—even though she promised to spend an entire month training with me. I just... my anger got the better of me."

She leaned forward slightly, pressing her case making puppy eyes as she asked, "Daddy, you know how much I love you two, right?"

Ava figured if she played this right, she'd be driving herself to school in her own car instead of suffering through carpool hell with her cousin for the rest of the school year.

"Cut the crap. I'm not falling for that bullshit again. You said the exact same thing last time—word for word. At least try something new." Principal Martins leveled a firm look at his daughter and added, "For god's sake, Ava, own up to this, or I'm returning the Bronco. I already called the dealership. You have until they get here to pick it up."

He hated using gifts—ones he had thoughtfully picked out for her—as leverage just to get her to do the right thing. But with Ava, it was the only way to get through to her. She left him little choice. Still, it was better than giving up on her.

Ava's jaw tightened. "Dad, why can't you ever take my side? I wasn't the one who broke a promise—you two did!" She pushed her chair back abruptly, ready to storm out, but before leaving, she turned and shot a glare at her disgustingly lovey-dovey cousins and snapped, "I hate you two."

"What did we do?" Ms. Matthews asked, looking genuinely offended.

Cam just smirked and pulled her closer. "Ignore her," he said smugly. "She's just jealous of our love."

Just as Ava was about to storm out of the room, her phone buzzed with a text. Annoyed, she glanced at it, fully expecting spam—because seriously, who even uses regular SMS these days?

But to her shock, the message was from Ace. Her face immediately lit up as she read it, [Come to my new home before I change my mind.]

Ava's heart skipped a beat. She knew exactly which home he was talking about. Without a second thought, she spun on her heels, rushed back to the dining table, and shoved her hand into Layla's pocket.

"Hey—!" Layla barely had time to react before Ava yanked out her car keys and bolted for the door. As she sprinted outside Ava called over her shoulder, "Thanks for lending me your car, Layla!"

Layla jumped to her feet and chased after her while Principal Martins bellowed, "Ava, get back here!"

…

"Ava, open the damn door!" Layla shouted, pounding on the window. Ava had already locked the doors before she could get in. Instead of responding, Ava started the engine and brazenly spun the car around in the spacious driveway.

But just as she was about to speed off, the passenger door suddenly swung open.

"What the fuck? How did you—?!" Ava blurted, slamming on the brakes as Layla slid into the seat beside her.

Layla smirked saying, "It's my car. I know a few tricks." In reality, she silently thanked her voltaic wisp for the assist.

"Whatever," Ava grumbled, reaching over to shove Layla out, saying, "Now get out."

Layla took the opportunity to snatch the keys from the ignition before Ava could react. The engine cut off with a quiet click.

Ava's eye twitched as she exclaimed, "Hey! Give back the keys."

Layla held them up and bargained, "First, tell me where we're going."

"To a friend's house," Ava answered vaguely. It wasn't a lie—she and Ace weren't official yet.

"Aww, you made a friend already?" Layla cooed mockingly before her expression flattened. "Do I look like an idiot?"

As Ava's babysitter for years, Layla knew exactly how she operated. Ava didn't have friends—she had minions. She did not have a friend group but an entourage. That was how she was, asserting her dominance and supremacy everywhere she went, just like her ambitious mom.

Ava sighed, rolling her eyes. "Layla, if you don't hand me the keys right now, I'll tell my mom you broke her prized wine collection."

Layla blinked in confusion. "No, I didn't. I haven't even been in the cellar since—" She gasped, realization hitting her. "Oh my god, you broke them!"

"Exactly," Ava smirked. "Now, are you gonna give me the keys and get out of the car, or…?" She let the threat hang in the air, knowing Layla would cave.

Layla exhaled sharply, muttering curses under her breath before tossing Ava the keys and stepping out of the car.

Satisfied, Ava wasted no time jamming the key into the ignition and twisting it. But nothing happened, the engine did not roar to life. She tried again, but still nothing.

Frustration bubbling up, she turned toward Layla to demand answers—only to find that Layla was already gone.

Somewhere in the distance, Layla smirked to herself. Ava wasn't going anywhere—not with her Voltaic Wisp discreetly messing with the car's spark plug.