CEO’s Best Friend Asks Him To Protect His Lil Sister But He Can’t Help But Want To CORRUPT Her

A-ba-da-bing-ba-da-bam!

Welcome to this week's

Baking and Mystery, Baking
& Murderer episode.

Listen, we're back with another book.

It is called 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦,
and it is twisted.

Every single neuron, inside of my brain.

And I'm about to tell you all about it.

This book is𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 by
Ana Huang.

It's a contemporary romance.

So, I thought...

[Off-Screen]:
Ana Huang?

Yeah.
[Off-Screen]: She's Chinese?

I know!

[Off-Screen]:Wow, okay!
Yeah.

There shall be no dragons in this one.

There shall be no 500-year-old furry fae.

The furries are not making an appearance
in today's video

because it's contemporary romance.

However, however, this is not a

normal episode.

Everyone and their mother told me

that this is the book to read.

That this is where it's at.

this is the story of a lifetime.

I saw TikTok edits about this book.

About Alex Volkov, the main character-
the main male lead.

And I went in, knowing, zero

jack sh*t, I knew nothing about this story

and the way that my mouth was hanging on

jugular on the ground, on the floor.

because of how insane this sh*t is
about to get.

I knew I was in for a freaking
ride, when the

very first words in the book are:

[Clears throat]

'He has a heart of ice... but for her,

he'd burn the world."

[Off-Screen]:
Okay...

A b*tch, okay?

Sh*t.

[Laughs]

The second line reads:

'Alex Volkov is the devil blessed with

the face of an angel and

cursed with the past he can't escape.'

[Screams]

Let me give you a rundown,
on what's going on.

Alex Volkov...
[Off-Screen]: You good?

[Laughs]

[Clapping]

[Off-Screen]:You good here?

No, it's just so crazy.

It's so crazy!

[Off-Screen]: Wait,
what's so crazy?

[Off-Screen]: I'm so confused.

Okay, sorry.

[Off-Screen]: Did I miss... a chapter?

Yeah, no, I feel like I've missed

25 chapters, okay?
[Laughs]

cause, that's literally
how the books starts.

Now, let me give you a rundown.

Alex Volkov is a 27-year-old,
self-made trillionaire.

[Background Laughter]

No, that's dramatic!
[Off-Screen]: Wait, wait, wait.

I think he's just, like,
a multi, multi-millionaire.

Maybe a billionaire?
I don't know.

27, billionaire?
That makes sense.

27-year-old, millionaire.

Maybe a billionaire?

But, also he looks like he could

be a contestant on Physical 100 and
America's Next Top Model.

He's hot, he's rich, he's so insanely

built, that you could ski down his abs.

But, he's got the brains of a
unicorn tech company founder.

Which either means he's really smart

or really not smart.

I don't know, you tell me, okay?

He is the romance novel starter pack.

He's also a robot, zero emotions.

Nothing phases him.
[Background Laughter]

Someone could get murdered
in broad daylight, on the street,

in front of him,
and he would just walk over the dead body.

[Laughter Erupts]

Why are you laughing?!

[Off-Screen]: Are they...
talking about me?

[Laughter Erupts]

Jail.

Okay

He must also must be a Marvel boy.

A crystal girly, because his heart
is stone, cold.

There's only one in the entire world
that could begin to thaw

ice Daddy's, cold, cold heart and that is
Josh Chen.

His unexpected best friend from college.

Who also happens to be the designated
fu*k boy in today's book.

But Alex Volkov?
He's not a f*ck boy.

He's hotter than a New York City
subway station, in the

middle of butt f*cking August.

He's richer! Beyond what mere mortals
can comprehend.

He's a genius!

Tell me why
this book told me his IQ is 160?

Like why is it telling me is IQ?

He has an IQ of 160 and he will never
let himself or you forget it.

I think it was mentioned like every other
chapter.

But he's not a f*ck boy.

In fact, Alex Volkov has very strict rules
to never let girls get...

too close to him.

[Off-Screen]: Mhm.

Because less they want to be on the
receiving end of a really bad

case of hypothermia.

You know?

He's just too cold for them.

Josh Chen on the other hand,
textbook definition f*ck boy.

Med School student.

He's smart, he knows it,
he's hot, he knows it.

And he wants to have as many girls in his
bedroom as possible.

Preferably, all at the same time.

And it is the sheer fact, that he's so
open about it. That makes him...

not that unlikeable.

Okay?

Anyway, the two of them,

they have been best friends,
since forever.

Alex even spent the past 8 Thanksgivings
with Josh Chen and his family,

and since Alex's family,
they're all uhm...

[Schhh]

[Off-Screen]: Of course.

Yeah, they're all dead.
You know what I mean?

They're all..
[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Of course.

They're all murdered.
And like this book is so crazy.

I thought, I was picking up a
contemporary romance.

Which it is, you know.

And I'm expecting a "Billionaire boy meets
poor girl."

Wild, kinky, BDSM,
smut dripping off the pages.

You cannot read this on public transit.

And it does have that, but also why is
everybody getting murdered?

Like why are there so many
murders in this book?

I don't understand.

Some of the plot lines are
absolutely unhinged.

I feel like this book could not pick which
type of book it wanted to be.

Sometimes I be reading
and I check the cover.

I'm like, "Wait, am I reading this?"

Then, I accidentally pick up
a different book.

Okay, there are some insane crimes
committed against humanity.

Just casually in the span of like
three pages.

And the writing of this book
is so nonchalant.

Like the most insane bad sh*t
plot will be taking place.

And the writing style is that of somebody
writing about how they just purchased

lemons at the farmer's market.

[Off-Screen]: Does it work?
Anyway,

It's going to work for some people.

[Off-Screen]: Okay...
[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Okay!

It's going to work really
well for some people and it's

going to work medium for other people.

And it's going to work really not well
for a lot of people.

[Off-Screen]: Okay?

I thought- do you want to know my opinion?

Okay, ask for my opinion.

[Off-Screen]: Your opinion, please.
Okay, so,

it's not literature, but what
smut book is literature?

You know what I mean?

It's not literature.

I was not... in the plot.
[Off-Screen]: Uh-huh.

At some point, I found myself reading
because of how unhinged it was.

Like, I was like, "I need to read more,
because it's so crazy."

There's no way it could get crazier.

And then it kept getting crazier.
[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Okay...
Okay,

So,

Let's get into it!

Alex's family is dead.
He spends every Thanksgiving with

his buddy Josh.

Josh's dad, Michael Chen, he's going to
become important later

and Ava, which is Josh's little sister.

She's pertinent to the story.
She's the sunshine to Mr.Grumpy.

She is described in the book, as I quote:
"Free spirit, who never stops seeing the

beauty in the world."

But, she also has a traumatic past.

[Off-Screen]: Wait, so she's
the main girl?

Yeah.

Bru- Best friend's little sister!

[Off-Screen]: Of course.
Best friend's-

But also, Ava has a very traumatic past,
like Alex.

You know, a lot of childhood
trauma going on.

Only she can't remember a

single thing about her childhood.

Her memory of her past, shooting blanks.
She can't recall a singular memory.

What is the story behind this picture
of you as a kid?

You cannot pay her to remember.
She will not remember.

So, that being said,

Let's get into Twisted Love.

21-year-old Ava Chen is standing in the
pouring rain, clutching her phone.

Yeah, I mean, no.

There's no way that every single Uber and
Lift is no longer in the area.

How does that even make sense?
It's nighttime, it's pouring rain

But sure enough, she's been standing
there, taking cover in the rain

clicking 'find a ride', nonstop for the
past 30 minutes.

Normally, Ava would think:

"Okay, let's think positive thoughts
and try to see the glass half full!"

But she's late to her older brother,

Josh's farewell party.

And she still hasn't

picked up his

favorite freaking chocolate cake,

that he eats once

a year on his birthday,

but now he's going

to want it because he's

about to move to Central America

and they don't have

his favorite

chocolate cakes there.

Which is-

[Off-Screen]: What city do they live in?
Washington, D.C.

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

Why did I want to say 'George Washington'

What the f*ck?

Which... okay,
he's going to Central America, but we

don't know which country.
So, it's like one out of 7, right?

It's going to keep me up at night.
Like everything is kind of vague in this

book.
[Off-Screen]: Okay.

I think there's another destination they

travel to and they just don't tell you--

[Off-Screen]: Okay.
much about the destination.

Anyway, one of the seven countries he's
going to, does not have death by

chocolate cake that he loves from the
local bakery.

So, she's got to go pick that up.

And oh sh*t, the rain just keeps coming
down. It's even stronger now.

And then Ava finally looks up and
she realizes: "You know what, I think I've

seen this film before, and I didn't like
the ending."

The film would be a literal horror movie,
where a girl gets kidnapped from the

middle of the night.

From a bus stop in the

pouring rain and then

is never to be seen again.

So, she's like, "I need to be smarter.

I need to use my brain cells."

She picks up her phone and calls the one
person,

she does not want to call right now.

Josh, her older brother,
the one that's moving,

the one that loves the chocolate cake.

"What happened?"

"Well, hello to you too!
Okay? Why would you think that something

happened?"

"You don't- we don't do
greetings anymore?"

"You never call unless something's wrong,
so what happened?"

"Nothing's wrong! Why would you ever..."

Josh can probably hear the pouring rain,
coming down.

"Okay, fine... okay, fine!
I'm a bit stranded— a little bit."

"But there's... there's just no
Ubers nearby, so it's not like

I'm stranded, per se... I'm just
waiting for a drive."

"Jesus, Ava, where the hell are you?"

She tells him the exact location
and he gives her this very long lecture

about how she's an hour away from
campus, but she argues she's there

because she was doing a photo shoot.

She's a photographer. She needs to
do these things.

"Photoshoots? Photographer?"
It's like kind of her job.

"Josh, have you heard of that?"

And immediately, first chapter
of the book,

I'm already mouth agape.

B*tch, because tell me why
Ava is on the phone with her brother, Josh

when she hears- this is her brother

when she hears soft moaning...
coming from the other end!

[Off-Screen]: Bruhh, what?

A woman's voice!

Ava is disgusted, which, like, same girl!

And I have a feeling the author does not
have a male sibling.

Because, like, uh, ewwww!

Anyway, that's your older brother.

Her eyes are wide. "Are you... are you
having s*x right now?"

She feels like throwing up, but
Josh says, "Technically, no."

What does that mean?

Like, logistically speaking, you're not?
Like it's complicated?

But either way, they hang up,
and Josh tells her to sit tight—

he's going to have someone pick her up.

[Off-Screen]: What do you mean
"Technically, no."

What the f*ck is he is doing there?

Technically, other things.
[Off-Screen]: Ahh, Oh my God.

He's not tell her who's picking her up,
when they're picking her up. Just wait.

That's all he tells her, which is
freaking fantastic.

She waits what feels like an eternity.

And it could be that the girl he was
just doing it with, is rolling up.

It could be a random friend, is going
to drive up.

Josh has a lot of friends,
Ava does not.

She's the type of girl that likes to
sit in the corner at parties,

just daydreaming about all the places
that she wants to travel in the world,

but she'll never get to travel
because she has a fear of flying.

Because she has water phobia.
It's called aquaphobia.

Now, while Josh-
he is the life of the party,

doing keg stands,
in the middle of the living room.

So, yeah, it could be one of his five
bajillion friends, or his girlfriends,

or it could be the one
person she hoped it would not be.

The one person, who drives a very loud,
very expensive car, an Aston Martin.

And right in that moment, a black Aston
Martin, starts speeding down the road.

Only, only mean guys drive cars like that.

Well, I don't know, okay.

But, Ava only knows one person that drives

a car like that,

and he's not very nice.

This is about to be one hell of an
hour-long car ride in the pouring rain.

The car stops right in front of her, the
window rolls down, and there's

a gorgeous man sitting in the
driver's seat.

Yes, you guessed it,
Alex Volkov.

Did you know that "Volkov"
means, like, wolf in Russian, I think?

[Light Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

"Get in."
He doesn't even look in her direction.

"He's so rude.
It's so hot."

[Off-Screen]: Shut up.

No, that's not what I'm saying!

[Off-Screen]: Oh, that's what she's
saying?

Basically, yeah.

[Giggles]

What do you mean 'shut up'

Are you trying to be rude that it's hot?

[Laughter]

She awkwardly gets into the
passenger seat and the car is dead silent.

He doesn't believe in listening to music.
No sweet tunes in this man's ears.

Gross? Feelings?
Emotions? Music?

They're just driving in silence.

Ava naturally feels uncomfortable,
so she's trying to break

the silence a little bit.

"Uhm, thanks for picking me up.
It's really sweet of you."

No response.

In fact, Alex doesn't even glance at her.

He's got that Oppa driving stance,
one hand on the steering wheel.

Man spreading—can't be safe for
vehicular maneuvering,

but he's f*cking doing it.

Ava tries— she shifts back in her
chair, so she's facing the road again.

And just tries to focus on getting through
the rest of this hour-long car ride.

It's just so crazy to her.

How different Alex is from her
brother, Josh.

Personally to her, Alex gives
strong a*shole vibes.

Sure, maybe he had a reason
with all that childhood trauma

whatever that he went through,
I don't know.

Josh never told her in detail,

but she knows that he doesn't a family and

that's why he spends Thanksgiving
with hers, but still he doesn't

have to be such a dick.

All Ava knows about the guy, after
8 years of him being Josh's best friend,

is: his parents are dead; they left
him a giant pile of money.

He took that pile of money and
4X it by investing.

Which he didn't even need,
by the way,

because he created a new financial

modeling software in high school
that made him a

multi-millionaire before he turned 18.

[Soft Laughter]

[Off-Screen]: Sure, buddy.
Which makes sense because

his IQ is sitting pretty at 160.
He's basically a genius.

Okay?

Now, at the age of 27, he is now a COO

to one of the most successful real estate

development companies in the country.

He is, quote, according to the
book, a legend, and he knew it.

[Ahhhlalalag]

Meanwhile, Ava—she's a mess,
but she's a cute mess—

she's working two jobs because
her dad, Michael Chen,

doesn't want to support

her photography career.
Which is fine.

She loves what she does.
But she'll take anything, honestly.

Graduations? Engagement shoots?
Dog birthday parties?

She'll be there, she'll be
photographing.

Halfway through the car ride,
Ava realizes that she-

forgot about the damn chocolate
cake.

For her brother.

She turns to Alex

[Off-Screen]: Wait, she didn't
buy it?

No, she has to go
to pick it up.

[Off-Screen]: Oh, okay.

"Uhm, okay, so look, don't kill me,
but we need to make a quick stop."

"We're already late."

He really does not like to take his
eyes off the road.

Or maybe he doesn't like

looking at her.

I don't know. Ouch.

Okay?

"It's a really small detour for
Josh's cake.

I'll run in and out before
you can even park.

"It'll be so quick, please?"

"Stop."
Ava stops.

Not only does she stop, but
she's staring at his fingers

just gripping the steering wheel.

And it's doing things to her
system.

It's raining outside the car
and inside the car,

on her seat.

He might be an as*hole, but

he's gorgeous, he's beautiful,
jade green eyes, the color of—

you know what that color is?

[Off-Screen]: No.
Money.

He looks like he's been chipped
from a glacier.

His face is so sharp,
he looks like a statue

from an Italian museum, just come to
life and walk right out of there.

Butt naked.

And straight into Ava's bed-
I mean, his car.

What is she thinking?
Disgusting.

And he asks her, "If we get to the
cake shop,

you promise you'll stop talking?"

"Yeah, if you want."

"Fine."

When they get to the bakery,
Ava is ready to jump out.

Efficiency is key here.

But Alex grabs her arm before she
could even get out

and pushes her back into her seat.

If Ava wasn't upset that he was
preventing her from leaving the car,

she would have made a puddle in that seat.

Okay? Why is his touch so hot?

[Off-Screen]: What is going on?

No, that's literally—
that's what she's telling me.

She's telling me.

She told me this.

[Off-Screen]: Why?

She told me this.

Oh, you have no idea
what this book is about.

Honey, this is just smut.

Baby. [Laughs]

Baby, you thought...
you thought there was a plot.

[Off-Screen]: But, like, why?

What do you mean?
[Off-Screen]: Okay, alright, anyways.

Just enjoy the ride.
Just sit back, put your seatbelt on.

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Alright, a puddle,
a puddle, got it.

[Laughs]

So good.

Like why is his touch so hot?

She expected it to be cold, honestly.

"You can't go out like that."

"What? Like what?"

She looks down at her t-shirt and
jeans.

Well, what's left of her t-shirt...

Her white t-shirt is completely
transparent, and her

red lace bra is not doing anything
to hide her full chest:

nips and all.

[Off-Screen]: Ahhh.
And instead of being embarrased,

Ava chooses to focus on getting

the cake before the shops close.

"Instead of staring at
my breast, as*hole,

why don't you hand me your

your jacket so that I can get the cake?"

Once Ava realizes that she just called

the Alex Volkov— an as*hole,

she's quacking in her boots.

But Alex on the other hand,

he's smirking.

This is probably the most
intense, emotional

response that she's ever
elicited from this man

in almost a decade, so...

there's that.

"You're not my type, Ava.

Even if you weren't my best
friend's sister."

The way he's leaned over, so
close to her face.

I mean, he's practical growling.
It's so hot.

But also, kind of
f*cking mean.

I mean Ava wasn't really
interested either.

But he doesn't have to be so blunt
about it?

Right?

Either way, he doesn't
let her out the car.

Even with his jacket on.

So he runs in, grabs the cake and
before you knew it

they're making their way over to
Josh's going away party.

Which happens to be right next
to Ava's place.

They live right next door to
eachother

Her and her brother.

They're house neighbors.

When Alex pulls up in the driveway,
like a panther.

That's how he describes him, okay?

That's not me.

Like a panther,

everything he does is mysterious
and sleek

and just like...

[Giggles]

like a panther

[Off-Screen]: Ahh, okay...

What do you mean?

Why do you think I've been so glued
to my kindle recently?

I'm just kidding!

I'm just kidding.

Where's my nose--

[Off-Screen]: Were you looking for
dignity?

[Laughs]

Where'd you get that?

[Inhales]

[Off-Screen]: Ahh, okay...

He's like a predator.
Always on the alert.

Looking for new prey.

Ava turns to him,

"I hope that the stick in your a*s,
punctures a vital organ."

[Laughs]

But because she has manners,
she then says:

"Thanks for the ride."

And leaves the car.

And with that, she's running,
she's slamming her front door shut.

Now, side note, this book is a dual POV.

I did not know that.

We have Ava's POV and
then Alex's POV.

Which normally, I don't like
when I know the guy's POV.

Because... I don't know.

I don't know, what's going on
in that brain...

and I think that's hotter.

But, once I known I'm like:

"Oh. That's what's going
on in that brain?"

Okay, so, for example,
sometimes my husband

be laying there, all hot, okay?

And he's like running his hands
through his hair,

[Off-Screen]: Shut up.

he'd be like leaning down,
he'd be like.

Oh I'm like:

"Damn, he's already thinking about—
I don't know, stocks or

some shit, something hot.

Like babe,
what are you thinking about?

Oh, I'm playing Tetris
in my mind.

[Background Laughter]

I'm like, "Okay, I don't want
to know these things."

[Background Laughter]

He's laughing because this has
happened multiple times.

[Background Laughter]

Okay?

So, at Josh's party, a blonde
girl is practically drooling

over Alex.

He's hot, but once you
know he's one of the most

financially eligible bachelors
in the entire city,

he becomes hotter.

It's likely the blonde girl knows
both of these things about Alex.

She's curling her finger around
his biceps.

"We can take this somewhere more
private if you want."

Alex is smirking.

Yeah, no.

Not in her wildest dreams.

He takes one look at her and

he already knows she cannot handle him.

I mean, despite her sexual
aggression,

she wants a boyfriend,
she wants someone

to send her flowers

and call her a princess.

Alex volkov, does not do that.

He has rules: no kissing,
no face-to-face contact.

If one of the girls on his

rotating roster suddenly wants
those things,

they know the drill. They're out.

And quickly replaced by someone
who knows boundries.

It's a simple agreement.

[Off-Screen]: So, they need to be
as big of an

a*shole as possible?

Yeah...

[Off-Screen]: Then they need to
fall for one girl...

and one girl only.
[Off-Screen]: One girl only

Yeah...

[Off-Screen]: Now that's hot.

That's hot.

[Off-Screen]: That's really hot.

That's really hot... yeah.

Meanwhile, Josh is on the couch

with two girls offering
him a threesome

before he leaves for Central America.

[Off-Screen]: Josh is what?
On the couch

with two girls offering
him a threesome,

before he leaves.

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

As a going away present.

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

Before Alex can roll his eyes,
he hears—

"Ahahahaha"—a laugh

just floating around in the party.

And of course he knows who

the laughs belongs to.

It belongs to Ava.

Josh's little-

the grass is always
greener on the other side,

the glass is always half full,

today's going to be a great day-
little sister.

F*cking happy-go-lucky,

Miss Little Sunshine,

Miss Little Always Smiling,

little b*tch,

she's like a Disney princess.

Alex almost half expects flowers
to start sprouting behind her

when she walks around and
birds to be chirping around.

She farts and it's the

Little Mermaid soundtrack.

That's what he's expecting, okay?

But he can't help but watch her and think,

"Is that a real laugh,
or is that a fake laugh?"

Most people's laughs are fake.

I mean, he's not judging anyone,
but knowing Ava?

It's probably a real laugh.

[Music]

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[Music]

Later during the party,

Josh walks up to Alex.

"I need to talk to you about Ava."

Alex is about to take a
sip of his whiskey,

but he stops.

"What about?"

"I'm just really concerned
about her, you know?

I know she's not like a
baby anymore

and she can take
care of herself,

but look what
happened tonight.

Stranded in the rain,

ready to be kidnapped...

she's just always been so...
trusting of the world."

[Off-Screen]: Let me guess...

"Can you look out for her?"

[Screams]

[Background Laughter]

[Off-Screen]: "When I'm gone."

So Alex feels his jaw clench
because,

yeah, basically!

[Off-Screen]: "Can you watch out
for my baby—baby sister?"

No...
[Off-Screen]: Oh.

worse than that.

"Can you move into my house?

[Off-Screen]: Oh... oh my God.

And be my little sister's
next door neighbor?"

"Can you just make sure that
she doesn't get kidnapped,

or killed, or join a cult or something?

I would owe you big, big time."

"You already owe me big time."

"Is that a yes?

Because you're the only one that
I trust to not-

[Off-Screen]: She's 21.

22, actually.

[Off-Screen]: 22.
Yeah...

[Off-Screen]: You do not need
a babysitter.

Yeah...

[Off-Screen]: Maybe he's tryna
set it up.

No...

[Off-Screen]: What do
you mean, no?

He does not want them toget—

he tells Alex straight up,

"You're the only one I
trust to not try to—you know?"

Alex is like, "F*ck your sister?"

"Geez, please, please
can we not say it like that?"

"But yeah."

[Off-Screen]: But she's 22.

Like, you don't need, like...

Exactly.

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

"I mean, we both know

she's not your type, Alex.

And even if she was,
we've been best friends

for eight years.

I trust you."

Alex does not tell Josh that,
yeah, Ava is not his type,

but he was also very
much enjoying the view in his car,

with her lacey red bra.

"I'm just really worried about her, man.

Okay, I'm just really worried-"

"Okay, okay, I will take
care of your sister, don't worry."

Alex knows this is a huge mistake

because when he
promises something,

he means it.

He's going to take care of Ava,

and not just like, "Hey, you good?"

text every two weeks.

That's why he does so
well in the business world.

Okay?

When he says he's going to destroy
someone, he does it.

When he says he will watch over
his best friend's little sister,

he does it.

[Screaming in the background]

The quote in the book reads:

[Clears throat]

"I wasn't a protector. I was a destroyer.

I broke hearts,

crushed business opponents,

and did not care about the aftermath."

[Sniffing sounds]

[Off-Screen]: Okur...

[Laughs]

Right after Alex promises to basically
adopt Josh's full-grown adult sister,

he gets a call.

He steps out of the party,
and it's his uncle Ivan,

the CEO of his company...
well, CEO is putting it very loosely.

Ivan is the face of the company,
but everybody- everyone on Wall Street,

everyone in the industry,
everyone in the media—

they all really know it's Alex
running things behind the scenes.

I mean, Uncle Ivan isn’t bad, per se;
he’s great at being a CEO.

But he's no Alex Volkov, and as for why
Alex isn't CEO himself, you know,

for the company he founded, Archer Group.

He's kind of preoccupied with something.

I mean, the goal he has been chasing

since his parents and
his little sister were killed:

find the killer and kill them.

The ultimate revenge plot.

It was the only reason
that Alex was still alive

It was his only purpose for
the past 16 years.

F*ucking vengence.

That is the only thing he has
been chasing.

That is it.

It was the only thing that really
mattered to him.

Destroy the person that
destroyed his family.

Point blank.

He picks up his phone, and his uncle's
raspy voice is on the other line.

"Is this a bad time?"

"No, no, no, Uncle Ivan.
Did you take care of the problem yet?"

"No, not yet, but we're close.

You will give your family the peace
they deserve soon, my nephew."

They agree to meet each other next week

after the board meeting because Alex
is going to be a bit

preoccupied this week.

He's going to be moving into Josh's house,

right next door to Ava Chen, okay?

Now, a few days later,

Ava is over at Josh's, helping him pack up
the few remaining pieces of his life

before he just moves...
for God knows how long.

And he tells her that
a friend is going to

be moving into the house while he's gone.

He's going to be house sitting.

"Wait, why would you need a house sitter?

Who?"

Josh is smirking,
and it's making Ava nervous.

"Wait, what the hell?"

And then she hears it, before she sees it.

Some cars are loud because
they have engine problems.

Some cars are loud to let everybody on

the block know that a
rich person is coming through.

Two very distinct loud noises—
it's the latter.

And it's no freakin' way.

She runs to the front door, and an
Aston Martin is pulling into the driveway.

Alex gets out, and Ava is
standing there, annoyed.

She does not want to be living next to a
freaking babysitter.

But Ava's best friend/roommate,
Jules—Jules has red hair, an insane body.

I mean, her body proportions
are so out of this world,

people call her Jessica Rabbit.

[Off-Screen]: What does that mean?
You know Jessica Rabbit?

[Off-Screen]: No.

[Off-Screen]: Is that a person?

It's a cartoon.

[Off-Screen]: Oh.

[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: What the f*ck?

What do- what do you mean?

What do you mean?
It's a cartoon, okay?

So, Jessica Rabbit—Jules—is
just standing there, staring at Alex like

she wants to move her bed
into his house, now.

"Wait, you're not moving in!
You can't move in here?"

Ava’s freaking out.

Josh turns to Ava,
"Why can’t he, exactly?"

"Because... because, no!"

"No, no."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"I'm 22 years old, Josh.

This is freaking ridiculous."

[Off-Screen]: What, why is
she freaking out?

I don't know, actually.

[Background laughs]

I-
[Off-Screen]: What, why?

I actually don't know.

You know, that's a good question.

[Background laughs]

Hm... would I be freaking out?

Proabably not.

[Background laughs]

I'd be like, 'Eughh.'

'What's going on?'

[Laughs]

Okay!

Um... what?

I'm confused now.

So then Josh is like,
"It's not about you.

He's house-sitting.
So when I get back next year,

the house is still here."

"You're lying, and you know it.
You asked him to keep an eye on me."

"I mean, that would be nice if he
finds himself

with some extra time here, right?

Which, don't act like I'm crazy

after what happened

with your ex-boyfriend, Liam?"

To be fair, Josh is kind of right.

Liam cheated on Ava—
this is her ex-boyfriend—

but is demanding
she get back with him.

So, for the past few months now,
he's been blowing up her phone,

calling her non-stop, showing
up at the gallery that she works at.

It's been overwhelming.

Honestly.

"Yeah, well, I can take care of Liam."
She turns to Alex pleadingly.

"I mean, think about it."

Like, does he really want to leave his
insane DC penthouse to come live... here?

Near the college campus?

Please, just call the moving company.

It'll be a cute little joke.

Don't you—I don't know—have a job in DC?"

"It's a twenty-minute drive."

Jules walks up to Alex, swaying her hips.

"Just so we're clear,
I don't mind having you as a neighbor.

Do you like to do yard work?
I recommend doing it shirtless.

It gets really hot out here."

All jokes aside,

Josh tells Ava,

"I need to protect you,
and I can't not protect you."

Ava takes one look at him,
and she knows

he's not messing around.

There's no convincing him otherwise.

This is going to be a very long,
uncomfortable year.

Red velvet cookies.

That's what Ava is going to bring Alex

in hopes of softening him up and trying

to convince him to just pretend to spend

the rest of his time in the house.

Just go back to your penthouse.

She knocks on his door the next day,

with the little basket
of fresh baked cookies.

It's a truce. A peace offering.

But why the f*ck is she so nervous?

The door swings open and he's standing
there in his suit.

He just got home from work.

His blazer is off, but his tie is still on

and the way that his muscles are
straining underneath

the dress shirt, just busting to get out?

[Off-Screen]: Busting?

[Laughter]

[Off-Screen]: Is BUSTING to come out
of the dress shirt.

[Laughter]

[Off-Screen]: Damn.

[Off-Screen]: The monster is about to...

come out.

[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Alright.

[Off-Screen]: Go on.

"Here," she shoves the basket in
front of his face.

"I baked them for you, cookies!

Welcome to the neighborhood, I guess."

"A gift."

"I know you don't want to be here,
more than I don't want you to be here.

But, we can try to get along?

I guess?

Right? Like a truce?"

"I didn't realize we were at war."

"No... but, I'm just trying to be nice, so
we can live easier lives,

this upcoming year.

You know, just, I don't know, eat them,
throw them away,

give them to your pet snake,
I don't care."

"I don't have a pet snake, but
thank you."

Ava blinks.
Did this man just thank her?

He never thanks people.

She was honestly expecting
him to slam the door shut in her face.

She is in such a state of shock,
she doesn't move.

She's just staring at him.

"Do you want to come inside or something?"

This is even weirder.

But Ava cannot give up on the chance
to see what his house looks like,

how he furnished it.

"Sure!" She steps inside behind him and
walks straight into the living room.

Josh's living room was very cozy;
it had a lot of personal touches—

books, sports gear, things that he likes.

[Off-Screen]: Wait, wait, wait, he

renovated the whole house?

No, no, he just furnished it.

[Off-Screen]: He literally furnished it?

Yeah.

[Off-Screen]: He's house sitting, like

what are you doing?

[Off-Screen]: He just f*cking...

Yeah, no, he needs his, like,

restoration hardware furniture, okay?

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

Yeah.

Alex's place is sterile and cold.

Not a single picture.

Just cold statue artworks placed around.

"Not a photo guy?"

"Why would I need photos?"

"For memories..?"

"I don't need photos for that.
The memories are here,"

he taps the side of his head.

[Laughter]

[Off-Screen]: And it echos.

[More laughter]

[Off-Screen]: Empty

[More laughter]

No, we got it.

We got it the first time.

[More laughter]

So f*cking...

what has gotten into you today?

[Off-Screen]: What got into YOU today?

[More laughter]

You're kicking your feet!

To this story, aren't ya?

[Off-Screen]: Me, kicking my feet?!

[More laughter]

"Yeah, but memories fade-"

[Bursts out laughing]

Sorry, it's about to get crazy.

[Background applause]

You're so funny today!

I can't...

I can't... get over that.

[Off-Screen]: Get over what?

It goes-

[Laughs]

because I just imagine every time I
go like this.

It's just hello, hello, hello,
hello, hello.

[Off-Screen]: Okay, let's go.

"Yeah, but memories fade,
at least photos don't."

"Mine don't."

"What do you mean? Yes, they do.

They're memories."

"I have Hyperthymesia or HSAM for short."

"You have what?"

[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Wait...

sounds like he has Amnesia or
something.

[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: What?

"Highly superior autobiographical
memory.

Look it up."

[Laughter]

[Off-Screen]: Look it up.

[Off-Screen]: Look it up.

"You have photographic memory?"

[Laughter]

"It's different."

[Off-Screen]: It's different.

[Off-Screen]: It is different.

[Quietly laughing]

It's different.

People with photographic memory recall

details from a scene that they've observed

for a short amount of time.

They can remember it.

People with HSAM, they remember
almost every detail,

about every little thing that has ever

happened in their lives.

Every memory is solidified,
and it will never go away.

[Off-Screen]: Then it's a curse.

[Giggles]

Yes.

[Off-Screen]: Really?

[Laughs]

Ava is so confused because she's
never heard Josh mention this.

Not even once, and the whole

thing sounds straight out of a movie.

So you have Alex, who has HSAM,
that remembers everything

and is unable to forget even
the darkest moments of his life.

And then you have Ava,
who remembers

basically jacksh*t about her childhood.

She wonders, what is it
like to remember everything?

Alex leans in so close
that Ava wants to back away.

It literally takes everything in her
to not run out of this house.

His physical presence is overwhelming.

First of all, he's huge, but also
there's something about his energy.

He takes up the entire room
and leaves you suffocating.

It's like he's choking you.

[Scoffs]

Okay?

[Laughs]

"It's like watching your life
play out as a movie.

Sometimes it's a drama,
other times it's a horror movie."

"No romance?"

Alex doesn't break eye contact, but
he doesn't respond either.

He just lets the question linger,
so long that Ava feels a

droplet of sweat trickle down her massive

titties.

[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Whattt?

[Off-Screen]: That's what she said?!

No, I'm like... summarizing.

[Off-Screen]: Oh, okay.

I think they're huge.

I think so... that's the
vibe I was getting.

Or they're perky at least...
I don't know.

[Off-Screen]: What...?

He looks down and he smirks.

"Go home, Ava.

Stay out of trouble."

Ava runs out of there
like this is the Bankai.

She's shaking up,
holding her goods.

She's running!

Okay?

She a track star!

And Alex is busy
beating his fist into a face.

Just another punch, another punch,

and he punches the mannequin

straight in the face,
sweat drips down his forehead.

But he doesn't stop,
because he's a hot man.

Hot men go, "Arf, arf."
You know, they don't stop.

No stop.

Hot men?

No stopy!

Like, I love this book, but at times,
this man is giving Gigachad.

I'm here for it, but it's giving
Chad roleplaying

as a tech nerd.

Alex works out at a local training
center, and Ralph, the owner,

is his personal instructor.

He's this middle-aged man
that's really strong at fighting,

and he's just teaching Alex how to,
I don't know, kill people

with his bare hands.

Which reminds Alex, it would
actually might be perfect

for Ava to learn some
self-defense skills.

He's already upgraded her
sh*tty house alarm system.

I mean... this would just
make things way better.

It's a win-win.

The more Ava stays out of trouble,

the less Alex has to worry about her,

and he can focus on
his big revenge plan and

running one of the most successful
businesses to ever

be publicly traded on the stock market.

Though, he probably would not mind

her coming over, sweating
through her shirt.

Boobies just hanging out,
baking him red velvet co-

No.

He needs to focus.

This is his best friend's little sister
he's talking about.

Forbidden fruit. Forbidden fruit.

When Alex is done working out,
he goes to hit the showers,

and he's shaking the
sweat beads off his hair.

He checks his phone and

he realizes Ava had
yet to text him back.

It has been an hour.

Usually, she's very
quick to responding,

but this time, nothing.

She doesn't even have a
scheduled photo shoot, he knows,

because he runs background

checks on all of her clients.

So where the hell is she

that she can't

pick up her freaking phone?

He pedals to the metal,

all the way back home.

Like that.

That's him.

Did you hear that?

Okay, he marches right up to her door,

right next to his house.

He's knocking on the door,
trying to get the visual,

the memory, out of his mind.

The blood, the blood
was everywhere.

It was all over his hands,
and his clothes.

Just everywhere.

And that could be-

that could be Ava.

If Alex isn't vigilant,
if he isn't cautious.

He waits for what
feels like an eternity,

until the door slowly opens.

I mean, truly nobody
makes Alex wait,

but here Alex is, waiting.

The door opens, and it's
the red-haired roommate, Jules.

She opens up the door and it just

agitates him even further.

"Where is she?"

"I'm sorry, who are you looking for?"

"Ava. She's not
answering her phone."

"I guess, she's preoccupied
with something.

Or perhaps someone."

"Don't f*cking play
games with me, Jules.

I know your boss.

All it takes from me is
one word, and your

internship is no more."

[Off-Screen]: Uhm, I don't think

that- that's appropriate, Sir.

Yeah, actually-

[Off-Screen]: That's, that's giving...

what is that called?

In Korea... the
chaebols do that to the-

Ah, gapjil (갑질)?

[Off-Screen]: Yeah, like you're
just abusing your power.

In status.

Woahh?!

Woah, woah, woah~

[Off-Screen]: Like~

[Off-Screen]: I'm gonna
expose you.

[Laughter erupts]

I'm gonna expose you.

No, actually, that is a very big,

um,

criticism that this book receives.

Because the main lead is- listen

we all love a possessive main lead.

But, he's possessive to the point of like

a little overkill....

like right now.

[Off-Screen]: Yeah, like...

[Off-Screen]: What are you doing?

Yeah.

What are you doing?

That's a lot.

[Off-Screen]: Like, who are you?

[Background laughter]

And she's like,
"Are you threatening me?"

"Are you playing games with me?"

They're just staring into
each other's eyes,

daring the other party to do something,

and Jules gives up.

"She's not in trouble,

she's with a friend.

She's not someone who
likes to be glued

to her phone when she's

spending time with people.

Alex threatened Jules some more

with his connections and ability to send

one text message, one SMS, and

your career is zilched, b*tch.

Do you get me?

Your future career, in 2 seconds, gone!

[Off-Screen]: That's so hot!

Yeah...

Jules gives in and is willing to tell
Alex

where Ava is, under one condition:

she's allowed to go with him, wherever

she's going to take him, okay?

And make sure that Ava's okay and Alex

is not going to be a douchebag

to her.

That's the plan.

But, no promises there!

During the car ride, they're rushing

over to some random guy's house,

Jules gave Alex the address to.
And Jules

brings up the idea that, maybe,
just maybe,

Ava is too busy to text

because she's having sex right now.

To which Alex starts freaking the fork

out at even the thought of the suggestion.

He makes a mental promise in his head

to kill anyone that would even think
about touching

Ava in front of him.

He's seething at the idea

that some disgusting little,

sh*thead, frat boy is going to-

or maybe, it's her ex-boyfriend,

the guy who's trying to weasel his way

back into her life.

Alex parks the car at
the house in question,

and starts marching inside.

Upstairs,

they find Ava in the man's bedroom,

in black lacy lingerie- something you

would see on the cover of Playboy, barely

covering her butt.

Most of her butt, just hanging out.

The lace reveals more than it covers!

[Off-Screen]: Wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait...

they just break into someone's house?

Well... the roommate opened the door.

[Off-Screen]: And they just walk

straight into a bedroom?!

Mhm.

[Off-Screen]: And she's just

laying there with lingerie?

Yeah... well she's standing there.

Even her hair- usually it's straight- but

right now, it's in waves,

falling down her back.

Her makeup smokey eye, glossy red lips

on her golden skin.

This so much worse than sex.

Ava is standing there, posing

while the f*cker is taking pictures!

It's a, it's a bada... boudoir.

Badour, badoor, boudoir...

hold the door!

[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: What...?

Boudoir photo shoot.

[Off-Screen]: What is that?

[Off-Screen]: Sexy photo shoot?

Yes!

They're whispering and giggling and

laughing, while staring at the

photos that they took!

They're so engrossed in what they're
doing,

they don't even notice Alex staring at

them from the doorway.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Ava glances up, and immediately starts

covering herself up.

"Alex, what the hell are you doing here?"

Jules is leaning up against
the door, smiling.

She's having fun.

"You look so hot Ava. I can't
wait to see the pictures."

Alex shoots her a death glare,

"Nobody is seeing the pictures.

No. One.

We're leaving, grab your stuff, Ava.

Now."

He then turns to the blonde guy,
with the camera,

and forces him to delete
every single photo.

Or else...

Ava tries to wrestle the camera-

[Off-Screen]: Okay, is this hot

or is this questionable?

[Sighs]

Okay, so...

so.... that was my thing.

When I'm like reading and

I'm like: "Is this hot or
is this questionable?"

I think it would have been hotter,

had the relationship progressed better.

[Off-Screen]: Yeah, like I
just met you-

Yeah!

[Off-Screen]: You're giving stalker...

It's just like so...

unrealistically unhinged.

[Off-Screen]: Yeah...

Yeah...

[Off-Screen]: 911

911...

[Off-Screen]: Wow, okay.

Like things progress so fast in this book

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

Yeah, it's weird.

So, Ava tries to wrestle the camera
out of

Alex's hands, because he's

permanently deleting every single photo

and clearly it's not working.

Alex, the karate man?

I don't think so, she's not
getting the camera.

So, she resorts to threatening him.

"If you don't let me
have the camera back,

right now

I will walk right out that door,

and I will walk around
this neighborhood

in this lingerie set."

"Yeah, try me.

If you do, Ava, I will

destroy your friend's career,
until he has no

choice but to advertise
his work on Craigslist and

only get bookings, for $5 neighborhood

photo shoots for their

children birthday parties.

Is that what you want?"

The two of them are so close,

their faces are just inches apart.

And Ava knows Alex would do it

even without encouragement.

"You're an a*shole."

"Get dressed, Ava.'

And with that, Alex deletes

every single photo that they took.

The three of them- Alex, Ava, and Jules-

they storm back into the car and

Alex and Ava are pissed, but Jules

is enjoying the show.

In the car, Ava is protesting
the whole way home.

She's- I mean who is this guy?

Overprotective... great, right?

But who is he to tell her, what she

she can and cannot do?

"You're not my dad, you're not my brother,

what is wrong with you?

I'm safe, I wasn't being kidnapped

or forced into anything that doesn't
concern you."

"He's taking photos of
you practically nude.

It concerns me.

Do you know what would happen

if he were to leak those?"

It's badar, it's boudoir, it's bdo-

it's a padootado...

"... photography, it's art!

People do this all the time!

So what if they get leaked?

It's not like I'm doing it on video.

How did you even know where
the hell I was?"

"Oopsie, that might have been me...!"

Jules pops from the back seat.

Anyway, it's been 2 weeks since Alex

was put on babysitting duty
and he already

wants to strangle Ava.

And Jules is having a freaking blast with
this story.

She's adding new details each time.

Ava's got a group of girlfriends
that she met

in college.

They're like an odd bomb mix of
friends,

but they get along really well.

You have Ava, Jules- her bombshell,

redhead, Jessica Rabbit, sexy
roommate

that every guy, but Josh and Alex
are interested

in forking for some reason.

Then you have Stella, who's an
influencer.

And then Bridget, who's a princess.

[Off-Screen]: Princess, how?

Yeah, no, princess...

of a small but wealthy European country.

[Background laughter]

[Off-Screen]: Okay...

Okay?

But, despite being a princess, she's

very down to earth, okay?

And Jules is telling them the story-

[Off-Screen]: This book is something.

[Off-Screen]: Next one is Wonder Woman,

and then we got the Avengers.

So, Stella and Bridget are
disappointed that

they weren't there to see Alex

freak out, but

Ava is stabbing her greek yogurt
with a spoon.

"Trust me, you didn't
miss anything good.

It was just humiliating,
honestly."

But, Jules, finds it fascinating.

"But, don't you think it's weird?

He was so pissed."

"Yeah, okay."

"Alex Volkov was pissed."

"I'm not sure where you're going
with this, Jules."

"Ugh, when was the last time
you saw Alex pissed?

Or happy?

Or sad?

He has no emotions, he's a robot."

Stella rolls her eyes,

"He's not a robot, that's a psychopath."

[Off-Screen]: Every time
you say 'robot',

I'm just like 'beep beep bop bop boo bop'.

[Laughter]

[Off-Screen]: Beep bop.

He's so cute.

[Laughter]

Anyway Stella's like:

"He's not a robot,
he's a little psychopath.

Nobody normal has that little
feelings."

For some strange reason, Ava
feels the need

to defend him.

"I mean, he's not that bad,

once you get to know him."

"The point here is everybody,

listen up,

Alex shows emotions towards Ava.

Nobody else, but Ava.

You don't think that's weird?

I'm just saying, this could be fun."

"Wait... what kind of fun?"

"Bridget, don't egg her on!"

That day at the cafe, the four girls

decide operational emotion shall

commence.

A series of phases of tests to make

Alex Volkov feel some sort of emotion.

To prove that he is not a robot, and

he has insides.

The first phase: sadness.

Ava goes over to Alex's house with
sad movies to watch

with him.

Which side note, she's basically

forgiven him for what he did

at the friend's photo shoot.

She knocks on the door
with a copy, a DVD,

because she loves DVDs.

She's one of those girls.

She's got a copy of Marley and Me

and A Walk to Remember.

How can you not cry at those movies?

Ava knocks on the door and he
answers

looking scrum delumptious.

He's in the middle of
getting ready for a date,

about to walk out.

But, he cancels his date last minute.

So, he can watch movies with Ava!

Which are you kidding me?

"What about your date?"

"Let me worry about her."

They plop down on the couch,

and Ava turns on

Marley and Me.

Ava can't help but stare at Alex,

while the movie plays.

I mean the way that his
shirt is stretching

to contain his broad shoulders.

The two buttons on his shirt are undone

and just like everything about this man

is a Greek God statue.

By the end-

[Off-Screen]: The chest is about

bbbb-bust.

Yes.

[Off-Screen]: ... that shirt.

It's about the bust.

[Off-Screen]: Bust

Okay, by the end of the movie,

Ava's a puddle of tears.

"How are you not crying right now?

This is like the saddest movie
there is!"

"It's fiction, Ava."

Ava feels the overwhelming urge to

put her hand on his back
and rub his back.

Basically, his muscles are ripping
out of his shirt

Godzilla style, and she's feeling
him up.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find your control panel.

Just in case you need a
software update or

something."

[Background laughter]

[Off-Screen]: Where's the switch?

It's actually down here.

[Laughter]

It's actually down here, baby girl.

I'd be such a good f*ckboy.

No I wouldn't.

But maybe?!

Okay, Alex doesn't laugh, but

he grabs her arm and spins
her around

so that she's on top of him,
straddling his leg.

She can feel heat everywhere on
her body.

She's basically dry humping him
and

they're staring into each other's
eyes.

I don't know how the
physics of this twirl worked,

but it did.

I don't know, okay?

"I'm not your toy, Ava.

Don't try to humanize me either.

I'm not a tortured hero, from one of your
romantic

books.

You don't know what I'm
capable of and just

because your brother asked me

to look after you, does not mean

I can protect you from yourself or

your bleeding heart.

[Off-Screen]: Uh.

Ava's blushing.

It's just a joke.

Why is he taking it so seriously?

And the way that he's talking
is kind of pissing

her off.

Like why does he talk to her like she

doesn't even know her own emotions?

Before she can even think of

something remotely to say,

he stares at her.

"I feel you dripping."

What?!

[Off-Screen]: DRIPPING?!

Ava is shooketh to the core!

She can't even look at this man anymore.

She basically lunges,
throws her body onto

the couch next to him.

She can't do it.

She can't check to see if there's a wet

stain on his leg.

But she's just... she's just

Ahhhh!

[Off-Screen]: Wait, what are you
saying right now?

He smirks and he says,

"Sunshine, I'm talking about-"

He calls her Sunshine.

That's her new nickname.

"I'm talking about your dripping heart."

[Music]

I know my husband loves me

because he sees my morning face.

Which is honestly not that cute.

I feel like there is an
unskippable 2-hour period

between me waking up and me looking

like a goddess!

I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

Which by the way, this is all
a joke!

He loves me regardless.

It is in our relationship contract-

that does not exist-

but if it did exist, it's in there.

In the small print, the fine print.

"Thou shalt love me regardless

of morning face and I shall

somewhat love you regardless of

thou morning breath, even exchange."

Regardless, I did finally find that

it's because when I

wake up in the morning,

my eyes look really dull, before

I'm fully awake.

And I found a way to fix it.

Especially if I have meetings,

especially if I have to go out
and run errands,

I don't know if you can tell
on camera

because it's really subtle.

But, I am wearing my new favorite

eye product.

It's the Brilliant Eye Brightener from

Thrive Causemetics.

It's slightly shimmery.

It's like the end of the night, it's

like midnight.

So, I've been wearing this
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And the fact that I still get

compliments at the end of the night?

I use it as an eyeshadow, but you
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and it's even safe to
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The way I use it is, I just like

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I used to do the inner corners and

sometimes I still do, but just

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dab it on, right there.

It just brightens up my entire eyeball.

I don't know how to explain it,

and it's so subtle and it's like if I
don't

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It's an instant eye lift.

It instantly brings some life back into
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[Music]

"Put it in."

"What?"

"The next movie.

Put in the next DVD player."

Ava is shaking, trying to get

A Walk to Remember

into the player.

She just wants to run home,
but instead

she sticks it out, literally.

She puts pillows between them
and tries to

act casual, nothing weird.

And Alex makes a mental reminder

to kill Josh when he gets back.

Because now he is carrying Josh's little

sister up the stairs.

She fell asleep during the bizarre
movie marathon.

And it's pouring rain, so he can't
walk her

back to her house.

He doesn't want her to sleep
on the couch

because it's not good for her back.

And considering he
never has guests,

he doesn't have a guest bedroom
or guest bed.

So, he places Ava on his bed, and you

would think that he's now going to
go sleep on the couch, right?

No, but that would hurt his back.

So, he just lays right next
to Ava, and

watches her sleep.

Apparently, she did not wake up

while he carried her up the stairs.

I think she's been drugged.

[Background Laughter]

I have my speculations, my theories.

Allegedly don't sue me, I feel
like she's been drugged.

Because I feel like I would have
woken up,

If I fell asleep in someone's home and

they're transporting me up the stairs?

Alex tried to ignore the fact that her
skin was smoother

than silk, and he's very concerned

because somewhere along the way,

he stopped seeing Ava as Josh's

little sister and more as a woman.

A beautiful, pure-hearted,
but feisty woman.

Who might kill him one day.

Alex regrets letting her in earlier.

He should have just gone to dinner
with Madeline-

it was on his schedule.

But honestly, that would
have been miserable, too.

Madeline Hauss, is one of the girls
on his rotation.

She's a pain in the a*s to be around, but

she quote: "f*cks

like a p*rnstar."

This is why I don't like men's POV.

You know what I mean?

I don't-

I-

I've never sat in my seat,
and look at a man

and went

"I wish I knew what was going
on in his mind!"

Because, once I feel like I know 1%,

I'm like

"I don't want to know anything more."

Okay?

But, outside of the bedroom,

Madeline is just a miserable time.

The only reason he would agree to any

of these "dates" is because he knows

that she doesn't see it as an emotional

connection.

She sees it as networking.

It's social credit, she's a social
light for her

to be seen out eating dinner with
DC's most eligible bachelor?

She will laugh and brush his arm

and act like they're dating,

when they're not.

And she knows it.

He's stroking her ego,
she's stroking his.

You- yeah, get it, you get it.

Okay?

Madeline Hauss, would never fall in love

with Alex Volkov.

That's the only reason it worked.

You know?

She only loves herself and status
symbols, that's it.

But, she was getting annoying.

And he knew that when he called her
to cancel

and she started freaking out about it?

That's when he knew it's time to
kick her out the

rotation.

Madeline should never think that
she can

get mad at Alex.

He doesn't know her anything.

Madeline is clearly mistaken.

They are nothing.

She is nothing to him, and
if she forgets that

she's no longer welcome in his bed.

Alex crawls into bed,
next to Ava, and

he tries to ignore the presence of a

hot, warm female body next to him.

No, literally, hot burning
up at this point

because Ava has a nightly secret

that only her closest friends know about.

She has night terrors.

She wakes up screaming in the
middle of the night,

and the night terrors are always

the only, one singular memory that she

hasof her childhood, is that she

drowned in a lake behind her, uh,

family's house.

[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Wait, so, she
drowned in the lake?

Yeah, but theys aved her.

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

So, she didn't die.

[Off-Screen]: But, he's also
scared of water.

No, only Ava is.

[Off-Screen]: Oh, Ava is.

Yeah,

[Off-Screen]: Got it.

He can- he's Michael Phelps.

He's perfect at everything.

[Soft laughter]

He's the best.

[Laughter]

Okay?

So, she has that one nightmare
of her drowning

over and over.

And every single morning she wakes up

screaming, drenched in sweat at 4:44 A.M.

Which she's half Chinese or full Chinese,

I'm not sure, but you know

4.

[Off-Screen]: 4:44

That's what I'm saying,

that's death death.

[Off-Screen]: Death, death, death.

That's triple death, that's triple
homicide in her nightmare.

That's crazy.

So, yeah.

I mean it's a lot.

And then Alex hears her
screaming that night,

he's jumping out of bed, grabbing

the gun because

he thinks there's an intruder,

a home invader.

He hears Ava screaming:

"No, stop. Help me! Please!"

And a few seconds, the lights are
on.

Alex has his gun

ratatata,

ready to kill whoever- but when he
looks around

nobody's there.

Ava's just tossing and turning in bed.

She's screaming help, it sounds

like she's choking.

It's the exorcist, okay?

No matter how much you desperately

want someone to be out of the painful

dream.

When somebody is having night
terrors,

you don't just wake them up,

it's best to let it pass.

[Off-Screen]: Really?

That's what he said.

[Off-Screen]: Oh.

And he has an IQ of 160, so...

are you going to argue?

[Laughs]

[Off-Screen]: Okay.

Now, you cannot wake them up, okay?