Ordinary people could not afford the private rooms on the first floor. Only the powerful and rich people had them within reach.
Two waitresses, who were on their breaks, were resting at the end of the corridor. They didn’t notice Gordon smoking in the pavilion.
There were only three private rooms in the whole yard, which were used only to receive special guests. Ordinary people couldn’t get in. These two waitresses leaned against the wall and gossiped with each other.
“Well… Did you see that? Wasn’t that Devin and Ashlyn? The day before yesterday, the paparazzi snapped a photo of Devin carrying Ashlyn in his arms at the hospital. People are guessing that they are now together.”
“I rechecked before leaving. It was really Ashlyn and Devin! They are a good-looking pair, honestly. I think they deserve each other. It’s a good thing if they are together. There has been a lot of news of late on the Internet about Gordon and his true love. Raina! He only married Ashlyn to get rid of the other women his family was choosing for him. When Raina returned, he divorced Ashlyn. I didn’t like Ashlyn at first, but she seems to have changed into a wholly different person after the divorce. She’s so beautiful and cool. Have you seen the video of her playing the drums? God! I almost fell in love with her!”
“I have seen that video! Anyway, they look perfect together. But I’ve heard that Devin and Gordon are deadly enemies. If Ashlyn does get together with Devin, things could get interesting.”
The yard was empty. The two waitresses’ voices were at a low, steady pitch, but Gordon could hear them clearly from where he was.
The waitresses became more and more excited as they chatted. “I’m very optimistic about this couple!” one of them said.
Gordon stood there, the hand holding the cigarette jerking and his eyes darkening. He walked up to the ashtray, put the cigarette out, and walked into the corridor.
“Someone is coming!”
The waitresses were shocked at the sound of the footsteps. Their shock and guilt deepened when they turned around to see that Gordon was coming their way. They hurriedly left, pushing the cart before them, their eyes fixed on the ground.
Gordon watched them leave, their words coming back to him and filling him with depression and discomfort.
Their words seemed to bring back to him the memory of Devin emerging from the hospital with Ashlyn in his arms.
It had only been a glance.
But when he thought back to that moment, he could clearly remember Ashlyn leaning against Devin’s arms and closing her eyes in a peaceful way that he had never seen before.
In the private room, Ashlyn looked at the food spread out before her and fell silent. She had to admit that Devin was a considerate man.
She hadn’t fully recovered from the cold and as a result, neither had her appetite. She could eat, but didn’t want to.
On their way to the restaurant, Devin hadn’t asked her what she wanted to eat. Instead, he had taken her to Tasty Delights, where he had managed to book a private room, despite the difficulty in getting one. The food he had ordered was light and well-suited to her current condition.
Ashlyn suddenly understood why none of Devin’s ex-girlfriends had ever said anything bad about him.
He must be really nice to them when they were together.
“What are you thinking about?” Devin asked, taking her empty bowl and adding some more porridge for her to eat.
Ashlyn smiled at him. “Were you this nice to all of your ex-girlfriends?”
Devin returned her smile. “Is it a problem if I was?”
Ashlyn stirred the porridge in her bowl as she said, “I’m just curious.”
Devin bent down, placing a hand on the back of her chair and the other on the table before her, half-circling her in his arms. “Does this mean you are interested in me now?” he asked, smiling casually.
He was so close that Ashlyn could smell the faint scent of sandalwood on his body, causing her heart to beat faster.
She moved sideways, distancing herself from him. “I’m no longer curious.”
It was true when they said that curiosity killed the cat.
Ashlyn lowered her head and concentrated on eating her porridge.
Devin knew her well enough by now and was used to her silent resistance. He merely smiled and shrugged. He picked up the serving fork and served her some salad. “This is delicious.”
“Thank you.”
Seeing that Devin wasn’t pursuing the topic, Ashlyn glanced at him and heaved a silent sigh of relief.
Devin sat in the well-ventilated private room, causing the breeze to gently waft his sandalwood smell onto her face.
Once Devin had finished eating, he leaned back in his chair and looked at her. “I don’t have an ex.”
Ashlyn’s head snapped up to look at him. She swallowed the food in her mouth and asked jokingly, “Is it because you don’t take your previous relationships seriously?”
Devin clicked his tongue, wanting to explain. But after a while, he smiled helplessly and said, “You will know all about it sooner or later.”
There was tenderness in his beautiful eyes when he looked at her. It managed to render her speechless every single time.
Her heart skipped a beat. Ashlyn put down her spoon, pulled out a tissue, and lowered her head to wipe the corners of her mouth.
The room became very quiet, the only sound being the breeze riffling the willow leaves and wafting in through the half-open French windows.
But Ashlyn’s heart was hardly quiet.
She put down the tissue after a while and said, “I’m done.”
“Okay, time to take you back to the company.”
Ashlyn nodded politely and said, “Thank you.”
Devin looked at her but decided to ignore her sudden decision to distance herself from him. He picked up her bag as he got to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Ashlyn looked at her bag but said nothing.
Not long after they had left the private room, Ashlyn remembered that she had forgotten her phone inside. Devin went back to get it for her.
A gust of wind was blowing in the corridor, so Ashlyn made her way to the yard to wait for Devin.
She heard footsteps and thinking it was Devin, turned around.
She came face to face with Gordon.
What an unlucky day this was turning out to be for her!
Ashlyn didn’t deem it necessary for her to acknowledge Gordon’s presence by saying hello. She no longer hated Gordon, but she still held a grudge against him.
She had, however, become better at staying calm and ignoring him whenever she saw him.
At least she thought so. It didn’t mean Gordon had the same opinion.
Ashlyn frowned as she watched Gordon approach her. “You’d better not come closer, Mr. Jones,” she said scathingly. “I don’t want to hear anything more about you and me.”
Her expression was cold as she said this.
Gordon even found traces of impatience in her eyes.
It was like a sharp blade, tearing open a crack in his suppressed emotions. They seemed to take this as a cue and instantly welled up within him.
“Are you and Devin together?”
Ashlyn looked at him, the frown firmly in place as she said, “That is none of your business.”
Ashlyn’s words rendered Gordon unable to react. She had never verbally attacked him like this before. Anger and other emotions that he couldn’t distinguish overwhelmed him.
He thought of the sketch that Denise had found. His expression turned cold in response to the coldness in her eyes. “Didn’t you love me a lot, Ashlyn?”
It was Ashlyn’s turn to freeze. She hadn’t expected her love to turn into a sharp knife that Gordon would use to stab her.
He was showing no mercy and hurting her without any hesitation.
Great!
Ashlyn wasn’t going to take it lying down. She flashed a tight, sarcastic smile as she said, “I love a lot of things. What are you insinuating?”
“A sketch,” Gordon said simply.
Ashlyn stilled for a long while before she said, “What sketch?”
She had barely finished saying these words when understanding dawned on her.
Her expression shifted. She was now looking at the man before her in disbelief, her teeth gritted. She raised her hand and slapped him across the face. “You make me sick!”
Gordon didn’t try to dodge her blow and Ashlyn’s slap landed with a cracking sound on his face. The sound was especially abrupt in the quiet yard, cutting through the stillness.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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