Chapter 117 – Twisted Fate of a Billionaire’s Daughter Undercover

As soon as Ashlyn and Jessie entered the lounge, they saw Fred talking to Stevie.

Ashlyn walked over to them. The conversation between Stevie and Fred concluded as they looked at her. “Are you tired?” Stevie asked his daughter.

Stevie had some reservations about having this banquet. It put him in the limelight, which he liked to stay out of, and it often took three days to organize such an event. He was worried that Ashlyn would be exhausted.

Ashlyn smiled and nodded a greeting to Fred, then turned to Stevie. “Dad, I’m not tired.”

Stevie did not believe Ashlyn’s denial, so he simply snorted and let the matter drop.

The evening’s entertainment was a song from a famous singer. After the song was over, it was time for Stevie’s speech and the cutting of the cake.

The three members of the Ramos family moved onto the stage. Stevie thanked the guests for coming and then introduced Ashlyn. “I would like to present my daughter, Ashlyn Ramos.”

The pride and love Stevie felt for his daughter was obvious to the crowd as he made the brief statement. It showed in his eyes how much he cared for Ashlyn.

Both Ashlyn and Jessie had been at the entrance greeting attendees earlier in the evening, so it was no surprise to most of the guests that she was Stevie’s daughter. The announcement was expected.

Up until the banquet, Stevie had practically hidden Ashlyn away and most people didn’t know who she was.

Despite the predictability of Stevie’s words, the crowd still erupted in conversation after the announcement was made.

“What a beautiful woman. Miss Ramos acquired her good looks from her parents,” said one onlooker.

Another guest praised how Ashlyn carried herself. “I could tell earlier when I saw her from across the room that she was different. Her good temperament showed through and made her stand out from the crowd. I wondered what family she came from, so it’s no surprise she is a part of the Ramos family and that Stevie is her father.”

Praise for Ashlyn emanated from the crowd.

Smiling, Stevie thanked some of the high-profile guests individually and then showed gratitude towards the entire crowd for their support. The microphone was then handed over to Ashlyn.

Ashlyn held the microphone and smiled. “Hello, everyone. My name is Ashlyn Ramos and I want to thank you all for taking the time to attend tonight’s event.”

Ashlyn was dressed impeccably and spoke with measured confidence. As the onlookers had suggested, she had the type of temperament that made people admire her.

After Ashlyn introduced herself, it was finally time for Stevie and his daughter to cut the cake.

Jessie came over to help Stevie and Ashlyn with the cake. It was so large it took over thirty minutes to divide it up.

When Ashlyn went to have a drink, Jessie came over to talk to her. “Gordon is there, but I don’t see Devin.”

Jessie raised her eyebrows and motioned to Gordon, who was holding a piece of cake.

Jessie did not have a great impression of Gordon or Devin. She had downgraded her opinion of Devin after his new love affair. Now she thought both men were terrible.

One was a playboy and the other was a jerk!

Ashlyn looked briefly at Gordon and then averted her gaze. She was going to speak but didn’t get a chance to when Devin suddenly came over to her.

“I have to tell you something.”

Ashlyn turned to look at Devin and asked, “What did you want to say?”

Devin glanced at Jessie, which only served to make her annoyed, and she confronted him immediately. “You and Ashlyn are not in a relationship at the moment. So, why can’t I stay here?”

Devin didn’t say anything in response. He just kept looking at Ashlyn.

Ashlyn shrugged and said, “Well, Jessie…”

Jessie shot Devin an angry look before turning around and storming off.

Even with Jessie’s absence, it was still not the right place for them to talk. Ashlyn had no idea what Devin was planning to say. But his stubbornly persistent look was enough to tell her that she should hear him out.

“This is not a good place to talk,” she pointed out.

Devin felt the same way. He was glad to see that she was of the same mind. “Follow me.”

Ashlyn followed him and Devin led her all the way to the garden.

Everyone else was in the banquet hall. Only Ashlyn and Devin were out here in the quiet garden.

“You can say whatever you want to say now,” she urged.

Devin nodded and said, without any preamble, “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Then he took a step forward and leaned close to her until his face was almost touching hers. “Ashlyn, do you believe me?”

In the dim light, Ashlyn couldn’t see his expression clearly. She could only see those dark brown eyes of his and his tall nose that was so close to hers.

Her heart was beating rapidly and she tried as much as she could to calm herself down. When she finally recovered herself, she was shocked to see Gordon appear all of a sudden and pull Devin away from her, giving him a heavy punch in the face.

Devin winced and groaned in pain.

Ashlyn had to swing into action immediately and stop Gordon before he would do something even worse. “Gordon, are you crazy? What the hell are you doing?”

She couldn’t believe what he had just done.

Even Gordon himself felt he had gone crazy. The moment he saw Devin kissing Ashlyn, he could no longer hold himself. He rushed out and attacked him immediately.

Upon hearing what Ashlyn said to him, Gordon’s anger only increased, and he shouted back at her, “He just wants to play with your feelings, Ashlyn!”

Ashlyn frowned. “Leave him alone!”

But Gordon didn’t listen to her. His fists remained clenched and he kept eyeing Devin with a dangerous look in his eyes.

Ashlyn was desperate to avoid a scene at such an important event and the way the current situation was unfolding was making her worried.

“Gordon, leave him alone right this minute!”

Gordon could see that his punch had injured Devin. The corner of Devin’s mouth was bleeding. But Gordon felt no pity for him.

“Loser,” Devin mouthed.

Gordon’s hands balled into fists in an instant. “Ashlyn, stand far away,” he warned, his gaze fixed on his rival.

“Stay away, Ashlyn,” Devin said in a gentle voice.

Ashlyn wanted to say something to try to dissuade them, but when she saw Devin loosen his tie and ask her to leave, she gave up.

“Fine! You guys can go ahead and fight then,” she said in anger and frustration.

With that, she stormed past them and walked away.

But she had hardly taken a few steps when she heard a sudden bang behind her.

The sound was so loud that it startled even the people in the hall. Since the noise had come from outside, it was inevitable that someone would soon come out to check.

Ashlyn knew just how embarrassing it would be for the men to be seen fighting, punching and kicking each other like kids. It was not an embarrassment she could allow to befall her father’s event.

“This is my father’s birthday party. Are you two not ashamed of yourselves? Do you want to ruin the party and disgrace all our families?”

Ashlyn’s words had little effect. Devin and Gordon stopped for a moment, but they soon resumed fighting again.

One of the guests came out from the hall to investigate the source of the loud bang. In a matter of minutes, others came out too. More and more people kept coming to watch the men fight.

The situation had clearly gone out of control by now and there was nothing Ashlyn could do about it anymore.

In fact, she didn’t want to have anything to do with it. She just wanted to distance herself away from it all and let them fight till eternity if they wished.

But then, that was easier said than done. There was no way she could completely dissociate herself from the ongoing battle. For crying out loud, the participants in this brawl were Devin and Gordon.

---