Ashlyn turned around when she calmed herself. “What do you want to say?”
Gordon lowered his gaze to study Ashlyn. When he looked into her beautiful eyes, something stung his heart.
Her gaze on him was frigid. But her grin was sweet and endearing when she was with Devin.
A wave of overwhelming emotion washed over Gordon. He tried to shake it off but failed. “You’re the writer of ‘Only I Know’, right?”
Ashlyn was stunned for a while. She had thought Gordon came here to blame her for Denise’s sake.
She laughed and said, “You are hilarious. I have no idea how you think I drew that, given my little artistic ability. It’s obvious that it was created by someone who used her own personal experiences as inspiration. For the whole duration of high school, the author secretly loved a guy. I’m curious as to why you believe this project pertains to us. Or are you so egotistical that you believe that I fell in love with you when you were 17?”
Ashlyn’s comments managed to break Gordon’s composure. He approached her, but she didn’t back down. He didn’t stop until he was mere inches away from her.
Gordon fixed her with an intense gaze. “Then tell me this; why does the hero look exactly like the sketch you made for me?”
Ashlyn was stunned for a second, but she quickly recovered and said, “Maybe you should ask the painter.”
“The painting styles are the same.”
It had not occurred to Ashlyn that Gordon would be able to see it. She cocked her head as she stared at him.
She knew she would lose if she tried to avoid his gaze.
The staring contest went on for a long few seconds until Gordon eventually averted his gaze.
“It doesn’t matter that you want to deny it,” he said, his tone unconcerned.
Ashlyn’s expression hardened at this. “If that’s what you think, why are you asking me?”
She turned around and left. It was obvious that she was trying very hard to control her anger.
Gordon stood there, his fists clenched by his sides, a strange sense of joy creeping up in his heart.
He knew Ashlyn was the painter.
However, he couldn’t remember he had met Ashlyn when he was seventeen years old.
Gordon turned away, pulled out his phone, and called Aiken.
Aiken hadn’t anticipated Gordon calling him this quickly. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Am I daydreaming? I can’t believe you would call me.”
Gordon ignored the jibe and asked, “Who was the junior high school girl who loved to follow me while I was in high school?”
“Your query is a touch alarming, Gordon,” Aiken said, taken aback at the suddenness of the question.
“Stop the bullshit. Tell me,” Gordon said sharply.
Aiken gave it some consideration before saying, “Well, I think there was just the one.”
“Who?”
“Raina,” Aiken answered.
Gordon ended the call. He shouldn’t have asked Aiken since the latter was completely unreliable.
It would have been wiser to have Lowell look into it.
The corridor was empty as Gordon’s footsteps faded into the distance.
Soon, Denise emerged from a corner of the balcony.
After such a shameful thing happened to her, she had intended to leave the party through the side door, but she had seen her brother and Ashlyn chatting not far away.
Denise hadn’t been ready for such a stunning revelation.
Ashlyn had a crush on Gordon when she was a teenager.
She had even released a comic book for him!
Ashlyn didn’t expect that Gordon would bring up this matter and question her with such an attitude.
It made her feel that she was a joke in the past, and she felt very regretful for what she had done.
She was filled with remorse.
When she was young, her love was unadulterated and genuine.
At that time, she just wanted to record her feelings for Gordon.
Ashlyn was fifteen years old when she sketched the comic, Only I Know. All she wanted was to document the purest and most authentic moments of her formative years.
But now, Gordon was using the comic book to mock and ridicule her.
Never before had Ashlyn been so infuriated. She wouldn’t have let him go if it weren’t for the Haynes family’s party and so many people that she was familiar with.
Jessie, fresh from hearing some juicy news, bumped into Ashlyn.
“Ashlyn, you’re right. Washrooms are always the most wonderful places for women to gossip. Guess what…”
Jessie found that something was wrong with Ashlyn before she finished her words.
She stood there in shock, staring at Ashlyn’s expressionless face. “What’s wrong, Ashlyn?”
Ashlyn’s expression softened as she looked at Jessie, her tension draining a little. “I want to go home,” she said.
Jessie had come here to keep her company since many people in the city were against Ashlyn.
Of course, Jessie would not have any problem with it when Ashlyn wanted to go home.
Ashlyn was fine a while ago, but now she was unhappy. Jessie knew that someone must have offended Ashlyn.
At this, Jessie frowned and asked, “Did Gordon say something to you?”
Ashlyn scowled at the mention of Gordon’s name.
She pursed her lips before saying, “He said he knew that I’m the author of Only I Know.”
“What a jackass!”
Jessie became upset. “How dare Gordon mention Only I Know?”
Jessie knew Ashlyn well enough to know that she had done the artwork. The hero was indeed Gordon. The comic book, which was over thirty episodes long, recorded Ashlyn’s adoration for Gordon throughout middle school.
Ashlyn had done so much for Gordon, but she had never wanted anything in return.
After the divorce, she tried her best to restrain herself from blaming him.
There was no right or wrong in a relationship. Gordon didn’t love her, and Ashlyn never blamed him.
Jessie had been suppressing her rage for Ashlyn’s sake, but she couldn’t anymore.
Devin walked over since he was nearby. Jessie asked him, “Don’t you love Ashlyn? She’s upset right now. Take her away.”
Ashlyn pulled Jessie aside and hissed, “What are you doing?”
“I want to teach the jerk a lesson!”
Ashlyn refused to let go of Jessie’s hand. “Don’t cause a scene here!”
“Will you just let it go?”
Devin had remained quiet the whole time, but when Jessie finished talking, he asked, “What happened?”
Devin looked at Ashlyn. She shook her head, not wanting to make a fool out of herself by creating a scene.
But Jessie couldn’t hold back her anger. “Who else could it be? Gordon is a bastard with a capital B!”
Devin mulled it over for a while before saying, “I got it.”
He reached out, took Ashlyn’s hand, and said to Jessie, “Don’t worry. I will take good care of her.”
Jessie made to ask him about what they were going to do, but Devin had already left with Ashlyn.
Ashlyn tried to free her hand from his grip, but failed.
Helpless, she asked, “Devin, where are you taking me?”
She didn’t want to face Gordon and give him another chance to humiliate her.
Devin turned to face her and asked, “Don’t you want to get out of here?”
Ashlyn nodded. “Yes, but we don’t have to walk so fast!”
There was no one chasing after them anyway.
Devin stopped. He looked down at the high heels on Ashlyn’s feet and smiled.
He then picked her up in his arms.
Ashlyn instinctively wrapped her arms around Devin’s neck.
His action surprised not just Ashlyn but also everyone else at the banquet.
“Stop it, Devin!” Ashlyn hissed.
What was wrong with him?
Why was he picking her up in front of all these people?
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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