Chapter 132 132

Chapter 132 132
Ashley POV

I was unaware that David had even parked before the hotel entrance until his voice snapped me out of my reverie. Judging by the expression on his face, I could guess that he must have been waiting for quite some time without me responding.

Out of shame, I cleared my throat before responding, "Thank you. I don't think we need you anymore today, so you can go home if you want."

"Alright," he said, though a hint of hesitation was evident in his voice.

I smiled to ease his worries and then stepped out of the car. After grabbing my duffel bag, I bid him farewell and headed to the elevator. Nervousness made the journey upstairs feel twice as long as usual, plus the dizziness that kicked in the second I opened the front door of my parents' apartment.

Eighties or nineties rock music was blaring from the kitchen. No wonder I spotted my dad standing by the stove humming and dancing to the beat. My mom was sitting on one of the barstools near the kitchen, her skinny legs crossed, though she was wearing noise-canceling headphones... a gadget she only wore when dad was cooking - I could see her normally sharp gaze softening as she occasionally looked up from her tablet to stare at my dad.

"Dad!" I raised my voice because he didn't seem to hear me. "Dad, I'm home!"

He whipped around, his eyes widening, and the reaction made my mom turn her head as well. Dad fished his phone out of his apron pocket, turned down the music volume until I could hear myself again, and then smiled warmly at me. "Hi, sweetie," he says in a low, humming voice.

Mom took off her headphones and breathed out as a few strands of her neatly ironed bob fell out of place. 

"Why are you late?" she asked, her voice cutting through the air like a knife. "Dinner's in less than forty-five minutes."

"That's enough time to get ready," I replied.

"Not for you, no. Oh, and also," she added before I could reply, "Jared just told me he can't make it."

"What?" I practically blurted out, though I was secretly relieved. If he were not coming, maybe I could delay telling his parents and Jayden's parents about our change in relationship. Maybe I could put all this off a little longer - put off telling the truth about me and Jayden, except to my parents, David and Eva, who had known since I met Jared in his hotel room.

"Since he's the youngest director of all the Red Moon Inc. branches," Dad said in a solemn tone, "he will have to work harder than the others to prove himself."

"He will be much busier later this year," Mom added. "I plan to take him along on our next business trip to Sydney."

Dad smiled at me. "I'm glad he stayed in our company even after you broke off the engagement. He's a very valuable asset. I can see him moving up to be your right-hand man soon."

"That's good," I said as I tried to hide my embarrassment. For even though I was not lying to them, I was not telling the whole truth either. They think I have already told Jared about me and Jayden, just like I said on the phone when I decided to dump everything but my feelings.

But I had not. So they have no idea. No one knows.

"I guess I won't tell his parents about the change in engagement plans," I went on, slightly relieved. My shoulders began to slacken. "I can't say something like that alone."

"You won't be able to." Mom grinned. "You have guests. They're in your room."

My brows furrowed. Leaving the kitchen as I walked briskly to my room, my weary body seemed to have just been recharged with anxiety. My pulse pounded more rapidly, not because of my pace, but because of something else. Anxiety bubbled in my stomach, and I tried to calm it down, even though my body refused to comply. I braced myself for a major upset once I reached the closed door.

But when I opened it, happiness swelled in my heart.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows that covered the entire west wall of my room, against the backdrop of a beautiful cityscape, was the one and only Jayden Ronan Keller. My once fiancé, my then-mate, then ex-fiancé, to whatever our status is now. The man I grew up with. Someone I used to think I hated. Or at least, that's what I thought before I found out he was cheating on me and later got into an accident. In the grueling spring months, as I did everything to help him regain his memory, I realized how precious he was to me - I loved him. And I thought he loved me too.

But neither of us ever said it.

Jayden is surveying the city with his arms crossed over his chest, not even turning around as I walk in and close the door behind me. He was wearing a pair of black jeans that fit snugly at the waist - thanks to the belt... and at his thighs - thanks to... well, just him. His white shirt was rolled up to his elbows... however, despite his cool outfit, he was wearing pink fluffy slippers - no doubt a gift from my slipper-obsessed mom. The sight made me crack a smile as I casually dropped my duffel on the floor.

The sound made him turn his head. His caramel brown eyes widened, but another emotion washed over them as his gaze shifted from the bag to me.

It was a loving gaze. Just like the look my mom gave my dad in the kitchen earlier.

"I did not expect you to be here," I said quickly, looking away. "Don't you have dance practice? Have you been waiting long?"

I was not sure if I should feel uneasy or happy that he was looking at me like that. It felt so weird to see him like that.

He was so... vulnerable.

"I came half an hour ago," he replied. "And I had practice, but how could I miss this? I can't let you and Jared explain everything without me. It would be an act of cowardice."

"About that..." I flopped down on my bed, too exhausted to stand any longer. "He won't be able to come. He has work to do."

"Can't your parents give him one night off? Doesn't he technically work for them?"

His tone sounded accusatory, but as I stared at him, I knew that he was right. His brows were furrowed in annoyance, and there was no longer any of his earlier gentleness.

"It's a lot more complicated than that," I replied, a bit more heatedly than I intended. "And it's not like my parents can do whatever they want to certain employees. That would be favoritism."

His expression softened, and he sat down next to me. The mattress shifted under his weight, and the scent of white musk mixed with soap and something uniquely his filled the air around me. The sudden proximity made my face flush, and my gaze locked on the floor, but I stayed put.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I did not mean to yell at you or your parents. I'm just... I'm really excited."

I arched an eyebrow slightly as I turned my attention back to him. "About what?"

He flashed me a slight smile as he hurriedly shifted his gaze elsewhere, a blush decorating his face. "That we are finally going to tell my parents about us," he said simply.

The blush on my face deepened. "Oh. Oh."

Slowly, gingerly, he reached for my hand. I let him hold it, feeling my heart pounding as I felt his warm fingers. It was ridiculous how easily he could influence my heart, especially with something as trivial as holding hands. It was something that kids did with their crushes, and something that friends could do regardless of gender or age, but why was everything so different with him?

How could someone make me so happy with just a little thing?

"You told Jared about us and ended your engagement, didn't you?"

"I did, of course!" The words spilled out of my mouth before I could think twice, making me mentally slap myself in the face. This was my last chance to tell both Jayden and my parents the truth... that Jared did not know. Even though I knew how careless and stupid I was, I could not muster the strength to tell anyone.

All because of what I had seen in his hotel room almost a month ago.

Jayden squeezed my hand. "Good."

"What about you?" I asked back. "Have you told Blair and your management about us?"

"I have."

I arched my eyebrows slightly. "Why have not I heard yet? Your breakup should be in the headlines everywhere."

"It's not official yet," he said casually. "But almost everyone in the industry already knows."

"Oh, well."

"By the way, I don't think of you as a gossip magazine reader."

I rolled my eyes at him. "No, I don't. I just have not heard anything from Eva about it. And for the record, I don't just read about today's stocks and business plans all day long."

It was weird, but I felt I caught a glimpse of relief in his caramel brown eyes before it was replaced with amusement. "Really? And here I was, thinking that you would make a good CEO one day."

I smacked his shoulder with my free hand, which made him smile pitiably. "You will regret it," he said, something akin to mischief radiating from his caramel brown eyes.

Before I could even blink, Jayden let go of my hand so he could tickle my sides with all his fingers. I burst out laughing and hurriedly tried to break away from him, but he did not relent. In my desperation to break away, I felt myself gradually sliding off the silky blanket. Luckily, he managed to catch me at the last second and lifted me back to the center of the bed, where he was also sitting.

I fell back onto the mattress, gasping for air. "What was that?" I asked, wiping tears from the corners of my eyes. "I was expecting some sort of boxing move - not a cheap tickle!"

"Aren't you being cocky, saying tickles are cheap." Jayden grinned as he raised both hands. "I bet I could make a lot of money by tickling people with these fingers."

"Now who's the cocky one?" I parried. "But seriously, you have never tickled me before. Why are you doing it all of a sudden?"

His eyes widened, and his grin faded. "Because you look like you want to laugh."

My cheeks flushed, and I averted my eyes. "Ah," I said knowingly.

He cleared his throat, breaking the sudden awkward situation. He rubbed the part of his shoulder that I hit earlier and grimaced. "You punch a lot harder now that you have started taking boxing classes."

I threw him a mocking smile. "Thanks. Larry told me today that I'm really good."

He raised his eyebrows. "Your coach is a guy?"

I mimicked his expression. "What's wrong with that?"

"How old is he? What does he look like?"

"He's twenty-six years old. And I don't think anyone can deny that he's pretty good-looking."

"Is he single?"

"If I did not know better," I said as I grinned, "I'd say you were jealous. Am I right?"

He climbed on top of me and got so close that his face and body were only inches above mine. "If I did not know better," he repeated quietly, "I would say that you were trying to provoke me. Would I be right?"

"Of course not," I lied, my heart beating so hard inside my rib cage that I could hear it.

He smiled lopsidedly. "Liar."