Chapter 35: 35.

Chapter 35: Ashley's POV

I woke up embarrassingly late the next morning. That was the best sleep I'd had in months.

The soft sound of ocean waves drifted faintly through the villa while sunlight slipped through the curtains beautifully enough to make me temporarily forget I had responsibilities in life.

Then reality returned the moment I checked my phone. Thirty-seven unread messages. Mostly from Troy. Psychotic behavior. I dragged myself lazily out of bed before heading downstairs where absolute chaos already waited for me.

Of course. Nadine was posing near the pool in a bikini while Mia applied sunscreen like a responsible mother supervising children.

Meanwhile Troy wore an open linen shirt while taking selfies dramatically near the beach. Honestly? He looked unemployed rich.

The moment they saw me entering the living area, all three turned toward me immediately.

"There she is!" Troy announced dramatically. "Sleeping Beauty with pregnancy privileges."

"I'm growing organs," I defended while grabbing juice from the counter. "That's exhausting."

Mia narrowed her eyes immediately. "Did you sleep properly?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Good."

Meanwhile Nadine stared at me suspiciously. "You look happier."

I nearly choked on my juice. "No I don't."

"You do," Troy added immediately. "You have beach glow."

"That's called moisturizer."

And definitely not because I kept replaying last night's conversation with Marcus in my head like an emotionally unstable teenager. Absolutely not.

I escaped upstairs shortly afterward to prepare before they interrogated me further. And honestly? Getting ready for the beach suddenly felt weirdly complicated now.

Because technically—I could still wear most of my old swimsuits. My stomach barely showed yet. But mentally? I felt more careful now. More aware. Still—after staring dramatically at my suitcase for almost ten minutes—I finally chose the yellow two-piece swimsuit I bought during our shopping spree. Mostly because the cover-up was ridiculously cute.

Soft white fabric. Flowy sleeves. Elegant enough to hide everything I wanted hidden. Perfect. I paired it with an oversized floppy sun hat purely for aesthetics because honestly? If I was vacationing in Amanpulo, I deserved to look expensive emotionally.

And of course—I wore the oversized Gucci sunglasses Simone randomly gifted me months ago for absolutely no reason. Rich people truly gave gifts differently.

By the time I finally walked downstairs again, the three of them immediately froze.

Troy slowly lowered his phone. "Oh."

Nadine gasped dramatically. "You look hot."

Mia nodded approvingly. "Very rich divorced woman energy."

I stared at them in disbelief. "That's... oddly specific."

"It's the hat," Troy explained seriously.

We eventually headed toward the beach together afterward while sunlight reflected beautifully against the ocean. And somehow—for the first time in a long while—I genuinely felt beautiful again.

In the shore, Steve and Vanessa were already relaxing comfortably on sun loungers beneath large beach umbrellas. Steve lifted his sunglasses slightly the moment he saw us approaching.

"Well," he announced dramatically, "the vacation influencers arrived."

"Thank you," Troy replied proudly like it was a compliment.

Vanessa looked effortlessly elegant even in beachwear while sipping something cold from a glass. Meanwhile—there was no sign of Marcus.

Interesting.

I removed my sandals carefully against the warm sand while Nadine immediately started taking pictures near the water.

"Where's Mr. Grumpy?" Troy asked while looking around dramatically.

Steve smirked. "Somewhere committing rich people activities."

Before I could even ask what that meant—I noticed where both Steve and Vanessa were looking. Farther across the water. And unfortunately—so did I.

Oh. Marcus. Jetskiing. Topless.

Wearing only black board shorts, aviators, and apparently absolutely no concern for my emotional stability. The sunlight reflected sharply against the ocean while the jetski cut aggressively through the waves.

And seriously? The entire scene looked ridiculously unfair. Troy slowly removed his sunglasses.

"...Wow."

Nadine actually looked speechless for once. Meanwhile my stupid brain completely stopped functioning for approximately three seconds.

Because Marcus Bryson in business suits was already dangerous enough. Marcus Bryson shirtless under tropical sunlight? Absolutely illegal. Steve looked deeply entertained by our collective silence.

"I see everyone finally found the scenery interesting."

Vanessa calmly sipped her drink. "He knows people stare."

Of course he did. That man looked built by expensive gym memberships and intimidation. I quickly grabbed my sunglasses tighter while pretending to focus entirely on the ocean.

Very intensely. Unfortunately—right at that moment—Marcus turned the jetski sharply toward shore.

Oh no. And somehow—even from a distance—I immediately felt his eyes land directly on me.

The jetski slowed near the shore before Marcus finally stopped completely near the shallow water. And unfortunately—seeing him up close was somehow worse.

Water slid across his skin while sunlight reflected against the droplets still running down his shoulders and chest. Absolutely disrespectful behavior honestly. Beside me, Troy whispered dramatically—

"I understand toxic attraction now."

"Shut up," I muttered immediately.

Steve looked one second away from laughing. Marcus removed one hand from the jetski before pulling off his aviators casually. And then—his eyes landed fully on me again.

Slowly. From the floppy hat. To the sunglasses. To the yellow swimsuit hidden beneath the soft white cover-up.

Oh no. No no no. Because suddenly—I became painfully aware of what I was wearing. Which was ridiculous. I was literally more covered than Nadine.

Still—the way Marcus looked at me made warmth crawl embarrassingly up my neck.

He stepped off the jetski afterward before walking toward shore, and honestly? That should not have looked attractive either. Everything about Marcus Bryson felt aggressively unfair lately. Steve casually leaned toward me.

"He's staring."

"He is not."

"He absolutely is," Vanessa corrected calmly.

Marcus finally reached us moments later while pushing wet hair slightly back with one hand. Meanwhile my brain officially stopped functioning.

"Morning," he said calmly.

Completely normal. Like he wasn't walking around looking like a luxury perfume advertisement. I adjusted my sunglasses immediately.

"Morning."

Marcus glanced briefly toward my friends before his gaze returned to me again.

"You look different today."

Oh. Dangerous sentence.

Before I could even answer, Troy immediately interrupted dramatically—"She's serving rich mysterious widow."

I nearly kicked him into the ocean. Marcus looked strangely amused afterward. Then calmly—"The hat's ridiculous."

Excuse me? I gasped dramatically.

"This is fashion."

"It's oversized."

"It's aesthetic."

"It's blocking half your face."

"That's the point."

A faint smirk appeared briefly on his lips. And somehow—that tiny expression affected me more than Marcus shirtless on a jetski should have.

Which honestly felt medically concerning.