Chapter 126 126

Chapter 126 126
Ashley POV

I could barely breathe as I talked to the man who was also the owner of the karaoke bar at the front desk. He said a man who was about my age and had his face covered by a mask was somewhere in the back of the building, but he forced me to rent a room of my own before letting me into the karaoke bar. Money was not a problem. I would gladly pay ten... no, no, a hundred times as much if the owner asked for it.

A glimpse over my shoulder showed that Miles was still waiting outside on the street, watching me through the double glass doors. He stood with his hands in his pockets and nodded after I waved my hand. He stayed even as I headed deeper into the building, and I was the first to slip out of range.

No matter how the conflict between Jayden and me turns out, I will forever be indebted to Miles. Because he was the one who woke me up. Even if Eva had tried, she wouldn't have been as blunt and assertive as Miles in talking about this matter. She would have given up, knowing my way of thinking now after nine years of friendship.

But Miles, who knew nothing about me, persisted and insisted. I owe him a favor, and I will always be grateful to him even if Jayden won't forgive me.

There was a faint sound of music coming from the straight hallway commanded by its owner. Since it was almost noon, not even a single customer was there. Therefore, as I stopped outside the only door that seemed to have an occupant, I was certain of the certainty of who was inside.

But alas, my confidence wasn't so great when I went inside.

As I weighed myself from one foot to the other, nervously trying to muster the courage to knock on the door, the song ended. There were cheers of "100" or "Perfect!", uttered by the karaoke machine announcer in an overly cheery tone, as well as a loud curse, which didn't come from any karaoke machine announcer I've ever known.

No, I knew it perfectly well... Jayden.

He kept cursing, yet again, the song kept going. This close, I knew the voice was familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Taking a deep breath before pressing my ear against the smooth surface of the door, I concentrated on grasping his words.

'I feel deeply regretful now...'

Chills ran down my spine, starting from the top of my head, all the way to the tips of my toes as my senses caught on to the lyrics. It was the same song he had sung on Friday night when he had asked me to make the dumbest of bets.

A bet of foolishness and a kiss.

As the shock faded so that I could think, I frowned. If he now, for one reason or another, tried to repeat the bet by singing the same song back then, he would not be able to lose the bet. Not with a perfect score. But why was he getting so irritated, and why was he repeating the song?

Cold fingers trailed down my back as I realized it. Jayden wasn't trying to win an old bet between me and him by repeating it - but rather trying to get the exact same score he got that day.

I didn't even dare to guess why.

He muffled the swearing, which drew me back to the situation at hand. I backed away from the door and raised my hand, forming a fist in the air. However, the moment I started moving it towards the painted wood, I found myself freezing. Midway through the swing, I just stared from the door to my hand, and even though I willed it forward, pushing it with the weight of my body, it would not comply. It was as if I was stuck on an invisible wall.

I was terrified. Utterly and undeniably. Once again, I felt the urge to walk out of the karaoke bar, and it took all my guts, the courage I gathered from all the nooks and crannies of my heart, not to. Besides, I felt Miles was still outside, making sure that I was actually doing what I was supposed to be fucking doing. So, let's not get anyone involved again.

"You can do this," I muttered to myself, briefly feeling glad that it was just the two of us there. Who knows what I would have done if there were a lot of people there.

"Just knock on that stupid door and tell him how you really feel." Leah, my wolf - it's been a long time since I have heard her voice.

But how do I explain it to him? 

Hell, thanks to Miles, I had already admitted to myself that I loved Jayden more than I wanted to admit out loud, more than I cared about the consequences of my current decision. I loved him enough not to care about the situation anymore.

I had been stupid, ignorant, belittling, and stood my ground. I see it now. Lying to Jayden after his amnesia was the biggest mistake of my life - one I wanted to make up for now that I had the chance.

I had to tell him that.

As I was pondering, I didn't even realize that the music had long stopped. When the door burst open from the inside and a tall, brown-haired man wearing a white shirt, jeans, boots, and a mask on his face stepped out, my breath hitched. Even if I wanted to run away like the last time the two of us were in the same room, I couldn't.

All I could do was stare.

His big, sharp caramel brown eyes... of Jayden Keller... bulged at the sight of me, flicking me up and down a few times before they settled on my eyes. I flinched mentally, my heart now breaking as well, as if it had no desire to disturb the deadly silence that had suddenly befallen the hallway of the nameless, shabby karaoke bar.

Hence, for an eternity of time unseen, the two of us just stood there, on each side of the door, doing nothing but staring at each other. It's been almost two months since we last crossed paths, yet it feels like just yesterday that I saw him on stage for the first time. It feels as if it was only last week that the two of us got engaged. It feels as if it was only last month that he found me in the middle of the forest and carried me on his back to the shelter where we both live. It feels as if it was only last year that I discovered the bruises that his father had secretly inflicted on him and his mother.

Yet, it feels as if it's been so long since I admitted to myself what I really felt for him.

"Ashley?"