Chapter 131
Ashley POV
"Come on! Harder!"
Sweat dripped from my forehead, my temples, and well, from all over my body. In my mind, I made a note to buy a sports headband next time. Swiftly, I wiped the sweat off my forehead using the back of my arm before going back to doing two quick jabs and hooks, just like I had been doing for the past two minutes.
"Put your weight into it!" My trainer, Larry Swan, did not move a cent from where he stood while holding the boxing gloves, which I had successfully grounded earlier in the day's training session. "And keep your feet light! There's still one minute left!"
Without saying a word, I punched the gloves with all my might. Larry grinned as he wrapped up the workout for the day, but a glint of concern spread across his handsome face as I remained quiet.
"You seem unfocused," he said as he started to take the gloves off. "Something on your mind?"
I took off my gloves and hand wraps, wiped off as much sweat as I could with the small towel that I had brought, and then downed the rest of my water bottle before even thinking about an answer. That was the best thing about boxing - or exercise in general. I had nothing to think about other than my boxing performance, and that in itself was enough to distract me. But he was right. Today, my mind was all over the place.
How could I not?
"It's nothing," I replied. An obvious lie, even to my trainer, whom I had only met five times. He looked unconvinced.
"Alright," he said doubtfully before he smiled. "You have improved drastically since you first came. I can't believe you had no boxing experience before that. You're really talented."
"Thank you," I said, feeling both bashful and proud.
Larry kind of looked like he wanted to say something more about how I looked dazed, but then he just led me to the stretching area of the gym, and we started doing various stretching patterns. My whole body was sore to the bone, but that's what made the shower afterward so much more delightful. However, despite the relief that washed over my body, my mind was anything but at ease as I finished dressing and stepped outside to face the August heat and humidity that covered the city sky like a wet blanket.
A black BMW was parked by the curb on the other side of the street. As I made my way over to the car, David got out of the driver's side, helping me carry my rather heavy duffel bag. I thanked him before getting into the car. The cool air inside greeted my sweaty skin, and I briefly regretted only wearing shorts and a blouse.
"Straight home?" he asked as he sat behind the wheel. As usual, he was wearing a suit, and his dark eyes looked worried as they met mine in the rearview mirror.
For a moment, I wondered just how obvious my anxiety was, and I hurriedly clasped my hands together to keep from scratching my arms.
"Yes," I replied.
The car drove out of the parking lot and down the highway.
"You can do it," he said.
"I know," I said, more to myself than to him. "I know I can. It's just..."
"He will be there with you, won't he? In fact, aren't both of them going to be there?"
"They are," I nodded slightly. "But..."
"But?"
I swallowed. I had not told David the truth - that Jared did not know about Jayden and I getting back together. On several occasions, I had tried calling Jared in order to see him, but ever since I had rushed to his hotel room almost a month ago after Jayden and I had reunited, I had not been able to talk to him. Frankly, I was too scared. But not because I was afraid of breaking off the engagement or telling Jared about my feelings for Jayden.
It was because of the scene I faced that day that it had scared me to the depths of my core.
"Nothing," I muttered as I leaned my elbows against the inside of the car door and gazed at the passing cityscape. My heart was beating faster at the memory, but I did my best to ignore it. "It's nothing."
"As you say so."
It took about twenty-five minutes to get to the hotel where my parents bought the penthouse apartment. There were a lot of sports facilities there, such as a swimming pool and two floors of gym equipment, but I preferred boxing over regular exercise - a practice I picked up after Eva persuaded me to do it three weeks ago. According to her, I needed to find a way to blow off steam that did not involve breaking pens or the temptation to punch people or objects with my bare hands.
Of course, I protested at first, saying that I had no violent disposition, but as I reflected back on this year and everything I had been through, I realized that I really needed some kind of stress relief. Something that didn't involve words and something that could really release pent-up emotions. And even though it's only gone a handful of times, my arm already looks better, since I don't scratch it as much when I'm nervous as I used to.
But today was the day I was supposed to tell their parents about the annulment of my and Jared's engagement - and that I was going back to being Jayden's fiancé.
It was during a family dinner at my parents' apartment to celebrate the success Jayden's father and my father had had on a long business trip in London during the spring. My father had managed to secure contracts with almost all the businesses he wanted to work with for the upcoming expansion of Red Moon Inc., and Jayden's father had managed to find investors for the company he was starting. I did not know much about the latter, but I knew my Dad had been working tirelessly during the spring - he had even had a heart attack. His health was much better now thanks to my mom, but I was still deeply worried. He was eating and working out well, but I knew how exhausting the stress could be.
When I was getting Jayden's memory back after his amnesic incident, there were times when I almost had a heart attack, too. And it was not entirely due to stress.
For it was not until I found out that Jayden had been cheating on me with Blair Anderson, one of the hottest female artists in Hollywood, that I came to learn more about my feelings for Jayden. It was hard to deal with, partly because I did not exactly know what my pounding feelings meant, but mostly because they were so wrong.
I was no longer haunted by the brief conversation I had seen between Jayden and Blair when I first found them, but I was. I had been one hundred percent sure that they were in love before the accident happened, and that I had entered territory I never wanted to. So, I had denied my heart, hell, even though Jayden seemed to share the same attraction as me, I had denied that too. I had even lied to him and said that the engagement ring I had thrown at him when we broke up was something he had given to Blair.
Things took a more complicated turn when I found out that I had to marry either Jayden or Jared to inherit Red Moon Inc., the company my late grandfather had inherited and the treasure of the Red Moon pack. This made Jared dragged into all the chaos that was happening in my life at that time. His presence was clearly not to Jayden's liking, even during his amnesia, as he desperately clawed to regain his memories, and the dynamics of their relationship were still an enigma that I had yet to fully decipher.
I pursed my lips. Since Jayden and I are finally back together after the sudden decision I made, plus his friend as well as his fellow band member, Miles, things should be smooth, shouldn't they? The plan was simple... I would end my engagement with Jared, while Jayden would break off his relationship with Blair officially, and after that, the two of us could get married and live happily ever after - Jayden with his dreams as a singer, me with my position as the CEO of one of the biggest companies, even in the world. It should not take long to reach that point since I no longer had to keep lying and deceiving Jayden because of his amnesia, and he no longer had to try to remember who he was. Every conflict should have been resolved.
But that was definitely not the case. And it's all because of me.
I did not think I could end things with Jared. Not just yet, not after what I witnessed in his hotel room.
"We are here."