Ashton snorted and put me down on my feet. Throwing John and the roses he was holding a scornful look, he said indifferently, “You like this sort of courting method?”
“No.” I paused before adding, “But a lot of women do.”
He pursed his lips and crossed his arms before his chest. When it seemed like he had no intention of going inside, I questioned, “Aren’t you going to leave?”
“Why should I?” His retort had me at a loss for words.
In the end, I gave up and let him be.
I made my way over to John. He had noticed us a while ago but had not moved from his spot. Once I was near him, he offered the bouquet to me. “I’m here to wish you an early ‘Happy Birthday!’“
“It’s way too early!” I did a quick calculation, noting my birthday was still roughly two weeks away. “Besides, I never celebrate my birthday.”
I stared at the bouquet, my brows crinkling in a frown. It was way too large for me to comfortably carry it.
Before I could think of a solution, Ashton snatched the bouquet away. “Mr. Stovall, how very romantic of you! Unfortunately, Scarlett has never really liked flowers. Please be a little more thoughtful next time!”
Oh my god, I’ve never seen such a shameless person before!
John raised an eyebrow at me. “She doesn’t like flowers? Since when?”
I pressed my lips into a thin line, feeling more than annoyed at the posturing of the two men.
Seeing as I did not answer him, John turned to narrow his eyes at Ashton. “I remember Letty used to love flowers when she was young. Why did she lose her love for it after getting together with you, Mr. Fuller? Flowers are a way of expressing love. Could it be that you’ve never given her flowers and simply assume that she doesn’t like them?”
Is this his roundabout way of saying Ashton doesn’t love me? D*mn jerk!
Ashton tightened his hold on the bouquet in his hands. Lifting a brow, he asked me, “You like flowers?”
Caught up in their word game, I wondered how to reply to that.
Unexpectedly, Ashton took my silence as admission. “You’re not allowed to accept flowers from anyone else. If you really do like them, I’ll buy them for you every day.”
With that said, he tossed the bouquet of roses into the nearby garbage bin. Then, he looked at John with an innocent expression on his face. “Oops, my hand slipped. Sorry about that!”
Honestly, how much more childish can Ashton get!
“If you don’t like the man, you really should just reject him and be done with it. Come back earlier. I’ll be waiting for you and the baby in the villa!” Ashton’s face was neutral as he said that to me.
His gaze drifted over before landing on the gift box in John’s hand. He paused before exclaiming, “Mr. Stovall, you even brought desserts! What perfect timing! I didn’t really eat much earlier. You don’t mind if I help myself, do you?”
Without even waiting for John’s approval, he simply took the box away from the other man. With that, he turned and headed into the villa.
He is absolutely shameless!
For a moment, I could think of no better words to describe Ashton.
Once he was gone, the atmosphere between me and John lightened a little. I broke the silence first, “You really like waiting by people’s houses, don’t you?”
Ever since the first time I met him, he had nearly always been waiting by my house. I was beginning to wonder if it was a hobby of his.
The only response he gave to my taunt was a raised eyebrow. Then, he grinned and said, “I just really wanted to see you, so I came.”
I pursed my lips. With how adept he was at technology, it did not take a genius to figure out how he managed to find me. I huffed and pressed, “Alright, out with it. What do you want from me?”
“Come back with me to R Province!”
Knitting my brows, I snapped, “John, are you really that bored?” I could not think of any reason for me to go with him. And even if I did want to, I wondered what was his plan on going back. After all, the Stovall family already accepted him as one of their own, and there was no way he could leave just because he wanted to.
He’s making it sound so easy! As if he can just go away on a whim like that!
“Are you reluctant to leave Ashton?” He narrowed his eyes and leaned back against his car, his posture sexy and charming.
I barely managed to keep my laughter from escaping my lips. “He’s my husband, so it’s normal for me to be unwilling to leave, isn’t it? John, I’ve already told you this before. As long as you don’t affect my daily life, I can allow you to remain by my side. However, can you at least try to be a little more normal when you do appear?”
Every time he reappeared in my life, he would either get into a fight with Ashton or cause me to get into an argument with Ashton.
“Let’s make a bet then!” He dug through his pockets for a pack of cigarettes. Then, his eyes landed on my pregnant belly and he paused. Keeping the box again, he continued. “In less than a month, you’ll divorce Ashton. When that happens, you’re coming back to R Province with me.”
I was honestly surprised at his unfounded confidence. Exasperated, I berated him, “John, I really don’t understand why you keep pestering me. Let me say this one more time. I really, really hate it when you bother me like this. Your appearance disturbs my peaceful life and makes me very troubled.”
“If that’s the case, just leave Ashton and all these troubles will disappear!” he answered casually.
I was so mad I wanted to pull out my hair and scream in frustration. John was being utterly unreasonable and obstinate. Fighting to push back my annoyance, I growled, “Fine, whatever! I’m done. You can do whatever you like!”
With that, I stomped through the gates.
I followed the cobblestone path that led up to the front doors of the villa. Stepping inside, I immediately caught sight of the box John had brought me tossed to the floor forlornly. Some of the cakes inside already had a bite taken out of them. I assumed Ashton had been disgusted by their taste and flung them aside.
What an immature man!
I was about to leave when a metallic glint caught my eye. Something silvery was peeking out of the half-eaten cake. Surprised, I walked over to pick up the cake.
