I almost choke on my soup when I heard Ashton answering her, “Yes!”
He fell in love with me? I must have heard it wrongly…
Rebecca continued at the top of her voice, “That’s impossible! What you feel toward her is nothing but a sense of guilt and responsibility, not love! She’s been by your side for two years after all, not to mention she’s pregnant with your child now…”
Ashton was never a smooth talker, so when he saw that Rebecca was throwing her tantrum, he uttered flatly, “That’s enough, Rebecca. Go back with Joe!”
He had probably kept his voice low the whole time to avoid disturbing me as much as possible. Soon, the doorbell rang again, and there came Joe.
Rebecca wailed and flailed about as Joe dragged her out of the villa.
As soon as everything quietened down, Ashton came into the dining hall. I was almost done eating by then. He looked at me with tired eyes as he pinched his brows. “How’s breakfast?”
The food wasn’t bad, so I nodded. “Did you not sleep well last night?”
Smiling wearily, he sat beside me and pulled me into his embrace. His chin rested upon my shoulder. “Do you have any plans for the evening?”
I paused a little before answering him, “I might be going out for a bit. I haven’t managed to spend time with Macy these few days ever since she came back. I’m thinking I should pay her a visit.”
I knew that Jackson should have arrived in J City by now. But there was no need to tell Ashton about this yet. It’s not like I was having a fatal illness anyway.
“Okay,” he murmured, looking somewhat upset. “Looks like I’ll have to be home alone today.”
I reached out and grabbed onto his hand. “Ashton…” I slowly looked up. “Whatever you said to Rebecca just now, are they for real?”
When his gaze met mine, I could see my own image reflecting off his clear eyes vividly. “Have I ever lied to you?”
“Okay then. Let’s get along properly from this day onward!” Whether love truly existed between us or not, nothing weighed more in a marriage than a man’s responsibility.
I wasn’t exactly sure about how Ashton felt toward me, but I was certain that he would be responsible toward me and our child. He wasn’t one to give up on things so easily.
And that alone was good enough for me.
We spent the next few moments chilling in the living room before I left. It surely felt like there was less space in the car as my belly grew bigger, though it still hadn’t affected my driving.
Traveling to the airport straight from the villa gave me just enough time to arrive at three o’clock, which was the scheduled arrival of Jackson’s flight.
At the arrival hall, the man who came into view looked like a different person. I froze for a millisecond. How did he suddenly grow so much taller from a previous height of one hundred and seventy centimeters?
The twenty-something young man was dressed fashionably. Amidst the summer heat, he donned a pair of knee-length grey shorts with a blue checkered shirt that had been trending lately. His shades were positioned perfectly above his sharp nose bridge. He strode with confidence while his moderate-length hair swayed with the wind, looking like a stylish model on a runway.
“Hello there, Babe! It’s been a while.” Before I could react, my body was crushed beneath the embrace of this man who now spanned a height of around a hundred eighty centimeters.
“Long time no see! How did you shoot up so much?” As we parted, the close-up view of him was even more impressive. Time really flew by quickly… The Jackson I had known back then didn’t even look so charming!
His appearance had changed so much. With how he styled himself up now, I would say he could easily be on par with celebrities.
He pinched my cheeks teasingly and grinned. “I’m what they called a late bloomer. Who knows? I might still continue to get taller after this growth spurt!”
It was almost unbelievable that I had to look up at him while talking. I pursed my lips. “You’re going to get classified as a giant if you get any taller than this!”
Soon, we got onto the car and he glanced around. “Why isn’t Macy here to greet me? Don’t tell me she already went looking for another man!”
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. This guy was still as cheeky as ever. “You’ll get to see her in a moment! She went ahead of us to the restaurant to book a table.”
“That could’ve been settled with just a phone call!” he groaned while securing his seatbelt. The corner of his eye twitched slightly as his gaze fell upon my belly. “Should I drive the car instead?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Do you even know the way?”
He shook his head nonchalantly. “Nope!”
“That’s unfortunate then,” I teased back as I turned the key in the ignition. “I’ve booked a four-star hotel for you. So just enjoy yourself to the fullest in J City for the next few days!”
“But I don’t want to stay in a hotel,” he grumbled. “Aren’t you married to a rich guy? Macy said your husband’s the CEO of a listed company. I’m sure your house is as big as a five-hundred-square-meters villa!”
With a smirk, I shot a glance at this busybody. “My husband is somebody you know. In fact, you’ve even written an article to criticize him back then.”
His eyes widened at the revelation. “Ashton Fuller?”
I smiled and nodded. The memory of when we were still in college started to play in my mind. Back then, Ashton had just inherited Fuller Corporation. As a twenty-eight-year-old at that time, he was deemed by many to be too young to take over the management of such a large-scale conglomerate.
Moreover, Ashton had immediately expanded the company’s portfolio soon after he assumed the role of its leader. As such, he had become a sensation within the corporate world. Many students in J City University were discussing about him on online forums and praising this nouveau corporate leader for his extraordinary wisdom and talent.
Jackson, on the other hand, had published an analysis on how Fuller Corporation would eventually meet its demise in the hands of Ashton. He had even listed ten reasons in that article.
In the end, the article made the headlines of J City’s news at one point in time.
It was said that the Fullers had approached Jackson in private as the news circulated widely. Nobody knew what happened behind the scenes, but Jackson eventually published an apology letter on the internet shortly after.
