At that moment, my sight became blurry, and I kept seeing Macy’s face overlapping with Summer’s. It was like time and space no longer bound me, and that person sitting in front of me was not Summer but Macy.
“A bar is challenging for a woman for sure, but aren’t other jobs the same? Rather than working our lives away for someone else, let’s work for ourselves. You know, Letty. I like that dreamy feeling under the flickering lights. It helps me forget about all my insecurities. And sometimes, I get to see people I missed.”
That was what Macy said that convinced me.
Because she liked it, I supported her. Because she liked it, I sent her over to Jared. Because of all that, she never got to experience true love until the day she died.
Even if everyone was safe, I still feel that thorn in my heart rooted there, unremovable.
There was a fog over my eyes, and I could no longer differentiate the real from the surreal. As a mother, I should be supportive of my children’s dreams, but I could feel something weighing me down, forcing my mouth shut so I could not speak.
Maybe it’s Macy. Maybe she and I have the same idea. I’m sure of it.
“Your mom and I understand.”
Ashton’s deep voice cut through my thoughts and snapped me out of them. The next second, he grabbed my hand and pulled it over, placing it on his lap as he fiddled with it.
“That said, you should know that opening up a bar is not an easy task. Disregarding the initial funding, those complicated under-the-table connections won’t be easy to handle. Let Joseph gather some information first, and we can discuss it from there. Okay?”
Summer and Audrey were different. She was not as stubborn, so she was easier to talk to. “That will do.”
“Alright.” Ashton gave a faint response and said, “Since you’re bored of staying at home, maybe you can plan out the project the company has at Wenville?”
“Of course I can,” Summer replied with a smile. It was like nothing was going on in her life worth grieving. “But I would like Mr. Cress to help me. Will that be okay?”
Summer was referring to Jared. After he sent her back, Jared had rented a place in K City and would pay short visits to the kids every day.
“It’s your project. So you decide.” Ashton gave her the green light to anything she wanted.
As he spoke, he pulled me up and headed to our room. “If you need anything, just ask Joseph.”
“Got it. Thanks, Daddy. Good night, Mommy.”
“Good night,” I replied in a daze, with a voice that was no louder than a kitten’s while I let Ashton drag my body up the stairs.
When we got to our room, he locked it and took me into the bathroom, where he undressed me without uttering a single word.
Facing each other with our naked bodies, he turned on the shower and tested the temperature before pulling it over my head.
As the hot water flowed, he started massaging my head with the tip of his fingers. The warm sensation it gave me was enough to let me forget about even resisting.
After he dried me off, Ashton wrapped me in a towel and carried me back to the bedroom. He lifted the cover and gently put me down on the bed. Then, he came from the other side of the bed and embraced me from behind.
My body was soft like water, and it instinctively got closer to him.
“Why are you so nice to me today?” I asked him.
“Aren’t I always like this?” His voice was hoarse.
“Nope.” My lips curled as I was pleased and relaxed. “All you wanted to do back then was take advantage of me.”
“Then, consider today an exception and let me be a saint for once.” Ashton adjusted his position and buried his chin in my neck.
I could vaguely tell that he knew my mind was going wild, and that was why he did all that quietly. He wanted to calm me down, bit by bit.
However, right or wrong, it did not matter. Ashton let me understand that as long as I stay with him, all my worries would go away even if I did not say anything.
