Chapter 471
Chapter 471:
He stepped closer, his gaze pinning me in place.
I looked away. “Daniel Williams told me. He probably made it up p>
Ashton muttered a curse. “Of course it was that dickhead p>
His eyes turned cold and focused somewhere over my shoulder, like he was mentally choosing which wall to slam Daniel through.
Before he could get that far, I asked, “So the dying grandfather story? Your family pressuring you to settle down? That was all rubbish p>
Some part of me already knew. Ever since that hospital visit, after watching the way Ashton treated his grandfather, I had suspected something.
He looked me dead in the eye. “Yes. I lied. I lied because I wanted you, and I didn’t care how I got you p>
“But why?” I stared at him. “Don’t tell me it was love at first sight. I know I’m not hideous, but I’m also not delusional enough to think I have that kind of impact on men.” Especially not on a man like Ashton.
“When did we first meet?” I tried to remember. Any glimpse of him, any flicker of recognition from before all this.
He sat on the edge of the bed and took my hand.
“Seven years ago. You were still in school. You flew to Florence for a design competition p>
I nodded. “I remember p>
It was my first competition, and my first win. I’d had to keep it a secret from my parents, scraping together the airfare from years of piggy bank savings.
“I was one of the sponsors. You didn’t even notice me p>
“That’s hard to imagine,” I said, eyeing him.
With a face like that? I could barely believe I hadn’t carved it into memory. But back then, my teenage brain was preoccupied with three things: school, design, and… Rhys.
Ashton gave a lopsided shrug. “That was the first time. We barely spoke. The second time was in Eindhoven. You were at university. I’d been drugged at some shitty bar. Stumbled into you. You got me to a hospital. But when I came around, you were already gone p>
Discover endless adventures on; con
“That was you p>
I remembered the incident vaguely.
It was in a dodgy part of town, near the red-light district. The man—tall, gorgeous, clearly intoxicated—had looked like one of those high-end male escorts. No judgment from me, but I’d had zero interest in being dragged into whatever mess he was caught up in.
My friends and I had left right after he was seen by the hospital staff, and I promptly shoved the whole thing out of my mind.
Ashton kissed the back of my hand. “Yeah, you disappeared from my life. Twice. We barely said ten words, but I remembered every one p>
My mind rewound, fumbling for details I’d never paid attention to.
“After that, you know most of it. My business was mostly in Europe, but I dropped by Skyline now and then. I saw you with Rhys. You looked happy. I didn’t want to ruin it, so I stayed away. But I still wanted you. Even when I had no right. I wanted to be near you. Own you.” His voice hardened. “If I’d known Rhys was treating you like that, I’d have stepped in sooner p>
I pressed my face into his palm. A slow ache bloomed in my chest.