Chapter 518
Chapter 518:
I was tempted to flag a taxi instead, but that would only delay the inevitable. I wanted the fight over and done with.
Ashton slid behind the wheel and started the engine. Neither of us said a word during the drive back to the hotel.
When we reached the suite, he spoke first. “We need to talk p>
“I need a shower first p>
I’d matched Fabrizio drink for drink and reeked of wine. My head was swimming, but not enough to cloud my judgment. If anything, the alcohol stripped away my usual hesitation. I knew if I didn’t say what needed to be said tonight, I’d lose my nerve by morning and, as Yvaine would say, go back to being a coward in love.
I didn’t wait for Ashton’s reply. I headed straight into the shower, turned the temperature as high as it would go, and let the scorching water batter me. The heat matched my mood.
I scrubbed hard until my skin was raw, then got dressed and brushed my teeth. When I came out, Ashton was on the balcony, an unlit cigarette dangling from his fingers.
“Let’s talk,” I said.
He turned.
In his usual dark suit, with that unusually grim expression, he looked like the embodiment of night itself. That had been part of the attraction when we first met. He’d looked dangerous, and dangerously good-looking.
I looked away and sank into an armchair.
My temples throbbed, and the alcohol, amplified by the hot shower, was burning through me fast.
“Who was the man in the van?” Ashton demanded.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m one of your employees,” I snapped. “I get to ask first p>
He visibly tried to rein in his temper, but the veins in his clenched hand stood out even in the dim light.
gⱯlnσν𝓮ℓs․com hosts the latest chapters
“Fine. Ask p>
“How did you know I was at that restaurant p>
“I made some calls p>
“Too vague. Not good enough p>
“I hired someone who specializes in that sort of thing. He tracked your phone p>
“You mean a private detective p>
“…Yes p>
“So you hired a PI to follow me p>
“Not follow. You weren’t answering your phone. I had to find you p>
“Bet you were gutted when you didn’t catch me shagging Fabrizio in a hotel room.” The sarcasm slipped out. “Is that what you thought? What you’ve always thought, ever since you met him? That he fancied me, and the second you left Paris, the two of us jumped into bed? Is that what this is p>
Then it hit me. “Is that why you left Paris so suddenly? You didn’t actually leave, did you? You just pretended to, hoping I’d fall into his arms so you could catch me red-handed p>
Ashton tried more than once to cut in, but I steamrolled right over him.
He’d always had stalker tendencies. I saw that the day he bought the flat across from mine. Then he showed up at a bar I’d picked at random. When I moved into Oakwood Apartments, he bought the entire building.
It had unsettled me, yes, but back then, we were two people tangled in a lie, each trying to solve our own mess. I didn’t feel it was my place to call him out. But I couldn’t keep ignoring it.