I had been having the best ti of my life.
Evans called that very sa day after we t at the restaurant. The mont I saw his na flash across my screen, my heart skipped. I didn’t even bother to hide the smile that spread across my lips before picking up.
He didn’t waste ti.
He wanted to know if I was truly the new CEO of Smith Enterprise.
I leaned back on my chair, crossing my legs slowly, a playful smile tugging at my lips.
"Why do you want to know?" I asked calmly. "It’s
not like we an anything to each other anymore."
There was a brief silence on the other end before he spoke again, his voice softer this ti.
"When did I ever say you don’t an anything to ?" he replied. "I was just taking so ti off... to cool down. You know a lot has happened recently. I needed space to clear my head."
I said nothing.
I remained completely mute.
If I gave in this easily, he would only take for granted again. I knew him too well.
"Ashley, don’t be like this," he continued, his tone turning coaxing. "You know I love you. I even left Lena for you. Just tell ... are you the new CEO of the company?"
"What if I am?" I replied coolly. "It still has nothing to do with you."
"Ashley!" he exclaid loudly, making wince as I pulled the phone slightly away from my ear.
"Rember our plans," he said quickly. "The company was supposed to belong to both of us."
"Well, that was before you left for your new girlfriend!" I snapped, unable to hold it in any longer.
"What girlfriend? I don’t have any girlfriend," he said imdiately.
A small, satisfied smile crept onto my face.
There was a pause. I could hear him take a deep breath before speaking again.
"Now that you know I don’t have a girlfriend... are you willing to accept back?"
The mont those words left his mouth, I jumped to my feet in excitent, almost screaming in happiness. I quickly covered my mouth, forcing myself to calm down before speaking again.
"I’ll think about it," I said, trying to sound composed. "And make sure you break up with your girlfriend openly before I accept you back."
Without giving him the chance to respond, I ended the call imdiately.
The second the line went dead, I squealed and jumped around my room like a child. I danced, laughed, and spun in circles. My heart was filled with excitent and anticipation.
Finally... everything was falling into place.
I dropped onto my bed and grabbed my phone, scrolling endlessly as I waited.
I couldn’t wait for the drama to unfold.
I expected him to make a public announcent, sothing big, sothing ssy.
A breakup that would shake the internet. Sothing that would show the world that I was the one he truly chose.
But hours passed.
Nothing happened.
My excitent slowly turned into restlessness. Then into irritation. Then into anxiety.
Just when I was about to lose my patience completely, I finally saw it.
A statent.
But it wasn’t from Evans.
It was from Ava’s team.
They announced a peaceful breakup between her and Evans. According to the statent, both parties had decided to go their separate ways due to wanting different things at this stage in their lives. They also requested privacy from the public.
I stared at my phone in disbelief.
"That’s it?" I muttered.
Anger surged through so suddenly that I almost smashed my phone against the wall. I stopped myself just in ti, taking a deep breath.
This wasn’t what I wanted.
This wasn’t dramatic enough.
This wasn’t humiliating enough for her.
But... the result was still what I wanted.
Evans was free.
Free from that woman.
Free to co back to .
A slow smile spread across my face as that thought settled in my mind.
I waited for his call all day.
I refused to call him first, I didn’t want to look desperate. I wanted him to chase , to prove himself.
But he didn’t call.
As the hours dragged on, my thoughts began to spiral.
What if he changed his mind?
What if he went back to her?
What if this was all a lie?
By the ti night fell, I was ntally exhausted.
I eventually drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up and imdiately checked my phone.
No missed calls.
No ssages.
My heart sank.
Sa thing the that day and the next day
I was just about to call him, my patience completely gone, when my phone rang.
His na lit up the screen.
I picked up instantly.
"Hello, Ash," he said warmly.
That nickna...
It didn’t go unnoticed.
A blush crept onto my cheeks.
"Hello," I replied softly, feeling butterflies flutter in my stomach.
"I called to let you know that , Jas, and Freya are going to a boutique today. We’d like you to join us."
The smile on my face disappeared instantly, replaced with unease.
"I thought... you and I were supposed to spend ti together first," I said quietly.
"It’s alright if you don’t want to co," he replied.
"We just thought you’d be happy to join us. It’s been a while since we all went out together. Maybe after we’re done, I can call you and we can spend so ti alone."
Guilt crept in imdiately.
"Alright, alright," I said quickly. "Send the address. I’ll et you there soon."
Even though I didn’t want to hang out with Jas and Freya, I still wanted to be with Evans.
So I went.
I dressed carefully, making sure I looked perfect before heading out.
When I arrived at the boutique, I spotted them almost imdiately.
Freya was laughing, holding up a dress as she
showed it to Jas. The mont her eyes landed on , her face lit up.
"Ashley! You’re here!" she squealed, rushing over to and grabbing my hand.
She pulled along excitedly.
"What do you think about this gown?" she asked.
"It’s nice," I replied with a smile, though my eyes had already found Evans.
He was standing a few steps away, focused on a shirt in his hands, completely ignoring my presence.
I walked over to him.
"Hi," I said.
He looked up, then smiled.
"Long ti, Ashley," he said, his gaze sweeping over . "You look good."
My heart fluttered.
"Thank you."
Soon, we were talking and laughing like old tis. It felt natural... comfortable.
As if nothing had ever gone wrong.
We began shopping together, moving from rack to rack.
Then suddenly, he asked...
"Is it true that Lena is no longer the CEO of Smith Enterprise?"
I stiffened slightly.
"You know, after that incident with you, I thought getting our hands on the company wouldn’t be easy," he continued. "How did you pull it off?"
Without thinking, I blurted...
"Well, Lena is dead. So the company automatically passed to her father... and who better to run it than ?"
The mont the words left my mouth, I froze.
"What?!" he exclaid loudly.
We both looked around quickly to make sure no one was paying attention.
He lowered his voice.
"Lena is dead? How did it happen?"
My heart pounded.
"Does it matter?" I replied quickly, trying to brush it off.
He studied for a mont, then shrugged.
"Never mind," he said. "So... Do you plan to run it alone? Or would it be possible for you to bring on board to help?"
Relief flooded through .
"That won’t be a problem," I said imdiately.
His eyes widened.
"You an it?"
I nodded eagerly.
"Thank you, Ashley," he said, clearly pleased. "I promise I won’t let you down."
Soon, we were at the counter, ready to pay for everything, including Jas and Freya’s items.
I proudly brought out my credit card and handed it to the sales representative.
She swiped it.
Then paused.
"The card declined, ma’am."
A chill ran down my spine.
"What do you an declined?" I asked sharply. "Try it again."
She did and it
Declined.
Again.
And again.
Each failed attempt made my heart pound harder.
"Wait... let call my mother," I said, my voice shaking slightly.
Evans watched silently.
I dialed quickly.
"Mom, you have to help ! I’m in trouble!" I said, panic rising.
"What’s going on?" she asked urgently.
"I’m at a boutique... but there’s no money in my account! It’s gone! I swear it was there this morning, but now it’s disappeared, and they’re watching !"
"I’ll pay it back later, I promise. Just ask Dad to help , please!"
There was silence.
Then....
"There’s no money, Ashley," she said heavily.
My expression darkened.
"What do you an there’s no money? Dad has money! Just tell him to pay, it’s not a big deal!"
"Are you not listening?" my father’s voice suddenly thundered through the phone, startling .
"There is no money!" he snapped. "It’s gone, just like yours! Soone stole it! If I were you, I’d drop everything and leave while you still can!"
The call ended abruptly.
I stood frozen.
Slowly, I lowered the phone from my ear.
A cold wave of realization washed over .
And then I noticed it....
All eyes in the boutique were on .
Watching, Judging and Waiting.
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