Amelia sat alone at the table. As Ashley approached, she asked, "Were you having dinner alone?"
Amelia stood and hugged her, shaking her head. "I was on a blind date."
"Oh, really? How did it go?" Ashley took the seat across from her.
A mischievous smile played on Amelia's lips. "I made sure it went worst."
Ashley chuckled. "Why? Was he awful?"
"Not at all. He was such a gentleman," Amelia said, sipping her water.
"Then what was the problem?"
Amelia sighed and gave a small smile. She glanced out the window at the glowing full moon. "I think I like someone else."
Ashley nodded in understanding. "And he doesn't know about your feelings?"
Amelia gave a sad smile. "That I'm not sure of. Some days I feel like he knows, but on others, he makes me feel like nothing."
Ashley wasn't sure what to say. She had always stayed away from love drama. Honestly, she couldn't even relate to what Amelia was feeling.
"Anyway, forget about it." Amelia leaned closer, her eyes twinkling. "How was the night?"
Ashley groaned and closed her eyes. "Aren't you embarrassed asking about this part of your cousin's life?"
"Nope." Amelia shook her head. "Not at all. Besides, I'm asking as your friend now."
Ashley didn't answer, just gulped down some water.
"Ma'am, your order." A waiter arrived at their table.
Amelia looked confused. "I think there's a mistake. We didn't order—"
"I did," Ashley interrupted. "Thank you so much."
Ashley uncovered the dish. "I made some King Fish Roasted in Butter, served with Provençale Sauce." She smiled, sliced it, and placed a serving on Amelia's plate. "Taste it."
Amelia took a bite. "Damn! This is so good," she said, moaning happily. "I didn't know you were such a good cook."
Ashley pretended to be offended. "What did you think of me, then?"
Amelia raised her hands defensively. "I didn't mean it like that."
"Just kidding." Ashley chuckled and checked the time. It was half past eight. Her phone beeped with a new message. She unlocked it and read
Come down.
Was he here? Why?
Amelia noticed her expression. "Who is it?"
"Michael."
"What's he saying?"
Ashley put the phone down and looked out the window. Her eyes found the black car parked on the side of the road, not in the parking lot.
"He's there." She pointed.
"Aww, he's here to pick up his wife. Let's go, then."
Ashley forced a smile. "Yeah."
As they exited the lobby, they ran into River. "You're still here?"
Ashley paused. "Just heading out now. By the way, this is Amelia." River smiled at the girl beside her and extended a hand.
"River. Nice to meet you."
Amelia smiled. "Same here."
Ashley glanced at the time again, then looked at River. "We'll head out now. It's getting late. See you tomorrow."
"Sure. Bye."
As they stepped out of the lobby, Amelia commented suddenly, "He's cute."
Ashley laughed. "He's single too. Want me to talk to him?"
"Yeah so I can waste his time as well," she joked. Then she stopped walking. "Okay, I'm going now. I had a great time."
"Won't you come to the car with me?" Ashley pointed at Michael's car, silently hoping Amelia would walk her there.
She didn't want to be alone with him.
"Not at all. I want to be an aunt soon, and that won't happen if I tag along," she teased before walking off.
That won't happen even if they were given all the alone time in the world… Ashley sighed and slowly made her way to the car.
Opening the passenger door, she got in. One thing she'd observed was that whenever Michael drove, he never had guards around.
It was always just him.
Another thing she had learnt, or more like grown used to, was the silence that would linger if it was him in the car. She made herself comfortable and closed her eyes.
Ashley was herself surprised that she felt this much comfortable around this man. She mentally compared it to how she felt when Robert would be near her.
She should also be taking notice that she had known both of them for almost the same time. Just the difference was that she was married to one of them now.
"Here." Ashley was forced to open her eyes, feeling a document passed to her. It was in a brown cover.
She opened it. There were two different documents.
The first one was related to the full payment of the loan. He paid the loan of millions of dollars to bank and even to the local loan sharks.
Now there was no loan upon her. She was finally debt-free.
Next, she looked at the other document.
Divorce Agreement.
She took a soft breath and read through the contents.
Just as it was mentioned in the contract, the alimony was exactly the same. The reason was stated as the compatibility difference.
"If you want to add something else, you can tell."
A sarcastic curve occurred in her lips. Ashley nodded, "I do."
"Text it to Steve. He will do the required arrangements."
"Alright." Closing the document, she put it back on the dashboard and closed her eyes again, trying to control her emotions.
The silence regained its place between them.
Ashley was lost in her thoughts when, out of nowhere, the wind began hitting her face with a stronger impact.
Removing the strands of hair which were all over her face, Ashley opened her eyelids.
Michael had increased the speed. She closed the window and was about to tell him to slow down, but her eyes accidentally went to the rear-view mirror.
There were a few cars on a very close trail.
A car sped up and tried to hit their car. A shriek escaped her lips as Michael swiftly dodged it, causing their car to move over to the right edge of the road.
Pressing on the accelerator, he moved back to the middle of the road.
"Who are these people?" She panicked.
"Enemies."
A single-word reply, and Ashley groaned again. The car moved underneath the flyover, turning in at the junction and switching lanes.