THIRTY-ONE: FATHER??

The day went by just as fast as it had started. My mind had mostly been occupied by the benefits I had acquired from the trial. Harris came to the office just after confirming with Lisa if I had reported, and we got down to work. Thankfully, Ashton's team had transferred everything without argument and done everything just as the court had ordered. Harris, as my representative, came to help me smooth the process. For something Harris had insisted would not take long, it sure was taking up my lunch break and mindless scrolling on the phone time. The first couple of hours were silent, filled with the rustling and flipping sounds of paper, the pen against paper, and the clacking of keyboard keys. After some time, we settled into the silence, and Harris broke it after Lisa brought in our second cups of coffee and some food. He suggested that I take a break if I was tired and leave everything to him after he watched me down the coffee in one go."I'm okay, this is my normal," I replied af

THIRTY-TWO: BROKEN ROUTINE

Ridley was avoiding me.I was not certain, but that was how it felt. Ridley and I drove together to work every day except when the situation did not allow it. Though for the last few days, he made up useless excuses as to why we could not ride together. At first it was an out-of-town meeting, which I did not find odd, but when he started getting up before me and leaving notes on the dresser, I got worried.'Good morning, my love. I got up first and left early. See you later.' He did not even bother to make up an excuse in today's note, like making a morning run for coffee or an early meeting with clients. I scrunched up the note in my hand and tossed it in the bin before getting ready for work. The last three days had begun like this, and it was pitiful to realise that I had gotten so used to our mornings that not having him around in the morning for only 3 days could affect me so much. We had a routine. I woke up before him, got in the shower and on the better mornings, he would jo

THIRTY-THREE: CONVERSATION

WARNING//MATURE CONTENTI was unable to finish the food that was on my plate because of the unbridled happiness that settled at the pit of my stomach. I felt like I could go days on end without food, only staring at the man in front of me. Our eyes met numerous times as we ate. I could not believe that he did all this for me when I doubted his love. He surprised me with a romantic dinner and adorable plushies. It did not matter what he did, I was just happy that he took the time to passionately profess his love to me even when I had not.I love you.I said it back. Somehow the words had just slipped out effortlessly before I could hold back. It had felt so easy, and the words easily rolled off my tongue, burying all the creeping doubts and thoughts. Ridley had stared back at me, first with shock and then a blooming smile, as if still in disbelief and when he collected his thoughts, he pulled me to him and leaned down to kiss me. My body burned at the memory of what happened only a few

THIRTY-FOUR: soirée

Ridley's arm did not leave my waist. He stayed at my side like an extension of my body as we walked around, avoiding any unnecessary conversation but still entertaining a few people we deemed worthy of our time. We would have both preferred to skip the entire thing, preferably for a night inside, cuddled up and entertaining each other, but duty called. Honestly, I could have done without making an appearance at the soirée thrown by the Stetsons, but Ridley had convinced me to tag along, promising to stay by my side the entire night.Ridley could not exactly ditch the event, it was being thrown by his family, and even though he despised the ground they walked on, he still made sure to ascertain the fact that he was also a Stetson and would not let his brother overshadow him in any way. I only agreed to come with him after some persuasive words and kisses. An unnerving feeling settled at the bottom of my stomach the moment we walked through the huge doors of the banquet hall. Memories o

THIRTY-FIVE: AFTER-PARTY

Ridley hissed when I dabbed a cotton ball drenched with antiseptic on his cheek. I muttered a soft 'sorry' before continuing. After his father ordered both brothers to leave, Ridley and I went back to our apartment, but not before stopping at a convenience store to get an ice pack for his swelling face. Ashton had landed a few harsh blows on his face."Isn't this funny?" Ridley spoke just as I moved down to his split lip. I drew back a bit with a questioning look. "If Ashton had not messed up, he'd be the one you're tending to so carefully." His voice was distant, and if I had not paid attention, I would not have noticed his clenched fists at his sides.My movements stopped, and I backed away to look at his face properly. His eyebrows were scrunched up into a frown, his lips in a thin line, and his face battered. He looked like an angry kid, but despite how much I wanted to tease him, I knew that the night had taken a toll on him...hell, even I was pissed. I got an adhesive bandage an

THIRTY-SIX: NEW BEGINNINGS

"It feels like yesterday when I was helping you move in here." I smiled at Lisa from the boxes I was loading. She looked down at the box she was packing with a morose expression, and I bit on my top lip. She was taking this harder than I had expected. We had formed a kind of friendship, and I knew that she would be sad, but I did not account for the fact that she would be very very sad. A few weeks had passed since the soiree, and after a lot of thought, a few conversations with Harris and Lou, and an argument with Ridley, I decided to resign from Stetson Hotel and find new prospects. Lou was right, slowly but surely, working there was becoming more of a headache, and it was more draining to meet Ashton or his mother anywhere. Working with Ridley was one of the few, if not the biggest positive of working there. That, plus the paycheck. Harris did not seem too shocked about it when I asked for his opinion, Lou was behind my decision the entire time, but Ridley did not take it too we