“You don’t get to tell me who she is,” he said coldly.
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“Ashton! You can’t be serious!” she shrieked. “We’re your family. She’s no one! You’re letting some gold- digging little brat twist you around her finger! You think she’s sweet, but she’s manipulative. She uses your name like a badge and your money like her own. That design competition? Please. Everyone knows she won it because of you.”
“Enough!” I wished there was something I could throw at her. “When I entered that competition, no one knew who the hell I was. Not as Ashton’s wife. If I wanted to rig it, I’d have needed a name to flash, and I didn’t use his. You think I throw Ashton’s name around in public? Fine. Name one time. Where? When? Who heard it?”
She stared at me, blinking. Her lips twitched like she wanted to come up with something, but all she did was exhale through her nose.
“You’re quick with rumors, but you choke on facts. Don’t waste your breath trying to make up stories about me. Go find a comedy club. Might as well get paid for it.
She gaped at me, her mouth flapping uselessly, but no sound followed.
She turned back to Ashton.
“I’m saying this for your own good,” she said desperately. “You have no idea what she’s planning. She could be after your money, your company, everything!”
“Are you done?” Ashton said.
“No, I’m not done! You better take what I said seriously!‘
He nodded. “Then go on.”
“That woman, she’s shallow, she only cares about-
“Keep going,” Ashton said. “Every word adds another year to my father’s time in Africa.”
Gwendolyn froze.
Reginald choked on air.
Silence settled.
Reginald lunged and slapped a hand over her mouth. “Shut it. Just shut the hell up.”
Gwendolyn flailed a bit, then squeaked, “I didn’t mean anything by it. I’ll stop talking.
“Let me make it simple,” Ashton said calmly. “From now on, every time you say something I don’t like, or pull some stunt I didn’t authorize, my father’s ticket hoe gets delayed another year. Do the math. Figure out how many idiotic things you can squeeze in before le drops dead over there.”
“Ashton-“Gwendolyn started, panic sharp in her voic
Reginald slapped his hand over her mouth again. “We won’t say another word. About anything. Especially not Mirabelle. Never again. She’s family. We love her. Lige a daughter.”
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Chapter 217 Gone
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He turned to me with a forced smile.
“Truly. Like our own.”
When Ashton’s shoulders eased just slightly, Reginald let out a breath and rubbed his palms together.
“Ashton, listen…” he started, voice syrupy. “You’ve come all this way to see me. Look at all these outsiders cluttering the place. Don’t you think it’s better if we clear the room and just have a proper father–son chat?”
“About Africa…” Ashton dragged it out.
I watched Reginald’s face twitch with hope, like an idiot unwrapping a present he’d already peeked at.
“You’re still going.”
Reginald stiffened. The color drained from his cheeks.
He started coughing, hand to his chest like he’d been punched.
“Can’t we… negotiate?” he wheezed.
“You can walk out or be wheeled out. Those are the only options.”
Heavy, dragging steps echoed down the hall.
A short while later, Edouard Laurent appeared in the doorway, hunched, cane digging into the floor.
A nurse hovered beside him, one arm hooked under his elbow.
He looked half–collapsed already, sweat beading under his gray hair, lips pale, breathing ragged.
Even his hospital gown hung lopsided on his frame, like it couldn’t be bothered to cling to someone so close to expiry.
“Ashton,” Edouard rasped, “this is disgraceful. He’s your father. You’re behaving like a goddamn thug-
“Grandpa, you’re not well. You should stop talking. And you’re old. Stay out of this.”
The old man stiffened.
His knuckles tightened around the cane.
“I’m tired,” he muttered, and turned around before ever crossing the threshold.
“Dad!” Reginald shouted after him.
Edouard didn’t look back.
Ashton looked down at Reginald. “Have you decided?”
Reginald didn’t lift his head. His voice came out hoarse. I’ll go.”
“Good.”
Ashton flicked a look at Dominic, who snapped to attention and motioned to the four men by the door.
They closed in on Reginald without a word.
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Chapter 217 Gone
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One of them took his suitcase.
Another opened the door.
Reginald didn’t resist. He just let them walk him out like a convict on his final stroll.
The room emptied in seconds.
Gwendolyn dropped onto the mattress, spine bent, face pale.
She looked like a wind–up toy that had finally stopped ticking.
Ashton didn’t let her catch her breath.
“I’ve noticed you’ve had a lot of free time lately. You’ll be staying home from now on. No shopping. No luncheons. Your cards are frozen.”
Gwendolyn stared at him, her mouth slightly open.
“The house allowance? Gone. Since Grandfather’s in hospital and my father’s going to be deep in the jungle, the staff is being cut. If you want to keep your driver, your chef, your cleaner, pay them yourself. Oh, and your year–end dividends from LGH? Cancelled.”
Her head snapped up. “What?”
He didn’t repeat it.
Her eyes rolled back.
She tipped sideways and collapsed onto the mattress, limbs stiff, face slack.
Ashton and I looked at each other.
I asked, “Did she just pass out?”
“Looks like it.”
I turned and bolted for the hallway, found a nurse halfway down, and waved her over.
She brought a doctor and two more nurses.
All four rushed in, crowding around the bed.
One held Gwendolyn’s wrists.
Another pressed hard under her nose with a knuckle.
The third adjusted the monitor.
Gwendolyn’s eyes cracked open about twenty seconds ler.
She blinked, caught sight of Ashton standing in the middle of the room, and made a strangled sound.
Her head flopped sideways.
Out cold again.
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Chapter 219 Consummation
I reached for him, rolling the condom down over his length.
Ashton groaned low in his throat, his body tensing above mine, hips jerking at the contact.
His hands braced on either side of my head, his knuckles whitening slightly.
He murmured my name, his voice rough with pleasure.
I swallowed hard, my eyes flicking up to his face.
There was no alcohol clouding my senses this time, no hazy veil to soften the edges.
Every sensation was vivid, raw.
The memory of that first night in the hotel came rushing back–not just the physicality, but the vulnerability, the reckless thrill of giving myself to someone who made me feel both fearless and fragile all
at once.
That night, I’d been drunk.
Now, I was wide awake, and drowning in feeling.
Watching me closely, Ashton pressed inside slowly, inch by torturous inch, letting me stretch and adjust, his jaw clenched tight as he fought for control.
I gasped softly, arching into him, my fingers curling into his shoulders.
My body softened around him, opening, welcoming.
He didn’t move at first, just held himself there, buried deep, his forehead resting against mine.
“You good?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
I nodded, blinking back tears I hadn’t realized had formed. “Yes. Don’t stop.”
He kissed me then, slow and sweet.
Each thrust was careful, coaxing my nerves alight until warmth pooled low in my belly.
My body responded instinctively, my hips rising to meet his rhythm, shyness melting under the weight of
desire
When I moaned into his mouth, Ashton exhaled sharply through his nose, his pace beginning to quicken.
His control began to slip.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, drawing him deeper my nails tracing lines down his back.
I met each of his thrusts with a roll of my hips, my earlie hesitation entirely forgotten.
He shifted, angling deeper, and I cried out, clutching hit tighter.
The bed groaned beneath our movement, the air thick with sweat and want
Our bodies moved together as if we’d always known how as if we’d never been apart.
Chapter
