I blinked. ‘What do you mean?’
‘If I hadn’t been here, do you have any idea how dangerous this could’ve got?’
He wasn’t yelling. That somehow made it worse.
‘I didn’t know it would turn into this. I heard Miss Davis’s voice note. She asked me to dinner. I wasn’t going to ignore it.’
‘And once you realised it was a setup, why didn’t you leave immediately?’
‘I couldn’t. Not right away.’
He tugged at his tie and exhaled heavily.
‘Why didn’t you call me?’
I shrugged, sheepish. ‘I wanted to see what they were up to. And then I found out about Gary Maxwell taking bribes. I got, um, interested.’
‘So you stayed and talked to him, knowing full well he had designs on you?’
‘I can take care of myself,’ I protested. ‘Fine, yeah, maybe I took a risk, but it was a minimal one. This is a public place. If things go wrong, I could yell. And I didn’t drink any of the wine.’
That seemed to placate him somewhat.
At least his jaw was no longer clenched.
‘I got him to spill how much he took and how he did it. On record. That should make things easier for the police, right?’
Ashton stared at me like he wanted to drag me back in time and throttle me. Then he gave a dry laugh and shook his head.
‘Yes, it would, but you didn’t have to do it.’
‘Hey, you’re the one who always says that we are a couple. Anything that affects me affects you. I figured it works both ways. Anything that affects you, affects me too.’
He nodded. ‘That’s true.’
I grinned. ‘So now it’s all sorted, you can head back to your dinner thing. Your guests are probably wondering where you disappeared off to.’
‘No.’ He took my hand. ‘We’re going home.’
‘What about your guests?’
His driver was already parked outside. We slid into the back seat, doors shutting with a quiet thud.
I glanced at him. ‘You walking out like that—are you sure it’s okay?’
‘It’s fine. My VP’s there. And Dominic knows what to say.’
He turned his head and looked at me, making sure we had eye contact before he spoke. ‘Next time something happens, call me. Straight away.’
‘I will.’ Then I added in self-defence, ‘I did text you, though.’
‘What if I didn’t see your text in time?’
‘By the same logic, maybe you wouldn’t have got my call in time,’ I pointed out. ‘Your phone could be set to silent mode. Or you could be in a meeting...’ My voice trailed off under his stern gaze. ‘Fine. I got it. Call next time. Don’t text.’
‘I mean it. Doesn’t matter what it is, you come to me.’
The car moved smoothly through traffic.
I took a breath. ‘Okay. And thank you. For today. And for what you did with Priya’s parents. Really.’
‘You don’t have to keep saying thank you. Not with me.’
‘Got it. I’ll write it down.’ I leaned back, shifted until I found a good spot, then looked over at him. ‘Actually, I do need your help with something else. It’s serious.’
He straightened. ‘What is it?’
I kept my face deadpan. ‘I haven’t had dinner. I’m starving. Let’s get home. Fast.’
He repeated it softly. ‘Home.’ Then he smiled. ‘Alright.’
Ashton updated me two days later—Caroline, Franklin, and Preston were out.
Paid their fines, no charges stuck.
But that was all he said.
I didn’t get the full picture until Yvaine called.
‘Hey, Mira,’ she said as soon as I picked up. ‘Random question—how do you feel about weddings?’
‘Love the jewellery. Hate the seating charts. Why?’
‘My cousin’s getting married. Total bridezilla, but she’s obsessed with your designs. Wants a custom set.’
‘Send me her mood board. I’ll do it.’
‘Liar. How’s Cassian?’
‘I resigned from the modelling gig,’ she said, blatantly changing the subject.
I could almost see her shrug. ‘You never stick to anything for more than three months.’
‘Some things aren’t meant to be long-term.’
‘Guess what,’ she said quickly. ‘I ran into someone who lives next to your parents. She heard about the whole police thing. Told me everything.’
‘Yeah? Ashton said they got out, but that’s all I know.’
‘Oh, honey. It was a circus. They stuck to the “just a prank” story. Said the doctored audio was AI-generated, just family fun, didn’t know it was illegal. Cops couldn’t make anything stick, so they each paid a thousand-dollar fine and walked.’
‘Caroline went off the moment they reached home. “We’re her only family left in the bloody world” this, “heartless cow” that. Franklin looked like he was ready to strangle her.’
I rubbed my temple. ‘Sounds about right.’
‘They kept snapping at each other. Preston told them both to shut it. It was Serenna who picked them up, by the way.’
‘Should’ve expected it,’ I muttered. ‘Aren’t they one big happy family.’
‘Caroline didn’t shut up. The neighbour could hear her from across the fence. Preston finally lost it, told her you were married into power now and all she was doing was whining like a loser.’
I leaned back in my chair. ‘Did they say anything about Ashton?’
‘Plenty. Serenna and Caroline were trying to figure out when it happened. Caroline was ranting about how you must’ve lined him up before you left Rhys. Franklin finally snapped. Said your marriage was the best thing to ever happen to the family.’
‘And Preston—get this—said they should call and apologise. Said they needed you on their side.’
‘I didn’t get a call from him.’ ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel-fire.ɴet
‘I think it was Caroline who called.’
‘Oh, I blocked her number.’
Yvaine laughed. ‘Good call.’
But apparently, not good enough.