Despite the disturbance, they were still able to have their meal in peace.
Even after dinner, no one bothered to tell Fabio and Richard who those people were.
The kids were smart enough to not ask either.
After dinner, Andrew took Ashley out for a walk so she could better digest the food. The doctor had mentioned that taking walks would be good for the baby too.
Thus, Andrew took Ashley out for a walk every evening after dinner.
As expected, the kids followed from behind. While Andrew didn't seem too excited about this, his relationship with the kids had improved.
"Mommy, who were those people earlier? I don't think Great Grandpa likes them very much." Fabio came skipping until he was in front of Ashley and promptly stopped when he was beside her.
While he noticed that Chant didn't like them, he also felt that Ashley and Andrew didn't seem too happy with their presence either.
"He likes them. Also, you should call them grandpa and grandma, okay? They're your dad's parents," Ashley said firmly.
While the tension between the adults were real, Ashley felt it was best to keep it between them. The kids were still too young to get involved in such matters.
"Really?"
"Of course! Would Mommy lie to you?"
Ashley had a look of amusement on her face as she gazed at Fabio.
"But why do I feel like they don't like us?" Fabio looked confused.
Although Arya was kind enough to praise him, he still felt as if something was off.
Children were sensitive. All they needed was one glance to know who was being genuinely nice to them and who was not.
"It doesn't matter. We don't like them either. What's important is that we have Dad, Mom, and Great Grandpa. That's enough," Dany added.
'She knows a lot at such a young age,' Ashley thought to herself.
Smiling, she looked at Dany. "You're such a smart girl."
The kids burst into laughter at the same time.
After walking around the villa, Ashley began to feel worn out so she decided that it was time to go back inside.
Ethan, Arya, and Susie still hadn't left. They had settled themselves on the sofa with Chant.
The atmosphere seemed a little awkward as only Susie would talk to Chant from time to time.
Meanwhile, Ashley considered walking a few more rounds outside.
However, now that she had already come inside, she couldn't go out anymore—it would seem rude.
As soon as Arya caught sight of Ashley, she said, "Oh, Ashley's back. You two seem to be doing great. Andrew knows how to take care of you."
Andrew didn't say a word while Ashley merely nodded out of politeness.
"It's getting late. Fabio, come here. Great Grandpa will take you upstairs and help you go to bed." Chant reached out his hand to Fabio.
"Okay." Fabio then approached Chant and took his hand.
"Richard, Dany, come with us. Great Grandpa will take you upstairs to play."
When they headed upstairs, only a few people were left in the living room.
The tension was thick around them as they all seemed awkward. Anyone with common sense would see that Chant was basically trying to get them to leave. Isn't it rude of them to insist on staying when they were clearly being asked to go?
"Let's go." Andrew behaved as if they weren't there.
He supported Ashley as they made their way upstairs. When they left, only the three remained in the living room.
As Susie watched Ashley leave, she intended to catch up with her and say something. However, upon giving it more thought, she decided against it.
Ashley was no longer the same Ashley as before.
Even if Ashley hadn't changed, she still wouldn't dare do anything.
At long last, Arya collected herself and bade her goodbyes to Linda before leaving.
As soon as they stepped out, Ethan imploded. "Look at that ungrateful son! What did he do? I'm still his father. He barely looked at me!"
"Andrew has always been like that. Why do you care so much? Let's just go,"
Arya said as the three got in the car.
Susie was in an undeniably terrible mood. She intended to talk to Ashley but didn't even get the chance to do so.
Andrew kept a close eye on Ashley. He would never allow Ashley to be alone with Susie. It's not like they had the greatest relationship either.
"Susie, what's wrong?" Noticing that there was something wrong with Susie, Arya looked at her with concern.
While Andrew and Ethan's relationship had always been strained, at the very least, they had never been mistreated.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Love Trap