Sometimes when a person says something, they do not have a specific intention. However, the person listening might read between the lines, and take it to have the meaning that they were hoping for. At that time, I did not know the whole story. Now that I do, I felt that I shouldn’t hold on to this bracelet.
I didn’t say much as I stroked the bracelet absent-mindedly. I just smiled faintly.
Emery’s phone rang. She answered it while I just stood and looked around the mall. The hustle and bustle made me feel suffocated.
It was kind of stifling.
Leaning against the railing and looking at the shops on every floor, I was reminded that R Province did not have shops like these. The vendors usually set up stalls along the alleys. You could just buy the items you wanted on the way home from there.
I was lost in my thoughts when Emery placed her phone to the side of my ear and teasingly said, “It’s for you.”
Taken by surprise, I took the phone by reflex and responded with an automatic “Hello?”
“It’s me!” a deep voice reverberated from the other end. The familiarity of the voice had me rooted firmly to my spot. “A-Ashton?”
A low chuckle could be heard. “Why is your phone switched off? Did you wear enough clothes to keep yourself warm? Ms. Moore said you are only wearing a thin coat. Do you feel cold?”
Despite being very busy, he still made it a point to call and check up on me. Only Ashton would be so meticulous when it came to caring for me.
My face reddened when I noticed Emery smirking at me. I hurriedly replied, “My phone battery died so it turned off completely. I’m absolutely fine. The mall has a heating system, so it’s really warm in here.”
“Good,” he said, “I will come for you after work. I have transferred some funds over to you. No need to hold back. I am perfectly capable of letting you spend as much as you’d like.”
I giggled, which attracted Emery’s curious stare. Holding it in, I replied, “Okay, I’ll hang up now. I’m perfectly fine!”
After I had hung up, I passed the phone back to Emery and said, “Thank you!”
She took her phone, shrugged her shoulders, and said with a grimace, “I feel like I’ve just been forced to listen to the both of you being all lovey-dovey.”
I responded with a smile and didn’t elaborate on it.
As we continued with our shopping, Emery suddenly said, “You know, Scarlett. Ashton really loves you.”
I was stunned for a bit, not knowing where this came from all of a sudden. I gave her a side-eye glance and she continued.
“Three years ago, I saw him at the Imperial Hotel. It was 3 a.m., and he was awfully drunk. As he walked out of the hotel, I could see that he was holding a bottle of liquor in his hand,” Emery recounted. “At that time, Nancy didn’t really look like you. If one were to insist, you could only say that she had eyes that looked like yours. He looked at Nancy and called out your name again and again. He was crying like a child, begging you not to leave.”
She paused as she said this, as if recalling what she had seen at that time.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: In Love, Never Say Never (Ashton Fuller and Scarlett Stovall)