My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin novel Chapter 175

Chapter 175: Carve Your Heart Out

Things had settled, but there were some things Ashley wanted to do.

Looking at the large feast she had prepared and packed herself, a wide beam brightened her expression. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled from ear to ear.

"Those guys..." she muttered, chuckling. "I wonder if they’re still alive. Are they getting enough sleep?"

Aside from Nolan, there were five people she wanted to thank from the bottom of her heart. After all, thanks to those guys living across from her, she hadn’t felt so alone. Besides, they were quite nice... even though a love-hate dynamic had always defined their relationship.

But as she was wrapping up the feast she wanted to share with them, the doorbell rang.

"Hmm?" Her brows furrowed. "Did those two come back already?"

Lucian and Primo had just gone out to run an errand and planned to return to pick her up. After all, Lucian’s plans from the day before had been postponed, and he had told them that morning he’d rescheduled everything with Primo in mind.

Ashley quickly went to the door, but the moment she opened it, someone else was standing behind the low front gate.

Emma.

"..." Ashley kept her lips pressed into a thin line as she approached the gate.

Emma drew a deep breath and looked Ashley in the eye. She forced a smile, though it barely held.

Without a word exchanged between them, Ashley welcomed her in. This time, not out of shock, but out of common decency. At the end of the day, Emma was still Primo’s mother. And that was a fact none of them could ever change.

"Ah, Lucian and Primo just went out to run some errands," Ashley said, glancing back at Emma with a mild smile. "They’ll be back any minute."

Having said that, she was about to walk away when Emma spoke hurriedly.

"Actually, I’m not here because of them."

Slowly, Ashley looked back at Emma, brows knitted.

"I came here... because of you," Emma said, briefly biting her lip as she gripped the straps of her handbag with both hands. "Ashley? Can we... talk?"

A moment of silence passed before Ashley finally nodded.

"I’ll just get you some tea — or do you prefer something else?" she asked, but Emma shook her head.

"You don’t have to —"

"Nolan told me offering drinks is a common courtesy when receiving guests," Ashley chuckled. "I’ll get you some tea then. Take a seat. It’ll be quick since I already had some ready for Lucian."

With that, Ashley walked to the kitchen while Emma stood there, watching her. Emma glanced at the couch, weighing whether to sit down or not.

Then, steeling herself, she followed Ashley to the kitchen instead.