Chapter 13
Sam, who’d overheard parts of the conversation, asked, “Who was that, Dad?”
Your great-grandmother.” Chase called Ashley while explaining.”Grandma wants us to have dinner tonight.”
Sam loved his great-grandmother. “Okay! I miss her!”
Chase hummed in response.
Ashley was having breakfast at her grandma’s place. Seeing Chase calling her, she hesitated. She no longer felt excited. After a pause, she answered, “Hello.”
“Grandma wants us to have dinner tonight.”
…Okay.”
You’ll pick Sam up.”
She didn’t want to go back to his place. Even if she came to pick Sam up, he might not want to see her. Why bother?
“Have the driver take him. I’ll go there by myself.” Rush hour made this sound reasonable. The point was, Ashley refused to pick Sam up- that never happened before. Chase was surprised. But it was not a big deal; he didn’t dwell on it.
“Okay. He hung up.
Sam knew who it was.
“Mom?”
Yes.”
Will Mom come with us?”
Yes.”
Sam frowned. He didn’t mind seeing his mother; he missed her. His mother hadn’t contacted him for more than two weeks, but he was okay with it. He enjoyed spending time with Tanya.
He didn’t want his mother to return so soon. If she was home, Tanya couldn’t take him to school tomorrow, and she wouldn’t let him go to Tanya’s
race.
He’d already asked Tanya to take him to school. What should he do?
Sam slumped.”Dad…”
Chase looked over.”What’s up?”
He could ask Dad to tell Mom he wanted Tanya to take him to school, but Mom might argue with Dad.
He lost appetite. He could compromise about school, but he had to go to Tanya’s race. He pleaded, “You promised to take me to Tanya’s race, but Mom won’t let me go if she knows, so don’t tell her. Lie to her if she asks.”
“Okay.”
Relieved, Sam cheered up. Chase left after breakfast.
Ashley didn’t see Chase at the office. At noon, Amanda called, asking her to have lunch together. The restaurant was near Sterling Corp.
When she arrived, she heard someone talking.”Chase, thank you so much. I wouldn’t have closed the deal without you.”
Ashley stopped. She saw her father, Mark Mond.
Chase said, “You’re welcome, Uncle.”
Ashley clenched her fist. Chase’s tone was warmer than usual. He only treated those he valued like that. He was probably helping her father because of Tanya. She hadn’t seen her father much after his divorce from her mother. He had only publicly acknowledged Tanya as his child. They were just like
“We don’t live here, so please help me take care of Tanya.” Mark said to Chase.
Menu
Ashley almost laughed. Tanya and Chase met after she married Chase. Tanya knew about her relationship with Chase; Mark must have known too, yet
he still tried to match them.
It showed how little he cared for her!
Chase agreed. They chatted briefly. Chase usually showed such respect to only a few elders in his family. He respected Mark because he was Tanya’s
father.
Ashley thought of Chase’s coldness to her grandmother and uncle.
He wouldn’t even help her uncle… But he treated Tanya’s family differently. His attitude towards her and Tanya was vastly different. Perhaps this was the magic of love.
Soon, Chase left too. Ashley came in.
In the afternoon, Ashley went home to get the gifts for Emily and the others. Then, she drove to the Sterling residence. It was in the suburbs, beautiful and quiet, but far from the city. She arrived after an hour and a half. She heard Sam laughing before entering.
Emily saw her and smiled.”Ashley! Come sit here.”
But only Emily was smiling. Chase’s mother and Yonnie’s expressions turned cold. Ashley noticed but didn’t care. She gave the gifts to the butler and went to greet Emily.
“Grandma.”
“Ah, Emily smiled, pulling Ashley down, then frowned.”You’ve lost weight. Did Chase bully you?”
Mergi
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.

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