Chapter 179: Kind of Anticlimatic
Ashley’s vision spun, her chest feeling tight as she tried to draw a breath. She widened her eyes, her neck taut as she gazed down. Her hands trembled as blood covered both her palms.
"... fuck," she breathed out, touching her throbbing head, blood clinging to her skin and hair.
She closed her eyes and breathed out heavily. Her complexion was paler than usual, the pounding in her head growing. Questions flooded her mind:
How in the world did this happen?
Just how did it turn out like this?
Why did she end up here?
Question after question ran through her head until every single thought disappeared without a trace.
Slowly, Ashley opened her eyes as a glint flickered in her sharp gaze.
"Right," she whispered, her entire body — which had been shaking monts ago — stilling with calm. "It’s because... I lowered my guard."
*****
[FOUR HOURS AGO]
"You said you’ve never been to one — a family day."
Ashley’s heart skipped a beat, staring at Lucian and Primo, who were looking at her with the sa warmth. A lump ford in her throat. She bit her lip slightly to stop herself from getting too emotional.
When her heart steadied, she nodded at them.
With Primo standing between them, he held her hand and Lucian’s. Together, the three of them walked into the lively the park to spend the day as a family.
They had Primo with them, but sohow, Ashley’s eyes sparkled brightest of all. Her lips parted slightly as she took in the rides and the crowds gathered around each booth.
She had never been to one of these places before. Even if she had wanted to, there had always been too much to do, and the simplest wishes of young Ashley had been quickly tucked away into an almost forgotten chest deep in her heart.
"Primo, let’s try that!" Excited, she pointed at the ride where large cups served as seats, spinning in slow circles.
Her eyes twinkled as she looked between Lucian and Primo, and both nodded with a smile.
The family of three hurried over, lining up eagerly. Ashley tried not to make it obvious that she was the most childlike one here, but she couldn’t help it. Her excitent was infectious, sweeping up even Primo, who had previously thought these kinds of rides were just for kids.
Watching Primo’s eagerness and Ashley’s excitent, Lucian smiled in quiet satisfaction.
At the back of his mind, he knew this might not be enough to make up for everything. But perhaps he was on the right path.
Once they boarded the ride, Ashley sat down in anticipation.
"Primo, tell
if you get dizzy, okay?" she giggled, taking his hand. "From what I saw earlier, this one looked like it was spinning like crazy!"
[I will close my eyes.] Primo signed, and she nodded.
"Good boy," she chuckled, gently stroking his hair.
They waited as the remaining guests boarded, and the gate closed. Ashley held her breath as the ride began to move. But unlike her expectations, it was not spinning like crazy at all.
It was spinning very slowly.
"..." She blinked, tilting her head. "From afar, it looked like it was spinning like crazy."
[I don’t need to close my eyes.]
She glanced down at Primo.
"Kind of anticlimactic, huh?" She lowered her head, though her smile only widened. "Maybe the other ones will be wild."
Primo smiled and nodded. [There are more.]
"Tell
what you want to try!"
As the two chatted and mapped out their next moves, Lucian watched from across the cup. The subtle smile on his face was ever-present, the affection and tenderness in his eyes unmistakable.
He drew a quiet breath and pulled sothing from his pocket.
"Here," he said, setting a folded map on the table between them.
"Huh?" Primo and Ashley turned to him in unison, then looked down at the paper. "What’s this?"
Ashley picked it up and unfolded it, revealing a map of the the park.
"Whoa," she murmured, glancing instinctively at Primo. "Primo, look — he got a whole map of this place."
She turned back to Lucian. "How did you get this?"
Lucian pressed his lips together, glancing between them. He had brought Primo to a the park before — just the two of them — so the boy wasn’t surprised.
"At the entrance," he explained. "They hand them out with the tickets."
Her lips ford an O. "Wow. How convenient. This the park is amazing."
Her comnt made father and son exchange a look. Even Primo had been to the parks before, though he had barely enjoyed them — how could he, when Lucian had rented out the entire park just for the two of them?
Still, most parks handed out maps as standard practice. That was almost common knowledge... except for soone who had never been to one.
Lucian drew a breath and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.
"From here, this ride is the closest," he said, pointing at the map with quiet authority, his tone as serious as if they were in a boardroom. "We go around and take breaks in between."
Ashley and Primo leaned in, listening as he laid out the full plan: which route to take, which rides to hit, which shows to catch, and how to prioritize based on what they each wanted most.
"Wow..." Ashley and Primo clapped together just as the anticlimactic first ride ca to an end. "Lucian, you’re really good at this!"
Primo nodded enthusiastically.
Lucian shrugged, almost smugly, as he tucked the map away. "Let
know if anything changes."
His companions looked at each other and grinned.
"Aye, aye, captain~!"
"Let’s go."
Lucian rose and helped them both out of the oversized cup. True to his word, he led them through the park, watching their faces closely — asuring every laugh, every widened eye, every grin.
Not every ride made their hearts pound or pulled a scream from Ashley’s throat, but the smiles never left their faces. Not even for a second.
"Kyah!!!" Ashley scread as the rollercoaster crept toward the top. It hadn’t even dropped yet.
Outside, Primo stood watching with his head tilted back, chuckling. A few guards flanked him because Lucian couldn’t go anywhere without security. And on the ride itself, seated beside a perfectly composed Lucian, was Ashley, already losing her mind.
They weren’t the only ones riding. At the very back sat Red and Gin — her bodyguards — assigned as a precaution.
"Why is she screaming before it even drops?" Gin muttered, his own heart rate spiking. "She’s making
nervous."
Red gripped the handlebars. "She’s making everyone nervous — ahh!"
The coaster dropped. Ashley’s screams folded into the chorus of everyone else’s. anwhile, Lucian sat perfectly still, like a block of ice.
Onlookers (mbers of Dominion) who had gathered specifically to watch Lucian’s reaction found their attention drifting instead to the back row, where Gin and Red were either screaming or on the verge of passing out.
Although others couldn’t help but wonder;
"How did those two end up in that ride, by the way?"
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