I blinked. ‘What do you an?’
‘If I hadn’t been here, do you have any idea how dangerous this could’ve got?’
‘I...’ I hesitated.
He wasn’t yelling. That sohow made it worse.
‘I didn’t know it would turn into this. I heard Miss Davis’s voice note. She asked to dinner. I wasn’t going to ignore it.’
‘And once you realised it was a setup, why didn’t you leave imdiately?’
‘I couldn’t. Not right away.’
He tugged at his tie and exhaled heavily.
‘Why didn’t you call ?’
I shrugged, sheepish. ‘I wanted to see what they were up to. And then I found out about Gary Maxwell taking bribes. I got, um, interested.’
‘So you stayed and talked to him, knowing full well he had designs on you?’
‘I can take care of myself,’ I protested. ‘Fine, yeah, maybe I took a risk, but it was a minimal one. This is a public place. If things go wrong, I could yell. And I didn’t drink any of the wine.’
That seed to placate him sowhat.
At least his jaw was no longer clenched.
‘I got him to spill how much he took and how he did it. On record. That should make things easier for the police, right?’
Ashton stared at like he wanted to drag back in ti and throttle . Then he gave a dry laugh and shook his head.
‘Yes, it would, but you didn’t have to do it.’
‘Hey, you’re the one who always says that we are a couple. Anything that affects affects you. I figured it works both ways. Anything that affects you, affects too.’
He nodded. ‘That’s true.’
I grinned. ‘So now it’s all sorted, you can head back to your dinner thing. Your guests are probably wondering where you disappeared off to.’
‘No.’ He took my hand. ‘We’re going ho.’
‘What about your guests?’
‘Dom can handle it.’
His driver was already parked outside. We slid into the back seat, doors shutting with a quiet thud.
I glanced at him. ‘You walking out like that—are you sure it’s okay?’
‘It’s fine. My VP’s there. And Dominic knows what to say.’
‘Right.’
He turned his head and looked at , making sure we had eye contact before he spoke. ‘Next ti sothing like this happens, call . Straight away.’
‘I will.’ Then I added in self-defence, ‘I did text you, though.’
‘What if I didn’t see your text in ti?’
‘By the sa logic, maybe you wouldn’t have got my call in ti,’ I pointed out. ‘Your phone could be set to silent mode. Or you could be in a eting...’ My voice trailed off under his stern gaze. ‘Fine. I got it. Call next ti. Don’t text.’
‘I an it. Doesn’t matter what it is, you co to .’
The car moved smoothly through traffic.
I took a breath. ‘Okay. And thank you. For today. And for what you did with Priya’s parents. Really.’
‘You don’t have to keep saying thank you. Not with .’
‘Got it. I’ll write it down.’ I leaned back, shifted until I found a good spot, then looked over at him. ‘Actually, I do need your help with sothing else. It’s serious.’
He straightened. ‘What is it?’
I kept my face deadpan. ‘I haven’t had dinner. I’m starving. Let’s get ho. Fast.’
He repeated it softly. ‘Ho.’ Then he smiled. ‘Alright.’
***
Ashton updated two days later—Caroline, Franklin, and Preston were out.
Paid their fines, no charges stuck.
But that was all he said.
I didn’t get the full picture until Yvaine called.
‘Hey, Mira,’ she said as soon as I picked up. ‘Random question—how do you feel about weddings?’
‘Love the jewellery. Hate the seating charts. Why?’
‘My cousin’s getting married. Total bridezilla, but she’s obsessed with your designs. Wants a custom set.’
‘Send her mood board. I’ll do it.’
‘You’re a saint.’
‘Liar. How’s Cassian?’
There was a pause.
‘I resigned from the modelling gig,’ she said, blatantly changing the subject.
‘Again?’
‘Got bored with it.’
I could almost see her shrug. ‘You never stick to anything for more than three months.’
‘So things aren’t ant to be long-term.’
‘Cassian included?’
Another pause. Then—
‘Guess what,’ she said quickly. ‘I ran into soone who lives next to your parents. She heard about the whole police thing. Told everything.’
‘Yeah? Ashton said they got out, but that’s all I know.’
‘Oh, honey. It was a circus. They stuck to the “just a prank” story. Said the doctored audio was AI-generated, just family fun, didn’t know it was illegal. Cops couldn’t make anything stick, so they each paid a thousand-dollar fine and walked.’
‘And then?’
‘Caroline went off the mont they reached ho. “We’re her only family left in the bloody world” this, “heartless cow” that. Franklin looked like he was ready to strangle her.’
I rubbed my temple. ‘Sounds about right.’
‘They kept snapping at each other. Preston told them both to shut it. It was Serenna who picked them up, by the way.’
‘Should’ve expected it,’ I muttered. ‘Aren’t they one big happy family.’
‘Caroline didn’t shut up. The neighbour could hear her from across the fence. Preston finally lost it, told her you were married into power now and all she was doing was whining like a loser.’
I leaned back in my chair. ‘Did they say anything about Ashton?’
‘Plenty. Serenna and Caroline were trying to figure out when it happened. Caroline was ranting about how you must’ve lined him up before you left Rhys. Franklin finally snapped. Said your marriage was the best thing to ever happen to the family.’
‘Of course he did.’
‘And Preston—get this—said they should call and apologise. Said they needed you on their side.’
‘I didn’t get a call from him.’
‘I think it was Caroline who called.’
‘Oh, I blocked her number.’
Yvaine laughed. ‘Good call.’
But apparently, not good enough.
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