Ashley turned around and looked at Raymond in his eyes. The air of peacefulness about her and the
unfeeling look in her eyes worsened the whole situation. "What else can we talk about?" she started in
a flat tone. "I believe I have nothing to do with you anymore."
Raymond felt his heart break into pieces.
Cheating on Ashley was something that Raymond never intended to do. He was drunk that night, and
he truly mistook Lena for Ashley. The feeling of regret was overwhelming him, but he knew that there
was nothing else he could do to right what he had done wrong.
"Ashley, it was all my fault. Please forgive me," Raymond begged, with his eyes being already red. "I
know you still love me. Please, Ashley, give me another chance to love you and take care of you. I
promise this won't even happen again." With every word he said, Raymond felt his gut twist.
"Shut up," Ashley replied, her eyes still devoid of emotion. "What? You still love me? So what now?
You're just gonna forget what happened?" Ashley's tone was becoming more pointed. Hurt was starting
to color her eyes.
For some reason, seeing Ashley react like this and hearing the words that came out of her mouth
relieved the grief-stricken Raymond. For him, Ashley being angry was a testament that she still loved
him. 'If she wasn't affected like this, that's when I'd really be worried, ' he said to himself, sighing
silently.
Whatever punishment Ashley had in store for him, he was ready for it. Having her back was the only
thing that he wanted at that very moment.
Raymond took a deep breath, looked Ashley in the eyes, and said, "Lena is a good girl, but she isn't
the one I love. You know that it's you who I love. Lena will find someone else, and she will give us her
blessing once she finds out we're together," Raymond said firmly. He thought that saying that would
appease the girl in front of him, but it seemed like it elicited a reaction opposite of what he was
expecting.
From anger, Ashley's face contorted into a look of disbelief and disgust. 'Did this guy really say that
Lena is a good girl?' she thought to herself, torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to slap
Raymond.
'And how could he expect Lena to give us her blessing after what happened between them? That isn't
what a boss of a big firm would do.'
There was nothing else Ashley could do at that moment but look at Raymond like he was some kind of
a freak.
'Has he lost all his judgement about women, especially Lena?' she said to herself, now disappointed.
Everyone was fully aware of the things Lena had done, and not one of those things could be
considered good or kind.
Like the marriage of the Mu family and the Luo family. The engagement was made with little to no
concern about its consequences. Then, if ever they called it off, they also wouldn't care about its
implications. The impact it would make to the families and companies concerned literally didn't bother
them at all.
Raymond's mother wouldn't allow his son to see her any longer if they canceled the engagement. She
was sure of it. 'A good horse will never return to graze on grass that it has already passed by, ' Ashley
silently thought. 'Hasn't he heard of that before?'
What Raymond had done could be regarded as a betrayal. And from the moment that Raymond
betrayed her, she decided to cut all the connections with him.
But she knew that what happened wasn't all on Raymond. 'I mean, how could he even recognize a
woman who is so good at acting? How would he be able to see how double-faced she is?' she thought
to herself.
"Hahaha..." A sarcastic laugh escaped Ashley's mouth.
"Raymond, could you be more foolish?" she started, her tone condescending. "You're already engaged
to Lena," she said firmly. "If you think that that's a game, let me tell you - it's not. It won't be easy for
you to cancel that. Please don't be naive."
Upon hearing what Ashley said, Raymond froze. He didn't know what affected him more, being called
foolish or naive.
"No, Ashley, it's not like that," he started, gripping Ashley tight by the shoulders. "Believe me, Lena's
going to let go and I can make everything okay. Give me another chance, please." Ashley couldn't help
but roll her eyes.
How and why would Lena ever do that? Getting engaged to Raymond took a lot of work on her part.
What made Raymond think that she would give that up that easily?
'I could see Lena ending her engagement with Raymond, ' Ashley admitted in her mind. 'As a strategy
though." That was the Lena she knew. Getting connected to the Luo family was hard. There was no
way Lena was going to give up like it was nothing.
Glancing at Raymond, Ashley saw him looking dispirited. 'Still handsome though, ' she noted in her
mind. Taking a deep breath, she decided to shut out Raymond's proposal. "Your engagement with Lena
doesn't only concern both of you, but also both your families," she started. "Stop asking me to give you
another chance. I don't want to have any connections with you any longer." She took another deep
breath. "I have loved you, missed you, dreamt about you. All of that is in the past now. You're nothing
but a stranger to me now."
Saying that hurt her, but she gritted her teeth and swallowed whatever she was feeling.
With a final glance at Raymond, she turned around, and left.
Raymond was in a daze, and only when he felt the warmth of Ashley slowly fading away in his hand
was he jolted back into reality. His love was already paces in front of him before he was able to blurt
out, "What are you doing here?" A man was with Ashley. With his blood running cold, he shouted
again, "Why did you come here with a man?" His breath was becoming fast and shallow. "You wouldn't
make me see it if you didn't want to! That proves to me that you still love me! You're just using him to
make me jealous!"
As much as he wanted to believe whatever he was saying, Raymond somehow couldn't. But still, he
continued. "Being with another man is your revenge to me for my stupidity, I get it. I'm in pain right now,
so we're even. Forgive me!"
Ashley stopped but didn't look back. She said flatly, "Revenge? Do you really think that this is my
revenge? Don't get me wrong, Raymond. Do you really think that I was going to avenge myself for your
faults by pretending to be with another man?"
He couldn't believe Ashley could be so harsh towards him.
Stranger!
That word just kept repeating in Raymond's mind.
Then, he saw the face of the man Ashley was with. Cunning, dangerous, and evil were the only words
that came into his mind. Exasperated, he shouted at Ashley, "Get away from that man, Ashley! Trust
me, he's different from how he looks!" But Ashley didn't allow him to continue.
"Enough!" Ashley shouted with all her might. "I don't need you to tell me what kind of man he is. Mind
your own business!" Raymond saw how angry she looked. It broke his heart.
Then, like nothing happened, she left.
Feeling numb, Raymond just looked on as Ashley was walking away. He wanted to break down, but he
suddenly noticed that someone was hiding in the corner, watching them. That person had undoubtedly
seen what happened, and heard what they talked about.
It was Lena.
After Raymond excused himself for the bathroom, she started looking for him after he failed to come
back within a reasonable time. She just happened to stumble at what was happening.
What she witnessed agitated her. 'When would Ashley leave me - us - alone!' she angrily thought, her
heart beating fast.
In her mind, Ashley was still seducing her man in every way she could. It couldn't be farther from the
truth though. Raymond started everything.
Still, she failed to see the difference. Only Ashley was to blame.
Well, it was classic Lena.
She wouldn't find out why she lost her own fiance. What she wanted to do was just find someone to
blame.
Poor girl!
When Ashley got to the room they booked, the room had been cleaned. Andrew was sitting by the side
of the table quietly, looking at his phone.
He obviously was waiting for her.
He looked up at Ashley when she entered the room. It was as if he knew when she would come in.
'Like a little boy waiting for his mom, ' Ashley thought, somewhat amused.
"Are you okay?" Ashley asked, gesturing towards Andrew. "I'll leave if you're okay." Andrew stood up
and stared at her for a second, then he turned around and walked out of the room.
Surprised, Ashley ran after him.
The place was big. The last thing she wanted was for the both of them to get lost in
there.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda