Love Me Again

Chapter 27 - Nothing escapes from your eyes

Chapter 27 - Nothing escapes from your eyes

Seeing the dazed look disappear from her, Sean was a little disappointed.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know there is more than what you had told Kyle, and your father refuses to say much other than him being your ex-boyfriend."

"You do not need to know other than Gio threatening our business with unethical moves."

"... During these four years, I occasionally spoke to Advin, and sometimes, he would mention about you."

Ashley waited for more, but he did not say anything further, calmly waiting for her response. Without his input, she had no idea how much her father had told him, or if he ever did speak about Gio to Sean.

She urged herself to calm down and think properly. There was a huge part of her that believed he did not know anything, other than Gio plagiarising her father's recipes. The evidence was his anger and ignorance when she spoke of her new relationship after their divorce.

He would not have reacted that violently if he had already known about it.

"He has something to do with Advin's leg injury, right?" With Ashley's sudden stiffness, Sean knew he hit the jackpot. "Tell me, please. Without telling me everything, how am I supposed to help you properly?"

Ashley finally sighed, putting away her hard front. Her head hurt just from trying to deduce how much he knew. Other than hurting her pride, what else would hurt after telling him? "You are right. Gio used me to get hold of my dad's recipe. All of it. Even if it means it would hurt me."

Sean remains quiet, his silence encouraging her to say more. His encouragement brings up her desire to vent.

"I found out about it, and broke off with him." She laughed painfully but was glad the pain was not as severe as before. "I should have not been so naive to think he would just let it go. In my anger, I did not think I should have broken up with him in a much more private place instead of in my dad's diner, right in front of our customer, who could listen to every word I had said."

"It humiliates him."

"Yes, it did. I regretted it, but what he did next completely wipes out even a tiny bit of regret I had for my actions." Ashley paused. "Well, maybe still some, but I don't know if he will still do the same even if I did it privately. Or he might have done worse."

"What did he do?"

"Slapped me across my face and called me an ungrateful bitch. He would have done more if he was not stopped," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. Her face had swollen for two days with a cut on her lip.

Sean mumbled something that would be offensive to children's ears. He caressed her cheek, his touch so gentle and caring that her heart ached in longing.

"He doesn't get away from that, does he?"

She snorted. "Our customer stood as witnesses that he assaulted me. He spent a night behind the bars. I did not want to report him to the police, but my parents and Ashton pushed me to report him."

"He became very angry, didn't he?"

"Angry doesn't even cover it. He's pissed to the point he could murder me."

"He tried?" Sean asked dangerously. If Gio was here, Ashley knew Sean would beat him up.

"Nearly. He brought the opposite shop and turned it into a restaurant and grabbed our customers away. He even interferes further by getting our suppliers to stop helping us."