Love Me Again

Chapter 28 - Why isn't he in prison?

Chapter 28 - Why isn't he in prison?

"So what's his reason?" Sean humored her.

"I said 'could'. It's just my reasoning. The chef's family tried to get rid of him because Gio was included in his will. Not to mention more than half of his inheritance was given to Gio."

"In what kind of way did they try to get rid of him?" Sean asked suspiciously.

"The permanent way."

Sean raised an eyebrow. "Killing him?"

"He managed to kill the hired man in retaliation and claimed it as self-defense. The chef died from a heart attack after hearing it, and Gio got his part of the inheritance, no matter how much the family members tried to kick him off the will." Ashley could not help but smile at Sean. "Pitiful, isn't it?"

"That doesn't give him the excuse to do what he did to you."

"He was actually very nice to me until I knew the truth and broke it off with him. I guess only then did I truly see him for who he really was."

"No need to find excuses for him. He's a bastard, and it's all his fault for harming innocent people."

"I know that already."

Sean snorted. "What else did he do after he failed to set Summer Diner to flames?"

Ashley hesitated, unsure if she should say it. But since she had gotten this far, she might as well finish saying it. "Broke into my apartment and beat me up. Dad managed to save me before I was beaten even worse. But Gio broke dad's leg with a baseball bat."

Sean immediately hugged her tightly. "God, you could have died! And Advin could have lost his leg forever. That fucking bastard!"

"The doctor did say that. But dad proved them all wrong and showed everyone he could stand up and walk after five months." Ashley said, happy that her father was recovering well yet angry about Gio's cruelty.

"So, this-" Sean rubbed the back of her neck, and she went still. "Is this where Gio hit you?"

"Nothing escapes your eyes, huh?" She sighed, rubbing the scar on the back of her neck that trailed down to her mid-back. "Yes, he hit me with a glass bottle. The doctor said I was lucky that there isn't any permanent damage, just a small crack on my spine. I guess I'm lucky that I bent forward so that the effect of the hit did not land fully on me."

"Why isn't he in prison?" Sean asked angrily.

"Corruption?" She answered sarcastically, but that was half the truth. Gio was free by using money to bail him out, and he had gotten someone to vouch for his location, which was far away from her apartment at that time. If they had managed to stop Gio until the police arrived, the outcome would have been very different.

But after that incident, he learned to stay away. Until now.

Sean let out a harsh breath. "You suffered a lot."

"Not anymore, I won't," she said tightly.

"Can I see it?" Sean trailed his warm palm over her back.

Ashley shivered, unsure whether it was from his warm eyes or the touch on her back. Yet she made no effort to stop him from peeling off her coat and then unbuttoning her shirt. Her body trembled from the sudden exposure to the cold air, and she raised her arms to cover the front of her torso.

"Don't hide from me," Sean whispered, bringing her back from their hazy and ambiguous atmosphere.

"You want to look at my back, so look." Thinking that he would be repulsed if he saw it, Ashley turned her back to him, letting him see the scar spanning from the back of her neck down to her mid-back.

"It looks like a tree," Sean murmured, tracing her scar.

Fighting her trembles, she retorted with red eyes, "Then there is something wrong with your eyes."

She had seen from pictures, as mirrors were hard to look at from behind, what her scars looked like. While they did not make her feel disgusted, believing that her body was destroyed or anything extreme like that, she also did not try to beautify and imagine what her scar resembled.

Her injury and scar were just a result of clashing with Gio and protecting her father as best she could. It was as simple as that, and there was no need to hate or love it.

The previous dry touch from his fingertips was replaced with something soft and warm, which was clearly not from his fingertips. Shocked, she wanted to move away, only to discover his arms were wrapped around her waist without her notice.

"What are you doing!" Ashley wriggled to free herself from his grip and tried to ignore the sensation coming from his lingering lips trailing over her scar.

"I really miss you. I've constantly dreamed of touching you, kissing you, bringing you to the height of pleasure... I miss them all."

Ashley shivered and could not stop herself from breathing heavily as he spoke without removing his lips from her sensitive back. The warm breath as he mumbled against her skin brought tingles under her skin, and her back arched from the teasing pleasure.

She could already feel her body growing soft and yielding just from his lips. Her mouth trembled as her heart wanted her to tell him to give her more.

The ringing coming from Sean's mobile phone saved her from succumbing to her momentary weakness. Shaking off the lingering shivers, she got herself away from his arms and straightened her clothing with shaky fingers.

She did not turn to look at him, but she could clearly hear him cursing under his breath in the silent office. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt him kissing her back through her shirt before moving away to answer his phone.

"What is it, Kyle? ...You've already returned with them? Got it. I will come right out." Sean ended the call and turned to Ashley, who had regained her composure.

Seeing his heated gaze, she suddenly wondered if she should make an escape. However, it was also silly for her to escape her own territory when he should be the one to leave!

"The helpers have already arrived. Do you want to meet them?"

"Already? That's too quick, isn't it?" Ashley asked suspiciously. The trip to and forth from the airport took at least two hours, and it had not even been an hour since Kyle went out.

"They arrived way earlier, and Kyle went to pick them up halfway through the trip. I have nothing to complain about when they can start work earlier."

She had nothing to complain about either. "Okay, introduce them to me."

"...You already know them," Sean said vaguely, and before she could ask more about it, he had already opened the door to step out.

His helpers were probably his friends, whom she had only met once or twice before their marriage. They were not that enthusiastic about getting along with her, so they were only polite for the sake of their mutual relationship with Sean. In fact, she barely even remembered their faces or names, other than Sean's closest friend, Mason.

Was Mason one of the helpers?

Sean and Ashley found everyone had gathered at the dining area. The front entrance was closed, likely due to Mr. Summer's decision to close the restaurant early the day. They also had their workers go back home early, with the actual purpose being to avoid any slip up if their plans were leaked out.

Just as Ashely had guessed, one of the helpers was Mason.

"Good to see you again, Ashley," Mason greeted, his smile still remaining the same even after four years. Mason was one of the friends that attended the wedding and was pretty nice to her.

"Same to you. Thank you for agreeing to help."

"When the boss calls, you have to come," Mason joked. "But I sincerely want to help."

"Thank you." Ashley smiled in relief and missed the brief guilt on Mason's face.

Like my writing? You can support me thru:

www.paypal.me/chocolily

www.ko-fi.com/chocolilystory