Arranged •{ONC 2020}•

《 Chapter Nine 》

After the previous day's events, Ashlynn found it extremely difficult to give Wesley her attention for more than two seconds. She made all sorts of lame excuses to avoid him, which was nearly impossible because she was moving into his room. If anything, that just made the whole ordeal even more awkward.

Aunt Leah suspected they'd made amends, but with Ashlynn's stranger-than-usual behavior, she didn't know if she should pry. She was, however, quite pleased to see they could be in the same room together. It looked like her hard work was finally paying off.

"Hey, be careful with that!"

Wesley jumped and almost dropped the glass figurine he had been holding. That was the first time she'd spoken directly to him since yesterday's events. "I was just admiring it. I never pegged you for the collecting type."

"Everyone has their hobbies," Ashlynn mumbled and stepped away, seemingly remembering she was supposed to be avoiding him.

He bit back a smile. Inwardly, he was thoroughly amused and intrigued by her. She was less of a mystery now—of course, women are always mysteries to men, no matter how long they've known each other. But progress is progress. At least she didn't seem to hate him anymore.

"This is the last box, chica." María dropped a box full of notebooks and memorabilia onto the foot of the bed.

"I still don't get why I have to bring all this stuff here. Isn't a weeks' worth of clothes good enough?"

Aunt Leah shook her head decisively. "It's supposed to look like you've been living in this room for the past two months, remember?"

"Well it's not like I'm going to be giving him a tour of the sock drawer..." Ashlynn huffed, dumping the contents of the box and digging through them.

"You know how Jamison is; he's not afraid to snoop around. Remember, he already suspects the two of you as it is. Considering the history between you two," she paused, noticing the red that tinged Ashlynn's ears. "Well, let's just say you have an awful lot of convincing to do."

Ashlynn frowned—pouted, actually—and moved some pictures onto the dressers and desks. "I still think this is ridiculous..."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Aunt Leah exclaimed. "María, would you fetch that box we wrapped a few weeks ago?"

María beamed and scurried out of the room. She returned a few minutes later with a flat package in her hands. She passed it to Aunt Leah, who thanked her, and moved to stand in the doorway.

"Come here, you two." Aunt Leah beckoned Ashlynn and Wesley closer with her free hand. "I've been saving this for the perfect moment, and it seems it has arrived. Open it!"

After a nonverbal argument, Wesley, who lost, tentatively took the package from Aunt Leah. He ripped open a corner and peeked inside.

Now it was his turn to blush a little.

When Ashlynn saw that, she panicked. Things that made Wesley blush were not good.

Swallowing, he reached into the box and pulled out an elaborate picture frame.

An elaborate picture frame with a picture of Ashlynn aggressively kissing him on their wedding day, one hand tightly gripping his tie and the other sliding up his neck.

Ashlynn felt her ears burning. She still couldn't believe she actually did that, and after the vulnerability she showed him yesterday, it made everything even more awkward. She definitely wouldn't be able to look him in the eye for the rest of the week.

Aunt Leah, however, looked very pleased with herself. "Arnold took that. It's very nice, isn't? And it'll serve as the centerpiece of fooling Jamison."