From Cradle to the Grave

Chapter 48

Chris's POV

"How do you win back a woman?" Andrew read the cover and snickered.

"Shut up." I growled. Behind me I could hear Ashton trying to hold in his laugh.

"Yeah laugh. Laugh at my misery."

They both burst out laughing. I snatched the book from Andrew's hands and threw it on my desk. Getting up from my seat I rounded the desk and approached the two idiots. They were still laughing like hyenas and so didn't see the punches that came to their shoulders. Hard.

"Ouch! What the fuck man!"

"Ow ow ow ow! My arm my arm! I'm going to die!!"

Both Andrew and me looked at Ashton and said together, "Shut up!" He fortunately shut his mouth but went on mumbling how people didn't care about him at all nowadays and caressing his injured arm.

"That was payback for disfiguring my face." I looked at Andrew.

He smirked. "You know you deserved it."

I sighed. No denying that. I did deserve the punches Andrew threw at my face the moment he barged into my office. It was the first time in the last 4 years I had seen both of them and needless to say the encounter was a bomb. Literally.

Andrew cursed at me for leaving and putting Jasmine in pain, which still brings a pang to my chest. I apologised to him and explained everything. I also thanked him for taking care of Jasmine. He understood and let it slide since Jasmine herself was trying to give me another chance, and he didn't want to jeopardize it.

And amidst all this, Ashton found the book I had hidden behind all other books in my shelf. And they had a good laugh about it.

I sat back on the couch and sighed. "I don't know what to do man. She's definitely changed. Not that I'm complaining but it's getting difficult for me to get to her. I don't know how to win her back. If I screw this up, I'll be as good as dead."

Andrew and Ashton looked at each other and burst into another wave of laughter.

"What now?" I asked, irritated at their attitude towards my current situation.

"Dude you're so whipped!" Ashton said between laughs. "You don't even see what she's doing."

I was confused. Andrew sobered up and said, "You took her to dinner last week, didn't you?" I nodded and he continued, "Did you once feel like she wasn't interested to be there with you? Did she give you any indication?"

I thought back to the heated make out session we had in my car and felt myself getting heated up. I groaned.

Not the time to think of such things.

Andrew saw my discomfort and smirked. "Well your reaction answers that. So tell me, do you really think she won't come back to you if you somehow don't go over the board to win her?"

Realisation struck me as his words registered in my brain. Of course she would! She would always come back to me. And although a part of me gloated at the fact, another part loathed myself for hurting her more than anything now.

I groaned. "I don't deserve her. After everything I did, she still loves me. I don't deserve her."

Ashton who was silent all this while clapped my back hard to get my attention. I glared at him.

"Listen to me you idiot. Jasmine has been through hell and back. She has endured so much and she's only 20. She was broken and beaten but she refused to give up. You know why? Because you showed her there's more to life than the past we can't change. What happened to her was unfortunate but you gave her a sense of new hope. Where Hunter showed her what hate is, you taught her what love is. You're the light for her and she'll always be drawn towards you like a moth. You're not her knight in shining armour Chris. You're her damn king! And she won't be treated like a queen by anyone other than you, ever. So man up and win her the way she wants you to."