Chapter 6: His First Love

After lunch, Ashley went upstairs to the bedroom on the third floor to rest while Ashton and Archer went to the back garden to check the wedding arrangement for tomorrow. They both sat on the chairs while staring at the small low stage decorated with white roses flower arch behind it. Ashton's villa was located on a hill and behind the house was the view of the sea. The sound of the sea wave rushing to the shore gave a calming atmosphere to the wedding venue.

"Have you really thought it through this time?" Archer asked seriously.

"Yeah... there's no point in waiting. It's been five years. I should move on," Ashton replied.

"What if Layla suddenly returns? What would you do then?"

"Don't jinx my wedding, Archy."

"No, seriously. What would you do if she suddenly returns?"

Ashton went silent, collecting his thought over that matter. Layla Jones, that name had been haunting his heart for years. That woman was two years younger than him, his junior during college and also his first love. They dated for three years. Then Layla decided to join a student transfer program and moved abroad to continue her study because she was offered some modelling opportunities there by a few agencies. She chose her career over him.

They broke up because there was no certainty that she would be coming back. But Ashton wanted to wait. So while waiting for her to come back, he built his own empire in the fashion industry, so someday when Layla comes back, she could just work under his roof, in his sight. He would never let her get taken away again by any modelling agency because he could create that world for her.

But now, it had been five years and still no news from her. He was tired of waiting. He thought that maybe it was fated for him to meet Ashley at the bar last night. He had been very sceptical about women in the fashion industry. He really wanted to find someone who had a perfect body proportion according to the Golden Ratio. Probably that was just a reflex from his mind that yearning to find a woman who was perfect and could replace Layla from his heart. He found that perfect woman and it was Ashley.

His mind was completely blown last night when he measured her body and realized she fitted the Golden Ratio proportion. So, he didn't wait long to make up his mind and made her his woman. Maybe that was the universe hinting him to move on. As to whether he loved Ashley or not, he thought that maybe he could learn to love her later after they got married. He would try to do that for her and make their marriage work.

"If she did return, then... I don't even want to meet her again," Ashton responded after being silent for a while.

"What if she tries to find you and then found you? If your heart still wavers for Layla, then there's still time to stop the wedding. It's better to stop now when your feeling to that woman is not deep yet than doing it later and hurt both women."

"Gosh, Archy! Stop it. It's been five fucking years. Layla won't come back. I had accepted that. Stop talking about her and just let me move on. Let me enjoy this moment, my moment, my wedding."

"Did you even love Ashley?"

"I could learn to love her. It seemed pretty great when I banged her last night. It didn't feel awkward at all. I think we had some kind of chemistry and are compatible with each other. My marriage with her will work. I'll make sure of it."

"So you just decided that you could live for the rest of your life with this woman because it didn't feel awkward to sleep with her? Ash, you slept with Layla so many times already. If Layla comes back, I think you would still want her. And what about Ashley then? What would she think if she knows that you used to sleep with Layla before? Not just once but a lot of times."

"Everyone had a past. Do you think Ashley had no past? I know for sure that she used to sleep with her ex-boyfriend too. And she just broke up with him yesterday."

"She just broke up with her boyfriend yesterday?" Archer was bewildered to know about that. He chuckled in disbelief.

"You fucking wanted to marry a woman who just broke up with her boyfriend yesterday? Are you in your right mind right now? What if she suddenly tries to get back with her ex?"

"That won't happen," Ashton said confidently.

"How do you know that? How can you be so sure?"

"Because her ex is getting married this weekend to another woman."

At that, Archer fell silent. He pondered about it for a while. He recollected the story inside his mind, trying to review it again.

"So, she got cheated on by her ex?" Archer was curious about that part.

"Yes," Ashton confirmed it.

"Where did you meet her again? I mean how did you even meet her?"

"I met her in a bar last night. She was drinking alone to drown her sorrow away. So, I took her home when she's drunk."

Archer laughed right away after hearing how ridiculous their love story was. He stared at Ashton, feeling disbelief that this guy just wanted to jump ship and marry a stranger. He deliberately put the back of his hand to Ashton's forehead.

"What the hell?" Ashton got annoyed and brushed off his hand.

"Nothing! I just wanted to check if you have a fever or something. You look sick as if your mind had gone haywire."

"Stop being ridiculous, Archy! I'm not sick. I'm completely sane right now. I'm marrying Ashley tomorrow and that's final," Ashton said firmly and stood up, leaving Archer alone in the back garden.

Inside the bedroom, Ashley sat on the bed, leaning her back on a pillow. It was the same bedroom as last night, Ashton's bedroom. She was looking through her phone trying to find her non-blood sister's number, Hana Millers.

Hana was her best friend from the orphanage where she grew up before. They both were of the same age and went to the same high school and college together. Right after they graduated college, Hana married an architect and now had a son with her husband. Ashley found her phone number and called it without hesitation.

"Hana, I think I had done something very absurd today..." Ashley said right after the call was picked up.

"You could start by saying hello first. What if it's my husband who picked up your call?" Hana replied playfully.

"Your husband is working right now. You're alone in the house with Max, isn't it?" Ashley joshed at her.

"Yeah... and he won't stop crying. I literally breastfeeding him right now."

"Sorry to bother you..." Ashley felt guilty instantly. She knew how hard it was for Hana to take care of her son alone when her husband was out working.

"No, it's fine. So, what is it? The absurd thing you did today..."

"First of all... I need to tell you that I broke up with Karl last night," Ashley told her the backstory first.

"Again?! How many times had it been since high school that you both broke up and then reconcile again after a few days..." Hana berated her, feeling ridiculous that Ashley kept breaking up with Karl like a thousand times already.

"It's for real this time. We're not going to get back together again. He's getting married this weekend," Ashley said bitterly.

"What?! With who? Who's that bitch?!" Hana felt like her blood was rising to the top of her lung. She couldn't believe what she heard from Ashley just now.

"With Lucia Darcy..."

"Oh gosh... Oh gosh... Oh my... How... Oh, God. This is terrible. I'm feeling like killing that bitch. No! I'm feeling like killing Karl right now! He knew well enough how much you hated Lucia!"

"I know... but that's not really the thing that I wanted to tell you..."

"There's more?!" Hana was truly bewildered. She thought that was the absurd thing that Ashley wanted to tell her. What else could be more absurd than that?

"Last night after the breakup, I went into a random bar and then I met this weird good-looking guy and I got so drunk and then..."

"You slept with him?" Hana guessed it right away.

"Yes..."

"That's fine, honey. That's acceptable. Your ex is getting married so you are certainly allowed to have a rebound," Hana comforted her immediately, thinking that Ashley was probably feeling guilty or regretting the thing she did last night.

"No. That's not it. That guy asked me to marry him..."

"What?" Hana felt like she misheard her.

"That man... the one I'm sleeping with last night. He wanted me to marry him."

"Is he crazy?" Hana asked. The story was too absurd. What kind of man suddenly wanted to get married to a random woman he slept with once? It felt like Ashley was making up a story.

"You're not pranking me right now, are you?" Hana began to feel suspicious of her.

"What? No... I'm telling you the truth. The thing is... I actually agreed with him and we're getting married tomorrow."

Hana laughed hysterically, thinking that Ashley was making a joke. But when Ashley stayed silent and gave no response, Hana turned silent too.

"Ashley, honey... Don't you dare say that it was true. That's just too absurd," Hana warned her.

"That's basically the first thing I said to you right after you picked up the phone. That I had done something very absurd today..."