Liam has always been the workaholic type. He doesn't like not doing anything productive. This was the first time, however, that he wouldn't work while he was on a plane.He didn't hate talking to Ashley instead of working, though. He surprisingly enjoyed it more. Liam couldn't help but notice the way she looks while she smiles.The way her lips curl up and her eyes squeeze in a cute way. She is also not the quiet-laughing type. She laughs out loud instead. Not in a disgusting way, of course, but in a way that pulls his heartstrings.As they continued their conversation, Liam found himself captivated by Ashley's infectious laughter and vibrant personality. He realized that he had never met someone who could make him forget about work so effortlessly.There is a part of him that is still telling him to be guarded against her, but deep down, he doesn't want to. He knows that he has to be careful, though."Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belt as we are about to land." He hea
Liam couldn't help but smile as he watched Ashley interact with his family. His mom took to her almost immediately, which was surprising, and then took it upon herself to introduce her to the rest of the family.Well, the ones that are around at the moment are mom and one of my aunts, Rachel."She looks like a nice girl," Liam's father said as he stood beside Liam."Yes, dad, she is," Liam said, staring at her.Liam probably could not tell, but he was staring at her so intently that his father had concluded that Liam really liked Ashley.Liam's parents were kind of worried because of who her father was because Liam had told them about the encounter he had with Ashley's father when he was just starting out his company, but then seeing the way he and Ashley looked at each other when they didn't know anyone was looking reassured him."If I am being honest, I was worried that she was going to be like her father, but it looks like I have nothing to worry about," Liam's dad said."You don't
"Liam!!! Christina screamed as she badged into the room and launched herself at Liam."Hello, little Tina, How have you been?" Liam asked his little girl, looking at her with warm eyes. You could easily tell that he adores her."I've been good, and guess what? I joined the cheer team. The girls on the team are gross and only try to be my friends, so they could get close to Cole though."She said she was frustrated."Anyways, I hope you brought me something.""Come on, Tina, let's not be rude and greet the guest." Dilly headlights. walking towards Ashley, who looked like a deer caught in headlights."Hello Ashley, it's been how many years?" Dilly asked with a warm smile on her face."Hello Dilly, I have been good. What about you?" Ashley responded."Oh, come on, what's with the boring conversation?" Tina said with a smirk on her face and then turned towards Ashley."Hello, I am the best Abbot sibling, and it's nice meeting you." She exclaimed, pulling Ashley into a hug that was almost im
Ashley couldn't stop thinking about Liam throughout her shower. She has never felt like this before, so the whole thing was strange to her. She has been fully dressed in the bathroom for at least 5 minutes, but she doesn't want to open the bathroom door because then she would have to face him again, and that is not good because she has not been able to get the image of his naked chest out of her head. "Oh my goodness, I wish I would just disappear, she mumbled to herself as she thought of the smug look that Liam gave her when he realized that she was checking him out. "Come, Ashley, you can do this; you have gone through worse, and you didn't die from embarrassment," Ashley encouraged herself before walking out of the bathroom to see Liam fully clothed. "Oh, you are done. I thought you were hiding there for a second," Liam said with a smirk on his face, as if to say, "I knew you were hiding yourself from me." "Shut up," Ashley said with an embarrassed smile on her face. "Well, le
Liam grew up getting attention from people for different reasons. Well, mostly good reasons, because there were times he got in trouble and got attention for doing something bad. He is not dumb; he knows how girls react to him. It is not pride; this was just how it has always been for him. Girls wanted to date him, and boys wanted to be like him. It gets annoying, though, because almost every girl he has met wants something from him. As much as he likes his ego rubbed, he doesn’t particularly like girls walking up to him and telling him they will climb him like a tree. Almost every girl he had been with had a motive, either for money, fame, or sex. He always wonders if they thought that was all he could offer. Ashley was the only person who was not like that with him. Apart from the fact that she could be the one behind the scandal, of course, Liam has decided to stop thinking about the scandal, how it came to be, and holding it over Ashley’s head. There was no proof she did it, a
Ashley woke up the next morning cuddling a very warm pillow, and she couldn’t help but move to cuddle up to it more.“So warm.” She thought to herself with a smile on her face.She could hear her phone ring, but she didn’t want to wake up to take the call. She was enjoying her sleep and was not about to let it end.“Uhmm, can I stand up? I am kind of pressed.” The pillow said this to her, chuckling.“No, do your job and let me sleep.” Ashley mumbled back to the pillow before cuddling it more.“Wait, why is my pillow talking?” Ashley mumbled to herself, and the pillow chuckled again.Ashley opened her eyes and saw Liam’s gray eyes staring back at her. She could tell he was amused by the whole situation.“Why are you on my side of the bed, you pervert? I divided the bed, but you removed the pillows and came to my side.” Ashley said, looking at him furiously.“Oh, I didn’t do that; you did.” Liam smirked, which only irritated Ashley further.“What did you mean I did?” Ashley said before
Ashley was the first to finish getting ready, so she decided to go ahead and go downstairs for breakfast instead of waiting for Liam. The two of them had decided not to talk about the cuddling situation immediately after Reg left. Ashley was still embarrassed about the whole thing, of course, but she decided that she was just going to pretend it didn’t happen. It was not like she committed a crime anyway. “Good morning,” Tina said well when she saw Ashley walk down the stairs towards the kitchen. Good morning, Tina,” Ashley said in response with a smile on her face. She knew it was too early to decide, and she probably shouldn't, but Tina was her favorite person in the family, and she loved how carefree and happy she looked every time. “How was your night?” Tina asked, wriggling her eyebrows. “It was just fine. I was so tired that I didn’t wake up till this morning.” “That is understandable.” Tina responded before she heard her phone pinged, and she picked it up to check what it
Ashley was exasperated, and she can't even hide it anymore. She has been going from store to store for the past few hours, and she could barely feel her legs."I thought you liked shopping with how excited you were at home. Look at you now, all out of breath after only a few hours. I guess I can't help it then; let's go find someplace to eat lunch, and we can then go home." Reg said with a smile on her face, and Ashley couldn't help but sign in relief.Ashley had always wondered what it felt like to go out shopping with someone or friends, but now that she has experienced it, she doesn't want to anymore. It was fun for the first hour, but she couldn't keep up after that as Reg made her try different clothes.Ashley was mortified when Reg took her to a lingerie section. Like, what mother takes her son's girlfriend to a lingerie store? Reg wouldn't stop praising her looks as they went from store to store.Ashley had never been complimented that much before so she couldn't even keep the f
CHAPTER 43"You know you are acting like someone who is getting married for real; don't tell me that you feel for her." Blake whispered to Liam, whose leg was shaking, as he waited for Ashley to walk down the aisle towards her."Shut up, man." Liam said he was not ready to have that conversation."Come on, tell me." Blake teased, but the pianist they hired started playing the piano, notifying Ashley that she was walking down the aisle towards him.He couldn't help but feel so captivated as he looked at her angelic face. He could tell that she looked so uncomfortable with her father holding her.She is hiding so well that no one would notice that she was uncomfortable, but Liam noticed. He had realised that she didn't have a good relationship with her parents and siblings, but he didn't know that her father made her feel so uncomfortable.He couldn't stop staring at her, though; she looks so elegant and flawless. Liam could feel his heart beating fast at the sight of her, and he couldn
The moment is kind of bittersweet for Ashley as she gets prepared for the wedding in her room. She was sad that it wasn't going to be a real marriage, but she was happy that it was Liam because she had fallen for him if she had to be honest with herself.Her sisters are in the room getting ready with her, and they are surprisingly nice and friendly with her. The two of them assigned themselves as bridesmaids without asking her, but she didn't mind.Deep down, she was glad that they were interested, especially Anna, who had a time when she found out about Liam because she had a crush on him.She is skeptical that Anna has something bad planned, but she decided to be optimistic and hope that her family would support her instead of trying to ruin her day.She also decided that Tina should be a bridesmaid since her sisters were going to be her bridesmaids too. She could tell that Audrey was upset when she found out th
It has been a while since Ashley had a panic attack, but she couldn't help but feel like she was drowning as she entered the house.She was thankful that Leo was quick to action and was able to get her out of the cafe and into his car safely before the paparazzi got out of her, but she still couldn't help but be shaking.She has been rocking herself inside her room for what seemed like days, but she still can't bring herself to calm down.She was grateful that none of her family members were home after Leo dropped her off, but she knew that they would come home soon and start attacking her with their words.Sometimes, Ashley wishes that her family were physically abusive, not verbally. The physical wounds would heal, but she has always been scared of their words.The words have left a lot of unhealed scars in her body that she has not been able to let go of.She was not just scared of what he
Liam was in his office having a meeting with Blake and Isaac when his new assistant, Lydia, rushed into his office.Lydia is a fresh graduate from NYU, and she is surprisingly very good at her job and doesn't try to seduce him.She has been working with Liam for about a week now, and she is slowly learning the ropes of being his personal assistant."Sorry to disturb you, sir, but you need to check page 6." Lydia said it with a panicking look.Confused, Liam picked up his phone to check what was going on and saw videos and pictures of Ashley in her cafe with her friend Leo.Liam has not met Leo yet, but he did a background check on him after Ashley told him about Leo. He found out that they had been friends since high school, and they lost contact after he had to move away after an accident the two had. He also found out that he has some connec
"I can't believe you are actually getting married next week," Leo said to Ashley, who has been quite absent-minded since they met up at the cafe.It has been three weeks since he met her again, but he has not been able to bring himself to tell her about Dilly, who has been avoiding him.Leo has still not met Liam since Ashley told him about who she was engaged to, but he wasn't exactly trying to meet him either. He didn't know much about him since they didn't run in the same circle in high school.Liam was the cool jock who everyone wanted to be friends with, and he was the boring guy who carries his camera with him.He is kind of skeptical about the whole marriage thing, but he knows better than to pry. Ashely didn't really look excited about getting married, and Liam has not shown up to any of their appointments since the wedding preparation started, which made Leo more skeptical.Ashley has been out of it for a while and has refused to open up to him."So, have you thought of bride
CHAPTER 38Liam has picked up his phone more than 100 times to call or text Ashley, but he couldn't bring himself to follow through. He would admit that he has been lagging behind with work because all he has been thinking about is Ashley.It didn't help that he had not been able to find a replacement for Ethan. He had told Ethan about his promotion when he came back from Carlifonia, and to say that Ethan was happy was an understatement.It was bittersweet for Liam, though, because even though he was happy that Ethan was finally getting the recognition that he deserved, he was sad because he was losing a damn good semester.Liam had been prepared for this and even hired a new personal assistant before Ethan left. The mistake he made, though, was not interviewing them herself. Blake had been the one to interview the candidates, and for some reason, Blake chose a dumb bimbo who thinks she could get away with being incompetent as long as she could flash her boobs in front of Liam's face.
CHAPTER 37Ashley has been avoiding her father since she and Liam arrived back in New York about four days ago. Leaving for Carlifonia was bittersweet for Ashley, as she had integrated herself well with the family and bonded with them.They had even included her in the family chat after they left, surprising both her and Liam. She couldn't help but feel emotional when she saw that. They made her feel included and seen, unlike her family.She has not spoken to Liam since then, though, because even though she told him that she was not mad at him for kissing Rachel, she still couldn't help but think about it, and it hurts every time.She wasn't exactly lying when she told him that she wasn't angry. She wasn't angry because she didn't have any right to be because he was not truly hers. She was hurt and humiliated, though; she also couldn't help but feel inferior to her and like Rachel would always win somehow."Uhmm Ashley?" She heard a voice call to her with an unsure voice, and she look
Liam has been in his head for the past few days, and he would admit that he has been miserable. He has been so hyper-aware of Ashley every time he is close to her that he can't even deny it anymore. He has been trying to deny it, but he can't anymore, at least not to himself.He doesn't even know how he was going to survive the whole fake relationship thing with her, and he was already regretting bringing it up in the first place.She had him tied around her fingers, and she doesn't even know what she was doing to him, which made things worse for Liam. The little things she does, like tucking her hair behind her ears when they get in the way, biting her lips when she is nervous, or licking her lips when she is focused on something,.Those things kept driving him crazy, and he has blue balls because of it. Liam was ashamed of it, but he has had to jerk off because of it twice already.Sleeping besid
It's Liam's uncle's birthday already, and Ashley could finally see why Liam and his sibling had been telling her that she would deal with more craziness than she could handle.His family sure had a way of lightening her mood, though. She had gotten a message from her father the day before, and it had put her in a bad mood.Her father was straight to the point, as always."I need you to get married to that Abott boy as soon as you can. Why are you wasting my time? Stop playing family with his family and get him to marry you. You don't want your father's business to suffer, right? Especially since I took you in when no one else would. This is the least you could do for me." Richard sent it to her yesterday after some of Liam's family arrived.She had gone with Liam to get the groceries at the supermarket, and the paparazzi must have taken some pictures of them because they had to rush out of the supe