3. Reveal It or Not?

The look on Ashley's face was a complete mess. Something inside her head was boiling, and her chest felt like it was being beaten from within. Creating an agonizing sensation of pain.

She was angry.

Very angry, and hurt.

She couldn't even bear to imagine what she looked like now. Because even without seeing her reflection, she could guess how messy and pathetic she looked.

Ashley slowly tried to stand up. Fixing the top of her dress and brushing off the dust floor on her dress. As for her disheveled hair, she ran her fingers through it, ruffling and combing as best she could do.

Only when she felt that her hair no longer stuck out too much, she stepped out from behind the partition. She avoided making eye contact with whoever it was and moved quickly to the elevator. This time, luck seemed to be on her side. No one else got into the elevator with her. And the hallway on the floor where her room was located was also empty.

The first thing she did after making it into the room was run straight to the large mirror..

As soon as she saw her reflection, her tongue wouldn't stop clucking. Her nose snorted with frustration, and her forehead wrinkled in irritation.

From the neck down, it could be said to be safe as there was no damage to her dress. Only a faint dirty look in some parts on the tail of her dress that could not completely disappear even after she brushed them off. It was possible the stain would vanish if she rinsed the fabric with water. But that was obviously impossible since the event downstairs was still ongoing and she had to go down again as soon as possible anyway.

The worst, however, was her hair—undeniably a disaster.

And then, as she moved closer to the mirror, she noticed something. There were three or four red lines stretched across her left temple and cheekbone. When her fingers tried to touch the reddened skin, she hissed in pain. It seemed that the scratches were clearly from the unruly girl's fingernail earlier.

Ashley really could only hope that none of the people she passed in the lobby earlier, were her guests or people who knew her.

In front of the dressing table, she pulled out a chair and sat down. Grabbed the pitcher of mineral water, poured it into the glass, and gulped it down without a trace.

While looking at her reflection in the mirror, Ashley tried to regulate her breathing to calm herself. She spent almost twenty minutes thinking about what she should and shouldn’t do and how to handle the situation. When she finally came to a decision, she had finished tidying up and redoing her hair.

Her bun was now changed into waist-length curls. She carefully let the curls cascade over the left side of her face to hide the scratches. On the right side, she tucked her hair behind her ear and pinned it with a small accessory she found on the table. She was really trying to create a look befitting a bride, as well as one that could hide the scratches from people's suspicion.

After making sure she was ready and satisfied with her appearance, Ashley returned to the garden behind the hotel, where the party was.

“Where were you? I've been looking for you,” Bella asked, approaching while she was stuffing a vol-au-vent into her mouth in one bite.

Ashley could only glance at her sharply. After chewing and swallowing, she answered, “Upstairs. I need to rest for a while.”

“Upstairs?”

“Yes,” Ashley replied briefly.

“Are you okay? Haven't you eaten yet? You must be really tired and starving,” Bella said, concern evident in her voice.

Ashley ignored her best friend without the slightest desire to respond. She wasn't particularly hungry, but her energy drained by the incident earlier, and it made her crave for more food. She picked up a few more snacks and devoured them in the blink of an eye. 

She repeated her snacking session so many times that prompted Bella to joke, “Slow down! You’ll get a stomachache. You have a lot of agenda to do tonight." She teased her.

Bella, unaware of the emotional turmoil her friend was experiencing, could only watch and wonder in confusion.

“Hey.”

Ashley was about to spit out the food in her mouth when Josh's voice suddenly appeared. The man was already standing beside her without warning, wrapped his arms around Ashley's waist, and starting a casual conversation with Bella as if nothing had ever happened.

Next moment when Ashley moved around and talked to different guests, Josh always joined her. He didn't ask anything about the incident, just following and stuck close to Ashley for the rest of the day.

Ashley knew exactly why he was tailing her. Josh seemed to be very afraid of what she might do. Although he somehow managed to hide his worries and maintain a calm lake-like demeanor, Ashley could still feel the anxiousness behind his face. 

What was clear, Ashley was very upset because she couldn't get rid of him because there were always many eyes watching them. So she could only try to ignore him as much as possible, until the time the event ended.

Only when they were finally alone in the car on the way to their new home, Josh broke his silence. He dared to ask about what Ashley did after that incident.

Ashley only responded with a wry smile. Still not wanting to say anything to the man. She could say that the last few hours had been quite entertaining to see Josh frustrated with the uncertainty running around in his own head. And it was all the more enjoyable because none of the man's questions and curiosities had been answered yet.

Arriving at the apartment, Ashley decided to set boundaries after thinking about it carefully. They both needed to compromise on a few things during their stay together. And these were things that had literally just crossed her mind on the way home.

She turned to Josh and said firmly, “We need to compromise on a few things while we’re living here. I can’t sleep in the windowless room, so I’ll take the main room. I’ve been told that servants come and go every day. If you have specific requests, tell them yourself. I won't interfere with you, and you won’t interfere with me. Let's live with each other like that until… maybe a few months from now? That should be enough time to part ways.”

Ashley went into the main room right after finishing her sentence, without waiting for a response from Josh.

Meanwhile, Josh—without Ashley realizing it—followed her inside and preceded the girl. He was standing right facing her. The look in his eyes that was originally annoyed had disappeared completely. As if the man knew what kind of situation he was currently facing.

His eyes now turned dark. With only a step between them, Ashley could feel the man's eyes stabbed straight into her mercilessly.

“If you think you can be so controlling just because of what happened, you're sadly mistaken,” Josh spoke with a flat and cold intonation. Making the atmosphere around them even more filled with tension. “I'm the head of this family, so I make all the decisions. I also have the right to interfere in your business, if I want to. And this is my room, I'm not going anywhere.”

Ashley paused for a moment, wondering if it was necessary to make a fuss over the bedroom. Weighing her options. Then lightly replied, “Fine, I'll move to the guest room then.”

She stepped away from Josh. Heading towards the closet and pulled out a large suitcase from inside. Intending to pack her clothes without any argument.

But Josh suddenly grabbed Ashley's hand and pulled her to let go of the pile of clothes that she hadn't even had time to lift.

“You’re staying here,” he said firmly. “No one is moving out of this room.”