Asher’s POVTaking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I dialed my mother's number, staring down at the screen of my phone to see when my mother picked it up.The phone rang briefly before she answered, her tone light and carefree. I pressed the phone to my ear, and then I cleared my throat, so that my voice won’t come out croaky."Hey, Mom," I started, trying to mask the tension in my voice. "Brent just told me something about the auction... that May is on the guest list and she's being auctioned off for a date. That's not true, is it?"I just wanted her to say that we had got things wrong, that that wasn’t the case. I wanted her to laugh at my question and tell me that I was saying nonsense, but she didn’t.There was a brief silence on the line, and then my mother's voice came through, confirming what I dreaded to hear. "Oh, yes, it's true. May called a little while ago to confirm her attendance, so I've added her name to the list. Isn't that wonderful?"“Isn’t that wonderful?” Reall
Asher’s POV“Do you think you’re irreplaceable?” It was the first thing I asked my secretary the next morning when I got to work and she told me someone was waiting for me. My voice was laced with all the snakiness in me I was feeling lately. Okay, maybe I was just angry about the person she had told me was waiting for me there. Maybe I wouldn’t be this angry if she told me it was literally any other person in the world.But it had to be Gary!She stared at me as if I had gone mad, but maybe I had. “I’m sorry, Mr. Campbell. I don’t think I’m irreplaceable, I just didn’t know you wouldn’t like to see him, that was all.” She said.“How dare you be sarcastic with me?” I said, my voice so cold it might be able to freeze her if I put my mind to it. She recognized that voice though, and she backed off.“I’m sorry, sir. I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic. I just really didn’t know. You’ve never had a problem with anyone waiting for you in your office until now.”Well, that was true, but that
Asher’s POVJust eight more minutes, and I would have been waiting a full hour for Brent. I hate waiting. I glanced down at my Rolex, shaking my head in frustration before returning to the glass of brandy I had been nursing since I walked into the hotel bar.Where the hell was Brent, anyway? As I scanned the crowd, my irritation grew. I had called him from the office to meet me here, and somehow, I had managed to arrive before him and had been waiting nearly an hour.If he didn’t show by nine o’clock, I was going to have to leave. Whatever he wanted to discuss could wait until tomorrow. I had better things to do than sit around in a bar.Oh, crap. I suddenly remembered I had the early morning meeting tomorrow that would run into noon, and the brief one with my father.“May I help you with anything else, signore?” A uniformed waiter approached, breaking my train of thought. Being in an Italian hotel, it wasn't unusual to be addressed this way, but I’ve never gotten used to it.“No, tha
May’s POV“Are you ready?”I squinted my eyes as I thought about anything I might have forgetting, chewing my lower lip as she did that. When I realized that I hadn’t, I blew out a breath and said. “Yes I am. I have all I need with me.”Emily smiled and gave me a thumb up. “Now that’s a smart woman, always doing everything in a smart way.” She said, and I rolled my eyes. She was just happy I was doing what she advised me to do, and the gist I would bring back.Opening the front door, I turned back to my small living room to look around. I was going to miss the cozy feel of this place, and I would miss it terribly.“Let’s go outside, May. You’re not going on a death row, it’s just a three-day trip you know.” Emily said from behind me when she felt my hesitation, and then she sighed.I nodded my head and turned to face her. “Fine, I hear you.” I said as I walked outside with her and locked the door of the house.I was going to drop Emily back at her place with her car that I was taking
May’s POVIt was evening when I got to the big iron-clad gate of the Love Castle estate, and I honked so that the security at the place would open the gate for me. I had only ever come here twice, and both times were with Asher.The first time, we had come here after our wedding, and the other time, it was for the auction I was here for again. None of both times did we have to wait because they had already been informed we were coming.Although, I was sure they were already notified that people were also coming to the estate today, arriving for the auction that would be happening tomorrow.A man soon appeared from the small security stand that was attached to the side of the gate, and he walked to me. He knocked on my window and I realized I didn’t know him. He must be trying to know who I was before allowing me in.“Hello ma’am. Good evening and welcome to the Love Castle estate.” He said with a pleasant smile on his face.“Thank you.” I said, offering a small smile of my own.“May I
May’s POVEllen was right, I love this place, the way it was so bright and homely, the way it looked like it was carved out of a modern house magazine.Wow! I thought as I stared up at the house. As promised by Aniya, someone already left my suitcase by the door inside the cozy but nice and large living room. I was almost decorated the same way as the one I just left Ellen in, but there was something different.I grabbed my suitcase and I walked upstairs to check out the rooms, and by the time I was at the top of the stairs, I was already panting like I was dragging with me something dead and heavy.What exactly did Emily packed in this suitcase? I asked myself, then I shook my head. If there was anything that should be there in there, then I had myself to blame because I shouldn’t have trusted her enough to let her do the last packing.There were three rooms upstairs so I choose the one that had the nicest feel and then I unpacked, seeing a lot of lingeries, like I was here to spend
Asher’s POV“The chopper is landing sir.” I heard the pilot said and I opened my eyes. Looking out the window, I could see my grandfather’s estate in sight and I blew out a breath, hoping I was ready to face my parents and everyone else.I had finally summoned the courage to put the thoughts of how the weekend would go and just embrace whatever was to come. It was just May after all, it wasn’t as if she was going to kill me or anything.I knew she had asked me to stay away from her which I was going to try to do. There was nothing I could do anyway, than respect her wishes.This all would have been a different story if I was the one doing the auction, because then, she would be in my space, a very small space compared to this one. My house was in Hudson Yards, in New York; a bachelor pad in the Middle Kings building, and that was where I took strangers too, not to my house, where May and I lived in.That was a mega-mansion in Lakers Community, Hicksville. I had bought the house just b
Asher’s POVAt dinner, all I could stare at was my wife, because she was still my wife anyway. She sat there beside my mother, and my cousin, Fletcher, and she kept laughing at something he was saying to her.That made me clench my teeth and hands into fists for the whole of the night when I wasn’t eating. I didn't even eat much, I couldn’t, because I couldn’t stop thinking at that long, elegant neck as she threw her head back to laugh.Now, I sat in my room and all I could do was think about her. She had left as soon as dinner was over and I didn’t even know where she went. I asked Mom where she was but she just looked right through me like I didn’t ask her a question.I would have asked the staff, but I didn’t want them knowing the situation surrounding our marriage. That wasn’t acceptable at all.“I just need to sleep to stop thinking about this.” I said to myself.Only, the sleep wasn’t coming. I just hoped that it would come soon, because honestly, I’ve got to do some stuff in th