Anton didn't know what had gotten into him when he followed her into the ladies' room earlier. He was thankful that he was able to avoid another embarrassment when the woman insisted on going home rather than doing her business in front of him as he didn't how would he face her when the morning came. After sending Ashley to her apartment, he went straight home, took a shower, and occupied his bed. However, no matter how he tried to close his eyes, he couldn't sleep. The conversation between them at the hotel earlier still bugs him and it makes him feel upset for some strange reason. This was also the reason why he went to the bar to unwind but he caught her with a stranger. He tried to ignore her at first thinking that she was enjoying it but as soon as he saw her struggling, he finally decided to intervene. That was when he also noticed a familiar figure approaching them, looking furious. Their eyes met for a brief moment then the next second he found him throwing his fist at the
The words "PERFECT SUBJECTS" brought a wave of immense anger inside her. Once again, the memories of the past that she tried to forget flashed in her mind making her furious. However, she didn't have much time to care about her emotions as Anton's agonizing grunts were getting louder and she was afraid that somebody else might hear him so she went back to his room. "Mr. Stanford," She gasped as she saw him sweating profusely. "Ashley Mills..." He mumbled breathlessly. "I recall hearing you say that we have something in common..." "I did." She admitted that these were the exact words she said to him during their encounter at the hotel a few months ago."Were you... Talking about... Feeling this kind of hell?" Instead of answering, she pursed her lips and went silent as she wasn't ready to admit such a shameful fact. He went on, "I can't recall anything from the past but there were vivid images in my dreams..." Her eyes widened as she asked. "What... What did you see?" He shut
As soon as they entered the restaurant, Ashley politely excused herself and Anton went to their reserved table. The waitress approached him enthusiastically, as usual, issuing the menu in her hand."Mr. Stanford," The lady greeted. "Here you are,""Hi, Cass." Anton greeted back, waving his hand. "No need for that. I want the usual. Two orders, please."He ordered right away while glancing in the direction where Ashley had gone earlier."Oh, you came with somebody else?" Cass asked curiously while jotting down her notes.Anton frowned at the lady's audacity."Can't I?" He blurted seemingly annoyed.The lady lowered her head and apologized."I'm sorry. I just thought that were the same. I honestly can't get over Pamela's death though it's been a couple of months already..."He sighed as he realized that he might've hurt the lady's feelings for acting a bit harsh towards her earlier when she was just thinking about her old friend."I'm sorry." He also apologized. "I didn't mean to say t
Threatening her won't really work but under Anton's willfulness, she has to give in to avoid a lot more complications of their agreement in the next couple of months before it ends. Moreover, he has full control of it in any way so she didn't bother to argue with him about it as long as he didn't demand something harder than those conditions, she was fine by it. As soon as Ashley saw the rays of sunrise from the window, she jumped out of bed and proceeded to the bathroom for her morning routine. However, she recalled that she didn't have any spare clothes to change and toiletries to use thus she went out of the room with her car key in hand. She tiptoed when she passed outside his door towards downstairs, thinking that her boss was still sleeping. However, when her hand reached to twist the knob, a cold voice coming from behind froze her on the spot. "Were you trying to escape?!" Startled, her eyes widened as she swirled around. "G-good morning, Mr. Stanford." She greeted while
A pin-drop silence lingered in Anton's office as both stared at each other's faces. At that moment, Ashley seemed to pick up the pieces through his words and his actions lately. However, recalling her past, she managed to scoff."If this is part of your goal to get back on your footing then I don't have anything to say.""What's that supposed to mean?" Anton questioned, sounding confused."I'll deal with the gossip if that's what you want but you must think twice about this "seduce thing" as it might affect your reputation." She warned him."How about you? Won't it affect your reputation as well?" He asked her.'As if you care if you destroyed my name!' She thought. 'You love it when others looked lowly at me!'"Why bother about reputation? I won't work here forever," she said with a shrug but in fact, she was really itching to discourage him from using such a trick.She was afraid that his business partners would use it against him in the future and she didn't want that to happen. N
Ashley maintained an indifferent look until she returned to her office. Though Clara made an effort to approach her earlier, she didn't take it seriously since that was her first time seeing her. Furthermore, given that she had a terrible past, it was hard for her to trust anyone she just encountered not to mention that her boss stood beside her like they were old friends. She might have sworn to spend a year for her redemption but that doesn't mean that she has to welcome everyone she encounters along the way, especially to people around him. That was too risky! However, the look on Clara's face amused her to the point that she couldn't refrain from smirking as she readied herself to go out as Anton instructed her to socialize with them after office hours. She wasn't likely to come to such gatherings but he left her with no other choice. In short, he pulled the strings of her weakness to make her give in!As she entered the restaurant, she was welcomed by a strong aroma of grilled
She knows her body very well. There was something wrong with her behavior, and she guessed that it must be one of the possible side effects of what she'd been through 7 years ago thus she concentrated on fighting it no matter what.Trying hard to control the possibility of them getting into a big mess, Ashley thought of something that could divert both their attention."Anton Stanford, do you want to know where I've been and who I was with the entire night?" She tries to provoke him as she senses that he is about to get carried away with that euphoric feeling."As long as it's not a man, I don't give a damn!" Ashley laughed maniacally. "I was with her! Do you still not care?!"Anton's eyes turned starkly dark and the next thing he knew, he had her neck clasped tightly between his fingers."I dare you to say that again!" He demanded whilst gritting his teeth in so much anger. "Say that again!"Though she was already choking, she still continued to provoke him."I went... I went to se
Two days later... Ashley stared blankly at the messages she received. [Athena is worried about you!] [Call me when you get back!] "What's that?! He seriously texted you?!" Kyle had been standing behind her for God knows how long yet she failed to notice his presence as her mind went elsewhere. She dropped her phone back on the table and sighed. "I need to get back to work." "Are you worried about him?" He asked her curiously. "I'm feeling better now..." "Were you able to find out everything through the data?" Kyle continued to ask shifting his face into seriousness. She shook her head. "Something doesn't add up. It seemed incomplete." She said, "Are you sure that this is all you got? You didn't hide something from me, right?" Kyle immediately darted his gaze away from her as soon as he sensed her getting suspicious. However, no matter how fast he was, she was way faster than him therefore she noticed him at a glance. "Kyle Ashton!" She yelled at him. "Spill it out befor
Back to the beach house...Ashley's body grew tense. She tried to pry his arms off her, but it seemed to be getting harder.Anton had pressed her completely on the couch making her movements limited.She felt so helpless but she didn't intend to stop. She gathered all her strength to free herself from his grasp but his body weight felt like a huge boulder hovering above her.With difficult breathing, she grumbled. "Mr. Stanford... Let go of me, please!""I'm not letting you go..." Anton slurred as he dove into the crook of her neck. "Damn it!" Ashley cursed under her breath as she struggled to move beneath him. "You're intoxicated, Anton! Wake up!"She tapped him hard on the arm, but he ignored her protests. Instead, he began to leave butterfly kisses on her collarbones, making her shiver all over. The tingling sensations weakened her defenses, but a part of her tried to fight."I can't hold it back!" He grunted as he continued to assault her with his kisses. His warm breath was near
"Athena Adams," His brows knitted together as he stared down at her. "You can't possibly be asking me to betray your brother, right?"'He hasn't told me anything about it, so how am I supposed to tell you?' He thought, a sly glint in his eyes.She rolled her greenish orbs and shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous, Terrence, and stop using such an awful word! You're treating me like a goddamn villain!"Terrence couldn't help smirking "But you look like a hot villain right now. And I'm eager to surrender if you use your deadly charms on me.""Hmm.." Athena began poking her fingers into his chest with a devilish grin. "You're aware that I've got mood swings from time to time right?""U-huh!" He nodded.Of course, he knew. He had been dealing with it several times and this moment wasn't an exception. This was also the reason why he remained cautious when speaking and tending to her needs. The last time she was pissed, she had shut him off their room for a week leaving him to sleep on the c
"Wait! Miss Zenith!" Ashley freaked out. 'Did I dig my own grave by telling her those words? What was I thinking?!'She wanted to say something else but the line went dead, leaving her speechless and helpless. Pacing back and forth, she held her forehead and thought. 'Oh, God! What should I do? I'm not ready to lose her yet! What if I complicate her pregnancy? I would be damned if that happens!'She already had a lot on her plate to deal with and her friend's sudden arrival wasn't helping her situation either. Everything was getting complicated and she feared that she might not be able to do what she needed to do.The sun goes down, painting a captivating sunset but Ashley wasn't in the mood to enjoy such a sight. To her, the sight reminds her of the Last Supper.She felt that this would also be her last supper if she didn't make herself clear about her situation way back.Needless to say, if she were lucky, she would be able to come clean; if not, she would be treading on thin ice.
Ashley stood rooted on the spot. Her eyes gazed at him blankly while her mind wandered to a certain memory from 7 years ago.It was the time when they had just started dating.Back then, he used to treat her like this.He was exceptionally gentle and caring towards her. The affection in his eyes couldn't be mistaken followed by his sweet gestures most of the time.Tucking her hair strands behind her ear had become his routine whenever he'd come closer to her. She didn't know if it was his way of comforting her but it did improve her mood whenever she felt upset, especially when Megan gave her a hard time at home.Ashley was helpless back then. She didn't have anyone besides Kyle, but Megan was too wicked to separate them using their weaknesses against each other.Kyle's dream had been realized a long time since he'd shown interest in laboratory experiments therefore, he agreed without hesitation.Since they grew up together, they were more than buddies, so if someone else knew about
Kyle was surprised.He didn't expect that Megan, whom he had grown to be the most cold-hearted woman of a mother would easily hand him over the most confidential data she had. As far as he could remember, she solely had access to this data, and never had she let anyone get their hands on it. But why was she handing it over to him so easily? Wasn't she aware of what he's been up to all these years? Kyle was helping Ash produce the antidote to the drug she tried to develop throughout these years and it was progressing but he wasn't able to perfect it. The effect of his formula only lasted for a couple of days which is why Ashley had to go back and forth to find him for another shot. She had written this schedule in her personal calendar in her office to ensure she would never miss any of the dates.He stared at her retreating figure suspiciously, trying to comprehend exactly what she was up to.If Megan was up to no good then she was probably changing her tricks to manipulate the two o
Ashley's eyes widened in astonishment. She held her forehead in anguish. 'I misplaced it!'She just realized that she hadn't been checking on her mobile phone since she put Anton's name on the blacklist. Perhaps because of his constant calls during those times, checking her mobile phone occasionally has become her habit. After ending the matters between them, she lost interest in even checking on her phone. She even forgot where she had placed it as she was busy cleaning her newly rented unit. The only things she had with her when she left earlier were her car keys and her wallet, loaded with bank cards to pay for her purchases. Ashley pursed her lips and thought. 'When did I begin to neglect the most important matter because of him? What was wrong with me?' It suddenly dawned on her that she seemed to have returned to the past where they had started. Anton cast a side glance at her. He noticed that she was staring at his hand in a daze for a long time thus he nudged her mildly.
'Of all the places in NY City, why must it be here? And why now?' Ashley was taken aback by the sudden appearance of both him and Megan. It sent a chill down her spine to see them in the same place as her.With one tilt of her head, her shrewd adoptive mother would see him immediately, and knowing her character, Ashley felt goosebumps all over her body. She hadn't known anyone so blatant in revealing her inner thoughts other than her and she feared that she might spout nonsense when facing him.However, she didn't know why Anton was there. She couldn't help but think that he must be trying to find her but as soon as she recalled what happened earlier today, she shook her head.'Nah! That's ridiculous! He wouldn't dare go back in his words, wouldn't he?'She had worked under him for six months and she knew that he had a terrible temper towards her and the least he would do was to find her when he had already set her free. There's no way that the guy came all the way here just to find
Andrey's face fell and his heart sank right there and then. He was an inch closer to obtaining the information he desperately wanted to have but he was being shut off by an unknown caller. Whoever was that, he had cursed that person a million times before he exited Anton's office. As he ascended the elevator, he made a mental note to tail him in the next couple of days to obtain more information he needed to complete the puzzle forming inside his head. He couldn't let Cassandra down and waste her trust in him. With that in mind, he clenched his fists determined to do something.Meanwhile, back to Anton's office... "Hey!" He sounded enthusiastic as he answered the call. "You finally remember that you still had a friend waiting, huh!" "We're coming back in a couple of days..." The voice on the other end responded joyfully. It was none other than Terrence Adams who had called him in such a peculiar moment. Anton breathed a sigh of relief. If not for his calling, he would have turned
The female mechanical voice on the other end felt like salt in his wounds, leaving him speechless as he fought the urge to curse under the presence of the young lawyer for he didn't want to show how chaotic he was deep inside.'She erased her tracks quickly,' he thought sullenly as he mulled over everything repeatedly.Starting from their brief encounters in the past and so on. Everything that had happened between them recently has brought them to this very moment.It took him quite a while before he finally understood her motive for agreeing to his demand. After all, she had told him about this fact before she signed her name into the paper but he never believed her then. Not until now that she took this situation as an opportunity to sever ties with him completely.'How ridiculous!' He sneered but as soon as his mind flashed of the times their being together, his heart began to race for some unknown reason. There's no way that she would help him for no reason unless she...Anton's l