Love Me Again

Chapter 10 - Exterminate a rat

Chapter 10 – Exterminate a rat

"Working, daddy. What are you doing here when you should be resting? Mom says you should not enter the diner until you fully recuperated!" Ashley plastered her sweetest and innocent smile but he would not let himself swayed by it, especially when the dark circles underneath her eyes could rival a panda's.

"Ashton told me you are working till late nights and begin in early mornings! What is the meaning of these?"

That rat dared to sell her out! She would not help him make excuses anymore when he did not attend their annual family gathering!

Ashton had already tried to get her to rest for quite a while now but was unable to win against her. And so, he decided to ask the great boss to help out. Their father.

Ashley sighed. "You know Ashton, dad. He likes to exaggerate things."

"Exaggerating? I believe your secretary won't exaggerate about you coming into the office before her and leaving in the early mornings! You have also been staying in your office to sleep instead of going back!"

She will have to exterminate another rat.

"Rina is not here 24/7. How could she know whether I had gone back home or not?" Ashley retorted.

Mr. Summer changed to another tactic. "Look at how thin you are getting. You should come back home and let your mother fatten you up."

"Dad, I have to finish these by today. Surely we can talk about this later?"

"These papers could wait! We will talk now!"

Ashley knew that this time, she would not get away that easily. Gulping to contain her nervousness, she put on her pleasant smile. "Then take a seat, daddy. Your legs must be tired from walking. Where is mom?"

He grumbled and slowly took a seat opposite her, relieved to sit down and let his aching leg have a rest. If it was not his daughter's business, he would not force himself to make this trip. "She's talking with the staff. Get back to the topic and don't bother trying to distract me. What happened?"

"Whatever do you mean, daddy?"

"Stop 'Daddy' me. You only call me that when you want something or try to calm me down. You have to stop working so late. Rest is very important. I don't want to suddenly receive a phone call about your hospitalization!"

"I know. I'm being careful and took enough rest to be able to continue working." Ashley sighed. "You also know I had to stop them from further destroying our restaurant. Your restaurant daddy. They are willing to hurt you just to get what they wanted! I won't lose to those bastards and get them to pay for their crime!"

This time it was her dad's turn to sigh. "A lady like you shouldn't cuss. I will have a word with your brother later," he said sternly, and no doubt he would, fully believing that it was the brother that teaches his sister to cuss. "Ashley, don't worry too much about it. Everything will be fine."

"Dad, I can't just sit still and wait for some miracle. I had to do something!"

"Ashley." Her father grasped her hands. Looking straight at his daughter's anxious eyes, he said with a firm tone. "Don't blame yourself for this. You didn't know this would happen."

"No, Dad. This is my fault, and I would do anything to fix it."

"I know you would." He patted her hand and smiled. "But you had to take care of your health first. If you are sick, how are you going to fight?"

She returned a weak smile. "Don't worry daddy, I know what to do."

He grumbled in disbelief and she ignored it. "Your mother told me you look troubled. Is that one of the reasons why you work like a madwoman and make your staff feel guilty for not being as hardworking as you?"

"I don't work like a madwoman!" Ashley protested.

He gave his daughter a stern look. "Yes, you are, and stop changing the subject. I trust your mother's instinct when it comes to you and your brother. Did something happen when you took care of Sean?"

When Ashley returned, she did not tell anyone in detail what happened to Sean, other than him getting back his memories and no serious injuries from the car accident.

Mr. Summer was pretty close to Sean, as the latter often visited their restaurant to have his meals since years ago. That was also how Ashley met Sean, who her father introduced as his food buddy. Mr. Summer loves to ask Sean's opinion of his cooking while Sean also enjoys tasting his new creations.

After their divorce, Ashley did feel a tad bit of guilt for causing both of them to fall apart, but her father was rather understanding. He chooses to stand by her side and does not mention Sean around her at all.

Besides her father, everyone in her family did not believe they would choose to divorce after not even a year of marriage. They insist she must have misunderstood something and relentlessly tried to get Ashley to talk with Sean. She ignored them until they got on her nerves and yelled at them to back off.

They must have seen something from her expression because they finally stopped bothering her. It was not that she does not want to speak to him, but she does not want to explain how unimportant she was to Sean.

How could she speak to someone that does not even have a good expression when facing her? Or willing to speak to her properly?

It will only waste their time and her effort.

"Nothing is wrong with him." Ashley pursed her lips and decided to reveal a bit to keep her family off the case. "We just argue a bit, like how things are in the past. I just want it to end, you know? I want to get a long vacation after everything is settled."

"How about some place with a beach and handsome men?"

"Dad!" Ashley stared at him in shock, feeling scandalized. No children will ever be comfortable speaking that stuff with their parents!

"Hey, don't look at me as if I had grown another head. Your mother had asked me to try to get you with another man."

Ashley groaned. "Please tell me... she did not set up any blind dates again, right?"

Those guys that Mrs. Summer had paired with her looked like nice guys and all, but she was just not interested in them. However, her mother had been persistent and she finally agreed to one blind date.

It was a decision she regretted till this day.

After what happened with one of those blind dates, Ashley firmly set her foot down on saying no towards any blind dates. Her mother also stopped getting her on blind dates, and Ashley guessed her mother must have felt guilty about that incident too.

"Ease your worry. She did not set a blind date for you. Instead, she wants you to approach a guy on your own."

Ashley gaped at her father. "Did you and mom just say a fling is good for me?"

"Young lady, since when did I ask you to have a fling! If you ever do that, I will beat you with my stick!"

"What do you expect me to think when you asked me to go on a vacation, and meet a man there? Even if I did, a long-distance relationship doesn't work!"

"You are right," he said after a moment of silence. "You better have a vacation nearby."

"Dad!" 

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