BROKEN MEETS GRIEF

Chapter 26

She laughs bitterly, "Your name meant more in the business world than my hard work."

"Please don't think like that you've been in Forbes, Newsweek and tons of other great publications. Why, because you turn the fortunes of this company around never forget that."

"When the truth of my parentage came out the Joneses cut all ties with me and sent the life changing money back."

"April I'm coming home because I was under the impression your family was, never mind I'm coming home."

"You have to work late remember."

"You're more important."

They were in bed having dinner together. "Your family cut off all ties with you five years ago?"

"Yes."

"I wasn't aware of that important fact I thought they supported you for that first year."

"I found a letter from my mum last week" she takes it out of her bedside cabinet and gives it to him to read.

"They cut off all contact with you and it's only five years later they get in-touch with you again? Then you give them a million pounds each and they rush to your wedding."

"Yes, but you know all this already Ashton."

"It's just with coming from a country where a person's reputations means a great deal. It's just odd they worry about your bad reputation. As if their husband and father didn't do a bad thing as well. After you grow the company and get a respectable fiancé suddenly your reputation is okay."

"I've never looked at it like that before. My mother's letter seems genuine."

"It could really be genuine and it's clear see she does loves you."

"But you're going to say my siblings seem like money hungry people."

"Unfortunately it would seem they are. Think about it your mother was considerate and bought you your dad's record collection. She did some good with the money you gave her. Both Meghan and I got bad vibes from your siblings. Elizabeth was looking forward to having a chat with your sister about the two of them being teachers. Yet she was standoffish towards her. Yet when she met Micah she couldn't stop flirting with him. She wants to be a doctor there is nothing wrong with that. I'm sorry to say it did look like she was shopping for a rich husband too."

"How do you know this?" Ask April.

"My siblings told me after we got back from honeymoon. I was also sent a muck up of a British magazine. They had pictures of our wedding ready to publish. I had to sue them to stop them from printing it."

"We had a wedding photographer and people left their phones at the door to our wedding venue."

"Yes, April they did. Well, our guest did but not our family."

She starts to hyperventilate, "Are you saying one of my family members sold pictures of our wedding to a magazine?"

"Yes, everyone who came to the wedding bought us a wedding gift including your mother but not them. Please don't give them any more money?"

"I won't, I gave them a million pounds each. I won't give them anymore I promise."

"They sat in my house and said they would never betray us and for their sake. I hope I don't find any evidence they did. Did you ask Peter if they left you a gift as well when you found your dad's records?"

"I did and there was nothing else left for us."

"I'm sorry," he hugs her. "I know how much they mean to you."

"It's okay I still have my mum and Meghan and some new friends and all your family. I'll be fine."

"You will be but right now you're not."

"How can I be fine Ashton? For five years I desperately wanted them in my life and in the space of two months of us reconciling. I'm wondering if I was wrong to make peace with them. That old saying if you have to keep trying to keep people in your life. They don't belong in It is true."

"We are a family now, you're not by yourself anymore please remember that April."

"We are a family aren't we and who knows this time next year we could be a family of three."

"Maybe. Please have a spa day or something tomorrow."

She shakes her head, "I'm going to work with you instead. I'm done shedding tears over people who keep telling me I'm nothing to them. It's time I listen to what I've been blocking out."

He kisses her, "I'm proud of you.

"I'm proud of me-too Ashton." She looks at their plates on the dressing table. Our dinners are cold let's order Chinese food instead."

"I'll look up a restaurant."

"Pass me another egg roll will you Ashton."

"We call these spring rolls where I'm from. Don't hate me but I'm having this house swept for bugs if they ever come here again.

"We need to be careful of my siblings. Gosh it really hurts to say that sentence."

"I'm going to be completely truthful with you April. I had our bedroom suite searched the minute we left the house for our trip to London."

"You didn't trust them even them?"

"No, I didn't, I thought you needed them I was wrong. Look how they've spoken to Cassie and other people about you. Look how they told strangers your personal business. My grandmother shouldn't have been told you didn't get along with your family."

"That's true. Derek and Stiles were told the same thing as well. They started talking about me before I gave them the second lot of money."

"Then there is the fact they acted like it was the first time they met my gran at our wedding. When we both know it's wasn't. I think Elizabeth is jealous of you April. She sees herself as a qualified doctor with a very prestigious man on our arm as her husband."

"There's nothing wrong with that Ashton."

"There is if she uses you to make her dreams comes through."

"You're right. I assumed she was jealous of Meghan because she got me a surprise."

"That's right, your hen night! After Meghan told us about the surprise. Your sister tried to make it seem like you were too busy for it. She didn't even know what it was. Since we are being honest darling I met your brother before. Yet he didn't acknowledge that fact."

"Say that again Ashton."