Best Enemies [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE SET-UP

Despite himself, Ashton felt his eyes wander in her direction once again to see if she was still having that damned forced smile on her face. Thankfully ever since he had “proposed’ to her, her face was glowing and she was smiling genuinely showing off her ring to everyone.

Ashton felt happy that she was happy. It was as simple as that. He could not explain it but he was not feeling too comfortable seeing her so forlorn. He knew it was difficult for her to dupe everyone else but they had gone too far to retreat now. And it was all for the best anyway.

The look on Uncle Devin’s face had been worthwhile; he had looked as if someone had snatched away his favourite gift. The sense of satisfaction that had settled within him had been worth all the risks and the lies. He had felt bad for Kyra though; not that there had been anything between them but he all he knew was that he was glad it was not the other way round and Kyra had not found someone else first. To compensate for that, he had sat next to her and was glad that he could talk to her again without feeling awkward or being watched.

It was expected that everybody would question their sudden relationship but he had not been expecting his mother to ask him about her ring. She had given it to her five or so years ago in the hope that one day he would give it to someone he loved. And he had completely forgotten about it since then. To make their engagement more credible, he had asked Jake to get the ring on his way to the supermarket to buy a few groceries which the cook had asked for.

Ever since he had produced the ring, everybody seemed to have accepted the story, even Uncle Devin. It had not been so difficult after all and the blatant chemistry between them had played in their favor.

But the only thing that had bothered him was the saddened look on Selena’s face when she had pretended to smile and participate in the festivity. Nobody else had noticed but he knew her well enough to discern when she was happy or not.

And it rattled him because it affected him. But the fact remained that it did.

For the first time in the past week, he could see his company in a positive light and it was thanks to her. Initially he had felt grateful at her spirit and hard work. But then as his problems were getting solved and he could breathe again, he had felt admiration for her at her wittiness. He had to acknowledge that she was a damned better businessman than he as. Mr. Carlyle had not been the only one being impressed by her skills and experience and she was already working on her presentation to bag another big contract.

And all he had done in return was giving her the cold shoulder only talking to her when necessary, treating her like she was poison to him. If someone in the office had noticed something he would never know; nobody had dared said anything especially after his stunt with Damien that night.

But his behavior had served its purpose; nobody was asking Selena for a date now; they were treating her with respect like she should be treated. And most important, they stayed clear out of her way out of office hours and he liked it that way. She was his even if it was temporary and he wasn’t one to share his properties.

Looking at her now smiling at something Rachel was saying, he sucked in a breath at how beautiful she looked and had to clench his wrists to stop himself from going out to her and kiss her like he had done last week. The kiss had been memorable and he had to take several cold showers to push it out of his mind and his… libido during the nights.

“Ashton!!” someone was calling from afar and he could not find the strength to look away from the beautiful sight in front of him.

 He felt someone shake him and jerked back to see his mother frowning at him. “Are you alright?” she queried in her usual worried tone and he swallowed the lump at his throat and nodded vehemently.