Broken

• Chapter 127 •

I'm so shocked that I gawk at her for a hot minute. She raises her eyebrows expectedly. I shake my head, how in the hell is that an appropriate question? How am I supposed to respond to that? And the way she asked it... It feels wrong. Violent. Animalistic. I care about her, it was more than fucking.

"Cat got your tongue?"

Okay. Don't get pissed, Ashton. Don't get pissed. "Um... I don't really know if that's an appropriate question," is my response.

She snorts. "Did you make love to her then?" she mocks.

I clench my jaw. She steps towards me and shakes her head, her eyes are cold. "No. It's never making love with guys like you, is it? The bad boy? It's cold hard math. You fuck people, Ashton. Don't think I didn't notice the bite marks on her neck and shoulder a month ago."

There's a sharp pain that shoots through my heart at her words. Okay. I've had it with her shit.

"What's your problem with me?" my voice is stern.

She clenches her jaw. "My problem with you, Ashton, is I've known a man who's just like you. And he was not a good man. And like hell am I going to let my daughter fall for you. You're going to shatter her."

She shakes her head as she turns back to her soup. It's no use arguing with her. She has made up her mind that I'm a bad person. That I'm the same as her ex, the one I used to work for... Maybe she's right. Nah, I know she's right. I'm not a good person.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I'll leave," I tell her as I head for the door.

"Hey!" she hisses. I glance back and she walks up towards me, "I'm not done speaking to you."

I clench my jaw at her, trying not to show that she hurt my feelings. She hesitates as she looks into my eyes, something flickers in hers. She knits her eyebrows together, unsure of herself. We stare at each other in silence for a while. She looks down at the floor and turns back to the soup.

"Do you think I'm wrong?" she finally breathes.

I give her a questioning look. "About you. Do you think I'm wrong about you?"

I clench my jaw, "No, I don't. I know I'm not a good person. I know Clementine deserves the world."

Her frown deepens, she stirs the soup in thought. She shuts her eyes for a moment and shuts the cooker off, turning to face me. She walks up to me and looks me dead in the eye. "If I asked you to leave her so that she could be happy, would you?"

My heart sinks into my stomach. Pain shoots through my abdomen at the thought. "I tried... Trust me, I tried. I told her over and over again she deserves better. I know she does. But she won't listen. She... She thinks I'm good, for some deranged reason," I shake my head as a lump forms in my throat, "But I can't hurt her like that again. I won't do it. It completely shattered me to see her hurt because of me in the first place."

Her eyes bore into mine, and slowly, the ice in her eyes melts. They are warm for the first time around me. They're so innocent and pain-filled that they remind me of my mother's eyes for a split second. The breath is nearly knocked out of me. She says nothing and simply walks back to the soup. She pours it into a bowl and pulls out a spoon before coming towards me.

"I'm sorry that I said those things. It was uncalled for. Perhaps I'm wrong about you..." she whispers.

Confusion is plastered across my face. Why the sudden change in judging me? I hesitantly take the soup from her as she continues to examine me like a lab-rat.