Was He In Love?

"No. I thought he was crazy. I was damn sure Grandpa's tests weren't going to be easy."

Even Ashley could tell that.

"Then what happened?"

"Before I could say anything to Grandpa, Sebastian had already gone and told him that I had chosen him."

Ashley processed the words. "Did he lie?"

"He did! And right to Grandpa's face. I was infuriated but, at the same time, a bit impressed. You've got to have next-level guts to lie to Grandpa."

Ashley thought about Michael. He really did have next-level guts to keep lying to everyone.

"Did he undergo the tests?"

"Yes, for almost a year. I'm not sure about the details, but it must have been extremely hard. He was out of the country the whole time, and when he came back, there were several faded injuries on his body." Amelia recalled how surprised and touched she had been.

It was the first time someone outside her family had done something for her.

Even Ashley would agree—no matter how rich Amelia was, no man would go to such lengths unless it was for one of two reasons:

Either he wanted something in return,

or he was simply in love with her.

"Did he love you?" Ashley didn't keep the thought to herself.

Amelia laughed. "See? All girls think alike. That was the first thing I thought too, back then."

"So..."

"He didn't." Ashley could detect a slight hint of disappointment but chose to ignore it.

"Then why did he go through so much?" It didn't make sense to Ashley. If someone wasn't in love with you, why would they go to such lengths?

"He had to prove himself to someone—and he did." Amelia smiled.

The car took a right turn, and they entered the premises of a pretty restaurant.

"That explains it all." Although several questions remained unanswered, Ashley didn't delve deeper.

Just like with many other topics.

She didn't want to end up like a curious cat and get tangled in issues that didn't concern her.

"Do you want to meet him? I'm not quite sure if he'll agree. There are days when even I don't see him."

Ashley replied, "No, it's fine. Maybe some other day."

As they got out of the car, Ashley subtly kept an eye on the black car behind them, watching for anyone who might follow—but no one did.

"Good evening, ma'am."

Amelia smiled back. "There's a reservation for two. It's under Amelia Clark."

"Sure, ma'am. Please follow me."

"Thank you."

Soon they were seated, and Amelia excused herself to go to the washroom.

Ashley heaved a sigh and leaned back. Her foot tapped the floor in a random rhythm as she waited for Amelia to return.

She looked around and suddenly locked eyes with a man sitting at the far end of the hall.

He didn't look away. Instead, he smirked.

A straight-up evil smirk.

Ashley felt uneasy and quickly turned her eyes away. As far as she knew, she had never seen that man before.

Amelia returned and placed their order. Throughout dinner, she kept talking about university days and how fun everything used to be.

However, Ashley couldn't fully concentrate. She could still feel that man's piercing gaze from time to time.

It was... creepy.

She rushed through dinner, and for once, Amelia listened to her—and they left the restaurant fairly early.

It was so strange.

Ashley was sure she had never met that man before, yet he looked at her as if he knew exactly who she was.

True, pictures of her and Michael from yesterday were still circulating online. But there was no way that man could recognize her from those.

Her face wasn't even visible.

Ashley wondered whether she should mention it to Amelia but eventually decided to let it go.

Maybe it was just some crazy man she'd never see again.

---

The next day, Ashley received a message from Steve in the early morning hours with the full schedule for the day:

9:00 A.M. – Pick Her Up

9:30 A.M. – Breakfast

10:00 A.M. – Drop Her at Salon

12:00 P.M. – Pick Her Up From the Salon

12:45 P.M. – Engagement Photoshoot With Michael at the Studio

2:00 P.M. – Head to the Resort Booked for the Engagement

3:00 P.M. – Engagement Starts

7:00 P.M. – Engagement Ends

8:00 P.M. – Dinner With the Clarks

10:00 P.M. – Drop Her at Her Apartment

11:00 P.M. – Bedtime

The schedule was so... meticulous.

Just as expected.

Everything seemed fine—except for one thing:

Dinner With the Clarks.

She was already dreading it.

Receiving a message from Steve also meant that he and Michael must be back by now.

That was really bad. She had spent the entire day yesterday praying for the engagement to be delayed.