Page 62 of Midnight Secrets

Noises downstairs floated up, it was probably the delivery guy with our groceries. I picked up my phone from beside my bed for what felt like the millionth time, the need to turn it on and phone Ash consuming me. For weeks we’d chatted on the phone about everything and nothing until it had been part of my daily routine.

I missed him so much that it physically hurt.

Setting the phone down, I then crawled back into bed and pulled the duvet over my head. I’d maybe face the world tomorrow. My stomach cramped because I think the pancakes a few days ago had been the last substantial meal I ate.

The duvet was pulled off me and I gasped at the cool air that assaulted me. A shadow descended over me and my eyes travelled up over the tall frame of an irate Ash.

“Good morning, Angel. Time to get your ass up and sort out your display for tomorrow.”

Why the fuck did he look so good while I was a mess? Oh yes, because he didn’t love me.

“Fuck off, Ash.” I grabbed the duvet and tried to cover myself in it. “Francis will be up in a minute to throw you out.”

The duvet was tossed across the room, and he bent down until his dark blue eyes met mine. “Francis will not be coming up. You signed a contract. Get your ass out of bed and fulfil your side of it.”

I glared at him. “The pieces are complete. Sell them and get you money back.”

His knee made the bed dip as he knelt over me. “Get up, Lucrezia, or I’ll drag your ass down there.”

“Fuck off.”

“Fine, we can do this the difficult way.”

Too late, I realised that Ash was really pissed, and that translated into me seeing the other side of him that I’d never been exposed to before. His hands grabbed me to toss me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing more than the towel I’d seen him flinging over the same shoulder a few days ago after he’d dried his hair.

He unceremoniously dumped my ass in the bath and turned the shower on above me. I screamed when the water froze me. “Bastard!”

The Ash who pampered me and smiled indulgently at me was gone. In his place was a stranger with his arms folded across his chest. “Now that I have your attention, you signed a contract with me. I told you not to, but you went ahead. That show is tomorrow and every other artist has been there organising their stuff. Grow the fuck up, Lucrezia, and stop acting like a whiny little brat. You wanted people to not treat you like a child, so stop acting like one.”

His words felt like a slap across my face. “Get out of my bathroom.”

He took a step forward. “Make me.”

My temper rose and the way his lips twitched made my palms itch to strike out at him. “If you don’t get out, I’ll…” I paused because I didn’t know what I would do.

“You’ll what? Scream? Throw another temper tantrum? Go ahead.”

I pursed my lips together as the water pounded down on top of me. Traitorous tears threatened to roll down my cheeks. “Go away, Ash.”

“That’s your party trick, Lucrezia. It didn’t take you twenty-four hours from saying you wouldn’t run to doing just that.” His eyes narrowed in disgust. “Get washed and dressed or do you need me to do that as well?”

I slowly turned my back to him. Whoever this was, it wasn’t the Ash who I’d talked to into the darkness of the night while cocooned in his arms. This stranger scared me. I adjusted the water, hauling my soaking vest and leggings off.

He was sitting on the end of my bed when I wandered back into the bedroom dressed in only a towel.

I eyed him warily. “I don’t want to go to the show.”

“Tough, then you shouldn’t have demanded a contract for the business. Jay is the best person I know at writing contracts, and considering that you are directly linked to the brand, you need to be there.”

“Don’t make me do this.”

He stood, and the height that had always felt comforting in the past, now intimidated. “Or what, Lucrezia? You’ve already proven you don’t give a fuck about me. This is business, pure and simple. Get dressed, we leave in twenty minutes.”

I watched in disbelief as he strode from the room. How did this become my fault? He had been the one who broke my heart, yet he was here acting as if I was the villain of this story. For a brief moment, I considered sneaking out the back of the house, but something told me that Ash wouldn’t fall for that twice.

Dressed in black trousers and a red silk blouse, I left my hair loose. Every step downstairs made fear churn in my stomach and butterflies pound a warning beat in my chest. Jordan sat in the living room with his right leg crossed over his left as he typed on his phone. He finally glanced up and threw me a filthy look before returning to his phone.

My actions were finally catching up with me. I’d told him I was on my way home and turned my phone off. Francis was making French toast in the kitchen, his face tight with anger. Ash paced up and down in the utility room, arguing with someone on his phone. I touched Francis’ arm and he shook his head in warning. He’d obviously already felt the wrath of the two men here.

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