Bianca’s words struck a nerve with Ashley, stirring up memories of her past in college. She wondered if Bianca knew about it.
Ashley suddenly felt a pang of guilt, and her confidence faltered.
Olivia, her lunch companion and fellow actress, was also there. If Olivia had mentioned this to Joshua, it could have caused problems!
“Bianca, if you keep talking about my mother and me like this, you’ll regret it!” Ashley’s face flushed with anger. She wanted to lash out and slap Bianca across the face!
Bianca stood her ground, facing Ashley with a bold smile. “Bring it on. We’ll see who wins.”
“Ashley, let’s stop this now. There are people around.” Recognizing the escalating tension, Olivia rushed over to defuse the situation and soothe Ashley.
Taking a deep breath, Ashley regained her composure. She remembered they were in a fancy restaurant, surrounded by influential people. As Joshua’s girlfriend, she couldn’t afford to tarnish her reputation with a public confrontation with Bianca.
Ashley suppressed her anger, though it still simmered beneath the surface.
Blake’s return broke the tense atmosphere.
“What’s going on?” He asked, noticing the tension.
Ashley finally noticed Bianca having lunch with another man. He might not have been as handsome as Dave, but he was still attractive.
‘Why does Bianca always get the good-looking guys?’ Ashley grumbled to herself.
Ashley’s irritation grew, but then she thought about it more. Her jealousy faded away. After all, if a man didn’t have wealth, what was the use of having good looks? Sure, they were nice to look at, but they didn’t have much else to offer.
Ashley thought to herself that having Joshua was good enough for her. Even if he wasn’t the most handsome guy, he was rich and powerful. Once she married into the Reed family, Bianca wouldn’t stand a chance against her!
Feeling better with these thoughts in mind, Ashley put on a smile.
“Let’s go somewhere else to eat,” Bianca suggested to Blake with a smile. “A madwoman is causing a commotion here, and it’s quite bothersome. There’s some drama here that we don’t need to deal with.”
With that, she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the restaurant.
Blake was clueless about what was happening, but he followed Bianca anyway.
Walking behind them, Dave shot Ashley a cold look as he passed by.
He caught the unfinished part of Bianca’s sentence.
‘Was what happened that night somehow Ashley’s doing?’
Dave’s eyes narrowed, and a sly grin formed on his lips.
Blake felt uneasy knowing about Bianca’s engagement. Eating with them had been awkward. Now, he didn’t want to prolong the discomfort.
“Bianca, something’s come up for me tonight. I’m not hungry anymore. Let’s do this another time.”
Bianca felt bad for the unexpected interruption during their meal. She wanted to thank Blake by treating him to lunch, but Ashley’s appearance messed up their plans.
“I’m sorry things didn’t go as planned today.”
“It’s okay. I enjoyed spending time with you. Let’s catch up another time, just the two of us.”
Once Blake had spoken, he felt someone’s eyes on him. Not wanting to make things awkward, he waved goodbye to Bianca and said, “I’ll head out now. Bye!”
Bianca watched Blake leave quickly, feeling a bit conflicted.
Bianca stole a glance at Dave, who stood nearby with his hand in his pocket, and an unexplained sense of sadness swept over her.
Bianca pondered if Dave was affected by Sheila’s words.
“It’s time to go home,” Dave said, noticing Blake leaving, then gently grasping Bianca’s wrist.
But Bianca pulled away, keeping her distance.
“Maybe you should go ahead,” she said. “I’d like to be alone for a bit.”
Upon hearing this, Dave halted and narrowed his eyes in contemplation.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Bianca had tried to forget the memories of that night, but Ashley’s words brought it back again.
She couldn’t shake off the memories of that night. The man’s strong body had pinned her down, and his lips had explored every inch of her. His passionate kisses had left her with swollen lips by the morning light.
Those marks on her skin reminded her of what happened when a man influenced her that night.
She felt like she couldn’t accept Dave’s kindness anymore because she was scared it would keep her lying.
Bianca held onto her clothes tightly, feeling nervous. She looked down and quietly said, “I’m okay; I just want to be by myself for a bit.”
As Bianca tried to go, Dave grabbed her arm and hugged her tight out of nowhere.
His breath smelled fresh, like the air after rain. He touched her cheek softly and asked in a serious voice, “Are you upset? Is it because I interrupted your time with him?”
‘With who? Blake?’
Bianca didn’t know what to say.
Bianca was confused as to why Dave thought like that.
He had accompanied her to see Blake to keep her safe, and she was grateful for that. So why would she be mad at him for it?
“No,” Bianca said, shaking her head, and tried to pull away from Dave’s hug.
But she couldn’t break free from his strong grip.
Dave held onto her tightly, feeling puzzled by Bianca’s sudden change in behavior, which was unlike her usual confident self.
“If it’s not because of him, then what’s bothering you?” he asked, sounding annoyed.
Bianca lowered her head.
She was afraid that if she stayed close to Dave constantly, she’d start depending on him too much.
She thought she’d become too fragile if she got used to it.
After being betrayed by Haris, Stacey, and even her own dad doubting her, Bianca was careful about trusting people too soon. She really didn’t want to end up feeling lost and hurt again.
Dave didn’t know what had happened that night. If he found out, would he still be kind to her? He might think she was bad and avoid her.
It might be smarter for her to keep her distance from him.
Bianca stopped trying to break free, but her voice got colder. “Mr. Evans, don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”
Dave was surprised. He asked in a rough, cold tone, “What do you mean?”
Bianca laughed, trying to act like she didn’t care. “We live together now. But let’s just be friends. Our engagement is fake. Why do you keep bringing it up? Do you think I’m rich, and you can get something from me by pretending we’re engaged?”
Dave looked angry and confused.
He couldn’t believe she thought he was using her. How ridiculous!
“Huh!” Dave snorted, feeling hurt and embarrassed, his eyes turning red.