Ashton slowly walked out of Alexander’s car towards their parents’ house after four days at the hospital. He hadn’t been the same as before after driving Hayley out of his life. His heart expected her to call him, asking about his health, but she hadn’t. It was only the two friends who stuck to one another like always. Ashton knew he should be happy since this was what he had wanted, but he wasn’t happy! He staggered absent-mindedly and Alexander immediately caught him from tripping over.
“Careful, man. We want no broken bones, do we?”
“Who cares? I might as well have died.”
“Stop sulking, Ashton. You’re the one who pushed her away!” Alexander rang the doorbell while Ashton sighed, wondering what explanation to give his friend. He had given the same explanation to the cops as he had to Mr. Barclay. Even Alexander knew the kidnappers had mistakenly picked him up.
“I’m completely shaken up, bro. I want to regain a grip on my life first. She is neglecting her studies to be with me, and I definitely don’t want her to suffer the consequences.” Alexander nodded in understanding and before he could respond, his mom opened the door.
“Oh my God, Ashton! Why didn’t you tell Daniel that they would discharge you today?” She came forward to help him inside the house.
“The reports were all good, mom. Don’t worry, I’ve handled everything!” said Alexander, leading Ashton to his room.
“That’s good to hear.” She followed them to Ashton’s childhood room beside Alexander’s.
“I’ve had your room cleaned, Ashton. You aren’t going anywhere till your ribs heal up.”
“They’re already better, aunt Jodie. I have to rejoin work. It’s been four days already!” Alexander escorted him to his bed.
“Just call them up and inform them. Broken ribs take at least two weeks to heal, Ashton. You’re staying in bed,” said Daniel Van Every coming into the room. Ashton gingerly lay down since his foster parents wouldn’t listen to a word he said.
“I’ll get you some soup. Don’t give me that ridiculous grimace, Ashton. Alex, don’t go anywhere without having your soup,” said his mom, before leaving the room.
“What happened to me? I don’t need soup!” The three of them shared a look since they knew what Jodie Van Every was about to make for them. They had been having her therapeutic broth, every time they were sick, for as long as they could remember.
“Enjoy your soup, boys. I’ll check up on Brad in the meantime.” While their dad escaped to meet their neighbor, the two friends had no way out.
“Why don’t you stay here with me for a few days? I’ll go crazy with nothing to do!”
“I’ll see, Ashton. I don’t want to meet Beatrix. You know she will surely come over if she knew I was here.” Beatrix was Desmond Rotterdam’s only daughter. With Desmond Rotterdam being his dad’s best friend and his mentor, Alexander was indebted to him. He was training Alexander to take over as CEO of their famous restaurant chain business, Rotterdams. As such, he was a puppet in their hands. They wanted him to marry Beatrix, and she adopted every possible trick to get close to him. He tried his best to avoid it but couldn’t go against his parents’ and mentor’s wishes.
“She won’t because I’m here. She knows how much I f*cking hate her!”
Ashton spent his days with his family, recuperating well. Alexander stayed over to give him company while his parents pampered him and healed him, both emotionally and physically. With Mr. Barclay having already spoken to his manager, the resort approved of his leave. Although Madison called him many times, he preferred to ignore her. He had meant it when he broke up his friendship with her! He didn’t need anyone else other than Hayley in his life.
After ten days, Ashton was again ready to face the world. Although his foster parents accompanied him to the resort to stay over with him for a few days, he didn’t mind. In fact, he was glad to have some company. It would make him miss Hayley less.
Every minute, he restrained himself from picking up the phone and calling her. He was dying to know about her, but whom could he ask? With Alexander’s engagement to Beatrix announced officially, Eva avoided everyone. He doubted if she knew anything about Hayley!
After his parents left, he was all alone again with only memories of Hayley to live with. He saved every penny he earned to pay off the debt as soon as he could. He didn’t want to infuriate Gambino again. The moment his parents left, Madison again started disturbing him. He lost the will to fight her. She stayed over for an hour and left when he excused himself to get back to work. It was strange that she never asked him about his near-death experience, or anything about Hayley. It seemed as if she knew everything!
He took one day at a time and just concentrated on his work. His aim was to earn as much as he could.
In the meantime:
Hayley returned from college and slumped onto the sofa to sip the refreshing drink Elsa made for her. Ever since that fateful night, all the energy had drained out of her body. She carried on like an automaton, her mind numb with grief. She still couldn’t get over the fact that Ashton had thrown her out of his life and waited for his phone call every day, but he never called her. Surely he might have recovered from the trauma!
She lost interest in work too. It surprised her dad when she announced she would discontinue her training and stop going to the office.
“Oh, there you are! How was your day dear?” asked granny, sitting with her.
“Nothing special, granny. How was yours?”
“Oh, mine’s always great. I’m glad that you discontinued work for the time being. You were hardly at home.” Hayley was immediately on high alert. Her granny’s excited tone hinted at something suspicious. Something was definitely up her sleeve!
“I’ll start after a year, maybe.”
“Yes, that will give you ample time to increase your GPA score. So, what have you planned for tonight?” asked granny eagerly.
“I’ll study. What else?” She was now one hundred percent sure her granny was planning something.
“Study now. We can go to the club in the evening. My friend Jemima wishes to meet you. Do you remember her? You met her and her grandson, Jeff, last year at our yearly charity ball! She wanted you to accompany them on a world tour!”
Hayley’s eyes widened with horror. Of course, she remembered the woman whose husband owned a fleet of luxurious ocean liners. She dreaded them as much as granny’s other group of friends who were only interested in her as a prospective catch for their grandsons!
“Not tonight, granny. I have an important assignment to complete.”
For the next two weeks, Hayley tried her level best to avoid her granny and her matchmaking skills. When everything failed, granny’s friends started pouring into their house to meet Hayley, robbing her of her peace of mind. Finally, annoyed with everyone at home, she decided to leave home and get herself enrolled somewhere far away, where she could concentrate only on her studies and career.
“Dad, are you free? I need to talk to you.” Her father looked up from his laptop and smiled at her.
“Come in. I’m always free for you.” She smiled back at him and entered his study, pulling a chair to sit beside him. “Tell me.”
“Dad, I want to discontinue at Carter’s. Can you please help me enroll in a good college far away from home? Granny and her friends bother me all the time. I’m not interested in marriage right now. Can’t they get it?” Her dad listened intently and then shook his head, not agreeing with her request.
“Why do you need to leave home for them? I could talk to mom if you want me to.”
“No, please, dad, it’s better not to sour our relationship. I want to concentrate on getting a degree and learn to handle the business as you do. I have no plans of marrying anyone, ever. Is that so difficult for everyone to understand?” Her dad smiled and nodded, picking up her hand in his.
“I understand, Hails. I’ll get you admitted to Cornell University. You don’t need to inform Jason that you’re there. Just concentrate on your studies and make me proud.” Hayley felt relieved and hugged her dad. Cornell was a prestigious Ivy League College, and studying there would definitely be an enriching experience for her.
Two weeks later, her dad completed all admission formalities at Cornell and she quietly left NYC behind. She didn’t meet nor inform anyone before going away for the next four years to a new place for a new beginning.
It was a vast campus with every facility to enrich her career, and she planned to do exactly that. It took her a couple of weeks to settle down into a routine. The studies, the curriculum, and the assessments were quite difficult, and she had to concentrate hard to cope and make her dad proud. Slowly, as the months passed by, her career became the topmost priority in her life.
She kept in touch with her group of friends and parents, but had very little information about Ashton. She heard from Eva that Ashton was seeing Madison frequently. It hurt her immensely, but she decided it was now time to move on from him. Maybe they weren’t meant to be together. Maybe he would always be with Madison!