“Why didn’t you say so before? Oh, I’m so happy! Finally, one of my children is settling down!” exclaimed Aunt Jodie.
“Yes, this is good news indeed! Hayley is a nice girl,” agreed Uncle Daniel, making Ashton release the breath he was holding. He hadn’t planned to drop the news like a bombshell, but he couldn’t stop himself.
“But you don’t need to buy an apartment for yourself. Your uncle has already bought three. Alexander and Alyssa are living in theirs and yours is still lying vacant. Why don’t you move into it?” said Aunt Jodie.
“You were living in your work accommodation and then with us, so I didn’t mention it to you. It’s near Alexander’s penthouse,” said Uncle Daniel, getting up to find the keys.
“Oh, can I move in immediately?” Aunt Jodie smiled at his enthusiasm and nodded.
“Sure! I’m so excited to settle you there. Daniel, I’m going with Ashton to his new apartment to help him settle down.” Ashton smiled but didn’t stop her. He was thankful for everything they were doing for him.
“I’m coming along too.” Daniel Van Every emerged with the keys like a trophy, and they all bundled out. Ashton followed his parents in his car, passing Alexander’s condominium on the way to his. His parents drove into a huge condominium within walking distance from Alexander’s and he followed them inside. The place was grand and expensive, and Ashton felt a little guilty for taking advantage of his kind parents.
“This is so expensive, Uncle Daniel. I can’t accept it, please,” he said nervously as they stood in front of an eight-floor duplex apartment.
“Rubbish. You don’t accept your share of the money from the business, so I bought this for you. You don’t have a choice but to live here, son.”
“Call Alex. He should be so excited to see you back,” said Aunt Jodie. They went inside the grand apartment and Ashton called Alexander.
“He’s gone to his office, Aunt Jodie. He’ll come over in the evening.”
Aunt Jodie helped him clean up the place and stock up on everything. After they left, he quickly got ready to report to their construction site which Simon Baylor had already reached. Although he wanted to go to Hayley’s house and bring her home, it had to wait. Simon had called him thrice already, and he had to rush. At that point, he felt a little upset at Simon Baylor’s urgency. He wasn’t giving him breathing space at all! Being the CEO of the Baylor Group started giving him a headache with no weekends off. His personal life had gone for a toss. He just wasn’t getting the time to talk to Hayley’s dad and ask for her hand in marriage.
Reluctantly, he drove over to the construction site. It was only after 7 o’clock at night that he could wrap up everything for the day and return home. The doorbell rang the moment he freshened up. Who could it be now?
He opened the door and found Alexander at his doorstep with dinner.
“Hey, bro. I’m so happy to see you,” said Ashton, giving him a hug.
“Me or the dinner?” chuckled Alexander.
“Both! So how have you been?” They were so hungry that they sat down to eat straight from the boxes.
“I’m going through hell. Where have you been? You disappeared after Sienna’s wedding!”
Ashton sighed, ready to confide in his childhood buddy. He just couldn’t hold himself any longer.
“It’s a long story, Alex. There is a side to me you still know nothing about. I couldn’t tell a soul about it! It was too painful.” He got up to get two cans of chilled beer, one for himself and another for Alexander.
“What is it? I thought I knew everything about you.” Ashton looked at the hurt expression on his friend’s face and shook his head.
“No, I never told you that my dad, Steven Pierce, wasn’t dead when Uncle Daniel adopted me.” Alexander gasped with surprise and sat up straight.
“Then?”
“A dangerous mafia don, Salvatore Gambino, had taken Dad away after he left his work. He owed an enormous sum of money to Gambino when he left the job. After Uncle Daniel adopted me, I had no news of my father until the age of twenty. Gambino summoned me to his mansion, and wanted me to repay my dad’s debt. He refused to give me any update on my dad. For the next few years, I paid him three times the debt amount with interest.” Alexander listened intently to his best friend’s horrific life story.
“Why didn’t you seek help from Dad or the cops? It would have saved you from the harassment.”
“I couldn’t or they would have tortured my dad and killed him.”
“I saw on the news that Gambino had been killed and his men arrested. Did they rescue your dad?” Ashton told him everything about his dad, Francesca’s obsession, his additional job responsibilities, and finally, his engagement with Hayley.
“Wow, bro. This is the best news I’ve heard today.”
“Please don’t tell Eva or anyone about it yet. I want to talk to Uncle Daniel first.”
After Alexander left, Ashton called Hayley. He couldn’t wait to have her here in his home. He wanted her to move in as soon as possible.
“Hey, babe! How are you feeling now?” he asked her when she accepted his call.
“Alive! Did you finally find the time to call me? I had been waiting all day.”
“I was a little busy at the construction site, but guess what? I’ve shifted into my new home near Alexander’s penthouse. Uncle Daniel bought it for me. Would you like to move in with me?”
“Really? Oh my gosh! I don’t believe this! I’m so happy! I still haven’t unpacked my stuff. Can I come over now?”
“No, I’ll come over tomorrow evening to talk to your dad. Be ready, I’ll bring you home.”
“Oh, tomorrow’s so far away! I’m missing you so much, Ashton.”
“Me too, babe! So how are you feeling now?”
“I’m the same. I don’t know why I’m feeling so tired all the time. You won’t believe that I’ve slept the whole day.”
“Do you need to see the doctor?”
“No. I’ll be fine after resting for a few days. Simon had overworked us for the last two months. Maybe that’s the reason I’m feeling so weak.”
“Maybe. He still is overworking me at the construction site.”
“Take care of yourself, Ashton. I love you. I wish I could fly to you just now!”
“I love you too, Hayley. I’ll bring you home tomorrow. Rest until then.”
However, the next afternoon, Hayley called him to inform that her granny suffered a brain stroke and was admitted to the hospital. Ashton promised to visit her, but he was disappointed that he couldn’t talk to her dad and bring her home.
Work at the construction site picked up speed, and Simon Baylor left for Miami after a fortnight. Hayley’s granny was still critical, and he visited her at the hospital whenever he could. He only met Hayley twice there for a brief period, that too in her mom’s presence. They could hardly interact and frustration mounted between them. He was right, after all. He knew that they would be separated once they returned to New York.
Alexander needed his help, and he got busy helping his best friend out. Eva had left Alyssa’s apartment and bought a place of her own in the Bronx. Alexander, who was away on a work trip, wanted him to look for an apartment in the same building as Eva for him. He helped his friend buy it and move in, right next to Eva’s apartment.
After a few days, Ashton received a call from their headquarters in Miami. There was an emergency situation, and they wanted him to report as soon as possible.
“What happened? What sort of emergency?” he asked with dread.
“Mr. Baylor expired this morning at the Cordova Cancer Center, Miami. He was undergoing treatment for leukemia, but it was the infection he developed last week that caused his death,” said Victor Hughes, Simon Baylor’s PA.
The news shattered Ashton, and he quickly packed up to leave for Miami. He wasn’t at all aware that Simon was suffering from leukemia. He had never given them any hint of what he was going through. Ashton now realized what the urgency was all about. Simon Baylor wanted to ensure that his business survived the financial crisis. He wanted his dad’s dream to live on. Maybe he knew he had very little time on his hands!
Before boarding the flight, Ashton called Aunt Jodie and updated her on his plans. Next, he called Alexander, and lastly, he called Hayley.
“I’m at the airport, Hayley. Simon died this morning from leukemia. I’m on my way to Miami.”
Hayley gasped with surprise. “I didn’t know he had leukemia. God! This is so bad. Even granny is critical.”
After two days, her granny expired. After the funeral, Hayley booked a ticket and left for Miami, against her family’s wishes. She couldn’t live without Ashton any longer.