“Raymie baby, you are here.” Ashley rushed forward, wanting to hug Raymond, but Raymond sidestepped her, not sparing her a glance. Ashley’s smile faltered, but she immediately regained her composure.
“Why are you looking for me?” Raymond said, his voice devoid of any emotions as he sat down on a chair. Ashley also walked forward and sat down opposite him.
“Two cups of cappuccino please.” Instead of answering Raymond, Ashley called out to the barista, her voice cheerful and carefree.
“I don’t have time for all this Ashley. Why did you invite me here? And what was so important you wanted to say to me?” Raymond started blaming himself for honoring Ashley’s invite. He doesn’t know maybe it was because he had always wanted to ask her for the reason she left him five years ago, that was why he was seated here right now.
Thirty minutes ago, Ashley’s voice had run through Raymond’s ear. “Raymie darling, I need to see you. I have something very crucial to tell you. Let’s meet at Bugis cafe.” Her sweet voice he hadn’t heard in years had said to him.
Raymond wanted to reject her invitation, but a part of him he thought had been buried, had always wanted to ask Ashley why she left him five years ago. What had led her to abandon their loving relationship without even a goodbye.
And now that he was seated in front of her, he felt that he had made the wrong decision by coming here. His purpose for today was to destroy Ashley’s confidence, to make her know that no one goes against him and go scot free, even if she was someone he once had a romantic relationship with. He would still do as planned. All he needed was a phone call to the PR department, and all hell will be let loose.
“Your cappuccino ma’am.” The barista’s professional voice broke the awkward silence between them.
“Thank you,” Ashley smiles sweetly at the barista, trying to show Raymond all her good traits. If it was a normal day, goddess Ashley can never be polite to a mere barista.
Taking a sip of the hot cappuccino, Ashley glanced at Raymond through her thick eyelashes, trying to be as seductive as possible. “At least take a sip of your drink.” Ashley said as her full red lips blew air into the hot cappuccino.
Raymond didn’t bother to answer her, and stared at her in boredom, his emotions unreadable. He couldn’t help but think of his sweet woman, who might still be fast asleep on her bed right now. He had started missing Lina already.
“Two minutes and I’m out of here, Ashley.” Raymond said, frustration setting in.
“Now, you are being naughty Raymond. Are you still angry at me for leaving without saying goodbye five years ago?” Ashley put down the cup of cappuccino in her hand, her eyes flashed with sorrow as she said those last sentences.
Raymond’s eyes flashed in anger, hearing Ashley’s words. He was now regretting coming to meet her at the cafe. He doesn’t even want to hear the real reason why she left anymore. All he wanted now was to get out of here. He already had the happiness he deserves, why should he dwell in a past that doesn’t have any meaning to him anymore.
Raymond stood up in anger, his chair scraping the floor, as his fist slammed on the table, making Ashley jump in fear. “Let me say this one last time Ashley, he spat, his voice venomous. “I’m no longer interested in whatever happened between us five years ago. I’m done relieving the past. I’m happily married to the most loving woman on earth, who actually cares about me.”
Ashley’s eyes went pale, her eyes welling up in tears. “No Raymond, you can’t do this to me. How dare you forget all that we shared in the past and get married to that woman. You promise to be with me forever.” Ashley sniffed, her eyes red with unshed tears. “Raymond, I know you married her to pissed me off. If not, why wait until I was about to return back to the country before getting married?
Raymond’s gaze darkened at Ashley’s words. She was right. When he first married Lina, that had been his initial plan. To make Ashley regret leaving him five years ago was the reason why he had married Lina. But all that changed after getting to know his wife and falling in love with her. Ashley saw the guilty look on Raymond’s face, even if he tried to hide it.
“I already realize my mistake Raymond.” Raymond doesn’t know when Ashley stood up and walked up to him. “Can you please forgive me, and let us go back to how loving we used to be?” Ashley’s index finger traced Raymond’s chest muscle in a flirtatious way, her eyes burning with lust.
“What did you think you were doing?” Raymond shouted, his voice filled with disgust as he quickly grabbed Ashley’s hand, flinging it far away from him, like it was some sort of dirt.
“Ahh, Ashley screamed, as she managed to hold the edge of the table in front of her, preventing her from falling. She couldn’t believe Raymond wasn’t affected by her, after all the tricks she had played just now.
Seeing that playing with his emotions as she reminded him of their past wasn’t working, she tried to be physical with him, leading her to almost twisting her ankle.
Raymond’s eyes were full of warning as he turned to Ashley. “Stop playing all those stupid tricks in front of me, it won’t work. And for the sake of our past, I would give you an ultimatum: take down all those pictures circulating online, and clear the rumors of you being my girlfriend within the next two hours. If you don’t, be ready to face the consequences.”
With that, Raymond turned to leave, his powerful footsteps echoing all over the place. He recalled the day Ashley had been hurt by his enemies because of her association with him. Despite his initial instinct to destroy her reputation, he decided to spare her, on the condition that she adhere to his warnings. Just because of that one event in the past, he decided to have mercy on Ashley if she listen to him
However, would Ashley’s stubborn nature allow her to back down from the scandal? Never! She was reveling in the attention she had been garnering these past two days, and the thought of retreating would be a blow to her pride. The question was, how far would she push Raymond before he unleashed his wrath?
As Raymond closed in to the door knob, Ashley’s voice sliced through the air, freezing him in place.
“What if I tell you it was your grandfather who was the reason why I left you back then.” Raymond hand froze midair hearing that, his body rooted in place as Ashley’s words rang in his ears all over again. He felt like he had been pinched in his gut, his breath was knocked out of him. Slowly, he turned to face Ashley, who was still standing by the table.
“What did you just say?” Raymond asked, his voice low, but full of vigor.