“Liv! You… you’re here?” He lurched forward,
as if to hug me.
I sidestepped smoothly.
His arms dropped, awkward and empty.
“Wow. It’s… been a while. You look…
amazing.” His eyes raked over me, a flicker of
genuine surprise.
I was wearing a scarlet silk slip dress, hair
cascading in loose waves, lips painted a
classic red. My skin glowed, my eyes
sparkled. A stark contrast to his disheveled
appearance.
Last time, as a stay–at–home wife, I’d barely
had time to look in the mirror. He’d probably
<
I could give Brittany a run for her money, even
if our styles were drastically different.
“Thank you.” I smiled coolly. “And you,
Ashton? What are you up to these days?”
His face tightened, embarrassment creeping
into his eyes. His gaze darted around the
room.
His best friend from high school clapped him
on the shoulder. “Ashton’s an entrepreneur
now! Runs his own online business.”
“I heard it’s an internet cafe,” someone
muttered.
The room went silent, then erupted in
laughter.
<
“Seriously? And what about Brittany, the
prom queen? Is she a stay–at–home mom
now? Your kid must be in elementary school
by now.”
“We were all so envious of Brittany back then,
snagging a rich, handsome guy like Ashton.
He was such a romantic.”
The words dripped with irony. Back then, the
envy had been real. They’d admired Ashton’s
grand gesture, his willingness to risk it all for
love.
Now, it was just a joke. A youthful
indiscretion.
Ashton’s phone rang.
I saw the caller ID: “Brittany.”
<
His voice was sharp, impatient. “I told you I’m
at the reunion. Can’t this wait?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.
Just go home. You’re embarrassing me.”
He kept his voice low, but I heard every word.
The white moonlight had become a sticky rice
grain, it seemed.
Someone called out, “Hey, Ashton! Is that your queen calling? Don’t leave her hanging!
Bring her in! We want to see the happy
couple!”
Ashton covered the mouthpiece. “She’s…
busy with something…”
But the next moment, Brittany strolled in.
L
Black mini dress, fishnet stockings, makeup
thick and garish. The wild rose had wilted,
replaced by something cheap and gaudy.
She looked completely out of place in the
elegant ballroom.
Seeing me, her eyes flickered with a mix of
emotions. Then, she lit a cigarette, sauntering
over. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Olivia, the girl
who had a crush on my husband.”
The people around me exchanged glances.
Judgment, amusement, a touch of pity.
Someone coughed delicately. “Ashton,
darling, what does your… wife… do for a
living? Judging by the outfit…”
<
Another wave of laughter. Brittany’s face
went scarlet.
“Just go home, Brittany.” Ashton’s voice was
tight with embarrassment. He grabbed her
arm, pulling her away. “Don’t make a scene.”
Brittany exploded, shoving him back. “Make a
scene? I’m making a scene? You’re the one
who chased after me! You promised me the
world! You said you’d take care of me!”
“And what happened? We’re broke! We can’t
even afford decent diapers! You’re useless!”
“Mr. Harvard–bound. Mr. High–powered
Executive. Hah! You’re running a glorified
internet cafe!”
<
Ashton’s face darkened, especially when he
saw me watching. He lashed out, slapping
Brittany across the face.
“Shut up!”
“If it wasn’t for you, if you hadn’t had that
miscarriage during the SATs, I wouldn’t be
stuck where I am!”
“It’s all your fault!”
They were a snarling, tangled mess, clawing
at each other, a full–blown Jerry Springer
show in the middle of our fancy reunion.
Later, I ran into Ashton in the hallway,
smoking.
He was hunched and defeated, a shadow of
く
I tried to walk past, but he grabbed my arm.
“Liv…”
I pulled away, brushing off his hand as if it
were something dirty. “What do you want,
Ashton?”
He looked at me, his voice accusing. “Why
didn’t you help me, Liv? If you’d talked some
sense into me, things would be different.”
I laughed, a cold, hollow sound.
“I tried, Ashton.” My voice was flat,
emotionless.
He flinched, his eyes widening.
“Last time. I tried to help. And how did that
く
“And you? You watched. I begged you to let
me out, and you said it was my fault. You
said I ruined your happy ending.”
“You said if I hadn’t told on you, you and
Brittany would be together.”
“So this time, I gave you what you wanted.”
“I didn’t want to burn again.”
He swayed on his feet, his face ashen.
I smirked. “I didn’t interfere, Ashton. You got
your perfect love story.”
“Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”
Ashton came to my house. My mom was
く
She called me downstairs, her voice laced
with pity. “Poor Ashton. Such a promising
young man. Everyone expected such great
things from him…”
“I heard he followed Brittany to that
community college, and she got pregnant
again, dropped out. Ashton didn’t even finish.
his degree, he had to work to support her.”
“Her family’s a mess, apparently. Her father’s
a gambler, owes a fortune. They lost
everything, even their house, trying to pay off
his debts.
“Mrs. Summers told me they had to sell their
house, everything, just to keep afloat.
Ashton’s running a small internet cafe now,
barely scraping by.” She patted my hand.
<
“He’s an old friend, Liv. He asked for your
help. If you can do something, you should.”
Ashton got straight to the point. “Liv, I heard
you have a twenty percent stake in Stellar
Tech.”
