A pang of guilt flickered across Davis’s face when he saw Ashlyn was injured and lying on the bed, yet she still focused on fine-tuning the details for D's upcoming event.
"Baby, I heard from Mr. Liam and the others that you came back after leaving last night? Did you forget something?"
He had checked the surveillance footage earlier, but the area she had passed through was in a blind spot. He was not entirely sure whether Ashlyn had seen him drunk, but he was certain she had not gone upstairs. There was no way she could know about the absurdity of the previous night.
However, Ashlyn had always been careful and steady. How could she have ended up like this?
"I forgot my phone. I picked it up and went home. Where did you go after that? I didn’t see you."
"Oh, the guys were singing upstairs. You know Jonathan. He’s always dragging people into the karaoke room. Those guys like to act childish, so I had to keep them company." Davis exhaled in relief, feeling his anxiety dissolve. It seemed he had overthought the situation.
Ashlyn did not glance at him, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the keyboard.
"I bought asparagus earlier. I’ll cook them for you later. You’ve always loved them," Davis said as he got up and moved toward the kitchen.
Before he became famous, life for the two of them had been tough. Asparagus was a luxury, priced at twice the cost of meat. Ashlyn would never splurge on them, so he would secretly buy some and stew them for her. Back then, she would eat the tender tips while he saved the rough bottoms for himself.
He could not recall the last time he had made that for her, not in the past few years, at least. Yet today, he found himself wanting to make it again.
He had no idea why, but she had grown so thin, her face pale and worn.
As the savory aroma of the asparagus soup began to fill the air, a knock came at the front door. Ashlyn shifted slightly to glance at the commotion. One after another, women dressed in sharp suits, uniforms and elegant skirts entered the house.
They were managers from a high-end bridal boutique.
Davis had gone all out, instructing them to bring more than a hundred brand-new wedding dresses for her to choose from. Beyond the physical dresses, they carried iPads loaded with thousands of styles for her to browse.
The sheer volume of items required several vans, which were parked just downstairs.
Davis knew her swollen feet would not allow her to visit a bridal boutique comfortably, so he brought the entire shop to her instead.
The house where Ashlyn's mother lived was modest and with the sudden influx of people and dresses, it felt cramped.
Ashlyn browsed through more than a dozen wedding dresses, yet the more she looked, the more unsettled she became.
From the innocence of school uniforms to the elegance of wedding dresses, it had always been a dream she cherished deeply. However, she no longer desired it.
The white wedding dress was a symbol of pure love, but it no longer held meaning when the man meant to stand beside her was dirty and not worthy of her.
"Are none of these to your satisfaction, Miss Anderson? I can show you more options."
The manager tapped on her iPad, scrolling through the gallery of designs. She paused after the tenth image.
"Let’s go with this one."
Her eyes immediately recognized the Swarovski crystals adorning the dress. It was the latest design from the D family, part of a rare collaboration where the chief designer released only one exclusive dress with this bridal brand each year.
Ashlyn decided she would take a series of solo wedding photos before freezing this chapter of her life and she only wanted the most gorgeous wedding dress.
She could be her own princess.
The store manager hesitated and exchanged a quick glance with Davis. Their expressions tightened awkwardly.
"Baby, that dress is too heavy and uncomfortable to wear for long. Let’s pick another one, okay?"
"Miss Anderson, I must be honest. This particular wedding dress has already been reserved. I really apologize, but I can show you other equally stunning styles."
Irritated and disheartened, Ashlyn grabbed a random card, made a quick decision and ended the ordeal abruptly.
There was a time when Ashlyn wanted something, Davis would have moved mountains to get her anything she wanted, but this time, he was persuading her to give up.
Perhaps he had grown tired of constantly accommodating her.
After recognizing Davis’s aggrieved demeanor, Ashlyn could not help but despise herself for still clinging to unrealistic hopes about him.
Such a man was no longer worth her time or anticipation. She glanced at the cup in her hand and pinched herself lightly.
Once the wedding dress decision was settled, Davis seemed noticeably lighter in mood. With a smile, he fed her a piece of steamed asparagus.
