Chapter 366: Chapter 366: Enemies Meet on a Narrow Road
Ashley Shaw said calmly, "No need, nothing to confirm."
"Wow, you really don’t have any feelings for Cillian at all?"
If she had felt even a little, she would definitely be unable to resist confirming with Claire now.
"I think he’s a great friend. As for anything else, forget it, I’m not in the right mind for that now."
Ariana Grant shrugged, "If it weren’t for the way you used to fervently chase girls, I’d think you like women too."
Ashley’s emotions were complex, but she deliberately cast an ambiguous glance at Ariana.
"I do like women, does that scare you?"
"Scared of what? Wouldn’t I be set for life, clinging onto a rich lady’s leg!"
"Let’s not. I’m afraid Leon would chase me down."
Just as she finished speaking, Ashley’s phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID, it was Claire Xavier calling.
Ariana’s eyes lit up at this, "Hurry, answer! And while you’re at it, ask about the bracelet!"
Ashley ignored Ariana’s words and pressed the answer button.
Claire’s voice came through the phone.
"Ashley, sorry, I just now got the time to call you back."
"It’s fine, just do your thing. It’s not like we won’t meet again."
"Yeah, but still, I should’ve seen you off. Archie said your flight is at five, are you at the airport now?"
"Yes, we’ve cleared security and are finding a place inside to grab a bite."
"You’ve already passed through security, huh? I was just thinking of heading over to see you off."
"Please don’t! You’d get here just to see me fly away."
"Alright then! Safe travels, give me a ring when you arrive."
"Sure!"
"Also, send me your address where you’re staying. I bought a gift for you and was planning to give it to you before you left, but I’ll just mail it over."
Ashley paused briefly, then quickly composed herself, "Great, don’t forget to grab the gift I got you too."
"OK! I’ll let you go now."
"Yep, yep."
The call ended. Ashley hadn’t set her phone to speaker, so Ariana didn’t hear their conversation. Seeing that Ashley had hung up, she quickly asked, "Why didn’t you ask her?"
Ashley replied casually, "I didn’t ask, but she mentioned it herself. It really was her who got me a gift, and as for yours, since it hasn’t arrived yet, she’ll send it straight to where we’re staying once it does."
Ariana was visibly disappointed and self-doubting.
"Damn! So even I can mess up sometimes. I’ve probably been slacking on romance dramas lately; I’ll have to catch up on the plane."
Ashley forced a stiff smile and switched the topic, "I see there are quite a few restaurants up ahead. We might not like the plane food later; wanna grab a quick bite?"
The mention of food successfully diverted Ariana’s attention.
"Sure! I’m starving! What should we eat?"
Ashley said, "You choose, whatever you pick will definitely be delicious."
"Then let’s go check it out."
The two walked around but didn’t find many restaurants, instead, there were more cosmetic shops, so they had no choice but to opt for a chain fast-food place.
Once seated, Ashley couldn’t help but think of the last time she came to pick up Xavier Quincy, she and Warren Prescott had also eaten at a fast-food joint.
But she quickly suppressed this memory.
Starting today, she wouldn’t have any further contact with him; it was better to leave all memories, good or bad, right here.
They finished their meal and sat for a while longer.
During that time, Ashley even called Shane Coleman on Ariana’s behalf to discuss the lawyer fee.
Shane was initially reluctant to accept, but after much persuasion from Ashley and Ariana, he took eight thousand bucks.
For a lawyer of Shane’s caliber, eight thousand was far from enough; he typically charged a portion of the case’s winnings.
Eight thousand wasn’t even worth a trip to court for Shane.
But Shane was firm on accepting just the eight grand, and the two of them had no choice but to go along with it.
"By the way, didn’t you tell me yesterday it was a five o’clock flight?"
"Yes, that’s right, we’re just about to head to the boarding gate."
"Safe travels."
"Thanks, do visit us in Aethelgard sometime."
Ashley was about to hang up when Shane suddenly said, "Oh right, I think Owen is also on this flight. He’s heading to Aethelgard for some work, you might run into him."
"He’s on this flight too?"
"Possibly, I’m not very sure, but I think his flight is also at five."
"Okay, if we cross paths, I’ll say hi."
"Sure, Owen’s a good guy, and he knows a lot of people in Aethelgard. If you ever encounter something you can’t handle there, just go to him."
Shane added, "He’s a friend of mine, so he’s your friend too; don’t be shy."
"Got it."
Ashley hung up the phone just as the airport announcement for boarding came on, so they grabbed their bags and headed quickly to the gate.
But as they lined up at the boarding gate, Ariana was the first to spot a familiar figure.
It was Zoe Hayes, though only her side profile was visible, and Ariana wasn’t all that sure. She turned to tug on Ashley’s sleeve.
"Hey, Ashley, doesn’t that look like the girl we saw at The Nocturne?"
Following Ariana’s gaze, Ashley did see Zoe Hayes standing about six or seven people in front of them.
Not wanting to stir up trouble, Ashley whispered, "Let’s pretend we didn’t see her," and Ariana nodded.
Despite really wanting to pick a fight with Zoe, Ariana always deferred to whatever Ashley said.
The two kept quiet, adhering to the principle of ’you don’t mess with me, I don’t bother you’ as they passed through the boarding gate.
But once they were on the plane, as luck would have it, Zoe Hayes happened to be sitting in the same row as them.
The two of them looked at their boarding passes again and then at the seat markers overhead. As much as they didn’t want to admit it, they hadn’t made a mistake.
A row meant for three, and it just had to be her, Ariana, and Zoe.
Plus, Zoe had taken the aisle seat that rightfully belonged to Ariana.
Ariana’s symptoms of diarrhea had significantly improved, but she still had to visit the bathroom three or four times a day, mostly after eating.
As a result, when picking seats, they deliberately chose the middle and aisle ones to avoid troubling other row mates.
But now, Ariana’s seat had been taken by Zoe.
Still, Ariana didn’t make a scene; instead, she shot Ashley a questioning look.
She believed she was virtually useless and the least she could do for Ashley was not cause trouble.
Ashley lightly shook her head, indicating she would handle it.
Zoe was still on the phone and hadn’t noticed them.
"Yeah, Dad, I’m on the plane now. Don’t worry, I won’t cause you any trouble in Aethelgard. Alright, we’re about to take off; I’m turning off my phone now."
Having said that, she ended her call, and just as she was about to put on her headphones to listen to music, she caught sight of Ashley and Ariana out of the corner of her eye, waiting for her to finish her call.