Chapter 56: Chapter 56: He Likes Her
Warren Prescott held Ashley Shaw’s hands with one of his, pressing them against the wall above her head.
Ashley instinctively sensed danger and struggled, trying to pull her hands free.
She was panicking.
"If you dare... dare do anything, I’ll scream, and this hotel’s soundproofing is terrible!"
Warren curled his lips, acting indifferent.
Ashley gritted her teeth, glaring at the face so close to her, asking, "What are you going crazy about?"
Warren’s smile deepened.
"I just suddenly thought, trying out the dangerous sibling relationship like they say in dramas might not be bad."
"Madman!"
"Heh heh."
Warren chuckled darkly, a sound that seemed to roll out from his throat.
"Why? When you were writing me love letters, wasn’t it because you wanted to try it?"
Ashley stuck out her neck defiantly.
"I was immature back then... plus, I hadn’t even been adopted yet!"
So, at that time, they weren’t even siblings, let alone in some dangerous sibling relationship.
"You can still be immature now."
As he said that, he seemed to lose all patience and leaned in to kiss her.
"Slap!"
Ashley suddenly freed her hands and slapped Warren hard across the face.
"Last night, I shouldn’t have bothered with you, you madman!"
She didn’t know where her strength came from, but she shoved Warren hard, then quickly ran outside.
Warren stood where he was, a trace of self-mockery appearing on his handsome face.
He didn’t actually intend to do anything to her; he was just upset.
Why could she use a check to sever all future ties with him, and why didn’t she even go to Aethelgard University like she’d always dreamed?
Was Cillian Xavier really that great?
Did she care so little about him?
Didn’t she really like him before?
How could she just decide she didn’t like him anymore?
So he wanted to test it, to see if she still had any... even the slightest bit of affection for him.
But the stinging pain on his face told him she truly didn’t like him anymore.
She even deeply despised him.
Despised his proximity, his touch.
Warren held his slapped cheek and chuckled deeply.
That slap made him see his own heart clearly.
He really... had fallen for Ashley Shaw, not just treated her well out of guilt.
He even suddenly recalled that from the first time he saw Ashley Shaw, he felt a great curiosity towards the young girl.
The more he interacted with her, the more he found her interesting.
Perhaps the feelings had already started budding back then, he was just too young to distinguish between a playmate and a girl he liked.
Until the incident at the pool happened, prompting him to choose, after Ashley Shaw and Rosalind Lynch, the playmate who appeared more pitiful but had been around longer.
Later on, everything went off track.
And then there was now.
Or rather, it was last night when Kane King started slandering Ashley Wyatt.
Kane asked, was a brother less important than an ugly girl?
His anger flared up immediately.
What was Kane, to even be mentioned in the same breath as Ashley Shaw?
It was then he realized his true feelings.
He liked her!
But it was precisely when he realized this, that Ashley Shaw had already stopped liking him.
This feeling, the realization, came too late.
The cold air in the room swept over him like a chill, suffocating him.
Warren stood there somewhat despondently.
He didn’t know what to do.
The phone rang again at that moment.
He wasn’t in a hurry to answer; he first took out the pack of cigarettes in his hand.
But when his gaze landed on the "No Smoking" sign on the wall, he irritably shoved the pack back in.
Then he retaliatorily pressed the answer button hard.
"Hello?"
"Young master, are you coming to the company today? It’s already past eight."
It was Uncle Rhodes.
Warren ran a hand through his hair messily.
"I’ll come over an hour later, there’s nothing urgent for me to do, right?"
"It’s not exactly urgent... but the other day you said you wanted to find an assistant, and I lined up some candidates for interviews; today is the day."
Warren remembered this.
"Then let them wait. If they can’t, they can leave."
"Alright. Are you... okay?"
Uncle Rhodes had a feeling something had happened, as Warren’s voice sounded raspier and more defeated than ever.
"Nothing, just had a bit to drink last night."
"As long as you’re okay, I’ll have them wait."
"Alright."
Warren grabbed his jacket and slowly walked out.
The hallway was empty; Ashley Shaw had already left.
He was still wearing yesterday’s clothes, hesitating but deciding to go home first.
...
Hotel lobby.
Ashley Shaw ran all the way down, her eyes red.
She couldn’t understand how Warren could demean her and bully her like this.
The so-called dangerous sibling relationship was an insult to her.
From beginning to end, she didn’t feel she’d ever done anything to wrong Warren.
If she had, it was for taking the position of "Mrs. Prescott," which should have belonged to Rosalind Lynch.
But in this lifetime, she hadn’t even tried to take it, never intended to.
She even met him at the bar out of goodwill, to help him one last time.
But what she got in return was this kind of treatment.
She hated Warren!
She despised him!
The hotel door was a revolving door, and Ashley followed it, running down the stairs directly when it rotated to another direction.
She unexpectedly bumped into two people coming up the stairs.
Those two weren’t watching the road either, and as they collided, Ashley apologized first.
"Sorry!"
The two she bumped into were a man and a woman, with the man speaking grumpily: "Watch where you’re going..."
His words cut off abruptly when he saw Ashley’s face.
What a purely beautiful girl.
Ashley was about to apologize again, but the woman beat her to it.
"Is it you? You’ve changed so much, I almost didn’t recognize you."
Ashley looked at the woman in shock.
She wasn’t wearing glasses, and she’d thrown away her contact lenses that morning when they dried out during a phone call.
So she first caught a whiff of an overpowering cheap perfume, then squinted to make out the woman’s face.
It was the former convenience store clerk who had been mistakenly fired because of her.
Ashley remembered hearing a familiar voice in the hallway after buying medicine yesterday.
It came from her.
Ashley apologized sincerely, "I’m sorry, and for last time too, I’m sorry."
The woman sneered and said, "You’re really a haunting presence! Just seeing you brings bad luck! Let’s go!"
She tugged the man inside, but he lingered a moment longer, his eyes resting on Ashley.
His greasy stare made Ashley shudder.
Just then a taxi arrived, and she quickly waved it down and got in.
"To Caldera Lodge."
In the hotel lobby, the woman playfully and angrily tapped the man’s arm as he continued to glance outside.
"What? Am I less charming than a little girl?"