Chapter 92: Chapter 92: If You Like Her
Cillian’s hands hanging by his sides slowly clenched into fists.
Even though Ashley was smiling while speaking, the detachment in her tone clearly went back to the day when he first offered to help her move books.
"You don’t have to return it to me, just throw it away. I’m sorry... Please forgive me this time, next time I absolutely..."
Ashley directly interrupted him.
"There’s nothing to forgive or not forgive, just don’t do this again in the future. Also, I don’t want Warren Prescott to know I plan to study medicine, so please keep it a secret."
Cillian didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded and said one word: "...Okay."
It was then that Ariana called out to her.
"Ashley, Ms. Grant said we’re going to karaoke in a bit, are you coming?"
Ashley walked over naturally.
"I’m not going, you go have fun with them, I just got out of the hospital, I want to go home and wash my hair."
"Will you come out after washing your hair?"
"We’ll see, if I’m not tired, I’ll come out."
"Alright! Then I’ll go with them!"
"Okay."
The group moved to their second venue, and when Claire saw Ashley was going home, she quickly took care of Cillian.
"Archie, you take Ashley home."
Cillian hesitated for a moment and said, "Let Uncle Alden take her, I have something to do and need to go straight home."
But Claire could tell right away that something was off with her brother.
After instructing Uncle Alden to take Ashley home, she pulled Cillian into a secluded corner to talk.
"Tell me, what happened."
Cillian still wanted to hide it, until Claire said, "Do you want your relationship with Ashley to always be like this?" and he instantly gave in.
"Actually, it’s..."
Cillian briefly explained the situation, and as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Claire raise her hand and slap him across the face.
"Slap!"
The crisp sound of the slap was drowned out by the roar of a sports car accelerating nearby.
Cillian’s expression changed for a moment.
"Sis..."
"You’re lucky I’m your sister, otherwise for doing such a foolish thing, I would absolutely not let you have another chance to get close to Ashley."
Claire’s face looked very unpleasant; after hitting her brother, her hand was shaking.
Even she didn’t know if she felt sorry for Cillian or was just angry at him.
"Do you know..." Claire took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before continuing, "If Ashley really goes to UQ, can you guarantee that Rosalind Lynch won’t do anything to her?"
"I would go with her..."
"Can you stay by her side twenty-four hours a day?"
"..."
"In a place unfamiliar to her, if something happens, can you guarantee you can protect her?"
Cillian also felt a slight sense of fear.
"I didn’t think about it that much..."
"Exactly, you didn’t think much about it; you were just bewitched by her words ’Warren is hers, Ashley is yours’. Why don’t you think about what kind of person Rosalind is? If she was a good person, would she have schemed against Ashley by making her deliver a cake? You usually have a good head on your shoulders, so why did you lose it at such a critical moment?"
Claire was extremely angry.
Cillian kept his head down, not saying a word.
Claire closed her eyes and said, "Don’t contact Ashley for now, wait until she’s cooled off before you appear again!"
"Will she... ever cool off?"
Claire let out a cold laugh.
"If she’s really angry, it’s actually easier to handle; it means she cares about you to some extent. But just look at her reaction, she doesn’t even bother to get angry with you. Instead of hoping she cools off, you’d better pray that she actually is angry."
Cillian’s mood worsened.
"Go home, I’m annoyed just looking at you!"
Claire finished speaking and rejoined Ariana and the others.
"So, have you decided which KTV to go to?"
"Where’s Archie?"
"He ate something bad and isn’t coming."
"Oh, alright, then let’s go to the closest one, is it called Mic King?"
"Fine, let’s walk there."
The group quickly walked away, leaving Cillian standing alone, waiting for Uncle Alden to come back after taking Ashley home.
Just at this moment, Warren Prescott walked out with a group of middle-aged men.
Those middle-aged men were all drunk, each supported by someone, except for Warren who walked steadily, one step at a time, without showing any signs of inebriation.
But knowing Warren well, Cillian knew he was also struggling to hold on, or else his face wouldn’t be so pale.
"See them off, please."
Warren instructed Assistant Lowell in a calm tone.
Mark had a knack for drinking; back in school, he could down two kilos of liquor and still focus on solving Sudoku.
Only today, after witnessing Warren drink, did he realize there was always a higher mountain.
"Sure." Mark responded, cheerfully stuffing the few round-bellied men into a car to see them off.
Their task for the day was done, and tomorrow, when those men sober up, they could aggressively "take action."
Cillian glanced at himself subconsciously, wearing casual clothes, and then at Warren in a black suit.
He still had the same face, but something seemed subtly different.
Cillian suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
He couldn’t tell if it was due to the difference in their demeanor or because he was feeling guilty today.
Just as he was hesitating whether to greet him, Warren had already walked past him, as if he didn’t see him at all.
Cillian felt a strange surge of frustration.
He took a few steps forward.
"Warren!"
Warren slowly turned his head, his deep black eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of autumn frost.
When he first learned that Cillian was pursuing Ashley, he didn’t feel any hostility toward him; he was just a bit vexed that Cillian had kept it a secret for so long.
Later, when he realized his feelings for Ashley, he still didn’t feel any hostility towards Cillian; Ashley was single, and anyone could pursue her, including Cillian.
Until tonight when he heard about UQ University.
"What’s up?"
Cillian walked up to Warren and asked, "You’ve started taking over company matters?"
"Just studying."
The indifferent attitude gave Cillian a sense of dread.
He had seen many sides of Warren.
Carefree, annoying, shameless, but now Warren was showing a completely unfamiliar expression towards him for the first time.
He couldn’t figure out what it was, but it made him uncomfortable.
Cillian clenched his fists and finally asked the question that had been bothering him for so long.
"What exactly are your feelings towards Ashley Shaw?"
Warren amusedly asked back, "What does it matter to you?"
"If you like her, I can let you have her..." His words got stuck in his throat.
Seeing him pause, the amusement in Warren’s eyes intensified.
"What? Realized that Ashley isn’t a possession, not something that can be passed around at will?"
Cillian’s face blanched for a moment.
"That’s not what I meant..."
"Whatever your meaning, I’ll say it again: if anything like UQ happens again, you’ll become the next Rosalind Lynch, you can try if you don’t believe me."
With that, Warren opened the car door and got in.
Assistant Lowell, being perceptive, stepped on the gas pedal and drove away.
The exhaust fumes blew right into Cillian’s face.