1183 The Relationship Between the Two
Lucas didn’t stop her. Soon, the waiter brought a bottle of golden wine.
Ashley grabbed a glass, filled it to the brim, and downed it in one go.
The next second, she immediately coughed, choking on the strong wine.
She obviously wasn’t a regular drinker.
Lucas hurriedly moved over and patted her back to soothe her. “Since you don’t drink regularly, you should drink alcohol like that. You have to be careful not to choke.”
Ashley coughed for a long time before finally catching her breath. But for some reason, tears stained her face. Perhaps it was because of the choking…
Lucas didn’t say anything and just handed her a few tissues silently.
Ashley took them and covered her face tightly, her body trembling violently.
Lucas sighed, not knowing what to say.
He could guess that Ashley’s abnormal behavior had something to do with Peter and that it was probably related to emotional issues. But he wasn’t in any place to say anything.
After a long time, Ashley finally regained her composure and wiped her tears. But her eyes were still red, and she seemed rather distressed.
“Actually, Peter is my ex-boyfriend,” Ashley suddenly said.
Lucas nodded. He had already guessed this matter, so he wasn’t surprised.
Ashley didn’t want to talk much about it at first. But when she looked at Lucas, she suddenly lost control of her emotions and felt a strong desire to confide in him.
“Lucas, do you want to hear about our past? I… I really don’t know who to turn to now.” Ashley sniffled and looked up at Lucas with a pitiful expression.
Lucas said softly, “Sure, if you want to.”
Sometimes, bottling things up would make you feel worse. So if Ashley wanted someone to confide in, Lucas wouldn’t mind lending an ear.
No matter what, Ashley was Alexander’s sister and his subordinate at the Stardust Corporation. Lucas regarded her as a younger sister too.
“Thank you, Lucas!”
After thanking him, Ashley said with nostalgia and reminiscence in her eyes, “Actually, I met him when we were first-years, and we were classmates. During college, we dated for over three years.
“When we were graduating three years ago, we agreed to get married as soon as we graduated. I had a hard time persuading my parents before they finally agreed to let me marry him.
“But on the day of our engagement party, he never showed up and disappeared.
“Later, I went to great lengths to find him and ask him why he was absent from our engagement party, but he told me that he regretted it and no longer wanted to marry me.
“He told me that he finally found out that since my father passed away, the Steeles didn’t regard my immediate family highly. Since my family didn’t have any substantial authority or power among the Steeles, marrying me wouldn’t give him a bright future.
“He even said that he never loved me and dated me only because I was from the Steeles, one of the eight top families in DC. He thought that he could take a shortcut to a wonderful life by marrying me, but he ended up disappointed.
“I was devastated after hearing what he said. I cried my heart out and told him to go away. He left, but I never thought that it would be the last time I saw him.
“Later, I heard that he died! At the time… I felt guilty because I thought that he had died while leaving after I told him to go away.
“After finding out that he was dead, I was miserable and guilt-ridden. I didn’t know what to do at all, and I suffered from severe depression for a while. I tried to commit suicide a few times, but I didn’t end up dying because I was rescued every time.
“When I saw my mom and brother crying over me, I decided to get therapy. After two years of therapy, I finally overcame the trauma.
“But I never thought that I’d see him alive and well again, let alone right in front of me with another woman he’s been married to for two years! Hah, if I had known the truth, I could have saved myself from all the pain. All this while, I had thought that I killed him!”
Toward the end, Ashley was weeping.
Seeing her in so much pain and distress, Lucas felt uncomfortable.
Ashley’s situation reminded him of Cheyenne, who had been left alone with the Carters for six years after he left without a word. She must have been just as miserable.
But he was luckier than Ashley. When he returned after six years, Cheyenne was still his wife, and they had reconciled and were happily married.
On the other hand, Ashley had gone through almost three years of agony, only to find out that her ex-boyfriend was still alive and, worse still, married to another woman.
“Could he have had a reason?” Lucas asked.
Ashley sobbed and said, “Even if he had a reason, he’s already married to someone else. It’s pointless to say anything now.”
Lucas didn’t know what to say.
Indeed, Peter had been married for more than two years. Even if he had a compelling reason for doing what he did, it was pointless to find out the truth now.
He couldn’t possibly divorce his wife and rekindle his relationship with Ashley.
Besides, Lucas felt that there was already something fishy with Peter back then.
He had dated Ashley for more than three years and even got her to convince the Steeles to let them get married. Yet he fled right before the engagement party and stood the Steeles up, causing them to be greatly embarrassed.
Later, when Ashley found him, Peter brushed her off with the reason that her immediate family didn’t have enough status and authority within the Steeles, which meant she wouldn’t be of much help to his future, and he regretted getting together with her.
The most revolting thing was that Peter blatantly told Ashley that he didn’t love her and that he had only approached her because she was from the Steeles. But he left without a care because he realized that things were different from what he had imagined.
There was obviously something very wrong with his character and morals.
However, all of this was just Lucas’s conjecture. He didn’t know what the truth was or if Peter really had any difficulties.
Anyway, there was something pretty strange about the entire situation.
If not for the news of Peter’s sudden death after Ashley had a fight with him and told him to leave, she might not have been in agony for so long.
All Lucas could do was comfort her. “Since it’s all in the past, you shouldn’t be bothered about it anymore. You can continue to treat him as dead and ignore the past. Just focus on living the life you want and look forward.”
Ashley wiped her cheeks, nodded, and said obediently, “Yes, I got it. I just couldn’t control my emotions after seeing him alive and well. Actually, I should have gotten over him after hearing those cruel things he said back then. I’ve just been feeling guilty because I always thought that I caused his death.
“But I won’t feel like that anymore. Besides, I’ve already fallen for someone else.”
