Chapter 176
ASHTON
I finally get a moment to pull away from Monaco to get a breather. Talk about a woman being intense! I take the elevator and upon arriving on the first floor, I overhear Ashal’s conversation drifting through the balcony. When I look, he is indeed talking to Olivia. Mother stands behind a wall, eavesdropping with nervousness splattered all over her face.
"Hey."
But she shushes me. I pull her away to the piano room.
"What are you doing, mother?"
"I don’ know how to face her. Nothing I can say or do now will strike her as genuine. She already accused me of pretending to care because of my grandchild in her womb, when I had someone bring her upstairs to rest."
I rub her shoulders reassuringly. "It’s going to be okay. Remember, we always knew this was going to be hard. It’ll take time to win their trust again. The most important thing is that you don’t stop trying." I pull her in for a hug. "Have you thought about Madeline, the sister Ashal is madly in love with? How does that make you feel?"
She pulls back with an easy smile on her face. "As much as it was unexpected, I can’t help but love her too. Have you seen the way she looks at your brother? I prayed for years for Olivia to have that look in her eyes for Ashal. Maddie truly loves him. She doesn’t see a monster or a sick man. She sees a diamond in the rough and is willingly to help shape it into something more beautiful. Ashal is himself around her. He feels SEEN for once. This is the happiest and most peaceful I have ever seen him and it’s all because of Maddie. I am happy for them."
"And father?"
"He’s beginning to have an open mind lately. What other choice does he have? He saw Asher cozying up to Anna and didn’t feel the need to question it. I think he’s slowly giving up on matchmaking his sons to billionaire heiresses."
"Probably because he knows none of those families are eager to arrange a marriage to us right now."