Chapter 123: Shopping Spree
"I’m starting to get really interested in Lucian’s wife."
Silvestre’s eyes drooped as his lips curled into a smirk. He tapped out a message and sent it to her, and just as he expected, it didn’t go through.
"She blocked me," he muttered, thinking that was quick of Ashley to decide. "Oh, well... this is neither the last time nor the only way."
He shrugged and tossed his phone aside. Just as he did, a man suddenly appeared in the aisle next to his seat.
"Boss," the man called, his expression stern. "I just received an emergency call from our guys in the southern ring."
Silvestre arched a brow, knowing that was one of White Serpent’s main new headquarters.
"They said they noticed that Dominion is on the move," the man reported. "And it seems they’re going to take out our HQ there."
"Hah." Despite the gravity of the report, Silvestre remained cool. He nodded in understanding and checked the time. "When did you receive this?"
"About ten minutes ago. Right before we boarded."
"Cut them off."
"Boss?"
Silvestre tilted his head back, looking at the man emotionlessly. "I said... cut them off." He clicked his tongue. "If that was ten minutes ago, then Dominion has already begun. Better to cut them off."
"It’s a warning," Silvestre added. "A warning we both expected."
"But—"
"And send Dominion a man," Silvestre continued. "I’m sure they’ll demand the person who spiked his drink."
Silvestre’s subordinate studied the smirk threatening to dominate his boss’s face before nodding in understanding.
"I understand," the man said, not wasting a second as he moved to carry out the order.
As he walked away, Silvestre glanced at his subordinate’s retreating figure before turning to the window.
"So... predictable," he whispered, amusement overtaking his expression. "Lucian De Luca, you truly are getting less and less interesting as the days go by. I wonder what you will do... if I take her away from your life."
A light, eerie chuckle escaped him as his eyes narrowed. His smirk remained even as the sound faded, recalling a moment from the past.
*****
[A long time ago...]
"Boo!"
Little Ashley exclaimed, jumping out from under the bridge where she had been hiding to surprise the little boy she had been living with. By now, the boy had grown used to her antics—and perhaps understood why she named herself that.
Boo.
Because she liked hiding and surprising people.
"That shocked you, didn’t it!?" she beamed, her lips stretching from ear to ear. But her smile quickly faded as her brows knit together upon noticing the bruise on the boy’s cheek.
"Huh?!" Little Ashley gasped, panic setting in. "What happened to you? Are you okay?"
She hurried to him, checking his face and everything else. She held his bloody hands, noticing his scraped knuckles, and even the underside of her own palms stung in sympathy.
"Who did this to you? Did those kids come back again?!" she roared angrily, fuming.
The little mute boy simply stared at her quietly.
"They’re dead meat! I’m gonna—" Just as she was about to storm off and confront the kids who had been picking on him for not speaking, the boy clasped her frail arms.
Little Ashley turned to him, seeing the same quiet look he carried every day. Her lips quivered as she bit her bottom lip, frustrated.
"Fine!" she huffed, walking back to him and taking his hand. "Come here. Let’s check your wounds—should we wash them in the public restroom?"
As she tried to figure out what to do—something she was quite used to, since she often had to tend to her own injuries back in the Di Carpios—they walked back to their makeshift home of boxes beneath the bridge.
Little did they know, as the two of them sat under the bridge while she cleaned the boy’s wounds, another child was watching them from across the bridge, hidden behind one of its pillars.
*****
[PRESENT TIME]
"Ugh..." Rum groaned as he carried a mountain of toy boxes, balancing them like he was in a circus act.
Red, on the other hand, carried countless shopping bags filled with clothes. The others? Completely swamped as Ashley went on a shopping spree.
This time, however, she didn’t go to the luxury boutiques she used to frequent months ago. Instead, she had been visiting department stores, toy stores, and gaming shops.
"The hell is that?" Rum wondered aloud, staring at Tank, who was quietly carrying large, heavy boxes of computer parts and other gadgets.
Tank, who hadn’t said a word for months, whimpered quietly.
It’s like she asked me to carry this on purpose, he thought, convinced his silence still caught her attention.
Shouldn’t she have punished Red more for talking to her like she’s on his payroll?!
"Thank you~!" Ashley chirped happily to the manager, who had offered to help carry her purchases to the car.
Seeing that her bodyguards already had their hands full, it was the least they could do.
"You’re welcome, Miss," the manager said as he walked her out of the store. "If you need anything, I’ve already placed my calling card in one of your bags. Feel free to contact me."
Ashley nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, sure! Just let me know when new games are released, alright? Reserve one for me, and give me a big discount like today."
"Of course," the manager chuckled, bidding them farewell.
After chatting leisurely as if her bodyguards weren’t struggling under the weight of her purchases, Ashley finally turned to them. She blinked and smiled.
"Are you guys okay?" she beamed. "I held back today because I didn’t want you to feel too burdened."
All five of them deadpanned, staring at the devil disguised as an innocent woman.
If they were being honest, they almost wished someone would attack her right then and there. Just so she’d understand that making them carry all this was already interfering with their "work."
"Anyway, let’s go home!" she announced, only to change her mind before they could even sigh in relief. "Oh, wait! I need to buy some snacks for Lu and Primo! Come, come!"
Without waiting for them, Ashley spun on her heel, about to skip ahead, when a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.
She turned her head.
There, she saw Isabella staring back at her with a deep frown.
"Ashley..." Isabella hissed.
And just like that, Ashley thought,
Ugh... fuck me!