Chapter 171: My Son Was Right
"So, that’s what parent-teacher meetings are," Ashley muttered as they walked out of the school grounds. "It’s mostly talking about grades, exam schedules, and extracurricular activities."
She nodded to herself, a little surprised.
"What did you think it was?" Lucian asked, genuinely curious.
"Heh," she let out a small laugh, looking up at him.
Primo, walking between them with both their hands in his, glanced up at them.
"I thought it was something like... parents being the teachers for a day or two?" she admitted, biting her tongue.
That made both Primo and Lucian stop dead, staring at her as if confirming she was serious.
"Sorry, okay?" She shrugged. "It’s my first time."
Then she looked down at Primo. "Primo, how well did we do?"
Primo considered it, released Lucian’s hand, and gave her a thumbs-up. His answer made her smile brighten. She ruffled his hair playfully before straightening up and shooting Lucian a wink.
Lucian shook his head, then paused as Primo reached for his hand again. He looked down to find Primo smiling quietly at Ashley. Something in his chest lifted, and a low chuckle escaped him as the three of them made their way to the school entrance.
When they reached it, Primo looked puzzled. He tugged both their hands to a stop and tilted his head.
Even without words, Lucian and Ashley understood.
"Ahh..." Ashley laughed awkwardly and glanced at Lucian. "We left the car back there."
"There was traffic," Lucian added. "We wouldn’t have made it in time."
"That’s why we had to run."
Primo blinked, glancing between the two adults.
So that’s why. That explained the breathlessness and the sweat earlier. They had genuinely sprinted here like they were running a marathon.
A small smile formed on his face as he tugged their hands forward.
"I’ll get the car," Lucian said before they could move. "Wait here."
"Let’s just go together!" Ashley said, and Primo nodded in agreement. "A short walk never hurt anyone."
Lucian furrowed his brows, studying them both. He sighed and gave in.
Together, the three of them headed back to where they had left the car. As they drew closer, they spotted a van parked right behind it and a handful of security officers clustered around the area.
"Uh... what’s going on?" Ashley murmured as their steps slowed.
Lucian and Primo, however, recognized one of the people standing near the security, and both of them quietly tensed. It was the same man who, almost every morning, leaned on his horn at them. The same person who had confronted Lucian before for overtaking cars and driving "recklessly."
"There! There they are!" the man shouted the moment he spotted the three of them.
He looked them up and down and scoffed. Ashley and Lucian were dressed simply — plain shirts and jeans, now damp with sweat and faintly marked from their sprint to the meeting — a far cry from what this man had clearly expected.
"They’re the ones who own this cheap piece of junk!" the man harrumphed, slapping the car’s hood without care. "And they just abandoned it here and caused all that traffic!"
"Traffic?" Ashley repeated quietly, glancing at their car and then at the wide road beside it. Lucian had pulled to the side specifically so it wouldn’t block traffic. Anyone with eyes could see that.
"Yes!" the man barked, jabbing a finger at his van. "And because of that, look what happened! You grazed it! Do you have any idea how much a dent like that costs to fix?!"
Ashley looked from the man to the security officers, frowning.
"Uh, about that..." One of the guards stepped forward, visibly uncomfortable. It didn’t seem like they were there because of the car so much as because of the van owner himself.
"Sir, the thing is," the guard began carefully, "parking here isn’t permitted. We have a designated parking area..."
Unlike the fuming man, the officer was calm and measured as he laid out the situation.
"The issue is that because the car was parked here, the van — also trying to access the school — couldn’t get through properly..."
"But doesn’t that make it his fault?" Ashley cut in, tilting her head. "I mean, dozens of cars go in and out of this school, and he’s the only one who wasn’t careful enough to avoid it."
"Huh?! Hah!" The man scoffed. "Miss, were you even listening? None of this would have happened if you hadn’t left this scrap here in the first place!"
"Sir, please calm down," another guard interjected, stepping between them. "We can sort this out inside."
Ashley let out a dry laugh, eyes sliding back to the man. It was obvious that he was making a scene precisely because their car looked cheap.
"Hey, give me the keys," she said, glancing at Lucian. "He wants trouble — I’ll give him plenty."
Lucian didn’t react right away. His gaze drifted to the man, and then, just as Ashley took a step forward and parted her lips, he acted without thinking.
He clamped a hand over her mouth and turned to face the man himself.
"I apologize," he said, his tone steady and sincere. "I’ll handle everything. It was my fault for leaving the car here."
The man scoffed. "Can you actually afford to?"
"I’ll contact the insurance company," Lucian replied, then turned to the guards. "I’ll take care of it from here. Thank you for your patience."
Ashley watched him with a frown. Then Primo tugged her hand, drawing her gaze down.
[He’ll handle it.] Primo signed.
She didn’t like that.
Ashley had a few personal rules. When something was done to her, she could stretch her patience reasonably far. But when it involved Lucian, or Primo, or anyone she considered hers, that patience had a much shorter fuse.
Still, in the interest of ending this quickly, she nodded reluctantly. She and Primo got into the car while Lucian stayed outside, working through the settlement with the man and the guards as witnesses.
*****
Not far away, another car sat parked at a distance. The rear window was rolled all the way down, and Emma watched everything unfold from there.
The corner of her lips curved upward as she took in her son’s face — light, at ease, unbothered. Even Lucian seemed different, clamping a hand over Ashley’s mouth with the kind of ease that spoke of familiarity.
"Haha." A quiet laugh escaped her.
Bitterness stirred in her eyes, a quiet heaviness pressing on her chest. But alongside it — unexpectedly — was something that felt almost like relief. Even from this distance, the three of them had a warmth about them. A dynamic that was easy and real.
"My son..." she whispered, her gaze lingering on Primo. A smile touched her lips. "...was right. She does look like a warm person."
Emma drew a slow breath and looked toward the front. "Let’s go."