Chapter 175: Carve Your Heart Out
Things had settled, but there were some things Ashley wanted to do.
Looking at the large feast she had prepared and packed herself, a wide beam brightened her expression. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled from ear to ear.
"Those guys..." she muttered, chuckling. "I wonder if they’re still alive. Are they getting enough sleep?"
Aside from Nolan, there were five people she wanted to thank from the bottom of her heart. After all, thanks to those guys living across from her, she hadn’t felt so alone. Besides, they were quite nice... even though a love-hate dynamic had always defined their relationship.
But as she was wrapping up the feast she wanted to share with them, the doorbell rang.
"Hmm?" Her brows furrowed. "Did those two come back already?"
Lucian and Primo had just gone out to run an errand and planned to return to pick her up. After all, Lucian’s plans from the day before had been postponed, and he had told them that morning he’d rescheduled everything with Primo in mind.
Ashley quickly went to the door, but the moment she opened it, someone else was standing behind the low front gate.
Emma.
"..." Ashley kept her lips pressed into a thin line as she approached the gate.
Emma drew a deep breath and looked Ashley in the eye. She forced a smile, though it barely held.
Without a word exchanged between them, Ashley welcomed her in. This time, not out of shock, but out of common decency. At the end of the day, Emma was still Primo’s mother. And that was a fact none of them could ever change.
"Ah, Lucian and Primo just went out to run some errands," Ashley said, glancing back at Emma with a mild smile. "They’ll be back any minute."
Having said that, she was about to walk away when Emma spoke hurriedly.
"Actually, I’m not here because of them."
Slowly, Ashley looked back at Emma, brows knitted.
"I came here... because of you," Emma said, briefly biting her lip as she gripped the straps of her handbag with both hands. "Ashley? Can we... talk?"
A moment of silence passed before Ashley finally nodded.
"I’ll just get you some tea — or do you prefer something else?" she asked, but Emma shook her head.
"You don’t have to —"
"Nolan told me offering drinks is a common courtesy when receiving guests," Ashley chuckled. "I’ll get you some tea then. Take a seat. It’ll be quick since I already had some ready for Lucian."
With that, Ashley walked to the kitchen while Emma stood there, watching her. Emma glanced at the couch, weighing whether to sit down or not.
Then, steeling herself, she followed Ashley to the kitchen instead.
"Uhm," Emma cleared her throat as she lingered by the bar counter, eyes on Ashley. "I’m sorry about last time."
"Hmm?"
"I mistook you for a maid. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m really sorry," Emma said, watching Ashley look back at her with that same calm expression. "I’m sorry."
Ashley looked Emma over from head to toe, then smiled. Now that she was seeing the woman for the second time, she understood why she had felt unsettled by her. Because, unlike what anyone might have expected from Primo’s mother, Emma carried a genuinely sincere air about her.
Emma had small, delicate features; her hair curled perfectly in a way that suited her face. The way she dressed and carried herself was elegant enough for even Ashley to tell that she came from money. Above all, she didn’t seem like the scheming type.
"It’s okay," Ashley offered her a reassuring smile. "You wouldn’t have known."
"I should have." Emma corrected herself. "Also, I apologize if I caused any misunderstanding between you and Lu —"
"You don’t have to apologize for that either," Ashley cut her off. "That’s not your fault. That’s on Lucian."
Emma’s mouth parted slightly. "He told you?"
"He had to, or I’d kill him," Ashley quipped, leaning against the counter as she waited for the tea to steep. "And if you keep apologizing, then I’d have to apologize too for misunderstanding."
"What?"
"This tea is almost ready." Ashley flashed her a smile before turning her attention back to it. Then she spoke again. "You know, you don’t have to apologize for those things. However, there is something you do owe an apology for — and it’s not to Lucian or me."
Ashley drew a deep breath and looked back at Emma, facing her squarely.
"Any misunderstanding between my husband and me is something the two of us will discuss and sort out ourselves," she began. "He didn’t think he needed to tell me the truth, and I didn’t fight for what was already mine. If anything, I just let things unfold like an idiot. But those are things Lucian and I will work out between us. The apologies belong to each other."
She paused. "What I’m saying is, don’t apologize for things you had no part in. If you’re going to apologize to anyone, apologize to my son."
Emma’s breath caught, her eyes widening at the woman standing behind the kitchen counter.
Unlike the first time, Ashley held her gaze without flinching.
Ashley pushed herself away from the counter and closed the distance between them, stopping a few steps away.
"Apologize for bailing on him at the last minute of the parent-teacher meeting. Apologize for the years you weren’t in his life. And apologize for letting other people step up as his parents when that was your responsibility to begin with," she continued, her tone unwavering.
"If your intention is to earn a place in his life, I won’t stop you. If anything, I’ll ask Lucian to give you a chance," she added with a nod. "But you have to give me your word, Emma."
She took another step, closing the remaining gap between them. "Give me your word that you will never hurt my son — intentionally or not."
Ashley lowered her head slightly, looking her dead in the eye as she said her next words slowly and deliberately.
"Because if you do... I will carve your heart out." Every trace of warmth vanished from her expression in an instant, letting Emma feel the full weight of that promise. "And no one will ever know you’re gone."