Millionaire Girlfriend

The next morning, Ashley was in the dining room, feeding Catlyn some vegetable baby food.

She had barely slept after what had happened the night before. Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered the messages on Clara’s phone and the argument that followed.

Even though she now knew Clara wasn’t cheating on her, she still couldn’t get the image of that woman out of her head.

Catlyn was eating well and had almost finished her meal. She quietly rested in Ashley’s arms as Ashley gave her the last few spoonfuls.

A few minutes later, Clara walked down the stairs and headed into the kitchen, which was connected to the dining room.

Their eyes met.

"Good morning," Clara said quietly.

"Good morning," Ashley replied.

That was it.

Neither of them said anything else.

The awkward silence quickly filled the house.

Clara eventually walked to the kitchen and started preparing breakfast. Ashley focused on Catlyn, deliberately avoiding Clara’s gaze, even though she could feel Clara looking at her.

A few minutes later, Clara placed two plates on the table.

She had prepared breakfast for both of them.

Ashley glanced at the food but didn’t move.

"I don’t have time to eat right now. I have something to do today, so I’ll leave after Catlyn finishes eating and drop her off at your mother’s," Ashley explained.

Clara looked at her, slightly curious. Since their daughter had been born, Ashley hadn’t really had anything she needed to do outside the house.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Something."

Ashley deliberately kept her answer short. She didn’t want to talk right now.

She knew Clara was clearly trying to start a conversation, but Ashley wasn’t ready.

"Okay... I think we need to talk about what happened last night. I don’t want us to...."

"I really don’t have time to talk right now," Ashley interrupted her directly. "Maybe later."

Clara fell silent.

Ashley knew she was avoiding the conversation, but she couldn’t help it.

She still hadn’t gotten over what she had found on Clara’s phone. Even if there had been nothing romantic between Clara and that woman, Ashley was still hurt by the fact that Clara seemed capable of talking so naturally with someone else while barely speaking to her.

She needed time to calm down before they continued that argument.

Ashley stood up and carefully lifted Catlyn into her arms.

"Come on, we’re leaving."

She was about to leave, but before she did, she approached Clara so she could say goodbye to their daughter.

Clara’s expression softened immediately when she looked at her daughter.

She gently touched Catlyn’s cheek before leaning forward and kissing her.

"Mommy’s going to miss you so much," Clara whispered, giving Catlyn another kiss on the cheek.

Ashley watched silently.

She was about to turn away when Clara suddenly leaned toward her as well.

Ashley realized Clara was trying to kiss her.

Instinctively, she turned her head.

Clara’s lips landed softly on her cheek instead.

Ashley froze for a moment.

Then Clara looked directly into her eyes.

"Listen... I really want us to talk," she said softly.

Ashley’s heart began racing.

It was the first time in a long time that Clara had looked at her with such sincerity and tenderness.

For a moment, Ashley almost forgot everything.

Almost.

"Okay," she whispered timidly.

She quickly stepped away before she could change her mind.

If she stayed there any longer, she was afraid she would completely break down.

She might even end up on her knees, begging Clara to make their relationship the way it used to be.

Ashley turned toward the door with Catlyn in her arms.

Behind her, Clara remained silent, watching her leave with a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

--------

After dropping Catlyn off at her grandmother’s house, Ashley headed straight to the gym.

She had spent the entire drive thinking about Clara.

She knew she had been avoiding the conversation, but she still wasn’t ready to have it. She needed to calm down first.

Besides, she had something else on her mind.

Her body.

Ashley had almost completely regained her figure from before the pregnancy. Her waist had returned to its former shape, and most of the weight she had gained during pregnancy was gone.

But there were still a few noticeable changes.

Her hips and thighs had become wider after giving birth, and her butt was fuller than it had been before.

Ashley couldn’t help but notice the difference whenever she looked in the mirror.

She wasn’t necessarily unhappy about it. In fact, she knew plenty of women would consider it a positive change.

Still, as a former model, she was used to having a very specific physique.

She wanted to see if she could get a little closer to the body she had before pregnancy.

She decided to call two friends she hadn’t seen in a long time: Carlos and Jason, the fitness coaches, influencers, and models she had worked with several times before.

By the time Ashley arrived at the gym, the two men were already waiting for her with a camera set up.

"Hello, everyone! Welcome back to another workout video!" Jason said, turning toward the camera. "And today, we have a very special guest."

Carlos stepped into the frame beside him.

"Actually, I’m not sure we can call her a guest anymore."

He looked at Ashley with a serious expression.

"She used to be a regular guest, and we’ve made several videos together. But now she’s a real celebrity."

Ashley laughed.

"Stop exaggerating."

"I’m not exaggerating!" Carlos protested. "You’ve only appeared in a few videos, but every single one of them blows up."

Jason pointed toward the camera.

"Especially with the male audience. Sorry, guys, but Ashley is already married and now has a baby girl."

Ashley shook her head, amused, before raising her hand and showing off her wedding ring.

"Sorry, guys."

"Don’t apologize," Carlos said. "We’re happy for you."

He then looked at her from head to toe.

"So, why are you here today? You already have an amazing figure. I’ve noticed that pregnancy really treated you well."

"Yeah, she definitely got a bigger ass now," Carlos added.

The three of them burst out laughing.

After a few seconds, Ashley replied.

"Actually, I’m here because I want to improve my mental health. I went through severe depression during and after my pregnancy, so I just want to feel more like myself again."

Jason nodded.

"Then that’s exactly what we’re going to work on today."

Carlos clapped his hands.

"Let’s start with a warm-up."

The camera continued recording as Ashley followed them through a series of stretches and light cardio exercises.

This time, however, Ashley struggled a little to keep up.

It had been a long time since she had seriously exercised, and she quickly realized that her body wasn’t used to it anymore.

"Come on, Ashley!" Jason encouraged her. "You’ve got this!"

"I’m trying!" she replied between breaths.

Carlos laughed.

"Don’t worry. We’ll take it easy."

After the warm-up, Jason prepared a series of lower-body exercises.

"Today we’re focusing mainly on your legs and hips," he explained.

Ashley nodded.

"Sounds good."

The camera kept rolling as Carlos and Jason coached her through each exercise.

Between sets, they continued joking with her and talking about how much her life had changed since their first video.

By the end of the workout, Ashley was completely exhausted.

But strangely enough, she felt better than she had that morning.

It was the first time in a long while that she had done something purely for herself.

From that day on, she decided to come to the gym regularly.

She also promised Carlos and Jason that she would join them for more videos from time to time.

After leaving the gym, Ashley picked up Catlyn from her grandmother’s house and spent a few minutes talking with her before carefully placing her in the car seat.

As she drove away, she thought about Clara again.

Their interaction from that morning still weighed on her.

But after spending several hours at the gym, Ashley felt calmer.

Now, she actually wanted to see her.

Ashley glanced at her daughter through the rearview mirror.

"How about we surprise Mommy at work?"

Catlyn responded with a happy little sound.

Ashley smiled.

"That’s a yes, then."

Instead of going home, Ashley drove toward Clara’s workplace.

She hadn’t planned on having lunch with Clara that day, but she suddenly realized how long it had been since the three of them had eaten together.

It felt strange that their lives had become so complicated when they now had everything they needed to be happy.

When Ashley arrived at the company, she carried Catlyn inside and headed toward Clara’s office.

The receptionist immediately recognized her.

"Mrs. Ashley, it’s so nice to see you again. Is that little Catlyn?"

"Yes, that’s her," Ashley replied with a smile.

"She’s so cute! She looks so much like Mrs. Clara. She’s actually in her office right now. You can go right in."

"Thank you."

Ashley knocked twice before opening the door.

Clara was sitting behind her desk, looking through several documents.

She looked up.

Her expression immediately changed when she saw Ashley holding Catlyn.

"Ashley?" Clara asked in surprise.

"Hi," Ashley said timidly.

Clara quickly stood up and walked over to them before taking their daughter into her arms.

"Hi, sweetheart."

Catlyn immediately smiled at her.

Clara couldn’t help smiling back.

Ashley watched them quietly.

Seeing Clara’s expression soften while looking at their daughter made something inside her relax.

"What are you doing here?" Clara asked while cuddling Catlyn.

"I thought we could have lunch together."

Clara stared at her for a moment.

Ashley could still feel the awkwardness between them, but she tried not to let it show.

"But if you have something important to do, we can have lunch another day," Ashley added.

"Nothing is more important to me than spending time with you two," Clara admitted.

She kissed Catlyn on the cheek before looking at Ashley.

"There’s a restaurant downstairs. We can eat there."

"Perfect," Ashley replied, secretly happy that she had come, although she didn’t want to show it.

As they walked toward the restaurant together, several people couldn’t help looking at them.

It was the first time many of them had seen Ashley and Clara together as a family since their daughter was born.

Some employees who had seen Ashley pregnant were curious to finally see the baby who had been talked about so much.

Others simply smiled and complimented them on what looked like a perfect family.

Ashley wanted to tell them that things weren’t as perfect as they appeared.

They had been through plenty of highs and lows, and there was still a lot left unresolved between her and Clara.

But as she walked beside Clara, watching her carry their daughter, Ashley couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

Because despite everything they had been through, there was still nothing more beautiful to her than the three of them being together.