Chapter 59: Do you like me?
Flashback – Five days to Ashley’s 16th birthday.
Lorenzo held Ashley’s hand, helping her sneak out of her room through the window. Together, they ran out of the compound, laughing—knowing her aunty would think she was still inside her room.
With her sixteenth birthday just days away, Lorenzo had planned a pre-birthday outing. But knowing Charlotte, she’d rather run ten streets naked than allow such a thing. She forbade Ashley from having friends or socializing, and Ashley still didn’t understand why.
Still, she and Lorenzo had been secretly seeing each other for some months now.
At first, Ashley had thought Charlotte was simply trying to protect her from the world’s cruelty—until the day she seized her phone and started bringing home some of her manwhores, advising Ashley to mingle with them. That was when she realized Charlotte was just a pathetic psychopath.
They arrived at the spot where Lorenzo had parked his mom’s truck. He mentioned borrowing it for their outing, a gesture Ashley found incredibly sweet.
Just like her, Lorenzo’s biological parents were dead, but he had an adopted mother and sister now—lucky him. Ashley hadn’t met them yet, but she hoped to someday. Maybe when Lorenzo finally popped the question and asked her to be his girlfriend. The thought made her cheeks flush.
She’d been desperately dropping subtle hints—asking if he thought she was beautiful, complimenting him often, hoping he’d catch on and ask her already. Yet, he kept treating her like his little sister.
Ugh!
Did she need to hawk herself first before he finally caught the clue that she wanted to be more than that?
Like a gentleman, Lorenzo held the door for her, and she slipped into the passenger seat. She waited as he rounded the vehicle and slid into the driver’s seat, then leaned over to help fasten her seatbelt.