Six

Asher looked up from the newspaper he was pretending to read, to look at the stairs in search of Lily. When he came home last night to yet another welcome from the helps instead of his wife, he almost flipped thinking Lily flaunted his words and decided to not come back, but he quickly learnt that she had dinner without him and went to bed without seeing him. That had immediately shut up whatever feeling of hunger that lingered in his system. He made excuses for her as he went to bed, listing off reasons she could have decided to not welcome him like she always does. He finally waved it all off and comforted himself with the knowledge that she'd be there waiting for him the next morning.

However, now, he has less than 15 minutes to go to work, yet he hasn't caught a glimpse of her neither has he touched his breakfast, despite the angry growls of his stomach. Finally, he set the newspaper down and beckoned for Marie. The thought that they could have lied to him about her coming back last night crept into his mind because it made no sense that she was at home and yet she hasn't come to see him.

The Lily he knew was always there, breathing down on his neck and invading his senses.

Marie walked into the dinning room with a look of scepticism on her face, "you called?"

Asher cleared his throat and turned to her with a raised brow, "yes, I did. You said that Lily..."

"Yes?" Her soft dainty voice cut him off and he immediately whipped his head around towards her, nearly giving himself a whiplash just to get a look at her.

Lily stood at the stairs case, looking all dressed up in her sundress . She had woken up that morning by 6 AM, ready to go down and get started on breakfast, but the second she stood up from the bed... The memories of all that had happened came pouring in. She ended up keeping herself busy with dressing up and making plans for her stay in the house. 

When she finally deduced that Asher would be gone, she came down for breakfast but was shocked to see him still at the dinning table... His food untouched. 

"Good morning..." Asher said, clearing his throat and both of Lily's brows shot up. He never uttered a word to her and now, he was greeting her? 

She took a seat on the chair, farthest from him and mumbled a greeting in response, "any reason you were discussing me with Marie?" 

Asher glanced at Marie then back at her, "I wanted to make sure you were back... I hadn't seen you since last night."

"That's because I didn't want to be seen." She retorted with a smile and Asher drew back, surprised. "You should have left by now... I didn't expect to still see you at home."

They both held each other's gaze for a while before Asher finally broke contact, and expelled a breath. He glanced at his untouched breakfast, then stood to his feet, grabbing his suit and putting it on. "I'll be on my way now."

Lily stared at his retreating figure and gulped. She had made a decision when she was thinking of her stay here for the next year, and she had decided she would let him know the next time they see each other, but now that she was served with the opportunity... The words were lodged in her throat and her confidence eluded her.

It was easy to feign confidence in his absence, but when he's around...the feelings and fears she has come to have for him, reared their ugly heads. 

"You have to do this, Lily." She mumbled to herself and took a deep breath, but when she opened her mouth to call out to him... Words once again failed her and she watched as he walked away. The second the door closed behind him, she sighed and stared at the table before. "I still have a few things to figure out, telling him can wait till I've figured it all out." She forced a smile on her face and turned to Marie, who returned her smile.

Throughout the ride to the company, Asher couldn't help but think of Lily's attitude. His mind thought of the million and one reasons she could be acting that way, finally, he dismissed it as an act of anger and rebellion which she'd soon get over. "Things would be back to normal in no... Wait, why am I even worried about her attitude? She can do and act in whatever way she pleases." He mumbled and looked out of the window. Her behavior and the things she did never bothered him, and there was no reason for it to start bothering him now, he had other important things to worry about... Like, the deal he's trying to close and...

His thoughts trailed off when he caught sight of Charlotte at the parking lot as his car pulled in. What was she doing here? Annoyance formed at the pit of his belly, and he was ready to go tell her off, till he realized she was wearing the same outfit she had on yesterday and even more so, there were tears streaks on her face.

Panic immediately set in, and he found himself rushing out of the car before the driver could pull open the door for him. "Charlotte..." He called out, rushing up to her.

At the sight of him, Charlotte broke down into tears all over again, and he hastened his steps. The second he was close enough, he pulled her into a hug and let her cry on his shoulders, while his brain painted different scenarios of what could have happened to her. 

"Charlotte, are you okay? Is everything okay?" He asked, pulling away from the hug to inspect her body for any signs of injuries, but there was none. "What happened? What are you doing here... in yesterday's clothes?"

Charlotte hiccuped and flung herself into his arms again, sobbing hysterically.

Asher swallowed the rest of his questions, and just held her tightly while whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

"Can you tell me what happened now?" He asked when her sobs subsided a little.

"Yo-you..." Tears once again made its way down her face, and Asher flicked them away gently, his brows tightly knit together as he stained to make out her words. "Yo- I thought you were ending things with me last night. You walked out angry and... I was just scared and I decided to wait out here for you." 

Asher's heart clenched painfully at her words and he immediately pulled her back into a hug. He had indeed tried to end things last night but he had no idea it would affect her this much... "I'm so sorry, Lottie... I..." His words trailed off as he couldn't think of a proper excuse. "I'm sorry for leaving you out here... I'm so sorry." He chanted.

A small smile formed on Charlotte's lips at the obvious success of her plans. She had gone back to her hotel the second he drove away, and had come back early this morning to wait for him. She saw the look in his eyes when he stormed off last night and she knew she had to do something, she after all needed him to remain hooked on her for the success of her grand scheme.

Her smile immediately disappeared when Asher pulled back to get a glimpse of her face. "I'm so sorry, okay?" She nodded softly, and he smiled. "My driver will drive you back to the hotel, and you'll freshen up and get some rest, okay? I'll come see you after work. Is that okay?"

She immediately shook her head and latched onto him. "It'll be okay only if you're going to spend the night with me. I've missed you." 

Asher froze momentarily at her request. Normally, he'd have no problem spending the night with her but... He thought hard and long before he eventually nodded, just this one night. He'd spend this night and they both would talk things out. 

A big smile spread on Charlotte's face the second he agreed. She thought she could play with him a little bit before she sets her plans into motion, but something tells her she has to get started sooner than she planned... And that means she has to start tonight