7. This is Going Nowhere

Ashley spoke passionately, but her voice caught in her throat, suddenly dry and tight, cutting off her words. And because it was uncomfortable, she was busy clearing her throat.

Josh watched her patiently. When she fell silent, struggling to continue, he finally spoke.

“I just don’t want any more misunderstandings between us. And,” he sighed, “I don’t like being seen as a jerk. I'm also sorry for not telling you about my relationship. But clearly, I didn't lie.”

"You didn't lie? How can you say that after what I saw?"

"I never said I was single. You never asked either, did you? So technically, I didn't lie."

Ashley looked at him with a scornful glare. Unbelievable. This man could twist words and manipulate situations so smoothly, so cunningly.

“I didn’t even know whether you were single or had a boyfriend,” Josh narrowed his eyes, locking his gaze onto Ashley's. "Or maybe you have a boyfriend too and just didn’t tell me?"

"As if! I’m a woman with morals. There’s no way I would agree to marry someone if I had a boyfriend."

"Ah, so you’re single. Good."

Once again, that faint, unreadable smile played on Josh’s lips.

“Are you mad because I didn’t tell you that?”

Ashley tilted her head. “Of course. Who wouldn’t be angry about something like that?”

“But it didn’t hurt you, did it?” Josh asked, his voice calm. “It didn’t actually do anything harm to you. Or am I wrong for thinking that?”

Ashley hesitated. He was playing word games with her. But remembering her goal—to win every argument tonight—she steadied herself and pushed forward.

“Of course you’re wrong. It cost me a lot. We never agreed to have a scandal in this marriage. And the fact that you were with her at the wedding venue, in front of guests, makes it even worse. What if one of them was a reporter or someone from a media company?” She shook her head, frustration clear in her voice. The thought of the consequences made her stomach tighten.

“So doesn’t it make sense for me to be angry?” She lifted her chin. “Because you put both our families’ reputations at risk.”

Josh exhaled heavily. “I know. I wasn’t careful.”

He shouldn’t have done it. It was reckless—too risky. But he hadn’t been thinking about that. He just couldn't let Sharon wander around alone in such an unstable condition. At that time, he could only think about how to immediately calm her and convince the girl to return home without being caught by anyone.

But who would’ve thought, if they would be caught by Ashley herself?

“Hm. Yeah. You weren’t careful at all.”

Josh nodded slightly, accepting her words. But then, he glanced at her, curiosity flickering in his eyes. “But what does this have to do with divorce? Why bring it up so suddenly?”

That’s right. Where did that come from? How did she suddenly come up with the idea of offering a divorce? Did she say it out of anger? Because she caught Josh having a girlfriend while in her heart she might have expected something more in this marriage?

“Well—yeah,” Ashley hesitated, trying to mask the deep contemplation in her eyes, but Josh saw through it.

She retraced her own thoughts, realizing that, yes, her anger had fueled the words—but the idea itself had come from something deeper. A chance. An opportunity to free and save herself from the deal with her family. Also from a marriage that already seemed destined to be miserable and exhausting.

And Josh’s affair? That was just an added burden for her as she had to participate in keeping it as a secret.

The slightest bit of bad news would affect the stock of his family's company. And who knows what her parents would do to her if it happened because of a scandal in her marriage. She had already endured enough hardships on her own. So it seemed like, if she were to receive punishment for a mistake she didn't make, she wouldn't be able to accept it gracefully.

But then again, getting a divorce so soon after the wedding wouldn’t be a good move either. Such a thing would somehow invite speculation and give birth to a wave of uncontrollable rumors. In other words, it would lead to an equally bad ending as the media found out about Josh's scandal.

Either way, there was no escape.

That’s why she had brought up the divorce.

A fake marriage was one thing. But a fake marriage with the added weight of covering up Josh’s affair? That was something she could only tolerate temporarily. But not forever.

Yes. That was it.

“So—”

“Don’t mention it again,” Josh said almost simultaneously with Ashley.

They both glanced at each other and paused, momentarily caught off guard by speaking at the same time. They waited for each other to continue, but Ashley was still silent in hesitation, so Josh quickly clarified, “From now on, I don’t want to hear anything about divorce.”

Ashley frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t want you mentioning divorce again.”

Before she could respond, Josh’s phone lit up on the table. He glanced at the screen, stood up to grab it, then sat back down, already unlocking the device.

Ashley narrowed her eyes. “I haven’t even explained yet. Shouldn’t you at least listen?”

Josh barely looked up. “Explain?” His voice was casual, distracted. His focus had now shifted almost completely. It was on the screen now—on Sharon’s messages.

Finally, Sharon had responded.

Relief washed over him as he scanned the texts. Although he was sure, the girl's emotions would not subside that easily. Especially if the trigger was something that was not difficult to tolerate—letting her boyfriend marry someone else and having to live the relationship secretly.

She was still upset—of course, she was—but at least now he knew the girl's condition and what she was thinking.

“You asked a question earlier. Now I want to answer it.”

He quickly began typing a reply message, telling her that he had been sitting alone in the living room, waiting anxiously to hear from her. That he had hated seeing her storm off in anger, unable to stop her. And ended with his usual words of affection.

“Hey!” Ashley’s sharp voice cut through his focus.