82. A Man from Her Past (3)

Ashley jerked her head as she almost thought what she just heard was wrong.

“I had no intention of refusing this marriage plan from the start.”

“Wait,” Ashley felt her throat become very bitter and dry instantly, “You want to do this marriage?”

“Yes” Josh then split the crab stuffed mushroom on his plate into two small pieces and ate it. Ignoring Ashley's gaze who was still stunned by his answer just now.

"Why? We don't know each other that well. Haven't seen each other in a very long time. I'm also sure you don't like me."

"We can take things slowly. And I think our history is more than enough to start a relationship. There have been no fights or problems between us as long as I can remember, right?"

Josh was wrong. The man was lying as if Ashley didn't know about an incident in the past that could pretty well illustrate how cold Josh felt towards her. And that created a big problem for Ashley having to bear the pain alone.

Ashley sank into her confusion again, then mumbled without fully realizing it. “They must have given you a lot of benefits that you couldn't resist.”

Josh put down his spoon and picked up a napkin to wipe his lips. "Well, of course there are some. It's an arranged marriage. Our parents obviously did it because there's mutualism there. But I guess you don't really know since you've been abroad for so long," Josh tried to keep his pride remain high after the girl mentioned benefits. "Hana New Town is about to start massive construction. Your family needs my father to win all the tenders. The trouble your aunt made seems to have cost the company a lot of money. Plus the scandals of some of your cousins..." Josh paused briefly while glancing at Ashley.

Ashley's expression had clearly changed. It amused Josh that he was now one step ahead of her.

"You must not have heard about this. Why? Because my family's law-firm handled it well without leaking to the media."

Ashley lowered her head and fell silent. A new whirlwind of thoughts filled her more intensely.

She knew that all arranged marriages had something in exchange. But hearing it spelled out directly like just now, made her feel like she was really being sold by her parents.

"Eat. You should fill your stomach. We'll talk about it later after eating."

Her idea of rejecting this marriage now seemed like nonsense. Inevitably, Ashley had to stop her unrealizable wish, and follow her parents' wishes.

The conversation they had afterward didn't go anywhere either. The threats made by her parents could not make Ashley rebel. And Josh also probably had his own reasons why he didn't plan to refuse—although all she knew so far his concern was about business matters and political power between their families.

Other than that, Josh mostly asked her about herself—her daily life, the things she had been doing in Auckland, and the things she wanted to do to cure her longing for this place.

He didn't mention marriage at all. As if it didn't require any discussion. As if it was a given that it would definitely happen.

Until at the end of their meeting that night, maybe Josh wanted to emphasize something to Ashley.

“Ash,” Josh looked at her with a calm but earnest gaze, "I didn't do it just for the money. When I found out the girl they were referring to was you, my worries disappeared. I guess it wouldn't hurt if we both gave it a try."

Ashley only glanced at Josh briefly as he spoke. Instead of answering, she just threw a smile in response.

Her hand reached out to grab the wine glass and sipped the liquid slowly. Savoring the sensation on her tongue to get rid of the bitterness that she was constantly tasting today.

She had nothing to say about what Josh had just said. She couldn't translate or glean anything from his gaze or his words. His demeanor was too calm. It made it almost impossible to guess what was in his head.

×××

When Ashley and Mrs. Go walked into the house, Mrs. Gu—the head assistant in that house—was already waiting for them in the foyer.

“Madam and Master are waiting for you in the study, Miss.”

Ashley let out a long breath. "I just want to rest. But I even can't get that simple thing,“ then glanced at Mrs. Go beside her, ”Can you get the documents from my room?"

Mrs. Go nodded. “I'll get it for you.”

Ashley then followed Mrs. Gu who had already walked over and informed her parents of her arrival.

Then she entered and sat down with her head bowed. While her parents greeted her with a glare that she could feel sinking into her bones.

“You haven't been here for a day but you're already trying to cause trouble.”

Her father opened the conversation after a silence fell over the three of them. And it was her father's voice that she heard again for the first time in seven years.

Ashley didn't know what kind of trouble she was trying to cause, because her meeting with Josh was going better than she thought, and if what her father meant was that she hadn't given her consent yet... it didn't seem like a problem. Since her parents already knew whether she was willing or not, Ashley still had to agree to it.

"I don't understand what you mean. I didn't do anything," Ashley said in a low voice, and chose to pretend to be stupid and ignorant.

Her father's eyes almost widened when he heard Ashley's words.

"I told your mom to give me the document you signed, but I heard that you haven't signed it yet. You want to make me angry?!"

Ashley looked down while swallowing her saliva. Her father's yelling always managed to make her shudder in fear.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. And Mrs. Go walked in carrying a folder whose contents were the headline of everyone's commotion in the room.

“I brought Mrs. Ashley's documents,” Mrs. Go placed it carefully on the table and intended to leave afterwards.

But Ashley's father had already thrown a question first and looked at the woman, “How was their dinner?”

Mrs. Go stopped her steps and answered briefly, “Everything went well, Sir.”

“Are you sure there was no problem at all?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Go glanced at Ashley who was staring at the folder blankly, “Mr. Lim seemed happy to meet Miss Ashley.”

Her father's eyebrows rose in satisfaction. "Wait outside. I might talk to you later."

“Yes, Sir,” Mrs. Go turned around and went out. She closed the door, then sat on the chair at the front of the room, waiting.

Ashley blinked after hearing the door across from them close. Then ventured to speak, “Can I ask you for one thing besides what's written there?”

"Your father just complained about your attitude. And now you want to demand something?" Her mother sneered at her.

Meanwhile, his father was silent for a while, then took a breath and snorted in annoyance. “What do you want?”

Ashley breathed very slowly, preparing to make her request. "Grandpa's car... is it still here? The one he used to ride in all the time."

She saw her father's face scrunch up in question. Her mother's expression was the same, except that her puzzled and curious look was more obvious.

Ashley continued her request, “Can I have it for me?”

"It's an old car. Just buy a new one, I'll pay for it,“ her father immediately refused without thinking.

”I want grandpa's car," Ashley still tried to get what she wanted. After all, what she was asking for was not a luxury and would not inconvenience or even harm anyone. Her tone was not whining. But it sounded more pleading with a hint of pain. “I miss him.”

Her mother immediately hardened her jaw and looked away after hearing Ashley's words. Meanwhile, her father tried to restrain himself in his silence that gave off a cold aura.

Until finally her father called Mrs. Go to come inside and said, "Tell Mr. Gu to take father’s car to a car repair shop. Fix it as best they can."

“Yes, Sir,” Mrs. Go replied briefly while giving a small nod.

After hearing her father's words, Ashley immediately stretched out her hand to open the folder and opened the signing page. She scratched her signature and affixed her personal stamp. Then closed it.

“Thanks, Dad.”