Chapter 77
I shook my head, offering her a small smile. “No, Mrs. Eriksen, I’m fine,” I reassured her, though my mind was elsewhere. The dinner had been quiet, almost too quiet. Ashton hadn’t said much, and I hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that something was wrong between us.
Ashton had remained distant throughout the meal, only offering the occasional glance in my direction. I couldn’t tell if he was still angry or if he was processing everything I had said. My words about Rebecca seemed to have hit a nerve, but he hadn’t responded to that.
I placed my spoon down, my appetite lost. The weight of the situation felt heavier with every passing moment.
Mrs. Eriksen cleared her throat gently, bringing me back to the present. “It’s important to take care of yourself, Letty. Especially now,” she said softly, her motherly tone a stark contrast to the tension between Ashton and me.
“Thank you, I will,” I replied, giving her a warm smile.
Ashton pushed his chair back and stood up, glancing at me. “I’ll be in my study,” he said curtly, his words barely hanging in the air before he left the room.
I sighed, watching him walk away, his back stiff, the distance between us growing by the second. How had we gotten to this point? How had our relationship become so fraught with misunderstandings and pain? And now, with the added scandal, I felt like I was fighting a losing battle.
I turned to Mrs. Eriksen, who had returned to cleaning up. “I don’t know what to do anymore,” I confessed, my voice low and fragile.
She paused for a moment, then came over to sit beside me. “Listen, dear, sometimes love isn’t about who’s right or wrong. It’s about understanding each other’s pain. You both have been through so much. But you can’t just ignore it. You need to talk things through, no matter how difficult it seems.”
Her words were like a balm to my bruised heart, but they didn’t solve the problem. I knew what I had to do: I had to talk to Ashton, really talk to him, not just about the rumors or our past mistakes, but about our future.
But how? How could I get him to listen to me when he was so determined to shut me out?
“I’ll try,” I whispered to myself, more to reassure my own heart than anyone else.
Mrs. Eriksen gave me a sympathetic smile. “Take it one step at a time, dear. You’ve got this.”
As I sat there, feeling both grateful and lost, I realized something. No matter how much I loved Ashton, if he wasn’t willing to meet me halfway, if he continued to close himself off from me, then I couldn’t keep holding on forever.
The thought of losing him made my chest ache, but I couldn’t keep living in this limbo. I needed clarity, and I needed it soon.
I stood up, glancing at the door to Ashton’s study. Would tonight be the night we finally had the conversation we both needed to have? Or would it be another night of silence and unspoken words?
Taking a deep breath, I walked toward the study, determined not to leave until I had some answers. I knocked softly on the door, waiting for his response.
“Come in,” Ashton’s voice called from inside.
I opened the door slowly and stepped inside, steeling myself for the difficult conversation ahead.