Amber was watching the TV when Ashton approached her and spoke to her.

And now, Ashton didn"t know whether to laugh or cry at the look on her face.

She was glaring at him as if he wronged her.

"I am grounded."

He spoke after another few minutes of stare off.

"You"re not, you can even go and wreck havoc in the group of gangs that are even on the news," she retorted as she pointed at the TV.

The news was regarding a group of people who started going against a group of gangs.

"That was during the night."

Amber"s face scrunched up even more.

Ashton tried his best not to laugh at her look and just said, "That is why I am telling you that you don"t need to face them."

"And I am also telling you that Wright Empire is currently my support, I have to know everyone around you."

"Then what is wrong now?"

"You"re asking me what is wrong? Can"t we have atleast a bit of rest in receiving your guests?"

"After your friends, it was your cousins, then your uncles and aunties. And now your childhood friend? Why must they visit every other day?"

Lian and Caleb came two days after Timothy and the others visited.

Two days after them was his other relatives.

So Amber had to wear her mask every two days even inside the house. She could only remove it once night time came.

This is what she was actually irritated about.

Ashton pursed his lips, he too was wondering why would they suddenly want to visit him. If it was about the incident then a call was enough.

"I don"t think it was entirely my fault, I think the one they wanted to meet was you instead of me."

"Why would they want to meet me in the pretense of meeting you and asking how you are after the incident?"

"They must be more curious of the person I brought home, plus grandfather and the others have already said that I am engaged," Ashton explained.

Amber sighed, "But I don"t think this childhood friend of yours just wanted to know me. She was a daughter of a major shareholder right? She really didn"t need to meet me."

She paused after looking at him curiously, "Are you really that close? For you to actually approve of her coming here. I thought you barely meet with any girls?"

"It was my grandmother, she treats Carla Ansel as her granddaughter as well."

"And since this Carla Ansel wanted to know if you are fine she had asked your grandmother to pa.s.s the message?"

Amber have not yet met his grandmother but she was not scared. Whatever the grandmother thinks of her, this is her life.

If Ashton backs off because of his grandmother then that"s just it. She has no plans yet of going against some people regarding something else entirely than her vengeance.

Ashton shrugged, he respects his grandmother that he would accept her favors as long as it was within his capabilities.

Interacting with Carla Ansel was an easy task in the first place.

"I can smell a white lotus," Amber teased.

Ashton didn"t correct her, even back with Madison he already noticed that this person is just like that.

But since she was sent to another country for her studies, she didn"t get the chance to truly show this side of hers.

Just then they heard the door bell.

"Is she here now?" Amber stood up abruptly for she was not yet wearing her mask.

Ashton furrowed his brows as he shook his head.

"You go and check it then," she told him before going up and to prepare.

Even if that was not Carla Ansel, she needed to get ready now.

After putting on her scar and then her mask, she went down to see Ashton with a dark face.

He was holding an envelope and from a distance she can see that it was a special one.

"A wedding invitation?"

As she thought of this, she walked towards him and took the envelope from his hand.

Her brows instantly raised after reading the name of Madison Stevens and Glenn Price.

She then looked down at Ashton who remained silently sitting on the couch.

She placed the envelope in the coffee table before sitting beside him.

"Still affected? Regarding Madison Stevens?"

She was looking at him with pure seriousness, no mock nor irritation.

Ashton sighed, he didn"t know if it was still because of what had happened to Madison or because of what had happened to Carl.

But upon reading Glenn Price"s name, he felt immense anger and hatred.

"Why don"t we go then?"

It didn"t escape Ashton"s hearing when she said the word, "we".

He looked at her as if asking what she meant by it.

"Well, the invitation was obvious. He was trying to drag your name to the mud even more. If you don"t go, everyone will think that you still haven"t gotten over her."

"You have kept quiet about your relations.h.i.+p with her in the past that no one truly believes that you were her true beloved. So they would a.s.sume that you just couldn"t accept it that is why you didn"t go."

"But if you indeed go, everyone"s eyes would be on you. A single s.h.i.+ft of your face and they would a.s.sume that you are not happy about the wedding."

"So if you come with me, I will be able to attend and that only a handful would a.s.sume the worst that I am hiding my bitterness."

Amber smiled as she nodded.

"But are you sure? That was like the lion"s den to you."

"Everyone will know about me sooner or later, announcing it ourselves that we are engaged the earliest would be better. It would both be a s.h.i.+eld for you and me."

"So the wedding shall be the debut appearance of Amber Wood?" Ashton, whose mood became better, asked.

"Wouldn"t that be good enough?"

"They would surely look unto you. Then they will know that you have truly no background, other than helping out in Snow Fall Hotel"s improvement."

"Madison was once a no body to so many people," Amber retorted back.

Ashton finally gave her a smile, something that Amber was not prepared of.

"Come on, don"t suddenly smile at me. You have no idea how lethal that was."

She said in her mind as she looked back at the invitation instead. But a tinge of red was visible in her cheeks if not for her mask.

"Anyway, since that is settled now and the wedding will be in another week. What time would that Carla Ansel come?"

"She"ll have lunch here."

"Fine, I"ll cook."

"I won"t give her the happiness of tasting your dish," she added in her mind as she imaginarily stuck out her tongue.

After she entered the kitchen, Ashton returned his eyes on the inivitation.

It was a violet envelope with linings of silver.

In reality after returning back here, he went out to see Madison from a far.

He was very clear that Amber have changed his heart back then but he wanted to ensure everything, rather than do things half heartedly.

And when he did saw her, he still felt pain.

But the pain was no longer from someone who loves the other but instead it was a pain from someone who felt really bad for the other.

He must have been blinded by what had happened for him to actually hold unto his feelings for her, for so long.

He also didn"t expect himself to actually have a change of heart in such a short time towards Amber.

What was it that made him look at her?

What was it that truly made him start falling for her?

What was it that made him think of a future with her?

In reality, he still has no idea. This was the first time that he actually felt this way.

Back with Madison, he knew he fell for her because of her beauty, her gentle smiles and her gentle demeanor.

But now, Amber was a random person. Very random at times that he still thinks she has some switches inside her.

She maybe down right now but not long after she was smiling.

She was mad now but the next thing she was teasing people.

His eyes travelled from the invitation to the door leading to the kitchen.

His mind was filled of Amber"s faces, crying, smilling, laughing, getting mad, getting irritated.

Faces of her when the light in her eyes would suddenly disappear. Back when she looked lifeless because of the death of her parents.

And somehow he felt even more inclined on supporting her and staying by her side.

Sometimes he felt conflicted over his feelings but he was not afraid of facing it, he was actually willing to dive deeper into this mess.

"So what is it about you that made me look your way?"