Chapter 71
Asher’s POV
I smirked while taking in her stunned expression. She had not expected to see me like this and that was the surprise I wanted her to see. That I was a changed man.
I usually didn’t cook for people except myself and I knew she would be shocked at my surprise.
I came closer to her with a smile.
“What are you smiling at?” I asked with a flirty tone.
“N-nothing,” she shook her head. “You never cook for anyone but yourself.”
“Are you surprised?”
She tried to look around and unbothered as she simply changed the subject while looking around.
“What is this place and where did you find it? It’s like being in the middle of nowhere.”
I laughed at this. She was very smart at diffusing situations.
“It is my secret apartment. You shouldn’t worry, no one would find us here, especially those pesky press.”
I watched her shoulders which were stiffened before, fall a bit.
“I didn’t know you had a place like this,” she walked to a statue of a Roman emperor to look at it.
“Yeah, I kept it a secret. No one apart from you and I know about this place. It is my safe space. Whenever I feel like the world is bearing down on me, I take a break by coming here.”
“You could go to a beach.”
“The press.”
“A private one.”NôvelDrama.Org holds text © rights.
“True, but then I have to deal with the vacation vibes and I don’t want the vacation vibes. I just want a place where I can rest. A place where I can be myself and be free from the public without having to be someone else.
“If I can get that I’ve won and this place brought that for me. You, Zendaya, are the only woman I have brought here.”
She snorted, “I doubt that I am the only woman you’ve brought here. Don’t lie to me Asher. I know you.”
I chuckled. “Then I am afraid that you do not know me at all which is quite disappointing seeing as at some point in our lives we were once together. Whatever you may think of me I get it. I understand.
“I haven’t been the best man out there and I might even say I am the worst, but I would never lie to you.”
She shifted her weight from her left feet to her right as I noticed she was becoming uncomfortable.
“How about we go to the table?” I suggested.
“Yes please,” she smiled, grateful that I had changed the subject.
I led her to the table which had already been set and I pulled out a chair for her to sit in.
“I forgot the chicken,” I said, running into the kitchen to turn off the timer before getting the food out of the grill.
Taking it into the dining hall, she clapped her hands in anticipation as I dropped it on the table to present it before her.
“This is amazing!” she smiled.
“I know.”
***
Zendaya’s POV
I had been uncomfortable after hearing Asher tell me that he would never lie to me. Those words made me feel so guilty while I was using him.
I knew he was anything but a liar. Asher was a very straightforward man who didn’t like cutting corners. If he did not like a person he would say it without hesitation.
He was that guy.
After he had led me to the dining hall, I found the romantic candles to be a bit much. I wondered how long it had taken for him to put them on.
Throughout dinner I stayed silent as I did not know what to say to him. I had to keep myself quiet.
“Do you not like the food?” he asked after noticing how quiet I was.
“Oh no, it’s fine. Actually it’s better than all the restaurants we’ve been through,” I smiled.
“Then what’s the matter? You aren’t saying anything.”
I could not tell him my plan of bringing him down so I decided to stick to something else.
“I was just thinking about summer break for the children.”
“Oh yeah, how are they? I don’t even know their names yet.”
“Oh, Landon, Luca and Layla,” I said.
“Those are beautiful names. What about the summer break?”
He was showing so much zeal in wanting to be a father for them that I was amazed by this. I could not believe this same man had told me to get an abortion.
“Well, the summer break I had planned…” I started to say as he cut me off.
“How about you tell me about the kids first?” he smiled.
“Okay, where do I start from?”
“The girl,” he smiled. “Tell me about her. She seems to be a handful.”
“Oh Layla is a handful,” I laughed. “Sometimes she acts like she is seventy years old and sometimes I just want to drop her on a ledge and leave her there. She really is a lot to deal with when compared to the boys but I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”
“I can’t believe I missed their early days.”
I didn’t know what to say about that.
Dinner ended and I was glad he had done this romantic thing for me.
He reached out from across the table to hold my hand.
“I want a life with you, Zendaya,” he said with a serious look on his face, I was sure he meant every word of what he was saying. “I want a life with the children as well. Now that I know about them, I don’t want to be a stranger to them.”
I pulled my hand back as I stood up overwhelmed by the way he was speaking too bluntly to me.
“What is wrong?” he asked.
“I need to go home,” I sighed, not wanting to be emotional.
“Did I do something…”
“I want to go now!” I snapped as he raised his hands in surrender.
“Sure,” he sighed to his feet.