Bad Desire: New Beginnings - Fast Forward

Chapter 89

This girl had already been claiming free drinks all night with many from Jack's wallet; she didn't need another top up just yet.

"But before you go." Ashley reached out for him once again, bringing Jack to a stop from his attempted escape. "We need to chat."

"We do?"

He was looking down at her with a questioning look while Ashley was nodding her head. Taking hold of his arm, feeling the need to touch him every moment she got, she pulled him down on one of the stools.

"It's been ten years since we stopped dating. We need a reunion." Ashley came right out and said it, her forwardness shocking Jack for a few moments but then remembering exactly whom he was talking to here.

"We weren't exactly dating." He began. "And I'd rather think of that as, ten years since Jess and I started dating."

His correction was obviously not a response that was appreciated by Ashley by the look she was now giving him. It seemed to be that no matter how much she tried, she couldn't seem to get him to falter.

Many years ago when Jess had first fell pregnant with Ellie, it was easy. The pair of them were not as deep in the relationship sot Jack was still available and free to persuasion. However, now things were much tougher and Ashley didn't like it. No matter what she tried or how hard he tried, he was always diverting the topic to Jess. He managed to act as if she was the only one for him when Ashley was refusing to believe the truth in it one bit.

"You can't say we weren't. We spent so much time together." Ashley corrected while taking a sip of her drink and nearly falling off her stool.

"Why are we even talking about this? I have a party to enjoy." Jack began standing to his feet before she grabbed his hand.

"Because I know that ten years spent with one person cannot be easy... and that everyone needs a little break every once in a while." Her voice suddenly turned quieter and Jack knew exactly where she was going with this. "If you want, we can start something up between us and no one will have to know."

Jack was watching Ashley in pure shock at the words she was speaking. Yes, she was drunk and that would explain some of her forwardness but Jack knew without the alcohol she probably would have been just as up front.

"It'll keep things interesting and stop you getting bored."

Ashley then reached out to place her hand on Jack's which was resting on his leg before he immediately pulled it away.

"How else can I make it clear to you Ash, that I'm not interested?" Jack stressed. "I'm happily married and it's going to stay that way."

"But come on, after ten years it must get a little repetitive... especially with all of those kids."

As Jack was about to argue back with something else, it became clear that he didn't need to as someone else came storming over. The figure wasn't quite tall enough to be Jess as expected and when Jack turned to his side, he noticed it was Ellie.

Before he could reach out to check that she was okay, Ellie's attention was clearly not on her dad right now and instead on Ashley.

"Hey!" She shouted, pointing a finger up to the blonde. "Don't try and hold my dad's hand."

Jack froze in his seat as the words left Ellie's mouth. He hadn't even realised she had seen, nor was this approach one he thought would ever happen.

"He's my dad, so only I can hold his hand." She insisted before reaching out to take hold of Jack's hand, just to prove a point. "And Harvey, Mia and Addie too."

"El, it's okay-." Jack began to speak before his nine-year-old spoke over him.

"And he's also my mum's husband, so only she can hold his hand, not you."

Ashley stood and watched Ellie in complete bewilderment of what to say. She was used to women approaching her over things like this and she would just fight back but it was clear she had never been approached by a child.

"He loves my mum and my mum loves him so stop trying to make him love you."

Not only was Ashley shocked over what was happening before her, so was Jack. He hadn't realised Ellie had been so clued up on what was going on but he shouldn't have been surprised. Ellie always seemed to know everything; she would listen in and put two and two together before she had it figured out. This smart little girl had obviously been picking up on the signals that Ashley had been giving off over the weeks of planning and it was kind of ironic to see Ellie stick up to her.

"You may be a nice lady but this is not making you look nice."

"I'm not trying to make your daddy love me." Ashley tried to reason with Ellie but it was clear she didn't believe it and was right not to.

"Are you sure about that?" Ellie's hand was placed on her hip, with a challenging look across her face causing Jack to laugh.

Ashley looked up at Jack in frustration that he wasn't telling her off but Jack was too impressed to say anything. It seemed like this was the first time Ashley had actually listening to anyone and all it took was his nine-year-old daughter to put her in her place.

"Yes I'm sure." Ashley replied, the agitation clear in her voice.

"Let me show you something." Ellie began before letting go of Jack's hand as she began to walk a few paces forward. "Whenever you see my dad, you must stay loads of spaces from him."

Coming to a stop, Ellie pointed to the floor.

"You must stand here and..." She then began pacing back to where Jack was. "And my dad will stand here so you are far away."

Pushing her hair out of her face, Ellie gave Ashley a brief smile.

"But my mum can stand right here because they love each other, very much." Ellie pushed herself up against Jack, trying to signal an extreme closeness. "Do you understand?"

While everything fell silent between the three of them, Jack was trying to prevent himself from laughing while Ashley looked stunned. Looking between Ellie and Jack, she finally let out a long sigh before grabbing her drink.

"This is so fucking stupid." She bit before walking off in the opposite direction causing Ellie to wave after her.

"She was rude but I think she understood, dad." Ellie turned around to look at Jack with a beaming smile on her face.

"I think you definitely made her understand El." Jack began to laugh before pulling her up into his arms. "Thank you, baby."

"Are you okay?"

She was looking at Jack with pure concern, as though he had been helpless in the situation that she had got involved in.

Looking at his daughter with so much love in his eyes, realising that her gesture was a sign of protectiveness, Jack nodded.

"I'm okay, thank you for rescuing me." He grinned before pressing his lips to her cheek.

"That's okay. You're just very handsome so all the grown up ladies fancy you." Ellie replied, causing Jack to laugh. "But mum is your favourite."

"Mum will always be my favourite." Jack reassured, as he glimpsed over where Jess was sat with the kids.

He could not wipe the smile off his face as he headed back over to his family. He couldn't believe that his own daughter had just stepped in to defend his and Jess' marriage to Ashley. He knew she was confident but she had just taken it to a completely new level. To him, it was a sign that no matter what age she was, Ellie would always have their back. She was so protective over her family as a whole and she would most definitely be the one keeping it together for many years to come.

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