{Ashton's POV}
After dropping Aurora off at home where Dakota had stayed out in the chilly night for at least half an hour in only her nightgown with a black cardigan over her shoulders, her face flooded with relief at the sight of her older sister in my arms.
Dakota loved Aurora. A lot.
Aurora just couldn't see it.
"Dude," I heard Cayden say, snapping me out of my own thoughts as he patted me on the back hard, Millicent following behind with a beam on her face.
I leant back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest as I examined my sister's beam, her blue eyes unusually sparkling. I almost smiled at her own happiness. "Millie, did someone satisfy you?"
Millie tucked a hair behind her ear and blushed as suspicions raised when she didn't decode my message with a dirty mind. I haven't seen her smile like that in a really long time. The last time I saw her smile like that was when I was...well, a very long time ago. "Oh, you know...I just woke up with a good mindset."
Cayden and I glanced at each other briefly, scoffing before we took a stand at her side and crossed our arms over her chest, looking down at her since she was an inch shorter than us both.
"Who is he?" Cayden questioned, a smirk crawling onto his lips as Millie giggled like a little girl. I couldn't help but admire her smile.
"I met him at work," she answered quietly, scratching the back of her neck nervously as her eyes darted around the room as if to see anyone was eavesdropping.
Cayden and I gasped instinctively, taking a step back before glancing at each other. I blinked a few times before looking back down at Millie who blushed.
"You have...a part-time job?" I questioned slowly, her words slowly processing inside my head as I imagined her actually doing something with her own hands.
Millicent was known to be supportive and active. She would do anything like charity work but I remembered she had promised herself she wouldn't get a part-time job seeing as our parents provided her wants and needs. And besides, our father didn't like it if we ever got part-time jobs seeing as he would see that as damaging our family name and reputation.
"Does father know?" Cayden questioned, his smirk flying away as his eyebrows narrowed in on her.
Millie shook her head, shrugging. "I don't know what's the big deal, though. He would obviously pass the company down to you, Cayden."
"Well, who says I was going forward with father's plans? If you and I don't want it then it's obviously going to Ashton," Cayden pointed out, shaking his head slightly.
My jaw dropped in horror. I didn't want to become the man my father was today. I'd pick to be Ruby's little dog over anything that had to do with my father and his lame company. Well, the lame company that literally made us wealthy as Hell. "No. Definitely not me. Besides, Cayden, it's time he finally steps down from his title seeing as he's a crinkly old man."
"Bro, have you seen his wrinkles yet?" Cayden questioned as he snickered in delight at insulting our old man.
"Oh my goodness, they're like grandma's ass," Millie added as the three of us threw our heads back and laughed.
Suddenly, the heavy tension in the air ceased our laughs as the three of us went rigid. I gulped, robotically turning my head to Millie who looked pale already as if she was about to faint. Cayden, on the other hand, seemed calm and collected but his jaw had already tightened.
A familiar man walked in, his blonde hair professionally sleeked back like it was always as his sharp, intense blue eyes roamed around the room. A blank façade settled on his features when he noticed his three children hanging around as if they had just seen a ghost walk in.
"Kids," my father acknowledged with a nod of his head. That move always pissed off Cayden and no one knew why.
"Actually, we're grown-ups now," Cayden retorted, crossing his arms over his chest confidently before eyeing my father suspiciously. He was also the person who stood up to our father seeing as the Millicent and I were...afraid to.
My father immediately halted in his tracks and snapped his attention to us, giving the three of us one look over before chuckling humorlessly. "Grown-ups? All I can see are restless children with endless cash in their pockets."
I rolled my eyes and scoffed before leaning against the counter with my arms folded across my chest. My eyes shifted to Cayden who always loved to be the spokesperson for the three of us as he took a step forward and placed his hands on his hips.
"You wouldn't know. You haven't watched us grow ever since she-"
"No one says a word about that topic!" my mother's voice bounced off the walls as if capturing my brother's next words, shoved it in a jar and tossed it across the Pacific ocean.
"Mother," Millie's voice came out as a whisper, her voice trembling as I rubbed my temples, desperate to escape this suffocating atmosphere that already engulfed me in just a small amount of time.
"It's alright, Millicent," my mother soothed, her voice soft as my sister ran into her arms in a heartbeat. She turned to Cayden and gave him a soft look. "We promised long ago to never bring it up."
Cayden lowered his head in regret. "Yes, mother."
Without allowing my mother to scold me or my father to tell me what to do, I already stormed out of the kitchen with my hands tucked inside my pockets.
As the gentle breeze kisses my cheeks good morning, I couldn't help but released a breath and turned my head to the side, expecting for my mother to follow me. But she did not. I clenched my jaw, scolding myself for expecting something impossible before walking down the street with my head slightly hanging.
I didn't know how long I had been walking for but it was long enough for me to reach Aurora's side of the town. Her side wasn't as spacious as my own but the enormous houses screamed wealth.
"I wonder what you're doing, princess," I whispered under my breath just as I reached her driveway, hiding behind a bush like a damned stalker. I didn't care if her neighbours were labelling me as suspicious because the only thing I cared about was a male figure standing in front of her on her front porch, his back facing me.
I tilted my head to the side to get a better angle, my stomach churning at the thought that she has other feelings for someone else. Not that I cared...yeah, I actually did and that just proved to me how strong my feelings were for her.
It was then that my lungs began to cave in, my stomach dropping down to Hell as I felt my body began to shake. It was an unknown feeling to me but I knew damn well straight that it involved my feelings for Aurora. A pain settled over my heart as it ached, ached at the thought of someone I have feelings for, was with someone else.
"Umm...what are you doing?" I heard a familiar feminine voice question behind me as I immediately turned around and leant against the gates, trying to act as natural as I possibly could with my arms crossed over my chest and my expression completely blank.
"Digging myself a grave, what about you?" I answered almost immediately, my eyebrows raised to see Dakota and a friend of hers who had her jaw dropped. I didn't know if it was because of my blinding beauty or if it was because Ashton Nixon was standing before her.
I was conceited, I'd admit that.
Dakota shrugged. "Why aren't you going inside to greet her?"
I blinked. "Am I supposed to?"
Dakota's friend immediately shut her mouth, flipping her raven black hair behind her shoulders as she batted her eyelashes that complimented her blue eyes perfectly. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
Chuckling to myself, I shook my head amusedly before plastering on a straight face. Apparently, my straight faces looked dangerously cold, according to my friends. "You're not my type."
My words were like daggers of knives as hurt and embarrassment were displayed on Dakota's friend's face. I couldn't help but smirk as she took a step back, lowering her head.
Dakota only shook her head amusedly before brushing past me, her friend hurriedly following behind as the both of them walked up the pebbled driveway and greeted Aurora and the male figure before walking inside the house.
Aurora must've noticed me because I felt her heavy gaze land on me, her eyes zeroing in on my figure, forcing me to curse under my breath before picking my head up. I plastered on a small smirk and tucked my hands into the pocket of my jeans before walking up the driveway, surprised to see that the male had not yet turned around.
"Ashton," Aurora said with venom dripping from every word that left her mouth, raising an eyebrow at me coldly, surprised to see me standing before her. I remembered I wasn't supposed to be here...not after I had walked away from her. "What lured you here?"
I rolled my eyes in a teasing manner and chuckled. "Not you, obviously." I think I just made things even worse.
The male six-foot figure turned around slowly, eyes frowned as he stood in a protective stance in front of Aurora. I lifted one of my eyebrows as my eyes drank in his brunette hair that complimented his hazel eyes. His facial features seemed so serious, so serious that I was sure he hadn't smiled in years.
"What's with your face?" The words rolled out of my mouth before I could even stop myself.
The male before me was about the same height as me but that didn't stop the jealousy to bubble within the pits of my stomach.
I rolled my shoulders back and cleared my throat. "What?"
The man raised an eyebrow delicately. "So, you're the guy who's being a dickhead to my cousin."
My eyes widened in disbelief but before I could say anything, relief flood inside my body and it felt like I could breathe again. I regained my composure and allowed a smile to reach my lips but before any words could escape my lips, a hard fist landed under my jaw, my head bouncing back as my knees buckled underneath me from surprise.
It took at least a minute for me to shake away the pain, not wanting to be labelled as weak before I chuckled coldly and rose to my feet. I looked up and met his hazel eyes, a sly grin crossing his lips as one ticked my own.
"I'm Damon Falkov," the male figure said with an offered hand.
I scoffed. "Ashton Nixon."
"Just so you know, I'm not sorry about that. You hurt my family so you must suffer the consequences."
I shrugged, shaking my head slightly amusedly. "And I have. Actually, I'm still suffering."
"Looks like we're friends now."
I gagged. "Why do you sound like a girl?"
He chuckled before leaning in, Aurora rolling her eyes as she turned on her heel and walked back inside her house. Damon then leant back and smirked. "You know she has feelings for you, right?"
a/n: First off, I APOLOGISE THAT I HAVE NOT UPDATED ANY CHAPTERS AT ALL DURING MY WINTER BREAK (AKA SCHOOL HOLIDAYS). For the past two weeks, I was concentrating on myself and completing my assignments that's due the first week back which happens to be in three days.
And I'll admit, I have been a bit lazy but the motivation is kicking back in because I've been reading your comments on my previous chapters.
Thank you guys for supporting my novel and understanding.
what do you think of Ashton's perspective in this chapter? How's Aurora feeling? Make sure to leave a comment and a vote below! DAMON FALKOV is a very important character that you need to remember. (; That's a hint for the next novel but I feel like I just gave the answer away.
The next update won't be long!
Ariella XO