Chapter 31

Mason

I recounted the entire night in my head while I looked at rings for Ash in town. I was so ecstatic to finally be able to show her exactly how I felt, and I picked out the ring I knew would suit her the best. It was a rose gold band with a yellow cushion-cut diamond in the middle and onyx stones cut in rectangles set on each side of the diamond.

I waited around while the engraving expert engraved the words “It’s our world, not theirs” on the inside of the ring. When the gentleman handed me the box and congratulated me, I threw my arms around him and pulled him in for a hug.

But when I got back into the car, I started thinking about Ash’s reaction to Eva being around.

The truth was, Eva wasn’t the only woman in my world who acted like that. She wasn’t the only person who would ever piss me off, and she wasn’t the only person who would look down her nose at Ash. If we were really going to do this, we were going to eventually encounter problems harder than just Eva.

There was my mother who needed convincing, and there was a small chance she would cut me off financially if she didn’t agree. That would leave me with no way to support or provide for myself, and I’d have to lean on Ash just like all her exes had until I could figure out how to maneuver in her world.

If that didn’t happen and my mother did accept us, no one would attend the wedding. Everyone in my circle, minus Winston, would disapprove of it, and for a long time, there wouldn’t be a party or event that we’d be invited to because that would be everyone’s way of protesting our union.

It wouldn't be easy, and Ash was crumbling just under Eva’s surprise presence.

“Shit,” I said.

Was this really a lifestyle she could accommodate? Surely she didn’t expect me to live with her in the valley. Would she be able to handle the judgement that came her way without changing? Would she be able to hold her head high despite what others around her thought? Would she be able to defend herself instead of always expecting me to do it? I mean, she preached that she was this independent woman, and then she expected me to jump to her defense every time someone hurt her feelings.

I knew my world would come with a lot of pain for her. Was it really fair of me to put her through all that pain for the rest of her life just because I wanted her there?

I walked into the house with the ring box in my robe pocket to find Ash standing in the terrace doorway with tears in her eyes.

There was only one person I knew who could’ve put those there.

Good god, had this woman seriously not had enough? What the hell was I supposed to do? Grab her by the arm and physically throw her out on her ass?

“Mason, could we talk?”

Ash’s head pointed toward the room I’d slept in, and I was all too eager to walk over and talk to her. I wanted to get down on one knee right then and there, right in front of Eva, and throw all my doubts to the side while they both listened to the speech I figured would just come naturally to me.

Just as naturally as it was for me to be around Ash.

But I was nowhere near prepared for the question that left her lips.

“Did you and Eva have an engagement announcement party when you were eighteen?”

“Yes, we did.”

I wasn’t going to lie to her anymore. Obviously, Eva had been here flapping her bitch lips for a while, and I was no longer going to try to hide the truth to make it more palatable for Ash. If she was really going to surf my world my by side, she had to understand what had traversed up until this very moment.

“But that doesn’t mean I want to marry her. Nor does it mean I love her,” I said. “My mother expects us to marry, yes, but that doesn’t mean we will.”

“Have you been just sowing your wild oats until you settle down?” Ash asked.

“Well, I…”

“Well?” Ash whispered.

“Yes, I’ve dated a lot of women. And yes, I’ve slept with countless others. But Ash, I didn’t expect things to get as serious as they did between us.”

“Obviously,” she said.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“You apparently had no issue telling everyone exactly how you met me,” she said.

Tears rose in her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. I fumed at the thought of Winston opening his mouth and saying something to someone.

“Give me one second,” I said.

I took out my phone and pulled up the recording from this morning with Eva. I sent it to my mother along with a message. I forwarded the message to our lawyer just to make sure it got into the right hands, and then I shoved my phone in my pocket and turned my attention back to Ash.

“Right now, I need you to understand something. I need you to understand that I want to be with you. Not Eva. You, Ash.”

I grabbed her elbows, hoping to god she would hear me. Hoping to god she would believe the words tumbling from my lips instead of whatever bile Eva had spewed at her before I’d gotten here.

“If you only knew the things she said,” Ash whispered. “I’m fully updated on what she told you at the charity dinner.”

“Of course,” I said. “Look, Ash, I’m expected to carry on the family name. I’m expected to act and behave in a way that abides by my family’s wishes and expectations. There are certain protocols that come with the way I was raised, and I can’t simply abandon all of them at once.”

“So where do I fit into those expectations then?” she asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

Tears slide down her cheeks. I raised my hand to wipe them away, but she pulled away from me. It made me so angry. Angry at how this entire thing had come crashing down on me. Angry at my family. Angry at my life. Angry at Eva. Angry that all of this was crashing down on Ash while I simply stood back and watched.

“But I’m willing to figure it out,” I said. “With you. Don’t you see that? I can’t lie to you. It’s going to be tough. Fitting you into my life won’t be easy, and Eva is one of the easier issues we’ll face. We’ll experience pushback from some of the richest families in the world, and people won’t invite us to parties and events because of you being in my life. But I’m willing to tackle all of that with you because I want to be with you, Ash.”

“So you’ll experience more pain in your life because of someone like me standing at your side,” she choked out.

“Ash, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“You’re saying that maybe if I change myself a little, then it might not be so hard for us,” she said.

“That’s not even remotely—”

“Well, I’m not changing for anyone, Mason. Not for you, or Eva, or your mother, or all these stuck-up, rigid-ass rich people I’ve never even met. If I’m not good enough as I am for people to open their arms to and for you to be happy, then the elite can go fuck themselves.”

Before I could rein in the conversation, she stormed by me and grabbed her purse off the couch. She spun around when she reached the door.

“And fuck you, too,” she said before she slammed the door behind her.

A small giggle drifted in from the terrace, and I was ready to chuck a water glass at Eva’s head. Dear god, why the fuck was all of this happening? How the fuck was I ever going to fix this?

What the hell would Winston do?

“She really is spunky,” Eva said, chuckling.

“Get out,” I said.

“Oh, Mason.”

“Eva St. Stevens, if you don’t get the fuck out of this house, I will send that recording I took earlier to your father along with my official engagement withdrawal before having you escorted by the police all the way back to the airport.”

She looked at me with stern eyes before a small chuckle burst from her lips.

“You wouldn't dare,” she said.

“I’ve already sent it to my mother and our lawyer. Ready for daddy dearest to hear it, too? Or would you like to speak with him first?”

“I will ruin you,” Eva said.

Her phone blared out her ringtone from her purse.

“I’d take that phone call before you make any more threats, Eva,” I said.

Then I headed out to the car only to find it was gone. Ash must’ve taken it so she could get to her second jewelry class of the day. I pulled my phone out to call a cab. I didn’t care that I was in two-day old clothes and wearing my morning robe. All I cared about was finally fixing everything in my life and making sure everyone in it understood exactly where their position was when it came to me.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t do all of that over a drink in downtown Milan.