Chapter 260 Rest assured, go wild
“Aurora... We competed in a debate together—don't tell me you've forgotten? It was at Cambridge... you were on the opposition, and I was proposing,” Aurora explained, clearly disappointed.
Kenny seemed to vaguely recall the event but didn't appear to hold a sharp memory of it. "I apologize; my memory isn't the best," he responded.
His gaze flickered toward Ashton reassuringly—for a moment—and that was that. She seemed perfectly unbothered by his talking to another woman and was already busy making faces at the dog.
"And who might this be?" Aurora asked, looking at Ashton. "Your sister?"
Ashton was rendered speechless.
She really was eternally young!
"What the heck, 'sister'?!"
"That's my wife."
Kenny spoke, taking Ashton's hand in his, introducing her with eyes full of tenderness.
Aurora was taken aback.
"You got married? How come I never heard about it? When did this happen?" She asked with a smile.
Kenny replied, "We just got our marriage license recently. Only close friends and family know for now, but we'll let everyone else know once we have the official wedding ceremony."
Ashton's heart was pounding audibly.
This wasn't the first time Kenny had introduced her to someone with such openness.
But each time, it felt incredibly special to Ashton.
After all, her only relationship before marriage had always been kept secret.
So, she had almost forgotten that a normal romance was indeed something to be proudly shared.
"Nice to meet you. My name's Ashton," she introduced herself with confidence.
"Aurora," Aurora said; the corners of her mouth tilting up in a smile. "Ashton, mm, that's a lovely name. You live up to it; you're really sweet."
"You're also very beautiful," responded Ashton.
"Alright, I won't keep you lovebirds from your walk. I should get going and take my dog back home," Aurora said, waving her hand in farewell.
Ashton subconsciously held on to Kenny, stepping aside to let her pass.
She waved at Aurora's golden retriever and mouthed goodbye, clearly fond of the dog.
Noticing her affection, Kenny asked with a smile, "You like dogs?"
"Huh?" Ashton turned to him, coming back to the moment with a laugh, "Yeah, I do~"
Kenny, puzzled by her laugh, suggested, "Should we get one too?"
"No~" Ashton raised her hand, wagging her index finger in front of him, "I've already got one."
"Hmm?"
Kenny had never seen Ashton with a dog.
"Guess?" Ashton's smile was playfully mysterious.
Kenny was clueless.
It never occurred to him that someone might consider a man of his stature akin to a pet dog.
"I give up. No idea," He conceded quickly.
"Then I won't tell you," Ashton said, walking forward and then realizing she was still holding Kenny's hand.
Instinctively, she tried to let go.
But as if sensing something, Kenny tightened his grip instead, "Don’t let go ."
Ashton's cheeks warmed once more.
She cleared her throat and agreed, "Sure, why not."
Kenny's joy was such that he couldn't contain his smile.
"Was that lady from Cambridge? That's pretty impressive," Ashton sought a new topic of conversation.
Kenny chuckled resignedly, "Well, I have to admit, I didn't remember who she was."
Ashton was shocked.
"How could you forget? She's so gorgeous. You debated against her, and yet you don't remember her face? She recognized you from a mile away!"
Kenny's gaze met hers.
It suddenly occurred to her that when he'd investigated Ashton's background, a classmate had commented, “First off, she's definitely straight. And she's pretty indifferent toward guys, no matter how handsome, but she has a thing for gorgeous women!”
"Good-looking?" Kenny asked nonchalantly. "I'm not really impressed."
"Not impressed by that?" Ashton recalled, picturing Aurora with her hair in a ponytail which didn't hide her luxurious locks and her devilish figure.
"Nothing on you," Kenny replied.
Ashton was stunned.
"Do I really look that great?" She inquired.
Kenny nodded earnestly: "My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world!"
“Kenny, we need to talk!" Ashton said.
"Huh? About what?" He asked.
"I have this feeling that if you keep flattering me without limits, I'm going to become insufferably arrogant!"
Kenny just laughed after hearing this.
"Well then, let arrogance take you to the moon. It's not like we don't have what it takes."
Ashton was somewhat speechless but inexplicably felt secure.
They strolled to the lakeside, and Kenny pointed to a lit-up villa. "I live over there."
Kenny didn't say, "Our home is over there."
Instead, he said, "I live over there."
Because from the day they got married, for Kenny, 'home' was wherever he lived with his wife.
Ashton looked at the grandiose house, feeling hesitant, "The house my father left me is quite small. Are you sure you’ll be comfortable there? Otherwise..."
"I'd never be comfortable in a house this big," Kenny cut her off. "It's cozier in a smaller space when there are few people."
Ashton asked him, "Not into big houses, yet you bought this one?"
She genuinely didn't want Kenny to overly accommodate her to his own detriment.
"Actually, I only moved here because it’s closer to work, and I had planned to move into an apartment once my current projects wrap up," Kenny explained.
"Really?"
"I kid you not." Kenny ruffled her hair affectionately.
"Don’t be so informal!" Ashton glared at Kenny.
Kenny just laughed.
After a walk around the neighborhood, by the time Kenny escorted Ashton back, it was already half-past two in the morning.
Standing at her doorstep...
Kenny said goodnight but stayed put without leaving.
Ashton reflected on the words Kenny had used that night. Contemplating for a moment, she walked back, tiptoed, and pecked Kenny's cheek: "Goodnight, Mr. Walker."
This time, she didn’t run away after the kiss.
Kenny paused, then smiled. "Goodnight, Mrs. Walker. See you at dawn."
Ashton bit back a smile.
Turning around, she entered her house with sprightly steps.
*
The next day at noon, Ashton and Fiona had lunch together.
After lunch, Fiona was about to call her driver to take her to the airport when Darwin's call came in unexpectedly.
"Something up?" Fiona asked, devoid of the tender coyness that marked their encounter just yesterday.
"I'm outside your complex," Darwin said, matter-of-factly. "I'll take you to the airport."
"Huh?" Fiona furrowed her brows.
She hadn't quite untangled her feelings towards Darwin, and instinctively she didn't want him getting all up in her personal space. Luckily, Chicago and her mother no longer lived there. After a moment's thought, Fiona resolved that she needed to have a chat with him. If he never learned to respect her boundaries, he was going to lose major points in her book.
Soon after, Darwin's car pulled up at the base of her villa. His hand was injured, so he couldn't drive; he had come with his driver. The driver stepped out to help Fiona with her luggage, hoisting the two heavy suitcases into the car.
Darwin eyed the luggage, anxiety creeping into his expression as he peered at Fiona, "Aren't you just going away for a few days? Why all this stuff?"
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