My contract love story

Ashleigh spent the rest of the weekend deep in thought. By Monday, she was still torn between reaching out to Alexander for help with Adrian or deciding if contacting Adrian was even worth the trouble. For now, her midterms were her primary concern, so she got ready to meet Damien, Arthur and Oliver. Just as she was about to leave, her phone rang. Seeing Fiona’s name flash on the screen, she winced, remembering she hadn’t spoken to Fiona or James since the office party.

“Hi, Fiona! How are you?” she answered, trying to sound cheerful, but a loud male voice boomed in the background, nearly deafening her.

“I told you she was alive, Fiona! She just didn’t want to call us. And her phone’s working fine, too,” James voice boomed in the background, his footsteps growing louder as he neared the phone.

“James, don’t talk like that! I’ve just been busy settling into college,” Ashleigh replied, her voice tinged with guilt for neglecting her friends.

At first she had been preoccupied with her argument with Adrian that she barely interacted with them at the party, then with settling down into college and her classes and now with the whole Alexander issue.

“Yeah, right! Now that you’re in your fancy college, your friends don’t matter anymore,” James grumbled.

Before Ashleigh could respond, Fiona’s voice cut in. “Forget us-Mrs. Smith said she hasn’t heard from you either.”

“I’m so sorry! There’s been a lot on my mind, but I promise to keep in touch from now on,” Ashleigh apologized, folding her hands as if they could see her.

“Well, if you say so,” Fiona relented, nudging James, who muttered a reluctant “fine.” Ashleigh thanked them both profusely.

“So, how’s everything at the office? I miss being there every day,” Ashleigh asked, her hands gripping the phone tightly, hoping to catch up on the latest happenings.

“It’s been tough without you. We got a new head working alongside Mrs. Smith, and she’s a real pain in the butt. Everyone hates her,” James complained, prompting Ashleigh to raise an eyebrow. James was known to be picky, especially over minor issues.

“Everyone hates her, or just you?” Fiona echoed in the background, followed by the sound of a playful slap, which made Ashleigh giggle.

“No, everyone hates her! Don’t listen to Fiona, Ashleigh,” James insisted.

“I believe you, James… but just to be sure, I’ll ask Fiona.”

“James hates her because she was laughing with his office crush the other day,” Fiona tattled, and Ashleigh couldn’t help but smile as she heard James bickering with her.

“Office crush? That’s new. What happened to Matthew, the Australian hottie from the resort?” Ashleigh teased, recalling how James had been all over Matthew that night.

“If you’d bothered to be a good friend, you’d know that he ghosted me! Now I have to relive those memories,” James said with a sniffle, causing Ashleigh’s eyes to widen.

“Ghosted? How many chapters did I miss?” she asked in shock.

“You missed a lot! Tristan and Jake resigned a week after you left,” Fiona informed her, and Ashleigh gasped.

“What? Why?” she inquired, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“No one knows, except your aunt. We haven’t heard from them since.”

“Wow, I have to come over then! A lot has happened,” Ashleigh muttered, though Fiona and James overheard her and cheered at the idea.

“Yes, you do! We have so much to talk about. When will you be free?” Fiona asked eagerly. Ashleigh checked her calendar, feeling uncertain.

“I’m not sure yet, but I think I’ll have some free time after my midterms,” she said, glancing over her schedule.

“Then it’s settled! You’ll come over this weekend, and we’ll meet at your aunt’s place so we can all catch up,” James declared enthusiastically.

Ashleigh hesitated, remembering that her aunt now lived in the house provided by Adrian. The sudden upgrade would be difficult to explain, especially since she hadn’t told them about her contract marriage to Adrian yet.

“James, I don’t think that’s possible…” she began, but her voice was drowned out by a loud female voice calling in the background, followed by James groaning.

“It’s our boss. We’ve got to go,” he explained, and Ashleigh quickly said her goodbyes before the call ended.

Ashleigh amxiety lingered as she ended the call. She knew she needed to talk to them about possibly meeting at one of their houses instead or even finally telling them about her marriage contract with Adrian. But she wasn’t ready for that conversation just yet, especially since they’d already suspected something after the resort incident. Now, with midterms looming, she had even more on her plate.

As she pondered her next steps, another call came in-this time from Arthur, signaling that he had arrived. Ready to go, Ashleigh headed downstairs, where Arthur and Oliver waited for her in a different car. Arthur, looking bored as usual, sat in the front seat while Oliver was behind the wheel.

“Are you the designated passenger whenever you’re not driving?” Ashleigh teased as she approached the car.

“It’s called a passenger princess, honey. You’ll get used to it. Now get in,” Arthur quipped, pointing to the backseat.

Ashleigh smiled and slid into the car, but her smile dropped as she saw Damien in the backseat brooding. She remembered how he angrily stormed off that night after their minor disagreement, and she had not seen or heard from him after that night. It seemed he was still unwilling to speak to her.

“Hi, Oliver. Hi, Damien,” she greeted them both. Oliver responded with a warm smile, but Damien merely grumbled a response, leaving Ashleigh feeling a bit awkward.

Unsure whether to continue the conversation after Damien’s curt reply, she opted for silence. The quiet stretched on, growing increasingly uncomfortable, until Arthur finally rolled his eyes in frustration.

“Damien, don’t you have something to say to Ashleigh?” he nudged Damien, who glanced at Arthur before turning to Ashleigh.

“I’m sorry for being too emotional that night,” he apologized quietly, surprising Ashleigh.

He looked like a child being scolded and made to apologize, and Ashleigh had to suppress a smile. Clearly, Arthur kept a tight grip on him.

“It’s fine, really. You had your reasons, and I wasn’t entirely right either,” Ashleigh replied graciously, and Damien nodded in acknowledgment.

“You’d think it was a child Arthur was talking to,” Oliver commented, glancing at Damien, who still appeared to be sulking.

“Well, he better get over it because we need to focus on this week’s midterms. Tensions are usually high, and the results can change everything. Some students might even have to leave,” Arthur warned, scrolling through his phone. Ashleigh swallowed hard, anxiety creeping in at the thought of losing her current standing.

“So, you and Damien need to patch things up. We’ve got a long week ahead,” Arthur concluded as Oliver pulled up to the university library.

They exited the car and walked into the large hall, which was filled with students engaged in various activities. Though it was a library, the atmosphere was a mix of studious focus and subdued chatter. Damien led them to the librarian’s desk, where they checked in with their ID cards before heading further inside.

“Here’s the plan: you and Damien will revise together for obvious reasons, while Oliver and I join our department study groups. We’ll meet here in the evening for dinner, then we’ll drop you off afterward. Sound good?” Arthur explained, and they all nodded in agreement.

“You two better be chummy by the evening,” Arthur instructed, eyeing Ashleigh and Damien, who were standing apart. They exchanged glances before nodding again. Arthur and Oliver then broke off from the group, leaving Ashleigh and Damien to their own devices.