Game of Love and Deception: The Billionaire's Ex Wife
Chapter 66: A fucking proposal?

Chapter 66: A fucking proposal?

The knock came again.

Ashley scrambled off Lorenzo’s lap, her hands flying over her hair and dress in a panic to arrange herself. Her eyes darted everywhere but him.

Lorenzo found her reaction amusing, but he didn’t dare laugh.

"You sit there calmly and act like nothing happened, do you understand?" she warned, still avoiding his gaze as she hurried toward the door.

He watched her in quiet amusement as she took a breath and opened it.

"Are you okay?" her assistant asked immediately, trying to step inside, but Ashley didn’t move from the doorway.

"Yeah... I think I dozed off," she said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. She just hoped she didn’t sound ridiculous—or worse, smell like a damn pornstar.

"Oh. Sorry to disturb your rest. I just wanted to drop this off." Claire held out a document. Through the small gap in the door, her eyes caught Lorenzo crossing the room, but she didn’t react.

"I’ll take it. Thanks."

Ashley grabbed the document and shut the door before her assistant could say another word.

Claire blinked, then smiled, already piecing things together. Ashley never collected documents at the door—and never slammed it in her face. The devilishly handsome man in the office and her boss’s messy hair were all the information she needed. Chuckling, she walked back to her own office.

Ashley’s heart skipped as she turned around and caught Lorenzo eyeing the cupcake on her desk. She quickly looked away, swallowing hard. She hadn’t heard him walk there.

Slowly, she strolled to her desk, set the documents down and refused to think about what had just happened—or to meet the gaze she could feel burning into her skin.

She didn’t just feel stupid—she felt ashamed. And she couldn’t explain why she’d let herself get carried away so easily.

What must Lorenzo be thinking of her now? Probably feeling victorious. After all that resistance, she’d practically melted in his arms. The thought made her stomach turn.

"Who gave you these?" Lorenzo’s voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.

"I baked them," Ashley replied flatly.

She couldn’t understand why he was suddenly acting so normal. Like nothing had happened. Maybe now that he got a taste, he thought she was easy. Cheap. Maybe even disgusting.

"Can I have one?" Lorenzo asked, as she perched on the edge of her desk with her back to him.

She hadn’t expected that. But she nodded. "Of course."

He picked one, took a small bite—then shoved the rest into his mouth.

"You baked this?" he asked again, eyes lighting up. "It tastes amazing. Better than mine. Can I have another?"

A small, involuntary smile crept to Ashley’s lips. She turned around slowly, finding him looking at her like an excited kid.

"If you like them, you can have all of them," she said before she could think.

It was after the words had already left her lips that she recalled planning to give the cupcakes to Cassie’s mom at the hospital later that day.

Shit. How could she forget that? And now, seeing the happiness on Lorenzo’s face, she couldn’t bring herself to take it back.

After another round of silence, Lorenzo began, "What happened, I..."

"It was a mistake," Ashley cut in sharply. "And I think you should leave already."

Lorenzo left the remaining cupcakes and suddenly appeared beside her.

Ashley’s heart beat several times in her chest. She couldn’t remember the last time it had raced that fast. Or if it ever has.

Lorenzo wasn’t surprised by her reaction. In fact, she was handling it better than he’d expected. He’d thought she would throw him out the moment their horny hormones cooled off. But the fact that she hadn’t—at least, not right away—was progress.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ring box.

Ashley’s eyes narrowed as soon as she saw it. She recognized the ring immediately. Her arms, once folded tightly across her chest, slowly dropped to her sides as she waited for him to speak.

"Before I go," Lorenzo murmured, holding out the beautiful black box, "I want you to have this."

"Hell no," Ashley said, stepping back. "I can’t take anything else from you. Especially not this."

What was he trying to turn this into? A fucking proposal?

"I know you don’t want anything that’s mine, Ashley," Lorenzo said quietly, his voice laced with something unreadable. He thought of the million-dollar offer she’d turned down without hesitation, and how she’d nearly refused the dresses too.

"But this... this was meant to be yours."

Ashley frowned. "No—it was supposed to be Christian’s. I don’t even know why you bought it."

Lorenzo reached out and gently took her hands. She tensed under his touch.

"Because," he began, "like I told you, it was meant to be worn by you. Not Kayla. This ring is the Harrington heirloom, passed down to the first son’s wife."

Ashley’s eyes widened. Her chest tightened as the pieces clicked together.

"Christian was supposed to give it to me when we got married," she whispered, mostly to herself. "But he kept it—for Kayla."

Maybe Kayla had deserved it more than she did. The thought stung.

Lorenzo saw the hurt in her eyes, even though she tried to hide it. It twisted something in him.

"That’s right," he said softly. "That’s why I didn’t hesitate to buy it when I found out Kayla had pawned it."

Ashley looked up sharply. "You’re the one who sold it to the auction house?"

Lorenzo scratched the back of his head, like a kid caught stealing candy.

"And then bought it back," Ashley added, a surprised laugh slipping out. "Seriously, what level of petty is this?"

"She took what should’ve been yours," Lorenzo defended. "Someone had to do something about that."

He was angry now, and Ashley wasn’t sure if it was for her or just on principle.

She pressed her lips into a tight line. It felt strange—good, even—to have someone take her side. But she wished it wasn’t him. He was still her enemy. A few kisses, even hot ones, didn’t change that.

"I still don’t want the ring," she said with finality. "It’ll only remind me of Christian. And I don’t want anything connected to him."

Lorenzo had predicted she’d say that, but he’d offered it just in case. Now, hearing her say she didn’t want anything that belonged to Christian made him oddly pleased.

He hesitated before saying the next thing on his mind.

"I’m aware that Christian took everything from you after the divorce," he started carefully, walking a few steps away from her.

Ashley stiffened.

"Despite managing some of his restaurants and doing a great job, he never once paid you. Am I correct?" He turned to look at her, and she swallowed, her hand trembling slightly.

"I really think it’s time for you to leave," Ashley replied instead.

So stubborn.

"Am I wrong, sunshine?" Lorenzo asked again, his voice firmer.

Ashley swallowed a large lump.

"How do you know all that?" she asked, her voice so small she almost doubted he heard her.

Lorenzo walked back to her, brushing a strand of hair off her face. Seeing her looking so broken filled him with rage. He seriously contemplated marching into Christian’s office and shooting him right in his pig’s brain. But no—such death would be too quick. Too kind. And unsatisfying.

"Let’s just say I have my sources," he replied, his finger slowly tracing her jaw until he tilted her chin up, locking eyes with her.

He hated how those beautiful, sapphire orbs were now tainted with sadness. He hated it every damn time.

"Don’t you think it’s time to take all of that back, cookie?" Lorenzo asked. "The salaries he owed you. Every brain cell you wasted helping that damn company grow."

Ashley blinked, lips pressed tightly together as she considered his words.

"You could recover everything. Or better still..." He shrugged. "Take the whole company from the idiot."

Ashley smiled at the idea of taking Christian’s company just to punish him. It would feel so good. But she still didn’t want anything that had his name on it.

However, she could do something even better.

Holding Lorenzo’s gaze, she murmured, "Now that you mentioned it, I think I might have an even better idea."

Lorenzo arched a brow, a slow smile forming on his lips. This was going easier than he’d expected.

"I’ve been considering starting my own restaurant—and completely kicking his ass out of the market," Ashley said.

Lorenzo’s smile widened. Hell, he felt proud of her. And he’d support her with every asset and connection she needed. He was just about to tell her that when her phone began to ring again.

"Fuck, I totally forgot about you," Ashley said, walking over to take the call.

A smile crept across her face when she saw who it was—Molita. It grew even brighter as she answered the call, and Lorenzo couldn’t help but wonder who could make her smile like that.

Jealousy twisted in his chest.

But then it got worse. He overheard Ashley saying she was meeting the person that evening. The smile that was once on his face vanished, replaced by a hard frown.

Was she seeing someone else behind his back?

His hands clenched at the thought.

They were supposed to be exclusive.

At least, that’s what the contract said.

But what if Ashley, being Ashley, stubborn and defiant, was doing this to punish him? Or worse... what if she’d been with this guy before their contract even began?

Lorenzo’s stomach twisted, his blood beginning to boil. He dragged a frustrated, trembling hand through his hair.

He didn’t know how to ask her—or if he even should. The last thing he wanted was to sound like some obsessive, possessive boyfriend. Worse, he couldn’t risk hearing her say it again... that whatever was between them wasn’t real.

If she said it one more time, he might just claw out his own ears.

That left him with only one option.

Find the guy—and make it crystal clear he needed to stay the hell away from his woman.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.