As Ashton sat rigid in the church for the funeral procession, he was still reeling from shock. Uncle Devin was truly gone. Forever. And he regretted suspecting him for nothing. He regretted having reacted so angrily as he had at the hospital. As it is he had ben distressed by the emotional dependence he was having with Selena and on top of that he had thought that Uncle Devin was meddling again.

To him, Uncle Devin had been a friend and mentor ever since he was a kid. He had spoilt him so much and had been proud of him whatever. He knew that kind of unconditional love was rare to have and all he had done was defy him and tried to outrun him without really understanding why he had wanted to control their lives. It hadn’t been a whim; on the contrary it had been a way to express his love for his children. How they had misjudged him and Ashton wished that he could repay him in some way.

And he felt bad for having made up the charade now. If only he had known that Uncle Devin was that sick, he would have married anyone under false pretense just to see him happy in his last moments. But it was too late now. Nothing could be done to save him. Nothing apart from ending that sham of engagement he had concocted with his enemy. He was glad in some way, now everything would be back to its original state.

He would not pay her the money they had agreed upon since the deal was off anyway but he would probably let her keep the job until she wanted it. Because she was helping him in some way and he had his own selfish reasons for wanting Selena to keep the job in his company. He no longer hated her so she will easier to bear now.

Sighing as he realized that he would have to deal with his parents about the broken engagement but eventually they would understand that he and Selena was not meant for each other. Even as his mind was coming up with all those rational thoughts, his heart was not ready to listen. He did not want to let her go now not after everything has changed between them.

They had not spoken since they had returned from California and he did not want to look her way. He was already weak and overwhelmed with grief that he knew one look at her would weaken his resolve and change his decision about breaking off the engagement.

Glancing in the direction of his family, he made up his mind to wait for some time before announcing to them that the engagement was off. It was not his priority for now and he wanted to give them some time to get over the initial shock before giving them another shocker.

Turning round, he felt a hand on his shoulder and was surprised to find Selena behind him looking as depressed as he was feeling. “Are you alright?” she mouthed and he nodded feeling like a heel to think the worst about her. She was a wonderful human being and he was lucky to have her in his life and he wished things were different between them.

He took her hand in his and squeezed her hand gently silently vowing that he would make everything work. For his sake. For her sake. For late Uncle Devin’s sake.

                                                ********************************

Two months went by and Ashton sill could not find the courage to break off the engagement. Even Selena had not come to confront him about the pretense and he was glad. They had an unspoken mutual understanding not to speak about the deal and was still acting like a couple. Not an intimate one as in California but still a loving couple. Maybe she had felt that it was important to wait for some time before announcing to the family that the engagement was off.

 There was only one month left for December; for their original deal would end then. Then suddenly something struck him. Maybe Selena was waiting for December to end the deal and get her money after all. What a cunning woman she was. It was after all about money for her.

Even if Uncle Devin was no longer around, she had kept her head and had been the business woman she had always been. What a true professional. He had to break off the engagement before December if he wanted to keep the money. Not that it mattered to him but he would not let Selena win that time. If she walked away with the money, she will be victorious.

Feeling frustrated, he sent aside his papers and looked in the direction of her cabin to see whether she was going to give him any indication whatsoever. She had been working on her laptop and looked up immediately on feeling his gaze on her. As soon as their eyes met, she smiled at him and he had to gulp down the feelings engulfing him. Ever since the funeral, she had been treating like the devoted fiancée but had not spoken about the deal. He knew she was waiting for his reaction and any decision about the deal would have to be his. It was his call.

Unsure about his next move, he felt his hope sunk as she looked away and he decided to ask his best friend to help him with his predicament.

Without bothering to phone him, knowing that Jake had taken three months sabbatical off, Ashton made his way towards him BMW. Upon reaching the Crighton mansion where Jake had recently moved in to sort out stuff, Ashton made his way through the security gates easily since he was family and the housekeeper greeted him warmly.

“Hey Janet. Do you know where I can find Jake?” he asked her removing his shades and looking around the house.

“He’s in the study with his wife. Go right up, I’ll bring some coffee and muffin, sugarplum,” the lady told him and he smiled at her.

The mansion had seemed empty without Aunt Ana two years ago but now after Uncle Devin had gone, it seemed lifeless. He somehow hoped that Uncle Devin had found peace wherever he was and had found the love of his life. Everybody knew that Uncle Devin had loved his wife passionately and had never wanted to be apart from her. When the latter had died, something in Uncle Devin had left with her too and he wished he could believe for that kind of love for himself.

As he reached the study room, he was about to enter when he heard Rachel’s voice. “I can’t believe he’s gone honey.”

He hesitated. Should he go in? Would he be disturbing the couple? It was bad enough to overhear what they were talking. But before he could make up his mind, he heard something which froze him on the spot.

“I know. He’s always been full of life even with mom gone.” Jake replied chuckling. “I can still remember how he was so convinced he would get Ash to marry Selena.”

Selena? Wasn’t that Kyra? Jake must surely be mistaken.

Rachel asked the same questions running in his mind and Jake was happy to oblige. “No, he was already convinced that Ash had something for Selena, that was why he asked me to set him up. The poor guy stood no chance as he was on his guard with your friend Kyra and saw nothing coming his way.”

What?!! So that was why Uncle Devin had not said anything when he had announced his engagement to Selena. It had been his plan all along. Furious and betrayed, he left the mansion as if the devil himself was after him and rushed back to his car as millions of questions trotted through his head. How the hell was that possible? And how the hell could he have not seen anything coming his way?

He has played the perfect bait; there was no other way to put it. How could he have played the perfect fool? Everyone has made a fool out of him; his ego suffered a major dent and he wondered whether Selena was in cahoots with them too. Most probably. That was why she had been so ready to agree to the deal in the first place. To humiliate him in the end and make him pay for the way he had treated her.

Everything was back to square one. She was the enemy again. Wasn’t that what he had wanted? Except that he would never be normal again. Hurt, he remembered the wonderful moments they had spent together. Had that been all fake for her? For him, it had been a revealing experience for him and had certainly not been expecting it to be thrown back at him like that.

He had always known money was quite important to her but had never expected that she would keep her cool through-out the deal and he would be knocked off. Relentless was the way she had treated her, they had treated her. He felt furious with himself and decided not to show her how much he was affected. He felt so.. so betrayed but would behave professionally too and end the deal as soon as possible.

As soon as he reached office, he called in for Selena immediately and out on his impassible face to end this charade once and for all.

He did not look up when he heard the tap on his office door and uttered a professional “come in” pretending to scan some papers on his office desk while all the time he was aware of her. She was walking slowly towards his desk, his cold expression most obviously being the reason for her hesitant steps.

“Please do come in,” he repeated in a  curt voice which sounded cold even to himself.

“Ash? Is there something wrong?” she asked him approaching his way silently and as she help up her hand to touch him, he flinched. He did not want to be touched especially by her. It would render him weak again and he could not afford that. He’d rather set her free after the deceit they had played with him.

“No, nothing wrong. I’m just busy and I thought..” he said finally looking up in her blue eyes and faltered when he read confusion and pain there.

“Please take a seat,” he said with more chill in his voice determined not to let her weaken his resolve anymore.

Like an automaton, she sat promptly in the chair in front of his desk and he knew she already had an inkling of what was going to happen.

 “Since Uncle Devin is no more, I don’t think we should go on with this drama anymore. What do you think?” he asked coldly. Gone was the version of him who had kissed her in the hotel. Gone was the version of him who had even fought with her. He was a ruthless businessman now and he would show her how to conduct business; he would leave with no plan of escape.

She nodded looking cool and calm reflecting his tough exterior. Good, he thought. At least she was not hysterical like he had expected. But he nodded back foolishly still waiting for her to say something. When she did not respond to his bait, he calmly added “Okay then, since you agree as well, I think we just end everything now. There’s no need to pretend to be my girlfriend anymore. And there’s no need to break the engagement in a dramatic manner as we had planned.”

“What will you tell your family then?” she asked still without showing any emotion and Ash finally realized she was not going to throw a tantrum like any other woman would have. Nothing mattered to her apart from the money; had in fact only been waiting for that moment.

Feeling a pain in his heart, a pain he could not identify, he tried a casual shrug and swallowed his disillusionment before saying “What do you suggest? It doesn’t really matter I guess.”

She smiled cynically and Ashton regretted his words but they were true. It hardly mattered what they would say now. Everybody would be shocked and saddened of course but no one would really bother now since Uncle Devin was no more.

“Tell them I cheated on you,” she said in a bitter voice. “Since it doesn’t matter there’s no need for you to take the blame.”

“No,” he said in a deadly tone. “I will tell them that I have cheated on you. It’s more gullible and besides my parents might try to fix me up with someone else soon, so…”

He let the words hanging and Selena nodded as she agreed to his condition. “So much the better,” she mumbled. “It was what we agreed to initially anyway.”

“Yes,” he said his heart breaking over the finality of her tone and he kept his anger in check not wanting to let her know how hurt he was by the betrayal.

What was the point in blaming Selena for what had happened. She had played all her cards right while he had been the one to break all the rules. Since money meant so much to her, he would pay her eventually. It did not matter anymore. She had helped him achieve what he had set out in the beginning anyway so he could hardly blame her for anything else.

“Here,” he said handing her over the check he had just signed and watched the look of dismay on Selena’s face.

Oh-oh! According to his theory, she should be happy, ecstatic even. Had he been wrong about her? He watched as she snatched the check from his hand and left his office without any other word. Damn! What now?

He should have a tête-a-tête with Jake later and unmask him for his betrayal. And then he would know the truth anyway.

No longer sure whether Selena had been part of the conspiracy all along, he stood up and dialed his friend’s number. He should meet up with Jake as soon as possible to clear his doubt now. Not even taking the time to analyze why it was so important to him, he rushed to the Crighton mansion a second time this day, he met with Jake who frowned at him when he entered the study room.

“Janet told me you were in earlier. But you left without saying hello. Was there something you wanted?”

“Yess,” he hissed angrily. “I think you owe me the truth. Did Uncle Dev try to fix me up with Selena instead of anyone else from the beginning?” he asked going straight to the point and watched as his friend gasp in front of him, his face paling.

“How the hell you know that?” he shouted.

“Don’t use that tone with me!” he patronized right back. He and Jake went a long way and even if he was furious with him now, he knew their relationship would never change. He was his brother and he would forgive him eventually.

“Alright,” he conceded seeming to feel his wrath. “Please try to understand. You of all people should know how he was. He pleaded with me Ash just after he told me the doctors had diagnosed him with cancer. What was I supposed to do?”

“You knew? And you never bothered to tell me?” Ash growled his anger rising another notch at the second betrayal.

“Ash,” Jake said putting a hand in front of him to calm him down. “I got to know only a few months ago, and nobody could do anything. I could do nothing but watch him die,” he said in a husky voice betraying his pain.

It was a first. Jacob Bruce Crighton was getting emotional. Ashton felt some of his anger subside at his friend’s emotional breakdown but he stood his ground still feeling hurt that his best friend had hidden the truth from him about Uncle Dev’s illness. However, even if he was angry, he still wanted to know the truth once and for all.

“You could have told me about it. I would have helped in any way I can,” he rasped his voice also husky now as he gulped down the emotions engulfing him. “You know I love him as much as you do,” he reproached.

“I know. I’m sorry bro,” Jake whispered. “He made me promise I wouldn’t tell anyone. Nobody knew, not even your father or Uncle Sean. He only told me so that I would be part of his conspiracy to fix you up with Selena,” he confessed in a trembling voice.

Ash let out a sigh and sat down to support the weight of the impact of what Jake was telling him. Devin Richard Crighton had won even if he was no longer alive.

Ashton had to smile in spite of his anger at the tenacity of the old man; he was one truly cunning fox and would always remain in his heart. What was done was done. Except he had to know whether Selena had participated in the conspiracy all along which would make him feel even more foolish that he was already feeling. Maybe she had known all along and was having a good laugh at his expense as well.

“Did Selena know?” he asked dreading the answer he would get; he wanted to convince himself that he was better off not knowing.

Jake frowned at him in surprise. “Selena? About the deal between Dad and me? No way,” he said shaking his head vehemently. “Not even Rachel knew about that deal. She was just helping fixing you two up because I asked her to help me but without knowing the reason behind.”

Ash believed him because he had overheard him explaining to his wife about the deal only hours ago. It meant only one thing. He had screwed up with Selena and had let his anger take over his common sense once again.

He could have waited before telling her that the deal was off but had been so angry to discover that he had been played for a fool to bother about semantics. And now he had broken off the engagement without any explanation and without giving her a chance to explain herself.

But why was he bothering about explanations? What was there to explain anyway? Ultimately, they had to end up the faked engagement, wasn’t that what they had agreed to initially?

As he wearily pushed his hand in his hair, Jake looked at him weirdly. “Ash? What have you done now?”

His best friend knew him too well. The fact that he had pushed Selena put of his life so ruthlessly was affecting him and he wanted to do something about it. And he did not even knew the reason why it affected him so. But all he knew was that he would not rest until he set everything right between the two of them. And by right, he meant.. he meant.. Hell, he will figure that out later.

 “Ash?” shouted Jake again.

He looked at his friend and blinked focusing on him. “Nothing,” he answered and left his house not ready to ask the questions that he knew would start to pour in a few seconds.

Rachel caught him at the door and called after him. But he hastily greeted her and felt the need to get away from everyone to decide what he should do next. If he stayed any longer, he felt there was a heavy lecture coming. He did not want his friends to find out that hurting Selena was hurting him too. What did it mean?

Why the hell did it mattered to him so much anyway? Then, his pride took over and he clenched his jaw rigidly. So what if he had broken off the engagement? She could have refused the money, couldn’t she?

It only proved that she was only interested with the money. It proved him right all along.

As soon as he got home, he faltered at the pile of documents he saw in his letter box. There was his two engagement rings and his check. She had returned him his money and he felt his heart soar at the discovery that she was not that money minded.