"Dave, have you seen my phone? It has been a while since I set my eyes on it." Ashley walked into the living room, her towel hugging her wet body.

Dave, who was seated on the biggest couch in the room and busy with his laptop, looked up and on seeing her, his pupils dilated. "Are you trying to tease me?"

She walked further into the room, her gait having a touch of sexiness. "Tease? I have no idea what you are talking about."

Dave put his laptop aside and his gaze flickered to the exposed skin of her shoulders. As Ashley leaned closer, a smirk playing on her lips, he said, "You are going to get me wet."

"I know." Leaning further, Ashley maintained her smirk and she continued, "I intend to get you wet... with water."

"I don't know, Ashley. I don't think you should play with something so deadly."

"Deadly?" With a swift movement, she helped herself onto his lap. "I don't see anything deadly here," she whispered onto his lips which were just inches away. Slowly, she began to draw lines on his face, her eyes not leaving his amused ones. "So, as I was asking, have you seen my phone?"

"Uh?" Dave's fluttering eyes instantly closed and it seemed as though he was trying to fight something within him.

That view encouraged Ashley to do more. Tilting her head to plant a light kiss on his neck, she repeated her statement, her voice a sensual murmur, "I asked if you have seen my phone."

Dave grabbed her left hand and gave it a squeeze which told Ashley that he was ready to take over that moment which was gradually approaching physical intimacy. But before he did anything, he gruffly replied, "It is in your luggage."

Nodding, Ashley peeled her eyes off their joined hands and looked into his very eager eyes. Then, she leaned in toward his lips and Dave did the same. But before he could initiate a kiss, she withdrew and jumped off his lap with a jolly, "Thank you!"

Laughing sinisterly at the disbelief his face wore, Ashley walked out of the room.

Moments later, after a long call with her assistant and the insurance company, Ashley walked into the living room. This time, she was dressed in a black cotton top and sweatpants.

"Dave, why didn't you tell me you had already spoken to the insurance company about the reconstruction of my house?"

"Well," he walked out from the kitchen, his two hands occupied with two glasses of orange juice, "you were busy sulking and complaining about moving to a hotel, so I decided to see what I could do to make sure you moved to your house sooner."

"Thank you so much." Dave handed her one of the cups and sat back on the couch. "I don't know how I could probably repay you for all you have done for me," she said with an absolute sense of sincerity as she had her seat beside him.

"Just try to be happy, Ashley. Try to fight your sorrow, that shit is dangerous."

Ashley brought the cup to her mouth. "Okay, sir. Ughh," her lips wearing a disfigured shape, she spat the juice in her mouth into the cup, "what did you put in this?"

"Oh. That is supposed to be mine." He swapped their drinks. After peering into the cup, Dave made a little frown appear on his crown. "You actually spat into my drink."

"It was my drink a second ago. What did you put in it anyway?"

"Vodka." And he gulped the drink he was just grumbling about. When Dave saw the look Ashley gave him, he shrugged and asked, "What?"

"You... just drank my... saliva."

"No, I drank a mixture of liquids. Enough talk." Dave stopped her before she could say anymore. "Let us continue our talk from last night."

Ashley downed the rest of the juice in her cup and set the glass cup aside. "Yeah?"

"Do you have friends?"

"Uh..." Her eyes darted to the ground. "Not really."

"Yes or no, Ashley."

"Well, I can't say I have. So, no."

"Why?"

Shrugging to shake off the guilt that came with the topic, her eyes darting here and there, Ashley replied, "After I got married, I felt like I did not need anyone anymore. I wanted to focus on my marriage and work without any distractions."

"That was not a very good decision, Ashley."

"It seemed good at that time," she replied, her tone low, her eyes showing her true feeling about the topic.

"See, you need to understand that in this life, for every situation we find ourselves, bad or good, we need someone beside us to help us. In your case, if you had a close friend or just someone you talked to on regular basis, the divorce might have not taken such a toll on you. Perhaps life wouldn't have become a living nightmare for you."

"I did think about how I lacked friends when I was alone in that house."

"See? You need to make friends. It can be just one friend. You know, someone you can talk to or go out with to have fun. Something like that. That is a way to attract happiness."

"Well, you are my friend. So, I guess I have that part sorted out."

"Ashley," he reached for a loose strand of hair and pushed it back. Ashley could not help but smile, that action of his always made her feel mushy inside, "I am your friend, yes. But you and I know that our friendship is not a regular one."

"Uh... very true." A thoughtful look settled on her face. "You know, I can't help but wonder what exactly is going on between us right now. What do we call it?"

"How about we leave it nameless and just enjoy what we have here? Let time decide what we should call our relationship."

Nodding in agreement, Ashley continued the conversation, "You know, ever since we met, all we have been talking about is me. How about we change that and you tell me something about yourself."

Looking up at her from the cup in his hand, his brow quirking, Dave adjusted in his seat, interest on his face. "You already know something about me."

"I want to know more. Who you are, where you are from, just tell me your story, Dave Scott."

Letting out a short chuckle, Dave pushed the phone beside him aside to fully face an awaiting Ashley. "Well, what can I possibly say?" He played with his jaws. "I was a spoilt rich brat when I was young. I felt grossly entitled while growing up. My attitude back then really disgusted most people. That's how terrible I was." After another chuckle, he heaved a very heavy sigh.

"But everything changed when I lost my parents in a car crash. I became a very lost and sad child. I lost hope in life and the riches I always depended on failed to help."

Dave briefly looked towards the kitchen and it occurred to Ashley that she was not the only one with a soul full of pain. Then, she wondered if she would be able to soothe his pain the same way he did for her.

Dave continued, "Let's just say I fell into the wrong crowd and almost destroyed myself." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Something terrible almost happened on a certain day and at that moment, in the midst of that craziness, the stupid things I had been doing flashed in my mind and I just... I realised how wrong everything was. At apoint, I almost lost my father's company. I made a mess of things and my life became absolute chaos. I just knew that I had to retrace my steps and help myself the right way. And, even though it wasn't easy, things worked out well. So... yeah."

"Wow." Ashley reached for his hand after she released a tough breath. "I could have never imagined that you had such a story. You have been highly modest since we met. So, I guess you did a good job of reforming your life." Ashley shifted closer and placed small pats on his hand. "I am proud of you, Dave Scott."

"Well, once you have seen the ugly side of being rich, you will realise that the saying; modesty is key, is not just any saying."

Dave always found a way to sound so motivational.

"So, the company is your father's not your uncle's?"

"It might as well be my uncle's. After I almost destroyed things, he handled the company with a strong fist and that helped us get to where we are right now. On the other hand, when my father was on the seat, the company was very close to bankruptcy. My father is not a man I like to remember anyway."

Sensing a bit of anger within his words, Ashley quietly said, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Blinking away the strain in his eyes, Dave faced her with a smile. His hand reached out and cupped the side of her face and Ashley reacted. She placed her hand on his and played with it as they both shared a stare.

"Ashley, I have a question."

"You always have a question."

He scoffed, an air of hilarity surrounding his reaction. He went on to cup her chin and after playing with it a bit, he withdrew his hand. "Do you think you can ever forgive your mother?"

Anger overrode the surprise she initially felt when she heard the question and Ashley felt her jaws setting. She did not even think twice when she replied with a sharp, "No."

"Ash..."

Getting up abruptly, she grabbed her empty cup and faced Dave. Her face trying not to show the sadness his question dragged out, she warned, "Don't ever ask me that question, Dave."

Dave pushed further, "You need to stop acting like she isn't the..."

"She is not even my fucking real mother, so please, drop the question!" As Ashley stormed out and found herself in the bedroom, the sensual image of her ex and mother that had managed to stay away for a while, came back.

And as the picture became clearer, it slowly began to sink in that it was really her mother that she met in bed with her ex-husband. Ashley let loose on the huge bed in the room and the cup in her hand rolled away.

And that was when she realised that her anger at Dave's question brought a familiar feeling along.

Devastation.