After taking a few steps backward, her brows knitted with wariness, Ashley found that not too many things were running through her mind at that moment. She was basically numb. After she created a suitable distance between her and her mother, Ashley let out a shuddering breath and placed her gaze on the remorseful woman who she caught with her ex-husband.

Ashley saw that her mother could barely hold her gaze, but it seemed that she wasn't going to walk away. In fact, at certain points, the woman would open her mouth to speak, only to shut it.

Ashley, who didn't wish to spend a great deal of her time staring at her mother, knew she had to decide what to do. She recalled Dave's advice about forgiving her mother but was that even the best time to speak to the woman? Just seeing her mother's face was enough to make Ashley feel sick.

"Ashley..." Her mother finally called.

And Ashley decided to explore the option of ignoring her. If she walked away without a word, the woman would undoubtedly get the message.

But somewhere deep in Ashley's heart, she wanted to hear her mother out. She wanted to know why she did what she did. Maybe somehow, that would help get rid of the heaviness lurking inside her.

"Ashley..." The youthful glow of her mother came into view as she took another step forward after carefully putting the basket in her hands on the ground.

As she watched her mother tread with caution, Ashley's mind replayed the voice of her mother and the way she called her name. That repetition caused something to crack inside her. Suddenly, tears that she never thought she would shed got stuck in her throat.

"M... M... Mum..." Ashley spilled the words quietly, her voice quivering. It was then that the tears began to sting her eyes. And the pain in her heart stung all over again.

Her mother, Francine, who was dressed in a floral gown, took two steps closer. After a deep breath, she lowered her round eyes and said, "I know you don't want to see me. But it has been so long and I have been aching to explain things. I..." The stern expression on Ashley's face shut her up.

Lips slightly parted, Ashley wondered if there was something she could say. If it were a time before she met Dave, she would have already gone on a screaming spree. Like a mad person, she would have personally chased her mother out of the supermarket.

She was that angry at her.

She was still angry.

But this time, Ashley was sort of willing to accommodate the woman. Ashley perceived she really wanted to feel genuine happiness and since she was seeing an opportunity to clear the fussiness within her, it would be best to grasp it. Besides, she would never have the desire to walk to her mother's doorstep to demand an explanation. So, maybe their unexpected meeting was an advantage.

Francine took another step closer, her scent now tickling Ashley's nostrils. "Just say the word, Ashley. I deserve whatever treatment you toss at me. You can chase me away, I deserve it. I do..." Francine wanted to reach for Ashley's hands, but she thankfully decided against it. After letting out a shaky breath, her mother continued, "I want you to know that... Ashley, I am so... Please say something."

As she listened to her mother's pleas, Ashley thought that that moment was highly pathetic and she concluded that forgiving her mother would not be easy for her at all. Seeing her mother was hard enough, and so was talking to her.

Still not giving a response, Ashley stared at her distraught mother who continued to wear pleas in her hazel eyes.

Francine's hands began to shake slightly as it seemed to dawn on her that she was not going to get a response from Ashley. "It is fine..."

Her stance became relentless, her eyes began to dart here and there. "I get it. I would not talk to me either. What I did was very terrible. I should give you your space." She let out a nervous chuckle as she swept the bangs of her short hair to the side. "What was I thinking? Showing up like this is so stupid... I should go."

Ashley swallowed the tears that wanted to fall as she saw the ones in her mother's eyes. That sight pierced her heart. So, reluctantly, she weakly called to her mother whose back was already facing her. "Wait..."

Francine quickly turned. "Let's... let's talk."

~

"This is weird for me." Ashley pointed out a bit dryly as the silence between them started to feel more awkward and annoying.

"I just don't know where to start," Francine replied.

Ashley, who had gotten her confidence back after a relaxing drink, said a bit rashly, "How about you tell me how you managed to get Kevin within your grasp? Or you can just skip to the part where it was okay for you to sleep with him on my bed."

Francine sighed. "I will explain everything. I have to."

Ashley sat back into the chair, her eyes scoping the décor of the little shop they had stumbled upon after they walked out of the supermarket.

"Oh God, where do I start?" Her mother glanced at the ceiling, her lower lip tucked in. Then, seconds later, she said, "Ashley... I know, what I did was very foolish and stupid and..."

"Wicked?"

Francine nodded, sorrow etched in her eyes. "Yes. My loneliness made me do something so selfish. It all started last year when I stayed over for a few weeks. That day, Kevin had to rush back home to get something for you. When he was about to leave, he came to the kitchen where I was to say goodbye. But instead of leaving, he held me from behind and displayed great admiration.

Ashley was picturing it all in her head and everything she had pictured was a terrible sight for her soul.

Francine continued, "I fought his grasp and told him to stop. I told him it was wrong but he did not budge. The next thing I knew, he kissed me, and something... something crazy happened. It had been a while since a man showed me love. I know that I am terrible for this, but for a minute, I forgot that he was your husband and I found myself falling for him."

Ashley felt disgusted. The way she scrunched her lips was enough to tell that she was indeed disgusted.

"Ashley, I immediately chastised myself because he was your husband. But I didn't know that the kiss was going to lead me to discover something I had been silently aching for."

"You guys had been together for a while..." Ashley drew her hands into fists to control her approaching anger.

"Yes. But not right away." Ashley scoffed. "For three months Ashley, I ignored Kevin because he kept pestering me to be with him. I kept telling him that I couldn't, he was married to you. He... he kept saying he would divorce you to be with me. It angered me that he was acting in a way that could hurt you and it angered me even more that I was caught in that kind of situation."

"Why didn't you say anything? If you did not want to hurt me, you could have told me that my freaking husband was hitting on you... So, don't feed me that bullshit talk. You gave in, Mum." Ashley leaned forward and hit the desk between them repeatedly. "You gave in at the end of the day. You had the chance to step away and inform me about the things Kevin was doing." Her brows furrowed with distress and she concluded, "But, you didn't."

"I became selfish." Francine shook her head dejectedly. "I discovered that even though I kept telling Kevin off, his persistence was building up emotions inside me. Emotions that I had been yearning to feel. They felt so real and amazing. When Kevin came again to persist, I lost it and just... I gave in."

"Hmm..." Biting the insides of her mouth, Ashley began to wonder why she married Kevin in the first place. That guy turned out to be an absolute jerk, juggling a relationship between a mother and her daughter. He was indeed a bastard with a lot of nerves.

"Remember I used to tell you that the heart of man is wicked and holds dangerous thoughts? My heart became wicked towards you, Ashley. When Kevin and I began to see each other, I became blinded by the romance and forgot that I was hurting you. I didn't get to my senses until that day..."

"The day I saw you two together..."

"My whole world came crashing when you saw us. My entire senses reeked of guilt and hurt and... when I saw you slide down the wall in tears, I felt like dying because I knew that I had done something worse than hurting you." Francine raised her head to look into Ashley's eyes.

Her mother's red, swollen eyes in focus, Ashley began to realise something. While it was true that her mother did the most awful thing, the woman was a widow in search of love. But she just had to find that love in the most absurd place. She found it in a place that guaranteed people getting hurt.

"Do you love Kevin?" Ashley asked. For a few seconds, Francine wore surprise on her face, but after Ashley repeated the question, her mother gave a short nod.

And, Ashley felt something change within her. She wasn't certain what to classify it as, but she felt sad yet she felt free. Happiness was not really flowing in her soul, but it seemed as though any second from that moment, she could start dancing in the middle of the street.

It was really strange.

Emotions are strange.

Ashley's mind quickly flashed to Dave and she wondered what he would tell her to do at that moment. "Sincerely..." Ashley started.

"You hurt me. Seeing you in bed with Kevin broke my heart." Ashley rolled up the sleeves of her jacket. "I am not going to bore you with stories of how I was in a bad place. I just want you to know that I don't care if you decide to be with Kevin. I have no intention to let your drama affect my life. I want to focus on myself."

"Ash..."

She interrupted her mother with the raise of a finger.

"It is sadly true that Kevin is not the man meant for me. It took two years and him cheating on me for me to realise that." She gave a short smile.

"It is crazy, but whatever happened is for the best. It made me go through a very rough patch and as a result, I am becoming a better person as days go by. I am happier than before. I see things differently now. I am no longer the angry, kind of conceited Ashley I used to be. I don't bottle up things as I did in the past. So, in a way, I owe you my thanks, mom."

"I..."

"I can't say that I will forgive you as I am still hurt by everything that has happened. But I will try."

"Ashley..."

"I wish you the best with Kevin. I hope he loves you and doesn't hurt you." She got up.

"You are leaving..." Francine was more distressed. "Don't..."

"It was nice seeing you again, Mum. I just want you to be careful with Kevin so that he would not burn you as he did to me. Goodbye."

"Ashley, wait... let's..."

Ashley found it unhealthy to stay back, so she ignored her mother and walked out of the shop. And when she got into Dave's car, she let out a huge sigh.

She actually felt good, she felt lighter inside. Ashley figured that she might have let go of part of her grudge during her stay with Dave. That would explain the ease with which she replied to her mother.

Ashley felt proud of herself. She felt happy. And she couldn't wait to tell Dave all about it.

~

After carefully grabbing two nylons of groceries from the back seat, Ashley made her way into the trailer, her mind wondering what Dave was up to. After she managed to pull the door open, she hoped that Dave had left her some pizza because the hunger she was feeling could not be ignored.

With a new glow on her face, Ashley entered, her line of sight approaching the couch on her right. "Dave, I am..."

The bags in her hands abruptly fell to the ground. And her eyes widened with shock at the sight of Emily planting a lengthy kiss on Dave's lips.