Ashton's POV

The distance from our communications class to the College of Business where my dad's office is located isn't that far away. It's still a good ten minute walk, but at least it's not on the other side of campus. I'm not anticipating seeing him at all. Whatever he wants to talk about shouldn't be that important, and I'm not really interested in what he has to say. I shouldn't even bother to see him, but since he went to Calum and told him that he wants to talk to me, there must be some significance to his request.

"Why don't you like your dad?" Emmie asks, her breath creating a misty cloud from the frigid weather as she speaks. "I remember you mentioning that he up and left your family, but you never said anything else. Whenever he's brought up, you get angry and I want to know why."

In an attempt to avoid the question, I look down to our feet moving in sync as we walk along the sidewalk. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. I've never noticed how small Emmie's feet are. From the way they look next to mine, it's almost like I'm Bigfoot. All I need is to grow my hair out and never shave my beard again, and I can fit the part. Emmie calls my name sternly and shakes our entwined hands, bringing me back to reality after picturing myself as a mythical creature.

In the few times that the topic of my father has come up in conversation, I have learned to repress my anger towards him for the sake of others and myself. He isn't someone who I particularly care to talk or even think about, but it's only fair that I let her know.

"Part of it is because he did leave my family," I tell her. "I was still a kid when he left, so I didn't get the chance to really get to know him. He took a good amount of money from my mum and left her to care for me and my two siblings—both of which were toddlers at the time. I had to basically fill my dad's shoes and be the father-figure that my brother and sister needed. My mum worked several jobs and that helped get us by, but sometimes money was tight. We struggled financially for so long and I did my best to help out by getting different part-time jobs during high school and used my paychecks to help with the bills and groceries. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that my mum told me that my dad got into contact with her several years ago without my knowing, telling her why he left and whatnot."

Emmie looks up at me, her nose and cheeks prominently red from the cold exposure. "Why did he leave?"

I inhale deeply, mustering up the strength to keep my anger at bay as I exhale slowly. "He was cheating on my mum with his secretary at the investment firm he used to work at, which is why he left Australia to come here after getting his teaching degree. I lost all respect for him at that moment."

Emmie stares at me with sympathetic eyes. "I don't blame you. I would have too," she says. "Well, I don't really have respect for him already since he's an insolent ass." Her face scrunches up and her head tilts back and without warning, she lets out the most pathetic (almost fake sounding), yet adorable sneeze that is so forceful it makes her take two steps back.

I stop us in our tracks and ask, "Are you getting sick?"

She shakes her head and rubs her nose with her free hand. "No, the weather change is just messing with my sinuses. So anyway, how did your mom take the news of his affair?" She pulls me to resume our walk to the building.

"She didn't necessarily forgive him, but she accepted it. She had many years to grieve and get over the fact that he left so she wasn't broken up about his confession." She's a strong woman, my mum. It's one of the many traits of hers that remind me of Emilia.

Emilia nods and stares straight ahead of herself, not looking at anything in particular, but rather keeping herself focused on her thoughts. "You said that his leaving is part of the reason as to why you dislike him. What's the other part?"

"When I wanted to leave Australia, my mom actually contacted him and told him that I had been studying business for a while and was looking to transfer to the U.S.," I say. "He actually recommended for me to apply to DU since he could pull some strings and make the transfer process easier. I hated the idea of it because of my grudge against him, but seeing that international transfers are difficult to be accepted and there was a low chance to transfer to any other university, it was the best option. I agreed to go there, under the condition that he was to find a way to also let Luke, Michael, and Calum transfer as well since they wanted to come with me. He agreed and that led me here."

"So you're mad that he got you and the guys transferred here because of nepotism?" she says.

"I'm not finished yet."

She mouths "sorry" and bows her head as if I had scolded her. To reassure her, I detangle our entwined hands and wrap my arm over her shoulder and hold her close to me, kissing her head in the process for added comfort.

"After settling in the old frat house that he arranged for us, I went to go talk to him and tell him my degree plan that I discussed with my advisor prior to my visit with him," I say. "As you can imagine, it was a very awkward meeting and the tension—mostly from me—was intense. We didn't greet each other or engage in some type of reunion; instead, he lectured—no, more like ordered me to put all my effort into pursuing the family business of working in some corporation firm. I'm mad because he wants to control my future, but I won't let him. It's not what I want to do, so I'm changing majors."

"He doesn't even know you, yet he's trying to control what you do in life," Emmie says. "That doesn't make sense." She shakes her head in shame of my father's intention. "I know that you're good at the subject, but why have you been sticking with it for so long?"

I don't even have to think about my answer. I did it for one reason and one reason only. "For my mum," I answer immediately.

Before she can ask any more questions, we enter the building and a wave of heat instantly warms our bodies from the cold outside. The redness from Emmie's nose and cheeks fade into a natural blush, but her fingers are still cold even when tangled in mine. We make our way down the narrow hall and up three flights of stairs to where the advisor's offices are as well as my dad's. Many of the advisors' doors are closed, and those who are waiting for their appointment sit in the wooden chairs sitting along the walls.

As we walk further down the hall, I see that my dad's office door is open, and I have an uneasy feeling that he fully expected me to come see him today. I stop my movements just a few feet away from his door and turn to Emmie, dropping her hand.

"Just sit and wait over there, okay?" I say. "I won't take lon—" I can't even finish the word as I hear the sound of someone walking out of the office that I am dreading to enter, and the voice of the man that I can't stand.

"Ashton," Dad calls; his monotone voice still as flat as always. I turn back around to see him standing in the office threshold. His arms are crossed and his eyes are not on me, but instead on Emmie's. His stare is cold and harsh, and when I take her hand in mine, she is completely tense; not even my touch relaxes her. She was nervous the first time she met my dad followed by extremely pissed off, but now, I can't even tell what she's feeling. It's almost as if his stare has put her in a trance of self-consciousness and fear. "Come inside," he gestures to the two of us before walking back into his office, and I begin to regret having Emmie come with me at all.

I tug her hand gently, giving her the kick-start to move her feet. We make our way inside the pale cream-colored room where two cedar bookshelves sit on either side of the wall and a matching L-shaped desk is positioned near the back wall with two gray upholstered armchairs placed in front of it, waiting to be occupied by us.

My dad is already seated behind his desk placing several papers into a file folder as Emmie and I take a seat in the provided chairs. As much as I hate to let go of her hand, I let it fall from mine and scoot her chair closer to me as an alternative.

Dad pushes his short, dusty chestnut, curly hair up, which doesn't do anything because it's already styled up. I glance over to Emmie and she's still tense, but not as fearful looking like before. I really wish she would have stayed behind.

Dad clears his throat before speaking. "It's good to see you, Ashton," he says.

No it's not. You're just saying that because you're trying to put up a front since Emmie is here. You never greet me. It's always "here's what I want you to do" and then a silent sendoff. "Likewise," I say with a subtle bitter tone which he takes notice of.

"And this is..." he trails off, nodding his towards the shy girl next to me.

"Emilia," I answer for her. "She's my girlfriend. You met her at the party?" I should have figured that he wouldn't remember her. Unless someone is of importance to him, he could care less about remembering anyone's name. I'm surprised he even remembered Calum when he spoke to him.

"That's right," Dad says. "I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you. I see so many faces on a daily basis that it's hard to remember them all," he tells her, toneless.

Emmie gives him a small smile and nods, oblivious to the fact that he really doesn't care who she is. "Is it alright for me to be in here?" she asks timidly.

"It's quite alright. My conversation with Ashton shouldn't take long."

She nods again and fiddles with her fingers in her lap to keep herself busy.

I focus my attention on my dad and our eyes meet simultaneously. "So Ashton," he starts, resting his chin on his clasped hands, "why haven't you been attending class?"

"You told the class at the beginning of the semester that attendance isn't mandatory nor does it affect our grade," I remind him, keeping my voice calm and collected. "I'm completing the assignments that you post online and am still making a decent grade. I already know everything that you're teaching so I see no purpose to attend if it would just be a waste of my time."

He stays still, processing my logical explanation before closing his eyes momentarily and taking a deep breath. "Fair enough."

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?" I ask, putting my hands on the armrests, ready to stand up.

"No," he says strictly, and I rest my hands back in my lap. "You turned down an internship. Why would you do such a foolish thing?"

That happened a month ago and you're just now confronting me about it? "Because studying and working in the business field isn't what I want to do," I say. "I hate it. I've only been continuing with it because I'm good at it and I never had a back-up plan."

"You didn't have a problem with it when you were with Natalie," he says. "Before you moved over here, her father called and told me that you two were planning to work together at the same firm that he and I used to work at. What happened to that?"

My jaw locks. It seems as if no matter how hard I try, Natalie always seems to make some sort of appearance in my life. I can never fucking get away from her.

I glance over to Emilia out of the corner of my eye to check on her and she lifts her head with her gaze straight on my dad, interested in what he has said. I've never told her anything about my previous career plans with Natalie and I hope she doesn't hold it against me. I just want to stay as far away from that topic as possible.

"That's irrelevant," I say. I shift in my seat, straightening my posture. "Regardless of what I was planning to do back in Australia, it has nothing to do with my change in perspective now. And does it really matter what happened? I told you before that Natalie and I ended our relationship and along with that, ended my pursuit to work at that firm."

He disregards my response and places his clasped hands flat onto the sturdy desk. "There are plenty of others that you can work at. If you didn't screw up at the party and decline that internship, you would already be in Chicago working towards obtaining a full-time position there. You're lucky I'm on good terms with the Employment Manager at Mason &Co. or else you wouldn't have another chance at the internship."

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "What are you even talking about?"

"Devon Wilson?" he says. Who? "The official that you talked to at the party?" Oh. "He's the Employment Manager at Mason & Co. He's used to be my colleague back in Australia until he found a position in the States and has been a good friend of mine even before I started working for the university. I put in a good word for you, but he was sorely disappointed in how you hastily declined his gracious offer for a paid internship. I had to convince him that you were feeling under the weather that day and would appreciate another chance to take the offer. You have a meeting with him on Friday at four. Don't screw up this time."

My mouth opens, but nothing comes out. So much anger is building up inside of me that I can barely think straight. My dad—no, this man, did not just make a decision for me without consulting me first. This is what he always does.

I stand from the chair and slam my hands down on his desk; a sharp pain running up my arms. "Did you not hear a fucking word that I said?" I say. My voice is raised and my non-violent and cheerful persona has left the building.

"Ash, calm down." Emilia says, placing her hand on my forearm, but I ignore her barely audible voice.

"I declined that internship because I didn't want it. I don't want to work for a business. I don't want to be a pencil pusher whose only care in the world is how much money they're going to make. I don't want to sit in a cubicle self-loathing because I took a job that I couldn't give a damn about. How dare you make this kind of decision for me? If you've forgotten, I'm an adult and can make my own choices without your help," I seethe.

He stands from his seat and matches my height. "Really?" he says. "Because right now you're acting like a child."

I throw my arms in the air in exaggeration; Emilia's hand flying off of my arm in the process. "So what if I'm acting like a child? I didn't get the chance to when I was a kid because I had to fill your shoes as the man of the house after you left. I had to leave all childish thoughts behind and mature quickly so that I could look out for the family. While Mum worked, I spent my time reading management, financial, and whatever other business textbooks that you left behind and studied my ass off because even though I hated your previous profession, I knew that it would be the easiest way to make enough money to help support Mum and pay her back for all that she's done after I graduate here. I'm not going to the meeting; I'm going to my advisor down the hall and telling her that I'm switching majors."

The annoyance is clear in his expression, and I know damn well that he isn't having it. "You're close to graduating and now you're going to throw that away by switching majors?" Dad says. "You're an idiot for even considering it."

"I don't really give a damn what you think," I deadpan.

Emilia stands to her feet and presses her hand against my shoulder, trying to push me back away from him.

"Emilia, don't," I warn and she removes her hand swiftly and steps back. I can't even force myself to look at her because I know my warning must have scared her, and I don't want to see her pained expression.

"What major are you even considering to switch to?" Dad asks condescendingly.

I draw a blank, unable to give him an answer because I still haven't decided yet.

"Art," Emilia says.

Both mine and my dad's head turn to the small girl who voiced an answer for me. Emilia is just as shocked as I am from her quick response. I never even considered art as a major. It has always been a hobby of mine, but never did I think I could make a living from it. She's seen my work and for her to even think of art as my major, she must think that I will have a chance succeeding with it as an actual career. I soften my eyes and lift the corner of my lip slightly, giving her the okay that her answer is acceptable.

Dad narrows his eyes at Emilia before trailing them back to mine. "Art?" he says, scoffing. "You can't have a stable career with one as awful as art. You'll never make any money that way or support yourself financially. If you were still with Natalie, you wouldn't even have these thoughts, but it seems like you've been corrupted by this girl."

"Don't you dare bring Emilia into this," I say, clenching my fist at my side. "She has nothing to do with it." He has disrespected Emilia once; I won't let him do it again. "I made the decision myself to stop giving a damn about following in the family business and I will find another way to make a living for myself and support mum because this isn't worth it."

I take Emilia's hand in mine and guide us out of his office without another word. I don't bother going to my advisor yet because I haven't made an appointment, so instead I lead us down and out of the building and back into the cold outdoors.

"Thank you," I say, pulling her into a tight embrace and burying my face into her neck. "You kind of saved my ass in there with choosing my major, but I'm so sorry that you had to see that—to see me like that."

"It's alright," she says. Her voice is muffled from her head being squished against my jacket. "Are you still angry?"

I pull away from her, but still keep her close to me. "A little, but I'll get over it." My lips curve up and she returns my smile.

"We should probably start walking to my other class seeing that it's on the other side of campus," she says and I oblige.

As we stroll down the cement path, I can't help but look down to Emilia and think of how grateful I am to have her. She surprises me all the time with her newfound courage of speaking up to others and taking a stand for herself. It's still a work in progress seeing that she was still tense in my dad's presence, but she's improving so much. Even when I snapped at her when I was talking to him, she doesn't seem fazed or the least bit scared of me now like I initially feared. She really is something else.

"Natalie really was a big part of your life, wasn't she?" Emilia says. I never expected for her to ask this question and quite frankly, I wish she didn't.

I hesitate a bit, but I don't lie. "She was," I say and we both stay silent.

Just as we turn on the right side of the fork in the sidewalk that trails down the back side of one of the lecture hall buildings, I catch her off guard and pull her over to one of the large oak trees that stand near it, hiding us from the few students walking in the general vicinity.

"What are you do—"

I cut her off by softly pushing her against the bark of the tree and placing my hands on either side of her cheeks. She isn't startled or confused by my actions. Instead, she welcomes it. I lean down to her level so that she doesn't have to stand on her tiptoes and brush my nose against her cold one.

"You play the biggest part though," I whisper. "You're the only one that matters in my life now."

I watch as she slowly closes her eyes, giving me consent to press my lips to hers and work against each other softly. A smile breaks out on her lips and with that, I kiss her harder which makes her laugh for some reason. I pull away with a playful yet confused expression and raise a brow.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

"Your stubble is tickling me," she says, giggling.

I shake my head and laugh. "You totally ruined the moment." I guess I should probably shave soon.

"Sorry," she says in sing-song voice that is completely out of tune but undeniably adorable.

I kiss her temple and peel her away from the tree and back onto the sidewalk where we continue our way to her next class. "You make it so easy to fall harder for you every day," I say under my breath, but loud enough for her to hear. I smile down at her and she is already flushed.

_____

A/N: PLEASE READ!

Ash and his dad finally confronted each other! More of Ash's background has been revealed and I even added an Ashlia moment! Wooooo!

Guys, I just want to say thank you so, so, much for 10.8k reads and over 1k votes. I am still blown away that PYW even made it to 10k. You guys are literally the best readers an author could ask for. I appreciate each and every one of you and I couldn't be more thankful to you.

Now, onto some serious business. The way this book has been going so far, this chapter may be the halfway point to its end if I stop at the end of the fall semester. However, there hasn't been a lot of Ashlia development relationship-wise and I feel that extending the story into the spring semester instead of ending it at the fall would be a better choice, but I want to know your opinion. I don't want to drag it out forever, but I want this story to have realism in it and not just 'I love you after four months' then THE END. But yeah, please tell me what you would like!

As always, please continue to vote, comment and share this story! I love you all so much and I wish I could hug you all! –Rebecca xoxoxoxoxo