Hello my lovely readers, thank you so much for 3K reads. This seems like a dream to me right now. I can't believe this. But big thank you to all of you, who took the time to read it. I'll always be grateful.

Love you all <3 and happy reading.

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"WHAT?" I screeched pushing him away from him or should I say, tried to push him away from him but hulk that he is, he did not even move a slight inch from me.

"Be my girlfriend." He stated displaying the least amount of interest. I rolled my eyes at him and pushed him away from me once more. Thankfully, he complied this time.

"Are you out of your mind, Asher?" I got up from the bed we were previously on, trying to stay as far away as possible from him.

"No, I'm completely sane." He replied with an annoying smirk on his dangerously beautiful face. "And there's no need to get excited." He rubbed his face before continuing. Now that I taking a good look at him, Asher seems really tired, as if he hasn't slept for days. This could be very harmful to his health. And since when do you care? My inner voice questioned, tapping her feet on the ground. She's right. Since when do I care? To hell with Asher. "Let me rephrase that. I want you to be my girlfriend for a month." He told me in the calmest voice possible. My eyes bulged out of their sockets when I heard what he just said. If few minutes ago, he shocked me by asking me to be his girlfriend, well this time, I feel as if the ground has been swept away from my feet leaving me hanging like those cartoons.

"What did you just say?" I asked him. I'm sure I heard wrong. He did not say this. I sure my eardrums are damaged due to the amount of songs I listen at full volume.

"Are you deaf or what?" He barked at me, looking extremely impatient. "I said, I want you to be my girlfriend for a month, starting from tomorrow." Asher said slowly as if he was talking to a child. Shit! My eardrums are perfectly fine.

"Are you crazy Asher?" I yelled at him. "And no, I will not be your girlfriend for one month or whatever." I took few steps away from him. I need to get out from here. I ran towards the door, and tried to unlock it but the damn door would not open. I kept on trying until I felt a warm body behind me, blocking me from doing anything. No need to ask who's body is that.

"Are you looking for this?" Asher muttered huskily in my ears, while showing me the key of the door. He slowly turned me around so that I was now facing him.

I kept my eyes on the perfectly shiny tiles, refusing to meet his gorgeous orbs because if I do, I might just do exactly the opposite of what I should not do. Sensing that I would not be looking at him, Asher gently held my chin between his thumb and his forefinger and slowly lifted my face so that I could look at him.

His eyes were filled with anger, rage and something else, desperation? No, I'm not seeing right. We kept staring at each other for some few more seconds when his face completely hardened.

"I'm not asking you to be my girlfriend, Emberly, I'm telling you." He growled lowly at me, pinning me completely against the door with that strong body of his. His authoritative tone has really started to annoy me now.

"Oh, to hell with your orders, Colton." I shoved him away from me. "You can't tell me what should I do or should not do. I refuse to listen to you this time. Who do you think you are, huh, some kind of God? Well, newsflash, Asher, you are nothing but an annoying piece of crap who loves to belittle me at all times. Screw you, Asher." I inhaled a deep breath after my outburst. I looked at Asher with unshed tears in my eyes. He seemed really stunned by my answer but quickly composed himself.

"Fine, I respect your choice." He told me, looking unbelievably calm. Did I hear right? Did Asher Colton just agree to what I said. "But first I want you to look at this." He took out his phone from his pocket. I noticed how his muscles flexed when he removed the phone from his jeans. Oh boy, that was simply alluring. Focus, Emberly! My subconscious snapped.

Seconds later he handed me the phone. I took it from him with shaking hands. Oh my God! Why didn't you kill me before I saw this.

On the phone, was a video of me dancing on 'For the first time in forever' in my room wearing my Sponge Bob PJs and I was using my comb as a mike.

I remember doing this last week. Oh Jeez! I was looking a mad girl who has come straight from mental hospital. Oh Lord, please kill me now.

When the video was over, I looked back at Asher who was now sitting on his bed with a huge smirk on his face. This time I could not contain my tears. They were flowing like River Nile on my face.

"P-Please delete this." I nearly begged him. He tsked at me, taking the phone back. That son of a female dog would threaten me using this video.

"I will delete it, baby. Don't worry." Normally, if I was in a better situation, my stomach would have fluttered at the endearment, but right now, I know he doesn't mean what he says. "Let me ask you one more time, will you be my girlfriend for a month, Emberly?" He took predatory steps at me and I kept walking away from him but was stopped since the door was locked.

Knowing that I didn't have an other choice, I nodded dismissively. I knew there was a catch when he said he respected my choice. How could I be so stupid?! How could I have thought that Asher would actually respect me?! This is Asher we are talking about. The guy who never loses.

Asher gently stroked my cheek before speaking. "You tell anyone about our arrangement and I'll make sure this video gets viral." He stated menacingly. "Not only that, but I'll make sure that your sweet daddy loses his job." I gasped, looking absolutely shocked.

"Please don't bring my dad into all this." I pleaded. "I'll be your girlfriend. I promise. And I will not tell anyone. Please don't make him lose his job." I sniffed, trying to wipe the big tears on my face.

"As long as you don't tell anyone, I will keep my word of keeping this video and your father's job safe." Asher coolly said, wiping the tears from my face.

"I swear, I'll keep quiet." I assured him.

"Good." He mumbled. I heard a tick sound. "You may leave, now." Asher opened the door for me. Losing no time, I ran away from him. I hurried down the stairs, wanting to leave this house as soon as possible. No, this is not happening to me right now.

I heard Monica's concerned voice asking me what's wrong but I did not bother to stop and answer her. Right now I needed to be alone.

I ran towards the garden and miserably sat down on the grass, crying my heart out. Few days ago, I though Asher had a heart but no, he is the devil. All he knows is hurt other people. And I, the stupid lamb, cannot even stand up for myself.

I felt a presence next to me but did not make the effort of looking who it was. A soft hand stroked my back and I looked at the person. Monica smiled tenderly at me. I, on the other hand, could not return the gesture. Instead, I began to cry harder.

She brought my face to her chest and lightly rubbed my back. "There, there. It's okay." She kept saying soothing words trying to calm me down but this made me cry harder. "I'm not going to ask what happened but I two hundred percent sure that it has to do with Asher." I stiffened in her arms when I heard his name. "I'll take that as a yes." I wonder how Monica and Asher can be cousins. Both of them are pole aparts. She is caring, gentle and absolutely lovable and Asher is the demon, absolutely ruthless and cold hearted.

"Hey listen to me." She lifted my face from her chest and wiped my face. "I don't know what Asher has told you but you just need to ignore him." I hiccupped making her stop whatever she was saying. Unfortunately, this time I cannot ignore what he said or else my father will lose his job. "Look Asher can be an asshole—"

"Can?" I interrupted her making her roll her eyes at me.

"Okay, he is an asshole, a very big one, I must say. But along with all that, he is a sensitive person. The one you just met is the outer part of Asher. I know he seems very cold hearted, cruel and seems like he does not have feelings for anyone, but that's just a show. You don't know the real Asher yet, but I pray that you meet him soon. Asher is the kind of person who doesn't think before he speaks but I bet right now he must be mad at himself for making you cry. And trust me, Asher will never ever hurt you. I am sure of this." She convincingly said, lightly pressing my shoulders. I wanted to tell her that Asher has hurt me so many times, that I cannot count on my fingers, but refrained myself from saying so.

"B-But how can you be so sure of this?" I asked instead, still sniffing.

"I know him better than he knows himself." Monica replied. The way she was smiling was as if she knew something that I did not. "But don't worry, when the time comes, you'll realise that. And everything will be alright." She reassured me. She got up and dusted her jeans and handed me her hand for me to grab.

I took her hand in mine and we walked together back to the house. Gosh, it felt nice to talk to someone. However, my mind is still on Asher's arrangement. Why does he want me to be his girlfriend for a month?

I guess I'll know that tomorrow. 

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Finally, I updated.

I hope you liked it.

Thanks for reading

Love,

Ina