Chapter 50
1109words
Her cheeks were a little bit swollen and had formed little bruises, her eyes were swollen and red from all the tears, and she forgot to clean off her cover up make up which resulted in her looking like an appropriate cast for a horror movie.
She sighed and walked away into the bathroom. After she left Asher's room last night, she was a mess of herself. She didn't mean to have that outburst with him, but she got overwhelmed and ended up pouring everything out on him. The plan was to just give the divorce papers and cook up something, but then... She turned on the shower and waited till it was hot enough before she went in.
He has accepted the divorce papers and just said he'll think about it. The hot water ran down her skin, stinging her skin yet relaxing her muscles at the same time. She cried last night as a result of fear and pain. Fear as to what to tell her father if he refuses to sign the papers, but right now, the water seems to wash away all that fear.
When she was done bathing, she immediately got dressed and put on enough makeup to properly cover every bruise on her face. Once satisfied with her work, she stepped out of the house, ready to go to work.
Her eyes caught sight of Asher's door as she walked out of her room, and she deliberated on going in to check on him, but after a while, she released a deep breath and walked away. It was best for them to avoid interactions with each other for now.
"Good morning, ma'am" Marie greeted as soon as she saw Lily, and Lily smiled at her. "You look good."
"Thank you." She said, smiling. "Uh, I know you will but please check in on Asher throughout the day, make sure he eats his food, takes his medications and rests, please. Bear with him if he ends up being cranky today."
Marie stood her dutifully before she smiled and nodded. "I will. "
"Thank you." She left immediately afterwards and drove off to work. As she pulled into the Darby mansion, her phone dinged with a notification and she whipped it out, but her face immediately fell when she saw her father's name plastered on the phone.
"Make sure you are home today with the divorce papers." She read aloud and angrily threw her phone into her bag. She was just not going to think about them. She has a job to do and a company to start.
Putting a smile on her face, Lily picked up her bag and strutted into the house.
"Good morning, Angelica."
Angelical turned to her with a smile, "good morning, Lily. You look good"
She winked at her. "Thank you. Can you brief me on the progress? Which rooms are getting worked on right now?"Angelica nodded and pulled out her iPad and began her briefing as they both walked around, checking in on the progress of the rooms.
"Everything is coming together nicely, we should be done sooner than we planned. " Angelica nodded affirmatively, " but, I've been thinking of switching the design for wing B, I was thinking we should try and blend the current design with the initial one. Come, let me show you what I mean. "
They both made themselves comfortable outside while Lily pulled out visual representations of what she meant. "You are a genius. Has anyone told you that yet?" Lily chuckled, and her ears turned red at the compliment.
"Thank you!" They both beamed at each other when it suddenly clicked in Lily's head, the first step to setting up her company, employees. "Angelica, this genius has an offer for you?"
Angelica immediately gave her undivided attention, her brows raised in curiosity. "I'm all ears"
Lily cleared her throat and intertwined her hands, "so, I got an offer, a huge offer from a huge company to design a project for them, and I need a team... But it's not just for the project. I need a team long term, Angelica, and from what I got from Mrs Darby, you are a freelancer, yeah?" She nodded and Lily's smile broadened. "So will you like to join my team?"
"I would love to." Lily immediately fist bumped the air, muttering a barely audible 'yeah', but her excitement dwindled when she noticed the sad look on Angelica's face.
"Is anything wrong, are you worried about your pay? I promise I..."
"That's not it Lily." She interrupted and Lily frowned, "I'd really love to join in on the project, but I can't."
"Why? Please let me know and if I can fix it, I'll have it fixed, I promise."
Angelica smiled sadly and shook her head. "You can't. That envelope you took home was my..."
Throughout the ride to her parents' house, her conversation with Angelica kept playing in her head, and she couldn't help but feel used. She had been so impressed with Asher thoughtfulness and surprise but now she couldn't help but feel it was a sham.
Her phone rang as she pulled into the garage and without looking, she declined, assuming it was either her dad or Charlotte. They would be the only ones calling her right now anyway.
Once she parked, she looked at herself in the mirror and ensured her makeup was intact because her father would flip if he sees any of the bruises he inflicted on yet. Once she confirmed everything was alright, she walked into the house.
Her mom was the first person she saw, and a big smile lit up her face as they both went in for a hug. "I've missed you, mummy" she said as they both pulled apart, and as Mrs Morgan made to reply, the sounds of footsteps descending down the stairs shut her up. She immediately pushed Lily away and pretended to be busy in the kitchen and disappointment flooded Lily's veins.
In the absence of her dad, her mum was nice and warm towards her but in his presence, she ceased to be all that.
"Lily, I don't see your bags." Mr Morgan said as soon as he walked into the room, and Lily shuffled backwards, creating more distance between them before she spoke.
"I didn't bring it. Asher hasn't signed the divorce papers yet."
