The Veiled Heiress

10-A Fearful Dinner

Ashton entered the dining room as expected and looked around the room. The first thing that she noticed was the opulence of the settings. The bowls and plates were a beige white with little blue flowers painted on the flat areas. The glasses were clear-cut and etched with roses. There were even small floral arrangements in the middle of the table. Everything looked well-thought-out and expensive. Ashton pondered what celebration was going on. Maybe there was someone to impress here, she thought to herself.

She looked at each of the people in the room until her eyes landed on a pair of very familiar hazel eyes. Her whole body stiffened and froze. Ashton was about to flee the room, when a hand roughly gripped her upper arm, forcing her to stay in place.

“See, I told you she would be here soon. Look Ash, Jeff came to dinner. He heard how much you missed him and could not wait to see you. Come, have a seat next to your fiancé,” Lucinda pushed her into the chair.

Ashton sat down as instructed, trying to make herself as small as possible. Tyler could see that she was hunched in, looking down at the plate, and slightly shaking. He did not think that she was overly excited to see him. He was about to speak up, when Lucinda broke the silence.

“Now that everyone is here, we should plan the wedding. Jeff, have you thought about a date? I know that Ashton would love a destination-themed wedding, right Ashton,” Lucinda did not even give her a chance to answer. “We could have it in the summer, maybe Jamaica or the Bahamas. What do you think, Jeff?”

“I think that is a great idea. I know how much Ashton loves the warmth and beaches are a great place to get married. Plus, I would love to see Ash in a bikini again,” Jeff commented with a lewd look in his eyes.

Ashton felt disgusted. She would never wear a bikini, or anything else for that matter, for him again. His answers to her mother’s guiding questions just proved how much he did not pay attention when they were actually dating. Ashton preferred the cold to warmth, loved winter sports more than sitting on a beach. She also did not want a destination-themed wedding, never gave much thought to a wedding.

The conversation continued around her. No one seemed to need her input. Henry was also more than happy to add his ideas, especially when he found out that he would not be contributing monetarily. From time to time, Ashton found that she was able to zone out and forget that man next to her.

Dinner seemed to be progressing well with an appetizer of Caesar salad and French Onion Soup, followed by steak, potatoes, and steamed asparagus. These were all Jeff’s favorites. Ashton noticed that Lucinda purposefully designed this dinner to make Jeff happy. Jeff was very happy, especially sitting next to Ash. He loved this woman who tried to run from him. She was his and he needed to remind her. Possessively, he splayed his hand on her thigh. Instantly, Ashton stiffened.

Ashton was barely eating dinner. Everything tasted like cardboard as she was too focused on the man next to her. Out of the blue, she felt a hand on her thigh. He started caressing her thigh up and down, getting closer to her private area. Instantly, she was brought back to that night; the feel of his hands groping her, the pain from the bat he used to beat her, the heavy panting and final groan when he came inside her. It was all too much. Ashton stood up abruptly, her chair falling to the floor with a muffled thud, halting the surrounding conversation.

“I… I… I can’t”, she stuttered and ran from the room with tears in her eyes. She continued running until she reached her room, locking the door closed. She slid down against the door to sit on the floor sobbing heavily. Ashton felt that she was back in that room, and he had all the power. All her strength was gone. Finally collecting herself, she called one of the only two people who could save her.

Lightly crying, she whispered into the phone, “He is here. Please pick me up.”

Tyler could sense Ashton’s unease as soon as she saw Jeff. It was almost like he felt it himself. To him, she certainly did not look happy to see her “fiancé”, more frightened and anxious. He could see her body trembling. Tyler observed her the whole dinner and watched as her edginess increased until she finally fled the room. He started to stand and follow her, when Jeff tersely stood up and stalked out of the room to follow her.

“Let me go check on her. I am something about her day merely overwhelmed her,” Jeff said shortly, as if annoyed by her departure.

Something was nagging around Tyler’s brain. He was not comfortable with Jeff upstairs alone with Ashton, so he left the table and went to check on her. From the landing, he could hear shouting and banging.

“Ashton, you b***h. Open this door now! You are not allowed to f*****g ignore me. I let you go long enough. It is time for you to come home,” Jeff screamed to her shut door. “Stupid cunt, you owe me for the embarrassment you brought to my firm. My father is still pissed about it. You need to be punished for trying to f**k me over!”

Tyler was not sure what had happened in the past, but he was not going to let Jeff continue to talk to her like that. He stomped his way over and shoved Jeff violently. Jeff hit the wall hard with a thud and groaned in pain.

“Back off, asshole,” Tyler said evenly. He was not going to allow Jeff to see him angry.

“What the hell, man? This is none of your concern. Back the f**k off,” he spat back.

“This is my f*****g house and there is no need for you to go breaking down doors or speaking to anyone in that manner,” Tyler shot back.

“How I speak to my fiancé is still none of your f*****g business. Just because she lives in your house does not make her your possession. She is mine and I own her. You need to get out of my f*****g face,” Jeff ranted, breathing heavily.

Tyler was over it. He grabbed Jeff forcefully by the collar and hauled him down the stairs to the door. Once they were outside, Tyler shoved him out the door, causing Jeff to stumble and almost fall down the one step to the ground.

“Don’t bother coming back. You will not be allowed in the front door,” Tyler shouted as he slammed the door shut. He looked back at Henry’s confused expression and Lucinda’s livid look. At this moment, he couldn't care less what they think. Brushing past them, Tyler ran to his room and pulled out his phone. For some reason, he just knew that Ashton was not in her room.

“Are you okay?” he texted.