Caught Between Love and Duty

Chapter 4

Ashley called Jason the next day and told him she needed to discuss something important with him. Jason invited her over to his mansion. Jason wanted to know how she wanted to handle it and assured her that in as much as he was deeply in love with her, he was to be okay with her doing whatever would give her peace.

She confessed that she had no idea what she wanted to do but the major thing making her uncomfortable with settling with Noah was that her guts told her he lied about something. Jason finally agreed to see Noah and discuss with both of them but urged her to do what she wanted for her and her son.

Their meeting ended with a good s*x and they both head out to meet Noah in a dinner.

They chose to stay at the outdoor section of the restaurant bearing in mind that things could get a little nasty. Ashley started by explaining how hard the past years had been and how she had gone through loads of ups and downs mentally. She explained how difficult this has been for her, adding that the connection she had with Jason was the most liberating experience she had since Noah left. She explained that it's not going to be the easiest thing to do to leave the first love she had and the one she has a child with.

She clearly gave Jason no chance to speak to Noah and ended by saying

"I'm so sorry Jason but I just have to build from what's left with what me and Noah shared"

Noah smiled in a manner to mock Jason.

"I wish you guys the very best". Jason said as he nodded and stood, he adjusted his suit button and left.

Noah's little smile slowly turned to a full blown smile.

Tears rolled down Ashley's eyes as she stared at Jason leaving. Noah drew her closer and pat her back as he whispered—

"We will be fine my darling"

She nodded and responded

"If we are doing this, we are doing it slowly at my pace".

Noah nods yes—

"What do you mean by no s*x!" Noah screamed on the bed the next morning as Ashley Jumped out of the bed.

"We talked about this, Noah" Ashley responded angrily.

Noah is calm now.

"We talked about taking things slowly, not about s*x" Noah replied with a much calmer tone.

"Well, taking things slowly includes intimate moments to me" Ashley replied.

Noah sighed and stood to embrace her.

Ashley discussed all that had been happening with Eunice. Eunice assured her she made the right decision and she should take it easy with herself. Eunice took Ashley and Teddy for a cool off at the park. Surprisingly, Jason was at the park. Ashley and Eunice tried their best to act like they didn't notice him but Teddy screamed and ran to him once he saw him.

With so much joy and excitement, Jason raised Teddy up and hugged him tightly, he took him to get some cotton candies, just enough for everyone. Then he carried him back to his mum and they greeted casually and Jason left. It dawned on Ashley at that moment that she hadn't moved on from what she shared with Jason.

Ashley's suspicion on Noah started growing when he preferred taking some phone calls outside the house. She ignored as first but when these events repeated itself, she decided to take action. She discussed it with Eunice and they both planned how they would access Noah's phone.

She didn't ask Noah any question so that he would be more comfortable and care free. It took a while but it eventually worked when Noah went to the bathroom to shower without it. She waited a minute for the shower to go on and then knowing that she could get cought instantly she quickly linked his socials to her own phone using a QR code. She locked the phone and dashed out to the balcony to meet up with Eunice.

They both went through his socials and saw what blew their minds away—

Noah had a family in Seychelles. In fact that was were he actually travelled to when he ran from the military, apparently he met a lady there and has a daughter with her. From everything they saw they were able to deduce that he actually came back to get Teddy and unite with them in Seychelles and his supposed girlfriend there was okay with that arrangement.

Ashley was really hurt and annoyed with herself for letting her guard down and not following her intuition. She had always suspected Noah of having a skeleton in his closet but she still couldn't believe he will go that extent to hurt her. She gathered herself together after hours of shedding tears that night.

She refused to confront Noah, rather she waited…

Two weeks later just before she head out to work, she asked him if there is something he was hiding from her. She convinced him that no matter what it was she was willing to hear from him and even forgive him. He insisted that there was nothing he hasn't told her and he was already flaring up in anger that she was becoming unnecessarily worried. Just as he continued ranting—

She told him everything, Noah couldn't even alter a word and she wasn't even expecting a reply. She dashed out for work. By the time she returned Noah had left with his stuff, he didn't leave a note or any clue. Ashley assumed he had gone back to Seychelles.

The following few weeks Ashley concentrated her life and energy on bonding with Teddy. They went on toy dates, game dates and Spa dates. She got more intentional and intimate with the various aspects of his life. She sacked his home tutor and took over doing his school projects and assignments for him and took him to school every single day of the week.

Alongside with that she decided to have an open mind about having a partner and she decided to accept date invitations she got. Sadly every single date she went for made her remember what she shared with Jason or the good times she had with Noah.

Every single one of the men she either wanted her for s*x or were manipulative or were not comfortable having a long term relationship with a mom that is in a complicated relationship with her husband. Many times she was tempted to reach out to Jason even if it was just to know how he was doing but knowing that she hurt him bad made her to always push the thought away.

At some point, Eunice went behind Ashley's back to meet Jason and tell him all that had happened between Ashley and Noah. She tried to convince Jason to see if he could work things out with Ashley but Jason insisted that what happened was probably best for them and he would prefer to leave it the way it was.

This went on and on for weeks until Ashley starting feeling uneasy with her health and started having regular dizziness and nausea. She ignored it at first but when the nausea became worse Eunice adviced her to see a doctor.

They went together and some tests were ran to check for infections. They all came out negative. The doctor suggested a pregnancy test and when the results came out. Ashley screame

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" What???I'm pregnant???!!!!!"