I thought he would have been done after that question, but he piped up again soon after. “Ms. Stovall, if I remember correctly, you used to be the project director for the Fuller Corporation. Do you remember why you left?”
I was surprised as I hadn’t guessed that he would suddenly ask about that. Without waiting for my answer, he looked at Armond and smiled. “Mr. Murphy, do you know about Ms. Stovall’s past?”
How could he?
Back then, I left Fuller Corporation because I had gotten framed. Despite that, Ashton had destroyed all the evidence and did not let even the slightest bit of news get leaked about it. There were barely any people who actually knew about the incident.
He was clearly asking Armond so he could use this chance to humiliate me.
Armond looked and me and said calmly, “Everyone has their own past. I don’t know what she used to be like, but now I know that she’s a very talented person. After all, don’t you have your own history too, Mr. Fuller?”
Armond was clearly avoiding the question.
Ashton smiled. “How open-minded of you, Mr. Murphy. Still, we can’t deny the fact that someone’s past will certainly affect their future. While the Fuller Corporation does in fact consider our partner’s capabilities, we also take into account their values.”
His words clearly had a double meaning to them. The audience had probably already started doubting the reason behind Fuller Corporation’s decision to fire me all those years ago.
I heard some members of the audience start to mumble amongst themselves. Some of them had even started whispering about Ashton’s attitude. I could hear them speculating that Ashton, Armond, and I had a relationship beyond just former and current colleagues.
No one enjoyed the feeling of being gossiped about by their audience, much less in a situation like this.
I glanced at Ashton and said, “If you so heavily doubt my loyalty and values, then I’m more than happy to pass on my role as director to another staff member from the Murphy Corporation for this project.”
He frowned, clearly ruffled. His cold gaze landed on me once again. “That’s alright. I think you’d be a good fit for this project after all.”
After that, he simply glanced at Joseph before leaving.
I returned to my seat and Armond spoke, “Lover’s spat?”
I pressed my lips together and threw the documents back to him. “You should really think before you speak.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why are you so angry? You’re the one who keeps running away, and you’re the one who keeps pushing him away too. He’s already given up his dignity as a man for you. What do you have to be angry about?”
I stood up, reluctant to speak to him for any longer. “Since the proposal is done, I’ll get going. I’m still busy.”
I knew it was my fault, but it wasn’t like that would stop me from continuing. After all, Ashton was much better off without me.
However, I still felt suffocated despite having left the hall and decided to find a place to sit down and take a breather.
“Ms. Stovall!” Someone called out; it was Joseph.
I looked at him and nodded with a smile. “Mr. Campbell.”
“Ms. Stovall, Summer is back at the villa with Mr. Fuller. She’s fine, but she keeps asking where you are,” he told me. His tone was light as if we were simply conversing about the weather.
I thought he would bring Ashton up, but he started talking about Summer instead.
I was taken aback for a while before sighing. With that, I couldn’t help but ask, “Is she doing alright?”
He nodded and basically repeated himself. “She just keeps asking Mr. Fuller where you went.”
I pressed my lips together, feeling a little bitter. After a pause, I said, “Thank you, Mr. Campbell.”
He then shook his head and said, “I don’t understand. You and Mr. Fuller clearly still love each other. If that’s the case, why do you keep pushing him away?”
“He deserves someone better,” I retorted.
“Who would that be? When it comes to love, feelings are the most important. Since when this became some matching game?” The man frowned at me.
I looked at Joseph and sighed. “Mr. Campbell, plenty of people think that a couple should end up together as long as they love each other. No one ever thinks about how they should deal with their own individual problems.
“After I heard that he was the one who pitted my parents against each other and caused my mother and me to become enemies, I brought Summer away. I knew that if I stayed by his side, I’d be swallowed up by both love and hate. Hence, I used four years of my time to try and get over it, but that turned out to be useless.
“I thought I could get over it once I came to K City so I could have a good life with Ashton from then onward. I wanted to have a normal mother-daughter relationship with Cameron, but she was always so careful around me, and Ashton always seemed to be letting me do whatever I wanted. It hurt even more because I’d already seen how much they loved Rebecca. With her, it was unconditional, but when it came to me, all they did was tiptoe around me. I don’t blame them. I blame life.”
I looked at Joseph and smiled bitterly. “If I stayed with Ashton, that just means I’ll be stuck in a hellhole of my own stubborn making. I’m a coward after all. I’d rather be afraid than breaking the peace.”
