Chapter 2 No.2

Heather's POV:

The reality of what Ahser meant began to dawn on me when he slowly dropped my hand on my lap and stood to his feet. A sob forced its way up my throat as a result.

"Why?" I asked calmly, contrasting the turmoil that'd broken out in my insides.

"Nothing," came his stoic reply. He took a few steps and turned around to look at me. "We're already well into the third year of the damn contract, so what does it matter if I terminate it now or in the next few months?"

I couldn't believe my ears. Really.

Just when I was beginning to become convinced that Asher cared about me in the same way I'd fallen hopelessly in love with him, he dropped this bombshell on me like it was nothing.

I'd thought, hoped, that he would ask me to remain as his lover, but without the restraints of the legal documents. Or that he would at least renew the contract when it ended. This shocking reveal wasn't something that I could ever have imagined.

"Is it something that I did wrong?" I questioned as I rose to my feet. "Am I not satisfying enough? Do you need me to improve on anything? Are you just tired of playing with–"

"No." He cut me short in a firm tone and began to walk away.

"You would have to do more than one worded replies, Asher!" My voice rose in a surge of anger. "I deserve a tangible reason for this move, at least."

"You deserve what I say you deserve, Heather! That's the term of the contract."

"You mean the contract you just terminated?" I fired back hotly.

"Well, if you must know, I reunited with the love of my life a few months ago, and we're making it official soon!" It came out in a thunderous boom. I didn't know if it was his voice or an external effect, but I knew time seemed to freeze as a result of that.

I blinked once and then again to be sure I wasn't staring at a horror movie or my worst nightmare.

"What?" I questioned silently.

"That's right, Heather," he spat in spite. "After enduring for almost nine years, I finally reunited with my love, and you think I'd want to keep mere distractions on the side to jeopardize my relationship with her?"

The initial urge to sob that I'd been able to force back down came back with a vengeance.

"You... you're not... you and women–"

"I'm never close with women? Is that what you wanted to say? That's because I was waiting for her, you see? I waited all my life for this moment. Do you see why I cannot risk continuing with this charade?"

His voice that began with a tinge of hardness ended with a load of tender earnestness. It was as though he was begging me to understand his point of view, but I was too busy trying to comprehend the words he'd described our relationship as.

First, he called me a mere distraction, and then he called what we shared a charade...

Where the fuck did I go wrong? I thought I had him! I felt that, even though he was taking his time to acknowledge it, he cared deeply about me. How could I be so blinded by my emotions?

How could I be so wrong?

"See," he said as he came to stand before me. "I know that this must be hard to take in. I know that it must be... a blow to your purse, so I'll pay you the balance of everything I would have paid you at the end of the contract, and you can have this house as compensation. If that isn't fair enough, you can renegotiate with my lawyer..."

The realization finally hit me like a glass of cold water to the face.

I was such a fool to have hoped anything good could come from a contractual sexual affair.

Asher had been clear from the get-go that he wasn't looking for a relationship or any related entanglement. He just wanted exclusive rights to someone he could fuck as he pleased and picked me as the sole candidate after our first time together.

It'd never been about emotions for him. Every single time he acted out of what I presumed as care or love, it'd only been him maintaining his glorified sex doll, and now that someone else was here, the real love of his life, I was no longer of any use to him. There was no need to keep me around or have anything to do with me.

"It's very generous of you, Asher," I said wobbly. "But I don't want any compensation from you. You've done more than enough for me already–"

"I insist–" he butted in quickly. "Even if you don't want the money, at least take this place. I have no use for it anyways."

He had no use for it anymore.

I chuckled out loudly, bitterly. "Why are you willing to splurge so generously on me, Asher? I'm only just a glorified plaything, after all."

"Heather," he called in that peculiarly tender way that always made my heart flutter, but this time, my heart only squeezed painfully in my chest, and I winced.

"I'm so sorry." He spoke again as he pulled me into his embrace. I stood rigidly there, refusing to relax in the ambiance of his firm hold, his disarming voice, and his intoxicating scent.

"I agree, Asher. Let's never meet again." I felt his hold of me stiffen before he suddenly retracted his hand like I'd just informed him I had a viral disease.

I felt bereft.

"So then goodbye," he replied in a normal tone, void of any emotions. "I'll give you till the end of the month to decide if you want the house or not–"

"I don't," I interrupted firmly, and Asher slowly shook his head.

"Okay," he replied and resumed his walk to the exit. He paused when he got there and raised his voice again without turning to look at me, "I'll have Liam drop you."

With that, he opened the door, walked through it, and gently closed it back. I waited for a few seconds to be sure he wouldn't open the door before doing what I'd wanted to do since he broke the news to me.

I broke down and wept.