Ashley's POV

I frantically turned behind me, my mind going into panic mode. Tristan was just a few steps down the hall, his attention fixed on his phone as he continued walking.

I could feel my heart beat faster with every step that Tristan took. Any more of this and I'd collapse from a heart attack.

I couldn't risk the two of them ever meeting.

I've done way too many things for it to end like this. If Tristan was going to find out, I'd rather be the one to tell him.

I did the only thing my brain could think of under so much pressure.

I quickly turned around and slammed the door into Waylen's face. This left him puzzled and his nose in pain. He took a step back and for a second, he yelled out in pain.

I pressed my back against the door.Tristan now stood a few steps in front of me as he looked up.

He stopped in front of me, his eyes staring at me suspiciously. His eyes then moved toward the door with a questioning look. It took him a few seconds to decide that I wasn't a flight risk and had not been doing anything suspicious.
By his expression, I could tell he had dismissed any thoughts he might have had.

"Do you want the cake or not?" He asked facing me. "Your tantrums are only going to work against you." He added nonchalantly.

Why was he here asking me about food when I told him I wasn't hungry? Besides, all the anxiety inside of me had more than sufficed for all the hunger I had.

"Just tell my mom to leave it on the counter," I answered dismissively.

He continued to stare at me, his suspicious look returning.

Why hadn't he left yet?

"What are you hiding?" he asked with his brow raised.

Why did he suddenly have to turn into a detective? I was surprised Waylen hadn't made another sound or even knocked yet.

"Nothing," I answered dismissively. "It's not like I'll be able to sneak in a bottle of alcohol or something," I answered raising my hands to assure him that I wasn't hiding anything.

It seemed it was a bit too soon for me to be throwing around such words. He didn't seem to get the joke.

"You should just go back inside, I have a neighbour that I need to deal with outside. I'll be back in a few minutes." I said.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll come back if you take longer than five minutes. If I don't find you, I'll have to call the police." He said.

He turned around and made his way back to the living room. I watched to make sure that he had completely disappeared.

I was getting tired of this side of him. Something had to change.

I opened the door again to Waylen who held his nose trying to prevent more blood from coming out of his nose. He used his other hand to wipe some blood off. Some of it was now covering his white shirt.

I felt a bitsorry for him, just a little bit.

This time I stepped out, closing the door behind me.

Waylen now stared at me annoyed, his cheeks reddened in anger. He fisted his hand while the other held his bloody nose.

"I knew it, you were really cheating on me with that guy," Waylen exclaimed. He must have recognized Tristan's voice. "I should have known better than to think that I could trust you." He yelled.

I couldn't have him yelling, Tristan would come back and this would have all been for nothing.

Besides, he was the last person to talk abouttrust. He left me with an unconscious man to deal with.

"No, I never cheated on you with him," I answered in a soft voice. "But he is really here because he has been trying to find you. He has been trying to get all the information on you that he can find. You are lucky I haven't started talking. If he sees your face, he'll have you thrown in prison for what you did." I threatened.

Waylen's anger was now replaced by worry.

Maybe Tristan was right, I could get a littlecreative. I just needed to make sure he never showed up again, even if Tristan wasn't here.

Whether he believed me or not was another issue but he knew better than to mess with someone as powerful as Tristan. Even I was bearing the consequences of it, if only I'd known better.

"I don't know how often he will come here to get information but my advice to you is to stay away from here and from me as far as possible." I continued.

"If you think you can replace me with that guy, you better think again." He answered. He paused for a moment as he weighed through all his options. "This won't be the last you see of me," He threatened.

He shot a dagger at me as I tried to remain confident.

What had I ever seen in him?

I opened the door and stepped back into the house.

I slammed the door again. This time Waylen took a step back to prevent the door from slamming into his face.

I peeked through our keyhole as I watched him disappear. It was a relief to know that this would be the last time I would see him, hopefully. He was too big a coward to ever return. My threat had worked.

I sighed as I made my way back into the house. Facing Waylen made me a bit tougher and more courageous. With everything that has happened, I don't understand how it's even possible that I haven't been caught yet. Maybe my luck will soon run out.

I walked to the kitchen where Tristan, mom and Katy were as they navigated through the dishes. I pretended to get a glass of water for myself. I needed to keep an eye on Tristan while he was here so he wouldn't do anything extreme.

"We should really do this more often. I'll be here to join you again tomorrow." Tristan smiled.

So, he was really planning on turning this into a more frequent thing? I was either going to have to tell the truth or bury him somewhere.

"No, I think today will be the last time that you see me, at least for a while," Mom answered.

We all had our attention on mom. Was she leaving? Even I wasn't pretending to ignore her anymore.

"Are you going somewhere?" Katy asked, her voice filled with enthusiasm.

"I have a littletrip. I'll be gone for two weeks," Mom answered. "There is something I need to do that I should have done a long time ago." She added.

There she was again, speaking in code. Where was she even going? She had never left us for a day since the day I was born. This sudden trip was very strange.

A wide smile grew on Katy's face. I could imagine all the late-night parties she'd planned to attend. For her, this was a shot at freedom.

"Well, all the best for your trip," Tristan answered.

With the tone in his voice, my mother's absence would make his visits more frequent.

By now, I was just loitering in the kitchen, trying to maximize the amount of sips I could take from my water.

Just then, mom's phone rang on the kitchen counter. She wiped her hands before answering the phone.

"Hello?" Mom answered. There was a moment of silence. "Right now?" Mom asked on the phone.

After nearly a minute, mom smiled happily as she ended her call.

"Good news, one of the most established bakeries has just asked me to bake one of my pastries. It's unfortunate that I have to go now but I can't miss the opportunity." Mom explained.

Mom moved around the kitchen, packing a few of her recipe books.

"Congratulations," Tristan smiled.

"I'm so happy. I'd have to take a taxi to get there at this time. I have no idea what time I'll finish but it will all be worth it." She answered.

In a few minutes, she had gathered her things and a taxi was waiting for her outside to leave. This meant I'd also be rid of Tristan now.

I followed behind Tristan who had settled himself at the dining table. The food was still on the table in bowls, but it was now covered.

"Are you leaving?" I asked Tristan, who was on his phone and seated at the table.

"I thought we had already agreed that I don't trust you enough to be alone." He answered. "I'd just have to wait for your mother to get back." He added.

In my heart, I fought every inclination to murder him.

I took a deep breath, sitting opposite him.

"I think that we both need to resolve this wedge between us. We can't continue like this." I began. I was never going to be able to get out of this mess for as long as he was like this.

He looked up at me.

"We should find a way forward. I'm sure that we both might have said things that we didn't mean." I continued.

"I meant every word." He answered. He clearly wasn't in the mood for peace talks.

Maybe I should just get to the point. Sweet talking was working so we might as well get to the crux of this.

"I know that I shouldn't have gotten drunk but you can't fire Ivy because of that." I breathed out.

He raised his brow and paused for a second as if deciding whether I was serious or not.

"Do I need to start counting the number of things you both did?" He asked. "You both lied about your mother being sick just so you could get out of our doctor's visit. Do you have any idea how sick that sounds?" He asked.

He had a point.

My mind slippedinto a panic. He was getting a lot closer to the truth on his own than I could have ever imagined. Right now, my goal was to save Ivy.

"I'm scared of doctors," I yelled. I took a moment to breathe as he formed a blank expression. "Ivy only offered me a way out and I took it. I really had no idea that it was a lie until later on." I answered.

"Your excuse is that you are afraid of doctors?" He asked with his brow raised. It didn't make sense but I had to sell it. I never panicked when I woke up in the hospital but anything to get Ivy out of trouble. I was already a lost cause.

"It's true," Katy answered walking in. "We used to watch a lot of horror TV shows as children. In this one episode, this guy was taken to the doctor because of a cough and they ended up stealing his liver. They replaced it with a pig's liver." Katy answered assuringly.

"How does that even happen?" Tristan asked curiously.

"I have no idea but it did," Katy answered trying to assure him. "In fact, the oldest person who ever lived never visited the doctor even once. Doctors are a lot more dangerous than you think." Katy answered with a nod.

"Wow," Tristan answered amusedly. "I am so sorry," he said. "You must be a part of the TikTok generation. It's not just you, it has a way of making a lot of people think or dump things." He answered sarcastically.

Was that an insult?

"Your friend is still not coming back," Tristan answered firmly.

"You can't do that. She has a sick mother who relays on her. She needs the job." I pleaded. This was true.

"I'm just helping her, she'll learn to make better decisions in her workplace." He answered nonchalantly.

"You can't be that cold," I whispered.

"I'm the cold one? She was the one who watched you get drunk despite knowing your condition." He answered.

"You got drunk?" Katy smiled amusingly. She pulled a chair next to Tristan. She was only here for the drama.

I ignored Katy, getting back to the main point of my argument. "You are overreacting. It's not like I get drunk every day. So many people drink before they find out they are pregnant and the babies are born fine." I answered defensively.

He sighed. "The worst part is that you still don't see what you did wrong." He retorted.

"He is right you know," Katy added. "Think of it this way. Imagine the cutest baby you've ever seen. Someone takes it into the water and drowns it inside a pool, pressing the baby's head down till it slowly loses all the life it has. Will you just stand by and do nothing?" Katy asked.

Whose side was she on?

Tristan nodded agreeing with her before taking a deep breath.

"If you really want your friend to stay at the company, you'll have to make sure that you never speak to her again." He said.

"So now you are making me choose between my friend and her job?" I asked.

"You have a choice, are you going to let your sick friend's mother starve or will you think about someone else than yourself?" He asked.

That didn't seem like anoption. I'd never allow Ivy to lose her job, especially if I could help it.

I crossed my arms, resting my back in my chair.

He smirked back at me as I glared at him.

Katy was watching the two of us amusingly, now sipping on her juice loudly to draw attention.

"How about we watch a documentary instead?" Katy suggested. "There is this really cool show on how to hide a dead body."

"Only if he ends up in a shallow grave in our backyard," I answered crossing my arms.

"It's going to take a lot more than those cute little eyes of yours to kill me, sweetheart." He mocked.

He was really trying to get to me.

"You fired me and then had security throw me out like a common criminal," I fired at him.

"It was for your own good." He smiled. "Besides, I have more good news. Since your mother dearest is leaving for a while and I obviously can't leave you alone here, you are going to have to come with me. We are going on a short trip to Greece," he announced.

My jaw nearly dropped.

Katy stared at the two of us, her eyes filled with amusement.

"You can't do that. I'm not going anywhere with you," I answered. "I'll report you for kidnapping me," I threatened.

"You can try. Besides, we've already been through this. I can't trust you enough to leave you alone." He answered.

"So now you are threatening me to leave with you? My mother is going to file a restraining order against you when she finds out. You are just trying to take advantage of the fact that she will be gone for a while," I said.

"I'm pretty sure she would agree with me when she finds out that you are trying to poison our child." "Fine, I'll just go and tell your mother about how you are poisoning our baby. Then she can keep an eye on you for me, that'll solve most of my problems." He answered.

My mom couldn't find out. She'd never trust me with anything with as much as one percent alcohol content, not even mouthwash.

I was losing this battle. There was no negotiation with Tristan, especially not in this condition.

"You are out of your mind," I exclaimed, pushing myself out of my chair.

He did nothing but stare at me like a lunatic.

I stared at the food on the table. I took three of the closed bowls from the table, balancing them the best I could. "I'm taking this with me," I announced.

I had officially turned into a lunatic.

I stormed out of the dining room before stopping halfway. "By the way, I'm only taking this so you won't have it!" I yelled back at him.

"Good," he yelled back.

*****

I woke up to some gentle strokes in my hair. At first, it felt relaxing until my mind finally registered.

My eyes shot open to see Katy lying beside me.

"Good morning," she whispered.

I pushed away from her letting out a sigh.

"I figured that since you were acting like a baby last night, I might as well treat you like one." She answered. "Good thing you are not having a real baby otherwise it would have to do all the parenting." She added.

"Just get out," I answered sitting up straight.

Katy obliged as she moved off my bed.

"Good news, mom is packing her bags to leave and you will be leaving soon so I'll be home alone," Katy announced.

Was mom being serious? She has never left the house to go anywhere. I thought she'd talk herself out of it.

"I'd never allow that," I answered putting my feet on the side of my bed. "You should get out of here and get ready for school," I added.

Katy shook her head at me in disapproval as she made her way out of my room.

I slipped into my morning shoes and pushed my hair back to move it away from my face.

I needed to be sure for myself that mom was leaving.

I made my way downstairs, hearing the sound of a suitcase being dragged to the door.

There were two suitcases left beneath the staircase.

Seeing those bags made it feel even more real. She really was leaving. Despite everything, she was always the only constant in my life, despite everything falling apart. All the emotions I had been suppressing were finally starting to sink in.

I continued walking down and stopped at the bottom of the staircase.

"You are awake," mom said as she approached me to take her next bag.

I didn't answer, instead, I just stared back at her. It took me a while to realize that I had started shaking and crying.

Without hesitation, she pulled me into a hug.

"It's okay baby, it would all be alright." She whispered.

"I promise that when I get back, I'm going to make things all better. It's going to be okay." She said assuringly, her eyes tightening around me.

But it wasn't.

She pulled away from me and wiped tears from my cheeks.

Right at that moment, I realized something. She was the only one who could help me out of this situation I'd gotten myself involved in with Tristan. I was going to tell her everything, the whole truth.

She would definitely not agree with what I did but she would understand. Perhaps she would help me and know how to better explain this to Tristan.

I was getting into more trouble because I kept inventing more lies and hiding things. Right now only the truth could save me.

"Mommy," I whispered, nearly choking on my tears.

She smiled back at me, wiping away the last bit of tears that were streaming down my cheeks.

"I did something stupid," I confessed.

She paused, her eyes now holding a more concerned look.

"What is it?" she whispered.

I took a deep breath to gather my words.

Right then, the doorbell rang.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading.

Is Ivy a bad influence or not?

Please comment down your thoughts on the story.