Just An Empty Voice Screaming Out For Help -Closed:Ash-

[Ashton Wentworth]

Ashton felt like a puppet. Which, wasn’t something that he was going to tolerate for much longer. It was the sole perk of this position, he was supposed to be able to do this job his way. Now, this prick on a power trip was threatening to ruin absolutely everything for him. The whole thing. A year's worth of work. For what? The culmination was unlikely to happen. Ash was stalling and there was no other word for it. Everything about this room felt tense. Lukas had even stopped speaking. The three of them seated around an empty table setting in silence. Ashton, casually disgracing the way that a gentleman should be seated in his chair, slouched and off center. Lukas perched politely with his hands folded in his lap and then Mikkhal, stard upright like that stick was so beyond far up his ass that it was like to poke out of his mouth from the effort of keeping his spine straight. The dust in the air didn’t even want to seem to move. Everything held portrait still and in a highly uncomfortable silence. He wasn’t supposed to be here. Ashton didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be as far away from here as possible. Why hadn’t anybody given him a drink. There was no way that they couldn’t have alcohol in this place.

Ashton snapped at the first house elf that he saw, motioning that the beast come closer and that he fetch Ashton something strong and on ice in that next moment or so help him he was going to lose his mind. Lukas requested apple juice. Which was almost distracting enough to make the whole thing that he was experiencing almost seem totally unreal. It had only been a handful of minutes but already Ashton was tired of looking at the walls around him. Most of all because Mikkhal was doing nothing but staring at him. The air was beyond thick with tension and it was more than a little annoying. Which, left the only option for Ashton to have left was to engage in a damned staring contest with that asshole across the way. Fucking prick. Hated every inch of his face. Would have liked to punch those features into a new pattern. Was sitting here, wondering what he would look like with the side of his head caved in when the dining room door finally opened. The smell of food got momentarily stronger before fading away yet again. Leaving in their presence a very casual seeming Kaydence. Still attractive. Even in that outfit that she was sure had she known who she was walking in on, would have been very different. If there weren’t eyes on her at that moment, he was also certain that spite alone would have turned her heel. Would have put a proper face on, would have shoved her hair into all stupid directions when he had always preferred her just like this.

. ”Mom!” Threw himself out of his chair and then seemed to think better of it, carefully lowering himself back into that practiced posture at the table. ”Mom! Look! Mr. Wentworth came to dinner after all! The quick glance at her was all that Ashton could allow himself before turning his focus back to Mikkhal and the insipid staring contest that they were currently undergoing. ”Miss. Nash, so nice of you to finally join us.” Didn’t even blink. Ashton was starting to think that he was no longer human but a golem in human form. It would have made perfect sense. Would account for how much if an idiot this man was. “You know me,” Ashton bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing - but his lips did curl into a sneer as Mikkhal finally looked away to Kaydence as she spoke. The smirk was only half because he had won, and half because no they in fact, did not know her at fucking all. None of them did. None of them but Ashton. “Fashionably late regardless of the attire.” Ashton’s postured shifted only slightly as Kaydence sat, fiddling instead with the napkin and unwinding the silver from within the folds.

“Still finding myself a little weary from the day’s events. Had to get myself together to entertain our dinner guest.” Ashton shook his head. “I imagine with such gaps in security, it would be enough to make anybody tired.” Just loud enough for the two other adults present to hear. Lukas seemed like he wished they would either bring the food out or just let him go and play already. Lukas’ sock clad feet swinging freely under the table. Ashton still didn’t understand why he was watching him so. Perhaps he was still just irked at the irresponsibility of it all. Perhaps he was just looking for absolutely any reason to now be here. Any at all. “And Mr. Wentworth. How wonderful of you to take Lukas up on his dinner despite my insistence for another time. I certainly hope you’re hungry.” Ashton glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, remaining rather cold on the subject on purpose. “Starved.” Which was still mostly true. Hadn’t gotten nearly any of that ice cream earlier before he had tossed it to go running. “I wouldn’t dream of imposing, but it wasn’t just young Mr. Eklund here that was so insistent.” Ashton commented, referencing their common threat between the three of them. While the letter had been in Noah’s hand, Ashton still wasn’t entirely certain that it had been in fact, from Noah or if it had actually been sent at the bequest of the idiot on the other side of the table. Regardless it had been kept back in Ashton’s room as evidence should it go foul either way. One house elf leaving the dining room as another entered with the drink that Ashton had requested. Timid in the way it moved but still in proper form. Ashton had never personally understood the need for house elves, didn’t care enough about them one way or the other. Though this one was good in his books, as it had brought him a drink. “Business later. Food first, I hope anyway.”

[Kaydence Morgan]

Merlin her hand was throbbing. Really should have tried to put some sort of numbing charm on it before she had left the hallway bathroom. Would have been the smart thing to do. Thankful for the opportunity to rest it on the top of her thigh, Kaydence used her other to grab the glass of Cabernet Nzatem had suddenly appeared with at her side. Briefly placing it on the table, she looked down to the old house-elf and leaned in. “Ice pack,” she mumbled, though loud enough for his gray ears to hear. With a quick nod, the senior elf returned back in the direction he had come from. She straightened herself back up to position as Ashton responded next to her. ”Starved.” An annoyed smirk spread from the corners of her lips. “Wonderful.” The fingers of her left hand grasped gingerly around the stem of her glass. That damned elf should have just left the bottle of wine next to her. He knew well enough by now that any change in attitude on her end usually resulted in her diminishing at least a half to herself. A good glass or three of red seemed to be the only thing to really help settle Kaydence’s nerves nowadays anyway. She knew if she kept up her penchant for it, she’d be on Ashton whiskey level within a week.

”I wouldn’t dream of imposing but it wasn’t just young Mr. Eklund here that was so insistent.” Ashton’s comment had very nearly made Kaydence’s wine-cladden hand freeze in the air as she began raising it to her lips. For a moment, she wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that. She quickly closed the space between the glass and her mouth. Only took another second for her to remember that Mikkhal had also made that stupid comment earlier about him coming back to the house for dinner. ”But perhaps Miss. Nash, Mr. Wentworth would like to join us for dinner?” Couldn’t help to roll her eyes to herself as she took a sip. Remembered how he had tried to play it off about the house-elves not knowing how to prepare enough food for the three of them. Fucking idiot. Kaydence had been thankful, at the time, that Ashton had been able to see right through the charade and decline the invitation. Yet here he was now, sitting to the right of her looking equally annoyed at the current situation the group found themselves in. Shouldn’t have been. She knew how uncomfortable he was being here. Knew he was invading her and Lukas’ personal space. There seemed to be no logical explanation for his presence at the family’s dining room table. Could have perhaps had something to do with Noah but surely, he would have still been on his way as business wouldn’t haven’t have included dinner with her and her son. She was really starting to question if she would ever know the answers to things anymore or if she would constantly be tormented with the unknown. The latter seemed more likely.

Could feel her personal space being invaded. Looking down to her side, Kaydence saw Nzatem had returned with her request. Setting the glass down, she took the soft bag from his bony fingers and set it atop the knuckles of her right hand. Had to refrain from hissing as even the light pressure from the pack caused discomfort to the bruised area. Ignored the pain as she adjusted it to make sure every part of bone was covered. ”Business later. Food first, I hope anyway.” Once the fabric began to settle into the crevasses, she looked over at the two men and boy sitting at the table. “Naturally. We never do business at the dinner table,” she responded. As if on cue, the house-elves around the group began to close in around them and set to work on lifting many of the tray lids to expose the steaming plates of food underneath. Far too many dishes still for how late their dinner was. Kaydence saw a soup pot next to Mikkhal that had begun serving a broth with vegetables floating in it. Watched carefully as the ladle slowly came her way and turned itself over to empty its contents into her bowl. Saw chunks of chicken floating alongside carrots and celery. She typically wasn’t a fan of chicken noodle but perhaps the base would help settle the uneasiness in her stomach that had been plaguing her all day. “So, Mr. Wentworth,” she began, pulling the dish close to her. “How was the weather outside? I’m assuming it has calmed down given your ability to apparate to us tonight.” Her hand moved towards her soup spoon, picking it up instantly then lowering it into the chicken broth.

[Ashton Wentworth]

In the world that Ashton was comfortable doing, this wasn’t one of them. He didn’t often sit down for dinner. Despite the many years of Kaydence attempting to get Ashton to take her on a dinner date, it just wasn’t something he had done. She was the sort of female that likes to get all dressed up and taken to dinner. It wasn’t that Ashton didn’t feel that she deserved to go, he knew that evenings like the other night were exactly what she wanted to be doing on a regular basis. She enjoyed the finer things. He had been rather dismissive of it, admonishing the way that she had been raised. Ashton just couldn’t stand all of the politics, the double meanings and the social work that was required to operate in those sorts of worlds. It was too fake and cost too much. Neither of those things were his specialty. Yet here he was, playing that exact role in a tense silence. Uncomfortable. Supposed that the only comfortable party at this table would have been the idiot opposite of them. Ashton was used to working through meals. Tending only to eat while on the movie. Shitty food grabbed for cheap prices and moved on with his day whenever he bothered thinking about stopping to eat at all. Couldn’t remember a time that he had sat down at a table outside of business functions since he was a child actually. Kaydence had tried more than most, had even condescended herself to cook for him on occasion - and ended up throwing plates at him when he picked at the contents on his way through the room. Had never claimed to be good for her, but he was fairly certain that if these last few interactions were evident of anything at all, it was that he was better for her than this current environment.

It would have been easier to fill the long silence with some pointless conversation with Lukas about anything. Anything at all. In the long run though, he wasn’t certain that it would help. A nearly silent pair of feet delivered his drink to him and Ashton downed the contents without thinking and shoved the now empty glass back in the direction of the elf who no doubt was disgruntled that his task wasn’t completed as they had originally assumed. “Naturally. We never do business at the dinner table,” Ashton’s next comment was directed only to the other male in the room. “Well I would assume not, but I’m learning a great deal of new business practices today.” Mikkhal sat up straighter in his chair as Ashton’s words. No doubt he was feeling pretty damned proud of himself. As if on cue, food was brought into the room. Ashton had never felt less hungry in his life. Lukas, seated beside him seemed to feel the exact opposite. Nearly bouncing in his chair in anticipation. Must have been the best night of his week. Beaches, ice cream, and now new friends for dinner. Didn’t have too much in common with the young man on that front. Way too much shit being put on the table for the number of people currently present. Would have possibly made more sense if Noah was going to be joining them but apparently that wasn’t going to be the case. They ate like this every night? Seemed more than a little wasteful in his opinion. “So, Mr. Wentworth,” Well fuck, Ashton couldn’t even address her in kind because he didn’t know what her fake last name was pretending to be. Couldn’t address her by her real name no matter how badly he wanted to spout off a sarcastic ass retort to her bitchy tone. If she honestly thought that he wanted to be here any more than she did, then she was fucking wrong. Didn’t want to be anywhere near here. . “How was the weather outside? I’m assuming it has calmed down given your ability to apparate to us tonight.” Ashton’s level gaze slowly turned toward Kaydence, his lips twitching into something near a smile at the last moment before his neutral frown took over once again. “It’s drying out a little. Not the sort of weather you would be out in if you had a choice.” Which he didn’t. Not with the request that was in the letter back in the room. He was supposed to be here, he just had no idea why. “Not that I’m not deeply grateful for your hospitality, Ms. Emmeline.”

[Kaydence Morgan]

Although the room was filled with a plethora of various aromas, the next more mouth-watering than the first to any normal person who had even the slightest bit of an appetite, Kaydence didn’t think she could stomach any of it. Truthfully, the smells of the food were almost becoming too intoxicating for her. The uneasiness in her stomach was threatening to make her feel nauseous. It would be in her best interest to attempt to sip down at least half the portion of soup. Yet the spoon still remained in the broth, mindlessly stirring as she stared at the contents following the path of the utensil. She began wondering if this was a feeling she was going to have to accept would control the rest of her life. The helplessness. The anxiety. The numbness. Always feeling like she had to be on fucking edge. She had been so damn furious walking into the dining room but how quickly that black cloud had engulfed her. Perhaps it would. There was still hope that once Noah returned and whisked her and Lukas off to this secluded island that things would go back to normal. Kaydence knew in her gut that coming back to Austria would cause those emotions to resurface.

Nothing good ever came from coming back home. However, she simply couldn’t have anticipated things would have taken the turn they did and so quickly. It would be easiest to blame it on Noah. Easy to blame him for demanding she and their son come here with him. Easy to blame him for burying himself so deeply in his work that he was oblivious to Kaydence’s suffering. Though, to be fair, he knew nothing about the sordid past she had left here. It would be easy to blame him for being gone for so long and pushing back their departure date by nearly two months. Hell, it would even be easy to blame him for getting Ash so closely involved in whatever business affairs they were conspiring together in. Ultimately though, everything fell squarely on her shoulders. Had Kaydence been honest from the beginning, Noah would have absolutely not allowed her and Lukas to join him on this venture. Likely not have even involved himself with any business in Austria altogether. He had always been vocal about his lack of support towards the Dark Lord and his minions, which was amusing given how heavily she had always felt his work entwined him with them. If she had been truthful from the start, she could have saved them both from their current predicaments by allowing him the choice of deciding whether he wanted to be with her or not. It would have been the fairest option given how much heavy shit she would forever be carrying on her shoulders. As time had proven though, selfishness was a permanent quality of hers.

”Well I would assume not, but I’m learning a great deal of new business practices today.” Had to refrain from smirking at Ashton’s remark. Instead, Kaydence continued to focus on the spinning broth. His sarcasm always drove her crazy but when it wasn’t aimed directly towards her it was much more tolerable. Taking a breath, she stopped the spoon from its clockwise rotation and lowered her hand to a neutral position, allowing the spoon to go fully underneath the soup. Slowly, she lifted it from the bowl, careful not to spill any of the steaming hot liquid and vegetables. She extended her neck a few inches, forming her lips into a small o as she slowly blew on in it. Had to force herself to eat no matter how badly she didn’t want to. Once the steam had dissipated enough to her liking, Kaydence brought the spoon to her mouth and carefully poured the contents in. Despite not having an ounce of hunger, she couldn’t deny the warmth the soup brought as it trailed down the back of her throat. Chunks cut perfectly so no additional effort was needed to chew if she didn’t choose to. Their house-elves were certainly talented when it came to cooking. She had always been convinced they added additional ingredients to whatever dishes they were preparing to solidify that they would be consumed under any circumstances. Now more so than ever as she found herself lowering her spoon-cladden hand back down to the bowl.

As she did, her eyes caught Ashton’s whom she could tell was about to say something. The small glimmer of a smile was distracting. Kaydence quickly turned her attention back to the soup. ”It’s drying out a little. Not the sort of weather you would be out in if you had a choice.” She had asked him another question hadn’t she. Had a choice. Well at least he had confirmed that his presence at her dinner table tonight wasn’t self-initiated. Shouldn’t have been surprised. With the way Mikkhal had been acting since the Boardwalk there was no doubt his involvement. ”Not that I’m not deeply grateful for your hospitality, Ms. Emmeline.” Couldn’t help the chuckle on that one. “I wasn’t ever under the impression that you weren’t, Mr. Wentworth. Merlin certainly knows my son couldn’t be any happier for your extended company tonight,” she responded, looking over to Lukas who was agreeing with an eager head nod and grin. ”She’s right Ashton. I was bummed you couldn’t come over but now you’re here and after dinner and dessert I can show you my wizarding cards. You’ve seen yours, right? If not, that’ll be the first one. I’ll show you my other favorites. I have seven.” Clearing her throat as she lifted the spoon back up to her mouth, Kaydence shook her head. “I heard what you slipped in there Lukas. I told you, no dessert. You already had some and you’re on punishment now.” Lukas’ grin faltered slightly as he turned back to his plate and began to look very interested in the assortment in front of him.

Placing her spoon back on the rim of her bowl, she lifted her napkin from her lap and lightly dabbed at the corners of her lips. “Mikkhal, do you anticipate Mr. Wentworth being here much longer past dinner? It’ll be Lukas’ bedtime not too shortly after and I’d rather not deal with any distractions that could prolong that process.”

[Ashton Wentworth]

“I wasn’t ever under the impression that you weren’t, Mr. Wentworth. Merlin certainly knows my son couldn’t be any happier for your extended company tonight,” Well that stung more than he supposed it ought to of. It wasn’t like he had expected for their night to mean anything to her. Certainly not with the level of intoxication that they had reached, but he had saved her damned kid. So yeah, her pointing out so sharply that Lukas was the only reason that she was pleased to see him? Hurt. Ashton’s teeth clamped down on the inside of his cheek as his fingers plucked at the table cloth in irritation. How was he supposed to respond to that? Certainly it would have been the best possible course of action to pretend that it meant nothing. To pretend that he was actually an adult and that he could be above his emotions when he couldn’t. He wanted to stand and scream at her. He wanted to shout that her son was fake, if it in fact was actually even her son. That he had a lot of things to know about his alleged mother. To call her a whore in front of the whole world and it mattered not at all that he was the same way. She wanted to hurt him, he wanted to hurt her back. Maturity was clearly his middle name. Stamped right across his forehead.

”She’s right Ashton. I was bummed you couldn’t come over but now you’re here and after dinner and dessert I can show you my wizarding cards. You’ve seen yours, right? If not, that’ll be the first one. I’ll show you my other favorites. I have seven.” Lukas’ small voice was the only thing keeping him centered. Ashton tried to keep his features neutral as he turned to face him. Lukas was vibrating with excitement. It was a clear point of pride with him. “I seem to vaguely recall my face on something or another.” Ashton winked in the kids' direction. “You think that the dessert will be better than this soup thing?” He stage whispered. It mattered not at all that Kaydence wasn’t the one who had made the thing, she had approved of the soup being ordered so it was still going to offend her oh so delicate sensibilities. “Pretty bold of you to admit that I’m not your favorite though, and right to my face too.” Ashton looked serious only for a moment before he wasn’t able to hold it anymore. Bemused at the way Lukas grinned, and his own smirk took over as Kaydence chimed in. “I heard what you slipped in there Lukas. I told you, no dessert. You already had some and you’re on punishment now.” Punishment? Punishment for what? Ashton mouthed the word ‘Party pooper’ and Lukas’ turned back to his plate so that she wouldn’t see the grin he was angling at the table cloth. It was deeply satisfying, knowing that Kaydence was deeply unhappy by everything happening here.

“Mikkhal, do you anticipate Mr. Wentworth being here much longer past dinner? It’ll be Lukas’ bedtime not too shortly after and I’d rather not deal with any distractions that could prolong that process.” Ashton shifted in his seat, slouching further as if he owned the room. “Yes Mikkhal, go ahead and speak for me.” He waved his hand in the mans direction, knowing full well how insulting that was going to sound. “Although, I’m not sure why Ms. Emmeline feels the need to be included in our business?” He turned his attention to Mikkhal at the end there with a brow lifted. “I wasn’t aware that you made a habit of including girls in your affairs?”

[Kaydence Morgan]

Kaydence never liked saying no to Lukas. The little boy was her world. She would have done or given anything to ensure his happiness and safety. She had always heard the saying of how a parent always wanted to make sure their child had everything they didn’t. As a child, Kaydence did have everything. Her family had lots of money. The siblings had the nicest clothes, most expensive toys and extravagant vacations every year. No expense was spared. Most importantly, there was a lot of love bestowed upon the Morgan children. Sure, her parents had been strict. Given her father’s occupation, there were certain rules that had to be followed. Yet it wasn’t until they’d gotten older when the need for them to be able to defend themselves on their own had been prioritized. As Darren’s training intensified, there was a noticeable change in the family dynamic. Although expected to keep up public appearances, Kaydence and her younger sister Alanna, suddenly found themselves on the backburner. Alanna, still too young to understand, didn’t appear to be nearly as affected as her older sister. Actually, Kaydence felt like her mother still lovingly tended to the young girl. Perhaps due to her being the baby of the family. However, it still put her in a strange position within the family causing her to ultimately act out the way she did and the resulting exile.

She had sworn to herself if she was ever able to have the opportunity to be a mother that she would never put her child in the position she was in. When the fates finally turned in her favor and gave her Lukas, Kaydence had upheld the promise. A day had never gone by where that little boy didn’t see affection from either her or Noah. Anything he wanted; it was his. Yet how he still remained so incredibly humble and not at all a spoiled brat was astonishing. She could never understand how Lukas didn’t seem to have a selfish bone in his body given who his two parents were. Regardless, she couldn’t deny the pride she felt towards her son and the young man he was becoming. Despite being prideful, Kaydence disciplined when she had to. Hence the no dessert. Although she wanted him to have everything, he needed to understand that when he placed himself in dangerous situations repercussions needed to be met to ensure he understood how serious she was in those instances she had told him no. Being unable to have extra dessert tonight was the least of the little boy’s worries.

Instead of protesting, Lukas shifted towards Ashton and bowed his head as if trying to hide something. Kaydence’s brow furrowed. Seeing how the two of them were interacting bothered the hell out of her. When the two of them were together, it was impossible for her to keep her eyes off of them. The chemistry between the two was undeniable. Lukas managed to conjure more smiles from Ashton’s face then she had ever seen before. Sure, the boy had that effect on people, but with Ashton it was different. Couldn’t get over how similar they looked. Lukas’ messy hair reminiscent of Wentworth eight years ago. The lanky frame they both shared, though Ashton had certainly put on more muscle since Kaydence had last seen him. Lukas’ prominent nose that strangely seemed to suit his face, much like the man sitting next to him. So much uneasiness that continued to bubble from deep in her gut. Even had a few moments in the short amount of time the three had been together to cause some completely unreasonable doubts to creep up in her mind. No. She was simply on edge. Noah’s prolonged absence was causing building turmoil and making her even more tense then she normally was. Times like these were when Kaydence’s paranoia kicked into overdrive, causing her to think recklessly and make something out of things that need not to be.

Felt her hand guiding its way back to her wine glass. Grasping so quickly around the stem of the glass that any firmer of a touch would have surely broken it and spilled red liquid all across her soup and tablecloth. Couldn’t calm the shakiness of her hand as Kaydence took a prolonged sip. The main course needed to appear now so she could force her way through it and get Lukas to bed and Ashton out of the condo as soon as possible. ”Yes Mikkhal, go ahead and speak for me.” Fought the urge to scoff but couldn’t stop the rolling of her eyes. ”Although I’m not sure why Ms. Emmeline feels the need to be included in our business?” Another large sip. While he had a point, she didn’t at all like the tone in his voice and was really growing tiresome of his need to throw her alias in her face every chance he got. ”I wasn’t aware you made a habit of including girls in your affairs?” As if on cue, Nzatem reappeared in the room with an array of covered silver platters following slowly behind him. The elf began announcing the dishes as they surrounded the table. Kaydence took this distraction to give a shift kick to Ashton’s left shin while she narrowed her eyes into deadly slits to greet his whenever his gaze met hers. Only kept her eyes there long enough to give him the hint before turning them back to the rearranging of the dinner plates in front of her. The soup she had barely forced down was now gone, replaced with a white plate part of her fine china set. Helpings of herb potatoes, garlic broccoli and a juicy grilled chicken breast topped with melted goat cheese, artichokes and a lemon caper butter sauce floated towards the plate on a sterling silver spatula with matching spoons. She loved this chicken recipe and always demanded it at least once every two weeks.

Although the food looked more savory then the soup, Kaydence still wasn’t sure if she’d be able to stomach anything with the growing tension at the table. Mikkhal had yet to say anything and with a quick glance in his direction, she noticed his eyes seemingly never left the three of them. He just sat there, almost oblivious to the going ons around him with the corners of his lips turned into an obvious smirk and his hands entwined in front of his mouth. “Mikkhal, are you going to answer Mr. Wentworth and myself or are you going for the whole seen but not heard vibe?” Finally, some movement. Kaydence saw his shoulders move as if he were chuckling to himself. Never let her eyes leave him as he finally loosened his fingers and exposed a disgustingly smug look on his face. Why did he look so fucking pleased with himself? ”All in good time Miss. Nash. All in good time. Business affairs of this nature should never be discussed over dinner especially with someone so young present.” His eyes quickly turned to Lukas. ”No offense to you Lukas. This stuff is so boring I don’t want to ruin your dinner.” The resulting wink he gave her son made Kaydence wanted to punch him. ”Let’s simply enjoy this feast your house-elves have prepared us and we’ll discuss after plates have been removed. But, to answer both of your questions Mr. Wentworth and Miss. Nash, I do require both of your presences for a seemingly pressing matter at hand.” Then just like that, Mikkhal smiled and picked up his fork and knife. ”Now, let us eat.”

[Ashton Wentworth]

Growing up, Ashton had hardly had a pillowcase to his name. The orphanage life wasn’t exactly the nurturing type. Sure, he had certain privileges of being rejected from so many potential homes. He hadn’t ever wanted to think about what might have happened if Mama O hadn’t taken as much pity on him as she had. He or the other two. That little makeshift family of deviants tried their best. Mama O had done everything in her power, all of the time to make sure that they kept their toes in line as close as they could get. Still, running the whole building off of government money wasn’t an easy thing to do. They never did have much. Too many bodies all the time, too many mouths and never enough toilet paper to go around. Ashton didn’t want the twins to grow up like he had. The fact that their parents weren’t going to be living together was inevitable. Ashton got along well enough with their mother. Rowen was a fine girl just, not for him, not in that way. They had been a situation of convenience and lust, nothing more should have ever come from it. Really, he should have just been glad that she put up with the fact that he was a giant asshole all of the time. Still, his children weren’t going to grow up in a place like this. It was no secret that Ashton held a fair amount of bitterness toward people who grew up with money. Those from the ‘right side of the tracks’ unlike himself. Tended to put a burr in his ass right off the bat. It didn’t matter at all that Ashton was now one of those people. It didn’t matter at all that he was making good money or could have tried to emulate those lifestyles because he just didn’t want it.

Ah, Food. Just on time. He could practically see the veins under Kaydence’s skin growing. He wasn’t sure which was going to pop first, her thin self control, a blood vessel or if she would just allow her temper to get the better of her. If if weren’t for Lukas in the room right now, she likely would have done all of the above. Ashton kinda wanted to see her lose it. However, now there was food as a buffer and they were going to all have to play nice. Though the urge to throw soup across the table right into her lap was growing. He had never met another person who had pushed his buttons quite so quickly. Over and over like she had a map to his trigger points that she had hand crafted to exploit at any given moment ever. “FUCK” Ashton whispered through clenched teeth at the swift kick to his shin. Jerking his body upright into a properly seated position, returning daggers with ones of his own. Ashton bent sideways to rub at his skin, seriously considering that soup throwing moment.

Everything on the plate looked disgusting. Why they couldn’t just have normal people food was beyond him. While he knew that it was chicken on the plate, everything on top of the chicken looked strange. The black bits he was assuming was pepper seemed to be in pointlessly large chunks. He could recognize the broccoli but never understood the point. He was an adult, he was full grown, there was no reason to need to eat anything green anymore in his opinion. Stavros had threatened him with all number of cancers and obesity because he refused to stop smoking and eat better. He pretended that it was in the name of ‘looking after him’ and yet Ashton always responded with how Stavros actually wanted him dead anyway so either he was lying to make the process faster, or just making Ashton miserable to the point of having to off himself. Neither of which he would allow because that would simply make the Stavros clan far too happy.

Stranger still, Lukas dug straight into the broccoli without so much as a second thought. Weird child. At least his taste in ice cream was acceptable. “Mikkhal, are you going to answer Mr. Wentworth and myself or are you going for the whole seen but not heard vibe?” Pushing his fork into the potatoes with zero intention of actually eating them, lazy gaze rotating back to Mikkhal. He had almost given up on being answered. This whole thing was uncomfortable and he wanted the evening over with. He was still hoping somehow that Noah would walk in and place some ace on the table that would explain everything. He looked so smug, what the fuck did he had to be so fucking smug about? ”All in good time Miss. Nash. All in good time. Business affairs of this nature should never be discussed over dinner especially with someone so young present.” Ashton dropped his fork onto the plate with a loud clattering sound. He felt like he was in some twisted ass game of clue. He wasn’t going to be toyed with. Not any longer. ”No offense to you Lukas. This stuff is so boring I don’t want to ruin your dinner.” There was a really simple solution to this problem in Ashton’s mind. Send the kid out of the room and have this all over and done with. He certainly didn’t need to be winking at Lukas like he was something other, or like there was something he knew that they all didn’t. Even Ashton wanted to punch him. ”Let’s simply enjoy this feast your house-elves have prepared us and we’ll discuss after plates have been removed. But, to answer both of your questions Mr. Wentworth and Miss. Nash, I do require both of your presences for a seemingly pressing matter at hand.” Seemingly pressing? Seemingly? The why was he being forced to stay here? ”Now, let us eat.” Hell no.

Ashton’s temper got the better of him.

His hands steepled in front of his person on the table, watching as Mikkhal picked up his silverware and started to eat.So contented, Ashton wanted to punch him in the throat. It would have been a learning experience. Something he could teach little Lukas real quick, a proper throat punch. Ashton pushed back from the table the next moment and shook his head. He wasn’t here to play games. “You know, I’ve lost my appetite. As this is only a seemingly pressing matter and does in fact, mean that you’re fully wasting my time, I’ll see myself out.” Ashton stood, wiping the corners of his mouth with the napkin despite not having eaten anything. “Or better yet, Master Lukas here can do me a whole favor, and go be in his room and let the adults handle this business that SEEMS to be pressing, because I have ACTUALLY pressing matters to attend to.”

[Kaydence Morgan]

Deep down, Kaydence knew that questioning Mikkhal was pointless. He wasn’t going to say a word until he was damn well good and ready. She swore he got off on building the suspense. Only person he knew better than to do that to was Noah. Probably was so bothered that he didn’t have the same power over his boss his ego needed to get its fix over anyone he deemed beneath him. She really didn’t know much about her fiance’s right-hand man. All Noah had ever told her was that they had begun working together when he was younger. Mikkhal was a few years older than Noah so Kaydence had always been intrigued as to how exactly their paths had crossed. Yet as much as she pressed him on the matter, Noah wouldn’t budge. Even when she tried to protest and questioned how she should feel comfortable having a man she knew absolutely nothing about watching over her son, he would simply laugh and tell her she had nothing to worry about. That he was very adept in selecting only the most trusted individuals to bring into his personal life. Kaydence had always valued how protective Noah was over his family though often wondered why he went to the lengths he did to ensure their safety.

Merlin only knew about the amount of secrets the two kept amongst themselves. In the beginning, it had bothered Kaydence not knowing the extent of Noah’s work. Could she really trust that his business dealings weren’t putting herself or their son in harm’s way? As time went on, she had chosen to let her guard down. Nothing had ever happened to make her feel the family was in danger. Since they were safe, she supposed she could allow Noah to have his secrets since she had oh so very many of her own. He had always given her that much respect despite how her secrets were likely much more menacing then his. ”The past is the past my kärlak. Why revisit it if we’ve already learned from it?” He would always tell her. He did have a point. Kaydence knew that nothing good ever came from dwelling on the past which was why she had tried so fucking hard to move on. Had really fought the urge to just obliterate her memory and start from scratch. However, after many internal battles with herself, she had opted against it. Mostly due to the fact that if her past ever did catch up to her, as it was currently sitting next to her son at her dinner table, she could adequately form a proper defense against it. Or at least know why she was being tortured as she was now.

When Mikkhal finally spoke up, Kaydence was actually surprised he had. Figured the bastard would chuckle to himself quietly some more and keep that awful smirk on his stupid face. ”All in good time Miss. Nash. All in good time. Business affairs of this nature should never be discussed over dinner especially with someone so young present.” She felt her lips straighten into a tight line. At the same time, she heard a loud clatter from the right side of her. Turning her gaze briefly to the sound, her eyes landed on a very irritated looking Ashton who was past the point of formalities. Kaydence’s gaze then moved to Lukas, who was still eating, but now taking very slow bites of his broccoli as he looked at Ashton. ”No offense to you Lukas. This stuff is so boring I don’t want to ruin your dinner.” Her eyes narrowed again. “So considerate of you Mikkhal,” she responded, despite the man not talking to her. Any interaction the prick ever had with her son annoyed her. Always came off as the uncle the little boy never had. Mikkhal should have been thankful that Noah had allowed him any interaction with their son period. Especially had her fiancé been here today and heard about his beloved assistant encouraging Lukas to take his own path down to the beach. Merlin she couldn’t wait for Noah to get home to tell him about this.

”Let’s simply enjoy this feast your house-elves have prepared us and we’ll discuss after plates have been removed.” Kaydence did nothing to show the disgust on her face with the eye roll that seemingly went up into her head. ”But, to answer both of your questions Mr. Wentworth and Miss. Nash, I do require both of your presences for a seemingly pressing matter at hand.” Biting down on her lip, she could feel her blood boiling. Why was it so impossible to get such a single answer out of the man? ”Now, let us eat.” Kaydence’s gaze lowered to her plate. Closing her eyes, the leg which her bruised hand was resting on began to shake impatiently. Even the small movement irritated her injury but at this point she didn’t care. So many outbursts wanting to bubble to the surface. She despised how much control Mikkhal had over whatever this situation was. What did he know? Had something happened to Noah? Mikkhal was an asshole but even she liked to think that had something happened to her fiancé he wouldn’t have kept the two on edge like this. There was no way he would be that calm and smug unless he had secretly been plotting Noah’s downfall from the beginning. Kaydence couldn’t see that being an option though. Mikkhal defended and watched over Noah like he was his own son. However, she had seen worse betrayals in her past.

Yet something about the way the smug look on his face hadn’t left since earlier today was really making something in Kaydence’s gut feel troubled. He knew something about them. It had to be. Though the next actions of the man sitting to her right interrupted that thought process before it kept rolling. ”You know, I’ve lost my appetite.” Her eyes shot open. She knew that tone all too well. Instantly looking back towards Ashton as he rose from the table, her eyes widened. ”As this is only a seemingly pressing matter and does in fact, mean that you’re fully wasting my time. I’ll see myself out.” She couldn’t fault him for being angry. She felt the same. In her time with Lukas though, she had prided herself in her ability to control her temper better than just lashing out while her son was in her presence. ”Or better yet, Master Lukas here can do me a whole favor, and go be in his room and let the adults handle this business that SEEMS to be pressing, because I have ACTUALLY pressing matters to attend to.” Kaydence looked at her son. The little boy’s eyes had also widened, resembling her so much more now. The piece of broccoli he had been slowly chewing on had fallen from his mouth into his plate. While he didn’t look frightened, he was certainly caught off guard. Couldn’t have at all imagined that his current idol, who had seemed incapable of showing nothing but affection for the boy, was able to raise his voice in such a manner. The tension in the room was slowly raising and as much as she hated to admit it, it probably was a good idea to get Lukas out sooner rather than later.

Kaydence opened her mouth to excuse Lukas but was interrupted by Mikkhal. ”Now that behavior seems hardly appropriate for dinner Mr. Wentworth. It seems a shame to let this magnificent feast go to waste but if you insist.” He turned to Lukas. ”Lukas, please go to your room.” Now that was her trigger. Slamming her hands in front of her, again ignoring the radiating pain from her hand or the fact that she had just exposed her injury from her confrontation with Mikkhal, she stood up. “That is enough!” She looked from Ashton to Mikkhal. “Neither of you are Lukas’ father,” she stated, a deadly tone to her voice, “so NEITHER of you will dismiss my son as if he is your own.” Easing her way from her spot at the table, Kaydence quickly walked to Lukas’ and stood next to him. “Lukas, grab your plate and let’s go.” Her son knew better than to question her at this point. Sliding himself out from underneath the table, the young boy stood up, grabbed his plate and silverware quietly and stepped away. ”Mr. Wentworth? Will you be here for a little while after your talk?” She reached over to grab his cup as Ashton responded. Too focused on the rage coursing through her veins to hear what he had said. Didn’t have time for it. Once his drink was in her possession, she used her free hand and placed it on his shoulder. “Come on darling.” With that, she guided him out of the dining room and towards the hallway in direction of his room.

The two remained silent for a few moments. ”Mom?”Kaydence looked down at her son, her features slightly softening as she gazed upon his confused face. “Yes, darling?” Lukas looked down at the floor briefly. ”Is everything okay?” She forced a small smile on her face. “I hope so love. It should be.” Yet the feeling of impending danger was slowly washing over her. She gave his shoulders a tight squeeze. The two continued to walk until they reached his door. Letting her hand drop from him, she opened his door and allowed him to enter before shutting the door behind them. Placing his cup on his desk, Lukas followed suit with his plate. He pulled out his chair and took a seat. Lowering herself to her knees, Kaydence gave him another smile as she moved her hands to cup his face, ignoring the pain that his pointy jawline was causing her hand. ”What happened to your hand Mom?” She shook her head. “Don’t worry about that. I want you to stay in here and keep your door locked alright?” At the mention of the door, Lukas’ brow furrowed, again reminiscent of her. ”Locked?” She nodded. “Locked,” she repeated. “I don’t want you to answer that door for anyone except for me. Not Mikkhal. Not Mr. Wentworth. Not even your dad if he mysteriously showed up. You need to keep that door locked until I come and get you. Do you understand me?” After a few seconds, he bit on his lip and nodded silently. Lukas was highly intelligent. Kaydence knew that he probably understood that the situation at hand was serious. “Good boy.” She lowered his face and kissed him on his forehead before briefly resting her own against his. “No one besides me Lukas.”

Pulling away, she rose back up to her feet. As much as she didn’t want to leave him, Kaydence knew that leaving Mikkhal and Ashton in the same room alone together wasn’t a great idea. Turning on her heel, she walked over to Lukas’ door and opened it. Her fingers quickly moved to the center and turned the bolt to the right, locking it from behind her. Giving her son one last look, she blew him a kiss before shutting it quietly behind her. Hearing the door click, she took a deep breath and began the journey back to the dining room. It was like she could feel the tension heightening the closer she got. She had no idea what it was Mikkhal had but enough was enough of whatever this sick fucking game was. Whatever he knew, now was the time for it to be exposed so she could handle it properly. Noah wasn’t home yet so surely that was going to somehow be able to play in Kaydence’s favor. Moving her hand towards the side of her thigh, she felt a brief sense of relief as her fingers grazed over the raised fabric from the wood of her wand. She didn’t care who it was. If at any point she felt her, or Lukas’, life was in danger, she had to ensure easy access to her wand. Though anxious, as the dining room door came into sight, the rage did nothing to hide its presence. She was ready for battle if it came down to it.

Upon reaching the door, Kaydence pushed it open and saw the scene exactly how she had left it. Mikkhal sitting with a smirk and Ashton standing as if he were going to jump over the table any minute and tackle Noah’s assistant to the ground. ”Enough of your bullshit Mikkhal,” she started, moving back towards her chair yet not taking her seat. “What the fuck is your problem?”

[Ashton Wentworth]

This was going to go one of two ways. Either something was going to be produced from under that table and one of the other two adults in this room were going to shoot him, or he was going to get his way. This conversation felt like it was going nowhere and Ashton was still teetering close enough to a drunken rage that the idea of being dicked around for hours in circles wasn’t going to sit well with him. Mikkhal had always hated him. Ashton was sure of that much. From the fact that Ashton insisted that he sit at another table for their business dealings, to the fact that Ashton was taking up so much of Noah’s time on a daily basis. Now, Ashton was the reason that MIkkhal’s obsession was out of the country and delayed for an indeterminate amount of time. Was Ashton going to apologize for it? Absolutely not. Ashton might have felt some guilt for having such an outburst in front of Lukas but he wasn’t presently sober enough to realize what he had done. Ashton’s eyes were locked on that irritatingly smug smile on Mikkhal’s face. ”Now that behavior seems hardly appropriate for dinner Mr. Wentworth. It seems a shame to let this magnificent feast go to waste but if you insist.” Anything else that Ashton was about to say was going to be vulgar and more than threatening. He could feel the words on the tip of his tongue. They were absolutely things that he couldn’t take back. Though, Ashton wasn’t about to be given the choice as Mikkhal turned to Lukas, and Ashton laughed as he spoke to Lukas. ”Lukas, please go to your room.” Yeah, that was going to go over well.

It was still just as much of a thrill for Ashton today as it was all of those years ago to watch Kaydence unhinge her jaw and threaten to swallow someone whole. At this moment it was even more satisfying that it was Mikkhal she was threatening. Kaydence’s hands slammed down onto the table and Ashton couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his features in admiration. “That is enough! Neither of you are Lukas’ father,” Ashton couldn’t even focus on what she was saying. There was Kaydence, that was his Kaydence. All fire and brimstone and death. “so NEITHER of you will dismiss my son as if he is your own. Lukas, grab your plate and let’s go.” Ashton and Mikkhal both watched her leave. Watched Lukas excuse himself from the table and Ashton was only snapped out of it whenever Lukas spoke again. ”Mr. Wentworth? Will you be here for a little while after your talk?” Well, he wasn’t going to lie to the kid. Instead, Ashton reached up for Lukas’ mop of hair and tousled it softly in what he assumed was something reassuring. It wasn’t him that Ashton was upset with after all. “Come on darling.” Their bodies disappeared around the corner and Ashton rounded on Mikkhal the moment that the other footsteps were too soft to hear. Ashton reached over and grabbed Kaydence’s wine, drinking the contents without thinking much about it. He just needed a drink and his own was beyond empty. The fine crystal almost shattered from the way that Ashton slammed it back on the table. “The fuck do you think you’re playing at Mikkhal?” The longer he stood here, the more he was absolutely certain that Mikkhal had in fact forged that letter from Noah. Which in turn enforces the idea that Noah has no idea that he is here at all. Which is putting both of them in jeopardy.

”I could ask you the same thing, couldn’t I, Mr. Wentworth?” Ashton didn’t have any idea what he was implying but again, it didn’t feel good. Ashton’s jaw pulsed, his knuckles cracking in irritation as he took a step backward from the table. Ashton’s chair teetered and threatened to fall before settling loudly back into place. ”Enough of your bullshit Mikkhal,” Yes, that was exactly what Ashton was about to say. “What the fuck is your problem?” That was pretty much what he said. A wave of nostalgia washed over him and Ashton felt instantly guilty for it. He shouldn’t have those feelings. Like a traitor living inside of his own body his vision flashed backward again to the other night. The second time that he was supposed to never see Kaydence again and yet here they are again. When will he learn? He can’t keep almost losing everything just because of his idiot. The contract that he has with Noah, the whole promise of his future. He cannot give all of that up. He won’t allow for that to happen. “Come on then, spit it the fuck out.”

[Kaydence Morgan]

The tension in the room could have been so easily cut through with a knife. Repeatedly. Had it at all been possible, just the very looks that she and Ashton were giving that smug-faced bastard could have pierced holes through him. Knowing the both of them like she did, the two wouldn’t have stopped until his body was riddled with them. Even then, she was sure they’d find some way to dig in even deeper until there was nothing left of him. The abhorrence Kaydence had towards Mikkhal was the exact same emotion that coursed through her veins in earlier years. When her days were devoted to the quest of killing Darren or finding whatever method she could to get her father behind the cold, soul-sucking walls of Azkaban. Hell, even upon her initial discovery of what Ashton’s line of work was. It was a level of such obsession that it brought out a very dark side of Kaydence. One that she tended not to have very much control over. Perhaps it had always been in her blood. Allowing such an emotion to consume her the way it did. Not being able to think rationally. Thinking of only the now. Her outward appearance always fooled people. A beautiful, bewitching, self-righteous brat who thought of nothing but herself and how much money she was going to spend on her next shopping trip. While they were right, little did most know that she was indeed capable of much more.

As had been proven in the past, Kaydence Morgan was a dangerous woman when pushed against a wall. She was manipulative. She was very good at getting people to do what she wanted. Bria, the old girl friend from her Galaxia days, who had lived in Sweden when she had initially arrived. Forcing the girl to take in her, and her beloved dog, without any notice and kicking the poor girl out of her own bedroom for weeks until Noah scooped her up. Then, she was dishonest with Noah. Deliberately with-holding information about her past as not to lose her potential ticket out of the Merlin forsaken life she tried so desperately to get rid of once and for all. That and using sex as a distraction to get him to shut up when his questions got a little too close for comfort. Little did she realize, even manipulating Ashton by constantly criticizing and judging him for the life decisions he made for himself back in the day. Granted, he only paid attention to probably about half of what she said, but still no sane man would have allowed her to constantly degrade him for smoking too much or making him think he wasn’t strong enough to protect her at a time when she secretly needed him the most. Kaydence had naturally always had the ability to pave her way when she was thinking logically.

Though in the few times when backed into a corner, unable to charm or fuck her way out a bad situation, Kaydence wasn’t afraid to do what needed to be done to ensure her safety or those who she was fiercely loyal to. In all of those instances, it was like something had taken over her. Pushing her very soul away to stand forefront to ensure that there were no distractions. No second thoughts. Knowing full well that if it didn’t take over, she’d be too scared to put her wand to somebody’s chest and cast a killing charm as if it a task so simple even a child could do it. Those few times, there was absolutely no emotion. No doubt. Nothing but certainty that she was fully capable of taking another person’s life. It wasn’t a side that Kaydence was proud of. Despite how massive of a bitch she was, it wasn’t on her daily agenda to run around offing people. Really, she just wanted to be left alone. That’s all. In the end, all she wanted was for and her family to live out the rest of their days unbothered and in peace. If that meant committing such a despicable act to ensure protection, then there was simply no question that she would do what needed to be done. No matter who it was that caused the threat.

Although there had been plenty of times she wanted to curse Mikkhal into oblivion, the man had never proven to be more than a thorn in Kaydence’s side. They were passive aggressive as hell with each other but never had a relationship in which she felt he posed some sort of risk to her well-being. That was until today. He had been acting slimier than his normal self since Noah had been gone. Initially, she had thought he was just getting off on being Noah’s selection to watch over her and Lukas while he was away on business. After all, he always seemed so full of himself when her fiancé sent him off to handle a business meeting he didn’t want to attend so he could spend the day with his family. Though as the days pressed on, Kaydence noticed him watching her more. Swore that his usual passive aggressive comments were taking on a different tone. She chalked it up to the paranoia that constantly flooded her veins since the family had come to Austria. However, after all of the events from today; Lukas’ disappearance, the beach, his behavior on the Boardwalk and now inviting Ashton to a family dinner for a “business meeting”? Her gut was practically screaming at her that she needed to get to the bottom of whatever the fuck it was he had held up inside of him. By the looks of Ashton, he was feeling the exact same way.

Had it been any other scenario, the intensity radiating from his body, from the hardened look on his face to the stiff posture as he looked ready for attack, Kaydence would have jumped his bones at first chance. She had always found his constant anger and frustration so appealing. While others would deem him a perfect candidate for psychological treatment, it turned her on. So quick to lose his cool but even quicker to bring that same violence to the bedroom as he released that pent-up frustration. The two were psychotic. Even worse being together. Yet it had oddly always worked for them. Joining forces against another in a tense situation though? Well, this was new territory for them. ”Come on then, spit it the fuck out.” Kaydence’s jaw clenched as she awaited Mikkhal’s next move. She was done with the silence. Ready to deal with anything the old fuck could unleash.

Or so she was soon to find out she thought she was.

For another few minutes, hours what it felt like at this point, Mikkhal continued to smirk at them in silence. Almost as if his brain was piecing out exactly what he needed to say in the exact manner. Finally, he moved. Sitting up straighter in his chair, he cleared his throat and gave a quick nod of his head. ”I suppose our little game is over. Though I admit, its been a great deal of fun keeping the two of you on the edge of the seat wondering just what it is I have to say.” He turned his head in the direction of Ashton. ”To be honest Mr. Wentworth, given your animalistic aura and complete lack of professionality, I’m surprised you haven’t tried to attack me yet. Even knowing deep down that Mr. Eklund didn’t personally send you that letter that brought you to his dinner table tonight.” Not waiting for a response, Mikkhal then looked to Kaydence. ”And you, Miss. Nash, with your constant need to blind my boss from what has been standing in front of him for the past eight years, it seems you’ve been to oblivious to other people with his best interests truly at heart.” Her eyes narrowed into a tight line. “His best interests? What the fuck do you mean by that?” He chuckled. ”Miss. Nash. You can stop playing dumb.” She felt her heart rate begin to intensify. Fingers slowly curling into a fist on her injured hand. “Stop playing dumb over what? The fact that my fiancé relies on a delusional piece of shit to oversee his family while he’s off jet-setting around the fucking world? No Mikkhal, I am very much aware of how worthless you actually are.”

The man laughed in response as he shook his head. ”Til the very end I see. You always have been a very stubborn brat Miss. Nash, haven’t you?” As he finished, he looked down at his shirt and wiped at it. ”Well regardless of how you’re going to act next, we might as well get on to business. Though, if you two are sharing in some intimidation tactic by standing so menacingly while I calmly sit down and try to have a normal conversation with the both of you, I implore you to stop and retake your seats. We all have ulterior motives here.” Kaydence’s head tilted to the side. Now she was really fucking confused. Looking to Ashton, she wondered if he was just as stumped as she was. He had to be. Why else wouldn’t he be yelling right now? ”Now, if you both please, take your seats and let us have an open discussion.” Chuckling, she turned back to Mikkhal, mouth opening as she was ready to let him have it but she was interrupted before the words even began to form. “You, in particular, Kaydence, are really going to need to be more receptive of my wishes.”

[Ashton Wentworth]

This was not how Ashton liked to do business. Ashton hated almost nothing more than being stuck behind a desk. Ashton would never be happy filing paperwork, in fact he usually went to great lengths to make sure that he never had to do anything like it. Since transferring departments it really hadn’t been much an issue for him. Which, was something lucky because he wouldn’t have done it anyway. Of course being undercover like he was, and as deeply undercover as he was, he was forced to do quite a bit of work to keep himself that way. To keep from losing himself in the process. Which of course, meant a fuck ton of paperwork. With Noah it was no exception. He wasn’t in a position in which he could report every day or even once a week sometimes which meant that he was having to keep details logs and it was mind numbingly dull. Worst still, was whenever the boredom of his job carried over. Ashton was the type of man who liked action. He thrived on it. The fact that he feels like he is only moments away from an actual, real fight was causing his blood to boil in his veins. It was what he needs the most, with how dull he has been forced to be, Ashton can think of literally nothing that he wants more than to go a few rounds or seven with this big asshole right here. He could feel his fists curling, his fucking fingers were itching. Ashton was a brawler through and through. He needed it, and it had been way too long since he’s been allowed to stop playing nice.

Many, many times in his life that same personality trait has gotten Ashton in worlds of trouble. He has been arrested and had his ass kicked countless times. Still, it was something that his short temper always diverted to. Ashton would never claim to be a good man, he didn’t even think of himself as a nice man. He just liked to think that he did the best with what he had in the time that he had it. Which in his opinion, usually was never near enough. More times than he even was willing to admit to, Kaydence had stepped in the middle of many of his drunken rants to diffuse a fight. Personally, he thought that she tended to use his temper to her personal advantage. Said it was her sleep cure. Well, she had said it once and then she had never admitted to saying it out loud ever again. Not that Ashton was willing to let her forget it. They were terrible together. Ashton knew it just as well as Kaydence did. Didn’t matter what way he cut it or what piece of their relationship he was looking at or even where on their personal timeline that it happened to fall they were toxic. Still, standing here pointed at the same target as her once again, he felt taller.

Ashton has only known MIkkhal for such a very short period of time, and there was still no warmness toward that person. While it was true that Ashton had never expected to like Noah, he couldn’t have predicted that the pair of them would get along as well as they did, fates took a hand and he did. Ashton was oddly fond of him. More things that he would never be willing to admit to out loud. He was the only reason that Ashton wasn’t an outright dickhead to Mikkhal in the first place. Now though? That was being entirely thrown out the window. Ashton couldn’t even attempt to guess as to where this was all going. He wasn’t sure if this was simply aimed at Kaydence, or himself and his own actual identity, or worse if this asshole was going after Lukas somehow. Normally he wouldn’t have even thought like that but with the way he had been speaking over Kay at dinner...he wasn’t so sure anymore. What sort of monster goes after a child? This needed to be over, and now. It would have made the most sense if Mikkahl was simply so obsessed with Noah that his jealousy was shifting into idolism and he wanted to be Noah...but then Kaydence wouldn't be treated the way that he so obviously was. At least whatever happens, Ashton has proof that this fuckwad is moving behind Noah’s back. That’s no longer something that Ashton is worried about. The rest in the meantime however, needs to be handled and now.

The fuck did this asshole was? Sitting up all slow in his fucking chair like he was a movie mob boss. Ashton wanted to punch his fucking face in. Didn’t matter the damage that it did to his hands. ”I suppose our little game is over. Though I admit, its been a great deal of fun keeping the two of you on the edge of the seat wondering just what it is I have to say.” Ashton glanced down at his fist, yeah, he would be fine with writing a few broken fingers off. No problem. WHen he looked up, those beady ass little eyes were trained directly on him. ”To be honest Mr. Wentworth, given your animalistic aura and complete lack of professionality, I’m surprised you haven’t tried to attack me yet. Even knowing deep down that Mr. Eklund didn’t personally send you that letter that brought you to his dinner table tonight.” Fuck, he should have been recording that. Though Mikkhal wasn’t done. Ashton couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling. ”And you, Miss. Nash, with your constant need to blind my boss from what has been standing in front of him for the past eight years, it seems you’ve been to oblivious to other people with his best interests truly at heart.” So which one of them was the target? Both of them? Mikkhal had more brains than Ashton, or anybody else more than likely, would have given him credit for. So what was this? Did he just want to fuck Kaydence? Some sort of jealousy thing? Ashton didn’t even get a chance to speak.
“His best interests? What the fuck do you mean by that?” Even his laugh was annoying. At least Kay seemed as confused as Ashton was. ”Miss. Nash. You can stop playing dumb.” Kaydence was many things, numb was never one of them unfortunately. “Stop playing dumb over what? The fact that my fiancé relies on a delusional piece of shit to oversee his family while he’s off jet-setting around the fucking world? No Mikkhal, I am very much aware of how worthless you actually are.” Well, the ‘jet-setting’ was something that Ashton was the cause for, not Mikkhal but he was hardly going to own up to that. It was just about the only thing that Noah does that Ashton agrees with, and that is keeping Kaydence both in the dark about what they are actually up to, and keeping her as far out of harms reach as possible. Not even for the same reasons that he once had tried to keep her safe. She was a mother now, and she had a child to look after. Ashton had grown up in an orphanage, he knew how horrible they could be. Foster families were even worse. As much as Mama O had tried to keep him safe from it all, there was only so much that she could do. She was just one person. Lukas deserved to have his mother, and she could run. She had the resources and once Noah is behind bars she will likely find a way to have all of his money too. She and Lukas could run away to that little island and never be heard from again. That was just about the closest to a happy ever after as Kaydence could hope for. She would likely agree.

”Til the very end I see. You always have been a very stubborn brat Miss. Nash, haven’t you?” Privately, Ashton fucking hated that he called her a brat. Only he was allowed to call her that. ”Well regardless of how you’re going to act next, we might as well get on to business. Though, if you two are sharing in some intimidation tactic by standing so menacingly while I calmly sit down and try to have a normal conversation with the both of you, I implore you to stop and retake your seats. We all have ulterior motives here.” Or, Ashton was happy to remove his wagging tongue from his head with those dinner knives. That was also an option. He was the slowest talking asshole that Ashton ever had the misfortune of meeting. If this was supposed to be some sort of call out, Ashton wasn’t having it. This prick couldn’t have anything on him, it wasn’t possible. Neither was taking his seat. That wasn’t going to be happening either. ”Now, if you both please, take your seats and let us have an open discussion. You, in particular, Kaydence, are really going to need to be more receptive of my wishes.” “FUCKING MERLIN you like hearing the sound of your own fucking voice don’t you?” The words were flying from Ashton’s mouth before he could stop them. What Mikkhal had said hasn’t fully registered yet. The sudden movement of Ashton’s body away from the table caused his chair to shoot backward loudly. It was so tempting to start throwing bits of fucking bread at him, because that was exactly how serious Ashton was taking this conversation. Though when he glanced back at Kaydence’s pale face it registered what Mikkhal had said. “What did you call her?” Was he attempting to fucking blackmail them? Over Ashton’s dead, rotting fucking body. He wasn’t going to stand for that shit. “Are you stupid or are you fucking slow?” Blackmailing a fucking Morgan was going to end up with all of them dead. Most of all Kaydence and himself. Guilt was slowly creeping up into his stomach. Not because he was actually guilty, or that Ashton felt in the slightest bit badly for what he did to Darren all of those years ago, but for the fact that Kaydence likely has no idea. Would she even care? Ashton had zero obligation to tell her anything that has happened in his life, he doesn’t owe her anything they were hardly even actually together...and yet.

“In about five fucking seconds, prick, one of us here - probably me - is going to get real sick and tired of your little gloat show here and listening to your slow ass mouth and just go ahead and fucking gut you. Either get to the point, or I will just pull it from your fucking head and get this over with.”

[Kaydence Morgan]

As much as she hated to admit, there had been several instances in Kaydence Morgan’s life in which she had been left completely and utterly speechless. Being raped at seventeen. Both pregnancies. Her first miscarriage. Being confronted by Darren at Gringotts the day of the battle. Discovering Ashton was an Auror for the very same Ministry she had been trained to help destroy. And those were only a select handful of times in which she had that temporary moment of fear and anguish. Life hadn’t always been easy for Kaydence, but she had consistently persisted and in the end, she was always okay. She was a fighter. And in the end, fate had given her gleam of opportunities that things were going to be fine. Ashton, in his own way, asking her to be his girlfriend that night at Spookfest so long ago. Carrying Luka full-term and hearing that first cry when she had delivered him. Seeing those big blue eyes of his look up at her when the doctor had placed him in her arms and he had immediately stopped to take her in. Those moments of speechlessness where there was hope for a brighter future than the dark past she was constantly running from. Those were the moments she yearned for. Even the other week when she and Ashton had their rendezvous at Tripp. Kaydence could never forget that kiss on the dance floor for as long as she lived.

This would also be one of those moments that she would stick with her forever. ”You, in particular Kaydence, are really going to need to be more receptive of my wishes.” Kaydence. Although very much her true name, it sounded so foreign coming off of Mikkhal’s tongue. Her eyes were wide, that much she could feel. Her lips pursed. Fairly certain the color had drained out of her face. All indications that there was nothing incorrect about the name that had just left his mouth. She could hear Ashton shouting in the background, though what he was saying she really wasn’t quite sure. Her senses wouldn’t allow her to focus in on anything but the arrogant son of a bitch gleaming back at her. He knew he had gotten her. How long had he known? Why had he chosen now to say something? She couldn’t fathom how Mikkhal would have known who she was since meeting Noah. There was no possible way. Holding a secret like that for so long…surely there had to be other motives behind it. Staring at him, he was intently returning the gaze. Waiting for her next move.

”What did you call her?” She could hear Ashton now. Mikkhal’s eyes never left hers. ”She heard me,” he responded to Ashton. So matter-of-fact. ”Are you stupid or are you fucking slow?” He was right, Kaydence had to give him that. Having any sort of connection to her tended not to bode well for people. Whether it was being a victim of her manipulative persona or being a target for the man who had always been hellbent on destroying her, she was a person that one could never be safe around. Despite the intentions. She was a plague. An attribute to her well-being that she tried to always run from yet was unable to find the right path. She had been foolish to think that this new life with Noah was going to be that right path. Eight years of peace was merely a distraction from that same trouble that she had been staring at on an almost daily basis. Had it been that long? Kaydence needed answers.

”In about five fucking seconds, prick, one of us here – probably me – is going to get real sick and tired of your little gloat show here and listening to your slow ass mouth and just go ahead and fucking gut you. Either get to the point, or I will just pull it from your fucking head and get this over with.” At this, Mikkhal rolled his eyes and finally broke their stare down to look at Ashton. ”Continuing to do nothing but fuel my point. You will do nothing of the sort Mr. Wentworth otherwise I assure you that your little trinket will never touch those filthy hands of yours.” Kaydence was finally able to comprehend the conversation going on around her. Had no interest in whatever trinket Mikkhal was referring to, only what all he knew about her. Hell, even them. There were more pressing matters at hand now then Noah’s work with Ashton. There was a little boy who had a very long life ahead of him that needed to be protected at all costs. It may not have mattered to her former lover since there was no connection to her son, but this was going to be one of the few occasions he absolutely had to keep his ego in check. If she had to take extremes to do so, then so be it. Lukas’ safety was priority.

“Ashton,” she finally spoke, in an eerily calm tone, “we need to sit down.” She could hear Mikkhal chuckle in the background. ”No more formalities Kaydence? Interesting. Yes, Ashton please, sit down and join us." She watched as his hand motioned towards Ashton’s seat. Knowing it wouldn’t happen easily, she slowly began to sit herself. As much as she hated abiding to Mikkhal’s command, at this point she had to. There was so much on the line. Looking over to Ash, she met him with a hard stare. He wasn’t going to do this easily. He hadn’t even responded yet but she saw that dangerous fire in his eyes. The same one that burned after four glasses of hard whiskey. Keeping her arms as straight to her side as she could, she waited for him to turn back towards Mikkhal and spew another barrage of insults his way and began moving her hand towards the pocket of Noah’s sweatpants for where her wand lay jutting into her hip. If he wasn’t going to sit down, she was simply going to have to make him. “Ashton,” Kaydence said again, “we need to hear what he has to say.”

[Ashton Wentworth]

He was going to start moving without thinking. Too much liquor in his veins. Too little control of his temper on a good day, let alone in this sort of setting where he was being threatened, as well as Kaydence. It didn’t matter in the slightest what their current relationship was or is. It matters to him what they were, and she doesn’t deserve it. He couldn’t tolerate her in danger, he never was able to tolerate her in danger. Paired with his general intolerance of how much he fucking hated assholes like Mikkhal. Less when he rolled his eyes. Less when he kept staring at the pair of them like he was holding all of the cards. Ashton didn’t need to use violence to get what he needed out of this prick. He was going to use it, because he liked it, but he didn’t need it. He was a fucking Ministry trained special tasks Auror. He could get inside of his head however he fucking needed to. Drunk or not drunk. Fuck he needed more to drink. . ”Continuing to do nothing but fuel my point. You will do nothing of the sort Mr. Wentworth otherwise I assure you that your little trinket will never touch those filthy hands of yours.” “Filthy?” Ashton balked, laughter left him in a condescending way. “You’re calling me filthy?” What a fucking asshole. The knuckles on Ashton’s right hand cracked, his jaw was pulsing, he was about to throw himself across the table and knock that asshole out of the chair that he seemed to be otherwise glued to.

“Ashton,” He could hardly even hear Kaydence when she was speaking. “we need to sit down.” Ashton’s narrow gaze cut to Kaydence, he couldn’t believe it. She was just going to give up that easily? He wasn’t going to believe that was possible. Let alone to that asshole’s laughing. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Ashton knew his incredulous tone was a little too informal for the situation but she started it. ”No more formalities Kaydence? Interesting. Yes, Ashton please, sit down and join us." Ashton’s lip curled and he turned to face Mikkhal once again. “If you tell me to sit down, one more fucking time I’m going to put my whole chair, up your ass.” It might sound like an impossible feat but he was willing to rise to the challenge. Then Kaydence sat down. Ashton’s brows rose, she was doing what she was told? Again. Just like the other night with Noah at the dinner table, Ashton found himself looking at Kaydence like she was small. Who was that sitting over there? What was she afraid of? Mikkhal? That was insane. Ashton didn’t care what the prick had over either one of them, there was a very obvious solution to the whole thing. “Ashton, we need to hear what he has to say.” Like fuck. Ashton’s knuckles brushed under his nose as he inhaled sharply. “Fine. Fucking fine.” Ashton bent to grab the chair from where it had been knocked over. Ashton drug the chair over to right next to where Mikkhal was seated and spun the thing around backward, sitting on it that way. Ashton’s arms folded over the back of the chair as stared at Mikkhal. “Go on, get that burden off your chest. We’re all just enthralled with your fucking voice. We’re fucking seated.” Ashton gestured widely to the open space between the lot of them. “You have five fucking seconds before I rearrange your face. Make it good.”

[Kaydence Morgan]

Grip tightening on the wand in her pocket, Kaydence never once allowed her eyes to leave Ashton. She was going to be ready at any moment’s notice to produce the enchanted piece of wood and aim it directly for his chest if need be. There were no intentions to hurt him physically, for now at least. All she needed was to get him to sit down and shut up. If that so happened to require him being physically bound to a chair and gagged while she let that pompous piece of shit across from them talk for however long he needed to, then she was going to do it. Ashton’s pride would be hurt no doubt and the minute he had the opportunity to ridicule her he would. Yet it was behavior that Kaydence was willing to endure to find out exactly what it was Noah’s assistant knew about her and why he had kept her true identity a secret for so long. Most importantly, ensure that her only child would be protected. She couldn’t blame Ashton’s negligence in understanding the seriousness of the situation. He wasn’t a parent. At least with this behavior she could rightfully assume he wasn’t. This wasn’t just about the two of them.

It didn’t even feel like she was breathing as she continued to watch Ashton’s fury. Had to stop grasping her wand as tightly as she was or she was afraid it was going to break. She knew a few wandless spells but wandless magic wasn’t something Kaydence was proficient at. ”Fine. Fucking fine.” But then, just like that, the thought of having to restrain Ashton vanished. Of course, he did it in his own way. Throwing a verbally silent tantrum as he instead made a scene of being loud with the chair he was pulling across the way to Mikkhal. Whatever. She would take it. The grip eased just enough on her wand though made no other movement to completely release her hold. The amount of uneasiness between the three adults was far too great to just assume things would be civil now that Ashton was taking his seat with them. ”Go on, get that burden off your chest. We’re all just enthralled with your fucking voice. We’re fucking seated.” Although Ash was rightfully upset, Kaydence couldn’t help but to roll her eyes at him. At least she would be fully prepared to deal with any of Lukas’ potential teenage meltdowns having the experiences with Ashton’s for as long as she had. She considered him as good of practice as any.

”You have five fucking seconds before I rearrange your face. Make it good.” Again, not doubting any word that left his tongue or his physical capacity to do it, Kaydence snapped back at him. “Ashton, quit it,” she scolded, sounding more like a mother than she ever had. Ignoring the dirty look he shot her, she turned her attention back to Mikkhal, who was looking at Ashton as if he were a fly that kept buzzing around his food. “Ashton has made his feelings on your silence very well-known Mikkhal. As loud and as brash as he is being, I have to agree with him. We’re done dancing around whatever topics of conversation we need to have. Say what you need to fucking say. You want us to answer truthfully-“ How strange it was to hear herself refer to her and Ashton that way. “Then we expect the same responsibility. Deal?” Mikkhal smiled, yet again with that smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. ”Naturally. Where should we start?” Kaydence sat up a little straighter in her chair. “The obvious,” she started, “how long have you known?”

If Mikkhal didn’t look ready to answer this question. Chuckling, he also straightened himself. ”Since the beginning of yours and Mr. Eklund’s’ relationship. Did you honestly think I would simply allow a woman of your….anonymity to appear in Mr. Eklund’s life and so quickly take such a controlling interest in it? I know you’re not an overly stupid woman Kaydence. While Noah hasn’t privately discussed his business dealings with you, his reputation far surpasses those in the same market as him. I can’t allow a trojan horse to come to Rome in the middle of the night again. Mr. Wentworth can certainly vouch for this I’m sure otherwise he wouldn’t have been sought out.” Her brow furrowed. Ashton sought out Noah? Involuntarily, she made no secret of the confusion on her face to Ash. Why would he do that? Had he discovered where she was and had been attempting to weasel his way back into her life? Forcing her to have no choice to remember why she had fallen in…for him back in the day? Kaydence briefly thought back to all the times when they were younger and he constantly found a way to be where she was or break the charmed locks on her condo deck door to show up at all hours unannounced. This realization was a lot to take in.

”I see by that look on your face that this is news to you Kaydence. I’ll be the one to decide if that’s actually genuine or just another façade to the relationship you two have.” She turned her head sharply back to Mikkhal. ”No matter. Mr. Eklund has kept me by his side professionally for twelve years for a reason. I am very good at what I do. I am the one who does the research and reports back my findings for Mr. Eklund to decide if the information I present is worthwhile for him. Granted, nearly all of it nowadays is so since he has earned the right to be so selective. Yet, funnily enough, your identity was simply out of the question. Your sudden pregnancy caused my boss to throw any suspicions about you to the wind when he found out he was going to be a father. An individual, who, so cautious, thought nothing of opening his life to you for the chance to have the one thing he had always desperately wanted, a family.” Kaydence swallowed, instantly filled with guilt at her fiancé’s obliviousness. Couldn’t stomach the idea of looking at Ashton right now. ”So despite my protests, at the thought of losing you and the child had you known I wanted to dig into your background, he refused. Down-right almost came to blows with me at any mention of you. After a while, I heeded to his wishes and stopped. I stopped asking and went ahead and did my own investigating.”

Mikkhal paused briefly to lean forward and take a sip of his water. Kaydence had never seen him drink alcohol now that she thought about it. ”There was something in my gut that deemed you untrustworthy Kaydence. Maybe the mysteriousness, maybe the strange dialect you gave off as Swedish. So, in my own time, I dug up what I could about you. I’ll admit, it did take longer than I care to admit, though not too long after young Lukas was born. I eventually got a hit. All it took was the right individual with the right picture of you in some back alley of Merlin remembers where, but they remembered not Emmeline Nash, but Kaydence Morgan.” She leaned forward. “Who?” Mikkhal shrugged. ”Not important. Everybody has a connection to someone. All that mattered was that the fiancée of my employer was not simply some random who he had met in a grimy nightclub. She was Kaydence Morgan, sister of the infamous Darren Morgan. Exiled from one of Austria’s most prominent Dark magic wizarding families at such a young age.” Another smirk. ”Once I got your name, the floodgates just opened Kaydence and I was able to find out practically everything I wanted within a week.” Mikkhal turned towards Ashton. ”Were you as shocked as I was to discover who she was Mr. Wentworth? You two weren’t together long before she vanished. Not too long after the Austrian Ministry’s failed attempt at another public ball, correct? You were proud to show off that you had stolen the heart of public enemy number one, weren’t you? Or did you have your own agenda? Ballsy, but perhaps that’s what started your own downfall Mr. Wentworth?”

[Ashton Wentworth]

Ashton wanted very little more than to watch this bastard in front of him start to squirm. It was infuriating him to no end that he wasn’t doing so. Ashton fully understands that to most people he is nothing more than a drunken asshole ninety percent of the time. Most days, that’s just about all that he thinks about himself. However he’s always been damned good at his job. He knows his way around a wand and he has all the certifications to prove that he is every bit a weapon himself. He didn’t endure years, and years of training and a whole lifetime of fighting to be anything less than that. Sitting here beside him, regardless of what Mikkhal personally thought of Ashton, he should have been worried. Then on the other hand, he had just admitted out loud that he knew who Kaydence was. He knew who her brother was and he was still standing here attempting to intimidate her? Clearly he didn’t have any idea the amount of training that Kaydence underwent herself. Nevermind a lifetime of dark magic and who knows what else has been in her family life since day one. Mikkhal should be scared. He should be worried just having pissed off both of these bodies. Added in with the fact that he is inadvertently threatening Kaydence’s son in the process? What was the end game here? What did he think was going to happen? “Ashton, quit it,” Ashton’s tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth in anger. He didn’t much care for her scolding tone but he could understand why she was angry. Too many times he has had Rowan yelling at him for the same reason over the years. One of the twins did something dumb or acted a little bit too much like him and Ashton somehow got the tongue lashing for it.

“Ashton has made his feelings on your silence very well-known Mikkhal. As loud and as brash as he is being, I have to agree with him.” Ashton did look over at Kaydence for just a moment, his eyes cutting to her in a moment of surprise to hear those words actually leaving her mouth. ”We’re done dancing around whatever topics of conversation we need to have. Say what you need to fucking say. You want us to answer truthfully-“ Us. What a strange term. “Then we expect the same responsibility. Deal?” Why was she dealing with him? Ashton could slam his head down against the table and then he could use his wand to pull out those memories. There was no doubt in his mind about it. Ashton was going to like it too. He already knew. ”Naturally. Where should we start?”“The obvious, how long have you known?” Whatever was about to come was going to hurt that pretty little head of hers, he already knew it. Ashton wasn’t stupid enough to think that her relationship with Noah was as solid as he might have thought from Noah’s perspective alone otherwise the other night wouldn’t have happened. Being around her at all, wouldn’t have continued to happen. He also wasn’t stupid enough to think that whatever sort of physical attraction or residual feelings that she might have once had for him was going to have any bearing on the situation at all. If Mikkhal continued to back her into a corner, Ashton was going to get the fuck out of the way. ”Since the beginning of yours and Mr. Eklund’s’ relationship. Did you honestly think I would simply allow a woman of your….anonymity to appear in Mr. Eklund’s life and so quickly take such a controlling interest in it? I know you’re not an overly stupid woman Kaydence. While Noah hasn’t privately discussed his business dealings with you, his reputation far surpasses those in the same market as him. I can’t allow a trojan horse to come to Rome in the middle of the night again. Mr. Wentworth can certainly vouch for this I’m sure otherwise he wouldn’t have been sought out.” That was probably confusing to her. However it was none of her business and it was hardly like the two of them were going to start being honest with one another now. It seems that their entire reunion is now based on little more than a fancy web of half truths at all times. However if he insinuated that she was stupid again, he was going to slap him for good fucking measure.

”I see by that look on your face that this is news to you Kaydence. I’ll be the one to decide if that’s actually genuine or just another façade to the relationship you two have. No matter. Mr. Eklund has kept me by his side professionally for twelve years for a reason. I am very good at what I do. I am the one who does the research and reports back my findings for Mr. Eklund to decide if the information I present is worthwhile for him. Granted, nearly all of it nowadays is so since he has earned the right to be so selective. Yet, funnily enough, your identity was simply out of the question. Your sudden pregnancy caused my boss to throw any suspicions about you to the wind when he found out he was going to be a father. An individual, who, so cautious, thought nothing of opening his life to you for the chance to have the one thing he had always desperately wanted, a family.” It wasn’t like Kaydence could have known that he had wanted a family to that level. Not all people did. Ashton certainly didn’t handle the news that he was going to be a father very well, and he has wanted a family for as long as he personally could remember. It was all part of his orphan complex. People could get damned honey blind and that was one of the stronger weapons in Kay’s arsenal. She knows it too. ”So despite my protests, at the thought of losing you and the child had you known I wanted to dig into your background, he refused. Down-right almost came to blows with me at any mention of you. After a while, I heeded to his wishes and stopped. I stopped asking and went ahead and did my own investigating.” So Ashton was going to take that as verbal proof that he has started this coup against his boss from a much earlier standpoint. Poor Noah had no idea that just about everybody in his life is presently lying to him.

”There was something in my gut that deemed you untrustworthy Kaydence. Maybe the mysteriousness, maybe the strange dialect you gave off as Swedish. So, in my own time, I dug up what I could about you. I’ll admit, it did take longer than I care to admit, though not too long after young Lukas was born. I eventually got a hit. All it took was the right individual with the right picture of you in some back alley of Merlin remembers where, but they remembered not Emmeline Nash, but Kaydence Morgan.” Random. That has to have been some wild string of lucky or Mikkhal has dedicated a disgusting amount of time to this project of his. Ashton couldn’t fathom. This was worse than a parasitic relationship. Ashton can’t understand how long he must have been fixated over something to have found a random photo from a whole other country. “Who?” Who indeed. Now Ashton was going to have to try to find out. Before Kaydence even left the first time they had started a rather arduous project of getting her hidden away from sight. ”Not important. Everybody has a connection to someone. All that mattered was that the fiancée of my employer was not simply some random who he had met in a grimy nightclub. She was Kaydence Morgan, sister of the infamous Darren Morgan. Exiled from one of Austria’s most prominent Dark magic wizarding families at such a young age. Once I got your name, the floodgates just opened Kaydence and I was able to find out practically everything I wanted within a week.” Oh what the fucking detective he was. What did it matter? The Morgans were defamed in the light of Darren’s downfall. Whatever happened to them after that was still speculation. Ashton wasn’t going to deny that was still something that he has been attempting to keep tabs on. Not even just for Kaydence’s sake anymore. If Darren had a reason to come out of hiding for anybody, it was going to be the two of them in this room. More things that Ashton really didn’t want to go about having to explain to her. He had just been in a rather dark place whenever she had left. Work had been a very welcome escape for a long, long time. Throwing himself into the task force to help stabilize shit after she was gone became top priority because it isn’t like he had anything else to do. Perhaps he got a little carried away. Perhaps it was a lot...perhaps he did some things that he really shouldn’t have but at the time he didn’t really care if he lived or died he was having too much fun. It had been like living inside of an adrenaline rush. If Mikkhal has somehow spoken to the wrong people, pushed the wrong buttons because he can’t possibly have known what he was doing...they were all in for a world of hurt.

Mikkhal turned to him and Ashton’s lip curled upward into a snarl. ”Were you as shocked as I was to discover who she was Mr. Wentworth? Oh so now it was his turn apparently. ”You two weren’t together long before she vanished. Not too long after the Austrian Ministry’s failed attempt at another public ball, correct? You were proud to show off that you had stolen the heart of public enemy number one, weren’t you? Or did you have your own agenda? Ballsy, but perhaps that’s what started your own downfall Mr. Wentworth?” Ashton couldn’t get the ugly expression of disdain off his face if somebody had offered to pay him. Really, it was something of a wonder that he was still seated in the same place with all of this goading. He should have been given a lesson in self control as far as he was concerned. He wasn’t going to defend any of his personal feelings or relationships. Whatever he had with Kay was mostly in the past and it was certainly none of this assholes business. There was no agenda and frankly it was just pissing him off more that there was even an insinuation of it. “Are you coming up on a point here? Just wanting to put salt on old wounds? What’s your purpose here?” Ashton glanced in the direction of the clock on the far fall. “By my estimation, you’re almost out of time too.” Nothing good was going to come of this, that much he was certain of. He was willing to bet that Kaydence was just about done hearing him speak as well. All he was proving was that he was a nosy son of a bitch and nothing much else. “My ‘downfall’ as you put it clearly didn’t have anything to do with my business dealings as your master” A word that he was choosing to use for effect “clearly understands or I wouldn’t be here as well. For all of your sleuthing I don’t think that he’s going to take very kindly to your threatening not only his money but his wife as well, or perhaps you’re willing to pay Noah the same fortune that I’m spending on him? That’s going to come from your little sidekick salary is it? Hm?”