Chapter Twelve

I had remained in silent thought for a few minutes, unsure of what that really meant for me. Was it good, or bad? I didn't see a scenario where that was a good thing. If my father wasn't going to agree to exchange me for his fortune and company ownership, I could only think he was going to call the cops, or do nothing. If he called the cops, there was a high chance I wasn't going to see Ashton again, and that thought didn't settle too well with me.

If he was going to do nothing, that just left another question. What was Lucien going to do with me? He no longer needed me, and I didn't expect him to welcome me into the family, like I was one of their own. My bet was he was just going to kill me, he no longer needed me, or maybe he was going to cut off something from my body, to show my dad he wasn't going to back down.

I shuddered at either thought. Ashton noticed, and rushed over to wrap and arm around me.

"Nothing bad is going to happen to you, Lucien is still speaking with your father, he isn't going to call the police or do anything irrational," Ashton tried to assure me. I tried to let the warmth of his arms comfort me, but I was still trembling inside.

Ashton said Lucien was also going to ask if my father wanted to speak with me, and asked if I wanted the same. Even though my father was the last person I wanted to speak with from my family and friends, I still missed him a little, and wanted to at least hear someone from my family. I said yes, and he promised to come get me as soon as he heard something. Until then, he was going to get me something to eat, since it was almost dinner time. We had spent most the day running around and shopping.

I thanked him, though I didn't have the stomach for an appetite, especially not a whole meal. I was surprised when he came back with a small fruit parfait, with small cut strawberries on top. I already knew they were the strawberries we had picked a couple days ago. For some reason, as soon as I saw his dazzling smile as he proudly handed me the parfait, it made me want to eat it, despite my lack of hunger.

"Did you make this yourself?" I asked, readying myself to take a bite. He nodded, his eyes looking at me eagerly. I snickered a little under my breath, blown away at how adorable he could be sometimes. I was a little disappointed I only ever got to see this side of him, when it was just the two of us, which hasn't been the case recently.

I took a bite, and welcomed the smooth vanilla taste of the yogurt, accompanied by the sweet taste of strawberries, and the crispy crunch of the oats on top. I have had many parfaits before, some with a lot more ingredients then this, and maybe it was the fact that Ashton made it, but it tasted so much better than anything I had tried before.

"This is delicious!" I exclaimed, quickly helping myself to another bite. A small smile spread across Ashton's face.

"Really?" I nodded eagerly, not wanting to use my mouth to speak so I could devour the mouth-watering treat before me. His smile widened gratefully, making his eyes dance with pride.

After I finished eating, Ashton gave me a kiss good-night, and said he had some things he needed to take care of. I wanted to ask him what they were, but as soon as my body hit the bed, I didn't have enough time to realize how tired I was, I was out like a light.

***

I woke up to the shrill sound of an alarm. Slightly dazed, I slammed my hand down on the end table, until I felt the small grey alarm clock under my palm.

I don't remember setting an alarm…or ever plugging the damn thing in!

Spotting my neatly washed clothes at the bottom of my bed, I quickly changed and walked out into the hall. I had gotten to know the halls well enough to find my way to the dining room, where everyone was already seated for breakfast, minus Ashton and Lucien.

"Oh, Ava, good you're up," Marion cheered from the other end of the table. I was still a little confused about the alarm clock, so I felt the need to at least bring it up.

"Uh, weird question…did anyone set my alarm clock this morning?"

Lucas and Charles both look at me like I have two heads.

"Oh, that was me, dear," Marion chimed in, an almost proud smile on her face. "I'm not sure if you are a morning person or not, but I wanted to make sure you were up in time for when the make-up crew I hired comes by. They're going to help you with your outfit, hair, and basically whatever else you want them to do, so you look fantastic for your big night." She clapped loudly, startling Charles, who was falling asleep in his bowl of cereal.

It looked like I wasn't the only person startled out of beauty sleep, though something told me Charles definitely isn't a morning person.

"Where are Ashton and Lucien?" I asked. I was starting to feel like them disappearing is a casual thing. I was surprised Marion hadn't started asking questions, however. Was she used to them always being gone or absent from meals? She seemed like the kind of woman who thought it was disrespectful not to join the family for a proper meal.

Charles and Lucas were giving each other looks, like they were having a silent conversation with their eyes. Marion just frowned, looking as lost as I was. No one spoke up, or seemed to want too. I eyed Charles and Lucas carefully, trying to see if their faces would give anything way, at least tell me if something was up, but they both had very good poker faces on.

I tried to ignore it and sat down, just as a member of the kitchen staff came out and brought me a plate of freshly cooked bacon and scrambled eggs. I thanked them quietly, before spending the next 20 minutes shoveling my eggs around with my fork. Ashton and Lucien finally arrived shortly after.

When Ashton sat down, I tried to study his face from the corner of my eye, and I could tell immediately that something was wrong. His eyes were clouded over, focused on a small stain on the table. I reached under the table and grabbed his hand, giving it a light squeeze, but that still didn't pull him out of thought. I pushed the feeling back until everyone was done eating breakfast. Afterwards, I took his hand and excused us from the room.

"What is going on with you?" I asked when we reached my room. Ashton let out a deep breath, running a hand down his face.

"Lucien was informed by one of his guys on the inside, working a shift at the local police station, that your father has contacted the authority, and is demanding as high as the FBI to get involved with your kidnapping, and your safe return."

My bloody froze and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. I had a feeling my father was going to go to the authorities, but I didn't think he was going to go as far as demand the services of the FBI. It was going to be hard for him to do that, but it wasn't going to be impossible.

"What does this mean for us?" I asked softly, afraid of the answer.

"It means you are going to get to go home, and I'm going to jail," he answered bluntly, his voice shaking and his eyes glazed over. He looked over my shoulder, past me and probably through the wall in front of me. He wasn't looking at anything, his mind running so fast, he couldn't register what was in front of him.

I felt the same way.

"Can't Lucien do anything to help you out? Maybe testify for you, since he's going to be going to jail anyway. He can say he made you do it, and that you were forced or something. You're his family, he has too." I knew there was a chance the idea was a lost cause – his own mother barely showed him any affection, Lucien was just his uncle, not his brother or even father.

"That's the catch," he muttered. His eyes finally met mine, and my heart started beating faster at how sad and fearful they looked. "Lucien is going to keep you here, until your father tries to have him and everyone else arrested. Then, he is going to try and bargain his freedom, in exchange your father gets your, safely returned."

"What about you and your brother, and Lucas?"

Ashton frowned. "He is only going to bargain for himself, knowing that if he gets that much, that is all he is going to get, or they are just going to start trying to take you by force, and that's when someone possibly ends up hurt or dead."

A lump formed in my chest and my throat closed up. This was starting to turn ugly fast.

"Is there anything we can do?" Ashton frowned again and looked down at the ground.

"I have one idea, but I'm not sure how well it is going to work, since we don't have a whole lot of time to plan it."

"We have practiced thinking and doing things on the spot all week, we can plan out something within no time. Something tells me that isn't what you're worried about."

He let out a breath, giving me a look of defeat.

"Hear my plan, and I will explain what I am really concerned about," he said and paused, taking a deep breath and running his hand through his hair. "Tonight at the party, we go through with our original plan of having a fight, and 'breaking-up', all still being fake of course," he said, and my heart fluttered a little at the slight look of panic in his eyes when he said that.

"When that happens, you storm out of the room and run towards the back of the house. I will meet you there, and show you a secret trail off to the side, where you can run through the tall bushes and make it around the house to the front, without anyone seeing you. From there, we can run towards the street, and hope a passing car will stop and bring us into town."

I didn't see too many, if any, holes in his plan. What was the worst that could happen? What was he afraid of? As if reading my mind, he gave me a reluctant look.

"The only problem, is the moment Lucien finds out you are gone, and are trying to escape, he is going to do everything in his power to try and stop us. He knows, regardless if your father gets you back or not, Lucien is going to be arrested for kidnapping. I realized, if I'm not here when they raid the place, I won't be convicted, and Lucien doesn't have any proof I was involved."

"He doesn't? Really?" I gaped at him.

"There was never any contract between us, just a silent agreement that I was going to obey and deliver, and he was going to pay me and provide for me. I am going to give the heads up to Charles and Lucas, and give them the chance to get out of here as well, and let Lucien take the downfall." I was shocked and took a few seconds to register what he was saying.

He was going to leave his uncle to deal with everything, and be the only one to pay the consequences my father is prepared to bring them. I felt like it was wrong, but knew that if Ashton and the others didn't do this, Lucien was going to leave them and do the same.

This way also meant things might not escalate to the point where someone gets seriously injured – or killed. I was all for avoiding those options, either one.

"Okay, so how are we going to do this?" I asked, my voice confident for once. Ashton's eyes widened in shock, but he quickly smiled, and we started thinking.

We brainstormed ideas all morning, until Marion knocked on my bedroom door, not waiting until it was opened, before barging in. She had two people trailing behind her, one a man with bright, bleach blonde hair and striking blue eyes, and a girl with blue and pink colored hair and soft brown eyes, with a few tattoos and a nose ring.

"Ava, this is Leo and Joyce, my most trustworthy hair and clothing designers. They're here to help you get ready for tonight," she said and beamed at me, gesturing to the two very odd looking people. Leo was dressed in very fancy looking clothing, which told me he was the fashion designer, while Joyce's hair told me she was obviously the hair designer.

I tried to force a smile, looking towards Ashton with a disappointed look. Thankfully, we had come up with a quick plan to start a fight; we planned to come up with the story that we took the time together to work on the relationship, but it has just made it worst, and we don't want to ever see each other again. It was a great excuse for me to leave the room, wanting to catch my breath and get away from the lime light, while Ashton was going to stay behind and keep everyone distracted, before sneaking off to meet me in the garden.

I continued to try my best to keep a cheerful smile slapped on my face, as I had my hair and skin pulled and poke at for what felt like hours. I was pretty blown away by the result, however. I wasn't able to look away from my reflection in the mirror once they were done. My long brown hair was curled to perfection at the end, like an almost baby doll style. Joyce was creative enough to add a bit of red and white glitter to my hair, running it through to sparkle as I moved.

Leo was in love with my dress the moment he saw it, and was shocked when I told him it was Ashton who had picked it out. He praised his taste, and asked if he had any friends with the same. Though it made me feel a little awkward, mainly because I didn't know anything about Ashton, enough to answer that question, it also helped me relax a little.

My make-up was the perfect mix of glam and moderate, helping my dark blue eyes pop with their smoky look, and my skin look a little less pale with the aid of dark red blush, topped with rose gold highlighter on my cheek bones and nose, making my face glisten at every angle. I almost looked like a completely different person.

"What do you think?" Leo asked eagerly.

"You guys are amazing, job well done," I applauded, still admiring myself. Leo clapped giddily and hugged Joyce as they both cheered together. I couldn't help but smile and join in on their group hug, thankful Marion had left the room to give us some space, and to continue setting up before guests arrived. But like always, she had returned and ruined the moment, saying guests were going to start arriving within the hour.

I quickly left the room and went in search of Ashton, going next door to his room to check first. I knocked lightly and listened as I heard him shuffle around the room a little, sounding like he was struggling, before ripping the door open. His face was scrunched up in an irritated and frustrated look, until his eyes laid on me.

They widened instantly, all trace of irritation gone, and his mouth fell open softly. I waited for him to say something, chewing my bottom lip nervously, as his eyes scaled my body, taking in my red dress and make-over. I realized he had never seen me with make-up, except for the minimal amount I had on when he kidnapped me, but I haven't been able to apply anymore, and not the amount I had on, that's for sure. I could feel how heavy my face was from the cosmetics layered on my skin.

"Well, what do you think?" I asked slowly when he didn't say anything after a little bit.

"Y-you look–" he choked, and had to stop to clear his throat, before continuing. "You look breathtaking," he managed to whisper out. I smiled, the heat rising to my cheeks instantly, like they always did whenever I saw the sweet side of Ashton. He always managed to leave me speechless or embarrassed.

I looked down at his shirt, and saw that his tie was half done; the other half was a complete mess. I tried not to smile as I reached for it, and delicately folded it together, pressing it down against his tux when I was done. Ashton looked down in at it in shock, like it had magically tied its self.

"Where did you learn that?"

"My aunt taught me a little while ago, saying it was always a helpful thing to know when trying to outsmart a man," I teased and grinned at him. Ashton gaped at me, and I couldn't hold my laughter in anymore. I let out a small giggle, and he quickly realized I was joking.

He grasped my hand, giving it a squeeze like he usually does, and we walked down the hall together, to get ready to greet guests when they arrived. I nearly jumped when the doorbell rang.

Here we go.