The Love of Lies

Uninterested

Cori’s POV

I have no phone, no means of transportation, and I don’t know anyone who I trust to take me home; so, I linger in the foyer of the event hall, struggling not to cry from how mortified I feel, but I don’t get enough time to sink into my feelings, because the loud sound of clapping distracts me.

“That was a very interesting interaction between two people with no relationship.” Toby is wearing a smile that makes me angry, specifically because violence isn't a laughing matter.

I don’t like Ashton either, but at one point I liked him enough to give my body away, so finding out who he really is as a person, combined with being pregnant by him, is like a double slap in the face, no pun intended.

“I’m not interested in making myself or Mr. Lewis look bad.”

“Mr. Lewis? Is that really how you refer to him? Because that slap looked personal.”

“It was personal, which is why it’s none of your business.”

“Join me for dinner tomorrow.” My face recoils at the man’s statement, noting that he wasn’t asking me. “You are too interesting to not want to get to know.”

“Get to know or sleep with?” I start walking away, but Toby blocks my path in a way that makes my nostrils flare.

People with money must think they're untouchable, but my blows are free for everyone.

“Are you trying to antagonize me into hitting you too?” Toby chuckles, indicating to me that he thinks I’m joking; but I’m not.

“Hey… I’m nothing like Ashton. I’m just not one to let a unique opportunity slip through my…”

“Toby… Down.” In response to the animal command he received, the man rolls his eyes, turning to the source of the new voice with an irritated expression.

“Aunt Rose.” The woman ignores Toby completely, and instead stops in front of me with a scowl.

“Do you know how much work I put into this event?”

“I do not, nor am I going to offer to pay for anything because I likely can’t afford it, and honestly speaking, your guests seem to enjoy drama; put this on the invitation for next year.”

“Oh…? I like you.” The woman interlinks our arms and starts walking back into the venue. “My nephew is no different than Ashton Lewis, so if you're looking at him as a better option, think again.”

“I’ve already been warned.”

“Good, now; tell me why I shouldn't have the entire Lewis family put out of my party?”

“I don’t have one, but my problem is with Ashton, not his family. If you want to kick someone out; it should be him.”

“Fair, but Ashton Lewis hasn’t stayed this long at one of my events in years. Kicking him out would be doing him a favor.”

“Why are you putting this decision on me?”

“I’m curious as to what you’d say. I heard that you put Johnathan Crosby in his place, and he still hasn’t recovered from whatever you said. I'd like to get to know the mind of the woman who can silence that pug.” ‘Aunt Rose’ points and my eyes drift toward the pudgy man, who still looks angry.

“Hopefully he’ll keep his foul comments to himself in the future, and as for the Lewis family, they don’t deserve to be punished for my bad behavior.”

“Good answer; you can sit with me now,” the woman says, guiding me toward a table that I’d rather not be at.

Toby sits on the opposite side of me, and his aunt rolls her eyes at him, seemingly irritated that he invited himself.

“She isn’t interested in you.”

“That's because she hasn’t gotten to know me yet.” I shake my head at the man, but Julia’s warning was all I needed to not let myself fall victim to another Ashton.

Ashton’s POV

I’m so embarrassed by what just happened that I just sit there; uncomfortably staring at my parents for several minutes before my father nods his head in Cori’s direction.

Toby just walked out, and my brother instinctively stands, wanting to go get the mother of my child, but I hold his arm, shaking my head because it’s my job to fix this; not his.

I don’t want people to think that Cori’s with Troy, specifically because I know how important looking good tonight is to the man. He still hasn’t asked for Julia’s hand, and I hope that the slap I was given doesn’t look bad on him.

When I finally get to exit, Cori is talking to Rose Dillinger, so I duck off to the side, wanting to eavesdrop on the conversation.

The event’s organizer is testing Cori, and if she says the wrong thing, my family's name and reputation could suffer from it.

“My problem is with Ashton, not his family. If you want to kick someone out; it should be him.” Cori really doesn’t change for anyone, so while I should be offended, her answer is well received.

The clicking of their heels becomes louder, and I quickly dip into the men's room.

When I exited, I expected to see Cori with my family, but she was sitting with Mrs. Rose and Toby, so I returned to my seat, unwilling to cause more issues.

“I’m not comfortable with that arrangement,” my mother says, glancing toward where Cori looks like she’d rather be anywhere else in the world.

“How do I get her to come back? She might slap me again.”

“And you would deserve it.” I glare at my brother, who turns to face me like he’s the older brother and I’m the young i***t. “Why are you so handsy with her?”

“What are you talking about? I was trying to stop her from walking away.”

“Ashton, do you know that Cori grew up in an abusive environment?”

“What? She only told me that her father was a jerk who wanted her to prioritize work, nothing more.”

“Maybe if you would act like an adult and talk to her, you would know that the man was abusive toward her mother before turning his fists toward her.” That information helps a lot of Cori’s reactions to certain situations make sense to me, and by the time dinner is served to our table, I’m so depressed that I can’t eat.

I look up at Cori, who’s picking around her plate in uncertainty, then I remember reading in her parenting book that she can’t eat blue cheese, or raw seafood.

She must be starving right now, and it seems that Toby also noticed that she isn’t eating, because the man gestures for a server to come to their table, giving me an opening to ‘save’ her.

“Where are you going?”

“To get Cori back.”

“Just leave her where she is.”

“She can’t eat any of this.” My mother gasps, looking at the plate that has only three stalks of asparagus that Cori can actually touch.

“She’ll be fine,” Troy says, pointing to the server that's coming out with a fresh plate that he places in front of the smiling woman.

“I guess Mr. Freeman did a better job with his son than I did.”

“He’s just using her to get to me.”

“Why would he be doing that? Cori is a single woman who came to this event alone. As far as he’s concerned, she’s here looking to meet someone.”

“She’s just a nurse.”

“And Julia is unemployed; so, does that make her worthless?" Troy glares as he waits for my response, which I give quickly.

"Julia has her family-”

“So, it's about status?” I take the hint to stop talking because anything else I say right now will make me look like even more of an as*hole, and I’m done playing that role. “Anyway, Cori hasn’t really smiled a lot in recent days. Let her enjoy this evening being taken care of by someone who doesn’t hate her.”

“I don’t hate Cori, and I- F*ck."

"Ashton!" My mother exclaims, thinking that I'm cursing at my father, but I spotted Vanessa making her way to the table that Cori is happily eating and talking at.

Toby has her wrapped around his finger, and Vanessa looks less than impressed by it, which is odd because she told me that she felt nothing for the man.

“Go, go, go,” My mother says, prompting me to make my way over, moving slowly to draw as little of an audience as possible.

Cori’s POV

Toby is a very funny man, so after telling him that I’m not thrilled about eating moldy cheese, he’s now been mocking me about fermented foods I'm missing out on, including yogurt.

However, he’s a seemingly sweet man, so he asked a waiter to bring me a plate with just chicken breast and asparagus, which was brought out quickly.

“I get not wanting to eat raw seafood, but blue cheese? It’s the best friend of buffalo wings. Nobody not likes buffalo wings.” The way the man speaks is so down to earth that I see why people call him Ashton 2.0.

Both men give you the impression that they are just like everyone else, but in reality, they are rich and from what I can tell, entitled.

“It's for health reasons.”

“You better not tell me that you're allergic to blue cheese. That would completely ruin my plan to ask you out on a date.”

“I’m allergic to it,” I reply, but the man simply narrows his eyes at me.

“You just don’t want to date me.” I can’t help but to laugh at Toby’s expression, but honestly, he’s not someone I’m romantically interested in.

“Mr. Freeman-”

“Toby.”

“Mr. Freeman,” I continue, not wanting to be too friendly with the man who's clearly interested in using me to make Ashton angry. “You aren’t interested in me. You’re interested in upsetting Ashton Lewis.”

“Smart girl,” Mrs. Rose says.

“That was true in the beginning, but now…” My eyes get pulled away from Toby and my expression must have given away my irritation.

“Hello Toby.”

“Vanessa?” The man says, standing to greet the woman in a nervous manner.

“I didn’t know that you knew this woman too,” she says, but before she can bad mouth me, I interject.

“Mr. Freeman and I just met and have no relationship. You and I met under terrible circumstances, but please don’t make it the subject of anyone else’s entertainment."

“You should have thought about that before you stole my…” The woman continues to speak, making me sound terrible, so I stand, wanting to defend myself, but I feel an arm wrap around my waist, distracting me from my rebuttal.

“It’s not worth it.” Ashton says, and although he’s speaking gently, he's loud enough for Toby to hear. “She’s bitter, angry, and you don’t owe her anything except the same slap you gave me.” I feel embarrassed about that, but Ashton seems like he's here to ‘save’ me. “Please, come back to our table.”

“It’s not like Toby would be interested in a pregnant woman anyway.” I tense, but I ignore Vanessa, and choose to nod at Ashton, who gives me a gentle shove toward where his parents are sitting.

Ashton’s POV

I pushed Cori ahead of me, wanting to warn Vanessa again, and make things clear for Toby.

“I thought that was just a rumor.”

“It’s not, and I’ll kindly ask you to stay away from her.” Anger is evident on the man’s face, and as I leave, he walks up behind me, making me think that he was going to attack.

“So, you made Vanessa get rid of her baby just to get someone else pregnant?” I’m shocked by the statement, but it’s soon replaced by anger.

“If she told you that, then she’s a f*cking liar who wanted to get a reaction out of you.” Toby is no fool; he knows that I’m right, and having made my point, I walk away.