The Love of Lies

Happiness

Ashton’s POV

Cori fell asleep midway through the movie, but because I could feel the stickiness of her skin, I woke her, and helped her shower before helping her get comfortable in our bed.

Any other time, I would stay behind to massage her feet and legs for a while, but tonight, I absolutely need to eat more of her lasagna. I’m not the only one either, Troy is in the dimly lit kitchen too, and with him, our father.

“You’re going to hell,” I say to my brother, knowing that he’s trying to pull the man into our crime ring.

“What’s going on, why did you text me so late?”

“Just taste it,” Troy says, pushing the plate at my father expectantly. The man does as asked, double taking because like us, he loves it.

“Where did you order this?”

“Cori made it.” My tone is proud, but at the same time, I feel horrible.

“Yeah, let’s not tell your mother about this. Also, she can never taste it.” That's okay by me, and because I came with the intention of getting a second serving, I help myself.

“She made bread from scratch,” I add, hovering around the lasagna as though I can stop my brother and father from eating any more of it.

My brother gets one of the remaining breadsticks for our very impressed father, and like thieves in the night, were startled by a light flicking on in the kitchen.

“What are you doing over here at this hour?”

“Mer, I was just… Ashton called me.” I did not, but my father and brother always throw me under the bus when it comes to my mother.

“What are you eating?” My mother asks, making Troy vanish. “I hope you aren’t feeding your father things he shouldn’t have." The woman comes to investigate, and because my father's a coward, he hands her the plate he's holding. "Smells nice."

We say nothing as we watch the fork raise to her lips, but eventually, we remember to breathe.

"Did Cori make this?!"

"It was her first try," I say, trying to make my mother think that I didn't enjoy it as much as I did.

"I hope she wrote down the recipe. It would be nice for her to start a collection for little Lori." Sensing an out, I tell my mother about Cori's change of heart.

We go back and forth about why my little girl will no longer be called Lori, and at the end of it all, my parents have the same reaction I did.

"Just make sure you talk to her about it. She may say that now, but we'll never know how she'll feel tomorrow. You were Alexander before you were born looking exactly like your father."

"Wow Hun, thinking of it that way, if you'd named him that, Ashton Lewis likely wouldn't have gotten that letter, and we wouldn't have known that we were going to be grandparents."

I would have never thought of it that way, but my father is absolutely right. Cori's attorney wanted to hit my father where it hurt, but if we had different names, he likely would have turned Cori away from his office.

My mother eventually leaves, allowing my father and I to just talk, and out of nowhere, he mentions today's meeting.

"I really have to commend you for that. It couldn't have been easy to risk such a large commission."

"Cori's more important; our twins are more important." My father pats my back, squeezing my shoulder in a loving way.

"You convinced her to hold the shower yet?"

"Not yet, but she's coming along. I plan to introduce her to some more of my friends at Chris's party this weekend."

"Don't push too hard. Remember that she's a simple girl." I know that, and I didn't need reminding, but something tells me that my father's words aren't meant to warn me about Cori's preferences.

"Something on your mind?"

"I just can't get over how lucky you got with her. If the relationship fails, I want it to be entirely your fault." I chuckle, but not because my father's joke was funny.

I just thought of my relationship with Cori ending, and it hurt enough to force me to cover with a smile, making me think that my feelings for the woman are deeper than even I know.

"Dad, when did you know that mom was the one?"

"I didn't know," he replies, scratching his head as though he's trying to recall a distant past, but my parents aren't that old. "Up until the moment she walked down the aisle, I had my doubts."

"Does Mom know that?" I feel an intense sense of guilt, and I don't know what I think about my father's confession.

"She was the one who pointed them out to me. The night before our wedding, she came into my room and pretty much begged me to walk away."

"She didn't want to marry you?"

"Of course she did, but I was young, thought my sh*t didn't stink, and now that I think about it, a lot like you."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that I see you doing to Cori exactly what I did to your mother."

"I'm not following. I have no doubts about my relationship."

"Maybe not, but you're doubting your own feelings, and that's a mistake I know all too well."

"You didn't think you loved Mom?"

"Oh, I knew I loved her, but because I couldn't remember a time without her after we got together, I couldn't tell if I'd just grown comfortable with our relationship."

"But when you saw her in her wedding dress, you knew?"

"Ashton, no moment ever felt more right in my life. Everything else in our relationship suddenly felt like cookie cutter actions, things I did because everyone else did them, but that day changed everything for me. I finally knew that I wasn't settling, it was just that no one else could ever compare to her."

Cori and I aren't there yet, but I get what my father's saying. If I want to know how I feel about Cori, and if I want to know how she feels about me, I need to remove the blinders of comfort.

As of lately, I'm rushing home to be with her, and I'm agreeing to everything she asks because I want to see her smile, but realistically, I can't always do that.

The changes I've made are more for Cori's sake than for mine, I can admit that much, but what my father is saying is that I should want to change for me.

Cori's POV

Ashton has been working later than usual, and tonight, he's going out for a few drinks with his friend's.

I guess it would have been nice to get an invite, but he deserves to be able to stretch his legs without me.

"You promise you won't drink and drive?" That is my only concern, and Ashton swears to me that he would never put himself in that position ever again, meaning that he's done it in the past.

"Don't wait up." Ashton kisses my forehead, and with a heavy heart, I watch him leave.

I'm so bored that I end up watching a comedy, but I have to pause midway through because this might be a movie Ashton would like to watch with me.

Everything reminds me of the man, and eventually I have nothing left to do but sleep.

I don’t know how long my eyes were closed before my phone rang, and a very drunk Ashton was laughing into the device, making little sense, up until the moment he tells me that he can’t catch a cab.

Whether or not it’s true, I sigh into the phone, thinking that Ashton is telling me that he isn’t coming home, but instead, he asks me to pick him up.

I know that catching a cab into the city is easier than getting one out of it, but I still text the rideshare driver I’m familiar with, hoping that he’s on duty, and he is.

I probably could have sent him to Ashton’s location directly, but for whatever reason, I’m afraid to call him and tell him that I’m not coming. He may get discouraged and get behind the wheel, and I don’t want to take that chance.

When my driver and I get in front of the bar, the man waits for me while I try to reach Ashton, but he isn’t answering his phone, so I have to get out and navigate my way through what seems like a sea of drunk men and women.

I finally spot the man in front of a food truck, but I’m not sure if I should approach him because he’s talking to a group of women, and I’m not sure how to feel about it.

I just stand there for a long time, actually hurt because I really like Ashton, like a lot.

Despite being pregnant, I’ve gotten out of bed at nearly 3AM, come all the way to what I can now see is a lounge, not a bar, only to see that Ashton is doing exactly what I willed my mind not to think about, but then, he proudly calls out to me.

Ashton’s POV

I’ve been trying to get a taxi for hours, but Clarence has been stopping me from leaving. The man’s ex just got engaged, and he’s been trying to make himself feel better by flirting with any woman who looks in his direction, using me as his wingman.

I was fine at first, but I started to feel guilty, knowing that I have no interest in any of the women we were talking to, and at some point, I find myself looking through my phone, really appreciating the fact that I have someone so beautiful waiting at home for me, and, grateful that I’m not Clarence.

Actually ready to leave, I step outside again, laughing because Clarence keeps trying to pull me back into the lounge, but it’s late, the taxis don’t want to drive uptown at this hour, and I miss my girlfriend.

“Hello, everything okay?” Somehow, I’ve managed to call Cori and convey to her that I can’t get a cab. I was planning to sleep in my car, but… “Do you want me to pick you up?” I would love that, so I send my location, just in time for Clarence to snatch my phone.

“At least eat something with me bro.” I can do that, in fact, I will do that, so I follow the man to the food truck, and wait on a stupidly long line for what can’t be five-star quality food.

Eventually I get to the front, and as I’m ordering, a group that Clarence, and technically me, were flirting with earlier, spark a conversation.

“Sorry ladies, but I was just doing my friend a favor; I’m taken.”

“But are you happy?”

“Very! Expecting twins too.” I start looking for my phone, wanting to show Cori off, but I forgot that Clarence took it, and he’s gone to find a place to pee.

The women enquire about Cori, drunk and clearly unbelieving of my commitment, but I’m not annoyed because it’s a chance to brag.

“She’s absolutely stunning, and she’s on her way to get me.”

“Is that her over there?” I make a funny face, but when I look, Cori is actually standing there.

“BABE! Over here!” Cori looks shocked to have been called, but she makes her way over anyway."

She’s visibly and obviously pregnant, but she’s still getting a few looks, especially her ass, almost making me leave my spot to get to her faster.

“I was just talking about you.” I turn to face the random women, dramatically gesturing to Cori. “As you can see, my happiness has arrived."