Ashley POV

He did not speak, but he did not need to. His silence was enough. However, the stubborn part of me wanted to push him to bring up the topic... more specifically, how he had been affected by his father.

“What about you?” I continued cautiously.

His eyes narrowed slightly as they scanned my face. “You know about Jayden,” he pointed out.

I averted my eyes.

“How long have you known?”

He did not sound accusatory, or angry. No, instead, there was something more familiar, something I also felt related to his... childhood.

“Too long,” I replied stiffly. I did not like being reminded of my mistakes, so I...