Ashton''s POV


    "What is this, Isabelle?" I asked my sister after she barged into my office and handed me a brochure, and then she settled on the chair in front of my table.


    "Well, I notice ever since youst visited Megan in her house, you are in a sour mood, and you feel so stressed; I think you needed to rx your mind, Ashton, and if you want to pursue Megan? Just don''t sulk in your room or here in your office." She responded, and my brows furrowed.


    "You know I am so busy with my work, Belle, and that is why I am always here in my office because I am dealing with so many things. I don''t have time for retreat, and that kind of activity will only make me bored. And this is so funny, big sister. I don''t do meditation, and I''d rather run and hit the gym." I dered, and she pouted her lips and looked at me in the eyes.


    "If you don''t want to do it, please do it for me instead, I beg you, Ashton, and you have to believe me that this is what you need." She insisted, and I was shaking my head.


    "Stop it, Belle, because there is no way I will be attending a nature retreat; I don''t need something like this," I said as I raised the brochure.


    "Come on, Ash, you have toe with me," Isabelle begged, and I can tell she is now serious because he will only call me Ash if she wants me to listen to her. I raised my head and looked at her, and she beamedwhen she realized I was giving her enough time to convince me why I should go in retreat.


    "Connecting to nature would be fun, the center provides facilities for us to enjoy, and three days would never be enough, but since we are both busy, it would be okay for now." My sister added.


    "We will do some meditation, but if you don''t like you can skip it, you can nt trees for the future generation to enjoy the world; that is what we need; we have to nt more trees to save mother earth." She continued, and I couldn''t stop myself from feeling so interested in her following words.


    "We can swim in the cold spring, and then we can havetrekking, and there is also gardening, we can harvest vegetables, and you have to believe me, it would be fun." She said.


    "Why do you sound so convinced that we will be having fun, Isabelle?" I asked her, and she suddenly looked sad.


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    "Because that ce saved me, Ashton, when Dexter broke up with me, I thought I couldn''t survive. I was devastated, and I felt so alone, and I was in deep pain, and I don''t know how to deal with my pain at that time." She stated.


    "And one of my friends insisted that I should visit the ce, and since I felt so down, it doesn''t matter if I will have fun or not, as long as I can escape the reality, so I packed my bags and left my ce, and I never expected I will fall in love with the nature, and I stayed at the retreat house for almost one month, and when I return home, I could tell I became a different person." She added, and I was silent.


    "Do you know that in silence, you will find so many answers? And I was hoping you would try it, Ashton. If you don''t like the ce, you can leave right away. I am asking you toe with me because I wanted to help you." She said, and I smiled at my sister.


    "Thank you for your concern about my love life, Belle, but you don''t need to worry. I am fine." I dered.


    "You can never fool me, Ashton; I can tell you are having a hard time even if you try to look fine." She responded, and I realized my sister could see me through.


    "Okay, I aming with you, and I wanted to remind you, I am only going because I love trekking and tree nting because I love saving the world as well, and it feels wonderful to be part of something meaningful," I said, and her face lit up. I could tell I had made my sister so happy.


    "How I wish the boys were here," I added as I realized I missed my brothers.


    "Don''t worry, next time I will ask them to join us," She replied, and I couldn''t hide the expression on my face.


    "Hey, don''t look so sad, Ashton; I am sure you will love the ce," Isabelle said as she got up from her seat and slowly walked towards the door while I returned my focus on myptop, and I couldn''t believe I said yes to my sister, and I wonder how I am going to bail on her.


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    But I knew it would be so hard to say no to our big sister, so I released a heavy sigh as I realized I didn''t have a choice but to go with her. I know there is no way the retreat center would help me forget about Megan and our son, and I think the moment we arrive at the retreat center, the more I will miss them.


    "No flowers for today, Mr. Pritzgold? The flower shop keeps on calling me." My secretary asked, and I shook my head since I knew Megan would only hate me more if I continued to send her some flowers.


    "No more flowers, Les," I replied, and Leslie was looking at me, and I could tell she wanted to say something, but she kept it to herself.


    The days passed by so quickly, and I am so thankful it was Friday, and my face fell when I realized I needed toe with my sister tomorrow to the nature retreat center located on the fifth town going south. It would be a long drive, and we needed To leave early.


    I was shocked when Isabelle informed me she needed to go home to Astikoz at thest minute. I am d Zachary came with me even if I called himst minute, and I realized I could always count on my best friend. As I was driving my pick-up truck, I also told him Isabelle''s story to convince him to go with me, and when we arrived at the retreat house, I realized my sister was right.


    I felt rxed right away by watching the giant trees surrounding the retreat center, and as we went to our designated amodation, I couldn''t stop admiring the entire ce. I could say I don''t regreting here, and our cottage looked so adorable. Zachary left me to order some food and bottled water since we didn''t have breakfast.


    I walked over the window when I noticed guests approaching the cottage across from us, and I could feel my pulse racing when I saw two familiar faces. I couldn''t believe my luck to see Megan and Alice, and I realized maybe my sister knew all along, and that is why she insisted that I shoulde to this ce, and I think this is my sign to never give up on her. I hid on the side while watching her face as she stood on the porch looking at the surrounding, and she looked so beautiful with her ponytail.


    Megan looked so beautiful when she raised her head and looked at the gigantic trees around the ce. I grunted as I realized how much I wanted to take her into my arms and kissed her lips once again, and how I wished Megan would give me a chance to talk with her, and I felt disappointed when they got inside the house, and I almost jumped on my feet when I was startled by Zach''s words.


    "What the hell are you doing, Ashton? Why are you hiding over there? Did you be a pervert after Megan broke your heart for the second time?" He asked, and I could tell my best friend was mocking me, and I needed to put my finger on my lips so he would keep quiet.


    "Megan and Alice are here," I said as I walked closer to him; and he was stunned, and I could see the smile of mischief on his face.


    "Wow, Isabelle loves you, she did a good job saving your ass, and you should be thankful for having a supportive sister, Ashton." He said, and I could see the unhappiness on his face, and I knew how much he wanted to have siblings.


    "Hey, you don''t need to feel sad, my siblings are your siblings too, and you should know that by now. Isabelle is also concerned about you, and she treated you as her younger brother too." I dered, and he gave me a weak smile.


    "I know, but it would be different if I have my siblings, but it would be toote now, my parents are old, and they can''t have children, and if they do, it would be like my own child." He said, and Iughed.


    "Wow, thank goodness that you still know how tough, and I think Megan has something to do about it," He said, and my smile died on my lips as I realized I didn''t know how to approach Megan after she told me; she could only forgive me if I stayed away from her.


    "You need to tell her your side of the story, Ashton, and I think that is the only way she will tell you that Axel is your child. She has all the right to know why you did it to her. She will hate you forever if you keep it to yourself." My best friend dered.


    "I don''t want her to have regrets and me herself instead, and most of all, I don''t want her to hate my dad more; it is better that she only med me for what happened to us," I said.


    "It was your father who did those things, Ashton, not you. Stop protecting your dad; Megan knew what kind of father he was to you before he got paralyzed." Zach added, and I know my best friend was right.


    "Okay, I promise I will talk to Meganwhatever it takes, and you know I will be needing all your help," I said.


    "Don''t worry, just leave it to Alice and me, and we will make sure this time you can have your chance to speak with Megan," Zachary said. I couldn''t stop myself from feeling so excited that I would finally have my chance to talk to the only woman who made me fall in love with and who made me feel soplete, and now without Megan, I could tell I would never feel whole again.


    And this time, I will make sure Megan will know how she makes me feel, and I will tell her that I am still madly in love with her. I should never let Gael intimidate me, and it was so wrong that I left her house without asking her if she no longer felt the same way towards me.


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