Chapter 47 - My Anguish

Megan's POV

"Megan, Alice, please come with me and join us to eat lunch." The housekeeper said to us, and we stopped cleaning, and we followed her to the staff quarter, and I realized they have their dining area. She served our food, and we ate our meal in silence; and I smiled at Alice when I realized the food tasted so good, and I felt so full after eating our lunch. And then the housekeeper told us we could have our one-hour break, and I realized the last time we came here, Lauren only allowed us to have a thirty minutes break.

Alice begged me to have our break near the swimming pool, and I know the beautiful garden near the pool is lovely. I hate to go there because I don't want to remember the embarrassment I experienced because of Lauren. But I can't deny my friend to enjoy the view near the swimming pool. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it felt like we were spending our time in a five-star hotel, and we were having a lovely day beside the pool. Alice asked me to take her pictures, and I laughed when she posed like a model in a magazine, and I realized it feels so nice to have a vacation somewhere far away from the city. 

As I looked around us, I realized I made the right decision about breaking up with Ashton because this place alone looked like a vacation hotel. The beautiful landscaped with a vast garden surrounds the mansion. And the big house behind us reminds me that I am only nothing, and I need to stop my fantasy. And I know since I have been at Ashton's place, their house is much bigger and grander than Lauren's place.

"Can you tell me now about your breakup? I know you are not yet ready to talk about it, Megan, but you can never run away from it because you need to face it every day of your life." Alice said, and I sat beside her on the chaise lounge.

"Yeah, I know. I am sorry if I avoided the topic. I hate that I did it to Ashton. That is why I don't want to talk about it since I felt guilty that I broke up with him even if I am still crazy about him." I replied.

"Megan, not all couples break up because they don't love each other anymore. Sometimes some consequences are beyond their control, like what happened to you; who could have thought that your brother and his sister had been in love with each other, and your brother ended hurting Isabelle because of Ashton's dad." Alice responded.

"Sometimes because of trust issues, and others are not willing to give a second chance, and they ended up regretting on their past judgment, but it was already too late. I am not saying you are going to regret your decision, and I am just hoping you will not have any regrets in the future because I care about you, and I don't want you to be miserable." She said, and I smiled at her.

"I understand what you mean, Al, and do you know I hated myself right now because I don't like that Ashton didn't even say hi to me after I broke up with him?" I asked her, and she nodded her head.

"I know, Megan, and even if you didn't tell me, for how many times I caught you were stealing glances at Ashton, and I can tell right away that you were hurting. What do you expect, Meg? You hurt Ashton by breaking up with him, and do you think he will give you another glance after you break up with him? Come on, Megan, you are the most intelligent in our batch, and I don't think you can't get the logic." My best friend said, and I know she was right.

"He will never look at you again because you hurt his ego; Ashton Pritzgold is the most popular and handsome guy in our school and got dumped by you. Girls chased him around, Meg. So, you better face it since you decided to break up with him even if he begged you not to, and I am telling you all this because you are my best friend." Alice added.

"So, you better stop thinking about him because you lose your chance to be with him, Meg. You let him go, and I think Ashton thought he doesn't worth anything to you because you broke his heart." She continued, and I realized my best friend was right, and I needed to face my decision, and I should never have regrets, and I know I was such a fool for

letting him go.

"I know, Al, I made a mistake, but even if I have regrets right now, I am still proud of myself that I made my brother happy, and I need to deal with my broken heart alone," I said.

"You made Dexter happy without realizing you were breaking your own heart. I wanted to tell you that time, don't break up with Ashton, Megan, because it will still be the same pain." She responded.

"Hey, I know my brother was right; if I didn't break up with Ashton, I need to deal with his father soon, and it is better this way because I know Lauren and her friends will never bother me anymore," I replied, and she smiled at me.

"Well, you were right. Look at now, Lauren didn't give a damn if we are here or not, so at least you can now continue your goal to graduate high school without any drama." Alice said as she got up from the chair, and I realized our break time was up.

"Yeah, that is true, and I hope she will not bother

me anymore," I replied.

We went back to the main house, and we started working again. I was thinking about Alice's words as we continued cleaning in the hallways, and I hated myself that I couldn't stop thinking about Ashton even for a while, and I realized how much I miss him. And I know I have to deal with my heartache. And as we continued with our work, I couldn't stop my heart from feeling worried as the hours passed because I knew whether I liked it or not, I needed to face Lauren again since we would be working until midnight.

"Mmm, ma'am, excuse me, can I ask a question?" I asked the housekeeper when we ate our dinner.

"Yes, what do you want to know, Megan?" She asked me with a smile on her face.

"I just want to know if Miss Lauren will throw a party tonight?" I asked, and she smiled at me.

"Oh, are you afraid if you are going to fall into the swimming pool again?" She asked, and I blushed as I realized some of the maids were there, and she was among them because she supervised us that time.

"I am sorry, Megan, I don't intend to upset you. And to answer your question, don't worry, Meg, we don't have a party to cater tonight because our lady boss called me earlier that they will be having a party after the game at the Pritzgolds." She said, and I couldn't stop the rapid beating of my heart as I heard Ashton's family name.

"Aren't you going to attend the party? I believe that you are your classmates, and Ashton is your boyfriend. And I know why you are here; it was because my young lady boss was jealous of you. I heard everything Ashton said to Lauren that night, and I know our young Miss was hurt." She said, and I didn't know how to answer her, so I just shook my head. 

I felt so happy that there would be no party tonight at Lauren's place, but I suddenly felt sad when I learned they were going to have fun at Ashton's wonderful place. After eating dinner, we spent our time in the living room, and I know the site is spotless, but Lauren was the one who made the list of where we should clean. I was using a rag, and I was wiping the balustrade of the stairs when I suddenly heard Lauren's laughter. When I raised my head, I felt like I was frozen on my feet when I saw Ashton walking beside her, so handsome as ever, and I knew he saw me, but he continued to talk with Lauren as if I wasn't there.

"Do you want to come to my room?" I heard Lauren asked Ashton, and it was my cue to get back to work, and my heart was beating so fast as I waited for Ashton to answer her. And I think they got back together because he came with her into her house, and right now, Lauren was asking him if he wanted to go to her room. My heart is in too much anguish as I continue to wipe the stairs.

"No, I will wait for you here," Ashton responded, and I let out a soft sigh of relief because I couldn't take it if he went to Lauren's room even if we broke up already.

"Okay, don't worry, I can change my clothes fast. Just wait for me, Ash." Lauren said in a seductive tone, and she walked on the stairs without saying anything to me. And I can feel the racing of my heart because I can feel that Ashton is watching me, and I want to turn around and see him, but I don't want to get hurt. And it feels like forever before Lauren came back, and I felt glad that they left quickly, and I sat on the stairs as I cried my heart out.

"Hey, Megan, don't cry, don't let them see you are affected by them. Hold your tears and let yourself cry the moment we get out from here." Alice said, and I wiped away my tears without saying anything. 

I felt glad Lauren didn't get back home when the clock struck at midnight. I was running from the mansion, and I could feel Alice was following behind me, and I felt so glad Dexter was already waiting for us. I said hi to Dexter after I sat beside him.. And I felt so hurt as we left the Astikoz Hills Subdivision.