Chapter <b>90 </b>


    After what happened with the dress, Jocelyn had beenpletely won over.


    When she mentioned going out for a meal, something suddenly shed through Veronica’s mind. Then, the image of Ashton’s somber gray eyes surfaced in her memory.


    She cursed inwardly. She had promised to cook for him. And now, thanks to the situation earlier, she hadpletely forgotten about it.


    She remembered the look he gave her the day before, which held a faint trace of disappointment. The guilt came flooding in.


    She couldn’t believe that it hadpletely slipped her mind. She should have at least notified him in advance. What if he still had not eaten?


    Veronica quickly said goodbye to Jocelyn, then nervously dialed Ashton’s number. It rang for a long time before anything happened.


    She nced at the time and grew more anxious. It waste already, so he was probably already


    in bed!


    Just before the call was about to hang up, it connected.


    “Speak.” Ashton sounded congested, his mood unreadable.


    Veronica suddenly felt like a kid caught doing something wrong. No matter how she exined, it was going to sound like an excuse. She hesitated for a while, then finally asked, “Eaten yet?”


    On the other end of the line, Ashton gave a soft, incredulousugh. “Ms. Dolton, do you even know what time it is?”


    Her heart tightened as she said, “I’m sorry. I got caught up with work today and forgot to let you know. That’s on me.”


    “I’ve not eaten yet.”


    Veronica’s grip on the phone almost slipped. Then he added, “I’ve been waiting for you.”


    It turned out that she was a viin–the absolute worst.


    “What do you feel like eating?” she asked, desperate to make it up to him. “Or we can go out somewhere.”


    There was a long pause. It was so long that Veronica thought he had fallen asleep.


    “Forget it,” Ashton said quietly as he erged a photo of a pale blue dress on his phone. “Next time. We’ve got plenty of chances. It’s okay.”


    Earlier that day, Howard had already reported to him that Veronica had borrowed a dress for


    Jocelyn.


    Thus, Ashton had a feeling that dinner might get canceled, but he waited anyway, hoping <b>that </b>Veronica would message him. That hope dragged on until 10:00 pm.


    It seemed that this little heartbreaker always broke his heart with lies.


    He stared at the photo for a while, his sculpted features cast in shadow by the moonlight.


    “Alright,” Veronica said, relieved. “Just let me know what you want next time. Anything is epted.”


    She was d that he was so understanding.


    By noon the next day, Heberly delivered the dress to Jocelyn. The real thing looked even better than the photos, especially once Jocelyn tried it on.


    Veronica had revised the design of the back, recing the original lines with a soft ring of sea pearls that framed her delicate shoulder des.


    Jocelyn already had a tall, elegant figure with striking features. With a bold red lip, she was impossible to look away from.


    The dress suited her perfectly.


    Standing in front of the full–length mirror, Jocelyn shed her first tear in days. This time, it was not from sadness. It was from pure, overwhelming joy.


    “Veronica, thank you. I swear, I’m going to walk that stage in this.”