The driveway inside was also quite long, it gave Ashley the much needed few minutes before she would be required to enter a zone of pretense.
In the mean time, she did notice the huge trees adorning both sides of the road which eventually cleared off and opened to a pretty garden.
And soon, the car halted. Michael finally opened his eyes. "Stay in the car." He ordered and got out of the car.
Ashley let out the breath that she did not even know she was holding all this time.
Guess it would take her a good period to get used to his presence. It was too strong to be comfortable in.
Her side of the door opened and a hand appeared before her.
She followed her eyes through the hand to the eyes of the owner before placing her hand in his.
Stepping out of the car, Ashley gazed at the mansion ahead.
There were two figures waiting at the entrance with staff behind them.
Her hand was clasped in his big ones as they moved forward, their steps matching.
"Oh my gosh, look at you, so you were not kidding all this while about having found the love of your life?" That was Amelia, his cousin.
She was two years elder to Ashley and only a year younger to Michael. She was the daughter of Jonathan Clark, the younger brother of William Clark who was the father of Michael.
Amelia turned to her and instantly took her in hug which came surprisingl to Ashley. "It's so nice to finally meet you! I am Amelia, I hope its not the first time you are hearing my name."
No, she had actually spent the night trying to remember all the names.
"No, I am not. I have heard a lot about you."
More like read about her.
"Than I can only hope they are good things." Amelia winked at her.
Her hand was lightly tucked and that was the cue.
She stared into Michael's eyes and smiled looking at him as if he was the only man in her world.
Her face was instantly adorned with a glow which could easily be mistaken as the glow of love.
And though Michael was not smiling back at her, there was a level of softness that was detectable in his eyes.
"Look at them, they look so cute together!" Amelia gushed at her cousin who she did not think was capable of ever bringing a woman home on his own.
She used to think even getting him into a arrange marriage would be a tedious task.
Ashley did not know if it was because she never had a male grabbing her hand before but she felt really conscious of their hands clasped together.
It felt strangely nice to have her hands in the hold of a bigger one, they kind of gave her a sense of security but at the same time of danger.
Amelia drew the attention to the other figure who just stood silent all this time, "Why are you so silent?"
James coughed awkwardly.
He knew that Ashley would be seeing him for first time but he can't forget the last time he saw her and how he almost got her into trouble with Robert.
"James here, it's good to see you." He smiled at her genuinely.
James was the brother six years younger to Michael and she knew for a fact that he was of utmost importance to Michael and so was Amelia.
Ashley had read that despite the differences among the elder generation of the family, the younger generation shared a very tight bond.
"So if we are done here, how about we take it inside? The entire family is waiting to meet you." Amelia clapped her hands in enthusiasm and headed inside with James.
It was not how bad Ashley had assumed.
At least the younger ones were easy to deal with and she was letting herself believe for a moment that elders might not be that bad to handle.
Ashley took steps forward and she could not help but notice how Michael had shortened his steps to match hers.
It would have touched her heart had he done it some time ago while they were stepping out of his office.
But for that matter, he was doing it now just to appear considerate about her in front of his family.
"You guys really look amazing together!" Amelia said with a smile.
Call it a gut feeling or what, Ashley already liked her. Even James.
Since they were normal and nice, she figured out that she was just freaking out for nothing.
The tiles they were walking upon were so shiny that Ashley could see their reflection in it.
Michael and hers.
Hand-in-hand.
For a second, even Ashley found it harder to believe that they were nothing.
Just then, his eyes found hers in the reflection. And his eyes were empty. They had nothing in them, not for her at least.
And for some weird reason, her heart calmed down. It served as the signal that she had to continuously warn herself about the sweet traps around.
Everything might appear astonishing but it was not for her. Ashley was not going to dream and let herself be swayed away by a life that was not for her.
She had already sold her dignity once by agreeing for the marriage for the money. Ashley was not going to exchange it for any other thing now.
Removing her eyes from him, she looked straight ahead.
It was a literal mansion.
James and Amelia were a few steps ahead of them chatting about something. Every once in a while, Michael responded as well.
Soon a maid came and helped Michael in removing his coat.