The atmosphere in the room was suffocating, thick with an unspoken weight that neither of them seemed ready to confront. Ashton sat by the window, his broad frame rigid, his fingers threading through his tousled hair in slow, frustrated movements. His jaw was locked, tension coiling through his body like a stretched wire. Vivie stood across from him, watching, hesitating. The air between them crackled with something unspoken, something raw.

She took a slow step forward, her voice carefully measured but firm. “Ashton, talk to me.”

His body stiffened at her words, the muscles in his shoulders tensing further. He didn’t acknowledge her at first, didn’t even glance in her direction. His silence was heavy, intentional, but Vivie didn’t retreat. She waited. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he exhaled, turning his gaze to her. His dark eyes, usually so unreadable, swirled with frustration, with something deeper she couldn’t quite name.

“It’s nothing,” he muttered.

Vivie frowned, her arms crossing instinctively. “You were fine earlier. Then they showed up, and now you’re like this.”

Ashton scoffed, the sound hollow. “They always show up like they have some fucking right to be in my life. Like they haven’t spent years pretending I didn’t exist.”

Vivie hesitated before stepping closer, her fingers barely grazing his forearm. He tensed but didn’t pull away. “Then tell me,” she coaxed, her voice softer now. “Why do you hate them so much? Not Selena, I know you love her, but the rest of them?”

A long silence stretched between them. Then, with a breath that seemed to cost him something, Ashton finally spoke, his voice quieter now, almost distant.

“They only acknowledge me when it benefits them,” he said, the bitterness unmistakable. “They reach out when they need something, when it looks good for them. I was never what they wanted me to be. My father cared more about the company than his own damn son. My mother? She was always more concerned about how things looked than how they actually were. I was a liability to their perfect little image, the one who didn’t fall in line, who didn’t give a fuck about pleasing them.”

Vivie swallowed. She heard the anger in his voice, but more than that, she heard the hurt buried beneath it. “And your sister?” she asked gently.

Something in his expression softened. “Selena is the only one who ever cared,” he admitted. “She’s the only one who tried to be there for me when we were kids. But she’s still part of them, whether she wants to be or not. And being around them? It makes me fucking sick.”

Vivie hesitated, then spoke the words she had been holding back. “She texted me.”

His eyes sharpened instantly, his expression darkening. “What?”

“She wants you at the baby shower,” Vivie said carefully, watching him for a reaction.

The answer came instantly. “No.”

Vivie exhaled, but she wasn’t backing down. “Ashton, she’s your sister. You just said she’s the only one who gave a damn about you.”

He pushed off the windowsill and started pacing, his movements sharp, restless. “I don’t do family events. I don’t do that fake shit where everyone acts like we’re normal, like everything is fine. I’m not going to stand there and play along.”

“This isn’t about them,” Vivie countered, stepping into his path. “This is about Selena. She wants you there, not them. Just you.”

His jaw clenched, a muscle ticking. He was searching for a rebuttal, for something to make her drop the subject. But Vivie wasn’t giving up. She reached up, her fingers ghosting over his cheek, grounding him in a way that words couldn’t.

“Go for her,” she urged. “Not for them. Not for appearances. Just for her. And if it gets to be too much, we can leave together. I promise.”

He stared at her, something shifting behind his gaze, something almost vulnerable. She wasn’t forcing him, wasn’t manipulating him. She was simply asking, giving him a choice—a real one, without expectations or pressure.

Finally, after a long silence, he sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. “Fine. I’ll go.”

Vivie blinked in surprise. “You will?”

His lips curled into a small smirk. “Only because you’re fucking relentless.”

A grin spread across her face, and for the first time that day, the heaviness around Ashton lifted just a little. He didn’t do family, didn’t do gatherings. But for Vivie? He’d endure it. If only to keep that smile on her face a little while longer.