Chapter 30 What Remains

• Asher’s POV
• I blinked my eyes repeatedly, struggling to adjust to the bright rays of sunshine seeping through the windows. I had a pounding headache that made me dizzy for a moment. I let out a grunt of exhaustion. Flashes of last night flooded my memory as I grabbed my alarm clock from my bedside and peered at it. It was a few minutes after 12 in the afternoon, and I had slept for most of the day. I reached for the landline by my bedside and sat up in alarm when I saw a couple of messages from Marcus. I had an important meeting with him and my dad at Sterling Industries.
• I reluctantly got out of bed. There were also a few missed calls from Luca. He was probably calling to check up on me; I knew I wouldn’t hear the end of it until I gave him a detailed explanation of my attitude the night before. I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair. I acted out of character last night. I remembered calling the girl I was with last night, Ivy. I sighed in exasperation; I was drunk to the point of confusion, and I truly believed she was Ivy for a moment. Memories of my conversation with Ivy came to me. I had handled it a lot better than I expected, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of regret. Did I go too far with my words? I asked myself. I didn’t think I did. She had hurt me deeply, and I was only reacting to the pain she caused me. I battled the thought internally for a while before getting out of bed. I washed my face and quickly freshened up.