Seeing Ashton entering the house a guard came running to them. He greeted Ashton and informed that the girl who worked at the villa had to rush urgently to the hospital because her brother had met with an accident. So for the time being Mrs Grace was taking care of the things.

Just then the housekeeper Grace arrived. She was an old lady in her late sixties. "Ashton." The old woman beamed at the man who was the cause of Lilly's irritation and to her surprise the man who didn't even spare her a proper glance since the previous night smiled at the old lady and gave her a warm hug.

"Grace, weren't you supposed to be on a leave? I gave you a vacation."

"Oh come on, Ashton do you think I am an old lady with weak bones who can't do anything?"

Ashton chuckled as he said, "No you are not old but you need some rest. Don't tire yourself out."

"Forget that. You are like my son so whatever I do for you it's out of my love. I never considered anything related to you a burden." the old lady smiled and Lilly could feel the kindness in her words. Grace looked past Ashton and smiled at Lilly.

"You have brought such a beautiful bride and here I was it worrying that you would never marry."

Grace moved past Ashton to greet Lilly but then stopped as her eyes fell upon the little toddler in Lilly's arms.

"This child?"

"He is my son. Samuel King." Ashton answered.

"Your son?" Grace looked at Ashton in shock and then back at the sleeping toddler before turning her eyes at Lilly.

"He looks just like the little version of Ashton. Such a beautiful child." Grace smiled.

" I'll meet him when he wakes up and till then get inside I'll prepare something for you two."

" I don't have much of an appetite." Ashton interrupted. "You show Lilly around the house and I will do some work in my study."

"Don't overwork yourself, Ashton." the old lady sighed as she headed towards the kitchen.

"I'll prepare some coffee for you two. Do you need milk for the baby?"

"Yes, please." Lilly smiled.

"Alright. You wait in the living room and I'll be back in five minutes." Saying this Grace disappeared in the kitchen.

Before Lilly could take a step towards the seating area Ashton pulled her from her elbow as he said in a low voice, "You will sleep in my room tonight."

"But you said -"

"Forget that." Ashton interrupted. ''I didn't know that Grace would be here and one more thing you need to remember is Grace may be working for this household but she is a mother figure to me that's why she has a room in the main house. Till the time she is here be very nice to her. I don't want her to know about this marriage is nothing but a sham."

" I don't think I behaved badly with anyone and my temper is better than you, Mr King." Lilly shot back.

Ashton ran a frustrated hand through his hair looking very displeased with the situation.

"I didn't mean that but please she is a very important person to me so be careful and don't tell her about Elsie or Sebastian. She doesn't need to know that Sam is Sebastian's and Sarah's child."

"What are you trying to hide?" Lilly questioned.

"I don't want people to remember Sebastian with hatred in their heart. I know he made many mistakes but he alone wasn't responsible for the damage that was caused and as to why I tell everyone that Sam is my son because I don't want people to think that Sam was a mistake. I don't want him to grow up thinking that his dad was a drug addict and alcoholic. I want him to grow happily."

"Ok. I understand."

"You both are still standing at the door?" Grace called for them as she returned from the kitchen with a tray in her hands.

"Thank you for the coffee." Taking his coffee mug Ashton headed for the study while Lilly placed the sleeping toddler on the couch as she sat beside him.

Grace handed her the coffee as she sat opposite to her and smiled, "In all that excitement earlier I forgot to introduce myself. I am Grace Winfield."

"Hello, Mrs Winfield. I am Lilly." Lilly smiled back.

"Call me Grace. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lilly."

"Likewise."

"So how did you two meet?" asked the old lady sipping on her coffee and Lilly couldn't help but wonder why everyone especially women around Ashton were so fond of interrogation. Couldn't they just ask the man himself how he blackmailed and threatened her into this marriage?

"We met when Ashton came to my house for..." she couldn't remember what lies she had told Eva and Livia.

'What had he come for?' She tried to recall but couldn't remember the lie from before. So to cover up her words she quickly added, "For us, it was like love at first sight." She said keeping the smile glued to her face so that her words could sound more genuine while her inner voice screamed, 'Liar! you are lying again.'

''Who proposed first?"

"Ashton," Lilly answered without a second's delay. To be honest he literally threatened me into this marriage." This was the truth though.

"What?" the old woman looked at her in shock and Lilly realised her mistake.

"No. I mean that he said he wouldn't be able to survive a day without me by his side. Finally pushing all my second thoughts and doubts away I just agreed." Lilly knew at that moment how lucky she was that Ashton was not around or else he would have murdered her till now for the nonsense she was spouting so confidently which the old lady seemed to believe without a second check.

"I had never thought that he would marry. It was always my dream for him to find a good girl with whom he could spend his life peacefully. Now that he has finally found someone I hope and pray that you bring a lot of happiness, love and hope in his chaotic life." The old woman smiled looking satisfied with life but Lilly knew the interrogation had still not come to an end.

So before the old woman could pop up another question for her Lilly interrupted, "You know Ashton since he was a child. Right?"

She had wanted to know more about Ashton. She knew he wouldn't tell her much about his childhood so if she wanted to know him then knowing his childhood first was a good step in the direction of deciding his character.

So she thought of turning this interrogation into her favour to find out a little more about Ashton King.

''Yes, I have been there for him since the day he was born. He was such a sweet child. The happy and energetic boy who would around the house making noise." she laughed. "He was such a lovely child but then..." her voice trailed off and expression changed as if she was in a lot of pain.

"Then?" Lilly prompted.

The old woman took a deep breath as if trying to lift the heavy stone off from her chest.

"The things changed when Ashton turned 5. His mother died two months after giving birth to her second son Sebastian and then Elsie entered the King's household. Ashton and Elsie never got along and Ashton turned the way he is now. Silent and alone."

"But Sebastian too wasn't Elsie's child then why did she treat Ashton differently?" Lilly couldn't understand.

"I don't know the reason behind her indifference to Ashton. Maybe because Sebastian was a newborn. Just a few months old when she entered the house. She had some problems in her ovaries due to which she couldn't conceive so she felt attracted to Sebastian and treated him like her own son. Ashton was already 5 years old. He had memories of his mother and it is not easy for a child who had just lost his mother to adjust to the new environment. It wasn't like he created troubles for Elsie. No. But he became very quiet all of a sudden which was quite understandable but Elsie too made no effort to try and get close to him. I wasn't there in the house for one month before his mom's demise and the day I returned to the king household I felt the atmosphere had changed. A lot. And it wasn't for the good. I looked for Ashton all over the house and then finally found him sitting under a tree. With his knees stuck to his chest, he rested his chin on his knees as he stared into the blank space. He looked so sad and lonely that my heart still aches at the memory."

Grace still remembered when she went to the little boy and asked him how he was doing he had looked at her with his eyes filled with so much pain that even Grace felt helpless as to how to console the lost boy.

"When he had looked at me,'' the old woman continued, "suddenly tears started falling from his eyes and he hugged me and cried. He cried for so long that at one point I was worried that he might lose his voice. He had grown thinner. The sweet and naughty little chubby boy who used to run about the house was lost somewhere. In his place, he left a sad and heartbroken child whom I just couldn't recognise."

"What about Sebastian and Elsie?"

"After his mom's death his dad married Elsie and she became the new in charge of the house. She looked after Sebastian and provided him with everything while no one asked Ashton how he was doing. After his mom's death, he became very quiet. He wouldn't talk to anyone and would just sit alone in his room looking outside the window. There were times when he would look at Elsie and Sebastian from a distance may be wanting to go closer to his brother."

"Wasn't he allowed to go near Sebastian?" Lilly frowned.

The old woman sighed. ''It's hard to understand what goes on in Elsie's mind. Many times I tried to push him a little towards Elsie hoping that she would mend his broken heart but she never made any efforts to get close to him. It's not that I love Ashton and that's why I am speaking in his favour. No. It's just that Ashton was a child at that time while she was an adult so it was her responsibility to take Ashton under her wings but she never showed him even a shred of maternal love."

"What about his dad?"

" I think he never cared much about Ashton. The only thing Ashton got from him was food, clothing and his school expenses. His dad loved his work more than his son." Grace's lips thinned in displease as she remembered those days.

"I never had children of my own. I was Ashton's nanny and have been looking for him since long. So he is very close to me. He was and will always be like my own son." The old woman smiled.

"I had fears of mine. Seeing how indifferent everyone at home was towards him I had thought that he would grow into someone with a bad temper and bad habits but I was wrong. He proved me wrong and I am so happy that he turned out into such a fine man.'' she smiled.

"For high school studies, Ashton left the house and went to a boarding school. When he would return for vacations he would either stay in his room or would help me out in the garden. I never saw his dad trying to make an effort and call his son or maybe ask someone how his son was doing. He could have at least asked me but he never felt the need to, I guess." She sighed again but then a slow smile adorned her lips as she continued while staring at the blank space.

"I am proud of my Ashton that now he has grown into such a fine gentleman."

Well, he is a gentleman, Lilly acknowledged. "Indeed."