A Love Trap

Underneath the image were the words "Happy Birthday!" written in ganache.
Ashley leaned over and kissed Dany on the cheek. "Thank you, my darling. I love it."
"Mommy, hurry up and cut the cake!" Fabio said, bouncing on his heels with excitement.
"Okay."
Ashley cut the cake into several pieces with a knife, put them in little plates and gave them to the children.
"Mommy! I want to eat the part of the cake made of my image!"
"Mommy, me, too!"
"Okay, I'll cut them for you," Ashley replied with a smile.
"Let me do it." After Ashley gave the small pieces of cake to Dany and Fabio, Andrew took the knife from her hand.
"Wait a minute," Ashley said as she quickly cut off a piece of the cake with Andrew's image on it. She placed that portion in her
own plate.
She then looked at Andrew with a mischievous smile and took a bite.
Andrew looked at her without saying a word, but his eyes darkened.
Ashley lowered her head, slightly intimidated by Andrew's gaze.
She also immediately averted her eyes.
'I just ate the part of cake with your image. Why are you looking at me like that? It's so scary!' she said in her mind, looking at
him.
Andrew carefully cut off the part of cake with Ashley's image and put it on a plate.
He then cut the rest of the whole cake into several pieces and handed them out to Richard and Chant.
He also gave several slices to the servants.

There were a few servants in the house. They were the people Chant had brought with him when he moved in—Linda, Porter,
and two younger servants.
"Mommy, please come here." After eating half of his share, Fabio suddenly asked Ashley to lean down to him.
The two of them were already sitting very close.
After hearing Fabio, Ashley scooted even closer to him.
"What's wrong? Tell me, Fabio."
When Ashley got close to him, she saw a dollop of icing on his hand. Suddenly, Fabio lifted his hand and smashed the cream on
Ashley's cheek.
Laughing, Ashley scooped some icing herself and playfully retaliated on the little boy.
"You look like a kitten,"
Ashley said with a grin.
Seeing this, Dany rolled her eyes in exasperation. Then, imitating Fabio, she also slapped some cake on Ashley's face.
The three children and Ashley were having so much fun playing this little game, while Andrew and Chant quietly looked on.
After they finished eating the cake, the servants cleaned up the mess and Ashley and Andrew went upstairs.
In their bedroom, Ashley sat on the bed, excited to find out what the children had given her.
She was looking forward to opening her presents.
"Wash your face first," Andrew whispered as he watched the childlike excitement on her face.
Under the light, the cream on her face made her face look even whiter.
"I'll open the presents first," Ashley said while looking down at the gifts, disregarding him.
Andrew's face darkened.
He took a step forward and held her hand. "Go wash yourself first."

Ashley looked up at him for a few seconds. Finally, she put down the presents and followed him into the bathroom.
After about half an hour, Ashley stepped out of the bathroom. She was wearing thick flannel pajamas, and her fluffed up hair was
carelessly tied back in a loose bun on top of her head.
Ashley's face was a little flushed, which was possibly due to the steam in the bathroom.
Not long after, Andrew followed her out.
Ashley rested her back against the headboard and happily looked at the gifts from her three kids.
She carefully unwrapped them one by one.
Andrew's face darkened once again as he watched her.
'I knew I should have thrown them out of the house. They're hogging Ash's attention again!'
Ashely first unwrapped the gift from Dany. She opened the box and found something carefully swaddled in exquisite wrapping
paper.
"What did my baby give me?"
she wondered out loud.
After carefully peeling back the wrapping paper, Ashley clearly saw what it was.
It was a painting of two people—a woman holding a child's hand. The scene looked warm and intimate.
Without even guessing, Ashley already knew who the two people on the painting were.
They were Dany and Ashley.
Ashley felt a tug in her heart, overflowing with love for her child.
The more she looked at the painting, the more she began to notice the details. She was surprised at the quality of the artwork.
Dany's painting skills were really extraordinary.
Ashley wondered if she should enroll Dany in some art classes.

While Ashley was lost in thought, she suddenly felt a warm presence surround her from behind.
Andrew's familiar scent wafted toward her. "What are you thinking about? Huh?"
He wanted her to focus her attention on him!
Andrew felt jealous when he saw her attention focused elsewhere.
He wanted her to stop thinking about the kids.
"Look, Andy, this is Dany's birthday gift to me. Isn't it beautiful?"
Ashley knew that she had to cajole him into a better mood, or else he would lose his temper again.
She placed the painting in front of Andrew to show him.
"What? What did you just call me?"
Ashley thought that Andrew's voice sounded inexplicably dangerous.
"Um... honey?"
Ashley immediately said.
This satisfied Andrew.
Ashley just looked at him silently.
"Not bad," Andrew said softly as he looked at the painting.
"What do you mean it's 'not bad'? It's a beautiful painting. This is a precious gift from my baby," Ashley retorted.
No matter what the gift would have been, Ashley would still think that it was the best gift because Dany gave it to her.
That was how mothers all over the world thought.
"Fine, it is indeed a very good gift,"
Andrew conceded.

Ashley looked at him and snorted. Then, she turned her attention to the remaining two gifts from Fabio and Richard.
Before she could open them, Andrew grabbed her hand and said,
"Ash."
"What? What is it?" Ashley looked at him in confusion.
"I also have a gift for you."
"You do?" Ashley put down the presents in her hands and looked at Andrew.
Now that Ashley was looking at him seriously, Andrew smiled happily.
Ash's attention was finally on him.
He asked Ashley to close her eyes and took a box from the bedside table.
Without hesitation, Ashley complied.
Andrew then took out a necklace from a delicate box.
The necklace shimmered under the soft light of the bedroom.
It was a cute silver necklace with a moon-shaped pendant.
Andrew carefully put the necklace around her neck and then told her to open her eyes.
The heater was turned on, so the air in the room wasn't cold.
When she felt something cold touch her neck, she couldn't help but shiver.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked down at the moon-shaped pendant that hung from the necklace adorning her neck.
The small-dainty-looking moon was silver white in color and looked like there were drops of water inside. An even smaller moon
seemed to be floating inside the moon pendant.
"Do you like it?"

Andrew said in a low voice, his forehead resting against hers.
"Yes, I do,"
Ashley replied, overwhelmed.
She clutched the necklace, not wanting to let it go.
When Andrew saw how much Ashley liked his gift, his mood began to lighten up.
Ashley rubbed a finger against the pendant and looked at Andrew. "Did you give me this because you thought I was like the
moon?"
She noted that his ears were a little red.
"Yes," he replied in an extremely low tone, but Ashley still heard it.
Her face broke into a delighted smile. 'He's so cute!'
"Thank you, honey. I love it," Ashley said as she leaned forward to kiss Andrew on the cheek.
She was still holding on to the pendant.
It was indeed very special.
Just before Ashley and Andrew went to bed, Ashley received several calls from her friends.
Chloe, Ellie, and Amaia called her one after the other.
Chloe had also sent a gift to Ashley and asked if Ashley had already received it.
"Not yet."
"Ah, maybe it will arrive tomorrow."
"What did you send me this time?" Ashley asked apprehensively. Truth be told, she was a little afraid of what Chloe's gift might
be.
She still remembered that indecent birthday present Chloe gave her the last time.

Therefore, Ashley thought it was better for her to ask Chloe in advance, just in case the woman would set her up again.
"I promise, you will like it," Chloe said firmly.
Ashley said nothing, clearly skeptical. That was exactly what she said the last time.
"Well, I can't talk anymore. That guy's coming out. I have to hang up now."
Before Ashley could say anything else, Chloe hurriedly said her goodbyes and hung up.
Ashley stared down at her phone in a daze.
This time, no matter what that gift was, Ashley intended to open it when no one else was around.
Ellie had planned to hang out with Ashley because it was her birthday.
However, she had to abandon that idea when she found out that Ashley was pregnant.
Besides, Ellie felt that there was something wrong with her these days.
Francis seemed to be extremely enthusiastic about something.
Ashley expressed her appreciation to her friends. She was thankful that they remembered her birthday and sent their greetings.
As Ashley scrolled down the text greetings on her phone, a familiar name stood out among the well-wishers.