Note: Everything you're about to read unfold during the two days Dmitri granted Ash.
"Cheers!!" Luca shouted as he jumped to his feet.
The rest of the group—Léo, Sebastian, Matteo, Emil, and Ash—raised their glasses and clinked them together in unison.
"It feels like it's been ages since we gathered like this," Luca said, dropping back into his seat.
Sebastian, swirling the drink in his glass, shrugged. "It's only been… what? Two months? Maybe a little more. I don't know."
"Two, three months—same thing," Luca said dramatically. "What matters is that I missed these two." He said looking at Emil and Ash.
Emil gave a small smile. " We all thank the mighty Ash who had the great idae for us meeting today " Emil said casually.
Ash shot him a look, and Emil just gave a playful wink before taking a slow sip of his drink.
Then Léo leaned in. "Ash, how did you become Dmitri's bodyguard?"
Matteo immediately chimed in, " Dude , you're reading my mind! I wanted to ask the same thing." He pointed his finger at Ash with exaggerated offense. "Especially after you repeatedly voiced out to us about how you didn't want to mingle with them."
Ash, in his mind, sighed: Because of circumstances…
"Circumstances, huh?" Luca repeated suspiciously. Ash blinked—he had just realized he spoke his thoughts out loud.
Ash took a slow sip. "Yeah. Circumstances."
Luca turned to Emil for answers, but he only shrugged his shoulders.
"My gut is telling me something else," Luca said, tapping his chin dramatically.
"Then don't listen to your gut," Sebastian said calmly without even looking up, sipping his drink like nothing happened.
Luca slammed his palm on the table, making everyone jump slightly—except Sebastian.
"I keep telling you, you would really do great in the acting industry," Sebastian said, unbothered.
Luca frowned deeply.
"Here we go again." Matteo said with a sigh.
"You guys are not tired of this your shit" Léo said as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket referring to Luca and Sebastian.
Ash chuckled softly. "You two should just get married already."
"I'd rather die," Luca snapped instantly.
Ash started laughing again. Sebastian still didn't say anything—just blinked and took another slow drink.
"Okay, relax," Ash said, still smiling. " We came here to have fun."
"I'm not in the mood anymore," Luca muttered and crossed his arms.
"So bad," Léo said through a cloud of smok while Matteo massaged his forehead, trying to hold his laughing.
From there, the group drifted into other topics—jokes, teasing, old memories. Laughter filled the table.
Ash leaned back in his seat, letting himself breathe. Even though it was Emil's idea to meet up, he was glad they did. He had never really had siblings, but these five… they treated him like their younger brother.
And in that moment, surrounded by their noise , he genuinely felt happy.
*****************
Toc, toc…
Ellie heard a knock at the door while she was arranging books on the shelf.
"I'll get it," Han called out as he walked toward the door.
"Okay, babe," she replied.
Han reached the door, grabbed the handle, and pulled it open—
"GOD—bro?!" he blurted out, eyes wide.
Ellie frowned, curious about who had gotten her boyfriend so excited. She walked over, and when she saw the figure at the door, her face lit up.
"Ash!" she smiled. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"it slipped my mind," Ash replied softly.
"Come on, in" Han said.
Ash stepped inside and took a seat on a nearby chair. Han sat across from him.
Ash looked around the living room.
"Is Victor home?"
"Yeah, but he's asleep," Ellie answered as she approached them with a glass of water. She handed it to Ash gently and then sat beside Han.
Ash noticed Han fidgeting with his fingers.
Han cleared his throat. "Ellie told me about what happened… last time. Thank you for stepping in." He said bowing his head a little "I don't even want to imagine what would have—"
Ash cut him off with a small shake of his head.
"It's okay. Enough with the thanks."
A soft smile appeared on his face as he looked at both of them.
"After all… we're family."
Han blinked, surprised.
"Wow. Are you sure you're the our Ash?" he joked. "Because the Ash I know would not say something like that."
Ash sighed and turned his head slightly to the side, like he was shy—which made Ellie smile warmly.
"About the payment," Ash continued. "You two shouldn't worry. Everything is settled. No one will come to bother you again."
Ellie's brows furrowed as she leaned forward.
"How is that possible?" she asked gently, concern in her voice.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you can live peacefully now." Ash said calmly.
Han and Ellie exchanged a look—relief mixing with worry—and then turned their eyes back to him.
*************
💌 Author's Note 📋
Greetings, dear readers 👋
At last, we stand at Chapter 40 of ThePromise Between Us.What comes next will shake the foundation of everything you thought you knew. New truths will rise. Old shadows will return. And some secrets… will refuse to stay buried.
We hope you've been enjoying every step of this journey with us.
Because of school, our releases may slow down a little, but we promise—every chapter will be worth the wait.
Thank you for your patience.
Xoxo,
QuillQueens ✍️ 💕