Betrayed, Then Back For Blood - Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Actually, all hotels under the Wade family name had private suites exclusively for Ashton.
But even with those, Ashton still couldn't sleep well. If he couldn't rest properly in familiar surroundings, switching to a different bed only made it worse.
So far, not a single one of those private suites had ever actually been used by the Wade family.
Ashton took Briar straight up to the presidential suite via a private elevator. Morton was already waiting at the door.
The hotel manager had personally led the staff to scent every room with a calming fragrance designed to ease guests' emotions.
The soothing scent lingered as soon as they got close.
Briar followed Ashton inside. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, her phone rang.
Ashton nodded toward her, signaling her to take the call. He sat down on the couch, clearly not in a hurry to leave.
Briar walked a few steps away and picked up. It was Tristan calling. It was daytime where he was, and the old man sounded fired up.
She didn't dare chat for long, worried Ashton might overhear something and cause trouble.
"I can't talk right now. Just text me if it's urgent," Briar whispered, trying to calm down whatever storm the old man was raging about this time.
Brandon: 'Seriously? It's the middle of the night, and these two aren't talking or sleeping? Just sitting next to each other texting other people?'
Morton could've smacked his forehead. He muttered, 'This's such a good opportunity, and Mr. Wade isn't even trying to take advantage of it.'
Still, since Ashton wasn't saying anything, Brandon and Morton could only keep guarding the door and wait quietly.
Inside the suite, everything was still. The soft scent of the hotel's custom aromatherapy lingered in the air, mixed with the faint fragrance of the girl beside him.
Ashton was replying to a message from Reece, telling him something had come up and he wouldn't be joining him. Then he glanced sideways at Briar, who was completely focused on texting.
Maybe it was the first time Ashton shared a room with a girl late at night. Or maybe it was just something about Briar.
But the mood felt calm and warm, and for some reason, a strange peace settled over Ashton. He kept staring, slowly zoning out.
Tristan was relentless. Apparently, he'd been arguing with Georgiana and George again and needed someone to complain to.
When Tristan finally finished venting, more than twenty minutes had passed.
Briar put down her phone. "Mr. Wade, sor—" She turned her head and froze when she saw Brandon and Morton frantically waving their hands, silently mouthing at her not to speak.
Following the direction of their wild gestures, Briar looked over—and saw Ashton, head tilted to the side, fast asleep on the couch.
She blinked. That's when she noticed the dark circles under Ashton's eyes were worse than before.
'Those aren't just from work… Has this guy not been sleeping at all?' Briar thought.
Brandon and Morton had already been stunned into silence the moment Ashton dozed off.
Brandon thought, 'Mr. Wade has fallen asleep. No hypnosis. No meds.
'Not even a super comfortable sleeping setup. But somehow, Mr. Wade just closed his eyes—and drifted off like it was the most natural thing in the world.
'This is insane. How long has it been since Mr. Wade slept like a normal person?'
'Too long. So long I can't even remember the last time it happened.'
Morton, afraid even a whisper might wake Ashton, quietly typed a message on his phone and showed it to Briar, explaining everything.
That's when Briar realized Ashton's dark circles weren't from working too much. It was his body. The man had serious insomnia. He literally couldn't sleep.
Meanwhile, Ashton had a personal therapist—Frederick—who specialized in treating insomnia.
Whenever he'd go several days without sleep, Frederick would try hypnosis. Sadly, it rarely worked.
Most of the time, Ashton would push through for days until he hit his physical limit. With both hypnosis and meds, he might manage an hour or two of restless sleep—barely.
This time, Ashton had already gone four or five days without proper rest.
And now, somehow, he was asleep. Peacefully, too.
As the one trained under Tristan, Briar could immediately recognize Ashton's symptoms. Classic insomnia.
But honestly, most young people had terrible sleeping habits. This wasn't rare. 'Same thing as nine out of ten guys being "overworked,"' Briar thought. 'It's just way too common to make a big deal of it.
'Also, when I treat Griffin with acupuncture, that's because Ashton paid me.
'Ashton's own sleep problems? Sorry. That's a whole separate service. Not covered under the original deal.'
But Brandon and Morton were now treating Briar like some kind of savior. They clearly believed Ashton managed to fall asleep tonight because of her.
When Briar started to get up, the two men immediately began bowing and gesturing frantically, begging her not to move. Just stay there. Just sit next to Ashton a little longer.
'Okay, I know I'm amazing,' Briar murmured, 'but there's no way I cured a years-long insomnia problem just by sitting here doing nothing.'
Briar figured Ashton was probably just too exhausted, and his body finally shut down on its own.
But… whatever. She was sleeping in this fancy presidential suite for free tonight. Sitting around was the least she could do to "pay" for the room.
Briar shifted into a more comfortable position on the couch and opened up a game on her phone.
Just then, her phone lit up with an incoming call. A blaring, dramatic symphony ringtone filled the room.
Brandon and Morton both thought the same thing, 'Oh no. It's over.'
Briar scrambled to silence the call and put her phone on mute. But it was already too late. Ashton slowly opened his eyes.
Briar caught the crushed expressions on Brandon and Morton's faces. Feeling a little guilty, she reached out and gently cupped Ashton's ears with both hands.
"It's nothing. You can keep sleeping. Shhh. Good boy. Sleep, okay?" Her voice was soft, coaxing—like she was talking to a toddler.
Brandon covered his face. 'He's not a kid. There's no way that he falls asleep again.'
But the next second, something unbelievable happened again.
Ashton had opened his eyes. Then he saw Briar's face just inches away. Under her soft coaxing, he closed his eyes again—and actually fell back asleep.
The whole thing was seamless. Ashton didn't even change his breathing. It was like being soothed by Briar was the most natural thing in the world.
Morton's jaw almost hit the floor. 'What the hell? This actually works?'
Brandon was completely speechless. He thought, 'Mr. Knight has been trying to treat Mr. Wade for years and never gets this far.
'And now, Ms. Jennings says one sentence and gets better results?
'If Mr. Knigh finds out about this, he's probably gonna cry himself to death in the bathroom.'
Briar hadn't expected Ashton to be this obedient either. He really went back to sleep.
She looked at the two stunned men by the door, and slowly pulled her hands away from Ashton's ears.
Then Briar popped in her earbuds, opened her game, and kept playing like nothing happened.
On the outside, Briar was calm as a mountain. On the inside, she wondered, 'Okay, since when did I develop a magical lullaby touch?'