Ashley's POV:I sit there, staring at the hourglass in my hands, trying to process Tiffany's words. Greece. She had gone all the way to Greece, and hadn’t even told me. I glance at her, now sitting beside me on the couch, her face glowing with excitement. I am still trying to wrap my mind around the storm of emotions that has been unleashed in my heart, but gratitude wins out in the end. "Oh, Tiff!" I finally manage to say. “Thank you so much for bringing this back for me, I—"But before I can finish, Tiffany cuts me off. "Wait! Save your thanks, because this isn’t all." She reaches behind herself, pulling out another small bag. This one is a deep shade of blue, and I watch in silent amusement as Tiffany drops it right into my lap.I blink, staring down at the bag in surprise. "Did you think that’s all I was going to get you from my vacation?" she teases. "In fact, I can’t wait to go back there with you, I had so much fun there! Just promise me Ash, that we'll go there together o
Ashley's POV: I finally reach the address scribbled on the note, but to my surprise, it is a completely different set up this time. I was expecting the place to be located in solitude once again, just like the previous time. But on the contrary, it is completely lively and vibrant… it looks like a very lovely place to visit with one's family. Confusion clouds my mind about why the person has asked me to come here to give me further details about the accident, when last time, he had specified clearly that he wasn't going to meet me anywhere near human settlement… then is he planning to make a public appearance now? I have already started to walk in the direction where the music was coming from, thinking that there might be something going on because of which he probably doesn't have anywhere else to meet? I wish I could have his number to cross check the address because the further into this property that my steps are leading me, the more the fear of crashing someone else's party
Ashley's POV:“Really! Then tell us the name of the person too, we are quite eager to know–”“Liam.”I say the name out loud, staring back into Liam's eyes, trying to find the trace of shame that all are saying I have lost, somewhere in his eyes.Because if I am shameless according to them, then what are they going to call Liam? Who has tried to kill his own cousin, spread false rumors about her, paid the media person to slander her? And worse, he has tried to harm the business of his own late uncle, where he used to work for the last five years. But before I can give them a detailed list of all the wrongdoings he has committed in his life, aunt Claire’s sharp voice almost tears out my eardrums. “You liar! When you didn't find a way to enter here and save yourself from being caught, you came here to blame our Liam? Do you think we all are blind?!”Oh….how I wish that I could say what exactly I think, out loud. But for now, I will have to give them a piece of my mind and find a be
Ethan's POV:Finally, Ashley isn't around me… and at last, I have some time to myself to think about my next step to get Emily close to me.I know Ashley has gone to meet her best friend, who had somehow disappeared from her life without any notice– only to suddenly appear again, out of the blue and without any announcement, either.But I have to find out why she has given that tip about Ashley to that reporter, and Robert! Even though I have known Robert for some years now, I have seen the changes in his behavior whenever Ashley is around him. And at the same time, I have also noticed that Ashley is completely clueless about this.Anyway, that girl has always seemed suspicious to me. I don't know why, but I feel like I have seen her somewhere, and I am missing out on something really important.Peter walks into my room in a hurry, breaking the chain of my thoughts without even realizing it. “Ethan, is there anything you want me to do? I have already completed what you told me to do…
Ashley's POV:“Wh… what do you mean?”My voice comes out shaky and weak, but I have to force out the words regardless. I have to ask the question about how they are suddenly going to put my luggage out of the house, without asking me… or even informing me for that matter.“Is this some kind of prank? Because I am clearly not in the mood for that.”“Ma'am, please cooperate.”Another response, but none of these three words is a reply to my question.“Where is Ethan? I need to meet him. Step aside, or else it won't be good for you.”My voice raises on its own, and the anger that has been disguising itself as my sadness finally starts to take over me.“He is not here.”The person finally speaks something that is related to the questions I was asking.“Not here? Do you think I am a fool, or do you really think I am some random person trying to meet the owner of this house for clout? I have been living here–”My words drop off in the middle, as I realize that no matter how harshly I am talk
I drag myself out of bed, the weight of yesterday clinging to me like a heavy blanket I can’t shake off. My limbs feel heavy, like they want to stay glued to the mattress; the thought of staying under the covers for the rest of the day is tempting my soul. But I also know one thing: whether I want to meet anyone or not, Tiffany is going to come to my house. She feels like she has complete monopoly over me; and either she will walk into my house like she owns it, or she won't show me her face for the next month too. There is no in- between with her.And I can't have her disappear on me again. So I pull myself to the edge of the bed like a slug, wincing as soon as my feet touch the cold.The room is dim, but I don’t bother with the lights or the curtains. I stumble to the bathroom, splashing my face with cold water repeatedly, trying to force myself to wake up and hopefully feel something other than this numbness. But when I finally dare to look into the mirror, the reflection starin
Ashley's POV:I stare at Tiffany, stunned by her words. “But… how can it be?”Tiffany looks at me like I have just asked her the most obvious question in the world. “What do you mean by how? It is the way it is!”Her casual tone throws me off, and I feel a pang of irritation. I elbow her slightly, giving her a pointed and accusatory look. Leaning towards her, I chew on my words before spitting them out in a low voice. “I just clarified this yesterday, you know everything! Why did you still bring him here?”I am expecting her to reply in the same hushed tones, but Tiffany does the exact opposite thing.She beams happily and says out loud, like she is happy to announce it to the entire world, “You know what, Ash! I think that you really need to get over that silly crush of yours, and for that, it's necessary that you guys should talk about it and go on a date.”My face flushes with embarrassment. I can feel the heat crawling up my neck and into my cheeks, turning me a bright shade o
Ashley's POV:After Tiffany and Robert leave, I rush into my wardrobe to find a change of clothes.I shuffle through my clothes and my hand falls on a flowy red dress; without much thought, I put it on. Because I have another important task to finish, before I leave the house.I rush outside and grab my leather tote bag, inside which, I have started to put everything that I might need: my bank checkbook, in case I need to ask the person if he needs money in return for the information that he has… all the cash I currently have in the house… a few of my important jewelry pieces… and a pepper spray– after all, I can't trust him completely.In fact, I am at the stage of my life where I should not be trusting anyone; and I have tried to convince myself of this several times. But I don't know how my heart changes every single time, whenever someone shows a little care and concern towards me.Anyway, this is not the time for thinking about this.Now that I am ready, I call the Uber driver to