Ethan's POV:Finally! I know this is going to be the D-day, marking the turning point of our lives– for all three of us. If Emily doesn't say anything to me today, then I might have to take everything to a different approach. I will have to ask her directly, about why she is holding herself back and keeping herself stuck in a situation she doesn't want to stay in.We arrive at the studio at the designated time, and I quickly rush inside to enquire if Emily is here. I was hoping to see her face, waiting for us to arrive.But to my disappointment, the studio is empty.She isn't here yet, and now I have gotten stuck in a situation where I can't even call her and ask when she will be arriving.Just one wrong move on my part, and she will know I have been faking all of this till now.She will see through all my lies, and find out that everything about my life going perfectly without her is a drama! And in fact, I am still stuck at the place where she left me years ago. And just like tha
Ashley's POV:It all happened in the blink of an eye. Just a moment ago, Ethan was laying in my lap… and now, he has rushed back into the building without thinking anything, or considering how tough it was for me to bring him out of there the first time.But right now, I don't have time to analyze or criticize his actions or him; I have to save him again.With this thought, I jump up from the ground, dusting off my clothes. I'm just about to run behind him with all the strength I have left, when a cold laughter stops me in my tracks, coming from somewhere behind me. “You still want to be the delusional one here and believe that he is marrying you because of love? It's high time, Ashley! You shouldn't recognize the fact that he is marrying you, just because he wants to make me jealous–”“Seriously, Emily! Are you even in your senses? What the hell is wrong with you? And even if he is marrying me to make you jealous, then I guess he is winning very well! Because you are hella jealous.
Ashley's POV:Where am I?I open my eyes to see the white light filtering into the room, touching my face and making me realize I am still clinging to the life that I thought might have ended after that roof had fallen in front of me.“So is it true? Am I dead–”“No, you aren't dead, silly! In fact! You will be discharged by the evening today.”A voice knocks on my eardrums, telling me that I'm not alone… but when I look around within my limited range of movement, I don't see anyone's face. I can recognize that voice from somewhere, though…Knowing that it is a familiar tone, I try to push the limits of my brain to remember the name of its owner, but all I can remember right now are the flashbacks to the studio. And just like that, the pain I felt after Ethan left me there in the blazing fire– just to rush towards Emily, starts to bloom in my chest with a vengeance. I get it, I was the foolish one to believe my own version of the explanation, that he was trying to save her just beca
Ashley's POV:“Not a chance.”Robert's firm voice and no- nonsense answer makes me realize that it is going to be way tougher to convince him to leave, than it was for Tiffany.But I at least have to try, since this is all I seem to be able to do right now.“Robert, please try to understand, it's something–”“Ashley! You aren't just troubled because of Ethan alone… are you? There is something more that you are trying to hide.”He hits the hammer right on the nail; I have indeed been hiding the reasons that have started to bug me.There is no way out for me, from the point where I am currently standing. I was supposed to get engaged the day after tomorrow, and after that, the shares of my dad's company– that are currently in Ethan's name– were about to be transferred under my name.But I don't know anything about whether the engagement will proceed, just like I have no idea what's going to happen with those shares.God, not only do I have a badly messed up personal life, but my profess
Ashley's POV:Tears start to shed from my eyes, slowly at first– then cascading down my face like some magnificent waterfall.I have been hurt in the past, and I used to think that was pretty bad… but the pain I am going through right now– nothing can ever compare to this.I can understand that Ethan is not responsible for anything, and the reason behind it as well. I know that I can't drag him into all of this or put any part of the blame on him… but after realizing that it wasn't just an accident but a pre- planned murder, I can't help but feel guilty myself.The guilt is dark, bleak… all- consuming. I should have known! I should have known that there are many hidden enemies of my family, ready to attack anytime and snatch the pillar of success they were so jealous of.I should have known what my parents didn't– I should have done something earlier, when there was still time to save them.But I failed, I failed miserably when the time came, to fulfill my duties. I wasn't able to
Ashley's POV:“Consider it done dear, do you want anything else? And before that, tell me, where are you? We need to tighten your security arrangements right away, it is already late at night. Do you want this arrest to wait till morning–”“No uncle. If I wanted this arrest to face any further delays, then I would have gone to the police first. But because I need this arrest to happen right away, that's why I called you. I know these are pretty big names in the city, and special orders are required to arrest them, however–”“Oh, you don't have to worry about anything, my dear. Let your uncle handle all of this, you just take care of one thing; don't step out of your house till I myself knock on your door and ask you to come outside.I get your point, that you want to go with the team to arrest Liam— and if I am not wrong, he is your cousin? But I can't let you go without the security detail, so just wait for an hour. Everything will be sorted by then, and I will be at your doorstep.”
Ashley's POV:I storm out of the mansion and start walking at a rapid place, only God knows where to. Meanwhile, Stuart was continuously following me, thankfully without saying a single word. Before I would have barged into the large stone monument placed in the middle of the road and broken my leg, Stuart quickly pulls me aside.I take a few moments to focus on what's in front of me, after being yanked out of my path, and Stuart finally opens his mouth. “Ma'am! Are you alright? I know what I am going to say might offend you, as someone who has just lost your entire family all over again, and that too, so soon after your loss. But this is the reality of life, young girl! I might not look much older than you, but trust me, I am old enough to be at a stage where I can easily claim to know a few things. So far, I have seen enough to tell you that there is nothing that stays forever or can be considered constant and unchanging. In fact, if there is one thing that is constant in this wo
Ashley’s POV:I reached back at 11: 30, and by this time I realize that this has probably been the longest day of my life.In fact, the heaviest one too… the day I got to know that my parents' aren't here anymore, also seems to be lighter than this.On that day, I had lost a part of my life–but today I have lost the other half of my life, only leaving with the one third of the life force inside me.I throw my phone on the sofa, knowing that the news has already made it to the headlines, about the murder and arrest.And now, the paparazzi will be covering the gate of my house like the bees guarding a beehive.And while this a new tension that has appeared in front of me, I have other things to wrap up too and on the top of that list I have two people whom I need to talk privately, but I didn't have to the courage to ask them directly, this was when my phone vibrated and a text appeared on my phone and a message from Tiffany popped up.Ash! I am my way to pick you up, after what I have