Ethan's POV:The whole route, Ashley has stayed in my arms, resting her head on my shoulder, clenching my hands tightly in her anxiety while looking at Adrin holding so much fear, concern and affection in her eyes. This was the moment that made me realize, I don't care if Adrin is my son, the son of my rival, or some random kid from the street… If Ashley is calling him ‘son’, then I don't care whose DNA he is carrying in his body or whose blood is flowing in his veins. He is my son, and that's final. It takes us around ten minutes to reach the hospital, and another two to get Adrin into the operation theater.And the visual of little Adrin lying unconscious on the stretcher makes Ashley break down completely in my arms.Although this is far from the perfect family time I have imagined with her and our children, it is still a perfect family dynamic which I am ready to sell my soul for.Because even though my heart is getting angry at Mike with every passing minute, for not being pre
Ashley's POV:It was a blessing that Stuart and his wife rushed to the hospital after hearing the news of Adrin being admitted, otherwise it was getting difficult for me to handle him alone as the medicine was making him fuzzy and cranky.And even if I would have handled him alone there are two important things lined up for me to clear them up as soon as I can, otherwise both those things were calling me the baddest mother of the entire universe.The second thing was to check the cctv of the park before I question the daycare and confront that Lily Allen, because she is the reason that my son has to go through blood transfusion in this age and seeing the stitches it was boiling my blood every single time, as I remember how she has delayed everything with several minutes in only God knows what thought or assumption.And this is the second most important thing for me to complete tomorrow before the afternoon, as the first and the most one was to call the clients and fixed a meeting with
Ethan's POV:I know I have to leave the hospital the moment I see the plea in her beautiful blue eyes, because is this girl still unaware of the power she possesses over me?I mean she just has to command me to jump from a building of a hundred floors and I would jump without a second thought, she just has to ask me to stop breathing and the next moment everyone else is hearing from me that I am allergic to oxygen.But although I have left the hospital, I wasn't able to leave the tension about of both of them being well even for a second and knowing that she must be already troubled because of Adrin, I know it would be a bad idea to call her right now and disturb her …or fraction of the sleep she might be getting this night.This was when I remembered that Mike would also be there by now and the reality hit me like a truck that no matter how much I felt connected to the little boy I just met a few hours ago…. I don't hold any rights on him, and even if I get married to his mother, I s
Ethan's POV:Meeting!! Did I hear it right! She has gone for some business meeting, from which she won't be back till afternoon…No, this is not possible. She can't leave her child alone for that long… I know her too well to know that there is something fishy in this statement.This is when I realize something I should have noticed a long time ago, that she doesn't even have a brother!How come she suddenly has a brother now, and where the hell is that Mike Houston when his fianceé and son need him the most?!Really! She is leaving me for that jerk!?Or at least she is thinking about it, because I am sure that is not going to happen in the next five hundred years, or any other of her lifetimes!! I am not going to let it happen…“Anything else, Sir? Do you want to leave any message for her?”The receptionist pulls me out of the zone I am lost in, and without any second thought, the words jump out of my mouth. “Yeah! How is Adrin–”“He is fine sir! He will be sleeping till afternoon,
Ashley's POV:“Hello.”I managed to reply with a smile, trying to maintain the decorum of the formal meeting, but I know the vibes of this place and these men are completely off, and I have gotten myself in this situation myself. The realization that I have messed up badly and I don't even know how I am going to deal with the situation makes me look at my phone and consider dialing a speed dial for help or sending a message for my rescue.But this hope of mine also vanishes the moment I discreetly turn my phone screen upwards, and notice that there is no network present on it.Damn it.I cursed internally, when Mr. Wangley speaks again. “Miss Hazel, why are you still standing? Please make yourself comfortable and don't worry about someone else listening to our secrets! This is a private room, and no one can hear anything after that door is closed since this room is entirely soundproof.”I don't know if I am supposed to be scared to hear this, or consider this information useful. Be
Ethan's POV:I have finally reached the floor the girl has instructed me to go to, and look around to see where Ashley could be. Just then, I spot a waitress coming downstairs; probably, she is returning after serving someone.But something about this girl is giving me the hint that there is something wrong, or she knows that something wrong is going to happen, but she is not concerned about it. In fact, she is somehow a part of that wrong- doing itself. This thought starts to make my heartbeat go crazy.Please God! Please, please keep her safe, please keep her safe till I reach her…I pray to God internally as I rush in the direction where the girl has told me she might be; because I know that until and unless I see that she is safe, with my own eyes, nobody will be able to help me. Please keep her safe. Please keep her safe. Please God… please.I don't know why, but I am completely unable to think about anything else, apart from this phrase… till the moment I finally reach the pri
Ethan's POV:The man whose arm I had twisted just a few minutes ago, finally seems to have found his strength back.But as soon as he manages to stand up, he decides to take the worst decision of his life: trying to stop me from beating the shit out of the bastard who dared to hurt my Ashley.Leaving the collar of that bastard Wangley, I whip my head around as I push him to the ground. I turn my full attention towards the other bastard, to punch the man who has made the mistake of thinking that he will still be able to stop me… when currently, I am ready to fight the entire army of Hades alone.My punch directly lands on his nose, making him realize that he could see the stars in the morning too– and that too, without looking at the sky.But it doesn't satisfy my rage at all, and I go ahead further… and further until all I'm doing is punching him uncontrollably. Nothing else is making sense, my anger, frustration, helplessness… everything is present and I'm aware of it, but I was way
Ethan's POV :“What?”I reply, completely flabbergasted at her statement.Not because it wasn't my intention, but because she remembers about that day, when she is currently in the state where she might not even remember her fake name!Then how in the world does she still remember what I was about to do… more precisely, what I really wanted to do at that time.“You… kiss… ummmaahhhh!!”She breaks down her statement into three words, as if I was having a problem understanding it, and puckers up as she releases a kiss into the air. All this while, her hands are desperately trying to pull my neck to the side, almost trying to bite my ear with her teeth.She has never been this feral! Thank God that by the time she pulls this stunt, we are already out of the building, relatively safe from prying eyes, and I just need to open the door of my car now. “Ashley! Behave, princess, we are in public–”“So? I don't care… I want to kiss you… ummmmahhh… like this! Come here, I will give you a kiss.
Ashley's POV:I take a glance at the clock, I have a few minutes to myself before we have to leave for lunch. After saying goodbye to Mike, I plan on finally telling my feelings to Ethan when he is sober… judging by the state he was in last time, he probably isn't going to remember anything about our conversation. Just as I lift the second earring from the dresser, my phone rings, vibrating with an urgency. It is a call from my assistant, and I receive it quickly. “Yes M–”“Ma'am, did you see the news? The quotations from Mr. Johnson's bids are all over the place just before the bid is due to start, and everyone is speculating that it is you. News agencies are reaching out for an interview ma'am, what are we supposed to do?”“Okay… I will see what I have to do.”I disconnect the call, feeling a pit in my stomach. Of course, the public opinion will be against me now, as he has just said over the call. But not only that, Ethan might doubt me too… because I am the single person he ha
Ashley's POV: Although I have mentioned to Mike that I have to pick Adrin up, I still drive towards the church, knowing that I have lied to him.But why do I have to lie to him? Because if we are going to marry each other, it should be normal… a normal gesture of affection between couples, right? I gulp, realizing that the answer is painfully obvious. I know I am not being honest with anyone… neither him, nor with my own self. Caught up in this dilemma, I reach home, knowing that today is scheduled as Ethan's turn with Adrin.To my surprise, I find Adrin sleeping peacefully on his bed, having changed out of his uniform. And Ethan's car is still parked by the entrance…Finally, I notice Ethan… sitting on the floor, beside the couch, which is probably why I missed him in the first place. I walk around the couch with careful footsteps, until he comes fully into my view… and so does the drink in his hand, which he is chugging like no tomorrow. Rushing towards him, I quickly snatch t
Ashley's POV:Nobody can imagine the pain and frustration I have spent my night with… aside from stomping on my own pride and having to call off the engagement for the second time, the papers of the custody were something that I was fearing the most.But now when I have them in my hands, the only emotion I have left inside me is anger.Pure rage running through my veins like molten lava…It is in this anger that I rush to his house to confront him, the house I'm extremely familiar with. And without any consideration, I make a beeline for the stairs, directly barging into his room without even knocking or waiting.But the moment I step inside, I realize what a mistake I have made, because Ethan is in there… half- dressed as he is changing his clothes. It takes me a moment to process, and I have probably been staring at him for a few minutes straight before I spin on my heel, facing the door. The word “sorry" is on the tip of my tongue, but he chuckles before that;“Umm… hey Princess!
Ashley's POV:The incident of me falling and Ethan going completely insane because of panic, has done nothing else but to add itself in the list of evidence for something I don't want to acknowledge.His reaction was not only enough for letting me know the feelings in his heart, but his actions were enough to spread this news through the entire office too!And this is what has been keeping me awake at nights… I know that Mike obviously knows everything about that event, but that's not all. What's bothering me more than that, is the fact that he hasn't asked anything from me.At the same time, I haven't asked anything from him, either. But I know we can't go on like this… I need to tell him the truth and ask him the reason for his absence.With this thought, I step on the brakes, snatching my purse from the passenger seat as I get down in front of Mike's house. I step inside without knocking, knowing that he lives alone and my shouts are enough to tell him about my arrival.“Mike!! Mik
Ashley's POV: Even though I have committed to prepone the engagement, to save myself from the great disaster… I don't know what exactly I am supposed to do next.However, before I can do anything, my phone chimes, notifying me that I have received a text from Mike. The text is simple, with several sample invitations attached to it.“Please check these out, and let me know whichever one you like.”I quickly select the one that I have opened the first out of all, and text him back.“Should we announce a party before the engagement?”The text bubbles pop up within seconds, materializing into a reply soon enough. “Yes! I am ready to do everything which makes you happy. If you want to announce a party, then we will call one.”“Thank you!! Can you get me this invitation ready within five minutes, even in digital format? I need to send it to someone urgently.”“Whatever you want sweetheart.”With this message, he signs off and comes back within five minutes. “Here you go! See you tomorro
Ashley's POV:At last, I managed to drop Ethan off after lying to him, only to reach the hospital and find Adrin awake and sitting up on his bed. The moment I walk in, the first question Adrin has asked me is,“Mumma, where is Dadda?”But I am way too caught up in my inner conflict to give him a logical reply, or even think of one. Everything that happened in the daycare is still overwhelming my senses to the extent where I just pull him closer to my chest.Hugging him tightly, as I finally ask him a question which has been bugging me for too long. “Adrin!! Baby, why didn't you tell mumma that the kids in the day care are bullying you–”“Because Dadda has told me that I am a big boy, who has to protect his mother till he is not there to protect both of us, and anyways, I am a brave boy!! Who knows how to protect himself–”“Awww!! Come here my sweetie pie, who taught you all this…?”“Dadda!!!”Adrin exclaims, before the next words tumble out of his mouth without any breaks. “Mumma,
Ashley's POV:Even I wasn't very hopeful at first, but somehow, I have finally convinced Ethan to stand up on his feet, almost dragging him out of the church when he's practically in a waking coma. And knowing his miserable state, I know he isn't going to be able to drive at all. So the best idea that comes into my mind is to drop him to his house first, and then rush back to the hospital.Although, it is the first time I have seen him cry like this… and while seeing him in this state, the logical woman inside me has been compelling me to tell him the truth for a while now.But the mother inside me has been continuously warning me against it; and the best way to deter me is by telling me the consequences of my honesty.Since the moment he has started crying bitterly, the overly logical mother that also lives inside me, who believes in teaching her child the chapter of honesty, has suddenly turned into a bloody hypocrite. Going against her beliefs, she has started to preach another le
Ashley's POV:I have never seen Ethan as angry as he is right now; like he isn't made of bones and muscles, but thunder and rage. I don't have a single doubt in my mind that he is ready to tear down the entire building if Lily wouldn't appear in front of him within minutes.The director understands the assignment and quickly calls Lily Allen to the office; as the policies protecting her staff have gone out of the window real quick.With the summons now being sent for Miss Allen, the fear of Ethan ripping the soul straight out of her body starts to scare me. I mean I want the worst punishment for her in this entire world… I want her as far away as she could from the kids, but I don't want her to become the victim of Ethan's wrath right away! “Ethan, calm down…”I find myself tugging at his sleeve, trying to get through to him. He flashes me a look, glancing at me only through the corners of his eyes. “Calm down? Ash!! You still want me to calm down, even after hearing the crap that
Ethan's POV:The moment I heard the words of Stephanie, I could feel something breaking inside me.In my life, I have come across many monsters disguised in human appearance, and probably, I am also one of them.But none of them have turned out to be so cruel, to be capable of saying these types of things in front of not just one kid, but his entire class… and not only that, but to actually ask other kids to stay away from that poor soul and bully him!And saying that it's all okay because he doesn't have anyone to fight for his rights…“Stephanie, sweetheart! Can you please tell us what happened that day?”Ashley's words bring me back to reality at the critical moment, before my guilt would have killed me with its sharp claws. And as soon as her voice pauses after posing the question, Stephanie chimes in with an enthusiastic yes, and continues with her narration.This is the real bliss of childhood; they don't really understand the things which have hurt them in the past, but now, it