Ethan's POV:I really don't know what is wrong with me, but it's getting out of hand. I'm not sure about what is going on inside my head and my heart; because clearly, these two have definitely quit working together since the day this girl barged into my life.I have a list of blunders that I have made since then, starting from the contract to keep her as close as possible, to speaking in someone's favor in public, for the first time… I mean, for God's sake! I didn't even defend myself when all those accusations were pointed towards me, setting everything up for my downfall, before my rise.Then why? Why did I have to meddle in her family business like it's my own? Forget that, I first want to know why I was unable to stand it when that lady was trying to hit her.I am still not able to get rid of the fury that has been burning in my guts since the moment I saw that lady slapping her! ‘How dare she… how dare she touch something Ethan Johnson is protecting?’That was the only cohere
Ashley's POV:“Your… girl?”Rob repeats Ethan's words, glancing towards me in confusion. For a second, I feel my breath hitch in my throat as fear runs cold in my veins, thinking that maybe, he is going to reveal the contract situation we have going on… any moment now.Otherwise, how can he justify calling me "my girl" in front of everyone? And even if we have the contract in place for a hundred nights, still, it doesn't make me his! I have signed a contract, not given him possession over myself.But after what just happened, I notice the way Robert's eyes and his left eyebrow react to it… and this whole situation only rings one bell in my mind: the bell of panic. And right on cue, the chorus singer sleeping in my mind suddenly wakes up and starts a playback song named “Disaster."Of course, I have always known that this contract is going to have some implications in my life, and even though I have always believed myself to be a person who is always ready to take responsibility for m
Ethan's POV:I have read somewhere that anger is the worst parasite you can allow to live inside your body; without your knowledge, it has the power to not only keep you burning you from the inside, but also set fire to your entire world.And I am angry… extremely angry, but with no clue as to why I’m angry! I have no right to be angry with her, because even though she is bound by the contract, she can still have her own life.I have no rights on her, no more than a hundred nights… and even while I am saying all those things to her, I know it is anything but true, there is no such clause mentioned in the contract.It's just that I happened to notice her signing the contract without reading it, and back then too, I knew that I could profit off of it. So now, I'm just taking the benefit of something I tucked away in my memory earlier.But it still doesn't justify my anger, nor the loss of control that I have experienced almost after three years… three years since Emily left me for someo
Ethan's POV:“Shoot, can't you see it's an emergency?”I blurt out without realizing that I haven't been sharing this place with anyone else, and no one is supposed to be here, apart from the two of us.I lift my eyes for a fraction of a second to see who the hell has dared to turn their steps towards my property, and that too, when I'm in a time of crisis.It is goddamn Robert! But how… and most importantly why?“What are you doing here-”“What happened to her?”He ignores my question very calmly, like he isn't an employee on my payroll but a guardian assigned to me, and shifts his entire concern towards Ashley.“You made her eat green bell peppers, didn't you? I knew you were up to something, or probably, you've ignored the fact that she is allergic to peppers. I guess, that's why it is advised that if you can't care for anyone apart from yourself, you should not take on responsibilities, either.Thank God, I noticed the peppers in the kitchen, and happened to have extra medicine in
Ashley's POV: I slowly come to my senses, finally waking up with a heavy pain weighing my body down… I blink… then blink again, until the room comes into view, and it still takes me a few minutes to remember where I am, and how my life is playing a prank on me.It takes another few moments of me staring at the roof, to realize my exact location… the Devil's dungeon!!!‘Oh God! I have to leave… I have to leave now!!’This thought is enough to inject a high dosage of panic into my body, and my heart starts the marathon it was never prepared for.I remember eating green bell peppers… then somehow, Rob was here, giving me the epinephrine shot, and I asked him to leave… but then, how did I end up here?Even though there are some faint glimpses where Ethan was carrying me to this room, but… I don't think it could be true.Anyway, the best thing I can do for myself now, would be to sneak out of his room before the devil spreads his wings again and catches me red handed, ready to punish me
Ethan's POV:Sweet dreams are something that make you forget all the pain you are going through… take you to an entirely new land of desires, buried under the stone that has replaced your muscular heart. And that's just the kind of dream I was lost in, a sweet dream… about the life I wanted, about the person I needed beside me… the feeling that I craved in her absence. The dream has everything I once wanted, until the bubble bursts all of a sudden; and I realize that I'm most probably dreaming. Opening my eyes the next moment, however, I do find my body entangled with a small stature. Shit! Once again, I have replaced her with Emily in my sleep.My actions start to flash in front of my eyes, playing like a movie that makes me remember that just last night, I gave her a loving forehead kiss, wishing her a good night.This obsession of mine, of being with Emily… it is really getting out of hand these days. I need to remember that she isn't Emily… she is even allergic to the food she
Ashley's POV:Am I going to behave as he says, even if he is not around… and follow each and every word that he has said to me?It's not like someone is here, who will snitch on me!These two thoughts arrive in my mind, simultaneously and I toss both of them out of the window while drying my hair… just when a third question starts to peep into my mind.‘If I won't use my phone, how will I know where he is, and when he will be back? Or even about the people he was talking about, who are going to teach me–’The thought goes on an infinite hiatus before it can be completed, as soon as I hear the loud chime of the doorbell.My heart somehow misses a beat because of panic. I am well aware that even if it is Ethan on the door, he can never know what I have been thinking to myself… But still, the color of my face is giving a tough competition to that of a thief, who has been caught red handed in the easiest theft of his career after being a pro in the world of thievery! I rush towards the
Ashley's POV:Never had I thought before today that I would ever be capable of seeing time fly like a bird and disappearing into thin air in no time… especially after the accident that has changed my world.Somehow, I have been struggling to just get through the days, whenever I am alone. The time between every sunrise to sunset stretches to infinity, and the night is an ordeal in itself; because this loneliness is running after me like a fierce tiger, ready to eat me alive.But today is different.Today, I don't even know how we all are already sitting in the dining area, waiting for dinner to arrive and it is 8:30 at night.Ethan is still not here, and the unusual thing is… I am missing him.I can't miss him, I know as much. He is not the person I should be missing; if he is helping me on one hand, then he is taking a huge payment for it… a payment that he wouldn't be able to get– even if he had spent his entire wealth— if my parent's business wasn't in question.“Ashley! Here is yo