Two months laterAshley reluctantly opened her eyes to the morning light, cold and alone on the bed and the realization of Ian's absence hit her with an unexpected wave of frustration. The bed that was always radiating of shared warmth, felt cold and unwelcoming. A silent resentment crept into the edges of her thoughts.Gazing at the bed, she couldn't help but notice the vacant side where Ian's sleepy adorableness had been a comforting presence. The sheets, now untangled and void of his warmth, seemed to mirror the plane of her thoughts.A sigh escaped her lips, carrying a mix of longing and irritation. The room, once a haven of shared dreams, echoed with the absence of the laughter and whispered banter that usually accompanied their mornings.As Ashley swung her legs over the side of the bed, a sense of discontent lingered in the air. As she navigated the morning alone, Ashley couldn't shake the yearning for the body heat and sleepy adorableness that had become an integral part of h
Ashley grabbed one of Ian's navy blue wool vests – yes she was also surprised he had textures that weren't suits or gym clothes – and wore it on her white short sleeved shirt, completing the aesthetic with loose navy blue pants.She spun around in the mirror and smelled the vest – that did not smell like Ian because sadly, he had very good laundry workers – before shrugging and grabbing a purse and stuffing her things in it.She never took Ian's black card out, she was certain she would never need to spend that much and Rita couldn't come into their room anyways."I'm heading to Saturday scrunchies", she called out as she reached the garage. Almost immediately, her four guards stepped out and bowed their heads."Who's coming with me?", She asked sarcastically. She obviously knew it was Sven. The Saturday scrunchies were accompanied by Sven.School was Oliver. Randomly appearing at Ian's office was for Sven and Liam. Everything else was with Sven and Charles."Sven", they echoed with a
“This is very lousy auditing. You’re fired”, Ian deadpanned and threw the papers in his hand on the floor. This wasn’t the first time this branch had audited lazily. He knew there was a launderer somewhere and he would fish the person out even if it was the last thing he did.“Ah Zhen, Kevin”, he called as he walked out of the office of his prime suspect, the police would be coming over to do their jobs soon. The man wasn’t the only embezzler. They took advantage of their ridiculous location to do their dirty work and the people he often sent were not thorough enough in their search. They most likely hadn’t expected Ian himself to come to their branch.Yu Zhen came up behind him, looking tired as hell. Kevin had long since given up looking put together. “Close down this branch. Permanently. Check out the good employees and transfer them to the closest branch.” If there was Ian thing Ian valued it was useful people and he wouldn’t let the innocents take the fall for the evil ones.Yu
Ashley wasn’t completely sure how she had gotten here. She had decided to start out on grading her student’s papers early enough that it wouldn’t be a hassle at a later date.As she focused on organizing the papers, an unexpected presence had enveloped her from behind. Before she could react, a pair of strong arms encircled her, and a cloth was pressed against her nose and mouth. Panic surged through her as a strange, sweet scent filled the air, but before she could comprehend what was happening, darkness descended.The world blurred into a disorienting haze, and her surroundings faded into an ominous void. Unseen hands guided her unconscious form, leaving behind the unfinished task of grading and the quiet solitude of her office.Minutes ticked by in the eerie silence, the only evidence of disturbance being the abandoned papers and the stillness of the office. Outside, the routine cadence of university life continued, oblivious to the mysterious interruption in Ashley's world.Much l
In the dimly lit confines of Leon's secluded office hideaway, Ashley's senses were on high alert. The room felt like a cage, its walls seemingly closing in on her. Leon, her captor, rambled on about subjects that were inconsequential to her heightened state of anxiety. His voice, a relentless drone, filled the room with a suffocating tension.He was truly crazy.As Leon prattled on, Ashley's mind became a whirlwind of thoughts, desperately searching for any avenue of escape. Her eyes darted around the room, examining every detail. The windows, once overlooked, seemed to hold a glimmer of hope. They were high and seemingly unyielding, but the mere sight of them ignited a spark of determination within Ashley.The room itself was a tapestry of shadows, the dim lighting casting an eerie glow on the impersonal decor. Leon's monologue, a seemingly endless stream of words, resonated in the background. He seemed oblivious to Ashley's internal turmoil, engrossed in the sound of his own voice.
Chapter 55Ian's eyes traced Ashley's face over and over, as if trying to memorize the features, even though it was permanently inscribed in every cell of his nerves.She had been out cold for two hours already and he was steadily losing his mind. He was certain Yu Zhen was too, as he was trying to field off a hysterical Rita as one of Chloe's colleagues stayed to monitor Ashley's condition all through.The doctor and nurses didn't need to stay, but Ian would be damned if she didn't have constant medical surveillance.He had tried using the power of his mind to will her over to consciousness several times, but it seemed that when it mattered most his hopes failed him."Sir, would you like to sleep somewhere?", A nurse asked him carefully. Yes, he would like to sleep with Ashley, but of course, she was unconscious."No.""Would you like something else si-""No."He added a glare for good measure. She was distracting him from monitoring his wife's condition."O-okay sir", she shivered a
"Oh my goodness! Ashley are you o- LEAVE ME ALONE YU ZHEN, Ashley are you okay?!", Rita bounded over to Ian the moment he got out of the door."Am I actually married to this asshole?", Ashley asked seriously, not removing her head."I take offense at that", Ian grumbled.“Yes you are, how are you feeling?”, Rita asked frantically.“I’m great, there’s nothing wrong with me!”, Ashley glared at everyone at the same time.Yu Zhen threw a look to Ian in confusion.“Short term memory loss”, Ian said simply, still holding the strangely calm woman. Ian walked down to the elevator and pressed the buttons after Yu Zhen, Chloe and Rita came along.“Prove you’re my husband”, she looked at him calculatively.“How?”“My husband would know!”, she exclaimed triumphantly. She didn’t actually expect him to know. She was convinced she was actually married to him because those photos were absolutely not photoshopped, she took one, she could remember taking one of them, but why would she get married to Ia
Yu Zhen rushed over to Ian’s wing, Chloe and Rita hot on his tail. The servants had frantically rushed over to him yelling something about their boss losing consciousness. Yu Zhen had had enough of today, every single thing that could have gone wrong went wrong and he was sick of it. He rounded over to Ian just in time to see him being crushed in a hug by Ashley, thankfully, he was breathing and his eyes were open, so he wasn’t dead. Although, if Ashley kept on hugging him that tightly, Yu Zhen wasn’t sure Ian would see the next minute.He moved to remove Ian from Ashley’s hold when he was evilly glared at by the both of them. Ugh! Couples!“Let him breathe Ashley”, Chloe knelt to Ian’s eye level.“I can breathe”, Ian said, like a loyal soldier. The thing that tickled Yu Zhen was the fact that he in fact sounded winded.“Just a little Ashley”, Rita coaxed her.Ashley wanted him to breathe, she really did, but her brain was on a one way road and her blood had started flowing backward.