Chapter 7 Ian glared at the woman asleep in the car. They had reached the hangar and she was out cold. He hoped she didn’t expect him to carry her like the previous day. He would stop drinking, it was what brought him into this mess.He shook her awake violently and she jerked up with an unholy yell. “I’m not asleep!”, she yelled, her arms flailing and hitting the side of his face. As she tried to get her bearings Ian had the niggling suspicion that the hitting was intentional. Deep breaths, that was what his therapist said he should do whenever he felt like throwing someone off a highway. “Get out”, he seethed, staying resolutely in his seat till she would leave his line of direct sight.She huffed and stepped out, aided by the guard that had been sitting in the passenger’s seat. He saw her slightly swaying till she climbed the stairs to the private jet. Ian debated the pros and cons of mysteriously ending his life as he realized that he had only been around her for eight hours
CHAPTER 8Ian prepared his briefing for the turning point meeting he would be having the next day. He supposed that it was the only thing he could thank the pretty leech – that roped him into being her husband – for. He had lost all hope after his grandfather’s call, but at least now he was married, he was back in the running.“You wouldn’t believe it but the Presley woman posted something backhanded on her page this morning”, Yu Zhen spoke up from beside him. The asian man was scrolling through his phone with a look of annoyance on his face. Ian didn’t really care whatever his ex-fiancee did, it ceased to be his business since he had found another alternative.“Humor me”, he said, not interrupting the proposal he was typing for an investor. He always did his best drafting in the air.“She said and I quote”, he made his voice take on a higher pitch in mockery. “I’m sorry to all my fans, friends and family. I called off my wedding, I can’t live with a man incapable of feeling emotions,
Chapter 9Hours later, Yu Zhen decided that his new best friend was Ashley. Whether or not Ian kept her in his life after their year long contract, he would not betray his brand new best friend. She was so witty, and had so many stories to tell. At some point on the flight they had abandoned the manwha they were reading to delve into times Ashley had purposely paired two people for a project so they would bond in forced proximity.As they walked to the car that would take them to Ian’s main home, he was extra conscious to make sure to stick close to the short woman so no prying eyes could see her. He wasn’t sure she would want news of her marriage spread everywhere before she even had time to come to terms with it.“So, when do I leave?”, Ashley asked Yu Zhen inquisitively, holding her phone in one hand and her gown in the other. She didn’t need the edges of the beautiful golden dress sweeping the floor of Ian’s hangar.“Leave?”, Yu Zhen sent back, sounding genuinely confused. Ashley
Chapter 10Ian felt a strange prickle of pride as she stared on in awe, almost drooling. He ignored Yu Zhen’s pointed glare and led the way inside, several men in black following them in. He could almost physically feel her itch to wander off on her own, Ian none too gently verbally shoved her to walk away. Like a woman under a spell, she immediately wandered to the gardens. Ian on the other hand branched for the mini-bar. He wasn’t seeking to get drunk, he just needed the slight tang of good wine to face his grandfather’s onslaught of questions when he’d meet him.“Why are you letting her stay here? This is your place!”, Yu Zhen questioned accusingly. He liked Ashley, but that didn’t eliminate the main probability that she wasn’t using Ian for her own selfish reasons. He couldn’t imagine what possibly moved Ian to let her stay in this house out of all the houses she could have stayed at instead. Ian sat on the barstool and picked a bottle. Yu Zhen folded his arms and raised an eyeb
Chapter 11“Oh my darling, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to break the news in such an insensitive way”, Chloe was immediately horrified as Ashley started sobbing into her bent hand.“No No, it’s- it’s not how you- how you broke the news I’m just really weak emotionally right now”, Ashley stuttered through her tears. A knock sounded on the door of the room.Both Ashley and Chloe’s attention were zeroed in on it. Chloe furrowed her brows even more as she saw the full-view of the room in Ashley’s run to the door. Was Ashley with Rita? That was the only thing that would explain the grandeur of the room. “Who is it?”, Ashley said in a phony composed voice, trying desperately to make sure she didn’t look like she just had a mini-breakdown.“I’m ze butler madam”, a prim voice said in an accent that sounded heavily french. It would be the biggest cliche of all time if he happened to have a mustache and balding white head. She opened the door and lo and behold, he had balding white hair. Thankf
Chapter 12"So let me get this shit straight", Chloe started, swallowing the bite of her Risotto, “You found the slimy bitches in bed together, then you and Ian had a fucking heart to heart, then you eloped and got married in Vegas, and you have to stay married for a year?”, Chloe ended, clearing her throat and looking at Ashley like she was crazy.“Yes, that’s exactly it.” Ashley groaned and flopped on the table. Chloe rolled her eyes at her best friend’s dramatics.“Well first things first, I think Rita’s definitely to be investigated, second things second, I can’t blame her, you and Ian? Power couple of the decade!”, Chloe whispered excitedly. Ashley raised her head and directed a powerful glower at her. Power couple? What power did she hold? Especially inside the ‘relationship’. It was a clear case of power imbalance with all the power tipped to Ian’s side.“No, I’m going to avoid him as much as I can”, Ashley nodded resolutely. “Fuck no you aren’t. This is a love story waiting t
Chapter 13Three weeks laterIan and Ashley had settled into a very easy routine. It consisted of not seeing or speaking to each other in any capacity. Ashley didn’t know what she was hoping for when she was younger but she was sure this was not the kind of marriage. In her imaginations, the first three weeks of her marriage were not spent wondering if she could break free from the shackles. Even work had lost its flair.Even though he was a scoundrel that cheated without giving her any form of closure, Richard still had his positives. Generally at this time she would have received a nice check up text. It was already 12pm and it was so jarring for the first few days. If he wanted to hurt her, he was doing a damn good job with it. She received a call from Amelia about three days after the whole cheating debacle. The entire call was just Amelia using roundabout ways to say she had stolen yet another man from under her. Ashley nearsmashed her phone in. Rita had been hired for a Vegas j
Chapter 14Ashley was deeply focused in the book she was reading; it was about an adopted princess in the throes of palace betrayal.The princess was about to discover the biggest backstabber in her court when a baritone voice pierced through her consciousness.It took all her concentration not to topple over on the hammock as she was startled. This bastard!"Well, any one that has eyes would know I'm reading, dear husband", Ashley taunted. She saw Ian's eyes narrow the way it always did when he was about to yell at her in that stupidly sexy way he always did.However, he just pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to three. "You can't be here", he said, his voice tight."On the contrary, husband. Seeing as you made me stay in this house, I can be anywhere I want in it", Ashley said airily, swaying lightly on the hammock. She felt oddly open in front of him. A tank top wasn't the best armor to meet her annoying husband."Well it's not like you rejected it. You still can't be here