Ashley and Pamela exchange fearful glances at each other. The same thought filled their minds. How did Bruce suddenly appear here? How much of their conversation had he heard? “You?” Pamela swallowed, her mind had gone blank. Bruce looked around, checking to see if he may have missed something. “Yes. Me.” He responded with uncertainty. “Sorry I interrupted. I'll just come back.” He took a step back in an attempt to leave. Ashley shook her head and recovered from her shock at that moment. “Bruce!” Ashley called with feigned excitement. “You're here.” She remarked as she gazed past the door to the outer space where her secretary was supposed to be seated. As though being able to read Ashley's mind, Brice responded. “There was no one there, so I let myself in.” Ashley bit down on her jaws and anger flashed in her eyes as her secretary came into view behind Bruce. Benita, Ashley's secretary darted her eyes between the open door and Bruce's frame still standing by the do
“And?” Pamela's expectant eyes rested on Ashley.They were now alone again. Bruce had left and Pamela was itching to know what they had talked about.Ashley busied herself with the piled up paperwork, ignoring Pamela.“You're ignoring me.” Pamela said with a pout.“I don't have time to chit chat now Pamela. You can see my workload.” Having a sharp edge to it, Ashley's tone betrayed her wariness of telling Pamela about her progress. Pamela eyed Ashley's seated form as she was engrossed in the file with scrutiny.“You’ve been acting strange. Acting up and giving too much attitude. I just hope you're okay. Maybe I should leave and come back later.” As Pamela stood up from her seat and headed for the door, Ashley shut her eyes and took a deep breath.She had no evidence against Pamela but the doubt in her heart was poking at her. She was even more scared because it was only Pamela who knew her true identity.If Paul's claims were true, then she didn't want to risk telling Pamela too muc
DJ drew the seat out for Ashley and helped her get settled like the proper gentleman that he was.He showed up at her office and had asked her out to lunch. Ashley was free. Her supposed meeting had been rescheduled and it had been a while since she went out with him, so she accepted to dine with him.“Mr Leon? Really?” A smile graced Ashley's lips. Her eyes followed DJ as he pulled out a seat for himself. His specific introduction at her office had her wondering why he didn't just use his name. She didn't think it was him. He didn't have a good standing with his family and had dissociated himself from them and the name. So she never imagined he would introduce himself as a Leon.“Well, you seem to be more concerned about my family these days than you're with me, so I thought the only way to get your attention would be to come to you as one of the Leon's.” DJ's brows rose, a gesture that asked if she agreed with his logic.Ashley chuckled. “It sounds bad when you put it that way. Be
Ashley's heart stopped beating for a moment. She sat there, motionless, fixated on DJ but not really looking at him.He had completely stunned her with the sudden proposal of marriage. She wasn't prepared for this.“Ashley.” DJ called gently. She had him worried with her sudden blankness causing regret to quickly fill his eyes as he waited for her to recover.He reached out and touched her hand on the table. It was a gentle, soft and pleading touch. She jolted back to reality and peeled her eyes to his, meeting his gaze. His eyes met hers with an apologetic look.“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped that on you.” He apologized and she just stared at him, not knowing what to say.She couldn't formulate any words. Her mouth felt dry even though she had only moments ago drank from her glass of water.DJ chuckled nervously. His hand left hers and she felt inexplicably empty.“You know we'd have been married now if you hadn't had that accident. We'd be on our honeymoon at about this time
The room zoomed in dangerously and everything blurred from Lillian's standing spot at the entrance to her room.Her room, her matrimonial room. Laid atop her matrimonial bed was her husband vigorously and pleasurably thrusting deeper and deeper into the honeycomb of her sister. Their moans, the only deafening sound that filtered through the hazy cloud in her mind.She refused to believe her vision. The two most important people in her life could never think to do this to her. The only people that cared about her would never do this. Her heart said differently. Her eyes saw reality. Reality she vehemently refused to believe. She moved closer to the bed. She wanted a closer look at them. She wanted to confirm their faces, even though she already knew. She wanted it to be a mistake.Just as she reached the foot of the bed, she saw her husband shake violently, emptying his release into the depths of her sister. Their sigh of deep satisfaction caused her eyes to water.As Bruce finished o
"Toss it over! Come on, hurry!" There was urgency in Rachel's voice."Don't you think we should check if she's still alive.""No one can survive such a beating. Didn't you see how they almost splattered her brain out? The guys did a good job. Her head and face is destroyed. Toss this trash into the river before someone sees us." Rachel urged. She darted her eyes back and forth the darkness of the overhead bridge on which they stood.Bruce grunted as he lifted the bag enclosing Lillian's body. "I don't know why you didn't pay them to dispose of the body too." He whined."You want it to be traced back to us? Is that what you want?... Just hurry up and let's get out of here!"Lillian heard the voices in a haze. Her body felt numb and alienated. The physical pain she felt was like nothing in the world. Her breathing was so slow, she thought she would die the next minute. She held her breath when she was lifted. The pain heightened with the contact. She felt herself rise. Her pain increas
Dr Tony was taking off the bandages wrapped around Lillian's face. He worked with dexterity as he pulled on the bandage. It's been five weeks of waiting since after the surgery."You will feel numb around your face when the bandages come off, but it shouldn't alarm you. It's normal and the feeling will wear off in a moment." Tony explained as he unwrapped the bandage. Sam Knox stood by the corner of the room, his heart racing and his eyes shone with fear. He was eager to see the result of the surgery and yet, uncertain how Lillian would react to her new face.Lillian had only been able to communicate by nodding whenever she was spoken to. The bandages had prevented her from speaking. So they had not been able to have a real conversation with her.Tony had said that the chances of Lillian remembering anything about her past was very slim. But Knox couldn't shake off the fear that she would remember her past life. It would be a disaster if that happened.Tony finally removed the last o
"Yes." Knox nodded at her. "Yes. You are Ashley Knox." He reiterated with tear filled eyes. "You are my Ashley.""You are my daughter." He announced with tearful glee. She watched him move near her. Uncertainty flooded her gaze. She looked up at Dr Tony whom she inexplicably had a measure of trust in. Tony sensed her insecurities and he understood them. He had seen it a thousand times, patients waking up to memories of their life snatched away from. Knowing nothing. Remembering nothing. The feeling was depressing. He nodded silently at her, consenting to the information she had just received.She turned her gaze away from Tony to regard Knox who had stopped in his tracks. Her countenance had not been welcoming causing him to pause."You are my father?" She inquired.Her innocence burst open the flood gates of Knox tears. He shook violently, collapsing on the bed on which she sat. She suddenly felt guilty. He was her father and she didn't know him. She imagined how that must hurt. S
Ashley's heart stopped beating for a moment. She sat there, motionless, fixated on DJ but not really looking at him.He had completely stunned her with the sudden proposal of marriage. She wasn't prepared for this.“Ashley.” DJ called gently. She had him worried with her sudden blankness causing regret to quickly fill his eyes as he waited for her to recover.He reached out and touched her hand on the table. It was a gentle, soft and pleading touch. She jolted back to reality and peeled her eyes to his, meeting his gaze. His eyes met hers with an apologetic look.“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped that on you.” He apologized and she just stared at him, not knowing what to say.She couldn't formulate any words. Her mouth felt dry even though she had only moments ago drank from her glass of water.DJ chuckled nervously. His hand left hers and she felt inexplicably empty.“You know we'd have been married now if you hadn't had that accident. We'd be on our honeymoon at about this time
DJ drew the seat out for Ashley and helped her get settled like the proper gentleman that he was.He showed up at her office and had asked her out to lunch. Ashley was free. Her supposed meeting had been rescheduled and it had been a while since she went out with him, so she accepted to dine with him.“Mr Leon? Really?” A smile graced Ashley's lips. Her eyes followed DJ as he pulled out a seat for himself. His specific introduction at her office had her wondering why he didn't just use his name. She didn't think it was him. He didn't have a good standing with his family and had dissociated himself from them and the name. So she never imagined he would introduce himself as a Leon.“Well, you seem to be more concerned about my family these days than you're with me, so I thought the only way to get your attention would be to come to you as one of the Leon's.” DJ's brows rose, a gesture that asked if she agreed with his logic.Ashley chuckled. “It sounds bad when you put it that way. Be
“And?” Pamela's expectant eyes rested on Ashley.They were now alone again. Bruce had left and Pamela was itching to know what they had talked about.Ashley busied herself with the piled up paperwork, ignoring Pamela.“You're ignoring me.” Pamela said with a pout.“I don't have time to chit chat now Pamela. You can see my workload.” Having a sharp edge to it, Ashley's tone betrayed her wariness of telling Pamela about her progress. Pamela eyed Ashley's seated form as she was engrossed in the file with scrutiny.“You’ve been acting strange. Acting up and giving too much attitude. I just hope you're okay. Maybe I should leave and come back later.” As Pamela stood up from her seat and headed for the door, Ashley shut her eyes and took a deep breath.She had no evidence against Pamela but the doubt in her heart was poking at her. She was even more scared because it was only Pamela who knew her true identity.If Paul's claims were true, then she didn't want to risk telling Pamela too muc
Ashley and Pamela exchange fearful glances at each other. The same thought filled their minds. How did Bruce suddenly appear here? How much of their conversation had he heard? “You?” Pamela swallowed, her mind had gone blank. Bruce looked around, checking to see if he may have missed something. “Yes. Me.” He responded with uncertainty. “Sorry I interrupted. I'll just come back.” He took a step back in an attempt to leave. Ashley shook her head and recovered from her shock at that moment. “Bruce!” Ashley called with feigned excitement. “You're here.” She remarked as she gazed past the door to the outer space where her secretary was supposed to be seated. As though being able to read Ashley's mind, Brice responded. “There was no one there, so I let myself in.” Ashley bit down on her jaws and anger flashed in her eyes as her secretary came into view behind Bruce. Benita, Ashley's secretary darted her eyes between the open door and Bruce's frame still standing by the do
Standing beside Ashley's swivel office chair, Pamela efficiently read Ashley's schedule for the day from the tablet in her grasp. “You have a meeting with the design team at 9am this morning. And you still have to go over those files.” Pamela pointed to a heap of papers on Ashley's desk.“Mr Mathew called to reschedule his meeting with you at noon. I tried to push him to keep to the agreed time but he's not bulging. So we rescheduled for 9am tomorrow. Would you like me to leave that time open?... If not, I was thinking we could call the manufacturers for the new designs. It'll be a perfect time considering the difference in time zone.” Pamela scrolled up the screen, her attention intently focused on it.“If you'd agree to make the call, then I can clear your itinerary for the rest of the day. Or you could go over to the agency to check with them for the models if you're not up to talking with the manufacturer today. The agency called yesterday to say they were all set. So which would
Rachel slid to the ground and the tears she had been keeping at bay, flowed. She was losing him. She could feel it. That strange woman had come into her life to ruin her peace. She cussed and swore at the day Ashley entered their lives, completely forgetting she had once ruined another's peace. She was overjoyed when she heard about Ashley's sudden disappearance. Even DJ didn't know where she went, and she assumed they had broken up. She thought Ashley would not return. She thought that the problem was gone. Her hopes and joys dropped when she saw Ashley again, standing by DJ at the gala. She didn't know why, but she was certain that Ashley was trouble. She smelled it. Trouble neither she nor Bruce would want, only, Bruce didn’t want to see it. He didn't want to listen to her. Instead he was scolding her. Nothing hurt her more and she cried. Rachel was used to having her way. Used to Bruce taking her advice. Used to be in control. She felt bitter losing that control. Never ha
Bruce was boiling with rage when he pulled Rachel to a corner and forcefully yanked her arm around to face him. It was hard for him to keep his anger contained and when he had her cornered, he exploded. “What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you control your senseless anger? Are you trying to ruin everything that we've worked so hard for? What was that for!” His angry breath fanned her face. Rachel was startled by Bruce's fist of rage directed at her. Her eyes stared at him in astonishment. “Didn't you hear what she said?” Still stunned by Bruce's reaction, her voice was surprisingly calm. “What did she say? She had only asked about Lilian. Was that enough for you to bare your canines and want to claw out her eyes like a dog?... In front of all that many people? God dammit, Rachel!” Rachel's eyes welled at the hurtful words Bruce was hurling at her. Her heart bled and pain ripped through her. “It's a sensitive topic for both of us. I mean, I hated the way Pamela raised the t
Ashley was taken aback by Paul's question. Why was he asking? Did he know Pamela? How did he know her? Had he discovered her secret? She peeled her gaze filled with certainties on him. She was unsure how to respond to his question. What if he was baiting her, trying to confirm his suspicions? What if she said the wrong thing? “Ashley?” Paul called gently. His eager eyes anticipated her response. “I don't understand.” She declared. “My mother had mentioned her doubts that you lost your memories. I didn't want to believe her. But this… You bring Pamela here? Why? To taunt me?” His tone accused her. Ashley found herself lost in the maze Paul had created with his words. She couldn't decipher where the conversation was coming from, neither did she know where it was headed. “Pamela is my assistant. We met on my trip.” She told him their fabricated story. “She's quite efficient so I took her for the job.” Ashley explained. “You didn't know her before now?” Skepticism and disbelief l
Pamela laughed as she reminisced on the event of the evening. They were still standing by the door in front of Ashley's house and DJ had just left after dropping both women off.“Did you see her face! It was a rock!” Pamela remarked amidst hard laughter. Ashley smiled. Pamela's laugh was infectious. Pamela seemed more excited about all of this than she was. Ashley could have thought that Pamela had personal vendetta with the Leon's if she hadn't known better.“Her head was going to blow off with steam when I asked for Bruce's wife and mentioned Lilian.” Pamela slapped her hand on her things as she laughed.Ashley chuckled. “I had not expected that stunt you pulled. It was a perfect shot. Rachel abhors hearing anything Lilian. She fears that topic. Same thing happened when I was at her house questioning her.” “Oh she should. After everything that she has done, she should live in overwhelming fear.” Pamela said.“Come inside.” Ashley urged, turning to open the front door as the laugh