Ash's POV“Young Lady,you shouldn't have excused us though. She could have said whatever she has to say while you were there”. I said,stepping into the car. I had been avoiding Cassie after the stunt she pulled during the feast. I definitely knew she wasn't expecting me to react the way I did but I reacted that way to make her feel the gravity of her actions. She's lucky I didn't have any serious issues with my Dad afterwards else she would have been sorry because I'd have made sure to take it out on her.“It's nothing Ash,being there wouldn't have made any much difference and I didn't want your conversation with her to be constrained because of my presence that's why I excused myself”.she replied,with a brief smile.“Look who's trying to be nice. Well,you should have stayed regardless”,I answered, starting the car.“It's alright Babe, just let it go”, She replied.“Fine then. By the way,did your mum act strange since the other day?. I've been wondering since then”,I asked her, lookin
*Sage's POV*The back and forth I was having in my relationship with Cassie was exhausting,but I figured she's just one clueless lady that needed someone to put her through life. Only if her Dad had actually been incorporating the nonsense he spewed at the New Life Celebration feast,then I'm certain she'd have turned out better. I was beginning to get tired of her never ending obsession with Ash but I knew I couldn't end things with her right now as I was the only one that still genuinely cared for her at the moment. In my mind,I already had a time limit set and if things didn't get better by then,I was going to part ways with her. Being in a one-sided relationship is one of the worst things that could ever happen to anyone, especially if you're not keeping your options open and I wouldn't even wish that on an enemy to be honest. This minute she's acting all loved up and into me, the next she's behaving like I'm just one leech that wouldn't let her be. I wasn't about to find myself in
*Ash's POV*I had just arrived at school and I noticed the stares from other students were a bit unusual today. I initially thought it was because of Ash and what had happened with him lately but the looks didn't seem like pity or care so I was a bit worried. Something else must have most definitely happened.“What's going on?”,I asked nervously. How was he supposed to know? We obviously just arrived at school together and there was no way he would have known.“I have no idea. The looks are scary as hell. I just hope no one has done anything funny. I guess we'll know what's up before the end of today”,he answered and bade me goodbye. I didn't feel good, whatever was the reason for this stares,I knew it was not anything positive and I could feel that strongly in my gut. I didn't even know who to ask because the only person that was closest had no idea of what was going on,I just had to be calm till someone finally let it out. The bell had just rang,signifying lunch break and the end of
*Ash's POV*My Dad had finally hired the Bodyguards that he spoke about and in a way I felt constrained. The particular one that was always available seemed too nosy for my liking and there seemed to be something off about him. He always wanted to know everything going on with me and my Dad and always voiced out his opinion like he was a member of the family.I drove back home thinking about how I would break the news to My Dad. He was just recovering fully and this wasn't the kind of information that should be reaching Him in a time like this. I honestly thought Cassie was over me and really wanted to move forward that's why she came to me. I didn't know the apology she gave was a sort of bait and I foolishly fell for it. I pondered on all the possible punishments that would come from my Dad finding out about this and I panicked a bit.“Good afternoon Dad”,I greeted. He was home when I got back and I thought it was best to tell him as soon as possible.“Hello Son. How was school toda
*Skylar’s POV*I couldn't bring myself to break the news to My Parents when I got home. I thought about a number of things I could do to avoid the situation __run away from home for a few days. I had never done that before and I wasn't sure I had the courage to even do it. Pretend to be sick. The truth was still going to come out eventually. Ash Damon had promised to speak to them himself and I couldn't be more grateful. I had planned to tell them over Dinner but all I had to do now was inform them that Ash Damon requested a meeting with them which was easier to do.“Are you alright Sweetheart?”.My Mum asked, staring at me.“Yes Mum. School was quite stressful this week. So many things happened that were quite exhausting. I'm just glad that it's the weekend already, at least I'll get to rest well enough”,I replied.“Welldone Love. You're doing so well and I'm sure all your hardwork will pay off in the nearest future. Just keep at it”,My Dad said, with a warm smile on his face.“Aww, T
Sage's POVLife has been so chaotic recently. Everything felt forced and overwhelming. I was beginning to realise that my feelings for Cassie were wearing off gradually, and I was quite grateful for that. I'd rather remain single than be with someone like Cassie long-term. Ash was celebrating his birthday today, and for strange reasons, both Ash and Skylar had reached out to me to ask if I would love to attend. I felt it was a plan for them to spite Cassie in a way because I saw no other reason why they would want me around. I knew Cassie was going to be really furious when she found out, but this was an opportunity for me to see him, as it had been difficult for me to get any information about him that I could give to Richard. Since he was suspended from school, I didn't have any alternative way to access him.I reached out to Him online a few times, though, to check up on Him and know how he was faring, and he was quite nice in his response.“Happy Birthday to you, outcast”, I said p
*Ash's POV*I was turning 20 in a few days, and this wasn't what I had planned for my 20th year. I was being suspended from school, having an obsessed ex, being followed around by bodyguards, and not having my privacy outside the house. I sat in my room and thought about how things had changed drastically in a short while and how my life could have been different if certain things hadn't happened to me. Being at home and spending so much time alone had made me realize how lonely and empty I'd felt for an extended period; I was so busy with school and other activities that I didn't even get to notice. The only person that brought me happiness and comfort at the moment was Skylar, and we didn't get to see as we used to; I missed her so much and longed to be with her. These were periods in my life where I began to wish my Mum was still alive or at least I had other siblings rather than being an only child; maybe things might have been quite different. Recently, My Dad tried to be more av
*Ash's POV*I wanted to believe what I had just heard,but I was too dumbfounded to even process the information. I was blindsided,my mind was striving to handle the magnitude of what had just been revealed to me. I sat there,staring at my Dad who at this time had moved closer to where I was seated. “Has my whole life been a lie?. What else did he keep from me all these years?”. I thought to myself.“That's a lie. Right?”,I asked in curiosity after a while.“I wish it was”, he replied with a straight face.“What do you mean Dad?. Where is she?. How come she never reached out to know how I've been. Why did you keep it from me for so long?”. I asked rhetorically,pacing frantically around the room. “Son,everything I have done regarding this issue from when it happened till now was for your own good”. He replied, with a note of frustration in his tone.“You can't make that decision for me. What do you even know is best for me? All these years,I've lived without a mother figure in my life
Ash's POVI wasn't exactly sure what to say, so I glanced at my friends, but from the looks in Luke's eyes, I knew that he was completely baffled by the situation. His eyes were hard, contrary to Sage, who looked soft and ready to give in at any moment."I can't believe we are even doing this," he said, his voice expressive as he stepped forward, his eyes flashing. "We shouldn't be bargaining with you; you are in no position to say anything at all.""Am I now?" he asked, his knife pressed a little more to her neck. I could tell that he was about to make a rash decision that would definitely cost him his life, but I was afraid of it costing Cassie's life also."Please," I said to Luke, putting my hand on him. I knew how much he loved his sister and didn't want her to die, so why was he actually acting like this? Luke glanced at Cassie, his eyes rigid as if trying to tell her something. His eyes were fixed on her, but he didn't see anything else, staying in his position with hardly any
Ash POVWe all stayed rooted to the spot, except maybe for Sage behind me, who had taken a subconscious step back. Maybe it was a good idea for us to back away after all—maybe back away out of the room entirely so that I could give Sage a good pep talk and make him gather himself and understand what was actually at stake here.Weakness was the one thing that would actually cost Cassie her life, nothing more. If we played this right, from the position of strength that we actually were in, then we could get her back, though it wasn't certain if we could get Richard and bring him to book along with that; that would actually be asking for too much. One small mistake and our victory had turned into a break-even, or maybe a possible loss if we didn't play our cards right and made another small mistake to add to the former one.I looked at our opponent, the one that we had nearly defeated, for a couple of seconds and finally decided to at least talk with him. If he killed Cassie, then the en
Luke's POVEverything was closing in on me, and I knew that it was too late for me to run away by now. My chance was gone. Looking at my opponent, who was now getting into the attack once more and covering all spaces for me to run into, I knew that he wouldn't let me go. He knew just what I could be thinking at this time, and he also knew that most likely I would try to run away. He was doing everything to prevent that, not wanting his prey to go.I knew that when he won this, he was going to put me along with Cassie and torment us for a very long period of time before killing us eventually. Yes, he had given me my chance to join him, not that I would ever do that, but I hadn't agreed to him, and now he was going to make me pay the price. I was pretty sure of it.I felt a certain feeling of discomfort, knowing how things were about to end, but still staying here anyway. I should be doing my best to run away and break free from his grasp, but I didn't do that for some reason. I just st
Luke's POVIt was honestly very troubling how I was still struggling with Richard after such a long time, and how someone would have thought that by now I would be done with defeating him, especially after I had come to the brink of beating him so many times now. But for some reason, he was always bouncing back and staying up above water, to the point that I was actually pressured by him at times, and even now, I was still pressured. Honestly, I was starting to wonder whether there was something wrong with me, or whether we were just evenly matched. Every time I came to the brink, ready to defeat him, there was one small mistake, or one small thing that happened to make him come back again. And then we started the sequence all over again.It dawned on me now that I would not be able to defeat him, not today, not now. I wasn't strong enough. In fact, I would even be considered lucky to not be defeated by him myself. Remembering clearly how easily he had taken me on previously, I knew
Sage's povThe first thought that came to my mind after he said that was that this was simply too good to be true. I couldn't believe it even now. However, that was a fact. But if he was actually the one keeping Sage from coming here, then he was a true hero. He was the one doing much more work than us and our soldiers who brought the army to the gate and the fight from the outside, because he is definitely the one that brings the fight from the inside, which is the real fight.I looked at Ash, wanting to see how convinced he was. And from the looks of it, he seemed completely convinced by it. When I thought about it, I didn't see any other reason why this could be happening. For one thing, I hadn't heard from Luke at all, indicating that there was a good chance that he was busy. And the fact that, at the same time, Richard was nowhere to be found, made it a little too much to be a coincidence. Most likely, the two of them couldn't be here because they were busy with each other, fight
Sage's POVI didn't really know whether I was safe when I started easily winning the entire fight. It was not much of a battle anymore. If anything, it was starting to become something of a slaughter. I didn't see any reason why I would have it so easy fighting against the man that I was up against—the man who had been rumored to be far stronger than a lot of people and would be a very formidable enemy.I had heard that he was planning some tricks for me, and I also knew that he was skewed and poisoned because that's what I heard from the assassin the time we asked him about Richard. That was enough information to be wary of him, knowing that he could actually be planning something else entirely while we were busy here. But as it happened, maybe he was just all talk after all, and there was nothing to actually be fearful of. He seemed pretty tame to me right now, not at all a threat, no matter how I looked at it.In my planning, I decided to draw back a little and let my men do some o
Ash's POV I join in and things get easy The progress was slow but steady. I knew that it wouldn't be long before we finally reached my territory. Then, I would have the opportunity to take back what was rightfully mine.I could almost see it happening already. As my soldiers marched forward, each with a certain determination in their eyes, I was sure we stood a huge chance of winning this. The moment I got to Richard, I would make sure to rip his eyes out and kill him for everything he had done, especially for killing my father. Until then, I had to make do with what I had and bide my time until everything was set.I had the patience to wait because I had been waiting for this moment all my life. So, even if it was just a couple more hours, I could wait again. It would end in my victory.Setting my eyes on the bigger prize, I kept moving, knowing it would be worth it. I was starting to get tired after marching for what seemed like forever. The soldiers, for their part, seemed much s
Sage's POVMy men started marching forward after I gave the order, each of them moving valiantly. These were pretty much all my forces because the ones I left to defend my home weren't too many anymore and wouldn't really account for much. In other words, if an attack actually started on my home while I was gone, then it would be pretty much defenseless against this attacker, and they would be able to do some large amount of damage to it.It was very precarious, but I knew that if I didn't take as many people as I could with me, then it was highly unlikely that we would win. I had no idea how many people Richard had with him, but I knew that he definitely had a lot of people with him, and that if I took only half of my army, it might not be enough, even when added to what Ash was bringing.I didn't want to take any chances on this because it was pretty much my only chance. If I was going to help, then I was going to help him completely and make sure that we won this. If we didn't win,
Sage's P.O.V.I went home driving in my car at full speed because I wanted to get there as soon possible. Who could have thought that I would be so excited and so fired up about fighting another man's war? It was a big pleasure for me to involve myself to such a large extent like this. But actually, I didn't see myself doing anything else in this particular situation.Cassie had been taken, and this could surely well be the only way I could free her since I couldn't really depend on Luke to do the job for me. Everything seemed to have gone south in this situation and personally, I was feeling affected. I felt incomplete, especially because of the lack of Cassie around, and I also felt a little guilty even though I hadn't exactly done anything.Something told me that the person who had actually caused all this personally didn't even feel guilty himself, and that person was Luke. So, I tried to make myself a little happier knowing that since he wasn't killing himself for what he actuall