Chapter Three

You signed them? You actually signed them?” My voice wavered as I looked down at the documents on the table through teary eyes.

“Isn’t that what you wanted anyway? Anything to make you happy, my sweet.” He sneered, sliding the papers back to me. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The man I’d been in love with for four years, four whole years! He just threw everything away like it was nothing.

“You!” I turned to Corinne, pointing a finger at her and stepping closer to her. “Corinne, this is all your fault!” I spat, closing the distance between us. She inched back until her body hit the wall.

“How could you do this to me?!” I cried out, before landing a resounding slap on her face. Baffled, she raised her hand up to her cheek, her mouth gaped in shock.

Ashton moved between the both of us, using his body to clearly separate us, “You don’t hit Corinne like that! What gives you the damn audacity?” He questioned, his voice loud and threatening.

I flinched slightly, stepping back as he glared at me with the eyes I once fell in love with. How cruel could one be?

“Out of all the women in the world that you could’ve cheated with, Ashton,” My voice broke, now hoarse from all the crying and screaming, “Yet, you decided it is my sister? My own flesh and blood!”

Her bottom lip quivered as tears piled in her eyes, “Pearl, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!” She said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand and reaching out to take a hold of mine.

Disgusted with her antics, I pushed her hand away. I could feel bile creeping up my throat as it began to sting once again. Instinctively, I stepped back not wanting to feel her skin touching mine. The whole thing was offsetting and sickening.

I ran my hand through my hair, with the other placed on my hip, “Oh my God. If word of this gets out, how do you think the world will perceive this?”

“Oh, do you think I’m not concerned about that?” Ashton stepped closer to me, seething with anger. “I don’t think you are! If you were, you wouldn’t be sleeping around with my sister.”

“She has more to offer than you do,” He chuckled, “She gave me more than you ever could in just a month. You’re so desperate, it’s disheartening.”

I stumbled back, every word of his piercing through my heart as he mocked me. Corinne didn’t even say anything, she just stood there, her hand still on her bruised cheek, observing the unfruitful conversation. “This…This has been going on for a month? Right under my nose!”

My head was aching and I felt weak. My vision went blurry and the only word I could manage to choke out, despite all my pain was, “Why?” My chest heaved heavily as I glanced between the stars of the show.

“Don’t you get it, Pearl? You were never the one for me! For God’s sake, you’re so damn entitled! Everything always has to be about you, you’re so selfish. The only person you only ever think about is yourself.”

“That’s not true, Ashton!” I replied with a sharp edge to my voice. “Corinne, tell him. Tell him how much I gave up just to be with him.” I pleaded, glancing at my sister.

I stepped closer to her, shaking her by her shoulders, “Why won’t you just tell him?” I cried out, “You know everything, please just tell him.” I shook her harder, as tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

“Sister…I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her brows creased, as she peeled my hand off of her shoulder, with a grimace on her face.

“Are you going crazy or something? Leave Corinne alone!” Ashton’s voice boomed, making me jump out of my skin. I quickly backed away, unsure of what to do. My body trembled in shame as rugged breaths left my mouth.

“And to think I married you. It was a mistake. That’s all it’ll ever be. I can’t believe it was that easy to get rid of you.” He smiled, pulling Corinne by the waist and kissing her forehead. “She’ll be my wife soon, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

I collapsed to my knees, all the energy in me spent. “You turned me into nothing within a matter of seconds…” I whispered as I stared blankly at my husband and my sister. “I thought you loved me, I thought what we shared—what we had, was real.”

I clenched my fists so hard that my skin broke and blood started spilling out, “I gave everything, and this is how it ends?” I mumbled, my heart weighing heavily in my chest.

He crouched in front of me, “You never deserved that happily ever after,” He said lowly.

His words cut so deep it felt as though he had twisted a knife in my heart—and that’s when I finally broke.

You gave me everything, and it still wasn’t worth it," he whispered. Then he rose to his feet, leaving me—a woman shattered into pieces—on the floor.

I sat for a while, rocking myself back and forth on the cold tiles. Was I running mad? With a heavy breath, I stepped out of the mansion and into the gloomy weather. The heavy rain poured on me as I stumbled to my car weakly, managing to get in and shut the door.

I’d just go rest at a hotel, and come back tomorrow to resolve whatever this was. Surely, it was a prank…or a dream or something. There must have been a logical explanation.

So, I drove. I didn’t even know where I was going—I just drove with a vision blurred by tears and my heart shattered. My breathing became labored and shallow and I could barely think straight.

The rain fell harder, and I sped down the twisted, slippery road, desperate to get as far as I could away from the mansion.

Then, I saw a flash of white light. It shone so bright that I had to avert my eyes from the road for a split second. A horn blared and within moments, everything faded to darkness.