Lily looked at the money as her mouth dropped open. This was the biggest amount of money she was seeing, and it was just lying there in the first drawer that she checked. Lily could bet that if she checked other parts of the room, she might find out that he had stashed money everywhere.“He is probably richer than I thought,” Lily said to herself.Without wasting time, Lily took some bundles of dollars from the money and left Christopher’s bedroom. When she got to her room, she began to feel like shit, because this would be the first time she would be stealing, but there was nothing she could do.“I was left with no choice,” Lily said.It did not make her feel any better, but it certainly gave her a reason why she took it. Now, Lily was left with two worries; how to send the money to both Don Grander and Emily; she was grounded, and therefore, not allowed to step foot out of the house, and Hedge, and her second worry was what would happen if Christopher returned and discovered that hi
While Lily waited for Emily to come, because she knew that as long as it involved money, Emily would stick to her words, Lily racked her head on how she could send the money to Hedge. The last thing Lily wanted was for him to call her first, because if he did, he would start demanding for a freaking affair.“What kind of lifestyle did you live, Ashley?” Lily asked.If Hedge was asking for an affair, it means that Ashley was very capable of having an affair, and that was not something Lily could do, no matter how well she had been asked to impersonate Ashley. The mere thought of Hedge running his hands over Lily’s body literally made her skin crawl, talk more of having a full blown affair with him.About an hour later, after Lily had showered and changed into something nice but a little casual, she heard a soft knock on the door.“Who is that?” Lily asked.“It is Maggie,” Maggie’s voice floated from the other side of the door. “May I come in?” Maggie asked.“Yes,” Lily simply answered
Lily was not just stunned, but she was also speechless.“What are you doing here? How did you get in here?” Lily asked in a rasped breath.For crying out loud, Hedge was in her bedroom, and this could spell doom for Lily; she certainly could not risk that at all, because if she got caught, it would be more tragic than she ever dreamed of.“To see you, my lover,” Hedge said lustily, licking his lips.Lily almost puked when he did that, and for the life of her, she could not imagine what Ashley could possible see in a man like Hedge. Judging from her escapades, Lily felt that Ashley should have better taste and choices when it came to lovers. Lily’s breath almost caught in her throat when Hedge walked into the room and gently closed the door.“What?!” Lily was alarmed. She immediately went to the door and yanked it open. “Do you want to ruin things for me?” Lily asked.Her heart was beating, and although it had something to do with the risk of being caught in her bedroom with a man. It
“He didn’t just take all the money,” Lily almost sobbed. “What am I going to tell Emily now for crying out loud?” Lily asked herself, utterly dejected.She knew she should have stopped him, but how would she have been able to stop a man like Hedge from taking all the money. The first mistake she made was letting him come to her room, and that was another thing to be worried about, because Lily highly doubted that it would not come to the knowledge of Christopher, but then again, if Maggie had explained to her why she was surprised when she asked her to send the guest upstairs, she would never have allowed her to bring Hedge to her room.Someone cleared her throat, and when Lily looked towards the door, she saw that it was Maggie.“I am terribly sorry to interrupt you, ma’am, but you have another guest,” Maggie said.Lily knew that it was Emily, and her heart already began to beat faster than normal with just the mere thought of facing Emily, but she was not about to let her assumption
Lily was foolish to think that Emily would have answered the question that she asked, but now, Lily could not stop thinking about what Hedge said, and she could not stop wondering what they had forced Ashley to do.“I need to know,” Lily said to herself.Lily spent the entire day dreading what was to come, because coupled with thinking about what they might have forced Ashley to do, she still had to worry about Emily’s threat. More than ever before, Lily knew that it wasn’t an empty threat. They were two money-hungry people who could do something as terrible as looking for someone to impersonate their dead daughter when they could have easily just told Christopher that his bride was dead.Lily almost jumped out of her skin when Christopher came into the house in the evening. She was surprised that he came back this early, because usually, he came home at almost midnight. What could have possibly made him come back this early?“Welcome,” Lily said.“We need to talk,” Christopher said g
“Ashley, get in here immediately!” Christopher bellowed angrily, causing Lily to jump in fright.She left his room just a couple of minutes ago, so how come he had already discovered that his money was missing? Something wasn’t exactly right, and even though Lily could not exactly pinpoint exactly what it was, she just believed that it was unreal. First of all, there was a chunk of money there, so he would have to count it first to know that a fraction of it was missing, and secondly, he reacted too quickly.“Ashley!” Christopher’s loud and angry voice cut through Lily thoughts, making Lily jump again.Lilly’s heart began to beat faster as she approached Christopher’s bedroom. She also began to think about what she would say or do that would completely get her out of this situation.“Thank God I sent Maggie to clean the room,” Lily said to herself gratefully. All she needed to do was play defensive.Lily took a few deep breaths to calm her steady raging nerves and also summon enough c
Christopher could not get over what happened recently. It had been two days now, and Ashley was yet to produce the money she stole from him. He had noticed something was off right from their wedding day, but he could not exactly pinpoint him. Ashley was always acting off, and then there were the nights that she battled with troubled sleep when they shared a room together. Although Christopher had never spent the night with Ashley Grander prior to their wedding day, he knew that she was just not that person to be troubled by sleep. It was evident that she was fighting demons of her own, and Christopher knew this, because he also had demons of his own that he wrestled with every now and then.He knew that Ashley was wild and rugged, but a thief? That was just something he didn’t expect she would do, because it didn’t seem like Ashley’s personality. Anyway, Christopher decided that he would pay Don Grander a visit, because something was off, and Christopher was beginning to have this uns
Yes, this is exactly what I am looking for!” Aimee said in her head.She felt like standing up and twirling in delight, but she could not do that, because of obvious reasons, but she definitely would when she returned to her apartment later this evening. When Christopher had sent for her, Aimee had prayed deeply that it would not be work-related, but when Christopher had mentioned Ashley, Aimee had wished that it was work-related. She would rather spend the entire day buried in work than talk about the one woman that stole her man away from her. Nevertheless, as the conversation progressed, it then began to swing in Aimee’s favor. If Christopher was doubting Ashley, then that was good news in Aimee’s book.“Ashley Grander now steals?” Aimee could not help but ask. Ashley Grander certainly did not have a clean slate now.“That is the thing, Aimee; she does not steal,” Christopher answered.“With all due respect, Mr. Christopher, how do you know this?” Aimee asked. “A woman like Ashl
Christopher arrived at the company from the hotel in a grand style. He was looking dashing and stunning, and more, he was impressed with what Aimee had come up with in the crunch of time.His company was buzzing with elegance and class, and with everything that had been scheduled to happen tonight, Christopher had no doubt that it would be a successful night for him. The papers he would use in sealing the best deal the company had ever had was with him.However, Christopher was troubled.In all honesty, he had a pretty rough night last time, because while at the hotel room, he kept battling his conscience.“I should have gone home to her,” Christopher told himself.Lately, especially after their intimate affair, he had been unable to get her off his mind, and last night, he regretted allowing Aimee persuade him into sleeping in a hotel home. Christopher had also battled with anxiety and nervousness, and he knew that if he simply wrapped his arms around her, he would have felt better.
Lily stayed in the bedroom and waited for Christopher, but she was downright scared to her bones that something might go wrong and nervous.It was as though the time was ticking by too slowly, but she had no choice but to wait for him in his mansion. However, she was very restless.Lily thought of Don Grander who she guessed must have realized that his papers were missing and would be searching frantically for them. He would kill Lily if he knew that she had taken it, and worse, wanted to show them to Christopher.In thinking of the devil, Don Grander began to call Ashley’s phone, and she jumped in fright.Lily contemplated on not answering the call, but then if she did that, Don Grander might suspect her, because she had never ignored his call before, so Lily took a split second to catch her breath before picking the call.She would have to act normal otherwise Don Grander would know that something was amiss.“Where are you?” Don Grander asked gruffly as soon as the call connected.“
“Monk!” Don Grander yelled at the top of his voice, almost tearing out his lungs. He was in his bedroom, and he paced furiously. Some minutes later, Monk rushed into his room.“Boss, you sent for me,” Monk said, confused, because he was just with Don Grander about an hour ago in the study where they talked at length.“Something has happened,” Don Grander said through clenched teeth.“What might that be?” Monk asked.“Before you and I went out, I was going through the original and fake document that I and Bridger signed before his demise, and the one that Benedict drafted for me which he showed to Christopher to make him believe and succumb to what we want,” Don Grander explained.“Okay…” Monk said, paying rapt attention to what Don Grander was saying even though he was wondering why Don Grander decided to go through the papers in the first place.It was as though Don Grander could read Monk’s thoughts, because he answered right away. “You know that this last deal is very huge; it is t
Aimee threw herself into planning this special event for Christopher and his company. He did not give her the full details, but she worked with what she had anyway.She had been busy contacting vendors and planners, making plans and readjustments; Aimee wanted complete perfection, because this was the event that she was banking on completely. She was fed up of waiting for Christopher to come by, and even though he had reinstated her with even better promotion, Aimee feared that Christopher had fallen for Ashley, and she could not let that happen.After this event, she would have exactly what was hers!Aimee was still in deep thoughts when her phone rang. When she checked the caller ID, it was the new man that she had hired to do her dirty business. The moment Aimee realized that Derek was no longer on board, she had had to find someone else. This time around, Aimee ensured that she went for someone who was fierce and dangerous.“What news do you have for me?” Aimee asked.Now that she
Lily covered her mouth in shock and dreadful fright as her heart slammed against her ribs. At first, she thought that Don Grander was going to hear her gasp, and she feared for her life. If she was caught hiding by the stairs and eavesdropping, she would be dead even before the actual time, but thankfully, Don Grander and Monk were too engrossed in the whole conversation to even hear her.“I just want this to be over and done with so that Emily and I can finally go for that vacation. We have already missed our flight and she is breathing down my neck…it can be really frustrating,” Don Grander said to Monk.Then the two men stopped right close to Lily, making Lily more afraid.She needed to get away from this mansion before they either discovered that she was here, or that the papers were missing. As far as Lily knew, no one saw her come in except the security at the gate, and hopefully, she would be able to get out before Don Grander declares that anything is missing.“When she steals
“What?!” Lily was stunned and afraid and alert.Her mind instantly went to Monk and Don Grander’s threats that they would kill Joe if she failed on any of her tasks.“Yeah, and it was pretty weird. It made me feel uncomfortable,” Joe said over the phone.She could feel the discomfort in his voice, and Lily’s heart broke into more pieces. She even began to wonder how much heartache she could take at once.“I really wish you were here, Lily; I feel safe with you around,” Joe said warmly and sadly. “It has been over a year, and this is beginning to look creepy to me. Even Rudney does not exactly know where you are,” Joe admitted.Lily did not think that Joe would think too deeply about everything. She hadn’t even really been thinking about Joe and how her absence might have affected him. More tears dropped from Lily’s eyes in pain and regret. If only she could tell Joe exactly what was going on, but then again, she did not even have the liberty of brooding about that for so long, because
Lily felt like she had been hit with a ton of bricks at the harshness and cruelty of Christopher’s words, and when she managed to look into his eyes, she could see all the emotions right there.“Let me say what I came here to tell you, please,” Lily begged deeply.“How did you manage to bleed like a virgin when everyone knows that you are not, huh?” Christopher asked bitterly and angrily.Lily opened her mouth to say that it was because she was a virgin, but no words came out of her mouth, and Christopher mistook Lily’s inability to say the words as guiltiness.Christopher shook his head. “You are my worst mistake, Ashley, and I blame myself for not fighting this arrangement when I was told. After this party, you are going to return to your father’s house discreetly until this whole crap of a marriage is over; I never want to see your face again,” Christopher said firmly.Lily squeezed her eyes shut as the words sliced through her heart. She felt like Christopher had literally taken a
Lily could not wrap her head around everything that the old maid had revealed to her.Ashley Grander was alive, and no one knew!A tiny part of Lily was relieved that she was, because after all she had found out about her, it just didn’t sound fair that she would have been murdered. Indeed, she played her game well. Another tiny part of Lily wanted to see Ashley, the only girl in the world that looked almost like her, but according to what the old maid said, Ashley was in a far away country where no one knew her and with a new identity. She was living with the old maid’s distant relative, and to ensure that she is completely safe, she and the old maid had had to keep off communicating.Ashley Grander was smarter than anyone Lily had ever met.Thinking away from her now, Lily thought about herself. As much as she was relieved that Ashley wasn’t truly dead after all the evil that surrounded her, she had been the unfortunate person forced into living her life, doing her job, and cleaning
“What?” Lily was stupefied.She could not believe that she had been played so well, but then again, a lot of questions were already running through her mind. Now, nothing seemed clear and she needed it to be, so she sat back down again.“You knew from the beginning that I wasn’t Ashley,” Lily stated.It was a statement that required an answered, a clarity of some sort.“Even if Ashley was truly dead, I would have known,” the old maid responded. “I raised her, you know,” she started as tears gathered in her eyes. “When her mother mysteriously and tragically passed, she was left in my care, and I loved and nurtured Ashley like she was my child. Do you know how heartbreaking it was for me to see her being constantly maltreated and punished?” The old maid asked.Lily could feel the raw pain in her heart as she spoke, and she shuddered at it.She would never be able to grasp the life of the wealthy and powerful. The more she thought she knew, the deeper the whole thing went. When she worke