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 left the office with the intention of confronting Don Grander. He already knew that Don Grander would be at the men’s club wasting his time away, and he went straight there. Christopher could tolerate anything, but being fooled was not one of them.When Christopher arrived at the men’s club, his phone rang before he could step out of his car. Christopher looked at the screen and saw that it was Aimee Landon.“Aimee, what is it?” Christopher asked instantly. He did not want to waste any time talking on the phone.“I just wanted to let you know that the date for the interview has been fixed, and the questions your interviewer would ask are ready,” Aimee informed Christopher over the phone.“What about Ashley, are her questions ready as well? I don’t want any mistakes, Aimee,” Christopher stated firmly.“Yes, they are, sir,” Aimee answered. “I will send them to your email. You have about a day to go through them, and if there are any questions you would like her to change, c
Christopher decided that the first thing he would do when he got home was to remove the punishment he placed on Ashley by asking her to return to their bedroom.“I can only figure things out when I have her within eyesight,” Christopher said to himself.As Christopher sat at the back of his expensive car while his driver and bodyguard drove him home, his mind drifted back to about a year ago when his father’s lawyer, Benedict, had informed him about his father’s arrangement with Don Grander right after Christopher’s father’s death and his takeover as heir and CEO to the company.“Christopher, can I have a moment?” Benedict, a man who happened to be the same age as Christopher’s father and his lawyer for decades, had said.There had been mourners and well-wishers in the Bridger living room, because they had all just returned from the funeral. Christopher and everyone else present were putting on black, and as Christopher raised his head to look at Benedict, he wondered what the man wou
Christopher just kept ruminating over that very day on his father’s funeral. Maybe if he had stood his ground and firmly said no, or better still, fight against the agreement in court, he would probably not be in this situation in the first place. Christopher could not explain how much he hated Don Grander, way before now, and to think that he would be his father-in-law for one year was too excruciating to bear.Christopher wanted to scream.That particular day had been the beginning of his problems, and now he felt like a fool for succumbing to it even though Benedict showed a legal agreement between his father and Don Grander.Christopher arrived home a couple of minutes later. He would ask Ashley to return to the bedroom they were supposed to be sharing, so that he could have access to do his own personal investigation on her.“Welcome back, Mr. Christopher,” Maggie greeted Christopher.The way she stood indicated that she had been waiting for him for a while now, and he wondered
Lily heard voices downstairs, and she knew already that it was Christopher, even though she did not hear him drive in.His mansion was like an estate; so large that it was almost impossible to hear when anyone drives in.She had been contemplating going downstairs, but she changed her min. Something just felt awkward, and Lily began to smell trouble, but she could not tell what it was. It was just like when she was a little girl; she always knew when her parents were mad at her and intended to either scold or punish her when she had done things that she shouldn’t have done even without seeing them.Anyway, Lily did not have to worry for long, as Christopher barged into her room, almost pulling out the door in the process. Lily jumped in shock.“Ashley!” Christopher barked the same time that he barged into the room.For the very first time, Lily saw an enraged Christopher, and fear gripped her. It was as though she was being faced with an angry lion that was ready to eat her up alive.
Lily woke up much later feeling light-headed. She didn’t understand what happened. The only thing Lily remembered is that when Christopher had scared the shit out of her, she had passed out.Then Lily heard some voices and when she turned, she saw Christopher and a strange man who seemed like a doctor talking.“What exactly happened to her?” Christopher was asking the doctor.“I have looked at her vital signs, but nothing seems to be wrong with her,” the doctor said. He sounded worried and somewhat confused.“Are you sure? I have never heard of someone passing out just like that,” Christopher said.“Beats me too, Mr. Bridger, trust me,” the doctor said.Lily bit her lower lip with her upper teeth; she was in a deep trouble. How would she explain passing out just because she and Christopher had an intense confrontation, because what if Ashley Grander was never known to pass out? Lily was greatly troubled. Christopher was already doubting her identity, and although he barely knew Ashley
Thankfully, Lily was no longer grounded, so she could actually stop Rudney from destroying her life before he went ahead with his plan. It was even a good thing that she spoke with Joe the day she did otherwise, they would all be doomed.So Lily grabbed Ashley’s phone and sent a quick text to Rudney, saying “Meet me up at that spot where we usually go to clear our head in an hour time. Please, do not call me; just be there.” Lily knew that even without including her name, Rudney would know that she was the sender. They were so close that they both had a garden where they usually went to clear their head on their off-days. It was Lily who discovered the quiet garden at a time in her life where guilt, regret, and her past trauma were eating her up. The garden was usually quiet and deserted and it brought untold peace to Lily’s soul. So when she and Rudney became close and Lily discovered that he also had things he was dealing with, she decided to show him the garden.When they were bot
“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
After Lily left Don Grander’s house, she could not afford to go back to Christopher’s mansion. There was still Hedge’s threat hanging over her head, but now, even Christopher’s life, reputation, and company are at stake here.Lily did not want anything to happen to Christopher Bridger at all.Then something struck Lily; to use Ashley’s phone to get across to the old maid! Why didn’t she even think of that all this while? She could not believe that she had allowed something as helpful as that escape her memory. She did not have enough time now, as the weekend event is just a few weeks away. Lily knew that Hedge wasn’t joking when he made a threat to Christopher’s life, because if he could release the sex video he had of Ashley, then he could certainly try to kill Christopher.The thought of it sent shivers down Lily’s spine.Thankfully, the old maid’s phone rang, and Lily waited with desperate anticipation for her to pick up.“Please pick up. Please pick up,” Lily prayed, and eventuall
Lily could not stop thinking about what she read and the possibility of what might be. The thought of it made her really scared and confused.Was Ashley’s body found? What truly happened that made Don Grander and Emily believe that their daughter was dead?These questions disturbed Lily’s mind as Christopher’s driver drove her to Don Grander’s house. She would have loved to ask Don Grander these questions, but she knew him too well now. She knew that talking to him about it would raise suspicions, and if it did, he might want to get rid of her. The only person that Lily could have been able to ask without fear was the old maid, but she had been fired, and Lily did not know where to find her.“I have to find her by every means possible,” Lily told herself.Don Grander had to be the worst parent that Lily had ever known. How could a man treat his own daughter like that? Lily’s father might be dead, but when he was alive, he loved, provided for, and fiercely protected their mother along
Lily went to the guestroom and pondered greatly. So after everything, Christopher meant it when he said he was going to reinstate Aimee, and not just that, he had picked her to plan an event as important as this one.Lily knew how important this was to Christopher, because she went with him on the business trip and she knew everything that happened there…or almost everything, and yet, it was Aimee Landon he chose.“What is it with him and Aimee?” Lily asked herself.She was frustrated, but she was downright jealous. Lily’s heart ached just thinking about it, and now, tears filled her eyes. She would never mean anything to a man like Christopher Bridger, whether as Ashley Grander or Lily Bashwood. Deep down, Lily wished that Christopher would at least like her, that is Bashwood’s daughter, but that was only a wild dream.Unfortunately, when Lily wasn’t even hoping to, she had fallen for Christopher Bridger.Why wouldn’t she fall in love with him? Christopher was the only man aside from
Lily woke up in a different mood; Hedge’s threat was still hanging over her head, and she did not know the right approach to it, and then there was this business thing that Christopher asked her to get prepared for.Lily did not want to be a part of it whatsoever, majorly because of the presence of Mr. Yang, but she really did not have a choice. Ever since Don Grander kidnapped her and forced her into this life, she had not done anything of her own volition. Maybe she would just find something a little fitting and throw on, because her mind wasn’t really on it, or maybe she would feign sickness on that day to excuse her from attending.The landline in Christopher’s house rang, and Lily wondered if she should pick or not. It barely ever rang, so she could hardly tell. At the end of the day, Lily decided to ignore it, because she did not want to mess things up for Christopher, just in case she wasn’t supposed to take the call.A few minutes after the landline stopped ringing, Ashley’s p
“Miss Aimee, your attention is required in the boardroom,” Christopher’s new secretary said to Aimee.Aimee had arrived at work in a jolly mood, certain that she had been able to manage every situation to the best of her knowledge. She was not even bothered about Derek, because she knew that he would be so busy fighting to win Trisha’s love back to even think of him.“Such an asshole,” Aimee cussed. “Who the heck falls in love with someone they ought to have killed?” Aimee scoffed.She should have known that Derek was incapable of tasks such as the ones she required of him. Anyway, Aimee was thinking about finding a more capable person that would carry out tasks without questions, delay, or even falling in love, when she got the message.“In the boardroom, right now?” Aimee asked, wanting to be sure if she heard correctly. Since Christopher demoted her without a conscience, she had not been asked to come to the boardroom, knowing that only the senior staff members were allowed in ther