ASHLEY… I could feel my heart shatter into unfixable pieces, for a second time in my life I loved a man that doesn't love me back. I was such a fool to think his affection towards me was because he felt love, damn it Ashley! I tugged hard on my hair, hoping to rip it apart and not feel any pain. I should have believed it when I was told love brings pain, nothing else. My hands were placed on the wall, guiding me towards Dante's bedroom and I pushed the door open to inhale his cologne. I stepped inside with my eyes peering around the room, the memories of our happy moments, the laughter, the sex, the angry moments, the fights, kept flashing right before my face. It felt as though everything was happening in reality but it was just my past. Relieving myself out of the trance I was in, my hands raked through Dante's closet and I took out my favourite white shirt. It belonged to him but I found myself falling deeper in love whenever he's drapped with it. I brought his shirt closer
DAVID…"Finally the man of the moment I've been waiting for has finally arrived, what took you so long David?" I heared a voice behind me, walking towards me with reproaching footsteps but I didn't look back with my eyes glued at the window."I was contemplating on if I should show up or not but then I realised it would be for the best if I think logically instead of irrationally" I responded, turning my gaze to Tina who was sitting down on the sofa and I smirked."Obviously you would, you're a cunning man and I'm aware your presence here has something you need to benefit from" Tina said"Don't waste my time, get straight to the point and tell me why you called to meet me so late at night?" I fired back, my body leaning against the window"Dante brought some intimate photos of I and him on bed together, he literally threw it on my face and accused me of tarnishing his image in front of Ashley despite knowing we haven't been intimate" Tina explianed and I squinted my eyes at her"What!
ASHLEY…For the uptenth time, I glanced towards my phone as I released a sigh of frustration.I didn't want to pick any calls, I wanted to be in a world of my own, far away from anything that would cause me pain.With anger burning inside of me as though it were a volcano ready to erupt, I marched towards my phone and picked up the call.I was ready to lash out at the caller not untill the words I heared brought me off guard that I didn't realise when my phone dropped to the floor.I staggered behind to get myself in control but the words kept ringing in my ear, without checking on anyone or telling anyone about my disappearance, I stormed out of the house.I arrived at the police station, searching for Tina who informed me over the phone but then I saw a man being led in with handcuffs and a mask draped over his face.I quickly ran towards the cops who were holding him and I removed the mask off the person's face only to reveal Dante whose eyes gazed into mine and I clamped a hand on
ASHLEY… "Are you out of your senses? how dare you ask me to marry a psychopath like you, such guts!" I reprimanded him, Vicenzo's face was burning in outmost rage as he balled his fists together. "I'm not here to listen to what you want, you must do as I say in order to save your beloved. Can't you do this much for the man you claim to love, less I forget he doesn't love you back" he mocked at me "You can get any girl to get married to, why must it be me? which human in his right state of mind would his brother's love interest's hand in marriage" I asked with a feeling of nervousness, my heart was breaking into two "Because you're my key to Dante's ultimate destruction, think about it with a sane mind. Will you accept to get married to me or watch him get hanged to death?, I'm sure you're aware of the punishment for a murder case?" Vicenzo said, twisting his car keys in his hands and I stood numb staring at him like a mute spectator. Flashes of Dante being hanged or shot to death
DANTE… My heart was thudding loudly, it felt as though it was breaking into little pieces especially when I had to see David and Ashley together. I was sure he must have blurted out the truth to Ashley, a secret which I've managed to hide for so long. A part of my life I never wanted to recall, and she might never see me the same way again. Why won't she understand whatever I did was to save her from him, David has always been a threat in my life and now seeing her with him irks the living hell out of me. I was so consumed in the underground work I had that I didn't realise David's aim was to get control over Ashley, I hate myself for being so helpless. "Sir please can you sign on this papers?" I heared a voice call out to me and I glanced to see one of the cops standing beside me. "What are those?" I asked in an authoritative tone, making sure to instill fear inside of him. That is who I am, a man that instills fear in people with his heart as cold as ice, a man that is ready
ASHLEY… "What are you doing in my house? and how the hell did you find out about my address!?" I bawled at Tina who pushed past me as resentment clouded my thoughts and rage seared through me. Slamming the door shut as I struggled against my anger, I moved towards her and I watched her peering around the living room before using my shirt which was laid on the couch to clean it then she sat on it. "It's not like you live in a luxurious mansion that no one is allowed to know your adress, your living room is so tiny and it can't match up to my bathroom" Tina mocked "Did you come here just to taunt me? If that's true it means you have all the time in the world so let's banter words at each other" I raised my voice at her, I was loosing every bit of my cool but I had to remain calm. "You shouldn't raise your voice at me, I'm sure the walls of this tiny house are weak and may fall due to such loud noises" "Really ma'am, then you may leave. I don't want my house falling on you because
DANTE…."It's you, I was about to leave so why are you staring at me in such a condescending manner?" Tina asked, drapping her seat belt over her body as her hands held onto her car steering.I sighed heavily, walking towards the driver seat and I opened it.Taking her unawares then I unbuckled her seatbelt and dragged her out of the car."You had better not raise your voice, I don't want Ashley to see us together. It's obvious you weren't about to leave because you were eaves dropping on our conversation" I blurted out as Tina struggled her body out of my hold."You're dumb Dante! has love clouded your brain that you can't think properly or see what's beyond you? look at the distance between Ashley's house and my car then you're standing here to spout nonsense" Tina lied as resentment festered in me.I knew she was spitting lies without any hesistations but what she didn't know was I had caught her in it and due to David's warnings I knew I needed to beware of her.Looking at her int
ASHLEY…"Racheal why have you called me here and what is this place?" I asked her as she kept dragging me to follow her behind."Didn't I tell you my reason over the phone and you rushed here immediatelym" Racheal countered"Yeah you did but you said you want me to help you shop some clothes, despite knowing I've always admired your dressing sense. You know all this better than me" I said and she turned to face me"Then why are you so impatient? don't you want to help me and from there we can spend more time with each other. I've missed you so much" she expressed, pulling me into a hug and I cringed away."You're never this nice to me and this place doesn't look like a shopping mall" I countered as she kept leading me on and pushed the door in front of us open as the lights got switched on, only to reveal Dante standing akimbo with a bright smile on his face.He was dressed in a casual wear, black cargo pants and a big nude shirt. His hair was styled and gelled behind just how I loved
Dante's POV…I was seated on the bed. My hands were on my forehead as the incident that transpired during the day flooded through my head.In as much as Ashley wanted the best for Aria, she ended up as the scapegoat. My eyes darted towards the closet, I stood up and moved closer to it.I opened the closet as my hands found a box then I unlocked it to see a diamond ring embedded with crystals.Being apart from Ashley for five years made me realize how much I loved her and how I wanted to make her mine forever.In order for her to be all mine, I knew I had to adorn her finger with a diamond ring. I instantly smiled to myself, wondering if that day would ever come.“You made a perfect choice dad, it's beautiful” I heard a familiar voice say and I turned to see Aria standing beside me with a bright smile plastered on her face.“Aria when did you get in here?” I asked, clearing my throat.“I got in here when I saw you lost in the beauty of the diamond ring you have gotten for mama” she rep
Ashley's pov…I stoodfrozen to the ground, my legs unable to move. My eyes were fixed on Aria and Dante as a sigh of relief escaped my lips, swooshing through my body.I noticed Aria was holding tightly onto a box which was sprawled on her thighs, while twisting her lip to the side and tapping her feet on the ground.The emotion of panic that I felt turned into anger as I snapped my focus to Dante, glaring hard at him.I was just about to curse at him when Aria called out to me, her voice filling the air.“Mama” Aria called out to me and my once angry demeanor turned into a calm one, seeing the bright smile displayed across Aria's face.“My baby, sweetheart, come to mama and wrap yourself in my arms” I called out, trying hard to compose myself as Aria rushed towards me.I noticed the glow of excitement on her face and I wondered what must have been the reason behind it. Just some hours back, she looked so hurt and broken from within.“Mama look what I have got in my hands” Aria inform
Ashley's pov…I hurriedly pushed through the gates of Aria's school, my heart beating in my chest with loud thuds.My bag which was hunger on my shoulder slipped out of my grasp, falling onto the floor. My composure hadn't been the same since I got an unexpected call from Aria's school.The principal informed me that Aria was involved in an altercation. At first I couldn't believe what my ears had heard but the scene I stormed into clarified my doubts.“I have a daddy” I heard Aria cry out, her eyes brimming with tears as she stood face to face with a taller girl.It seemed as though Aria was being bullied and the teachers watched the whole scenario unfold without saying a word.“Don't listen to her girls. She's just lying, if she has a daddy like she claims then let her answer our question” one of the girl who stood beside the taller girl queried, her voice laced with mockery.“Tell us Aria, where is your daddy? or perhaps did he abandon you and your mummy?” the taller girl asked, he
Ashley's pov…My eyes were set on the knife wrapped up in Dante hands. The sharp edge was close to my wrist, instilling fear inside of me.Without any hesistance, I tried to push Dante away, but his grip on me tightened. He held me firm, the knife finding it's sharp edge into my eyes.“What the heck do you think you're doing Dante?” I asked, my voice coming off in a loud thud.“You have eyes so I'll suggest you make better use of them. It's to your own advantage afterall” he replied, shrugging his shoulders at me.“Control your self Dante” I warned, my voice trembling in stutters. “You might slash me with the knife”“You should have known better before playing with such danger and this is what you want anyways. I'm here to help you kill yourself and once it's confirmed you're dead, I'll get the custody of Aria without any hassle” he said, his eyes gleamed with a sinister intent.Tears flowed down my cheeks without any control. Once again, I felt my whole world crumbling around me as I
ASHLEY'S POV…I jerked up with an instant fear residing inside of me. My heart racing in palpitations as I squirmed my eyes open to an unfamiliar room.Just then Aria's face flashed in my mind, and I panicked, almost jumping out of bed but then my gaze landed on a man whose back was turned against me.He stood still with legs apart, just as though he was a statue and I stared hard at him, my words finding it hard to spew out of my mouth."Who are you?" I demanded, my words freely flowing out of my mouth with my gaze still fixated on the man standing with his back turned against me. MyThere was no response from him. I was met with total silence but what made me believe it wasn't a statue in front of me was the way he kept tapping his shoes on the ground and he thrusted his hand into his pocket.At that moment Jaye filled my thoughts and I wondered if the man in the room was ordered to watch over me by Shaun and Jaye?If my instincts were indeed true, then I would have to look for a wa
Ashley's POV..."I've apologized for what I did to you, so it isn't right for you to entrap me in a corner," I said, trying to sound calm despite the fact I was shivering in fear.Shaun cornered me, his body towering over me and his manly cologne filling my nostrils, and I turned my face to the side.“Look at me, baby. Have I done anything to offend you?” Shaun mocked, placing his finger under my chin as he raised my face up.I looked into his eyes, which gleamed with lustfulness, and I balled my fists tightly as fear engulfed my entire body.“Someone might see us, Shaun, so come back to your senses. I bet you don't want to ruin your reputation as a businessman because of a woman like me,” I said softly.“I'm aware you aren't in my league of women. You're so low in life, but I can't deny the fact that I'm attracted to your body. I mean, you're so hot,” Shaun said, smacking my ass, then he rubbed my lips.I threw my face away in disgust. I wasn't interested in what he was doing, and my
ASHLEY'S POV.“I just want to help you clean up the mess I have created; please let me do it,” I urged, sauntering closer to Shaun, but he pushed me away as I let out a scream, falling to the side.Jaye grabbed my waist as I held onto my stamina, then he pulled me closer to him.“I said don't touch me! Don't you easily understand words?” Shaun screamed at me, his eyes almost turning red as he flashed it at me.I gulped down hard, shivering in fear as I noticed his face was red with rage.“At least you should know better how to treat a woman, Shaun,” Jaye chirmed in.I held his hand tightly, looking into his eyes, and I shook my head, but he just gently brushed my hand aside.I didn't want him to stand up for me. It was my carelessness, and I wanted to resolve it all on my own.“What you said also applies to you. Why do you even hire such an irresponsible waitress? She messed up my outfit for the day,” he cursed out, glaring at me, and I bowed down my head.“I'm sorry. I didn't do it o
Ashley's Pov…We arrived at the hotel as I smiled at Jaye, helping him adjust his tie. “I wish you nothing but good luck in your meeting,” I said, trying to sound encouraging."Saying those words is really not needed, because you are my good luck charm, and I believe I will accomplish my task,” Jaye replied, his eyes gleaming with confidence as I used my teeth to bite lightly on my tongue.“I love a confident man,” I voiced out, my face lit up in happiness.“You've got him all to yourself," he answered back, shrugging his hands in the air, and I chuckled at his words.“Really? I never knew I was that lucky, Mr. Jaye," I teased, getting a flirtatious wink from him."That's enough of joking around for the moment. Please make yourself comfortable, and I'll make my way to the meeting, and once I'm done, I'll come to get you.”“I will make myself feel comfortable, but not when I haven't fulfilled my purpose of accompanying you,” I said, my voice laced with a hint of teasiness."What do you
Ashley's Pov…“Don't come any closer to me, Jaye. I'm getting scared,” I warned, my finger pointed at him as I took a few steps backwards.His lips were slightly parted as he pulled his lower lip into his mouth, licking it off."Ashley," he called out. "Firstly, you must take a deep breath, then calm down and listen to me,” he suggested, moving forward with a step. I shook my head at him, slightly confused at his behavior as fear engulfed me.“I said don't come any closer, Jaye!" I screamed out loudly, my elbow bruising against the wall in a hard manner as I yelped in pain.Tears began to well in my eyes. I blew air on my elbow to ease the pain I was feeling at that moment."Please, you have to listen to me. I'm not going to harm you,” he said with his hands raised up in akimbo."How do you expect me to believe you when you're acting so weirdly?” I inquired, trying to keep my shaky voice steady.“I love you, Ashley, and the fact that you don't love me back is driving me insane. I'll l