Chapter 10: The skin of a tiger

Ashley’s POV

When this weekend ended, I was going to sit Ashton down and ask her a couple of questions about how she met Andreas and why she married into this family.

As a writer, I’d read tons of novels about how complex the family dynamics of the wealthy could be, and right from dinner, I'd suspected that the rivalry between the Thorne siblings would be cutthroat, but the last thing I expected was for Alfred Thorne to not bat an eyelid about it.

Perhaps I was overreacting but if I was told that Ashton was in the woods with a wrongly marked map—no matter how badly I planned to pull her ears once I got a hold of her for misleading me into this swap with little to no information and leaving me high and dry, her phone unreachable—I would call off the entire hunt and send people into the woods to find her, or I'd even go myself, which was exactly what I decided to do now. I might not like Andreas, or understand what exactly was happening in his marriage to my sister but he was my sister’s husband and I couldn't just sit here if I knew I could do something.

"I'm going to take a horse and go into the woods to find Andreas," I announced, my voice firm.

Annabel was the first to speak, her eyes wide and voice laced with concern. "Ashley, that's too dangerous."

Sansa, who had finally decided to look up from her nails shook her head gently, "You should let the men handle it. We're better off here, waiting for them. We do something like this every year so they should be fine."

I was about to respond when Amarinth rolled her eyes, "This is your first holiday with us, so I understand your zeal to act like a caring wife but you're being dramatic now. You on a horse in the woods? I thought you were too scared to break a nail."

Narrowing her eyes at Amarinth, I wondered what kind of personality my twin sister must have presented for this assumption. After all, we had both grown up on a ranch with our aunt and grandmother after our parents died, honing our skills as horseback riders and even learning to use a gun. It was a very different life from the pampered image Ashton often projected to the rest of the world, and I used to judge her for trying to act like we weren't from modest beginnings, but with this kind of family, I couldn't blame my sister for wanting to maintain a certain facade.

Alfred finally spoke, her voice carrying a note of finality. "If they don't return after the specified time, search parties have already been put in place. All you have to do is wait."

Margaret nodded taking a sip of her drink before adding, "If you still insist on going into the woods, then by all means, proceed."

The entire waiting time felt like an eternity. Meals and snacks were served, but nothing could distract me from her growing anxiety every time I looked at the forest.

”Andreas will be fine, Ashton,” Annabel whispered, handing me a glass of wine. I knew that she was trying to pacify me, but at least that was more emotion than the others had shown concerning the matter.

Just as the time elapsed, Adam returned first, heading to the horse stand and walking towards his father with a bow. He raised what looked to be cut-out animal skin from the black nylon in his grasp, "I caught an antelope,” he announced, his eyes shining with self-pride.

Alfred nodded, just as Sansa gestured towards the empty seat beside her for Adam.

Looking towards the woods again, my hackles rose when the next person to emerge from the woods wasn't Andreas but Thomas. He announced triumphantly, "I caught a boar," and presented a similar trophy in a black nylon. Amarinth squealed in excitement, running towards her husband as he dismounted. But I noticed that his eyes searched until they landed on me, a glint of something calculated gracing his features.

 Wondering if I was just imagining his lingering stares at me since I arrived here, I looked away, rising to my feet, "I'm heading into the woods now," I stated, folding up the map.

Annabel rose to her feet, “ Then I’m going too.”

Margaret scoffed, her hand reaching out to pull her daughter back into her seat, “You’re not going anywhere, Anna.”

“But mother…”

The neigh of a horse had me turning faster than lightning in the direction of the woods to see Andreas emerge from the forest on his horse, riding towards us. A surge of relief washed over me, and my cheeks reddened with embarrassment, wondering if I had overreacted by wanting to go into the woods but as he drew nearer, I realized that perhaps my worry was not unfounded.

When he dismounted, the first thing I noticed was his blood-stained shirt. A shiver ran down my spine as his eyes locked with mine. Dipping his hand into the nylon he held, he brought out his trophy, and my breath caught in my throat. I was certain that I heard someone gasp. It was the stripped skin of a tiger.

Adam's face paled visibly, while Amarinth's glare sharpened. Alfred, however, seemed unperturbed.

A huge accomplished smile graced his lips. "We should send out search parties to retrieve the animals and prepare for our feast tonight," he announced, his voice carrying a note of satisfaction.

Looking at all of Alfred’s children, I realized what this hunt was truly about. It was a game, an attempt to prove who was the better and curry Alfred’s favour. Andreas’ route was intentionally sabotaged and Alfred didn't care because he wanted him to prove that he was worthy of being chosen as successor.

“Told you not to worry about him,” Annabel whispered, standing beside me and I merely nodded, my mouth slightly parted in awe and fear as my eyes locked with Andreas’.

There was a raw intensity in his eyes, a glint that told me that whoever messed with this man would be burned. Swallowing hard, I prayed to God to get me through the rest of the weekend because I didn't want to know what would happen if he found out that I wasn't the woman he married, but her timid twin.