Ashley’s POVFor a moment, Andreas just stared at me, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile—a real smile, the kind that made his eyes light up."You did it," he said softly, almost to himself. "You actually did it."I nodded, feeling the weight of the moment finally lifting from my shoulders. “So, you don’t have to worry about Veronica pulling out of the gala,” I said, my words rushing out as the relief of the situation started to settle in. “But you’ll still need to reach out to her secretary to schedule a time to meet, you know, formally discuss everything.”I kept talking, rambling on about the logistics, trying to focus on anything but the way my heart has started to race thanks to Andreas’ undivided attention on me. My thoughts were still running a mile a minute when, suddenly, Andreas closed the distance between us in one swift movement. I froze, my breath catching as his arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a tight hug. His warm
Ashley’s POVThe highlight of the gala had to be the look on Adam’s face when Andreas and I returned to the party. His usual smugness was nowhere to be found. Instead, his mouth pressed into a thin line, his nostrils flaring slightly as he turned away from the group he had been chatting with. He cut a quick glance at Veronica, who caught sight of Andreas and me approaching. She offered a warm smile, her eyes brightening with interest as she moved to greet us."Good to see you, Andreas," Veronica said smoothly, her voice low as though sharing a secret. "I hope you're feeling better now?" The inquiry about his health was subtle, and I appreciated her discretion.Andreas, ever the master of composed indifference, gave her a small smile and a curt nod. "Much better, thank you for asking and for agreeing to give us an audience," he said, though I noticed the brief flicker in his eyes, the faint tightening of his jaw as though holding back the weariness threatening to creep in.Veronica’s s
Ashley’s POVLeaving the table with a polite excuse—something about needing to say goodbye to Faye—was more of a necessity than a desire. Thomas's lingering stares had grown unbearable, each glance from him feeling like a weight pressing down on me, reminding me of his words the last time we’d been in the presence of each other. The moment I stood, I could feel his eyes on my back, and I wondered how he didn’t even care that his wife was right beside him while he was making those not so subtle glances at me. I had to get away, at least for a moment.Faye, bless her, didn’t question my sudden appearance by her side. She simply smiled, her eyes twinkling with something knowing, and leaned in close to whisper, “I’m going to introduce you to a few people. They were…friends with Ashton.”The word friends felt strange. I knew Ashton would have friends, she was the popular twin after all but besides Faye, I hadn’t been expecting to meet any of them. I followed Faye’s lead, smiling and noddi
Ashley’s POVI didn’t even realize when I drifted off, but the shrill sound of my alarm snapped me awake. My phone screen flashed, reminding me of today—my friendship anniversary with Liv. A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips. The one constant in my life, even through all this madness, had been Liv. I quickly typed out a message, "Happy friendship anniversary, babes. Do you have time? Should we meet for lunch?" and hit send.Sitting up, I felt an odd sense of urgency, like today was different. Maybe it was because it might be my last day here—my last day pretending to be someone I wasn’t, and my last day in this mansion that was both beautiful and suffocating. I headed to the bathroom, deciding to take extra care getting ready. My reflection stared back at me, and for a moment, I hardly recognized the woman in the mirror. I looked very different from the woman that had first come into the mansion; timid, unsure and worried about her eccentric sister. I looked different, but
Ashley’s POVI hadn’t lasted up to fifteen minutes with Liv at the restaurant she had picked for our friendship anniversary before Liv sniffed out that something was wrong. The restaurant was bustling with laughter and chatter, the air filled with the comforting aroma of food, but all I could focus on was the weight of the novel pressing against my side through my bag.“Okay, spill,” Liv said, leaning in closer, her hazel eyes narrowing with concern. “What’s wrong?”I tried to muster a smile, but it felt forced, like trying to put together a puzzle with missing pieces. “I’m fine, Liv. Just… a little tired.”Her brow arched skeptically. “Tired? You look like you just walked through a ghost town. You’re avoiding eye contact, and your hands are shaking. What’s really going on? I know you said you wanted to hang out, but we can just head back to my place and order in if being outside is too much for you right now.”I sighed, knowing I couldn’t keep it to myself any longer. I reached into m
Ashley’s POVJust as my hand hovered over the phone, ready to answer, the call ended abruptly. My heart thudded in my chest, the silence in its wake even louder. I glanced up at Liv, and she was already staring back at me, her eyes wide and calculating. I could almost see the gears turning in her head, mirroring my own frantic thoughts.Maybe this wasn’t just a prank. Maybe it wasn’t just a harmless delivery or a mistake. The phone call—the timing—something about it was off. And now, the weight of that realization hung between us like a thick fog.“What are you thinking?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, but I didn’t really need to ask. Liv was thinking the same thing I was.“This is getting weird,” Liv said, leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “It’s not just the book anymore, Ash. You said you got a call earlier, right after the package came, and now this? There’s no way it’s a coincidence.”I swallowed hard, nodding. My throat felt tight, like
Ashley’s POVI blinked, confusion washing over me. “Wait—Andreas is coming too?”“Yes. It’ll be the three of us,” Alfred replied, his voice crisp, like he was laying out a simple, irrefutable fact. Before I could respond or ask more questions, he added, “I’ll send the details shortly. Don’t worry.”And then, before I could even open my mouth to reply, the call ended. The abruptness of it left me staring at the phone, feeling a growing pit of dread in my stomach.Don’t worry? That was exactly what I was doing. The way he’d said that Andreas would be joining us, combined with his insistence that I didn’t need to inform him—it just didn’t sit right with me. What was this really about?I slowly lowered the phone, meeting Liv’s questioning gaze. “What happened?” she asked, leaning forward, her concern palpable.I shook my head, feeling a bit dizzy from the conversation. “Alfred wants to have dinner with me. With Andreas too.”Liv’s brow furrowed, her lips pressing into a thin line. “That d
Ashley’s POVLiv, bless her, had stayed with me the whole afternoon. She knew I was a wreck after Alfred’s call—who wouldn’t be? He had that way of making every word feel like a trap, every silence like a loaded gun. So, to keep my mind off things, Liv had taken me to her office, dug up a pile of old notebooks, dust settling on their covers, each filled with story ideas I had long abandoned with her and promised to look through before since everything got flipped upside down.“Look at these!” she said, flipping open one with a faded cover. “These used to be your world, Ash. Let’s dive in. It’ll be good for you.”I wanted to tell her it was pointless. Those stories had been abandoned for a reason—how could I care about characters and plot twists when my own life felt like one big lie? But she insisted, and I didn’t have the heart to refuse. So, we sat there, flipping through pages and laughing over half-baked ideas. Liv’s presence was calming, and for a few hours, I almost forgot about