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Chapter 60: Loose footing
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The Wife Swap Chapter 61: A promise
Ashley’s POVAs we pulled into the driveway, the familiar outline of the house loomed ahead, its shadow stretching long across the fading light. The car engine shut off, and the silence that followed felt like a weight pressing down on my chest. I swallowed, trying to push it down, but the lump in my throat stayed stubbornly lodged.I didn't want to be alone tonight.But asking Andreas to stay with me until I fell asleep was not an option. Infact it felt like stepping too far into dangerous territory. He wasn’t my comfort. He was Ashton’s husband, even if it had been an arrangement. I couldn’t forget his reaction when he discovered the truth about the swap, his words stinging like knives and cutting deep.Yet now, in this moment, the idea of walking into upstairs—into Ashton’s room, her space after having t try to come to terms with the revelation that she might be dead—made the ground beneath me feel unstable.The air inside the car was thick with tension, but neither of us spoke. I
The Wife Swap Chapter 62: One more farce
Ashley’s POVI kept scrolling mindlessly, my finger moving on autopilot as I cycled through the endless clips. Nothing was registering anymore—just faces, bodies, the blur of people going about their lives.I was just about to accept that perhaps Ashton hadn’t come to the airport after all, then, I froze.My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the screen, my heart pounding in my ears. There she was—Ashton. Her face. Clear as day, staring directly into the camera. My body went cold, and for a second, I couldn’t move, couldn’t even blink.It was her.I wanted to scream, to cry, to reach through the screen and grab her, pull her back into my world. But my body refused to cooperate. I just stared, unblinking, as if the act of looking away would erase her from existence.She was here. She had been at the airport.Which meant...My chest tightened, squeezing so hard I thought I might suffocate. If she didn’t board the flight, maybe she was still out there somewhere. But if she did...
The Wife Swap Chapter 63: the promise
Ashley’s POVI kept scrolling mindlessly, my finger moving on autopilot as I cycled through the endless clips. Nothing was registering anymore—just faces, bodies, the blur of people going about their lives.I was just about to accept that perhaps Ashton hadn’t come to the airport after all, then, I froze.My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the screen, my heart pounding in my ears. There she was—Ashton. Her face. Clear as day, staring directly into the camera. My body went cold, and for a second, I couldn’t move, couldn’t even blink.It was her.I wanted to scream, to cry, to reach through the screen and grab her, pull her back into my world. But my body refused to cooperate. I just stared, unblinking, as if the act of looking away would erase her from existence.She was here. She had been at the airport.Which meant...My chest tightened, squeezing so hard I thought I might suffocate. If she didn’t board the flight, maybe she was still out there somewhere. But if she did...
The Wife Swap Chapter 64: The discussion
Ashley’s POVAndreas glanced at his watch. “Give me a few minutes to get dressed. Meet me in the foyer in twenty?”I nodded, though the idea of waiting felt like an eternity. “Sure. I’ll see you then.”As I turned to leave the gym, I could still feel the weight of the conversation pressing down on me. I needed this break, this brief escape from the tension of the house and the unresolved feelings that were threatening to overwhelm me. I walked quickly down the hall, my steps echoing in the empty corridor.My mind was a storm of thoughts as I made my way to my room. I needed to prepare for the meeting with Liv. The thought of discussing the situation with her, someone who knew me well, was both a comfort and a daunting task. I had so much to unpack, so many emotions to navigate. But for now, I had to focus on getting through breakfast with Andreas, even if it was going to be difficult.When I finally reached my room, I took a deep breath, trying to calm the flutter of anxiety in my che
The Wife Swap Chapter 65: Unspoken tension
Ashley’s POVSitting across from Andreas in the crowded café, I had thought the chatter of strangers and the clinking of cups would diffuse some of the awkwardness that had lingered between us after the gym. But there we were, in a public space, and the tension hadn’t dissipated. If anything, it felt more pronounced, like an invisible cord stretched taut between us.I reached for the menu at the same time as Andreas, our hands brushing, and I jerked mine back as though his touch had burned me. A nervous chuckle escaped before I could stop it. "You can, um, order for us if you want," I said, trying to sound casual, but my voice came out thin, almost breathless. I quickly glanced around, hoping the room's noise would swallow up the weird energy buzzing between us.He didn’t meet my eyes, just nodded stiffly. "Sure," he murmured, barely looking at the menu as he gestured for the waiter.I bit my lip, feeling my cheeks flush for reasons I couldn’t explain. Maybe I was imagining this. Mayb
The Wife Swap Chapter 66: Crossing Lines
Ashley’s POV"I know you want to believe she’s still out there," I added softly, my voice barely above a whisper. "And it's quite commendable of you to be this supportive and willing to help solve this matter even though you and her aren't really married but if there’s anything I know about Ashton, it’s that she never would have left me hanging this long."Andreas inhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. "I get that," he said after a long pause. "But what we have now is a just a high probability, not certainty and I don't now if I can work with that."I closed my eyes for a second, feeling the weight of his words. I understood that feeling. I understood the unwillingness to accept what was staring us both in the face. But holding on to hope was dangerous. It kept you in limbo, kept you from moving forward, even when the world was pushing you to.When I opened my eyes again, Andreas was watching me, his gaze softer than before. "I didn’t apologize because I feel like I have to," he said, h
The Wife Swap Chapter 1: Identical but nothing alike
Ashley’s POV"Oh, you are so lucky that you have an identical twin. What's it like?" The question, a tired chorus, rolled off the tongue of the woman sitting in the booth next to me at the coffee shop. If I had a dollar for every time I was asked this question, I could probably fulfill my deepest dream–to leave this bustling town and move to another continent where I would own a nice little cottage nestled amongst rolling hills in New Zealand. There, amid the quiet solitude, I could escape the constant comparisons, the expectations, and most importantly, the feeling of being perpetually overshadowed by my twin, Ashton Grey.When we were little, being Ashton's twin held a certain playful charm. We were masters of disguise, able to swap places seamlessly, driving our parents to the brink of exasperation with our elaborate pranks. Back then, our differences were subtle – mere nuances in personality that manifested in our clothing choices (I, a sucker for mismatched socks and oversized s
The Wife Swap Chapter 2: An unusual request
Ashley's POVMy jaw practically hit the tabletop as Ashton finished laying out her outrageous request. “You have got to be bullshitting me, Ashton. Is there a camera somewhere making a video of us? There has to be, right?” My sister remained silent as if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb on my lap and I had to look around to be sure that I wasn’t dreaming. "A weekend pretending to be you to visit your in-laws? Are you serious?"A forced laugh escaped Ashton's lips, devoid of any humor. "Deadly serious, Ash. This isn't some prank like the time we convinced Mrs. Henderson she was seeing double."The memory of that particular prank – complete with a strategically placed wig and a well-rehearsed limp – brought a reluctant smile to my face. But this situation felt vastly different, a world away from our childhood theatrics. Over the years, Ashton had perfected the art of the outrageous while I remained sane–quitting her stable job to backpack across Europe on a whim, that disastrous skydiv
Latest chapter
The Wife Swap Chapter 66: Crossing Lines
The Wife Swap Chapter 65: Unspoken tension
The Wife Swap Chapter 64: The discussion
The Wife Swap Chapter 63: the promise
The Wife Swap Chapter 62: One more farce
The Wife Swap Chapter 61: A promise
The Wife Swap Chapter 60: Loose footing
The Wife Swap Chapter 59: The cold hands of grief
The Wife Swap Chapter 58: Acceptance
