moment to break the news. That would be
better. Jason’s mom patted my hand and sighed
again. “Ashley, you’re a good girl. What
happened before… it was Jason’s fault. He
hasn’t said anything to me, but I know he feels
terrible. He regrets it.” “He loved you so much.
Losing the baby… how could he not be
heartbroken?” My stomach dropped. The baby..
That’s what had finally shattered their marriage
for good.
Yes, Ashley had been pregnant. She’d gotten
pregnant after Jason had too much to drink at
a business function, a situation she’d
orchestrated. It wasn’t exactly… planned. But
for Ashley, it was the ultimate weapon to keep
Jason by her side. When she found out she was
pregnant, Jason was torn. He felt guilty towards
Melissa, but he couldn’t abandon his own child.
In the end, he chose the baby. His own.
childhood had been tough enough; he didn’t
want his child to grow up in a broken home.
That was the closest he and Ashley had ever
<
been. He bought her vitamins, read parenting
books he was genuinely trying to be a good
dad. Which was why he’d been so furious when
Ashley deliberately miscarried. The whole thing.
was messed up. After finding out she was
pregnant, Ashley, sensing Jason’s change in attitude, started pushing her luck, wanting him around 24/7. Every time he tried to leave for work, she’d fake an illness, forcing him to stay. Jason wasn’t stupid. He saw through her act. One time, Ashley called him, claiming she had stomach pains and begging him to come home. But Melissa had a high fever, and Jason was at the hospital with her. He hadn’t gone home. “Ashley,” he’d said calmly over the phone, “haven’t you played the ‘boy who cried wolf‘ game enough?” That’s what pushed Ashley over
the edge. In a fit of rage, she went to the hospital and terminated the pregnancy. She wanted to show Jason that the wolf could
come. Unsurprisingly, their relationship
imploded. If Jason had disliked Ashley before,
now he hated her. He never set foot in their
<
of
nouse again, cutting oтт all contact. Until Asniey
confronted Melissa, pushing her down the
stairs. That was the final straw. Seriously, the
original Ashley was a master of self–sabotage. I
sighed. “It’s all in the past.” The original Ashley
was gone. It was over.
Leaving the nursing home, I felt a strange mix
for Jason’s mom,
of sadness and frustration
and for the woman whose life I was now living.
The frustration peaked when I realized I’d
locked my keys in the car. The book had said.
Ashley was manipulative and crazy, but it hadn’t
mentioned she was also a scatterbrain! I called
Chad. “Pick me up. Now.” Chad groaned. “Am I
your chauffeur now? On call 24/7?” “I’ll pay
you.” Chad: “…” The nursing home was in the
middle of nowhere; even getting a cab would be
a hassle. He grumbled, but he came. By the
time we got back to the mansion, it was dark
and pouring rain. Seeing the downpour, I took.
pity on Chad and let him crash in the guest
room. The next morning, the doorbell rang.
Seriously? Who the hell was ringing the doorbell
12:38
<
32
Seriously? Wo the hell was nyiny the doorverl
at this ungodly hour? I stumbled to the door,
half–asleep. “Who is it… Jason? What are you
doing here?” He opened his mouth to speak,
but just then, Chad appeared at the top of the
stairs, his voice thick with sleep. “Who is it?”
Jason’s face hardened. “It seems I’ve come at a
bad time. I’ll be going.”
Was
I rolled my eyes. You think? And seriously, what
with the attitude? This was my house! He
was the ex–husband. What right did he have to
be acting like a jealous boyfriend? He’d been
emotionally cheating on Ashley for years, and I
was the one being magnanimous by not
throwing it in his face. I turned to Chad. “It’s
nothing. Go back to sleep.” Chad, however,
seemed to have woken up completely. He
smirked. “We have a guest? How rude of me to
stay upstairs. Ashley, why don’t you invite Mr.
Stone in?” I groaned inwardly. See? I knew he’d
be a pain when he didn’t get enough sleep. I
ignored him and looked back at Jason, not
bothering to invite him in. I’d just finished
<
clearing out all his stuff. I didn’t want him
bringing his baggage back into the house and
making the housekeeper clean up after him
again. “What brings you here so early, Mr.
Stone?” Jason’s face turned a shade of green.
Chad’s little comment had clearly hit a nerve.
But he couldn’t say anything. Before, he
could’ve just ordered Chad to leave. Now… he
had less right to be here than Chad did. He
couldn’t even come inside. But men like Jason.
were good at hiding their feelings. He took a
deep breath, pointedly ignoring Chad, and
pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. “You left
these at Mom’s yesterday. She asked me to.
bring them to you.” Implying he was only here
because of his mother. “Oh, thanks,” I said,
taking the keys. “You really didn’t have to. I
have a spare.” Jason was speechless. I waited
a few seconds, then, losing my patience, I said
politely, “Anything else, Mr. Stone?” Jason
wasn’t stupid. He got the hint. He pressed his
lips together. “No…” Slam. I shut the door in
his face.
Chad watched from the stairs. “Don’t you think
you were a little harsh on your ex?” I raised an
eyebrow. “Why? What did you expect me to
do?” Chad leaned against the railing, arms.
crossed. “Nothing. Just… you seem awfully. cold towards him.” “Really? And your point is?”
Chad tapped his fingers on the banister. “You
don’t feel anything at all?” Feel what? Regret?
Like I should take him back? The thought was
laughable. “Actually, I do.” Chad straightened.
up, his eyes flickering with interest. I shrugged.
“I feel like I should’ve divorced him sooner..
Should’ve seen him for who he really was and
saved myself the trouble. What a waste of
time.”
Chad stared at me for a moment, then burst out
laughing. “Good for you, Ashley. Finally growing
a spine.” Encouraged, I grinned. “Oh, stop it.
I’m still learning from the master.” He, after all,
was the king of playing the field. Chad rolled his
eyes. “For the last time, those women meant
nothing to me.” I nodded quickly. “Sure. sure.
<
Mr. Playboy. Just a little harmless fun until your
meet ‘the one,‘ right?” Wasn’t that how all
these stories went? The reformed rake always found true love and settled down. Chad gave me a long–suffering look. “I knew I couldn’t reason with you.” He muttered something about me being clueless and went back to bed. I slept until the afternoon, waking up starving. My phone was blowing up with missed calls and texts from my parents. It didn’t take long to
–
figure out why they’d found out about the
divorce. “You divorced Jason?! What were you thinking?!” “We told you, his company is
booming! We were about to close a major deal with him! What are we supposed to do now?” “You’re a grown woman! How can you be so reckless? Divorcing him without a second thought! Don’t you care about anyone but yourself? You’re so selfish!” “I don’t have a daughter anymore!” The same old song and dance. I skimmed through the messages and then went downstairs in search of food.
“Something smells good!” I stared at the feast
laid out on the dinina room tabla and at Chad
<
