Ashley’s POV

CHAPTER 2

It's been an hour now since the rain stopped falling, and just like some miracle, the pain in my lower body had stopped with it, but not the one in my heart.

I was still sitting in front of the television even though it's been an hour since the news about Alvin hit.

Though the news had ended long ago and some random show was playing now, voices rising and falling, people laughing at things I couldn't even hear, but hell, I couldn't move from that spot.

I just stared blankly at the screen like somehow it could answer the question swirling in my head.

Why?

My fingers twitched slowly on the armrest of my wheelchair, nails pressing into the worn leather as I wondered.

Why would Alvin do something so cruel to me?

Why would he lie... deliberately ignore my pain just to please his best friend?

Was I really that meaningless to him now?

My chest rose slowly, then fell with every thought like something heavy was sitting on it.

Though I knew he was acting out of it recently, but this...

And to think... to think the money he was spending wasn't even his; it was mine.

Mine, from the inheritance my parents had left for me, and he was spending it recklessly while telling me things were going bad while refusing to give me money to buy my medications this morning.

At that, something broke inside me. My jaw tightened, my teeth pressing together so hard until it hurt.

This was it.

If this doesn't tell me how much disregard Alvin had for me, then nothing else would, and hell, I needed to do something about it; I needed to show him I wasn't a fool like he thought I was.

My hands gripped the wheels almost immediately, and without a second thought, I turned my wheelchair around and then exited the house.

The cold air outside hit me the moment I got out damp and heavy from the rain that had just stopped. The ground was still wet, and the smell of wet earth still lingered faintly in the air.

Sure, I knew where they were.

It was Elena's house.

I saw it in the video, and all I needed was to maneuver my way there somehow.

* * *

By the time I reached the villa, my arms were already aching from pushing the wheels, my palms already slightly sore, but I didn’t care.

The familiar gate of her mansion loomed before me, looking so tall and intimidating as I approached. The music was so loud and gave an idea of a really wild party going on inside.

I let out a soft exhale, then tightened my grip on the wheel of my chair, then pushed forward.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but you can’t come in.”

However, a security guard suddenly stepped in front of me just before I could pass the gate, his nose wrinkling slightly as he looked down on me like I was something unpleasant he'd stepped on.

I knew that look too well; it was one I'd been receiving ever since I ended up in this wheelchair, but as usual, I didn't care.

“I want to see my husband,” I snapped, my voice sharp despite the tremble in it. “What do you mean I can’t come in?”

He blinked, clearly thrown off by my outburst.

His lips parted like he wanted to say something but before he could—

“What’s going on here?”

That voice. Sickeningly soft and familiar suddenly filtered in from somewhere behind us.

My head snapped up at once, and I turned my wheelchair quickly, only to see her there.

Elena.

The bitch.

The moment her eyes landed on me, her face twisted, her lips curling in apparent disgust.

“Oh, look what the cat dragged in...if it isn’t the clingy little wife.”

Her voice sounding mocking and light, like this was amusing to her, but as usual, I ignored the jab, even though it burned.

“Where’s my husband?” My voice came out cold and clipped. No room for her nonsense.

She tilted her head slightly, a look of amusement dancing in her features. “What? Someone got bored sitting at home?”

“I said where is—”

“Lena, baby…”

My words died in my throat that instant just as the A voice, soft yet familiar, slithered in.

Something tightened in my chest at that moment because I remembered when once upon a time that sweet tone had also been used for me.

I turned, and as expected, it was Alvin. He was walking toward us, his steps relaxed, his face calm… until his eyes landed on me.

He froze.

“Ashley?”

The shock on his face the moment he saw me almost made me laugh; his brows pulled together, eyes scanning me quickly like he was trying to confirm if it was really me.

For a second, just a second, something in me waited. Waited for concern for any sign of remorse at least.

“So this is what you do now, huh, Alvin?” My voice cracked despite me trying to hold it together.

The shock disappeared from his face at that instant, replaced with something colder.

“The hell are you doing here?" He growled, pure anger and irritation flashing across his face. “Are you trying to embarrass me?”

The words hit like a slap.

My mouth fell open slightly, my chest tightening.

“Embarrass you?” I let out a shaky laugh that didn’t sound like mine. "Really, Alvin...now I’m embarrassing you?”

He just stared at me, his face still not showing any emotions or guilt.

“I remember asking you for money this morning,” I continued, my voice rising, trembling now. “You said you didn’t have any. I called you when I needed help, and you said you were in a meeting…”

My hands shook on the wheels.

“But you’re here. Partying. While I was at home… dying.”

He didn’t even flinch.

“So what?” he said flatly. “Just because something happened to you, I can’t have fun anymore?”

I blinked, my vision blurring.

“Was I supposed to run to you immediately like you’re a child?”

My breath hitched.

“Yes,” I whispered, then louder, “Yes, because I’m your wife! How can you choose your best friend over me?”

He scoffed, shaking his head slightly.

“You should understand something, Ashley,” he said, his tone turning impatient. “The world doesn’t revolve around you. Am I the first man whose wife got into an accident?”

Each word landed heavier than the last.

My chest ached so badly it felt like it might cave in.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Elena smirk, a quiet chuckle slipping past her lips, and heck, that hurt even more.

God.

I thought coming here would change something.

That seeing me… seeing what he had done… would make him feel something—remorse, guilt, or anything.

But no.

He still found a way to hurt me.

“So this is it, huh?” I sniffed, tears sliding freely now, my fingers tightening into fists. “This is how little I mean to you… just because I became like this?”

He exhaled sharply, clearly annoyed.

“Look, I don’t have time for this,” he said, glancing past me like I was already dismissed. “As you can see, I’m in the middle of a party. When I get home, we’ll talk. For now, leave… and stop causing a scene.”

With that, he turned to leave just like that, like I was nothing, like I wasn't his wife but a client whom he was dismissing.

Something snapped inside me at that instant and before I could help it.

“I’m not an embarrassment!” I shouted, my voice breaking. “I’m your wife, you bastard!”

A few heads turned at the outbursts, and the whispers followed afterwards. I saw it.

Yet again, the way people stared at me, the judgment in their eyes, like I was something out of place.

“You heard him,” Elena said smoothly, folding her arms as she looked down at me. “Leave. Your chair is already drawing too much attention.”

Her lips curved slightly.

“Guards, throw her out.”

Before I could react, rough hands grabbed my wheelchair, and the next second, I was outside.

The moment the gates shut behind me, something inside my chest collapsed.

God…

What kind of life was this?

Tears blurred my vision as I pushed the wheels forward, my hands trembling.

Alvin wasn’t always like this.

He wasn’t this cold from what I could remember.

But then he changed so drastically after the accident—an accident that I still couldn't remember how it happened. All I knew was that it left a deep scar in my life.

A light drizzle started again, tiny drops hitting my face, mixing with my tears.

My vision blurred; as a result, I didn't stop.

I couldn't care.

Hell, nothing could shatter me more than what the man I love just did.

My hands pushed the wheels, again and again, my head in a muzzle, my body trembling.

I didn't even notice vwhen I rolled into the main road.

Not until—

A loud horn blasted through the night air.

My head snapped up sharply just as the bright headlights blinded me.

I screamed, panic and terror tangling in my car all at once, and as if it were some miracle, the car screeched to a halt immediately, stopping just inches away from me.

My heart pounded violently in my chest.

But then—

Everything shifted; it was as if the near-accident awakened something inside me, and before I knew it, memories, ones I never knew I had, flooded inside my head, and suddenly I wasn’t on the road anymore.

Instead I was somewhere else, back to three weeks ago.

My birthday.

“Here, my love. This is your birthday gift.”

Alvin’s voice, soft and loving, so different from the way he sounded now, had said to me.

I looked at him, smiling as he handed me the car keys.

Behind him was a brand new car, shining under the sunlight.

Excitement like never before bubbled inside me.

“Oh my God, thank you! I love you!” I had gushed, throwing my arms around him before jumping into the car for test running.

I didn’t think or hesitate; I just drove, but barely a few minutes in…

Something felt wrong.

The brakes, for some reason, wouldn't work.

My heart started racing as I pressed them again, but hell, nothing.

Panic had flooded my chest so hard back then, and just when I looked ahead, I had seen it.

A truck.

Speeding straight toward me.

I tried everything I could again; hell, I turned the wheel and pressed harder at the brakes like my life depended on it because it did, but still the car wouldn’t respond. It was like it had been deliberately tampered with.

And then it hit me.

Alvin.

He had gotten me the car; he claimed it was brand new, and if it didn't respond, it meant...

The realization had slammed into me just as the truck crashed into my car.

The impact had been violent, and for a moment the world seemed to flip. Metal screamed, glass shattered, and the last thing I saw was the car rolling… once… twice…

Then darkness.

Another memory soon hit again.

This time I was in a hospital with pain in every part of my body; I couldn’t move, and I could barely even breathe.

My eyes shifted weakly…

And I saw him.

Alvin is standing there beside a doctor.

His face didn't look worried at all; if anything, he looked angry and furious at first. Their voices were muffled, and I could barely hear anything, then slowly… I started to hear.

“F**k… this wasn't how it was supposed to happen,” Alvin had muttered, running his hand through his hair wildly like a madman. “I swear I had made sure to do everything according to the way we planned, so how exactly did it get to this?”

My heart had stopped in that moment as I listened to the man who claimed to love me.

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen, really?

Of course I wasn't surprised this was the same man who had given me the keys to the car that has almost killed me; he must be disappointed that I didn't die in the crash.

I continued watching; the doctor had said something to him. Something I couldn’t quite catch, but even that didn’t calm him.

“I don’t care,” Alvin had snapped. “Look, if Ashley remembers any of this, then it would be a problem for us, so I'd suggest you do something, anything to mess with her memory if you must, but she can’t remember what led to this hell; she can't remember I gave her that car.”

My chest tightened immediately, and once again I couldn’t breathe.

I watched, helpless and frozen, just as the doctor faced me in that instant, and then he had stepped closer… His face was devoid of emotions, and his movement was stiff and precise as he injected something into my body, which sent a sharp sting through my arm.

Then everything faded again.

“Miss? Are you alright?”

A deep voice suddenly cut through everything, and I blinked.

The road came back into focus immediately just as reality crashed back in.

I blinked only to see I was still in the middle of the road under the rain before I regained my memory.

Only now there was a strange man in front of me, obviously the driver of the car that almost hit me.

And his face was full of worry and concern.

"I..." My lips parted, but no words came out, only tears, fresh and hot.

My chest tightened again as everything I remembered crashed into me now.

Alvin.

He did it.

He deliberately tried to kill me.

The same man I love, the same man I was ready to sacrifice everything for.

The realization sent a sudden wave of dizziness through me, and my body felt weak all over just as the man stepped closer again.

“Miss… hey, are you—shit!”

His voice turned urgent as he spoke, filled with panic, and the last thing I saw was his hands reaching toward me, his face filled with worry and concern…

And then everything went black.