[1] The call

ASHLEY

A call! A damn anonymous call got me running down the sidewalk with a bruised knee and messed-up hair.

I was supposed to be home, sipping wine while waiting for his return, but here I was, running into a private lodge at the end of an empty driveway.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

“33," I kept whispering to myself as I limped across the corridor, swinging my head over the doors at both sides.

I finally found the door and stopped before it, staring at the number boldly written at the top of the door.

My heart was racing so fast that it felt like it would burst. My mind was not in order, and the sinking feeling of the words of whoever called me coming to pass engulfed me. It felt like I was dying with each second that passed as I stood there.

I thought of turning around and walking back home like nothing had happened, but my body didn't yield to that thought.

The more I thought of heading back home to wait for my husband to come home for our anniversary, the more the curiosity nudged me forward to grab the knob.

I finally yielded after a long internal battle. With trembling hands, I reached for the cold knob, twisted it, and pulled the door open.

The first thing that hit me was the moans and deep grunts, followed by the repeated groaning of a name.

“Alex," I whispered in horror as I watched my husband bounce roughly on the lady under him.

“Oh, f*ck, Alex, go deeper!”

My heart was crushed as the words of the lady filled my ears.

A whimper slipped out of my lips as I staggered back and dropped to the ground.

Alex stopped at the sound of my whimpers and threw his head back.

A gasp escaped the lips of the woman beneath him, and my heart clenched in rage.

“Ashley?" He muttered and cursed loudly before sliding out of the woman.

I stopped whimpering and looked up into his brown eyes. Anguish gripped my heart when my eyes locked with those of the man I call a husband.

I couldn't bear the pain that ate me up from the inside. I had sacrificed everything for him. My family, my acting career, her own happiness, and everything I had loved, just to be with a loser like him.

“How could you?" I whispered as tears rolled down my face.

Weren't we meant to be the best couple in the country? Weren't we meant to be happy and envied? Wasn't I the perfect and loyal wife he always wanted?

Why? Why did he have to do this to me? I have lived all my life, pleasing him only to be betrayed this way. My nails sank deep into my palm, and my body trembled in rage.

I jerked up, my eyes widening in rage and my fist clenching.

“Wasn't I good enough for you? How could you cheat on me with a mere whore!" I growled.

Alex’s countenance remained blank and nonchalant, and this caused a stir in me.

“Whore? Watch your tongue, this woman is carrying my child!" Alex snapped, and my heart sank.

Child? This was unbelievable.

My trembling lips parted and slammed shut, and I staggered back, appalled.

“Child?" I whispered, filled with shock.

"Yes, she gave me something you will never give me. A child!” Alex growled.

My heart pierced at his words that I couldn't help but huff in pain. Tears filled my eyes and threatened to pour out, but I refused to let that happen. I shouldn’t break down in front of him and his mistress, I shouldn’t.

I slowly turned her head towards the woman, and my belly knotted. Her face was covered with the sheets, making it hard for me to make out who she was.

“Who is she?" I asked in a failing voice.

"None of your business!” He snapped and got up, his cock dangling between his legs.

“Leave right now, Ashley," he said.

My head jerked up, and my eyes dimmed in shock.

I scoffed loudly at his words.

“You have no shame, Alex. You cheated on me with another woman on our anniversary, and you dare to put up with this attitude?” I sneered, and he huffed in return, crushing me even more.

“Anniversary? Our marriage was long dead, Ash, you know this. We're only leaving together for the sake of the public and the company. If you don't want to lose everything you've ever worked for, then go home quietly and wait for me," he spat out with no remorse, and my jaw dropped.

I growled loudly in anger, madly lurched for him, but he slid out of the way and sent me falling into the bed.

I wanted to jerk up from the bed again and attack him, but paused when my eyes fell on the woman buried under the sheets.

My head swung to the side, and I grabbed the sheets covering the lady, determined to find out who she was and disgrace them the next day.

“Show your face, you bitch!" I screamed, dragging the sheets, but the woman held tight to the sheets, her face hidden away from me. I tugged tightly on the sheet, gritting in rage.

“Hey!" Alex growled and gripped my arm, then tossed me to the ground.

I felt pain snap across my side when my body hit the ground. I winced and coughed, nursing my side, which throbbed with pain.

Alex matched closer and grabbed me, then jerked me up to my feet and slammed my back on the wall. I winced again as pain swept across my back.

“Leave quietly if you don't want this shit escalating!" He snapped with eyes full of so much hatred.

I chuckled sadly and raised my head, glaring back at him.

“You think I care about your company? I will take everything from you, Alex, and I'm going to divorce you too," I whispered.

His lips twitched up into a sinister smile as he tilted his head to the side.

“Says who?" Alex mocked.

I was on the verge of breaking down, but I held myself back.

"I built that business, Alex. I can also make it crumble. Get ready, I'll show the whole world who you are soon,” I muttered in a quivering voice.

Alex chuckled and flicked away the hair covering my face, leaning closer till our hot breath hit our faces.

“Sure, until you find evidence that I cheated, remain a good girl, hmm?" He muttered, causing disgust to ripple across my body.

I growled and pushed him off, then swerved my head towards the woman.

“I'm sure you're a celebrity. Watch out, I'll bring you down too," I threatened, then spun around and walked out of the room.

When the door to the room slammed shut, I staggered through the corridor until I broke into a run, not stopping until I was a safe distance away from the lodge house.

I dropped to my knees and broke down into the tears I had held back in there.

If anyone had told me that my marriage would someday come to this, I would never have believed it.

I didn't just build our marriage, but his company and our reputation from scratch.

He had nothing when he met me, aside from eyes filled with love. The same eyes that looked upon me with hatred and disdain. 

We had fought battles and public criticism together and emerged as the couple everyone admired and envied.

How did it come to this? I couldn't tell. I was sure it wasn't just because of our inability to have a child.

It wasn't my fault. I had been proven medically fit to bear a child, and he knew this.

As I knelt there under the drizzling rain, I tried to figure out where I had gone wrong, but nothing clicked. I spent most of my time cooking and cleaning to his taste, I gave up on my acting career, helped in the business the best way I could when things tried to fall apart, and satisfied him in bed whenever he wanted.

“Why?" I whispered in a shaking voice, not minding the rain that beat down on me. It was no longer a drizzle, it had become a heavy downpour, but I cared less.

The house I live in now feels like the last place I wanted to be in. 

My cries increased whenever his cruel words hit me again. I thought about the years we spent together, the promises we made to each other.

“It was all a lie," I whispered, dying from the stinging stab of betrayal.

It was all over. The perfect life I had was all over. His lies and deception were all exposed.

As I sat there, crying and drenched in the rain, a sharp light from ahead flashed right into my eyes, and my body went numb.