Chapter 5

Avril sobbed, "I'm sorry… I ruined this wedding. It's all my fault for wearing the wedding dress that was meant for Ashley… Seeing me in it must have upset her, which is why she—"

Zack flew into a rage and turned to roar at me. "Avril only agreed to stand in for you at the wedding because she cared about you! She wanted to make amends and put the past behind you. And instead of being grateful, you actually tried to kill your own sister?

"When did you become so vicious, Ashley Holden? Or were you always this malicious to begin with?" he hollered at me.

Avril whined, "No, Zackie, please don't blame Ashley… I know she didn't mean it. I just lost my footing…"

The crowd erupted instantly with everyone hurling curses at me. Even Mom and Dad rushed over and slapped me across the face.

"You good-for-nothing wretch! You just can't stand to see Avril doing well! If we'd known you'd turn out this wicked, we never should have given birth to you! We should have strangled you the moment you were born!"

Still not satisfied with the slap, they rained punches and kicks down on me.

I lay on the ground, disheveled, battered, and bruised, and let out a bitter, hollow laugh. They were exactly the same as they had been when I was a child—striking me down before I could even attempt to defend myself.

A flicker of heartache crossed Zack's eyes as he saw me on the ground, looking so pathetic. He was about to say something when Avril suddenly clutched her chest, looking as if she were in great distress.

"Zack, I… I don't feel well. Is my illness coming back?"

The faint trace of concern on Zack's face vanished instantly, replaced by a glare of pure fury directed at me.

"Apologize to Avril at once, Ashley Holden! I'll never forgive you if anything happens to her!"

I struggled to my feet, a cold, mocking smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

"I haven't done anything wrong. Why should I apologize?" I asked him. "And what about you all? Don't you have anything to explain to me?

"The fire, the child, my leg—who was the one who caused all of this? And who were you doing all these things for from the very start?"

Zack frowned, a flash of panic crossing his eyes, but he managed to maintain a stern, self-righteous expression.

"What's there to explain? It's just your own bad luck. How is it that others didn't run into a fire and managed to give birth to healthy babies, but you couldn't? And instead of reflecting on yourself, you're blaming us now?

"Besides, what does this have to do with Avril? Don't you dare try to shift all the blame onto her! Apologize to her at once!

"I'm only repeating myself one more time, Ashley. Apologize to Avril right now!"

At this point, I knew I should stop putting any expectations on him. Any hope I once harbored toward him had shattered like a fragile soap bubble.

"Not a chance!" I screamed, putting every ounce of strength I had into my words.

That completely enraged Zack. He set Avril down, reached out to me, and clamped his hand tightly around my throat.

"Still talking back, are you?"

I felt a suffocating pressure unlike anything I'd ever known. My fingers clawed weakly at his hands, but I couldn't break his grip.

His parents, James Burton and Esther Rogers, finally intervened when they realized that Zack was about to kill me.

"Just leave her be and get a doctor to check on Avril, Zack! She's always been frail, and besides, the wedding still has to go on, with or without that wretch!"

Zack flung me aside, his tone dripping with disgust. "Get lost!"

Then, he scooped up Avril and walked away without a single backward glance.

The wound on my leg tore open, and fresh blood began to pour out.

The affection I once held for him vanished in an instant, dissolving into nothingness. I looked at the contemptuous gazes around me and realized I had long since become nothing more than a joke.

It was time to get ready to leave for the airport anyway.

Zack had better not come to regret any of this.