128. Each Other's Sins

Ashley clenched her jaw. Her chest was rising fast now, like her breath couldn’t catch up with the fury boiling inside. 

“Are you serious right now?” she finally said, her voice low, shaking. “You’re accusing me of betrayal, of hiding things, while you—you’re the one who never stopped seeing another girl and sleeping with her.”

For a few seconds, she just stood there, staring at Josh, stunned by the hypocrisy in his voice.

But it was only a second.

Without warning, her hand flew up and landed across Josh’s cheek. The sharp slap of skin on skin echoed in the room. 

Josh flinched, taken completely off guard.

The silence that followed was suffocating. Josh’s face turned slowly toward her, stunned. Ashley’s hand was still trembling midair, but her eyes didn’t waver. They were burning with fury and disbelief.

“How dare you,” she said, her voice low and shaking, but loud. “How dare you speak to me like that? You don't get to talk to me like that. Not after everything you've done."

Josh looked at her, his cheek already turning red from the slap. But the shock in his eyes was quickly replaced with something else—pride, wounded and burning.

"You hit me? For what? Because you were caught? Because you got too comfortable with your little ex-boyfriend visiting our house?"

Ashley laughed bitterly. "Caught? Are you serious right now?”

Josh clenched his jaw. “You think I’m just going to stand here while you invite a man—that I just found out that he’s your ex into my house, and eat dinner with him like it’s nothing?”

“Your house?” she hissed. “This is your grandfather's house, Josh. And in case you’ve forgotten, I didn’t invite him for dinner. He came because something happened to me. Something I needed help with.”

He scoffed, shaking his head as he rubbed the side of his face. “So what, you run to the arms of the guy you used to sleep with? That’s your definition of help now?”

Ashley’s fists clenched at her sides. “You don’t get to talk about sleeping around like you’re some kind of saint. As if you forgot what you did with your girlfriend!”

Josh’s expression twisted. “It was totally different! I have been in a relationship with Sharon before you came into our lives. And you have also understood our difficult situation. But you and that man—”

“What's wrong with me and mark? I have no relationship with him at the moment. it's all in our past which is very long ago. I'm not like you, josh. I'm a woman with morals.”

“And you think I’m not?!” Hosh glared. “Of course. Turn it all around. Make me the villain. Typical you.”

Ashley laughed bitterly, a humorless sound that bounced off the walls. “You are the real villain, Josh. It's sad that you can't look at what you've done to me all this time.”

He opened his mouth, then shut it again. Ashley didn’t wait.

“You always think I'm the intruder in your relationship with your girlfriend. But you never want to see our situation from my side. I am fully aware that there are no feelings between us. But nevertheless, we are bound by the bonds of legal marriage. Then what have you done? You paraded her around in front of me, like I was just… nothing. Like I'm not a human who doesn't have feelings. And now you want to talk about loyalty?”

Josh’s face tensed. “You knew what this marriage was.”

“I did,” Ashley shot back. “But I didn’t know I was marrying someone who would treat me like garbage. I didn’t expect you to disrespect me so blatantly. You think I’m the one who should be ashamed? At least I'm not the one sneaking off to sleep with someone else. So don’t you stand there and talk about who’s cleaner in this arrangement. Because I protected my dignity.”

Josh exhaled through his nose. His pride was hit. Hard. For the first time, he couldn’t say anything. Because he knew—deep down—that she was right.

Ashley stepped closer, her voice quieter now but even more dangerous. “You lost the right to talk about pride when you crawled back to Sharon. And you lost the right to judge me when you let her into our space and acted like it was normal. So don’t stand there and pretend you're above me.”

There was a cold silence between them, a silence so thick it rang in their ears. Josh looked away first.

Ashley’s voice dropped one more notch, dead calm. “If there’s anyone whose pride has hit rock bottom in this marriage, it’s not me. It’s you.”

Josh flinched again, but this time from her words. "You think you’re so righteous? You think you’re better than me?"

"Yes," Ashley said flatly. "Because no matter how fake this marriage is, I never disrespected it. I never let anyone, not even Mark, cross the line. He came because he was worried. That’s it. And unlike you, I don’t bring my ex-lovers into our bedroom."

"You think I enjoy living a lie?" Josh snapped. "You think being with Sharon is easy, knowing I have to keep lying to everyone about our situation?"

Ashley stared at him, stunned. "Are you actually trying to play victim right now?"

Josh turned away for a second, rubbing his forehead. "This whole thing is falling apart. We can’t keep doing this."

"You mean lying to everyone?" Ashley asked. "Pretending we’re something we’re not? Maybe we should stop. Maybe we really should get a divorce. And while we’re at it, you should tell them that you never left Sharon."

Josh turned back to her, furious. "You do that and you'll destroy everything. You think my father will keep his promises to your family? You think you’ll get anything out of this marriage when they find out you let another man visit this house?"

Ashley stood her ground. "So that’s what this is. Threats. You screw around, and I’m supposed to shut up or risk losing it all."

Josh didn’t answer.

"You were too proud to admit you were stuck in a lie," Ashley continued. "And too selfish to let me live with peace. You wanted everything. The girl you love and the woman who keeps your business safe."

"At least I gave you a life most people would kill for."

"You gave me a prison with chandeliers," Ashley snapped. "And now you're angry because I dared to speak to someone who actually gives a damn about my wellbeing?"

Josh walked toward the door, then stopped, hesitating.

"Say it," Ashley said. "Say what you’re really thinking. That you’re mad because for once, I didn't revolve my life around your ego."

He looked at her, fury and defeat etched into every line of his face. But he didn’t say anything. He just left.

Ashley stood still for a long time. The silence was deafening. The walls seemed to lean in, too aware of what just happened. Her legs trembled, but she didn’t cry. She just walked to the table, picked up the half-finished plates, and started clearing the dishes, one by one.

Because even in the ruins of a fake marriage, someone still had to clean up the mess.