4. The Apartment We Share

“You want us both to sleep in the same room? Here?” Ashley stared at Josh with an incredulous look in her eyes, as if the man had just uttered some nonsensical words.

“Yes.”

“You have a girlfriend. You said she's the only one you love,” Ashley tried to restate their situation as clearly as possible, ”But still you want to sleep in the same room with me?” And once again further emphasized her question.

“Yes.”

“Wow,” Ashley unconsciously shook her head and widened her eyes in disbelief at what she had just heard.

She completely failed to understand the man's train of thought. She had no idea what he was planning, but at this moment, Ashley felt played.

“I don't understand. But I still want to move.”

Not wanting to comply with Josh's unreasonable demand, Ashley reached her hand into the closet next to him again. But once again, Josh prevented her from reaching the clothes. But the difference was, this time, his grip was tighter and more painful.

“I’m not repeating myself. Just do as I say,” he said, trying to keep his patience.

There were already too many events that he had gone through earlier today. He just wanted to minimize the possibility of another explosive argument as much as possible.

“What if I don't? Your reputation is in my hands. I'm just reminding you in case you forget,” Ashley asserted with conviction. That her current position was more favorable than that man's.

“You want to use that weapon on me?” He asked, his tone laced with mockery. Josh snorted, intending to start playing word games, manipulating the girl in a very subtle way, “My reputation is your reputation too, Ashley.”

The corner of Ashley's eye twitched at his response. She realized Josh was trying to turn the tables on her.

“As far as I know, your relationship with your family isn’t exactly great. Are you sure they'd defend you, rather than save the company? I think we both know the answer to that.”

Ashley was momentarily stunned. Her mind was suddenly very busy looking for a way out. What Josh said was completely true. Her relationship with her family was even worse. Moreover, this marriage had been arranged solely to benefit the family business. Seen from any angle, it was very clear that her parents would not let her break this bond to preserve their precious alliance.

But, Josh didn't know how bad his relationship with his family was. Perhaps she could still use that to her advantage and secure herself. Considering how worried Josh was about his relationship with the girl being exposed.

“Still, in a situation like this, you have more to lose,” Ashley tried her luck, ”Since it's already like this, how about we just make a deal?”

Josh portrayed a question mark on his face. He had already calculated her moves and was curious to see where this would lead. About how likely it was that the girl would spread rumors with the consequence of destroying their marriage and the reputation of both families, and how little she would use this as her ace in the hole to gain control over Josh. His eyebrow raised, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.

“I won't spill anything to the public. Your family’s perfect image will remain intact,” Ashley remembered that Josh came from a family of hereditary politicians who were close to the media. And they were famous for never having any bad scandals, especially regarding personal life.

“You can even keep seeing your girlfriend—as discreetly as possible, of course. In exchange, divorce me. Six months, I think, is enough to avoid speculation.”

Ashley carved a smile of relief.

But Josh responded with a deeper smirk, “No. I don't want to,” he replied simply.

“Uh?” Ashley was a bit confused. She really couldn't understand where Josh's train of thought was going. His refusal made no sense. Her threats should be able to get the man to agree to the deal he proposed easily.

“It seems like you still don't understand,” Josh showered her with an intense gaze. “I,” there was a strong assertion in his voice, ”am not divorcing you. Not in six months or six years. We will doing this marriage like any other married couple. So you don't need to bait me with your far-fetched ideas.”

Ashley's frown deepened. Her intonation rose without her realizing it, “What exactly do you want? You don't like me anyway. Then why bother doing all this? There's nothing in it for you either.”

“Gain, you mean?” His voice was dangerously low as he whispered.

Josh stepped closer to Ashley, closed the distance between them until his face was only about inches from hers. It made Ashley gasp and instinctively back away. But Josh had already wrapped his arms around Ashley's waist and pulled her close. Embracing the girl until there was no more distance between their bodies. “Of course I have plenty of it. I think I need to show you one of them.”

Ashley’s shock turned to panic as Josh’s grip tightened. Both of her hands kept trying to push Josh's body away, although the man's embrace was really very strong and tight. Josh swiftly lifted Ashley's body effortlessly and tossed her onto the bed.

Ashley's body automatically jerked as a result of her shock after being tossed in such a rough way. But again, before she could get up to distance herself, Josh had already pinned her down. He grabbed her right wrist and restrained it against the mattress.

“Let go of me!” she yelled, struggling in vain against his strength.

Josh was already on top of Ashley and trying to kiss her. His lips descended on hers, relentless and unyielding. The sound of Ashley's groan echoed in the room. Her lips clenched tightly as a sign of rejection. She also didn't stop trying to free her hands from Josh's grip. With the help of her other hand, she pushed against the man's chest, though her weaker strength didn't make much difference.

Josh himself was still crushing his lips to Ashley. His tongue kept pushing Ashley's lips open.

Frustrated by her resistance, Josh moved on to her cheeks, neck, and ears. Making sure his kisses swept every part of Ashley's face to break her defense. But Ashley was still rebelling and turning her head away and resisting with every ounce of strength she had. Her muffled protests grew even louder as she tried her hardest to push him away.

In the midst of his activity, Josh caught the scratch on her cheek—a fresh, bright red on Ashley's left cheek. He suddenly remembered the incident with Sharon this afternoon.

As if waking up from his coercive attitude that hurt Ashley, Josh moved his face away. Slowly he also loosened his grip, and withdrew his other hand from Ashley's thigh. His expression shifted from aggression to guilt.

Josh pulled himself up and stepped away from Ashley. Without a word, he left the room.

Ashley lay motionless, her anger and immense humiliation swirling inside her. The look on her face couldn't even express how devastated she felt at the moment. Trembling, she smoothed the bottom of her dress, which exposed almost all of her thighs. The muscles in her body somehow seemed to weaken and unsteady, difficult for her to control.

By the time she got out of bed to close the door and lock it, so Josh couldn't do anything else bad to her, he was returned. Ashley immediately backed away as far as possible.

Josh, who realized Ashley was scared of him, stopped his steps only near the bedroom bench. He placed a small white box containing emergency medicines on it.

“Clean yourself up,” his distinctive heavy voice cold and flat, ”Make sure to treat your wounds properly to prevent infection.”