ASHLEYI just wanted to breathe. I just wanted to be away from all this, probably hide in a dungeon and lock myself in there away from my problems. That way, all I would have to worry about was staying alive. I wouldn't have to worry about someone out there getting me. Most times, I wish I could just leave everything behind and run away to a place he would never find me. I would have considered taking my life but then, I didn't want to die. I want to live. I want to have the job of my dreams, thrive so beautifully, and live my dream life where I had everything I wanted, married to the most charming man on earth, who would move mountains for me to see me happy.I didn't want to run like this. I didn't want to live like a fugitive, who is constantly on the move from something demonic in her past. These days, I find myself asking a lot of rhetorical questions. I found myself wondering what my life would look like if I had stood my ground that night and said no to going out with my frien

ASHLEYI tossed and turned in my sleep all night. I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes. The irrational fear of someone lurking in the shadows and coming to get me ate at me so much that I couldn't sleep. On the other hand, I would have chosen to step out of the room and get some air in by taking a tour of the hotel, but I couldn't do that because nowhere felt safe. Not even the confines of my hotel room. I couldn't shake off the feeling that he was out there, watching me and waiting to grab me at any moment.I was so sure that if I stood up from this bed and headed to the mirror to check out my reflection, I wouldn't like what I would see in the mirror. So, I just lay in bed, utterly weak and emotionally exhausted. My limbs were hurting, my head was pounding, and every bone in my body felt like it was going to snap into two. At this point, I didn't even think there were any tears left for me to cry. I groaned and rolled over to my side, grabbing my phone from my nightstand to chec

~ASHLEY~I didn't know how I got back home yesterday. All I knew was that I was back in my hotel room, and I had no strength left in me to cry. I was just so drained. The only energy I had left in me was what I used in taking a shower and changing into my nightwear before getting under my covers and drifting off to sleep, allowing myself to embrace the escape it could offer. Even though I knew it was momentary.The doorbell wouldn't stop ringing, irritating the crap out of me. I was too tired to move a limb, let alone throw the covers off my body and go get the door."Who the hell is it?!" I snapped, utterly irritated. I didn't even know I had that much strength in me to snap at someone. When I realized the incessant ringing wouldn't stop, I got out of bed and slid my feet into my flip-flops, marching over to the door and ready to give the person a piece of my mind. I twisted the knob and pushed it open, revealing the beaming face of Thalia that made me want to rip out every hair on h

ASHLEYA girl's wedding day is meant to be the happiest day of her life. It's meant to be the day when she feels as though she was floating in the clouds, filled with so much happiness. But here I was, I couldn't even bring myself to smile. I was just dead inside. I was so sure the makeup artist could smell my sadness on me. That was how overwhelming it was. I didn't think I had uttered more than two words to her since she started working her magic on my face."That's enough. I don't want heavy makeup," I spoke up, grouchily. I had snapped at her before I realized what I had done wrong."I'm sorry, Mrs. Gray." She apologized and I scoffed. Mrs. Gray my fucking foot!She wrapped up what she was doing and added finishing touches to my face before adding a setting spray to keep the makeup in place. She knew I just wanted to be alone, so she packed up and walked out of the room to give me the privacy that I needed. I turned to the mirror, sighing at my reflection.It is safe to say I mad

ASHLEYEmpty.Yeah, that was the word. The gaping hole that had taken residence in my mind, a hole which I knew that no matter what I tried to dabble in, it wasn't leaving any moment now. I felt hollow, dead inside and it was as though I was fading into nothingness because if anyone had told me months ago, that my life was going to take a drastic turn, I would look the mother-fucker in the eye and spit in their face, telling him or her to go rot in hell.I had my life all planned out. I met a guy I loved. A guy who manipulated me and messed with my mind into thinking what he wanted me to think. Heck, he was so toxic and I couldn't even bring myself to see it. They tried to warn me about him but I was too blinded by what I felt for him, so I allowed him to break me. I was even delusional enough to think that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.And then that one night, he came into the picture, shattering my resolve and turning my life into a more complicated mess at the sna