Chapter 1: The Day Before the Wedding

"You have to sign this." Ashley froze. The pen in her hand fell onto the marble countertop. Her fiancé stood in front of her, handsome as ever in his crisp white shirt and expensive watch, but his words sent shivers down her spine. "What?" she asked. Harvey glanced at the man beside him. The lawyer stepped forward and set two folders down on the counter. "The prenup and the NDA," Harvey said, as if this were some ordinary business transaction. Ashley slowly opened the first folder. The prenup was fair and tidy. She had expected that. She was, after all, an heiress. She did not mind protecting their assets. She nodded to herself, preparing to sign it. Then she opened the second folder. Her breath caught. "This one," Harvey said, tapping the pages, "is so we have no secrets. I want to be honest with you before the wedding." Ashley scanned the document carefully. It was a non-disclosure agreement. Her eyes widened as she read the infidelity clauses and privacy clauses and media c

Last Updated : 2025-09-20

Chapter 2: Shattered Illusions

Ashley remained at the kitchen counter long after Harvey had left. The house was too quiet, the flowers too bright. Her dress hung upstairs like a forgotten dream. Slowly, she pulled herself to her feet and walked to her bedroom, sitting down on the edge of her bed. Her phone was still buzzing with messages from Harvey. She turned it off and put it aside. The next morning she packed a small bag and drove out of the city. The sky was gray and heavy with clouds. The road was empty. She drove to her grandmother's estate, the place she lived outside of town that she hadn't seen in months. The caretaker greeted her pleasantly when she arrived. The old house was big but it was also warm. It smelled of her grandmother's lavender perfume and the stories she had told Ashley as a child. Ashley slowly walked the length of each room, running her fingers over her grandmother's furniture, her books, her curtains sewn by hand. She sank into the parlor's plush chair where her grandmother used to

Last Updated : 2025-09-20

Chapter 3: Collision with Fate

Ashley awoke early the next morning. She hadn't slept much, but she felt clear-headed, like the fog in her chest had finally lightened and become something she could bear. The house was quiet. She made coffee and sat by the window, mug steaming in her hands, and wrote down everything she wanted to say to Harvey when he returned. It wasn't much. Just a few sentences on a torn page of her notebook. But it was enough. Enough to remind her of who she was, and why she would not bend, even for him. By noon, Ashley packed her bag and drove back to the city. The streets were crowded and the sun bright on the windshield, but Ashley scarcely noticed. She had classes to take, projects to finish, a life still left unfinished. She would not let Harvey take that from her too. When she walked into the chemistry building, the air smelled of bleach and dry markers. Her professor, Dr. Reed, was already waiting for her, standing near his office. "Ashley," he said, voice lower than usual. "Come with

Last Updated : 2025-09-20

Chapter 4: Danger at the Lab

Nathan picked her up the next morning at the university gate. He drove her to the lab himself. "You could have had someone else pick me up," Ashley said as she buckled the seatbelt across her shoulder. "I like to make sure my assignments get to where they're going safe," Nathan said, eyes on the road. Ashley frowned. "I'm not an assignment. I'm a person." Nathan turned to her, one eyebrow raised. "Then act like one. Stop looking like you're on your way to class. We're up against people who will kill to keep this formula a secret." Ashley crossed her arms. "So now I should start dressing like a soldier?" Nathan didn't answer, but the corner of his mouth twitched. "Just do what I say. You'll live longer." Ashley stared out the window, irritated. "You don't even know me, Nathan. You act like I'm some careless freshman who doesn't understand what's happening." Nathan's voice remained level. "I act like someone who's seen what happens when people underestimate threats like this. Yo

Last Updated : 2025-09-20

Chapter 5: Harvey's Return

Ashley woke up the next morning feeling the memory of last night's break-in heavy in her chest. The sun streamed through the curtains outside, suggesting that the whole world was exactly as it should be, but Ashley kept thinking that someone out there must be watching, must be hiding just a street over. She zipped her sweater up higher around her body before heading into the kitchen. Nathan was already there, sitting at the table with his laptop open in front of him and a steaming mug of coffee at his elbow. "You're up early," Ashley said, rubbing her eyes. "I don't sleep much." Nathan didn't look up from the screen. His voice was hushed but with the same steely undertone she had grown used to. "Eat something. We have a long day." Ashley nodded. She was still too tired to protest, and shuffled into the kitchen to make toast. The smell of warm bread cooking in the toaster filled the small kitchenette. She stood there, waiting, hands drumming against the counter. "You found the guy

Last Updated : 2025-09-20

All Chapters of He Asked for an Open Marriage, I Walked Away: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Chapter 1: The Day Before the Wedding

Chapter 2: Shattered Illusions

Chapter 3: Collision with Fate

Chapter 4: Danger at the Lab

Chapter 5: Harvey's Return