All Chapters of He Asked for an Open Marriage, I Walked Away: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

116 Chapters

Chapter 51: The Storm Returns

Nathan scoffed, but his lips curved up just a bit. He didn't feel like a winner—only someone lucky enough to stand beside her.The music changed, and everyone turned as the church doors opened.Ashley came in, her arm linked with Thomas Hale's. The light of the stained glass cast over her, and for a moment, it felt like time had stopped. She was calm, graceful, but Nathan could see the fight in her eyes.Thomas walked by her side, his steps slow and proud but weighed down with emotion.In the crowd of people, Stephen Hart was sitting near the back. He followed his daughter with his eyes as she made her way down the aisle and his heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He forced his jaw to relax when he realized it was Thomas Hale walking her down the aisle, and his heart fractured a little.He dropped his head, blinking rapidly. "It

Chapter 52: The Clash of Brothers

Ashley stared at him. Her voice was the same placid tone as before. "You better. Look what kind of woman you have brought here. All she came here to do was embarrass herself."Miranda yanked her arm out of Stephen's grasp. "Let go of me. I can leave by myself, thank you very much." She snapped, pivoting on her heel and striding out of the door. The uncomfortable silence remained long after she left. The guests murmured once more, some pretending to drink their wine, others avoiding eye contact. Nathan placed a hand on Ashley's. "Are you okay?" She nodded, her face unreadable. "Yes. I just need to compose myself." "Take your time," Nathan said softly, "We'll leave after the toast." On the other side of the country, many thousands of miles away, another storm was building. Harvey West slammed his laptop shut after openi

Chapter 54: The Morning and the Storm

There was a sound of confusion from Kale's end. "Who?""Kimberly Jones," Harvey said. "She's the one person who can help me deal with Nathan."Kale let out a breath of exasperation. "Harvey, do you know what you're doing? They're married. You have so many ways out, Harvey. You have so many options. So why are you still clinging on to Ashley?"Harvey slumped in his chair and massaged the bridge of his nose. "That's exactly why, Kale. Because they are not Ashley."There was a long silence on Kale's end. "Are you serious about this?""Yes," Harvey said. "Find her. I don't care where she is.""Alright, I'll find her," Kale said. "But don't beat your cousin again, okay? You can't win. You know that. He's trained, Harvey. You'd only embarrass yourself."Harvey's voice rose. "Just find her. I'm hanging up."He s

Chapter 53: Their First Night Together

Harvey didn't say anything. Instead, he brought his fist back and swung with everything he had. The punch connected full force with Nathan's face.Staggering backwards a step, Nathan touched his lip. "What the hell, Harvey?""How dare you take Ashley away from me?" Harvey screamed, his voice breaking. "Who do you think gave you the right?"Nathan's jaw clenched. He said nothing, just punched him back, hard. The thud of flesh on flesh echoed down the hall."Enough!" Nathan snarled. "Ashley and I are married. Harvey. Between you and me, who do you think has the right now?"Harvey glared at him, breathing heavily. "I knew it, I knew it from the beginning. The minute you came into her life you had an ulterior motive. You pretended to protect her, but this was your plan all along. She was your endg

Chapter 55: The Missing Formulas

The building was quiet when they arrived. Disinfectant stung their noses as the door slid open. The lab was closed for the day, and the normal white noise of instruments and computers was only a muted backdrop to the tension of the situation. Jamie was already there waiting, a large bundle of printed reports in his hands as he rose to his feet from the chair behind the central desk."Jamie," Ashley said, hurrying to her assistant. "What did you find?"Jamie extended the folder to her. "We have everything. The files from your server, their timestamps, which ones were accessed and in what order. Everything the hacker was able to extract."Ashley rifled through the papers, her eyes skimming the list. Halfway down the page, her thumb came to a stop. Her body stilled.

Chapter 56: The Wounds That Never Healed

Ashley's eyes flashed. "What about her?"He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You might think she sunk into this depression because I left her. But the truth is, she was already falling apart long before that. This is part of the reason we couldn't make it work as a marriage. She was paranoid. She was controlling. At one point, she even tried to keep me from going to work every day. I could have stayed home and withered away in her anger... or I could leave and keep some semblance of my sanity. I made the right choice, if you ask me."Ashley stared at him, eyes wide with incredulity. "So, you chose to leave the hell that she made, and you never looked back. Did you ever stop to consider what this would do to me? Your daughter?" Her voice cracked slightly, but she maintained her composure. "Any man can father a child, Stephen. But it takes a man to be a father."

Chapter 57: A World on the Edge

Her eyes were intent, her fingers precise. This was her element, in this place of numbers and molecular models and interminable hours that bled into nights and nights."Hello, Erick," she said as her friend, the CEO, joined the video conference. "I'm wrapping up phase three of the new drug's clinical trial."Erick blinked, his expression clearly impressed. "Already? That's fantastic, Ash. How's the progress report?"Ashley smiled weakly. "The compound is working better than we had hoped. It locates the drug-resistant bacteria through a metabolic pathway that hasn't been tried before. Our bioinformatics team was able to map out exactly where the chink in the bacteria's armor is. It's precise. It's lethal to the bacteria but has no ill effects on the host cells."Erick widened his eyes. "That's good news.

Chapter 58: A Place of Her Own

She smiled slightly, but didn't say anything.They had been driving for about an hour when the car slowed down and turned onto a small, dirt road. The land was opening up before them now. Ten acres of it. Quiet countryside, where the only sound was the occasional chirping of birds. A nearby trickle of a stream could be heard, and there was a distinct smell of wet earth.Nathan pulled over. "We made it."Ashley got out of the car, heels sinking slightly into the soft earth. She took a deep breath, surveying the open land around her. There was peace and quiet in this property, shaded by tall trees on all sides. They almost seemed to rise up and form a green wall against the steel-gray sky."This is it, then," Nathan said, walking up beside her. "Ten acres, like you wanted. Private. Quiet. Secure. No close neighbors to hear the gentle whirring o

Chapter 60: Fever Night

Once inside the apartment, the heat of the room was almost surreal after the cold outside. Nathan took her jacket off, tossing it over the back of a chair. It was still wet and heavy from the rain. He handed her a towel, and Ashley took it, tucking it against her chest. "You should try to rest," Nathan said. "You've had a long day. I'll just sleep in the guest room tonight. If you need anything, just call."Ashley nodded, the towel held close to her chest. "Alright, Nate. Thank you."He smiled faintly. "Don't be so formal with me, Ash."Ashley looked at him for a moment, then gave a shy smile. "I'm sorry. I'm still not used to it.""I know," he replied, his voice a low whisper. "Good night, Ash.""Good night to you too, Nate."Ashley went into her room, leaving Nathan in the hallway

Chapter 59: The Storm Shelter

Ashley turned and saw it too, the house huddling against the trees like a frightened child. It was small and had an aura of long abandonment about it, but it had a roof and that was good enough for now.They opened the half-ajar door and stepped inside, shutting it behind them. The air was humid, smelling slightly of mildew and dust. Broken furniture littered the room: a wooden chair, a cracked mirror, a fireplace that hadn't seen use in years.Nathan rummaged in a drawer on the mantle and found a box of matches. With some effort, he managed to strike a fire using the handful of dry wood he'd found in a corner. Warm light flooded the room, chasing away the shadows.Ashley rubbed her arms, still shivering. Her clothes were drenched. Nathan noticed and yanked off his hoodie, holding it out to her. "Put this on. You'll catch a cold like this."

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