All Chapters of My Ex, My stepbrother, My Ruin: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Jake's POVThe moment I stepped into the living room, my gaze landed on the shattered vase.If my father were here, he’d be deeply hurt. The vase had been designed by an old Italian craftsman, something he’d paid a ridiculous amount for during one of his trips to Italy.I looked at Ashley, a silent question in my eyes. She was standing closest to it, but I doubted she’d done it. She knew how much it meant to him.Ashley tilted her head slightly toward Ava, like she was giving her permission to speak first.I turned to Ava, hands tucked into my pockets, waiting.“I don’t know how it happened, but when I walked in, I saw it lying beside Ashley like this. She must have broken it, but I don’t know if it was on purpose.”I turned back to Ashley, who was way too calm for someone being accused. Maybe she had done it after all. But I decided not to jump to conclusions until I was done figuring things out.“Is it true?” I asked. “Did you break it?”She let out a short, humorless laugh, gesturi

Ashley’s POVThe wedding went perfectly. Mr. Reyes and my mother moved around like teenagers who had just fallen in love, laughing too easily, stealing glances at each other, their hands brushing every now and then. I watched them from a distance, a quiet warmth settling in my chest. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen my mother like this, so light and alive. I just hoped it stayed that way.But for Jake and me, peace was never going to exist. In a few days, we’d go back to our separate lives and pretend none of this ever happened. Unless holidays forced us into the same space again… if we even chose to come back.Guests still lingered that evening. Mr. Reyes moved between them with my mother, both of them smiling with glasses in hand.William had returned from Paris that morning. I had threatened him, half serious, that if he didn’t take the next flight back to LA, I’d be furious. He didn’t dare test me, so he came.We sat side by side in the guest area, the cool evening ai

Jake’s POVMy eyes flicked briefly to Ava, then to William.Excluding me and Ashley’s mother, no one else in this house knew about her allergy.I ran it through my head quickly. Who could it be?William? He was about to marry her. The thought didn’t even sit right. There was no way he’d want to hurt her, let alone kill her.That left one person.Ava.She had gone downstairs. And right after that, this happened. The timing sat wrong in my chest. The way everything lined up… it didn’t feel like coincidence.But I didn’t say anything yet.I kept it to myself.For now.My father turned to all of us, his expression hard, his eyes sharp as they moved across the room.“Who did it?” he asked again, his voice firm, cutting through the tension. “Ashley would never try to harm herself, not when she knows about her allergy. Someone here knew… and used it against her.”Everyone was silent like we all had suddenly gone mute.The only sound was the steady ticking of the grandfather clock,dragging ev

Ashley's POV By midday, I was packing my clothes into my suitcase, folding each piece neatly before stacking them inside. William’s clothes were already beside me, and I added his shirts one after the other, smoothing out the creases as I went.While I was still busy, a soft knock landed on the door.“Come in,” I said without turning.The door creaked open, followed by slow footsteps on the floor. I paused briefly when I saw Ava standing by the doorway. The shirt I was folding stopped mid-air.Now what did she want?“Ash,” she exhaled, leaning slightly against the frame.I turned back to my suitcase and continued folding. If she thought I had time for whatever this was, she was wrong. Couldn’t she just stay away until I left?“If you’re here to….”“I came to say sorry… for what happened to you,” she cut in, rubbing her palm over her blue jeans.I went still.The words sat in my head for a moment, heavy and strange. Ava apologizing? To me?That had never happened before. Not even afte

Ashley's POVThe words sliced through the room like a blade. My hands froze beneath the running water and a bitter ache coiled tightly in my chest.Sometimes, I barely recognized the girl standing in front of me. The same girl who had once been my best friend.How did she turn out so evil? Or had she always been evil from the start and was just hiding it.“You’re just too easy to deceive,” she continued, her voice dripping with venomous satisfaction. “God… the look on your face that night.” She took another slow sip. “I savored it. Truly one of the best nights of my life.”My grip tightened around the plate and my pulse roared in my ears.Rage simmered hot and dangerous beneath my skin, begging to be unleashed.But no. That was exactly what she wanted. A reaction from me. I refused to hand her that victory.Because the last thing I needed was for our parents to uncover the twisted history between me and Jake.“You couldn’t even keep Jake back then,” she said with a cruel smile. “So te