Dedicated to: Nightingale520

Quote of the day: giving up is not an option, never forget that.

Life had dealt with her nothing but pain ever since she could remember, the only way she had been able to ease off this pain was through Chloe who never left her side. Finally two years ago she got her freedom when her father had absconded leaving her to her mercy.

Ever since all she ever thought of was how wicked she was, guilt had ripped through her heart every day. Ashley had never been able to forget what she did, and the nightmare never left her for once. All she saw in her dreams were her father's retreating figure and those haunting green eyes full of hatred, that belonged to Greg.

Greg, the man whom was wrapped around her like a cotton blanket, the man who was now telling her things, everything that ever happened to him.

If only he knew that she knew most of this things. If only he knew she was the one who had done such injustice to him two years ago. If only he knew that she was the daughter of Hunt Wells the man who had ruined his parents marriage and subjected his only sister to such life, maybe he wouldn't be so nice to her.

Ashley could feel Greg's body that was painfully wrapped around hers, his arms around her were warm, his face was nuzzled into her neck, she felt his stubble grazing her delicate skin.

Greg's breathing was low now. She knew it was hard for him telling her all this, and she wanted him to stop, for the first time in her life she was ready to say that she wasn't curious to find out.

"It was around that time that my mum happened to fall pregnant with Nora..." His voice was eerily grave as he said this, it resonated in her neck, giving her chills. "She got scared, because she knew there was no way my stupid father would believe that the child was his, so she decided to leave." His tone was harder now and filled with hatred, hatred for his father.

At this point Ashley wanted him to just stop, Greg was more than hurt now, and she couldn't stop the guilt that she felt, her father's lies had affected a lot of lives, Nora's life included.

"She told me she had a very important job to do and would be back, I was so little then but there was one thing I was sure of...and it was the fact that my mum would surely be back," Ashley said this with his fingers trailing her arms. Ashley could hear through his voice how much he had loved his mother, and that did nothing but made her heart squeeze harder with guilt. Tears were threatening to spill out of her eyes now.

"Mum was gone for over a year, and all I did was watch my father grow more apart from me. He wasn't always home, and whenever he was, he happened to be complaining and moaning about how much of a slut my mother was for leaving me alone to him...at that point I couldn't comprehend if he was my father, but I always knew my mum would be back. I waited for her every day...It was a really hard thing to do. I almost lost hope, and to top up all my pain I didn't have friends like every normal kid, it wasn't until I was seven I met Davis and decided that he was going to be my best friend, and brother."

Ashley was surprised at this, she knew he and Davis were close. She couldn't tell how close, but now she could tell that their bond ran deeper than blood, like that of hers and Chloe.

"After a year, my mum was back. I was extremely happy, my father, he wasn't so glad, and you would be glad to know that the arguments resumed, dad still wasn't always home. It wasn't a surprise to either of us, I was just glad to have my mum back, but I had been so blind and oblivious to the fact that she was hurting. She had just lost a child and worse she was suffering from cancer...I was so dumb and stupid and had no idea."

"Stop it, Greg, don't blame yourself, what could you have done?" Ashley said holding onto his hand that was on her arm. she needed to let him know that he wasn't at fault, what could a seven year old have done.

"I could have noticed it Ashley...I should have," he said with a haunted voice. It sounded like he was trying hard to stifle a sob, she felt her already squeezed heart tightening harder in her chest with the sound of his voice that sounded so broken.

"Greg...you shouldn't blame it on yourself," she said quietly.

"I know, but I just can't help the feeling of not being there for her. It was hard Ashley, and it became harder when sixteen years later her condition worsened and my father didn't even notice anything...he was too busy attending to his several mistresses to notice his wife's distress, and whenever she got sick he would say she was just trying to get his attention. So my mum kept it all to herself, but I got to find out through Davis that she had cancer. She had kept it so well hidden from us, Davis was lucky enough to find out because his girlfriend then happens to work at the hospital my mum was registered under..." His voice now was breaking, he wasn't even trying to stop himself.

She was nothing short of unhappy right now, she was so hurt, she didn't know of Cassandra's sickness, her father must have omitted that fact from his story, or he had just been as oblivious as Greg's father was, because she was sure as hell that whatever her father felt for Cassandra wasn't love, no one would hurt a person he claimed to love the way he did.

"I didn't know what to make of the whole situation, I spoke to her. It was then she told me everything I knew now, she also told me that finding a treatment for her was hopeless because she was far gone. I didn't want to agree to it, but after series of medical test and results, I came to the realization that she wasn't going to be with me forever...my hatred for my father had gotten to its limit at this point." As he said the last sentence his voice was hard and angry.

Ashley ran her hands over his, trying to see if she could calm him down, but it wasn't working the least bit. Greg was really angry and all that anger was directed at his father, if only he knew his father didn't have all the fault.

"I became very desperate at this point, trying everything I can to please her, by then my father seemed to have began to realize his stupidity since he started coming home more frequently, but it was far too late. Nothing could replace the hatred I had for him, and the hatred worsened when I found out that my mum had been talking to a private detective and I was made to know that I had a sister..." Greg finished saying this with a dry chuckle.

Oh, dear Nora.

Finding out about Nora also worsened the already built up hatred for her own father, it seemed they both had something in common, but the only difference is that her father was the cause of all Greg's father misbehaviors.

"Finding out about Nora made me happy and at the same time sad. I was determined to bring her back home to my mum, so I got the detective to find her for me and when he did, I told my mum. She explained to me why she hid her in the first place, making me promise to make sure my father doesn't find out about her. I was more than glad to keep that promise...and I also made a promise to myself, to make my mum last days memorable, and to achieve that I needed to bring Nora home. So I went to meet her...and...I." his voice seemed to have gotten a lot more cloudy now.

Greg stopped talking, he was quiet for some time, she almost thought he wasn't going to continue, then she felt it, a tiny little drop of water fell on her bare shoulder. She wondered where the water cane from, it took a while for her silly brain to register the fact that it wasn't water, but a tear drop, Greg was crying.

Ashley turned to face him but Greg held her still refusing to have her look at him. By now she couldn't contain it, she let the dam break, every tear that had been threatening to spill found their way out. She just couldn't bare it, Greg was hurt.

This was the second time ever she would see him cry, and it was the second time that day he would cry. His arms around her tightened, pressing her closer to him, he nuzzled closer to her neck and she felt more droplets of tears touch her skin.

"When I saw Nora, she was almost dead. She had bruises, lots of them, apparently she had tried to take her own life and nearly succeeded in doing it. She looked so lifeless and just kept on drifting in and out of life, I felt my heart break then, never in my life have I ever been so hurt Ashley, it was at that point I knew I had more to live for in this life..."

Nora.

Nora was all she could think about about as she listened to Greg's graven voice, she thought of how much the poor girl had to endure because of her father's lies.

"When she finally came to...I told her I was her brother, she laughed at my face and told me to fuck off. She said she knew that her family never wanted her so why would I come looking for her now. Turns out the people at the orphanage she grew up at didn't fail to tell her about how her mother didn't want her. No family wanted to adopt her, and whenever she gets to a foster home she was never able to fit in, so she was sent right back to the orphanage."

Ashley felt more tears spill out of her eyes. She already kinda figured out that things hadn't been easy for Nora, but she had never pictured it was this hard.

No wonder she had been so obsessed with her brother leaving her.

"When she was finally able to accept that she had a family, I got this house here in New York, and brought her over along with my mum. Those few months we spent together here as a family were the best moments of my life. My mum was a lot more happier, and Nora seemed to be getting more used to the idea of having a family, but it seemed like fate just loves to deal us the toughest of cards..." Greg said his voice very husky with tears.

Ashley feared that at this point she couldn't let him continue. She was aware of what he would say next, he was going to talk about what happened that night and she was scared. Ashley didn't have the heart to listen to him retell the tale of her misdeed.

"Then two years ago..." Greg started saying and Ashley didn't let him finish as she turned in his arms and planted her lips on his. She kissed him fiercely. At first Greg didn't kiss her back, but a few seconds later he had his hands roaming over her body, kissing her back as hard as she kissed him.

The kiss held so much emotions, pain and hurt from Greg, guilt and apologies from Ashley.

Silent apologies; she had a lot she was guilty of, and a lot to apologize for, and she was scared she could never be forgiven, she had taken things too far with Greg.

  Chapter thirty.
Mary Aden.