Ashley's POV

I rushed back into the house and ran straight to my bedroom.

I pressed my back against the door, breathing heavily.

"What have I just done?" I whispered.

This was never supposed to get this far. It was only supposed to help me save my job; I didn't think things through. How was I going to get out of this one now?

It was the end of me. My only option was to move out of the city and hopefully, he'll never find me again. I think that was going to be my solution.

I frantically pulled my suitcase from my top cupboard; I grabbed my clothes and stacked them into the suitcase. I couldn't think straight. I just knew that I was prepared to leave everything behind. Telling him the truth didn't seem like much of an option. He didn't seem like the forgiving type.

My life was officially over.

***

I couldn't sleep a wink. All my thoughts were running wild and I could barely think straight, but I had managed to convince myself that moving away was the best option.

I was the first to wake up before the rest of my family. I took a shower before they realized. I had figured that it was best for me to leave right after the two of them had left.

After getting dressed, I wore my bathrobe over my clothes in case I bumped into my mom or sister, that way they wouldn't get suspicious.

Was I making a rational decision? Was leaving my family the right decision? But what options did I have? I'm sure Tristan would destroy my life as soon as he finds out the truth and I could already imagine the look of disappointment on my mom's face. If I moved to another city, I'd be able to find a job there and support my family, hopefully before Tristan realizes and destroys my reputation there as well.

I had already figured it out. I'd use my last savings and buy a bus ticket. I'll leave as soon as my mom and sister are out of the house. I'd just have to leave behind a letter saying I got a wonderful job opportunity.

There was a loud knock on my door, and my mom stepped in.

"Why aren't you getting ready for work?" she asked.

"I'm having a day off today," I answered.

"Well, that's nice of your boss." She said.

Mom was on her way out, ready to close the door.

This might be the last time I see her in a long time. This couldn't be our final goodbye.

"Mom," I said stopping her in her tracks. "I want you to know that no matter what happens, I love you," I said.

She turned around, looking at me puzzled.

"Did you find out you were dying of cancer?" she asked.

My expression changed. "Of course not, Mom," I replied.

"Well, I just want to tell you that Ms Welson should be stopping by soon to collect some cupcakes that I made for her son for his bake sale." She spoke.

She walked out and closed the door behind her without even saying 'I love you too'.

I headed downstairs just to see Katy off.

Mom was frantically gathering her bags and the cake that she had to deliver.

"Katy, we need to leave right away," Mom said in a warning tone.

Mom walked out of the house, carrying everything with no difficulty.

"Have a good day," I said to Katy as I waved her off.

As annoying as she was, I was going to miss her.

"What are you up to today?" Katy asked.

"No, nothing. Why would you ask that?" I asked.

"You look a bit more stupid than usual," she answered.

It took me a while to recover from that. This is what happens when I try to be nice to my family.

"Come on Katy, we have to leave now. Or else you are going to be late for school!" Mom yelled.

Katy sighed, stamping her feet as she walked out of the house.

I waited a few minutes until I was sure that neither of them would return.

I ran up to my room to get my suitcase. Although I thought I had packed that much, carrying it was a lot harder than I anticipated. After minutes of struggling, I was finally able to get it downstairs. I took the bathrobe off, putting it aside.

I sighed, taking a moment to rethink my decision.

Maybe I should just tell him that I'm sick. That would give me enough time to tell him that I lost the baby. Then all my problems would be solved.

The doorbell rang snapping me out of my thoughts. It must have been Ms Welson coming to collect her cupcakes.

I smiled as I opened the door.

My eyes widened, staring at Tristan.

What was he doing here, and this early?

He had already seen me; I couldn't tell him I was sick now.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked with enthusiasm.

I faked a smile, looking at him awkwardly.

"Should I come in?" he asked.

Before I answered, he was already walking in as he stepped past me.

I closed the door after him.

"Were you travelling somewhere?" He pointed out my suitcase in the hallway.

"No," I lied. "It's just some clothes we wanted to donate," I lied.

I walked Tristan to the living room. He sat on the couch, taking a look at our family pictures.

"You have a lovely home," he commented.

That was the first nice thing he said to me.

I don't know why I was constantly nervous around him. Could it be something about him or was it because I was constantly lying around him?

The doorbell rang, taking me out of daydream land.

I opened the door to find Mrs Welson smiling at me.

"Good morning, dear," she said as she walked past me. "I wonder who that gorgeous car belongs to. Whoever it is, they should be careful not to get robbed." Ms Welson continued.

Her eyes widened, staring at Tristan and then back at me in shock.

"Ashley, you finally have a boyfriend. See your mother and I were talking about it the other day; we were worried that you were going to die alone." She said.

Shot! Now she was going to phone my mother to tell her that she saw me with a man.

"No, we are not together," I retorted.

With the expression Ms Welson had, I could tell she did not believe me.

"He is just a.... client. He wants to order a cake for his daughter." I lied.

Tristan looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

Ms Welson didn't look any more convinced.

"Well, I have your cupcakes for you right in the kitchen." I took her hand to walk her to the kitchen.

I handed her the box that my mom had just left on the kitchen counter. I walked her out just as quickly. I knew if she stayed longer, she would embarrass me even further.

"I'm sorry about that," I pointed at the door after Ms Welson had just left.

He kept his brows raised and his hands folded. I had just proven to him that I was a liar.

"I have something for you." He spoke.

His hand reached into the pocket of his blazer. He took out a box which he then handed to me.

Anxiety build up in me as I opened the box, I was shocked to find the latest iPhone.

My eyes widened as I shook my head in refusal. "I'm sorry, but I can't accept this," I said, returning the phone to him.

He blocked my hand away. "I figured you needed one. It was no trouble at all," he replied.

"You really didn't have to," I said.

"I wanted to," he interrupted me. "I also wanted to apologize for the way I treated you last time. I acted like a complete jerk." He spoke.

His apology just made me feel worse about myself.

"Before we delay this any further, we should get ready to go. The appointment is in less than half an hour." He stated.

I had almost forgotten about that. All my plans were surely not going to work now. I couldn't pretend to be sick, and I definitely couldn't run away now.

"Could you please give me a moment?" I asked.

I smiled before running off to my room.

I needed to come up with a plan and it had to be right now.

I looked out my window and saw a brawny man dressed in a black suit standing outside. He must have been Tristan's driver or bodyguard; he would catch me before I got anywhere. I couldn't even run away.

Maybe Ivy could think of a way to get me out of here. With my new phone, I dialed Ivy's number. I listened to the phone ring, but she wasn't picking up. I tried Ivy's phone one last time.

Why wasn't she answering when I needed her the most?

It was time for me to make a quick prayer for Tristan to become the most forging person in the world.

I had to get out of here. I couldn't keep him waiting forever. Maybe it was time I told him the truth.

Only a miracle could get me out of this alive.

Tristan was ready for the two of us to leave. Before I could get a word in, he had already opened the front door for us to leave.

I locked the front door before trying to catch up with Tristan.

His driver smiled at me as he opened the front door. He might have looked scary, but he was a lot nicer.

I stepped inside the car. How was I going to tell Tristan the truth now that his driver was around?

I sent another text to Ivy.

In a matter of seconds, the car was taking off.

My anxiety worsened. This car was far too small for the two of us. I was hyperventilating.

Tristan must have noticed how anxious I was.

He took my hand into his while maintaining eye contact.

"I want you to know that you are not alone in any of this." He smiled. "I also need you to know that you can tell me anything." He spoke.

Why did that sound like a threat? Did he suspect that I was lying?

I quickly pulled my hand away from his nervously, slowly backing away.

I sent Ivy another text, this time with exclamation marks to reinforce my sense of agency.

Why wasn't Ivy answering any of my texts? Maybe she had an idea to get me out of this.

It didn't take long until we arrived. It felt like the shortest ride of my life.

Tristan's driver rushed to open the door for me. I stepped out of the car.

I looked at the tall clinic building. Walking into the building, I felt like I was walking to my death.

Why was I going along with this? I should just end this and tell him the truth.

Tristan stopped by the receptionist's desk.

"We have an appointment here," He spoke.

"Mr Montenegro," the receptionist spoke with acknowledgement. "Come this way." She spoke.

She left her desk and walked us down the hall. We took the elevator two floors up before she finally led us to a room where a nurse welcomed us.

The receptionist left us under the nurse's care.

"So, are you excited to be parents?" the nurse asked with enthusiasm.

Neither Tristan nor I answered.

"Well, you can make yourselves comfortable. The doctor will be here shortly," the nurse continued.

I was panicking with sweat covering my forehead as I clenched my hands into fists in an attempt to calm myself down.

"Is there something you want to say?" Tristan asked.

I nodded.

"Can I please go to the bathroom? I'm feeling a bit nauseous," I asked.

"It's two doors down the hallway on your right." The nurse answered.

In an instant, I was out of the room and running to the bathroom.

As soon as I closed the door, I made sure to lock it.

I sat on the toilet seat as I tried to find a way out. At what point did my life go so horribly wrong that I ended up in this situation?

My phone rang in my pocket. I was relieved to see that it was Ivy.

"Hi, what's up?" Ivy spoke. "I saw your missed calls."

"I'm in a crisis," I whispered into the phone.

"Calm down, what's wrong?" she asked.

I stood up from the toilet seat to open the tap, allowing the water to run so no one would hear us.

I began explaining the details, speaking as fast as I could.

"Is there a way out? Can you jump out of the window or something? You can always think of an excuse later," Ivy suggested.

"I'm two floors up, I'd be jumping to my death," I replied. "Besides, I'm sure he is right outside the door. I'm trapped here." I spoke.

I heard a knock on the door.

"Are you okay in there?" Tristan yelled banging on the door.

"I'll be out in a minute!" I yelled back.

"He is outside, what do I do?" I whispered into the phone.

"I need you to calm down and stay in there for as long as you can. Make him wait for a little bit." Ivy answered.

"I can't stay here forever. Besides, that would just make him angrier when he finds out the truth." I answered.

"Okay, just calm down. I must leave now, so just hang in there for a little while." She said.

She hung up the phone.

I can't believe she hung up on me while I was in a crisis.

I sighed pressing my back against the wall. I'm pretty sure it was safe to say that there was no getting out of this situation alive.

I must have spent another ten minutes in the bathroom. That's how long it took me to accept the situation.

I stepped out of the bathroom to find Tristan leaning against the wall.

"Are you ready to go in now?" He spoke.

"There is something I need to tell you I answered," I spoke.

He stood up straight, putting both his hands in his pocket.

Here I go, there was no turning back now.

I took a deep breath.

My phone rang in my pocket. I needed to ignore it before I lost this bit of courage that I had just gathered.

Tristan and I stayed silent for a while as I tried to find the right words to explain the situation. Where was the best place to start in all this?

My phone continued to ring.

"Maybe you should answer that," Tristan suggested.

With my hands trembling, I grabbed my phone from my pocket and answered it.

"Is this Ashley Owens?" A man asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"I'm calling to inform you that your mother has just been admitted to the hospital. She had a heart attack and is in a serious condition." The man said.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading. Please vote and comment, I'd love to your thoughts.