Chapter 8 Chapter 8 What's His Plan to Punish Me

"What? You...?" George was completely stunned-it never crossed his mind that Charles had done it to himself.

Charles glanced down at the neatly bandaged wound and fell silent. Deep down, he knew-even if she'd stabbed him to death last night, he couldn't bring himself to lay a finger on her.

"I don't want this to get back to my parents," he said, getting up and slipping into his pajama top.

"I understand," George replied quickly. He knew Charles was just trying to protect Ashley. After all, Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood had never liked her to begin with, and if they found out what happened... it wouldn't end well.

Seeing Charles frown so tightly, George hesitated, then said, "I really think there's some kind of misunderstanding between you two. Otherwise, Miss Carter wouldn't pretend not to know you. We all saw how much she loved you back then."

A misunderstanding? Was it really that simple? Charles let out a dry, bitter laugh.

He rubbed his temples, exhaustion suddenly washing over him. With a wave of his hand, he signaled George to leave.

The next morning, George returned with the maids to deliver breakfast to Ashley.

"Miss Carter, breakfast is here," he said as one of the maids carefully placed the food on the small table.

"Is he badly hurt?" Ashley stood up from the couch the moment she saw him.

She'd been restless all night, tied up in worry. She had stabbed him near his heart and there had been so much blood...

"Don't worry, it's just a surface wound. The doctor's already checked him out-it's nothing serious," George reassured her.

Relief washed over her. She let out a breath and sat back down slowly.

"Miss Carter, seeing how worried you were, it's obvious you still care about him, right?" George asked hopefully, remembering the panic in her eyes.

"You've got it wrong. I only asked because this all happened because of me," Ashley quickly waved him off.

"That's all?" George couldn't hide his disappointment.

"Of course!" She nodded firmly. Then she looked at the breakfast spread on the table, clearly puzzled. "After what I did last night, he still had breakfast brought to me? Shouldn't he be furious or something?"

She had literally said she'd kill him. With his temper, she expected him to be way less forgiving.

"Miss Carter, think about it-knowing our young master's temper, if he really wanted to hold you accountable, do you think you'd still be sitting here this peacefully?" George's tone might've sounded like a question, but his certainty was unmistakable.

"He's not gonna punish me?" Ashley blinked in disbelief. That guy was furious last night-there's no way he'd just let it go that easily!

"Miss Carter, don't you see what's going on? He keeps backing down because he's in love with you. To him, you're not just important-you're the one," George said with all the sincerity in the world.

If she really was his lover, those words would've hit her hard and maybe even moved her. The thing was...

"I'm really not the person he's looking for. Can't you tell him to let me leave?" Ashley asked, knowing full well it was a long shot, but still clinging to hope.

"I'm sorry, Miss Carter. That's not something I can do. Your breakfast's getting cold-you should eat it while it's still warm." With that, George turned and walked out of the room.

"Wait, don't go! I still have questions!" Ashley called out, only to see the door shut behind him.

Silence filled the room again. She'd hoped to get something out of him-maybe some clue about that guy from three years ago and the woman he fell for, just something to prove she wasn't her.

She'd asked other staff too, but no one seemed to know a thing. George was the only one who'd been around long enough to possibly have answers.

She looked at the beautiful spread of breakfast on the table, but had zero appetite.

She felt like a caged bird-surrounded by luxury, yes-but none of it mattered. It wasn't what she wanted. She just wanted a simple, normal life with Lucas.

But why hadn't Lucas found her yet? It'd been so long. This place couldn't be that hidden, right? She'd looked out the windows-it was a villa neighborhood, but not exactly in the middle of nowhere.

And the way she was taken on their wedding day, right in broad daylight with everyone watching-normally, the police would've been all over it. But so far? Nothing. Not even a whisper.

There was only one explanation: the guy who brought her here had way more power than she ever imagined.

Oh god... what kind of person had she ended up dealing with?