Chapter 9 Chapter 9 I Feel So Awful

Just thinking about it made her feel so bummed. No, she had to come up with another way to get out of here. Lucas must be freaking out after not seeing her for two days!

Ashley forced herself to calm down. After her attempt to escape by climbing down the bedsheets yesterday, the security around her had clearly been upgraded. Now, not only were there four bodyguards at the door, but several more had been added downstairs right below the balcony. At this rate, unless she suddenly grew wings, she had zero chance of escaping.

That realization hit her hard.

Wait a second... what if she could just get out of here first? She slapped her thigh as the idea struck. If she could leave his territory, running would be way easier.

But how could she convince him to let her leave willingly? Her brief excitement vanished, and her brows furrowed again.

Ugh, whatever, food first. No energy means no escape either. She grabbed her fork and wolfed down breakfast in mere minutes.

As she walked over to the sink to wash her hands, she turned on the faucet.

Got it!

Watching the cold water run gave her a sudden spark. What if she made herself catch a cold?

If she got sick, surely they'd take her to the hospital. That might just be her shot at freedom.

Good job, Ashley-brain working when it counts! She couldn't help but feel a little smug.

With a plan in place, time to put it into action.

She headed straight to the shower, flipping the cold water on full blast.

Whoa-that was seriously cold!

As the icy water poured down on her head, she almost jumped back out of reflex. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stay under the shower for over an hour, soaking in freezing water until her clothes were dripping wet. She finally stumbled out, shivering.

Her head felt heavy, and as soon as she hit the bed, she slowly drifted off into a daze.

"Mr. Finley, something's wrong-Miss Carter's burning up!" The maid who brought her dinner noticed something was off and rushed to tell George.

"Got it," George responded quickly, not daring to delay. He immediately called Kevin to come check on her.

"Who... who are you?" Ashley heard a voice nearby and cracked her eyes open, seeing a man holding an ear thermometer.

"I'm a doctor, Miss Carter. You've got a fever," Kevin replied after checking the display.

Wait-he's a doctor? That means... is this a hospital?

She perked up a bit, but the side glance she cast around the room showed she was still in the same giant bedroom.

"This isn't a hospital?"

"This is the Blackwood residence," George explained.

"No! I feel awful. I wanna go to a hospital!" The second she realized she hadn't left the villa, Ashley tried to sit up in protest.

"Please don't worry, Miss Carter," George said, thinking she was doubting the doctor. "Dr. White's very skilled. He'll get your fever down in no time."

"But..." She tried to argue again.

"Lie down, please. Let me take another listen." Kevin gently pushed her back down and raised his stethoscope to check her again.

Oh no... from the looks of it, taking her to the hospital wasn't even on their radar. Lying there, Ashley was panicking inside, but she couldn't show it-if they caught on, all her effort would go to waste.