Chapter 3 :

Ashley's POV:

I tried to brush it off with just, "Ashley."

But his curiosity wasn't quenched, "Ashley who?" God, that damn question again.

I had no other choice but to answer him if I wanted his help. I slumped down in my seat, "Ashley Frostford."

His eyes widened with shock, "As in...Ambrose Frostford's daughter?"

I sighed, "Unfortunately."

He shook his head once again and muttered, "He is some big name with not so clear reputation. Not sure if I want to be added to his enemy's list, kiddo."

I have had enough of it. Everyone feared my father and that's why he always got around to doing whatever the hell he wanted. I gritted out, "Then you better stop the car so I can get out."

His eyes twinkled, "Like hell, I will. I am just doing my job." He winked at me through the mirror and sped up even more. He, for sure, was enjoying the show. I rolled my eyes at that.

With every other mile between the cars, my anxiety was also scaling up. Just as I had feared, all of the sudden, two black cars appeared out of the road on either side and stopped in the middle of the road to block our path. My hands were sweating badly as I realized that it was it. There is no other way to escape from these goons my father had sent for me.

Tears prickled at the back of my eyes as I fished in my bag to collect some money to give to the driver and ask him to stop the car. But all my actions halted as the deafening sound of shooting pierced through my ears.

Jerking around in my seat, I caught the sight of a rifle in the hands of the man dangling out of the car behind us. He was pointing toward the tires of our car and it won't take him long to press the trigger. I saw the driver gripping the steering wheel when I heard another gunshot, and that must have hit the tire because the very next second our car started spinning towards the right side of the road. I saw the driver frantically revolving the steering wheel but he had lost control of the car. I clutched the seat tightly and only a few seconds later, I heard a loud crash as our car smashed the tree at the roadside. Air balloons ejected out of the car doors. Searing pain exploded in my head and the next moment, everything went blank.

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Slowly and lazily, my eyes fluttered open. A piercing pain erupted in my head at the movement but I forced myself to move my eyes and look around my surroundings. The ceiling told me that I was in my bedroom. And right at that moment, a series of flashbacks stringed together in my mind. Packing...running away...that devil...Uber driver...gunshot...and then...BOOM...crash.

Now that I knew what actually happened, the pain was the least of my concerns. All of the sudden, I shot up and sit straighter on my bed. Ms. Jane was the first one to get my attention,"Oh my, Madam, come and have a look. Ms. Ashley has gained consciousness."

I whipped my head around and saw my mother, sitting in the Italian chair in the corner of the room. A fashion magazine was clasped in her hands. With her usual elegance, she closed the magazine, landed her vicious gaze on me, and hissed vilely, "Ms. Jane, go and bring the doctor. Our princess has finally woken up."

Ms. Jane ran out of the room. I opened my mouth to say something. I wanted to know what happened while I was unconscious but my tongue was a heavy lump that I couldn't move. My mother's deadly gaze never wavered even for a second. Right then Ms. Jane entered the room with a doctor behind her tail.

The doctor made his way around the bed and with great care, he took my wrist and checked my pulse. He inquired about any pain and I told him about a severe headache. He simply nodded once and turned towards Mother, "Just as I had said, there are no major injuries. Due to the crash, Ms. Ashley got a concussion but nothing major to worry about. I am prescribing a painkiller for the pain. You can call me if anything worries you."

Mother offered him a polite smile and said delicately, "Thank you so much, doctor. Ms. Jane, please escort the doctor out."

Just as the door closed behind them, the smile wiped away from Mother's face. She took a few steps toward the bed and bared her teeth, "What the hell do you think you were about to do?"

Somehow, I finally found the words, "Mother, please, I am so fed up with all this. All that controlling wasn't enough for you and Father that now you want to use me for your business purposes?"

She gritted her teeth, "Use you? Really? You know that the business is going down and we need to strike a deal with some well-known businessman to get stable again."

I said agitated, "Do you even know how ridiculous you are sounding right now? You want to strike a deal with a businessman by marrying me off to him?"

She straightened her dress, "We have provided you with all the luxury throughout your life. Now, you won't die if you would help us a little bit, right? Besides, marriage is what happens when a girl reaches your age."

I was so astounded to even reply to her. Just then, doors burst open and Ms. Jane hurried inside. Apparently, Mother was done with me and turned around to face Ms. Jane, "Please look into that Ashley gets ready by 7 pm. Oh and now that she has a bruise on her arm, make her wear that shiny, full-sleeves red dress."

She stepped closer to my face, took a good look, and wondered aloud, "She has a bruise on her forehead. But nothing a make-up can't fix." Taking a step back, she slightly flared her nostrils, "Don't try to do anything funny again. You won't ever succeed. Just to save you the hassle of running away again, let me tell you that your Father and I are constantly investigating your every move ever since your sister ran away. Of course, we can't tolerate another loss." Her words were bitter and her face was full of loathing.

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