Ashley
A shiver ran down my spine the moment our eyes met.
What was he doing here? I thought.
"Open up," I heard him say from outside the car.
I hesitated, my fingers tightening around the steering wheel as my instincts screamed caution. Since he had seen me laughing like a madwoman alone in my car, it could pose a serious threat to the plans I had just begun to weave together.
I was unsure whether I should roll down the window or simply start the engine and drive away as fast as possible.
He knocked again, more insistently this time.
"Open up."
I exhaled slowly and unlocked the door.
He slid into the passenger seat beside me and fastened his seatbelt with calm precision, as if he belonged there. Then he turned his head and looked directly at me.
"Drive," he ordered.
I shot him a questioning look, ready to demand an explanation, but he simply pointed forward.
My eyes followed the direction of his finger. That was when I saw Ariana walking out of the restaurant.
My heart skipped a beat. She was heading straight toward my car. The moment her eyes met mine through the windshield, she waved enthusiastically, as if we were loving sisters who had been separated for years.
I ignored her completely.
Without hesitation, I started the car and drove out of the garage in a hurry.
As I drove past her, she looked confused and continued waving, clearly puzzled by my sudden departure, but I avoided eye contact and kept my eyes fixed on the road ahead.
"Amazing!" he shouted once we were finally on the road.
"I'm glad I was able to convince you to drive faster," he added with a satisfied smile.
I didn't respond. His enthusiasm was the last thing I shared at that moment. Instead, my mind was racing with questions.
Why did he suddenly want me to drive away? Was he part of their plan? Was he connected to Owen and Ariana?
"Don't worry," he said suddenly, as though he had read every suspicious thought passing through my mind. "I bear nothing against you. I just wanted you to leave the restaurant."
I gripped the steering wheel tightly and glanced away from the road for a brief second before drumming my fingers impatiently against the wheel.
When my eyes returned to the road, I asked the question that had been burning inside me.
"Why are you in my car?"
I needed to know who my enemy was. Even though my instincts whispered that I could trust him, I refused to listen to them so easily.
I had trusted Owen once. That trust had led to my death.
"I saw you heading out," he began slowly, "and you looked like you were struggling very hard to keep something in and—"
I cut him off immediately.
"You saw me laughing in my car, right?"
He nodded without hesitation.
"Not my business," he admitted calmly, "but I just felt like you needed someone to talk to."
I looked at him again, studying his expression carefully and wondering why he cared so much about what happened to me.
Even during my funeral in my past life, he had been there. I remembered it clearly. He had been kneeling quietly beside my grave and praying for me. I still couldn't understand why a man who barely knew me would care that much.
"Don't give me that look," he muttered.
I raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What look?" I asked honestly.
Christian rolled his eyes dramatically, his face twisting into a mixture of irritation and amusement.
"That look," he repeated. "It's like you're trying to burn a hole through my soul with all that skepticism."
He paused for a moment before smiling at me.
"Don't worry. You can trust me this time. I'm not a bad person."
His dimples appeared on both sides of his cheeks as he smiled, giving him a surprisingly charming look.
"Your secret is safe with me."
I quickly looked away and focused on the road.
"Sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't realize I was glaring at you."
Even though he seemed like a genuinely good person, there was no way I could trust anyone again after everything that had happened to me and the years of suffering I had endured.
"Do you want me to drop you somewhere?" I asked, hoping to end this unexpected encounter quickly.
He sighed dramatically.
"Are you trying to get rid of me that fast?"
Before I could respond, he burst into laughter.
"Like I said, I'm not your enemy. I'm here because I want you to feel better."
"Why?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it. He cared too much for someone who barely knew him.
"You're always so direct, aren't you?" he chuckled softly before releasing a deep sigh.
"How Owen spoke to you in the restaurant wasn't right," he continued. "No one deserves to be spoken to that way, especially a woman."
He paused for a moment and stared out of the window.
"I know how degrading it feels," he added quietly. "I've seen it happen to my mother before."His voice trailed off.
I noticed his fingers tapping slowly against the window as though he were trying to suppress painful memories. For a brief moment, the confident heir to the country's largest corporation looked strangely vulnerable.
"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to," I said softly.
He nodded. "It's all in the past now."
Then he shifted in his seat and looked at me again.
"What do you say we go somewhere and let everything out?"
I shot him a sharp glare.
He burst out laughing immediately.
"Not what you're thinking," he said quickly. "There's a place I go whenever I need to release my anger."
"A special place."
"A special place?" I repeated skeptically.
Why would he want to show me something so personal? Christian's behavior made it seem like he knew me far better than he should.
Had we met somewhere before besides the hospital? I couldn't remember seeing him at any social events. Yet the familiarity in his tone made me wonder.
"Why are you showing me a place that's supposed to be special to you?" I asked.
"Because I think you need it," he replied simply.
I scoffed lightly. "Are you forgetting that you were just on a date with my sister and now you're offering to take me to some secret location?"
He chuckled. "Trust me, Ashley. I don't care about that date. When she told me you'd be there, I had to come."
I frowned. "Why are you so interested in me? Do you even know me that well?"
Christian nodded slowly. "Trust me, Ashley. I know you more than you realize."
The way he said those words sent a strange feeling through my chest. My mind flashed back to the memory of him kneeling beside my grave in my past life. There was something sincere in his voice. But sincerity alone wasn't enough.
Once bitten, twice shy.
"Where is this place?" I asked finally.
After surviving death itself, I needed to release the anger boiling inside me—the anger toward Owen, toward Ariana, toward the entire life that had betrayed me.
"Take the next right," Christian instructed. Turn after turn, he guided me through unfamiliar streets until we finally arrived at a quiet bridge.
"Stop here," he said.
I parked the car and frowned. "Welcome to the place where you can release all your anger."
I looked around in confusion. Why had he brought me to a pedestrian bridge?
"What exactly are we doing here?" I asked.
Instead of answering, he stepped out of the car and walked straight to the edge of the bridge. Then he screamed. The sound echoed loudly across the empty road.
"What are you doing?" I called as I stepped out of the car.
I glanced around nervously to make sure nobody was watching us. If paparazzi saw something like this, they would turn it into a scandal before sunrise.
"This!" he shouted again. Then he turned toward me. "Come on. I know you've been wanting to do this. Just scream everything out."
I hesitated as I slowly walked toward him. "I don't know… this feels ridiculous," I muttered. "We probably look like we're—"
"Forget all of that," he interrupted firmly. "Just scream."
He pointed at me. I took a deep breath. Then I closed my eyes.
And I screamed.
The sound tore out of my chest like a storm finally breaking free.
I screamed until my throat burned. I screamed until my voice cracked. I screamed out every ounce of pain, betrayal, and anger that had been suffocating me since the night I died.
When I finally stopped, my chest rose and fell rapidly as the cold air brushed against my face. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt lighter. Free.
"This feels amazing!" I shouted, and Christian laughed loudly beside me, spreading his arms toward the sky.
"This is where I come whenever I feel unhappy," he said. "I scream everything out because here, no one cares and no one notices me."
He was right. We were standing in a forgotten corner of the city where almost no cars passed.
The silence around us felt strangely peaceful.
"I'd like to do this again with you someday," he said suddenly. I didn't know how to respond.
"I…"
"You don't have to answer now," he said gently. "But I'll be here whenever you need me."
We stayed there for hours, standing quietly as the sky slowly changed colors. Whenever I glanced at him, I could feel his gaze lingering on me.
"I should go home," I finally said as I glanced down at my Rolex.
My mind urged me to say something more, but the words refused to come out. I still didn't trust him enough. If he was going to be part of my revenge plan, I needed to study him carefully first.
"Yes," he replied. "You can go ahead. I'll call my driver." He gestured toward the car.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
He nodded. "See you soon, Ashley."
I waved briefly before getting back into my car. When I looked through the windshield, I noticed he was still watching me. I quickly looked away, fastened my seatbelt, and started the car.
During the entire drive home, my thoughts kept circling around the chaos that Owen and Ariana would likely create after tonight. I was ready to face whatever rumors they spread. But first, I had to deal with my family.
I wasn't surprised when I walked into the mansion and saw everyone waiting for me in the living room.
Before I could even speak, my stepmother, Phaedra, stormed toward me and slapped me hard across the face.
"What have you done?" she demanded furiously.