Chapter 4
Before leaving. I met up with the few friends I still had.
Winnie was someone I’d known from the Elite Debutante Finishing Academy.
She was the only one back then who never mocked my hopeless devotion to Ryland.
She supported every decision I made.
Seeing me this wrecked barely two weeks into marriage, she couldn’t stand it.
She insisted on dragging me to a family doctor to get my health in order.
Then the doctor ran his tests and his face turned serious.
“Ashley, you’re pregnant. You can’t keep running your body into the ground like this.”
My heart dropped like a stone.
The baby. It was from that time with Ryland, right before the wedding…
He’d said we were getting married anyway, so we didn’t bother with precautions.
I never imagined it would actually happen.
My hand moved to my stomach instinctively. My throat tightened.
I made up an excuse and left. Then I just sat on a curb, staring at nothing.
I stayed there until the sun went down before I finally went to the hospital.
A child who wasn’t wanted didn’t deserve to come into this world.
Back at Harrington Manor, I went straight to the guest room and collapsed into a dead sleep.
When I woke, Ryland was there, having dinner at home for the first time in days.
His eyes swept over the medical form on the table. Disgust flickered across his face.
“Why is this filth sitting out on the table?”
The servant rushed to toss it in the trash.
Daisy popped her head out from behind him, amused.
“Ashley, aren’t you tired of these little acts yet?”
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I just gave her a polite smile.
After all, the position of Mrs. Harrington was about to be hers.
Ryland took in my pale face, my silence, my dry eyes. He snorted.
“This time the acting’s more convincing.”
I didn’t argue. I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door.
Outside, rain had started pouring. The servant hurried to Ryland.
“Mr. Harrington, Ashley looks terrible. In this downpour, she really shouldn’t be going out alone.”
Ryland watched my retreating silhouette with growing irritation.
“Let her go. A calculating woman like her doesn’t need anyone stopping her.”
“She’ll find her way back within three days on her own.”
[Get lost, schemer. Stop getting in the way of our male lead bonding with our darling heroine.]
[At least Ashley knows better than to use the kid as leverage. She’d only end up dead faster.]
[Ryland’s first child has to be with our heroine. It has to be.]
Reading the bullet comments flickering before me, I opened my umbrella and walked into the rain. Nothing moved
inside me.
Three days passed. Then three more.
Ryland was coming home more often than usual. But he never caught a glimpse of me.
Without thinking, he searched the entire estate. Nothing.
Fury surged through him. He drove his foot into the bedroom door.
The jewelry in the vanity. The handbags in the closet. I hadn’t taken a single piece.
‘Fine! Ashley Linwood, you’ve got nerve playing it this big!”
He ordered every luxury item listed online immediately. One dollar each.
Everything sold out in minutes. Ryland still couldn’t flush out the buyer he was looking for.
Another half month went by. The staff confirmed I hadn’t returned.
A spike of unease shot through Ryland. He barked at his assistant.
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‘Track down where my wife’s been. What she’s been doing. I don’t need her dead somewhere, dragging the Harrington
name through the dirt.
His assistant compiled a list and stood beside him to deliver the report.
‘Mrs. Harrington’s earliest outing was tea with her close friend.”
Ryland scoffed, the tension leaving his shoulders.
“Solid nerves, I’ll give her that. Still has the stomach for tea.”
But the assistant barely got through the next line before he started stammering.
Ryland’s brow furrowed. The man had no choice but to continue.
Later that evening, your wife visited a Harrington-affiliated hospital. She had… an abortion.”
Ryland twirled the wedding band in his hand, the corner of his mouth lifting in a dismissive sneer.
“Putting on a full show, huh? How could we possibly have a child?”
“We always made sure to…”
His words stopped dead.
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