Chapter 6
On a farm in the south of France, a blonde, blue-eyed boy had been pursuing me fiercely.
One afternoon, with the wind sweeping through the grass, Lucas slipped a flower crown onto my head.
He gazed at me, nothing but tenderness in his eyes.
When his lips pressed against mine. I didn’t pull away. My heart flipped.
I kissed him back, letting myself lean into the warmth.
Then a familiar voice sounded behind me.
Ryland stood frozen, veins bulging at his temples, his stare so cold it raised the hair on my arms.
But the rage didn’t last. His eyes turned red-rimmed fast.
I told Lucas to go on ahead.
I walked toward Ryland slowly, stopping in front of him with perfect calm. “What are you here for?”
When he didn’t speak, I glanced back at where Lucas had been and lowered my head with a soft smile.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. That wasn’t a ploy to make you feel sorry for me.”
Ryland seized my hand tightly, his lips trembling.
“I believe you.’
“Ashley. Whatever you say, I’ll believe.”
I pulled my hand free and thanked him politely.
Whether he believed me or not no longer mattered.
I was free now.
I would never again crave his love.
I realized, the moment I truly let go of him, those nauseating bullet comments never appeared again.
And now Ryland was chasing me.
It was simple. A man who’d once been loved to death couldn’t accept being left behind.
I’d already walked several paces when Ryland came after me.
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‘Ashley Come back with me.”
I shook my head. Just mail me the divorce certificate when it’s done.”
Ryland laughed through tears, staring at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Ashley, you’re joking, right? How could I ever divorce you?”
“I’ve already signed. Once I sign, I don’t look back. And since I signed, I wasn’t going to keep our child.”
The word “child”caught Ryland off guard. He dropped to his knees at my feet, sobbing.
Like the old days. When he’d made me angry and I’d told him, half teasing, that getting on his knees would fix it.
He’d dropped right there, in front of company shareholders, not caring who saw.
But I wasn’t falling back into that now.
I shook him off impatiently, and used his own words against him.
“Ryland Harrington. A woman like me isn’t worth your love.”
He was silent for a long beat. Tears streamed down his face.
I was already far away when I heard him say behind me.
“Ashley. Don’t talk about yourself like that.”
I almost laughed.
Hadn’t he said worse? So much worse?
I returned to the farm. I assumed Ryland wouldn’t come pestering me again.
That evening, the farm owner called me over. He announced he was throwing a party for a distinguished guest from
abroad.
I didn’t need to think twice. I knew exactly who it was.
I didn’t want to go, but I needed this job in France.
Lucas saw my hesitation and offered to come with me.
We walked in, one after the other.
Ryland’s expression was warm-until he spotted Lucas. His whole face hardened.
He strode toward us with open hostility. I stepped in front of Lucas before he could get close.
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“What do you think you’re doing!”
Seeing me shield another man, Ryland’s chest heaved.
“Ashley. Are you punishing me?”
“Ashley, nothing ever happened between Daisy and me. Not one real thing. It was all petty games.”
He paused. ‘Everything I did-it was just to… get back at you for lying to me.”
I smiled and took Lucas’s hand.
“But Lucas and I are real. And this isn’t petty games.
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