Page 13 of Ruthless Regret

How do I even begin to explain it to them? How do I explain why I’m married to a man I told them I hate? A man who blackmailed me?

I force myself to take in a deep breath, and then reach for the door handle. My mom is standing on the other side of it. Her eyes meet mine, and her mouth tightens.

“Are you okay?” Her voice is unusually gentle. “Sheriff McFadden called. He asked me to pass on the message that he’ll be here in about an hour to talk to you.”

Oh fuck.

“Why didn’t you tell me what happened?” There’s no accusation in her tone, but thereisdisappointment.

Guilt washes over me. “Can we just go downstairs? I’ll try and explain everything there.”

“Ashley, someone attacked you. Why wouldn’t you say something?”

I shake my head. “Please, mom?”

She takes a step back so I can leave the bedroom, then follows me along the hallway and down the stairs. When I step into the living room, Jessa-Mae is standing near the window, arms crossed, and her eyes fixed on me like she’s ready to demand every single detail of what I’ve done. Karla sits on the edge of the couch, her expression similar.

The silence stretches, lengthens, while my mind blanks on what I should say. It’s Jessa who speaks first.

“Ashley, what the hell is going on?”

Her voice is tight, laced with concern, but there’s an edge to it. An edge I can’t blame her for. I’m acting out of character, like someone they no longer know. And the worst part of that isthisis who I really am … and the person they know is a lie, a carefully constructed lie … one that was supposed to keep me safe and protected for the rest of my life.

“Yeah,” Karla adds, before I can respond. “You come back home, supposedly to see your mom. Then we get a call saying you’ve quit your job, and broken up with Scott, and you’re moving out. Andthenwe find out you’re married to Zain Ryder.Zain Ryder, Ashley! The guy you sent to prison. What the fuck is going on?”

How do I explain something I’m still trying to process?

“It’s … complicated.”

“Complicated? You said that earlier.” Jessa jumps on the word. “You’re married to a man you put behind bars. A man who murdered your brother. That’s notcomplicated. That’s fucking insane! What are you thinking?”

Itisinsane. I can’t deny that.

“You don’t understand. I had no choice.” I’m amazed at how steady I sound. “I didn’t want to do it, but I couldn’t see any way out of it.”

Karla frowns. “If you didn’t want to do it, thenwhydid you?”

“I … he …” I take another deep breath. “He forced me to sign a contract. Fourteen months married to him to pay for the fourteen years he was in prison.”

Jessa lets out a sharp breath. “What? That’sblackmail! Why didn’t you say something?”

“I couldn’t. He’s angry. He wants revenge for what I did to him.” My gaze jumps to my mom. “He said that he’d have you arrested for Jason’s murder if I didn’t do what he wanted.”

“Me? He thinksIdid it?”

“No. He just mademethink he could implicate you, so he could get what he wanted.”

“He was convicted of a crime. All the evidence pointed at him.Yousaw him at the crime scene. How can I be involved?”

“I don’t know. He said he had proof.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Is that why you were asking all those questions?”

“Everything else he told me, you confirmed.” I lick my lips. “Mom, Iknowyou didn’t do it, but after it was proved hedidn’t, how could I be sure that the same thing wouldn’t happen to you?”

The room falls silent, my words hanging in the air.

“So, he’s doing this to punish you? He made you marry him as some twisted form of revenge?” Jessa-Mae’s voice is low.

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