Page 379 of Now and Forever

“The pain became so toxic it had influenced a lot of bad thoughts—thoughts of suicide, running away, or simply inflicting bodily harm would circle my mind most days. Coming here gave me some enlightenment. Being around Allie chased some of my demons away. But, one night, everything came into place. It was the night I found him—”

“Who’s him precisely?” he ground out, sounding as if he was about to launch himself at me.

“Reiss. He’s not dead as they say. He’s truly alive, Ash.” I was on the verge of sounding hysterical. I couldn’t seem to contain my excitement as the realization hit me hard. Saying it aloud felt like something was being freed inside my chest. I reveled in the feeling.

He muttered something under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “So you find him alive after a decade and then what, Ava? You easily spread your legs like you did before and let him fuck you senseless?” He was turning red as he yelled at me.

He got up from the table before he strode towards the middle of the room, as if he needed to gather his thoughts without bearing to see my treacherous face.

His choice of words didn’t even make me flinch, because I’d known he’d eventually lash out at me in one way or another.

“I’m sorry for causing you pain—you must know that—but you also must know the guilt I have carried for so long, and seeing him in the flesh magnified everything for me.”

He spun around as he stared daggers at me before something dawned on me.

“Wait … how come you aren’t even shocked upon hearing the news he isn’t dead, that Reiss is in fact alive?” I eyed him with utmost scrutiny.

He shook his head, looking away again. This time, I caught something in his eyes. Was that shame?

My heart pounded against my chest as I slowly got up. The scraping of the chair against the floor made me flinch as I watched him closely. “Ashton?” His lack of response made me all the more nervous. “You’re hiding something from me. What is it you’re not telling me?” I almost screeched out the question, feeling as if my heart was about to burst out of my body as I watched the guilt on his face. It said it all. “No—” I gasped, disbelieving. “You couldn’t have …”

My head throbbed as everything came into place. “What part did you have of it?”

“Nothing. I had no part of it … but I knew what your father was up to.”

“My father?” I barked out, shaking my head.

His throat bobbed as he apologetically gazed at me with saddened eyes. “Yes. It was your father who made him go away.”

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