The sky darkened quickly. Lightning lit up the clouds while thunder rolled overhead. Ashley sat curled in a corner of the rooftop, unmoving.

She had feared thunderstorms since she was a child, always hiding under her blankets with earplugs in. After she got married, she would call Mason during storms. Even if he didn’t want to talk, he’d at least stay on the line.

But now, with no signal and a heart stripped of its illusions, all she could do was hug herself tightly, clinging to whatever warmth and comfort she could summon.

Inside the hospital room, Mason listened to the thunder rumbling outside and, almost by instinct, dialed Ashley’s number. All he heard was the hollow beep of a failed connection.

“Mason, who are you calling?” Georgina asked.

“Ashley. She’s always been afraid of storms,” Mason said, putting his phone away. “I tried calling, but the signal’s out.”

Jealousy flashed in Georgina’s eyes, but she kept her tone light. “Maybe she’s already asleep. When we were little, she used to hide under the covers.”

Mason nodded, not giving it much more thought.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Ashley was soaked through. The rain kept pouring and the wind only made it worse. Her body shivered violently from the cold.

By the time a security guard found her the next morning, she was barely conscious, too cold and weak to speak.

When she got home, Ashley found Mason and Georgina sitting at the dining table, calmly eating breakfast. The moment he saw her disheveled appearance, Mason frowned.

“We didn’t see you at all when we got back last night and now you’ve ended up like this. Where were you?”

Ashley wheeled herself directly to Georgina, grabbed the glass of milk from the table and threw it in her face.

“Ask her where I was!”

Mason rushed to Georgina, pushing Ashley aside. He anxiously wiped the milk from Georgina’s face with a handful of tissues.

“Ashley, are you insane? How would Georgina know where you went?”

Ashley let out a cold laugh. “How wouldn’t she know? She’s the one who—”

Before she could finish, Georgina interrupted. “Mason, don’t be angry with my sister. She’s been upset ever since I came back. She probably blames me for taking too much of your attention. I’ll leave now. I won’t cause any more trouble.”

She stood up to go, but Mason grabbed her arm, his expression full of panic. “You just came back. Where could you possibly go? I won’t let you leave again.”

Then he turned to Ashley, his voice cold, almost unrecognizable.

“Apologize to Georgina. Admit you were wrong.”

Even though Ashley had already braced herself for this, it still felt like being stabbed by a thousand needles.

“I’m not wrong. She’s the one who should apologize.”

Mason stepped in front of Georgina protectively.

“Georgina wasn’t feeling well yesterday. She’s only just gotten better today and you go and bully her? What did she do wrong?”

Ashley said nothing. Love, or the lack of it, made all the difference. Whether she spoke or stayed silent no longer mattered.

She turned to leave, but Mason blocked her path. “You can only leave after apologizing.”

Suddenly, Ashley’s phone rang. She answered. “Miss Patel, did you go up into the mountains? I couldn’t reach you all night. I almost flew to the Bennett Residence to look for you.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Ashley’s face.

She hadn’t expected the only person concerned about her to be a business partner she had met only once. A faint smile tugged at her lips.

“There was no signal last night. Sorry to make you worry.”

“A whole month is far too long. Someone as talented and beautiful as you is bound to be snatched away! I’ll send someone to pick you up in five days.”

Ashley’s heart was already numb toward Mason. She didn’t want to stay at the Bennett Residence any longer. She couldn’t wait to leave.

“Five days is too long. Make it three.”

The man on the line readily agreed. Ashley ended the call, satisfied.

“Who was on the phone?” Mason looked at Ashley with suspicion. He hadn’t seen such a relaxed expression on her face in a long time.

“A friend. We made plans to go out in three days,” Ashley casually made up an excuse. In three days, she would be able to leave this painful place.

“Looks like little sister still hasn’t apologized to me. But it’s no big deal. Let’s just forget about it.”

Georgina deliberately brought it up and while Mason wasn’t paying attention, she shot Ashley a cold, mocking look.

Sure enough, Mason’s expression darkened. He called a few bodyguards over.

“Take her to the basement.”

At the mention of the basement, Ashley’s face changed. What she feared most were thunder and darkness.

“No, Mason, I’m afraid of the dark.”

She clung to the last bit of hope and broke free from the guards, rushing to Mason and grabbing his arm, refusing to let go.

Hearing her say she was afraid of the dark, a flicker of hesitation passed through Mason’s eyes. He didn’t push her away and let her hold on to his arm.

Georgina, standing to the side, was visibly annoyed. She picked up a cup of hot tea from the table and “accidentally” dropped it from her hand.

The tea splashed onto Ashley’s arm, scalding her so suddenly she flinched and let go.

Seizing the moment, Georgina stepped forward, pretending to care.

“Are you okay, sister? This tea is much hotter than that milk. You see, the milk burned my hand red.”

When Mason heard Georgina was burned, he hurried over to check, his face full of concern.

“Why didn’t you say your hand was burned? I’ll take you to put on some ointment.”

Georgina asked, “What about my sister?” on purpose.

Mason glanced at Ashley’s face, filled with despair, then at the burn on Georgina’s hand. In the end, he spoke. “Lock her in the basement. No one is allowed to let her out!”

Ashley closed her eyes and didn’t spare another glance at the man she had once loved so deeply. She would cut him out of her heart for good.

As Mason led Georgina away, he looked back one last time at Ashley’s lifeless face. An unexplained wave of unease and irritation rose in his chest. Not wanting to think about it, he quickly turned and left.

In the basement, Ashley stayed crouched in a corner, not crying or shouting. But anyone who came close would see her fingers torn and bloody from scratching herself and her pale lips bitten raw.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when the lights suddenly came on.

After a while, Ashley’s eyes adjusted to the brightness. She saw Georgina standing in front of her, eyes gleaming with smugness.

“Sister, I advise you not to go against me again. You’ve seen it yourself. Mason obeys my every word. Whatever I want, he’ll hand it to me on a silver platter.”

Ashley rasped in a hoarse voice, “I already said I would divorce Mason and give him back to you.”

“As long as you let me out.”

Georgina sneered. “Why should I believe you?”

Ashley’s face stayed calm. “Someone will come to pick me up in one more day.”

“There’s someone else? I didn’t expect you to hook up with another man so quickly, little sister. I really underestimated you.”

Georgina walked toward Ashley, her strong perfume scent making Ashley nauseous as if she might throw up.

Seeing her reaction, Georgina stepped back, her face full of suspicion. “You’re pregnant?”

Ashley’s heart jumped. She had been feeling sick lately, dry heaving over the toilet without being able to vomit. She was actually pregnant at a time like this.

The next moment, she felt a cold touch on her face. It was a fruit knife.

Georgina held it with a twisted expression, gently dragging the back of the blade across Ashley’s face.

“Didn’t you want to escape? I can help you.”

“As long as I destroy that face of yours, who would recognize you again!”

Ashley trembled slightly. “Georgina, are you insane?”

“And that baby in your belly, I’ll never let it be born either.”

The woman’s voice was filled with madness as she called in two bodyguards who pinned Ashley down.

Soon after, blood-curdling screams echoed from the basement.

The once delicate face was now covered in bloody cuts, ruined beyond recognition.

Ashley lay on the ground, soaked in blood, her wide eyes staring blankly ahead as if she no longer felt any pain.

Georgina tossed the fruit knife aside, a cruel smile curling on her lips.

“Much more pleasing to the eye this way! Now, just that baby left to deal with.”

A bodyguard brought over a bowl of black liquid and forced it down Ashley’s throat.

Soon, she clutched her stomach, rolling on the ground in agony, screaming in pain.

Georgina watched with satisfaction and ordered the bodyguards to throw her out.

Ashley, in unbearable pain, collapsed at the Bennett Family’s gate, her consciousness fading until everything went black.

When she woke again, she was in a hospital.

She struggled to sit up just as a nurse walked in.

"Miss Patel, the baby is gone. This is the removed placenta."

Ashley’s trembling hands took the placenta. Tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking the bandages on her face, which throbbed with pain.

"My face?"

The nurse looked at her with sympathy. "The wounds have been bandaged, but the area is too large. It will be very hard to recover."

"Who brought me to the hospital?"

"Mr. Evans."

Just then, a man walked in. It was Chase’s assistant.

"President Evans will arrive tomorrow. Miss Patel, is there anything you’d like to take care of before leaving?"

Ashley casually took a box and placed the placenta inside, along with the miscarriage report.

Finally, she pulled out the divorce papers she always carried. Soaked in blood, they were strikingly red and placed right on top of the box.

She sealed the box and handed it to the assistant, her tone cold. "After midnight tonight, deliver this box to the Bennett residence. Tell them it’s my wedding anniversary gift to Mason."

After the assistant left, Ashley’s phone rang. It was a message from Chase.

[Good night, my fiancée. See you tomorrow.]

Ashley looked at the starlight through the window, and a long-lost smile appeared on the corner of her mouth——Mason, this time I really want to leave. Tomorrow I will leave you without hesitation, and from now on, we will be strangers.