AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Will: Our usual spot. Half an hour?
Me: See you there.
What I need is to escape the sadness for a while. Will is the only friend I have right now. Everyone I love is hurting because of me, whether directly or indirectly, I am still to blame. Coming to Rothwell was a bad idea, and I know there is only one solution.
* * *
“You don’t have to leave, Ash. You can ride out the internship and college and then you’re free.”
“Will, I don’t want that man to have a hold on Felicity or me. People have made it without a college degree before, sure it’ll be difficult, but I can’t let him continue pulling my strings.” I take a sip of the drink that’s turned warm in my hands.
“I’m so fucking sorry about my part in this.”
“That’s the other thing. If I am out of the equation, why would he possibly continue blackmailing you?”
Will lets out a labored breath. “This isn’t fair. He has his son working for him. What more could he want?”
“Control. Dominance. What else do animals like him want?”
I look at my cell phone display. “I’d better get going. I’m hoping to catch Marcella before she locks herself in her room. She deserves the truth. I’m not leaving here with her thinking less of me.”
Will stands when I do and wraps me in a hug, squeezing tight. “I’ll put out some feelers when you’ve settled. I’ve a lot of contacts in publishing all over the place.”
“Thank you Will, you’ve been a good friend—my only friend.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
RYDER
Will James walks into my office like he owns it and I wonder if he wants a replay. I’d gladly kick his ass right here. I hear the man on the other end of the call I’m on, but I’m not listening.
Leaning in my chair, I observe this piece of shit Asher fucked. The man she thought was worth risking what we had for. Even though I pretend like it doesn’t hurt, it fucking does. Seeing her and not being able to touch her is a prison sentence. Them working together, despite it being a few times a week, is agony.
“You have five minutes,” I say after cutting the call, and the asshole who's been walking around my office finally stops and approaches my desk.
“You think you're omniscient, don’t you? Now that you’re sitting on the throne beside your father.”
“Is there a point to this? Or should we skip to the part where I make you regret coming here?”
He scoffs. “I don’t know what a girl like Asher ever saw in someone like you, but the night you met us for drinks, I knew you were nothing but a jealous, insecure little dick. And you proved me right.”
I’m around my desk in seconds, my hands wrapped around the fucker’s neck, as I shove him to sit in a visitor’s chair. “You know nothing about me!” I release him before I lose control and he gasps.
“What I do know is that you have no clue that the woman you supposedly love is being blackmailed by your father.”
My blood turns to ice in my veins.
“What are you talking about? Asher would have come to me if that were true.”
He stands and stalks toward me. “Oh, it is true. I never fucked your girl, although I’ve thought about it many times.”
I clench my fists at his words.
“Your father had this whole fucked up plan, drugging her, blackmailing us. That whole video was staged, and we made it pretty convincing, especially for a piece of shit like you.”
I grab him by the shirt and raise my fist. “You can hit me all you want. The truth is you’ve lost her only because you let yourself be manipulated by your father. Ever wondered how those contracts mysteriously fell through?”
Stepping away from him, I feel the room spin. I have to sit on the edge of my desk to gain my bearings.
