Flashback — Seven Years Ago
Ashford's POV
The moment I saw the girl sitting on my mother's couch, my fists clenched involuntarily.
“How dare she?”
I stormed down the stairs, my anger rising with every step.
The girl didn't seem to notice me. She sat comfortably on the couch, flipping through one of my mother's photo albums with a small smile on her face.
She shouldn't have been there.
Almost no one was allowed into my mother's study anymore. After her death, I'd made sure of that. The room had become quiet and neglected, with its dusty shelves and faded curtains making it feel more like a forgotten storage room than part of our home.
And yet, this girl had walked in as though she belonged there.
I reached for the album and yanked it from her hands.
“Get out!” I snapped, throwing
