CHAPTER TWELVE - SABOTAGE
1001 Words
I stood there longer than I should have, my mind replaying the whole drama, trying to catch up with everything that had just happened.
But deep down… I already knew that this wasn't sudden. It was inevitable.
"They finally came for me, huh?"
The words slipped out under my breath, quiet but steady.
A part of me wanted to break. But I couldn't afford to. Not now. Not when I knew exactly who I was dealing with.
I inhaled slowly, forcing my thoughts into place.
Think, Ashley.
If they were bold enough to frame me, then they were bold enough to do worse. Which meant one thing, I needed to figure something out quickly.
The first law firm didn't even let me finish speaking.
"I'm sorry, Miss Ashley, we won't be able to take your case."
The way I was rejected felt deliberate, like they already knew I was coming.
The second one lasted longer. The lawyer listened, nodding occasionally, asking a few questions just enough to give me hope. Until his phone rang.
He stepped away to answer it. When he came back, something had changed. His expression was more anxious than calm.
His eyes avoided mine.
"I'm afraid this matter is more complicated than we anticipated. I'm sorry, but we can't help you."
"What do you mean you can't help me??"
"Arghhh" I screamed, but only in my head. I felt so angry that I had no choice but to swallow it down.
By the third rejection, I stopped pretending it didn't bother me. By the fifth, it stopped feeling like a coincidence. It was one of two things, they were either threatened or bribed.
***
I sat in the lobby of yet another firm, waiting for my chance to speak with a lawyer.
"Ninth time today…"
I exhaled deeply, elbows on my knees, hands clasped together, my leg tapping the floor in that familiar rhythm that somehow made me feel less anxious.
I was exhausted, worn down by every rejection. If only I could convince just one damn lawyer…
Then I heard it. That voice.
“No. It can't be”.
Slowly, I looked up.
And there he was.
Ethan, my ex, stared straight at me, like I was some helpless stranger.
"What do you want?" I asked, my voice flat.
Straight to the point. No greetings. No surprise. No warmth. Just distance.
Surprisingly, he didn't react the way he used to.
"I heard about your case," he said carefully.
Of course he did. Everyone probably had.
"Then you've heard enough."
I stood up and tried to walk away, but his voice stopped me.
"No one is going to take it."
I paused, not because I didn't believe him, but because I knew he was right. Still, I turned back slowly, my gaze cold.
"Did you come here to state the obvious?"
A flicker of something crossed his face. Guilt, maybe. Or regret.
"I know you don't want to see me," he admitted. "And you have every right not to. But this"
"Don't."
My voice cut clean through his sentence.
"Don't you dare stand there and act like you get to be concerned."
"Ashley, if you could just listen"
"Listen??" I scoffed.
"You want me to listen to you and pretend like nothing ever happened between us ?"
There it was. The past. Uninvited. Still alive.
His gaze dropped for a second before returning to mine.
"I'm here because you're in trouble. No other lawyer will take your case, I'm literally the only one who can. And if you must know, I'm risking my job and my life to do it."
A humourless smile touched my lips.
"Now you look at me Ethan, I would rather lose everything I have than ask for your help. To hell with your stupid help. I don't need it."
I adjusted my handbag, feeling every bit like the savage queen I once was back in college, and headed straight for the exit without looking back.
***
A car was parked across the street, This time, I could tell something was off.
I kept walking, at a normal pace, normal posture, like I hadn't noticed I was being followed.
But every sense sharpened. Footsteps grew louder. Whomever it was had stopped hiding.
I tried not to look back, walking as fast as I could.
Then came the siren, it was the police, doing their evening patrol as usual.
I glanced back. No one. They had scattered.
"Is everything alright, ma'am? you don't look so good" The police asked
"No Nothing serious, but could you please drop me off? I don't feel safe walking alone."
"Alright ma'am, get in"
I climbed in, feeling like I had just slipped through the fingers of something far worse.
I stood in front of Josh's door for a moment, fingers hovering before pressing against it.
It gave way too easily.
Unlocked? But how?
My heart skipped
"Josh…?" His name left my lips before I could stop it.
I stepped inside slowly, eyes scanning the room, everything was still kept in place, but something felt different.
I moved further in, my steps quieter than the previous, trying to be as careful as I could in case my enemies had gotten to me first.
No one was there. But still, the room smelled like him.
He was here. I was certain of it.
He just left, something in me whispered.
My head turned toward the door.
The parking lot. He has to be there.
I moved fast now, earlier caution gone, replaced by something urgent. Something desperate. My pulse raced. My heartbeat was louder than my footsteps.
I scanned the lot, turning left, then right, searching for a figure, a shadow, even if it was just a voice.
My eyes were watery. I couldn't hold it in anymore. Teardrops rolling down my cheeks.
Then I heard it.
"Ashley."
I turned around, catching my breath and there he stood.
The one I had been longing for. Not Jason.
But Josh.
- Writer
