He defended me
1436 Words
Ashley's POV
The words sliced through the room like a blade. My hands froze beneath the running water and a bitter ache coiled tightly in my chest.
Sometimes, I barely recognized the girl standing in front of me. The same girl who had once been my best friend.
How did she turn out so evil? Or had she always been evil from the start and was just hiding it.
“You’re just too easy to deceive,” she continued, her voice dripping with venomous satisfaction. “God… the look on your face that night.” She took another slow sip. “I savored it. Truly one of the best nights of my life.”
My grip tightened around the plate and my pulse roared in my ears.
Rage simmered hot and dangerous beneath my skin, begging to be unleashed.
But no. That was exactly what she wanted. A reaction from me. I refused to hand her that victory.
Because the last thing I needed was for our parents to uncover the twisted history between me and Jake.
“You couldn’t even keep Jake back then,” she said with a cruel smile. “So tell me… how exactly do you plan on keeping someone like William?”
She tilted her head mockingly.
“I’m sure there’s already someone out there with their eyes on him too.”
My body went rigid and something inside me snapped.
She had no f*****g right to decide my life for me. Slowly, I turned ready to finally say something.
But before a word could leave my mouth, a sharp voice sliced through the kitchen.
“Don’t speak to Ashley like that.”
Both Ava and I turned toward the doorway at the same time and saw Jake standing there.
He had stepped out earlier with his father, but now he was back, and from the hard look on his face, it was obvious he had heard enough.
Silence swallowed the kitchen whole before Ava made a move.
“Oh baby, you’re back.” Ava’s voice changed instantly, turning soft and sugary. Her face brightened with a forced smile, the kind she always wore when she wanted to look innocent.
But Jake didn’t look convinced.
His jaw tightened, and his eyes stayed locked on hers with an unsettling coldness.
“You shouldn’t speak to Ashley like that,” he said, his tone firm enough to make the air feel heavier. “She’s also part of this family.”
Ava let out a light laugh, flicking her hand dismissively as though none of it mattered.
“Oh no,” she said quickly. “We were joking about old times.”
But Jake didn’t smile and his expression didn’t soften. If anything, it darkened.
He took a step closer, his broad frame towering over her, his presence suddenly commanding enough to make the entire kitchen feel smaller.
I tried not to roll my eyes.
Why was he defending me? I was none of his business.
Or at least… that’s what I had always believed.
“You have no right to talk to Ashley like that,” he said, his voice low and icy, each word landing like a warning.
Ava’s smile slowly vanished.
Her face stiffened as she stared up at him, her eyes scanning his like she was trying to figure out whether he was serious.
He was.
“Are you… are you defending her?” she asked, her voice thinner now, disbelief bleeding through every word.
Jake didn’t hesitate.
“She’s my stepsister now,” he said, spelling it out with chilling clarity. “And I won’t stand by and watch anyone bully her. Not even you, Ava.”
The kitchen fell deathly quiet.
Even the sound of breathing felt too loud.
Ava’s expression cracked, her composure slipping as shock and humiliation flashed across her face. It was clear she hadn't expected him to choose my side.
I slowly crossed my arms over my chest, leaning back slightly as I watched it all unfold.
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it echoed in my ears.
I hadn’t expected Jake to stand up for me so fiercely in front of Ava.
And judging by the stunned look on Ava’s face… Neither had she.
Then he turned to me and our eyes met.
My heart stumbled.
Just one look. One stupid, dangerous look. God, no.
I couldn’t afford to soften toward him. Not now. Not ever.
Ever since I arrived, Jake had been... different than I wanted him to be. Better. He had defended me when no one else did. Protected me. And last night, he had literally pulled me from death’s grip.
But none of that changed anything. Because no matter how kind he suddenly seemed, no matter how his actions tried to rewrite the past, I refused to forget who he was.
To me, Jake was still the man who shattered everything.
For a moment, no one spoke.
The kitchen fell unnervingly still, like time itself has pressed the pause button.
Only the steady rush of water from the sink broke through it, the tap I had forgotten to turn off still pouring endlessly.
I tore my gaze away first, my pulse thudding harder than it should have.
I was looking at him too much.
“Are you okay?” he asked, and his voice was gentler now.
My eyes darted toward Ava.
She looked like she wanted to set me on fire.
Her lips were pressed so tightly together they had nearly disappeared, and her clenched fists at her sides made it obvious she was barely holding herself together.
I almost smirked. So, I turned calmly and shut off the running water, then flung my hand to shake off the water.
“I was about to handle it before you walked in, Jake,” I said bluntly, reaching for the towel and drying my hands slowly.
“But she…”
I cut him off before he could finish.
“I’m not a princess in distress that needs saving,” I snapped, my voice edged with acid as I stepped closer to where he and Ava stood. “I have a mouth of my own, and I can very much speak, Jake.”
His lips parted but no words came.
Good.
Without waiting for another response, I brushed past him, my shoulder colliding lightly with his.
Even through the thin fabric, the contact burned. I hated that I noticed.
I could feel both of them staring after me as I walked away, but I refused to turn back.
But, I couldn’t ignore what had just happened. And that was the problem.
Because the more Jake defended me... the more confused I became.
One question kept circling in my mind, louder and louder.
Did he actually think there was a chance for us again?
The thought should’ve disgusted me. We were stepsiblings now. And even if we weren’t… I hated him.
I wanted him to feel every ounce of the resentment I carried. I wanted him to know that his presence alone was enough to suffocate me.
But lately… Something was changing.
And that terrified me more than I wanted to admit.
Because little by little, the walls I had built so carefully around myself were beginning to crack.
And worse? I had no idea why.
Pushing the thoughts away, I instructed the servants to prepare the dining table since dinner was fast approaching.
By the time I got to my room, exhaustion weighed heavily on me.
But I had barely been there for five minutes before the door suddenly burst open.
Bang!
I flinched violently, my entire body jerking as the sound slammed through the room.
My heart leapt into my throat as I spun toward the door.
William.
He stood there, chest rising and falling and shut the door hard behind him.
“What’s the problem?” I asked, standing quickly from the bed.
But William didn’t answer immediately. And he definitely wasn’t smiling.
His jaw was tight enough to crack, and anger blazed fiercely in his eyes.
“Did you tell your mother we weren’t leaving anymore?”
My brows shot up.
Jake didn’t even know about the conversation I’d had with my mother.
The only other person who knew...
Was Ava.
Because aside from my mother, she was the only one who had confronted me about it and my mother wouldn’t betray me after I specifically said I would handle things with William myself.
But what truly unsettled me wasn’t just that she told him.
It was something worse.
How did they even know each other?
- Writer
