Ashes to Empire

Chapter 1 _ The set-up

“Dang! Baby, that feels so good,” Ash moaned softly as his wife's hands sneaked underneath the towel around his waist. He had his back against the bed, his eyes blindfolded with a red cloth, and his arms tied to the bed stand.

“Oh? We haven't even gotten to the best part,” Mabel, his wife replied. She had brought up the idea in order to spice up their already perfect marriage and he bought it.

“Let me get the honey,” Mabel said as she rose from where she sat.

At the door stood her stepsister, in a red lingerie and matching net hose. She had a tumbler of honey with her as she smiled gently at Mabel.

“He's all yours,” Mabel whispered to her stepsister and walked out of the room.

Zara walked towards Ash, her heels clicking softly against the floor.

“How did you discover this on the internet?” Ash asked softly.

In response… Zara gently unwrapped Ash’s towel and poured the honey over his chest and groin. With her fingers, she traced the honey gently and leaned over, slowly licking the honey off Ash's body while he lay still, jerking at every touch of her tongue.

Zara sat on his groin area, putting Ash between her thighs and her hands on his chest for support as she rocked herself on him and they both moaned in pleasure.

As birds chirped from a distance, Ash stirred from his sleep, his head pounding. The scent of honey was gone. A gentle smile crept onto his lips as he reached for his blindfolds and lifted them. As soon as he turned towards his supposed wife, he jumped off the bed in fright.

“What the hell, Zara?” he yelled, waking Zara from her little nap. “Where's my wife?”

“You didn't ask after her last night when I loosened your hand and you couldn't take it off my breasts,” she replied, batting her eyes as she bit the tip of her index finger.

“No way!” Ash staggered backwards. “What have I done? I need to find Mabel.”

But before he could get to the door, Mabel had already barged in a burgundy suit, two bodyguards by her side.

“How disgusting could you be, Ash? You slept with my stepsister,” her face rumped up and sweaty.

“No, no, Mabel. Please listen to me,” Ash tried to defend himself but Zara ran to Mabel in tears.

“Mabel, he assaulted me,” she cried.

“You liar!” He yelled. “I didn't. Mabel I have no idea about what happened last night. I… I…” he paused as he reflected on the previous night.

Mabel had welcomed him from the office in a black lingerie. She spoon-fed him his meal while she whispered the things she would do to him that night, which happened to be their fifth anniversary. After he had his bath, she gave him a glass of wine, blindfolded him and tied him to the bed…

“Mabel I feel so disgusting right now,” Zara cried.

“You shouldn't, Zara. I'm ending things with him for good.”

“But Mabel…” Ash's eyes squinted. “You gave me a drink last night…”

One of her bodyguards handed her a file, and she pulled the divorce papers from it.

She handed the paper to Ash, “I want a divorce, Asher Waltz,”

“You both set me up… why?”

“You cheated, Ash,” Mabel smiled. “That's all the court needs to hear.”

His hands were trembling as he held the divorce agreement.

“Five years? Why would you want to throw five years in the wind, Mabel? I loved you and did everything you asked”

Zara scoffed, “My stepsister deserves a man with power, not…” she clicks her tongue, “whatever you are.”

“You actually thought you were good enough for me?” Mabel laughed. She walked closer to him, staring right into his eyes and whispered, “Not even in a thousand years.”

Ash clenched his fists, but they slowly fell to the sides; he would never beat a woman, not even the one who had refused to appreciate all the sacrifices he had made in the past five years.

He sighed and picked up a pen from his work desk and signed the divorce papers.

“You want a divorce right?” He grinned. “There you go,” he handed the paper to Mabel.

“Never seen someone so excited to go broke,” Mabel scoffed as she took the papers.

“Pardon?”

“You heard me, Ash. You walk away with nothing,”

“That's not happening, Mabel. My money, this house, my business and car, I got with my sweat and blood. I wouldn't let you just take everything because of some dumbass divorce!”

“Boys!” Mabel called out to her bodyguards, “Make him agree.”

“Let's go and celebrate, sis,” Zara said excitedly as they both giggled out of the room while the bodyguards beat up Ash till he agreed and crawled out of the house with a battered body.

“Mabel Stone…”

Ash began amidst shaky breath and the awful taste of blood in his mouth.

“You might have brought me down to nothing…

But I swear!

I would bounce back bigger and better…

And I would make sure you pay for what you've done to me…”

He sobbed.

“f**k!” he yelled with everything in him. How would he even get back on his feet? He had barely escaped the shackles of an orphanage. Now the only person he could call family chose to humiliate him like this.

She should have at least given him some money knowing that he has no one to turn to.

While he was lost in his thoughts, the blaring headlights of cars flashed across his face. He stood on his feet as soon as he recognised that it was the godfather's convoy; no one dared to sit at the head of the mafia's arrival, not even on the roadside.

As the cars came to a halt, Ash's thoughts went wild…

Has Mabel taken her lies to the godfather?

Why can't she just let a poor orphan like him be?

Stan, the popular personal assistant to the godfather, stepped out with his bodyguards and stood before Ash, his eyes staring deeply at trembling Ash.

“Asher Waltz...”

“How did Stan know my name?

Mabel, what did I ever do to deserve this?”

Ash's thoughts raged as he held himself from peeing his pants.

“...the godfather, head of the Dyn Cartel, wishes to see you.”