"You... you seriously think I won't do it?" Ashley's hand trembled more as she gripped the knife. What on earth was this guy playing at?

"Go ahead, give it a try." Charles guided her hand, the tip of the blade digging slightly into his chest.

This was a standoff between them-he was betting on his life. If she really did it, he'd admit defeat.

"You're crazy!" Ashley freaked out as his blood quickly seeped through his white shirt. The knife dropped from her hand.

This guy didn't play by the rules at all!

Normally when someone tries to stab you, wouldn't you stop them? Who does something this insane-pushing the knife into themselves?

"Didn't you say you wanted to kill me? Well, here's your chance. Why'd you back off?" Charles clenched her hand in his, not letting her pull away.

Come on, she wasn't actually trying to stab him! Even if you gave her all the guts in the world, she couldn't go through with it!

She just wanted to threaten him so he'd let her go. Worse case, if she failed, surely he'd be too paranoid to keep someone like her-a ticking time bomb-around.

But he didn't react like a normal person at all. Instead, he actually helped her stab him?!

Completely nuts!

"Let go! You're hurting me!" Ashley struggled harder, trying to wrench her hand from his grip.

As she fought him off, Charles's grip just got tighter.

Does it hurt? Guess what, the pain you're feeling doesn't even come close to what you've done to me.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you see you're bleeding? Do you not care if you die?" Ashley's voice wavered, panic rising as more blood soaked through his now scarlet shirt. She reached out, trembling, trying to put pressure over the wound.

"Oh, dying would make things easier for you, wouldn't it?" Charles stared at her clumsy movements and let out a bitter laugh, hollow and broken.

God knows-even if she hated him, she'd never truly wished him dead!

Watching her flustered and helpless, Charles felt something burst inside. He finally let go of her hand, snatched the blood-stained fruit knife, and stormed out of the room.

"Sir, what happened?" George hurried over when he saw him covered in blood.

"Call Kevin," Charles said, gritting his teeth through the pain.

"Yes, right away!" George didn't dare waste a second. He grabbed his phone and dialed Kevin's number.

Kevin White was the Blackwood family's private doctor. He was just in his early thirties, but already had a solid reputation in the field.

Fifteen minutes later, he arrived.

"Luckily the wound's not too deep. I've treated it, and it should heal up in a while. Just make sure it stays dry over the next few days." Kevin wrapped up the wound neatly.

Charles sat there shirtless, a white bandage wrapped diagonally from his shoulder to his waist.

His mind was still with Ashley. She really wanted to get away from here, huh? Probably for that other guy. The thought ignited a jealous rage he couldn't shake.

"Everything okay, sir?" After Kevin left, George helped him pull on his robe, his voice full of concern.

"You think some tiny cut like this would take me down?" Charles fired back with an icy glance.

"No, sir, that's not what I meant." George hesitated, then decided to speak on Ashley's behalf. "I don't think Miss Carter really wanted to hurt you. The stab wasn't that deep."

"I stabbed myself," Charles replied coldly.

"What? You...?" George was completely stunned-it never crossed his mind that Charles had done it to himself.

Charles glanced down at the neatly bandaged wound and fell silent. Deep down, he knew-even if she'd stabbed him to death last night, he couldn't bring himself to lay a finger on her.

"I don't want this to get back to my parents," he said, getting up and slipping into his pajama top.

"I understand," George replied quickly. He knew Charles was just trying to protect Ashley. After all, Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood had never liked her to begin with, and if they found out what happened... it wouldn't end well.

Seeing Charles frown so tightly, George hesitated, then said, "I really think there's some kind of misunderstanding between you two. Otherwise, Miss Carter wouldn't pretend not to know you. We all saw how much she loved you back then."

A misunderstanding? Was it really that simple? Charles let out a dry, bitter laugh.

He rubbed his temples, exhaustion suddenly washing over him. With a wave of his hand, he signaled George to leave.

The next morning, George returned with the maids to deliver breakfast to Ashley.

"Miss Carter, breakfast is here," he said as one of the maids carefully placed the food on the small table.

"Is he badly hurt?" Ashley stood up from the couch the moment she saw him.

She'd been restless all night, tied up in worry. She had stabbed him near his heart and there had been so much blood...

"Don't worry, it's just a surface wound. The doctor's already checked him out-it's nothing serious," George reassured her.

Relief washed over her. She let out a breath and sat back down slowly.

"Miss Carter, seeing how worried you were, it's obvious you still care about him, right?" George asked hopefully, remembering the panic in her eyes.

"You've got it wrong. I only asked because this all happened because of me," Ashley quickly waved him off.

"That's all?" George couldn't hide his disappointment.

"Of course!" She nodded firmly. Then she looked at the breakfast spread on the table, clearly puzzled. "After what I did last night, he still had breakfast brought to me? Shouldn't he be furious or something?"

She had literally said she'd kill him. With his temper, she expected him to be way less forgiving.

"Miss Carter, think about it-knowing our young master's temper, if he really wanted to hold you accountable, do you think you'd still be sitting here this peacefully?" George's tone might've sounded like a question, but his certainty was unmistakable.

"He's not gonna punish me?" Ashley blinked in disbelief. That guy was furious last night-there's no way he'd just let it go that easily!

"Miss Carter, don't you see what's going on? He keeps backing down because he's in love with you. To him, you're not just important-you're the one," George said with all the sincerity in the world.

If she really was his lover, those words would've hit her hard and maybe even moved her. The thing was...

"I'm really not the person he's looking for. Can't you tell him to let me leave?" Ashley asked, knowing full well it was a long shot, but still clinging to hope.

"I'm sorry, Miss Carter. That's not something I can do. Your breakfast's getting cold-you should eat it while it's still warm." With that, George turned and walked out of the room.

"Wait, don't go! I still have questions!" Ashley called out, only to see the door shut behind him.

Silence filled the room again. She'd hoped to get something out of him-maybe some clue about that guy from three years ago and the woman he fell for, just something to prove she wasn't her.

She'd asked other staff too, but no one seemed to know a thing. George was the only one who'd been around long enough to possibly have answers.

She looked at the beautiful spread of breakfast on the table, but had zero appetite.

She felt like a caged bird-surrounded by luxury, yes-but none of it mattered. It wasn't what she wanted. She just wanted a simple, normal life with Lucas.

But why hadn't Lucas found her yet? It'd been so long. This place couldn't be that hidden, right? She'd looked out the windows-it was a villa neighborhood, but not exactly in the middle of nowhere.

And the way she was taken on their wedding day, right in broad daylight with everyone watching-normally, the police would've been all over it. But so far? Nothing. Not even a whisper.

There was only one explanation: the guy who brought her here had way more power than she ever imagined.

Oh god... what kind of person had she ended up dealing with?

Just thinking about it made her feel so bummed. No, she had to come up with another way to get out of here. Lucas must be freaking out after not seeing her for two days!

Ashley forced herself to calm down. After her attempt to escape by climbing down the bedsheets yesterday, the security around her had clearly been upgraded. Now, not only were there four bodyguards at the door, but several more had been added downstairs right below the balcony. At this rate, unless she suddenly grew wings, she had zero chance of escaping.

That realization hit her hard.

Wait a second... what if she could just get out of here first? She slapped her thigh as the idea struck. If she could leave his territory, running would be way easier.

But how could she convince him to let her leave willingly? Her brief excitement vanished, and her brows furrowed again.

Ugh, whatever, food first. No energy means no escape either. She grabbed her fork and wolfed down breakfast in mere minutes.

As she walked over to the sink to wash her hands, she turned on the faucet.

Got it!

Watching the cold water run gave her a sudden spark. What if she made herself catch a cold?

If she got sick, surely they'd take her to the hospital. That might just be her shot at freedom.

Good job, Ashley-brain working when it counts! She couldn't help but feel a little smug.

With a plan in place, time to put it into action.

She headed straight to the shower, flipping the cold water on full blast.

Whoa-that was seriously cold!

As the icy water poured down on her head, she almost jumped back out of reflex. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stay under the shower for over an hour, soaking in freezing water until her clothes were dripping wet. She finally stumbled out, shivering.

Her head felt heavy, and as soon as she hit the bed, she slowly drifted off into a daze.

"Mr. Finley, something's wrong-Miss Carter's burning up!" The maid who brought her dinner noticed something was off and rushed to tell George.

"Got it," George responded quickly, not daring to delay. He immediately called Kevin to come check on her.

"Who... who are you?" Ashley heard a voice nearby and cracked her eyes open, seeing a man holding an ear thermometer.

"I'm a doctor, Miss Carter. You've got a fever," Kevin replied after checking the display.

Wait-he's a doctor? That means... is this a hospital?

She perked up a bit, but the side glance she cast around the room showed she was still in the same giant bedroom.

"This isn't a hospital?"

"This is the Blackwood residence," George explained.

"No! I feel awful. I wanna go to a hospital!" The second she realized she hadn't left the villa, Ashley tried to sit up in protest.

"Please don't worry, Miss Carter," George said, thinking she was doubting the doctor. "Dr. White's very skilled. He'll get your fever down in no time."

"But..." She tried to argue again.

"Lie down, please. Let me take another listen." Kevin gently pushed her back down and raised his stethoscope to check her again.

Oh no... from the looks of it, taking her to the hospital wasn't even on their radar. Lying there, Ashley was panicking inside, but she couldn't show it-if they caught on, all her effort would go to waste.