Ashlee's POV

"Who is it?" Mareya asked in confusion before opening the door.

The moment her eyes landed on me, her expression froze, and her breathing turned uneven.

"A-Ash.. Ashlee?"

I pushed past her without a word, walked inside, and just so happened to lock eyes with Ruben, who was just coming out of the bathroom.

With a soft thud, the towel he was using to dry himself slipped from his hand and hit the floor. A look of utter disbelief flashed across his eyes.

I scanned the room. Only then did I notice that Ruben's personal belongings were scattered everywhere throughout the house, and even the counter was lined with framed photos of him and Mareya together.

We stared at each other from across the living room. A bitter smile tugged at my lips as I forced down the storm inside me. My hands and feet felt ice-cold.

"Didn't you say you weren't hiding anything from me? Then what exactly is all this?"

Ruben snapped back to his senses. His face instantly turned pale, and he rushed forward to grab my shoulders.

"Ash, I can explain. It's not what you think."

At such close range, the scent of Mareya's perfume was especially obvious, repeatedly triggering my near-shattered nerves.

"Let go of me!"

I wrenched myself free, and a sharp, stinging slap echoed through the room. Ruben's head snapped to the side, his cheek swelling instantly.

Mareya shrieked and lunged forward, shoving me hard. "Have you lost your mind? How can you hit him?"

Her shove sent me staggering backward.

Realizing what had happened, Ruben immediately shielded me and roared at Mareya. "Go upstairs! You have no right to touch her!"

After a moment of sheer bewilderment, she let out a bitter laugh.

"She's already found out. Do you really think the two of you can go back to how things were? I'm the only one here who truly loves you, Ruben Castille!"

His face darkened. "Get upstairs!"

But Mareya didn't move. It was as if she had been waiting for this day—the day I would find out about everything.

"Ashlee, I'm pregnant."

Ruben's eyes bulged wide. "Shut up, Mareya!" he warned harshly.

I looked at him, my gaze filled with mockery.

"What are you scared of? Let her talk. I'd love to hear just how much I don't know!"

"Ashlee…" Mareya started.

She let out a cold laugh that was laced with smugness, but her voice trembled with tears.

"The night you two graduated, he told you he was going to Blackwell City to work on a project with his advisor. But he was actually with me."

"Mareya Burruss!" Ruben bellowed.

But she ignored him and continued talking.

"The proposal the other day? All of it was my idea. Even the words he said were written by me, too. He just memorized them and recited them to you.

"And the baby? This isn't even the first one. There were two before this, but he just didn't want them."

The more she spoke, the more color drained from my face. The truth was far crueler than I could have ever imagined.

I began gasping for air, my breathing turning shallow and rapid, until I collapsed straight onto the floor.

I had a heart condition. I'd had surgery as a child, but it hadn't flared up in years.

Knowing this, Ruben threw caution to the wind. He scooped me up in his arms and rushed me to the hospital in an utter panic.

…

When I woke up again, the night had already fallen.

Ruben was sitting beside the bed, his head buried in his hands, looking completely exhausted and defeated.

Seeing me open my eyes, he practically lunged forward, his face flooded with concern.

"You're awake? Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"

I looked at him coldly without saying a word. After a moment of silence, he dropped to one knee.

"Ash, I did all of this for you. You can't have children, so rather than adopting one with absolutely no blood relation to us, why not raise one of mine? You can understand my good intentions, right?"

My eyes widened. I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

So, all my pain—the agony of being made a fool of for half my life—was completely insignificant to him. He even believed that it was all for my own benefit.

I closed my eyes, my entire body trembling.

"Get out. Get out!"

He pressed his lips together tightly, then stepped forward to tuck my blanket in.

"I'll come see you tomorrow. You take some time to calm down. Don't get worked up again."

The second he stepped out, the hospital room door opened again, and Mareya walked in looking as if she were out for revenge.

"Oh, by the way, there's something else you should know."

####CHAPTER-NAME:

Ashlee's POV

I looked over at Mareya. Without invitation, she sat down in a chair, a provocative look on her face.

"Five years ago, he was the one who altered your college application, too."

My heart lurched.

"What did you say?"

She chuckled softly, one hand resting protectively over her stomach.

"It was never his clueless sister messing around at all. That was just an excuse. It was him. He changed your first choice from Harlton University to the same college he was going to. He changed it right in front of me."

My mind spun into complete chaos as memories came rushing back.

Back then, Ruben had full access to my college application because I trusted him. But when I received my admission letter, I discovered that my first choice—Harlton University, a top-tier college which I was absolutely qualified for—had been changed to Dirton Institute of Technology.

The exact same college that Ruben was going to.

At that time, it felt like the sky had fallen. I had rushed to confront him, and I'd even suspected that he might have been the one to tamper with my application.

But the moment I rushed to his house, his young sister, Carrie Castille, fell to her knees before me in tears.

"I'm sorry, Ashlee! I didn't know that was your college application! I thought it was just a random form! Please forgive me. I really didn't know."

I had been completely stunned that day.

Ruben immediately sent Carrie abroad and even cut off all her financial support. He then apologized to me, looking deeply remorseful.

"I'm sorry, Ashlee. I've already thrown her overseas as punishment. It's all my fault."

Seeing that Carrie had received such a severe punishment, I no longer had a reason to press the matter. And I figured that, despite everything, at least I'd be going to the same college as Ruben. And so, I let it go.

As it turned out, he had schemed the whole thing. As it turned out, it was all just a carefully staged act. He was the one who had tampered with my application!

Mareya left the hospital room, grinning like she'd accomplished her mission.

I sat on the hospital bed from night to dawn, completely motionless. It felt like my heart had been hollowed out.

Not long after, the door opened again. It was Ruben, returning with breakfast.

I looked over, watching him carefully set the food out, looking as if nothing in the world mattered more than making sure I ate.

How utterly hypocritical.

My voice was incredibly raspy, and it made Ruben look up in surprise. "What?"

"Why did you change my college application?"

His hands froze midair. After a brief silence, he said, "Didn't you want to be with me? Besides, you didn't need to go to Harlton. Castille Group will all belong to you someday. I just wanted you by my side. I didn't want you to have to work so hard."

I snapped and hurled the breakfast at him.

"Ruben Castille! That's my life!" I snarled, shaking my hatred-filled head. "Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed to be able to get into Harlton?"

Piping hot coffee spilled all over him, but he didn't even flinch. He merely stated matter-of-factly, "I love you. That's all."

I lowered my head and let out a bitter, sorrow-drenched laugh.

"Love? You love me, so you're with another woman? You love me, so you want me to raise your illegitimate child? You love me, so you have the right to destroy my life?

"Your love is truly vile, Ruben Castille."

His eyes visibly flinched. "Calm down."

His lips were pressed into a thin, hard line, making him look completely unfamiliar to me.

"I've gotten things ready for the wedding. I hope you can forget all this, and we can live our lives together happily, okay?

"I've already invited your friends and family. If you don't want your parents to be humiliated, show up at the wedding venue on time in two days," he threatened, his expression blank.

"I know you can't bear to leave me either, Ashlee. Be sensible. Don't turn things ugly for everyone."

With that, he turned and left without another glance back.

The room fell into a dead silence.

I closed my eyes and let out a bitter laugh. When I opened them again, only unending hatred and resentment remained.

He thought he could threaten me with my parents? Not a chance.

I immediately gave them a call, told them my plans about leaving the country, and told them to block Ruben entirely.

That very evening, when the plane took off into the sky, all ties between Ruben and me were severed.

However… I chuckled coldly to myself.

I had a massive surprise waiting for him at the wedding venue in two days.