"What did you say?"
She had just spent the whole morning with Nolan, who showed her around and introduced her to people who would supposedly be assigned to her safety.
More like guards watching her every move, breathing down her neck.
And now, here she was.
Ashley sat in Lucian's office, a stack of papers placed in front of her. Her brows crinkled as she stared at them before lifting her gaze.
There, standing near the window with a cigarette between his fingers and smoke curling in the air, was her husband.
"Those are all the conditions of our marriage," he said without looking at her. "You don't have to do anything aside from being my wife in name. I don't need you to ask questions, poke your nose into my affairs, or even care for my son."
"If you want to add something, you may tell me," he added.
He paused as he slid his eyes toward her. "As long as it isn't divorce or killing Marshal Di Carpio, I'll agree to it."
"…"
Ashley was rendered speechless, staring at his figure as he puffed smoke out the window.
She didn't care about any condition, but what he said sounded like a chain permanently tying her soul to this place forever.
"If you need anything else, tell Nolan," he said. "I'll be away on a three-month trip. I expect you will adjust by then, yes?"
No.
But she didn't say that out loud.
"You may go."
Ashley scoffed as she glanced at the papers. She scooped them up and left without another word.
Once she was in her room, she quickly spotted a black card on top of the bedside table. She tossed the papers onto the bed and picked up the card. He told her that if she ever wanted something, she could use this card to buy it—no matter what.
He said the card had no limit.
"Damn it," she muttered. "He didn't even let me talk."
When Ashley came into his office, he had already started explaining the documents. Then he sent her away just like that.
"The only consolation is that I won't have to see him for three months," she whispered, biting her lip as she gazed at the documents. "This is a lot of paperwork."
But since she didn't plan on doing anything else, she picked them up and began reading.
Lucian didn't need a real wife, she told herself. What did I expect?
He may not have said it outright, but Ashley was surely just collateral in whatever agreement Lucian had with her father.
In other words, she truly was just a hostage.
"Damn it." She pinched the bridge of her nose and glanced toward the window. Pushing herself up, she approached it and gazed down at the multiple cars parked outside and the men in suits standing around.
Then she caught sight of Lucian walking toward one of the vehicles.
"A three-month trip," she whispered. "So I have three months."
She pressed her lips into a thin line, the gears in her head turning. She was glad she wouldn't have to deal with him for the next three months.
"I thought… I could make a deal of my own with him and buy my freedom," she whispered, her eyes flickering as she recalled the look on his face.
It told her one thing: he didn't need her at all.
The only thing he needed from her was to stay put, like a canary in a large cage.
And if there was one thing she understood about this violent and unfair world, it was that being useless was as good as dead. Once he didn't need her anymore, he would kill her and Marshal for sure.
That day, Ashley's wavering determination to escape solidified.
Leaving this hell became her ultimate goal, even if that meant putting her life on the line.
The problem was that just thinking about escaping Lucian's grasp was a mistake in itself.
Ashley would have to learn that the hard way.
*****
Time passed, and before Ashley even realized it, two months had already gone by.
The bedroom was filled with shopping bags from different luxury brands—so many that there was almost no space left to walk around.
"Shopping is tiring, for sure," she muttered, collapsing onto the bed in exhaustion. After resting for a moment, she sat up and looked around.
Everywhere she looked, there were shopping bags.
She had been spending millions every single day for the past month. At least she wasn't forbidden from stepping out. She could go shopping, eat in lavish restaurants, and even visit nightclubs and party all night.
No one stopped her, even when she lived excessively.
Something she had never experienced, even though she was the daughter of Marshal Di Carpio, an underworld kingpin.
"One more month," she muttered to herself, nodding slowly. "One month and… he's back."
And before that happened, she had already planned her grand escape.
Ashley might have lived excessively, but all of that was merely a front for her plans to leave this place.
There was just one problem.
"I need help," she whispered. "Help that will take me away from here before they catch on."
Just as those words escaped her, her phone buzzed.
Her brows rose as she reached for it, seeing an unknown number.
When she arrived here, she had been given a new phone. But with the card left for her to use, she bought another one.
She didn't trust the phone they gave her.
[From: Unknown Number
Hey, Ash! It's me, June! How are you?]
"June?" she whispered, her brows knitting as the image of a charming boy from her past flashed in her mind.
He was someone she had trusted before. Someone she once liked, but that was all in the past.
Her lips curled into a smile as she replied. She had just sent the message when his response came quickly.
[I heard you were in Dominion's territory. Do you want to meet up?]
"…"
Ashley stared at the message when an idea popped into her head.
"It's alright to meet an old friend, right?" she murmured. "Nolan said I could even invite people here if I wanted."
Shrugging, Ashley grinned and replied.
[Sure! Tomorrow sounds good.]
And that was the second mistake I had made.
The first was thinking I could escape.
And the second was not honoring Lucian's special request.
That was to never have contact with another man.