Mr. Smith knew he’d said the wrong thing. “I’m
sorry, Mr. Rohan.”
“I admit that, after we got Sarah back, we
wanted to make up for what we’d done. So, we
did ignore Ashley, I mean, Ashley Lo.”
“But Mr. Rohan, you have to understand, as
parents, we just wanted to love our real
daughter. What is wrong with that?”
“We also raised Ashley, and sent her to college.
We helped her out a lot, right? You don’t have
to be so mean to us.”
Rohan looked at Mr. Smith with even more
contempt.
“Mr. Smith, you call that helping? Treating her
like a stand–in? You yelled at her, hit her, made
her grow up to be exactly like your real
daughter!”
“Was it so hard to raise two daughters? Why
did you always blame my sister? Why did you
make her hand over her success to someone
else?”
“My family loves my sister. They would never
ask me to give away anything.
12:36
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“Because they understand that love is not about
sacrificing this person to make that person
happy.”
“You never thought about her as your real
daughter. You just used her to make you feel
better.”
“You don’t deserve to be her parents!”
At his words, Mrs. Smith started to cry.
She wanted to say that it wasn’t true, that she
had seen Ashley at the orphanage and she was
just so good, so well behaved, never
complaining.
But she couldn’t say it. She could only see the
faces of her scolding and berating Ashley.
The door slammed in their faces. Mr. Smith
hung his head, ashamed.
The others felt confused and angry.
Rohan was clearly mad, and he wasn’t going to give up.
They stood there, not knowing what else they
could do.
Inside, Jake was listening to the whole thing.
He was confused and hurt. It felt like Rohan
<
was yelling at him too.
Rohan looked at him. “I already told you, Mr.
Jake. My sister is not here.”
Jake looked at him, his eyes pleading. “Where
is she? Let me see her.”
Rohan looked at Jake for a long time, thinking.
When his sister told him what had happened, he
decided he would protect her, and keep all the
people in the country away from her.
But Jake, he’d been camping outside his hotel,
begging to see his sister.
Maybe, they did need to see each other, to
finally move on.
Rohan nodded. “I can take you there, but it’s up
to my sister if she wants to see you.”
- 15.
Rohan took Jake on a private jet to the United
States. Jake looked nervous as he stepped on
board.
Inside, he was even more uncomfortable with all
the fancy stuff.
Jake had been spoiled. In his town, his family
was top dog.
<
But his power was meaningless here, compared
to Rohan.
He wondered, what was Ashley doing now?
Jake, the golden boy, started to doubt himself
for the first time.
The plane landed on a private landing strip near
the Bay Area in California.
A well–dressed butler bowed to them. A driver
picked them up in a limited–edition Rolls Royce.
He drove through a fancy castle estate, and
they got dropped off at a garden.
The garden was full of tulips, her favorite. The
soft breeze carried the sweet scent.
Ashley was sitting on a swing, holding a cat,
enjoying the sun.
Beside her, the billionaire CEO of MediCorp
was making her coffee.
His wife, a stylish woman, was feeding Ashley
her homemade cookies.
In the sun, Ashley was glowing. Her smile was
dazzling.
He stared at the scene for a long time, not
believing it.
<
Ashley, how long had it been since he’d seen
Ashley? How long had it been since he’d seen
her smile like this?
His heart was full of excitement. He had to
smile too.
He adjusted his clothes and walked towards
her.
Ashley might have a different life now, but she
was still the same Ashley who had loved him for
all those years.
“Ashley!” Jake called to her, his voice so soft.
She looked up. He ran over to her and held out
his arms, wanting to hug her.
Ashley took a step back, avoiding him.
- 16.
Jake’s arms hung there, his smile fading.
Ashley looked at this man who was both
familiar and a stranger.
She didn’t think that she would ever see him
again.
Rohan, and her parents, went inside. They knew
that Ashley was strong enough to handle things
on her own.
<
The large garden was empty. It was just Ashley
and Jake.
She went back to the swing and started
stroking her cat, her face calm.
Jake, just like he always had done, reached
over and rubbed her head. Then, he squatted
down, looking at her with kind eyes, “Ashley, I
missed you so much.”
“Don’t disappear like that again. It makes me
worry.”
“Wherever you want to go, whomever you want to see, just tell me. I’ll be there for you.”
The old Ashley would be crying, jumping into his
arms.
But now, Ashley just laughed. “Jake, you’re so dramatic. Have you forgotten everything?”
Jake knew she was still angry. He lowered his head, and apologized. “I’m sorry, Ashley. I know
I messed up. I took you for granted. Please,
forgive me.”
Ashley laughed, but her laughter was sad.
He thought an “I’m sorry” would just fix all the
pain he’d caused?
<
In his head, her love, her forgiveness, was
something he was entitled to.
Ashley looked right at him, her eyes like ice,
“Jake, do you think, if you apologize, I’ll forgive
you?”
“If you come over here, all sad, that I’ll run back
to you?”
“If you tell me you love me, that I’ll forget
everything, and run behind you, like I did for all
those years?”
Jake didn’t answer, but it was obvious.
Ashley smiled softly, “Jake, I really did think I’d
love you forever. But your indifference slowly
killed my love.”
“When I was sick at home, you didn’t care.
When I was freezing in the pool, you didn’t care. When everything I owned was taken away, you didn’t care. When people were screaming at me, and I didn’t want to live, you still didn’t
care.”
“You only care about Sarah’s every move.” “Now, I’m tired. I want to quit. You can have her, and please, leave me alone.”
<
Everything that had happened was now in his
head. Jake was a mess.
He realized, now, that he’d hurt Ashley so much.
His body filled with shame and guilt, and he
tried to explain, but his words were a jumbled
mess.
“No, Ashley, that’s not how it is. I did not ignore
you. You’re my girlfriend. How could I ignore you?”
Ashley gave him a mocking look, like she knew
he didn’t believe his own words.
Jake looked down, ashamed. He said, “I’m so sorry. I know I did terrible things. I hurt you.” “But, we have eleven years of memories! Can
you give me another chance?”
Ashley just shook her head. She reached for a
tulip, and ripped it off.
“Jake, if I break this flower, and say sorry to it,
can it come back?”
She let the tulip fall to the ground, smashing
the petals.
Ashley turned and went inside. Jake didn’t want
to give up.
<
“Ashley, is this because you are now a Lo? Did
you suddenly look down on me after spending
eleven years with me?”
Ashley found that really funny.
Jake had never known who she was, at all.
“Jake, you were the one who ruined things. No
matter whose daughter I am, you don’t deserve
my love anymore!”
Ashley left. Jake was stumbling, holding on to
the swing.
His heart was aching and his eyes were
burning.
Ashley was different.
Not only was her name and life different, her
feelings for him were totally gone.
That thought made him really scared.
Ashley’s absence made him realize he was so
used to her in his life.
No matter who she was, he couldn’t let her go.
With that thought in his mind, Jake stayed in
California.
At a jewelry auction, the moment Ashley walked
in, she felt someone watching her.
<
She followed the gaze and saw Jake, looking
sharp in his suit.
Ashley was bored, so she made a random bid.
She wasn’t even paying attention to what she
was bidding on.
Then, Jake made his move. He made a bid out
of nowhere.
In the end, he got a green emerald bracelet,
paying ten times more than it was worth.
After the auction, he went over to Ashley with
the bracelet, nervously.
“Ashley, the host said, this green emerald
bracelet, symbolizes freedom and hope.”
“I want to give this to you, so that we can
forget the past, and start again, okay?”
His eyes were bright, looking at her with hope.
Ashley could see herself in those eyes, like she
was the only star in the sky.
Her heart skipped a beat. She looked away.
If this were the old her, she would have hugged
him and forgotten everything.
But now, those feelings were too deeply
engrained.
く
12:36
him and forgotten everything.
But now, those feelings were too deeply
engrained.
Ashley tried to calm herself.
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“Mr. Jake,” she said, calling him that to show
how distant they were, “You are mistaken. I don’t like this bracelet, and the pain is just something I’ve learned from. There is no need for me to start over. I’m fine.”
“It’s you, Mr. Jake, you should be the one trying to understand what your feelings are.”
“Losing something doesn’t always mean it’s
important. Figure out what you really want, and leave me alone.”
With that, she left, leaving Jake all alone.
He was thinking of her words, “what do you really want?”
Jake wanted to say, “It’s you, Ashley.” But, he
knew, it was too late.
