|Ace’s POV|My heart is racing inside my chest, threatening to jump out of my own mouth as I search room after room for Meera. The gala wrapped up an hour ago and all the guests have left for their respective homes. The sun sets upon the horizon of New York city, drenching my entire penthouse in the golden hues of the evening but as the tangerine turns violet, my worries grow because I still haven’t had any success in finding my wife. I haven’t seen her since she left my study this morning after I practically assaulted her in front of a pervert just so I could keep his paws off of her. Serena enjoyed the shit out of that show and I was left with nothing but utter despair and disgust with myself for having treated my wife in such a lewd manner. But after that, Serena had left me with Viktor for about fifteen minutes— probably disappearing to raise hell somewhere else— and in those fifteen minutes, Viktor had the gall to enquire about my wife at least twice before I had subtly warne
|Ace’s POV|Her blood stains the front of my white shirt. My shivering hands clench and relax while my knee bounces sitting outside the operation theatre where Meera’s injuries are being looked over. I cannot believe I have brought her to this. Not two days have fully passes since I entered her life again, and she is already fighting for it because of me. Serena has gone too far this time and when I called her up after admitting Meera into the hospital, there was not a single tinge of remorse in Serena’s voice. |Flashback| “WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE, SERENA?” I growled into the phone, the nurses and the patients passing me by looked at me with concerned and fearful glances as I turned my face to the wall while keeping the phone against my ear, waiting for her response. “Awwh, sweetheart, did you finally find your little bird?” She asks before her voice drops into feigned pity, “I hope you weren’t too late, she was rather too injured when I left her, and if you managed to find h
|Meera's POV| I've been walking for a long time now. Just walking. With no end in sight, I wonder how long will I be stuck in this labyrinth. There is a shrieking pain the in back of my head but I don't bother to do anything about it. I'm just walking. Walking towards what, I don't know.I feel like I have been here for centuries, just walking, breathing but my chest hurts. Where even am I?“I love you, Meera…I wish you were able to listen to me…” My eyes widen as my feet stop walking but I am still surrounded by nothingness— a vast expanse of it. Alejandro… My eyes tear up as I hear his voice and I wish to scream his name, to call him out but nothing seems to be working. It’s like I don’t have my own voice. “I’m so sorry for everything I’ve done to you, Meera, I don’t deserve you.” His voice comes again and this time, I am confused about his words. We have just gotten married six months ago…right? And these last six months have been nothing but completely pleasant and lovely
|Ace’s POV| “How is this possible?” I urge the doctor to reply in a hushed manner as I stand just outside of the room where Meera is currently napping. She believes that we are currently 2 years in the past, just before everything went to hell. The doctor turns his head to look inside from the panelled window in the wall of her room and sighs, “Mr. Harrington your wife received severe trauma to the head. And from the kind of wound that has been inflicted upon her, it is quite possible for the patient’s memory to be altered. And earlier on you were too…erratic…for me to ask this question, but dare I know what exactly happened to Mrs. Harrington?” He asks with a fearful expression on his face before asking, “you wouldn’t happen to be the cause behind this…would you, Mr. Harrington?” I feel shame overtaking my expressions as I realise how easy it is for anyone to believe that I am the one behind the bruises on Meera’s body. And in reality, I actually am. I am the cause behind al
|Ace's POV|"She has...what?" Serena's voice comes through the other end of the line as my eyes roll in impatience, wanting to end this damn call and get back to my wife. "Your antics in the powder room led to her losing her memory. She has lost all memory of the last two years. She still thinks that we're married and happy together." I inform her, knowing well enough that she will anyways find out about everything from the chip she thinks she has planted inside me and all the endless eyes and ears she has arranged to be around me. I've brought Meera back home and have sent all the guard dogs in Serena's command out of this place with only Marta and her staff ensuring that the household keeps running smoothly and Meera is cared for at all times. And right now, I need to find a way to escape the Van Dykes so that Meera and I can have a good life together. I need to free my daughter from her grasp as well. As long as Serena has my daughter Ophelia, I cannot act against her no matter
|Ace’s POV| |Flashback, 1.5 Years Ago contd.|“You what?” I growl, my words seething with nothing but rage as I glare at her with all the hatred in the world. This cannot be possible. She cannot have been the one who killed my parents. “It’s true.” She says lightly as if talking about what dress to wear to her next brunch, “your father begged me to save your mother’s life, to kill him and be done with it when he realised that he had been bested, but oh, the pure satisfaction of life draining out of your mother’s eyes when I strangled her. When I made sure to kill her slowly and painfully, knowing well enough that all the blame was going to go on Meera’s family and no one was ever going to doubt me.” My entire body freezes before anger overtakes me and I don’t think for even a second before loading my gun and pulling the trigger. But nothing happens. The bullet doesn’t fly out of the barrel of my gun as I gape at it before pulling the trigger once again. Nothing happens again.
|Meera's POV| We're in New York.So away from home. Ace says it was to get me the best treatment for my head injury. When did I even get it? I don't even remember. And this penthouse...it's so...personality less...almost as if Ace never planned on coming here and now it's just a liability. This is so different from all the properties of his that Ace has taken me to. He has a taste for earthiness, he has this raw, nature driven aesthetic that he likes his houses to have, and all this penthouse looks like is just sharp edges and black lines. There's not a single plant here, for fuck's sake! Ace loves his plants. I sigh, bored out of my mind as I wait for Ace to return home. It's already past 9 in the evening and there's no sign of him. He hasn't once texted me about when he will be back and that is surprising because Ace always informs me if he's to be late in coming home from his office. "Mrs. Harrington?" I look away from the buzzing canvas that is the city of New York to meet
2 Years Ago - Meera"Ace...please...I had nothing to do with your father's death..." I whimper, protectively placing my hand over my abdomen. His grip tightens around my throat as my eyes water when I look into his eyes reddened by the effect of the alcohol that he has consumed. All I can see is my death looming over my head as I try my best to be able to breathe through my nose even if he is trying his best to block my airways. "Well, all evidence seems to state otherwise, bitch! You were the one leaking all information about us back to your father. And here I was...thinking that we had something..." his words slur but his actions are completely focused on me. Completely focused on killing me. I can feel it...I am not going to make it...I shake my head, "someone is trying to...frame me..." my words start falling weaker than before and I can feel my head spinning as my senses start to leave my body. "No! You're the one who did everything! You made sure that I was distracted by y