ASHLEY“You are not saying anything, Ashley,” Derrick said after a prolonged moment of silence. I stared at him, like I had no idea what he said before.“You will come watch me play, won’t you?” he asked, looking deep into my eyes. I swallowed. Fuck it, Ashley. Fuck everyone! Just do what makes you happy. The voice in my head was louder than ever, prompting me to choose myself, choose my happiness. “Yes, Derrick. I'll come watch you play,” I said, fondling the bandana hanging on my neck. He heaved a sigh of relief “Now, that's my Ashley,” he said and kissed my cheek, briefly. I blushed crimson, with my eyes slightly closed, “thank you for asking, Derrick,” I said, smiling. He shook his head, “no, Ashley. Thank you for agreeing to come around. It means so much to me,” he said with a smile. “I have to go now. I'll see you,” he said and ran off. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I had brought more hate upon myself. I had to find Anita. She had to know what was going on.

ASHLEY“You're gonna have to spill, Ashley. What did he do?” Anita was fuming.I had to explain everything to Anita. I could not allow her think Derrick was the bad guy, when in fact, he had done nothing wrong. I watched as her face transformed from enraged to impressed then a soft ‘awwwnnn’. Derrick waited for me to finish my talk with Anita. As soon as we were done, I went over to him. He looked really worried as he rushed and pulled me into his arms.“Ashley, I am so sorry. I had no idea things would turn out that way. It was supposed to be a special moment, I swear,” he said. I pursed my lips and stared at him for a few seconds. Then I inhaled deeply, “I totally understand, Derrick. And that was really thoughtful of you,” I said, calmly.He ran his hands slowly along my face, “I'll make it up to you, Ashley. I just want you to know I would never do anything to hurt you.”I nodded again, “my friend is waiting, I have to go now.”He looked over at Anita, “how about I walk you ho

ASHLEYI fell to my knees and cried my eyes out. I did not know which hurt more. The fact that I was so stupid to have fallen for a dare organised by my step brothers or the fact that it was Derrick, same Derrick I had started to have feelings for.If only I had listened to Anita when she warned me to be careful. Maybe I would have seen through his lies. Now I was in a mess, my videos and pictures were all over the place.I came to the conclusion that I was cursed.I sniffed, cleaned my face and got on my feet. The best place to go would have been Anita's house. But she had traveled. I had no choice but to go back home.I walked into the palace. And the first thing that greeted me was extremely loud music coming from the house. That was then I recalled that the triplets were throwing a party that evening.I sighed in frustration. I knew some students from Empire High would be at the party, so I didn't want to be seen. Instead of going through the front door, I crept to the back exit a

ASHLEYAs I ran for my life, I knew there was only one place in the world where I could find safety.“Ashley! “ Anita shouted as she opened the door.She grabbed me in a tight embrace as if she had just seen a long lost lover. After the hug, she held my hand and I screamed. Anita jolted and stepped back to see what was wrong. That was when she noticed I was barefoot and I looked a complete mess.“What is going on here?” she asked with a deep frown.She moved around me in a circle, “Ashley, what happened to you?” she asked again, “you know what? Let's go inside, please,” she said and guided me into her house.“A lot has happened to me, Anita. I don't even know where to begin,” I said as we got to her room.“Who did this to you?” she asked, holding my hand.“Axel.”“What? Why would he do such to you? What happened?” she asked, checking me out, “you look a mess, Ashley. You need a warm bath. I'll tell the family doctor to treat your wounds,” she said with so much concern.Anita prepared

ASHLEYI stayed at Anita’s house the entire day and decided to return home late in the evening. I could not thank Anita enough for taking care of me. I ate three square meals, without having to lift a finger. Being in her house made me realize how much I missed my bed. How much I missed eating at the dining. How much I missed the normal life.My wounds were properly treated, although they were taking a while to heal. But I felt a lot better.Despite Anita’s incessant begging, I insisted on returning to the palace in the evening. She thought it was a bad idea considering the reason I ran away. She made me promise that I would not hesitate to return if things became unbearable. And I agreed, even though I knew I was going to take in whatever happened.I walked into the palace knowing it was a lion’s den. But I just had to be home. One thing I knew for sure was that Axel would never let an offence slide. But I was glad that I had shown him there were other sides to me. I wasn’t just a pu