Ash's pov ;
Sitting alone in the dark room, I couldn't shake Elijah's expression of pure hatred from my mind. The way he almost exploded on me sent shivers down my spine.
But I didn't mean to hurt Grandma. Why would I intentionally cause her harm?
Ash," Noah entered with a glass of water. "Why are you sitting alone in the dark?" he asked gently and moved to switch on the light.
"Please, don't," I pleaded, not wanting him to see me in this pathetic state. I felt so sorry for myself.
He sighed and settled beside me, offering me the glass of water. "Here drink this," he urged, his hand rubbing comforting circles on my back.
Taking a sip of the water, I let its coolness soothe my parched throat. Noah's presence was the only source of comfort for me now, but it also made me feel more acutely aware of my own brokenness.
He kept muttering curses against Elijah.
"It's not fair," Noah muttered. "He has no right to treat you like this. He's a hypocrite prick."
I shook my head with a dull face. "This time, it's my fault," I whispered hoarsely. "I shouldn't have lost control, no matter how jealous and upset I was. I shouldn't have told Grandma. I was just…blinded by retaliation for a while."
Noah's expression softened as he studied my apprehensive face and sighed pulling me into a hug. "It's okay," he murmured, holding me tightly. "Everyone makes mistakes, Ash. You were hurting, and you lashed out. It's called being a human."
I broke down as soon as I hugged him back, my sobs muffled against his shoulder. "I n-never wanted to hurt her, Noah," I confessed through my tears. "I love her too. I just…I just wanted to hurt Elijah for making me feel so worthless."
Noah continued to comfort me, his gentle touch a balm to my wounded soul. In the darkness, amidst my regrets and self-loathing, I found solace in his unwavering support.
"I know, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I believe you and always will," Noah whispered tenderly, and I feel so grateful to have even one amazing person by my side.
"Now, c'mon. You haven't eaten anything all day. Let's make you your favourite dinner," He smiled and resisted, to which he persisted and dragged me out of my dark room.
Reluctantly, I followed him to the kitchen, where he began bustling around making dinner, getting the ingredients and utensils.
"You know, let's make a mean spaghetti carbonara," he said with a grin, flashing me a quick wink.
I managed a weak smile, appreciating his efforts to distract me from my turmoil. Watching Noah work in the kitchen was always a sight to behold. He moved with a practiced ease, effortlessly chopping vegetables and boiling water for the pasta. The aroma of garlic and herbs filled the surroundings.
But just as he was adding the finishing touches to the pasta, his phone rang. "Hello?"
He quickly picked it up but as he listened in silence for a moment, his expression twisted into shock.
"What?! How's this possible?!" His brows furrowed in concern, which immediately set me on edge.
"What's wrong?" I asked nervously.
He hung up and hesitated for a moment before answering. "Stone Entertainment…they've acquired our entire company. We're both…we're both fired."
The news hit me like a punch to the gut. All the air left my lungs, and I struggled to breathe. My world crumbled around me. My career, my livelihood, my future- all gone in an instant.
I staggered, barely managing to hold myself up against the counter. "W-what?" I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper.
Noah looked devastated as he groaned loudly, his face pale and his shoulders slumped. "I'm going to the company to check on things. Are you coming with me?"
I nodded numbly, numbness settling in. I didn't know how I could face my former colleagues, the people who had supported and believed in me. How could I tell them that I'd failed, that all their hard work and dedication had been for nothing? Everything is gone because one day I decided to divorce my husband and stand up for myself against his betrayal.
Noah put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "It's going to be okay."
I couldn't respond. I didn't know if anything would ever be okay again.
******
And I was right about my instinct when we reached the company and saw the crowd of reporters outside, yelling questions and taking pictures. I didn't know how they already got the news. I'm 100% sure it's also Elijah's doing.
Noah and I pushed our way through the crowd when suddenly an egg was thrown on my face and I froze in place.
"Ash!" Noah was shocked, wiping the egg away. "Are you okay?"
A loud beep pierced in my ears and I couldn't take another step. It's as if I was paralyzed and hypnotised at the same time. The crowd that once ran up to me for autographs was now screaming to kill myself, ready to skin me alive if they got their hands on me.
I have never felt so scared and humiliated in my entire life.
"Monster! You are a monster!" someone shouted.
"We hate you, Ash! Go to hell!"
"Go die!"
"How can you do this? She's your sister! We thought you were a pure-hearted actor!"
"You are a scum! A trash! You're not fit to be an actor!"
"You should rot in jail for what you've done! Murderer!"
"I can't believe we fell for your innocent act! You're a demon!"
"Monster! You're a monster!"
A reporter asked me, "What do you have to say about the video?"
Noah pushed the reporter away, and took me away from there.
Once inside the company, we were surrounded by our employees. But I was still frozen, too embarrassed to even look up.
"Ash! The video is not real, right?!"
I slowly blinked baffled, not knowing what they were talking about or the people outside.
Then my manager came running with an iPad in his hand. "Mr. Blackthorn, here! Look at this. This is viral on the internet. You have to do something about this."
With trembling hands, I took the iPad from him. The manager was sweating with an anxious expression, I wanted to feel bad for him but probably no one here is in as poor a situation as me.
I looked down at the screen. In the video, Samantha appeared, her face twisted with anger as she launched into a tirade against me. She accused me of bullying her and attempting to kill her seven years ago.
But what truly chilled me to the bone was when she produced evidence from the CCTV footage of our house. The grainy images showed me in moments of anger and frustration, pushing her down the window.
"The video is spreading like wildfire on social media," the manager informed.
I watched in horror as my name trended on every platform, accompanied by a storm of hateful comments and vicious attacks from fans and strangers alike.
Noah's hand tightened on my shoulder, offering a silent gesture of support, but I felt utterly alone in that moment.
When suddenly Elijah's ominous words bore down on me, anger surged through my veins like molten lava.
With trembling hands, I fumbled for my phone. But as I dialled his number, a hollow emptiness greeted me—his line was unreachable.
"Fuck!" I hurled my phone across the room, the shatter of glass punctuating the air.
My managers flinched at the sudden outburst, their eyes wide with shock.
"Ash, calm down-"
"I'll fucking kill that bastard!" My eyes burned with a newfound hatred for that bastard.
"Listen to me, Ash. You need to–"
"Who is Ash Blackthorn here?"
But before his reassurances could penetrate the fog of my rage, the door swung open with a resounding thud, and two uniformed officers strode in.
My heart thundered against my chest as I tried to swallow the thick lump in my throat. "It's me…"
Mr. Blackthorn, you're being charged with attempted murder."
Attempted murder? I struggled to process his words. I hadn't—
"This is absurd! I—" I tried to explain myself in a pathetic attempt which they didn't seem to care about.
"Save it for the station. You'll have a chance to explain yourself there," Second officer let out.
Noah's voice rose in protest. "There is a huge mistake! Ash wouldn't hurt a fly!
But the officers remained unmoved, their expressions seemed to be carved from stone. "We're just following orders, sir."
"But-"
"Noah, it's fine. I'll go with them. You stay here and contact my lawyer," I patted his shoulder to show him that I was strong even though I was breaking from inside.
He nodded profusely. "Alright, don't worry. I'll sort this out and come to you before you know it."
Giving him one last forced smile, I followed the officers out of the room.