Chapter 8: Amber Eyes
Ashley woke up to the smell of drugs and disinfectant, her eyes adjusting to the white walls around her. It took her a moment to realize she was in a hospital.
"Christian," she whispered, scanning the room, but she was alone. The only sounds were the low beeping of machines.
A whirlwind of emotions swirled inside her as she recalled all that had happened earlier—but above all, relief. She was relieved not to see Christian or Mikael, making her wonder who had brought her to the hospital. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if Christian's presence earlier had been a figment of her imagination.
If it wasn't, then he must have left the moment he realized she was the one. Despite that she preferred not to have any business with him, the thought that he must had abandoned her to die caused a tiny pang in her heart.
"I need to get out here."
Ignoring the pain in her head and neck, she sat up and carefully disconnected the IV. Despite she was grateful to whoever had brought her to the hospital, she didn't want to risk meeting them and realizing it's another person she needed to escape from.
Moving slowly, she changed into the neatly folded clothes left on a cushion beside the bed, then carefully opened the door, blending into the flow of people in the hallway.
The long sleeves of her shirt thankfully concealed the bandages on her elbow, making her appear normal except for her pounding head.
As she reached the hospital reception, her heart instantly dropped. Christian stood at the front desk across, making payment to the cashier for some medication.
"Don't tell me he brought me here." Ashley's heart hammered in her chest.
Shock and fear gripped her at that possibility, paralyzing her for a moment before her survival instinct took over. She couldn't let Christian see her. She would rather face the devil than have anything with him.
"That's the pharmacy over there, sir." The cashier attending to Christian pointed to his right. But Christian instinctively turned to his left, where Ashley stood.
Ashley's heart skipped in response. Without a second thought, she turned sharply, spinning around to rush down a hallway to her right, pushing her way through the crowd. She couldn't wait to see if he noticed her—but she was certain he did, and could be right behind her at any second.
Her breath came in short gasps, her pulse racing as she turned another corner and pushed past a few more people. The fear of being caught intensified, every nerve in her body screaming that Christian was right behind her, reaching for her.
But across from her, Christian still stood at the pharmacy counter, tapping his fingers impatiently as he waited for his change. He had no idea that just moments ago, the woman whose medications he had just paid for, had slipped away, desperate to escape him. Though his instinct had made him glance in her direction earlier, he unfortunately missed her by a tiny second. Very tiny indeed.
Ashley unaware of this miracle, kept running and in a flurry, collided with someone and lost her balance. But before she could hit the ground, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, steadying her.
Christian rushed to the pharmacy, presented his receipt, collected the drugs, and headed back to Ashley's ward.
Meanwhile, Ashley's hand pressed against a solid, muscular chest, and a wave of an intoxicating scent hit her—wood mixed with delicious spice, rich and masculine.
Her body trembled as she slowly lifted her gaze. The moment their eyes met, everything else faded. The man's striking features stole her breath. Notably, he had flawless caramel skin, dark hair that appeared brushed back, yet a few strand escaped, drifting lazily on his forehead, making it look like he just rolled out of his bed. Ashley's gaze further narrowed on his devastatingly handsome face which felt eerily familiar, like a memory buried deep in her subconscious.
She tried to think deeper, to figure out where she knew him from.
The stranger's amber eyes—bright, warm, and intense— made tremors rush down Ashley's spine.
Confusion etched across the man face as he studied her, searching for something, trying to place the woman in his arms.
"Ash...ley." he finally but slowly uttered her name, his voice rough and with a smoky touch that made Ashley want to hear him speak again.
But the sound of her name from his lips already shattered the fragile dam in her mind.
'Lorenzo Grey'. The name formed in her thoughts before she could stop it.
Memories crashed down on her, sharp and vivid. The pain, the heartbreak, the agony of his abandonment—like an old wound ripped open.
Her heart ached, bleeding afresh.
She barely understood why her chest felt that way, like it was splitting apart all over again. But at least now she understood why their breakup had devastated her so deeply.
His betrayal had been a big shocker, one she would never have expected in a million years. Just like this moment. Just like being in his arms again.
The same arms that had once fought for her. Protected her. Pinned her down as they…
A shaky breath tore through Ashley's lungs as she struggled to get air.
Snapping back to the present, she forced herself out of his grasp, muttered a hasty apology, and ran.
Lorenzo's brows knitted tightly, making obvious the shock in his face, which slightly tainted his devilish gorgeousness. Only a tiny bit.
He wanted to run after Ashley, but couldn't get his legs to move.
Ashley ran faster than before.
Even as she fled, she could feel Lorenzo's eyes on her back—burning into her very soul.
She couldn't face him. Not now. Not after all these years. Fate really had a cruel sense of humor—just when Ashley thought she had outrun her past, it had literally caught her in a hospital hallway.
She let out a bitter chuckle just as her mind spiraled, dragging her back to nights spent crying, the hollow emptiness that lingered even after she had married Christian. Through the years, she convinced herself she'd moved on. It had taken time, but she thought she did.
She had the faked laughters, immersed herself in books—except romance, because they reminded her of Lorenzo. She had cooked, watched movies, pretended until she believed he no longer existed in her heart.
But now…
A crushing weight pressed against her chest, her throat tightened, her stomach twisted with nausea.
And the truth glared hard.
Ashley had never been over Lorenzo. She only lied to herself until she believed it.
She would never be over him–he was after all her first love, and you know what they say about that shit– "you never forget your first love".
Tears blurred Ashley's vision as she ran past bewildered onlookers. They might think she was crazy.
At this rate, she just might be.
Lorenzo stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the spot where Ashley had disappeared, heart drumming more loudly with each second.
For a moment, it felt like he had been ripped from the present and thrown into the past.
"I'm sorry," her panicked voice echoed in his mind, replaying like a haunting melody.
He was finally able to get his legs to move, he ran outside the hallway, eyes scanning desperately for Ashley. He needed to see her again, to confirm that she had truly been there.
But she was gone.
She had disappeared into thin air.
His jaw clenched.
He was almost tempted to think she'd been a product of his imagination –afterall he'd been thinking about her way too much lately.
"But there had been so much emotion in those rare, beautiful sapphire eyes–too strong to be a fragment of one's illusion." he thought aloud.
Lorenzo's heart shattered afresh thinking about how Ashley's eyes didn't have that usual familiar light that once reminded him of some beautiful summer skies.
All he had seen as he gazed into them was... Deep wounds. Deep scars. So much pain.
"What the fuck happened to her?" his frustration boiled over.
Why had she been in this hospital? Could she be sick? Could it be why she looked so pale? A voice in his head asked the one question that had haunted him the most. 'How had she survived all these years?'
His chest tightened with an ache so raw it felt like an invisible wound had reopened inside him. Clenching his fist tight, he tried to stop his hands from trembling.
If only Ashley hadn't disappeared, he could have gotten the answers he so desperately needed.
Dragging a frustrated hand through his hair, Lorenzo cast one last searching glance in the massive compound.
Nothing.
Exhaling sharply, he turned around and headed toward his mother's ward.
But he couldn't ignore the unbearable urge that consumed him—to find Ashley, heal her wounded heart, ease her pain, and bring back his sunshine.