Chapter 2

2 The next day, Ashley came home.

She didn't seem to notice anything was off.

Like, there were a few long hairs from another girl on the sheets, or that I was missing two condoms from the bedside drawer.

She seemed beat, but her spirits were good. She flopped on the bed and let out a long sigh.

"Finally home!"

Then, it was like she remembered something and held out her hand, "Where's my Christmas gift?"

I looked at her and said casually, "Forgot to buy you one. Since you were 'working' and we didn't spend the holiday together, what's the point?"

She frowned, "What's that supposed to mean? You didn't get me anything?"

She threw a pillow at me, "We're not even married and you're already slacking? You always get me something for holidays. I told you how important tradition is for me! Why didn't you get me a present?"

I did get her a present, a necklace she had been wanting. But I gave that to Chloe last night.

She looked angry, her hands shaking with rage. I just shrugged. "We'll do it for the next one. New Year's is coming up, so let's skip the foreign holidays from now on. We'll celebrate New Years instead."

She wasn't happy. "You clearly don't want to get married. It shows! You can't even get me a Christmas present. What's the point?" She stood up ready to storm out.

I quickly pulled her back and tried to soothe her. "I'm sorry. I'll get you double gifts for New Years okay?"

She didn't stop trying to leave so I said, "Did you sleep well last night? You travel a lot so maybe I'll buy you a travel pillow, so you can be comfortable."

She changed her expression and hearing my mention of last night and sleep, she quickly switched the topic. "That's okay. It's not about the gifts anyway. Just as long as you care about me."

She sat back down on the bed. "We're getting married in about a month so how about the dowry? I expect 880,000 dollars. Is it ready?"

I smirked. "It's ready. I'll tell my mom to wire it to you."

Ashley grinned, her eyes filled with a sense of total control.

I smiled back, acting happy.

But my hands were clenched into fists so hard my knuckles were white.

I knew that she wanted the money for Derek.

He had a bad heart. Just the medicine alone cost tens of thousands of dollars a year. If he had a flare up he needed to be hospitalized, and any operation would be even more costly.

When we first met, Ashley was more honest with me.

She had admitted her family didn't like her dating Derek because he was sick and they were afraid. She was worried too, because you never knew when something bad was going to happen. She didn't want to take that gamble.

But she'd been seeing him again after we got together.

Once Derek was not her problem, she started acting like there were no consequences.

No feelings, just bodies.

Fun without the responsibility.

Ashley had it all worked out. She'd get her emotional needs met by me, then go and hook up with Derek whenever she wanted and claim she had to work. Win win.

She would transfer him small amounts of money, thousands of dollars at a time. When I asked, she would always say that she felt bad for Derek, he couldn't work much because of his health. And since they used to date, she felt like she should help him out a bit.

If I protested, she'd get angry.

"We're not even married yet, why are you controlling my money? I can do whatever I want with it, you don't have to be involved."

That was when Chloe would always tell me to keep an eye on Ashley.

But I was blinded by love, and brushed it off. I got what I deserved in the end.

Luckily, we weren't married yet, and it wasn't too late.

She wants to use my dowry money for Derek's hospital bills?

She can just keep waiting.