Chapter 2

The pieces clicked into place with sickening clarity. The intrusive "comments" weren't a hallucination; they were a window into a script I was supposed to follow.

Ethan' s arrogant pronouncements, Chloe' s smug entitlement – it all made sense if they believed they were reliving a pre-ordained triumph.

"The Azure Suite?" I repeated, my voice dangerously calm. "And auditions?"

Ethan nodded, impatient. "Yes. Get on with it. Don't make me ask twice."

"He really thinks he's the male lead, ordering everyone around," a new comment popped up.

Chloe piped up then, her voice cloyingly sweet. "Oh, Ethan, darling, perhaps Ashley isn't used to… serving others. It must be hard for her."

She looked at me with faux pity. "Maybe she's just not fit for it. We wouldn't want to inconvenience her too much."

"Chloe's already playing the innocent white lotus! Masterful!" another comment declared.

Ethan' s eyes narrowed at me. "Chloe's right. You're being difficult. Don't forget your place, Ash. You exist to make my life, and Chloe's life, easier."

My place?

The sheer audacity of it, the contempt in his voice, ignited a fury I rarely felt.

The "comments" had shown me their playbook. They expected me to be a lovesick fool, a doormat.

I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction.

I raised my hand and slapped Ethan across the face. Hard.

The sound echoed on the veranda.

Ethan stumbled back, shock and outrage warring on his features. Chloe gasped dramatically.

"How dare you!" Ethan seethed, one hand flying to his cheek.

"Get out," I said, my voice like ice. "Both of you."

Chloe rushed to Ethan's side. "You see, Ethan? She's violent! She's unhinged! We can't possibly stay here. She should be kicked out!"

"Kicked out of my own home?" I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. "You two are delusional."

I turned to the intercom by the door. "Maria, please call security. We have trespassers on the property who need to be escorted out."

Maria, our head housekeeper, had been with our family for twenty years.

"And Maria," I added, looking directly at Chloe, "is a salaried employee of the Miller family. She is not your personal servant, nor am I."

Ethan' s face contorted with rage. "You think your father will stand for this? He values me! He knows my potential!"

"Ethan's still high on his past life power, lol. He has no idea," a comment snickered.

"He practically begged me to look after you, to guide you," Ethan blustered. "He'll see you're the one who's ungrateful and cruel."

I almost pitied his delusion. Almost.

"We'll see about that," I said, just as the familiar sound of my father's car approached.