Chapter 4The True Heir Returns: Nights of Passion

Ethan didn’t answer. He just pulled me towards a nearby convenience store and bought antiseptic wipes and bandages.

My mind was racing, annoyed with myself. Why had I acted so crazy back there? What was wrong with me tonight?

I snapped back to reality. Ethan was kneeling in front of me.

I stopped his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Your knee," he said calmly. "You scraped it on some glass."

I looked at him, then at the antiseptic. I'd assumed he bought it for his own arm.

"You don't actually like me, do you?" I asked again, suspicious. This guy was weird. I’d stolen his life, his fortune, yet here he was, patching up my knee, claiming Mrs. Ashford sent him – a woman who couldn't care less if I lived or died.

I brushed his hand away, lighting a cigarette, the smoke curling between us. "Look, whatever your game is, I don't care about the Ashford money or status anymore. You don't need to watch me or test me."

Ever since they brought me into this house at eight years old, I knew they only cared about value and profit. I never expected genuine affection.

His face blurred behind the smoke. I felt a wave of exhaustion.

"You're good enough," I told him tiredly. "But you better stay this good. Because the Ashfords will drop you just as easily if you stop being useful."

Ethan picked up a fresh wipe. "Are you tired?" he asked softly.

I didn't answer for a moment. Then, a quiet sound escaped me. "Yeah."

I wasn't raised by them from the start. Before I turned eight, I lived with my grandma in her small house out in the country. The scent of lilacs filled the air. That was my last real memory of peace.

And there was the little kid who always followed me around, calling me "Alex! Alex!"

I rubbed my temples. Tonight had dredged up too many feelings. I felt this crazy longing for everything I'd lost.

Just then, my phone rang. It was City General Hospital, miles away. The doctor’s voice was clinical.

My grandma was dead.