laid out on the dining room table, and at Chad,
who was casually enjoying his lunch. “Chad!
You have no shame! Eating without me!” Chad
looked up. “Should I starve myself just because
you were asleep?” Touché. I grabbed some
chopsticks and piled my plate with fish–fragrant
pork. I had to give him credit, the guy knew how
to eat. Even his takeout was better than anyone else’s. “By the way, your parents called me. Said it was urgent, but you weren’t answering.” I grabbed a braised pork rib. “I know.” He paused, glancing at my phone. “Should I, uh, disappear?” I shook my head. “Don’t bother. They can yell all they want. It’s done. There’s nothing they can do about it.” The phone rang again. I answered. Before I could even say hello, my mom launched into a tirade. “Ashley! You need to go to Jason right now and apologize! Tell him it was a mistake! Beg him to take you back!” I held the phone away from my ear. Take him back? Seriously? I’d rather be yelled at than murdered, thank you very much! “Ashley! Are you even listening to me?!” I finally managed to
get a word in. “Yes, but it’s… complicated. I can’t do that.” Her voice rose another octave. “Ashley! Is this how you talk to your mother?!” | feigned surprise. “Didn’t you just disown me? Did you forget?” She was speechless. She sputtered something, but I wasn’t listening anymore. “Look, I’ve said what I have to say. I’m busy. Talk later.” I hung up and blocked her number. Chad, who’d witnessed the entire exchange, stared at me.
He finally put down his chopsticks and looked me up and down, shaking his head. “Wow, Ashley. First the ex, now your parents? Who’s next?” My mouth was full, but I mumbled, “Oppression breeds rebellion.” Chad chuckled. and leaned back in his chair. “So, I guess that means I’m next on your list?” I gave him a thumbs–up, admiring his self–awareness. I wasn’t surprised by his reaction. He’d grown up with the original Ashley and knew exactly what kind of person she was. Everything I’d done
probably seemed completely insane to him. But
<
honestly, wouldn’t anyone go a little crazy in
this situation? I was a side character with no
plot armor. Running for the hills was the only
way to survive. “Speaking of which, can you
help me find a new place?” I asked. “This
house is nice and all, but… unwanted visitors
are getting annoying.” It wasn’t just Jason. My
entire family was a walking disaster. Now that I’d burned all my bridges with them, who knew what they’d do? I had no interest in dealing with their drama. Chad understood. “Sure. Leave it
to me.”
Chad, despite his playboy reputation, was surprisingly efficient when he needed to be. The next day, he called to say he’d found a place – a mansion on the west side of town. “The owners are moving overseas and need to sell quickly. It’s newly renovated, never been lived in. A steal.” I was thrilled. We signed the papers that afternoon, and the house was mine. I listed the old mansion and hired movers. As I watched them pack, I was shocked by the sheer volume
<
of stuff the original Ashley owned. I was
definitely going to have to give them a bonus.
“Ms. Carter, what’s in this box? It’s heavy,” one
of the movers called from upstairs, struggling
with a large, sealed cardboard box. I was about.
to go check it out when my phone rang. “Hello,
is this Ms. Carter? This is City General Hospital.
Your husband collapsed on the street and was
brought in. Can you come as soon as
possible?”
I froze. Jason collapsed? “You have the wrong.
number. I’m not his wife.” The nurse on the
other end sounded confused. “But the contact
name in his phone…” Oh, right. Back when she
was pregnant, Ashley had insisted on changing
her contact name in Jason’s phone to “Wifey
Ashley.” Jason, tired of arguing, had given in.
Had he really not bothered to change it, even.
after the divorce? “How is he?” “He fainted
from low blood sugar. He’s stable, but his
overall condition isn’t great. You should still
come as soon…” “I understand. I’m a little busy
www
right now. Why don’t you call his girlfriend? Hor
name is Melissa Davis. Her number should be in
his contacts. You can contact her from now on
if anything happens.” I hung up and noticed
even more boxes piled up in the living room.
This was going to take forever. “Just take
everything.” I told the movers. “I’ll sort it out
later.”
Thankfully, the new house was enormous. I had
the housekeeper unpack and organize
everything while I went for a spa day and then. checked out a trendy new Korean BBQ place. The food was amazing, and the décor was even better. I took a bunch of pictures and posted them on Instagram. “Checked! Giving up on my diet today! #koreanbbq #foodie #spaday” I also added a selfie, since I’d gone all out with my makeup. My friends liked and commented, and even Chad, who rarely posted anything, chimed in: “This place is good.” I replied: “Have you been there?” Chad: “Duh. It’s mine.” Seriously? I couldn’t even have one brag–worthy moment?
<
12:39
But the real surprise was a comment from
Melissa. It was passive–aggressive, dripping.
with fake concern and thinly veiled judgment.
“Ashley, I know you and Jason are divorced, but
he’s in the hospital. Don’t you think you should at least visit him?” I stared at the comment in
disbelief. What was her problem? Her comment set off a flurry of activity, since most of my followers didn’t know about the divorce. I hadn’t even come up with a clever “consciously uncoupling” post yet, and here she was, trying to shame me. I replied, equally saccharine: “A good ex is supposed to be invisible. I didn’t want to cause any misunderstandings. But if you don’t mind, I’ll go! We were classmates, after all. It’s only right to visit, don’t you think?” My comments section exploded. A few minutes later, Melissa deleted her comment. Oh, so now she wanted to pretend it never happened? I immediately added another post: “Asking for a friend: What’s an appropriate gift to bring when visiting your ex–husband and his current
girlfriend in the hospital? Serious question. This
is important.”
- 12.
32
An hour later, I arrived at the hospital, fruit basket in hand.
