ENGAGEMENT PARTY 2

Ashley kissed Chris's swollen right hand, breathing heavily, pleased that she had managed to get him out of police custody by claiming that they didn't have enough evidence to detain him.

She was squatting on the floor next to his hospital bed; he was unconscious; his head was bandaged; and there were plasters all over his body and even on his nose. Dave stood close to the door behind them, watching Ashley treat her bodyguard as if he were family. "Chris, you don’t have to suffer anymore; please just wake up." She said she didn’t know when she started pressing his swollen hand, waiting for him to wake up.

"Ow! Ow!" he shouted in pain, pulling his hand out of her grip as he sat up on the bed, revealing his left hand that was tied to his neck. "I am so sorry, Chris. I got carried away." Ashley apologized and sat on the edge of the bed, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Thank you for standing by me; I will surely increase your salary when you get out of here." She said. "What do you mean, get out of here?" he inquired.

"The queen managed to set you free for the time being." Dave explained. Ashley felt more comfortable with Dave around. "Really?" Chris muttered, staring at Ashley with dreamy eyes; although she was really good at hiding her feelings, he was overwhelmed with joy that she cared about him. He tilted his head, looking for Jake. "Where is Jake?" he asked.

"You mean that bastard? I didn’t bring him here." Ashley replied. "What’s wrong? What did he do?" Chris inquired, his facial expression changing into an angry one. "He has been acting strange and is always on Noah’s side; it’s like he isn’t the Jake I used to know." Ashley said, looking down and heaving a sigh.

"The Jake I know would never oppose you; he would even lay down his life for you." Chris said. "Stop! Don’t praise him; the Jake we used to know is gone, and now there is someone else." Ashley said.

"Hmm, do you guys think he is working for Noah now?" Dave cut in. "You might be right; people like Jake wouldn’t ignore a huge sum of money." Ashley commented.

"No! The Jake I know would never betray you for anything; he has pledged his undying loyalty to you, and so have I." Chris said. "Shh…" Ashley said, shushing him. She stroked his hair firmly and adjusted the blanket on his body.

"You don’t need to think about him too much; you need to get some rest. I will come get you when you are much better." She beamed. "Where are you going after this?" Chris asked curiously, watching Ashley take her bag from the nightstand that was close to his hospital bed. "It’s getting late; I need to go to the engagement party," she replied.

"What?!? So, you're actually marrying that son of a bitch." Chris said with wide eyes. "Yes, Chris I have no option; my dad is going to die if I don’t do anything about it, and I am not just going to get engaged to him…" She said she was walking toward the door. Dave opened the door for her. "What do you mean by that?" Chris queried, raising his voice, and attempted to get off the bed, but his legs failed him, making him relax his back on the bed frame. Ashley exited the room with Dave without looking back at Chris.

Xander put on a trench coat and headed out of his house to file a missing person’s report at the station where he had been fired. He'd been so preoccupied with other things that he'd forgotten his sister was missing.

He wanted to ask her why she signed a bizarre contract with Ashley. He was about to head down the road to look for a taxi when he heard a loud noise followed by a thud. He jerked his head in the direction the sound came from and saw that his letter box had fallen off the wall with all the letters that were in it lying around on the floor. He rushed to the box and squatted down, picking up all the letters one after the other, when he came across the one with Melody’s name on it.

His breath seized as he let go of the other ones he had been picking and started tearing open the letter at a fast pace. He unfolded the letter and started reading it. It read: "Dear brother, I know I have been a pain in the butt lately, and because of it you couldn’t handle me. I became a slut overnight because I wanted to make a lot of money, I was tired of asking you for everything, and I wanted to make something for myself. I wanted to be able to buy whatever I wanted whenever I wanted without having to rely on you to do so. That’s one of the reasons I signed myself up as a whore. I only had sex with one client, I promise, but the job wasn’t as easy as I thought. I was even asked to have sex with about ten guys the next day, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I don’t want you to come looking for me again because I am leaving this city to start a new life. I want you to live your life happily without a burden like me. Take care, brother with love your sister Melody."

"Fuck! No, no, no, this isn’t true; she hasn’t left me; this isn’t true!" He yelled, sitting on the floor. He wanted to cry but had run out of tears. "Melody! No, come back to me! You are not a burden!" he screamed, squeezing the letter. "I need you; you are the only family I have left." He whimpered, inhaling as his nose started running; just the thought of not knowing her whereabouts or not seeing her again was making him go crazy. "Melody!!!" He screamed her name in a loud voice, catching the attention of some of his neighbors, who stared at him with pitiful eyes.