Millionaire Girlfriend

Chapter 19: Chapter 19 - heartache

"This is absolutely crazy... and they let you go just like that?" Chloé, Ashley’s former roommate, said after hearing everything that had happened.

Ashley had helped her get a job at Clara’s family’s company a few years earlier. That was why they had remained close even after Chloé moved out of the apartment.

Even though Ashley had stayed in touch with all of her former friends, they were pretty much the only people she still knew.

So...

"Yeah, and they let me go just like that," Ashley added from inside Chloé’s car as they drove.

"So what happened after I was kidnapped? Are people still looking for me?" Ashley asked.

"Yes. They’re still looking for you. But not because they think you were kidnapped... they’re looking for you because they believe you stole ten million dollars," Chloé revealed.

"What!?" Ashley exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" she added, still unable to process what she had just heard.

"The police and everyone else think you left after stealing ten million dollars from Clara’s account," Chloé explained.

"Why would everyone think I did something like that?" Ashley asked.

"No wonder Clara told me never to call her again," Ashley muttered while nervously picking at her nails. It was a new habit she’d developed during her captivity.

" Everyone think you did it because ten million dollars was transferred from Clara’s account, and all of your belongings disappeared from your apartment. All of Clara’s valuable jewelry was gone too. And on top of that, there’s a photo of you somewhere in Las Vegas," Chloé explained.

"Those sons of bitches! Assholes!" Ashley shouted, furious that someone had played such a cruel trick on her.

"Am I going to prison?" Ashley asked.

"Don’t worry. They’re only suspicions. They don’t have enough solid evidence to convict you. The only thing they have is that your disappearance happened around the same time as the money was stolen," Chloé reassured her.

"I need to see Clara and explain everything. She knows I would never do something like that," Ashley said.

Ashley was convinced that if she talked to Clara, all the misunderstandings about her would be resolved.

"No. That’s a really bad idea right now. I’m taking you to the police station. I know someone there who can help you," Chloé replied.

"I’ll go to the police, but I need to see Clara first," Ashley insisted.

"I’m telling you, it’s a bad idea. A lot has changed since you disappeared. Clara has changed too," Chloé warned.

"Changed how?" Ashley asked, curious about what Chloé meant.

"After you disappeared, she fought against everyone who believed you left with her money. She was convinced something had happened to you. She was devastated and fell into depression for almost two years. But eventually... she accepted that you really had left and decided to move on. She threw away everything that reminded her of you. Including me. She fired me," Chloé explained.

"What!? She really did that? I’m so sorry for everything that happened to you because of my disappearance," Ashley said, tears slowly forming in her eyes.

Everyone thought she was a criminal now, when she was actually the victim.

Even Clara, the love of her life, believed she was a monster who had stolen her money and abandoned her.

"Don’t be, okay?" Chloé replied.

"It’s not your fault. Besides, thanks to your disappearance, I met my partner and now I have a daughter," Chloé added with a smile.

"What?" Ashley said, completely caught off guard.

She thought everything about her story had been nothing but darkness.

"Yeah. One of the inspectors who investigated your disappearance became my partner. We had a daughter, and she turned one last month," Chloé explained as she pulled out her phone and showed Ashley pictures.

"Oh... she’s adorable. She looks a lot like you," Ashley said.

"I’m glad my kidnapping didn’t only bring bad things," Ashley added.

"I already told Roger we’re coming. He’ll help you, trust me," Chloé said, giving her a reassuring look.

Ashley had no choice for the moment. She had to trust Chloé, who knew everything that had happened while she was gone, before doing what she truly wanted to do.

"Thank you," Ashley replied, wiping away her tears.

"Thank you for believing in me," she added, her tears flowing even more.

An hour later, Ashley was giving her statement and being questioned by the police.

Of course, she didn’t describe anyone. She didn’t even know if her kidnappers were still watching her.

Just as Chloé had said, the police had nothing to charge her with. However, Ashley also couldn’t prove that she had been held captive because her condition was too perfect for someone who had supposedly spent more than two years imprisoned.

She was eventually released, but the police asked her to stay nearby in case they needed to question her again.

She checked into a small hotel while trying to figure out where she would live permanently.

She still couldn’t believe she was finally free.

She could finally do everything she had dreamed of during her captivity.

And more importantly...

She could finally see Clara again and continue the story they had started together.

But first, she had to find a way to see her.

Chloé had told her not to do it, but Ashley knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully until she saw Clara with her own eyes.

So she went to the place where Clara worked: her family’s company.

Ashley wore a simple cap to avoid being recognized while waiting for Clara to leave the building.

"One hot dog, please," Ashley said to a street vendor.

Luckily for her, there was a hot dog stand nearby because she had forgotten to eat all day.

It was already 6 p.m., so Clara should be leaving soon.

Unless she worked overtime again, which happened often enough that she sometimes ended up sleeping on the couch in her spacious office.

Ashley desperately wanted to just walk into the building and tell Clara she was alive.

But Chloé’s warning had scared her.

She was afraid of discovering that Clara truly hated her.

Then, a few minutes later, Clara finally walked out of the building.

Ashley watched her from a distance.

She was even more beautiful than the last time Ashley had seen her.

She was the love of her life.

The only person who had ever truly loved her.

Ashley immediately found the courage to approach her.

But...

Someone was faster.

And it wasn’t just that.

The man wrapped his arm around Clara’s waist and kissed her passionately.

Ashley felt like her heart had stopped.

Her vision became blurry.

Then her heart started pounding violently in her chest.

She quickly sat down in a corner, afraid she might faint.

It had been a long time since her heart had betrayed her like this.

’So... she really moved on,’ Ashley thought through her tears.

’While I was trapped somewhere, thinking about her every single day... she forgot about me just like that.’

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