Chapter 148

• ASHLEY'S POV
• The ride back from Micheal’s felt like the strongest drive of my life. Every mile between us was a painful reminder that the world I had—the love I thought I had—was slipping through my fingers like sand I couldn't hold on to no matter how tight I clenched my fingers around it.
• I hadn't felt this much pain since the day my mother passed. That hollow, aching silence that stays with you long after the tear stops falling. If she were here right now, I knew exactly what she'd do. She'd scold me. She'd tell me how stupid I was for making those choices, for trusting so easily, for believing promises whispered to me in the dark. And maybe she'd be right. I'm indeed stupid. A big one at that.