Chapter 104: The set up
Ashley stood there for a while, pretending to be on a call with someone else. She couldn’t let Evans see her like this, not after everything she had done to win him back. She knew exactly what this outing meant. Evans had brought her to the boutique to test her, to see if she truly had the money she had been bragging about. And now, in his eyes, she was failing spectacularly.
She cursed her father under her breath as she dialed his number again instead of her mother’s. She still couldn’t understand what had
happened, how the money she had earlier in her account had suddenly vanished. And worse, her father was refusing to help her.
Did he take her for a fool? Fine. If he picked up this time, she would resort to threats. She didn’t care anymore. All she needed was for him to send her money so she wouldn’t be humiliated in front of everyone.
"Pick up... pick up... please pick up," Ashley pleaded under her breath, her fingers trembling slightly as she held the phone to her ear.
She could feel the weight of eyes on her.
Everyone in the boutique was watching, judging. Freya stood a few steps away, arms folded across her chest, a sneer clearly etched on her face. Some of the sales representatives had already begun whispering among themselves, their voices loud enough for Ashley to hear every word.
"If she knew she couldn’t afford it, why did she say she would pay for everything?" one of them sneered.
"She came with her friends, and I heard one of them asking if they should pick whatever they liked, and she agreed. Now she can’t pay."
"She’s acting like those rich kids who always expect their daddy to bail them out."
"I don’t even think she’s a rich kid. I know most of the wealthy families and their heirs, she’s not from any of them," another added dismissively.
"I’m sure I’ve seen her somewhere before," a different voice chimed in. "Let me check online. They’re calling her Ashley, right? If she’s from a notable family, we can just bill them later."
Their supervisor, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke. "That’s a good idea. I’ll go check." She turned and walked away.
Ashley had heard every single word. None of them had bothered to lower their voices. But it was that last statement that made her blood run cold.
If they searched her name online... everything would come up.
Everything, including what she had done to Lena.
Her breath hitched. Panic surged through her veins as she turned to Evans, silently pleading for help. But Evans didn’t move. He simply stood there, his expression cold and indifferent. His eyes seemed to say everything he refused to voice aloud:
If you can’t afford this, why did you come back to me?
If you embarrass me here, don’t ever show your face before me again.
Ashley understood perfectly. The unspoken words carried more weight than anything he could have said aloud.
Her gaze shifted to James and Freya. They looked no better, if anything, worse. Their expressions were filled with disgust and contempt, as if she were something beneath them.
Left with no other choice, Ashley clenched her phone tightly and dialed her father again, silently praying to every god she could think of for him to answer.
But he didn’t.
And what broke her completely was what happened next.
The line was switched off.
Her hand fell limply to her side. Slowly, she turned back to Evans, her face pale, her eyes filled with fear. Her last hope had just been cut off.
"Collect those items from them," the head sales representative said sharply as she returned. "I don’t think she can afford anything in this boutique."
Her lips curled in disdain as she added, "The only thing she seems capable of doing is stealing someone else’s fiancé. Guys, she’s that
Ashley, the one who stole Miss Smith’s fiancé. The one that went viral."
She placed her hands on her hips, looking utterly pleased with herself.
"What? I knew I recognized her!" another exclaimed. "She’s really shameless, showing her face here."
"Oh, now it makes sense," someone else added mockingly. "Miss Smith must have cut her off, and now she’s broke."
"Tsk, tsk... and she’s here with Miss Smith’s former fiancé, trying to please a man that isn’t even hers."
By now, even the customers who had come to shop had gathered around, some openly recording the scene with their phones.
"It’s not what you think!" Ashley finally snapped, her voice shaking. "I... I have money. There’s just something wrong with my account. If you give me a few days, I’ll sort everything out!"
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as anger and humiliation burned inside her. Even now, Lena’s shadow loomed over her. Why wouldn’t that woman just disappear from her life? Evans had never truly belonged to Lena, he was always meant to be hers.
Her thoughts were cut short when she saw Evans pulling out his card.
"Evans, wait! I can pay for it," she said quickly, reaching out to stop him. "I just need to fix my account...."
He stepped away from her touch.
"Stop it, Ashley. Haven’t you done enough?" Freya snapped, stepping forward. "Isn’t this embarrassment enough for you already?"
Ashley froze.
"Let me make this clear," Freya continued coldly.
"Evans has nothing to do with you. He came here today to shop for his girlfriend, Ava. You’re the one who showed up uninvited, pretending you came to see me and James, just to cling to him."
A collective gasp rippled through the boutique.
"Evans has a girlfriend," Freya went on, her voice sharp and unyielding. "And he’s not leaving her for you. The sooner you get that into your skull, the better."
Ashley felt a chill run down her spine.
Girlfriend?
Ava?
Her mind spun. Had she been set up from the very beginning? Has Evans ever truly broken up with his girlfriend?
"Evans... what is she talking about?" Ashley asked, her voice barely steady. "You told me you broke up with her..."
"Ashley, don’t be so desperate," James cut in harshly. "You already ruined things between Lena and Evans. Now you’re trying to destroy his relationship with Ava too?"
"We may be your friends," he added, his tone hardening, "but we won’t let you do that again."
Ashley stared at them, stunned.
Her lips parted, but no words came out. Her mind struggled to process everything.
"I thought... I thought you said you broke up with her," she said weakly, her gaze shifting desperately to Evans.
"Are they telling the truth?"
But Evans didn’t step forward. He stayed behind James and Freya, looking at her like she was nothing more than a nuisance,something he wanted no part of.
"Answer me!" she screamed, her voice cracking.
"Tell me you didn’t plan this! Tell me you didn’t set me up just so everyone could mock me!"
Ashley’s breathing grew erratic as panic and rage clawed at her chest.
"Ashley, I think you need help," Evans finally said, his voice calm, too calm.
"Why would I call you when I already have a beautiful girlfriend that everyone in York City knows about?"
He lifted his chin slightly, his expression cold.
"If you paid attention to what I was buying, you’d realize it was a gift for her. You offered to pay for James and Freya’s items, not mine. And now that I’m paying for everything since you couldn’t afford to pay for it, you’re making a scene."
His eyes hardened.
"Do you know I could sue you for stalking? You can’t keep doing this. I won’t let you ruin my relationship again like you did before."
Ashley saw red.
Her vision blurred as disbelief and fury consumed her. Maybe if she blinked, this nightmare would disappear. Maybe none of this was real.
But when she looked around, reality hit her harder than ever.
People were whispering.
Laughing.
Recording.
In just one day, Evans had completely cleared his name from the cheating scandal. And she, she had become the villain. The sole reason his relationship with Lena had failed.
Her gaze snapped back to him.
And then she saw it.
That smug look on his face.
Something inside her snapped.
With a scream, Ashley lunged at him, completely losing control. But before she could reach him, Freya and James grabbed her. The struggle turned violent in seconds. Blows were exchanged, chaos erupted, and Ashley was quickly overpowered, beaten until she was barely recognizable.
The sales representatives hurriedly called security.
Within minutes, guards stormed in and restrained Ashley, along with James and Freya, dragging them out of the boutique. The scene had already spiraled far beyond control, and the police were called.
They were all taken to the station.
All except Evans.
He remained behind, untouched, composed, and perfectly cast as the victim in the entire situation.
As Ashley was dragged away, her hair disheveled and her face bruised, she turned her head one last time to look at him.
And then...
She laughed.
A hysterical, broken laugh that echoed through the air, sending chills down the spines of everyone who heard it.
