Not long after Ashley came out of the consultation room, she ran into Mason, making a phone call in the hallway.
He ended the call and walked straight toward her.
“Why are you in a wheelchair? Georgina wants red bean tapioca from Maggie’s Spoon. Go get her a bowl.”
Ashley didn’t nod like she usually did. Instead, she looked at Mason with a face full of sarcasm.
“My legs can’t walk.”
A flash of unease crossed Mason’s eyes. He instinctively moved closer to check on her, but Georgina, who had just followed them out, quickly pulled him back.
“Mason, little sister got hurt too. You go get it for me. I’ll have a chat with her.”
Whatever Georgina said was never questioned. Mason smiled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll go right now.”
With a sisterly expression, Georgina hooked her arm through Ashley’s and led her toward the rooftop.
But the moment Ashley’s foot touched the rooftop, Georgina gave her a sudden, forceful shove, knocking her out of the wheelchair. Gone was the usual gentleness; her eyes now burned with an open challenge as she slammed the rooftop door shut behind her.
Stunned, Ashley ignored the pain in her legs and crawled on her hands and knees to the door, pounding on it.
“Georgina, let me out!”
Soon, Georgina’s smug voice rang out from the other side of the door.
“Ashley, did you forget who you are? You’ve always just been my substitute.”
“If I hadn’t been away back then, you wouldn’t have gotten the chance to marry Mason. And now you actually have the nerve to call yourself Mrs. Bennett? How shameless.”
Staring at the darkening sky, Ashley’s voice grew hoarse. “I’ll be divorcing Mason in a few days. I don’t love him anymore.”
Georgina let out a sharp scoff and placed a signal jammer at the door.
“Mason, the Patel Family, none of it was ever yours. You’ve always been the outsider.”
“Now that I’m back, you deserve a little lesson. No one’s coming to help you tonight. Sit here and reflect.”
As the sound of heels faded down the corridor, Ashley’s heart sank.
The rooftop was rarely visited and now her phone had no signal.
Was she really going to be stuck here until morning?
When Mason returned with the red bean tapioca and found Georgina alone in the hospital room, he asked without thinking, “Why are you here by yourself? Did Ashley go home?”
Georgina nervously fidgeted with her fingers.
“Maybe little sister got upset with me and left.”
As Mason set the dessert in front of her and handed over a spoon, he asked casually, “She’s still in a wheelchair. Why would she leave upset?”
“I just told her that I’ve just come back and still have a lot to figure out, so I need you with me. I told her not to take it the wrong way.”
Mason didn’t give it much thought and gently reassured her.
“Don’t worry about her. She’s always gone against you since you were kids. You’re the real Miss Patel. No need to walk on eggshells around her.”
“She’s got nowhere else to go. She probably went home. Forget it. Try the red bean tapioca. See if it still tastes like you remember.”
Georgina obediently took a bite of the sweet soup and glanced at the weather app on her phone. Thunderstorms were expected that night.
A satisfied smile played on her lips.
Ashley, I’ll make sure you regret ever trying to take what belongs to me.
