"Miss?"

Ophelia held her breath, confusion still etched across her face as she studied the young woman before her. Ashley’s makeup was thick and dramatic, disguising most of her features. But now that she was looking at her up close, she could finally see through it.

A second later, Ophelia snapped out of her daze.

She instinctively glanced around before grabbing Ashley by the wrist and leading her into a nearby empty room. Before shutting the door, she peeked into the hallway one last time, checking both directions.

Only then did she turn back to Ashley.

"Miss," she breathed, her voice trembling. "Is... is it really you?"

She stepped closer until only a single pace separated them. Her hands clasped Ashley’s, trembling uncontrollably.

"Don’t you believe me?" Ashley asked with a faint frown.

She gave Ophelia’s hands a reassuring squeeze. "Do I have to show you some proof?"

Ophelia pressed her lips together. Relief flickered across her eyes, but it lasted only a moment before worry quickly replaced it.

Without warning—

Smack!

"Ouch—"

"Miss, what are you doing back here again?" Ophelia scolded, smacking Ashley’s shoulder once more. "And dressed like this!"

Smack!

"Do you even know what kind of place this is?"

Smack!

"You promised you’d never set foot in here again!"

Smack!

"But look at you!"

She continued swatting Ashley’s shoulder over and over. The hits weren’t meant to hurt. They were the frustrated taps of someone trying to knock some sense into a person she cared about.

Only when she finally ran out of breath did Ophelia stop. She let out a heavy huff before glaring at Ashley.

"Tell me," she demanded. "Did your father send you back? Did you do something to make him angry again?"

Ashley frowned. "Even if I don’t do anything, he’s always angry with me."

Silence fell between them.

Ashley casually brushed at her shoulder, straightening the slightly revealing outfit she was wearing.

Ophelia simply looked at her.

She was happy to see Ashley had grown into such a beautiful woman. Even beneath the heavy makeup, she could still see the little girl she had watched grow up. But she also knew Ashley’s relationship with her father.

Marshal had never treated Ashley like a daughter.

He had treated her like someone he kept alive only to punish.

"Ophelia." Ashley broke the silence. She stepped closer and gently rested both hands on Ophelia’s shoulders.

"I didn’t do anything that made him angry... yet."

Or rather, she had already done something that would make Marshal want to kill her.

That was, of course, if he discovered it in time.

Fortunately for Ashley, she had no intention of letting that happen until it was already too late.

"Yet?" Ophelia repeated, narrowing her eyes.

A heartbeat later, realization dawned on her face. She slowly shook her head without breaking eye contact.

"Miss Ashley, whatever you’re planning, please stop. Right now."

She grabbed Ashley’s hands again. Her grip trembled, and her throat bobbed as she struggled to swallow.

She had a terrible feeling about this.

She didn’t know how Ashley had lived these past few years after leaving this place. But she knew enough to understand it couldn’t have been easy.

At the same time...

It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Ashley finally snapped.

After everything Marshal had put her through, it was nothing short of a miracle that Ashley had managed to stay sane.

"If your father catches you... and finds out whatever it is you’re doing..." Ophelia bit her trembling lip before letting out a shaky breath. "He’s really going to kill you."

He had already done. Over and over and over again.

Ashley simply smiled as she looked into Ophelia’s eyes, quietly taking in the woman’s genuine concern.

"Please," Ophelia whispered. "Stop now, Miss Ashley."

She tightened her grip. "I can probably help you get out of here tonight. It’ll be risky, but it’s not impossible—"

"Then what?"

Ophelia froze. Her lips parted, but no words came out.

"If you help me escape tonight and the others find out, they’ll send an entire unit after me." Ashley held her gaze. "And if they catch me... serving and getting mutilated by a hundred men in a single night is probably the gentlest punishment I can imagine."

Ophelia’s face turned pale.

"But if they don’t catch me—or even before they do—what happens to you?" Ashley tilted her head slightly. "You’re the one in charge of this wing. They’ll kill you... little by little."

She slowly shook her head.

"I’m not putting you through that again, Ophelia."

Silence settled between them as they looked into each other’s eyes.

"But, Miss—"

"Ophelia." Ashley gently cut her off before she could argue further. She squeezed Ophelia’s hands as tightly as she could.

"I’m sorry," she whispered. "I was a coward for a long time... and I was selfish."

Her chest tightened.

When she escaped the Di Carpios, all Ashley wanted was to forget.

That was why, after she was arrested and believed Marshal had abandoned her, she forced herself to live differently. Even after marrying into Dominion, she clung to that same belief.

Don’t look back.

That was the lie she kept telling herself.

She convinced herself to keep moving forward—to never acknowledge the past and never turn around.

But after the attack... she finally understood.

From the very beginning, Ashley had been running away.

Whether in her first life or this second chance she had been given, she never truly faced the past. She had only changed the direction in which she ran.

That was why seeing Marshal again—seeing him happily living with the family he truly cherished—had still hurt.

Not because she expected him to acknowledge her.

But because...

Deep down, she had always known what she needed to do.

She had simply been struggling against the twisted beliefs Marshal had drilled into her since childhood—beliefs he had planted only to protect himself.

"All my life," Ashley whispered, "I was taught to keep moving forward and never look back. Scott, you... everyone... kept telling me to move on. To leave everything behind where it belonged."

She looked directly into Ophelia’s eyes.

"And I did." Her expression gradually hardened. "I kept walking forward without caring who or what I left behind."

She paused. "But I eventually realized... that while I was busy walking away, there were still people standing behind me."

People who had helped her survive the darkest days of her life.

She drew in a slow breath before letting it out.

"Ophelia," she said softly, shaking her head. "I can’t keep moving forward... without looking back every once in a while."

A small, bittersweet smile appeared on her lips.

"I need to make sure I haven’t left anyone behind... and that everything I walked away from was truly finished."

"Otherwise..." Her gaze turned resolute. "I’ll just keep walking in circles."