The Labyrinth of Doubt
The Labyrinth of Doubt
Lily’s POV
The air in the psychology department felt colder than usual. I walked slowly, clutching my notebook to my chest, trying to shake the anxiety that had been clinging to me since morning. Today was my first day as Professor Daniel’s research assistant. I should have felt proud, but Ashton’s warning echoed in my head like a broken record.
"He once destroyed my sister. I cannot ignore that."
I took a deep breath and knocked on the solid teak door.
"Come in," Daniel’s voice called out, deep yet welcoming.
The room was dimly lit. Only the desk lamp was on, casting a glow over piles of journals and research drafts. Daniel sat there, removing his reading glasses, and greeted me with a smile that was difficult to decipher.
"Lily. Punctual, just as I expected," he said, gesturing for me to sit across from him. "We will begin with the data analysis on adaptive behavior in adolescents from broken homes. I think, on a personal level, you might understand this variable better than my other assistants."
I opened my laptop with hands that trembled slightly. "I am here to work objectively, Daniel. I have no intention of bringing personal matters into this research."
Daniel gave a short laugh, a dry sound. "Objectivity is a myth in psychology, Lily. Our life experiences shape how we view our subjects. Much like Ashton. His experience with his mother, Vanessa, must be shaping how he views you right now."
I froze. Hearing Vanessa’s name mentioned in this room felt like a razor blade scraping against glass. "What does that have to do with this research?"
"Nothing. Directly," Daniel leaned back, watching me with sharp, inquisitive eyes. "I am simply curious. How does it feel to be the wife of a man whose world has just collapsed? A man whose own mother is a murderer? Do you not feel that you are merely a temporary solace for him? Ashton needs an escape, Lily. And you are the sweetest escape he could find right now."
"You are wrong," I replied firmly, though my heart was pounding. "Ashton loved me long before his mother’s scandal came to light."
"Perhaps," Daniel shrugged, seemingly indifferent. "But men like Ashton Williams never truly give their hearts away. He is too broken by his past. He sees you not as an individual, but as a pawn to get revenge on David Taylor. Now that revenge is irrelevant because his own mother was the culprit, what reason does he have left to keep you?"
Those words stabbed me right in the chest. I tried to focus on the numbers on my laptop screen, but my vision began to blur with emotion. Daniel kept talking, his voice soft yet poisonous, planting seeds of doubt that I had worked so hard to keep buried.
The afternoon passed under heavy pressure. As I stepped out of Daniel’s office, my head throbbed. I felt as though I had just emerged from a mental battlefield. Just as I reached the campus lobby, my phone vibrated.
It was a message from an unknown number.
I opened it, hoping it was just spam. But my hope shattered. It was a photo. A photo of Ashton and Sandra in a hotel lobby. Sandra appeared very close, her hand resting on Ashton’s chest, while Ashton looked at her intensely.
"See how quickly he returns to the embrace of the past when his world falls apart. You are just a temporary bandage, Lily. Sandra is his true home."
I leaned my body against the cold corridor wall. The oxygen around me felt thin. Daniel had just told me I was an escape, and this photo seemed to be the concrete proof. Was it true that Ashton only needed me as a sedative while he was hurting? And when he needed professional strength, did he go back to Sandra?
Ashton’s POV
I massaged my temples, which were throbbing painfully. The meeting with the board of directors today had been a disaster. Ever since my mother’s sentence was handed down, the shareholders had begun to lose faith. They viewed me as the son of a murderer, not a competent leader.
As I stepped out toward the lobby of the headquarters, I didn’t want to see anyone. I just wanted to go home, hold Lily, and forget that my last name was Williams.
"Ashton! Wait!"
I let out a harsh breath. Sandra. Again. "Sandra, I already told you there is no deal. Don’t make me call security."
Sandra didn’t stop. She jogged over in her high heels and intercepted me right in front of the revolving doors. Her face looked anxious, or at least she was acting very well.
"It’s about David Taylor, Ashton! Listen to me first!"
Hearing that man’s name made me stop in my tracks. "What is he doing now?"
Sandra leaned in, her voice dropping so low that only I could hear. "David knows you’re cornered. He knows your reputation is ruined because of Vanessa. He is gathering strength to reclaim the Taylor assets you once claimed. And worse, he is preparing a lawsuit to take Lily back."
I laughed cynically. "Lily is my legal wife. David has no rights."
"He has money and the best lawyers, Ashton. He will use the argument that you married Lily under business pressure and manipulation. He will drag your name through the mud even deeper if you don’t give Lily back to him. He wants Lily to marry a property group heir in London to restore the Taylor image."
My blood boiled. My grip on my briefcase tightened. Sandra suddenly stepped forward, placing her hand on my chest. It was a very familiar gesture, the one she used to use to calm me down.
"You need me, Ashton. I have inside information. I can help you destroy David’s plan before he even starts it. Don’t fight this alone."
I looked into Sandra’s eyes. For a moment, I saw a comfortable shadow of the past. But then, Lily’s face appeared in my mind. Her sincere smile, her steadfastness while supporting me at the trial. I immediately brushed Sandra’s hand away roughly.
"I don’t need your help, Sandra. And don’t ever touch me again."
"Ashton, look at reality! You can’t protect Lily alone with the current state of your company!" she shouted as I walked away.
I didn’t look back. However, I didn’t realize that behind a large pillar in the lobby, a hired photographer was smiling with satisfaction after capturing the moment of Sandra’s hand on my chest.
When I arrived at the mansion, the atmosphere felt silent. Lily was sitting at the dining table, staring at her phone screen with a hollow expression.
"Lily?" I called out softly.
She didn't turn around. She simply slid her phone to the middle of the table. There, the photo of me and Sandra was clearly displayed.
"How much longer do I have to be the last person to know about what is happening in your life, Ashton?" Her voice trembled, yet it was cold.
I stood frozen. The labyrinth built by Sandra and Daniel began to close in, and I realized that tonight was going to be a very long night.