Give Marco back to me

Give Marco back to me
Ashlyn

The room was cloaked in silence as I sat beside Ashley’s bed. Two days had passed since she was rushed into surgery, and thankfully, she was now stable, except for the injuries on her back, caused by the stab she took while shielding Ismael.

Marco was just outside the room. I had asked him to wait there, I needed to speak with Ashley alone. I wanted to try to reconnect with her, hoping that I would be able to call up her old self.

I looked at my twin sister. Even as she lay in bed, weakened and recovering, she carried herself with that familiar, dignified air. But I could see the exhaustion in her eyes, the pain hiding behind them. And more than anything, I knew the deepest wounds she carried weren’t just physical. They were emotional because of her love for Marco.

This was the first real conversation we would have since everything happened.

“Thank you,” I whispered, gently holding her hand. “If you hadn’t stepped in front of Ismael… Marco might not be here anymore.”

Her eyes locked with mine, steady and unflinching.

“I could never let anything happen to Marco,” she said softly, with a calmness that made her words cut even deeper. “I love him… so much.”

My heart twisted. “Ashley… I love you too. I always have. I just wish you could see that. I want us to be okay again. I want peace between us. No more anger. No more jealousy. Just love. As sisters. As twins.”

I held my breath, praying she would say, “Alright, let’s try.” Just those words. I was hoping. Wishing.

But she said nothing for a moment. Then, slowly, she pulled her hand from mine.

“Can you… Give him to me instead?”

My brows furrowed in disbelief. Her words felt like a splash of ice-cold water.

"If you really want us to be okay, give Marco back to me."

“What?” I asked, confused.

“I risked my life for him,” she said in a tone so soft, yet it reverberated through my bones. “Isn’t that enough to make you see how much I love him?”

I shook my head, stunned. “Ashley… I thought you understood. I thought you had finally awakened from everything. You tried to replace me. You poisoned Marco’s trust in me. You tore apart my life. And now, after saving him, you’re asking me to hand him over to you?”

“You don’t know how much I love him,” she murmured, tears brimming in her eyes. “You don’t know how painful it is to see you two… while I’m left with nothing. Always alone.”

I swallowed hard. Part of me wanted to comfort her, to wrap my arms around her and say I understand. But I couldn't give her what she was asking for.

“Don’t treat him like some prize, Ashley,” I said softly. “Marco is my husband. He chose me. And despite everything… he still loves me.”

She stared at the ceiling, silent. I couldn’t tell if she was crying or if she was simply trying to accept the truth.

“I can’t give him up,” I continued gently. “But if there’s anything else I can do to help you heal, to help you rebuild… I’ll do it.”

Still, no answer. Just the slow, steady fall of her tears down her pale cheeks.

In that moment, I realized something:

The wound Ashley carried… wasn’t just on her back. It ran deeper, far beyond what any doctor could fix.

And though I didn’t know how this would all end… I knew one thing for certain—

I would never give up the man I love.

“You’re so selfish!” Ashley suddenly snapped, her voice filled with fury and bitterness as her eyes bore into mine. “You’ve seen what I’ve been through and yet you still won’t give him up!”

Her words hit me like a slap. I froze, clutching the side of her bed. That voice… that anger… It didn’t sound like the sister I once knew. Has she been this broken all along? Or was this desperation warping everything inside her?

“Ashley…” I whispered, holding back tears. “It’s not like that. He’s not something I can give away. He’s a person with thoughts, feelings… a heart of his own.”

I tried to steady my voice, but I was trembling. I didn’t want to hurt her more. I didn’t want her to think that, because she was lying there unable to move, I would pity her… or worse, see her as weak. But I also couldn’t betray Marco, not like this.

“You can ask me for anything, Ashley. Anything else,” I said softly, reaching for her hand again, which was now cold and stiff with resistance. “But not Marco.”

Her face changed. Her pain morphed into pure, blazing rage. Her eyes were red with tears and fury, her lips trembling as she spoke.

“Then you never really loved me!” she screamed. “You can’t even sacrifice something for your own twin, who can’t even take care of herself anymore! I’m bedridden, Ashlyn! And still, you can’t give me what I need!”

I stumbled back, stunned. Her words weren’t true, but they pierced through me because they came from someone I once shared everything with.

But even through the pain, I stepped forward.

“I am willing to take care of you,” I said, my voice breaking but sincere. “Even if it takes forever. I will be here. I will never leave you. Because you’re my sister. My other half. But please… don’t ask me to leave my husband.”

“Liar!” she screamed, sobbing uncontrollably now. “You’re selfish! You take everything! I’ve already lost so much, and still you can’t give me this?!”

“Ashley…” I whispered, voice trembling, “Please… stop…” I reached out, gently touching her arm as it shook with the force of her emotion.

I didn’t want to see her like this.

I didn’t want to hear these words that stabbed at my heart over and over again.

But most of all, I didn’t want her to keep believing that love was something to be stolen, when real love… is always freely given.