A Love Trap

Raymond pondered a few times on how things might have been if nothing had happened that day. He asked himself occasionally, 'What could have happened if I hadn't been to that bar? What if I wasn't drunk and didn't sleep with Lena? Would I still be together with Ashley?'

The answer, of course, was no. Lena was so manipulative that even if Raymond hadn't fallen into Lena's trap that time, she would have another trap ready for him. She would have found a way to have sex with him so that he would still break up with Ashley.

"Raymond!" Lena called out to him as she buried herself to his chest.

Truth to be told, Lena didn't really care about Raymond, much less be in love with him.

She only wanted to take him away from Ashley. Lena always wanted to steal Ashley's belongings ever since they were children. Whenever Lena noticed that Ashley cared for or liked something, she would stop at nothing from preventing Ashley having it.

She had always been jealous of the relationship between Ashley and Raymond. He was handsome, considerate and caring and he had been nice to Ashley. Lena thought that she was the one who deserved such an understanding man. She smirked while she devised the perfect plan to tear their relationship apart.

Lena made sure that Ashley would witness how Raymond betrayed her. She was very delighted when Ashley saw her and Raymond together that night. She couldn't forget how Ashley's face lost its color in shock and sorrow. Afterwards, however, Lena never saw Ashley display such a depressing face again in front of Raymond. Lena assumed that Ashley just tried to act cool. Deep inside, Ashley felt heartbroken and dejected on how Lena and Raymond were more intimate and sensual than the relationship she had with him before.

"I will take care of you, Lena." Raymond promised while he embraced Lena in his chest to show his devotion.

"Thank you Raymond. I believe you." Lena replied as she lowered her reddened face.

Ellie rushed out of the Luo Group. She almost ran towards the curb and flailed her arms to hail a taxi. She wanted to talk to Ashley right away but her calls didn't connect. Ellie was worried because Ashley turned her phone off.

She remembered when the two of them both got employed in the Luo Group, they decided to rent an apartment in the company district so that it would take them less time to reach home. Few minutes later, the driver drove her to her apartment.

However, Ellie was so worried that she felt like the travel time took hours.

She jumped out of the taxi and sprinted towards their apartment. Anxiety overwhelmed her as she turned the knob and opened the door. She switched on the light in the living room and found Ashley in a bath towel, asleep soundly on their couch.

cold breeze of the night made it feel like it was not summer. Ellie sighed at the sight of her friend sleeping on the living room

as she noticed the pink bruises in Ashley's neck. When she realized that she had these marks all over her

she

her. However, the dark circles around Ashley's eyes made her stop. She instead continued to cover Ashley with the blanket in her hands and decided to cook dinner for the two of them. Before Ellie could even take a step towards the kitchen, Ashley

the light in the living room. It was just hard for her to adjust to the brightness of the room so she decided

Ellie and hugged her. She rested her head on Ellie's shoulder

heavily. Ellie then stroked Ashley's back lightly, stared into her exhausted eyes and said,

drugged me last night…" Ashley confessed with a miserable voice. Ellie hugged her tightly as the tears flowed down Ashley's cheeks. Ashley told Ellie everything that happened

By the time Ashley

the same desk, played together and even ate together. They had always enjoyed each other's company because they had

then she had a hard time feeling welcomed and loved. The family didn't care for her. They made her work part time just to pay for her tuition fees. Even when it came to clothes and toys, she had to use Lena's hand-me-downs. Life was tough before she moved out

a young girl. She was raised by her grandparents instead. The two of them had experienced a similar sadness in their childhood. It was the reason for them to sympathize with each

no matter how devastating

when she found out the arrangements made by Ashley's foster parents. She wanted to murder the

are lower than trash,

He toyed with the hearts of many innocent young maidens. Those who thought that

and influence protected him from the hatred of his victims and their family. They could only watch

when she heard that Ashley ran inside a stranger's room in the hotel. She embraced her best friend

…

Ashley's voice trembled

eyes were red and swollen while her rosy cheeks were moist from tears.

gently wiped the tears off her best friend's face. She looked into those sad eyes and said kindly, "Cheer up, Ash. I'm going to prepare dinner. You just go to your room and change

answered in a