REBIRTH: Mr. CEO Let’s Divorce Novel – Staggering, Ashley barged into the hospital’s morgue. Not minding the numbing cold, with her bare feet, Ashley raced to the place she loathed the most. Never in her forty years of existence did she expect that she would be coming to this place for her beloved son. Her knees wobbled and her shaky breath stopped when she saw the only body covered in a white blanket. Blood was smeared at the other end of the mantle where a head was being covered. In a blink of an eye, Ashley hovered over the table where the corpse was laid. With trembling hands, Ashley mastered the courage to confirm her doubts. After all, she just called her son a few hours ago. He told her he was fine! Her darling child assured her, even joked at her, as he whined at her to prepare the apple pie he always loved to eat in secret – their little connection in that desolate house of glory and splendor.
The moment she lifted the blanket, the disfigured face of her son welcomed Ashley. A cry escaped from her raspy throat as she hugged him, her son, Scott Elijah. “My baby boy…” Ashley choked. With stifled sobs, she showered his bloody and cold face with smooch, just as she always did when he was still a young boy. “Mommy failed you… I thought he would protect you. I’m sorry for leaving you alone… when you needed me the most. I-I am so sorry for choosing him over you, my son.” Silence. Cold silence answered Ashley’s sobs. Ashley did not know how many minutes or hours she stayed hugging her son’s bloodied corpse. She did not even realize the nurses had already guided her away from her son as they took him away from her.
Curled in the corner of the cafeteria, Ashley sat in a daze in front of her father – Scottie’s grandfather. The coffee on the table had long been cold yet not a word was exchanged between the two. Ashley remained passive. Her gaze was empty, her lips were cracked, and her eyes swelled. From time to time, tears would fall from her unblinking eyes. No matter how noisy the canteen was – the chatter of the medical staff as they took a break, the clanking of utensils as the people ate, and the noise from the television that displayed the latest weather report – none of these mattered for Ashley as she stared into the void. Perhaps, this would be her life from now on. Regrets were drowning her and she was letting it get her.
She was blaming herself for being selfish, for being of love, and for believing the vile whispers of the so-called cupid. The banging of the table spilled the coffee to Ashley. This action of her father pulled her from her trance. A pair of dull hazel eyes regarded sharp identical ones. “What’s wrong now, Dad?” “What’s wrong? Your son is dead! You failed to get Jaxon for the past twenty years even when your son was still around! How will you compete against the other females when you… you are worse than his janitress?” Something snapped within Ashley. The corners of her lips curled up in a mocking grin, rendering the gray-haired old man speechless.
“I regret having you as my father. Believing you foolishly that you would see my son beyond his inheritance,” said Ashley, “but like always, you did fail the ‘family’ part. A word of advice, ‘Father’, you better stick to the real estate business. After all, you sold your daughter for the business.” For the first time in her forty years of existence, Ashley walked away from her father. Ashley, who was lost in her own train of thought, found herself on the rooftop of the hospital. What pulled her from her reverie was not the heat from the sun above the city of San Jose nor the harsh wind that swayed her knee-length beige dress, no, it was the familiar deep voice of the man she had longed for twenty-five years of her existence. Her husband, Scottie’s father, the renowned king of he-ll across the states in the business community… Jaxon Elijah.
“Scott needs to be sent home, let’s go and don’t waste my time. I still have a meeting at three.” With her back against him, Ashley stood at the edge of the rooftop. “You always have meetings. Scottie surely will not mind if you are not there anymore. We are kinda used to it, Jaxon.” “Look… I know this is hard for you, for us. But the living has to move on. Scott will not like it if he sees you right now.” The usual impatience could be detected in his deep voice. Ashley whipped her attention to Jaxon as she turned around sharply. “Scottie will not see us because he’s dead, Jaxon! Don’t use my son!” “He is my son too!” “If you treated him well, trusted him as you do to your subordinates, he would have not left the house! He would have been still alive and kicking right now… n-not cold and bashed up in the head!” Ashley’s voice was firm amid her sobs. “Where were you when he needed your assurance the most? Scottie worked on the project for months to earn a single word of approval from you! He was alone all of his life…” “And who’s fault is that?” Jaxon snapped as he cut her off.
He was three meters away from Ashley already. “Ever since Scott was born, you tossed him away! For what? Because you are too insecure of yourself! You are so obsessed with me that it’s suffocating!” Silence. A self-deprecating smile was painted on Ashley’s face. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at the man she devotedly loved for the past twenty-five years – the man who fathered her child but still remained cold and ruthless to her. “You’re right.” Ashley’s words of admittance startled Jaxon. “I have loved you for twenty-five years, believe it or not. I consented to my father’s manipulation just to take the chance to be with you. I birthed Scottie in hopes that he would bring us together. I tossed my son away when I realized you even distanced yourself even more.” She continued, this time, Ashley let her tears and sobs be free.
Her chest was too tight and heavy to swallow it all in. It was too painful. “My love for you became the chain that suffocates you. My love for you turned Scottie into a cold corpse… when he should have the whole world as his future. I took your freedom, Jaxon.” Ashley choked as she pounded her chest with her fist repeatedly. “I took my son’s future… all because I have loved you.” “I’m sorry for loving you.” She took a step back. “What are you doing?” For the first time, Ashley saw the panic in his deep green eyes. Funny, how she stayed twenty years with Jaxon yet this was the first time she had seen him with this expression. Shaking her head, she whispered the words that only he could hear. “If there is a second life, I will not love you anymore.” Hugging herself, Ashley felt the harsh wind against her back as her bare feet felt the edge of the rooftop’s cemented railings. A bittersweet smile bloomed on her face. “Scottie did not grow up with me around; at least in the journey to the afterlife, I could be there for him. So… I am setting you free… my love.” With these parting words, Ashley leaned back and accepted her defeat. She was determined to die as a mother. ‘Scottie, Mom failed you before.
This time, Mom will be with you as you journey to your second life. If I have only one wish, I hope that in your second life, your Mother will choose you over and over again… something I failed to do.’ These words were Ashley’s parting thoughts to the world of the living. – The evening sun shone on the villa that was located halfway up the mountain. Through the huge French windows, the sunlight shone on the face of the woman in the house. A gentle breeze blew past, causing the wind chimes to tinkle. Seemingly disturbed by the sound of the wind chimes, the woman on the bed frowned. Her eyelashes fluttered twice before she finally opened her eyes slowly, revealing a pair of glass-like eyes. However, there was a look of confusion in her gem-like orbs. Everything felt like a dream. Her eyes gleamed and she beamed upon such thought.
Maybe, just maybe, what happened in that hospital was all a dream! With this in mind, Ashley dashed to the familiar door when she glanced at the mirror she just walked past through. Seemingly frozen, she looked at the mirror once more and gasped. The person in the mirror looked very disheveled… and young! Her hair was a mess and her makeup was smudged. The bright red lips were a huge shock to Ashley. “What… in the world is happening?” She remembered this time of her life! It was when Scottie was still in kindergarten! He was four years old and she was twenty-four years old. What made her remember this year because this was the time when she decided to toss away her responsibility as a mother and focused herself on chasing her husband. Whenever she heard about Jaxon meeting with an investor in a bar, she would go there and spy on him. At that time, Ashley had no time to worry about a kid when her husband alone was already a handful.
Whenever she saw how her husband would smile at the waitress, she would confront the lady and make sure that she would know about his wife. Thinking about it now, Ashley could only spit at herself. Shaking her head, she traced her reflection of herself in the mirror. “Did God take pity on me?” A lone tear escaped from her right eye. The thought of having her son back alone was something she could rejoice for her whole life. Clasping her hands together, she closed her eyes and uttered a prayer. “God, if this is not a dream before you take selfish myself to inferno, then let me redeem myself and be the best mother to my son. That is only my desire in this world. I have no more intention of holding onto people. Thank you. I promise I will cherish this second chance of life. I will be Scottie’s best mother. Just You wait.” With this new resolve, Ashley took a shower. While wearing her bathrobe, she opened her walk-in closet. All of the clothes that welcomed her were old-fashioned ones. This was not her usual style, but upon hearing about Jaxon’s penchant for women who used clothes like his grandmother, Ashley foolishly changed her entire wardrobe. “What a fool you have been, Ashley.”
She wanted to pat her old self before slapping her foolish past self. “That man deliberately told me. All her ex-girlfriends did not use this kind of thing. My past self is only blindly in love with Jaxon Elijah.” Shaking her head, Ashley opened the box which contained her favorite clothes that she deliberately hid before. She did not want to throw this so she hid it here. Who would have known she would be able to use it in her second life? An elegant cream-colored dress that fell just below her knees and showed her arms and a part of her back was what she had chosen. She wore her favorite white doll shoes. After dressing up, Ashley walked to her vanity mirror and sat. A look of disdain was reflected in her eyes as she scanned the bottles of perfume. In reality, Ashley loved the smell of nature and flowers. But before her were the bottles of perfume with heavy scents that she ‘also’ heard that Jaxon liked to a woman. Deciding not to wear any perfume and just relying on her rose flower gel, Ashley dropped all her dislikes in the bin while the clothes were on her bed.
Looking at herself on the mirror, Ashley sighed once more. “Look at you, Ashley. You are young, but you are wasting your youth chasing a cruel man who will never love you even if you jump from a building in front of him.” Her long hair, which she usually braided this time around, was let down to cascade freely. With her wavy brown hair, after drying it, it was naturally bouncy. Settling with a simple cherry pink lipstick, Ashley smiled at herself in the mirror. “Farewell, Ashley Elijah. From now on, I will reclaim Ashley Connor’s aspiration and beloved son. You may rest in peace now, my poor past self. Starting today, I will no longer chase Jaxon Elijah.” There was a raw determination beneath her youthful face. It was at this moment that her phone rang. When she answered it, she was immediately bombarded with Dylan’s shrilling voice. Despite that, tears swelled in her eyes once more. ‘I miss this.’ Ashley thought to herself. On the other end of the phone, her manager, Dylan, was still talking non-stop, as if he had been suppressed too much in the past. Now, he finally had a chance to vent.
“Do you still want to be an actress?” “Isn’t this your dream?” “Getting married and publicly charging at your husband’s mistresses are not enough, now you want to ditch this contract?” “What do you take me for?” “Hey! Did you hear me!” “Come over tomorrow. We’ll settle this then.” Ashley hung up the phone, and the world finally quieted down. Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, Dylan froze. It was true that the voice on the other end of the line was Ashley, but why did he feel that something was wrong? Shouldn’t Ashley be cursing at him for disturbing her stalking frenzy with her husband? Why did she become so calm, and what was with that commanding tone? “What time is it?” Picking up her phone, she walked to the first floor where she found servants preparing a meal in the kitchen. When they heard her, they came out instantly. “Miss, dinner is almost ready.” Ashley slightly raised her brows. She was used to this treatment. Everyone in the prestigious Elijah Family how desperate she was to be Jaxon’s wife, thus, they never called her ‘Madam’. If it hurt her before to the point that she would lash out at the employees, now, she merely shrugged it off. “Go and arrange a car. I’m going out.”
“Miss, where are you going?” Nanny Doris, who had been waiting on her for a long time, was thoroughly disgusted by Ashley’s words. She had just returned home after drinking so much last night, and now she was going out again after waking up. She did not like the way Ashley acted. “I said, send a car.” Ashley slightly emphasized her words, which attracted Nanny Doris’s attention. Nanny Doris raised her head and was stunned when she saw Ashley. The woman in front of her had worn a light cream silk dress, with her long wavy hair hanging loosely on her shoulders. The face that was always mistaken to be a face of a middle-aged woman was gone, making her look intelligent and refreshing like the lush mountains after the rain.
And what made Nanny Doris most afraid to look straight at her was that pair of imposing eyes. “Okay, I will have them arrange it now.” Before her brain could react, she had already subconsciously voiced her obedience. The black car stopped in front of the door and the chauffeur opened the door for Ashley. “Miss, where are you going?” “Woodhill Kindergarten.” “Yes, Miss.” The chauffeur was not used to hearing her go to places other than his boss’ company. ‘What’s wrong with her today?’ He could only wonder at the back of his mind.