Chapter 3
Her father hadn’t meant to humiliate Ash–he was teaching by example. When her mother was alive, she always mounted her horse by stepping on her father’s shoulders.
Back then, Rianne had been young. As she placed her small foot on Ash’s broad shoulder, she felt how strong and solid it was.
in that moment, her heart inexplicably began to race. The young girl’s heart stirred, but she failed to notice the humiliation burning in Ash’s eyes.
Rianne had assumed Ash’s pride made him resent being stepped on, so she never asked him to kneel again after that one time.
But now, watching Ash willingly kneel for Sophia to dismount, Rianne felt as if someone had thrown
needles into her eyes.
She forced herself to look away, kicked her horse’s sides and called, “Hyah!”
The horse obediently broke into a run. Riding freely in the wind, Rianne’s mood lifted slightly.
Today they were practicing jumping obstacles–Rianne needed to guide her horse over three hurdles, a challenging exercise.
As her horse approached the first hurdle, it suddenly leapt up. Mid–jump, the saddle strap snapped.
Rianne, completely unprepared, fell straight off the horse!
The startled horse began to bolt wildly, threatening to trample her at any moment.
And Ash, who was supposed to be protecting her, remained by Sophia’s side. He hadn’t even noticed
Rianne’s fall.
“Ash Sterling!” Rianne called out through the sharp pain, using all her strength.
Only then did Ash notice her spooked horse. Unhurriedly, he stepped forward and controlled the
frantic horse with one hand.
Ash had studied animal training, which was why her father had assigned him to accompany Rianne during riding lessons.
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Billionaire Heiress Burns Seven Traitors in Epic Revenge
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Chapter 3
He should have checked her saddle thoroughly and kept constant watch over her to ensure her
safety.
But instead, all his attention had been on Sophia, and he hadn’t even noticed that Rianne’s saddle wasn’t properly secured…
In the end, Rianne broke her leg and was hospitalized.
Perhaps to atone, Ash volunteered to care for her during her hospital stay.
He was attentive–when Rianne was thirsty, water appeared at her lips before she could ask. When her injury pained her, a slight furrowing of her brow would prompt him to bring pain medication. After taking medicine, he’d offer her favorite dried plums to take away the bitter taste…
He was always like this–showing no love, yet caring for her meticulously, leading Rianne to believe he wasn’t unloving, just reserved and unable to express himself.
But how could he be unable to express himself? With Sophia, the love in his eyes practically
overflowed…
A few days later, Rianne’s leg had mostly healed. One night, she got up to use the bathroom and accidentally overheard a conversation in the hallway.
“Ash, that was too much!” It was Julian’s voice. “You deliberately cut Rianne’s saddle strap?”
“Even if Rianne pushed Sophia down the stairs, you can’t do something like that! Falling from a
horse is serious–she could have broken her neck!”
Ash sighed almost imperceptibly. “I only meant to teach her a small lesson. I didn’t expect her to be injured so badly.”
As an expert rider, Ash had calculated that without the horse jumping, the fall wouldn’t cause
serious injury. He hadn’t anticipated that Rianne would be practicing obstacle jumping that day, with the horse leaping especially high.
“I’ve atoned,” Ash continued. “These past days I’ve catered to her every need–I’ve made amends.”
“She’s fine now anyway, so let’s put this behind us. No one mention it again.”
In that moment, Rianne felt an inexplicable chill sweep through her entire body.
So he had deliberately cut her saddle strap to avenge Sophia!
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His attentive care these past days wasn’t because he was concerned about her injury, but merely “compensation” for a “miscalculation.”
Rianne bit her lip until it bled, but she felt no pain.
Because her heart hurt more!
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