Winning Her Heart back (Emelie and William) novel Chapter 923

Elias's POV:

Elias and Ashley's unhappy partings only repeated countless times. It didn't take long for them to run into another issue.

Maya started pushing for a baby.

In truth, she was eyeing Ashley's inheritance. Her sneaky plan was simple: if they had a child, that child would be an Undvike by blood. Hence, they could rightfully inherit Ashley's fortune.

Well, Elias thought that made a lot of sense. If they had an heir, not only would Ashley's annoying relatives back off, but so would the greedy ones from the Undvike family.

Once they saw that the next generation was already set to inherit, they'd have no claim. Thus, they would start giving up, and Ashley would feel less pressure too.

Hence, without hesitation, he went to ask Ashley for a baby.

Ashley heard his request and thought for a moment that Elias had lost his mind. They were practically living apart, yet he wanted a baby?

She sneered as she tossed the prenuptial agreement at him again. Unless he signed it, she would refuse to talk to him. At this point, Ashley was fully convinced that Elias was after her inheritance.

When reasoning with her failed, Elias did something underhanded. He swapped out her birth control pills for folic acid and fertility meds.

In the end, Ashley did end up pregnant, just like Elias had wanted. However, their relationship hit rock bottom.

On top of the sneaky pill swap, which infuriated Ashley, she also suspected Elias of cheating. At the same time, Elias saw Ashley and Beathan at a hotel together and was convinced that they'd rekindled their old flame.

That fight was brutal. So brutal, in fact, that Elias actually considered jumping into the city river.

William was incredulous as he asked, "Really? Is it that bad?"

"Yes! Yes, it's that bad!!" Elias wailed. His dear Aunt Ash didn't want him, so what was the point of living?

Jayden suggested, "If you can't let her go, then stop sulking like some lovesick drama queen and go after her! Win her back! It's gotta be better than sitting around acting like a jilted wife."

Elias slammed his drink down. "You're right."

Without wasting any time, he went for it. They said persistence could win over even the fiercest of women. Whether it worked on anyone else, Elias didn't know, but it definitely worked for him.

Ashley was a high-offense, low-defense type of person. She looked like a total ice queen. Scratch that, she was a total ice queen.

However, her romantic history was a blank slate. In her 30 years, she had only ever dated Beathan. So, she was completely unprepared for Elias's relentless and shameless advances.

Being the younger partner also had its perks as she gave him a lot of leeway. No matter how outrageous his actions were, he could always use his age as an excuse.

Whenever she was enraged by his outrageous behavior, she would sigh and say, "Forget it. He's just a young man."

When she let it slide, Elias was encouraged to push his luck further and further.

Elias personally took care of Ashley throughout her pregnancy. He was attentive, thorough, and surprisingly competent. It was hard to believe this once-wild playboy was even more meticulous than a professional caretaker.

There was a tragedy at the courthouse, and their baby was gone. And Ashley fell into a deep coma, as though she would never wake up.

During the first month, Elias lived like a zombie. He went days without eating, drinking, or sleeping, only giving in to his body's survival instinct at the brink of collapse.

Eventually, Maya found him passed out in the house and rushed him to the hospital, where he was saved just in time. He'd nearly starved himself to death.

When he woke up, Maya, who was both furious and heartbroken, slapped him across the face, sobbing, "Do you want to leave your mother too? Your father already abandoned me, and you're my only family left. Are you going to leave me as well?"

Elias didn't respond.

"She's not dead!" Maya cried. "Ashley will wake up someday, but if you die, you'll never see her again! And her inheritance? It'll all be taken by her relatives! If you don't pull yourself together and protect it, when she wakes up and sees everything's gone, she'll hate you forever!"

Elias heard that and finally found a new purpose in living. A spark reignited in his eyes.

That was it. He had to protect everything for her, to keep everything intact until she woke up and life could return to how it once was.

However, how was he supposed to do that?

Dogs buried the food that they couldn't finish, taking it back to their den. Elias did just that. He transferred Ashley's movable assets into his own name to stop her relatives from touching anything.

He feared that she'd misunderstand him again when she woke up, thinking he was after her money. So, he kept a ledger, noting down every asset.

He recorded every detail of her shops, investments, and the monthly profits. When she woke up, he'd return everything to her. He had everything ready and was just waiting for her to wake up.