Of course! No one could possibly compare to his little princess!
As I knew Ashton would never agree otherwise, I simply ignored him and turned around to carry on walking.
I had barely taken a step forward when Ashton yanked me back toward him to check me for injuries a second time.
After taking a moment to confirm that I could stand just fine, he held one of my hands and interlocked our fingers as he said, “I just told you to hold my hand tightly when in crowded places, remember?”
I knew he was simply trying to find an excuse to hold my hand, but I didn’t have any evidence to support my argument. As such, I had no choice but to walk hand in hand with him.
However, we didn’t get very far before I felt something tugging at my right sleeve.
I turned around and noticed the little girl from before staring at me with puppy-dog eyes.
“What is it, kiddo?” I asked.
“Rock candy,” she replied. Although she didn’t say anything about wanting more, it was obvious from the sight of her licking her lips.
Did she finish it already? But it hasn’t even been two minutes! ”Didn’t I give you one just now? Did you drop it or something?” I exclaimed in shock.
She shook her head and pointed at the street behind her as she replied, “It was my sister that you gave it to.”
I shifted my gaze toward the direction she was pointing at and saw another girl who looked just like her. She was standing next to a food vendor and waving a stick of rock candy happily. It was an adorable sight to behold, but I felt a spine-chilling sensation spreading throughout my body instead. I then subconsciously handed the little girl my rock candy and only snapped out of it after she left.
Ashton and I continued strolling through the night market, but I couldn’t seem to concentrate as my mind was all over the place.
It is indeed difficult to tell two completely identical people apart. What if I had an identical twin? Would the people around me be able to tell us apart?
I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even notice Ashton falling behind. It wasn’t until I had gotten really far that I noticed he wasn’t next to me and quickly turned around.
There were tons of tourists on the busy street behind us, but Ashton’s height allowed him to stand out in the crowd even though he was dressed rather plainly.
Even so, we were soon separated by a huge crowd crossing the street between us.
“The ninety-nine couples are about to make their marriage vows on stage! Head over now if you are interested in witnessing the event!”
As everyone was running toward their destinations in a hurry, I had to stand on my tiptoes just to see where I was going.
I used to think nothing of crowded places whenever I saw clips of them on television. I always thought it was just people being a little closer to each other, only to realize how hard they were bumping into each other when moving. A tiny and frail woman like myself could easily get lost and stuck in the crowd.
“Ashton!” I called out to him desperately as I felt my legs go weak from anxiety.
Despite insisting on us sticking together a while ago, he had disappeared completely from sight within seconds when the crowd began rushing about.
The next thing I knew, an arm had wrapped itself firmly around my waist.
I turned around immediately and saw Ashton leaning in close as he tightened his grip on me.
His sudden appearance caught me completely off guard, and I found myself frozen in shock for a couple of seconds.
“I’ll recognize you.” He then took a moment to catch his breath before continuing, “No matter where we are, no matter how many Scarletts are out there, I’ll always be able to recognize you instantly. Won’t you have a little more faith in your husband?”
I knew he had a strong understanding of human behavior, but I didn’t think he would notice such a subtle change in my facial expressions.
Regardless, my feelings of unease had nothing to do with him as they stemmed from my fear of the unknown. Unsure of what to say, I simply pursed my lips and kept quiet.
Ashton broke into a wry smile and gave me a comforting hug before holding my hand as he led me through the crowd. “For now, let’s go watch the couples make their vows. I’ll take you somewhere special later.”
