Ashton gave me a gentle caress on the back before staring blankly ahead as he said, “He doesn’t want any of those.”
His tone was calm, but I could feel the tension in his words and asked with a frown, “You mean… He just wants to destroy us completely?”
Ashton was quick to reject his own theory. “No, he has no reason to go that far. There are no unresolvable conflicts between us, nor do we owe him anything.”
The lighting in the car was really dim, and I couldn’t even make out his facial expressions unless he spoke.
After a moment of silence, Ashton sat upright all of a sudden and put the laptop aside before tracing a pattern on my palm.
“Do you know what I just wrote?” he asked after completing the pattern.
I was so distracted trying to figure out his emotions that I didn’t really pay attention to what he was doing. “Stovall?” I guessed as all I recalled were the letters “S”, “T”, and “O”.
“Correct,” Ashton said with a smirk before tracing another word on my palm.
This time, I paid attention and gave him my answer before he even asked. “Fuller, your family name.”
Ashton finished tracing the word before looking up at me as he said, “Nope, that’s the wrong answer. I traced the word ‘Stovall’ both times.”
“That’s impossible! I clearly saw you trace the word ‘Fuller’!” There was no way I would get it wrong as I had been staring at his finger the whole time.
Ashton simply maintained the faint smile on his face as he continued tracing the third word on my palm.
This time, he even made sure to slow down and traced the word in a neat and clean motion, so it was hard to get it wrong.
However, I had learned from my mistake and waited till he traced the last alphabet before saying confidently, “It’s ‘Audrey’.”
“Wrong again, Letty. I’ve been tracing the same word I did before.” Ashton’s reply didn’t surprise me in the slightest as I was kind of expecting it at that point.
“What are you playing at, Ashton? I don’t get it at all!” I exclaimed with a frown.
Ashton simply chuckled before looking up at me as he said seriously, “The wrong answer isn’t always wrong. Remember the answers today, Letty. It’s going to be our secret.”
Sensing that he was trying to hint at something, I took a moment to process his words and eventually understood what he meant.
That would be a great way for him to identify if someone with my appearance is the real Scarlett! Ashton had come up with a perfect counter to Nathaniel’s strategy, so we’d be able to handle them should they make a move! There really is no need to let a bunch of clowns like them affect our mood.
With that in mind, the tension in my chest seemed to have disappeared completely, and I smiled at Ashton as our gazes met.
Ashton had managed to relieve my anxiety and concerns in just thirty minutes simply through his understanding of my emotions. This man was still continuously giving me surprises even at his age.
I was gradually succumbing to his gentleness and slowly discarding my armor in this silent battle for dominance between us. At some point, I would surrender completely and be unable to leave him anymore.
Despite being well aware of that fact, I would still let it happen willingly because he was worth it.
The pain and suffering in the past had rid Ashton of his hot temper and changed him from a violent monster into a gentle husband who prioritized me over everything else.
