No matter how hard I struggled, he ignored it and coaxed me in a semi-domineering manner instead.
I dug my nails into his skin, scratching him wildly as I cursed, “You’re a b*stard, Ashton!”
“Yes, I am!”
I began to suspect that he hadn’t touched a woman at all during this period of time as he acted like a starved beast, ravaging me without restraint.
After the deed was done, he leaned against the headboard and lit a cigarette.
Under the dim light, I could discern the scratch marks on his sturdy chest. There were even faint bloodstains in a few spots.
I wanted to get up and wash my body, but his arms were wrapped around me, forcing my head to lie against his chest.
The smell of tobacco permeated the air in the room. When he finished smoking his cigarette, he said in a deep voice, “Let’s set a date and time. I’ll accompany you to see a psychiatrist.”
I was dumbfounded for a moment, arching my neck to look at him. After he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, I finally came to my senses and pursed my lips. “No!”
Besides finding me unresponsive, I couldn’t think of any other reason he would suggest something like that right after we had sex.
I had never thought of getting treatment after my pregnancy. When there were already so many problems with my body, one more wouldn’t make a difference.
Leveling my gaze with his, I said nonchalantly, “If you can’t feel anything from me, you can look elsewhere from now on.”
Ashton’s brows snapped together, and he scooted down on the bed expressionlessly, then pinned me with a savage gaze. “Look elsewhere? Scarlett, you really don’t know when to stop, do you? I want you to go for treatment because I don’t want you to hurt anymore. And right now, you’re unwell both physically and emotionally.”
As I was enveloped in his arms, most of the light was blocked by his body. I frowned, not liking this cramped enclosure one bit. “This isn’t the first day you know about my health problems. In fact, I have so many. How are you going to treat them all?” I challenged softly.
Without waiting for him to reply, I wriggled out of his embrace and went to the bathroom.
When I came out, he was sitting on the bed with the blanket covering his lower body and his phone in one hand. He looked at me and instructed, “Jared is downstairs. Change your clothes and go down to get yourself… treated.”
What?
I threw the bath towel aside and replied coldly, “He can’t treat me.”
Ashton frowned. “Why not? He’s a doctor.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “If I tell Dr. Crest that I’m unresponsive, what do you think he’ll say? That I’m the problem? Or…” I trailed off.
He knew what I was implying perfectly well.
Seeing his brows furrowed together, I kindly reminded him, “I’m only unresponsive to you, so Mr. Fuller, I suggest that you find some time to get yourself checked.”
When his face darkened, I immediately walked out of the bedroom because challenging a man’s limits had consequences that I couldn’t handle.
Sure enough, the moment I stepped out of the bedroom, a furious roar reverberated from inside. “Scarlett!” Following that was the sound of glass shattering.
I made sure to close the door behind me, lest his outburst disturbs the others.
When I went downstairs, I saw Jared sitting in the living room. Mrs. Eriksen had prepared a lot of sweet snacks for him, which he barely touched, only drinking a few sips of English breakfast tea.
Come to think of it, men usually don’t fancy sweet snacks.
Upon hearing some shuffling sounds behind him, he looked back at me. His brows raised toward his hairline. “You’ve lost weight!”
Well… he’s quite good at flattery.
I sat beside him and replied, “I didn’t know you were so good at flattery.” Girls always liked it when others said they had lost weight.
He took a sip of his tea, furrowing his brows slightly. “Did I sound like I was flattering you?”
“Yep!” I continued, “At least that’s what I think.” After all, no one wanted to be called fat.
He didn’t speak anymore after that, perhaps finding it hard to continue the conversation.
Just then, Mrs. Eriksen came to me and said, “Letty, I cooked some food earlier. Come and eat a little bit first before letting Dr. Crest take a look at you.”
“It’s fine. I’m not hungry.” With that, I looked at Jared and asked, “Do I look unwell to you?”
Jared arched a brow at me. “You do. Go eat something first.”
I shouldn’t have asked him…
I frowned when Mrs. Eriksen remained standing where she was. “Mrs. Eriksen, I’m really not hungry. You…”
“Does it mean you don’t have to wear clothes if you’re not cold? Go eat something.” Ashton descended the stairs with a broody face.
The corners of my mouth turned downward. Well, someone seems to have improved in comebacks. He’s even using analogies now.
I was about to snap a retort when my phone rang. The caller ID displayed on the phone screen was John’s.
Seeing both Ashton and Jared staring at me, I said placidly, “Excuse me. I have to take this.”
Ashton had caught sight of John’s caller ID flashing across my screen. Narrowing his eyes a little, he said, “Just answer it here.”
How childish!
I rolled my eyes at him and picked up the call. “Hey John, what’s up?”
“Ashton seems to be interested in the OrbitTech project as well. We’ve been fighting in secret for so long now. If I give up this project, it’ll very likely fall into his hands. What you need to do now is convince him to give up acquiring OrbitTech.” John’s voice wasn’t loud, but given the silence in the living room and our close proximity, Ashton and Jared were able to hear everything he said.
I glanced at both of them before speaking into the phone, “Got it. I’m hanging up now.”
“Wait!” John said hastily. “News about Uncle Louis accepting you as his goddaughter will probably become a hot topic in K City in the days to come. It’s best if you and Marcus keep a distance from each other. Also, you should return to J City to settle the matters regarding OrbitTech as soon as possible. After Uncle Louis comes back from his inspection in other provinces and officially takes you into the family, you can proceed with your plans.”
