I’m scared more than anyone else. If I can’t remember anyone or lose the ability to take care of myself one day, I might as well die early. At least in his memory, he won’t remember me as a lunatic.
Right then, Ashton put his arms around me and tightened it. His voice was as gentle as always, “No, Scarlett, I will be with you. I will not let Summer leave you. No matter what, we will be fine.”
These words sounded like he was comforting himself rather than me. It appeared that I had been a burden to him.
Looking up at him, I ran into his boundless eyes, my heart aching with each passing second. “Wrong, I was wrong from the beginning. I should have never married you. No matter what I tried, it is impossible to let go of the death of Macy and the child. You can get rid of Rebecca, but I cannot get rid of Marcus. What you owed Rebecca was a promise, and I owed Marcus a life. Unless I die, I can’t pay it off. So Ashton… let’s… break up.”
If I end up crazy one day, I know he will take care of me and still be with me. But if he devoted the rest of his life loving and caring for a lunatic, it would ruin him. Sally was right. He deserves better.
I didn’t know if it was my imagination running wild or it was real. But I swore, at that moment, Ashton’s eyes were bloodshot as if they were stabbed by thousands of glass shards. In fact, it looked like he was in great pain.
His handsome eyebrows narrowed to hide his agony, and he laughed at himself. “Scarlett, it’s not you. It’s me. You’re right. I can cut loose from Rebecca’s debt, the Fullers’ involvement, and all the responsibility… all except you.”
I pursed my lips with my jaws tightly clenched. At that moment, it was so hard to breathe that I couldn’t even say a single word.
There were many ways to choose in love, but he chose the most difficult one.
That night, I went to sleep like usual. At one point, I could feel his soft lips against my cheeks. His sultry voice whispered beside my ears. “Scarlett, let us go to R Province and never come back again.”
This sentence struck me like a dream as I really missed those days back in R Province.
The next day, K city was already getting colder. Ashton didn’t go to the office that morning as I could still feel his slender body wrapping around me, giving me a complete sense of security.
I then woke up from my dream, my body comfortably warm albeit the cool weather.
Right at that moment, I could feel his heartbeat through the back of my shirt, beating in a sturdy and rhythmic pattern.
If I could stop time, I could live in this moment forever. But both of us understood what we had to face after we left this bed.
“Ashton!” I uttered with my back still facing him. “Is it about to snow in K City?”
I remembered that the snow came earlier than expected in K city four years ago. It was just like the current situation, with the weather suddenly cooling down. I guess it really is going to snow soon…
Right then, he tightened his arms around me. With his magnetic voice, he said, “Yeah… do you like watching snow fall?”
I replied softly, “Mm-hmm… Winter in R Province always comes late, and it hardly snows. Even if it snows, the snowflakes melt right away. It’s not like the entire area will be covered with thick snow anyway.”
He moved his warm body and placed his chin on my shoulder. “I will watch the snow with you this year. And maybe we can head to the north together. The scene is even prettier over there.”
I smiled and closed my eyes as imagination filled my mind. “I once dreamed that I went to the north, but it was summer.”
“Was I in that dream?” he asked with his voice lowered.
I shook my head. “It’s been too long. I can’t remember.”
Without a warning, his hands flew towards my underarms, tickling me. Laughing hard, I turned to face him and said, “It’s true. It’s been so long that I forgot.”
He stopped himself soon after that. With a smile on his face, his pair of dark petting eyes were locked onto mine. “In that case, you’d better face my wrath.”
I smiled lightly. Approaching him, I kissed the corner of his lips with a stingy amount of passion.
As he continued to hold my chin, I could see a smile rippling in his eyes. His thin lips started depicting my lips for quite a long time, whereas his dark eyes were deeply infiltrated as he looked at me. “Scarlett, getting Ashton’s heart is easy for you.”
Some words fell into one’s heart without being noticed. When I thought about it later, true happiness would be defined as all warm moments gathered throughout the years. These meant so much more than those glorious moments.
Just like that, time ticked past, and it was already in the afternoon. We would probably still be in bed if Joseph hadn’t called to inform us that Fuller Corporation’s stock had plummeted.
At the dining table, he remained as calm as a cucumber. Instead, he had breakfast with me just like any other day as he continued to pamper me with his words. “You’re going to have an exam soon. If you’re feeling anxious, why don’t I write you a letter of recommendation?”
