I pursed my lips as I ejected the USB drive. I drew a long breath to calm myself down before I sat beside him. “I thought I hated you too. But as time goes by, I realized I was terrified and I blamed myself for losing my child. It’s all my fault.”
Ashton held my hands and gazed at me as he tucked my hair behind my ears. “It’s not your fault,” he said softly.
I lowered my gaze, trying to pull myself together. Then, I looked up at Ashton and smiled at him. “What were you thinking? It was snowing very heavily last night.”
He burst into laughter upon hearing that. “I thought you would feel sorry for me,” he replied.
“You’ll still feel bad for it anyway.” The past left our hearts scarred for life.
One wrong choice led to another.
I recalled what Emery once told me. ”Ashton was the one in agony. He thought he was protecting you when he switched the DNA report. But turned out, he became the one who made your life a living hell. He failed you and he killed a living child. He’ll be haunted by the guilt every night for the rest of his life.”
Ashton hugged me in his embrace and took a deep breath. “Scarlett, I know my apologies and compensation won’t change anything now. Just stay by my side. If it’s too painful for you, I’ll let you go.”
I sigh softly, then I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his chest. “Emery once said that we have to move on to keep our lives going. We can reminisce about the past occasionally, but we shouldn’t hold on to them stubbornly. We won’t be able to move on if we keep looking back.”
He hugged me in silence.
The relationship between two people started off by attracting each other, then they slowly became dependent on each other.
The past is painful indeed, but I still have a long life to live. I believe that time is the best cure for all wounds.
After heading back to the bedroom, he took a shower in the bathroom. My stomach still ached. I swallowed it up and walked to the balcony.
Ashton stepped out of the bathroom with only a white towel wrapped around his waist. He had a good built with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Any woman would’ve fallen for him.
I couldn’t help but burst into a soft chuckle.
He looked at me with doubt. “What are you laughing at?”
I walked toward him and stared at his chest. “Have someone told you how attractive you are?” I teased him.
His face lit up with glee. “I don’t mind you telling me more about that.”
I flashed him a faint smile. “I’ll take a shower first.”
Ashton nodded with smiling eyes.
Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I kept thinking of Ashton while gargling.
I was depressed to find myself ageing fast. According to Emery, women at my age should be energetic and smile often.
She’s right. I look so plain and lifeless.
Suddenly, my stomach churned violently and it was soon followed by a wave of vomit. I vomited out most of the food I had just now.
Ashton heard something and quickly knocked on the door. “Scarlett!”
I continued to vomit until my stomach was completely emptied. “I’m fine. Perhaps I ate too much just now,” I answered him after gargling.
As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, he pulled me into his embrace. “I’m sorry!” he said that with suppressed emotions.
I pressed my lips together as I knew he felt bad for me.
The doctor said that there was no cure for depression. I could only try my best to control my emotions. However, even I couldn’t tell whether it was a disease or merely my personality.
Lying in his arms, I was rather calm as I patted softly at his back. “It’s alright. It’s no big deal. I’ll be fine.”
He hugged me extremely tight that night.
Initially, Emery and Hunter planned to have their wedding as soon as possible. However, they had to set their wedding date at the end of the year due to the involvement of the media.
Their wedding was held at Christmas.
As their friend, I had to attend their wedding for sure.
Emery called me up. It was noisy on the other side of the phone. “I’m sending the dress over to you. The makeup artist will be there too. Don’t forget to arrive early. I’m waiting for you, my bridesmaid!”
I froze for a moment before I realized she was expecting me to be her bridesmaid. I quickly rejected, “I’m already married.”
Emery couldn’t care less about that. “So what? Who said that a married woman cannot be a bridesmaid? Stop dilly-dallying. Hurry up! I’m waiting for you!”
As the bride, Emery had a lot to attend to on her wedding day. She ended the call before I could say another word.
The doorbell rang after around half an hour.
I answered the door. There was a short-hair girl holding a makeup kit, followed by two men. “Ms. Stovall, Ms. Moore asked us to come over to prepare you for the wedding,” said the girl with a smiling face.
I took a glance at the men and saw the boxes in their hands.
I flashed a smile and nodded. “Thank you. Come on in.”
The girl smiled and didn’t say anything further.
Afterward, I got changed into the dress. It was a strapless dress in nude. Since it was winter, Emery prepared a beige suede shawl for me.
The dress fitted perfectly, showing off my slim waist. Emery had always been a fashionista.
