At that, she rushed downstairs.
Staring at the untouched soup, I found myself lost in my thoughts. I was born without getting much love and attention in my life, and the “so-called” love that I met was pretty much the same.
In fact, I had never experienced much familial love not to mention romantic love. Hence, I didn’t know much about love, nor have I learned how to love someone.
Grandma adopted me, and she showed me what love and care were in those short years. I regarded her and her care as the figure of love.
On the contrary, John’s extreme behavior, inflexibility, and apathy meant stubbornness to me.
Whereas Macy’s protection and support meant friendship to me.
As for Ashton, in the two years of our married life, he rarely treated me well. I dared not consider those rare moments as romantic love.
It had not been my intention to misinterpret it as love.
I liked Ashton, and that was why I could endure his cold treatment to me in silence. However, that did not mean I could pretend to be a fool who saw his cheap love as true love.
The sky was getting darker, and I was exhausted. Yet, I could not fall asleep despite lying on the bed for quite some time. I had gotten used to sleeping with Macy.
Right now, to lie on the bed all by myself, I felt as if there was a gap in my heart. Outside the window, the wind was howling. Soon, the heavy rain came.
Sleepless, I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already one in the morning. Too frustrated to lie still anymore, I headed to the balcony instead.
As I was soaked by the rain the last time I was on the balcony, Ashton had made some modifications to the balcony. Now, raindrops could not reach me, only the cold breeze.
Still frustrated, I went down the stairs to the garden instead.
Mrs. Eriksen had planted many plants in the garden. Now that it was raining heavily, the plants were tilting to the side by the force of the raindrops. The sight of them mirrored my mood.
I could not help but think of how much the plants and I had in common. With that thought, I walked into the garden and let the rain shower on me.
My summer pajamas were thin, and in several seconds, I was soaked from head to toe. The rain was not cold, but it felt good to be in it. I had been sheltering the sorrow in me, and I crouched down to let the tears fall quietly.
No one could keep living without ever venting their emotions, so the rain was my chance to express my agony freely.
When Mrs. Eriksen found me, I was in the middle of crying. She anxiously came to me with an umbrella, trying to drag me back to the house. However, she was not as young as me; if I did not want to leave, there was no way she could move me from my spot.
Out of options, she threw the umbrella aside and ran to the living room. When she came back out, she had a raincoat in her hands. As she put it on me, she consoled, “Letty, you can’t do this to yourself. Even if you don’t think about yourself, think about the baby in you. What shall I do if something happens to you?”
To me, her words were lost in the howling wind. All I wanted to do was to crouch down and cry, hoping that I could cry out all the grievance and misery in me.
Although the rain in midsummer was not cold, I was still a pregnant woman. Even if I were in the best of health, my body would not be able to take it after being in the rain for an hour.
At that moment, the world spun around me.
Just then, I heard Mrs. Eriksen’s delighted voice. “Mr. Ashton, you’re back!”
I turned instinctively and saw Ashton in a black suit by the doorway. Then, he walked toward me with a furious look in his eyes.
After he lifted me up into his arms, he entered the house.
My eyes were sore from the prolonged crying, and I could see that he had a gloomy expression on his face. Then, I shut my eyes as I don’t want to see him anymore.
Since Ashton was back, Mrs. Eriksen no longer intervened in our matters.
After closing the bedroom door, Ashton pulled off my clothes and carried me into the bathroom.
As he said nothing, I kept my lips sealed as well. The bathroom was dead silent.
Time ticked by, and my freezing body finally gained some warmth. Even my sore eyes felt better by now.
I opened them slowly, the sight of Ashton’s stony look and piercing gaze greeted me. After a while, he uttered, “Is it fun tormenting yourself?”
At that, I furrowed my brows. Feeling uneasy being in a tub, lying stark naked for him to see, so I tried to get up and leave the bathroom.
However, he quickly pressed me back into the tub. “Stay still.”
My frown deepened, and I shot him a surly look. “I want to sleep.”
“Are you planning to sleep outside?” He pressed me back into the water again, still not smiling. “Why did you go into the rain?”
I yanked the towel over to cover myself and responded, “I was in a bad mood.”
“In a bad mood?” He sneered, “If everyone tried to die whenever they’re in a bad mood, the streets would be littered with corpses. Scarlett, are you tormenting yourself, or are you tormenting me?”
When I tilted my head upward to look at him, I saw my reflection in his eyes. “Can I even do that?” After a pause, I laughed, “Right. You should be together with the love of your life at this time, but you had to come back here because Mrs. Eriksen asked you to. Of course, you’re tormented.”
Ignoring his dour look, I apologized half-heartedly, “I’m sorry. I guarantee that this won’t happen again. It’s getting late, so it’s best if you go back and accompany your love. I’m going to rest now.”
“Scarlett Stovall!” he gritted out. “Do you have to speak so sarcastically?”
