Upon hearing his words, I almost cast my phone aside. A few seconds later, I raised my voice and confronted the maniac, “John, what the hell is wrong with you? What have you installed on my phone?”
He replied nonchalantly, “It’s just a form of simple spyware. You should stop getting worked up over such a trivial matter. I’m trying to keep an eye on you and ensure that everything is fine on your end. That’s all.”
“You’re rotten to the core!” I could barely suppress the urge to smash my phone.
“Please calm down, Scarlett. I just want to keep an eye on you and ensure that you’re fine. Isn’t it great? I get to know what you’re up to whenever I want!” He sounded aggrieved, speaking as if he meant no harm.
“You should stay away from me!” After I hung up the call, I rushed into the washroom and flushed my phone away without a second thought.
I was so angry that my heart wouldn’t stop racing. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact time he had installed the spyware on my phone.
After the farce, I wasn’t in the mood to satisfy my cravings anymore. I went to the living room and took a seat on the couch to collect my thoughts because I was greatly infuriated.
Eventually, I fell asleep on the couch in the living room. When I woke up a little later, I noticed that there was a blanket over me.
Once I opened my eyes, Ashton and I exchanged glances because he was right in front of me.
I was taken aback by his presence and I greeted him immediately, “G-Good morning!”
“Why have you fallen asleep on the couch?” He broke the silence, asking me this question indifferently as if he was displeased.
“I couldn’t bring myself to sleep last night. Therefore, I decided to come downstairs for a change of environment. I didn’t expect to fall asleep on the couch as well.”
He asked rhetorically with a poker face, “Are you trying to imply that you had a hard time sleeping by my side?”
I shook my head vigorously as I rebuked, “No! I was having a hard time sleeping! Hence, I came downstairs for a walk! T-That’s—”
As he knew that something was wrong with me, he lifted me into his arms and comforted me, “Alright, I’m not blaming you. I’m just worried that you’re going to catch a cold. If you can’t bring yourself to sleep in the future, wake me up and get me to keep you company, okay?”
My mind was over all over the place because it was evident that he was trying to be tolerant of me again. He had always been a patient man and had given in to every request of mine.
I nodded and nestled in between his arms as I slowly returned to my usual self.
What happened in the morning and the night before was nothing more than a farce. After finishing our breakfast, we dropped by the cemetery. We arrived early, and it was a great day.
Ashton had readied the things that we had needed beforehand. He supported me and brought me up to my grandfather’s grave because the road there was quite slippery.
The sun had already risen from behind the hills when we were about to arrive. We paused when we merely a few feet away from the grave because someone else was in front of George’s grave.
I furrowed my brows unwittingly as I had my eyes fixed on the woman in front of the grave.
Ashton also caught a glimpse of Rebecca, who had dressed up in a black tulle dress, in front of the grave. Perhaps it was because she had never put on a black dress whenever she was around me—it took me some time to figure out that it was Rebecca.
I turned around and asked Ashton once I noticed that Rebecca was the one in front of the grave, “Were you the one who told her that we’d be here today?”
“No!” After he answered my query, he approached her and asked indifferently, “Why are you here?”
“Why can’t I be here? I have been missing Parker because he has been showing up in my dreams recently. I decided to drop by to visit Old Mr. Fuller after I paid Parker a visit.”
She glanced in my direction and greeted me with a faint smile after she explained the goal of her visit. “I didn’t expect to run into both of you here! What a coincidence!”
Truthfully, I felt awful all of a sudden. I had forgotten that Parker was buried in the same cemetery.
I took a few steps forward and placed the bouquet that Ashton had prepared in front of Grandpa’s grave. Since I was heavily pregnant, I couldn’t bow to pay tribute to him. Instead, I nodded to show my respect to him.
Staring at me with his abysmal pair of eyes, Ashton grasped my hand firmly as he wiped my tears dry.
“Don’t cry. Otherwise, our child will be sad as well.”
I nodded as I told my beloved grandfather, “Grandpa, Ashton and I will start a family soon. Perhaps we’ll come as a family of three, the next time we drop by to pay you a visit. You can finally rest in peace.”
Halfway through my speech, I turned to look at Ashton with an intimate gaze before orating, “You don’t have to worry about me anymore because we’re on good terms! He has been taking great care of me, and I believe that he’ll be a great husband and a doting father!”
Truth be told, my words were not intended for my grandfather at all—it was intended for Rebecca who was there.
Her face puckered in response as she tugged at the hem of Ashton’s shirt and urged, “Ash, can you please drop by and pay Parker a visit as well? It has been quite some time since you’ve last visited.”
I lowered my gaze because I was aware of Rebecca’s petty scheme in leveraging the deceased to her favor in order to win Ashton over by reminding him of the good old days they had spent together.
Ashton looked at me in the eyes as though it was an attempt to acquire my consent to pay Parker a visit.
I peered at Grandpa’s grave with a smile and offered, “Let’s drop by and pay him a visit together! After all, he was one of your best friends, wasn’t he? You should introduce us to one another!”
Rebecca had a grim expression on her face because I insisted on tagging along, yet she did a great job of suppressing her emotions.
Ashton grasped my hand as he asserted, “You’re right! Let’s go!”
The aforementioned grave was merely a short distance away because the cemetery wasn’t a huge one. As soon as we arrived at Parker’s grave, I saw the photo of a handsome young man inscribed. In spite of his attractive-looking face, it was evident that he had been having it tough, enduring a series of treatments.
As soon as we arrived at her brother’s grave, Rebecca’s eyes began to brim with tears. Eventually, it morphed into an intense wail. “Parker, I have brought Ash along with me!”
Thankfully, Ashton had another bouquet with him. He placed it in front of Parker’s grave as he bowed to show his respect. After he was done, he stared at the photo on the grave.
I stood by Ashton’s side and bowed to show my respect. In an attempt to figure out if Rebecca had put on another show in front of us, I peered at her the entire time we were there.
After a few minutes, Ashton suggested, “I believe that it’s time to leave.”
Rebecca couldn’t snap out of her intense wailing session. She held on to Ashton’s hand as she cried out in a husky voice, “Ash, Parker is no longer around to keep me safe! You’re the only one whom I can rely on! Although I’m a member of the renowned Moore family, I didn’t grow up alongside them! I was merely the long-lost daughter of the family. No matter how much they love me, I can’t possibly reciprocate the affection because we aren’t close at all!”
