Marcus sneered. His voice turned ice-cold as he continued, “He’s gone crazy looking for Scarlett? What do you take us for? Idiots?”
“Marc!” Sally said angrily, “Watch your tongue!”
“My tongue?” Marcus snorted. “The best way to hide a misdeed is not to commit it. Go back and tell Ashton that Scarlett doesn’t need him. And tell him to stay away from her!”
Sally realized there was no way to communicate with Marcus, so she took my hand and said, “Letty, if for some reason you’re not willing to see Ashton, then come back with me. Don’t stay here. Marc is an unmarried man, while you are a married woman. This is K City. People talk. If you’re caught by someone with ill intentions, think of what it’ll do to the Fullers and the White family’s name!”
“Ho!” Marcus scoffed, “Family name? Oh, now you bring it up! Haven’t you done enough damage to the Fullers and the White family? What? Are you here to put the blame on us?”
Those words hit Sally like a hard slap on the face, rendering her speechless.
I was not in a good state of mind. I pushed Sally’s arms away and, unable to answer or add anything to their argument, I ran towards the residential entrance.
Sally called out to me from behind. She wanted to give chase, but Marcus stopped her. “That’s enough. Do you think the Fullers haven’t hurt her enough? Her baby died two months ago, on the night of Ashton and Rebecca’s engagement. He died from suffocation. Where were you all then? Where were all of you when she was locked in a warehouse, struggling to escape? Her baby’s dead. The Scarlett you know is dead too. Now, she wants nothing to do with the Fullers.” Marcus’ booming voice echoed in the night.
I froze in place when my eyes took in the figure standing in front of me. It was Ashton. Under the night sky, his eyes appeared red, while agony crossed his face.
Behind me came Marcus’ angry voice. “You go back and tell Ashton to stay far away from her, or I’ll beat him into a pulp each time I see him.”
Ashton had his eyes locked on me as he approached me, one step at a time. I could not move away. Once again, the searing pain in my heart caused my whole body to tremble.
“What happened to the baby?” He spoke, his voice lowered to the extremes. Indescribable emotions rose to the surface.
I opened my mouth but could not utter a single word.
Marcus caught up to us. When he saw Ashton, his face was overcome by fury. “The baby’s dead. He couldn’t be born in time, so he died from suffocation. Are you satisfied with the answer now, Ashton?”
“Shut up!” Ashton barked at him, his eyes still reddened. He directed his gaze towards me and, with restrained emotions, he uttered, word by word, “Scarlett, tell me, what happened to the baby?”
I wanted to speak, but the whole thing was too painful to be put into words, so I could only look at him in a daze.
After a long while, I breathed in deeply and spat out the two words that could potentially cost me my life, “He’s dead!”
Ashton’s tall form took a step back, seeming to have lost his balance. He looked at me with a faint glimmer glinting in his dark eyes.
I knew he was crying.
We can’t be crying all the time. If we suffer but flesh wounds, there is nothing to cry about. If we cry, let it be because of sorrow.
That was what he used to tell me.
I had been locking away my emotions, and it was making me feel horrible. My head was starting to feel dizzy. Realizing that the situation was getting from bad to worse, I reached out a hand to hold onto Marcus and whispered to him, “Get me out of here!”
Marcus’ eyes darkened when he noticed something was off. He promptly carried me into the residence and got me home.
He passed me my medicine, which I swallowed, and brought me to the bed. He stuck around to console me, “Don’t overthink it. They aren’t blaming you. They just don’t know what you’ve been through. “
I did not speak. Tears began to flow down my cheeks uncontrollably.
Life is too hard!
Time passed slowly. I could not fall asleep. At two o’clock in the small hours, Marcus received a call. Benjamin White’s condition had taken a turn for the worse, and he was sent to the ER.
Before Marcus left for the hospital, he worried about my being alone. He placed a phone next to me and gave his instructions, “Get some sleep. Call me if there’s anything. I have stored Macy and Jackson’s phone numbers in there. If you can’t sleep, call up Jackson and have a chat with him.”
I nodded and gave him a faint smile, “You should get going. Drive safe!”
He nodded and left in a hurry.
My insomnia had been a common occurrence in the past few months. In the beginning, I relied on drugs to fall asleep, but consuming too much of them would be detrimental to my health.
Marcus worried that I would be too dependent on the antidepressants if I take them too often, so he would only let me take them when my emotions were beyond control.
At the moment, it was dark outside. The lamp on the bedside table was dim. I stared at the ceiling, my head still a little dizzy.
Rumble! Suddenly, thunder roared outside. The residence was a tall building with a wide view, with the curtains currently drawn open. One after another, bolts of lightning flashed. The scene was especially horrifying.
Before long, the heavy rain came pouring down. As the storm crackled outside, I closed my eyes, trying to force myself to sleep.
But the more I wanted to sleep, the more I could not. Bolts after bolts of lightning lit up the room. Devastated, I rose and got out of bed.
I headed to the balcony and pulled the curtains close. Then, I turned back and went to bed. But along the way, I accidentally tripped over the chaise lounge and fell onto the ground.
