Joseph paused for a while but said nothing. He then sent me back to the villa.
Summer was already home by the time I arrived. She gently pulled my hand as she asked, “Mommy, where did you go?”
I hugged her in my arms. “I went to see a friend,” I simply answered.
Recently, I started feeling sluggish again. I was at a loss, unsure about what to do next. My mind was a complete mess.
After I settled Summer down, I headed to the study. After all, I finally watched those videos.
They were taken four years ago when Marcus took me in. My memories of those days were rather vague.
Deep down, I knew Marcus cared about me very much. However, I chose not to remember those details.
I clicked on one of the videos, which was taken in the villa in K City. As soon as it was played, the familiar faces came into sight.
I refused to watch the video after my child was taken away from me. I couldn’t bring myself to face reality.
The video recorded every bit of memories I had with Marcus. He always took care of me and tolerated me with infinite patience.
That was the worst time of my life. I was in agony and constantly broke down in tears. One night, I woke up at midnight and looked around for a knife to take my own life. Marcus was injured when he tried to snatch the knife away from me. I didn’t have a clear picture in my mind, but I knew there was a deep scar on his belly.
After that incident, I couldn’t find any sharp objects in the villa.
It was a long video to watch. I couldn’t bring myself to finish it as I was feeling increasingly guilty by the second. So, I turned it off.
Why must everything be made clear? Ignorance is bliss, isn’t it?
Grandma used to say that only ignorant women were able to live their lives happily because they wouldn’t hold on to those unpleasant things.
They knew how to let go when they had to. All they cared about was to live in the present.
In the evening, I received a call from Cameron.
“Scarlett, I… I am Mom,” she stammered as she wept. I could hear the hidden bitterness in her voice.
What kind of feeling is this?
I didn’t put much thought into that. My heart ached slightly. It was neither hatred nor rage that I was feeling. I was merely nonplussed.
I lost my child because of her. I had no idea how to face her.
After a long while, I asked her, “What is it?”
I spoke in an indifferent tone, fighting hard to contain myself.
Cameron heaved a sigh. “If you refuse to see me, I won’t force you. But my dear, you have a long way to go. Don’t do something that you’ll regret. I know I’m in no position to put the blame on Ashton.”
I fell silent not because I was speechless, but because I saw him walking into the study.
It had just been half a day since I last saw him. He looked pale and sick as if he was about to collapse anytime.
Joseph mentioned that Ashton fell sick after he knelt at the Moore Residence throughout the night.
“I’m hanging up now.” I ended the call and put away my phone as I fixed my gaze on the man walking toward me.
When our eyes met, he looked at me with affection. “Joseph told me that you skipped your meals. You should take good care of yourself, Scarlett.” A hint of sadness glinted in his eyes as he spoke.
“I’m not hungry,” I simply replied. I didn’t ask him about his condition, nor did I ask why he wasn’t in the hospital.
He approached me and held my hands. “Please eat something with me later. You’re too skinny.”
He took me downstairs. His footsteps were rather unsteady. It seemed that he hadn’t recovered from his fever.
I followed after him. Staring at his back, my heart ached unwittingly.
“Your admission to the hospital is all over the news and now Fuller Corporation is under attack. How are you going to handle this?” The company was in deep water right now.
He turned around and looked me in the eyes. “Are you happy to stay by my side?”
Stunned by his question, I kept silent for a while before I replied, “I’ve never thought of leaving you.”
I wasn’t really happy about that, but at least I felt safe when I was with him.
“Great,” he replied with a faint smile on his face. His response was too complicated to decipher.
Sitting at the dining table, he filled my plate with food but I didn’t really have the appetite. However, it would worry him if I didn’t eat something, so I ate up everything to ease his mind.
After the meal, I went back to the bedroom. My stomach felt unpleasant but it was still bearable for me.
Ashton was in the study. After I felt slightly better, I suddenly recalled that I hadn’t ejected my USB drive.
I didn’t intend to hide it from him, but I knew he would be upset when he uncovered the past.
I left the bedroom and headed to the study. The door was ajar.
I pushed the door and entered the room. Ashton was sitting in front of the laptop. He was rather surprised by my entrance. He stared at me in subtle anger.
The way he looked at me was different from that of his usual self.
My heart sank instantly. He must have watched the video.
Standing by the door, I was at a loss. It took me a few seconds before I found my voice. “It’s getting late. Are you going to sleep now?”
The anger in his eyes subsided. He pursed his lips and smiled at me. “In a while,” he answered.
I nodded and tried to be collected. I walked over and took a look at the screen. My body stiffened as I saw what was shown on the screen.
It was the villa in K City. He watched it after all.
My lips parted as I wanted to say something. However, nothing came out of my mouth.
“You hated me back then, didn’t you?” he asked calmly.
