She smiled and relented. “Okay, then. You can eat when you’re hungry later. Mr. Ashton had a swing built in the courtyard and planted a lot of flowers. Would you like to take a look?”
I knew that she wanted me to relax and get into a better mood. Hence, I squeezed her arm and smiled. “I’m fine, Mrs. Eriksen. I’ll go back to my bedroom to rest. You should take a break too.”
After entering my bedroom, I took out all the clothes in my closet and tossed them onto the bed. Then, I folded them and placed them into a suitcase.
When Ashton came in and saw what I was doing, a frosty look crept into his eyes. “Why are you packing up?”
With my head lowered, I continued folding my clothes and said, “I’m going to stay in Glenwood Apartments for a while.”
He grabbed my hand and stared at me, his fury evident. “Scarlett, what are you doing?”
My heart ached. In the past, I would have heartbreakingly thrown the question back at him. I did not do anything, but why was I the one hurt in the end?
That day, I merely gazed at him calmly. “Ashton, I’m not trying to do anything. I just don’t want that night to happen again.”
After a short pause, I flung his hand away and continued packing my clothes. “We must not commit the same mistake over and over again. Both of us know very well that arguing won’t solve the problem. I know that you don’t love me too. I’ll try to forget the past.”
“What do you mean forget the past?” He scoffed, “Scarlett, what do you want to forget? Me?”
Not knowing why he was so agitated, I sighed and said, “Stop being so hung up on it. I’ll give birth to and raise my baby well. I won’t intervene between you and Rebecca.”
“Scarlett!” He grabbed my hands again. His expression was cold, emanating a hostile aura. “How many times do I have to tell you that there’s nothing between Rebecca and me? Are you leaving so urgently because you’ve already thought of a backup plan?”
I frowned, not wanting to argue with him. “Ashton, do you think that you didn’t do anything wrong at all?”
His face fell. “Do you want me to admit that I’m wrong?”
I was at a loss for words. As he refused to let me pack my clothes, I stood up and walked out of the bedroom without bringing anything along.
Suddenly, he hugged me from behind and slammed the door shut. With a solemn expression, he warned, “I won’t stop you from staying wherever you want. However, you can only do that after you give birth to your child. Before that, you must stay here.”
“Hah!” I felt an urge to burst into laughter. “Ashton, are you concerned about my child or your reputation? If you truly care about your child, why would I have several near-miscarriage experiences because of you? Aren’t you being ridiculous here!”
Looking at his conflicted expression, my smile widened. “What are you planning to do by forcing me to stay here? Do you want me to look at this painfully familiar house every day? Do you want me to be depressed, thinking about how you’re going to ruin me?”
A grim look crept into his eyes as if my words had managed to hurt him. He moved closer to me and asked coldly, “Am I such a despicable man to you?”
I scoffed, “Are you not?”
Ashton’s expression became extremely unpleasant. “Scarlett, so this is the extent of your love.”
I no longer wanted to speak. It did not matter how much I loved him anymore. Gazing at him calmly, I replied, “I will make my love disappear slowly. Don’t worry, I won’t cause any trouble to you.”
“Hah!” spat Ashton as he left the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
After a few close encounters with death, I was able to keep my calm better. While I packed my clothes, Mrs. Eriksen rushed in. She grabbed my hand and persuaded, “Letty, you mustn’t leave! Although Mr. Ashton has a bad temper, you can see his sincerity. Youngsters like you must not make rash decisions. Otherwise, you might regret it in the future.”
Looking at Mrs. Eriksen, who was adamant about blocking my path, I felt a bit exasperated. “Mrs. Eriksen, I just don’t want to stay here. I’m not going somewhere far away.”
She shook her head and grasped my arm firmly. Seeing how resolved I was, she suddenly burst into tears.
I held onto my forehead, feeling helpless of what to do.
After some persuasion, I had no choice but to relent and stay behind. However, instead of staying in the master bedroom, I moved to a room on the top floor which was beside a rooftop garden.
By then, I was already three months pregnant and my stomach was starting to protrude. As I could not roam around much, I spent my days traveling between the office and the villa.
Luckily, there was not a lot of work to be done at HiTech. I just needed to go to the office to check the market reports and statistics every day.
I heard that Ashton had gone on a business trip, but I did not pay much attention to that. Although we stayed in the same house, our feelings for each other were not mutual. It did not matter to me where he went.
On a Friday evening, Macy called me and asked me out to shop. As my child would be born after a few months, I needed to buy some baby products.
Hence, I agreed. At that moment, Stacey placed a stack of documents on my desk and said, “Ms. Stovall, the audit for Fuller Corporation is almost completed. We can finish it after a few days. This is the report for Harrison Credit’s audit, which you can take a look at it. I’ll get the one for AC Credit tomorrow.”
