In Love, Never Say Never

Ashton tends to do things this way too. I hung my head low at the sudden, intrusive thought about him while my nose wrinkled in discomfort.

Marcus did not notice my minute reaction. He merely grinned. “It’s not a waste. See, we’re using it now, aren’t we?”

We took a spin around the house. It didn’t look like we need to buy or replace anything, but the kitchen looked quite empty. Perhaps Marcus, assuming that I was not much of a cook, did not bother too much with the layout.

“Is there anything missing?” He said, changing the house key and fingerprint code to mine.

I nodded in response. “Since you’re free tonight, why don’t we cook at home? I can give Macy and Jackson a call later, invite them to join in. I should let them know I’m safe anyway. Ever since I left, it’s like I’ve been cut off from the outside world.”

Marcus nodded. He did not look too good, but I paid little mind to that.

We left the residence together and headed to the supermarket. There, we stocked up on basic cooking necessities, including rice, cooking oil, sugar, and salt. Marcus turned to me with a look of surprise. “You can cook?”

It was so embarrassing to have that question thrown at me. Impatiently, I rebutted, “Don’t underestimate me, alright? What makes you think I can’t cook?”

I picked a few seasonings and added bluntly, “Just you wait, I’ll show you what I’m capable of tonight!”

Laughter escaped him. He raised a hand, patted me on the head, and said, “Alright then. I’ll wait!”

the shelf behind him, so I asked for a favor, “Marcus, can you help me get that seasoning bag? I

did not respond. Instead, he just stared at a target behind me, looking rather solemn. I froze, faintly wary of an icy glare that seemed

reaction, I was about to whip my head around, but Marcus pulled me into his arms

it was in a stern tone, “It’s getting late. Let’s

but before I could figure out what was going on, someone forcibly grabbed hold

took in Ashton’s face, filled with depth, eagerness, and delight interwoven in a complicated mess. In short, the emotions reflected in his eyes were an impetuous, messy lot. The thoughts in my head crashed to a halt as though my brain

was at a loss of what to do. My body stiffened, my heart began to ache, and the dense

broke off eye contact and stopped looking at him while my heart suffocated from the

to face him yet. I was not ready to tell him what happened to the baby. I was not ready to give

voice suddenly rang, and it

darted to Rebecca, whose belly had already begun to show. She was standing next to a shopping cart stacked with lots of

these items before. They

with a pair of reddened eyes, I was on the brink of emotional collapse. In that instant, I lost

frantically at Rebecca. No one expected I

I knew, I tore

she’s gone mad! Scarlett, you mad woman! Ash, save me!” Rebecca, scared out of her wits, kept screaming.

me from behind. They had me tightly secured in their arms. A low, gruff voice rang in my ear, “Scarlett, it’s me! I’m Ashton!

dwindling, my eyes still maddening red. I broke