When There Is Nothing Left But Love

Looking at him, I said, “Rebecca has Cameron and Zachary too, but you can’t let her go either, can you? I’m just normal friends with John. Nothing else.”

Those were words laced with guilt. Right after I finished saying my piece, I could not conceal the awkward expression from my face.

The atmosphere was tense, and I knew Ashton must be furious right now. Guiltily, I continued, “I’m different from Rebecca. The moment she cries, Cameron, Zachary, Joe, and you will feel bad for her and console her. I don’t. I only have myself. To me, John is a nightmare, and we’re only normal friends.”

At that, Ashton softened his gloomy expression and motioned to me. “Come here.”

I sat on the bed with a hung head, murmuring, “I can’t.”

Furrowing his brows, he walked toward me and crouched down by the side of my legs. “You can’t because you feel guilty?”

I remained silent. What I heard next was his exasperated laugh. “I was wrong to touch your box. Grandpa gave you the box, hoping to use the box to bind us to the marriage. But Scarlett, you and I both know marriage won’t work when the two are forcefully bound together. That’s why I threw the box. I’ll take care of you and the kid. We’re a married couple, so let’s spend the rest of our days peacefully, okay?”

A sense of security was not something I had in our marriage. I could not tell what parts of his words were true and what parts were not. Furthermore, I could not be sure that he had truly let go of Rebecca.

However, there was something I was sure about—I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. To marry someone I loved was a blessing.

To be together was a blessing, too.

That was why I did not want to leave Ashton unless it was a last resort. This marriage was not only for myself; it was for my child too.

If I could, I wanted to spend the rest of my life peacefully with him.

at him,

gave me a small, helpless smile. “Don’t mention

one more,

sunroom on the top floor. After laying me on the bed, he placed his palm on my stomach and said, “I’ll take you to the antenatal visit tomorrow. Sleep early

I would have forgotten about the visit

I lost myself in my thoughts. It’s not good for me to keep feeling insecure. I’ll never

like me acting like

the bathroom, and

wrapped my arms around his waist.

his pajamas, I was leaning on his

he threw the towel aside and embraced me. After he let me lean on his shoulder, he whispered, “Don’t

tone, I murmured, “Ashton, can you not

continued, “She has her parents to love her now.

had to try before I could

hold back the urge to smile.

hug growing tighter, I froze. Then, he cupped my cheek and made me stare into

“Scarlett, this isn’t who

I…

him a fierce glare. “So Rebecca can say something like this,

to be pitiful,

don’t need to pretend