When There Is Nothing Left But Love

I just stared at him, unmoving.

He was quiet for a brief moment. “When I first met her, she was only seventeen years old. Then, she passed away at the age when her vanity was at its peak. I don’t want to force your hand, so please do it yourself.”

“At least let me know who she is, and why you picked me,” I inquired.

When he lifted his head to gaze at me, his eyes looked calm. If anything, they looked too calm, nearly to the point that they were devoid of emotion. “’She’ was Ashton’s cousin, Naomi Fuller. I never intended on hurting you specifically, Scarlett, but there is a hole where my heart used to be. The devil lives in there now, and I can’t get him out.”

“So, I’ve now become your sacrificial lamb?” I couldn’t understand a word he was saying, gazing at him in disbelief.

“Not really. It’s just that Ashton happens to be in love with you.” He shrugged. “He and I are best friends. If I lose something, it’s only fair for him to lose something as well. We need to share that sense of empathy; otherwise, he’ll never know what it feels like to lose the love of his life.”

Stacey had mentioned that Charlie used to have a daughter when he was younger. Unfortunately, she passed away due to an accident, and he never wanted any more children after that.

I was also aware that Ashton had a cousin that Jared used to date.

But I wasn’t present during any of that, and I had no idea as to what had happened in the past.

humanity a long time ago if he had come all this way and taken this many extreme

complicated emotions that I couldn’t place. He lamented, “You really remind me of her sometimes. When you handed me those clothes at the villa at Oceanid Bay, I nearly mistook you for her. You’re both just so, so kind. And afterward, I wanted to help you leave Ashton so that you would

my lower lip, unsure

different from what it is now. I would never have hurt you, I wouldn’t have met Macy, and you wouldn’t be feuding with

and loudly proclaims that he’s doing it out of ‘love’. No matter how broken you feel, he will

best friend. He hurt you, but he also loves you. Because of that, you’re not willing to hurt him, and you even force yourself to suppress all your feelings of upset and frustration in order to stay with him. I do that too; he indirectly caused me to lose the woman I loved most and caused me pain like nothing I’d ever felt before. But then, he proceeded to save me from the depths of hell. I absolutely loathe him, and yet I don’t want to hurt a single hair on

wide array of emotions. These emotions are

heart clench inside my chest, but I had no clue if it was out of sympathy or

nodded, smiling.

you and he will become

possible outcome. If we become enemies, then neither of us needs to hold back the pain

spoken out loud, but surely it was much more complicated than just a simple

continue to grow up safely

“Of course. She’s my daughter. I will take good care of her and give her all