When There Is Nothing Left But Love

I dozed off anyway. Suddenly, I felt Ashton stir next to me. When I opened my eyes, I saw him struggling to make his way off the bed.

I sprung out of my bed immediately and ran over to help him, as though in a trance.

He was sweating profusely again, probably because of the injury on his back. Seeing that I was up, he looked at me apologetically and said, “Did I wake you?”

I shook my head, feeling a little sorry for him. As I grabbed hold of his arm, I asked in concern, “Are you alright? The doctor said you aren’t allowed to get off the bed yet.”

He pursed his lips, his fingers tightening around the handrails of his bed. “I’m going to the toilet.”

I froze for a moment before replying, “There’s a bedpan!”

“Help me to the bathroom!” he ordered as though he hadn’t heard me. His voice was low and full of authority, and for a moment I thought he was back to the cold, distant Ashton again.

He had his pride, I supposed. Knowing that I wouldn’t win in an argument, I gave in and helped him off the bed.

He was 180cm tall and looked almost absurd next to me. For some reason, I had a distinct feeling that he was consciously not putting any of his weight on me.

We entered the toilet. Since his arm was still attached to the IV drip, I bent down without a second thought to help him unbuckle his belt.

However, he grabbed hold of my hand almost immediately. Looking a little helpless, he said, “Alright, I can do this myself. Go outside and wait for me.”

down on the toilet bowl?” The injury was on his back and didn’t affect his walking but sitting down would cause his wound to start

“I’ll be

IV drip aside, I said, “I’ll just help you unbuckle your belt. I won’t

listen to me and wait for me outside!” he said, still smiling. A hint of desperation had crept into his voice. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not a child, you know. I

trying to reassure me with an earnest look on his face. I couldn’t help but wonder how there could be such a stubborn person

I went out of the toilet. I

Ashton was always so set in his

a while more. After a long time, I started panicking a little. Turning

fine!” he replied,

in to help him. Nonetheless, once I

was fine, I let out a sigh of relief and helped him back to the

This time, she didn’t try and hide the wound—instead, she peeled

the blistering skin on his back, my heart skipped a beat. An involuntary chill ran

and his skin will repair itself eventually. He will need to remain in the hospital for a while more so we can observe his condition. As far as possible, make sure he doesn’t make any big movements that might aggravate his condition. That could slow down the rate of his recovery.” After explaining this to us, the doctor removed the last bits of rotting flesh from Ashton’s back. He then packed his surgical knife away and let the nurse bandage up

back, I shuddered in horror, hardly daring to

arm after bandaging his wound. Because of the medication, he

by his bed, unable to fall asleep. His back was going

the hospital. Instead, he told her to return to

the plan was to take Ashton to a hospital in K City, too. However, after considering the rough journey and the state of his injuries, he decided to stay here and recuperate before returning

dropped by practically every day to visit us. Although our interactions were