When There Is Nothing Left But Love

The phone call from Emery was supposed to be a sign of hope, but I felt like I had fallen so far down an abyss of self-doubt to the extent that I was unable to muster any energy for the rest of the day.

I did not expect Ashton to show himself, but at eight in the evening, he and a bodyguard walked in with dinner. I sat sluggishly on the couch and stared whilst they made preparations.

There was no expression on Ashton’s face. He walked over to me and helped me to the dining table. Like every expecting father, he held his wife and took small and measured steps.

We sat across from each other at the table. Ashton looked as if he was busier than before; he spent the entire meal replying to messages. I tried to engage him in conversation but did not manage to find an opening to.

After a half hour, the messages finally stopped coming in.

I set aside my cutlery and was about to speak when brash and insolent footsteps came from the door.

not seem very different from the last time we met. He was still the same

my eye and went on spewing insults without a pause. “For someone who doesn’t know you, they’d think that what you’ve constructed here is some sort of a private prison. I already feel like I’m in jail just by being here thirty seconds. Scarlett, this has got to

death. He was another one brazen enough to flirt with Ashton’s wife

at how he spoke to me but noticed out of the corner of my eye that Ashton seemed to have expected him. He chewed placidly as he

next to me and held his forehead in hand in a pretense of sorrow. “To be honest, I can sense how much you are missing me. However, I’ve been really busy

help you,

culling out those who stood against him; thus, he must

happy when I refused to play along. He pulled a face and resumed his infuriating behavior. “How dreadfully

his