Chapter 172
When There Is Nothing Left But Love
Although I was afraid of John, instinctively, I couldnât bear to forsake him because we used to spend a
lot of time together back in the dayâhe was a brother from another mother of mine in spite of the
vicious things that he had done over the years.
Ashtonâs body stiffened all of a sudden. He turned around and stared at me in disbelief. The initially
wrathful man stopped and lost himself in the process of thought, with disappointment being written all
over his face.
I stared at him and cast the baton that I had with me aside. As my vision blurred due to the torrents of
grief that rushed out of my eyes, I got down on my knees and begged, âStop it! Heâs going to die for
real!â
Ashton moved his lips in an attempt to say something, yet he seemed to be at a loss for words.
Mrs. Eriksen rushed out as soon as she heard the commotion. She shouted when she caught a
glimpse of the horrifying scene. âOh, God! Whatâs going on? What the hell is wrong with all of you?â
I ignored Ashton as I rushed over to Johnâs side.
His entire face was drenched in blood as he lay on the ground statically, behaving as though he had
passed out.
âHey! Are you okay? Iâll rush you to the hospital at once!â I tried to check on his leg because I recalled
that Ashton had delivered a few kicks on his leg that had gone through a few surgical operations
before.
The gravely injured man stopped me as he assured me with a bright grin, âItâs fine! Donât worry! It
doesnât hurt at all!â
He shouldnât have repeated the words of assurance that he used to tell me. I ended up wailing in front
of him as tears gushed down my cheeks uncontrollably.
I tried to help him up, but I was abruptly dragged away by a powerful force. Ashton glared at me and
warned me, âYou should stay away from him because heâs fine!â
Although I could feel Ashtonâs wrath, I couldnât possibly leave John alone when he needed me by his
side during such a crisis. As a matter of fact, he had to go through a few surgical operations to regain
the capability to walk normally because of me.
Ashton didnât bother to hold back against him at all. I was afraid that I wouldnât get to stay away from
John for the rest of my life if he were diagnosed with any kind of long-term sequelae as a result of
Ashtonâs brutality.
âAshton, canât you see that heâs hurt?â I tried to shrug him off because I was slightly infuriated. âWhy
have you beaten him up? If thereâs anything that irritates you, why donât you come at me instead? Is it
necessary for you to take things out on him?â
âA-Arghâ¦â John started coughing and he puked a few mouthfuls of blood a few seconds later.
I panicked and attempted to shrug Ashton off once more, but due to the difference between our
strengths, I couldnât get his hands off of mine at all.
Glaring at him in the eyes, I raised my voice and demanded, âAshton, let go of me!â
He cast a stern gaze in return and insisted, âI want you to get inside at once!â
Since he showed no intention of setting me free, I leaned over and bit onto his arms while glaring at
him to express my determination.
In spite of the racking sensation that I had brought upon him, he didnât even budge as though it wasnât
a big deal at all.
As I was afraid that something bad would happen to John soon, I moved away from Ashton and
enunciated my warning, âIf you refuse to move away from him, itâs time for you to forget about our
child!â
I tried to smash my tummy with my hand once I warned him, but he managed to get ahead of me as he
stopped me in the nick of time. He lugged me over and replied in a callous tone, âScarlett, I canât
believe that youâre going to resort to such an extreme measure for his sake!â
The wrathful man couldnât suppress his emotions any longerâhe grasped my hands without holding
back his strength.
âAshton, please allow me to send him to the hospital!â At that point in time, there wasnât anything that I
could do about it anymore. I had to resort to something else and beg him to be merciful since he
showed no signs of giving in to my threats.
As soon as he felt my tears on his hand, he loosened his grip. I tried to beg him to show us some
mercy once more. âIâll return once heâs in the hospital! I wonât go anywhere without your consent! Iâll
allow you to do anything that you want with me! Please!â
The wrathful man chuckled. âHa! Are you begging me because of some unworthy jerk? Scarlett, you
never fail to surprise me!â
âLetty, you donât have to beg him! Iâm fine!â John struggled as he tried to bring himself up from the
ground.
He staggered and fell to the ground. Judging from the wincing expression on his face, I was pretty sure
that he must have been gravely injured.
I couldnât stand to leave him alone anymore. When Ashton had his guard down, I shrugged him off and
rushed over to Johnâs side. After I helped him up, I sniffled and offered, âIâll rush you to the hospital at
once.â
I lowered my gaze because I couldnât bring myself to look at Ashton anymore. It was no easy task, yet I
managed to bring John back to his car.
Mrs. Eriksen heaved a long sigh, telling me, âIâll be waiting for you, okay?â
I nodded as I rushed over to the driverâs seat, departing as soon as I got the car started.
After John was rushed to the hospital, I took a seat on the bench in the corridor. I couldnât be sure if I
felt awful due to the chilling breeze or the feud that had occurred.
Things werenât supposed to turn out as such, yet it seemed to have gotten to the point of no return.
I spent an hour outside of the operating theater, waiting for John. At long last, the nurse brought him
out as they made their way to his ward.
Meanwhile, the doctor instructed me to deal with the paperwork to get him hospitalized. Hence, I
stopped the doctor because no one told me how Johnâs conditions were. âDoctor, how is the patient? Is
there going to be any long-term sequelae?â
The doctor smiled and assured me, âItâs not a big deal, but itâs going to take some time for his wounds
to recover. With that being said, I was made aware that the patientâs leg had gone through surgical
operations. I need to send the patient for a simple X-Ray examination to figure out his true condition.â
I nodded vigorously and expressed my gratitude before I headed over to the ward.
Since anesthesia had been administered, John lay on the bed as he was rendered incapable of
movement. He seemed to be in a great mood as his lips curved upwards once I showed up in the ward.
âPlease have a seat and keep me company!â