Chapter 71: Ashton's POV

I opened my eyes slowly. The black veil that I was feeling was all gone. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out where I was.

The last thing I remembered was… talking to my mother, Rose, and Helen. In the hospital lobby. And then… nothing. Just black.

I coughed, a deep cough that really made me feel so much pain in my chest. Immediately, I saw a figure rushing towards my bed. It was my mother. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide with worry.

“Oh, my son,” She cried. She reached out, trying to raise my head a little.

“Ma’am, you can’t do that,” a nurse’s voice said nearby. “Just leave him.”

My mother shot the nurse an intense look, as though she wanted to burn her up with her eyes. The nurse backed away slightly, but her eyes were still on my mother, ready to intervene if necessary.

“Mum, what happened?” I asked, my voice so weak that it was thin. I was trying to piece together what had happened, why I was back in bed.

My mother turned back to me. “It was that bitch Helen tha