Chapter 5

Sylvia's voice was soft and sultry as she spoke while leaning against Ashton. Their suggestive pose infuriated Roxy, who snapped, "Let go of Ashton, Sylvia!"

Sneering, Sylvia asked, "Why should I?"

Biting her lip, Roxy turned to Ashton. "Ashton, can't you see she's only clinging to you on purpose? Do you really think she's genuinely interested in you? She's just trying to provoke me! Can't you see that?"

Ashton replied evenly, "So what if she is?"

Holding her anger in check, Roxy said, "Even though we're getting a divorce, there's no reason for you to degrade yourself. This isn't the person you used to be!"

"Now that displeases me, Roxy. How is Ashton degrading himself by being with me?" Sylvia asked as she flicked her hair to the side and smiled. Her tone grew serious as she declared, "And besides, my feelings for Ashton are real. I'm not doing this to provoke you. You think too highly of yourself."

"Why, you…" Roxy clenched her fists, feeling a sharp pang in her chest that she couldn't quite put into words.

"I'm going to check on Mom!" she said with a scoff.

But when she tried to head into Irene's hospital room, Ashton blocked her path with an outstretched arm.

"What are you doing, Ashton? Regardless of what happened between us, I will always remember the kindness Mom showed me. I won't feel at ease until I know that she's alright. So don't try to stop me!" Roxy snapped, her expression icy.

She couldn't understand why Ashton, the man who once hung on her every word, had turned into the person before her now.

Ashton curtly replied, "If you actually remember how well Mom has treated you, then you wouldn't have brought Calvin home on her birthday and asked for a divorce!"

"Why can't you understand me, Ashton? I didn't do it on purpose!"

"It doesn't matter whether or not you did it on purpose. What's done is done. Leave. From now on, you're no longer related to me or my family in any way."

Looking right at the stony expression on Ashton's face, Roxy lashed out, "Ashton! You know very well how I feel about Mom. You're just trying to get back at me by doing this, aren't you?

"Even if we forget about everything else, she is still Celia's grandma. I have every right to visit her, and you have no grounds to stop me!"

However, Ashton still refused to let Roxy enter the hospital room. Instead, he asked in a hardened tone, "Are you deaf, Roxy?"

"What did you just say?"

Roxy was stunned. This was the first time he'd ever spoken to her with such hostility.

The Ashton she knew had always been sweet and gentle. The contrast in his attitudes toward her squeezed the air out of her chest.

"You're not welcome here, so get lost!" Ashton commanded icily.

Did he just tell her to get lost?

Roxy's entire body trembled. In that instant, she felt like she and Ashton were now divided by an entire ocean. Never did it occur to her that he would one day tell her to get lost.

Where was the Ashton who had once shown her endless patience and affection?

"You've crossed the line, Ashton! Why did Roxy ever fall for someone like you? It's my fault for coming back to the country too late. Otherwise, I would never have let you hurt her like that!"

Calvin puffed himself up in righteous anger, eager to show off his manliness before Roxy. However, he didn't dare get too close to Ashton. He was deeply familiar with Ashton's rough methods. The memory of the beating he once got was seared into his bones.

"Let's go, Roxy!" Calvin said.

He was upset about Roxy coming to the hospital to check on Irene in the first place. Watching her and Sylvia clash over Ashton earlier made him even more annoyed. All he wanted to do now was drag her away from the hospital—even better if he could take her to a hotel and seal the deal with her!

But when Calvin reached out to put his arm around Roxy, she instinctively avoided his touch, preventing him from touching her waist. The fact that she'd taken a step back felt like a slap in the face. He didn't know what to do with his outstretched hand.

Ever since his return, he'd tried multiple times to initiate physical contact with Roxy, but she kept refusing him each time. As it was, he hadn't even held her hand yet!

Meanwhile, Roxy was in no mood to pay any attention to Calvin's feelings. Her eyes were fixed on Ashton as she said, "I never thought you'd be this petty, Ashton. I'm so incredibly disappointed in you! I'll just come and visit Mom when you're not around."

"You'd better not come by tomorrow either, Roxy. What if you end up upsetting Madam Lowe and making her faint again?" Sylvia piped up.

She glanced coyly at Calvin before continuing, "Your first love just returned to the country today. What a happy occasion that is! You shouldn't ignore him. Don't worry about Madam Lowe. I'll take good care of her!

"Since you want to end things, you should make it a clean break. That's more in line with your decisive personality, isn't it, Roxy?"

Roxy shot Sylvia a venomous glare, but she couldn't say anything to refute her.

"Let's go!" she barked at Calvin.

He grunted in agreement, but not before giving Sylvia a quick wink. He wondered if Sylvia's hostility toward Roxy was partly because of him.

That was to be expected from someone who'd been the campus heartthrob during his time at Javonbury University. He definitely had the power to make women fall head over heels for him at first sight!

Calvin made up his mind. First, he was going to seal the deal with Roxy and seize the Sloan family's assets for himself. Then, he would set his sights on Sylvia! Of course, he had no qualms about making a move on both women at the same time.

He was already picturing his blissful future of having both women in his arms.

After taking a few steps, Roxy abruptly turned around and said to Ashton, "I'll meet you at the courthouse at 9:00 am tomorrow. Don't forget to show up!"

"I'll be there on time," Ashton replied without any hesitation.

His resolute attitude made Roxy feel even more upset, but she stubbornly dug her heels in and said, "You'd better be! Don't you scrounge up some excuse to show up late or claim that you forgot to bring the necessary paperwork."

"That's right, Ashton! Don't even think about resorting to some lousy trick to delay the divorce!" Calvin chimed in.

"You need not worry about that," Ashton coolly replied.

Roxy looked into his eyes and saw nothing but cold indifference. Sighing to herself, she left with Calvin. She kept repeating to herself that she wasn't making a mistake. She would never regret this decision.

…

A little while later, Ashton and Sylvia stepped into the VIP hospital room. Edward Hopkins, the chief cardiologist at Paramount Hospital, had already finished examining Irene.

"Ms. Langley, Mr. Gray, there's no major cause for concern with Madame Lowe's condition. However, she will need to avoid experiencing excessive stress or emotional distress. I've prescribed some medication that she will need to take regularly. Other than that, she'll be fine."

"Thank you, Dr. Hopkins. I'll be sure to call on you another day to thank you properly," Sylvia said.

"You're being too courteous, Ms. Langley. You've helped me a lot before. If you need anything, feel free to let me know!" Edward replied with a smile before gazing curiously at Ashton.

He wondered who Ashton was. Someone who could make Sylvia mobilize her extensive connections to arrange for the best medical services and hospital room couldn't be an ordinary man.

A few minutes later, a woman all decked out in jewelry and dressed to the nines entered the hospital room, her heels clacking against the floor.

The moment she spotted Ashton, she went in on him. "Ashton! Is this how you take care of Mom? Why did you let her end up in the hospital? Don't you know her health is frail?"

The woman was Ashton's older sister, Madison Gray. A few years ago, she'd nearly cut off all ties with him after marrying into a rich family. Even with Irene, she only checked in on her with a quick chat during the holidays.

Ashton frowned when he saw Madison. Initially, he'd thought about asking her to take care of Irene for a while. But after seeing her attitude now, he dismissed that idea.

"How's Mom?" Madison asked as she looked at Irene, who was still lying unconscious on the bed.

"She's fine. She'll be discharged in a few days. She just needs to get some rest after."

"That's good to hear."

After a pause, Madison said, "I heard you're divorcing Roxy?"

"That's right."

"I've always said that a marriage where the woman is more successful than the man will never last. Back then, you insisted on marrying her and devoting yourself to her. Well, look at what happened now. You've lost both her and your fortune. She and her entire family are all rotten to the core!"

Madison sighed before asking, "What do you plan on doing now? I'm going to start off by saying that you shouldn't even think about borrowing money from me. I can't help you look after Mom either.

"I may have married into a rich family, but the internal strife within such families is not to be underestimated. Once I gain my footing, I might be able to help you out a bit."

Her words were biting, but Ashton wasn't bothered by that. His relationship with Madison was complicated and difficult to describe.

"I'll take things one step at a time," Ashton said. "Once things have settled down, I'll seek custody of Celia."

Madison raised an eyebrow. "If you ask me, you should let Celia stay with Roxy. She may treat you poorly, but she's good to Celia. Don't ruin your daughter's chance to live a life of luxury. If she stays with you, she'll be doomed.

"Who knows? You might go back to a life of violence, constantly getting into fights and spilling blood."

"How can you say that!" Sylvia burst out, too angry to continue watching in silence.

Madison finally looked at Sylvia. She was startled to see how beautiful and sophisticated Sylvia was. Clicking her tongue, she remarked, "Have you found yourself a new woman before your divorce is even finalized, Ashton?

"As expected of a Gray man. Whatever. Since Mom's alright, I'm leaving. You're on your own now, so good luck with that."

Just before leaving the room, Madison hesitated briefly before taking off the gold necklace and earrings she was wearing. She stuffed them into Ashton's hand, saying, "This is all I can give to you to help you right now. I really can't take care of Mom, so I'll have to trouble you with that.

"Avoid contacting me if you can. My in-laws don't like it…"

She scoffed at the mention of them before walking off.

Ashton watched as she left before glancing down at the jewelry in his hand and sighing helplessly.

…

Night had already fallen.

"Ashton, do you want to go home, or shall we grab a drink at a bar?" Sylvia suggested eagerly.

"Let's go to a bar."

"Great!"

Driving her Lamborghini, Sylvia quickly brought them to Noir Bar. But just as soon as they stepped out of the car, they spotted Roxy and Calvin walking up to the bar as well.

What an unfortunate coincidence it was.

"You again!" Calvin snapped, scowling the moment he saw Ashton.

It'd taken him a great deal of effort before he managed to convince Roxy to join him for some drinks at a bar. He planned on getting her drunk before taking her to a hotel, figuring that once he got her in bed, he would finally get to make things official with her.

Who would've thought that Ashton, the bane of his existence, would end up coming to Noir Bar as well? Not only that, but he even had a drop-dead beauty like Sylvia with him!

Unlike Sylvia and Ashton, who had quite a lot of physical contact, Roxy continued to keep a polite distance from Calvin. Whenever he tried to get closer to her, she would instinctively back away. There was no chance for him to even touch her!

This situation made Calvin's stomach churn with frustration. He'd sworn to himself that once he got the drunk Roxy to a hotel room, he would have his way with her to teach her a lesson!

"What a coincidence, Roxy," Sylvia greeted pleasantly while holding Ashton's arm.

"Are you following me, Ashton?" Roxy questioned with a frown.

"You're mistaken," Ashton replied curtly.

"Don't even try to explain yourself. I know you and Sylvia are just putting on a show to get under my skin. It's so childish of you, Ashton. When will you ever grow up?"