Chapter 4

Everything was too painful.

Ashton felt like dying as memories of the past resurfaced in his head and intertwined with the torture he was going through now.

He immediately began to struggle on instinct, desperately twisting his body in an attempt to escape, but the restraints around him were pulled to their tightest point. The belts only dug deeper into his skin with every struggle he made, quickly creating crisscrossing welts on his skin that bled down the edge of the bed.

Several nursing staff had to force him back down so that he'd remain completely still.

The electric current then transformed into a steel cone, drilling right into Ashton from his head to his toes, penetrating his entire body. Ashton bit down on his lower lip desperately to resist the pain, and soon, his mouth was filled with the sweet, metallic taste of blood.

"Ah! Ahh!"

Ashton was electrocuted for a whole day and night. Eventually, his screams faded into mere hoarse breaths.

If he lost consciousness from the electric shocks, cold water was splashed in his face to wake him back up. Then, they would continue electrocuting him again, repeating the torture again and again.

It wasn't until the electrotherapy room was completely covered in Ashton's blood that he was finally thrown back into Faith's room. Then, his phone was dropped on his face, and the sharp pain jolted him awake at once.

He struggled to lift his head and saw Faith lying back in her nursing bed, fully recovered and hooked back up on her life-saving breathing machines. He finally heaved a sigh of relief.

His phone was fixed. Then, his phone rang again, displaying a text message from Damien.

He'd sent him a photo of an old, yellowed diary. It was Ashton's old diary he'd written in the past.

The accompanying message read, "Jazzy nearly burned this as junk, but I did you a kind favor and kept it safe for you.

"So, your biggest dream was to go see the northern lights with Jazzy? What a coincidence! Wanna guess where we are now?"

Then, Ashton's phone was flooded with dozens of photos.

Every single one of them showed Jezebel and Damien nestled together intimately under the northern lights. Jezebel had even bought one of the stars and named it the "JD star" after the initials of their first names.

It was obvious that Jezebel was deeply in love with Damien.

It used to be Ashton's dream, one that he'd painstakingly written and described in perfect detail in his diary. He dreamed of seeing the northern lights with the person he loved the most and naming a star after them.

But now, it all belonged to Damien instead.

Ashton numbly turned off his phone and focused intently on caring for Faith.

While Jezebel was still away on her trip, Ashton got in touch with an overseas nursing home and signed an online admission agreement.

Meanwhile, Damien's gloating and boastful messages never stopped.

After leaving the north, he and Jezebel went to Iguana Falls in Gentiland, East Island in Chilland, Corco Statue in Brazland, and more. Damien had fulfilled everything that Ashton wrote down in his diary on his behalf.

And every time they checked off a place in Ashton's diary, Ashton burned another piece of his memories with Jezebel.

The day he finally received the divorce papers, Ashton burned the last stack of their photos together.

The flames raged in the brazier in front of him. Suddenly, a furious roar came from behind him, screeching, "What the hell are you doing?"

Jezebel stormed angrily into the room and slapped Ashton hard on the cheek.

"So, you finally can't keep up the act anymore, can you? Even these things are nothing but an eyesore to you now that you've already gotten your money?"

Ashton's face had been struck to the side by the forceful slap, and he slammed his head right into the marble pillar next to him.

Blood instantly streamed down his cheek until half of his face was dyed a crimson color. However, he simply replied in an unusually calm voice.

"Aren't you afraid of them being an eyesore for Damien if he saw them instead?"

Then, he staggered to his feet and tried to leave.

Jezebel stared at him for a long time, suddenly realizing that she never even noticed how much weight Ashton had lost. He was practically swimming in his shirt as the fabric hung loosely from his shoulders. He looked as though he would shatter at the touch of a finger.

Her heart clenched as a sudden fear gripped her. She chased after him and threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly as she pressed her face against his back.

"Ashton! You win! Please just stop making a fuss…"

Her sudden rare softness rendered Ashton completely speechless. He stiffened at once, feeling his heart pounding rapidly in his chest.

However, a split second later, Jezebel's phone rang loudly, interrupting the rest of her words.

Damien's anxious voice came through the speaker.

"Jazzy! I think someone's following me… Please bring someone to save me…"

Jezebel's face fell at once. She let go of Ashton without any hesitation and turned to leave.

"I'll be right there!"

Ashton was left alone once again in the villa, still frozen in place. He could still feel the warmth of Jezebel's body against his back, but his heart was completely hollow now.

A long while later, he finally chuckled in a self-deprecating manner, slapping himself on the face. The slap was loud and crisp as it echoed across the yard.

"You really deserved this, Ashton Rivers. You nearly fell for her again…"

It didn't matter anymore. There were only two days left before he and Faith were leaving for good.

That night, Ashton went to bed as usual. But just as he was drifting off to sleep, he was suddenly dragged up from bed, and a cup of iced coffee was thrown in his face, stinging his eyes at once.

Jezebel stood before him, her voice harsh and cold and completely devoid of warmth, like the coffee on his face.

"Ashton Rivers! How dare you actually have Damien kidnapped? Have you already completely forgotten everything I said the last time?"