Home / Ashes of Love / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of Ashes of Love: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Harry lowered his head and glared at me on the floor, his face filled with pure disgust.“Let go! If I’d known you’d turned into a used-up tramp, I wouldn’t have laid a finger on you!”I crawled forward a few inches, clinging tightly to his ankle.“But you already touched me. Just give me the money. I need it, please…”Those words only flamed his fury further. He kicked me off without a shred of mercy, tossing the card at my face.“For money, there really is nothing you won’t do.”I scooped up the card as fast as I could and wrapped myself in the torn nightgown scattered on the floor, forcing a smile onto my lips.“Thank you. If you ever need me again, don’t forget to call…”He stared at my face with a cold, detached expression, a sneer escaping his lips.“Plenty of nouveau riche bastards out there. Since you’re so eager to sell yourself, I can hook you up with a few clients.”I forced a look of pleasant surprise onto my face.“That’d be great. Thanks in advance, Mr. Thorne. Call me an

Chapter 2

When I reached the hospital, I hurried to the cashier window to pay for my son’s medical expenses.Swiping the card, the nurse knit her brows before handing it back to me.“There’s no money on this card…”I froze on the spot in disbelief. Unwilling to accept it, I pushed the card back into her hand.“Could you… could you please try again?”Irritated, she took it back and swiped it three times right in front of me before rolling her eyes and tossing the card back at me.“See? I told you there’s no balance.”I gripped the thin plastic tightly, my hands shaking out of control.Harry had lied to me.I crouched alone in the stairwell, tears falling onto my phone screen.Wiping them off, I dialed Harry’s number, but the phone rang on without an answer.I stood up, dried my eyes, and composed myself before heading into my son’s ward.Because I couldn’t afford anything else, he was sharing the room with other patients.The family of the patient in the adjacent bed usually helped keep an eye on

Chapter 3

Because the hospital bills had been overdue for far too long, I had no choice but to hit up everyone I knew, barely managing to scrape together a few thousand dollars.After paying at the cashier, I turned around and immediately met a pair of familiar eyes.Harry had his arm wrapped around Rachel’s shoulders, while she wore an expression of justified indignation.“That kid is a wretch, zero manners whatsoever. I have no idea how Julie raised him…”Spotting me, Rachel covered her mouth as if she had only just noticed my presence.“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were there.”As I stood watching their public display of affection, a sharp ache pierced my heart. I clenched my fists tightly. “What do you mean by that? Are you talking about my boy?”Rachel leaned further against Harry, speaking in a slow, deliberate drawl.“Who else? I was just wondering if you had some tragic reason for seducing my fiancé. Turns out it’s because of your dying son.“That boy of yours has no manners at

Chapter 4

After all these years, I stepped foot once again into the house where Harry and I used to live.Only then did I realize that the decor inside remained almost entirely unchanged: the sofa, the dining table, all chosen according to my taste.I stood still, my eyes slowly sweeping across this hauntingly familiar place.Harry came downstairs wearing a robe. Catching sight of me standing there dazed, he let out a cold snort.“What? Seeing that everything you bought is still here, do you think I can’t let you go?”I opened my mouth, at a loss for a reply. Biting my lip, I watched Harry lower his head to light a cigarette.“Actually, back then…”Before I could finish my sentence, someone shoved me hard from behind. I stumbled forward and crashed into the entryway cabinet, splitting open my lip.Rachel’s displeased voice boomed from behind me.“Are you out of your mind, blocking the doorway like that?”Scrambling up from the floor, I tasted the metallic tang of blood spreading in my mouth as I

Chapter 5

Harry flicked a look back at me before flipping to the second page to read the conclusion.There, printed in bold, unmistakable red ink, were the words: “Biological relationship ruled out.”His hands trembled slightly, crumpling the paper into a tight ball in his fist.Rachel stood leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed, a look of sheer triumph painted across her face.“I told you the trashy bitch was lying! Harry, do you believe me now? Are you finally done with her?”Frowning, I reached out my hand, wanting to take the report to inspect it closely, only for Harry to slap me across the face, sending me crashing to the floor.The force was immense. My head spun violently, and a sharp ringing echoed in my ears.His eyes bloodshot with rage, Harry yanked out his phone and barked orders down the line.“Kick the brat out of the hospital! Right now, this second!”My heart skipped a beat. Ignoring my throbbing, dizzy head, I lunged forward and threw my arms around his legs.“No, ple

Chapter 6

Harry instructed his assistant to summon the top medical experts in town to perform emergency resuscitation on our son.Inside the blood donation room, he insisted that the doctors draw as much blood from him as possible. When he finally emerged, his face was deathly pale, and he collapsed at once onto a chair.Tears streaming down my face, I clutched the keepsake pendant my mother had left me, praying ceaselessly to my parents in heaven to protect our child and keep him safe.Leaning back against his chair, Harry kept his eyes fixed on me before suddenly asking, his voice hollow:“Is he really my child?”By now, I had no strength left to answer him. I could only stare blankly at the glowing red light above the operating room doors.The second paternity test results came back quickly, delivered directly into Harry’s hands by the lead physician.Staring at the 99.99% figure, Harry broke into ragged, choked sobs.That was when Rachel arrived at the scene. Harry hurled the test report str

Chapter 7

I had no appetite at all. Harry stayed by my side at all times, letting me hit and curse him, yet he refused to let me see our child.He brought some soup to my bedside again, putting on a pleading face.“You’ve always had trouble with your stomach. Please eat, even a little.”Getting no response from me, he let out a sigh and set the bowl down.“You must take good care of yourself, okay? You wouldn’t want Leo to wake up and see Mommy looking like a frail skeleton, would you? Come on, eat, then I’ll take you to see him. Deal?”In dead silence, I picked up the bowl, scooped up the soup and shoved it into my mouth spoonful after spoonful in numb resignation.Harry stood up and walked toward the door, letting out a helpless smile.“It’s not that I don’t want you to see him. I’m just afraid of breaking your heart…”At the memory of my boy’s little face, tears fell once again, searing my eyes with a burning pain.After Harry left, I threw up every single mouthful of food I had just forced d

Chapter 8

When I got into the car, I kept comforting myself with the thought that Harry had simply transferred our child to another hospital.Until the car pulled up at the cemetery.Harry dropped to his knees in front of me, weeping hysterically, slapping himself across the face over and over.“I’m sorry… I couldn’t save our boy… I’m so sorry…”Even though that terrible suspicion had been looming in the back of my mind these past few days, I hadn’t dared to admit it. Now, my heart was numb with a pain so horrible it defied description.I opened my mouth, only to realize I could no longer cry.I walked into the cemetery, and Harry followed, leading me to a tombstone.Engraved on it were the words: “Beloved Son Leo Thorne”My fingernails dug deep into my palms. I raised my hand and slapped Harry across the face with all the strength I had left, screaming at him:“Who gave you the right? Who gave you the right to change my son’s surname? His name is Leo Thompson! He’s got nothing to do with you!”

Chapter 9

The evaluation results showed that my mental state had largely returned to normal.Only my stomach remained sensitive, accompanied by moderate anemia.Harry accompanied me to retrieve Leo’s ashes, coughing incessantly into his hand, his palm painted a vivid red.He was coughing up blood, but I acted as if I hadn’t seen it.As I got into the car, he stared at me intently, his expression fraught with anxiety as he asked, “Julie… can you ever forgive me?”“No. Not in this lifetime,” I said, looking calmly into his eyes. “And neither will our son.”He doubled over, breaking into another violent fit of coughing.The car pulled away. Through the rearview mirror, I saw Harry raise a hand as if trying to say something more, but his figure grew smaller and smaller until it vanished completely. I didn’t spare it another thought.Back in my hometown, I buried Leo alongside my parents.Every bit of the assets Harry had transferred to my name, I donated in full to a children’s medical relief fund.

Epilogue: Harry’s Story

The years spent with Julie had been the happiest period of Harry’s entire life.He had never imagined that his life would prove so short.When Julie had left him without a word, he had nearly gone mad with grief and fury. Yet no one cared about his feelings then. His family was pressuring him to agree to an arranged marriage with the Sterling heiress, in order to rescue their failing corporate empire.He refused to compromise. He worked non-stop day and night, replacing three solid meals a day with liquid poison—an endless stream of alcohol.It took him two excruciating years, but he eventually turned the tide and saved his family’s business from the verge of ruin.Still Rachel clung to him like an inescapable shadow. He went from sternly rejecting her at first to lapsing into a resigned silence.Harry couldn’t help but wonder: if news of his engagement to Rachel got out, would Julie finally break her silence and show up?At the same time, he was terrified. Terrified that the news woul

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