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I saw it with my own eyes. I didn’t just think he did it. I knew the man did it! I looked at Joseph, but he
was standing behind Ashton calmly, as if he didn’t do anything.
Well, maybe he didn’t, but how would I know that? Joseph worked for Ashton long enough, so he was an
expert in hiding his emotions. I wasn’t sure if he was actually innocent or putting up an act.
I racked my brains and calmed down. “Where’s the volunteer?” I asked Ashton. I wouldn’t believe he
didn’t have anything to do with it until I saw the volunteer.
Ashton knew that was coming, so he looked to the mechanical door on his right. “Open the door,” he
instructed coldly.
The door opened. I gave Ashton another glance before going into the room. I had to go through another
couple of rooms before finally seeing the volunteers who were taking the risk for me.
It was a room that measured a hundred meters square, and it was divided into four equal parts. The
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtvolunteers were kept inside the glass walls. There was nothing but beds and desks inside. The
volunteers were wearing patient attire and living their lives inside as if they were merchandises on a
shelf. It made it easy for the researchers to observe the medicine’s effect.
“They’ll go back safe and sound after the experiment. And they’ll be paid a million as thanks. Also, the
Fullers will take care of them for the rest of their lives,” Ashton said coolly as if he was just listing his
grocery list.
I knew he was doing it for me, but I couldn’t accept that someone else had to be sacrificed for it. It didn’t
even take one minute before I wanted to leave.
Ashton sent his men away and came up to me. “Just pretend you’ve never seen this. I did this, so it has
nothing to do with you. If someone’s gonna get bitten in the *ss, it’s me.”
It was the law of equivalent exchange. Ashton made it sound so easy, but what he did was controlling
someone else’s life with money so nobody else needed to take the risk. It was insane. People should be
equal, but I couldn’t tell him that when I saw the resolve on his face.
That was what we’d do for love. I did the same thing for Summer back then. Ashton was making the
same choice for the same reason. Telling them to stop at that point would mean death for those
volunteers. They had no choice but to wait for the antidote.
“I want to leave.” I didn’t know what else to say, though I was relieved Ashton didn’t risk himself for me.
I was immersed in my own thoughts on the way out. My questions were answered, but I still had that
feeling of unease. Did I miss something?
I glanced at Ashton as I went into the car, but he didn’t seem different. I wondered if I was being
paranoid.
Ashton buckled himself calmly. He didn’t even look at me, but he said, “I know what you’re thinking.”
A pause later, he stared at me coldly, but his anger was directed at something else. “I’ll risk my life for
you, but we have to live until we get our vengeance. I won’t do anything that’ll hurt us. Do you think that’s
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmselfish of me?”
He was a heroic man, but at the same time, he looked so melancholic. I was seized by an urge to hug
him, to tell him everything was okay.
Then I felt more at ease. As long as he was safe, nothing else mattered. I smiled and held his hand. “I’m
glad that you know what you’re doing. Professor Sanchez said that the toxin has mutated, so we don’t
really know how long I can hold out. We’re just delaying the inevitable. If you had risked yourself for me
and died, who’d fend for baby and me?”
Ashton thought about what I said, though he never did reply to me.
There was no traffic in the dead of the night, but Ashton was still driving carefully. Something about him
made me feel uneasy. I could still remember how he looked that night no matter how many years had
passed. He was as calm as a pond on a windless day, but I could feel his love for me underneath that
façade, still going strong as ever.
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