Chapter 125 Thrill Seeker
Ashley was speechless. She doubted if she had heard correctly. Did she really hear the words "I'm sorry" from Damian in her lifetime?
He was always evasive when it came to taking responsibility for anything, always shifting the blame onto others. How was it possible for him to voluntarily apologize? Or maybe... he still had a conscience. Perhaps he finally felt a twinge of pity when he saw the bloodstains on her wrist.
Ashley tried to push away her wandering thoughts and should have gracefully said it was okay, but she couldn't find the words. Instead, she said, "What do you want to hear from me?"
Damian continued to gently clean the wound, knowing that the stinging sensation from the alcohol disinfection was inevitable. "Say whatever you want," he replied.
Ashley looked at his profile, the soft glow of the car's interior lights casting a subtle radiance on his hair and nose, blurring the distinction between his sharpness and elegance.
She remarked, "The wound is too deep, Damian. Sorry isn't enough to take the pain away."
Ashley's words had a deeper meaning, and she believed he understood.
Damian finished tending to her wound, wrapping it with two layers of gauze to stop the bleeding without being overly heavy and suffocating. "Don't get it wet. It should heal in a couple of days," he advised.
Ashley's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Damian still had a bandaged wound on his hand, yet he used that injured hand to tend to her wound. They were offering each other warmth.
"When we're together, it's like we've never had a peaceful day. Since I met you, it's either me getting hurt or you getting hurt. Now, we're both injured. Maybe your mother was right, and we shouldn't have gotten married. Didn't the fortuneteller say so? That we weren't compatible." Ashley responded calmly.
Before their marriage, Ms. Hearst took their photos to a fortuneteller for a reading. After the fortuneteller finished, their expression turned solemn. He was hesitant to speak too directly, because the Hearst family invested a lot of money each year.
But ultimately, he vaguely expressed, "This girl seems to have a lot of bad luck, and it might bring trouble to the boy. Also, it seems like they aren't compatible."
Ms. Hearst already held a negative view of Ashley and had no regard for the Astor family, so she immediately called off the marriage.
Later, Ashley begged her father to give the fortuneteller a sum of money, hoping for a blessing from the god.
The fortuneteller couldn't bring himself to say it, as if the solution was extremely difficult and beyond what an ordinary person could achieve. After a string of words that Ashley couldn't understand, he told her, "Young lady, if you really want to marry him, it might end in tragedy. You should think it through carefully."
Whether they would receive divine blessing, the fortuneteller couldn't say for sure.
Events that followed validated their warnings. The situation had escalated to the point of bloodshed, causing fear and panic.
Damian, with a fierce gaze, tightly wrapped the bandages around her arm and locked eyes with her.
"Ashley, you have studied for so many years and even obtained a Ph.D. abroad. How can you still believe in those superstitious things?" he mocked.
"You still haven't moved on. You also harbor hatred towards me," she remarked. Ashley's eyes became teary, and she wanted to cry, but a strained smile formed on her lips, saying, "Two lives...you can't simply forget."
Damian clenched his fist as a cold chill filled the compartment. His voice became hoarse, uttering, "Ashley Astor..."
Ashley closed her eyes, interrupting him. "Just go upstairs," she said.
Damian held her arm as she reached for the car door. "Ashley, the dead won't come back to life."
With her back turned to him, tears dripped down from Ashley's eyes. "So many times, I thought I had moved on. I tried to suppress those memories, burying them deep within and building layers upon layers in my current life. I told myself it was fine. But as soon as they are mentioned, my heart aches."
Compared to the ordeal faced by the Astor Family today, the trouble between her and Damian was because someone had died! It was unfortunate that things had reached this point.
She turned her head and looked at him, taking a deep breath, and said, "You were wrong, and I was wrong, too."
Damian's Adam's apple bobbed, blood rushing through his veins. "It was an accident," he remarked.
When they crossed paths again, he accused her, metaphorically linking her to the burden of guilt and reminding her that it was her responsibility. But now, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to be cruel to her, even though he still believed that the accident was connected to her.
"No need to scold me. Not a day goes by when I didn't regret it..." Shaking her head, she smiled bitterly as she said, "Perhaps the best way to apologize to someone is to experience the same suffering they went through. That's when it becomes sincere."
An impulse welled up in Damian, wanting to embrace this vulnerable woman. But her stiff resistance prevented him from forcefully claiming her as he had done before. "Ashley, we're not living for the dead. What you need to do is take care of yourself as much as possible, he advised."
"Do I deserve to live happily after causing someone's death? My conscience won't let me, it truly hurts. It's unbearable," Ashley claimed.
Damian Hearst slowly closed his eyes, his thick eyelashes fluttering. "I won't blame you for this in the future," he promised.
Ashley was surprised by his words. What happened to Damian today? He was unusually obedient today, not provoking her. Was he affected by something?
"Even if you don't blame me, your parents, your grandfather, the entire Hearst family, who would forgive me?" Ashley said.
"Ashley..." Damian murmured.
Ashley didn't want to hear his explanation. Some things couldn't be explained clearly, and saying more would be futile.
"You got into a fight with Hendrix today. From now on, he will certainly not be nice to you. And if he finds out about our relationship, it will be quite troublesome. I really don't know what you're trying to do," Ashley said.
The former Damian used to be rational and calm, always thinking twice before acting. He couldn't make such impulsive moves. The price he paid to embarrass her seems steep.
Damian said, "Do you think he can harm me? And if he makes any inappropriate moves towards you, tell me immediately."
Ashley scoffed in frustration, and said, "Damian, it seems like you're being too controlling. Hendrix is my direct boss. Why don't you tell me to quit my job?"
"Then quit!" Damian remarked.
"Come on, it's my job, not a joke. Forget it. You go up. I'm going home," Ashley said, frustratingly.
.
Damian asked, "Where are you moving? I'll give you a ride."
Ashley opened the car door and warned, "I'll take a taxi myself. Don't you dare follow me."
Damian took out a purple clamshell phone from his pocket and said, "How are you going to take a taxi? Do you have cash in your pocket?"
How did he take her phone?
Ashley was speechless and wanted to kick the tires. "Damian, how can you do this? Give me back my phone," she demanded.
Damian put the phone back in his pocket, holding the steering wheel with a confident tone, and saying, "Get in. I'll take you home."
Ashley was feeling frustrated, powerless, and oppressed. Why couldn't she get rid of Damian, no matter how hard she tried?
She slammed the door shut, gritted her teeth, and said, "Your car is quite comfortable. I'm going to sleep in it tonight. Please leave a crack in the door when you close it; otherwise, it will be considered intentional murder by tomorrow."
Damian turned to the side, resting his arm on the backrest of the passenger seat. Half of his body gathered around her. "Ashley, I didn't expect you to like playing provocative games."
