Goodbye Forever: Our Contract's Over Now

Ashton Rivers catches his wife, Jezebel Vesper, on a date with her 99th lover, Damien Grimshaw, and is then "accidentally" pushed down the stairs, causing his eardrums to tear and leaving him deaf in one ear. This is the fifth time an "accident" like this has happened. The previous times involved a broken right hand, a nearly-blinded left eye, and more. Every time, the price Ashton pays is excruciating. However, this time, Ashton doesn't make a scene anymore. He goes to the hospital alone for treatment without any unnecessary drama or accusations. This is all because of the humiliating agreement that Jezebel's grandmother, Lilith Thorne, forced him to sign eight years ago when he married Jezebel. The agreement says that Ashton will receive 100 million dollars if Jezebel gives birth to a child within a year, and 50 million dollars if she gives birth to a child within three years. But if the couple still doesn't have any children in the eighth year, then Ashton is no longer allowed to interfere with Jezebel's extramarital affairs. It's the eighth year this year. On the day Ashton is discharged from the hospital, everyone in Queen City waits eagerly to see Ashton make a fool of himself like he did the previous four times when he went to settle accounts with Damien like a deranged madman. Chapter 1 A real-time discussion thread even started on the internet. The topic was, "What method will Ashton Rivers use to destroy Damien Grimshaw this time?" The comments section was abuzz. "We all know that Ashton's internal organs are practically destroyed at this point, and it's almost all because of Damien. But it seems like this 99th lover of Ms. Jezebel Vesper's is the real deal! She's definitely going to protect him with all her heart!" "Ashton's just a stupid, greedy lunatic. He married up just to climb the social ladder and marry for money. He deserved everything coming his way! He should have been divorced a long time ago!" However, what shocked everyone was that Ashton didn't just keep his cool and refrain from lashing out online—in fact, he even liked the comment saying that they should get divorced. Then, he replied with his main account, "You're right." His actions shocked the Internet. Even Jezebel's influencer friends couldn't resist turning on their livestream and filming her in person for her reaction. "You're amazing, Belle! I can't believe that you finally managed to tame such a difficult lunatic like Ashton! How did you do it? Won't you share your experience with the viewers?" Jezebel didn't respond. Instead, she indifferently pulled out her phone and saw the message that she'd just received. "Ms. Vesper, Mr. Rivers has entered the safe vault in Vesper Manor." She scoffed aloud and sent a livestream link to Ashton before looking into the camera with a mocking expression on her face. "What do you mean by taming? He's only behaving because he's got the money. He's incorrigible as always. "Wanna bet? It would take at least ten million dollars for him to keep mum about this insult. Don't you agree, my useless piece of shit for a husband?" At that moment, Ashton had just clicked into the link Jezebel sent him, and he witnessed everything sarcastic that she said. He couldn't help but lower his eyes at the insult. The dull pain in his heart repeatedly reminded him that he would always be the money-grubbing, spineless, and greedy gold digger who married Jezebel only for her money. Even if this was the fifth time he'd suffered a severe blow to his physical state, which might even leave him with a permanent disability, Jezebel still believed that money could buy his silence. He lifted his hand to wipe away the tears that had somehow appeared in the corners of his eyes before exiting the livestream and walking into the vault. He passed by mountains of gold chains, jewelry, and antiques, each worth a massive fortune by itself. However, he didn't even look at any of them and went straight into the farthest corner of the vault, where a cabinet was, and retrieved a yellowed piece of paper from the drawer. Actually, Ashton had signed two agreements when he married Jezebel eight years ago. Aside from the one Jezebel had seen, there was also a second termination agreement contract. It said, "If no children are born by the end of the eight years, both spouses may choose whether to continue the marriage." Aston stared at the words, his vision blurring as his thoughts drifted farther and farther away. Eight years ago, the Rivers family had been bankrupted by their rivals, and Ashton's mother, Faith Rosewood, was seriously injured and hospitalized. They were forced to seek refuge with the Vesper family, with whom Ashton was betrothed. Jezebel had had a crush on Ashton for a long time, so their first year of marriage was filled with tenderness and affection. She would bring him to Napeland for the Wine Festival in spring, Zealland's Magnificent Mountains for some skiing in summer, Canneland to see the maple leaves in fall, and Argenland to explore the sand dunes in winter. They were very happy together, and the world once praised their marriage as "the perfect couple" who were meant for each other. They were even hailed as a precious example of true love among the wealthy elites. However, Jezebel found out about the prenuptial contract on the day she realized she was pregnant. Her eyes turned bloodshot as she confronted Ashton and demanded, "You never loved me, did you, Ashton Rivers? Did you only marry me for money?" A huge argument broke out after that, and Jezebel ended up shoving Ashton down the stairs, fracturing his leg and causing a permanent dislocation. Jezebel also fell, which resulted in a miscarriage. They lost their first child together just like that. But now, this mutually destructive argument shattered their once-happy marriage. Once they were discharged from the hospital, their relationship plummeted. Even though Ashton tried to explain many times that he had no choice but to sign the agreement to save his mother, Jezebel had already convinced herself that Ashton was nothing but a greedy and insincere jerk. From then on, Jezebel began acting like a completely different person altogether. She cheated on Ashton openly over and over again, even collecting lovers in various orders such as the twelve zodiac signs and in alphabetical order of their last names. She even forced Ashton to deliver condoms and changes of clothing for her lovers in the middle of the night, kneel on the ground next to the bed to watch the show, and then clean up after them afterward. She trampled his dignity right into the mud. At first, Ashton went berserk and had an emotional breakdown one after another. He even used his status as the Vesper family's lawful son-in-law to teach her lovers a lesson, which kept making headlines in Queen City almost every day. Jezebel loved watching him break down for her. After he was down, she'd then turn his back on him and find a new lover, rinsing and repeating their mutual torment on each other. But three years ago, Jezebel's 99th lover appeared. His name was Damien Grimshaw. And when Ashton came to teach him a lesson and had the bodyguards send him to Pineland Red Labor District to be tortured, Jezebel retaliated for the first time. She held a gun to Ashton's forehead and demanded, "Tell me, where did you take Damien? If you don't bring him back safely, I'm personally sending you to see your maker." After Damien was brought back, he began gloating in Ashton's face and arrogantly provoking him in public. Ashton couldn't hold back and punched him hard. But that very night, he was dragged into an underground boxing ring, stuffed into a potato sack, and punched 99 times. When Ashton was finally let out of the sack, he had eight broken ribs. Similar things had happened up until now. But after the fifth "accident" left Ashton permanently deaf in the left ear, he finally realized that Jezebel didn't love him anymore. Their relationship was rotten to the core. Now, the eight-year agreement had finally expired, and it was high time this entire farce finally ended. Ashton left Vesper Manor with the second agreement and headed straight to a law firm. "Mr. Samuel Lawson, kindly help me with the divorce proceedings." Chapter 2 A fierce wind howled outside the door as soon as Ashton stepped out of the lawyer's office. Large raindrops pelted down, and he stood by the roadside with a numb expression on his face. Jezebel called him just then, her voice arrogant and dripping with mockery. "Had fun with the stuff you took?" Ashton was silent for a few seconds before asking in a hoarse voice, "What do you want?" "What do I want?" Jezebel sneered coldly in response. "You really are quite stubborn in your ways, aren't you, Ashton Rivers? Since you took my money, get home right now to the master bedroom and clean everything up. Damien will be staying with me tonight." Even though Ashton had already decided on the divorce, his heart still clenched suddenly, and his nose stung with tears. A long while later, he finally replied bitterly in a muffled voice, "Okay." However, his obedience didn't satisfy Jezebel but further fuelled her anger instead. Her sharp voice shot from the other end of the line like a poisoned needle into Ashton's ear. "Fine, Ashton! I knew you would do just about anything for the sake of money!" Then, she hung up abruptly on him. The rain poured down heavily, and Ashton just stood blankly in the rain, unable to come to his senses for a long time. He only snapped back to the present when a passing middle-aged woman patted him on the shoulder and asked worriedly, "What's wrong, young man? Are you alright?" A piercing pain shot through his palm. He'd gripped his phone so hard that the metal edge had cut into his bruised-up hand and made him bleed. He didn't think that he would still be so upset after all. By the time he got home, he was soaked to the bone. He wanted to quickly take a hot shower before tidying up the master bedroom, but when he pressed his thumbprint onto the villa's smart lock to unlock it, he was prompted with a warning that said, "Unauthorized entry". Ashton froze. It took him a while to realize that his front door access had apparently been revoked. He smiled bitterly and lowered his eyes before knocking gently on the door, but there was no response. He then tried ringing the doorbell a couple of times, but still, there wasn't a stir in the villa. Ashton ended up standing outside the villa door in the raging wind and pouring rain in his thin T-shirt for two whole hours. He shivered in the cold as he quickly developed a high fever and his head throbbed with dizziness. Finally, the door was opened from the inside. The butler, Butch Devlin, walked out with a cold expression on his face and gave Ashton a haughty look. There wasn't an ounce of warmth in his eyes. "You may enter now, Mr. Rivers. "Ms. Vesper specifically instructed that you are to abide by the Vesper family's rules since you've taken her money. These two hours are just a light punishment for you. We hope that you will properly behave yourself from now on." Ashton's face was deathly pale. He was too dizzy and out of it to think clearly. But there was one thing he understood, which was that Jezebel had deliberately stranded him outside the door to freeze. He chuckled self-deprecatingly, staggered to his feet, and silently entered the villa. After showering and changing out of his wet clothes in a daze throughout, he barely made it into the master bedroom to clean up. Then, he tried staggering back out but collapsed onto the floor, completely losing consciousness altogether. In his hazy state, Ashton felt as though a fire was burning fiercely within his body, while at other times, he felt like he was plunged into the center of the ocean in the middle of winter. The intense suffocating feeling filled him with all kinds of despair, and yet, he wasn't able to wake up from it, no matter what. It wasn't until a sudden brute force yanked him up by his hair and lifted him right off the ground before slapping him hard in the face, twice, that he finally managed to come to. Damien's loud roar was heard all throughout the villa. His clothes were disheveled, and his chest was peppered with hickeys and love bites as he stood at the door. Clothes were strewn all over the floor behind him from the doorway. Jezebel had gotten her bodyguards to restrain Ashton as she glared at him, her eyes blazing with fury. "What the hell were you pretending to lie on the master bedroom floor for? Were you deliberately trying to embarrass Damien?" Ashton finally regained consciousness and realized what had happened. He'd collapsed on the floor in the master bedroom before he'd managed to go back to his own room, while both Jezebel and Damien had waltzed right into him when they came back. Damien's face was ashen. "Jazzy! He did it on purpose! He knew that my career had been on the rise and he's trying to ruin me! How am I supposed to continue surviving in the industry if he starts spreading rumors about me?" He then turned to leave in a rage, but stumbled and nearly fell. Jezebel saw it at once and grabbed him before he fell. Then, she turned to Ashton and screamed, "Now get the hell out of here!" However, Damien wasn't going to let Ashton off the hook that easily. He grabbed the nearest thing within his reach and threw it straight at Ashton's head—which turned out to be a heavy crystal vase that cracked right open on Ashton's forehead. Fresh blood immediately poured out of the wound on Ashton's head, dripping down his cheeks. Ashton had already been dizzy and disoriented before this, and now, the impact made him keel over to the ground and writhe in extreme pain. He raised his hand in a daze to cover the wound on his forehead. Then, he realized that his forehead was absolutely burning to the touch. So, he'd developed a fever after all… Ashton remembered how Jezebel used to feel sorry for him whenever he developed a fever in the past. She'd even walked into a freezer to freeze her body before walking back out to hug him tightly, all in an attempt just to get him to cool down. "Ash, seeing you sick like this hurts me more than if I were killed. I'd take away all of your pain for you if only I could." But now, those heartwarming moments had long since vanished. The only thing that was left behind was the growing torment that would last him forever until he was dead. Jezebel looked at Ashton's weak appearance and suddenly stiffened. Her hands clenched subconsciously. Just as she was about to take a step toward him, Damien pulled her back and said in a shaky voice, "Jazzy, you should just let me go. Let me leave this place! "No matter what happened in the past, he would still kneel on the ground without ever daring to lift his head! But look at him staring at me blatantly right now! It's obvious that he's only trying to humiliate me! He's reminding me that this master bedroom belongs to him and I'm not welcome in it! "But I'm also a man! And I have my ego and my dignity to protect!" Jezebel immediately pulled Damien into her arms and stood on tiptoe to peck him on his cheek. "Don't be mad. I'll set things right for you. "Go sit on the bed and wait for me. I'll take care of everything." Then, she kicked Ashton harshly to the side and walked to the bed with Damien. Ashton staggered backward by several steps and slammed his lower back heavily against the corner of the low cabinet. A sharp pain immediately swept through his body, and he fell to the ground again in a disheveled state as though he were the despicable third wheel in their relationship instead. He chuckled self-deprecatingly as he endured the pain and struggled back to his feet. He calmly began, "I didn't mean to… I just wasn't feeling well…" "Not feeling well?" Jezebel interrupted, her face darker than thunder. "Can't you think of a better excuse than this, Ashton Rivers? You can't even be bothered to continue with your act now that you've gotten all the money? "You're such a filthy, disgusting piece of shit!" Ashton was rooted to the ground, completely stunned. He couldn't explain himself. But his silence only made Jezebel even angrier than ever before. "What, you can't even speak now? Fine! "Since that's the case, we'll just have your mother take full responsibility for her son's mistakes! Notify the nursing home and tell them to take 'special care' of my dear mother-in-law!" Chapter 3 "What are you planning to do?" Ashton shrieked, widening his eyes in terror. "Just punish me if you have a problem with me! Don't hurt my mother!" He forgot all his dignity and fell to his knees before Jezebel, desperately pleading with her. However, she didn't even glance at him and growled at Butch at the door. "Get him out of here! Don't let him soil Damien's eyes!" Butch immediately stepped forward and forcefully dragged Ashton out of the master bedroom. The door then slammed shut with a loud bang behind them. Ashton knelt outside the door, pleading, "Jezebel, please, don't do anything to my mother! She's already in a vegetative state! She really can't take any more torment!" However, he was only answered with the sounds of bliss and unrestrained pleasure emanating from both Jezebel and Damien. They were like surging waves completely drowning out the last vestiges of Ashton's hope, each worse than the last. Ashton didn't even feel the humiliation as much as he felt the despair washing over him, as though his heart had been shattered into smithereens. He couldn't wait any longer. Ignoring his boiling fever and excruciating pain, he scrambled to his feet and rushed into the raging storm outside. He wasn't able to get a taxi in such terrible weather. So, he ended up running nearly ten miles in the downpour, falling heavily into the mud several times, but he still forced himself back up to continue running. Finally, he arrived at the nursing home completely covered in filth. He saw Faith lying alone at the entrance to the basement of the home, her breathing weak and half her body soaked through. She was completely bound with restraints, her limbs blue from the tightness of the straps around her body. Physiological tears clung to her pale, aged face. Ashton felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest when he saw his mother in that state. He rushed up to her like a madman, trying with all his might to push the medical bed back inside where it was sheltered. However, with Faith's weight and the all-metal frame of the medical bed, Ashton simply wasn't able to move her an inch as he was already feverish and on the verge of collapse. If things continued like this, Faith would die at any moment without life support. Ashton had no choice but to dial Jezebel's number. His voice trembled uncontrollably as he begged, "Jezebel, please, I'll do whatever you want as long as you'll let my mother go! I'm begging you!" Yet, he could only hear Damien's mocking voice on the other end of the line. "Let's settle the score for everything you did, Ashton Rivers," Damien said coldly. "You beat me, humiliated me, and sent me to the Red Labor District in Pineland to die. And yet, you can't even handle something as easy as this? But this is only just the beginning, you know?" Before Ashton could say a thing, Damien suddenly raised his voice and exclaimed, "No, Mr. Rivers! I just didn't want to put Jazzy in a difficult position! That's the only reason why I tried to be friends with you… Why are you cursing at me like that? "I just… I just truly love Jazzy…" he continued, his voice straining with suppressed grievance. "I never thought of coveting anything from her, and certainly not ever competing with you for the title of the Vesper family's son-in-law… No! I'm not after their wealth either, I swear!" Ashton's heart sank. He had a terrible feeling about this. Yet, it was far too late. A split second later, Jezebel's cold voice was heard on the other end of the line. "Ashton Rivers! You're beyond despicable!" Ashton tried to explain himself again. "I never said anything! I was just begging you to let my mother go—" "That's enough!" Jezebel's voice was furious and tinged with impatience. "Did you think that I didn't know your true colors? Damien's already being sensible enough! How dare you try to drive him to his death just for the sake of my money? "You're nothing but a cowardly good-for-nothing piece of trash who only covets my family's wealth! You've completely disappointed me!" Ashton's chest felt like it was filled with water. He could barely breathe anymore. There was nothing he could say to defend himself. Anything he said would immediately be dismissed as an excuse anyway. After all, Jezebel had already condemned him as a gold digger, and she would never believe another word he said. Jezebel spoke again, her tone cold and resolute this time. Every word she said cut into Ashton's heart like a sharp blade. "You want me to spare your mother? Fine. Then you'd better go and get your brain washed at the nursing home to snap you back to your senses!" Ashton felt his blood freeze in his body. He finally realized what Jezebel was going to do to him. This nursing home was equipped with state-of-the-art electroconvulsive therapy machines, and it was more than enough to shock his brain and reset him to factory mode. "No… Jezebel… I'll die…" Ashton had been diagnosed with severe depression for years. While electroconvulsive therapy might only cause some slight pain or discomfort for most people, it was extremely excruciating for him. When he and Faith had been targeted by their rivals years ago, he'd been captured and tortured for three days and nights on an electric chair. By the time they were rescued, he had scratched his entire body raw, all ten of his fingernails had broken off, and his body was a torn, bloody, mangled mess. He'd developed depression ever since then. And every time he thought about it, he would get a sudden panic attack that would then result in somatization. The year Jezebel loved him the most, she couldn't even bring herself to say the word "electricity" in front of him for fear of triggering him. Now, Ashton's hoarse, begging voice contained a final plea for their relationship, begging her to have mercy on him just for once, even if she no longer loved him. "Jezebel… Please…" Jezebel fell silent. Just as Ashton thought she was finally letting him off the hook, she suddenly replied coldly, "So what? That's the only way you'll ever learn your lesson!" Ashton's heart plunged deep into the abyss when he heard her say that. She didn't care. She was clearly telling him that she wouldn't hesitate to personally send him straight to hell, just for Damien's sake. Ashton collapsed to the ground, feeling utterly powerless. His phone fell into the muddy water and short-circuited. It flickered a few times before shutting down completely. The doctor in the nursing home soon came out and dragged Ashton in before strapping him to the electrotherapy bed. No matter how much he struggled, the doctor simply replied coldly, "Ms. Vesper specifically said that you were not to be shown any mercy. "The longer you put up with the torture, the longer your mother's life will be prolonged with the machines." Ashton finally stopped struggling and couldn't help but laugh bitterly at his situation. So, as it turned out, Jezebel's 99th lover had finally managed to become the one and only in her heart. As for the torment she continuously inflicted on him, it was no longer because of the fury she felt after finding out about the first agreement and deeming that he'd only been after her money all along. He'd realized everything far too late. The electroconvulsive machine was activated, its shrill buzzing piercing into the air. Ashton closed his eyes in despair. The instant the intense electric current coursed through his body, he let out a heart-wrenching scream. "Ahh!" 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?" Chapter 5 Ashton was completely stunned. "I never did anything!" However, before he could finish speaking, Damien suddenly rushed out, pointing at Ashton and accusing him in a hoarse voice, "Ashton Rivers! I've been putting up with you for far too long! Why do you just insist on trying to ruin me again and again?" Then, Damien ripped open the front of his shirt, revealing whipping bruises all over his body. "Is this what you mean by not doing anything to me? If Jazzy never arrived with her people in time, I would have already been whipped to death!" Jezebel's face grew even more grim as she saw the injuries on Damien's body. "Ashton Rivers! How dare you do such a thing! I've already told you that if you ever dared to scheme against Damien again, I would never let you off the hook! Why the hell are you still so stubborn about this?" Ashton tried his best to explain. "I didn't do it! It wasn't me. You can investigate the matter if you don't believe me!" "You still say you never did it?" Jezebel roared, her eyes completely bloodshot. "I really thought you never cared anymore, Ashton, which was why you burned up all those things. But as it turns out, you were just trying to lower my guard so you could target Damien again! "Have you forgotten that I am the one giving you every single thing you have right now? I didn't give you all the money just for you to defy me! "Guards! Take Ashton to the underground club! Let them teach him a good lesson on how to behave properly as a gigolo!" A bomb went right off in Ashton's mind. His throat felt like it was clogged with cement. He couldn't breathe anymore. His body trembled as he chuckled lightly. "You're actually sending me to a place like that, Jezebel?" Jezebel's expression was cold, and her tone was completely flat. "You should have known from the moment you began targeting Damien that you'd have to pay the price eventually!" Ashton felt as though his heart was ripped out of his chest. The underground club was infamous for being a literal underground torture chamber. Anyone who walked in would almost always come out dead, if not out of their minds. No one had ever been able to escape it unscathed. And yet, to think that Jezebel would personally send him there just for Damien's sake! Ashton's eyes were bloodshot as he struggled to fight off the bodyguards restraining him. He then rushed over to the table, grabbed the fruit knife in the fruit bowl, and pressed the blade against his neck. "I'd rather you kill me right now than send me to a place like that!" Jezebel's eyes widened. She froze completely. Terror and worry filled her eyes as she very nearly blurted out, "Don't do this! Don't be impulsive, Ash! We can talk this out…" Yet, when Damien saw that Jezebel was about to soften her stance, his eyes hardened menacingly and grew even more ruthless. He gritted his teeth and rushed out to the balcony, interrupting Jezebel mid-thought. "Forget about it! It was all just wishful thinking on my part! I deserved to be beaten to death! How could I ever be the reason the son-in-law of the Vesper family has to atone for his sins! "You know that he's just putting on a show, Jazzy! And yet, you still believe him? I am the one who was nearly beaten to death! I nearly died!" Then, Damien flipped over the balcony railing and jumped down from the second floor, landing heavily in the backyard bushes with a loud thump. "Damien!" Jezebel froze again. She let out a heart-wrenching scream and stumbled out of the room. Ashton was still in shock. He let his arms fall limply to the side, only snapping out of his daze when the fruit knife clattered to the ground. Then, he followed Jezebel out. Damien lay slumped in a pool of blood. The balcony hadn't been very high off the ground, and the bushes had absorbed most of his impact, cushioning his fall. So, Damien was still conscious despite his injuries. He leaned painfully against Jezebel's chest, sobbing, "Jazzy… Don't worry about me… Just let me die…" Jezebel held him tightly in her arms, her face turning as dark as thunder. "Stop spouting nonsense! I'll never let Ashton off the hook for doing this to you. I'll make sure justice is served! "Just hold on a little longer, okay? The ambulance will be here soon." Damien slowly raised his eyes, his gaze passing over Jezebel's shoulder to Ashton, who was standing not too far away from them. A sinister smile gradually stretched across his face. His eyes were filled with a triumphant mockery as though he was silently telling Ashton that he was completely done for. When the ambulance arrived, Jezebel told her bodyguards to lift Damien onto the stretcher. Before leaving, she glared at Ashton, her eyes completely devoid of any warmth. Then, she turned to her bodyguards. "What are you all still standing there for? Take him to the underground club now to be punished!" The bodyguards immediately stepped forward and forcefully pinned the still-dazed Ashton to the ground. His cheek was pressed hard against a sharp rock, instantly drawing blood and causing a searing pain across his face. Jezebel then looked down on him condescendingly, watching the blood flowing from his face without any emotion. "I'll get someone to let you out three hours later. Take this as a proper lesson. Don't you ever test my limits again!" With that, she turned around and left without another backward glance. The bodyguards dragged Ashton off forcefully like a broken ragdoll, throwing him into the cold, cruel hell that was the underground club. The moment the door closed on him, the surrounding lights switched on at once, and a dozen or so men slowly approached Ashton with whips in their hands. Chapter 6 The whip lashed out with a sharp, piercing crack. It immediately left Ashton's back a bloody, mangled mess as blood seeped out through the welts of broken skin. Yet, he wasn't allowed to scream or make a sound because they'd stuffed his mouth with rags. With nowhere else to vent his pain, it spread even more brutally across his entire body. But he hadn't even managed to settle down from the pain of the first whip before it was brought down on his body again. The whips continued cracking loudly one after another, echoing endlessly in the torturous hell. Ashton eventually ended up curled up on the floor in excruciating pain. He struggled to lift his head as he squeezed out in a hoarse, muffled voice, "You can't do this to me!" However, nobody paid him any attention. The loud cracking of the whips continued reverberating across the room, drawing blood that splattered across the floor and the walls. The scent of the metallic blood mingled with the club's unique odor, creating an eerie, gut-wrenching atmosphere. Ashton gradually lost consciousness, and his brain got more hazy under the relentless beating and whipping. However, every time he was about to pass out, he would immediately be jolted awake by having a whole bottle of vodka splashed in his face. At this point, his entire face was a mess of tears and snot. He ended up receiving a total of 99 lashes to his body. He'd made sure to count every one of them. He was overwhelmed with despair, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure everything because Faith was still waiting for him. The people in the underground club finally stopped whipping him. Instead, they crowded around him and began kicking his curled-up body around. They laughed out loud and exclaimed mockingly, "Ms. Vesper was right after all! This good-for-nothing piece of trash will really endure any kind of hardship for money! "So, Mr. Rivers, you'd better remember that you're expected to act like a docile and obedient gigolo once you've taken their money." Ashton closed his eyes in despair. Just when he thought the worst part of the torture was over, the door opened again, and several more menacing-looking men filed in and surrounded his body. "Mr. Rivers, Ms. Vesper specifically told us to properly show you all the consequences of deliberately causing trouble and throwing a tantrum for no good reason. Don't hold this against us." Then, they began torturing him even more, branding him with iron plates, pricking him with red-hot needles, splashing him with scalding hot water, and more. Ashton was tortured to the point of unbearable pain. His fingers dug deep into the ground until several of his fingers ripped off. The despair and desolation never seemed to end for him. Even though the clock on the wall indicated that three hours had already passed, nobody came to set him free, and Ashton could only force a self-deprecating smile on his face as a weak, bitter laugh escaped his busted lips. How could he still have believed Jezebel's words? It wasn't until the sky began to lighten and even the vodka couldn't bring him back to consciousness anymore that Ashton was finally released from hell. He was then sent to the hospital. When he woke up, he heard the two nurses next to him discussing in a hushed voice, "Did you hear? Ms. Vesper actually brought her own mother-in-law, who's in a vegetative state, to the hospital just to save Mr. Grimshaw!" "I heard about it! They happened to share the same Type O blood, and since Mr. Grimshaw lost so much blood from the fall and we ran out of blood in the blood bank…" Ashton froze. The nurses' words went off in his mind like a bomb. He forced his aching body to sit up. Then, he ignored the nurses' attempts to stop him and yanked out the IV needle from the back of his hand before rushing out into the hallway. He kept searching for Damien's ward until he found it. Jezebel was right at the door, telling the doctor to proceed with drawing blood from Faith. Ashton threw himself at her feet and clung tightly to her legs, completely breaking down as he cried out hoarsely, "Please, Jezebel, please don't do this! My mother's already in a vegetative state! Her bodily functions are almost completely stopped! She'll die if she's forced to undergo a blood transfusion! "I'm begging you, Jezebel, please let my mother go! She's the only family I have left!" Jezebel looked down at him. She saw the injuries all over his body, and a hint of compassion actually flashed in her eyes just for a fleeting moment. However, she flew into a terrible temper the moment she heard Ashton say that Faith was his only family left. She averted her eyes coldly and stated resolutely, "Damien's hemorrhage is all your fault, and it's only right that your mother pays the price to save him!" Then, she got her bodyguards to forcefully drag Ashton away before stepping into the ward. "Start the blood transfusion!" "No!" Ashton screamed and protested as he begged for mercy, crying and sobbing as the bodyguards pinned him against the floor. He was utterly humiliated and powerless to do anything. Countless emotions intertwined and pressed down on his chest. He was in great pain and despair, worried to death as he neared a complete psychological breakdown. He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed completely. When he woke up again, he was already back inside his ward. He was just about to get up from his bed to find Faith again when the doctor stopped him and said, "My condolences to you, Mr. Rivers. Your mother has already passed away due to multiple organ failure. "But she's been in a vegetative state for many years, and it's already a miracle that she even lived this long. Please don't be too sad." Ashton was completely struck dumb. He clutched a hand to his heart tightly as the pain intensified in his chest. His jaw fell slack, and his mouth opened wide, but he couldn't even make a sound. He couldn't even shed a single tear. It wasn't until then that he realized extreme pain and grief would actually render a person completely silent. He pushed past the doctor and walked barefoot toward the morgue like a lifeless zombie. When he lifted the white sheet covering Faith's body, he finally realized that he truly had nothing left. Ashton dropped to his knees and dissolved in anguished tears, weeping bitterly. "Mom! I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry for loving the wrong person… I was the one who destroyed you…" … Ashton was discharged from the hospital two days later. He handled Faith's funeral arrangements alone. Then, he went to the court to receive the divorce certificate that had already been processed and headed to the beach. He didn't have anything to live for anymore. Everything was hopeless for him. So, he waded into the sea, heading toward the deep end and letting himself sink into the cold, dark, endless depths of the void.