<
“Why aren’t you in your quiet room? What are you doing here?”
His breath was warm on my neck, and after a long silence, he asked, “Why did you cancel the Iceland tickets?”
My heart grew even more annoyed and frustrated. I replied, “Can’t I just not want to go?” while pushing his body away: “Stay away from me.”
But when my hand pressed on his chest, Asher let out a muffled groan, as if in great pain.
I felt something odd on his chest and lifted his shirt.
At that moment, I felt the world spin.
A piercing was right on his chest!
And next to it, two small letters were tattooed: QZ.
I didn’t know if my eyes were red, just felt like tears were about to overflow, my voice trembling uncontrollably.
“What is this?”
Does Asher like Beatrix so much that he’d do anything for her?
Back when Asher’s parents died, and his relatives took everything, even hiring thugs to bully him, it was me who smashed heads with a beer
bottle to ensure he wasn’t humiliated.
Asher said he wanted to become a monk.
I stayed by his side, never forcing him to do anything, loving him with all I had.
Until he opened his heart and agreed to marry me.
How laughable.
He wouldn’t break his vows for me.
But he could pierce his body for another woman, like a pet marked by its owner?
If Asher was unwilling, who could force him?
Was this their idea of fun?
Or did Beatrix want me to see how low Asher could stoop for her?
Asher frowned, pulling down his shirt.
“No need to make a fuss, it’s just something strung. If you don’t like it, I won’t wear it.”
“As for the letters, Adeline, I’ll explain them to you later.”
Then he hesitated and walked out of the bedroom.
“I’m going to copy Buddhist Scriptures, you should sleep early.”
I noticed his prayer beads had been replaced with a string of white Bodhi beads–not the Rosewood beads I climbed thousands of steps to get for him.
I gritted my teeth and called the butler.
“Find out where Asher went today and who he was with”
“And where his bracelet went
Soon after, a surveillance video was sent to me.
12:07 PM
<
In the video, Asher was taking drink after drink from Beatrix’s hand, looking utterly drunk.
Several friends at the table were amazed.
“I heard Asher is a Buddhist, doesn’t drink a drop. Beatrix, you’re quite something.”
“Right, back in school, Asher only treated Beatrix well. Seems her going abroad didn’t change a thing.”
“I heard Asher’s married now, his wife at home is quite something.”
Beatrix laughed, holding Asher’s hand.
“If I hadn’t gone abroad, how could Adeline have married Asher?”
“And I told Asher not to touch Adeline, and he really didn’t. What kind of love is that, need I say more?”
My heart took a hard hit.
What does Asher take me for?
He climbed out of life’s muck with my help, yet he faithfully obeyed the so–called true love’s command, keeping absurd chastity for her?
Beatrix patted Asher’s face, waking him from his daze.
“Throw this bracelet away, I bought you a new one, you can only wear mine from now on.”
The man seemed hesitant.
But under Beatrix’s prodding, he took off the bracelet and tossed it on the ground.
Perhaps even the heavens couldn’t bear it.
The moment it hit the ground, the string snapped, beads scattering everywhere.
Just like my heart, shattered into pieces.
The butler handed me twp of the beads.
“Miss, the rest of the beads were taken by cleaning staff, should I retrieve them?”
I laughed bitterly.
“No need.”
bitterly.
“What’s the point of retrieving a few beads.”
Asher, like these prayer beads.
Once a treasured jewel I painstakingly sought and held dear,
Now fallen to the ground, dirtied–it’s nothing.
