You Had Me, You Lost Me, You'll Never Find Me novel Chapter 95

Julian murmured a reply, closed the umbrella, and guided her inside.

The rain intensified, accompanied by a deafening crack of thunder. The sky unleashed a relentless deluge, as if the heavens themselves had broken open.

Ashton's hand trembled slightly as he tossed the damp cigarette butt away.

For the first time in a long time, he felt a genuine spike of panic.

...

After finishing her exams, Sylvia sat on a bench in the hallway, waiting for Julian to pick up the test results.

The storm outside was brutal, forcing several of her scheduled events to be canceled today.

In reality, even if the sun was shining, those gigs likely would have been axed anyway.

She was a walking controversy. Even though she had publicly announced her pregnancy and engagement, the footage of Ashton carrying her couldn't easily be explained away. The internet hate was still relentless. Penelope Caldwell had even suggested she lean into the infamous angle to keep her career afloat.

Lost in her thoughts, a shadow suddenly fell over her. Sylvia looked up, momentarily stunned. It was Ashton.

He was as imposing and handsome as ever, but there were faint, dark circles under his eyes, betraying an uncharacteristic exhaustion. It felt like forever since she had last seen him, and in this moment, he felt like a stranger.

Her gaze drifted to his bandaged hand. "You're hurt?" she asked softly.

Her tone was flat and distant, the concern purely superficial.

Ashton crouched down in front of her. He was so tall that even crouching, he was almost eye-level with her on the bench.

"About what happened... I was wrong. When you called me for help, I shouldn't have said those things. And I had no idea about the acid attack... I'm sorry."

His voice was low, his expression entirely stripped of its usual arrogance.

Sylvia cut him off. "Do you honestly think Reina is the only issue between us? You stripped me of my role and handed it to her without even asking, without once considering how I'd feel. You were entirely obsessed with Rebecca, constantly protecting her memory. So why did you even start things with me?"

"Ashton, did you ever, even for a single second, respect me?"

"Reading what those people say about me online hurts, but I can brush it off because they don't know me. But you... you are a hundred times worse. You knew exactly how deeply I cared about you, and you trampled all over it like trash."

Ashton's breathing grew ragged. He frowned, desperate to explain. "I admit, at first it was just because of how you looked, but later it changed..."

"So I should be thanking you?" Sylvia's voice trembled slightly beneath its forced calm, fighting back a wave of emotion. She looked up at him, a fleeting glimmer of tears in her eyes vanishing as quickly as it appeared.

"The truth is, you always looked down on me. If it were Rebecca in my shoes, you never would have handled things this way. You wouldn't have let anyone breathe a bad word about her."

"Whatever she wanted to do, you backed her a hundred percent. She wanted to play piano, so you flew across the world to support her. You traveled the globe, showing her the most beautiful sights. But when it came to me, you were always 'too busy.'"

She used to be so naive, convincing herself that it was just his personality, constantly making excuses for him.