Tessa paused for a moment and cried softly to add to the dismal topic. Her crying noises were low, but it was enough to make the atmosphere gloomy.
Although I couldn’t see Ashton’s expression, he was silent all the time, so I bet he could be paying attention.
Seeing how Tessa was just sobbing and didn’t continue, he took the initiative and asked, “Operating room?”
“Yes.” Tessa sobbed softly, “I didn’t know how to tell you. Everything in the operating room was terrifying, and it’s a total nightmare. They held us captive to make use of our bodies as transporting tools. It was agonizing when we were forced to queue up outside the operating room, waiting for our turn.”
She wiped her tears before continuing, “Scarlett stood up and begged them for mercy, so she got into trouble.”
I listened for a moment before doubting her thought process. Wait… So I got into trouble to save them?
Ashton commanded frostily, “Continue!”
The woman sniffled and said, “Scarlett could leave unscathed initially since she knew the Murphys. When the bad guys found us, they had decided to send her to the Murphys in Marsingfill. However, she didn’t leave, and when she knew they were going to carry out operations on us, she went to beg Abe…”
I furrowed my brows because her version of the incident was quite different from what I knew.
However, I did nothing and continued listening to their conversation. The woman added, “Abe doesn’t like women and forced Scarlett to accompany three men. If she agrees, he will think of letting us go.”
What she said was so outrageous that I broke out in a cold sweat. When did those events even take place?
The woman continued, “I noticed Scarlett was unwilling to go with you yesterday. She might feel guilty for not being pure for you, so she left. I understand how she feels. It really isn’t her fault.”
The man didn’t say anything in reply, while the woman had more to say. “Plus, the days in Venria were nightmarish to us, while Armond’s presence gave warmth and hope to Scarlett. He even got heavily injured when he saved her. Later on, he took us to Western Europe and recuperated there. From their interactions, they seemed to get along with each other and looked good together.”
She added while nodding, “If I didn’t run into you guys yesterday, I would have thought Scarlett and Armond are a couple and they will be happy forever.”
I was at a loss for words and felt amused.
Nora returned to the table and saw me smiling coldly. She lowered her voice and asked, “What did you hear? Why are you smiling like that?”
Wearing a faint smile, I said, “Nothing. I just heard a dramatic story, and it was quite interesting.”
The woman in front of me narrowed her eyes slightly and whispered, “Don’t tell me she’s trying to appease herself in front of Ashton.”
I smiled and stayed silent. Getting up in my seat directly, I wasn’t going to hide any longer.
Tessa’s repressed sobbing immediately halted when she saw me walking past their table. Widening her eyes in surprise, she opened her mouth, but words never found their way out of her mouth.
When Ashton saw me, his eyes were full of worry.
It seemed he more or less believed Tessa’s words. From what I knew, Tessa added a lot of dramatic sauce into her version of the incident to make it seem like I had lost my purity. She was doing this to induce disgust in Ashton toward me.
As to why she deliberately brought up Armond, I figured she wanted to tell Ashton that I was a flirtatious woman and could make anyone fall for me.
However, I would’ve to thank her for giving me this chance to push Ashton away.
I looked at Tessa and smirked. “Tessa, to be honest, no man would fall for a woman like you. For real. You have nothing attractive at all, be it your figure or capabilities. If the woman sitting here is Nora or Tabitha, I’m willing to give my man to them, but you? You’re unworthy.”
“You…” She was so enraged that she couldn’t utter a word.
I turned to look at Ashton while wearing a faint smile. “Ashton, she was trying to tell you I’m unworthy of you now that I have lost my purity. I bet you know the underlying message of this. An ugly woman with a disgusting heart is trying to get close to you, can’t you see that?”
He reached out to me and pulled me into his arms without sparing a glance at Tessa. Gazing at me with concern and affection, he declared, “She’s unworthy of me.”
With that, he dragged me out of the restaurant. Joseph, who was behind him, didn’t follow us.
When we exited the restaurant, I flung Ashton’s hand away and looked at him indifferently. “That’s enough. Let go!”
