Chapter 839 It’s Been A While
Ashley instinctively turned around.
Elias caught up to her and pulled her into his arms, his eyes unusually bright. “I called you honey’, and you responded!”
Ashley couldn’t understand why he had followed her. “Aren’t you embarrassed? We’re in the middle of the street. Let go of me.”
“Why would I feel embarrassed hugging my wife?” Elias said as he bent down to kiss her.
Ashley instinctively pulled away.
Elias was aware of her own psychological barriers and didn’t force her. Instead, he gently pecked on her lips.
Ashley held her breath. Eventually, she relented.
“I have my reasons for meeting Beathan. Stop overthinking it,” she reassured Elias.
Elias hadn’t realized that he was so easy to appease. He instantly felt satisfied upon hearing her words.
Then, he pulled out a listening device from his pocket and tucked it under her shirt collar. “I need to hear your conversations. If anything happens, I can come in and get you out.” “He’s under police surveillance right now. He wouldn’t dare try anything,” Ashley said. “You never know. It’s not like he never thought about taking you by force,” Elias said. Ashley didn’t care much and allowed Elias to set up the device.
Then, she crossed the street to an old house. She rang the doorbell twice, but no one answered.
Without hesitation, Ashley opened the meter box by the door and took out a key. Then, she inserted it into the lock and turned the handle to enter.
Elias watched in silence. She seemed to know her way around, and it seemed like it was one of their old secrets.
Elias wanted to smoke. However, he suppressed the urge and started chewing gum aggressively.
The airflow inside the house was good, and someone had recently been there. However, the first floor was empty.
Ashley glanced around indifferently and then headed directly to the second floor.
The place was a vintage two-story house with a spacious balcony on the second floor. Back then, she and Beathan had rented this place because of that balcony. They had dreamed of putting two rocking chairs and a wooden table out there. They could enjoy dinners, review case files, and chat as the evening fell.
But when they tried it, they soon realized that the mosquitoes were unbearable in the summer. It was impossible to sit out there for long.
Ashley walked over to the balcony and, sure enough, there was Beathan. He was lying in a rocking chair with his eyes closed, as if he were dozing.
A cold glint crossed Ashley’s eyes, but she quickly replaced it with a calm expression.
“Beathan,” she called out.
Beathan was unusually alert. He instantly opened his eyes and looked over the moment Ashley spoke.
He froze at the sight of her. It was the first time in over three years that he had seen Ashley. For a moment, he thought he might still be dreaming.
“Ash…” he said.
Ashley walked over, emerging from the shadows into the light. As her figure became clearer, it was as though she was telling him that it was a reality and not a dream.
Beathan stood up and stared at her. All the things he wanted to say got caught in his throat.
“Why are you here?” he asked in a hoarse voice.,
Ashley replied, “I’ve felt numb to the world around me lately. My therapist suggested I visit places that left a strong impression on me, to see if I could regain some feelings. I walked around and ended up here.
“Anyway, you still keep the spare key in the meter box? What if someone found it and broke in? That’d be troublesome.”
Beathan’s gaze wavered. Ashley’s tone wasn’t exactly warm, but it was calm and peaceful. Even calmness was something he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
It took him a moment to respond. “There’s nothing valuable in this house. If someone broke in, it wouldn’t matter. How are you doin, by the way?”
“Still recovering,” Ashley answered.
“That’s good. I never thought you’d step back into this house again,” Beathan said with complex emotions.
Ashley glanced around. “So, you’re the owner now? This place is practically falling apart. Are you really that stuck in the past?”
Beathan let out a deep sigh. Her sudden appearance had caught him off guard. It was only then he was beginning to process it.
He walked closer to her. “If there was a time machine that could take me back ten years, I’d pay anything for it. But too bad there isn’t. The best I could do was buy this house and
pretend like I could hold on to time.”
Across the street, Elias nearly choked on his own disbelief, sitting in the car. “Pfft!”
A cheating scumbag trying to pass himself off as some tragic romantic hero? What a joke.
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