Chapter 64: Asher, Have You Ever Killed Anyone?

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Asher, Have You Ever Killed Anyone?

"Asher, have you ever killed anyone?"

I whispered the question in the dim light.

His body stiffened for a moment. He looked up at me, his gaze burning, but he neither answered nor denied it.

"Go to sleep." He lifted the covers, motioning for me to get in.

I hesitated for a moment before crawling in.

It had started to rain outside, and the room was a bit chilly. I’m terrified of the cold... As soon as it gets cold, all the muscles in my body tense up, and I feel like I’m about to start trembling uncontrollably.

I know I’m someone who’s extremely insecure and starved for affection. It’s because I was so starved for love that I spent all those years loving Julian Fletcher.

’My love for Julian was probably just a way to fill the emptiness in my own heart.’

’To put it bluntly, everyone is selfish. Who can really be so selfless that they have eyes for only one person, living their entire life for them?’

’Just look at Julian. He acted like he was so in love with Erin Whittaker, but he still did so many disgusting things to me.’

’Thinking back on the past... it’s just so disgusting...’

Asher went to take a bath. A yellowish light glowed through the frosted glass door of the bathroom.

In the time we’ve spent together, I’ve noticed that Asher likes to soak in the bathtub. Many times, I’ve worried he might drown himself.

It was the same this time.

Even though I was getting sleepy, he showed no signs of coming out.

"Asher?" For some reason, I was actually worried he might die in there.

Thunder and lightning still raged outside. The room felt frighteningly empty. He was in the bathroom... and he hadn’t come out or made a sound for a long time.

I got out of bed and tentatively knocked on the door. No response. I was getting genuinely scared.

’Was I afraid he would die?’

’But how could a murderer die so easily?’

"Asher?" I pushed the bathroom door open abruptly and held my breath.

The steam in the bathroom hadn’t dispersed yet. He was curled up in the bathtub, seemingly asleep.

’He probably never intended to sleep with me from the start.’

Back when we were trapped in that little attic room, he used to sleep in the bathtub then, too.

"Go sleep outside." I walked over and gave him a tug.

He didn’t move, just curled his body up a little tighter.

I sensed something was wrong and touched his forehead.

Just as I’d suspected, he was running a fever.

"Asher?" I went out to turn on the lights, get some hot water, and look for cold medicine.

"Cece..."

He seemed delirious from the fever, constantly calling for Cece.

"Liar..."

’I sighed. Why did he keep calling Cece a liar?’

’What exactly did Silvia Lynch lie to him about?’

"How did I lie to you?" I asked softly.

’I wanted to know what had really happened between Asher and Silvia Lynch.’

’Even though I have some of the original owner’s memories... I don’t have all of them.’

"You said... for me to wait for you at the orphanage... such a big fire."

"Cece... I have to wait for Cece. I can’t leave."

"I have to wait for Cece..."

I furrowed my brow. I couldn’t hear him clearly, so I leaned in closer to listen.

But just as I leaned in, he opened his eyes.

I froze, my heart skipping a beat.

’I’ve admitted it more than once—he’s gorgeous. You could truly lose your soul just by looking into those eyes.’

My body went rigid. I wanted to explain, but I opened my mouth and no words came out.

He gave me a dazed look, then raised a hand to press against the back of my head and kissed me.

Probably because of the fever, he felt scorching hot to the touch...

"You..." It took all my self-control to push him away. I sat on the floor, looking at him with a complicated expression.

He sat in the tub, wearing only a pair of pajama pants, and ran a hand through his medium-length hair to smooth it back.

’This man was just too bewitching. The large bathtub could hardly contain his long, straight legs...’

’His skin was fair, his abs well-defined, his V-lines sharp...’

’All in all, the sight before me was definitely enough to make one’s nose bleed.’

"You have a fever. Take this medicine." I kept a tight grip on my composure, pushing the medicine toward him and averting my gaze, the tips of my ears turning red.

’It’s really not my fault.’

’He’s just too devilishly handsome.’

’Even the Tyrant King couldn’t blame Delilah.’

Asher’s hair was still soaking wet. He casually swept it back, took the medicine, and drank it down.

I watched him, an indescribable feeling welling up inside me. ’Is he always this obedient?’

’Will he do whatever I say?’

"Sit still. I’ll dry your hair." I brought over the hairdryer and started drying his hair. He actually sat obediently in the tub without moving, as if he really was that docile.

I was a little suspicious, so I tested him again. "You’re sleeping on the floor tonight. I’ll take the bed."

Asher turned to look at me, his eyes devastatingly beautiful—both innocent and alluring.

I thought he would refuse, but he just nodded. "Okay."

"Will you agree to anything I say?" I asked.

Asher nodded.

"So if I told you to kill yourself, you’d agree to that too?" I asked, curious.

His body stiffened. Without looking back at me, he simply nodded.

"You really are... a madman," I muttered under my breath, getting up to leave. "Hurry up and come out. Sleep in the bed, but don’t you dare try anything."

I lay in bed, waiting for a long time before he finally came out.

He walked to the bedside, hesitated, then hugged his pillow, intending to sleep on the floor after all.

"The floor is cold. Just sleep on the bed," I said, bundled up in the blankets.

"I can’t..." he refused, his head lowered.

"Why not?" I didn’t understand. ’He slept with me during my first few days after being reborn, and now we even have a child... Why is he acting so innocent now?’

"I’ll hurt you..." Asher said in a low voice.

"What?"

"I have a very strong desire for you." He was quite blunt.

"..." I froze for a second, then pulled the blanket tighter around myself. "Then you’d better sleep on the floor."

Perhaps it was because there was someone next to my bed.

That night, I slept surprisingly well.

「When I woke up, it was already almost noon.」

Asher was still on the floor, and his fever seemed to have gotten worse.

I touched his forehead and ran out in a panic. "Butler! Where’s the butler? Call a doctor!"

Asher was sick, and not just a little. He was unconscious for a long time without waking.

I felt pretty guilty for making him sleep on the floor last night...

But he was just too obedient. I told him to sleep on the floor, and he actually slept on the floor all night.

Sitting on the sofa, I rubbed the bridge of my nose, lost in thought.

My phone rang, but it took me a long moment to register it.

"Hello?"

"It’s me." The caller was Madeline Quinn.

I froze for a moment, then sat up straight. "Madeline."

"Something’s happened to someone else," Madeline said from the other end, her voice hoarse.

"Who? Erin Whittaker?" I asked warily.

’If the killer’s motive is to target the girls in red dresses who were adopted from the orphanage, then Erin Whittaker should be the only one left.’

"No." Madeline sounded exhausted. "That guy, Asher, has he been with you recently? Last night at one in the morning, some night joggers found a female corpse by the Glaven River. She was also wearing a red dress and had pale skin. Her identity hasn’t been confirmed yet."

"He’s been with me the whole time. He doesn’t even have a phone..." I glanced upstairs. ’He had a high fever and was unconscious all night. There’s no way he could have gone out to kill someone right under my nose.’

"If the serial killer isn’t the one still killing, then this is a copycat," Madeline said, her voice weary. "But either way, the killer hasn’t been brought to justice. Whether it’s Asher or not, they’re not going to just stop. Erin Whittaker really is our only lead, but that bastard Julian Fletcher is protecting her too damn well..."

I knew that if Julian Fletcher was protecting Erin so well, it meant even the police couldn’t use her to crack the case.

That would make the investigation incredibly difficult.

"I don’t know what your goal is, but right now, we need to make Julian Fletcher give up on Erin. Then we can use her to draw out the killer. Otherwise, more people might get hurt," Madeline said, her voice hoarse.

From the time I died until now, she seems to have been obsessed with catching the killer.

I knew she hated herself for not being able to protect me.