?Chapter 2269


    The white roses were now stained with crimson drops of blood.


    "Let''s end this." A few simple words, spoken so softly, shattered Asher''s irond heart, leaving it in pieces too broken to even look at.


    "Arnold... I won''t let you leave me!" Asher trembled from head to toe. A storm unlike any other was raging in his usuallyposed eyes. "I know who I love! You were never anyone''s substitute! Arnold. Don''t leave me... I won''t let you leave me!"


    Asher was terrified, more than he had ever been.


    Tears flowed as he begged, then he turned desperate, doing whatever he could to keep Arnold. He would try anything and ept anything, as long as the person he loved did not leave him again.


    Asher had barely survived the first time. A second time would drive him to madness.


    Asher''s breath grew harsh, his reddened eyes filled with obsession. He opened his arms, desperate to embrace the man who was falling apart in front of him. As he leaned in, a sharp pain tore through his left eye. "Don''t touch me!"


    Arnold, overwhelmed and out of control, had grabbed another rose, its sharp stem shing across Asher''s left eye.


    Luckily, Asher had closed his eyes just a second before, or the rose stem would have cut his eyeball, possibly even blinding him.


    Arnold stared in shock at the deep cut running across Asher''s eye. For a moment, the sight pulled him from his overwhelming pain.


    His hands trembled violently, wanting to reach out and care for him. But he forced himself to hold back. With a hoarse voice, he said, "Asher, you need to go to the hospital..."


    Asher did not care about himself. Blood trickled down his pale face, but he pulled Arnold close with an almost savage force.


    "Promise me that you won''t leave."


    Arnold''s voice was hollow as he allowed himself to be held. The warmth from Asher''s embrace was nowpletely gone. "I admit it, I still love you. But I can''t convince myself to stay with you anymore."


    "Even if we forced this rtionship to continue, I''d feel like I was ying the role of someone else every day by your side. Your love for me has lost the purity it once had. What I want is that simple, pure love."


    Arnold smiled faintly, though his voice broke. "You and him... You were an enviable pair. It''s because of him that I was able to experience such a deep, unforgettable love with you."


    Asher''s body stiffened.


    "But it''s enough, Asher. Let''s end it here."


    When Be and Steven arrived, Arnold was already gone.


    In the empty room, Asher''s tall figure remained kneeling, his back hunched, casting a lonely shadow across the floor.


    Be''s heart sank, and she took a step back, overwhelmed by the sight.


    The man in front of her was still alive, but he looked like a ruin, left behind after a brutal war.


    "Ms. Be, what happened between Mr. Thompson and Dr. Larson?" Steven had asked her all the way there, but she had stayed silent, her anxiety growing.


    Steven had worked alongside Asher for years and had never seen himpletely devastated.


    Taking a deep breath, Be steadied herself. "Steve, wait outside. I need to talk to my brother alone."


    Steven frowned but nodded, stepping outside to wait.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Be slowly walked over to her brother, her eyes filling with tears. She kneeled beside him, gathering the scattered roses one by one. When she picked up a card, she saw the heartfelt confession written on it.


    Her longshes quivered as she broke down, her tears soaking up the beautiful words.


    Then, a surge of fury rose within her, consuming her.


    Be could tolerate many things, but absolutely no one could hurt her family, especially not on a day like today.


    It was unforgivable to stage such a dramatic scene and stab a knife so cruelly into Asher''s heart on his birthday.


    It was a direct attack on his deepest wound.


    "Ash, I told you from the very beginning. If you love someone, you must give them absolute trust. You have to bepletely honest with each other, not just with your bodies but with your hearts. There can''t be any secrets, especially when ites to love."


    Be kneeled beside Asher, her voice hoarse and heavy with emotion. "I believe you love Arnold deeply, but you have to admit it part of what drew you to him was his resemnce to the one you lost."


    She sighed, struggling to keep her voice steady.


    "You should''ve told him that from the start, but you didn''t. You kept it from Arnold all this time, making him believe in you and trust youpletely, only to suffer such a blow. How could he handle that? How could he possibly stay by your side after that? He''s such a proud person.... He gave up everything to be with you, but from the very beginning... You lied to him."


    "Arnold is nothing like Kairos... Aside from their faces, they''re nothing alike..." Asher kept his head bowed, his voice thick with bitterness and exhaustion. "Arnold is not gentle. He''s willful, spoiled, reckless... Sometimes, even more unreasonable than a little girl..."