Chapter 151 Begging Me to Save Ashley
Linda’s hatred for me truly ran deep.
Ashley had already fainted, and our top priority was to send her to the hospital. However, she was still obsessed with getting Rowan to teach me a lesson.
Her expression turned dark and sullen when she saw Rowan driving away without any intention of waiting for her.
Gritting her teeth, she seethed, “You’ve already harmed my sister once. Are you still trying to harm her again?”
“I’m really curious. How did you know Ashley had received your sister’s heart?” I ignored her question and countered it with my own.
“That’s none of your business!” she snapped.
“Oh, so you think she didn’t recognize you?” I found it amusing. “Why are all of you so sure that Ashley’s so naïve that she knows absolutely nothing?”
Linda cut me short in a fit of anger. “Not everyone is as vicious as you are!” With that, she left hurriedly.
Shortly after that, Jean, Chester, and the others came out of the restaurant.
“Where’s Rowan?” they couldn’t help but ask when they saw me standing alone by the entrance.
“He treated me to a meal only to come downstairs after picking up a call! Who does that when they’re the host?” Lauren complained angrily.
I comforted her. “He had his reasons. Ashley fainted suddenly, so try to be understanding of the situation.”
Linda must have called Rowan to tell him that Ashley was with me. That was the reason he came down.
Lauren’s eyes widened. “What?”
Jasper was a little worried upon hearing my words. He was holding his car keys, and he was prepared to look for Rowan.
“Do
you
I want to go together and take a look at the situation?” he asked Chester.
Chester tightened his hold on Jean’s shoulder and acted indifferent. “No, thanks. I need to keep my family company. It’s not my place to worry about Ashley,” he replied.
Jasper gave him a strange look. He’d most likely realized Chester’s change of attitude toward Ashley.
Satisfied with his reply, Jean pinched Chester’s cheek.
“How upsetting,” Lauren sighed. Then, she said to us, “Let’s continue our meal upstairs. My friends are still there.”
“I won’t be going. I’m heading back home to sleep,” I replied.
“You should go ahead and eat, Lauren. I’m heading back too. Next time, I’ll treat you to a meal.” Jean clearly had a good impression of Lauren.
Lauren gave an ‘OK‘ sign before she headed back to the private room.
Jasper had already driven off to find Rowan. So, the only ones left here were Jean, Chester, and me.
Jean praised me for doing a good job after hearing the whole story.
Chester found the loophole in it shortly after. “Ashley’s heart? How’s that related to Sophie?”
“Exactly. She just looks like Sophie, right?” Jean was also puzzled.
After that, Ashley would use the incident to ask Rowan about Sophie. Then, she would pretend to realize that she was a replacement.
If so, I could also tell it to the others first.
I told them that Sophie hadn’t died on the spot back then. Instead, she donated her heart a few days after she was rescued.
The recipient of her heart was Ashley.
Jean was stunned upon hearing that. “Holy shit…”
“So that’s the reason why Rowan and Linda cared so much about Sophie?” Chester was filled with shock. “Damn it! I’m his close friend, but I had no idea about this!”
“The question is, how did Rowan know that Ashley received Sophie’s heart?” Jean asked when she snapped out of her daze. “Did Ashley tell him?”
I shook
my head. “I don’t know the answer to that either. Ashley has always pretended that she didn’t know anything regarding Sophie. I doubt that she’ll willingly tell Rowan. “In fact, I think it’s most likely related to Linda.”
I really wanted to know the answer to a particular question. How had Ashley gotten in touch with the Clarks when she was only 15 years old back then?
In most cases, hospitals wouldn’t disclose the donor’s information, nor would they allow the recipient to meet them.
So how did Rowan know about Ashley’s heart? Was it really Linda who told him?
If so, then how did Linda recognize Ashley? When did she tell Rowan?
These questions were interconnected so subtly that it left me feeling puzzled.
I drove back home after parting ways with them.
After reaching home, I received a voice message from Jean, “Ivy, I still told Chester to go to the hospital. At the very least, he can act as an informant and gather some information!” “You’re treating him as a spy?” Amused, I replied with another voice message. I was in a great mood after I caused Ashley to faint from anger.
Jean answered with a snicker, “I love gossip.”
It turned out that Chester was quite suited to be an informant. The next day, he relayed some news he heard in the hospital to me through Jean. Ashley started crying when she woke up. After that, she demanded Rowan to explain about Sophie only to faint again once he had finished speaking.
Ella and Jonah had also visited the hospital as they begged Rowan to let Ashley off the hook.
They had no idea that their daughter had gone to great lengths so she could cling to him.
“Remember the questions we had yesterday, Ivy? Chester managed to get a few answers from Rowan!” Jean exclaimed.
“Remember how you and Linda met Rowan after the two of you returned to the country for a business trip? Linda found out about the matter between him and Ashley later on. “She recognized Ashley as the recipient of Sophie’s heart and told Rowan about it. Before that, he only knew that Ashley had a heart condition,” she said.
It was just as I had guessed.
But how did Linda recognize Ashley? And how did Ashley know about Sophie? These two questions still remained unclear.
I planned to look into the matter. However, it wasn’t for Rowan’s sake. I just wanted to take a closer look at Ashley’s true colors.
Chapter 151 Begging Me to Save Ashley
2/2
I was still chatting with Jean when Natalie sent a text over. “Ivy, has Ashley been resuscitated again? There was news from Alton University saying that the date for her return to the campus had been delayed for unknown reasons.”
I replied, “Yes, that’s right.”
Benjamin had also texted me to talk about the matter. He’d been keeping an eye on things ever since he said he would help me.
I replied to these messages one by one.
Suddenly, an unknown number called me. I only realized it was Jasper after picking up the call.
“Can we meet up, Ivory?” he asked.
“Meet up? Why?” I was a little puzzled.
“It’s about something important.” There was a hint of awkwardness in his voice. “Won’t you do me a favor? Please?”
Initially, I didn’t want to help. But suddenly, I heard someone in the background hovering by the phone. Her voice echoed briefly. After that, I heard Ella’s anxious voice.
“Ms. Sadler, you blocked my phone number. I couldn’t contact you. Can we meet up and talk? Please save Ashley!”
Pausing for a moment, I replied gently, “There’s no need for you to seek me out about Ashley’s matters, Ella. I can’t help her, nor would I possibly want to,”
“I’m begging you, Ms. Sadler. My husband just had his surgery, but he’s fallen sick because of her incident.
“I have to take care of two patients on my own. Won’t you show me some sympathy?” Ella choked out.
Indeed, Ella was quite innocent. After all, the person who’d committed those wrongdoings was her daughter, not her.
“There’s no need for us to meet, Ella. You can just say it over the phone,” I replied indifferently.
Ella held Jasper’s phone as she went on and talked. Basically, she hoped I could talk some sense into Rowan so he would let Ashley off the hook.
Ashley wouldn’t be able to bear the emotional turmoil. Her heart couldn’t take it.
I probed Ella slightly when she was done. “Ella, do you know who donated their heart to Ashley?”
“No, I don’t. I remember someone once looked for her, but I’m not sure if they were the donor’s family…” Ella choked back her sobs.
“She was still so young back then. They said they wanted to take her out to play, but I refused. After that, they gave Ash a gift and took a photo with her before leaving.” “How old were they? Was it a man or woman?” I asked.
“It was a woman in her forties,” Ella answered. “Why are you asking all these questions, Ms. Sadler? Would they be able to help Ashley?” she asked.
I had already gotten a rough idea after listening to Ella’s reply.
The middle–aged woman was most likely Sophie’s mother. She couldn’t bear the grief of losing her daughter, so she found Ashley.
There was a high chance that Linda had recognized Ashley through that photograph.
But there was still one thing I hadn’t figured out. How did Ashley recognize Linda? She should have only seen her mother.
“I can’t help her, Ella,” I answered. “Have you ever considered that she’s staying by Rowan’s side of her own accord? Maybe she doesn’t need your so–called help at all.” “What?” Ella was taken aback.
I hung up. There was no need for me to say anything further.
Since Ashley won’t be returning to Alton University any time soon, I decided to take a few days off and enjoy life.
I still couldn’t give up on my plans to gain weight. The doctor told me it would be hard for me to conceive in the future. However, that didn’t mean it was impossible for me to get pregnant. What if a miracle occurred once I took care of my health?
I had planned to become a single mother for the rest of my life once I gave birth. However, I miscarried.
Even so, I had no plans to give up on my marriage and childbirth because of Rowan.
Even if I didn’t have him, I still had Mom and Dad.
I should still cheer up even if it was for their sake. That way, I would be able to face whatever life threw at me optimistically.
My good mood would’ve probably lasted longer if I hadn’t received a call from Linda.
“What would it take for you to not harm Ashley again?” Linda’s question almost caused me to laugh out loud.
“It’ll all be solved if you make her disappear from my sight forever.” I was currently sunbathing in the courtyard.
As I lay on the rocking chair, I snacked on dried plums leisurely.
“But shouldn’t you be the one who disappears instead?” she sneered.