When There Is Nothing Left But Love

Glee glowed in Nathaniel's eyes, and his lips instinctively curved into a smile. That was when I realized that he had a ring on him as well.

At first, I didn't think he knew what it meant to have the ring on, so I deliberately ignored it. I actually felt guilty and worried that he was forcing me to kick Ashton out of my heart. That was why I looked away and pretended to not have noticed anything.

"Alright then, let's go and have some food now. I'll take you to a meeting tonight," said Nathaniel. I couldn't tell if he was deliberately teasing me, but the hand he offered me was the one where he had his ring

on.

He looked rather at ease, though, so I didn't have my guard up. I simply reached out to hold his hand and walked down the stairs with him. By the time we reached downstairs, John and the others had already left.

Nathaniel and I had a quick meal. I went to take a shower after that and changed my clothes. Then, he brought me out.

My previous experience in the poor village taught me to hold no hope for the trip that night. It was probably just a quick inspection, and he likely only brought me over because he worried that I would flee otherwise.

However, the car soon drove up to a luxurious resort, and I realized that I made a wrong guess. Again.

I remained confused when we got out of the car, and Nathaniel had to circle around to me. He draped his arm over my shoulder and led me into the long corridor. As we walked, he said, "I will show you how sincere I am."

It made no sense, and I wondered what game he was playing at the time.

As we ventured down the corridor, I noticed that no other guests were present there. A few servers would show up every now and then, but no one else was within sight. The land in K City was expensive, so that resort likely wouldn't last long if business remained that stagnant.

Nathaniel knew every inch of that private room, though. He had an earpiece on and was talking into a microphone. All it took was one word from him to get a beefy bodyguard to stand by the door. Security cameras were installed everywhere, and they recorded everything that happened there.

The bodyguards must know Nathaniel because they didn't budge, even as Nathaniel brought me over. Their eyes remained alert, and they looked almost as stiff as a robot.

The room's decoration differed from the rest of the place. It had modern furniture, and the design was minimalist yet luxurious. A few paintings hung on the wall, and they were obviously the work of famous painters because they truly stood out.

We had to walk past another door and take a turn before we reached our destination.

A long table and a few chairs were the only things in that room. Every single seat was taken, and among them were a few elderly individuals who had a scowl on their faces. Sitting right across them were a bunch of younger men and women, and Ashton was one of them.

We were the last ones there. Nathaniel let me take the most prestigious seat and stood at the side to apologize. "Sorry, there was a slight delay, and we were late."

He then had a server get another chair over and sat beside me.

My first instinct was to shoot a look at Ashton. He rested one arm on the table while having his other arm at the backrest. A quick glance would suggest that he was relaxed, but the way his fingers tapped against the table revealed that he was anxious.

Nathaniel noticed that as well. His tone was hostile when he barked, "Oy, who said that you're allowed to be here?"

An elderly man with a head of white hair spoke up before Ashton could. The former pointed out, "You have been missing lately, and Ashton has been managing everything, so the few of us made a decision. We appointed him as Leslie's temporary replacement."

Another elderly man, who was balding, spoke up as well. His tone was off, but he insisted, "This is only right. Everyone knows how skilled Ashton is. Besides, Leslie was so young, and he only died because someone leaked the information to the police. There were so many loose ends, and we wouldn't have regained our footing if Ashton hadn't worked so fast and so well. Nat, you don't wish to deal with minor matters like these anyway, so just outsource it to Ashton. He can do it well."

When the guy said that the information was leaked to the police, he probably meant the incident where Ashton was shot. If that were true, then everyone there was Nathaniel's business partner.

At first, I thought that Ashton was simply ambushed. I didn't know that someone had died. It means that this whole thing is much more dangerous than I initially imagined.