Aria let out a soft laugh, full of satisfaction.
"Well, I love how your revenge plan worked, Ashton," she said. "I wonder what her face would look like if she found out her child's father was never you."
Ivy's fingers curled against the door. Her breath caught painfully in her throat.
Aria continued, mocking and sweet.
"But tell me… how did you convince your righteous friend Kai to do it? He always acted like he had morals."
Ivy's eyes widened. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
Inside the room, Ashton's voice was calm. Too calm.
"Well, that night Ivy was drunk. Kai was drunk too," Ashton said. "I initiated the act just like you told me to. But I brought Kai in when I noticed she was on heat."
Ivy's knees almost gave out.
Ashton added with a careless shrug in his tone,
"And yes, when the deed was done, Kai was the one who woke up first. He apologized all day, thinking he betrayed me. Up till today, Ivy still doesn't know. Aria, I don't care if she dies or lives. I'll never love a woman who once tried to kill the woman I love."
Aria hummed softly.
"And this is all punishment. For everything she did to me in the past."
Ashton replied without hesitation.
"For everything."
Ivy staggered back from the door.
It felt like someone had ripped her soul out of her chest.
The baby she just lost…
wasn't even Ashton's.
It belonged to another man.
A man who didn't even know what he had done.
She was destroyed.
Broken.
Damaged beyond repair.
She walked backward slowly, her vision fogging with tears. The hallway blurred. Her body trembled violently, like she had no strength left to stand.
Her mind spiraled back to college—
the day Aria framed her for poisoning.
The doctor announcing that the poison had damaged her womb.
Saying she might never carry a child again.
She remembered how everyone hated her.
How nobody believed her innocence.
How only Ashton stood by her…
pretending to defend her.
Pretending to care.
She thought he had forgiven her.
She thought he had moved on.
But it had all been a lie.
A cruel trap.
A slow destruction planned with the woman who ruined her life.
Every warm smile…
every gentle touch…
every lie he fed her…
All of it was a weapon.
Ivy felt her breath break as she reached her room door. Her hand shook violently as she opened it and stepped inside.
She looked like a ghost—pale, empty, lost.
She didn't know Aria had seen her through the glass window on the ward door…
and Aria immediately began acting sick again, clutching her chest and crying for Ashton.
Just a few minutes after Ivy entered her room, the door burst open loudly.
Ashton walked in with a deep frown.
His eyes were cold.
His jaw tight.
Ivy lifted her head weakly, trying to stay calm. She parted her lips to speak, but before she could form a word, Ashton grabbed her wrist roughly.
"Get up," he said. "Come with me."
His grip hurt, but Ivy didn't fight.
"Aria needs blood."
Ivy's lips trembled. She managed to whisper, "Wh-where are you taking me?"
Ashton shot her a hard, emotionless look.
"I'm taking you to withdraw blood for Aria. Don't waste my time."
Before she could answer, the doctor walked into the ward and froze at the scene.
"Mr. Ashton," the doctor said calmly, "she needs to rest. She should not be moved."
Ashton didn't even look at him.
"Aria needs blood," he repeated. "And Ivy is a perfect match."
"But she just regained consciousness—" the doctor tried again.
Ashton cut him off with a sharp glare. "This is not your decision."
He yanked Ivy off the bed before the doctor could speak again. Her bare feet hit the cold floor as he dragged her toward the hallway.
Her wrist burned under his grip, but she swallowed her pain.
"Ashton… please…" she whispered, unable to hide the tremor in her voice.
He didn't slow down.
He didn't look at her.
He didn't care.
"Just be a good girl," he said coldly, "and none of us will get hurt."