Andy was just a kid, so he still didn't know how to mask his emotions well enough.

As soon as he heard that the house belonged to them, he immediately perked up and asked, "Really?"

Joshua hurriedly grabbed Andy's arms and chided him. "Andy! Don't spout nonsense! This is Ashton's house."

Sighing, he then looked at me helplessly. "Ashton, I never wanted to come between you and Sabrina. I'm going to leave now, okay? Don't be mad anymore."

Hearing this, Sabrina rushed over and grabbed Joshua's arm. However, he tugged a little harder, making her fall right into his arms.

"Careful," he said softly, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Sabrina exchanged glances with me and hurriedly pushed him off, putting some distance between them.

A hint of dissatisfaction appeared in Joshua's eyes, but it was quickly replaced with a gentle look. "It's alright, Rina. You don't need to convince me to stay. We were the ones infringing in the first place."

The rims of his eyes turned a little red, as if he'd just been terribly wronged.

Andy fell into Joshua's arms and wailed, "Daddy, don't be sad anymore. It's all my fault! If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have to go through so much hardship!"

I coldly watched the scene unfold. Really, it would be a huge pity if Joshua and Andy didn't go into showbiz. Well, their loss.

Meanwhile, Sabrina just cast them pitying glances.

The more sorry she felt for them, the angrier she got at me. She glared at me and said, "Ashton Jenkins! I was the one who told them to move in. Joshua's home has a leaky pipe, and it will take a few days for the repair work to be done before they can return.

"And since we have a huge mansion, I just told them to come over and stay with us. You and Joshua could even use this opportunity to mend your relationship. But I never thought that you'd still hate him so much! Andy is still a young child. How could you bear to make him so sad?"

I hadn't wanted to argue with Sabrina since it was pointless, but I really couldn't stand the idiotic nonsense she was spouting.

I chuckled coldly and said, "Sabrina, I suggest that you see an optometrist since you seem to be blind.

"I've only said a single sentence since they walked into the house. And yet, all of you have already spun such elaborate stories with your wild imaginations. You should all try for the Literature Prize. I'm sure they'd appreciate geniuses like you.

"Also, I already told you that I'm moving out. Did you really think I'd care who you let into the house after this?"

Sabrina looked at me, stunned. For a moment, she couldn't tell if I truly didn't care anymore or if I was just playing hard to get.

It wasn't until I made a detour around her and left with my suitcase in tow that she finally realized that I probably hadn't been joking about wanting to divorce her.

After all, I wasn't even defending our nest anymore.

Sabrina couldn't help recalling when Joshua had been in a car accident half a year ago. After he'd been discharged from the hospital, Andy had told her that the two of them lived alone at home, and he was worried that he wouldn't be able to take good care of Joshua.

So, she'd suggested that Joshua and Andy move into the mansion.

But after I'd found out about it, I'd flown into a rage and flung every breakable item onto the floor. I'd even yelled that I would grab the nearest knife and run it through Joshua's body if she dared to let him into the house.

So, Sabrina had no choice but to drop the idea.

But she'd also refused to talk to me for three whole months.

It wasn't until Tiana had gotten hospitalized for an allergic reaction and I'd gotten stopped at the hospital door, having been barred from visiting her, that I'd finally given in and apologized to Sabrina. It was only then that she and I started talking again.

However, after that incident, I'd stopped being passionate or enthusiastic with her.

I'd become quiet and obedient, like a loyal little lapdog. In fact, Sabrina had been pretty smug about the recent change in my attitude.

She'd thought that she'd finally conquered me, the haughty and prideful heir to the Jenkins family. Little had she known that my feelings for her had started slowly fading since then—and now, they were completely gone.

Sabrina wanted to run out after me, but Joshua suddenly exclaimed in fright.

She turned to him and saw that Andy had fainted in his arms.

Joshua asked, "Rina, what's wrong with Andy?"

Even Tiana was worried. She grabbed Sabrina's sleeve and shouted, "Mommy, quick! Take Andy to the hospital!"

She couldn't care less about her own dad walking away.

Sabrina just said in a hurry, "I'll go and get the car. Don't worry, Joshua. I'm still here for you."

Only after she left the mansion did she finally notice that it had started snowing.

Thanks to the sudden snowstorm, I couldn't flag down a cab. Since the mansion was located in the outskirts, I could only trudge forward in the snowy weather on my own.

Sabrina's car stopped in front of me. Rolling down her window, she frowned at me. "Get in."

I ignored her.

She got mad and asked, "Ashton Jenkins! How long are you going to sulk like this?"

Just then, I heard my own mom's voice coming from her phone.

"Ashton! If you keep going on like this, I'm going to pretend that you were never my son!"

I grinned lightly, not caring in the least. "I'm no longer your son anyway, Mrs. Jenkins."

Sabrina left in a rage, Mom's loud shouts disappearing with her.

As the car drove right past me, I caught sight of Joshua's smug face.

He thought that he'd won. After all, everyone had turned against me, and I was now as pitiful and weak as a bug. Yet, I didn't care.

I didn't care for my parents, Sabrina, or Tiana. I didn't want any of them anymore.

Since Joshua wanted them so much, I would just give them all to him.

That was what I thought.

However, probably because I was in such a bad situation, I just couldn't stop myself from thinking about the terrible things that had happened to me in the past. Those tiresome memories that I'd tried so hard to get rid of just kept flooding my mind.

I angrily kicked the snow away from my feet as I marched forward, trying my best not to cry despite my tingling nose.

I kept on walking in the thick snow until both my legs were frozen numb and I was finally able to stop thinking about my terrible past.

At last, I found shelter from the snow and even managed to hail a cab on the way. However, just as the cab slowed to a stop, the wheels suddenly lost their grip on the road and skidded toward me, knocking me off the path.

The cab didn't hit me too hard, but I was knocked flat on my face in the snow. I'd been walking so long in the freezing snow that a bout of hypothermia hit me, and I ended up blacking out on the ground.

…

When I gained consciousness again, my entire body ached as if I'd just been run over by a truck.

My head felt heavy, and my eyelids were like lead. I felt my body burning all over, and my throat also felt like it'd been sliced open.

I fought to open my eyes. Then, I caught sight of a beautiful young woman sitting next to the bed with bright, lively eyes.

My voice was hoarse as I asked, "Where am I?"

The young woman was overjoyed when she heard me speak. "You woke up! That's such wonderful news! This is the hospital, by the way. You've been having a high fever, and you've been out cold for two days."

She leaned so close to me that I could feel her breath against my face. It was hot and a little ticklish.

It had been a long time ever since I'd been in such close proximity with someone of the opposite gender, and I couldn't help scrunching up my face.

She immediately straightened up, her ears turning slightly red, as she began filling me in on the details of what had happened.

She introduced herself as Bianca Kidston. She was looking to make some quick money to help pay for her dad's treatment by working as a cab driver when she wasn't at work in the office.

She swore that she'd been driving very carefully and hadn't thought that her car would still end up skidding and losing control.

Luckily, I hadn't suffered any serious injuries and had escaped with just a sprained wrist.

Other than that, the doctor said that I was severely anemic and had dangerously low blood sugar. Also, since my high fever wouldn't go away, the doctor had started to worry that I might've caught pneumonia, so Bianca had decided to stay and take care of me.

I looked at Bianca. Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders in huge curls. She had just a touch of makeup on her face, and her huge, dewy eyes were pure and innocent, as if she hadn't been polluted by the evils of the world just yet.

I glanced at her coat. I couldn't tell which brand it was from, but the expensive-looking fabric and neat stitching told me that she couldn't lie to save her life.

But I didn't expose her bluff. On the contrary, I was grateful for her companionship at this time.

I said, "Thank you. But you know, you don't really have to stay with me here like this. You could've just told the insurance company to send their agent over."

Bianca was honest with me. "I thought of that at first, but the police and nurses couldn't get a hold of your family members, so I had no choice but to come along with them."

So, that was the case.

I'd bet that everyone else must still have been worried sick over Joshua and Andy, with no time to spare for me.

Just then, my phone suddenly rang loudly.

Bianca showed me the screen, which showed that "Wifey" was calling me.

Bianca was quite shocked. After all, it turned out that I had a wife—and to think that I'd never even bothered calling her after having been hospitalized for two days. That had to be completely unheard of.

I wanted to tell Bianca to reject the call, but she'd already answered it on my behalf before I could stop her. She even turned on the loudspeaker for me for convenience's sake.

Sabrina's voice then came from the phone. "Ashton Jenkins! Where the fuck have you been these past two days?"

I rolled my eyes, not wanting to waste my breath on a dumb woman like her.

Sabrina's voice turned cold. "I don't care where you are right now—you'd better come over and apologize to Joshua and Andy this instant!

"Don't you know that the doctors said Andy faints easily when he gets triggered because of all the trauma he went through last time? You ruined Joshua and traumatized his son! Don't you feel ashamed of yourself?"

I frowned in disgust. But before I could say a word, Sabrina continued, "Mom and Dad are also here. They said that they'll forgive you if you get down on your knees and ask for Joshua's forgiveness.

"Hasn't it always been your wish to reconcile with your parents? This is a golden opportunity for you. You're going to regret it if you don't come over right now."

I chuckled coldly. Just as I was about to speak, Bianca beat me to it.

"He can't make it because he's dead. His body is at the morgue right now. Why don't you try looking for him there? You might not even see his ashes if you wait any longer."