Chapter 1277
When There Is Nothing Left But Love
The moment he finished his sentence, the study room fell into an awkward silence.
Armond had revealed his trump card. Now, everyone was aware of his ambition to make a comeback
by leveraging on petroleum.
âNo,â I replied in a serious tone. âArmondâs reputation is in tatters, but how will we know if he wonât
somehow reinvent himself and make a comeback? If he gains control of the oil, that would be
equivalent to getting the backing of all the countries within Meudari. By then, the shockwaves he may
cause wonât be something that we can handle.â
It doesnât matter if I die. If my death could guarantee my familyâs safety, then it would be well worth the
risk. Even if I could somehow survive by a stroke of luck, I still couldnât bear letting everyone else fall
into such a dangerous predicament.
Armond had gone crazy. Since that was the case, he should be imprisoned for life instead of allowing
him the opportunity to recover.
Louis and John remained silent. All they did was furrow their brows and looked at Ashton skeptically,
waiting for his response.
It was obvious that they were considering Armondâs demands, or else I would not have heard about it.
The Stovall family was only concerned about my survival and not about how great the risks were.
âAshton.â I gave him a pleading look and shook my head solemnly. âWe canât do this.â
Pursing his lips in silence, Ashton remained expressionless, making me wonder if he could read the
look in my eyes. After a long while, he turned around and answered Louis. âI agree with Letty that being
controlled by someone is bad. Armondâs greed is boundless. Even if we give him the contract, we might
still not get the antidote. Separately, I have contacted the most advanced medical researchers in the
world and invested huge sums of money for them to analyze her disease. I believe we can look forward
to some positive news soon.â
âHuh?â I was surprised. âWhy didnât you tell me about it before?â
âI did.â Ashtonâs expression remained distant. âI told you that you can trust me. And that you wonât die
without my permission.â
I was stunned by the look he gave me. It was true that ever since I knew I had a terminal disease, I was
always worried about my death despite claiming otherwise. Hence, I was mentally prepared for it to
occur at any time because I knew how vicious Armond could be.
Before I could reply, Ashtonâs tone grew more solemn. âDonât tell me youâre considering nobly
sacrificing yourself? Thinking that your death would somehow grant us some ridiculous form of
âstability?ââ
Feeling my heart sink, I furrowed my eyebrows as I had nothing to rebut him with. He didnât care
whether I believed him or not. Instead, he was more concerned that I subconsciously wanted to leave
him by dying.
With his eyes fixated on me, his gaze felt like a bottomless lake, ready to drown anyone that fell into it.
Sensing the tension in the atmosphere, John quickly eased the situation. âAlright now, since we already
have a solution, letâs just ignore Armond. Anyway, itâs getting late. So letâs go down and have dinner.â
Ashtonâs cold stare swept across the room as he scowled. âHow can you still have any appetite? Iâm
not hungry at all, so Iâll take my leave first.â
Just as he spoke, he stormed out of the room without even saying goodbye to Louis nor turning back to
take another look.
It was a long while before everyone else regained their senses.
âWhatâs up with him?â John asked curiously. âDid you two argue again?â
âHuh? Uh⦠yeah, you can say soâ¦â I pursed my lips, unwilling to explain further.
A few days later, John suddenly picked Emma and me up from the mall, saying that he wanted to take
us somewhere.
After driving for less than five minutes, the car entered the basement carpark of the most glamorous
skyscraper in the city center.
Upon entering the elevator, Emma asked curiously, âWhy are you acting so secretive? Where are we
going?â
Whirling a key around his finger, John smiled smugly as he continued to keep us in suspense.
As Emmaâs face grew red in anger, I could only try and calm her down.
Ding!