Chapter 34

Unwittingly, I had stayed in Ashton’s study until the sky turned dark. I couldn’t tell if it was because of my pregnancy, but I didn’t feel hungry even after not having anything to eat for the whole day, but my stomach did feel uncomfortable.

I went downstairs and rummaged through the kitchen cabinets for something to eat. Fortunately, Stacey stocked up enough food previously. After some time, I spotted some cucumbers in the refrigerators. Since I was too lazy to cook, I simply washed some cucumbers and planned to eat that as my dinner.

I didn’t notice Ashton returning to the villa. It wasn’t until I walked out with a slippery cucumber in hand that I saw him sitting in the living room.

When did he come back?

Sensing my presence, Ashton turned his head, his eyes instantly zooming in on the cucumber in my hand. A frown appeared on his face as he asked in a gruff voice, “What do you plan on doing with that?”

I was baffled, and answered in a matter-of-fact manner, “Eat it, of course!” What else can I do with this besides eating it?

Ashton scoffed. “Did I fail to satisfy you? Is that why you’ve resorted to using that?”

What?

I couldn’t quite grasp where he was going with this. What does he mean by “using that”?

He stood up and approached me with a brooding look on his face. I couldn’t figure out what was up with him, so I raised the cucumber in my hand and asked, “Do you want one?” I just so happened to wash two cucumbers just now.

Ashton’s gaze turned stormy as he growled, “No!” Before I knew it, he had snatched the cucumber in my hand and thrown it aside. His hand wrapped around my waist, while the other hand reached up to my lips, grazing them with his fingertips.

No matter how slow-witted I was, I still realized what he wanted to do right now. I instinctively tried to make a run for it, but his arm was holding me firmly in place. In a deep and husky voice, he said, “It’s already been a few days. We should be in the clear now!”

I just couldn’t hear the logic in his words.

“Ash…” My words were cut off by his actions. I reached up to try and push him away. Unfortunately, he overpowered me as a man, and I was utterly powerless against him.

When I felt his arousal against my belly, my eyes widened. He…

“Ashton, don’t…” I gasped halfway through my sentence.

“No, Ashton, we are so not in the clear! There’s still a risk of infection!” Rebecca just recently had a miscarriage, so he couldn’t touch her, and the same was true for me. Hence, I could understand why he was acting like a sex-deprived man now.

Seeing him ignore my warnings, I started to panic. “Ashton, the doctor said to abstain for a month. Please!”

I was on the verge of tears.

Perhaps he heard the plea in my voice, because he gradually stopped what he was doing. Without a word, he hugged me tightly in his arms, then gently traced my collarbone with his lips.

After a long time, he finally calmed his raging hormones and released me. “Hungry?” he asked with hooded eyes.

I was slightly embarrassed because of how loud my stomach had growled. With a slight nod, I cracked a smile that looked more like a grimace. “I didn’t eat anything since I woke up.”

Ashton was stunned, then his eyes fell on the cucumber from just now. He transferred his gaze back to me, a complicated expression on his face. “You were going to eat the cucumber just now?”

I nodded. “I don’t feel like cooking because of the smoke and grease, so I washed two cucumbers.”

He gazed at me as the corners of his mouth tugged upward slightly, as if he was smiling but exasperated at the same time.

A moment passed before he went into the kitchen. After a while, he came out with a bowl of noodles. He even added two eggs to it.

When he saw the way I was gaping at him, he cocked a brow at me and said, “Come and eat!” Although it was an order, it didn’t sound unpleasant.

What Jared said to me earlier today surfaced in my mind. If I come clean with Ashton, will he really handle this matter?

I got up and sat at the dining table. Noticing that Ashton had only cooked one bowl of noodles, I blinked in surprise. “You’ve already eaten?”

He nodded and motioned for me to quickly eat. Then, he lowered his head and read through the messages on his phone.

The noodles looked and smelled delicious, but after only a few bites of it, my stomach started to churn.

I managed to endure the discomfort for a while, but could no longer suppress the nausea rising in my stomach and began to dry heave. Without a second’s delay, I ran to the bathroom and emptied my stomach of its contents.

“Does it taste bad?” A cold voice reached my ears and I froze. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Ashton standing by the door.

I hurriedly shook my head. “No. Maybe after going a whole day without food, my stomach couldn’t handle it when I finally ate something.”

He helped me up and tugged me upstairs, making me slightly confused.

“What’s wrong?”

He took off his suit and changed into casual wear, then glanced at me to announce, “Change your clothes. I’ll take you out to eat whatever you feel like eating.”

I was taken aback and quickly objected. “I’m not hungry, so I won’t be able to eat even if we go out.”

However, my words seemed to fall on deaf ears because he pierced me with a gaze and said in a tone that left no room for discussion. “I’ll wait for you outside!”

To be honest, I really wasn’t hungry, but…

After mulling over it, I still changed my clothes and went out with him.

At this hour, J City was buzzing with activity. While Ashton was driving, he glanced at me and asked, “What do you feel like eating?”

I turned over the question in my mind before answering, “Something light!”

It might be because morning sickness was starting to hit me, so I constantly felt nauseated by certain odors.

He nodded slightly in response. As I studied the gentle look on his handsome face, I suddenly realized that this was the most peaceful day Ashton and I had shared since the day we got married.