Chapter 48

Asher's POV

I stood by the car, squeezing the document in my hand so tightly, as I stared at it. It was the last shred of my humanity, sold for a decision I couldn’t take back. I could tear it up right now, end this before it went too far, but my fingers wouldn’t move. They stayed frozen, clutching the paper as if it held all the power over me. I had chosen this. I stared down at the document, then back at the restaurant, the place where I had just destroyed any trust Arabella had in me.

A part of me still wished that I could turn back the hands of time, but I knew the truth. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I’d make the same choice. Again and again. Maybe what Mrs Blackhood said about me was right. Was I the monster everyone believed me to be? Maybe Scarlet also had been right all along—I cared about no one but myself.

“ Damnit”.

I hated the feeling of this guilt, I hated how it weighed me down. I sighed as I pulled out my phone and sent the text to my father:

"I’ve