All Chapters of Disgraceful : Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

He was silent for a moment, and she waited in bated breath, half expecting he would deny it and give her a sensible explanation, but he drew a deep breath, and a remorseful look crossed his face. "You must know, I've had it on my conscience ever since, and I'll regret having betrayed our vows every day that I'm alive, but I did it only to save her life. She had a terrible accident, she fell from her horse and got trampled on the face. She got a really nasty gash right in her cheek and the doctor said she would never look the same again. She attempted suicide and endangered her life many times. I had to convince her that I still cared about her. The only reason I did it was to make her believe that I wouldn't leave her, to keep her from hurting herself. At the time, I didn't see any other way. I couldn't let my child lose her mother." Ava's face instantly blanched at the confession. Though she had expected it, but to hear it directly from his

One day later It was well past dinnertime when the hackney coach screeched to an abrupt halt. Ava snapped from her half doze and stretched her aching back and limbs. She straightened up and blinked away her sleepy haze, gazing out the window to see where she was.  It appeared she was stranded in the middle of nowhere, because other than a stark building, the rest of the place was an overgrown wasteland. The carriage door opened, and she stepped out into the cold, moonless night, tipping her head back to peer at the dingy lodgings before her. Situated far from the lively downtown and shadowed by tall trees all around it, the lodgings was definitely not an ideal place for a young woman to stay the night, but she didn't have much of a choice, since the hour was late and the next accommodation was several hours away. The driver slightly warned her about the possible danger of r

A look of surprise crossed his face, only for a fleeting moment. The next second he shook his head,"Sweetheart, I know you are deeply shocked, but such incident is not uncommon in that kind of place. It doesn't seem personal to me. Besides, I have no enemy." "No, I heard one of the men say, their job is only to kill you, and make sure it looks like a robbery. If I hadn't heard it with my own ears, it could never have occurred to me that it was a murder attempt."She paused to emphasize her point."Someone wants you dead." His brows knitted into a perplexed frown."Well, I can hardly imagine who, or why." "Think of someone who hates you enough to want you to be settled, someone who will benefit from your demise."She considered her words for a moment, knowing that it was a serious accusation to make, especially without sufficient evidence. But the moment she started to think of who was

"Halt!" She shouted suddenly, startled both men as she jumped out of her seat and turned her gun at the doctor."Hands up this instant!!!" Doctor Haynes snapped his head around to see her aiming the gun at him. Immediately standing up, he raised both hands, palms out, his face turned pale. Ashton leapt to his feet, knocking his chair down onto the floor. With the muzzle pointing directly at the man's face, Ava moved forward. "Don't come near!" Ashton called out, stopping her in her track."Let me," He moved around the desk, carefully approaching the man. "Be careful! He concealed a weapon beneath his coat!"She warned him, and turned her gaze to the doctor, who seemed to be completely taken aback, his eyes bulging in absolute disbelief. "Don't move an inch, or I'll shoot."  Swi

The next thing she knew, Ashton and the guardsmen already moved with mad haste to save Lord Carlton's life. By sheer luck, one of the guards had managed to get a wagon from a local farmer to bring the wounded lord home. She fixed the bandage and tried to slow down the bleeding, doing the best she could without further question, since the severity of the lord's injury left no time for explanation. Unfortunately the process of removing the lord from the building into the vehicle and the rough journey back home seemed to worsen his condition. Once they arrived home, a servant rushed to fetch the new doctor. During the wait, Ashton could hardly think of anything else. He was too distraught with fear, not certain Lord Carlton would survive another minute. Thankfully, within minutes the doctor arrived with his nurse. "I'll do my best." Doctor Haynes promised before closing the door to Lord Carlton's bedchamber.