Chapter 273 - 272: Asher Says I’m a Dog

Chapter 273: Chapter 272: Asher Says I’m a Dog

"Let’s go check on Silvia." Zeke Shaw pulled Madeline Quinn away, worried about her emotional state.

Madeline Quinn murmured under her breath. "You’re lying... Cece was reborn. She’s alive again..."

Zeke Shaw sighed. "You’re a medical examiner. You have to believe in science."

Madeline Quinn’s eyes reddened as tears streamed down. "Science doesn’t tell you... how to accept your best friend’s death! I believe in science, but I’d much rather believe she’s still alive..."

The word "science" was just so cold and clinical.

She believed in science, but science couldn’t soothe the pain of losing a loved one.

Lucas Grant glanced at Asher, then turned and left as well.

Ace was waiting for Asher’s answer.

So was I.

"I’d recognize her even if she turned into a dog." Asher stopped Ace from getting any closer, his voice calm and distant.

It was as if my tears had dried up in their sockets. I looked up at him, wanting to laugh and cry at the same time.

’How could he be so silly... So stubborn it’s foolish.’ "You’re the one who’d turn into a dog..."

My voice was a bit hoarse. I reached out, wanting to tug on his sleeve, but I couldn’t touch him.

Ace suddenly laughed. "Well, I’d love to see just how long you can keep deceiving yourself..."

"Now that the lab’s been exposed, the organization will erase everything connected to it... including me. If I want to live, I’ll need someone to protect me, Sebastian Lancaster." Ace walked up to Sebastian Lancaster and spoke again. "The same genes as Cecilia Caldwell flow through my veins. By extension, shouldn’t you protect me, too?"

’I was getting jealous. I moved to shield Asher.’ ’Hey, don’t stand so close to him!’

’But there was nothing I could do...’

’Looking down at my hands, this feeling was so strange.’

’The last time my soul left my body like this, I felt pain. An unprecedented pain. Despair.’

’This time... I actually felt jealousy. A deep sense of jealousy and possessiveness.’

’I actually... had this strange idea that it didn’t matter if I was Cecilia Caldwell or not. As long as Asher cared for me, I would never, ever let anyone else have him.’

’Since we’re both just replacements, why should I be the one to hand him over?’

’He is mine. He must be mine and mine alone.’

’If anyone tries to take him from me, then... I’ll kill her.’

’I stood there, stunned, looking up at Ace.’

’I actually... wanted to kill this clone.’

’It was a terrifying impulse...’

’It sent a chill down my spine.’

"Cece’s awake!" Madeline Quinn ran out of the hospital room, excitedly calling for a doctor.

I was stunned. In an instant, the world spun around me.

"Cece?"

When I opened my eyes again, I was awake.

Really and truly awake.

But my body wasn’t entirely under my control yet.

A doctor rushed in to check on me.

"The patient is quite weak right now. Let her get plenty of rest."

After giving the instruction, the doctor left with his staff.

Madeline Quinn stood by the bed, her eyes red-rimmed, holding my hand. "Oh, Cece... I’m so glad you’re awake."

’Even with the evidence right in front of her, she was still determined to believe I was Cecilia Caldwell...’

"Cece..." Asher ran in, cupping my face in a panic. He pressed his forehead against mine, his tears scalding hot.

’He was truly terrified of me dying.’

’The feeling was... indescribable...’

’It was as if I had found my reason for living, the meaning and value of my existence in this world.’

’Because I had found a reason I had to stay alive.’

’It felt like... I’d finally found my reason to live.’

’Before, I don’t think I really knew why I was alive.’

’After experiencing the death game in the abandoned building, and with this mad possessiveness stirring inside me... I don’t think I’ll ever again play that laughable, despicable, and childish game of suicide and self-harm.’

’Before, I probably thought my death would bring pain to those who hurt me, that it was a form of protest and the most powerful way to strike back at the organization.’

’But now, I see how childish that was.’

’My death wouldn’t hurt a single one of my enemies; it would only make the people I care about suffer, despair, and break down again and again.’

I used all my strength to raise my hands and cup Asher’s face, smiling weakly. "Asher... Long time no see."

Long time no see.

’My Asher.’

Asher’s body tensed for a moment. As he closed his eyes, a scalding tear dripped onto my eyelashes.

’Why does he cry so much...?’

’You wouldn’t think he was such a crybaby when he’s going berserk and hitting people.’

"I prayed countless times for you to be okay..." Asher whispered, his voice trembling.

"So, geniuses believe in gods, huh?" I said with a weak smile.

He smiled too. "I don’t believe in gods... but when your heart feels empty, you need something to put your faith in, Cece."

I stared at him, stunned, and suddenly remembered a trivial incident from deep in my past.

It was a minor thing, but the memory was still fresh in my mind.

I remembered the grandmother of a high school classmate who had cancer. She knew perfectly well there were no gods in this world, yet she prayed to them and to Buddha every single day, begging for her granddaughter’s safety and health.

To help her granddaughter get well sooner, this woman, in her sixties, went without sleep or rest to climb a mountain, kowtowing every three steps to pray for her.

The other students at school all laughed at the girl with cancer. They said her grandmother was mired in feudal superstition, that she was doing something foolish.

Back then, I didn’t really understand it either.

I remembered that even though the girl with cancer was clearly dying, she was still happy every day.

I asked her, "Your grandmother prays to the gods and Buddha every day. Does it really work? There are no gods in this world."

She smiled and told me, "My grandmother is my god."

I stood frozen, unable to process her words for a long time.

But now, I understood.

’Whether I am Cecilia Caldwell or not, from the moment they began to treat me as her, I seem to have become their ’god’.’

’So, I have to live.’

’I have to live a good life... until the day Asher doesn’t want me anymore.’

"You’re not allowed to be with her... Don’t look at her. You can only look at me. Whatever I look like, that’s the person you have to like..." I said, possessively forbidding Asher from looking at Ace.

’I never thought I’d see the day I’d be jealous of my own past face.’

"Okay..."

’But he’s always so indulgent, always agreeing to my demands.’

...

After my fit of jealousy, I passed out again.

This time, I probably didn’t faint; I just fell asleep.

Not thinking about anything, with nothing to worry or be afraid of, I drifted into a peaceful sleep.

It felt so, so good.

"Fuck! Son of a bitch." I didn’t know how long I’d been asleep, but as I started to wake up, I heard a torrent of curses.

It was Lucas Grant.

The man has a foul mouth.

"Watch your mouth. Don’t swear in front of a high school student," Felix Foster reminded Lucas Grant.

"Don’t you have your college entrance exams soon? What are you still doing here? Go back to your mommy’s teat, you brat." Lucas Grant was in a foul mood, ready to blow up at anyone who crossed him.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the nearly six-foot-three Felix Foster approaching Lucas Grant with a grim smile. He grabbed the back of his collar. "If you’re going to have a meltdown, don’t do it here."

Then he threw Lucas Grant out and shut the door with a SLAM.

Felix Foster dusted his hands off and looked back at Asher, who was sitting by the bed, exuding a dark aura. "So noisy."

The corners of Asher’s eyes were still bloodshot, and his aura was terrifying.

He glanced at Felix Foster, his voice low. "You get out, too."

Felix Foster said, "Oh," then turned and obediently walked out, not forgetting to thoughtfully close the door behind him.