Chapter 237 - 236: He Is the One and Only Asher in the World

Chapter 237: Chapter 236: He Is the One and Only Asher in the World

Tim Zane froze, his gaze flickering as he looked up at Zeke Shaw.

He lowered his head and mumbled, "I’m sorry..."

He said he was sorry.

But sometimes, an apology means nothing in the face of the harm that’s been done.

If they all died on the fourteenth floor, he would be the ultimate selfish culprit.

Madeline Quinn reluctantly threw the rope down.

Erin Whittaker’s will to live was strong. She scrambled to grab the rope first, looking nervously at Julian Fletcher. "Julian... you know I can’t die."

"Erin Whittaker is one of Victor Quinn’s people. She knows the secrets of the God Creation Plan." Julian Fletcher glanced at me, as if waiting for my approval.

"Even if she dies here, I’m confident I can find out what she knows," I said coolly.

"Yeah, we can find it," Asher echoed in agreement.

Erin Whittaker was so scared her voice trembled. "Silvia Lynch... don’t push it."

"Me, pushing it?" I laughed, looking down at Erin Whittaker. "Back when you lured Cecilia Caldwell into a trap and let a murderer kill her, did you ever stop to think how cruel *you* were being?"

Erin Whittaker’s expression turned even uglier. She shot a desperate, pleading look at Julian Fletcher.

Madeline Quinn sneered. "Look at you now. Did you ever imagine this day would come when you got Cece killed?" Madeline Quinn gritted her teeth. "You, Tim Zane! Get up here, now! Or you can die down there with her."

Tim Zane hurried forward, but Erin Whittaker still had a tight grip on the rope.

’I thought for sure that with his desperation to live, Tim Zane would shove Erin Whittaker aside and climb up himself. But he didn’t.’

He gave us a conflicted look.

’In truth, it wasn’t just luck that had kept Tim Zane alive this long...’

’Was it the person backing him? Did they feel he was still salvageable?’

"BEEP! Twelfth floor. Automated self-destruct sequence initiated..."

The announcement came from a sudden, mechanical voice behind us.

In an instant, everyone’s nerves were stretched taut.

As the timer ran out, cracks spiderwebbed across the floor of the twelfth level, and it slowly began to collapse.

"Get up here, quick!" Zeke Shaw and Lucas Grant shouted frantically.

Even in the midst of such extreme chaos, Tim Zane still pulled Erin Whittaker up first.

"Tim Zane!" Zeke Shaw yelled.

Tim Zane fell into the wreckage. Rubble crashed down on him, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

With tears welling in his red-rimmed eyes, he looked at us, his voice cracking. "I really... I just want to live... I was wrong, I know I was wrong... I just want to live..."

’He just wanted to live.’

After Erin Whittaker was pulled up, Zeke Shaw threw the rope back down. "Grab it!"

Crying, Tim Zane reached out and grabbed the rope just as the floor gave way completely.

"My birth mother abandoned me right after I was born... She was a college student, unmarried and pregnant... The orphanage director told me she gave birth to me in a mall bathroom, or maybe some small clinic, and then just left me in a bathroom."

"It was a big story at the time. A couple who had been unable to have children for years decided to adopt me as a newborn. They were really good to me at first, and they raised me until I was ten... I was naive enough to believe they were my real parents. But the year I turned ten, they suddenly got pregnant. With twins. They decided that raising three children was completely beyond their means..."

"So they sent me to an orphanage. They said they weren’t really getting rid of me, that the financial pressure was just too much. They said they’d come get me once things got a little better..."

Tim Zane was injured. After being pulled up, he leaned against the wall, his body trembling as he kept recounting memories of his past.

His chest rose and fell erratically. I could tell his ribs must have been broken in the fall.

’If he doesn’t get treatment soon... it’s very likely a broken rib will puncture his heart or lungs... He’ll die.’

"I waited for them at the orphanage. One day... two days, three days... I just kept waiting. I just wanted to hold on, I wanted to wait for my mom and dad to come get me... But they never came. They even moved away, to a place I couldn’t find... They didn’t want me anymore."

"The orphanage... it was a much scarier place than I ever imagined. The other kids, with no parents to guide them, were like weeds growing wild and unchecked. I’d had ten years of a proper upbringing; I knew right from wrong. I knew I couldn’t sink to their level, but I was too scared. They would beat me... If I didn’t side with them, I’d be the one they isolated and bullied..."

Tim Zane’s chest heaved more violently.

I gently pressed on his shoulder, urging him to lie flat. "Don’t talk anymore..."

"I was lucky. I didn’t stand out enough. So the ones they targeted... were the two geniuses who didn’t fit in with the rest..." More blood trickled from the corners of Tim Zane’s mouth.

’I was worried. His lung must have been punctured.’

"That day, they were going to set a fire... I was terrified. I’d overheard them planning it, and I hesitated. I didn’t know if I should warn anyone... My conscience was killing me. I secretly ran and found Asher. I told him to take Charlie and run... to get out of the orphanage, because they were going to set it on fire..."

"But Asher said he was waiting for someone. He wouldn’t leave."

Tim Zane’s gaze fell on Asher.

I turned to look at Asher.

Everyone looked at Asher...

’So someone actually warned him before the fire?’

’If so, why didn’t Asher run? And why did he let Charlie get caught up in it?’

’Just because he was waiting for someone, he refused to leave and got Charlie killed?’

Asher stood there, arms hanging limp at his sides, offering no explanation...

He lowered his head, refusing to explain what happened all those years ago.

’He’s a flawed person himself, isn’t he.’

"Asher... Charlie could have escaped. It was because you insisted on staying that you dragged him down with you, right?" Claire Lawson asked, her eyes red. "Peach always said the real person to blame was Cecilia Caldwell, because she was the one who made you wait for her..."

All eyes turned to Asher.

’So, in the fire all those years ago, Charlie died because he was held back.’

’Was that why Asher blamed himself? Was that why he drifted for so many years, punishing himself, eventually returning to live in the orphanage ruins and watch over the place?’

"What do you people know!" Felix Foster’s breathing grew ragged, as if he was about to say more.

"We need to leave. Now," Asher said in a low voice, cutting Felix Foster off.

Felix Foster clenched his fists, staring at Asher.

Without a word of explanation, he lowered his gaze and walked toward the elevators to see if they could still take them straight to the ground floor.

’In that moment, watching his retreating back... he seemed so lonely, so hurt. Like someone struggling all alone in their own world, unrecognized and misunderstood.’

’I thought, he probably needs a hug right now.’

’Or a kiss.’

’There was no need for extra words, no need to say, "Asher, I understand."’

"Keep him flat and don’t let him move. We have to carry him out of here. I’m worried his rib has already punctured a lung," I said quietly. I felt Tim Zane’s chest and said again, "Stop talking. I know you just want to live. If you want to live... you have to hold on."

Tim Zane was still trembling, his gaze starting to lose focus. He looked at me, his bloody fingers suddenly gripping my hand. "Cecilia... I’m sorry... I’m sorry..."

I frowned. ’Why is he apologizing to Cecilia Caldwell?’

Zeke Shaw and Lucas Grant fashioned a makeshift stretcher and placed Tim Zane on it.

I walked over to Asher and hugged him from behind...

"Asher, I’m so tired. I just want to go home."

Asher’s body tensed. He turned to look at me, his eyes rimmed with red.

’So he does get secretly hurt when he’s misunderstood?’

I looked into his eyes, at the tear forming in the corner, and suddenly... I uncontrollably rose onto my tiptoes and kissed him.

’Let’s just be like this, comforting and healing each other’s broken souls.’

’Asher. My Asher.’

’A voice from the depths of my soul told me... that I should trust and protect him unconditionally.’

’He’s Asher, after all. The one and only Asher in the entire world.’