Chapter 26 Moving Out
"Let go of me!"
Aria was furious.
Arthur didn't let go. Instead, he gripped tighter.
He didn't know where this anger was coming from. He just felt inexplicably annoyed seeing her so eager to cut ties with him.
This had never happened before.
"In such a hurry to move out? What's so attractive out there? Charles?" His tone carried a jealousy he himself hadn't even noticed.
Aria's chest heaved. "Arthur, what are you trying to say? What does this have to do with Mr. White?"
She glanced at Sophie downstairs, whose expression was strangely tense, and let out a cold laugh. "You've already brought your mistress home. What right do you have to question me?"
Arthur was clearly in the wrong here.
He immediately changed his approach. "Who cares about keeping you here? What do you think you are? Some fancy dessert from a high-end restaurant that everyone wants a bite of?"
"It's just that my mom might come stay for a few days. If you clear everything out now, what am I supposed to say when she asks?"
Aria looked at him, not expecting him to come up with such an unreasonable excuse.
What did his mother coming to stay have to do with her moving her personal belongings?
He could just buy new stuff after she moved out. If his mother asked, he could say she was staying at a friend's place for a few days. That would work just fine.
"I'm sure Mr. Grant can afford to buy some women's personal items, right? And if you're really short on cash, you could always borrow from Miss Smith. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to lend you some!"
Arthur laughed too, his handsome eyes full of mockery.
"I bought all that stuff for you in the first place. I'm sure Ms. Hall isn't short on money to buy new things. So why are you so insistent on coming back to get them? Don't tell me this is just an excuse because you don't want the divorce anymore?"
At those words, Aria turned and left, as if staying even one more second would make her look like she didn't want the divorce.
Arthur stared at her retreating figure, feeling the frustration in his chest growing bigger and bigger.
Seeing Aria leave, Sophie breathed a huge sigh of relief.
But then the hurt in her heart came flooding up.
"Arthur, what did you mean by all that! After everything you said, do you not want Aria to leave? Do you not want to divorce her?"
Arthur snapped back to reality. Meeting Sophie's tear-filled eyes, he found himself at a loss for words.
Without a doubt, he knew the person he loved was Sophie. She was the one he truly wanted to marry. He shouldn't have any extra feelings for Aria.
It must be possessiveness at work.
After all, she'd been his wife for three years, taking care of him in every way. And now, she was the one asking for a divorce."What are you thinking? How could I not want her gone? I've already signed the divorce papers. As soon as my mom leaves for Switzerland, Aria and I are getting divorced."
"I don't believe you!" Sophie persisted, tears streaming down her face. "I saw it! You grabbed her hand and wouldn't let her go! Arthur, have you really fallen in love with her?"
"No."
Him having feelings for Aria?
Impossible. Their relationship was just a transaction, a mistake.
He just wasn't used to her suddenly being so firm, so decisive about leaving.
"Sophie, don't overthink it." He tried to comfort her. "She and I are done. I'm just worried about what to tell my mom if she moves out so suddenly."
"You know mom's health isn't good. She can't handle stress."
He gripped her shoulders, his tone softening completely. "Besides, I almost got shot that year. You took the bullet for me, saved me, took care of me. How could I possibly develop feelings for her and betray you?"
At the mention of this, a guilty look flashed across Sophie's face, but she quickly covered it up.
Sophie was sensitive enough to see that Arthur was forcibly suppressing his irritation and anxiety.
Her heart kept sinking.
A woman's intuition told her that Arthur's feelings for Aria were definitely not as indifferent as he claimed.
She had to do something to completely secure Arthur's heart!
With this thought, she deliberately put on an angry face, wiped her tears, and glared at him.
"Arthur, I didn't wait three years for you just to come back and watch you torn between another woman!"
"Think it over yourself! I'm leaving!"
With that, she rushed out of the villa.
"Sophie!" Arthur called out. He was about to chase after her, but seeing Sophie already getting in her car, he stopped and let her go.
-
Arthur was drinking.
First Sophie hung up on him three times in a row, then when he called Aria, he discovered she'd blocked his number.
So he came here to drink.
Several empty glasses sat on the table.
His alcohol tolerance was usually pretty good, but tonight, for some reason.
Everything looked blurry. The images of Aria and Sophie overlapped in his vision, then separated.
He took another gulp, the liquor sliding down his throat with a burning sensation.
His phone screen lit up several times—probably something from the company—but he didn't want to deal with any of it. He just wanted to pour this alcohol into his stomach and drive all the frustration out of his head!
The bar music gradually shifted from intense to mellow. Waves of customers came and went, until finally, only Arthur was left.
Eventually, he drank himself into a slump on the table.
"Sir." The bartender came over and pushed his shoulder. "We're closing up. Sir? Do you need me to call you a driver?"
Arthur waved his hand, mumbling, "No need, don't... give me... one more drink."
He was a regular here, and the bartender was worried something might happen if he drank too much.
Seeing he was completely out of it, the bartender shrugged helplessly.
He pulled Arthur's phone from his pocket, unlocked it with his finger, opened the contacts, saw the name marked "Aria" at the top, and made the call.
-
In her apartment, Aria had just finished showering and was drying her hair.
Her phone rang suddenly. She answered casually and put it on speaker.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Ms. Aria?"
"You are...?"
"This is Fox Bar. Mr. Grant got drunk here and he's in pretty bad shape. Would it be possible for you to come pick him up?"
Aria's hand holding the towel froze.
Her first reaction was that this was ridiculous, then annoyance.
What did him getting drunk have to do with her? Where was Sophie? Where was his assistant? Why were they calling her?
"You've got the wrong person," she said coldly. "Mr. Grant and I have nothing to do with each other. Contact someone else."
"Ms. Aria, we really have no choice." The bartender sounded troubled. "Mr. Grant is really drunk. You know this street often has homeless people around, and it's so late."
"You're the most recent contact in his phone. Please, the address is..."
Aria held the phone, knowing she should hang up immediately. But Arthur's stomach had always been weak, and he'd been drinking heavily—from the caller's tone, his condition sounded serious.
Should she just leave him there?