Chapter 97 The Hung-Up Phone
Elizabeth's questions left Arthur with no desire to stay at home. Right now, he needed somewhere to calm down and think about what to do next.
After leaving home, Arthur went straight to a bar and ordered a few drinks.
In his bad mood, after just a few drinks, Arthur started feeling tipsy and couldn't help pulling out his phone to make a call.
Aria was about to go to sleep when her phone suddenly rang, startling her. She was a bit surprised to see Arthur's name on the caller ID.
She didn't want to answer at first, but Arthur called a second time.
In the end, Aria picked up.
"What is it?"
Anyone would be in a bad mood having their sleep interrupted.
"Aria, do you really want to divorce me?"
Aria could tell something was off about Arthur's tone. She frowned slightly and instead of answering his question directly, said, "Have you been drinking?"
"Don't worry about whether I've been drinking or not. Just answer my question."
Arthur was being unusually unreasonable.
"Yes."
Hearing Arthur's words, Aria's eyes darkened slightly. Not caring whether he was drunk or not, she answered directly.
However, to Aria's surprise, after she said this, Arthur didn't respond. The long silence made her think he'd hung up.
She pulled the phone away to check - it still showed the call was connected...
He hadn't hung up, so what did he mean?
"You..."
Just as Aria was about to speak, Arthur cut her off. "You want to divorce me to be with Lance, don't you?"
Hearing Arthur's slightly drunk words, Aria's eyes turned cold. She let out a cold laugh and hung up directly.
She must be out of her mind to listen to Arthur's nonsense.
Sure enough, when someone does something wrong, they get paranoid and assume you're doing the same thing, trying to push all the blame onto you.
How ridiculous!
After Aria hung up on him, Arthur called back, but Aria didn't answer. Instead, she put her phone on airplane mode, completely blocking Arthur's interference.
At the bar, Arthur saw the call wouldn't go through again. Fueled by the alcohol, he lost his temper and threw his phone on the ground.
That's when Sophie appeared.
"Arthur."
Hearing this voice, Arthur's mind went blank for a moment. He looked toward the private room door, and when he saw Sophie, his eyes showed a moment of confusion. "Sophie?"
Sophie walked into the private room and closed the door. She walked to Arthur's side, thoughtfully moved the glass in front of him away, and sat down holding his arm. "Arthur, what's wrong? Why are you drinking alone? Is something bothering you?"
"What are you doing here?"
Arthur frowned, looking puzzled at Sophie who shouldn't be here.
"My friend is here and said she saw someone who looked like you. I thought I'd come check, and it really is you."
Sophie pulled out the excuse she'd prepared, her words full of concern.
"Why are you drinking alone? Is it because of me?"
Hearing Sophie's words, Arthur's mind cleared for a moment. He rubbed his temples irritably. "No, just a lot going on lately. Don't worry."
Sophie saw Arthur like this, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes, though her face showed a fragile expression. "That's good. If it was because of me, I'd feel terrible."
Arthur looked at Sophie nestling into his arms, his eyes flickering slightly. In the end, he didn't push her away, but instead gently patted her shoulder. "Don't think about these things. What you need to do now is rest well. It's too late, you should go back."
"What about you?"
Sophie stared at him intently, looking worried.
Under Sophie's gaze, Arthur felt the drinks becoming hard to swallow. He sighed lightly. "I'll take you back."
"Okay, I'll drive."
"No need, I'll call a driver. In your condition, you should drive less."
Arthur wasn't comfortable letting Sophie drive in her current state. He always remembered what the doctor said - she needed more rest.
Driving at night was too taxing, better not to do it.
Hearing Arthur's words, Sophie felt a sweet warmth in her heart, though her face showed guilt and sadness. "I can't even do small things like driving now. I feel so useless."
Arthur quickly comforted Sophie. "Don't say that. You don't need to do these small things."
Sophie just nodded lightly, but the sad expression on her face was still obvious, making Arthur feel guilty too. The alcohol's effects wore off considerably.
"It's because of me that you're like this. I'm the one who's sorry."
Hearing Arthur's guilty words, Sophie felt triumphant inside, though her face showed understanding. "Don't say that. I did all this willingly."
Arthur sighed deeply and said nothing more. After calling a driver, he took Sophie home.
He was going to leave after seeing her home, but Sophie suddenly said she wasn't feeling well, so Arthur had to take her upstairs.
After taking her medicine upstairs, Sophie's symptoms eased somewhat. She looked at Arthur apologetically. "I'm fine now, Arthur. You can go. Don't worry."
Arthur saw Sophie's forced strength and felt even more guilty. He shook his head. "No need. I'm not going back tonight. Go to sleep. I'll stay in the living room. If anything happens, just call me."
Sophie was stunned and seemed hesitant to speak. "But if you don't go back, will it be okay? The way we are now, Aria she..."
Arthur saw Sophie's hesitation and frowned, saying in a low voice, "It's fine."
"Then rest in the guest room. You won't sleep well in the living room."
"No need. Go to sleep. I'm not tired yet."
Sophie knew when to stop and didn't say more. She just nodded, and when entering her room, she coughed weakly for a while. She looked so pitiful.
Seeing Sophie like this, Arthur felt even more guilty. He owed Sophie too much.
Not only did she help with his company matters, but now her health had deteriorated because of him. He couldn't even let her rest peacefully - he was making her worry about him. What a bastard!
Suddenly, a phone ringtone interrupted Arthur's thoughts. He looked over - it was Sophie's phone.
He took the phone and knocked on Sophie's door, but she didn't come out. He heard water running inside - she was showering.
Looking at the constantly ringing phone, Arthur could only answer the call first. "Hello, Sophie is in the shower. Can I help you with something?"