Chapter 5
Ella crouched down, pulled Aurora and Dorian over and kissed each of them, stroking their little heads as she said, "Be good and listen to the nanny at home. Mommy will quit her job in a few days, and then I'll be with you every day."
Once she got divorced, she wouldn't have to hide anymore.
She'd have plenty of time to be with the kids.
She just hoped that today when she went to the Thomas Manor to talk to Aiden about the divorce, Grandpa would grant her wish.
Aurora and Dorian were very understanding. They nodded and waved goodbye to their mom.
Ella closed the door and turned toward the elevator.
The whole time, she never noticed there was someone standing behind the door to the emergency stairwell.
Joshua's fists clenched violently, making cracking sounds.
His handsome, cold face became extremely dark with anger.
If he hadn't heard with his own ears the two children calling Ella "mommy," he really wouldn't have believed that Ella was hiding two children outside.
Joshua still didn't want to accept that those two children were born by Ella.
He turned and left.
Back in the car, he told Brian to not only do a DNA test between the children and Ella, but also to find out who the children's father was.
Only with solid evidence could he confront Ella face to face.
When Ella returned to the Thomas Manor, the butler was very respectful when he saw her.
"Why did you come alone? Didn't Mr. Thomas come with you?"
Ella replied, "He went to the company."
Then she asked the butler, "Is Grandpa here?"
"Mr. Aiden Thomas hasn't been feeling well lately. The doctor is giving him an IV."
When Ella heard this, her face filled with worry, and she hurried toward Aiden's room.
"What happened to Grandpa? Wasn't he fine before?"
The butler sighed. "Mr. Aiden Thomas has never been in good health. It was because you came back and he was happy that he recovered for a while."
"Maybe he can't hold on much longer. Mrs. Thomas, when you have time, you should come visit him more often. You're the person Mr. Aiden Thomas worries about most."
Hearing this, Ella felt a sharp pain in her heart.
She knew all too well that Aiden loved her the most.
If it weren't for her grandfather passing away when she was 15 and entrusting her to Aiden, she wouldn't have been brought to the Thomas family to be carefully looked after.
During those five years, Ella felt that Aiden was just like her own grandfather, always giving her the best of everything.
Even four years ago when she had her incident and chose to go abroad, Aiden had arranged everything for her and sent her living expenses every month.
She had already lost one grandfather who loved her. She absolutely couldn't lose this grandfather too.
Ella walked quickly into Aiden's room.
Seeing the doctor giving Aiden an IV, she asked worriedly, "Grandpa, are you okay?"
Aiden was over eighty years old, with a full head of white hair, looking so frail he seemed near the end.
Seeing Ella come in, he forced a smile.
"I'm fine. What are you doing here at this time? Don't you have work?"
Ella sat down by Aiden's bedside. Seeing how thin and frail Grandpa was, she felt heartbroken.
"You're not feeling well and you didn't tell us. I should have come to keep you company."
Aiden still smiled and told her not to worry.
He wasn't going to die just yet.
Ella saw the doctor's grave expression and knew Aiden's condition was very bad.
Originally she had come to talk about the divorce, but she swallowed those words back down.
Ella sat by the bedside keeping Aiden company.
In the afternoon, she finally went back to Galaxy Bay Community.
But on the way back, Joshua called.
He said, "Come back. The divorce agreement needs to be redrafted."
Ella really thought he was unhappy with the divorce agreement she had drafted, so she obediently turned around and went back to Tranquil Villa.
When she arrived, it was dinnertime. Karen had made a table full of food.
Opening the door and seeing her, Karen said with concern, "Mrs. Thomas, talk things through with Mr. Thomas. He's not an unreasonable person. You two have only been married for a year. How can you just divorce like this?"
Karen had been with them since they got married.
She'd heard that this luxury house, Tranquil Villa, was also Joshua's wedding gift to Ella.
It was their marital home.
During this year, Karen had been taking care of both of them.
Although the two were polite to each other and not as affectionate as ordinary couples, they had never fought or had disagreements.
It seemed like their life could go on just fine like this.
How could they suddenly want to divorce? Karen was really worried for them.
Ella didn't say anything. After changing her shoes, she went over.
She saw Joshua sitting in the dining room again.
Joshua seemed to have been coming home quite early lately.
He was still wearing a vest and shirt.
Sitting there calmly, he looked dignified, steady, and quite pleasing to the eye.
Ella held her breath as she walked over.
Somehow, she felt a bit nervous.
She sat down, too timid to look at him, and spoke softly, "What's wrong with the agreement?"
Joshua looked at her.
Seeing that Ella didn't even dare look directly at him, he wondered if she felt guilty or was really afraid of him.
Was he that scary?
Wasn't this year of married life enough to prove that he genuinely wanted to make their life together work?
Joshua didn't want to bring up the children first. Suppressing the discomfort in his chest, he tried to talk to her as calmly as possible.
"This year, I think I've fulfilled my duties as a husband, so what's your reason for divorce?"
He still hoped Ella would tell him the truth herself.
Otherwise, once he got the DNA test results, she probably couldn't bear the consequences.
Ella didn't understand what Joshua meant.
Didn't he ask her to come back to discuss the divorce agreement? Why was he asking this now?
Besides, hadn't she already told him before?
Keeping her head down, using her knife and fork to poke at the food in her bowl to hide her nervousness, Ella said insincerely, "You like Scarlett. I'm making way for you two."
"Did I ever tell you I like Scarlett?"
Joshua asked her back.
Ella froze and looked up at him.
"If you don't like her, then why did you break off our engagement because of her back then? Why did you throw her a birthday party a few days ago and kiss her in public?"
If he didn't like Scarlett, why would Joshua have rejected her back then?
If he didn't like her, why would he kiss someone else?
Ella kept reminding herself to stay clear-headed.
She shouldn't believe Joshua just because he said a few placating words.
She had given birth to someone else's children.
In this lifetime, she could never have a future with Joshua.
And Joshua definitely couldn't accept her past.
Seeing Ella still using Scarlett as an excuse but never mentioning those two children outside, Joshua got angry.
"So this divorce is my fault? Don't you have anyone you like outside?"
He was still giving Ella a chance, hoping she would be honest with him.
Otherwise, he would definitely make her pay the price.
Ella lowered her head again and denied it outright.
"I'm not like you, having someone else in your heart while marrying me. Since we're here to discuss the divorce agreement, let's just talk about the agreement!"