Chapter 8
Joshua sneered inwardly.
Just walk away with nothing and pretend nothing happened?
But he had already been humiliated.
This kind of deception and concealment was completely without any moral bottom line.
How could he easily let Ella go?
Joshua floored the gas pedal, and the car soon sped into the Thomas Manor. Servants rushed over to open the car doors for them.
They bowed respectfully. "Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Thomas."
Ella responded politely, seeing Joshua still had a gloomy face, cold and distant, as if someone owed him money.
She moved closer to him, her voice soft and gentle.
"Should we pretend to be loving like before?"
In the past, whenever they came back, they would link arms and put on a show of affection.
Although they did have a physical relationship as husband and wife, there had been no progress emotionally.
During the day they were mostly respectful to each other, living separate lives.
Only at night in bed would they act like a real married couple.
Thinking about how they were now discussing divorce.
Ella really didn't know how to interact with Joshua anymore.
Joshua suppressed his disgust and still took the initiative to hold Ella's small hand, leading her inside.
Ella didn't refuse and obediently followed beside him.
It was dinnertime now.
Aiden couldn't even get out of bed due to his poor health, so he wasn't at the table.
In the dining room, only Joshua's parents had just sat down.
Aiden had a total of five children.
But only one son and four daughters.
All four daughters were married, either living abroad or in other cities.
Even the youngest daughter, though in Emerald City, rarely came back.
So in this house, there were only Aiden and Joshua's parents, plus a bunch of servants.
The butler guided Ella and Joshua to the dining room and pulled out chairs for them.
Ella saw Joshua's dignified, elegant, and well-dressed parents and nodded politely. "Dad, Mom."
Joshua's parents weren't actually satisfied with this daughter-in-law.
After all, she came from the countryside and wasn't a match for their Joshua who had been pampered since birth.
Plus, the two had a ten-year age gap.
If it weren't for Ella's grandfather being Aiden's comrade-in-arms when they were young and having saved Aiden's life, Aiden would never have forced Joshua to marry her.
But since the two had already gotten their marriage certificate, they couldn't say much more and accepted this daughter-in-law.
At least Ella had a likeable face.
That face was pretty and cute, with skin so tender it looked like it would break at a touch.
If you didn't know better, you'd think she was some pampered young lady from a wealthy family.
So Joshua's parents weren't harsh with Ella.
They gestured for Joshua and Ella to sit down.
Ella sat down, and not seeing her grandfather, asked with some worry, "Dad, Mom, where's Grandpa? Why isn't he here?"
Ava Davis had exquisite makeup and an elegant demeanor.
Even her way of speaking seemed to keep people at a distance.
"Your grandfather's health hasn't been great lately. After dinner, you can take some food up to him."
Sadness filled Ella's eyes, and she wanted to get up immediately to visit Aiden.
But Ava scolded with a stern face, "Sit down. I also have something to discuss with you."
Ella had no choice but to sit back in her chair and lower her head.
Ava was somewhat domineering.
When she was around, her husband Jasper Thomas didn't get a word in.
She stared at Ella with a cold expression. "You and Joshua have been married for a year now. Logically, at your age it should be easy to get pregnant, so why is there no sign of it?"
After all, she was only 24, the perfect age for having children.
Thinking that she only had this one son, Ava still wanted to hold a grandchild as soon as possible.
Ella's heart jumped.
Ava's sudden question made her extremely nervous and guilty.
Did she dare say she could never have children again?
If she said that, wouldn't they immediately force Joshua to divorce her?
In fact, only by telling the truth could she get her freedom, right?
Looking up at Ava, Ella opened her mouth wanting to confess that she couldn't have children.
But Joshua beside her spoke up first, "We've been using contraception. We're not planning to have kids."
Ella instinctively looked at him.
Very confused, not understanding why Joshua would speak up for her.
Since they got their marriage certificate and started sleeping in the same bed, they had never used any contraception.
Joshua was lying in front of the elders—was he helping her?
Ella didn't quite understand his intention.
"Why use contraception?"
Ava looked at Joshua seriously.
"How old are you, don't you know? Besides, your grandfather's health is getting worse day by day. His wish isn't just for you to marry her, but also for you two to have a child soon."
Looking at Ella again, Ava commanded, "Starting today, you need to prepare for pregnancy and try to conceive as soon as possible. Don't let your grandfather die with regrets."
Ella kept her head down, not knowing how to respond.
After giving birth to Aurora and Dorian, she had been told by doctors that she could never have children again.
And she couldn't confess at this moment that she had already given birth to someone else's children.
Otherwise, Aiden would definitely be furious.
Jasper and Ava would look down on her even more.
So only by divorcing quickly could she escape unscathed.
Joshua glanced at Ella beside him, seeing her nervous hands twisted together, guilt and panic written all over her face.
He didn't know how she could keep her composure like this.
Even at this critical point, Ella still wasn't willing to confess that she had two children.
But he was too lazy to say anything and casually agreed with Ava, "Okay, we'll start trying when we get back."
Ava saw that Joshua had agreed, but noticed Ella's face looked terrible.
She asked, "Is there some problem?"
Ella quickly shook her head, "No, no problem."
Only then did Ava feel reassured and shared some advice with her.
"When preparing for pregnancy, you need to watch your routine. I heard you're still working outside—stop that from now on. If you're really bored, you can sign up for a pregnancy preparation class. The teacher will tell you how to get pregnant more easily."
Ella felt nervous inside but didn't dare tell the truth. She could only keep her head down and agree quietly.
She really felt that eating this meal with Jasper, Ava, and Joshua was too oppressive and suffocating.
After eating just a little, she quickly made an excuse about taking food to Aiden and hurried away.
Joshua watched Ella's fleeing figure, his eyes dark.
His heart felt like it had drunk vinegar—sour and bitter, very uncomfortable.
Now without Ella, Ava scolded with a stern face. "Don't think I don't know you met with Scarlett again recently."
"Since you're married, you need to act like a husband. No matter how bad Ella is, at such a young age marrying someone as old as you, you're getting a good deal."
"If you dare do anything inappropriate in this marriage to upset your grandfather, I won't let you off easy."