Chapter 11 Are You Pregnant?
With Elizabeth's refinement, there was no way she would accidentally let tea spill out.
There was only one possibility - she did it on purpose.
"Sophie."
Her voice was soft, carrying a hint of authority, but everyone present could tell she was angry.
"I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but how they get along as husband and wife is none of an outsider's business."
"What's more, you're still an unmarried young woman. Always hanging around a married man - what does that look like?"
"You're not exactly young anymore. Aren't you afraid of what people will say? Didn't your family teach you anything?"
These words were quite blunt, just short of directly calling Sophie shameless and ill-mannered.
Sophie's face flushed red with tears welling up as she looked at Elizabeth in disbelief. "Aunt Elizabeth, I haven't been constantly hanging around Arthur. Besides, our families have such a close relationship. How can you say this about me?"
Elizabeth let out a cold snort.
Did she not see right through Sophie's cheap little schemes?
Seducing her son, destroying their marriage, and now playing innocent in front of her?
She gave Sophie no face at all. "You know perfectly well what dirty thoughts you're harboring. Even if your parents were standing here right now, I'd say the same thing!"
Elizabeth's tone suddenly became stern.
"I may be old, but I'm not blind yet! They are a legally recognized married couple! What are you?"
"Let me make this clear - as long as I'm still alive and breathing, the daughter-in-law of the Grant family can only be Aria!"
"The Smith family is also of noble birth. I'm sure your parents should have taught you these rules of etiquette."
"I can't be bothered to teach you again. From now on, you'd better watch yourself."
Sophie was completely stunned, her face alternating between red and white.
She never expected Elizabeth would disregard even the Smith family's dignity.
Tears swirling in her eyes, she bit her lip and looked to Arthur for help, feeling wronged.
Arthur's lips moved. "Mom, Sophie was just..."
"You shut up!" Elizabeth raised her voice, scolding him harshly.
"I haven't even gotten to you yet! Look at what you've been doing! You think I haven't heard about all that messy gossip? You've completely disgraced the Grant family!"
This rebuke left the entire living room instantly silent.
All the servants lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.
Arthur pressed his lips tightly together, his eyes darkening, and said nothing more.
All color drained from Sophie's face. Her lips trembling, tears finally fell.
She never imagined that Elizabeth, who had always been relatively kind to her, would scold her so mercilessly.
With so many people present, and especially with Aria there too!
What disappointed her even more was that Arthur didn't say a single word in her defense!
She buried her face in her palms, crying so hard she couldn't speak.
Normally, when Sophie cried pitifully in front of Arthur, he would have softened long ago. But now, he only felt inexplicably irritated.
"Sophie, you should go home. Today... really isn't convenient."
This was already a polite way of asking her to leave.
Sophie felt thunderstruck, unable to believe that even he would send her away.
She covered her face, let out a sob, grabbed her bag, and rushed out of the living room.
Aria could hardly believe the scene unfolding before her.
She hadn't expected Elizabeth to defend her like this.
But this also put her in another difficult position.
In a few months, she would be divorcing Arthur.
What if Elizabeth didn't agree?
Would she have to be disgusted by Sophie and Arthur for the rest of her life?
At the thought of this possibility, her heart grew heavy, and she couldn't taste her dinner anymore.
Elizabeth was a noblewoman who paid great attention to etiquette.
No slurping soup, no clanking silverware, and once food was in your mouth, no matter how bad it tasted, you couldn't spit it out.
"Aria." Elizabeth suddenly called her name.
Aria quickly swallowed the food in her mouth.
When speaking to elders, you absolutely couldn't have food in your mouth - this was also one of the rules of etiquette to follow.
Elizabeth looked somewhat worried. "Why is your complexion so pale? Are you feeling unwell? Have you seen a doctor?"
Aria's heart started pounding, afraid of being found out.
"I've already seen one. It's nothing serious, I've probably just been tired lately."
But Elizabeth still seemed puzzled. "That's strange. Isn't that escargot dish your favorite? Why haven't you touched it at all?"
Aria's palms were sweating. She put down her silverware.
"My stomach's been a bit upset lately. The doctor said it's best not to eat this type of food."
Elizabeth didn't seem entirely convinced.
As a woman, Elizabeth had had similar experiences, so naturally her mind went there.
She raised an eyebrow, her mood improving somewhat, a gentle smile appearing on her face.
"Is that so? Then you must take good care of yourself. Don't take it lightly."
She beckoned to a nearby servant.
The servant hurried forward. "What are your orders, ma'am?"
"Contact my nutritionist and have him come to the estate tomorrow to create a custom meal plan for Aria."
"Also, I brought back quite a few health supplements from Switzerland. Select some suitable ones for Aria to take back to the villa."
"Oh right, since Aria isn't feeling well, Arthur, you arrange for some capable people to help manage her studio."
Aria's eyes widened as she quickly refused. "Mom, the studio..."
"Listen to me." Elizabeth interrupted her. "Get your health back first. You're still young. You can't ruin your health and end up like me, living in a sanatorium year-round, can you?"
Elizabeth had already arranged everything. If she refused again, it would be too impolite.
Aria sighed inwardly and had no choice but to accept.
She ate absentmindedly when suddenly, she didn't know what she ate, but her stomach cramped.
She frowned, trying hard to suppress the urge to vomit.
But the nausea came on too strong - she had no way to control it.
Without even managing to say "excuse me," she got up awkwardly and rushed to the bathroom to throw up.
In the living room, everyone froze.
Elizabeth wasn't surprised; rather, this deepened her suspicions.
Arthur's gaze was heavy as he watched the direction Aria had gone.
After vomiting, Aria felt anxious.
As soon as she came out, everyone's eyes were on her.
Especially Arthur - his gaze seemed to see right through her.
He had finally noticed something was wrong.
Recently, she'd been vomiting frequently, her temper was short, and her tastes had changed.
"Aria, are you pregnant?" he asked.