Chapter 127 Mistaken Identity
Arthur lay in bed, his consciousness already blurred by alcohol and stomach pain.
His eyes were half-open, his gaze unfocused, only able to make out a soft profile beside the bed.
The warm yellow bedside lamp cast a glow on her hair, her profile soft and gentle as she quietly watched over him, just like countless nights in his memory.
In that moment, he was completely confused.
His throat dry and hoarse, he instinctively reached out his hand, his fingertips lightly touching Assistant Morgan's wrist, his voice as soft as sleep-talking, "Aria..."
Assistant Morgan's hand holding the water glass suddenly froze. Her whole body went rigid. She slowly turned her head and met his confused yet dependent gaze.
She didn't respond, just silently helped him sit up, bringing the stomach medicine and warm water to his lips, saying gently, "Take your medicine."
But Arthur still stared at her blankly, his eyes showing an unprecedented softness, mistaking the person before him for the one in his heart.
He looked at her with hazy, gentle eyes, filled with post-drinking dependence. He was clearly looking through her at another woman.
Her heart stung, and she understood instantly.
He had mistaken her for Aria.
Bitterness welled up inside her, but she just gently set down the water glass, her movements perfectly gentle. "Arthur, you've taken your medicine. Rest well. I'll leave now."
After speaking, she stood up, deliberately lightening her footsteps, making to turn and leave.
Sure enough, the next second, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by a burning hot hand.
Arthur found strength from somewhere, his fingers gripping her wrist tightly, with such force as if afraid she would disappear.
His brow was still furrowed, his face pale, but his eyes stuck to her face, filled with deep reluctance and panic, his voice hoarse and broken, "Don't go."
Assistant Morgan's steps paused. She didn't turn around.
The next moment, Arthur propped himself up and suddenly pulled her close, without explanation embracing her tightly.
He buried his face in her neck, his burning breath mixed with the smell of alcohol spraying on her skin, his mouth repeatedly murmuring that name, carrying years of suppressed longing.
"Aria, don't go."
"I miss you so much."
"These past years, I've thought about you every day."
"I was really wrong. I shouldn't have just let you leave like that. I didn't even know you were pregnant, letting you bear so much alone. I'm such a bastard!"
--
He held her extremely tight, as if trying to meld her into his bones, with the fragility and trembling of something lost and found.
All the guilt and longing from his daily life, in this moment, aided by alcohol, poured out without reservation, all crashing down on Assistant Morgan.
She was held tightly in his arms, her ears filled with his suppressed yet burning longing.
Her hands hanging at her sides slowly clenched, then slowly relaxed.
Ha.
So in his eyes, she really was just Aria's substitute.
But so what if he saw her as Aria? So what if he mistook her identity?
In this moment, she suddenly didn't care about anything anymore.
If she could use this opportunity, using Aria's name to be with him...
As long as they had physical intimacy, as long as something happened, the relationship between them would never be just boss and assistant.
With that thought, the last trace of hesitation in Assistant Morgan's eyes completely disappeared.
She didn't push him away. Instead, she slowly raised her hand, tentatively placing it on his back, following his tense lines, bit by bit embracing him back.
She gently rested her cheek against his burning shoulder, her voice soft and gentle, deliberately lowering it, coaxing softly, "Arthur, I'm not leaving. I'm here."
Hearing this, Arthur held her even tighter, like grasping a lifeline, burying all the unspoken longing and grievances of these years in her neck, murmuring.
"Aria, is it really you? Have you come back?"
Assistant Morgan's heart tightened, but she didn't push away. She just went along with him, slightly lifting her head to look at him, deliberately letting tender warmth ripple in her eyes, allowing him to continue his mistaken identity.
This silence, in Arthur's eyes, became the most genuine response.
He could no longer hold back, burying his face back in her shoulder. He held her tighter and tighter, as if trying to fill all the emptiness of these years.
The next second, he suddenly paused, with expectation, carefully and nervously asking the question he'd kept in his heart for so long, "I saw a child in a photo who looks like both you and me. That's our child, right? Is it?"
Assistant Morgan's whole body stiffened.
The calculation and jealousy in her heart instantly surged, but she didn't expose the truth. Instead, she gently raised her hand, wrapped it around his neck, and leaned even closer into his embrace.
Arthur's eyes instantly reddened. Holding her, he murmured as if losing his voice, "It's true! It really is our child! Aria, you gave birth to that child, didn't you?"
"Thank you, Aria, really thank you. Thank you for being willing to come back, thank you for being willing to give birth to our child."
"It's late, let's rest first."
Assistant Morgan soothed him gently, carefully helping Arthur lie back down on the bed. Just as she was about to lean closer, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by him.
A faint but unfamiliar perfume scent entered his nose. Arthur's confused pupils suddenly contracted. The eyes that had just been immersed in longing suddenly became clear, the alcohol haze extinguished as if by cold water.
He almost instinctively pushed her away hard, with such force that Assistant Morgan staggered back a step.
Arthur propped himself up to sit, cold sweat seeping from his temples. The twisting pain in his stomach was still there, but at this moment, clearer than the pain was the anger and disappointment of being deceived.
He stared at the person before him, his voice cold as ice, word by word, carrying the hoarseness and wariness of just regaining consciousness.
"No, you're not Aria."
"Who are you?"
Assistant Morgan froze completely by the bedside, her face instantly turning deathly pale.
She never expected Arthur would suddenly sober up at this critical moment. Those eyes that had just been full of longing and vulnerability had now recovered some clarity and sharpness, falling directly on her, piercing her heart with panic.
After a moment of panic, she quickly suppressed the turmoil in her heart. Water mist quickly spread in her eyes. She bit her lip, showing just the right amount of grievance, her voice trembling slightly, carrying some helplessness.
"Mr. Grant, it's me... Rachel Morgan."
"You drank too much just now and mistook me for someone else, holding me and refusing to let go..."
She deliberately softened her tone, not mentioning at all that she had gone along with it, deliberately impersonating Aria. She pushed all the blame onto his drunken mistake, trying to use grievance and weakness to smooth over the flaws from earlier.
Arthur closed his eyes, his fingertips pressing his throbbing temples. Most of the alcohol had worn off, leaving only a heart full of regret and embarrassment.
He had been so drunk that he mistook someone, taking Rachel for Aria, and said so many inappropriate things.
When he opened his eyes again, they had returned to their usual cool detachment, though his tone carried a bit more genuine apology, his voice low and hoarse.
"I'm sorry. I drank too much and mistook you for someone else just now. I made you uncomfortable. Please leave. I want to be alone for a while."