Chapter 135 Fragmented Words
The eyes of others never left their direction from the very beginning.
At first, it was just discreet glances, but watching how affectionately old Mr. Gray treated Aria, and how naturally and harmoniously the grandparents and grandchildren got along.
Those guests who had been consoling themselves earlier now felt completely uncertain, their expressions becoming more complicated.
The initial whispers gradually turned into silent speculation.
Everyone was wondering—what kind of role does this woman really play?
Before long, the birthday banquet officially began.
Wave after wave of guests lined up to offer their birthday wishes. The scene was lively but tedious.
Lance worried that Aria and Jasper might get bored, and didn't want her to be bothered by those stares anymore, so he simply said in a low voice, "It's crowded here. Let me take you over there to get something to eat."
Lance naturally took Jasper's hand and walked toward a less crowded buffet area.
Aria looked down at Jasper clinging to Lance's side and said softly, "I'm going to the restroom first. Keep an eye on Jasper for me."
Lance nodded gently, naturally reaching out to pat Jasper's head, his tone reassuring, "Go ahead, take your time. I'll wait here with him."
"Okay."
She turned and made her way through the crowd toward the restroom at the end of the hallway. The noise behind her gradually faded, leaving only the quiet lights in the corridor.
Just as she reached the restroom door, before she could push it open, several deliberately lowered female voices came from inside. Their fragmented gossip pierced her ears like needles.
"Hey, did you guys think that woman with Lance earlier looked really familiar?"
"More than familiar—oh right, I remember now. Isn't she the woman who divorced Arthur back then and just left without a word?"
"No wonder she looked so striking... I really didn't expect it to be her!"
"And Lance brought her directly to an occasion like this? What's he trying to do?"
"What else could it be? I just heard from the elders in my family that back then, Lance insisted on going abroad despite all that pressure from his family, and it was all because of her."
"Because of her? Was it worth it? She's Arthur's ex-wife."
"Who knows? Men's hearts are the hardest to read. Back when she and Arthur split up, Lance left not long after. There's definitely more to the story."
"Tsk tsk, really didn't see that coming..."
Those words, wrapped in curiosity, speculation, and barely concealed contempt, drilled into Aria's ears without missing a single syllable.
She stood outside the door, her fingertips tightening slightly.
So after all these years, the label she couldn't shake off was still Arthur's ex-wife.
She thought that as long as she went far enough away, when she reappeared, she would just be Aria, Jasper's mother.
But in others' eyes, she would always be Arthur's unwanted ex-wife first, and herself second.
No one cared how she had survived these years. No one asked why she left back then. And no one cared whether she wanted to be someone's past, someone's regret...
She never imagined that her past would become gossip about Lance.
Even less did she expect that his casual remark back then about "overseas markets being good" hid so much determination that everyone knew about except her.
All she ever wanted was for Jasper to live a stable life.
But even this bit of stability had to be dragged back again and again by others' gossip to that past she no longer wanted to revisit.
Her chest felt like it had been rubbed with fine sand—stuffy and bitter.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in her eyes, and raised her hand to push open the restroom door.
Her face still wore that calm, indifferent expression, but the hand hanging at her side quietly clenched and then released.
--
When Aria came back from the restroom, her complexion was paler than before, and even her smile was so faint it was almost invisible.
He immediately noticed something was wrong with her mood. His steps paused slightly, his gaze falling on her face with barely noticeable concern. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Aria didn't mention a word about the gossip in the restroom.
She lowered her eyes slightly, raising her hand to press her temple, her voice vague. "No, I might have low blood sugar."
Lance's brow furrowed lightly. He went to get her water and some small pastries. "Eating something will help."
"Okay."
Near the end of the banquet, Aria spoke softly, "Lance, I'm still a bit jet-lagged and tired. I'm going to take Jasper back to rest."
Lance immediately stood up. "I'll take you."
Just as he finished speaking, family elders called out to him. A bunch of guests were still waiting for him to see them off and wrap things up. He simply couldn't leave.
His brow furrowed slightly, his eyes full of concern. Finally, he could only turn to instruct his assistant, "You drive. Make sure to get Aria and Jasper back safely. Contact me directly if anything happens."
The assistant nodded in agreement. "Yes, sir. I'll make sure Ms. Hall and the young master get back safely."
Aria nodded lightly, took Jasper's hand, thanked him, and turned to walk into the night.
Lance stood in place, watching her figure gradually disappear into the distance, his brow tightly furrowed.
That earlier sign that something was wrong was definitely not as simple as low blood sugar.
He turned and walked to a quiet spot, beckoning the butler over. His voice was low, carrying an undeniable gravity. "Go check if anyone was near the restroom when Aria went there earlier, and what they said.
Check carefully, but keep it quiet."
"Yes, I'll handle it right away."
The butler bowed and withdrew. Lance stood in place, his fingertips unconsciously tapping his palm, his eyes dark.
The car drove all the way back to the hotel.
After saying goodbye to the assistant, Aria took Jasper up to the top-floor suite.
As soon as she entered, she felt like she'd shed a layer of armor.
She first helped the child wash up, gently coaxing Jasper to bed, telling half a story. Once the little one fell into a deep sleep, she carefully got up and closed the bedroom door.
Only an extremely dim floor lamp was on in the outer room.
She sat by the floor-to-ceiling window without turning on the lights, just quietly sinking into the darkness.
In her ears, over and over, were those harsh words from the restroom.
"Isn't she Arthur's ex-wife?"
"Don't know what Lance was thinking, going abroad under all that pressure for her..."
"Was it worth it?"
--
Each sentence was like a fine needle, lightly pricking her heart.
She thought she no longer cared what others thought.
But when she actually heard it, she realized that the past, those labels, had never truly let her go.
She just wanted to be Aria.
To be Jasper's mother.
Not someone's ex-wife, not someone's regret, and certainly not the subject of others' "was it worth it" gossip.
But in this world, there were just so many people who only wanted to see what they wanted to see, only wanted to talk about what they loved to discuss.
She kept her eyes open, gazing at the blurred night scene outside the window, unable to sleep.
Her heart felt sour and bitter, the feeling indescribable.
Some things, she really didn't know who to talk to about...