Chapter 17 How to Raise Children?
"Aria, it's really you!"
Summer gave her a big hug as soon as she walked in.
"I just heard the nurses over there saying that someone named Aria Hall was in the hospital with no one to take care of her. How pitiful."
She sat on the edge of the bed, placing her hand on Aria's forehead. "What's wrong with you? Where's Arthur? Why isn't he here taking care of you!"
The long-missed concern made Aria's eyes instantly well up with tears.
She quickly wiped her eyes. "Never mind about me, why did you suddenly come back? And to the hospital?"
"Of course it's because I graduated early!" Summer happily pulled out her diploma from her bag.
A medical doctorate from Germany! Anyone who got this diploma would want to show it off.
Aria was happy for her. "Oh my God, honey! You're a genius! Once I'm better, we definitely need to celebrate!"
"Alright." Summer gently patted her back. "You still haven't told me what's going on!"
Aria hesitated, finding it hard to speak.
Summer got anxious and grabbed the medical chart from the bedside.
"Oh my God! You're pregnant? How did you have a threatened miscarriage?"
Summer couldn't believe it. "And you're in the hospital alone like this?"
Aria's eyes instantly dimmed as she nodded.
"Does Arthur not know you're pregnant?"
"I told him." Aria said helplessly. "But he doesn't believe me. I guess that's my fault for lying to him first."
"Actually, I wasn't planning to tell him because we're about to get divorced."
"What?!" Summer nearly jumped up.
She knew Arthur and Aria's situation very well.
Even if Arthur didn't exactly love Aria, they'd been married for three years and now had a child. How did it suddenly get to the point of divorce?
And even if they were really getting divorced, how could Aria be in the hospital alone without anyone to take care of her?
What the hell was Arthur doing?
Summer got angrier the more she thought about it, her fists clenched tight. "That bastard! I'm going to find him right now!"
"Don't go!" Aria quickly grabbed her hand. "It's no use. He's with Sophie now."
Summer let out another cry of surprise. "Sophie?! Didn't she go abroad?"
"She went abroad, she didn't die. Of course she can come back."
Aria said sarcastically, holding back the sourness rising in her nose.
Actually, she did resent Sophie a bit.
She'd thought countless times how much better it would be if this person hadn't come back.
But reason also told her that things getting to this point today didn't have much to do with Sophie.
Their marriage had been fragile all along.
What really made her feel pain was that in three years of marriage, Arthur had never loved her.
All these feelings—even if she wanted to talk about them, she didn't know where to start.
Under Summer's persistent questioning, she briefly explained the situation, making Summer's brow furrow deeper.
"So, because of a third party, you're planning to get divorced, raise the child alone, and become a single mom?"
Summer looked at her like she was looking at a complete idiot. "Aria, have you lost your mind?!"
She lowered her eyes and smiled bitterly. "But besides divorce, what other choice do I have?"
Summer laughed in frustration.
Her voice suddenly rose. "God, wake up!"
"You're twelve weeks pregnant now, with a threatened miscarriage, lying in the hospital alone. Forget about the issue of pregnant women needing care—I'm just asking you, after the divorce, do you have money?!"
"The Hall family has already gone bankrupt, my dear lady!"
Aria's heart trembled at her outburst.
Before they got married, they'd signed a prenup. If they divorced, the assets she could get would be very limited.
The studio's income was decent for now.
But she needed to buy a house, pay huge property taxes every year, expensive insurance.
There were just too many places that needed money.
She had indeed overlooked this point.
Summer paced back and forth in the hospital room, extremely anxious.
"This private room you're staying in costs eight hundred dollars a day."
She picked up the medical chart and looked through it carefully. "Medication to prevent miscarriage, nutrition injections, tests—at least two thousand. Plus nutritious meals, nursing care... Oh my God, you've already spent almost ten thousand dollars!"
"Honey, have you been a rich wife for so long that you have no idea how ordinary people live?"
Aria's face stiffened.
She really hadn't paid attention to the bills.
She rarely had any major expenses before, and even when she did, Arthur would pay for her.
In her subconscious mind, she'd never thought ten thousand dollars was a big amount.
"I still have some savings..." Aria tried to argue, but there was no confidence in her words.
Summer took a deep breath and started calculating.
"Prenatal checkups, nutritional supplements, and other things you need during pregnancy. Based on your standard of living, it'll cost at least thirty thousand dollars."
"What about after the baby's born? Formula, diapers, stroller... at least three thousand a month, and that's not counting hiring a nanny and vaccinations."
With each number she mentioned, Aria's fingers clenched tighter.
Summer sighed. "Of course, if you're willing to experience the free medical care at a public hospital, you could save a lot of money."
Obviously, Aria hadn't suffered those hardships and couldn't possibly go to a public hospital.
"Now tell me, are your savings enough for you to be a single mom?"
Aria's lips trembled slightly.
"Life as a single mom is extremely hard. You haven't experienced it yourself, so you can't imagine it." Summer sat back down on the bed and held her hand.
"Aria, when I was interning in Germany, I met many single moms. They really had no choice, but you still have a chance."
Aria's eyes flickered, but quickly dimmed again.
"It's impossible. I have no choice left."
Summer placed her hand on hers, gently stroking it. "I know you're very disappointed in this marriage, but at least you need to let Arthur know you're pregnant."
"Even if you really get divorced, you need to get more child support for your child!"
"Otherwise, when the child grows up and finds out they were supposed to inherit billions, but lost their father's love because of one decision you made."
"Do you think they'll blame you?"