Chapter 18 Tell Him the Truth
Aria's heart trembled.
She lowered her head and touched her still-flat belly.
She couldn't feel any sign of life there yet, but it already made her see that terrible future.
"Will he... will he blame me?"
She kept repeating this question.
She thought back to her childhood, as a young lady of the Hall family, attending elite schools from a young age, picked up and dropped off in luxury cars.
Every year she would take several cruise trips, and her closet was filled with countless expensive clothes and jewelry.
Her child could have had all of this too. If her decision caused the child to lose this wonderful future...
Just thinking about it made Aria's chest feel tight and sore.
"Aria, I'm not asking you to compromise yourself."
Seeing her distress, Summer's voice softened.
"I just don't want to see you give up Arthur to someone else without even having the courage to fight for him."
"Have you forgotten? You loved him so much back then, you almost died for him!"
"You finally got married, got pregnant, and now you're just giving up? I feel frustrated for you!"
Aria's heart shook again.
Her fingers tightened into fists, knuckles turning white.
She remained silent for a long time.
Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened. The lights were on in the hospital room, making the walls look blindingly white.
Maybe Summer was right.
She couldn't just give up like this.
At least... she had to fight once for this unborn child.
Aria bit her lip. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Of course! What do you want to do? Call him? If you don't know what to say, I can help you."
She shook her head. "If I just tell him directly, he probably won't believe me. I'm going to mail these things to him."
She organized the pregnancy test results and hospital diagnosis records and put them in an envelope.
Besides that, there was also a handwritten letter from her.
[Arthur:
I'm writing this letter from the maternity ward at St. Peter's Hospital.
I'm pregnant. It's your child.
Last time when I said I was having my period, I actually lied to you.
At the time, I thought since our marriage had already reached its end, there was no need to let you know I was pregnant, so I wouldn't become an obstacle for you.
But that night, we almost...
I started bleeding from getting too emotional. The doctor said it's a threatened miscarriage and I need to be careful. I've been alone in the hospital these past few days.]
At this point, Aria's pen paused, and she stared blankly into space.
She wondered what exactly she was doing. Was she just trying to get more child support?
Or was she being greedier, wanting to make one last effort for this marriage that was about to fall apart?
She smiled bitterly, shook her head, and continued writing:
[During these days in the hospital, I've thought a lot.
This is our child. I can't be so selfish as to take away his chance to know his father, or your right to be a father. I have to tell you about his existence.
Perhaps this child can keep our marriage going for a while longer, and when it truly ends, we can both move on with our lives without any regrets.
Of course, if you really don't care about this child, please tell me clearly.
I'll sign the divorce papers and leave with the child.
—Aria]
This short passage was extremely difficult for her to write.
After finishing the letter, she sealed the envelope and handed it to Summer.
She didn't plan to use a courier service—that wouldn't be safe enough.
Summer was willing to make the trip to Grant Corporation to deliver it to Arthur in person - he would definitely see the letter through their mail room.
Summer solemnly took the envelope. "Don't worry, I'll deliver it to him personally."
But when Summer went to deliver the letter, Arthur wasn't at the company.
Even his assistant wasn't there.
Summer waited for two hours, feeling anxious.
Aria was still in the hospital and needed someone to take care of her. She couldn't stay away too long.
Finally, she could only ask the receptionist to send the letter to the CEO's office before leaving.
Unfortunately, she didn't know that her every move was being watched by Sophie.
At the company, Sophie was more like Mrs. Grant than Aria was.
She stared at Summer's retreating figure, then walked over to the reception desk.
"Director Smith, can I help you?"
"I'm here to bring Arthur lunch." Sophie held up her lunch box. "What did that woman want with Mr. Grant just now?"
The receptionist replied, "She delivered a letter for Mr. Grant. It seemed quite important."
Sophie raised an eyebrow but said nothing more, carrying the lunch box into the office.
The thick envelope sat in the most visible spot on the desk.
Although there was no sender information on it, the beautiful handwriting on the envelope was clearly Aria's.
Why was she sending a letter?
And the person who delivered it looked like Aria's friend—she seemed familiar.
Sophie put down the lunch box, sat in Arthur's chair, and directly tore open the envelope.
The contents made her face change color immediately.
Aria was pregnant?!
Her fingers began to tremble.
If Arthur saw this letter and found out Aria was carrying his child...
No! She absolutely couldn't let him know!
Sophie crumpled the letter into a ball and threw both the letter and the test results into the shredder.
After doing all this, Sophie took deep breaths and replaced the envelope's position with the lunch box, making sure Arthur would see it as soon as he came in.
Just like she could replace Aria's position.
As soon as she left the office, she ran into Arthur.
"What brings you here?"
"I... I brought you something to eat. Your assistant said you didn't have lunch."
Sophie smiled, pretending nothing had happened.
Arthur smiled and put his arm around her shoulder.
"I'm actually hungry. If you're not busy, eat with me."
Once inside, Arthur opened the lunch box to find his favorite sandwich and salad.
He then asked, "The receptionist said someone delivered a letter for me. Where did it go?"
Sophie leaned against the desk, her tone casual. "I took a look—it was just junk mail from a hospital. I threw it in the shredder."
Arthur naturally trusted Sophie completely and didn't think much of it.
The next evening, Aria received a letter from Arthur.
She nervously opened it, only to find a few words written: Get an abortion as soon as possible.