Chapter 19 The Life-saving Grace
Looking at those words, Aria felt completely dazed.
She clutched the thin piece of paper, and before she even realized what she was doing, she had already torn it apart.
How... how could this be possible?
He didn't care about this child at all? He was directly telling her to abort the baby!
How could he be so heartless?
With trembling hands, Aria pieced the paper back together, reading the words over and over again.
She wanted to find some flaw in it, even telling herself this was all just a dream!
But the paper felt real to the touch, and its sharp edges even cut her finger.
Summer came over to bring her food and saw her looking completely out of it. She snatched the paper away and her eyes went wide.
"Arthur sent this? Is he crazy?! He's actually telling you to abort the baby?!"
Her voice was shrill, almost breaking.
Has this man lost his mind?
Furious, she tore the paper to shreds, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it several times.
"I'm going to find him! I'm going to ask him to his face why he's treating you like this!"
She tried to rush out, but Aria got up from the bed and lunged toward her.
Moving too quickly, she stumbled and almost fell.
"Aria!" Summer quickly caught her.
"Don't go." Aria's voice was hoarse, and tears finally burst from her eyes.
"There's no point. By sending me this paper, he's already made his position clear."
"How is there no point?!" Summer shouted.
"How can he treat you like this? Has he forgotten that when he inherited the company, those competitors wanted him dead and were waiting in that alley to shoot him, and you took the bullet for him!"
"If I hadn't shown up with the bodyguards, you would have died right there!"
"I need to ask him how he can hurt his own savior like this!"
Aria's voice was miserable. "He never asked me to save him. I threw myself in front of him on my own."
"Using a favor to demand repayment is the most pointless thing. He doesn't love me. If I remind him of it, he'll just find me more annoying."
She wiped the tears from her face awkwardly.
"Since he finds this marriage so unbearable, there's no point in me clinging to it anymore. This letter has already told me his decision."
Summer was both furious and heartbroken for her, her own eyes reddening as she hugged Aria and gently patted her back.
She asked hesitantly, "So now, are you still decided on having the baby and raising it on your own?"
"Aria, I think you should really think this through. Raising a child alone is going to be incredibly hard!"
Aria's hand gently touched her belly.
"Of course I'm going to have him. This is my child, a gift from God. I'll love him well and give him everything I can."
She sighed. "Summer, help me with the discharge paperwork. I can leave the hospital now."
Summer wanted to persuade her more, but knowing her stubborn personality, she eventually gave in.
"Alright, wait for me. I'll go find the doctor."
The discharge procedures went quickly.
Aria changed into her own clothes and stood in front of the mirror in the hospital room.
In the mirror, she looked thin and pale. She fixed herself up and put on lipstick to make herself look healthier.
She wanted to face her new life in the best possible condition.
After leaving the hospital, she didn't return to the villa but went straight to her studio.
As soon as she walked in, Lucy came over. "Aria, you're back!"
She responded faintly.
Lucy couldn't help but worry. "How's your health? You look so worn out."
Aria smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm fine."
She took off her coat and hung it on the rack.
The other employees in the studio also greeted her, all concerned about her condition.
That's right, she hadn't been to the studio in several days.
What made her feel desolate was that her employees cared about her, but her husband hadn't even said a word of concern.
He only urged her to get the abortion quickly.
Forget it, she shook her head.
Rather than dwelling on these troubles, she might as well focus on work and earn more money.
She opened her computer and told Lucy. "Organize the progress of the studio's recent projects into a document for me to review."
"Also, was there anything special that happened while I was away?"
Lucy closed the door, her expression becoming serious.
"There are actually a few things that need your personal attention."
Aria's heart tightened.
The collaborative projects were progressing fairly smoothly. The most troublesome issue was still the malicious complaints and negative reviews from last time.
Although they had already appealed to the platform, the other party seemed ready to strike again.
Aria's fingers tapped lightly on the desk.
She knew who was behind this.
She was wondering whether to talk to Sophie privately. Continuing this endless conflict wasn't good for either of them.
Besides, she had leverage.
Sophie wanted her to divorce quickly. The better her studio developed, the more favorable it would be for the divorce process, right?
She considered it and was about to call Sophie when she heard discussion from outside.
"...It's true, Mr. Grant and Miss Smith were holding hands, looking very intimate."
"Don't they care what people think? Mr. Grant is a married man!"
"They don't care at all. They can't wait to announce to the whole world that they're the real couple."
"It's just our poor boss who suffers, and she can't even say anything."
The voices gradually lowered into whispers.
Aria's eyes turned cold as she put down her phone. She had been so stupid. Sophie had Arthur's love and trust, and he didn't even care about the child, let alone her studio.
How she was doing, how her business was going—none of it could change the fact that they were getting divorced.
Calling Sophie might just get her mocked.
Why bother?
She let out a soft breath. Forget it, she'd think of another way.
After all, the online attacks were aimed at hurting her business. If she could expand her influence—
Like holding an exhibition or something, showing everyone the studio's real capabilities.
That way, the ongoing rumors and attacks online would become useless.
That's what she'd do!
Aria made up her mind and opened a document to start designing all the details of the exhibition.
Location, setup, promotion...
Right, the most important thing was promotion.
She couldn't have everything ready but no one showing up—that would be truly embarrassing.
But promotion would also cost a lot of money, and the studio's cash flow wasn't exactly abundant.
She thought for a long time and came up with a person.
This person might be able to help her, help the studio get through this difficult situation.
Soon, she dialed a number.
"Hello, is this Mr. White? This is Aria."
"My studio is planning to hold an exhibition. I was wondering if we'd have the honor of your attendance?"