Chapter 22 Disappear Forever!
Aria shook off Arthur's hand.
Running into Arthur today was already unexpected.
And his attitude was even more unexpected.
Aria thought that after he sent that letter causing her miscarriage that day, he must have decided to ignore her completely.
Forget about taking clients to dinner—even if she died right in front of him, he wouldn't spare her a second glance.
So why was he bringing up this so-called "Mrs. Grant" identity now?
The way he was acting, it was like he never even knew she was pregnant.
Or maybe... he had planned all along to pretend this child never existed?
This was ridiculous!
"Arthur!" Her voice was hoarse. "Get out of my sight with your mistress. Between us, there's nothing left to talk about except divorce."
Charles stood up too, positioning himself in front of Aria.
"Mr. Grant, please leave before things get worse."
Sophie's face went from pale to flushed. Right now, she was the one most desperate to leave.
She tugged hard at Arthur's arm, her voice extremely low.
"Arthur, let's go, please, stop making a scene. So many people are watching!"
Arthur's gaze was locked on Aria's face.
Those eyes that once brimmed with adoration and tenderness toward him now held only coldness and weariness.
So unfamiliar.
He wanted to say something, to demand why she kept embarrassing him in public.
But his throat felt blocked.
After several attempts to breathe, he said through gritted teeth, "Fine. Since you won't listen to reason, I have nothing more to say."
"Oh, and get more rest. If you're not feeling well, go to the hospital."
This coldly spoken concern sounded completely different to Aria's ears.
She had just come from the hospital—he knew that. So why was he specifically telling her to go to the hospital?
Was he hinting that she should hurry up and get rid of the child?
Her face instantly turned deathly pale.
Was he that eager to be rid of her?
"Mind your own business! You have no right to make decisions for me!"
She shouted, and suddenly felt discomfort in her lower abdomen, forcing her to sit down to calm herself.
Arthur was stunned by her outburst. Before he could say anything, Sophie had already pressed close to him, intimately wrapping her arms around him. "Let's go, let's not disturb them."
Afraid Arthur might turn back, Sophie pulled him away faster and faster, leaving Aria with only his resolute retreating figure.
Aria was shaking with anger.
"Ms. Hall, are you alright?" Charles had the waiter bring another cup of hot milk.
"You look terrible. Maybe you should..."
He wisely didn't repeat the suggestion to go to the hospital.
Aria shook her head weakly and took the cup for a sip.
The sweet milk gradually calmed her emotions.
"I'm fine, Mr. White. Sorry you had to see me like this again."
Charles sat down across from her, his tone gentle. "I don't mind, but Ms. Hall, if I may be frank."
"Your current state really worries me. My suggestion is to get away from all that annoying work and those awful people. Come stay at my estate for a while."
"I have many artist friends living there. We have regular gatherings to relax."
Aria politely declined this tempting offer.
If she were still the young lady of the Hall family, she would of course be happy to hang out with artists and relax.
But she was about to become a mother.
Though her financial situation was still decent, she had to earn more money and plan for the future.
"Don't worry, I can handle everything," she said softly, as if cheering herself on.
Charles knew she was in bad shape and didn't push further. Instead, he called the waiter to settle the bill.
He changed the subject at the right moment. "By the way, how's your flower exhibition coming along?"
Aria took a deep breath and adopted a professional demeanor. "Why don't we go to the site and take a look?"
Charles nodded with an expectant expression. "Great, I'll drive."
Aria tried to avoid returning to the villa. The shadow of that night made her feel suffocated.
She just wanted to throw herself into work and completely forget those painful things.
Sunlight streamed through the car window onto her pale face, but she felt no warmth at all.
The tightness in her lower abdomen seemed to ease a bit, but a more sorrowful emotion lingered in her heart, impossible to shake off.
She had been thinking about one question these past few days.
Just being pregnant was already this difficult—could she really raise a child on her own?
Most importantly, Arthur didn't want this child. He had even just urged her to go to the hospital as soon as possible.
If she selfishly gave birth to the child but couldn't provide a happy, complete family—
Would that really be good for the child?
At the venue, Charles tried every way to cheer Aria up.
He chatted with her about how to arrange the flower exhibition, how to promote it. Though she tried to engage, she was still somewhat distracted.
Understanding that Aria was exhausted, Charles tactfully found an excuse to end today's meeting.
Aria returned to the studio, her mind heavy with worries.
Lucy immediately rushed over, her face full of anxiety.
"Aria, you're finally back! After you left with Mr. White this afternoon, a delivery came that had to be signed for by you personally."
Lucy handed her a tightly wrapped box.
Aria took the package, inexplicably feeling something was wrong.
The box wasn't large, but had no sender information.
"Who sent this?"
Lucy frowned. "I don't know. The delivery guy just dropped it off and left, only saying you had to open it yourself."
Aria unwrapped the package. Inside was a transparent sealed bag.
In the bag was a rose, except the flower and stem were separated—clearly broken apart deliberately.
Next to the rose was a note.
Aria held her breath and picked up the note to unfold it.
There was no greeting, no signature, just one line of printed text.
[What shouldn't exist had better disappear forever!]
Lucy leaned in for a look, gasped, and stared with terrified eyes.
Aria crumpled the note in her palm, murmuring, "What shouldn't exist?"
What shouldn't exist?
Her studio, or the child in her belly?
"Aria! This is a threat! We should call the police!" Lucy cried out.