Chapter 28 Only to Repay the Kindness
Aria had caught a cold.
When Summer came to see her, she had just finished dealing with some studio matters and was curled up on the couch.
She was covered with a thick blanket, tissues from blowing her nose scattered all over the floor. Her nose was still red, and she kept sniffling.
"Whoa, what happened to you?" Summer had come carrying two bags. Seeing the situation, she quickly set them down and came over to feel Aria's forehead.
"Okay, okay, no fever. You seem to be in decent spirits. What's going on? Did you catch a cold?"
Aria's voice sounded stuffy. "It's nothing, I just caught a chill. Had some hot milk, feeling much better now."
"How did you catch a chill out of nowhere?" Summer looked at her suspiciously. "It's been pretty warm lately."
Aria didn't answer right away. Her eyes fell on the bags Summer had brought. "What's that?"
"Don't change the subject." Summer wasn't falling for it. She stared at her. "What really happened? Have you not been resting properly these past few days?"
"Or just tell me the truth - did that jerk Arthur upset you again?"
Aria knew she couldn't hide it. She sighed, pulled the blanket up higher, hesitated for a moment, then said quietly. "The night before last, I got caught in some wind."
"Why were you out in the wind in the middle of the night?" Summer pressed.
"Arthur got drunk. The bar was worried something might happen to him, so they called me to pick him up."
"I had just washed my hair, went out and got hit by the wind, and then..."
Aria's voice got smaller and smaller.
Summer's eyes went wide. She almost jumped up, her voice rising. "What what? He got drunk, they called you to pick him up, and you actually went?!"
"Yeah." Aria nodded, being honest. "I went, but I didn't get to pick him up. By the time I got there, someone had already taken him."
"Who took him? That Sophie?" Summer's anger grew with each question.
"Probably her." Aria gave a slight smile. "The bartender said her contact name was 'Sweetheart.'"
Summer made a gagging motion, her expression exaggerated.
"That's so disgusting! And then you just came back? You caught a cold over this stupid thing?"
Aria made an affirmative sound and didn't say more.
She really hadn't expected her body to be this weak. Just a little bit of wind, maybe three or four minutes at most, and she caught a cold.
Bringing up this incident again, Aria realized she couldn't muster much emotion about Arthur and Sophie anymore. At most, she just felt bad about how weak her body was and that she needed to be more careful in the future.
Summer, on the other hand, seeing her so calm, seemed to be imagining all sorts of things. She stood up and started pacing back and forth.
"Aria! I really don't know what to say to you. You're so kind-hearted, you could carry a cross and cosplay as Jesus!"
"I just don't get it - after the way he treated you, why do you still care if he lives or dies!"
Aria was startled by her outburst, then smiled.
"It's just that the bartender said he was really drunk, threw up several times. I was worried something might really happen to him."
"If something happened, he'd deserve it!" Summer was so angry her chest was heaving. "Besides, doesn't he have his sweetheart? Is it your place to worry about him?"
"Aria, can you please wake up? You're about to get divorced! Who he's with, whether he lives or dies - none of that has anything to do with you anymore!"
"I know, this is the last time." Aria lowered her eyes. "Just consider it... paying back everything I owed him from before."
"Owed him?" Summer froze. "What do you owe him? You saved his life, married him and suffered for three years - he's the one who owes you!"
Aria fell silent.
Her gaze suddenly turned toward the window. Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, falling on her face in patches of light and shadow.
"There are some things you don't know. Before the marriage, when my family went bankrupt, he did me a huge favor."
Summer frowned and listened as she continued.
"Back then, my dad's business failed and he got really sick. The company and home were in chaos. People from the bank came several times. We had nothing left at home."
"Even the house we were living in was about to be taken away because we couldn't pay the property taxes. I went everywhere asking people for help, trying to borrow money, but I couldn't get a single coin."
She sighed, her eyelids drooping slightly, as if returning to that desperate afternoon.
People in uniforms forcibly dragged her bedridden father out. They closed the door and wouldn't let them take anything.
They were about to put up the seals.
"It was Arthur who helped me solve all of that."
Summer held her breath, already able to imagine what that scene must have been like.
She had just gotten her acceptance letter from a German university and had just boarded the plane.
By the time she got the news, Aria had already married Arthur.
"He didn't say much, just took one look, then made a phone call. Before long, someone came and paid everything that needed to be paid."
Aria's smile was somewhat bitter. "Later, he helped my dad contact better doctors. Although my dad didn't make it in the end, at least in the last period of his life, he didn't have to worry about money anymore."
"Just consider this as repaying the favor he did by helping back then."
Summer had a belly full of curses ready, but now she couldn't get any of them out.
She let out a heavy sigh, sat back down on the couch, and put her arm around Aria's shoulder.
"You're such a fool."
Summer knew this was just an excuse Aria was making for caring about Arthur.
Hopefully this would be the last excuse she'd need to use.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Look at this, cheer yourself up." Summer opened the bag on the floor and pulled out baby clothes.
A pale yellow onesie with cute little bears printed on it, the fabric light and soft.
The moment Aria saw these little clothes, it was as if she could see the baby arriving in a few months.
Genuine joy burst from her eyes, impossible to hide.
"So beautiful."
"Of course! I spent ages picking them out at the boutique! I don't even know if it's a boy or a girl yet."
Aria instinctively touched her belly. In a few more months it wouldn't be a secret anymore. She would throw a proper gender reveal party for the baby.
So what if there's no father? Whatever other babies have, her baby would have too. She would do everything she could to give them the best!
She touched each little piece of clothing, broke into a smile, and gave Summer a big hug.
"Thank you."
"Thank me for what?" Summer tucked the blanket tighter around her. "You just need to get your health back and have a healthy baby. I'm the one who should be thanking you!"
She paused, then added. "Oh right, be careful - you can't just take any cold medicine. Drink lots of hot water, get plenty of rest. Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"
"Yes, please!"
They were chatting when Aria's phone rang. She opened it to look, and all her good mood instantly collapsed.