Chapter 67 Morning Sickness
Aria stayed with Elizabeth in the garden for a while longer. By evening, Ann came out to say dinner was ready.
The two returned inside. The dining table was laden with over a dozen dishes, most of them light in flavor, though Ann had also prepared two heavier dishes considering Alex might come home to eat.
Just as they sat down at the table, they heard the front door open.
Arthur was home.
When he walked into the dining room, his face showed some fatigue. Seeing Aria and Elizabeth, he nodded. "Mom, Aria."
"You're back?" Elizabeth said. "Perfect timing, let's eat together."
Aria glanced at him. The band-aid on his lip had been removed, leaving a faint wound.
Thinking of last night's kiss, a complicated feeling inexplicably welled up inside her.
Seeing Arthur sit down beside her, she casually served him a bowl of hot soup.
Arthur was somewhat surprised. He took the bowl and stared blankly for a moment before showing a smile. "Thanks."
Aria lowered her eyes, softly said "Mm," and focused on eating.
Halfway through the meal, the doorbell rang.
Ann went to answer it, and then they heard Sophie's sweet voice. "Ann, I came to see Aunt Elizabeth."
Aria's hand tightened around her chopsticks. Arthur stood up directly, his brows furrowed tight, almost blurting out. "What are you doing here again!"
Elizabeth's face also darkened.
She coughed lightly, looked at Sophie, and put on a polite smile.
"Oh, Sophie, have you eaten? Why don't you sit down and eat with us?"
Though she said this, she didn't ask Ann to set out dishes for her.
Sophie didn't mind. She just smiled faintly. "Elizabeth, please don't be offended. I came today because I suddenly remembered I left something here and wanted to get it back."
Elizabeth looked up. "What is it?"
"A pair of stockings." Sophie said it very naturally, but her eyes glanced toward Aria with a hint of provocation. "I accidentally left them last time I was here. Ann, could you help me look for them? They should be in the drawer of the master bedroom's nightstand."
As soon as these words came out, the air in the dining room seemed to freeze.
Under what circumstances would someone leave their stockings in the drawer of someone else's master bedroom?
This was practically a blatant insinuation.
Elizabeth's face twisted. She gasped for air, clutching her chest. Her attendant rushed over, steadying her and pressing a pill into her hand. Elizabeth swallowed it, her breathing slowly evening out.
"Arthur, what's going on?"
She asked with anger in her voice.
Arthur frowned. "Sophie, stop talking nonsense."
"I'm not talking nonsense." Sophie smiled slightly, her eyes crinkling. "It was that time I came to see you, you asked me to stay over, and we together... I remember those stockings got torn by you, I said I didn't want them anymore, but you insisted on keeping them."
She leaned closer. "Do you really not remember at all?"
Arthur clenched his fists.
The only calm person here was Aria. Seeing Elizabeth catch her breath, she felt somewhat relieved and continued eating.
After all, she'd been through worse things, and besides, this matter had nothing to do with her anyway.
She had just picked up a piece of roasted pork and was slowly eating it when suddenly a greasy, fishy taste spread from her mouth, went down to her stomach, and everything came back up at once.
"Ugh—"
She covered her mouth, but it was too late. Her mouth was full of sour liquid, and the next second, she leaned over the table and vomited violently.
"Oh my God!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
Arthur immediately stood up to support her. "Aria, what's wrong?"
Aria couldn't stop retching, couldn't speak—only shake her head. Soon there was nothing left to bring up, but her stomach still cramped violently.
Sophie watched this scene, alarm bells ringing in her mind.
It looked like Aria's pregnancy was still hidden from Arthur and them. With this vomiting, would they become suspicious?
Arthur was already wavering. If he and his mother found out Aria was pregnant, wouldn't she lose all hope?
No, she absolutely couldn't let Elizabeth and Arthur know about this!
Sophie quickly said, "Oh my, what's wrong with Ms. Hall? Did she eat something bad? Should we take her to the hospital?"
As she spoke, she blinked at Aria, the hint very obvious.
Unfortunately, it was like winking at a blind person. Aria didn't even glance at Sophie, though she herself didn't want the Grant family to know about the pregnancy either.
If they found out, wouldn't the divorce be even more difficult?
She quickly said, "No need, no need. I've been going to the hospital so often lately, I'm almost afraid of staying there. If I go there, I might vomit even worse."
Elizabeth looked at her with concern. "What kind of talk is that? Vomiting this badly, how can you not go to the hospital? You're not a child anymore, you can't just decide not to go because you don't want to."
Arthur looked at Aria's pale face, his mind actually growing suspicious.
But that day he had clearly bought the test strips... His eyes darkened, and he made a quick decision. "Listen to me, go to the hospital!"
"No need!" Aria grabbed his arm, her voice somewhat urgent. "I'm really fine, I just accidentally ate something greasy, I'll be fine after resting a bit."
Sophie's eyes darted around, and she quickly chimed in, "What Aria says makes sense. Going to the hospital means waiting in line and getting tests, all that back and forth would be even more uncomfortable. Why not try some medicine first?"
She looked at Elizabeth. "Aunt Elizabeth, what do you think?"
Before Elizabeth could speak, Aria quickly said, "Mom, I really don't need to go to the hospital. It's probably just that I've been too tired lately, plus I ate something greasy today and my stomach's a bit upset."
"Alright then." Elizabeth sighed softly. "Ann, make her some ginger tea. It'll help her feel better."
Aria felt relieved. Good, she'd gotten through it for now.
But this wasn't a long-term solution. As the pregnancy progressed, the symptoms would only become more obvious, and it would be even harder to get away then.
The ginger tea was ready quickly. Aria held the bowl and sipped it slowly. And it really worked—drinking the hot liquid made her stomach feel much better.
Arthur looked at Aria's pale face, then at Sophie. The feeling of irritation in his heart grew stronger and stronger. Even during the company's most difficult times, he had never felt as troubled as he did now.
Seeing Sophie still standing there, he spoke. "Your... stockings aren't here. And it's so late, it's not appropriate for you to stay here. Sit for a bit, I'll have my assistant take you home."
Sophie nodded and had just taken a step when she suddenly cried out softly, covering her chest and bending over.
Arthur's heart jumped. "What's wrong?"
Sophie's face was full of pain, her whole body curled up, her body trembling slightly.
"It's... it's nothing." She forced out a smile, though it looked worse than crying. She said through the pain, "It's just... just my chest hurts a bit..."
Arthur's expression changed. "Is your injury acting up again?"