Chapter 68 The Debt of Saving a Life?
Sophie bit her lip and nodded gently.
Watching this scene, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel puzzled. "What injury? Sophie was hurt?"
Arthur hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up, "Mom, Sophie got seriously injured trying to save me before. She almost... almost died."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the living room froze.
Elizabeth looked at Sophie in surprise. "Save you? When did this happen? How come I didn't know?"
When Arthur said this, not only Elizabeth, but even Aria looked over.
Seeing his mother so surprised, Arthur's mind stirred. He thought this might be an opportunity—even if she wouldn't agree to the divorce, at least she wouldn't be so resistant to Sophie. So he decided to tell the whole story.
"It was when I first took over Grant Corp. There was intense internal fighting in the company at the time, and I was shot at on my way home."
Aria's eyes flickered.
Could Arthur have been shot twice? Once when she took the bullet, and once with Sophie?
How could it be such a coincidence?
Her heart started racing, beating so fast it made her panic.
Elizabeth found it really hard to accept. She gasped and covered her chest with her hand.
"You... she... such a big thing, why didn't you ever tell me?"
Arthur gave an awkward laugh. "You were in such poor health back then, just after surgery. How could I dare tell you?"
Aria tentatively asked, "How did she save you?"
Arthur said, "I'd already been shot in the shoulder. It was raining, and I had nowhere to go. They cornered me in an alley. I couldn't see anything clearly, I just knew those people were catching up. I only turned around when I heard the gunshot."
"She was right there in front of me..." As Arthur spoke, it was as if that heart-stopping memory flashed before his eyes again.
"Her body was so thin and weak. When the bullet hit her, the recoil threw her hard to the ground... I wanted to run to her, but I passed out from blood loss. When I woke up, I was already in the hospital."
Sophie leaned back in her chair, listening to him slowly recount the story, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
Elizabeth went still, staring at Sophie in disbelief.
She had always believed Sophie was after Arthur's money. After all, when the Grants nearly went bankrupt, the Halls bailed them out—and Sophie immediately left the country without even a proper goodbye.
This was also why she insisted on maintaining Arthur and Aria's marriage and resisted Sophie, no matter what.
Even later, when the Grant family rose again and restored their previous relationship with the Su family, she still couldn't accept Sophie becoming her daughter-in-law.
This girl was too greedy. If she married Arthur, sooner or later she would drain the Grant family dry.
But now, hearing that Sophie had actually taken a bullet for Arthur and nearly died because of it—this was something she never could have imagined.
Could it be... that there was some hidden reason behind what happened three years ago?
No wonder, no wonder Arthur forgot everything as soon as she came back.
If it were her, she would never believe that someone willing to give their life for you would abandon you when you had nothing. There must have been some difficulty.
While Arthur and Elizabeth were fussing over Sophie, they didn't notice that Aria was sitting in her chair, her fingers gripping the edge of her bowl so tightly that half the ginger tea nearly spilled out.
How could it be Sophie? The one who took the bullet for Arthur back then was clearly her!
No wonder... no wonder. She had thought Arthur's coldness toward her back then was because he loved Sophie so much he could disregard his savior.
He had no idea she'd saved him. All this time, he thought it was Sophie.
That's why he favored her so much, indulged her, and chose her again and again!
Then what about herself? What did the scar on her chest that still ached to this day mean? What did the six months she spent lying in a hospital bed mean?
Aria's hands began to tremble, the bowl shaking in her hands. She wanted to say something, but her throat felt blocked, unable to make a sound.
"Aria, what's wrong?" Elizabeth noticed her unusual behavior and asked with concern, "Why does your face suddenly look so bad?"
Arthur also looked over, his brow slightly furrowed. "Are you still not feeling well?"
Aria shook her head.
For a moment, she almost blurted it out. If she told them, would Arthur completely give up Sophie and from then on have eyes only for her?
Would her child not have to grow up in a single-parent home?
For a moment, Aria was about to stand up and expose Sophie's lie, but after thinking about it, she suppressed the impulse.
What makes you think his feelings for Sophie come entirely from this life-saving debt?
What makes you think he'll be loyal to you? He thought Sophie saved his life, but didn't he still develop feelings for her and drag his feet on the divorce?
Don't be stupid, Aria. From the beginning, you loved the wrong person. Arthur isn't worth it!
Besides, would he even believe her if she told him?
Sophie had long since firmly established herself as his savior, while she—apart from the scar on her chest, what other evidence did she have?
He'd seen that scar many times, hadn't he? Yet he'd never suspected anything, never even asked about it once.
Aria closed her eyes and slowly exhaled, her voice somewhat hoarse. "I'm fine, just... a bit tired. I'll go upstairs and rest."
"Okay, okay, go rest quickly." Elizabeth said hurriedly, "If you still don't feel well, make sure to say something."
Aria nodded and turned to go upstairs.
Each step was slow and heavy.
She reached the stairs just as Elizabeth spoke. "Sophie, stay the night. You're not well enough to leave. Ann, prepare a room for her."
Then came Arthur's voice. "Sophie, I'll take you upstairs."
Aria's steps paused, but she didn't look back and continued walking up.
Back in her room, she closed the door and lay directly on the bed. She didn't know what was wrong, but her eyes suddenly felt hot, and tears slid down, disappearing into her hairline.
Really, crying for no good reason.
She mocked herself inwardly and quickly wiped away the tears.
She didn't know how much time had passed when footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by knocking.
"Aria, are you asleep?" It was Arthur's voice.
Aria cleared her throat lightly. "No, what is it?"
Arthur stood outside the door, holding a bowl of tomato meat sauce noodles. "I saw you didn't eat much earlier, and you threw it all up. I was worried you'd be hungry, so I made you something to eat."
He paused. "Can I come in?"