Chapter 98 Arthur’s Decision
"Who is this? Arthur?"
The person on the other end of the line paused slightly upon hearing Arthur's voice and asked.
Arthur was stunned, clearly not expecting this person to know him.
He held the phone away a bit and checked the caller ID - no name saved.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Sophie's friend. Sophie's not around? Perfect. Since she's not there, I'll have a word with you."
The person on the other end paused briefly, their tone unfriendly.
Arthur frowned tightly at these words, his voice carrying a hint of displeasure. "About what?"
"Given Sophie's current situation, you're not planning to let her carry the label of 'mistress' to her grave, are you?"
As soon as these words came out, Arthur fell silent. He clearly hadn't expected the person to say this...
Hearing Arthur's silence, the person on the other end continued, "Sophie definitely can't bring herself to pressure you, but I want to say, Mr. Grant, people should have a conscience, right? Sophie has given so much for you - you can't just turn a blind eye to it all, can you? You say you love her, but your actions put her in this kind of situation. How can you justify that?"
...
This barrage left Arthur completely speechless. When Sophie came out of the room, she saw Arthur sitting quietly on the sofa with a gloomy expression.
Seeing this, she understood what had happened, but put on a worried look. "Arthur, what's wrong?"
Arthur snapped back to reality at her voice and looked over to see Sophie watching him with concern, still damp from her shower.
"Nothing. Your friend just called you, and I answered."
Arthur handed the phone to Sophie, explaining.
Sophie took the phone and glanced at the caller ID, her eyes flickering slightly. She seemed hesitant. "My friend didn't say anything inappropriate, did she? She's pretty straightforward - sometimes she says things that people don't like. Don't take it to heart."
Seeing Sophie's apologetic look, Arthur couldn't help but recall what her friend had just said, and his guilt deepened. He took a deep breath, as if making a decision, and looked at Sophie. "Sophie, I can't divorce her right now. Our finances are too tangled up. If we really divorce, it'll take a long time and be very complicated. I want to give you a wedding first, and we can handle the paperwork later. Would that work for you?"
This was the solution Arthur had just thought of. He had a gut feeling that if he actually divorced Aria, he would regret it, though he wasn't sure why.
But if he didn't give Sophie a wedding, she really would die with the label of "mistress," and he couldn't let her fall into that situation.
Especially since Dr. Julie had called him saying Sophie's condition might be more serious than imagined - she probably didn't have as much time as they'd originally thought.
This left him no choice but to stop overthinking the details and just get this done. This was what he owed Sophie.
The late-night alcohol also helped him voice the decision in his heart.
Hearing this, a dark gleam flashed in Sophie's eyes. She hadn't expected Arthur to still be unwilling to divorce, to the point of making such a decision.
This could only mean that outside pressure was working, but Arthur still held onto hope in his heart - hope regarding Aria.
Ha!
Still wanting to have his cake and eat it too - he really dared to dream!
But Sophie didn't care. Getting Arthur to make this decision was already major progress.
Besides, if they really held a wedding, Aria probably wouldn't let it slide so easily.
He might not want a divorce, but Aria might feel differently.
However, there was one thing she needed to verify with Arthur.
"If Aria finds out about this, won't she make a scene?"
Sophie pushed aside her thoughts and looked at Arthur with some embarrassment.
Seeing Sophie's embarrassed look, Arthur frowned slightly and couldn't help thinking of Aria.
Thinking of her recent attitude, if she found out about this, she'd probably want a divorce even more...
He took a deep breath and stopped thinking about it.
"We'll deal with that when the time comes. Just tell me if you think my suggestion works. If it does, I'll have people start preparing."
Seeing Arthur avoid answering, Sophie sneered inwardly, though her face showed embarrassment. After thinking for a moment, she nodded. "Then let's do as you say. You can arrange it. It's just that with my current health, I don't know if I can make it through the wedding..."
"Let's set it for next month. For the wedding, just tell my assistant whatever you need, and I'll have him work with you."
Arthur also wanted to cut through the mess quickly. Right now, he just saw this wedding as giving Sophie what she was owed.
Seeing Arthur like this, Sophie nodded. "Okay."
After settling this matter, Arthur had Sophie go rest. He lay on the sofa, sleepless all night.
News of Arthur spending the night at Sophie's place soon reached Aria's ears.
When Aria learned of this, she was at her studio. Lance told her the news.
"You still haven't divorced him?"
Lance looked at Aria with frustration. This Arthur really didn't take Aria seriously at all - staying at another woman's house while still married? Cheating so openly?
"Soon."
Aria focused all her attention on the flowers in front of her, carefully tending to them, seemingly unmoved by Lance's words.
Seeing Aria act like it didn't matter, Lance frowned. "So you're just going to let them do this?"
Aria looked at Lance's angry expression, stopped what she was doing, and looked at him. "Lance, if you were me, what would you do?"
Lance was puzzled by Aria's question. "What do you mean? I'd get divorced, of course!"
"Yes, I want a divorce too. To be honest, I've brought it up, but he won't agree. Now I'm thinking - what can I do to make him agree?"
Aria paused. "Him cheating - that reason isn't quite enough."
"What more do you need?"
Cheating wasn't reason enough? Then what would be?
"Lance, I know what I'm doing. You don't need to worry."
Aria didn't explain too much to Lance. He was an outsider after all - some things he didn't need to know.
Hearing this, Lance sighed deeply. He knew Aria didn't want him involved too much. As for the reason, it was probably because she didn't want too much emotional entanglement with him.
Fine.
Since she already had a plan, she should do what she thought was best. He had no standing to say much more anyway...