Chapter 48
"It's not hate. It's just that whenever I think of you having a child with another woman, it feels like a knife in my throat."
Chloe looked up, her voice cool and detached.
"We've been over this topic repeatedly. It's pointless."
"Pointless?"
Arthur gave a bitter laugh, backing Chloe against the wall and looking down at her, his eyes betraying a hint of desperation.
"Chloe, how can you say that? Everyone else in the world can avoid me, but not you. Never you."
With that, Arthur gripped her chin and lowered his head, attempting to capture her lips.
He couldn't bear that Chloe—who once loved him more than life itself—now spoke such cutting words. He desperately needed to feel her closeness, to uncover the passion he knew she still harbored.
Chloe turned her face away. Arthur's kisses landed on her cheek and neck instead.
The overwhelming scent of perfume on Arthur intensified her nausea.
She tried to struggle, but Arthur held her wrists firmly, making escape impossible. His legs pressed against hers, their position intimate and suggestive.
Arthur's eyes burned with familiar, feverish desire as he unreasonably insisted on kissing her, wanting more.
"Arthur..."
Chloe's voice caught, the emotions she'd been suppressing finally erupting.
"You bastard."
"How could you do this to me?"
Her tears fell one by one onto Arthur's hands, stinging him and leaving him confused.
"Chloe..."
"Arthur, in your eyes, I'm just a convenient outlet for your desires—a possession. When you're happy, you coddle me. When you're not, you leave me drowning in a pool like you just did."
"You say you love me. Is this how you show it?"
Arthur froze, his chest constricting with sharp pain.
It had been so long since Chloe had looked this heartbroken.
Her eyes were swollen from crying, her gaze filled with deep resentment.
This was the woman he loved most—how could he make her cry like this?
"Chloe," Arthur awkwardly raised his hand to wipe her tears, only to be rebuffed. "Please don't cry. If you don't want me to touch you, I won't."
The moment he finished speaking, Chloe slapped him hard across the face.
"You've become exactly the kind of person I despise—a businessman who sees nothing but profit, reeking of money and greed."
Chloe's eyes blazed red, her gaze cutting into Arthur like knives, making his heart ache.
He immediately grabbed her hand and placed it over his heart.
"Chloe, no matter how angry you are, you can't keep wounding me with words like these."
"Since you discovered Avery's pregnancy, you've changed—you're not the understanding person you once were. I get that you're struggling to accept this situation, and I've been patient. Even now, I turned down a five-million-dollar project just to come explain things to you, to bring you home."
Arthur looked at her, his expression filled with bitterness.
"Chloe, why do you keep hurting me? Seeing me suffer only torments you, too. Why continue this? Can't we stop fighting?"
Suddenly, everything clicked for Chloe. No wonder Karen had impulsively summoned her home.
She backed away until the wall stopped her.
"So it was you."
"You knew I hate coming back here. Forget it," Chloe raised her hand, stopping Arthur from speaking further. "This conversation is meaningless now."
With that, she pushed past him and headed downstairs.
The atmosphere was suffocating, nauseating.
Chloe moved quickly. Derek had already returned to the main hall.
Seeing Chloe's disheveled state from a distance, he frowned, but before he could speak, Karen interjected, "Who permitted you to come downstairs? There are guests everywhere—are you trying to make yourself a laughingstock? Chloe, I truly can't understand what goes on in that head of yours."
Derek scoffed. "What could she possibly be thinking? Since she was ten, she's eaten our food, worn our clothes, and shown zero gratitude. Every time she visits, she causes some kind of scene."
Facing the accusatory expressions of the entire Scott family, Chloe felt a chill penetrate to her very bones.
Arthur, following closely behind, saw her fragile silhouette and felt a surge of heartache. Just as he stepped forward, a Scott family servant approached him and whispered urgently, "Mr. Williams, it's an emergency. Ms. Scott is bleeding."
"What?"
Arthur pressed his fingers to his temples, then turned abruptly toward Avery's room.
The priority now was preventing anything from happening to the baby.
Once the child was born, Kyle would stop interfering in his personal life.
Arthur followed the servant into the room. Sure enough, Avery was clutching her belly and crying, with small bloodstains on the sheets.
Seeing Arthur, she grabbed his hand desperately, as if he were her savior.
"Arthur, I'm so scared. The baby will be okay, right?"
Without a word, Arthur lifted her into his arms and headed out.
As he passed Chloe, he paused briefly, his eyes filled with guilt and conflict. "Chloe..."
Chloe turned away.
Arthur clenched his jaw and carried Avery out.
The guests naturally recognized Arthur and were puzzled by the scene.
Only Chloe remained unnaturally calm.
Karen observed, "Don't you see? Arthur cares most about his child with Avery now. Your relationship has fundamentally changed. Ending things gracefully would at least preserve some mutual respect."
"Stop dreaming. Once a man has a child, everything changes. Can you see that now?"
"Give me the necklace."
The sinking feeling in Chloe's abdomen intensified.
She summoned her last reserves of strength, determined not to lose her dignity in front of the Scott family.
Karen paused, then pulled the necklace from her pocket and tossed it to the floor.
"Now that you have what you wanted, leave immediately. You've already ruined my birthday celebration. What should have been a perfect evening—you've turned it into this disaster."
Chloe stared at the necklace at her feet, then bent to pick it up. Everyone around her whispered and pointed, their faces showing mockery or pity.
Chloe ignored them all, dragging her numb legs toward the exit. Only after leaving the Scott residence did she stumble, nearly falling.
Looking at the dark road ahead, Chloe smiled bitterly.
Arthur, who had caused her humiliation tonight, had already left with Avery in his arms, abandoning her here.
Fighting the pain in her abdomen, Chloe called Adeline, "Adeline, could you come get me?"