Chapter 4
Damian went straight to the point, “I think that you should have known by now that I am your husband’s greatest enemy, and since you seem to hate him so much for what he did to you, I think that we can work together to bring him down.”
Aria shook her head, “First of all, he is no longer my husband. What I mean is, I no longer consider him my husband, and second, I don’t care who your enemy is, and I don’t give a damn about what you do to them. I am sorry, but I can’t really help you.”
“Hmm, I see. So, even after everything that he has done to you, you want to let him have his way?”
“Will you be happy to watch your former husband and your sister leave a happy life? Are you that weak?”
Damian seemed to have pressed the wrong button when he said that. Aria looked at him and roared angrily, “Whether I am weak or not, it is none of your business. Please, stop wasting my time. I really need to get going.”
“Look at this before you leave.” Damian pushed the file that Timmy had given him towards Aria.
Aria looked at him with a questioning gaze, but Damian only pointed at the file without saying anything.
Aria had no other choice but to take the file.
After she read through the content, she did not say anything. Damian also did not say anything as he stared at her.
The only sound that could be heard in the study room was the sound of tears falling on the white papers, soaking them and blurring the black and white numbers.
After an indefinite amount of time had passed, Damian handed Aria a white handkerchief.
Aria took it and wiped her face. She blew her nose and looked at Damian. Her gaze had darkened, and no light could be detected from her eyes.
Her voice was hoarse as she asked, “What do you want me to do?”
“I want us to form an alliance, something formidable that would bring our enemies to their knees.”
“I need time to think through everything. I don’t want to fall prey to another scheme again.”
“You don’t have to worry, Ms. Wilson. No matter how I thirst for revenge, I will never put you in harm's way. Take your time to think things through, but don’t keep me waiting for too long.”
“Okay, I…” Before Aria could say anything, her phone rang.
Looking at the caller ID, her face darkened further. She immediately hung up the phone without a second thought.
But the caller was insistent, because the next second, her phone rang again.
Damian looked at her and spoke softly, “Running away won’t solve any of your problems. Just pick up and listen to what they have to say.”
Aria listened to Damian and answered the call. Her dad’s voice came through the speaker, “Aria, why aren’t you home yet. Such a grand ceremony is happening at home, and you are nowhere to be seen?”
“What ceremony? What are you talking about?” Aria was confused.
Realizing that his tongue might have slipped, Henry cleared his throat and said, “Just come home, you will know when you arrive.”
Before Aria could ask any more questions, her father hung up the call.
“What the…” She was about to curse, but she remembered that she was in someone’s house, so she held back.
“What happened?”
“It was a call from my dad. He told me that I should go home because there is a celebration going on and I cannot afford to miss it.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I will just go and see what they are up to. I also need to start processing my divorce, so the earlier, the better.”
“Okay, I will get my driver to send you home.”
“Uhm, there is no need for that. I will just call a taxi.”
“Do you know the place you're currently at?”
“What do you mean?”
“Even if you call for Uber, they won’t come.”
“What? Why?”
…
Aria arrived at the Wilson family in no time. For some reason, Damian had insisted on dropping her off in person.
Aria was not in the mood to argue with the man, so she just let him do as he pleased.
Before she alighted from the car, Damian spoke up, “Aria, I know that you are hurting, and I am also aware that you need time to process everything that is happening. But as the saying goes, time waits for no man, so please, think about everything we spoke about. But just know that whatever decision you make, I will respect it.”
Aria looked at him and nodded, “Thank you, Mr. Hall.”
“You don’t have to be formal with me. Just call me Damian.”
Aria walked towards the gates of her family mansion, and the moment she entered, she was shocked to the core.
The whole compound had been decorated, and there was a huge banner hanging at the entrance of the gate. When she got a clear look at what was written on it, she was so dumbfounded that her face turned completely ashen.
The pain in her heart intensified, and her legs felt extremely weak.
This…
The poster read, ‘Welcome to the engagement party of Ms. Talia Wilson and Mr. Mark Thompson. Let us experience the magic of love and bless these two souls.’
Aria could not believe what she was seeing. She could not help but laugh in self-pity.
From how her family had quickly organized this engagement party, it was evident that she was the only one who had been in the dark all along.
I mean, she had only found out about the fair between Talia and her husband yesterday, and today, they were getting engaged!
Three years of her life had just gone down the drain like that. She had willingly given away the inheritance that her mother had left her, and now she had absolutely nothing.
So, Mark and her family wanted to turn her into a laughing stock?
She had really been dumb all these years to not see through these pretentious people.
And her dad, even after knowing everything, still shamelessly called her to come back. If she had known that she was coming to this, she would not have set foot inside this house, not even for a day.
Tears streamed down Aria’s face. The pain in her heart was too much, and she felt like dying.
Aria turned around and was about to leave when someone stopped her, “Aria, dear, you are back? I haven’t seen you in a long while.”
Aria faced the person who was speaking to her, and her heart burned with anger. She wished nothing but death to befall her right here and then.
Chapter 128After the fashion show, Aria and the rest did not stay long in Italy. Since they had won, they had a lot of things to take care of at the company, and they also had so many orders to deliver.When they landed at the airport, there were so many fans waiting for Aria and Justin, and they had to slow down and sign a few autographs.It was a good thing that Damian was shielding Aria, or else, she had no idea how she would have managed to escape the rowdy fans.When she reached the car, Aria parted herself on the chest. She looked at Damian and complained, “How do those famous people even survive? I felt like they were going to eat me alive.”Damian passed her a bottle of water, “Drink this and you will feel better.”Aria drank the water in haste, and she almost choked.“Careful.” Damian patted her on the back.After calming down, Aria looked outside through the car window, and seeing there were still people chanting her name, she shook her head, “I don’t want to be a celebrity
Chapter 127Two days later, at the international fashion show arena…Aria arrived with her team just in time.There was a red carpet and everyone was showcasing their moves.The fans were all over, holding name plates and chanting their idols' names.Aria had made a name for herself in the fashion industry, and she had garnered a number of fans because of her extraordinary talents. When she arrived, her fans could not help but cheer her up.“Our most talented designer is here. We love you Aria, go and make us proud. We are cheering you. You deserve it.”Aria held Damian’s hand as she waved at the crowd. Her composed nature earned her a round of praise, and her fans could not get enough of her.“Aria, you look so beautiful, baby. Will you marry me?” A fan shouted.Hearing that someone wanted to marry his wife right in front of him, Damian let go of Aria’s hand and possessively hugged her around the shoulders.His action caused an uproar in the crowd and the fans could not help but repr
Chapter 126When they reached the hotel, everyone had already gone to their rooms, except Clara.Although Aria was eager to do whatever it was with Damian, she was still conscious enough to ask about her daughter.“Grandma, where is Tasha?”Clara could sense the tension between the two, so she did not dare delay them. Maybe after today, she would have another cute pie in the family.But she pretended as if she had not noticed anything as she spoke in a serious voice, “Tasha slept on the way here, and I have already put her to sleep, in my room. Don’t worry, she won’t disturb you.”Aria was relieved, “Thank you, Grandma. With you around, I have nothing to worry about.”Seeing that she still wanted to say more, Clara shooed her away, “Go… go on and have fun. I will look after my great granddaughter well.”“Thank you, grandma.”Damian looked at Clara and said, “Grandma, we trust you. And don’t let anyone disturb us for the next couple of hours. I need to discuss a few things with my wife
Chapter 125When the plane landed in Italy, ten hours had already passed.It was slightly passed five O’clock, local time, and the weather was a bit chilly.Everyone seemed to have gotten enough sleep on the plane, and they did not seem jet-lagged.“Mommy, are we here already?” Tasha asked as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.Aria touched her cheeks and said, “Yes, baby, we are here. But it is very late, so you won’t be able to play.”“I am so tired, Mommy. I just want to lie down and sleep.”“It's okay, baby. Mommy will take you to a fancy hotel and you will get plenty of rest.”This was an airport with many people around, so Lucas offered to carry Tasha as they got off the plane.“Sis, let me hold her for you.”When they arrived at the parking lot, where they were supposed to board their cars, Aria stopped in her tracks. It was so abrupt that Justin, who was following her closely, almost bumped into her.“Boss, what happened?”Lucas and the rest also stopped and asked.Aria pointed her fi
Chapter 124The day to travel for the international fashion show finally arrived.Aria, Clara, Tasha, and Lucas all headed to the airport.Aria had requested Clara to remain in the country with Tasha, but she said that it has been years since she attended an international fashion show, so Aria had no choice but to agree.Since Tasha had no one to take care of her at home, she had no choice but to tag along.As for Lucas, he did not really have to go, but he seemed to have his ulterior motive, though Aria had already guessed what it was all about.Her brother seemed to have finally realized his feelings for Momo, and he could not stop talking about her every now and then.She wondered what her brother had planned on this trip.They arrived just in time to meet Justin and Momo at the entrance. When Momo looked at Lucas, her face flushed, and she could not help but steal a few glances at him.Aria had to clear her throat just to get her attention. “Momo, have you already collected our ti
Chapter 123He found Momo sitting on her desk, and she seemed to be crying. Lucas scratched his head. What was he supposed to do? He had no idea how to console someone.He took out his phone and sent Aria a text, “She seems to be crying. What am I supposed to do?”Aria’s reply came almost immediately: “The more reason you need to explain to her that what happened yesterday was an accident, and you did not mean to take advantage of her.”“Will she really believe me?”“Of course.”Lucas took a deep breath to calm his nerves down. He did not even realize that his heart was beating rapidly.He patted Momo on the shoulder.Momo thought that it must be her co-worker who had come to ask her to go for lunch together. But when she looked up and saw the handsome face that could overturn the heavens, she was stunned, and her eyes widened.“You, what are you doing here? Aren’t you having lunch with the boss?”“Why are you crying? You don’t really look good when you cry.” Lucas commented.He did n