Chapter 4

Aria hurriedly got out of the car as soon as they reached the parking lot without waiting for the driver to open the door for her.

The usually busy lobby looked quiet now since it was almost 9 pm and most of the workers had clocked off. Aria approached the reception desk that had a receptionist behind it since they performed a 24-hour shift due to some of the departments working 24 hours.

50% of the departments in Hunts Corporation run 24-hour shifts, causing some people to still be in the building during the evening, and because of that, a receptionist is always present in the lobby together with security guards even in the evenings.

“Good evening, Is Mr. Jayden Hunt still in his office? Can you tell him Mrs. Ariana Gray Hunt, his wife, is here and wants to see him?” Aria greeted the receptionist and went straight to the point.

The receptionist took a long look at Aria before giving her a fake smile in recognition.

Who didn't know the Cinderella of Manhattan? She was always in the news with a beautiful smile on her angelic face that perfectly matched the boss's devilishly handsome features.

‘If she didn't know the woman was a gold digger, one would think she and the boss were a match made in heaven,’ the receptionist inwardly scoffed, feeling envious, but she knew not to disrespectfully with the woman who had such a powerful man wrapped around her finger and gave an apologetic smile to Aria.

“Sorry, madam, but the boss is out of the office currently,” the receptionist said.

“When did he leave? Do you remember the exact time?” Aria asked, worry lacing her tone.

‘If he had already left, why wasn't he home, and why wasn't his phone reachable, and why the hell did she receive divorce papers with his signature on them?’ Aria inwardly asked herself these questions, and she felt as if her head was going to burst from overthinking.

“The CEO left around 10 am and had not returned since then,” the receptionist reported, and Aria's heart shook.

‘Where was she going to find him if he left the company such a long time ago?’

“Thank you, this is my number… Can you call me when you see him? His phone is off, and I'm getting worried since he's not home yet,” Ariana said and pushed her card toward the receptionist.

“Sure, madam, I'll do just that,” the woman said and nodded respectfully.

Aria hurriedly made her way back to the car, not once looking back to catch the sneer on the receptionist's face as she glared at her back view. Aria had not yet disappeared from sight when the woman squeezed the card and threw it into the bin.

‘Why should I call you? Are you my boss?’ She inwardly sneered.

Aria walked back to the car, and the driver held the door open for her.

“Take me to the main Hunt family mansion. Jayden must be there,” Aria said to the driver, who nodded and added, “Yes, ma'am.”

The car made its way out of the parking lot of Hunt Corporation, and Aria's heart began to beat wildly in her chest.

She has always dreaded going to the main mansion, mostly because of her mother-in-law. The woman hated her to the core and called her a gold digger. The woman only tolerated her because she loved Jayden deeply and would allow him to have anything he wanted, even if it was a poor girl from the slums like her.

If Jayden was in the main mansion, it would explain why he was unreachable, especially if her mother-in-law decides to issue her “no phone” rule.

The woman would practically do everything in her power to make it so that Jayden kept conversations with her at a minimum whenever he was at the main mansion.

She just hoped things wouldn't be so bad. Aria inwardly prayed.

~~~

Back in the hospital, Jayden had been moved to his VIP ward, and he already had a fair idea of what was wrong with him.

Jayden was filled with so much anguish and fury for him to even think about what was going to happen to him. His whole body felt numb, and he couldn't feel anything at all, but that wasn't why he was angry; why was he the one lying here on the bed and not his cursed brother?

Kayden was the one who was supposed to be lying on this bed dead so that he could pretend to be his brother and would no longer be forced to leave New York. Why was that cursed brother of his so lucky?

“Your family is outside and wants to see you; I'll call them in to see you,” Dr. William said, and Jayden hurriedly shook his head.

“M—My secretary, James. I want to see him first,” Jayden demanded, his voice full of anger.

“Okay, I'll call him in,” Dr. William said and added,

“I know you are angry and sad about what you are going through, but I promise that we'll do all we can to return you to your former self, so please try and calm down.”

“Why don't you change places with me and see how you can be calm?” Jayden said, sounding even more angry.

Dr. William sighed and turned to leave. “I'll tell James you want to see him.”

Outside in the hallway, Dr. William told the Hunt family that Jayden wanted to see James first, and they all looked perplexed.

“Are you sure? Maybe it's the medication that's making him confused; let me see him first,” Mrs. Audrey said and entered the room anyway.

Old Master Hunt and Austin also followed suit since they couldn't just be waiting in the hallways.

“Jayden, son, how are you feeling? The cook is on her way with some healthy dishes for you. What happened? How did your car suddenly cause such a huge accident?”

Jayden closed his eyes to calm himself when he realized James wasn't the one to walk in through those doors.

His mother's words sunk in, and he nearly growled and told her that was what he also wanted to know.

‘He also wanted to know what the hell happened,’ he inwardly yelled.

“Mum, I'm tired; I want to sleep; I just wanted to give James some instructions; that's why I wanted to see him first. Please, I want to be alone,” he said and took a look at his father and grandfather, who were also currently present in the room.

“Oh, son, I've been worried about your condition all day. Can I stay with you at least? I'll only be okay if I can see you up close with my own eyes. Let Mommy stay with you, okay?” Mrs. Audrey said.

“Mum, please, for once, can you leave me alone?” Jayden said, barely holding his anger.

“Jayden, your mom had been worried…”

“Mom, Dad, Grandfather, please… I want to be alone… Leave me be, damn it!” Jayden finally snapped, and the old master gave everyone a look, and they all walked out.

“Dr. William said his injury will affect his mood; don't take it to heart,” the old master said to his daughter-in-law, who nodded absentmindedly, her heart bleeding for her baby.

“James, go in; he wants to see you,” Mr. Austin said to James, who respectfully nodded and made his way in, feeling dread at what his crazy boss might instruct him to do in his angry state.

“B—Boss, h—how are you feeling?” James stammered when he saw the murderous glare his boss was giving him even though he lay unmoving on a hospital bed with his whole body wrapped in bandages and looking like he just survived a near-death experience.

“How do you think I'm feeling? I hope you have an explanation for why I'm lying here instead of him,” he said through gritted teeth.

“It was the car model; your brother's car was the same model as yours, and... and I... I forgot to specify, so the man we hired tampered with…with your car brakes instead of his,” James couldn't stop stuttering.

“And I refused to let you drive because I wanted to go alone, so the truck driver also targeted me…”

Jayden's voice trailed off as realization dawned on him.

“Yes, boss,” James agreed.