Chapter 5

The silence in the room was so palpable you could hear a pin drop. James couldn't help but fear what his boss would do to him since he had worked for the man for five years and knew what he was capable of.

“Pay them off and tell them to disappear from Manhattan; if they are caught, they will wish they were dead,” Jayden said in a low, dangerous growl.

“Yes, sir, I'll get to it right away,” James said hurriedly, trying to get out of the room. He suddenly felt suffocated to be in the same room as his boss. The fact that he was acting so calm made him even more afraid.

“Where's Aria?” he asked, and James paused before answering.

“She doesn't know you are here, boss; your mom didn't want me to call her and…” James said and paused as if he was hesitating.

“And what?” Jayden spat.

“I think she must have received the divorce papers by now. She must know you want to divorce her,” James added, almost in a whisper.

Jayden's eyes hardened at what James said. It was true he wanted to divorce Aria since he had wanted to fake his death.

Besides, she was a key witness during Kayden's trial, and Kayden had only willingly taken his place at that time because he felt too betrayed by her to speak when he realized the woman he loved saw him as a murderer.

Jayden knew that even if Kayden had feelings for Aria, he wouldn't want to be near her since she was his brother's wife. So he decided that since he was going to kill Kayden and steal Kayden's identity, he didn't need Aria anymore. She was his weapon against his brother, and he wouldn't need her again.

“Tell her and bring her to me; she must stay with me and be my widow even if I die. Tell her it was a prank or whatever, but let her come and take care of me; she's my wife,” Jayden said.

“What if she has also signed her part of the papers?” James asked. It was very late in the night, and he was sure Ariana, after not getting in touch with the boss, must have arrived at a not-so-good conclusion.

“She wouldn't; I know her. Even if she signs it, I'll never set her free. Go and bring her to me.”

“Yes, boss,” James said and walked out of the VIP ward only to come face to face with Mrs. Audrey.

“M—Ma…”

“Shhhh,” Mrs. Audrey placed a finger on her lips and gestured to James to keep quiet.

She began walking to a secluded spot, and James followed her.

“Don't tell that gold digger about my son's condition; I know what to do. My son doesn't need her,” she said firmly, and James' eyes widened in alarm.

“You… You eavesdropped on us?” He stammered.

“I just heard the latter part about bringing that woman here, and what is that about divorce papers? Are they getting a divorce?” Mrs. Audrey asked.

She had accompanied her husband and the old master downstairs to return home, and she had stayed behind.

Mostly because she was worried about her beloved son and also because she felt curious about her son and James' conversations.

James heaved a sigh when he realized the madam didn't hear anything. Since telling her about the divorce wouldn't hurt anyone, he decided to come clean.

“The boss had wanted to divorce the mistress since you didn't get along with her,” James lied.

“But I'm sure he's having a change of heart because of his accident and his condition,” James added, and the woman nodded.

“Don't tell that vixen anything. Let her divorce my son and finally leave our family. Now, tomorrow, you can tell him you told Aria about his condition, and Aria says this…” Mrs. Audrey whispered the remaining sentence into James' ears, and James reluctantly nodded.

James came from a poor family, and he felt it would be best for Aria to divorce the boss since he didn't truly appreciate her and they were from entirely different worlds.

Besides, the man was handicapped now, and she shouldn't waste her youth on him.

“I'll do as you say, madam,” James said in a respectful tone and made his way to the elevator, lost in thought.

~~~

“Sorry, young madam, the young master is not here, and the matriarch has instructed that you shouldn't be allowed entry into the main mansion,” the head of security at the main gate of the Hunt family mansion told Aria.

“Please, I just want to talk to him. Can you let me see him? I promise just for a little while… please tell him Aria wants to talk to him,” Aria pleaded.

“The young master is not here; I wouldn't dare lie to you; he's not here. Please go back and don't make my work difficult,” the head of security said.

Aria stood there speechless, not knowing what to say, and turned to walk away. She wanted to keep her last dignity before the guards threw her out.

“Let's go back home,” she said to the chauffeur, who nodded.

Her tears fell, but she felt numb. Why was Jayden doing this to her? Why was he doing this to their beautiful memories? No, she wouldn't give up; there was something seriously wrong somewhere.

As she made her way back home, she was staring out the window when she saw a car pulling into the Hunt hotel front yard.

'That was Jayden's car, the only limited edition Rolls Royce in Manhattan.' Aria called the driver's attention.

“Take a U-turn to the hotel; I just saw Jayden.”

~~~

Aria jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped and saw Jayden was about to enter the elevator. She raced like her life depended on it and stuck her foot forward to stop the elevator doors from closing and joined him.

Kayden's heart skipped a beat when he saw her rushing towards him to stop the elevator.

“Ariana,” he whispered, his heart filled with indescribable emotions.

He was in a daze seeing her in front of him. He was so out of it that he could see her mouth moving, but he couldn't hear a word of what she was saying.

‘Did she find out he had been released from prison and had come to see him? Did she come to apologize?’ He stared at her as these questions ran through his mind.

But when he decided to concentrate on what she was saying, her next words killed every hope he had within him.

“Jayden, Jayden, thank God, I finally found you… I nearly went crazy… Babe, what's the meaning of what you sent me? Babe…it's divorce papers, for Christ's sake, and you had already signed it… How can you prank me like that?” Aria kept talking, and he watched her in shock, trying to process everything.

‘She mistook him for his brother, and she looked as if her world was falling apart due to those divorce papers,’ Kayden realized.

He felt so numb it made him speechless. They were the only ones in the elevator, but it felt cramped all of a sudden.

The next moment, she hugged him, and his anger flared.

“Get your hands off me and get out of my sight before I strangle you!” He growled, but she didn't move an inch, still clinging against him.

"Jayden, what is wrong, babe? Talk to me, please."

He got off the elevator at his floor and gave a murderous glare, causing Aria to let go of him.

He began to walk away, not once looking back, but he could hear her quiet footsteps following him. He decided not to dwell on it and pressed his key card on the door to open it when he reached his suite.

He had just pushed the door open when she pushed him aside and hurriedly got inside the room before him and gave him a shy smile. He knew everything she was doing wasn't meant for him, so he steeled his heart.

“Get out, Ariana, I don't want to repeat myself!” He growled, but she walked to the bed and sat on it like she owned the damn place and took off her long coat, revealing a white sleeveless dress that reached her knee and hugged her body in the right places.

“Those divorce papers, I know they are not from you; please, tell me this is all some sick joke, and you still love me,” she said.

“If there's a signature on it, how can it be a joke? You should read between the…”

“No, I don't believe you. Please stop messing around.”

“Are you done? Get out of my sight before I throw you out myself,” he growled emotionlessly.

“Babe!” Aria exclaimed.

“You can have the room to yourself; I'm leaving. Just seeing you makes my skin crawl. But I'll let you in on a secret: I'm not…”

“Please, don’t do this to me! What did I do wrong?” Aria pleaded, her voice trembling with desperation as she rushed to him and hugged him before he could turn away from her.

“Just tell me what to do to change your mind. I’ll do anything to make it right. Please, don’t leave me… Don't break us apart…”