Semua Bab Second Marriage to the Billionaire: Ex-Husband Begs Me Not to Go: Bab 351 - Bab 360

Aria swallowed the last bite of rice slowly, her lashes lowering slightly as they fluttered with quiet restraint.She had no trouble seeing through Kandice’s little performance. The girl had shown up uninvited, practically glued herself to the spot, and now sat here pretending everything was perfectly innocent—when in reality, she still hadn’t given up on Archer, even though he was clearly with Aria now.And now she had the nerve to accuse her of being rude?The hypocrisy made Aria want to laugh out loud.Kandice thought Aria was about to argue back. In fact, she’d already prepared a whole speech, hoping to use it to ruin Aria’s image in front of the Duncans.But Aria didn’t even spare her a glance. Instead, she turned to Archer, lifted a brow, and asked lightly, “Was I really that rude just now?”Archer cast a brief, uninterested glance at Kandice—so fast it didn’t even last a full second—before shifting his gaze back to Aria’s wind-reddened face.“No,” he said, voice low and m

“In public, behaving like this—do you want the whole world laughing at the Duncan family?” Robert snapped, glaring at them. “If Aria were just some random girl, maybe it wouldn’t matter. But once people remember who she really is, how do you expect us to hold our heads high?”Grace let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, no one had recognized Aria today. Otherwise, this would’ve been a complete disaster.“It’s not just the family they’ll be gossiping about,” she said more gently. “Aria, with your background, the rumors won’t stop. And you’re a woman—it’s already harder for you. If something goes wrong, people will blame you long before they ever blame Archer. You really need to think this through.”Off to the side, Kandice sat silently, gloating inside.Watching Archer fawn over Aria earlier—so shameless, like he’d completely forgotten where they were—had stunned her. The man who always seemed so composed and untouchable had turned into some lovestruck fool. She couldn’t help w

Kandice shook her head, so Marianne assigned her to ride in Richard and Yvonne’s car instead.Kandice was fuming.Richard and Yvonne weren’t Archer’s parents—cozying up to them wouldn’t help her at all. Why would Marianne stick her in that car?And from the look on her face… was Marianne actually acknowledging Aria? Was she taking her side now?Marianne didn’t bother to guess what Kandice was thinking. She simply got into the car with Grace and didn’t say another word until they were already on the road. Then she asked, “After what you saw today, the way Archer looked at Aria—do you still think you can oppose them?”Grace stayed quiet.After what happened today, what could she even say?Even if she wanted to object… what good would it do?She had never seen Archer like that before. Not once in all these years. And even if she wanted to step in, did Archer even listen to her anymore?Marianne didn’t push for an answer. She let the silence stretch.—Meanwhile, Aaron took Melv

Because she had kissed him first, Aria was now trembling all over. She looked absolutely mortified. The second those words left her mouth, she buried her face in his neck and refused to come out again.She thought she heard Archer let out a quiet chuckle.…Suddenly, her phone rang.“Ugh…” Aria groaned and gave him a little push. “I need to get that.”Archer didn’t budge. Instead, he tightened his arms around her and pulled her even closer.“It’s from home,” she added. “I set a special ringtone for family calls.”Only then did he release her. Aria grabbed the phone from the nightstand and answered. “Hello?”“…James? What’s up?”“Ask your husband when he’s free. Mom says she wants to cook and have him over for dinner,” James said over the line. “I’ve mostly talked her into it. She’s still a little hung up on pride, but sooner or later, we all need to sit down together. It’ll give her a chance to talk to both of you, get a feel for your relationship, and understand Archer a bit

“Mrs. Duncan, aren’t you going upstairs?” Kent asked when he saw Aria lingering in the lobby.Aria glanced at her watch and shook her head. “I’ll just wait here. He’s almost off work anyway, and I don’t want to interrupt if he’s still in the middle of something.”After all, Archer had already turned down several work-related matters on her behalf.Kent didn’t press the issue. Instead, he quickly had someone bring her a cup of tea before stepping aside to make a call. He walked to a quiet corner and dialed Archer’s number. “Boss, Mrs. Duncan’s here. She’s waiting in the lobby. Said she didn’t want to bother you while you’re working.”“She just got there?” Archer’s calm voice came through the phone.“Yes.” Kent hesitated, then lowered his voice after glancing back to make sure Aria wasn’t paying attention. “She was asking me about your birthday the whole way over.”Archer’s dark brows lifted slightly. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he quickly masked it. Across