All Chapters of The abandoned wife and her secret son: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Aria POV Between drifting in and out of consciousness, memories surfaced like broken snapshots, each one hurting more than the last.I remembered the day I quit my job to work at Julian’s company. I remembered walking into his office for the interview. He looked so tall, broad-shouldered. He wore a black suit that made him look even more professional. My heart raced seeing him sitting behind his desk. I had loved him since college, even though he never noticed me. To him, I was just another candidate.“Miss Vale, your CV looks impressive,” he’d said that day. Then he paused, studying me. “What if I have a better offer than this job for you?”My eyes widened in confusion. “What would that be?”He walked toward me and gestured for me to sit down. He cleared his throat. “My board wants me married. They want me to have a wife.” His voice was low, businesslike. “Someone with no scandalous past. So would you like to be my wife? A contract wife for just seven years to put all the rumors to

Julian POVI couldn’t possibly believe Aria would say she wanted a divorce. Why? What gave her the audacity to say it to my face?Divorce.The word kept ringing in my head. I poured myself a glass of whiskey, the amber liquid sloshing against the crystal. I’m sure she didn’t know what she was saying. She would come back to her senses soon enough. I gave her my last name—Cross—a name that screamed power itself. I knew she wouldn’t want to mess that up.My office was too quiet. So quiet I could hear the hum of traffic from the street below, eighteen floors down.The thought of how Aria had looked at me in that hospital room kept playing in my mind. She looked sick. Pale. Exhausted. Dark circles under her eyes.“I’m done, Julian.”The words rang in my head on repeat.She hadn’t flinched despite everything I’d said. Not when I mentioned the contract. Not when I told her the consequences. Not when I stood over her bed trying to intimidate her into backing down.Was she really tired of the

Aria POV“Mom, I really miss you.” My voice echoed through the hospital room. I sat down in the chair beside her bed and held her palm gently in mine. “Lest I forget, I brought you your favorite flowers. I still remember how much you loved them—you would water those flowers every weekend.”I stood up and placed the flowers on the bedside table, then sat back down, pulling the chair closer to her.“Doctor Joshua said you’re responding to treatment. He told me I should speak to you—it will help you get better because you can hear me.” I held her hand tighter, my fingers interlacing with hers. “Mom, can you hear me? I hope you can, because I have a lot to tell you.” A tear dropped from my eye and landed on our joined hands.“Mom, I really failed you as your child. I did everything you warned me not to do.” I reached up with my free hand and gently stroked her hair, brushing it away from her forehead.“I got married to someone who doesn’t love me, who treats me like I’m nobody—” I sobbed,

Aria’s POVI kept pacing the hallway. The surgery was taking too long. The sterile white walls seemed to close in on me, and the sharp scent of disinfectant made my stomach churn. Every passing minute felt like an eternity, each second stretching into agonizing uncertainty. My hands trembled as I clasped them together, trying to steady myself, but the fear clawing at my chest wouldn’t let go.“God, please restore my mom,” I whispered, my hands clasped together so tightly my knuckles turned white. “Please don’t take her from me. Not now. Not like this.”My mind raced with worst-case scenarios. What if she didn’t make it? What if I’d waited too long to get her help? The guilt gnawed at me, relentless and cruel. She was all I had left in this world, and the thought of losing her made it hard to breathe.“Mrs. Cross,” the doctor called out, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts.I spun around, my heart hammering in my chest. “How is she? How is my mom?”“The surgery went well… but we’ve o

Aria’s POV“Mrs. Cross, you really need to brace yourself. Prepare for the worst. It’s… it’s 50/50.”The doctor’s words echo in my head, bouncing around my skull like they’re trying to find a way out. I can barely see straight as I stumble through the hospital corridor. The fluorescent lights above feel too bright, too harsh. Everything sounds distant—muffled voices, beeping machines, footsteps that aren’t mine. My eyes are already filling with tears before I even reach the parking lot.I fumble for my keys, my hands shaking so badly I drop them twice before I manage to unlock the car. I slide into the driver’s seat and just sit there for a moment, gripping the steering wheel like it’s the only solid thing left in the world.50/50.Half a chance. A coin flip. My mother’s life reduced to a gamble I have no control over.I turn the key in the ignition and pull out of the parking space without really thinking. I just need to move. Need to go somewhere, anywhere that isn’t here with those