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39: cold shoulder
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Aria was preparing for work now. Anna had already finished all that she had planned on doing, so she had gone to work.
As Aria went about her daily routine, a certain emptiness kept on digging herself in her chest, and she couldn't shake it off as she felt it grow deeper as the second crawled by. She contemplated going to work so she could avoid Robert, but she didn't know that was possible because she couldn't bring herself to miss work because she was having issues with her boss. That was a sign of irresponsibility, and she was not irresponsible.When she got discharged, Robert drove her home in silence, neither attempting to break the awful silence that had grown roots within the confinement of the car. And as she stole glances at him, she noticed how fixated he kept his gaze on the road without his jaw twitching.She decided that he was angry at her, and her brain wouldn't stop playing scenarios of how she'd have reacted differently so they wouldn'tRelated chapters
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 40: thoughts
Aria stepped into the bathroom, bent her head into the sink, and tried to stop herself from crying. Even with no one in sight, she still felt like people could watch, and they could tell that she was weak. How Robert had reacted towards her made her feel like he didn't care about her, and she had been the biggest fool all along for thinking otherwise. It broke her heart; his unflinching cold as ice demeanor struck her in all the places. She couldn't believe that he'd turn his back on her like that without even attempting to sort things out, and then he asked her how she was dling because he felt obliged to do that, not because he wanted to; that was all she saw, even if he genuinely cared. What was that mixed signal all about? How could he care about her and not want to fix things with her? Her heart palpitated as she began to uncover different scenarios. She was failing at this now; she had told herself that the whole Ivan dynamics, meant she was going to be more careful, but being
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 41: conversation with dad
Robert was on his way to his father's house. He had ordered him to come over, saying he wanted to talk to him in person. To be honest, Robert was a little bit scared.He knew that whatever small conversation he wanted to have with him was something they could have been able to talk about over the phone. The fact that he asked him to come over meant that it was important. He liked having a clue about stuff, and the fact he had no clue how the conversation could go made him extra scared. But he had to face it and get over it.He couldn't even keep stalling because it could catch up with him. His heart thumped faster as he thought about his father's stern expression when he'd query him for not showing up at the conference; instead, he delegated the duty to his stepbrother. He'd explain to his father that his secretary and personal assistant, sorry, his wife, had fainted, and he knew he wouldn't be able to function properly, so he had to ditch the conference
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 42: emergency!
Aria felt the sharp pain before she woke up. It felt like needles were punching holes in her stomach. She groaned softly at first, thinking it was just a mild pain and it would definitely fade off. She took a deep breath, turning over to the other side, attempting to go back to sleep. The stinging sensation descended on her again, paralyzing her legs and as she groaned this time around, she knew it wasn't an ordinary pain. The darkened room and the excruciating pain made it feel like the pain was swallowing her whole and she was being hurled out of this world. The shadows in front of her merged into lines of horror that threatened to coil itself around her body. As much as she wanted to get rid of this sharp pain, she also wanted to see past these blurry figures. She jabbed the night lamp on, jerked up and the shadows were nothing. She looked over to her side, even with the force which she hoisted herself up, Anna didn't even stir. She was a deep sleeper. The pai
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 43: apologies!
Harry could not believe that his father was smiling with Robert. He thought that he'd be angry at him because of the way he had sounded during dinner. It was shocking to have seen the both of them looking happy. When he had greeted his father, he had regarded them briefly before he fixed his gaze on Robert again. That hurt him deeply. He felt invisible, and he knew he was going to be like that for a while unless he broke the chain, tore the cloak, surrounding him. He knew had to act fast. He had to do something concerning Robert. He had to look into his marriage like it had occurred to him. His phone buzzed, dragging him from his thoughts. He stretched his hands to retrieve it, his gaze slid to the caller ID. It was his mother. His eyes flew wide at the reason she could be calling. She rarely called him while she was away from home. Even when she was home, they rarely talk so he couldn't help but wonder what would make her call him. His guesses was that she wanted to talk Bryan or her
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 44: waiting
Ivan and Anna were at the reception, anxiously waiting for any news about Aria. Anna sat on the chair, shaking her legs, tapping her fingers on her thighs, and muttering words of prayer, while Ivan paced around with ragged breaths as though his own life depended on Aria being well. Anna's gaze zeroed in on him, and she wondered why he had cheated on her sister and if he really cared about her. She took a deep breath and wrung her fingers together as she continued praying.Just then, the doctor walked towards her, and she sprung to her feet and scurried in his direction. The bespackled man, with a hint of scruff, pursed his lips together and stared at both of them."How's she?" They asked in unison, their panic merging into each other and thickening the tension. The air was stiff."She's currently sleeping."Anna heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank God."A small smile graced his lips. "You guys must have been so worried about Aria. Don't worry, she'll be fine."The doctor knew Anna and her
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 45: the reveal
Anna entered the room swiftly and banged the door shut as if she thought Ivan would wiggle himself past with the little space. The moment she bolted the door shut, she pressed her back against the door and took a deep breath. She sighed, exhaustion coursing through her. The information she had heard a few minutes ago had weakened her, and she felt like she needed to make the world pause for a second so she could catch her breath. She felt sorry for her sister, and she wondered how she would react when she found out about everything the doctor had said. From losing her baby to Gavin fibrosis. For some reasons, she chose to stick to the belief that her sister was aware of the pregnancy, whether or not she'd have told her. It just didn't make sense that Aria could hide such information from her. It just wasn't possible. Aria stirred on the bed, raising her hands upwards, but she stopped when she noticed that something (an IV) was attached to her hands. Anna walked towards taking a seat b
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 46: call in sick
Aria stared straight ahead, even though it looked like she could not see anything and was far out of his world. "I wish it were a dream." She told Anna, and she kept quiet as she kept on thinking about how the baby would have added to her life. She didn't know how to grieve because it felt weird, firstly, that a baby wasn't growing inside of her, and she didn't until she was gone. She didn't know how to cry, even if she felt like that was what she was supposed to do. She felt unworthy to grieve crazily for someone she wasn't attached to, yet she felt somehow incomplete, like she had lost an old friend. She sighed, thinking about how things would have turned out differently. She would have likely not made her choice yet about whether she should tell Robert that she was carrying his baby, or maybe if he had found out through the doctor at the hospital, she'd have wanted to keep the baby, but eventually she'd have felt the need to run away from him with her baby, and he'd not have heard
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 47: the visit
The moment Robert entered his car and turned the key in his ignition, he felt his heart beat faster. One, they hadn't spoken in a while, and two, he didn't know how she was going to react when she saw him. He hoped she was fine; that was what he cared about now. Even though there was a rift between the two of them, he couldn't help but think about her and show his concern for her by showing up at the hospital. He breathed out as he turned off the ignition and got out of the car.With each stride he took towards the door, he longed to see her oval face and how she was doing.At the reception, surprisingly, he spotted Ivan, his former personal assistant, who had told him he was out of Las Vegas. He was pacing around the room, like he was in a critical condition, and he halted on his tracks, eyes wide, when he saw him."What are you doing here?" Robert asked him, bewildered.He scratched his hair and blinked as if the beads of sweat pearled at the top of his forehead and rolled into his
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The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 146: the end
Aria tried to memorize all she had learnt for her final exams while she texted Robert who was keen on distracting her. She had herself to blame though, she was the one who kept on texting him like she wouldn't see him later when he came home.A: Can you let me study?R: Can you let yourself study? You keep responding to my text when you know you shouldn't.A: that's because I can't help it and I always want to talk to you.R: That sounds cute but I'm going to have to stop responding to you. Meaning I'm not going to reply to your texts if you send another one after this.Robert kept his word. The next messages she said afterwards to him were left unanswered as she brought her mind back to her books so she could study. When she finished studying, she texted him back that she was done and she was heading to the shelter where she now volunteered. The shelter was a safe place for people who suffered abusive relationships and grief who needed other people who could understand them. It also
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 145: bonding
Aria had been looking forward to this dinner just like her husband. She noticed how happier her husband seemed after his meeting with Harry. Robert didn't give her the details, he just told her they got to discuss at length and they were now on good terms. Aria asked Anna if she wanted to come alone with them but she refused, saying she wanted to watch cartoons at home. Aria sighed and nodded.Now she and Robert were prepared for the dinner. Robert was dressed casually but since hadn't gone out in a while, she took this as an opportunity to scan through her outfits and combine them aesthetically. She finally settled for a short chiffon, a piece of jewelry and silver heels."Now look at how I look like your bodyguard standing beside you," Robert joked while he held her waist from the side and kissed her hair. "You look beautiful my queen." He complimented."So do you so, my love." She blushed. His muscular arm was evident under the shirt he wore and his biceps rippled. Aria imagined ta
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 144: starting to live
Harry couldn't bear the guilt of what he did and he kept thinking about whether to tell Robert about it or not. They've been getting along just fine and they've recently been texting online and it's been amazing. They mostly spoke about their father's health, work and just random stuff. It felt like they were in a talking stage, they were starting to know each other very well, something they would have done years ago, but it took this long to achieve which wasn't really bad. Lauren and her husband loved this new change and they supported it more by inviting Aria and Robert for dinner. They conveyed the information through Harry and Robert loved the idea and agreed to show up with his wife.Harry's mind kept bugging him, he couldn't act all friendly with Robert when in the past he had previously tried to sabotage his career. Now they were getting along, he didn't want anything to come between this new found friendship. He was going to tell Robert about all of it, he'd soon go back to s
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 143: change of mind
Anna was getting better and she no longer cried about the death. She was starting to carry on without her life. She now ate, watched cartoons and giggled about funny things like she used to do before she heard about the news. Aria loved the change, it brought a smile to her lips that her sister had successfully escaped the confinement of grief.Aria felt like her life was worth more and she hadn't explored as she should have. She was too carried away with external factors and had forgotten to be the main character of her life. This was what her mother would have wanted for her, now that she was gone, she had the strong urge to pick up her life. Not that she hadn't been living before but he was ready to live as her capacity would allow. She wanted to go to therapy and then go back to school. Therapy first, because she wanted to unpack all that happened to her in the past month, heal and understand better in what direction her life should take. Aria realized she wasn't really okay and s
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 142: revelation
Harry had already resigned to his fate as soon as his mother told him about everything. He knew that one day, this would happen, now in the moment, he felt nothing at all. He just keenly watched the scene unfold. The only thing that troubled him was that the internal turmoil his mother felt was visible and he felt sorry for her."I said go on," his father said, growing impatient.Matteo stared at Lauren, hoping she would change her mind but he just looked scared without saying a word."Say whatever you have to say, you heard my dad." Harry added, looking at Matteo with disdain. The reaction Matteo got was different from what he expected. He smiled nervously, staring at all of them. Harry knew he was finding it difficult to comprehend with the way no one seemed to be grovelling at his feet not to spill like he expected. His face hardened again, "So your wife here lied to you.""About what?" His father instinctively touched Lauren and his eyes darted between her and Matteo."About a lo
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 141: relief
As Robert drove them home, he felt a sense of relief that his father didn't have to stay at the hospital for more than a day. Robert hated the hospital, not in the strong sense of aversion kind of way, but he felt like the hospital wasn't really a place a sick person needed to be. He couldn't place a finger on why he thought that but he didn't think a sick person deserved to hear about more people dying and inhaling the weird antiseptic that dominated the air. And most people he knew who stayed in the hospital for months due to one illness or the other didn't make it alive, for example his mom and Aria's mom. So for that reason he was happy that his father didn't have to stay there longer than the day he was brought in.His father coughed and he briefly glanced back. Lauren was sitting next to him, holding his hands which moved to rub his arm.Harry who was near Robert stretched the water he held to his father. "I hope you're okay." He asked.His father nodded and for the rest of thei
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 140: Sick
"Dad!" Robert kept screaming as his father held his neck almost like he was getting constricted.He continued coughing as Robert tried to offer him the water. His hands become shaky as he contemplated running out to tell Lauren about what was happening to her husband. He blinked his eyes as he watched his father fight for air and then he sprang out of the room to inform Lauren."Lauren, the ambulance! Dad is dying," he said breathlessly. Her eyes widened in horror as she placed a call to the ambulance with shaky hands. "My husband -"Robert zone out, his mind conjuring the worst scenarios. Soon the ambulance arrived and lauren and Bryan accompanied his father while he was wheeled away. He grabbed his carkeys as he made his way to enter his when he saw Harry scratching his hair as walked closer to him."Can i go come along?" Robert watched him stutter before he nodded."Thank you," he said shyly before they both entered the car. They drove in silence before Robert's curiosity got the
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 139: finally
Robert told him he couldn't continue thinking about his father without making the necessary move therefore he had to go to his house and have the conversation. He didn't even know he loved his father this much. The past months without hearing his voice made him feel like something was missing and he was tired of feeling that way. It was kind of feeling he had to end because it ruined him. Yeah, he didn't care nor think about the consequences or aftermath of the action he was going to take as he drove down there. He had told Bryan to inform him if Dad was at home and the little boy did it as soon as he could because he wanted his big family back. When Bryan told him he was now on talking terms with his mother, Lauren, a big smile spread across his face and he remembered how he wasn't talking to his own father and he knew he had to fix that as well.Robert got to the house bracing himself for the conversation they were going to have.He saw Lauren sitting in the sitting room like the pre
The Billionaire's Accidental Bride 138: reassurance
Anna has been moody since Aria told her about her mother's death. She had to tell her though, she couldn't stall it any longer. She wasn't crying anymore but she barely spoke nor showed excitement about anything as she would have before. Anna took that as a sign, she was grieving silently, which was okay. She had to express herself in whichever way she deem fit. As much as she wished Anna didn't have to feel this way, it was necessary and had to happen. Aria glanced across where Anna was lying on the sofa, covering herself with a duvet as her eyes darted between the TV where her favourite cartoon was flickering and her phone in her hands."You sure you're not hungry?" Aria asked again for the third time.She raised her gaze and shook her head."Why? Food is important." Aria asked, worried. "At this point, I'll have to force you to eat something even if you claim not to be hungry."Anna adjusted her lying posture to a sitting one, putting her foot on the floor. "Trust me, I'll eat when
