Chapter 4

I got into the passenger's seat for the first time in a long time, and I realized that the interior of Jasper's car was now decorated in a cartoonish pink.

When Jasper saw me looking around, he rubbed his nose rather guiltily and explained. "Nicole is just childlike. She whined about wanting to change the decor to pink, and I was afraid that she would get angry if I refused and that it would affect the baby, so I changed it."

The interior of the car had once been black and gold. I had found a professional designer to design it for Jasper.

He had liked it very much, and whenever we drove out together in this car, he would compliment my taste and say what a thoughtful wife I was for even thinking about his car interior.

However, how much he liked it and how thoughtful I was as a wife had counted for nothing when faced with Nicole's childlike nature.

There was an ornament on the console with a photo on it. It was a photo of Jasper and Nicole together. They were leaning very close to each other and smiling very happily.

The ornament could be voice-controlled and relied on solar power. They didn't only have one photo together.

Photo after photo of the two of them together revolved and flashed in front of my eyes, looking particularly jarring in the sunlight.

Jasper noticed what I was looking at, and he followed my gaze. As his eyes alighted on the rotating ornament, music started playing.

"If you sneeze, I must be missing you…"

It was Nicole's voice.

"Ahem. The crystal you gave me shattered somehow, and Nicole felt that the car was a little empty, so she put that there. If you don't like it…"

The sunlight was stinging my eyes. I closed them slowly. "It's alright. Let's go to the hospital."

In the past, I would have made a fuss. However, I no longer wanted this man, and I would not care anymore about anything that concerned him.

However, the car had only gone some distance forward when Nicole called, crying. I heard the sound of a baby wailing, and my heart twisted violently at once.

I grabbed Jasper's arm hard. "The baby! What's wrong with the baby? Why is he crying so loudly?"

However, Jasper had no time for me. He flung my hand aside and stopped the car at once before turning it around.

"Get out of the car." His voice was filled with urgency. "Hurry up! Nicole's in such a state that she's crying. I've got to rush over there to see her!"

I yelled with all my strength, "I'm asking you what happened to the baby!"

If he had even shown any concern for the baby, I wouldn't have been so agitated, but all he cared about was how Nicole was. My baby was just a tool for him to make Nicole happy.

"I'm not getting out of the car. I want to go and see the baby."

Jasper dragged me out of the car and looked disdainfully at me. "If you're there, Nicole will overthink. Besides, your current state is going to scare Nicole and the baby. Get a cab to the hospital. When I've dealt with everything, I'll come and take you home."

He looked at the wound on my face and neck, and the contempt in his eyes did not seem to be an act. He did not say anything else and just got into the car before speeding off.

The wound on my abdomen had burst open, and the hand that I held to my stomach was stained with blood. I was so worried about the baby that I was overwhelmed with anxiety, and I fainted.

If a kind-hearted passerby hadn't sent me to the hospital, I would probably have died on that road.

When I'd had the wound rebandaged at the hospital and gotten a prescription, I went home. Jasper rushed angrily toward me. "Who is he?"

My friend Bryan Earnshaw had been helping me along, and he stood in front of me to shield me. I pushed him aside gently and looked straight at Jasper.

I said honestly, "I met him when we both joined the same university club. He works at the hospital and just dropped me off at home on his way back."

Jasper did not believe me. He yanked me over to his side. "Your friend from university? We've been together for so many years. Why have I never heard you mention it before?"

He glared ferociously at my friend.

I gave Jasper a long look. "I also never knew that whenever you went on a business trip overseas both before and after we got married, you were going to see Nicole."

Jasper's expression changed at once. When he saw how cold my expression was, his voice softened slightly.

"Are you still angry about what happened this morning? Nicole was crying so sadly and so urgently that I didn't have time to think about anything else. That's why I made you get out of the car in such a rush.

"Once I was done with Nicole, I called you, but you didn't answer on purpose. I went to several hospitals, but I couldn't find you.

"The moment I get back, I see another man touching you. Are you doing this on purpose, Aria?" There was actually a note of jealousy in his tone.

Bryan saw the weariness in my eyes, and he interrupted Jasper. "Mr. Smith, your wife is currently feeling very weak. If you have the energy to accuse her, why don't you take her home so she can rest?"

Jasper narrowed his eyes and looked Bryan up and down. "These are our family affairs. We don't need an outsider like to you intervene."

Bryan opened his mouth to say something else, but I interrupted him. "You should get going, Bryan. I'm sorry for troubling you so much today. Thank you."

"Are you going to be okay?" Bryan was still worried. He only left when I nodded.

I watched Bryan's figure retreat into the distance, and I turned around to open the door. Behind me, Jasper asked darkly, "Aria, aren't you going to explain things to me?"

I turned around to look at him, and the corners of my mouth twitched slightly. "What do I need to explain?"

"Why didn't you answer my calls? Why are you in an ambiguous relationship with a man?"

I couldn't help snorting with laughter. "When you rushed off to see Nicole and tossed me out of your car, you forgot to toss out my phone with me.

"If you really had gone to the hospital to look for me, you wouldn't have missed me. You would have seen for yourself what I was doing with another man, and you wouldn't have to lob empty accusations at me.

"After all, I'm not you."

How could he say that he had gone to the hospital to get me and that he'd waited for a long time?

It was raining so heavily outside, and Bryan had only helped me along for a few steps, but half his shoulder was already soaked.

If Jasper really had gone to several hospitals to look for me, he wouldn't have turned up to accuse me while looking so neat, without a hair out of place.

Jasper turned white, then red. He pressed his lips together and said impassively, "Nicole—"

But before he could finish, I turned and walked into the house. I did not want to listen to him speak. I only wanted to get divorced as soon as possible and get my baby back.