Chapter 141 Taking Responsibility for Her
Aurelia felt dejected, finding the banquet meaningless as it was just a gathering of people eating and drinking. She decided to head straight back to her room.
As she walked up to the second floor, she heard the voices of two men arguing at the staircase. One voice belonged to Ulysses, whom she recognized, and the other was undoubtedly Oscar.
Aurelia climbed the last two steps and turned the corner to see the two men at the end of the corridor engaged in a dispute for some unknown reason.
Ulysses had frowned.
Both men noticed Aurelia's presence. Oscar, in anger, said, "Let Aurelia be the judge of this. You're being completely unreasonable!"
Aurelia heard him, walked over slowly, and asked, "What's going on?"
Oscar saw an opportunity for arbitration and explained, "The air conditioning in his room broke down. I kindly invited him in to cool off for a while, but he insisted he was hot and wanted to take my cooling blanket. You can't just borrow things like that."
Ulysses, holding the blanket tightly to his chest, remained resolute. "I've just slept with this blanket. I'll take it with me and compensate you with a new one. Is it really worth making a fuss over this?"
Oscar retorted, "It's not just about a blanket. Can't you be reasonable?"
No matter what Oscar said, Ulysses refused to let go of the blanket. This blanket was his for the day.
Oscar stomped his foot in frustration. "Aurelia, look at your friend—a grown man who can't reason at all. Even children know not to take things that don't belong to them. Why can't he understand such a simple concept?"
After listening for a moment, Aurelia realized that the two men were not really arguing but rather bantering.
"I have a solution. Would you like to hear it?" Aurelia suggested.
Oscar perked up. "Please, tell us!"
Aurelia suggested, "Why don't you two just share the room? Problems solved."
Oscar's expression changed, and he exclaimed, "I refuse to share a room with this beast!"
With that, Oscar slammed the door and went inside.
Aurelia shrugged. "You are locked out. You'd better make amends! By the way, why does Oscar always call you a beast?"
Ulysses furrowed his brow, holding the blanket. "Aurelia, why are you so interested in gossip?"
Aurelia smiled. "I'm not. Honestly, I think you two make a good match. How's business lately? Do you have a lot of orders?"
Ulysses nodded. "It's been busy. We landed a big contract. Oscar needs a high-end uniform design for their hotel manager. The design is almost complete; just some finishing touches left."
Aurelia was surprised. "Oscar's chain of hotels is well-known nationwide, with a huge volume of orders. Once you complete this project, you'll be set for success!"
Ulysses chuckled. "Whether I succeed or not doesn't matter. As long as he's happy."
Aurelia fell silent. "Alright, go make amends. I'm going back to my room to rest."
Aurelia had been delayed for a while, and upon returning to her room, she found Nathaniel inside. She had thought he wouldn't be able to leave Chelsea, finding it difficult to break free from that bitch. But Nathaniel had returned to the room before her.
Nathaniel turned to her with a serious expression, his eyes revealing a complex emotion that was hard to decipher.
Aurelia's eyes twitched as she said, "You're back."
Nathaniel didn't speak. Aurelia leaned against the shoe cabinet to change her shoes, feeling tired and sleepy.
On top of the shoe cabinet lay the mysterious prize Nathaniel had brought back, three bright boxes of condoms, lined up prominently, impossible to ignore.
"Aurelia," Nathaniel called out.
Aurelia felt a sudden tightness in her chest, sensing that he had something important to say.
She had only changed one shoe when she looked up at him.
Nathaniel lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, something he hadn't done in front of her for a while.
Aurelia watched him exhale smoke, feeling that something was different about him today. He seemed to be enveloped in a conflicted emotion that clashed with his usual decisive and aloof demeanor.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Nathaniel extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray.
"Aurelia, let's get a divorce," he said abruptly.
The sudden news hit Aurelia like a bolt of lightning, leaving her stunned. This was the second time he had mentioned divorce. The first time was when Chelsea returned from abroad, but he had changed his mind and reassured her repeatedly that their marriage had nothing to do with Chelsea, claiming he didn't love her.
She wondered why he was bringing up divorce at this moment.
Aurelia felt a tightness in her chest, wanting to know the reason behind his cold words.
Their relationship was announced less than three days ago. Nathaniel publicly praised Aurelia in front of the media, portraying her as the beautiful and talented Mrs. Heilbronn of the Heilbronn Group.
They flaunted their love in front of thousands of employees, holding hands with new wedding rings and kissing passionately in front of the staff, only to talk about divorce the moment they turned away.
Aurelia felt like she had been lifted to the sky by him, only to be dropped into hell in a split second.
Nathaniel's face was tense as he stated, "Chelsea is pregnant. It happened that night."
There was no hint of anticipation for the baby in his words, just a statement of fact.
Aurelia was stunned for a moment before letting out a low laugh. She had just been mocking Ashley's lack of intelligence, but now she felt like she had been slapped in the face by his reaction.
It turned out that they were alike—both brainless and heartless.
"Nathaniel, you can't be certain that the child Chelsea is carrying is yours. You haven't been with her every day and don't know who she's been in contact with. You can't be sure," she said.
At her words, Nathaniel raised his eyes sharply, a hint of fierceness in his gaze.
"Aurelia, what do you mean by that?" he asked.
Aurelia let out a cold laugh, realizing she had touched on a sore spot he couldn't accept.
"Just what I said," she replied.
Nathaniel couldn't tolerate it any longer. "Aurelia, she's your sister. You shouldn't speak ill of her like this. Chelsea can be stubborn and impulsive at times, but I understand her temperament better than you, her older sister. She's not a promiscuous person. Besides, her first time was with me, although it wasn't when I was conscious. I feel guilty about that, and I hope you won't spread baseless rumors in the future."
Aurelia sat on the sofa nearby, feeling weak and helpless. "So, you want to take responsibility for her?"
Nathaniel remained silent for a while before saying, "Chelsea has a special condition. The doctor said that if she were to have an abortion, she would lose the chance to be a mother for the rest of her life. It's too cruel for an unmarried girl. I can't stand by and do nothing, especially since this situation was my doing. I'm the one who made her pregnant."
Aurelia laughed in a way that was more ugly than tearful. For a moment, she hadn't felt this kind of heart-wrenching pain. She held back her tears.
"You're cruel to me, too," she said.
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. "Aurelia, if you have any conditions, feel free to tell me. I won't mistreat you. Chelsea has health issues, and I hope you can understand."
Aurelia couldn't help but think of her background. With Chelsea's presence, she had lost the experience of fatherly love. If Chelsea were to bring a bastard child into Aurelia's small family, all Aurelia would feel in her heart was hatred.
Looking at Nathaniel, she suddenly felt sorry for him. He was a ruthless man in the business world but easily manipulated by Chelsea.
In that moment, she envisioned a future when Nathaniel discovered the truth, driving away his wife and child to raise someone else's child, consumed by regret.
Aurelia now longed to see him consumed by regret, finding a strange sense of satisfaction in her heart.
With these thoughts in mind, she suddenly felt at peace, realizing she could live without a father, and so could her child. Her child didn't need such a scumbag for a father.
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