Chapter 51 It's Really Her.
Nathaniel looked up suddenly, and it startled Aureli.
"Did you go to the exhibition yesterday?" he asked.
Aurelia nodded awkwardly. "Ulysses mentioned there were some nice jewelry pieces, so I went to take a look."
Nathaniel furrowed his brow, as she mentioned Ulysses again.
"Can't you make friends with someone more normal?" he remarked.
Aurelia felt a wave of relief. He didn't bring up anything else but just his usual disapproval of her association with Ulysses.
It meant he hadn't suspected anything about her secret.
Aurelia smiled. "We're all quite normal, Mr. Heilbronn. Maybe you should examine yourself a bit more."
With that, Aurelia left without waiting for his reaction.
Zack glanced at Aurelia, feeling awkward, and thought to himself, 'Mr. Heilbronn is really possessive.'
In the restroom, Aurelia ran into Chelsea, who was touching up her makeup.
When no one else was around, Chelsea, still with an air of arrogance, said, "You've signed the divorce agreement, so why are you still here? How much more do you want?"
Chelsea had feigned innocence for too long. Aurelia found Chelsea's sudden directness intriguing and felt like having a conversation with her.
"It's not your money, so why are you in such a hurry? You should be more careful. Every penny you spend now is considered our marital property. I, as his legal wife, have the right to claim it back. Even the cost of the room you two used and half of every meal should be paid by you."
Chelsea snorted. "Stop pretending. Let's get to the point. How much money do you want to leave him?"
"You should ask Nathaniel what it would take for him to let me go," Aurelia replied.
Chelsea's expression darkened as she noticed the fresh hickey on Aurelia's neck. It extended below her collar.
It was clearly left just recently, probably at noon.
The sight of the hickey filled Chelsea with jealousy.
"What have you two been doing? This is a company, not a place for you to seduce men."
Aurelia walked past her to wash her hands, and only then did she see her neck, which she couldn't bear to look at directly. Her mind kept replaying the scene from earlier.
She thought in anger, ‘He did it on purpose. He must have expected this, as well as the embarrassment I may have.'
Seeing Chelsea's angry expression, Aurelia couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.
"As a legally married couple, anything we do is reasonable. I don't think you want to hear about the things that happen between consenting adults, right?"
Chelsea glared at Aurelia with her eyes filled with anger.
Aurelia knew that Chelsea was composed, unlike Ashley, who would get agitated at the slightest provocation.
Aurelia couldn't help but describe the recent events dramatically, portraying a simple kiss as a thrilling affair.
Chelsea was familiar with that, so she naturally believed her.
"Aurelia, you just wait and see!"
Aurelia didn't pay much attention to her words at the time.
As usual, she left the office at the end of the day. She got into her car and drove out of the underground parking lot.
After driving for a while, she noticed a black car following her. When she sped up, the car behind her also accelerated. When she turned, the car followed suit.
Aurelia wasn't a skilled driver, and now she needed to be more focused. A thin layer of sweat formed on her forehead.
While waiting for the green light, she quickly checked the map on her phone for the nearest police station and navigated there. It was the safest place she could think of.
As soon as the light turned green, Aurelia accelerated.
She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that the car was still following her, with its license plate covered.
Aurelia tried to keep calm. As long as she made it to the police station safely, the people in that car wouldn't be able to harm her.
When one was nervous, he would involuntarily exert more pressure when stepping on the gas pedal.
The car behind her also accelerated, seemingly sensing her intention, and sped up, heading straight towards her.
Aurelia reacted, and her car was hit hard, lurching forward several miles. The airbags deployed.
Scared, she unlocked the car when she heard someone knocking on her window, and the next second, she passed out.
The traffic accident was deemed a simple rear-end collision due to the brake failure of the car behind hers. This was the explanation given to Aurelia by the police after she regained consciousness.
Her intuition told her that Chelsea was somehow involved in this.
A doctor came in to take her temperature.
Aurelia looked at the IV drip hanging by her bed and delivering medication into her body drop by drop. She mustered all her strength to sit up.
"Doctor, please remove this for me."
The doctor, seeing her urgency, tried to calm her down. "Don't get agitated. This medication is safe for pregnant women. You've been through a shock, so we need to observe you in the hospital for twenty-four hours."
Aurelia gently caressed her belly. "Is my baby okay?"
"Don't worry. Everything should be fine. But you need to listen to our advice."
Aurelia obediently lay back down.
"How do you know I'm pregnant?"
The doctor checked the needle on the back of Aurelia’s hand, as Aureli’s movement just now caused the blood to flow into the tube through the needle.
"The person who helped you with the hospital admission explained it."
"Who helped me with the hospital admission?"
The doctor tried to recall. "It seems to be a man named Felix."
"Doctor, please keep my pregnancy a secret."
The doctor sighed and walked out of the room.
Aurelia stared at the ceiling, her mind filled with thoughts. She had almost forgotten about Felix, the mysterious man who beat Norman up last time.
She took out her phone and found Felix's contact information, sending a simple "Thank you" message.
Moments later, she received a reply: [Ms. Simona, don’t mention it. It’s my duty to keep your safety, and today's incident was my negligence. Please feel free to give me any instructions.]
Aurelia pondered over for a while, trying to figure out whom Felix might work for. Only a few people knew about her pregnancy.
Besides her close friends, who could it be? And her close friends wouldn't need to act in secret.
After much thought, a face appeared in her mind. 'Could it be Uncle Marcus?' she wondered.
It gave her a headache.
After the doctor left, she fell asleep.
When Aurelia woke up again, she felt a gaze on her face. When she had barely opened her eyes, she met Nathaniel's concerned look. It was rare to see a hint of worry in his deep eyes.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
A sob caught Aurelia's attention, and she looked over to see Chelsea standing there, crying. Aurelia couldn't help but admire her acting skills; the filming industry definitely owed her an award.
"Aurelia, are you okay? You scared us all," Chelsea said, her eyes red with worry.
Aurelia felt that Chelsea's red eyes were not from concern but rather from happiness. Seeing herself in such a state, Chelsea was clearly overjoyed. Or perhaps Chelsea was a bit disappointed that the accident didn’t take Aurelia’s life.
In any case, it wasn't out of genuine concern.
Aurelia withdrew her hand in disgust.
"I'm a little hungry," she said to Nathaniel.
"I'll go buy some food for you."
It was rare for him to offer to go personally.
Chelsea stayed in the ward, knowing that Aurelia had something to say to her. This was the unspoken understanding between rivals.
"Say what you need to say quickly. You might not have such good luck next time."
Aurelia felt nauseated, confirming her suspicions.
"Chelsea, I've been putting up with you because Nathaniel promised to go through the divorce after the company's press conference. But you seem to be so anxious to get rid of me. In this case, don't blame me for being ruthless. I'll treat you the way you treat me."
Chelsea snorted. "Bring it on."
Chelsea never believed that Aurelia, who was easily manipulated, could cause any trouble. Dealing with Aurelia was a piece of cake.
As they were talking, Nathaniel returned. He bought a sandwich. That was Aurelia's favorite.
The tense atmosphere in the ward immediately became harmonious with his return.
There was no green-eyed jealousy from the love rivals, only deep sisterly affection.
Of course, Chelsea was acting. She took the box from Nathaniel's hand and opened it. She then began to feed Aurelia.
"Aurelia, have some. It will be helpful to a quick recovery."
Chelsea's actions triggered Aurelia's morning sickness, and she retched a few times, her face turning pale.
"Please stay away from me. Your smell makes me sick."
Chelsea's displeasure was evident, but she held back her anger in Nathaniel's presence.
"You can leave," Nathaniel said, stepping forward to take the food from Chelsea's hand.
He took out a pair of disposable gloves from the box, put them on, and fed Aurelia the sandwich. It was the first time Aurelia had received such treatment, and she felt that she didn't deserve it.
If it weren't for Chelsea's trip back to her home country, she would have suspected that Nathaniel had fallen in love with her. Otherwise, how could she see the worry in his eyes and his kind gesture of feeding her?
The last time she had a fever of 102.2°F, he just asked her to drink more hot water.
"I'll do it myself," Aurelia said.
Nathaniel lost his patience, took off the gloves, and handed her the knife and fork.
"You can leave. There's no need to waste time here."
Nathaniel was busy, usually either socializing or busy with work at this time.
Aurelia's words also indicated that she didn't want to be alone with him.
If she decided to leave him, she believed that they should gradually fade from each other's lives. She thought that time was a great healer and that the person she couldn't forget and the pain that couldn't be healed would eventually succumb to time.
Nathaniel asked helplessly, "What are you up to now?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
