Chapter 10: Splintered hope
Noah felt his head throb when he heard Brandon say that Ari was here to ask for a divorce.
He could not understand what this woman was trying to do now, was she that naive to think that she could threaten him like this?
He knew that with Grandpa backing Ari, he could not divorce her and Ari knew it too.
She was scaring him for sure.
Furthermore, he had his own reasons to keep her by his side, if she left now then his plans would go astray.
He reached out and took the phone from Brandon.
He ignored the nausea that was building in his throat because of all the whiskey and wine that he had dumped in his stomach yesterday.
Ari's futile attempts only made him even more sick.
Usually, Ari would be there for him instead of making things difficult for him.
She would help him by making some light breakfast and some nourishing drinks when he was hungover but this morning when he woke up——
Ari was not at home, causing him to come to work with a terrible headache.
However, he would rather swallow hot magma than admit that he needed Ari.
"Ariana, was yesterday's fuss, not enough?" He questioned angrily while rubbing his forehead.
It was as if someone were hammering in his head from the inside, making it impossible for him to be patient as he usually was. "Do you think that you can do anything just because Grandpa is behind you?"
His angry words caused the final hope that Ari was holding in her heart to burn out.
It splintered and cracked before bringing Ari back to the reality that she was trying to ignore.
What did she expect? There was no way that stubborn and cold man would admit that he was in the wrong.
No matter how much she attempted to delude herself now, the reality was that this man did not care about her. Maybe she was not even in the last position on Noah's list of priorities.
"You think I am making a fuss?" In the past three years, she had been a good wife who followed her husband and his family. She never deviated from what was expected of her and Ari was terrified of the notion of angering her husband but not anymore.
She slammed her hand flat on the receptionist's table, causing Violet to flinch in her seat. Furthermore, she could see that Ari was not here to joke and hoped that Noah could sense it too.
Ari did not notice the fear according to the receptionist, instead, she continued, "I am not here to make a fuss. I am here to fulfil your dreams, once you sign these papers you can kiss Ariel as much as you want and no one will stop you."
Her words caused Violet to cover her mouth in shock.
The cold and Stoic Mister Nelson cheated on his wife. What a juicy gossip!
Even Brandon, who stood next to Noah, was shocked. His eyes widened as he looked at Noah as if he were the scummiest man alive.
It was one thing for Noah to be forcefully married to Ari, and he admitted that what Ari did was not right, but that did not change the fact that Noah cheated on her!
Noah's eyes twitched, and he nursed his forehead before saying, "Is this about yesterday? I told you that it was a game, and I was drunk."
In fact, Noah did want to explain the entire situation to Ari after returning home, but she was not in their master bedroom and took refuge in the guest room.
If she had listened to him, then he would have informed her that he did not want to ignore her.
Yesterday Ariel returned home after a long time, and he was invited by Ryan to celebrate Ariel's return.
Noah doubted that there was any problem with that since Ryan called him an hour before he was supposed to meet Ari.
He truly went to meet Ariel and nothing else, but then Josie offered him a strong wine, and he ended up losing control of his emotions and rationality.
If he were conscious, he would not have done that to Ari, even if he did not like her, he would have shown her due respect.
'Of course, he would say this, does he think that it would make everything better if he told me that he was drunk?' Ari thought that Noah was ridiculous for even expecting her forgiveness just because he kissed her sister while drunk.
When Noah did not hear a response from Ari, he tentatively said, "I will take you out on a movie night, will that be okay?"
He did not care if Ari was hurt, but he did not want her to continue fussing and alarm his grandfather.
What was more, if she left now then all of his plans would be ruined, this was why he tried to soften Ari's stance.
Of course, after staying with Noah for so long, Ari knew what he was thinking. In the past, she would give in, thinking that she had a little place in his heart, but not anymore.
This little warmth could never erase what Noah had done to her.
She sneered into the phone, scaring Violet, "I don't care what you have to say now, if you do not sign the agreement, then I will sue you in court! But we are getting a divorce regardless of what you think or want!"
Though Ari felt a bit guilty towards Grandpa Nelson, she would rather not let guilt drive her life. She couldn't live with a man who kissed her elder sister, game or not.
Ari hung up the call and smiled at Violet before muttering an apology. She then turned on her heels and headed out of the company.
On the other hand, Noah was dumbstruck. Usually, Ari would simmer down when he lowered his stance, but this time around she told him that she was going to drag him to the court. Was she serious?
He looked up and questioned his special assistant, "Do you think that she is speaking the truth?" Noah didn't believe that Ari, whose entire life circulated him would be willing to divorce him.
Brandon, on the other hand, thought differently. He snorted and then said to Noah, "What else do you expect? She caught you kissing another woman, if I was in her shoes, I would have divorced you as well. Disgusting, filthy bastard," he added in a low voice, causing Noah to frown and say,
"What did you say?"
"Nothing."
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