Chapter 2

Aaron fell silent.

Just then, his phone rang.

Aaron glanced at the screen but didn't answer.

Immediately after, my phone rang.

It was an unknown number.

I answered. A soft, fragile voice came through:

"Claire, this is Ruby."

"I know you're with Aaron right now. Could you... let me speak with you?"

I put it on speaker and placed the phone on the table.

"Claire, everything is my fault."

Ruby's voice carried a crying tone, but it wasn't grating—instead, it sounded pitifully vulnerable.

"I'm useless. I couldn't support Miles, so I had the nerve to come back and beg Aaron."

"Aaron is a good man. He just pities the child... Please don't blame him."

"If you can't accept us, I'll take Miles and leave right now."

"Even if we die out there, I won't cause you any more trouble..."

Suddenly, a child's coughing came through the phone, along with Ruby's panicked attempts to soothe him.

Aaron's face changed.

He grabbed my phone and shouted into it:

"Ruby, is Miles having another attack?!"

"Don't move! The medicine is in the cabinet... I'll be right there!"

He hung up and looked at me with desperation in his eyes.

"Claire, Miles's asthma is acting up. It could be life-threatening."

"I have to go... We can talk about this when we get home, okay?"

I looked at the man before me.

One second he was confessing to me, the next he heard something from her side and lost his mind completely.

I knew him too well.

Ruby didn't need to throw tantrums or flaunt herself in front of me.

All she needed was to show her fragility, and she had Aaron wrapped around her finger.

"Go."

I leaned back in my chair, expression indifferent.

"Aaron, if you walk out that door, we're really done."

Aaron hesitated.

He looked at me with internal struggle, but finally, he gritted his teeth.

"Claire, this is a matter of life and death. I can't ignore it."

With that, he left without looking back.

I watched his retreating figure, then picked up the cold coffee in front of me and drank it all.

Bitterness spread through my entire mouth.

I took out my phone and called Grandfather Hayes.

"Grandpa, I'm in the neighboring city. I'm coming to see you."

I went directly to the Hayes Group branch office in the neighboring city.

Grandfather Hayes was inspecting the workplace. When he saw me arrive, he wasn't surprised.

Everyone was dismissed from the office, leaving only him and me.

"Claire, why do you look so pale?"

Grandfather held his tea, his sharp eyes scrutinizing me.

"You already knew, didn't you, Grandpa?" I got straight to the point.

"Ruby has been back in the country for three years, living in a Hayes Group apartment, spending Aaron's money."

"You have eyes everywhere in the company. There's no way you didn't know."

Grandfather paused in his tea-drinking and sighed. "Aaron is foolish and soft-hearted."

He set down his teacup. "I remember that child. Though he's illegitimate, he still carries Hayes blood."

"His health is poor. It's only natural for Aaron to take care of him."