Chapter 5

There was no room for me here anymore.

And no need for me to stay and be an eyesore.

After talking things over with Julian, I fell into a deep sleep.

The next few days, I was busy with preparations to go abroad.

And handling my assets here.

Ryder and Asher always seemed to have something going on and no time to see me.

I knew they were both with Chloe Miller.

A few days later, I was woken up in the middle of the night by faint whispers.

I was conscious, but my body couldn’t move.

It was Ryder and Asher.

“Are you sure she won’t wake up?” Ryder’s voice was worried.

“No, this diffuser produces a scent that will put her into a temporary coma. She won’t wake up tonight.”

Asher said with a chuckle.

Then, he skillfully pressed my finger into an ink pad.

And then pressed my ink-stained finger onto a document.

“Alright, with this statement, we can clear Chloe of the mistress label.”

My head felt woozy.

What mistress label?

Then I heard Ryder sigh,

“She just got back, and bad rumors about Chloe started circulating – do you think Aria did it?”

Asher let out a snort of laughter.

“How could that be? Aria’s just a spoiled little princess; if she found out about Chloe, she’d make a huge scene, she wouldn’t just pull strings in secret.”

I felt like I’d been plunged into hell.

So, Ryder thought the so-called “mistress label” was spread by me?

And Asher’s next words made me even more disgusted.

“Chloe’s pregnant with my child, she’s very important to me now.”

“I hope Aria didn’t do it, otherwise I…”

Asher didn’t finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

I really wanted to ask.

Otherwise what?

What do you, Asher Vance, intend to do to me for Chloe Miller?

After they left, the room returned to quiet.

I only found out what had happened the next day.

It turned out, the truth about Chloe Miller being a mistress had been exposed.

That day at the hospital, the three of them were photographed and posted online.

Netizens were initially shipping them.

But then an insider came forward and revealed the tangled web of our relationships.

They even attached my photo.

Suddenly, the hashtag “The rich family’s body double takes over” caused a sensation online.

Of course, these hashtags didn’t stay up for long before they were taken down.

Soon after, topping the trending list was a statement with my fingerprint:

“I, Aria Blackwood, solemnly declare that Ms. Chloe Miller is my savior, and she is not a mistress.”

I looked at my phone, my breathing quickening.

How dare they speak for me?

Pain, despair, confusion…

In the end, only a stagnant pool of emptiness remained deep inside me.

Chloe Miller came to my door at that moment.

As she entered, she kept clutching her stomach.

“Miss Blackwood, please don’t misunderstand. That day at the hospital, Mr. Vance and I met purely by chance.”

“They were just thanking me for donating my kidney to you, and they saw I was alone for my prenatal check-up and felt sorry for me, so they stayed with me.”

“You really shouldn’t overthink it, we’re innocent.”

She clutched her stomach, her eyes red, and lowered her head, sobbing.

“We… anyway, none of us did anything to wrong you.”

“If you don’t believe me, I can only… only leave.”

As she spoke, she covered her face and ran off.

In her emotional state, she seemed not to notice the stairs in front of her.

Her foot missed a step, and her body tilted.

My heart leaped, and I quickly rushed forward,

“Be careful!”

I lunged to grab her.

But the next second, a force knocked me over.

I lost my footing and tumbled down the steps.

In a split second, I saw Asher Vance and Ryder both rush towards Chloe Miller.

Chloe Miller was pulled back by Asher Vance and held tightly in his arms.

They spoke in unison, “Chloe, are you okay?”

“I… I’m fine…” Chloe Miller’s voice was choked with sobs, tinged with lingering fear.

She trembled as she pointed at me, “She looks… she looks pretty bad.”

Following the direction of her finger.

Only then did Ryder and Asher Vance notice that the person who had fallen down the stairs was me.

Through my blurring vision, I saw the two men, faces pale with shock, rush towards me.

“Aria!”

At the same time, a message popped up on my phone:

“Okay, the marriage certificate is done.”

“Allow me to introduce myself, I’m your husband, Julian Reed.”