Chapter 165 - READING
Aidan froze when he heard Giana's answer. There is no way this woman would really do that right? They both knew what consequences they would have to face if the word of divorce ever came between them.
Thinking to this point, Aidan quickly pulled Giana into one of the empty private rooms in the hallway and closed the door right in front of Mr. Lawrence, Giana's lawyer.
"Wait outside," Aidan said in a harsh and firm tone, leaving the lawyer with no chance of answering, as the door got slammed shut behind his words.
Actually, Mr. Lawrence had also warned Giana about the various damages that would occur, both on the companies of the two families, as well as on themselves.
However, Giana didn't want to listen to him and the lawyer could do little to convince the woman to do otherwise.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Aidan was staring at his wife with an emotional gaze. His thoughts were too complex to be put into a single sentence.
"What did you say just now?" Aidan asked, his voice cold like a night breeze that could make anyone who heard him shudder involuntarily.
"You didn't listen or do you really want me to confirm it again?" Giana asked defiantly. She folded her arms across her chest.
In response to Giana's defiant attitude, Aidan narrowed his eyes into a dangerous look. "You are not really going to do this, are you?" He knew what Giana's answer would be, but still Aidan needed affirmation on this very crucial point.
"What do you think Mr. Lawrence would be doing here if it were not for that?" Giana responded fiercely to Aidan.
Aidan stepped forward and gripped Giana's arm quite firmly and realized that his wife had lost several kilograms of body weight. The arm he was holding felt so thin and fragile.
Realizing this, Aidan released Gina's hand and took a deep breath to calm his overflowing emotions.
"Is there no other way?" Aidan asked in a tired voice. He had gotten himself into quite a lot of hassle and was not ready to deal with new problems in the form of divorce issues. It would be a big issue.
"I have been suffering being with you a lot, Aidan. You know that too… " Giana looked at the man who had been her husband for three years with regretful eyes. "I can't continue this pretense anymore."
Aidan realized that his affair really hurt Giana, but on the other hand, he also couldn't let Zia go, thus at the same time, his indecisiveness hurts the woman he loves.
"We have to end this marriage before we both really hate each other," Giana said in a low voice. "While we still remain each other's good acquaintances and can communicate well like this, we should just give up all pretense."
A tear streamed from the corner of Giana's eye and this made Aidan reach out his hand to embrace the woman.
"I am sorry," he whispered.
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As promised earlier, Hailee and Ramon came back to Tatum's residence after they finished their honeymoon, to hear the reading of the wills from Hailee's parents' wills.
And this will be done at Uncle Diego's house again in the presence of George and his family, as well as Aileen and Theodore, who have officially announced their relationship to the press and were waiting to get married one month from now.
Hailee didn't know what happened until Aileen managed to get Theodore to marry her so quickly, because the last news she heard was; next month was their engagement party and not a wedding.
And not only that, the wedding would be held behind closed doors. It was very contrary to the nature of the Gevano family who always want to show off every important moment in their life.
Moreover, this was their only son's wedding party. It went without saying that they would want the whole world to know about this.
And not just that. How could Aileen convince them to accept her as their daughter- in- law? Meanwhile, Hailee knew that Mrs. Gevano didn't like her adopted sister.
However, whatever the reason or what method Aileen had used to melt the Gevano husband and wife, it was none of her business anymore.
She had now become Mrs. Tordoff and didn't want to be bothered with trivial matters of these kinds. Aileen could do whatever she wanted.
"Are you nervous?" Hailee asked Ramon who was sitting next to heras the car they were in entered the front yard of Diego's house.
Ramon, who heard the question, lifted his head from the laptop on his lap and then looked at Hailee. "If you are nervous, just say so. Why are you asking me?"
Ramon reached out his hand to tuck a few strands of her hair behind her ear. His wife had always had a slightly unusual way of expressing her feelings.
"Are you nervous?" This time, it was Ramon who asked Hailee and the girl moved closer, wrapping her arms around Ramon's waist so he had to put his laptop away.
"A little," Hailee muttered. "I don't know what will happen later."
Ramon laughed softly at that. "Whatever happens, you will always have me, right?"
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This was Theodore's second time coming to Diego's house in two months and things seemed to have changed since the last time he was here.
So, it could be said that Aileen was now in its seventh week. They just checked her pregnancy a few days ago at the same hospital, recommended by George, for reasons of security and confidentiality.
Both parties agreed to keep Aileen's pregnancy a secret, as they didn't want anyone to find out that the first grandchild of the Gevano family turned out to be the result of a relationship outside of marriage.
Their family was very conservative, as they still holds ancient ideology very closely and considers this a disgrace.
Therefore, Theodore and Aileen's marriage would be hastened, despite Theodore's reluctance to marry the woman who had made him dump Hailee.
Theodore glanced at Aileen's stomach again, which looked the same as before. However, with Aileen's body that tended to be slim, her baby bump would not be too visible until she was well into the pregnancy, therefore it would not be difficult to hide it.
It was just that, Theodore was still at a stage where he still couldn't believe all this. He would marry her, but this was not kind of marriage that he wanted.
"I will go to the toilet for a bit," Aileen whispered lovingly into Theodore's ear, to which he nodded back.
This was arguably a progression, where the past few weeks of their relationship had been tinged with problems and Theodore seemed to completely ignore Aileen, behaving as if that woman didn't even exist.
Therefore, even when Theodore came to the reading of the will, it was only considered as giving Tatum's some face. Because if Theodore could choose then he would definitely be anywhere but here.
Especially so since Hailee and her husband were coming. Theodore was very disturbed by this fact.
Aileen then kissed Theodore lightly on the cheek before she got up from the sofa and walked away.
Theodore didn't even pay attention to the chatter between Diego and George after Aileen's departure, preferring to stare out of the window with a dreamy gaze.
Actually two days ago, Theodore finally decided to ask someone to investigate Aileen more deeply after much deliberation and the doubts he felt.
It was because, in the end Theodore chose to listen to Hailee's advice about Aileen and decided to find out the truth himself.
However, it was not an easy job and couldn't be finished in just one night. So Theodore still had to wait much longer for this.
Meanwhile, Aileen walked away from the living room and down the hallway to the guest room, the same room as the last time she stayed here.
Yet, when she was passing through the living room, Aileen ran into Zia. At first, Aileen wanted to ignore her cousin who had never treated her friendly, but Zia looking at her cynically provoked Aileen's annoyance.
It reminded her of the shocking affair between Zia and Aidan Smith. That fact was still hard for Aileen to believe even when she had seen the evidence with her own eyes.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Aileen stopped walking and turned around to goad Zia. Aileen felt that all Zia's harsh treatment on her was enough.
Indeed, she had taken Theodore from Hailee which made her even more hated by Zia, but didn't Zia herself also have an affair with a married man?
It would be hypocritical for Zia to make a fuss about Aileen and Theodore's relationship while she herself was not being much holier than her.
"Why? You don't like the way I look at you?" Zia also turned around and glared at Aileen. However, there was a sense of shock that she tried to cover up, as it was not usual for Aileen to fight her so blatantly like this.
Isn't it true that all this time Zia has never been nice to Aileen? In fact, Zia's attitude became even more resentful when she learned about Aileen and Theodore's relationship. However, during all this time, Aileen never protested once and continued to put on a pretentious face whenever the opportunity arose.
What's on this woman's mind right now? Did she think that just because she was pregnant with Theodore Gevano's child that Zia wouldn't dare to harm her?
Or because she thought she was going to be Mrs. Gevano in less than a month away, so Aileen was all puffed up?
Regardless, Zia didn't like the way Aileen reprimanded her.
"Yes, I don't like it." Aileen walked over to Zia and this time there was no longer a 'good' expression that she always wore whenever she was in this house or around the Tatum family members.
Hearing Aileen's answer, Zia frowned. "Then what do you want?" She asked very fiercely. Did Aileen eat something wrong to make her so bold like this?
Aileen snorted in disgust. "I have tolerated you for years. Letting you trample on me because I am not a child that was born in the Tatum family." Aileen's voice sounded like a growl, but there was a smile on her lips that made Zia's frown deepen. "But I am fed up with the way you treated me all this time."
This is Aileen's chance to shed all her annoyance over the years and she wouldn't miss how Zia's facial expression changed when she uncovered her dirty little secret.
"You think I am so disgusting that I took Theodore from Hailee? Then what about you?" she asked with a smirk etched on her lips.