By the time we reached the hospital, things with the Sutton family had gotten rather awkward. Killian's mom was in the hospital, and Mom hoped I would visit her.
"Killian's mom has called me more than once, crying and apologizing. No matter what Killian has done, Killian's mom's love for you all these years has never been fake."
I nodded and promised, bringing a fruit basket with me to the hospital.
As I stepped out of the elevator and into the A ward, I suddenly stopped.
Outside the room, in the hallway, a woman was sitting cross-legged on the floor.
She was dressed in black, her demeanor gloomy.
She looked terribly thin.
One hand held a lighter, the other a cigarette, as she argued with a nurse.
"Family members aren't allowed to smoke in the hospital."
"I'm not going in, just smoking out here."
"You can't smoke here either."
"Then what am I supposed to do? I'll die if I don't smoke!"
"If you really need to smoke, you can go outside."
"Then you tell the bodyguard across from me to let me leave!"
"Well…"
"Then just let me smoke!"
"No!"
"I won't go inside!"
"You still have to go in."
"Well… who are you?"
Suddenly, the lighter was snatched from her hand, and the woman quickly looked up, locking eyes with me. She quickly looked away, as if afraid of breaking her neck.
I handed the lighter back to the nurse.
"Alright, you can go back to work now."
The nurse sighed in relief, repeatedly thanking me.
I nodded and walked inside, not intending to engage with the woman on the floor.
Suddenly, she grabbed the corner of my shirt.
"Pomegranate…"
Slap!
That was the sound of me brushing her hand away.
"Don't call me that!"
"Pomegranate, I—"
"Ariella, I told you, don't call me that!" I nearly bit my tongue as I said it.
Ariella Neal fell silent. After a while, she released my shirt. I took a deep breath and slowly turned around.
"Didn't I give you thirty million? Why are you still smoking such cheap cigarettes?" Ariella Neal smiled, her eyes curving.
"Twenty million? Didn't I pay you back?"
"Why should you pay me back?"
"I was just joking with you. Did you really take it seriously?"
I fell silent.
Ariella stood up and took a step forward.
"Amya, your family's Hyatt Hotel, room 8212. My son is staying there. He's adorable, well-behaved, and so obedient. Would you like to go see him?"
...
"What?"
I had been lost in thoughts about the twenty million when suddenly my mind went blank.
"What did you say? Your son?"
Ariella Neal said she had a son, six years old, back in the country for first grade.
"Where's the father?"
"No father. I bought sperm abroad and did IVF. Cool, right?"
"Ariella Neal, you're insane!" The sudden news stunned me. I didn't stay any longer and turned to leave the hospital.
I drove quickly to the hotel.
I knocked on the door of room 8212.
A childish voice asked, "Who is it?"
For a moment, I froze, unsure of how to introduce myself. I blurted out, "Amya!" Only after saying it did I realize how foolish I sounded. But the door opened.
A little boy, with curly blonde hair, big eyes, and fair, delicate skin, was staring at me curiously.
He looked at me for a long while before his eyes lit up and he shouted, "Aunt!" It was surreal.
Ariella Neal, who had been abroad for ten years, suddenly had a six-year-old son.
She ruined my marriage but left her six-year-old son alone in a hotel. She told her son that Amya was her best friend.
How dare she?
How dare she make every decision so ridiculously?
I moved the little boy to a new room, to the top floor where I usually stayed, and arranged for a caretaker. He was perfectly well-behaved, quiet and calm throughout.
Once he was settled, I planned to go find Ariella Neal and settle scores with her.
But before I could, Killian's call came through.
"Where are you? I need to talk to you!"
Of course, right at that moment.
"I'm on my way to your place. Bring Ariella Neal along!"
I arrived quickly.
Killian opened the door for me.
In the living room, Ariella Neal was sitting on the carpet, smoking.
Seeing me, he waved his hand at me happily.
I asked Killian, "What do you want to say?"
His gaze on me was complicated.
"The others aren't here yet. We'll wait until everyone arrives to talk."
I didn't know who Killian was waiting for.
As for anyone involved with the three of us, I couldn't think of anyone.
But no matter how much I racked my brain, I never expected that the last person to arrive would be Curtis.
Killian let out a cold laugh.
"You really showed up, huh?"
Curtis's expression remained calm, not even sparing Killian a glance, as he walked straight up to me.
"Amya, I never intended to hide anything from you. If you're angry, I understand. But I hope you'll give me a chance to explain everything."
"Is this about you?"
"Yes!"
I looked at Killian, then at Ariella Neal.
"Then wait here, I'll handle things first!" I turned to Killian and asked.
"Do you know Ariella Neal has a six-year-old son?"
"Yes."
"Then what do you think? Keep Ariella Neal by your side but leave her son at a hotel? A son without a mother?"
Killian furrowed his brows deeply.
"Amya, that's not what I want to talk to you about!"
"But that's what I want to talk about. And you, Ariella Neal, the child is being looked after for now. No matter what you two plan, you shouldn't be leaving a six-year-old child at a hotel."
"Let's go!" I said to Curtis.
"Amya!" Killian called after me.
I ignored him.
He shouted, "Don't you know, it was Curtis who persuaded Ariella Neal to come back to the country?"I stopped in my tracks.
I turned around, and Curtis was looking at me with a tense expression.
"So what?"
"What?"
I turned to Killian.
"What's your point?"
"I just want you to know, Curtis has bad intentions. Everything is his plot. Don't be fooled by him!"
"So what?"
"So what else? Amya, don't you get it? If it weren't for Curtis, none of this would've happened. Can't you see that?"
"Maybe it's you who doesn't get it! Killian, Ariella Neal's return to the country was just the last straw that broke the camel's back. Honestly, I should thank Curtis for making sure that last straw fell before the wedding, or there would've been endless consequences!"
