After All the Hurt, She Chose Herself novel Chapter 201

Flora’s head snapped to the side from the force of the blow, her face a mask of disbelief and shock.

It was the first time in her life that her parents had ever hit her.

Even after the video of her bullying Aria was exposed and she ended up at the police station, Mr. and Mrs. Keene hadn't said a single harsh word to her when she got out.

Instead, they gave her a large sum of money and told her to go have some fun.

Aria watched the scene unfold, a cold sense of vindication washing over her.

Mr. and Mrs. Keene had always indulged Flora’s every whim, mostly because they saw Aria as a pushover they could easily manipulate.

Now that they knew she was backed by the Evernight family and understood the gravity of the situation, they were willing to put on a good show, no matter how much it pained them or how precious their daughter was to them.

“Get down on the floor and beg for my forgiveness.”

Aria wasn't satisfied with a single slap.

Since Flora had come to gloat at her expense, Aria wasn't going to let her off easy.

Leveraging their power like this felt incredible.

Raphael, sitting calmly beside Aria, didn’t even flinch at her words.

It was a silent approval.

Forcing Flora to kneel and apologize to Aria was a fate worse than death for her.

“I will never apologize to you! Aria, you’re not worthy of me—Ah!”

Flora was growing hysterical, but before she could finish, Mr. Keene shoved her to the floor.

“Do you want to see the Keene Group burn to the ground? Apologize to her this instant!”

“My dear daughter, just listen to your father on this. Hurry up and apologize! Today it was tax evasion that got exposed. What about tomorrow?”

“Do you really want to see our family go bankrupt?” Mrs. Keene added, urging Flora to back down.

Flora bit her lip as Mr. Keene held her down, her head hitting the floor with a thud that left a red mark.

She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms so deeply she didn't even notice the pain.

Humiliation.

“I’ve heard all about what happened. How dare Gideon treat you and the child that way! It’s unforgivable!”

So Raphael had really covered for her, letting everyone believe that Gideon had killed his own child.

Aria pressed her lips together. “Grandfather, after all this, are you still going to stop me from divorcing Gideon?”

She had already submitted the divorce papers. All she hoped for now was that in a month, Gideon’s guilt over the child would make him agree to a peaceful divorce.

Aldous Evernight didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he said, “I know you’ve been the one preparing Gideon’s custom nutritional regimen all these years. Otherwise, his condition wouldn’t have stabilized.”

“Aria, you two had feelings for each other, didn't you? Gideon has already paid the price for his actions. Can you find it in your heart, for the sake of what you once had, to give him another chance?”

Seeing that Aria was about to speak, Aldous quickly softened his tone, pleading, “I won’t force you to get pregnant again. I’m just asking, could you take care of Gideon for another three years?”

Aria let out a bitter laugh.

Three years of marriage to Gideon had tortured her into this state, and now the old man had the audacity to self-righteously ask her to take care of him for another three years?

Could it be that something was wrong with Gideon’s health?