After All the Hurt, She Chose Herself novel Chapter 221

The words stung, and Gideon’s mask of indifference finally slipped. Why did every man he met seem obsessed with crawling all over his wife?

“Worked up?” Gideon scoffed. “I wonder what Flora would say if she knew you were here.” He glanced at the time. It was six-thirty in the morning. Flora was probably still asleep, while her fiancé was showing up at his ex-girlfriend’s hospital room.

Charles’s expression shifted slightly. He hadn’t slept much last night, having stayed up monitoring Aria’s social media. It was only this morning that he had finally decided to come see her, only to run into Gideon.

“Have you been the one taking care of Aria these past few days? What about Lilith?”

Gideon frowned. “Lilith has the Rowans to look after her. My wife is sick. Should I be taking care of an outsider instead of her?”

“An outsider?” Charles repeated the word.

“Yes, an outsider.” Gideon lifted his chin slightly. He had made up his mind. Even if he treated Lilith like a sister, he couldn't interfere in every aspect of her life. He had his own family to think about.

Charles subtly glanced at Gideon’s coat and noticed a small lump moving inside. Gideon caught his look, raised an eyebrow, and pulled the small golden retriever out of his coat, a smirk on his face. “This is the dog Aria and I adopted. I know you two had a past, but the person with Aria now is me.”

Charles’s face fell. “She’s replacing Rufus that quickly?” He swallowed the words he really wanted to say: Does our past mean that little to her?

He was lost in thought. Since she had chosen Gideon, why should he continue to humiliate himself? Charles turned and walked away.

***

Three days later, Aria’s wound had healed considerably. She could now get in and out of bed on her own. She planned to attend the seminar today, and Mira had come to help her with the discharge paperwork. But Raphael had already taken care of everything, so she could only stay and chat with Aria in the hospital room.

Aria, unable to take the teasing, blushed. “Mira, stop it…”

Raphael understood and smiled faintly. “Well, the honor was all mine. Come on, get in.”

Aria sat down in the wheelchair herself. Mira had intended to push her, but when she saw Raphael take the handles, she giggled again and decided not to be a third wheel. Aria felt a little embarrassed.

***

When they arrived at the venue, Aria checked her speech one last time and was then pushed in through a side entrance by Raphael. Alden was waiting backstage. Seeing Aria, Raphael, and Mira arrive together, he walked over.

“Feeling better? Everyone’s waiting for you. You’re a celebrity now, you know. The hall is so packed we can barely fit everyone in!”