After All the Hurt, She Chose Herself novel Chapter 326

Aria frowned deeply. [But Nathan and Roxanne are legally married. Would that evidence still work against Roxanne?]

[Lawyer: Absolutely. There is also another avenue. If, as you stated, the marriage was not consensual on your end, and the Evernight family can testify that Roxanne used threats—such as refusing to allow the marriage unless she was paid—that clearly falls under criminal extortion.]

Aria nodded slowly. That meant her first priority was getting Aldous Evernight to agree to testify on her behalf before she could properly crush Roxanne.

[Aria: I will convince the Evernight family to testify before the trial begins.]

[Lawyer: Since you mentioned the Evernights are also planning to press extortion charges against Roxanne, securing their testimony shouldn't be difficult.]

Aria agreed. After a moment of thought, she sent a text to Raphael.

[Aria: Would it be okay if I come over to visit Mr. Evernight tonight?]

Raphael replied almost instantly: [Anytime. I'll pick you up after work. My father will be thrilled to see you.]

If it wasn't for the testimony, Aria would never willingly set foot in the Evernight estate again.

***

Through the glass of the VIP hospital suite, Charles stared at Gideon lying in the bed. He looked terrible, his skin frighteningly pale.

After hesitating for a moment, Charles pushed the door open.

"I heard you were hospitalized. Came to check on you."

"You seem to have a lot of hostility toward me," Charles noted. "Is it just because Aria and I have history? Because if it is, let me assure you, nothing is going to happen between us ever again."

"Is that so?" Gideon scoffed.

Men didn't need to spell things out; one look was often enough to read a rival's true intentions. Gideon didn't buy for a second that Charles was completely over Aria.

"I'm marrying Flora very soon."

After picking Flora up that morning, Charles had reviewed her medical charts. The pregnancy was real. To avoid the scandal of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, they had scrapped the engagement plans and moved straight to a rushed wedding.

Charles pulled a sleek wedding invitation from his pocket and placed it on Gideon's nightstand. "Now, can we talk business?"