Everything was a deal until divorce novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Misunderstanding

The car pulled away, and Dorian’s sharp profile passed Vivienne without pause.

Vivienne stood frozen, watching the Maybach disappear down the road.

Inside the car. Dorian loosened his collar. “Handle the paparazzi who got footage of me and Vivienne tonight, he said. “No photos or videos are to leak.”

Lucien answered immediately, “Understood.”

“Sir, are we heading back to Silverbay Villa or the estate?” Lucien asked.

Dorian leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The estate.”

When he arrived, the lights were still on.

Arden was sitting on the bed reading, yawning, when the bedroom door opened. She looked up and met Dorian’s gaze.

She quickly set the book aside and got out of bed. “You’re back, Mr. Vale?”

Hearing the way she addressed him, Dorian pressed his lips together and gave a brief acknowledgment.

He stood tall, two buttons undone at his collar, a hint of collarbone showing. The black shirt outlined his build, giving him a slightly disheveled, careless air. Arden had turned off the main light, leaving only a soft amber glow overhead, which softened his features.

As she approached, she caught the smell of alcohol. And another scent, a perfume that did not belong to him. Arden stepped forward and took his coat.

Only then did Dorian notice what she was wearing. A loose white sleep shirt, sleeveless, clinging lightly at the waist. Her arms were pale and bare, her legs long and straight, her ankles slender.

Her hair fell softly around her shoulders, full and slightly messy, carrying a faint, clean scent as she moved closer.

She lowered her gaze while folding his coat, her lashes long and curved. She looked gentle and almost obedient.

“You drank quite a bit,” she said. “I had something prepared to help your hangover.”

Dorian’s eyes still held a trace of alcohol haze, his expression softened by the warm light. But the moment she turned to retrieve the bowl, something dark surged in his gaze.

“Hangover?” he asked sharply.

“Yes. Drinking too much upsets the stomach. My father drinks a lot for work, and my mom always prepares something like this for him.”

Arden’s attention was on the bowl. She failed to catch the edge in his voice.

Chapters & Midranding

Pint

Dorian let out a short, cold laugh, staring at the bowl. Memories of the previous night flashed through his mind the loss of control brought on by that drug.

His eyes grew colder.

He accepted the bowl anyway, his tone turning mocking. “Did you put something in this too?”

Arden froze.

She remembered how brutal he had been that morning, accusing her of drugging him just to get him.

She stared at him in disbelief. “You think I drugged you?”

“Didn’t you?” he shot back.

A quiet heaviness settled in her chest.

She had waited up for him, even waking herself after falling asleep, and asked the staff to prepare this for him.

And this was what she received.

His gaze was fierce, as if he might tear her apart. She should have known better. Coming back now was just setting herself up to be humiliated again.

He grabbed her wrist, his grip rough and unforgiving.

Lowering his head, he lifted her chin with his other hand. “Why aren’t you answering?”

Her lashes trembled violently, moisture gathering at the corners of her

eyes.

Forced to look at him, she said, “It’s just soup. There’s nothing in it. If you don’t believe me, have a doctor

test it.”

She pulled her hand free. At the same time, Dorian lost his grip on the bowl. It slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor with a sharp crack.

The sound rang through the quiet house.

He had not closed the door when he came in. Theresa had been downstairs getting water. Hearing the noise from the second floor, she rushed up in alarm.

She saw her son standing there, hostility radiating from him, gripping Arden’s wrist. Arden’s skin was pale and delicate, already marked red.

Theresa shouted, “Dorian Vale, let go of her. You’re hurting Arden.”

When she noticed the broken pieces on the floor, her shock turned to anger.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” she demanded. “You’re laying hands on her?”

“Let her go.”

32am G P p p.

Chapter & Myerstanding

Fonected

Arden looked at him stubbornly, neither retreating nor crying out. The mist in her eyes grew thicker, but she refused to let it fall.

Theresa’s shout woke the entire household.

Eugenia, Elias, and Gideon all hurried to the room. By then, Dorian had released her. Seeing her lashes still trembling, irritation flared in his chest.

Elias took in the shattered bowl and the smell of alcohol on Dorian. Suppressing his anger, he asked, “Dorian, what happened?”

Eugenia rushed over, pulling Arden away with Theresa. “Did he hurt you?”

Arden shook her head. She felt nothing but embarrassment.

Eugenia looked at the mess on the floor. “What was that?”

“Hangover soup,” Arden replied.

“Why did it break?”

“I saw that Mr. Vale had been drinking and thought he’d feel uncomfortable,” Arden said quietly. “So I asked the staff to prepare it. He thought I put something in it.”

Theresa blinked. “Put what in it?”

Eugenia understood instantly. She turned and struck Dorian hard on the arm. “Come downstairs with me.”

Theresa stayed behind to comfort Arden.

Dorian glanced at the slender figure sitting on the bed, his expression unreadable, then followed Eugenia downstairs.

Once there, Eugenia ordered the staff, “Bring the first aid kit. Mrs. Vale is injured. Apply medicine and

clean the room.”

The maid hurried upstairs. When she saw Arden’s wrist, she gasped. “How could he grab you that hard?” Arden lowered her head and said nothing. She let the maid apply the medicine without making a sound. She turned to Theresa. “Mom, it’s late. You should get some rest. I’m fine.”

Theresa sighed. “That b*stard. I’ll deal with him. You get some sleep.”

Downstairs, Dorian sat with his legs spread, the hand wearing his watch resting casually on his knee. His neck was slightly flushed from drinking.

The darkness in his eyes had not faded. Elias, Eugenia, and Gideon sat facing him. “Why did you think Arden drugged you?” Eugenia demanded, genuinely furious.

“Do I need to report every detail of my life to you?” he replied, arrogant and defiant.

Charmer & Misundereranding

Finished

The drug you had at Silverbay Villa last night was my doing. Eugenia said. “Arden knew nothing about it

Dorian, who had been leaning back with his eyes closed, snapped them open, his gaze sharp as he looked

at her.

“What did you say?”

“I said the drug last night was mine. You drank it, and Arden did too.”

His throat tightened. He looked up toward the second floor.

“Arden is simple,” Eugenia continued. “After marrying you, she turned down many people who pursued her. She’s never been in a relationship. She doesn’t understand these complicated things. I wanted a great- grandchild sooner, so I had Martha add an aphrodisiac. You had no right to take it out on Arden.”

Dorian stood and headed upstairs.

Gideon frowned and warned him, “Arden is a good girl. Your mother, your grandparents, all of us care about her. If you drive her away, this family won’t welcome you either.”

On the stairs, Dorian ran into Theresa, who snapped at him, “Do you have any idea how hard you grabbed her? Were you trying to break her wrist?”

Dorian rushed into the bedroom. The broken pieces had already been cleaned up. The room looked as if nothing had happened.

Arden was pulling a thin blanket from the closet and walking toward the couch.

She glanced at him calmly and pressed her lips together. “I know you don’t like me, and you don’t want to sleep with me. Grandpa and Grandma are old. I don’t want them worrying.”

As she spoke, she spread the blanket over the couch. It was wide enough, and her slender frame fit just fine.

“I’ll sleep on the couch tonight,” she said. “You take the bed.”

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