Ariella was so mad when she saw this that she threw her phone away. It landed on the other side of the bed. She thought to herself, 'How dare he? How dare he do this to me?;He told me that he had an important dinner he had to go to last night. He told his grandmother that it was a work meeting. But instead, he was out there with Scarlett having a romantic dinner.' She shook her head in anger as she bit her lip. 'When was the last time we even had dinner together? And he is there having fun with Scarlett.'
Suddenly, tears started pouring from her eyes. She couldn't hold back the hurt. The pain was too much for her. She cried into her pillows, muffling the sound of her sobs so no one would hear.
A few minutes later, after she had composed herself, she started going downstairs for breakfast. Before she reached downstairs, she heard Mrs. Blackwell's voice shouting,
"Get rid of those papers. I don't want my granddaughter-in-law to see them. Oh my God, why would this happen? Please, I don't want any traces. I don't want anyone talking about what was written in the news today. Do you understand me? Do you understand? Hosna, I want you in charge of those papers. I want you to make sure that everyone gets rid of them. I don't want a hint. I don't want to hear a whisper of this. Oh, poor Ariella. I don't know what will happen when she sees this. I don't want another hospital visit. My poor grandchildren."
Ariella stopped in her tracks, leaning against the wall to steady herself as she took a deep breath. Just before she could release that breath, she heard another voice.
"Poor Grandma. You know you're wasting your time, right? All these things are on the internet nowadays. They are everywhere. She's probably already seen it," Duncan said as he approached his grandmother.
"That's why I hate this internet thing. It ruins people's lives, people's families. Do you think she's seen it?" his grandmother asked.
"I bet she has. I mean, I'm not even in that marriage, but people are calling me, asking for comments and if I would like to do an interview on Asher's marriage status right now. What do I have to say about that marriage? Funny. People are so funny," Duncan responded with a chuckle.
"Why are you laughing about this?" Mrs. Blackwell snapped. "This is serious, Duncan. Ariella is already under so much stress. This could push her over the edge." Mrs. Blackwell demanded, her voice sharp with disapproval.
"Oh, Grandma, this is the first time your golden child has messed up, so I can't help myself," Duncan replied, his grin not fading. "Can you believe what people are saying about him in the media?"
Mrs. Blackwell clutched her pearls, a look of horror on her face. "Oh my God, what are they saying about my poor grandchild?"
Duncan took his phone from his pocket and continued, "You know, when the news broke out yesterday during midnight, everyone was compassionate about the two of them having lost each other and then found each other again. It was all this 'lost love finally found' thing, with hashtags flooding the media. But just a few minutes ago, a group of people started expressing outrage. They are appalled by his behavior. How could a married man of a pregnant woman kick his wife out of the house and take in an ex to live with while disregarding his wife? They're calling him all sorts of names that you wouldn't want to hear about your golden-grandchild."
"Oh, what?" Mrs. Blackwell asked, surprise evident in her voice. She seemed almost overwhelmed by the situation, the gravity of the scandal hitting her.
Duncan laughed harder when he saw the look on his grandmother's face. Just then, Mr. Blackwell appeared behind his wife.
"This is not a laughing matter," he chastised Duncan, his voice stern. "You know this could have a great impact, not only on Asher, but the whole family."
Duncan's laughter faded as he saw the serious expression on his grandfather's face. "I know, Grandfather. I just find the irony of the situation hard to ignore."
"The only thing I care about right now is Blackwell Inc. This may cause people to start boycotting our products and services, and it could lead to significant financial losses for the company, so don't take this lightly," Mr. Blackwell asserted.
Mrs. Blackwell added, "The only thing I care about are my great-grandchildren. If Ariella hears about this and it causes her to lose the children, I will be devastated," her voice filled with concern as her husband held her and pulled her closer to him.
Duncan said "well, I….." but he suddenly looked aside and noticed Ariella standing there, listening to them. "Ariella," he said, surprised to see her.
Ariella, felt emotions of—anger, betrayal, sadness. She knew she had to face them eventually, but for now, she needed to compose herself. She straightened up, wiped her eyes, and stepped into view, forcing a calm expression on her face.
"Good morning," she greeted them, trying to keep her voice steady.
Mrs. Blackwell turned quickly, a look of concern on her face. "Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you," Ariella lied, walking past them to the dining room, trying to ignore the tension in the air. She needed to figure out what to do next, but first, she needed to get through breakfast.
****
She had been avoiding Asher, but Asher seemed to have been ignoring her too. Normally, Asher would have been there this morning when the news broke out, trying to talk to her, trying to gain her trust back. But this Asher, busy with Scarlet, was different. She didn't want to call Henry and have to talk to him; she wanted to talk to her husband. When evening came, she decided to give up and call him because she didn't want Scarlett to win. But Asher did not pick up.
Turning to the Internet, she found different media sites with hashtags #ASCAR mentioning Asher and Scarlett. This enraged her. How could people be so cruel as to rally for this? But then, through her search, she found that these people were following them around, taking photos whenever they saw together what they called,
#ASCAR #. Meaning Asher, and Scarlett. They were seen out having lunch today. They were seen coming from Asher's office this evening. It was all so heartbreaking.
At 10 o'clock, she got an alert that they were seen at a well-known club in the city where different elites frequented. It was private and high-class. Apparently, Asher and Scarlett were seen going in just five minutes ago, and she decided to go there and confront them.
As she was leaving the house, trying to avoid Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell, she met Duncan in the garden. She ignored him and continued on her way but he followed her.
"What are you doing here, Ariella?" he said as he approached her. Seeing that she was all dressed up, he asked with confusion, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the... Luxor Lounge."
"You're going to LLC? Why are you going there? You don't look like someone who goes to those places. And why would you even go there? You're a married woman and pregnant."
"Yes, apparently my husband is there, so I'm going there too."
Duncan sighed as he wiped at his face. "So this is about Asher again. Is this about Scarlett? Listen, stop thinking about him and think about yourself. Asher is manipulative and he's selfish and he's—"
"Hey, stop!" Ariella said, stopping him in his tracks. "I know you and him do not get along, but he's still my husband. And I am going there," she said as she started going down the driveway.
"Okay, stop. You don't have a car here. How are you going to get there?"
"I'm going to get an Uber," Ariella answered.
"An Uber? Right now? At this time? In your condition? Do my grandparents know about this?"
"Of course they don't know about this. Are you crazy? Do you think they would let me go there if they knew about this? The only thing your grandmother cares about is the great-grandchildren I'm carrying. She has no regard for me or my feelings. She's not thinking about my well-being. Just the legacy I'm carrying."
"Okay, this is about this morning. I just want to clarify…..."
" I do not care. Your grandfather's only concern is about the company, meaning Asher. Your grandmother cares about the pregnancy, meaning Asher. And you do not care about me. I don't know what you care about, but it's not about me. And now, I'm going to get my husband," she said as she started heading on.
Duncan held her hand. "Don't touch me," Ariella told him.
"Alright, cool down, mother bear. Can you at least wait for me to get the car so I can take you there?"