The impact of the slap echoed off the walls, leaving a stunned silence in the room. Scarlett stumbled backwards and fell back onto the cabinet. It knocked the table and the glass of milk that was there crashed on the ground. Scarlett's hand flew to her ringing cheek, shock written all over her face. Asher stirred from the bed, his eyes fluttering open in confusion.
Mrs. Blackwell went towards Asher and tried to look him over, as he watched the scene in front of him in confusion.
"What's going on?" Asher asked, confused, looking at his grandmother.
Then, his eyes turned towards Scarlett, holding her reddened cheek, crying, and he frowned. "What's wrong, Scarlett? Why are you crying?"
Scarlett released a sob. "Ariella slapped me."
"What?" Asher asked. His eyes flicked back to Ariella. "Did you slap her?"
"She was here in bed with you while the two of you were half-naked. Why is she in my bedroom looking like that…? I slapped her to get some sense into her."
"You shouldn't have done that," Asher said.
He moved away from his grandmother and went towards Scarlett, holding her close to his bare chest. Scarlett cried even harder.
This killed Ariella. She couldn't look at them, holding each other in a loving embrace, she looked sideways. Her eyes landed on Mrs. Blackwell, who avoided her gaze.
"Why did you slap her? And why are you even here?" Asher asked, accusingly.
"We were supposed to go for a checkup today. Henry told us you were sick, so I wanted to know how you were doing. I never expected to find this. How can you do this, Asher? Does this look right to you?"
Asher released Scarlett and told her, "Come on, just go to your room for a few minutes."
"No," Ariella said. "I want to get to the end of this. If she's going into her room, I want her to pack her bags and leave. You told me that she's just a friend you were helping out, but this does not look like you're helping her out. I'm putting my foot down. I have had enough. I want her out of the house."
Asher turned towards her and looked at her with anger in his eyes. "This is not your house. You came here with your clothes, just as you're going to leave here with your clothes. We chose to buy this house together with Scarlett before she disappeared. She's the one who picked this house. We were going to build a family here. How can you tell her to leave?"
Ariella's mouth opened, slack with shock as no words could come from her mouth. "What do you mean? What are you saying?"
Mrs Blackwell interjected. "Asher, I think that's enough. Please, young lady, can you please excuse us? This is a family matter." Mrs Blackwell said to Scarlet, indicating her to leave the room.
"I said no, Grandmother," Asher shouted, startling Mrs. Blackwell.
"Did you just shout at me?" She asked, surprise written all over her face.
"I'm sorry, Grandmother, but Ariella needs to know her place."
"I don't think this is the time or the place, please. I just want us to go to the checkup in peace. Let's just go, Ariella. We'll talk about this later." Mrs Blackwell said, trying to maintain peace.
"No, Grandmother, I'm not leaving until I find out what's going on here. Asher, are you sleeping with Scarlett? I need to know if the two of you are in a relationship. Just tell me now!" she said.
Asher frowned as he placed his hand through his hair, sighing in frustration.
Ariella looked around the room and realized the significant differences in her bedroom. There were women's clothing that didn't belong to her, and a few female things scattered around that did not belong to her. She felt the air leave her body and thought she was going to faint.
"What is this?" she said as she went close to a dress and held it in her hand towards the room. "Who does this belong to? What is this? Asher, I am talking to you…"
"Enough!" Asher shouted with frustration.
His eyes burned with anger as he looked at Ariella. "I am so tired of lying to you. I think it's time you learned the truth. It's there, plain for you to see, but you are refusing to admit it. The reason I am still with you is because you are pregnant, Ariella."
"What?" Ariella asked, very slowly. Her voice above a whisper.
Mrs Blackwell interjected, her voice a mix of shock and desperation. "Asher, please don't do this right now."
"No, Grandmother," Asher replied firmly. "She has to know. It's time she knew what is going on. I am so tired of lying to her. It's time she finds out the truth."
Ariella looked around the room, her eyes wide with disbelief. Everyone had been lying to her. "What do you mean, Asher? What does that mean? What are you trying to say?"
"I'm sorry, Ariella," Asher said, his voice softening but his resolve firm. "But I love Scarlett. She is the woman for me. I have never gotten over her, and now that she is back, I am finally able to be with the woman I love. As I told you, we chose this house together. We lived here before you, and I didn't mean to hurt you. But when you left, we got closer, and we started seeing each other again."
Ariella's heart shattered as she absorbed Asher's words. The room seemed to close in around her. The betrayal was too much for her. No, no, no.
"Why…..why? why are you doing this to me, Asher? Why would you do this to me?" Ariella's voice was filled with pain, her eyes searching Asher's face for any sign of the man she thought she knew.
"Because you do not listen," Asher snapped. "I have tried. I have tried being reasonable with you, but you're just too damn persistent. You know it's true. I don't know what you thought coming in here like this was going to do."
Ariella's mind raced back to their previous arguments. "Is what you said the other night true? Then why did you act differently the next day? I thought you were just angry and everything you said was just out of anger, to hurt me. I thought we were okay, and we were back together again."
"I was so mad that night," Asher admitted bitterly, "But the next day, I realized that I wanted you and that pregnancy to be okay. I wanted you to carry to term and give birth, without hurting your feelings. But I guess without pain, you can't go through with anything, can you?"
"Asher, I think that's enough," Mrs. Blackwell interjected, moving towards Ariella to hold her hand. "Come on, Ariella, let's go."
"No, Grandmother. I'm not finished yet," Asher insisted.
Ariella stood frozen, her body trembling from the shock of Asher's words. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at Asher through her glazed eyes, struggling to comprehend what was happening.
"Asher, I'm pregnant. Why would you do this to me now? If you were not ready to start a family with me, why did you... why did you..." Ariella's voice broke, and her heart shattered.
"We already talked about this," Asher said coldly. "You know those children are Blackwells. They're going to stay with me, Scarlett, and me. We are going to take care of them. They are going to be just fine without you."
Ariella felt the last of her strength drain away as she searched for a place to sit down. The betrayal was too much to bear. Mrs. Blackwell guided her to a chair, her face carved with sorrow.
"I'm so sorry, Ariella," Mrs. Blackwell whispered, her voice barely audible over Ariella's sobs.
"Asher, I'm so disappointed in you," Mrs. Blackwell said, her voice heavy with disapproval and sadness. She walked over to Asher and pulled him close.
"Why would you do this to the poor girl? We told you not to marry her, but you insisted on getting married to her. And then the two of you decided to have a family. She's pregnant now. Don't you have any sympathy for her and her situation? Do you want her to lose the kids?" Mrs. Blackwell looked at Asher, her eyes filled with a mixture of anger and resignation.
"I'm sorry, Grandmother," Asher muttered. "I never wanted Scarlett to get kidnapped, but she's back now, and I'm not losing the woman I love."
Ariella, still reeling from the betrayal, suddenly stood up from the chair. The hurt and anger clouded her mind, and she rushed towards Scarlett, her fists clenched.
"You!" Ariella screamed, lunging at Scarlett.