MR BILLIONAIRE'S REGRET: CHASING HIS IRRESISTIBLE WIFE
She needed nothing fron him.

(ARIELLE'S POV)

After having lunch, Ashley and I engaged in a conversation. While at it, a knock sounded on the door.

"Who's it?" I asked, looking in its direction.

"Receptionist," a voice replied.

Ashley and I exchanged glances before I responded, "come in."

The receptionist walked in, holding two bags. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what her mission in the room was.

But before I could ask, she said, "These are for you, ma'am."

Confusion formed a cloud on my face. "For me? I think you might be mistaken because I don't remember ordering for something." And then I turned to Ashley, "Did you make an order?"

"Of course not."

"It's for you, Ma," the lady insisted.

But I was still not convinced, as my eyes darted from the lady, to the bag, to Ashley. Noticing my reluctance, Ashley beckoned to the lady to bring the bags over. As she handed them to Ashley, I noticed a card pinned to one of the bags. Ashley's eyes widened as she read the card, and immediately stretched it out to me. "Arielle, it's indeed for you."

My frown deepened, and I accepted the card. On perusing, I realized it was from Jared. Swiftly, I put the card away, and I turned to the receptionist, my voice firm. "Didn't I say I didn't want to see him? How come I have a package from him?" The receptionist shifted uncomfortably on one foot. "I denied him access, but he insisted I give you the bags."

I paused, my mind contemplating. I didn't want anything from Jared, especially not now. "Do you need the bags?" I asked the receptionist.

She looked taken aback. "No, I...mean, why would I?"

"I don't want them," I said, my voice growing firmer. "You can have them if you'd like. Otherwise, they're going in the trash."

The lady looked surprised, and then conflicted. But she finally nodded, "I'll take them."

I handed the bags back to her without bothering to look inside. She accepted and hurried out, leaving Ashley and me in silence.

After a while, I broke the silence.

"The guts of him to send me gifts. Would his gifts bring back my child or heal my waist?" I said, seething with anger. "I don't blame him. He's always been that way; always getting gifts to make up for his shortcomings instead of making amends."

Ashley stayed quiet, and I was grateful for that because all I wanted was to rant without interruption. Minutes later, when I could feel my anger simmering down, I turned to Ashley. "I need to speak to my lawyer." ""About what?"

"The divorce process."

"Umm... Arielle, isn't that a bit too early? I mean, I'm not against you divorcing him, I'm just saying you should focus on your recovery for now."

"It's not too early," I said, with a vehement shake of my head. "I want to start the process from the hospital here, and by the time I've been discharged, I'll be halfway through with the process."

Seeing that my mind was made up, Ashley sighed in resignation. "Alright. You can speak to your lawyer after I fix your phone tomorrow."

That decided, we returned to our discussion.

(JARED'S POV)

After my encounter at the hospital, I couldn't bring myself to go back to work. I was angry, sad, and exhausted. Was Arielle that angry that she would deny me access to see her? I was her husband for Christ's sake. Besides, I had to see her to let her know my mum has been on my neck about her inability to reach her.

I can't keep putting her off because she was bound to replace out sooner or later that something was wrong. And if she found out, Mother will be disappointed. She might have a soft spot for Sofia, and might have even suggested that I married her if she had not left the country, but mother

would never support infidelity.

I sighed for the umpteenth time as I drove into the estate's street. My life was in such a mess right now, and I wished for nothing but for everything to go back to normalcy. As I drove, my eyes caught sight of the pavement that had blood in it, presumably, Arielle's. Since the accident, I unconsciously looked in that direction whenever I drove past. But today was different. I stepped on the brake paddle and brought the car to a halt, before alighting. I walked over to the spot, and inspected the dried blood carefully. Could this really be hers? Was this the scene of the accident? But then, I could be paranoid. The blood could be someone else's, for all I know, it might not be a human's. With that consolation, I turned to leave, but my eyes caught sight of something.

A shiny piece of jewel, laying on a mass of grass just a few meters away from the pavement. I walked over to it, and picked it up. And when I held it in my hands, I knew what it was and who it belonged to. It was a wedding ring, Arielle's. And I knew because I got it myself. I felt sick at this point, my suspicion now confirmed. This was the spot Arielle had the accident, and the blood was hers.

I staggered back to the car, slipping the ring into my pants pocket. As I continued on my way home, different pictures crossed my mind. I imagined Arielle laying on the floor, bleeding, with no one to help. I wasn't there to help.

Lost in thought, I didn't realize a car was coming, and only looked up when it was inches away from my car...