Chasing His Rejected Wife

I drew in a deep breath and stepped through the door of the private hospital ward, trying to subdue the churning in my stomach from the overpowering smell of disinfectant.

The room Aiden had secured for Elisa was one of the best rooms in the hospital, fitted out with top notch equipment.

Elisa lay on the bed, pale and frail. I felt a twinge of guilt as I looked at her arm encased in cast, the bruises of all shapes and colors on her body. I was hit with a sense of deja vu upon seeing Aiden perched on the edge of her bed, holding onto her hand, his face a picture of concern and love.

I swallowed painfully and stood hesitantly just by the door, unsure of my welcome here. A part of me wanted to turn right around and walk out of here, but I knew I had to stay.

Aiden turned to me, his expression going carefully blank. He let go of Elisa's hand and straightened, thrusting them in the pockets of his jeans. Clad in fresh clothing, after Vincent had practically manhandled him back to Skye Manor to freshen up and change while Elisa came out of recovery.

"I hope I'm not intruding?" I asked, looking towards Elisa. "The nurse said it was okay to come in."

Elisa gave me a warm smile, "Of course not, Jess. I'm glad you're here, I wanted to talk to you."

I nodded and moved closer, my heels sinking into the soft carpeting underfoot. Aiden stepped aside as I approached, and though I carefully avoided looking at him, I could feel his gaze boring into my skin.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, sinking down onto an armchair beside the bed, needing to relieve the stress on my back and knees.

"Much better," Elisa shrugged and motioned to the cast. "This thing itches like you won't believe and I'm afraid to even look in the mirror to see my face, but otherwise, I'm okay."

She struggled to sit up, and Aiden moved to help her. I watched her smile coquettishly up at him, the sweet way she thanked him, too numb to do or feel anything. I was exhausted, having barely slept since the accident, three days ago, drained from the emotional rollercoaster I'd been on since finding out about Elisa's pregnancy.

I didn't have it in me anymore to react. Still, it hurt. But this time, it was a different kind of hurt. This hurt was accompanied by anger.

"I'll be outside, I need to make some calls." Aiden said, once Elisa was comfortably propped against the pillow, the bed covers tucked around her securely. He nodded at me and left the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, the tension in my shoulders and heart eased a little.

Since the night of the funeral, it had been increasingly difficult being around Aiden, mostly because I was still hurt by his actions and most of that hurt had coalesced into anger.

"Jess," Elisa's voice drew me from my inner thoughts and I realized I'd been staring at the door for longer than was necessary.

"Vincent...told me that Aiden accused you of pushing me down those stairs. I'm very sorry about that and believe me, I've told Aiden that it was my fault, not yours."

"That's fine." I replied, though it still hurt that it had taken Elisa to speak up to make Aiden believe my words. The fact that he could even believe that I was capable of doing such a petty and wicked thing as deliberately pushing someone down a flight of stairs out of spite said a whole lot about his true opinion of me.

And that hurt me beyond belief. That Aiden had so little faith in me, despite having known me for years, shattered any remaining delusions I had harbored about our relationship.

"I'm just glad that's cleared up." I continued, hiding the hurt behind a smile. "And I'm relieved that your baby will be alright."

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And I truly was relieved. Because no matter how angry I felt at the situation, the baby inside her womb was innocent of its parent's wrongdoing and did not deserve death, no matter how much I wished the situation was different. "Yes, me too." Elisa's expression softened as she rubbed her belly. "The doctors have put me on complete bed rest for the next three months, to avoid any complications." She grimaced at the thought. "I'm not looking forward to lying around all day, I'll go stir crazy."

"I'm sure Aiden will ensure you're properly looked after." I couldn't resist the bitterness that seeped through my words. Yes, Aiden would do all in his power to make sure the love of his life and the woman carrying his child would enjoy all the creature comforts that money could buy.

And where did that leave me? On the brink of divorce, cheated on, betrayed, wrongfully accused and about to be a single mother.

Because, over the past three days since the funeral, I had made up my mind not to tell Aiden about this baby, not when I'm almost certain that he would not welcome the news and I was not about to subject my unborn child to a life with a father who did not want them.

If that meant going this alone, then that was what I would do.

"How long?" I blurted out the question that had been foremost in my mind for days.

Elisa looked confused. "How long since what?"

"How long have you been sleeping with my husband?" I ground out the words, feeding off the frustration in my gut. "Has it been from day one of our marriage or did you two somehow manage to restrain yourselves for a while?" "Jess." Elisa shifted, her expression uncomfortable. "You -"

"How. Long?" I gritted out, unable to keep sitting, I sprang to my feet and paced a few steps to stand by the window. "You've won already, haven't you? You'll soon have Aiden all to yourself once the divorce is finalized, so the least you can do is tell me how long you've been screwing my husband."

She flinched at my crass words but I was beyond caring about her sensibilities. "I'm so sorry, Jess, this wasn't the way I wanted this to happen, I never meant for you to get hurt -" "Answer the damn question!" I shouted, losing the last thread of my temper. "Just save the bullshit and tell me."

"We...didn't...it wasn't intentional. We were going to wait until he could get a divorce, then Julian died and Aiden came over and I...we got carried away in the moment."

I had to shut my eyes and take in deep shuddering breaths, feeling like I'd just been hit with a ton of bricks. It was one thing to suspect that something was happening, but to have it confirmed transcended a whole other level of pain. Then her words really sunk in and I paled, almost losing my balance. "When exactly did this happen?" I whispered, shock and horror turning my brain to mush. I craved and dreaded the answer because if my suspicions were true then - "The day Julian died."