Chasing His Rejected Wife

My gaze landed on their clasped hands and a despair so deep started at the pit of my stomach.

"Jessica!" Aiden's bark pulled me from the jumble of my thoughts. I stared at him blankly, my eyes welling with unshed tears then I looked at Elisa. "You're pregnant?" I asked stupidly. My voice was a low whisper, broken and hoarse.

At her nod, my knees threatened to give way and I gripped the door for support. I wanted to ask my second question, but I couldn't bring myself to utter the words, I didn't want to know the truth because I wasn't sure I would survive it. The box slipped from my numb hand and tumbled to the floor with a dull thud. Aiden's eyes fell on the box and if it were possible for his expression to get any colder, it did.

"What the hell are you doing with that?" He demanded in a tone filled with frost.

Still shocked I glanced down at the box then bent down to pick it up. The metal felt cold in my hand as I clasped it to my chest, while fighting the sting of tears.

"Who gave that to you?" Aiden asked. He let go of Elisa's hand and stalked towards me, eyes shooting sparks of blue ice.

"Jodie gave it to me." I replied, taking a step back as he approached, feeling a bit frightened by his ferocity.

He stopped in front of me, mouth set in a thin line. "We need to talk. Now."

Without waiting for my response, his hand closed over my wrist and he towed me along as he strode out of the room, pausing only to reassure Elisa that he would be right back. I stumbled behind him, struggling to match his long strides, clutching the box to my chest like a lifeline. We entered his room and he let go of me to slam the door shut.

The curtains were drawn, casting the room in darkness but I could make out some of the furnishings. Not trusting my legs to hold me up any longer, I perched on the edge of the bed, rubbing my sweaty palms over my dress as I watched Aiden pace round the room, my pulse fluttering in anxiety.

Finally, with a brusque laugh that held bitterness, Aiden stopped in front of me, arms folded. "You really are something else, Jessica." his tone dripped with frost. "Even after two years in this hell of a marriage, you're still so goddamn determined to manipulate me to get what you want right?"

"Is it yours?" I blurted out the question that had been hovering on the edge of my lips. My fingers clutched at the sheets in a death grip as I braced for the answer.

"Don't change the subject dammit!" He growled, glaring at me.

"Elisa's baby, is it yours?" I asked, feeling my own anger and frustration rise. I hated being accused of being a manipulator when I had no idea what it even was that I was supposedly manipulating. I was angry that Aiden could so blatantly cheat on me, could hold Elisa's hand while she was pregnant while I was all but starved of the tiniest form of affection from my husband.

Something flashed across his expression but was gone too quickly for me to identify what it was. Then his lips thinned, his eyes flashing with mockery.

"Yes or no, does it matter?" He drawled. "I told you from the beginning that I couldn't love you."

Each word hit me with the force of a thousand bricks. "That's not fair, Aiden."

"Fair? You want to talk to me about what's fair?" Aiden leaned over me, one hand on each side, effectively caging me in. "Don't make this into a pity party for yourself, Jessica, you don't get to feel sorry for any misery you brought on yourself the day you plotted with my father to force me to marry you."

I shut my eyes so he wouldn't see my despair. "For the last time, I had nothing to do with Julian's decision."

"Yes, well he's not here to defend himself, is he?" Aiden sneered. He gestured at the box which was on the bed. "Do you really think what's in that box can stop me from ending this marriage?"

"I don't know." I whispered, each pulse like a thousand needles piercing through my skin. I didn't know what was in the box, but what I did know was that I could no longer lie to myself. My marriage was beyond saving and even if Aiden chose to stay with me, we would just continue to hurt each other.

I drew in a shaky breath and gathered my thoughts. "You're right, there's no use trying to save this marriage anymore. We should get a divorce, I'm willing to sign anything, let's just go our separate ways."

He stared at me, his gaze roving over my face as though he was trying to gauge the depth of my emotions. "Why?"

"You said it yourself, our marriage is a sham and it's making us both miserable so we might as well end it." I couldn't resist adding bitterly. "And you can finally be with the one you've always wanted."

He straightened, folded his arms, still watching me intently. "What do you want in the divorce?"

"I really don't care. I just want this to be over." I pushed to my feet, wanting to be alone, where I could feel sorry for myself in peace. "I have a flight to catch in two hours, you can send over the divorce papers when I get to Winsconsin. I'll move my things out of the house when I get back from my trip. Excuse me."

I pushed past him, but he stopped me. "About Elisa..." he began but I stopped him with a cold glare.

"I don't care anymore, Aiden. You can marry her tomorrow for all I care. Have a nice life."

I stormed out of the room and almost collided into Vincent who was just entering the room. He steadied me, his brow furrowing when he saw the state I was in.

"Jess, what's wrong?" He asked, eyes darting from me to Aiden.

"Nothing's wrong, I just have a flight to catch. Please excuse me." I broke free from his grip and hurried away. Let Aiden be the one to explain, let him say whatever he wanted, I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to leave Skye manor and everything it meant.

Needing to avoid the people milling about, I headed for the west side where there was a set of stairs that led to the lake and from there I could get to the parking lot. My bags were still in the car and I could only hope that Martin was closeby. "Jess! Wait a moment." Elisa called out from behind me. I hastened my steps, I didn't want to talk to her, didn't trust myself to not lose my cool and lash out at her. Right now, I hated her for everything she represented.

"Jessica!" she called out again but I kept moving. I could see the stairs just ahead and hurried towards it. Just as I reached the first step, I felt my arm being wrenched from behind.

I turned towards her defensively, intending to yank my arm away. The next seconds happened in slow motion as I watched, the horrified look on Elisa's face as she stumbled forward from the force, tripped over my foot and plunged headfirst down the steep flight of stairs.