Chapter 3

When Aaron arrived back home, he felt like almost all his energy had been drained from him. The moment he pushed the door open, an intense smell of alcohol and women's perfume wafted right in his face, making him gag. The sensor lights lit up, revealing a state of disarray in the living room. The pair of burgundy heels that were strewn at the entrance were stained with some mud, and it looked like they had been kicked off one's feet. A crumpled-up shirt and a pair of stockings were piled up on the leather couch while a black lacy bra was hanging off a corner of the glass coffee table. A bottle of champagne lay on the floor with its contents spilled out. The most glaring of them all was the ring that was giving off a silver gleam while lying on the carpet. That was Esther's wedding ring from when they got married. Aaron's wedding ring was still on his finger. Right away, he knew what had happened here earlier. With his trembling fingers, he tapped into the surveillance camera software on his phone. Because their manor was once burglarized two years ago, he had taken the effort to hire someone to install two hidden surveillance cameras. Esther knew about this too. But she barely came home these two years, so she had probably forgotten about them. Aaron hovered his finger over his phone screen for a moment. In the end, he tapped into the recording from 6:00 pm. In the footage, the tail of Esther's dress looked like a burning flame. The sight of it left a scorching pain in Aaron's heart. She backed up until she fell back onto the couch. With her arms around the neck of the person before her, she called out in a coy tone, "Russell…" Her coquettish and tipsy voice played through the speakers. Suppressing the raging anger within him, Aaron turned his phone screen off immediately. Suddenly, the sound of the electronic lock unlocking startled him. Esther entered the door from outside. As she leaned against the door frame, her cheeks were flushed unnaturally red and the angle of the collar of her silk nightgown revealed the hickey on her collarbone. "Darling…" Calling out to Aaron coyly, Esther pounced at him. Aaron turned to the side to shun her, resulting in her stumbling into the side cabinet with a loud thud. "You drank?" Aaron questioned as he stared coldly at the mark behind her ear. "What's wrong with drinking some red wine on our wedding anniversary?" Suddenly, Esther raised her voice. With her fingernail that was painted red, she poked him in his chest. "But you! You showed your temper during the day and walked off, and you didn't answer my calls or reply to my texts. Why are you acting like this now?" Aaron closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. "Where were you? Who did you drink with?" In actual fact, he didn't need to ask to know. Suddenly, Esther slammed her Hermès handbag onto the coffee table. A sharp screech sounded when the diamonds embedded in the bag scratched against the glass surface. "What do you mean, Aaron? I postponed three meetings in order to come home and spend time with you. Yet I have to be subjected to your interrogation? What about you? Where have you been all afternoon? Why didn't you answer my calls?" Aaron stared calmly at her and did not answer. It was as if he wasn't going to give up until he heard an answer from her. All of a sudden, the air around them came to a standstill. Esther's fingers trembled slightly. Out of the blue, she grabbed the half-full bottle of whiskey, lifted her head, and downed all of it. "Yes. I was with Russell!" She staggered as she approached Aaron, exhaling her alcohol-laced breath onto his face. "He remembered that today is our wedding anniversary, so he put his work aside and gave me a gift! What about you? You didn't even get me a bouquet of roses!" Aaron was forced into a corner and ended up hitting his hip against the display shelf. "I've been putting up with you lately no matter how great of a fuss you make. I've forgiven you even if you're always suspicious about my relationship with Russell." Esther's diamond ring scratched Aaron's chin. "But I can't put up with this!" Initially, Esther wanted to take a preemptive measure by accusing Aaron of being the problem because she assumed that he would take the initiative to coax her like he always did when they argued in the past. However, Aaron did not budge. He simply watched her act silently. Suddenly, her phone rang. After taking a glance at the called ID, Esther's gaze softened instantaneously. "Hello? Yeah, I'm home…" She turned around and walked to the balcony. In an extremely gentle tone, she continued, "Stop it. Didn't we agree not to talk about that…" Aaron seized the opportunity to return to the study and lock the door from within. While spacing out, all he could hear was the pounding of his heart. Not long after, he heard the sound of heels kicking the door from outside the room. "Get out here, Aaron Blackwood!" Esther shouted from the other side of the door. "What's with this attitude? All I did was rebuke you. Why are you throwing a tantrum? Was I wrong? All these years, I've always shown you respect when we're out in public. What about you? Who am I to you? What's wrong with me having a few friends? Do you have to make such a scene?" Nonetheless, Aaron did not respond to her at all. Esther became so enraged that she started to blurt out anything that came to mind. "Don't forget that what you have today is thanks to the support of my family, Aaron! Come out! What are you doing in there? Get the hell out of the room!" Suddenly, she seemed to get an idea and continued, "Aaron, are you seeing someone else? Come out here and explain yourself!" Aaron let out a sarcastic laugh. Esther was such a natural at putting the blame on him instead. Out of nowhere, the yelling from the other side of the door stopped. Aaron heard the sound of a porcelain item being smashed. Esther had probably smashed the porcelain vase by the entrance. His phone vibrated, and Esther's message popped up on the screen. "Aaron, just stay in the room forever if you can, then!" Aaron switched his phone off. In the dark, a cold white gleam from the moonlight reflected off their wedding photo. In the photo, Esther was wearing a silver ring—the same one that had now been abandoned at a random spot in the living room as if it were just a piece of trash. Aaron recalled the night he proposed. Esther had slammed her identification card on the dining table. "I'll handle my own parents. All you need to do is feel at ease when we register our marriage." Yet right now, Esther was even bringing another man back home so openly. The look in Aaron's eyes went completely cold. Without saying a word, he took their wedding photo off the wall and threw it out the window on the second floor of the manor. His clothes were still wet, so he planned to take a shower first. When he slipped his hand into his pocket, he felt the name card. Looking at the number written on it, he was reminded of the voice of the woman in the Maserati. Instinctively, he furrowed his brows. That voice sounded familiar, but he simply couldn't recall anything about it. He figured that he'd just let it go. It didn't matter. He saved the number into his phone, then walked into the bathroom, where he had a hot shower to wash away all the weariness he was feeling. At this moment, his phone lit up. Dolores had sent him a text message. "I really underestimated you. I didn't think that you'd be so shameless! "Sixty million dollars? Aren't you ashamed to ask for an amount like this? Anyway, fine. I can give you 60 million dollars, but you have to divorce Esther this week! Also, go as far away as you can, but don't ever show up in Dewsbury again." Aaron replied calmly. "I can make the divorce happen, but there's no way I'm leaving Dewsbury." He had been striving so hard in Dewsbury for the past seven years. All of his connections and work partners were in Dewsbury. There was no way he would give up on everything he had now. Dolores immediately sent him a voice message. "Aaron, do as I say while I'm still being nice!" A frigid glint flashed across Aaron's eyes. Fine, then. He would like to find out what Dolores was capable of doing to him! Having been a deputy director at Butterfield Group for seven years, he had his hands on as many secrets as Esther did—if not more. Moreover, he had photo and video evidence of Esther's affair. He might not lose to Dolores if she actually wanted to go head-to-head against him!