Chapter 7

Aaron lay in bed with many questions in his mind, and he was unable to fall asleep no matter how he tried. He grabbed his phone. After some hesitation, he sent a message to Sierra. "Thank you for introducing me to Mr. Lewis. But there's something I'm really curious about. Why are you helping me?" A few minutes later, Sierra replied to his message. "It's because I feel like you deserve a much better life, Mr. Blackwood. Have a good night." This reply puzzled Aaron even more. … The next morning, Esther sat in Dolores' mansion in Dewsbury East, looking haggard. "Mom, how could Aaron treat me like this?" With a frosty expression on her face, Dolores said, "I've told you that he isn't a reliable man. This is just great. Now, he wants 70 million dollars before he agrees to divorce you." "Seventy million dollars?" Esther widened her eyes in shock. "What right does he have to ask for so much?" "It's all because of you and Russell," Dolores replied in an angered and disappointed voice. "Aaron has evidence against you and Russell!" Esther's face went pale. "That's impossible. We've been very careful!" "Careful?" Dolores scoffed. "You brought that man home, and you were hoping that Aaron wouldn't have noticed?" Biting her lip, Esther stuttered, "B-B-But, I really am pregnant." Dolores shot Esther a stern glare. "Whose is it?" Esther lowered her head. "I don't know either… It might be Aaron's, but it might also be Russell's." Dolores was so enraged that she raised her hand to hit Esther. Nonetheless, she paused with her hand in mid-air. "You misbehaving child! What should we do now? If the child is Aaron's, he could demand custody over them!" Esther's mind raced. "If the child is Aaron's, we have reason to stop him from divorcing me." "Do you think that he'll believe you?" Dolores questioned with a cold smirk on her face. "He'll request to get a paternity test done." Esther tensed up upon hearing that. "What should we do, then?" After ruminating for a moment, Dolores suggested, "We'll appease him for the moment, then decide what to do after signing the divorce agreement. Let's think of what to do after getting the money he asked for." In a dissatisfied tone, Esther argued, "But Mom, I really don't want to divorce him." "Why not?" Dolores studied Esther with a perplexed gaze. "Aren't you already together with Russell?" Pursing her lips, Esther explained, "I'm just having some fun with Russell. Aaron… He's really good to me, and he's a very capable man. He has been managing a lot of the projects at work. Butterfield Group will be in great trouble if he leaves." Dolores let out a sigh. "It's too late for you to realize that now!" Right at this moment, the butler, Taylor Kirk, entered the room and said, "Mrs. Butterfield, Mr. Blackwood and someone by the name of Mr. Lewis is here." Dolores straightened her outfit. "Let them in." When Aaron and Steve entered the living room, Esther leaped to her feet and wanted to go up to Aaron. "Aaron, can we have a chat?" Aaron walked straight to Dolores without looking at Esther. "Mrs. Butterfield, do you have the documents with you?" Dolores nodded while pointing at the envelope on the coffee table. "They're right here." Steve stepped forward, took the documents out of the envelope, and started studying them. Esther stood by the side with tears in her eyes, looking miserable. "Aaron, do you really not care about me anymore?" Aaron disregarded her. He turned to the side and asked, "Mr. Lewis, are there any issues with the documents?" After examining the documents closely, Steve shook his head. "There are no problems overall. There are just a few details that need to be amended." He pulled a pen out and made a few markings on the documents. Then, he handed them to Dolores. "Mrs. Butterfield, these are the amendments needed. If these aren't specified clearly, it'll make things troublesome in the future." Dolores took the documents from Steve, and a gloomy expression came across her face. "Attorneys like you are troublesome, indeed." Steve smiled slightly. "I'm not being troublesome. This is to assure that the rights and interests of both parties are looked after." Dolores let out a sigh. Then, she summoned her secretary to get the documents reprinted. Esther had been trying to get Aaron's attention the entire time. She said, "Aaron, I know that what I did was wrong, but we can start all over, okay?" Aaron finally glanced at her. Icily, he said, "Esther, stop being delusional." "I'm not!" she argued anxiously. "I really do love you!" Aaron scoffed. "You love me? It's more like you love my capabilities and the fact that I'm able to make money for your family. Do you want to turn back now that you've realized Russell isn't as capable as I am?" Esther turned livid. Enraged, she yelled, "Aaron, you've gone overboard!" Aaron harrumphed frigidly. "Have I? Did you not feel like you were going overboard when you and Russell slept together in our bed?" That question was like one tight slap on Esther's face. Noticing that the situation was getting tricky, Dolores interrupted them by saying, "Alright, the documents are being reprinted now. Have a seat and have a cup of tea while we wait." Aaron shook his head and refused, "No, thank you. I'm in a rush." Right at this moment, Taylor came into the living room again and reported, "Mrs. Butterfield, Mr. Stringer is here." Almost right after he said that, Russell hurried into the living room. He was clearly taken aback to see Aaron. Then, he forced an awkward smile on his face. "Oh, Aaron, you're here too?" Aaron didn't pay any attention to him at all. Russell walked to Esther's side and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?" Esther pushed him away. "What are you doing here?" With a miserable expression, he answered, "I was worried about you. You were so upset yesterday. Of course, I had to come over and check on you." Aaron sneered, "How loving." The atmosphere in the room turned awkward all of a sudden. Right at this moment, Dolores' secretary came into the living room with the newly printed documents. Steve checked them once again. After ascertaining that there were no issues with them, he handed them to Aaron and Dolores to sign. After signing the papers, Dolores pushed them to Esther. "You should sign them too." With tears glistening in her eyes, Esther lifted her head and looked at Aaron pitifully. "Aaron, do you really have to be so heartless?" Nevertheless, Aaron did not answer her. He simply gestured to her to hurry up with signing the documents. After hesitating for a while, Esther finally signed the documents with clenched teeth. After signing the documents, Aaron immediately stood up. "Let's go to the courthouse to get the procedures done after I confirm receipt of your payment." Dolores pulled her phone out and performed the money transfer on the spot. "Seventy million dollars exactly." She showed Aaron a screenshot of her proof of transfer. "Are you happy now?" Aaron confirmed that the amount was correct. Then, he nodded and said, "Mr. Lewis, please contact the courthouse to let them know that we'll be going over now to get the divorce procedures done. "Also, I'll only be keeping 60 million dollars. I'll donate ten million dollars under the Butterfield family's name to charity. Let's just count this as my blessings for the child." After making the call, Steve nodded at Aaron and said, "I've made an appointment for 10:30 am." Russell observed all this from the side. The moment he heard the sum of money in particular, his ears perked up. Greed flashed across his face. Seventy million dollars! If he could get his hands on this amount of money, Stringer Group's crisis could be resolved with ease. Aaron kept the documents with him, then turned around to leave. All of a sudden, Esther stopped him from leaving. "Aaron, are you really going to leave me and the child?" Aaron was stunned. Right after that, he pushed her aside. "Are you sure that the child is mine?"