Chapter 104
Hannah explained, her voice trembling slightly, “Even if you and Henry Lester didn’t officially register your marriage, you lived as husband and deleter name and reality, Marrying Liam afterward constitutes bigamy”
“Husband and wife in reality?” Aria scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain as she locked her gaze onto Hannah and Liam. She spoke dowly, enunciating each word, “So, you’re saying I was ruined by some old man and should just crawl into a hole–never step foot in Mandino Cily, never return to the Saxor family, and definitely never get married? is that what you’re implying?”
Liam and Hannah’s faces stiffened, stunned that she would so boldly lay everything bare,
The crowd exchanged uneasy glances, their whispers growing louder as shock turned into contempt
People instinctively sympathize with those who’ve endured suffering. To the onlookers, Aria might appear strong now, but she was still a pitiable figure a girl sold by her foster parents and abandoned by her family.
Hannah hurriedly denied, “That’s not what we meant! You’re overthinking it
“Oh, so that’s not what you meant? Then what are you trying to say?” Aria’s voice was calm, but her gaze was sharp, cutting through their pretense. “Pretending to be so righteous and above it all–must be exhausting.”
Liam frowned. “What’s with that sarcastic attitude? We’re just stating the facts. If you can’t handle it, why keep coming after us?”
Aria sneered. “Facts? Oh, really? Did the indenture explicitly say I was sold to be his child bride?”
Liam froze, momentarily at a loss. The indenture didn’t say that, but Henry had admitted it himself.
“A single old man buying a little girl–what else could it be if not to make her his child bride?” Liam retorted, his jaw tightening.
Amanda, unable to stay silent, stepped forward and said calmly. “Why assume “child bride‘? Couldn’t it just be adopting her to care for him in his old age?”
Vanessa, barely holding back her anger, snapped, “Wow, you guys are really something. Can’t find any dirt on Aria now, so you’re making up stories about her childhood? Picking on a ten year old–how low can you go?”
“That’s not true!” Liam denied it, but the crowd’s expressions had already shifted. Forced to explain, he added, “Everything we said came straight from Henry Lester. We’re not making anything up
Aria raised an eyebrow. “Really? So you’ve met Henry Lester?”
Liam nodded firmly. “Yes”
Aria’s lips curved into a faint smile, her tone light yet sharp. “Thanks for finding him for me. Looks like you’ve done all the work–evidence and everything”
She turned to Hannah, her voice dripping with mockery. “Ms. Gibson, you’re so kind. I’m sure you’ll help me report this to the police, right?”
She smiled faintly, completely unbothered, as if the term “child
hild bride” didn’t faze her at all.
Someone said, “Buying a girl? People who’d ever do that deserve to rot in hell”
“The Saxon family raised Silvia Saxon wholeheartedly, but her biological parents sold/
Aria Saxon for money. I wonder if the Saxon family knows about
this, someone muttered.
Another one said, “And even if they do, what difference does it make? They’ve already cut ties with Aria Saxon!”
Someone chimed in, “Neither her biological parents nor her foster parents cared for her. Poor Aria Saxon–her life is just too tragic.”
1/2
Chapter 104
From the crowd, a girl cupped her hands around her moulland deliberately shouted, “Ms. Gibson’s always been to charitattas this, she’ll definitely help Arla Saxon report 11,
an, there’s evidence and witnesses“:”
Some people nodded. “Exactly! Ms. Gibson and Mr. Cole are both in the medical hold they’re supposed to be compassionate people.“.
The mumsured discussions reached Hannah’s ears, and her face flushed with embarrassment and anger. She had planned to expose Arla for bigamy, búa now everyone expected her to help report the crime. “How did things turn out like this?‘ Hannah fumed inwardly
Aria had orchestrated this moral dilemma in front of everyone, forcing Hannals to take action against Henry and Aria’s foster parents.
Liam, now fully aware of Aria’s ploy, looked livid, “We’re divorced Why should I bother with you?”
Vanessa glared at him and Hannah, “Then what’s your excuse for deliberately framing and tarnishing your wife’s reputation? What’s your real motive?”
Triggered by Vanessa’s earlier comment calling them “a scumbag and his side chick, Liam, already furious, lost all restraint in his words. “This has nothing to do with you, you shameless actress who slept her way to fanse…
What responded to him was a slap, which echoed, loud and sharp.
E
