Divorced, But Queen - Chapter 185: Chapter 185

Again, his mind wandered to Aria. 'How did she ever survive all this?'
He looked at his secretary. "Judith, how long have you worked at the Cole Group?"
"Five years," Judith answered.
"Was Aria always this busy?"
Judith hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. Ms. Saxon hadn't studied anything related to the business, so she had to start from scratch, right when the company hit a financial crisis.
"She basically lived at the office. Andrew used to bully the staff—Ms. Saxon always stepped in to protect everyone. Once, a new hire was dragged off to drink with clients.
"Someone tried to drug her, but Ms. Saxon stepped in, fought the guy off, and called the police. She was a workhorse, but hardly ever drank—some managers resented her for that. Then one time, a client insisted she drink, she broke out in hives.
"That's when people realized she was allergic. After that, whenever she had to drink, she'd take allergy meds in advance. Ms. Saxon was great. The employees who quit—it wasn't because of her. They just felt—"
Judith stopped, struggling to find the words. "They just thought she gave everything, but got betrayed. It felt unfair, so people left."
Liam's grip on the files tightened, a heavy ache pressing on his heart.
Only now did he realize how much Aria had endured—and how cruel his words to her had been.
If he hadn't gone abroad and Aria had stayed, would any of this have happened?
He shook the thought away. Even if he could do it all over, he would still have gone to Erenoland.
Saving lives had always been his dream.
If not for Hannah, he'd have died there.
No one was truly at fault—he and Aria were just never meant to be.
If Aria ever heard how Judith described her, she'd probably burst out laughing.
Those two years, she'd only drunk three times—just because the wine was expensive and smelled delicious, and she couldn't resist.
That day, Aria went to the bank, filled out a form, bought a gold bar, and stopped by a jewelry store for a small bracelet.
The moment she stepped outside, her phone vibrated: [Kim's villa, help...]
The message was deleted mid-sentence.
Aria jumped into her car and immediately called Owen.
He picked up right away. "You..."
"Where does Kim usually stay?" Her tone was urgent. He gave her the address without hesitation. The next second, she hung up.
Owen pulled on his coat and headed out. As he left, Aaron nearly ran into him. "Mr. Shaw, where are you going?"
"Tell the director I need some time off," Owen called back, already halfway down the hall.
Aria sped to the gated community and pulled up at the entrance, calling to the guard, "My friend's been kidnapped. Let me through!"
Her expression was icy, her voice trembling with barely controlled panic.
The guard, startled, instinctively hit the button and watched her drive inside. "Was she a scammer?"
"She's gorgeous and her car's expensive. No way."
"What did she say just now?"
"Kidnapped..." The guard's eyes went wide. He dialed the police immediately.
At Kim's villa, Aria vaulted the fence without a second thought. Two bodyguards spotted her and rushed over.
Inside, Cloe sat on the sofa, fists clenched, clear eyes tinged with anger. Maisie, curled up in her arms, looked up anxiously. "Mommy, is he my daddy?"
Without hesitation, Cloe answered, "No."
Maisie glanced at the cold-faced man across from them. "Thank goodness. I don't like him."
Kim's expression was unreadable. "Cloe, don't be so sure—the paternity test isn't back yet."
Cloe shot back coldly, "So what if it is? You think you can take Maisie from me?"
A storm flickered in Kim's eyes, but before he could answer, the bodyguards burst in. "Sir, there's a girl outside. She says you need to get out there and see her."