Chasing His Rejected Wife
Chapter 38 -

Aiden's POV

I scowled up at her. "I thought you were supposed to be at home? What the hell are you doing here?"

Elisa shut the door behind her and came towards my desk. "I got tired of sitting around with nothing to do, so I came back to work." She was dressed impeccably as always, not a hair out of place. She neared my desk and placed her hands on the surface, a soft smile on her face. "I hope you don't mind?"

I felt a twinge of guilt as I always did whenever I saw her lately. I had unwittingly involved her in my schemes to force a divorce from Jess and even though she had assured me time and time again that she was willing to help create an illusion that we were having an affair, it still hadn't sat right with me, using my best friend to make my wife jealous.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, my conscience gnawing at me like a relentless rat tearing through aged fabric. No matter how many times Elle had tried to reassure me that she didn't hold me responsible for all that had transpired, I couldn't shake the weight of guilt.

"Of course, I don't mind," I murmured softly. "But I really believe you should be resting at home." Rising from my seat, I guided her gently to a nearby chair. I couldn't ignore the pain that crossed her face as she gingerly settled into it, nor the subtle tightening of her lips. It felt as though a knife were twisting deeper into my gut with every passing moment.

"Aiden, I can't stay at home any longer," she looked up at me, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, her voice trembling. "It's suffocating, and I keep being reminded of..." She broke off, shook her head, and sniffled, looking utterly miserable. "I need to keep my mind occupied, or I'm afraid I'll go mad."

I felt like an utter failure. My reckless plans had caused immeasurable emotional and physical pain to everyone involved, and I was acutely aware that fixing this mess would be no easy task. I had let things spiral out of control, the web of lies growing too intricate, and now everything had descended into chaos. I had, in essence, dug a grave for myself, and it would require an extraordinary effort, along with a touch of luck, to claw my way out.

"Hey, it's alright," I assured her and settled into the chair beside her. I offered her my handkerchief, which she accepted with a grateful smile, using it to dab at her eyes. "Have you had anything to eat?" "No, but I'm really not hungry," she replied hesitantly.

"You should eat." Fortunately, a tray of sandwiches that Fletcher had brought earlier still sat on the coffee table. I picked up a sandwich wrapped in a paper napkin and extended it to her. After a moment's hesitation, she accepted it. "Thank you."

I nodded and returned to my desk, immersing myself in the emails that awaited my attention. An uncomfortable silence hung between us, and I could feel her eyes on me. Yet, I kept my focus firmly fixed on the laptop screen, unwilling to initiate a conversation.

"How's Jess?" Elisa finally broke the tense silence. I allowed my gaze to drift toward her.

"She's good. In recovery, but fine," I replied tersely, not wanting to delve into further details, especially concerning Jessica's pregnancy. Elisa was still grappling with her own loss.

A shadow of pain flitted across Elisa's expression and I noticed how her hands automatically moved to touch her stomach before she caught herself and clasped them together on her lap instead, her gaze sweeping down to stare at her fingers. And I felt like the lowest form of life.

"That's...great." She intoned, in a too bright tone as she raised her head to look at me. She smiled, but I didn't miss the sheen of tears in her eyes. "I'm glad Jess and the baby are doing okay."

"Ellie..." I began but stopped, at a loss for words. Instead, I crouched down so I could look at her directly and took her clasped hands in mine, squeezing in silent comfort. What could I say to her other than to apologize?

Inside, guilt ripped at me, shredding me to pieces because all of this was because of my own damned hubris. "Ellie," I tried again, handing her the tissues. "I so sorry; for the baby, for everything I've put you through -"

"No," she interrupted, wide-eyed. "Aiden, we've been through this, it isn't your fault and you have nothing to apologize for." The tears began to fall freely and she let go of my hands to brush them off her cheeks. "It isn't your fault that I lost the baby, not at all. The fault was all mine. I should have listened to the doctor and stayed on bedrest, should have been more careful but I didn't."

I thought back to that horrific moment when she'd been lying on the ground, hurt and bleeding after falling down the stairs and a chill swept through me as it always did at the memory of it. Even though the baby had survived that accident and the doctors and Elisa had said time and time again that accident had not been the root cause of her miscarriage, I still couldn't let go of the guilt.

Untruths have a way of coming back to bite in the ass. If I hadn't been stupid and fucking desperate enough to let Jessica assume that Elisa's baby was mine just because I wanted her to finally reach her breaking point and demand a divorce, if I had listened to that little warning voice in my head telling me to say the truth, then maybe things wouldnt have got so out of hand.

The confrontation on the stairs that had led to Elisa's fall would have never happened. Then maybe, the pregnancy would never have been in jeopardy in the first place and Elisa would have had no need for bedrest.

I pursed my lips and shook my head to clear my thoughts. Elisa needed comfort, assurance and not a Russian roulette of who was to blame for what had happened.

"Elisa, we've talked about this, it's no use blaming yourself." I said gently, "Right now, our focus should be on making sure you get back to optimum health and back on your feet." I picked up the half eaten sandwich she'd set aside and offered it to her again. "And that includes making sure you eat and get healthy again."

She looked at me through teary eyes, gave me a watery smile and nodded. "I know, Aiden. But can I come back to work at least? It'll give me something to do."

I smiled back. "Of course. As long as you don't overdo it. No taking on more work than you should and absolutely no late nights."

She pulled a face and pouted but agreed. "Fine."

"Good." I held out the sandwich. "Here, finish this."

"How about you?" She asked around a mouthful. "When did you last eat?"

I thought about it for a moment. The last real meal I remember eating was at Jess' place, the dinner we'd shared last evening. "Fletcher has ordered something," I replied, in lieu of a direct answer. "It should be here soon."

She gave me a knowing look, not fooled for a second. "It's good you have Fletcher to look after you, otherwise one day you'll fall on your face from hypoglycemia."

"He said pretty much the same damn thing." I grumbled. Then reminded of the upcoming meeting, I glanced at my watch. "That food better be here in the next minute or it'll go to waste."

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As if on cue, there was a knock and miraculously, the person on the other side waited until I'd asked them to come in. Amelia, my second assistant, wheeled in a trolley laden with covered dishes which she wheeled over to the dining nook and began laying out the food.

"Join me?" I rose and extended a hand to Elisa. She finished off her sandwich and let me help her up. Together, we walked to the table and sat down. I studied the spread; Fletcher had ordered from my favorite Spanish place and I had to admit the food looked good. My stomach growled, inquiring why the hell I was staring at all this food without doing the necessary and I began serving up a plate.

For a while, we ate in silence, the only sound was the clink of cutlery against china. Elisa was the first to speak.

"What's going on with you and Jess?" She asked, giving me a look filled with curiosity. "Is she still insisting on staying alone? Did she agree to stop the divorce?"

"She says she needs time to figure out what she wants." I said, keeping my tone neutral. "And yes, she's staying alone for the time being, at least, until she makes her decision."

Truth be told, I wasn't happy she'd decided to move out on her own, especially so soon after the health scare. I couldn't stop worrying about her, imagining her all alone in that place. What if something happened to her again and this time, there was no one around to help until it was too late?

I still had nightmares about the time she'd collapsed during the meeting. The sight of her, deathly pale, blood trickling down her legs, the terror in her eyes as she'd frantically pleaded with me to save her baby. I remember the cold fear that had gripped me when she'd gone limp in my arms and I'd prayed to every damn deity I could think of to spare her life, I'd made a thousand vows as I drove like a man possessed to the hospital - I'd treat her right, I'd make up for every shitty thing I'd done to Jessica, just as long as she survived.

Elisa tutted sympathetically. "It must be hard on you. Still, I think she loves you, and that should work in your favor, shouldn't it."

I thought about the last couple of interactions I'd had with Jessica, particularly after the whole debacle with replaceing out about Elisa's pregnancy. Something had changed in her since then and I couldn't deny what it was. "I'm not so sure. I don't think she loves me." I replied quietly, "Not anymore at least. Not after I made her believe your baby was mine."

"Oh." Elisa murmured. "I see."

We were silent for a moment.

"So what are you going to do? If she chooses to leave?"