Chapter 16

All the words turned into muffled groans.

Arthur finally stopped after who knows how long.

He carefully fixed Ella's dress and carried her to the sofa. Ella shot him a look full of disgust.

"Happy now? Let's just call that our last time before the divorce."

Arthur froze at her words. "You really can't wait to get divorced, huh? Fine,I'll give you what you want. See you at the courthouse at 9 AM tomorrow.

"

Without another glance, Arthur walked out with a cold expression.

Ella sat there for a bit before slowly getting up and leaving.

The party outside was still in full swing. Ella found Lily and used the excuse of not feeling well to leave early.

She didn't know how long it took, but she walked all the way home from the villa.

That evening, Ella got a call from Lily.

"Feeling any better?" Ella's mind was a bit foggy, but she remembered her excuse. "Yeah, much better.How about you?" Lily got excited on the other end. "You wouldn't believe how great tonight was. So many wealthy ladies and heiresses placed orders with me. We're gonna be busy for the next three months." Ella wasn't surprised; she had a lot of faith in Lily's skills. "Oh. and Arthur already transferred thirty million dollars for your dress to your account."Ella was momentarily stunned at the mention of his name. "Okay." Noticing Ella's hoarse voice, Lily asked worriedly, "Should I come over and keep you company tonight? You don't sound well."

Having been friends for so long. Lily quickly sensed something was off.

"I'm just a bit tired. A good night's sleep will fix it. You've had a long day too, so get some rest and don't worry about me."

Lily was silent for a moment before saying, "Alright, but call me if you need anything."

Ella agreed and then hung up the phone.

She lay down on the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, she felt really cold and her head was heavy.

She turned on the bedside lamp and fumbled for a thermometer in the drawer.

Sure enough, she had a fever. Ella sighed, found some fever medicine,and took it, hoping this cold wouldn't mess up her divorce proceedings in the morning. After taking the medicine, Ella drifted back to sleep. When Ella opened her eyes, she saw a white ceiling and smelled the scent of disinfectant in the air. She slowly turned her head and saw Lily asleep by the bedside. Recognizing the room's setup, Ella realized she was in the hospital. "You're awake?" Lily rubbed her eyes.

"If I hadn't sensed something was wrongand come to your house in time,you might have developed pneumonia." Lily pointed at Ella,looking at her weak appearance with concern.

Ella drank the water with Lily's help and then lay back down.

"What time is it now?" Ella was most concerned about the divorce.

"It's 9 PM."

Ella was surprised; she hadn't expected it to be so late.

She wondered how Arthur was doing. This was the second time she had missed their appointment.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Alan were hanging out in a private room at Night of Crystal.

Alan hada woman on each arm, clearly having a good time.

Seeing Arthur's gloomy face all night, Alan waved the women away. Once they left, Alan poured himself a drink, clinked glasses with Arthur,and downed it. "You've been sitting here all night, not drinking or messing around. Are you planning to stay faithful to Ella?" Alan teased.

Hearing Ella's name. Arthur felt a wave of irritation.

Noticing his expression, Alan smirked. "Got it. Did you have a fight with Ella? Women are always emotional; just sweet-talk her a bit,and everything will be fine." Seeing no change in Arthur's expression, Alan continued, "If that doesn't work,just buy her something. Don't women love bags and jewelry?" Arthur stayed silent, and Alan fell quiet too.

After a while, he tentatively asked, "Could it be that Ella found out about you and Ava, and now she wants a divorce?"

Arthur's expression turned so dark it seemed like a storm was brewing.

Realizing he had hit the mark, Alan also fell silent.

"Really, Ella wants a divorce?"

Arthur responded flatly, "Yes."

The weight of this statement took Alan a moment to process.

"How far along are you in the divorce process?"

"Ella has scheduled two appointments at the court for the divorce,and each time she didn't show up. This time, she went completely off the grid for a whole day." Arthur was troubled by this."It's not a big deal; you haven't divorced yet, right? If you don't want to divorce, just apologize to Ella. You've been together for so many years." Arthur wasn't the one who wanted the divorce; it was Ella. But he didn't say this out loud."Why didn't Ella contact me all day today? We were supposed to finalize the divorce, but she didn't show up." Arthur frowned.

This had been bothering him all day.

Alan chuckled, "I think Ella did it on purpose. She probably doesn't want to divorce you, so she stood you up. What's that saying?"

Arthur frowned, recalling Ella's resolute tone when she mentioned the divorce. It didn't quite add up.

Calming down, Arthur thought he must be crazy to ask Alan for advice,given how unreliable he was.

But he couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. Could Ella really be playing hard to get?

Ella stayed in the hospital for a few days. When the hospital finally allowed her to be discharged, Lily handled the paperwork for her.

This incident had scared Lily. On the day of discharge, she packed her bags and moved in with Ella.

Seeing the suitcase in Lily's hand, Ella couldn't help but laugh.The fever hit her out of nowhere, and she was surprised by how intense it was.

"Tll be staving here for a while." Lily unpacked her things.

Ella knew Lily was worried about her, so she agreed.