Unpredictable Betrayal : A Sweet of Revenge

Alden just got home around eight o’clock at night. A bit worried, the man strode quickly towards the bedroom. He had been trying to reach Aurora since earlier, but instead of getting a response, it seemed like his wife was intentionally ignoring him.

Alden had asked Velia, his colleague, who said that Aurora had been home since late afternoon. Also, confirming Aurora’s presence through the house assistant, they confirmed that the lady had indeed been home since then.

What puzzled Alden was why Aurora was ignoring him. Was his wife busy? Resting? Or perhaps angry and upset with him?

That’s why Alden wanted to make sure. Rushing into the room, he found Aurora sitting on the edge of the bed, her head bowed. Faintly, he could hear sobbing coming from her.

“Sweetheart…”

Alden quickly approached. With a puzzled feeling, he sat down in front of his wife.

“What’s wrong?” he asked with concern, clearly anxious. Afraid that something bad might have happened to her.

“Why are you crying like this? What’s wrong? Is there a problem? Or something else?”

Alden bombarded her with many questions. Instead of answering, Aurora just looked up, wiping tears from her cheeks while giving him an annoyed look.

“Where have you been?” she asked sharply. From her tone, it was clear that she was angry.

“I told you I had some work to attend to outside the hospital.”

Aurora scoffed. Her facial expression clearly showed disbelief.

“Lies!”

Alden immediately frowned in surprise.

“Why would I lie?”

Yeah, Alden was definitely puzzled. Why would his wife suddenly accuse him of lying?

“I’m not sure you went out because of work.”

“It was work-related, honey. I’m not lying.”

“Until this late?”

Alden nodded.

“Yes, there was a lot to discuss. I’m not lying.”

“Oh, I don’t believe you. I saw for myself that you were at a Korean restaurant with another woman this afternoon.”

“Another woman?”

“Yes!” Aurora snapped, glaring at him. “Do you want to be like Alex? Claiming it’s a meeting but actually going out for lunch with another woman? All men are the same!”

Aurora was beyond frustrated. Earlier at the restaurant, she wanted to confront him directly. But, because Velia advised against it, she abandoned her intention.

“Don’t make a scene here. Besides, I’m sure it was just Alden’s colleague. Not his affair.”

“But why didn’t he tell me he was meeting a woman?”

“Well, maybe he genuinely didn’t know.”

“No way!” Aurora disagreed incredulously. “Anyway, I need to settle this now.”

“Don’t!” Velia intervened again. “Just ask and resolve it when we’re home later. Even if you yell, no one’s going to be angry or stop you.”

So enraged, Aurora deliberately ignored Alden. She didn’t care when he had been looking for her since late afternoon.

Meanwhile, Alden was taken aback by such an accusation. Furrowing his eyebrows, he tried to digest Aurora’s accusation. Shortly after, he grabbed his phone and appeared to be calling someone.

“Hello, Asher?” Alden deliberately contacted Asher. He felt the need for Asher’s help to explain things to Aurora. “Where are you? Am I interrupting?”

“No,” Asher replied from the other end. “I just got home. What’s up?”

“Please explain to Aurora all the activities we did today. I just got home and she’s accusing me of cheating because she caught me having lunch with another woman.”

On the phone line, Asher burst into laughter. On one hand, laughing at Alden for getting scolded, and on the other, laughing at Aurora’s baseless accusation.

“Aurora…” Asher called out. “Just so you know, Alden did have lunch with another woman this afternoon. Her name is Dr. Joice Amara. She’s a doctor from Singapore. However, Alden wasn’t alone this afternoon. He was with me.”

“Lies! Don’t bother defending him.”

Aurora still didn’t believe, even though Asher had helped explain.

“I’m not lying.”

“The proof is I didn’t see you earlier.”

Asher could be heard laughing again.

“Yeah, maybe when you looked, I happened to be at the cashier’s desk paying the bill. Or maybe in the restroom. But this afternoon, Alden and I did have lunch with Dr. Joice to discuss Minister Mentri’s upcoming surgery. If you don’t believe it, you can go back to the restaurant we went to with Alden tomorrow. Ask them to check the CCTV footage to make sure.”

After giving a lengthy explanation, Asher ended the call. Then, Alden smiled while continuing to persuade Aurora not to stay angry.

“I didn’t cheat. You heard it yourself, right?”

Aurora was too proud. She didn’t respond or apologize for her baseless accusations.

“I would never do that, Honey. It’s hard enough to get you. There’s no way I’d cheat.”

Moments later, Alden hugged Aurora tightly. Then, he lifted her and moved her to the bed.

“Okay, stop being mad. I swear to God, I’m not doing anything to hurt you. You’re too precious to hurt.”

Aurora eventually melted. After all, there was no reason to stay angry at him for long. Besides, Asher, who was fierce as a lion, defended Alden, making sure that the man wasn’t up to anything fishy.

“Alright, if you’re still upset,” Alden said again. The man tried to persuade Aurora not to stay angry. “How about as compensation, I’ll take you out for dinner. You can eat whatever you want. Buy whatever you like. I won’t stop you.”

Aurora immediately raised the corners of her lips. Hearing that she was being invited out to eat, her mood instantly improved.

“You promise you won’t stop me?”

Alden nodded.

“Yes. Today, you’re free to buy whatever food you want.”

Aurora eagerly got up. Impatiently, she pulled Alden to leave immediately. After all, when else could she eat a variety of things without any restrictions?

***

For the past week, Aurora seemed so busy and overwhelmed. Since two pediatric specialists were on leave, she and Velia had to handle several emergency cases.

Normally, Aurora would return home by five in the evening, but lately, she would come home as late as seven or eight at night. Fortunately, Alden didn’t protest at all. He was willing to wait until Aurora’s work was truly finished so they could go home together.

“Aurora, if everything’s done, you can go first. I’ll handle the rest.”

It was already seven in the evening. Feeling sorry for Aurora, who complained several times about her back hurting, Velia took the initiative to finish the remaining work herself.

“Just a little more, Velia. I’ll check on one more patient in the NICU. Then I’ll go home.”

Velia sighed. She didn’t mind finishing everything herself.

“Just go home. Let me handle it. Poor Alden is waiting for you in the room. He’s been at the hospital since dawn today, right?”

Aurora nodded. Because of the morning schedule, her husband had been on standby at the hospital since early morning.

“Yeah. But just a little longer. I’m almost done here.”

Velia found it difficult to refuse. Since her offer wasn’t accepted, she let Aurora finish her work.

“I’ve checked all the reports. Now, I’ll go to the NICU first. We’ll continue the rest tomorrow.”Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

Velia agreed. She tidied up the files on the desk. She intended to accompany Aurora to the NICU PICU room to check on one of the patients who had been admitted that morning.

As they walked along the corridor, they continued to chat. When they arrived, Velia helped Aurora with the examination to finish quickly.

“The condition is stable. If it continues to be normal tomorrow, the baby can be moved to the regular ward.”

Aurora gave instructions to the nurse on duty. Making sure there were no emergencies, she hurried to leave the room.

“Finished? Let’s go home quickly. You’ll get sick if you’re forced. Your face looks pale,” Velia ordered once again.

“Yes… yes… I’m ready to go home. I’ll go first. If anything happens, just let me know.”

Since there was nothing else for her to do, Aurora intended to leave the room. Just as she reached the door, her consciousness suddenly disappeared. Aurora’s body swayed and immediately fell to the floor.

Velia immediately screamed, calling the nurses to help carry Aurora to the examination room.