Chapter 260
Aria’s POV
Aiden finished reading the comment in such a monotone voice, completely void of emotion, but I felt heat creeping up my neck and ears anyway. I quickly snatched my phone back from his hand before he could read any more comments.
“I’m tired. Let’s sleep,” I said hurriedly, wanting to end this conversation.
Even though we’d had such an intense night yesterday, I was still feeling off. My stomach was upset and I’d been dealing with some lingering discomfort all day. The truth was, I genuinely felt exhausted—I had been sick after all.
Aiden studied my face, his eyes softening. “Fine. But tomorrow we need to get up early to meet with the lawyer p>
I nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, of course.” Turning away from him, I placed my phone on the nightstand.
Jesus Christ! What was with Aiden’s habit of reading comments out loud? Where did that even come from?
I lay down obediently, closing my eyes in an exaggerated “I’m sleeping now” pose. Aiden must have noticed my less-than-stellar condition because he just chuckled softly and didn’t tease me further.
I slept soundly and woke up at the same time as Aiden the next morning. He always wakes up at 6:30 AM—the man’s self-discipline is honestly intimidating. We’ve shared a bed for nearly a month now, but this was the first time I’d actually woken up with him.
When he saw me stirring, Aiden gently stroked my cheek. “It’s still early. Want to sleep a bit longer p>
We’d gone to bed before ten last night, so eight and a half hours was actually plenty of sleep. I shook my head. “No, I’m up p>
The September sunrise was just beginning. After washing up, I stood on the balcony watching the dawn break over the horizon, feeling unexpectedly content.
The morning air carried a chill, and after a few minutes, goosebumps spread across my arms. I retreated back to the bedroom to grab a light sweater before heading downstairs to take a walk through the garden.
Nancy was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast. After strolling around the grounds, I wandered toward the pool where Aiden was swimming laps with focused determination. I unconsciously pinched the soft flesh of my arm, noticing how my muscle tone had deteriorated over the past six months from lack of exercise.
Maybe I should join him for morning swims?
Just as the thought crossed my mind, Aiden finished his thirty-minute workout-part of his Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Saturday routine.
Seeing him climb out of the pool, I instinctively stepped toward him.
Aiden moved sideways, creating distance between us. “I’m cold and wet,” he warned.
I stopped awkwardly, waiting until he’d wrapped himself in a robe before approaching him.
We walked back into the house together where Nancy greeted us with, “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Carter. Breakfast is ready p>
“I need to shower first,” Aiden said, then turned to me. “Go ahead and eat p>
My appetite hadn’t been great yesterday—I’d barely touched dinner-and now my stomach was growling. “I’ll start without you then p>
“Go on.” He smiled, watching me head toward the dining room before heading upstairs.
After finishing breakfast, I finally checked my phone and noticed several missed calls from an unknown number. Confused, I opened Lillian’s text messages and suddenly understood who had been calling.
It was the company we’d filed the complaint against.
Hmm. I thought they were going to keep denying everything to the bitter end.
Lillian had sent me seven or eight messages around eleven last night, explaining that the company had contacted her, willing to pay the compensation we’d demanded. They were practically begging us to drop the matter.
Yesterday was Sunday, but Lillian’s department had a special event, so they’d all worked with Monday off instead She’d specifically taken the afternoon off to deal with this negotiation, only to have the
company accuse her of trying to extort money.
And now they suddenly wanted to negotiate properly?
What a joke! We weren’t pushovers they could just bully!
Let’s be honest—if our story hadn’t gone viral last night, if I weren’t somewhat well- known, and if World Entertainment’s official account and Aiden hadn’t gotten
involved, these guys would probably still be playing hardball.
If an ordinary consumer had filed this complaint, wouldn’t the company just pay a
little money to label them an “extortionist” and be done with it?
After reading Lillian’s messages, I immediately replied: “Aiden’s lawyer is coming at
9 AM. They should be receiving a formal legal notice around 10 p>
It was barely 8 AM, and I figured Lillian might still be asleep. To my surprise, she responded instantly: “Perfect! If I hadn’t taken yesterday afternoon off, I’d absolutely call in sick today just to be there with you and meet the lawyer p>
I tried to reassure her: “Don’t worry, you’ll still be there when we go to court p>
“You’re right, babe! I’m up now!” Lillian texted back. “I totally put them in their place last night—didn’t curse or anything, but it felt amazing! Getting ready for work now p>
After finishing our chat, I glanced toward Aiden. “The company called both Lillian and me, but I went to bed early last night and missed it p>
Aiden raised an eyebrow. “Don’t answer their calls anymore p>
“Already on it!” I nodded enthusiastically while blocking the unknown number on my phone.
Aiden left for World Entertainment at 8:30 AM. I changed into something more appropriate and waited for his lawyer to arrive.
Right at 9 AM, the lawyer showed up.
“Hello, Mrs. Carter. I’m Harry Timmons,” he introduced himself with a professional handshake.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Timmons p>
He first asked about my demands, so I showed him the list Lillian had sent me. “Is there anything wrong with these p>
“Not at all, Mrs. Carter,” he assured me, then paused. “However, I should mention that when the company publicly shared photos of you and Ms. Moore yesterday, they seriously violated both your rights to privat and reputation. Given that you’re something of a public figure, we could actually demand significantly higher compensation for that aspect p>
I didn’t know much about legal matters, but since he was Aiden’s lawyer, I immediately deferred to his judgment. “Neither, my friend nor are familiar with these things.
Whatever compensation
you think is appropriate, I trust your décision p>
“Very good. Now, Mrs. Carter, you mentioned you have a recording of yesterday’s negotiation p>
I nodded. “Yes, but we recorded it secretly, so p>
“That’s fine. We can use it for reference,” Mr. Timmons said while typing figures into
his laptop. After half a minute, he turned the screen toward me. “Would this amount be acceptable to you p>
I glanced at the figure and instinctively bit my lip. “You’re the expert, Mr. Timmons. If you think it’s reasonable, I’ll follow your recommendation p>
“Excellent. If there’s anything else we need from you or your friend, I’ll be in touch p>
“Thank you p>
We exchanged contact information before I walked him out.
Holy shit! I never would have dreamed of asking for three hundred thousand dollars
in compensation! That’s World Entertainment’s legal team for you!