The convenient marriage

Chapter 49. Lesser of two evils

From the first time she had met Zane, she had known his apathetic side and his coldness both most likely due to the harshness of his position. But she had never expected for Zane to be this ruthless and unbending. Why was he acting like this? There was nothing that could implicate her into Jillian's misfortune.

"Zane, hey stop it. You are hurting her!" Malcom quickly approached Zane and tried to reason with him, after a split second of delay. Shocked by the actions of his normally calm and collected friend, he hadn't managed to stop Zane before the latter assaulted the woman.

As for him trying to obstruct Zane from hurting Aileen, well it wasn't just for the woman's sake as much as it was for his own friend's sake.

He was afraid that Aileen could really suffer some irremediable consequences due to Zane's anger. This in return could turn out to hurt the latter. The drop in value of the shares in the company, legal actions and even prison time... everything could be ruined because of one thoughtless move from Zane. And more importantly, Aria needed Zane right now by her side. How would he do that from behind the jail's bars?

His friend was a sharp and decisive person, but he had never done something this abrupt before. He was the type to analyze and perfectly plan ten moves in advance, before doing anything. Could this woman really have something to do with Aria's state? Otherwise it was too strange for Zane to lose his temper like this.

"Zane?" An older woman's voice called shaken by the sight in front of her. Just like her son, the woman rarely if ever reflected her true emotions on her face and through her voice. But seeing her calm and rational son strangling a woman without the slightest of discomfort, how could she still keep her somber appearance.

She was just on her way to the party when Ryan had called her to inform her that Aria was in the hospital, having been brought by Zane after she had lost consciousness. Without a second's delay she had changed her destination and rushed to their location.

Although she had never been a warm person, although she had never shown much concern towards other people including her own son, one could not call her an uncaring or unsympathetic person. She had always done her best even towards Aria, who she hadn't shared the closest of connections, when the latter had fallen in a coma.

Along with her son, she had assured for her daughter in law the best medical care one could receive, but that was about it. That was the extent of how much her feelings and empathy would extend to another person normally. But somehow the Aria from the present was different. Her concern and worry for her were different than they had been in the past.

Perhaps it was because of the eerie image of the lonely forgotten plaque of that small girl who she hadn't managed to find in time, and the fact that Aria was a mirror image of that girl. It could also be because Aria was a much warmer person that she had been in the past.

This whole week during which she had interacted with Aria, and also seeing her son experiencing a normal family life with her, her impression of Aria had gone up so much that she could even feel she had gotten another child, rather than gaining a proper daughter in law.

This fact coupled with the knowledge that her son had always been a healthy person, who had never made her worried for his health, and also because Aria was almost due to give birth, had made her maternal instincts soar up.

As such her emotions were already quite in disarray since Ryan's phone call. So she hadn't paid much thought to the reason for which Zane had also informed the Langdon branch family of Aria's state, which was really unlike his usual self to say the least. But now to also witness him using such barbaric means to deal with a person of the fairer sex...