Chapter 4 need to change everything

Ariel's P.O.V.

"I have an important business trip to France. I will come back after two weeks. Be good at this time and rest well at home. Your reports have come, and yeah... You are poisoned." Winston told me in a monotonous tone.

I was still sleepy when he woke me up a few moments ago, but my eyes widened in shock as soon as he mentioned poison.

I gulped hard while looking at him dumbfounded. He had already changed the trajectory by delaying his trip by one day, and now this new tension of being poisoned???? What the hell is going on????

"Arthur will come this afternoon and will take you to the hospital for a thorough checkup. You will be alright with medication and proper rest." He continued, and I just listened to him in the same state of a daze.

He then picked up my phone from the bedside table and gave it to me. "Here.... I have saved my private number as your speed dial. If.... If you feel anything wrong around you... just call me no matter what time it is... I will take care of everything." He told me in a calm and gentle tone.

"O.... okay." I managed to answer him while taking the phone from him. "Do you have something to ask?" he asked me, and I just blinked. He raised his brows, still looking at me curiously.

"Sh.... Shall I need to.... To move out?" I asked him, and he frowned immediately. "And why do you need that?" he asked me instead of answering me.

When I walked out of the closet, he was already gone. I slept peacefully, and he was the one who woke me up again this morning.

After being tormented for more than six days and seven nights, lying on a cold, wet floor all that time, the softness of the bed feels like heaven, right?

"Uhhhh.... Y... you will be... be out f.... for two weeks.... A.... and th... this is your room?" I answered him, but it sounded like a question in the end.

"Our room, Ariel.... This is our room now.... Get this in your mind that we are staying together in this room for the rest of our lives. So, no... you don't need to move out." He answered me in a stern tone this time.

My heart skipped a beat in fear. Without saying any other word, he stormed out of the room. My heart was now running a marathon in fear. He wasn't this concerned about our lives together in the past life. What had changed?

I closed my eyes and counted the sheep to fifty until my heart calmed down. I was still feeling exhausted and weak. I was poisoned, and this sudden exhaustion now made sense. I was glad that he arranged the doctor and thorough checkup for me.

My top priority is my health, and I would never, ever allow myself to suffer. I slowly got up from the bed and slowly walked towards the bathroom. I was still trying to figure out the change in Winston's attitude towards me.

He never liked me because this marriage was forced on him. I recalled that he left shortly after the ring ceremony and did not even spend more than three minutes with me during our engagement party. I didn't have any thoughts about his actions at that time, as I knew that it was just a business marriage that I too needed to get my inheritance.

But now was a completely different time. I wanted to pursue my happiness in this lifetime instead of following the trends in the higher society. I walked inside the bathroom in a daze.

I was brushing my teeth while thinking about why Winston changed when my stomach grumbled. "Okay.... I need to eat first, and then I will think about what to do next. Living in his room wasn't the best thing for me.

After finishing my morning routine, I put on a crop top and pastel jeans before heading downstairs for breakfast. I raised my brows in confusion when I saw my uncle and aunt from my father's side sitting in the living room with my in-laws.

"Good morning, everyone." I greeted all of them when they glanced at me. "Good morning, Ariel.... How are you feeling now?" My mother-in-law, Lucy Atkins, asked me with a faint smile on her lips.

She was a gorgeous lady with natural blonde hair and beautiful electric blue eyes. She wasn't that hostile towards me as the rest of the family because she was in my shoes when she married Winston's father, Lucas Atkins.

"A little better, Mom.... But I guess I need to see a doctor." I answered her truthfully while going towards the single couch. "Arthur will be here soon, but you can't eat until they take some samples. Arthur just called me a while ago." She told me, and I pouted while sitting. I lightly rubbed my hungry belly.

I was a bit confused too.

Winston told me that Arthur would be here before lunch, and now he would be here soon?

What exactly is going on?

"You are a married woman now, Ariel.... Stop behaving like a child." My aunt, Julianne Mitchell, a grumpy lady in her early fifties, scolded me while looking at me with disdain. I scoffed internally while looking at her calmly.

This was exactly the scene that happened in the past life. They visited me in my past life too and berated me in front of my in-laws, trying to embarrass me in every possible way. I had to put them in their proper places this time.

"Julianne.... Behave." My uncle, Mr. Zion Mitchell, scolded my aunt in a low tone. He was a rational man, but he loved Julianne so much that he indulged her the most.

"I could only eat soup for dinner after the doctor cleaned my stomach to remove the majority of the poison that had poisoned me during my wedding ceremony. As a typical human being, I suppose I should be hungry, do not you think so, Julianne?" I asked her in a mocking tone, and her eyes went wide immediately.

The corners of my mouth twitched, and I averted my gaze from her to my mother-in-law.

"She is right, Julianne. We should be more concerned about her health and well-being instead of pointing towards her childish demeanor. She is only 23." Lucy defended me in the same calm tone.

I looked at her with gratitude. Although she was never that protective towards me, she never let anyone bully me back then, and I guess she was going to do the same in this time too. I remembered once she told me that if I wanted to survive in this cruel world, I needed to grow a backbone and had to rely on myself instead of looking for someone to rely on.

I glanced at my father-in-law, who still had that indifferent expression on his face. "I am sorry, Lucy... I... I was just concerned about Ariel's behavior." Julianne immediately apologized to Lucy, but it only made me scoff internally. She was insincere, and anyone could sense flattery in her words.

"What brings you here, Julianne?" I asked her in a calm tone before she could say anything else. She immediately glared at me, but I raised my brows, waiting for her to answer my question. I never confronted her before, no matter how bad her attitude towards me was back then. I was now determined to change everything.

"We .... we were worried for you." She answered me with some hesitation, and I widened my eyes in surprise.

That was new.

"You don't need to be worried for her, Mrs. Mitchell. Winston is a responsible person, and he will never let anyone go away after hurting his wife." This time, Lucas spoke in a cold tone.

It was when it clicked in my mind. Now I understand why Winston changed so much. Poisoning his bride during the wedding is nothing but a harsh blow to his ego as one of the most powerful individuals in the country.

I was worried for nothing. As soon as he solved this case, he would be back to his cold demeanor towards me. I didn't know why, but I felt a pang of pain in my chest when I remembered how cold he was to me in my past life.

"Uhhhh.... D... did you hear anything from Fiona?" Julianne asked me hesitantly, and I knitted my brows in confusion. "Victor called me this morning. He said that Fiona got a call last night after returning from the ceremony, and since then, her phone has not been reachable." Zion told me in a low and monotonous tone.

My heart skipped a beat, and I just looked between them dumbfounded. "Did he or you guys inform the police?" Lucy asked them in a concerned tone. Both Julianne and Zion nodded in response.

"Yes.... Victor has already filed a missing complaint. The police said that was her last call to Ariel, but it was unanswered." Zion answered her, and I immediately took my phone out of my jeans pocket. I furrowed my brows when I saw her missed call. It was around 3 in the morning.

"She... she called me at 3 in the morning." I told them in a worried tone and looked at them. "She went out around 11." Julianne said to us in a worried tone. I immediately looked for the time on my phone, and my heart sank.

It was already 9 in the morning. She was missing for more than 10 hours. Where was she? Who called her, and why did she go out of the house alone? Moreover, why did she call me so late??????