CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 62: HE WAS HER FIRST MAN

Under the thick night, Aiden leaned against the utility pole.

The cigarette butt pinched between his fingers was crushed into his palm, then forcefully kneaded into a ball.

What extinguished was not only the bright red light on the cigarette but also the conviction in his heart.

Indeed, he hated Tiana Linden.

For years, because of his hatred, he lived in pain and numbness, never a day of happiness.

He admitted that behind this hatred was an unforgettably deep love.

At that time, Tiana always wrapped her arms around his neck, saying she wanted to be with him forever, to have children with him, to wake up every morning seeing him.

But Hector Chaucer, Leo Sutton...

One man after another was invited so openly into Tiana’s life.

She had clearly said that she only loved him.

Aiden’s chest felt like it was being torn apart.

He threw away the crushed cigarette butt in his hand, completely unaware that his palm was already blistering.

When the cigarette butt hit the ground, he let out a low laugh.

He didn’t know whether he was mocking the deceased Kiera Chaucer, who died in childbirth, or mocking himself.

He stood behind the utility pole, watching Leo Sutton escort Tiana and her daughter upstairs.

For quite some time, Leo Sutton didn’t come downstairs.

What was Leo Sutton doing upstairs?

No, to be precise, what were Tiana and Leo Sutton doing upstairs?

Aiden was frantic.

The hand with the cigarette burn blister clenched into a fist and pounded on the utility pole.

After a while, Leo Sutton finally came downstairs.

Aiden continued to stand behind the utility pole.

He wanted to rush out and beat Leo Sutton up.

But he didn’t.

He watched Leo Sutton leave and stood under Tiana’s building under the moonlight.

Until the moon turned into the bright morning sunshine.

Aiden looked at the watch on his wrist.

Six-thirty in the morning.

He pulled up Christopher Grant’s number in his contacts.

"Christopher, come over to the village in the city."

"What village in the city, Veridia is full of them. You aren’t under Tiana’s building, are you?"

Christopher had a habit.

No matter how late he slept the previous night, he would wake up at five-thirty the next morning.

And he would take his five-and-a-half-year-old son, Joshua Grant, for a morning jog.

After exercising, Christopher would take his son to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

When Jane Summers woke up, she only had to enjoy the loving breakfast prepared by father and son.

Christopher believed that to raise a son responsible and loving towards his wife, it had to start young.

When Aiden called, Christopher was teaching Joshua how to make soup.

The pot of soup was Jane Summer’s favorite apple fungus soup.

"Joshua, turn the heat down a bit."

Seeing his son turning down the heat, Christopher spoke to the person on the other end of the phone:

"Aiden, what are you having me do at Tiana’s place so early?"

Aiden: "Bring Joshua along."

After saying this, he hung up the phone.

Half an hour later, Christopher took his son to the village in the city.

When they saw Aiden, little Joshua held his head high, constantly studying Aiden’s face.

"Uncle Aiden, why does your face have so many bumps? Were you bitten by mosquitoes?"

Christopher was equally puzzled.

He also studied Aiden.

The man’s cheeks, forehead, neck, and back of his hands were all covered in mosquito welts.

"Aiden, were you feeding mosquitoes all night here?"

The morning sunlight made Aiden’s sharply defined face appear even more gloomy.

Standing in the silhouette of the utility pole, he answered irrelevantly:

"Tiana is going to marry Leo Sutton."

Such shocking news nearly made Christopher’s jaw drop.

"Tiana wouldn’t be so improper. It’s not even Kiera’s seventh-day yet, she can’t be openly with Leo Sutton."

Aiden: "They planned to get their marriage certificate this morning. Afterward, Leo Sutton will take Tiana and her daughter to The Sovereign."

Christopher: "Aiden, did you get it wrong?"

Aiden: "I heard it with my own ears last night."

Christopher: "So you kept watch here all night?"

Christopher pondered and added, "If it’s true, did Tiana run into some kind of trouble?"

Just as they were wondering, Tiana came down from the apartment building in the alley with Daisy, with her hair in a bun.

Their eyes met simultaneously.

They saw Tiana and her daughter.

Tiana and her daughter also saw them.

The alley entrance was narrow and long.

Aiden, Christopher, and the little boy beside Christopher formed a striking scene in the alley.

Their inherent noble aura contrasted sharply with the dirtiness and disorder of the alley.

Tiana didn’t know why they came here.

At that moment, Aiden said to Christopher, "Christopher, take Daisy with you, let Joshua play with her for a while, and I’ll have a chat with Tiana."

Hence, Christopher led his son Joshua to Tiana and her daughter.

Christopher first greeted Tiana, then gently looked at Daisy.

"Daisy, would you like Uncle to take you and Joshua to play for a while?"

Christopher was someone Tiana could trust.

At that moment, Daisy looked up to seek her opinion.

She patted Daisy’s head.

"Daisy, go play with Joshua for a while, Mommy has something to do here."

Christopher: "Joshua, hold Daisy’s hand, let’s get in the car."

Seeing the big-eyed, timid little sister in front of him, Joshua approached her gentlemanly.

He gave Daisy a gentle and sweet smile.

"Hello, Daisy!"

"My name is Joshua Grant."

"Grant like in ’Back to Grant,’ and from the poem ’The Great Tree’."

This poem ’The Great Tree,’ Daisy knew of it.

It was written by the great poet Qu Yuan while missing his homeland.

Her mother taught her.

Joshua was indeed a knowledgeable and polite person.

"Hello, Joshua."

"My name is Daisy because I like eating grapefruit, my mom gave me the nickname Daisy."

Hearing this, Aiden’s tightly knitted brows relaxed slightly.

He was even more convinced that Daisy was his biological daughter.

That’s why he took Daisy’s hair yesterday, wanting to do a paternity test again.

This time, he approached the forensic department of the police, pulled some strings, took the back door, and used the criminal case-level appraisal process.

This time, no matter how much interference was attempted, the person behind it couldn’t mess with the results.

Speaking of Daisy’s name, Aiden looked at Tiana and her daughter.

The sight of the big and little figures standing together brought some softness to his gaze.

Then, he said to Joshua, "Joshua, Daisy’s full name is Ginny Linden. Like in ’Holding jade with a single heart’ - Ginny."

The name Ginny was one he had given.

When Tiana gave birth to Daisy in prison, she must have still deeply loved him.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have used the name he suggested.

A feeling of comfort suddenly filled Aiden’s heart.

Tiana, on the other hand, found the man quite self-absorbed.

He assumed she used the name Ginny for her daughter.

What does it even represent?

When Christopher left with Joshua and Daisy, Tiana’s face was icy cold.

He asked Aiden, "What’s going on now?"

"Find a place to talk properly," Aiden replied.

Tiana replied coldly, "Say it here, I’m in a rush."

Aiden responded with a frosty question, "Are you really that eager to get married to Leo Sutton?"

Originally, because Daisy’s full name was Ginny Linden, a name given by Aiden, he felt a slight comfort in his heart.

But now his face was as dark as a storm cloud.

Even angry.

Tiana was equally angry, "How do you know about us getting the marriage certificate? Are you stalking me?"

It’s not stalking.

Aiden just didn’t want her to be so stubborn, he just wanted to talk.

He happened to overhear their conversation.

He buried all that anger and pain deep inside.

Taking a deep breath, his tone became earnest and heartfelt.

"Tiana, even if you want to marry someone, it shouldn’t be Leo Sutton."

"He just lost his wife and is marrying you immediately. What will his former mother-in-law, father-in-law, and Kiera, who left him two daughters, think of you and treat you in the future?"

"Can you really be happy with him?"

His seemingly sincere advice felt laughable to Tiana.

Wasn’t this all forced by Aiden?

If he could have treated Daisy properly, and not let her get hurt time and again.

If he hadn’t secretly taken her Daisy away.

Would she be in such a hurry to marry Leo Sutton?

In such a hurry to give Daisy’s custody rights to Leo Sutton?

Aiden’s well-intentioned advice seemed kind but actually highlighted the collapse of trust between them.

If only he had a bit of trust in her, she wouldn’t be forced into doing something against her conscience.

Kiera just passed away, and she and Leo Sutton had to get the certificate for temporary measures. Did Aiden think she could truly feel at ease?

Pushed to such desperation by him, it was a mix of sour pain and hatred.

"Mr. Grant, what others think of me, how they treat me, what does it have to do with you?"

"Don’t call me Mr. Grant!" Aiden could no longer suppress his anger.

When he heard the title "Mr. Grant," his anger surged uncontrollably like a beast, rushing to his head, engulfing him completely.

He clenched his fist tightly.

In his fist, the blister formed from last night’s cigarette burn broke open.

At that moment, Aiden’s palm hurt.

His heart hurt even more.

Tiana could see the pain in his eyes.

When everyone said she was having an affair with Hector Chaucer, he was in pain.

When she got engaged to Harvey Patton, he was also in pain.

Now that she was about to marry Leo Sutton, he was in pain again.

So, because of his pain and hatred, he had to misunderstand her repeatedly, distrust her, and hurt her even more?

He didn’t want her to call him Mr. Grant, but she deliberately did.

"Mr. Grant, the moment you and The Linden Family sent me to prison, you lost the right to question my affairs."

"You have no right to meddle in my marriage certificate with Leo Sutton."

"Please, Mr. Grant, recognize..."

She wanted to tell him to recognize his own identity.

Before she could finish, the man’s imposing figure advanced swiftly.

His solid chest pinned her against the utility pole behind her.

By her ear was Aiden’s suppressed roar, "I told you, don’t call me Mr. Grant!"

Once upon a time, she called him Aiden, even husband.

Once upon a time, she surrendered to him, indulging in countless passionate entanglements.

Even though Hector Chaucer and Leo Sutton came into her life, he remained her first man.

He would always be her first man.

Neither Hector Chaucer nor Leo Sutton should be prioritized over him.

"Tiana, don’t marry Leo Sutton."

Despite his anger, pain, and hatred, Aiden’s voice near Tiana’s ear carried an unprecedented plea.

He genuinely wanted to spare her from falling into the mire.

"Tiana, Kiera’s death will bring you a lot of chaos."

He gently embraced her slender waist, as he once did.

She had lost so much weight since before.

Skinny to a degree that made him feel heartache.

"Tiana, heed my advice, don’t marry Leo Sutton."

Tiana’s waist was gripped tightly by Aiden.

With one slight struggle, his grip tightened.

She recalled the commanding demeanor Aiden had always shown.

The less she wanted to remember, the clearer those memories became.

She seemed to see the Aiden of their young days, full of her, and their past.

Tears unwilling to be constrained fell from her eyes, and Aiden reached out to wipe them away, "Tiana, Leo Sutton won’t bring you happiness, heed my advice."

The hand wiping her tears was forcefully slapped away by Tiana, "Whether I’m happy or not, it has nothing to do with Mr. Grant."

"Tiana..."

"Let go!"

"What if I don’t let go?"

Aiden’s eyes were filled with determination, defiance, even a man’s raw possessive dominance, which infuriated Tiana.

Not letting go?

Then... then... then she would just bite him.

A row of white teeth sank into Aiden’s restraining arm, biting down hard.

"Ow... Tiana, are you a dog?"

Her teeth were nearly embedded into Aiden’s flesh.

The pain drilled into his bones.

Yet his grasp on Tiana didn’t loosen.

The more she bit, the tighter his hold became.

Aiden made no move to let go, keeping Tiana pinned against the utility pole.

Despite the bone-deep pain, he remained motionless like a rock.

Their thin clothes were the only barrier between them.

Apart from that, there was no gap at all.

Tiana hated such close contact, despised it intensely.

Hatred made her bite harder.

She was really close to biting off his flesh.

At that moment, a Hummer slowly drove up from the alley entrance.

The car stopped slowly by the utility pole.

The person who stepped out was Leo Sutton, with a sullen face, striding confidently.

"Let her go!"

Leo Sutton strode forward and forcibly pulled Aiden away.

Only then did Tiana manage to pull away from the utility pole.

Her gaze unintentionally swept over Aiden’s bitten hand.

A deep row of teeth marks was already bloodstained.

A salty taste spread between her lips and teeth.

That was Aiden’s blood.

She had bitten so forcefully.

His flesh was almost torn by her, yet he never loosened his grip.

Was this man out of his mind?

Once, Tiana liked Aiden’s commanding nature.

Now, she just wanted to avoid him.

After taking her gaze away, she walked in front of Leo Sutton, "Leo, let’s go."