Aria’s POV “My life has been wonderful enough,” Caleb continued. “I was honored to give everything for the security and fortune of my pack, but I am an old man. I’m done fighting now. This body is giving up on me and I want to listen to and respect what it’s saying.” “I understand,” I told him,
“That defense will be considered,” Lucian said, glaring. “That’s not the one I spoke with,” Silas said. “Tell them, Carl,” the younger Healer said. “Tell them I was only going along with it.” “Shut up, you,” Carl snapped, giving the younger Healer a harsh shove. The man skidded sideways, pushi
Aria’s POV “A debt is unnecessary,” I said, and looked away, not wanting to look at him anymore. Looking at him, my heart raced. Would he be saying these things if he knew I was Aria? My feelings for Lucian were overwhelming. His gesture of thanks meant a lot to me, but I was still angry with
Silas sat down in one of the open seats on the other side of the desk. “If I asked you why you want a divorce, would you tell me?” It was hard to talk about, but this was Silas. With him, even difficult topics came easily. Since I lost my father young, Silas sometimes felt like a father figure to
Sheila’s POV “Because of Dr. A’s abilities and her resolve to never give up, Caleb was able to decide for himself whether he wanted the life-extending medicine or not,” Lucian said on the television. “Because of this, she has saved us all from making a grave error…” Lucian continued speaking, bu
Aria’s POV At the hospital, with my mask firmly in place again, I walked with Silas down to the first floor to see him off. We’d talked for a few hours after our conversation about Lucian, speaking about memories of the past as well as some of our more recent medical achievements. Now, unfortuna
Lucian’s POV An ice cold feeling started within me, where my heart was, and stretched outwards along my limbs to the very tips of my fingers and the base of my toes. Aria and Matt used to date. Sick to my stomach, I couldn’t stand the sight of the picture anymore. I tucked it away in my pocket
Matt, especially, deserved better than the quarter of my heart I could maybe offer him. So distracted by my thoughts, I shampooed my hair twice and totally forgot the conditioner. By the time I stepped out of the shower, I had no idea if I was actually clean at all. Sighing, I toweled myself off
Lucian’s POV“Of course not,” I said at once, a bitterness rising up within me.Trusting Sheila had been the worst decision of my life. Not only had I been complicit in ruining Travis’s life, but I’d also allowed Sheila to come between Aria and I, enough to help destroy our marriage. I couldn’t blam
Looking past her, I motioned toward Ben, my Beta. “Take her away, Beta. I want her in lockup until the time for a trial can be arrange.”“A trial?” Sheila gasped.“Yes,” I said, looking at her. “You will face punishment for your crimes. I will personally see to that.”“But, Lucian –”“Do not say any
Lucian’s POV“I want the truth, Sheila,” I demanded.The longer Sheila looked at me, the more her wide-eyed nervous gaze shifted into one of fury. “You trust him over me?”“Give me a reason not to.”In the past, I had let my guilt over having introduced Sheila to Travis to fully critique her story.
Lucian’s POVWithout another word, Sheila pushed past Dr. A and her assistant and burst into the hallway.“Sheila!” I called after her, both annoyed and confused by her outburst. Must she act so erratically?I followed her into the hallway, with Dr. A and her assistant in tow.Sheila was halfway to
Lucian’s POVWhile I didn’t agree with Sheila that Aria should be totally forgotten, I could acknowledge, at least to myself, that my clinging onto the past wasn’t healthy. So, after installing a lock on Aria’s old bedroom door, I resolved to keep it locked and not visit it again.Every time I had s
She slammed the door to her room loud enough to echo through the hallways.Sighing, I wondered if I had any hope of detangling myself from Sheila and this guilt without marrying her.At this point, I just didn’t know.Aria’s POVPiper was on break and Cathy was in a different section of the hospital
Lucian’s POVAs I watched, Sheila’s entire demeanor shifted, from happy and curious to increasingly upset and alarmed.“That’s Aria’s room,” she said.“Yes,” I replied, seeing no need to hide it.“Why were you in Aria’s room?”It wasn’t any of her business, but I knew I couldn’t just say that to She
Weak with heartsickness, I peeled back the cover of the diary and began to read a later chapter, from nearer the end of our marriage.Dear Diary,Tomorrow is Lucian’s birthday. While he’s never been much for celebrating, I still want to do something special for him. With hope, maybe this will start
Aria’s POVAt work, Cathy, Piper, and I gather in the office that morning over coffee. At my insistence, Cathy didn’t bring the newspaper with my photo on it, but to my dismay, Piper already had one. I believed she was fully ready to frame it and hang it behind her desk.“You know that my identity i