Aria’s POVI barely started searching through my dresses when the doorbell rang. Nervous it might be Lucian again, I slowly walked to the door and called through it this time.“Who is it?”“It’s Jasper. Were you expecting someone else?”“I’m here, too, Aria. I’ll let him in,” Cathy said. “If you wan
Lucian’s POVAs the family gather was at my place, I had to make sure that Sheila was previously occupied and unaware of the event occurring. Giving her my credit card and no budget, I believed myself free from her for the evening.I even had Ben organize a few loyal guards here and there to ensure
I nodded my head at him in thanks. He forced a smile for a moment, though it fell quickly.“Oh, there’s Jasper,” someone nearby said.My entire body tensed at once. Turning, I expected to see Aria on his arm. Instead, Jasper sauntered into the house all on his own with his usual excessive swagger.“
Lucian’s POVAria’s presence stunned not just me, but seemingly all of the family. Everyone in the room was looking at her.In the past, Aria had never cared much for being in the limelight. She’d shied away from my side at public events, preferring to always enter slightly behind me.Yet here she w
Finding Jasper in this room had been a blessing. He was one of the few friendly faces who I knew would support me around here.Most of Lucian’s family didn’t think much of me at all, believing I never deserved him. Did they still think that, I wondered? Some of the glances sent my way were more pity
Aria’s POVIn response to Julia’s question, I gave her a sad, small smile. That seemed to be enough for her, as her brow immediately pulled together.“Oh, Aria. No.”“I’m sorry,” I told her. Glancing at Harold, I added, “Truly. But I am serious about this. I imagine things will be properly resolved
Lucian’s POVJasper’s words didn’t surprise me overmuch, but they did unearth some lingering annoyance that I thought I had buried deep down inside of me.“So you are dating her,” I grumbled.“Is that what I said?” Jasper asked, his tone utterly irritating with how smug it sounded.I didn’t have tim
“Get out of my face, Jasper.”He shrugged. “Don’t say no one told you the truth. Someday you’ll realize it for yourself, but by then it will be too late. It’s too late now.” Jasper motioned toward Aria. “She doesn’t want you, cousin. And she never will again.”The hole in my chest pulsed, causing me
Lucian’s POVI had no idea how some of these nobles received permission to be in this room for this revelation, but at this point, I was beyond caring about logistics. The facts were, they were here and they were giving Aria grief. That was more than enough reason for him to, not just lose his tempe
Lucian’s POV“No,” I said quickly. “I couldn’t be.”Early in our marriage, Aria and I had tried rather enthusiastically to have children, but we never managed to succeed in getting Aria pregnant. Eventually, I came to the realization that we couldn’t get pregnant, for one reason or another.Likely,
Aria’s POVI waited until I was back at Cathy’s at the end of the day to pick up her phone and call Jasper. Of all people I knew with the connections I needed, he was the one I could most depend on. Silas was still in Moonglow, too far away to help me, and I wasn’t ready to face Lucian again so soon
“You should have went with her to Moonglow,” I insisted.“She would have refused me,” he said. “She’d already rejected me.”“But those kids needed you –”“They need their father,” Jasper said. “Their real one.”His words hit me hard, and I finally realized what he was trying to say. “You aren’t the
Lucian’s POVI stormed into the Alpha headquarters building, looking for Jasper, ready to go to war. With my hands curled into fists, I thought I might start throwing punches before I would even be able to speak.My wolf was even angrier, prowling back and forth in my mind, scratching at my consciou
Lucian’s POVAs Aria checked to ensure that her disguise was in place, I stepped out of her personal office and back into the main one. The kids, by now, were showing each other their crayon drawings, while Cathy sat patiently in one of the waiting chairs.Cathy was watching me. Maybe she could see
Aria’s POVLucian’s question wasn’t unexpected, considering all he had witnessed up until this moment. However, that did not make it any easier to answer.This secret of my identity was one that I had kept for so long, lately just to stop Lucian from learning the truth.It had become more habit than
Aria’s POVSeeing Paul, Frank, and Harry walk through the office door, entering just behind Lucian made my stomach drop. I’d expected them to track me down, and knew there would be trouble when they did. But I had no idea it would be while Lucian was actually already in the room with us!What could
Aria’s POVThe next day, I reached a point in my research where I needed to run a few tests on Cathy, so I had her come to the hospital. Julia and Harold offered to babysit, but they had spent most of the day before with the kids, so I knew they’d be tired. Instead, I had Cathy bring the kids with h