His sweet voice greeted me the moment I finished, no fear in his voice. "Mom, when are you coming home? I want to see Dad!"Before I could respond, Liam snatched the phone out of my hand with a quick swipe."Hey, buddy," he said into the receiver, his voice softening as he spoke to Joe."Uncle Liam!
Aria’s POVDespite his promise, the car ride remained silent.We pulled up to my driveway without having said anything further. Irritation sparked in me.“Liam, you brought me here to talk about our divorce papers. Get on with it.” My tone was firm. He just reached over and popped the door open.“Af
Aria’s POVLiam's breath was slow and heavy as I guided him up the stairs to our—no, his—old house. His weight sagged against me as he stumbled, the alcohol slowing his steps, and I half-carried him through the door.“Come on, Liam,” I muttered, shifting his arm over my shoulder to keep him upright.
Aria’s POVLiam's voice crackled through my phone, its usual sharp edge softened, but not absent. “Can you come to my office? We need to discuss a potential contract.”I hesitated, holding the phone tightly in my hand. After the night at his house, I had been careful about how much time we spent tog
I took a deep breath, steadying myself before speaking.“We focus on tailored nutrition plans that address the individual needs of each driver. It’s not just about maintaining physical health, but optimizing mental clarity and stamina as well. For instance, a lot of teams focus heavily on carb-loadi
Liam’s POVThe sound of rustling papers filled the room, my fingers flicking through document after document in a frenzy. I couldn’t focus.Every sheet I pulled out seemed to carry a new problem, a fresh reminder of the looming crisis I now found myself in. Greg's veiled threat from the conference e
Aria's POVThe news about Joe and William fighting again hit me harder than I’d expected. Another scuffle, another incident of William getting under Joe’s skin.I could tell it was wearing Joe down, even if he didn’t say much about it. That’s when Logan stepped in, offering a distraction I didn’t ev
Aria’s POVI crossed my arms, leaning against the doorframe. Liam stood rigid, his jaw clenched, eyes narrowing as he stared at me. The tension in the room felt suffocating, thick and heavy."So, you and Logan spent the day at the fair with Joe," Liam said, his voice tight, like he was holding back
That was enough to quiet me for now. “I’m listening.” “His birthday is coming up. We’re all throwing a surprise party for him at his house.” When Robert said that, I assumed he meant the house Liam and I had shared together. It was still strange hearing it referred to as Liam’s house, even thoug
Joe’s POV Joe saved the precious prize, Liam’s hair first. Then he grabbed the money, knowing twenty dollars was quite a lot. William’s hair, however, he dropped, but he was pretty sure that it landed on his shirt. Only… he didn’t know which. He and William had similar hair colors and lengths
Liam’s POV I headed to Sophia’s house after work to spend time with William. I expected to find a babysitter there, not Sophia. I wondered if she would ever learn to be a responsible mother. William loved her so much, and she barely gave him the time of day. If she didn’t change her act, and soo
“It won’t happen again,” I said, meaning it. My feelings for Liam were tangled and complicated. I wanted him in my life romantically, but at the same time, I was terrified of what he might do with that much power over me. I didn’t want to ever feel as much betrayal again as I did when he chose Sop
Aria’s POV Walking into Liam’s office, I felt like a kid called in front of the principal. I knew if nothing else, I was definitely in for a lecture. I had been careless, sending that email instead of coming to Liam with my order form directly like I usually did. Then I had made everything wor
Joe’s POV At school, Joe sat next to William during lunch period. William had seemed really down lately, but he was even worse today, his shoulders slumped and his eyes downcast. Joe didn’t like seeing his friend sad, so even though Joe was feeling his own unhappy feelings regarding the fight be
But Sophia? For years, I’d been at her beck and call, overwhelmed with guilt and loss at the death of my best friend, her brother. I tried to step in to support Sophia, as he would have done. All she did was take and take and try to take even more. Despite the clear boundaries I’d tried to estab
Aria’s POV Logan’s words bothered me more than they should have. I would never be angry about Liam’s devotion to William, his son, but thought of his continued running off to serve all of Sophia’s desires left me with the same unresolved frustration I had felt six years ago. Liam had changed in
Liam’s POV It had been a good long while since I stepped into a boxing ring. Even longer since I’d actually wanted to throw a punch this badly. As Logan and I circled each other in the ring, our boxing gloves on and mouth guards in, all I heard in my head again and again were Aria’s words. Whe