Aria’s POVThe house was quiet when I walked in, the faint hum of the refrigerator the only sound to greet me. It felt strange being home again after the hospital, after the fire, after… everything.My body still ached in places I didn’t realize could ache, and my mind was a tangle of emotions I was
Joe clapped his hands, giggling. I couldn’t help but laugh along with him, the stress of everything else melting away, if only for a moment.Isabel leaned back against the couch, watching us with a soft smile. “You’re a natural, Aria,” she said. “Even in the middle of all this chaos.”I shrugged, wi
Aria’s POVThe doorbell rang just as I was finishing up my coffee. My first instinct was to ignore it—I didn’t have the energy for any unexpected visitors today. But the doorbell rang again, more insistent this time. Sighing, I set my mug down and opened the door. Liam stood there, holding a larg
Liam’s POVThe hum of voices filled the ballroom, but all I could focus on was Logan, standing across the room, laughing with a group of colleagues.The past few days had been a blur of questions, doubts, and more questions. I couldn’t let it go any longer. Tonight, I was going to get the truth from
The door swung open almost immediately, and Joe’s face lit up when he saw me. “Liam!” he shouted, practically bouncing on his toes. “Mom! Liam’s here!” I forced a smile. “Hey, buddy,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “Guess what?” Joe beamed, his excitement contagious. “Mom’s trying to fin
Liam’s POV I was halfway through reviewing a contract when a soft knock echoed on my office door. Before I could look up, my assistant stepped inside.Her usual brisk and efficient manner was muted, almost hesitant. That wasn’t a good sign.“Liam,” she started, holding a thin file folder in her ha
“I assure you, we are more than capable of delivering—”“Are you?” the client interrupted again, his voice cold. “Because from where I’m sitting, it doesn’t look that way.”The silence that followed was deafening. I swallowed hard, my mind racing to find a way to salvage the situation, but nothing c
Aria’s POVA knock on the door startled me to my feet. It was late– past Joe’s bedtime. I couldn’t imagine who would think to come at this hour.Pulling the front door open, I was startled to find Liam on the otherside. I could see the exhaustion in his eyes, but there was something else too—a deter
Aria’s POV For most of my office tasks, I could work from my laptop wherever I wanted. However, there were times when I needed my printer and my file cabinets. For this reason, I did find myself down in my boiler room/office around ten minutes a day, printing and filing. Unfortunately, today, th
None of my inner dilemmas were any of Joanna’s business, however, and I wouldn’t pretend otherwise, not even to spare her feelings. Though, as my initial outrage began to settle, I was overcome with a sudden realization. How did Joanna know that I hadn’t talked to Liam about what I knew? Had she
Aria’s POV As my tiny office down in the boiler room was incredibly uncomfortable, I ended up camping out in the breakroom or one of the meeting rooms with my laptop to work most of the time, when I needed to be doing office work and not out on the track. Work on the new annex building was comin
Liam’s POV When the next workday arrived, I headed into the office with fresh determination. My aquarium date with Aria had helped given me some new perspective, as well as some much-needed rest, and now I was ready to take on Markus once again. That meant, for now, that I was going to confront
“I’m sorry,” I said genuinely. The secrets between us did nothing to deter the empathy I felt for Liam and his struggles both of the present and the past. His father seemed like an overbearing narcissist, and I could only imagine what that must have been like growing up groomed by a man like that.
Aria’s POV I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone on an actual, honest-to-goodness date with Liam. Maybe never. Our initial courtship had been a whirlwind, but it had also been kept secret behind locked doors. Liam hadn’t wanted to be seen with me in any romantic capacity. This time, things
Joe’s POV For the next few days, Liam came home on time with Joe’s mom and the whole family spent the evenings together. While having Liam around had been great, there’d been something… off about him lately. Joe couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was though, so that night, after he and Liam
Liam’s POV “You black-hearted, vindictive, cold-blooded monster,” I growled, my emotions getting the better of me. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, what he was saying. That he wanted me to divorce Aria was bad enough, but then he wanted me to take full custody of our son, ripping Joe away fr
Aria’s POV That night, while the kids were busy with their homework, Isabella and I sat hunched over my laptop while we looked into Markus’s investment bank. The official website was well-designed and implemented with professional looking photos and high tech security features. If I hadn’t known