Chapter 9 : Uninvited Guest

**Cat POV

"Cat, we need to talk," Aaron repeated.

He took a step forward, pushing the door open.

I stepped back again. My mind couldn't even process what was happening.

"I'm not ready to talk to you," I argued, holding my hands up when he got closer.

Aaron sighed and bowed his head. I heard him sniffle and realized he was crying. Aaron was actually crying! He lifted his eyes to mine. They were red and puffy, tears brimming over and streaking his cheeks.

"Cat, please. I want to talk to you, I want to explain everything," he said. He reached for me, and I held my arms up, ready to fight him off. "I'll listen, but don't… don't touch me."

"Thank you, thank you," Aaron sobbed. He dropped onto his knees in front of me.

I cringed and looked around the guest house. This was starting to get awkward.

"I need you to understand that I messed up. I didn't mean to hurt you," he said, his voice cracking.

"Did you think I'd be happy to find you sleeping with someone else?" I asked with a scoff.

"That's not…" Aaron shook his head. "I never wanted to sleep with her because I knew it would hurt you. She seduced me. It was a one-time thing."

"Aaron, that's not really helping," I said. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and looked down. I didn't want to remember what I'd seen when I walked into the house. I didn't want to think of how beautiful Fiona was, getting cat calls in my office.

"Please forgive me. I love you Cat. I love you and only you. I want to spend my life with you." He reached out and grabbed my hand.

I didn't pull away from him. Closing my eyes, I gasped.

His thumb brushed across my knuckles. The warmth of his touch was so familiar. I hadn't realized how much I missed it. I knew exactly how his hand felt, the warmth that it filled me with.

I sniffled, my eyes pricking.

Fighting back the tears, I tried to step back, but Aaron held onto my hand with both of his.

"Don't pull away, please. I need you to forgive me. I feel horrible for what happened. It shouldn't have happened," he said, sobbing again.

"But it did happen, Aaron," I whispered. Unconsciously, I tightened my hand around his, and he held onto me tighter.

"I'm miserable without you. I'm so lonely. No one else could ever be that for me. You're the love of my life, the one I want a family with," he went on.

I chewed my lower lip. Now he was confusing me. There was a big part of me that still wanted that. We were supposed to be forever....

"Aaron, this will just take time. I don't know what I feel anymore." My stomach lurched, and my heart palpitated. I did love him still. I knew that now.

Suddenly, guilt flooded through me like a poison. Aaron had made a mistake. One mistake.

Instead of giving him time to explain and work things out, I'd gone off and slept with my boss!

Should I tell Aaron? Would he still want me to forgive him when he found out I'd slept with someone else?

There was a good chance he would find out. The woman he'd slept with was related to my boss. He knew the truth. What would stop Aaron from finding out?

"Aaron…"

"Three months. We're supposed to get married in three months. That's enough time to work things out. I'll do whatever you need to work through this. We can go to therapy… whatever you need," he offered.

"I don't know what to say," I admitted.

This was too overwhelming. Aaron was literally on his knees, begging me to take him back.

"I promise I'll never do anything like this again. It made me realize how much I love you and need you," he pleaded.

My throat was tight. I tried swallowing, and it hurt. I groaned and pulled my hand from him.

Turning away, I crossed my arms. I needed to think about all of this without Aaron crying and begging.

"Can I have some time?" I asked. "I need to think about all this."

"What is there to think about?" Aaron asked. I heard him stand up behind me. He got closer.

There was a large part of me that wanted to move away, but I couldn't. I was frozen to the spot.

Aaron's hands slipped around my waist, and he hugged me against him.

My knees trembled, and I practically melted against him. I took a deep, shaking breath, keeping my legs from giving out beneath me.

"Both of our families want us to get married. It would destroy them if we didn't. Do you want to break your mother's heart? What about my parents? This is important to all of them," he reminded me, his voice a soft pur beneath my ear.

A shiver ran down my spine, and I leaned against him.

"I don't want us to break up. I want us to be together, to get married. Isn't that what you want?" he asked.

"I… I…" Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. I sniffled and tried to pull away from Aaron.

He tightened his arms around me, holding me in place.

I bit my lower lip, keeping it from quivering. "Aaron, I…"

If I hadn't been sure about my feelings before, I was now. I still loved Aaron. I loved him deeply, and I could still imagine that beautiful future with him.

I thought of our little house and the neighborhood we'd chosen to live in. It was where both of us had envisioned raising our kids together.

We'd done everything together since we started dating, and I could hardly imagine my life without him. I rested my arms on Aaron's, clinging to him tightly.

"I know you still love me, Cat. You can forgive me. I know you can. I love you too, and I want us to be together," he murmured.

Sniffling again, I leaned against him.My heart thudded in my chest, hopeful that we could work things out. Tears dripped from the corner of my eyes, running down my cheeks.

"Cat, don't cry, baby." Aaron turned me around in his arms. "I'm here. I'm right here. I'll take care of you."

Before I could say anything, Aaron pressed his lips to mine.

I gasped, and all the memories of what we'd shared came flooding back to me. My heart leaped into my throat, and my stomach fluttered. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he hugged me tighter.

His body pressed against me. It was warm and soft, his strong muscles holding me securely.

He'd held me just like this a thousand times before.

When his tongue pressed against my lower lip, I pulled away. I covered my mouth with my hand and shook my head.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"You don't need to apologize. It is my fault. I'm the one that messed up," he said. He took my hands again and kissed the backs of them.

"M-maybe we could… maybe we could work things out," I said softly, looking at my feet.

I knew I still loved Aaron. He was begging me for a second chance. Maybe that was enough to prove to me how much he loved me too.

Barbs was right; couples went through rough patches. The ones who made it were the ones that worked through their problems.

Aaron had cheated on me. That meant there was something I wasn't doing for him. Now, he wanted to work through those things.

We could do this!

"Really, you think we can?" Aaron asked, hopefully.

I shrugged. "Maybe. I think it is worth trying. I still love you, too."

"We did already pay for the house and the wedding. It would be a shame to throw that all away now," he said, kissing my hands again.

"True. Okay, I think we can give it another shot," I suggested.

"I won't let you down this time. I promise. So, when do you want to move back to the house?" he asked.

"Oh… well…" I stepped back.

"Come on, Cat, I want you to come home. I want to build a home with you," he said.

Aaron smiled warmly and pulled me to the couch. He sat down and tugged me down next to him. I giggled and curled my legs under myself, resting my head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. It felt good to be like this with him again.

I still felt like Fiona was somehow standing between us, but I was starting to feel closer to him. I wouldn't allow myself to think about Luke. Not right now....

"I don't know if I'm ready to move to the house. It is full of reminders," I explained, biting my lower lip nervously.

Aaron sighed. "Yeah, I can understand that. I want you to come home, though, and make it our home. You can get rid of all those memories."

"We will. I think it will just take some time," I explained softly.

Aaron nodded. "I wish it wasn't like that, but I'll respect your wishes. I will do whatever I have to for this to work."

I sighed and closed my eyes. My tears had stopped, and I felt so tired all of a sudden. I'd been running on pure adrenaline for days.

This conversation with Aaron was finally allowing me to slow down and relax.

"I think it would be better if we lived separately for now," I whispered, yawning.

"A-are you sure?" Aaron stuttered.

"Being apart might be good for us. It has already reminded you how much you want us to be together. Maybe it will help rekindle things," I suggested.

Aaron muttered something.

"What was that?" I asked, sleepily.

"Maybe you're right. I like the way you think," he said. Aaron kissed the top of my head. He yawned too.

"Are you tired?" I asked.

"I haven't slept since you ran out," he admitted.

We shifted on the couch until we were lying down.

I rested on Aaron's chest, and he wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face in his neck, breathing him in.

How was it possible that I could feel so comfortable and in love with someone that had hurt me so much?

I yawned again and nuzzled against Aaron. There was a big part of me that really wanted to work this out. I still considered Aaron the love of my life.

If he was willing to try, I should be too. Wasn't that what marriage was about?

My mind started to get heavy and fuzzy. I drifted to sleep quickly, happy to be back in Aaron's arms.