Chapter 107

Liam’s POV

I had thought that Aria deciding to work at team headquarters would help bring us closer together, but ever since Aria had spoken with Sophia in the jail, she seemed to grow gradually more distant.

Every time I tried to bring it up with Aria, she either lied and said she was fine, or entirely changed the subject. I wanted to give her space if that was what she needed, but it was starting to feel like all the space was doing more harm than good.

It was so bad that she avoided me at work unless she needed something. At dinner, she would sit with us, but then disappear back into her room, or Joe’s room, or some other part of the house – anywhere that I wasn’t.

The longer it went on, the more I worried that this wasn’t really about anything that Sophia said. Maybe, instead, she was regretting her decision to move in with William and me. If that was the case, then I needed to work harder to convince her that she did the right thing.

To do that, I needed help. What better help could I find than her own son?

So, when I knew Aria was in a different room, I approached Joe in the living room, and asked, “Joe. Would you like to help me try to win your mom back?”

Joe’s eyes went wide. “Yes!” he said excitedly, and very loudly. “Then we can be a real family!”

“I have some ideas,” I said. “Though I want to hear yours too. Between the two of us, maybe we can think of something that will stick. Especially with Christmas coming up…”

“That’s forever away,” Joe said. “I have a better idea.”

“Okay…” I leaned closer, ready to listen.

Joe told me his plan.

It was a good one.

“You know,” I said, “There is actually a special occasion much closer than Christmas.”

Joe grinned.

Aria’s POV

I hated that Sophia’s accusations were affecting me so much that it was painful to even be in the same room as Liam, but I couldn’t help how I felt. Every time I looked at him for too long, I started to think that our entire relationship might have been some kind of act, or a front for some ulterior motive.

At work, it was easier. We’d already talked about keeping things professional. There, I could look at him as a boss, not a former lover or present… whatever we were to each other. But at home, the invasive thoughts returned.

Maybe it was from being in the house where all of the hurt had happened, that made it easier to believe that Liam wanted to still hurt me.

I loved this house, but the memories were hard to shake. Sometimes I felt like I was that same woman as before, just waiting around for Liam.

I had promised myself I would never be that person again. Was that why Sophia’s accusation was difficult to ignore?

I walked around the pool deck, finishing my fourth lap. When the thoughts became too much, I exercised. Since I wasn’t much of a swimmer, I walked laps around the pool deck instead, trying to clear my head.

After my fifth completed lap, I spotted William waiting for me by the door to the inside of the house. His arms crossed, he stared down at his feet, where one of them was tracing small circles on the concrete.

I hadn’t been ready to head inside just yet, but seeing that he likely wanted to talk, I decided to call this earlier than I intended. Leaving the pool area, I headed toward the door.

William looked up at me. “Aria… Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Of course, William,” I said. “What’s on your mind?”

“Over here,” he said, and led me toward where a few chairs were set up around a table. We didn’t sit down though. Instead, he grabbed onto the backs of one of the chairs and started to lean back and forth. He was procrastinating from whatever he wanted to say to me.

I patiently waited for him to decide to tell me or not.

“Aria…” he said, swaying hard left and then hard right. “Would you be mad if I called you Mom?”

My heart leapt straight into my throat. I could have cried from the happiness that suddenly threatened to overwhelm me.

Stepping closer to him, I knelt down beside him, so that he could look at my face without having to look up.

“William, I would love it if you called me Mom,” I said, meaning it from the very bottom of my heart. “I already see you as my son.”

A smile suddenly stretched across William’s lips, though he quickly covered his mouth with his hand, trying to hide it. “You mean it? My mom… My other mom says that I’m not a very good son to have.”

I could slap Sophia square across the face for everything she’s done to this poor innocent boy. He’s deserved none of it.

Reaching out, I placed my hands on his shoulders and gently turned him to face me.

“William, Sophia is as wrong as can be about you. You are a good son. I’m so sorry she made you feel that way.”

He looked at me with so much hope and desperation in his eyes that I suddenly pulled him toward me for a hug.

He tucked his head into the corner of my neck and shoulder. Eventually, he started to tremble, and little teardrops dripped down, dampening my collar.

I didn’t care. I kept holding him until he was ready to let go.

When I did, his eyes were a little red from crying, though his smile had returned. “Thanks, Mom,” he said, and then rushed by me, disappearing into the house.

I had to stay outside for a minute to compose myself. Now that I was alone, my own tears began to fall, and fall they did, one after the next, until I was a sobbing mess.

I’d always thought I was so lucky to have one son. Now, just like that, I had two good kids who called me Mom. I couldn’t be more blessed.

Even with everything going on with Liam, at this moment, I felt like the luckiest woman alive.

“You okay?” Liam asked, suddenly behind me. I jumped, because I hadn’t even heard the back door open. Now he was closer, only a few feet away and closing the distance.

I wiped my tears away with the back of my sleeve.

Liam’s face shifted into one of visible concern. “Did something happen? I saw William come in.”

“He called me Mom,” I said. It might have been difficult to be alone with Liam, with all these terrible worries in my head. But with this, for something that happened with the kids, I was eager to share.

Liam smiled. “Good. He told me he was thinking about it.”

“He did?”

“He asked if I thought you’d be okay with it. I said absolutely you would.”

“Oh, Liam…”

I was still so unsure about Liam, but he made the right call with this. In my gratitude and with my heart bursting with love, I walked toward and pulled Liam into a hug, which he immediately returned.

“Are you happy?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m his Mom…”

Liam squeezed me, and a few more tears escaped my eyes. I hid my face in his chest to hide them.

“You are stuck with us now,” he said.

I wished it were true. I wanted this family. I didn’t want Liam to become like he used to be, when I had to leave him.

But still, I feared that he would.