Chapter 169

Aria’s POV

I talked with Joe for a while, eventually convincing him that he wasn’t entirely responsible for Liam leaving. He was still determined to accept some blame, despite my best efforts to convince him otherwise. Likely only Liam would be able to convince him otherwise.

Over the course of the evening, I tried several times to reach Liam on his cell phone, but he didn’t answer my calls. I could see through the alerts that though my text messages had been delivered, he hadn’t read them.

I could only imagine what he was doing, and my imagination wasn’t kind. Joanna’s name popped into my head again and again. Liam had told me that Joanna’s interest in him had been entirely one-sided, but what if I pushed him straight into her arms with that divorce compensation remark?

I’d been so angry, I’d said things I didn’t mean. Now, what if I lost him?

After tucking the kids in bed, I came down to the living room, determined to wait for Liam to return. I didn’t care if it took all night, we needed to talk and finally clear the air.

It had been a very long week. Tonight, between confronting Markus and arguing with Liam, I was already so exhausted. Feeling myself falling asleep, I made myself stand up from the couch and hurried to the kitchen where I brewed some coffee.

I returned to the couch, coffee in hand, taking a few strong sips. It was still hot so I set it to the side to cool.

My eyelids grew heavy, and between one blink and the next, I fell asleep.

Liam’s POV

Overwhelmed, I wasn’t sure what to do. I’d driven for hours, making it 110 miles away before turning back.

I was running from my problems, from tough conversations I needed to have with Aria. If she wanted to leave me, I made it more difficult by putting as much distance between her and me as I could. It was a childish effort, one that I regretted the more I drove out.

But I had panicked. I felt like the more I tried to hold everything together – the club, my marriage, our family – the more it seemed to fall apart, like trying to hold onto sand as it slipped straight through my fingers.

Aria had been right with some of her accusations. I did work too much, and it cut into family time and the time that Aria and I would have had to talk to each other. Maybe I’d been selfish, expecting her to stay in tonight and talk to me when I finally had the time. To her, that must have felt like an insult.

I needed to do more to convince her that I was genuine, and that I wanted to take the time and make the effort to save our family. Running away wasn’t helping to prove that cause. I was probably just making everything worse.

Pressing a bit harder on the accelerator, I increased my speed on the return trip, eager to get back to Aria.

Maybe she did want to leave me, but with a cool head, I might be able to convince her otherwise. I couldn’t do anything running away, however.

When I finally made it back to the house, the lights were on in the living room. Hope and determination filled me. If Aria had stayed up to talk to me, then that might prove that she was serious about making things work between us as well.

I knew she cared about me. Maybe it wasn’t love, but it was something. I had to earn it. I had to do better.

I had to convince her I was better for her than Samuel.

Inside the house, I hurried to the living room and saw Aria on the couch. I opened my mouth, ready to greet her, but stopped before uttering a word.

Her eyes were closed, her body slouching. Her chest rose and fell steadily with her deep breathing.

She was asleep. A full cup of coffee sat on the end table beside her on the couch. Had she been trying to stay awake? Had she wanted to talk to me?

Why had I driven so damned far away? I should have been here, spending time with her and the kids.

Guilt and regret picked away at me, but even with it, I couldn’t bring myself to wake Aria. She seemed so peaceful in sleep, her face smoothed out, her lips parted slightly. She snored a little, and it was cute.

Waking her would be entirely selfish. I wanted to talk, but… not at the cost of her rest.

However, I couldn’t just leave her on the couch like this. She was certain to hurt her neck, resting like she was, with her head angled so sharply down to her shoulder.

Seeing no other choice, I leaned down and scooped her into my arms. She came eagerly, her entire body turning into mine. Humming contentedly, she tucked her head against my shoulder, and clutched at my shirt.

My heart picked up speed, but I tried not to read too much into it. She was asleep, after all. In her mind, she could be imagining that I was anyone. Even Samuel.

The thought soured my good mood, but I continued to carry her gently. Carefully, we went up the stairs and to her bedroom, where I gently lowered her down to her bed. Fortunately, she had already changed into more comfortable clothes, so I didn’t have to worry about that.

I had no idea what I would have done if I needed to change her into pajamas. In that case, I probably would have woken her up. Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary now.

I pulled back the covers and then draped them up and over Aria, tucking her safely and comfortably into her bed.

She whined slightly as I pulled back.

“Shh,” I hushed, running my hand through her hair. “I’m not going anywhere. Not really. I’ll be just down the hall.”

“Too far…”

I could have sworn I heard her say the words, but in the next moment, she was snoring again. Had I imagined it? Or had she simply been talking in her sleep, having a conversation entirely separate from me?

Or had those words in fact been meant for me, and her exhaustion lowered her inhibitions enough for her to say them?

I didn’t know, but I wanted to believe she meant them.

While she slept, I watched her for just a moment, admiring her beauty. She was like a princess out of a fairy tale when she slept like this, though I knew she would have disliked the comparison.

I wouldn’t let myself watch her for long, knowing she would scold me if she was awake. But it was difficult to pull myself away from her side, since I didn’t know how long things would remain as they were.

I loved her. I wanted to be with her always.

Her feelings for me were more fragile. I’d hurt her before. She’d made clear many times that this thing between us could fall apart at any moment.

Her first disappearing act had taken me utterly by surprise. I’d been so selfish back then that I couldn’t see how unhappy Aria had been.

Now, I was watching, and I’d never been so sure the she was going to leave me.