Chapter 173

Aria’s POV

After receiving the details from Liam’s assistant, I hung up the phone and rushed from the office, dashing toward the stairwell.

I had suspected that Jackson wasn’t going to easily let go of his assumptions about Liam harassing me, but I’d been hoping I’d at least have time to talk to Liam about them first. I’d thought that together we could develop a strategy to help maintain our cover here at the office.

Jackson was impulsive and headstrong. He was also a friend. I should have known he’d want to come to my rescue sooner rather than later.

But I didn’t think he’d do it in quite this way. Cornering Liam in a stairwell, what was he thinking?

Jackson was younger, but Liam was taller and broader. If a fight actually broke out, Liam would likely win.

I only hoped that Liam could keep his cool long enough to realize that Jackson didn’t really mean any harm. He just wanted to protect me.

In the stairwell, I rushed up the stairs. Before I could see them, I could hear them arguing.

“You need to back up, Jackson. I’ve been patient but now you are out of line.”

“Someone needs to teach you a lesson in how not to be an asshole,” Jackson replied with aggression and annoyance.

I moved quicker, taking two steps at a time.

Finally, blessedly, I reached them before either of them could throw a punch.

“That’s enough!” I called and moved between them. Placing my back to Liam, I faced Jackson. Jackson seemed outraged by this, looking at me as if I’d grown a second head.

“Aria? What are you doing, get out of the way?” Jackson demanded.

“No,” I said firmly. “You can’t attack Liam like this, Jackson. He’s your boss.”

“I don’t care if he is. I won’t let him harass you.”

“I already told you that he’s not harassing me.”

“I don’t understand why you are protecting him. Aria, I promise he won’t hurt you anymore.”

“He isn’t hurting me,” I said, even as I could tell this argument was going nowhere.

Jackson had seen what he’d seen and now he had made his assumptions. Trying to talk him out of it now seemed futile. He was far too into his own head to listen to reason anymore.

That only left one option.

“It’s okay, Aria. I’ll get him to stop,” Jackson said. “Just step aside and let me handle this.”

“There’s nothing that needs stopping,” Liam said. “I told you that before.”

Knowing Liam would continue to hold up the lie for me, even with his reputation and potential health at stake gave me the final boost of courage I needed to be honest with Jackson.

“There’s nothing in appropriate going on here,” I said.

Jackson shook his head. “Aria –”

“Liam and I are married.”

Both Jackson and Liam froze. Jackson blinked, surprise widening his eyes. His mouth dropped open as I assumed he tried and failed to formulate words.

“…married?” he managed, after a time.

“I’ve asked Liam to keep it a secret,” I said. “I wanted a life out of the public eye.”

Jackson glanced between us. His brow furrowed, unsure. “Married? You and Liam?”

“Yes,” Liam confirmed. “Married.” He placed his hand on my shoulder in what was likely supposed to be a sign of comradery and togetherness.

Jackson zeroed in on it, as well as my reaction, which was to lean into Liam a little.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” I said, imploring him. “I want to keep our secret for just a little longer.”

As the surprise cleared from Jackson’s face, wonder replaced it. “I had no idea,” he admitted. “You guys having really been keeping it under wraps.”

“It was my idea to keep the secret,” I said. “Liam has been honoring my request.”

Liam squeezed my shoulder.

“Alright,” Jackson said. “I won’t tell anyone, though I don’t know that anyone would really care, honestly. Everyone likes the two of you. I’m sure they’d be happy for you.”

“I’m not ready for that,” I said.

Slowly, Liam’s hand fell away from my shoulder.

Jackson nodded, but then a frown pulled at his lips. “But if she’s your wife,” Jackson said, speaking to Liam, “Why in the world would you let her be demoted? The new trainer is the worst! It all made sense when I thought you were blackmailing Aria or something, but now I’m even more confused.”

Liam stepped to the side so that he could look at me. “Is that true?”

He and I had such limited time to talk about anything, in the moments we did have a chance to speak, work had been the last topic I’d wanted to discuss. Now that it was being pulled to the forefront, I couldn’t deny the new trainer was a problem.

“Yes. Sometimes I wonder if they are even a real person,” I said. “Their suggestions are terrible, and seem to purposefully undermine any progress I’ve made. Also, Joanna implemented rules for me that I cannot alter anything the new trainer says without receiving written permission, which of course, I’ve never been given.”

“I’m tired of eating dog food,” Jackson said. “Give Aria her job back.”

“Jackson,” I said, looking at him. “It’s okay. I can handle it from here.”

Jackson glanced between Liam and me, glaring at Liam every chance.

“Fine,” Jackson said, “But don’t make me give you the shovel talk, boss.”

“Message received,” Liam said tightly.

Jackson’s exaggerated movements told us he was still angry. Yet, honoring my request, he swiveled on his heel and stormed back downstairs.

Alone with Liam now, he looked at me. “I didn’t realize things were that bad with the new trainer.” He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “Honestly, I’d forgotten you weren’t still in charge. Why didn’t you say anything to me sooner?”

I gave him a flat look. “How often do we really talk anymore? And I can’t come to your office without being taunted by Joanna.”

”Call me next time. I’ll always pick up the phone for you.”

I had experiences that proved that wasn’t true, but I didn’t want to argue with him, not here and not now. Not about this.

Instead, I just sighed, allowing my exhaustion to show for a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Liam said, after a moment. “This is my fault. I needed some fresh air, and you were there. I should have been more careful.”

I thought about telling him that I hadn’t minded. In fact, I actually liked the way he looked at me. But to admit that would be to welcome future similar behavior. If we were going to continue to keep our relationship a secret, then we couldn’t let this happen again.

Liam would have to keep his longing, loving looks to himself.

“Thank you for telling Jackson about us,” Liam said, changing the subject with a somewhat nervous tone of voice. “You really saved me from a tough spot. The way he was talking, I thought we might have to fight.”

“It’s fine,” I said.

“Do you think he’ll keep the secret?” Liam asked.

“Yes, I do.” Jackson was young and brash but he wasn’t careless enough to let the secret slip by accident or malicious enough to do so on purpose. “He’s a good friend.”

“Good,” Liam said.

Liam seemed satisfied with my response

While I was confident Jackson wouldn’t share our secret, with a heavy heart, I did start to wonder how long it would be a secret worth keeping.

If Liam and I couldn’t find time to talk about what was going on, I genuinely didn’t know how much longer our relationship could last.

Marriages were built on communication. I cared for Liam, and I knew he loved me, but if we couldn’t get on the same page communication-wise, what chance did we really have together?

“Liam,” I started, about to voice my concerns.

“We should get back to work,” Liam said, checking his watch. “Unless it’s something important?”

It was, but I already felt dismissed. “No. It’s fine.”

Liam smiled at me, then walked around me, continuing down the stairs.

Watching him, my heart felt heavy.

How much longer could our marriage last?