Chapter 174

Liam’s POV

I’d hoped that Aria sharing the secret of our marriage with Jackson might be a turning point for the two of us. She’d never shown any interest in sharing the secret before, and, though she’d been more or less forced to this time, I’d hoped she would see that nothing would change.

Jackson knew now but he wasn’t going to treat her any differently. Hopefully, she could see that, learn from it, and maybe ease her hard opinions on this.

I’d love to tell the whole world she was my wife if she would only let me.

Yet, my hopes that things would change were squashed, the moment I saw her later in the day. She was leaving for the day, her bag over her shoulder, while I was simply delivering a new packet of forms to accounting. My father had struck again this afternoon, which led to me spending the rest of the day trying to unravel the accounts he’d tangled up.

“Are you finished for the day?” she asked me, purposeful with her word choice. What she really wanted to know was if I’d be home at a reasonable time tonight. But she was being careful with the other employees filing out around us.

Almost everyone was heading home now. Accounting and I, however, were in for a late night. The whole department was working so hard lately, that I’d given them each a raise. It’d improved morale substantially.

“Unfortunately no,” I said. “There’s been another mix-up with the finances. Looks like I’m staying late again.”

Aria’s face hardened marginally. Not enough for anyone else but me to notice, but I knew right away she was frustrated and annoyed.

“Very well,” she said, her voice devoid of emotion. “See you tomorrow, then.”

That was a cutting remark. She was already assuming that I wouldn’t be home until after she went to sleep, and would be gone before she woke up.

I hated that it was probably an accurate assessment, given how these things have worked out in the past.

God, I was tired. I’d keep fighting my father as long as it took, but I was wearing down. The constant stress, never being able to see my family, sleeping in my bed for only a handful of hours every night. Everything was weighing heavily down on me. Even my health was starting to be effected.

I had aches and pains and constant headaches. I hadn’t been to a doctor yet, but I was sure my blood pressure was sky-high. Along with my heartrate.

Stress could be a killer. I needed to get it under control, but I had no idea how I could while also saving the team.

Maybe Markus wanted to inadvertently kill me. That could have been part of his message: If you won’t join me, I’ll make you suffer.

I wanted to apologize to Aria, but I couldn’t do so around so many people.

Instead, I just lowered my head. “See you tomorrow,” I said unhappily.

She walked around me and out the door without another word.

My folder under my arm, I continued the trek to accounting.

Aria’s POV

“If you could hang onto the kids for another hour,” I told Isabella through the phone as I drove out of the team headquarters’ parking lot. “I have to make a stop on the way home.”

“Sure. Just call me when you are ready,” Isabella said, her voice coming out of the speakers of my car.

“You are a godsend,” I told her.

She laughed. “You know I love watching them.”

Isabella was so good with kids. It was a shame she hadn’t found the right guy to settle down with yet, to have her own family. She would someday though, of that I was certain.

“But is everything okay?” she asked. “It’s not like you to have plans like this.”

Isabella knew about Markus’s check, so I had no problems telling her where I was going.

“I wish I could be there to see it,” she replied.

After hanging up with Isabella, I drove the rest of the way to Markus’ estate. The gate stayed closed for me again, so I reached out and pressed the button on the callbox, alerting whatever security was inside to my presence.

“You again.” I immediately recognized the haughty voice of Markus’ butler.

“I found the check,” I said. “I want to return it in person so that we don’t have any more misunderstandings between us.”

The voice disappeared for a long while.

“Hello?” I called. No answer.

I continued to wait, half-expecting the police to show up to escort me away.

Instead, after another long series of moments, the butler returned. “He is allowing you through. Behave yourself.”

“Sure.”

Behave yourself, like I was some child.

The gate buzzed then opened and I pulled through.

When I walked to the door, the butler opened it, waiting for me.

“I will escort you,” the butler said, closing the door behind me. Then we started the familiar trek down the long corridor to the conservatory.

Much like last time, Markus was there in his wheelchair, with a blanket thrown over his legs. This time there was no checkbook on the table beside him, only a cup of tea so hot that steam was still billowing off of it.

Unlike last time, he eyed me with suspicion as I approached. No forced smiles greeted me here, nor false pleasantries. I supposed I had already worn out my welcome in this place.

“You have my check?” he asked, straight to the point.

“I do.” I held it up, turning the front toward him so that he could see it was genuine.

He reached his hand out for it.

I ripped it in half, then dropped the two pieces into his hand.

“I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that the woman my errant son has decided to fall for is as foolish and hardheaded as he is.”

Coming from Markus, I was ready to take that as a compliment. He was a terrible man with skewed morals and too much greed. If I was foolish to him, that meant I wasn’t like him. Neither was Liam.

“My son will eventually come around,” Markus continued. “He will see the right of it in time. You, however, will not be welcomed back, nor will I make any more generous offers to try to support you. Instead, I will use this very instance as an example of how unwell you are, and how ill-fit you are to take care of your children.”

He was making a lot of threats. Most I could weather well enough, but I didn’t take kindly to having my custody of the kids threatened.

“I have plenty of evidence that would prove otherwise,” I said. “Besides, Liam would never go along with that.”

“Such a naïve, idiotic girl. He will divorce you, and you will be left penniless and alone, without even your children to comfort you.” The words were vicious, delivered with a cruel tone of voice and a sharp eye.

This man hated me. Maybe he always had, but hid it when he wanted something from me. Now that I was his enemy, the shroud of false niceties had fallen away. Only anger and hatred remained.

“I will never give up my children or my family,” I said. In that moment, I realized I meant Liam too. I would fight for him, as a wife would a husband.

He might choose to leave me on his own, but it would not be because of this man’s interference.

“You have no power over us,” I told him.

Narrowing his gaze, Markus’ utter lip curled into a snarl. “We’ll see, little girl. We’ll see.”