Chapter 184

Liam’s POV

Markus’s smile grew, seemingly even more pleased. “Good. You’ve finally seen the truth in things then. Women. Relationships. What do they matter? Legacy, that’s what’s important. You are making the right choice, son. Finally. But then, I always knew you’d come around.”

He only could be so sure because of the onslaught of hackers, leakers, and other troublemakers he’d bombarded me and the team with the past few weeks. His attacks had been relentless. Eventually, he likely knew he’d wear me down.

I hated to give him the satisfaction. If I had been on my own, I would have fought him to the bitter end. But for the sake of my marriage and my family, I had to give in. I couldn’t fight him every minute, not without sacrificing that time with my family.

Enough was enough.

In my mind, I apologized to Aria for speaking about her so crudely. She was so much more than a mistress to me. She was my chosen life partner, and that wasn’t going to change no matter what my father wanted or demanded, or which schemes Joanna wanted me to play.

“We just wanted to tell you in person,” I said. “We’ll go now.” I didn’t want to be in this house a minute longer than I needed to be.

“Now wait a minute,” Markus said. “Before you go, we need to discuss next steps.”

“Next steps?” I asked.

“I already have a ring,” Joanna said, flashing the huge rock on her finger. I’d had no part in buying that. She’d worn it since we were children, on a chain around her neck, waiting for the day it would fit on her finger.

“You will need to give that ring to Liam,” Markus said. “I expect him to present it back to you when he formally proposes at your engagement party.”

An engagement party? Absolutely not.

“We don’t need a party,” I said, just as Joanna clapped her hands together, saying, “What a lovely idea!”

I glared at her, but she just smiled at me.

“What’s an engagement without an engagement party?” she asked. “We’ll surely want to announce our new coupledom to all the important people.”

“You will need to,” Markus said. “This is the best time to establish yourself, Liam, among the higher class people that you’ve been avoiding since your youth.”

“I really don’t think it’s necessary,” I said.

“Why?” Markus said, narrowing his eyes. “You wouldn’t want to keep this engagement a secret, would you? You’d have no reason to lie to this old man?”

“Of course not,” Joanna said, smoothly filling in while I stumbled over my words. “Liam’s just shy. You know he doesn’t like those fancy events. I think he’s allergic to wearing a tie.” She laughed at her own joke.

Markus chuckled, likely for her sake, but his sharp gaze told me he was unamused by my lack of enthusiasm.

I couldn’t fake it. He’d see right through it. That I was here and committing to this had to be enough.

“Tell him you agree to the party, Liam,” Joanna said, a sharpness in her gaze that wasn’t there before. She was warning me, I could see that clearly. Depending on what I said next, my father might see through this entire farce. “You can survive wearing a suit for one evening.”

I was trapped in a corner, with no way out of this mess but through it.

Closing my eyes, I thought of Aria and the time we would be able to spend together once Markus was satisfied.

“Fine,” I said. “One party. But that’s it.”

“Until the wedding,” Joanna said.

“Yes,” I said, hating myself. “Until the wedding.”

“Good, was that so difficult?” Markus asked. “You always act like… like…” His voice immediately broke off into a severe coughing fit. He wheezed, hacked, and coughed like he couldn’t breathe.

I started forward, coming closer to his side, but I wasn’t sure what to do for him.

Joanna stared, eyes wide and frightened. She was completely frozen.

“Get the butler!” I shouted at her.

That, and only that, seemed to wake her up from her stupor. She rushed toward the hallway and down the hall.

She and the butler returned quickly, the butler carrying some kind of inhaler device. He held it for Markus who breathed deeply.

The butler glared at me. “Wait in the parlor until he recovers.”

Not knowing what else to do, I turned and obeyed him. Joanna followed behind me.

Out in the parlor, standing under the stairwell, Joanna frowned down at the ground.

“He can’t die yet,” she said. “Not until he helps me secure my family’s business.”

Charming, really. Caring more about her own fortune than about a man’s life. Not that my father had ever given anyone any reason to care about him.

I hated the man, but that didn’t mean I wanted to watch him die a slow and painful death.

Pushing those thoughts away, I used this opportunity to speak softly to Joanna. “An engagement party? Really?”

Waking from her own fear, she looked at me like I was being ridiculous. “This is all part of the act, Liam. Have you forgotten how things work in high society? You can’t have an official engagement and not tell anyone? It’s a spectacle, more than a display of love.”

“We don’t need it.”

“We do need it, and I have big plans for it too. Why, we can’t possibly get engaged without inviting the mayor?”

The mayor? This was going too far. “You are getting too carried away,” I whispered. “Please remember that we aren’t actually getting engaged.”

“Don’t be such a worrywart,” Joanna said. “Aria won’t find out. It’s not like she hangs out with high society. You found her in the gutter and that’s where she stays.”

Fury sparked up within me. I nearly snapped at her on Joanna’s behalf, when the butler returned to us.

“Master Markus has recovered now and will speak with you more.”

“We should let him rest,” I said, just wanting to go home.

Joanna tugged on my arm. “It won’t be stressful to plan. It might even help him feel better!”

I felt trapped again.

Aria’s POV

That evening, I slinked around the house, feeling defeated.

When I went to make dinner for the boys, I found that Liam had saved my plate, spreading plastic wrap over it and placing it in the fridge. That he’d thought of me, and I had been so heartsore not to listen to him…

I nearly collapsed into grief right there.

Why could we never seem to be on the same page about anything?

“Mom?” Joe asked from the doorway.

With his presence, I steeled myself, pushing down my own heartache to be the happy supportive mom he needed and deserved.

“Yes, Joe?”

“Is Dad coming home again tonight?” Joe asked.

I hated that I didn’t have an answer for him. “I’m not sure.”

“Oh.” Joe’s voice was so small that I turned to look at him. He was hugging one of his cars to his chest. I recognized it as a replica of Liam’s old racecar. “I miss him, Mom.”

Whatever pieces of my heart that had been struggling to hold together, finally shattered.

“Me, too, Joe,” I told him. “Me, too.”