Chapter 186

Aria’s POV

During break, I went to the coffee machine in the hallway to get myself a fresh cup. Unfortunately when I went to pour, the pot was empty. Sighing, I grabbed the pot and turned toward the breakroom to use the sink to refill it.

Turning, however, I nearly walked straight into Joanna, who I hadn’t heard approach me.

“So your little stunt didn’t pull off this morning,” Joanna said. “Fortunately you can now see that Liam is picking me over you. I warned you before, hoping you could see the writing on the wall with those messages that he sent me. Unfortunately, you seem to remain purposefully obtuse.”

“I was only there to hand over my reports,” I said.

“Something you could have emailed.”

“Liam likes to have hard copies.”

“He could have printed him out himself if that was true.”

Joanna had a way of digging under my skin, but the last thing I wanted her to know was that she had this power over me.

Was I worried that Liam was having an affair with Joanna? Yes, more than I cared to admit. But I wasn’t going to talk to her about it, especially when it seemed clear she only wanted to rub everything in even worse.

Holding the coffee pot, I tried to side step her, to head to the break room as I initially intended. She stepped sideways too, moving directly into my path. Annoyed, I stepped the other way. She did the same thing again.

“Get out of my way,” I said, annoyed.

She smirked at me coolly. “You might as well just give him up, Aria. Before you get hurt.”

Glaring back at her, I said, “I’m just trying to fill up the coffee pot right now.”

Finally, she shrugged and let me pass. “When he leaves you, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”

I stopped before I could get too far, my anger flashing. Glancing back at her, I said, “We have a family, including two small children. Don’t you find it distasteful to pursue a man who already has everything he needs?”

“I’m not asking him to get rid of the children, Aria. Just you. And you are certainly not someone that he needs.”

Her words stung me deep, shocking me so much that in the moment, I had no reply. However, as I walked back to the breakroom carrying the coffee pot, I thought of several smart retorts.

Unfortunately, by then, it was much too late.

That night, Liam surprised me by arriving home on time. He walked into the kitchen while I was preparing dinner. Seeing him, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“You are here,” I said. Lowering my spatula, I turned to him. Our eyes met for a long moment.

Seeing him here in our home, I tried to push Joanna’s words away from my mind. Unfortunately, as hard as I tried to keep them out, again and again, they shoved their way back into my thoughts.

You are not someone that he needs.

Liam looked away first. “Things should ease up at work now.”

“Markus is giving you a break?” I asked. That didn’t seem possible, but if Liam was saying so, then it must be so.

But why?

Had Liam convinced Markus to finally give them some space? That seemed unlikely. There had to be something else going on.

Maybe Joanna convinced Markus and was now holding it over Liam’s head? Or was that just my own wishful thinking in hoping to find a reason why the two of them might be spending so much time together?

“Something like that,” Liam said.

I opened my mouth to ask more, but in that same moment, William and Joe came through the door, eager to visit with their father.

Liam gave them both hugs.

“Can we play before dinner?” Joe asked him.

“Did you finish your homework?” I asked him, glancing back from the stove.

Joe frowned slightly. “I can do it after dinner, Mom. Please?”

Adhering to a strict schedule was a good habit for the kids to learn, but at the same time, they’d gone several weeks now without seeing Liam properly. What kind of mother would I be if I denied them the chance to get their fill now that he was here?

“Fine. Just this once, okay?” I said.

Joe’s frown turned right back into a beaming smile. “Thanks, Mom!”

Together, Joe and William pulled Liam from the kitchen, and I returned to making dinner, maybe moving a little slower now, to give them the most time to catch up and play. As much as I wanted to talk with Liam myself and work out everything, our children needed him the most.

Our conversation could wait.

I still thought we would have it, though.

Yet, after dinner, after cleaning up the dishes, Liam said, “I’m going to help the kids with their homework.”

I knew William had some pretty tough math homework lately.

“Okay,” I said.

Liam stayed up playing with the boys when the homework was through. Then he read them each stories until they fell asleep.

Finally, around 10pm, he came walking into the living room where I was reading. When he saw me sitting on the couch, he immediately turned around and started walking the other way.

Hurt struck through me. Was he avoiding me?

“Liam?”

He stopped.

Liam’s POV

Guilt coursed through me, as it always seemed to now, whenever I was alone with Aria.

Making this deal with Joanna to fool Markus might have convinced Markus to back off of the club for a while, but what use was this free time when I was too ashamed to even be in the same room with Aria right now?

Every time I saw her, I could only think of how disappointed she would be with me if she knew what I’d agreed to. At the same time, my own jealousy grew. Maybe she wouldn’t care at all, actually, since she was likely still seeing her friend Samuel.

Still, I couldn’t just walk away after she called my name. That would only needlessly hurt her – more than I was already hurting her.

So, resolved, I turned around and walked back toward her. “Hey, Aria. You want to watch some television together?”

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I was hoping we could talk. We hardly ever get a minute alone to talk anymore.”

“I’m tired,” I said on reflex.

“This is important,” she insisted.

Thinking quickly, I said, “Ask me on Sunday.”

She blinked, surprised. “What?”

“Whatever it is you want to talk about, ask me about on Sunday.” By then, the engagement party would be over, which should be enough to permanently convince Markus and Joanna’s parents of our fake engagement.

By Sunday, I could more fully focus on fixing the gaps in my relationship with Aria. I’d show her that I was the right one for her, and that she didn’t need Samuel. I’d be a great father and a dutiful partner.

Until then, I just needed to keep everything together.

“Why Sunday?” she asked me.

“Everything’s going to change,” I said. “No more late nights. No more working on the weekends. And that all starts on Sunday.”

But first, I had to survive Saturday night…