Chapter 225

Liam’s POV

In an attempt to stop Joanna’s takeover of the team, I called my assistant and have them make several more appointments that day with various shareholders, starting with those that held the most to those that held the least.

I didn’t return to the office, moving instead straight from the café where I had sat with Alistair, to a much more elaborate and expensive brunch restaurant where I met our largest shareholder, outside of myself, Richard Callen.

In this restaurant, the waiters wore tuxedos and the menus had no prices on them. The ceilings were vaulted with large crystal chandeliers drooping down. By the time I arrived, Richard had already drank half of his mimosa and was cracking into a lobster tail. There was no place setting for me.

“Sit down, Liam,” Richard said, when I approached. “No need to order anything. I imagine this is going to be brief.”

Already, he was coming at me with a more hostile tone than normal, which was a big indicator of how painful this conversation was going to be.

As our most important shareholder, Richard had already likely been contacted by Joanna. From the cold shoulder I was getting, I could already discern that he had chosen to believe whatever lies he had told her.

“Whatever Joanna said to you, it was a lie,” I said immediately as I sat down.

“I don’t particularly want to be involved in your personal matters,” Richard said.

A waiter started to bring me a glass of water, but Richard waved his hand, indicating that I should receive nothing. The waiter did a total 180 degree turn, carrying the water away.

“She’s trying to take over majority of the team, so that she can force my hand,” I persisted.

“Liam…”

“She wants my father’s inheritance. That’s the only reason that –”

“Liam,” Richard said harsher, and I stopped. “You publically embarrassed a member of an important upper class family by flaunting your mistress around, and now you want to tell me that Joanna is the one at fault?”

I wanted to tell him that Aria was no mistress, she was my wife, but I bit my tongue at the last moment, holding back, remembering that Aria did not want that information publically known.

I hated allowing this misconception though. Aria was so much more to me than a passing fancy or a scratch of an itch. She was my wife, the woman I loved, the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

I never should have agreed to any of this deception with Joanna, especially after I found out about the engagement party and saw the guest list. Especially when I had been in that banquet room.

My mistakes allowed these misunderstandings to happen, so it was my responsibility to fix it. But between not being able to share the true nature of my relationship with Aria, and Joanna feeding everyone more lies before I could even talk to them, my hands felt tied in more ways than one.

“I’m not giving you a hard time for having a mistress, Liam. Lord knows I’ve had many over the years. But there is a matter of respect. You must keep those things hidden out of respect for the woman you are marrying and her family. Besides, a hot air balloon ride? Really?” He scoffed. “These women will be happy with an expensive hotel and room service. Why do you even need to go outside?”

His insinuations made my stomach churn. I was nothing like these men, with their wives and mistresses. There was and would be only one woman in my life.

“You’ve put me in a hell of a position with this,” Richard continued. “Joanna tells me you disrespected her, and my wife agrees. I cannot go against either of these women. Honestly, with how blasé you’ve been, I have to separate myself entirely from you before my wife starts looking at my own affairs with suspicion.”

“Joanna is lying about everything,” I said.

“That doesn’t matter,” Richard said. “It’s all optics, Liam. You took your mistress on a hot air balloon ride, you got caught, and now you have to suffer the aftereffects.” He cracked into the lobster tail, sending bits of the shell flying. “I’m selling my shares to Joanna and getting out of this entire business.”

I sat very still for a moment, hating how powerless I was. “Is there no way for me to convince you?”

“There isn’t,” Richard said. Glancing at me, he added, “Learn from this, Liam. You are young yet, and you’ll bounce back. When you do, don’t make such stupid mistakes like this again.”

“I won’t,” I assure him, but while he was talking about being caught with Aria, I was talking about ever allowing myself to be tangled up with Joanna and her schemes. I stood up, unwilling to waste anymore time here. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“Good luck,” Richard said. “You are going to need it.”

He was right. My next three meetings ended more or less the same. One man openly believed Joanna’s sob story and spent our twenty minute meeting chewing me out. Another man didn’t believe Joanna at all, but liked her family, so sold her the shares to make good with them.

“Sorry,” he said to me. “But you made this bed, choosing Joanna. Now you have to lay in it.”

The one woman I spoke with lectured me, not just for cheating on Joanna, but now going behind her back again, trying to undermine her. When I pointed out that she was trying to buy up the team behind my back, she snapped, “You started it. You’ll find no sympathy here.”

Still I continued on, calling my assistant to make more meetings. By now, though, many of the shareholders were refusing to meet me outright.

After lunch, I received a text from Joanna.

I know what you are doing and you are already too late.

Aria’s POV

There was only so much television I could stand to watch, so I busied myself in the kitchen, making muffins, and then brownies, and any other treats I could get my hand on that didn’t require me leaving the house.

In the kitchen, I could focus on recipes and portions and cook times. It forced other, darker thoughts from my mind.

Yet in the idle moments, as things were backing, those thoughts still found a way to sneak in.

What if Liam couldn’t fix this? To stay with him, would I have to leave my job?

Would I be willing to do that?

I was a career-driven person, and I liked what I did. But I loved Liam and my family.

I didn’t want to make a choice, and hoped I wouldn’t have to. Yet again and again, the question rose in my mind.

What would I have to do to keep my family?

In moments of weakness, I would look down at the wedding ring I had decided to keep on my finger. I found comfort seeing it, and knowing that it was all going to be alright somehow, as long as the four of us stayed together.

Later, around three, I left the house to go to the corner and wait for the school bus. When it arrived, William and Joe both ran off it, excited to see me. After hugs, I took their hands and turned to walk up the sidewalk back to the house.

At just that moment, a line of news vans pulled up beside the road. Their brakes screeched and they hopped out, cameras and microphones at the ready.

“Aria! Aria! What do you have to say about your affair with Liam?”

The kids looked at me with wide, frightened eyes. Tugging them gently, I urged them to pick up their pace as we rushed to the door. Fortunately, the reporters knew enough to stop at the edge of the property as the kids and I fled back into the house.

Through the peephole though, I watched as they surrounded the entire property line, setting up their cameras and equipment toward the house.

“Mommy. What’s going on?” Joe asked. Looking at him, I could see how scared both kids were.

I was a little scared too.