Chapter 227

Liam’s POV

I parked out front of the house and then rushed inside. I’d already called the non-emergency police to alert them of the situation. They had promised to send over a few officers to help maintain the peace but they haven’t arrived yet. As such, I felt it was a miracle the reporters did not cross the line onto the property.

In a way, it was a relief. I didn’t want things to escalate. On the other hand, I almost wished they would so we could call the actual emergency line and have police officers arrive here quicker.

For now, I closed and locked the door behind me and then allowed myself a moment to breathe.

I could hear the television on in the living room, likely where Aria was.

First, I went to go check on the kids. They must have been scared.

In the kitchen, I found them gorging themselves on baked goods. They seemed a bit jittery – though whether that was from fear or the sugar, I couldn’t totally tell.

“Dad!” William said when he spotted me. Both he and Joe hurried to give me a hug. I was so grateful to find them in relatively good spirits that I hugged them back eagerly, not caring how much chocolate sauce they smeared into my white shirt and black suit coat.

“You guys doing alright?” I asked them.

“Yeah,” William said. “It’s just kind of weird. It feels like we are celebrities or something.”

Joe laughed nervously, clearly not quite as calm as William, now that I was looking closer.

“We’re okay,” Joe said. “But Mom…”

Ah, he was worried about his mom. Of course.

“I’m glad you are here,” Joe said. “She’s acting weird.”

Aria had never really been one for the limelight, though I was certain that a large part of that was because of I had treated her when I had been more of a celebrity. Now, she herself was under the spotlight, and not in a flattering way.

How it must hurt her to see everyone saying such terrible things about her. So quickly, everyone assumed she was my mistress.

Now, with the realization that she lived in the same home as me, I could only imagine what was being said. All of which she was watching right now in the living room with the television on.

“I’ll talk to her,” I told the boys. “Stay here, okay? We’ll come in when she’s feeling a bit better.”

William nodded, and Joe did too, a bit slower.

I ruffled Joe’s hair. “We’re all going to be okay, okay?”

“Okay, Dad,” Joe said and moved back to his chair.

“Try not to eat too many sweets and get a tummy ache, okay?”

“Okay…” they both agreed.

Leaving the kitchen, I headed for the living room. There, Aria sat on the couch, her gaze utterly transfixed on the television screen. There, a reporter stood in front of our house.

“The question remains, just who is this Aria woman?” the reporter was saying. “Is she a live-in mistress? She seems rather comfortable with the children, so perhaps she is a nanny?”

Annoyed by what they were saying, I walked up to the television and turned it off.

Aria glanced up at me slowly as if she was in a daze.

“Aria,” I said, but she doesn’t reply. She just kept staring at me. “Aria, say something please. You are freaking me out.”

She still didn’t say anything. Tears started to collect at the corners of her eyes. Seeing them, my heart began cracking straight down the middle.

I crossed the room in three long strides, then fell to my knees before her on the couch. Lifting my hands, I cupped her face. The longer I looked at her, the more those tears welled, until finally they toppled over from under her eyelids and curled down her cheeks.

Brushing the tears away with my thumbs, I leaned in and slowly, gently, pressed my lips to hers. I didn’t know what else to do, how to properly convey my feelings and affection to her. My commitment. My loyalty. My love.

She relaxed into the kiss, closing her eyes. It was a light thing, just a pressing of our lips together. She sighed against my mouth.

Pulling back, I pressed our foreheads together. “I’m so sorry, Aria,” I told her, meaning the words from the depths of my heart. All of this was my fault. Even from the start, I’d been to blame. “I’ll find a way to fix everything. Please. Continue to believe in me. Just for a little while longer.”

I couldn’t stand the thought of her growing to resent me or to hate me, not when I loved her so very much. She was the woman I wanted to grow old with. We had to find a way to survive this. We just had to.

I didn’t know how to live without Aria in my life anymore, and I didn’t want to have to learn.

My own emotion overwhelming me, I glanced down.

Aria’s hands were resting on her knees. There, on her left finger, I noticed a ring.

“Is that what I think it is?” I recognized it at once, but I needed to hear her say what it was, as well as to explain why she was wearing it. I couldn’t assume, not with something this important.

“I’m sorry, too,” she whispered. Before I could misunderstand, she continued, “I never should have asked you to hide our marriage for so long.”

No, I would not allow her to take any of the blame for this. “It’s my fault.”

“Liam,” she insisted. “If I had let you tell everyone we were married, then Joanna would have no power now. But because of my fear and my insecurities, I made us vulnerable. I’m so sorry for that.”

“We’ll fix it,” I assured her. “Things might look bad right now, and I haven’t even told you the worst of it that happened today.”

Quickly, I filled her in on what occurred today, with the shareholders, Joanna’s attempts at a hostile takeover of the team, as well as her many threats over the phone. “She wants that money from Markus’s will, and she won’t stop at anything to get it. Which means she has to marry me.”

“No,” Aria said fiercely. Her fingers came up and she grasped my collar, keeping me close to her. “She won’t have you.”

“She won’t,” I assured her. I placed my hands over hers. “I’m already married to the love of my life.”

Aria’s gaze softened as she focused more fully on me. “Liam…” she whispered, her voice so sweet.

Yet, before either of us could fully melt, she hardened her expression and her eyes filled with determination.

“I’m tired of this,” she said. “Tired of running. Tired of always being a step behind Markus and now Joanna. We’re hiding, and I’m sick of it.”

“Me too, but I’ve been trying to think what we can do, and I keep coming up short.”

Aria considered for a moment. Then she looked from me down to her ring and back.

“I have an idea,” she said. “I think it’s time we finally fight back.”