Chapter 228

Liam’s POV

I was afraid to get my hopes up, not wanting to make any assumptions about what Aria was truly implying before she actually said the words. We’d had far too many misunderstandings between us, plenty of which were my fault.

From now on, we needed crystal clear communication. No more assumptions. No more guessing.

I’d only know what Aria told me and vice versa.

So I waited patiently for her to continue, to tell me about her plan.

“I want to finally come forward about our marriage and our children,” Aria said. “We’ve kept it a secret for too long. My fault. But that changes now. No more games or deceptions, not even with the press. We just tell them everything, for better or for worse, and face the honest future together.”

It was certainly an earnest plan, though perhaps not one that would spare either of our reputations, especially my own. But in this moment, I couldn’t care less about my own reputation.

Not if it meant I could finally tell the world I was already married to the woman I loved, and that we had two wonderful children. A perfect family that I had almost destroyed to try to save myself from my father.

“We’d have to tell them why I proposed to Joanna. About Markus. Even about the will,” I said, piecing everything together.

“Yes,” Aria said, but then a look of reservation crossed her face. “Would you be okay with that?” She lowers her head again. “I’m sorry, I know that by keeping this secret, I’ve helped to make a mess of everything.”

“Hey.” Reaching up, I cupped Aria’s face in my hands and coaxed her to look up at me. “Honestly, I can’t be happier than I am right at this moment.”

She scrunches her nose with disbelief. “You can’t mean that. Not with how things are at the moment.”

“Why can’t I?” I asked. “I finally get to tell the world how I feel about you, Aria.”

“Joanna will be able to spin everything,” she said. “She’ll make you look like the bad guy.”

“Do you think I’m the bad guy?”

“Of course not.”

“Then that’s really all that matters.”

Her face smoothed out once more as she looked at me with endearing annoyance. “Liam…”

“I love you, Aria. I always have, even though I’ve kept bottled up for a while. Whatever storm comes our way, whatever the consequences, I’ll be able to weather it because you will be by my side. I don’t care what goes on outside these walls, as long as when I come home, I have you and the kids beside me.”

I could tell the words made her melt because she leaned forward slightly, placing more of her cheek into my palm. In her eyes, I saw some of my own affections for her mirrored back at me. My heart raced, as warmth bloomed within me.

She had made me so happy and she didn’t even really know it yet.

Time and time again, I kept glancing down at the familiar ring on her finger. I hoped she would never take it off again as long as we both lived.

“May I kiss you?” I asked her.

“Please,” Aria replied.

Leaning in then, I pressed my lips to hers. She tilted her head, giving me room, and then opened her lips with a sigh, giving me access. She cling to my shoulders as I deepened the kiss, allowing a moment of passion and love to overwhelm me.

We couldn’t have more than this. Not yet. Aria might be ready to tell the world what we meant for each other, but I wasn’t going to presume she was ready to culminate our love in a physical way. And I would never push her before she was ready.

When we finally made love again, I wanted her extremely enthusiastic consent and nothing less.

For now, this deep kiss seemed to reaffirm our bond enough. As we broke apart, both slightly breathless but smiling, I felt connected to her in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. A way that I’d always yearned for, but ever seemed just out of reach.

To have it now… I was overjoyed. Nothing could ruin this moment for me. Not the reporters outside, or the worry of my reputation being tarnished, or any fear of Joanna’s retaliation.

Let her say whatever she wanted. She’d never be able to come between Aria and I ever again.

“We should clear this up as soon as possible,” Aria said.

Glancing at the television, we saw more speculation about who Aria was to me. I hated how they were accusing her of being my mistress. She wasn’t some other woman. Aria was my wife and the love of my life.

“I have a few reporter friends,” I told her. “I can call in a favor and have someone here to interview us in the morning.” Still new to the idea, I hesitated hearing my own eagerness. “If that’s not too soon…”

“It isn’t,” Aria said quickly.

“Okay,” I said, relieved. “I’ll make the call.”

“In a minute,” Aria said.

I lifted a brow. “Oh?”

“First I want to kiss you again.”

“Oh.” I couldn’t stop my smile.

Leaning in, I pressed my lips to Aria’s again and felt my heart soar.

Aria’s POV

Kissing Liam was as easy as breathing, and feels just as essential. I had no idea how I had gone so long without it until now. At once, I was teleported back to the early days of our relationship, where we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other.

Only now, there was more than just lust driving us. Now, love made us desperate.

Even so, I wasn’t yet ready for more. Maybe when all of this was settled, but… I didn’t know. There was some essential piece that didn’t feel put into place just yet, and until I could sort out what that was, I didn’t think I was ready to be intimate.

Liam seemed to be able to tell that. He didn’t press. He didn’t push me at all.

When the kiss ended, he leaned back, allowing distance. With the heat in his eyes, I knew he would have followed my lead if I wanted more. Yet, just the same, he was following my lead now by keeping distance.

Slowly, he let his hands fall away from my face. His eyes dropped down to the wedding ring on my finger and he smiled to himself, boyish and sweet, like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

“I should wear my wedding band, too,” he said. Glancing up at me, he asked, “Would that be alright?”

I hated how my request to keep our relationship a secret for so long had led to him being uncertain now that I wanted to reveal it.

“I’d like that,” I told him.

His smile was stunning. “Good.”

Standing, he stepped back from me. “First I’m going to call in my favor.”

“Alright,” I said. Then I realized. “I’d better tell the kids.”

With that conversation, I had no idea where to start. They deserved explanations for the things they’d seen the past few weeks.

I wanted to be honest with them.

But more than anything, I couldn’t wait to tell them we were going to be a real family once and for all.