Chapter 233

Liam’s POV

Who the hell did this guy think he was, coming into our home and attacking Aria like that? The interviewer Craig had a bad attitude from the start, but I’d been willing to overlook all of it for the sake of the actual interview. To even get the crew here, I’d had to call in some favors. I knew when to be grateful.

But this farce was very quickly revealing itself to be a trap. Maybe not with the producer or the other staff’s knowledge, but Craig came here for a purpose. I wondered if he and Joanna were old friends.

Regardless, I wasn’t going to let him say those things about Aria, even if he was just baiting me into a negative reaction.

“Joanna knew from the start what this was. I made it clear that I didn’t want to be with her, and while I kept my marriage to Aria a secret from most of the world, it was no secret to Joanna, my father, or any of my close friends,” I snapped. “I pursued Aria because she embodied the quiet life I wanted away from my father. She was no temptress, and to call her low-class only shows how shallow you are, Craig.”

Craig straightened slightly and anger cracked his perfect anchor veneer.

“I’m not the one who has a secret wife,” Craig said unkindly.

“She’s not a secret,” I said.

“After our reconciliation, keeping our marriage a secret was my idea,” Aria added in. “I thought I wasn’t fully comfortable in my relationship with Liam, and while that might have been true, I also think I enjoyed keeping him to myself a little bit. I’ve never been one for the spotlight.”

She addressed the cameras now, looking away from Craig and me. Still, I placed my hand over hers on her knee, offering my support in any way I could.

“But that was selfish of me,” Aria said. “And it made more problems than it should have. Liam has many loyal fans, and they should have been allowed to share in our joy. I’m sorry.”

The apology was heartfelt, even if I felt it was unnecessary. I cared about my fans, and those hurt with this news of a secret marriage, but my love for Aria and my family surpassed all other feelings.

“I’m sure Joanna would appreciate an apology as well,” Craig demanded.

My anger flared hot again. “Did Joanna put you up to this?” I asked of him. Then to the camera, I said, “My late father put Joanna and me in his will, but only if we marry. Joanna is after my father’s fortune, but I refuse it. That’s the reason for this farce.” Looking at Craig, I asked, “Did she promise you some of the money?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Craig said, his face turning red with rage. “You are such a vile, detestable, vicious little family. And your children are brats –”

Aria and I both stand up at once.

“Get out of our house,” Aria said, beating me to it.

Crossing my arms, I leaned into her to show my support.

“The interview is over,” the producer said. “Everyone wrap it up. Craig, get the hell out of here already.”

“Whatever,” Craig groused, as he stood and walked out.

Aria and I glared at him the entire way. When he was gone, I looked at the producer.

“What the hell was that?” I asked.

The producer pushed a hand through his hair. “I genuinely have no idea. This wasn’t what we talked about during the briefing. This was just supposed to be a fluff piece about your love story.”

“Is he a friend of Joanna’s?” Aria asked. “Or Markus?”

“I don’t know,” the producer said.

“Has to be,” I added. “Those questions were targeted. He could have had wrong information about Joanna, but when presented with the truth, he only doubled down. It felt like he was trying to prompt this kind of reaction.”

The producer listened to our concerns, frowning a little. “I am sorry for this. I had no idea he could truly be so unprofessional. He seemed find during our briefings. I will take care of this, though. You have my word.”

“What are you going to do with the footage?” I asked. “You can’t air it.”

The producer raised his hands a little as if to soothe me. “Watch the time when the piece is scheduled to air,” the producer said, and my stomach started to sink.

I’d hoped the producer had been on our side, but he was still moving forward with the story.

Short of grabbing the film out of the camera myself, there wasn’t a hell of a lot I could do to stop him. And those cameras looked digital anyway. Likely the footage is already at a computer back at the channel’s station.

The crew packed up, and then they all walked out the door.

“Just tune in,” the producer said again before leaving.

I didn’t reply and merely closed the door after him.

Then I turned back to Aria.

She looked at me as if she was lost. I wanted to comfort her, but what could I say? This felt like my fault, but I honestly had no idea it would have turned out this way.

Aria must have known that. Maybe sensing I needed comfort too, she walked toward me and hugged me around the waist. Immediately, I closed my arms around her as well, holding her close.

As she pressed her cheek to my shoulder, I rested my chin on the top of her head.

This. This right here was what made our relationship perfect. Of course, we’d fight now and then. We were very different people, with very different ideas and opinions. But our hearts were connected, and would be for the rest of our lives.

Whatever became from this footage being aired, Aria and I would endure it together.

The next morning, I was hesitant to return to work and have to deal with Joanna face to face. However, she had already affected far too much of my life already. I couldn’t let her affect my work performance too.

So I dressed in my clothes, kissed Aria at the door, and headed off.

Aria was going to wait for the kids to get on the bus, then come to work too. We’d already talked this through. Moving forward, we would alternate days to share the weight of parenthood.

I wasn’t going to fall behind on that again either.

Walking into the office, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I said hello to my assistant, who as usually, gave me the notifications of my missed calls and messages. Then, I headed into the office.

There, Joanna was putting on her makeup while looking at herself in a compact mirror.

“There you are, Liam,” Joanna said with a smug kind of smirk. “We missed you yesterday. You must have been… busy...”

She knew exactly what I’d been up to. I had no idea how but that much was apparent.

Perhaps Aria was right. Maybe she and Craig were friends.

“Well, don’t you worry,” Joanna said. “When I’m your boss, I’ll make sure your work schedule still allows for your little personal exploits.”

I gave her a flat look, but she just smiled wider.

“Didn’t you know? I’m only one more deal away from being majority shareholder for the club.”