Chapter 31
Liam’s POV
Logan barged into my office without knocking, arms crossed and that holier-than-thou look on his face. I knew what was coming before he even opened his mouth.
“You need to stop dragging Aria into this mess,” he said, his voice laced with accusation.
I didn’t even bother looking up from the paperwork spread out across my desk. “I’m not dragging her into anything.”
“Really?” Logan’s tone was biting as he stepped closer. “Because it looks like you’re only interested in Aria again to piss me off. This isn’t about her—it’s about me.”
That got my attention. I looked up, meeting his glare head-on. “This has nothing to do with you.”
Logan scoffed. “Right. Like you haven’t spent the last five years trying to one-up me at every turn.” He jabbed a finger toward me. “Aria’s just your newest move.”
I pushed back my chair and stood, the tightness in my chest flaring into something hotter. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know you, Liam.” Logan’s voice dropped, quiet but dangerous. “You’ve always had a thing for control. And now you see her as something to win, like everything else.”
My fists clenched at my sides. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of rising to his bait, but damn if he wasn’t getting close.
“I’m not using her,” I said, but the words felt weak as they left my mouth. “I’m trying to help her.”
Logan took another step forward, his eyes boring into mine. “Then explain why. Why now? Why Aria? What’s your endgame here?”
I opened my mouth to say something—anything—but the words wouldn’t come. How could I explain it when I didn’t fully understand it myself?
I hated that Logan had a point, that his accusation hit too close to home. Maybe a part of me did see Aria as a way to get back at him, but it wasn’t that simple. It couldn’t be.
“I don’t owe you an explanation,” I said finally, my voice sharp. “And maybe, just maybe, this isn’t about you.”
Logan’s expression hardened, but he didn’t flinch.
“You keep telling yourself that, but deep down, you know the truth. You always cared more about winning than about anyone else—Aria included.”
My jaw tightened, and I felt my control slipping. Logan had always known how to push my buttons, how to get under my skin in the worst ways.
“You think you’re any better?” I shot back, my voice rising. “You think you haven’t hurt her just as much?”
Logan’s eyes darkened. “I’m not perfect. But at least I’m not pretending I’m doing all this for her.”
The silence between us was thick, charged with years of unresolved tension. Neither of us was going to back down, but neither of us was going to say what really needed to be said.
“I care about her,” Logan finally muttered, stepping back toward the door. “I hope, for her sake, you figure out what you really want before it’s too late.”
And just like that, he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.
I stood there for a long moment, staring at the closed door, his words echoing in my head.
What did I want? Why had I called Aria into this mess?
Without thinking, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts, stopping at Aria’s name. My thumb hovered over the call button for a moment before I pressed it.
The phone rang twice before she picked up.
“Liam?” Her voice sounded surprised, cautious even.
“Hey,” I said, trying to sound casual. “I need to talk to you about Jackson’s training plan. Can you meet me at the track after work?”
There was a long pause on the other end. I half-expected her to tell me no, but finally, she spoke.
“Yeah,” she said slowly. “I can be there around six.”
“Great,” I said, maybe too quickly. “See you then.”
I hung up before she could ask any more questions, tossing my phone onto the desk. What the hell was I doing?
I was leaning against the car when Aria showed up, right on time. She was always on time—hadn’t changed a bit in that regard.
Her hair was pulled back, and she looked tired, but she had that same determination in her eyes that had always drawn me to her.
“You wanted to talk about Jackson’s training?” she asked as she walked up, her brow furrowed like she didn’t quite believe me.
“Yeah,” I said, straightening up. “I’ve been thinking about adjusting his schedule. He’s pushing too hard, and I don’t want him to burn out.”
She gave me a look, crossing her arms. “You could’ve sent me an email about that. What’s really going on?”
I clenched my jaw. I knew she could see right through me. “Logan came to see me today.”
Her expression didn’t change, but something flickered in her eyes. “What did he say?”
“That I’m using you to get back at him.” I said it flatly, letting the words hang between us. “That I don’t care about you—just about winning.”
She didn’t say anything at first, just stared at me, waiting for more. “Is it true?”
The question hit me harder than I expected. “No,” I said quickly, then paused. “I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
Aria sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Liam, you need to figure it out.”
I could hear the edge in her voice, and it twisted something in my gut. “It’s not about him. It’s just... I’ve been dealing with a lot, and you’ve been there in a way no one else has.”
She studied me, and I hated how hard it was to explain. I couldn’t make sense of it myself, so how was I supposed to explain it to her?
“I’m not asking you to pick sides,” she said quietly. “But I need to know I can trust you.”
Aria’s POV
Before Liam could say anything else, Jackson came running up, clipboard in hand. “Liam, we’ve got a problem with the engine. Can you take a look?”
Liam shot me an apologetic look before turning to Jackson. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.”
I watched them head over to the car, my mind still spinning with the conversation. The truth was, I didn’t know if I could trust him.
Liam always had layers, and no matter how much he insisted this wasn’t about Logan, part of me wasn’t sure.
As he got engrossed in the car, I wandered around the garage, letting my eyes drift over the rows of documents and equipment
My eyes landed on a stack of folders along the wall, and out of habit, I glanced over the labels.
It was a bunch of paperwork, nothing unusual—until I saw Logan’s name on one of the files. I hesitated, glancing back to where Liam was still busy with Jackson, then stepped closer.
I flipped open the folder, expecting race data, strategy notes. But what I found made my stomach turn. Personal details—bank records, phone logs, even medical records.
I stared at the pages, my heart pounding in my chest. This wasn’t just about racing. This was invasive.
I closed the folder quickly, my hands shaking. I knew Liam could get obsessive when it came to winning, but this?
This was too much. It reminded me of why we hadn’t worked out, why our marriage had fallen apart. He couldn’t just let things be. He had to control, to dig deeper, to win at all costs.
I glanced back at him, watching as he worked on the car with Jackson, oblivious to the file I’d just seen. He hadn’t changed. Not really.
