Chapter 35

Aria’s POV

The office buzzed around me, but the tension between Liam and me was almost suffocating. It had been days since our fight, and though I threw myself into my work, I couldn’t shake the lingering sense of regret.

Every time I passed Liam in the hallway or sat across from him in meetings, it felt like there was a barrier between us, thick and impenetrable.

He barely acknowledged me, which shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did.

I told myself I didn’t care—that his distance was a relief. But it wasn’t true.

This morning’s team meeting wasn’t any different. I sat at the far end of the table, skimming through my notes, avoiding looking directly at him.

Jackson was his usual jovial self, cracking jokes about the latest race, trying to break the ice, but even he seemed to notice the tension.

I could feel his eyes darting between Liam and me, as if waiting for something to give.

Liam didn’t say much, just nodded along to the discussion. He was checked out, his attention elsewhere, and when the meeting finally wrapped up, he stood and left without a word.

Not to me, not to anyone. Just gone.

I sighed, gathering my papers as Jackson leaned over, offering me a smile. “So, everything okay with you and the boss?”

I forced a smile, trying to brush it off. “Just work stress.”

Jackson chuckled, but there was a knowing edge to his voice. “If you say so.”

I shoved my papers into my bag and stood. “I’ll see you later.”

As I left the conference room, I nearly bumped into Logan. He was leaning casually against the wall, his arms crossed, a slight smirk on his face.

“Fancy running into you here,” he said, his tone light.

“Hey,” I muttered, glancing at my watch. “I’ve got to get back to my desk—”

“Let me buy you a coffee,” he cut me off smoothly. “You look like you could use a break.”

I hesitated, but the idea of getting out of the office for a bit didn’t seem so bad. “Sure,” I said, though I knew this wasn’t just about coffee.

We walked to a nearby café, making small talk about work and the latest developments in Jackson’s training.

It was nice, but I could sense something underneath Logan’s words, something that had been lingering since our last confrontation.

He wasn’t as laid-back as he used to be, and there was a bitterness in his voice that hadn’t been there before.

We sat down with our coffees, and Logan leaned back in his chair, eyeing me carefully. “So, how’s everything going with Liam?”

I frowned, stirring the foam in my cup. “Fine,” I said, though I didn’t sound convincing, even to myself.

“Is it?” Logan pressed, his tone casual but his eyes sharp. “Look, Aria, I know I haven’t always been upfront about... everything between Liam and me, but I just think you should be careful.”

“Careful?” I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

Logan shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. “Liam has a way of... manipulating people. Getting them to trust him when maybe they shouldn’t.”

I felt my defenses rise. “I can handle myself, Logan.”

“Of course you can,” he said quickly, holding up his hands. “I’m not saying you can’t. I’m just saying... Liam’s not always as trustworthy as you might think.”

There it was. The underlying resentment. The rivalry between them, the one I had tried to stay out of, was creeping into our conversation.

I knew Logan wasn’t saying this out of genuine concern for me. This was about Liam. It always was.

I set my cup down, feeling the weight of his words sink in. “You know, Logan,” I said slowly, “I don’t think you’re being completely honest with me either.”

Logan’s expression flickered, but he kept his cool. “What do you mean?”

“I mean... maybe your interest in me wasn’t as genuine as I thought. Maybe it had more to do with Liam than with me.”

He didn’t deny it. Instead, he smiled that charming, disarming smile of his. “You’re smarter than people give you credit for, Aria.”

I stood up, pushing my chair back. “Thanks for the coffee, but I’ve got to go.”

---

The afternoon passed in a blur of meetings and paperwork, but the conversation with Logan stuck with me, gnawing at the back of my mind.

By the time I left work to pick up Joe from school, my thoughts were a tangled mess. I pulled into the parking lot and scanned the crowd of kids, expecting to see Joe running toward me.

Instead, I noticed William, sitting alone on a bench, his backpack slung over his shoulder, kicking his feet against the ground.

I frowned, glancing around for Sophia, but she was nowhere in sight.

I approached William, my heart sinking. “Hey, William,” I said gently. “What are you still doing here? Where’s Sophia?”

William shrugged, looking down at his shoes. “She was supposed to pick me up, but she didn’t show.”

I glanced at my watch. It was well past the time school had let out. I knelt down to William’s level. “Okay, how about I give you a ride home? Joe’s with me too.”

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

We piled into the car, and as we drove, Joe and William started bickering in the backseat—about who could build the fastest race car out of their toy sets, about who would win in a foot race, about who was stronger. Typical kid stuff.

But then, the conversation shifted, and I overheard something that caught my attention.

“You know, I’m going to be a better race car driver than you,” Joe said, his tone playful but determined.

“No way,” William shot back. “I’m going to be the best. Liam said so.”

Joe paused for a moment, then said, “Well, I’ll be just as good as him. Maybe better.”

They both started laughing, and though they were teasing each other, there was a mutual admiration in their voices.

It wasn’t lost on me how much they both idolized Liam.

The way they talked about him, the way they looked up to him—it was clear they saw him as more than just a race car driver. He was someone they both wanted to be like.

I glanced at them in the rearview mirror, my heart squeezing a little. The boys had found common ground in their love for racing, and despite their bickering, I could see the beginnings of a friendship forming between them.

It was strange, seeing how much Liam’s presence had affected them—especially Joe.

By the time we pulled up to William’s house, the two boys had already agreed on a “friendly rivalry” to see who would become the better race car driver when they grew up.

As I watched William hop out of the car and run inside, I couldn’t help but smile.

But there was an unsettling feeling that lingered. Liam was more embedded in our lives than I had realized, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Joe’s voice piped up from the backseat. “Mom, do you think I’ll really be as good as Liam one day?”

I glanced at him, my heart full of a mix of pride and uncertainty. “I think you’ll grow up to be even greater.”

But as I said the words, I couldn’t help but wonder how Liam’s influence—on both of us—was changing everything.