Chapter 605

[Hey Loves, I hope you are well... Today is my birthday and this is my way of saying thank you for your continued support. I hope you enjoy.]

Ava.

I watch silently as Noah storms out of the living room. His shoulders are rigid, his jaw set, and his temper practically radiating off him. Forcing him to apologize to Sierra must feel like pulling out his own teeth, and by the look on his face, he’d rather endure the pain.

Honestly, I’ve never understood his hatred towards her. She’s one of the sweetest girls I know, but for some reason Noah’s been too blind to see it.

I move to the window, watching him outside. He yanks the car door open and slams it shut hard enough to rattle the frame.

I can’t see through the tinted window, but by the honk, I can tell he just hit the steering wheel. A heartbeat later, the tires squeal as he speeds out of the estate.

I sigh, pressing my palm against the cool glass. I know my son and I know when he’s unraveling. At first, I thought it was just about missing Chloe, but I’m starting to think otherwise. This feels different. This feels like more than just about mourning her absence.

Strong arms circle my waist, pulling me back into a warm, solid chest. Rowan’s lips brush the juncture between my neck and shoulder. “What’s wrong, my love?”

I close my eyes and lean into his touch, savoring the feel of his lips on my skin.

Even after all these years, he still makes my pulse stutter and my skin prickle with sparks. I used to think the feeling might fade. That one day we’d simply become companions, sharing a home and raising children together. But he’s proved me wrong time and time again.

Our spark has never died; it has only deepened. Loving Rowan has always felt like falling in love for the very first time. And somehow, we just keep falling. Over and over again. Because that’s what true love is: choosing the same person and falling for them endlessly.

“Ava?”

You distracted me,” I murmur with a small smile.

He chuckles, tightening his hold, because of course he knows exactly what he does to me.

But my thoughts drift back to Noah, and the smile fades. “I’m worried about him.”

“Noah?”

I give him a look. Who else would it be?

“There’s something going on with him. He hasn’t been himself, and it scares the crap out of me.”

He tries to hide it so well, but I am his mother; I can see through his act. I can see through the illusion he’s trying to feed us.

Rowan exhales slowly. “Maybe he’s just stressed. The company, the twins starting school. And last month was Chloe’s death anniversary, remember?”

I sigh. How could I forget Chloe’s death anniversary or how Noah vanished that day? If it hadn’t been for Sierra, I might have had a heart attack from the worry

Noah loved Chloe. He married her and built a life with her. I never said a word, but deep down I always wished he had fallen for Sierra instead. Always wished he had chosen Sierra.

I treated Chloe with kindness, with the respect she deserved, because she was Noah’s choice. She was who he wanted and the mother of my grandkids. But in my heart, I couldn’t help feeling that Sierra was the one who truly belonged at his side.

I kept all that to myself. I never wanted to meddle in his life, never wanted to taint what he thought was happiness.

Though I will never regret the twins—how could I, when I love my grandbabies more than life itself? There is a part of me, small but unshakable, that has always wished they were Noah and Sierra’s children. A different life, a different love… one I still believe would have been better for him.

“I can only imagine how hard it is for him.” Rowan’s voice pulls me from my musings. “I can’t imagine a life without you. I couldn’t survive losing you.”

I turn in his arms, sliding my hands up to clasp behind his neck. When my lips find his, I sink into the kiss, savoring the taste of him. Rowan is an addiction I never want to quit. Looking back, leaving him? divorcing him, trying to create a life without him? It was always a fool’s game. I was made to be his, just as he was made to be mine

“Then don’t imagine,” I whisper against his lips. “I’m here to stay and I’m not going anywhere for a very long time. We promised each other fifty years, remember?”

“How about we make it seventy?” he asks.

“Deal.”

We stay in that bubble for a breath before reality presses back in.

Rowan’s voice is steady. “Ava, give Noah some time. A couple of months, and he’ll be fine. He’s struggling because Chloe’s death anniversary is still fresh in his mind.”

I wish it was as easy as that. If only I could believe that. But my instincts whisper otherwise, and they’ve never been wrong.

“I don’t know, Rowan. This feels different.” I say quietly. “It feels like more than just the death anniversary… think about it, when have you ever known Noah to lose control?”

He frowns. “Never”

“Exactly, and the fact that he went to Sierra’s workplace, doesn’t it seem off to you? He despises her, yet he went to her, then lost control in front of her.”

Rowan’s thoughtful silence is confirmation enough.

“You’re right, like always,” he admits. “Something is off.”

“Noah is hiding something. I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m certain of two things—he’s not okay, and whatever it is, it’s big. Big enough to rattle him.”

“Maybe just let him be? Let him figure things out on his own,” Rowan suggests carefully.

I can’t just sit back and watch someone I love waste away. It’s not in my nature. If I’m going to help him, I need to know what’s tearing him apart. And I have a feeling it’s tied to whatever he’s hiding.

Rowan studies me with suspicion. “I know that look. You’ve already made a move.”

I give him a slow smile. “Nothing to worry about.”

“That,” he mutters, narrowing his eyes, “is exactly what worries me.”

I chuckle, resting my head against his chest, but say nothing more. He’s right, of course. I’ve already made my move and set things in motion. Soon, I’ll find out what my son is hiding.