Liam’s POV Aria loved Christmas. She didn’t always show it, sometimes complaining about the crowds and the traffic and the hassle of fixing all the broken lights on the string. But after the work is done, when the lights are twinkling and the cookies are baked, when the gifts are wrapped under the
Aria’s POV Under the mistletoe, Liam moved in and I didn’t move away. Slowly, gently, his lips pressed against my own. I closed my eyes at once, enjoying the warm softness of him. The kiss itself was soft and sweet, not demanding or insisting, more a quiet gift of consent and compromise. I sighe
Liam’s POV The next few days felt like a dream. With the break off of work, Aria and I got to stay home full-time with the kids. In the morning, we woke up around the same time and spent mornings together, sipping coffee in the kitchen. When the kids got up, we worked together to make pancakes and
Aria’s POV As soon as the executive stepped away from the podium, and the meeting officially ended, Liam walked away from the line executives and straight to me. “We need to talk,” he said. “Come with me to my office.” As I agreed, I saw no reason to argue, so I followed him back to his office
Liam’s POV I only had a few affairs to get in order before I left. As William was going to stay with Aria, I didn’t need to worry about finding schools overseas or uprooting his life at all. Aria and the kids would stay here in the house, so I didn’t have to worry about hiring anyone to watch it.
Liam’s POV The first thing I did when I walked into my office the next morning, after throwing my briefcase to the side, was pick up the phone and make a call. One of the executive’s assistants seemed confused by my sudden call. “I’m sorry, Liam, but appointments for the day haven’t started yet.
I hadn’t sold it yet. I wasn’t even trying, despite what I had told Liam, who sold the house next door in less than a week. It felt something like an insurance policy, having that house in my back pocket, just in case things went bad with Liam. I wanted to trust in him fully, but when I’d done tha
Aria’s POV The next day, a new batch of invitations was sent out through email with the exact same guest list. Just as Liam predicted, everyone seemed fine with the change. Those that had already RVSP’ed, simply did so again. Those that said no already told me they had other plans. I ordered a n
“I’m so sorry,” Isabelle said, her face downtrodden, her own make staining streaks down her face. We must have looked like quite the pair. It’d be laughable if my heart wasn’t so very heavy. “I totally misread the entire situation. When I saw that ring…”“How could you think anything but what you di
Liam’s POV“I don’t care what you think, Joanna,” I said coldly. With everything going on, now she wanted to threaten me? Didn’t she realize that without Aria, I had nothing left to lose? “With Markus gone, I have no reason to stay in this relationship.”“We had an agreement,” Joanna said. Her anger
Aria’s POVI wasn’t ready to go home yet. Upset as I was, I worried what the kids would think if they saw me like this. I also had no idea how I was going to explain to Isabelle just how wrong she had been about all of this.So I told the cab driver to take me to the park, and there, I exited and pa
Liam’s POVI sat on a stone bench along the walkway, my mind in shock over what just happened.I’d risked so much trying to appease Markus with this fake proposal, and now I was going to lose it all. And with Markus gone, it hadn’t even been necessary.I should have waited this out, or fought harder
Aria’s POVI couldn’t trust my own eyes. There was no way, I thought, that Liam would betray me like this. Even when the evidence had been clearly laid out before me, in my heart, I didn’t want to believe it. Even now, seeing it here, I was ready to doubt.Yet, hearing his voice, there could be no m
Liam’s POVWith Joanna on my arm, we walked around the massive event ballroom, speaking directly with our guests. The mayor is in attendance, as are several prominent members of the city council. All of the news media owners are in attendance with their wives, including Chuck who gives me a smirk fr
Liam’s POVThe exclusive banquet hall where we were holding the engagement event had a few side rooms for potential brides and grooms to prepare if they were getting married there.I stood in the groom’s room, looking at myself in the full length mirror. Dressed in a tuxedo, I could have been a groo
Aria’s POVThe rest of the dinner was filled with stilted conversations and us avoiding looking directly at each other.The drive home was entirely silent. I looked out the window, counting the streetlamps we passed, while Liam coolly sat behind the wheel. There were many things to talk about, but I
Liam’s POV“Chuck,” I said, recognizing the news media owner who I had called a couple of days ago, practically begging him to keep the engagement party a secret.I hadn’t even considered that he might be here, in this restaurant, seeing me out on what appeared to be a date with someone other than w