AIDEN'S POV The three weeks after my wedding were filled with "almosts." I almost called Aurora when the urge to fly to Europe and satisfy my needs burned through me. It was a miracle I managed to handle things in my shower instead one hand braced against the mosaic tiles, jerking off like a desperate teenager. I almost drove straight to her apartment when I saw Sandy walking around my office with her small baby bump, bringing Henry lunch, finally looking like an expecting mother instead of a skinny kid who ate too many Brussels sprouts. I almost texted my wife when Devon sent me a picture from a gossip site—Aurora heading to a hot yoga class with her sister, dressed in tight leggings and a sports bra. And I almost treated her like a backup plan this morning when I got to the office and saw a giant billboard positioned right in front of my window with my face on it, fake blood dripping from my mouth. The number one Villain of the Western World is here to kill the pola
AIDEN'S POV I walked out of my office, ignoring Casey as she stumbled after me in her high heels, trying to ask what I wanted for lunch. And I doubt she would be able to order Herold’s head on a platter. “Aiden?” Devon asked over the phone as I hit the elevator button. “Landon made a smart move. We might have to make a deal.” “I don’t make deals with enemies.” Besides, I knew Herold didn’t care about polar bears or little snow foxes. He had to know that drilling in the Arctic wasn’t even half as messy or controversial as breaking underground rocks for oil and gas something Royal Pipelines had done before I took over. He wasn’t after the environment. He was after the Kings. Me, specifically. Too bad for him, I had two rules: I never ran from a fight and I always won. After a long meeting that stretched into the afternoon, I took the elevator back to my floor. Devon and my legal team told me to wait, stay quiet, and release a statement in a few weeks saying Royal Pi
AIDEN'S POV I stared at her impatiently the whole time she talked, then sent her back where she came from. Even though I didn’t like either of my sisters in law, they clearly had no idea what was really going on in my marriage. That was good. It meant Aurora had kept quiet. Sure, Henry, Daniel, and Devon knew the truth. I told them during poker night but they were on my side. Aurora jumped off Henry’s desk and put the red lollipop back in her mouth. “All right, hubby. Make it quick.” I took her to my office, then walked into the private room where the walls weren’t glass, so no one could see us and shut the door behind us then gave her a stern look. “What are you doing here?” “Having lunch with friends.” She pulled the lollipop from her mouth. The smell of watermelon filled the air, making my dick twitch. “Having a good day, hubs?” “Not really.” “Yeah, I saw the protest on the news.” She scrunched her little nose, the one I hoped our future kids would get. “That bill
AIDEN'S POV She made sense. That worried me because I was usually the logical one in every conversation. "You’re here now," I said. I wasn’t in the mood for sex,but I supposed we have to get it over with at some point.She smiled, licking her lollipop. Her lips were soft and tempting. "We’re not having sex in your bathroom. I respect myself more than that." "Are you sure?" I asked, half teasing, half serious. "So far, you’ve acted like a bride I ordered online. Bending over the sink wouldn’t be surprising." She laughed. She actually laughed then flipped her hair over one shoulder, turned around and said. "Goodbye, husband." She walked to the door seductively. Her walk was full of confidence and she knew exactly what she was doing. Nothing was shy or innocent about her now. I wasn’t used to women leaving before I told them they could. It annoyed me. Usually, my money and power kept them around. Watching her leave felt like she was taking something from me. "Aurora," I growl
AURORA'S POV My first problem? I didn’t know how to cook. My second problem? I actually believed making Aiden a homemade meal (which would probably taste awful) might change something between us. But my biggest and most urgent problem? I was pretty sure I was setting my husband’s kitchen on fire. Maybe this was karma punishing me for playing dirty. Once it was clear that Dear Husband wasn’t going to make the first move to see me, I decided to show up at his office and get a dinner date out of him. I was desperate to build a connection, while he was determined to keep his distance. It felt like having a sugar daddy who didn’t want to sleep with me. I got all the gifts, but not the man. The problem was, I wanted the man. The fancy shoes were nice, but not nice enough to make me scream their names in bed. I’d asked that it would be at his place because I wanted to be in his world, break down his walls, and force my way into his life. Plus , being married to someone who di
AURORA'S POV "I wasn’t. I wanted to impress you." "Maybe I wanted to poison you," I said, narrowing my eyes. Aiden's lips twitched, almost smiling. "The only person you could poison is yourself, like you did a few years ago. And even then, you messed it up." "Hey, I did a good job. It’s not my fault you saved me." "I still regret it." He playfully shoved me. I stepped back, keeping my eyes on him. "Listen, you tried cooking, and it was a disaster. I have a poker game soon, so we’ll have to skip the first course and go straight to the main event." "You planned a poker game tonight?" My eyes widened. He stepped closer, and I instinctively moved back. He was cornering me, trapping me while I struggled to think straight. "You weren’t hoping we’d cuddle and watch a romantic movie, were you, Flower Girl?" He gave me a mocking smile. I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but before I could, my back hit the kitchen island. Aiden grabbed my waist, lifted me, and placed me on the cold
AURORA’S POVHe moved closer, standing between my legs, still fully dressed and suddenly, the air felt tense, and I could feel the hair on my arms stand up with excitement.I leaned back on my arms, biting my lip. He pulled down his sweatpants, his eyes focused on something behind my head. He was trying not to be involved when it happened, avoiding touching or looking at me. He took his cock out of his underwear and I saw that he was hard, with a drop of cum on the tip.At least now I knew the problem wasn't that he wasn’t attracted to me. He positioned his cock toward my pussy, his face looking like someone about to face a hard fate, then slid all the way in at once, filling me completely. His eyes rolled, and he looked up at the ceiling as he tried not to make a sound.I wasn’t just wet, I was dripping because I was so aroused that I grabbed his face, turning it so he'd look at me. His nose flared, and his lips pressed tightly together. He didn’t move inside me. We both knew it felt
AURORA'S POV Feeling completely Embarrassed, I tied the back of my dress, put on my jacket and underwear, and left the kitchen to find my husband. During my tour, I observed that his house was really big, with curved halls, many doors, and stairs leading to the second floor. This was only my second time inside, and I had never gotten a real tour. I saw Peter by the door, talking to a man in khaki pants and a blue hoodie with a company name on it. They were going to the kitchen. Feeling like I was sneaking around, I quietly walked up the curved stairs before Peter saw me. The second floor was big and tall, like a church. Aiden’s house, like his parents’, was more old-fashioned and fancy than the modern homes you see on TV shows. I walked through the rooms, opening each door a little until I reached a pair of double doors, probably his room. I put my hand on the wood, not wanting to go in, but not wanting to leave without knowing what had just happened. This was important. We just
AIDEN'S POV Please don’t let it be Grinder or Nature Valley. The smile on his face was so big it looked like it might break. “Tanya” I drove to Herold Landon’s house as soon as I kissed my new niece, Tanya, hello. She was a little pink ball with a head full of red hair, just like her mom, and blue eyes, just like her dad. The loud crying, she probably got from Michael Phelps. The kid could scream so loud, it felt like it would blow the roof off. All in all, Tanya was one of the cutest babies I had ever seen and a great addition to the family. I really appreciated how Sandy didn’t call me out for being a terrible person for what I did to her best friend. She took my congratulations with a smile that wasn’t very warm, even though it was clear I was the reason her husband had come back to her hospital room all beaten up with two black eyes. A few hours later, I saw Herold, in dirty sweatpants and messy hair, walking from his front door to a truck with a cardboard box in his hand.
AIDEN'S POV He ignored me and knelt down to pick up more manure. A childish idea of revenge popped into my head. I crouched down to grab as much manure as I could. “She never loved your fake personality, idiot.” Hunter swung his arm back like he was throwing a baseball, hitting me in the chest. I threw my manure ball at his face, hitting his neck and chin. Now we were both in deep trouble. Literally. “Stalin had a better personality than you, moron. She was always stupidly and I’ll add, unreasonably in love with you!” He threw another ball at me. I threw one back at him. “She owed a lot of money,” I shouted. “I paid it. That’s why she married me.” “I know!” Henry laughed loudly, leaving the manure and jumping on me. He pushed me to the ground, grabbing my blazer’s collar as he pinned me down. “I know, because after the night Aurora agreed to your offer in the snowstorm, I went to her door. I knew I had to fix things. Not for her, or for you, but for my wife. I didn’t w
AIDEN'S POV I let go of the empty vodka bottle, watching it roll to Henry's stall. That asshole almost cost me a wife. What a jerk. The car stopped, the engine turned off, and the person stepped out, the sound of boots on leaves really annoying me. “Aiden? Are you there?” Henry’s deep voice called. When did my brother start acting all serious? “No,” I growled, knowing he was coming in anyway. He did, stopping at the door with his hands on his hips. “Sandy had the baby. I have a daughter.” I thought I’d feel relief that it wasn’t a son, someone to take over Royal Pipelines, but I just felt nothing. Normal people would be happy for their brother, but I wasn’t normal. “Congrats,” I said with a bored tone. “Are they both okay?” “Yeah.” “Good. I set up a trust for your daughter. Three thousand dollars each month until college.” “That’s not why I’m here but thanks for the gift” Then he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “Daniel found out Herold put Thomas Reynolds on t
AIDEN'S POV Aurora raised an eyebrow, looking at me with eyes so intense, if I had a heart, it would have broken for her. She clearly wanted me to care. “And you, what would you have done if Herold did something to me?” she asked softly. A cold shiver ran through me as I remembered the torture, burns , beatings and being locked in a dark church for hours, only with my demons to keep me company. Coming back to him, asking him for more. To pay for my father’s sins. To mourn our friendship. To numb my feelings and just like that, I remembered who I was. Who Herold Landon had made me. Who my father, my whole family wanted me to be. A sad smile twisted my face. I leaned down, my lips near my wife’s ear, my hot breath in her pale hair. “And I wish he’d finished what he started, Aurora, so I could finally marry someone better than you. You were a mistake. A stupid, careless mistake. I can’t wait for the divorce.” I felt, but didn’t see, her step back and that’s when I realized I
AIDEN'S POV She walked quickly toward me. “I kicked him out the night he came. You would’ve known that if you had answered any of my calls. Or if you had let me see you when I came to your house.” Your house. Of course, it was mine. Why would it be ours? I had taken her from the plain apartment I put her in, moved her into a guest room, and thought she would…what? Feel anything for the place? “Do you want a prize for staying loyal?. " She stopped right in front of me and her smell filled the room, making it hard to think. I wanted to grab her, shake her, push her out, kiss her, sleep with her, yell at her. All those things showed feelings and no control. “Daniel told you, didn’t he?” She tilted her head, watching me. She meant Herold Landon’s laptop. She must have seen the videos. “He works for me.” “So does the rest of the city.” “You too. So stop digging into my business before I cut you off.” “We both know I’m not here for the money. I want to talk about what I f
AURORA'S POV The third time I ran to the bathroom to throw up, I gave up. I shut my laptop and hid it under my bed, like the videos could still hurt me. I couldn’t watch my husband back when he was just a teenager being hurt, beaten, stuttering, crying, laughing, losing control and getting it back anymore. I wanted to hurt Herold Landon with my own hands and I knew, deep down, that I really could do it if I ever got the chance. Herold’s face wasn’t in the videos. But his voice was. You could hear why he did what he did. At six thirty in the morning, I got up and went to the shower. My eyes were swollen from crying all night. I knew two things for sure: One, I was going to make sure Landon paid for what he did, even if it was the last thing I ever did. Two, Aiden didn’t know how to feel anything after all he’d been through. But even someone who doesn’t feel love still deserves love. He still deserved peace, a place to belong, and a real home. From now on, I was going to give my
AIDEN'S POV After weeks of not seeing or hearing from Herold at Evon, I finally saw him at the main chapel. I felt both happy and scared. I waved at him from across the chapel. There were lots of students between us, and we all wore the same uniform. Herold saw me and looked away. A sharp pain hit my chest. That scared me. I couldn’t feel anything. Feelings would cause more nerve attacks, and nerve attacks would make Father kick me out. I did like baby Henry, but I didn’t want him to take the oldest son’s spot as heir to King Royal Pipelines and Father, Mother, and Henry were the only family I had left now. Herold probably hated me. After Sunday Mass, I walked across the lawn with my hands behind my back, looking at the grass and frowning. I didn’t care much that I had Tourette’s. It was annoying, yes but after reading a few books and medical papers about it, I had made a decision. I would beat it before I finished school and went to college. And when I make a decision, I always
AIDEN'S POV "Well,I guess it's because I have something called Tourette's syndrome." I leaned back in the chair, looking at all the white around me. It felt calm, and that made me feel better. There was a long silence from the other side of the window. "How long have you known?" "About a week." I heard pages turning on a clipboard from the other side. I smiled sadly. Usually, it's the patient who doesn’t know. "How can that be? It says here your tic attack happened two days ago," another voice said. It was a middle aged woman's voice. Both doctors had accents. One sounded Italian, and the other probably Swiss from the French side. "Yes," I said slowly, giving them time to write. "But I felt the attack coming in the days before, so I looked it up." "So you knew it was going to happen?" the Swiss doctor asked, surprised. "The attack." I nodded. She gasped. "Poor thing," she said. It wasn’t very doctor-like. "Well that's a new one. I’ve never been called that before,"
AIDEN'S POV THE PAST The first time I went to a juvenile treatment clinic was when I was fourteen. Earlier that week, I hurt myself so badly that I was still bleeding and had lost some teeth. My face was so swollen that it took three people to recognize me when they found me on the library floor. My mother went with me to the clinic in Switzerland. She didn’t want to go. I wore a coat, hat, and sunglasses to hide my bruises, like a celebrity trying to stay unnoticed. My mother didn’t say much on the flight from England to Zurich, except for one quiet sentence after the flight attendants had passed by. “Your father can’t know.” That was the first thing she said. Not asking how I was. Not asking how it happened. “Your father can’t know.” I didn’t say anything. She was right. Father couldn’t find out. And honestly, there was no way to explain what happened. One moment, I was sitting in the library studying hard to be first in my class like always, feeling a strange pressure i