Aaron didn't know how to answer Aiden's questions. Aiden was naturally curious after recent events, but there was no way he'd believe his boss had been reincarnated and was seeking revenge for past grievances.

All Aaron knew was that explaining this to everyone, especially his parents, would be a nightmare. His mother would immediately want to go shopping with his fiancée. This couldn't happen.

Sending Aiden to Sweden on the next available flight seemed the best way to remove him from the situation. It wouldn't even be a lie to say "Bethany" was gone.

"Aaron?" Aiden asked expectantly, still waiting for an answer to his question: "What else did Lacy do to you guys?"

Despite sometimes acting airheaded, Aiden was highly intelligent. His deductive reasoning skills, a key part of his success as a hacker, told him it was unreasonable to destroy someone's entire family over a single grievance, and that his boss wasn't an unreasonable man.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Aaron admitted, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the steering wheel.

He sighed and fiddled with his wig. "You can trust me."

"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have entrusted you with all my business secrets. This isn't about trust," Aiden replied. "It's about you thinking I'm crazy and locking me up if I told you the truth."

"Then what is it?"

Aaron disliked beating around the bush; he'd done enough of that in his lifetimes. But he truly didn't think Aiden would believe him.

"Hypothetically, if someone ruined your life but didn't remember doing it, would you still want revenge?"

"That's random I guess so. Just because they don't remember it doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"Precisely."

Aiden's heavily made-up face scrunched in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"All the people I told you about ruined my life—and more importantly, Keeley's—but don't remember it," Aaron said honestly. "The two of us are the only ones who remember. That's all I can tell you."

The hacker was silent for a moment. "I'd call you crazy, but you claim Keeley remembers too, and she's one of the most level-headed people I've ever met."

Aaron almost chuckled. "Are you saying I'm not level-headed?"

"No, no! That's not what I meant. It's just why wouldn't anyone else remember?"

"I don't know any more than you do. I doubt I'll ever figure out how this all happened. All I know is that they are terrible people and need to be stopped," he said matter-of-factly. "Are you still with me?"

"Yeah. You know I've always got your back, boss. My family wouldn't have survived after my dad left if it weren't for you."

Aaron had cultivated loyalty in his underlings. Any of them would walk through fire for him.

"Good. And please don't tell anyone about what we discussed. Nobody else knows about this."

Aiden's eyes shone. "Nobody? Not even Cameron?" When Aaron shook his head, Aiden became visibly excited. "I knew I was your favorite!"

Not this again.

"Yes, yes, you're my favorite," Aaron said impatiently. "Now look up the next flight to Stockholm. Go have your vacation; you've earned it."

"You're the best! Actually, you're the worst for making me dress up like this, so when it all evens out, I guess you're the okayest." Aaron honestly didn't care where he fell on Aiden's strange scale, as long as he continued doing his work well.

He wouldn't bother Aiden unless there was an emergency. He'd be fine; during previous absences, he'd kept alerts running on the security monitors for specific phrases. If one went off, Aiden would be notified and would, in turn, notify Aaron. This had happened before.

A few minutes later, Aiden announced a flight with a three-hour layover in England leaving in the morning. Aaron told him to book it and shooed him out of the car in front of his apartment building.

Aiden turned around as he started walking away. "Wait! What do you want me to do with this ring?"

"Give it to your girlfriend, for all I care."

"No way; if I ever propose to her, it's not going to be with a secondhand ring!"

"Then go to the jewelry store I got it at and exchange it for something of equal or lesser value. Or just sell it. I don't care what you do with it; it's yours."

He could see the wheels turning in Aiden's head at the prospect of selling such a large ring. Aiden mumbled ideas to himself as he shut the door and walked to his building.

Aaron rested his head on the steering wheel. Dealing with the fallout would be terrible.

He could only imagine the online splash his "engagement" would make. He was one of the most eligible bachelors in the city. Everyone would know soon enough.

Even if he avoided social events and rarely left his apartment, he'd still face questions at the office. Dealing with people was tedious, but with his father… one wrong move, and he'd be exposed.

The fake engagement would end eventually, but if he wasn't married by then, his father would be back on his case about Lacy Knighton. If only Lacy would marry someone else! Then he'd be free to pursue Keeley.

He meant what he said before: he only had one wife. If Keeley never spoke to him again, he would remain alone. No one else could tempt him into matrimony.

(Note: I removed the promotional material for NovelFire.net.)