When Aaron arrived home, he was more than a little confused to see Alice Kelly parked on his couch. He quickly kissed his wife before asking what she was doing there.

"I ran into Alice at the park earlier," Keeley explained. "She needs a place to stay for a while, and we have plenty of guest rooms. I was actually going to ask if you could watch the twins for a while so we could go get our nails done."

His eyes narrowed. "You hate getting your nails done. You always do it yourself."

She pulled him aside and whispered, "Alice is having a bad day; she's lost everything that matters to her. She likes getting manicures, so I want to try and cheer her up."

A small, indulgent smile crossed his face as he hugged her. She was always thinking of others first. He was a bit put out that he wouldn't be able to spend as much time with her while Alice was there, but Alice could definitely use someone like Keeley right now, so he would let it slide.

"Alright, go have fun. Have they been fed recently?"

"Yes. Their diapers will probably need changing soon. We already ate; there's still some food left warming in the Crock-Pot for you. I should be back in time to help put them to bed, but in case I'm not, you know what to do."

She kissed his cheek before kissing both babies goodbye and grabbing her purse on the way downstairs. Alice shot him an apologetic look as she followed his wife, which Aaron waved off.

He had wanted Alice to leave her husband; he should have expected she would latch onto Keeley. She was the kind of person lonely people gravitated towards. Her warmth drew them to her like moths to a flame.

He shook his head and sighed. Things were about to get crazy around here. If he knew his wife, she was going to exhaust herself helping Alice until she got things sorted out.

Aaron's attention turned to his children babbling on the floor. He squatted down next to them with a soft expression.

"Hey, babies. Daddy's home."

They both smiled and stretched out their arms, wanting to be picked up. Now that they could hold their heads up, he could technically carry both at once. He gave in to their demands, and they cooed with delight.

It was good to be home. His workload shouldn't have increased drastically from vice president to CEO, but there were many things to settle due to the sudden change in leadership. It didn't help that his father refused to cooperate.

Alistair had apparently locked himself inside his house as reporters crowded it following the shocking news Gray released. He wouldn't answer any of Aaron's calls as he tried to complete the handover.

Oh well. He should have expected this. Of course, his father wouldn't be happy about being deposed.

He was slightly curious how his cold, proud mother had reacted to the news, but he didn't care enough to inquire about her well-being. After all, she had never cared about him.

Violet tugged at his tie, and Aaron realized he should have removed it before picking her up. He took it off and tossed it onto the couch.

Honestly, he should have changed before picking her up, too. Drool was all over his suit jacket. He would have to send it to the dry cleaners on one of the lower floors of the building.

"Ah, Violet, you're so cute but so messy," he sighed. She smiled at him as if she understood.

He kissed her head before attending to Kaleb, who was fussing. Managing two babies alone was difficult. Sometimes he wondered how Keeley managed it day after day while he was gone.

She was an excellent mother. Their children were happy, well-adjusted infants under her care. As they grew up, they would never doubt their loved.

Aaron was actually a bit jealous. His childhood hadn't been anything like that. The only warmth he received was from nannies his parents paid, and there was a high turnover rate. He couldn't even count how many nannies he'd had.

Though he felt bad that Keeley's dream had been deferred again, he was grateful she had chosen to stay home with their children until they were old enough for preschool. They needed her warmth and love while they were so young.

He couldn't help but wonder how different he would have turned out if his own mother had given him even a fraction of the attention his children received from Keeley. Even though Roslyn Hale's pride was shattered because the whole world knew she had been cheated on, he couldn't find any sympathy for her.

Aaron wondered if she was even hurt beyond her embarrassment at being publicly shamed. As far as he could tell, his mother didn't harbor any actual feelings for his father. He didn't think she had a heart.

Then again, people had accused him of the same thing, and that obviously wasn't true. What exactly went on inside that woman's head? He had always assumed it was full of shallow thoughts about jewelry, clothes, and barely concealed gossip.

What was it like to have a good relationship with your mother? Gray had loved his mother enough to commit murder. When Keeley spoke of her mother, it was with a mixture of sorrow and fondness. She maintained the traditions Monica Hall had started to honor her memory.

Roslyn Hale had never done anything as a mother to inspire devotion. As far as he knew, she hadn't been actively involved in the ectopic pregnancy scheme, but she was one of the main reasons Keeley had been so miserable during their first marriage.

Mothers-in-law were feared and respected in that social circle. Keeley was forced to cater to her every whim, knowing Roslyn looked down on her. There was no love lost between them.

Aaron harbored no positive feelings for her because she was so distant, but after Keeley died and he realized how miserable she had been because of his mother, things got even worse.

No, he didn't feel sorry for her. If anything, she deserved what she was experiencing. Karma catches up to everyone eventually.

The final paragraph with the website advertisement was removed as it was irrelevant to the text cleanup.