"Brann Knighton doubled the reward for information on Lacy's murderer, but that information will never be found," Aaron said. "He isn't a threat."

Cameron's brow furrowed, unconvinced the danger had entirely passed. Aaron couldn't blame him; they'd dealt with many unsavory characters over the years.

"Who is a threat? Anyone we need to watch out for?"

He couldn't think of anyone. Max might seek revenge for Lacy, but Aaron couldn't see a connection. Alistair would likely cause trouble eventually—he still owned 22% of the shares—but for now, he was hiding to lick his wounds.

The only other person Aaron considered was his half-brother, but only if provoked. For now, they should be fine. He was enjoying his relationship with the Hales and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that.

"I think we're good for now."

Cameron sighed with relief. "Great, because I don't have the energy for more enemies. Your father was more than enough trouble over the past eight years."

"Don't I know it," Aaron muttered.

The following sentence has been removed as it is an advertisement.

With foresight, Aaron had defeated his father eight years ahead of schedule. In his first life, he didn't become CEO until 2022. Even so, it was a long, difficult road. Once the handover issues were resolved, things should be smoother.

"How does it feel to have your relationship out in the open?"

He frowned. It was great that he didn't have to worry about Keeley's safety, but he worried about her stress. She hated the spotlight and had been thrust into it forcefully yesterday.

"I'm mostly worried about Keeley handling all the attention until something more interesting happens."

"Right, she's probably never dealt with this before," Cameron mused. "But she's tough; she can handle it."

Aaron didn't doubt her resilience. The problem was that she didn't want to handle it. It was something she'd hated about being Mrs. Hale in their first life—constant scrutiny and judgment.

He didn't want Keeley to relive that misery. She'd agreed to be with him on the condition he kept her and their children safe, which he had done, but he wanted more than the bare minimum. He wanted her to enjoy what she'd missed. She deserved peace after everything she'd been through. Avoiding mobs wasn't peaceful.

"She can, but she shouldn't have to," he said wearily. "There has to be something more interesting happening in New York City than who I married."

Maybe he could ask Aiden to unearth a more explosive scandal, diverting attention from Keeley. The idea had merit.

"It'll blow over eventually," Cameron said optimistically. "Which business partners do you want from the list?"

"They're alphabetized by last name. I'll take A-L; you take M-Z."

He stood, nodded, and took his half of the list from Aaron's desk on his way out. "If you need me, I'll be working until I die. Man, I need a vacation."

So did Aaron, but having just returned from one, he probably couldn't get away with it, especially with everything happening. He wasn't one to shirk his responsibilities, particularly at work.

The Niagara Falls trip was his first vacation request outside of his honeymoon in his first life. He wouldn't be doing that again. He had vacation days—he'd use them for family time.

Too busy for a lunch break, Aaron ate at his desk. Keeley had packed leftovers and the last chocolate chip cookies from her recent batch. She was a saint.

He was about to text his thanks when a notification appeared. He'd subscribed to alerts for certain social media hashtags related to the Hale family drama.

Aaron liked to stay informed. That way, if something offensive surfaced, he could comfort Keeley in advance if she saw it. He preferred she didn't see it at all, but sometimes it was inevitable.

A blogger had apparently spoken to Keeley at a nail salon the previous night. The short, speculative article, from a popular online forum, read:

'Last night, at my favorite nail salon, I ran into Keeley Hale getting a manicure. She wasn't what I expected. She denied being a "Cinderella," claiming her husband was normal. She showed me pictures, and looks can be deceiving. I wouldn't have believed it was Aaron Hale if his wife hadn't shown them to me. They could have been from any woman's Instagram.

I was still skeptical. Anyone in finance knows Aaron Hale is a force. Keeley's final comment was, "To me, he's not the mighty Aaron Hale. He's just Aaron." Her friend, whose identity remains unknown, also defended him.

Next, I asked the question everyone's asking: Did Aaron kick his father out for her? She refused to comment and left, which screams "guilty" to me. What do you think?'

The comments were a mix of people calling Keeley crazy and others agreeing Aaron kicked Alistair out for her. None of that registered with Aaron. He was thinking of a conversation from last summer, before Keeley knew she was pregnant.

She'd said, "You'll always be Aaron Hale," disagreeing when he said he'd changed and could fit into her world. His heart had cracked, because Keeley was the only one who'd ever seen him as "just Aaron."

Here they were, almost a year later, and she was finally back to her old self. If she were here, he'd kiss her senseless.

He glanced at the clock. Five more hours. He could wait that long to tell her how much her words meant to him. Probably.