Aaron wasn't allowed to see his wife yet, so they went to the nursery, where newborns were lined up in small, glass-sided beds. He was still distraught, so Aiden asked the nurse for permission, briefly explaining the situation.

The nurse looked incredibly sympathetic and, after making them sanitize their hands and don thin cloth gowns, let them in.

"Your son is right here, Mr. Hale. Have you decided on a name yet?"

"Oliver," Aaron said quietly, gathering his newborn son into his arms. He didn't speak for a few minutes, then said sadly, "Keeley should have held him first, but she's still asleep."

The nurse, wanting to give them privacy, busied herself elsewhere in the nursery.

"This isn't your fault, Aaron," Aiden said seriously. "Accidents happen."

"No, this isn't my fault," Aaron agreed dully. "But her first death was. Lacy Knighton had her killed, just like her father. They both died as pedestrians in car accidents—the same man intentionally ran them down."

Aiden realized he was talking about Max, Lacy's accomplice. He'd previously thought Max's involvement was limited to the drugging incident, but this changed everything. The feud was far deeper than he'd imagined.

How horrible. No wonder Aaron hated Lacy so much and was determined to find a way to incriminate her. He must have been thrilled when his half-brother killed her. This raised the question of Graydon Meyer/Michael Gray's role in all of this.

"Why would she do that?" Aiden asked.

Aaron, still gazing at his son, wouldn't meet his eyes. "Because she was obsessed with being Mrs. Hale, and I married Keeley instead."

No way. Keeley married him twice? Their relationship must have ended terribly for her to hate him so much when they met again—murder aside.

Aiden looked at his friend with new eyes. What had he done to make her hate him so much, or, for that matter, to make her fall in love with him again? This was insane.

"You're probably wondering why she hated me so much back then," Aaron said with a hollow laugh. "I wasn't a good husband. She gave up everything for me, but I was cold. Part of it was a vain attempt to protect her from my father and the Knightons, but partly it was because I didn't know anything about love. We were about to divorce when she died."

What?! These two had been on the verge of divorce? It seemed impossible, but it explained Keeley's earlier issues with her husband. What a tangled web.

"Dude, why would you go after your ex-wife again if you got a chance to start over?" Aiden blurted out, overwhelmed.

"Why not? I grieved her death for twenty-seven years before I died alone, bitter, and miserable. I wanted to make amends, and Keeley was the only person who ever showed me real affection. As pathetic as it sounds, I clung to that. You can imagine how angry I was when she wanted nothing to do with me," Aaron said wryly.

No kidding. Aaron became an ice storm when angry. If Keeley already hated him, that must have infuriated her.

Piecing it together…they must have both been returned to high school after they died. That's when Aaron supposedly became obsessed with her, and she began to hate him.

Wow. Knowing the truth made it even crazier that she ever accepted him back. Why reunite with someone who hurt you before? Keeley must truly love him; that much was obvious to anyone who'd seen them together.

"Are you glad you did things over?" Aiden asked hesitantly.

Aaron, finally snapping out of his funk, gave him a look that clearly said he was an idiot—a very familiar look.

"Are you kidding me? No matter how hard it was, the past six years have been like a dream. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's a miracle I got her back after everything I did."

He must have really messed up. Aiden had seen firsthand how much Keeley loathed him in 2012. She warmed up to him until around the time Cameron and Jennica got engaged. Wait…

"Why did Keeley get angry when Cam and Jen got engaged?"

Aaron gave him another "you're stupid" look. "She figured out I got a second chance too and was furious that I had the nerve to come back, knowing what I did. She called me a hypocrite, and honestly, it was fair from her perspective."

Aiden shook his head. "Unbelievable. No one looking at you two now would guess you had this history. I always knew something was weird, but couldn't place it. If you hadn't broken down, I'd never have guessed."

He finally had the answer to his seven-year-old mystery. He'd sworn to find out the truth, but it never would have occurred to him.

His friend narrowed his eyes. "You're not allowed to tell anyone about this. No one in the world knows except me, Keeley, and now you."

Dang, no one? Not even Keeley's dad? Aiden supposed it would be hard to believe. He was sure Aaron wouldn't have confirmed his guess if he hadn't been so distraught earlier.

Anyone else would think they were crazy. But to Aiden, it made all the unexplainable things he'd seen and experienced as Aaron's right-hand man fit together perfectly.

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