Chapter 44

FRIYA

“Sometime soon, I hope?” Preston’s question silenced everyone at the table. It was directed at Aiden and Erica.

He looked between them. “Hasn’t he proposed yet?”

It felt like I heard something break. Probably my delusions. Assuming a relationship between Aiden and Erica was one thing; witnessing its confirmation was a whole different level of heartbreak.

Fuck, no! After everything I’d faced, feeling heartbroken over something this trivial felt lame.

But this didn’t feel trivial. It felt like so much more. All those glances, all that tension, those moments—had I imagined them? Was he just being nice, and I’d misinterpreted his kindness and actions?

I surely couldn’t be that delusional. The number of times I’d caught him staring… I could swear he was attracted—

Erica chuckled uncomfortably. “Married! Oh no—”

“Oh, don’t start with the ‘work is keeping us busy’ and ‘we’re not thinking about it right now’ excuses. I don’t want to hear them. You and Aiden need to get married soon.”

“Father,” Aiden gritted out, a warning in his tone.

“Will you marry her, Daddy?” Gia’s voice commanded everyone’s attention. She peered up at her father with furrowed brows and downturned lips.

“No, sweetheart,” Aiden said, visibly distressed as he tried to reassure her.

“Of course he will!” Preston interrupted, which didn’t sit well with Aiden. Aiden fixed him with an icy stare. His father squared his shoulders. “You’ve been pushing this for a long time.”

“Pushing it! I never said we were getting married!” Aiden hissed.

“Oh, everyone knows you two are together. Besides, I gave my word to James.”

Everyone knows you two are together.

Except me, I guess. Jesus! I felt sick. It took everything I had not to bolt out the door with Gia.

“You gave your word to my father?” Erica sounded stunned. That surprise quickly turned to anger. Her words went unheard as Preston continued his monologue.

“And now what? Everything goes up in flames because you have a child with this woman?” Indignation flared at his condescending glance. He spoke as if I were dirt on his shoes.

“That’s it. We’re leaving,” Aiden declared, pushing himself from his chair. As if on cue, Chris walked in—Aiden had probably texted him.

Aiden lifted Gia from her chair and placed her in front of him. She stared up at him with big, sad brown eyes. He gently touched her cheek. “Chris will take you to the car. Go on, sweetheart. We’re right behind you.”

She left with Chris, and I was glad. She was getting increasingly upset by the discussion of her father’s potential wedding. Also, Preston Knight was incredibly unpleasant; I understood why Aiden hadn’t wanted anything to do with this dinner.

Once Gia was out the door, Aiden turned to his father and met his gaze. “Next time you’re disrespectful towards her or my daughter, you won’t like the consequences.”

“Aiden!” His father’s face reddened as he bellowed.

“Don’t raise your voice at me,” Aiden retorted. “You forget I don’t take orders from you.”

His father’s face reddened further. He spared me a disgusted glance. “That might be precisely why you’re in this situation. Are you prepared to face the consequences of your questionable choices?”

Barbara gasped. “Preston, please—”

2:32 PM

Chapter 44 (continued)

“Don’t say a word,” he sneered at his wife. “That granddaughter you were so intent on meeting—a mistake, that’s what she is!”

I blinked, dumbfounded by his crudeness in calling my daughter a mistake in front of her parents.

“Dad! Stop talking!” Gillian snapped at the disgusting man.

“Sorry, did you just call my daughter a mistake?” Incredulity bled into my words as I stood. I’d made a mistake—a massive one—convincing Aiden to attend this dinner.

Preston scoffed. “Isn’t she? She’s the mistake that let a gold digger like you crawl into his life. Now you sit there—”

“Enough!” Aiden’s voice boomed, his palm slamming on the table with a force that rattled the tableware. I’d seen him angry before. He gets colder, his replies more stoic, but the look in his eyes was unlike anything I’d ever seen. It was unhinged, a promise of grave danger burning within them.

He leaned down until he was face-to-face with his father. The latter visibly shrank back. Aiden glared as if he were a step away from tearing him apart limb from limb.

“You know why I haven’t yet reached in and torn your tongue out with my bare hands? Because even the thought of touching you disgusts me.” He spat out. “But you keep it up, and I will kill you.”

The threat echoed through the room. Whatever Preston saw in his son’s eyes deterred him; he didn’t retort, only letting out a disgruntled exhale. Aiden straightened, still glaring. He placed his hand on my back.

“Come on.”

About time. I was so ready to leave and never look back. We’d barely taken a step when Barbara blocked our way.

“Aiden, please!” She looked at her son with pleading eyes, but his impassive stare and icy gaze showed he wouldn’t have kind words for her.

“Listen to me very carefully. I came here today not because of you, and definitely not because of that pathetic excuse for a husband. I was here because of Gia. But my goodwill ends here. You are as dead to my daughter as you are to me.”

Wow. That was harsh, harsher than Barbara deserved. She seemed genuinely nice, unlike her husband. Before I could decide if that was a misplaced projection, Aiden guided me out the door.