Aria's POV
After Aiden left, his parting words echoed relentlessly in my mind: "I'll come pick up Mrs. Carter in a week."
The way he'd said it—so calmly, so confidently—made my stomach twist into knots. My appetite had completely vanished, replaced by a knot of anxiety in my stomach. Was this his way of punishing me for my impulsive marriage proposal? To take it seriously when I had been half-expecting him to laugh in my face?
I hadn't yet found the courage to tell my father about what I'd done. How could I explain that I'd traded our most valuable property for a marriage certificate with the Carter family heir—Liam's biggest business rival, no less?
As I sat in the living room contemplating how to break the news to my father, my phone lit up with Lillian's incoming video call. Perfect
