CHAPTER |8
1406 Words
Aiden's POV
Only shocked and slowly, painfully aware that she had every right to be upset, I rubbed a hand across my face and exhaled.
What exactly had I just done? She had spent the day helping my children. She had cooked for them, put them to bed and I had accused her of being dangerous.
I was angry because Hayden Group had pushed me to the edge all day because lawyers had called every hour because numbers kept increasing.
Because the lawsuit already looked worse than expected, thousands were already more likely to go if the legal team failed.
And somehow all that frustration had landed on the wrong person. Marcus found me downstairs nearly twenty minutes later.
"Sir?"
I looked up from the file in my hand.
"Yes?"
"The lawyers called again."
I nodded. "Send the documents to my office."
He hesitated.
Then carefully asked, "Should I call Miss Amarahh for morning instructions tomorrow?"
The question made me pause. I looked at him. "No."
He nodded once and left. I went straight into my office. The next hours disappeared into paperwork, legal calls, email drafts, and financial reports.
The Hayden Group had carefully prepared their accusations and their lawyers wanted an immediate settlement.
My own legal team wanted patience and every option looked expensive. By midnight, my tie was off by one in the morning, my eyes burned.
By two, I was still reading numbers that no longer stayed clear. The desk lamp was the only light left in the office; the rest of the house had gone silent.
I tried calling Ethan again with no answer . I reviewed another document, then eventually exhaustion won.
I leaned back in the chair for what should have been one minute, just one minute, but sleep came fast and with it came the nightmare.
The road first.
Dark, wet, the sound of tires, then headlights, then my wife's voice.
"Aiden, slow down—"
The crash came again exactly as it always did—loud, violent glass-breaking metal bending, her scream.
My hands gripping the steering wheel too late, the side impact, the blood, the terrible silence after.
Then her face was still, too still I heard myself shouting her name.
Over and over I reached for her but her eyes no longer answered me then the hospital lights.
Doctors pulled me away from someone saying words I had never survived hearing.
"We are sorry."
Then Liam cried. Ava was too small to understand why everyone was screaming. Vanessa was holding Ava, Marcus was standing outside the hospital room, and I was unable to breathe.
I woke up suddenly and my chair almost tipped. The office was dark except for the desk lamp. My chest hurt badly.
For a second I could not tell where I was, then reality returned.
Office, house, night.
But the nightmare stayed, too clear, too fresh. I bent forward, pressing both hands over my face. And then it happened the tears came before I could stop them.
A full breath left me broken, another followed. I had not cried like that in months. Maybe longer, but tonight everything broke open.
The lawsuit, the guilt, the memory, the exhaustion.
My wife.
Her face stayed in my head like it had happened an hour ago instead of years ago. I covered my mouth, but the sound still escaped.
Raw, painful, real.
I cried alone in the office because there was no one to witness what grief still did when it arrived without warning.
And upstairs, somewhere beyond the dark hallway, the woman I had wrongly accused was probably awake too.
That thought somehow made the guilt worse.
Because for the first time in a long while, someone had looked me in the face and told me the truth.
And I deserved every word.
*******
I woke up later than usual, my head heavy from the few hours of broken sleep I managed to get after falling across the bed without properly changing.
For a moment, I stayed still, staring at the ceiling. The memory of the night before returned too quickly.
The office, the nightmare, the tears and then Amarahh's face. When she answered me in the hallway, I sat up slowly and ran a hand over my face.
There was no point staying in bed thinking about things I could not undo yet. I stood, went straight into the bathroom, and turned on the shower.
The cold water helped me think clearly.
By the time I dressed, I had decided on one thing: I would have breakfast with the children before leaving.
That had become rare lately, and I knew it when I entered the dining room. Marcus was already there arranging plates.
Liam sat on one side of the table, fork in hand, staring at his food without touching it properly.
Ava sat beside him doing the same, moving eggs around her plate with no interest.
I pulled out my chair and sat down. Neither of them looked excited to see me. That did not surprise me.
"Good morning," I said.
Liam gave a short nod. Ava did not answer. I looked from one plate to the other.
"Why are you both picking at your food?"
No answer. I cut a piece of toast slowly.
"Liam." He lifted his eyes briefly. "I'm eating."
"You are moving food, not eating."
Ava kept staring at her plate. "And you?" I asked her.
"I'm not hungry."
Marcus quietly stepped away, probably sensing the mood.
I leaned back slightly. "You both liked dinner yesterday."
That got Ava's attention for one second, then she looked away again. "That was yesterday," she said.
Something in her tone told me this was not about food. Before I could ask more, footsteps approached.
Amarahh entered.
The moment she crossed the doorway and saw me seated there, she stopped.
Her eyes widened slightly, then she turned as if she intended to leave immediately.
I almost rolled my eyes. Was she truly going to run every time she saw me now?
"Stay," I said coldly before she could disappear.
She froze.
Then she slowly turned back. Her face was calm, but I could see the caution there.
"Good morning, sir."
I gave a short nod and deliberately looked away.
I had no interest in making breakfast uncomfortable with yesterday's unfinished guilt.
Instead, I looked at the children. "Eat."
Neither moved immediately. Ava glanced toward Amarahh Liam too.
It was so obvious that even I noticed how much their mood shifted simply because she was standing there.
Amarahh stepped closer to the table carefully.
"Ava," she said softly, "You asked for toast this morning."
Ava finally took a bite. Liam followed almost immediately. I watched that happen in silence. Interesting, very interesting.
A few seconds later, Ava was eating properly.
Liam too.
I looked down at my plate, hiding the reaction that almost came. So they truly listened to her more easily. Marcus returned with juice breakfast continued quietly after that.
Amarahh stood near the doorway, careful not to interrupt.
When the meal ended, I stood first.
"Get your bags."
Liam pushed his chair back and Ava slid down more slowly.
"I will drive you today."
That surprised both of them. Liam looked at me. "Really?"
"Yes."
Ava looked at Amarahh briefly before leaving the room. A few minutes later, we were in the car and the drive to school stayed mostly quiet.
Liam answered one question about a school assignment. Ava looked out the window almost the whole way.
When we arrived, Liam got out first. Ava followed, but her class teacher was already walking toward the gate.
Mrs. Helen Grant smiled politely when she reached me.
"Mr. Aiden, good morning."
"Good morning."
"I wanted to mention something quickly."
I closed the car door fully and faced her as she adjusted the books in her hand. "Ava has been very bright this week."
That made me glance toward my daughter, who was already walking ahead.
"That is good to hear."
The teacher smiled again. "Yes, very good. She has also been talking often about a friend named Amarahh."
That made me still.
"A friend?"
"Yes," she said warmly. "She mentioned her several times yesterday and again this morning."
For a second, I said nothing, then I looked toward the school building where Ava had disappeared.
And for the first time that morning, I felt yesterday's words return heavily to my mind.
- Writer
