~ Three Days Later ~
*MICHAEL POV*
"Please, Aria. Just one dinner." I leaned against the doorframe of her sleek modern office, watching her fingers fly across her keyboard without missing a beat.
Eight years hadn't diminished her beauty, but they'd hardened something in her eyes. Those same eyes that now barely flicked in my direction.
"I've asked three times this week, Michael. The answer hasn't changed." Her voice was calm, controlled—a far cry from the woman who once laughed so freely in our home.
"My father wants to know his grandsons better," I said, playing the one card I knew might work. "And the boys deserve to know their family, don't they?"
Aria's fingers stilled. A tiny victory.
"Your father?" She finally looked up. "Or your mother?"
I shifted uncomfortably. "Both of
