ã€ŠRun, Girl (If You Can)ã€‹


 Chapter 1: Hit and Run

    <h4>Chapter 1: Hit and Run</h4>

    After Aaron was reborn, Keeley was different for some reason. She wasn''t the little ball of sunshine that chased after him anymore. Most people fell into one of two categories: people who wanted something from him and people who feared him.

    She had been the only one that didn''t fall under either but now¡­

    He refused to give up his chance at happiness this time around.

    "Run, girl, if you can...but I won''t let you because you belong to me no matter what..."

    ===

    Keeley Hale stood her ground fiercely though tears threatened to spill out the corners of her eyes.

    "What are you staring for? Leave," Aaron said tly as he pulled out his phone and began scrolling through it.

    Cold. Emotionless. Cruel.

    Her husband of eight years looked as disinterested as ever and she was appalled. He had just told her his girlfriend was pregnant and he nned to divorce her as casually as if he werementing on the weather.

    "Not until you tell me the truth. Did she¡­have anything to do with my father''s death? Are you covering up for her?" Keeley''s fists shook but she wasn''t sure whether it was from holding back the tears or from rage.

    Her father¡ªthe only family she had left¡ªdied in a hit and run ident. The cops thought it was random but she couldn''t believe that. Not after what she had seen. That woman was plotting to take her ce from back when they were all in high school.

    Aaron actually deigned to look up at her nkly. "So what if I am? She''s worth more than fifty of you."

    He had never exactly been the warmest person to begin with, but it wasn''t always this bad. Keeley couldn''t remember thest time he looked at her with any degree of tenderness.

    "I''ll expose you," she seethed as the tears broke free. "I''ll put both of you in prison."

    He smiled wickedly. "Money is power, sweetheart. You can''t do anything to me."

    "Just you watch," Keeley spit out before mming the front door behind her as hard as she could. There had to be someone who would believe her. All she needed was a tiny bit of proof!

    She kicked a rock as she walked underneath some scaffolding on the sidewalk. New York was always under construction when the weather was nice.

    Who could she talk to who had ess to the traffic cameras that weren''t in either the Hales'' or Knightons'' pockets?

    She had to try and think clearly. Rationality was all she had left after the man she once loved so deeply dealt the deathblow to her heart.

    The scaffolding above her started to sway dangerously and she hurried out of the way before it copsed. Keeley''s heart raced. A lot of idents like this had been happeningtely. She knew it was all Lacy Knighton''s fault.

    If only she hadn''t gotten involved with Aaron Hale in the first ce and taken what Lacy thought should have been hers. Her father would probably still be alive and her entire life would have turned out differently.

    To escape the scaffold, Keeley ran into the street but she thought she was safe since it was a back alley that only delivery trucks used and none were around.

    Too bad she had cried earlier. Her head was still fuzzy so she didn''t see the car speeding towards her¡ªa car that still had remnants of blood under its bumper if someone looked hard enough.

    Keeley got a glimpse of the driver as she went flying. She knew him but couldn''t figure out where from. He didn''t stop to help, screeching away and leaving the smell of burning rubber behind along with Keeley''s broken body.

    As her consciousness slipped away from her for thest time, she swore that she would haunt Aaron and Lacy and make them pay for what they did to her family.

    When Keeley woke up, she was in a hospital bed. "I¡­didn''t die?" she asked groggily.

    The nurse on dutyughed in surprise. "Were you so worried? They only did a routine appendix removal."

    Appendix removal? But she already had her appendix taken out when she was seventeen!

    She wanted to ask what was going on but was distracted by a very familiar figure rushing through the door.

    "Oh, honeybun you''re awake! I''m so d," her father said with a relieved sigh as he caught his breath.

    He was wearing a sweater over a cored shirt and, like usual, part of the shirt stuck out of the bottom. It was always bing untucked. She used to tease him that it made him look like an absentminded professor.

    She must be dreaming. Her father died more than two years ago. It had been so long since she heard anyone call her honeybun.

    Or¡­was that other reality the dream? A premonition?

    Her eyes filled with tears as she reached out her arms to hug the person she never thought she would see again. "Daddy!"

    He moved over to the bedside to grant her request. "Daddy''s here. I know this was really scary but you''re going to be just fine."

    "What happened?" Keeley asked.

    She wanted to know if what he said was consistent with her memory. It was the only thing she could think of that could tell her what was going on.

    "You were at school on a field trip when you said your stomach hurt and you copsed, remember? Your teacher had to call an ambnce and you were rushed right here. I came as soon as I heard."

    Right. They were visiting the Guggenheim Museum for history ss in order to write a paper on modern art when it happened.

    She went down in front of a Picasso. From her angle, it looked like the cubistic face was mocking her as her ssmates began to scream for help.

    The facts checked out. So was the future she remembered a dream or was she somehow reborn over a decade earlier?

    Honestly, it didn''t matter. Her father was alive. She hadn''t met Aaron yet. All she had to do was avoid him.

    Keeley tightened her arms around her father''s back. Yes. She would stay away from Aaron Hale and Lacy Knighton no matter what. It couldn''t be too hard to keep her head down.

    Whatever had just happened, she was given a chance to do her life over right. Keeley could actually live her dreams instead of throwing her life away on someone who didn''t love her.

    This was the 21st century! No self-respecting woman should chase after a man that doesn''t even value her. Love isn''t necessary to be happy.

    Besides, maybe someday she could find someone better for her. Anybody would be an improvement over her ex-husband.

 Chapter 2: A Familiar Icy Voice

    <h4>Chapter 2: A Familiar Icy Voice</h4>

    Keeley forgot something very important in her quest to avoid Aaron Hale: when they crossed paths in the first ce. The first time she saw him was at a basketball game. Their eyes met briefly and she blushed and scurried away to where her friends were sitting in the stands.

    She had never seen someone so handsome before¡ªor so cold. The moment their eyes locked was like staring into a dark blue abyss.

    She was curious about those eyes but didn''t notice them again until the seating chart was redone alphabetically byst name. She froze the moment she stepped into the room and saw him sitting leisurely at the desk next to the one she was supposed to sit at.

    Aaron Hale. Keeley Hall. People had teased them when they started dating because theirst names were practically the same.

    Keeley felt sick. How did she forget that this seating arrangement wasing up?! She was too focused on avoiding all the basketball games in the weeks since she woke up! Her memory got it wrong.

    She thought this happened during thest quarter of her senior year, not the third! There was supposed to be more time toe up with a n. She wasn''t ready to face him; not after how coldly he had treated her just before she died so traumatically.

    "Mr. Weisz, aren''t seating charts a little childish? We are attending a prestigious institution of higher education after all," she tried reasoning.

    Private school teachers tended to be proud of where they worked. Public school teachers only cared about maintaining the chaos.

    Keeley never would have been able to go to a school as elite as Westwind Academy if her crazy great-great-grandfather''s will didn''t specify leaving his inheritance solely for the education of his descendants after striking it rich during the Gold Rush.

    Her dad held two Master''s degrees,pletely paid for by the trust. Her cousins, all much older than her, had at least one graduate degree as well. Several had more than one like her dad. That was how the trust worked.

    The beneficiaries may as well utilize it properly, which is how the very normal daughter of a civil engineer ended up going to a high school surrounded by children of diplomats and Fortune 500 Company CEOs.

    "Seating charts maintain the order of this prestigious institution of higher education, Miss Hall," the teacher countered, seeing right through me. "Take your seat."

    "Yes sir," she muttered, defeated.

    Keeley would not slump in her seat nor would she look at him. Aaron did not deserve the satisfaction of her acknowledging his existence.

    Instead, she took out a notebook and started doodling stars in purple glitter gel pen in the margins of yesterday''s notes, pretending to concentrate extremely hard.

    "Taking notes before ss has even started? Aren''t you diligent?" a familiar icy voice sounded in her ear and sent shivers down her spine.

    What was he doing? Aaron wasn''t interested in Keeley. She was the one who did all the chasing until he finally relented in her first life.

    Thinking back, she couldn''t understand why he bothered with her at all when he had the likes of Lacy Knighton hanging around him. Her father was a bigshot on Wall Street, like most of the kids here. She would have matched him perfectly.

    Well good! She can have him this time! Keeley didn''t want him!

    "They aren''t notes," she said tly.

    He peered at the paper with mild interest before mumbling, "I forgot you used to do that."

    That sentence was enough to make Keeley look at him. He had a slight smirk on his face and it helped melt his Ice King demeanor a little bit.

    Her heart thudded painfully when she remembered how much she used to love that little smirk. He didn''t show his emotions often but that was how she knew he was amused or pleased back then.

    "I don''t know you. How would you know whether or not I''ve doodled before?" she asked stiffly.

    He shrugged, nonchnt as his older self always was. "We''ve been in the same ss all year. I used to sit a few seats behind you and saw it once."

    A perfectly reasonable exnation. Her heart rate slowed. If a younger, more na?ve Keeley knew he had noticed her before that basketball game, she would have flipped out with excitement. As things were now, it made her feel a bit sick.

    "Right. Don''t you know it''s rude to call people out on things? It''s just random shapes. It isn''t hurting anybody."

    "I never said it was hurting anybody," he said coolly but the conversation ended there because ss began.

    Keeley spent the better part of literature ss trying not to be aware of the person beside her. Unfortunately, due to years of honing the skill, she noticed it all. Every twitch of his pencil. Every shift in his chair. Every bored sigh.

    She wanted to scream. Too close! She was too close to her mortal enemy! How was she supposed to survive the next ten weeks like this?!

    When the bell rang for lunch she couldn''t escape the room fast enough. It would be easy to avoid Aaron outside of that one ss. He always bought his lunch from the high-end cafeteria and sat with a snobby group of friends that included Lacy.

    Since her father packed her a lunch every day, she avoided the cafeteriapletely and sat with a couple of schrship kids who also brought lunch out in the student lounge.

    "Keeley!" Jeffrey Rosenberg waved her over. He was sitting with their friend Lydia Price at their usual spot.

    She smiled brightly and walked over, putting thoughts of Aaron Hale out of her head. She wouldn''t let him get to her this time. She would live life for herself and take full advantage of the family trust so she could get her PhD in gics this time.

    She always wanted to be a researcher but once she became the great Aaron Hale''s wife, she was forced to give up her dream and be a socialite instead. That was her sacrifice for love and in the end it left her with nothing.

 Chapter 3: Mind If I Sit Here?

    <h4>Chapter 3: Mind If I Sit Here?</h4>

    "Keeley, I think that guy is staring at you," Lydia said ufortably around a bite of her sandwich.

    "What gu¡ª" Keeley''s blood ran cold. Sure enough, Aaron was staring at her. What was he doing? He had a lunch tray outside the cafeteria!

    It was against the rules and he always followed the rules because they supported the system that built his family up. At one point early on he tried to convince her that they existed for the sole reason of keeping unworthy people in check.

    "Who is that?" Jeffrey whispered.

    "Are you crazy? That''s Aaron Hale! The only child of the CEO of Hale Investments. Haven''t you heard? He''s been training to inherit thepany since he was born. He''s wicked smart¡ªdon''t you know he''s going to Harvard after graduation?" Lydia asked incredulously.

    "I heard they wanted to give him a full-ride schrship because of his grades and other aplishments but he refused it because he was insulted that they didn''t think he could pay for it himself."

    "Well that''s just stupid," Keeley said spitefully.

    She remembered that well. She turned down her first choice¡ªNYU¡ªin favor of Boston University so she could be in the same city as him but he never wanted her to visit him at school so all of their dates happened elsewhere.

    "What''s stupid?"

    All three friends cowered beneath the frightening figure in front of them. His uniform was identical to theirs but they could never match the way he carried himself. Aaron wore it like a king.

    It didn''t hurt that his chocte brown hair never had a single strand out of ce either. He was above them all yet here he was butting in on their conversation.

    "Nothing!" they all yelled in unison. Angering this young man would likely be thest thing they ever did.

    Keeley cursed herself internally. The bitter, angry part of her wanted to tell him to his face but it would only provoke him. If she wanted to stay under the radar, she couldn''t get on his bad side.

    "Mind if I sit here?"

    Mind? Were any of them allowed to mind? They would have to be insane. But lunch became a very quiet affair after that.

    Jeffrey and Lydia were too afraid to say something that would put a target on their backs. Keeley couldn''t speak because she was afraid she might say something horrible that he deserved to hear.

    "It''s surprisingly warm for January," Aaron observed conversationally after a long stretch of silence passed.

    Did he seriouslye over to pick a fight with some schrship kids over the weather?

    Their little group very quickly became the center of attention. Schrship kids, students who could afford the tuition but weren''t well-known, and social outcasts hung out in the student lounge. The elite stayed in the cafeteria.

    Most people in the school knew who Aaron was and even if they didn''t, his aura stood out in a space like this. Nobody in the room understood what was going on, least of all Keeley.

    "Yes," Lydia squeaked out. "I didn''t even need a scarf today."

    Keeley couldn''t help but apud her bravery. Aaron was terrifying. What had ever possessed her to love someone like him?

    Those eyes seemed to hide some sort of secret from her. It was one she never figured out in all the time she knew him. Now she didn''t care.

    "I still need a scarf; I have to walk home," she said in a show of support for her friend. It would be awkward if Lydia was the only one responding.

    "Please, you walk way less than I do. You''re mostly on the subway!" Jeffrey pitched in.

    This was true. Keeley lived all the way out in Brooklyn. Since Jeffrey was much closer in Harlem, he walked a good chunk of the way home without subway assistance.

    And thus the conversation turned into a lengthy discussion of the merits and demerits of the subway. Aaron couldn''t participate since he had never been on the subway in his life, always being picked up and dropped off by private car.

    Only the wealthy and the insane regrly used cars in the heart of the city. Traffic was always terrible.

    Keeley watched Aaron out of the corner of her eye. He seemed annoyed. What? Was the subway offending his rich kid sensibilities? Or was he mad that they were ignoring him?

    It was most likely thetter. He wasn''t used to being ignored since people were always fawning over him.

    By the end of lunch, the group Aaron intruded on had switched from talking about the subway to discussing college eptance letters. Most universities made their final decisions by the beginning of March. The emails could starting in any day now.

    "Where all did you apply, Keeley? I mostly applied to schools in New York so I could use in-state tuition," Lydia stated with a twinge of regret.

    She really wanted to go to school in California where it was warm and sunny but she would need a schrship to make that happen. She applied for several but there were no guarantees.

    "NYU, Boston University, Penn State, Pace. I want to stay on the east coast so I can visit my dad easily."

    "Boston University? That''s not far from where I''m going," Aaron said casually, surprising everyone.

    Why was he deigning to speak to mere mortals? This was surely the strangest lunch period Jeffrey and Lydia ever experienced.

    "It''s a back-up school," Keeley said through slightly gritted teeth.

    She would rather die than go there now. Aaron would be at Harvard, she would be at NYU, and the world would reset itself to how it should have been.

    He could have a rich and influential Harvard graduate wife and Keeley could live her life peacefully. Win-win.

    The bell rang and she hastily wished her friends goodbye before rushing off to her next ss, leaving that perplexing ice block behind her. There was absolutely no reason the golden boy should have eaten lunch with a handful of schrship students.

    Jeffrey didn''t even know who he was. It was obvious he came over for Keeley. But why? What did he want from her? They didn''t even know each other yet!

 Chapter 4: This Is Kidnapping

    <h4>Chapter 4: This Is Kidnapping</h4>

    When school ended for the day, Keeley was about to head towards the subway station as usual. She had to take three connecting trains and walk another six blocks to get to and from school every day.

    Her dad hadn''t been happy about this at first¡ªhe was overprotective since her mother and brother passed away in a mugging gone wrong when she was younger¡ªbut Keeley insisted that he needed to go to work and that everybody went to school like that.

    He relented when she promised to check in with him every twenty minutes since it took more than an hour to travel each way.

    A hand shot out and grabbed her by the arm, hauling her into a waiting limousine. A kidnapping?!

    She wasn''t even one of the rich students here but if someone just went by the uniform and grabbed her by mistake¡­

    "I know karate!" Keeley shouted in a panic.

    This was only partially true. She quit when she was ten. Her karate skills were extremely rusty but if worst came to worst she could aim a decent kick.

    "Do you really want to use it in here?" a cold, slightly amused voice asked.

    Aaron. He stared at her with an eyebrow raised as if she was stupid and it made her flush slightly.

    "What are you doing? I have to go home."

    "I''ll take you there. Based on everything I heard earlier, the subway sounds terrible. I don''t know how you can even stand it."

    His words were disdainful, haughty, and raised Keeley''s hackles. Millions of New Yorkers used the subway every day! It was a perfectly valid mode of transportation!

    "That''s unnecessary," she sniffed. "Let me out."

    "Drive, Carlton," Aaron said loftily, ignoring her demands.

    The car sped away from the curb and Keeley jolted forward and practicallynded on Aaron''sp.

    She immediately backtracked and put her seatbelt on since there was no way she could leap out into oing traffic while they drove. She would find a way to get out the next time they stopped.

    "Why are you doing this?"

    Keeley had no idea what was going through the young man''s head. Brooklyn was nowhere near the Upper East Side. There was absolutely no point in going that far out of his way to take her home. Weren''t rich people supposed to value their time?

    "I don''t have to exin myself to you."

    A typical Aaron answer. He was always like this! At first she thought it was part of his charm. He was so aloof from everything that she thought he was an intriguing mystery to be solved.

    How idiotic she''d been. There was nothing mysterious about Aaron at all. He was meant to be taken at face value. He looked cold and emotionless because he WAS cold and emotionless.

    Keeley kept her thoughts to herself, waiting for her chance to escape. Unfortunately it didn''te. She realized that the child locks were on¡ªonly the driver could unlock the car.

    "This is kidnapping. I ought to call the cops on you," she muttered.

    Aaron actually smiled. A real smile. In the past she would have been moved by it but in that moment it gave off a sinister vibe.

    "I''m sure they would believe you."

    It was the same excuse he used before Keeley died when she threatened to go to the police with her suspicions about him and Lacy colluding to cover up her father''s death and it sent a shiver down her spine.

    She chose to keep quiet after that. No use goading him. She would give him a fake address in Brooklyn and walk home, no matter how long it took.

    Aaron ignored her from then on, flipping through an edition of Time magazine as if it were perfectly normal to abduct a ssmate and see them home. What teenager in their right mind read that sort of thing anyway? Children of rich businessmen were weird.

    It was even weirder that he kidnapped her only to ignore her for the majority of the ride. There wasn''t really a point if he didn''t even want to talk to her. His logic was beyond her.

    Keeley''s attention was out the window as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. Even with traffic, hermute was practically cut in half.

    "Let me off here," she said when she saw a random apartment building several blocks from her own.

    "Thank you for the ride," she said begrudgingly. "But don''t do this again, it''s weird. I don''t even know you that well."

    "You will," he said confidently. "We are desk mates after all. See you tomorrow."

    There was nothing inherently wrong with his words but they gave Keeley a sense of foreboding. What exactly had she done to attract this creep''s attention?

    Was it because she protested the seating chart and he got offended? They hadn''t met any other times! She would have to be more alert tomorrow.

    Keeley trudged the extra six blocks home though the winter wind bit at her face. Warm for January her foot.

    After taking the often undependable elevator up to the 13th floor, she unlocked the front door of the apartment she shared with her father and sighed with relief. Home. At least Aaron didn''t know where she lived. She felt safe here.

    Her father came home an hour and a halfter as she was stirring a bubbling pot of pasta sauce. "Hey Dad, how was work?"

    "Same as usual. Did you make meatballs?" he asked hopefully as he draped his coat over the coat hanger.

    "What do you take me for?" she replied with augh. Homemade meatballs using her mother''s recipe had long been a favorite for both of them.

    Theyughed and talked over dinner and Keeley felt herself rx. Today was an anomaly. Aaron would lose interest in her soon enough; he certainly had before. Out of sight, out of mind.

    She could change the ce she ate lunch and her route home after school. Then all she would have to do is ignore him for one hour a day. One hour was totally doable.

 Chapter 5: Toying With Her

    <h4>Chapter 5: Toying With Her</h4>

    Keeley sessfully avoided Aaron for a month by eating lunch behind a bunch of bookshelves in the library, sneaking out the back entrance of the school and going to a different subway stop, and looking over her shoulder everywhere she went.

    Her friends were worried when she stopped showing up at lunch but she told them that she needed to spend more time studying and would hang out with them on the weekends, which appeased them. Grades were no joke to schrship students.

    Literature ss was a slightly different story. Aaron took every avable opportunity to talk to her. It was made worse by the fact that Mr. Weisz frequently asked the students to discuss part of the text with their neighbor.

    Keeley made a sincere effort to address the questions and nothing more but Aaron had other ideas.

    "The Valentine''s dance is in two weeks. Are you going with anyone?" he asked boredly, as if the answer couldn''t possibly matter to him.

    "No. I have other ns that night."

    ns that included staying far, far away from him. They went together in her first life and Lacy ''identally'' pushed her into a punch bowl in front of everyone.

    Lacy had to know about what happened the day Aaron didn''t join his usual group for lunch. Everyone in the student lounge buzzed about it for days, ording to Lydia. Thest thing Keeley needed was to be targeted by that witch when she wasn''t even involved with her wannabe boyfriend.

    "What ns?"

    "ns with my friends," Keeley said with an air of finality.

    "I see." The conversation ended there because the teacher ended the discussion time and called on people to share their answers.

    Lydia and Jeffrey were both in herst ss of the day so Keeley broached the subject to make sure she actually did have ns that night after it ended.

    She invited them for pizza and video games at her ce. What single person could turn that down?

    "Sorry, I got asked to the dance," Lydia said apologetically. "Why don''t you twoe together? We could double up; it would be fun!"

    Panic shed through her eyes. She forgot that Lydia had a date before since she was caught up in Aaron''s group of friends. No! She couldn''t go anywhere near that dance!

    Jeffrey looked at Keeley with confusion. "I saw the signup sheet for volunteers to help set up the decorations. Your name was on it. You''re nning to set up and then leave?"

    What? She never signed up for that! Someone was messing with her¡­but who? Aaron or Lacy? Or had she magically collected another enemy she had no idea about?

    After school she talked to the teacher in charge of the volunteers and pleaded her case, saying she didn''t sign up for it personally so she shouldn''t have to go.

    The teacher didn''t take her seriously and thought she was backing out because she waszy or wanted extra time to beautify herself for the dance. Keeley''s name remained on the list.

    Oh, why hadn''t she pushed harder to transfer schools when she was reborn? Her dad looked at her like she had grown a second head when she brought it up because she was already halfway through herst year of high school.

    When he exined that no one would ept her transfer at this point and it would look bad to prospective universities she resigned herself to her fate thinking five months couldn''t do much to her.

    Ha. How had she ever thought that when she was dealing with people like Aaron Hale and Lacy Knighton?

    Keeley conceded defeat. "Lydia''s right; we should go together. Pizza afterward?"

    "You''re on," he said with a grin before waving goodbye and heading towards his locker.

    "I''ll talk to my date about it," Lydia promised. "See you tomorrow!"

    "See you."

    This was going to be terrible, she just knew it. Dances were overrated anyway but possibly having to contend with enemies would definitely make things worse. Who wanted her there so badly that they would pull such ame trick?

    Lost in her thoughts, Keeley bumped into a vaguely familiar figure after parting ways with her friends. "Watch where you''re going, peasant!"

    It was one of the rich kids. She was fairly certain his father worked for the UN¡­but where did she know him from? Sandy hair and brown eyes. She knew this face.

    He sat at Aaron''s lunch table in her past life but she couldn''t recall his name. There was something else too¡­something she couldn''t put her finger on about this guy that frightened her.

    "Sorry," Keeley mumbled. She noticed as he strode past her to meet up with Lacy at the end of the hallway.

    Her heart hammered in her chest. Lacy''s friend! She remembered now! He was interested in her but she only had eyes for Aaron.

    A bit older with a different hairstyle¡­he was the one driving the car on the day she was killed!

    He must really love her to do her dirty work so she didn''t have to bloody her dainty little hands. What was his name?!

    Flying down the hallway with an animalistic urge to escape danger, Keeley was abruptly yanked backwards by the handle on her backpack and felt pain in her shoulders from the unexpected force.

    She struggled to break free but Aaron was a lot stronger than her. He was thest person she wanted to see and angry tears sparked in her eyes.

    "Let me go!"

    "In a minute. You''re a difficult person to track down. If I didn''t know any better, I would think you were avoiding me," he scoffed as if the idea of anyone avoiding him was preposterous. Entitled jerk!

    "What do you want?" Keeley grumbled, still held hostage by her backpack.

    She would leave it here overnight if her wallet and keys weren''t in there. She needed those to get home.

    He noticed her teary eyes and frowned slightly. "Why are you crying?"

    "None of your business," she snapped. "Just leave me alone, Aaron! We aren''t friends!"

    Once upon a time she thought he was her best friend because she spent all her time following him around like a lostmb. Back then, Keeley felt closer to him than any other person.

    Theyughed, they talked, they acted like a real couple in love. And it was all a lie.

    He chose Lacy. Why wasn''t he sticking with his choice? Was he toying with her now because she kept resisting?

 Chapter 6: I Dont Need a Reason

    <h4>Chapter 6: I Don''t Need a Reason</h4>

    "Come on," Aaronmanded, releasing her backpack handle but wrapping an arm around her shoulders so she couldn''t wriggle free as easily.

    She struggled against him all the way to the front gate of the school to no avail. He practically tossed her into the back seat of his limo and ordered the driver to go to an address she didn''t recognize.

    "Where are we going?" Keeley asked suddenly, anger and nerves battling for dominance inside her muddled head.

    "You''ll see when we get there," he said before going silent for the rest of the ride just likest time.

    "A chocte shop?" She shook her head in disbelief.

    This wasn''t any chocte shop either. It was the most expensive one on Madison Avenue. Keeley went to it exactly once when shopping with some other socialites in order to forge connections for her husband in her past life.

    Everything tasted fantastic but one tiny bonbon cost about ten dors. Assorted chocte boxes here went up to the hundreds.

    "What do you want?" Aaron asked coolly, pulling out his wallet.

    "There''s no way I could eat something so expensive," Keeley stammered.

    What on earth was he doing? He dragged her halfway across the city for sky-high priced chocte¡­why? Because she cried? Impossible. Aaron never cared for her like that even during the better days of their rtionship.

    "Pick something or I will," he said sternly.

    "I really¡ª"

    "One medium box of assorted choctes and a small bag of chocte covered oranges."

    He ignored herpletely and held out his gold card to the cashier. It was amazing that he had such a high credit limit while he was still in high school.

    Keeley felt a bit faint when she nced up at the menu and saw that Aaron just bought $137 worth of chocte on a whim. If her friends had any idea of this, they would flip.

    Buying a $1.50 candy bar from a vending machine was usually too much for their budgets. Even Keeley couldn''t remember thest time she had enough spare change for a Snickers.

    "Eat," he said as he directed her to a chair at one of the cute little ornately carved metal tables near the front window of the shop.

    "Why¡ª" Keeley cut herself off. There was no point trying to reason with a madman.

    If he wanted to spend a ridiculous amount of money on chocte for her, it wasn''t worth arguing. Besides, it was delicious. She felt herself abandoning her principles as she savored the smooth, creamy goodness of the fillings inside the choctes.

    She tried to gauge Aaron''s mood¡ªshe had devoted years of her life to it after all¡ªbut was puzzled. He seemed¡­happy.

    He wasn''t the type to smile much but his icy demeanor had melted a little as he thoughtfully chewed on a chocte-covered orange slice. Maybe he wanted an excuse to get chocte for himself and happened to drag her along because he wanted her to be impressed.

    That made the most sense. Other students in school practically rolled out the red carpet for Aaron wherever he went. He wanted Keeley to idolize him like everyone else.

    What better way to do that was there than unting his wealth? Well, she wouldn''t fall for it. Too many years had already been wasted on that lowlife.

    "This is the best chocte in Manhattan," he said suddenly, startling her out of her thoughts.

    "Yeah, it''s delicious," she agreed easily.

    He was showing off again but she couldn''t deny that it was the best chocte she ever had, in or out of Manhattan.

    She thanked him reluctantly. Keeley knew how to mind her manners even though she hated him to the core.

    "I''m d you like it."

    What?! This iceberg cared about what she thought?! Since when! Her opinions stopped mattering to him before they even got married in herst life. He had to just be saying that.

    Aaron Hale was an existence that was beholden to no one. He didn''t care about a single person who couldn''t benefit him in some way.

    Even Lacy¡­when he talked about the divorce he never specifically said that he loved her, only that she was pregnant. Keeley wasn''t sure if he was even capable of love.

    She sighed wearily, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer. Whatever interest he had in her right now had to be nipped in the bud and that wouldn''t happen if she wasn''t certain of his motives.

    "Aaron, why did you bring me here? I don''t understand."

    His cool demeanor shifted slightly. Was he nervous? "I don''t need a reason to do anything."

    Right. Keeley''s earlier belief that he wanted her to fall down and worship at his feet strengthened. Apparently he didn''t need a deeper motive than that.

    "Whatever. Thanks again for the treat but I really do need to get home. My dad will be worried about me."

    He flinched slightly at the mention of Keeley''s father but she didn''t notice since she was rummaging through her bag for her phone in order to check the time. It was sote already?!

    She said goodbye as politely as she could before rushing out the door to the nearest subway station, leaving the remaining choctes behind. Who knows where he would take her if she got back in his car!

    Aaron rested his head on his hand andughed slightly to himself as he watched her bolt away. His Keeley was being so resistant.

    He didn''t understand why, since she was always the one running to him before and he had to push her away to keep her safe.

    She had to love him in this life. He would do anything to make that happen, even if he had to turn her entire world upside down. He didn''t care if she resented him for it.

    This time, he wouldn''t let Lacy''s scheming get in the way. Keeley would stay by his side if he spoiled her so much that no other man could everpare to him. He could deal with the Knightons and his fatherter.

 Chapter 7: Nobodys Better Than Me

    <h4>Chapter 7: Nobody''s Better Than Me</h4>

    Keeley was not an artistic person. Whoever put her name on the volunteer list to make and put up the decorations for the dance was going to suffer.

    It would be held in a banquet hall at a fancy hotel downtown¡ªthis was a private school; they had standards¡ªbut the volunteers worked on making them in one of the art ssrooms after school for a week prior.

    One of the socialites only there to get volunteer hours for college admissionsined, "Isn''t this a little underwhelming? It would be so much easier to just buy everything and it would look better too. A kindergartener could have made this."

    She eyed Keeley''s masterpiece made from two balloons taped together in the shape of a heart and stered with paper mache with distaste.

    It would look better once the balloons were removed and it was painted. She hoped. At least nobody else''s looked much better.

    The student advisor who came up with the idea wanted to hang the hearts upside down from the ceiling covered in glitter so they would have a slight disco ball effect under the shing lights of the stage where the live band yed. Everyone was too tired to argue.

    Most participants were on the student council, didn''t want to be here but needed volunteer hours, or came to goof off with their friends who fell in either of the first two categories.

    Keeley was the only one who didn''t personally have a reason to be there.

    At least no one she was trying to avoid was on the decorationmittee. That list had grown from Aaron and Lacy to the man she was certain killed her.

    Looking in the student directory, she discovered his name was Maximillian Lynch. Lacy''s loyalpdog.

    Just thinking about him gave her goosebumps. Every time she saw him she felt the fear that flooded through her when that car barreled out of nowhere even though he wasn''t a killer yet.

    Keeley absentmindedly continued pasting paper mache to her balloons as she thought about her dilemma. One of her enemies orchestrated it so she would have to attend the dance so she assumed they would be there.

    Aaron even pointedly asked her about it¡­he was the most likely candidate based on that alone, though she admitted that it seemed more Lacy''s style to make a moner'' do extra unwanted work. She thrived off of others'' misfortunes. Aaron was too high above everyone to care.

    He had acted so strangely ever since she was reborn. He was supposed to be off in his little rich heir world until Keeley barged her way into it.

    She never fit in with his friends, family, or lifestyle no matter how hard she tried. She changed so much about herself for him but never got any recognition for it.

    Weariness settled on her heart. This dance would be the death of her. At least she would be with Jeffrey and Lydia. Those two were normal, easy people to be around.

    She might even have fun if she managed to avoid whoever was trying to trap her. Being on high alert all the time was exhausting.

    She couldn''t wait for the school year to end. Lacy, Aaron, and Max all went to Boston for college. All she had to do was go to NYU as originally nned and she would be free of them.

    Aaron would no doubt end up with Lacy (it was going to happen eventually anyway) and she could live her life alone in peace.

    Keeley''s phone dinged and she washed her hands to check it in case it was from her dad.

    The number wasn''t saved in her phone but she would recognize those ten digits anywhere. Aaron. ''Go to the dance with me.''

    ''I already have a date''

    She would have said no even if she hadn''t. Going with Jeffrey looked like a better idea all the time.

    ''Who could you possibly go with that is better than me?''

    Such arrogance! She huffed and in her anger she provoked the sleeping beast. ''Anyone would be better than you!''

    Keeley''s phone buzzed several more times in her pocket but she resolutely ignored it and went back to her balloons.

    When she finally checked her phone again on the subway, the four messages she received included statistics about his worth, aplishments, and a spread done on his family by a financial magazine. Thest one said ''Nobody''s better than me'' with a winking emoticon.

    Insane. He waspletely insane. There was nobody worse than him!

    Unfortunately, Aaron wasn''t a person that enjoyed being challenged. Her refusal¡ªspecifically, the words she used when she refused him¡ªignited a fire that she could not put out.

    It started small.

    Arge bouquet of orchids was on her desk first thing the following day. There wasn''t a card or any indication who it was from beyond the slightly smug aura radiating off of her desk mate.

    He didn''t say a word but leaned back in his seat with the sophistication and power of a lounging panther.

    Keeley didn''t want to cause a scene at school so she took them home and gave them to her elderly neighbor who loved flowers and had a tiny window box garden when the weather was nice.

    The next day it was a pair of earrings shaped like bows with little rhinestones on them. Keeley pawned them off on Lydia since they were simr to a pair she saw in the mall at a standard essory store.

    Her friend shoved them back into her hands, white as a sheet, after a girl in her math ssplimented themter in the day. Apparently they were from Tiffany''s and cost over $7,000.

    Keeley nearly dropped the little box in shock. More than $7,000 on a pair of earrings for a girl who hardly even talked to him?! What exactly was he trying to pull?

    She didn''t want to confront Aaron so she snuck the box back into his backpack when he bent over to retrieve a dropped pencil the following day.

 Chapter 8: I Want You To Dress Up Tomorrow

    <h4>Chapter 8: I Want You To Dress Up Tomorrow</h4>

    Aaron didn''t say anything to Keeley about the returned earrings but the day before the dance arge box waited on her doorstep when she arrived home.

    Inside was a burgundy A-line off-shoulder dress. The bodice was dotted with diamonds (she learned her lesson after the earring incident; there was no way they were fake) andyers of tulle flowed asymmetrically from front to back below the knee line.

    Keeley didn''t even want to think about how much this must have cost but that wasn''t all. A pair of silver stilettos and the earring box she returned were inside as well.

    "Why," she said weakly to the empty air as she sank onto her knees.

    Why was this happening? What did this egomaniac want from her? He even looked up her real address! He wasn''t like this when they were together before!

    Did he only give extravagant gifts to women he wasn''t in a rtionship with? Honestly, that made a sad kind of sense.

    Keeley finally texted him back. ''I''ll apologize for what I said if you stop doing this. I really can''t ept any of it''

    He responded immediately. ''It''s my money to spend, not yours. I want you to dress up tomorrow''

    He spent all of that money because he wanted to see her dressed up. She felt sick to her stomach. No. She couldn''t give in to him. She wouldn''t.

    Besides, she already had a dress that she rented from a secondhand shop for $49. It was pearl pink and sleeveless withcy flowers on the bodice and a chiffon skirt that went to her knees.

    Aaron''s dress was dazzling but the one she had was still cute. Besides, her natural light blonde hair looked good with pastels and she refused to let him win.

    He didn''t speak to her until the end of literature ss on Valentine''s Day and only whispered "see you tonight" huskily into her ear, making her jerk backwards in rm. It was going to be a very long day.

    The rest of Keeley''s sses ticked by sluggishly and she barely had time to go home and grab her outfit, makeup bag, and hairstyling tools to make herself up in the bathroom at the hotel between decorating and the start of the dance.

    The homemade decorations didn''t look terrible but they also looked out of ce in such a fancy banquet room. It would probably be alright once the lights were off.

    Keeley was so ovee with fatigue and nerves before the night even began that she nearly fell off adder while hanging some of the glitter hearts. She was halfway down when someone''s hands sprung up beneath her back and stopped her fall at a 45 degree angle.

    "Jeffrey," she sighed with relief. "You just saved my life! What are you doing here an hour early?"

    "Relieving you so you can go get ready," he said cheerfully as he helped her down.

    He already wore a white shirt and cks with a light pink tie he borrowed from his dad. "I''ve got your corsage here but you can see it once you''re done."

    With a bright smile, she thanked him again and scurried off in search of a ce to change. Keeley hummed absently to herself as she curled her hair and put on lipstick.

    She wasn''t the only student in the bathroom¡ªother members of the decorationmittee trickled in to touch things up before their dates arrived.

    Satisfied with her appearance, she rejoined Jeffrey and held out her wrist so he could strap on the simple pink rose corsage.

    "You look nice," he coughed out a bit shyly.

    "Thanks, so do you."

    They walked side by side onto the dance floor. It really did look better with the lights off. The glitter scattered tiny fragments of light across the room in a way that seemed ethereal.

    The band was lively and people awkwardly danced in clusters to a popr song from the radio. Maybe this wouldn''t be so bad.

    Lydia spotted her friends and waved them over. Her auburn hair was in a ssy bun with a couple of loose ringlets and her satin plum colored dress flowed to the floor.

    Her date was a cute baby-faced boy with freckles that Keeley was fairly certain shared her science ss.

    "Jonathan, these are my friends Jeffrey and Keeley," she introduced. "We''re all going to get pizza together after this."

    He gave them a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you guys. Shall we?"

    The four of them found a spare bit of dance floor and let loose in the way only teenagers are capable of.

    Keeley was able to let go and rx in a way she hadn''t since being reborn. Nothing like catchy music and the mood of a crowd to get you to forget your troubles.

    She was actually enjoying herself, goofing off with Jeffrey and letting him spin her around.

    She waved her hands in the air as if she didn''t have a care in the world, jumped up and down to the beat, and cheered along with everyone else as one student breakdanced in the middle of a circle of eager onlookers.

    After a while, Keeley felt a bit thirsty and went to get a drink. She eyed the punchbowl warily, remembering what happened the first time she went to this dance.

    Lacy wasn''t around as far as she had seen. Maybe she wasn''t a target this time since she wasn''t Aaron''s date. In the end she opted for lemonade out of a ss dispenser and avoided punch entirely.

    She surveyed the dance floor, her vignce suddenly returning at the reminder of her previous bad experience at this dance. Her friends didn''t seem to be feeling her absence too much since they were still dancing around freely.

    Max leaned against a wall while talking to some other diplomats'' kids. Aaron was nowhere in sight. And Lacy was marching right toward the drinks area with a determined look on her face.

    That was one confrontation Keeley was determined to avoid. She had no reason to be picking a fight now! It felt nice to brush right past her former enemy as if she was air and return to her group of friends.

    If Keeley knew anything about Lacy Knighton, it was that she was a coward. She would never confront anyone in front of a group. Avoiding meeting her alone was easy in such a crowded ce.

 Chapter 9: I Hate You, Aaron Hale!

    <h4>Chapter 9: I Hate You, Aaron Hale!</h4>

    When the first slow song of the night came on, Keeley ced one hand in Jeffrey''s and the other on his shoulder and they somewhat awkwardly stepped in a tiny circle.

    Many other student pairs were doing the exact same thing though some of the higher society students performedplicated waltzes they had learned from private tutors. In her first life, Aaron made her take sses so she wouldn''t embarrass him at important events so she was fairly good at it.

    Those skills were wasted on Jeffrey but she didn''t care about that. She would much rather dance normally with a friend than artistically with a snob.

    A minute into the song, Keeley found herself being pulled away by somebody else. Jeffrey''s protest was halfway out of his mouth when he realized who it was and shut up.

    "You don''t mind if I cut in, do you," he stated rather than asked.

    Jeffrey nodded mutely. Traitor! Handing her over just like that!

    "Stealing someone else''s date is rather rude," Keeley spat as she struggled to break free from Aaron''s rmingly strong grip.

    Coldness radiated off him in waves, chilling her to the core. "You didn''t wear the dress."

    "I told you I wouldn''t. I still need to give it back to you."

    Though he was clearly angry, Aaron''s graceful waltz didn''t falter in the slightest. Keeley hadn''t danced with him like this in a long, long time. When was it? A charity g when they were newlyweds?

    She had been so proud and ready to show off what she learned but Aaron only danced one song with her before going off to talk to business partners for the rest of the night. He didn''tpliment her dancing at all.

    "Why? Girls like clothes and essories."

    "I already had one. It was presumptuous thing to do without even asking my opinion," she said sourly. "Gifts¡ªespecially expensive ones¡ªshould not be given to people who are practically strangers."

    "You think I''m a stranger? After all the time we''ve spent discussing Shakespeare and Steinbeck?"

    In what world did being stuck as partners in ss constitute a rtionship? His thought process was mind-boggling. Keeley had to put her foot down.

    "We''re just ssmates, Aaron. It isn''t appropriate to spend so much money on me."

    "So you would let me spend money on you if we were closer?"

    "Ye¡ªno! Are you crazy? I don''t want your money! I want you to leave me alone!" she nearly cried in frustration.

    Nothing was getting through to this ice block. Why, when she would have twisted herself into a pretzel for a fraction of his attention, did he show no interest but now that she wanted nothing to do with him he showered her with it?

    His smoldering dark blue eyes bored into her chestnut brown ones with frightening intensity. "That''s not happening."

    Keeley wanted to stomp on his foot but her traitorous muscle memory wouldn''t let her because she knew all the steps to the dance he was leading.

    Why not? What on earth was so appealing about bothering her when he knew she didn''t like it?

    Men are terrible¡ªthey think a woman who isn''t interested in them is just ying hard to get and don''t know how to ept the word ''no.'' No means no, not yes, you idiots!

    The song ended but Aaron didn''t release her. He had dipped her when the music stopped as a sort of finale and his hands were on her waist even after they straightened upright.

    "Keeley," he said seriously.

    "Let me go. I have to get back to my friends."

    His expression darkened when she tried to leave. "You dance surprisingly well."

    "I''ve had a lot of practice," she muttered bitterly.

    All of it had been for him and he only appreciated it now when she couldn''t care less. "Can you let go of me now?"

    "In a minute," Aaron said tly before pulling her closer to him.

    Before she knew it, he had seized her for a kiss. The second she broke free, Keeley pped him across the face as hard as she could.

    "I HATE you, Aaron Hale!" she seethed before turning on her heel and wiping her mouth furiously.

    He hadpletely lost his mind! How dare he kiss her when, as far as he knew, they only talked in ss? How dare he disregard her feelings? How dare he do something like that in public that would put a target on her back?

    "Um¡­Keeley¡­are you okay?" Jeffrey asked hesitantly as she returned to the group.

    His voice was riddled with guilt. Good. He should feel guilty for throwing her to the wolf''s den.

    "No," she said curtly.

    "I''m sorry! He''s scary; I can''t afford to cross him! You understand, don''t you?"

    The sad thing was, she did understand. "You owe me big time for that."

    "I''ll buy your pizza," he wheedled.

    "And breadsticks."

    It still wouldn''t be enough to make up for the fact that she had been kissed by the man she had sworn to loathe for the rest of her life. It was even worse because a tiny part of her wanted to respond due to her former love for him.

    "Deal," Jeffrey sighed in relief. Angry Keeley could be scary too.

    Unfortunately, the rest of the night was ruined for her after that. Especially once she saw the murderous look on Lacy''s face that threatened to freeze her from within.

    So her enemy saw it. Of course she had¡ªher eyes were always on Aaron. Did she at least see the p that proved Keeley was an unwilling party in the incident? Or would that make her angrier?

    Obsessed people can''t be reasoned with. There would be hell to pay for that one unwanted kiss.

    If Keeley got her hands on him, he would be dead meat, provided she didn''t care about staying alive or out of prison.

    Maybe she should start ditching literature ss. Call in sick. Pretend to leave the country. Do an independent study. Anything to stay out of that maniac''s way for the next month and a half until the seats switched again.

 Chapter 10: So?

    <h4>Chapter 10: So?</h4>

    Aaron knew he screwed up when Keeley hit him and stormed off. She looked angry but more than that she looked scared and it cut him to the core.

    Why? Why had things gone so wrong this time? She was supposed to be in love with him already! He hadn''t meant to scare her off.

    Even though she didn''t wear the presents he bought her, she still looked like an angel in her cheap pink dress and loose curls. No sane man could resist kissing the woman he loves in that situation.

    These days he wondered if he even was sane or if he was losing his mind over her.

    Keeley''s resistance to him was maddening. She was supposed toe to him; she always did before.

    He remembered how she originally caught his eye.

    He was at a basketball game because the son of one of his father''s business contacts was the captain and his father wanted them to be on good terms with each other.

    Aaron didn''t care about basketball but orders were orders. Defying his father was not in his best interest.

    He went to get concessions during halftime and briefly locked eyes with her. She turned bright red and looked away¡ªamon female reaction¡ªand scurried away into the crowd.

    He would have thought nothing of it if they hadn''t been seated next to each other in literature ss a few weekster.

    "Yourst name is Hale?" she asked with a wide smile on her face. "Mine is Hall; we''re only one letter off. What a small world."

    A small world indeed. His world was painfully small. Everybody he knew wanted something from him or vice versa. It was oddly refreshing that she didn''t know who he was before then.

    Keeley treated him like a normal ssmate rather than someone to be feared. Every day she greeted him with a warm smile and when he ran out of lead for his mechanical pencil in the middle of a quiz she gave him a piece of hers straight out of her pencil before he even had the chance to dig around in his bag to see if there was any left hiding somewhere.

    He wouldn''t have been able to finish the quiz on time if not for her interference. How had she known he was in need so quickly?

    After that he paid more attention to the girl sitting next to him. She had an expressive face and sparkling eyes that were frequently focused on him when she thought he wasn''t looking.

    Other people sucked up to him but Keeley offered him gum or mints or half of her candy bar out of genuine kindness. He could see it in her smile. She didn''t have much but still wanted to share it with someone she liked.

    "Hey Aaron, want to try this new hot dog stand with me?"

    "Aaron, let''s go see the new superhero movie!"

    "I made cookiesst night, do you want some?"

    "Let''s study together for the test!"

    "Have you finished your paper yet? I''m only halfway through because I''m having a hard time finding enough character evidence¡­"

    "Aaron! Let''s sit next to each other on the field trip bus."

    Keeley always approached him with such liveliness on her face. She wasn''t faking it. She wanted to be around HIM, not the heir of Hale Investments.

    He secretly watched her interact with other people. She treated him the same way she treated her friends, which was quite pleasing. Once his suspicions behind her intent were cleared, he didn''t brush her off as often.

    She never once asked him to buy things for her the way the other girls he knew expected him to because of his family''s wealth. When they hung out she insisted on paying her own way.

    She neverined about his schedule, expected anything from him, or put on any sort of pressure. Keeley was just happy to be with him.

    He wished he hadn''t taken that for granted. Back then it seemed so natural that she followed him around like an imprinted duckling.

    Her friends, like most people, were afraid of him so Aaron preferred to have them spend time with his group once they started getting close. This was the biggest mistake of his life because it was how Keeley got onto Lacy Knighton''s radar.

    Even though she didn''t belong in his world, she did her best to carve a space for herself there because she wanted to be with him no matter what. By doing that she subjected herself to all sorts of torment from catty socialites who didn''t think she was good enough.

    Aaron didn''t want her to suffer that kind of degradation so he tried to teach Keeley everything she needed to know about fitting into high society.

    Dancing with her tonight triggered a walk down memoryne. He remembered how hard she practiced in preparation for a charity g where he had to show his face as the brand new Vice President of Hale Investments.

    She danced beautifully that day but he couldn''t say anything to her because his father was watching. In his picky eyes, Keeley''s efforts were the bare minimum and not worth being praised.

    They already went against his approval just to get married. That was when everything went downhill.

    So how could he not kiss her when she danced with him this time?

    He loosened his burgundy tie angrily. Keeley had been avoiding him. He wasn''t stupid. Nobody changes their habits without a reason and it started right after he joined her friends for lunch and took her "home."

    Clever girl, trying to throw him off like that. Too bad he already knew where she lived from back when they were dating.

    "Aaron, what''s wrong with you? Why did you kiss that cheap girl?" Lacy demanded angrily as she stormed up to him.

    Her ugly expression didn''t suit her. Otherwise she would have been quite beautiful to the average man with her raven hair and sea-green eyes. But Aaron Hale had never been an average man.

    He was surrounded by beauty from a young age to the point where it hardly affected him at all.

    Only Keeley could elicit a reaction from him. Her beauty was innate. She would always outshine the Lacy Knightons of the world in his eyes.

    "Watch your mouth, she isn''t cheap," Aaron said sharply, emanating a frightening chill.

    "That''s the girl you ate lunch with a while ago, isn''t it?" Lacy pouted, draping herself over his arm.

    "What''s so special about her anyway? She''s poor! Don''t you know her school is paid for by a family trust but she''s actually penniless? She''s no better than a schrship student! She lives in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn and her father works in construction!"

    He shook her off. "So?"

    Lacy gaped at him. She didn''t have aeback for such a simple argument.

    Aaron did what he wanted and she knew it. Nothing she or anyone could do would convince him to change his mind once it was set on something.

    "It''s not any of your business what I do," he said icily. "You should remember that."

    It was times like these he wanted a drink but he wasn''t twenty-one yet in this life. How bothersome.

 Chapter 11: I Dare You

    <h4>Chapter 11: I Dare You</h4>

    Keeley avoided school for a week by pretending to have a terrible flu. She knew her father''s aversion to illness¡ªhe was a sympathetic puker and incredibly squeamish over all.

    All she had to do was put a baggie of hot water on her face for a few minutes each day to fake a fever and she was able to stay safely away from Aaron Hale.

    In between makeup assignments her teachers emailed to her and watching a lot of bad reality TV (a guilty pleasure), she tried to think of ways to get Aaron off her back. She had nothing.

    If he only wanted her to fall down and worship at his feet, why had he gone so far as to kiss her? Was he trying to get together only to dump her and show everyone how insignificant she was?

    She wouldn''t put it past him considering his ssist nature. More likely than not, the whole thing was nothing but a twisted joke not to be taken seriously. But how should she react when she saw him again? She couldn''t avoid school forever.

    Keeley mailed the box of presents back to him using a fake name and address so his father wouldn''t be able to investigate her. She preferred to avoid confrontation.

    Maybe she could pretend nothing happened when they met again. As of right now, she had no ns to ever speak to him again. Having participation points docked would be far superior to interacting with that creep.

    Luck wasn''t on her side though. The day she came back, Keeley was dismayed to discover that an important partner project had been assigned that was worth a significant chunk of their grade and she was stuck with thest person on earth she wanted to work with.

    They had to co-author a series of Shakespearean love sos to inanimate objects instead of people within the next three days.

    Wouldn''t this sort of writing assignment be better done individually?! Why did teachers always have to emphasize group work? Literally no one liked group projects!

    "So when do you want to do this, partner?" Aaron asked coolly, looking over at her as sheid her head on the desk exhaustedly. "Lunchtime in the library?"

    School was definitely out of the question. Too many people could spread gossip and incite Lacy''s rage.

    "No, I have something else going on at lunch."

    "Why don''t we do it at my ce after school? My driver can take you home afterwards."

    Keeley raised her head and bit her lip, torn. She didn''t want to go to Aaron''s austere house and risk running into her former father-inw but she didn''t want Aaron anywhere near her house either. His parents were probably working so his ce was the lesser of two evils.

    "Fine. Today works. I want to get this over with; I have a lot of makeup work to do still."

    "You chose a bad time to fall ill," he said shrewdly, deducing the real reason for her absence.

    "I can''t control when I get sick," she sniffed, alluding to the fact that she hadn''t wanted him to kiss her.

    He went quiet after that. Point to Keeley.

    At the end of the day, she was apprehensive as they sped towards the Hale family''s townhouse on 75th street. It was as menacingly huge as she remembered and was one of the few ces in the heart of the city that actually had a backyard.

    Keeley had never felt weed there so going back now as no one of significance was even more daunting.

    "Carlton, bring out the strawberry cheesecake for my guest," Aaron ordered as they walked through the front door into the expansive living room decorated with antiques.

    Keeley was overwhelmed. She''d nearly forgotten how much she feared breaking or scratching anything in this house. Every single piece was worth more than her life.

    Aaron sat down on a Louis XV sofa with ease but Keeley decided it would be safer to just sit on the floor.

    She cleared her throat, wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. "So. We need to write five of these, right?"

    "Yes. Do you have any ideas for possible topics?"

    No, she did not. She was about to say so when Carlton returned with two tes of strawberry cheesecake from Junior''s, a famous New York institution known for its cheesecake.

    She hesitantly took a bite, not wanting to spill on anything important, and moaned appreciatively. This was the best strawberry cheesecake she''d ever tasted!

    "Why don''t we write one on cheesecake?" she suggested with her mouth full so it sounded more like "Eye don ee rye un on keeskek?"

    Aaron''s lips twitched with barely suppressed mirth. "An excellent idea. Provided we cane up with fourteen lines only about cheesecake."

    Keeley scowled at him. He was making fun of her. Just watch; she woulde up with the whole thing by herself!

    After several minutes and a bunch of offbeat pping trying to stick to iambic pentameter, she felt confident enough to recite the first two quatrains she scribbled down.

    "I cannot tell you how to choose a treat

    Dessert is something not easy to buy

    But if you happen to crave something sweet

    Nobody praises cheesecake more than I

    Graham cracker crust helps bnce out the cheese

    Though dense it also can feel very light

    And toppings can be added as you please

    Strawberry cheesecake is such a delight"

    She tilted her head back proudly. "How''s that for poetry on the fly? I find yourck of faith disturbing."

    "¡­did you just quote Star Wars at me?"

    "You know Star Wars?" Keeley asked,pletely aghast.

    The Aaron she knew hated mainstream pop culture and was proud of the fact that he had never seen a single Star Wars movie. Her dad was a huge Star Wars fan so she grew up on them and watched the original trilogy about once a year. Aaron always refused to watch them with her.

    "I recently discovered them. The special effects are quite impressive considering the era they were made in."

    "Yeah, they are," she said quietly.

    If he had talked to her like this in her previous life she would have been over the moon. Right now all she felt was confusion and a desire to be done and go home.

    "But let''s get back on topic. I''m not done."

    He gestured for her to continue. "Carry on, Shakespeare."

    "Each bite I take still dances on my tongue

    I wish for nothing more than toplete

    This lovely cake so often found unsung

    Which many more people should want to eat

    The drawback of its poprity

    Is that there won''t be any left for me"

    Aaron shook his head and smirked as Keeley grinned triumphantly up at him, a clear challenge in her eyes.

    "I dare you toe up with something as quickly as I did on your own."

 Chapter 12: Why Are You So Afraid Of Me?

    <h4>Chapter 12: Why Are You So Afraid Of Me?</h4>

    Aaron frowned and tapped his pencil against his arm. Keeley directly challenged him with her impressively fast so about cheesecake.

    He didn''t even have a topic. It had to be something that would interest her; she might soften a bit towards him if it was about something she liked.

    He could have sworn that for a split second that she was excited he recognized her Star Wars reference.

    Pop culture was a foreign concept for most of his life since he was raised to be as businesslike as possible. Other little boys ran around ying with their stic lightsabers while he was expected to learn how to fence with an actual sword.

    His father told him thatmon things were beneath him and for the longest time he believed it. He would never prefer pop culture to business articles but Keeley loved things like that.

    He ignored her preferences when they were together before. In his efforts to help her navigate his world, he forgot to try and do the same in hers.

    Aaron lived twenty-seven years alone with his regrets before dying from a heart attack caused by overwork. Waking up as a seventeen-year-old with another chance was the best possible thing that could have happened to him.

    One of the first things he did was watch all of the Star Wars movies so he would have something to talk to Keeley about once he met her again.

    He never would have imagined that she would be so difficult to talk to about anything unrted to ss assignments. It was frustrating beyond belief but he had to keep his temper in check or she would run even farther away.

    If he could mix the two together¡­that gave him an idea. He wasn''t able to write his so nearly as fast as she did but the end result should pay off.

    "A ship zooms through the endless stars above

    It dodges meteors and space debris

    A rusty piece of junk that I so love

    Though some do not always its value see

    The hyperdrive is broken yet again

    And yet the ship does not fail to retreat

    A perfect hideaway for Rebel men

    There are no goals that this ship cannot meet

    I won it in a game against a friend

    He was reluctant for the ship to part

    Eventually he flew the ship again

    The ship that had still lived on in his heart

    The gxy is saved because of it

    Amidst those happy days in its cockpit"

    Keeleyughed hysterically from her ce on the floor and Aaron wasn''t sure whether to be gratified or annoyed. "You¡ªjust wrote¡ªa so¡ªabout¡ªthe¡ªMillenium¡ªFalcon."

    Her words were halting and she barely got the sentence out because she wasughing too hard to breathe. Her face waspletely red and she clutched her sides for support.

    Aaron hadn''t expected such a strong reaction from her. Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

    "That should be to your satisfaction."

    "No one will believe you came up with that. Everyone''s going to think it was me. Who are you and what have you done with Aaron Hale?" She sat up and sobered in an instant.

    There was that hesitance again. He couldn''t understand it. She kept pulling away from him. She seemed almost¡­afraid of him.

    What could he have possibly done to make her be that way when they had hardly interacted in this life? She seemed afraid of him even before the kiss¡­

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about."

    "Right," she muttered to herself. "I must be crazy. Let''s get back to work."

    For the most part, they worked in silence, stopping only to ask for rhyme suggestions now and then. The other three sos took about an hour toplete.

    Aaron watched her as she concentrated, enjoying the exaggerated look of focus on her face as she tried to think. It reminded him of happier days. The early days of their rtionship when it seemed like nothing could go wrong.

    Out of instinct, he reached out to brush a fallen strand of hair behind her ear and she flinched, hard. Aaron drew back instantly, annoyed. She was definitely scared of him.

    Keeley was supposed to be the one person who didn''t fear him or his family''s power. His chest constricted painfully. How had this happened?

    "Why are you so afraid of me? What did I do to you?" he asked unhappily.

    Panic shone in her eyes for a millisecond before she gave him a nk look. "Everyone is afraid of you. Don''t tell me you haven''t noticed."

    "I have. But I want to know why YOU are afraid of me."

    "The same reasons as everyone else. You could wipe any of our families off the map in the blink of an eye," Keeley said without meeting his gaze. "And you''re cold as ice. Nobody can get close to you."

    He wanted to protest. That wasn''t true. Keeley got close to him before¡­she pushed and pushed until she wormed her way into his heart. She had loved him so much!

    It killed him that she was saying these things now in such a detached tone. Not only did she not love him, she seemed to hate him. He couldn''t bear her indifference. Karma was a cruel mistress.

    "Only because nobody bothers to try," he said eventually.

    Keeley tried before. She tried so hard that there was no other option but to seed.

    She ignored that and got to her feet. "I need to go home now. Since I came up with one more so than you, you should type it up and submit it to the teacher."

    "Alright," he said dully before calling for Carlton to take her home. Clearly she didn''t want him toe with her.

    Keeley had changed and Aaron didn''t understand why. She had been the only person in his life who didn''t care about gaining benefits by association on top of not trembling in fear at the very sight of him.

    This would be a lot easier if she actually did want something from him. Unfortunately, it seemed like all she wanted was to be left alone. That was the one thing he couldn''t do.

 Chapter 13: Christmastime in Boston

    <h4>Chapter 13: Christmastime in Boston</h4>

    Keeley''s confusion was at an all-time high. She tried to mesh her memories of Aaron with the way he was acting now and nothing added up.

    A so about Star Wars¡­she nearly forgot herself when she heard that. It was possibly the silliest thing she had ever hearde out of his mouth.

    If things were different, it might have made her fall for him, but she would never fall into that trap again.

    Aaron rejected her constantly in the beginning¡ªher attempts at conversation, her invitations to hang out, basically anything that came out of her mouth got shot down.

    She kept smiling and poking and prodding as she tried to figure out what was hidden beneath that cold exterior. She should have realized that underneath thatyer of ice¡­was more ice. He was frozen to the very core.

    Why was she so stupidly persistent back then? She should have given up after the second, third, tenth rejection and moved on with her life instead of getting stuck on the man for over twelve years.

    Any tiny response from him was encouraging and she took it as a sign that he was opening up to her. Ha. He never truly opened up to her at all.

    Unasked for, memories of how they officially began dating filled her mind.

    It was Christmastime in Boston during their freshman year of college. Aaron''s schedule was all over the ce so even though she texted him daily they hardly ever saw each other.

    That particr day he agreed to meet up with her downtown¡ªhe never wanted her anywhere near his campus. Harvard people were too good for the likes of a simple girl in love with the wrong man.

    "Aaron!" Keeley yelled as she madly waved to get his attention from across the street.

    He spotted her and walked over with a brooding expression on his face. "Your hat looks ridiculous," he said with a flick to the giant pompom that topped her crocheted beanie with little foxes on it.

    "So, what did you call me here for?" Aaron looked as cold and detached as ever, as if he couldn''t be bothered to show up but did anyway on a whim.

    "Looking at the lights and getting cannolis! Haven''t you seen how beautifully everything has been decorated downtown the past few weeks? It''s so much prettier at night," she said excitedly.

    "It''s also a lot colder at night," he pointed out. "These things are already fairly visible in the day. I don''t see what is so special about them."

    Keeley stuck her tongue out at him. "Spoilsport! Come on, there''s bound to be something here you like. Let''s go."

    She reached for his gloved hand and pulled him along to go see the lights and one of the several gigantic trees dotted throughout the city.

    Aaron let her do it without furtherment, staying silent as she oohed and ahhed pointing out various decorations.

    When they reached the towering tree, she stared up at it in awe with shining eyes and eventually turned to him to see his reaction.

    He had his little smirk on¡ªthe one meaning he was happy. He had been doing it around her more oftentely, which was encouraging. It was different from his usual politely detached business smile reserved for people he thought were beneath him.

    Her breath caught in her throat as he looked at her. Keeley had the vague idea that she was somehow special to him.

    Maybe the time hade for her to act on her feelings. She tested the waters a bit when they waited in line outside the cannoli shop in the frigid wind, purposely not hiding her shudders.

    Nothing. He wasn''t looking at her and was sending off death vibes to the passersby who kept brushing him. She almostughed. Clearly someone wasn''t used to waiting in line like everybody else.

    It wasn''t until somebody bumped her so she stumbled into him that Aaron reacted.

    "Watch it!" he shouted, terrifying the culprit.

    He pulled Keeley in front of him and wrapped his arms around her. "Stop shivering, you''re making me cold just looking at you."

    It wasn''t much but she savored the feeling of being in his arms, not feeling a bit of cold before they made it inside the shop.

    There weren''t enough seats in the overcrowded space once they had their wares so they took the pastry bag back to the car left in the nearest parking lot.

    Aaron''s arm was still around Keeley''s back as they walked. He imed that it kept him warmer, which made her want tough. Sure, Aaron. No hidden motives whatsoever.

    Back in the car, he cranked up the heater and they ate in the parked car. She grinned at him with a bit of cannoli cream on the side of her mouth.

    "Aren''t you d I dragged you out today? It''s worth braving the wind just for this."

    "Yeah," he said simply.

    "So when are you going home for the break?"

    "The day after finals. My family is hosting a big Christmas party this year for all of their business contacts."

    "That doesn''t sound very fun," Keeley mused. "Are you at least going to do something fun for New Year''s Eve?"

    Aaron shook his head. "No, I have a party then too."

    "Oh." She deted a little. "I was sort of hoping I could see you then. I want the first person I see in the New Year to be you."

    Surprise flitted across his dark eyes. "Why does that matter?"

    Her cheeks turned pink. "Ah, well, haven''t you heard the superstition about how the first person you see in the New Year sets the tone for the whole year?"

    "¡­is this that kissing at midnight tradition?"

    "Um, yeah. Yeah it is."

    "You could alwayse to the party with me," he suggested nonchntly. "I''m supposed to have a femalepanion. I could get you a dress."

    "Really?!" she blurted before looking away in embarrassment.

    Did this mean he wanted to kiss her? He never invited her to do anything in his social circle before. He must like her! She couldn''t see Aaron as the type to kiss just anybody

    "I mean, that would be great. I''d love to go."

 Chapter 14: Midnight

    <h4>Chapter 14: Midnight</h4>

    Keeley was on cloud nine even though she wasn''t able to see Aaron again until New Years'' Eve because finals and other holiday festivities got in the way.

    She was so excited when the beautiful ice blue cocktail dress with the sweetheart neckline arrived on her doorstep with the pair of silver heels that she actually went to a discount salon to get her hair, makeup, and nails done, using up most of the money she got for Christmas in one go.

    His driver picked her up and drove her to the Rainbow Room where the party was being held. Aaron met her downstairs, looking very dashing in a ck tuxedo with a pocket square that matched her dress.

    He held out his arm and escorted her into thevishly decorated banquet hall filled with important businessmen and socialites. Honestly, it was overwhelming, but Keeley focused on the fact that she was holding onto the man she liked to keep from drowning.

    "Look who decided to grace us with his presence," a young man Keeley didn''t recognize jeered. "Who''s your date?"

    "None of your business," Aaron replied frostily. "I see you don''t even have one."

    The young man was momentarily taken aback before cracking a smile. "Alright, I suppose I deserved that. Zachary Bolton, nice to meet you." He held out a hand for Keeley to shake.

    She nervously nced at Aaron before epting it. "Keeley Hall."

    "Hall? As in the oil magnate Halls?"

    "No," she said awkwardly, looking to her date for support that didn''te.

    "We have other people to greet. See you," Aaron said decisively before steering them in another direction.

    "Keeley, try not to talk to other people as much as possible. Keep an air of mystery about you."

    "O¡­kay?"

    She wasn''t sure why he didn''t want her talking to his friends but in unfamiliar territory it was better to follow the lead of someone who knew what they were doing.

    The rest of the night passed much the same. People wanted to ask her questions but she smiled and nodded and let Aaron do all of the talking.

    It was incredibly boring but she had to admit the food was sublime and she enjoyed the feeling of Aaron''s hand on the small of her back.

    "Aaron, who is this youngdy? I don''t believe I recognize her," an imposing older man that gave off a simr icy vibe to Aaron boomed not long before midnight.

    "Keeley Hall, we were ssmates," Aaron said stiffly.

    "A Westwind alumna? Where is she studying now?"

    "I study biochemistry and molecr biology at Boston University, sir," Keeley dared to speak up though she threatened to crumble under this man''s powerful presence.

    The man''s gaze sharpened and grew deadly. "So you''re both in Boston."

    "Yes," Aaron said defiantly as his grip on Keeley''s back tightened.

    "I see," he replied in a displeased tone that made her knees shake. "Don''t ignore the other guests, Aaron."

    "Yes, sir."

    Keeley didn''t realize how much she was suffocating until the man left and she could breathe again properly.

    "Who on earth was that?"

    She wasn''t sure whether or not it was her imagination but she could have sworn Aaron grimaced. "My father."

    Aaron almost never mentioned his family and now Keeley understood why. His father was terrifying! Growing up under that man''s influence¡­it was no wonder he could be so cold.

    She felt that her understanding of the enigma she loved increased tenfold that day. Her determination to show him more warmth increased along with it.

    They continued making the rounds talking to people, a few of which she recognized from high school such as Lacy Knighton, who gave her the ugliest look while turning up the charm for Aaron. She didn''t dare do anything more since Aaron was glued to his date''s side.

    As they went, Keeley couldn''t help but notice how politely detached he was with everyone. He had always been a man of few words but even the small talk he made was extremely concise. It was a bit gratifying to see that his real conversation was reserved solely for her.

    Shortly before midnight, they slipped out of the party and stared out the window at the New York skyline. Aaron seemed pensive.

    "I''m sure you would have had more fun spending your New Year''s Eve differently."

    "Well yeah, but at least I got to spend it with you," Keeley replied a bit shyly.

    The lights glittering on the horizon suggested romance. It was the perfect time to speak such thoughts.

    Aaron gazed at her far more softly than usual for a moment before returning to staring out the window.

    "Keeley...I want you know...having you by my side made this event much more bearable. I even looked forward to it and I usually onlye to these things out of a sense of obligation. Being around you is different; I''m happier when I''m with you."

    She took the initiative and reached out to sp his hands with hers. "I''m happier with you too."

    An emotion she hadn''t seen before swirled in the abyss of his gaze. Hope? Aaron suddenly crushed her to his chest. With their height difference, Keeley could hear his heart beating erratically.

    "What you said before about that tradition...if you''re by my side, this year will be a great one. Will you stay with me?"

    The countdown to midnight had already begun in the other room. 10...9...8...

    "Stay with you?" It sounded like he wanted her to be his girlfriend! 4...3...2...

    When midnight hit and cheers rang throughout the venue, Aaron tilted her head up and kissed her so deeply that Keeley practically melted into the floor.

    He was careful not to mess up her hair since they had to rejoin the party eventually but his thumbs stroked her face sensually as they continued to kiss.

    They broke apart panting slightly a few minutester and she beamed at him with stars in her eyes. It was the first time he gave her a full-toothed smile.

    "Be my girlfriend, Keeley," he practicallymanded.

    "Okay," she sighed dreamily, still reeling from their first kiss.

 Chapter 15: Control Your Girlfriend

    <h4>Chapter 15: Control Your Girlfriend</h4>

    The superstition proved correct¡ªKeeley and Aaron did have a rtively happy first year together since she was too blinded by love to see the red gs. In those days she really thought he cared about her even though he didn''t do much to show it.

    She made excuses for his coldness based on the environment he grew up in. What a joke. Aaron didn''t care about anyone but himself.

    So why did hepose a so about a movie she liked? He had never been the creative type. When they were together, if he gave herpliments at all they were generic as could be.

    Expensive gifts hadn''t worked on her so he was trying to up his game? She wouldn''t fall for it.

    As soon as he got what he wanted he would throw her away after getting bored and choose someone more befitting his status. Just likest time.

    Her heart ached. If he had showed even a fraction of this kind of effort in herst life things would have turned out so differently. Or maybe they wouldn''t have.

    There was still Lacy Knighton to contend with. If he had stayed devoted to his wife, she might have killed Keeley anyway to get rid of her.

    She didn''t understand it. Aaron already filed for divorce to be with Lacy and raise their child together.

    What was the point of killing the ex-wife when she was already on her way out? Was it not enough to rub her loss in her face for the rest of her life?

    Lacy wouldn''t take that kiss at the dance lying down. It was a miracle she hadn''t made a move yet. One more thing to dread going to school for.

    Keeley wished she had never gone to Westwind, never gotten involved with those crazy rich people''s schemes, and never fallen in love with that confusing human cier.

    The impending confrontation happened the next day at lunch. Lacy tracked her down in the library and got into her face about it.

    "Listen up, little miss nobody, Aaron Hale is toying with you at best. Someone like you could never be with him so I will warn you exactly once. Back off!"

    Keeley started at her former enemy nkly. How pathetic. They weren''t even dating and she already acted like a jealous girlfriend.

    "He''s the one that won''t back off. If you could get him to leave me alone I''d be grateful. By all means, you can have him! I want nothing to do with him!"

    Surprise mingled with suspicion registered on the heiress'' face.

    "A gold digger like you would never let go of such a catch. He kissed you, I saw it. You''re going to hold it over him and trick him into a rtionship."

    She waspletely delusional!

    "I''m really not," Keeley insisted. "He''s harassing me. I would be happiest if I never had to see him again. Why don''t you go bother him about this instead of me?"

    Lacy''s eyes narrowed dangerously. "How dare you? Do you have any idea who he is? Who are you to talk so disrespectfully about him?!"

    It was impossible to reason with some people. Keeley sighed.

    "You''re angry if I want him and angry if I don''t. Pick a side already. You can go ahead and believe what you want but I swear I have absolutely zero interest in Aaron Hale. He''s all yours. If you''ll excuse me, I have better things to do."

    She broke free of the other girl''s grip and pushed past her to go hide in the bathroom since the library was out now. She nearly barreled into Aaron by the lockers.

    "You!" Keeley fumed, unable to control her growing rage at the entire situation. "Control your girlfriend! I want no part of this!"

    "My girlfriend?" he asked in a deadly tone. "What girlfriend?"

    "That one," she spat as Lacy exited the library in a huff and made her way toward them.

    Keeley practically sprinted down the hallway to escape the two people she hated most.

    "Keeley!" Aaron called out after her but she was already gone and Lacy had stered herself to his side like a leech.

    "Aaron," she whined. "That girl has no manners at all. Please tell me you''re just messing around with her."

    He looked down at her with disgust and roughly shoved her off. "Don''t touch me. The only one without manners here is you."

    Tears formed in Lacy''s eyes and her lip trembled. "How could you say that after that girl bullied me? You''re standing up for her? I thought we¡ª"

    "You thought wrong," he said harshly. "I don''t have a single iota of interest in someone as fake as you."

    Lacy gritted her teeth in anger. He wasn''t like this before. Everything changed after Christmas break.

    Aaron always ate lunch at the elite table in the cafeteria until one day he sat with a bunch of nobody schrship students, even going so far as to drive one of them home after school.

    After that he didn''t show up to their lunch table at all and Lacy knew something was wrong, especially when he didn''t ask anyone to the Valentines dance.

    She was banking on being his date! And then he not only danced with that cretin but kissed her!

    What part of Keeley Hall was better than her?! Her looks were average, she had no money, and she supposedly didn''t give Aaron the time of day.

    Maybe that was it. He might like girls who y coy. Once the chase was over he would surely lose interest.

    "Don''t be like that, Aaron, I''m just worried about you," Lacy said, putting on a show of being wounded.

    "You aren''t qualified to worry about me. We have nothing to do with each other."

    "Have you forgotten our fathers'' partnership?" she hollered furiously, her hands curling into tight fists.

    Aaron nced at her as if she were the dirt beneath his shoe.

    "Nothing that man does has anything to do with me. If you try to curry favor with him, you are even worse than I thought."

    Real tears sparked in her eyes. How could he do this to her? She loved him! No one was better suited to stand by his side! Especially not that worthless gold digger.

    "Aaron!"

    "Stay out of my way," he growled as he took off in Keeley''s general direction.

    Something had to be done about that wretched girl. But what? She said she wanted nothing to do with Aaron.

    It was difficult to believe but what if she was telling the truth? Could Lacy be barking up the wrong tree?

    She whipped out her phone and sent a text message. ''Max, I need you to watch someone for me''

    The response was immediate. ''Who?''

    ''Her name is Keeley Hall. I want to know everything about her daily life. Tell me if she so much as sneezes''

    ''What''s in it for me?''

    ''I''ll go on a date with you'' Lacy wasn''t happy about it but she knew how to utilize her resources.

    ''Two dates''

    Ugh, he could be so greedy. ''Fine. Just get on it today'' She snapped her phone shut and smiled evilly.

    She would see whether or not that witch was telling the truth. If she was, Lacy might even let her go.

 Chapter 16: This Isnt Like You

    <h4>Chapter 16: This Isn''t Like You</h4>

    Girlfriend¡­what on earth had that horrible woman said to Keeley that made her think she was his girlfriend? He was furious.

    She was closed off enough from him already; thest thing he needed was further interference. Especially from the woman who ruined his first life.

    Lacy Knighton. To everyone else she appeared to be a perfect socialite and the epitome of grace. Only Aaron knew how much of a demon she truly was behind that pretty fa?ade.

    He needed to keep a better eye on her this time. Lacy was so set on bing the next Mrs. Hale that she did everything in her power to sabotage Keeley.

    When they were in school, it was small things like pushing her into the punch bowl at the Valentines dance, starting unsavory rumors, and tripping her so she nearly fell down the stairs. Lacy was crafty so she got away with it every time but Aaron had his suspicions.

    Since she followed him to Harvard, he wanted to keep Keeley as far away from her as possible. It was better that Lacy didn''t know she was in the same city.

    What didn''t make sense to him now was that Lacy was getting involved based on so little information. The first time around she only started causing trouble after Keeley became his rather persistent shadow at their lunch table.

    She had to have seen the kiss. He cursed himself for losing control. If he was going to kiss her, he should have done it without any witnesses.

    Hadn''t he done everything in his power to keep Keeley hidden for the first few years of their rtionship to protect her? How could he be so reckless now? Desperation could make people do crazy things.

    Lacy was desperate for power, prestige, and the one man who ever turned her down. It turned her into a murderer. Aaron had to be more vignt this time.

    He wanted to clear the air immediately and exin that he had nothing to do with that crazy woman but Keeley was long gone.

    Trying to pry that bloodsucker off of him had taken too much time. He cursed under his breath. Everything just had to be difficult.

    With the poetry assignment behind them, Aaron had no valid excuse to talk to the taciturn girl sitting beside him. She was talented at ying cat and mouse¡ªalways somehow avoiding him while on campus.

    The only time he had a captive audience was during ss and she either ignored him or shut him down no matter what he said.

    "What did you do over the weekend?"

    "Nothing."

    "Can I borrow an eraser?"

    "I don''t have one."

    "Do you have an extra piece of paper?"

    "No."

    "What did you think about the reading?"

    "It was fine."

    No matter what he asked, she found a way to answer in less than five words and went back to ignoring him. Aaron was at his wit''s end. This sudden role reversal was really starting to get to him.

    If he was this hard to get through to back then, how on earth had Keeley managed not to give up? She hadn''t abandoned him then so he wouldn''t give up so easily.

    After yet another fruitless attempt at starting conversation, he lost his head and forcibly dragged her out of the ssroom and into an empty janitor''s closet.

    "What are you doing?" she demanded.

    Though unwilling to cause a scene in the crowded hallway at the beginning of lunch, she had no qualms about smacking his hands away now.

    Aaron leaned over her menacingly, banging his fist on the wall. "Why? Why won''t you talk to me?"

    "I have zero desire to talk to a scumbag like you," Keeley said scathingly. "Let me out of here or I''ll scream."

    "What did I do to you to make you treat me like this? This isn''t like you!"

    She let out a small, unhingedugh. "Isn''t like me? You have no idea what I''m like!"

    "I know you better than anyone, Keeley Hall," he said through gritted teeth, too incensed to remember that in this life they really didn''t know each other all that well. "You aren''t supposed to be like this. Why are you like this?!"

    Fear shone in her eyes. "You have no idea what you''re talking about. I''ll let this go if you leave me alone but if you don''t I''ll¡ª"

    "What? Report me? You''ve threatened that before. It won''t work. So why don''t you be good and tell me the truth. What did Lacy say to you? Is that why you''re avoiding me?"

    She shut her eyes and tried pushing him away but he was too heavy. "I would have avoided you anyway. You''re a jerk and a liar and I want nothing to do with you!"

    "Shut up!" Aaron roared.

    This was wrong, this was all wrong, how had this happened¡­She loved him. She was supposed to love him. If she didn''t love him he would have absolutely nothing to live for.

    All the fight drained out of him. He shouldn''t be getting mad at her. She was already so afraid of him that she was shaking.

    Aaron slumped forward onto her shoulder in defeat and wrapped his arms around her. "I''m sorry. Don''t be scared."

    Keeley sniffled and he felt even worse. So he was so scary now that she was crying.

    His hold tightened. There had to be a better way to approach this. But what? She wouldn''t tell him what was going on. She didn''t even like him.

    If only he could exin himself. Rebirth was too fantastical to believe. She would never listen if he tried to tell her they had been married before and that he loved her.

    He would lose all credibility and she might be even more afraid of him. He needed to think of something nonthreatening that could convince her of his sincerity.

    "Aaron, can you let me go now?" she asked in a small voice.

    He sighed heavily. She hadn''t been in his arms nearly long enough. After nting a gentle kiss on her forehead he released her.

    Keeley didn''t even look back at him as she scampered out the door. He followed after less than a minuteter, unaware of the young man with the cellphone watching the door to the janitor''s closet closely before sending a text.

 Chapter 17: Tell Me Exactly What You Saw

    <h4>Chapter 17: Tell Me Exactly What You Saw</h4>

    Maximillian Lynch didn''t see what was so great about Aaron Hale. He was too perfect.

    The guy did everything he was told without question, spent all his free time doing hobbies his parents chose for him, and didn''t have a single thought in his head that didn''t directly pertain to his future in the business world.

    Sure, he was supposedly good-looking, but there were plenty of other rich guys in school that actually had personalities. Why was he so popr? Even Lacy was obsessed with him¡­

    It boiled his blood just thinking about it. Max was the one who had been by her side since the age of three.

    All the adults in their families whispered about how they would get married when they grew up for as long as he could remember. He was counting on it. Everything else in his life had been given to him on a silver tter except Lacy''s heart.

    The only reason he did stupid favors like this was so she could see how reliable he was. Max would make a far better choice than that stone statue. He just had to prove it to her.

    So even though it was annoying, he devoted himself to stalking Keeley Hall at a distance.

    It was no easy task¡ªthat girl was paranoid. She checked over her shoulder so often he seriously worried about getting caught.

    Lacy gave him Keeley''s schedule so he could follow her to and from ss. The work was dull and repetitive. She was nearly as boring as that Aaron.

    Sometimes Keeley chatted with friends in the halls on her way to ss but for the most part she kept to herself. She ate lunch alone in various hiding ces around campus and spent all the time she wasn''t eating doing homework.

    Every day after school she took one of three routes to nearby subway stations and got on a train bound for Brooklyn.

    Lacy was wrong. This girl had absolutely nothing to do with Aaron Hale.

    In all the time he conducted his surveince, Max hadn''t seen them talk once. If anything, Keeley seemed to be avoiding Aaron.

    A couple of times he noticed Aaron heading towards her but she immediately changed course and disappeared into the throng of students trying to get to their next ss.

    "You have nothing to worry about," Max said confidently to Lacy after school about a week after he started watching the target. "She''s avoiding him."

    Lacy drummed her fingers on her thigh.

    "So she was telling the truth. She really doesn''t want anything to do with him. Interesting. You can stop following her now; just let me know if you see anything strange from here on out."

    "Alright. So about those dates¡­there''s a great Moran restaurant that opened up on 35th Street. Does tomorrow night work for you?" he asked, trying to y it cool even though he was excited.

    Lacy never wanted to be alone with him anymore since she was afraid people would think they were an item.

    "Make it the day after; I''m getting a manicure with some friends."

    "Great, I''ll pick you up at six!"

    Max was satisfied with a job well done that earned him a date.

    He forgot all about Keeley Hall until the following day when he saw her exiting what appeared to be a janitor''s closet on his way back to the cafeteria from the bathroom. She frantically wiped tears off her face before disappearing around a corner.

    He was only passingly curious what happened until he saw an unusually ruffled Aarone out after her twenty secondster. He looked almost angry.

    Max had never seen a single emotion other than boredom on his face before.

    He hesitated for a moment. Lacy was more likely to drop it if he didn''t mention anything about this. On the other hand, if she found outter somehow and knew he hadn''t told her on purpose she would be furious. It was probably better to bite the bullet and do it now.

    With a sigh, he sent her a text. ''Just saw Keeley run crying out of the janitor''s closet. Aaron came out after her and looked mad about something''

    His phone buzzed immediately. ''We''ll talk about thister. Come back to the cafeteria''

    Lacy smiled andughed and flirted with the boys at their lunch table as usual but Max knew her well enough to see the storm brewing beneath her happy exterior. She was one wrongment away from murdering someone.

    He prayed that nobody would set her off while he was there. Lacy could actually be quite terrifying when she wanted to be. He certainly didn''t ever want to be on her bad side.

    "Oh Max," she called sweetly after the bell rang. "I need to speak with you."

    The sweetness was almost more frightening than if she was angry. He gulped. "Yes?"

    "Tell me exactly what you saw," she demanded.

    "I already did! Keeley ran out crying, Aaron followed less than a minuteter looking pissed off. I have no idea how long they were in there or what they were doing. I came upon them by chance."

    Lacy crushed her water bottle in her fist. "I knew there was something going on between them! Something needs to be done that will scare her away from him forever."

    "Look," Max said nervously, regretting that he ever said anything to her about what he saw. "I don''t think that''s necessary. She''s already plenty scared of him. He''s the one who keepsing onto her."

    "That makes it even worse! I can''t control him so I need to control her. If she''s scared enough, she''ll have even more incentive to stay away. He won''t stay interested in someone who hates him forever."

    A smug expression marred her otherwise beautiful face. "Don''t you worry, I''lle up with something good."

    That was exactly what he WAS worried about. So much for their date. She would probably want to spend the entire dinner hatching her scheme. Beautiful things weren''t meant tost.

 Chapter 18: Troubles at School

    <h4>Chapter 18: Troubles at School</h4>

    Keeley had been on edge ever since she noticed Max¡ªher future killer¡ªwas tailing her. She wasn''t stupid; it was obvious that Lacy put him up to it.

    What was she nning this time? The same unoriginal mean girl tricks as her first life? Or did she n to jump the gun and try to kill her already?

    Previously, the ''ident'' attempts didn''t begin until she and Aaron had been married for a while.

    She was so na?ve before, believing that all the mishaps she encountered at school were nothing more than coincidences. Lacy wasn''t even all that great at covering her tracks. Her false friendliness was easily detectable.

    The problem was that Keeley had her motivation wrong. She thought Lacy didn''t approve of her because of her social status, not because she was obsessed with Aaron.

    It was a reasonable assumption to make since she wasn''t the only one at the lunch table like that.

    The first day she joined Aaron in the cafeteria should have told her how the rest of their rtionship would go. Not one person seemed to want her there.

    He only let her tag along because she kept pestering him about it in their shared ss right before lunch.

    Aaron silently strode through the lunch line as she chattered about how nervous she was that she wouldn''t get into any of the schools she applied for.

    Eventually he bopped her on the head with his lunch tray.

    "Don''t be stupid. You don''t have bad grades; somewhere is bound to take you. Come on, my table is this way."

    Feeling oddly encouraged despite the backhandedpliment, Keeley followed him to a table where four other elites sat talking to each other. They might all be wearing the same school uniform but it was clear that these students were on a whole other level.

    Aaron sat down without offering a single word of exnation for her presence and began gracefully consuming his food so she felt the need to introduce herself.

    "Hi everyone, I''m Keeley Hall, Aaron''s desk mate in literature ss."

    They all openly scrutinized her. "I''ve never seen you around. Do you not usually eat in the cafeteria?"

    "No, I usually sit in the student lounge."

    "Schrship student," Max scoffed under his breath, making a tan brte girl giggle.

    Keeley heard it and frowned. What was wrong with schrship students? Most of her friends were here on schrship and they were great.

    Aaron finally spoke up. "She isn''t here on schrship."

    "But she isn''t one of us either," Lacy said shrewdly. Her first impression of the new addition to the table was already poor. "Aaron, why is she here?"

    "I wanted to eat lunch with him so I am," Keeley replied coolly.

    It was insulting to be talked about as if she wasn''t even there. She pulled out her lunch, intending to copy Aaron and ignore everyone by eating.

    "You brought your own lunch?" the tan girl asked with distaste. "Nobody here packs lunches."

    "Everyone in the student lounge packs lunch. Just because you don''t do it personally doesn''t mean that no one else does," she shrugged before taking a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

    Furious whispers rose up from the other members of the table until Aaron silenced them all with a re. "Enough. Introduce yourselves properly; you sound like wind rustling through grass."

    Everyone muttered mutinously before putting on their best fake smiles and introducing themselves. Benjamin Carver. Rachel von Dyne. Max Lynch. All people who would treat her poorly under a thin veneer of kindness.

    Lacy''s smile was the least genuine of all. She was threatened by Aaron standing up for another girl in any capacity.

    That was the beginning of Keeley''s troubles at school. After that, she sat with Aaron''s group nearly every day. He didn''t speak often but when he did, his remarks were primarily addressed to her, which incensed the others.

    Under Lacy''s direction, they all purposely talked about rich people things she wouldn''t know about in an effort to exclude her.

    Keeley was a curious person. She knew they what they were trying to do but was too interested in what they were saying about unfamiliar things to care much. Aaron always said something when they overtly stepped over the line to shut them up.

    For the rest of the school year, things fell into a regr pattern at lunchtime. She was just happy to spend time with him since they hardly ever saw each other out of school because Aaron led a busy life.

    Rumors about Keeley being a gold digger sprung up as she continued spending time with people others viewed as above her station but she wasn''t terribly upset by them.

    This sort of thing happened to any regr student who tried to hang out in the cafeteria where the truly rich stayed. She knew it wasn''t true so she refused to let it get to her.

    The only other incident of note was two days before graduation when Keeley walked past the top of a staircase.

    Someone zoomed down the hallway and knocked into her so she fell down several stairs. Thankfully there were enough students congesting the stairway that she was caught by a couple of underssmen.

    She bruised her shin but that was the extent of the damage. For the longest time she thought it was a simple ident resulting from someone else''s carelessness.

    Hindsight is a funny thing. Keeley never would have connected all those little problems at school if Lacy''s designs on Aaron hadn''t been so obviouster.

    She couldn''t help but wonder what happened between the two of them after Lacy had her killed.

    Did Aaron treat her any better than he treated Keeley? The thought caused a twinge of bitterness in her heart. All that effort and Lacy got her man in the end.

    What was it about Aaron Hale that made women lose their minds?

    Keeley abandoned her dignity and her dreams to limp behind in his shadow and Lacy disregarded both rationality and any sense of morals in her own pursuit of the man. He wasn''t worth either of their love.

 Chapter 19: The Wrong Choice

    <h4>Chapter 19: The Wrong Choice</h4>

    Considering how much she wanted to put the past behind her, Keeley spent way too much time thinking about her ex-husband. It wasn''t entirely her fault¡ªif he wasn''t so perplexing these days she wouldn''t have given him a second thought.

    No matter how strange he was acting she needed to forget about him. She had wasted more than enough time on that man already.

    Leaning back in her chair to stretch, she realized that with all the Aaron drama going on it had been far too long since she did anything for herself.

    She hadn''t hung out with her friends since Valentine''s Day and that was a memory she would prefer to forget. All that talk about living her second life to the fullest and she had been too stressed to enjoy anything!

    Keeley tried to think of things she wanted to do that she never had a chance for in her previous life on themute home.

    Getting her PhD, working in a researchb, saving up to take her father on a trip to Europe...all of that was years away from being possible. For the life of her, she couldn''t think of anything she wanted to do now as a senior in high school.

    She supposed she could try to work on getting her driver''s license to help pass the time. Her dad, unlike many of the people in her building, actually owned a car.

    In her first life she hadn''t bothered getting one until Aaron insisted when they were dating. He must have been ashamed of her for not knowing how to drive.

    Not that many teens in New York City bothered to get a license because subways were so readily avable. Keeley had no intention to leave since her father was there but she supposed it would be a useful skill to have if she ever needed to go on business trips. If she fulfilled her dream of bing a world ss researcher she wouldn''t spend all of her time in the city...

    She made up her mind to sign up for a driver''s ed course when she got home but arge envelope on her doorstep sidetracked her. Keeley picked it up gingerly and nearly shrieked when she saw the insignia. Her NYU eptance letter.

    With all that was going on at school she nearly forgot this wasing! Her hand trembled as she remembered how excitement turned to regret the first time she opened this envelope.

    "I got in, I got in, I got in!" she shrieked as she clutched the letter to her chest and danced around the living room.

    NYU''s eptance rate that year was just under 30% so it was no small feat. Her dad would be so proud! Maybe he might even take her out for steak to celebrate. She couldn''t wait to tell him!

    Since he was workingte on a project to build a new bridge, she called Aaron first. He picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

    "Aaron, guess what!!"

    "What?"

    She pouted. "I told you to guess."

    "Your dad won the lottery," he guessed tly.

    "Oh fine, I''ll just tell you," she said impatiently. "I got into NYU, can you believe it?! There have been so many applicants that their eptance rate has been dropping like crazy the past few years and they still want me!"

    "What do you know; you''re smarter than you look. Congrattions."

    His cold tone held a hint of warmth that made Keeley''s heart pound. His words indicated otherwise but she had observed him enough to tell he was impressed. Aaron could be funny like that.

    "Thanks! I think. What about you, have you heard back from anywhere yet?"

    She flopped onto the bed on her stomach and kicked her feet back and forth through the air as they talked.

    "Yes, I''m going to Harvard. It''s a family tradition."

    Keeley''s heart dropped to her stomach. "Oh. That''s impressive. It''s almost impossible to get in."

    Boston was over four hours away from New York by car. Aaron was hard enough to schedule anything with as is and Harvard coursework was incredibly demanding. If they went to schools in different states their friendship as she knew it would end.

    "I know," he replied simply.

    Keeley wasn''t sure how to reply to that. Wouldn''t a ''thank you'' be appropriate here? Before she could formte a response Aaron had to go because it was time for dinner.

    Shey on her bed conflicted for a very long time before pulling out another eptance letter she received a few weeks ago. Boston University. It was one of her backup schools and had around a 50% eptance rate. If she chose to go there, she could stay with Aaron.

    Their rtionship improved so much in the past month; sometimes she even thought he might like her back. She didn''t want to let all that effort go to waste...but could she really give up her dream school for a rtionship she wasn''t even sure of?

    The deadline to reply was in May so she still had several weeks left to make a decision. Keeley agonized over it until the day Aaron held her hand for the first time since the Valentines dance as they went to lunch at a cafe one Saturday. His happy little half-smile sealed the deal for her; she couldn''t let him leave her behind.

    It was the wrong choice. She shook her head at her past self''s stupidity. Nothing would stand in the way of her dreams this time, especially not a worthless unrequited love.

    Keeley texted her dad, Jeffrey, and Lydia to let them know about her triumph. As expected, her dad wasn''t able to reply but the other two were thrilled.

    ''Girl, that''s amazing! Since I got my schrship approved for UC Berkeleyst week we should go do something to celebrate''

    ''So lucky! I''ve only heard back from George Washington University so far and that''s my backup'' Jeffrey replied enviously.

    He wanted to go to Columbia but their eptance rate was almost as bad as Harvard''s. His test scores and extracurricrs were top notch but that didn''t mean much in the face of such intense nationwidepetition.

    ''That''s still a really good school,'' sheforted before sending them both an invitation to go out for pizza and root beer floats.

    ''Tonight?'' Lydia asked.

    ''Why not? My dad''s workingte and I''m not in the mood to be alone''

    ''Sure, I''ll meet you at Reggie''s in an hour and a half''

    Jeffrey wasn''t able to go on such short notice but Keeley said they could go get ice cream or something once he heard back from Columbia.

    If he got in they could celebrate but if he didn''t he could probably use a pick me up and ice cream was the tried and true method. Millions of girls everywhere didn''t turn to Ben and Jerry''s after breakups for nothing.

 Chapter 20: Keeleys Dream

    <h4>Chapter 20: Keeley''s Dream</h4>

    Keeley changed out of her uniform in favor of a worn,fortable pair of jeans and a purple and white polka dotted sweater and put on the winter gear necessary tobat the chill before heading back to the subway after texting her dad that she was meeting a friend to celebrate.

    Sometimes it felt like she spent more time on the subway than off it but she didn''t really mind. Keeley was a New Yorker through and through. She loved the bustle of the city!

    Anywhere else would be far too quiet. Even though Boston was arge city, her years there didn''t feel quite the same. It wasforting knowing she didn''t have to leave her home this time.

    Mom and Pop style pizza joints were a New York staple and something Keeley missed fiercely when she went away for college. It seemed fitting to celebrate changing which university she went to by going to one now.

    She waited about fifteen minutes for her friend to arrive and passed the time people watching. Keeley always wondered what people''s stories were as they hurried by.

    Where were they going? What was the rush? Sometimes she even imagined scenarios for them, like how maybe the woman in the long red scarf and beret was trying to make it to the airport and escape to France because she was an international jewel thief.

    "Keeley!" Lydia shouted as she opened the front door with an apanying st of wind.

    "You made it! Let''s go get a table."

    Ten minutester, the pizzas were ordered and they toasted to each other with their root beer floats.

    "To Lydia''s glorious escape to the beaches of California! Not only did she get into a prestigious school, she got a half-tuition schrship so her parents can''tin about it!" Keeley giggled, a little giddy with sess.

    Lydia was caught up in the moment too and clinked their sses together so forcefully a bit of foam spilled over the sides.

    "To Keeley''s future sess staying the craziest city in the world!"

    They both gulped down half their floats in one go and grinned at each other.

    "So remind me what you want to study again."

    Lydia stirred her straw around before answering. "Sociology. Eventually I want a master''s in public administration so I can do something about trying to make life easier for people who need to utilize welfare programs."

    Keeley smiled, thinking of her friend''s passionate nature. "You''d be great at that."

    She seemed pleased. "You think so? Oh yeah, you''re doing something with biology, right?"

    "I want to get a PhD in developmental gics eventually so right now I''m torn between majoring in gics right off the bat or doing biotechnology instead. They share simr sses so I might just do biotech and minor in gics."

    "Dang girl. That''s a lot of science."

    "I know, right?" Keeley asked happily.

    Her little brother Kaleb was born with cystic fibrosis and spent his short life constantly going in and out of doctors'' offices. When she learned about Put squares and recessive genes in 7th grade biology and the teacher used the disease as an example, she was fascinated and decided to look up all the information about it that she could. She wanted to try and find a cure when she grew up so Kaleb could have a better quality of life.

    Keeley was devastated he didn''t live long enough to see that happen. Her sweet brother was only ten years old when he and their mother were shot by an addict looking for drug money on their way home from the hospital. If he hadn''t been so sick, they wouldn''t have been in the wrong ce at the wrong time.

    She existed in a hazy cloud of grief for the next three years beforeing back to herself. Once she did, Keeley devoted herself to studying science so she could find a way to prevent diseases like cystic fibrosis from ever happening in the first ce.

    What began as a personal mission turned into true passion over time. Her love of science saved her from drowning in her loss.

    She mentally berated herself for giving all of that up for someone so ultimately insignificant in the end. An entire life wasted.

    Lydia shook her head indulgently. "I''ve never met a bigger science geek than you so you should be okay. But we both have a lot of sleepless nights ahead of us. I''ve heard college is ten times harder than high school."

    "I say bring it on," Keeley said confidently. The conversation stopped momentarily because the pizza arrived.

    In between slices of pizza they spected about what college life would be like.

    She missed out on a lot of the college experience by spending all her free time chasing after Aaron. Whenever she wasn''t studying, working, or sleeping she was with him.

    She had no interest in love since it burned her so badly before but at least she could join a club or participate in campus events. Lydia, who had no such worries, looked forward to meeting college boys.

    "I''ve heard boys in California are hot," she said dreamily.

    Keeleyughed. "Where did you hear this exactly?"

    "...TV."

    "Because you can totally trust everything you see on television," she said dryly.

    "How would you know anyway, you''ve never been interested in boys," Lydia sniffed before something dawned on her. "You aren''t gay, are you?"

    "No, I''m not gay. I''m just...not over my first love, I guess."

    Her friend''s eyes widened and she leaned forward with her elbows on the table in anticipation. "Do tell."

    "There''s not much TO tell," Keeley hedged. She should''ve known better than to bring that up. Lydia was the nosy type. There was no way she would believe the truth.

    "It was a long time ago. I was young and naive, following him everywhere until he got used to having me around. I gave up everything for him but in the end he cheated on me and threw me away. So now I''m focusing on getting my dreams back. I have no desire to be tied down again."

    "Guys can be such jerks," Lydia muttered as she clenched her fist on the table. "But just because one guy was bad doesn''t mean they all are. You''re still so young; you''ll definitely meet someone better someday!"

    Could she really? Keeley didn''t love him anymore but she had never loved anyone else. All she wanted was to reach her previously unfulfilled goals.

    Maybe once she had she might meet a man who epted her the way she was and could make her heart race. She had her entire life ahead of her¡ªshe had no intention of dying again at thirty-one.

 Chapter 21: Surprise!

    <h4>Chapter 21: Surprise!</h4>

    It was another boring Friday night for Aaron. His parents were off at a dinner function and he was left to his own devices. He didn''t used to mind it.

    Having his tyrant father and empty-headed mother around were a drag so it was better having the house to himself; especially since he was so scheduled with extracurricr activities during the week that he hardly had a moment to himself. The problem was that he didn''t know what to do without that structure.

    Keeley changed that when she came into his life. She was always asking him to do things with her on the weekends. He resisted at first because he didn''t understand her intentions but as the school year wore on, if he wasn''t physically with her on Friday nights, they were on the phone.

    She pushed him out of hisfort zone more often than he liked but he was never bored when she was around. What he wouldn''t give to see her now.

    After dragging her into the closet and freaking her out, he realized he needed to focus on figuring out why she was afraid of him. He didn''t buy her previous excuse of fearing him because everyone else did. The Keeley he knew wasn''t like that. Keeley¡­what was she up to?

    He could always text her but there was no guarantee she would respond. The worst she could do was ignore it. He was bored and lonely enough not to care about any potential consequences.

    ''What are you up to tonight?''

    To his surprise, she responded five minutester. ''Celebrating. Why are you texting me?''

    ''I''m bored. What are you celebrating?'' His expression softened thinking of how she acted when she was excited about something.

    ''I got into my dream school. But do you really not have anything better to do than text me? I can think of at least a dozen other people you could have texted first''

    ''They''re all busy'' he lied.

    It took a moment for the first part of her text to sink in. How had he forgotten that Keeley wanted to go to NYU? She was so thrilled by the news that she called him about it immediately before.

    He had been disappointed they would be apart for so long but figured they could still text, call, and visit each other on school breaks. He never would have imagined she would choose Boston University instead.

    His first day at Harvard was long and grueling since he was forced towork with a bunch of his father''s peers and their children when he ran into them on campus during orientation. All he wanted was to go back to his room and call Keeley. Talking to her always perked him up somehow.

    Back in his private dorm room, Aaron flopped onto the bed without even bothering to change. He was about to make the call when his phone rang.

    "Hello?"

    "Look out the window," a mischievous voice replied.

    "Keeley?" he asked in confusion but nevertheless got up and opened the curtain.

    There she was, four floors down, waving up to the wrong window from thewn. So she knew his building but not his dorm room specifically. But what was she doing there? NYU sses started a couple weeks ago.

    He immediately hung up and rushed downstairs, not caring that his cored shirt was wrinkled or that he wasn''t wearing shoes. She beamed when she spotted him and threw her arms around him in a warm hug.

    "Surprise!"

    Aaron stumbled back slightly as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her. "What are you doing here?"

    "I go here! Well, not here here¡­I go to Boston University now studying biochemistry and molecr biology. Aren''t you happy to see me?" She pouted slightly as she tilted her head up towards his face.

    Yes, yes he was. This was the best thing that could have happened at the end of a long day! But something bothered him about the situation. "I thought you wanted to go to NYU. You were so excited when you got in."

    Keeley''s expression grew flustered and she pulled away. "Um, it was more for bragging rights than anything else. BU is still a good school and I wanted to shake things up a bit for a while before settling back in New York. See more of the world."

    Aaron was tempted tough at her logic. "Four hours away is enough of seeing the world for you?"

    "No! I''d like to visit Europe someday. I''ve heard the architecture there is beautiful."

    "It is. I could show you some pictures from my trip a few years ago if you''d like," he offered. "Would you like toe in?"

    "Sure!"

    He led her up the stairs in a good mood and she oohed and ahhed over his pictures as expected, pressing for specific details about famousndmarks in Ennd and France. Aaron was more talkative than usual, telling her about everything from French breads and pastries to how he took the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower but walked all the way down just to see if he could do it. Keeley was enthralled by what he had to say even though he wasn''t much of a storyteller.

    Just being around her wiped all of his weariness away. He truly enjoyed himself until it was time for her to get back to her dorm before the trains stopped for the night. He offered to drive her home instead and they headed down to the parking lot together.

    An acquaintance he met earlier in the day who was the son of one of his father''s business contacts saw them leave together and winked as if to say ''nice job scoring one on the first day here.'' It was as if a bucket of icy water had been dumped on Aaron''s head.

    How could he have thought his dorm was safe? People who knew his father were here! More importantly, Lacy''s close friend Max Lynch lived in this building.

    If he ever saw Keeley there and reported it to Lacy¡­she had already caused enough trouble when they were all in high school. She couldn''t find out that Keeley was in town! After that he was careful to only meet her off campus.

 Chapter 22: Youre Either Brave or Crazy

    <h4>Chapter 22: You''re Either Brave or Crazy</h4>

    In hindsight it was fairly obvious that Keeley only came to Boston to be closer to Aaron. Now that they weren''t even on friendly terms, she had absolutely no reason not to go to her first choice university. It was a disquieting thought.

    She hadn''t responded to hisst text so he sent a second one. ''Which school is it?'' He knew of course but he wasn''t ready for the conversation to end. He missed her.

    ''NYU''

    ''Which program?''

    ''Biomedical engineering. Once I get my bachelor''s I want to stay on and get my PhD in developmental gics''

    It was the most personal information she had willingly given in a long time. She must be in a good mood.

    Aaron frowned. He had no idea she wanted to get a PhD. Had she ever mentioned anything about that in hisst life? He couldn''t be sure. They got married shortly after graduating from college and she stayed at home afterwards.

    ''I didn''t know that. That''s cool''

    ''Why would you know that? We don''t talk. I don''t know why we''re even having this conversation''

    ''I told you, I''m bored. Entertain me''

    The phone went silent for a few minutes and he thought she was done humoring him before it beeped again. He practically dove for his phone, grateful that no one was around to see his desperation.

    ''Try solving this riddle. You can look up the answerter online and see if you got it right. I have better things to do'' A second text came in shortly afterwards. ''I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but Ie alive with wind. What am I?''

    Aaron couldn''t help but be amused even though she was brushing him off again. At least her offbeat sense of humor hadn''t changed.

    He figured out the answer about fifteen minutester and searched it online to be safe. He was right. It was an echo. Had Keeley looked the riddle up just for him or was it already in her head?

    ===

    "Who are you texting?" Lydia asked when she came back from answering a frantic call from her mother, who didn''t realize how long she would be out.

    "Someone annoying," Keeley said with a frown.

    She wasn''t sure why she bothered answering. Maybe it was because she was already thinking of him. Or it could be because she was bored waiting for her friend to finish her rather long phone call. Thetter seemed more likely.

    "Someone annoying?" she repeated. "Do I know him?"

    "He ruined our lunch period a while back."

    Lydia gasped once she remembered. "How on earth did you get Aaron Hale''s number?!"

    "He texted me out of the blue a while back pestering me about going to the dance with him," Keeley said sourly. Lydia knew he stole her away from Jeffrey mid slow song but didn''t know that he kissed her.

    "He asked you out but you went with just a friend? Are you crazy?! Aren''t you afraid he might destroy your life for defying him?"

    Keeley scoffed. He''d already done that. Nothing he tried now could be worse than what she had already been through. Besides, the Aaron she knew then and the Aaron now seemed different. He had been strangely dociletely.

    He hadn''t ruined her for returning all his gifts and she had the odd feeling of being pursued. Aaron Hale chased no one. The whole thing was bizarre. So what on earth was his motivation texting her on a Friday night? Shouldn''t he have more important things to do?

    "I''d like to see him try," she said defiantly.

    Lydia shook her head fearfully. "You''re either brave or crazy."

    "Let''s go with brave. Besides, I''ve seen his worst. He can''t do anything to me."

    "When did you see his worst?!"

    Oops. She wasn''t supposed to know Aaron well. "I share a ss with him. Somebody was getting on his nerves one day and he really tore into the poor guy," she improvised. Thankfully Lydia fell for it.

    Her friend bit her lip, worried. "Don''t be reckless, Keeley. He''s the scariest person I''ve ever met. He could really hurt you if he doesn''t get what he wants. What was he texting you about, anyway?"

    "I''m not quite sure, honestly," Keeley said, still perplexed. "He imed to be bored."

    "Why would he talk to you of all people if he was bored?! Why not text one of his rich and powerful friends?"

    "That''s what I asked him."

    "You actually asked him that?! Do you have a death wish?" Lydia was aghast.

    It certainly looked that way, didn''t it? Keeley was afraid of Aaron but not for the same reasons as everyone else. He had already allowed Lacy to kill her father and get away with it. Nothing he could do to her now would be worse than losing her only remaining family to such a horrible betrayal.

    "I''m not afraid of him," she lied. "He''s nothing to me."

    "If he was nothing to you, you would have ignored the text rather than goading him," Lydia pointed out.

    Alright, she had her there. Aaron wasn''t nothing; he was worse than that. He was a piece of gum stuck to her shoe that wouldn''te off no matter how much she scraped.

    Keeley sighed. She was too transparent with her emotions. "Actually, Lydia¡­he''s the guy I told you about." It wasn''t like she would say anything about it. She didn''t have an in with the rich crowd.

    The horror on her face was so exaggerated that it looked like she was wearing a Halloween mask.

    "You were together with Aaron Hale? And he cheated on you but now he wants you back?! How did I not know about this? Everyone has their eyes on him at school!"

    "It was before high school," she said half-truthfully. At least before high school in this life.

    "So you went to the same middle school¡­" Lydia mused. "That''s really bad. Why do you think he wants you back?"

    "I have absolutely no idea."

    Aaron shouldn''t care about her in this life since she made no move to approach him first. She wished she understood his thought process so she could get him to leave her alone.

    It didn''t even ur to her that he actually liked her¡ªif anything, she believed it was nothing more than a sick game he yed for his own amusement. It must be fun toying with the one person who refused to fawn over him.

    "If he texts you again, don''t respond to him," she said nervously, reaching out to grip Keeley''s arm. "I don''t want him to hurt you again."

    She smiled at her friend''s concern. "Don''t worry. He''s going to Harvard after graduation. I''ll probably never see him again once school ends. I just need to hold him off for a couple more months."

    Lydia rxed slightly. "That''s true. But hey, does that mean I''ll never see you again either?!"

    Keeley reached out to pinch her face. "No, because I actually like you. We''ll still call and text and hang out when youe home for the holidays."

    She knocked Keeley''s hand away and stuck out her tongue before smiling. "You better text me a lot. I''m going to miss you."

    "I''ll miss you too."

    Once she got back home again, Keeley crawled into bed exhausted. Tonight had taken a lot out of her between talking to Lydia about her pathetic love life and the object of said love life contacting her out of the blue. She just couldn''t escape him no matter what she did. It might be time to change her number. Although, it might be better to wait until after graduation to do that.

    Her number would still be in the student directory and with his connections it wouldn''t be too hard to get. She imagined that was how he got her number in the first ce. It would be beneath him to talk to the few students on campus that had it since they were all schrship kids.

 Chapter 23: Im Proud Of You

    <h4>Chapter 23: I''m Proud Of You</h4>

    A knock sounded on Keeley''s bedroom door. "Honeybun? I have a surprise for you, can Ie in?"

    Light streamed through the ts in her blinds and she blinked sleepily. Morning already? She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah."

    Her dad opened the door carrying arge tray of blueberry pancakes with bacon and a wine ss filled with orange juice. Keeley beamed at him. "What''s the asion?"

    He set down the tray and joined her on the edge of the bed before reaching out to muss her bedhead.

    "It''s not every day your daughter gets into a top 30 university. I''m sorry I couldn''t celebrate with you yesterday. Why don''t we go check out the campus and get dinner today? I might even be persuaded to get you a t-shirt at the bookstore."

    "Really?" she asked excitedly, nearly knocking over the orange juice as she lunged forward to hug her dad.

    "Careful," he chuckled. "You should eat your breakfast first. Where''s the letter? I want to see it."

    Keeley pointed to her desk before chowing down on her pancakes. They were delicious but oddly shaped. She smiled a bit wistfully. Her mom always managed to get perfectly round, identical pancakes every time. When asked, she would simply wink and say it was her superpower.

    As hard as Keeley''s father tried, he could never quite get the proportions right. His pancake stacks were always a bit lopsided.

    "We should put this in a frame so I can hang it in my office. I can brag to everybody who walks in," he joked.

    She stared at him like he was nuts as her cheeks bulged with pancake. After swallowing sheined, "Dad, you''re so embarrassing!"

    "I''m only teasing. But I hope you know how proud I am of you."

    Tears formed in Keeley''s eyes as she nodded. There was so little to be proud of in her previous life. She gave up going to a good school, never used her degree, and drifted farther and farther away from him as she tried to fit into Aaron''s world. She wouldn''t let him down this time!

    "I''ll do even better, Dad, I promise. I''m going to go all the way and be a researcher for Kaleb."

    A lump grew in his throat as he witnessed his only remaining child''s earnestness. Keeley reminded him so much of her mother.

    "I''m sure he would love that, honeybun. Should we go visit them while we''re out today and share the good news?"

    Keeley couldn''t remember thest time she had visited her family''s graves in either of her lives. She nodded. "That''s a great idea."

    "We''ll make a day of it. Get dressed once you''re done with your food. We need to go buy some flowers."

    He shut the door behind him while she rushed to finish her breakfast. After brushing her teeth, she threw on a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved teal shirt, and a beige beaded scarf.

    As she went to put her phone in her pocket, Keeley noticed she had one missed message from the night before. ''An echo. I win. Got any more?''

    Ugh. Hadn''t she told Aaron to go entertain himself? She never should have responded in the first ce. She would block his number if she didn''t think he would cause another scene at school over it.

    He had to get out of her head! Today was a day for family and focusing on her future. There was no room in her life for him anymore.

    The cemetery wasn''t anywhere near a subway stop so they drove there and sang along to one of her dad''s old ssic rock CDs in the car.

    When they arrived it was quiet and peaceful with hardly any other visitors. They had to walk for a while to reach the middle of the plots where their loved ones were buried.

    The first headstone was meant for a couple. Robert Joseph Hall, February 3rd 1964¡ª and Monica Krelman Hall, April 17th 1967¡ªJuly 28th 2001. The smaller headstone next to it read Kaleb Andrew Hall, December 11th 1990¡ªJuly 28th 2001.

    "Hi Mom. Hi Kal," Keeley whispered as she set down the flowers and crouched in front of the graves. Her father ced shaking hands on both her shoulders from behind as she began talking to them.

    "I got into NYU yesterday. The applicant pool was huge this year and I still made it in! I''m going to work hard and be a gicist so I can help kids like you, Kaleb! If you were here¡­you''d probably call me a nerd."

    She sniffled a little bit beforeughing. "We''re going to go check out the campus today. I wish you could be here. I would''ve gotten you an NYU baseball cap. You always loved baseball even though you weren''t able to y¡­"

    Keeley broke down crying. Kaleb would be fifteen right now. She always used toin about going to baseball games with him because she thought it was boring. She would give anything to listen to him chatter on about yers'' stats as they went up to bat now. Her father''s hold on her shoulders tightened.

    "It''s okay, honeybun. I''m sure he watches all of the Yankees games from heaven," he said thickly. "He would be proud of you. So would your mother. You hear that, Mon? Our daughter is brilliant, just like you."

    He reached out and gently traced histe wife''s name on the gravestone with his fingers.

    They stayed there hugging for a little while as they tried to dry the tears. It was supposed to be a happy day but missing half of their family members always made special asions bittersweet. Eventually Robert stood and offered a hand to help his daughter up.

    "Come on, we should get going if we want to have enough time to wander around before the bookstore closes."

    Keeley epted his help and shot onest wistful nce at the graves behind them as they walked away. A horrible thought struck her and she almost let out a bitterugh.

    What happened to her body after she died? Had she been buried here with the rest of her family or did Aaron have her cremated and scattered somewhere so he didn''t have to think about her? He certainly didn''t care about her in life.

    There was no way he would have buried her in his family''s plot since he had just filed for divorce but it would be too nice of him to return her to her own loved ones. Maybe he never imed her body at all and left her as a Jane Doe.

    A shudder ran through her. Her thoughts were far too morbid. Thinking about the past was useless. She was alive now and that was what mattered.

 Chapter 24: Nostalgia

    <h4>Chapter 24: Nostalgia</h4>

    Taking the car was a mistake since Robert had to drive around forever to find a parking spot close to campus. By the time they got there Keeley was thoroughly sick of being in the car. Containing her excitement was difficult as they walked around campus. It wasn''t terribly crowded but then again it was a Saturday. That made it easier to get around but more difficult to ask for directions.

    "If we follow the signs the bookstore should be somewhere, right?" she asked no one in particr. Her father was several feet away looking at a building directory.

    "It looks like the engineering building is this way. Do you want to take a look at that first?"

    She bit her lip hesitantly. "Shouldn''t we find someone to talk to about the school?"

    He checked the directory again. "We might find someone willing to give you a tour in the student administration building. It''s this way."

    They lucked out¡ªa tour they wanted was scheduled to start in forty minutes and they managed to get squeezed onto the list. While they waited, they flicked through several brochures avable with information about the university, majors and minors, and campus life.

    "Are you going to want to live on campus?"

    Keeley looked up in surprise. "Why would I do that when I have a perfectly good bedroom at home?"

    Robert sighed. She was always such a daddy''s girl, especially after losing her mother and brother. She needed to go spread her wings instead of catering to a lonely middle aged man.

    "The trust covers dormitory expenses. It would be more convenient for you not having tomute more than an hour each way and you would make friends easier."

    Conflict brewed on her face. "But what about you?"

    "I''m homete half the time anyway. You can alwayse see me on Sundays." He could tell she was warming up to the idea and smiled in satisfaction.

    Keeley hadn''t even thought about living on campus. Her dad had a point. It would be a lot harder being involved and making friends if she spent so much timemuting, not to mention the study time that would be wasted. Hadn''t she just been thinking how she didn''t want to make the same mistakes in college this time around?

    "Thank you all for your interest in NYU''s college of engineering. We offer several diverse programs such as applied physics, civil engineering, biomedical engineering, and mathematics..." the presenter began, preventing Keeley from giving it further thought.

    She paid close attention to everything the presenter said, especially once they actually moved to the engineering building. Thebs where prospective mechanical engineers worked on building things were fairly interesting but she was far more intrigued by the medicalbs they only briefly passed because of potential biohazards.

    This was the future she wanted. She would spend the next four years, if not longer, primarily in this building. It was a bit overwhelming seeing her dreams stare her in the face.

    The tour ended in the bookstore. Keeley had never seen so much NYU merchandise in one ce before. How was she supposed to pick just one? She ran her hands over the clothes racks mindlessly. New York was chilly for a good chunk of the year so something with long sleeves might be a good idea but there were still at least a dozen options.

    "Dad, should I get a gray hoodie with purple letters or a purple one with white letters?"

    "The purple one with white letters looks good," he replied. "I think it has a better font than the other one." He had a point. It was a little less blocky.

    "Alright!" she cheered, clutching it to her chest excitedly.

    She never bothered to get any spirit wear for Boston University because she was fairly ambivalent about going there. This was her first time having some and she intended to wear it proudly.

    "Now that that''s taken care of, where do you want to go for dinner?"

    "Somewhere with steak?" Keeley asked hopefully. On their budget, chicken was the usual meat of choice.

    Robert shook his head indulgently. "Why not! It''s a special asion. Let''s go get my soon-to-be college girl a steak."

    "You''re the best, Dad!"

    They went to a rtively inexpensive steakhouse chain nearby and stuffed themselves on warm brown bread while they waited for their entrees toe out. Nostalgia tends to hit when moving forward into a new phase of life and Keeley was drowning in it.

    She reminisced with her father about her elementary school days back when their family wasplete. Having cried out all her feelings earlier in the day, she was able tough about the memories now.

    "Ooh, Mom was so mad!" she chuckled, recalling the time that she and Kaleb got into their mother''s makeup so Keeley could give him a makeover and practically destroyed the bathroom.

    "The pictures were almost worth it though."

    Keeley sobered. "It''s been a long time since we looked through the old photo albums together."

    "It has. You know¡­I still have a bunch of pictures that never made it into the albums. Your mom meant to get around to putting them together but wasn''t able to before¡­anyway, they''re in a box at the top of my closet and the dates and events are written on the back. Would you be interested in finishing them for her?"

    "I think Mom would like that. I''m not as artistic as she is but I''m sure I could think of something."

    Monica Hall was an expert scrapbooker and frequently got together with her friends to chat and put them together. If Keeley busted out her mom''s old art supplies she might be able to replicate what she did.

    "It would be nice not to have a bunch of loose photos lying around," Robert added.

    After losing his wife and son, he bought a small digital camera and kept all of the pictures he took of Keeley on his desktopputer. asionally he printed one out to put it in a picture frame but most of the pictures in their house were from before their family shrunk.

    As much as he tried to live for his daughter, he was a man who couldn''t truly escape his past. It was a simrity they shared without even realizing it. Robert never would have dreamed that his usually happy-go-lucky daughter struggled with memories even more traumatic than those of losing her mother and brother.

 Chapter 25: Love Is A Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 25: Love Is A Battlefield</h4>

    Across town, Max and Lacy plotted against Keeley over quinoa sd. The food was tasty but the conversation left much to be desired. Just once, could he spend time with Lacy without her wanting something unpleasant from him?

    "I checked, she''s not a schrship student, otherwise I would get my father to rescind her financial aid," she grumbled. "I don''t know enough about her to know her weaknesses."

    "You act like you''re going to war."

    "Haven''t you ever heard that love is a battlefield?"

    Yeah, one he was living in. Max sighed. "Lacy, is this even necessary? There are plenty of reasons they could have been in that closet. Honestly, I got the impression Aaron was threatening her. She seemed afraid of something."

    "Tons of people fear him," she said dismissively. "I want to know why he keeps approaching her anyway. Someone like that should be beneath his notice."

    "They''re ssmates! Maybe they had a group project together. You can''t help who you get assigned with."

    Lacy shook her head vehemently. "Project partners don''t discuss things in closets! Don''t you know anything? People go into closets to make out!"

    How did her mind jump straight to making out? She imed that Aaron kissed that Keeley girl at the Valentine''s dance but Max would have to see it to believe it. He was such a dead fish; there''s no way he would do something as passionate as kissing a girl, much less in public.

    Although he couldn''t deny it was strange that he had seen Aaron trying to approach a girl so often. Girls flocked to him, not the other way around.

    Max wouldn''t exactly call him a friend considering he thought of Aaron as a rival for Lacy''s affections but he had known him since middle school. Aaron never had to go to anybody for anything. They always came to him. It was even stranger that he was pursuing this girl than it was that the girl was avoiding him.

    What made her so special? She was from the middle ss! Hardly a step up from a schrship student! Aaron towered far above her in both status and wealth so why did he bother?

    "I don''t think they were making out. Why would she cry?" Max reasoned.

    "How am I supposed to fathom the minds of the lower ss? Either way, she''s too close to Aaron. She needs to learn her ce."

    "How exactly do you intend to do that?"

    Lacy pouted. "I''m not sure yet. She''s hard to track down at school so it would probably be better to do something from the shadows. I could start a rumor about how she''s a gold-digging slut¡­"

    That was fairly tame¡­and it would be almost impossible to trace back to the source. Nobody would get in trouble for that. "That''s a good idea. Can we enjoy our date now?"

    "This isn''t a real date," she sniffed haughtily. "I''m only returning a favor."

    "So you''ve said," he muttered through gritted teeth.

    His father was just as influential as Alistair Hale. Why wouldn''t she take him seriously as an option? They were supposed to get engaged in a few years but she only wanted Aaron, who looked down on her!

    "I hope you realize that Aaron Hale doesn''t like you."

    Lacy shot him a dangerous look. "He''lle to his senses once thatmoner is out of the way. I''m the best choice to help expand hiswork and social standing."

    She did have a lot to offer in the way ofworking. Her father had his fingers in many pies throughout the city. Brann Knighton had a contact for anything someone could want to do. Plus Lacy had been trained for many years to be the perfect socialite wife.

    She was a great catch but she was supposed to be Max''s great catch. He didn''t want her connections, he wanted her love.

    "What if he doesn''t?" Max asked bluntly. "Will you abandon your dumb schemes then and marry me like you''re supposed to?"

    The disbelief in herughter cut him to the core. "Dear Max, if I don''t be the next Mrs. Hale, no one will. Don''t get your hopes up."

    He silently cursed Aaron''s very existence. He wasn''t right for Lacy. There had to be a way to convince her of that. That girl Keeley¡­if she was what Aaron really wanted, it would be in Max''s best interest to make sure they ended up together.

    However, that posed a problem because he had no idea how to make it happen without Lacy finding out. She would never speak to him again if he opposed her ns.

    "You''re getting ahead of yourself," he scoffed. "Shouldn''t you be focused on trying to be his prom date first?"

    Prom¡­that could work in his favor. Max had heard stories of students that got expelled after drug or alcohol scandals on prom night even though graduation was so close. If he convinced Lacy to drug Keeley and take scandalous pictures but delivered the unconscious girl to Aaron afterwards ¡­no interested man would be able to resist. If he was tipped off, Aaron could get rid of the pictures easily.

    Lacy would think her n worked, Aaron would get his girl, and Max wouldn''t be in trouble with his woman. This would be a win for everyone involved except Keeley, but who cared about her? She wasn''t anybody important. She was a pawn in this game no matter who was ying it.

    Lacy''s eyes lit up. "You have an idea. That''s your idea face."

    He almost panicked but managed to keep his cool. She knew him too well. "Yeah, I might have a way to get that girl off of Aaron''s radar permanently. If she got expelled because of him, she would hate him forever. And his father would never let him be with someone with a record."

    "I''m listening."

    Max exined half of his n to her and her expression grew wickedly happy as he went. Sometimes Lacy terrified him. That didn''t change anything though. He had been with her too long to love anybody else.

    "You''re terrible! I love it," she said with a smirk. "Leave everything to me. I have some connections to pharmaceuticalbs in the city. I''ll find the perfect drug to make her embarrass herself publicly. But what do we do if she doesn''t go to prom?"

    "Simple. Snatch her earlier in the day, knock her out, and stick her in a prom dress."

    "I like the way you think. But kidnapping would be difficult to get away with in broad daylight. We''d be too recognizable. Do you know anybody who could do it for us?" Lacy asked as she inspected her manicure.

    Max''s extended family had ties to private security forces, better known as mercenaries. It would be easy enough to get a few guys involved. "Not a problem."

    "You''re the best, Max."

    Sure he was. If he was really the best, she would like him rather than that boring pretty boy. Still, it was nice to be appreciated.

 Chapter 26: Something Keeley Wanted

    <h4>Chapter 26: Something Keeley Wanted</h4>

    Aaron''s already foul mood plummeted when he saw Keeley walk into ss wearing an NYU hoodie over her uniform the following Monday. It was yet another reminder that she was leaving him. He only had a couple months left to forge enough of a rtionship that they could stay in contact when he went to Harvard.

    He tried talking to his parents about potentially going to Columbia instead¡ªhe had gotten into four different Ivy League schools¡ªbut that was fruitless.

    The rare asions both of his parents were home to have dinner with him were awkward enough already but the tension became thick enough to cut with a knife when he casually said, "I''ve been thinking about attending Columbia in the fall."

    His mother was so scandalized she nearly dropped her sd fork. "Why on earth would you go to Columbia when you already got epted into Harvard? That was a back-up school!"

    "Out of the question," his father said while emitting a deathly aura. "Seven generations of Hales have attended Harvard. We have connections there. They have a building named after us. If you''re going to seed me someday, those connections are necessary."

    "I can forge my own connections," he tried to insist. "Columbia has almost the exact same eptance rate as Harvard and their business school is one of the best out there."

    "Absolutely not!" Alistair Hale roared, mming his hands on the table so it shook. "If you don''t go to Harvard you can kiss your future role as CEO of Hale Investments goodbye!"

    Aaron shut up and stabbed his arug mutinously. That was a low blow. His entire life¡ªboth of his lives¡ªhad been spent devoted to his role as the heir of his family''s legacy. His chance at a normal childhood was lost due to preparations for his eventual role in thepany.

    After Keeley died and he buried his grief in work, thepany grew 64% in less than a decade. It was the most well-known investmentpany in the entire country by the time he had his heart attack and since he was the only child of an only child, it was handed off to his vice president.

    How dare that man threaten to take away the only consistent thing in his son''s life after all he did already!

    Unfortunately, Aaron didn''t have enough power to go against his father''s wishes just yet. So that n was out. Winning her over before graduation was Aaron''s only chance unless he wanted to risk losing her to someone else while they were apart for four years.

    He tried to set aside his temper and make pleasant conversation. "Nice sweatshirt. Did you have a campus tour over the weekend?"

    Keeley eyed him warily. "Yeah, I did. My dad took me and we went to dinner afterwards to celebrate."

    Aaron flinched slightly at the mention of her father. Sure, his former father-inw was alive now, but that didn''t change the guilt he lived with for nearly three decades.

    "Are you close to your father?" he asked stupidly.

    He knew better than anyone how much Keeley valued their rtionship. She visited him once a week religiously in the early days of their marriage before business functions took over their weekends as he worked to consolidate his power within thepany and boot Alistair out.

    A soft smile yed on her lips that he hadn''t seen since he was reborn. She was usually nk-faced or scowling at him. "Very. He''s all I have left."

    It was on the tip of his tongue to correct her. She still had him. But she didn''t know they had been married. He hadn''t been all that great of a husband anyway.

    Keeley certainly didn''t think of him as family by the time she died after what he did. He wondered if it would have made a difference if she knew why.

    As if she realized she was being too friendly, all expression drained from her face and she stared dead ahead at the whiteboard.

    It took everything in him not to snap his pencil in half. He wanted to shake her and demand an exnation for her coldness. She didn''t even know him! Why wouldn''t she give him a chance?

    After ss, her friend¡ªL? La?¡ªwas waiting for her outside the door. She looped her arm through Keeley''s protectively as they walked toward the student lounge.

    Aaron was curious enough to follow them at a distance since Keeley had eaten alone for weeks where he couldn''t find her. He pulled the hood up on his jacket and sat at the table behind them, facing away. He could hear them but they couldn''t see him.

    "So my mom grounded me for the rest of the weekend because we stayed out toote," Keeley''s friend huffed. "I couldn''t watch TV or use my phone so I ended up doing a week''s worth of homework in advance. What about you?"

    "I wondered why I didn''t hear from you after that. My dad and I visited our family in the cemetery to tell them the good news and we did a campus tour before going to dinner."

    "Ah, so that''s where you got the sweatshirt! Sorry about the cemetery though. That must''ve been depressing."

    "It wasn''t so bad. We always cry when we go but at least we were able to talk about happy memoriester on."

    Aaron couldn''t see her face but Keeley''s tone wasn''t sad so he rxed a little. The cemetery¡­he knew she lost her mom and brother long before they met but she only talked about them when she was drunk and her memories of them were often incoherent so he didn''t know much else.

    His guilt for his unofficial role in her father''s death red up. She lost so much in her short life and a lot of it was his fault. He wouldn''t let it happen again.

    "That reminds me¡­do you know anything about scrapbooking?"

    Keeley''s friend sounded confused. "That thing that olddies do with photographs and craft supplies?"

    "It''s not just for olddies! My dad wants me to finish my mom''s scrapbooks for her before I graduate and I don''t even know where to start. I could''ve sworn my mom had supplies for this but I guess she was running low because I can''t find anything but some glue sticks and a handful of half-used sheets of stickers."

    "Try going to a craft store. I''m sure you''ll find what you need there."

    Keeley sighed heavily. "Probably, but I don''t know the first thing about what to get. Even if I did, I used to hear my dadin about how expensive my mom''s hobby was. This sweatshirt cost seventy bucks; we''re broke."

    "Construction paper is cheap," the friend pitched in.

    "Yeah but my mom always used fancy patterned paper¡­I want to do this right for my dad''s sake. Maybe I could see if the art room has any leftover paper like that. Or I could always walk my neighbor''s dog fifty times to get a little extra cash."

    The conversation turned to ways to make money on the side, which was something Aaron never contemted in either of his lives. He was focused on the potential goldmine he just stumbled across. Finally he knew something Keeley wanted. Finding scrapbooking supplies couldn''t be that hard.

 Chapter 27: Aarons Tattered Pride

    <h4>Chapter 27: Aaron''s Tattered Pride</h4>

    Aaron stared at the endless walls of stickers in the craft store and amended his earlier thought. How was he supposed to know what to get out of all of this?!

    It was beneath his dignity to ask for help but the only other option he could think of was buying out the entire store. He would do that in a heartbeat if not for the fact that Keeley lived in a three bedroom apartment and it wouldn''t all fit.

    He pulled out his phone and dialed his driver''s number. "Carlton, do you know anything about scrapbooking?"

    "Is that why I''m parked outside a craft store right now?" he asked with an obvious smile in his voice. "I know a bit. My sister-inw is quite fond of it."

    That could have gone much worse. At least if Aaron had to embarrass himself by asking someone he asked the right person. He cleared his throat. "Excellent. What sort of things does one need?"

    "My sister-inw chooses themed paper for holidays or special events and uses patterned ones for regr photos. in colored paper is often used for ents¡­ Stickers and stencils aremon tools as well," the driver replied.

    Aaron''s choices were still overwhelming. There were hundreds of options for each of the items Carlton just described. "¡­should I get some of each?"

    "That is the extent of my knowledge. I would rmend talking to a store employee. They would likely know specifics better than I do, especially since I can''t see anything in front of you."

    He had a point. With a sigh, Aaron swallowed his pridepletely and gged down a woman in her 30s wearing a store vest after hanging up the call. He tried to retain his usualmanding presence but it was difficult since he was asking for help in such a girly store.

    "I need everything one could conceivably use when starting a scrapbook," he said as formally as possible.

    The employee looked him up and down in disbelief before smiling.

    "Sure thing. I rmend starting withbo packs. Halloween paper, Christmas paper, paper for each season of the year, and generic patterns and colors¡­they havebo packs for everything. You''ll also want a stencil set for captions, fine tip permanent markers, plenty of alphabet stickers, and theme stickers."

    Aaron was fluent in fournguages but not that one. Nothing she said made a lick of sense but he nodded along as if he understood it perfectly and epted every single one of her rmendations without a word. In the end, he only cleared out about half of the scrapbooking aisle as opposed to the entire store.

    He considered having a box delivered like with his previous gifts but since those were all rejected he figured his best bet was to hand it over personally. He gave Carlton Keeley''s address and instructed him to wait when he went upstairs since he wasn''t sure how long it would take.

    If he was extremely lucky, she might even let him inside. His pride was already in tatters for the day. What more could happen?

    When Aaron knocked on the door he was greeted by the sight of a very casual version of the girl of his dreams. Her hair was in a messy side ponytail high on the right side of her head and she wore a white tee shirt that hung nearly to her knees (most likely her father''s) and a pair of leggings patterned with cartoonish flowers. She froze when she saw who it was.

    "Were you expecting someone?"

    "I thought you were my neighbor," she stammered once she gathered her wits about her. "What on earth are you doing here?"

    He held out the shopping bags in front of him, determined to remain aloof. This wasn''t embarrassing. He was fine.

    "I may have overheard your conversation with your friend about scrapbook materials during lunch. Here."

    Keeley peered inside one of the bags before looking at him the same way one would a mental patient.

    "You''re telling me that you went to a craft store and personally picked these out because you heard I wanted to scrapbook."

    "Yes." He wished it didn''t sound so much like a question. Hopefully she didn''t notice.

    She ran a hand down her face in exasperation. "You¡­I don''t understand you."

    "What''s so hard to understand?"

    "You eavesdropped on me to buy me a present! Normal people don''t do that!" she practically shouted. Confusion and exasperation mingled on her face.

    "I never said I was normal," he said haughtily.

    "Right, because you''re better than everybody else," Keeley muttered angrily.

    "That isn''t what I meant."

    "Then what did you mean? I''m tired of trying to figure you out." She rubbed her forehead wearily. "Look, you better get out of here before¡ª"

    "Keeley? Who''s at the door?"

    "Oh great," she said under her breath before smiling brightly at the middle-aged man behind her.

    Aaron hadn''t seen Robert Hall in decades and he was not prepared for the sight of him. "Dad, this is nobody. And he was leaving. Right?" she asked sternly, shooting daggers out of her eyes.

    Aaron wouldn''t back down so easily even if it meant having to see the man whose life he unintentionally helped cut short.

    He held out his hand professionally. "Aaron Hale, Keeley''s ssmate."

    "Nobody, huh?" Robert asked his daughter with a knowing look in his eye before epting the handshake. "Why don''t youe in and join us? Keeley was in the middle of making dinner."

    "Dad!" she protested.

    "That would be lovely, thank you Mr. Hall."

    "So polite! What do you have there, son?"

    A jolt went through him. He nearly forgot that Robert used to address him that way. It was far more affectionate than how his own father referred to him. His heart constricted.

    "I brought Keeley some scrapbooking supplies for her project."

    "Well, isn''t that nice! Come on in."

    Keeley gave off the vibe of a cornered rat as she hurried to the kitchen counter to continue preparing the garlic bread. Still so resistant.

    Aaron would change that soon enough. It was already tremendous progress that he was inside her house. She couldn''t return the gift now that her father knew about it. He should have shown up at her door ages ago.

    "Tell me about yourself," Robert said as he settled into a chair at the kitchen table.

    Aaron sat on the other side of the square table, insuring that whichever seat Keeley eventually took would be beside him.

    "I''m a senior at Westwind Academy and n to study economics at Harvard in the fall with the intention of taking over the family business."

    Getting an MBA would be pointless since he already had nearly forty years of real experience under his belt. He already knew how to run hispany. Extra school would be a waste of time that would keep him away from Keeley for longer.

    "Harvard, huh? That''s an impressive life n. I was thinking more along the lines of hobbies and interests though."

    Oh. He didn''t really have time for hobbies he actually enjoyed. The ones his parents forced on him should be sufficient.

    "I fence, y the piano, and speak Spanish, French, and Mandarin. Is that the sort of thing you''re looking for?"

 Chapter 28: Be Nice

    <h4>Chapter 28: Be Nice</h4>

    Robert''s eyes widened and Aaron was tempted tough. He had the same reaction the first time Keeley bragged about her boyfriend''s aplishments.

    "That¡­wow. That''s a lot ofnguages for someone your age."

    He shrugged. His parents enrolled him innguage lessons before he was even in elementary school.

    "Language acquisition is easier the younger you are. I''m working on Portuguese and Italian as well since they share simrponents to Spanish and French but I wouldn''t call myself fluent."

    "Showoff," Keeley coughed so faintly her father didn''t hear it but Aaron certainly did.

    He frowned, displeased. What was her problem? She shoved the garlic bread into the oven with some force and crossed her arms tightly as she joined them at the table.

    He tried changing the subject. "So, what''s for dinner? It smells delicious."

    "Lasagna," Robert said helpfully. "Myte wife''s recipe. Her mother was Italian and taught her everything she knew, which she passed onto Keeley, so we eat a lot of Italian food around here."

    "I love Italian food."

    Keeley narrowed her eyes at him. "I would have thoughtsagna would be too simple for you."

    "Keeley," her father warned. "Be nice."

    "I am nice! He''s the one that isn''t nice," she mumbled under her breath.

    Aaron silently gnashed his teeth. He heard that too. What on earth had he done to make her hate him so much?

    He''d been perfectly kind to her in this life. Well, sort of. He lost his head a few times after she kept ignoring him but she started it! Her hatred predated anything he did.

    "It''s fine, Mr. Hall," he lied. "I''m sure Keeley is just tired. Midterms are almost upon us after all."

    Midterms¡­after midterms the seating chart would be changed again and he would lose yet another opportunity to be close to her.

    This wasn''t a problem before because by the time the change happened, the two of them were hanging out at lunch and on the weekends. He had to find a way to convince the teacher to keep them next to each other.

    "Oh look, thesagna is ready," Keeley said quickly once the oven beeped. "We need to wait a bit before cutting it so it won''t fall apart though."

    "I didn''t realize you were such a proficient cook," Aaronmented though it wasn''t true.

    Keeley cooked for him plenty of times while they were dating. He''d had hersagna before and it was delicious. His parents hired a chef as a wedding present though so she stopped cooking for them early in their marriage.

    "She sort of has to be since I only know how to make breakfast food," Robert chuckled. "Eggs and pancakes are about all I can do."

    "Nothing wrong with that. I can''t cook at all."

    "Have fun living off of ramen and toast in college," she snorted. "Money shouldn''t stop you from learning how to feed yourself. Food is a basic human need."

    "Harvard has meal ns; I''ll be fine."

    He couldn''t help but wonder why herment sounded personal, like she was bitter about something she experienced firsthand.

    "NYU has meal ns too but I''m still going to cook for my dad on the weekends. Nothing beats a home-cooked meal." She turned toward her father. "You better remember to eat right when I''m not around."

    He smiled and tugged at her ponytail affectionately. "I have lived on my own before, you know."

    The garlic bread timer went off and once the pan was out she deemed thesagna fit to cut.

    Everyone dug in with different emotions. Keeley was clearly disgruntled. Her father was oblivious to the storm brewing next to him and ate happily. Aaron, who hadn''t enjoyed his love''s cooking for decades, was quite satisfied though annoyance lingered at her tant hostility.

    He ate two slices ofsagna and three pieces of garlic bread before getting full and wished he could take some home with him even though his family employed a renowned personal chef. Who knew when she would cook for him again?

    "Thank you for the delightful meal," he directed at Keeley, who wouldn''t meet his eyes.

    "You''re wee," she said begrudgingly. "I have a lot of homework to do though and I know you do too so you better go."

    "It was nice meeting you," Robert said with a smile. "Feel free to visit us again."

    Keeley''s face flooded with panic and Aaron felt his heart rip in half. She really didn''t want him there at all.

    "It was nice meeting you too," he said softly. "See you tomorrow, Keeley."

    "Yeah, see ya. And¡­thanks for the scrapbooking stuff."

    "You''re wee. Let me know how it goes."

    She nodded before practically shoving him out the door and locking it behind her. She couldn''t wait to get rid of him.

    He cursed and kicked the inside of the elevator on his way down to the parking garage. Keeley felt further away from him the closer he tried to get.

    He wanted to seize her in his arms, kiss her senseless, and get her to remember that she loved him but if he did that, she would never speak to him again.

    As it was, he considered himself lucky every time she spoke more than a few words to him. Pathetic.

    It vaguely crossed his mind that if Keeley knew everything he did to her in his past life, her actions would be exined perfectly but he brushed that aside. It was unbelievable enough that he got a second chance.

    The statistical probability of both of them being reborn back into the same general timeline was less than one in a billion. There had to be another reason she was so afraid of him. Something easily exinable.

    Aaron tried thinking back. Had they met somehow before they were desk mates? Did Lacy do something to make her like this?

    There hadn''t been any funny rumors floating around since the first day he saw Keeley again and couldn''t control his impulse to be near her, ending up following her around.

    He should have been more subtle but it took everything in him not to crush her to his chest and never let her go that day. It was the first time he saw her up close since she died so he wasn''t thinking as rationally as he should have been.

 Chapter 29: Im So Sorry For Your Loss

    <h4>Chapter 29: I''m So Sorry For Your Loss</h4>

    It had been almost twenty-seven years since the day Aaron lost his wife and he could remember that awful day as well as if it had been twenty-seven minutes ago.

    He said such horrible things to get her to leave.

    Lacy¡ªand more importantly, the unidentified father of her baby¡ªwere after his assets and the title of Mrs. Hale in order to control him. Their methods were despicable.

    They already took out Robert Hall to get to Keeley and he didn''t have a shred of real proof to convict them. He hid his suspicions and tried getting closer to Lacy in the hopes that she would slip up and reveal something with limited sess.

    Aaron sent Keeley away intending to keep her safely out of the tangled web of corporate espionage and instead sent her straight to her death.

    He was already stewing in regret over the things he said and the look on her face as she ran out crying when the phone call came.

    "Hello, this is the NYPD. Am I speaking to a rtive of Keeley Hale?"

    Aaron''s blood ran cold. Getting a call from a police officer was never a good thing.

    "Yes, this is her¡­husband." Soon to be ex-husband but that didn''t matter in the moment.

    "Mr. Hale, I''m so sorry to tell you this but we need you toe down to the morgue. Identification belonging to Keeley Hale was found on the victim of a car ident earlier today and we would like your help identifying the body."

    The phone fell out of his hand so abruptly that the screen cracked.

    "Hello? Mr. Hale?" the voice came out of the speakers on top of the rug.

    A car ident. Just like her father. No. It couldn''t be. He would go down there and tell them they had the wrong person.

    "I''m here," he said faintly as he picked up the damaged phone.

    The police officer gave him the address and Aaron numbly headed out the front door. This wasn''t real. It couldn''t be real.

    Keeley was going toe storming back into the house to tell him off for being a jerk any minute. Except she couldn''t. Keeley was dead.

    The cold, hard truth stared him in the face from beneath the in white sheet in the morgue.

    Keeley, once so beautiful and lively but worn away after years of social pressure and neglect,y on a metal b covered in contusions. He reached out toward her before promptly throwing up right onto the floor.

    "It''s her," he said shakily as he wiped his mouth. "How can it be her?"

    The mortician mercifully pulled the sheet back over her head and hesitantly ced a hand on Aaron''s shoulder. "I''m so sorry for your loss."

    His loss? What about her loss? She was only thirty-one and so horribly unhappy. It was selfish of him to ever drag her into his problems in the first ce.

    Keeley would still be alive if she had loved someone else. His love destroyed her.

    Aaron sobbed her name over and over. Keeley. Keeley. Look what they did to you. Look what I did to you.

    Aaron wanted to die. But first he had to take Lacy, his father, and their aplices down with him. It was a long road to revenge but eventually most of them got their just desserts.

    To save herself, Lacy killed Max because he knew too much. She went to jail for homicide and spent the rest of her life there; eventually dying in a prison riot.

    Alistair Hale was voted out of his ownpany due to ipetence and corruption charges and he died of a heart attack from all the stress.

    Unfortunately, Aaron never found out how wide the web of corruption actually went. Any other aplices, including the father of Lacy''s child, disappeared into the woodwork once he took over Hale Investments and never showed their faces again.

    He spent the rest of his life trying to forget everything he lost due to his own ipetence, focusing on building up thepany.

    The Hale legacy ended with him but he supposed it was fitting considering he couldn''t keep his own wife or child safe.

    He had to find them this time before they could hurt him or those he cared about. Right now the list was very short. Keeley. She was the only one he truly cared about because she had been the first person to genuinely care about him.

    He wouldn''t let go of those memories even if she hated him right now. There had to be a way to change her mind. Living without her warmth wasn''t living at all.

    ===

    Keeley''s head was still reeling from what happened earlier. Aaron showed up at her house with a present in person! Her dad invited him for dinner! What on earth was going through that head of his?!

    After he left, she checked the bags more thoroughly. There were enough supplies to fill a dozen scrapbooks.

    Had he bought out an entire store''s stock of colored paper and stickers?! She would never get through all of it.

    She should have known that sketchy guy in the hood was Aaron listening in at lunchtime. But why would he go to all that effort? What was his game?

    If it were anyone else, she might have even been touched. He was too clever.

    With her dad there, she HAD to ept and use the gift to avoid arousing suspicion. Besides, she really didn''t have money to rece the supplies he brought.

    Keeley really hoped he wouldn''t make a habit of this.

    She felt a little bit guilty for how she treated him while he was there. Technically, Aaron hadn''t done anything wrong yet aside from kiss her against her will and drag her ces a couple of times.

    He wouldn''t understand why she was so hostile towards him and she couldn''t exactly tell him it was because he ruined her life once. That wouldn''t go over well.

    Aaron right now was actually surprisingly nice but that didn''t mean she would fall for his tricks. Once a scumbag, always a scumbag.

    She couldn''t forget how both her father''s and her deaths were directly rted to him or the eight progressively miserable years she spent as his wife.

    If she let up on him now, he would see it as an opening and try to take further advantage of her. She had to fend him off until graduation and then she would be free forever.

 Chapter 30: Guilt Tripping

    <h4>Chapter 30: Guilt Tripping</h4>

    Keeley couldn''t believe her father lectured her about being nice to Aaron after he left.

    The irony of Robert defending the man who would be an aplice in his death after the fact was almost too much to bear. She couldn''t listen to more than a few sentences before interjecting.

    "He isn''t like what you think, Dad. He''s a snake in disguise."

    "Everyone has their own circumstances. It''s our job to be understanding even if we don''t know them," he replied and handed her the photo box. "Here. Maybe using your friend''s gift will help you reflect on your actions."

    She epted the box mutinously. It was no use arguing with her father when he was on his moral high horse.

    He didn''t know the situation, that''s all. He would surely be on her side if he knew what Aaron was really like.

    How could she be nice to a traitor, a liar, and a cheat? Especially after he barged into her home so shamelessly.

    With a sigh, Keeley opened the box and began rifling through the pictures inside. A picture of her motherughing with her arms around both of her children at a park stood out to her. Mom.

    If she were around long enough to meet Aaron, she would have seen he was bad news right away and set her daughter straight. She had a strange way of seeing through to people''s souls; she would have known that the two of them were a bad match.

    Keeley could certainly use her mother''s advice right now. Everything had been so confusing since her rebirth.

    She thought it would be easy to avoid Aaron and live a normal life. Now he wouldn''t leave her alone and Lacy no doubt had a sinister n underway at that very moment.

    If only she had been reborn six years earlier. She could have convinced her mother to change the date of the doctor''s appointment and her entire family would still be alive. She never would have enrolled in Westwind Academy.

    Why did whatever force was in charge of her reincarnation send her back when it did, not giving her sufficient time to change things?

    With Lacy after her, the end result might be the same whether Aaron was involved with her or not. There had to be a way to convince the psychotic girl that Keeley didn''t want her man.

    She flipped the photograph over. May 13th, 2001. Keeley''s thirteenth birthday. This might be thest picture ever taken of her mother and Kaleb.

    She dug through the box and found a bunch of pictures from summer to Christmas 2000 and a handful from early 2001 but she was right. That was thest picture of the two of them together.

    There were also pictures of her parents taken on their wedding anniversary that June and of Kaleb grinning in a baseball hat at a Yankees game with a nasal cann on his face only two weeks before his death.

    Keeley organized the photographs into piles based on the date/event so she had an idea of how many pages she would need to create for the scrapbook.

    Once that was done, she hesitantly opened the bags of supplies Aaron left and flicked through the booklets of patterned paper.

    The holiday themed ones would be especially helpful since her parents took tons of pictures of them trick or treating and with their presents on Christmas Day. He was surprisingly thorough.

    Using the pages her motherpleted as references, she got to work cutting down pictures, choosing paper and stickers, and writing captions on bits of in colored paper she cut out from the stencils.

    It wasn''t nearly as neat but the final result was decent for a first attempt. With a little practice they would look much better.

    There were at least twenty little piles of photos so she would have plenty of opportunity to improve.

    It was surprisingly calming work. Keeley enjoyed herself more than she thought she would when she originally volunteered old to finish the scrapbook. And it wouldn''t have been possible without Aaron''s gift.

    The thought made her ufortable. She didn''t want to owe him anything.

    The choctes and other gifts she returned felt different. This was something she actually needed that he helped her with.

    Keeley didn''t have money to pay him back but he did seem to like the dinner she made. Maybe if she whipped up something quick and easy like brownies she could give them to him, assuage her guilt, and make a clean break.

    If it was even possible to make a clean break with that maniac before graduation. He was oddly persistent.

    Giving him homemade treats might give him the wrong idea but she didn''t have any other gift options up her sleeve.

    With a sigh, she set her project aside and trudged to the kitchen. This would be the end of things. If he tried giving her presents again, she would refuse them.

    Her father poked his head into the kitchen. "What are you making?"

    "Brownies."

    "At ten o''clock at night?" he asked incredulously. "Why?"

    "¡­I want to give them to Aaron to thank him for the craft supplies," she mumbled.

    He smiled proudly. "I knew my little talk would get through to you. Good girl."

    "Yeah, yeah," she said sourly.

    Guilt tripping was foul y. It was ridiculous that she even felt the need to repay him after everything he did to her in her past life. He owed her too much to ever make up for so she really shouldn''t feel obligated.

    "What did he ever do to you anyway? You''re normally not so hostile to people even if you don''t like them much."

    Keeley stopped stirring the batter. Too much. He did too much. She prided herself on being a fairly tolerant person but Aaron crossed far too many lines to ever forgive.

    "You wouldn''t believe me if I told you."

    "He didn''t break your heart, did he?"

    Was she so obvious? Among other things, Aaron Hale definitely broke her heart but it was a gradual process.

    It broke a little more every time he treated her coldly so he was practically dead to her already even before the incident with her father. That rtionship died long before she did.

    "Did anyone ever tell you that you''re too perceptive for your own good?" she asked lightly.

    "Your mother did, more than once. But I think that was because I made the mistake of pointing out that she gained a little weight while she was pregnant with you," he said sheepishly. "I was young and stupid back then."

    Keeley couldn''t help butugh at the mental image of her mother chewing him out.

    She was young and stupid back when she fell in love with Aaron. Everybody was young and stupid at least once but she wouldn''t waste the chance she was given to change that.

 Chapter 31: You Think You Can Run Away From Me?

    <h4>Chapter 31: You Think You Can Run Away From Me?</h4>

    The following day, Keeley stored the brownies in a stic container in her locker and sighed heavily.

    How was she going to do this without getting spotted by one of Lacy''s cronies? Thest thing she needed was that psychopath getting the wrong idea.

    Should she even be doing this? Her father''s guilting tactics were second to none but she really didn''t want Aaron to think she was doing this because she liked him.

    He had to know she didn''t want anything to do with him, right? Everything she had done so far was either unfriendly or downright hostile. A sudden gesture of goodwill might confuse him.

    She walked around in a state of mental turmoil all morning and hesitated at the door of the literature ssroom. Was he already in there?

    What was she supposed to say? ''Hey, I know I was really rude to you yesterday and my dad gave me a hard time about it so have some brownies?'' That would sound terrible.

    Maybe she could simply pretend she gave them to him. Her dad wouldn''t know¡­

    A shadow fell over her and something¡ªsomeone''s chin?¡ªrested on top of her head. "You''re blocking the door."

    Keeley froze in ce. She wasn''t ready to confront him.

    He embraced her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. It was a rather intimate position for a school setting; one he had done dozens of times while they were dating.

    Gathering her wits about her, she calmly stated, "I can''t move with you like this. Let go."

    "I don''t think I will," he replied coolly. "You can walk like this if I walk with you."

    She scowled. Was hepletely insane? People were watching!

    "If you don''t let me go I won''t give you brownies!" she blurted.

    He released her instantly. "Brownies? You made me brownies?"

    "Don''t get the wrong idea," she insisted, uneasy at the hint of excitement emanating from him.

    Knowing this iceberg''s tiny shifts in expression could be problematic at times.

    "You backed me into a corner yesterday making me ept those scrapbook supplies in front of my dad. He lectured me for being rude so I made them as a return gift. Then we''ll be even. Don''t you dare do anything like that again!"

    Keeley knew him too well. It was impossible to miss the smugness in his otherwise nk expression as they sat down.

    Sheid her head on the desk in defeat. He definitely saw this as a victory. It wasn''t like that! Stop thinking weird thoughts, Aaron!

    "Do you have them on you?"

    She refused to look up and mumbled through the gap in her arms. "They''re in my locker."

    "Give them to me after ss. We can eat lunch together."

    "No!" she shot up in rm. Eating lunch with him was what caused all of her troubles in the first ce! "After school. Fifteen minutes after thest bell rings."

    "I have a Portuguese lesson after school."

    "That''s my deal, take it or leave it," Keeley said firmly. "I can always eat them myself."

    If she was spotted handing something over to the Ice King in front of Lacy or Max, her life may as well be over. They should be gone by then.

    "Fine," he said crossly. "But if I''mte you''ll be held responsible."

    Shivers ran down her spine. That was a threat. Which was worse, a threat from Lacy Knighton or one from Aaron Hale?

    She wanted to lean toward the former but Aaron could be pretty terrifying when he wanted to be. She didn''t want to find out what being held responsible for wasting his time would mean.

    "Got it," she squeaked before returning her head to its previous position on the desk.

    She couldn''t bear to look at him once she began imagining horrible repayment scenarios.

    This was the worst idea she had in a good while. She never should have made something for him.

    "Rx," Aaronmanded as he stroked her hair.

    That made her even more anxious, okay?! Why was he so touchy feely today?

    "It''s impossible to rx around you," Keeley mumbled.

    He withdrew his hand and icy waves rolled off of him. That was exactly why it was impossible to rx around him! Just being near him was like standing under an air conditioner that''s turned on way too high.

    His obvious displeasure continued throughout ss and she tried focused intently on her notes in an effort to tune it out but it was difficult considering his frigid aura had about a four foot radius. Even the people sitting in front of and behind them were affected.

    Lunch couldn''te fast enough. She bolted out of there as if her skirt were on fire and hid in the nurse''s office, iming to have a headache.

    Keeley was pretty sure she only got away with staying in there for the rest of the day because she looked so pale and mmy.

    Thankfully she was able to convince the nurse not to call her father. He would know she was faking it based on their conversation the night before.

    She didn''t want him to know how afraid she was because then she would have toe up with a usible reason why.

    The nurse kicked her out when the final bell rang and she hid in the bathroom until she thought the coast was clear. Lacy should be gone by now.

    Keeley cautiously peered outside of the bathroom door and saw that the hallway was mostly empty and Aaron was standing impatiently by her locker. Oops. She waited too long.

    "Sorry about that, I haven''t been feeling very well today and was in the nurse''s office," she exined somewhat nervously. "I''ll just get you those brownies and you can be on your way."

    "I don''t have all day," he said coldly.

    His intensity pierced her so badly that she fumbled over thebination three times before getting the lock to open. She picked up the Tupperware container and held it out gingerly as if it were a bomb, not meeting his eyes.

    "Here. There''s no need to return the container; just take it and we''re good. Please don''t talk to me anymore."

    Aaron''s knuckles whitened as he gripped the container. "You hate me so much?"

    "I¡­I don''t hate you," she lied, crumbling under his frightening stare.

    Maybe ttering him could get him off her back. "I''m not worth your time or effort so you should go talk to people in your own social circle."

    "Who are you to decide what I deem worthy?"

    Each word was colder than thest. Keeley hadn''t seen him this angry in long time. She was used to emotionless, detached Aaron, not this icy beast.

    She shouldn''t have provoked him. Or made the stupid brownies in the first ce.

    Her eyes darted down the hallway. If she didn''t care about leaving her locker open, she might be able to make an escape.

    He noticed her line of sight and menacingly stepped closer so her back was pressed up against the lockers.

    "You think you can run away from me?"

 Chapter 32: Define Within Reason

    <h4>Chapter 32: Define ''Within Reason''</h4>

    Keeley shrunk back, wishing more than anything that she hadn''te to school today. She didn''t know how to answer. Was this a rhetorical question?

    She absolutely nned to run away from him but didn''t want to know what he would do to her if she admitted it.

    The moment she opened her mouth to make something up, his phone rang.

    "What?" Aaron barked into the speaker, still looming over her. "I got held up at school. I''ll be there soon enough. You''re paying him, aren''t you? You can afford for him to wait for me. Bye."

    He snapped the phone shut viciously and a frightening expression crossed his face. "I''mte. Be prepared topensate me tomorrow."

    She nodded, grateful to be temporarily spared, but dreading what kind ofpensation he had in mind.

    Weak-kneed, she slumped against the locker after he stormed off with her heart racing. How had she attracted his monster''s attention? Why wouldn''t he let her go?

    Unfortunately, Keeley was too dazed by the encounter to notice that someone had seen the entire thing.

    Rachel von Dyne, a particr friend of Lacy''s, knew how badly she wanted Aaron. She might loan Rachel her brand new limited edition Prada bag in exchange for this scoop.

    ''Just saw something you might be interested in regarding your future boyfriend'' she texted.

    Lacy responded right away. ''Name your price''

    ''I get to use your limited edition Prada bag for a month''

    ''Make it a week''

    Rachel smiled. It was better to start high with Lacy¡ªshe liked to haggle. A week was good enough since she would go shopping downtown during that time and wanted everyone to envy her.

    ''Deal. It''s kind of long to text it all out so I''ll tell you tomorrow at lunch''

    ''Just call me. You''ll forget the details by then''

    She dialed Lacy''s number andunched into a detailed exnation of everything she just saw, unaware that her friend''s expression grew more and more twisted as the conversation went on. Lacy was out for blood.

    ===

    Keeley tossed and turned all night worrying about what Aaron wanted from her so she appeared in front of him boasting a pair of panda eyes.

    "You look terrible."

    She scowled at him. "Thanks."

    He ignored her sarcasm. "I enjoyed the brownies."

    Did that mean he would let her off the hook for making himte? Babbling random nonsense might distract him enough that he would forget punishing her.

    "Ah, those were nothing. If I had more time and ingredients I could have made marshmallow brownies. Have you ever had those? You melt a bunch of mini marshmallows on the top thest few minutes the brownies bake and then put chocte frosting over top the marshmallowyer. My grandma used to make them and they were fantastic."

    "Which one?"

    "Huh?" Keeley asked. She didn''t think it would actually work.

    "Was it your maternal or paternal grandmother?"

    "She was my dad''s mom. She passed away from Alzheimer''s when I was in middle school but before she couldn''t remember us and had to live in a nursing home she baked all the time."

    Aaron digested this information. "I want to try themter."

    This derailed her. "You what?"

    "Maybe next month since I just had some," he mused. "It can be part of yourpensation."

    She should have known she wouldn''t get off so easily. Distraction failed. All it did was give him ideas. It would be easy enough to bake again¡ªmaybe he was showing mercy.

    Although... "Hang on, you said part?"

    His eyes glinted. "My time is very valuable you know. Your father isn''t the only one capable of lecturing. I got in trouble because you held me up. To make it up to me, you need to eat lunch with me for a month."

    How on earth was that fair?! They both got in trouble with their parents over this whole incident! Shouldn''t they be even already?

    "I refuse."

    "Either you do that or I tell everyone you''re my girlfriend."

    Keeley stopped breathing. That was so much worse than spending time with him! Lacy might jump straight to murder.

    "You wouldn''t dare."

    "I would. So which is it?"

    "I don''t want to sit in the cafeteria," she said stubbornly.

    Both were terrible options but she could potentially have a little more control over the lunch situation.

    "That''s fine. All you have to do is eat with me and do what I say within reason," Aaron replied smoothly.

    Do whatever he says! No way. He was blowing this entire thing out of proportion.

    "Don''t test me, Aaron. I''ll eat lunch with you but I won''t do anything else," she said through gritted teeth.

    How had things ended up this way? She couldn''t deal with the repercussions that woulde with him telling people they were dating when they actually weren''t but wouldn''t eating together have the same general effect?

    Rumors would fly like crazy. Lacy would think there was something between them whichever option she picked.

    "Fine. Option two it is then."

    "No wait! Just¡­define ''within reason'' for me," Keeley pleaded.

    She needed more information to decide between the lesser of two evils.

    Aaron went silent and she fumed. Of all the ridiculous people in the world, why had she gotten stuck with this one? He was so childish! He hadn''t been like this before!

    It made absolutely no sense that he was this desperate to spend time with her. The only exnation she could think of was that he was doing it specifically because he knew she was ufortable around him and wanted to make her suffer.

    When the bell rang, he took her by the hand and dragged her to the cafeteria.

    "You said we wouldn''t eat here!" she hissed, pulling away.

    He looked at her like she was an idiot. "I still need food. Don''t move¡ªI''ll be right back."

    Keeley pulled her hood over her head and faced the wall, desperately trying to disappear.

    She couldn''t be seen by any of the students entering the cafeteria or she would be in deep trouble. Well, deeper trouble. Things were already pretty bad.

 Chapter 33: She Cant Do Anything To Me

    <h4>Chapter 33: She Can''t Do Anything To Me</h4>

    "Looks like you can follow directions after all. Good. Come with me," Aaron said once he emerged with his tray, grabbing Keeley''s hand again.

    She kept her hood up. Aaron was far too conspicuous sitting outside of the cafeteria but she didn''t want to be dragged down with him.

    As she halfheartedly picked at her lunch, he reached out and flipped the hood off.

    "Hey! I was using that!" she protested as she pulled it back down.

    "You look like you''re about to rob a convenience store," he said tly.

    That was riching from him since he did the exact same thing to eavesdrop on her the other day.

    Keeley pulled the drawstrings even tighter so her face barely poked out. "You said I had to eat lunch with you; you don''t get to dictate what I wear."

    He sighed. "Fine. What do you want to talk about?"

    Was he serious? She was not in charge of carrying the conversation if he wanted to talk.

    "I don''t want to talk about anything. I don''t even want to be here. If you say something, I will respond to it and that''s all you''re getting from me," she said dully.

    It had been less than ten minutes and she was exhausted.

    Annoyance briefly clouded his gaze. "Why do you have to make things so difficult?"

    "I could ask you the same question."

    He drummed his fingers on the table impatiently.

    "Touch¨¦. Alright then. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be?"

    One of the most clich¨¦ icebreakers in existence. This was the man who eventually ended up on the cover of Forbes magazine?!

    If this was his best effort at conversation, she must have truly been blind to ever like him in the first ce. But it wasn''t too personal a question so she didn''t mind answering it.

    "Europe. I heard that they do cruises that hit a bunch of different countries in the Mediterranean so I''d either pick that or going to Ennd and the cluster of countries around France. What about you?"

    "I''ve already been to several of those countries. Technically speaking, I can go anywhere I want so rather than having a ce I''d like to visit, I care more about who I travel with," he said nonchntly.

    Keeley frowned. She only asked because it was standard to return a question like that with the same question.

    The Aaron she knew was a workaholic. In all their time together, the only real vacation they ever went on was their honeymoon to the Caribbean.

    She didn''t think he liked to travel¡ªeven the rare business trips he went on were entirely professional. He certainly hadn''t wanted to travel with her.

    She had to admit a vague sense of curiosity towards whoever inspired him to want to get out there and do something fun. They must be better than she was.

    It stung slightly before she reminded herself that she didn''t care. Aaron could do whatever he wanted as long as it didn''t involve her.

    "Good for you," she said eventually, not knowing how else to respond.

    The atmosphere was so awkward she could hardly breathe yet he appeared perfectly at ease.

    She wished she could crack his head open and see what possessed him to want to spend time with her. This whole thing was baffling.

    "If you really wanted to go to Europe I could take you."

    Keeley''s mouth dropped open. She must be hallucinating. There was no way he just offered to take her to Europe. He knew how much she wanted to go but never took her in her first life. Why on earth would he offer now when they weren''t even friends?

    "Are you insane?!"

    "There''s nothing insane about a mutually beneficial proposition," Aaron said simply, folding his hands on the table as if he were making a business deal.

    "Mutually beneficial?"

    "Sure. You would get to go on your dream vacation and I wouldn''t be bored. Thest time I went, my parents didn''t want to do anything but take a handful of pictures to brag aboutter and go shopping. It was all for show."

    That was actually a pretty sad way to spend a vacation but she wouldn''t be swayed.

    "It wouldn''t be appropriate."

    "It''s perfectly normal to take your girlfriend with you on vacation."

    "I am NOT your girlfriend."

    "Not yet."

    The way he said it was oddly threatening. She had to nip this in the bud before his ideas got any weirder.

    "Not ever," she retorted firmly. "I don''t know what game you''re ying with me but I want no part of it."

    Aaron reached out and lifted her chin so she was forced to meet his gaze. His face was deadly serious. "This isn''t a game."

    She swatted his hand away. "Of course it is. Don''t be ridiculous. I don''t know what you want from me but¡ª"

    He cut her off by moving to the chair closest to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

    "I want you to stop being so resistant."

    Keeley''s heart thudded in her ears. If she didn''t know any better, she would think he actually wanted her affection. Impossible. He was the one who pushed her away. He never wanted her in the first ce.

    If she hadn''t pestered him so much when they first met, they never would have been together at all.

    Aaron got used to her, nothing more. Once the novelty wore off he changed his mind and left her to wither away.

    She tried standing up to get away but that resulted in hernding on hisp, trapped in his grip.

    "That isn''t going to happen. Please let me go."

    "Nope. Your lunch periods are mine for the next month."

    "This is not within reason!" she said angrily.

    If this was how things were going to be, it might be better to screw it all and let him say what he wanted. No, that wasn''t true. She still had Lacy to contend with.

    "Aren''t you worried people might get the wrong idea? Like, I don''t know, Lacy Knighton?"

    Aaron''s embrace tightened and his detached tone surprised her. It was as if he didn''t care at all.

    "What about Lacy Knighton?"

    "Isn''t she supposed to be the future Mrs. Hale? She''s already been giving me a hard time because of you. She''ll kill me if she sees this."

    He flinched at the word ''kill.'' "Don''t exaggerate. She can''t do anything to me."

    Keeley wanted to cry. She didn''t care if Lacy did anything to Aaron! She cared what that nutcase was going to do to her!

 Chapter 34: Giving Up

    <h4>Chapter 34: Giving Up</h4>

    Aaron was in a very good mood after lunch. His n was working.

    If Lacy was all Keeley was worried about, that wouldn''t be a problem forever. He was already keeping a close eye on her to see if she would try to pull anything.

    Pushing Keeley''s boundaries as they ate benefited him twofold. First, he was able to enjoy being close to her. Second, he was able to test Lacy''s spywork by seeing how quickly the news reached her.

    He knew about Max''s involvement due to hisst life but he might not be the only informant.

    Aaron also wanted to test her reaction time. In the past, she didn''t start ying truly dirty until after he was married because everything was kept very hushed until the engagement was announced. She didn''t have time to act then.

    Things were different now. Aaron realized that shielding Keeley from the darker side of his world had only hurt her in the end.

    He wanted to love her out in the light like a normal couple and nothing would get in the way of that, least of all an insect like Lacy Knighton.

    He wouldn''t hide her away this time. After he made the mistake of kissing her at the dance, the secret was basically out anyway. There was no point trying to hide it. He could use it to his advantage if he yed his cards right.

    He shouldn''t have gotten angry at her yesterday but it was a special kind of insulting to hear that the woman he loved wanted nothing to do with him straight from her own mouth right after doing something nice.

    It ended up working out in his favor though. If he ignored his feelings about how much she doesn''t want to be around him, he could manipte the situation so she would spend time with him anyway.

    Aaron was convinced that the more Keeley was around him, things would go back to the way they used to be. He refused to ept the alternative.

    The rumor mill worked faster than he anticipated. People were already whispering about Aaron''s mystery girl¡ªthe hood actually worked¡ªby hisst ss of the day.

    No one would dare talk about it to his face but he had keen hearing. Lacy had to know by now. He wondered how quickly she would act.

    There wasn''t much she could do right now. She was catty and cruel but she was also a mere student. She didn''t have the resources to n anything truly treacherous yet.

    Aaron wanted her to trip up now while they were still in high school so she would be exposed and lose the chance to pull anythingter on.

    Lacy acted faster than he thought. Within a week, the whole school was buzzing that Keeley Hall was a gold digger. The rumors were fueled by Aaron''s insistence on eating lunch together out in the open like normal students.

    He could tell Keeley was ufortable to the extreme with their arrangement so he backed off a little since the first half of his goal was achieved.

    There would be plenty of time for closenesster. Right now he just wanted her around him.

    Once the rumors included her name Keeley stopped bothering with her hood. Everybody knew it was her anyway.

    She radiated defeat, which was a blow to his ego. She really didn''t want him at all. He wanted a real answer out of her as to why but she always brushed it off with obvious lies.

    Their conversations also left much to be desired. Trying to drag more than a handful of sentences out of her at a time was like pulling teeth. She had always been so talkative before.

    These days she dully answered his questions but it was entirely perfunctory. She didn''t want to talk. The spark in her eyes had faded.

    It reminded him of a rather unpleasant memory. Keeley was like this after losing their baby too. She was giving up.

    "Are you going to eat your apple?" she asked tiredly.

    "No, go ahead." He handed it to her eagerly, d that she wanted something. "Would you like my cake as well?"

    "Sure." Keeley epted the apple and the slice of strawberry shortcake wearily.

    The circles under her eyes were a permanent fixture now. She needed a pick-me-up of some sort. That ought to set her right.

    "Keeley, meet me after school."

    "Why?"

    "I have a surprise for you."

    "Fine."

    Herck of protest was a bit concerning even though it was the result Aaron wanted. She had been far toopliant thest couple weeks of their arrangement.

    It didn''t even matter that they weren''t seated next to each other anymore since he saw her every day at lunch but the agreed upon month was up in a week and a half and he had nothing else to make her stay.

    After school, Keeley waited for him leaned up against her locker with her eyes closed. Aaron tapped her shoulder to make sure she was awake.

    "Keeley, I''m here. We should go."

    Her eyes snapped open. "Where are we going?"

    "Somewhere rxing."

    Carlton drove them to a luxury hotel and she looked at him with obvious questions in her eyes.

    Aaron exined that the spa here was the best in the city and everything would be on him. He just wanted her to rx.

    A bit of her old fire returned as she tried to protest that it was too expensive but he insisted and she gave into the pressure.

    "You go enjoy yourself. I''ll be out here," he encouraged before pulling out an English-to-Italian dictionary to help him read a ssic Italian novel in case he got stuck.

    Aaron sighed as Keeley reluctantly let the attendant lead her into the spa. A couple hours in there and she should be good as new.

    He hated seeing her so lifeless. By the time she died, his Keeley was a shell of the vibrant woman he loved.

    It took many years of lonely reflection before he realized it was mostly his fault.

 Chapter 35: Observational Skills

    <h4>Chapter 35: Observational Skills</h4>

    Being constantly on alert was exhausting.

    Lacy took no time at all to start up the same rumors she did the first time around¡ªsome people could be so unoriginal¡ªbut Keeley was more concerned that she had something else up her sleeve because Aaron was obnoxiously close to her all the time. It was driving her crazy.

    Her only defense was giving up for the time being. Aaron wanted to mess with her? Two could y at that game.

    Trying to blow him off and getting angry hadn''t worked; if anything, he became more persistent.

    So in the week following his first ridiculous lunchtime disy she decided the best action would be inaction. If she gave him what he wanted, he should get over whatever possessed him to show interest in her more quickly.

    It wasn''t even hard¡ªall she had to do was amp up her natural tiredness with the situation.

    However, her n worked better than she thought since Aaron thought she needed to go to a spa. She broke cover trying to talk him out of it but ended up relenting because all her efforts over the past few weeks would be wasted if she didn''t stay consistent.

    Keeley couldn''t deny that the massage and facial were rejuvenating though she didn''t want to imagine how much this cost.

    In her past life, her mother-inw insisted on going to a spa with a bunch of other socialites for her bachelorette party (everything was an opportunity towork in that family) and she nearly fainted when she saw the bill.

    In all her years as Mrs. Hale, she never fully got used to the extravagance. Keeley always felt like a fraud despite her best efforts to fit into high society.

    As the manicurist buffed her nails, she wondered how long it would take Aaron to give up once they graduated. Outside of school they had absolutely no reason to see each other and he would be in a different state.

    Surely the game would end by then. He would end up with Lacy or some other socialite at his parents'' request and they could live happy little rich people lives, leaving her in peace.

    Keeley wasn''t too concerned about being plotted against beyond high school. Once she was off Aaron''s radar, she should fall off of Lacy''s as well.

    Fading into obscurity as nothing more than a high school ssmate would do the trick. She only had to endure another month and a half before kissing the backstabbing world of the rich goodbye forever.

    By the time the manicurist and pedicurist finished, all of Keeley''s nails were painted Tiffany blue and her big toes, thumbs, and ring fingers had little white flowers as ents.

    A nce in the mirror made her heart stop. She looked like she had as Aaron''s wife; her weariness covered up by expensive beauty products. It wasn''t a pleasant reminder.

    "Are you all done?" Aaron asked, looking up from his book as she emerged from the spa.

    "Yeah, thanks," she said quietly.

    She really was so tired. Tired of the confusion, the drama, and the stress.

    "¡­your nails look nice."

    She contorted her face in disbelief. Did he actually just give her apliment on her appearance?

    He never noticed little things like that; thest time she could remember was when he said that her new haircut looked ''decent'' more than six years ago!

    "You noticed?"

    "I notice everything about you."

    That¡­was notforting. In fact, it was downright rming. Aaron was one of the least observant people she knew. Since when had that changed?! He had to be bluffing.

    "Oh yeah? Then what color is my hair tie?"

    Keeley took her ponytail out during the massage and facial but put it back up once the nail stylists got to work because her hair was messy.

    "Purple," he replied boredly.

    Her heart nearly stopped. It WAS purple. Who was this guy and what had he done to her ex-husband?

    "¡­you got lucky."

    Aaron raised an eyebrow, challenging her. "Try me again and I''ll prove whether I got lucky or not."

    This seemed like a dangerous game to y but Keeley''s curiosity won out overmon sense.

    "Fine. What kind of shoes did I wear yesterday?"

    "White tennis shoes with neon pinkces."

    Right again. This had to be a fluke. "The color of my literature notebook?"

    "Blue."

    "What did I eat for lunch today?"

    "A chicken sd sandwich, baby carrots, and my apple and cake."

    His uracy was frightening. Part of her wanted to stop but she was actually getting angry.

    Why did this emotionless idiot have to notice to her now that she didn''t want it when she would have killed for this kind of attention to detail before?

    Her voice rose with her frustration. "What kind of candy bar did I havest Tuesday?"

    "It wasn''t a candy bar; it was a bag of Skittles. You picked out all of the yellow and orange ones because you don''t like them."

    "You''re terrifying," she thought aloud before hastily covering her mouth, thinking he would be mad at her.

    On the contrary, he seemed smug, even pleased. "I win."

    Keeley couldn''t deny that. His observational skills were astounding. But why on earth was he wasting them on a nobody like her now when he hadn''t bothered using them on his wife?

    Or¡­did he always notice and chose not to say anything? Honestly, she wasn''t sure which would be worse.

    "You seem to be feeling better," Aaron stated.

    "Huh?"

    "Your personality is back."

    She internally cursed herself. His fooling around angered her so much that she slipped up.

    "Am I not allowed to be tired?" she asked brattily.

    "No."

    That jerk. Keeley refused to talk to him the rest of the way back to her ce but she had the oddest feeling that he was grinning on the inside, though his expression was as stoic as ever.

    She lost this round big time. What kind of maniac remembers that much about someone eating Skittles, anyway?

 Chapter 36: Studying

    <h4>Chapter 36: Studying</h4>

    "What is this?" Keeley asked tly the following day at lunch when Aaron dropped a small gift bag in front of her on the table as she was trying to study for her Spanish test.

    "Study fuel."

    He settled down in the chair next to her and casually began consuming his meal.

    She hesitantly opened the bag to see what was inside and was not expecting to see arge stic baggie filled with red, green, and purple Skittles. Either he found a ce that sold individual colors in bulk or he actually sifted through about fifty packs of Skittles and picked out the citrus vors by hand. It had to be the first one; she couldn''t imagine him doing something so mundane and time consuming for somebody else.

    Though it was a gift, it was also a way of rubbing his victory the day before in her face so she scowled at him. "You''re the worst."

    "You''re wee," he said as if she had justplimented him.

    She couldn''t believe his ego. It was better to just ignore him. When she did that, he often surprised her by letting her stay quiet and do her own thing.

    Sometimes she wondered if he forced her into this simply because he wanted to be next to her before dismissing the thought as foolish. That was ridiculous, sentimental thinking. He wouldn''t do something like that.

    Keeley was convinced that he had some twisted motive for approaching her all the time. He had to be messing with her; Aaron had absolutely no reason to truly like her. Who would like someone who so obviously resented them?

    Even if he did, he would get over it soon enough. He had before. His sincerity was flimsy at best.

    She pushed those useless thoughts out of her head and tried to focus on her study guide. She could read Spanish just fine but struggled with verb conjugation when writing or speaking¡ªif you don''t usenguage skills, you lose them, and Keeley hadn''t practiced Spanish since high school in her first life before being reborn and having to take the ss over.

    Part of her test would be short essay questions and it would be a miracle if she could write down a single coherent paragraph. Well, as they say, C''s get degrees.

    It wouldn''t be the end of the world if she didn''t do well on that section. Her eptance to college was still valid as long as she got C or higher in all of her sses and right now she was averaging a B+ in Spanish.

    The school year was dragging by so slowly it might kill her. Graduation was June 2nd and it was only the middle of April. It was amazing that she survived this long already with all the crazy people (namely Aaron) around her.

    Her grades hadn''t even slipped with all of the stress she was under. Studying helped distract her from the soap opera that refused to stop even after living twice.

    Speaking of soap operas¡­a hand pped down on the table with a bang, startling Keeley so much that her Spanish textbook fell onto the floor.

    Aaron remained unperturbed. "What do you want, Lacy?"

    She pouted prettily and cozied up next to him. "Our table feels so empty without you so I decided to eat with you."

    "Go away. I''m busy."

    "With what?" Lacy demanded, clinging onto his arm. "You''re just sitting here! She isn''t even paying attention to you!"

    "Please leave me out of this, I need to study," Keeley said dully as she retrieved her fallen book.

    "You can study with him here but not me?"

    She felt a headache brewing. Even without the knowledge that this woman had her killed factored in, the girl had a talent for dancing on Keeley''sst nerve. Lacy was already out to get her so she had no reason not to speak her mind. She didn''t care one whit if her words were offensive.

    "He was being quiet; you''re not."

    Aaron freed his arm and gathered his things, walking resolutely to the chair on Keeley''s other side to make his point. "You heard her. Leave."

    Lacy turned on the waterworks in an attempt to gain his sympathy. "Aaron, I only wanted to spend some time with you. I miss you."

    Too bad he didn''t care for weepy females. The chocte incident was an anomaly. The usual level of iciness he exuded tripled at the sight of her tears.

    "I don''t like to repeat myself."

    "I''ll tell your father that you''re being mean to me!" she insisted in a quavering voice.

    The entire student lounge felt the temperature drop twenty degrees. People sitting three tables away shivered in fear. Lacy realized immediately that she made a terrible mistake but it was toote to take the words back. Even Keeley was afraid she might witness a murder and she had spent over a decade dealing with his mood swings!

    "If you say a single word to that man about me, I will not hesitate to destroy you."

    His words and the way he stood with his hands t on the table were threatening enough but his tone...it was indescribable. Lacy visibly shrunk before their eyes.

    Keeley would have thoroughly enjoyed the sight if she wasn''t concerned about getting caught in the crossfire.

    Lacy put on a brave attempt at a smile as she tried to y it off. "Ha¡­I was only kidding. I would never do such a thing. We should get togetherter. Bye!"

    She scampered away with the shattered remains of her dignity. Everyone in the student lounge had seen him threaten her.

    Over the past few weeks, people who sat in the student lounge had gotten used to the sight of Aaron so they were less nervous than before and able to go about their lunch periods as usual when they realized he only paid attention to Keeley.

    A single outburst brought back the air of apprehension that permeated the room during that first week. Aaron either didn''t notice or didn''t care. Once Lacy left, he settled back in his chair as if nothing untoward had happened.

    Keeley scrutinized him. He treated the woman he would eventually leave her for so callously. She guessed he was incapable of maintaining kindness to anyone, not just her.

    The thought was oddlyforting. For the longest time she believed it was entirely her fault, like her shorings had caused him to behave that way.

    It was all water under the bridge now. It wouldn''t matter how he treated anybody in six weeks. He could do whatever he liked to whoever he liked once she was out of the picture.

 Chapter 37: I Want Her Gone Now

    <h4>Chapter 37: I Want Her Gone Now</h4>

    Lacy couldn''t believe that Aaron dared to humiliate her in front of all of those peasants after she already degraded herself by going there to spend time with him.

    She was certain that girl had a bad influence on him. He wouldn''t have done that to her if that witch didn''t have her ws in his back! She wanted to elerate her ns but the prom was still a month away.

    She wanted Aaron to be her prom date but with how angry he was¡­she never should have brought up his father. If Alistair Hale knew what his only son was up to, he would be severely punished but that wouldn''t help Lacy.

    Aaron would know the news came from her and would likely never speak to her again.

    She had to be patient. Thatmoner would be out of his life soon enough and Lacy was in it for the long haul.

    What she couldn''t understand was how Aaron could throw away his principles for such a useless loser when he had known Lacy so much longer.

    They met at the kids'' party of an important Christmas Eve function when they were thirteen and she was instantly smitten with his good looks and lofty attitude.

    While the rest of the tycoons'' children wanted to y party games, Aaron sat leisurely at a table looking supremely bored with everything around him. Compared to the idiots she was usually surrounded with, a mature gentleman appealed to her.

    "What do you think of the party?" she asked as she approached him. "Totallyme, right?"

    He gave her a disinterested look. "You are?"

    "Lacy Knighton. My father is a financial advisor on Wall Street; he has coborated with your family''s business before."

    "I see."

    His two word answers didn''t discourage her. If anything, she saw it as a challenge. She would make this aloof prince talk.

    "I haven''t seen you around before. Is this your first timeing out with your parents?"

    "No. I prefer not toe to these sorts of things. Nobody takes their role seriously."

    "Their role?"

    "I predict that nearly every person in this room will end up as a useless second generation yboy by the time they hit college. I''ve been training to take over my father''s position since I was born. Can any of these fools say the same?"

    Lacy was shocked by his words but had to admit he had a point. Her best friend Max had no intention of going into politics. He wanted to be a racecar driver, which she thought was frivolous. Why throw your life away for a thrill?

    "My mother has been training me to be a high society wife," she said, trying to rte to him. "I''m studying diplomacy, politics, and business so I can hold up my end of a conversation at parties."

    "At least you know your ce in the world. We are meant to carry on legacies, not throw away wealth that we didn''t earn. People need to act befitting of their status."

    "I agree!"

    She would agree with anything he said because of how smart and cool he sounded when he talked.

    Aaron didn''t say much the rest of the night but he epted her presence sitting nearby as she tested some of her conversational topics on him.

    After that, she sought him out at simr functions and convinced her father to enroll her in the high school he nned on going to.

    Lacy fancied herself the closest female to him and carefully cultivated their rtionship over the next three and a half years until that pebble in her shoe came along.

    Keeley Hall was the simple, ill-behaved daughter of a civil engineer. She could never belong in their world. She wasn''t even that pretty! Lacy couldn''t see anything appealing about her at all.

    It wasn''t umon for big business heirs to ''go slumming'' and fool around with people below their station before marrying someone appropriate but she never would have thought Aaron Hale would fall under that category.

    He had ideals! He understood the difference between the sses! He was supposed to be wless! What on earth had happened?!

    Max was her neighbor so they usually went home together. He approached her nervously after thest bell rang as she stewed over all of this in their usual meeting spot.

    "Hey, I heard what happened. Are you alright?"

    "No," she growled. "I want that girl to vanish off the face of the earth."

    "Easy now," he coaxed gently. "She''ll be out of your hair forever in a few weeks."

    Lacy whined, "That''s too far away! I want her gone now!"

    "Our n won''t work now," Max said patiently as he patted her shoulder. "You''ll never have to see her again after graduation. We''ll be in Massachusetts and she''ll be here in New York. It''s a huge city. By the time we get back, the chances of running into her are almost nothing."

    "But Aaron hates me! You didn''t see him today! I¡­I screwed up."

    She bit her lip as tears began to form. Even with Keeley out of the way, he might not forget how she threatened him.

    "What did you do?"

    "I told him I''d talk to his father about how he was treating me," she mumbled.

    Max sucked in a breath. "Are you suicidal?! Nobody likes a tattletale but Aaron might actually kill you if you did that. I''ve heard his father is even colder than he is."

    "I know! I realized it was a bad idea the second the words left my mouth. His father is a double-edged sword¡ªhis greatest asset and his greatest obstacle. I''ll worry about getting him to forgive meter. Right now I want to focus on getting rid of MY obstacle. I need a prom date. You''ll do," she sighed regretfully.

    She didn''t want to go with Max but she knew it was probably her best bet since they could be each other''s alibi on prom night when they drugged Keeley.

    His face lit up. "You won''t regret it, Lacy! I''ll make sure we get a limo with a full mini bar and go to the best restaurant beforehand. Seafood or Italian? Oh, what color is your dress going to be? You look good in anything but I look better in darker colors and we need to match¡­"

    Listening to his babble, she regretted it already.

 Chapter 38: His Downfall

    <h4>Chapter 38: His Downfall</h4>

    Aaron rued the day he ever met Lacy Knighton.

    He tolerated her presence for a few years because she was one of the least annoying people in their social circle. It was less of a chore being around her than it was being around the ones who only knew how to spend money without putting in the work.

    The only reason he even hung out with anyone at lunch was to forge connections at his father''s request with people that might be useful to him. Ha. Lacy wasn''t useful to him at all. She was his downfall.

    His father wouldn''t think of it that way. After Lacy seeded in killing the one person he truly valued, business boomed. That wasn''t how Aaron measured sess.

    So many times he desperately thought about how he would have traded his entire empire to have Keeley back for even a day so he could tell her how sorry he was and that he loved her.

    He woke up in his high school bedroom shortly before New Year''s, only a few weeks before he was meant to meet Keeley for the first time.

    He was surprised when he didn''t see her at the basketball game initially but didn''t think much of it since he knew the seating chart change wasing up.

    Thinking about meeting her again was the only thing that kept him from leaping across the table in the cafeteria and strangling Lacy to death when she sat down across from him on his first day back in school.

    Obviously things with Keeley hadn''t gone as well as he expected. He still wanted to know why but he could tell they were making progress. She told off Lacy for him!

    He was wearing her down so she didn''t mind him being around so much. It was a very slow uphill battle that he wasn''t sure he could win before graduation.

    In his first life, for the longest time he had nothing but suspicions to go off of. He thought that if he kept Keeley away from Lacy, she would be safe.

    By the time he realized she was working together with his father to attack his wife, his course of inaction and waiting to see where things would go as he figured out a n already had severe consequences. He yed along so well trying to thwart them that he yed right into their hands.

    Aaron wouldn''t repeat his mistakes. He wouldn''t humor Lacy for a single second after all she did.

    He wanted to destroy her now but didn''t have sufficient evidence or resources to do so. Her father was a powerful man and within the next couple years she would have his father on her side as well.

    He needed to expose her before that happened. The angrier he made her now, the easier it would be for her to slip up. That was when he would take his chance to get her out of the way once and for all.

    Perhaps he had been too rash. After all, if she followed through on her threat to go to his father now¡­if he found out about Keeley too soon¡­everything Aaron wanted to aplish would be for naught.

    There was too much to do and he didn''t have nearly enough power yet.

    It might be a good idea to start reaching out to some of his old business contacts early on if he wanted to usurp his father sooner and live his life in peace with the woman he loved.

    After being humiliated in front of people Lacy saw as unworthy, he doubted she would try to approach him again anytime soon.

    The same could not be said for Keeley. He had a bad feeling the obsessed woman was nning something but had no idea what.

    Things were different this time. Lacy pulled petty high schooler tricks before because Aaron and Keeley were just friends. But now due to his own inability to keep himself in check, she saw them kissing so she knew something was going on.

    Aaron concealed their rtionship well; Lacy didn''t know about it until she got a wedding invitation as part of the Hales'' circle of acquaintances. She started acting more aggressively at that point.

    He had a sinking feeling she was going to do something out of line before graduation and there was very little he could do about it other than watch and wait.

    Watching and waiting was what ruined everything before! He had to keep Keeley safe this time no matter what.

    It would be easier if she was by his side all the time but her resistance continued. After the day at the spa, she started pushing against him again.

    He only had a few days left of their lunchtime deal and he didn''t want their progress to backslide so he wouldn''t resort to threats again even though he knew she would take the first opportunity to flee and he would hardly see her.

    Aaron stood at the far end of the hallway and watched Keeley grab a few things from her locker, smile brightly at one of their ssmates who waved to her, and practically skip out of the building.

    What was she so happy about? And why didn''t she ever show those kinds of expressions in front of him anymore?

    Sometimes he wondered if he was doing the right thing. Keeley seemed tired, angry, scared, or otherwise upset most of the time when he was around. A far cry from how she used to act toward him in high school.

    He missed her. He saw her pretty much every day but he missed the way she used to be. She was always so happy to have even a fraction of his time. She loved him and he blew it.

    "¡­do you have a date yet?"

    "Yeah, Daniel from science ss asked mest week. I still need to find a dress and set up a hair and nails appointment. They''re going to be booked with other people going to prom, I just know it!"

    A couple of random students'' conversation caught his attention. Prom.

    His parents forced him to go with the daughter of one of their partners but he didn''t care too much because Keeley wasn''t going anyway. It was just another business thing to him without her there.

    Prom fell on her birthday and since her friends had dates (they weren''t willing to miss their senior prom), she celebrated with her dad.

    He would much rather celebrate her birthday with her but even on the off chance she would allow that, his parents wouldn''t. Unfortunately, he had to deal with them and their often ridiculous demands until he had enough power within thepany to make his own decisions risk free.

    If he couldn''t spend her birthday with her, there had to be something he could do to prove he cared.

 Chapter 39: Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 39: Nightmare</h4>

    The morning of thest day she had to eat lunch with Aaron, Keeley dreamed of their wedding day. It was more of a nightmare, really, though it started out like the actual memory.

    Her ideas of a small, intimate wedding were dashed early in the engagement. Aaron''s mother, Roslyn Hale, was in charge of everything.

    High society folk lived to show off¡ªher wedding at the grandiose za Hotel had nearly five hundred guests and she knew less than three dozen of them personally.

    Keeley''s custom designed wedding dress was an off-shoulder ball gown with a long train, covered in pearls and Swarovski crystals chosen by Roslyn. She had almost no input on anything.

    The wedding nner asked her to pick between a few appropriate floral arrangements and cake vors but that was about it. Everything else ran smoothly without her.

    Even her bridesmaids consisted of socialites she wasn''t even friends with, including Lacy Knighton. The irony was too much.

    Her father was allowed to walk her down the aisle but he was rather ufortable in the pricey tuxedo Aaron bought him for the asion.

    It was clear that the opulence of the venue overwhelmed him.

    He had gotten married in a cathedral in Brooklyn and held the reception at a park underneath rented white tents to block out the sun. Seeing his only remaining child''s wedding take ce in such splendor was unfathomable.

    "Is this really what you want, honeybun?" he whispered at the top of the aisle as the wedding march began to y.

    Robert didn''t mind Aaron as a person but he had been concerned all throughout the engagement when he saw how little control Keeley had over her own wedding. He was afraid that his daughter wouldn''t be treated fairly by her inws or their friends.

    She smiled to assuage his worry. "Of course it is! I love Aaron more than anything. I want to be with him forever."

    She looped her arm through his and they began their procession down the aisle.

    As they approached, Aaron''s natural handsomeness seemed to be enhanced. She couldn''t tell if it was the tuxedo or the fact that he was actually smiling.

    Her heart was ready to sprout wings and fly out of her chest.

    The dream shifted. Lacy, in her floor-length wine colored bridesmaid dress, was standing over Keeley with a knife as shey helplessly on the floor. Her wrists were pinned to the floor with gold diamond-studded shackles.

    She desperately called out for helped but everyone simply watched.

    The crowd disappeared so only Aaron was left standing a few feet away. She begged him to save her as Lacy continued to stab but his cold eyes ignored her pleas.

    "She''s worth more than fifty of you," he said coolly. "You should be honored she''s even bothering to kill you."

    Hundred dor bills rained down around her as Lacy cackled maniacally, pulling the knife out and leaving her to drown in a pool of her own blood.

    In the distance, she could hear a baby crying.

    The crying grew so loud it made blood pour out of her ears too. Soaked red money was stered to every part of her body as the cries continued.

    Keeley woke up screaming. She was so sweaty that she needed to shower even though she took one before going to bed.

    What a horrible nightmare. She hadn''t had any that bad since being reborn. The stress must finally be making her crack.

    Why now though? She should be happy today since she wouldn''t have to deal with Aaron as much after this!

    Try as she might, she couldn''t shake the horrible feeling the dream left behind all day.

    Seeing him at lunch was even more painful than usual. He wore his usual cold expression; the same one that mocked her as Lacy stabbed her in the nightmare.

    Did he know that Lacy was the one who had her killed in the end? He hadn''t cared when she killed her father, even going so far as to help her cover it up¡­

    Throughout the past month of eating lunch with Aaron every day, Keeley''s rage had subsided a little. She thought of him as little more than a nuisance.

    The dream brought her original feelings back so hostility rolled off of her in waves.

    He frowned at her slightly as he joined her at the table. "What''s wrong with you today?"

    What''s wrong is that she forgot how much she truly hated him.

    She had reluctantly epted his presence due to fear of provoking Lacy but the deal was up. He seriously needed to leave her alone now or she might go wild and attack him.

    "You better follow through on our deal," she said sourly. "Don''t talk to me after this."

    A sh of hurt that was so quick she probably imagined it was reced by annoyance.

    "Not this again."

    The way he said it really pushed her buttons. "You promised me. One month then you''d leave me alone."

    "When did I ever say I would leave you alone?"

    Keeley thought about it. He hadn''t. The deal was that she would eat lunch with him for a month. They never discussed what would happen afterwards. She should have known better.

    Tears of frustration filled her eyes. Why couldn''t graduatione sooner? Why did this sicko want to y with her? Why wouldn''t he listen to a word she said?

    She banged her head on the table repeatedly. Why. Why. Why was this happening to her?

    "Stop that!"

    "No," she said tly, continuing even though it was giving her a bit of a headache.

    Aaron seized her by the shoulders and yanked her upwards so her head was against his chest.

    "Let me go!"

    "Why are you hurting yourself?" he growled. "Are you stupid?"

    Yes. She was stupid for ever loving him at all.

    "I''m doing it because I''m sick of you following me all the time. I''ll stop if you promise to leave me alone until graduation."

    "Not happening."

    He heaved her to her feet and grabbed her backpack before practically hauling her out of the student lounge.

    "What are you doing?" she yelled angrily.

    "You need to get your head checked."

    "I''m not crazy!"

    "That''s debatable but you did just hit your head multiple times. At the very least you need an ice pack or some Tylenol."

    The feeling of his hands on her waist made Keeley want to throw up. She tore herself free and faced him without meeting his dark, soulless eyes.

    "I''ll go to the nurse''s office myself."

    "Keeley¡­"

    She could practically smell the blood from her nightmare and hear the crying ringing in her ears. Maybe she really was losing it¡ªAaron had officially driven her insane.

    She was done. She didn''t care anymore. Waiting it out until graduation wouldn''t work so she may as well be honest.

    "Don''t say my name! You don''t have the right! I ampletely serious here; I want nothing to do with you. I''ve told you so many times and you still keep bothering me.

    "Maybe the police won''t believe me but I can still report you for stalking. At the very least it will inconvenience you a fraction as much as you''ve inconvenienced me. Get it through your thick head! I. Don''t Like. You. For thest time, LEAVE ME ALONE."

 Chapter 40: Mind Games

    <h4>Chapter 40: Mind Games</h4>

    Aaron stood frozen in the hallway after Keeley''s outburst.

    She didn''t dare look at his face as she fled to the nurse''s office and curled up on a cot to cry after taking the Tylenol.

    She couldn''t believe she just yelled at someone who could destroy her with the snap of his fingers. Now she''d done it. She was toast.

    "You look awful," Lydia noted on their way into thest ss of the day.

    "I may or may not have lost my temper at Aaron at lunch today¡­he''s going to murder me and dance on my grave."

    "First, I can''t see him dancing on anybody''s grave, let alone yours. Second¡­are you nuts?! I thought you were going to keep things on the down low until you got him to lose interest?"

    Since Lydia was the only person who knew she had any sort of history with Aaron, she felt the need to exin herself when she got stuck eating lunch with him for a whole month.

    Her friend didn''t understand why it was worse to have rumors about being his girlfriend than it was actually spending time with someone she hated but tried to be supportive anyway.

    She even helped exin the situation to a very confused Jeffrey, who nearly had a heart attack when he saw Aaron''s public disy of affection in the student lounge the first day of the deal.

    Lydia was such a good friend!

    "I couldn''t help it," Keeley moaned, sliding a hand down her face in exasperation. "I had a bad dreamst night that mixed in with some of my memories of Aaron¡­anyway, I kind of cracked when I saw his stupid face."

    "He''s going to kill you," Jeffrey said pessimistically as he passed them to get to his seat.

    "I saw the human blizzard storming down the hallway at the end of lunch and every person he passed practically peed their pants."

    "Great," she said feebly.

    Now might be a good time to drop out of school and move to ska to work on a fishing boat where no one would ever hear of her again.

    No! What could he do to her that he hadn''t already?

    She didn''t think he would go after her dad since he had defended Aaron before. She could handle anything he threw at her¡­right?

    Except he didn''t throw anything at her. Two weeks passed and he didn''t so much as attempt to make eye contact. It was as if she didn''t exist at all.

    The situation was oddly reminiscent of the cold war that went on in their house thest few years they were married¡ªthe only difference was that here they weren''t required to speak a single word to each other.

    Keeley should have been relieved. This was the result she wanted!

    Instead, she found herself worrying that he was nning something even worse and ignoring her was a ruse.

    Mind games were a particr talent of his. She found herself sneaking nces at him every so often to check if he was staring at her but she never caught him.

    Maybe he really did lose interest! Hallelujah!

    ===

    Aaron''s fury ebbed away a few hours after Keeley hurled her insults at him and ran.

    She couldn''t mean it¡ªthings were getting better between them.

    Lacy must have done something when he wasn''t around. Thest time she yelled at him like this was after Lacy confronted her; even going as far as telling him to control his ''girlfriend.''

    Once the red haze in his brain cleared and he was able to think rationally again, it was the only conclusion he coulde to.

    He needed to figure out what exactly Lacy had said but he didn''t want to approach her directly. She was the human version of a migraine.

    It wasn''t like he could ask Keeley though so he found himself at an impasse.

    In the meantime, he had an idea on how to get his rtionship back on track.

    Keeley wanted to be left alone? Fine. He could leave her alone.

    He was confident that she woulde back to him soon enough, even if it was only because she felt guilty.

    The longer he went without interacting with her, the more he noticed her sneaking nces at him. His n was working. She was thinking about him and might even miss him.

    It''s basic human psychology; taking away something that had been there consistently threw people off.

    Keeley had clearly noticed his absence and seemed uneasy about it. All he had to do was wait for her to make the next move.

    Although Aaron didn''t like ignoring her, he had a lot of practice.

    He did it in hisst life to try and push her away after the threats against her piled up too high. The look on her face the first time he tried it still haunted him.

    "Aaron, I''m home!" Keeley announced as she set down her purse.

    She had been visiting with her father for the better part of the day at their old apartment.

    A bit of her old enthusiasm had finallye back after nearly a year of depression following his father and Lacy''s first sessful attempt to ruin her.

    She didn''t know she was being plotted against; she thought it was just bad luck.

    Unfortunately, that didn''t stop her from falling into a haze of sadness that Aaron couldn''t break through no matter how hard he tried.

    He was grateful she was starting to be okay again but couldn''t bear to think of what would happen the next time they seeded.

    Aaron didn''t have sufficient evidence or a way to take them down yet.

    If he distanced himself from her, they might back off a little while he figured something out. It was his only defense at the time.

    Aaron wanted to reach out and hold her in his arms while she was still in a good mood but he resolutely stared at hisptop screen when she sat down next to him.

    "What have you been up to today?"

    A perfunctory question, but one that made his heart soar. She hadn''t been aware enough of her surroundings to pay any attention to him in a long time. But he didn''t respond.

    She seemed surprised that he didn''t answer her question butunched into an exnation of what she did instead.

    He wasn''t a very talkative person; she didn''t sense anything wrong yet.

    "Dad and I watched a Yankees game on TV and I made him eggnt parmesan for dinner."

    Aaron remained silent. There were always household staffing and going, all hired by his parents.

    He wasn''t sure which ones were spies so he needed to get into the habit of blowing Keeley off whenever they were around so his father would be fooled into thinking he didn''t love her.

    If he didn''t love her, she wouldn''t be a target.

    "Aaron?" she asked, confused.

    He finally looked at her and coldly said, "I heard you."

    Her expression crumbled and the dullness he hated so much returned to her eyes.

    "Oh. Okay."

    Keeley got up and left the room, taking his heart with her. The look on her face! But it worked.

    The housekeeper lurking in the next room heard everything and saw her leave. Aaron sighed.

    He knew there were going to be long days ahead but he never could have anticipated how much damage that simple action would cause.

 Chapter 41: A Birthday Present

    <h4>Chapter 41: A Birthday Present</h4>

    Aaron noticed Keeley''s continual peeks at him as the end of the school year approached but she never spoke a word. He may have miscalcted things.

    Why did she keep looking at him if she didn''t want to talk? He knew she missed him. Was her pride getting in the way?

    He eventually decided to bite the bullet and talk to her first on the morning of her birthday.

    "Happy birthday," he said simply as he plunked a small box topped with a bow on her desk before ss started.

    She looked up at him in astonishment. "How did you know?"

    "I have my sources."

    "Right," she murmured. "Uh¡­thanks."

    Her bewildered expression both made him want tough and left a tight feeling in his chest.

    He had given her presents before. What was so strange about giving her one on her birthday? It''s perfectly normal to give people gifts then.

    "Open it," he encouraged.

    Keeley''s fingers trembled as she lifted the lid off the box. It was a ne. She removed it from its cushion to examine it more closely.

    The design was fairly simple¡ªa gold double helix dotted with different colored gemstones at the edges to represent different nucleotide bases.

    Aaron had it custom made before they stopped talking because when he looked up ''DNA jewelry'' everything was cheap and tasteless.

    He wanted it to be nice while still catering to her interests. She did say she wanted to get a PhD in gics.

    She admired it as it twisted slightly from side to side. "It''s beautiful."

    Aaron took it from her hand and told her to lift her hair. To his surprise, she actually did as he told.

    It had been so long since he helped her put on a ne. Too long. The sight of the back of her slender neck gave him goosebumps.

    He fumbled slightly with the sp and his fingers brushed against her skin, making him want to kiss her. The tiniest touch made him crave more, especially since he hadn''t so much as brushed his arm against hers for a month.

    It was a bit pathetic really. He needed her back; he couldn''t keep living like this.

    Keeley dropped her hair and turned around in her seat to give him a genuine smile.

    "Thanks, Aaron. I really like it."

    He nearly found himself smiling in return. "You''re wee."

    Aaron went back to his seat happily. She epted it. She smiled and thanked him. She even let him touch her willingly.

    He knew his n would pay off! This was absolute proof that she missed him. There was still hope for them yet.

    It was a shame he had to go to the prom with someone elseter that night or it would be a perfect day.

    His parents had given him a list of eptable names¡ªprom was a visible event after all¡ªand he chose to ask Alice Wheatley again.

    In his first life she was more concerned about showing up with Aaron Hale because he was a status symbol than she was with actually spending time with him. They only danced a couple of songs together before she went off with her friends for the rest of the night, which he didn''t mind one bit.

    Prom was a mere obligation, like his parents'' fancy dinner parties. They dictated who he went with because it was a high ss event with photo opportunities.

    The Valentine''s dance was inconsequential so they didn''t care who he went with or if he went at all, which was how he was able to get away with going with Keeley.

    Originally, Aaron didn''t n on going because he thought such things were frivolous but she practically begged him to go with her.

    They barely started eating lunch together every day at that point. He wasn''t as suspicious of her motives for hanging out with him anymore so she had really started to grow on him.

    He caved to the irresistible power of her puppy dog eyes in the end.

    Keeley danced around with the restraint of a wild horse as he stood by and watched for the most part.

    Her enthusiasm was oddly endearing. If it were anyone else, he would have been annoyed.

    She got him to dance a few slow songs with her before the incident with the punch bowl happened.

    She was thirsty and offered to bring him back some punch too before trotting off to the refreshment table. Aaron happened to nce her way right as Lacy shoved her.

    It was clearly deliberate from his angle but since she used her shoulder and hip rather than her hands, Keeley believed it was an ident. She came back over to him sheepishly and asked if they could leave early because she was wet and sticky.

    After what he saw, Lacy was his first suspect any time something went wrong for Keeley at school. Each incident left him more protective of his little ray of sunshine.

    He should have just told her from the start that Lacy was the troublemaker instead of trying to shield her since it backfired so horribly.

    Trying to solve everything himself while leaving Keeley in the dark was his biggest regret.

    They were in a rtionship; they should have been a team. Aaron wasn''t used to trusting people so he didn''t know how to rely on her until it was toote.

    When she finally gave him a chance, he would tell her everything. They could work against their enemies together.

    Keeley had been pretty na?ve in hisst life but that didn''t seem to be the case as much anymore. She seemed sharper. More alert. Sadder.

    He wasn''t sure what had changed but it might be a good thing. He could use someone sharp in the war against his father and the Knightons.

    At least Lacy couldn''t do anything tonight since Keeley would be at home. He would endure the dance like any other thing he didn''t want to do.

    Since she was in such a good mood today, he might even get a response if he texted her afterwards asking if she had a good birthday.

 Chapter 42: No One Will Notice A Thing

    <h4>Chapter 42: No One Will Notice A Thing</h4>

    "You''re positive she isn''t going to prom with Aaron?" Lacy asked Max suspiciously over lunch.

    He nodded, his mouth bulging with food. A minuteter he answered.

    "Benjamin says he''s going with Alice Wheatley. I overheard her talking to her friends yesterday; she isn''t going at all."

    Lacy frowned. That put a wrench in their ns. They were supposed to drug her drink at prom and take incriminating photos in a room at the hotel.

    Max did say he had a contingency n but it left them more open to risk. How were they supposed to grab her without anyone seeing?

    He noticed her worried expression and smiled confidently.

    "Don''t worry, my cousin owes me a favor. I''ll get him to send extra members of his security force to all three of the nearby subway stations. They''re trained to be stealthy; they can tranquilize her and whisk her away in two seconds t. In such a crowded ce, no one will notice a thing."

    She felt better after hearing that. This would surely push that annoyance away from Aaron forever. Who would want to be with someone who caused them so many problems?

    Keeley would disappear from school and all of this would be over. That''s what she gets for trying to fly above her station.

    They ate the rest of their lunch chatting about what needed to be done to get ready for prom. Lacy had an appointment with an exclusive stylist to do her hair, nails, and makeup.

    As one of the nominees for prom queen, it was her duty to outshine everyone else.

    Winning that crown would boost her status among the socialites her age but the greater incentive to win was that Aaron was one of the nominees for king.

    If they both won, he would have to dance with her. It might give her a chance to redeem herself in front of him.

    When the bell rang and Lacy was about to head to her next ss, Max grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear.

    "I''ll text you once my cousin''s men have her. See you at six!"

    She nodded, a cruel smile marring her beautiful features. This could be fun.

    ===

    Keeley grinned at her friends as they finished singing the birthday song off-key.

    She couldn''t have candles to blow out at school but they wouldn''t exactly fit in the donuts Jeffrey brought anyway.

    "I would''ve brought cupcakes but I figure you''ll get enough cake tonight," he said apologetically.

    "Donuts are great! And you''re right; my dad is buying me a special ice cream cake and I''ll probably eat most of it this weekend."

    With just two of them and the baker of the family gone, he bought a small round cake every year from Keeley''s favorite ice cream chain. She always chose the red velvet cake filled with cake batter ice cream and topped with rainbow sprinkles and Kit-Kat bars.

    Sometimes she really missed her mom''s homemade birthday cakes but still looked forward to the store bought treat she only got once a year.

    "Jeffrey''s present is just the donuts so open mine!" Lydia said excitedly while setting a rectangr wrapped gift in front of her.

    "Hey, these cost me fifteen bucks!" he protested but she ignored him and looked at Keeley expectantly as she unwrapped the gift.

    It was the same thing Lydia got her the first time; a mystery novel by one of her favorite authors.

    "Thanks guys! You''re the best."

    They both smiled a little guiltily.

    "We wish we could go do something fun with you but senior prom onlyes once. How about we go bowling tomorrow to make up for it?" Jeffrey suggested.

    "Don''t worry about it; I understand. That sounds fun! Let''s do it."

    The rest of lunch passed joking around and having a good time.

    As far as birthdays go, this one was pretty good so far, even with Aaron talking to her again out of the blue.

    Keeley had been caught off guard by the almost friendly birthday wishes he gave her after weeks ofplete silence.

    When she saw the gift box she dreaded what might be inside since he had a bad habit of giving her insanely overpriced gifts she didn''t want or ask for.

    Refusing random gifts secretly was a no brainer but turning down a birthday gift in front of her ssmates would look bad.

    The contents surprised her. Sure, it probably cost more than everything in her apartmentbined but it actually catered to her interests.

    Aaron didn''t have the best track record of giving thoughtful gifts. When they were dating he typically gave her electronics or appliances for her apartment, which were helpful but not exactly fun.

    After they got married he only gave her luxury items that would help her fit in as Mrs. Hale. Most of the time she didn''t even like them but was so grateful for any tiny scrap of affection from him that she considered herself lucky.

    She was so thrown off by a present that actual thought clearly went into that she acted a bit warmer towards him than she should have and let him put it on her.

    She''d nearly forgotten that she told him about her ns to be a gicist. The DNA strand ne was perfect.

    Keeley had very conflicted feelings about it. Objectively, she loved the gift. But it was from Aaron! The man she hated and was doing her best to avoid!

    If she wanted to give it back, she''d have to do it when no one else was around. That was the obvious choice.

    On the other hand...would it be so horrible to keep it?

    It would make her think of him every time she wore it. That wouldn''t do since she was trying her best to forget him and live her life right this time.

    It would be a pity to get rid of it though. It was a beautiful ne; she''d never seen anything quite like it.

    She still hadn''t made a decision by the end of the day. She fingered the ne restlessly as she took the esctor down to the subway tracks. Keep it or return it?

    Returning it would mean interacting with Aaron again and he''d actually been respecting her wishestely. That could reignite whatever me of interest he''d had in her.

    She could keep it and just not wear it...that might work...

    Keeley didn''t notice the men closing in on her due to the throng of people in the afternoon rush until the tranquilizer dart was jabbed into her neck.

    One of the men wrapped an arm around her waist and made it look like she was still walking as he dragged her into the shadows.

 Chapter 43: Show Time

    <h4>Chapter 43: Show Time</h4>

    Alice''s parents insisted on taking tons of pictures when Aaron showed up at her house in his family''s limo.

    He strapped on the corsage made of white roses and blue hydrangeas that matched his date''s dress beforehand and she made sure to show it off in a bunch of different poses.

    She smiled dazzlingly for the camera but Aaron''s expression was stone cold. How many pictures did two people need? He was tired already and they hadn''t even left yet.

    "Do you have sparkling cider?" Alice asked after stretching and settling into the limo.

    "Yes, it''s in the cooler to your left."

    She thanked him and spent the rest of the ride sipping her ss in silence.

    This was exactly why Aaron had chosen her twice. She was easy to please and had zero interest in him.

    It was annoying that he had to live such a dull night over again though. Alice would socialize with her friends and he would sit off to the side of the room alone with nothing to do.

    Maybe he could text Keeley as he sat there instead of after the dance like he nned.

    They arrived at the hotel and ascended the grand staircase to get to the ballroom.

    The prom''s theme was ''A Night in Hollywood'' so a red carpet was rolled out at the entrance with a backdrop of the Hollywood sign where students could get their pictures taken.

    After walking down the red carpet, Alice snaked her arm around his waist and struck yet another pose as the sh went off in their faces.

    She released him immediately afterward and gestured for him to follow her so she could show off her date to her friends.

    Aaron was in for a long night. Small talk was second nature to him after two lifetimes of dealing with the rich and famous but that didn''t mean he had to like it.

    He yed his part well, which pleased Alice. Aaron''s job was to be her arm candy so other girls¡ªand more importantly, the fianc¨¦ that had been arranged for her since she was twelve¡ªwould be jealous.

    Apparently he didn''t care for the arrangement and had a girlfriend on the side.

    Alice appeared nonchnt about it so Aaron couldn''t tell if she cared about her fianc¨¦ or if it was simply a case of wounded pride.

    It didn''t really matter to him one way or another. He was here and he would survive the next few tedious hours just like he had before.

    ===

    Max was right not to worry about the extraction. Keeley had been knocked out and changed into a cheap magenta gown that looked like something an engineer''s daughter would buy hours ago.

    The tranquilizer would be wearing off soon so all they had to do was give her the drugs he purchased off the ck market.

    She would be as high as a kite¡ªthere was a decent chance she wouldn''t have a clue what was going on the entire time.

    Lacy sipped a ss of strawberry lemonade, disinterested in the catchy music ying. He approached her and reported in after reading the update from the mercenary.

    "She''s waiting in room 522. When do you want to go?"

    "We need to establish our presence here first. Let''s go talk to some more people and dance to a few songs. We can slip away one at a time when no one''s lookingter."

    Max admired her logic. She may be obsessive but her cunning was second to none.

    He nodded and they set to work, waving at or stopping to chat with various acquaintances for the next thirty minutes.

    They even greeted Aaron and Alice to deflect suspicion, acting like everything was normal.

    He was colder than ever towards Lacy, barely acknowledging her existence at all, and Max could feel her blood boiling next to him. Keeley was really in for it.

    He actually felt sorry for the girl. If only she hadn''t attracted Aaron''s attention, incurring Lacy''s wrath.

    From everything he had seen it wasn''t even her fault. She tried to stay away but Aaron kepting onto her no matter what avoidance tactics she used.

    Unfortunately, Max had to sacrifice her if he was going to get Lacy to give up on her fruitless obsession and be with him.

    After four songs of dancing right in middle of the mosh pit where everyone could see them, Max and Lacy moved to the refreshment table and snuck out a few minutes apart.

    She knocked on the door of room 522 and Max yanked her inside abruptly before anyone else could see.

    She rubbed her wrist and pulled a face. "You didn''t have to be so rough."

    "Sorry, I didn''t want to risk anyone seeing inside. I relieved the mercenary when I came up. She''s totally out of it but you might want to disguise your voice and put on this mask to be safe."

    Max handed her what looked like a masquerade mask and put on a clown mask of his own.

    "What on earth are you wearing?!"

    "This drug is a doozy. First it''s a hallucinogen, then once the visions wear off it makes the user feverish before finally knocking them out. The mask is to scare her. Her memories will probably be really hazy after this and it''ll be easier if she thinks it''s all just a nightmare. I don''t want her to think of us as part of it in case she gets suspicious," Max exined. "Smart, right?"

    He wanted to get the pictures taken and have them leave quickly because he wasn''t sure how long the visionssted before the aphrodisiacponent kicked in.

    He needed enough time to get Lacy back downstairs and out of the way before sending Aaron a text with a burner phone.

    Max was willing to bet he would run up right away and happilyply with the drugged girl''s wishes. Based on everything he had seen Aaron do when Keeley was involved, there was no way he''d ever let her go once they had sex.

    Lacy, unaware of the second half of his n, was impressed.

    "You''re surprisingly thorough."

    He briefly lifted the mask to sh a grin at her.

    "I try. Here, you take the camera. I''ll scatter some pills and put the bottle on the bedside table so it looks more realistic."

    Keeley stirred on the bed. It was show time.

 Chapter 44: Killer Clown

    <h4>Chapter 44: Killer Clown</h4>

    When Keeley''s eyes opened she had no idea where she was.

    The background consisted of spinning white swirls, shes of the color yellow, and what may or may not have been leaves growing out of the walls.

    Though she felt like she should be seized with panic her mind was nk. It was an odd, hollow feeling.

    A nasally voice spoke but she saw the words float around her in red letters.

    "This is great! She totally looks like an addict."

    Another deeper voice with a Southern ent emerged and those words swam in front of her in a spooky neon green font.

    "Shut up! She can still hear you."

    Keeley heard and saw what they were saying but couldn''tprehend a word. She wanted to ask them what they meant but her tongue felt like lead. She couldn''t speak.

    Was she sitting up?

    There was a giant angry clown head like in that one horror movie everybody was obsessed with a few years before her death. It seemed to be mocking her.

    Clowns¡­she never liked clowns. They were supposed to be funny but they were scary instead.

    Why were they universally used at children''s birthday parties if they were all psychopathic serial killers?

    The killer clown head moved closer to Keeley and she wanted to swat it away but her arms wouldn''t move either. No, go away! Bad clown!

    The neon green words appeared in front of her again even though the voice whispered quietly. "Hey, I think that''s enough. We should get out of here before we get caught."

    Were the green wordsing from the killer clown? Its lips weren''t moving¡­ The head got bigger and bigger until it threatened to smother Keeley.

    Was she in a room? A box? She couldn''t tell; the leavespletely obscured the walls. The clown was too big for it! She was going to die!

    "Are you going to just leave her here?"

    The red words swirled around the clown head though the nasally voice was practically inaudible. "I hope you have a n to get her back without suspecting anything."

    "I told you," the green words began. "Eventually she''ll be knocked out. I have someone on standby that will change her back into her clothes and take her home. She''ll never know what happened."

    Keeley still didn''t understand the colorful words. Her brain was mush. All she knew was that the leaves from the walls had turned into vines and started strangling the clown head and she didn''t like it.

    She was afraid of the clown head and wanted it gone but what would happen when the vines were done with it? She would be their next victim!

    The colorful voices faded away and Keeley was alone with the vines as they continued to slowly vanquish the clown head. She wanted to scream but stillcked a voice.

    The clown head let out a horrifying noise as it was strangled to death, like a cross between nails on a ckboard and a tomcat in heat.

    At the very least she wanted to cover her ears and squeeze her eyes shut but when she looked at her arms they turned into limp little spaghetti noodles.

    On top of that, the vines or clown head didn''t go away when she shut her eyes. She had no control whatsoever.

    The vines closed in on her and a horrible scream that wouldn''te out of her mouth rang in her ears. The tiny bit of rationality she had left caused the words "save me" to bounce around painfully inside her skull. Please save her from the vines¡­

    ===

    Aaron had already fulfilled his role as Alice''s date. She was off dancing with her friends and he found himself on a chair against the far wall with a ss of iced tea.

    He pulled out his phone, debating. Should he text Keeley now? She might get annoyed if she was busy doing something with her father.

    Heposed a message and deleted it several times beforeing up with something he was satisfied with.

    ''Doing anything fun for your birthday?''

    He was about to hit send when another text came in. An unfamiliar number. Thinking it was spam, he nearly deleted it before he saw what the contents were.

    ''Your girl is in trouble. Room 522. Hurry.''

    His girl? A lot of people at school knew the rumors about him and Keeley that hadn''t entirely died down even after a month of not speaking to each other.

    He couldn''t imagine who else would be referred to as his girl. But Keeley was supposed to be at home with her father. Why would she be in the same hotel the prom was being hosted at? This could be a trap.

    There were dozens of girls who wanted to be the next Mrs. Hale but no one wanted it more than Lacy. It was highly likely that this was her handiwork.

    Lure him to a hotel room and¡­what? Did she think she could be his wife just by tricking him into sleeping with her?

    Aaron scanned the dance floor and didn''t see Lacy anywhere. He was willing to bet she was the one who sent that text and was up there waiting for him. He wouldn''t fall for it.

    His phone buzzed again with another text from that unknown number. This time it was simply a picture of a girl slumped against the headboard of a bed inside a hotel room. Keeley.

    How?! How was she here?!

    He shot out of his chair like a bolt of lightning and frantically sprinted to the elevator. After pushing the button so many times it jammed, he cursed under his breath and ran for the stairs.

    His heart raced so much he thought it might explode. He didn''t even care if it was a trap anymore. Keeley needed him.

    Aaron waspletely out of breath by the time he reached the fifth floor but he continued running past a bunch of rooms. 504¡­512¡­518¡­522!

    A key card was left in front of the door. He prayed it was the right one as he picked it up and swiped it. The door light turned green and the knob turned.

    "Keeley?" he called apprehensively. No one answered him.

 Chapter 45: Neptune vs Her Glacier

    <h4>Chapter 45: Neptune vs Her cier</h4>

    The room was dark but Aaron could see the vague outline of a figure on the bed curled into a ball with its arms covering its head. He flipped the light on.

    Keeley was wearing a prom dress and her school uniform was folded on an armchair beneath her backpack. However she got here, they must have snatched her on her way home.

    Her father must be worried sick.

    "No! The sun is getting closer; it''s going to fry me! Mercury already crashed into the vines and burned them up," she rambled deliriously, shrinking into an even tighter ball.

    Aaron heaved a sigh of relief that she was conscious and able to speak even if she waspletely off her rocker. What had they given her?

    He turned the light back off but turned on the one in the bathroom and left the door open a crack so he could see at least a little.

    Loosening his tie, which was close to choking him because he was out of breath, he slumped onto the edge of the bed next to her.

    He reached out hesitantly, wanting to check if she was hurt at all.

    "Keeley? Are you alright? Do you feel pain anywhere?"

    She peeked out from between the gap in her arms.

    "Hey, that''s my name! Are you Neptune? You''re so cold¡­brrrrrrr. Neptune is the coldest. Or is that Pluto? They''re both far away from the sun! Save me!"

    Keeley startled him byunching herself onto hisp, throwing her arms around his neck and giggling.

    "You''re all icy so you can freeze the sun. Haha! Can''t get me now, Mr. Sun!"

    Freeze the sun? He was certainly frozen in ce with shock.

    Gently extricating himself from her grip, which would put an octopus to shame, he ced the back of his hand against her forehead. She was burning up.

    "Keeley, we need to get you to a doctor."

    Aaron had no idea what she ingested but it might be dangerous. He tried to get off the bed so he could pick her up and take her downstairs to get some help but she had other ideas.

    Keeley pulled him back down andypletely on top of him, pressing her feverish forehead to his neck and rubbing it back and forth.

    "Are doctors like clowns? The clown died¡­I don''t want more clowns, just you Mr. Neptune! So nice and cold. Coooooooold." She giggled hysterically after drawing the word out.

    He couldn''t remember thest time Keeley was this close to him. They practically lived as strangers thest several years of their marriage.

    Blood rushed to his head, causing heat to flood through his cheeks. He wanted her so badly but she was out of her mind; he was not allowed to react.

    "Keeley, get off," he pleaded somewhat desperately.

    She clung even tighter.

    "Why don''t you want me, Neptune? Am I not pretty enough? He didn''t think I was pretty enough either."

    Her voice quavered slightly and she sniffed before burrowing deeper into his neck.

    Who on earth was she talking about? Another from her hallucinations? He tried to reassure her while simultaneously getting her to roll off of him.

    "You''re very pretty. Can you please get off me now?"

    She shook her head, sliding her arms underneath his back ufortably.

    "You don''t mean it. He didn''t mean it either, that jerk cier. He didn''t love me anymore so I don''t need him! A is much bigger and better than a cier!"

    Aaron tried his best to escape and was able to sit up though her arms were still deadlocked around him. She was going to drive him insane.

    Maybe he could reason with her if he yed along with her fantasy.

    "How about this? I''ll carry you somewhere and you can tell me all about your cier. Okay?"

    "Why would I want to talk about my cier? I hate him. I''m a little penguin and he''s all of Antarctica," she said sadly as tears began to roll down her cheeks onto his dress shirt.

    "A tiny speck, that''s all I am. I don''t want to be a speck anymore."

    He had the strangest feeling she was talking about a real person rather than a hallucination this time even though her words were nonsensical.

    "You''re not a speck. Can we go now? You need help."

    "No!" she eximed vehemently, climbing on top of him and wrapping her legs around his waist as if she were a ko and he was a tree.

    "Don''t throw me away too! I won''t let you go!"

    A tic burst on forehead.

    "Keeley, I am not going to throw you away. I''m going to take you somewhere special."

    "I don''t want to go somewhere special. I want to stay riiiiight here with pretty, pretty Neptune¡­"

    She lifted her head off his shoulder, her ssy eyes darkening with desire as they met his. She unwound the vice formed by her arms and began unbuttoning his shirt.

    Aaron couldn''t take any more of this, not after being without her for so long. He seized her hands in an effort to make her stop.

    "Keeley Hall, if you don''t stop this right now you''ll regret it," he growled.

    Sheughed but it wasn''t the hystericalughter from earlier. It was bitter, cynicalughter that didn''t match her intoxicated state. She would have seemed lucid if not for the look in her eyes.

    "I''m already drowning in a sea of regrets. One more is nothing."

    That was a concerning statement that he would have asked about if he weren''t in such apromising position. He could always ask herter but right now she needed to get to the hospital.

    He tried coaxing her again. "Kee¡ª"

    She cut him off by mming her lips against his. He was so surprised that his grip ckened enough for her to pull her hands free and resume her task of trying to take his shirt off.

    His brain short-circuited to the point that he couldn''t even move as she kept going. It would be so easy to let her keep going and finally get what he dreamed of during all of those years alone¡­

 Chapter 46: This Is Your Fault, Aaron

    <h4>Chapter 46: This Is Your Fault, Aaron</h4>

    It registered in Aaron''s brain that her lips were burning. He really needed to get her to a hospital and yet he found himself kissing her back passionately.

    His self-control flew away with his shirt.

    It was too cruel. Aside from that one idental kiss that Keeley hit him for; he hadn''t enjoyed the taste of her lips in about thirty years.

    He knew he needed to stop but he didn''t want to. This wasn''t fair to her.

    She wasn''t conscious of her actions. If she found out about thister, she would probably be horrified and never speak to him again.

    That thought brought him back to earth right as she was trying to unbuckle his belt.

    "Keeley," he sighed against her lips.

    "Mm?"

    He grabbed her by the shoulders and held her about six inches away from him.

    "Stop. You''re not in your right mind. You don''t want this."

    Her head tilted slightly with a confused expression though her eyes remained ssy from the effects of the drug. Tears began streaming down her face again.

    "Why don''t you want me? Why do you always reject me? Why? Why don''t you love me?"

    What?! Where was thising from? He loved her so much he almost just took advantage of her when she was off the deep end!

    Oh. She was probably talking about the guy she called a cier. All the adrenaline in his body drained right out of him.

    "Of course he loves you," he said robotically. "Who wouldn''t?"

    She shook her head and sniffled.

    "He doesn''t! He left me for an ocean. A cier and an ocean match perfectly, don''t they? Penguins can never measure up. Stupid cier, why did he change his mind? Well I can change my mind too. I don''t want him anymore. I want you."

    Keeley started kissing him again and he forcefully pushed her away before he lost his sense of judgment for the second time.

    She pounded on his chest weakly with each word she spoke. "Why. Don''t. You. Want. Me."

    Aaron let out a painedugh. He wanted her so badly it hurt but now was not the time.

    "I promise you, if you still want me after we get this drug out of your system, I''m all yours."

    "But I want you now," she whined.

    He sighed and pulled her in closer so he could trick her into a better position to throw her over his shoulder.

    She protested vehemently, kicking and biting before he managed to stick her in the bathroom and barricade the door so he could put his shirt back on and look for her phone to call Robert.

    "Let me out! Get back here, Neptune! I wasn''t done with you!" she hollered as she banged on the door.

    Aaron ignored her and phone Keeley''s phone in the front pocket of her backpack.

    There were more than twenty missed calls and even more texts, all from Robert. Aaron took a deep breath before clicking the call back button.

    His frantic voice came over the line on the first ring. He must have been holding the phone already.

    "Keeley, where are you? What happened? I tried to call the police but they told me it was too early to file a missing person report!"

    "Mr. Hall, I don''t know if you remember me but this is Aaron Hale. I ate dinner at your house a while back."

    "Yes, I remember you," he said faintly. "Where''s my daughter?"

    "I''m about to take her to the hospital. Someone drugged her; I''m not sure what they gave her but it''s some sort of hallucinogen. She¡­isn''t exactly herself right now. Can you meet me at Midtown General?"

    "I''ll be there in 30 minutes."

    Robert disconnected the call first, no doubt to immediately rush over to the hospital from all the way in Brooklyn.

    The problem now was getting an uncooperative Keeley downstairs to the car without any fuss.

    Aaron texted Carlton first, letting him know that he needed a ride right now and toe up to room 522. He may work for Aaron''s parents but he knew how to keep his mouth shut. Carlton wouldn''t rat them out.

    Once everything else was taken care of, he steeled himself for Hurricane Keeley and opened the bathroom door.

    She jumped him immediately, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing every inch of his face.

    "Bad Neptune, don''t leave me again," she scolded between kisses and attempts at biting his ears.

    The universe was truly testing his patience today. Carlton couldn''t get there fast enough. Aaron focused on his breathing as she continued her kiss attack.

    He had read about different meditation styles as part of his Mandarin practice years ago. He could get through this. Keeley was suffering much more than he was right now.

    "Aaron¡­"

    He jolted straight out of the zen zone when he heard his name. Was she regaining full consciousness?

    She was the one who jumped up on him but he was still holding her so she wouldn''t fall. This didn''t look good out of context.

    "This is your fault, Aaron," she mumbled sleepily against his neck, going ck.

    She seemed to be talking to herself rather than realizing he was right there.

    She was right; it was his fault. This was obviously Lacy''s doing, though he wasn''t sure who sent him the text. An aplice with a guilty conscience, maybe?

    There was no way she would send the man she had her eye on straight to a girl drugged out of her mind, unless she didn''t know what the drugs did and wanted him to see her embarrass herself¡­no, that didn''t make sense. It had to be an aplice.

    Max would make the most sense but he couldn''t be sure. Things had changed so much in this redo of his life that the game yers might be different this time around.

    "I know. I''m sorry," he whispered while softly stroking her hair.

    She wouldn''t be in this situation if he hadn''t provoked Lacy so much.

    No wonder she wanted him to leave her alone. All he ever seemed to do was make things worse for her.

    This was much more severe than anything Lacy did during high school in his first life. He wasn''t able to prevent this¡ªhe didn''t even see iting.

 Chapter 47: I Didnt Do This

    <h4>Chapter 47: I Didn''t Do This</h4>

    Keeley was asleep in Aaron''s arms by the time Carlton arrived. He raised an eyebrow.

    "My goodness, what happened?"

    "Long story," Aaron said grimly. "I need to get her out of here without anyone seeing though. Do you have any ideas?"

    The driver thought about it before suggesting they take the staff elevator and sneak out that way. Apparently his brother used to work at this hotel as a bellhop so he knew where it was.

    Carlton went first, making sure the coast was clear on the way to the staff elevator as Aaron followed behind with Keeley riding piggyback, unconscious.

    It was a miracle they made it to the car without being spotted by any of the prom goers.

    "Master Aaron, is this the girl you bought those craft supplies for?" Carlton asked once they were in the car on their way to the hospital.

    He sighed. Was he that transparent? "Yes."

    "Can you tell me exactly what happened tonight?"

    His tone wasn''t usatory but Aaron still felt defensive.

    "I didn''t do this! Someone sent me a text message about where she was; I found her like that. She was drugged. I already called her father to meet us at the hospital."

    "Why would someone do that?" he asked, astonished.

    Aaron couldn''t answer. He attracted psychopaths, that''s why.

    Well, not all of them were psychopaths. Keeley wasn''t. She was a good person¡ªmaybe even the only truly good person he knew.

    She didn''t deserve this. She didn''t deserve anything she went through at Lacy''s or his father''s hands.

    He wanted to be happy with her in this life but he never stopped to think about whether or not she would be happy with him. Misery followed in his wake yet again, dragging her down.

    He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms with deep regret. "I''m not strong enough to protect her."

    "If I may be frank, you are still a high school student. You did your best. That girl was better off being found by you tonight than by someone else."

    The very thought filled him with rage. Any other man might not be able to resist having a beautiful, intoxicated woman throw herself at him. If he hadn''t gotten to her first¡­

    "I''d rather not think about that."

    "I only meant that you shouldn''t be so hard on yourself," Carlton said wisely. "I believe you will achieve what you want in due time."

    Aaron went silent after that, deep in thought. He needed to be stronger so he could protect what mattered to him.

    It had been unfair of him to drag Keeley into his life without having proper precautions in ce.

    In order to avoid making the same mistakes he did in his first life, he ended up making entirely new ones that caused different damage.

    Keeley wanted him to leave her alone? He could do that while he gained enough power that no one could ever touch her again.

    When they arrived at the hospital, Robert was already in the emergency room waiting area. He jumped up when he saw Aaron carry his daughter in, calling for a nurse to get a gurney because she was unconscious.

    Another nurse questioned him about what happened as Carlton and Robert stood to the side. A few months younger than Keeley, Aaron wasn''t eighteen yet and needed adult witnesses.

    "Describe her symptoms, please," the nurse said crisply after taking his statement of how he found her.

    Aaron nced nervously at Robert. He might not take this well.

    "When I first found her she was curled in a ball on the bed hallucinating vividly. She was going on about vines and clowns ands for quite a while. Her emotions were all over the ce and she was very feverish. After that¡­she¡­um¡­"

    Thest thing he wanted to do was talk about how he made out with Keeley in front of her overprotective father. He seemed to catch on.

    "Go on, son, I won''t be mad. Tell her what she needs to know."

    He wouldn''t meet anyone''s eyes.

    "She tried making out with me and taking my clothes off, still hallucinating. She thought I was the Neptune for some reason¡­and talked about penguins and ciers. Eventually I managed to pry her off me and call for help and then she passed out and has been unconscious ever since."

    The nurse scribbled a few things down on her clipboard before looking up and giving him a gentle smile.

    "You were very brave to help your friend like you did. We''ll give her a thorough checkup to make sure there are no repercussions and run blood tests to see exactly what she was given. I called the police; you''ll need to give your statement and show the text messages as evidence when they arrive."

    Aaron nodded mutely before joining Robert and Carlton on the stic chairs in the waiting area. He hung his head in his hands.

    Tonight was such a nightmare and he still had to deal with the repercussions of ditching Alice.

    She probably hadn''t noticed his absence but the longer he was gone¡­at the very least he had to go back and take her home or his parents would know something happened. But he didn''t want to leave without knowing what was happening with Keeley.

    Robertid a fatherly hand on his shoulder and spoke in a choked up voice.

    "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. She''s all I have left¡­if you hadn''t found her¡­"

    "I''m sorry Mr. Hall, I should have known something was wrong sooner," he said miserably.

    It wasn''t just Keeley he was hurting. If anything happened to her, it would destroy this man who already lost half his family. He could see that now.

    In all his time trying to win Keeley over, he never once thought about anything from her side of things. Her goals and dreams. Her family. What she wanted out of life.

    He had been apart from her for so long that he would do anything to have her back and disregarded everything else.

    For someone praised for his brain since he was young, it was an incredibly stupid and shortsighted thing to do.

    "You couldn''t have known," Robert saidfortingly, not knowing how wrong he was. "The important thing is that you acted as soon as you got those texts."

    Aaron didn''t have the energy to argue. He checked the time and saw that the dance would be ending soon; sending Carlton to go back and pick up Alice.

    He couldn''t leave since the police were on their way. The nurse had his contact information but thest thing he wanted was for them toe to his house asking questions.

    What if his parents found out? It was better to stay and get things over with here.

 Chapter 48: Aarons Statement

    <h4>Chapter 48: Aaron''s Statement</h4>

    The police arrived to take Aaron''s statement after a torturous forty minutes in the waiting room. He told them all of the basic details starting from the beginning when he received the text messages and showed them his phone.

    They confiscated it as evidence but he didn''t care. It would be easy enough to get a new one in the morning.

    The problem was when they asked him if he had any idea who might be behind this or if either he or Keeley had any enemies that he knew of.

    He knew it was Lacy but that could be difficult to prove. If he told them and they questioned her, she would know Aaron was onto her and might turn even more vicious.

    Even if there was sufficient evidence, with her father''s money she would undoubtedly get off scot free. She would be more cautious and it would be even more difficult to take her down in the future.

    On the other hand, not doing anything about his suspicions left things open for further attack in his first life.

    He couldn''t risk that again but it seemed like no matter which option he chose, Lacy still had opportunities to strike back.

    Aaron tried to think about what would be least harmful for Keeley instead of what would benefit his ns to destroy the woman.

    Keeley was staying in New York after graduation while Lacy would be hundreds of miles away in Boston. If he let this one slide, she might just leave Keeley alone.

    Aaron decided to let Lacy off for the time being though he wanted to see her punished more than anything. He needed to build up his empire before he could take that woman down permanently.

    "No, I can''t think of anyone."

    The police officers fell for his poker face and let him go, heading over to talk to Robert about how they woulde back and question Keeley to see if she remembered anything once she woke up. They handed him a business card and left.

    The emergency room was busy for a Friday night. People tended to have more time to do dumb things on the weekend so the chances of injury were higher.

    Wails of pain and frantic sounds from hospital staff rushing around filled the air. The atmosphere matched Aaron''s mood perfectly.

    Robert approached him where he sat with his head in his hands once again with a gentle voice.

    "Son, why don''t you go home and get some sleep? I can call you when she wakes up if you want to visit."

    Aaron looked up at the man in distress. He wouldn''t be so nice if he knew Aaron''s role in all of this. All he ever did was let Keeley down.

    He hadn''t deserved to be her husband then and he still didn''t deserve her now. Not yet. Not until he could give her safety and stability.

    If she knew what happened tonight, all the progress they made would be lost. Keeley already didn''t want to be around him and this proved why she had the right idea.

    Being with him was dangerous. She had already been through enough in his first life. Why had he ever thought things could be different now?

    "Mr. Hall, could you¡­not tell Keeley I was the one to find her? She didn''t seem to recognize me so I doubt she''ll remember and I don''t want her to be ufortable."

    Robert''s eyes softened, remembering how his daughter acted the day Aaron showed up for dinner. The poor kid was afraid Keeley would hate him even more.

    After seeing how upset he was by this ordeal, it was obvious he liked her a lot.

    "I won''t say anything," he promised. "I owe you that much for saving her. If you hadn''t been there¡­"

    "I''m d I got there in time."

    Aaron received a message from Carlton saying he had dropped Alice home and was in front of the hospital.

    "My ride is here, I should go. If you could let me know when she wakes up I would appreciate it."

    They quickly exchanged phone numbers.

    "Of course. Get home safe, son," Robert said gently.

    As he walked away, Aaron saw a nurse approach Robert and lead him down a hallway so he could see Keeley and be briefed on her situation.

    He wanted to be there but didn''t have the right. He wasn''t her husband anymore.

    He was a useless seventeen-year-old boy with no power, no connections, and no way to keep the woman he loved safe.

    On the drive home Aaron''s thoughts went a mile a minute.

    Who did he need to get in contact with earlier than schedule so he could build up his empire? Many of the people who were vital to his business operations after Keeley''s death either weren''t born yet or were still in elementary school.

    Which of his old contacts were either in college or already working their way up in the business world? He needed to make a mental tally of who was where at this moment.

    Jeremy Ward, the man Aaron left his business to, wouldn''t be born for another six years.

    The genius hacker who managed to get the security footage of Lacy killing Max by hurling a heavy object at his head in a fit of anger was about to finish eighth grade. He might be approachable.

    Darren Johnson, the trustworthy detective who eventually put the final nail in Lacy''s coffin with his testimony, would be a beat cop right now.

    As for everyone else¡­Aaron might have to start over from scratch. It was too early in the timeline.

    "Master Aaron, it''s nearly one in the morning. What do you n to tell your parents?" Carlton asked hesitantly, breaking Aaron''s concentration as he tried to think of more names.

    He was so worn out from everything that his thoughts were all jumbled.

    "That traffic was terrible after the dance ended. Alice doesn''t care enough to tattle on me. They won''t suspect a thing."

    Carlton couldn''t deny his logic. The youngdy he dropped off didn''t even seem surprised that Aaron wasn''t there to apany her home.

    The world of the rich was unfathomable to him even though he had worked as a driver for the Hale family for nearly a decade.

    In all that time, he never saw Master Aaron go out of his way to interact with another person until that girl Keeley came along. She must mean a lot to him.

    Carlton didn''t want him to lose that so he had never mentioned her to Mr. and Mrs. Hale, knowing they wouldn''t approve. What they didn''t know wouldn''t hurt them.

 Chapter 49: What a Terrible Birthday

    <h4>Chapter 49: What a Terrible Birthday</h4>

    Keeley woke up with a wicked headache and a parched throat. The light was so bright that she had to blink several times before squinting enough to look around the room.

    An IV pole was on her right, attached to a drip on her hand. Her father snoozed in a chair to the left of the bed looking exceptionally exhausted.

    What on earth happened? She was going home from school¡­and had a vague recollection about clowns and outer space.

    "Dad?" she croaked.

    She mustered enough strength to reach out and shake his knee while continuing to call his name.

    Robert opened his eyes sleepily, regaining alertness the second he saw his daughter.

    "Keeley! Thank goodness you''re awake. You''ve been out for two days."

    Two whole days?! Did she get hit by a train or something? She was vaguely achey all over but it would probably hurt a lot worse if she were seriously injured.

    "What happened to me?"

    "Honeybun¡­you got abducted on your way home from school on Friday. You were missing for eight hours before someone called me on your phone to let me know they found you," he said gently, worried how she would take it.

    Abducted? She could only think of one person who would do such a thing, unless a random pervert on the street took an interest in her.

    Keeley started to panic. "Was I¡­assaulted?"

    rm showed on his face.

    "No, no! The doctors checked; nothing like that happened. They found an umon hallucinogen in your system. The police are still trying to figure out who did this and why. They told me to call them when you woke up so they''ll probably stop byter to ask you some questions. Do you remember anything?"

    Did she? Nothing concrete. A few fragments of hazy nightmare came through but that was it. There was a clown in it and someone was with him¡­

    Since she wasn''t assaulted, the chances of it being a random attack were almost nothing.

    This had to be Lacy''s handiwork. But why? She and Aaron hadn''t spoken in a month before her birthday; she wasn''t a threat anymore.

    Lacy never pulled anything this severe in high school before¡­More to the point, what was the purpose of drugging her if Lacy didn''t want someone to defile her?

    What was her goal? Ruining Keeley''s birthday? Did she even know it was her birthday?

    Keeley''s head hurt trying to make sense of it all.

    "I dreamed about a clown¡­some vines¡­the sr system¡­I don''t know what was real," she admitted.

    Her father rubbed her arm soothingly. "It''s okay, don''t strain yourself. I need to go make some calls, I''ll be back."

    Keeley nodded before sinking back onto the pillows. She shouldn''t be this tired after sleeping for two days.

    It wasn''t that she was sleepy per se but she felt sluggish and weary. Trying to think things through took far too much effort.

    She nced at the small bedside table next to the chair her father vacated and noticed her backpack, reaching out for it to check that all of her things were still inside.

    Cellphone¡­school uniform¡­shoes¡­wallet¡­jewelry box. A quick peek under the lid showed that her birthday present from Aaron was intact. They didn''t steal anything.

    A couple of nurses walked by the ajar door whispering about a girl who was brought in unconscious by a very handsome young man on Friday, looking like they both came from a prom.

    Her muddled consciousness registered that they might be talking about her but she didn''t go to the prom so why would she be wearing a prom dress? Who exactly found her and where?

    She might be able to make sense of what Lacy''s n was if she had that information.

    The police might be able to fill in some of the nks. She closed her eyes and waited for them toe.

    "Miss Hall?" an unfamiliar voice asked, waking her.

    As her eyes focused, she realized that a couple of men in police uniforms were standing in front of her bed.

    "Yes?"

    "I''m Officer Raine and this is my partner, Officer Gonzales. We would like to ask you a few questions about what happened on Friday night."

    "Ask away," she said tiredly.

    They spent the next twenty minutes going back and forth about the basics. What she was doing before she was abducted, what thest thing she remembered was, and whether or not she knew anything about her captors.

    Keeley described the clown and how she had a feeling one of her abductors had something to do with it; she remembered two people talking to each other but couldn''t remember what they were saying or any other identifying details.

    Chances are though, it was Lacy and Max. Unfortunately she couldn''t use them without proof.

    "Can you tell me what you know about my situation?" she asked once she told them everything she could remember.

    The officers exchanged a nce before Officer Gonzalez, a middle aged Hispanic man, spoke up.

    "You were found in a prom dress inside room 522 of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. One of your ssmates attending the dance downstairs found you."

    Something about that struck her as suspicious. "How did they know where I was?"

    "Someone sent a text message and picture of you using a burner phone. We''re still trying to trace where it came from," Officer Raine exined.

    "Who was it?"

    "We can''t tell you; it may influence your perception of the event and affect your testimony."

    Keeley frowned. The way they phrased it made her think her rescuer was involved somehow. It made her wonder if Max might have been the one to find her in an attempt to influence the cops. Or maybe Lacy had multiple aplices.

    It didn''t really matter though. What mattered was what she did while Keeley was out of it.

    "If you remember anything else, please give us a call. Your father has our contact information. We''ll be in touch."

    She nodded at them as they left and closed her eyes again tiredly. That mystery drug took a lot out of her.

    What a terrible birthday. At least the ice cream cake ought to still be untouched in the freezer.

 Chapter 50: Careless

    <h4>Chapter 50 - Careless</h4>

    Keeley wasn''t allowed to leave the hospital for another two days because of how badly the drug dehydrated her.

    The doctors also ran a bunch of tests in that time checking for possible brain damage or other sequ but in the end she was given a clean bill of health and deemed good to go.

    It was about time. Being stuck in a hospital bed was incredibly boring.

    A bunch of frantic missed texts from Lydia and Jeffrey blew up her phone when she finally checked it. Shepletely forgot they were supposed to hang out on Saturday.

    Keeley apologized and said she was knocked out for days with the flu and didn''t even hear the phone ring. It was better not to worry them.

    Neither of them understood the insane world of the very rich. They wouldn''t believe her if she told them Lacy attacked her just because she had a strange rtionship with Aaron.

    She had been too tired to be mad at first but the longer she was stuck in the hospital the more furious she got. Associating with that ice block never ended well!

    It wasn''t enough that he ruined her life once, no, he just had to cling onto her and invoke Lacy''s wrath again when she finally thought she was safe. That selfish idiot!

    Her life had officially been turned upside down; was he happy now? He yed his game and she got hurt, like always.

    Aaron never changed. He didn''t truly care about anyone. Consequences were nothing to him.

    A little voice inside her head whispered to be fair. Aaron didn''t know Lacy was going to do this; it wasn''t like he provoked her on purpose.

    He didn''t know what she was capable of. But that didn''t change the fact that whatever bizarre logic he had for messing with Keeley had resulted in her hospitalization.

    She wanted to confront him about it but she had no proof. If she went up to him going on about how it was his fault Lacy drugged her, he''d think she was crazy.

    There were only two weeks left of the school year. She could avoid him that long.

    Luck was on her side for once.

    She''d thought after giving him an inch on the morning of her birthday he would take a mile but Aaron didn''t so much as look at her for days after she came back to ss.

    Good. She needed to focus on studying and it would be easier if she didn''t have to worry about what he might do next. He had been rather unpredictable since her rebirth.

    Keeley and her friends no longer joked around at lunch; they were too busy quizzing each other using study guides the teachers gave out.

    Since her worst subject (Spanish) was one of Lydia''s best, she helped her practice conversing back and forth. In return Keeley shared her Government sh cards.

    Jeffrey was too focused on memorizing calculus forms to care about what anyone else was doing.

    They collectively decided to go bowling after finals were over instead since they weren''t able to do it the day after Keeley''s birthday.

    It helped motivate them to finish strong. Senioritis was so real, even for usually studious schrship students.

    Keeley felt like she might go insane before graduation. It was so close she could taste it but time was moving so slowly!

    It didn''t help that the police weren''t able to get any leads. The trail went cold with the hotel room because the perpetrators used gloves.

    She didn''t expect them to get caught anyway but not knowing why they drugged her in the first ce made her uneasy.

    ===

    Lacy was ready to murder her best friend. How? How had he been so careless? Keeley wasn''t supposed to go to the police!

    She was supposed to be changed back into her usual clothes and left on her front doorstep, unconscious. That way if her family took her to the hospital it would be assumed she ingested the drugs herself.

    Now that the police were involved there was no way she would be able to get Keeley expelled by releasing those photos. They would know it was a set up.

    Even worse, the photos might be traced back to her since the police were specifically looking for someone with a motive. The entire n was ruined.

    It was a good thing she didn''t release those photos before the police showed up at school on Monday, questioning everyone who attended the prom. She was nning on doing it right after school.

    They didn''t mention names but asked questions such as "did you see anything suspicious at the dance?" and "what were you doing between three and ten PM?"

    Lacy assumed they didn''t want to nt ideas in anyone''s heads to sniff out who had actual knowledge of what happened.

    The principal allowed this because it was easier to interrogate everyone en masse and the officers promised not to let a whiff of scandal surrounding this incident touch the school.

    They showed up in inclothes with an unmarked car so any onlookers wouldn''t be any the wiser.

    Rather than bringing the police officers to the ssrooms, teachers nonchntly called students out a few at a time throughout the day and they met with the police in the counselor''s office.

    Students weren''t allowed to talk about it outside the makeshift interrogation room so Lacy waspletely blindsided when she was called out.

    The officers treated her kindly, assuming she was innocent.

    "We''re sorry to disturb you; we''d just like to ask a few questions about prom night. There was an unpleasant incident were trying to get to the bottom of and would appreciate your help."

    She could refuse to answer without awyer present but that would make her look guilty.

    Sweat trickled down the back of her neck but she smiled sweetly as if nothing was wrong.

    "Of course, I''d be happy to help."

    "Would you please tell me where you were and what you did between three and ten PMst Friday night?"

    Lacy pretended to think about it andunched into her story with a surprising calmness.

    "Let''s see...school ended at 2:50 and my chauffeur immediately took me to La Belle Salon so I could get my hair, nails, and makeup done for the dance.

    "I went home for about twenty minutes before my date, Maximillian Lynch, picked me up so we could go to dinner at an Italian restaurant on 5th Avenue called Rizzoli''s.

    "We were there for a little over an hour and made it to the dance slightly before eight. I can''t remember everybody we talked to but we chatted with several friends when we arrived before dancing for the rest of the night. We were there until about 11:30 then went home."

    The officers seemed to buy her story. It was probably the same thing they''d heard from everyone who came before her. The older one shuffled some papers and leaned forward.

    "Miss Knighton, at any point in the night did you see anyone leave the dance hall for more than ten minutes?"

    Aside from sneaking out herself, she did see Eve Martin and her boyfriend giggling with a bottle of champagne on their way to the elevator toward the end of the night. Someone clearly got lucky.

    That wasn''t any of her business though so there was no point in bringing it up.

    "No, I was pretty focused on having fun. I didn''t pay attention to things like that."

    They looked as if they suspected as much. "Thank you for your time. You can go back to ss now."

    Lacy put on a convincing show before nearly fainting outside the door of the counselor''s office. That was too close.

    That idiot Max better have not given them away or else...She texted him in code.

    ''Don''t forget to buy me lollipops after school''

    When they were little and he talked too much, Lacy would shove a lollipop in his mouth to get him to shut up.

    He should understand that the reference to lollipops meant he needed to say as little as possible when the police questioned him and not try to make things up.

 Chapter 51: Something To Remember Her By

    <h4>Chapter 51: Something To Remember Her By</h4>

    Max didn''t realize how badly things would blow up in his face. He thought Aaron would have his way with the girl and keep his mouth shut so he wouldn''t get in trouble.

    Now Lacy was mad at him but at least she wasn''t suspicious that he contacted Aaron. She trusted his blind devotion too much, not realizing he had his own agenda.

    Gliding his way through the police''s interrogation was simple.

    He told them everything he did that night excluding the twenty or so minutes he and Lacy spent going up to the fifth floor to get those pictures.

    He hoped Lacy had enoughmon sense to destroy the SIM card of the camera so it couldn''t be traced back to her. He might have to remind herter.

    It was unfortunate that his n didn''t pan out. Aaron clearly wasn''t happy that he didn''t get the girl¡ªthe ice emanating off of him was at least five times stronger than usual.

    Max tried. He couldn''t be med for the other guy being on a moral high horse. Unfortunately, with graduation just around the corner, Aaron''s chance was probably lost.

    Keeley couldn''t be used as a pawn to get Lacy to lose interest in Mr. Tall, Dark, and Boring anymore.

    Max would figure something else out eventually. Lacy was meant to be his.

    ===

    Aaron couldn''t help but think about how his first high school graduation went the closer finals became and it soured his mood even further.

    His parents didn''t bother to show up because they had a prior engagement.

    It seemed like he was the only student there without at least one family member to cheer him on but he was too jaded to even be upset about it.

    He saw Keeley hugging her father tightly across the football field where the graduation ceremony was held. Her eyes were bright and brimming with excitement and her smile was too big for her face.

    Aaron was drawn to her like a moth to a me; he found himself zigzagging around other graduates and their families to reach her. She spotted him and waved her arms over her head to get his attention.

    "Aaron! We graduated; can you believe it?"

    She scrunched her face in confusion when she noticed he was alone. "Where''s your family?"

    "They didn''te," he said matter-of-factly.

    Keeley was horrified. "The most important day of your life so far and they didn''te?!"

    She reached out and grabbed his arm to pull him closer to where her father stood.

    "Uneptable. You''reing out to dinner and celebrating with us. You only graduate from high school once!"

    "That really isn''t necessary," he began although he couldn''t deny the warmth he felt at her indignation on his behalf.

    "Shush. Dad! Can Aarone to dinner with us?"

    Sympathy tinted Robert''s smile as he realized Aaron didn''t have anyone else to celebrate with.

    "We''d be happy to have you join us."

    "Thank you, Mr. Hall," he said politely.

    Before they went to dinner, Keeley insisted that her father take pictures of Aaron since no one else did. She also insisted that they take a bunch of pictures together.

    His favorite, whichter ended up in his wallet for years toe, was of Keeley squeezing her eyes shut as she beamed for all she was worth. She gave him a pair of bunny ears using her fingers and he wore a satisfied little half-smile as his arm rested around her shoulders.

    Dinner was a pleasant affair even though the restaurant was part of a chain and he never would have been caught dead there on his own. The food was mediocre but thepany more than made up for it.

    Aaron almost felt like a part of their family that day. It was a novel experience.

    He wouldn''t be so lucky this time.

    His parents still wouldn''te (not that he cared) but since he hadn''t spoken a word to Keeley since the disastrous night of her birthday, he doubted the same invitation would be extended again.

    Burdened by guilt, he didn''t know what to say to her. Keeley didn''t know he was the reason she had to suffer through such an ordeal or that he nearly gave into her intoxicated advances but he still couldn''t bear to face her.

    Robert had called him to let him know she woke upte on Sunday afternoon. He had a lot of torturous time to think while worrying and waiting before then.

    The conclusion he came to was that it was time to let Keeley go.

    If he stayed in contact with her, Lacy wouldn''t give up. Her next attempt might be even worse than this one.

    It would be irresponsible to give her the chance to act again. His best bet now was to act as if Keeley had been nothing more than a passing fancy.

    Aaron lived twenty-seven years without her; he could survive a few more.

    He would let her go off and spread her wings in college without having to worry about being schemed against. She deserved that much.

    Once he had enough footing in the business world to protect her properly, he would hold her tightly and never let go.

    Two rows ahead of him to the left, Keeley''s ponytail bounced as she scribbled in her notebook. Was she actually taking notes or doodling again?

    His heart ached at the sight of her. He could count the number of times he would see her before graduation on one hand.

    If only he had a picture to remember her by. They hadn''t taken any together in this life.

    He narrowed his eyes, trying to decide if he could make the angle work so the side of her face was visible. He shielded his phone behind his other hand and snapped a few.

    Only one of them turned out but he would take it. She even had a slight smile on her face as she tapped her pencil against the notebook absentmindedly.

    Perfect.

 Chapter 52: Friends

    <h4>Chapter 52: Friends</h4>

    Finals were brutal and Keeley lost a lot of sleep but they were finally done! Graduation would be the following day so she went out to celebrate with her friends.

    It was ast hurrah before they all went their separate ways; Keeley would stay in New York while Lydia headed off to California and Jeffrey went to Washington D.C. She would really miss those two.

    Keeley hadn''t focused much on making friends in college because she was too busy working, studying, or chasing after Aaron. That was definitely going to change.

    She didn''t want to be so socially isted this time. She might even meet people she got along with as well as Lydia and Jeffrey if she put herself out there.

    "I''m terrible at bowling," Lydia moaned when she got yet another gutter ball.

    Jeffrey instructed her patiently when his turn was up. "It''s in the wrist movement; you''re doing it wrong. Watch."

    He executed a perfect spin and got a strike. He hadn''t gotten one yet so his face lit up with delight.

    "Okay, that was way cooler than I expected. But I guess it proved my point. Try doing what I did next time."

    Keeleyzily consumed the chili cheese fries she purchased at the snack bar as a special post-finals treat as they talked. She needed to focus on enjoying her youth while she was young again instead of wasting her time by being single-minded.

    Now was the time to try a bunch of different things. Like these fries. They were surprisingly decent considering they were bowling alley food.

    When her turn was up, she didn''t do much better than Lydia. At least she hit about half of the pins on her first try but the second time she didn''t get any.

    Jeffrey was definitely going to win this game. The other two were ying to see who gotst ce at this point.

    "I''m doing what you did and I still can''t get more than four pins at a time," Lydiained. "Can you take the second half of my turn for me?"

    Jeffreyughed. "Sure. You''re so far behind it''s not like it''ll help you much anyway."

    She stuck her tongue out at his back as he managed to knock over the rest of the pins, giving her a spare.

    Keeley smiled at their antics. Those two could have been so cute together if they weren''t moving to opposite sides of the country.

    Lydia would likely end up with the California boy she wanted and Jeffrey had a decent chance of meeting someone at school too. She didn''t care about such things.

    If she ever were to fall in love again, it would be far, far in the future. She had too much life to live before then and didn''t want a man holding her back this time.

    At the very least, she wouldn''t date anyone until after she had her doctoral degree and was working in a researchb or at a university.

    Not that she even wanted to date anyone at all; Aaron had kind of ruined her on that front. If she spent her life alone that would be perfectly fine.

    Worst case scenario, at some point she could use a sperm donor or adopt. She wanted to be the mother she never got a chance to be someday.

    Besides, she couldn''t deny her father the chance to be a grandpa. Expanding their family might help ease some of the hurt that came from losing half of it.

    "Keeley, it''s yourst turn," Lydia reminded her, shaking her out of her thoughts.

    "Got it."

    She nced at the score board. Unless Lydia somehow got a strike or a spare on herst turn, all she had to do in order to avoidst ce was hit at least a couple of pins.

    Keeley chucked the ball down thene with force and it managed to hit three pins on the right side. On the second half of her turn, she managed to hit another four pins, almost certainly securing her victory.

    In the end, Lydia got another gutter ball after hitting five pins and Keeley beat her by twelve points. Jeffrey wiped the floor with them both.

    Her friendsughed and teased each other after the scores were out and she felt content. She wanted to remember this moment.

    Calling over an employee who was sweeping the floor nearby, she asked if he would take a picture of the three of them. He was surprised but agreed and Keeley handed him her phone after opening the camera.

    Jeffrey stood in the middle of the girls and they wrapped their arms around each other''s backs so they were a bit huddled together in the photo, all wearing bright smiles.

    It was a good picture. She might have to get it printed out and stick it up on the corkboard her father bought her at an office supply chain store for her dorm room.

    Having a bit of the past with her as she moved forward into the future would be wonderfully symbolic. But thinking of the past¡­Aaron had actually been avoiding her.

    Not that she actively tried to reach out to him or anything but if he caught her looking at him he would look away. Previously he would stare back with a smug expression that seemed to say ''yeah, I know I look good, keep staring.''

    She really needed to stop thinking about him. She would never see him again after tomorrow¡ªthey were seated next to each other because the graduating ss was ordered alphabetically byst name.

    Among all of the seniors, no one was closer to Hale than Hall. She was fairly certain that the boy on Aaron''s other side was named Landon Green.

    It would be a relief to have him out of her life. She only thought about him so much because he was confusing and she had to worry about what he would pull next.

    Once he was out of the way and she had other more important things to worry about, she was sure she would be able to get him out of her head permanently.

 Chapter 53: Graduation

    <h4>Chapter 53: Graduation</h4>

    Graduation was a fairly simple affair. Bleachers were set up on the school''s football field for the students to sit and wait for their names to be called once the principal and valedictorian had given their speeches.

    Keeley could faintly make out her father in the fifth row of the stands because he had held his arm over his head and given her a thumbs up when he arrived.

    Lydia and Jeffrey were both behind her somewhere since theirst names started with P and R.

    Keeley was squished in between a very rigid Aaron and a girl named Jessica Holiday that she had shared a few sses with over the years. They weren''t exactly friends but they were on decent terms after doing a project together once.

    It was incredibly boring sitting through the speeches so Keeley got a bit fidgety and identally kicked Aaron as she adjusted the position of her legs.

    "Sorry!" she whispered. It was the first word exchanged between them since her birthday.

    "It''s fine," he said with a heavy sigh.

    Geez, what was his problem today? His usual cold demeanor was tinted with despair.

    She knew him well enough to tell that he was seriously upset about something. This was supposed to be a happy day; what was there to be upset about?

    Her stomach tightened when she remembered how his parents hadn''t attended his graduation the first time. A quick scan of the stands told her that they hadn''t shown up today either. That would put anybody in a bad mood.

    She felt a sudden surge of affection for her own father, who never missed any important events in her life. He tried to make up for her mother''s and brother''s absence by being extra present. Though Keeley always missed them, she never felt ack of familial love.

    Aaron had everything in the world but a loving family. In all her years as part of the Hale family, she never saw a single warm interaction between any of them.

    Roslyn was too busy being a high society wife to pay her only child any mind and Alistair was even more cial than his son. Keeley couldn''t imagine him caring about anything or anyone outside of his empire. It was no wonder Aaron turned out the way he did.

    It was a sad situation but she couldn''t feel too sorry for him. He had the choice not to continue the cycle of coldness in his own family but didn''t follow through.

    Keeley was even more miserable and isted than Roslyn, who turned to her social circle forfort. She didn''t have that since she never fit in no matter how hard she tried.

    Somebody that emotionless deserved a loveless marriage to a socialite that would benefit his business. They never should have been together in the first ce.

    This time he would surely end up with Lacy or some other high society doll and they could be cold and distant together with their money. Good riddance.

    That''s what she tried to think but a very small part of her felt sorrow that any kid didn''t have anyone to celebrate their graduation with. He may seem to have been born an adult but he was still seventeen. His parents'' absence probably hurt him.

    There were only fifty-three students graduating from Westwind Academy this year since private school ss sizes were so much smaller than public school ones. Calling the names for students to walk across the makeshift stage didn''t take long at all.

    "¡­Ang Bailer¡­Marianne Burton¡­Braxton Collins¡­Emily Costa¡­Michael Davis¡­"

    It took less than five minutes for all the students withst names up to G to walk across the stage.

    Keeley prepared herself to get up and walk without tripping in her wedge heels as she heard "¡­Jared Gilmore¡­Landon Green¡­Aaron Hale¡­"

    She was up.

    "Keeley Hall!" the principal announced and reached out to shake her head as she walked up to him.

    He gave her the same congrattory nod he showed everyone and handed her a diploma. She did it. She was free!

    Keeley beamed as she looped back around to her seat.

    She flipped open the diploma cover. There it was a fancy font: Keeley Hall, Westwind Academy ss of 2006. The bottom was stamped with the school''s insignia. NYU, here shees!

    She shut the cover and hugged the diploma to her chest. Finally. Finally, she can move forward and live the life she was always meant to.

    The ceremony ended about fifteen minutester following a few closing remarks from the vice principal.

    Gleeful students scattered around the football field to find their families the second they could escape the bleachers. It took Keeley a few minutes to locate her father amidst the confusion but once she did he swept her up into his arms and spun her around.

    "Way to go, honeybun! I''m so proud of you!"

    Sheughed in exhration and hugged him tightly. "Thanks, Daddy!"

    He set her down and insisted on taking a bunch of pictures of her holding up her diploma. Keeley wanted a couple of pictures with her dad in them but didn''t see anyone nearby that she knew well enough to ask for a favor.

    As the scanned the field, she spotted Aaron off to the side on his own. She was going to regret this but¡­

    "Aaron!" she hollered into her cupped hands like a megaphone.

    His head swiveled around at the sound of his name and surprise flitted across his face for a split second before he resumed his nk expression. He hesitated beforeing over.

    "You called?"

    "Could you take pictures of my dad and me? We''ll return the favor and take some of you," she offered.

    Nothing owed. This would be a mutually beneficial transaction; everybody else she knew was busy somewhere with their own families and he had no one to take pictures of him.

    He gazed at her with an unfathomable expression before holding his hand out for the camera without a word.

    She gave it to him with a smile and hugged her dad from the side with a silly grin on her face. They took a few more pictures where she was either kissing her dad on the cheek as he wore her graduation cap or where they were standing more formally to disy the diploma.

    "Thanks! Now we can take some of you on your phone," she said cheerfully.

    Her father did the honors and after snapping a few photos he suggested, "Why don''t we get one of you two together?"

    Keeley''s smile froze on her face. She should have seen thising when she called Aaron over. Stupid!

    "Uh, Dad, we''re not actually that close so¡ª"

    "Sure," Aaron cut her off before looking at her expectantly.

    She sighed. There was no arguing with them. She didn''t want another lecture from her dad about being nice.

    She moved next to him, keeping a reasonable distance. He moved closer and wrapped his arm around her waist.

    "It won''t be a good shot if you''re too far away."

    She scowled at him. Of course he would take advantage of the situation. It was easier not to put up a fuss and get this over with.

    Keeley smiled for the camera but Aaron''s face was neutral as ever as they held up their diplomas. She stepped away once the picture was taken. Their time together was officially over.

 Chapter 54: This Was Where Their Paths Diverged

    <h4>Chapter 54: This Was Where Their Paths Diverged</h4>

    Keeley was about to usher her father away so they could go to their celebratory dinner when he turned to Aaron. "Where are your parents, son?"

    He shrugged before coolly replying, "They aren''t here."

    Robert frowned but didn''t want to offend him by insulting his parents. It was ridiculous that neither one of them had shown up for their child''s high school graduation. Who did that?

    "We''re about to go out to eat to celebrate, why don''t you join us?"

    She gaped at him. That traitor! He knew she didn''t like Aaron and still went out of his way to include him? Whose side was he on?

    She was about to open her mouth to protest when Aaron spoke up.

    "Thank you for the offer Mr. Hall but I don''t want to intrude on a family gathering."

    Keeley''s back muscles, which had tensed up, rxed. Good. He''d finally given up on her. A couple months ago he would have done anything to weasel his way into her life.

    "It''s just the two of us. The more the merrier! I insist," her father said jovially, making her heart sink.

    "Alright, if you''re sure. I would be happy to join you," Aaron said with yet another indecipherable expression on his face.

    So much for that picture they took together being thest she saw of him. Keeley wanted to protest but her father shot her a quelling look.

    It was just a dinner. She had been through much worse. It could be a sort ofst hurrah for them before they went their separate ways permanently.

    Robert actually drove to the school for the event so they all piled into his 1997 Chevrolet Imp, which was likely the oldest car Aaron had ever stepped foot into in his entire life.

    The ride over was pretty quiet because Keeley had nothing to say and Aaron was naturally quiet. The awkwardness was stifling so it was a relief when they exited the car in the parking lot of a popr buffet chain.

    The slight hint of astonishment and distaste on Aaron''s face was both hrious and sobering at the same time. She wanted tough, thinking that tonight might be the first time he truly went slumming but it died in her throat when she remembered the ss difference between them.

    This was a special treat for her family. He never would have dreamed about eating at such a lowly ce.

    It reminded her of the way she had to change all of her restaurant preferences after they got married because Aaron refused to go anywhere that didn''t have at least one Michelin star. There was nothing wrong with restaurant chains, okay?

    She never truly belonged in the world of the rich, no matter how much she practiced in an effort to fit in.

    Feeling bitter, she decided to give him a hard time about it. "Haven''t you ever been to a buffet before?"

    "Yes¡­inside Caesar''s Pce in Las Vegas." That was supposedly one of the top ten buffets in the country.

    She looked at him funny. When had he ever gone to Las Vegas?

    In her first life, she mentioned something about wanting to go see the Grand Canyon and check out what all the fuss was about in Las Vegas but Aaron refused as a matter of principle.

    He had never traveled farther west than the Mississippi River within the United States because he thought the east coast was more civilized. Apparently some Hollywood types from California had left a bad impression on him while visiting hispany so they never went.

    "I found us a table," her father called, derailing her train of thought.

    Keeley went to all of the different food stations, getting some of nearly everything except sd.

    She never liked the stuff in the first ce¡ªwhy should people eat leaves?¡ªbut after eight years of having to eat them at lunch with other socialites because it was the thing to do, she truly loathed it. There were much better ways to eat vegetables. Like in soup.

    She decided to get two types before grabbing a loaded baked potato, some pasta, fruit chunks, and a few different slices of meat at the carving station.

    Robert also got a bit of everything but Aaron settled for a sd and a few tiny slices of meat.

    Of course. He looked down on this establishment; why would he eat more than necessary? Keeley got second helpings of a few things just to spite him.

    As the meal went on, her father asked Aaron questions about Harvard: when he was going, whether he had been to the campus yet, what he looked forward to about it.

    His answers were perfunctory and concise. He always managed to get things out in the fewest amount of words possible.

    Back in the day, Keeley felt proud every time she pulled more than a few sentences at a time out of him. How pathetic.

    "Boston is a nice city but I look forward to when I''ll be able to return to New York. It is my home, after all," Aaron finished after giving the rest of his answers.

    Keeley finally bothered to speak up. "That''s why I''m not leaving."

    His lips twitched when he looked at her. "I know."

    What did he know? He shouldn''t act like he knew her well; they could hardly be counted as friends. She had never told him about her deep love of New York City.

    Although she supposed it wasn''t an unreasonable assumption to make since she wasn''t going away for college like most of their graduating ss.

    The programs for the graduation ceremony listed where everyone would be attending. A lot of them went Ivy League or wanted to give the west coast a try. Only two other ssmates would be attending NYU with her.

    "Well, it is the greatest city in the world," she said somewhat tetchily before digging into her roast beef.

    She avoided furtherment by getting an entire te full of desserts and overstuffing herself, which she woulde to regretter when she had to deal with the stomach cramps.

    After dinner, they dropped Aaron off at his house and he asked if he could speak to Keeley outside for a moment.

    She agreed because she thought it might offer some closure to their rocky rtionship. The final goodbye.

    "Well, it''s been¡­interesting¡­knowing you. Have fun at Harvard." She stuck her hand out to shake. The businesslike action seemed a fitting ending for such a dead rtionship.

    He epted it but didn''t shake, holding it briefly before crushing her to his chest in a hug.

    "Just let me hold you for a moment."

    It was so unexpected that she didn''t push away. She may as well let him have it. People hugged goodbye all the time.

    When he let go, he gently cupped her cheek in his hand and stroked it. Keeley froze in ce. He better not try and kiss her again. That was where she drew the line.

    Thankfully, he stepped back. His half-smile was almost wistful. "Take care of yourself, Keeley."

    "Uh, you too. Bye."

    As Keeley walked back to her car, she looked over her shoulder onest time. Aaron stood there watching her go but when he noticed her turn, he headed toward his front door.

    Thirteen years of love and pain were behind her. This was where their paths diverged the way they were always meant to.

 Chapter 55: Aarons Research

    <h4>Chapter 55: Aaron''s Research</h4>

    Aaron had to appreciate the irony of how things yed out at graduation and afterwards. He was caught off guard when she summoned him from across the field, so simr to the way she did it before.

    He definitely wanted to talk to her onest time before they went their separate ways for a while but wasn''t sure how to go about it so having here to him first was a relief. Then he found out it was just because she needed someone to take pictures of her with her father.

    It was stupid of him to get his hopes up. Seeing her smile like that, in a way she refused to do for him now, was a punch to the gut. Where had things gone so wrong this time?

    He made mistakes with her before but at least back then she loved him. He figured it would be easy this time to ept her love more fully and properly love her in return; Keeley disliking him from the get go had never been factored into the equation.

    Robert Hall could be a surprisingly astute man; he hadn''t noticed that in his first life. Somehow he knew that Aaron wanted a picture with Keeley to remember her by and got her toply.

    He was grateful. That sneaky photo he took in ss didn''t have a full view of her face. At the same time, it was a bit depressing because her smile was perfunctory¡ªitcked the joy that was prevalent in their old graduation photos.

    Aaron wondered if he could use Robert''s trust of him in his favor someday when he was able to work on winning Keeley back but didn''t expect to have it happen so soon.

    The dinner invitation came as a surprise. As much as he wanted to spend more time with her, Keeley''s obvious difort was made him pause before epting.

    Robert kept the conversation flowing at dinner since his daughter was uninterested in anything but the food. Aaron truly won him over by saving Keeley on her birthday.

    He was extra grateful in that moment that he was able to resist temptation; if he had given in, he would have lost her forever.

    At least her father liked him. Winning over parents was half the battle in a marriage, which was a big part of Keeley''s problem initially. His parents never epted her.

    At the end of the night, their goodbye left much to be desired. She was so formal with him.

    Thatst hug and the photo of the two of them that Robert took would have to be enough to sustain him until he rued enough power to pursue her openly without fear.

    The next few years without her were going to seem very long.

    Thankfully, it was a bit different this time; he would know she was still out there and would see her again as opposed to her being gone forever. With other things to focus on, hopefully he wouldn''t miss her too much.

    He stared at hisputer screen. Shortly after being reborn, Aaron had created a file that consisted of everything he knew from thirty-five years of working in his family''spany before he could forget.

    In his first life, he became the vice president of Hale Investments at age twenty-two, not long after getting married. He needed powerful people on his side but more importantly he needed to get the shareholders in his pocket.

    His father currently held 52% of thepany''s shares. Aaron''s monthly allowance wasrge but even that wouldn''t be enough to buy up shares. Besides, Alistair would be highly suspicious if Aaron suddenly acquired a bunch of shares out of nowhere.

    He would receive 10% of his father''s when he turned eighteen but wouldn''t get any more until he married advantageously (which he didn''t).

    It took over a decade of business acumen and scheming to wrestle enough shares away from his father to boot him out of thepany a few years after Keeley''s death.

    Aaron refused to marry anyone but Keeley so getting shares through marriage was out. What he needed to do was buy up shares in the name of a dummy shareholder or even multiple dummies that werepletely loyal to him. Unfortunately, he would need capital for that.

    His parents would pay for all of his school needs since they were the ones who wanted him to go to Harvard in the first ce. That would cover tuition, food, textbooks, and housing.

    If he invested his monthly allowance wisely rather than spending it, he might be able to triple or even quadruple the amount.

    At minimum, Aaron needed twenty percent of the shares to get a foothold in the business. The second highest shareholder after his father was the current vice president, Samuel Shelton, with 12%. He highly doubted he would be able to get anything from Samuel, who was loyal to his father because they had gone to school together.

    The remainder of the board consisted of Alexander Lesnick with 10%, Carol Goodwin with 6%, Emilio Sandoval with 5%, Bruce Astor and Parker Mendelson with 4%, Stephen ck and George Carmichael with 3%, and Maria Andrews with the final 1% of the shares.

    Aaronpiled his research on the other board members in the encrypted file because it was easier to keep it in one ce than try to remember everything.

    Carol''s son was apulsive gambler and in about a year she would sell half of her shares to pay off his debts so those would be easy enough to acquire.

    Maria wasn''t terribly invested in thepany because she hated dealing with the board; Aaron could convince her to sell at the right price and invest elsewhere.

    Bruce had desperately clung to his shares until the end because he worked for thepany over twenty years and wanted a promotion. He would be swayed with promises of advancement.

    As for everyone else¡­Parker was staunchly in his father''s camp and would be a major obstacle. The others were wild cards. He would need a more solid n to get even part of their shares away from them this early on.

    Aaron was confident that once he was the secondrgest shareholder and had other members of the board on his side it would be simple to reduce his father''s power. After all, he had nearly as many years of experience running thepany as Alistair did.

    He knew everything there was to know about Hale Investments, both now and in the future. With the power of prediction on his side, taking his father down a peg would be simple once he had enough resources.

 Chapter 56: Small Odds

    <h4>Chapter 56: Small Odds</h4>

    Keeley''s friends left only a couple of weeks after graduation to get settled and find jobs so she found herself with way too much free time on her hands. sses didn''t start until thest week of August so she had almost three months to kill.

    Watching (at least for her) reruns of TV shows she used to like and reading got old after a while. She was itching to get out and do something so she tried to find a job.

    Unfortunately, there weren''t many part-time jobs avable that worked with her schedule. She had already signed up for her sses and they went from 8 AM-3PM most days with a few breaks in between so she was only able to work evenings.

    Her best bet seemed to be food service. She sighed. She had worked for a hamburger chain for a good chunk of college in Boston and hated it.

    The manager was terrible, she had to spend hours on her feet, and customers could be incredibly rude and demanding. If you want five star service, don''t go to a ce that sells $1 burgers!

    Aaron used to give her a hard time, telling her she needed a better job but nowhere else was hiring that would match her hourly wage.

    She got a 25 cent raise every six months or so and after working there for three years was making $9.50 an hour. No other jobs that worked around her ss schedule paid that well so she dealt with it until graduation.

    He offered more than once to simply pay for her living expenses so she wouldn''t have to suffer the degradation of wearing a chain restaurant uniform but her pride wouldn''t allow that.

    Looking back, she should have taken advantage of his money when she had the chance. She would suffer because of itter on so she may as well have milked it for all it was worth.

    Unfortunately, she never lost her thrifty mindset no matter how long she was with him.

    She wore nice clothes and had the proper manners after much practice but every time she swiped his credit card on a big purchase, she secretly cringed.

    Keeley only used it at all because he insisted that she would shame him by not dressing like everyone else in their social circle. She went to expensive shops with other socialites and ate at nice restaurants with them out of necessary but she never forgot her roots.

    She wasn''t above working in a fast food restaurant, as much as she might not like the food service industry. She wasn''t like Aaron.

    Thinking of Aaron¡­he should still be in the city now since Harvard didn''t start until the beginning of September. He was probably shadowing his father at thepany again before heading down to Massachusetts. It was what he did before.

    Ugh, why was she even thinking about him at all? He wasn''t a part of her life anymore. How long would it take to get him permanently out of her head?

    Keeley had lived for abined total of thirty-two years and he had been present for nearly half of that time. He haunted so many of her memories.

    She guessed it would take making new memories that didn''t revolve around him to forget all the old ones.

    In the end, she epted a job at a different burger chain than she one she used to work at. At least she knew the ropes already. It wouldn''t be too difficult to adjust.

    Too bad she wasn''t able to put previous fast food experience on her resume and still had to go through all the training for what she already knew. They didn''t trust her on her own for several weeks but once they did Keeley got into a rhythm.

    "Wee to Burger Barn! May I interest you in a side of our new ck peppercorn fries today?" she greeted in her false, cheery customer service voice.

    "No thanks," the customer said while perusing the menu. "Can I have a number fivebo with a strawberry milkshake instead of a soda?"

    Keeley entered the information into the register.

    "Yes, is there anything else I can get for you today?"

    "No, that''ll be all."

    "Your total is $7.32. Here''s your receipt! Thank you foring in and have a great day!"

    That was a standard interaction with a casual, non-grumpy customer. Right now she was working a full-time day shift with the agreement that as soon as school started she would only work from 4-8 PM Tuesday-Friday and 11 AM-7 PM on Saturdays.

    The rushes usually hit 12-2 PM and then again from 5-7 PM. Throughout the rest of the day, they only got a handful of customers so they were able to spend that time cleaning.

    Keeley''s coworkers consisted of Matt Turlock, a gangly neen year old boy who was trying to be a musician and spent all his free time busking in Central Park, Amy Carlin, a 45-year-old single mother of two whose husband recently left her and hadn''t worked in years, and Patrick Arquette, an art student at a nearbymunity college who was probably in histe twenties.

    All of them were managed by a burly ck man in his thirties with multiple piercings named Jack Jackson III.

    Apparently multiple generations of his family had a terrible sense of humor and decided to continue punishing their children by passing the name on. The crazy thing was that he had a four-year-old son also named Jack. The tradition was going strong. Little Jack wanted to name his eventual son Jack Jackson the fifth.

    Everyone on her shift got along fairly well, which was an improvement over herst fast food job.

    Unfortunately, she might not ovep with all the same people once school started so that could change quickly.

    Keeley worked cashier during the dinner rush and frequently hollered back to Matt, who was on the grill, and Amy, who was dealing with fries and other sides.

    By the time her shift ended at seven she was dead beat and ready to go take a bubble bath and turn in early.

    On her way to the subway station, she stopped dead in her tracks at a familiar sight. Aaron, dressed in a suit and tie, was conversing with his equally well-dressed father on their way out of one of the nicer restaurants in the area.

    Even though he looked much younger here and wore his hair slightly differently, this was how she remembered him best because he was always working.

    The Burger Barn she worked at wasn''t far from the financial district bute on! Manhattan is huge; how could they just run into each other like that?!

    She covered her face with her hand and ran down the stairs to the terminal at top speed before he could see her.

    The odds of this happening again were small, right? They probably wouldn''t go to that restaurant again around the time her shift ended in the few weeks before Aaron went off to school.

 Chapter 57: Dorm Life

    <h4>Chapter 57: Dorm Life</h4>

    The summer passed in a haze of work and two close calls when Aaron was in the area but before she knew it, Keeley stood in front of her dorm building with two suitcases and her father in tow.

    It was time for her to move in because school started the following day. They used her recently acquired student ID card to pick up the key downstairs before lugging her things up to the third floor.

    As a freshman, she would be living in a traditional style dorm with no kitchen and amunal bathroom.

    Her room consisted of two beds, two desks, two dressers, a mini fridge, and a microwave. It was long, skinny, and had a single window located between the two beds.

    She decided to im the right side of the room and asked her dad to set down the box of school supplies and wall decorations that he was carrying to help her set up a little.

    "Where do you want this?" he asked, holding out a few sheets of flower wall decals.

    She looked up from where she was putting away clothes and squinted at them.

    "Oh, I''ll deal with thoseter. I want to spread them out across my half of the room evenly. Could you start organizing school supplies on my desk? I have a little stic storage box with drawers for them."

    "Sure thing, honeybun. Where''s your backpack? Do you need any to go in there too?"

    "The notebooks should already be in there but I have a little pencil case. If you could put a couple of pens, pencils, and an eraser in it I''d appreciate it!"

    Keeley did not have nearly enough room in this dresser for all of her clothes, as suspected. It was a good thing she only brought seasonal items and could go home to swap things out in her bedroom in Brooklyn anytime she wanted. It would still be warm for another month or so before she had to break out the fall outfits.

    After unpacking nearly everything she decided to do the decorations herself and sent her dad off with a hug and kiss on the cheek, promising toe visit him the following Sunday and make dinner. He hugged her tightly and told her to call him after her first day to tell him how it went.

    Just like that, he was gone and Keeley was left alone in her new home. She finished setting up the corkboard on her desk with a few photos on it and was working on spreading out the decals of roses, daisies, and leaves around when the door opened.

    A petite Hispanic girl with curly hair stood in the doorway with threerge suitcases.

    "Hi!" she greeted with a Spanish ent. "I''m Valentina Benavente. Nice to meet you!"

    Keeley set her decals on the bed and hurried over to help her with her bags. "I''m Keeley Hall. Here, let me take something."

    Valentina smiled gratefully. "Thank you. Have you been here long?"

    "Only about an hour. My dad helped me move in. Do you have anyone with you? If you don''t I can help you unpack."

    "I would appreciate that! I''m here alone; my parents sent me off at the airport in Lima. I want to go to an American medical school before going back home and opening up a practice," Valentina disclosed cheerfully.

    She had been here less than two minutes had been smiling the entire time.

    "Oh, you''re from Peru? That''s so cool! I''ve lived in New York City my entire life but I''ve always wanted to travel," Keeley said as she finished putting up the wall decals before helping her new roommate.

    "You will have to show me all of the good ces around here then."

    "Sure!"

    They happily chatted about their expectations for their first year of college as they set up the room and discovered that they would be taking a lot of the same science sses in the future because their majors had a fair amount of ovep. They even shared the same introductory biology ss this semester.

    Keeley was thrilled to meet such a friendly person right off the bat.

    Once the room was set up, it was about dinner time so they headed to the main dining hall nearby. Valentina was fascinated by all the different types of food and asked tons of questions.

    The dining hall was simr to a buffet but not quite. There were several stations offering different meal tes that could be chosen at will, plus a dessert bar that also boasted an assortment of cereal and a waffle maker for breakfast.

    Keeley got a te of chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans plus a blueberry muffin. Valentina wanted to try a bit of everything and got tes from multiple stations, making her roommateugh.

    "Slow down there, friend. You''ll be able to try everything by the time the school year ends. I guarantee you''ll be sick of the repetition at some point."

    She remembered how tiring the meal n got back at Boston University. They had a rotation of different meals every two weeks but that was still not a lot of variety tost two semesters. It was such a relief when she moved out of the freshman dorms into an apartment that had a kitchen.

    Valentina was a bit sheepish. "You are probably right¡­but I have never seen this much American food in one ce before."

    Keeley pped a hand on her shoulder.

    "Don''t worry, you''ll get limatized soon enough. I have to ask¡­have you ever had pizza? Or a hot dog?"

    "No?"

    "I''ll have to take you to the best ces around here then!" A thought struck her. "Oh, do you have a job?"

    The other girl nodded. "Yes, I have a work visa to be a TA for an upper level Spanish ss in the linguistics department."

    That was good. Eating out in the city was not cheap.

    "That sounds a lot nicer than my job," she said with augh. "I work at a Burger Barn."

    "I have never had a hamburger before. Should I get one from Burger Barn?"

    "Nah, you''d be better off getting a higher quality burger somewhere else. We''re meant to be cheap, fast, and easy but not necessarily good. I''ll take you to a nice burger ce, don''t worry!"

    By the end of the dinner, Keeley felt like she had made a new friend. Back in their dorm, someone knocked on their door asking if they wanted toe down to the rec center and join the ping pong tournament going on.

    They decided to do it since there was nothing better to do and ended up meeting a fair number of their neighbors that way. Dorm life had officially begun and Keeley loved it.

 Chapter 58: College Jobs

    <h4>Chapter 58: College Jobs</h4>

    Both rm clocks went off simultaneously so the roommates could get to the same 8 AM ss.

    Valentina really didn''t want to wake up because she had only been in the country for a few days and was still getting used to the time difference. Keeley had to coax her with the promise of introducing her to donuts, the great American breakfast food.

    They swung by a donut and coffee shop on campus that was covered by their meal n and made their way to the life sciences building.

    As expected, all of Keeley''s sses only covered the sybus. First sses always went that way in college. And her sses were spread so far apart!

    There were two back-to-back that were on opposite sides of campus. With only ten minutes to get there, Keeley had to sprint as she weaved her way through the other students and she arrived panting.

    "What''s with you?" the guy she plopped down next to asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "I¡­just came¡­from the furthest building¡­on campus," she puffed.

    The guyughed. "Geez, hang in there. You''re in for a long semester."

    "I know," she said with despair, making himugh again.

    She secretly sized him up. He wasn''t bad looking, with light brown hair and olive green eyes. His smile had one small chip in the front tooth but it gave him character. She had the random thought that Lydia would definitely be interested in this guy.

    "What brings you to Chem 105?" he asked.

    It was one of the harder intro level chemistry courses but it was required for all chemistry and biomedical engineering majors instead of Chem 101, which could be used as a science credit for general education.

    "I''m a bioengineering major. You?"

    "Organic chemistry."

    So he was just as big a science geek as she was. No one in their right mind would major in organic chemistry if they didn''t have a passion for it.

    "What do you n on doing with that? I want to get a PhD in developmental gics and do research on diseases such as cystic fibrosis."

    He seemed impressed. "Wow, that''s super specific! I n on going into the pharmaceutical sector in medicine development. And I just realized I didn''t catch your name. I''m Ryan Bradley."

    "Keeley Hall, nice to meet you." She held out her hand to shake his right as the professor began speaking.

    At the end of ss, Ryan offered to save her a decent seat in case she was runningte again. He seemed harmless enough so she epted the offer and said she would see him Wednesday before heading off to work.

    Unfortunately, she was in such a hurry after missing the first train that she wasn''t watching where she was going and smacked right into her former father-inw on the sidewalk.

    She apologized in a panic, frantically searching around for any sign of Aaron but he wasn''t there.

    Thankfully Alistair didn''t recognize her because they hadn''t met in this life. To him, she was nothing more than a random clumsy New Yorker.

    He looked down his nose at her. "Watch where you''re going!"

    "Yes, sorry sir," she said meekly before sprinting away from him.

    Alistair Hale was terrifying. It was a good thing she wouldn''t have to deal with him regrly anymore.

    Keeley didn''t notice that Aaron had stopped several feet behind his father to send a text message and saw the whole thing.

    ===

    Aaron had seen someone that looked like Keeley a few times from a distance over the summer but didn''t realize that it was actually her until he saw her crash into his father wearing a Burger Barn uniform. He thought he was hallucinating because he missed seeing her every day.

    It transported him back to their sophomore year of college when he went to pick her up at her ce one night but her shift endedte. He waited at the door for a few minutes before she showed up behind him, apologizing profusely and smelling like bacon grease in her ck and red Ace Burger uniform.

    He knew she worked in a restaurant but hadn''t realized it was a fast food chain. Ace Burgers were dotted up and down the highways all throughout Massachusetts. He frowned. Ace Burger only paid minimum wage; she deserved more than that.

    "Why do you work at a burger chain?"

    She gave him a look that clearly indicated she thought he was stupid. "Um, because they were hiring when I needed a job? Duh."

    "Aren''t there better jobs on campus that you could do?"

    Keeley shook her head. "Nope. There aren''t very many student jobs and they''re high in demand. It''s not so bad; I''ve gotten two raises since I started working there!"

    "How much?"

    "Twenty-five cents each," she said proudly. "I''m making eight dors an hour already!"

    The fact that she seemed pleased with that was mindboggling. It cost more than $8 to get a muffin and coffee at his favorite caf¨¦.

    He wanted to tell her that she didn''t need to do that; as his girlfriend he was more than happy to provide what she needed for her but he didn''t dare so he kept his mouth shut and let her go shower so they could go on their date.

    Over time sheined more about her manager and her back began to hurt from standing so long during the shifts so he finally broached the subject.

    "Keeley, you know you don''t need to work, right? We''re going to get married after graduation anyway and my money will be your money so you may as well take advantage of it now."

    She was appalled. "Are you crazy?! No way, I''m not letting my boyfriend pay my bills."

    "But that job isn''t any good," he said bluntly, thinking of her previousints about work.

    "It may be a crappy job but it''s MY crappy job. I value hard work."

    So did Aaron but there was a difference between meaningful hard work and pointless hard work. She had a way to pay her bills readily avable so breaking her back for no reason was foolish.

    "Keeley, you should reconsider. Ace Burger is a terrible ce."

    Then she got mad at him so he didn''t bring it up again for a while. He tested the waters about six monthster after she got in trouble for calling in sick even though she followed thepany''s policy.

    She got upset again and told him to drop it; she would quit when she was done with college and found a better job back in New York. Her stubbornness, which could be endearing, was very frustrating on this point.

    Working unnecessarily got in the way of them spending time together and she was always tired and moody after she got home from her job.

    It was a point of contention between them until after graduation when they officially got engaged and he told her that she should take a break from work for a while to focus on the wedding.

    He didn''t realize then that she would take his words to heart and never go back to work again, fully limatizing to the socialite life.

 Chapter 59: The Card King

    <h4>Chapter 59: The Card King</h4>

    There had to be something Aaron could do to help her out. Keeley could do so much better than Burger Barn! Why did she always torture herself like this?

    He sighed. It''s not like she knew any better. To her knowledge, this was her first fast food job.

    He returned to his father''s side as they headed back to the office for another meeting. He would figure something out that would make her life easier. There had to be someone he knew with connections to NYU¡­

    Aaron pondered his dilemma all throughout the meeting, not paying any attention to the charts being disyed on the projector. He already knew this material by heart.

    After the meeting was over, he remembered that one of his future business contacts was currently serving as the dean of NYU. Unfortunately, that wouldn''t help him now. If only he could fast forward seventeen years.

    Eventually he sent an encrypted email to Aiden Quinn, aka Anomaly, the brilliant young hacker who Aaron got back in contact with earlier in the summer.

    He managed to get Anomaly on his side by giving him details about his exploits that no one else could possibly know that Aaron remembered from his previous life.

    That made the kid curious enough to see what Aaron wanted and it was easy to hook him from there. The kid was obsessed with video games and never had enough money for the new consoles and games. Loyalty was easily bought.

    ''Can you go through NYU''s student job portal and look for any pending or rejected applications for a specific student?''

    ''Simple. But I want the newest first person shooter game, that Star Wars game thates out in two weeks, and a recement for my broken Nintendo DS. What''s the name?''

    ''Keeley Hall.''

    Anomaly got back to him less than thirty minutester. ''This girl has twelve applications that have been rejected. What do you want me to do about it?''

    ''Find the one that pays the highest and change the system so she gets epted.''

    ''On it, my dude!''

    It was very strange being called ''my dude'' by someone who didn''t realize he was speaking to a man who was mentally in histe fifties. Aiden thought that his boss was only a few years older than him.

    The body was young but the mind¡­it was already frustrating being treated like a child by all of the legal adults in his life. Aaron was older than almost all of them, okay?

    He got his desired result a weekter. Keeley epted her new job working at the cirction desk in the campus library because it paid an additional $2 per hour and put in her two weeks'' notice at Burger Barn.

    He wasn''t sure exactly how the kid managed to make it work since there was obviously a humanponent involved in the interview process but he had to hand it to him; Anomaly was good at making the impossible possible. All for price of a few video games!

    Knowing she was settled into a better job where she would be able to sit at a desk rather than be on her feet the whole time, he was able to go down to Boston in peace.

    It was so strange. He was in the same dorm and sses as before so it felt like Keeley woulde running to him any minute. But she wouldn''t because she was still in New York living her own life.

    Any time he left campus and went around Boston, he saw the ghost of her beaming and pointing at something she wanted him to see. It was depressing.

    He wanted to text her but had no real reason to so she probably wouldn''t respond. The photo of them from graduation made its way into a frame on his desk and he found himself staring at it when he missed her.

    When things were truly desperate, he messaged Anomaly and asked for updates.

    In return, he would get little tidbits about Keeley''s life such as ''She just aced a chemistry test'' or ''check out this footage I got from a karaoke bar.'' Apparently the kid was able to follow her MetroCard swipes and debit card purchases in order to track her there.

    She sung a duet of a popr girl power song that berated cheating boyfriends with a short Hispanic girl who kept stumbling over the words but was still clearly having the time of her life. What shecked in lyrical knowledge, she made up for in enthusiasm. Keeley was having fun as well, dancing and jumping around to the beat as she sang.

    He watched the video with a soft expression until the very end when Keeley took a bow and said, "This was for you, scumbag!" to a cheering crowd of females who presumably had also been cheated on.

    Aaron scowled. They had been apart for five months. Had she really gotten into a rtionship and been cheated on already?

    He felt uneasy. They originally met at school. It would be easy for her to meet someone else and move on without him¡­hadn''t they been engaged by the end of college? But it wasn''t like there was anything he could do to prevent it.

    He needed to focus on what he could do¡ªbuilding up his empire.

    He heard a rather interesting rumor the other day about a guy in the dormitory two buildings down who didn''t lose a single game of ckjack or poker during a four hour tournament held in the rec center. Aaron could use gambling skills like that to increase his allowance enough to start buying up shares.

    Aaron had heard of the card tournaments that took ce every Saturday in his first life but had never been interested in gambling. He had enough money already and preferred spending his weekends with Keeley when he wasn''t busy studying.

    He decided to observe one and see if the rumored Card King made an appearance.

    He wasn''t disappointed. Round after round this guy raked in the cash. He never guessed wrong, never folded, and never lost. It was amazing.

    Several other frat boys used him of cheating but the Card King proved his innocence with cold, hard fact. In three hours he originally betted $65 and walked away with $700.

    Before investing his own money, he wanted to observe a while longer. He attended the tournaments for the next month and the Card King''s lucky streak continued until he was banned from ying anymore because too many people had lost money to him. The man didn''t lose once.

    If Aaron hadn''t seen his skills firsthand, he wouldn''t have believed that this unassuming, nerdy-looking person was so brilliant at gambling games. He was thin and sallow with greasy ck hair and thick sses that obscured much of his face.

    As the Card King left after his banishment, Aaron gged him down.

    "Look, if you''re mad that I took your money¡ª" he began defensively.

    "It''s nothing like that. I actually have a proposition for you, if you''re interested. Your name is Cameron Singleton and you''re an MBA student in the business school, correct?"

    Cameron eyed him distrustfully. "Yeah, what''s it to you?"

    "How would you like a job at Hale Investments after graduation?"

    "You''ve got to be joking. Nobody gets in there straight out of school. You have to have a minimum of five years'' experience to get into the least important department," he scoffed. "Don''t waste my time."

    "I''m not. Aaron Hale, at your service," Aaron said while drawing himself up to his full height.

    He cut an imposing figure so Cameron''s suspicion lessened.

    "You''re Aaron Hale? The son of current CEO Alistair Hale? What do you want with me?"

    "I''ve seen your gambling skills at work and I could use a talent like yours. I want you to go to Antic City and multiply my money. In return, you would get a job at Hale Investments and the opportunity to be a shareholder and member of the board."

    Interest sparked in his eyes but he was still hesitant. "This is too good to be true. There has to be a catch."

    Aaron smiled coldly. This one was smart.

    "I would require your unwavering loyalty. My father is getting old; the decisions he makes for thepany are questionable at best. I want to help him retire early."

    "Ah, so you''re trying to kick him out of his ownpany! Interesting¡­very interesting. But why should I trust you? No offense, but what if you run thepany into the ground and I''m out of a job?" Cameron asked bluntly.

    "I''m a bit like you¡­I know how to predict things. Watch the stock market next week. Everyone is going to scramble to sell their Vitex shares and their value will drop 38.5%. If I''m right, you''ll know my capability. Here''s my card. Call me after the stock market drops but don''t wait too long; if I don''t use you I''ll find someone else."

    He strode off with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

    The dropped Vitex shares caused such a ruckus in his first life that one of his finance professors exchanged it with one of the case studies he was nning on using. Cameron would call.

 Chapter 60: No Short-Term Game

    <h4>Chapter 60: No Short-Term Game</h4>

    "I don''t know how you did it but you were right. Nobody saw iting! All my professors went on about how blindsided they all were and they''ve been studying the market for years. I''m in," Cameron said into the phone in awe.

    "Excellent. I''ll start you out small; you''ll be ying against professionals after all, not college students. Prove to me that you can at least double your gains and I''ll give you more."

    "That''s a long drive and I don''t think my old rust bucket is going to make it¡­" Cameron hedged, clearly wanting something from him.

    Aaron sighed internally. This guy was a cheapskate.

    "I''ll pay for your ne ticket and hotel; it''s less than a two hour flight. This weekend will be a test run for you. If it goes well, I''ll have you go down once a month for the foreseeable future."

    "Right!"

    "And know this," he warned dangerously. "I have eyes everywhere. If you try to cheat me out of a single cent, not only will the deal be off but I will make sure you never find work in the financial sector."

    Cameron''s panicky voice shook.

    "No way! You''re giving me a great opportunity here; why would I do something like that? Don''t you worry about a thing. I''ll show you what I can do! I look forward to our partnership."

    "I''ll send you the flight details. Be ready." Aaron hung up without saying goodbye.

    He had roughly half a million of his own money stashed away in liquid assets and currently received $10,000 a month from his parents to ''have a little fun.''

    They most likely expected him to blow it all on booze, women, and going out with other rich kids but Aaron hadn''t spent a single cent (aside from buying Aiden video games, which was a drop in the bucket) since before graduation.

    He nned to give Cameron one month''s allowance for his test run and see how well he did.

    Aaron left it to Cameron''s discretion what he would do with it as long as he didn''t pick something random like slot machines. He had to y actual games of skill.

    If he more than doubled the money, he was hired. Cameron was fairly cocky; he imed he could triple it on the first go.

    While Cameron dealt with the shing lights and constant ''dings'' in the casino the following weekend, Aaron studied for his Intro to Econ test and wondered what how things were going in Antic City and what Keeley was doing right now.

    He couldn''t disturb his gambler and break his concentration so he sent a message to Anomaly with a picture attached.

    ''Check the cameras in Bally''s in Antic City and find this man. See what he''s up to and report back. While you''re at it, give me an update on Keeley.''

    Two different video feeds showed up not long afterwards. One was of a bunch of potbellied middle aged men and one out-of-ce nerd sitting around a poker table.

    Cameron''s face waspletely nk and he sat perfectly still. Everyone else looked at him nervously and folded one by one.

    Heid down his cards¡ªa single pair¡ªand everyone groaned as he raked in the hefty pile of chips in the middle of the table with a satisfied expression.

    The second video was of Keeley dozing off on a table in the library with a bunch of books and reference materials scattered around her. It looked like she was in the middle of writing a paper when she fell asleep.

    She had dark circles under her eyes and an empty paper coffee cupy knocked over behind her head.

    He nced at the clock. It was nearly 1 AM; somebody had been working hard. Aaron yawned. He shouldn''t be awake thiste either.

    Aiden apparently only slept during ss like the delinquent he secretly was so it was no surprise that he was still up. Cameron would probably be going to bed now that his poker game had been won. He needed to go to bed too.

    He left his study materials on his desk and crawled into bed, wishing Keeley were there. It had been so long since they shared a bed and even longer since they actually held each other while falling asleep. Someday¡­

    ===

    Cameron reported in tiredly but proudly on Sunday night as he waited for boarding to be announced for his flight.

    "You gave me $10,000 and I came back with $32,600. Do I pass?"

    "Well done. Wire me the money back. I''ll double your initial amount next month and see how you do from there. When would work best for you?"

    "Well, a month from now I''ll mostly be dealing with finals¡­I''m actually from Phdelphia and n on going home for Christmas break. It''s an hour''s drive to Antic City so I can spend at least a few hours in the casinos every day until Ie back for the new semester. If you''re willing to wait a few extra weeks¡­" he trailed off.

    "That''s fine. I''ll contact you again during finals week."

    Aaron checked his bank ount and was pleased to see the bnce go up. This could actually work.

    Right now, one share in his family''spany was worth about $1,300 and there were 1,500 shares avable total. With his 10% for turning eighteen, he held 150 of them. His father had 630 so to get rid of himpletely he needed 481 shares.

    It most likely would not be possible to acquire that many in such a short time but he would need $625,300 on hand in case they became avable.

    Cameron could make that possible in less than a year if he kept up his streak.

    He was a first year MBA student so he still had a year and a half to go. Working for Aaron that entire time would vastly expand his personal assets, separate from Alistair''s family money.

    This was no short-term game. Aaron had a little over three and a half years left before he would rejoin thepany officially.

    In that time he needed to be the second highest shareholder and get the majority of the board on his side so his father wouldn''t be able to oppress him anymore.

    Only then would he and Keeley be able to live freely. Alistair Hale needed to lose all of his influence, no matter the cost.

 Chapter 61: No More All-Nighters For Her

    <h4>Chapter 61: No More All-Nighters For Her</h4>

    Keeley''s eyes fluttered shut during herst ss of the day.

    She pulled an all-nighter to finish a six page paper she procrastinated on because she and Valentina stayed up way toote binge watching a telenov with the subtitles on so Keeley could understand what was going on.

    It wasn''t her usual cup of tea but she couldn''t deny the story was gripping.

    Ironically, it was very simr to the situation in her first life. An innocent Cindere type falls in love with a wealthy politician and gets schemed against by all sorts of people.

    The main difference was that youter find out the Lacy-like character was actually the politician''s secret half-sister and got pregnant with an abomination after drugging him into sleeping with her. Lacy definitely wasn''t a Hale.

    Maybe Keeley should submit her life story to a telenov producer. It could be interesting who they chose to cast as her and Aaron. She doubted any actor could urately replicate his coldness on screen.

    A finger poked her cheek. "Keeley. The professor is staring at you."

    Her eyes instantly flew open. Sure enough, she was getting a dirty look from the front of the room.

    She sighed. "How much did I miss?"

    "About fifteen minutes," Ryan said and clucked at her in mock disappointment.

    Keeley groaned. "Can I get the notes off youter?"

    They had be pretty good friends throughout the course of the semester after sitting together every day. They even formed a study group with a couple of other rotating members before each test.

    "Sure but you''ll owe me one."

    "I''m going to make chocte chip cookies for my dad over the weekend. I''ll save you some," she offered.

    "You drive a hard bargain¡­but I ept."

    Homemade cookies would tempt anyone after living off of cafeteria food for three months.

    Keeley smiled and leaned her head back against the seat. This ss was a lost cause today. She wondered if she could get away with calling in sick to work so she could sleep.

    Her shift was from 4-8 PM just like it had been during her brief tenure at Burger Barn. Working at the library was a vast improvement. Apparently they lost her application for a while and that''s why they didn''t offer her the job sooner.

    No, she needed to be a good worker if she wanted to stay at the library the whole time she was at NYU. She could take a nap now and then go to bed as soon as work was over¡­

    "Get up; you''re going to bete for work." Ryan shook her shoulder when ss ended.

    "Five more minutes, Aaron," she mumbled deliriously.

    "Keeley, don''t me me if you get fired for not showing up."

    The word ''fired'' had the magical effect of making her shoot out of her seat. "Thanks Ryan! I''ll give you double the cookies!"

    "You better!" he called after her as she hurried to the library, clocking in a mere 30 seconds before her shift started.

    Work was fairly straightforward. Keeley was mostly in charge of scanning returned books back into the system and putting them on a cart that the shelving department woulde and fetch so they could get the books back on the shelves.

    If there weren''t any books to scan, she would take damaged books up to the repair department or rece barcodes that didn''t work. Sometimes she even sat at the very front and checked out books for patrons.

    It was a simple, monotonous job but she liked it because it was peaceful and had a nice starting pay. Each semester she stayed on, she would get a 25 cent raise so why would she leave?

    Students were only allowed to work a max of 24 hours per week if they were considered full-time students by taking 12 credits or more so she had four hour shifts Monday to Saturday.

    The library was open 24/7 but she was lucky not to get any of the overnight shifts because she had morning sses.

    She knew a few people who did have overnight shifts. They typically worked six hours four days a week and had evening sses so they would go to ss, go to work, sleep until early afternoon, and repeat. Homework assignments were saved for their days off.

    That seemed like a terrible existence to her but they did get paid a dor more per hour than people who had daytime shifts.

    On her break, she went to the staff room and downed two cups of coffee with a shot of espresso. That ought to keep her awake for the next two hours.

    Unfortunately, it also made her feel like her eyeballs were about to rattle right out of her skull. She made a horrible mistake but it was toote. She had to live with it.

    Keeley stumbled home with a wicked headache and her phone rang, sounding far more shrilly than usual. It was a New York area code but she didn''t recognize the number.

    "Hello?" she asked dully.

    An adolescent voice spoke. "You really need to get more sleep."

    Was this some kind of a prank call? "Who is this?"

    "You can call me Anomaly. Nobody should drink that much coffee after pulling an all-nighter, you know. It''s not healthy. Take better care of yourself!"

    She was seriously starting to get creeped out. Was this one of her coworkers messing with her? But why would it sound like a kid with a cracking voice?

    "Look, I don''t know what you''re trying to do but¡ª"

    The dial tone buzzed in her ear. Whoever it was had hung up. She sighed and tried to shake the bad vibes away.

    It was just a prank call. Someone was messing with her. She did NOT have a stalker. But maybe she should start carrying pepper spray, just in case.

    Though the call made her nervous, the coffee had worn off so she slept like a rock the second her head hit the pillow. No more all-nighters for her.

 Chapter 62: I Feel Sorry For Him

    <h4>Chapter 62: I Feel Sorry For Him</h4>

    "You got a weird phone call?" Robert asked with concern in his voice as he sat at the kitchen table watching Keeley mix together a bowl of cookie dough.

    She sighed as she poured in the chocte chips and kept stirring.

    "Yeah. I don''t understand it. They didn''t give a real name either; it was a code name. It sounded like a kid though! Like a thirteen-year-old boy whose voice was still cracking. What reason would a thirteen-year-old have to stalk me?"

    "I''ll get you pepper spray right away," he said seriously. "It might just be a prank but in case it wasn''t¡­"

    After the incident on her birthday, Robert was even more nervous letting Keeley out of his sight than he had been before though he tried to hide it for her sake. They never caught the culprits. Could this be rted to that?

    She was all he had left. If he lost her too¡­

    "I know, Dad. I''ll be careful. I''ll make sure I walk home with other people from now on."

    She wasn''t sure how she would make that work since she got off after dark and didn''t have any other friends who typically stayed on campus thatte but she would figure something out.

    Her dorm was less than ten blocks from the library but in the dark¡­Great, now she was freaking herself out.

    Robert changed the subject. "So, on a happier note, tell me more about school."

    "Well, I''m not sure what to tell you that''s new sincest week¡­oh! Valentina introduced me to telenovs. They''re like Spanish soap operas and the plots are so convoluted you wouldn''t believe¡­"

    Keeley described the joys of telenovs for the next twenty minutes, omitting the part where she stayed up all night because of them. She may be an adult but she still didn''t want to be lectured by her dad.

    As the cookies baked, she sprawled out on the couch under a nket. It was getting chillier as November drew to a close.

    "By any chance have you been in contact with your friend Aarontely?" her father asked nonchntly.

    She sat up instantly, the nket tangling around her.

    "No, why would I? We weren''t as close as you think, Dad. We were just desk mates for one quarter. I wouldn''t even call us friends."

    He frowned. Just a desk mate wouldn''t have been so distraught when Keeley got drugged.

    He wished he understood the rtionship between those two. Something about them didn''t quite make sense.

    It was almost like there was an invisible wall between them. Some sort of secret.

    Keeley wasn''t the type to keep secrets though; when she was little she fessed up the moment she did something wrong and then cried because she felt bad.

    His baby girl was growing up. She wasn''t that innocent, na?ve little kid anymore.

    She was an adult and he shouldn''t be prying into her business but he felt sorry for that young man. He got the sense that nobody really cared for him, least of all his stubborn daughter.

    Keeley''s actions with Aaron, as limited as the ones he saw had been, were a bit hot and cold. She acted rudely toward him a lot of the time but still did nice things such as making him brownies in return for the scrapbooking supplies and calling him over so that he would have at least a few graduation pictures even though no one came to watch.

    He got the sense that very deep down, she did care. Why she wouldn''t show it to someone who obviously valued her was the real mystery.

    "Hmm, that''s not the feeling I got. He probably misses you. You should give him a call."

    "Dad! We aren''t like that. I don''t even have his number anymore," she said, annoyed.

    What was her dad''s deal with Aaron? Why did he always seem to take his side? Aaron was a thing of the past!

    Sure, he still crept into her thoughts without warning now and then but that wasn''t her fault! Memories just pop up sometimes. She had a lot with him.

    "That''s a shame. I get the feeling he doesn''t have a lot of friends," Robert sighed.

    Her annoyance grew.

    "That''s because he doesn''t want them. Aaron doesn''t feel human emotions the way normal people do. He uses people that can benefit him and that''s it. He''s like a little business robot programmed by his dad."

    "You know his father?" Oops. She wasn''t supposed to.

    "He mentioned something about it once," she lied. "His father has been training him to be his sessor since he was a toddler. Dad, he reads magazines like Time and Forbes for fun! That''s not normal."

    He eyed her sternly. "I think you should cut the poor kid a little ck."

    "Why are we even talking about this?" she cried in confusion. "You don''t care about anyone else I knew in high school! You never ask about Jeffrey or Lydia¡ªthey''re both doing great, by the way. Why does Aaron matter?"

    "I told you, I feel sorry for him."

    "Is that enough reason to give me a hard time about it though?!"

    "Yes."

    Keeley blew out a frustrated breath. "You''re being unfair, you know. You wouldn''t be so nice to him if you knew what he was really like. You''re biased because he''s only ever acted polite toward you. I''m trying to forget I ever knew him. Can''t you respect my decision?"

    "Why?" he asked simply.

    "There''s too much to possibly tell!"

    He wouldn''t believe her. Aaron practically killed him! He''s the reason all of the Halls got wiped out!

    He never treated her nicely, respected her opinions, or showed her any real degree of warmth. There wasn''t a single decent thing about his personality.

    Keeley crossed her arms over her chest irately. "Why don''t you believe me?"

    "Whatever you''ve seen¡­I think he genuinely cares about you. Just be nice to him if he talks to you again, okay?" Robert finished his bit by snitching some cookie dough out of the bowl.

    "No cookie dough for you," she muttered as she pulled the bowl out of his reach.

    He had no idea what he was talking about. Besides, why on earth would Aaron talk to her again? They were nothing to each other.

    That chapter of her life was over and she had no intention of going back. Things were much better without him! She was able to live her life freely, the way she always wanted to! Who needed him?

 Chapter 63: The Million Dollar Question

    <h4>Chapter 63: The Million Dor Question</h4>

    "You what?" Aaron asked in a deadly tone over the phone.

    Aiden could feel the murderous intenting through the speakers so badly that his arm hairs stood on end.

    "I just gave her some advice on how to take care of herself! You''re not supposed to drink a bunch of coffee after staying up all night. You should have seen the security camera footage; she was about to ascend into the astral realm from shaking too much."

    He felt the need to defend himself. "You''re the one who''s always telling me to check up on her; isn''t it natural that I''d get a little attached?"

    The icy waves rolling through the phone worsened and the kid immediately backtracked.

    "Not that I''m interested in your girl, dude! I like someone else! I just mean that I''m a little invested in what happens to her at this point; she feels almost like a friend."

    Aaron sighed heavily. "She isn''t supposed to know what we''re doing. You probably made her think she has a stalker."

    "But¡­she DOES have a stalker."

    "Well, she doesn''t need to know that!"

    Children could be so annoying. Would his child have been this bad? No, probably not. His child was a Hale. Hales were professional by nature.

    Although¡­Keeley wouldn''t have raised the baby the way his parents did so maybe things would have turned out differently. He would never know.

    "Are you ever going to fess up?" Aiden teased. "Don''t beme, man. You''re super rich. Why wouldn''t she like you?"

    "That''s the million dor question, isn''t it," he responded sourly.

    His mood got worse the closer it came to New Year''s Eve. Everything was wrong right now. They were supposed to start dating soon after being friends for nearly an entire year.

    He wondered if he could see her at all over the school break, even for a little while. Probably not, unless he showed up at her house. But there was no guarantee she would be there.

    "Sorry man, I didn''t mean¡ª"

    "I know. Just¡­don''t do anything like that again. Watch her but don''t interact. You''ll meet her someday."

    "Really?" Aiden perked up. "When? I haven''t even met you!"

    "I n on getting you a job in my IT department once I''m vice president. You''ll be graduated from high school by then. Keeley and I will be together again once I''m back in New York."

    "No way, really? But don''t I need to go to college before getting a job?"

    "Someone like you has nothing left to learn aboutputers," Aaron said dryly. "No one will question it if I rmend you."

    "Sweet." He dragged out the word extra-long. "My mom will be thrilled. She thinks I don''t apply myself enough."

    "She would think differently if she knew her son was the number six hacker in the entire country at age fourteen."

    "You kidding? She''d kill me and dance on my grave," he said with a nervousugh. "Please don''t tell her."

    "I won''t. Get me those reports on my father''s shareholders and I''ll forget this whole thing ever happened."

    "On it, boss man!" Aiden hung up the call to go dig up dirt not easily found anywhere but the depths of the inte.

    Aaron flung himself onto his bed and rested his arm over his face. Why was everything so difficult?

    He was having a hard time getting any information on the other shareholders.

    He already bought out Maria''s 15 shares and gave them to Cameron as a ceholder. There was no one else he could act on immediately; he needed more information.

    He was more concerned about how his ns were progressing than he was about school because he had already done this before. The homework was tedious and time consuming but not at all difficult.

    The truly unfortunate thing was that he needed to do some seriousworking.

    Though he loathed the shallow, frivolous people in the socialite''s circle, these were the people that were on his father''s side. He needed more allies among them but that meant small talk. Endless small talk.

    Alice Wheatley might be a good ce to start¡­she didn''t hold a grudge against him for not taking her home from prom and her family was influential in the financial sector, though not quite on the same level as the Hales or the Knightons.

    The Knightons¡­Brann Knighton was firmly on his father''s side because they plotted together to make Lacy take Keeley''s ce as Mrs. Hale. He had to find a way to suppress them.

    Lacy had been annoyingly persistent in her pursuit of Aaron at Harvard. They were inpletely different departments but she somehow managed to find him at least a few times a week and try to cozy up to up.

    Too bad he knew what a viper she really was. He wouldn''t fall for it in a million years.

    Comparing her and Keeley, Lacy was the nasty, cloying taste of cherry cough syrup while Keeley was the real cherry. Everything about her screamed ''false.''

    Aaron loved Keeley because of how genuine she was. Why couldn''t Lacy get that he wasn''t interested through her thick skull?

    If he didn''t take care of her before he went back to New York, their parents were going to do everything in their power to throw them together. That was thest thing Aaron wanted.

    He wanted to reim his throne with his rightful queen by his side and live happily ever after this time. It was an oddly sentimental thought for a man like him but Keeley tended to have that effect.

    The thought of possibly seeing her again sustained him through the onught of papers, projects, and other schoolwork that preceded finals as well as the tests themselves. He finished the semester strong and gave Cameron his money and instructions before they went their separate ways for the holidays.

    Aaron wasn''t looking forward to all of the boring parties he had to attend but he was still happy to be going home. Home is where the heart is and his heart was in Manhattan.

 Chapter 64: Christmas Cheer

    <h4>Chapter 64: Christmas Cheer</h4>

    Winter hit long before the end of the semester did and Keeley''s motivation died right along with it but she managed to make it through finals by the skin of her teeth. She was fully prepared to go into hibernation for the next two weeks until sses started again.

    Her college friends had all gone home¡ªeven Valentina went to visit rtives living in New Jersey because it was too expensive to fly home for such a short time¡ªbut the good news was that Jeffrey and Lydia would be back for the holidays. They were the only thing that could motivate her to leave her house and brave the cold.

    She groaned and peeled herself off the couch. "I''m going out, Dad!"

    "Alright, be safe," he called back from his room as she pulled on her hat and gloves on her way out the door.

    The subway was packed as everybody scrambled to finish theirst minute Christmas shopping. Keeley felt like a sardine in a tin as she stood holding onto the handles hanging from the ceiling for dear life, squished in between several strangers.

    Exiting the train was a relief but the crowds were still pretty intense. This was to be expected; she was trying to go to the Rockefeller Center two days before Christmas.

    Jeffrey got into town a few days earlier but Lydia arrivedst night so they waited until they were all together to go ice skating, see the giant tree, and check out some of the borate holiday window disys downtown. They changed every year so it was a must see around Christmas time in New York.

    Keeley found them waiting near the skate rental area. She rushed at Lydia to hug her first.

    "Oh, it''s so good to see you! You look a little tanner; California is treating you well."

    Her friendughed as she returned the hug tightly. "Yeah, it''s about twenty degrees warmer there than it is here right now and I spent a lot of time studying outside when the weather was nice."

    "What am I, chopped liver?" Jeffreyined jokingly.

    Keeley rolled her eyes before moving over to hug him too. "I missed you too, Jeff."

    "Yeah, yeah," he said dramatically before bing more serious. "Are you guys ready to fall t on your butts? Because I am."

    "Speak for yourself, I''m an excellent ice skater," Lydia bragged.

    They bickered like usual all the way through the line but in the end Lydia got thestugh. She skated circles around Jeffrey as he continued to fall. Keeley was a bit wobbly herself but didn''t biff it until hetched onto her for support on his way down and took her with him.

    "Seriously?" sheined as shey sprawled on top of him on the ice.

    Lydia thought it was hrious and snapped a picture on her phone. "Aww, look at you two getting cozy."

    "Shut up, Lydia!" they yelled in unison.

    Keeley rolled off of him and red. "If you ever drag me down with you again¡­"

    He held his hands up innocently. "I''m sorry! It was instinct! How about I skate further away from you this time."

    "You do that."

    Eventually Keeley got confident enough that she could go a little bit faster and Lydia insisted they hold hands so they could skate at the same pace. They left poor Jeffrey in the dust and looped around the rink twice in the time it took him to move forward about three feet.

    Once they tired of ice skating, they headed over to the tree. This year it stood 88 feet high and was lit up in gold. The trio stared up at the tree in awe. There was something special about the way the lights twinkled so high above them.

    The star on top of the tree was taller than a person and was barely visible from the ground. It was truly amazing that nature could produce such a wonder¡ªyou could see the tree for blocks from multiple directions.

    Jeffrey bought everyone cheap hot chocte from a booth someone set up on a street corner so they could sip it and keep warm as they continued enjoying the sight. They held onto their Styrofoam cups as they moved to the window disys.

    They were fantastical, each one showcasing a different aspect of the wonders of winter or Christmastime. Gold baubles and glittering fake snow weremon themes but no two disys were quite the same.

    Each store tried to outdo the next so Keeley couldn''t even pick a favorite. The lights and colors were all dazzling.

    She felt full of Christmas cheer but also exhausted by the time they were done, crawling back under her previously vacated nket on the couch as soon as she got home to find a good movie to watch.

    The first channel she flipped to was ying a cheesy holiday romance movie involving a CEO falling in love with a small town baker after getting stuck in a snowstorm.

    What a joke. Sure, they would show the happy ending where they got married but they wouldn''t show how hard it would be for the baker to adjust her lifestyle to match her rich new husband''s. Or how her Prince Charming wouldn''t change his ways for her.

    Bitterness consumed her heart as she turned off the TV, not in the mood to watch anything anymore.

    She had been optimistic and na?ve once. She thought because she and Aaron loved each other that they could ovee anything. Ha. It was a pathetic fantasy.

    Aaron went along with some of Keeley''s ''regr person'' experiences while they were dating because they were novel. As soon as he began losing interest, he never cared about what she wanted to do.

    He might have pretended to go along with her at first but as soon as they were engaged that stoppedpletely.

    Keeley was expected to act, speak, and dress a certain way. She couldn''t eat at her usual restaurants, go to the ces she liked to go to have fun, or even spend holidays the way she wanted to.

    The happy, family-filled Christmases of her childhood were but a distant memory by the time she married Aaron. Even holidays were treated like a business affair in the Hale family.

 Chapter 65: Memories of Christmas Past

    <h4>Chapter 65: Memories of Christmas Past</h4>

    Aaron mentioned before that his parents held parties on Christmas but she never imagined how austere it would be until she was forced to participate herself. Their first Christmas as a couple was nothing like she expected.

    Admittedly, he did indulge her by going to see the tree and window disys together but he refused to help her decorate sugar cookies or watch movies or do anything else that smacked of holiday cheer.

    He imed to be busy with work but she could sense his disdain. She wasn''t too put off; some people were less holly jolly than others. His traditions were different than hers and she could respect that.

    Christmas morning the chef prepared cinnamon rolls at Keeley''s request since that was a treat her mother always made for the special asion. The Halls would rifle through their stockings before breakfast but weren''t allowed to open any other presents until after everybody ate to try and spread things out.

    They stayed in their special Christmas pajamas¡ªa present they opened the night before¡ªall day and rxed, yed games, or watched movies together while snacking on all the cookies Monica had baked throughout the month and stored in the freezer.

    Aaron tly refused to participate in such trifles. The twelve foot tree located in their high-ceilinged living room was decorated with expensive baubles from stores on Fifth Avenue by a professional in case they had to entertain at their house.

    Keeley wasn''t allowed to decorate the house at all, which pushed her buttons. She had argued with her husband about it and lost.

    Literally the only thing she was able to do on her own was wrap her gifts to Aaron and make some cookies with the promise that she wouldn''t serve them to any important guests. Any visitors were fed by the chef.

    She tried to tell herself that this was what Aaron was used to and she could convince him to bend her way over time as they established new traditions together with their little family as it grew.

    That didn''t happen. Thest eight Christmases of her life were all roughly the same.

    Christmas morning she blearily rubbed her eyes as she came downstairs and was a bit disappointed to see that Aaron hadn''t filled her stocking since she made one for him.

    When she asked him about it, he apologized and said the thought didn''t even ur to him. Of course it didn''t. All of Keeley''s gifts were expensive¡ªclothes, jewelry, and shoes¡ªbut not one of them was something she would have bought for herself.

    At least her gifts for Aaron were thoughtful. She got him a watch from his favorite brand with their wedding date, August 8th, 2010, engraved on the back and some ties to go with his ever present business suits.

    She had learned the hard way while they were dating that he was very picky about his ties and would only wear certain styles and brands but she got it right this time because he seemed pleased.

    He sat around doing nothing for most of the day while Keeley watched ssic ymation movies like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

    The party included dinner and was being held in a banquet hall downtown so she knew she would have to dress up nice. She was used to wearing pajamas all day rather than a cocktail dress but knew her role as Mrs. Hale was to show up and look pretty.

    Keeley curled her hair, applied an elegant amount of eye shadow and red lipstick, and put on the outfit Aaron bought her for the asion.

    It consisted of an off-shoulder red and ck floral dress that flowed partway down her calves and ck heeled sandals with so many straps that it took her five minutes to figure out how to put them on.

    Appraising herself in the mirror, she decided to add a little festive fun and wear her dangly earrings that looked like tiny red bulbs that would go on a Christmas tree.

    "What on earth are you wearing?" he demanded when she came down the stairs. "You can''t go out like that."

    "Come on, they''re hidden behind my hair! Hardly anyone is going to notice¡ª"

    "The daughter-inw of the Hale family cannot be seen wearing earrings that cost $5.99! If you truly want Christmas-themed earrings, I''llmission some to be made for you next year. Change them," Aaron said with an air of finality.

    Keeley sighed. Being Mrs. Hale was hard. She had to get rid of almost all of her old clothes because if she was spotted wearing something unbefitting her status outside the house there would be hell to pay.

    She trudged back upstairs mutinously and exchanged her fun earrings for a pair of ruby drop ones.

    "Happy now?" she asked grumpily when she came back down.

    Aaron patted her head. "You look lovely. Let''s go."

    When they arrived, at least two dozen people were already milling around holding sses of champagne while a string quartet yed Christmas music.

    Keeley had never experienced a Christmas party like this in her life. He slipped his hand into hers and led her around the room to greet the guests.

    "Keeley, darling, I simply adore your earrings. Wherever did you get them?" an acquaintance of theirs asked while Aaron conversed with her fianc¨¦ about the stock market.

    Turned out people noticed her earrings after all. Her anger fizzled a little.

    "Ang Jeweler''s. It''s a newer boutique but they have arge variety of gemstones. I got themst month shopping with my mother-inw."

    "I''ve heard Roslyn Hale has exquisite taste. You''ll have to invite me next time."

    "Of course," Keeley agreed.

    Shopping was the single most important aspect of the women in this circle''s social lives. You didn''t go out with just anyone. The smaller and more exclusive the group, the better.

    Everyone invited Keeley to go when her engagement was first announced because they wanted to assess the new meat and try to get on the future Mrs. Hale''s good side, even if they didn''t respect where she came from.

    It was how she ended up with most of her current wardrobe. The prices at the ces herpanions wanted to shop at were staggering but Aaron didn''t care.

    It wasn''t like he was on a budget plus he wanted her to fit in with these people so she kept her feelings of inadequacy to herself.

    She chatted with the socialite a while longer before it was time for dinner to begin. She and Aaron, as members of the family, were seated next to the hosts and a few other prominent families like the Knightons.

    Lacy wasn''t happy to see them together and tried to subtly put Keeley down the entire meal. It was a really good thing she didn''t wear those Christmas earrings.

 Chapter 66: Thinking About 2007

    <h4>Chapter 66: Thinking About 2007</h4>

    Lacy did her best to divert Aaron''s attention that day but was ultimately unsessful because he was too busy talking business with her father, Brann. Even on a major holiday his head was only filled with numbers.

    If not for the fact that holiday tunes yed in the background as they ate and the food was the kind that was traditionally served at Christmas dinner, you wouldn''t even know this was a Christmas party.

    People dressed in ck, red, silver, and gold but nothing was overtly Christmassy. Rich people had the strangest standards, bouncing back and forth between excess and subtlety.

    The kind of Christmas parties Keeley went to growing up consisted of eggnog and ridiculous headwear like elf hats and reindeer antlers, ugly sweaters and off-tune caroling. This was about as far from that as she could get.

    She felt sorry for the caterers and hotel staff, sure that they would much rather be at home spending time with their families than dealing with all these snobby rich people.

    Christmas was supposed to be about family! So why had fifty of the Hales'' closest friends shown up today?!

    "Keeley, where did you get your dress? It''s so¡­unique."

    She was the only one wearing floral today but it wasn''t uneptable to do so; she fit the dress code standards.

    Most of the older generation wore red or ck solids and the younger socialites tended to lean toward glittery silver or gold dresses.

    "I''m not sure; Aaron bought it for me."

    At that time, she didn''t know Lacy was after her man or that thisment would stab her right through the bitter area. She was simply stating a fact.

    Unfortunately, Lacy saw this as a challenge. "No wonder it''s a bit different. Men will never understand fashion the way women do."

    Keeley couldn''t think of a response that wouldn''t be incredibly rude. She wasn''t good at manipting her words yet since she had only been in the circle since June.

    Smiling neutrally and eating another roll was the best solution.

    The rest of the dinner went much the same way. She tried to fend off attacks from Lacy and her mother while catering to her own mother-inw.

    Aaron ignored her distress and continued to talk business the entire meal. It was the worst Christmas she had thus far and they would only get worse from there.

    Thinking about past Christmases was depressing. Thinking about Aaron period was depressing. Try as she might to live her life properly, he still crept up on her when she least expected it.

    She didn''t have to worry about him anymore! Why bother thinking about things that were behind her?

    Keeley''s choices were entirely her own now. She could wear, eat, or do whatever she wanted. She didn''t have to cater to his wishes so why couldn''t she get him out of her head?

    She really hoped the clich¨¦ ''time heals all wounds'' that people rattle off when rtionships go sour would work someday. She didn''t want to spend her second chance at life thinking about how badly she screwed up the first.

    It had been almost a year and things were so different now. She pulled the nket over her head as if it could block out her thoughts along with the light.

    Weren''t holidays always supposed to be rough the first few years after a loss? Her situation wasn''t normal but her reaction to it probably was based on that information. Hadn''t Christmas been miserable the first few years after losing her mom and Kaleb?

    Right now she wasn''t mourning losing Aaron¡ªshe was mourning losing her entire life to him. She hoped the feelings went away soon. The memories certainly hadn''t.

    ===

    Keeley''s mncholy didn''tpletely pass but after Christmas she felt a little better about her outlook on life because it was almost a new year.

    New Year''s was a time for self-reflection, goal-making, and thinking about the future.

    Sure, most people gave up on going to the gym or eating healthier a month into their New Year''s Resolutions but so what? It was still a chance to start fresh.

    This would be her first year without Aaron in fourteen years. She would spend time with her newfound college friends like Valentina and Ryan, focus on her studies, and experience college the way she wanted to.

    She couldn''t wait.

    Her first run-through of 2007 was consumed entirely by being Aaron''s girlfriend.

    If she wasn''t with him, she was texting him. If she wasn''t texting him, she was thinking about him or fantasizing about their happy future together. Some future that turned out to be.

    Being a young girl in love could be a terrible thing if you gave your heart and soul to the wrong man. Aaron Hale was definitely the wrong man.

    But since she didn''t have ns with him this time around and her father had apany party, she took up Jeffrey''s invitation to go to a party being held in Times Square so they would be able to see the ball drop at midnight.

    Apparently his older brother had some friends back out at thest minute so there were enough tickets for Keeley and Lydia to tag along. Hanging out with friends would be a great way to ring in the New Year.

    Keeley had never been to an informal New Year''s Eve party before; when she was in high school she always just hung out with her dad watching a program on TV that had musical performances until the ball dropped. Once she was with Aaron, they went to ck-tie events every time.

    She wasn''t quite sure what to wear so she texted Lydia a few different outfit ideas asking for help. Fashion had never exactly been Keeley''s forte.

    As Aaron''s wife, she usually let other people tell her what looked good while they were shopping.

    A text came in immediately. ''These are all too h! We''re going to a party in Times Square! Even casual dress needs to have a little more mor than usual''

    Keeley was helpless. ''But this is all I''ve got''

    ''Tell you what, why don''t youe over to my ce? We''re about the same size and I have some options that should work better''

    So she found herself taking the subway over to Queens.

    As she sat, a song that didn''t even exist yet got stuck in her head. It was super frustrating because she only knew the chorus and couldn''t look up the words or listen to the actual song. It wouldn''t be released until 2013.

    With a sigh, she pulled out her iPod shuffle and skipped about thirty songs before she found one by the same artist. It would have to do.

    There were a lot of annoying things like this since her rebirth: songs she couldn''t listen to, movies and TV shows she couldn''t watch, and ces she couldn''t go because they didn''t exist yet.

    Tomorrow would begin 2007 but she died in 2019; it would be a very long time before the timelines matched up.

    Keeley wished she could forget her old life now that she had sessfully written herself out of Aaron''s world. It would be much easier to forge ahead in her new one if she wasn''t bogged down by random memories of what she was missing out on.

 Chapter 67: Truth or Dare

    <h4>Chapter 67: Truth or Dare</h4>

    Lydia''s room looked like a clothing tornado had blown through it by the time Keeley arrived. Shirts, skirts, and jeans were strewn across every avable surface and then some. She wasn''t sure where to step on her way in.

    "Don''t mind the mess, I was looking for a specific belt and things got a little dicey," Lydia instructed. "Come on in. I have the perfect outfit for you!"

    Keeley eyed the chaos distrustfully. "Alright, show me what you''ve got."

    Her friend produced a slouchy gold sequined top seemingly out of thin air and waved it about like a g.

    "This top," she announced before digging around some more. "With these ck skinny jeans¡­and ck ballet ts! I have some fun gold dangly earrings you can wear too. And gold eyeshadow! You''ll be as radiant as the sun."

    "Are you trying to make me blind people?" Keeley demanded. That was a whole lot of sparkle in one outfit.

    "It''s New Year''s Eve! Everybody''s going to be all sparkly, you''ll see. Look, I''m doing it too."

    Lydia pointed to a silvery tunic she nned to wear with the thick ck belt that caused all the mayhem in her room.

    "You''re going to freeze," Keeley predicted.

    "Am not, I''ll be wearing leggings and knee-high boots. We''ll be inside most of the time anyway."

    She didn''t feel like arguing the point and epted her fate without furtherint. She was used to wearing what other people pushed on her. And Lydia was right¡ªthey were the same size. Even her shoes fit.

    A nce in the mirror after she dressed up surprised her. Keeley didn''t look like herself, past or present. Gone were the trendy wannabe socialite and the casual college student.

    She looked like something bright, shiny, and new. It was a fitting ensemble to wear on a day representing a fresh start.

    She and Lydia left the apartment around 8 PM since the party started at 9 and they didn''t know how long it would take to get there. They chatted idly about their lives apart in college on the train ride over.

    Apparently Lydia was kind of dating someone already though they hadn''t made anything official. They had been texting constantly during the break.

    Jeffrey gged them down next to his older brother James and a few other people Keeley didn''t recognize.

    The guys were dressed simply but she noticed that the other women in front of the karaoke bar looked a lot like her and Lydia. She should have known to trust the girl''s fashion sense.

    They already knew James because he was three years older than Jeffrey and had been living at home during their freshman year of high school. He went to college in New Jersey but was home for the holidays.

    James introduced them to the rest of his friends: Ellie Madden, Trey Fo, and Brad Stimpson. Once the introductions were made, they settled into their pre-rented booth.

    The karaoke bar was set up with booths surrounding the stage and a dance floor off to the side.

    As part of the New Year''s Eve festivities, they would be ying games and offering prizes every thirty minutes. Aside from that people were free to do karaoke as usual.

    The first game was announced at 9:15¡ªa contest to see who could do a handstand the longest. Ellie had been in gymnastics before so she became one of the ten volunteers.

    Everyone cheered wildly for their friends but in the end, a random guy in histe twenties named Greg won an iTunes gift card. Ellie didn''t do too badly though; she got third ce.

    After that James and Jeffrey devised a modified version of Truth or Dare: if you refused to do what you picked, you had to go sing a song of the asker''s choice in front of the entire karaoke bar.

    Everyone was in a good mood and ready to y, taking energy from the atmosphere in the room.

    Trey chose Dare and had to go propose to a random girl in a nearby booth. She looked at him with disgust and he apologized profusely, saying it was part of a game before slinking back to his seat in defeat and cursing out Brad for making him do something so embarrassing.

    Lydia chose Truth and told her most embarrassing moment, which happened in 8th grade when she kissed a boy and their braces locked together. It was an incredibly awkward ride to the orthodontist.

    Her face was bright red as people around the table howled withughter.

    Ellie refused to answer "Who do you have a crush on right now?" and ended up singing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion in an opera voice at James'' request.

    Some of the other partygoers thought it was hrious and gave her a standing ovation but others looked at her like she was nuts.

    When it was Keeley''s turn she chose Truth and Jeffrey asked, "Who was your first kiss?"

    She scowled. In both lives, the answer was the same. She hadn''t had much interest in boys before he came along.

    "You should already know this¡ª"

    Collective gasps could be heard around the table. James and his friends thought she was talking about Jeffrey.

    "¡ªsince you''re the one that didn''t stop him from stealing me away on Valentine''s Day."

    Now it was Jeffrey''s turn to gasp. "You mean he actually kissed you? I thought he just cut in on the dance!"

    "You thought wrong," she said sourly.

    "That wasn''t even their first kiss," Lydia said in a singsong voice. She knew about their previous rtionship ending badly in ''middle school.''

    Keeley buried her face in her hands. "I hate you guys."

    "Excuse me, but you haven''t actually answered the question," Trey pointed out.

    She looked up and sighed. "Aaron Hale. His name is Aaron Hale."

    More collective gasps. What was with all the gasping tonight?

    "You mean heir to Hale Investments Aaron Hale? Or like a normal person who happens to share the same name?" Brad asked in disbelief.

    "The first one," Lydia said helpfully. "He went to our high school and was obsessed with Keeley even though they broke up in junior high."

    "I wouldn''t say obsessed," Keeley hedged, feeling ufortable both with the attention and at the reminder of what she went through.

    Her friend scoffed. "He''s more obsessed with you than a monkey is with bananas."

    Jeffrey was scandalized. "I can''t believe you justpared Aaron Hale to a monkey. He''d kill you if he knew."

    "Do you really think he''d be in a ce like this? He''s probably off in some fancy party uptown!"

    Actually, he was in a fancy party two blocks away but Lydia''s guess was close enough.

    They continued arguing semantics and Keeley wished she could sink through the floor and disappear. Why did Aaron manage to be brought up all the time when he wasn''t even around anymore?

 Chapter 68: An Insult To Snakes

    <h4>Chapter 68: An Insult To Snakes</h4>

    The second time sitting through this New Year''s Eve party was even worse than the first for Aaron because Keeley wasn''t there.

    He knew she was nearby at a party with her friends because Anomaly told him¡ªhow he found that out, Aaron didn''t even want to know.

    He wanted to see her so badly it hurt. It would be so easy to slip away for just a little while¡­

    "Aaron!" Lacy trilled. "There you are,e dance with me!" The jazz band had started ying a slow song and couples were pairing off everywhere.

    "I would rather be hit by a taxi," he said tly. "Go find Max and leave me alone."

    He really didn''t care to tread lightly around this witch anymore. There wasn''t a point.

    Lacy had already attacked his woman; she couldn''t do anything worse to him right now since Keeley was safely off living her own life.

    "Why are you so mean to me?" she whimpered with tears in her eyes. "I love you!"

    "And I think you''re a speck of dust. Are you done yet?"

    She had confessed to him multiple times since they went off to Harvard and he shot her down swiftly and cruelly each time so she wouldn''t get any bright ideas.

    There was no one in this world that he despised more than Lacy Knighton, except perhaps his father. But she was ultimately the one who caused Keeley''s death so¡­

    Lacy flounced off in tears and his mother saw, approaching him with a disapproving look on the sharp features of her face.

    "Aaron, you need to be more respectful. She''s the daughter of one of your father''s most important colleagues."

    "She''s a worthless piece of trash, unworthy of my respect," he responded crisply. "I don''t care whose daughter she is."

    Roslyn sighed. "Aaron¡­she''s one of the best candidates for your marriage. She has many fine qualities befitting a high society wife."

    He decided that speaking his mother''snguage might be the best way to get through to her.

    "She''s faker than a knock off handbag. You think that would benefit the Hale name in the long run?"

    "Your father¡ª"

    "My father," Aaron began scathingly. "Does not know what he''s getting himself involved with that family. Lacy Knighton is a snake. No, that''s an insult to snakes; she''s much worse."

    She sniffed haughtily. "She is from one of the most prominent families in the city. Who could benefit you more than her?"

    "I can think of at least a thousand people," he lied coldly. He only had one person in mind and no one would stop him from being with her, least of all his father.

    "Bring up Lacy Knighton again as a possible marriage candidate and I''ll elope with an unknown stripper in Las Vegas."

    "You wouldn''t dare¡ª"

    "I''mpletely serious, Mother. I absolutely will not have anything to do with that woman. End of discussion."

    Roslyn rubbed her forehead as if she was warding off a headache. "Fine. But I hope you know there are only so many women qualified to be your wife."

    "I''m eighteen, hardly old enough to get married. I have all the time in the world to find the perfect candidate. You have no need to worry about it," Aaron said firmly.

    The only reason they never tried to arrange a marriage for him previously was because he said he had a girlfriend at school. Harvard was such a prestigious institution that they weren''t terribly concerned about him associating with the rabble.

    Aaron knew what was expected of him and would choose ordingly. Or so they thought.

    As his mother walked away, he missed Keeley desperately. Today was the day she was supposed to be his officially and she had never felt further away.

    He stood up and nced at the clock. 11:37 PM.

    Enough people had seen him that his absence wouldn''t be noticed until after the chaos of the ball drop had settled.

    Everyone in the Rainbow Room was on a high enough floor that they would be able to see it clearly through the window.

    Keeley was at a party on the first floor of a nearby building so she would most likely go outside to see it the ball drop. But how was he supposed to find her in a crowd of thousands? He pulled out his phone and shot Aiden a text.

    ''Do you have GPS tracking abilities?''

    The reply was instant. ''Duh, what do you take me for?''

    ''I need your help''

    Aaron stood out quite a bit in his tuxedo since everyone else in Times Square was bundled up in casual clothes, wearing hats and gloves along with their coats. The air was cold enough for people to see their breath in front of them but he didn''t care; he needed to find her.

    His phone buzzed in his pocket. ''Getting warmer. Walk about a hundred feet to your left then turn right and walk forward another thirty feet''

    He followed Aiden''s instructions and scanned the crowd. He saw men, women, children but no Keeley.

    ''You better not be messing with me because I don''t see her''

    ''Her phone is definitely there! Maybe you need sses''

    Aaron huffed. Annoying kid. Why did he even put up with him? There had to be more reliable hackers somewhere¡­

    He checked again and noticed a blond head wearing a leather jacket and skinny jeans. Keeley didn''t normally dress like that.

    It had to be her though¡ªhe recognized two of the people in the group surrounding her as the schrship students she used to sit with at lunch.

    She turned her head and his heart pounded. Her makeup and outfit were different than usual but it was definitely the love of his lives.

    Keeley was grinning as she talked with her friends. Her earrings¡ªthere was no way they were real gold¡ªglinted under the neon lights of the billboards as she shook her head.

    She looked happy. Content. At peace with the world. She never let her guard down enough to be like this when he was around.

    More than anything, he wanted to march right over there and kiss her at midnight just like they did before¡ªa tradition to start the year off right. He nearly went mad seeing her standing there so lively and beautiful without him.

 Chapter 69: Why Me?

    <h4>Chapter 69: Why Me?</h4>

    Keeley rubbed her hands together for warmth and hopped from foot to foot trying to ward off the chill as they waited for the ball to drop.

    To get a decent spot, the group had to leave the karaoke bar fifteen minutes to midnight. It was getting boring in there anyway.

    Thest game of the night, at 11:15, was a trivia game. Keeley participated and got knocked out in the second round because she couldn''t remember the name of some vice president from the 1900s. There wasn''t any point in staying after that.

    Everyone in the group got sick of ying Truth or Dare around 10 o''clock after Brad dared James to order a pizza and consume the entire thing in less than ten minutes. He did it but threw up on an employee''s shoes not long after.

    That kind of killed the mood so they all sang at least one song if they hadn''t already and spent the rest of the night watching the games and dancing.

    Lydia and Jeffrey were arguing again and James'' friends chatted among themselves so Keeley was left staring up at the giant sphere two minutes before midnight.

    She wondered how this tradition started¡ªit had been going on for nearly a hundred years but she didn''t know anything more than that. It was an interesting concept.

    The ball slowly began making its way down the pole at 11:59 and the crowd stared up at it in anticipation as the timer ticked away on a jumbo screen. Keeley craned her neck to look up at it.

    39¡­38¡­37¡­36¡­

    It was almost 2007, a brand new start for her.

    24¡­23¡­22¡­

    The tension released from her shoulders as she thought about all the positive changes she wanted to make this year.

    11¡­10¡­9¡­

    A hand mped down on her arm and dragged her several feet away from her group.

    Before she could even react enough to see who it was, she was swept up in a princess carry and kissed the moment the crowd broke into cheers of "Happy New Year!"

    She struggled against her captor and hit and kicked enough that he put her down. She looked up at him furiously, ready to give this stranger a real piece of her mind, when she saw who it was. It derailed herpletely.

    "Aaron?!"

    He stood there wearing the same tuxedo he wore in her first life. He must have juste from the party but what on earth was he doing? How did he even find her?

    Confusion overtook her anger momentarily. This didn''t make any sense!

    Aaron''s gaze was as unfathomable as the depths of the sea; amon urrence since her rebirth. And she used to know his expressions so well.

    "Happy New Year, Keeley."

    She gaped at him, speechless. That was really all he had to say after kissing her out of nowhere? They hadn''t seen each other since graduation! For all he knew, she could have a boyfriend.

    Once a jerk, always a jerk.

    "I heard once that kissing someone at midnight will give you good luck for the rest of the year. I could use some of that right now," he said nonchntly, standing tall with his hands in his pockets.

    Keeley''s anger returned full force at those words. He was messing with her again. If he really only cared about good luck, he could have kissed anyone. He specifically sought her out for this!

    "You''re full of it," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly. "What are you even doing here?"

    "I was attending a party nearby and thought I would see what all the fuss was about. I''ve never seen the ball drop from the street before."

    "I meant what are you doing here specifically where I am," she said through gritted teeth. "You could have kissed anyone. Why me?"

    He smiled but it wasn''t cold like usual. It seemed almost¡­sad.

    "Why not you? Isn''t it better to kiss someone I know than a stranger?"

    Keeley wanted to hit him. "We''re just as good as strangers! Why me, Aaron?"

    He stepped closer, looming over her. "Would you believe me if I said it was because you''re irresistible?"

    He was so close that she could feel his breath warm her face. She pushed him away from her. She couldn''t think when he was in her space like that.

    "No, I wouldn''t. I didn''t like you messing with me in high school and I like it even less now. You¡­I can''t believe you! What the heck is your problem?! What did I ever do to you? Why can''t you leave me alone?"

    Keeley was on a roll. All of the frustration she''d experienced over the past six months when she couldn''t forget him came flooding back.

    "I can kind of understand ying your stupid game when we were seat mates because you were curious but we''re adults now and those games are childish. You have a life in Boston and I''m not a part of it. I don''t WANT to be a part of it. All I want is to live my life in peace without you. Got it? Don''t evere near me again. Seriously."

    She turned on her heel and began resolutely marching away from him when he grabbed her hand. She didn''t even look at him; stomping on his foot and sprinting away to the safety of her friends.

    He couldn''t snatch her if she had six people blocking the way. He only got to herst time because she was behind everybody else. They had probably already noticed she was missing and were looking for her.

    A few minutester she found her group after texting Lydia, exining she got separated by the crowd.

    Her friend noticed there was something wrong immediately. "What happened? You look like you''ve seen a ghost."

    Keeley had seen a ghost¡ªthe Ghost of New Year''s Past. That maniac imed to kiss her for luck? By doing that he''d just cursed her entire year!

    What are the odds that he would end up kissing her both times she lived through this day? She hadn''t seen iting at all since they weren''t even talking.

    She thought Aaron was well and truly behind her. If he could do something like this even after moving away for college, who was to say he wouldn''t do it again? How was she supposed to forget him when he kept barging his way back into her life?

 Chapter 70: He Needed To Work Harder

    <h4>Chapter 70: He Needed To Work Harder</h4>

    Aaron sighed and let her go after she forcefully stepped on his foot. He should have known this would happen if he turned up out of nowhere and kissed her without so much as saying hello.

    This life''s Keeley was the type that needed to be worn down slowly over time. He had forgotten that in his desperation to be near her.

    If he didn''t want her to hate him even more, he couldn''t do anything like this again. The only way he would be able to win her over was if he had time¡ªhe needed to be her best friend like she had be his before.

    Right now, time was a luxury he couldn''t afford even with all his wealth. Too many eyes were on him. It would be too easy to be squashed like a bug this early on.

    With onest wistful nce towards the woman he loved as she ran away, Aaron turned around and walked back to the party.

    ''Wait for me, Keeley,'' he thought. ''I''ll protect you this time no matter how long it takes.''

    The g was winding down by the time he reappeared. Nobody noticed his absence, which didn''t surprise him.

    Aaron may be an important figure in his circle but no one actually cared about him as a person. Having already talked to everyone noteworthy earlier, they forgot about his existence until they could use him again.

    It was a useful skill at times even if it could be depressing.

    He would have been in big trouble if his parents knew where he got off to. His mother probably thought he just wanted to be alone for a while after they argued.

    Close to 1 AM, Carlton picked up all three Hales and they rode home in heavy silence.

    Car rides were always like this with his parents, nothing like when Keeley and Robert were in a car together. They talked,ughed, and even sang together as they drove.

    It was such a foreign concept to him in his first life until Keeley began doing the same with him as they drove around Boston together.

    Aaron didn''t have a driver while he was away at school so it was always just the two of them. He loved those car rides, especially when she would talking stop mid-word and eagerly turn up the radio to sing along when a song she knew came on.

    Keeley stopped singing along to the radio once they were back in New York and had a driver working for them again though she still talked to him until they began drifting apart following The Incident.

    He hated going back to the old silence but what could he do? Their driver worked for his parents and would report if they were too friendly.

    Aaron was still wired from the kiss so when he got home he changed into his pajamas but didn''t go to sleep. Instead, he opened up the research files that Anomalypiled.

    He sure had his work cut out for him. All of these people would be tough nuts to crack.

    He was forced to admit that building up hiswork and acquiring enough shares to take a stand may take longer than he originally thought. His n was moving forward at a snail''s pace.

    Suddenly it didn''t seem possible to take over from his father straight out of college. He couldn''t disturb Keeley''s life again until he didn''t have to fear from his father or the Knightons. He needed to work harder.

    He got a text from Cameron at nearly three in the morning as he was finally drifting off to sleep. His first instinct was to be annoyed that he was woken up but that changed as soon as he read the contents of the message.

    ''I''m going to sleep it off for a day before driving back so I''m all done here but I thought you''d want to know that I took your $20,000 and after gambling almost every day for two weeks I''ve earned $126,750. You''re wee. Also, I''m about to die from sleep deprivation and can''t drive home so you''re going to reimburse me to stay here tonight and buy me a buffet breakfast''

    ''Fair enough for a job well done. I''ll even let you keep the $750''

    ''All hail Merciful Overlord Aaron''

    Aaron couldn''t tell if he was being facetious or not but was too tired to care. Cameron Singleton had the makings of a very useful right hand man. He had chosen well. He wasn''t above rewarding those who were loyal to him.

    Speaking of loyalty¡­while he was awake, he ordered a newputer hard drive with triple the storage space for Aiden.

    He had beenining about all the extra programs he installed to help with surveince taking up too much space and causing ag. Aaron may as well toss in a second monitor while he was at it.

    Apparently the whiz kid hacker had been operating on his dad''s oldptop for years before he was able to get a used desktopputer. Someone with his talents deserved a better operating system.

    It would be a simple enough thing to do since Aiden was almost always on call.

    After ordering the extraputer parts, Aaron was finally able to fall asleep.

    He dreamed of Keeley. His Keeley, the one whose smile was like sunshine; not this newer version who was terrified of him. The one he would do anything to get back.

    She was pulling on his arm to show him something; a move she had used a thousand times when they were dating.

    "Aaron! Come check this out!"

    "Aaron, look over here!"

    "Aaron!"

    "Hey, Aaron!"

    She dragged him in a million different directions with that gorgeous smile on her face. He never got tired of chasing after her.

    The dream shifted. Her eyes, empty and cold, grew to the size of elephants and stared down at him usingly.

    "Why don''t you want me? Why do you always reject me? Why? Why don''t you love me?"

    The words were hauntingly familiar but he couldn''t remember when she said them.

    He ran after those giant eyes as they disappeared, reaching one arm out in desperation. "I do love you! I was only trying to protect you;e back!"

    The world wentpletely dark and echoingughter began to mock him. "Protect me? Your ''protection'' killed me!"

    Keeley''s body, the way it had looked when he went to verify it in the morgue, dropped down out of a hole that opened in the sky andnded right in front of him. The dead eyes opened and the corpse sat up.

    "You killed me, Aaron!"

    He woke up in a panic. What a horrible dream.

    It had been years since he had one that bad. The nightmares wouldn''t stop guing him after he identified the body of his wife but they went away after getting his revenge andter, going to therapy.

    Aaron couldn''t let her die on him again. He would destroy anything and anyone that got in his path to give Keeley the life together they deserved. The one they should have had all along.

    He would get there¡ªno matter how long it took, no matter what he had to sacrifice. He would have his smiling Keeley again and everything would be okay.

 Chapter 71: Five and a Half Years Later

    <h4>Chapter 71: Five and a Half Years Later</h4>

    Keeley woke up with a bunch of fur in her mouth. She sputtered as she tried to get it all out, eventually picking pieces off her tongue by hand.

    Her rescue cat Molly, an eight-year-old fluffy me point, shot her an affronted look for disturbing her rest before hopping off the bed and trotting away with her bottlebrush tail held high.

    Molly had been a bit of a surprise. Keeley never owned pets growing up because her dad was allergic and Aaron didn''t want animals messing up his expensive furniture so it didn''t happen then either.

    One rainy spring day during the first year of her doctoral program, Keeley was walking home from the convenience store to pick up some bandages when she heard a horrible guttural sounding from a nearby storm drain.

    Peering through the ts, she saw a muddy cat that could have been any color trapped in ce because its paw was stuck under something. She was horrified and called the fire department because there was no way she could get in there herself but she couldn''t just leave it there.

    She stood in the rain without an umbre for fifteen minutes waiting for them to show up and ultimately ended up standing there for nearly an hour. A firefighter handed her the shivering, towel-wrapped cat and told her to take it to the vet to be checked for injuries.

    The cat, which turned out to be white and orange once it was clean, had sprained the paw that was stuck while trying to break free. The vet said she would prescribe her some pain medication and asked for the pet''s previous medical information. Keeley had to exin that it wasn''t her cat; she found it hurt outside.

    The vet checked to see if it was microchipped and ended up calling the number listed on the chip. Turned out, the owners moved out of state and purposely left the cat behind.

    The cat meowed pitifully and rubbed her head against Keeley''s hands and arms¡ªanything it could reach. She was absolutely incensed that people could abandon such a sweet animal and told the vet to change the information on the microchip to hers.

    The previous owners had called the cat Molly and Keeley thought it would be easier to keep things consistent as possible for the poor thing and didn''t change it.

    She bought a small crate at the vet''s office and carried Molly home, much to the astonishment of her roommates.

    Valentina Benavente had been a true blue friend throughout their undergraduate years so they decided to continue living together as they pursued their respective doctoral programs.

    They found a rtively cheap three bedroom apartment in Washington Heights and brought in a third roommate who was trying to be a Broadway actress named Jennica Stevens to help with expenses.

    Maybe it was the neighborhood, but the three bedroom apartment they found was cheaper or the same price as a lot of two bedrooms in Manhattan.

    Jennica could be pretty sarcastic but they got along well enough. Her schedule was erratic between auditions and waitressing when she first moved in but over time they all got to know each other and became friends.

    She forever earned a ce in Keeley''s heart as the one who convinced the "no pets allowed"ndlord to let them keep Molly after paying a $200 pet deposit.

    "Keeley, you''re going to bete," Jennica reminded her helpfully from the kitchen table, snapping her out of her recollections.

    She nced at the clock. Shoot! She had to leave in two minutes if she was going to catch her train!

    She opened a can of wet food since she didn''t have time to measure out the appropriate amount of kibble and set it on the ground before frantically jamming her clothes on.

    Since she rushed out the door with a bagel in her mouth, her call of "thanks, bye" sounded more like "fanks buh." Thankfully she made it to her train just in the nick of time and was able to rx a bit on her way to campus.

    Keeley and Valentina both stayed on at NYU for their PhD and MD degrees but their schedules were different so they hardly saw each other during the week despite both technically being a part of the medical school. It wasn''t surprising; their emphases were vastly different.

    Half of Keeley''s day consisted of sses and the other half was spent in theb as a research assistant for one of her professors. Thankfully it was a paid position because there was no way she would have time to get another job.

    Poor Valentina wasn''t able to work because of her program and was barely getting by with some money her parents sent each month to help her out.

    Sitting through ss was the more boring part of her day. What she really loved was the practical hands-onb experience. Right now her faculty mentor, Dr. Kim, was conducting research on using gene repression to treat cancer in rats.

    She much preferred actually stimting the DNA to recording countless observations on the rats day to day but being involved in any sort of research was more exciting than just reading about it in books.

    Someday she wanted to work in ab just like this studying cystic fibrosis and other disorders people were born with. Her dream felt closer every time she went to theb, no matter how mundane her task was.

    Keeley was on the fast track toplete her PhD in three years so she only had a year and a half left before she would be able to get out there and find a research job of her very own.

    Her friend Ryan Bradley was already working in ab developing new medications called PharmaGen and he enjoyed it. She was so jealous.

    "¡­I expect all of you to get at least an 85 on next week''s test because this material is absolutely vital to your future as gicists," the professor said strictly. "If you fail, you may as well give up and switch careers now."

    "Killjoy," the student to Keeley''s left muttered.

    She was inclined to agree. This particr professor graded harshly and always gave everyone a hard time. He was good at teaching though; usually his students didn''t disappoint him.

    Her grades had been good all throughout school, which was why she was able to stay on at NYU for her doctoral program. She wasn''t worried about the test¡ªthe material covered in this unit was straightforward in her mind.

    She just wished the professor would lighten up a little. Nobody liked being around people who were all doom and gloom.

    Thinking of people who didn''t know how to lighten up¡­Aaron shed through her mind briefly before she shook him free. He cropped up in her head less and less as the years went by. She was grateful for that.

    She hadn''t seen him since he kissed her out of nowhere on New Year''s Day in 2007 and that was how she liked it. At first she was worried that he would keep clinging onto her when he was home visiting but after three breaks in a row passed without incident she finally rxed.

    He was long gone now and she was living the life she wanted, just as things should be.

 Chapter 72: A Tough Nut to Crack

    <h4>Chapter 72: A Tough Nut to Crack</h4>

    Aaron drummed his fingers impatiently on his thigh during the board meeting. This financial data wasn''t new to him and he could be doing better things. Like thinking of what he was going to say when he ''coincidentally'' bumped into Keeleyter.

    The time hade to meet up with her again; he had been vice president for almost two years and held 24% of thepany shares, though his father thought he only had the original 10%. It was supremely satisfying keeping that man in the dark.

    Cameron Singleton''s gambling skills had been vital in building up the start of his empire. As promised, Aaron hooked him up with a job upon graduation and still had him asionally fly to gambling hot spots on the weekends, all expenses paid.

    Not only was Cameron a financial analyst at Hale Investments, he currently held 5% of Aaron''s shares and served as a member of the board. He was the first sessful dummy shareholder of four.

    Aaron gave him the shares he acquired from Maria right away but after that he had to patiently wait for the 2008 recession to hit.

    Having lived through it once, Aaron knew that Hale Investments would weather the storm of the huge stock market drop but none of the shareholders knew that. Several of them panicked and sold their shares after he spread rumors that the stocks would remain worthless and that it would be better to get out now.

    He bought them all up the second they were avable. The real question after that was what to do with them. Giving Cameron too many shares would look suspicious. Besides, what he really needed were more members of the board on his side.

    He approached two of his ssmates from Harvard that had decent backgrounds but weren''t anywhere near the Hales'' level. Roger rk and Kyle Griffith had the dual benefit of being smart and loyal.

    Harvard graduates weremon among thepany''s employees so it wasn''t suspicious that a bunch of them came out of nowhere joining the board.

    Aaron''sst dummy shareholder was none other than his old prom date, Alice Wheatley (now Alice Kelly). Her husband''s family owned a prestigiousw firm so it wasn''t a conflict of interest for her to hold shares in the financial sector.

    She had been a tough sell. Aaron ended up convincing her that having some of her own influence outside of the Kellys would be beneficial to her in the long run in case they tried to pull any tricks. Having a Hale on her side in the future would be especially helpful.

    Each of his dummy shareholders aside from Cameron held 3% of the shares. Those firmly on Alistair''s side made up 54% of the shares and the wild cards Aaron still needed to contend with made up 22% altogether.

    What he needed to do now was work on the people who made up the neutral party and get them firmly on his side. How he would do that¡­he still hadn''t quite figured out.

    A look around the table showed that his chess pieces had varying reactions to the information being presented. Alice was just as bored as he was. Cameron wore his usual poker face so he had no idea what the man was thinking but Roger and Kyle, finance nerds, were soaking it all in like a sponge.

    When the meeting was adjourned, they all blessedly headed back to their offices or left depending on whether or not they worked there full-time. Aaron found an unpleasant surprise waiting for him in his office when he got back.

    The desk chair was facing backward and slowly turned around to dramatically reveal Aiden Quinn sitting with his fingers pressed together under his chin like a mob boss. He broke his serious expression in a split second and grinned crazily.

    "I''ve always wanted to do that."

    Aaron sighed, knowing this wouldn''t lead to anything good. "What are you doing here? The IT department is six floors down."

    Aiden ignored that and asked questions of his own.

    "Is today the day? Are you finally going to talk to her? Should I talk you up to her first? That might be a good idea since we have no idea how she feels about you at this point."

    When Keeley moved into a not-so-safe neighborhood after getting her bachelor''s degree, Aaron''s overprotective instincts came out. Not only did he offer a "free trial" of a top-of-the-line security system to the owner of the building, he set the newly graduated Aiden up in the apartment across the hall just in case.

    Aiden didn''t mind since he thought of Keeley as a friend due to how often he had been called upon to use surveince cameras to check up on her over the years. They were on good terms and stopped to chat when they saw each other in the halls.

    He liked her spunk but had no idea how someone like that had caught the attention of his super stuffy boss. It was a mystery he was still trying to figure out.

    "I want to but like you said, I have no idea what she''s thinking these days¡­I''m still trying to think of the best way to approach her," Aaron exined.

    "Well, what does she like? Offering her something she likes might soften her up a bit."

    What did Keeley like? He didn''t pay enough attention to things like that in his first life, which he regretted deeply afterwards.

    He watched her like a hawk enough to notice things like which Skittles vors she preferred when they spent time together their senior year but he hadn''t been around her nearly enough to know what she liked anymore.

    He frowned and opened Instagram. He had followed her on there using an ount that didn''t bear his name as soon as she joined the site. Scrolling through her pictures might give him an idea.

    Unfortunately, she didn''t post often. When she did it was usually pictures of activities with the same rotating group of friends, pictures of food she cooked, or pictures of a fluffy white and orange cat.

    He didn''t even know she liked cats; she never said anything about it. Maybe Aaron should learn about cats so they could have something to talk about. Weren''t pet owners usually obsessed with talking about them? He might ask for a second opinionter.

    "I know something she might like," Aiden said in a singsong voice.

    The temperature around Aaron dropped five degrees. "Why didn''t you say something before I bothered checking my phone?"

    He put on his most innocent look. "I only just came up with it, you know."

    Sure he did. Aaron pinched the bridge of his noise before rubbing it exhaustedly. Get to the point already, kid.

    Aiden''s enthusiasm couldn''t be dampened by anything, least of all his boss. He spun around in the desk chair a couple of times before answering.

    "Based on her credit card purchases, she really seems to like this little coffee shop close to NYU. She goes there at least a few times a week. Showing up there and offering to buy her a pastry or something might work."

    It wouldn''t be terribly difficult to pretend it was a coincidence, would it? He hated to admit it, but Aiden might actually know what he was talking about.

    "I''ll take it into consideration."

    Aiden smiled smugly. He had been around his boss long enough to know what that meant. He was totally going to do it.

    He wished Aaron the best of luck¡ªKeeley Hall wasn''t the kind of girl to be messed with. She would probably be a tough nut to crack.

 Chapter 73: Long Time No See

    <h4>Chapter 73: Long Time No See</h4>

    Keeley''sb rante and she was exhausted but still had to write an outline for a research paper that was due tomorrow.

    To motivate herself, she stopped by the kitschy little coffee shop she discovered her sophomore year of college just outside campus. She could use one of their lemon scones right now.

    It was past dinner time so the White Leaf Caf¨¦ was much emptier than usual. In fact, there was only one other person in it, sitting in the corner watching the door while sipping a Frappino.

    Focused on her goal, she didn''t notice this person and headed straight for the counter. "Hi, I''ll have one of your lemon scones to go, please."

    "Sure thing honey, that''ll be $2.98."

    Keeley rummaged around in her purse for spare change when a deep voice spoke from behind her.

    "I''ve got it."

    "Hey thanks! You didn''t need to do that," she said cheerfully, turning around to see more of the kind stranger than just his arm. All of the blood drained out of her face in an instant.

    Wearing one of his usual Armani suits, Aaron looked rather out of ce in such a simple coffee joint. What on earth was he doing here? Weren''t there fancier ces to get coffee in his part of town? Of all the rotten luck.

    You''d think living in a city with more than eight million people in it would make it easy to avoid just one. Apparently not.

    Keeley wasn''t the same person she was thest time they met. She would treat him like any other acquaintance and be civil even if she would rather be anywhere other than here. He wasn''t worth worrying about.

    "Long time no see," she said coolly.

    Though his presence was as powerful as ever, he gave off the slightest hint of nervousness as he leaned against the counter. She might be imagining it; after all, he was the king of poker faces.

    "It has been a while. You look good."

    Her straight blonde locks were shoulder length and she had gotten side bangs the year before since all the girls at school were doing it. Keeley always kept her hair long when she was with Aaron because updos were the fashionable thing in New York''s socialite circle. She had been excited to try something new.

    The unexpectedpliment threw her off. "Thanks. Uh, you too."

    She wanted this conversation to end quickly so she could get back to her normal life but Aaron seemed to have no intentions of letting her go.

    "Why don''t we catch up over dinner? My treat."

    "I don''t have time; I have a paper to write," she declined. "I only stopped here for a minute on my way home."

    Thank goodness she had a legitimate excuse.

    She waved goodbye and hurriedly made her way to the door but he stopped her by looping his arm through hers and briskly walking in the opposite direction of the subway station. This reminded her forcefully of her second senior of high school.

    "Aaron, I really don''t have time for thi¡ª"

    "It won''t take long and I''ll drive you home afterward. You probably already missed your train anyway."

    Keeley sighed. He was right; she did already miss her train. It would be much preferable waiting for the next one than it would be eating a meal with this domineering creep though.

    Pushing and pulling in the past only made Aaron more interested. She would ept this one time and work on the outline on herptop during the drive home.

    He only wanted to catch up with an old ssmate¡ªthis should be a one-time deal if she didn''t do anything to pique his interest further. Keeley was going to be as boring as humanly possible while still in the realm of politeness.

    Aaron ended up dragging her to a popr Japanese steakhouse that she had been to a couple of times in her previous life with her dad. She hadn''t been since because it was way out of her budget.

    "So," he began once they were seating at a table where the chef would grill things right in front of them. "Tell me what you''ve been up to thest five years."

    "It''s not that exciting," she demurred, wanting to give as few details as possible. "I got my bachelor''s in bioengineering and am halfway through my PhD."

    "Medical science isn''t that exciting?" he asked dryly. "Seems like you''ve been busy."

    "I still am busy." ''And yet you dragged me here anyway'' was left unspoken but heavily implied.

    He ignored the jab. "I''ve been pretty busy myself. I got my economics degree and am the vice president at my family''spany now."

    Keeley already knew this so she simply said, "Good for you."

    "I suppose. Work gets rather tedious at times."

    This from the king of the workaholics? Hard to believe. Aaron spent the majority of their married life either at work, thinking about work, or working at home. Even before things went south in their marriage he didn''t have a good work-life bnce. Business was his one true love.

    "I can understand that," she lied, trying to remain calm. "Endless observations at theb get pretty tedious too."

    Interest sparked in his cold eyes. "Observations of what?"

    "Rats. I can''t tell specifics because of privacyws but my faculty mentor is currently on rats for her animal trials and I spend hours a day recording everything about them."

    "Sounds fascinating."

    She couldn''t tell if he was making fun of her or not. Even if he was, she didn''t care. His opinions meant nothing to her. Keeley wasn''t sure what to say to that but didn''t have to because the night''s entertainment was about to begin.

    The chef began making their meal with a series of fancy spat flips and a rather dramatic me spurt.

    It was quite an impressive feat, which was why Keeley took her dad here. He loved watching it. Too bad she wouldn''t be able to afford to take him any time soon.

    She apuded the chef after he finished and Aaron followed her lead with a few hesitant ps of his own. The food was delicious. She couldn''t let unpleasantpany detract from the value of a good meal.

 Chapter 74: Nice Try, My Love

    <h4>Chapter 74: Nice Try, My Love</h4>

    Aaron couldn''t urately gauge how well things were going on their date because Keeley was giving off very mixed signals. She wasn''t openly hostile like before but she also wasn''t making any effort to keep the conversation going¡ªshe answered direct questions and that was it.

    At least she seemed to be enjoying the food. This was a good choice. He remembered her mentioning that she took her dad here to eat before so he knew she liked it.

    He held back his frustration that she wouldn''t give much detail. If she didn''t bring up the fact that she had a cat, he wouldn''t be able to enact his n.

    It was Aiden''s second piece of advice before leaving his office after Aaron asked about it¡ªif he asked for Keeley''s help in getting a cat himself, it would show his soft side and he would be able to spend more time with her.

    He felt a bit regretful. Keeley asked about getting pets before when they were married but he said no because they received a lot of antiques as wedding presents. That wouldn''t be a problem now¡ªthe furniture in his penthouse was nice but not priceless.

    It was clear that she was enjoying her life without him by doing whatever she wanted based on both her haircut and her pet.

    He wouldn''t stand in the way of anything she wanted this time¡ªnobody''s opinion mattered but hers to him anymore. She could do whatever and he would support it. He just wanted her back.

    Too much of his previous life had been spent worrying about what other people would think, how other people in his circle would treat her, and that she would be in danger if he cared too much. Not anymore.

    Things had been awfully quiet on both the business and marriage fronts. Lacy still spoke to him every chance she got but Aaron only went to functions that were absolutely essential in order to avoid running into her.

    His mother tried matchmaking several times but hadn''t so much as gotten him to go on a single blind date. He was reserved for Keeley alone. Why waste his time on other shallow women?

    As for work¡­his ns were still underway but he was at a point where his father couldn''t suppress him so easily.

    That was what gave him the confidence to start going after his woman for real this time. He believed he could keep Keeley safe from potential schemers with his current power.

    Keeley''s phone buzzed and she frowned before pulling it out and checking her messages. She immediately pped a hand to her forehead when she saw what time it was.

    "Look, I really have to get home now. I haven''t even started my paper."

    Aaron was a bit disappointed but kept it in. There would be many more chances to see her in the future. At least she hadn''t yelled at him today. He signaled for the check and boxed up the leftovers, giving all of them to Keeley.

    She seemed surprised as she thanked him. He wasn''t sure whether or not to be insulted. It seemed her opinion of him hadn''t changed much. He needed to work on fixing that.

    He wanted to broach the subject of her cat but didn''t get the chance since she pulled out herptop the second they were in the car and began typing away furiously, giving off extreme ''do not disturb'' vibes.

    Suddenly, he felt very sorry for all the times he did the exact same thing to her. It was unsettling.

    Keeley remained busy the entire 40 minute drive back to her neighborhood but she got off a few blocks away after politely thanking him for the meal and wishing him well, as if she didn''t expect to see him again. It was the same silly trick she pulled in high school.

    Aaron was disgruntled. Despite her civility, she was definitely still heavily guarded against him. Based on her goodbye, she seemed to think today was nothing but a coincidence that wouldn''t happen again.

    ''Nice try, my love,'' he thought. ''You''re not getting away from me so easily.''

    Back at his apartment, he looked around with a heavy sense of loss. This six bedroom, five bathroom, three-floor high penthouse was never meant to be a bachelor pad.

    The first floor had a guest room, an office, and a library. The second floor was meant for entertaining guests and had arge terrace. The remaining bedrooms were up on the third floor, which also led to sole ess of the building''s roof.

    An apartment this size was meant for a family. He would give Keeley free rein to decorate once she moved in this time rather than listening to his mother''s advice and hiring an interior designer for the house they previously lived in. She would like that.

    Aaron seriously considered buying their previous home when he finished college but ultimately decided against it. Keeley wouldn''t know any better but he had a lot of unhappy memories there, especially since he couldn''t bear to leave after she died.

    A new start here would be much better. He wished she would befortable enough with him to move in soon. Even though he just saw her, Aaron missed his wife.

    His phone rang as he stared out over the lonely skyline and he answered angrily when he saw who it was.

    "What?" he barked.

    "You will attend tonight''s cocktail party," Alistairmanded, uncaring as ever. "Find a date or I will find one for you."

    Aaron wanted to break something. So much for getting a break from his parents'' attempts at matchmaking.

    He couldn''t antagonize the man yet¡ªhe still needed at least half of the wild card shareholders in his pocket before he could do that.

    "I''ll bring someone," he said frostily before hanging up.

    With a sigh, he mentally reviewed the single socialites he knew and weighed his options. He would rather stab himself in the eye than ask Lacy Knighton. Rachel von Dyne was too close to Lacy for his liking. Sarah Silver had a reputation for being a sloppy drunk and that wouldn''t do for his family''s image; Alistair would kill him.

    The list of avable women without some sort of defect was distressingly small.

    However¡­Alistair never said his date had to be in their circle. An actress or model would be an eptablepanion for such a casual event. It just so happened he knew of an actress in need of work.

 Chapter 75: Fake Date

    <h4>Chapter 75: Fake Date</h4>

    "You want me to what?" Aiden asked his boss doubtfully over the phone.

    "You said your neighbor is an actress. I am in need of her services tonight for an event. All she has to do is smile, nod, and look pretty on my arm and I''ll give her $5,000 for her trouble," Aaron said loftily.

    "Do you know which neighbor I was talking about?! She''s Keeley''s roommate! What if she finds out?"

    "I''ll have her sign a nondisclosure agreement and threaten to sue. Simple."

    Aiden ran a hand through his copper hair with exasperation.

    "You''re seriously going to pay someone else to be your date? Why not just ask Keeley?"

    Aaron''s voice was cold. "She has a paper to write; she''d say no."

    He sighed. There was no reasoning with this ice block. He was sure Jennica would jump at the chance for a paid acting gig but still¡­this was risky.

    "I''ll ask her and call you back."

    Aiden walked across the hall and hesitated in front of their door before knocking three times. Thankfully Jennica was the one to answer the door.

    She smiled. "What''s up?"

    "Can Ie in? I have a¡­kind of weird request," he said awkwardly.

    She invited him in and gestured for him to sit on the couch. Keeley''s cat rubbed herself against his ankles once he did and he felt a sneezeing on.

    Jennica sat down on the other side and looked at him expectantly.

    "Okay, so my boss called¡­he has to go to this fancy cocktail party tonight and his dad threatened to set him up on a date if he didn''t bring one himself and he asked me to find somebody to y his fake date. You''re the first person I could think of."

    Skepticism was clear on her face. "What''s wrong with him that he can''t find a date himself?"

    Oh, how Aiden wished Aaron could be a fly on the wall in that moment; that would take him down a peg! He burst outughing and couldn''t control himself for a few minutes. When he came back to his senses, he wiped his eyes and grinned as he answered her question.

    "Nothing. He''s probably the most eligible bachelor in this city and doesn''t want to be linked with someone who will take advantage of the exposure."

    Jennica''s eyes widened. "The most eligible bachelor¡­are you talking about Graydon Meyer or Aaron Hale?"

    "Shh!"

    Aiden hurriedly nced toward the bedrooms but saw that Keeley''s door was firmly shut and study tunes were spilling out from under the crack. She probably couldn''t hear but still¡­

    He whispered as quietly as he could. "Aaron Hale. He''s willing to pay you $5,000 for a few hours of your time. All you have to do is wear the outfit he provides, show up, smile and nod. Please? You''d be saving my life here."

    Jennica caught on and replied just as softly. "I didn''t know you worked at Hale Investments."

    "I''m in their IT department but that''s not important right now. You''d also have to sign a nondisclosure agreement that says you''re liable to be sued if you tell anyone about this. Aaron''s a little paranoid that the love of his life might find out."

    Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and he could tell she was wavering about the whole thing.

    "¡­why does he need a fake date if he has a girlfriend?"

    "She isn''t his girlfriend yet; he''s still working on it," Aiden exined.

    And the girl was right there in the other room! If Keeley found out, she would be even less likely to give Aaron a chance.

    He figured that telling the whole truth might give him a leg up here. Jennica seemed like a sympathetic person¡ªa sob story might get to her.

    "Truth be told, he knows his parents won''t approve of the woman he loves so he hasn''t told them yet. They keep trying to set him up on blind dates with all these socialites and he''s been dodging them as best he can but he got cornered tonight and really needs help."

    Jennica''s expression softened. She definitely felt sorry for Aaron. Sess!

    "I didn''t realize things were soplicated for rich people. Alright, I''ll do it. It''ll cover five months of rent with a bit leftover so it''s not like I have the room to say no anyway."

    She stood up from the couch and smiled mischievously. "Take me to your leader."

    ===

    When Aiden and Jennica arrived at Aaron''s ce, he had a stylist waiting to make her look morous in thergest guest bathroom upstairs.

    She was whisked away to get beautified and Aiden was able to gawk at how insanely fancy Aaron''s apartment was. The rich truly lived differently.

    He lived in a two bedroom unit (one room held all of hisputer equipment) that boasted one bathroom and a tiny kitchen attached to the living room. His entire apartment probably only made up ? of a single floor here.

    "Dude, your house is sick," he said in awe.

    Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Sick?"

    "It''s ng. Means it''s awesome." Was this guy seriously so dense aboutmon linguistics?

    "Oh." Aaron nced around as if to assess his dwelling. "I suppose it is."

    He supposed?! Aiden would never understand this guy. Whatever. It wasn''t his job to understand him. His job was to work in the IT department by day to monitor what happened in thepany and do what Aaron asked within reason off the clock.

    This particr escapade was a bit outside his usual duties but what could he do? Aaron paid really well and he had a mom and little sister to support after his dad left.

    Besides, he had the benefit of always having the shiniest new toys to y with. Sometimes Aaron got him electronics that weren''t even on the market yet. There were pros and cons to having an entric boss.

    "If you don''t mind, my mission here has been aplished and I have a lovely RPG calling my name back at home so I''m going to use your driver again while she gets ready."

    Aaron pped a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from leaving. "Wait! Did you¡­see Keeley at all while you were there?"

    Aiden smirked. Of course that''s the only thing he cared about. The poor schmuck had it bad.

    "Nope. She was in her room the whole time listening to movie scores as she worked on that paper. I did meet her cat though."

    "That''s more than I''ve done," he said grouchily, his ice factor increasing a few notches.

    Aiden wasn''t truly afraid of Aaron but he couldn''t deny he wasn''t a fan of when he went into full-on cier mode.

    "Hey man, you''re the one who wanted me to be her neighbor. It''s not like I''ve ever been inside her house before today. On your orders."

    This cated him and he let Aiden go. What a weird guy.

 Chapter 76: They Cant Take Away My Happiness This Time

    <h4>Chapter 76: They Can''t Take Away My Happiness This Time</h4>

    Jennica had never felt so fabulous. This dress cost more than what she made in a year and the makeup was wless. Her golden brown tresses were coiffed to perfection and she didn''t even want to think about how much the jewelry she was wearing cost. It was probably worth more than her life.

    "Vo, you''re done my little masterpiece," the stylist said with a satisfied look on his face. "Why don''t you go downstairs and show off how good you look."

    She didn''t have nearly enough guts to try and ''show off'' in front of the son of one of the richest men in New York so she went down the stairs meekly and silently. Aaron didn''t evenment, just nodded and indicated for her to follow him.

    He didn''t speak at all until they had been in the car for fifteen minutes. "I assume that idiot told you what to expect."

    Jennica was a bit startled to hear Aaron refer to her neighbor as an idiot and it took her a minute to respond. "Yes, he told me to smile and nod."

    "Precisely. Don''t speak unless spoken to. If someone asks about anything you''re wearing, I''ve prepared a list. Memorize it."

    She nced at the piece of paper he handed her and her eyes nearly popped out of her skull. So¡­expensive¡­she hadn''t even heard of half of these designers, which meant they were exclusive.

    "Have you acted in any significant roles before? If you have, you are allowed to mention those as well if they ask," he said in the same brisk tone he''d been using all along.

    Jennica was tempted to rub her arms to ward off the chill that came from his voice.

    "Um¡­I was in the Les Miserables movie adaptation earlier this year and got to sing in the background of a few scenes¡­And I''m about to be an understudy for an Off-Broadway y in a few months! Rehearsals start next week."

    She thought about anything else he might consider noteworthy. "Oh! I was in a car insurancemercial three years ago."

    "It might be best not to mention the car insurancemercial."

    Jennica frowned. That had been her big break!

    It was her first paid gig; everything else had been Community Theater up to that point. Thatmercial helped hernd a bunch of different gigs as a movie extra or in small roles in Off-Off-Broadway productions over the past few years.

    She shook it off easily enough. This man would never understand her world so there was no point taking anything he said seriously. She would do this once, get paid enough to tide her over for a while, and never have to think of it again.

    Although¡­didn''t Aiden say he was in love with someone his parents didn''t approve of? Did that mean she was a normal, middle-ss person? Geez. He''d probably never win her over if he was this snobby.

    She spent the rest of the car ride memorizing the clothing and jewelry list and practicing the mannerisms of a sessful, confident actress. Aaron didn''t say a single word and left her to it. He was an awfully cold and taciturn person.

    Jennica was very curious what kind of woman this ice cube would fall for. She wanted to ask but didn''t dare offend him. If she did that, she might not get paid.

    The cocktail party was being held on the rooftop of a prominent building in midtown Manhattan. The twinkling lights strung around the tree trunks and light poles created a starry sky effect since not a single star was visible in the city from all the light pollution.

    She gingerly tucked her arm through the crease in Aaron''s elbow and held her head high.

    Actress mode was engaged. Jennica felt confident that she could do this. Looking around, she appeared just as morous as anyone else here.

    "Aaron! I see you found a date after all. Who might this stunning young woman be?" an elegant woman appearing to be in her early forties asked.

    "Mother, this is Kimberly Thayne. She''s an actress Off-Broadway," Aaron said frostily.

    Wow. What a way to speak to your mother! It was as if he didn''t even know her.

    Jennica was shocked by his treatment of her but also by the fact that she didn''t look nearly old enough to have a twenty-four year old son. It barely registered that he used a fake name for her.

    "I see," the woman replied neutrally. "It''s a pleasure to meet you. Please do enjoy the party."

    After she left, Jennica leaned over and whispered, "Why do I get the feeling she wasn''t actually that happy to meet me?"

    Aaron nearly smiled but there wasn''t the slightest bit of warmth in it. It was a bit terrifying, actually.

    "She wants me to pick a socialite to marry. Bringing an actress as apanion is eptable for this kind of casual affair but she knows as well as I do that I could never seriously date someone with your career. She''s upset that I''m not taking things seriously."

    "You''re still pretty young, why does she want you to get married so badly?"

    His entire countenance darkened and Jennica flinched. Apparently this was a sensitive subject.

    "It''s a status symbol. My parents¡ªbut mostly my father¡ªwants me to marry someone that will bring benefits to the Hale family, particrly through a business alliance. They don''t care about what I think on the matter at all."

    No wonder he was paying her to be his fake date. He wanted to protect whoever it was that he really cared about. But what was he going to do if she actually epted him? She would be exposed to his vicious world eventually.

    "I''m sorry," she saidmely, not knowing what else to say. She didn''t know enough about how things worked in his life to offer advice.

    Aaron actually sighed, showing a bit more humanity than she had seen all night. He seemed tired and sad.

    "I''m used to it. I''ll figure something out. They can''t take my happiness away this time."

    She had to wonder about the backstory behind ''this time'' but wasn''t able to ask because they were approached by a snobby-looking woman with raven hair and magnificent sea green eyes. Aaron''s demeanor changed instantly and he became the coldest she had seen him all night.

 Chapter 77: Sayonara, Sucker

    <h4>Chapter 77: Sayonara, Sucker</h4>

    "Lacy. What do you want," Aaron said tly to the neer.

    "I''m not allowed to say hi now?" the woman purred as she tried to sidle up to him.

    Aaron backed away instantly, nearly knocking Jennica over. "No, you''re not. Pay more attention to your date and leave Kimberly and me be."

    "Kimberly?" she asked sourly before turning to her opponent. "How long have you known Aaron?"

    "Not long," Jennica said coyly.

    She had a feeling her employer for the night really wanted this woman to be put in her ce. She was happy to oblige¡ªshe really felt for the guy.

    "We just hit it off one day, didn''t we Aar-Bear?"

    Revulsion flitted across his face briefly at the horrible nickname she came up with on the spot before he resumed his poker face and spoke stiffly. "Yes, we did. She is¡­lovelypany."

    She was sorely tempted tough at how ufortable the previously unppable Aaron Hale was acting but kept the charade going. Wrapping her arm around his waist, she batted her eyshes up at him bewitchingly.

    "Didn''t you say you were going to get me a drink?"

    "¡­I''ll go do that."

    Jennica wouldn''t quite describe what he did as ''scurrying away'' since it was a bit more dignified but that was the feeling she got. He must truly loathe this woman.

    "Lacy, was it?" she asked sweetly, sizing her up not at all subtly. "Don''t you think you''re a bit brazen for going after someone else''s man?"

    Lacy''s carefulposure cracked and she let an ugly look appear for a moment before smiling again.

    "Last I checked, Aaron was single. That makes him fair game."

    "You think of him as a game? Poor dear, he deserves so much better than a schemer like you," Jennica clucked sympathetically, inciting Lacy''s rage even further.

    "You''re a no name actress! You could never be Mrs. Hale," the woman said furiously, her hands balled into fists.

    So she was actually after the title of Mrs. Hale. Interesting. For the first time Jennica was grateful she wasn''t born rich and didn''t have to deal with all of this drama regrly. It seemed like such a drag.

    For the moment though, she was having a good time taking this spoiled brat down a peg.

    "Who said anything about wanting to be Mrs. Hale? I''m here because Aaron wanted me to be; nothing more, nothing less. Too bad he doesn''t seem to even want you within a hundred feet of him."

    Lacy appeared to be on the verge of popping a blood vessel by the time Aaron came back with two drinks. Jennica epted hers with an innocent smile and took a sip while raising her eyebrows in challenge, daring Lacy to snitch on her.

    As predicted, she didn''t say a word. She probably knew Aaron wouldn''t take her side. She stomped away in a huff. Sayonara, sucker.

    "What exactly did you say to her?" he asked coolly.

    "Nothing you wouldn''t have said yourself given the chance, I wager," Jennica said smugly. "You''re wee."

    His forehead creased briefly. "You''re lucky I used a fake name to introduce you."

    Shivers ran down her spine when he said that and she wasn''t sure why. Was he referring to the spoiled heiress that just left? Was she dangerous? She seemed like a pansy to Jennica.

    Before she could ask what he meant by that, an older couple approached them and began talking to Aaron. Jennica put on her most professional smile. Here they go again.

    ===

    "Would you prefer cash or check?" Aaron asked boredly once they were back in the car at the end of the party.

    Jennica was exhausted¡ªwho knew smiling could hurt your face so much. She had used up her smile quota for the rest of the month.

    Every single person she met tonight was eitherpletely fake or super stuffy. How people actually lived like that, she had no idea.

    "Check, please. I''d be nervous about getting mugged on the way to my front door with that much cash."

    He didn''t so much as bat an eyelid at her joke. Did this guy even have a sense of humor? She had never met anyone so stiff.

    The only time he broke his nk, slightly disdainful expression was when talking about the woman he loved or when dealing with Lacy.

    He seemed softer and sadder talking about his love and even more forbidding than usual when that brat was involved. It made sense. Love and hate were about as strong as emotions could get.

    "That woman you care about¡­does she know she''s in danger with you?" Jennica dared to ask.

    His cold, empty eyes seemed to drill a hole into her soul.

    "She''s not in danger with me," he said firmly. "I won''t let anybody else touch her."

    She didn''t buy it. From what she had seen and experienced tonight, any real girlfriend of Aaron''s would be eaten alive.

    "Aaron¡­I don''t mean to pry, but if the one you love is anything like me¡ªnormal, I mean¡ªthere''s no way she would survive in your world."

    "I know."

    Jennica wasn''t expecting that. She was unexpectedly protective of this girl she didn''t know after nearly being thrown to the wolves herself for just a couple hours.

    "If you know, then why¡ª"

    "I would abandon that world entirely for her. Once I aplish my goals, there will be absolutely no need to socialize with the rabble. I don''t care about high society connections; my parents do. All of those people annoy me. As soon as I control thepany all I have to do is show up for business meetings. Anything else can be handed off to someone else on my behalf."

    Her eyes widened. He must be serious about this girl to be willing to leave everything he knew behind for her like that.

    "You¡­would leave high society behindpletely?"

    Aaron stared out the window so she couldn''t see his expression.

    "I should have done it years ago¡­I didn''t realize she wasn''t¡ªI mean, wouldn''t be¡ªhappy with all those people. I''ve had a lot of time to think about it. I want to give her the normal life she craves."

    She was a bit moved by his speech. He must love this woman more than anything to be able topromise like that despite their differences. Who on earth could inspire that kind of devotion from one of the most powerful men in the city?

    "In that case, I think she''s very lucky to have someone like you."

    Aaron turned back to her and raised an eyebrow but didn''t say anything. When they arrived in front of her building, the driver came out and opened the door for her and she bid him goodbye, thinking that was thest she would ever see of him.

 Chapter 78: A Blip

    <h4>Chapter 78: A Blip</h4>

    Keeley had a case of the munchies and sliced up an apple to eat before trying to go to bed. She finally finished her outline around 9 PM but wasn''t tired enough to go to bed that early.

    She was still in the kitchen when the key turned in the lock and an expensively dressed Jennica waltzed through the door.

    "Where have you been?"

    "Acting gig. Some guy paid me to be his date to a party to get his parents off his back," she said as she removed her high heels.

    "Did he give you those clothes?" she asked in confusion.

    She recognized the designer of the dress, the brand of the shoes, and the fact that the jewelry she was wearing was made of real diamonds. Though it had been many years since she had been actively exposed to such things, they tended to make an impression.

    "Yeah, he said he had no other use for them. He was an odd one but I feel sorry for him," Jennica admitted, plopping onto a kitchen chair and leaning back. "Can you imagine being willing to give up your entire world for the one you love?"

    Only too well. She had done it once and it was the biggest mistake of both of her lives.

    It was a bit strange that her roommate would ask this kind of question on the day she just happened to run into her ex-husband for the first time in five and a half years. "Why do you ask?"

    "Ah, it''s nothing. I was just curious."

    Keeley answered the question seriously, voicing her true opinion.

    "I think if someone gives up too much for a rtionship and doesn''t receive enough in return that both parties will end up resentful in the end and everything will fall apart. Some couples just aren''t meant to be."

    Jennica narrowed her eyes and sat up straight. "You sound like you''re speaking from experience."

    She shrugged and flippantly said, "It happened between me and my ex."

    "Ah." Her friend wisely dropped the matter and changed the subject.

    "Anyway, the people at this party were nuts but at least it paid well. I can focus on preparing for my own role and the understudy script without worrying about rent for a while."

    "Good for you, Jen! I''m d it worked out for you."

    "Yeah, me too. Have you seen Valentina around? I want to tell her about a real New York City cocktail party," she said excitedly. "She''ll flip!"

    "She came home while you were out; I think she''s in her room," Keeley said before popping an apple slice into her mouth.

    "Thanks, I''ll go check."

    Keeley finished off her apple slices, brushed her teeth, and crawled into bed next to Molly as she snoozed on her pillow.

    She couldn''t fall asleep for a long time because she kept wondering what it was that possessed Aaron to ask her to dinner tonight.

    She hadn''t seen him since her freshman year of college; she was supposed to be off his radar. Was it really a coincidence that he just so happened to be in her favorite coffee shop when she got off work? It had to be.

    If he was still on the same kick he was their senior year, he would have continued pestering her the entire time they were apart.

    She changed her number but Aaron knew where her dad lived so she wouldn''t be too hard to track down, especially since that traitor liked him for some inexplicable reason. No, this had to be a coincidence.

    Seeing him wasn''t the issue here; she was concerned about why he forcibly dragged her to dinner.

    Considering he wanted to catch up, they didn''t actually do all that much catching up. It reminded her of before when he didn''t care as much about their conversations as he did her presence.

    Aaron¡­what on earth was he thinking? Didn''t he know she hadpletely moved on?

    She had told him dozens of times that she wanted nothing to do with him. What would it take to get that into his thick skull for good?

    When she finally did fall asleep, she dreamed that she was at a cocktail party wearing Jennica''s fashionable outfit and was handcuffed to Aaron.

    "Keeley¡­you can''t escape me, Keeley. Not ever! You''re stuck with me for good!"

    His voice floated around her head and was echoed by mockingughter from a group of socialites.

    "Look at that gold digger!"

    "She thought she could tie him down. Tsk, they never learn."

    "She may look pretty in all her expensive clothes but she will never be one of us."

    "She''s not fit to be Mrs. Hale¡­"

    Theughter increased until the socialites turned into a pack of hyenas that pounced on her all at once and began tearing her dress into shreds. She screamed for Aaron to help her but he was gone, leaving the other handcuff dangling empty at her side.

    Keeley woke up in a cold sweat at 4:23 AM and was wide awake. With a groan, she fumbled for her phone''s shlight and made her way out to the living room to stream a funny si she liked. She could use augh right now.

    Valentina came out to make breakfast at 6:30 and found Keeley parked there in her tank top and pajama shorts covered in hearts.

    "Why are you watching TV this early?"

    "I had a nightmare and couldn''t go back to sleep," she admitted.

    Her roommate''s expression grew worried. "What was it about?"

    "I don''t remember," she lied, not wanting to exin herself.

    Thebination of meeting Aaron and Jennica''s out of the blue question must have triggered stress in her unconscious mind.

    "Well, you might want to start getting ready too. You have ss at eight, don''t you?"

    Valentina was right. She pressed pause and turned off the TV before taking a nice hot shower to calm her nerves.

    It was just a dumb dream. She''d had dreams like this before but not for years. This was but a blip in her peaceful Aaron-free existence.

    She let the hot water run down her back, loosening the tension there. She was going to be just fine. He didn''t know her number, where she lived, or where she worked. She would just have to avoid the White Leaf Caf¨¦ for a while and everything would go back to normal.

 Chapter 79: Rushing to the Rescue

    <h4>Chapter 79: Rushing to the Rescue</h4>

    Everything did not go back to normal.

    First thing in the morning, Keeley saw that Aaron tried to friend request her on Facebook. She deleted it instantly¡ªno way did she want him seeing her posting things about her life.

    Since she avoided going to the caf¨¦ where they bumped into each other, he started hanging out around the medical school after he got off work. After about a week of desperately trying not to be seen, he finally caught her.

    "Keeley!"

    She flinched so hard she may have dislocated her shoulder. "Yes?" she asked with a wince.

    "You''re a difficult person to track down." Yeah, because she didn''t want to be found!

    "What do you want, Aaron? I only have a thirty minute dinner break before I have to go back to the researchb and I''ve already used up nine."

    "I need your help with something," he said nonchntly, as if it didn''t actually matter to him at all. Clearly it did or he wouldn''t have staked out her school for a solid week.

    "Spit it out already, I still need to eat and the clock is ticking," she said impatiently.

    He was clearly displeased. "You could at least pretend you''re happy to see me."

    "Tick tock," Keeley said crossly. He had to be kidding. Why on earth would she do that? "You have thirty seconds before I''m going to Paco''s Tacos and leaving you here."

    "¡­you actually eat that stuff?"

    Unbelievable. She gave him a time limit and he was still trying to pick a fight over his rich kid sensibilities being offended.

    "Goodbye."

    "Wait! You have a cat, right?"

    She was totally creeped out by that; she never mentioned she had a cat. "How do you know that?"

    "Your cover photo on Facebook is of a fluffy white cat sprawled out on a pile of gics textbooks; not hard to deduce."

    Okay, that was a reasonable exnation. She rxed fractionally. "What about it?"

    "I''ve been thinking about getting a cat but nobody else I know has one so I don''t know how to go about it. Where do you buy cats? And what sort of things do you need to get for them? What about veterinarians? I know nothing."

    First of all, Aaron Hale admitting he knows nothing? Unheard of. Secondly¡­what parallel universe was this that he wantedpanionship of any kind? Aaron didn''t like animals! What on earth possessed him to want a cat?

    She was so startled by all of this that she stammered, "Can''t you just look this stuff up online?"

    "Do you really trust everything you read on the inte? I prefer sources I can trust," he scoffed.

    Always so high and mighty. Who in this day and age was too good to use Google?

    Keeley saw the time at an angle from his watch. Her precious dinner break was ticking away. To get him to let her leave, she blurted, "Okay! I''ll help you! Just let me get dinner, will you?!"

    His pleased smirk appeared on his handsome face. "That''s all I needed to hear, thank you. Give me your number; we can talk about this over dinner tomorrow."

    "I''m busy tomorrow but whatever, just text me."

    She rattled off the number and sprinted to the Paco''s Tacos without even saying goodbye. Half of her break wasted, just like that. Curse him!

    She had to scarf down her bean burritos as she walked back to theb and it ended up giving her horrible indigestion.

    "What''s wrong with you?" her fellowb assistant, Erica Simon, asked after witnessing Keeley groan in agony for the tenth time.

    "I think I may have food poisoning."

    "Paco''s Tacos?" Erica asked sympathetically. "We''ve all been there. It''s the closest ce to eat near the medical school but at what cost? It''s greasier than anything else I''ve ever eaten, including meat lover''s pizza."

    "I''m actually dying," Keeley moaned, pressing her cheek against the metal table because it was cold.

    "You look like you''re about to hurl. Go home!"

    "But Doctor Kim¡ª"

    "I''ll deal with her. Get out of here before you puke on something and contaminate theb," she insisted. "Go!"

    "Okay," Keeley said miserably as she gathered her things and went to clock out, hunched over in pain.

    This was entirely Aaron''s fault! If he hadn''t held her up, she might have been able to walk father to the smoothie shack that sold acai bowls and wouldn''t be on the verge of death by burrito right now.

    He had texted her to give her his number already and she was so pissed off that she actually sent him a message. ''I have food poisoning because of you. You suck!''

    His response was immediate. ''How is your getting food poisoning rted to me in any way?''

    ''If you hadn''t wasted my time I wouldn''t have had to go to the Taco Shop of Death''

    There wasn''t a response for a few minutes and she woozily made her way towards the subway stop. If she puked on the train at this time of day when it was so crowded¡­somebody might actually murder her.

    When a text dide, it simply said, ''Stay where you are, I''m on my way.''

    Keeley didn''t want to see him again but she couldn''t deny that being in a car, which was less crowded, would lessen her chances of projectile vomiting on a fellowmuter. And she would get home faster.

    Besides, if she puked in his Mercedes-Benz he would probably never speak to her again. That would be a plus. So she parked herself on a bench on the sidewalk and waited for Aaron to pick her up against her better judgment.

    She tried to remember if there was ever a time during their marriage where he personally took care of her when she was sick. Usually he''d just get the driver to take her to the hospital and that was the end of that.

    So why was he rushing to the rescue now? Did he actually feel guilty?

    Maybe he felt obligated because he still wanted a favor out of her and thought she might be too mad to follow through if he didn''t help her out this time. That was still pretty thin reasoning.

    Aaron never did anything without believing it would benefit him somehow; he was a capitalist down to his very core. How would he benefit from helping her out when she was about to throw up?

 Chapter 80: Since When Was Aaron This Nice?

    <h4>Chapter 80: Since When Was Aaron This Nice?</h4>

    Keeley already threw up into a nearby trash can once before Aaron arrived but her stomach was still boiling. She felt feverish and saw a red haze surrounding everything when he appeared in front of her so he looked oddly like a cartoon devil.

    "You look awful," he noted.

    "Thank you Captain Obvious. Get me out of here before I throw up again," she hissed, still peeved that all of this could have been avoided if he hadn''t stopped her on her break.

    He sighed and crouched down in a rather undignified manner to give her a piggyback ride. "Please don''t throw up on me."

    "What if you deserve to be thrown up on?"

    "Does anyone really deserve that though?" he asked wryly. "I can admit this is at least partially my fault; it''s why I''m here. Get on."

    Keeley didn''t want to argue further. She might puke again if she opened her mouth and despite her big talk, she didn''t want to die today because she blew chunks onto the suit of the vice president of Hale Investments.

    Aaron carried her like that a few blocks back to the parking lot near the medical school. His driver was there waiting for them.

    Her stomach felt even worse being in the car. She feebly asked, "If I throw up in your car are you going to kill me?"

    "Don''t be ridiculous."

    Less than ten minutester, they pulled into the basement parking lot of a building she didn''t recognize.

    "This isn''t my apartmentplex," she said stupidly.

    "It''s mine. I didn''t think you''d make it all the way to Washington Heights in your condition so you''ll have to stay here for now," Aaron responded in his usual cold tone.

    She felt too sick to protest though on the inside she was screaming. Aaron''sir was thest ce she wanted to end up! How had this happened?! He was supposed to take her home, end of story!

    He carried her to the elevator and they rode it up to the penthouse. She was shocked how different the interior was to their house after they got married.

    It was almostpletely empty aside from some severely austere modern furniture scattered here and there. This was definitely a bachelor pad.

    "Aaron, I''m going to throw up again," she warned and he hastily slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and deposited her in front of the nearest toilet.

    "Stay there, I''ll get you some water."

    How would he know that people with food poisoning are supposed to stay hydrated? The kind of restaurants he frequented would never produce food that caused such a thing. Did he¡­look this up for her on the way to pick her up?

    Keeley puked twice more before he came back.

    "Thanks," she said miserably as she epted the ss from his outstretched hand and chugged the whole thing. She then filled it up with tap water and used it to gargle because her mouth felt gross.

    "Do you feel any better?"

    "Not really. I''d like to brush my teeth but I don''t know when I''ll make that pointless by puking again," Keeley sighed.

    "Well, whenever you''re ready there are spare toothbrushes and toothpaste in the drawer to your left. I''ll go refill this for you," he said casually before walking away with the ss in hand.

    Since when was Aaron this nice? Maybe he was capable of feeling guilt after all. Too bad he learned how over a decade toote for it to matter.

    Over the next two hours, Keeley puked until there was nothinging up but bile and Aaron continued bringing her expensive spring water imported from d. He was surprisingly patient about the whole thing, which didn''t jive with her image of him at all.

    She hadn''t been taken care of like this in a long time¡­possibly since before her mom died since her dad was so squeamish. It was kind of nice. Her anger lessened a bit since he was so clearly apologetic for the first time in both of her lives.

    "I think I''m done puking," she informed him with a yawn. "I''m going to brush my teeth and then you can take me home."

    "You''re exhausted; why don''t you take a bath in the Jacuzzi tub and sleep in one of the guest rooms. If your dehydration gets too bad, my ce is closer to the hospital anyway," Aaron offered.

    Her first instinct was to refuse. Spend more time with the enemy? Stay in his apartment overnight? No way!

    But a rxing bath in a bathtub big enough to be a hot tub¡­his mattresses were probably amazing too; they had been before. She was tired, sick, and sorely tempted. Her head was too muddled to think straight.

    "Some needs to feed Molly," she said blearily, clinging to herst strand of rationality. "And my roommates will be worried."

    "Give me your phone, I''ll text them for you."

    She took the phone out of her polka-dotted skinny jeans withoutint andy back down on the cool bathroom floor. "Text Valentina¡­she''s my emergency contact."

    "Found her."

    A minuteter, he handed the phone back and Keeley saw the message he sent. ''I got food poisoning across town so my friend is taking care of me overnight. Please feed Molly for me.''

    Simple and to the point, just like Aaron.

    "I''ll go start that bath for you," he said softly before leaving her alone again.

    Keeley continued lying on the floor, her mind overloaded with thoughts.

    The most coherent one was that she was so d she started carrying an emergency pair of underwear in her backpack after the time she bled so heavily through her pants on campus while on her period that the underwear waspletely destroyed.

    She had to wear it for another four hours to boot even though she managed to buy some pads in the student convenience store and covered the stain by tying her jacket around her waist. It was an incredibly ufortable experience so she started carrying a spare in case anything like that ever happened again.

    That still left the problem of pajamas though¡­ No matter. The bath was the only thing she could focus on right now. It sounded wonderful.

    When Aaron came back, he helped her get upstairs to the master bathroom where the Jacuzzi tub was and showed her where the towel and pair of pajamas he left for her were.

    It was one of his Egyptian cotton matching pajama sets that would surely be too big for her. She nearly forgot he used to wear those.

    "And while you''re rxing you need to drink this entire water bottle," he said sternly. "You lost a lot of fluid."

    Keeley nodded mutely, wanting him to leave so she could sink into the hot water and enjoy the jets. Once she was sure he was gone, she locked the door and removed her clothes, practically melting into the water. It felt amazing!

    She sipped from the water bottle asionally but for the most part she closed her eyes and let her mind go nk as the stream of bubbles pounded against her back.

    Sometimes, it was nice to be rich¡ªthe Jacuzzi tub in their old house was her favorite thing about the ce. She could do this every day.

 Chapter 81: A Wonderful Way to Start Off the Day

    <h4>Chapter 81: A Wonderful Way to Start Off the Day</h4>

    Aaron''s heart nearly stopped when Keeley came out of the bathroom with a towel turban on her head wearing his pajamas.

    They were far too big for her; the pants were cinched as tight as they would go, the legs were rolled up probably six times, and the shirt hung nearly to her knees.

    She still looked wan from all the time she spent throwing up but he didn''t think he had ever seen such a beautiful sight. She was here, in the home he bought with her in mind, wearing his clothes.

    "Can I have some more water?" she asked with a yawn, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

    Keeley used Unintentional Cuteness. It''s super effective!

    Aaron nodded with a lump in his throat. It wasn''t fair that she looked this adorable and he couldn''t do anything about it. He had to go slowly and win her trust, like a scared little animal.

    He went downstairs and got her another water bottle. She struggled a bit with the cap, clearly tuckered out, so he twisted it open for her and she smiled gratefully. Keeley hadn''t smiled at him like that for a long time.

    Once she finished it, Aaron showed her to the bedroom closest to his and told her he was right next door if she needed anything in the middle of the night.

    She nodded and shut the door behind her. He could hear the sheets shifting as she climbed into bed and the sound was torturous.

    He desperately wished to be in bed with her right now but if he snuck in there she would never speak to him again. Patience. He had waited this long; he could wait longer.

    This was a slow game but he had to keep the pace consistent if he wanted to win. Losing was not an option. Keeley was the only thing in this world he could not afford to lose. Not again. She was worth more to him than all the money in the world.

    That being said, he wasn''t about to give up his spot in thepany because he still needed to punish his father and be able to protect Keeley on a permanent basis.

    Security was tighter this time¡ªhe hired his own driver and the housekeeper only came by a few times a week. Instead of having a full-time cook, he utilized a private caterer that delivered gourmet meals that could be frozen and reheated easily in the oven or ate out.

    This ce was entirely his own with no prying eyes that could report back to Alistair. Keeley could be safe here.

    It was what he should have done the first time around. Then he never would have had to push her away in the hopes that his enemies would leave her alone.

    Aaron already had the advantage. He had a fairlyprehensivework of people on his side, including the twenty-year-old genius hacker Anomaly. He had more than half of the shares that weren''t explicitly under his father''s jurisdiction.

    Lacy didn''t know a thing about his love life and he only saw her at a select handful of events after purposely distancing himself from her and her family.

    He had the ability to keep his love safe; all that mattered now was that she would ept him. Tonight seemed like a decent start.

    He knew he hadn''t been a good husband even before he pushed Keeley away. He got caught up in work, didn''t make enough time for her, and had unfair expectations.

    Shepletely uprooted her life for him and he didn''t ever acknowledge, appreciate, or try to make up for that. Now was the time to right his previous wrongs.

    It seemed to be working; Keeley was much less prickly toward him after he showed her a bit of tender loving care when she felt so rotten.

    She thanked him without being snippy about it. She smiled at him genuinely. That was more than she had done the entire time they were in high school together this time around.

    Aaron went to bed early, exhausted from going up and down the stairs so many times and from the emotional upheaval of the day. He slept better than he had in a lifetime because he could hear her rolling around next door.

    Keeley had always been prone to moving around in her sleep.

    When they were married, half of the time she would go to bed near the edge and wake up sprawled across him on the other side. It annoyed him for the longest time but he would give anything to experience that right now.

    Sweet, beautiful, genuine Keeley. At this rate, she would be his again soon. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

    When his rm went off in the morning and he went downstairs to make himself a cappino with his very expensive coffee machine, Aaron nearly jumped out of his skin because there was someone sitting at the breakfast bar.

    Keeley looked up at him sheepishly as she held up a spoonful of yogurt. "Good morning."

    Civility at 6 AM? This was promising.

    "Good morning," he said warmly. At least, warmly for him. "Did you sleep well?"

    "Yeah, your mattresses are amazing." She hesitated a moment. "Um¡­I hate to ask this but¡­could I borrow a couple things from you?"

    "Like what?"

    "Ab? And a button-down shirt?"

    He could understand theb, but why the shirt? Keeley''s face turned a bit red under his questioning gaze.

    "I can probably get away with wearing the same pants two days in a row but if the whole outfit is the same my ssmates are going to get the wrong idea."

    Ah. So that''s what she was worried about. She could take whatever she wanted, no returning necessary.

    "I''ll go get those now if you''ll make the coffee. I rmend the Brazilian blend."

    "Roger that."

    She hadn''t said anything that goofy in this life either. Keeley was definitely warming up to him! What a wonderful way to start off the day.

    He came back down with hisb and a lc dress shirt to find the coffee already prepared and waiting.

    Aaron felt quite sentimental. It had been decades since he saw two coffee mugs side by side like this on his kitchen counter.

    "Thanks! The one on the left is yours," she said as she began trying to detangle her bedhead.

    It was obvious that she needed an actual hairbrush to do this effectively but he didn''t own one. He would have been better prepared if he knew she would stay the night so soon. Honestly, he was lucky he happened to have extra toothbrushes on hand.

    "Oh! I think I have an extra hair tie in my bag," Keeley thought aloud.

    It was something she had done a thousand times when they were together and it settled into a deep crevice of his heart.

    As much as she feared or resented him, she never truly changed at her core. She was still his Keeley. That gave him hope moving forward. He could get her backpletely.

    They sat inpanionable silence sipping their coffee until Keeley finished hers and dashed off to the bathroom to get ready. When she came back, he understood why she wanted the shirt.

    She had rolled up the sleeves practically to her shoulders, buttoned most of the top half, and twisted the unbuttoned bottom half into a tight knot in front so she looked like she was going to a rodeo.

    It was casual to the extreme but he couldn''t deny that the sight of her in his shirt did funny things to him just like the pajamas had.

    "Well look at the DIY Queen," he said, impressed.

    Keeley scrunched up her face. "How does someone like you even know what DIY is?"

    "The inte."

    "I thought you said you didn''t trust the inte," she said dryly.

    "Only on some things. So, when are you going to be able to help me out with the cat thing?" he asked, trying to mask his eagerness.

    "I''m free on Saturday. Think you can wait that long O Impatient One?"

    If only she knew how patient he actually was. She would be in for quite a surprise.

    "That works."

    "Cool. Now drop me off at school; I don''t know the subway routes from here," she demanded.

    "Your wish is mymand."

    She looked at him like he was nuts. Maybe he was. He was just happy to see her on friendly terms with him again. Love could make people a little weird.

 Chapter 82: Its Better Not to Drink Alone

    <h4>Chapter 82: It''s Better Not to Drink Alone</h4>

    The impact of what she just did fully hit Keeley as she sat through an upper level epigics course after Aaron dropped her off.

    She spent the night at her ex-husband''s ridiculouslyrge multimillion dor apartment. She was wearing his shirt. Worst of all, she had been nice to him even after he seriously pissed her off.

    She epted his help out of desperation but she definitely should have pushed harder about having him take her home once she felt better. Keeley''s head hadn''t been in the right ce; she let her guard down because she didn''t feel well.

    Alright, she could admit it: the small part of her that used to desperately wish for Aaron''s affection felt validated when he took care of her. In her fevered state, she wanted to enjoy that feeling a little longer.

    Keeley was a pretty healthy person; she never caught anything more serious than a cold during the years she spent as Aaron''s girlfriend.

    It wasn''t until they had been married for a little over two years and that near fatal ectopic pregnancy urred that she had any serious health problems. When that happened, he distanced himself from her shortly after she came home from the hospital.

    What was the difference? Why would he be so caring and considerate to an old ssmate but hadn''t shown even a fraction of that care to his wife who not only lost their first child but also the ability to have any more?

    It was absolutely devastating; recovering from the surgery with a husband who was always at work and left her in the care of home nurses was bad enough.

    Theck of emotional support during that time truly spelled the death of their marriage. He hadn''t been there for her, physically or emotionally.

    She had to deal with the fact that she would never be a mother all by herself. The grief consumed her, just as it had when she lost her mother and Kaleb. Not only was most of her family gone, she wouldn''t be able to have a new family of her own.

    For months she lived in a half-dead state and where was Aaron during all that time? At work.

    When he was at home, he didn''t say much to her. She wondered if he didn''t know how to deal with his own grief but at the very least he should have realized his wife needed him.

    Keeley always expected to have kids someday but once she finally recovered enough from her depression to consider adoption, Aaron wouldn''t even hear her out on the matter. They argued about it a lot¡ªwell, Keeley argued. He stood there and refused to acknowledge her, as if she was air.

    Later on, when Lacy started sneaking around with him, Keeley realized why he didn''t actually mourn the loss of their child or care that there wouldn''t be any more toe.

    There was a woman waiting for him who could give him what he wanted. In the end, he got his offspring.

    After he married Lacy, her child took the ce of Keeley''s lost baby as the heir to his empire. She assumed this was why Aaron finally filed for divorce with his useless, broken, unwanted wife in the first ce. They had already been estranged for years; he was just waiting for the right moment.

    She couldn''t ever forgive him for abandoning her during the biggest crisis she experienced since losing her family members, let alone everything that came afterward.

    So why? Why did he have to take care of her when she was sick and make her feel like he cared?

    Tears filled her eyes and she brushed them away impatiently. Crying in ss would not do. What was the professor even saying? She should have been paying better attention.

    Pushing conflicting thoughts of Aaron out of her head, she sharpened her focus so she could take at least some notes during this lecture. Unfortunately her concentration problemssted throughout the rest of the day.

    "Hey, are you feeling any better?" Erica asked sympathetically as they slowly and painstakingly entered individual pieces of data concerning the rats into theputer program that would analyze it.

    "Yeah, I slept it off after puking my guts out for a few hours. Thanks for covering for me," Keeley said gratefully.

    "You would''ve done the same."

    They went quiet after that, focusing on their job. Double, triple, and even quadruple checking the data was essential. If even one piece was wrong, all of the research would be worthless. Now was not the time to be thinking about other things.

    Since it was a rtively simple, repetitive task Keeley struggled to keep her thoughts solely on the data. They kept wandering back to her conflicted feelings.

    Talking to Aaron like he wasn''t the person who destroyed her life had been a mistake. She had to stay on her guard at all times when dealing with him.

    He hated her or, perhaps even worse, waspletely apathetic to her before. No matter how he acted now, what he did to her would not change.

    Wondering what things would have been life if he had been so considerate when they were husband and wife was a pointless exercise. All it did was serve to depress and confuse her.

    The past was dead. Aaron wasn''t someone to be trusted. It was that simple.

    She told herself that over and over but her mood was still rotten by the end of her shift. She bid Erica goodbye and immediately texted her roommates. Keeley really needed a drink and it was better not to drink alone.

    ''Sorry, I have to cram for a test''

    ''I''m at rehearsal but otherwise I''d love to''

    Of course both of them would be busy. She sighed. There was only one more person she could think of who might be avable on short notice. She may as well call him.

    "Well if it isn''t Keeley Hall, the doctoral student who never has time to hang out anymore," Ryan drawled. "What can I do for you?"

    "Are you free right now?"

    "I wouldn''t have answered the phone if I wasn''t."

    "Great; I need a drinking buddy. Meet me at the pub on 24th Street in twenty minutes." She hung up the phone before he could respond, knowing he woulde.

 Chapter 83: What Didnt He Do

    <h4>Chapter 83: What Didn''t He Do</h4>

    Ryan walked through the front door when Keeley was halfway through her third appletini. He sat down on the barstool next to her and ordered a beer before turning to her with a raised eyebrow.

    He had never seen Keeley drink outside of a party before and wondered why she was suddenly taking advantage of Happy Hour.

    Something bad must have happened based on the look on her face. There were obvious tear tracks on her cheeks and worry lines creased her forehead.

    It was a bit of an ufortable sight. The whole time he''d known her, she was cheerful, funny, and full of smiles. Her unfailing optimism didn''t even waver when she t out failed the Organic Chemistry II final their junior year of college and had to retake the ss.

    "So," he said casually, trying to lighten the mood. "You like appletinis?"

    He wouldn''t have pegged her as the type. She seemed too down to earth to enjoy those fruity cocktails.

    She nodded. "They''re one of the only decent things they serve at cocktail parties so I got used to them."

    Since when did Keeley go to cocktail parties? He knew her friends; they liked bowling, karaoke, and ping pong. Uptight shindigs like that weren''t their scene. He couldn''t so much as picture her in a cocktail dress.

    She saw his confusion and addressed it after throwing back the remainder of her ss and demanding another. "My ex is loaded."

    The dull pain in her eyes intensified when she said that. Ryan was pretty sure he figured out why she called him here. Her ex must have done something. Maybe he had gotten engaged to a rich girl.

    A pit formed in his stomach. If she was upset about that, she must still be in love with him.

    "He sounds like a tool," he offered, trying to make her feel better.

    His sister always loved bashing her ex-boyfriend, especially after he eloped to Las Vegas with her roommate.

    "He''s worse than that," she said darkly, taking anotherrge swig of her new drink. "He''s a cheater, a liar, has zeroprehension of human emotions, and he won''t leave me alone."

    Ryan felt a little better. She seemed pissed just talking about him; clearly this wasn''t love. There was some deep-seated resentment going on. Was she upset that he kept bothering her?

    "What did he do?"

    "What didn''t he do?!" she practically yelled, mming her hand on the table. "He never cared about me before so why¡­why is he being so nice to me all of a sudden? He can''t do that! Not after everything he did!"

    "Nice how?" he asked a bit nervously. It seemed to him like this guy was trying to get her back.

    Keeley started rambling a bit and he couldn''t quite follow what she was saying.

    "His fault¡­he doesn''t know the meaning of the word guilt but he just had to care this time¡­bringing me water, the Jacuzzi, the mattress, the coffee, this shirt! He carried me three blocks and up an elevator; who even does that?"

    Ryan might not register everything she was going on about but when he heard the word ''shirt'' he realized though it might be tied in a feminine way, she was most definitely wearing a man''s dress shirt.

    "Uh¡­Keeley? I hate to pry but¡­did you sleep with this guyst night?"

    The dullness in her eyes was reced with fiery fury. "What do you take me for?! I was sick and yeah, I stayed at his apartment, but I was in the guest room!"

    He held his hands up in defense. "Whoa! I didn''t mean to insult you. I''m just trying to get a read on the situation here so I can offer better advice."

    She backed down slightly but was still huffy and downed the rest of her fourth appletini.

    "I would never degrade myself like that! He was the one who made me sick; I let him take care of me because I thought it would be better to puke in his car than on the subway."

    "He¡­made you sick," he stated, growing more confused.

    Keeley sighed and supported her face with her hand. "Food poisoning. That idiot made mete so I had to eat bad tacos. He''s a freaking stalker, that''s what he is¡­"

    "He''s a stalker and you still went to his house?"

    "It was closer than mine! I needed somewhere to throw up!" she said defensively.

    "You just said you didn''t care if you threw up in his car."

    She was contradicting herself a lot today. It might''ve been the appletinis at work.

    "Of course I care! Would you want to puke in a car that''s worth more than your life? You don''t know, man, he could destroy anyone¡­"

    Who on earth was this guy? And if she was so afraid of him, why did she let him take her to his ce? There must have been at least a small amount of trust left to do that. They must have been together a long time.

    "Okay, he could destroy anyone. Why''d you break up with him then?" Ryan asked. He wanted to know where she stood.

    Keeley looked at him like he was an alien. "I didn''t; he dumped me to be with his side chick."

    Yikes. That would exin the resentment. But if she hated him so much, why did she ept his help? This made less sense by the minute. He sipped his beer, trying to make sense of it all.

    "I''m here, on my fifth ss of a cocktail I always used to drink with him, because he keeps showing up in my life again. Five years! He left me alone for five whole years so why did hee crawling back now? He''s everywhere! I wouldn''t be surprised if he showed up right behind you!"

    Instinctively, he checked over his shoulder but didn''t see anybody. The alcohol might be making her paranoid.

    He gingerly lifted it away. "That''s enough for you."

    She started sniffling and the tears came back when he took her appletini away. She buried her face in her arms on the countertop.

    Ryan was at a loss. She couldn''t keep drinking like that, especially right after being sick, but she was so upset! He had probably made it worse.

    As ifforting a small child, he reached out and hesitantly patted her back as she sobbed.

    "Why is this happening to me? Howe he didn''t want me when I loved him but he''s being nice now? Why? Why does he keep appearing in front of me when I just want to forget?"

    "I don''t know¡­I''m sorry, Keeley," he said quietly.

    That guy must be a real piece of work to put such a happy person into this state. He had the urge to go out and punch him in the teeth.

    She deserved so much better than that. Keeley deserved someone who respected her and kept that beautiful smile on her face. He could do a much better job of that than her ex.

 Chapter 84: Dead to Her

    <h4>Chapter 84: Dead to Her</h4>

    Ryan owned a red 2004 Honda ord and since he only had one small beer he was able to drive an inebriated Keeley home after sternly instructing her to stay put so he could make the twenty minute walk to his apartment building to get it. He didn''t trust her on the subway alone in her state.

    While she waited, Keeley ended up pressing her cheek against the counter.

    She really shouldn''t have drunk so much; she still had homework that should probably be done tonight. Looked like that was out the window and she''d have to push herself twice as hard tomorrow.

    Stupid Aaron. She never should have sent that text. She probably would have puked on the subway but so what? At least her heart wouldn''t be this conflicted.

    It hurt more than it should have considering she was supposed to be over him. Keeley didn''t love Aaron anymore; those feelings had died a long time ago. But the anger, hurt, and betrayal lingered on like a festering wound.

    She tried to remind herself that things were different in this life. Aaron wasn''t being an inconsistent hypocrite; he didn''t know how badly he had treated her!

    This Aaron was bossy, overbearing, and didn''t know the meaning of the word ''no'' but he had never done anything truly horrible to her.

    Try as she might, she couldn''t separate the two in her head. Aaron was Aaron, no matter the timeline. Even if he wasn''t bad to her now, she couldn''t forget what he had done.

    That capability to hurt her was buried in there somewhere. Even if it wasn''t, his world was terrifying and oppressive. There was no going back.

    Going back? Why would she even think of such a thing! All of the niceness, spoiling, and persistence in the world couldn''t entice her to go through all of that again. She got caught up in the moment and nothing more.

    Aaron was dead to her. She would do the dumb favor she agreed to and then tell him to go shove it.

    The neon lights hung around the bar blurred in and out of focus before the room itself began to spin as if it was mocking her.

    It was a familiar feeling¡ªshe didn''t remember much about being drugged on prom night but she did remember this awful swooping sensation. That was Aaron''s fault too! She ought to throttle him.

    "Keeley," Ryan said while gently shaking her shoulder. She hadn''t even realized she closed her eyes.

    "Huh?"

    "Come on, it''s time to go home."

    As she tried to casually hop off the stool, she stumbled and ended up headbutting his chest. He ced his hands on her shoulders trying to steady her. Five appletinis in one sitting were definitely too many.

    Keeley fell asleep on the ride back to her ce¡ªthankfully Ryan knew where she lived because he hade over to y board games with her and her roommates several times.

    He had been a solid presence in her life since her freshman year of college but if she knew the direction his thoughts had gone after seeing her lose herposure tonight, she would have felt extremely awkward about it.

    Ryan was a great friend and she enjoyed spending time with him but that was the extent of it. She still hadn''t healed enough from Aaron to date anyone.

    When they arrived, Ryan woke her up and asked if she needed help to get to her apartment.

    At first she said no, not wanting to bother him further, but when she tripped and fell on her face on her way out of the car he helped her anyway.

    They walked slowly to the elevator connected to the basement parking lot as Keeley''s arm was around Ryan''s neck, which was a bit awkward since he was half a foot taller than her, and his arm around her waist. Without him holding her up, she would have flopped right over.

    On the first floor, the door opened to let someone in and Keeley giggled drunkenly when she saw who it was and waved. "Hi Aiden!"

    He did a double take when he saw that a strange man was holding her upright. "Hey Keeley¡­are you drunk?"

    "Yep," she said, popping the ''p'' and giggling again.

    He looked at Ryan suspiciously. "Who are you?"

    "Keeley''s friend. I really did try to stop her but she had a bad day."

    Aiden sighed and held his arms out. "Let me take her, I live right across the hall."

    Ryan seemed relieved. "Great, thanks."

    "Bye-bye Ryan!" Keeley cooed before she hupped. She definitely owed him for tonight. "I''ll buy you chicken wings next time!"

    When they were alone in the elevator, Aiden asked, "How do you know that guy?"

    "Mm? We had a lot of sses together in college. All my roommates were busy and I needed a drinking buddy. Sorry, but you''re not legal," she said before losing her bnce again, making her neighbor catch her.

    "Why did you need a drinking buddy on a Thursday? You still have school tomorrow."

    She hupped again. "Don''t ever fall in love, it''s not worth it."

    "Who needs love when you have video games," he replied flippantly, making herugh.

    "You''re funny, I like you. Not like-like you though, that''d be weird because you''re so much younger than me."

    "I know what you meant. I like you but not like-like you too," Aiden said trying hard to muffle hisughter.

    The elevator dinged, indicating they arrived on their floor and he deposited her safely in front of her door and even unlocked it for her since her fine motor control was on the fritz. She waved him off cheerfully before stepping inside and flopping onto the couch.

    Her head was killing her and suddenly all of her clothes felt constricting. She clumsily peeled herself off the couch and hurried to her room to take off Aaron''s shirt, her bra, and her skinny jeans. They were exchanged for a pair of pajama pants covered in rubber ducks that she had for so long they were worn down to the perfect softness and an overge tee shirt.

    Without further ado, she crawled into bed, already dreading the hangover she would inevitably face. It might be in her best interest to skip her morning sses and just go to work in the afternoon.

 Chapter 85: Juicy Gossip

    <h4>Chapter 85: Juicy Gossip</h4>

    Aiden had gone to the convenience store across the street to get a candy bar that would help fuel him as he worked after-hours sifting through files he lifted off of some of thepany executives''puters on Aaron''s orders.

    He was well paid for his efforts but he would still rather be ying his favorite MMORPG; his in-game wife, Nova Lundstrom, was beautiful and had a great sense of humor.

    Unfortunately, she also lived in Sweden. They video chatted from time to time but there didn''t seem to be a real future between them since Aiden was a New Yorker for life.

    Love was on his mind as he headed back to his apartment but he certainly hadn''t expected to run into his boss'' love in the arms of another man in the elevator.

    He may have acted a bit defensively but he felt sorry for Aaron. The poor guy was obsessed with Keeley Hall and she didn''t seem to give him the time of day.

    Although¡­that shirt she was wearing looked awfully familiar. Aiden was willing to bet his entire game inventory that it was Aaron''s¡ªhe was pretty sure he saw him wear it a week ago.

    If she spent the night at Aaron''s ce, how on earth did she end up with another guy now?

    He offered to take her off the guy''s hands and he seemed relieved, which meant he probably wasn''t super close with Keeley.

    This may have even been the first time she let her guard down with him and he didn''t know how to handle it. That might be good news for Aiden''s boss; they didn''t appear to be dating.

    After leaving her to her own apartment, Aiden debated whether or not he should report in about this. It wasn''t really his business and Aaron would be royally pissed¡­he didn''t want to experience a case of shooting the messenger. Letting this slide would be in his best interest.

    It was a shame, really. Aaron cared so much and Keeley didn''t seem to care at all. He had been in a terrible mood at work during the week between encountering her again at the coffee shop and yesterday.

    Aiden certainly wanted to hear that juicy gossip from the horse''s mouth; Aaron had been on his version of cloud nine all day in the office.

    His expression was slightly softer and the temperature surrounding him rose drastically. Everyone had been whispering about it. They had never seen him in such a state before.

    ===

    The cafeteria inside Hale Investments'' office building was one of the better ones in the city so hardly anyone packed their own lunch. It was also a great ce to gossip because none of the higher ups ever ate there, preferring to eat out in one of the many upscale restaurants nearby.

    Aiden frantically gged down his coworker when he saw him exit the line with his food. "Cam! Cameron Singleton! Get over here!"

    "I am the head of the analyst department; don''t call me Cam where other people can hear it," he said grumpily as he set his tray down.

    They met two years ago when Aiden graduated from high school and was able to join thepany but Cameron had long heard of the infamous Anomaly that Aaron frequently mentioned.

    He hadn''t expected a genius hacker to be a fresh-faced kid! But that kid was brilliant and knew how to push Aaron''s buttons; Cameron liked him immediately.

    Aaron''s secret weapons normally ate lunch together anyway so nobody batted an eye when Aiden summoned him so loudly. Neither of them really fit in with the corporate culture here though they did their jobs well.

    "You look like you have interesting news to share," Cameron noted.

    Aiden''s eyes sparkled. He couldn''t wait to get his friend''s take on thetest Keeley drama. "I do! Remember how the boss was in a really good mood yesterday?"

    "Yeah, it was a bit frightening to be honest. Are you telling me you know why?" Cameron asked with interest before taking a bite of his lunch.

    He lowered his voice and leaned forward conspiratorially, gesturing with his hands for dramatic effect.

    "His woman spent the night at his house. She lives across the hall from me and I saw her wearing the shirt he wore to the shareholder''s meeting the other day!"

    Cameronughed and shook his head in disbelief, waving his fork around as a piece of chicken was stuck to it.

    "Not possible. Aaron Hale doesn''t experience regr human emotions; there''s no way he could be in love with someone, let alone get to fourth base with her. He''s like a money-making robot."

    Oh, the things he didn''t know! Aiden knew better than anyone how much of a sucker their boss was for love but he could see how somebody who hadn''t seen what he had would have a hard time believing it.

    He wouldn''t believe it himself if he hadn''t dealt with Aaron asking him to check up on Keeley on a regr basis for the past six years. The man needed Keeley like he needed air to breathe. It would have been funny seeing such a proud, aloof man be that mushy if it wasn''t so sad.

    "I''m telling you, he has it bad¡ªhe''s been in love with her since high school but she wouldn''t give him the time of day," Aiden insisted.

    "I''ve worked for him since my freshman year and in that time you wouldn''t believe the things I''ve seen him do. The only reason he''s even trying so hard to take over thepany is so he can protect her from the CEO."

    Cameron''s skepticism was obvious. He tapped his fork against his lunch tray.

    "What kind of goddess could inspire that kind of devotion from the Ice King? Is she Miss America or something?"

    He snorted so hard that pasta sauce came out of his nose. That really hurt! Aiden wiped it away and shook his head.

    "She''s one of the most normal, down-to-earth people you''d ever meet. I have no idea why Aaron is so obsessed with her."

    "I won''t believe you without proof."

    Aiden opened his Facebook app and went to Keeley''s page, clicking on her profile picture. "See for yourself."

    It was a tilted selfie with a graffiti covered wall in the background. The lighting brought out the gold flecks in her brown eyes and her smile rivaled the sunshine glinting off of her trendy haircut.

    Tons of people''s profile pictures looked very simr; she was pretty but average as could be.

 Chapter 86: Shes Cute But...

    <h4>Chapter 86: She''s Cute But...</h4>

    Cameron goggled at the picture on Aiden''s phone. "She''s cute but¡­"

    "I know. How Keeley attracted the attention of one of the most powerful men in this city, I''ll never understand."

    "Maybe with a little more information we might be able to figure it out. You know her, what''s she like?" he asked with the expression of someone trying to solve a difficult puzzle.

    Aiden gave him the basics first.

    "Keeley Hall, age twenty-four, single with two roommates she''s close to and a cat. Her only remaining family is her father and she visits him every week. She is a diligent doctoral student in developmental gics. She loves people¡ªwhen she isn''t studying, she''s probably socializing¡­

    "She''s got a good sense of humor and is super friendly but fiercely independent. What else¡­oh! She makes really good cookies. She gave me a cookie te with six different varieties around Christmasst year."

    Aiden was still bitter that he made the mistake of mentioning this to Aaron after he brought the te to snack from at work. He took the rest of the cookies away as soon as he found out so Aiden only got to eat two.

    "She made you cookies?! This girl sounds like an angel," Cameron said in disbelief.

    "She is a very kind person but don''t let that fool you; she''s also a spitfire if you cross her. Like a certain someone we know," he replied with a smirk.

    Cameron didn''t know what to think anymore. His boss was in love with apletely average girl-next-door type who apparently hated him. This was earth shattering news.

    As long as he had known Aaron, the man was ice cold, straightforward, and business-minded. He couldn''t even imagine that almighty presence doing something as normal as chasing after a girl, let alone an uninterested one.

    "¡­what did he do to her?"

    "Not a clue. He doesn''t really talk about it; I''ve had to piece it together for myself. From what I gather, they met their senior year of high school and she disliked him already. You know how Aaron is¡­ ''no'' isn''t an option. That probably made things worse," Aiden spected.

    Cameron pondered this information as hispanion chowed down on his lunch. His theory made sense. Aaron was a very demanding person.

    An ordinary girl could easily be offended by that¡­but what kind of woman would refuse such wealth? Even his own sister joked about finding herself a sugar daddy so she could quit her job.

    Most people assumed Aaron relied on his father''s money but that wasn''t true at all. Sure, he still got a vice president''s sry and had limited ess to the family fortune but the majority of his assets were due to his shrewd business sense, fortune-telling skills on the stock market, and Cameron.

    After a couple years of gambling in every casino in Antic City, the owners began recognizing him as someone who could beat their system and he got banned from every single one. So Aaron started sending him on all-expenses paid vacations to Las Vegas, Monaco, Paris, and Prague to continue trying his luck. He rotated often enough in these ces that nobody managed to catch him again.

    He evenpeted in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas each year using his boss'' money and was crowned the World Champion three years in a row, matching the previous record holder for the most wins.

    Cameron never would have had the buy in money to achieve that on his own. His boss was a shrewd, calcting businessman whose primary talent was investment, both in stocks and in people.

    He wasn''t the only one. Look at Aiden¡ªthat kid would be goofing around on hisputer for fun and attending amunity college if not for Aaron. Now his equipment was top-notch and he was the #3 hacker in the dark web.

    Aaron saw potential in them and cultivated it for his personal gain. Cameron had long thought that he was only capable of using people, not caring for them. So where exactly did this Keeley girl factor in?

    "If she doesn''t like him, why did she stay over at his ce two days ago?" he asked once Aiden was nearly done with his food.

    A crafty smile appeared on his colleague''s face. "Get this:st night I saw here home very obviously drunk, still wearing Aaron''s shirt, with a guy friend I''ve seen at her ce a couple of times. Fishy, right?"

    Cameron lowered his voice and nced around the cafeteria to be sure no one was listening out of instinct.

    "You think Aaron pissed her off again somehow and that''s why she went drinking with her friend?"

    "That''s exactly what I think! I want to ask him what happened when she was at his house to know for sure."

    "Do you have a death wish?! If you tell him what you saw, not only will he kill you, he''ll kill me by association!" he protested.

    Aiden rolled his eyes. "I''m not stupid enough to tell him what I saw. I''ll be subtle. You want toe with me? Lunch is almost over; he should be back in his office."

    "Sure."

    Now that he had been bit by the gossip bug, Cameron would go crazy if he didn''t find out what happened. They dumped the remainder of their trays on their way out of the lunch room and rode the elevator to the top floor.

    Aaron''s spacious office upied the northwest corner of the building. He chose that location because it was as far from his father''s office as possible while still being on the same floor as the rest of the upper management.

    Cameron knew Aaron nned to overthrow his father from the beginning but had no idea he was doing it for a girl until Aiden''s revtions earlier.

    His curiosity about this girl only grew but he would let Aiden handle it. His way of dealing with Aaron was both effective and hrious. This should be a good show.

    Aiden barged into his boss'' office without preamble.

    "Aaron!" he cried dramatically. "How could you hide such a significant piece of news from me? I''m wounded."

    The rtively soft look on his face was immediately reced with cold annoyance. "What are you babbling about?"

    As Aiden leaned over the desk, Cameron quietly slunk into the room and sat on the couch off to the side to watch how things unfolded. Aaron barely spared him a nce.

    "I happened to run into a certain someone wearing your shirtst night in the elevator," Aiden teased in a sing-song voice.

    Aaron''s nonchnce was incredible. "Oh, that. That was nothing."

    "Nothing?! The love of your life stayed at your house and you call that nothing?"

    "Keeley was sick and I took care of her; that''s it. But¡­she was nice to me."

    That soft expression appeared on his face again. Cameron and Aiden exchanged looks. It was a bit eerie, really. Not like Aaron at all.

    "Nice how?" they both asked at the same time.

 Chapter 87: Two Clowns

    <h4>Chapter 87: Two Clowns</h4>

    Aaron had been having such a good day until these two clowns burst into his office. He was still basking in the slight bit of warmth Keeley showed him over breakfast yesterday.

    Aiden''s nosiness was to be expected but what was Cameron doing here? Unless¡­that brat, he totally told him. Cameron hadn''t known anything about Keeley because it wasn''t necessary information for him to aplish his job.

    "She said thank you non sarcastically and smiled at me," he answered them. "Happy?"

    Aiden furrowed his brows. "That''s it? You''re in the weirdest mood I''ve ever seen from you in six years and it''s just because she showed you basic politeness?"

    It sounded really bad when he put it that way. Maybe Aaron was overthinking things. Basic politeness and Keeley didn''t exactly go together most of the time when it came to him.

    She might have just grown up a bit; they had been apart for over five years. That idea instantly soured his mood.

    "What''s it to you?" he asked frostily.

    "Nothing, nothing," Aiden said innocently, parking himself on the edge of the desk. "So¡­when are you going to see her again?"

    "Tomorrow. I took your cat advice."

    Cameron stared at them wide-eyed. "Cat¡­advice?"

    "Keeley has a cat so I told him to ask for her help in picking one out and getting the stuff for it,"

    Aiden exined. "It''ll help them bond."

    "I''m sorry, but I cannot picture you with a cat. Or a pet of any kind."

    Aaron sighed. Did these twoe here simply to test his patience?

    "I''ve never had one but it can''t be that hard. I have already looked up a list of reputable breeders in the city. It should be easy enough to procure one."

    Despite what he told Keeley, he did have a degree of trust in the inte and had looked up prominent cat breeds. A Savannah or Bengal would do nicely.

    Aiden jumped off the desk with a look of horror on his face. "Nooooo that''s going to make things worse!"

    "What do you mean?" he replied, getting progressively more annoyed.

    "Do you know how Keeley got her cat? She found it in a storm drain,pletely covered in mud, and took it in because when she brought it to the vet she found out the owners abandoned it and was furious. She has a strong sense of justice. If you really want to impress her, take her to an animal shelter and get a rescue cat!"

    The hacker acted like he was exining something to a two-year-old. Aaron was insulted but had to admit he had a point; the only expensive thing he''d bought her in this life that she kept was the DNA ne because it catered to her interests.

    Keeley had a soft heart, she would probably love going to an animal shelter. But ces like that were loud and dirty, weren''t they? Aaron had never stepped foot inside one in his entire existence and wasn''t sure he wanted to.

    "I got my dog from Happy Paws Animal Rescue over in Brooklyn," Cameron piped up. "Why not give them a shot?"

    "Since when do you have a dog?! I want to see!" Aiden demanded, grappling for Cameron''s phone.

    He unlocked it and showed them both a few pictures of a brown and white Labrador retriever/Pitbull mix lying on a carpet, running in the park, and at the beach.

    "This is Ziggy; I got him about three years ago with my ex-girlfriend. Last year she decided she didn''t want either of us and moved to Florida so¡­"

    "Dude, you travel at least once a month, what do you do with him?"

    "The dog hotel downtown is very familiar with us. We have a special membership there foring so often. He gets his own room and the staff walk him and y with him just as much as I do so he''s cool with it," Cameron exined.

    Aaron was surprised. He realized he didn''t actually know anything about Cameron''s life outside of work beyond the fact that his background check was clean.

    "I had no idea you had a dog."

    Cameron shrugged. "So do you want the shelter information or not? I think cats there are twenty-five bucks."

    Only twenty-five dors for an entire living animal? That was unfathomable to him. Then again, Keeley technically got hers for free.

    "Sure. Thank you."

    Aiden pouted. "Well now I want a pet! Everyone has one but me."

    There was no way he''d be able to look out for another living creature. He was barely able to take care of himself! He spent his entire life glued to hisputer chair and lived off of Ramen and cheap takeout even though he could afford better than that. It was a lifestyle choice.

    "Get yourself a fish; it''s probably all you''re capable of taking care of," Aaron said coolly.

    "Ouch."

    The wheels in Aiden''s head were turning. "What if I got a lizard or something? A snake? Or a frog¡­something in a tank so it won''t mess up my equipment."

    "You could always get a hamster," Cameron suggested from his spot on the couch. "Those are small and live in cages but are still soft enough to pet."

    His eyes lit up. "I could! Have you seen pictures of those sick cages with abyrinth of tunnels? I could get a freaking hamster pce."

    Aaron didn''t have time for this. They had used up all of their helpfulness for the day. "Get back to work. I don''t pay you to sit around doing nothing all day."

    "That''s exactly what you pay me for," Aiden pointed out.

    The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees as his temper red up. "Aiden," he growled.

    "On it, boss man!" he said cheerfully before practically bouncing out the door.

    Aaron could hear them talking about everything they knew about hamsters all the way down the hall. They didn''t shut the door behind them.

    Feeling a headacheing on, he got up and closed the door before sitting back down at his desk. Sometimes he seriously questioned why he bothered keeping those idiots on. Probably because they would be difficult to rece at this point.

    At least they had their uses. Aaron wouldn''t have been able to start building his empire without them. He stared at the screen in front of him with all of the reports Aidenpiled on the neutral shareholders.

    Bruce was probably his best bet to hit next. He had been in thepany a long time and Alistair refused to promote him from head of the finance department to chief financial officer. Aaron had been waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

    He happened to know that the current CFO would retire in a year. If he managed to convince his father to promote Bruce instead of hire externally and made a deal with the man beforehand, that would be one more shareholder on his side. An additional 4% in his camp would be quite helpful.

    Unfortunately, he was still trying to figure out how to wrestle Alistair''s shares away from him because that was his best bet to control thepanypletely. Once he did that it would be smooth sailing from then on.

 Chapter 88: Was This Surprise Keeley Day Or What?

    <h4>Chapter 88: Was This Surprise Keeley Day Or What?</h4>

    Keeley was not in a good mood as she waited in front of the fake apartment building she had Aaron drop her off at before.

    It was 9 AM on a Saturday, which would have been bad enough already, but she had overslept trying to get rid of her hangover and didn''t have time to do any homework at all until after work.

    She ended up working herself to the bone to turn everything in before it was due at midnight, not even having time to eat dinner. It all got finished but at a serious cost. Then she was awake until 3 AM because her sleep schedule was thrown off.

    Stress + disturbed sleep + having to see her least favorite person = one grumpy Keeley.

    She purposely dressed as casually as possible so he would be embarrassed to be seen with her. Aaron had always been ridiculously image conscious. It would serve him right.

    Her hair was in two pigtails, disying her cheap white star-shaped stud earrings for all the world to see and she wore a purple tee shirt printed with a swarm of monarch butterflies on it. Light wash jean shorts, mismatched patterned crew socks, a colorful beaded bracelet with a tiny wooden heart charm dangling from it, and a pair of bright yellow knock-off Converse All-Starspleted the look.

    To top it all off, she had a Bugs Bunny adhesive bandage just below her knee because she identally cut herself shaving. Jennica bought them as a joke but they were all out of regr bandages so it was her only option.

    She had been embarrassed about it at first but now she was grateful for the dumb-looking thing. Aaron would hate it.

    A shiny ck Mercedes pulled up to the curb and rolled down the passenger window for her to peer inside without being blocked by the tint. To her surprise, Aaron was actually driving the car. She hadn''t seen him drive personally since they were back in Boston.

    Another surprise was that he was unusually casual himself. She couldn''t remember thest time she saw him wear jeans¡ªmind you, they probably cost more than her dad''s car, but still¡ªand his nautical striped button-down shirt had short sleeves.

    "Nice bandage," he said as she climbed into the car. There was a 99% chance he was being sarcastic so she chose to ignore it.

    "So, where are we going? Some fancy breeder''s ce?"

    Briefly, the corner of his mouth twitched. "No, my¡­friend¡­rmended Happy Paws Animal Rescue in Brooklyn."

    Her jaw dropped. Aaron at an animal shelter? In Brooklyn? Was she in an episode of the Twilight Zone or what?

    "¡­I''ve walked by there before."

    "Oh good, so you know where it is. I thought I might have to turn on the GPS."

    Silence permeated the car for several minutes until Aaron spoke up again. "I didn''t know you liked graphic tees."

    She couldn''t tell if he was making fun of her since his tone was monotonous as usual but answered sincerely anyway.

    "You only ever saw me at school so you wouldn''t have seen me wearing them. I usually don''t wear them during the week now either because I''m supposed to be professional as a doctoral student. Now they''re at-home clothes or weekend-only clothes but I do like them. They''re fun."

    "Your whole outfit kind of screams ''fun'' today," he said with his little half-smirk.

    He¡­liked it? Actually liked it. Or at the very least he found it amusing in some way. Unbelievable.

    "Thanks, I think." Keeley was very, very confused.

    "You''re wee."

    The conversation died again for a while because she was still trying to process what on earth he just said to her. They were halfway to Brooklyn when she realized something urgent and spoke again.

    "Wait!" she yelled, startling Aaron so much that he actually mmed on the brakes, causing the person behind them to honk angrily.

    "What is it?"

    "We should probably buy the cat stuff before we get the cat so it can be ready at your house," she said sheepishly. "Can you give me your phone to look up the nearest pet store? I don''t have a data n."

    Wordlessly, he passed her histest model iPhone and she saw that it was password locked. "What''s the passcode?"

    "Zero eight zero eight one zero," he said nonchntly.

    Both his lock and home screens were set to default pictures. How boring.

    Keeley thought about her own phone. Molly was her background photo and a picture of her and her dad was the lock screen. Her roommates'' lock and home screens consisted of friends and family members as well.

    Of course Aaron would use the defaults¡ªhe didn''t have anybody that he actually valued.

    He wasn''t close with his parents and she didn''t even think he had actual friends.

    Though he did mention a friend told him about this animal shelter¡­what kind of person would he hang out with that had a rescue pet?

    Keeley turned on the data and searched in Google Maps. There was a Pet Pce a mile away but would the great Aaron Hale be okay with shopping at a retail chain store?

    "The closest one is Pet Pce, is that alright?"

    "Yes."

    Unexpected, but okay then. She instructed him to turn left at the next light, taking on the role of navigator once again.

    When they arrived in the Pet Pce parking lot and stepped through the automatic sliding doors it was clear that Aaron waspletely out of his element. Keeley stifled her urge tough and led him to the cat specific section.

    "Okay, to start with you''re going to need food and water dishes, a litter box, a scratching post, different types to toys to test what it likes best¡­" she looked around, trying to remember everything she bought when she first took Molly home.

    Keeley turned to him reluctantly. "Do you want to pick things and then ask for my advice or am I sort of given free reign where you''ll take all my suggestions? I''ve never done anything like this before so I don''t know what to expect."

    "By all means, choose for me. I trust your superior judgment," he said seriously before standing back and putting his hands in his pockets.

    Was this Surprise Keeley Day or what? He never asked her opinion on anything and now he wanted her to choose a bunch of stuff for him with no input whatsoever.

    She shook away her jumbled thoughts and focused on picking things. The sooner she did, the sooner this favor would be over with.

 Chapter 89: I Like My Privacy

    <h4>Chapter 89: I Like My Privacy</h4>

    Keeley got a cart and started piling things into it, exining as she went.

    She chose a self-cleaning litter box because a) Aaron could afford it and b) she knew he hated being inconvenienced. The poor cat would be better off not facing his wrath at the indignity of scooping poop personally.

    She also chucked a variety of toys such assers, balls, little tunnels, feathers attached to a stick, and electronic toys that could be turned on and left alone for a while into the cart. The fanciest silver food and water bowl set iid in a ck metal rack ended up there too.

    In the food aisle Keeley ran into a bit of a dilemma. "Um¡­do you want the same kind of food I get or something fancier? I don''t know anything about the expensive brands."

    "It''s a cat; it won''t know the difference," Aaron said dismissively.

    Her brand it was.

    When they got to the cat trees, Keeley chose a nice big one that offered a lot of variety. It had rope scratchers, a little hammock, a hidey hole, and t perches. It''s the one she would have picked for Molly if she had enough room in her apartment.

    Aaron had to hold it steady as she pushed the cart when they made their way to the cashier because it stuck out too much. Everything else fit into the trunk easily but the tree¡­

    "I didn''t quite think this through," she admitted as they stood in front of the car.

    "Don''t you have one of these things?"

    "Yes, but it''s a lot smaller."

    He opened the doors and circled the car a few times. "I think I''ve got it but it might require a bit of finagling."

    "Aye aye, captain!"

    The first thing Aaron did was push the passenger seat as far up as he could. Then he shut all the doors but the back driver side one and front passenger one, telling Keeley to pick up the smaller end of the tree.

    They wedged it partially inside before Keeley went around to the other door and pulled it closer to the squished passenger seat. She pulled a bit too hard and lost her grip, falling backwards onto her butt. Ouch.

    Aaron immediately ran around to her side of the car and offered his hand to help her up. "Are you okay?"

    She refused it and stood, brushing herself off. "I''m fine. Did you get it in the other sidepletely? Can you shut the door?"

    He went back to check. "Not quite. Twist your end a little more."

    It took another three minutes of twisting and pushing to get both doors to shut but then there was the problem of there not technically being anywhere for Keeley to sit. What she did was climb into the rear passenger seat and stick her legs on top of part of the cat tree. It was super ufortable but at least she was able to get her seat belt on.

    As they started driving away, she looked at the position of her legs. One was bent normally and squeezed between two parts of the tree but the other was syed out at a wonky angle.

    Any time they hit a tiny bump or made a turn it felt weird and wrong. After about five minutes she couldn''t take it anymore. She burst outughing and doubled over so her nose hit her oddly tangled legs.

    "Keeley?" Aaron asked in a strange tone. "Are you alright back there?"

    She barely managed to wheeze a reply because she wasughing too hard. "It''s just¡ªmy¡ªlegs! Hahahahaha!"

    At the next stop light he turned around to see what was so funny. It certainly was a sight.

    He pulled his phone out and snapped a picture when her eyes were squeezed shut with mirth so she didn''t notice. He acted like nothing happened and continued driving when the light turned green.

    Keeley was so happy when she got out of the car that she could have done a cartwheel out of joy¡ªthat is if her legs weren''t so sore.

    "Is there someone we can ask for help with this stuff or are we on our own? It''ll take at least three trips even with both of us."

    Aaron frowned. "I''ve never had this kind of situation before. Maybe the doorman?"

    "What, you don''t have any servants on standby?"

    He looked at her like she was stupid. "I use a housekeeping service a few times a week and a driver when I have to work in the backseat but that''s it."

    She was astonished. That didn''t line up with how they lived after he came back to New York in her first life at all.

    "You don''t even have a cook?"

    "No, I use a meal delivery service. I like my privacy."

    He liked his privacy and yet this was her second timeing to his ce in just a few days? Exactly how much had he changed when he was in college this time around? He must have met people that influenced him since she wasn''t there.

    It shouldn''t have surprised her. Goodness knows Keeley was different because of the new experiences during her second chance at college.

    "By any chance is someone from the housekeeping service up there right now that we can call?" she asked hopefully.

    "I think we''re going to have to make multiple trips."

    She sighed. "Alright, let''s do the tree first. I''ll take the small end again, you take the base."

    They got a lot of funny looks in the lobby but pressed on to the elevator. Because Aaron owned the top three floors he had to turn a key in the elevator to ess them. That way nobody could get up there unless he specifically called for them and the doorman, also with a key, let them up.

    He certainly wanted to keep people out. Did something happen that made him paranoid about security or something? It seemed more likely that his hatred of humanity in general was going strong.

    As it was, she still had no idea why he epted her originally, however short term that may have been.

    They carefully set the cat tree down and rode the elevator to the top, panting slightly from the exertion. Once the doors opened they moved it to the guest room on the first floor, where he nned to keep all of the cat''s things since it was easier that way than having them scattered about.

    Several tiring and mostly silent tripster, the room was set up and they trudged back downstairs to make the drive to Brooklyn. Keeley sighed. It was only 10:30.

 Chapter 90: They Seem A Bit Energetic For Me

    <h4>Chapter 90: They Seem A Bit Energetic For Me</h4>

    Aaron was having a wonderful Saturday. The sun was shining, the air smelled sweet, and most importantly, he had Keeley''s undivided attention. Well, sort of. It was the most attentive she had been since he was reborn.

    She asked him questions, went off on tangents while talking just like she used to, and evenughed! It was the first time she did that in his presence since the Millenium Falcon so.

    Aiden deserved a bonus for presenting this idea; it was working splendidly already.

    One thing that dampened his spirits slightly was the twinge of regret that apanied noticing her colorful outfit. Never in either of his lives had he seen her dress so casually and based on their conversation, he realized that was likely his fault.

    When they were first hanging out and eventually dating, she dressed up because she wanted to look good for him. Later, when she joined high society by taking on the position of Mrs. Hale, he was always on her case about looking the part.

    It wasn''t done with malicious intent. He just wanted her to fit in with them because he knew those socialites could be vicious and didn''t want her to be bullied.

    Aaron had wanted her to be able to stand tall and proud. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.

    Keeley suppressed herself so much when they were together. Seeing the changes she had made in her life since he wasn''t an active part of it had proved that to him.

    Aaron had a lot of time to think when he was apart from her those five years. It was how he came to the conclusion that they didn''t need to be part of high society to be together.

    This time he would meet her in the middle so she could live life the way she wanted. Pigtails, cheap jewelry, and all.

    When they arrived at the animal shelter, he could almost imagine her pulling him by the hand with a huge grin on her face like she used to and pointing out all the animals she liked. Almost. Instead he found her looking at him expectantly twenty feet ahead because he wasn''t moving.

    He hurried to catch up. A wall of smells assaulted his nostrils as they opened the front door that seemed to mostly consistent of urine and cleaning products. He knew this ce would be dirty!

    "Come on, cats are this way," Keeley said from up ahead after reading a sign.

    The cats were set up in little rooms that held five to ten apiece. Visitors were allowed to move from room to room as long as they sanitized their hands between each one.

    The first room they passed held kittens and Keeley''s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Without even consulting him, she pushed the door open eagerly and sat cross-legged on the ground. Four kittens swarmed her on the spot.

    "Who''s the cute kitty? You''re the cute kitty!" she cooed in a baby voice.

    Aaron was a bit taken aback since he''d never seen her interact with a baby anything before. She certainly seemed to be enjoying herself, fawning over each one that came near.

    "Aaron, try petting one!"

    He was slightly startled. Her tone and expression took him back to their college days. Her eyes weren''t filled with adoration but she was encouraging him to branch out of hisfort zone just like always.

    "¡­I don''t know how."

    She snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. "Sorry. Start at the top of their heads and stroke down their backs along their fur growth. If you go the other way they won''t like it."

    She demonstrated with a tiny solid gray kitten in front of her. Aaron hesitantly joined her on the ground and copied her movements with a white kitten that had gray patches. It began shaking.

    "What''s it doing?" he asked a bit nervously. "Did I hurt it?"

    "It''s purring, you idiot! It means that it likes it."

    "So it''s the feline equivalent of a dog wagging its tail," he surmised.

    "How do you know about tail wagging but not purring? Did you live under a rock?" she asked in disbelief.

    He shrugged. "I don''t exactly have much experience with animals, you know. I''ve heard of purring in theory¡­"

    The little white and gray kitten fell asleep on Aaron''s leg and he felt it start to go a bit numb but couldn''t move the thing off because Keeley was watching.

    The gray one she was petting earlier had migrated its way onto her arm. It climbed up the back of her shirt and was now perched on the arm that was outstretched like a falconer waiting for a bird tond.

    She thought it was delightful based on her bright smile. "Hey Aaron, take a picture of this!"

    Her hand groped in her pocket for her phone but he said, "My phone has a better camera. I''ll send it to you."

    What he really wanted was a picture of her beaming. It would make a much better phone background than the default nature photo.

    Keeley shot a dazzling smile at the camera as the kitten remained in its birdlike position and he snapped the photo. Beautiful.

    "So, do you want a kitten?" she asked as the one on her arm began making its way toward the top of her head.

    He wanted tough. She looked perfectlyfortable with what was happening but there was no way Aaron could deal with that sort of thing.

    "They seem a bit energetic for me."

    "Ah, that makes sense. You know, I''ve heard that kittens do best with a buddy anyway. You''re at work most of the day so you''d probably be better off with an older cat that''s okay with a bit of solitude¡­"

    She went on about the kinds of traits he might want to look for in a cat for the next five minutes. The whole time he simple gazed at her with a soft expression, enjoying listening to her talk.

    Eventually Keeley decided they should go look at other cats and bid the kittens farewell. As they moved from room to room she asked him more questions about what he wanted.

    "Do you know what color or coat pattern you want? Boy or girl? Do you want a cuddler or a cat that mostly wants to do its own thing? yful or sleeps all day?"

    Aaron didn''t have an appearance or gender preference but since he wasn''t home most of the time, an independent and peaceful cat might be best. He told her so and she zipped off to find a shelter employee to ask about cats with those specifications.

 Chapter 91: You Cant Abandon Her

    <h4>Chapter 91: You Can''t Abandon Her</h4>

    Aaron peered into the window of a cat room with a slight degree of interest while he waited for Keeley toe back with a shelter employee. Most of them were sleeping. How much did cats sleep anyway? He had no idea.

    Truthfully, he had never even entertained the idea of getting a pet before he thought it might be away to get Keeley to like him more. What do you even do with them? Before today, he had never so much as petted a cat.

    He hated admitting ignorance but he had noticed that Keeley was the type willing to help people out¡ªif he didn''t know something, she would help him with it no matter how begrudgingly. It would be easy to stay in contact with her asking for cat advice over the next several weeks. A perfect excuse.

    Keeley''s voice sounded from around the corner. "¡­he''s never had a cat before and works all day so he''s looking for one that''s rtively calm and independent. Do you have any like that?"

    "Oh yes, we have several cats fitting that description," the shelter worker in a lime green Happy Paws tee shirt answered.

    "There he is. Aaron!"

    Keeley waved him over. He straightened and walked over to them briskly. The shelter worker smiled and gestured for them to follow.

    "Tell me more about what you''re looking for," the woman encouraged.

    "Um¡­what she said. I have a demanding job and often work ten hour days but my ce feels very empty so I wanted a pet," he improvised. His real reason would sound weird.

    "Well you definitely don''t want a super young cat; they tend to have more energy. I have a fewid-back ones I can introduce you to in this room over here."

    The shelter worker, whose nametag said Lisa, opened the door to a room with eight cats in it. One was eating but the rest were peacefully snoozing in various locations. Keeley crouched down and petted arge ginger cat sprawled out on the ground.

    "That''s Rusty," Lisa said helpfully. "He''s pretty friendly but when he''s not sleeping he''s the more active sort. I think Dinah might be a good fit for you. She''s the one in the cubby hole up top."

    They both looked up and saw a gray cat with small white and light orange patches speckled throughout her coat.

    "Oh, she''s beautiful!" Keeley eximed, standing on tiptoe to get a better look.

    "She''s a diluted tortoiseshell. She''s six years old and prefers peace and quiet but she can be sweet and cuddly when she feels like it. Dinah would make an excellentpanion."

    She dropped back down after peering into the cubby. "Do you think she would let me hold her?"

    Lisa nodded. "Just wake her up first by petting her so she''s not too startled."

    Keeley gently began talking to the cat as she pet it and Dinah slowly opened her big gray eyes, blinking several times. She gingerly lifted the cat out of the cubby and held her close to her chest.

    "She''s purring! Here, you hold her, see if you want this one."

    "Hang on¡ª" Aaron protested, not knowing what to do, but Keeley had already ced the cat in his arms and told him how to adjust them so the cat would be morefortable.

    The cat tilted its head back and stared at him before shutting her eyes and beginning to purr.

    Keeley stood with her hands on her hips, a disbelieving little smile on her face. "What do you know; I think she actually likes you."

    "Is that so surprising?"

    She shrugged. "Never in a million years would I have seen you as the kind of person an animal would snuggle up to."

    "Why must you always insult me?" he asked frostily. Keeley seemed determined to think the worst of him in any situation.

    "Come on, does the truth always have to be insulting? Don''t tell me I''m the only one who was surprised you wanted a cat."

    She wasn''t. Cameron wouldugh his head off if he could see his boss now. Aiden probably would too even though this was partially his idea.

    "¡­my subordinate was surprised as well."

    "You actually talk with your subordinates?" There was that same insulting tone of disbelief.

    Aaron was slightly annoyed. "I''ll have you know, this is the friend who told me about this ce."

    Her eyes widened. "You''re friends with someone who works for you?!"

    He was sorely tempted to let out a giant sigh. "Yes, Keeley, believe it or not I do have friends at work. Well, sort of. They would probably consider themselves my friends."

    "But you don''t," she said shrewdly.

    "They''re annoying a lot of the time," Aaron admitted. "But I do spend a fair amount of time with them so I suppose they count."

    Lisa watched them with a perplexed expression. When this couple came in, they seemed like they were on a date but watching them interact now it seemed more and more like the girl didn''t like this guy at all.

    She decided to interject before things got more awkward. "So, what do you think of Dinah?"

    Aaron nearly forgot there was another person in the room. He cleared his throat. "She will do quite nicely. I''ll take her."

    "Excellent!" Lisa eximed with a broad smile. "You can go ahead and put her down and follow me toe fill out the paperwork. I''ll send someone back for her in a bit."

    Keeley stood off to the side, watching other cats through the windows of different rooms while Aaron filled out the adoption application at the counter. He paid the ridiculously low price of $25 and one of the shelter workers brought Dinah out in a cardboard box covered in air holes that had a handle on the top.

    The cat meowed pitifully on the ride back to Aaron''s apartment.

    "Poor baby. Molly doesn''t like being in the car either," Keeley said while craning her neck to look at the box. "Are you nning on changing her name or keeping it?"

    "Keeping it. I''m not that creative," he confessed.

    "Eh, I kept Molly''s name too for consistency. She used to be somebody else''s pet but they left her out on the streets when they moved after owning her for years," she said sourly. "I hate when people abandon their family members out of convenience."

    That sounded oddly passionate. She did seem to love animals. Abandoned pets might strike a chord with her because of that.

    "Yeah, that''s a pretty crappy thing to do."

    She let out a small snort before hiding it with a cough. What was that about?

    Suddenly her expression grew serious. "Hey, this might just be a whim for you but Dinah is your family now. You can''t abandon her if you find cat ownership isn''t to your liking, got it?"

    Aaron scowled. Again with thinking the worst of him. "I wouldn''t do that. I stick to mymitments."

    Keeley''s doubt was written all over her face. "Promise me, Aaron. Take care of your cat."

    "Okay, I promise! Why do you think I''d abandon it?"

    "Because this is really out of the blue for you¡­I don''t want her to suffer because you change your mindter after saying you''ll take care of her."

    She seemed genuinely worried for the cat. Exactly how unreliable did she think he was?

    "I won''t," he said tly. "I take care of my people¡­and animals, now."

    "Alright," Keeley said skeptically before dropping it.

    Aaron was disgruntled. Something about that conversation seemed off.

    She didn''t know him well enough to automatically jump to the conclusion that he would abandon the cat when he lost interest, did she? Especially since they had been apart so long.

 Chapter 92: Beginners Luck

    <h4>Chapter 92: Beginner''s Luck</h4>

    When they returned to his apartment, Keeley informed him that it would be best to introduce Dinah to the house slowly so she wouldn''t be overwhelmed by therge space. Aaron let her loose in the room where he set up all of the cat things. After sniffing around for a few minutes and eating a little from the food bowl, Dinah jumped up into the hammock and fell asleep.

    "My work here is done," Keeley announced, pping her hands together. "Take me home now."

    Now? It was only lunchtime. He hadn''t spent nearly enough time with her. "At least let me buy you lunch; it''s the least I can do since you helped me out so much today."

    She bit her lip, torn. "What kind of lunch?"

    "Anything you want," he said earnestly.

    Keeley grinned mischievously. "No take backs."

    He held up a hand and made the three finger Boy Scout salute to indicate trustworthiness. "No take backs," he agreed.

    Aaron wished he could take it back once he drove up to the address she navigated him to using his phone.

    It was one of those chain buffet ces that also had an arcade and some rides¡ªclearly meant for nothing but children''s birthday parties. Why on earth had she chosen this when they could have gone anywhere in New York City?

    "I haven''t been to one of these ces in over a decade," she said gleefully as they walked in. "You wouldn''t deny me my fun after I took time out of my busy schedule to help you out, would you?"

    "No," he conceded in defeat.

    He did say anything she wanted and he needed to appear trustworthy after her tantck of faith in his character earlier. He would prove himself by any means necessary. Even by going to a ridiculous ce like this.

    Besides, if she truly wanted to y arcade games¡­that seemed almost like date territory. Keeley had taken him to an arcade in high school during his first life and spent a good chunk of that time teaching him how to y Skee Ball because he was terrible at it.

    She had a lot of fun that day,ughing and smiling like crazy. If this was going to be anything like that, he would dly take the subpar food.

    Keeley stuffed herself on macaroni, pizza, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, and a bunch of other things from the buffet. Aaron got a sd and a baked potato but also got a brownie because she said they were good. They weren''t nearly as good as the ones she made him before in his opinion.

    "Aaron," she said sweetly once they were finished with their food. "I want to y games."

    "Okay."

    Surprise flitted across her face briefly before her expression went back to what it was before. He loaded two game cards to be swiped on various games instead of using coins or tokens. The cards kept track of tickets for prizes as well, saving paper.

    The first thing she did was make a beeline for the Skee Ball machines. Keeley was fairly skilled; she usually managed tond the ball in the 30 point hole or higher.

    Aaron enjoyed the look of determined concentration on her face. It was the same one she made the first time they did this. She turned to him with a smirk.

    "Have you ever yed this before?"

    "Yes."

    Her brows furrowed. "Seriously? You? Show me what you''ve got then."

    So he did. He wasn''t nearly as good as she was but at the very least he managed to get a few shots in that were worth more than 10 points.

    "How''s that?"

    "Surprisingly not bad," she said begrudgingly. "What about air hockey?"

    They had yed air hockey before too. Aaron surprised her by beating her on their second game even though he had never yed before. He had good reflexes and was a natural talent.

    Moving over to an air hockey table, they yed a game and he won even though she did her best to block him. Keeley got so flustered that she knocked the puck into her own goal three times.

    "Beginner''s luck," she imed before muttering under her breath so he could hardly hear. "There''s got to be something here you aren''t good at."

    Aaron stifled augh. He understood now. She was trying to one-up him. There actually were a lot of things in the arcade he wasn''t good at but it was more fun seeing her flounder so he wouldn''t give any hints.

    "Bumper cars!" Keeley cried. "There''s no way you''ve done that before!"

    That was true. He hadn''t ever been in a bumper car. But how hard could it be? He knew how to drive.

    Driving a bumper car was nothing like driving a real car. Aaron stalled so many times and couldn''t get the stupid steering wheel to cooperate. He bumped into corners and got stuck more often than he bumped into actual people.

    Every so often, while he was stuck, someone would m into him from behind and he would hear Keeley''s exhratedughter. He knew it was at his expense but enjoyed hearing it nheless. At least she was having fun.

    When the ride ended she was revitalized and practically bounced out of it. "Alright! I''m ying Deal or No Deal next."

    It was a game based on the TV show but Aaron had never watched game shows or reality TV. That was Keeley''s guilty pleasure for the longest time.

    She thought he didn''t know because she only watched it when he wasn''t home, but he could see the records of what was watched recently on the DVR. He wasn''t sure why she insisted on keeping it a secret. Did she think it would be beneath her identity as Mrs. Hale?

    "Pick case number ten," he said casually. He had been watching the cases on the screen shift around and he was fairly certain it was the one that held 100 tickets.

    She purposely ignored that and picked case number eight. At the end of the game she was down to case number ten and the case she picked and was dismayed to discover that Aaron was right. She only won twenty tickets.

    "I told you so," he said smugly. "This is why you should listen to me."

    Keeley hopped off the stool angrily. "Whatever. I can beat you at the trivia quiz."

    And she did. He knew nothing about pop culture so he only got two points by guessing as opposed to her fourteen.

    They continued like that for a good while; Aaron was good at some games, Keeley was good at others. In the end they had abined total of 456 tickets and enough credits to go on one more ride at her insistence.

 Chapter 93: A Good Choice

    <h4>Chapter 93: A Good Choice</h4>

    The ride was called the Twister and consisted of these pods meant for up to four people that spun around hanging from something that looked kind of like a crane. There was a disc in the middle that could be turned to spin faster.

    Aaron really didn''t want to ride it but Keeley looked so excited.

    "Oh, we used to love this ride!" she gushed.

    "We?" he asked grumpily. Did she seriously take him to a ce she used to go with another man?

    She raised her eyebrow at him. "Yeah, Kaleb and me."

    Kaleb¡­her brother? She never talked about her brother. Why would she bring him up now? Did that mean she trusted him?

    "He wasn''t strong enough to spin the wheel but always wanted to go super-fast so I would spin it for him," she said matter-of-factly.

    Apparently whatever trauma she had regarding talking about her brother wasn''t there anymore. What had changed? He wanted to ask but didn''t have a way to exin why he knew too much.

    "Well I''m clearly stronger than you so I can spin the wheel even faster," Aaron bragged, not knowing what else to say.

    "Is that so?"

    They strapped themselves into the harnesses facing each other in one of the pods and once the ride started, Aaron turned the wheel with all his might.

    Keeley''s eyes lit up as they spun faster and faster and she grinned for all she was worth. Seeing that smile, he didn''t even care that his arms were getting sore. The thing was harder to turn than he thought.

    Afterwards, at the ticket counter, they got several dinky little prizes that Aaron let Keeley keep because he had zero interest in them. One of them was a little rubber popper that you turn inside out and let fly off of your finger and she identally nailed a little kid in the head.

    The kid started crying and the look of intense panic on her face when she saw the kid''s angry parent ring at her wasical.

    "Run!" she hissed, not caring about retrieving the popper.

    Aaron took the initiative and grabbed her hand since he had longer legs and could run faster. They didn''t stop running until they reached his car.

    "Man," Keeley wheezed, out of breath. "I thought that kid''s dad was going to kill me."

    "I''m d he didn''t but I''m sorry you lost your popper in the process."

    She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "You can buy those in bulk for like a dor. No big deal."

    Aaron didn''t think he would enjoy himself when they arrived at this children''s restaurant but it was surprisingly pleasant considering how much fun Keeley was having. It felt like the good old days. He really missed that.

    "That was fun," he said truthfully. "This ce was a good choice."

    Keeley looked at him like he''d lost his mind.

    ===

    A good choice?! She only picked this ce because she thought it would annoy him, just like the way she dressed! Honestly, did nothing work on this guy? She couldn''t understand it.

    This was AARON HALE here. The killjoy who sucked all the life out of her over their miserable eight years of marriage. And he just used the words ''fun'' and ''good choice'' in a sentence about something silly and cheap.

    Keeley knew that he wouldn''t take no for an answer when he offered to buy her lunch so she chose the most obnoxious ce she could think of on purpose. She was tired but wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine, getting dragged around against his will.

    Clearly that backfired big time. Now she was even more tired from all the running.

    The car''s clock read 1:52 PM. She had been with Aaron for nearly five hours. This was the longest she had been stuck with him in this life.

    It wasn''t evenpletely horrible. She had fun with the kittens at the shelter and ying a few of the arcade games. The events themselves were nice but thepany¡­

    As time went on, she understood him less and less. It was like he was apletely different person than the one she had known. How was that possible?

    They were both Aaron. They were raised the same way. Even if there were minor differences, they shouldn''t be this much!

    He wasn''t supposed to be nice or like animals or do normal people things and enjoy them. That wasn''t Aaron at all. Did an alien abduct him and give him a personality transnt?

    No, he was still cocky and ice cold at times like usual¡­it was definitely Aaron. Why was he like this? What on earth had triggered the change?

    It was horribly ironic. If he had been anything like this in her past life, she wouldn''t have stopped loving him. But Keeley had no emotions left to spare for this man.

    When he dropped her off at the fake apartment building, she knocked on the window after getting out so he would roll it down.

    "Yes?"

    "Hey, um¡­I''m actually really busy so please don''t ask me for favors again, okay? I have to start working on my dissertation today and that''s going to take over my life for the next year to year and a half."

    She had to make things clear; she didn''t have time to waste on him. Her life didn''t revolve around his whims anymore. She couldn''t let him walk all over her again.

    "What if there''s an emergency?" he asked nkly.

    Keeley was exasperated. "I''m not your emergency contact! I don''t even own a car; there''s literally nothing I can do to help you in an emergency."

    "Just being there would help me."

    He''s crazy! How would her being there make any degree of difference?! "I don''t have the time. Really. Good luck with your cat¡­and thanks for lunch. Bye!"

    She turned around and walked back to her true apartment building, running into Aiden in the lobby carrying what looked like a gigantic tank with tubes sticking out of it.

    "What on earth is that?"

    "Oh hey, Keeley! This is my hamster pce! I''m still working on building itpletely¡­it''s a work in progress. I''m going to get two or three hamsters and want them to have a bunch of tunnels."

    She examined it more closely. "There are already eight, how many more do you need?!"

    "However many it takes," he said dramatically. "Um¡­could you maybe grab the other end? It''s slipping out of my grip a bit."

    She chuckled slightly. There was always something, wasn''t there? "Sure thing."

 Chapter 94: A Telenovela Idea

    <h4>Chapter 94: A Telenov Idea</h4>

    Keeley helped Aiden bring it upstairs and set it on a table in his second bedroom that housed a ridiculous amount of technological equipment she didn''t even recognize.

    "Do you really want to keep a hamster tank in here with all this¡­stuff?"

    He nodded. "Yeah, I spend most of my time in here. It''d be cool to have thepany."

    "What do you do in here?" she asked curiously.

    "Video games, mostly. I also do some IT stuff from home¡­and my girlfriend lives in Sweden so we video chat a lot as we game and stuff. We met in game."

    She never would have guessed this goofy guy had a foreign girlfriend. The things you learn about people.

    "Interesting. Well, good luck with your hamsters. What made you want to get them anyway?"

    "All of my friends have pets now so I wanted one too. Out of nowhere, one of them wanted to get a cat and I was a bit jealous," he exined.

    "Huh, I was actually just out helping somebody pick out a cat this morning. She''s a real cutie! Super sweet too. She actually purred for him and he''s an ice block that nobody likes."

    Aiden nearly choked holding backughter but Keeley didn''t notice because she was looking at the hamster pce again. "An ice block that nobody likes, huh?"

    "Yeah, super annoying. He''s always making me do things I don''t want to do. I wish he''d get off my case," she sighed. "You ever meet anybody super clingy and weird like that?"

    "I''m quite familiar with someone exactly like that," he said in a tone dripping with irony. "He doesn''t mean any harm though; he''s just¡­not so good with regr human beings."

    Not so good with regr human beings was too generous a statement for someone like Aaron. Sometimes she even wondered if he was a human being himself.

    "This guy definitely means harm. He couldn''t take a hint in high school, or my freshman year of college, and then he suddenly dropped off the face of the earth until a couple weeks ago. Now he''s at it again. I''m pretty sure he''s only doing it to spite me."

    "Why would he be spiting you?" Aiden asked curiously.

    "He was kind of a big shot at my school and I offended him the first time we met. I''m pretty sure he''s only been messing with me all this time because he''s trying to get me to bend to his will."

    He raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like this guy has his work cut out for him."

    "Huh?"

    "I mean he sounds like a real piece of work," Aiden corrected. "Anyway, thanks for helping me bring this up. You probably have things to do."

    "Unfortunately I do," she sighed. "I have to start thinking of topics to research for my doctoral thesis. Wish me luck!"

    "Good luck!"

    Keeley crossed the hall to her apartment, greeted Valentina as shey on the couch watching a telenov, and headed straight for her room. It was still early but after the day she''d had she deserved to be back in her pajamas so she changed into them.

    She sat down at her desk chair and stretched before opening up the schrly article search engine she had ess to as an NYU student. There had to be something that hadn''t been done yet but still had enough simr research that she could find a starting point to reference somewhere.

    Cystic fibrosis was definitely the topic she wanted to research the most but what could she do that hadn''t already been done? Talking about Kaleb earlier strengthened her resolve to write her thesis on the disease.

    Since going to school and actually following her dream to make things up to her little brother, it was a lot easier to think and talk about him (and her mother) without getting upset. Keeley was healing by aplishing what she couldn''t before.

    Kaleb would have loved going to the buffet chain/arcade today. It was probably his second favorite ce to go after Yankee Stadium.

    He couldn''t ride most rides because he could get out of breath too easily but the Twister was gentle enough that he could handle it so he loved riding it.

    Sweet Kaleb. If he were still here, he''d be twenty-one. She couldn''t believe he had been gone so long. It might be time to bust out the old family albums again the next time she visited her dad.

    She knew she most likely wouldn''t find a significant breakthrough as a student but she still wanted to get started researching what she was passionate about.

    ''Someday, Kal. I''ll find a way to help other kids like you,'' she thought as she continued looking for a base point for her research.

    Hourster she was still at it. She was considering trying to do gene therapy with the mutated CTFR gene in order to see if it was possible to fix the cells individually and cure the disease at a gic level rather than simply treat the symptoms.

    Gene therapy had worked for other diseases. Why not cystic fibrosis? There was plenty of base research on gene therapy. She could totally do this if she got the go ahead from her faculty mentor.

    Keeley decided to bring it up on Monday. For now, she wanted to rx. There were only a few hours left in her Saturday after all.

    Making her way out into the living room, she plopped down next to Valentina and decided to join her on her telenov binge.

    "What did I miss?"

    "Jorge and Ana Maria are eloping but Ana Maria is pregnant with Felipe''s baby. Jorge thinks it''s his," Valentina replied without looking up from the screen.

    "Juicy. I wonder how he''s going to take it."

    "Not well, most likely. He really loves her," she sighed.

    Keeley wanted tough. Her friend really got into these things. She mostly watched because she thought they were hrious rather than having a real emotional attachment. The acting and storylines were just so over-the-top.

    "I have an idea for a telenov," Keeley said suddenly, wanting some advice about her current situation without actually revealing it.

    "Oh? Tell me."

    "A girl falls in love with the heir to a huge conglomerate and they date in secret for years because the heir is ashamed of showing her to his high society friends. Eventually they go against his parents'' wishes and get married but his childhood sweetheart of sorts schemes against her, eventually killing her father.

    "Then she seduces the heir and gets pregnant with his baby after the wife finds out she can''t have kids. He asks for a divorce but the childhood sweetheart has the wife killed anyway. Then the wife wakes up as a teenager right before she meets the heir and wants nothing to do with him but suddenly, instead of being ice cold, he''s interested in her and refuses to leave her alone even after many years have passed."

    "And?" Valentina asked eagerly. She was invested already.

    "And nothing, that''s all I''ve got," Keeley saidmely.

    It was how far things had gotten in her actual life. She couldn''t predict the future outside of big events that happened outside of her little world.

    For example, she knew who was going to win the next two presidential elections and when certain natural disasters would happen because those were out of her control, but she couldn''t tell what was going to happen in her own life since the timeline became so skewed.

    In her first run-through of 2012, Keeley had been married to Aaron for nearly two years. It was around this time that her ectopic pregnancy urred and all her dreams of motherhood died with it. Obviously she wasn''t married or pregnant right now.

 Chapter 95: Who Even Are You Anymore?

    <h4>Chapter 95: Who Even Are You Anymore?</h4>

    Valentina was rather curious about Keeley''s supposed telenov idea and had questions.

    "Where''s the childhood sweetheart now? Is she still trying to seduce the heir even though he''s not married to someone else?"

    Keeley didn''t have a clue what Lacy Knighton was up to. In fact, she didn''t even know for sure if Aaron was single. Surely his parents had engaged him to some prominent person''s daughter by now.

    "I haven''te up with the idea for that part yet. I was mostly wondering what viewers would think about the heir constantly going after the girl he rejected in his previous life. Becausest she checked, he was being super cold to the childhood sweetheart but pretty nice to her."

    "Hmm¡­a change of heart¡­ooh, what if you made him be reincarnated too? Like he''s trying to make up for his mistakes or something like that," Valentina suggested.

    Ridiculous. There was no way that had happened. Even on the slight chance Aaron was also reborn as a senior in high school, he would remember everything that happened like she did.

    He disdained Keeley horribly long before she died and chose to be with Lacy and their child. If he was reborn, wouldn''t he go straight for Lacy? Why would he treat her so terribly and keep pestering Keeley?

    Aaron wanted nothing to do with Keeley¡ªhe was the one who asked for a divorce, not her. She would have withered away in that marriage forever if he hadn''t brought it up. He wouldn''t change his mind so quickly.

    "Too much reincarnation is unrealistic," she said dismissively. "There has to be another reason behind his behavior."

    "Love at first sight? Being connected by fate? It''s your telenov; the possibilities are endless! I would definitely watch it, by the way. You should submit it somewhere."

    Keeleyughed. "Where would I even do that?"

    "I actually have a cousin who works for a TVwork back in Peru. I could give him a call and see if there''s anything he could do," Valentina teased.

    "Go for it if you want." It would be hrious to see her life reproduced on television. Hrious and sad.

    "I''m going to call him and you''re going to be famous," she dered. "You should call it ''Rico y Reencarnado.'' It means ''Rich and Reincarnated.'' Rich for the male love interest, reincarnated for the female love interest. It would be a hit!"

    "Whoa there, who said they were love interests?"

    Valentina gave her a funny look.

    "You said they were married. In this sort of story, don''t they usually end up back together in the end? Or are you going to introduce a new love interest for the main female character?"

    End up back together? No way. Keeley would rather have her eyeball stabbed with a fork than be shackled to that iceberg again.

    "Like I said, I haven''t gotten that far," she said grouchily.

    She just exined her life story and her friend basically thought she was supposed to go back to the man who destroyed her!

    "I''ll pitch what you have so far to my cousin; he''ll tell the screenwriters and they''ll run with it from there if they''re interested. And why wouldn''t they be? There was a super popr telenov a while back where a dead man''s soul got put into someone else''s body so he could be with his wife again¡ªpeople love this stuff!"

    The question was WHY did people love this stuff? Keeley didn''t see the appeal having personally lived through it.

    Rebirth was soplicated. All she wanted was a straight answer but she supposed she should have phrased the question more directly to get a clear response. Oh well.

    "I''m very interested to see how this pans out," was all Keeley said before going quiet so they could see what happened between Jorge and Ana Maria.

    Three hourster, Jennica stumbled through the door exhausted from hours of rehearsals. She saw what her roommates were watching huddled together on the couch, shook her head disapprovingly, and went to her room. She had never been a fan of telenovs.

    ===

    "I think your initial idea has a lot of promise, Keeley," Dr. Kim said when she saw the research notes Keeley spent all of Sundaypiling. "Of course, you''ll need to write a formal proposal paper before I can sign off on your research but as of now I think you''re on the right track."

    Keeley was relieved. She wanted to do her dissertation on something rted to cystic fibrosis more than anything. She was sure Kaleb was looking down on her and wanted to make him and her mom proud.

    "Thanks Dr. Kim! I''ll get that to you before the end of next week for sure."

    The professor smiled at her enthusiasm. "Alright. Now go check on the rats; it''s time for their afternoon data to be taken."

    "On it!"

    She hummed happily as she recorded the data. She was on her way. There was still so much work to do though¡­she had to do a ton of research to write her proposal and thene up with a solid step-by-step n for her research in order to get that signed off¡­

    The next two weeks were going to be very busy. Unfortunately, she still had extra homework on top of all this insanity. She was going to be functioning on very little sleep.

    As she worked on her dissertation researchter that night, her phone blew up with text notifications. Annoyed, she checked to see who on earth was bothering her so much.

    Of course it was Aaron! What did he want this time?!

    Keeley opened the messages and was surprised by what she saw. No words, just pictures of Dinah doing cute stuff like sleeping with her face pressed up against the coffee machine.

    Confused, she texted him back. ''What are these for?''

    ''Dinah is encouraging you to do well on your dissertation research''

    Her jaw dropped and her mind wentpletely nk. She had no clue how to respond to that. Yes, she told him she would be very busy with her dissertation but had no idea he would take it to heart.

    To be perfectly honest¡­that was pretty cute. Aaron¡­who even are you anymore?

 Chapter 96: You Gave Up So Much For Me

    <h4>Chapter 96: You Gave Up So Much For Me</h4>

    Aaron spent most of the weekend trying to get used to having a cat. Lisa had been right¡ªDinah was calm, quiet, and typically preferred to do her own thing. She only came up to him wanting attention a couple of times so he pet her the way Keeley demonstrated. She seemed to like it.

    The picture of Keeley with a kitten perched on his arm got the honor of being his phone''s home screen but he set one of Dinah sleeping in a bathroom sink as the lock screen.

    He scrolled through his camera roll, noticing that most of the pictures in it were of Dinah after only having her for three days. The pictures would give him something to talk about with Keeley.

    Plus the cat did sleep in some fairly amusing positions that were worth capturing. They were more interesting creatures than he originally thought.

    ncing at the clock in his office, he figured Keeley would be done in theb for the day and working on her dissertation. She would probably like receiving cat pictures about now so he sent her a few of the more interesting ones.

    She responded immediately. ''What are these for?''

    Aaron knew Keeley had an offbeat sense of humor so he decided to try and get on her level rather than responding seriously.

    Based on the progress they made on Saturday, joking around with her seemed to be the most effective method at bing her best friend again. She had never seemed sofortable with him around before in this life.

    Slow and steady would win this race. He made the mistake of trying to rush things their senior year of high school; being her friend first was the only way he could win back her heart.

    ''Dinah is encouraging you to do well on your dissertation research''

    ''Go ahead and thank her for me'' she replied.

    ''I will. How''s iting?''

    ''How did you know I was working on my dissertation?''

    ''Lucky guess''

    Keeley didn''t respond again for about fifteen minutes so Aaron went back to looking over the quarterly stock analysis. It was tedious; he had done this a million times.

    ''I''m gathering sources for the research portion of my proposal''

    She never mentioned what she was trying to research. Aaron realized that she must truly have a passion for gics after she told him she wanted to get a PhD back in high school.

    Keeley had given up that dream in order to be a full-time socialite. What he wanted to know was why she was so passionate about it in the first ce.

    ''What are you doing your dissertation on?''

    ''My faculty mentor still has to approve it but I want to research whether or not gene therapy is a usible cure for cystic fibrosis''

    Cystic fibrosis¡­why did this ring a dim bell? Wasn''t that a gic disorder where people had a hard time breathing? Why would Keeley be interested in that specifically?

    He wanted to ask but doubted he would get a straight answer out of her. It was amazing she had even responded to his texts up to this point.

    A vague memory of a framed picture of a little blonde boy with a nasal cann shed through his mind. He had seen it at Keeley''s house¡­That boy showed up in other pictures around the Halls'' living room as well, including ones with a much younger Keeley.

    Kaleb. Why had she never told him her little brother had cystic fibrosis? Was that how he died? He always assumed histe mother-inw had died at the same time, perhaps in a car ident, but it was entirely possible that their deaths were separate events.

    If Kaleb died because of a gic disease, Keeley''s desire to be a gicist and research a cure would be exined perfectly. Why didn''t she ever tell him any of this?

    When she originally double majored in biochemistry and molecr biology at Boston University he never thought to ask if there was a particr reason behind it.

    He majored in economics because his father expected him to. He should have realized other people could be passionate about what they studied in college, especially someone as bright and lively as Keeley.

    She probably intended to use her double degree as a stepping stone to get her PhD back then but she never mentioned it to him¡­did she think he wouldn''t let her go back to school once they were married? It stung to realize he might not have.

    He was far too concerned with how other people would treat her back then. Trying to help her blend in and live peacefully in his world had caused her to lose her spark. Guilt weighed down his heart.

    ''Oh, Keeley, you gave up so much for me,'' he thought with a heavy sigh.

    He finally responded to her message. ''That''s a really cool topic. Good luck getting your approval! Dinah and I will be rooting for you''

    ''Thanks''

    Aaron decided to let the conversation end. She was busy¡ªbusy living the dream she couldn''t before as his wife. The dream she abandoned because she wanted to be the perfect Mrs. Hale.

    He knew how much her family mattered to her! He cursed himself for not noticing any of this before.

    His heart ached. Keeley loved her brother dearly but she chose not to honor his legacy in favor of winning Aaron''s approval. She had loved him so much and he never truly tried to understand her.

    Heid his head on his desk with a thud, overwhelmed with regret. That was how Aiden found him five minutester after barging in without knocking.

    "Boss man! I¡ªwhoa, what happened to you?"

    Aaron straightened instantly and turned his professional demeanor back on as if a switch had been flipped. "Yes?"

    "I just wanted to let you know I found a piece of evidence that might be the first nail in your father''s coffin but if you''re busy¡­"

    He folded his hands on the top of his desk, giving off a cold, businesslike aura. "I''m not. Close the door and tell me what you found."

 Chapter 97: A Long Road Ahead

    <h4>Chapter 97: A Long Road Ahead</h4>

    Aiden made himselffortable on the couch, lookingzy and sloppy as ever despite his business casual attire beforeunching into his report.

    "So get this; he was casual enough to use his officeputer to offer a somewhat sketchy off-the-books deal to someone named Brann Knighton who works in the stock exchange. This one email wouldn''t be enough to take him down but it''s a ce to start a deeper investigation."

    Aaron sat up even straighter, his interest piqued. "You suspect insider trading?"

    In his past life, his father had never been formally convicted. He was booted out of his ownpany and the scandal was hushed up so Hale Investments wouldn''t lose the public''s trust.

    He hadn''t realized how early this all began happening; Aaron didn''t find enough circumstantial evidence to act until nearly three years after Keeley''s death. That was due to Anomaly''s help as well. If only he had found him sooner!

    It was water under the bridge now. The hacker was on his side and found something potentially usable ten years ahead of schedule.

    "Yep. Isn''t this great? If I can prove it early, both he and this Knighton guy will go to prison and lose all clout in the financial sector forever! You won''t have to worry about your dad giving you a hard time about Keeley ever again."

    Aiden''s brow creased and he looked more serious than usual. "Uh¡­speaking of Keeley¡­how did things go on Saturday?"

    Subject changing was one of this kid''s specialties, wasn''t it?

    Aaron''s expression grew softer as he thought about it. "Really well, actually. What do you want as a bonus for your idea?"

    His face registered shock. "You¡­think it went well? What exactly happened?"

    "Well, sheughed really hard while we were shopping for supplies¡­then she had a lot of fun with the kittens and treated me like I was her friend¡­then she took me to an arcade and we yed a bunch of games," Aaron said a bit dreamily.

    Aiden looked even more confused. "All that happened and she still thinks you''re annoying?"

    The temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees and he nearly jumped out of his skin when Aaron spoke again. "Exin yourself."

    He held his hands up defensively. "I just heard it! Don''t shoot the messenger; I didn''t mean to say anything!"

    "What. Did she say. Exactly."

    "Promise you won''t kill me?"

    "Aiden!" he ordered. "Now!"

    "Okay, okay! I ran into her when I was carrying my hamster pce and that got us on the subject of pets and she said she helped ''an ice block that nobody likes'' pick out a cat earlier in the day¡­"

    Aiden visibly paled before blurting out thest part very fast.

    "She thinks you''re clingy and weird and that you''re only spending time with her to spite her! Did she offend you the first time you met? Because she said you''re only following her around to teach her a lesson or something."

    Aaron''s icy aura reached its peak before he deted and buried his head in his hands. So it was all a lie? She still wanted nothing to do with him even after all that?

    He really thought they bonded. Keeley had acted like her usual self! That to mean something!

    "I would use you of making it up but it sounds exactly like something she would say. So she still hates me," he said dully.

    "Yeah¡­sorry, dude. But hey, at least she''s not being hostile to your face anymore, right?"

    "She has to have softened at least a little," Aaron said somewhat desperately. "Look at these text messages from just before you came in. They seem friendly."

    He held out his phone for Aiden to inspect. The hacker scrolled through the messages at top speed with a frown.

    "Those are totally friendly. Is she bipr or something? Or did she just change her mind over the weekend? Maybe she didn''t mean what she said¡­she did look tired. She might have just been cranky."

    Aaron shook his head despondently.

    "No, she probably meant it. It''s my fault; I was a bit rash in high school. I''ll have to work harder to prove myself."

    She thought he was clingy, huh? He couldn''t even fault her for that really. He had been a bit desperate for her attention and she did have a full schedule.

    Stepping back for a while and sending the asional text, like a friend would, was probably the best course of action for now.

    Aiden hesitated before speaking again, which wasn''t like him.

    "Hey Boss¡­you know, there are a whole lot of girls out there that wouldn''t take nearly this much effort. Why does it have to be Keeley?"

    An excellent question. From an outsiders perspective, his one-sided pursuit would appear pathetic. In his sixty-four years of existence he had never loved anyone else. All of his affection was saved solely for her.

    The fact that she was the first person to value him as a person rather than for who his family was would never change, no matter how hot and cold she was now. Keeley was his sunshine.

    She loved him deeply and sacrificed so much for that love, ultimately including her life. He thought about her every day that she was gone, wishing he could do better. Now that he was given the chance, how could he not pursue her to the ends of the earth like she once did for him?

    "I can''t love anyone else," he said simply. "She''s the one thing in this world that makes me happy."

    Aiden sighed and, realizing his boss wasn''t going to murder him for being the bearer of bad news, pped a hand on his shoulder.

    "Hang in there, man. If you keep doing what you''re doing she''ll have toe around eventually. So¡­about that bonus?"

    Aaron shot him a chilling re before backing down. He had already offered. "What do you want?"

    "A week off and a ne ticket to Sweden."

    "Done. Just get out of here."

    He pressed his hands together and bowed jokingly. "I thank you for your generosity, O Noble Boss!"

    "Go!"

    Aiden scrambled out of the office and Aaron was left with a dull headache. There was still a long road ahead of him, both for getting rid of his father and remarrying his wife.

 Chapter 98: Acting Like A Doting Boyfriend

    <h4>Chapter 98: Acting Like A Doting Boyfriend</h4>

    Four months of Keeley''s life passed in a haze of summer and fall sses, writing and rewriting her proposal, and getting very little sleep. She hardly had a minute to herself but when she did, she recharged by spending time with her friends.

    Unfortunately she hadn''t had much time to do thattely. She hadn''t seen Ryan in weeks and even having more than five minutes of conversation with her roommates was difficult to pencil in.

    They asked weeks in advance to set up ns for Halloween¡ªa group of them was going to a costume party held at a roller rink for single people to meet each other and have fun.

    Thest thing Keeley wanted was to meet someone right now since she didn''t even have time for herself and she was still dealing with a very perplexing Aaron problem. However, she didn''t want to let her friends down yet again so she agreed.

    It was the strangest thing.

    Every day, like clockwork, he would text her around 3 PM. He usually started the conversation by sending a picture of Dinah and telling a funny story about something she did before asking her about her life.

    How her research was going. What her cat was like. If she did anything fun with her friends. It was as if he actually cared about the small, insignificant details of her life, which was bizarre.

    Aaron wasn''t like that.

    She responded initially because she thought it might satisfy him enough to stop badgering her in person and texting back a few times was a simple enough thing to do.

    Her theory was proved correct when she didn''t respond one day because her phone was off while she was cleaningb equipment for several hours.

    Aaron showed up at herb with a cup of coffee and some pastries from White Leaf, saying he needed to check on her because he thought she might have been killed by fallingb equipment or something equally ridiculous.

    Apparently he found her by wandering around theb building asking where Keeley Hall was, iming he was her boyfriend. She found that outter from one of her coworkers. What an idiot.

    After that she tried her best to respond in a somewhat timely manner but wasn''t always sessful.

    When she wasn''t, Aaron would appear with some sort of treat asking about her well-being. It was unnerving.

    He had never been this attentive before, even when they were dating. She was almost always the one to text him first. So why was he acting like a doting boyfriend now?

    Yes, it was weird, but she couldn''t deny it had its moments of convenience. Such as right now.

    Keeley was workingte doing some gene splicing at the beginning of her gene therapy trials and hadn''t packed any food. If she didn''t eat something soon, she might lose her grip strength and break a test tube. It had happened before.

    She knew how to utilize her resources so she shot Aaron a text. ''You busy right now?''

    ''No. What''s up?''

    ''I''m stuck in theb with no dinner. Feed your famished friend?''

    She had noticed that he tended to respond well when she called him ''friend'' even though she didn''t actually think of him that way. He was more like an oddly persistent errand boy whose presence she reluctantly epted over time.

    This version of Aaron wasn''tpletely terrible¡ªhe actually respected her desire to keep him at arm''s length, to a point.

    It was still baffling that he was doing this at all, even after so many months. Every once in a while she still experienced great bitterness that he was only doing this now after she couldn''t care less but aside from that, she epted her new normal.

    ''On my way. What do you want?''

    ''A meatball marinara sub and some Sprite. You''re the best!''

    He also responded well to random, generic praise. If she ignored the fact that he was her callous ex-husband, she was able to text him like he was any other friend and feel less awkward about the whole thing.

    Pretending that this Aaron wasn''t her Aaron was the only way she had been able to ept this strange new development.

    It had been very difficult the first time he showed up in a suit and tie, straight from the office, with coffee. He looked just like he had as her husband except his expression was slightly less disdainful.

    Pretending was easier over text because she didn''t have his face there to remind her of what she lost. She really wouldn''t have asked him to bring her a sandwich if she wasn''t on the verge of expiring from hunger. Her roommates, unlike Aaron seemed to be, were busy people.

    She didn''t understand it. What happened to the workaholic she knew? He spent twelve plus hours a day at the office, including weekends sometimes, and was always working at home as well. These days he seemed avable 24/7.

    Keeley shook these thoughts free and got back to work until Aaron knocked on theb door half an hourter.

    Food wasn''t allowed in theb so she took off her goggles,b coat, and gloves before joining him on the ground up against the wall outside.

    "Thanks," she said gratefully as she took the bag and soda cup out of his hands.

    "Any time. What were you working on? You looked like a real scientist in there for a minute."

    She red at him. "Excuse you, I am a real scientist. Almost."

    "It''s strange thinking of you as a scientist, that''s all."

    "Are you disrespecting my profession Mr. Future CEO?"

    "No disrespect at all. You just don''t look like a scientist at first nce," he exined as she chomped down on her sandwich.

    Keeley sighed. She actually got this a lot. She was short, blonde, and cheerful. Everyone expected her to be their stereotypical idea of a nerd.

    "Is this the set-up for a blonde joke? Because I''ve heard them all."

    "I don''t even know any blonde jokes."

    Of course he didn''t. Hecked a sense of humor. Well¡­notpletely.

    Surprisingly, he had learned to lighten up a little. But she still hadn''t seen him genuinelyugh at anything in over a decade.

    He used tough almost like a normal person when they were dating and in the first year or so of their marriage. Then he stopped caring about her so it made sense that he wouldn''t find her amusing anymore.

 Chapter 99: Oddly Sentimental

    <h4>Chapter 99: Oddly Sentimental</h4>

    Keeley enjoyed her sandwich and soda despite the taciturn food bringer beside her. How had she ever liked someone who talked so little? The silences between them may have beenfortable once but not anymore. Now it was really, really awkward.

    "So, what do I owe you for the food?" she asked before taking a long slurp of her soda. She had every intention of paying him back.

    "Marshmallow brownies. Nobody ever bakes for me," Aaron said resolutely.

    She raised an eyebrow at him. "Doesn''t your food delivery service offer desserts?"

    "Yes, but it isn''t the same."

    Not the same how? A professional caterer probably made better brownies than she did. Whatever. She didn''t want to argue with him.

    "Alright, I''ll get those to you at some point. Why don''t I bring them by your office¡ª"

    "NO!"

    Keeley stared at him unblinkingly like an owl. That was a strong reaction. All these years and he was still too ashamed to let her be around his people. It stung more than it should have.

    Aaron collected himself and spoke again. "It would be more convenient for you not to go out of your way since you don''t have a car. Your schedule is more hectic than mine; I''lle to you."

    "O¡­kay?"

    He suddenly reached his hands out and held hers with a surprisingly earnest look on his face.

    "I''m not ashamed of you, I promise. If you ever want to meet my coworkers I would be happy to introduce you over dinner or drinks sometime."

    It was as if he read her mind. But why was he so concerned about what she thought? The way he was talking sounded like he was her boyfriend too. Bothersome.

    She pulled her hands away. "You hang out with your coworkers outside of work?"

    "I''m on friendly terms with a few of the shareholders but I only have two people I interact with outside of that. Everybody else is afraid of me. Those two¡­they could use a little more fear in their lives."

    Keeley nearly spewed soda at the mental image of anybody being brave enough to mess with Aaron.

    "Would one of these be the coworker who rmended Happy Paws?"

    "Yes."

    Aaron didn''t really have what you would call close friends in either of her lives as far as she saw. He didn''t even hang out with his lunch group outside of lunch.

    He didn''t seem to value humanpanionship at all, which was why she felt so special that he gave her the time of day back then. Keeley''s interactions with him seemed different. What a joke. She was just like the rest.

    So she had to admit a certain degree of curiosity about anyone Aaron willingly hung out with. What did they have that she hadn''t?

    "Did you know these people before they worked at Hale Investments or did you be friends through work?"

    "I met one of them at Harvard. The other¡­we actually met online," he admitted.

    Keeley was surprised. Based off of that information, it seemed like he was the one who got his friends jobs. It was an oddly sentimental thing for him to do.

    "You gave them jobs because they were your friends?"

    Aaron shook his head disdainfully.

    "I''m a businessman; I gave them jobs because they''re useful, highlypetent individuals. One of them is the manager of the analyst department after only working there for four years and the other joined the IT department straight out of high school because he''s that good withputers."

    That sounded more like Aaron. The difference between them and her was that they were useful to him. Keeley''s usefulness ran out long ago, which was why he kicked her to the curb.

    Her mood soured. Being around him always brought back bad feelings eventually. It was why she preferred dealing with him over text.

    "Right," she said neutrally, trying to hide her annoyance.

    If she didn''t remain friendly, he would get on her case even more. She learned that the hard way in high school.

    Keeley stood and brushed herself off.

    "Well," she began coolly. "I actually won''t have time to make those brownies until after Halloween so I''ll just drop them at your ce. I need to get back to work."

    Aaron stood as well. "Dinah will be happy to see you."

    He held out his arms expectantly for a hug and she knew based on past experience that if she didn''t do it herself, he had no qualms about grabbing her. Touchy-feely weirdo.

    She hugged him as quickly as she possibly could before extricating herself and hurrying back inside theb.

    That was the price she had to pay to get food. And she still had to see him again in about a week. Suddenly she wondered if it would have been better to go hungry.

    ===

    Aaron felt quite pleased with himself. His n was working. Staying back and giving her space while still being a regr part of her life had paid off¡ªshe finally approached him first!

    Her replies to his texts were encouraging enough as is but when she texted him first asking for a favor he got undeniably excited. She was relying on him. His role as her best friend was solidifying.

    Plus he got the promise of marshmallow brownies out of the deal. It was a productive day.

    He nearly slipped up when she asked about bringing the brownies to his office though. He panicked at the thought of her running into his father.

    Alistair Hale couldn''t know about her yet. A woman bringing him homemade dessert at work would be highly suspicious.

    But if she came to his apartment¡­he had toe up with an excuse to get her to stay longer and spend the day with him.

    Texting every day wasn''t the same as seeing her though it was better than nothing.

    Aaron made more progress in four months of hardly seeing her than he did in six of seeing her every day at school. There was really something to letting her do her own thing and being a supportive friend from the sidelines.

    He wouldn''t have to be on the sidelines forever though¡ªhe was certain he could win her over within a year at this rate.

    Then he finally wouldn''t be alone anymore. Things would be the way they should have been all along.

 Chapter 100: Hide Me!

    <h4>Chapter 100: Hide Me!</h4>

    Keeley and her roommates stared down the many aisles of options in the costume store with trepidation. It was four days to Halloween and they still hadn''t figured out what they were going to wear to the party.

    "Should we try to do a group costume?" Jennica suggested.

    "No," Keeley and Valentina answered in unison.

    Their freshman year, they dressed up as ketchup and mustard bottles respectively and everybody in their dorm made fun of them for months.

    She pouted. "You guys are no fun."

    Valentina eyed all of the weird ''sexy'' costumes of things that should not have been that way, like lobsters, lions, and Chewba. Why did people always have to make costumes sexy?

    "Can I just wear my scrubs? People dress up as doctors; I''ve seen in!"

    "That''s some!" Jennica eximed. "You can''t dress up as something you already are, that''spletely against the point of Halloween."

    Keeley eyed a sexy Minion costume from the movie Despicable Me with distaste. She was on the same page as Valentina. There weren''t enough normal options here. Maybe she''d be better off making her own costume, though she wasn''t much of a DIYer.

    "This one isn''t terrible," shemented, pulling out a dress patterned like a pineapple that came with a matching hat.

    "You seriously want to go as food?"

    "Why not?"

    Jennica shook her head sadly. "Your unoriginality wounds me. By the way, do you know what Ryan and his friends areing as?"

    "Not a clue."

    "It would have been really fun if we all did a group costume together¡­"

    Valentina and Keeley exchanged a look. So she was still on the group costume idea. That was worrisome.

    "Oh, this is fun, look at this!" she hollered from a few rows over.

    They followed her voice and saw her holding up what appeared to be a hipster Little Mermaid costume. It consisted of a white crop top with purple mshells on it like the mermaid''s bra and green leggings that looked like fish scales,pleted with a pair of thick ck fake sses and a red wig.

    "It''s perfect for you," Keeley said, wanting to get this over with. "You''ll be a hipster mermaid, I''ll be a pineapple, and Valentina will be a¡ª"

    "Doctor," she said firmly. "I already have the scrubs waiting for me at home and I can''t afford this."

    Jennica seized her roommate''s arm and dragged her away. "No! We''re going to find you a proper costume;e on."

    She suggested a pirate, a fairy, a medieval princess, and vampire but Valentina didn''t want any of them. Keeley wandered down the aisle and saw something that might catch her fancy.

    "What about this?"

    It was a skeleton costume but unlike the purposely sexy ones that were leotards with arm warmers and thigh high socks, this was a simple ck jumpsuit with an anatomically correct x-ray on it. Not only was it one of the least ridiculous costumes in this ce, it catered to her interest in medical science.

    Valentina''s interest was piqued. "Not bad! I think I''ll go with this one."

    Jennica sighed dramatically and leaned against a costume rack like a tragic heroine. "No one appreciates the fine art of costume wearing anymore."

    Keeley grinned at her. "We can''t all be actresses, Jen."

    She stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

    Gathering up all the costumes, they headed to check out at the counter. Jennica paid for Valentina''s since she was the one who wanted her friend to buy a costume instead of using what was on hand.

    The costume shop was hidden away on a backstreet near the high profile shopping district that Keeley used to frequent as Aaron''s wife. They nned on going out to eat but the nearest fast food ce, a Burger Barn, was a few blocks away. To get there, they had to pass through the shopping district.

    Keeley hadn''t been there in many years and didn''t enjoy being reminded of the social pressure she used to experience while she shopped. Shopping with her roommates was about as different as could be.

    As they walked past one of the expensive storefronts, Roslyn Hale and Lacy Knighton were exiting with a few other women she vaguely recognized from her past life.

    Keeley''s blood ran cold.

    "Hide me!" she yelped as she dove behind Jennica, who was about five inches taller than her.

    Her friend was surprised and craned her neck to see what was going on. "What are you¡ª"

    "Shh!"

    She was desperate not to be seen. Having been supposedly out of Aaron''s life since their high school graduation, Keeley hadpletely fallen off of Lacy''s radar. Thest thing she wanted was to get back on it.

    Valentina noticed her distress as well and tried to block her from view from the other side as the group of socialites passed as best she could considering she was 4''10".

    Once they were gone, Keeley''s friends turned to her with obvious questions in their eyes. She didn''t say anything until they had sat down waiting for their order inside Burger Barn.

    "Thanks for covering me," she said quietly. "The girl with the ck hair is a total psychopath who made my life hell in high school. I didn''t want her to see me and remember how much she hated me."

    A fierce look appeared on Jennica''s face and she cursed Lacy out.

    "I met her at that cocktail party where I was paid to act as a guy''s date a while back. She was a bit spoiled but I had no idea she was that bad."

    Valentina frowned. "What did she do to you?"

    Well, aside from stealing her husband and having her and her father murdered¡­

    "She pushed me into a punch bowl, started nasty rumors, tried shoving me down a flight of stairs, and drugged me on prom night, which also happened to be my birthday."

    Both of her friends cried out in rm. "Why?!"

    Keeley shrugged, trying to appear nonchnt when she actually felt a bit sick seeing the woman for the first time in nearly six years.

    "She thought I was after the guy she liked. I wasn''t though; I was actually doing my best to avoid him. She''spletely nuts."

    She didn''t notice that all of the color drained out of Jennica''s face as she talked.

 Chapter 101: Not With That Fly Buzzing Around Her Head

    <h4>Chapter 101: Not With That Fly Buzzing Around Her Head</h4>

    Jennica didn''t recognize Lacy Knighton until after Keeley had crouched behind her in fear. Even so, she thought it was a coincidence until her friend mentioned she was trying to avoid the woman with the ck hair.

    No wonder Aaron said it was a good thing he introduced her with a fake name. That psycho might havee after her if she knew who Jennica really was just for being his date!

    The food had arrived and Keeley munched on her burger as if she didn''t have a care in the world even though she had clearly been spooked by the near run-in with her former enemy.

    Lacy was obviously interested in Aaron Hale now so who had she been so obsessed with in high school? Nobody normal would go that far to keep somebody who wasn''t even dating their crush away.

    Her analysis the night of the party had been right¡ªthe world of the ultra-rich was terrifying.

    "Keeley, did you go to a private school?" Jennica asked. There was no way someone like that Barbie doll would go to a public high school.

    She nodded with a mouth full of fries, swallowing before she answered.

    "My family has this weird trust thatpletely covers education costs but nothing else. It''s the only reason I''m able to get my PhD. I would never choose to go into that much debt."

    Ah, that made sense. Keeley must really hate rich people after dealing with them for so long.

    "Was everyone there a snob?"

    "Pretty much. My only friends there were a couple of schrship kids¡ªyou''ve met them before. We all went to Coney Ind togetherst summer."

    "I remember that," Valentina pitched in. "The girl goes to school in California and your guy friend lives in Marnd, correct?"

    Keeley twirled her straw in her milkshake.

    "Yeah. Lydia''s getting her master''s degree in social work and once she graduates in the spring she''s marrying her fianc¨¦. Jeffrey originally nned to move back to New York after graduation but he got a serious girlfriend while living in D.C. so he decided to go tow school in the area. They''ll probably get married eventually too."

    "All of my friends back home are already married and having babies," Valentinained, pulling a face. "My mother is giving me a hard time because I''m focusing on my career right now."

    Jennica patted her arm sympathetically.

    "I feel you. My mom hates that I''m an actress. She wanted me to be a dental hygienist and marry a dentist. I haven''t even been on a date in months."

    "I haven''t been on a date in over ten years," Keeley said casually.

    They both goggled at her. "Are you serious?!"

    Jennica screwed up her face. "Thest time you went on a date was in middle school?!"

    "¡­yeah."

    "Girl, why?!"

    She shrugged. "I don''t believe in love. I got burned pretty badly by my ex."

    What kind of horrible person would she have encountered as a twelve or thirteen year old that turned her off men for over a decade?! Jennica couldn''t even imagine that.

    "¡­you do realize that teenage boys are idiots, right? Men in their twenties are much more mature."

    Valentina snorted. "Have you met any college boys? They aren''t mature at all."

    That was fair. Jennica only went tomunity college for her associate''s degree but all of the guys there were idiots.

    "Come on, there are at least some men in their twenties who are mature¡­" She thought about it for a minute. "Oh, what about Ryan? He''s nice, smart, and has a good job."

    Keeley screwed up her face at the suggestion. "Ryan? No way. We''re friends."

    "Don''t you know friendship is the best way to start a rtionship? He''s cute, too!"

    She had an inkling that Ryan had a crush on her roommate. She didn''t know who his other friends were but it was a fact that he was the only guy friend of Keeley''s that she saw regrly. Why not give him a try?

    Based on all the times he hung out with them Jennica could tell he was funny, responsible, and kind-hearted. He seemed like Keeley''s type. And if he liked her as much as she suspected¡­there was no way he would let her roommate down.

    It was official. She was going to try and get this ship to sail.

    Keeley deserved to be happy and she was fairly certain Ryan could give her that. They had simr jobs, goals, and senses of humor. It was a match made in heaven!

    "He''s a good guy," Keeley conceded. "And I do like him as a person but I''m not capable of liking anyone romantically anymore. Not with that fly buzzing around my head."

    Valentina and Jennica both looked at her and spoke in unison. "Fly?"

    "Ah¡­did I not mention I see my ex regrly because he won''t leave me alone?"

    No she did not! That was fairly big news; why didn''t she say anything earlier in the conversation?

    Keeley was such a simple, unassuming person. She rarely talked about anything remotely personal. Who would have known how much was going on under the surface of her rtively normal life?

    "Who is this guy?" Jennica demanded.

    "Um¡­I''d rather not tell. He hasn''t been so badtely though¡­"

    He hasn''t been so badtely but he was bad enough to make her stop believing in love before? It sounded an awful lot like she was still hung up on him. This could be a problem.

    "You''re not still in love with him, are you?!"

    "No!" she protested, looking deadly serious. "Absolutely not. I stopped loving him years ago. Now I''m just annoyed that he won''t leave me be."

    Examining Keeley''s facial expression, she seemed to be telling the truth. She really didn''t care about the guy anymore.

    "Then why don''t you tell him to shove it?"

    "I''ve tried that," she sighed. "It only made him more persistent. If I avoid himpletely he only chases me more. It''s better to just let him text me."

    Valentina''s brow furrowed. "Wait¡­is this the guy who that girl we saw earlier liked in high school?"

    Keeley''s mouth rounded into an ''o'' of surprise. "How did you guess?"

    "Earlier you mentioned you were trying to avoid the boy she liked. I was curious whether or not it was a coincidence."

    Geez. What a tangled web. The poor girl really couldn''t catch a break, could she? This guy had been bothering her all the way since high school. Jennica hated people who decided they wanted to get back with their ex once they saw how happy they were without them.

 Chapter 102: Crazy Person

    <h4>Chapter 102: Crazy Person</h4>

    Keeley wasn''t exactly thrilled to be having a conversation about Aaron with her roommates. Didn''t she have to deal with him enough already? How did the topic keeping back to her pathetic love life?

    To make things even worse, her phone dinged with a text from him while it was resting on the table in front of her. Valentina and Jennica peered at it with interest.

    "Who is ''Crazy Person''?" Valentina asked curiously. "Is it him?!"

    "Yes," Keeley sighed, grateful that she hadn''t put his real name on his contact in her phone.

    "What did he say?"

    She unlocked her phone and read the text aloud because she knew they wouldn''t shut up otherwise. "How is the researching? Do you want me to bring you dinner agai¡ªoh no."

    They stared at her with odd expressions on their faces. She knew those looks. They were ''you are totally hooking up with him'' looks.

    "He was bothering me anyway and I was starving earlier this week so I asked him to bring me food," she said defensively. "You guys were busy or I would have asked you."

    "Oh honey," Jennica said gently. "Why are you encouraging him if you don''t like hispany?"

    Keeley was stumped. She didn''t have adequate words to exin herself. These two didn''t know her situation, okay? Things with Aaron were moreplicated that she could ever make sense of to someone else.

    "You don''t understand; I could literally breathe and it would encourage him. I''ve tried everything¡ªavoiding, fighting, ignoring¡­if you can''t beat ''em, join ''em. It''s less exhausting to ept his presence on the fringes of my life."

    "Mmhmm," the actress said skeptically. "Are you going to text him back?"

    Her face turned red with shame and she cast her eyes down at the table. She seemed like a total pushover, didn''t she?

    "If I don''t, he''lle looking for me," she mumbled.

    She sent him a quick message. ''I''m not at theb; I''m out with my roommates''

    He replied immediately. ''Sounds fun. What are you doing?''

    ''Shopping for Halloween costumes and eating hamburgers. I have to go; talk to youter''

    Keeley snapped her phone shut and shoved it as deep into her pocket as it would go. Their knowing gazes grated on herst nerve.

    "He checks up on you?"

    "Every day," she said miserably.

    "Aww, he likes you!" Valentina cooed. "No man would put in that much effort if he didn''t. And he actually brought you dinner when you asked! What a sweetheart."

    Aaron, a sweetheart? That was hrious. He may be acting out of charactertely but if you ask anyone who knows him, ''sweet'' is thest word they would use to describe him.

    "He''s not sweet. He''s a human icicle."

    "Cold and sweet aren''t mutually exclusive. Think ice cream," Jennica said with augh before growing serious. "Really though, do you like this guy or not? If he burned you before, I think you could do a lot better."

    Like him? She barely considered herself used to him! Aaron no longer made her heart race or even made her feelfortable in his presence. Both of those things had happened back when she liked him.

    "I don''t, promise. Can we drop this now?" she practically begged.

    "But I want to know more about this Crazy Person," Valentina said with a theatrical sigh. She really was far too invested in anything to do with romantic drama.

    "Like what," Keeley asked tly.

    "How did you meet him? Why did you break up? How long has he been in love with you?"

    She scowled. This girl watched way too many telenovs. "I met him when we sat next to each other in ss, I''m not telling you, and he is NOT in love with me."

    "He certainly seems to be in love with you," she said in a singsong voice. "Bringing a girl dinner is so romantic!"

    "It was a meatball sub! There is nothing romantic about meatballs!" Keeley cried.

    "Haven''t you seen Lady and the Tramp? There''s an entire romantic scene centered on a meatball during the love song," Jennica teased.

    Keeley buried her head in her arms. "I hate you guys," she said in a muffled voice.

    Aaron hadn''t been in love with her for a minimum of twelve years, if he ever truly loved her at all. There was no way.

    She could buy him being oddly infatuated for some reason¡ªthe one that got away, maybe?¡ªsince she hadn''t given him the time of day in high school. But love? He didn''t even know what love was. It wasn''t in his programming.

    If you love somebody, you wouldn''t be ashamed of them. Or not care about anything that they care about. And you certainly wouldn''t leave them to suffer alone during one of the worst experiences of their lives, let alone cheat on them, cover up their father''s death, and demand a divorce.

    If Aaron loved her he wouldn''t have done any of those things. Keeley was confident of that. So why was he acting like a lovesick puppy following her around now?

    Her roommates eventually stopped ribbing her about it but her good mood was officially dead and buried so she locked herself in her room when they returned home.

    A few hourster she was watching random videos on YouTube with Molly sprawled across her chest when Aaron texted her again.

    ''What are your ns for Halloween?''

    She sighed. Couldn''t he just leave her be for a few hours? She said ter'' and she meant tomorrow when he inevitably texted her again, not this soon!

    ''Going to a party with some friends. You?''

    ''I''m staying home''

    This wasn''t surprising. He never once dressed up for Halloween in all the years they were together. The best she could get him to do was snuggle up under the covers and watch a couple of scary movies while they were dating. Once they got married, he stopped doing even that.

    Keeley actually really enjoyed those Halloweens back then¡ªhe hardly ever watched anything she wanted to watch. She was a scaredy cat so she frequently jumped or burrowed herself into his chest so she wouldn''t have to look at the screen.

    Aaron waspletely unfazed by horror movies. He was unfazed by pretty much everything, to be honest.

    ''At the very least you should watch a horror movie. You can''t just let Halloween pass without doing anything; that''s too boring''

    ''Any suggestions?''

    Wow, he was taking herment seriously? Since when did Aaron care about being considered boring? He had been boring since the day he was born!

    ''Let me get back to you on that''

    She tossed the phone off her bed so she wouldn''t be able to respond anymore even if he messaged her a million times. Molly safely prevented her from moving and continuing the conversation. She had indulged him enough today.

 Chapter 103: Why Did Everything Have To Be So Hard?

    <h4>Chapter 103: Why Did Everything Have To Be So Hard?</h4>

    Aaron''s meeting with Alistair trying to convince him to promote Bruce hadn''t gone all that well so he was not in a good mood when Cameron came into his office.

    He knew what was wrong immediately. "No luck?"

    "None," Aaron said frostily. "Why he won''t promote internally rather than bring in someone new, I''ll never know. It doesn''t seem like good business sense. Shouldn''t you reward the people who serve you well?"

    "I think so."

    He dismissed Cameron''s opinion instantly; of course he would think that. He directly benefited from Aaron''s policy of looking out for loyal employees.

    Aaron wasn''t seeking validation anyway; he knew his father was a rigid, inflexible man with outdated ideas. He didn''t help thepany grow nearly as much as Aaron had and yet he was always going on about how amazing his leadership was.

    If his son hadn''t caught him in time, his ''amazing leadership'' would have run Hale Investments straight into the ground. Nobody trusts an investmentpany that does insider trading.

    Not only was he outdated, ssist, and a terrible father, he was a criminal. All Aaron had to do now was prove it quietly and the man would be gone for good.

    "There are still other investors in the middle ground that you can get on your side," Cameron said optimistically. "You already have a third of the board voting with you."

    Aaron clenched his fists. It wasn''t enough. He either needed Alistair''s criminal activities toe to light or to have more than half of the board firmly in his camp. Last time he hadn''t been able to do either until it was far toote to matter.

    "I need more than that," he growled.

    Cameron understood his boss'' frustration but still had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that he was only determined to take over thepany for apletely average girl. Hurricane Aaron was brewing and he didn''t want to be in the path when it hit.

    "I have something that might cheer you up," Cameron said mysteriously, pulling out his phone. "Give me a minute."

    He checked Instagram and was pleased to find what he was searching for. Clicking on it, he held his phone up for his boss to see. It was a picture of Keeley wearing a pineapple dress, yellow sneakers, and a pineapple topper hat with herb coat and goggles next to another girl dressed like a cat that was also wearingb attire.

    "I guess NYU allows their students to wear costumes on campus for Halloween."

    Aaron''s stormy expression softened. She looked really good in yellow even though it was a ridiculous outfit. Cameron was right; it did cheer him up.

    "Do you have any ns tonight?" he asked out of a vague curiosity.

    His subordinate seemed surprised by the question. "Yeah, I''m going to a party especially for singles to meet each other. It''s been too long since I''ve had a girlfriend."

    It had been too long since Aaron had a girlfriend as well but he wouldn''t settle for anyone but Keeley. She was the only one he would ept.

    "Is Aiden going with you?"

    Cameron huffed. "I asked but he said there was no point because he wasn''t single. With such a long-distance rtionship he may as well be. I''m flying solo tonight, unless you feel like joining me."

    "I''ll pass," Aaron said disdainfully.

    A singles party? Most people in the city had at least heard of him, even if they didn''t recognize his face. No matter how bored he was, he wouldn''t put himself out there at the risk of attracting more psychopaths like Lacy.

    "What''s Keeley doing?"

    "She''s going to a party with her friends," he replied frostily. "And before you ask, no, I don''t know where it is. I prefer staying at home on Halloween."

    Aaron hadn''t celebrated Halloween since he was maybe seven years old and his nanny at the time took him trick-or-treating. Well, that wasn''t entirely true.

    Keeley was working on Halloween their junior year of college but during their sophomore and senior years she insisted on celebrating somehow. He suggested watching scary movies even though he didn''t like them because he heard some guys in his dorm bragging about how the best way to get close to a girl on a date was to take her to a scary movie.

    It certainly worked. She got scared easily and turned to his arms forfort. He soaked up the affection like a sponge, which was why he was willing to do it again the next Halloween they spent together despite not being a fan of the holiday.

    Keeley was a cuddler but even so Aaron could never get enough of it back when they were dating since he had spent most of his life touch-starved in a cold, austere environment. He never would have thought the arms of one warm person could have such an effect.

    He wished she were watching scary movies with him again this year. He missed her. She was supposed to bring him brownies in two days but that seemed so far away right now.

    "I better get back down to the analyst department," Cameron said while stretching his arms over his head. "Have fun doing nothing on a holiday."

    "Good luck at that singles party."

    After he left, Aaron examined his files on the other shareholders again. Bruce seemed like a no-go. Who should he try and go after next? His father and Samuel were out.

    Alexander was a possibility but there was also a strong chance that he would report Aaron''s attempt to win him over to Alistair. That only left Carol and Emilio. Even if he got both of them on his side, it was only 8% of the shares as opposed to Alexander''s 10%.

    Trying to figure all this out was exhausting.

    Aiden had been monitoring Alistair''s and Brann Knighton''s emails but so far there hadn''t been any furthermunication. Did they know someone was onto them and changed the way they contacted each other or had they stopped their n momentarily?

    Why did everything have to be so hard? It seemed like no matter what he did, his goals were just out of reach.

 Chapter 104: Stupid Aaron

    <h4>Chapter 104: Stupid Aaron</h4>

    Keeley tied theces on her roller skates with slight trepidation. This party was insanely crowded; she could hardly even see anyone from her group. Her chances of smacking into someone on the skate floor seemed rather high.

    Every single person she saw was dressed up somehow, even if it was a hastily made DIY costume. She had never seen so many Halloween costumes in one ce before.

    Colored lights pulsed on the floor to the beat of the music. The bass was so loud it practically shook the floor. She had the random thought that Aaron would absolutely hate a ce like this. Stupid. Why think about him when he wasn''t even here?

    "Keeley!"

    She whirled around for the source of her name and saw Ryan waving at her, dressed as a superhero from a popr movie franchise.

    Wobbling slightly since she hadn''t skated in a long time, she made her way over. "Hey! Where''s everybody else?"

    "Jennica''s talking to some guys by the lockers but everyone else is already on the skate floor. Shall we?"

    Keeley followed him out onto the skate floor and got into her groove rtively quickly, though she did still worry about smacking into people. She knocked elbows with strangers a few times but that was the worst of it.

    There was something oddly rxing about going around the oval shaped track again and again. The smooth repetition and catchy music helped Keeley''s thoughts all melt away.

    She zoomed past Valentina, who was struggling not to fall over, several times before finally stopping to help when she fell on her butt. "Do you want to hold onto my arm?"

    Her roommate smiled gratefully and epted her offered hand. "That would help, thanks."

    "So," she said loudly so she could be heard over the music. "Do you see any guys here you like? This is a singles'' party after all."

    Valentina shook her head as she clung desperately to Keeley''s arm.

    "I only came here because you guys did. I might have a small crush on the TA in my anatomyb but I doubt it will go anywhere. I''m here to focus on school."

    She respected that. Valentina may be a romantic at heart but she knew her visa only supported her during her studies. That was where her focus needed to be so she could be a doctor and go home.

    "I''m going to be thirty by the time I finish," she said with a sigh. "All of the good men in Lima will be gone."

    Keeley wasn''t sure how tofort her. She didn''t care to ever be married again so she wasn''t worried about that sort of thing in the slightest.

    "A lot of people get marriedter here; why not marry an American and take him with you?"

    Valentina raised an eyebrow. "You think an American would want to move to Peru permanently?"

    She shrugged. "He would if he loved you. Besides, you''re going to be surrounded by doctors! There are plenty of them that volunteer in ces like Africa for fun that would probably enjoy working in another country."

    Her friend''s expression grew thoughtful. She was seriously considering what Keeley said. "You may have a point. I guess I''ll have to see what happens."

    "If you really want to be in a rtionship, you''ll find someone. You''re brilliant, beautiful, and fun. What''s not to like?"

    Valentina''s radiant smile lit her face. "Thanks, Keeley."

    She meant it. Her roommate was a lovely person; if she wanted to get married, it shouldn''t be too difficult to find a willing candidate.

    Personally, Keeley didn''t see the appeal of marriage. With the right person it could be a partnership where you spent your life with your best friend¡ªher parents had been like that. But with the wrong person¡­marriage was a constraint. A shackle.

    Too many women in the world suffered like she had, giving up their dreams and catering to their husbands'' every whim. Her marriage was cold, isting, and emotionless but at least Aaron never beat her.

    Some woman weren''t that lucky. So why would anyone ever want to get married with that sort of risk?

    People changed. Aaron certainly did. She really thought he loved her once.

    Back then, she thought she would be happy because she was marrying her best friend. He may have been her best friend but she wasn''t his¡ªhe didn''t need one.

    The more she thought about it, the angrier she got until she couldn''t take it anymore. Valentina was doing well enough that she decided to skate alone again so Keeley started pumping her legs as fast as she could.

    Zooming around the track would release her pent-up anger since she couldn''t punch the object of her frustration. She raced around, dodging people as she went, with a fierce look of concentration on her face.

    Stupid Aaron. Stupid singles party. Why was she even here?

    And why, for the love of all that was good in this world, did he insist on acting all chummy and nice now when she hated him? The role reversal between the two of them was ridiculous.

    She chased after him relentlessly until he gave in and it was the worst mistake of her life. He was with her reluctantly so their rtionship started out on the wrong foot and it only got worse from there.

    Now he was chasing her even though she wanted nothing to do with him! She wouldn''t do what he did¡ªshe refused to cave to the pressure.

    Running away to college hadn''t worked in the end. All it did was give her a break.

    Keeley truly believed he would lose interest in his little game after high school. That the random kiss on New Year''s Day was a fluke because he left her alone for five and a half years.

    She finally thought she was safe. She had been thinking about him less and less and then he just had to shove his way back into her life.

    What on earth was he doing? It had been more than four months now since he came back and his intentions seemed sincere to other people.

    It was a game of cat and mouse in high school, nothing more, so he shouldn''t be doing this now¡­

 Chapter 105: Couples Skate

    <h4>Chapter 105: Couples Skate</h4>

    Keeley''s frantic racing around the roller rink continued until a song ended and an announcement came over the speakers.

    "Alright everyone, clear the track! It''s time to put the connections you''ve made tonight to use. Couples skate only for the next ten minutes!"

    She skidded to a stop, annoyed. She was really getting into her groove too.

    Smoothly skating towards the exit, she found Ryan waiting there with a sheepish expression on his face.

    "Hey¡­so this girl has been following me around on and off and will probably ask me to do the couples skate with her and I don''t know how to say no. Could you do it with me instead?"

    Well, she did owe him one for the time he went drinking with her. It wouldn''t be the end of the world.

    "Sure, let''s go. I didn''t want to stop skating anyway. But I''m fast; can you keep up with me?"

    "I think so."

    The rule of the couples skate was that you had to hold hands and skate next to your partner. Keeley had never held hands with a man other than Aaron. It felt like a nice little act of rebellion since she was still angry at him.

    She wasn''t kidding about going fast; Ryan gripped her hand for dear life as he struggled to keep up with her as she flew around the track.

    This wasn''t so bad. Pulling a weight as she went was half-decent exercise.

    ===

    Cameron was a bit surprised by how much attention from thedies he was getting at this party.

    He wasn''t the same nerdy-looking guy he was in college, but that was mainly because his eating and sleeping habits improved and he could afford decent skincare. He stopped being clean shaven because well-maintained stubble became popr. Getting thinner, more stylish sses probably helped too.

    His pirate costume got a lot ofpliments and he managed to score three girls'' phone numbers. Not bad for an hour of socializing.

    Cameron was actually quite good at roller skating because his ex-girlfriend used to make him practice skate moves with her but he spent most of his time chatting with people rather than in the rink. That is, until he saw a semi familiar yellow blur zoom by where he was seated four times.

    He knew that pineapple dress.

    Pardoning himself from hispanion to go skate for a while, he went to get a closer look. His eyes weren''t deceiving him; that was definitely Keeley Hall. What on earth was she doing at a singles party?

    Did his boss know about this? He said she was going to a party with her friends¡­

    He tried cutting across the rink to get closer and possibly introduce himself. His curiosity about the boss'' woman had been eating him alive since Aiden told him how normal she was.

    The middle of the rink was usually empty or used by people trying to do fancy tricks or dance moves. Cameron was so preupied with his goal that he didn''t notice a girl skating backward and executingplicated spins until she spun right into him.

    Reflexively, he caught her in a dip. The wheels on her skates were still rolling so he stuck his foot out in front of hers to stop herpletely.

    Her sparkling emerald green eyes, unable to be fully obscured by the thick-framed sses she wore, gazed up at his face in shock. She was breathing heavily and Cameron''s heart began to pound.

    It was as if the world around them had stopped. The sounds, the lights, the other skaters¡­everything faded away in the magic of the moment.

    Cameron gathered his wits about him as the moment broke. "Sorry, I wasn''t looking where I was going."

    The womanughed, showcasing pearly white teeth. "I''m the one who was skating backwards. Thanks for the save."

    He released her and gave her a subtle once-over. She was wearing a hipster Little Mermaid costume. Her true hair color was obscured by an obvious wig. A mermaid and a pirate. Their costumes even sort of matched.

    "What''s your name? I''m Cameron Singleton," he said hastily, holding his hand out for a shake.

    Her hand was warm and soft as she epted the handshake. "Jennica Stevens."

    Just then, an announcement came over the loudspeaker that it was time for couples only skating. He wasn''t about to waste this opportunity.

    "Since we''re here¡­would you like to be my partner for the couples skate?"

    A surprised smile lit her face. "Sure!"

    As most of the skaters cleared off the floor trying to find a partner, Jennica slipped her hand into his and urged him forward. "So¡­what''s your skill level? I''m a dancer so I can do a bunch of tricks but I''m cool with just going around the track if you can''t keep up."

    Cameron sent a silent thank you to his ex off into the void. "Actually, I know how to skate-dance too."

    She raised an eyebrow. "Alright hot shot show me what you can do."

    He rose to the challenge, sping her other hand and beginning to skate backward. His ex-girlfriend Melody was a dance teacher who loved all things athletic. She taught him an entire choreographed skate dance once. He was curious if this girl could keep up.

    The dance consisted of a lot of switching arms, spinning, and changing which partner went backwards. Jennica hadn''t been bluffing¡ªshe kept up with his movements as if they had practiced together a hundred times. It was obvious that she was impressed.

    They were too engrossed by the dance to hold a conversation during the first song. When it ended and he spun her into another dip, she grinned at him.

    "You really can dance!"

    A few of the other couples around them apuded a good show and Cameron felt slightly embarrassed. He hadpletely forgotten other people were watching.

    He held out his hand. "Shall we go again?"

    "Let me lead this time."

    As she skated circles around him, holding one of his hands, she suddenly began tough.

    "What is it?"

    "My friends. One of them doesn''t seem to be having a very good time."

    He followed her line of sight and saw Keeley dragging a much taller man behind her as she skated almost violently.

    "Neither of them look terribly happy," hemented. "You came here with them tonight?"

    "Uh huh. There are about seven of us; my two roommates, that guy over there, and a few of his friends. Did youe with anybody?"

    So they were roommates. Aiden would know her; he should ask for more informationter. Something about Jennica was different than any other girl he''d met but he couldn''t put his finger on it.

    "No, my friends areme and ditched me tonight. I came alone."

    Cameron sighed, thinking about his earlier conversation with Aaron. He would be so pissed when he found out he turned down an opportunity to see the love of his life.

    Jennica executed another perfect spin before cing a hand on his waist like they were waltzing.

    "Well, you''re wee to join us. I think we were going to get drinks after the party ends. Nobody should be alone on Halloween."

    Excellent. Not only could he spend more time with her and possibly get her number, he could see what all the fuss was about surrounding Keeley Hall.

    "I would love to."

 Chapter 106: Not What He Expected

    <h4>Chapter 106: Not What He Expected</h4>

    Cameron didn''t get to introduce himself to Keeley until the party was over and everyone from her group congregated in a bar down the street that was serving special Halloween-themed drinks.

    "Who is this?" a short Hispanic girl with a bright smile asked, elbowing Jennica.

    "Wow, I''m dumb. I forgot to introduce you. Everyone, this is Cameron; his friends areme and ditched him so he''s hanging out with us."

    He waved with a somewhat awkward smile on his face. It''s always weird being introduced to a group by someone else.

    His boss'' woman smiled brightly at him. "I saw you guys dancing earlier; it was super impressive! I''m Keeley, by the way."

    "Oh, that was you?" Keeley''s couples skate partner asked. "Nice to meet you, I''m Ryan."

    Ryan, huh? Based on what little he had seen, he couldn''t be certain whether or not this guy was legitimatepetition for Aaron or not. He would have to observe further.

    Everyone else went around the booth and introduced themselves before ordering their drinks.

    Jennica ordered a margarita with gummy worms in it and Keeley got a poison apple cocktail but he didn''t pay attention to anyone else''s drink orders.

    He chose a vampire cocktail made with vani ice cream, two types of booze, and grenadine syrup to look like blood. This bar was really going all out on the Halloween theme.

    Valentina took a sip of her drink and announced, "We should y Two Truths and a Lie."

    Keeley groaned. "Come on Val, you''re too good at that game. If we y you have to be disqualified from guessing on Jen and me."

    "I''ll ept that. Anyone else have a problem?"

    A chorus of ''no''s went around the table and she gave everyone three minutes to think of something.

    Two Truths and a Lie¡­Cameron hadn''t yed this get-to-know-you game since summer camp in middle school. He needed to think of good ones so Jennica''s positive impression of him wouldn''t change.

    "I''ll go first," Valentina said with a smile. "And my roommates aren''t allowed to guess on me either."

    Keeley and Jennica shrugged; it was only fair.

    "I wash all of my dishes by hand, my favorite actor is Fernando de Cruz, and I''m in my second year of medical school."

    "The one about the dishes is the lie," Ryan''s friend Evan said confidently. Murmurs of agreement rose from around the table.

    Valentina shook her head with a wicked grin. "No. My favorite actor is¡ª"

    "Hector Garza," Keeley finished for her. "The one you think should y the male lead in my telenov."

    Cameron scrunched up his face in confusion, about to ask what she meant, but Ryan beat him to the punch. "Your telenov?"

    She blushed. "Valentina may or may not have convinced me to submit a proposal I came up with as a joke to her cousin who works in Peruvian television. They''re actually nning to use it. My name will be in the credits somewhere."

    "Dude, you should have saved that for one of your truths! Nobody would have believed you," Ryan''s friend Vinnie said in disbelief.

    "I totally should have," she said, smacking a hand against her forehead. "I''m not good at this game."

    Cameron could not believe his boss would ever fall in love with a woman who watched telenovs, let alone enough toe up with her own. Did Aaron know about this? He''d have to ask.

    "Hang on, you wash all your dishes by hand?" Evan asked. "Don''t you guys have a dishwasher?"

    "Yes, but Valentina doesn''t think it works," Keeley said, relieved the topic was off of her.

    "My mama always washed her dishes by hand; if it''s good enough for her, it''s good enough for me!"

    Jennica jumped in before a fight broke out. "Okay it''s my turn! Let''s see¡­I have never gotten a ticket of any kind, I once dyed my hair hot pink, and I used to be deathly afraid of elevators."

    "These are all ridiculous; I can''t tell!" Vinnieined.

    "You''ve gotten a ticket," Ryan said smugly. "You wereining about it six months ago because you didn''t have time to go to traffic court to contest it."

    "I didn''t!" she protested. "It was all the way in Ohio!"

    "Why did you get a ticket in Ohio?"

    She waved her hand dismissively. "I''m from there. I was driving my grandma to the dentist while visiting my family."

    "She was going 55 in a 45 zone," Keeley contributed helpfully.

    "I hadn''t been home in a while; they changed the speed limit on that road and there weren''t any signs anywhere!"

    Cameron stifled augh seeing how passionate she still was about an incident that passed months ago.

    The argument continued for another three minutes before Ryan took his turn. Nobody managed to guess that his lie was about going to Disneyworld rather than having a fake tooth.

    All of Ryan''s friends went before it was Cameron''s turn. He had been thinking about what to say the entire time, trying to use the examples of those who went before him.

    "I have never tasted honey, I own three dogs, and I hold the current title of World Champion of Poker."

    Everyone gawked at him, unsure which was the lie.

    "There''s no way you''re the World Champion of Poker," Jennica said, narrowing her eyes at him. "That''s too random."

    "How can you never have tasted honey?!"

    Cameron smiled, ignoring the question. His mother was allergic so it was never in the house growing up;ter, he never got around to it. "I only own one dog."

    "No way! You''re seriously World Champion?!"

    "Three years running," he said with a shrug.

    Jennica''s jaw dropped. "That''s insane. I''ve heard about that contest. The prize money is through the roof! You''re a millionaire?!"

    Technically yes but it wasn''t what she thought. He was ying with Aaron''s money on the clock so he had to give it back to him but was allowed to keep a small portion of each grand prize for his trouble.

    He didn''t let it get to his head though; he lived normally and helped pay off his parents'' mortgage and for his younger siblings'' education. Actual rich people like Aaron were an unfathomable mystery to him.

    "Well yeah, but most of the prize money went to my family back in Pennsylvania or to charity. I still work a normal 9-5 job."

    Ryan''s friends seemed shocked he still bothered having a job when he was supposed to be a multimillionaire but the girls seemed impressed.

    "Aww that''s so sweet! What a good son," Valentina praised.

    "I''d probably do the same thing," Keeley admitted. "I love my work."

    Jennica looked thoughtful. "You just got a lot more interesting, Cameron Singleton."

    He was pretty sure that was a good thing. Feeling pleased, he gestured for Keeley to take her turn.

    She drummed her fingers on the table before speaking. "I''m allergic to bananas, I''ve never been outside of New York, and I never want to get married."

    "You never want to get married," Cameron said confidently. Every girl he''d ever met wanted to get married someday.

    Murmurs of agreement went around the booth but Keeley shook her head, surprising everyone but her roommates. "I''ve been to Massachusetts and the Caribbean."

    This was bad. This was very, very bad. Aaron''s pursuit had been doomed from the start.

    "For real?" Ryan asked skeptically. "Is this because of your ex?"

    Hang on; she had talked to this guy about previous rtionships? They must be closer than Cameron originally thought. This was looking worse and worse for his boss.

    Keeley nodded. "Pretty much. Even if he wasn''t a part of the equation, I''m far too busy for any sort of rtionship. This is only my third night not working on my dissertation all month. Careers are stable; rtionships are not."

    As the argument about work vs rtionships continued, Cameron tuned it all out because his thoughts were going a mile a minute. Keeley Hall was not quite what he expected.

    Her cheerful nature and easy banter with her friends matched what Aiden told him, as did her fiery side when she dragged Ryan around the roller rink. But he certainly hadn''t imagined her as a staunch career woman with no interest in love.

    Where did that leave Aaron, who was hopelessly obsessed with being with her?

 Chapter 107: Aidens Theory

    <h4>Chapter 107: Aiden''s Theory</h4>

    Aiden had far too much fun ribbing Cameron about his not-so-subtle crush on his neighbor in the cafeteria the day after Halloween.

    How could he not? The first thing he did after sitting down was ask everything he knew about the girl, trying and failing to look nonchnt about it.

    "Well, what do you know already? I don''t want to repeat information unnecessarily," he said in a teasing tone.

    Cameron sighed. "Literally all I know is that she knows how to dance, loves Halloween, is from Ohio, and got a parking ticket earlier this year."

    "That''s not much."

    "I know, that''s why I''m asking you," he said impatiently. "So?"

    Aiden leaned back in his seat leisurely and stretched. "What will you give me in return?"

    His friend scowled. "Don''t be like Aaron; it doesn''t suit you."

    "I''m waiting," Aiden said in a singsong voice.

    "I''ll tell you what I heard from Keeleyst night at the Halloween party that only deepens the mystery of our boss'' love life. Happy?"

    He rubbed his hands together eagerly. "I can''t wait! But yeah, Jennica''s a pretty straightforward person. She''s a small-time actress but recentlynded a decent role as an understudy Off-Broadway."

    How else to describe her? She was sarcastic but also had a soft heart and was fiercely protective of her friends. She loved animals and had a bunch of pets growing up so she doted on Keeley''s cat. Her favorite food was sushi.

    Aiden honestly didn''t know much about her since he saw her least often of all his across-the-hall neighbors. When she wasn''t in a show, she spent most of her time holed up in her apartment. He saw Keeley and Valentina, who were alwaysing and going, much more frequently.

    He told all of that to Cameron, who was only slightly appeased. "You''ve lived across from her for two years and that''s all you know?"

    "I told you, I don''t see her much. She''s a cool person though as far as I can tell," he said with a shrug. "So¡­what happened with Keeley?"

    Cameron set down his sandwich before spilling the beans. "First of all, you were right. She''spletely average¡ªcute, friendly, and a little funny, but nothing worth obsessing over. Second¡­do you know of her friend Ryan?"

    Ryan¡­the name sounded vaguely familiar. Aiden twirled his spaghetti around on his fork. "What does he look like?"

    "Brown hair, hazel-green eyes, chipped front tooth."

    He nearly jumped out of his seat. "That''s the guy! The one I told you about; the one who went drinking with her after she stayed at Aaron''s ce!"

    "Well, he seems pretty close to her. They danced together during the couples skate portion of the party andter he mentioned he knew something about her ex-boyfriend so she definitely trusts him. He knows her roommates well too."

    Hmm. Aiden knew he was friendly with her roommates but the other things were news to him. Was Aaron aware of this guy''s existence?

    "Don''t tell me that''s all."

    "It''s not," Cameron continued. "She also used ''I never want to get married'' as one of her truths during Two Truths and a Lie. ims it''s partly because of her ex and partly because she wants to focus on her career."

    That¡­made a lot of sense considering what she told him in the elevator the night she got drunk.

    "Not surprising. She told me not to ever fall in love because it isn''t worth it on the day Ryan took her home from the bar. The real question is¡ª"

    "Who the ex is," his friend finished. "I know. Aaron''s fighting for a lost cause. She still seems pretty hung up on that guy."

    Aiden''s brow furrowed. This didn''t make sense. He watched her like a hawk when she was in college. As far as he knew, she never even went on a date. Mostly she hung around with Valentina or inrge groups.

    There was no way she had a boyfriend then and it seemed even less likely now that he was her neighbor. He never saw any guys around her apartment but Ryan and even that was only every few months.

    Aaron fell for her in high school¡­the ex must have been from before then or Aiden would know about it.

    A strange, unlikely thought hit him. "Do you think¡­it might be Aaron?"

    "Impossible," Cameron scoffed. "You said she hated him from first sight and he''s been chasing after her ever since. When would they have had time to date?"

    He had a point. But¡­what if that wasn''t their first meeting? What if Keeley hated him because she remembered him from earlier on? It would make a lot more sense for Aaron to be hung up on the one that got away than a random girl who always hated him.

    "Hear me out¡ªwhat if they dated before high school and we just didn''t know about it? Wouldn''t that exin a lot?"

    Cameron thought it over. "I guess your theory could work¡­but it seems a bit farfetched¡­"

    "I know Aaron''s cocky but wouldn''t his confidence that he''ll win her over make more sense if she had already liked him once before?" Aiden asked eagerly. He was getting more and more convinced that they had met prior to high school.

    "More to the point, Keeley''s a pretty reasonable person. She wouldn''t hate someone she just met for no reason!"

    "You''re overthinking this," Cameron said before taking another bit of his lunch. "He''s Aaron. Not exactly the warmest person around. He probably pissed her off somehow during their first meeting."

    Aiden didn''t buy it. He knew Keeley. As far as he''d seen, there wasn''t a single person in the world she disliked other than Aaron. She wasn''t the type to hold grudges.

    "Cam, listen! First impressions are easy enough to change. Especially with how much effort he''s put into wooing her, wouldn''t she have cracked by now if she didn''t have an actual solid reason to hate him?"

    "What would you consider an ''actual solid reason''?" he asked boredly.

    If they were together before¡­what would be a valid reason to hate Aaron? In all the years Aiden worked for him he never saw his boss so much as look at another woman so there was no way he cheated. His unswerving loyalty was almost fanatical.

    "I¡­don''t know. Unless he dumped her? Girls get pretty pissed about things like that."

    Cameron clearly thought he was nuts. "Why on earth would Aaron Hale, the coldest person we know, dump a woman and then decide he wants her back yearster to the point of near insanity?"

    That was a w in Aiden''s theory. He frowned. There had to be more to it.

    Ever since he first found out about the love of Aaron''s life, he had been dying to know how such a normal person caught his fancy. His curiosity only grew over the years, especially once those two met again and Keeley clearly didn''t like Aaron.

    "You have a point. But I''ll get to the bottom of it someday," Aiden dered resolutely before returning to his spaghetti.

    Cameron simply shook his head at his friend like he was crazy.

 Chapter 108: Had She Ever Been This Obnoxious?

    <h4>Chapter 108: Had She Ever Been This Obnoxious?</h4>

    Jennica wouldn''t stop talking about Cameron for days after Halloween, which was how Keeley found herself listening to her roommate ramble as she made those sted marshmallow brownies on Saturday morning.

    "¡­I have never met a guy like him before. He knows how to dance while skating, has a dog, is family-oriented, AND is super down-to-earth even though he''s rich. He seemedpletely normal; I never would have guessed! What''s the catch?"

    "I don''t know Jen, why don''t you text him and find out?" she asked wearily, stirring in the dry ingredients.

    Her roommate had been agonizing because Cameron gave her his number but she didn''t want to seem clingy and hadn''t texted him yet. Since she didn''t give him her number, he couldn''t contact her first, adding to her anxiety about it.

    Neither Valentina nor Keeley knew what to tell her. Everything they tried seemed to go in one ear and out the other.

    The whole time they had lived together, Jennica had never been like this over a guy. She went on first dates but usually wasn''t impressed enough to go on a second one. Cameron seemed nice but why had she crushed on him so fast?

    A sudden shriek startled Keeley so much that she dropped her batter-covered spoon on the floor. "Geez, what''s wrong with you?"

    "He added me on Facebook."

    She huffed, "Don''t scare me like that! Now I need a new spoon."

    Digging around for another one in themunal assorted kitchenware drawer, Keeley only half paid attention to what Jennica was reading off of his ''about me'' page until she heard the words ''Hale Investments.'' She straightened so quickly she bonked her head on a cab.

    "Did you just say Hale Investments?" she asked, wincing while rubbing the sore spot.

    "Yeah, he''s a financial analyst there. And he has an MBA from Harvard¡­my mom would be thrilled."

    Cameron probably made the same if not more than a dentist per year, not counting his multiple World Champion of Poker prizes. She was right; her mom would be over the moon. Why Jennica''s mother valued financial stability over more important factors though¡­

    Keeley''s mom wouldn''t have been like that. She supported her children''s dreams and wanted them to be happy. She would have talked her out of being with Aaron even with all of his wealth knowing they weren''t a good match.

    Based on what little she had seen of him, Cameron seemed normal though. His wealth was an afterthought, not his defining feature.

    "Give me your phone," she said with a sigh.

    If she was going to be a supportive friend about this, she needed more information. Social media was a heavily filtered version of reality but it was a decent ce to start.

    Most of his pictures seemed to include his dog but there were also a bunch taken in ces like Las Vegas and Paris. It looked like he traveled a lot. Was it for work? Hale Investments was an American basedpany but there were a few branches overseas.

    Aaron spent a lot of time working on the international expansion n after she lost the baby¡­

    After checking out his pictures, she examined his posts. Pretty generic day-to-day stuff but there were also some funny memes reposted from other pages on there. Nothing that screamed ''red g.''

    One odd thing she did notice was that pretty much all of his posts were liked by an Aiden Quinn. Clicking on the name confirmed that it was the Aiden she suspected; she was friends with him on Facebook too.

    "He''s friends with Aiden," Keeleymented. "I wonder how he knows him." They should be about ten years apart in age so where would they have even met?

    Jennica looked at her funny. "Probably at work. Don''t you know Aiden is in Hale Investments'' IT department?"

    Why does everyone she knows suddenly work at Hale Investments?!

    "I didn''t," she said coolly, regaining herposure.

    She poured the brownie batter into the greased pan and spread it around to make it even before popping it into the oven and setting a timer on her phone.

    "He mentioned it to me a while back. What''s so surprising about it? Their main branch has thousands of employees," Jennica said while snatching her phone off the table where Keeley left it.

    It really shouldn''t have been surprising. She was mostly thrown off-guard because it reminded her that Aaron''s influence was everywhere in New York City.

    If she really wanted to escape him she would have to move. But where would she go? This was her home. Her family, friends, and life were here. Moving away would be letting him win.

    "Hey, now that Cameron has added you on Facebook you know he''s at least somewhat interested. You should text him," Keeley said, remembering their original topic.

    Jennica''s expression fell. "I don''t know what I would say."

    "Text him like you''d text me. He already likes what he''s seen or he wouldn''t havee out for drinks with us. Be yourself!"

    Sheposed the message three times before showing the final product to Keeley. ''Hey, it''s Jennica. I got your friend request so I figured you should have my number'' with a winking emoticon at the end.

    "It looks fine. Send it!"

    Ultimately, she was too nervous so Keeley had to push the button for her. Oh brother. Had she ever been this obnoxious when she liked Aaron? She really hoped not.

    The phone dinged a minuteter and Jennica dove for it.

    "What does it say?" Keeley asked, knowing she would share it anyway.

    "He says it''s good to hear from me and that he thought I lost his number. I knew I waited too long!"

    She kind of did. Normally when people give someone their number, the other person sends them a text immediately so they''ll have it forter.

    "You could always lie and say Molly ran off with it for a while until I found it under my bed," she offered. "I''d back you up if necessary."

    Jennica buried her face in her hands. "This is ridiculous. I''m never this shy."

    "No, you''re not, so get a hold of yourself! Jennica Stevens is no pansy."

    She pped herself across the face and shook her head back and forth rapidly. "I think I''m okay now. I''m not sure why I panicked so much."

    Keeley smiled knowingly. Because she really liked him, duh! People did stupid things when they liked someone. Goodness knows Keeley was the poster child for that.

    "Have fun texting him. I''m going to do some homework while I wait for the brownie timer to go off."

    She stood up from the table and slunk back to her bedroom but wasn''t able to concentrate like she wanted. Of course she couldn''t; she was going to Aaron''s ce in a couple hours to drop off the dumb brownies.

    With any luck, after this she wouldn''t have to see him in person for a few months or more. Or preferably ever but she wasn''t na?ve enough to believe that was usible for the time being.

    Like it or not, she was stuck with him to some degree. She had certainly never had the power to change his mind about anything.

    Keeley was certain that he''d give up someday¡ªafter all, his parents would marry him off to a socialite sooner orter. She could handle him for now.

    When the timer went off, she added the marshmallowyer before sticking the brownies back in the oven for three minutes. Once that was done they needed to cool for ten minutes before she added the frosting so it wouldn''t melt.

    She came prepared; she baked the brownies in a disposable foil pan so Aaron couldn''t use returning the dish as an excuse toe see her. She let the pan cool while she went to get dressed. She refused to look nice for him.

    Leggings, fuzzy boots with pompoms dangling off them, and an overge sweater seemed like a good choice. It was the sort of thing she normally wore on the weekends anyway.

    Jennica was still texting Cameron with a smile on her face when Keeley came out of her room. She was vaguely curious what she was so happy about but didn''t want to dy dropping these off so she could get on with her day.

 Chapter 109: Youre Weird

    <h4>Chapter 109: You''re Weird</h4>

    Keeley steeled herself by taking a deep breath as she stood in front of Aaron''s gigantic luxurious apartmentplex. Once she went in, there would be no going back.

    Unfortunately, she couldn''t doorbell ditch him either since she didn''t have the elevator key. Her n was to go in, pet the cat for a few minutes, and leave by iming she had homework to do (which was actually true).

    She stepped into the grand lobby and approached the doorman at the desk. "Hi, I''m here to see Aaron Hale? He lives in the penthouse."

    The doorman seemed to recognize her from the three times she had been there before but remained professional. "Your name, miss?"

    "Keeley Hall."

    He excused himself to the back room, no doubt to call Aaron and buzz her in, and returned less than a minuteter.

    "Right this way, Miss Hall."

    The doorman turned the elevator key for her before stepping out and wishing her a nice day.

    She gripped the pan of brownies tightly as she passed floor after floor. She wasn''t ready to be back in hisir.

    The elevator doors opened with a ding and¡­no one was there. It opened straight into his apartment¡ªhence the need for a key¡ªbut there was no indication anyone was home.

    This could be a good thing. All she had to do was sneak the brownies into the kitchen upstairs and sneak back out with no one the wiser!

    Keeley crept up the stairs quiet as a mouse, praying he wouldn''t spot her. Her prayer wasn''t answered. Aaron was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for her.

    "Hi Aaron," she said with a resigned smile on her face. "I have your brownies so we''re even now."

    He peeled back the foil on top and a pleased expression crossed his face. "They look delicious, thank you. Sit down, I''ll serve them up. Would you like some milk?"

    "Uh, sure." Someone was feeling awfully solicitous today.

    Dinah trotted into the room and jumped up onto the table to sniff Keeley''s hand before headbutting against it. Molly did this too.

    "Hey pretty girl," Keeley greeted before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Is this human cier taking care of you properly?"

    She responded by yawning and flopping down on the table to take a nap. At least she seemed like a happy, well-adjusted cat. Her opinion of Aaron rose fractionally. He may have been a rotten husband but he was a good cat owner. That counted for something.

    Aaron made two trips to bring over two sses of milk, tes, and a spat to serve the brownies with. He cut out a brownie for each of them before sitting down next to her.

    "Thanks."

    "You''re wee."

    After eating about half of his treat, he looked up at her and asked quite formally, "Did you have a nice Halloween?"

    She''d had worse.

    "It was okay. Did you end up watching A Nightmare on Elm Street?"

    It was the movie she suggested when he asked. They had watched it together on their first Halloween as a couple and she had nightmares for a week, eventually begging him to stay the night so she wouldn''t have to wake up alone and he actually did. It was one of her better memories of him.

    He nodded but didn''t speak because his mouth was full of brownie.

    "It was an interesting concept," he said once he chased it down with some milk. "The blurred lines between dream and reality."

    He sounded like he was talking about any old film rather than one of the scariest movies in the American horror genre. Did anything scare this guy?

    "Did it scare you at all?"

    "No. Real life is much scarier than the movies."

    What a cryptic statement. Her curiosity won out over the desire not to prolong the conversation. "How so?"

    "Movies are meant to be unrealistic. People know that those things won''t actually happen to them deep down and watch for the entertainment value. In real life, you have to deal with the unpredictability of human nature. Humanity is inherently selfish and selfishness can lead to disaster."

    Sadness briefly clouded his ever-present neutral expression as he spoke. She wasn''t sure whether or not she imagined it.

    It was a rather pessimistic outlook on life. Had Aaron always been this much of a downer? No, he was much more neutral about things before. What had changed?

    "Not everyone is like that."

    A soft smile appeared on his face, startling her. "I know. You''re not."

    Keeley''s heart stopped. Did he just say what she thought he said? An actual, genuinepliment apanied by a real smile?

    Suddenly she felt extremely guilty for wanting nothing more than to escape his presence when he looked so genuinely happy having her here. This wasn''t like her Aaron at all. Maybe she had been unfair to this version by holding onto things he didn''t even do.

    "I''m not as good as you think," she mumbled with downcast eyes.

    "Be nice. You''re the best person I know."

    She looked up at him in disbelief. How could he exaggerate that much?! She was always mean to him!

    "¡­have you forgotten that I''ve never hidden my dislike for you?"

    His cold, dark eyes glinted with an emotion than may have been amusement.

    "No. But at least you''re honest. That''s more than can be said for the majority of the people I know. You don''t suck up to me or hide your true intentions. It''s refreshing."

    The waves of confusion crashing over Keeley threatened to drown her. He seemed to be perfectly serious; he meant what he was saying. Was this why he bothered with her in the first ce? Because she was candid?

    It was different than she thought. All this time she believed that he was messing with her for daring to defy him and was trying to get her to bend to his will. It turned out that he only wanted to interact with someone who could be genuine with him. What a novel concept.

    Aaron, like other human beings, wanted a real connection with someone. He went about it in the worst way possible but his intentions weren''t terrible. This changed her perception of him quite a bit.

    Had this been the reason her Aaron initially liked her as well? A lump formed in her throat. Even if it was, it wasn''t enough to make him truly care about her. This Aaron would lose interest too, just like she wanted.

    "You''re weird. Nobody else would find someone being mean to them refreshing." She pulled a face to hide her true feelings his statement invoked.

    "I never imed that I wasn''t weird," he said lightly before finishing his brownie.

 Chapter 110: Not To Be Rude...But

    <h4>Chapter 110: Not To Be Rude...But</h4>

    Keeley scrutinized the stranger next to her at the table because she realized she didn''t know this timeline''s Aaron Hale at all anymore.

    He was wearing a long-sleeved tee shirt and sweatpants¡ªactual lounge clothes!¡ªand was petting a cat while talking to her like a normal person with feelings. It was bizarre. Absolutely bizarre.

    This man looked identical to her ex-husband and had a lot of the same mannerisms but aside from that he was like apletely different person. He wasn''t quite as bossy, overbearing, or cold.

    In high school she could easily believe they were the same person but now¡­those five years apart seemed to have really changed him. Again, she wondered if it was fair to judge him for the other Aaron''s sins against her. Since meeting up with him several months ago, he had been surprisingly thoughtful.

    He was sincerely trying to be her friend. He wasn''t being annoying by encroaching on her life on purpose. Was the great Aaron Hale actually lonely?

    "Um¡­not to be rude¡­but am I the only friend you have that isn''t on your payroll?"

    He raised an eyebrow. "I see you''re as direct as ever. And yes, yes you are."

    Well great. Now she felt guiltier than before. He really was lonely; that was why he kept clinging to her. How was she supposed to ditch a lonely person in good conscience, even if that person strongly resembled the one she hated most?

    No wonder he texted her every day and was willing to drop everything to bring her food or help her out when she was sick. Somehow, inexplicably, she had be her enemy''s best friend. The irony was too much.

    "That''s really sad, Aaron. You need to find better friends."

    "Where?" he asked with a somewhat bitter chuckle. "Everybody in this city knows of me. It wouldn''t work."

    He had a point.

    "Besides," Aaron said in his usual cool tone, his bitterness evaporating. "No one else would make me such good brownies. You''re all I need."

    The sentiment was both sweet and frustrating beyond belief. If it wereing from someone else, she might have even been touched. As it was she realized she had dug a deeper hole for herself by being on friendly terms with him through text messages. He was even more dependent on her than before.

    Would she ever be able to escape him permanently? All she had wanted after being reborn was an Aaron-free life!

    This Aaron may be different but he would still always remind her of bad memories. She couldn''t be swayed by guilt. Her life was her own; she didn''t owe him anything even if his life was so pathetic that she felt sorry for him.

    "I have homework to do," she said as she rose from the table. "I need to get going."

    "Already?"

    Was that desperation tinging his tone or was she going crazy because she felt bad for him? She had to stand her ground!

    "Yes. I really did only have time to pop by and drop them off. PhD students never sleep, you know."

    "Alright. Let me drive you back."

    Surprised that he was respecting her wishes rather than trying to get her to stay longer, Keeley agreed. She kissed the top of Dinah''s furry head as shey on the table before they headed down to the parking garage.

    ===

    Keeley didn''t say much on the drive back but Aaron was just happy to have her there. She had asked the oddest question earlier though. What was she thinking?

    Did she¡­care what happened to him? It seemed that way. If so, that was tremendous progress.

    When she wanted to go home he abandoned the ns he had beening up with all week to get her to stay longer because he didn''t want their rtionship to backslide.

    "Would you like to get lunch together tomorrow?" he dared to ask. "You can choose the ce."

    "I visit my dad on Sundays."

    Right. He''d forgotten that. "How is your dad these days?"

    Her expression fell slightly. "I think he''s lonely. I''ve been pretty busytely so I missed a couple of weeksst month. Plus the holidays areing up and that''s when he misses my mom the most."

    Aaron knew that feeling well. He had never been the biggest fan of holidays to begin with but Keeley brought a bit of festiveness into his life. After she died, he never thought of Christmas the same because he was bogged down by memories of her.

    "I could go visit him sometime," he offered. "He likes me so I''m sure he would appreciate thepany."

    Keeley''s exaggerated look of shock nearly made himugh out loud. "¡­he''s my dad; you really don''t have to do that."

    He shrugged. "He''s always been very kind to me. It would be my honor."

    Talking to Robert Hall might give him further insight on how to win over his daughter. It would be mutually beneficial.

    "If you''re sure¡­I''ll tell you which Sundays I''m not able to go. You can visit him then. It''s his least busy day of the week."

    "I can do that."

    "Thanks, Aaron. Maybe you''re not that selfish either."

    It was almost apliment. He''d take it. "Happy to help. I hope you know that I''m always avable if you need anything. Anything at all."

    "I know." She smiled at him but it seemed almost heartbroken. That didn''t make sense given the context.

    Keeley waved goodbye when she exited the car in front of her fake apartment building. He really wondered how long she would keep up the charade. It had been months already. She would have to confess eventually.

    Aaron had every intention of being an active part of her life. He would even get to know her roommates if that was what it took. Aiden had managed it so it couldn''t be that hard.

    His one goal in this life was to get Keeley to marry him again. No matter what he had to do, he would make it happen.

    He would be the supportive husband he should have been all along and wouldn''t force her to change herself for anyone. He would be there at her PhD graduation, celebrate her research aplishments, and watch any movie she wanted at the movie theater even though he didn''t like to go.

    Anything to make her feel loved and happy this time.

 Chapter 111: Hypothetically

    <h4>Chapter 111: Hypothetically</h4>

    Concentrating on her homework aftering home from Aaron''s ce was a near impossible task so Keeley gave up and decided to spend the night in her old bedroom back home. She could use her dad''s advice right now.

    When she opened the front door using her key, her father was watching a football game on TV and looked up in shock. "Honeybun! What are you doing here? I thought you were busy today."

    She smiled in self-deprecation. "Am I not allowed to visit my favorite person on a day other than Sunday?"

    "Of course not; I''m d you''re here."

    He muted the game and patted the couch cushion next to him. She dropped her purse by the door and took off her shoes before curling up next to him and resting her head on his shoulder like she did when she was younger.

    Robert had such a calming presence. She felt a bit better already just being near him.

    "Dad¡­do you think people really change?" Keeley asked quietly.

    "Of course I do. Do you feel like the same person you were five or ten years ago?"

    She shook her head. "No¡­but that''s not exactly what I meant."

    How could she phrase this without having to exin the whole rebirth thing? "But what if someone really hurt you and they don''t know or remember it and now they seempletely different?"

    He seemed a bit confused. "Different how?"

    "Like the way this person treats you is the opposite of how they did before."

    "Is this a real situation or a hypothetical one?"

    Ah, she was too transparent. She didn''t like the knowing look he was giving her.

    "Let''s say it''s hypothetical. If a person is super cold and distant with you but doesn''t remember doing that because it was a really long time ago and now is rtively warm and caring¡­did their personality actually change or is it just a weird situational thing?"

    Her father''s eyes sparkled as he answered. "Hypothetically, I would say their personality changed. People can learn from their mistakes."

    "But this hypothetical person doesn''t have any idea they even made a mistake¡­if that makes sense. It''s almost like the person from before and the person now aren''t even the same person even though they look exactly the same."

    Keeley cringed. Her exnation was all over the ce.

    "If they really seem like two different people why not treat the situation that way? It doesn''t seem right to punish somebody for something they can''t even remember. Your mother always taught you to forgive the people who wronged you, didn''t she?"

    "Yes," she said with a sigh.

    She should have known her dad would take Aaron''s side without even knowing it was him. Maybe she truly had been a bit unreasonable about all of this.

    Keeley didn''t like the way Aaron forced her into things she didn''t want to do in high school but the way he acted now wasn''t the same. The biggest problem was all of the horrible things the original Aaron did but it really seemed like they were different people¡­

    Was it time to let her anger go? How could she when she was reminded of everything she went through when she simply heard his name?

    "Dad¡­have you forgiven the man who killed Mom and Kaleb?"

    Aaron slowly killed her spirit, let Lacy get away with murdering her father, and eventually led to her own death. She didn''t think a single one of those things was forgivable. It was a touchy topic but was the only thing that came close to her situation in her father''s life.

    "No," he admitted sadly. "I''ve been trying because I want to be at peace with everything that happened. Sometimes I think I''ve done it but then I''ll be reminded of what was lost and get angry all over again. Why do you ask?"

    "¡­let''s just say the hypothetical victim of this hypothetical person is having the same problem."

    Her father ruffled her hair. "Keeley, you don''t have to beat around the bush. I know you''re talking about yourself. You don''t have to tell me who it is or what is going on if you really don''t want to but it might help not keeping it all bottled up."

    There was no fooling him. "You''re too smart for your own good," she said lightly. "I''ll be fine; I''m just¡­really confused about this whole thing."

    "Confusion is a part of life, as frustrating as it may be. Why don''t we focus on something else for a while so you can have a break? I recorded the episodes of ''Survivor'' that you missed earlier this month; how about we watch those now?"

    The Halls had been watching reality shows like Survivor and the Amazing Race together ever since they lost half their family. There was something oddly bonding about yelling at people making dumb decisions on TV.

    Tears formed in Keeley''s eyes and she wrapped her arms around her father. "That would be great. Thanks, Dad."

    He turned on the first episode she missed and her worries were soon forgotten amidst the drama happening on the ind. Other people''s ridiculous problems somehow made hers seem less bad.

    During the challenge were thepetitors were trying to knock each other''s'' wooden figurine off of a tform they held in one hand and things got intense.

    "Don''t¡ª! Ah, they just couldn''t hold on. The other team is going to win for sure," Keeley predicted.

    "Probably," her father agreed. "Look, there goes another one."

    She was a bit disappointed. She preferred the members of the losing team and thought they deserved to win the reward of food to help them survive in the wilderness more than the winners.

    By the end of the episode, Keeley''s disappointment only grew. She liked the woman who got voted off of the ind. Unfortunately she just wasn''t a strongpetitor; they got rid of her because she screwed up the second challenge of the day.

    "It''s not even halfway through the season and they''ve already voted off three people I liked," sheined as her father turned on the next episode.

    "Let''s just hope it isn''t the same as a few years ago when nobody liked the ultimate winner. There''s still a while to go."

    They chatted about previous seasons of the show during the less exciting parts where contestants were teaming up and plotting against each other. In the years they had been fans, this was the 20th season they''d watched so there was a lot of material to work with.

    Talking with her dad about something silly and insignificant as a reality TV show they liked helped her feel a lot better. Aaron was but a distant thought.

 Chapter 112: Dont Remind Me About Work

    <h4>Chapter 112: Don''t Remind Me About Work</h4>

    Jennica had been texting Cameron for hours about all sorts of random things because neither of them wanted the conversation to end. She didn''t notice it was nearly 11 PM until Valentina came home.

    "Is Keeley not back yet?" she asked as she hung up her coat.

    Looking around, Jennica realized she hadn''t even noticed that Keeley had left. Oops. She noticed that she had a message in her inbox from her that was time stamped as being sent hours ago but hadn''t been opened.

    "She''s staying at her dad''s and asked us to feed Molly."

    "Okay. She hasn''t done that in a while; I guess she missed him," Valentina mused. "What have you been doing all day? I was getting in hours at the hospital."

    "Do you remember Cameron, that guy I introduced you to on Halloween? We''ve been texting," she said with a slight blush on her face, anticipating her roommate''s reaction.

    Valentina did not disappoint.

    She squealed and jumped onto the couch cushion next to her. "All day?! He must really like you! What sort of things have you been talking about?"

    Jennica hugged her knees to her chest. "All sorts of things: books, movies, music, childhood pets¡­he''s really easy to talk to."

    They spent about an hour going back and forth guessing movie quotes the other came up with and discovered they knew a lot of the same ones. Another hour focused solely on funny stories about their pets. He even sent her pictures of his dog Ziggy.

    She hadn''t enjoyed chatting with a guy this much in years.

    "Has he asked you out?" Valentina asked eagerly.

    Her face fell slightly. She wished he would so she could see him again. "No. But we only started texting each other today."

    "It''s a good thing you met him after your y finished; otherwise you wouldn''t even have time for him to ask you out."

    She had a point. Jennica''s y ended two weeks before Halloween and had eight performances a week in a small role. In the two and a half months the y was open, she only utilized her understudy part four times because the main actress caught a nasty cold.

    Since it ended, she had been lying around the house to recover but it was about time she started auditioning again. What a bother.

    The stage was her passion but if she couldn''t find something in the next month or two she might have to resort tomercials or music videos to pay the bills. Worst case scenario, she would have to be a clown or a princess at some kid''s birthday party. Again.

    It was unfortunate that prime ''audition'' season urred during the run of her y. Most directors already had their casts for all of the shows that would go on during the holidays.

    "Don''t remind me about work," Jennica moaned. She was getting stressed just thinking about it.

    Valentina patted her arm. "You''ll find something."

    "You''re lucky; at least doctors always have things to do."

    "Too many things to do. You know how many hours I''ll have to work during my residency? Eighty! I''m going to die," she said dramatically.

    "Keeley''s going to have the most normal schedule out of all of us."

    "Once she finishes school, you mean. Her schedule is about as bad as mine right now."

    Valentina yawned and rubbed her eyes. "I''m going to bed. Goodnight! Let me know if your cute guy asks you out!"

    Jennica stared at her phone. Cameron still hadn''t texted her back. Did he fall asleep or something? It was gettingte.

    With a resigned sigh, she decided to get ready for bed herself and see if he had responded in the morning.

    ===

    "Jennica, your phone will not stop ringing! Wake up!" Valentina shouted while pounding on her bedroom door.

    Blearily, she checked her phone and saw nine missed calls from her mom. Oh no. She fell out of bed in her haste to pick it up when it began ringing again.

    "Hello?" she asked in a panic as she was tangled in the sheets on the floor.

    "JENNICA RAY STEVENS WHY DIDN''T YOU ANSWER YOUR PHONE!"

    She held it away from her ear so she wouldn''t go deaf. "Mom, I just woke up! What''s wrong?"

    "It''s almost noon, why are you still in bed?! Oh, that doesn''t matter. I just got the call; your brother''s deployment is ending. He''ll be home the week of Thanksgiving."

    "What?!"

    Brian, her twin, was an officer in the Navy and had been working on a ship in the middle of nowhere for almost eight months now.

    "He gets two weeks of shore leave before going back to work on the base and he''s bringing his family. I don''t care what you''re doing; you better find a way toe home and see them for at least a few days," her mother said impatiently.

    Jennica was offended. Of course she would go see Brian! They had always been close and she adored her two-year-old nephew.

    The only problem was that she couldn''t really afford a ne ticket. The money she made in her y was needed to pay for rent and other living expenses before she found another gig.

    "¡­could you pay for my ticket?"

    "No! I just had to rece all four tires on the car; I can''t. See, this is why you should go find a real job. You would actually be able to afford to do things! Figure something out," she snapped before hanging up.

    Conversations with the obstinate Anna Stevens always came back to this. Their rtionship had been rocky since she decided to move to New York and be an actress.

    All her life, Jennica had loved the performing arts. She was enrolled in every type of dance ss you could think of since she was a toddler and was the star of her schools'' drama programs from elementary school to high school. Her mother allowed this because she thought it would look good on college applications.

    Little did she know, Jennica had no intention of bing a dental hygienist.

    She went tomunity college and got an associate''s degree in theater, iming that it didn''t matter what she majored in before she transferred to a four-year-university. Her mother actually bought it.

    When the time came to apply to Ohio State University, Jennica packed up her things in secret and moved to New York and stayed in a hostel until she found a bed in an apartment with five other aspiring actresses. Her mother was so furious that she wasn''t invited home for Christmas that year.

    This cold war continued for another year until Brian, recently graduated from college and off to join the Navy, begged Anna to let Jennicae home to see him off. Anna reluctantly epted but gave her daughter a hard time at every given opportunity.

    It had taken about four years after that but she was finally getting somewhere in the industry; her mother needed toy off. It was better to be happy following her dreams than be miserable in a dead-end job.

 Chapter 113: What Are You So Happy About?

    <h4>Chapter 113: What Are You So Happy About?</h4>

    Cameron had been texting Jennica all throughout his lunch break Monday morning and was in an excellent mood, despite Aiden''s teasing. Not even being called into Aaron''s office and being hit by a wall of ice could dampen his mood.

    "What are you so happy about?" he asked in a deadly tone.

    "Absolutely nothing," Cameron said, trying to hide his smile.

    Aaron''s eyes narrowed but he dropped it and gestured for him to sit. He shuffled a stack of papers before handing them over to Cameron to read.

    He scanned the first few pages. These were stock market trend reports; they looked perfectly normal.

    "I don''t see what the problem is."

    "The problem is that my father personally handed these to me. Why would something that goes through your department end up with him first?"

    Cameron''s blood ran cold. Aaron hadn''t been this pissed off in a while but he couldn''t me him. Part of his job as the manager of the analyst department was to make sure everything report that came through was seen by Aaron''s eyes first so he always knew what was happening and could stay a step ahead of Alistair.

    That, coupled with the fact that Aaron truly loathed his father for some reason, exined his bad mood perfectly.

    "I''m not sure how this happened. All of my subordinates know to put things on my desk and I give them to you as soon as they do."

    Aaron pressed his hands together under his chin and gave off a chilling aura.

    "It happened because the CEO has a nt in the analyst department. There''s no other exnation. I''m not sure what he knows but he''s clearly connected the two of us somehow."

    "What am I supposed to do? I can''t monitor an entire department every second of the day!"

    A sinister smile appeared on his boss'' face. "You can''t but we both know someone who can."

    Aiden. He looked like a regr IT employee in a tiny corner cubicle with his monitors faced away from any security cameras but that was far from the truth.

    His job wasn''t in IT; it was internally examining thepany for Aaron every day. His ''supervisor'' wasn''t any the wiser because Aiden manipted his call log and work flow processes in theputer system to look like he was doing regr IT tasks.

    Cameron had always been impressed by his ability to do virtually anything involving aputer.

    "What are you going to have him do?"

    "The next time a stock trend report is due, I''m going to have him monitor every single camera in the analyst department for a few days. Whoever takes the file off your desk has to be the mole," Aaron stated coldly.

    Suddenly he was nervous for whichever idiot chose to side with Alistair. "Um¡­what are you nning to do to them?"

    "Ensure they never work in the financial sector again."

    It was a really good thing he wasn''t on Aaron''s bad side. The guy was terrifying and held grudges on a permanent basis.

    "Good n!" he encouraged. "Is there anything else you need me for or should I head back down now?"

    "Wait," Aaronmanded, rifling through his desk. He held out a ne ticket. "We''re going to Monaco this weekend. There is a tournament going on at the Monte Carlo Casino and I expect you to bring home a prize."

    Cameron groaned internally. He was nning on asking Jennica out this weekend. She did mention she was currently out of work¡­she might be free before then.

    "In all the time I''ve worked for you, I''ve only been beaten twice. Don''t worry about it. But why are youing this time?"

    "The banking industry there is growing and I n to be a part of it. My father is unconvinced but I know for a fact Hale Investments will benefit from having contacts and a branch office there. I''m going on a scouting mission and will submit my report to the board of directors at the next meeting."

    This sounded like one of those spooky predicting the future things that Aaron did sometimes. He knew better than to question it at this point; his boss had never been wrong.

    He bid Aaron farewell and trudged back to his office. As he looked around the diligently working people at their desks, he wondered which one had made the biggest mistake of their life.

    Aaron Hale was thest person anyone in the financial sector should want to cross but he supposed Alistair still held a fair amount of clout himself, though his influence was slowly being chipped away.

    Cameron believed in his friend. Why else would he have followed him all these years? Aaron was going to take over thepany and lead it to new heights sooner orter. He was brilliant and callous¡ªthe perfect businessman.

    His only weakness was Keeley but nobody outside of Cameron and Aiden knew about her so he didn''t see it bing a problem in this familial power struggle.

    He was so d his parents were normal people. His mom was a third grade teacher and his dad worked in health insurance; he would never have to worry about being plotted against within his own family.

    Well¡­he had certainly had his fair share of arguments with his siblings growing up but it was normal squabbling, not corporate espionage.

    Poor Aaron. Neither of his parents cared about him; the entire Hale family was ice cold. Cameron and Aiden were kind of his friends but he didn''t think there was a single person in the world that truly cared for the guy. Keeley certainly didn''t.

    He still couldn''t understand why that girl caught his boss'' eye. Aaron Hale was a ss unto himself; how had he be so captivated by apletely normal person? The Keeleys of this world usually weren''t sought after by someone so powerful despite themon ''Cindere'' trope in popr media.

    People needed to have things inmon to build a rtionship. Keeley and Aaron were like oil and water; they just didn''t mix. Cameron and Jennica on the other hand¡­he had never met anyone he connected with so quickly. Three days of texting and his hands were already itching for his phone even though he was on the clock and had things to do.

    A lot of things to do. Managing an entire department was exhausting but this had been what he wanted. All of his ssmates back at Harvard would literally kill for this job.

    Cameron knew how to appreciate what he had, even if his boss gave him short notice about leaving the country when he wanted to get himself a girlfriend.

 Chapter 114: Unheard Of

    <h4>Chapter 114: Unheard Of</h4>

    Keeley arrived home from another long day in theb ready to keel over. One of her samples got contaminated somehow so she had to scrap an entire trial. This would dy her research by a minimum of two weeks.

    She ran into Aiden outside her front door and he looked concerned when he saw the state she was in. "Rough day?"

    "Yeah," she said with a heavy sigh. "There was ab ident and it totally screwed up my research project. I have to start one of my trials over."

    "Yikes. Sorry about that. If you wait a minute, I have some Swedish chocte I can give you. My girlfriend introduced it to me a couple of months ago when I visited and it''s pretty good," he offered cheerfully.

    She smiled at him. That was really sweet. "Sure, I''d love to try some. Thanks Aiden!"

    "Be right back!" He disappeared into his apartment for a moment and reappeared with an unfamiliar chocte bar. "This is a Marabou milk chocte bar; it''s the best one."

    "You get extra cookies this Christmas," she promised and he did a small fist pump, which made herugh.

    "Hope your research goes better tomorrow! See ya." He turned and shut his apartment door behind him.

    Keeley always thought he was a nice kid. She hoped his foreign girlfriend appreciated him. Too bad Aaron wasn''t ever this nice.

    Her hand faltered on the doorknob. That wasn''t true.

    Hadn''t he bought her ridiculously expensive chocte when she cried at school one day in this life? She had nearly forgotten about that.

    Most of her memories of Aaron seemed to focus on her first life. He had actually done quite a few nice things for her since her rebirth. The chocte¡­the DNA ne¡­taking care of her when she was sick¡­bringing her food¡­

    When she got into her room, she gently lifted Molly off of her jewelry box so she could pull it out.

    She hadn''t worn it since the day she was drugged but she couldn''t bear to throw it away because she really did like it. Not knowing why she had the urge, she fastened the sp around her neck and clenched the tiny double helix in her fist.

    Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out. Aaron. His timing was uncanny. ''I had a feeling I needed to check on you. Are you okay?''

    He had sent simr texts over the past few months so she didn''t think much of it and replied honestly. ''You''re psychic. Today pretty much sucked''

    ''What happened?''

    Keeley exined the test tube incident in detail, including the repercussions she would face.

    ''This guy replies to all of his messages ridiculously fast,'' she thought as the next one came in almost instantly.

    ''That does suck, I''m sorry. Do you need a pick-me-up?''

    Did she? She already had the chocte bar. She was tired and sad and didn''t really want to see anybody right now, least of all him but¡­

    ''To be perfectly honest, I could use a steak. And some ice cream''

    ''In this weather?''

    ''It doesn''t matter if it''s inside''

    ''Fair enough. I''ll be by your ce in half an hour''

    Keeley cursed herself for caving into the desire to be taken care of when she was having a bad day. Even worse was that it was freezing out and she didn''t feel like walking to her fake apartment building with how tired she was. The time hade to confess.

    ''Pick me up at this address instead'' she texted, attaching her real building''s address but not the apartment number. She could meet him downstairs.

    He didn''t respond so she couldn''t tell if he was judging her or not. Oh well. He was providing food she didn''t have to cook; not much else mattered.

    Shey on her bed, wondering what was wrong with her to even consider epting Aaron''s charity, until she got the text saying he arrived. With a sigh, she put her coat and beanie back on and went downstairs.

    Aaron was waiting for her on the curb with the window rolled down but she could recognize his car by now by his license tes: AKH8810.

    "Hi," she said tiredly before leaning her head against the headrest and closing her eyes.

    "Hey. Do you have a particr ce in mind or¡­?"

    "You pick. I bet expensive steak tastes better."

    A small sound that could have been augh came from the driver''s side of the car. She cracked an eye open to check but Aaron''s expression was stoic as ever.

    "I know of a good ce. There even happens to be an old fashioned ice cream parlor down the street."

    He could be surprisingly dependable at times. Well, he did say if she ever needed anything toe to him. She should have known those wouldn''t be empty words. He had seemed oddly sinceretely.

    The rest of the car ride was spent in silence because Keeley was too weary to socialize but Aaron didn''t press her.

    He didn''t even speak to her again until they were seated in the restaurant, an exclusive steakhouse uptown that she had been to several times in her first life.

    "So¡­do you want an appetizer?"

    She nodded. The crab cakes here were amazing.

    "Anything to drink?"

    She nodded again, unable to muster the energy to speak until she ate something.

    When the waiter came by, Aaron ordered a bottle of Cabe Sauvignon and the crab cakes Keeley pointed out before ordering a mutton chop for himself and a medium rare filet mignon for her. That was her favorite cut of steak. He was a good guesser. Or maybe he got it because it was the most expensive cut avable.

    "Today must have really taken it out of you since you haven''t spoken more than two sentences this entire time," Aaron noted.

    Keeley simply groaned in response.

    When the crab cakes arrived, she scarfed down two before finally speaking. "I needed fuel."

    He smirked, though his eyes were soft. "Apparently. You look much livelier already. What exactly was so bad about the ident? Did your faculty mentor scold you?"

    "Yes, but I''m more upset about the fact that I''m probably going to miss several other deadlines because I have to do this part over. My grades will drop and I''ll most likely get yelled at again."

    "Your faculty mentor seems strict."

    She sighed. Dr. Kim was strict but she was also fair. This was Keeley''s error; she had to pay the price for it.

    "She isn''t so bad; she just takes her job seriously and expects me to do the same."

    Aaron was unusually sympathetic. "idents happen. I''ve rarely met anyone who takes their job more seriously than you and I deal with businessmen constantly."

    Keeley was fairly certain he was only saying that to make her feel better but it worked. Her spirits lightened a little. Aaron? Cheering her up? Unheard of!

 Chapter 115: Everybody is Nobody But You

    <h4>Chapter 115: Everybody is Nobody But You</h4>

    "That reminds me," Aaron said nonchntly. "I''m going on a business trip this weekend. Would you like me to bring you back a souvenir?"

    Keeley''s eyes widened with shock. No one in either of her lives had ever offered to bring her back a souvenir from anywhere.

    "I really don''t need anything," she insisted. "Please don''t feel obligated. Where are you going?"

    "Monaco. I''m looking to expand there."

    Right. This was around the time Aaron expanded overseas in herst life. They had already started drifting apart by then so she didn''t even know where he was going on all of those business trips.

    She tried to ce the name. "Isn''t that the tiny country at the bottom of France that''s technically a city-state?"

    "Yes. It''s known for gambling and Grand Prix racing but it is about to be a hub for investment bankers and I want in on it."

    There was the Aaron she knew; the shrewd businessman. He''d seemed sockadaisicaltely around her that she nearly forgot he was still the vice president of one of the biggestpanies in the country.

    "That makes sense," she said, feeling out of her element.

    Her knowledge of the business world was purely superficial even after all the events she attended. Probably because she was always chatting with the wives, daughters, and girlfriends of the businessmen and they only cared about fashion and tropical vacations.

    Aaron looked like he was about to say something but his train of thought was derailed. His face was nk as usual but the temperature around him rose about twenty degrees so it felt like when spring melts away the snow.

    "You''re wearing my ne."

    She immediately clutched it, her cheeks heating. How had she forgotten she had this on when she agreed to see him? How embarrassing!

    "It''s pretty," she saidmely, trying to y it off.

    He smiled brightly and itpletely transformed his cold, angr features. Keeley had only seen him smile like this a handful of times but never in this life.

    "I''m d. You never wore any of my other presents."

    Why did she feel guilty? He was the weirdo who kept throwing away money on someone he barely met back then.

    "¡­I''m a simple person. That other stuff was too much."

    "So if I get you a souvenir that isn''t ''too much'' you''ll ept it?" he asked with a hint of eagerness in his tone. Did he want to get her a souvenir that badly?

    "I''ll ept on the condition that you get me the most ridiculous thing you can find for under $20."

    He smirked at the challenge. "Done!"

    He considered her a friend¡ªfriends could buy each other things that were under twenty bucks. Hadn''t she bought Valentina an ''I Heart NYC'' tee shirt for ten dors from a street vendor when they were freshman because she thought it was funny?

    The entrees arrived and Keeley dug into her steak with relish. This was exactly what she needed and oddly enough Aaron was the one to provide it. She never thought she''d see the day he could be a source offort rather than a source of stress.

    She thought about what her dad said, about how she should treat him like the previous life''s Aaron and this Aaron were different people. When he did things like this¡­she almost believed she could do it.

    "Aaron?" she asked hesitantly.

    He was chewing so he could only respond "Mm?"

    "Why are you nice to me?"

    He swallowed and frowned. "What kind of question is that?"

    "I''m serious. I really don''t get it."

    By all ounts, it didn''t make sense. Even if she disregarded the fact that the original Aaron was so cruel to her, she had been nasty to him from the beginning so he shouldn''t care about her well-being.

    Aaron set down his fork and looked at her seriously. "Why wouldn''t I be nice to you?"

    She could think of a million reasons, the least of which being that she was an ordinary woman and he was Aaron freaking Hale. He was the Ice King! He cared about no one! Being nice to someone so insignificant was beneath him.

    She shrugged, unable to voice her true thoughts.

    He sighed. "You really think the worst of me, don''t you? I''m nice to you because I want to be. Simple as that."

    "But why would you want to be? I''m nobody."

    "Not to me," Aaron said firmly. "Everybody is nobody but you."

    It was worded weirdly but she got his meaning. Her heart skipped a beat. He meant that she was the only one he considered a somebody¡ªthat she was important to him.

    Keeley would have killed to hear those words twelve or thirteen years ago. Right now they made her want to bawl like a baby. Why? Why was she important to this weird version of Aaron but not the one she had loved so much?

    Fate was cruel.

    She looked down at her te to hide the sheen of tears on her eyshes. Not fair. None of this was fair.

    "Why?" she whispered.

    "You make me happy," Aaron said simply. "Isn''t that a good enough reason?"

    He had told her that once before but it wasn''t enough in the long run. She wasn''t enough. Unwanted tears rolled down her cheeks.

    Oh, why couldn''t she have forgotten her past life after high school? Without memories of the previous Aaron bogging her down she might be able to ept this one''s kindness more fully.

    There were too many ''whys'' haunting her. Why this Aaron seemed to like her even though her Aaron hadn''t. Why she had been reborn in the first ce if she had to meet him again. Why absolutely nothing made sense.

    "Keeley? Are you alright?"

    "No," she managed to get out. She wiped her eyes desperately but the tears kepting. "I''d like to go home now."

    "I''ll call for the check." He signaled for the waiter immediately but other than that didn''t say anything else.

    Her eyes remained glued to herp so the waiter wouldn''t see her crying. Pathetic. She hadn''t cried about the actually bad part of her day so why was she crying now when Aaron was being nice?

 Chapter 116: A Good Thing Or A Bad Thing?

    <h4>Chapter 116: A Good Thing Or A Bad Thing?</h4>

    Tears continued streaming down Keeley''s face as they made their way to the parking lot. Her ears burned with embarrassment. She really wasn''t the type of person to cry in public.

    Aaron''s hand had been in hers the entire time they walked, steering her away from light poles and cars and other people so she wouldn''t have to look up. It was a thoughtful thing to do and it made her cry harder.

    When they finally reached the car, he sighed heavily and pulled her in for a hug. "Come here, cry it all out."

    That invitation made the dam break officially and she began to sob so hard she thought she might snap in half. The harder her sobs, the tighter Aaron''s grip became.

    "It''s okay, it''s going to be okay," he muttered while stroking her hair.

    Was it? Could anything ever be okay when she had to deal with all of this confusion?

    She wasn''t sure how long they stood there like that but when she finally pulled away there were tears, snot, and even mascara on his charcoal gray dress shirt.

    Keeley buried her face in her hands. "I''m so sorry. I ruined your shirt."

    "Not a big deal; I have dozens of them. What matters is if you''re feeling better," he said matter-of-factly. He really didn''t care about the shirt at all.

    She peeked through her fingers up at him. His brow was creased with concern and it made her heart ache.

    How long had it been since Aaron looked at her like that? Her Aaron. Because this one was most definitely a different person.

    In all her years with him, she couldn''t remember being held as she cried even once. This clinched it for her; she had to start thinking of them as separate entities.

    She gave him a small watery smile. "I think I got it out of my system. Thanks."

    "No problem. If you ever need to cry again, my shirts are happy to amodate you."

    Keeley let out a strangledugh. He said it so formally. "You''re so weird."

    "You''ve mentioned that before. How exactly am I weird?"

    "You act in ways I don''t expect. I guess you''re not the person I thought you were," she said thoughtfully.

    Aaron frowned. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

    "A good thing."

    "Oh. Nice to know." He opened the passenger door for her. "Come on, let''s get you home. It''s cold out here."

    The drive home passed in silence. Keeley was so tired and overloaded with thoughts that her mind had gonepletely nk. She needed to go sleep this off and reevaluate her worldview in the morning.

    She tried to keep things light as she got out at her apartment building. "Thanks for dinner¡­and for¡ªwhat did you say? Having your shirt amodate me?"

    "Any time," he said seriously. "I''m only a text away. Get some rest, Keeley. Everything will seem better tomorrow."

    She hoped so. She really hoped so.

    When she walked in the door, Jennica was gushing about the date she just got back from with Cameron¡ªapparently he asked her out after all¡ªand she slipped into her room unnoticed. She wasn''t in the mood to listen to gushing right now anyway.

    Keeley felt a little better after a shower but what really helped was snuggling under a bunch of extra nkets with a purring Molly curled up against her face.

    She closed her eyes. Aaron was right. Things would be better in the morning.

    ===

    Aaron really owed his hacker one for tipping him off that Keeley had a bad day. She hardly ever cried; what happened at school must have really bothered her.

    There were a lot of things she did tonight that were unexpected¡ªlike epting his offer of dinner in the first ce¡ªbut what surprised him most was that she was wearing the ne he gave her six years ago.

    He assumed she would have gotten rid of it like everything else he gave her, especially since she hated him so much back then. She must have really liked it to hold onto it for so long.

    Aaron hadn''t meant to let so much slip tonight. He didn''t want to scare her off by revealing how much he loved her but when she seemed so baffled that he was nice to her he couldn''t stay silent.

    At least she didn''t seem disgusted when he told her she made him happy. It wasn''t exactly an ''I love you'' but it was close enough. She had to at least suspect he liked her at this point.

    Even so, she still smiled at him and thanked him genuinely. This was promising. That she told him to pick a silly souvenir for her was even more promising.

    Tonight had been a victory for him even though it was heart-wrenching seeing Keeley weeping like the world was going to end. He had never been good at consoling people.

    Well, he had never tried it on anyone until the day the doctor told her she would never be able to have children after she woke up from surgery. She had cried even harder then.

    That worthless scum. Doctors took oaths to ''do no harm'' and that man had still epted a bribe from Alistair to swap Keeley''s pregnancy results with someone else''s. She never had an ectopic pregnancy at all!

    Keeley was nearly three months pregnant with a normally developing child and Dr. Rothman was still okay with not only performing a secret abortion but iming to make a mistake during the surgery to terminate the ectopic pregnancy so her entire uterus and both fallopian tubes had to be removed.

    It was an evil n. Even if she truly had an ectopic pregnancy, the worst thing that should have happened was the removal of one fallopian tube. She still could have gotten pregnant.

    Alistair was so set on booting Keeley out of the Hale family that he sabotaged her ability to bear an heir permanently, thinking it would make Aaron leave her.

    His wife fell into a deep depression that he did everything he could to break her out of but nothing worked. He was fairly depressed about the situation himself; he had been so excited when Keeley took that home pregnancy test and told him he was going to be a father.

    It wasn''t until he overheard his father talking to Lacy in his office at thepany monthster that he learned the truth. Alistair may have executed the n but the idea came from her.

    Aaron was devastated but more than that he was furious. He had failed to protect his family.

    Keeley never found out.

    Thinking it was an innocent mistake resulting from a twist of nature had nearly destroyed her; he couldn''t bear to tell her the truth. She had been conspired against because she had chosen to marry him. There was no way she would have been able to handle it.

    Their child''s due date was in a few months. It was always a difficult time of year for him. Yet another thing to feel guilty about. He was grateful Keeley didn''t have to bear that burden anymore.

 Chapter 117: Thats Your Keeley Face

    <h4>Chapter 117: That''s Your Keeley Face</h4>

    Aaron wondered what the good doctor was up to these days. If he had epted any other bribes to ruin people''s lives¡­ It was still 2012, the year he aborted their baby.

    Doctors don''t ept bribes for no reason; he must have been desperate financially. Or was being ckmailed.

    "Aiden!" Aaron barked into the phone the second it was answered. "Find me everything you can on Doctor Jesse Rothman at Mount Sinai Hospital. Especially look into his financial situation and potential malpractice suits."

    Aiden was used to this sort of phone call. "How soon do you need it?"

    "Yesterday."

    "On it, my dude!"

    He jabbed the screen angrily to end the call. Every time he thought about the baby his blood pressure rose. That poor kid never got to see the light of day because his grandpa didn''t like his mom.

    If Aaron thought he could get away with murder, Alistair and Lacy would both be dead already.

    His n to destroy his father wasn''t going nearly fast enough. At the very least he had the chance to discredit him at the next board meeting since he knew all about the future productivity of branching into Monaco. It was a start.

    As for Lacy Knighton¡­there was so much that didn''t add up about her. She imed to be in love with Aaron and did everything she could to steal the title of Mrs. Hale but she still allowed herself to be knocked up by somebody else.

    The father of Lacy''s baby was the missing puzzle piece he never found in his first life. It wasn''t Max, he knew that much. And he never saw any other man hang around her frequently during social events.

    The only thing he did know was that the mysterious baby daddy had a grudge against Aaron and wanted hispany. So why had he backed down after Lacy went to jail and her baby was adopted by a family in upstate New York?

    Keeley didn''t die for another six and a half years. At what point had Lacy gotten together with him? Was that man out there plotting against Aaron right now?

    There were too many unanswered questions. He wished he didn''t have to worry about any schemers at all. The only thing he wanted to focus on was winning Keeley back but if he was going to keep her safe, he had to deal with the rabble.

    Aaron looked around his overge apartment. One person with a cat should not be living in a ce this big. This was meant to be a family home. Technically speaking, if kids shared bedrooms, they could fit up to ten children.

    Not that Aaron wanted ten children. But if they all looked like Keeley¡­

    What would their first child have looked like if it lived? Would it have been a boy or a girl? They were about to start discussing names when Keeley went to that scumbag doctor for her checkup. Then they never got the chance.

    Aaron was sure they would be able to pick our names for their future children properly someday. All he had to do was get her to fall back in love with him. He had to choose the perfect souvenir for her. Suddenly Friday seemed very far away.

    ===

    "Who are you texting?" Aaron asked irritably as he and Cameron were sitting on the ne waiting for it to take off.

    "The future Mrs. Singleton," he replied with a perfectly straight face.

    "You''ve known this girl for a week and a half."

    "I don''t think you have any room to talk, Aaron. At least Jennica likes me back. I think."

    Aaron didn''t have a response for that. Cameron wouldn''t get it even if he tried to exin so it was better to stay silent.

    Keeley might not like him romantically yet but he was fairly certain that after their dinner on Monday that she had warmed up to him more. She was getting there.

    Unfortunately, Cameron had made much more progress in a week than Aaron had made in months. They texted constantly and had been out together four times. Jennica had such poor taste in men.

    What was so good about that clown? Only Aiden was more ridiculous out of everyone he knew and that idiot had a girlfriend too!

    Realizing he had the least luck out of the three of them gave Aaron a headache. Maybe he should send Keeley a text before taking off. ''About to be on a ne for eight hours, wish me luck''

    She responded with a single word: ouch.

    His lips quirked up into a half-smile that Cameron spotted. He was terribly smug. "Who was just giving me a hard time about texting a girl?"

    "You don''t know I was texting a girl. I might have been texting Aiden."

    "Ew, no. That''s your Keeley face."

    "¡­my Keeley face?"

    "You only make it when she''s involved," he exined. "You wouldn''t look like that texting Aiden."

    Fine, he had him.

    "Please turn off your cell phones and other electronic devices, we are about to depart," a voice announced over the loudspeaker beforeunching into a series of boring, repetitive safety guidelines.

    Aaron had heard it a hundred times. He and Cameron both reluctantly shut off their phones and waited for the ne to take off.

    Cameron leaned back in his seat and sighed contentedly. "I never get used to flying first ss. The seats in economy are so much worse."

    He wouldn''t know; he had been flying first ss since he was a child. He used to spend the entire flight reading. These days he spent it working once the ne was in the air and he could use theplementary Wi-Fi.

    When they made it to cruising altitude, Aaron broke out hisptop and Cameron ordered a ss of wine before turning on a movie. He was really taking advantage of the first ss treatment.

    Aaron opened the file Aidenpiled about Dr. Rothman. It turned out, there was a malpractice suit that had been dropped back in 2011 involving the death of a mother and her baby andter expunged. Only the great Anomaly or someone on his level could have found the full original case file.

    The suit wasn''t expunged until two weeks after Dr. Rothman killed baby Hale. Something must have been incredibly fishy about that death for him to sumb to Lacy''s ckmail¡­but how had she found out about it?

    The name of the victim was Charlotte Thorne. Why did that sound familiar?

    Reginald Thorne. Lacy''s maternal uncle. So Charlotte would have been her cousin-inw, the wife of Reginald''s only son.

    Did she honestly hire a private investigator to look into the case further just so she could have a doctor in her pocket? Absolutely despicable.

    Lacy believed Aaron was single and unattached right now. Would she have another need for a corrupt doctor? He should have Aiden look into her current activities next.

 Chapter 118: Souvenir Shopping

    <h4>Chapter 118: Souvenir Shopping</h4>

    As predicted, Aaron''s meetings with the investment bankers in Monaco went perfectly. Why wouldn''t they? He used the exact same offer he had in his first life; the terms were too good to refuse and they would benefit both parties equally in the long run.

    He spent almost a week gathering the intel he needed while Cameron participated in the tournament. This trip wasn''t for enjoyment. Aaron spent every waking moment he wasn''t schmoozing businessmen preparing his proposal.

    He highly doubted the board wouldn''t approve but he had a contingency n for that. He had signed all of the paperwork making the deals as an individual, not in the name of thepany.

    On the off chance the proposal was rejected, it would be a separate side business he could run that wasn''t affiliated with Hale Investments. He could incorporate itter when he became the CEO.

    Alistair didn''t have to know that part.

    Aaron checked the time. It was 6:44 PM in Monaco so Keeley might be on her lunch break right now. It was worth a shot; he missed her. She had been harder to get a hold of since herb ident. The make-up work must be taking up all of her time.

    ''Have you had lunch yet?''

    The reply came in five minutester. ''Nope, ss just ended. I have ten minutes before I have to get to theb so I got a tuna sd sandwich out of a vending machine''

    Aaron grimaced at the thought. ''They have tuna sd sandwiches in vending machines?''

    ''You''ve never seen a refrigerated vending machine before? They have them all over at NYU''

    ''I can''t say that I have''

    ''Have you ever had a tuna sd sandwich period?''

    ''Yes''

    Keeley had made him one once when they went on a pic in the Boston Public Garden. It wasn''t half bad. She said the secret was adding cottage cheese to the tuna sd mixture.

    ''When?!''

    She clearly didn''t believe him. Well, it was a cheap sandwich.

    The only other cheap type of sandwich she had made him try was a fluffernutter made with peanut butter, Marshmallow Fluff, and white bread. It was a Massachusetts thing one of her roommates introduced her to and she liked it enough to want to share it with him. The vorbination was strange but not terrible.

    ''In college''

    ''Interesting. What kind of food do they have in Monaco?''

    ''Mostly a mixture of French and Italian food. I had porchetta for dinner tonight; it''s fatty pork stuffed with scented herbs. I think you''d like it''

    Keeley had always been a carnivore. Whenever they went out to eat she wanted something with meat in it.

    ''Stop making me jealous'' she texted with an emoticon of a person sticking their tongue out.

    He could almost imagine the look on her face and it made the ghost of a smile appear. ''There''s a restaurant on Lexington Ave with great porchetta. I can bring you there sometime''

    ''I may take you up on that''

    It wasn''t a t refusal. He might be able to get another dinner date out of her after all.

    Before he could think of a response, she said that she had to go. He wished her luck then set his phone down, turning back to hisputer with a sigh.

    Why did he have to miss her more after their text conversation than he did before? The closer he got to Keeley, the more he wanted from her. It was maddening but he learned his lesson in high school. He had to be patient.

    Aaron reminded himself at least once a day that he had waited this long already and could continue to wait however long it took to be with her again.

    Cameron knocked on his door around 10 PM while Aaron was furiously typing away at hisptop. He didn''t like being interrupted.

    "This better be good."

    "Is $6.75 million dors good enough? The tournament''s over; I won again," he said tiredly.

    "Oh. Nicely done."

    He yawned and leaned against the door frame. "What time do we need to be at the airport tomorrow?"

    "Ten. But before that I need to go souvenir shopping."

    Cameron looked at him strangely. "You? Souvenir shopping?"

    "Keeley asked me to bring her something back," he said smugly.

    The disbelief on his face only grew more exaggerated. "She asked you? Really?"

    Well, he had offered first but she did specifically ask him for something ridiculous and cheap. That counted. "Yes."

    "Well I''m certainly not going to miss this. I''ll be there. See you in the morning." Cameron shut the door behind him and headed to his own room down the hall.

    Aaron hadn''t even been paying attention to the gift shops since arriving. He had no idea what to expect. Ridiculous¡­what would be considered ridiculous? He didn''t know anything about such trinkets.

    He found his answer in the morning in one of the hotel''s gift shops. Everything was ridiculous. There were tee shirts, shot sses, refrigerator mas, and even snow globes.

    How was he supposed to pick the weirdest one out of all of this?

    Cameron perused the aisles with a small degree of interest. He picked up a mug with the Grand Prix logo on it. "Do you think Jennica would like this?"

    "How would I know what your girlfriend would like?" Aaron asked irritably. He didn''t even know what to get his own woman.

    "No need to get tetchy. Did Keeley ask for anything specifically?"

    "She asked for the most ridiculous thing I could find," he said dejectedly. He thought it would be easy but there was too much to choose from.

    His friend smiled. "Try over there; I saw a few random things two aisles over."

    Aaron made his way over and saw the perfect item: a fake gold spoon with the prince''s pce carved onto the mouth of it and the royal emblem at the top of the handle.

    Not only was itpletely random, she would actually be able to use it regrly. He took it to the cashier immediately while Cameron was still deciding between two different mugs.

    Noting the pleased expression on his boss'' face, Cameron figured he found what he was looking for. "You ready to go?"

    "I''m waiting on you."

    "Alright, I think I''m going to get her this one. It''s more colorful. Be right back."

    Three minutester, they headed back to their rooms to grab their luggage and head to the airport. It was a pity that international flights require you to be there two hours early because airport waiting areas are not pleasant.

    Aaron got back to work on his proposal while Cameron texted Jennica like the lovesick fool he was.

    Honestly¡­did she have nothing but free time? He was a bit jealous. Keeley never had time to talk to him like that.

    "Is your girlfriend unemployed or what?" Aaron asked irritably after he''d been forced to witness Cameron''s goofy smile for an hour.

    "She''s an actress and is in between gigs right now. She has an audition tomorrow."

    "Sounds like a terrible way to live, not knowing where your next paycheck ising from," he said dryly.

    Cameron''s smile turned crafty. "It''s great for me though because it means she''s always happy to be treated to dinner. We''re going out again tonight."

    With the time difference, even though they were leaving at noon and the flight was over eight hours long they would arrive around 2:30 PM. Going out on a date after being awake for nearly twenty hours seemed questionable to Aaron. He must really like this girl.

    To be fair though, if Keeley wanted to see him tonight he would do the exact same thing.

 Chapter 119: A Lackey In A Lab

    <h4>Chapter 119: A Lackey In A Lab</h4>

    Keeley enjoyed her week off from having to worry about texting Aaron back all the time. She was able to regroup and focus on her research.

    Multiple trials were running simultaneously at different stages because of her time constraint. At this point, she had less than a year toplete herb trials because she would need at least two months to analyze her data and finish writing the dissertation.

    She barely had time to breathe let alone eat, sleep, or text her oddly persistent ex-husband back. With him out of the country she didn''t have to worry about him showing up at herb so she maybe responded to him twice.

    Theb''sputer dinged¡ªit had finished analyzing her firstpleted trial batch.

    Keeley walked over and examined it anxiously before letting out a whoop. It worked! She could move onto the next step and inject the vials into diseased mice to see if it was effective.

    This was worth celebrating. She immediately sent out a group text to her roommates. ''My first trial is ready for animal testing; who wants pizza tonight?''

    ''Felicidades!'' Valentina congratted her in Spanish before sending a second text. ''Unfortunately I''m at the hospital tonight. Next time?''

    ''Sorry Keeley, Cameron gets back in town today so I''ve got a date''

    She sighed. Jennica had done nothing but text that guy for the past two weeks but she couldn''t really fault her. After all, Keeley had been in love once too.

    She texted her dad but he was workingte. That only left one option.

    ''Fellow researcher, you''re my only hope''

    Ryan responded immediately. ''For what?''

    ''Celebrating my first sessful trial moving to animal testing. Everybody else is busy''

    ''¡­why am I always thest person you text when things like this happen''

    ''You''re not thest! You''re somewhere in the middle'' Her roommates and dad would alwayse first but fourth ce wasn''t so bad. Thest person she would text in this situation is Aaron.

    ''Wow, I''m so honored. But I actually am free tonight. I get off at 5:30''

    It would be so nice when she had a consistent schedule like that. ''Meet me at the pizza ce on 43rd Street at 7?''

    ''Sure''

    Keeley smiled to herself. She wouldn''t have to celebrate her aplishment alone after all. There was nothing sadder than going to a sit down restaurant by yourself.

    She practically skipped off to find Dr. Kim and put in an order forb mice with cystic fibrosis.

    The mice would arrive on Monday but there wasn''t much to do personally on her project until then aside from checking up on her other samples to see how they were maturing every day. After taking her data, she got back to work on Dr. Kim''s project.

    When she knocked off from work, she let her hair down from its ponytail and brushed it out trying to remove the lumps with the hairbrush she started carrying with her after the night she spent at Aaron''s without one. Her hair was stick straight so it wasn''t too difficult a task.

    She was dressed somewhat professionally for work but it wasn''t too much for a pizza restaurant. She wore a cream colored turtleneck sweater, cks, little gold hoop earrings, and her DNA ne.

    After wearing it once, she realized it was childish to hide it away for so many years just because Aaron was the one who gave it to her. The ne was beautiful and deserved to be worn.

    Keeley waved cheerfully when she spotted Ryan, still in his work clothes as well.

    He grinned at her. "We''re the two best dressed people in the pizza parlor."

    She bowed dramatically beforeughing. "Thanks foring. I could have ordered pizza to my apartment but for some reason that feels defeatist."

    He raised an eyebrow. "Exin."

    "Well, I usually only have pizza delivered when I''m experiencing a low point and am toozy, tired, or ashamed to leave my apartment. This is a celebratory pizza. I''m starting animal trials next week!"

    "Ah, I remember that innocent excitement," Ryan said with a wry smile. "Just wait until your first mouse dies."

    She stuck her tongue out at him. "Killjoy."

    "I''m just giving you a hard time. It''s really not that bad. I''ve identally killed thousands of mi¡ª"

    "Not helping."

    "So are you just sticking with mice or are you going to work your way up to rabbits, dogs, or dare I say, monkeys?" he asked curiously.

    "Have you made it all the way to monkeys before?!"

    "Of course. They''re the closest we can get to humans. A lot of the time we stop at dogs though."

    Keeley shook her head sadly. "Those poor dogs¡­"

    "You feel sorry for the dogs but not the mice?" he teased.

    "Oh, shut up, you know what I mean. Dogs are pets!"

    "Some people keep mice as pets."

    "Ryan."

    "Okay, I''ll stop," heughed with his hands up defensively. "But really, are you just doing mice?"

    She shrugged. "It''s all I have time for. If my trials with mice are sessful I''m going to see if I can continue my research with rabbits somewhere else after graduation."

    Ryan sipped at his soda. "Are you going to be a professor or join ab somewhere?"

    "For now, hopefully be a professor. They have more control over what they research. If I yield a good result and impress my dissertation panel, they might even invite me to stay on and continue my research at NYU."

    Keeley frowned, thinking about what would happen if she failed. "Worst case scenario I end up working for a university in New Jersey or Pennsylvania with a longermute or ept my fate as ackey in ab."

    "I hope you realize I am ackey in ab."

    She smiled apologetically. "That''s not what I meant. You''re doing what you like."

    "Fair enough."

    The conversation halted because the pizza arrived. Keeley took a bite before instantly opening her mouth to let the heat escape. Hot! With watering eyes, she blew on it several times before attempting to eat again.

    The roof of her mouth was definitely burnt. Why did this happen every time she ate pizza?

 Chapter 120: Dates

    <h4>Chapter 120: Dates</h4>

    Ryan watched Keeley happily chow down on her pizza and couldn''t help but smile. She was so cute.

    It wasn''t like he had never thought of her as a woman before the night she got drunk and went on about her ex-boyfriend. She just gave off the distinct impression that she wasn''t interested so he didn''t ever try.

    He didn''t even realize he might like her that way until they graduated and suddenly he wasn''t seeing her every few days anymore. The absence was noticeable.

    Ryan yed his cards carefully so he wouldn''t scare her off. He became friendly with her roommates and frequently invited them all out to do things as a group with some of his other friends.

    It worked. Keeley was asfortable with him as ever and even asionally went out to do things with him alone, like right now.

    He had been wondering when it would be the right time to make a move until he found out she was still hung up on her ex. It was even worse when she said she never wanted to get married at all¡ªshe definitely wasn''t looking for a rtionship in the near future.

    Ryan wasn''t sure what to do.

    Keeley had wandered through his mind far too often the past couple of years to give up already but he was firmly in the friend zone. He really needed to spend more time with her but she was so busy!

    Thanksgiving wasing up. She would have at least a few days off of sses and research where she should be free.

    "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" he asked.

    She nced up at him from her food. "It''s only my dad and me left at home so we''ve invited some people over who also don''t have anywhere to go. Valentina will be there too."

    Hmm. An opportunity. He was supposed to have dinner with some of his coworkers but they wouldn''t me him for not showing up if he got a better offer.

    "Is that an open invitation? I only have Thursday off so I don''t have time to drive to my family''s ce in Rochester."

    "Duh! Nobody should be alone on a holiday. We''d be happy to have you¡ªjust make sure you bring a pie."

    "Awesome, thanks!"

    "Valentina will be d to see a familiar face anyway. I think everyone else that''sing is my dad''s age," she exined.

    "Are your parents divorced?" he asked. She talked about her dad fairly often but almost never mentioned her mom.

    Her expression went nk. "My mom and brother passed away eleven years ago. Our Thanksgivings have been like this ever since."

    How did he not know that?! "I''m so sorry, I didn''t¡ª"

    Keeley''s usual smile returned as if nothing untoward had happened. "It''s alright, I get that a lot."

    All this time he had thought she was an only child. Eleven years ago¡­she was just a kid. She was such a happy person and yet she had been through the trauma of losing half of her family in one fell swoop.

    Ryan''s admiration for her grew. She was a fighter. He changed the subject. "What kind of pie should I bring?"

    "Anything but banana cream!"

    They chatted about various pie vors on and off until all the pizza was gone. Out of everyone he knew Keeley was the most fun person to talk to, no matter how simple or mundane the subject was.

    ===

    Across town, Jennica was bouncing in her seat waiting for Cameron toe pick her up for dinner. He said after being out of the country for so long that he was desperately craving a cheeseburger so they were going to a diner.

    The doorbell rang and she flew out of her seat, franticallybing her hair back with her fingers before putting on her most rxed smile. She couldn''t appear too eager.

    "Hey!" she greeted cheerfully. "Weren''t you on vacation in the Mediterranean? Where''s your tan?"

    He chuckled. "I was inside pretty much the whole time. Oh! Before we go, I have something for you."

    "Ooh, really? You didn''t have to do that!"

    "I know but I wanted to. It''s no big deal. Here, open it," he encouraged, holding out a square gift box.

    Jennica lifted the lid off eagerly and let out a delightedugh. He brought her back a coffee mug with a colorful picture of the Monte Carlo Casino on it.

    She would have liked it anyway because it was whimsical and one could never have too many mugs but what really touched her was that it showed he was thinking about her even while he was in another country.

    He texted her on and off throughout the days he was gone but there were always long stretches of radio silence while he worked. She was curious what he had been doing since he hadn''t exactly exined it.

    "Thank you! I like it a lot."

    She immediately rushed to put it in the cab with the other mugs before grabbing her purse and locking the door behind her.

    When they got down to his car, a silver Lexus, Jennica asked more about his business trip. They mostly talked about random things when he was gone.

    Cameron shrugged. "It wasn''t that big of a deal; my boss was there for meetings and had me tag along to help with acquisitions."

    She didn''t know much about business but¡­ "I thought you were a financial analyst. Wouldn''t that be someone else''s job?"

    "I''m the head of the analyst department but that''s not all I do. I''m basically at my boss'' disposal."

    "Sounds stressful."

    "It can be but I enjoy what I do. I was recruited into thepany straight out of business school by my supervisor so I really owe my career to him."

    Jennica smiled. The way he talked made him seem satisfied with his life. She liked people that appreciated what they had.

    "Your boss seems like a good guy."

    He let out a small snort. "I don''t know if that''s how I would describe him. He''s a ruthless human blizzard but he does look out for his people."

    Her eyes narrowed. That sounded a lot like that crazy rich guy she felt sorry for after being paid to be his date. Wasn''t he the vice president of thepany where Cameron worked?

 Chapter 121: Camerons Boss

    <h4>Chapter 121: Cameron''s Boss</h4>

    "By any chance do you work directly under Aaron Hale?"

    The question startled Cameron so much that he hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes in front of a stoplight and barely stopped in time.

    "Yeah, I do, but not many people guess that. They think I''m a lot further down thedder. How did you know?"

    Jennica shrugged. "I met the guy once. Your description of your boss matched what I saw of him."

    Her deductive reasoning was impressive but when on earth had she met Aaron? He hardly ever left the office unless it had something to do with Keeley and there was no way she would introduce him to her roommates.

    "Where? He''s a hermit!"

    Sheughed, showcasing her brilliant smile. "Wow, way to stick it to the man you just said you owe your career to."

    "Hey, I respect the guy but as one of his only friends I''m qualified to insult him sometimes."

    "You''re funny," Jennica said, stillughing. "You know Aiden Quinn, right? He''s my neighbor and came over a few months ago to ask a favor. Said his boss needed an actress to be his fake date for a cocktail party. It paid well so I did it."

    That¡­was such an Aaron thing to do. He couldn''t ask the woman he wanted so he paid somebody else that wouldn''t bother him again rather than deal with someone who might actually like him.

    Cameron would have been jealous Jennica went on a fake date with his boss if he didn''t know that a) Aaron''s obsession with Keeley left no room for others and b) Aaron was not her type at all.

    "Did you meet Alistair Hale?" he asked curiously. If so, he wanted to know what her impression of his boss'' enemy was.

    Jennica shook her head. "No, just his wife and some psychotic girl that was most likely the reason Aaron hired me for the night. I got rid of her real quick!"

    She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I called him Aar-Bear. You should have seen his face!"

    Cameron cracked up. She dared to improvise such a corny pet name for the Ice King? He would have paid to see that. "That''s amazing. Absolutely amazing."

    She grinned from ear to ear. "I know, right? It was the only fun part of the whole night. Do you have to attend parties like that? They''re so stuffy and boring."

    "Nah that stuff is for upper management only. My kind of party is where a beautiful girl on roller skates can fall into your arms out of nowhere," he said in his most charming tone.

    Jennica blushed, spared from responding because they arrived at the diner. While they waited to order, they chatted about Jennica''stest auditions. She hadn''t gotten a callback yet for the one she hadst week but she was trying out for a dinner theater and a couple ofmercials as well.

    The closest he had ever been to an actual theater was seeing his sister''s sixth grade y where she had the role of a talking tree. He didn''t know much about it but still enjoyed listening to Jennica. Her passion for theater was obvious.

    "If you could have any part in any show, who would you want to be?"

    Her eyes lit up with excitement.

    "Elphaba in Wicked! I''ve memorized all of her songs by heart but it''s one of the hardest parts to get on Broadway. I''ve never even been in the ensemble of a Broadway show. Being an understudy Off-Broadway was the best role I''ve had so far. My resume isn''t impressive enough to join the actors union that most Broadway starse from but someday¡­"

    Cameron''s gaze softened. She looked especially beautiful when she was talking about her dream.

    "I wish I could have seen your show. We met just a little bit toote."

    She smiled warmly at him and reached across the table to squeeze his hand. "There''s always the next one. Provided I manage to find something."

    "You will," he encouraged.

    "I know I will eventually but it''s really discouraging auditioning for weeks as a full-time job and still having to find a way to make ends meet in between. My mom¡ª" she cut herself off, embarrassed. "Never mind, you don''t want to hear mein."

    "I don''t mind. What about your mom?"

    Jennica sighed. "My twin ising home for Thanksgiving after being at sea for eight months and my mom expects me to be there but won''t pay for my ticket. Even taking a bus would cost a hundred bucks I don''t have. She''s been giving me the ''you wouldn''t have this problem if you had a real job'' speech again."

    "I didn''t know you were a twin," Cameron said stupidly. He couldn''t rte to her career problems because his parents had always been thrilled with his desire to go into business.

    "Fraternal. Brian is six minutes older than me and married with a kid. Yet another thing my mom bothers me about," sheined before turning bright red. "Sorry! I''m being a terrible date."

    Cameron didn''t think she was being a terrible date at all. In fact¡­ "Don''t apologize. Why don''t you pull an Aaron?"

    "Huh?"

    "Get yourself a fake boyfriend for Thanksgiving to get your mom off your case. Isn''t that what he did at that cocktail party?"

    "I don''t have the money for that!"

    "You don''t have to¡ªI volunteer," he said matter-of-factly.

    The food arrived and Cameron dug in, giving her time to think about it. There would be so many people at his parents'' house for Thanksgiving that his absence would hardly be noticed. Besides, he would be home for Christmas in a few weeks anyway.

    This would give him more time to spend with Jennica to see if she could really be girlfriend material. He liked what he had seen so far. Why not go for it?

    She picked at her fries thoughtfully. "Don''t you have ns already?"

    "My mom will forgive me if I get her something extra nice for Christmas. I''ll get the ne tickets and everything."

    Jennica frowned. "But why would you help me out like that?"

    Cameron may as well be honest. "I like you. Spending Thanksgiving with you would be fun."

    Her confused expression changed into a dazzling smile. "You like me?"

    "I wouldn''t have brought you a mug from a different continent if I didn''t," he said simply.

    "Alright then," she giggled. "This should be fun. I can''t wait to see the look on her face."

    Jennica held up her ss of Coke and they clinked their sses together conspiratorially. Who knows? With any luck, by the end of the trip she would be his real girlfriend.

 Chapter 122: Im His Evil Clone

    <h4>Chapter 122: I''m His Evil Clone</h4>

    Keeley and Valentinay around in their pajamas watching a telenov on Saturday as Jennica was off auditioning. It was one of those rare and beautiful times where neither of them had anything pressing to do and decided to take a nice break.

    It was obvious they had been at it for hours. Their hair was a mess from lying on their sides, they had created a literal nest of nkets, and snack wrappers were scattered everywhere on the ground. Molly was stretched out on top of at least three.

    "Don''t do it Jorge!" Valentina pleaded.

    The male lead was about to strangle Ana Maria, who confessed that her baby was Felipe''s after they had already run off together.

    "She shouldn''t have lied," Keeley pointed out before stuffing another handful of microwave popcorn into her mouth.

    "Lying is a valid reason to be murdered now?"

    As someone who had been murdered once, Keeley didn''t think there were any valid reasons for that. "No, but this is a TV show. You''re applying real world logic to something fake."

    Valentina huffed. "Do you have to be such a realist? Let me be dramatic in peace."

    Sheughed and tossed some popcorn at her friend. "Okay, okay. Have fun being dramatic."

    "Thank you."

    They made their way through two more episodes before the doorbell rang. As Valentina''s eyes were glued to the screen, riveted, Keeley was the one to answer the door. She peered through the eyehole first and nearly had a heart attack.

    Aaron! What was he doing at her apartment?!

    She noticed her phone on the kitchen table, which had been set on silent. Thirteen missed messages. Oh no.

    He knocked again.

    "Keeley, why haven''t you answered the door?" Valentina asked irritably. "I''m trying to watch here."

    "I''ll get rid of them," she said faintly.

    She didn''t want to see Aaron anyway but she looked terrible! How embarrassing.

    Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and tried to appear like she wasn''t about to die of mortification. "Aaron! What are you doing here?"

    "You didn''t answer your phone. I thought something happened to you," he said tly.

    The sound of people dramatically yelling at each other in Spanish could be heard through the open door. Even worse, Aaron could see the nket nest and junk food wrappers. Kill her now.

    She shut the door behind her and stepped into the hall to hide the mess before staring at her fuzzy sock covered feet. "Sorry, it was on silent in the other room. We''re having a marathon."

    "Of what?"

    "Los Valientes e Imcables," she muttered red-faced.

    "The Brave and the Relentless?"

    Her desire to have the floor swallow her up increased. "It''s a telenov¡­my roommate is Peruvian and she introduced them to me our freshman year of college."

    "You''ve been living together that long? I want to meet her," he said resolutely.

    No no no no no. That would be a terrible idea for so many reasons but the biggest one is that Valentina would immediately know he was the ex she mentioned.

    "She''s in her pajamas; she would be embarrassed," she improvised.

    "You''re in your pajamas as well," Aaron pointed out.

    Yeah, and she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She was wearing an extra-extrarge NYU sweatshirt and a pair of thick fleece pajama pants printed with cupcakes.

    "I am embarrassed! Are you too dense to see that?!"

    "No but I don''t know why you would be. You look cute."

    If this were a movie, there would have been a record scratch and a freeze frame. That was how thrown off Keeley was by his words. Cute¡­had he EVER called her cute in either life? Cute was a word that shouldn''t even be in his dictionary!

    She blinked several times and shook her head as if it were an illusion so she could resume the conversation and get rid of him as quickly as possible. She didn''t have time to process that right now.

    "I didn''t have time to read your messages just now¡­what did you want?"

    "I got back two days ago and I missed you so I wanted to know if you would join me for dinner," he stated emotionlessly. Only Aaron could say a nice sentiment like ''I missed you'' in such a tone.

    But¡­he missed her? Was this some kind of joke? She hadn''t believed he was capable of missing someone because of his natural coldness and the fact that he never said sentimental things like that even when they were together.

    "You missed me," she repeated back tly. "Really?"

    Aaron nodded seriously. "Yes. You didn''t text me back very often because you were busy and I wasn''t here to visit you at theb so I missed you."

    What was life? This was by far the most bizarre thing she had ever hearde out of his mouth. It bounced around in her skull.

    I missed you, I missed you, I missed you.

    "O¡­kay¡­Well, you''ve seen me so I should probably get back inside. Valentina will be wondering where I got off to," Keeley lied. She wouldn''t even notice her absence while the telenov was on.

    "Don''t you want your souvenir?"

    She hadpletely forgotten about that but it didn''t matter right now. If she took it, would he leave faster? "Sure! Hand it over."

    He shrugged. "I forgot it at home."

    Then why did he bring it up?! Aaron was dancing on herst nerve. "Then why¡ª"

    "We should go back and get it. You can have dinner at my ce."

    Of course. There was always something with him. Keeley weighed her options. If she did this now, she wouldn''t have to see him againter.

    "Okay, just let me go get dressed," she said, slightly defeated. So much for her rxing Saturday.

    He scooped her up into his arms and began walking toward the elevator.

    "Aaron!" Keeley yelped. "What are you doing?!"

    "If I carry you, your socks won''t get dirty," he said calmly.

    "Or you could let me get shoes; are you crazy?! I can''t go out like this!"

    It was toote. They were already in the elevator. She sulked as she put her arms around his neck for further support.

    "I hate you."

    "I know."

    "You''re the worst."

    "I know that too."

    "You could have just let me get my shoes; it''s not like I was going to go inside and lock you out or something." Being in pajamas in public was embarrassing enough but carrying her because she didn''t have shoes was too over the top.

    Aaron''s voice was t as ever when he said "Variety is the spice of life."

    He always hated when she tried to shake things up! "¡­who are you and what did you do to Aaron Hale."

    "I''m his evil clone," he deadpanned.

    "If anything, you''re the less evil clone," she muttered under her breath, making himugh.

    A realugh! What on earth was happening right now?! Thest ten minutes had been like an episode of the Twilight Zone!

 Chapter 123: Living the Dream

    <h4>Chapter 123: Living the Dream</h4>

    Aaron really did miss Keeley and was more than a little peeved that Cameron saw his girl twice since they returned from Monaco and he couldn''t even get a text back.

    He texted her on Saturday morning to see what she was up to and got no response even after multiple messages sent throughout the day. Byte afternoon he couldn''t take it anymore; there was no way she was too busy this time.

    He drove over to her apartment and banged on the door, ready to demand an exnation.

    Aaron was not prepared to find the love of his lives looking like she just rolled out of bed when it was 4 PM. Her outfit screamed coziness and it was adorable, especially when she began blushing. It had been years since hest saw her blush. He couldn''t even remember thest time.

    Her exnation was reasonable but he didn''t want to let her go after not seeing her for a while so he resorted to what she would probably refer to as kidnapping. She didn''t even fight him on it aside from being slightly pouty. Progress.

    Holding her like that¡­Aaron hadn''t done it since the night she was drugged. He wanted to kiss her but had to hold himself back. Friends. They were friends. The kissing wouldeter.

    "What did you get me?" she asked, no longer acting angry once he had deposited her in the passenger seat.

    "If I tell you it will ruin the surprise. I think you''ll find it amusing."

    "And you picked this all by yourself? You didn''t cheat and get somebody to help you?"

    Suddenly Aaron was grateful he didn''t ask for Cameron''s help picking it out. "No, I picked it personally."

    "Hmm," she said skeptically. He would show her. The spoon truly was ridiculous.

    When they arrived at his apartment building, Keeley requested he give her a piggy back ride this time instead of just picking her up out of nowhere. He happilyplied.

    The only other time he had done this was when she unconscious from the drug. Why hadn''t he ever carried her in his first life? Having her this close was wonderful!

    His stomach sank. It was because back then he cared too much about decorum. He never would have allowed Keeley to leave the house in anything less than designer clothes, let alone let people see him carry her.

    Aaron had been an idiot. What does decorum matter when you love someone? That''s when it''s supposed to go out the window.

    He reluctantly set her down when they made it up to the penthouse. Keeley had buried her face in his neck in the lobby, presumably because she didn''t want anyone to see who she was. Her face was still tinged pink as she stepped away from him.

    "Where''s the souvenir?"

    He produced the box from the kitchen counter and handed it to her eagerly.

    Keeley ripped open the packaging and stared at it. "¡­this is a spoon."

    "Look closer."

    She examined it more thoroughly, discovering the etching of the pce on the curved part. She snorted before dissolving into giggles. "Why would they even make something like this?"

    "I have no idea. It was the most random thing I found though. Since you obviously like it, what do I get as a reward?"

    Herughter stopped immediately. "Who said anything about a reward? This wasn''t a bet."

    Aaron sighed. She was right; it wasn''t. Why couldn''t he ever get anything from her? Even getting a backhandedpliment was like pulling teeth.

    "I went all the way to Monaco and brought you this spoon and you can''t even do anything to thank me?"

    Keeley looked at him suspiciously. "What do you want?"

    "You were already watching TV on your day off. Watch here instead; my TV is much bigger." Her time was precious, which was why he wanted it. It would give him the illusion of feeling loved by her again.

    She actually seemed relieved. "That''s all?"

    "That''s all," he confirmed.

    "Alright. Do you have any food though? I''m starving."

    After she stayed the night, he purposely stocked up on snacks and food he knew she liked in case she came back. He instructed her to check the pantry.

    "Ah, you have frosted animal crackers," Keeley sighed happily as she pulled out a bag. "I haven''t had these in ages. Snacks are so expensive!"

    She carried several different packages of snacks to the room that held the enormous entertainment system and a bed-like couch that took up most of the space. She was so awed by the splendor of the room that she dropped her bag of goldfish crackers.

    "This is the coolest TV room I''ve ever seen in my life."

    Aaron felt gratified. He had set it up with her in mind after all. Crossing the room, he picked up the remote and scrolled through the DVR recordings until he found what he was looking for.

    Keeley''s jaw dropped. "You¡­watch Dancing with the Stars?"

    No but it was a show he noticed she watched a lot in his past life. He figured with how busy she had beentely that she hadn''t had time to watch this season.

    "I recorded it for you. I''m going to go get dinner; I''ll be back."

    Aaron turned and left the room without giving her a chance to respond. Now was the time to dote on her in the way he never could before. Anything in the world she wanted, he would have waiting for her before she even asked.

    When he came back with one of his delivery service''s ready-to-bake meals, she was so wrapped in nkets that only her face poked out and she was concentrating hard on the TV.

    How odd. He had never seen her do this before. Was itfortable?

    "You look like an Eskimo," he noted.

    "It''s the best way to watch TV when it''s cold," Keeley replied defensively.

    "I never said there was anything wrong with it; simply making an observation. You seem veryfortable."

    That was good news for him¡ªif she liked it here, he could more easily convince her to visit again soon. Aaron wanted her to feel at home here in the apartment he bought for her.

    Three episodester, Keeley showed no signs of wanting to leave. She was engrossed in her show. Every so often Aaron would offer to refresh her snack supply or get her water but aside from that he was nothing but a room decoration.

    He didn''t mind one bit. Truthfully, he was thrilled. He could work on the expansion n on hisptop and enjoy having her near him at the same time.

    Aaron was living the dream.

 Chapter 124: Theyre Going To Kill Me

    <h4>Chapter 124: They''re Going To Kill Me</h4>

    Keeley fell asleep on the couch during her sixth episode of Dancing with the Stars around 9 PM and Aaron didn''t have the heart to wake her. Her breathing was slow and even and he felt calmer just watching her from the other side of the gigantic couch.

    It had been decades since he''d seen her look so peaceful andpletely free of inhibitions. He had missed this. Aaron gently smoothed out the nket that was bunching up so it didn''t cover her feet and brushed her hair off her face.

    "I love you," he whispered as he bent down to kiss her forehead.

    Those three words had been tucked away inside his heart since the day he decided he had to protect her by keeping his distance all those years ago. He loved her so much. It was only a matter of time before she loved him back.

    He carefully crept out of the room so he wouldn''t wake her and got ready for bed beforeing back and lying down on the opposite side of the couch.

    It was so vast that they both fit horizontally without touching. Aaron knew he probably shouldn''t be doing this but he wanted to be near her a while longer. He couldn''t remember thest time he had been this happy.

    ===

    Keeley woke up and rubbed her eyes sleepily, not recognizing where she was. She wasn''t worried though because Aaron was right there; wearing the same pair of pajamas he kept at her ce to stay over after they watched A Nightmare on Elm Street.

    Why was he so far away? He was supposed to be holding her.

    She crawled over and nudged her way into his arms before pulling the nket back over both of them. There. That was better. She fell back asleep instantly.

    When she woke up for real, something was off. Arms. There should not be other arms here!

    Frantically whipping her head around, Keeley saw Aaron deeply asleep with a peaceful expression on his face. She nearly screamed before remembering that this was her fault.

    She fell asleep on his couch watching TV and apparently he did too. In the middle of the night, she mistook the situation as back when they were dating and wanted to snuggle. She couldn''t get mad at him when it was her own hallucination to me.

    The least awkward thing to do would be to disentangle herself before he woke up. She could totally pretend like nothing happened.

    Attempting to inch her way out, Aaron''s arms around her tightened and he pressed his face against the back of her neck and he mumbled something that sounded oddly like "go back to sleep, honey."

    Who on earth was he dreaming about? Not that it was any of her business. In fact, she hoped Aaron found somebody else so he would leave her alone.

    She shouldn''t have caved to the allure of watching an enormous TV on a superfy couch with all her favorite snacks. It was a moment of weakness. She meant to watch an episode or two like she agreed and then go home.

    Home¡­what time was it?! She left her phone at home! Her roommates would be freaking out because she just vanished!

    "Aaron!" she hollered.

    His eyes flew open and when he realized what position they were in he backed away from her instantly with his hands up. "I didn''t do this!"

    He never panicked. If she wasn''t so stressed, she would haveughed.

    "I know; I was having a weird dream and thought you were¡­someone else. Sorry. Give me your phone," Keeley demanded.

    He picked it up off the entertainment center and handed it to her. It was a little after 8 AM. She was screwed.

    "They''re going to kill me," she moaned, pping a hand to her face.

    "Who?"

    "My roommates! You didn''t let me grab my phone before we came and now they probably think I got abducted by a serial killer in the stairwell or something."

    Aaron''s face had settled back into its usual unppable expression. "Do you know either of their numbers by heart?"

    "No, they''re saved in my contacts!" She hadn''t memorized a phone number since getting a cellphone back in 2003.

    "Why not call your phone?"

    She could do that, except the contact name they would see would be ''Crazy Person'' and she would have a ridiculous amount of exining to do. That sounded like a fate worse than death.

    "They won''t answer it."

    "I may have a solution," he admitted a minuteter.

    Keeley didn''t see how he could possibly fix this. "What is it?"

    He held out a hand to get his phone back and sent a string of text messages at top speed before looking up at her. "One of your neighbors works for me; I let him know to tell your roommates that he saw you rush off to take care of a family emergency and that you were fine."

    Her heart rate slowed. At least they would stop worrying about her. Hang on though¡­ "Is that how you knew which apartment was mine?"

    "Yes. I knew he lived in your building and asked."

    "It''s Aiden, isn''t it?" she asked tly. That traitor! He worked in the IT department; how had he even met the son of the CEO?

    "Good guess," he said, sounding faintly impressed.

    A few minutester, he got a message back indicating that Aiden had told them and they were both relieved and ready to strangle her. Great.

    She slumped back down on the couch, exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotions that urred in less than five minutes. It was highly tempting to not go home at all because she would get a horrible chewing out.

    Her embarrassment at waking up in Aaron''s arms battled with her desire not to be torn to shreds by her worried roommates. She was actually tempted to stay and hide here for a few more hours until they stopped being as mad.

    She had humiliated herself enough in front of him in the past 24 hours that she was practically immune to the feeling. The instinct to hide won out.

    "Aaron? Can I¡­stay here and finish the show I was watching? There were only three episodes left until I''m caught up."

    Surprise flitted across his face before he nodded. "Of course. I''ll go make breakfast."

    Keeley focused on deep breathing to calm herself as the first episode began. She was okay. Everything was okay. She could deal with the repercussions of all of thister.

 Chapter 125: Dont Be Too Impressed

    <h4>Chapter 125: Don''t Be Too Impressed</h4>

    When Aaron said he would make breakfast she had expected him to bring back a couple of yogurts or something. Waffles served with strawberries and whipped cream were thest thing she would have expected.

    "You made these?" she asked in disbelief.

    "Don''t be too impressed; I used a box mix."

    He handed the te and a coffee mug to her and watched her with an expectant look on his face. For a split second he looked like a dog that did a trick and was waiting to be given a treat before he went back to being Icy Aaron.

    "Dish ish weary dood," Keeley mumbled around a mouthful of waffle before swallowing. "What brand is this mix?"

    "Stonewell Pantry. I bought it online."

    Ah. It was probably way more expensive than the pancake mix she got at the grocery store. Pity. They were delicious.

    Halfway through her waffle, she noticed he was still sitting there empty-handed. "You don''t have to watch me eat. Go make yourself a waffle."

    "Okay."

    He got up and returned five minutester with a waffle of his own. "Would you like another one?"

    "Yes, please! You eat though; I''ll make it."

    She scampered off to the kitchen, still not believing that the great Aaron Hale descended to earth to make her waffles for breakfast. She didn''t think he even knew how to work a waffle maker¡ªin her past life a personal chef did everything for him. While she was at it, she made him a second one and brought them both back to the TV room.

    "Thanks," he said with a soft expression before epting the waffle.

    They watched the show and ate in silence for a while before Keeley couldn''t take it anymore.

    "I''m so sorry about this morning; I really don''t know what came over me and it must have been ufortable for you," she apologized. It was certainly ufortable for her once she was cognizant enough to realize what happened.

    "Don''t apologize; I haven''t slept that well in ages."

    She scrutinized him, unable to tell if he was serious or not. It''s hard to tell if someone is messing with you when their face is practically made of stone. Although he had been oddly expressivetely for brief snatches of time¡­

    Something she didn''t realize yesterday had begun bothering her as she ate. "Hey Aaron, how did you know I liked Dancing with the Stars?"

    He mentioned that he recorded it for her but why would he do that? Was it just a random coincidence?

    "It''s one of the first things that pops up in your ''liked'' pages in your about me section on Facebook."

    Okay, that was reasonable but¡­ "Why did you record it for me?"

    He furrowed his brow. "I would have thought that was obvious. You know some Spanish from your telenovs, right? Mi casa es su casa."

    My house is your house. Keeley knew this phrase¡ªValentina said it was amon thing people used to let others know it was okay to make themselves at home while visiting. So all of those snacks¡­were for her as well? She hadn''t thought too much into it before but they weren''t the types of things Aaron normally ate.

    This guy must be even lonelier than she originally thought if he prepared all this stuff just to get her toe hang out at her house. She felt bad for him¡­and a little touched. Even though she didn''t like him, it was ttering to get such special treatment.

    Her lips quirked up into a little half smile. "You''re very thorough."

    "I try."

    Keeley wrapped her arms around her knees and continued watching the show. After a while, Dinah finally made an appearance and jumped up into Aaron''sp.

    She reached out to scratch under her chin. "Hey pretty kitty! I haven''t seen you yet!"

    "She has a lot of space to explore; sometimes I hardly see her," he exined.

    That made sense. Her apartment was small and sometimes she still couldn''t find Molly because the sneaky little thing knew where all the hiding ces were. In a ce this size, it was amazing he saw the cat at all.

    Dinah looked perfectlyfortable in hisp; this must be a regr urrence. Keeley never would have imagined her Aaron allowing something like that to happen even once.

    She had to stopparing the two. This Aaron shared a name, a face, a job, and a few mannerisms with her Aaron but that was about it. It was like he had a personality transnt. He was way too nice to her to be the man she married.

    With that thought in mind, she steeled herself to ask a question she might regret. "Since you''ve already recorded all the episodes this season¡­is it okay if Ie back after Thanksgiving and watch thest two? The finale is the day before the holiday."

    "Of course! My TV is always at your disposal."

    "Awesome, thanks!"

    Keeley secretly peeked at him when she was sure he wasn''t looking. He was absentmindedly petting the cat with a hint of warmth radiating from him. Maybe this version wasn''t so bad after all.

    She didn''t want to be wrapped up with him long-term because his world was still terrifying but for now she should be more epting of his friendship. She had been pushing back so hard all this time thinking he was the same man who destroyed her but he obviously wasn''t. Would it really be so horrible having a friend who was this nice to her even if he looked and sounded like Aaron?

    After she waspletely caught up on the show, she reluctantly stood. It was time to face the music.

    "I should get going. But first¡­do you still have that toothbrush I usedst time by any chance?" Keeley felt gross after not brushing her teeth since yesterday morning.

    "Yes, it''s in the same bathroom asst time in the toothbrush holder."

    She thanked him and scampered off to the bathroom. She really needed a shower too but that could wait until she got home and had a change of clothes.

    Grabbing her spoon, Keeley asked to borrow a pair of shoes so she could walk herself. She was alreadying back in a couple weeks so she could return them then. Even if they were huge, she was wearing thick socks so it should be manageable.

    Aaron returned with a pair of ck Louboutin heels. "¡­these are my mother''s. They should fit."

    If Roslyn Hale knew somebody else, especially a nobody, had worn her shoes, she would be furious. Keeley had never liked heels all that much even after wearing them for years but she was happy to wear these knowing her former mother-inw wouldn''t like it. She looked down at her fuzzy socked feet sticking out of the heels.

    "I''m the pinnacle of fashion," she said dramatically and struck a pose before bursting outughing, forgetting who she was with.

    It was something she would have said if she was with her roommates. What had possessed her to do something so silly in front of Aaron? She nced up at him nervously, ready to apologize for being a dork, when she saw him covering his hand with his mouth.

    He was clearly trying not tough and his eyes had crinkled at the corners like he was smiling.

    "Go ahead,ugh it up," she huffed. This is why you can''t be silly in front of serious people.

    "Sorry," Aaron snickered. "It''s been a long¡ªI mean, I''ve never seen you do something like that before."

    "Yeah, yeah. Let''s go."

    Keeley wasn''t even self-conscious of who might be seeing her dressed so ridiculously anymore. She was too worried about getting attacked by her roommates for disappearing yesterday.

 Chapter 126: Insanity

    <h4>Chapter 126: Insanity</h4>

    Keeley refused Aaron''s offer of having him walk her to her door¡ªif her roommates saw her with a guy this would look fifty times worse¡ªand took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell.

    Valentina pounced on her and hugged her so fiercely that she nearly fell over due to theck of bnce from the heels.

    "Why on earth didn''t you tell me where you were going?! What happened?" she demanded furiously.

    Keeley had been practicing her story in her head on the ride home and had it down by now.

    "Remember how I answered the door yesterday during our marathon? It was my cousin; apparently my aunt fell down the stairs and he needed help taking care of her. I panicked and went with him, forgetting my phone. I would have called you guys but I don''t have either of your numbers memorized."

    She mumbled curses at Keeley''s stupidity in Spanish before tightening her hug. "Come on, Jennica''s been worried about you too but I think she''s in the bathroom."

    When she came out, round two of the interrogation began. Keeley exined her lie as best she could and after ten minutes they finally let her go shower.

    As the hot water streamed down her back she thought about the insanity of the past 24 hours. The most insane thing of all was that she was actually softening towards the person she vowed to escape forever.

    ===

    Jennica was slightly jealous of her roommates'' ability to have consistent work. Auditions had not been going well¡ªout of everything she tried in the month of November she only got one callback for a tiny background part in a music video shoot that only paid $85 a day andsted two weeks in December. Not very helpful to her overall financial situation.

    Cameron had been a lifesaver¡ªshe had gone out to dinner with him practically every night since he returned from his business trip and it was saving her a bundle on groceries. She felt like she was taking advantage him so she offered to make him dinner one night.

    Anna Stevens was a traditional woman and had taught her daughter how to cook in order to snag a husband. Jennica was confident that he could like what she made.

    He agreed but said that she should do it at his apartment so they wouldn''t disturb her roommates'' studies. She wasn''t stupid enough to believe he waspletely free of ulterior motives but she did want to meet his dog so the day before they were set to travel to Ohio she found herself in his kitchen.

    Cameron''s apartment was a two-story three bedroom penthouse in a rtively nice building overlooking Central Park that had an airy, open feel to it. Jennica was amazed that someone she knew could afford a ce like this.

    He confessed that he bought it for slightly under a million using his World Series of Poker winnings when the real estate market was in a slump a few years ago but it was the only big purchase he ever made. He had wanted a decent sized apartment for Ziggy''s sake.

    Ziggy was adorable¡ªwhen Jennica first stepped through the door he jumped up on her immediately. Cameron tried to pull him back but she didn''t mind. She had missed the exuberant greetings she got from her dogs Daisy and Milo whenever she visited her mom''s house.

    After subduing Ziggy, he led her to the kitchen and asked if she needed help with anything.

    "Nope!" she said with a smile. "It''s my turn to treat you so just sit back and rx."

    "If you''re sure." He parked himself in a chair and rubbed Ziggy''s head. "So, what are you making?"

    "Salmon with crispy potatoes and a side sd."

    It was one of her mother''s signature dishes and wasn''t even hard to make. Her mom liked to focus on meals that looked fancy but didn''t require much time or money. Begrudgingly, she admitted it was a useful skill.

    Salmon was the most expensive item she had to buy for this meal but it wasn''t so bad since she hadn''t been spending as much on foodtely. And she did want to impress her date.

    "Why don''t you tell me more about your family so I know what to expect tomorrow," Cameron suggested as she began frying up the fish.

    Jennica thought about what the most important information about each of her family members would be.

    "Let''s see¡­my mom, Anna, is an old-fashioned woman. Even though she''s been a single mom since I was fourteen and my dad ran off with his legal secretary, she still believes a woman''s primary value is in being married."

    Her tone grew rueful. "You can see how I would have disappointed her since my brother got married and had a kid long before me."

    Now wasn''t the time to focus on that though. She had a question to finish answering.

    "Brian''s a good guy. He has a strange sense of humor but that''s what his wife likes about him. Her name is Alison and she''s the second smiliest person I''ve ever met, right after Valentina. She''s a stay at home mom for their two-year-old, Bet, that we all call Benny. I don''t know how she does it; he''s cute but exhausting."

    "Sounds a lot like my nieces and nephews," Cameron said with augh. "I spend five minutes with them and I''m ready to keel over."

    "How many do you have?"

    "Six."

    Jennica couldn''t even imagine dealing with that many kids at once. "No way! How many siblings do you have?!"

    "Four. I''m right in the middle; two older, two younger. My sister Chloe has three kids, my brother Chase has two, and my baby sister Carly surprised us all by bing a single parent in college. Her son is almost a year old now."

    "¡­does everyone in your family''s name start with C?"

    Heughed in self-deprecation. "Yeah. My mom and dad are named Crystal and Connor so they kept the tradition going. None of my siblings did though. I probably won''t either."

    "Who''s the missing sibling? You named three of them," Jennica noted.

    "Ah, right. Cooper. He''s a year older than Carly."

    "It must have been crazy growing up with that many siblings in the house. Things were wild enough with just me and Brian."

    "It could be," he admitted. "But we didn''t all live at home at the same times. Chloe and Carly are sixteen years apart. The first three of us were born only a few years apart but then my parents waited a while before having more. Chloe and Chase were out of the house before Carly was in kindergarten."

    Wow. His family seemedpletely different from hers. They continued chatting about their families as she prepared dinner and she couldn''t help but feel a pang of jealousy at how supportive his parents seemed of their children.

 Chapter 127: Boyfriend Skills

    <h4>Chapter 127: Boyfriend Skills</h4>

    Jennica stayed at Cameron''s house until prettyte because they were having too much fun talking. He really loved the meal she prepared, which boosted her ego a bit.

    Unfortunately, staying there so long meant she didn''t have very much time to pack. Ohio was colder than New York so she had to pack heavy if she didn''t want to freeze to death and they were supposed to be at the airport by 8 AM.

    Going into such a hectic trip wasn''t going to be much fun while running on little sleep. She couldn''t get her brain to turn off either, worrying about how things would go. If Cameron decided he didn''t like her anymore because her family was too crazy she would just about die.

    Not knowing what was going to be in store was stressing her out. What exactly did he n to do as her fake boyfriend to convince her mother toy off?

    They had spent a lot of time together but aside from some flirting they hadn''t done anything. Jennica wished she knew where Cameron stood. She knew he liked her to some degree but that was it.

    He was thirty¡ªfour years older than her¡ªowned an apartment instead of rented, and had a stable career. In his time of life, he might be looking to settle down.

    Her stomach squirmed just thinking about it. Jennica liked him a lot but was she really ready tomit to a rtionship permanently? She still had so many unfulfilled goals that she didn''t know if she would have time for if she got married.

    ''Stupid! Stop overthinking things; you''re just bringing home a guy you''re dating but isn''t your boyfriend to meet your family. Nothing is set in stone,'' she thought crossly before finally rxing enough to drift off to sleep.

    Jennica scrambled to grab everything she neededst minute when her rm went off at 6 AM even though she wasn''t fully conscious. It was early but she had to look nice or her mother would pitch a fit so she put on light makeup and braided her hair back into an borate fishtail. Besides, she didn''t want to look like one of the undead in front of Cameron.

    Her roommates didn''t have school today since it was the day before Thanksgiving so she snuck out quietly not to wake them. They worked so hard; they deserved their rest.

    "Good morning," she said with a yawn as she climbed into the passenger seat of Cameron''s car.

    "Morning! Ready to handle your mother?"

    "No but I am ready to tackle hug my twin and knock him to the ground."

    He chuckled. "I might have to film that."

    "Go for it."

    Jennica wasn''t feeling very talkative since it was so early. When she was actively auditioning she often had to wake up even earlier than this but she still would never be a morning person.

    He didn''t seem to mind, which she appreciated. Some guys didn''t know how to give enough space while others refused to even get close. Cameron knew how to bnce.

    It made her wonder how much experience he had being someone''s boyfriend. That kind of skill wasn''t necessarily innate.

    She couldn''t help but ask after the question niggled at her like an itch she couldn''t scratch all the way through the security checks at the airport. "How many girlfriends have you had before?"

    Cameron raised an eyebrow. "That''s random. Why do you ask?"

    Her face turned pink but it was toote to back down now. "¡­because you seem like you would be a good boyfriend. Thates with practice."

    "Oh good, your mom won''t see through our act then," he teased though he actually seemed quite ttered. "And to answer your question, three. I was pretty nerdy looking so nobody wanted to date me until after I got my MBA and changed my style a little. What about you? How many boyfriends?"

    Only three, huh? At least one of them had to be long-term or he wouldn''t have gotten in the necessary practice to be good at gauging moods. That wasn''t so bad though, especially for a man his age.

    "I had a lot of short-term boyfriends in high school but have only had one real rtionship since then and that ended when I moved to New York. He thought my dreams were stupid and unrealistic. Nobody wants to seriously date an aspiring actress," she said lightly.

    "His loss is my gain," Cameron said with a shrug.

    She frowned in confusion. "Are you in fake boyfriend mode already?"

    He didn''t respond, scrolling through his messages until he saw one from his boss and sighed. "Great. I have another business trip in two weeks."

    "Is this normal for you?"

    "Yeah, I typically go out of town once a month for something or other. Sometimes it''s for a few days, sometimes it''s for over a week."

    That was an awful lot of traveling for one person. Jennica had only visited a handful of states within the continental U.S. "Where are you going this time?"

    "Singapore. I''ll be gone for five days. I guess I can get my mom an interesting Christmas present there."

    "Why Singapore?" she asked curiously. "Is Hale Investments expanding there too?"

    "Not exactly. I''m going there to do something for Aaron. I work for Hale Investments now but I was his personal employee first so I still do side jobs for him."

    "Are you like his butler or something?"

    Cameron burst outughing right there on the ne as it sat in the runway waiting for takeoff. "No, but please don''t ever tell Aiden that. He''ll never let it drop."

    Jennica''s curiosity only grew worse. "What do you do? Or can you not tell me."

    "Technically speaking, I haven''t signed any nondisclosure agreements regarding telling friends or family but it is sort of a secret. You can''t tell anybody about this, okay?"

    She made a hand motion of zipping her lips and sat patiently awaiting his exnation.

    "¡­I''m his personal gambler."

 Chapter 128: The Perfect Job

    <h4>Chapter 128: The Perfect Job</h4>

    Jennica certainly wasn''t expecting that particr job title. "You''re his what?"

    Cameron rubbed the back of his neck, slightly sheepish.

    "I know it sounds weird¡­I was in my first year of grad school when I got approached by this serious eighteen-year-old kid who had been watching me clean people out at unofficial ckjack and poker tournaments held in the dorms for weeks.

    "Aaron noticed that I never lost and offered me a job straight out of school at his family''spany in exchange for going on all-expenses-paid trips to Antic City to gamble with his money and give the winnings back to him. It''s how he kickstarted his personal fortune."

    Jennica gaped at him. That was one of the craziest things she had ever heard of¡ªshe knew Aaron Hale was a nut! "But why does he still have you go now? He''s super rich!"

    "That''s his business. I just do what I''m told andpete in tournaments at gambling hot spots and give him the prize money. He gives me the buy-in amounts but still lets me keep part of the payouts. He''s a generous overlord."

    She couldn''t help but snicker at the phrase ''generous overlord.'' "So he approves your time off as business trips and pays for everything while you get to visit other countries? That sounds like the perfect job."

    Cameron shrugged. "It''s not all fun and games; I''m mostly sitting in a dimly lit casino for hours on end. Not much time for sightseeing. I''m slowly working my way around the tourist sites in major cities though. I''ve been to the Eiffel Tower and seen a couple of Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas."

    "Do you think Aaron needs a personal actress?" she joked. With an entric boss like that, she might be able to see some pretty cool stuff if her job was anything like Cameron''s.

    "I doubt it. If you went to more than one event with him you''d be torn apart by the wolves." That was probably true. She didn''t want to ever experience something like that cocktail party again.

    "Darn. It would be so fun to travel," Jennica sighed dramatically. "The most exotic ce I''ve ever been is Michigan."

    "I''m going to the Bahamas in January if you want to tag along."

    She was about to ask if him if he was messing with her when a voice came over the loudspeaker with the safety announcements right before the ne took off. It distracted her enough that she forgot all about it.

    Cameron put in his earbuds and listened to music the entire flight while Jennica used the free Wi-Fi to look up other auditions happening in December on the days she wasn''t filming the music video.

    The two hours passed rtively quickly.

    When theynded and began to disembark and head toward the baggage im, Cameron reached out and held her hand.

    At her questioning look, he exined, "Your mom just texted you that they were waiting for us in the baggage im, right? It''s better to start acting like a couple now."

    Right. The illusion had begun already. Her heart thumped; Jennica may have bitten off more than she could chew this weekend.

    They held hands all the way onto the esctor and when she spotted her family below she waved with her free hand. Her mom''s eyes practically popped out of her head when she saw her daughter holding hands with a man.

    At the bottom of the esctor she released Cameron and got a running start to fling herself at Brian.

    He caught her with a startledugh. "Whoa there, Jenny. I missed you too but¡­who''s this?"

    "I don''t see you in nearly a year and that''s all you have to say to me?" sheined, refusing to let go.

    "It''s not like I didn''t call you!"

    "Not nearly as often as you called Ali. Hi, Ali," she said sheepishly, peeking out from under his arm to greet her sister-inw.

    She beamed at Jennica and waved. "Want to let go of my husband and introduce us?"

    "Right." She backed up and Cameron slung an arm around her shoulders casually. "This is my boyfriend, Cameron Singleton."

    "Why didn''t you tell me you had a boyfriend?!" Anna screeched.

    "I wanted to surprise you guys. Surprise!"

    Brian and Alison exchanged looks. "Well, we''re certainly surprised. How long have you guys been dating?"

    "We met in the spring at a roller skating party," Cameron lied smoothly. "It''s probably been about six months now."

    Six months? They hadn''t even known each other six weeks! Well, it did seem more believable to bring a guy home after six months than less than one. She''d roll with it.

    Brian snorted. "A roller skating party?"

    "He''s just jealous he can''t skate to save his life," Alison said cheerfully. "What happened exactly? I want details!"

    "Well," Jennica began. This much was true so it shouldn''t be too hard to get out, though it was a bit embarrassing since Cameron was right there. "I was skating backwards and bumped into him but he caught me and then we skate danced the next two songs together."

    "How romantic!"

    Anna was skeptical. "Skate dancing? You''re not one of those frivolous artsy types too are you?"

    "Mom!" she protested. She''d been there less than five minutes and was already getting her job put down.

    "No ma''am, I''m a financial analyst on Wall Street," Cameron said simply.

    You could practically hear the crickets chirping as the entire Stevens n was dumbstruck. Jennica was sorely tempted tough. Bringing him was worth it just for this!

    "Oh look, I think I see our suitcases," he continued, oblivious to the chaos he had caused.

    Cameron walked over to fetch them and her mother pulled her aside. "Is he telling the truth?!"

    Jennica nodded. "Why would he lie? He''s the head of the analyst department at Hale Investments. I''ve even met his boss."

    There was a branch in downtown Cincinnati so her mother knew how big a deal Hale Investments was. Her demeanor toward her daughter changed instantly.

    "You have to get him to marry you! You''ve cooked for him, right? The way to a man''s heart is through his stomach!"

    She sighed. "Yes Mom, I''ve cooked for him. Stop talking though, he''sing back!"

    Cameron smiled at them warmly as he ced Jennica''s suitcase in front of her and she really hoped he hadn''t been able to hear them. It was going to be a long few days.

 Chapter 129: Thankful

    <h4>Chapter 129: Thankful</h4>

    Keeley mumbled under her breath as she tried to make sure everything was ounted for. The pies were baked or bought, the rolls were in the oven, the neighbors were bringing the candied yams and other vegetables, and the mashed potatoes were boiling on the stove.

    "Dad! How''s the turkeying?"

    "I checked on it a few minutes ago; it still has forty-five minutes to go," he called from the living room.

    She sighed. The guests would be arriving soon. Valentina arrived early in the morning when Keeley did to help with the food but they were expecting four more including Ryan. The table only seated six so they were borrowing a folding chair from one of the neighbors to help everyone fit.

    "Rx, Keeley," Valentina soothed. "Everything is going to go fine. Why are you so nervous?"

    "You''ve been here before but Ryan never has. I''m afraid it might be awkward."

    Her friend scoffed. "How could it be awkward? He''s one of us! You''re thinking too much. If you''re going to worry about something, worry about how things are going for Jennica."

    "Oh yeah, she''s bringing Cameron home to meet her family, right? Isn''t it a little too soon?" Keeley asked absentmindedly as she drained the potatoes.

    Valentina giggled. "Yes. Apparently he volunteered to be her ''fake boyfriend'' to get her mother off her back but I''ve seen enough movies to know where this is going. They''ll be together by the end of the weekend."

    Ah, that girl. This was the first time any of the three roommates had been serious about someone since they started living together. It was a bit strange to see.

    Keeley was happy for her friend but at the same time feared for what might go wrong. Love was so fickle. What might seem like something good and real now could easily fall apartter.

    The doorbell rang and Valentina went off to usher in the first of their guests. "H! Feliz dia de ion de gracias!"

    "I''m going to assume you just told me to have a Happy Thanksgiving," Ryan said with a smile.

    "I did. Come on in, you''re the first one here."

    He stepped through the doorway and spotted Keeley mashing the potatoes wearing a flowery pink apron and her father on the couch.

    Robert stood and crossed the room to shake Ryan''s hand. "Nice to meet you, you must be Keeley''s friend. I''ve heard a lot about you. I''m Robert Hall."

    "Nice to meet you too, sir," he said respectfully. "Need any help in there, Keeley?"

    "Nope, I''ve got it! Thanks though," she called back.

    Ryan set down his cherry pie on the counter near the others before sitting down next to Robert to watch the football game. They chatted about how well the Giants were doing this season as the other guests began to arrive.

    Eventually everyone was here, the food was on the table, and people sat down to enjoy the meal.

    "Before we dig in," Robert said. "My wife had a tradition where everyone goes around the table and says what they are thankful for. We keep it going in her memory. I''ll start. This year I am thankful for my beautiful daughter."

    Keeley smiled. "Dad, you say that every year."

    "And every year I mean it."

    She blew him a kiss across the table, making everyone elseugh.

    The Halls'' old widowed neighbor was thankful for her flowers. Robert''s coworkers were thankful for football and having a good job. Valentina was thankful that she would be flying home to visit her family in a month.

    Ryan nced at Keeley. "I''m thankful for good friends."

    What was she most thankful for this year? To be alive. To have recovered from theb ident so her research was going well. To not be married to Aaron Hale. That was a given but at the same time she was a teeny bit grateful that he had been such a good friend to hertely.

    "I''m thankful to be one step closer to achieving my dream."

    Everyone held up their wine sses and knocked them together before downing a gulp. Then the rest of the feast began.

    Almost no talking went on because everyone was too focused on the food. It wasn''t until afterward when everyone piled onto the couches and the floor to watch football that conversation resumed.

    "It''s a shame that there''s still pie," Keeley groaned from her seat on the floor between Ryan and Valentina. "I think I''m actually dying."

    "I''m right there with you."

    Peruvians frequently ate big meals so Valentina called them all weak beforeughing gleefully. Even being in the United States for six years hadn''t changed her stomach capacity.

    Robert went to grab another roll and noticed the three friends'' position when he came back. "Here, let me take a picture of you guys."

    Keeley handed him her phone. "Use mine so I can post it on Instagram easier."

    Her father shook his head and epted it. He really didn''t understand the appeal behind Instagram but it was better to listen to the young ones when it came to technology.

    "Everybody say cheese!"

    Keeley wrapped her arms around both of her friends'' shoulders and pulled them closer so their faces were practically squished together. They all grinned for the camera.

    She examined the photo after her father handed the phone back. Not bad. "Thanks Dad!"

    She posted it to Instagram with the caption ''Food, football, and friends'' with a heart next to it and the hashtags ''happythanksgiving'' and ''thanksgiving2012.'' She tagged valenov and rythescienceguy in the photo.

    A follower named hail.storm that liked literally everything she posted was the first person to like the photo and left ament wishing her a happy Thanksgiving. She replied ''you too'' before closing the app.

    Keeley had no idea who hail.storm was but he or she was one of her first followers when she joined the site over a year ago. Their profile picture was of a generic thundercloud with lightning and they had never posted any pictures of their own.

    Her phone buzzed next to her on the floor and Valentina peered at it. "Crazy Person is asking if you''re having a nice Thanksgiving."

    "Crazy Person?" Ryan asked, confused.

    "Keeley''s ex. He texts her all the time," she said helpfully even though Keeley shot her a dirty look.

    Ryan frowned. "Still?"

    Robert noticed where the conversation was going and smiled. "Oh is that Aa¡ª"

    "DAD!"

    Thest thing she wanted was for her friends to know his name. He gave her a knowing look. "Tell him I said hi."

    "Your dad likes him?" Valentina whispered.

    "¡­it''s a long story. How about we forget about this and go serve up the pie?"

    Pie was much more diverting than who Keeley''s ex-boyfriend was. Everyone congregated back in the kitchen and Aaron was soon forgotten.

 Chapter 130: Hurricane Aaron

    <h4>Chapter 130: Hurricane Aaron</h4>

    Aaron hated Thanksgiving. It was catered by a Michelin starred chef but it consisted of some of the most prominent families New York at the banquet hall of a hotel, which seemed against the point of the holiday to him.

    Keeley had never liked these farces. She used to argue that Thanksgiving was about family and that she wanted to be with her dad in the early years of her marriage.

    He should have listened to her. Anything would be better than this. Especially since Lacy Knighton was directly across the table from him and kept trying to initiate conversation he repeatedly had to kill. So annoying.

    Aiden hadn''t found anything indicating that Lacy was ckmailing Dr. Rothman yet but Aaron still didn''t trust the woman as far as he could throw her. He knew better than anyone what she was capable of.

    This dinner was entirely pointless. He didn''t care about any of these people. The only business contact he had in this entire room was his dummy shareholder Alice and she was busy entertaining her husband''s family.

    Keeley used to do that for him at these sorts of events and she hated every minute of it. He never should have subjected her to these piranhas at all.

    What was she up to right now? Probably enjoying a normal holiday experience with her dad.

    Aaron opened his phone, about to text her, when he saw that there was a new notification from Instagram. The only people he followed were Keeley and his two idiot subordinates because they (mostly Aiden) begged him when they found out he had an ount.

    He wouldn''t post anything until he was back with Keeley again. Then he would only post pictures of her and their family. This ount wasn''t affiliated with his name or even his regr email address; it was safe.

    She had posted a picture where she was sandwiched in between two of her equally beaming friends in front of a bookshelf in her father''s living room.

    He liked andmented on it like usual before frowning. The girl in the photo must be the Peruvian roommate she mentioned but who was the guy? He looked vaguely familiar¡­

    Aaron searched through her old posts. Most of them were selfies, pictures of her cat, or group shots with friends.

    Her roommates were sprinkled throughout her photos but there were also people he didn''t recognize, especially the further back he went. But that guy¡­he was in nearly as many as the roommates!

    He scrolled down quite far and discovered pictures with that man in them all the way back in 2006. So Keeley met him her freshman year of college, huh?

    Aaron felt a bit sick knowing he was there right now while he was stuck in this stuffy banquet hall. He sent a text to the contact known as ''Wife'' in his phone so she wouldn''t forget his existence.

    ''Are you having a nice Thanksgiving?''

    He didn''t get a response. She must have gotten busy right after posting the photo and set her phone down somewhere.

    Going back to Instagram, he decided to investigate pictures posted by valenov, rythescienceguy, and jenny_benny since they seemed to show up on Keeley''s page the most.

    So his name was Ryan Bradley¡­Aaron would have to talk to Aiden to look into this guy. Something caught his eye on Jennica''s page: a group picture from a Halloween partyst month.

    Ryan was in it but so was Cameron. He''d met this guy? Why didn''t he say anything!

    Aaronposed a very angry text message and sent it to his subordinate. He better have an exnation for this.

    ===

    Cameron was thoroughly enjoying deceiving Jennica''s mother. In the 24 hours they had been at the Stevens'' house, he had many opportunities to sit with his arm around her and even kiss her cheek or the top of her head.

    He was a hit with little Benny due to his years of experience being an uncle. Anna fawned over him because of his job (how she had raised an amazing woman like Jennica he''d never know).

    Brian was a harder sell. He was ying the role of the protective big brother but his wife seemed to like Cameron so that was something.

    This was a family he could see himself tolerating visiting a couple of times a year. There could be worse inws for sure. Alistair and Roslyn Hale were the first example toe to mind¡ªKeeley didn''t stand a chance if Aaron ever won her over.

    Aaron was omniscient as always. As if he knew Cameron had thought about him, he sent a text while they were in the middle of eating pie.

    ''Why didn''t you tell me about Ryan Bradley?'' He could practically feel the chilling through the phone. Aaron was pissed.

    Jennica noticed something was off first. "What''s wrong?" she whispered before taking another bite of pumpkin pie that was more whipped cream than pie at this point.

    "Hurricane Aaron."

    She snorted so hard that whipped cream came out of her nose. It shouldn''t have been cute but it kind of was. "What does he want? You''re on vacation!"

    He couldn''t exactly tell her that it was because his boss was hopelessly obsessed with her roommate. Not only would that be weird, she might think that he approached her just to get close to Keeley.

    That wasn''t true at all. His being there at that Halloween party waspletely a coincidence and he liked her right off the bat.

    "It''s kind of hard to exin¡­"

    "Give me the short version."

    "He''s jealous of somebody and is taking it out on me." That was the simplest way of putting it.

    "Jealous¡­this wouldn''t be about the average girl he''s obsessed with, is it?"

    Now it was Cameron''s turn to spew pie. "He told you about that?!"

    "Well he didn''t name names but yeah. One conversation and I got the feeling he''s really in love with her. It''s kind of sweet," she admitted.

    He wondered how sweet she would think it was if she knew the girl in question was one of her best friends. "Nothing about that guy is sweet, trust me."

    "What are you two whispering about over there?" Brian barked.

    "Nothing!" they said in unison.

    "Nothing important," Jennica amended. "We were talking about a friend of ours¡ªnobody you''d know."

    "You have the same friends?" he asked through gritted teeth.

    "Of course we do! We''ve been together for a while," Cameron said casually.

    He was kind of having fun getting a rise out of this guy. He''d never had to deal with an overprotective brother before. Melody had been an only child and he never got far enough with his other girlfriends to meet their families.

    "Then why isn''t it Facebook official?"

    "I''m not on Facebook terribly much. We should change that, shouldn''t we?" he said with a wink towards his soon-to-be-not-fake girlfriend.

    Jennica gaped at him since this hadn''t been a part of the n. He knew what she was thinking. How would they exin this to people when they had to change it back to them both being single in a few days?

    He gave her a subtle nod that said ''trust me'' and sheplied. Their rtionship status had officially been updated and thements began pouring in.

    Cameron put his phone back into his pocket and hummed to himself. Everything was going ording to n.

    Once the pie waspletely consumed, he suggested that he and Jennica go for a walk to help things digest even though it was only about 45 degrees Fahrenheit outside. They needed to talk.

 Chapter 131: Who Says Im Pretending?

    <h4>Chapter 131: Who Says I''m Pretending?</h4>

    Jennica and Cameron decked themselves out in full winter gear before braving the cold. He reached for her hand, iming it would help them keep warmer, but he was pretty sure she caught on.

    "You know, there''s nobody out here. You don''t have to pretend anymore."

    "Who says I''m pretending?"

    She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly looked up at him. "I had my suspicions you had ulterior motives for helping me. Why didn''t you say something earlier?"

    He shrugged. "I didn''t want to freak you out since we haven''t known each other long. Truth is I''ve never met anyone like you."

    "What do you mean?"

    He kicked at a bit of hardened snow on the side of the street. "I feltfortable around you right away, like I''d already known you for a long time. That had never happened to me before."

    Cameron had been with Melody for almost two and a half years and was considering proposing when she ran off to Florida and even she had never made him feel this way.

    Jennica was bright, beautiful, had interesting things to say, and was easy to be around. He couldn''t ask for anything more in apanion and he wasn''t getting any younger. He could actually see himself marrying her and he had only known her for slightly under a month, which waspletely nuts.

    "I felt that too," she confessed. "But¡­isn''t this going a little fast?"

    "Who says rtionships have to have a specific timeline? I like you, you like me. Isn''t that good enough?"

    "I never said I liked you!"

    He grinned at her. Not in so many words but it waspletely obvious. "No, but you do, don''t you?"

    "¡­yes." She bit her lip, hesitant. "You don''t mind my inconsistent job? Or my family? You''ve met them now; you know my mom is crazy."

    "Everyone''s mom is a little crazy. And you''re passionate¡ªit''s one of the things I like about you. You wouldn''t be the same if you had a regr job. If you wanted, you could focus solely on auditioning for things you actually care about and I would handle your bills for you."

    It would be a simple thing to do. Even simpler would be if she just moved in with him but he didn''t want to push her too far just yet.

    Her jaw dropped. "Why would you do that? You hardly know me."

    "I know enough to realize that letting you get away would be the stupidest thing I could ever do. We would be able to spend more time together if you didn''t have to worry about odd jobs."

    Jennica shook her head. "That can be shelved forter. Why do you like me?"

    Cameron reached his hand out and put it under her chin, tilting it upward so she would look at him. Those dazzling emerald eyes had clear questions in them.

    "You''re creative, talented, fun to talk to, and we have a lot inmon. Spending time with you is my favorite part of the day. It doesn''t hurt that you''re drop dead gorgeous, either."

    Her face broke into a wide smile. "Drop dead gorgeous, huh?"

    He nodded as his heart threatened to beat right out of his chest.

    "Alright. I''ll be your girlfriend. I''m pretty sure Valentina predicted this would happen on this trip anyway," she said with a smallugh.

    He picked her up and spun her around before setting her down and holding her close to his chest. "You won''t regret it, I promise. You already said you thought I''d make a good boyfriend¡ªI''ll prove it to you."

    Cameron leaned down and kissed her forehead, surprising her enough that she leaned her head back to gaze up at him. She was extra cute in her beanie with the giant pompom on top.

    Jennica was irresistible. She stood on tiptoe and hooked her arms around his neck. "Cameron."

    "Yeah?"

    "You''re supposed to kiss me now."

    Oh. OH! He tightened his hold around her back as his lips met hers. He had kissed before but it never felt anything like this.

    Melody who? The only woman in the world was Jennica Stevens, whose lips still tasted like whipped cream.

    His phone was buzzing in his pocket but he ignored it, trying to focus on the beautiful experience of kissing his girlfriend. The buzzing wouldn''t stop. It was breaking his concentration.

    Finally, he apologized profusely before picking it up and answering "what?!" rather viciously as she giggled. She had felt the phone buzzing too.

    "Am I interrupting something?" Aaron asked icily.

    All the warmth he had experienced from Jennica''s kiss had vanished instantly. "I was going to reply to you, I was just busy," he saidmely.

    "Busy how?"

    Jennica grabbed his hand so she could yell into the phone. "Hi Aaron!" She then proceeded to giggle even harder.

    Cameron was tempted tough too. When it came to messing with people, she was on par with Aiden.

    "I see."

    Those two words could freeze an entire ocean. Even Jennica felt it and stoppedughing. "Oh crap," she whispered. "He''s scary."

    He wrapped his arm tighter around her in response. "Look, I''ll tell you everything at work on Monday, okay? This is better said in person anyway. Aiden actually knows more than I do."

    ''Sorry Aiden!'' he thought. He had to throw his friend under the bus to save himself.

    Aaron wasn''t cursing out loud but Cameron knew him well enough to know that an ice volcano was about to explode. Aiden was a dead man.

    His boss hung up the phone and he hastily sent Aiden a message. ''Code red: Hurricane Aaron is headed your way'' He responded simply by cursing.

    "What was that about?" Jennica asked curiously.

    "I may have to attend Aiden''s funeral next week."

    "Why?!"

    "¡­it was his idea to keep this a secret from the boss," Cameron said grimly. "He knew about it first."

    "About what exactly?"

    "The guy Aaron''s possible future girlfriend is close to. That''s all I can say; it''s his business."

    Jennica mumbled a prayer under her breath for her neighbor and Cameron would haveughed if he didn''t know how screwed they both were on Monday. He should have known Aaron would find out about the guy eventually.

 Chapter 132: Personal Errand Boy

    <h4>Chapter 132: Personal Errand Boy</h4>

    The day after Thanksgiving, Aaron lovingly gazed at Keeley as she had her knees pulled to her chest under a nket on his couch watching the season finale of Dancing with the Stars. He did his best to keep his anger in check about that Ryan guy so he could fully enjoy the experience of having her in his house.

    Aaron hadn''t had the chance to properly grill those two traitors who thought they could keep secrets from him yet since Cameron was off inland and Aiden''s mother took his phone away even though he was a grown man so he would pay attention to the family over the weekend.

    Maintaining hisposure was difficult but he didn''t want to lose the progress they had made by making usations. He needed to have more information first before bringing anything up.

    When it came to themercial break and she fast forwarded through it, he tried to gauge where they were at. "What''s your schedule like the next few weeks?"

    Keeley sighed heavily and leaned her head back against the couch in defeat.

    "Today is thest day I''m allowed to take it easy for the rest of the semester. After that I''ll be swamped with papers,b work, and finals. It''s reallyme because it means I''ll probably have to make most of my Christmas treats a few days before Christmas instead of spreading them out over the month."

    His ears perked up at the words ''Christmas treats.'' The ones he swiped from Aidenst year were delicious. "What all are you making?"

    "Sugar cookies, these gingersnap/snickerdoodle hybrids we call snickersnaps that are probably my favorite, mint brownies, M&M cookies with sprinkles, and white chocte covered pretzels if I have time."

    That was so much more than she ever made when they were together. Back then she only made sugar cookies.

    "That''s an awful lot of baking."

    "They''re all my mom''s recipes; I''m trying to keep them up for my dad''s sake. He misses her a lot this time of year," she said a bit wistfully.

    Aaron knew how horrible it was missing your wife all too well; he really felt for Robert. Even now when she was alive again and he saw her on a semi regr basis, Aaron still missed his wife because things weren''t the same.

    "Do you need any help?"

    She looked at him like he sprouted another head. "Have you ever baked anything in your entire life?"

    "No," he admitted. Not in this one or thest. "But there has to be something I can do that doesn''t require any actual skill."

    "I''ll get back to you on that," she said before starting her show up again.

    She watched with increasing anxiety as it got closer to the winner of the season being announced. When they revealed the name she jumped up and pumped her fist in the air while squealing "yes!" over and over.

    Aaron was amused. "I take it your favorite won?"

    Keeley smiled a bit sheepishly. "Yeah. I had never even heard of that celebrity before but I love the dance partner he was paired with. She''s one of the best people on the show."

    "That''s good. Are you hungry?"

    "Nah, I stuffed myself on leftovers this morning. I am pretty tired though; I should probably go home before I fall asleep on you again."

    It was on the tip of his tongue to beg her to fall asleep on him again but he still had some rationality. She would be freaked out. Today was already a victory; it could end here.

    "Sure, just let me get my keys."

    In the car Aaron asked her what time would be most helpful to bring her food when she was ving away on campus. He refused to go an entire month without seeing her. Bringing her food every day would be the best way to get his Keeley fix.

    She smiled at him with a hint of something he couldn''t decipher. "You''re dead set on spoiling me, aren''t you?"

    "Yes," he stated shamelessly.

    Spoiling her was the only way she would ever stop being stubborn and be with him again. It had been working so far!

    Keeley shook her head. "You''re ridiculous, you know that? You''re the vice president of a major corporation and you''re acting like my personal errand boy."

    "Being your errand boy is fun."

    She raised an eyebrow at him like he''d lost his mind. "You''re nuts. But if you insist, I''ll probably be in theb from 3-8 PM every day until the week before finals."

    "Good to know, thanks."

    She went silent for a while before speaking again. "Why are you like this?"

    This again?

    "I already told you; I just want to be nice to you." Aaron debated whether or not to add onto that thought but eventually went for it. "You''re my favorite person. You would have to be pretty stupid not to be nice to your favorite person."

    Thest sentence was spoken with a cruel sense of irony because he had been that stupid in his first life.

    "Yeah, you would," she agreed but still seemed conflicted. "But how exactly did you decide I was your favorite person?"

    After an absurd amount of pushing, dragging, begging, and persisting. Keeley had been the only one who kept trying with him even when he was stone cold to her and that was how she was able to trickle into the cracks of his heart until she filled it entirely.

    Aaron would never forget the first and only person who cared about him for who he was rather than what they thought he could do for them. He couldn''t answer; his only defense was to shrug it off.

    "I just did."

    A faint, nearly imperceptible sigh escaped her lips. She was annoyed with him. He couldn''t tell her the truth though; she wouldn''t believe him.

    "Does it really matter how the conclusion was reached as long as it got there eventually?" he asked.

    "It does when you don''t understand a concept."

    "What''s not to understand? You''re a great person and I appreciate yourpany. End of story," he said simply.

    She sighed again as they reached her building. "I will never understand you, Aaron Hale. Probably see you Monday since you''re literally everywhere."

    Keeley climbed out of the car and waved goodbye before disappearing inside.

    If she said she would never understand him¡­did that mean she wanted to? Aaron drove home with a slight smile on his face.

 Chapter 133: Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 133: Betrayal</h4>

    "He''s going to murder us both," Aiden predicted grimly as they were summoned to Aaron''s office on Monday afternoon.

    "Then he''s going to murder Ryan," Cameron agreed.

    They felt like they were chickens walking to the chopping block. Aiden started humming a funeral dirge and Cameron wasn''t sure whether tough or cry.

    He just got a girlfriend, too. Joy was fleeting. "If he does kill me, tell Jennica I love her."

    "You love her already?! I haven''t even told Nova that and we''ve been dating for eight months!"

    Cameron sighed. "I''m just being dramatic, Aiden. We''re going to live; we still have our uses."

    "I certainly hope so," he muttered. This was not how he wanted to start his week.

    Ever since he received Cameron''s warning text on Thanksgiving he had been on edge, even going so far as telling his mother to confiscate his phone so he could spend more time with the extended family that was visiting. Anything to avoid dealing with Aaron unprepared.

    Unfortunately, he still wasn''t prepared. How was he supposed to exin that he had known about Ryan the whole time he lived across the hall from Keeley?

    Opening the office door was like opening the door to a walk-in freezer. Aaron''s fury was much more severe than usual.

    Cameron let Aiden take the lead since he was more important to Aaron''s operations and was less likely to be murdered. He stepped forward with a carefree smile on his face as if nothing was wrong.

    "What''s up, boss man?"

    "I think you know exactly what''s up," he said forebodingly. "Tell me everything you know NOW."

    Cameron piped up, "I want you to know that keeping this from you was entirely Aiden''s idea and I had nothing to do with it."

    How could his friend sacrifice him like this?! "Dude! Are you serious right now?!"

    "I have something to live for!"

    "And I don''t?!"

    "I. Said. Now." The chill in the air stopped their bickering immediately.

    They both sat meekly on the couch and Aiden began his exnation, beginning with how he had seen Ryan around Keeley''s apartment several times and ending with the time he half-carried a drunk Keeley to the lobby before Aiden intercepted her.

    He chose to leave out the part about why Keeley was drinking because he didn''t want to actually die today; he was supposed to meet up with Nova in-gameter.

    "That''s all he told me," Cameron said. "So when I saw him at the Halloween party where I met Jennica I didn''t say anything."

    "What did he do at the Halloween party?"

    The co-conspirators exchanged nces. Aiden fully expected him to take this one after throwing him under the bus, especially since he had actually been there.

    "¡­they were partners during the couples skate portion and thenter during Two Truths and a Lie I realized they must be closer than I thought because Ryan knew about Keeley''s ex-boyfriend."

    Aaron had never been told anything about Keeley''s previous rtionships. The ice storm raging inside the office only grew.

    "She''s been friends with him longer! It''s natural that she would talk to an old friend about that sort of thing!" Aiden said hurriedly.

    "You''re digging your own grave; Aaron met her first," Cameron whispered.

    Crap, hepletely forgot about that. Technically, Aaron knew her longer but not better because of all that time with no contact.

    His friend showed mercy and bailed him out.

    "Rx, Aaron, she doesn''t like him. I saw them at the couples skate; neither of them were having fun. In fact, Keeley looked angry about something! Aside from that, her interactions with him were no different than they were with the rest of her friends."

    ''Thank you, Cam! I forgive you for betraying me earlier!'' Aiden thought gratefully.

    The ice receded slightly. "Are you positive? Don''t lie."

    "He seems to be on par with her roommates; doesn''t that mean she doesn''t see him as a man? He''s like one of her girlfriends!" Cameron imed somewhat outrageously.

    Would Aaron take the bait?

    "I can see your point. Still, Aiden, keep an eye on him. Cameron, pump your girlfriend for information," he said with an air of finality.

    Really, they got off easy. They saluted or bowed and scampered out of the office.

    "I saw my life sh before my eyes," Aiden said dramatically.

    "At least you got the easy job. How am I supposed to ask Jennica about this guy withouting off as suspicious?"

    "Yeah, that sucks. Don''t know what to tell you."

    "Very helpful," Cameron said dryly.

    "I try!"

    They returned to their respective offices and Aiden couldn''t concentrate. Should he have mentioned that he thought Aaron was actually the ex-boyfriend while in the office? That probably would have been more helpful information than anything about Ryan Bradley.

    Although, if he was wrong, his boss would have thought he was nuts. To tell or not to tell? It wasn''t like he could t out ask Keeley what the name of her ex was.

    At the very least, he could warn her of the storm that wasing her way. He whipped out his phone to send her a text.

    Aiden had had her number for years but she didn''t get his until a few months ago when he pretended to get locked out of his apartment in order to have a feasible excuse to ask for it.

    ''FYI Aaron is in a very bad mood today so if you want to live do something to appease him when he shows up with your dinner''

    She texted him back twenty minutester when he was monitoring a meeting Alistair was holding in one of the conference rooms. ''If I want to live, huh? Thanks for the heads up''

    A second text followed shortly afterward. ''What did you do to piss him off?''

    How dare she correctly assume it was his fault! Well, it wasn''t entirely his fault. Boy would she be surprised if she knew that she was technically the source of his distress.

    ''Your usatory tone wounds me''

    ''Ah, so I''m right. Don''t worry; I''ll calm him down for you but you''ll owe me one''

    Please let Keeley be his and Cameron''s lucky star and save them from their temperamental boss!

 Chapter 134: Youre Welcome, Aiden

    <h4>Chapter 134: You''re Wee, Aiden</h4>

    Keeley couldn''t help butugh at Aiden''s desperate texts when she was heading to theb after ss. He seemed so panicked. Was Aaron still so terrifying? She hadn''t seen that side of him since their senior year of high school.

    And here she thought he had gonepletely soft.

    Whatever, she could perform a favor between friends. Coaxing Aaron would work in her favor as well since she didn''t want to deal with all of the ice during one of her limited breaks from work. They were supposed to help her rx.

    Sure enough, Aaron showed up with a bag of Chinese takeout and a distinctly frozen aura two hourster.

    She smiled brightly at him and gave him a longer hug than usual¡ªten seconds instead of two. "Thanks! This looks delicious. You''re my hero!"

    Was it over the top? Yes. But it worked. He thawed considerably.

    "I''m d you like it," he said gruffly.

    Her status as his favorite person had its uses even though she still wasn''t quite sure what to make of it. Keeley had been shocked when he said that originally but after a few days to think she epted her fate.

    She already knew she was his best friend; it wasn''t such a huge leap to favorite person. This wouldn''tst forever. In the meantime, she could try to enjoy the attention.

    "Did you have a rough day at work?" she asked sympathetically, trying to appease him further.

    "I hate dealing with idiots and having things kept from me. Today I dealt with both."

    Keeley reached up and patted his head. "Hang in there."

    Any remaining ice vanished when she did that. Mission aplished. You''re wee, Aiden!

    How had the most imcable person she knew be so easy to satisfy? It was one of the world''s greatest mysteries. At least she knew how to work him now. This knowledge would have helped so much in her second senior year of high school.

    "How''s the researching?" he asked.

    "Pretty well! The first batch of test mice haven''t died yet so that''s a good sign."

    Confusion flickered across his face. "Do they die often?"

    "Unfortunately. They''re being injected with unfamiliar things; sometimes they don''t react well."

    "That''s¡­kind of terrible."

    The thought of Aaron Hale feeling bad forb mice when he didn''t even care about (what seemed like) all human beings aside from her was hrious. This reminded her oddly of her conversation with Ryan the other day over dinner.

    "Yes but would you rather we kill people? We have to test things somehow."

    "You have a point. Well, I''m d things are working out alright. How much longer do you have to finish your research?"

    "Not sure. All I know is that my dissertation is due about a year from now and I have to have time to finish writing everything once the research is done," Keeley sighed. She didn''t even want to think about how much writing was left to do.

    This time he reached out to pat her head and repeated her words back to her. "Hang in there."

    She gave him a wry smile. "You think you''re real funny, don''t you?"

    "No but I''m working on it."

    "Why?"

    "Because you like tough," he said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

    Her heart ached. He¡­really liked her. This wasn''t fair at all. Why couldn''t this Aaron and her Aaron have been swapped? Then everybody in both timelines would have been happy.

    No, that wasn''t entirely true. There was still Lacy Knighton to contend with. Plus the fact that her inws had hated her and resented her presence from day one.

    She and Aaron weren''t meant to have a happy ending so why did they have to meet again at all? Fate was ying a cruel trick on both of them. Keeley once loved Aaron with all her heart but didn''t anymore and now he had a stupid crush on her. Absolutely ridiculous.

    As much as she wished it weren''t true, she couldn''t deny it anymore. Aaron totally liked her.

    Why else would he calm down just from a few simple words when Aiden (who, admittedly, was a drama queen but still) was in fear for his life?

    She still didn''t understand why. It made no sense that Aaron hadn''t liked her when she was sincere with him but did now that she treated him so poorly most of the time.

    He had shown her more emotion in the past four months of being friendly with him than he showed during thest four years of their miserable marriage. It wasn''t his fault though¡ªhe didn''t know how inconsistent he was being.

    "I need to get back to work. Thanks again for the food. See you tomorrow?" she asked, attempting to ster a smile on her face.

    Aaron nodded. "I''ll be here. Take care, Keeley."

    "Yeah. You too."

    When he was like this, she really thought it was too bad she had no positive emotions left to spare for him. He was actually pretty sweet. Sweet was a word she never would have applied to her husband in a million years.

    She almost wished that the personality of this Aaron could be transnted into a normal person so she could enjoy it more before realizing how stupid that was. Who wouldn''t like being treated like the most important person in the world? But this was nothing but a fleeting moment.

    He might act different but his life hadn''t changed. Even her Aaron wasn''t too bad, even if he wasn''t particrly warm or considerate, before his parents got involved after their marriage. She wouldn''t step foot into that world again for all the sweetness in the universe.

    It sucked that she was even considering the possibility; it meant the niceness was getting to her. How could it not after so many years of being shunned by the one who was supposed to love her?

    They had the same face, voice, and name. All of this started because he took care of her when she was sick. If he hadn''t been nice just that once she would have gone on hating him without any interference.

    Now she wasn''t sure how she felt. The hatred was reserved for the original Aaron. As for the current one¡­she had to admit she didn''t mind him as a person.

    Keeley had gotten used to him. In a way, she even relied on him. He was her friend in the way her husband never had been.

    She didn''t and couldn''t love him but she could appreciate him as a person. That was the problem. It would have been so much easier to continue hating him.

 Chapter 135: Im Happy For You

    <h4>Chapter 135: I''m Happy For You</h4>

    In the weeks leading up to finals, a pattern emerged in Keeley''s life. She woke up, went to ss, did homework, went back to ss, went to theb where Aaron brought her some sort of food around 6 PM, and did more homework before going to sleep.

    When she absolutely couldn''t stand studying for another second, she baked or allowed herself twenty minutes to watch YouTube videos.

    Because she was human and had to take breaks from studying she was only averaging 4-5 hours of sleep a night in order to get everything done. Dark circles took up permanent residence beneath her eyes so she looked like a roon.

    "Are you getting enough sleep?" Aaron asked her a few days before finals as he brought her an extrarge cup of coffee and some doughnuts because she requested lots of sugar and caffeine.

    "Sleep is for the weak."

    "Keeley," he said disapprovingly.

    "I know, I know. But I really don''t have time. I''ll sleep for about three days straight after this is all over."

    "¡­that''s aa."

    "Sounds festive!"

    He shook his head at her with a slightly indulgent look on his face. "Why do you do this to yourself?"

    She shrugged. "Why does anyone go to grad school? We''re all masochists with career goals."

    "Well Miss Masochist, if you truly want a three-daya I can put up some ck out curtains in one of my guest rooms for you. It would be a lot quieter than at your apartment."

    Musical audition season began in February and Jennica had started practicing her show tunes early because she was determined to get at least an ensemble part in something. Keeley and Valentina had taken to studying in the library rather than at home due to the noise.

    She hadined about this to Aaron before, which was probably why he offered. He was awfully amodating these days.

    Keeley smiled. "Tempting! I''ll let you know if my sleep gets too disturbed."

    The thought of staying at his house was less awkward now that she had done it a couple times. He was gone most of the day anyway. She would be able to sleep, watch TV on his superfy couch bed, and have plenty of snacks provided. Not a bad offer.

    Over the past month or so she had be progressively less ufortable around Aaron after interacting with him on a near daily basis. She wouldn''t necessarily say she looked forward to seeing him but she didn''t dread it either.

    "Just be sure to bring me a te of Christmas cookies in exchange," he said casually.

    "I was nning on doing that anyway because you keep bringing me food."

    His pleased smirk crossed his face. "Excellent. Bribery works on you."

    She stuck her tongue out at him like she would any of her other friends. Aaron had lightened up a lot so it felt natural to tease him.

    Speaking of teasing¡­she had an idea for his Christmas present. Knowing him, he would get her one for sure so it would be awkward if she didn''t. Keeley was already nning on buying gifts for her roommates and Ryan; one more friend present wouldn''t affect her budget much.

    Especially since this one would be partially homemade and pretty cheap. She couldn''t find what she was looking for so it needed to be done personally.

    She gulped down her coffee as quickly as possible before stuffing a donut in her mouth. She really only had a few minutes to spare. "Thanks for the fuel. Don''t forget; I won''t be here next week because of finals."

    "When will I see you then?" Aaron asked straightforwardly.

    "I''lle bring you cookies a few days before Christmas. We can exchange presents then too."

    The temperature around him rose drastically though his expression remained neutral, showing how happy he was. What a tsundere!

    "You got me a present?"

    "It''s not much but yeah." She still needed to finish it¡­and the rest of her Christmas shopping if she ever had time.

    He seized her in a hug and rested his chin atop her head. "I''ll be looking forward to finals ending even more then. If you need anything in the meantime, don''t hesitate to ask."

    Keeley had gotten used to his hugs. They weren''t nearly as bad as they used to be; they were actually kind of nice. It was almost like how hugs had been back when she was dating the other Aaron before everything went downhill. Comforting, somehow.

    "I won''t. Thanks Aaron."

    At this point she knew he would drop everything even if it was the middle of the workday to help her out. She wouldn''t do it unless she was desperate but she had a feeling that Aaron secretly wanted her to call on him even if she wasn''t. Poor guy.

    ===

    "What exactly are you doing?" Jennica asked, eying Keeley''s art project weirdly as she bounced through the door after yet another date with her boyfriend.

    "Making a Christmas present."

    "For who, your grandma? Only old people like homemade gifts anymore."

    She rolled her eyes. "It''s an inside joke, Jen. You wouldn''t get it. People like inside joke gifts."

    "Fair enough. I still need to figure out what to get Cam. Do you have a couple hours toe shopping with me or no?"

    "No, sorry. I don''t even really have time to do my own shopping; I''ll probably have to order everything else online. Have you tried Valentina?"

    Jennica pouted. "She''s just as busy as you are. Nobody loves me anymore!"

    "Oh hush," Keeley said,ughing. "You''re the most loved person in this apartment."

    Cameron brought her back no less than five souvenirs from his trip to Singapore and the apartment always had fresh flowers in it. Not to mention they ate together every night and went to a Broadway show once a week. He was a prince among boyfriends; it was no wonder Jennica was head over heels.

    Jennica beamed. "I know. I''m just giving you a hard time. I do miss you guys though; we need to have some girl time soon."

    "Come have Christmas at my ce; I know you can''t afford to fly home right now."

    She blushed. "I would but Cam''s parents want to meet me so I''m going to Phdelphia with him."

    "So soon?!"

    "Both our families think we''ve been dating a lot longer than we have! He''s already met mine; it only makes sense."

    Wow. Cameron certainly didn''t waste time. He must really love Jennica¡ªhe knew what he wanted and he went for it. At this rate, Keeley would be attending two friends'' weddings next year.

    The thought made her a bit sad. Thest wedding she had been to was for the daughter of one of Aaron''s business contacts about three years before she died. Aaron sat next to her but she may as well have been sitting with a stranger. She was only there for show.

    Funny, memories of her past life had been popping up less frequentlytely. Why did this one hit her out of the blue? Spending time with this Aaron had actually been helping her think about the other one less.

    She pasted on a smile for her friend despite her sudden mncholy. "That''s great then. I''m happy for you."

    Jennicaunched into a happy monologue about how wonderful Cameron was and what they did on their date and Keeley had never felt so single. Although¡­even though he was just a friend, Aaron was every bit as doting as Cameron seemed to be. The thought made her feel a bit better.

 Chapter 136: Facebook Friends

    <h4>Chapter 136: Facebook Friends</h4>

    Another boring board meeting hade and gone and the stockholders were slowly filing out of the conference room. The one highlight about this particr meeting was that Aaron''s proposal to expand to Monaco had been approved with a majority vote of 9-2.

    Aaron and his dummy shareholders obviously approved the n but there were only five of them. To his surprise, everyone but his father and Samuel were in favor. It was a profitable n; he was fairly certain Alistair only shot it down to spite him.

    He knew he couldn''t control his son and was bitter about it. Aaron went to events that were dered absolutely vital but other than that, didn''t do a thing his father wanted.

    He bought his own apartment and hired his own staff the moment he graduated from college and made no secret that he was distancing himself from his parents. A controlling man like Alistair Hale wouldn''t be pleased by that.

    The biggest spot of contention between father and son at the moment was the subject of Aaron''s marriage. He had turned down every possible candidate because he was waiting for Keeley to fall back in love with him but his father didn''t know that; he simply thought Aaron was being obstinate.

    "Aaron," Alice called after him as he was exiting the boardroom.

    "Yes?"

    "Good job on your proposal," she said with a wink. She had noticed the cold fury emanating from the CEO when Aaron''s n got approved so wholeheartedly.

    He understood her meaning perfectly but had to make innocent small talk while the other board members were in earshot. "Thanks. Have any nice ns for Christmas?"

    "The Kellys are all going skiing in an exclusive lodge in Vail for the holidays. What about you?"

    "I''m attending the von Dynes party on Christmas Day."

    If he was really lucky, he would be able to spend Christmas Eve with Keeley. His parents weren''t requiring anything of him that day and he knew she had allowed friends to spend holidays with her before. Robert liking him might work in his favor here.

    "Oh yes, I''ve been to one of their parties before. Should be quite entertaining." He couldn''t tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

    Alice was a strange one; she knew what was expected of her and performed to a T but he could never tell how she really felt about anything. She always had a professional hostess smile on her face but he was fairly certain she wasn''t happy in her marriage.

    Just like Keeley hadn''t been.

    The simrities pained him but there was nothing he could do for his colleague. Brock Kelly actually was a phndering scumbag who didn''t care about his wife; Aaron had only pretended to keep Keeley safe.

    If she ever decided she''d had enough and divorced him, Aaron would help her find a goodwyer that wasn''t affiliated with the Kellys'' empire in the legal world. It was the least he could do for all the help she had given him as a member of the board.

    She walked away and he subtly nodded at Cameron so he would go to his office instead of back to the analyst department once everyone else left.

    Roger and Kyle went back to their desks like nothing had happened; their roles weren''t asplex as Cameron''s or Aiden''s. Of all his tools in thepany they did the least. All they had to do was hold onto his shares and vote with him at board meetings. Other than that, they acted as regr employees of Hale Investments.

    Fifteen minutes after the meeting, Aaron was looking through reports when Cameron walked in.

    "What''s up?"

    "What did you get Jennica for Christmas?"

    His brow furrowed in confusion. "You called me all the way here for that?"

    "Answer the question, Cameron."

    "Alright, alright. I got her some original cast musical soundtracks she didn''t already have and a charm bracelet."

    Aaron drummed his fingers on the desk. Keeley wouldn''t like those things. He shouldn''t have put off shopping this long. She liked things that were meaningful but he couldn''t think of anything that fit that description.

    Cameron caught onto his boss'' meaning. They hadn''t been working together this long for nothing. "Find something that caters to her interests; it doesn''t have to be big. I''ll check what she''s been likingtely on Facebook."

    His fingers froze mid-tap. "You''re friends with her on there?"

    "Yeah, she added me a while back. Pretty sure she just wanted to make sure my profile was clean for Jennica''s sake; my sister does the same thing with all the people we''ve dated."

    He didn''t care what the reason was. Why was Keeley friends with Cameron, who she hardly interacted with, but not him? Uneptable.

    Thest time he tried adding her was when she was still hostile to him. There shouldn''t be a problem this time. He sent the request with a certain degree of confidence. It was epted almost instantly; she must have been online.

    Aaron felt undeniably smug. Take that, Cameron! He was friends with her now too.

    "Is there anything else you need me for or can I get back to work?"

    "You can go."

    He scrolled through her posts and noticed something potentially helpful. Sheined about how she dropped her phone and the screen cracked so badly she could hardly see a thing that was being disyed but couldn''t afford to have it fixed. The post was dated three days ago.

    If he remembered correctly, she had one of the oldest iPhones on the market that had been a free upgrade from the dinky little slide phone she had before. That model had hardly any storage space.

    Why not just get her the newest one with a fun phone case? Her current case was of R2D2 from Star Wars. He could find another Star Wars case easily enough.

    Perfect. Useful but with an element of fun.

    Aaron spent nearly thirty minutes debating which one to get¡ªthe words ''Star Wars iPhone case'' yielded an insane amount of results¡ªbefore settling on the one he thought she might like most. It was whimsical, consisting of a ck floral background and elements from the movies such as lightsabers, the Millenium Falcon, and a Stormtrooper helmet mixed in.

    He couldn''t wait to see her reaction.

 Chapter 137: I Call It Like I See It

    <h4>Chapter 137: I Call It Like I See It</h4>

    Keeley was studying in the library two hours before herst test, which was unfortunately scheduled for 8 PM, when she sent out a group message on her annoyingly-shattered-but-still-technically-working phone.

    ''To celebrate my freedom I am going to make sugar cookies tomorrow. Who wants to help me decorate them?''

    ''My flight leaves at 7 AM tomorrow, sorry!''

    ''Can I bring Cam?''

    ''I''m in as long as I get to take some home. Your cookies are amazing''

    Not bad. Everyone but Valentina, who she had forgotten was leaving super early to go back to Peru for two weeks, coulde.

    ''The more the merrier! You guys free at 3?''

    Jennica and Ryan both replied yes. Perfect. She still needed to make sugar cookies, the pretzels, and the snickersnaps. Everything else was done but she only had four days til Christmas and was running behind.

    A tiny bit of guilt crept into her consciousness. Aaron was the only person she saw regrly that she hadn''t invited.

    But how could she? Jennica would know immediately that he was the ex she mentioned before. He was so excited about the cookies too; he would probably enjoy being a part of the process.

    Keeley would find a way to make it up to him somehow. She sent him a text too. ''Hey, when do you want your cookies? They probably won''t be done until the 23rd''

    He answered her question with a question. ''What are you doing Christmas Eve?''

    ''I can''t bring them then, I''m hanging out with my dad''

    Every time she went to Aaron''s house she ended up staying way longer than she intended. She couldn''t leave her dad alone.

    ''Can I join you? I don''t have ns until Christmas Day and I''ve been meaning to visit your dad anyway''

    He was going to be alone¡­she forgot that in 2012 the Hales only had to attend a party on Christmas Day. Keeley was too depressed to celebrate and stayed in bed on Christmas Eve. She didn''t even think about what Aaron would have been doing at that time because she was lost in a world of grief.

    She hesitated. On Thanksgiving there were a bunch of different people visiting so it was different. This would be almost like bringing a boyfriend home for the holidays. Aaron was not and never would be her boyfriend ever again.

    But as his friend she felt like she couldn''t turn him down and make him spend a holiday alone in his gigantic, empty apartment. She was probably going to regret this but¡­

    ''My dad and I do things pretty low-key. We drink eggnog, sing carols, watch Christmas movies, and wear embarrassing matching pajamas. If that sounds okay to you, you''re wee toe''

    His response was surprisingly enthusiastic. ''It sounds great. Where can I get some of these pajamas?''

    The thought of Aaron wearing a red onesie covered in cartoon reindeer that had a reindeer head and antlers on the hood was too much. She cackled right there in the middle of the library, causing several people to shush her angrily.

    Keeley would pay to see that so she sent him the link. They used to have snowman onesies but her dad''s got ripped so they reced them only a year ago. The online store still sold the reindeer ones so Aaron actually would be able to match if he wasn''t bluffing.

    She was pretty sure he was just teasing her; there was no way a dignified person like him would do something so silly. He may be less stiff than she remembered but he still had a reputation to uphold.

    ''What time do you want me toe over on Monday?''

    ''Come over around 4. We''re having an early dinner''

    ''Great! See you then. Good luck on yourst test''

    She smiled at the fact that he remembered herst test was in a couple hours and stretched before hitting the books again.

    ===

    Keeley took her sugar cookie baking very seriously and directed her friends like a general directs troops in battle. "Ryan, we need more flour! Jennica, help me roll these out! Cameron, start finding the Christmas cookie cutters!"

    "Why do you have so many?" Cameron asked in wonder as he dug around the giant stic tub full of 101 cookie cutters of all shapes and sizes.

    "I won it in a raffle."

    Ryan handed off the flour to Jennica so she could dust the rolling pin and she finished rolling out the dough long before her boyfriend had finished excavating the tub.

    "Cam, babe, you''re going too slow," she said sweetly before taking the bin away from him and finding the rest of the Christmas ones in two seconds t.

    He shook his head at her in admiration. "You''re good at everything. How is it that you''re good at everything?!"

    She beamed before leaning over to give him a quick kiss. "tterer."

    "It''s not ttery if it''s true."

    Ryan and Keeley could practically see the pink anime hearts background going on behind them. Cameron was a nice guy but every time he came over it was like this so they usually went to his ce to be off in their own little love bubble.

    "Are they always like this?" he whispered into Keeley''s ear.

    "Yep. I''m still trying to get used to it."

    "You poor thing."

    It wasn''t so bad. Valentina, as the only one in the apartment not getting any male attention, was much worse off. She went back and forth between being dejected and squealing about how cute it was.

    Time to change the subject. "Okay guys, everybody take a cookie cutter and start cutting things out. I want to have a rtively even number of each."

    The next half an hour was spentughing, talking, rolling, cutting, and witnessing Jennica and Cameron''s love fest. They really needed to just get married already.

    The stacks of cookies on the cooling rack grew higher and higher. Eventually enough of them were cool that Keeley made the frosting. She divided up portions into different bowls and added food coloring so there would be a nice variety.

    "That looks like an alien," Jennica pointed out.

    "It''s a snowman!"

    "An alien snowman." She reached out and patted her boyfriend''s arm. "We clearly need to practice frosting cookies more."

    "I''ve done it before¡­it''s just been a really long time. My sisters like doing it more than I do so I always helped my mom with one or two and then ate them right after," Cameron confessed.

    Keeley scrutinized his cookie. It did look like an alien. He meant to add eyes and a mouth but it looked more like three eyes.

    "Maybe next time don''t use chocte chips for the mouth too," she advised. "Use a little frosting bag to pipe it."

    "That¡­would look a lot better."

    "We can''t all be artists," Ryan said with a shrug as he dipped his knife in the green frosting.

    Cameron wasn''tforted. "Yours look fine, what are you talking about."

    "That''s because he''s only been doing Christmas trees and those are almost impossible to mess up," Jennica said shrewdly.

    "Wow, thanks."

    "I call it like I see it."

    Keeleyughed at her friends'' antics. This was exactly the sort of rejuvenation she needed after a long and stressful semester.

 Chapter 138: I Think He Likes Her

    <h4>Chapter 138: I Think He Likes Her</h4>

    Cameron wasn''t surprised when Jennica told him Ryan would be at Keeley''s informal cookie decorating party; they were pretty good friends after all. The biggest problem was that it seemed almost like a double date with just the four of them. If Aaron knew about this, he would blow a gasket.

    They had been enjoying a peaceful chat on his couch where his girlfriend was lying down with her head in hisp as he fiddled with her hair when she got the invitation.

    He would have gone anyway to spend more time with Jennica but finding out Ryan would be there didn''t hurt. Maybe he would be able to get information about him out of her like he had been ordered to without arousing suspicion.

    Cameron was in luck; she had spent the night at his ce and on the way back to her apartment she gossiped about Ryan without even needing prompting.

    "He''s been friends with Keeley about as long as Valentina has so for a while I felt like the odd one out in their little group. He works at this medicinalb called PharmaGen¡ªhe and Keeley are both hardcore science nerds. Apparently they became friends by studying together because they had a lot of the same sses during their undergrads."

    Jennica''s smile grew conspiratorial.

    "I think he likes her. I''ve never heard him talk about another girl and he ims he''s always free when she asks to hang out because he has no social life but I''ve got his number. He gets tagged in Instagram photos all the time; he has apletely separate friend group he hangs out with most of the time but drops everything when Keeley invites him!"

    This was bad news for Aaron and by default, Cameron and Aiden, who would have to deal with his wrath. He had to tell Aiden about thistest development as soon as he got home.

    He kept a close eye on their interactions as everyone decorated cookies but he couldn''t see anything out of the ordinary. Was Jennica wrong? She was normally skilled at picking up those sorts of things.

    Ryan and Keeley teased each other like any pair of normal friends would. At the very least it was a relief that he didn''t see any infatuation from Keeley''s side¡ªthat would spell disaster for all of Aaron''s employees.

    "Your Santa us cookie isn''t half bad," she praised. "I might actually be able to give that one away in a cookie te."

    "Such high praise," he replied dryly. "How many people are you giving cookies to anyway?"

    "Not many. You, a couple of my neighbors, my faculty mentor, a coworker at theb. The rest are for my family. Unless you want a te, Cameron?"

    Surprised at being addressed when he was spying on them, he recovered quickly and shook his head with a smile. "Nah, we''re heading down to my mom''s tomorrow and she''s going to stuff us with too many sweets as is. Thanks though."

    Ryan raised an eyebrow. "We?"

    "My mom wanted to meet Jennica since I talk about her all the time."

    "That''ll be fun. You guys driving or flying?"

    "Driving. It''s really not that far," Cameron exined. He had made the two hour drive countless times since moving to New York.

    Jennica grinned as she frosted a star-shaped cookie. "It''s the perfect amount of time to listen to a whole musical and practice all the songs."

    She always sang along to the radio when they were in the car and she had the voice of an angel. Cameron wouldn''t mind listening to two hours of his girlfriend singing one bit. It would make being in the car much more enjoyable.

    "Hey, isn''t that movie you were an extra ining out on Christmas Day?" Keeley asked curiously.

    "Yeah, it is! I''m not sure if you''ll even be able to see me at all though; I was part of a lot of big crowds and wearing a lot of stage makeup."

    "I''ll be able to find you," Cameron said confidently. He knew every inch of her; he could recognize her anywhere.

    She smirked at him. "Ten bucks says you can''t."

    "You don''t have ten bucks to spare."

    She mock punched him on the shoulder. "Rude!"

    "Hey, it''s the truth. What if I give you ten bucks if I can''t find you but if I can, you have to¡­" he whispered thest part into her ear because other people were present.

    Jennica turned red but challenge glinted in her eyes. "You''re on! We''re officially going to see it the day after Christmas."

    "We''re such third wheels right now," Keeley said under her breath, elbowing Ryan in the side.

    "But there are two of us so we can''t be third wheels¡­we''re more like unnecessary training wheels on a motorcycle," he whispered back.

    "Definitely a better metaphor!"

    Cameron and his girlfriend exchanged a nce. "You realize we can hear you."

    "And we could hear you earlier so I think that makes us even," Keeley said smugly, waving her frosting covered butter knife in the air.

    The back and forth banter between the group continued in a simr vein until all the cookies were frosted. Keeley thanked everyone for helping before shooing the men out of the house with the excuse that Jennica needed to pack and Cameron would be with her 24/7 for the next few days so there was no need for him to stay.

    She rolled her eyes at her roommate''s behavior, apologized, and gave him a big kiss on his way out the door. Even after so many times doing it his heart still raced uncontrobly. Jennica was that good of a kisser.

    While he was still here, he decided to pay his old pal a visit and update him. He knocked on the door and Aiden answered it still wearing his gaming headset.

    "Cam! What are you doing here?"

    "I was across the hall at Keeley''s cookie decorating party and have some interesting news. Are you busy?"

    "Give me five minutes to finish my round and then we''ll talk. Come on in and sit down."

 Chapter 139: Shes A Witch

    <h4>Chapter 139: She''s A Witch</h4>

    Cameron stepped across the threshold and looked around. This apartment clearly belonged to a hardcore gamer. The furniture in the living room consisted of simple pieces that were almost all ck but there were framed posters everywhere.

    Vintage ones depicting games from the 80s and abstract art of famous video game characters were equally spaced on the walls. In the corner of the living room about a foot away from the entertainment center was an actual arcade machine that featured both Ms. Pacman and Gga.

    He wandered over to check it out and saw that it didn''t require quarters so he decided to y until Aiden was done. He forgot how hard this game was; he died without evenpleting the first level. Stupid Blinky!

    When he did, the high scores shed across the screen. All belonged to NMLE, a shortened version of Aiden''s hacker handle, and the lowest one was 134,450. He couldn''t even imagine how many hours this high score list had taken to aplish.

    The video game addict in question exited hisir then and flopped onto the couch. "What''s the news?"

    "Jennica thinks Ryan likes Keeley."

    "Do you think she''s right?" Aiden asked worriedly.

    "I''m not sure¡­they looked like just friends to me while I was over there but they do seem awfully close. She was teasing him by elbowing him in the ribs and stuff like that."

    "That''s just how Keeley is. But she wouldn''t do that if she wasn''tfortable with him. I''m not worried that she''ll reciprocate if he does like her, I''m worried that¡ª"

    "Aaron will go on a rampage and every person in Hale Investments'' main branch will freeze to death? Me too," Cameron said with a sigh.

    But what could they do? They couldn''t stop Ryan from seeing Keeley; they had been friends for a long time. His ce in her life was probably more solid than Aaron''s at this point.

    "The only thing Aaron really can do is try to be more important to her first but I don''t know how much luck he''ll have; she''s so guarded," Aiden mused. "They do seem to have made some progress though. Haven''t you noticed he''s been a lot happiertely?"

    "His version of happy you mean? Where he seems more like a real person than an ice demon?"

    "Yeah that. I think she''s warmed up to him a lot."

    Even if that were true, Keeley didn''t like Aaron enough to invite him over to make cookies. That was reserved for her closest friends. He still had a long way to go.

    "She has but is it enough? He won''t be satisfied being just friends forever."

    Aiden smiled wryly. "No, but he''s patient. You think he''s obsessive now? He went five and a half years without speaking to her because he wanted to protect her while he consolidated his power. He knew exactly when to make his move."

    Cameron couldn''t imagine waiting that long for a girl. He saw Jennica, liked her, and asked her out. Simple as that. Life was too short to wait and waste chances.

    Aaron didn''t have that mindset though¡ªhe seemed to operate on a different ne of existence than everyone else. It was almost as if time was meaningless to him. He believed in long-term ns and he hadn''t failed at one yet.

    Sometimes he wondered if the man was omniscient. He always seemed to know exactly when and how things were going to happen and was one step ahead of the curve. Everything about him was strategic, even the way he pursued love.

    Love wasn''t supposed to be strategic; it was supposed to be spontaneous and unpredictable. Cameron certainly hadn''t predicted that he would feel close enough to a woman to want to spend the rest of his life with her after less than two months but here he was.

    "What exactly do you think goes on in Aaron''s head?"

    "No idea but I bet it''s terrifying," Aiden predicted. "He''s cold, cruel, and rational when ites to anything but Keeley. I wonder if he like, flips a switch or something inside his brain going from Regr Aaron to Lovesick Aaron. Because they''re practically different people."

    Different people¡­that was a good way of putting it. Around Keeley, all of his hard edges seemed to be sanded away into something smooth and approachable.

    Love could do that to a person. Cameron believed people could change for the ones they loved¡ªhe hadn''t been a fan of show tunes before Jennica came along but now he had sat through a dozen Broadway musicals because he liked seeing the way she lit up during them. He was officially whipped, just like Aaron.

    "Do you think Keeley knows she has him wrapped around her little finger?"

    "Trying to figure out what''s going on in that girl''s head is even harder than figuring out what''s going on in Aaron''s," Aiden said tly. "I haven''t got a clue."

    "She has to know at this point, I mean, he''s practically at her beck and call. You don''t think she''s taking advantage of him, do you?" Cameron asked, feeling sorry for his boss if that were the case.

    "Nah, she''s not the type. Remember, just a few months ago she wasn''t at all shy about telling him to get lost. If she doesn''t like someone, she wants nothing to do with them. He''s probably worn her down and manipted her into friendship by now."

    He thought it over. Aaron wasn''t stupid, even if he wasn''t the most emotionally astute person around. He had dealt with schmoozers all his life; he would know if he was being tricked.

    "Maniptive describes him to a T so you''re probably right. Have you ever seen those two interact though? I haven''t and I''m dying to know what he''s like in front of her; we only see him afterwards."

    Aiden''s expression grew mischievous. "Would you like to find out?"

    Cameron grinned. "No way. You have security footage?"

    He nodded wickedly. "Yep. Almost every day for the past month Aaron has brought Keeley dinner right outside of herb at NYU''s medical school. They happen to have a security camera at the end of the hall. The audio might not be so great but the video quality is alright."

    "You''ve watched them before?!"

    "Remember the other day when Aaron almost murdered us for not telling him about Ryan? I sent her a text giving her a heads up he was in a bad mood and was curious how she would handle it. Let me tell you; it was beautiful. She had him eating out of the palm of her hand."

    This he had to see. "Show me."

    Cameron peered over Aiden''s shoulder inside hisir, which was covered in more video game posters. Little character figurines littered his desk and the tops of his other pieces of equipment. An enormously borate hamster cage sat in the far corner.

    Aiden worked his magic, typing away furiously until a window ying a video popped up.

    Aaron walked up to the door, looking seriously pissed off and holding a bag of takeout. Keeley greeted him with a bright smile and hugged him, instantly thawing some of the ice. Then she actually patted his head! Aaron Hale''s head!

    He melted like a cube of butter in a microwave and was soft and pleasant the rest of the conversation, patting her head backter on in the video. It looked like a chat between twopletely normal people once she calmed him down.

    "Unbelievable," Cameron whispered. "She''s a witch."

    "I know! Can you believe how different he is with her?"

    That was astounding but what struck him most was that Keeley seemedfortable enough to teasingly touch him, just like Ryan. Maybe Aaron had a chance with the woman he loved after all.

 Chapter 140: So Awkward

    <h4>Chapter 140: So Awkward</h4>

    The morning of Christmas Eve Keeley rocked out to Christmas carols as she finished up thest of her baking and wrapped her presents for Aaron and her dad. Everybody else had been given their gifts before they left.

    She realized that she had put things off too long and the subways would be nuts today; delivering things would be almost impossible to everyone but her neighbors. Ryan and her colleagues lived in different parts of town. It would be pretty dumb if she gave Christmas cookies to people after Christmas.

    There was one person she knew with a car who might be willing to help her out.

    ''Are you busy right now?''

    As expected, Aaron responded right away. ''I''m at work; the office is open until 2 PM today because of the holiday. What''s up?''

    ''I need to deliver some cookie tes but it''ll take all day if I take the subway. It''s cool if you''re not free. I''ll figure something out''

    ''No need for that. Can you wait until 2:30? I can help you then''

    Waiting wouldn''t be a problem but suddenly she felt bad for bothering him while he was busy. ''Are you sure?''

    ''Of course. I''d be happy to be your delivery boy''

    Keeley snickered. This basically proved she would like her gift but she would find outter today. ''Alright, see you at 2:30''

    It was only noon; she had time to kill. She put on a cheesy Christmas ssic and curled up on the couch with Molly, enjoying the sweet silence of her unusually empty apartment until Aaron sent her a text to let her know he had arrived.

    She changed into her designated Christmas Eve outfit before grabbing everything she needed and locking the door behind her. He was waiting out front and she loaded everything into the backseat before climbing in.

    His jaw actually dropped when he saw her. She had never gotten such a reaction out of him in either of her lives!

    "What on earth are you wearing?"

    She looked down at her ugly Christmas sweater. It was green with snowkes embroidered on it and was strategically wrapped in tinsel that had miniature bulbs on it so she had the appearance of a human Christmas tree.

    "I''m a Christmas tree."

    "I can see that. But¡­isn''t it ufortable?"

    She could tell he was absolutely baffled and it made her want tough. "A little but I''m not wearing it all day. Once I take a couple pictures I''ll be done."

    "Why would you wear it in the first ce?"

    "You''ve never heard of the concept of ugly Christmas sweaters? Never mind, of course you haven''t. I made this as part of a contest my department at school was havingst year. This is only my second time wearing it because it can''t really be washed."

    Aaron blinked multiple times in disbelief before going quiet and she tried really hard to hold herughter in. He let the matter drop and asked where the nearest address was. Ryan''s was closest.

    There was no way she ever wanted those two to meet each other so she said she would be quick and told him to wait in the car. Normally she would have stopped to chat but she left the cookie te on his wee mat and did a doorbell ditch so Aaron wouldn''t get bored ande looking for her.

    The same thing happened at Dr. Kim''s and Erica''s apartments. Quick and easy. They would make it to Brooklyn a little before 4 PM but she was sure her father wouldn''t mind.

    "Thanks for helping me out; you''re a lifesaver."

    "Any time. I still get cookies though, right?"

    She chuckled. "Most of the cookies are for us. Anything that doesn''t get eaten today or tomorrow will stay with my dad."

    "Are you spending the night at his ce?"

    "Yeah, I left extra food out for Molly that willst her until tomorrow night."

    He nodded and continued driving in silence after that. What exactly was going through his head? Was he still judging her about the dumb sweater?

    When they arrived Keeley nearly had a heart attack realized that she hadn''t warned her dad Aaron wasing. How stupid was she?! Her brain was mush after finals and shepletely forgot.

    "What is it?" he asked with a frown, noticing her reaction.

    "¡­my dad might be a bit surprised to see you."

    "You didn''t tell him?"

    "I forgot! I was tired and my brain was full of random gics facts so I forgot," she saidmely.

    "Well, this should be interesting," he replied in an unfathomable tone.

    He helped her carry things up from the parking lot and she unlocked the front door, announcing her presence. "Dad, I''m home! And I brought a friend who has no ns today to join the festivities."

    "You know what I always say; the more the merrier." Robert stopped dead in his tracks in utter disbelief when he saw who it was. "Aaron?"

    "Hello, sir," he said respectfully. "It''s been a while."

    This was so awkward. Keeley could have kicked herself for forgetting to say anything beforehand. Her dad liked Aaron so he probably didn''t mind but being thrown off guard like that¡­she was in for a lot of questionster.

    "It certainly has. d to have you!"

    She set the containers of cookies and the presents down on top of the table for now and indicated that Aaron should do the same. The awkwardness intensified. It was weird having Aaron in her family home as an adult.

    In her first life, he spent a little time there in high school but almost never came to visit her father with her after they got married. It seemed wrong that he was standing here now amidst all the average bric-a-brac.

 Chapter 141: A Toast

    <h4>Chapter 141: A Toast</h4>

    To break the tension she felt permeating the room, Keeley turned to her dad. "Can you take a picture of me next to the tree?"

    "Sure. Do you want to break out the spare tree topper and wear it as a hat?"

    "Ooh, that would be great! Be right back!" Keeley zipped off to find it and fled the room. It was in a box with extra Christmas stuff in Kaleb''s old room and wasn''t terribly hard to find.

    Standing next to the tree, she posed before cing it on her head and standing very still so it wouldn''t fall off. Her dad snapped the picture and proimed that she made a fine Christmas tree before handing her phone back to her.

    She took the star off her head. "We should probably get changed into our pajamas now. Aaron, you can just wait out here."

    Keeley headed to her room and pulled on the reindeer onesie. When she came out, her dad was wearing his but Aaron was nowhere to be seen. Was he in the bathroom?

    A minuteter, the bathroom door opened and he emerged wearing an identical reindeer onesie. She couldn''t help it; she startedughing so hard she actually fell onto the floor and started rolling around. Oh, she couldn''t breathe!

    Every time she tried to speak she would dissolve into another helpless fit ofughter. She couldn''t get a grip no matter how hard she tried.

    Robert was bewildered. "What exactly is so funny?"

    "Me, I think," Aaron said grimly.

    Keeley was finally able to sit up and wheeze out a couple sentences. "I''m sorry! It''s just¡ªI thought you were kidding when you wanted to know where to get the pajamas! You¡ª"

    He stood there with an emotionless expression in a reindeer onesie with the hood up and she burst outughing all over again. No one would ever believe her if she told them the great Aaron Hale wore something so frivolous that made him look like a giant petnt five-year-old.

    Eventually she regained control. "I''m sorry. I was amazed and lost control for a moment. You look great; you really pull it off."

    "Really?" he asked doubtfully.

    "Totally! Super cute."

    "I agree," her father pitched in helpfully. "Come on; let me get a picture of you two together!"

    "I promise I won''t ckmail you," Keeley teased.

    He sighed. "You''re going to hold this over my head forever, aren''t you."

    "No I''m not! Okay maybe a little." She grabbed his arm and pulled him closer for the picture. "I promise I won''t tell anybody else about it though."

    "Fair enough."

    She linked her arm through his and told him to smile as they looked towards Robert''s camera. To her surprise, he actually did. Well sort of. It was his little amused smirk but it was more than he usually did in pictures.

    Aaron held out his phone. "I want one too."

    He stood behind Keeley and rested his chin on top of her head with his arms around her for this one. She allowed it because he was being a good sport about the fact that she nearly diedughing at how he looked.

    "I''ll order the takeout; you break out the eggnog and the nice sses," Robert instructed and she responded by saluting dramatically.

    "Takeout?" Aaron asked.

    "Yeah, we always get Chinese takeout from this specific restaurant on Christmas Eve. It''s been a tradition for longer than I can remember. We have the real fancy dinner on Christmas Day."

    She looked at him seriously, gauging whether or not she offended him earlier. "I really am sorry forughing. I was just caught off guard because it didn''t seem like something you would do. Honestly, it was kind of awesome."

    The hint of a smile yed around his lips. "Awesome, huh?"

    "Totally awesome! You surprise me sometimes¡ªthere''s never a dull moment with you."

    He tilted his head at her. "Interesting. I could say the same about you."

    Well, she had worn a sweater that made her look like a Christmas tree today. That was a fair statement.

    Keeley pulled out her mom''s goblets that were saved for special asions and opened the fridge to retrieve the eggnog and begin pouring out three portions. "Have you ever had eggnog before?"

    "No."

    She handed him a ss and lifted her own. "Since it''s your first time let''s have a toast. What should we toast to?"

    Aaron''s eyes bored into hers and there was a certain softness to his gaze. "To your future."

    That was an odd thing to toast to. "Why that?"

    "I''m d you''re here, that''s all."

    She shrugged. He didn''t make sense a lot of the time but she could let it slide. "Alright then. To my future. We should toast to yours as well to be fair."

    He held up his ss. "To our future."

    Shouldn''t that be plural? Futures, because they were two separate things? Oh, whatever. She gently clinked her goblet against his and took a big gulp. Eggnog hits you just right sometimes.

    "What did I miss?" Robert asked as he returned from ordering the food over the phone.

    "Eggnog," she said simply as she handed him his ss.

    They sat around the table drinking eggnog as they talked. Her father was very curious what Aaron had been up to since graduation. He exined that he went to Harvard and became the vice president of Hale Investments upon graduation, including a few recent projects he had been working on.

    "Oh, so your proposal went well then?" Keeley asked as she swirled her eggnog around.

    "Yes, I got the majority vote 9-2."

    "Nice!"

    This sort of small talk went on until the food arrived and the Halls dug in with gusto. Aaron was a bit more cautious since he was unfamiliar with this restaurant but eventually he ate a decent amount. Keeley noticed he was getting more used to moner food.''

    She felt oddly proud of him but wasn''t sure why, since it was a really dumb thing to be proud of. Was it just because he was acting like a normal human being along with her instead of the snob she used to know?

    Watching him interact so naturally with her dad wearing those ridiculous matching pajamas, she could almost believe he was an average, every day kind of guy. It made her feel a bit wistful. If Aaron hadn''t been Aaron, this would bepletely normal.

 Chapter 142: Under the Mistletoe

    <h4>Chapter 142: Under the Mistletoe</h4>

    The Halls and their guest spent about an hour singing carols between downing sses of eggnog and eating the treats Keeley had baked. Aaron didn''t know most of the words so he had to look them up on his phone, which was both funny and sad.

    She hadn''t realized how terrible holidays must have been for him as a little kid that he didn''t even know the words to popr Christmas songs. No wonder he was indifferent to her desire to be festive for most of their rtionship¡ªhe had never been exposed to the fun things about Christmastime enough to care. It was just another day to him.

    He may have all the money in the world but his life kind of sucked. Aaron wasn''t able to follow his dreams¡ªdid he even have any?¡ªor do fun things.

    His parents dictated everything for him. The one time she ever witnessed him defy them was when he married her. Both of them regretted that decision fairly quickly.

    In her past life, she and Aaron got married two years ago. Why hadn''t he caved to his parents'' pressure and gotten engaged to a socialite yet? Unless¡­he already had.

    As far as Keeley knew, he spent all his time not working either with her or texting her. He didn''t have time to have a real girlfriend but that didn''t necessarily mean he wasn''t formally engaged to someone he didn''t care about.

    She frowned, her attention on the movie ying in front of her long gone. A quick nce at Aaron next to her on the couch showed him appearing happy and rxed though his expression was still neutral as ever. She could just tell; his aura was different.

    Was he engaged to someone else? If he was¡­why hadn''t he told her? Because he liked her and wanted their association to continue?

    All along Keeley knew this friendship they had reached was temporary. Once he married his socialite wife she would go back to her world as if nothing had changed. She had been banking on it. So why did she suddenly feel a bit regretful?

    She would miss him. She hadn''t anticipated that. After he left her life, she would miss Aaron Hale. When had that happened?

    He had wormed his way back into her life but she hadn''t expected him to make it as far as her heart. Keeley didn''t like him¡ªshe wasn''t that stupid¡ªbut she would definitely notice his absence. How strange.

    For the second time that night Keeley found herself wishing he was a normal guy. When he inevitably left¡­would she ever find someone who was so nice to her again?

    Feeling oddly bereft about something that hadn''t even happened yet, she scooted closer to him so their thighs and shoulders were touching. She had to enjoy this while she could.

    Aaron stiffened at the contact before hesitantly moving the arm she had pinned to his side to rest it on top of the back of the couch. Over the next couple minutes it inched closer and closer until it was around her shoulder.

    She shot him a questioning look, which he ignored. She would have asked what he was doing if her dad wasn''t there. Thankfully he was too engrossed by the movie to notice what was happening right next to him.

    Keeley adjusted herself to fit morefortably in his embrace. She had officially lost her mind! Why was she allowing this? It was only encouraging something that would never happen.

    Robert fell asleep before he noticed his daughter''s predicament. She remained with Aaron''s arm around her until the movie ended. They may as well exchange gifts now while he dad wasn''t watching.

    "Hey, I want to give you your present now."

    "Later; I''mfortable right here."

    She sighed. Of course he would make things difficult. "Aaron, I promise we''lle right back and watch another movie. It''ll only take a couple of minutes."

    "Alright. But I get to open yours first."

    She hopped up freeing herself from his arm and fetched the present she had left on the table. "Okay, so this is kind of dumb but¡­"

    "I''m sure it''s less dumb than you think," he said as he tore open the wrapping paper.

    He pulled out the gift, a white mug Keeley had written ''#1 Errand Boy'' on in Sharpie with doodles of purple and yellow stars surrounding the words. To get the Sharpie to stay on without washing off, she had followed a tutorial she found online and baked the mug in the oven after writing on it.

    Aaron didn''t speak, simply stared at the mug. She felt a bit self-conscious. Maybe an inside joke gift wasn''t the best idea for a man like him.

    "I told you it was dumb. I''m sor¡ª"

    He cut her off by pulling her into his arms and burying his face in the top of her hood. "Don''t apologize. I love it."

    "Really?" she asked doubtfully, daring to peek up at his face.

    His expression was soft and his dark blue eyes were abnormally warm. He meant it; he wasn''t just saying it to make her feel better. She suddenly felt a bit shy and looked away.

    He pulled back reluctantly and handed her the gift he prepared. "Here."

    She lifted the lid off the box and gasped. Not only was the newest iPhone inside, but it already had a case on it. A fun one. This was something she would have picked herself if she could afford it.

    "How did you¡ª"

    "I saw your post about your broken phone. It only cost a few hundred dors; all you have to do is switch out your SIM card."

    Keeley was tempted to scoff at the word ''only'' referring to a few hundred dors but had to admit that this was nowhere near the most expensive thing he had bought her. And she really did need a new phone. His timing was perfect.

    "Thank you! This will really help me out! The case is awesome too, where did you get it?"

    "Online."

    "It''s exactly the sort of thing I would have gotten for myself," she admitted. It was strange to think how well this Aaron knew her when her Aaron had never paid attention to the things she liked.

    Suddenly, Robert made a reappearance behind them, holding a sprig of mistletoe over their heads. Keeley hadn''t even realized he was awake. How long had he been listening in?

    "Look what I found," he said innocently. "You know what they say about two people being together under the mistletoe."

    "Dad! Where did you even get that?!"

    "It fell off Mrs. Orne''s homemade wreath next door. Go on then, just a quick kiss on the cheek. It''s bad luck if you don''t."

    Oh, she was going to get him for thister! Face ming, she nced up at Aaron, who was as nonchnt as ever. He raised his eyebrows at her as if daring her to bring them both bad luck.

    Keeley stood on tiptoe and nted a kiss on Aaron''s waiting cheek as fast as lightning. "There!" she said, still red as a tomato. "Can we get back to watching movies now?"

    Aaron and Robert exchanged a nce before simultaneously saying "sure."

 Chapter 143: Youre Going To Break His Heart

    <h4>Chapter 143: You''re Going To Break His Heart</h4>

    "Want to exin what you did back there?" Keeley asked her father crossly after Aaron left a few hourster.

    Robert wasn''t even remotely abashed. "Just helping move things along."

    "Move what along? Aaron''s just a friend!"

    His face said that he didn''t buy it. He sighed and leaned back on the couch.

    "Keeley, that boy had the biggest crush on you in high school. I was a bit surprised when I found out you were texting him but everything became obvious once you brought him here."

    "We''re not like that," she insisted. "We only got back into contact over the summer because I ran into him at a coffee shop. Before that, I hadn''t seen him in years."

    Robert raised an eyebrow. "What about since then? You two looked awfully cozy while watching the movie and you made him a Christmas present by hand even though you''ve been too busy to sleeptely."

    It did look bad when he put it that way. Things weren''t like that though!

    "He''s really nice¡­and I know he likes me for some reason¡­but I can''t ever be with him, Dad. We can only be friends for a little while longer."

    "Why not? He likes you, you like him."

    She jumped up indignantly. "I do not!"

    There was no way she could ever like her ex-husband''s doppelganger. She had escaped that life¡ªwhy would she go back?

    "Honeybun, I''ve never seen you like this with any of your other guy friends. You treat Aaron differently."

    Did she? She didn''t think so. She treated all of them equally. Aaron was kind of like Ryan to her. No, that wasn''t right¡­Ryan only teased her; he would never dote on her the way Aaron did.

    "How so?" she asked suspiciously.

    "It''s hard to exin. But the vibe between the two of you is different than say, between your old pal Jeffrey or that guy who was here for Thanksgiving."

    Keeley didn''t think the way she treated Aaron was special. Sure, she had softened toward him a lot since high school but now he was like any of her other friends. Right?

    "You get awfully defensive whenever he gets brought up," her father pointed out. "And your friends think he''s your ex-boyfriend even though as far as I know, you never even dated. That means you''ve talked about him to other people. People don''t tell others about someone unless that someone is important."

    But it wasn''t this Aaron that was important, it was the other one! This whole thing was too convoluted to possibly exin.

    She fessed up. "Dad¡­a while back when I was talking about the person who couldn''t remember hurting me being like a different person¡­that was Aaron. I knew him before high school and he was terrible."

    "But he''s not terrible now?" he surmised.

    "No, he''s almost TOO nice these days¡­it''s almost like he''s trying to be the best friend I''ve ever had. He''s always there for me and is super dependable but¡­"

    "But?"

    "But even if I did like him¡ªand I''m not saying I do!¡ªthings would never work out because of how things were before. I can''t forget all of that. Even if I could, he''s in apletely different world from me. I don''t want to lose myself by being with him. His parents are awful people and their friends are just as bad. They wouldn''t ept me and I deserve better than that."

    Robert smiled sadly. "If you really care about someone, any obstacles in the way shouldn''t matter. I know my daughter; you wouldn''t bend for someone else''s approval."

    No she wouldn''t, not after what she went through in herst life. She might care about Aaron a little but not enough to go through all that again.

    "Not in this case. There are entire mountain ranges between Aaron and me. And I told you already, I don''t like him."

    "You''re going to break his heart."

    If he had said this to her six months ago, she would have flippantly replied "he doesn''t have a heart" but now¡­

    The bright smile he gave her when he noticed she was wearing the ne he gave her all those years ago shed through her mind. Nobody heartless could be that happy about something like that.

    "His path is alreadyid out for him. Mine doesn''t intersect with it," she said in a tone that brooked no further argument.

    Her father held his hands up defensively and they returned to their Christmas movie marathon but Keeley couldn''t get Aaron out of her head.

    ===

    The cor of Aaron''s tuxedo was way too tight during the von Dynes'' Christmas party but even worse than that, he was cornered by a swarm of overeager socialite women who wanted to be the next Mrs. Hale.

    The only way he had gotten through this dull affair so far was by thinking about the day before. Keeley''s ridiculous sweater. The cookies she made. The way her eyes sparkled as she sang silly carols. When she moved closer and sort of cuddled him on the couch. Her handmade present. More than anything, that kiss on the cheek.

    Was it possible that she finally liked him? Bad luck hanging over her head or not, she wouldn''t kiss just anybody.

    Aaron was still thinking about it when a woman he vaguely recognized snapped him out of it by cing a hand on his arm. He recoiled instantly.

    "What was that?" he snapped.

    "I was only asking if you had a date for the New Year''s Eve party yet."

    He hadpletely forgotten about the New Year''s Eve party. His parents would surely force him to go and bring someone with him. He would just use Jennica again if not for the fact that Cameron would pitch a fit. How troublesome.

    Bringing Keeley was out of the question. Both his father and Lacy would be there and he couldn''t risk exposing her to them.

    His n wasn''t going fast enough. He couldn''t find anything solid on that wretched woman to take her down yet. Either she was very good at covering her tracks or she simply hadn''t done anything illegal since high school. As for Alistair, it was a work in progress.

    Aiden was stillpiling tiny pieces of evidence regarding the insider trading deal with Brann Knighton. Once he had enough, he would present it to Officer Darren Johnson and call it good.

    There was a small chance they wouldn''t be convicted but even so their reputations would still be ruined. Alistair would be voted out as president of Hale Investments and it would all be over.

 Chapter 144: The Last Two People On Earth

    <h4>Chapter 144: The Last Two People On Earth</h4>

    The socialite who asked him the question stared at Aaron expectantly and he realized he had gotten lost in his thoughts again. He was among the enemy; he needed to stay focused.

    "I''m afraid I do already have a date," he lied. He would have to find one quick. But where? One of Jennica''s friends, maybe?

    The woman pouted. "You''re never avable! Don''t tell me you have a fianc¨¦e already."

    Most of the people from his generation in this circle were already married or at least engaged. It wasn''t an unreasonable guess. He had been one of them in his first life. It would be suicide to admit he was technically unattached in front of this crowd of vultures though.

    He didn''t get the chance to answer because Lacy glued herself to his arm and spoke for him. "Of course he does; who do you think you are? Aaron would only marry the best."

    The woman''s eyes shone with tears. "You''re engaged to her?"

    "Absolutely not!" he shouted as he broke himself free and shoved the leech away roughly. "I wouldn''t marry Lacy Knighton if we were thest two people on earth."

    Everyone flinched as the temperature around them dropped thirty degrees. It was obvious that Aaron was disgusted with the lie.

    Lacy''sposure cracked briefly enough to show her fury. She must have thought that Aaron wouldn''t contradict her to spare her pride. She thought wrong. He didn''t care one whit about anything to do with her, least of all her feelings.

    "Oh, you don''t mean that!"

    "Yes I do," he said icily. Everyone in the vicinity visibly shrunk back from the power of his anger.

    "How delusional do you have to be? Six years I''ve been avoiding you and you still can''t get it through your thick skull. You aren''t worthy to even breathe the same air as me. Get lost!"

    A few of the socialites gasped and whispered to each other excitedly. Lacy hadn''t been publicly humiliated this badly in years. She ran off in tears and Max chased after her to try andfort her, shooting Aaron a dirty look as he went.

    Aaron sighed. He was done here. Done with these stupid, shallow people who only cared for money and idle gossip. He was going home.

    Alistair grabbed his sleeve and thundered, "Where do you think you are going?"

    He tugged it away fearlessly. This man was nothing to him. "Home. I don''t feel well."

    "You just insulted the daughter of one of my most important business partners in front of everyone. Apologize!"

    His father''s levels of ice rivaled his own but he wouldn''t back down. "No."

    "What did you just say?" he asked dangerously.

    "I said no. Lacy Knighton is a worthless piece of trash and I don''t appreciate her clinging to me all the time. She had to be put in her ce before she got any more bright ideas."

    Let''s see if she would dare im ties to Aaron after this; almost everyone she knew had heard his assessment of her loud and clear.

    "Lacy Knighton is the best candidate for your marriage," Alistair hissed.

    "You may technically be my boss in thepany but that is where your authority ends. I will not marry anyone I don''t choose personally and there is nothing you can do about it," he said firmly before turning to walk out the door.

    His father yelled after him but wasn''t willing to throw away his pridepletely and chase his son down. Aaron was able to leave and go home easily enough.

    He loosened his bow tie and flopped backward onto his bed. His ns to stick his fingers in as many pies as possible outside of Hale Investments were well underway but they may need to be speeded up.

    Alistair wouldn''t be able to kick him out of thepany just because of a fight; he had too much business value. The other board members wouldn''t let him. That didn''t necessarily mean he wouldn''t try.

    Aaron''s empire outside of Hale Investments had been slowly developing over the past five years. He had connections in New York outside of the Hales'' social circle but most of them were in major cities in neighboring states so his father wouldn''t know about them. Even more were overseas.

    He had wanted to do this properly so his father would never know what hit him and Aaron could sneak in victoriously at the end of Alistair''s downfall with no one the wiser. But if he thought he could force his son to do anything he didn''t want to do¡­conducting a hostile takeover wasn''t out of the question.

    Aaron wasn''t the same man he used to be. Nothing would stop him now, especially not a worthless blood tie.

    He sent a text to Aiden. ''Do we have enough manpower for n B?''

    ''Not quite, my dude. A few more months ofworking with overseas investment bankers might do it. I can run the calctions again to be sure if you want''

    ''Do that. Our timeline may have elerated''

    ''Is your dad trying to marry you off again?" Aiden asked bluntly. He really had a knack for seeing straight through to the heart of things, which was odd considering how much time he spent with machines as opposed to real humans.

    Aaron may as well tell the truth. ''Yes''

    ''My family''s all asleep; I can startpiling files on those people you asked for now. A Christmas gift from me to you''

    ''Thanks''

    He sighed. The people Aiden referred to were ones he had dealings with during the overseas expansion in his previous life. All of them would be important figures in the global stock market.

    Aaron had a lot of traveling ahead of him in order to elerate the n. He probably wouldn''t get to see Keeley very much during that time¡­but how much could happen while they were mostly apart for a few months?

    He could still text her every day. Maybe even call her and hear her clear, cheerful voice calling his name. They would be fine.

 Chapter 145: Business Trips

    <h4>Chapter 145: Business Trips</h4>

    Keeley was surprised that Aaron didn''t try to spend more time with her over Christmas break since it was the best time to hang out with her until she got a week off of school in March. He actually turned her down when she asked toe over and use his TV, saying he was swamped with work.

    She wasn''t upset about it but she had to wonder what was going on. Aaron always made time for her. What was so important about this particr work project?

    He still texted her every day in brief snatches but it wasn''t the same. Valentina was still out of the country and once Jennica got back from spending Christmas with Cameron''s family, they only seemed to grow closer. She spent half of her nights at his ce and was consumed with preparing for her auditions.

    Drowning in boredom, Keeley ended up hanging out with Ryan most days after he got off work. They yed board and card games, went to the movies, went bowling, and got dinner in the week and a half before school started again.

    Aaron''s busyness continued throughout January; she didn''t see him at all until he invited her to dinner after getting back from yet another business trip at the beginning of February.

    "Who''s been taking care of Dinah while you''ve been gone?" she demanded as she found herself encircled by his arms in a tight hug.

    "You haven''t seen me for over a month and that''s the first thing you have to say?"

    She looked at him expectantly and he sighed before answering. "She has timed feeders that canst a while and the litter box is self-cleaning so I''ve been having Aiden go over every few days to check on things."

    Appeased, she released him and they walked inside the restaurant. "Why have you been traveling so muchtely anyway? You''ve gone on at least four different trips in thest month."

    "I''m working on some new acquisitions. It''s a busy period but hopefully it won''t be like this much longer."

    Good. It had been weird not seeing him after getting used to his constant presence back in December. She would never admit that to him though.

    They got caught up on each other''s lives and Keeley actually enjoyed herself. Aaron wasn''t the most entertaining person she knew but at least he wasn''t a block of wood anymore. Conversation flowed naturally between them at this point.

    "I''m going out of town again next week," he confessed. "I''d like to get together again after that though. Will you be free?"

    "Midterms aren''t until the beginning of March so I''ll have some time. Just keep me posted and we''ll figure something out."

    He dropped her back at her apartment building and she waved him off in a fairly good mood. It had been really nice seeing him. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

    When she arrived, a tanned Jennica was standing in the living room in a tropical-printed sundress with her suitcase beside her.

    Keeleyunched herself at her friend. "Jen! How was the Bahamas?!"

    Aaron wasn''t the only one with business out of the country; Cameron had to go to Nassau for a week and took his girlfriend with him because she needed a vacation before audition season began.

    She beamed. "It was amazing! I spent most of it on the beach by myself though because Cam was busy with things inside the resort, poor thing. At least we were able to spend a few hours a day doing things together. Oh, and you won''t believe it¡ªwe went swimming with dolphins! I have to show you the pictures."

    And thus the next hour of Keeley''s life was spent listening to her friend gush and show off all her trip pictures. There was one in particr that caught her eye¡ªJennica and Cameron were standing with their arms around each other on a beach as the wind blew through their hair.

    Their bright grins and crinkled eyes clearly portrayed how crazy they were about each other. They looked like newlyweds on a honeymoon.

    A pang hit her. She and Aaron never even looked that happy on their honeymoon. She was the one with the big smile and hearts in her eyes while he was rtively expressionless. And he hadn''t invited her on a business trip even once.

    It was stupid thinking about the past; that Aaron was dead and gone. This one was at least considerate enough to keep in contact while he was away and they were only friends, not husband and wife.

    "So¡­things are getting pretty serious between you, yeah?" Keeley asked.

    Jennica shrugged though a soft smile yed on her lips. "I''d say so. I think he''s nning to propose on Valentine''s Day."

    "Seriously?! How do you know?"

    "Well I don''t know for sure," she admitted. "But we have talked about marriage and he mentioned that I need to not schedule any auditions that day so I''m pretty sure he has big ns."

    It shouldn''t have been surprising. Those two had been glued at the hip since the beginning. When you know someone is the one you don''t need to wait¡­or so Keeley had heard.

    She and Aaron had dated for two and a half years before discussing marriage and didn''t officially get engaged for another year after that and things still hadn''t worked out. Love and time didn''t necessarily have anything to do with each other.

    "Cameron''s a good guy; I''m happy for you," she said truthfully even though she was still bitter about her own failed marriage.

    If anybody could have a happy and sessful rtionship, it was those two. They always seemed to be on the same page.

    "Thanks! So¡­do you have any ns for Valentine''s Day?" Jennica asked with a wink. "Any cute guys in your department ask you out? I know Valentina already has a date with that TA she liked."

    "Nah, I''m just going to get pizza with Ryan. He couldn''t find a date either so we''remiserating together."

    Her friend eyed her suspiciously. "Are you sure that isn''t a date?"

    Keeley snorted. "With Ryan? No way. We''re too buddy-buddy for him to even think about asking me out for real."

    She looked like she wanted to say something further but let the matter drop.

    What was so wrong with two single people hanging out on Valentine''s Day and mocking all the other couples? It was better than staying home and bingeing old Project Runway clips on YouTube, which was her n before Ryan asked her if she wanted to hang out.

 Chapter 146: Valentines Day Plans

    <h4>Chapter 146: Valentine''s Day ns</h4>

    Everybody had Valentine''s Day ns but Aaron and it put him in a sour mood. He absolutely would have asked Keeley out if he wasn''t going to be in Chicago that day to meet with some business contacts that would be vital for his hostile takeover.

    Cameron was nning on proposing after taking Jennica to see an opera. Aiden and Nova were going to have a candlelit dinner on two different sides of the world via video chat. And he would be stuck in meetings.

    If he could just get the meetings out of the way earlier in the day and find a flight¡­it was only two hours from Chicago to Manhattan by ne.

    It was a stupid n borne of desperation. A lot would be left to chance. One tiny dy and he would miss it, disappointing her, which was why he didn''t ask.

    Maybe instead of making ns to meet with her that might fall through he could try to surprise her instead. How though? He had an inkling that she liked him a little after Christmas but that had been almost two months ago.

    Pushing romance onto her too early could backfire on him horribly. He could always just show up at her apartment as a friend, bringing some sort of sweet treat like he usually did to her school. That wouldn''t push the boundaries of their current rtionship.

    Aaron triple checked his schedule and reorganized things. It would be tight but he could make it work.

    He opened his phone and admired the cheesy picture of them in their matching reindeer onesies with a loving expression. He couldn''t wait to see her again.

    ===

    Keeley tried and failed to concentrate on her homework as Jennica practiced a duet she was meant to sing with another actress as part of an audition. They were casting for two parts that had to sing several songs together and required good chemistry so people had to audition in pairs.

    The piece they were singing was ''I Know Him So Well'' from the musical Chess and Jennica''s part was a wife and mother who had been left by her husband for another woman and desperately wanted him back.

    The lyrics that resonated far too much with Keeley reverberated through the apartment''s thin walls.

    ''No one in your life is with you constantly

    No one ispletely on your side

    And though I move my world to be with him

    Still the gap between us is too wide

    Looking back I could have yed it differently

    Learned about the man before I fell

    But I was ever so much younger then

    Now at least I know I know him well''

    She sighed. With the current Aaron gone so much, she couldn''t help but think about her ex-husband more and moretely. Comparing what they had to Jennica''s positive, healthy rtionship with her boyfriend only made things worse.

    Keeley had been such an idiot getting involved with that man. She had already vowed not to make the same mistake again so why did she have to miss this timeline''s Aaron so much when she went weeks at a time without seeing him?

    After thinking about it, her traitorous heart realized that she did like Aaron a little bit just like her dad thought. But as she told him, things would never work because she didn''t fit into his world. Just like in the musical, some things weren''t meant to be.

    She couldn''t believe that she managed to have a stupid crush on the same man in two different lifetimes even if their behavior was worlds apart.

    Her freedom and dreams were more important than a tiny little crush though. She had to cut this off before it grew anymore, like a weed.

    He was gone a lot anyway; she could get used to not seeing him again. At least that was what she told herself.

    Even now she was itching to text him and see what he was up to. Keeley was hopeless.

    What was it about Aaron Hale anyway? He wasn''t all that great! He was cold and cynical and didn''t have a sense of humor. Well¡­that wasn''t as true anymore, which was why her feelings were so conflicted this time.

    The first Aaron was a mystery she wanted to solve and she happened to fall in love along the way even though she never fully figured it out. The second one was sweet and would do literally anything for her. What girl wouldn''t cave under those circumstances?

    She was very curious where he thought this would go though. Aaron had always been his parents'' puppet¡ªhe knew his duty was to marry a girl that would bring benefits to the Hale family business.

    So why did he even bother liking her in the first ce? It would only end badly for both of them.

    Her phone dinged with a text from Aaron that she ignored. She had to get used to ignoring him or she would never find peace.

    Even acknowledging that they were two different people and this Aaron genuinely seemed to care about her and probably wouldn''t cheat, she couldn''t abandon her dreams for those awful socialites again.

    Kaleb deserved better. Keeley deserved better too. Her life had been fulfilling enough before Aaron came back into the picture between her budding research career and her friends. All she had to do now was go back to the way things were.

    Her father''s words echoed in her ears. "You''re going to break his heart."

    Her own heart felt a tiny crack at the prospect of what she had to do but there was no other choice. If she wanted to live a normal life, Aaron couldn''t be a bigger part of it than he already was.

    He was going to be engaged to someone else soon enough anyway. He would marry a rich girl and she would pursue her research alone.

    She almost wanted to cry at the thought of never having him pop by theb unannounced again. Stupid. Why had she ever allowed herself to get attached?

    She could hold onto the positive memories. She had a point ofparison now for knowing what it was like to be treated well. Maybe someday she could find someone else who was as nice to her as Aaron¡ªsomeone normal.

 Chapter 147: It Was All Over Now

    <h4>Chapter 147: It Was All Over Now</h4>

    Keeley was fairly depressed on Valentine''s Day. Love was in the air all over campus and she couldn''t take it. She hadn''t texted Aaron back in days either, which only contributed to her poor mood.

    If he were here, he probably would have asked her to dinner and surprised her with sweet talk that shouldn''t have been sweet but was because it came from an ice cube like him. No, she had to stop thinking about him! Aaron was off the table.

    It was a very long day filled with seeing other girls carry around flowers, teddy bears, and boxes of choctes as they gushed about their boyfriends.

    Her spirits were so poor that she was considering staying home and crawling into bed but she didn''t want to be a bad friend and ditch Ryan. As a fellow single dog, he was probably about as fed up with today as she was. She couldn''t let him down.

    With that in mind, she forced herself to head to the pizza ce and tried to hold up her end of the conversation.

    "Keeley¡­are you alright?" Ryan asked with concern as they waited for the pizza to arrive.

    She put on her best attempt at a smile. "I''m fine. It''s just been a long day."

    "You know I''m always here if you want to talk."

    "I know. Really though, it''s not a big deal. Everything will be okay again once I sleep it off."

    The pizza was ced on the table before them and she snapped a picture of it for Instagram with the caption ''Spending Valentine''s Day with my one true love: pizza'' and a heart at the end. Ryan''s hand was barely visible in the edge of the photo but she didn''t think it was that big a deal; no one would be able to tell who it belonged to.

    The food helped lighten her mood a bit and she was actually able to goof around andugh with her friend like usual. Coming here was a better idea than curling up in bed after all.

    About twenty minutester, a hand smacked down on the table out of nowhere apanied by a st of icy air.

    "Keeley," the voice she was trying to get out of her head growled. "I need to talk to you."

    Her eyes widened and she instinctively shrank back from the chill. She hadn''t seen him this furious since high school.

    Ryan was clearly on edge. He looked like he was about ready to fight Aaron in her defense. To avoid a three-way confrontation, she put on a strained smile.

    "Ryan, I''ll only be gone a couple minutes. Don''t eat all the pizza without me, okay?"

    "Alright," he muttered mutinously. "But if it''s more than a couple minutes I''ming over there."

    Keeley followed Aaron outside the restaurant and he mmed his hand against the brick wall behind her, mere inches away from her face.

    "Why haven''t you answered any of my messages and what are you doing with that guy?"

    He looked furious but there was an undercurrent of something else¡­hurt? She swallowed thickly. It would be rough but she could use this to her advantage and make a clean break.

    She kept he voice as calm as possible. "It''s Valentine''s Day; I''m on a date."

    The ice storm brewing around him only grew worse. His tone became deadly. "A date?"

    "Yes, Aaron. A date. I don''t see how it''s any of your business."

    "Not my business? Anything to do with you is my business."

    This mindset needed to change. He would be engaged to someone else soon. They wouldn''t be anything to each other anymore.

    "It really isn''t. We''re just friends; we don''t have feelings for each other," she lied.

    Aaron was clearly trying but failing to regain control of his emotions. Her heart constricted at the sight but there was nothing she could do.

    "You don''t have feelings for me? Then who is it, that guy in there? Are you in love with him?" he demanded in a voice that could freeze an entire ocean solid.

    Time to deal the deathblow. She had wondered what to say all week that would be the most cruel so he would forget her and move on. In the end she could only throw his other self''s words back at him¡ªit was one of the worst things he ever said to her so it should do the trick.

    "So what if I am? He''s worth more than fifty of you," she said coolly.

    Aaron was so shocked that all of the ice surrounding him evaporated. He was practically a statue so she took the opportunity to break free and head back into the restaurant.

    ''I''m sorry Aaron, it''s the only way,'' she thought miserably as she saw him still standing frozen in ce once she reached the door. ''I hope you find happiness with someone from your own world.''

    Ryan eyed her apprehensively as she sat back down. Her gloom was in as day. "Um¡­who was that?"

    "My ex. Don''t worry, I told him off," she said dully.

    Aaron was never thrown off-guard like that. He would probably never speak to her again, just like she wanted.

    A stupid crush shouldn''t hurt this much to end. Because that''s all it was¡ªa crush. She hadn''t gotten to know this new Aaron enough to love him yet and now she was safe from that ever happening.

    "The one who won''t leave you alone? Keeley, that''s really bad. How did he know you were here? Is he stalking you? Do I need to call the police?"

    "No need. He won''t being back."

    He must have found her through Facebook¡ªher Instagram ount was linked and she had tagged her location in the pizza picture. Had he really originallye here just to ask why she hadn''t been answering his texts? Wasn''t he supposed to be in Chicago?

    "Are you sure? Because¡ª"

    "Ryan. It''s fine. Let''s finish our pizza and go home."

    Dinner was a silent, awkward affair after that. Keeley could tell her friend was bursting with questions but was polite enough not to pry. He took her home and the drive back was just as ufortable.

    She thanked him for the ride and for hanging out with her before fleeing to the elevator. Alone in there, tears began to fall. Over. It was all over now. She never had to worry about Aaron again.

 Chapter 148: Oh, Keeley!

    <h4>Chapter 148: Oh, Keeley!</h4>

    Aaron hadn''t thought much of it when Keeley didn''t text him back for a few days since it had happened before. The life of a PhD student was a full one.

    He flew back less than an hour after his meetings ended, barely making it onto the ne so he could be with her on Valentine''s Day. He never would have dreamed that she wouldn''t be at home¡ªno one was.

    He was on the verge of pounding on Aiden''s door so he could find her when a notification from Instagram popped up. Keeley posted a picture of a pizza and had tagged her location.

    Perfect. He would go meet her there.

    Thest thing Aaron expected was finding herughing and eating alone with that Ryan guy. He hadn''t been gone that long and the other man had already made his move.

    He saw red. Fury overriding rationality, Aaron approached their table and demanded to speak to Keeley outside. She appeared rtively rxed when she was soothing herpanion and promising toe right back, which only made him angrier.

    He secretly hoped this was a misunderstanding; like there was a third friend who was in the bathroom or something. He hadn''t expected her to say it was a date.

    Aaron had every intention of whisking her away from that guy even if she was mad at him for it until she spoke a set of hauntingly familiar words.

    When you regret something you tend to remember it in high definition. After getting that horrible phone call from the police, every word of hisst conversation with his wife was etched permanently into his brain.

    Keeley had used him of covering up Lacy''s involvement in her father''s death with shaking fists and tears in her eyes.

    It wasn''t true, of course. He was pretending to get close to Lacy in order to find the evidence that would convict her.

    But what did he say instead of the truth? ''So what if I am? She''s worth more than fifty of you.''

    Cold. Cruel. Detached. Just like Keeley had been right now, which waspletely out of character for her.

    He froze in shock when everything clicked into ce. All the little things that were confusing about her treatment of him didn''t add up until this moment. If she knew those words¡­Keeley had been reborn too.

    No wonder she resisted his advances. No wonder she had been so terrified of him. No wonder she ran away again and again and again. Keeley had every right to hate him if she remembered everything!

    Aaron slumped against the wall and slid down onto the cold, hard ground outside the restaurant, burying his face in his hands.

    Everything made sense now. How could he ever win her back after both what he actually did and what she thought he did?

    He ignored her, didn''t respect her choices or dreams, molded her into the perfect Mrs. Hale so others wouldn''t bully her but made her lose herself in the process, and was the reason she lost their baby, her father, and eventually her life.

    She died thinking he hated her. Of course she would hate him back.

    Then why had she softened towards him? What had changed? They were doing so well for a while! And now it was back to square one because she was in love with someone else.

    He had no one to me for this but himself. When he thought he was getting a second chance with Keeley he believed he had a clean te. That she had no idea what he had done so they could just start over and be happy.

    Knowing she remembered everything¡­how could they possibly go forward from here? He needed to think.

    Aaron slowly pulled himself up from the ground and got in his car, driving aimlessly around the city while he tried to figure out what to do next. He mentally went over what he knew so far.

    Keeley had probably always wanted to be a gicist but gave up her dreams to marry him and be the perfect socialite wife and make him proud so all she wanted to do after being reborn was aplish those dreams.

    She tried to avoid him and Lacy because she thought they colluded in the death of her father. This exined literally every interaction they had in high school perfectly.

    He remembered something like a bolt of lightning. The night she was drugged, she was talking to herself and said it was his fault.

    Of course. She must have known it was Lacy the entire time. It was his fault for putting her on Lacy''s radar.

    There was something else about that night that bothered him¡­what was it? Keeley said some weird things when she was out of her mind.

    It hit Aaron so hard that he mmed on his brakes and got honked at by the car behind him. He had to pull over to the side of the road to process it because it was too terrible. He felt like he was going to throw up.

    Her cier. She said her cier didn''t love her and didn''t think she was good enough. That he left her for an ocean. She sobbed and begged Aaron (thinking he was the Neptune) not to throw her away too.

    Aaron had lied and told Keeley that he was going to be together with Lacy and ''their'' baby in order to get her to leave so she could be safe. He was the cier. Lacy was the ocean.

    Keeley''s heart-wrenching questions that night ''why don''t you want me?'' ''why do you always reject me?'' and ''why don''t you love me?'' had been meant for him all along. She believed he threw her away when nothing could have been further from the truth.

    Oh, Keeley!

    His heart cracked right in half as he remembered everything she said while drugged. He broke down with his head on top of the steering wheel and cried for the first time since he originally lost her.

 Chapter 149: His Ex-Wife Is Here To See Him

    <h4>Chapter 149: His Ex-Wife Is Here To See Him</h4>

    Keeley''s guilt didn''t lessen at all over the next few days. It was how she found herself still in bed at 2 PM on a Sunday with no intention of getting up.

    She had thought she had cried herst tears over Aaron Hale but she was wrong. Saying goodbye was harder than she thought it would be. It was a good thing she ended it before she got even more attached.

    As predicted, Jennica had been proposed to and she was in the process of packing up all of her things to move them over to Cameron''s house permanently. She sang show tunes joyfully as she went. The music didn''t match Keeley''s mood at all.

    She pulled theforter even further over her head, startling Molly, who had been sitting on it. As she hid under the covers, the doorbell rang and Jennica went to go get it since Valentina was doing a rotation at the hospital.

    A minuteter, she knocked on the bedroom door. "Keeley? Someone''s here to see you."

    "Tell them to go away." She wasn''t in the mood for visitors and she looked horrible.

    "Um¡­it''s Aaron Hale. Like, vice president of one of the biggest corporations in the country Aaron Hale? I don''t think you can afford to offend him."

    Why was he here? She almost sat up but pulled the nket even tighter in retaliation. No. She had to stick to her guns.

    "I already offended him," she said in a muffled voice. "Tell him I''m sick."

    "You want me to lie to Aaron Hale? He''s Cam''s boss!"

    "Fine then, don''t tell him I''m sick. Tell him I don''t want to see him. I''m sure that will go over better," Keeley said sarcastically.

    "Okay, okay, I''ll tell him you''re sick."

    Five minutester, Jennica knocked on the door again and came in without verifying whether or not it was okay. She sat down on the edge of the bed and waited for Keeley to show her face.

    "So. When were you going to tell me that Aaron Hale is your ex-boyfriend?"

    That caught her attention. She flipped back the covers. "How did you¡ª"

    Jennica pointed at her usingly. "So I was right! Why on earth did you two break up? Don''t you know how crazy in love with you he is?"

    "What?" Keeley cried. Her roommate didn''t know what she was talking about! "No he isn''t. How do you even know him?"

    She sighed and shook her head.

    "Girl, he was the guy who paid me to be his fake datest summer because his parents were on his case about marrying him off and he needed someone who wasn''t actually interested in him. He made me sign a non-disclosure agreement so the woman he loved wouldn''t find out¡­but I don''t think he''ll sue me now because of Cam."

    At Keeley''s look of immense confusion she borated.

    "He told me he had no intention of listening to his parents and that they couldn''t take away his happiness this time. He also said that he didn''t care about high society and would leave it all behind to protect the one he loved and would give her the normal life she wanted.

    "That psycho girl¡­Lacy, right? The one who bullied you for being interested in her crush? Aaron said she was dangerous but that he would protect his woman from her. Was he the guy? Is that how you know him?"

    "I did meet him in high school but none of this makes sense! Aaron shouldn''t know anything about Lacy bullying me!" Keeley protested.

    Everything Jennica said didn''t match anything she thought she knew. Keeley was certain that Aaron only started liking her after they met up again and got on friendlier terms¡­but if what her friend said was true, Aaron had been deeply in love with her before then.

    If he was in love with her before¡­that would exin why he was so persistent in high school even though she didn''t hide her dislike. Was it love at first sight? That didn''t seem like Aaron.

    What made the least sense out of all of this was Lacy. How would Aaron know Lacy was targeting her?

    She once told him to control his girlfriend but that was all she ever said on the matter. Why would he think she was dangerous?

    The words ''couldn''t take away his happiness this time'' finally registered in her brain. This time. Which meant there was a time they seeded before.

    The puzzle pieces were all there but they couldn''t quitee together. This time¡­give up high society for her¡­this time¡­protect her¡­this time¡­a normal life¡­this time¡­this time¡­this time¡­

    Keeley jumped out of bed the moment thest piece fell into ce and she nearly scared the living daylights out of Jennica. "What is it?!"

    "HE''S DEAD, THAT''S WHAT!" she roared as she stormed out of the room, jamming on boots and a coat before running out the front door in her pajamas.

    Aaron was already long gone but she was fairly certain she knew where he would be. She garnered a lot of stares at the subway station but was too furious to notice. All that mattered now was getting to his apartment building.

    "Tell Aaron Hale in the penthouse that his ex-wife is here to see him," she said frostily to the doorman when she arrived. "Those exact words."

    "Right away, ma''am."

    The doorman unlocked the button to the top floor in the elevator and wished her a nice day. Ha. Nothing was nice about today whatsoever.

    When the elevator opened, Aaron was waiting for her with a somber look on his face. "You know?"

    "Know. What."

    She wanted to hear him say it with her own ears.

    "That both of us were reborn our senior year of high school and remember everything."

    That was all she needed to hear before she went off on him, screaming and furiously pounding on his chest. "You filthy hypocrite! You know what you put me through and you still had the nerve toe back? How dare you!"

    She continued kicking and hitting as she repeatedly yelled "I hate you!" Eventually she ran out of energy and hung there limply with tears trickling down her face as Aaron held onto her wrists.

    "I know," he said heavily. "I''m so sorry, Keeley."

 Chapter 150: Explain Yourself

    <h4>Chapter 150: Exin Yourself</h4>

    Sorry? Did Aaron just say he was sorry?

    "Sorry for what?" Keeley hissed, regaining some of her energy and pulling her wrists out of his grip. She rubbed them to try and wipe away the feeling of his grip.

    "Everything."

    "That''s not enough! Do you realize exactly what you did to me? I gave up everything I cared about for you and all you did was make me miserable, kill my father, cheat on me, and let your stupid girlfriend kill me after you threw me away!"

    She was so pissed off that she dug her fingernails into her palms hard enough to draw blood.

    "I never cheated on you," Aaron said quietly. "I pretended to get close to Lacy to get the evidence I needed to convict her for your father''s murder. That baby wasn''t mine."

    A hystericalugh escaped her throat. "You expect me to believe you?"

    He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sit down, Keeley. This is a bit of a long story."

    "I would prefer to stand," she said stiffly.

    "At least let me bandage your hands first."

    Silently, he went to the kitchen and pulled a first aid kit out of the cupboard. So gently that it felt like a butterfly was fluttering across her palms, he applied antibacterial cream with a cotton swab before wrapping tworge adhesive bandages over all eight bloody puncture marks.

    Aaron softly pressed kisses to both bandages while her palms were still face up and gave her a sad little half-smile. The look on his face made her heart stutter briefly but she would not be swayed. Her scowl remained firmly fixed in ce.

    Keeley snatched her hands back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Exin yourself."

    He leaned against the counter and focused on the wall instead of her. His usually expressionless face appeared forlorn and he sounded like an old man when he spoke.

    "I knew Lacy was plotting against you since we were in high school but I didn''t have any proof. All I could do was try to keep you away from her and her cronies when you followed me to Boston. You know my parents never approved¡­I tried to help you fit in so people wouldn''t give you a hard time but that obviously didn''t go over well."

    "No, really?" she asked sarcastically. As if she would believe he ever had good intentions about anything.

    He ignored that and continued, seemingly weighed down further with each word he said.

    "My father wanted me to divorce you and marry Lacy so he¡­they¡­Keeley, you never had an ectopic pregnancy. You were pregnant with a healthy baby and they swapped your results with someone else''s so they could operate and prevent you from bearing the next heir to the family. They thought I would leave you if you couldn''t have kids.

    "I was horrified when I found out. They targeted you and our child because of me and you were so depressed already¡­I couldn''t bear to tell you. My father had spies in the house so I had to make them think I didn''t love you anymore so they would leave you alone. Obviously that didn''t work either¡­but everything I did was with the intention to protect you."

    Keeley couldn''t believe a word he was saying¡ªit was too fantastical to believe¡ªuntil he started to cry. Actual tears. She had never seen Aaron cry.

    "I failed. I was selfish and brought you down with me because I didn''t want to live without you. By the time I was able to let you go¡­I said such horrible lies to get you to go and they killed you anyway. You died thinking I hated you! I lived with that guilt for decades before fate gave me another chance to meet you."

    He wiped his eyes and finally looked up at her. "I promised myself I wouldn''t waste it. I would do everything right and let you know how much I loved you. I thought I would have a clean te; I never would have imagined you would hate me right off the bat. But itpletely makes sense now."

    She furrowed her brow, suspicious. "How long have you known?"

    "Only since Valentine''s Day. You said the same thing I did to get you to leave. You think I would forget that after how many times ourst conversation yed over and over again in my head during the twenty-seven years I lived without you?" he asked in a self-deprecating tone.

    Twenty-seven years. If he could be believed¡­if what he was saying was true¡­he lived with guilt and grief that entire time before being reborn and doing everything he could to win her over.

    These were real emotions. He had to be telling the truth. All that time he was misguidedly trying to protect her after suffering a horrific loss. He was scared and too proud to ask for help and it cost Keeley her life in the end.

    "Why?" she asked tly. "If you knew Lacy was targeting me from the beginning why would you marry me in the first ce?"

    Aaron looked her right in the eye. "I wasn''t about to let the one source of warmth in my life get away. You are and always have been the only thing in this world that makes me happy."

    She didn''t buy it.

    "Even if I disregard everything that happened after¡­losing the baby¡­if you really loved me you wouldn''t have been so cold. You would have supported me. You would have believed in me and been nice to me."

    He seemed embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn''t know how to properly care for someone back then. Bad examples at home, you know. Haven''t I gotten a lot better?"

    Keeley couldn''t deny that. How many times had she wished that her Aaron had been the way the newer Aaron was with her? And it turned out they were the same person the entire time after all. He actually changed for her.

    "But what about when I lost the baby? You didn''tfort me at all."

    Aaron looked at her like she was stupid. "I did my best. I was by your side constantly but you were impossible to get through to for nearly a year. By the time you started snapping out of it, I realized we were being watched and pretended I didn''t care so my father would back off."

    Why did he have an exnation for everything? This was so unfair. He was making her seem like the bad guy for being angry at him. She had every right to be angry!

    So what if he had good intentions? He still ruined her life!

 Chapter 151: This Doesnt Seem Like Love To Me

    <h4>Chapter 151: This Doesn''t Seem Like Love To Me</h4>

    "Is there anything else I should know?" Keeley asked frostily, taking a page from his book.

    "I got revenge for you," Aaron said simply. "Lacy killed Max, the one who drove the car that hit you, and she died in prison. Aiden was the one who found the footage that convicted her though obviously he doesn''t remember it¡­ And I got my father kicked out of thepany. He had a heart attack from the stress and died too."

    He talked about these people''s deaths as casually as he would talk about the weather! But she had to admit there was a slight warm fuzzy feeling knowing he cared enough to destroy the people who hurt her. She squashed it down. There was nothing warm or fuzzy about any of this.

    A long ago thought came back to her. "Did you bury me with my family?"

    He nodded. "And I visited you every week. I never married again or even dated anyone¡­the rest of my life was devoted to work."

    That was quite the dedication. Did he really love her that much or did he just feel guilty? Twenty-seven years was an awfully long time to be alone. He was still so young when she died too.

    "If you really loved me why did you leave me alone for five and half years?" she asked, trying to mask her curiosity with grouchiness.

    "I would have thought that was obvious. I needed to umte power to protect you after realizing I couldn''t when Lacy drugged you."

    "When Lacy dru¡ªyou mean it was you?!"

    Aaron had to have been the one that saved her that night. No wonder her dad liked him! He would have seen Aaron bringing her into the hospital safe and sound.

    "It was me," he confirmed. "You deserved to go to your dream school in peace and I used that time to throw Lacy off your scent and find business contacts to help me overthrow my father."

    He got a bit flustered and scratched his ear. "I¡­um¡­I got a lot more conscious of security too. Nobody knows I live here because I wanted it to be a safe ce for you to be."

    It seemed that Jennica had been right. He didn''t care about high society at all. Aaron only wanted to be with her. It was too overwhelming. Keeley''s entire world had just experienced a seismic shift.

    Even if she did believe him¡­it didn''t change anything.

    "I hope you realize that you''re still a maniptive creep for forcing yourself back into my life the way you did and not respecting my wishes."

    He hung his head. "Yeah¡­"

    "The only reason I even let you be my friend was because I thought you were apletely different person with no memories of our previous lives. If I knew it was actually you I never would have allowed it," she said seriously. "I can''t forgive what you did, no matter what your intentions were."

    Panic shed through his eyes as he frantically looked up. She had seen more emotions from him in the time she had been here than the rest of her interactions with himbined.

    "Keeley, please, I really don''t have anything to live for without you. Don''t leave me again."

    "Why? This doesn''t seem like love to me. This seems like a selfish, guilt-driven obsession. A normal person would have given up when I kept pushing you away in high school."

    She turned to leave but stopped at the sound of his voice. "You''re the only person who never gave up on me. How could I give up on you?"

    Tears filled her eyes. She could feel his earnestness but it was toote. Too much had happened between them to ever go back. Keeley was tired.

    "Let''s just leave the past in the past, okay? I have my own life now. You should go find one too," she encouraged as she pushed the elevator button to leave.

    "If I have to be alone in this life too, so be it. You''re my only one. If you every need anything you know where to find me."

    Her hands trembled as the elevator door opened. "Goodbye, Aaron."

    What did she think she was going to find out when she confronted him? She wasn''t sure but it definitely wasn''t this. He was in love with her the entire time¡­how on earth could he have been in love with her the entire time?

    He was cold. Callous. Unfeeling. Unsympathetic.

    He said at first it was because he didn''t know how to care for people andter it got worse because he was trying to keep her safe. Unbelievable. His attempts at keeping her safe were what made her miserable for the rest of her short life.

    ''Well,'' a little voice in her head said. ''Think about how he grew up. There wasn''t any love or real interaction between family members and from a young age he had to rely on himself for everything. He probably did his best.''

    Keeley told the little voice to shut up. His reasons and motivations didn''t matter. His actions were what did and they were terrible.

    ''He''s made it up to you though, hasn''t he?'' the little voice persisted.

    Taking care of her when she was sick. Asking about her mundane daily life. Checking in on her and bringing her food. Recording a show she liked just for her. Aaron had been very good to hertely.

    She couldn''t ept it. He was only doing this because he felt guilty about getting her killed. Whatever he felt for her, it wasn''t love.

    When Keeley made it back to her apartment she ignored Jennica''s questions and went straight back to bed. The emotional upheaval from her conversation with her ex-husband was too much to bear.

    Maybe it was time to leave New York. She would be graduating in January; after that she could technically go anywhere. She would miss her friends and dad but making new ones had always been easy for her.

    She could move somewhere close by, like Phdelphia. It would be easy to visit her dad and friends a few times a month that way. Jennica''s future inws lived there too so she could see her and Cameron now and then when they visited.

    There were multiple universities with gics programs she could apply to there. It would be easier to forget if she left the city where she and Aaron had spent so much time together, both the good and the bad.

 Chapter 152: I Think She Dumped Him

    <h4>Chapter 152: I Think She Dumped Him</h4>

    As Keeley walked away, Aaron could feel the sour decay of something ending. She would probably never willingly speak to him again now that she knew the truth.

    Come to think of it¡­she never mentioned how she figured it out. She came in guns zing and happened to skip over that part. It was even worse because he hadn''t managed to exin himself properly. She didn''t think he actually loved her.

    He should have seen thising from the moment he realized she had been reborn. Keeley''s emotional scars from their first life hadn''t healed. He couldn''t me her; she went through so much because of him both directly and indirectly.

    What was he supposed to do now? He couldn''t prove he loved her if she didn''t let hime near her. Giving her space might be his best bet at this point. No texting and no showing up at herb.

    It was going to be difficult.

    The next time he would be able to see her without purposely interfering in her life would be at Cameron''s engagement party in two weeks. Obviously she was going to be there to support one of her best friends.

    In the meantime, he would survive by focusing on work. Aaron still had several more international contacts to touch base with before staging his coup. Business trips might help distract him a bit.

    Oh, who was he kidding? He buried himself in business after Keeley died and she still haunted his thoughts every single day. Work wouldn''t help at all.

    ===

    "Have you noticed something different about the bosstely?" Aiden whispered to Cameron over lunch.

    "You mean the fact that he''s be a robot who works 18 hours a day? Yeah. I''ve noticed. It''s because of Keeley."

    "What happened?"

    "Well," Cameron said in his best gossip voice. "He showed up at Jennica''s apartment looking for herst weekend and she turned him away. Jen talked to her and then she ran out furiously, iming she was going to kill him or something like that. She came back a few hourster refusing to speak about it and ditched school and work by iming to be sick for two days."

    "You think she went to Aaron''s ce to confront him?"

    He nodded. "I think she dumped him."

    "Were they ever really together enough to constitute dumping though?" Aiden asked before shaking his head. "Poor Aaron. He lives for that girl."

    "I know. I''m not sure what he''s going to do¡ªthey''re bothing to my engagement party."

    The hacker smiled wickedly. "Since I''ming too I''ll have to witness this firsthand."

    "It gets better. Jen invited that guy Ryan. Aaron''s going to flip," Cameron confided.

    Aidenughed. This soap opera was getting better and better. Did they fight because of Ryan or what? He would kill to know what exactly Keeley had said that turned their normally love-struck boss into a workaholic.

    "Anything in particr you want as an engagement present?"

    "Check the registry; that''s Jen''s domain."

    "I''ll do that."

    A thought urred to him. What were Keeley and Valentina going to do about their rent with Jennica gone? She had already moved over to Cameron''s ce a few days after getting engaged.

    "Who''s covering Jennica''s portion of the rent?"

    "Me," Cameron said with his mouth full. He swallowed before continuing. "At least until the lease is up in July. They''ll sign a new lease with whatever extra roommate they find at that point. She felt bad about ditching them but I wanted her with me sooner, which is why I offered."

    Aiden sighed dramatically. "You just have to rub it in that your girlfriend gets to live with you. Not all of us are so lucky."

    "She''s my fianc¨¦e not my girlfriend," he corrected. "Why not help Nova get a visa and move over here? You could practically do it with your eyes closed."

    "She still has three years left of school. After that, I don''t know if she''d want to leave her family behind."

    Long distance rtionships almost never worked out for this exact reason. Nobody wanted to give up their life for the other. Cameron felt sorry for his friend. He seemed to really like Nova. At the very least she could keep up with his gaming addiction.

    Thinking of long distance¡­once he was married was Aaron still going to send him out of town once a month? Jennica wouldn''t always be able to travel with him, especially once they started having kids.

    Did he even need the money anymore? He was insanely rich¡ªif you counted all of his assets together including stocks and bonds he was worth nearly a billion dors.

    Cameron wanted to talk to his boss about it but with his current frame of mind it didn''t seem likely his request would get approved. He was an overzealous working machine at the moment. Besides, bringing up the fact that he was in a solid rtionship while Aaron was recently spurned would likely bring on the next Ice Age.

    Lunch was over and everyone began filing back to their desks, snapping him out of his reverie.

    "Wanna go bug the boss?" Aiden asked eagerly.

    "You really think that''s a good idea right now?"

    "Worth a shot. I want to see if I can get a reaction out of him."

    Cameron shrugged and followed him. "It''s your funeral."

    The overconfident hacker opened the door to Aaron''s office with a bang. "Good afternoon, my dude! How are you faring this fine Thursday?"

    "Get back to work," he said mechanically.

    The two friends exchanged a look. Robot mode was still engaged. Their desire to know what Keeley said that made him like this increased but they couldn''t exactly ask either of them.

    "I am working," Aiden replied cheerfully. "I''m doing my job as your friend to make sure you''re still alive. Have you eaten anything today? A banana? Some yogurt perhaps?"

    At the word ''banana'' the robotic mask momentarily broke. "She''s allergic to bananas; I can''t have them either."

    Aaron reverted back right after he said it. So talking about Keeley could bring him back to the human realm after all.

    "Why can''t you eat them if Keeley is the one who''s allergic to them?"

    He looked at them as if they were amoebas. Tiny and brainless. "Because then she won''t kiss me until I''ve brushed my teeth."

    What?! When did their boss ever kiss Keeley?! They wanted to ask what he meant but he retreatedpletely into his robotic shell and refused to answer further questions.

    Aaron had it bad. He seemed to think they were a couple even though they never had been. Unless¡­was Aiden''s bizarre theory that Aaron was the ex-boyfriend right?!

 Chapter 153: Aaron Ibarcena

    <h4>Chapter 153: Aaron Ibarcena</h4>

    It was cruelly ironic that everyone around her was getting married right when Keeley discovered that her ex-husband''s consciousness and memories still existed. Although, if she was being technical, they had never gotten divorced. She didn''t sign the papers before her death.

    They weren''t married anymore though since their marriage certificate didn''t exist in this timeline. So Aaron was still her ex-husband in a way. They used to be married but now they were not. Thinking about it made her head hurt.

    She wasn''t sure which was the most shocking piece of information he dumped on her even after having over a week to think about it. That he loved her all along? That he was capable of learning from his mistakes? Or that Alistair Hale had hated her so much that he arranged to kill his only grandchild?

    If she ever saw either him or Lacy Knighton again she would punch them in the face and screw the consequences. It was the least she could do for her lost child.

    It''s funny how much you feel like the world has been pulled out from under your feet when you find out just how wrong your perceptions are. Keeley still didn''t know what to make of it all.

    She had no proof beyond what Aaron said but there was no way he knew how to fake tears. He had to be telling the truth.

    What hurt the most about all of this was that he hadn''t trusted her enough to be honest about the problems they were facing. If he had only told her, they could have figured out something together.

    Their marriage certainly had its problems back then but at that point she still loved him. It could have been salvaged.

    Or could it? If she had known back then that his own father was the reason she couldn''t have children anymore, she may have hated him for it.

    She shook her head to get rid of the unwanted thoughts. Aaron didn''t matter now. She was alive, her father was alive, and her future hadn''t been ruined yet. She needed to focus on her work. The animal trials wereing along, slowly but surely.

    sses were too. It was crazy to think this was her second tost semester of sses ever. Normally she participated in the summer session but this year she needed to focus on finishing her research instead. Having a little break from academia would be nice.

    Fitting in her friends'' weddings into this crazy schedule would be extremely difficult. Lydia''s wedding was in April and she would be missing a couple days of ss for it. At least Jennica would be getting married here in New York so she wouldn''t have to travel.

    Unfortunately she had been asked to be a bridesmaid by both of her friends so she needed to be involved in the nning, either in person or over the phone.

    She really didn''t have the time but how could she turn them down? She loved both of them.

    Keeley sighed. Jennica''s engagement party was this weekend and she still hadn''t gotten her a present. She and Valentina were nning on pitching in together to buy her a Crock Pot but neither of them had time to make it to the store yet.

    Why they even bothered having a wedding registry when Cameron was so rich¡­He could afford anything they needed to set up house. Keeley supposed it was the principal of the thing.

    She hadn''t had a registry. People in the Hales'' social circle gave them gifts of antiques, priceless paintings, andrge donations to charity in their names. It had beenpletely overwhelming. She would have been thrilled with a normal gift like a Crock Pot.

    After work, she met up with Valentina (who had a rare night free) to go pick out the gift. Their choices were staggering.

    "How many kinds of Crock Pots do they need to have?! Did she mention specifically which kind she wanted?"

    Valentina pulled out her phone to double check the list online. "She wanted the eight quart capacity one¡­how many people is she expecting to feed?"

    Keeley shrugged. "They''re probably nning on having kids at some point. It could work for inviting guests over too."

    "Which color do you think she would like? They have ck, white, and silver."

    "Probably silver. She says Cameron''s kitchen appliances are silver so it would be best to let them match."

    Valentina frowned. "What are we going to do without her?"

    "It''s not like she''s going off to die¡­we''ll still see her sometimes."

    "No we won''t. Newlyweds are only interested in each other. We''ll be lucky to see her every few months at best."

    She had a point. Keeley''s newlywed life had been filled with social events because she was in demand as the newest member of the circle but she had several ssmates who suddenly stoppeding to group activities after getting married even though they promised they wouldn''t fall off the radar.

    Jennica had only been with them for two years but she was a vital member of their apartment. They would even miss all the show tunes rehearsals.

    "Well, she is older than us. It makes sense she would settle down first," Keeley triedforting her friend. "Moving on is a part of life. It''s unrealistic to think we all would have been roommates forever."

    "I know," Valentina sighed. "I''m just going to miss her."

    She patted her roommate on the shoulder. "Me too. Come on, let''s get this Crock Pot wrapped up and then we can go home and drown our sorrows in that new telenov that came outst month."

    Her friend''s eyes lit up. "Oh, that reminds me! My cousin called; they started shooting your telenovst week. Do you want to see pictures of who they cast as everyone?"

    Keeley hadpletely forgotten about this with everyone else that had been going on in her hectic lifetely. She was most curious to see who they had cast as Aaron and whether or not the actor would pull off his icy demeanor properly.

    Valentina held up her phone and showed her pictures of the main cast.

    "You never named them so the station did it for you. The reincarnated girl is Luz Corrales yed by a new talent named Rosa Lamadrid and the rich guy is Aaron Ibarcena and they actually got my hunk Hector Garza to be him! The uh¡­what did you call her? Side chick? Is named Lorena Murillo and she''s being portrayed by the beautiful and seductive Sofia Romani."

    Of all the names in the world did they seriously have to pick the right one for Aaron''s character?!

    "...is Aaron really a Peruvian name?"

    "Oh yeah, it''s super popr! I know at least three Aarons back home. Why do you ask?"

    "No particr reason," Keeley lied. This was too much of a coincidence.

    She examined the photos closely. Rosa Lamadrid was pretty but gave off a sweet, na?ve vibe. That would fit Keeley in her first life. She had seen Sofia Romani portray a seductress in another telenov; she was a good choice. As for Hector Garza¡­he was handsome but could he be cold enough?

    "How long do you think it will be before it airs?" she asked.

    Valentina''s brow furrowed. "Not sure. These things go quick; they shoot 18-20 pages of script per day and edit and release as they go rather than film everything beforehand like in American television. ording to my cousin, they are going to release two episodes a week for about a year."

    It would be interesting to see how much they changed Keeley''s life story. Especially now that she knew the truth was different than she believed when Valentina submitted that proposal for her. How much would it align to reality?

 Chapter 154: Isnt That Your Ex?

    <h4>Chapter 154: Isn''t That Your Ex?</h4>

    Keeley and Valentina rode over to the restaurant where the engagement party was being held in Aiden''s car. He ran into Valentina earlier in the week and offered since they were all going to the same ce.

    They had all dressed up a bit for the asion. Keeley had never seen Aiden wear anything but sweatpants and tee shirts so it was a bit surprising to see him in a button-down shirt and dark wash jeans.

    Valentina wore a ck beaded mini dress with matching ts and straightened her hair for once. Keeley opted for a navy blue halter-neck dress with a red skirt that had fuchsia flowers on it and paired it with heeled ck sandals she got on clearance. She wore a cheap pair of fake diamond drop earrings toplete the look.

    They made up a good-looking group if she did say so herself.

    When they arrived Keeley didn''t recognize most of the people scattered throughout the group of tables the restaurant had pushed together for the event. They probably consisted of Jennica''s actor friends she hadn''t met and all of Cameron''s guests.

    There were only two people aside from the future bride and groom that she recognized: Ryan and Aaron. What was he even doing here?

    He worked in the samepany as Cameron but he was way higher up! There was no way they would be friends. Did hee just because he knew she would? That was low, even for him.

    Keeley resolutely parked herself next to Ryan, who was sitting a few seats diagonally across from Aaron. Valentina joined her but Aiden chose to sit next to the Ice King and greeted him cheerfully as if they were best friends.

    Ryan said hi to both of them before leaning over and whispering to Keeley with a confused expression. "Isn''t that your ex? What''s he doing here?"

    Her knuckles turned white because she was clenching her fists so hard under the table. "I''m not sure."

    At that moment Cameron, who had been standing with Jennica and greeting people as they came in, strode over and leaned over both Aiden and Aaron with his hands on their shoulders with a jovial smile. "Hey guys! d you both made it."

    "We wouldn''t miss this for the world! Right Aaron?" Aiden said with a grin on his face.

    "Right," he responded tly. "Congrattions to both you and your fianc¨¦e."

    Cameron looked up at Keeley''s little group. "Obviously you two know Aiden but does everyone else here know each other?"

    Ryan remained cordial even though he clearly wasn''t happy that Aaron was here. "We''ve met but I don''t know either of your names."

    "Ah yes," the groom-to-be said and started pointing to everyone as he introduced them. "Keeley and Valentina were Jennica''s roommates and this is their friend Ryan. As for these two¡­they''re probably my closest friends. Aaron here has agreed to be my best man."

    "When did I ever say I would do that?"

    "Yesterday, dude. I was there," Aiden said with a sigh. "You''re such a space casetely."

    A space case, huh? That didn''t sound like him. Was it because of what Keeley said after she found out he had been reborn as well?

    She frowned as she sneakily examined him. He didn''t look so hot.

    There were dark circles under his eyes and his nk expression was somehow even deader than usual. It must be his eyes. The pupils were sorge that they looked like a shark''s, not showing even a hint of blue.

    "I didn''t realize you two knew each other so well," Keeley spoke up, causing Aaron to swivel his head and stare at her.

    Cameron smiled brightly. "Oh yeah, we met in college! He helped kick start my career."

    Interesting. So he was one of the business contacts Aaron mentioned the other day that he connected with during their time apart. Aaron wouldn''t have gotten him a job at Hale Investments for no reason; Cameron must be of some special use to him.

    Come to think of it¡­he also said Aiden was the one who helped him take down Lacy. He probably recruited him early for a simr purpose.

    Exactly how talented were these people she had been interacting with like normal? Did Jennica know about any of this?

    Speaking of Jennica¡­she had asked Keeley specifically to be the maid of honor even though there were other bridesmaids that could have done it. Did she know Cameron was going to ask Aaron?

    They would be thrown together an awful lot during this process. They would even have to walk down the aisle together.

    She knew that Keeley and Aaron had a somewhatplicated history even though she didn''t have any details. Why would she do this? What kind of friend was she?!

    Keeley just had tost until the end of this and it would all be over. The wedding and Aaron would bepletely behind her then.

    All the guests had arrived and conversations arose between various groups of people at the table who knew each other once everyone was seated and the food had been ordered. Cameron bought several bottles of wine that were meant to be shared throughout the party.

    For the life of her, Keeley couldn''t get the cork off of the bottle closest to her so she handed it over to Ryan. "Use your superpower; I''ve got nothing."

    He had always been able to open even the most impossible of bottles and jars. During their study group days in college he even managed to open a can of soda after the pull tab had been ripped off, gaining the respect of all present.

    Ryan opened the bottle with ease and poured sses for her and Valentina before helping himself and passing the bottle down to an actress Jennica knew.

    Aaron watched this interaction with dead eyes, not even bothering to emit his usual chill. She was pointedly ignoring him though so she didn''t notice. However, Aiden did and shot a worried look between the two of them.

 Chapter 155: Im Not Creative

    <h4>Chapter 155: I''m Not Creative</h4>

    After dinner one of Cameron''s friends suggested a game where everyone had to go around the table and tell two funny or embarrassing stories about whichever half of the engaged couple they knew, one true and one false. Everyone else would have to guess which was which.

    Next to Keeley, Valentina had a look of intense concentration on her face as she tried to think. She wanted tough. Of course her friend would take this seriously; she loved these kinds of games.

    Embarrassing stories¡­goodness knows Keeley knew quite a few but what would be the most fun to share? And what fake story could shee up with? She had never been good at making things up on the spot. Her best bet was probably using a true story about somebody else rather than Jennica.

    Jennica and Cameron weren''t allowed to participate because they would be able to guess too easily. This game was solely to razz them, as close friends tended to do.

    One of Jennica''s actress friends went first. She told a story about how Jennica burped right before she began singing her song at an audition. The other was about how she identally kicked someone in the face while dancing and thenughed so hard she fell to the floor and couldn''t finish the routine.

    Keeley knew her friend¡ªshe was too professional for the second one to happen. "The burp story is the true one," she said confidently.

    Jennica''s face was bright red. "Nope. The dance one happened when I first moved to New York and didn''t know much about auditions yet."

    Everyoneughed and moved to the next person, Cameron''s next door neighbor growing up.

    He entertained everyone with a dramatic retelling of the time Cameron''s brother thought it would be a good idea to tell him to hide inside the freezer in the grocery store and no one found him for fifteen minutes so he had to go to the emergency room.

    The second story was about Cameron knocking out a kid''s tooth by identally headbutting him in P.E. and the tooth was stuck in his hair for hours without anyone noticing. The neighbor''s storytelling was so vivid for both that the rest of the party didn''t have a clue which was the truth.

    "The tooth story?" Aiden guessed.

    The neighbor shook his head with a grin. "The freezer."

    Jennica looked at her fianc¨¦ in rm. "Which brother was this?!"

    "Chase."

    "¡­I can totally see it."

    Eventually it was Aiden''s turn. He talked about how Cameron tripped and dumped his entire lunch tray on himself in the cafeteria and another time when he called him crying drunk because his dog smiled at him.

    Aaron spoke up for the first time in over thirty minutes. "The lunch tray is true. He came into my office covered in spaghetti sauce asking if I had a spare shirt."

    "Did you?" someone asked.

    "Why would I keep an extra shirt in my office? I called him an idiot and sent him home."

    All of Cameron''s friends found this hrious but Keeley narrowed her eyes. It was Aaron''s turn now. If they were actually best friends, what kind of stories would he have to offer?

    When prompted by Aiden, he began to speak in monotone.

    "Cameron was toozy to get a real job in college and paid for all of his expenses by ying poker and ckjack in unofficial dorm room tournaments until he got banned for pissing people off by taking all their money. He also listens to electronic pop music on the ne every time he has a business trip."

    Aaron really wasn''t good at this game. Everyone who knew Cameron at least a little guessed correctly on the first try.

    "How could you nder me like that, Aaron? I only listen to ssic rock on nes!" he protested though it was obvious he was just giving his friend a hard time.

    "¡­I''m not creative."

    Keeley held back a snort. No, he was not. The only time she had ever seen him exhibit any creativity whatsoever was on that Star Wars poem in high school.

    She felt a slight pang. When had he watched those? After she died because he missed her or after being reborn to impress her? That moron.

    It didn''t matter either way. He wasn''t a part of her life anymore. At least, he wouldn''t be once this stupid wedding was over. She still needed to have words with Jennica for tossing them together in the wedding party like this.

    She tried to shake those thoughts free and focus on the next several guests'' stories but she mostly spaced out until it was her turn. How had it gotten to her so quickly?

    A deer caught in headlights, she froze momentarily because she forgot her story ideas. Help. They came back to her after a minute of awkward silence and clearing her throat.

    "Let''s see¡­there was the time Jennica held my cat up like Simba from the Lion King as she sang ''The Circle of Life''¡­and when she thought it would be interesting to try mixing every single vor of Kool-Aid together at once and made me try it. We both puked in the sink afterward."

    Aaron surprised her by speaking up. "The Lion King one is the true story. Your brother was the one who mixed together all the Kool-Aid."

    Hold up. How on earth would he know that? In both her lives she never talked about Kaleb with him that much but she was positive she never told him that particr story.

    "You''re right," she said with an obvious question in her voice.

    He exined himself as if no one else was present. "You mentioned it once when you were drunk."

    How odd. She hadn''t gotten drunk in front of him since they were newlyweds and she identally had too many cocktails at a business function. Yet he still remembered it so many decadester.

    Valentinaunched into her stories involving an exploded bottle of Ranch dressing and thinking there was a murderer at the door so they answered it holding improvised weapons such as rolling pins and a music stand but Keeley hardly paid attention to theughter around her.

    The next few months were going to be so tiring.

 Chapter 156: Bridezilla

    <h4>Chapter 156: Bridezi</h4>

    Being a maid of honor did not jive with the lifestyle of a busy final-year PhD student. Any ''free-time'' Keeley would have had ended up being devoted to helping Jennica prepare for her wedding.

    She was constantly bombarded with texts asking for opinions between two slightly different shades of the same color, which flower seemed the most romantic, and questions about things like whether or not it would be a good idea to have the bridesmaids wear nude nail polish or bright polish that matched their dresses.

    Keeley was at her wit''s end. If she had been given free reign nning her own wedding, she would like to think she wouldn''t be anywhere near this bad.

    Why had her rtivelyidback friend be such a bridezi? Was Lydia giving her maid of honor anywhere near this much grief? Thankfully she wouldn''t know since she was on the opposite side of the country.

    Jennica''s wedding colors¡ªafter much deliberation that nearly had Keeley tearing her hair out¡ªended up following the theme ''tropical jewel tones'' from a wedding website she liked. Red, orange, and hot pink.

    It would certainly be bright and colorful, just like the bride''s personality but the bridesmaid dresses would likely be awful. Not everyone could pull off hot pink. Keeley certainly couldn''t with her ultra-pale skin tone. She tended to prefer pastels.

    Over and over she reminded herself that Jennica was only getting married once and that it was okay if she was going a little (more like a lot) overboard with the nning and wedding stress. Unfortunately, being a receptacle of that stress was taking years off of Keeley''s life.

    Arge part of the problem was her mother, who insisted on being involved every step of the way but didn''t agree with any of her daughter''s decisions. Keeley had been forced to y the middleman far too many times already and it had only been a month since the nning began.

    It didn''t help that midterms were upon her and she still had to fly out to California in a few short weeks. She didn''t even want to think about how much makeup work she would have to do. The very thought made her want to weep bitterly and shake her fist at the sky.

    Her phone dinged. ''Keeley! I need you toe cake testing with me! When are you free?''

    She sighed and pushed away the stack of reference materials she was using to write a paper. Technically, she was never free.

    This paper was due in three days but she also had a PowerPoint presentation to prepare, two shorter papers, all of her midterms to study for, and needed to spend a minimum of four hours each day in theb.

    ''I can spare a few hours on Sunday'' she responded reluctantly. It would cut into the time she was supposed to visit her dad but he would forgive her. Probably.

    ''Great! You''re the best'' Jennica added on a minimum of seven heart emoticons at the end. The wedding stress must really be getting to her; she never used that many.

    Keeley slumped forward so her head hit the desk. All of this wedding nning may actually be the death of her.

    On the off chance she ever did get married again (and it was a very, very off chance), she would know exactly what to do and get it done all by herself in like a week without bothering to be fancy in the slightest.

    Maybe she would even elope to Las Vegas. That sounded a lot better than nning anything. She would just make sure to invite her dad so he wouldn''t be deprived of walking his only daughter down the aisle since he didn''t remember the first time.

    Why was she even thinking about getting married again? There wasn''t a man alive who could tempt her back into that sort of bondage.

    Keeley hadn''t seen Aaron since the engagement party but unfortunately she had been thinking about him a lot. All of this wedding nning kept bringing back memories of how they ended up married in the first ce. He wasn''t even that romantic about it.

    At the beginning of their junior year of college they were hanging out in the Boston Public Garden, one of their favorite ces, while Keeley was feeding the ducks. He stood back and watched instead of participating, like he did on most of their outings together.

    "Can you believe we''re halfway through college already? It seems like we started just a couple of months ago," she remarked as she chucked another scrap of bread over the edge of the bridge.

    She didn''t notice the soft expression on his face as he watched her enthusiastically tear up more bread to see how far she could throw it.

    "We''ll be back in New York before we know it."

    "I certainly hope so. I get awfully homesick out here. I miss my dad." Keeley paused; a bit hesitant knowing this was a sensitive topic for him. "Do you ever miss your family?"

    Aaron shook his head. "Why would I? You''re right here in Boston with me."

    She smiled, feeling warm all over. That was about as verbally affectionate as Aaron got. She hurled another piece of bread into the water.

    "Well yeah, but I''m not family. It''s different."

    "You will be eventually," he said with a nonchnt shrug.

    All of the bread slipped right through Keeley''s fingers. A few pieces fell between the cracks in the ts of the wooden bridge where the hungry ducks swarmed them. Did he just say what she thought he said?

    "Is that so?" she asked faintly.

    He nced at her and noticed her state of disbelief, frowning. "I thought it was a given. We''re always together. Do you¡­not want to marry me?"

    "No!" Of course she wanted to marry him! She had thought about it before but never expected him to bring it up so randomly. "We''ve just never talked about this before. I didn''t know where you stood."

    His frown snapped back into his usual neutral expression. "Oh, I see. It would make the most sense for us to wait until we get back to New York after college. We can get engaged when graduation gets closer."

    Aaron had just dropped the biggest bomb he possibly could have on her and he was being so casual about it! She wasn''t sure how to reply to that level of nonchnce so she simply said "that works" and resumed feeding the ducks in a daze.

 Chapter 157: A Non Proposal

    <h4>Chapter 157: A Non Proposal</h4>

    If it wasn''t bad enough that Aaron brought up getting married as if it was the obvious thing to do, he never even properly proposed. During thest semester of their senior year, he simply handed Keeley a box one day.

    "Here. It''s about time you had this."

    She opened the lid and saw a whopping six carat solitaire diamond ring with a tinum band covered in little diamonds all the way around. How was she supposed to use her left hand when it was weighed down with something that big?

    She sighed. So much for dreams of a romantic proposal. "You know, traditionally the guy is supposed to get down on one knee and specifically ask the girl to marry him."

    He looked like it didn''t even ur to him. "¡­should I do that now?"

    Was she in love with an idiot? "Yes, Aaron."

    He took the box back from her and knelt down in front of her, taking her hand. "Keeley, will you marry me and stay by my side forever?"

    Keeley slid the ring on her finger and tried to adjust to the weight. This thing was heavy! She ced a hand on both sides of his face and seriously said "yes" before kissing him.

    The whole thing was incredibly anticlimactic. At the time she was just happy that she was able to marry him at all. How stupid she had been.

    Thinking back on all that was so strange now that she knew the truth about everything. If Aaron had truly loved her back then like he imed, couldn''t he have put a tiny bit of effort into his proposal?

    She knew he grew up in a cold, loveless environment. He imed that was why he didn''t know how to properly cherish someone but you would have to live under a rock not to know how to propose marriage.

    It did exin a lot of other things though. Like how he almost never verbally expressed affection back then. Every bit of love and care she did get from him was through actions. He looked out for her in his own dumb way until he pushed her awaypletely.

    Hindsight is a funny thing.

    Her heart constricted a bit. Aaron had tried to make it up to her in this life even if he didn''t always go about it the right way. Heplimented her more. His actions were far more considerate. He had really been trying to be good to her.

    But after everything that happened between them there was no way she could ept it. Keeley couldn''t be with him simply to assuage his guilt over everything that happened. Guilt and a sense of obligation weren''t the same as love.

    Even if that wasn''t an obstacle, they were just too different. They never should have ended up together in the first ce. Their values, lifestyle, and interests didn''t align one bit. It was a miracle they ever had anything to talk about at all.

    Not that Aaron even did that much talking in the first ce. Most of their conversations consisted of her babbling about something or other and him asionally contributing ament.

    Love doesn''t conquer all. Some rtionships simply aren''t meant to work out.

    Keeley may have started to like what she thought was a different version of Aaron but knowing him and her ex-husband were one and the same squashed those budding feelings like a bug. She didn''t love him and hadn''t for a very long time. Finding out things were different than she thought didn''t change that.

    She had spent so many years drowning in loneliness when he was right there. That killed any lingering feelings she had for him. She felt a little sorry for him but not enough to change her mind. They were better off putting the past behind them and living for themselves this time.

    Keeley snapped her book shut resolutely and put her reference materials away. It was time to go to theb.

    She emptied her head of thoughts of Aaron and the past as she made her way through the throng of students heading to and from ss. Ugh, theb building was so far away from the library. She was getting a workout simply from walking there.

    When she arrived, she scanned her card at the back door that was closer to the entrance to thebs to get in. She put her backpack in her locker and pulled on herb coat and goggles. It was time to get to work.

    The objectives of the day included taking data on her mice, checking on the status of her ripening cultures, and starting the next batch for further trials. All of that was for her own research; she still had to do things for Dr. Kim or she wouldn''t get paid.

    Hourster, Keeley was hard at work measuring things out into test tubes so they could go into the centrifuge when there was a knock at theb door.

    She nced up at the clock. Right. It was 5:30 PM. Every day on the dot she would get an anonymous takeout delivery.

    Today''s delivery boy was from a sandwich shop. He smiled at her professionally. "Keeley Hall? I have your steak and cheese sandwich, a chocte chip cookie, and a water bottle right here."

    "Thanks," she said politely. It wasn''t the delivery boy''s fault he was aiding and abetting the man she was trying to forget.

    The delivery boy turned to leave and shot out a signature "have a nice day!" as he went.

    She shut the door behind her in low spirits. Aaron had been doing this every day she was in theb since they parted ways. At least, she assumed it was him from the get go because who else did she know that had the money to order food for someone else?

    He respected her wishes to be left alone but was still taking care of her. Keeley had angrily texted him the first time this happened and he replied that it may not technically be his job anymore but no one else was going to make sure she was eating while she worked so he wasn''t going to stop.

    She had mostly epted it by this point but it was still annoying because each time the delivery person came she thought of him. What did he care if she was taking care of herself? She hated him! Why couldn''t he just hate her back? Why did he insist on continuing to be nice?

    Keeley ate her sandwich tiredly before getting back to work. No use dwelling on it.

 Chapter 158: Even Powerful People Could Get Burned Out

    <h4>Chapter 158: Even Powerful People Could Get Burned Out</h4>

    Aaron''s phone beeped. It was an email notification that his delivery had been received, asking for him to rate the service. He quickly gave it five stars because it was what Keeley would do to help out the delivery person before setting his phone back onto the table.

    She was probably eating her sandwich right now.

    This was the least he could do for her. He hadn''t taken care of her properly in their first life. Nothing would stop him from catering to her every need this time around, even the fact that she despised him.

    He hoped that she would cool down a bit eventually but his expectations changed the moment he found out she had been reborn. Keeley had every right to hate him.

    She had been the light of his life but all he ever brought her was darkness. It had never been fair dragging someone so pure and uncorrupted into his world. He did it because he didn''t want to be alone and didn''t think of her side of the equation at all.

    His selfishness was unforgivable. No, he couldn''t expect her toe back to him. At best he wanted to be on good enough terms that they could be friendly when they saw each other.

    Aaron sighed and double checked the numbers in front of him. All those business trips and he still didn''t have nearly enough power to topple his father by force. Was trying to wrestle away his shares like originally nned really his only choice?

    He really didn''t have enough time for that. His father had be more and more impatient about him marrying.

    He couldn''t¡ªwouldn''t¡ªeven consider getting engaged now only to break itter as an option. Aaron refused to let his father have that kind of power over him.

    Worst case scenario, he would disobey the order to get engaged and his father would try to throw him out of thepany and cut him off. It wouldn''t work; Aaron was secretly the secondrgest shareholder.

    He didn''t want to expose that fact but if it really came down to the wire he would. The only problem with that n was that it would reveal his true intentions to overthrow Alistair and his father would be more on guard, making things much more difficult.

    Nobody with good intentions would split up their shares between multiple board members to have more votes, after all. His n would be obvious once his father figured that part out.

    Plotting a coup was exhausting work. Sometimes he even wondered if it was worth it anymore. He only even started all of this so he could be with Keeley without worrying about his father''s interference. With her out of the picture, he had lost his drive.

    Aaron had always been an ambitious person but his ambitions were never his own until she came along.

    Since birth he had been specifically trained for his role to take over thepany. Everything was decided for him: how he would speak, act, dress, and spend his time. After meeting her, his ambitions changed. All he wanted was to have her with him.

    He worked so hard during their first few years of marriage because he wanted his father to acknowledge his aplishments to the point of respecting that he could make his own choices and ept his wife. After discovering the truth about the baby''s death he worked hard to dethrone his father.

    It was always done with Keeley in mind and yet his workaholic tendencies had been part of what made her so miserable. Ironic.

    The only reason he really had left to even bother was getting revenge on his father for hurting his wife so horribly, especially now that he knew she remembered it. It wasn''t the same as doing it so they could be together. He was tired and didn''t know if he could even pull it off at this point.

    Cameron caught him lost in his thoughts as he barged into the office. "What are the foreign holdings looking like?"

    "Not enough," Aaron said wearily.

    He seemed rmed at his boss'' aura of defeat. It was understandable since Aaron always kept up his cold yet confident persona in front of him. But even powerful people could get burned out. Aaron was no exception.

    "Hey¡­you''ll figure this out. We''re closer than we''ve ever been."

    That may have been true but it was still too far away to be useful. Their current backers weren''t powerful enough. What needed to happen for a hostile takeover to be sessful was foreign markets driving down the stock value so Alistair had no choice but to sell out.

    To have full decision-making power Aaron needed more than 50% of the shares. He needed 27% more to make that happen, which was slightly more than double what he currently had.

    "Cameron¡­is there even a point to all of this?" he asked helplessly.

    Even if Aaron won this particr battle, his father still won the war. Keeley wouldn''t forgive him for all the things he did to protect her from his father. Alistair''s win in theirst life carried over to this one no matter what happened now.

    Cameron sighed and hesitantly reached out to pat his friend''s shoulder. "Of course there is. It''s easy to lose focus of the big picture when you''re worn out. You''ve focused on work too muchtely; why note out and do something fun to get your mind off things this weekend?"

    Fun? Nothing in this world was fun without Keeley involved. She was the only one who could make things seem fun to him.

    "I think I''ll pass."

    "Keeley''s going to be there," he said teasingly. "Would you really miss an opportunity to eat a bunch of cake and see your favorite person?"

    He could never miss an opportunity to see his wife but¡­ "Cake?"

    "Oh yeah, I should have mentioned that. We''re going cake testing for the wedding. She''s the maid of honor and Jen can''t make a single decision without consulting her on it for some reason. I feel kind of sorry for her, actually. Jen''s a little¡­stressed¡­about everything and she''s been pouring her stress out onto the people around her, specifically Keeley."

    Aaron scowled, indignant on his wife''s behalf. "She doesn''t have time to deal with all that. She barely gets enough sleep as is."

    "I know; that''s why I feel sorry for her. Maybe you can cheer her up a bit this weekend."

    Him cheer Keeley up? Laughable. She would probably be furious seeing him there. At least enjoying her presence for a little while would help Aaron out of his slump. She tended to have that effect on him.

 Chapter 159: Cake

    <h4>Chapter 159: Cake</h4>

    Jennica wanted to get her wedding cake from a famous bakery about an hour away in New Jersey that had its own TV show. She and Keeley had watched a bunch of episodes together so despite the insanity of her schedule, Keeley was a bit excited about going there.

    She rode over with the lovebirds in Cameron''s car and it the drive seemed to take years. Not only was Keeley being force fed dog food, Jennica was freaking out about which kind of fake flowers to put on the cake and other little details that would be worked out with the cake consultant at the bakery.

    She sincerely wished she had driven over separately but she didn''t have a car. Only the thought of delicious cake sustained her on the way over.

    Due to the bakery''s poprity, the line was out the door and stretched out for nearly two blocks. Thankfully they had an appointment and were able to squeeze past all of the people impatiently waiting their turn.

    To Keeley''s dismay, Aaron was inside sitting at one of the tables and stood when he saw them. "What are you doing here?"

    "Cameron invited me. He said I needed more fun in my life," he deadpanned.

    Great. This day just got even better.

    They were all ushered over to a different table where the cake consultant was waiting for them. Keeley recognized him from TV but kept her excitement to herself. The guy probably got that sort of thing all the time; she didn''t want to be one of ''those people.''

    "So, is this a joint wedding?" the consultant asked.

    Keeley practically jumped out of her skin in her race to refute. "No way! I''m the maid of honor and he''s the best man; your couple is over there."

    "Oh, I see. Usually only the bride and groome to these things."

    She sighed inwardly. Why was she even here witnessing this lovefest and dealing with the one she wanted to avoid most if it was supposed to be for the couple only? She was going to murder Jennicater.

    Cake. She was here for the cake. Everything else would be alright as long as she got her samples.

    The consultant continued. "As requested when you signed up for a consultation, I have the three vors you chose to try. Chocte mousse, cookies and cream, and lemon. Since we thought there would only be two of you here today, you''ll have to share."

    Even better. Of course Jennica wanted to share cake with her fianc¨¦ so Keeley, who was stuck sitting next to Aaron anyway, would have to eat off the same te as him. Why was the universe out to get her today?

    The chocte mousse cake was ced in front of the group first. Keeley took a bite and nearly moaned in ecstasy. This was a chocte lover''s dream. The deep richness of the cake wasplimented by the fluffiness of the mousse perfectly.

    After only two bites, Aaron subtly pushed the te towards her so she could enjoy the rest of it. Maybe sharing a te with him wouldn''t be so bad after all.

    "What do you think?"

    Keeley was ready to sing this cake''s praises to the heavens but she let the couple who was actually choosing go first.

    "I really like it. Jen?" Cameron turned towards his fianc¨¦e and lovingly wiped a few crumbs off her face. Keeley''s stomach soured from the sweetness.

    She nodded. "It''s delicious."

    The consultant then turned to the others kindly even though their opinions didn''t really count.

    Keeley smiled at him. "This is the best chocte cake I''ve ever tasted. I''ll definitely being here for my next birthday."

    All Aaron did was nod his approval. Typical.

    The rest of the cake testing went much the same. The cookies and cream cake was also fantastic but the lemon one was a little too bitter for Keeley''s taste. She had never been a huge fan of citrus.

    Knowing this, Aaron let her have the majority of the cookies and cream sample but ate all but one bite of the lemon one himself. She would have questioned how he knew she didn''t like lemon until she remembered the Skittles incident in high school.

    "After trying everything I''m leaning towards the cookies and cream," Jennica admitted. "Cam, do you have a preference?"

    "The chocte mousse."

    "You wanted a four tier cake, correct? You can do two of each," the consultant suggested.

    They turned and looked at each other before saying "that works" in perfect sync. Theirpatibility amazed Keeley as always. She and Aaron had never been on the same page like that.

    Although, she had to admit that he seemed to be reading her mind about which cake vors she wanted to eat more of today. Anticipating what she wanted like this was more than a little out of character for him.

    "Can you please show me the references you brought so I know what you''re looking for decoration wise?" the consultant asked and Jennica responded by pulling out an entire binder of pictures.

    Keeley sighed. This would take a while. As they went on about different flowers, colors, and patterns to indent the fondant with, she thought about how she would rather be studying for her least favorite ss'' midterm than be listening to this right now.

    This wasn''t even anywhere near the end of her duties. She still had to deal with dress shopping, floral arrangements, nning the bachelorette party and everything in between. She hung her head in her hands, exhausted already.

    Aaron leaned over and whispered in her ear. "We''ve already contributed our opinions as much as we can; do you want me to take you home?"

    She nced back and forth between her options. Either she would spend an awkward hour of silence with Aaron or be stuck here for who knows long and have another ride like on the way here. She chose the lesser of two evils.

    "That would be great, thank you."

    He stood and addressed those who were still sitting. "Thanks for having us along but Keeley has midterms to study for so we''re going to head back. Good luck with everything."

    Jennica barely even looked up. "Sure, sure. See you guyster."

    Cameron shot his friend a wink and a thumbs up behind Keeley''s back so she didn''t notice anything. She would have been very put out if she had.

    They had to walk for a while to reach his car. It reminded her of back in Boston how the public parking areas were usually pretty far from wherever they were hanging out.

    "How did you know I was dying back there?" she asked out of curiosity, finally breaking the silence.

    "It was written all over your face. Besides, I know what your schedule is like. This is your final year of school; why on earth did you agree to being the maid of honor if you didn''t have time?"

    "Because I''m a pushover who doesn''t know how to say no," she said sourly.

    Jennica was one of her best friends; she would have felt horrible turning her down. She may have done it anyway though if she had known it would be this bad. It was toote to back out now.

    Aaron had a hint of indulgence in his expression. "See, this is exactly why I have to take care of you. You won''t do it yourself."

    Keeley huffed. She had no argument for that. It was too ironic that the person she had believed was thest one on earth to have her best interests at heart was lecturing her on this now.

 Chapter 160: Anything For You!

    <h4>Chapter 160: Anything For You!</h4>

    Aaron was both surprised and grateful that Keeley actually agreed to have him take her home. Any extra time with her was a blessing.

    He had noticed she didn''t want to be there from the very beginning. Once she had her fill of cake, she was more than ready to leave but he would have thought her hatred toward him would have trumped her desire to escape. It was better than nothing.

    The inside of the car was so silent that you could hear all of the other cars on the freeway with perfect rity. It was obvious she didn''t want to talk but he had to try. He had missed her too much to deal with silence now.

    "While I have you here, is there anything in specific you''d like to have for dinner this uing week?" he asked.

    He had been rotating through different types of restaurants as best he could and tried to keep from being repetitive but there were only so many ces that offered delivery services in the area.

    Keeley finally stopped gazing out the window and turned her attention to him. "Buffalo wings would be nice. Or sushi. I could also go for a calzone¡­"

    Aaron stifled augh. Someone was feeling indecisive. It was fine; he could do all three throughout the week.

    "Good to know. If you ever want something specifically feel free to text me. I''ve been doing my best to mix things up but everyone runs out of ideas eventually."

    "Alright. Thanks."

    Silence resumed inside the car and he tried not to be disappointed by it. It was better not to push her while she was still angry.

    As they got closer to New York, she spoke up again. "Hey, I forgot to mention this. I need to go to my dad''s house today so go ahead and drop me there."

    It was a good thing she let him know when she did because he was about two miles away from turning onto the wrong freeway exit to make it into Brooklyn. Although going the wrong way for a while would have prolonged his time with her¡­

    Keeley didn''t speak again for the rest of the ride. When she got out she thanked him for taking her and then hesitated for a moment.

    "Um¡­thanks for letting me have most of the cake samples. I don''t know how you knew I wanted them but I appreciate it. That''s all I wanted to say. Bye."

    She hurried toward the door of the apartment building and he had the ghost of a smile on his face. So she''d noticed. That was something anyway.

    ===

    The following day at work Aaron was annoyed because his father was threatening him to go to a formal event he would rather die than attend. Lacy Knighton''s 25th birthday party. What was the point of celebrating that woman''s birth when he wished she was dead?

    If he showed up it would give Lacy the wrong idea, which was exactly why Alistair wanted him to go. He was still dead set on having her as his daughter-inw. Unless he had a secret second son out there, that would never happen.

    The party wasn''t for a few weeks but Alistair had started bothering Aaron about it early to impress the importance of going on him. Unfortunately, with how slowly things were working on his end, he had to listen to the insufferable fool for the time being. He had to go.

    Lacy would use this as an opportunity to try and get close to him, he just knew it. After all, birthday parties were a big deal in their circle. More than a few engagements had been announced at them before.

    All of this could be avoided if Aaron had a rumored girlfriend but where could he find one on such short notice who wouldn''t get any bright ideas about clinging to him afterwards?

    Aiden popped into his office to give an updated report on a Brann Knighton sighting just then. "Boss man, I found something you might find interesting about our favorite inside trading suspect."

    He eyed the hacker appraisingly. Aiden was practically a twig and had a bit of a baby face. With the right stylist he could pass as a girl.

    "In a minute. I need you to do me a favor."

    "Anything for you!" he dered boldly.

    Aaron''s face twisted into a devious expression and Aiden actually looked nervous. "I''m d you said that because I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend."

    "Whaaaat?! No way! If Cameron found out he''d never let me live it down. Even worse¡­Nova¡­Sorry man, I can''t. Anything but that."

    "I''ll give you a month off to visit your girlfriend if you do."

    Interest sparked in his eyes, shing with his clearly horrified expression. "You can''t tempt me like that, Aaron!"

    He shrugged. "It''s your choice. I would even throw in a fully paid for mini vacation to Stockholm for the two of you where you could do whatever you want on my tab but if you''re not interested¡­"

    Aiden admitted defeat. "You got me. But I swear, if anyone ever finds out about this I''ll tell Keeley you''ve been stalking her since her freshman year of college."

    "Deal."

    "What do you need it for anyway?"

    Aaronced his fingers together on top of his desk and muttered darkly, "Lacy Knighton''s birthday party. I have a hunch she''s going to try and trick me into getting engaged with her somehow. I need a strong deterrent but there are only so many people I trust."

    The only reason he even used Jennica as a fake date before was because he trusted Aiden''s judgment of her character that she would remain professional and wouldn''t try to use it as an opportunity to establish a rtionship with him.

    Using another actress was out; he was too visible in this city. There were so many wannabe Cinderes out there who would happilytch onto him and try to be the next Mrs. Hale. That was thest thing he needed right now.

    "Speaking of Lacy Knighton¡­I haven''t seen any strange movements of other men around her. I know you wanted me to look out for that but all I''ve seen so far is that guy Max," Aiden said. "If you hate her so much, why do you care who she gets involved with?"

    "Let''s just say that I''m pretty sure someone will try to use her to get to me at some point. Better safe than sorry."

    It was impossible to exin the role of Lacy''s eventual baby daddy in Aaron''s downfall. He hadn''t made his presence known until 2018, five years from now.

    Aaron had never even figured out who he was let alone why he held a grudge against him. It made even less sense that he disappeared after Keeley died and never came after Aaron again. Had he really only appeared on the scene around the time Lacy got pregnant or had he been lurking in the shadows for longer?

    There were so many unanswered questions surrounding this man. Aaron wasn''t even sure if he was going to be a yer in the game during this life since things had turned out so differently already but he had to be prepared.

    Aiden was confused. "Why would anyone use her to get to you? Wouldn''t Keeley make more sense?"

    "Lacy is obsessed with me beyond the point of reason. She would be easy to manipte if the other person said they would help her be with me."

    "Ah. That''s pretty messed up, dude."

    "I know. My world in general is pretty messed up," he said dryly.

    If he hadn''t been Aaron Hale¡­if he had been a normal man¡­would he and Keeley have been happy together? He couldn''t even imagine what it would be like having a normal childhood and choosing his own career path. Would he and Keeley even have met?

 Chapter 161: Sucks To Be You

    <h4>Chapter 161: Sucks To Be You</h4>

    "Um¡­what exactly are you nning on having me do?" Aiden asked apprehensively as he yed with a picture frame on Aaron''s desk.

    Aaron red at him and he stopped messing with the frame immediately. His father could ess this office at any time so the only picture he kept in here was one of Dinah. It still reminded him of Keeley every time he saw it because of her role in acquiring the cat.

    "All you really have to do is show up, stick near me, and follow my lead," he instructed. "Simple as that."

    Aiden still seemed doubtful. "I dunno man¡­this is weird. Really weird."

    "You''re free to back out if you don''t want your vacation."

    "Of course I want my vacation! I just don''t want to dress like a girl and be your human shield!" he protested before pouting like a five-year-old.

    "I haven''t had to dress like a girl since I was about six and my little sister wouldn''t stop crying until I yed dress up with her. When she''s in a bad mood she still lords it over me to this day."

    He instantly straightened. "You''re not allowed to take any pictures! I don''t want you ckmailing meter."

    Aaron nearly rolled his eyes. "I already have more than enough ckmail material on you. I don''t need any more."

    He rxed instantly, remembering that his boss knew a ton of not only embarrassing but illegal stuff about him and never said a peep. Aaron was right; he really didn''t need any more ckmail material.

    Besides, Aiden was fairly certain he had never seen his boss tease anyone. He wasn''t the type. Cameron on the other hand¡­

    "When is this party anyway?"

    "Friday, April 12th. Come over to my ce right after work so the stylist can turn you into a girl," Aaron said coolly, not caring about his subordinate''s dignity.

    Aiden shuddered just thinking about it. It was time to change the subject.

    "So¡­like I was saying before you asked me the weirdest favor of my life, I found something on Brann Knighton." He pulled up the encrypted file on his phone and held it out for his boss to see.

    "It doesn''t have specific information about the insider trading but their emails talk about a merger. What else could they possibly be referring to?"

    Aaron sighed. The kid was so smart and yet so dumb. They were literally just talking about this.

    "Me. They''re trying to merge the Knighton and Hale families to be even stronger in the financial sector. They''re already the two biggest names; I don''t know why they have to be so greedy."

    This basically proved they were going to try and announce the engagement Aaron hadn''t agreed to at the party. The only way he could possiblybat this was by publicly getting engaged to someone else at the party before they could announce it.

    Aiden was not going to be happy. But what else could he do?

    Even if he enraged his father by not going to the party they would still announce it without him there. Getting rid of Lacy would be nearly impossible if she managed to make this announcement. He had to strike first.

    "Oh, duh. Sucks to be you," Aiden said sympathetically. "I''ll keep monitoring them and let you know if I find anything else."

    He left the office with a spring in his step, no doubt thinking about his pending vacation with his girlfriend. He wouldn''t be so peppy if he knew the embarrassment he would have to go through to get there.

    Aaron sighed and rubbed his temples. A headache was brewing. Brann Knighton was nearly as problematic as his father.

    In his first life, he never had any definitive proof that Brann was involved in the plot to destroy Keeley''s ability to bear an heir but he certainly used his wife''s connections to keep the police off his daughter and Max''s trail after Robert Hall was killed. That alone was reason to punish him.

    One of the reasons Keeley hated Aaron so much was because of what he had done to investigate Lacy and the Knightons to give his deceased father-inw justice. He hadn''t actually cheated but he had been spotted with that vile woman in public several times as he tried to get her to slip up and reveal something.

    When Lacy got pregnant out of wedlock, everyone in their circle assumed it was Aaron''s because of the rumors floating around. He went along with the lie so he would have an excuse to get Keeley out of his life and away to safety.

    He never understood why they bothered to kill Robert in the first ce if their ultimate goal was to get rid of Keeley. Hadn''t they done enough to destroy her already?

    Even though she had eventually recovered from the fake ectopic pregnancy incident, they used the social circle to crush her spiritpletely. His wife was already a shell of her former vibrant self long before losing her only remaining family member.

    Aaron would never forgive himself for unintentionally putting her in harm''s way. She was clearly still haunted by those memories though she did her best to move on and live out the dreams she couldn''t before.

    Every single person involved in destroying Keeley needed to pay. The Knightons. Max Lynch. The father of Lacy''s baby. Dr. Rothman. Alistair Hale. Aaron wasn''t sure how wide the web of corruption went but he would find out if it killed him.

    Sweet, na?ve Keeley. Her only crime was falling in love with someone who lived in aplicated world yet she paid the ultimate price.

    What they went through in their first life changed them both. She was sharper, less trusting, and burdened with all of that extra pain. He became more ruthless towards his enemies but also finally learned how to love someone properly when it was toote.

    Fate was cruel. What was the point of sending him back in time to fix his mistakes if Keeley remembered all of them and wouldn''t give him a chance?

    Even if she never forgave him, he could still get revenge for her. He would show those who dared to hurt her the same level of mercy. Or worse.

 Chapter 162: The Middleman

    <h4>Chapter 162: The Middleman</h4>

    Keeley''s bridesmaid dress for Lydia''s wedding arrived in the mail and she stared at it in abject horror. Her wedding colors werevender and mint green and the bridesmaid dresses had been custom-made to include both.

    It was a silk nightmare.

    Most of the dress wasvender, such as the spaghetti straps and the wraparound skirt. But the awkwardlyrge band that only took up the top half of the chest area and the gigantic bow with the false jewel in the middle were mint green.

    ''Lydia¡­how could you do this to your friends¡­'' she thought with a groan. This thing was getting thrown away the moment the wedding was over.

    Keeley texted her friend to let her know the dress arrived and Lydia asked what she thought about it. She lied and said it looked great. Dealing with Jennica''s nonsense had proven to her that brides-to-be shouldn''t be messed with.

    Thinking of Jennica¡­she was supposed to go dress shopping with herter. With any luck her bridesmaid dresses wouldn''t be nearly so horrible but Keeley wasn''t optimistic.

    The worst part of this was that Jennica''s mother had flown out specifically to help her daughter pick out her wedding dress. Keeley would have to be the middleman in person now and she dreaded it.

    Midterms had taken a lot out of her; she really didn''t have time or energy to spare. At least there was no chance of running into Aaron at the bridal salon. Not even Cameron was allowed in that hallowed ground for brides.

    The one good thing about this trip was that Valentina wasing too. She loved girly things like shopping and would probably be a lot more helpful fashion-wise than Keeley could ever be.

    The group set out on a crisp but sunny Saturday morning and headed into an exclusive bridal salon in the shopping district Keeley frequented in her past life. Cameron insisted that Jennica should feel like a princess on their wedding day and he was footing the bill so she happily epted the exorbitance.

    Keeley felt distinctly ufortable. She had never been inside this store before but she had been into ones on the same street.

    It brought back memories she would rather forget of shopping trips with people barely disguising their disdain for her. She had spent far too much time dealing with those snobs.

    A salon attendant ushered them in professionally despite obviously noticing the cheap, casual attire that didn''t match their usual clientele. "Which one of you here today is the bride?"

    "That would be me!" Jennica beamed. "These lovelydies are my mother and two of my bridesmaids."

    The attendant led them to a private sitting area outside of a dressing room that had a raised tform in front of it surrounded by mirrors for the bride to admire dresses from all angles.

    "Can you tell me what kind of dress you are looking for?"

    "Something huge and frilly," Anna Stevens cut in without consulting her daughter.

    Jennica scowled. "Mom, that''s not what I want."

    "You only get married once! Why not look like a princess?"

    "You can look like a princess without drowning in material," she said stubbornly. "What about mermaid gowns? I like those."

    "We have a wide selection of that style," the attendant said smoothly.

    It was clear to see where Jennica got her stubbornness from. Her mother wouldn''t back down. "That style is so tacky; there''s no way you could pull it off."

    "Alison wore one when she and Brian got married!"

    "Yes, and it was tacky!"

    They continued squabbling and Valentina looked to Keeley in rm. She whispered, "Have they been like this the whole time they''ve been nning the wedding?"

    "Yeah. They might actually be the death of me."

    To appease them, the salon attendant expertly suggested bringing out some of both types and a few styles that were a bit in between. She then asked for color preferences.

    Keeley had no idea there were so many different shades of white. Stark white, ivory, baster, light gold, diamond white, champagne¡­ Based on Jennica''s skin tone, the attendant rmended baster or light gold. Of course her mother, ever the traditionalist, wanted stark white.

    This was where Keeley came in. She put on her sweetest smile and waved the attendant to go fetch things in the shades she thought were best before tackling her foe.

    "Mrs. Stevens, the attendant is a professional and knows how to make your daughter look her best. You wouldn''t want her to seem washed out in the wedding pictures, would you?"

    Anna was horrified at the thought. "Oh no, the pictures are the most important part!"

    She stopped fussing about the shade of white after that and Jennica shot her friend a grateful look. Keeley smiled a bit smugly. She almost had this down to a science now.

    The attendant came back with six dress options to start with.The first one was the biggest ball gown Keeley had ever seen¡ªeven bigger than her own had been. It didn''t look like Jennica''s style at all but her mother''s eyes lit up at the sight. Someone was clearly reliving their own fantasies through their child.

    Jennica was pushed into the dressing room reluctantly and had to ask for help with the hooks in the back partway through.

    "I have never felt so ridiculous in my life," she said tly as she emerged.

    The top half of the dress was a beaded corset but the bottom half¡­ She was literally drowning in ruffles. The skirt had a three foot radius surrounding Jennica''s actual body and the train was even worse.

    Anna cooed and pped her hands together in delight. "You look gorgeous!"

    "How would you even sit down?" Valentina wondered aloud, a small frown on her usually smiling face.

    "Jen¡­can you walk?" Keeley asked.

    It looked terribly ufortable. If she were the one wearing it she surely would have tripped and fallen to her death.

    She attempted to take a few steps but kept stepping on the ruffled hem. She blew out a frustrated breath.

    "No. There''s absolutely no way I''m wearing this one. I can''t even get off the pedestal."

    "But¡ª"

    "I''m not wearing it, Mom!"

    Jennica stomped back into the dressing room and angrily demanded the next dress. The attendant wisely handed her a mermaid style gown this time to cate her.

    She came out of the dressing room much happier in ace covered mermaid dress with a sweetheart neckline. Valentina liked it but Anna began arguing against it immediately. Keeley sighed. They still had four more dresses to go.

 Chapter 163: You Lose

    <h4>Chapter 163: You Lose</h4>

    Between dresses three and four, Keeley needed to go to the bathroom. She excused herself (though nobody noticed because they were too busy arguing) and wandered around the salon until she found it.

    On her way back, she passed another private dressing area that happened to have a bride and her mother in it. The problem was she recognized that mother¡ªit was Pearl Knighton.

    Lacy burst out of the dressing roomining loudly in a ball gownpletely decked out in diamonds.

    "This one doesn''t have enough diamonds on it. I have to be the most dazzling bride our circle has ever seen! Everyone is still talking about Alice Kelly''s wedding dress from nearly three years ago. I have to beat her!"

    "You will dear," Pearl said soothingly. "You''ll be the most ravishing bride there ever was."

    Since when was Lacy getting married? In Keeley''s first run-through of 2013, she was still hung up on Aaron and trying to break apart their marriage. There was no way that fanatical woman would give up on him when he was single.

    The only exnation that made sense from that perspective was that she was marrying Aaron but that was impossible.

    Everything Keeley had seen in this life indicated that Aaron despised Lacy. After hearing the truth about how everything really went down, she could tell how deeply rooted that loathing went. There was no way he would ever marry her.

    Unless¡­did Aaron n to suppress her once she became his wife? He had sucked the very soul out of Keeley, who had loved him deeply, by not giving her the time of day and forcing her to change everything about herself for him. It was feasible.

    Lacy was obsessed with him. If he gave her what she wanted in name but treated her terribly, it would be quite cruel. Would he really go that far for revenge?

    Lost in thought, Keeley didn''t realize she was spotted until her worst enemy was yelling her name. "Keeley Hall! What do you think you are doing here?!"

    She instantly put on her falsest smile and deadpanned, "Lacy, how nice to see you. It''s been what, six, seven years now?"

    "Answer the question," Lacy hissed, looking rather ferocious despite the gaudy dress she was wearing.

    "I''m the maid of honor for my friend and she brought me along to help her pick out a dress."

    She scoffed rudely. "As if any friend of yours could afford to shop here."

    "Lacy," Pearl said warningly but she chose to ignore her mother.

    She really had be so careless when it came to her image where Keeley was concerned in this life. The first time around she had held her act together until after they got married.

    "My friend''s fianc¨¦ is footing the bill. I assume you''ve heard of Cameron Singleton?" In her obsession with Aaron she had to know who was close to him.

    Lacy''s eyes narrowed. "The one who is a member of the board at Hale Investments?"

    Keeley nodded. "Now if you''ll excuse me, I should be getting back to them."

    She turned to leave but the other woman grabbed her arm in a vicious grip. "Wait! There''s something you should know first¡ªI''m here picking out my wedding dress for when I marry Aaron Hale. You lose."

    She looked at her one-time enemy with disgust and snorted. "Why would I care? I never liked him; he was the one who kept clinging onto me. I haven''t even seen him since high school. If you must know, I have a boyfriend now who is far superior to Aaron Hale."

    The lies were necessary. She had fallen off this madwoman''s radar already and didn''t want to get back on it. Lacy would flip if she knew her fianc¨¦ was still pursuing her.

    Her expression grew ugly but Keeley was able to break free and scurry back to her group. Jennica was trying on the fifth dress and swishing the skirt back and forth in front of the mirror to admire it better.

    It also had a sweetheart neckline but with a ruched bodice and the skirt red out with a moderate amount of ruffles. It was much subtler than the ruffled monstrosity she tried on before.

    "I want this one," she announced before frowning slightly. "But I feel like it''s missing something."

    The attendant seemed relieved she liked it, showing a tiny crack of emotion in her professionalism. "It''s very popr this season to add a thick belt with one of the wedding colors to add a pop for dresses like this."

    Jennica''s eyes sparkled with interest. "My colors are red, orange, and hot pink."

    "I''ll bring out a selection of essories in those colors. Please allow me one moment."

    She bowed slightly before walking primly out of the room. Jennica continued admiring herself in all of the mirrors. Even her mother couldn''t find anything to fault; it was a beautiful dress, if less princessy than she originally expected.

    Keeley was relieved. Her part in this was over. She could sit back and rx, oohing and awwing when appropriate until it was time to leave and she could return to her ever increasing homework load.

    The problem with sitting back was that it gave her time to think about what she just learned. It was a bit insulting to discover that a man who professed his love to you only two months ago was marrying someone else, even if that man was one you wanted nothing to do with.

    More than that, she experienced a sour feeling in the pit of her stomach at the idea that Lacy would win in the end. She would be Mrs. Hale just like she spent so many years scheming to do.

    Why did it matter now? Before finding out the truth, hadn''t Keeley expected things to end up this way? At one point she even hoped for it so Aaron would leave her alone.

    The truth changed everything. No one should have to marry someone they don''t love, even if that someone is a heartless robot like Aaron Hale.

    No, he wasn''t a heartless robot¡­he was different than she originally thought. He clearly had feelings but didn''t know how to express them properly. That made it worse.

    He imed to be in love with Keeley but he was marrying the woman who not only killed his only child butter had his wife killed as well. Some way to show his love. Even if it was for revenge, it was inexcusable.

    It was stupid that she even cared about this at all. Aaron was always meant to marry a socialite. He could do whatever he wanted.

    But¡­she didn''t want to be construed as the other woman. She needed to tell him to stop delivering her food. If he was getting married, it was time to make a clean break.

 Chapter 164: I Only Have One Wife

    <h4>Chapter 164: I Only Have One Wife</h4>

    Lydia''s wedding was on a Saturday so in order to be present for both the bachelorette party and the rehearsal she needed to leave on Thursday morning. Taking off two days of work and ss would be murder to make up with only one month left of school but what could she do? Lydia was one of her best friends.

    She owed it to her after being such a terrible friend in herst life. She began growing apart from Lydia and Jeffrey the moment she began hanging out with Aaron at lunch.

    Theypletely lost touch in college; she hadn''t even known Lydia was getting married until she saw the wedding pictures on Facebook months after the fact.

    Keeley would participate in this circus despite the problems it would cause her personally because she loved her friend.

    She packed carefully after checking what the weather would be like. It was going to be about ten degrees warmer so she might even be able to get away with not wearing a jacket. That wouldn''t stop her from bringing one though just in case. She would rather carry one around unnecessarily than freeze.

    Her phone went off as she was gathering toiletries to pack. It was probably Aaron. She had finally remembered to text him about not bothering to provide dinner anymore since he was engaged.

    ''I don''t know what rumors you''ve been listening to but I only have one wife. That won''t change''

    Keeley had never been so confused. One of them had to be lying since their stories were so different. But which one?

    Lacy was a scheming witch who had a personal vendetta against her. Aaron had a serious history of lying and was trying to win her back. Both of them had reasons to lie about this.

    She didn''t care either way. She was going out of town; she wouldn''t need food regardless.

    ''Whatever. I''m going to be in California for the rest of the week anyway so if you send things no one will be there to receive them''

    His reply was instantaneous. ''What for?''

    ''My friend Lydia''s wedding. I''m a bridesmaid''

    ''You''ve be the popr bridesmaid choice all of a sudden. Do you really have time for this?''

    She sighed. He really seemed like he cared in moments like this. ''No but I won''t disappoint my friends''

    He didn''t respond for a few minutes. When he finally did, it was only to ask ''Is there anything I can do to lessen your load?''

    The words brought tears to her eyes and she angrily brushed them away as she thought, ''Stupid. This isn''t worth getting emotional over. He doesn''t actually care about you; he only feels guilty for ruining your life.''

    ''No. Thanks though''

    ''Let me know if you change your mind''

    She wouldn''t. Keeley wanted him and hisplicated rtionship status out of her head. That would only happen if he was out of her life. Taking advantage of his guilty conscience wasn''t an option.

    ===

    California was nothing like she expected. She always thought of sandy beaches and Hollywood but what she saw was a rtively rxed coastal town. Lydia did say that northern California was different than southern.

    Technically there were beaches but they were all rocky and the water was nearly as cold as it was in New York. Jeffrey told her as much; he and his girlfriend Keisha hade a few days early to be tourists in the general San Francisco area.

    Keeley had never met her before this trip but discovered she was a beautiful and intelligent African-American woman with a wicked sense of humor. She could see why Jeffrey liked her.

    Since she didn''t know any other friends or rtives of Lydia''s she stuck with Jeffrey and Keisha like glue. It was nice catching up with him and hearing about their exploits in Marnd.

    Keisha was a veterinary technician and had many amusing tales to tell about dumb reasons people''s pets ended up in the animal version of the ER.

    Her favorites included how three different kittens in the span of a month came in and needed surgery because they ate a ton of hair ties and how a hamster was stuck to the inside of its cage for a week because it swallowed a refrigerator ma when it briefly escaped.

    "I can''t even imagine," Keeley said with augh. "Thankfully my cat hasn''t done anything crazy like that. She only goes to the vet once a year for a checkup."

    "You''re lucky then. All those x-rays and whatnot aren''t cheap."

    "Yeah, Keisha''s puppy ate her nephew''s action figurest year and needed surgery for that. It cost $4000," Jeffreymented.

    She suppressed a smile. The way he was talking sounded like they hadbined their finances already. She already knew they were living together. It was only a matter of time before they got engaged too and Keeley had yet another wedding to attend.

    It was a bit sad watching everyone around her get married when she knew she would be spending her life alone. Not that she wanted a rtionship¡ªshe didn''t¡ªbut it made her think of her own marriage and how wrong it had all gone.

    Getting married was a gamble. It was amazing how many people did it each year despite the ever-rising divorce rate. People still trusted each other enough to give their all to someone else against all odds.

    All of Keeley''s romantic trust had been used up. She didn''t have any left to spare even if someone knew dide along someday.

    Aaron''s text message from the other day came back to her: ''I only have one wife. That won''t change.''

    It wouldn''t change for her either. One husband had been more than enough to turn her off of the idea of matrimony forever.

    She knew he probably meant it differently. He wanted her to know he wasn''t giving up on her. If the situation were any different, it would have been a nice sentiment. But there was no going back.

    The conversation ceased when the rehearsal was about to begin. People were directed to take their ces where they would be standing throughout the ceremony; they would practice walkingter.

    Keisha headed off to sit in the audience area as Keeley and Jeffrey made their way to either side of the arch where the bride and groom would stand.

    The bridesmaids consisted of Keeley, Lydia''s sister, her fiance''s sister, and three friends she made in college. The groomsmen were Jeffrey (who had incidentally be pretty good friends with Lydia''s fianc¨¦ Collin when they went on a couple''s vacation together), their total of three brothers, and two of his college buddies.

    The wedding nner even had them practice how to stand still so they would look good in the photos. The bridesmaids were to hold their bouquets in front of them the entire time while the groomsmen''s hands would be sped behind their backs.

    The wedding nner was incredibly thorough.

 Chapter 165: Unwanted Nostalgia

    <h4>Chapter 165: Unwanted Nostalgia</h4>

    All of the wedding party was perfectly silent as the wedding nner went over the ceremony draft and read the headings aloud so everyone would know what came when. The actual content was to be saved for the big day so the surprise wouldn''t be ruined.

    "Alright everyone, file out in two straight lines. I know you''ll being down the aisle in pairs but that''s not how you''ll be leaving it!" the wedding nner ordered.

    "Maid of Honor, hand the bride her bouquet before she goes! Walk straighter! Flower girl, don''t let your basket drag on the ground!"

    Once theypleted their retreat from the wedding venue to her satisfaction, she had them practice walking in to their assigned ces. Jeffrey and Keeley were less important than the family members in the wedding party so they were the second tost couple to head down the aisle before the bride made her grand entrance.

    Though the venue was perfectly set up and ready for the next morning, everyone present was wearing regr dressy outfits rather than their wedding clothes because the rehearsal dinner at a nice restaurant was right afterward.

    It was a relief when the rehearsal was over. Keeley had been on her feet in heels too long and they were killing her. It also didn''t help that she forgot to pack a snack and hadn''t eaten since 10 AM.

    Everyone headed to a seafood restaurant and she sat near Jeffrey and Keisha because Lydia had too many other people to entertain. Keeley had hardly spoken two words to the bride since arriving since she was so busy.

    She didn''t mind. She was here to support Lydia on her big day, not be catered to. Hanging out with Jeffrey was good enough.

    "So Keeley, you haven''t mentioned what you''ve been up totely," he said as they waited for the appetizers to show up.

    She shrugged. "Not much to tell. I''m drowning in school because it''s myst year and in Maid of Honor duties for my old roommate."

    "Drowning in school work isn''t new," he replied with augh. "Keish, I think she might even have more schoolwork than I do."

    "Impossible. You''re always doing homework."

    "Yeah but she hasb time to contend with and is writing a doctoral thesis."

    Keisha made an impressed noise. "Girl, really? I knew you were in grad school but had no idea you were getting a PhD. What in?"

    "Developmental gics. My research ising along fairly well. It should be finished by August so I can write the rest of my dissertation. It needs to be 200 pages long and since my research isn''t done yet I''m not even halfway there."

    She let out a low whistle. "Well look at you and your big beautiful brain. I''m impressed. I only ever got my bachelor''s degree because I''d been volunteering with animals since middle school and had enough experience to get hired straight out of school."

    Keeley smiled at thepliment. "Thanks! It''s not as morous as it may sound though. I spend most of my days quadruple checking the same sets of numbers over and over."

    "I know all about things not being morous. Last week I was bringing somebody their cat back after getting put under anesthesia for a tooth extraction and he peed on me! He was a fluffy one too so it got stuck allllll over his legs and tail. Super gross."

    She pulled a face at the end of her story. "I didn''t even have extra scrubs to change into so I had to walk around like that for two hours before my shift ended."

    Jeffrey patted her hand consolingly though he was trying hard not tough. He obviously remembered that incident and thought it was hrious.

    "The worst part was that you sent him home like that. Those poor owners had to clean him up by themselves."

    "What was I supposed to do?" she demanded. "They had already paid! A bath would have cost extra!"

    He shrugged with a grin on his face. "Still."

    Keisha rolled her eyes and chose to ignore her boyfriend because the crab dip served with warm bread had arrived. Everyone dug in with enthusiasm.

    It had been ages since she had crab dip. Thest time had been with Aaron years and years ago. She could never afford it on her own so it was nice that Lydia''s parents were footing the bill.

    She had thought about Aaron a lot as she had been out here. She worried that the wedding tomorrow would trigger even more unpleasant memories about her own way back when. It seemed like they only got worse the more involved in other people''s weddings she was.

    Keeley wanted to focus on enjoying good food with goodpany but worrying about her unwanted nostalgia took a bit of the fun out of it all. At least the bachelorette party tonight should help her snap out of it. She would be too busy to think.

    "What are both of your best memories of Lydia?" Keisha asked out of the blue. "Since it is nearly her special day."

    Jeffrey smiled and shook his head. "That''s a tough one to answer. We''ve been friends since our freshman year of high school. That year she was in all but one of my sses. She noticed and asked me for all of the notes she missed one day after being out sick. I didn''t even recognize her."

    His girlfriendughed. "So I guess you''ve always been oblivious then."

    "Apparently."

    He thought about it a little longer. "I''ve got it. My favorite memory of Lydia was probably our sophomore year when she identally cut her bangs too short and tried hiding it under a beanie, which was against the dress code. Uniforms, you know?

    "I was on the student council at the time and she passionately presented a 30 slide PowerPoint on the importance of freedom of expression that she wanted us to show to the principal. Of course, he didn''t budge, but the look on her face when she had to go to detention for a week will forever remain in my memory."

    Keeley giggled. Lydia had been particrly irate that day at lunch. She exchanged her beanie for a hood, which was technically allowed during lunchtime and passing periods because nobody enforced the rule then.

    She also had too many memories with Lydia to pick just one favorite.

    The first one that came to mind was the time Keeley''s period came early their junior year and she bled through her shorts during P.E. Lydia immediately pretended to faint in a scene worthy of an Oscar and distracted everyone long enough for her to escape to the locker room and change.

    Lydia had always been such a good friend to her. Wedding memories aside, Keeley was happy to be here celebrating with her now.

 Chapter 166: Not The Kind Of Fun I Imagined

    <h4>Chapter 166: Not The Kind Of Fun I Imagined</h4>

    Keeley couldn''t help butpare this rehearsal dinner to her own. Lydia''s and Collin''s friends and family happilyughed and chatted around the table and everyone was having a good time. Hers had seemed like yet another business function.

    Since not even her bridesmaids were her own choice, the only person from her side who was there at all was her dad. Both of her parents had been only children so while Keeley had some second cousins who were also taking advantage of her great-grandfather''s trust, she wasn''t close to any of them.

    She felt abnormally out of ce at her own rehearsal dinner since Aaron was busy catering to business contacts. He really had a knack for making her feel alone even when he was right there in those days.

    Gloom settled in on her until the entrees arrived. Shrimp linguini alfredo ought to get her mind off of things for a little while.

    Keeley dug into her food with gusto, stabbing each shrimp with her fork as if it were her ex-husband.

    Aaron may not be the cheater she always thought he was but he was still a liar that broke her heart and ruined her forever. She couldn''t even live her second life in peace due to his constant interference. He was almost 3,000 miles away and she was still thinking about him!

    It was tempting to send him an angry text but that wouldn''t solve anything. She couldn''t let him know he still had an effect on her.

    "Keeley, are you alright?" Jeffrey asked with a slight frown, noticing how hard she was stabbing her shrimp.

    She pasted on an insincere smile. "I''m great."

    "Are you sure? Because you seemed kind of pissed off."

    She sighed and set down her fork. He knew her too well. "I guess my problems followed me here," she said self-deprecatingly.

    Keisha put aforting arm around her shoulders. "Don''t you worry about a thing; we''re going to have so much fun tonight that you''ll forget all about it!"

    ===

    "This is not the kind of fun I imagined," Keeley said as she stared up at the sign that said ''Pole Dancing sses'' in horror. Now she understood why she was told to bring exercise clothes.

    Keisha stifled augh. "It''s not so bad! After this we''re going back to Lydia''s friend''s ce and eating snacks and ying party games. One of her other friends is a nail artist and is going to give us manicures too."

    Manicures and party games were fine but pole dancing?

    "Nobody is going to video this, right?" she asked nervously.

    "I''m sure they will but I''ll get a sworn statement from each of the bridesmaids that no one will post any of you if it''ll make you feel better."

    It did. Keisha was a saint. With that promise, she let her friend''s girlfriend tug her inside the pole dancing studio.

    Twenty poles were neatly lined up in four rows of five but aside from that it looked much like any other dance studio with its wooden floors and mirrored walls. The bridesmaids only made up about half of the bachelorette party. Lydia''s cousins, her old roommates, and Keisha added up to 15 giggly women ready to learn how to pole dance.

    The instructor stood at a pole in the front and quieted everyone by directing their attention to her. She dazzled them all by pulling off an borate routine where she practically flew around the pole.

    She contorted herself in ways that shouldn''t be possible and yet the movements remained fluid. Anyone who thought pole dancing was meant to be sexy only was clearly missing the artistry behind it.

    At the end of the routine everyone cheered loudly for the instructor, who simply smiled.

    "You certainly won''t be able to do that by the end of the night but there are a few basic moves you might be able to get down. Are youdies ready?"

    Cheers arose from the party again and this time Keeley felt a little less weird about trying this out. After all, it''s not like anybody else would ever find out about it. She got into the ''ready'' position just like everyone else and awaited instruction.

    Before evenunching into the first move, the instructor had everyone do warm up stretches without the pole. Keeley hadn''t done this many lunges since high school P.E.

    She hated to admit it but she was a little winded already. The most exercise she ever got was walking back and forth across campus. She didn''t have the time to do traditional workouts or go to a gym.

    Unsurprisingly, no one was able to get the first move right away. It took about five minutes of practice before Lydia''s cousin Dney cried out "I got it!" in excitement before demonstrating a passable ''outside step.''

    The instructor praised her and invited everyone else to keep trying for another five minutes before moving on. Lydia was really getting into it; she was the second person to pull it off. Keeley had less luck.

    The second move, a pirouette, was more difficult. She couldn''t quite get her arms to twist correctly so she ended up with her back to the pole.

    It urred to her suddenly that Jennica would be great at this. Keeley was in charge of her bachelorette party; maybe a pole dancing ss wouldn''t be such a bad idea. By then she might have a leg up over the others by going through this already and wouldn''t embarrass herself so badly.

    The ''fireman spin'' was even worse¡ªthis time she had to sp her knees around the pole as she spun around. At least Keeley wasn''t the only one having a hard time now; several people fell off their poles or just in got stuck and couldn''t spin once their knees were in position.

    They spent about fifteen minutes on this move because everyone was struggling a bit. They were all having fun as they went though. The studio echoed withughter as they practiced.

    "Keeley, video me! I think I have it!" Keisha grinned before pulling her phone out of her purse off to the side of the room.

    She executed a decent fireman spin while Keeley filmed and shot her a thumbs up. "Nice!"

    "Now let me get one of you on your phone."

    "I really don''t think¡ª"

    The other woman brooked no arguments. "Come on, at least you''ll have proof that you did it even if you never show it to anyone else. It''ll help you remember tonight."

    She doubted she would be forgetting this humiliation anytime soon; it was one of the most embarrassing things she had done in either of her lives. But Keisha insisted so she handed over her phone in defeat.

    "Show me all of the moves we''ve done so far," she instructed. So Keeley did. Her face was ming by the end of the video but she still pulled it off.

    Reying it, she didn''t look as stupid as she thought she would. This wasn''t so terrible after all.

 Chapter 167: Never Have I Ever

    <h4>Chapter 167: Never Have I Ever</h4>

    Everyone was riding the high after the pole dancing ss and was acting giggly and tipsy without even consuming any alcohol yet. They all headed back to their homes/hotel rooms to shower and change into the matching ''bachelorette party'' pajama sets that Lydia''s maid of honor got for cheap in bulk before the next part of the night began.

    The pajamas were pink button-up short sleeved tops and shorts patterned with lemons and little white flowers. In addition to the pajamas, each bachelorette was given a little stic tiara to wear.

    The nail artist friend of the maid of honor''s took turns working through all members of the party as the other games were going on. Keeley''s turn didn''te until the game ''Quiz the Groom'' was going on but since she wasn''t needed to participate anyway it wasn''t a big deal.

    Collin''s sister had asked him all of the questions earlier on and Lydia had to see if she could guess his answers correctly.

    "What is Lydia''s worst habit? What would she say is yours?"

    Lydia thought it over for a minute. "Um¡­I always take too long to get ready so we''re frequentlyte. His is not matching his socks."

    "Ding ding ding! We have a winner!"

    The game continued with questions such as "What would your fianc¨¦ say is her most embarrassing moment?""Where was your favorite date together?" and "What nicknames do you have for each other?"

    They were all perfectly normal couple things and Keeley grimly thought that she and Aaron had always been so out of sync with each other that they wouldn''t have been able to y a game like this if she had been able to have a normal bachelorette party hosted by friends.

    Had they ever really known each other at all? How had she ever married someone she didn''t know properly? No wonder it ended up the way it had.

    She wanted to brush away the tears that were forming but her nails were still wet. She couldn''t ruin the nail artist''s hard work. They were painted pale peach with little mint green flowers on them.

    Once they were done, the artist had her stick her hands under a machine that dried them instantly and shooed Keeley off to rejoin the party right as the next game was starting.

    ''Never Have I Ever'' was yed by going around the room asking questions as statements, such as ''Never have I ever been out of the country.'' Anyone who had been out of the country would have to drink a shot.

    Lydia was up first. "Never have I ever been stuck in an elevator."

    Keisha drank a shot but she was the only one. Elevator malfunctions weren''t thatmon.

    "Never have I ever done something I regret," Collin''s sister said confidently.

    She was the only one in the entire room who didn''t take a shot. What kind of life was she leading?! Everyone had regrets. Goodness knows Keeley was drowning in them.

    "Never have I ever had a one night stand." A few of the women took shots with red faces.

    The game continued. Keeley was a fairly cautious person so despite living twice she didn''t have a lot of the life experiences being named. She only drank two shots total until someone said "never have I ever kissed someone I didn''t love."

    She threw back a shot. Aaron had kissed her more than once in this life long after she had stopped loving him.

    "Never have I ever gotten drunk." Another shot for Keeley.

    "Never have I ever watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians." And another one.

    "Never have I ever received a gift worth more than $500." Yet another shot. Who was picking these questions? It was like they were specifically targeting her now.

    Her head started to hurt. If this game didn''t end soon she was going to have a wicked hangover in the morning.

    Thankfully, the others were getting restless too. They decided to put on facial masks and watch Lydia''s favorite chick flick rather than continue the game.

    The movie followed a group of bridesmaids who were trying to break up the bride and groom because the bride-to-be had tricked her fianc¨¦, who was originally one of the other bridesmaid''s beloved boyfriend, into marrying her by pretending to be pregnant after a one night stand.

    It was a pretty funny movie and the couple who actually loved each other got to be together in the end. If only real life worked out that way more often.

    How many people actually got to be happy with the one they loved? How many brides out there were looking forward to what they thought would be the best day of their lives and would eventually get abused or left behind by the one they trusted most?

    What about Lydia and Collin? They met during her freshman year of college and had been dating ever since but even being together that long was no indication they would stay together forever.

    Keeley hadn''t always been this pessimistic. She just didn''t believe in love or marriage anymore. Her first instinct used to be to believe that people who loved each other would stay together. She had seen too much of the ugly things the world had to offer to think that way now.

    Aaron, Aaron, Aaron. It always came back to him. How much different would her life have been if she didn''t pester him until he agreed to spend time with her way back then?

    She would have gone to NYU and met her friends like she did in this life, gotten her PhD, been in a rtively happy marriage with a normal guy, and had a few kids.

    If he had been nothing but a desk mate for a couple months everything would have turned out so differently. She doubted whatever force had caused her to be reborn would have even bothered because there was no point in bringing people back who don''t have regrets.

    Keeley would have lived and died as a perfectly ordinary person, just like she wanted.

    Even if she got rid of Aaron once he was married off to Lacy or whatever socialite his parents picked for him she would never be able to get rid of her memories or regrets. Was true happiness even possible in this life while she was haunted by his shadow?

 Chapter 168: I Look Exactly Like My Sister

    <h4>Chapter 168: I Look Exactly Like My Sister</h4>

    Aaron''s suspicions that Lacy was nning to announce their ''engagement'' at her birthday party increased when Keeley texted him toy off because he had a fianc¨¦e. He had no idea how the news had reached her ears of all people but it strengthened his resolve to put a stop to it.

    Aiden was going to hate it but he modified his n to include a diamond ring and a fake proposal. It was the only thing that would get that delusional idiot off his back permanently.

    How dare they think they could try and control him simply by announcing something in public that would be hard to refute? He would beat them to the punch and see who wasughing then.

    He nced at the clock. It was about 2 PM where Keeley was. What was she doing right now? He wanted to ask but didn''t have the right.

    With a sigh, he stood and strode away from his desk. Time to head home so he could let the stylist into his apartment. This was going to be such a nightmare.

    When Aiden arrived he looked about as enthusiastic as he would if he were going to a funeral.

    "If you take a single picture of me like this, I will leak every single bit of information you''ve ever wanted hidden onto the inte," he threatened as the stylist took him away.

    "I won''t."

    Cameron wouldn''t hesitate but Aaron had no desire to hold this over his subordinate''s head. He was doing him a favor; why would he give Aiden a hard time about it?

    Even if he did want to in order tough about itter, the threat of exposing everything wasn''t an idle one. The kid could destroy him with a few strokes of his keyboard. It wasn''t worth it.

    The first thing the stylist did was give his victim a false female figure by using silicon breast, hip, and buttock pads and a waist-training corset. If this was going to be believable, Aiden had to have socially eptable proportions.

    He protested every step of the way. "This is horrible. You''re dead to me Aaron. Absolutely dead to me. This is the worst day of my life. How could you do this to your best friend?"

    "You aren''t my best friend," Aaron pointed out. He was, unfortunately, one of his only friends but the top spot still went to Keeley even though she was currently avoiding him.

    "I better be after this! I''ve done more for you than Cameron ever has!"

    "Cameron isn''t my best friend either. But if it makes you feel better, you can have the number two spot." There were literally only three people in this world Aaron considered friends. Beating out one of them wasn''t that big of a deal.

    Aiden''s eyes lit up. "Really? I''m before Cameron? Ha! I knew you loved me!"

    "Don''t get too far ahead of yourself there," he said tly. ''Tolerated'' was a better word for their rtionship.

    "Aaron loves me most, Aaron loves me most," he chanted in a singsong voice.

    Aaron was about to strangle him but he still needed his help. Obnoxious twerp. He supposed he deserved it for making the poor kid dress up like a girl to save him from the Knightons'' schemes.

    The dress had to cover up most things to maintain the illusion so Aiden was wearing a long-sleeved dark green dress covered ince with a red skirt and thick ck tights to hide his leg hair. His loyalty only went so far; he refused to shave his legs.

    He wasn''t terribly tall for a man, only 5''10", but since Aaron was 6''1" and it wouldn''t do for his fake fianc¨¦e to be taller than him, he prepared t ck ankle boots for Aiden to wear.

    The stylist pasted on fake nails with a French manicure on them before getting started on Aiden''s makeup. Transforming a baby faced boy into a beautiful woman was no easy feat.

    Aiden''s eyebrows had to be shaped first and foremost. He couldn''t grow facial hair to save his life so at least that wasn''t an issue. Next came foundation and blending to even out his skin tone and make him glow.

    The stylist decided to give him a smoky eye look and set to work with eyeliner, eyeshadow, and false eyshes. He contoured Aiden''s face next so he appeared more feminine with the illusion of cheekbones. Deep burgundy lipstickpleted the makeup.

    They chose to keep Aiden''s hair color consistent since it would look best with his skin tone. Redheads were considered rare beauties these days anyway. The long copper wig was twisted into an elegant knot on the back of his head with ringlets framing his face.

    He looked nkly into the mirror at the finished product.

    "What do you think?" the stylist asked proudly.

    "¡­I look exactly like my sister."

    "Really? Show me a picture."

    Wordlessly, Aiden pulled out his phone and held it up. Sure enough, he was nearly identical to the pretty redhead standing next to him in the photo.

    The stylist was satisfied. "My work here is done. You''ll be receiving my bill, Mr. Hale."

    "Yes, thank you for your hard work," Aaron said coolly as he led the man out.

    Aiden couldn''t stop staring at himself in the mirror. "I can''t believe I actually look like a girl. This is insane."

    "Unfortunately you don''t sound like one."

    He grinned. "People used to say I sounded like my mom on the phone. I pretended to be her all the time. I think I can pull it off." He changed his pitch instantly to sound more feminine. "What do you think about this? Girly enough?"

    Aaron frowned. It sounded like a man imitating a woman''s voice. "You really can''t do any better than that?"

    "No¡­but I have something that might help. There''s a pitch changer I bought forever ago on the dark web that you stick to the inside of your cheek. All I''d have to do is program it to sound like a natural feminine voice."

    "Why on earth would you even buy something like that?"

    "¡­I may or may not be a gamey YouTuber. I always wear a different video game character mask so they can''t see my face but I don''t want my real voice out there either," he said a bit sheepishly.

    He knew Aiden was obsessed with video games but this was news. "Interesting. Let''s go to your apartment and get it."

    "No way! What if somebody I know sees me?"

    Was he an idiot or what?

    "Pretend to be your sister and say you gave her a key for emergencies. Simple."

    He was appeased instantly and agreed to it. His worries were unfounded; nobody even saw him enter the apartment. He worked on programming the device as Aaron drove them to the party.

    Aiden tested it a few times before adjusting the frequency. It worked with less than ten minutes to spare. They were actually going to be able to pull this off!

 Chapter 169: They Both Deserved Better

    <h4>Chapter 169: They Both Deserved Better</h4>

    As they pulled into the venue, Aaron went over the information on the fake identity he created for his ''girlfriend'' one more time. Her name was Bethany Carlisle and she was from a prominent Harvard family in Boston.

    They met while going to school but lost contact for a while when she did a study abroad program in London for a year. They met up again there when Aaron was on a business trip and decided to get back together.

    One of his business contacts in Boston actually did have a daughter named Bethany Carlisle but she was only eight years old. His father wouldn''t know that though. If he did any digging into the Carlisle family he would find proof of her existence and Aiden had left a false inte bread crumb trail to boot.

    "All you have to do is remember those basic details, smile, and look pretty," he said grimly. Aiden was a bit incensed at the ''look pretty'' part but nodded. "And don''t you dare call anybody ''dude'' or ''man'' here! Do what I do."

    "Okay! Geez, man, no need to be so uptight!"

    Aaron''s re nearly froze him to death. "What. Did. I. Just. Say."

    "Sorry du¡ªI mean sorry, Aaron. I''ve got this; don''t worry. We''ll get Lacy Knighton out of your hair once and for all," he said confidently.

    They''d better. If they weren''t able to subvert her ns today he would never shake the rumors. It would be fifty times harder getting rid of her after that because everyone would feel sorry for her. He couldn''t let that happen.

    "Put your arm in mine like you''re ady," Aaron hissed. "And keep quiet as much as possible."

    "Yes dear," Aiden said meekly, getting into the role. This was wrong on so many levels but they had to stick to the n.

    The first thing the other partygoers did when they saw Aaron walk in with another woman was begin whispering like mad. They were all under the impression he was single.

    Alistair was furious when he spotted his disrespectful son who never did anything ording to n. He marched right over to him and put on his most intimidating re.

    Aiden was practically shaking in his ankle boots. This man was ten times scarier than his boss.

    "Who is this?" he demanded icily.

    "My girlfriend. Bethany Carlisle of the Boston Carlisles."

    His eyes narrowed. "You never mentioned having a girlfriend. Is this why all of your mother''s attempts at matchmaking have failed?"

    "Yes."

    "Why didn''t you say anything?" he thundered.

    He had promised Aaron to Lacy! Obviously she was preferable but the Carlisles weren''t a bad choice either. If he had known his stubborn son was involved with a woman of quality he never would have meddled, old friendship with Brann Knighton aside.

    "You wouldn''t have listened. You''re dead set on that pebble in my shoe being my wife," Aaron said coldly.

    Alistair began to sweat. He was fairly set on Lacy Knighton bing his daughter-inw but a Carlisle would work. They were important Harvard people and could help the Hales expand their influence outside of New York.

    What was he going to tell Brann? They were nning on announcing the engagement tonight!

    He cleared his throat and pretended not to have heard thestment, turning toward Aiden. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Carlisle. Please excuse me; I have someone I need to talk to quite urgently."

    After he left, Aiden was impressed how well that worked. He knew better than almost anyone what a stubborn old coot Alistair Hale was. He practically did a 180 about his son''s choice of romantic partner.

    "I really don''t like that guy," he said sourly. He epted ''Bethany'' just because she was rich and had a good background even though he had already made promises to someone else.

    Aaron felt a slight bit of affection for his friend. It was nice having his feelings validated. On top of the vacation he was offering for this deal, he should buy him an original Super Mario Brothers arcade machine or something to show his appreciation.

    "Me either. Come on, we need as many people to see us together as possible."

    They mingled throughout the guests, stopping and talking to as many people as they could. Nobody batted an eye until they ran into Alice. Hepletely forgot she was going to be here.

    "Since when are you dating anyone?" she asked suspiciously. "I saw you a month ago and you were single as ever."

    "Shh!" Aaron''s eyes darted around a bit nervously before he pulled her to the side. "I don''t actually have a girlfriend but you have to keep your mouth shut about it. I can''t let Lacy Knighton get her way."

    Her mouth rounded into an ''o'' in shock. "Then who is she?"

    "My¡­second closest friend," he said begrudgingly. Aiden would certainly earn the title after the stunt they had to pullter.

    "You have female friends? Other than me I mean. And I literally only see you at board meetings and parties like this."

    "He''s not female."

    Alice was appalled and checked over her shoulder back to where Aiden was chatting with a couple of other socialites with a fake smile on his face.

    "Aaron! Are youpletely nuts?! In what world is that not a girl?"

    "I got a professional stylist to make him over with high end prosthetics. He''s one of my people doing me a favor for tonight only. I had to promise a lot of incentives to get him to cooperate."

    She shook her head in disbelief. "I get that you hate your father and want him out of the business¡­but what''s the deal with Lacy Knighton?"

    His face hardened. She had done far too much to ever properly exin. "She hurt the woman I love because she wanted me."

    Alice''s expression softened. She even appeared to feel a bit sorry for him. "I had no idea you had someone you cared about. Anyone I know?"

    "I doubt it. She''s not in our social circle."

    Her eyes lit up with understanding. "It''s that girl from high school, isn''t it? What was her name¡­Callie? Kaitlyn?"

    "Keeley. But¡­how did you know?" Aaron had never once spoken of Keeley in front of Alice.

    She smiled and rolled her eyes.

    "Aaron, you''re never seen with the same girl more than once. Everyone else thinks you''re a yboy but I know a man trying not tomit because his heart''s already taken when I see one. She''s the only girl you ever had consistent rumors with. And don''t forget, I was at that Valentine''s dance. I saw you kiss her."

    He had no idea he was so transparent. Well, Alice was a perceptive one. She came across as self-absorbed but she was actually taking in everything about the world around her. He had learned that over the past few years of their partnership.

    "You can''t tell anyone," he said, deadly serious.

    "Who would I tell? I''m not the type to mess with other people''s happiness."

    She wasn''t. Her husband messed with hers enough by having an established mistress on the outside. She didn''t treat other people''s rtionships as a trifle. He wished he could convince her to leave her husband and start living for herself but it wasn''t his ce.

    "Thanks. We should be getting back to the others; they''ll be wondering what we''re talking about."

    Aaron led her back and watched herugh and smile her way through small talk with a few other socialites with a heavy heart. She was so much like Keeley had been; having to hide her sadness behind a happy mask for the sake of others. They both deserved better than what they had been given.

 Chapter 170: Something Special To Announce

    <h4>Chapter 170: Something Special To Announce</h4>

    Aiden was still having his way with the various hors d''oeuvres when the announcement was made by Brann Knighton.

    "Thank you everyone foring to celebrate my beautiful daughter''s 25th birthday. We have something special to announce tonight in just a few moments if Lacy could make her way to the stage."

    "It''s time," Aaron said grimly before dragging Aiden away from the food and standing him up right in the middle of the crowd.

    He didn''t even have time to finish his ss of water. The saltiness was killing him!

    Aaron took a deep breath, a brief look of disgust and regret crossing his face, before he pulled something out of his jacket pocket and got down on one knee.

    "I wanted to do this in a more romantic setting but I can''t wait any longer. Bethany Carlisle, will you marry me?"

    The gigantic diamond on the ring sparkled under the venue''s soft lighting and Aiden was about to scream. ''Aaron! You didn''t say anything about pretending to get engaged!''

    What was he supposed to do? Everyone''s eyes were on them. He had promised that he would go along with whatever his boss said but this was too much. However, he knew if he backed down in this crucial moment that Aaron might actually kill him.

    "Yes!" he forced out, trying to sound excited.

    Aaron slid the ring on his finger once he said the magic word. It actually fit; he must have nned this far in advance and found out Aiden''s size. This was so wrong!

    He kept a smile stered on his face but on the inside he was seething. That scoundrel! How could he propose to someone else at the birthday party of the woman who liked him? That was a new low.

    The crowd was clearly just as confused and shocked as Aiden was so it took a minute for them to get their bearings enough to begin cheering and congratting the ''happy couple.''

    In the distance, he saw Lacy''s mother restraining her. Murderous rage was written all over her face. Aaron noticed too and he actually smiled! It wasn''t a happy smile though; it was quite bone-chilling.

    Aaron''s arm was stiffly around his shoulders right now as other people crowded in on them asking questions. After what he put Aiden through tonight, he owed him a proper exnation for all this. He would definitely get one.

    ===

    Aiden cursed as they headed back to the car after the worst two hours of his life. "What was that?! This was not a part of our deal!"

    Aaron shrugged. "I didn''t want to propose to the likes of you either but I had to do it before the announcement or I would never get rid of that parasite."

    He deted slightly. Lacy had run off crying after her mother stopped her from marching off and throwing a fit in front of everyone and the announcement was forgotten in the chaos. Some birthday she had.

    "Man, that wasn''t cool. I get that you hate her but did you have to ruin her birthday like that?"

    The ever-present ice crystals surrounding his boss turned into a blizzard. "Did Lacy have to ruin Keeley''s birthday by drugging her just because we ate lunch together in high school?"

    His jaw dropped. Say what?! That prissy little shopaholic was capable of something like that? Just because they ate lunch together¡­Wasn''t that too petty?

    "She seriously did that?"

    "You can ask Keeley if you don''t believe me," Aaron said frostily. "She ended up in the hospital. If I hadn''t found her in time¡­"

    "Why?"

    Aaron actually got heated for once. "Because she''s a bloody psychopath, that''s why! Anybody associated with me gets a taste of her wrath. She''s both possessive andpletely delusional. I''ve never liked her at all."

    A lot of puzzle pieces clicked into ce. Aaron''s paranoia. His hatred of the Knightons. Why he didn''t let a single trace of Keeley make it into the office. She had been in danger because of him before and he didn''t want it to happen again.

    Was this why she seemed to hate him so much sometimes? Did she know that Lacy drugged her because of Aaron? Or¡­had she done more than just that?

    "Is that why you couldn''t just pretend to get engaged to an actual person you know?"

    "It''s part of it. I also can''t betray Keeley like that."

    Betray Keeley? His theory that they dated before only solidified. If Lacy did something so terrible to her just because they hung out at lunch, how much worse would it have been if they had been in a rtionship?

    "And I don''t count as a betrayal because I''m a guy," he surmised.

    Aaron nodded. "Right. She can''te after you either because your alternate persona doesn''t actually exist. I''m going to tell everyone you''re away in Europe and make it a very long engagement before eventually breaking it off when everyone loses interest and moves onto the next bit of gossip. You''ll never have to dress up again."

    Aiden didn''t trust his words after the stunt he just pulled. "Never? Really? Because if this woman is as psycho as you say she is do you really think she''ll back down for an absentee fianc¨¦e?"

    "That''s why we have to destroy her."

    The scariest part of that sentence was how calmly it was said. Aaron could have been talking about where they should go for lunch.

    He gulped. "Destroy her?"

    "Yes. Her, both of our corrupt fathers, herckey Max Lynch, and the person whose involvement I haven''t discovered yet."

    A mystery person¡­this must be why Aaron kept having him check on who was hanging around Lacy. But how did he know of this person''s existence if he didn''t know who it was? None of this made any sense.

    And Max? That idiot who followed Lacy around like a puppy? What on earth did he do?

    "What does Max have to do with this?"

    "He was her aplice."

    This was giving Aiden a headache. He always knew his boss tried to be one step ahead of his enemies but he never fully understood why until this moment. There were a surprising number of people out to get him. And, more specifically, Keeley.

    Aaron would do anything for her. Getting revenge for his girl was the one bit of sense in this insanity.

 Chapter 171: I Knew I Was Your Favorite!

    <h4>Chapter 171: I Knew I Was Your Favorite!</h4>

    Aaron didn''t know how to answer all of Aiden''s questions. Of course he would be curious after everything that just went down but there was no way he would believe his boss had been reincarnated and was getting revenge for grievances in a different life.

    All he knew is that it was going to be a nightmare exining this to everyone, especially his parents. His mother would want to go shopping with his fianc¨¦e immediately. Aaron couldn''t let that happen.

    Sending Aiden to Sweden on the next avable flight seemed like the best option right now to get him safely out of the way. It wouldn''t even be a lie that ''Bethany'' was gone in that case.

    "Aaron?" he asked expectantly. He was still waiting for answer to his question of ''what else did Lacy do to you guys?''

    As airheaded as he acted sometimes, Aiden was highly intelligent. His deductive reasoning skills were part of what made him such an aplished hacker. He knew it was unreasonable to destroy someone''s entire family over a single grievance and that his boss was not an unreasonable man.

    "You wouldn''t believe me if I told you," Aaron admitted, his knuckles whitening on the steering wheel from how hard he was gripping it.

    He sighed and fiddled with his wig. "You can trust me you know."

    "If I didn''t trust you I wouldn''t have put all of my business secrets in one basket. This isn''t a matter of trust." It was a matter of ''you might think I''m crazy and lock me up if I told you the truth.''

    "Then what is it?"

    Aaron didn''t like skirting around things. He had done that more than enough in his lifetimes. But he truly didn''t think Aiden would believe him.

    "Hypothetically, if someone ruined your life but didn''t remember doing it would you still want to get revenge?"

    "That''s random¡­I guess so. Just because they don''t remember it doesn''t mean it didn''t happen."

    "Precisely."

    Aiden''s heavily made up face scrunched up in confusion. "Wait, what?"

    "All of the people I told you about ruined my life¡ªand more importantly, Keeley''s¡ªbut don''t remember it," he said honestly. "The two of us are the only ones who remember. That''s all I can tell you."

    The hacker went silent for a while. "I''d call you crazy but you im Keeley remembers too and she''s one of the most level-headed people I''ve ever met."

    Aaron nearly chuckled. "Are you saying I''m not level-headed?"

    "No, no! That''s not what I meant. It''s just¡­why wouldn''t anyone else remember?"

    "I don''t know any better than you do. I doubt I''ll ever figure out how this all happened. All I do know is that they are terrible people and need to be stopped," he said matter-of-factly. "Are you still with me?"

    "Yeah. You know I''ve always got your back, boss. My family never would have made it through after my dad left if not for you."

    One thing Aaron had going for him was that he bred loyalty in his underlings. Any of them would walk through fire if he needed them to.

    "Good. And please don''t tell anybody about what we discussed. Nobody else knows about this."

    Aiden''s eyes shone. "Nobody? Not even Cameron?" When Aaron shook his head he got visibly excited. "I knew I was your favorite!"

    Not this again.

    "Yes, yes you''re my favorite," he said impatiently to get him to shut up. "Now look up the next flight to Stockholm. Go have your vacation; you''ve earned it."

    "You''re the best! Actually, you''re the worst for making me dress up like this so when it all evens out I guess you''re the okayest."Aaron honestly didn''t care where he fell on Aiden''s strange scale as long as he continued doing his work well.

    He wouldn''t bother him at all while he was gone unless there was some sort of emergency. It should be fine; when he was gone for a couple of weeks before he kept alerts running on the security monitors for specific phrases.

    If one went off, Aiden would be notified and would in turn notify Aaron. It had happened before.

    A few minutester he announced that there was a flight with a three houryover in Ennd that was leaving in the morning. Aaron told him to book it and shooed him out of the car in front of his apartment building.

    Aiden turned around the second he got out of the car and started walking away. "Wait! What do you want me to do with this ring?"

    "Give it to your girlfriend for all I care."

    "No way; if I ever propose to her it''s not going to be with a secondhand ring!"

    "Then go to the jewelry store I got it at and exchange it for something or equal or lesser value. Or just sell it. I don''t care what you do with it; it''s yours."

    He could see the wheels turning in the kid''s head at the prospect of selling such a mega-carat ring. He could buy himself all sorts of new toys. Aiden mumbled ideas to himself as he shut the door and walked to his building.

    Aaron rested his head on the steering wheel. Dealing with all of this fallout was going to be terrible.

    He could only imagine how much of a ssh the news of his ''engagement'' was going to make online. After all, he was one of the most eligible bachelors in the entire city. Everyone would know soon enough.

    Even if hepletely avoided any social events for the next few months and didn''t leave his apartment except to go to work he would still get bombarded with questions at the office. Dealing with other people was tedious but with his father¡­one wrong move and he would be exposed.

    The fake engagement would end eventually but if he wasn''t married by the time it was, his father would be back on his case about Lacy Knighton. If only that nutcase would marry someone else. Then he would be free to pine after Keeley in peace.

    He meant what he said before; he only had one wife. If she never willingly spoke to him again, he would remain alone. No one else on this earth could tempt him into matrimony.

 Chapter 172: A Silly Superstition

    <h4>Chapter 172: A Silly Superstition</h4>

    The morning of Lydia''s wedding dawned and most of the bridesmaids were hungover. This is why bachelorette parties should be two days before weddings instead of the night before.

    Everyone nursed their headaches and drank tons of water with breakfast trying to make themselves feel better. Keeley felt like she was going to puke because of all those shots so she took a couple of antacid tablets. It helped a bit.

    At least the wedding wasn''t until 11 AM so they had a couple hours of getting ready for the headaches to lessen.

    At the venue in the bridal room, the maid of honor painstakingly curled Lydia''s hair before twisting and pinning it into an borate updo. The bridesmaids were wearing their hair in low buns with a few wisps loose to frame their faces.

    The bouquetsy off to the side as everyone worked on their hair and makeup. Lydia''s was made of purple roses andvender while everyone else''s bouquets werevender and baby''s breath.

    The bouquets were beautiful. If only the bride had the same taste in flowers as she did bridesmaid dresses. Nobody looked particrly good in theirs. Oh well, the bride was the star of the show today anyway.

    "Fifteen minutesdies," the wedding nner announced with a knock on the door, sending everyone into a frenzy.

    "I''m not ready," Lydia panicked. "Has anyone seen my shoes? My veil? My mother?"

    "I have your shoes and veil, sweetie," Mrs. Price said from her ce in the corner of the room. She had been so quiet that everyone forgot she was there.

    "It''s fine," the maid of honor soothed as she put the finishing touches on Lydia''s hair. "You''ll be Mrs. Collin Renshaw in just a few minutes and then you won''t have to worry anymore."

    The bride focused on her deep breathing. Were all brides this nervous? Keeley hadn''t been. She was so sure that marrying Aaron was the right thing to do back then. She had bet on the wrong horse.

    It was time to go. The groom was already waiting in front of the arch. The bridesmaids and groomsmen met up near the entrance of the aisle and began walking down it to the beat of the wedding march.

    By the time Keeley and Jeffrey linked arms her mind was nk. She needed to feel the music if she was going to walk without tripping but this march down the aisle reminded her so much of her own wedding that she wanted to cry.

    Jeffrey noticed her eyes shine with tears but couldn''t even ask if she was okay because all eyes were on them. She blinked rapidly trying to push them back. Ruining the makeup she barely put on would not do at all.

    Eventually, the bride and her father made an appearance at the top of the aisle and all of the guests stood as they made their way down.

    ''Don''t cry. Don''t you dare cry, Keeley,'' she thought. ''You can''t ruin Lydia''s big day.''

    Yet all she wanted to do was go hide somewhere and weep. It was even worse knowing she would have to go through this again in just a few months at Jennica''s wedding. She wasn''t ready for this at all¡ªthe pain was still too raw.

    Her focus was entirely on being a pretty bridesmaid standing perfectly still for the pictures so she didn''t even pay attention to what the officiant was saying until it was time for the vows. Lydia and Collin had written their own.

    The emotion in their voices was in to hear as they talked about how much they loved each other. Keeley''s desire to cry returned full force but she held it in.

    No one had ever or would ever love her as much as those two loved each other and for some reason it hurt. Hadn''t she told herself she didn''t care about love? That her career and her friends were more important?

    But her friends wouldn''t be around forever. They were dropping like flies into matrimony. Even Valentina nned to go back to Peru eventually. Ryan would probably find a girlfriend at some point too that didn''t want him to be close with another girl.

    It would be Keeley and her cat against the world. At least she would still have her dad for another 20 or 30 years but then she would bepletely on her own.

    When the happy couple each said ''I do'' and the officiant pronounced them husband and wife and permitted them to kiss a couple of traitorous tears finally escaped. She wiped them away quickly while no one was looking at her.

    The recessional quickly followed once the cheers died down and everyone made their way to the part of the venue where the reception was being held. Lunch was going to be served to all the guests before the first dance and bouquet and garter tosses happened.

    Keeley sat with Keisha and Jeffrey like usual and tried her best to be upbeat as they talked but it was easier to sit back and listen to their banter than contribute anything. They were funny but watching them made her heart ache too. Yet another couple in love.

    If Aaron were here now she would probably punch him in the face for making her feel so lousy.

    The lunch consisted of delicious Mediterranean-styled grilled chicken and a light sd but Keeley could hardly stomach any of it. Or the cake that cameter.

    She was so tired. More than anything she wanted to go back to her hotel but she still had to smile nicely for pictures with the other bridesmaids. She didn''t have the emotional energy for this.

    The bouquet toss came right after all the lunch tes were cleared away. Beyonce''s hit ''Single Ladies'' yed as Lydia prepared tounch the bouquet behind her.

    To Keeley''s chagrin, itnded directly in her hands even though she had been standing as far away from the rest of the group as possible while still being a part of it.

    These silly superstitions didn''t work anyway. There was no way she would be the next one to get married. Could she get a redo? Some other desperate single girl at this wedding was probably dying to catch this thing to make herself feel better about life.

 Chapter 173: Because I Love You, You Idiot

    <h4>Chapter 173: Because I Love You, You Idiot</h4>

    During the couple''s first dance, Keeley decided to utilize the free Wi-Fi at the venue and scroll through Facebook. One of the first things that popped up was one of those annoying suggested tabloid ads. She didn''t even follow any gossip pages!

    She was about to keep scrolling past until she saw the headline ''Aaron Hale Proposes at Lacy Knighton''s Party In Front of Everyone'' and did a double take. Not wanting to read more, she shut her phone off immediately and stuffed it back in her clutch.

    So he had been lying. Figures.

    What had she expected from him? His words were meaningless. ''I only have one wife'' indeed.

    It was truly unfortunate she had to stay until the very end of the wedding. The rest of it passed slowly, like time was moving through msses.

    She didn''t even register anything that was happening around her until realizing everyone was leaving. She had been functioning on autopilot the whole time.

    Keeley made her way to one of the many piers in the area and took her shoes off so the freezing ocean water could soak her feet and the hem of her hideous dress. She looked out over the San Francisco Bay feeling emptier than ever.

    Without thinking, she beganposing a text message to the person who had been on her mind all weekend. ''Congrats on your engagement. You''ll probably have fun forcing Lacy into submission for the rest of her life''

    Her phone buzzed immediately. ''I''m not engaged, especially not to that leech''

    Nice try, idiot. She had seen the news. Dozens of people saw him propose. ''Tell that to all of the witnesses''

    ''So you saw one of the articles. I''m really not engaged. Aiden and I faked it because Lacy was going to announce being engaged to me without my consent. We beat her to it''

    How was Aiden even relevant in this conversation? The lies never stopped with this one. ''If you''re going to lie to me at least make it believable''

    ''I''m not lying. Aiden was dressed up as the woman I proposed to. He left on a month-long vacation this morning aspensation. You can ask him''

    If Aaron was telling her to ask him that meant a) he was telling the truth or b) he had warned Aiden to lie for him beforehand. She wasn''t sure which one to believe.

    ''Do you think I''m stupid?'' she texted.

    ''No, I think my life has spiraled out of my control to the point of sounding like the plot of a really bad novel''

    She snorted at theparison but was still skeptical. It was too ridiculous. ''Why would you do something like that?''

    ''Lacy needed to be punished publicly for thinking she could control me. The look on her face was amazing but I''m not sure if it was worth all the hassle I''m dealing with now. I wish I could escape the country too''

    Someone was being oddly talkative today. ''Why can''t you? You have money; you can go anywhere''

    ''I also have workmitments. I''m staging a coup, remember? No vacations until that''s over''

    She couldn''t even afford a vacation. Ugh, rich people. Her response was sarcastic. ''What a shame''

    She kicked her feet back and forth in the water until his next message came in. ''What are you doing right now?''

    ''Staring dramatically out at the ocean like a depressed person in a movie'' she responded wryly.

    Her phone rang immediately. Why was he calling her?

    "Why are you depressed?" he demanded, a hint of worry in his cool tone.

    Because of you, stupid. No, that wouldn''t go over well. She could tell part of the truth; maybe he would get the hint. "I hate weddings."

    "Aren''t weddings supposed to be happy asions?"

    "Not when you don''t believe in what they stand for," she said sourly. This was his fault and he deserved to know it.

    "Ah." Aaron went silent for a few moments before speaking again. "I suppose that''s because of me, isn''t it."

    He caught on quick. "Someone''s surprisingly self-aware."

    "That tends to happen when you have a lot of time to think. I know I wronged you terribly and I''ll never be able to make up for that."

    "Then why are you still trying?" she asked, frustrated. What was the point of continuing to invade her life in the name of making things right when he knew it was impossible?

    "Anything is better than nothing," he said softly. "Just because I know you''ll never forgive me doesn''t mean I''m going to stop trying to make things right. If nothing else, I''ll make sure you''re taken care of whenever you need it like I should have done all along."

    Those stubborn tears made an appearance again. This jerk. Why did he have to be like that even though he knew she hated him? Why did he have to keep being nice?

    "I really don''t get you. You don''t have to feel guilty towards me; I''m fine."

    She was far from fine but he didn''t need to know that. Truthfully, she probably needed a therapist but who would believe her story? She''d be hospitalized for delusions of grandeur.

    Maybe if she pretended like it all happened in this life¡­but no one would believe she had been married, divorced, and separated from her ex for many years before he came back to bother her at age twenty-four. If only she was older.

    "You think this is because of guilt?" he asked coldly.

    "Duh. What else would it be?"

    "¡­because I love you, you idiot. I want you to be happy and healthy and able to achieve your dreams."

    Her brain short-circuited. Did he just say something that sounded like what a supportive boyfriend would say (calling her an idiot aside) or was she hearing things? He wanted her to achieve her dreams? What kind of bull was that?

    They had known each other for twelve and a half years in their first life but Aaron didn''t know what her dreams were, let alone care about them.

    "You don''t know anything about my dreams," she said derisively.

    "I know you''re bing a gicist because you want to find a cure for cystic fibrosis in memory of your little brother. I didn''t know about it before¡­but as soon as I found out I''ve done my best to support you in it."

    Keeley had no idea how he had pieced that together since she never mentioned Kaleb''s disease or how he died to Aaron in either life. But she couldn''t deny that he had been supportive since they met up again.

    He constantly asked her about her research with seemingly genuine interest and sent her brain food to keep her going when she had long hours in theb. In that small way, he was supporting her dream.

    She had never put two and two together. How had she missed this?

 Chapter 174: Why Did You Call Me?

    <h4>Chapter 174: Why Did You Call Me?</h4>

    Aaron once imed that he noticed everything about Keeley and had the evidence to back it up with some really random observations. It must have been how he figured out what her dream was without her ever telling him. Still, she wanted confirmation.

    "How did you know?"

    "Cystic fibrosis is an oddly specific thing to study. I remembered learning about it in biology ss, how it caused breathing problems. There''s a picture of a little blonde boy that looks kind of like you in your dad''s house wearing a nasal cann. It wasn''t rocket science."

    So it WAS his observational skills at work. She was almost impressed.

    "Um¡­did he die from it? Is that why it matters to you so much?"

    Keeley was so surprised by his straightforwardness that she answered without thinking. She had never talked about this to anyone before.

    "Yes and no. He wasing home from the hospital where he was getting another treatment to thin the mucus in his lungs when he and my mom were approached by a mugger. They were both shot," she said emotionlessly.

    She heard a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the phone. "I''m so sorry. I had no idea that was how they both¡­I shouldn''t have said anything."

    "It''s fine. It was a long time ago." Her spirits were slightly lifted by the obvious worry in his usually t voice that he had hurt her feelings by bringing up something painful.

    "I was nning on bing a gicist anyway to find a cure so he could have a better life but after losing Kaleb like that I knew I had to do it so no other kid would end up like him. Kind of silly, huh?"

    "I don''t think it''s silly at all. But why didn''t you ever tell me?"

    An excellent question. For one, he never asked. He wasn''t the slightest bit curious why she was getting a degree in molecr biology. The bigger issue was probably that she was so traumatized by her mom''s and brother''s deaths that it was easier to never speak of anything to do with them back then.

    Actually pursuing her dream had been therapeutic. Having an extra lifetime''s worth of perspective didn''t hurt either. She was finally able to heal enough to move forward from the tragedy.

    "You never asked," she said bluntly. "And it was hard to talk about them back then. It''s gotten a lot easier."

    Why was she even talking about any of this with Aaron? She was angry at him for ruining her weekend! By all ounts, she shouldn''t have even answered the phone when he called. So why did she?

    Was it because she was lonely and wanted to hear a friendly voice from someone who cared? The thought that her cold and callous ex-husband could be considered a friendly voice wasughable yet here she was.

    "I didn''t, did I?" he asked quietly. "That was pretty stupid of me. But why didn''t you go on to get your doctorate when we got back to New York?"

    Asking that was pretty stupid of him too. He should already know.

    "You were on my case so much about working at Ace Burger that when you said I should ''take a break'' from working I thought it meant you didn''t want me to work period," Keeley said tly, feeling a resurgence of her earlier annoyance with him. Geez, this guy could be dense.

    "You hated that job! I only wanted you to be able to rx a little. If I had known you would take my words so literally I never would have said anything. I''vee to know that you tend to thrive on working yourself to death."

    It almost sounded like he was teasing her but that wasn''t Aaron''s style.

    "That''s riching from the world''s biggest workaholic," she snorted.

    "I believe that title actually belongs to you. Your days are much longer than mine now. At least I stop working when I get home for the most part."

    That wasn''t his style either. He always worked from home that she saw. "What do you even do with your life if you''re not working?"

    "Read. Sometimes Dinah joins me and sits on what I''m reading."

    "Nonfiction, right?" It was all she had ever seen him read.

    "Yes. I read a rather interesting biography the other day about Alexander Hamilton, the man on the ten dor bill."

    "Fascinating," Keeley said sarcastically.

    Of course the guy who spent most of his free time reading old people magazines in high school would like that kind of book. Although at least in this life it made sense because he mentally was an older man at that point in time.

    "How old are you?" she blurted.

    "¡­twenty-four, just like you."

    "I mean mentally. How many years have you been alive?"

    "Oh." He seemed surprised by the question. "It''ll be sixty-six in September."

    "Geez you''re old. I''m only thirty-nine." He was nearly twice her mental age even though physically she was a few months older than him like always.

    "I did live a long time without you, Keeley," Aaron said with a hint of condescension in his tone.

    What did he even do in all that time? He imed to have spent it all at work once he got revenge for her. Knowing him, it was probably true. What a terrible way to live. He must have been lonely.

    She didn''t feel sorry for him though. If anything, it was fair punishment for how alone he made her feel while they were married. Karma always gets people in the end.

    He spoke up again. "I missed you every single day."

    The tears that had stopped for a while began to flow again. That jerk. It wasn''t fair that he could still get an emotional response out of her.

    "So what? It was your fault I died. You deserved it."

    "I know."

    "You still deserve it," she said though there wasn''t any venom in her voice. She was tired. This conversation wore her out.

    "I know that too."

    "Why did you call me?" she asked wearily. He never rified that.

    "I wanted to make sure you were okay. It''s never good when people stare at the ocean all depressed in movies," he said with a hint of a smile in his voice.

    "¡­since when have you even watched those kind of movies?"

    "I''ve watched a lot more movies since being reborn."

    "Why? You hate movies."

    "You don''t though. I wanted amon topic to talk about when I met you again."

    Ugh, there he went with the niceness again. It would have been better if he had stayed a jerk. Keeley couldn''t let him get to her.

    It didn''t matter that he was doing everything in his power to be good to her now after all he did (and didn''t do) back then. Aaron was dead to her.

    "Stop being nice to me when I''m mad at you," she said with a pout.

    "Sorry, that''s not happening. You only get niceness from me from here on out."

    Keeley sighed. There was no use continuing to argue with him. "Goodbye Aaron. Thanks for checking up on me, I guess."

    "It''s the least I could do since I''m the one who made you sad in the first ce," he replied with a sigh of his own. "Travel safely tomorrow. If you need anything when you get back let me know."

    She wouldn''t, but as usual she thanked him and hung up the phone. What a bizarre conversation.

 Chapter 175: He Really Should Have

    <h4>Chapter 175: He Really Should Have</h4>

    Even though he had talked to the light of his life on the phone, Aaron didn''t feel any better. It was obvious she had been crying and he knew it was because of him.

    So she hated weddings now, did she? Well, she had hated being married and he had no one to me.

    His father and Lacy''s schemes had their role to y but ultimately she was miserable because of how he had treated her. Aaron hadn''t cared about what she wanted¡ªhe hadn''t even asked.

    Keeley always seemed so surprised when he noticed or remembered things about her. Had he really been so insensitive back then? He supposed he had. It wasn''t intentional; he wasn''t ustomed to paying attention to the feelings of others.

    She had been straightforward ever since they met; he assumed if there was something wrong she would tell him. He wasn''t a mind reader. How was he supposed to know how she felt if she never said anything?

    Later, after years to think back and agonize over every wrong interaction, Aaron realized that she never said anything because she wanted to prove that she was worthy of the position of Mrs. Hale. She didn''t want to be seen as a whiner who couldn''t handle it.

    If he knew then what he knew now¡­he would have rather moved them halfway across the world and started over fresh than stayed and dealt with all of those horrible people in New York as soon as they got married. They could have had the time and space to work on their rtionship before it was toote.

    Back then leaving never even urred to him. He had been raised to be the future CEO of Hale Investments and that was what he was going to do. That mindset cost him everything in the end. He was the CEO but that was it¡ªhe had nothing else.

    He still had nothing. Keeley''s resentment ran deep.

    Aaron''s heart clenched remembering her shaky voice. Exactly how many tears had she shed because of him over the years? The memory of her wails on prom night while she was drugged haunted him now that he knew that he was the one she was talking about.

    She died thinking he didn''t love her. It was made worse by the fact that she still didn''t believe it. There had to be a way to convince her that his affection wasn''t born from guilt. It had always been there under the surface.

    He hadn''t been romantic and was never good at expressing himself through words. His actions hadn''t been enough either.

    What did he ever do for her anyway? Aaron spent a lot of time with her up until work took over his life when they got married but that was about it. She seemed to enjoy herself on those asions but he knew he was the one benefitting most from having her by his side.

    Selfish. He had always been selfish. Every act of concern he showed back then was masked by his gruff words.

    Had he even specifically used the phrase ''I love you'' at all? He couldn''t remember. No wonder she didn''t believe him.

    Something didn''t make sense though. Why would Keeley marry him at all if she didn''t believe he loved her? She must have felt love from him at some point even without flowery words.

    He tried thinking back. What had convinced her that he loved her in those days? If he knew, he could try and replicate it.

    One specific memory came to mind from the fall after they began dating. Keeley had dragged him to an apple orchard an hour away from Boston because she had never been before and thought it would be fun.

    Her blonde hair was tied back in a French braid and she wore a red id nnel shirt with jeans and sneakers.

    Her excitement matched a little kid''s on Christmas morning. At the time he had wondered what was so special about picking your own apples but he changed his mind after she made apple crisp with them from scratch.

    "Aaron! It looks like there are some good ones on this tree; help me!"

    He looked around in confusion. How exactly was he supposed to help her? All of the otherdders were being used.

    Noticing the crate on the ground near the tree, Aaron figured that at the very least he could go over and hold it for her. Wordlessly, he held up the crate as she began twisting the apples so their stems would break.

    Keeley beamed at him when she noticed the crate and his heart fluttered. She always looked the most beautiful when she smiled with genuine happiness like that.

    This continued for about ten minutes until her attention was diverted. "Ooh, there''s a huge one up there! I''m going to go get it. Spot me!"

    Spot her? What did that mean? He wasn''t able to ask because she was too busy climbing into the higher branches of the tree.

    "What are you doing?" he asked tly though his heart was pounding. What if she fell? He might not be able to catch her in time!

    "The most gorgeous apple I''ve ever seen is up here! It''ll only take a minute."

    Hadn''t the sign at the front of the orchard said that tree climbing wasn''t allowed? "Get down from there; you''re going to get us kicked out."

    "Rx, I almost got it," she said confidently.

    Aaron didn''t like the looks of this. His girlfriend was bncing on a knot on a branch with only one foot as she strained for her prize. He set the crate down and moved closer to the tree.

    Keeley reached further and wrapped her hand around the apple right as her foot slipped off the knot. A branch sliced the knee of her jeans open on the way down. It was too sudden for her to even scream.

    He lunged forward and caught her around the waist before they both fell to the ground. As shey partially on top of him she craned her neck to meet his eyes and giggled sheepishly before holding up the apple.

    "I got it."

    "Only you would risk your life for an apple," he said grouchily. She had scared the living daylights out of him. There were plenty of perfectly good apples within reach.

    Her eyes sparkled. "I wouldn''t say it was risking my life."

    "You still got hurt. It was a stupid thing to do."

    Aaron pulled antibiotic cream and adhesive bandages out of his coat pocket. He had gotten used to carrying them around after spending enough time with the overly adventurous walking disaster he loved.

    He handed them over to her and averted his gaze. He wasn''t so great with blood.

    "Aren''t I okay though? You were there to catch me," Keeley said as she applied the medicine.

    She was banking on that?! What if he had been a second too slow? She could have died!

    "You''re ridiculous," he grumbled.

    She batted her eyshes dramatically. "Come on, you know you loooove me."

    His expression softened and he reached out to tug softly on the end of her braid but didn''t say anything. He should have though. He really should have.

 Chapter 176: One Lucky Dog

    <h4>Chapter 176: One Lucky Dog</h4>

    Aaron sighed and leaned his head on the back of the couch. Keeley had sounded so confident in his love for her that day even though he never said it. When exactly did that confidence fade?

    He couldn''t pinpoint the exact time she stopped believing in him. Even before he had started ignoring her to throw the servants off their scent they hadn''t been as close as they used to be.

    It probably started when they moved back to New York to get married and he stopped taking her opinions into consideration. When he didn''t have to worry about anybody watching, she controlled nearly all of their activities because he liked seeing her light up as she tried something new.

    That sort of thing didn''t fly when she was surrounded by ravenous wolves waiting to tear her apart over every little thing. Aaron thought he was helping her by teaching her how to fit into his world but it had only driven a wedge between them.

    He didn''t care about anyone''s approval anymore but hers. Unfortunately, she wouldn''t give him a chance to exin that. Or anything, really. That brief conversation on the phone was the most they had talked in months.

    If he came up with a sappy speech to profess his love would she even believe it?

    Aaron tried to remember what sorts of things he told her in the past that had made her believe he loved her. He said she made him happy¡­that he liked having her around¡­was that honestly it? How stupid had he been?!

    Had he really never told her that she was the only thing that made life worth living? Or that she was his warmth and light in a cold, emotionless world? That her smile turned winter into spring?

    All of those things were thoughts that had flitted through his mind while he was with her way back when. If he had voiced even one of those things, would she believe him now?

    Why had he been so emotionally stunted that he couldn''t physically say the words ''I love you'' to the woman who meant more to him than all the money in the world?

    Multiple moments where she told him she loved him but he didn''t respond shed through his mind and he cringed.

    When she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him with her warm brown eyes like he was the only person in the world. His response was to lean down and kiss her.

    When theyy in bed after making love for the first time and all he did was rub her cheeks with his thumbs and press his lips against her forehead.

    When she used it as a sign off from a phone call and he only said ''mm, bye'' before hanging up.

    Every time he avoided the words by using some small expression of physical affection or a nomittal noise, like an idiot. The first time Keeley heard him say he loved her was after she had angrily used him of being a hypocrite for trying to get her back. Of course she wouldn''t believe it.

    She had asked Aaron why he liked her once shortly after they began dating. He hadn''t beenpletely honest then either and replied ''I just do.'' He was definitely an idiot.

    Before realizing that his chances of getting her back were less than zero, he had told himself that when they started dating again he would tell her he loved her every single day. Multiple times a day, even, so she could never doubt it.

    That was never going to happen now. He was lucky she was even epting the food he kept sending to herb. Their rtionship would never progress further than that.

    He should have known better than to think that the universe would let things y out in his favor when he was reborn. If Aaron and Keeley weren''t going to be together again, it was cruel to both of them.

    Dinah jumped up into hisp then and turned in a circle before settling down and falling asleep instantly. He scratched her behind the ears absentmindedly. He wasn''tpletely alone; the cat still liked him. But it wasn''t the same.

    His phone rang for the fifth time today but he didn''t have the energy to answer. He knew it was his father demanding an exnation for what happened the night before.

    What was he supposed to say? ''Hey I figured out your plot against me and didn''t like it so I had to act fast''?

    He couldn''t ignore Alistair forever; he would surely corner Aaron at work on Monday. He had to have a valid exnation by then or all his ns would be blown.

    Maybe Cameron would have some ideas. He may as well give him a call while he was trapped here.

    He picked up on the sixth ring sounding a bit exasperated. "Aaron, it''s a Saturday. What do you want?"

    "I could use some advice," Aaron confessed.

    "¡­you''re seriously calling me, on a weekend, because you need advice? You''ve never asked me for that before."

    This might not have been his best idea. Cameron was probably busy with Jennica right now based on his annoyed tone. He persisted anyway.

    "Have you seen the news articles that came out this morning?"

    "I haven''t been online today; Jen and I have been having azy day because it''s raining and have done nothing but watch movies. What''s up?"

    Oh, this was embarrassing! It would have been better if he had known about it already.

    "I got fake engaged to a person who doesn''t existst night and I need a viable excuse to give to my father about both why I never told him and why I proposed so publicly."

    He waspletely stunned. "You what?"

    Aaron didn''t want to repeat himself. "You heard me."

    "Why on earth would you do something like that?"

    "My father tried to announce an engagement I didn''t consent to with my worst enemy. I had to strike first."

    Cameron''s confusion grew. "I thought your father was your worst enemy. Who''s this new one?"

    "Lacy Knighton. She''s not important. The important thing is that if I don''te up with a good reason for all of this, my father is going to know I have no intention of listening to him ever again and it will be fifty times more difficult to kick him out of thepany."

    "Your father tried to make you get engaged to her?!" Jennica''s voice came over the line in disbelief. She was clearly snuggling up to her fianc¨¦ if she was able to hear what was going on.

    "Hello, Jennica," Aaron said tiredly.

    He hadn''t expected her to be listening in but he shouldn''t have been too surprised. She and Cameron were practically glued to each other. Even he and Keeley had never been that close.

    The thought hurt more than it should have. Cameron was one lucky dog.

 Chapter 177: Love Is An Ambition All Its Own

    <h4>Chapter 177: Love Is An Ambition All Its Own</h4>

    Aaron briefly exined the predicament he found himself in because of his father and the Knightons. "Any ideas would be helpful at this point. I''ve got nothing."

    Jennica thought about it a moment.

    "If it''s someone who doesn''t exist¡­say you''ve been doing things long distance and you didn''t want to tell anyone in case it didn''t work out but that you couldn''t hold back your love when you saw her again and that''s why you proposed in public."

    "Alistair might fall for it," Cameron mused. "Just act as lovesick as you always do when you talk about Keeley and you should be fine."

    He scowled. Was he really that bad? He thought he was better at hiding his emotions than that. If even Cameron could see through him, why couldn''t Keeley?

    "Speaking of Keeley¡­does she know about this?" Jennica asked hesitantly. "I wouldn''t want her to be hurt by it."

    Aaron let out a small, hollowugh at the very idea that she could be hurt by him getting engaged to someone else. She didn''t care. She had texted him to congratte him as soon as she found out. In her mind, she probably saw him getting engaged as a way to get rid of him.

    "She knows but even if she didn''t, she wouldn''t care."

    She made a soft skeptical noise. "Don''t be too sure. Before you guys got into your fight I was near positive she liked you."

    His blinked several times in disbelief. Jennica thought Keeley liked him?! How had shee to that conclusion? She obviously hated him.

    "Really?" he asked faintly.

    "Well she always got really defensive whenever you were brought up. I think it was a case of protesting too much."

    Interesting. Aaron didn''t know Jennica well enough to gauge her ability to read people but if she was right, Keeley had been softening towards him before discovering the truth.

    It was like she said; she never would have been friends with him if she knew he remembered everything. She only epted him because she thought he was an entirely different person.

    All he could do was make a nomittal noise in response before changing the subject. "Well, that''s all I really needed. I can embellish the story from here. Thanks for the idea and enjoy the rest of your night."

    They both said goodbye before hanging up. He imagined they resumed their cuddling without giving him a second thought. How nice it must be to have the one you love by your side.

    He felt even worse after the call than he did before. If Jennica was right, he might have actually had a chance if Keeley hadn''t figured out the truth. The thought was like a dagger straight through his heart.

    There was nothing he wouldn''t give to be spending the entire day holding her while they watched movies like Cameron and Jennica were doing right now.

    Aaron had never been the biggest fan of movies so back in the day whenever Keeley asked him to watch one with her he said no more than half of the time. He should have taken it as an opportunity to be closer to her and disregarded what was happening on the screen.

    He wanted to p his younger self for being so stupid. Here he was, desperately wishing for something he used to turn down.

    ===

    As predicted, everyone wanted to congratte Aaron on his engagement at work. People he had never spoken to before in his life wereing out of the woodwork to wish him happiness. It was unnerving.

    It was only a matter of time before his father called him into his office. To his surprise, it didn''te up until they were out to lunch at a sushi restaurant nearby.

    Alistair normally ate lunch out with other executives but today it was only him and his son. This meant Aaron was in for a serious scolding. Joy.

    He didn''t attack until after the appetizers had been ordered.

    "Care to tell me why you didn''t answer any of my calls this weekend?" he asked in a tone that could freeze an ocean.

    "My cat knocked my phone under the couch when it was on silent," he deadpanned.

    "Since when do you have a cat?"

    "I got herst summer. Haven''t you seen the picture in my office?"

    Aaron knew for a fact that his father swept his office for evidence against him that he never found at least a couple times a week when he wasn''t in there. Aiden had the footage to prove it.

    He wouldn''t admit to that though so he cleared his throat before continuing. "That is beside the point. Your little stunt put me in a very awkward position."

    "Why, because you tried marrying me off without even consulting me on it? I have told you a hundred times: I would rather cut my own ear off than marry Lacy Knighton. I already have someone I love."

    Alistair grew even colder.

    "You could have told me about her sooner. Bethany Carlisle is a perfectly eptable candidate for your wife. I wouldn''t have said no. All you aplished by keeping your rtionship secret was embarrassing me in front of one of my business partners."

    "Our rtionship was long-distance. I didn''t want to say anything until we were on more solid ground," he lied, using Jennica''s idea.

    He waited a moment to see if his father took the bait. The appetizers arrived while Alistair gathered his thoughts and Aaron dug into his spring rolls as if he didn''t have a care in the world. He could not show a speck of weakness in front of the enemy.

    "If you were waiting to be on more solid ground why on earth would you do something as incredibly stupid as proposing in public at someone else''s party? That was done in very poor taste. I raised you better than that," Alistair said icily.

    He hardly raised Aaron at all. Anything he did impart onto his son was cold, harsh, and businesslike.

    He had some nerve talking about raising him when he only gave him the time of day if he was excelling at something. The rest of the time he was ignored and left in the care of nannies.

    "I lost my head in the heat of the moment," Aaron said, trying to sound the way he did when he talked about Keeley. "I was so overwhelmed by seeing Bethany again after a long separation that I couldn''t control the urge to make her mine permanently."

    Aaron wasn''t sure if it worked. Alistair looked less convinced this time. "Love only gets in the way of ambition."

    "Love is an ambition all its own," he replied coolly, thinking of his own ambitions in love that would likely never be fulfilled. "It does not affect my business sense so you have no room toin."

    "Lacy Knighton would have been a better choice business-wise," his father said stiffly. "Her father and I already work together. We could have merged our interests much more easily. As it is now, you''ve offended them and I have to clean up your mess."

    "Your business partners have nothing to do with me, Father. None of this would have happened had you not jumped the gun and set something up without talking to me. I am not to me here."

    Alistair wanted to refute but he couldn''t deny his son''s logic. Point to Aaron. He ate his next spring roll with a sense of supreme satisfaction. He had won this round.

 Chapter 178: Aaron Hale Doesnt Have A Heart

    <h4>Chapter 178: Aaron Hale Doesn''t Have A Heart</h4>

    Lacy Knighton had never been so furious in her life. After the humiliation she suffered on her birthday, Alistair Hale hadn''t so much as apologized yet and it had been days.

    Sure, she saw Aaron arrive with another woman at her party but he always had a date to these sorts of events. She wasn''t terribly concerned. Alistair had promised him to her and he had never failed to follow through before.

    All of her dreams came crashing down around her when Aaron knelt down and proposed to that wretched woman in front of all of her guests right before her father was about to announce their engagement. They couldn''t very well announce it now!

    What on earth was he doing?! No one else was fit to be Mrs. Hale but her! She had been training for it since she was a child. She was the most suitable one to stand by Aaron''s side.

    That redheaded tramp¡­where did she evene from?

    Lacy wanted to march right out there and give her a piece of her mind but her mother held her back. She had an image to maintain, after all. It wouldn''t do to go flying in there and destroy someone under the Hales'' protection.

    What a joke. She was the one who was supposed to be under the Hales'' protection.

    Once she calmed down enough, the first thing she did was look this woman up online. There wasn''t much to be found; she was an incredibly private person. The only concrete bit of evidence she discovered was that Bethany Carlisle was the daughter of a prominent Harvard family in Boston.

    No wonder Alistair Hale hadn''t bothered to apologize. He was probably perfectly satisfied with this potential daughter-inw, since she gave their family the opportunity to expend their influence into another major city.

    Lacy would not stand for this. She had been waiting to marry Aaron Hale since she was thirteen years old. Nobody was capable of snatching him away from her now. She would find a way to destroy this Bethany Carlisle if it killed her.

    The real question was how. Nobody in New York knew a thing about her and despite being a Harvard graduate she didn''t really have any connections in Boston who could dig up information.

    She had already tried Max, who was generally reliable at these sorts of things, but he surprised her by refusing.

    "He''s engaged! Let him be already," he said crossly. "You''ll never be Mrs. Hale so don''t embarrass yourself."

    After that conversation she was so furious that she broke an antique crystal vase by hurling it across the room. Max had never refused her before. He couldn''t still be delusional enough to believe that they would get married, could he?

    Whatever. She didn''t need him. She would destroy this woman herself. It would only be a matter of time before she came to New York to n the wedding. She could make her move then.

    Even with a sliver of a n, Lacy''s spirits were low. It had been the worst birthday of her life. Who wouldn''t be depressed if the man they loved proposed to someone else at their birthday party?

    She tried shopping to cheer herself up but even that didn''t work because all of her friends were gossiping about Aaron''s fianc¨¦e. It made her feel worse so she ended up in a high ss bar downtown drinking Manhattan after Manhattan.

    "A beautiful woman like you shouldn''t be drinking alone. What''s on your mind, sweetheart?" a smarmy voice asked from her left.

    "Drop dead," Lacy snarled. Thest thing she needed right now was being hit on.

    "Well that isn''t verydylike. No wonder Aaron Hale doesn''t like you."

    She nced up at the man, about to ask him what on earth he thought he was talking about but all words escaped her. He was gorgeous. Dark-haired and tall with a chiseled jawline.

    She definitely would have remembered a face like that so he wasn''t a part of her social circle. Then how did he know about her and Aaron?

    "Who are you?" she demanded.

    "Graydon Meyer, at your service," he said with a dazzling grin.

    Graydon Meyer¡­who hadn''t heard of that name in New York City? He was a rising star in the tech field and had be a millionaire practically overnight after developing a couple of phone apps that made it big. He currently owned his own app developmentpany.

    Lacy''s circle was made up of old money¡ªpeople who had been established as wealthy for generations. Of course she had never met this man before. He was the worst kind of nouveau riche; people in high society rejected his kind.

    "I''ve never met you. How do you know who I am?"

    He shrugged and ordered a drink before answering. "Word gets around. You and I happen to have something inmon."

    "And what would that be?" she asked dryly.

    She had nothing inmon with this yboy at all. She was sophisticated while he was crass. Everyone had heard of his exploits involving models during Fashion Week. They were front page news in the New York gossip rags.

    "We''ve been wronged by the Hales," Graydon said before taking a sip of his drink.

    "Aaron''s not at fault here," she said defensively. "It''s that woman. He''lle to his senses eventually."

    She had to believe that. He was cold to everyone, not just her. If he didn''t care about her at all he wouldn''t go out of his way to insult her at every gathering.

    Lacy would have been more concerned if he t out ignored her. She knew how he worked after years of observations. He ignored those unworthy of his notice. If he responded to you at all it was a good sign.

    "Why don''t I help you with that?"

    Her eyes narrowed. "And how would someone like you be able to pull that off?"

    He smiled dangerously. "I have my ways."

    She stood and mmed a hundred dor bill down on the bar to cover her tab. "You''re barking up the wrong tree. I''m perfectly capable of winning his heart by myself."

    Graydon had the nerve tough at her. "Aaron Hale doesn''t have a heart. He''ll never love anyone, let alone you."

    Lacy stormed away in a huff. What did he know? Had he ever even met Aaron? He might not be the warmest person around but no man could resist her charms. She would win him over and prove that upstart wrong.

 Chapter 179: Unpredictable

    <h4>Chapter 179: Unpredictable</h4>

    Alistair Hale''s apology didn''te until Wednesday and it was supremely unsatisfying. Lacy had been right¡ªhe wouldn''t stand up for her because he liked the idea of this new daughter-inw-to-be.

    He met up with her and her father for lunch at a trendy restaurant near the financial district and didn''t show the slightest bit of difort on his face. Who did he think he was to be so nonchnt about not honoring a promise?

    "I really didn''t want things to turn out this way but what can I do? I have no control over that boy," Alistair said calmly as he cut his steak.

    Brann scowled. "You''re his father; it''s his duty to listen to you and respect your decisions on what''s best for him. Tell him to break off the engagement and make things right."

    Lacy nodded along emphatically. Only she could be Aaron''s wife. Somebody from Boston could never fit into New York''s high society.

    "It''s not that simple. Everyone has already heard about it. Think about the rumors that would be going around if his fianc¨¦e was suddenly switched. It would reflect badly on Lacy."

    "So you''re telling me you don''t intend to fix this?!" Brann thundered, smacking his hands on the table.

    Alistair sighed and set down his knife.

    "You''re overthinking things. All I''m saying is that it can''t be fixed so quickly. Bethany is currently out of the country visiting friends from her study abroad a couple of years ago. Even if she were here, we would need time to let the news cool down.

    "Lacy¡­I know you''re set on Aaron but there are so many other eligible men out there. It might be in your best interest to choose someone else. You aren''t getting any younger. If you wait too long for Aaron I''m afraid you''ll miss your best chance at getting another husband."

    She had never been so offended in her entire life. How dare he imply that she was going to be an old maid!

    Lacy was the most beautiful woman in their circle and everyone knew it. As the most beautiful, she needed the best husband and that was Aaron. No one else would do. She refused to settle.

    "I''ll have you know that I''ve been proposed to no less than six times," she said coldly. "I am in demand but none of those fools are worthy of me. I will wait for your son as long as it takes."

    Alistair regarded her condescendingly without a hint of sympathy in his dark soulless eyes.

    "My son has made up his mind and I can''t stop him. He doesn''t want you," he said bluntly. "Stop waiting for the impossible and go find yourself a nice husband."

    "Alistair, do you have to be so straightforward about it?" Brann asked unhappily.

    He wasn''t stupid enough to believe that Aaron liked his daughter in any capacity but a promise was a promise. He wanted that merger to happen officially.

    The two of them had been working together in secret for years but being married into the family would protect him from any legal allegations. Alistair was less likely to turn on him to save himself in case they ever got caught if they were family.

    "I''m only telling the truth. Aaron has been unpredictable thest few years. He''s refused all the servants I''ve offered him, hasn''t even told me where he''s living these days, and hardly interacts with the circle anymore," Alistair said angrily, stabbing his steak with a fork.

    "I get the feeling he''s up to something but can''t find any proof. He''spletely disrespectful and he has the board eating out of his hand by submitting proposals to move thepany in a new direction. I don''t even know what he gets up to anymore when he''s not at the office."

    Her temper rose as she listened to Alistair''s rant. It had been more than a few years since Aaron had been different. This all started their senior year of high school with that peasant, Keeley. She changed him.

    Lacy was supposed to be his prom date. She was supposed to be his college girlfriend. And right now, she was supposed to be his wife as they stood together at the top of high society.

    It was as if a switch had flipped in him overnight that pulled him farther and farther away from Lacy and their world. All of this was wrong. They had been the only ones who understood each other in their generation of the circle. They were meant to be together!

    "If you won''t honor your promise I''ll find a way to do it myself," she said stiffly before standing and striding out of the restaurant in her designer heels.

    As much as she hated the thought of working with such a cretin, it may be time to pay Graydon Meyer a visit. He imed he could help her get Aaron. If Alistair wasn''t going to help her, she had to take what she could get.

    Her father wasn''t ready to stop his negotiation attempts yet so she got her driver to drop her off at Appzoid''s offices in the tiron district. She was certain that Graydon Meyer wouldn''t make her wait since he approached her first.

    "Tell your CEO that Lacy Knighton is here to see him," she told the receptionist at the front desk in the crisply decorated office building.

    "Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked boredly, giving her a once over.

    "I don''t need one. Just tell him my name; he''ll agree to see me."

    The receptionist rolled her eyes. There were at least a dozen of these types iming they were Mr. Meyer''s girlfriend a week. He always turned them away but she still had to ask.

    "Mr. Meyer, a Lacy Knighton is here to see you."

    To her surprise, heughed. "I was wondering when she would show up. Send her back."

    "Yes, sir."

    She hung up the phone and looked at Lacy with new eyes. "Take the elevator up three floors. Mr. Meyer''s office is the second door on the right."

    Lacy smiled victoriously. She knew he would see her immediately. Take that, secretary!

 Chapter 180: I Know What You Did

    <h4>Chapter 180: I Know What You Did</h4>

    Lacy knocked on the door to Graydon''s office and heard a firm e in" before opening it.

    The decorations were about what she would expect from a nouveau riche. Modern art pieces that were expensive but tacky hung on the walls, along with diplomas and award certificates. Someone was full of himself.

    He gestured for her to have a seat and she sat in the rtivelyfortable chair primly. "I assume you know why I''m here."

    Graydon smiled. "You finally came to your senses and want my help. Let me guess¡­Alistair Hale offended you by not giving a proper apology."

    She was too incensed to care how he guessed correctly and went off on a rant.

    "It wasn''t an apology at all! He said that he couldn''t control his son and that none of this was his fault so I should just forget it. He even called me an old maid! Just because the Hales are slightly above the Knightons doesn''t mean he can get away with treating me like this. He promised Aaron to me!"

    "He''s notorious for not keeping his promises," Graydon said wryly. "You should have gotten one from Aaron; I''ve heard he''s much more dependable."

    Lacy pouted. "You im to know how Aaron treats me¡­you know that isn''t possible."

    "So you are at least slightly self-aware. You know Aaron hates you so you went to his father instead thinking he wouldn''t be able to refute. Isn''t that a bit too underhanded?"

    "Who''s side are you on here?!"

    "Mine, of course," he answered with a smile. "It''s in my best interest to help you. I''m sure you''ve heard rumors about the discord between father and sontely."

    Rumors? She had just heard it straight from the horse''s mouth! But what did Aaron distancing himself from his father have to do with anything?

    "I have a source inside Hale Investments. Apparently he has been proposing ideas left and right that his father doesn''t agree with. If I didn''t know any better, I would say he''s preparing to take over thepany by force."

    Aaron was a brilliant businessman¡­everyone knew of his aplishments. Unlike many in their circle, he wasn''t a vice president in name only. He truly cared about the growth of his family''spany. But would he really kick his father out?

    "You seem like you want that to happen," she said shrewdly. It was clear in his tone; he found the rumors amusing.

    "Well aren''t you a smart one," Graydon said as if he were praising a small child. "I won''t deny that I''m eager to see how this all ys out."

    He leaned forward, sping his hands under his chin. His posture was rxed and there was a slight smile on his face but the glint in his eyes was sinister.

    Lacy eyed him warily. "Where does helping me fit in here?"

    "Simple. We both don''t care for Alistair Hale. Isn''t Aaron the best way to get to him? I help you gain Aaron''s trust and in turn you help him boot his father out."

    It didn''t seem right to her to help depose her future father-inw, even if she had lost all respect for the man. What if other people found out about it? She would be gossip fodder for years. But if the rumors were true and it was what Aaron wanted¡­wouldn''t he like her better for helping him aplish his goal?

    Her mind was made up. "What do you need me to do?"

    Graydon smiled wickedly. "You''ll see."

    ===

    November 2013, in another lifetime

    It had been about a year since Lacy sessfully ruined Keeley''s chances of bearing the next Hale heir. Why hadn''t Aaron divorced her yet?

    None of this made sense. Hadn''t Alistair been positive he would leave her once he wasn''t able to carry on his bloodline? Lacy was young, healthy, and perfectly capable of bearing him a child. Why hadn''t hee to her? What was he waiting for?

    Everyone in the circle knew that giving birth to sons was vital for a wife to keep her position. Lacy''s own mother had suffered shame and degradation over the years for only being able to bear a single daughter.

    Brann didn''t cast her aside because her maternal family was too important to lose ties with, nning instead to hand over his empire to his future son-inw. Lacy knew there was no love lost between her parents.

    It was the way things worked. People married each other for benefits. So why had Aaron married a girl with absolutely nothing to offer him?

    He knew how things were supposed to work better than anyone. He had believed in the system. What changed? He couldn''t have actually fallen in love with that woman; his heart was made of stone.

    One of the reasons Lacy believed they would end up together was that she could benefit him most out of everyone in their circle. She was beautiful and well-connected.

    She didn''t even care that he didn''t love her at first if it meant she got to be with him. She was confident in her abilities to soften him over time by impressing him in bed. So how? How did this nobody manage to win his favor instead of her?

    "I know what you did," a teasing male voice whispered in her ear.

    Lacy jerked back, startled, and saw an abnormally handsome man leaning over her. "Excuse me?"

    He had his hands in his pockets and looked perfectly at ease, a carefree smile on his face. "I know what you did to Keeley Hale. Talk about harsh. That poor girl never did anything to you."

    "You don''t know anything," she said crisply, preparing to walk away from the jewelry counter she was perusing by herself. None of her friends were avable today.

    "Oh, so you don''t care if I go tell Aaron you had his firstborn son killed?" the man asked casually.

    Lacy stopped dead in her tracks.

    It was wild enough that he knew about her false ectopic pregnancy scheme but how did he know the child was a boy? The fetus was too underdeveloped to tell by looking at it but Dr. Rothman conducted a blood test to determine its gender when Keeley came in for her checkup.

    When he reported back, Lacy knew she had to get rid of it. If Keeley gave birth to the next Hale heir there was no way the family would be able to kick her out. She only did what was necessary.

    "How did you¡ª"

    "Let''s say Dr. Rothman and I go way back."

    "What do you want from me?" she asked uneasily. This sounded a lot like ckmail.

    The man grinned. "I want to propose an alliance. I have a particr interest in tearing the Hales apart. With Keeley out of the way, her husband will be all yours."

    It was a tempting offer but she had no idea who this guy was. There was no way she could trust him, especially with the way he approached her.

    "Who are you?" Lacy demanded.

    "You can call me Mr. Gray for now. Here''s my card. Think it over and get back to me," he said before vanishing as quickly as he had arrived.

 Chapter 181: Rico y Reencarnado

    <h4>Chapter 181: Rico y Reencarnado</h4>

    Keeley still wasn''t sure she believed that the woman Aaron had gotten engaged to was actually Aiden. She wanted to ask her neighbor but nobody answered the door after several tries. Maybe he really was out of the country.

    She sent him a text as she waited for one of her sses to start but didn''t get a reply for another two hours.

    ''That traitor!! He promised not to tell!!!!''

    That pretty much confirmed it for her. He wouldn''t have used so many exmation points if he wasn''t genuinely upset. So he had been telling the truth after all.

    What did it matter if he was honest or not? He had still lied about too many things to count. She couldn''t trust him. And yet, he was oddly dependable in other ways.

    This week all three of the things she had said sounded good before she left for California had arrived at herb right on time. Today it was a calzone.

    "You have the best boyfriend," Erica said dreamily when she came back after eating it in the hallway. "I wish mine were nearly as considerate as yours. He hasn''t visited me at theb once."

    "He''s not my boyfriend."

    Her coworker looked at her like she was the world''s biggest liar and put her hands on her hips. "No regr friend would ever go that far for a girl. If he isn''t your boyfriend yet, he wants to be."

    Keeley couldn''t refute that. Aaron had made his intentions clear. He wanted to be the kind of husband he hadn''t been before. Pigs would fly before that happened though¡ªshe wasn''t about to fall for that again.

    He didn''t have a real desire to be with her; he was only assuaging his own guilt. At this point she doubted he had ever really wanted her around at all. It was sheer stubbornness and rebelling against his father.

    "He feels obligated to make sure I''m eating properly but that''s really it," she said tly. "He feels guilty about something that happened a long time ago."

    Erica raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn''t be so sure about that. Guilt only goes so far."

    "Change of subject, please. How''s your researching?"

    She sighed dramatically, not wanting to let the subject drop. "Slowly but surely. You''re a lot further along than I am."

    She was a year behind Keeley in school so she was barely starting her dissertation research on whether or not genome sequence data could be used to understand the evolution of the influenza virus.

    She wasn''t sure whether or not it was something she wanted to pursue on a permanent basis; it was just the first idea she came up with because she was desperate two days before her topic proposal was due. Not everyone could be as specific in what they wanted to study as Keeley.

    "You''ll get there," Keeley said confidently. "We''re both going to graduate on time and be rock stars in the field of gics."

    She snorted. "Sure. Rock stars."

    Believing that she would seed in this field was the only way she got through the endless mind-numbing hours in theb and all of thete nights studying and writing papers. None of this would be worth it otherwise.

    She had to find a cure for kids like Kaleb even if it took her whole life to get there. That thought sustained her through the rest of her shift at theb. She was ready to go home and take a break for an hour or so before tackling her homework.

    Valentina was hanging out in the living room when she arrived and waved her over excitedly. "Ooh, you''re here just in time! Your telenov''s first episode airs in eight minutes! I was worried you were going to miss it."

    She hadpletely forgotten it wasing out today though she was sure Valentina had told her at some point. Her brain was scrambled these days.

    Rico y Reencarnado had been in production nonstop for the past couple of months. She still couldn''t believe there was actually a TV show based on her life now. No one would ever know.

    Well, Aaron might think it was a strange coincidence if he watched it but when would he ever watch a telenov? The odds were incredibly slim.

    Keeley settled down on the couch next to her roommate and waited for the opening credits to begin. This should be interesting.

    The opening song didn''t have subtitles so she had no idea what they were saying but there were dramatic mor shots of each of the main characters with their hair blowing in the wind as the actors'' names were disyed, among other things.

    It looked like her father, Alistair, and Max had made it into the show after all. Jeffrey and Lydia too. Lacy had also had arge posse of mean girls who hadn''t been mentioned in her original proposal.

    Something she saw that she already didn''t like was that Luz and Aaron were seen kissing passionately in their school uniforms in the intro.

    Great. So they were going to make this a romance rather than a revenge story.

    Submitting this had been a mistake. Valentina would expect her to watch it all the way through because it was her idea without realizing that what she was seeing on the screen would be poking at a wound.

    Right there near the end of the opening credits were the words ''personajes creados por Keeley Hall.'' Characters created by Keeley Hall. They included her after all.

    The first scene took ce in a grand Spanish-style vi after a camera panning the grandeur of the estate outside. Older Luz and Aaron (yed by different actors than the main ones) were arguing in the living room.

    Keeley had to read the subtitles to know what was going on but they followed a fairly familiar script to thest conversation she had with her ex-husband before she died.

    The main difference was that when Aaron said that Lacy''s character was pregnant, Lorena appeared on screen. How exactly had she gotten into the house? Telenov logic was weird.

    Lorena wrapped her arms around Aaron''s neck and kissed it beforeughing evilly as Luz ran out of the house crying. The actress really was too dramatic.

    She ran into the street without looking because she was crying too hard (Keeley hadn''t been that stupid, okay?) and got run over by a delivery truck.

    Keeley was surprised they changed the story until she saw that Max''s counterpart Ignacio was the one driving it. Why was he posing as a deliveryman?

    This was weird. This was so weird. She wanted to stop watching but was oddly hooked.

 Chapter 182: Aaron Hale Was One Of A Kind

    <h4>Chapter 182: Aaron Hale Was One Of A Kind</h4>

    The telenov continued with Luz waking up in her old bedroom as her father told her to get ready for school. She panicked in front of the mirror when she saw her younger face before celebrating and saying she would definitely avoid Aaron this time!

    Keeley scoffed. She had been that na?ve once too. Good luck escaping, girl.

    "Ooooh my hottie Hector is about toe on screen!" Valentina squealed and hugged a throw pillow.

    She still doubted the actor, who was used to ying suave, sexy roles, would be able to pull off Aaron''s ice. That kind of coldness was innate; it couldn''t be replicated.

    The scene changed. Luz happily chatted with her friends Diego and Alessandra as they walked down the hall in their school uniforms. She waved goodbye to them as the bell rang and found herself immediately cornered by a perfect kabedon position.

    Valentina''s hottie had arrived.

    Keeley sat up straight, curious how Hector Garza would portray Aaron. He began speaking with a sexy smirk on his face as Luz stared back at him defiantly.

    Wrong! This was all wrong! Aaron wasn''t supposed to be seductive or have nearly that much expression on his face!

    She knew it. Aaron Hale was one of a kind; nobody could pull off his personality but him. She should have known this would happen. Telenovs had a very specific mold for their leading men and cold, distant, and frightening wasn''t it.

    He might not be that way now but he certainly had been in high school, when her telenov proposal was set. Keeley sighed. He had warmed up quite a bit over the years though she certainly wouldn''t call him a warm person.

    How would she describe his personality now? She wasn''t sure. There were too many parts of him all mixed together. The ice devil was definitely still in there somewhere; he just didn''t show it to her anymore because he was making an effort to be nice.

    "Hector is too alluring to y Aaron," she said resolutely even though she knew Valentina would disagree.

    "He has to be alluring," Valentina argued. "He''s a terrible person. If he doesn''t have something going for him the viewers won''t root for their rtionship."

    "He''s not¡ª"

    Keeley cut herself off. She had almost said that Aaron wasn''t a terrible person even though he was ording to the telenov.

    Back when she came up with the idea she didn''t know the truth about how things went down. It was before he started being nice to her too. She had believed he was a terrible person with every fiber of her being at that point.

    Aaron wasn''t terrible he was just¡­oh, what was the word¡­selfish? Inexperienced? Hypocritical? Terrible was a bit too strong for him. It rankled hearing him described that way.

    She had to remember that Valentina didn''t know anything about this. She was talking about a character in a TV show, not a real and veryplicated person.

    Suddenly Keeley felt guilty for ndering him like this even if no one would ever know it. Thousands of viewers would think that Aaron Ibarcena was a horrible person and possibly even hate him. Though if they made the show a romance they would probably have a redemption arc of some sort¡­still¡­

    Aaron did a lot of things wrong but he wasn''t a viin like the show would paint him to be. She wanted to apologize but then she would have to confess her crime to him and she would literally rather be hit by a subway train than exin all of this.

    It would certainly embarrass her but more importantly it would hurt his feelings. He could never find out about this.

    If someone had told her a year ago that she would care about hurting Aaron Hale''s feelings she would haveughed in their face yet here she was. Funny how people''s perspectives change. She actually wished him well¡ªjust far, far away from her.

    "Why did you make your main character so mean, Keeley?" Valentina pouted as Luz dramatically ran away crying yet again after the confrontation in the school hallway. "I don''t like seeing my hunk this way!"

    "¡­I didn''t write him. I only proposed a situation and the writers ran with it."

    She was defending herself and yet the guilt remained. So what if Hector''s Aaron was mean? Aaron himself had been fairly mean to her in high school! He was always dragging her to and fro against her will. Some people would call that bullying.

    Her friend harrumphed and continued watching. Lorena found Luz and began making fun of her because she had seen the confrontation with Aaron in the hallway.

    So they were going to make her a damsel in distress character, huh? Lovely.

    As the episode progressed, it seemed much like any other telenov based on school life. Keeley rxed fractionally. Maybe this wouldn''t be so bad. They might be taking things in apletely different direction than what had actually happened.

    She heaved a sigh of relief at the end of the episode. She wouldn''t have to watch the next one until Sunday.

    "I think it''s going to be a good show," Valentina announced. "One episode in and I can already feel the tension!"

    There certainly was tension. The acting was overdramatic as always and the suspenseful music only added to the effect. That was just how telenovs were.

    Keeley couldn''t help but wonder how big the fan base for this one would get. She honestly hoped it didn''t get much exposure so nobody she knew would ever see her name in the credits. If anyone ever found out about this she would die of mortification.

    "Hey Val," she said casually. "Have you been asking around your half of the medical school about possible roommates?"

    Ever since Jennica moved out she had asked every girl she knew even passingly well but hadn''t had any luck so far. It wasn''t like she had any friends in other departments either. She lived, ate, and breathed in the gics faculty.

    Valentina shook her head a bit sheepishly. "No, I keep forgetting. We''re all pretty focused on school, you know? This sort of thing just doesn''te up."

    That was fair. She and her ssmates were in their third year of medical school; they would be pretty swamped.

    "Just don''t forget, okay? We don''t want to end up not being able to afford this ce and be homeless."

    Her friendughed. "They have showers in the medical school. We practically live there anyway."

    "Ugh, don''t remind me."

    Theymiserated together for a minute before heading their separate ways. Both of them had a lot of homework to do.

 Chapter 183: I Might Be Able To Fix This

    <h4>Chapter 183: I Might Be Able To Fix This</h4>

    Two weeks before finals Keeley was ready to tear her hair out. Jennica was constantly texting her asking for advice on flowers (thetest crisis) and what would be the best honeymoon destination.

    She was agonizing between Gerber daisies and tulips for her orange flower and mums or roses for the hot pink one. How was she supposed to know?!

    As for the honeymoon destinations¡­she only knew about the Caribbean but Jennica didn''t want to go somewhere with a beach. She wanted to go somewhere she could ''explore the culture'' but where Cameron hadn''t already been a dozen times.

    She literally did not have an opinion. Stop asking her!

    The wedding invitation hung on the fridge next to an engagement photo of Lydia and her new husband. It was that time of life: the marriage apocalypse. What every unattached person dreads. One of Valentina''s medical school friends'' wedding invitations had also made it to the fridge.

    Jennica and Cameron looked blissfully happy as the gazed into each other''s eyes in the photo. She was happy for her friend, she really was, but did they have to be so obnoxiously in love with each other right in front of her when she still had her ex-husband to contend with?

    Keeley was so tired. She broke down crying when her ancientptop shut off without warning in the middle of writing a paper and she lost three pages of work.

    That was it for the day. She was done.

    She would call in sick to work, watch a movie to make herself feel better, and then rewrite the stupid paper. But how was she supposed to do that since herptop refused to turn back on?

    She texted Valentina to ask if she could borrow herptop for the night but she said she had it with her and wouldn''t be home until 10. It would be toote then; the paper was due at midnight. She was doomed.

    Keeley made it home and was curled up under a nket watching an animated Disney film with Molly before she remembered to text Aaron not to send her food today.

    ''Are you sick?''

    ''No, just sulking'' She knew he would ask why so she may as well borate now. She sent a second text. ''Myptop gave out on me and I lost two and a half hours'' worth of work on a paper that''s due at midnight''

    ''Why didn''t you save it?''

    ''It isn''t a matter of saving it; myputer is dead and won''t turn back on. Everything is gone, not just this paper''

    ''I might be able to fix this. I get off work in two hours; have yourptop ready and make sure you''re not wearing pajamas''

    Why did that matter? Was he nning on taking her somewhere to get herptop fixed?

    It was as if the clouds parted and the birds began chirping. Aaron was rich. He probably knew of a good electronics repair shop that she could never afford. She might actually be able to finish this paper on time after all.

    Some of the tension in her shoulders released as she sunk back into the couch. She might even be able to enjoy the movie knowing help wasing.

    Her doorbell rang one and a half moviester and Keeley made sure she was back in the clothes she wore to school today before then. Aaron stood on her doorstep in one of his signature designer suits and her breath caught in her throat a little. This was how she remembered him best.

    "Do you have it?" he asked.

    She nodded meekly. Theptop was tucked under her arm. She followed him out to his car and sniffled. Her nose had been stuffed ever since she had cried earlier.

    "Rx. It''s going to be okay."

    "No it''s not," she sighed wearily. "I''m doomed."

    "You can''t ask for a one day extension? I''m sure you''re not the only person this has ever happened to."

    "My professor doesn''t have a merciful bone in his body. He would only berate me for not taking better care of my things."

    Aaron made a small noise of acknowledgement before going silent for the rest of the ride. To her surprise, he pulled into the parking lot of a chain retail electronics store in the Bronx.

    Noticing the look on her face, his stoic expression cracked slightly. "They do data recovery here. I called Aiden¡ªhe''s still out of the country but he has a friend who works here who agreed to help without an appointment."

    Tears welled up in her eyes again. She was saved. "Thank you."

    "You might want to wait and see if we can actually get your paper back in time before you thank me."

    She shook her head. "Even if I can''t¡­you still tried. I really appreciate it."

    A tiny, soft smile appeared. "It''s the least I could do."

    They walked into the store and Aaron asked for David. He turned out to be a pudgy young man with braces who ushered them over to his work station immediately and asked to see theptop.

    Keeley held it out as if it were a small, wounded animal. "Can you save it?"

    "Let me look at it first. Give me about ten minutes to see what the problem is."

    She thanked him and they sat quietly in the waiting area. She couldn''t stop fidgeting. This paper was worth about a tenth of her grade in the ss. If she couldn''t turn it in at all it would automatically bump her down a whole letter grade if not more.

    Aaron reached out hesitantly and patted her shoulder. She was too anxious about the fate of her grade to tell him not to touch her. Besides, it was actually kind of nice beingforted, albeit awkwardly.

    When David came back he had a smile on his face. "Well the good news is that I can temporarily restore your system long enough to move all the files onto an external drive. The bad news is that it''s going to cost you about three hundred bucks and that you seriously need a newptop. This one could crash again any time."

    Keeley was about to open her mouth when Aaron said, "Not a problem. How long will it take?"

    "About forty-five minutes."

    She was so relieved that she began blubbering instantly. "Thank you so much, you just saved my life!"

    Heughed. "No problem. I''m just d it''s not so far gone that it would take days to get everything back. I take it this is a time-sensitive issue?"

    She nodded emphatically. "I have a paper due at midnight that''s only half written on there."

    "Oh man, I''ll quit talking and get right on it then. While you wait, how about you look at theptop models we have here? See if there''s something you like. We do offer payment ns if you need one."

    Her spirits sunk a bit as he walked off. She really couldn''t afford a newptop right now; they cost hundreds of dors she didn''t have. Even with a payment n¡­

 Chapter 184: Youre The Best!

    <h4>Chapter 184: You''re The Best!</h4>

    "Keeley, let me rece yourptop for you," Aaron said simply, practically reading her mind. "It wouldn''t cost me anything at all and it wouldst you through the rest of school and longer."

    She bit her lip. She really did need theptop but she didn''t want to ept handouts. He had already helped her so much today just by having the data recovered.

    "Your birthday is only a few weeks away; consider it an early birthday present if it makes you feel better."

    It did make her feel better. She had epted much more expensive presents from him before on special asions. A weight on her heart lifted.

    "Okay."

    Aaron led her to theptop section and immediately started looking at the most expensive ones because they had a lot of different special features on them plus extra storage space. He read over each of their specifications so seriously that Keeley was tempted tough.

    In the end, he picked one that was a little over a thousand dors because it had the best warranty and came with a free pair of headphones.

    David came back eventually with the hard drive and said that he could help her set up her newptop right now if she was interested. She definitely trusted a professional more than she trusted herself and left him to it. He even went as far as copying all the files from the external drive onto her newputer.

    Aaron stood silently behind her throughout this entire process so she nearly forgot he was there. She was so focused on whether or not her specific unsaved paper file had been rescued.

    "David? Was there an autosaved file anywhere titled ''Mapping the Human Genome'' by chance?" she asked hopefully.

    "Oh yeah, it''s right here."

    He pulled it up and she pounced on it like it was meat and she was a starving lion. She scrolled through it and was overjoyed to discover that she had only lost one paragraph. That would be simple to rewrite! And it was only 7 PM; she still had time to finish this thing!

    She squealed and pped her hand over her mouth before jumping up and down in excitement. She wasn''t doomed after all.

    With shining eyes she turned around and stared at true savior of the day. She was so overwhelmed with emotion that sheunched herself into his arms and cried "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! You''re the best!"

    Aaron stumbled a bit before returning the hug tightly with a bright smile on his face that she couldn''t see because her face was buried in his chest. "I guess I should save lost paper files more often."

    She stepped away and slugged him on the arm, suddenly embarrassed. "Really though. Thank you. Is there anything I can do to return the favor?"

    He had just dropped a lot of money (at least to Keeley) to save her butt; she felt like she owed him something.

    "Make me some sort of dessert? You can choose what."

    Why was it that he only ever wanted her to bake for him? Not that she wasining; it was an easy enough thing to do. She just didn''t understand why somebody who could afford going to the best bakeries in the city wanted her rtively average baking.

    There were a bunch of Pinterest recipes she had been meaning to try. She could make him something fancy once finals were over.

    "I will once finals are over," she promised.

    "¡­don''t you have finals on your birthday this year?"

    She slumped at the reminder. "Yes. Two of them. One''s at 9 AM and the other is at 2 PM. Since I still have to work, my dad is taking me out to lunch in between them but that''s it."

    "You aren''t doing anything to celebrate at all?"

    "My friends are taking me to the movies once finals are done. They said they would pitch in to buy me all the snacks I want. I think I''ll get nachos; I''ve never gotten nachos at the movies before."

    Why was she telling him this? She was totally rambling.

    "Sounds fun."

    David handed her new, fully runningptop over to her and took the old one away to be recycled at her request. She thanked him again and he told them both to have a nice day as he waved them off.

    They had only been in the store for an hour and a half and all of her problems were solved. Life was beautiful. She practically skipped out the door.

    Keeley was feeling so giddy that she handed theptop to Aaron and looked both ways to make sure no cars wereing before doing a cartwheel right in the middle of the parking lot. She did another one just for fun and popped back up exhrated with messy hair and bright eyes.

    He was staring at her with a look of astonishment on his face.

    "What? Have you never seen me do that before?"

    "No. I didn''t even know you could."

    Huh. Well, it was a childish thing to do. Way back when she must have avoided doing it in front of him so she wouldn''t embarrass herself if she fell. It was nice not caring about your image in front of someone.

    "If you don''t use it, you lose it. I practice every few months or so just to make sure I still can. I used to be really good at them when I was a kid! My dad has a video somewhere of me doing ten in a row down the shoreline at the beach," she said a bit sheepishly.

    "It''s cool," Aaron said once they were in his car and on the road. "That you know how to cartwheel, I mean."

    He was still thinking about this? It happened more than five minutes ago.

    "Thanks, I guess."

    She settled back in her seat with a sigh. She still had three more pages to write. There was technically enough time but it would be tight. She hadn''t eaten dinner yet either.

    Aaron surprised her by pulling into a fried chicken restaurant''s drive thru on the way back. He turned to her with expectant eyes.

    "What do you want? You need to eat something so you''ll be able to focus on your paper."

    She blinked several times before responding. "Uh¡­I''ll take a chicken sandwich and some waffle fries."

    "Anything to drink?"

    "Just water." Soda would give her a sugar crash and that was thest thing she needed right now.

    After receiving her order in a white paper bag, Keeley sat there and fiddled with the opening at the top. The food smelled amazing but she didn''t dare mess up his car.

    "Eat," Aaron instructed. "You need to start writing as soon as you get home and the food will be cold by then anyway."

    "What if I spill something?"

    "Then I''ll get it cleaned. Eat up."

    No use being told twice. She was hungry. The sandwich really hit the spot after a stressful day.

 Chapter 185: Dependency Wasnt Love

    <h4>Chapter 185: Dependency Wasn''t Love</h4>

    Keeley gave Aaron a genuine smile as she thanked him on her way out of his car. His assistance today was probably the nicest, most genuinely helpful thing anyone had ever done for her. She would have been in deep trouble without him.

    It was actually quite sad that the person she depended on most let her down so often when she truly needed it but now that she was a self-sufficient lone wolf he somehow always managed to figure out when she was in need ande to the rescue.

    If he had been anything like this before she wouldn''t have fallen out of love with him.

    It was a moot point now. She had fallen out of love with him and too much had happened for her to ever love him again, no matter how nice he was. Still, it was a pity.

    She got to work on her paper and managed to crank it all out forty minutes before midnight. Her grade would have suffered without Aaron''s quick thinking tonight and for that she was grateful.

    He had his good points. You know, sometimes.

    ===

    Aaron had been sitting in his office waiting for the day to be over because Alistair had been on his case about his nonexistent fianc¨¦e again when he got Keeley''s text.

    Her distress seemed genuine so of course he had to act immediately. He had promised her that he would be there whenever she needed it from now on and she certainly needed it today. Her general jumpiness was proof of that.

    It had been extremely gratifying when she jumped into his arms and said he was the best. In that moment he could almost believe they were back in college together again. He couldn''t help but smile.

    She had seemed truly appreciative of his help, which was a far cry from her usual begrudging gratitude. Maybe his sincerity was getting through to her. Or maybe not.

    This was the least guarded he had seen her in a while and it made him realize he didn''t know her as well as he thought. Cartwheels. He had known her for decades¡ªthey had lived together for eight years¡ªand in all that time he didn''t know she could do cartwheels.

    She said she did them every so often so she wouldn''t forget how¡­was that only in this life or had he someone never been around when she did it even when they were married? He put in a lot of overtime at work back then.

    What did he know about her? It seemed like most of his information hade from their second life. He hadn''t paid close enough attention in the first.

    Back then his understanding of her boiled down to knowing that she liked trying new things, was a bit clumsy, had a kind heart, was stubborn, loved her dad, and watched a lot of TV. Pretty pathetic for a thirteen year long rtionship.

    Everything he had learned about her since being reborn had been true in their first life and he was too dense to see it. She was fiery, passionate, intelligent, independent, a bit goofy, and brave.

    Keeley had lost so much before he ever met her in such a traumatic way and yet she was always smiling. If that wasn''t bravery, he didn''t know what was.

    Without feeling the need to impress him like before, she had finally shown her true self. All those years he missed out on enjoying her personality in all its glory. She had spread her wings without him and was soaring far above the person she had been.

    What about him? Having thoroughly blown it with her, he was left in the dust. No matter how hard he tried to make things right she would always keep her heart guarded against him.

    Aaron wished things were different. At this point, he wasn''t even sure what kind of different he wanted. Going back and starting over from scratch would be nice. Or if she could find it within herself to love him again.

    That was the biggest difference from one life to the next. Keeley definitely didn''t love him anymore. She neither wanted him nor needed him. He was inconsequential to her but to him¡­she was the world. She was the universe.

    He had taken her pure, na?ve love for granted and now it was gone. He wasn''t altruistic¡ªa big part of why he insisted on being good to her even after she so clearly kicked him to the curb was that he wanted her to need him.

    If he was there every single time she needed something she would grow to depend on him. Dependency wasn''t love but if it would keep him in her life he would take it. He couldn''t bear to lose her againpletely.

    Aaron couldn''t deny that he was worried what would happen once Cameron''s wedding was over and done with. His chances to see her would decrease exponentially. Today had been unusual; she almost never called out of work.

    In the past few months, the only times she contacted him were to let him know she didn''t need food so he wouldn''t waste money/the delivery person''s time and when she thought he was engaged to Lacy Knighton.

    What about when she was done with school in December? Then he wouldn''t even have the excuse of sending her food while she worked.

    New York was a big city. She could keep running. Even worse, she could leave it entirely. He didn''t think she would since she loved it so much but still¡­if pushed too hard, she could pick up her roots and go anywhere.

    Being in a different city from her for four whole years nearly drove him mad. It wasforting somehow knowing she was within driving distance at any time. He couldn''t handle that again.

    If love wasn''t possible, he would settle for friendship. If friendship wasn''t possible, he would settle for dependency. At the very minimum Aaron needed to stay on the fringes of her life.

    He knew she didn''t think of him as a friend anymore. When she talked about her birthday ns she didn''t leave any openings for him to invite himself. She didn''t want him there. She was only making him dessert because she felt indebted to him and hated owing people.

    Keeley didn''t care about him one bit and it killed him.

 Chapter 186: A Share Transfer

    <h4>Chapter 186: A Share Transfer</h4>

    Cameron had been very bored with Aiden gone. His lunch breaks were now spent trying to text Jennica (who wasn''t always avable because of auditions) and sitting by himself at their usual table. It seemed too quiet.

    To make things worse, Aaron was on the verge of cracking. You wouldn''t be able to tell unless you spent a lot of time with the guy but Cameron was fairly certain that his calm was a fa?ade.

    When he was stressed out or upset about something, he was little more than a human robot. There was no expression on his face whatsoever and his usual coldness wasn''t as severe.

    Some might think that would be a good thing since the man usually gave off enough of a chill to give people goosebumps in the summer but Cameron knew an ice storm was brewing right under the surface. One wrong move and the dam would break, covering everyone around him in endless winter.

    He had an idea of what this was about. Dealing with the fallout of pretending to get engaged was wearing at Aaron and he didn''t even have his usual de-stressor avable. Keeley was pissed at him for some reason and seemed to be avoiding him even more than before.

    Cameron had asked his fianc¨¦e if she knew what was going on after she butted in on that phone call the other day but Jennica was almost as clueless as he was.

    "Aaron came to visit when I was packing up to move here and she told me to get rid of him so I assume something happened. We talked for a little bit¡ªI asked her why she never told me that he was her ex-boyfriend¡ªand she seemed shocked that I guessed it.

    "I asked her why they broke up since he was so crazy in love with her and she was even more shocked. I told her what I''d heard when I was his fake date and she immediately jumped up, yelled ''he''s dead'' and ran out in her pajamas. She refused to talk about what happened after she came back so that''s all I know."

    He already knew they had gotten into some sort of fight¡­but discovering that Aiden''s theory was right was a bit shocking. How badly had his boss screwed up to get the woman he was madly in love with to dump him in the past?

    He wanted to tell his friend but figured it was better to wait until he was back in a week. The look on Aiden''s face would be priceless.

    Jennica thought that they broke up because Aaron didn''t know how to show his feelings and that it was amunication issue. The exact words she used were "I can totally see him being a tsundere¡ªKeeley would hate that."

    Cameron had to ask her what it meant since he had never heard of the term before. It definitely sounded like his icy boss. Women needed to know they were cherished; didn''t everyone know that?

    Still, he felt bad for the guy. All the pressure would get to him sooner orter and then he would take it out on Cameron. And Aiden, if he happened to get back by then.

    Personally he hoped the eruption of the ice volcano held off until the hacker was back. He knew how to handle Aaron''s moods pretty well.

    During the board meeting Cameron was sure to keep an eye on Aaron. He couldn''t afford to crack in front of Alistair or the other senior board members. He had to keep up his image as the rising star of thepany.

    Stock prices were on the rise, which could be good news. If they became valuable enough it would be more beneficial to sell than hold onto them and Aaron could swoop in to buy them up.

    The presenter thered on about otherpany matters but Cameron''s attention wandered back to the share issue. Even if Aaron did gather up the shares¡­how was he going to consolidate them?

    Unless he had more than 50% he wouldn''t have decision making power without the extra members of the board to back him up. It was why he had other people holding onto his shares in the first ce. All of the dummy shareholders had signed an agreement that this was only temporary and that Aaron could take his shares back at any time.

    Cameron didn''t mind one bit¡ªhe looked forward to the day he wouldn''t have to sit through any more dull board meetings. He would still have his job as the head of the analyst department when the time came so he would be set.

    Roger and Kyle were much the same. Once they gave up their seats on the board they would still have their highly coveted jobs within the finance world.

    So what about Alice? What had Aaron promised her that would get her to cooperate? He never said.

    As the board meeting progressed, Alistair looked more and more ufortable before he finally stood and made an announcement. "I believe everyone here has heard about my son''s engagement by now."

    Murmurs of acknowledgement went around the table, making Cameron nervous. Where was he going to go with this?

    "I promised him years ago that he would get 10% of my shares when he got married so I''m following through on that now as an engagement present. Congrattions, Aaron. The documentation is here with me so stay afterwards and sign it. We''ll also need a witness to stay after the meeting."

    "I''ll do it," Cameron volunteered. This was too suspicious. He wanted to make sure Alistair wasn''t pulling any tricks.

    "Thank you Mr. Singleton. Before we end this meeting we need to discuss the expansion to Monaco. My son is in charge of the negotiation since it was his proposal in the first ce but there are still other concerns to be addressed¡­"

    Alistairunched into yet another long and boring speech that Cameron wasn''t willing to pay attention to. If it was important, Aaron would fill him inter.

    He nced over at the man to see what his reaction was to getting 10% of his father''s shares. As expected, his poker face was in full effect. He didn''t seem happy at all. It was if he hadn''t even heard the news.

 Chapter 187: Too Good To Be True

    <h4>Chapter 187: Too Good To Be True</h4>

    When the meeting (finally) ended and people began filing out of the conference room, Cameron felt more than a little intimidated being caught between two powerhouses. As if it had never left, Aaron''s terrifying aura was back in action.

    He flicked through the share transfer agreement wordlessly, acting casual about it though Cameron knew his boss was making note of every single word to be sure there weren''t any loopholes.

    Aaron looked up and spoke coldly. "It says here that you will transfer me another ten percent of your shares when my wife gives birth to a son."

    Alistair replied in a haughty tone. "Your grandfather did the same thing when you were born. It is traditional."

    "I see."

    The temperature in the room dropped about twenty degrees with those two simple words. Something about that part of the agreement really riled Aaron up for some reason.

    He handed the document over to Cameron. "Read through it. You''ll be signing it as well as the witness."

    Feeling as though he had been handed a bomb, he epted the piece of paper gingerly. It seemed pretty straightforward. Something that caught his attention was that the wife''s name was never mentioned. This agreement was valid no matter who Aaron married.

    It was a bit suspicious that this document was so clearly in his boss'' favor. The share transfer agreement specified that it was ''on the condition of Aaron Hale''s engagement'' rather than on the condition of his marriage. Even if the engagement was called off, the shares were still his.

    As for the child use¡­it didn''t mention a specific name either. It was as Aaron said; he would get another 10% when his wife gave birth to a son.

    Despite the suspiciousck of ''Bethany Carlisle'' in this document, it seemed legit so Cameron signed it and handed it back to Aaron. He and his father both signed as well and Aaron was given the original copy of the document to hold onto.

    After they left the boardroom, he whispered so quietly that Cameron could barely hear while staring straight ahead. "Come to my office in an hour."

    So he wanted to discuss what had just happened. Aaron wasn''t stupid¡ªhe clearly found the circumstances suspicious as well. That hour ticked by sluggishly.

    Countless reports had piled up on Cameron''s desk that needed approval during the two hour meeting. This was yet another reason he couldn''t wait for the day that his boss took his shares back and kicked him off the board. He wouldn''t lose so much time that wouldter have to be made up by working twice as hard.

    Sometimes he questioned why he didn''t just retire early¡ªhe had a couple million in the bank after all¡ªbut then he remembered that he lived in one of the most expensive cities in the world and was about to start a family.

    Besides, he would go nuts if he had nothing to do all day every day. Still, he hoped the number of business trips he had to take would be cut back soon.

    He could only take Jennica with him for so long, provided she was even free. Once they had children someone would have to stay behind to care for them.

    Cameron stretched and craned his neck back to check the clock on the wall. It was about time to head upstairs.

    "Tell me your impressions of the document," Aaronmanded before he even had time to shut the door.

    He took a seat on the couch and shrugged. "Honestly? It seems too good to be true. But hey, you''re closer to your goal."

    Alistair was now down to 32% of the shares. Technically speaking, if you added all of Aaron''s up that other people were holding onto, he had 2% more than his father. It still wasn''t enough but an extra 10% was nothing to scoff at.

    "That''s because it is too good to be true. I imagine you noticed theck of a wife''s name on the entire agreement."

    "Yeah, what was that about?"

    Going off of that, Aaron could marry Keeley (provided she ever forgave him) and still get the extra shares if she gave birth to a boy. It didn''t make sense that he was so angry about that part when he read it earlier.

    "He still expects me to end up with Lacy Knighton." Aaron''s tone was deadly as his fist pounded the desk. "He must be nning something. If he didn''t expect the identity of my fianc¨¦e to change he would have included the fake name I gave him."

    Wow. He was paranoid. But he also had a point; Alistair had gone this far to try and get him to marry that woman already.

    Cameron''s feelings of pity increased. Aaron''s life kind of sucked.

    "I thought you said he was satisfied with the fake fianc¨¦ you came up with."

    "That''s what he imed¡­" Aaron showed a rare moment of weakness and rested his head on his hand. "What do you think my odds are of getting away with murder if I get rid of the stupid woman permanently?"

    He chuckled. His boss never kidded around like this. Unless¡­"You are kidding, aren''t you?"

    "Maybe. I don''t know. She''s been a thorn in my side for so long now that I really do wish she were dead."

    "I don''t rmend it. Even if you were able to get away with it, it''s still illegal." He brought out the big guns, not knowing whether or not it would backfire on him. "Keeley wouldn''t want you to either."

    Aaron deted. "No, she wouldn''t. I really don''t know how to deflect Lacy forever though. She doesn''t know the meaning of the words ''give up.'' She must have brain damage. All I''ve done in the past seven years is tell her how much I hate her at every given opportunity and she still thinks she has a chance."

    Cameron tried to cheer his friend up but really he was at a loss. He had never dealt with problems like this personally.

    "Don''t worry about it too much; New York is a big city. It''s easy enough to hide from someone if you really want to. She doesn''t know where you live. Just stop going to those parties you hate anyway and you''ll be set."

    "I suppose," he said with a sigh beforeunching into an exnation of how he needed Cameron toe gamble in Monaco when he dealt with bargaining fornd to build their overseas branch.

    Just great. His wedding was less than two months away and he had to go on yet another business trip. He couldn''t be Aaron''s loyal dog forever but now wasn''t the time to bring that up. Thest thing he needed was to set off the ice volcano before Aiden got back.

 Chapter 188: New Information

    <h4>Chapter 188: New Information</h4>

    On the morning of Keeley''s 25th birthday she had a bit of headache. Aaron texted her to wish her happy birthday and good luck on her finals and she sent a simple thank you back.

    She was surprised that he didn''t try to prolong the conversation. He must have been busy.

    She couldn''t help butpare today to herst 25th birthday. Her father took her to dinner and bought her a cake because Aaron wouldn''t. She used the excuse that he was away on business and would treat her when he got back.

    It was a lie, of course. He hadn''t gone anywhere; he just didn''t care about her birthday.

    To keep up appearances he gave her an expensive piece of jewelry that the other socialites could gawk over but that was it aside from a very cold "happy birthday" when they passed each other in the hall.

    Knowing that he only did it because there were spies inside their house reporting back to his father didn''t make her feel any better. Herst several birthdays of that life had been miserable and she couldn''t forget how abandoned and unloved she felt.

    Her first final wasn''t too difficult despite her headache. She took a Tylenol halfway through because it was getting worse and once it kicked in she was able to finish her test.

    She sat around studying for the next one until her mind turned to mush. She was about ready for a break anyway when her dad texted her to let her know he was in the parking lot closest to the medical school. She packed her things up and headed out to him happily.

    "Happy birthday honeybun!" Robert said with a wide smile on his face as she climbed into the car.

    "Thanks, dad. I was about to lose my mind if I studied one more minute so your timing is impable."

    "Must be good birthday luck."

    If there even was such a thing. So many of Keeley''s birthdays had been terrible, the worst one being when she was drugged. She didn''t believe in birthday luck.

    They drove to a somewhat nice Italian ce. She protested the price but he insisted, saying that it''s not every day his baby turns 25. He must have been thinking of Kaleb and how he would never be able to celebrate his own 25th birthday.

    ''I wish you were here, Kal,'' she thought wistfully. ''Mom too.''

    The Halls may not have been able to afford appetizers at this ce but they were able to enjoy theplementary garlic bread and that was more than enough. Keeley ate four pieces and nearly stuffed herself before the entrees even arrived.

    She actually managed to rx and enjoy herself for a while, feeling better already just by being near her only family. Her dad had such a calming presence.

    "So are you doing anything fun to celebrate with your friends? I know you have work tonight," he said.

    "That''s why we''re waiting until the weekend. They''re taking me to see that new superhero movie."

    "That''s fun. Which friends are these?"

    "Ryan, Valentina, and Jennica. Her fianc¨¦ was supposed toe but he ended up going on a business trip." Jennica hadined more than once that he was leaving her at such a crucial wedding-nning time but Cameron had no choice in the matter.

    "Aaron''s not going?"

    Keeley nearly choked on her garlic bread. As tears streamed out of her eyes, she managed to get out a frantic "what?!"

    Once she dislodged the piece of bread stuck in her throat, she calmly asked, "Why would he be hanging out with my friends?"

    "You guys seem pretty close these days. I mean, he did spend Christmas Eve with us," Robert pointed out.

    Right. Her dad didn''t know anything about thetest developments. He wouldn''t know that they couldn''t be considered friends anymore.

    "Aaron wouldn''t want to hang out with my friends," she said honestly, though it wasn''t the main reason. He never had before. She always ended up hanging out with his people or they spent time together alone. "He''s the one-on-one type. He doesn''t like groups."

    "What did he get you for your birthday?"

    Hang on, who said anything about him getting her a birthday present? He had, but that was beside the point.

    She answered reluctantly. "A newptop. That was a few weeks ago though because mine broke down. He said it was an early birthday present."

    Robert smiled. "That''s awfully nice of him." She couldn''t refute; it really was.

    Talking about Aaron with her dad reminded her of something. "Hey dad, why didn''t you ever tell me he was the one who found me when I got drugged on my eighteenth birthday?"

    His eyes widened. "He told you?"

    "I sort of figured it out."

    "Well, I promised him I wouldn''t. He was so upset already¡­he refused to leave until the doctors said you would be alright for sure. I''m pretty sure he didn''t want you to hate him more than you already did."

    Keeley was stunned. In high school she made no secret of her distaste for him so when he was the one to find her he must have known she wouldn''t have wanted him to see her so vulnerable. Aaron could have lorded it over her and said that she owed him forever but instead he backed away and left her alone until she called him over at graduation.

    Her heart clenched. Even back then he was trying to be considerate. She never knew.

    Her dad had always pushed Aaron onto her, saying she needed to be nice to him since that day. It was because he saw how much Aaron cared when he dropped her off at the hospital? Was he really that worried?

    It didn''t really matter. It was the same reason he worried about her eating and sleeping properly now. She shouldn''t let this new information affect her.

    "Interesting," she finally said.

    Keeley was spared from speaking on the matter further by their food arriving. She dug in hastily even though her appetite had disappeared.

 Chapter 189: Sorry Ryan!

    <h4>Chapter 189: Sorry Ryan!</h4>

    It wasn''t Keeley''s best birthday but it certainly wasn''t her worst. The day passed rtively uneventfully after her conversation with her dad.

    She got texts, Facebook messages, and Instagram posts wishing her a great day from a variety of people but only got a couple in person. Aiden even wished her a happy birthday from Sweden.

    After her dad dropped her back on campus, the only people she saw that even knew about her birthday were Erica and Dr. Kim. Dr. Kim was feeling generous and brought herb assistants pizza to celebrate.

    She didn''t even get a face-to-face birthday wish from Valentina because she was already asleep by the time her roommate got home from her shift at the hospital. It wasn''t that big of a deal. Birthdays didn''t matter so much when you were an adult.

    The rest of finals passed in a haze. She couldn''t believe she only had one semester left now before she would officially be a gicist. She was so close she could taste it!

    Keeley had overloaded herst two semesters with sses so she could afford to take the summer off to finish her research in theb. This was the first summer semester since starting grad school that she wouldn''t be studying. It would almost feel like a real job.

    True adulthood was rapidly approaching. She had been a student so long that she didn''t really know what that was like.

    Thebination birthday/end of the semester celebration with her friends at the movies had been the only thing sustaining her through finals. She approached them in front of the theater with a wide smile on her face.

    "What are you so happy about?" Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "Because she''s free for the summer, idiota!" Valentina chastised him partially in her nativenguage.

    "You don''t know how terrible it is to be a graduate student. I don''t get a summer break at all; I have to keep doing rotations, focus on writing my essays for residency applications, AND get ready for step 2 of my licensing exams."

    She was so frustrated that she gave up on Englishpletely and began ranting in rapid fire Spanish.

    "Is she okay?"

    "Medical students are never okay," Jennica said with augh. "Trust me, I''ve lived with one."

    "Technically I''m part of the medical school too," Keeley reminded her. "Poor Val''s life is a bit more hectic than mine and it''s only going to get worse. I''m almost done but she still has her whole residency ahead of her."

    Valentina fake wept dramatically and her girlfriends each took a shoulder to pat consolingly.

    "I''m sorry I brought it up," Ryan said, stifling augh. "Come on, let''s go get the snacks. My treat."

    "You''re an angel, Ryan," Valentina sniffed.

    She couldn''t afford snacks. She couldn''t even really afford the movie but Jennica paid for her ticket because she wanted her toe on a rare afternoon off. Not being allowed to have a job really takes a toll on your finances.

    "We should get a jumbo bucket of popcorn to share," Jennica suggested. "You can still get Keeley whatever she wants because she''s the birthday girl. I''ll share my Twizzlers too."

    Keeley pped her hands together as she perused the menu. Those nachos were calling her name but the chocte-covered cookie dough bits also looked amazing.

    She sheepishly asked if she could get both and Ryan agreed because it was a special asion. They all got sodas too so it was quite a feat getting all the food into the top row of the theater without spilling anything.

    The movie had a prettyme viin but that hardly mattered. There were some good funny moments that made up for it. The best part for Keeley was making snarkymentary with her friends and eating a week''s worth of junk in one sitting.

    Even though she spilled nacho cheese on her jeans it was still worth it. And those cookie dough bits were amazing. Why didn''t they sell those anywhere but movie theaters?

    Keeley had needed this. She was the type to recharge her batteries by spending time with people she cared about. Hanging out with friends was always her go-to way to destress.

    After the movie they chattered on about what they had just seen as they exited the theater.

    "I totally saw the twist with the viining," Jennica sighed in disappointment.

    Ryan shrugged. "Well, yeah, we all did. At least they had henchmen who were actually realistic. ''I don''t even like working here; they are so weird'' is the kind of reaction someone would actually have when a gun was pointed at them."

    "I liked that realistic touch too," Keeley admitted.

    "I don''t understand why you guys even like these kinds of movies," Valentinained. She didn''t get the appeal of superheroes since they weren''t nearly as big a deal in Peru as they were in the United States.

    "So you only came for the snacks."

    "And to see you! You''re always with Cameron," she pouted.

    "And you''re always at the hospital," Jennica countered. "It''s only because we don''t live together anymore. I barely saw you as it was."

    She scowled, not having a response. Her friend was right.

    "Don''t worry; we''ll have lots of fun at the bachelorette party next month. Right, Keeley?"

    Keeley hadn''t even started officially nning it yet. Ugh, she was screwed. How far out did reservations need to be made anyway?

    "Right!" she said hastily. "Who all did you want to invite, anyway?"

    "You two, Cameron''s sisters, two sisters-inw, and one of my actress friends. Including me, I think it''s eight," Jennica said thoughtfully.

    That wasn''t so bad. Lydia''s bachelorette party had been twice that size. Unfortunately Keeley still hadn''t hammered out any of the details. She would need to start looking things up as soon as she got home.

    "Thanks for including me in the conversation, guys," Ryan said sarcastically. They had nearly forgotten he was there because they were too wrapped up in their girl talk.

    "Sorry Ryan!" they all chorused together before exchanging nces and bursting outughing. Friends were such a wonderful thing.

 Chapter 190: A Coverup?

    <h4>Chapter 190: A Coverup?</h4>

    Without homework weighing her down, Keeley didn''t know what to do with her free time when she got home from theb since Valentina was almost always at the hospital.

    She caught up on a lot of TV, watched weird YouTube videos such as short documentaries about the making of Parmesan cheese, andy on the floor staring at the ceiling fan with Molly when she had nothing better to do.

    Busy people really don''t know how to handle themselves when they be less busy. It was how she found herself spending nearly two hours on Pinterest trying to nail down the best recipe to make for Aaron as a thank you for saving her paper.

    Apparently he had been on that business trip with Cameron because he texted her the day before to let her know he was back and wanted that dessert. No wonder he hadn''t been bugging her on her birthday; he really was busy.

    There were too many options to choose from. She spent thirty minutes alone debating whether to make cookies or cupcakes.

    Her choices were staggering¡ªwho even had the time to make things like this regrly? Who spent hours developing these crazy recipes?

    After much deliberation, she settled on strawberry shortcake cupcakes with a puree in the middle and whipped cream frosting. It wouldn''t take too much effort but it would look like it did.

    Keeley turned on some music and sang along, going so far as to dance around the kitchen and slide across the floor in her socks, as she gathered all the ingredients and mixed them together.

    Having the house to yourself was nice at times; you could get away with embarrassing stuff and no one was there to care. Valentina would have given her a hard time if she had seen¡ªKeeley was a lot dorkier than she was.

    No one had ever epted that side of her outside of her family so she usually kept it hidden.

    While the cupcakes cooled, she worked on making the whipped cream frosting. When was thest time she baked something, anyway? Before Christmas? Life had gotten so crazy since then.

    At that point she was still under the impression that Aaron hadn''t been reborn and didn''t remember any of the things he did. It was unbelievable that she was willingly making a treat for him now but she owed him. Keeley hated owing people but especially him.

    Once the frosting was on the cupcakes she packed them carefully into arge stic container and headed out the door resolutely. She would not be tricked into staying over longer today! This was a delivery only.

    The subway ride and additional walk to Aaron''s ce was a bit difficult without jostling the cupcakes. She didn''t want the frosting to get smushed.

    Keeley was totally embarrassed when she had to announce herself to the doorman. Thest time she had been here was still fresh in her mind. She really hoped he forgot.

    He came back from calling Aaron with a stiff but professional smile on his face and unlocked the elevator for her. "Go right up, miss."

    He definitely remembered. Could she go find a hole to crawl into now?

    "Thank you," she said meekly.

    She scuffed her sneakers against the floor of the elevator nervously as she passed floor after floor. Why did Aaron have to live so high up? It only prolonged the anxiety.

    He was waiting for her outside the elevator doors. Did he expect her to leave them right in front of the elevator and run back downstairs? It wasn''t like the thought hadn''t crossed her mind but she owed him more courtesy than that after all of his help.

    "What did you bring me?" he asked, sounding almost eager.

    "Strawberry shortcake cupcakes."

    "They sound delicious. Come upstairs, I''ll get some milk to go with them."

    Keeley followed him up the stairs and saw Dinah stretched out on the kitchen floor, making her smile. Molly did that all the time.

    When the cat saw theming, she stood and trotted over to rub up against Aaron''s legs. He leaned down to pet her with the hint of a smile on his face. It looked like he genuinely cared for his pet.

    The Aaron she remembered never would have had any affection to spare on an animal. Had he gotten used to the cat or did she have him wrong from the beginning? No, she didn''t have him wrong. He had gotten used to her too because she pestered him all the time.

    Getting used to something wasn''t love.

    "You two seem as thick as thieves," Keeley noted.

    He was still crouching as he scratched Dinah behind the ears. "I suppose we are. It''s nice having someone waiting for me when Ie home."

    His words smacked of loneliness. She didn''t think he was the type to get lonely, despite his ims of missing her after she died.

    Then again, he did seem to drop everything any time one of the few people he associated with asked. That was something a lonely person would do. Had he always been like this and she just never noticed?

    In their first life, she was always the one to approach him in the beginning. Aaron shot her down again and again until one day he said yes out of nowhere. After that, he said yes whenever his schedule allowed.

    While they were dating he only turned down the opportunity to see her if school got in the way. Even if he vetoed the activity idea, he still spent time with her.

    And once they got married¡­he was always working but when he was at home he preferred doing his work in the same room Keeley was in before he started ignoring herpletely. He never said so but was it possible that he needed people after all?

    She scrutinized him. Was his coldness a cover-up for how he really felt? But people definitely annoyed him! At least most of them did. This didn''t make sense.

    Keeley had devoted her first lifetime to figuring out the mystery that was Aaron Hale and thought she had cracked it but now it seemed that she had barely scratched the surface. Which was the true Aaron¡ªcold and unfeeling or lonely and awkward?

 Chapter 191: He Needed To Let Her Go

    <h4>Chapter 191: He Needed To Let Her Go</h4>

    Keeley epted the ss of milk Aaron offered her with a quiet ''thank you'' since she was still lost in thought. She wasn''t sure what to think of this new development.

    She was too upset to really listen the day she confronted him but hadn''t he said something about not knowing how to love properly because of the way he grew up?

    She didn''t know much about his childhood beyond the fact that his parents were distant and he didn''t spend a lot of time with other people outside of tutors. That would make a kid lonely. If he never learned how to process his emotions those feelings could end up expressed strangely.

    Her hands wrapped around the ss of milk tightly as she watched him happily consume a cupcake. What exactly was going on inside his head?

    Needing a distraction from her thoughts, Keeley asked, "How did your trip go?"

    Aaron looked up in surprise, crumbs and frosting still on the corners of his lips. For a second there he looked like a normal human being rather than the icy ruler of a business empire.

    "As well as it could have. I negotiated for a piece ofnd to build a branch in Monaco without too much difficulty. Construction starts over the summer."

    She wasn''t sure how to respond to that since she didn''t know much about business so she only said "that''s cool" before awkwardly dropping it.

    He switched topics to keep the conversation going. "You''re finishing up your research this summer, right?"

    "Yeah. I''vepleted four trial batches but I need to have ten. I still have a ways to go."

    Keeley remembered that her schedule would be quite different now¡ªshe would be in theb from 9-5 like a regr employee. Half the time would be spent on her research and the other half would be her job helping Dr. Kim.

    "Hey, before I forget, you don''t need to send me food anymore. I''ll be getting off early enough to make my own dinner."

    "That will be a nice change for you," Aaronmented. "What are you going to do with all that free time?"

    It was the exact question she had been asking herself. Based on what she had been up to in the past couple weeks, a whole lot of nothing.

    Maybe she could go to the public library and pick out some books to read. She used to love reading mystery novels but hadn''t had the time since starting her PhD program.

    Keeley wasn''t the fastest reader so it took about ten hours for her to read a 300 page book. She didn''t have that much free time in an entire week. She preferred reading things over a couple of days so she didn''t forget anything. Stretching it out over weeks took all the fun out of it.

    "Not a clue. I would hang out with my friends but they''re all busy now that I''m not. At least I''ll have time to n Jennica''s bachelorette party now."

    Aaron grimaced. "Don''t remind me; I''m in charge of Cameron''s and I''ve got nothing."

    She nearlyughed out loud. As the best man it was one of his duties but she couldn''t imagine him attending a bachelor party, let alone nning one.

    "Well, what does he like?" she asked.

    "Gambling but he does that for work so it wouldn''t exactly be fun for him."

    Keeley raised an eyebrow. So his World Series of Poker wins were on Aaron''s orders¡­ Was that why Jennicained about him being gone on business all the time?

    "You pay him to gamble for you?"

    He shrugged. "I had to make money outside of my father somehow. Cameron is amazing¡ªI found him in college when he consistently beat everyone in card tournaments being held in the dorms. He never lost once."

    Huh. Aaron was only close to useful people; this definitely exined his friendship with someone so different from him personality-wise.

    "Interesting. What sorts of things does he do to rx?"

    "How am I supposed to know? It''s not like we hang out when not at the office or on business trips."

    Yet Cameron considered Aaron his best friend?! What kind of bizarre rtionship did these two have?

    "I have nothing for you," Keeley sighed. "Go talk to Aiden."

    She knew he was back in the country because she had seen himing home from work a few days earlier. He seemed very rxed¡ªSweden must have treated him well. Or more specifically, his Swedish girlfriend.

    He nodded in acknowledgement before unwrapping another cupcake. "These are delicious, by the way. Thank you."

    She was relieved they turned out since it was her first time using this recipe. "You''re wee."

    It felt weird that he was thanking her since the cupcakes were a gesture she was using to thank him. An endless cycle of ''thank yous.''

    Keeley realized that this might be one of thest times she ever saw Aaron and felt even weirder. Jennica''s wedding was only a month away and in that time she would only see him at the rehearsal and the wedding itself.

    She was still nning to move to Pennsylvania or New Jersey after graduation. Neither of them would be able to move on if they saw each other all the time. It was best to remove herself from the equation entirely.

    Aaron couldn''te running to her rescue all the time. It wasn''t fair to use him like that even if it was the easy thing to do. She shouldn''t take advantage of his guilty conscience.

    "I should get going," she said before standing up. "Do you have another container you can put the rest of these in so I can take mine home?"

    Something shed through his usually empty eyes briefly before he nodded. "I''ll go get it."

    He came back a minuteter with another stic container and transferred the remaining cupcakes. "Let me drive you back."

    "Really it''s fi¡ª"

    "I insist. You came all the way out here; it''s the least I can do."

    Aaron left no room for argument so sheplied. The ride back was awkward and heavy. He must have caught on that she didn''t want him to use returning the container as an excuse to see her again.

    What else was she supposed to do? They weren''t meant to be together. Meeting up like this too frequently was only going to make it harder for him.

    Keeley didn''t believe that he truly loved her but he definitely had some sort of weird mixed up feelings that wouldn''t go away if they kept seeing each other. He needed to let her go.

 Chapter 192: Old

    <h4>Chapter 192: Old</h4>

    Aaron was in a really good mood up until Keeley didn''t want him to keep her container. He knew what that meant¡ªit was a brush off. ''Don''t see me again'' was practically written on her forehead.

    She really did still hate him then. He heaved a sigh. If he had known this would be his fate when he was reborn, he would rather have just died permanently when he had that heart attack.

    It would have been better to end things there than be tortured like this. She knew the truth and it didn''t change a thing. She wouldn''t ever forgive him so what was the point?

    Aaron stared at the cupcakes sitting innocently in his container. He was suddenly tempted to chuck the container across the room. They weren''t a sign of sincerity; she just felt bad that he had helped her out and she couldn''t pay him back for real.

    He flopped onto the couch in defeat and his cat meowed before jumping onto his stomach.

    "At least you still like me, Dinah," he sighed.

    ===

    "Bachelor party ideas?" Aiden asked with a mischievous glint in his eye. "You havee to the right person, my friend."

    He hade up to Aaron''s office to give a report on Lacy Knighton¡ªapparently she had been spending a lot of time in the tiron districttely, which was odd for a woman of her status. She had no ties to the techmunity that Aaron knew of.

    This required further investigation but in the meantime, Aaron needed serious help. He knew nothing about nning a guys'' night out.

    "Firstly, we need drinking games. Cameron''s not the type to be interested in other women so I guess a stripper is out¡­"

    "A stripper?!"

    Aiden looked at him like he was stupid. "Yeah, that''s a totally normal thing for bachelor parties."

    Aaron had never been to one. He knew there were some men who went all out before they got married and did dirty things before being tied down but he wasn''t close to any of them and hadn''t been invited. Not that he would have gone anyway.

    "I think we should go paintballing. Cameron mentioned to me that he wanted to try it once but didn''t have enough people to go with him."

    His mouth twitched in rm. Paintballing? He had never done such a ridiculous thing in either of his lives. Keeley had wanted him to do it once and he tly refused. But it wasn''t like he had any better ideas.

    "Alright," Aaron sighed. "That works. You know more about drinking games than I do¡­I''ll reserve a paintball ce if you figure those out for me."

    "Done, my dude. This is going to be epic!"

    Aiden seemed pumped for the asion. Of course he would be. Despite spending most of his life in a darkened room on hisputer, he thrived on chaos.

    It was a bit perplexing how contradictory his interests could be. For the longest time Aaron thought he only cared about video games.

    Nova must have had a positive influence on him. Aaron had received all the bills from Aiden''s trip abroad; they visited a lot of museums and historical sites. He hadn''t thought Aiden was interested in those sorts of things.

    Then again, he was one to talk. He had done all sorts of things he couldn''t care less about just because Keeley was there and wanted him toe. Love had that effect on people.

    "While you''re still here¡­have you noticed any furthermunication between my father and any of the Knightons?" Aaron asked.

    Aiden hadn''t been around during the share transfer issue but he had been clued into what was going on once he got back. He was on the optimistic side, just like Cameron. He thought it was suspicious but hey, at least Aaron got another ten percent of the shares and was closer to world domination! (His words.)

    "Nope. Makes me wonder if he''s really nning on trying to get Lacy to rece the fake me at all."

    But if he wasn''t, he wouldn''t have left the wife''s name off of the document¡­ None of this made sense.

    In Aaron''s past life, Alistair had specifically said that he wouldn''t be getting 10% of his shares liked nned because he was marrying a nobody. Yet this document left it open where Aaron could marry anyone and still get additional shares so long as she gave birth to a son. There had to be more to it than met the eye.

    Was there any other interpretation outside of his father trying to get him to switch fianc¨¦es to that witch? There weren''t any other women Alistair had ever schemed with regarding his son.

    "He has to be," Aaron muttered. "It doesn''t make any sense otherwise."

    "Maybe he just didn''t think of it? He is getting old," Aiden said with a shrug before unwrapping a candy bar and taking a bite right in front of his boss.

    "Being in your mid-fifties isn''t that old."

    Aaron was mentally older than his father was physically at this point by about a decade. No wonder the kid was always getting on his case about ng. He hadn''t been around normal kids enough to pick it up when he was younger and once he got older he wasn''t around kids period.

    Keeley had called him old too once she heard what his true age was. Ah, he missed her. She delivered the cupcakes two weeks ago and he hadn''t heard a peep from her since.

    She updated her social media ounts more frequently now that she was free but almost anyone could see those so it didn''t count. She had posted three pictures on Instagram: one of the borate dinner she cooked for herself, one of her cat, and one with her dad. Apparently they went to a Yankees game together one Saturday.

    They both looked really happy wearing jerseys and hats to support their team. The caption read ''Thinking of our favorite Yankees fan today'' with a heart emoticon next to it. He could only assume it alluded to her little brother Kaleb.

    "Of course you''d think that; you were born old," Aiden scoffed, snapping Aaron out of his wandering thoughts.

    If only he knew how true that was.

    "You don''t know how to have fun," he continued. "I''m going to cream you in paintball and it''s gonna be great!"

    Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

    "It''s a promise."

    Aiden grinned crazily, brimming with confidence as he practically bounced in ce. Young people were so easily excitable. Maybe Aaron really was old.

 Chapter 193: Bored Out Of Her Mind

    <h4>Chapter 193: Bored Out Of Her Mind</h4>

    Keeley''s research was on target, she hadn''t been bothered by Aaron at all, the bachelorette party was mostly nned, and¡­she was bored out of her mind.

    She got home just before 6 PM every day and didn''t go to bed until around 11:30 so that gave her five and a half hours to kill plus all day Saturday and Sunday. Weekends weren''t so bad because she usually hung out with her dad (or Valentina the few hours she was free) but it was still weird having all that free time.

    She deep cleaned the apartment, went through her entire wardrobe to find things to get rid of, and took Molly to the vet for her annual checkup. She read five mystery novels and experimented with new dinner recipes every night.

    There was still too much time alone.

    If Keeley didn''t hang out with another person soon she was going to gopletely insane. She texted Ryan, half-serious half-joking. ''Please save your pitiful friend from boredom before she does something crazy like go to her ex''s ce just to have something to do''

    He responded five minutester. ''That''s never a good idea. I''ll be over in twenty minutes and we can y cards, okay?''

    ''You''re the best!''

    She set her phone down and smiled. She really had considered going to Aaron''s because he had DVR and if he had recorded Dancing with the Stars for her, there were probably other things she''d like saved too.

    Keeley was out of her mind¡ªshowing up at his ce uninvited just because she was bored was a terrible idea. That would make him think she forgave him or, heaven forbid, that she liked him. It had been a fleeting thought anyway. She wasn''t that desperate yet.

    Ryan arrived right on time and she greeted him enthusiastically. "So do you want to y Speed? Spit? War? p Jack? Egyptian Rat Screw?"

    She circled around him like a puppy at its master''s heels. She had been dying for somepany for days; she had only seen Valentina twice as she hurried out the door in the morning all week.

    "Wow, you weren''t kidding about dying of boredom. How about Spit first?"

    "Okay!"

    Keeley cheerfully hummed to herself as she pulled the deck of cards out of the junk drawer in the kitchen. She was lucky that Ryan always seemed to be free.

    She dealt the cards quickly and they got into game mode, concentrating too fiercely on pping down cards to hold a conversation. The nice thing about Spit was that it was a longer one¡ªit was sort of like the tournament version of Speed so it had a bunch of rounds.

    They yed two games of Spit that Ryan won before switching over to War. Keeley dominated at that one and shot him a triumphant look. He shook his head andughed.

    "Don''t get cocky now, I still have one more win than you."

    She stuck her tongue out at him. "Killjoy. Let me have my moment of glory."

    He stuck his hands up in defense. "Alright, alright." He paused a moment before speaking again. "You wouldn''t have really gone to your ex''s ce, would you?"

    That was out of the blue.

    "I was only half-serious about that," Keeley said with a shrug. "I know it''s a bad idea. I was only tempted at all because of recorded television and good snacks."

    "¡­it sounds like you''ve been over there recently."

    Why did she feel guilty? It wasn''t a crime to hang out with someone you used to have a rtionship with. This was starting to feel like an interrogation.

    "Yeah, he lent me his TV to watch Dancing with the Stars in the fall since I was always at work when it was on and can''t record things here," she said as nonchntly as possible.

    Ryan''s brow furrowed and he debated internally for a moment before saying something.

    "Keeley¡­do you still have feelings for this guy? Last summer you said you just wanted to be left alone and at Jennica''s engagement party you looked like you had seen a ghost but you still hung out with him in between those times. Your actions are kind of contradictory."

    It was rude of him to point out but she couldn''t deny it was true. To an onlooker, her actions would appear inconsistent. She couldn''t tell him it was because new information was presented that changed everything.

    She couldn''t be mad at him because she knew he was just looking out for her. Anyone would be concerned if their friend was wavering about an ex they said cheated on them in the past.

    "I know," Keeley sighed. How to exin this?

    "There were some misunderstandings and he felt guilty towards me so he''s been trying to be extra nice. I let him get away with it for a little while but I''ve put my foot down now. As soon as Jennica''s wedding is done, I''m out."

    He wasn''t convinced. "The guy seems awfully persistent¡­do you really think he''ll stop bothering you just because you ask him to?"

    "No," she said truthfully. "Which is why I''m considering leaving New York once I graduate. I want to be a professor so I can continue my research and I don''t know if NYU will keep me on anyway¡­I might have to branch out."

    "You''d really leave here? But you love New York!"

    She did love New York but it wasn''t like she was going to Mars. She needed to stay within driving distance for her dad''s sake.

    She hardly saw any of her friends anyway. Jennica would have a family of her own and Valentina''s schedule was only going to get more hectic when her residency began. She could still visit asionally.

    The biggest reason she wanted to leave was so she would stop relying on Aaron when things went wrong. If he was always hovering over her like a fly on a pic how was she supposed to refuse his help?

    "Yeah but it''s not like I would go super far away. I''m thinking New Jersey or Pennsylvania, no more than a couple hours away by car. It expands my university options."

    Ryan scowled. "You shouldn''t let a guy drive you away from your home."

    "I was considering branching out for my job applications even before he came back. New York City doesn''t have all that many gics programs, you know," she admitted.

    Granted, back then it had been a worst case scenario but it had still crossed her mind. Aaron wasn''t the only factor here. She was being practical.

 Chapter 194: Like A Weed

    <h4>Chapter 194: Like A Weed</h4>

    Ryan couldn''t believe what he was hearing. Keeley was the consummate New Yorker¡ªout of everyone he knew he would have pegged her as the one least likely to move away. And all to avoid a guy?

    She wasn''t the type to run away; she faced her problems head on. Her ex-boyfriend must be a serious pain if she couldn''t handle him the way she handled everything else.

    He didn''t want her to leave. Keeley had been a constant presence in his life for nearly seven years.

    Ryan couldn''t imagine what life would be like without getting random texts demanding hee over and hang out with her on a regr basis. If she lived hours away, that spontaneity would be impossible.

    Unfortunately, she was right that New York City didn''t have that many gics programs. It was unlikely a degree from NYU wouldnd her a job at Columbia so she would basically be forced to look elsewhere if NYU didn''t offer to keep her on.

    "Have they really not said anything about letting you stay?" he dared to ask.

    Keeley shook her head. "I''m afraid to ask. If I really want to continue my own research someday I need to be a postdoctoral research assistant somewhere. I would still have to have a mentor and would get further training to prepare me for a tenured position someday."

    "Why not just work at a researchb? I''m sure you could find one somewhere that would ept your area of study. I know showing your research is helpful for finding a job. There has to be ab here that''s interested in gene therapy."

    "The only ones I know of are at NYU and Columbia."

    It seemed that New York wasn''t the best ce for a gicist to find work. If she couldn''t stay on at NYU she really wouldn''t have any other option but to seek her fortune elsewhere unless she was willing to take on a job she was overqualified for.

    Which she would never do. Keeley was stubborn; if she couldn''t research what she cared about, she didn''t want to do it at all.

    He had to wonder what the story was behind her single-minded obsession with cystic fibrosis research. Somebody she cared about must have it; it was the only exnation.

    A family member? Her mother and brother were dead but he didn''t know anything else about them. If one of them had it and died from it¡­Ryan couldn''t me her for only epting the kind of job that would help her aplish her goal.

    If she left New York it might be time for him to leave too. He had friends here but it was easy making new ones. It wasn''t easy finding a new person to love.

    He smiled and changed the subject. "Want to y Egyptian Rat Screw next?"

    "Sure," Keeley said happily, relieved that she didn''t have to talk about her impending move anymore.

    As they yed the game, Ryan''s mind wandered. That ex-boyfriend was rooted in New York. He was the vice president of a major corporation; he couldn''t leave.

    Keeley was more likely to forget about him if he wasn''t in the same city anymore. This could be a good thing.

    Sheughed in delight when she had a good hand and he smiled indulgently. She didn''t really care about that guy, right? She had to just be confused because he was around all the time.

    He had seen firsthand how negative an impact he had on her life. She was trying to avoid him because she wanted to live her life the way she wanted to in peace. After meeting the guy, Ryan could see how domineering he was at a nce. Someone like that was all wrong for her.

    Keeley was bright, happy, and spirited. A cold, controlling person would destroy her. Had destroyed her once already, if that day she got drunk on appletinis was any indication.

    It was unfortunate that they were both in the wedding party. Ryan wasn''t so he wouldn''t be able to protect her then. The least he could do was fend the guy off during the reception. Then it would all be over.

    A set of doubles was put down on the table and Keeley pped it, delighted that she won the round.

    "You really need to pay more attention," she said with a dazzling smile. "It was wide open and I still got it."

    "Right, sorry."

    The next time the p rule went into effect they both went for it at the same time and Ryan ended up mming her hand onto the table. She rubbed it and said ''ow'' while pulling a face. He apologized for hurting her but was secretly d he had the chance to touch her hand, however briefly.

    He really was distracted¡ªKeeley won all of the cards in less than fifteen minutes.

    "Did you let me win on purpose to make me feel better?" she demanded.

    "No. Your reaction time is just better than mine."

    She eyed him suspiciously. His reaction time had been good enough for him to win at Spit twice.

    He put on his most innocent expression. He hadn''t let her win on purpose; his head was just up in the clouds worrying about her ex. It was dismaying to discover she still spent time with him even after clearly disliking hispany in the beginning.

    The ex¡ªwas his name Aaron?¡ªhad grown on her like a weed if she was willing to hang out with him. She was oddly patient with him on Valentine''s Day but was distant at the engagement party a few weekster. Something had to have happened between them during that time.

    What exactly did he do? Did he make a move on her and try to win her back? What a scumbag.

    Ryan hated when cheaters changed their mindster after realizing what they had lost. His sister''s ex-boyfriend did the exact same thing. Thankfully his sister hadn''t fallen for it. Keeley on the other hand¡­

    She used to curse Aaron out. What had changed her mind?

 Chapter 195: An Entirely Different Experience

    <h4>Chapter 195: An Entirely Different Experience</h4>

    Going off of her experience at Lydia''s bachelorette party, Keeley nned things out so it was two days before the wedding and everyone had enough time to recover from their inevitable hangovers. Jennica thought it was a great idea and told Cameron to make sure his bachelor party was on the same day.

    In the end, Keeley decided against doing the pole dancing ss again. Jennica was way too stressed and needed to rx before her big day. Going to a spa for the day and having a sleepover in a hotel watching cheesy old musicals seemed like the best bet.

    It was funny. Her own ''bachelorette party'' had been at a spa too but it was an entirely different experience.

    For one, the spa she went to with all the socialites and Roslyn Hale had been one of the most exclusive in the city. More importantly, she wasn''t friends with a single person there so it was incredibly awkward and felt like little more than aworking opportunity.

    Jennica''s party was made up entirely of friends and family so even though it was supposed to be a rxing atmosphere, people could still get a little rowdy. One of her actress friends made a gigantic ssh as she sank into the whirlpool, resulting in more than a few stares and some awkwardughter.

    Jennica''s sister-inw Alison took advantage of a specialty pregnancy massage they were offering because she was six months along with her second child.

    Keeley had heard Jennica ranting about her mother''s obsession with grandchildren before; she was happy to gain a niece or nephew but wasn''t terribly pleased the announcement happened while she was engaged. Apparently it made her mother put pressure on her to get pregnant immediately.

    She confided that she had no ns to get pregnant until she had at least one more good y or musical under her belt for her resume. So far she hadn''t had much luck this year; only getting a couple ofmercials and a month long production at a dinner theater where she had to perform every night.

    The extra pressure only added to her existing wedding stress, hence the spa day. Keeley specifically booked a destressing aromatherapy massage for her friend to help her unwind.

    She didn''t need a massage herself; she was perfectly happy with a simple facial and lying by the pool in a fluffy robe with cucumbers on her eyes as she listened to the gentle sounds of moving water.

    "This is the life," Valentina sighed happily from Keeley''s left.

    She had joined her for the facial. It was a miracle she was even able to get time off for the bachelorette party, rehearsal, and wedding. The poor thing had been forced to trade a week''s worth of undesirable graveyard shifts for this.

    Keeley hoped Jennica appreciated the sacrifices their friend was making on her behalf. Whenever Valentina had a graveyard shift she stumbled like a zombie for days afterward, losing her signature smile for once.

    "I wish I could do this all the time," she continued.

    Going to the spa was one of the few things Keeley actually liked about her old life. Thepany was always terrible but if she had been allowed to go by herself she really would have enjoyed it.

    She was a sucker for heat therapies¡ªhot stone massages, Jacuzzis, and saunas. All of her worries melted away when she felt warm. It was probably why she always cocooned herself in nkets when watching TV. But one nice thing about the world of the super-rich didn''t make up for the rest of it.

    "I think it might get old after a while."

    Valentina scoffed as if she were crazy before letting out another contented sigh. She wouldn''t understand; she hadn''t lived through what Keeley had.

    Once the facial was done, she left her friend (who had fallen asleep) and headed to the Jacuzzi where Cameron''s sisters were rxing and chatting about their children. They looked up at her and smiled.

    "You''re one of Jennica''s old roommates, right? I''m Carly and this is Chloe."

    They both had the same paleplexions and dark hair that Cameron did. If not for the subtle wrinkles around Chloe''s eyes and mouth, Keeley would have thought that they were twins.

    "Yeah, I''m Keeley. Nice to meet you two."

    Carly gave her a once over. "You''re really pretty. Are you single? My brother Cooper is too and he''s handsome, funny, and has a solid job."

    She nearlyughed at the woman''s blunt matchmaking attempt. "I am but I''m not looking for any sort of rtionship right now."

    Cameron''s sister shrugged. "Oh well. I figure I have to try all of the single bridesmaids. Cooper''s sweet but he''s so shy; he''ll never get a date on his own."

    Keeley couldn''t help but wonder if she would have ended up like this with Kaleb if he had lived. Probably not. She wasn''t the matchmaking kind.

    "Valentina''s far too busy to date but you might want to try Michelle." She lowered her voice so no one else could overhear. "I heard her talking earlier; her acting career isn''t going so well and she''s looking to settle down."

    A conspiratorial glint appeared in Carly''s eyes and the three of them turned around to look at Michelle, who was sitting in the sauna with her head leaned against the wall. She was a tall and beautiful blonde woman with startlingly blue eyes.

    "She seems like Cooper''s type," Chloe said approvingly. "Thanks for the heads up. So¡­tell me about yourself."

    Keeleyunched into a brief exnation of her studies, hobbies, and career goals. Both women were impressed. Chloe had married awyer straight out of college and was a stay-at-home mom while Carly worked as a graphic designer.

    "I can''t even imagine that much school. Kudos to you."

    "It must be nice doing something productive all day," Chloe sighed. "My days are consumed with cooking, cleaning, and ying chauffeur."

    The jagged hole in her heart left by learning the truth about her lost child was ripped open even further. Keeley never got to know what that was like. She never got to change a diaper, worrying about packing lunches, or take her child to after school activities.

    She had thought she had healed from her loss over the years. Especially since being reborn because she would have the chance to use a sperm donor or adopt this time. But ever since Aaron told her what really happened she grieved all over again.

    It wasn''t all the time. It had happened a long time ago, plus she was too busy to let grief destroy her. She buried it in work.

    Still, there were times it hit her hard. Like right now when someone made a careless offhandment.

 Chapter 196: A Lot To Think About

    <h4>Chapter 196: A Lot To Think About</h4>

    "That actually sounds pretty nice," Keeley said, trying to hide her bitterness. "How many children do you have?"

    Chloe''s smile was full of maternal affection. "Three. My daughters are twelve and ten and my son is six."

    Three kids. She always imagined she would have a houseful. Growing up with only one sibling meant they were extra close; she had been devastated when Kaleb was gone. Sometimes she wondered if things would have been easier if there were other siblings left behind to spend time with.

    It was a moot point now. Maybe once her career was more stable and she could afford her own ce she could adopt a sibling group.

    If she ever could afford her own ce. New York City was one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. New Jersey or Pennsylvania was looking more attractive all the time.

    "What about you?" she asked Carly.

    "I have a sixteen month old son."

    Keeley chuckled slightly, her bitterness easing as she thought of something funny. "So your mother has plenty of children and won''t give Jennica a hard time about not getting pregnant right away."

    Chloe grinned. "Are you kidding? She''s just thrilled Cam is finally getting married. She adores Jennica."

    It made sense. Cameron was thirty. Any mother would be anxious about her child at that point. Keeley frowned. Would her dad be upset that she was nning on never getting married in this life? She hadn''t thought about that before.

    He wasn''t a chauvinist who believed women had to be married but he had been so in love with her mother. He would probably want his only living child to experience the same kind of happiness.

    ''Sorry Dad, I already blew my chance at romantic happiness a long time ago,'' she thought.

    Jennica emerged from the massage room practically glowing and joined everyone sitting in the hot tub.

    "Ah, that really hit the spot," she said dreamily. "So, what riveting thing are we discussing here?"

    "That our mom loves you because you saved our poor brother from dying alone," Carly snickered.

    She smiled and Keeley could guess what she was thinking about. She came back from Christmas at Cameron''s ce overflowing with excitement because of how much his family liked her.

    If only she had such luck with her former inws. Her entire life would have yed out differently.

    If the Hales had epted her¡­Aaron wouldn''t have tried so hard to make her change. They wouldn''t have lost their baby. They might have been able to work out their personality differences and have a happy life together.

    Yet another reason to be jealous of Jennica and Cameron''s easy rtionship. Oh well. It was all in the past now. Keeley didn''t have to worry about the Hales'' approval anymore.

    "Are you refreshed and ready for part two of this party to get started, future Mrs. Singleton?" she teased, wanting to change the subject.

    "Yeah, I feel plenty pampered. I''m ready to load up on pizza and wine as we watch musicals all night!" Jennica said as she stretched. "Just five more minutes in here first; I barely sat down."

    ===

    Unlike with all of those nosy party games from Lydia''s girls'' night portion of the party, all Jennica''s friends did werey around, eat,ugh, and sing along to whatever songs they knew from the movies.

    Keeley had only ever seen one of them before so she had no idea what was going on but Michelle and Jennica were super into it. They belted along at the top of their lungs and then giggled madly as they quoted lines directly.

    She shook her head and smiled at their antics. Actresses. They were a unique breed.

    Valentina, who had already napped at the spa, fell asleep during the second movie after consuming four slices of pizza. Poor thing was exhausted from her rotations.

    Cameron''s sisters and sister-inw also copped out and went to the adjoining room to sleep fairly quickly. They almost never had the chance to sleep a full eight hours because of their children so they weren''t about to waste the opportunity for some peace and quiet.

    The hotel rooms had two queen beds in each and were connected by a door in the middle. Everyone had to share a bed but there was enough room.

    Valentina woke up around 11 PM and moved to the quieter, darker room. Alison followed her in so only Keeley and the progressively more drunken chorus remained. She would get thestugh in the morning¡ªshe only had one ss of wine.

    The bridal party (which was everyone but Michelle) all had to get their nails done in the morning for the big day before heading to the rehearsal. Jennica was going to have a wicked headache as the nail artist worked on her.

    Sometime after 1 AM everyone was asleep but Keeley and the bride-to-be, who were sharing a bed. She figured it was as good a time as any to ask her friend what had been bothering her since the engagement party.

    "Jen? Why did you make me the maid of honor when you knew Aaron was going to be the best man?"

    She shifted slightly before answering.

    "You and Valentina are both my best friends. I had a hard time choosing between the two of you until I found out who the best man would be. It makes more sense to put two people who know each other together, doesn''t it?"

    Yes, but not if they have bad blood between them. Jennica knew things had gone sour between them so why had she meddled?

    "But Aaron and I have aplicated situation. Why did you think that would be a good idea?" Keeley persisted.

    Jennica turned over in the dark to face her and propped her head up on her elbow.

    "Complicated or not, he''s desperately in love with you. You''ve shut yourself off all these years because of him and I admit I don''t know the full story but I think whatever happened between the two of you is resolvable. If you didn''t still care about him, you would''ve moved on already."

    She rolled back over and said "goodnight" before falling asleep almost the moment her head hit the pillow, leaving Keeley with a lot to think about.

 Chapter 197: Paintball

    <h4>Chapter 197: Paintball</h4>

    Aaron rued the day he ever agreed to paintball for the bachelor party as he stood in line weighed down by the heavy protective gear. The referee was exining the rules, especially how you should never under any circumstances aim for the face, and he wished it were over already.

    Aiden, Cameron, and the other men all looked pumped and ready to fight. Of course they did. Normal guys were into this sort of thing.

    The group consisted of Cameron, Aaron and Aiden, his brothers and brother-inw, and a few childhood friends who drove up for the wedding a few days early. Aaron didn''t feelfortable around any of them so he stiffly stood near Aiden. Normally the kid annoyed him but right now he was the safe zone.

    The referee thered on about how to load the paint guns, the point system, and the course made of foam structures for people to hide behind. There were nine of them total so the referee brought an employee out to make the teams even.

    Aaron was on the orange team with Aiden, Cameron''s old neighbor Josh, and both of his brothers. The blue team consisted of Cameron, his brother-inw Mike, his friends Donny and Chris, and the employee.

    The field was theirs for an hour and would be split up into three fifteen-minute games with breaks in between.

    The first match passed in a blur. Aaron was hit with so many paintballs he didn''t even know what was happening anymore. His teammates yelled at him constantly trying to get him to move or at the very least duck but he had no idea what was going on and always seemed to react a second toote.

    The blue team won.

    The second match wasn''t much better. He kept slipping and sliding in the paint on the ground and ended up t on his back at one point.

    Aiden forcibly grabbed him by the cor and dragged him across the slippery ground to a hiding ce where he would be out of the way. Aaron had never felt so humiliated in either of his lives.

    This was the worst. Why did he agree to this? Oh yeah, because he was trying to be a decent friend for once. It wasn''t worth it.

    Cameron''s brothers had both yed paintball before and were doing surprisingly well without Aaron dragging them down. They worked in sync as if they were reading each other''s minds and scored point after point.

    The orange team one the second match and everyone seemed to have forgotten Aaron was even there, which he didn''t mind one bit. He was sore from all the hits he took and his fall to the ground.

    "Sorry for dragging you back there, dude," Aiden said sheepishly as he handed his boss a bottle of water as a gesture of goodwill during the break between games. "I couldn''t let Cameron win all the games; he''d never let it go."

    Aaron had never personally experienced thepetitiveness between friends but he had heard of it. He would forgive it this time. He epted the water and chugged it.

    "What do you think the girls are up to right now?"

    "They''re at the spa," Chase said helpfully. "My wife wouldn''t stop gushing about it all week. She''s never been to a real spa before."

    The single men in the room wrinkled their noses in disgust. "Lame!""What''s so fun about that?""Boring chick stuff."

    "Don''t knock it til you try it," Aiden said with a shrug. "My girlfriend and I went to one together in Stockholm and it was super hot."

    The single men''s eyes widened and they looked at the scrawny kid Cameron invited in a new light.

    "Cam, who''s this kid again?"

    "He works with me."

    Aiden dramatically clutched his heart. "That''s all I am to you, Cam? I''m wounded."

    Cameron rolled his eyes and mussed his friend''s hair roughly. "Come on you guys, let''s get back out there. Who wants to make a bet with me on who will end up the winner?"

    Everyone groaned. He almost never betted wrong.

    "What''s the bet?" Aaron asked tly. He didn''t see anything gooding from this.

    "The losing team has to take their shirts off until we get to Aaron''s apartment," he said with a wicked grin.

    The second part of the party was being held there since out of all the people present who lived in New York, his ce was the biggest. He had already arranged for the housekeeper toe and clean up everything first thing in the morning.

    Aaron scowled. If he lost, his neighbors might see him. He would never live that down.

    "Why do I get the feeling this bet is targeted at me specifically," he said frostily. Cameron merely raised his eyebrows in response.

    "I''ll take you on!" Aiden announced. "You''ll be the one who has to embarrass yourself in front of Aaron''s neighbors!"

    It urred to him then that he would be losing either way. People would see a bunch of crazy people go upstairs with him. He would make Cameron pay for this insult somehow.

    For now, he would be lenient. The man was getting married in two days.

    They all put their goggles back on, reloaded their guns, and headed back out to the field. Aaron really didn''t want to have to be the one shirtless but both Cameron and Aiden would never shut up if he didn''t honor the bet. It was safest for him to stay out of the way again.

    Unfortunately, the other team figured out his tactic and forced him out into the open. He scrambled for cover and slipped on more paint.

    "Aaron!" Aiden yelled. "Behind you!"

    He ducked but the blue team member slipped on some paint as well and ended up falling right in front of Aaron, identally firing their gun as theynded. The paintball exploded right on Aaron''s goggles.

    Normally, this wouldn''t have been a problem since paintball goggles are pretty sturdy. But this particr one had already experienced previous damage and the stic detached from the inside so the ball smacked it against Aaron''s left eye.

    He doubled over in pain and the referee immediately called a time out. Everyone crowded around him to see what happened. Aaron was clutching his eye after taking off the goggles and the referee demanded to see it to be sure he didn''t need medical attention.

    It was swollen mostly shut but after shining a little shlight into it there didn''t appear to be any damage. The referee still insisted he go to the doctor right away and apologized profusely for the faulty equipment.

    Aaron had signed a waiver beforehand saying he yed at his own risk and couldn''t sue so the referee''s concern and apology were genuine rather than out of worry he would get in trouble over the incident.

    "I''m so sorry," Cameron squeaked. "Are you okay?"

    An ice storm built up in an rming crescendo, making everyone present hold their breath, beforeing to a standstill.

    "Aiden, take me to the hospital," Aaron barked. "The rest of you¡ªgo to lunch. We''ll meet you back at my ce when I''m done."

 Chapter 198: Drunk Jenga

    <h4>Chapter 198: Drunk Jenga</h4>

    Since Aaron wasn''t actively bleeding out or anything like that, he was low on the priority list to be seen. Even though they went to the emergency room of one of the best hospitals in the city with the lowest wait times, they still waited for an hour before Aaron got called back.

    The atmosphere was incredibly tense. Aiden clearly feared for his life but there was no need. He wasn''t the one who hit him in the eye. It was Cameron.

    He had apologized profusely after it happened but Aaron had to hold his temper in check. His mantra was ''he''s getting married, he''s getting married, he''s getting married.'' He couldn''t do anything until this was over and done with.

    The nurse took his vitals before calling for a doctor to examine him and left Aaron sitting in a small side room.

    What a disaster. He still had to socialize after this too when all he wanted to do was sleep. His face hurt. He had never been all that great at rting to other men anyway, even the ones in high society who had simr life experiences.

    Aaron tolerated Aiden and Cameron because he had gotten used to their presence but the only person he enjoyed spending time with was Keeley. He would get to see her tomorrow but wasn''t even looking forward to it anymore because he looked terrible. She would definitelyugh at him.

    The doctor came into the room as he was dreaded her reaction and reached out to shake his hand. "I understand this was a paintball injury."

    "Yes. The goggles were faulty."

    "Let''s have a look at you." The doctor put on a pair of gloves and painfully pried Aaron''s swollen eye open to examine it for damage.

    He began tearing up. Everything surrounding his eye was tender.

    "I''m not seeing any problems. Close your right eye," the doctor instructed. Aaron did. "Can you still see out of the left one?"

    "Yes."

    "Any headaches or nausea?"

    "No."

    The doctor backed away. "I think this is a simple case of a ck eye. It''ll go away on its own in a week or two."

    A week or two. Fantastic. He would have to go into the office like this. Everyone would see it, including his father. Could he get away with pretending to have the flu? No, it wasn''t flu season. Ugh.

    "Thank you," he said tly before heading out to the waiting room where Aiden sat.

    He jumped up immediately, worry written all over his face. "What did the doctor say?"

    "It will heal on its own in the next week or two."

    Aiden grimaced. "Yikes."

    "Yeah," Aaron said icily. "That just about sums it up."

    The ride back to his apartment was a silent one. They beat the rabble so Aaron approached the doorman quite formally despite his current appearance. The doorman''s eyes widened at the sight but he wisely said nothing.

    "I am expecting a group of guests in the next fifteen minutes. Go ahead and send them right up."

    "Yes, Mr. Hale."

    Aaron strode toward the elevator with tangible dignity, Aiden following in his wake. When they got to the second floor of the penthouse, Aiden whistled.

    "This is the perfect ce to have a party! Have you really never held one here before?"

    "No. Why would I do something like that?"

    Aiden shut up immediately. He had a point.

    The rest of the group showed up wearing their shirts, thankfully. Apparently the bet had been forgotten due to the suddenness of Aaron''s injury. They were all amazed at the size of the ce and looked around in various states of shock.

    "Geez, what do you even do for a living?!"

    "I''ve never seen an apartment this big in my entire life."

    "Even I didn''t know you had this much space!"

    "I did," Aiden said a bit smugly, directing hisment at Cameron, who had just spoken.

    He red at his friend. "When have you been here before?"

    Aiden didn''t want to admit to the reason behind either of the times he had been here because it was too embarrassing. He simply grinned mysteriously in response.

    "Enough ogling my house," Aaron said coldly. "Are we going to y games or not?"

    "We are," Aiden said quickly. "I''ve got the perfect one! I left it in Cam''s car though."

    Cameron volunteered to go get it and everyone else was at an awkward standstill during the time it took him toe back. You could practically hear the crickets chirping until Dinah showed up. Everyone rxed a little once they saw her; pets humanize people.

    "Ohmygosh I''ve never seen her in person! She''s so cute!" Aiden cooed, crouching down to pet her.

    "What''s her name?" Cooper asked.

    "Dinah."

    She was like a little ambassador for Aaron, calming the tension in the room considerably as she rolled around and basked in the attention.

    When Cameron came back with the game, the mood in the room hadpletely shifted. He was surprised until he saw what everyone was huddled around. Aaron was even showing Chase pictures he had taken of Dinah doing funny things.

    Aiden saw him and hopped to his feet before taking the game out of his hands. "Hey guys, we''ve got Drunk Jenga!"

    Some people cheered, others groaned, but Aaron was confused. He had never heard of this. Keeley had mentioned something about regr Jenga once years and years ago but he couldn''t remember what it was.

    Opening the box, Aiden began setting up a tower with little wooden tiles that had been written on with permanent marker. He exined the rules of the game.

    Like regr Jenga, each person went around in a circle and chose a block to remove. The difference was that there was a direction written on each one that the person who picked it had toplete. Whoever knocked over the tower had to drink an additional shot.

    This seemed like a terrible idea to Aaron but he kept his mouth shut. It wasn''t his ce to refute. He only had to endure this a couple more hours before kicking everyone out and going to sleep.

    The rules weren''t terrible at first. Chase had pulled a tile that said rock, paper, scissors on it. The loser had to drink. He chose to do it with Cooper, who lost and took the penalty.

    Cameron pulled a tile where everyone with kids had to take one shot per kid. Chase, Mike, and Donny were the only ones who had to participate that time.

    Aaron didn''t have to drink until Aiden''s tile indicated that all singles had to take a shot. He, Cooper, and Josh were the victims of that turn. Everyone else had a wife, fianc¨¦e, or girlfriend at the very least.

    ''Okay,'' he thought to himself. ''Maybe this isn''t so terrible. I can get through this.''

    Everyone but Aaron got progressively drunker as the game continued. Tallest person drinks, one drink for each sibling you have, youngest person drinks. He didn''t have to drink again until he was the one to identally knock over the tower.

 Chapter 199: Friends After All

    <h4>Chapter 199: Friends After All</h4>

    Everyone was a wreck after ying two games of Drunk Jenga so Aaron loaded everyone into cabs and sent them home. Finally, FINALLY, he had peace and quiet.

    He had to admit though, the party games weren''t nearly as bad as he thought they would be. Aiden had done a decent job. He would have to tell him soter.

    Was this what it was like having friends? He had never really had male friends in either life before. There were acquaintances he talked to when he saw them but that was the extent of it. Even Aiden and Cameron were work-only friends until he got asked to be best man out of the blue.

    Aaron hadn''t seen iting. He didn''t realize Cameron actually valued his presence. He had been under the impression that their rtionship was strictly professional even though Cameron did tease him from time to time.

    It warmed his frozen heart a bit. Yes, those two frequently annoyed him, but he couldn''t deny things would be much more boring without them around. Maybe they really were friends after all. How novel.

    He sprawled out on the couch and sighed. The Keeley of the past would have been so proud of him for making friends. Right now she probably didn''t care one bit.

    Things had changed so much¡ªhe had changed so much¡ªbut she refused to see it. She was stuck in the past. If only she could ept that he was really different now and be willing to move forward with him. They might actually have a chance to be a normal couple that way.

    It was a stupid thought. She wasn''t going to forgive him any time soon. She wouldn''t even care that he got hurt when he saw her in the morning.

    ===

    Keeley was up all night tormented by Jennica''s parting words so she wasn''t in much better shape than the other bridesmaids the next morning as she got her nails painted.

    They all got French manicures with little orange and red flowers painted on since Jennica wanted to include all the wedding colors and the bridesmaids'' dresses were hot pink. Keeley was all for bright colors but this was a bit much. At least this dress didn''t have as terrible a design as thest one.

    She wanted to rub the sleep out of her eyes but couldn''t because her nails were wet. Why had what her friend said bothered her so much?

    There were two questions that came out of that little conversation. Were their issues resolvable? And did she still care about him? She couldn''te to a satisfactory conclusion, which is why she was up all night.

    The first one was a bit easier to answer. Their personalities, values, and lifestyles were too different to reconcile. Their first life had proved that already. But did she still care?

    Originally she didn''t think so. She was too angry. But Jennica did have a point¡ªif she was reallypletely past him wouldn''t she have at least developed feelings for someone else in the five years they were apart even if she was too afraid to act on them?

    Keeley hadn''t so much as had a passing crush during all that time. She was too busy living her life and trying to forget Aaron permanently.

    She certainly hadn''t expected having any sort of positive interactions with him ever again but when he came back he was different. He was the way she used to wish he had been all along.

    She had actually started developing a teeny crush on him again before finding out he retained all his memories. That knowledge instantly killed it and her desire to be left alone returned full force.

    But did she still care? She wasn''t sure.

    Admittedly, she had hoped he would move on and be happy but that was mostly because she didn''t think he would leave her alone otherwise. That didn''t necessarily mean she cared about him as a person.

    Curse Jennica for making her think too much! She didn''t even know a fraction of what had gone down between them. So how could she confidently im that Aaron was desperately in love with her? He had never done a single thing to show that to her personally. Ever.

    Being nice was a far cry from being desperately in love. Especially when that niceness was most likely motivated by guilt. He had said that he wanted to make things up to her in this life. That definitely seemed like something someone burdened with guilt would say.

    "Keeley,e on! We''re going to bete for the rehearsal," Jennica said impatiently.

    She realized she was thest one sitting in one of the fancy nail chairs. Everyone else was out the door and waiting on her¡ªshe had been lost in thought yet again. It was an awful feeling.

    She hoped that the rehearsal format wouldn''t be too different from the one she had already practiced for Lydia''s wedding so it wouldn''t matter if she was spaced out. One major difference was that as the maid of honor, she would be closest to the bride and the first one down the aisle.

    And she had to walk with Aaron. Ugh. Thest thing a person wanted to do after thinking too much about somebody was see them right after.

    Keeley was unountably nervous when she saw the back of his head at the venue. She figured she may as well try to be friendly; they would be stuck together for the next couple hours.

    "Hey Aaron!" she called out.

    He flinched but didn''t turn around. Did he not hear her?

    She tried again. "Aaron?"

    He continued to ignore her. A flicker of annoyance went through her. She was doing her best here, okay. What was his problem? Wasn''t he the one who was constantly bothering her? Why wouldn''t he respond?

    She marched over to him, ready to demand an exnation, when she got a good look at him. She certainly wasn''t expecting the worst ck eye she had ever seen.

    "What happened to your face?!"

 Chapter 200: Youre Blushing

    <h4>Chapter 200: You''re Blushing</h4>

    Aaron looked distinctly ufortable. He wouldn''t meet her eyes.

    "I didn''t want you to see how stupid I look," he admitted. "I thought you wouldugh at me."

    Geez, what kind of person did he think she was? Keeley was slightly offended. "Forget that, what happened to you?"

    His difort increased. He was actually shifting in ce. The almighty business icon Aaron Hale never acted like this. Her curiosity was eating her alive¡ªit had to be a pretty good story for him to be so embarrassed. He didn''t GET embarrassed.

    "¡­a paintball broke my goggles."

    That was absolutely thest thing she would have expected toe out of his mouth. She waspletely thrown off.

    "What?"

    "Cameron wanted to go paintballing for his bachelor party and my stupid goggles were faulty, okay? I got shot directly in the face," he said icily before crossing his arms in front of his chest.

    Normally it would make him look scary but right now it gave him the aura of a petnt child. No wonder he thought she wouldugh. She was tempted to right now.

    Reining it in, she bit her lip and asked if it hurt. He nodded. "It was more swollen yesterday but somehow it hurts more today."

    "Do you want me to get you some ice or something?"

    "I already put some on before I came. I''m supposed to do it every hour but I think I can wait until the rehearsal is over."

    She stood on tiptoe to get a closer look. It really did look terrible. And he would forever be immortalized in the wedding pictures like that. What luck!

    Aaron sighed. "Do you have to gawk at me when I look the least attractive I ever have in my entire existence?"

    What was he so self-conscious for? There wasn''t anything of his she hadn''t seen before, albeit in another life. Unless¡­he didn''t want her to see him at his worst because he actually liked her? Keeley had done the same thing in her first life; she made sure to look cute in front of him at all times because she wanted him to think she was pretty.

    She tilted her head. "Are you being shy?"

    "No," he denied but it wasn''t convincing.

    "You are! You''re totally acting like a girl that refuses to take her makeup off in front of her boyfriend."

    Aaron actually looked pained. "Please don''t make me the girl in this scenario."

    She grinned and decided to tease him. It was too easy when he was already flustered. "Aww, you''re so cute! Don''t worry, it makes you look tough."

    "Really?" he asked doubtfully.

    "Totally! Like you fought off a bunch of thugs and won but at a price. Girls love things like that."

    "Do you?"

    Keeley blinked in surprise. Tough guys weren''t exactly her type. Having only ever loved one person, she couldn''t even say she had one. She originally fell for him because he seemed like a mystery to be solved. If she did have a type, mysterious would probably be it.

    "Not really my thing." Seeing his face fall she frantically tried to cate him. Why did she care if his feelings were hurt?! "You''re fine though! A ck eye can''t detract from true beauty."

    His brow furrowed in disgust. "Beauty?"

    She shrugged. "Yeah. You''re a beautiful man. Hasn''t anyone told you that before?"

    "No."

    The slightest bit of pink tinged his cheeks as he said it even though he had resumed his poker face. Was he¡­blushing? She had never, ever seen him blush. Not once.

    "You''re blushing," she said stupidly.

    "Am not."

    The pink grew more prominent. Liar! Keeley pped and pointed at him usingly.

    "Yes you are! You actually have the ability to blush?! What the heck! Twelve years with you and I get nothing but now you blush over a tiny, obvious statement of fact?"

    It wasn''t like she neverplimented him when they were dating. She used to call him handsome all the time and he never so much as twitched. So why was he doing it now? She felt oddly cheated somehow.

    He scratched the back of his neck and wouldn''t meet her eyes. "¡­it was unexpected."

    She raised an eyebrow at him. "That''s really what you''re going with here?"

    "You wouldn''t expect someone who hates you to call you beautiful out of nowhere either."

    All of the amusement was sucked right out of her. His words were matter-of-fact but she still detected a slight tinge of sadness. She didn''t hate him anymore, but she could see how he would think that.

    She hadn''t exactly been the nicest since discovering the truth; she hadn''t known how to handle it. Truthfully, she had been quite rude.

    "I don''t hate you."

    "Sure," he said sarcastically.

    She didn''t realize he was capable of sarcasm either. If she had to guess, it was probably Aiden''s influence on him.

    "I don''t! You''ve done a lot of stupid stuff but I''ve already forgive you for it." Keeley really wasn''t angry anymore. It was all water under the bridge now.

    "Then why¡ª"

    She knew what he was going to ask. Why won''t you be with me? Because there was too much history between them. She wasn''t stupid enough to set herself up for failure a second time. It was better to cut him off before he got ahead of himself.

    "We have literally nothing inmon. We were always doomed for failure even if you didn''t do all of that stupid stuff."

    Keeley couldn''t believe she was actually talking about this with her ex-husband like rational adults. Communication had always been one of their biggest issues.

    He did hide a ridiculous amount of things from her after all in the name of "protection." She wasn''t much better¡ªshe never let on how much she hated the people in his social circle and wanted out.

    Aaron opened his mouth to retort but the wedding nner called them over. It was time to take their ces up front to run through the program. Like at Lydia''s rehearsal, the recessional and processional would happen at the end.

    His eyes said the conversation wasn''t over but Keeley couldn''t think of anything else that needed to be said. It was true that they were too different.

    Unfortunately, Aaron''s ck eye answered the second question from earlier for her. She did still care. Great.

 Chapter 201: Too Nice For Your Own Good

    <h4>Chapter 201: Too Nice For Your Own Good</h4>

    The rehearsal was painless enough. The end was awkward though¡ªholding onto Aaron''s arm like she had so many times as his wife was near torture for Keeley. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

    She did notice something while holding onto him though. He was shaking. That wasn''t normal at all.

    "Aaron? You okay?"

    "I kind of feel like I''m going to pass out, actually," he admitted faintly.

    She ran around him like a chicken with its head cut off. "Sit down, you idiot! Is it because of your eye? Does anything else hurt? I''ll go get you ice right now! STAY THERE."

    She scampered into the kitchen area of the venue and asked for an ice pack. They didn''t have one but they did have a partially used bag of frozen peas they offered her. Well, it couldn''t be that much different.

    Wrapping it in a towel, she thanked the kitchen staff and dashed back out to where Aaron was lying across a row of pushed-together chairs. It didn''t lookfortable at all.

    "I have a makeshift ice pack for you."

    He nced up. "Peas?"

    "It was the best they had."

    He epted it without furtherint and sighed in relief as the coolness hit his swollen eye. He seemed absolutely miserable but what else could she do? She already brought him ice.

    There wasn''t much that could be done about ck eyes. They pretty much had to be waited out.

    Keeley hovered over him like a worried gnat. "Is it helping? Do you feel any better?"

    "A little. But now I understand why you told me to stop being nice to you."

    Huh? What did he¡ªoh. She told him to stop being nice to her because it made her feel worse. Which meant she was doing the same thing to him.

    She tried to keep things light despite how heavy that statement weighed on her. "I''m sorry. I can be mean if you like."

    "I think I''ve had enough of that from you."

    Wow. He wasn''t pulling his punches today. Someone was bitter. She couldn''t me him though; her emotions had been all over the ce and he was the one who had to deal with the whish.

    All they ever did was hurt each other. Moving away really was the best option at this point.

    "What are you doing over here?" Valentina asked curiously.

    "My partner here injured himself yesterday and it''s still bothering him," Keeley exined.

    "You''re Cameron''s best friend, yeah?"

    "Not for much longer," Aaron said tly. "He''s the one who shot me in the eye."

    She tried and failed to muffle herughter. "Sorry, that''s pretty funny."

    He exhaled heavily and closed his good eye. "I know. At least Keeley didn''tugh at me; I thought she would."

    Keeley didn''t appreciate being talked about like she wasn''t there. "I still can if you try me."

    "Please don''t. I''ve already lost all semnce of dignity."

    He had a point. He looked ridiculous lying across a bunch of chairs with his feet dangling off into space while a bag of peas was on his face. For someone who cared so much about appearances, this whole ordeal must be a deathblow to his ego.

    Feeling unusually sympathetic, she patted his hand holding up the makeshift ice pack. There, there.

    "You''re funny," Valentina noted with a giggle. "What''s your name again?"

    "Aaron."

    She grew excited. "Oh! Like Keeley''s¡ª"

    Keeley pped a hand over her mouth to prevent her from finishing that sentence. Aaron could never know about that telenov. He was the only other person on earth who would realize it was based on her life. It would be a nightmare if he found out.

    "Like Keeley''s what?"

    "Nothing!" she said unconvincingly once she freed her mouth, catching onto her friend''s desperation. "Nothing at all. Please excuse me. We''re about to go to the rehearsal luncheon though. Are you guysing?"

    "Did you drive here?" Keeley asked the inert man behind her.

    "Yes."

    "I''ll drive him over once he''s done icing his eye," she told her friend. "Go on without us but if you dare eat all the appetizers without me I''ll stand over you in your sleep like that ghost from that movie you hate."

    Valentina rolled her eyes in response. "I''ll remember that."

    "¡­that''s a rather interesting threat," Aaron said with a hint of amusement in his tone.

    She flushed. It just slipped out; she sort of forgot he was listening. They had watched this really scary ghost movie one Halloween during college and Valentina had nightmares for weeks. She still used the ghost as a threat now and then to keep things interesting.

    "Well, it worked, that''s what matters. I''m starving."

    "You know, you really don''t have to stay with me. Why are you?"

    He seemed confused and it made her feel even worse. He really did think she hated him.

    "You take care of me. Why can''t I take care of you too?"

    No one had ever taken care of Aaron other than her that she knew of. His own parents never had. He was always alone.

    She tried to show him as much love as possible when they were together but that stopped when he began ignoring her because she was hurt. After a while she ignored him right back. He probably hadn''t experienced any affection from anyone since.

    The thought made her heart clench. He deserved better than that. Everyone deserved to have someone take care of them when they needed it.

    "That''s different," he said dismissively.

    "How so?"

    "I take care of you because I love you. You obviously don''t love me anymore."

    Keeley''s jaw dropped. All three times he had said this werepletely random and in thest few months when they were nothing to each other, as opposed to during all of their years as a couple.

    He couldn''t actually mean it. If he did, he would have said it even once when they were actually together. How had she ever believed he loved her back then when he never even said the words? Now that she knew he was a habitual liar they didn''t hold much weight.

    She ignored the first part of what he said and addressed the second.

    "True but everyone needs to be taken care of sometimes. Even someone as unppable as you. No one else is going to do it so it may as well be me. You''re in no condition to drive."

    "Has anyone ever told you that you''re too nice for your own good?" Aaron mumbled.

    "Yep."

    He had, actually. Many years ago.

    She helped him to his feet and let him lean on her in case he was still dizzy. "Come on; let''s get you to the car. I think you''ve iced it long enough."

 Chapter 202: Friend Of The Year

    <h4>Chapter 202: Friend Of The Year</h4>

    Aaron had been surprised by Keeley''s actions today, to say the least. She teased him, tried to cheer him up, took care of him, and told him she didn''t hate him all in one go. It all seemed too good to be true.

    Granted, she also said their rtionship had been doomed to fail from the start. It was the only realistic part of all of this; otherwise he would have believed this morning was nothing but a beautiful dream.

    He supposed it had been. If he hadn''t been a Hale¡­if they had been two regr people who fell in love, they might have had a chance. They really didn''t have anything inmon except a mutual desire to be together.

    Aaron didn''t believe that you had to have things inmon to make a rtionship work. They hadn''t worked because they never learned how topromise fairly (schemes against them aside).

    Keeley sacrificed everything and ultimately resented him. He expected her to make changes for him without making any of his own. But that was why he had tried so hard to change in this life! He believed they could have a happy, equal rtionship now if she just gave him a chance.

    He cracked his good eye open to peek at her as she drove. She was concentrating fiercely on the road, paying attention to each tiny direction from his phone''s GPS. It directed her where to go in a robotic British ent from the car''s cup holder since he wasn''t feeling well enough to y navigator.

    "You doing okay over there?" she asked after nearly ten minutes of silence from his side of the car.

    "Yeah. The ice helped a bit."

    "Don''t overexert yourself," Keeley scolded. "You still need to be at the wedding tomorrow or Cameron will kill you."

    "He''s lucky I don''t kill him," Aaron mumbled, making herugh.

    "Someone''s bitter."

    Of course he was! He was in pain and looked like an idiot, no matter what she said. Although¡­she didpliment his looks because of it, even if no man wants to be referred to as ''beautiful.''

    "Handsome'' or ''sexy'' would be much better but he would take what he could get. He couldn''t remember thest time sheplimented him before this.

    "Spoken like someone who has never been shot in the eye with a paintball."

    "Why did you even go in the first ce? You hate things like that. You never went with me when I asked," she noted.

    "¡­I was trying to be a good friend. This is exactly why I hate things like that," Aaron said gruffly.

    She suppressed a smile and turned left. "I think this wins you the Friend of the Year award."

    Keeley grew more serious before continuing. "You know, I didn''t think you even cared about having friends but the whole wedding process proved me wrong. You''re actually a really good friend. Aiden and Cameron are lucky to have you."

    Anotherpliment. How bizarre. He noticed she didn''t include herself among his friends though. His heart sunk. They were definitely friends before she found out he had been reborn.

    "Are we not friends then?"

    She turned to look at him with a frown at a stoplight. "I don''t think there''s a proper name for what we are. It definitely isn''t friends though."

    He supposed she had a point. Their situation was unique. There probably wasn''t a single other couple in all of human history who had experienced what they had.

    "You could use it forck of a better term. We take care of each other. Isn''t that what friends do?"

    Keeley seemed unsure. "I guess so¡­friends'' motivations to care about each other aren''t soplicated though."

    So she felt conflicted about looking out for him. But considering how frantic she was when he was dizzy earlier¡­if he didn''t know any better, he would have thought the concern was genuine. It was something she would have done back when they were dating.

    Aaron sighed, a bit rueful. More likely than not she was only returning the favor because he kept helping her out. She had a strong sense of fairness.

    "I know you''re only helping me because I''ve helped you before."

    She shook her head. "That''s not true."

    "Then what is it?" It was the only reasonable exnation he could think of.

    Keeley hesitated. "Ask meter. We''re here."

    Sure enough, they had arrived at the restaurant. She let him out to go find a parking spot in a nearby structure and instructed him to wait for her in case he got dizzy again. He obediently parked himself on a bench right in front until she came back and they walked in together.

    What was left of the appetizers was cold but Valentina was true to her word. Keeley devoured her bounty with such gusto that Aaron had to squash down the urge tough.

    The vague headache he''d had earlier had turned into a full-on throb as the meal progressed. He could barely focus on the food in front of him.

    The woman he loved chatted happily with some of the other bridesmaids and Aiden, as outgoing and friendly as ever. This didn''t prevent her from noticing his ever worsening state though.

    She signaled a waiter and asked for two to-go boxes.

    Valentina raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going? You''ve hardly touched your food."

    "Aaron needs to go lie down if he''s going to be in any state to participate tomorrow and someone needs to drive him," Keeley exined. "We''ll see you guys first thing in the morning, okay?"

    Cameron frowned. "You sure you''re going to be alright, Aaron?"

    "I just need to sleep," he said wearily. "I won''t miss your wedding."

    "Don''t you worry about a thing!" she reassured the bride and groom as she picked up the to-go boxes and ushered Aaron out of the restaurant. "Thanks for the food!"

    He was terribly confused when they got back to the car and it made his head hurt even more. She had been having a good time; how did she even notice he was in pain? More importantly, why didn''t she pawn him off onto Aiden?

    He didn''t understand her 180 degree shift towards him today at all.

 Chapter 203: A Fretting Housewife

    <h4>Chapter 203: A Fretting Housewife</h4>

    Aaron''s headache got so bad by the time they reached his apartment building that once Keeley parked in the underground lot she had to wrap her arm around his waist to support him. It didn''t work very well because he was half a foot taller but she did her best while holding the to-go boxes.

    "Why are you doing this?" he asked dully.

    "Shh! Don''t talk; it''ll make your head hurt worse."

    "That sounds made up."

    "I said to shush so shush!" she said sternly as she turned his elevator key for him.

    The movement of the elevator felt funny since his eyes were closed and his head was leaned against the wall. Ugh. This was the worst headache of either of his lives. Stupid paintball.

    Keeley ordered him to go change into his pajamas and get into bed while she got an ice pack from the freezer. Heplied without any fuss. All he wanted to do was sleep.

    "Are you sure the doctor said you were fine?" she asked as she walked into his bedroom and gently pressed the ice pack against his face. "I don''t think dizziness and headaches are normal for a ck eye."

    "Yes, he checked for a concussion and things like that. I just have to deal with it."

    "Is your vision okay? You aren''t having any problems seeing things?"

    Why did she suddenly seem like a fretting housewife? It made him feel warm inside even though it made his confusion worse.

    "Yes. But you didn''t answer my question from earlier. Why are you taking care of me?"

    She went quiet for a moment before replying. "Because nobody else does. Everyone deserves to be taken care of when they don''t feel well."

    It wasn''t the answer he was expecting but he very nearly smiled. Of course that was how she would think¡ªshe was a kind and loving person. Even towards people she didn''t like if they were in genuine need.

    Aaron had never told her how much he appreciated her kindness in his first life. He was fiercely independent back then but she still found ways to make him feel cared for.

    If he told her now it probably wouldn''t have the same effect but he still wanted her to know. The time to keep things to himself was over.

    "Hey, Keeley?"

    "Yeah?"

    "You''re the kindest, most caring person I''ve ever met. I''ve always appreciated that about you. I thought you should know," he said sincerely.

    He opened his non-ice-pack-covered eye to gauge her reaction. Disbelief was written all over her face. "Seriously?"

    "Seriously. You''re the only person who has ever shown me genuine kindness without expecting anything in return. It was one of the first things about you that made an impression on me."

    Keeley''s expression softened and she ran a hand through her hair. She seemed almost embarrassed. "I didn''t realize you paid attention to things like that back then."

    How could he not? It was how she slowly started worming her way into his heart. Her genuine kindness and desire to share what little she had with him had affected him in a way nothing else ever had up to that point.

    "I paid attention to more than you thought but I didn''t know how to express such things at the time," Aaron admitted. "But that was initially what got me interested in you. I had never met anyone like you before."

    "¡­you''re a lot softer than you let on, aren''t you?" she asked in an unfathomable tone, her back turned to him. "I think you''ve had enough ice, get some sleep."

    "Are you leaving?"

    She stopped and rested her hand on the doorframe. "No. I''ll stay here until you wake up to make sure you don''t die or something."

    He sighed contentedly and shut his eyes as he heard the door click shut. He hadn''t been taken care of like this in a long, long time. Keeley, as always, was his angel even if she was a bit rougher around the edges now.

    ===

    Keeley regretted fussing so much the moment he started talking about the past. Why did he have to get all sentimental on her? The past was dead. Nothing would change it.

    But to think! All these years she had wondered why he bothered with her in the first ce. It was because she was nice to him?! How horribly lonely and desperate for human interaction must he have been?

    Her heart broke a little for that seventeen-year-old boy who had never experienced regr human kindness before meeting her. He said he wasn''t good at expressing things like that¡­what else hadn''t he told her?

    It didn''t matter. She had to squash those thoughts like a bug. Aaron was no good for her.

    They hade to a sort of weird mutual understanding that they had to look out for each other after all they had been through but that was where she drew the line. She really did only stay because she was worried his injury was more serious than it looked. It was dangerous for people living alone to be sick without anyone checking up on them.

    She took her container of leftovers, which were still warm due to the Styrofoam, and headed to the TV room to see if there was anything decent recorded. It turned out that Aaron had recorded a wide variety of reality shows.

    Her heart constricted a little. All of these had been recorded post Valentine''s weekend fiasco ording to the timestamps. He kept recording things he thought she might like even after she told him she never wanted to see him again.

    Why? Why would he do that? Misced hope?

    His feelings may have been more genuine than she thought. He seemed so sad when he asked if she was going to stay. Did it really matter that much to him?

    Keeley had so many questions she couldn''t ask if she wanted to let Aaron go. Because if she did, she could easily fall back into old patterns. She didn''t want that. She wouldn''t give up her dreams or dignity for him again, no matter how sad and lonely he seemed.

    But oh, she couldn''t deny it hurt. He wasn''t a robot after all. His emotions were simply buried so deep that they required a lot of excavation.

    She tried pushing these thoughts out of her head and focusing on the cookingpetition show she turned on. All she had to do was wait for him to wake up and her obligation to make sure he was okay would be fulfilled.

 Chapter 204: Hes A...Friend

    <h4>Chapter 204: He''s A...Friend</h4>

    Keeley had watched five episodes of her show and Aaron still hadn''t woken up. She turned off the TV and went to go check on him, feeling uneasy. He didn''t actually die, did he?!

    Dinah meowed and emerged from under a piece of furniture before following her up the stairs to Aaron''s room. She opened the door as quietly as she could and noticed he was still out like a light.

    She leaned close to his face to make sure he was still breathing. He looked awfully pale. He was still breathing¡­did he have a fever?

    Sheid a gentle hand against his forehead and identally brushed back his hair. No fever.

    A small nostalgic smile appeared on her face. Ignoring the ck eye, Aaron looked much more peaceful in his sleep. Younger. She could almost believe he was the teenage boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago.

    They had both been so young and stupid then. If she had known what wasing for her, she never would have approached him in the first ce. He probably felt the same way. Being together brought them nothing but misfortune in the end.

    With that sobering thought in mind, Keeley figured she should wake him up to eat something so she could go home. She shook his shoulder gently.

    "Aaron. You need to wake up."

    He groaned and swatted at her hand. "Lemmesleep."

    She parked herself on the edge of the bed and shook harder. "You''ve slept for nearly five hours. You need to eat something. Up!"

    His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her down with a screech. What on earth was he doing?!

    "Aaron," she said warningly as shey trapped on top of him and the nkets. "Get up or I''ll roll us both out of bed."

    He buried his face in her hair and made a sleepy sound that could best be described as ''nnn.'' Did he even realize he was using her as a human teddy bear right now?

    "Aaron!" she hissed and reached backwards to softly smack his cheek a few times. "Get. Up."

    "Huh?" So he really was still asleep. He finally sounded coherent. "Um¡­what are you doing?"

    "Me? I''m trying to get you up because it''s six o''clock! I''m not in this position by choice, you know. You''re a sleep grabber!" Keeley said crossly.

    He released her instantly. "Sorry. I do actually feel quite a bit better now. Food sounds nice."

    She straightened her shirt and strode toward the door, calling over her shoulder. "Your leftovers from earlier are in the fridge. I texted Aiden for you¡ªhe''sing to get you in the morning in case you can''t wake up."

    "Thanks for staying. I probably would have woken up at 3 AM if not for you."

    "Take care of yourself."

    She hurried to grab her purse and make it to the elevator before he said anything else. Valentina was probably wondering where she was at this point; she had the day off and would already be at home.

    Sure enough, she was confronted immediately upon stepping foot inside their shared apartment. Valentina was nosy and wanted to know why she had been gone so long if she was just taking someone home.

    Keeley had to exin that she was concerned about leaving him alone because of the nature of his injury but that he was fine when he woke up so she left. She tried her best to make it seem an unsuspicious as possible but her roommate wasn''t buying it.

    "You went to all that effort for a guy you hardly know?" she asked with a gleam in her eye. "Do you like him?"

    "No! I''ve actually known him longer than Cameron has." A lot longer. An entire lifetime longer. Seeing Valentina''s confusion, she borated. "We went to the same high school."

    "I thought you said everyone in your high school was a snob."

    "Almost everyone," she corrected.

    Aaron had been a snob, though she wasn''t sure she could categorize him that way anymore. He had definitely changed for the better.

    In their first life there was no way he ever would have be friends with Cameron or Aiden because of his ssist ideals. It was crazy the two of them ended up together in the first ce since he looked down on her upbringing.

    "We were in the same literature ss¡­we had a group project together at one point," Keeley continuedmely.

    Valentina was staring at her like she didn''t believe a single wording out of her mouth so she felt the need to borate further. It was the truth, okay?! Just a very small part of it.

    "Don''t look at me like that," Keeley insisted.

    "You, the Ice Queen, took care of a guy for half a day. How else am I supposed to look at you?"

    Ice Queen? That was offensive¡ªand untrue. She was a very warm person! A very warm person that happened to avoid men''s advances, that''s all. Having been married to the actual Ice King, she knew for a fact that she wasn''t an Ice Queen. They were pr opposites.

    "He''s a¡­friend."

    She couldn''t exactly say that she felt obligated to take care of him because she felt sorry for him always being alone.

    Her friend remained unconvinced. "Is he that guy? The one that broke your heart?"

    How did everyone manage to guess this?! Was it tattooed on her forehead or something?

    "What makes you say that?"

    "I know he went to your high school. The only other boy I know of from your school is yourw student friend in Marnd," she said smugly. "I''m right, aren''t I? He doesn''t seem like a bad guy! And he definitely likes you."

    "He''s not," Keeley said begrudgingly.

    At least, not as bad as she thought. He had still been cruel and thoughtless at times thoughtely he had been all sugar and spice and everything nice, which was totally weird for him.

    She also couldn''t help but wonder if he really did like her like everybody thought. His reminiscing about the past as heplimented her earlier really threw her off. As soon as she discovered he had been reborn she chalked it up to a guilt-fueled obsession but what if she was wrong?

    No! It didn''t matter whether or not she was wrong. She had to stop thinking about it. She was in charge of her own fate now. Whatever strange force had brought both of them back wasn''t going to convince her to put herself back in jeopardy for him.

    Valentina rolled her eyes. "You''re in denial, my friend. A nice, handsome, rich man is interested in you. Who wouldn''t be swayed by that?"

    Keeley wouldn''t. Never again. She was prepared to ignore her friend and go hide in her room when Valentina''s tone turned more serious.

    "Hang on¡­there''s actually something I need to talk to you about."

 Chapter 205: Im Moving Out

    <h4>Chapter 205: I''m Moving Out</h4>

    "What is it?" Keeley asked, suddenly nervous. She had never heard Valentina sound so serious before¡ªwas someone dying?

    She looked distinctly ufortable, shuffling in ce and not meeting Keeley''s eyes. "Well, you know how our deadline to renew our contract here is in two weeks?"

    "Did you find someone?"

    "No. Actually, I''m moving out," she said miserably. "One of my ssmates'' apartment has an opening and the rent there is $400 cheaper per month¡­you know I''m not working and can barely afford food with the money my family sends. It would help them a lot."

    Keeley''s jaw dropped. She couldn''t fault her for thinking about her finances; $500 a month in the city was practically unheard of. She must be sharing a room with someone for it to be so cheap.

    But could she have given a little more notice? There was no way Keeley would be able to find two new people to move in during that time frame. It had been months and she hadn''t even found one.

    "How long have you known about this?"

    "Two weeks," Valentina admitted, still refusing to look at her.

    Two weeks?! If she had known about this two weeks ago she could have had more time to make other arrangements! She would have to move out for sure.

    Where on earth was she going to find somewhere pet friendly for $900 a month? She couldn''t afford a rent increase, let alone a deposit.

    It wasn''t like she could stay with her dad either¡ªhe was severely allergic to cats. Keeley would die before leaving Molly behind like her old owners did.

    "Why didn''t you tell me?!" she exploded, ready to tear her hair out.

    "I''m sorry!" her friend wailed. "I didn''t know how to. We''ve been roommates for so long¡­I thought you would be mad at me!"

    She was mad at her but not for the reasons Valentina thought. It was really inconsiderate to leave her hanging like this when she thought they had a deal to find a third roommate and stay here.

    She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and lied. "I''m not mad. But it really wasn''t cool to hold off on telling me. I''ll figure something out though. Don''t worry about me, okay? I know you''re only doing what you have to."

    A relieved smile lit her face. "You''re the best, Keeley."

    "Yeah, yeah," Keeley grumbled. "If you''ll excuse me, I need to go look up pet friendly housing."

    She tried her best not to storm off. This wasn''t Valentina''s fault. She was only looking out for herself, like anyone in her situation would.

    Unfortunately, the prospects did not look good. A studio apartment cost $2,000+ a month which was almost as much as their current three bedroom one. Keeley checked sites to see if anyone was looking for an extra roommate but had no luck.

    All the ads she saw either weren''t pet friendly, cost more than she could afford, or had more people than should be squished into a single apartment legally. She was doomed.

    The worst part of all of this was that she didn''t even know if she would be in New York after January. It would be pointless putting down a deposit she couldn''t afford just to leave six monthster.

    With that in mind, she tried checking long-term stay hotels to see if there were any that cost $900 a month or less. What a joke. It would cost that much to stay in one of those for less than a week.

    Technically, she could have Molly stay at a cheap, low quality pet boarding center for $30 a night while she stayed with her dad. That would amount to $900 a month but she would be depressed in a ce like that long-term. She was considered a senior cat¡ªin her old age she deserved consistency and peace.

    Unfortunately that was looking like Keeley''s only option at this point.

    She banged her head against the desk and sighed before looking up at the cat that was enjoying a leisurely snooze on her bed. Molly had been through enough in her life. She shouldn''t have to go to a terrible boarding center.

    "Molly, what am I going to do?" she asked miserably.

    The cat merely blinked at her in response.

    ===

    The following morning Keeley was a wreck. She had been up half the night worrying about what to do with her impending homelessness. She covered it as best she could with makeup¡ªshe didn''t want to ruin Jennica''s pictures after all¡ªbut it wasn''tpletely effective.

    She doubted anyone would be paying attention to how haggard she looked anyway. Aaron and his gigantic ck eye should be sufficient distraction.

    When the photographer saw how bad it looked¡ªit had turned even more purple overnight¡ªshe promised to do her best to fix it with Photoshop. Jennica was thrilled. Cameron made her promise to give him the original copies as well so he could always remember Aaron''s face.

    He was lucky Aaron wasn''t in earshot when he said that. He might have frozen over the entire wedding venue.

    It was Keeley''s job to help Jennica do her hair and makeup as the maid of honor in the bride''s room. Her mother kept fussing about how she wanted to be the one to do it so Keeley did her best to keep the woman involved in the process. Theypromised¡ªKeeley did makeup as Anna did hair at the same time.

    The photographer was sure to get some ''before'' and ''after'' shots in the bride''s room. Jennica was absolutely radiant.

    The bridesmaids didn''t look half bad either, albeit very colorful in their one shouldered hot pink dresses that went to their knees and orange heeled sandals. Toplete the wedding color trifecta, Cameron and the groomsmen had red ties and pocket squares.

    They all looked very summery and tropical, just like Jennica wanted. At least Keeley might actually be able to wear this outfit again. Separately. The two bright colors together were a bit much for her taste.

 Chapter 206: Ooh Whos The Lucky Guy?

    <h4>Chapter 206: Ooh Who''s The Lucky Guy?</h4>

    The organ music began to y and Keeley gripped her bouquet. It was almost her and Aaron''s cue.

    "You feeling any better?" she whispered to him at the top of the aisle.

    "I am, thanks," he whispered back before straightening. It was time to make their grand entrance.

    Cameron and the minister were already waiting up front because they were the first toe down. They walked slowly to the beat of the music before parting ways to stand in their designated spots.

    The family members making up the bridal party came next with their spouses. Aiden and Valentina, the only other non-family groomsman and bridesmaid took up the rear. Cameron''s niece then skipped down the aisle tossing flower petals as she went. One of his nephews was the ring bearer as well since Jennica''s only nephew was too little.

    Finally, the bridal march began. Jennica came down the aisle alone since her father had been out of the picture for so many years and her brother had walked with his wife. She was beaming for all she was worth.

    Keeley nced over at Cameron, who had actual tears in his eyes at the sight of his wife-to-be. He was beaming too.

    She couldn''t help but notice Aaron standing right next to him with a nk expression on his face. He had smiled very simr to how Cameron was right now on their wedding day even though he wasn''t the type to smile.

    He had been happy that day; she could tell. She had nearly forgotten that because her memories of that day had ended up mixed into her nightmares after being reborn. Aaron had genuinely wanted to marry her.

    It didn''t change anything. His decisions were entirely driven by selfishness. So what if he wanted to marry her? He did it knowing she was a target and never told her a thing.

    They could have worked to ovee opposing forces together but he wanted to do everything his way. His way cost Keeley her ability to have children, her father, and eventually her life. Marrying him was her biggest regret.

    She hardly paid attention to a word of the ceremony, too busy drowning in thoughts of the past and worrying about the future. At least she was able to smile and p despite her teary eyes when they kissed. Cameron and Jennica were great together; if anyone could make it work they could.

    Walking back down the aisle with her arm in Aaron''s was agonizing with all of those thoughts on her mind. It took all of her effort not to burst out crying.

    This was so much worse than Lydia''s wedding because this time he was actually here. The memories wouldn''t stop. When he noticed her tears, a stricken expression appeared on his face. He must be remembering how she med him for being depressed thest time she was at a wedding.

    When they made it to the behind-the-scenes area, Aaron turned to face her. "Keeley, are you alright?"

    "No," she choked out.

    "Is this¡­because of me?"

    She sniffled and wiped at her eyes, careful not to ruin her makeup. "Partially."

    He sighed heavily. "And the other part?"

    She wasn''t able to answer because the photographer was calling for them. It was time to take more pictures before moving over to the luncheon in another area of the venue.

    Keeley did her best to smile brightly. It wasn''t too hard; she was really happy for her friend. She poured all of those feelings into her smile until her face went stiff.

    Jennica had been thorough¡ªshe made sure that people''s name cards were set next to others they would know as well as strangers to give people the chance to socialize more fully. Keeley was ced between Ryan and Valentina while Aaron was with Aiden at a different table.

    "Jennica looks so happy, doesn''t she?" Valentina remarked a bit teary-eyed.

    Keeley nced over at the table Jennica and Cameron were sitting at. Both wereughing as he fed her bits of chicken off his te. She had her heart in her eyes, as if nothing in the world mattered but the man in front of her.

    Keeley had been like that once too. Her traitorous eyes sought out Aaron but when he met her gaze she looked away in shame. His cold, dark eyes were even emptier than usual. This was too much.

    "She does," she said thickly around the lump in her throat.

    "Aww, you guys are so sweet getting emotional over your friend," Ryan said with augh.

    They both shot him a re for not reading the mood. Keeley was mourning her own marriage. Valentina was a romantic who was single as could be. There were a lot of emotions at y here, not just being happy for Jennica.

    He tried to cate them by telling a funny story about something that happened to him at work the other day. It was rtively effective¡ªValentina grinned and bounced back instantly and Keeley was at least somewhat distracted.

    They quickly fell into their usual pattern of bantering afterwards even though Keeley felt like she was faking it somewhat. Before they knew it, lunch was being cleared away and it was time for the bouquet toss.

    Having already been through this once, she chose to stand in the front rather than the back likest time. Hopefully that lessened her chances.

    No such luck¡ªthe bouquet came sailing at her face and she shrieked and covered her head with her arms to protect herself, catching it anyway. Seriously, what were the odds of catching two bouquets in back-to-back weddings this year?!

    She stood frozen in shock as everyone cheered her on. When she collected herself, she handed the bouquet back to Jennica, red-faced.

    This was such a stupid tradition. At her wedding Lacy Knighton caught the bouquet and did she get married? No!

    Keeley folded her arms across her chest crossly as her friends teased her about catching the bouquet as the bride and groom had their first dance together as a married couple.

    "Ooooh who''s the lucky guy?"

    "You better meet someone tomorrow if you want to be the next one to get married."

    "I don''t believe in this ridiculous superstition," she said coldly.

    "Didn''t you catch the bouquet at your other friend''s wedding in April too though?" Valentina asked with a sparkle in her eye. "That almost proves you''re going to get married this year!"

    "How can that happen if I don''t even like anyone?" she cried indignantly. "Stop teasing me!"

    Ryan and Valentina exchanged nces before bursting outughing. "Sorry, Keeley, you''re too easy. The look on your face is priceless!" he said with a grin.

    She pouted. Her friends were the worst.

 Chapter 207: You Dont Abandon Family

    <h4>Chapter 207: You Don''t Abandon Family</h4>

    When the first dance ended, everyone pped loudly and Keeley and Valentina excused themselves to head to the dance floor. Jennica wanted the second dance to include all of the bridal party with their partners and they couldn''t refuse her since it was her big day.

    Aaron''s ck eye stood out against his pale face when she found him. She had never seen him so miserable in either of her lives. Where was all of this facial movementing from today?

    "Rx," she informed him. "Most of the reason I''m upset has nothing to do with you at all."

    He lightened up considerably as they began waltzing. "What''s wrong?"

    "I''m about to be homeless. Valentina told me she''s moving in with some med school friends because they offer cheaper rent."

    His brow furrowed. "Your dad would never let you be homeless."

    "No, but he''s deathly allergic to cats. I can''t abandon Molly," Keeley said stoutly. "She''s already been left behind once and she''s family. You don''t abandon family."

    A spark of recognition lit his dead eyes. "Hang on¡­when you told me not to abandon Dinah because she was family¡­you said that because you thought I abandoned you, didn''t you?"

    Yes, but she was surprised he remembered that. She said that back before they both knew the other had been reborn. So many past conversations made new sense in light of that information.

    "You DID abandon me, even if it was for the sake of protection. But that''s water under the bridge now."

    She really didn''t want to argue. It was better to drop it.

    He wisely went back to the original subject. "You haven''t looked into other options?"

    She red at him. "Of course I have, I''m not stupid. I spent hours looking things upst night. Nowhere pet friendly fits my budget. Right now it looks like I''ll have to stay with my dad for the time being and keep poor Molly in a pet boarding center. I don''t want to do that to her but I can''t just dump her somewhere."

    "She could stay with me," Aaron offered suddenly. "I don''t know how familiar she is with other cats but it''s a big ce; she and Dinah could avoid each other forever if they wanted to."

    Keeley was shocked by his thoughtfulness. That would solve her problem perfectly. "Are you sure?"

    "I wouldn''t have offered if I wasn''t. When is your lease up?"

    "The second week of July."

    "Hmm¡­I have some business in Canada then. How about you use one of my guest rooms while I''m gone? You can help Molly get used to the ce and feed Dinah for me at the same time."

    That seemed a bit too generous. He would be gone so there wouldn''t be any chances for awkward encounters but still¡­staying in his house? It had only happened twice before and one of those times had been an ident. She had never been there a full 24 hours.

    "How long will you be gone?" she asked hesitantly.

    "About a week."

    A week would help her limatize Molly to her new surroundings¡­and if she was taking care of Dinah as well they would be even without anything owed. It could work.

    Keeley smiled as she epted. "You''re a surprisingly helpful guy sometimes, you know that?"

    Aaron seemed pleased. "I try."

    It was as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn''t know what the future would hold for her but at least for the time being her cat would be taken care of. She didn''t even care that this meant she would have to see Aaron if she wanted to see Molly.

    When she was desperate, he offered a solution, just like he promised he would. He was serious about making things up to her.

    She could process all of thatter. One thing at a time. Her immediate worry was solved so she should focus on enjoying herself with her friends for today.

    At the end of the song she curtsied goofily and practically skipped off towards Valentina. A catchy non-slow song hade on and she was in the mood to dance.

    "What are you so happy about?" she asked curiously.

    "Nothing, just a bit of good news."

    ===

    Keeley wasn''t the only one drowning in memories today.

    Aaron could still very easily recall their wedding day. Her radiance outshone the stars above as she made her way down the aisle toward him. He couldn''t believe he was going to be able to keep her forever. His sunshine, who he loved more than anything.

    It had been such a beautiful day. It hurt seeing his friend get to marry the love of his life knowing he wouldn''t be able to experience that again. They both looked so happy, just like he and Keeley had, not knowing what wasing for them.

    Of course he knew the reason for her tears as they walked away from wedding ceremony. She hated weddings because they reminded her of their own and everything that came after.

    His heart shattered into pieces seeing her like that. She imed it wasn''t entirely his fault but what else could possibly be going on that put her into such a state? Keeley was a strong person. She almost never cried.

    Seeing her sitting next to that Ryan guy during the luncheon only made his mood worse. He had blown his chance with her but Ryan hadn''t. What would he do if she eventually epted his advances?

    There was nothing Aaron could do but sit back and watch. He would keep supporting her from the sidelines forever; he owed her that much.

    It was cruelly ironic that Keeley was the one to catch the bouquet considering she didn''t believe in marriage. His heart sunk. That was his fault too. He had been a fairly terrible husband.

    She had deserved so much better than someone who was incapable of properly conveying his feelings. She loved him freely and unashamedly, he should have been able to do the same but was constricted by his unfeeling upbringing and the world in which he felt he was trapped.

    Finding out she was mostly upset about losing her apartment had lifted a weight off his heart. That was something he could fix.

    It would be easiest to let her stay in his ce but he knew she would be ufortable if he was there. He had been meaning to go to Canada anyway to work on strengthening his foreign connections; moving it up a month or two wouldn''t affect anything.

    Keeley seemed so relieved and she evenplimented him. She went back to her friends seemed lighter, much more like her usual self. Aaron felt lighter too just watching her go.

    Aiden noticed his change in mood and walked up to him with a confused expression. "What''s up with you?"

    "Nothing. Just a bit of good news."

 Chapter 208: Jealous

    <h4>Chapter 208: Jealous</h4>

    Aiden wasn''t willing to let it go that easily. He had a knowing smile on his face. "Something good must have happened with Keeley, huh?"

    "Yeah," Aaron said with a soft expression, watching her dance around crazily with her roommate.

    "Good for you, man. She did catch the bouquet after all," he said with a wink.

    That wouldn''t make a difference. Aaron knew she would never marry him again. He would have to content himself with the fact that she allowed him in her life at all.

    He frowned. "I don''t believe in silly traditions like that."

    Aiden sighed and pped a hand on his shoulder. "Do you believe in anything, dude?"

    An excellent question. He wasn''t sure he did. Once he had believed in Keeley''s love for him¡ªit was his only guiding light. Now that he didn''t even have that¡­

    "No."

    "I''m sorry I asked."

    The soft lighting of the venue made the air seem romantic even though there was a fast song ying. There weren''t any couples together on the floor aside from Cameron and Jennica, who had found a way to dance together regardless of tempo.

    Keeley was spinning around in endless circles as she waved her arms above her head. It reminded him of how she had danced on Valentine''s Day in their first life. She was a free spirit and always had been.

    He should have realized that a free spirit wouldn''t have been happy in his world. He should have left it all behind for her in the beginning. Then they wouldn''t be here now.

    Aaron wouldn''t have known Cameron because they wouldn''t have had unresolved business causing them to be reborn but they might have been dancing together at some other friends'' wedding eventually. They surely would have had a child at this point.

    He was jealous. Jealous that Cameron was able to lead the kind of life he never could. Today he was marrying the love of his life and he would be able to be with her without anyone trying to tear them apart.

    They would have a family and grow old together. In that moment Aaron felt the pain of the life he lost so much it hurt.

    Keeley died young and he grew older alone, dying before his time as well because of stress. Their family never got any bigger. When he was younger of course he expected he would have children someday but he never truly wanted them until the opportunity was gone.

    Keeley would have made a wonderful mother. His own family left no expectations of a happy family life for him but with her¡­it would have been possible. He knew it. And now he would never have the chance.

    "When are you going to propose to Nova?" Aaron asked out of the blue. One of his friends was happily settled; the other may as well get moving since his chance was lost.

    Aiden''s eyes widened and he held his hands up. "Whoa man, I''m only twenty-one."

    "Why does that make a difference?"

    He had been twenty-one when he married Keeley. Age wasn''t a sufficient reason not to get married. Whatever their problems were, getting married too early wasn''t one of them. It was more the fact that they got married at all even though Aaron knew his family didn''t approve and people were out to get her.

    "She''s even younger than I am and still has two and a half years left of college. If she even is willing to move to New York it would have to be then. I don''t know if she''ll still be interested in me that far out."

    Aaron was friends with Aiden on Facebook. Nova took pictures and posted them every single day that he was visiting her during that month in Sweden, being sure to tag him.

    She had the same light in her eyes when smiling at Aiden that Keeley used to when she was with him. She definitely loved that idiot.

    "Will you ask her to make the move if she is?" he asked.

    Aiden''s ears turned slightly pink. "I dunno, man. We barely started saying ''I love you'' to each other on that trip. I miss her when I''m not with her and we video call every day but I don''t know if that''s enough to ask her to uproot her life for me."

    Aiden was a lot less selfish than Aaron was. He uprooted Keeley from her middle ss existence without a single thought for no other reason than that he wanted to be with her always. He never thought about what she was leaving behind or all that she gave up.

    Their conversation was derailed when the couple announced they would be cutting the cake. The samples he had before were delicious so this was something to look forward to.

    He noticed Keeley held back on getting a slice of cake until they got to the chocte mousseyer, since that had been her favorite at the cake tasting. A small half-smile appeared on his face. She was so cute.

    She held out a piece of the chocte mousse cake to her friends to try with a bright smile on her face. His heart clenched a little.

    She used to do that for him. She always wanted to give him anything that she found enjoyment in. It was in her nature; she did that for the people she liked. He wasn''t one of them anymore.

    "Aiden!" Keeley whisper-yelled somewhat dramatically while cupping her hands around her mouth. "Come try the chocte mousse!"

    Aiden gave Aaron a mock salute. "I''ve been summoned by yourdy, boss man. You shoulde too."

    He would have been insulted that she didn''t care about calling him over to try it if not for the fact that she knew he had had some of the cake before. He went over anyway; cake sounded really good about now.

    Ryan, who stood next to Keeley as she gleefully consumed her cake, stiffened when they approached. "What happened to your face?" he asked in a not-very-concerned tone.

    Aiden slung an arm around his shoulders in a gesture that seemed casual but Aaron knew was protective. He experienced a slight flicker of affection for the kid.

    "My dude here got nailed in the face by a paintball at Cameron''s bachelor party. Malfunctioning goggles, can you believe it?"

    "That sucks."

    "Yep but he''s a tough guy. Didn''t even faze him," Aiden bragged.

    Valentina giggled and set down her fork to join the conversation. "You call nearly passing out so Keeley had to drive him home during the rehearsal not being fazed?"

 Chapter 209: An Awkward Standoff

    <h4>Chapter 209: An Awkward Standoff</h4>

    Ryan''s brow furrowed as he turned to Keeley. "Why did you have to be the one to drive him home?"

    She shrugged and swallowed her bite of cake before answering. "No one else was going to do it."

    "Why couldn''t he?" he persisted, nodding toward Aiden.

    "I was closer. We had just finished walking down the aisle when it happened."

    Aaron was getting annoyed that this guy was interrogating her like a jealous boyfriend. They weren''t dating. What right did he have to question her?

    Valentina seemed to realize she had brought up a bad subject and hastily tried to change it. "Wow, this cake is delicious!"

    "I know, right? Probably the best cake I''ve ever tasted. I wanted some for my birthday but forgot because of finals," Keeleymented.

    "There''s always next year!" she said brightly, grateful that her friend was ying along.

    There was still an awkward standoff between the men in the group. Aiden and Ryan were eying each other distrustfully and Aaron was trying very hard not to go into ice mode. He didn''t want to cause any trouble at Cameron''s wedding.

    "Are you even going to be able to get it next year? Since you''re nning on moving and all," Ryan said.

    It was as if the world stopped. Moving? Since when was she moving? Keeley never said anything about moving! How did this guy know about it when Aaron didn''t?

    She didn''t notice that his world was falling apart and answered with a nonchnt shrug. "If I end up in New Jersey I''ll be even closer."

    Valentina sighed dramatically. "Ah, postgraduate problems. I might have to leave New York too depending on which hospitals are willing to ept me for their residency program."

    They continued chatting idly but Aaron felt himself floating further and further away from everyone even though he was rooted to the spot. Keeley loved New York but in this life her career was the most important thing to her. If she left¡­he might never get to see her again.

    But what could he do? Aaron didn''t have any influence over universities in the city. He couldn''t make them hire her. He could try to convince her to stay (not that it would be very effective) but it wouldn''t be fair. She had already given up her dream once.

    It wasn''t like he could leave New York either. His revenge wasn''tplete. He had to kick his father out of thepany and find a way to bring the Knightons to their knees.

    After that, he could find someone trustworthy to hand it off to if necessary but¡­would she even want him to follow her? Probably not. All he could do right now was try to work on improving their rtionship. If they were friends, he could at least stay in contact with her.

    He was able to breathe again. This wasn''t the end of the world. Keeley wasn''t even sure whether or not she would be moving yet. He still had time.

    In the next six months Aaron had to get her to continue staying in his house so he could focus on developing a friendship again. It was all he could do.

    ===

    With Cameron visiting Italy for his honeymoon, Aaron had to handle the next board meeting minus one chess piece. He barely managed to get the majority vote for histest proposal. He needed more board members in his pocket.

    Unfortunately, his father was dead set against appointing Bruce as the CFO. So that was one more person who would remain neutral and vote how he felt on an issue by issue basis. Carol, Emilio, and Alexander were simrly unpredictable.

    What Aaron really needed was to acquire more shares so he could set up another dummy shareholder. Alistair would notice if he gave some of his current 20% away so that was out.

    He might have to wait another eight months. Stock prices would be the highest they had been in twenty years then and he might be able to convince someone like Alexander, who had a lot, to sell some of them. Getting even 2% would be helpful.

    After the meeting multiple people asked where Cameron was since he had never missed a meeting before. Aaron couldn''t exactly exin that he knew he was on his honeymoon since he had been the best man¡ªpeople would realize they had a close rtionship.

    It was actually pretty amazing how well he had kept his business rtionships with both Cameron and Aiden a secret within thepany. Everyone knew those two were buddy-buddy since they ate together every day in the cafeteria but they didn''t connect them to Aaron.

    Cameron seemed like any other member of the board since he hardly acknowledged Aaron in the meetings despite always voting with him. Aiden was a nobody down on the call floor.

    They both visited his office frequently but it was so secluded that nobody ever saw theming and going from it. It helped that Aiden had full ess to the building''s security footage and could alter things as needed so Alistair remained in the dark.

    After the meeting he headed back to his office immediately. Something was bothering him. The Knightons had been too quiettely.

    Aiden had been monitoring both Brann''s and Lacy''smunications and couldn''t find anything illegal. The only odd thing was that Lacy had made multiple calls back and forth to the same number. They neversted more than a few minutes but they seemed suspicious somehow.

    In today''s world people typically preferred to text and Lacy was no exception. So why did she only call this number? Calls were more difficult to trace unless a device was installed in the phone.

    Feeling unsettled, he messaged his resident hacker. ''Who is that number Lacy keeps calling registered to?''

    His phone dinged instantly. ''Give me three minutes''

    Aaron decided to check Facebook during that time. He wasn''t friends with many people so his feed was mostly full of pictures from Cameron''s honeymoon. They looked like they were having a st exploring Rome.

    One picture in particr caught his eye. Jennica was wearing a tank top and sunsses and grinning for all she was worth while squishing her cheek against Cameron''s.

    If he remembered correctly, there was a picture almost exactly like that from his own honeymoon. Keeley was even wearing a simr outfit. The main difference was that Cameron had a rxed smile on his face while Aaron had been less expressive.

    He had been such an idiot. There was nothing wrong with showing emotions to the one you love. He wished he had realized it sooner. A lot of things might have turned out differently.

    Aiden texted him back. ''The number belongs to somebody named Graydon Meyer''

    ''Get me everything you can on him right away''

    ''On it!''

    Graydon Meyer. Why did that name ring a dim bell¡­

 Chapter 210: Just Doing My Job Maam

    <h4>Chapter 210: Just Doing My Job Ma''am</h4>

    Packing up the apartment she had lived in for the past three years was a bittersweet experience for Keeley. She put it off until thest minute because she didn''t want to acknowledge she was really leaving.

    She could have started weeks ago, right after the wedding, but no. She just had to procrastinate. Now she was moving out in two days and wasn''t even half done.

    Valentina was already gone. Their official move out day was Friday July 12th but she didn''t have time during the week so she moved her things over to her new ce on Sunday.

    She promised they would still hang out but when would she ever be free? She practically lived at the hospital.

    Jennica was back from her honeymoon and had resumed auditioning. She was dead set on getting one more good y in this year so they could begin family nning. Neither of them were getting any younger and they wanted multiple kids.

    She was a bit jealous. Having kids was a far-off dream for her. She needed job security first since she would be a single mom.

    All of her friends were moving on without her and Keeley had no idea how to deal with it. At least Ryan hadn''t changed anything on her. He was still working the same job and would probably be down to hang out like usual.

    She looked around her bedroom at the piles of clothes, knickknacks, books, DVDs, and cat toys. How had she umted so much junk? She certainly didn''t have all this stuff when she first moved in.

    Her dad was going to hold all of her stuff for her in her old bedroom but the two suitcases she would need to survive a week at Aaron''s ce. He didn''t know who she was staying with, only that she was going to be housesitting for a friend. He would never let her live it down if he knew it was his favorite son-inw candidate.

    ''Sorry Dad, that''s not happening in this life or the next,'' she thought.

    Molly was having a lot of fun jumping in and out of the boxes she was using to pack things she didn''t need immediately but it made packing a lot more difficult. It would be a nightmare if the cat identally got taped into a box.

    Keeley had already decided to start over fresh when she eventually moved since she didn''t have anywhere to store all of this furniture and couldn''t afford a storage unit. Selling off unnecessary pieces like the couch had already begun.

    Moving into a furnished ce might be her best bet. Worst case scenario, she would hit up a lot of garage sales. The only things she kept were kitchen appliances that didn''te with the apartment like the microwave. The couch,mps, kitchen table and chairs, side tables, dresser, and bed frame all had to go.

    Her phone buzzed. It was a text from Aaron.

    ''Hey, I''m heading out tomorrow morning so I left my spare elevator key with the doorman. All you have to do is show photo ID and he''ll give it to you''

    ''Okay thanks'' She felt a little awkward since he was doing her such a big favor so she sent a second text. ''Have a nice trip''

    ''Thanks. Feel free to use anything in the fridge or pantry and let me know how Dinah''s doing once in a while''

    ''Will do!''

    Keeley sighed. There was still so much packing to do. She wasn''t ready for this temporary move at all. And it was going to be really weird staying at Aaron''s house while he wasn''t there. At least she would be able to watch as much TV on that giant screen as she wanted.

    His apartment was a lot closer to NYU than this one was too. It would cut hermute nearly in half. She tried to think positive and like it wasn''t totally weird that she was going to be staying in her ex-husband''s house for a week.

    ===

    "I''m Keeley Hall; I''m here to pick up a key to Aaron Hale''s apartment?" It was supposed to be a statement but she felt so awkward that it came out more like a question.

    This doorman clearly still remembered her. He was probably wondering what the heck she was doing moving in after they fought so dramatically before. She wanted to exin that it was only temporary but that would probably make things worse.

    Resigning herself to her fate, she put on her most confident smile. It probably came out making her look a bit constipated.

    She was standing there with two suitcases, a hooded litter box, and a cat carrier; people in the lobby were giving her strange looks already. She clearly didn''t belong here in this ritzy building. Her face heated in shame. She never should have epted Aaron''s help!

    "Yes ma''am, let me help you with your luggage," the doorman said professionally.

    He took the two suitcases and left Keeley to carry Molly and the litter box before leaving her things in the elevator as she pushed the button to keep it open. "Thank you!" she said as nicely as she could.

    "Just doing my job, ma''am."

    When she got upstairs she wondered where to even begin. She didn''t want Dinah and Molly to get into a fight¡­Molly had no experience with other cats that she knew of. It might be best to keep her in whichever guest room she chose to stay in for now.

    It was easiest to find the one she had stayed in previously. She set up the litter box and let Molly out, who sniffed everything cautiously before jumping onto the bed and sprawling out. With that taken care of, she went back down to feed Dinah.

    "Hey pretty girl," Keeley cooed as the cat rubbed against her ankles. "Do you miss your dad?"

    Dinah purred in response and continued asking for affection by rubbing even harder.

    "I''ll take that as a yes."

    She filled up the food and water bowls when her own stomach began to rumble. She hadn''t eaten anything yet since leaving work because she was too preupied with moving all of her stuff over after her dad dropped her off out front.

    Opening the fridge, she realized that Aaron had left quite a bit of food there for her. She could easily make an omelet out of all this.

    A small smile appeared on her face. Maybe this wouldn''t be so bad after all.

 Chapter 211: Amenities

    <h4>Chapter 211: Amenities</h4>

    Keeley spent all day Saturday bingeing reality shows Aaron had recorded for her in the awesome entertainment room with Molly, who slowly began exploring the apartment. Spending too much time in front of the TV ended up giving her a headache so the next day she tried to think of other things to do.

    The first thing she did was check out the rest of Aaron''s house. She had only been in a few rooms. She peeked in a few of the other guest rooms but mostly she was curious about the terraces. There were three! Who needed three terraces?!

    If she had thee terraces, she would have nted an awesome rooftop garden. It was pretty empty up there; only one of the terraces even had furniture on it.

    Keeley decided to sunbathe while reading a book on the sole recliningwn chair. It would be amazing to have a hammock up here. Maybe she should suggest it. Although Aaron didn''t seem like he spent much time up here so it would probably go to waste.

    Once she felt thoroughly baked, she went back inside and wanted to make some cookies. Unfortunately, there weren''t any baking supplies in this kitchen like sugar, flour, or chocte chips.

    She was about to go to a convenience store down the street when she heard someone in the lobby talking about how there was one on the second floor of the building. Keeley gave it a try and found it surprisingly well-stocked considering its size.

    They even had bath bombs there. She had an overwhelming urge to try one out in that amazing Jacuzzi-style tub back upstairs but didn''t know if it would leave a gigantic mess or not.

    She figured it was something she should ask permission for first. She needed to update Aaron on how Dinah was doing anyway.

    ''Do you happen to know if using a bath bomb would clog the jets in your tub?''

    ''I don''t even know what a bath bomb is''

    Ah, she should have expected as much. Bubble bath should be fine though as long as she didn''t use too much. Better safe than sorry. She put down the bath bomb with a longing look in her eyes and got bubble bath instead.

    ''No worries; I don''t want to destroy anything so I won''t. Dinah''s doing fine by the way. I can tell she misses you though''

    ''She''s a good cat. What have you been up to today?''

    ''Trying to find things to do since I watched way too much TV yesterday. I read up on one of the terraces earlier and am about to make some cookies''

    He didn''t respond again until she was back in the apartment and halfway through making the cookie dough. It was annoying that she had to cream things by hand since he didn''t own an electric mixer. Hers was in her bedroom back at her dad''s ce.

    ''You should check out the fitness center on the third floor. It has a sauna, pool, and hot tub as well''

    Geez, what didn''t this ce have? She had been here a handful of times and knew nothing about the amenities. Her old apartment building didn''t have anything but the units themselves and a tiny parking garage with one car slot per apartment.

    A hot tub would be even better than a bubble bath. She was totally going down there once these cookies were done.

    ''Thanks for the heads up'' Feeling like she should be a bit more considerate since she would be able to enjoy the hot tub for free, she sent another text. ''How''s Canada?''

    ''I''ve been in meetings for two days straight so not the best. It is a bit cooler here though, which feels nice. It''s not as humid either''

    Was he seriously talking to her about the weather? He always reverted to it when he had nothing else to say. Was he that desperate to keep the conversation going?

    She had to wait for the cookies to bake anyway. She could humor him once they were onto a baking sheet. Aaron didn''t have a cookie scoop either so she had to form the dough balls by hand.

    Keeley figured she may as well bring up the hammock idea to see if he liked it. ''Do you ever hang out on the terraces?''

    ''Sometimes when the weather is nice. Why?''

    ''I noticed there''s only onewn chair out there. You might want to invest in a hammock; it would be a superfy ce to read''

    ''I''ve never been in a hammock. I''ll have to take your word for it''

    Never been in a hammock?! Right, he was a workaholic. Hammocks are kind of universally considered azy thing. She should have known.

    ''Go try one out at a store with outdoor furniture sometime. You won''t be disappointed''

    She realized something. The cat tree they picked out for Dinah had a hammock in it. His cat was more cultured than he was.

    Sheughed so hard that she leaned backward and crashed the kitchen chair to the floor. It hurt but she was so shocked that she just keptughing. Why did it seem likeughing fits had be a moremon part of her life since Aaron came back into it?

    He really wasn''t a funny person¡ªhe was probably the most serious stick-in-the-mud she had ever met. What was funny was how ignorant he was of the world atrge sometimes. He had grown up and lived in a bubble for the most part.

    She helped him expand his horizons a little when they were dating but everything stagnated once they got married. His knowledge of simple, normal people things was still woefullycking.

    Keeley stoppedughing. Now that she thought about it, it was actually pretty sad. It wasn''t entirely his fault he was so awkward. His parents werergely to me.

    When she finally picked herself up from the floor, it was because the first batch of cookies needed to be taken out of the oven. The timer she set on her phone was going off. At least Aaron had oven mitts.

    She checked to see if he had responded after she put the next batch in¡ªnothing. He must have more meetings. But why did she feel a tiny bit disappointed?

 Chapter 212: Mixed Signals

    <h4>Chapter 212: Mixed Signals</h4>

    Keeley headed downstairs in her swimsuit wrapped in one of Aaron''s luxurious towels¡ªwhy were expensive towels so much softer?¡ªonce the cookies were all out of the oven and cooling on tes. He didn''t have a cooling rack either, which wasn''t surprising.

    She had to remember to take the elevator key with her so she wouldn''t get locked out of the top few floors.

    Interestingly enough, each apartment was assigned a locker to keep their belongings in as they used the facilities. They all had passcodes instead ofbination locks but Keeley didn''t know the code and she had left her phone upstairs.

    She ended up hiding the elevator key in the folds of her towel and left it on a deck chair. She decided to swim before using the hot tub and slid into the warm water with a contented sigh. This was nice.

    Summer was halfway over and Keeley had only gone swimming once at a public pool with Ryan and Valentina on one of her rare half-days off. She enjoyed swimming but hardly got the chance to go.

    Public pools weren''t exactly plentiful in New York City. When she went with her friends it was so crowded that she got kicked or hit by no less than ten different children swimming by. It usually wasn''t worth it.

    This pool was mostly empty and had six differentpnes. There were so few people there that she had a wholene to herself.

    Feeling nice and calm, she floated on her back and kicked asionally so she wouldn''t sink. It was slow¡ªit took her fifteen minutes to back it back and forth across the pool a few times¡ªbut she was perfectly at peace.

    As she transitioned from the pool to the hot tub and eased herself into the bubbling water she thought about how nice this was. No wonder Aaron moved here after finishing college this time around. The house they lived in together after getting married didn''t have pool or hot tub ess.

    Something came back to her that startled her so much she jolted out of the water, identally sshing herself in the face. Aaron said he picked it specifically so she could have a safe ce to be. She had been so overloaded with information that day that it slipped her mind.

    He didn''t care about things like hot tubs! He moved here because he wanted a building with security that could keep his parents and any other schemers out. He even kept his staff small and didn''t give them full ess to his life.

    He did that for HER. He didn''t want to repeat the same mistakes he had in theirst life. Alistair and Roslyn didn''t even know about her, let alone that she was currently staying here.

    Keeley felt unexpectedly aggrieved. Aaron changed a lot of things about himself and his lifestyle this time around because he wanted them to be happy together. She hadn''t given him enough credit for that.

    It was funny how things worked out. She gave up everything for him and he never appreciated it¡­and now she was doing the same when he gave things up for her sake.

    She tried telling herself this was different. Aaron was supposed to love her back then. Right now she never asked for anything from him but to live her life in peace.

    Except¡­that wasn''t entirely true. She kept epting his help. She kept talking to him. Jennica''s usationst year that she was encouraging him wasn''t so far off base. How had everything be so mixed up?

    Keeley did still want to be left alone, didn''t she? Then why did she keep talking to him? Why did she keep humoring him? Why did she sometimes even enjoy it?

    Her first life with Aaron had so many bad memories that the good ones were practically drowned out. For someone who wanted to forget, she sure spent a lot of time on the guy. Thinking about him, talking about him, spending time with him¡­

    She didn''t love him anymore but she felt sorry for him and cared what happened to him in general. It looked like she had had emotions to spare for the man after all. And she hated it.

    This wasn''t supposed to happen. When she woke up as a seventeen-year-old again she promised herself that nothing would stop her from living her dreams. She had hated Aaron and was determined to avoid him, though she was unsessful.

    How could she have known that he remembered everything and was trying in his own twisted way to make things right?

    Keeley had thought she was given the chance to live again so she could live her life free of him like she was always meant to. But what if that wasn''t it? What if the force behind their dual reincarnations was trying to give them another chance to be together and do it right this time?

    She couldn''t deny that Aaron was supportive of her dreams and wasn''t likely to treat her the same way he had before. Maybe she really should ask him to exin how he really felt after all.

    No! Even if he was different now, they still weren''t well-matched. They would never work.

    Why was she even thinking about this? She didn''t love him anymore. She hadn''t for about a decade. She would not be swayed. Nobody decided her fate but her!

    Keeley climbed out of the hot tub with a resigned sigh. She shouldn''t have agreed to stay here. It was too easy to think of him when she was surrounded by his things and his cat. It felt like she was fighting a losing battle here.

    She kept saying thest thing she wanted was to get entangled with Aaron again and yet she had agreed to stay in the apartment he bought with her in mind. Her friends were right¡ªshe was giving off mixed signals.

    What exactly did she want? Did she want a life without him or to get over the past enough to ept a better one with him now than she had before? Not knowing was beyond annoying.

 Chapter 213: Schmoozing

    <h4>Chapter 213: Schmoozing</h4>

    Aaron was surprised but pleased that Keeley seemed to be making herself at home at his ce. She had texted him of her own volition three days in a row now. Making suggestions for ways to make his ce seem homier (like the hammock), berating him for hisck of cookware, and sending him pictures of his cat.

    On Wednesday night he received a picture of Molly and Dinah curled up next to each other with the caption ''I think Dinah finally won her over.'' Apparently Molly had been wary of her for the past two days.

    ''It''s good that they get along since they''re going to be roommates for a while'' he replied.

    The way she was texting him so freely¡­it reminded him of high school, long before they dated. Whenever anything remotely interesting happened or she thought of something funny or anything in between, Keeley would text him. She was doing the same thing now.

    Why? She wasn''t like that with him anymore. She was typically much more restrained even if she wasn''t directly telling him to get lost.

    She wasn''t like this even a few weeks ago at the wedding. What had changed her mind? Was she actually wearing down because he was helping her out yet again?

    Aaron was sorely tempted to end his trip early and go back to ask her in person so he could see her face and more urately gauge her response. Unfortunately, he needed these people''s help to overthrow his father.

    The Canadians had the ability to help drive up the stock prices even higher when the peak season hit next year. He couldn''t offend them by leaving early.

    His least favorite part of the business world had always been schmoozing people. Aaron was not a natural schmoozer because people typically annoyed him. Unfortunately it was a vital skill.

    He had to pretend to be interested in their lives. It was something he was taught from a young age. Research their interests beforehand to have amon topic of conversation. Remember the names of their spouses, children, and pets. Ask them about things they mentioned thest time you met with them.

    Years ago Aaron got into the habit of writing things down about people the moment he left their sight so he could use it for future reference. It was part of how he became so sessful in his first life. Alistair''s teachings weren''tpletely useless.

    The problem was that he allowed his son absolutely no individuality because he was trying to create a perfect sessor. A miniature version of himself that would parrot all of his beliefs.

    It horrified him to think about now, but Aaron probably would have done the same thing to his lost child because he didn''t know any better at the time. Knowing how important people''s dreams could be to them now he could never do what his father did.

    Not that he would ever get the chance. He would die childless, just like in his first life.

    If Jeremy Ward ended up working for him again someday Aaron would hand his legacy over to him in a heartbeat. If it did happen, it wouldn''t be for a long time. Jeremy had barely passed his first birthday. What a strange thought!

    He had been a reliable prot¨¦g¨¦, taking everything Aaron said about business seriously. He started working for Hale Investments after five years in a less prominent financial institution and had graduated from Princeton.

    Jeremy was young, hungry, and eager to prove himself. He was much like Aaron had been before meeting Keeley¡ªbusiness obsessed. Perhaps he took him under his wing because he saw his younger self in the man.

    Aaron had been the CEO for nearly ten years when they crossed paths for the first time. He was a member of the analyst department but the head was so impressed that he wanted to promote him. The problem was that there were no open managerial positions.

    The head analyst came to Aaron and told him about the dilemma, asking if he would meet the young man and advise him on what to do. Jeremy was twenty-six but looked much younger so people tended to overlook him until they realized what a brilliant mind he had.

    Aaron was no exception; he was terribly underwhelmed when they first met until Jeremy began offering an insightful analysis on a current stock market trend that was causing concern for many investment firms. In fact, it was exactly what he had been thinking about the matter.

    Right off the bat, instinct told him that this kid would go ces if given the chance. So that was exactly what he did. When Jeremy was first offered the position of personal assistant to the CEO, he turned it down, saying he preferred being involved with the numbers.

    It impressed Aaron so much that he decided to tell him the real reason for his offer. He wanted to train him to be his recement someday. The kid had been shocked, to say the least.

    So many things had changed in this life. Would Jeremy? He didn''t think so. Thus far the only things about the world atrge that were different were things he personally had a hand in. He didn''t meet Jeremy until 2038; it was doubtful that anything he did would prevent the kid from getting his degree anding to work at Hale Investments.

    Although¡­Cameron was the head of the analyst department now. Would he see the same potential that the previous head had?

    Speaking of Cameron, what kind of life had he originally led? Aaron met Aiden in his first life, albeit not until 2020, but he hadn''t met Cameron at all. Had he still worked in the financial sector? Did he end up meeting Jennica anyway or would he have married someone else?

    It was an interesting question. With an MBA from Harvard it was highly likely he would have made it to Wall Street eventually. Jennica would have been in New York even if Keeley hadn''t. But would they have met? New York was a huge city. The likelihood of two specific people meeting was small.

    There was no doubt in Aaron''s mind that what he had done benefitted both Cameron and Aiden. They both had solid jobs and women they loved. They were happy. If they were able to be happy because Aaron had been reborn¡­why couldn''t he?

 Chapter 214: I Really Dont Get You

    <h4>Chapter 214: I Really Don''t Get You</h4>

    Ryan wanted toe over and see Keeley''s new ce and there was absolutely no way she could allow that. For one, this was a temporary stop over. Two, she would have to exin she was staying with a friend and he knew all of her friends. He would realize instantly that it was Aaron and get pissed off.

    She knew he was just looking out for her in his own way but Ryan didn''t have the full story. She didn''t want to be lectured so she suggested they go get burgers instead.

    "So, what have you been up to this week aside from unpacking?" he asked after swallowing a bite of his meal.

    Keeley hadn''t been unpacking at all. "Watching TV, hanging with the cats, swimming. Not much. I have to say though I am loving not having homework so I can just rx after work."

    Heughed. "I remember that feeling. It is really nice. Hang on though, cats? Plural? Did you get another one?"

    Oops. "No, this is my¡­roommate''s¡­cat."

    They weren''t actually roommates¡ªshe was a house and cat sitter¡ªbut she couldn''t exactly exin that without giving away that she was staying at Aaron''s.

    "Does Molly get along with the other cat?"

    She was relieved he didn''t press her for details. "Oh yeah, they''re totally buds now. I caught them grooming each other yesterday."

    "That''s good. I''ve heard cats can be pretty territorial. I had a neighbor growing up whose cat died. She got a kitten as a recement but her other cat never epted it."

    How sad. That poor kitten must have suffered! Keeley knew how it felt not being epted into a family. It was different between the species obviously but the story still struck a chord with her.

    She chewed on a French fry dipped in ketchup morosely until Ryan spoke again. "Have you seen Valentina at all?"

    Keeley snorted. She hadn''t even heard from Valentina other than a text reminder to be sure to keep up with Rico y Reencarnado so they could discuss it over video chat when she had a break between rotations.

    "No but that hasn''t stopped her from reminding me to watch my telenov."

    Ryan smiled. "You need a reminder to watch your own show? Don''t most people get excited when something they created gets put out into the world?"

    "They portray my two main characters wrong," she said grumpily. "You wouldn''t like seeing your characters get butchered either, would you?"

    She imagined it was simr for an actual artist who created characters but her problem was that Luz was way weaker and more of a damsel-in-distress than she had ever been and Hector Garza yed Aaronpletely wrong.

    The show was clich¨¦, overdramatic, and nothing at all like what had actually happened. The showrunners took her idea and ran too far with it.

    "I see your point. What''s wrong with them?"

    "They got telenov-ized," she said with a sigh. "They made the girl weaker and the guy more suave and sexy. I''m more bothered by him than I am by her, to be honest."

    "What''s the guy supposed to be like?" Ryan asked curiously.

    "Aplete ice cube."

    A frown appeared on his face. "Like your ex?"

    How on earth did he make that connection?! She was quick to defend herself by defending Aaron.

    "He''s not an ice cube!"

    Obvious doubt clouded his features. "Keeley, I''ve only seen the guy a few times but he''s the coldest human being I''ve ever encountered. He''s totally an ice cube. Did you base your character on him?"

    Her face turned bright red and she didn''t answer, which was an answer in and of itself. Was she really such an open book?

    "So you did. Why would you do something like that?"

    She became even more ashamed and mumbled so he could barely hear. "I was bitter so I made him the viin. I told you, the showrunners changed everything. They turned him into a typical telenov male lead."

    Ryan''s brow furrowed. "You know, I really don''t get you. One minute you m the guy and the next you defend him. I''ve never seen someone be so ambivalent about someone else. Either you hate him or you don''t. Which is it?"

    Keeley had been wondering the same thing herself. She really was too hot and cold about the whole thing.

    If she looked deep inside herself¡­she really didn''t hate Aaron anymore. He did a lot of stupid things in the past but he was doing his best to make up for them. She was conflicted, but it wasn''t because she hated him.

    "I don''t. He''s¡­not as bad as I thought."

    "You said he left you for his side chick. In what world is that not bad?"

    She had said way too much that time she was drunk on appletinis. No wonder Ryan was determined to see him in a bad light.

    "¡­that was a misunderstanding," she saidmely. She sounded like every girl who ever ignored obvious signs of cheating but it was actually the truth!

    He didn''t buy it. Of course.

    "Uh huh. That''s what they all say. My sister''s boyfriend was the same¡ªtried to im the girl he was cheating on her with was his cousin. Too bad cousins don''t hold hands and kiss. She may have actually fallen for it."

    "I''m serious!" Keeley insisted. "His parents were trying to push them together but he actually hated her and wanted nothing to do with her."

    "Can you even hear yourself?" he asked in frustration, crushing a handful of French fries in his fist. "You''re making excuses for someone who hurt you!"

    It totally sounded like that. Ugh, this was so irritating! This was why she should have kept her stupid drunk mouth shut!

    "Ryan, I¡ª"

    He suddenly reached out across the table to grab her hand with his non fry-covered one. "You. Deserve. Better. Ditch that guy permanently."

    "I never said I was with him! How did you get from basing a viin off of him to getting back together with him?" she demanded. He was being unreasonable.

    Ryan scowled. "I''ve seen how you are with him. At first you were afraid of him but now¡­you almost seem to care about that creep. If you didn''t, you wouldn''t have taken care of him when he got that ck eye!"

    "I was just being nice! He helped me out the other day so I was returning the favor!"

    Why were they even having this conversation? Ryan was normally such a rxed person. It was strange that he was getting this worked up, even if he did dislike Aaron.

 Chapter 215: Bubbles

    <h4>Chapter 215: Bubbles</h4>

    Keeley pulled her hand back. She didn''t like where the conversation was going. It really wasn''t any of his business what she got up to, even if they were old friends.

    Ryan slurped his soda angrily before beginning to speak again. "He won''t make you happy."

    "You think I don''t know that? It''ll all be over when I probably have to leave in January anyway. What does it matter if I''m trying to be the bigger person now?"

    "There''s a difference between trying to be the bigger person and letting someone walk all over you. You''re a doormat for this guy! He kept bugging you until you gave into the madness! I thought you were stronger than that," he said with a condescending shake of his head.

    Her temper red up and she smacked her hands on the table. "You have no idea what you''re talking about!"

    He didn''t know how hard she had tried to put the past behind her. What else could she have done when it seemed like the whole universe was conspiring to put the two of them back together? She hadn''t wanted this!

    "Can''t you see that you deserve better?" Ryan pleaded. "You deserve someone who respects you and has simr interests to you at the very least."

    Keeley could appreciate the sentiment but she was too annoyed with how nosy he was being. She snorted. "Yeah, like who?"

    "Well¡­me."

    Her eyes widened. She waspletely blindsided by this. Since when had Ryan been interested in her? He was just a friend! A study buddy turned friend!

    She stood up and stumbled out of the booth. "I have to go."

    "Keeley!"

    "I said I have to go!" she snapped and hurried out of the restaurant.

    How? How had this happened? They were supposed to be having dinner together like always. It was a perfectly normal thing they had done a hundred times. Had he always thought of them as dates?

    He knew how much she hated the idea of rtionships! How could he spoil a perfectly good friendship like that?

    Ryan had been one of the people closest to her. She had lost everyone now. Jennica and Valentina were gone, off living their own lives. Now he was too.

    She couldn''t keep hanging out with him knowing how he felt when she didn''t feel the same way. It wouldn''t be fair to either of them.

    Keeley let out a bitterugh. She said that and yet she had been doing that exact thing to Aaron. She knew he had some sort of feelings towards her and yet she continued epting his presence in her life.

    Well¡­it might be a little different. She and Aaron weren''t friends. His feelings for her were motivated by guilt. But she was probably still hurting him. She had seen how upset he was at Jennica''s engagement party when she refused to acknowledge him at all.

    She needed the truth out of him but was afraid to ask. It would be incredibly awkward seeing him after that and he was going to be watching her cat. She couldn''t avoid visiting Molly forever. It was better to keep it to herself.

    They had reached somewhat of an understanding with each other, hadn''t they? Weren''t things fine the way they were?

    ===

    Keeley was worn out from crying by the time she made it back to Aaron''s ce so she began running water for a bath. When the tub was mostly full, she poured in the bubble bath.

    She hadn''t realized the cap poured things out so easily; way more than she intended made it in. With the jets on¡­the bubbles piled over a foot higher than the edge of the tub and formed a mountain, staying perfectly in ce rather than spilling over the edge.

    It was the bubble tower of every child''s dreams. She eagerly shut off the water, removed her clothes, and climbed in. There were so many bubbles that they went over her head even as she sat on the seat in the giant tub.

    She had to reach up and create a gap for her eyes, nose, and mouth so she could breathe. Beingpletely engulfed by bubbles was oddly rxing. Her mind was able to momentarily empty of thoughts.

    Ryan didn''t matter. Aaron didn''t matter. Right now, the only two things in the world were Keeley and the bubbles.

    She yed with them like a little kid, crafting herself a beard (though she made sure not to inhale any). Only her eyes and nose were poking out now. She was tempted tough but then she would get bubbles in her mouth.

    The jets continued swirling around her, causing the bubbles to grow higher. She must have added nearly half a cup of bubble bath by mistake.

    It was a miracle none of them had slid to the floor yet. They continued holding their shape. This was really high quality bubble bath. As expected of something bought in a store inside of an expensive apartment building.

    Keeley had forgotten to shut the door since she was the only person here. Thest thing she expected was to see Aaron pulling a suitcase behind him and looking at her like she was crazy while standing in the doorway.

    She shrieked and disappeared under the bubblespletely, getting a bunch in her mouth. She waspletely covered by a thickyer of them so it wasn''t like he had seen anything but she was stillpletely mortified.

    What was he doing back a day early?! A little warning would have been nice!

    When she dared peek out again, the door was shut. At least he had some manners. She hid in the bath until nearly all of the bubbles were gone but still couldn''t shake her embarrassment. All enjoyment was gone the moment he showed up.

    Keeley took deep breaths to calm herself.

    ''You left the door open. He didn''t know you were in here. He didn''t see anything except you acting like a five-year-old and it''s not like this was the first time that''s happened. You''re fine,'' she thought firmly.

    It was the only thing that gave her the courage to get out and face him. Unfortunately, her pajamas were back in the guest room she had been using. She triple checked to make sure the coast was clear before venturing out with her towel wrapped tightly around her.

    When she safely made it, she locked the door and changed as quickly as she could. Originally she had been nning on wearing pajamas but that wasn''t happening now.

    She put on jean shorts and a graphic tee printed with tons of slices of pizza. Her hair was wrapped in a towel turban but that couldn''t be helped. It was thick and took a long time to dry¡ªshe didn''t want to drip everywhere.

 Chapter 216: Take As Much Time As You Need

    <h4>Chapter 216: Take As Much Time As You Need</h4>

    Gathering her courage, Keeley carefully made her way down the stairs to where Aaron was sitting on the couch. He nced up at her with a nk expression as he petted Dinah.

    "Was that the bath bomb you mentioned?"

    "No," she mumbled, embarrassed. "It was just regr bubble bath. I identally added too much. What are you doing here?"

    "It is my house," he pointed out. "My meetings finished up early so I decided toe home. I did text you."

    Her phone was sitting on the kitchen table where she left it before storming upstairs to prepare her bath. Sure enough, there was a text from a few hours ago. She must have received it when she first met up with Ryan but didn''t feel her phone buzz in her pocket.

    "I was out; I didn''t see it."

    A soft smile appeared on his face. "You certainly seemed like you were having fun back there."

    She buried her face in her hands. Where was a nice hole she could bury herself in when she needed it?

    "Murder me, Harry," she moaned.

    "Who''s Harry?" he asked stiffly.

    Keeley peeked through her fingers. Of course he didn''t recognize the quote. It was a miracle he''d recognized the time she quoted Star Wars at him.

    "¡­it''s a quote from the fourth Harry Potter movie. Someone says it when they''re super embarrassed so Lydia and I started using it all the time after seeing it during our junior year of high school."

    He lightened up immediately. "Oh. I haven''t seen any of those."

    "The books are better but the movies are still pretty good. You''ll probably never read the series so I''d rmend watching it instead."

    "Watching things does take less time than reading them¡­and I have heard of those. They''re children''s books, aren''t they?"

    "Kind of. They were originally but they got pretty dark towards the end so I think the target audience aged along with the main characters, if that makes any sense," she exined.

    "Ah. I take it you like them?"

    "Yeah, Kaleb and I started reading them together back in 1999. He didn''t get to read the fifth one onwards. I had to finish for both of us."

    Aaron''s expression grew slightly worried. "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to bring up something painful."

    She shook her head. Talking about her lost family members was good for her, in a way. So they would never be forgotten. She had been thinking about them both a lottely since the anniversary of their deaths wasing up.

    "Don''t worry about it. I loved my brother; never talking about him dishonors his memory."

    "You were close," he stated rather than asked.

    "Very. He was my best friend even though he sometimes annoyed me so much I thought I''d tear my hair out. But that''s just how siblings are," Keeley said with a fond smile. She had done to same to him.

    Aaron grew pensive as he considered stroking the cat in hisp. "I wouldn''t know. It must be nice having a sibling. Although in my family it would have been apetition to see who would be the heir so we probably would have hated each other."

    Keeley blinked at him in shock. It was one of the most personal things he had ever said about his childhood. Honestly, it made a sad sort of sense he turned out the way he did based on what little she knew.

    All things considered, he could have been a lot worse. She didn''t excuse his actions but she understood them, to a point. That reminded her of what she wanted to ask him.

    "Were you lonely growing up?"

    She sat on the other side of the couch because it felt awkward being the only one standing and listened eagerly for his answer. A mystery might be about to be solved.

    He looked down. "Yes but I didn''t realize it at the time. Actually¡­I didn''t realize what I was missing out on until I met you."

    "Me?" Keeley asked in surprise.

    "I had never felt like that before. I was confused at first but eventually it hit me that the positive emotions I felt around you were different than the negative ones I felt around everyone else. You were the only one I didn''t feel lonely being around."

    Wow. That was a lot to take in. So she had been right before; he was lonely and awkward rather than cold and unfeeling.

    But that didn''t necessarily mean that he had actually been in love with her. She certainly wasn''t about to ask that right now. It didn''t really matter anyway since she was over him, right?

    Aaron continued before she had the chance to speak, looking up at her earnestly. "I should have told you this a long time ago but you always have been the best part of my life. You were the first and only person who liked me for who I was rather than for who they thought I should be. I never forgot that."

    Keeley stared at him. This was one of the most sentimental things she had ever hearde out of his mouth. Always been the best part of his life? That was a pretty bold im to make.

    "I know you''re nning on leaving to achieve your dream in six months¡­I want you to be able to do everything you''ve ever wanted, I really do. But in the meantime could you stay here with me?

    "It would be easier for you tomute to school than if you were staying with your dad. You wouldn''t have to be apart from Molly. You can use my DVR, eat all my snacks, and take as many bubble baths as you want. It''s a big ce; you''d hardly even have to see me if you didn''t want to. Just stay."

    She didn''t know what to say to that. She couldn''t deny that living here would be more convenient than being all the way out in Brooklyn. But could she really do that morally? Stay here with someone she was trying to leave?

    "I don''t know, Aaron," she said, biting her lip. "It''s a lot to think about. Can I get back to you tomorrow? I''m going to go stay with my dad tonight."

    "Take as much time as you need."

 Chapter 217: Wavering

    <h4>Chapter 217: Wavering</h4>

    Keeley couldn''t fall asleep for hours in her old bedroom that night. She stared at the ceiling as she tried to decide what to do. She knew that staying with Aaron would be more convenient overall. But she also knew that it was a TERRIBLE idea.

    He had wormed his way into her heart before. Not once but twice. His kindness these days affected her. If she stayed now¡­it was possible that she might never leave.

    That being said, it was a big ce¡ªshe could avoid him if she tried. And in a few weeks once school started again, she would be so busy that she would hardly see him anyway. Hadn''t she barely seen her roommates the past couple of semesters?

    Ugh. No matter what, the answer wouldn''te. Neither would sleep.

    The next morning Keeley woke up having gotten maybe two hours of sleep total and had tomute more than an hour to get to NYU. It didn''t put her in the best mood.

    That alone had her leaning towards staying with Aaron. He actually lived in Manhattan so themute would be cut in half. But could she really handle the consequences?

    Living with someone she knew was interested in her was just asking for trouble. She had never had a male roommate before. This would seem too much like when they were married. Those were dark times she wanted to forget.

    "You look awful," Erica noted when she showed up at theb.

    "Thanks," she said sarcastically. Anyone would if they were up all night, okay?

    "Come on girl, it''s summer! You have no reason to be this tired since you don''t have homework. Unless someone got luckyst night?"

    A cheeky smile lit her coworker''s face and Keeley was tempted to smack her.

    "Absolutely not. I just had to wake up early because I came in from Brooklyn this morning. I''m kind of homeless so I''m staying with my family."

    Erica''s smile dropped immediately. "Homeless? How did that happen?"

    Keeley exined the situation, starting with how Jennica got married and Valentina moved in with someone else because it was cheaper as she got out herb equipment.

    "¡­and the person watching my cat offered for me to move in as well but I don''t think I should because it''s a guy."

    Her eyes widened. "A guy? Is it the one who keeps sending you food?"

    "Yes," she admitted begrudgingly. In the soap opera that was her life somehow everybody always guessed correctly when Aaron was involved.

    "Girl, this goes way beyond feeling sorry for you and wanting to make something up to you," Erica said with a disbelieving shake of her head. "That sounds like boyfriend territory."

    Keeley sighed, wanting to bury her face in her hands but she had already put on her gloves and couldn''t contaminate them.

    "I know which is why I don''t want to do it. But I''m so tired and it''s only been one day ofmuting. I''m wavering."

    "You have a considerate, attractive man who wants you to live with him. Of course you''re wavering," she said as she rolled her eyes. "What''s holding you back?"

    It was easier to give the simplified version of things. Her answer was but the tip of the iceberg. "We were together before and it didn''t end well."

    Dr. Kim came in so they had to get to work and stop chatting¡ªthey had been busted for standing around gossiping on the job before. Erica busied herself with the rats while Keeley set up the data entry program on theputer.

    She asked them how it was going and they gave a minimal exnation. Satisfied, she went back to her office to continue grading papers. Bothb assistants heaved a sigh of relief.

    "You want to know what I really think?" Erica asked once the coast was clear. "I''m not normally a proponent of continuing on-again off-again rtionships but whatever your issues with this guy were he seems genuinelymitted to you now. He didn''t cheat on you, did he?"

    "No."

    "Hit you?"

    "No."

    "Then what was it?" She was clearly confused why Keeley hadn''t epted him back.

    Ah, how to put this without giving too many details¡­Aaron selfishly put her in danger, kept things from her, didn''t show affection, and made her feel terribly alone. In the end, she supposed it really boiled down tomunication issues. He had been a block of wood that didn''t know how to trust others.

    "Communication issues," she said tly. Among other things, it seemed to be the root of the problem. "Really bad ones. I''m over him but I don''t want to put myself back in an uneasy situation."

    The universe kept trying to bring them back together. How else would she be unlucky enough to end up homeless when Aaron conveniently had a solution? Was she doomed to be connected with him forever or what?

    There were clearly strange otherworldly forces at y here. Reincarnation was unbelievable enough for one person but for it to happen to both of them¡­

    It would have made more sense for Keeley alone to have been reborn since she died traumatically. In the beginning, she thought she had been given a second chance to do her life over right. Aaron being reborn too screwed everything up.

    Since she had approached him first initially, he wouldn''t have ever made contact with her. They would have been nothing more than seat mates for a quarter and she wouldn''t have to deal with all of this confusion. But she wouldn''t have ever known the truth, either.

    It seemed that they had both been reborn with the purpose of trying to get their rtionship right. She didn''t care about that! She just wanted to live her life properly without love as a distraction.

    Erica shrugged. "If it''s justmunication issues in the way, why not talk things out?"

    Keeley sighed. It was tiring fighting against the inevitable. They really did need to talk at some point but she was afraid of where it might lead. She didn''t want to go back to the way things were.

    "I think we may be past that point."

    She shook her head. "Girl, it''s your life. Do what you think is best. If you''ll excuse me, the rats need to be fed."

    She walked off in search of rat food, leaving Keeley alone with her thoughts. She knew what she should do; she just didn''t want to do it.

 Chapter 218: A Fake Identity

    <h4>Chapter 218: A Fake Identity</h4>

    Keeley took a deep breath before texting Aaron on her lunch break. She was so nervous and indecisive that she could hardly stomach her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Finally, she forced herself to push the send button.

    ''Commuting is terrible so I''ll take you up on your offer. Can you help me move the rest of my stuff over after work?''

    He didn''t reply for fifteen minutes, which wasn''t like him. Normally he responded instantly.

    ''Yes. What time do you get off? I''ll pick you up''

    She told him and then he didn''t respond anymore. Maybe he was busy.

    No matter, she had done what she had to do. Now she had to force herself not to think about it too much so she couldn''t freak out. Her research required focus and she only had ten minutes left of her lunch break.

    ===

    The hand holding his phone trembled. Aaron couldn''t believe it. She said yes. She was going to stay with him, albeit temporarily. It was the best news he had heard in a long time.

    He didn''t know how to respond once she told him she got off at five. He had to y it cool so she wouldn''t get freaked out and change her mind. This was the one thing he absolutely couldn''t mess up in this life!

    ncing at the clock, he saw it was only 1:07. He couldn''t get away with leaving until 4:30 at the earliest. How was he supposed to concentrate until then?!

    His phone dinged and he pounced on it eagerly. Was it Keeley again?

    No. It was Aiden, telling him to check his email because he had assembled a file on Graydon Meyer. It certainly took him long enough.

    Though to be fair, there had been a lot of other assignments on his te that were more pressing. Alistair had been meeting with Brann Knighton in his office frequently and since the office itself wasn''t bugged, Aiden had to monitor a whole bunch of other nearby footage to see if he could pick up anything.

    Why didn''t they bug the office? Because Alistair would have noticed it for sure. He was a paranoid man.

    Aaron opened his email inbox and the temperature in the room progressively dropped the more he read. This man¡­could he be the one he had been looking for?

    Graydon Meyer was twenty-nine years old, the owner of a popr app developmentpany called Appzoid, and he suddenly sprang into existence eleven years ago as a freshman at MIT. His name sounded familiar because he was a prominent yboy and was considered one of the most eligible bachelors in New York, right up there with Aaron.

    Aiden was a skilled hacker. If there were no records of this man before 2002 it was because he was using a fake identity.

    If Graydon Meyer was the man who fathered Lacy''s child, he had to hold some grudge against the Hales. Aaron had a feeling that his original identity was the puzzle piece he needed to make sense of it all. Nobodypletely innocent would go through the hassle of changing their name.

    ''Find me this man''s original identity. I don''t care how long it takes'' he ordered.

    ''Aye aye, captain!'' Aiden replied instantly.

    Aaron sighed and leaned his head against the back of his leather office chair. If Graydon Meyer was who he thought he was, he was just as instrumental in destroying Keeley as Lacy had been.

    Max may have been the one to drive the car but Lacy had ordered it, possibly at her lover''smand¡­He didn''t know much about what happened back then since the mysterious baby daddy never showed himself. What he did know was that the man had a personal grudge against Aaron and wanted to steal his wealth and position away by using Lacy.

    Aaron wasn''t an idiot; he knew the child wasn''t his when Lacy tearfully showed up at his office begging him to take responsibility. He had never touched the woman.

    She then spun a weepy tale about how someone had tricked her into believing that the man she slept with was Aaron so she needed his help. He didn''t know whether or not she was telling the truth but from that he was able to guess that someone was trying to use this child to get a foothold inside the Hale family.

    Everyone in the circle knew that Keeley wasn''t capable of having children because seven years had passed and, to their knowledge, she hadn''t been pregnant once. If someone came forward iming to have a Hale child, it was assumed that it would be epted immediately.

    Aaron figured the true father of the child wanted to use the baby as a weapon to destroy the Hales from the inside out. The real question was why. Why would he go so far? And why did he give up immediately once Keeley was dead?

    That baby ended up being adopted by a nice family when Lacy went to prison. It was only six months old at the time. Why hadn''t the fathere forward to im it?

    Giving up after Keeley died was the most perplexing part of this man''s n. Aaron didn''t think he was the type to step away simply because n A failed. He thought the man was after his assets¡­was he only after his happiness all along?

    That wouldn''t make sense. Everybody thought he wasn''t in love with Keeley at that point in time. They were on the verge of divorce; all of high society had been talking about it.

    There had to be an exnation for all of this but it wasn''t likely he would ever hear it. All of the parties involved had no memories of what they did in his previous life. Even if Graydon Meyer was the man he was looking for and Aaron confronted him now he wouldn''t be able to ask why things yed out the way they did.

    So annoying. Aaron''s hands clenched into fists under the table.

    ''If you are who I think you are¡­you''re dead,'' he thought viciously.

 Chapter 219: Time Is Money

    <h4>Chapter 219: Time Is Money</h4>

    Aaron left the office at exactly 4:30, eager to meet up with the love of his lives. He wanted to be there the moment she clocked out. A few people tried to stop and talk with him but he brushed them all off. He didn''t have time for such trifles.

    He was waiting right outside theb door at 5 PM and when it opened he was disappointed to find someone else. The girl sized him up.

    "Are you looking for Keeley?"

    "Yes."

    "She''s putting her stuff away. She''ll be out in a minute." The girl paused hesitantly before speaking again. "Are you the cat sitter?"

    Cat sitter? So Keeley had told this girl about him. They must be friends. He tried his best to be cordial.

    "That''s me."

    She lowered her voice and looked around to make sure no one overheard. "Talk to her! Tell her the truth about how you feel."

    This advice waspletely out of the blue. Exactly how much had she told this girl about him? She wouldn''t tell anyone about their rebirth, he was fairly certain of that.

    "¡­I''ll take that under consideration."

    Aaron couldn''t do that now when she was barely epting him as somewhat of a friend again. He wanted to but didn''t want to make her ufortable.

    If she asked he would dly tell her anything but until she did it was probably wise to keep it to himself. He had already freaked her out the day before by being honest. It was why he had been so surprised she actually agreed to move in with him.

    "Aaron," Keeley said in surprise as she appeared in the doorway. "You''re here right on time."

    "You said five so I came at five."

    The girl shot her coworker a wink. "You two have fun now. See you tomorrow, Keeley."

    Keeley simply scowled at her back as she walked away. They definitely had an interesting conversation about him earlier. He was dying to know what they said but couldn''t exactly ask.

    She slung her purse over her shoulder and followed him out to his car without saying another word. Aaron was the one who was forced to break the silence on the way to Brooklyn.

    "How much stuff do you have? My trunk isn''t that big."

    "Not much. I can leave the majority of my things with my dad. I only really need to bring over clothes, books and movies, and cooking utensils. For someone with such a big kitchen you really don''t have that many useful things in it," she said with a smile in her voice.

    Why would he? He only ever reheated things that other people made. One of the things he looked forward to most about her moving in was her cooking. If he was lucky, he would be able to enjoy it at least some of the time.

    "I had to cream butter and sugar with a spoon the other day! Do you have any idea how difficult that is?"

    "No."

    "Well, it''s hard. Get yourself an electric mixer, it coulde in handy someday," she lectured. "And on that note, considering how big your apartment is there is hardly any furniture in it at all. Are you a minimalist or something? How hard is it for someone as rich as you to get enough furniture to fill a room?"

    She already knew he bought the ce with her in mind so he may as well be honest. "I thought you could do it."

    Her jaw dropped. "Me? Why would I¡ªoh."

    She must be remembering that he wanted to marry her again. Originally he had fully expected it would happen if he was persistent enough but now it was a pipe dream.

    Keeley stayed quiet for a few minutes before speaking up reluctantly. "If you want my design input so much I could give it to you. I do enjoy decorating things. Consider it a favor for letting me stay with you."

    A half smile appeared on his face. "That would be nice, thank you."

    "You''re wee."

    Silence permeated the car. Aaron hated quiet car rides. It reminded him too much of being in the car with his parents. He didn''t normally listen to music but he turned on the radio just to have something to hear.

    He flipped to apletely random station since he didn''t know anything about music stations. If he listened to the radio at all, it was the news.

    A catchy top 40 song was ying and to his surprise, Keeley quietly started mumbling the words under her breath. She hadn''t sung in the car in front of him in about forty years.

    "You don''t have to be embarrassed. You can sing along if you want to," he encouraged. He had really missed that.

    She shrugged and increased her volume though she was still a bit hesitant. She wasn''t dancing along like she used to. Aaron still considered himself lucky that she wasfortable enough to do that much when he was present.

    When they arrived at the Hall family''s apartment, Keeley''s dad wasn''t home. She urged him to be quick. There weren''t that many boxes they needed for the time being, just clothes, books and cookware so it was possible to make it all down in two trips with both of them carrying things.

    "Why is this so heavy?" Aaron grunted as he lifted a box. It wasn''t even thatrge but it weighed a ton.

    She snickered. "I have books and DVDs in that one. The weight really adds up."

    It was a good thing this ce had an elevator. He couldn''t imagine walking down thirteen flights of stairs carrying that box. It would be a miracle if he managed to get to the elevator and from there to the car without dropping it.

    He couldn''t show weakness though¡ªnot in front of her. She would definitely make fun of him.

    Aaron wasn''t used to manualbor. He should probably take advantage of the fitness center in his building more often. Weightlifting might help with this sort of thing in the future.

    "How many books do you need? Isn''t that what libraries are for?" he asked.

    "Libraries don''t always have what you need when you need it," Keeley said.

    She lifted her knee to support the box she was holding in order to use the other hand to press the elevator button to go down.

    "Don''t tell me you don''t own any books. I thought you spent most of your free time reading."

    "I have a few but I usually stick to an e-reader. It''s easier to keep them all in one ce and you can rent books from the library that way as well without even having to leave home."

    She raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes you''re frighteningly efficient."

    He shrugged. "Time is money."

    "Really? Because it seems like you have nothing but time."

    "Only when ites to you. You''re a special case." She looked at him and flushed slightly when she saw the earnestness in his face.

    They dropped the boxes off in Aaron''s car and headed back upstairs for the rest. As they were fetching the next batch, the sound of a key clicking inside a lock could faintly be heard from the other room.

 Chapter 220: Its Different With You

    <h4>Chapter 220: It''s Different With You</h4>

    Keeley''s heart nearly stopped when she heard the sound of her dading home. Maybe if they stayed very quiet they could sneak out when he wasn''t looking. Oh, screw it. She would tell part of the truth¡ªAaron was helping her move to her new ce.

    He thought they were friends; it wasn''t like he would question it. As long as Aaron wasn''t stupid enough to spill the beans it would be fine.

    "Follow my lead," she hissed as they walked out of her bedroom with boxes in hand.

    She set hers down on the kitchen table and greeted her father with a hug. "Hi Dad! How was work? I''m moving most of my stuff over to my new ce today and Aaron offered to help."

    Robert smiled at them, utterly unsuspicious, as he released her from the hug. "Work was about the same as usual. Good to see you, son. It''s awfully nice of you to help her out like this."

    "It''s my pleasure, sir," he said respectfully.

    "Do you need any help bringing things downstairs?"

    Keeley shook her head. "Nope, this is thest of it. We''re on kind of a tight schedule but I''lle see you on Sunday, okay?"

    "You better," he said in a mock stern voice. "We have important things to do."

    Though his voice was teasing, his eyes were sad. Sunday was the anniversary of her mom''s and Kaleb''s deaths. He didn''t want to be alone that day. They always went to the graves together.

    She hugged him tightly again. "I know. I''ll be here bright and early. Love you."

    "Love you too."

    Keeley heaved a sigh of relief when they were back down to the car. That was close. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand after setting down her box in the back seat.

    "What''s on Sunday?" Aaron asked.

    She avoided the question. She didn''t really want to talk about it.

    "I always go see my dad on Sundays."

    The drive back to his ce was silent again and they struggled bringing all of the boxes up but eventually everything made it into the apartment. The doorman was definitely suspicious of her now if he hadn''t already been before. She wanted to sink into the floor when she caught his gaze.

    Keeley began unpacking the kitchen things first. If she was going to survive eating here, she needed things like her electric mixer and various baking instruments.

    She frowned, staring at the remaining contents of the box. What should she do with her tes, bowls, cups, and silverware? Aaron had his own. Would there be space for both?

    She decided to deal with that problemter. Right now she would just put the things he didn''t have into the cupboards. Everything else could stay in the box and chill in the closet of the guest room she had been using.

    "Do you need any help?" he asked.

    "No, I''ve got it. Thanks though."

    This was getting awkward. Should she try to establish some ground rules with him now? This was his house and she didn''t want to overstep any bounds but she also didn''t want to get taken advantage of.

    "Hey, Aaron? Do you um¡­want me to pay rent or anything?"

    "Don''t insult me," he said coldly.

    How exactly was offering to pay rent insulting? Rich people were weird. She didn''t like taking advantage of his guilt towards her so she wanted to try and equal things out.

    "Then what do you want from me in exchange for staying here? I won''t do anything weird but I feel like I should do something."

    He thought about it a moment. "Whenever you cook something, I want some. That''s all."

    Seriously, that''s it? Keeley had been cooking for herself consistently over the summer but once school started again she would be living off of sandwiches, takeout, and microwave meals. He definitely wouldn''t want the microwave meals.

    "You sure? That seems like a pretty small trade inparison. I mean, I get to use your TV and your amazing bath tub."

    "You said you would help me decorate this ce better. That''s something too."

    Right, she had forgotten about that. She felt a little bit better about this deal already.

    "Just let me know if there''s anything you want me to do¡ªor don''t want me to do. This is your house, after all. I''m just a guest."

    He frowned but chose not to say whatever was on the tip of his tongue. He spoke up again a minuteter but she was pretty sure it wasn''t what he originally nned to say.

    "Just¡­don''t bring any guys over here. That''s all I ask."

    Keeley snorted. That definitely wouldn''t be happening. Her only guy friend was history.

    "That won''t be a problem."

    "I know you''ve had Ryan over at your apartment before," Aaron said darkly.

    Was he jealous? Seriously? Had all of the awkward encounters between those two during the wedding process been because they were both jealous? It seemed straightforward in hindsight. She should have realized it sooner.

    She sighed. "Ryan and I aren''t friends anymore. I recently found out that he likes me and I can''t continue on knowing that. I''m too busy to hang out with people much during the semester anyway; I doubt I''ll even be able to invite Valentina over."

    He stared at her with an unfathomable expression on his face. It was making her self-conscious.

    "What?" she whined.

    "You dropped someone you''ve been close friends with for over six years just because he told you he liked you?"

    "Well it sounds terrible when you put it that way¡­"

    What other option did she have though? She would have felt too awkward being around him. He had been acting weird around hertely anyway and it was making her ufortable. Now that she knew his feelings, those strange actions made a lot more sense.

    Aaron was still scrutinizing her. "What about me then?"

    "Huh?"

    "You know I''m in love with you so why are you here?"

    He was an odd exception. She couldn''t seem to shake him anyway. Hadn''t her motto regarding Aaron in this life always been ''if you can''t beat ''em, join ''em''?

    "It''s different with you¡­we''re both the only ones who remember our past life. We have to look out for each other," Keeley exined.

    His posture rxed a bit. "Right. Anyway, you still have unpacking to do¡­I''ll leave you alone. Let me know if you need anything."

    That was it? He let that go surprisingly fast. She really thought he would keep hounding her about it.

    "Okay. Once I''m done I''ll get dinner started. I was thinking of making fettini alfredo."

    Aaron showed her a soft expression even though it wasn''t quite a smile. "Sounds good."

    He turned and disappeared up the stairs, leaving her alone. Living here was going to be so stressful. Keeley was stressed out already.

 Chapter 221: The Familiar And The Unfamiliar

    <h4>Chapter 221: The Familiar And The Unfamiliar</h4>

    The first few days living with Aaron were weird. Keeley tried her best to stay out of his way but wasn''t always sessful. She needed to catch her subway before he left for work but she always ran into him downstairs as he ate breakfast.

    He sipped his coffee and put on his tie just like he always did when they were married. It was unsettling. He always greeted her with a gentle "good morning" and asked her if she slept well. But that definitely didn''t happen when they were married.

    Experiencing both the familiar and the unfamiliar at the same time was jarring. She would return the greeting, say "great, thanks" and grab a yogurt or a bagel on the way out the door after quickly consuming the coffee he made for her.

    Her days in theb were the same as usual and she craved that normalcy. She ate sandwiches out of the vending machine, took data, and observed theb animals. She spent far more time staring at rats and mice than any regr person should.

    When Keeley got back, Aaron was usually in the living room hanging out with one or both of the cats. He would ask her about her day and she would tell him in basic terms while working on dinner in the other room.

    She avoided him once dinner was done. She either holed herself up in the entertainment room, went swimming downstairs, or read up on the terrace.

    Running into him the halls happened every so often and she tried to act as naturally as possible but it didn''t always work. The weirdest thing of all was that he didn''t try to hide how happy he was to see her every time they bumped into each other.

    When they were married he was always an ice block. Even before Aaron purposely began ignoring her he still acted like he didn''t care whether she was in the same room or not, even though he usually hung out near her. A warm Aaron was much stranger than a cold one.

    Keeley was curled up with Molly in the entertainment room watching a cookingpetition show around 8 PM when he knocked on the door. She gave him a funny look. It''s not like this was the bathroom; he didn''t have to knock. It was his house.

    "What''s up?"

    "I was downstairs and got some ice cream. I thought you might want some."

    Okay, not too strange. "What kind?"

    "Ben and Jerry''s. I wasn''t sure what you wanted so I may or may not have gotten four different vors¡­"

    She tried and failed to hide herughter. "Well, at least we''ll be stocked up for a while. What did you get?"

    "Half Baked, Cherry Garcia, Peanut Butter Cup, and Strawberry Cheesecake."

    Keeley sighed in relief. "Those are all good. At least you didn''t get any Chunky Monkey."

    Aaron frowned. "Why would I? You''re allergic to bananas."

    He remembered that? She told him exactly once when they were in college. He had just eaten one and leaned in for a kiss but she had to stop him so she wouldn''t have an allergic reaction.

    "Well yeah, but it''s a popr vor. I thought you might have gotten some for yourself," she saidmely. She didn''t want to insult him by saying she didn''t think he would remember.

    He shook his head. "I''m not taking any chances. You had to go to the hospital for it once so I cut bananas out of my diet."

    That happened when she was ten when somebody at school identally gave her banana bread without telling her what was in it. She didn''t carry an EpiPen in those days so she had to get one at the hospital. But how would Aaron know that story?

    She raised an eyebrow at him and he rified. "Your dad mentioned it once."

    Her dad was a bbermouth. She wouldn''t put it past him embarrassing her. But when exactly had that happened? He hadn''t seen her father all that much in this life so if she had to guess, she would say it was from thest one. Aaron had a surprisingly long memory but that was still a pretty random detail to recall.

    It reminded her of something he said in high school¡ª''I notice everything about you.'' At the time she wondered if it was only in this life or if it had been in thest as well. This basically proved thetter correct.

    Keeley wasn''t sure how to feel about that. He had asionally been attentive but it was always silent. He would just happen to have bandages, or a snack, or something else that she needed back when they were dating but never said a word about it.

    She wanted to ask about it but decided to let the matter drop. She was about to pause her show to go get some ice cream but Aaron stopped her.

    "I''ll bring it to you. Which vor do you want and how much?"

    "Half a pint of Cherry Garcia, please."

    He came back with two bowls a few minutester and she could have sworn he actually looked sheepish.

    "Do you mind if I watch with you?"

    It was his house; she wasn''t allowed to mind. And he had brought her ice cream so she was feeling generous.

    "Go ahead."

    "So what''s this show about?" he asked as he settled next to her on the giant couch-bed monstrosity.

    Keeley patiently exined the premise and how each round worked. This was probably her favorite cooking show because of the bizarre ingredients chefs had to make a tasty dish out of or they would get disqualified.

    They satpanionably side by side eating their ice cream as the show progressed. She nearly knocked her bowl over in agitation when somebody started making vinaigrette with less than thirty seconds left on the clock.

    "You idiot! You''re not going to get it on the te!" she hollered, clutching her head dramatically in the heat of the moment.

    Aaron looked up at her, startled, before he burst outughing. It was a real, deepugh¡ªthe kind she hadn''t heard from him since college in Boston.

    She immediately turned bright red and apologized. "I''m so sorry, I didn''t mean to¡­"

    Keeley was perplexed that heughed even harder when he saw her panic about the ice cream bowl. She scowled. "What''s so funny?"

    "I think I finally understand why you never wanted me to know what you were watching. It wasn''t because of the shows themselves, it''s because you think the people inside the TV can hear you," he snickered.

    "It''s instinctive," she said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.

    So he had known about her reality TV obsession all along. Why didn''t he ever say anything?

    She hadn''t told him because she thought he would make fun of her for it. The only TV he ever watched was the news. Reality shows were about as far from that as you could get.

    A lot of people described reality TV as brainless and she thought he would be one of them and give her a hard time for it. He had given her a hard time about a lot of other mon'' things back then. Aaron had been much better about not doing that in this life though it still happened once or twice.

 Chapter 222: Youll Always Be Aaron Hale

    <h4>Chapter 222: You''ll Always Be Aaron Hale</h4>

    Keeley couldn''t take it anymore. She finally blurted what had been on her mind more and moretely.

    "If you noticed all these things about me from the beginning why didn''t you ever say anything?"

    Aaron looked at her nkly. "I already told you, I didn''t exactly know how to love somebody back then. Now I realize I kept too many things to myself."

    "Like what?" He shifted nervously, refusing to answer, and she sighed. "Just tell me, I won''t get weird about it. I''ve been wondering about this for a long time."

    His hands gripped his bowl of ice cream, the remains of which had all melted. He refused to meet her eyes.

    "A lot of things. I should have told you properly how much you meant to me. Like how you brought warmth into my cold world or how much I loved having you drag me around and experiencing new things through your eyes. Your excitement has always been contagious.

    "I never made it clear¡­but you were my first real friend. My best friend. I didn''t even know I could care about other people until I met you. I should have told you how brilliant, beautiful, and funny you were. How simply seeing you could make everything better.

    "Most importantly, I should have told you I loved you. Because I did, more than anything. I was just an idiot who couldn''t get the words out because I had never heard it from anyone else before you came along."

    Well, she did ask for it. But that was way more information than Keeley bargained for!

    Aaron still wouldn''t look at her but she could hear the sincerity in his voice. For once, he wasn''t speaking in monotone. There was more emotion infused into it than she had ever heard from him.

    He truly did love her the whole time. Unbelievable. He had said it before but she hadn''t really believed it because the way he treated her contradicted his words too much.

    With everything she had seentely¡­realizing that he really was an awkward, lonely person who wasn''t used to dealing with people¡­she could almost believe it now. This was crazy. Everything she thought she knew was wrong.

    She said she wouldn''t make it weird so she decided the casual approach was best.

    In an overly dramatic, teasing tone she said, "You really did never say it. I have no idea why I even married you since you never once told me you loved me."

    He caught onto her tone and seemed relieved. He teased her back. "Probably because I''m so handsome."

    Keeleyughed. "And full of yourself, too! I can''t deny it though; I did call you beautiful the other day."

    "So you only married me for my looks? I''m wounded."

    "Hey, it''s better than only marrying you for your money."

    Aaron sobered instantly. "I know you''re not like that. I''m only messing around."

    "I know."

    Amercial yed in the silence following her statement. She had nearly forgotten she was supposed to be watching TV. She fumbled for the remote to skip through them.

    "In all honesty though¡­since I was such an idiot, why did you marry me?" he asked.

    She wouldn''t have answered him if his tone had been anything other than slightly curious. She had asked him a personal question; it was fair game that she answered one too.

    Keeley looked straight ahead at the TV as she spoke. "You were my best friend too. I didn''t care about things like that back then; I was just happy to be with you."

    He sighed and finally turned to face her. "Keeley, where did we go wrong? We were happy at one point, weren''t we?"

    "I think you already know the answer to that question."

    "I do, but I want to hear it from your perspective."

    That was a surprise. What was even more surprising was that they were having an actual conversation about this like civilized adults. Well, he was mentally in his sixties. That had to count for something in the way of maturity.

    "I didn''t belong in your world. You tried to force a square peg into a round hole and I was a doormat that let you without saying anything about it. You know, and then you kept it a secret from me that people were actively out to get me. That sucked."

    Aaron sighed again. "That''s what I thought, though I would have used different words. In case you haven''t noticed¡­I''m not really a part of that world anymore. It''s easier for me to fit into yours."

    Keeley hadn''t thought about it that way but he had been fitting into her world. Eating non gourmet food. Hanging out with her dad and participating in silly Christmas traditions. Adopting a rescue pet. They even had some of the same friends inmon now.

    She knew where he was going with this. He believed the problems between them were fixable. Were they? The biggest obstacles had always beenmunication and the people in his life who were against her.

    They weremunicating now but that didn''t necessarily change anything. Even if she wanted to try again¡ªand she didn''t¡ªshe would not put herself in danger again.

    "Just because you aren''t an active part of it doesn''t mean it isn''t there. You''re still rted to your parents. There are still people like Lacy Knighton trying to get a piece of you. I saw her at the bridal salon when I went with Jennica. She told me she was there picking out a dress to marry you."

    Aaron scowled. "I wondered why you thought I was getting engaged to her. She''spletely insane. My father set me up, which is why I had to ask the world''s most ridiculous favor of Aiden."

    She cracked a smile. She still couldn''t believe he fake proposed to a man dressed in drag just to get Lacy to back off. It was too ridiculous.

    But that posed another problem. Alistair would expect him to marry that fake fianc¨¦e eventually or else get engaged to someone else.

    "Your life is tooplicated. You still have to deal with your father."

    "Not for much longer. I''m confident I can kick him out of thepany within the next two years. Then I''ll never have to deal with him again."

    Keeley would have wondered how someone could talk of their own father so callously if she wasn''t aware what that monster did. Aaron''s reaction was perfectly justified.

    But no matter what he believed, he was still one of the most sought after men in the city. She wanted a normal life. Those two things could never mix.

    "You''ll always be Aaron Hale," she said simply.

    He gave her a small, sad smile. "You didn''t used to think that way. You were the only person who saw me as just Aaron."

    "That was before I suffered because I shared yourst name."

    Aaron didn''t say anything, which probably meant he saw her point. They finished watching the rest of the episode in silence but it wasn''t as ufortable as it could have been. That little talk was oddly freeing.

 Chapter 223: Resignation?

    <h4>Chapter 223: Resignation?</h4>

    Aaron spent all of the following day at work thinking about his conversation with Keeley. She didn''t seem angry. If he had to give it a word, he would say she seemed resigned.

    Anger, resentment, or even bitterness would have made sense. But resignation? That didn''t fit with what he knew about her feelings towards him.

    Keeley didn''t want him. She made that clear at every given opportunity. Acting resigned about the whole thing made it seem like she actually did want him around but feared the consequences too much to make it happen.

    It didn''t work with her whole ''I''ll never forgive you; there''s no going back'' thing. She had said things like that multiple times.

    ''There''s no going back'' was practically her motto. She was determined to move forward and live her best life without him. So why the resignation?

    It bothered him so much that he could hardly concentrate on all of the reports Cameron had ced on his desk earlier in the day. The numbers all blurred together on the page. He didn''t process a single one.

    He felt like a wreck by the time he got home. Keeley had beaten him back for the first time all week and was singing to herself as she chopped vegetables.

    "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You''ll never know dear how much I love you. Please don''t take my sunshine away."

    The song could have been written about the way he felt about her.

    "What song is that?"

    She whirled around brandishing the knife with an rmed look on her face before seeing it was him. She set it down and clutched her heart with one hand.

    "You scared the living daylights out of me. A little warning next time."

    "Sorry. The song?" he persisted.

    "I don''t know where it originally came from. My mom used to sing it when she did chores around the house. I think it''s really old. That''s just the chorus. There are a few verses but I only know one of them."

    Aaron settled into a chair at the kitchen table and loosened his tie. "What are you making?"

    "Tacos. I was just slicing onions. You might want to stay over there if you don''t want to cry."

    She was smiling but he noticed her eyes were red. Did onions really make people cry or had she cried earlier and was using this as a cover up? He couldn''t tell.

    "Noted," he said as Dinah jumped up on the table. He began petting her as he tried to initiate conversation again. "So how was your day?"

    "Like any other. My mice are showing signs of improvement so my research seems like it will be viable. If it continues going well¡­and I show it to ab interested in continuing it with other animals¡­it might make it to human trials someday."

    Keeley''s reddened eyes sparkled at the prospect as she began working on the ground beef. She mixed it around in the pan with her back to him.

    "How long would that take?"

    She snorted. "Oh, years. If I''m lucky it would make it to human trials in the next decade. I would have to write follow up papers for each individual animal it was tested on and it would take forever. I''m afraid this is going to end up being my life''s work."

    That was some dedication. Then again, he was one to talk. He had devoted two lifetimes to running and improving Hale Investments. He wasn''t even passionate about it. He was good at it but that was because it was all he knew.

    If he had been given a choice, what would he have chosen to do with his life? He had no idea. The only thing he had ever wanted was a happy life with Keeley by his side.

    This pseudo-rtionship thing they had going on where she felt slightly like his wife minus the physical affection was the best he was ever going to get. He would take it dly¡ªit was better than the alternative of nothing at all.

    Aaron had someone toe home to for the first time in decades and he loved it. He loved seeing traces of her in his house. Hearing her puttering around in the halls, eating her food, knowing she was less than a few rooms away at any given time even if he wasn''t with her. It was soforting.

    "I believe you''ll get there someday," he said sincerely.

    Someone with her fire would pursue every possible avenue to the ends of the earth. Even if the technology wasn''t avable until after her time, he was sure that her research would be cited by whoever eventually found the cure.

    He felt a little wistful. If only she loved him as much as she loved her brother.

    She had once, enough to give up all her dreams for him. Living happily with him became her dream and it was never fulfilled. She hadn''t been happy.

    Aaron never should have taken her for granted. She didn''t love him anymore and he deserved it. But that was okay. Having her around for the next six months would have to be enough to satisfy him for the rest of his life.

    If he was lucky, she would be on good terms with him when she left and would stay in touch. It was part of why he was trying to be so friendly and amiable now.

    She turned back and smiled at him. "Thanks." A thought urred to her and her smile dropped. "Have you ever had tacos before?"

    "Yes but they''re probably nothing like the ones you''re making."

    The tacos he had were at a very high end Mexican restaurant in midtown Manhattan. They did not use ground beef, to say the least.

    Aaron smirked, remembering something. "Don''t you have a bad track record with tacos? Why are you making them?"

    Keeley turned around to stick her tongue out at him before continuing to brown the meat. "These are vastly different than horribly greasy fast food tacos, thank you very much. Nobody''s getting food poisoning this time."

    "You''ll owe me big time if that doesn''t turn out to be the case."

    She finished with the meat and set up a bunch of little bowls filled with a variety of toppings such as shredded cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream on the table. She then pulled out a bag of tortis and ced it next to the meat before demonstrating how to fill your own taco.

    He watched her carefully and followed her lead to the best of his ability but ended up overstuffing it so the torti ripped and he got all sorts of juices on his hands. Keeley cracked up and went to get him a paper towel. At least he could make herugh.

 Chapter 224: Go To Sleep, Aaron

    <h4>Chapter 224: Go To Sleep, Aaron</h4>

    Keeley happily consumed her tacos after a rough day. The few days before and after the anniversary of her mom''s and Kaleb''s deaths were always rough but this year was a little worse than usual because she was worrying about her dad.

    He had been isting himselftely¡ªshe noticed that his usual work friends he spent time with on Fridays and Saturdays were posting pictures without him on social media. Over the years she had tried to convince him to date a few times with no sess.

    Thest time she tried was before she went off to NYU, saying that now that she was moving out he didn''t have to worry about her anymore and should focus on himself. He gave her a sad little half smile and said "You''re the only girl I need" before asking her to drop it.

    Should she try again? It had been nearly seven years.

    Keeley decided to make something with onions for dinner to cover the fact that she had been crying on the subway home. She didn''t want Aaron asking about it because she was certain she would cry all over again if anyone showed her concern.

    She wasn''t the one who needed to be worried about¡ªit was her dad. No one in this world but Keeley worried about him anymore. He only saw his daughter once a week. Aside from that, he waspletely alone.

    She had already made up her mind to visit him a day early and stay the whole weekend with him instead of just Sunday. She was sure Aaron would feed Molly for her.

    Speaking of Aaron¡­he was looking a little green around the gills. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you seriously get food poisoning?!"

    "¡­I''m not used to greasy food."

    Keeley looked down at her taco. He thought this was greasy? Seriously? This was nothing! Then again, the one time she convinced him to eat pizza with her in college he used approximately 50 napkins to blot the grease and still said it was too much. What a sissy.

    She sighed. "You should have said something sooner. I would''ve gotten you a bowl of cereal. Are you going to puke?"

    "I don''t think so but I should probably go lie down. My stomach is killing me."

    He politely excused himself and curled up on the couch with a pained expression. Guilt gnawed at her. It was her fault he felt sick.

    "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

    "I''ll get back to you on that."

    She put the leftovers away still burdened with guilt. More for herter.

    Ugh, he looked so pitiful over there! There had to be something she could do. For now it might be best to leave him alone though.

    An hourter Keeley came back into the room and Aaron still felt sick, lying there on the couch. A thin sheen of sweat was on his forehead.

    "You need to go to bed. You''ll probably be morefortable there."

    He groaned. "I don''t think I can move."

    She sighed and offered her hand. "Come on, I''ll help you up."

    She heaved him to his feet and he clutched his stomach in agony. "¡­it was better when I was lying on my side."

    "We''re almost there, just hang on a little longer."

    Keeley made him go change into his pajamas and crawl into bed. He looked even more pitiful under the covers somehow when she came back to check on him. A weight settled on her heart. She wished she could make him feel better.

    "Is there anything I can do for you? Can I get you some water or something?"

    Aaron''s muffled voice was oddly subdued. She didn''t manage to hear what he said. "What? Can you repeat that?"

    "The only thing that might make me feel a little better is if I could hold you for a bit," he mumbled.

    She frowned. He couldn''t be serious. This was shamelessly taking advantage of the situation. Was that what he considered owing her big time for the food poisoning?

    Then again¡­wasn''t there a big research study everyone fussed about that woulde out in a few years about how hugging was beneficial for your health? It wasn''t just the cebo effect; hugging stimted the production of oxytocin, which had a variety of benefits. It would be weird but it was the least she could do.

    "Fine. I''ll be back."

    Keeley didn''t want to be in bed wearing jeans. She switched them out for a pair of soft cotton shorts and pulled out her bra. If she got stuck there she did not want to be stabbed by underwire or sps.

    When she crawled into bed next to him and let him wrap his arms around her side she made one thing very clear. "I''m only doing this because it''s my fault you got sick. Don''t get any weird ideas."

    "I won''t," he sighed and tightened his hold. "Haven''t you heard that hugging is good for your health?"

    Was he a mind reader now? "I have heard that. If I hadn''t, I would have said no. It is a pretty ridiculous thing to ask of your ex-wife."

    Aaron buried his face in her hair. "We never officially got divorced."

    "So what? That marriage certificate still ceased to exist when we were both reborn. We were once married and now we''re not. So I''m your ex-wife," she reasoned.

    "I don''t think that counts."

    Keeley rolled her eyes. "Til death do us part, Aaron. I died."

    Come to think of it¡­he must have died too. She never thought about that part. "How did you die?"

    "Heart attack from overworking. I was fifty-eight."

    "That''s still fairly young to have a fatal heart attack¡­you must have been under a lot of stress."

    "I was but I think it was more a matter of not having anything else to live for. I had someone to hand mypany off to and I was tired of being alone. I guess my body just gave up," he said wearily, wincing in pain as his stomach acted up again.

    Geez. Talk about depressing. Had he really been that affected by her death? She always assumed he didn''t care but that was before realizing he actually did love her back then.

    So Aaron was like her dad is now. Monica Hall had been dead for twelve yearse Sunday. That was less than half of the time Aaron spent alone.

    Would her dad feel like he had nothing to live for too? No, he couldn''t. He still had Keeley. She had to be there for him more so he wouldn''t get to that point. Having grandchildren might help too. Too bad that was still a few years off at minimum.

    "Go to sleep, Aaron," Keeley said, not knowing how else to respond to his deration. For apulsive liar he had been way too honesttely. It was weird.

    He buried his face in her hair. "Okay."

 Chapter 225: Could This Be Fixed?

    <h4>Chapter 225: Could This Be Fixed?</h4>

    Keeley was surprisinglyfortable snuggled up with Aaron so she ended up falling asleep too. When she woke up it was about three in the morning and she waspletely trapped. She had rolled over in the night so she was facing him and was pressed up against his chest with his arm slung over her and their legs tangled together.

    She sighed. She was wide awake now. Her heart was racing ufortably from the closeness. They hadn''t slept like this in a long, long time.

    Even when they were married, this kind of simple intimacy stopped once she lost the baby. They had only been married for two years at that point. Their marriage died so early on and yet it didn''t end for another six and a half years.

    It was still hard to believe Aaron only sent her away because he wanted her to be safe. How long had it taken him toe to that conclusion? Her father had been killed two years earlier and he said he was trying to gather the information to prove it wasn''t an ident¡­

    Had he let her go because he couldn''t prove it or because his enemies were making further moves against him? Did he never consider adoption because he didn''t want to put another innocent child in danger?

    So many assumptions Keeley had made back then were wrong. That didn''t change after she found out the truth. She was so angry about his selfishness that she didn''t think about the reasons behind it.

    Seeing how desperate he was for herpany now¡­it must have been really hard for him to push her away. It was still an incredibly stupid thing to do but she tried to think about it from a different perspective.

    Aaron was a month away from his 22nd birthday when they got married. He always seemed too grown up because of the way he was raised but that didn''t change the fact that he was young. He naively thought that he could handle whatever problems were thrown at them as long as they got to stay together.

    She gazed at his peaceful sleeping face. He was about this age when the whole ''ectopic pregnancy'' thing happened. Twenty-four. How could a twenty-four year old have been expected to handle something like that?

    He made the wrong call but he did the only thing he could think of at the time. Keeley had been ming him too much. If she was in his shoes back then¡­would she have had the courage to tell him the truth either? She wasn''t sure.

    Two kids in love. If the world were a simpler ce, that''s all the two of them would have been.

    It was impossible to go back to that level of sweet innocence but¡­could this be fixed? Aaron still loved her. Her heart had been hardened so much by what she had been through that she didn''t feel the same.

    Her heart didn''t race just from looking at him. Being around him didn''t make her happy the way it did once upon a time. At best, she felt sorry for him.

    She wanted Aaron to find his own happiness but he insisted that he could only be happy with her. He was very good to her but appreciating that wasn''t the same as being in love with him.

    Keeley had a very clear picture of what being in love with him was like since it had happened before. Whatever she felt now wasn''t the same thing.

    Moving in here had been a mistake but it wasn''t like she had anywhere else to go until she had a real job after graduation. This would only hurt them both in the end.

    He had seemed so happy this past week. Even now he had a soft, content expression on his face as he slept. What was going to happen to him when she inevitably left?

    She leaned her forehead against his. ''I''m sorry I can''t give you what you want, Aaron,'' she thought.

    Staying here really wasn''t fair to him but she also knew he would put up a fuss if she tried to leave. He didn''t seem to care what was fair or not; he just wanted her around. It made her feel worse.

    Keeleyy trapped there, stewing in her thoughts for about another hour before Aaron rolled over enough that she was able to free herself without waking him. There was no way she would be able to go back to sleep now.

    She resigned herself to taking a nice long bubble bath before getting ready for the day and heading over to her dad early. Unfortunately, she nearly tripped over a cat on her way to the bathroom¡ªshe couldn''t tell which one in the dark¡ªand that scared her so much that she was even more keyed up than before.

    She flipped on the bathroom lights and used that to guide her way as she snuck back to her room for a towel and some clothes in the semi-darkness. Thest thing she wanted to do was wake Aaron up. He needed his sleep.

    The sound of the bath running was soothing and Keeley felt all of her thoughts flow away with the water. Nothing mattered right now. Not the death anniversary, not her uncertain future after graduation, and not her situation with Aaron. Nothing at all.

    Easing herself into the warm water, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat. She had used an appropriate amount of bubble bath this time so they didn''t pile up high above her head.

    The jets were so rxing that she didn''te out until the water had gone cold. She put on a blue tee shirt with a giant yellow smiley face on it and some jean shorts before wrapping her hair in its usual towel turban.

    It was only 5:03 AM. She should make some muffins or something while she waited for her hair to dry. She was pretty sure there were blueberries in the fridge. Her dad loved blueberry muffins; hopefully they could help cheer him up a little.

 Chapter 226: Im So Glad Youre Still Here

    <h4>Chapter 226: I''m So d You''re Still Here</h4>

    The muffins were justing out of the oven when Aaron came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes.

    "What on earth are you doing baking at six in the morning?" he asked with a yawn.

    "Couldn''t sleep," Keeley said casually. "Why are you up?"

    "Considering how early I fell asleep, I''ve already gotten about ten hours of rest. I feel much better now. Can I have one of those?"

    "I made them for my dad but yeah. Wait a few minutes though, they''re still hot."

    He walked behind her and started the coffeemaker before sitting down and waiting for it. "I thought you were seeing him tomorrow."

    She spread butter over the tops of the muffins while they were still hot so it would melt in. Nothing was better than a warm buttery muffin. Unfortunately, her dad would have to ept cold buttery muffins because they will have cooled considerably by the time she got to Brooklyn. Oh well.

    "He''s not doing so well these days," she admitted, refusing to say the reason why. "I''m going to spend the night over there so he doesn''t have to be alone today or tomorrow. Can you feed Molly for me?"

    "Yeah, I can do that." Aaron paused before speaking again. "You''re a really good daughter."

    Keeley was surprised. He had never told her anything like that before. Though it fit with what he had been doingtely, saying anything that came to mind.

    "Thanks. I try but I''m not sure it''s enough. I''m all he has left and I''m so busy all the time¡­"

    "I''m sure he understands. I bet he''s really proud of you."

    She smiled. That was exactly what she needed to hear. He had gotten so much better at rting to people.

    She handed him a muffin. "Here, they''re best when they''re warm."

    He bit into it gratefully as the coffee machine dinged. He asked her if she wanted some too and got out another mug when she nodded. As she took a sip of her coffee, she noticed something that nearly made her spit it out.

    Aaron was using the dumb Sharpie mug she made for him for Christmas. Now that she thought about it¡­she had seen him use it two other times this week as well. It must be his favorite.

    Keeley''s heart skipped a beat as she remembered how happy he had been to receive it. And the under the mistletoe kiss that came afterward. She gave it to him because she thought he might find it funny but had no idea he would treasure it so much.

    The guilt she felt earlier came creeping back. What was she going to do about him?

    ===

    "Keeley, what are you doing here?" Robert asked in surprise as he sat on the couch watching baseball with his pajamas on.

    "Bringing you muffins," she said cheerfully as she set them down on the table. "I''m going to stay here tonight so we''ll be ready to go to the cemetery first thing in the morning."

    He gave her a wry smile. "You''re worried about your old man, aren''t you? Really, I''m fine."

    She sat down next to him and sped his hands in hers. "I know you''re not. When was thest time you got together with anyone from work or hung out with the neighbors? You''re spending too much time by yourself."

    Robert sighed. Either his daughter was omniscient or he had been too much of an open book. He had been distancing himself from everyone but it was only because he didn''t want to burden them with his sadness.

    "You''re too smart for your own good. I''ve just¡­really been missing your mothertely. It would have been our 30th wedding anniversary this year but she''s been gone nearly half that time."

    Keeley wrapped her arms around him. He had loved Monica more than anything. Of course he would miss her.

    She knew about her parents'' love story: they had been next-door neighbors growing up. Robert was three years older but they were the closest in age in their entire building, which mostly consisted of senior citizens, so they spent a lot of time together.

    They yed together nearly every day from the time Robert was eight and Monica was five. She had been devastated when he went off to college in Pennsylvania and called and wrote him all the time. He proposed over Christmas break his senior year and they got married two weeks after he graduated.

    He didn''t just lose his wife; he lost his oldest friend. It wasn''t terribly surprising he refused to date anyone.

    "I''m sorry, Dad. I know it''s not the same but I miss her too," Keeley said as she squeezed him tighter.

    "No, it''s not the same. You lost your mother. That''s a whole other kind of pain. I know I could never make up for her not being there but I did my best."

    "Don''t talk like that! I never felt ack of love at all. You''re the best dad in the whole world," she said fiercely.

    She felt a few of his tears fall onto her shoulder and her heart broke a little more. Wife and son. Mother and brother.

    They had both lost so much but after all that Keeley went throughter on she found it easier to ept. Her dad hadn''t healed the same way she had. Living twice really put your problems in perspective.

    "I don''t know what I would do without you, honeybun," he said in a shaky voice as the tears continued to fall. "I''m so d you''re still here."

    It crossed her mind that Aaron had lived through what would have been their 30th wedding anniversary alone too. He probably experienced something very simr to what her dad was feeling now. But her dad had her; he wasn''tpletely alone.

    Aaron had nobody. How had he even been able to stand it?

    "I''m not going anywhere," she reassured him. "I love you, Dad."

    "I love you too."

    Keeley patted him on the back and wiped away a few stray tears of her own. "Come on, let''s get you some muffins. I did wake up early to make them after all."

 Chapter 227: Conflicting Emotions

    <h4>Chapter 227: Conflicting Emotions</h4>

    The rest of Saturday consisted of Keeley trying to distract her dad. They watched movies, yed board games, and went out to dinner at one of their favorite hole in the wall restaurants. The sadness in his eyes lingered but at least she was right there with him. She hoped it was making some sort of difference.

    Sunday was different. On the anniversary they always broke out old photo albums, talked about their memories, and visited the graveside. It wasn''t a time for distraction; it was a time to embrace the pain by celebrating the lives that had been cut short.

    When they arrived at the graveside, she noticed that there were some wilted flowers. They couldn''t have been more than a week old.

    Keeley nced at her dad. How often had he beening here on his own since she moved out? He must have been even lonelier than she thought.

    Something struck her as she knelt in front of her family''s graves. Aaron said he buried her with her family after she died and visited her every week. How many times had he knelt here just like she was doing now?

    Her heart ached. In a way, he was a lot like her dad. Aaron lost his best friend and a child too, though it was a bit different because he never even got to meet it.

    Twenty-seven years. If he truly came every week that was around 1,400 graveside visits. He spent more time here than Keeley did when she was alive in both lifetimes.

    Was it because of guilt or love? After what she had seen over the past week¡­she was willing to bet it was some of both.

    Had he ever sat here and tried talking to her the way Keeley and her dad did with Monica and Kaleb even though they would never get a response? Did he miss her that much?

    If he did¡­his overbearingness when they met up again in high school made perfect sense. In fact, it was amazing he didn''t do worse when they met up again. If Keeley had been able to see her mom or Kaleb again even once, she would have held them tightly and refused to let go.

    Tears filled her eyes. She had been so unfair to him. It must have been devastating being pushed away by someone you missed that much. No wonder he acted like a jerk.

    Robert, mistaking the cause of Keeley''s tears, ced a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It''s okay, honeybun."

    Was it? Would it ever be okay? She was so confused. She had pushed so hard against Aaron, firmly believing there was no way to go back but now she was wavering just because she had tried to think of things from his perspective.

    She buried her face in her hands as she sobbed even harder. What was she supposed to do? Her conflicting emotions threatened to crush her alive, not to mention her grief on this already difficult day.

    Keeley had to get a hold of herself. Now wasn''t the time for this. She hastily tried to stop the tears that continued to flow in spite of her best efforts.

    "Hey Kal, my research ising along well. The gene therapy is working on the mice. Maybe someday it will work on kids like you too," she sniffed as she reached out to touch his headstone.

    "And I went on the Twister a while back with a friend. It made me think of how you always urged me to go faster until we both got dizzy. I miss you. I miss you both."

    She broke down crying again. Aaron had been there as she talked about her little brother that day.

    Why couldn''t she ever get him out of her head? Was this her fate? Would she be tortured like this forever if she didn''t ept it? There seemed to be no escape.

    It would be easier to give into the madness but she didn''t want to. The question was why. Was it simply a matter of pride? That she didn''t want whatever force was messing with her to win?

    Keeley had loved him once. If he kept being good to her¡­she might fall for him again. It had been one of her main arguments against moving in with him in the first ce.

    Her dad liked him. What would her mom or Kaleb have thought of Aaron? Would he have been able to fit in with them?

    Probably. He had done it with Robert because he loved her. He had even worn those silly reindeer pajamas. Her mom would have thought it was hrious.

    Once again she experienced anger at her situation. If she had to be reborn, couldn''t she have been reborn the day before that doctor''s appointment and convinced them to stay home? Why did only she qualify for a second chance at life?

    Monica had been in her thirties just like Keeley had been when she died. Kaleb was only ten. Why didn''t they deserve to live again? Why did she have to go through the grief of not having half of her family twice?

    It wasn''t fair. This stupid rebirth seemed to have happened with the singr goal of putting Aaron and Keeley back together. How did that qualify as a sufficient reason when her family didn''t?

    She wanted to get angry at him for this but it wasn''t like he chose what was going to happen either. He was just as surprised as she was to get a second chance at life.

    He didn''t even die traumatically. Weren''t reincarnation scenarios supposed to be for people who died traumatic deaths only? Death by mugging definitely fit those parameters!

    She wiped her tears again and leaned against her dad''s shoulder. He didn''t know how conflicted his daughter was. If he knew that she had been reborn but Monica and Kaleb hadn''t¡­would he be angry too? Would he feel as cheated as she did?

    Keeley tried to push those thoughts aside. They wouldn''t help anybody. What happened was already done, whether it was fair or not.

    People died all the time and she had never heard of anybody other than her or Aaron getting a do-over. She had to make the best of it, whatever that entailed.

    The problem was she couldn''t decide whether or not that meant epting Aaron''s sincerity or living the life she thought she was supposed to lead without him. Right now she was leaning toward epting the inevitable. If she was going to get pushed toward him again and again by fate, wouldn''t it be less troublesome to just let it happen?

 Chapter 228: Much Simpler Times

    <h4>Chapter 228: Much Simpler Times</h4>

    Keeley and her dad spent the rest of the day looking through old photo albums and watching home videos after they got back from the cemetery. It was rough. Hearing their voices on film made her break down crying again.

    When was thest time they busted out the home videos before this? Her dad transferred them from cassette tapes to DVDs ages ago but she couldn''t remember when they watched them. They were a lot more bittersweet than the pictures.

    When Kaleb was a baby he couldn''t say Keeley''s name. Until he was about five, he called her Kiwi. Her parents thought it was hrious but she was indignant about being called the name of a fruit she didn''t even like. Sometimes he called her that just to annoy her when he got a bit older.

    If he was still here, she was willing to bet he would still call her Kiwi and gently pull her hair while grinning at her like he used to. What would he have sounded like as a twenty-three year old? Kaleb didn''t even live long enough for his voice to start cracking.

    Her mom would have sounded the same. Robert''s voice on film was identical to what it was now. But hearing herself so much younger and happier was a weird experience for Keeley.

    There was quite a bit of footage of the Hall children ying around together. Kaleb was able to do a lot of things regr kids did but he spend far more time in the hospital for mucus-thinning treatments than any kid ever should. And being treated for the many, many lung infections he caught in his ten years of life.

    One particr video really got to her from when they were nine and seven. Neither of them knew they were being filmed and Keeley was instructing him how to pop a wheelie on a bike.

    Monica came up next to her husband with a frown on her face. "Shouldn''t you stop them before they hurt themselves?"

    "It''s a valuable learning experience! If we prevent them from trying new things because they might get hurt they''ll never branch out of theirfort zones."

    All she did was shake her head at him and smile indulgently as he continued filming. Sure enough, Kaleb fell over and scraped his elbow so they immediately had to pause everything and disinfect it.

    Keeley began crying because he got hurt and she was worried he had to go to the hospital again. Her mother was assuring her that it was just a scrape and it would be fine when Robert turned off the camera to go help.

    Kaleb had been her favorite person in the world but she worried about him a lot back then. If she so much as had a cold she wasn''t allowed near him until she wasn''t infectious anymore. The first time she got him sick and he had to be hospitalized was when she was in kindergarten and half her ss had colds.

    What was a normal cold for her turned into bronchitis for her brother. She bawled like a baby for days, thinking he was going to die. After that if she even sneezed she immediately drowned herself in hand sanitizer and stayed away.

    This put Kaleb out quite a bit because he wanted to y with his sister. He would try to sneak into her room and sleep with her at night because they weren''t allowed near each other during the day.

    After he caught pneumonia from doing this when Keeley had a cold Monica came up with apromise. If Keeley wore a mask and gloves, she could y board games with Kaleb when she was sick.

    He thought she looked like a mad scientist with them on and made fun of her even though he was d to be able to y. She would simply roll her eyes at him and tell him that at least mad scientists were smart. Then he would call her a nerd and grin with his two missing front teeth.

    Those were much simpler times.

    "I wish they were still here," Keeley said quietly after the home videos finished.

    Her father sighed heavily. "I know honeybun. I do too."

    All that was left of them was memories and bones buried beneath the soil of the Brooklyn Cemetery.

    Monica didn''t get to see her daughter graduate from high school or college. She wouldn''t get to see her get a PhD. Kaleb never even grew in all of his permanent teeth. He had so much life to live cut short by a horrible, selfish person looking for a fix.

    The judge had sentenced the mugger to prison for life because he killed two people. The jury was especially moved by Keeley''s heartbroken sobs in the courtroom. She hadn''t been called on to testify but she insisted on being there with her father, who had. She didn''t want him to be alone.

    That man deserved what he got but it didn''t bring her mother or brother back. Aaron must have felt the same way. He was only able to convict Lacy but he did rip Alistair''spany out from under him and he died from the stress.

    More than once in her two lifetimes had Keeley wished worse on her family''s killer. Aaron must feel the same way or he wouldn''t be out to get the people who hurt her still.

    She couldn''t even imagine how much willpower he must have. In this life he had to see those people regrly without being able to do a thing since he didn''t have evidence of crimes from another life. If Keeley had evere face to face with that mugger, she probably wouldn''t have been able to hold herself back from beating the snot out of him.

    Aaron kept popping into her thoughts today. Operating under the assumption that he hadn''t mourned her death for so long, she had never thought about any of this stuff before.

    He probably did all the same things she and her father did on birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and other significant asions where you feel the hole left by people who passed before you. She was oddly tempted to ask andpare experiences though it would be super weird talking to someone about how they handled your death.

 Chapter 229: Dont Apologize

    <h4>Chapter 229: Don''t Apologize</h4>

    Keeley had only been living with him for slightly less than a week and Aaron missed her already. Pathetic. It was just an overnight stay at her family home; it was nothing to worry about. But he missed her. She brought life into this ce.

    When he heard the elevator door open downstairs he had to stop himself from running down to greet her. She probably wouldn''t appreciate that. So he focused on his magazine and stayed put on the couch.

    He nned on casually asking her if she had a good time with her father before he saw her face. It was puffy, red-eyed, and had tear tracks all over it.

    Aaron immediately jumped up and barely stopped himself from reaching out to her. So much for ying it cool.

    "What happened? Are you okay?"

    Keeley put on a brave attempt at a smile. "I guess there''s no point in hiding it. Today is the anniversary of my mom''s and Kaleb''s deaths."

    Oh. A pit formed in his stomach. He knew what that was like. June 16th, the day he lost her, was always the worst day of the year until he had been reborn. He was still burdened by memories on that date but it didn''t bother him as much because he knew she was out there alive somewhere.

    "I''m so sorry," he said in a worried tone. "Um¡­do you need anything? Is there anything I can do?"

    She walked forward and wrapped her trembling arms around him. He froze in shock. What was she doing?

    "No, I''m the sorry one. I never realized¡­it must have been horrible for you after I died and yet I was so nasty to you once you got me back. If I had the chance to meet either of them again and they treated me the way I''ve treated you I would have been destroyed," she sniffled. "Please forgive me."

    What?! This wasn''t right! She had nothing to be sorry for! Everything he experienced was the direct result of his own stupidity. Keeley''s behavior toward him had beenpletely justified. He ruined her life.

    "Don''t apologize. You never have to apologize to me about anything; I know I brought it all on myself," he mumbled guiltily as his arms tightened around her.

    She started sobbing into his shirt and Aaron feltpletely helpless. It seemed like, as usual, he was only making things worse.

    He led her to the couch and sat her down before going off to fetch some tissues and water. She was probably pretty dehydrated based on the state of her eyes. She was crying too hard to ept either of his offerings and he wasn''t sure what to do.

    Keeley desperately wiped at her eyes as she continued to cry but it wasn''t making a difference. He gestured for her to scoot closer so he could put aforting arm around her shoulders but she surprised him by climbing onto hisp and burying her face into his neck.

    The cor of his shirt quickly became soaked but that was thest thing on his mind. Aaron was more preupied with the fact that the woman he loved willingly sat on him without being drugged out of her mind.

    He knew she was simply seekingfort but she wouldn''t have done it to just anyone. She trusted him, no matter how tiny that amount of trust was. All of his efforts to be a good friend paid off.

    Aaron rubbed her back, not sure what else to do. He didn''t have much experienceforting people. In fact, the only person he had ever tried it out on was Keeley and she didn''t cry much. Or¡­she hadn''t in their first life.

    Either she was bing more emotionally unstable or she had felt ufortable showing weakness in front of him back then. He was betting on thetter.

    Even so, she was still usually such a cheerful person. Seeing her cry was distressing.

    He instinctively pressed a kiss against her hair before freezing. That probably crossed the line. He rxed after a few moments of her not reacting. Either she didn''t notice or she didn''t care.

    Keeley snuggled closer to him as her sobs finally lessened. Now she had a case of the hups.

    "¡­do you want your water now?" he asked awkwardly.

    She nodded and he reached out to grab it from the side table, doing his best not to jostle her. She took a sip before hupping again.

    Several hupster, she scowled. "Stupid hups. I''ve had them on and off all day."

    Probably because she had been crying on and off all day too. His heart ached for her. Loss was a funny thing. You could be going along perfectly fine and it would hit you out of nowhere. It never fully left.

    She took a deep breath before gazing into his eyes. "After going to the cemetery we looked at old pictures and watched home videos¡­it was the videos that got to me most. I hadn''t heard their voices in a couple years."

    Aaron didn''t have many videos of Keeley. He wasn''t really the type to document things and she pretty much stopped after they were married. Thest pictures they ever took together were probably on their honeymoon. The few that came after that were taken professionally at business functions.

    The videos that did exist were short, silly, and usually didn''t show her face. They were saved to herptop and usually involved narrating things they were doing. He showed up in those videos more than she did.

    But he understood what she meant when she talked about hearing their voices. Hearing Keeley''s voice from beyond the grave¡ªsounding happier and less weary than it had thest several years of her life¡ªnever ceased to break him. He only watched them when he was feeling particrly masochistic.

    More often than not he relied on pictures. Keeley took a lot when they were dating even though he made her swear not to post them anywhere because he was worried they would get back to his father somehow.

    She took pictures almost every time they went out on a date so he had a lot to choose from when he wanted to remember her smile. Not that he truly needed pictures for that¡ªthe image of his wife was forever imprinted on his brain.

    The photos'' primary purpose was being a physical reminder that he had been happy once and lost it because of his own poor choices. Aaron had struggled with extreme self-loathing ever since he lost her.

    "I usually stuck to pictures," he admitted. "The only videos I really had just had your voice and showed me on camera. I didn''t want to see my own stupid emotionless face."

    She let out a strangledugh due to all the mucus in her throat from sniffling then was instantly contrite. "Sorry, it''s just¡­that''s a really good way to describe it but I didn''t expect it toe from you."

    He sighed in self-deprecation. He really had been such an idiot. Would it have killed him to smile at his wife more?

 Chapter 230: I Want To Be Normal

    <h4>Chapter 230: I Want To Be Normal</h4>

    Because Keeley hadughed, Aaron wondered if she was okay now. It was a bit of a blow to his ego that she had beenughing because he insulted himself but it still made him feel relieved.

    "Will continuing to insult myself make you feel better?" he asked, perfectly serious. He would do it if it helped her cheer up.

    She smiled and shook her head. "Better save it for special asions. It was the element of surprise that got me more than anything. It''s not every day you hear a cocky person insult themselves."

    "I prefer the term ''confident.''"

    Aaron wasn''t all that confident in himself anymore either. Once upon a time he had been but that was before he thoroughly screwed up his life and the life of the person who mattered most to him. The only thing he was confident about now was business since he had decades and decades of training and experience.

    Keeley rolled her eyes but didn''t have aeback for that so she took another sip of her water. Her hups had stopped for the time being but her eyes were still terribly puffy.

    "Do you feel better now?" he asked.

    "Yeah. Thanks."

    She went to go kiss his cheek but since he was turning his head to look for the tissues since she still sounded congested, she caught his lips instead.

    His eyes widened and she coughed in embarrassment. "I didn''t mean to do that."

    "I know."

    He would have to bepletely oblivious not to know that she didn''t want anything to do with him romantically by this point. He had learned how to take a hint.

    Out of the blue, Keeley remarked off-handedly, "You know you''re the only person I''ve ever kissed?"

    He was so startled he didn''t know what to say other than "really?" Someone as sociable and friendly as her¡­he would have expected her to at least try dating in college since she was clearly over him.

    "Yep. I''ve never been in love with anyone else either. Middle school crushes don''t count. Maybe that''s why it seems like I''m stuck with you no matter what I do." She sighed and her brow furrowed in frustration. "I really don''t get it."

    "¡­get what?"

    He was very confused where all of this wasing from and more importantly, where it was going.

    She looked at him with a serious expression on her face. "Why both of us were reborn. I was thinking about this earlier. I kind of make sense because I died both young and traumatically¡­but why you? And why wasn''t I reborn early enough to save my family? They died traumatically too!"

    She had a point. Why had he been reborn?

    Before he knew Keeley had been too, he assumed it was so he could right the things that went wrong between them in their previous life. He thought he was being given a second chance by some divine being to be happy again and make things up to her.

    Clearly that wasn''t the case because she remembered everything and rightfully resented him for it. So what had been the point?

    Other than those few golden years with Keeley before Alistair and Lacy got in the way his life had sucked but he did die naturally. Tons of people led unsatisfying lives but they didn''t get reincarnated into a younger version of themselves. He had never heard of anyone else getting a second chance like the two of them did.

    "I assumed I was being given a second chance to do things right by you," Aaron said truthfully. "Obviously that didn''t work out."

    A weary expression crossed her face. "I thought I had the chance to do my life over right¡­without you. No offense."

    "None taken."

    He knew where she stood on the matter. It was strange to be having this kind of blunt discussion while she was still sitting in hisp though.

    "But it isn''t working out," Keeley continued. "It''s like some divine intervention keeps shoving us back together. Is it really fair that whatever strange force reincarnated us both expected it to work when I still remember everything?

    Another excellent point. Her memories of their past life were definitely more traumatic than his overall. If she had just forgotten everything like he originally thought she had, their rtionship would have gotten back on track no problem.

    "Maybe it wanted you to know the truth," Aaron said slowly.

    She frowned. "I''ve wondered that too¡­but still. This whole thing is ridiculous. I''m tired, Aaron. I want to be normal."

    It was strange that they were talking about this so candidly but in a way it wasn''t strange at all. Keeley couldn''t talk about her feelings regarding being reborn with anyone else on earth because they wouldn''t believe her. He was the only one who understood it. For better or worse, they were in this together.

    "I think you''re normal. You went to college, made good friends, and are researching what you always wanted to. How is that not normal?"

    She twisted her hands over and over in herp, not meeting his eyes. It was the most ufortable she had looked this entire conversation, even more so than when she identally kissed him.

    "¡­whatever I do and no matter how hard I try not to you''re always in my head, like one of those annoyingmercial jingles."

    "Wow, thanks," Aaron said dryly. He couldn''t get mad though; he made his bed and he needed to lie in it.

    "That came out harsh¡­I just mean that I don''t think that mystical force is going to LET me live my life in peace without you. I''m wondering if fighting against it is even worth it."

    Keeley took a deep breath and looked down at her hands.

    "Things are different this time. I could live my dream and have my friends and not have to deal with snobby socialites. But is it really fair to either of us? I could give into the madness with the hopes that I''ll find peace of mind someday but I don''t love you. Would you even be okay with being with me knowing that?"

    Did he need to clean out his ears or something? Because it sounded a lot like she just said she was considering the idea of being in a rtionship with him. That couldn''t be right. Even worded bluntly, there was no way that actually came out of her mouth a second ago.

 Chapter 231: Just This Once

    <h4>Chapter 231: Just This Once</h4>

    Aaron wasn''t sure how to process what Keeley had just said. Was it fair to either of them? Probably not. Would he ept it anyway? Yes.

    He knew what he did; he didn''t deserve her love. But thest thing he expected to hear her say was that she was tired of fighting the inevitable.

    Thinking about it from her perspective, it must seem like she was stuck due to some cosmic force but it was only because he was persistent. He wasn''t about to give up on her because she didn''t give up on him before.

    Although, that was her point. Aaron wouldn''t have been persistent at all if he didn''t remember everything. She was questioning why he had to have memories from their first life.

    If he hadn''t¡­if she was the only one who was reborn¡­they never would have crossed paths again. He would have ignored her like every other ssmate and gone on to live the life his parents wanted him to.

    After all, they only became friends because Keeley was the one to push for it. He wouldn''t have so much as given her a second nce otherwise.

    "Don''t force yourself," he eventually said with a sigh. "What I want doesn''t really matter."

    Her eyes narrowed. "That''s all you have to say?"

    "What else do you want me to say? You should know where I stand."

    He cared more about her presence than her sincerity. He had made that fairly clear already. Why did she even bother asking?

    She closed her eyes and leaned back against him. This whole situation was perplexing. He would kill to know what was actually on her mind throughout this conversation; especially since she had been sitting on hisp the entire time as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do.

    "I do. I''m sorry I can''t give you what you want," she said tiredly.

    "What did I say about apologizing? It''s really not necessary." Aaron nced at the clock. "It''ste and you''ve cried a lot today¡­why don''t you go get ready for bed?"

    Keeley looked up at him with a soft expression before wrapping her arms around his neck. The surprises never stopped today. What was that for?

    "If you''d been this nice before I wouldn''t have fallen out of love with you."

    Her words stabbed the bitterest ce in his heart. Of course he knew that. It was perhaps the cruelest twist of fate he had been dealt. There were no true do-overs. Aaron had to live with the consequences of his mistakes twice.

    He didn''t have a response for that so he simply scooped her up in her arms and carried her upstairs to her room. As he set her down on the bed and turned to go, a tug from behind pulled him onto the mattress. He was about to ask what she was doing but was cut off by her lips covering his own.

    Too startled to respond, hey there like a statue until Keeley stopped to look at him. She seemed embarrassed but there was a desperate plea in the back of her eyes as well.

    "Just this once¡­can we pretend things are the way they were before everything bad happened?"

    Aaron blinked at her in shock. He had been dreaming of this but¡­"Are you sure? You had a rough day, you might not be thinking straight."

    He didn''t want her to regret this and avoid himter. If things got awkward between them again he wouldn''t be able to bear it.

    Her expression changed from embarrassed to unbearably sad. "You don''t want me."

    He was quick to refute. That definitely wasn''t it! "Of course I do but I don''t want you to regret itter. We just barely got back to being kind of friendly."

    "I won''t. Tomorrow I''ll act like nothing happened if you will."

    "Then why¡ª"

    Keeley looked him dead in the eye. "Like you said, I had a rough day. I want to feel loved for a little while."

    She may as well have punched him in the gut. He knew he hadn''t done anything to make her feel loved once they got married and had to deal with external factors working against them. Even before then he hadn''t been great at it because he was a naturally unexpressive person.

    She was giving him a chance to make it up to her, if only for a moment. Even though it was probably going to hurt more afterwards, he couldn''t say no.

    Aaron reached up and caressed her face. So she wanted to feel loved, huh? He could do that.

    He pulled her down on top of him and started out by kissing her slowly and sweetly, pouring all of his repressed emotions into the kiss. He might never get another chance so he needed to do this right.

    ===

    Aaron never had a better night''s sleep in his second life. Keeley was curled up in his arms, dead to the world, when he woke up. He sighed contentedly and kissed her forehead. Last night hadn''t been a dream.

    His rm wouldn''t go off for a little while; he should go make breakfast. She had certainly appreciated itst time. He was pretty sure he still had some of that pancake/waffle mix lying around somewhere.

    She came downstairs dressed for the day with wet hair as he was flipping pancakes. They kept folding in on themselves so he had to try multiple times to get one decent one, which was annoying, but he gave her a warm smile when she looked his way.

    "Good morning."

    "Morning," she said casually. She really was going to pretendst night hadn''t happened. "Should I make the coffee?"

    "That would be great, thanks."

    Aaron''s heart was heavy but he had known this was going to happen and still agreed to it. He couldn''t regret it either¡ªhe had been waiting for that moment ever since he was reborn. He would take what he could get.

    He served up the okay-looking pancakes with some melon slices while she poured the coffee. Keeley pushed the mug she had made towards him. Had she noticed it was the one he used most or was it a coincidence?

    They thanked each other and ate breakfast in silence but it wasn''t an awkward one. He was grateful for that. Giving in to their desiresst night hadn''t ruined anything.

 Chapter 232: Dont Let Me Down, Keeley

    <h4>Chapter 232: Don''t Let Me Down, Keeley</h4>

    Aaron spent much of the morning in a daze. Cameron called him out on it when he delivered the stock market reports but he refused to tell his friend why. It wasn''t his business.

    His distraction continued until Alistair dropped by his office. This almost never happened so he was instantly on alert.

    "What are you doing here, Father?" he asked tly.

    "Your mother has been hounding me about going shopping with your fianc¨¦e. Isn''t she back from Europe by now? It''s been months."

    His "fianc¨¦e" was six floors down in this very building going through security footage as they spoke. He couldn''t admit that though. He needed to sound convincing.

    "She''s back in Boston. She has loose ends to wrap up there beforeing to New York and doesn''t know how long it will take."

    Alistair grew colder. "Considering you''re supposed to be in love with her you''re certainly taking her absence in stride."

    Great. He was suspicious. What could Aaron do to throw him off the scent? He had promised Aiden he would never have to dress up again and he had to stick to it.

    Although¡­an idea struck him. It was risky if she couldn''t catch on soon enough but Keeley knew enough about the situation that she should probably get it.

    "We still talk multiple times a day. In fact, I usually call her around this time anyway. I can do it right now."

    He pulled out his phone and hastily clicked on the contactbelled "Wife." He was suddenly grateful he hadn''t changed it.

    ''Don''t let me down, Keeley,'' he thought fervently.

    ===

    Aaron was true to his word¡ªhe didn''t bring anything up the morning after, even though he did go so far as making her breakfast. He had never done that traditional ''after sex'' routine before.

    Keeley had to admit it was sweet. She wanted to feel loved and that was exactly what happened. Now that it was out of her system, she could focus on her work like usual.

    The morning passed rtively quickly and before she knew it, it was lunchtime. She bought a chicken sd sandwich from the vending machine and had barely sat down to eat it when her phone rang.

    She had an iing call from Crazy Person. Guilt prickled her consciousness. She should really change his contact name. But why was he calling her?

    "Aaron? What''s up, I was just about to eat."

    "Hey Bethany, I missed you so I thought I would say hi."

    Who the heck was Bethany? Keeley really shouldn''t have been angry, but she was more than a little insulted to be on the receiving end of a wrong number call to another woman right after they got intimate and he repeatedly told her he loved her.

    She was about to tell him he had the wrong number and hang up when something struck her. He was still at work. He never called her from the office.

    Once he told her the truth about his father''s interference in their lives, she realized it was because he didn''t want his father to know about her rather than because he was ashamed of her. Bethany¡­that name seemed familiar. She read about it somewhere in rtion to Aaron.

    Oh! It was the name Aiden used when he was pretending to be a girl to humiliate Lacy Knighton at her birthday party.

    Alistair must be suspicious that "she" never made an appearance again after the initial proposal. He was probably listening in right now or Aaron wouldn''t have purposely used the wrong name. He was trying to give her a hint.

    Keeley had a few minutes to spare. She could help him out as a favor in return forst night.

    "Aww I missed you too," she cooed. "When are you going toe see me again?"

    She caught the tiniest hint of relief in his tone. So she was right, he was banking on her ying along. Quite the gamble. Aaron must really trust her.

    "I can make it down next weekend for a few days. I want to see you before you head to that charity program in Africa for the next six months."

    She tried really hard not tough. That was really the best thing he coulde up with to keep a nonexistent person out of the way? It was a miracle he managed to get away with anything.

    "It''s going to be so hard not having a good cell phone signal!" she said dramatically. "You''ll have to promise to write me every week."

    "I will," he said and her urge tough returned. He sounded so serious. "Your future father-inw wants to say hello."

    Keeley''s blood ran cold. She hadn''t spoken to Alistair Hale since identally mming into him the summer before her freshman year of college. He was an evil man.

    If Aaron was the Ice King, this man was the Ultimate Ice Emperor. He was even scarier than his son had ever been.

    "Hello, Bethany. What is this about a charity trip?" he asked frostily. "When are youing to New York?"

    ''I''m already in New York,'' she thought. Keeley truly hated this man so she decided to mess with him. She put on her sweetest, most innocent voice.

    "I''m still young and have so many things I want to do that won''t be possible once I move to New York. Aaron supports me. We''ll get married once I''ve done a few more charity projects. Doesn''t Hale Investments support charities as well? It is good practice for me as the next Mrs. Hale."

    The ice emanating from the phone grew worse but he spoke reluctantly. "I see. Be sure not to let it take too long. Everyone is waiting to get to know you better, especially my wife."

    "I won''t," she lied with a wicked smile on her face. ''Suck it, Alistair. You''ll be waiting for a long, long time.''

    She was actually enjoying herself a little but she needed to eat before her lunch break was over. It was time to wrap this farce up.

    "Aaron, sweetie, I have to eat now because I have ns with friends in a few minutes but be sure to call me againter, okay? Mwah!" she signed off by making kissing noises into the phone.

    Mission aplished. She finished her sandwich feeling quite pleased with herself.

 Chapter 233: Why Are You Everywhere?

    <h4>Chapter 233: Why Are You Everywhere?</h4>

    After work Keeley headed toward the pharmacy across the street from the medical school to grab a morning after pill¡ªbetter safe than sorry, after all¡ªwhen she ran into an unpleasant surprise just outside her building.

    "Ryan. What are you doing here?"

    He seemed a bit disheveled and ran a hand through his hair nervously. "I wanted to apologize but don''t know where your new ce is and you won''t answer your phone."

    Of course she wouldn''t. She had blocked him because he had texted her too many times and she wasn''t in the mood to answer. It had hurt realizing that someone she thought of as a dependable friend had only thought of her as girlfriend material the whole time.

    Keeley didn''t like being lied to. Ryan knew how she felt about romance and still went for it, which she thought was insensitive. Plus he had been trying to dictate her life choices, which was not okay.

    Even Aaron had been less tyrannical than thattely. There was nothing she hated more than other people trying to control her.

    "Well, you''ve apologized. If you''ll excuse me, I have things to do," she said coolly.

    He stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Come on Keeley, don''t be like this! We''ve been friends for a long time, haven''t we?"

    "Yeah. Friends. Which you apparently don''t want to be any more so I can''t keep seeing you."

    Ryan huffed in frustration. "How is that fair? You let that other guy stay around you even though you''ve dated before but you won''t be friends with me just because you know I like you?"

    Perhaps she was being a bit hypocritical but her situation with Aaron was a special circumstance. It couldn''t bepared to normal ones. She didn''t like that this seemed to be Ryan''s only argument.

    "Do you have anything to say that doesn''t involve Aaron?" Keeley asked wearily.

    He regained equilibrium and straightened his shirt before clearing his throat. "I wanted to invite you to my birthday party this weekend. Valentina''sing and so are the guys we hung out with on Halloween."

    She eyed him distrustfully. Valentina was too busy to breathe, let alone go to parties. She would have to verify it with her.

    "I might not be free."

    His face hardened. "Because of Aaron?"

    "No, because of my dad!" she snapped. "Aaron this, Aaron that! I only help him out because I feel sorry for him but apparently I''m not allowed to have basic humanpassion for any other guys just because you like me."

    "What''s going on with your dad?"

    Keeley scowled. He hadn''t processed the part of what she said that really mattered. "None of your business. We aren''t friends anymore."

    She turned to walk away and Ryan grabbed her arm.

    "Let go of me!"

    "Not until you listen to what I have to say," he growled.

    She was about to kick him where the sun doesn''t shine and make a break for it when it suddenly became unnecessary. A pair of protective arms was around her shoulders and Ryan''s hand had been smacked so he released her.

    "She said to let go," Aaron said coldly.

    She craned her neck to look up at him. "What are you doing here?"

    "I was going to suggest we go out to eat because you helped me out earlier. It''s a good thing I showed up when I did."

    He red at the other man, who was rubbing his wrist angrily. Part of her was grateful for the save but the other part was annoyed because Aaron basically just proved Ryan''s point. Now he was going to be even madder.

    Sure enough, Ryan was gritting his teeth. "Why are you everywhere?"

    "I could ask you the same thing," he replied, his voice dripping with disdain.

    Keeley didn''t like the feeling of being stuck in the middle of things. "Come on," she whispered. "Let''s just go."

    His arm remained firmly in ce as they turned around and walked toward the parking lot.

    "You were a jerk to her! She''ll never love you!" Ryan yelled after them.

    Aaron stopped in his tracks and she worried what he was going to do next. He quietly told her to wait there and loomed over the other man. He was only a couple of inches taller but had such an intimidating presence that it seemed like he was ten feet tall.

    "Maybe so," he said in a deadly tone. "But she''ll never love you either."

    He turned around and strode back to Keeley with tangible dignity. Ryan wasn''t able to make a single squeak of response. She was a bit flustered after that obvious disy of power but his expression softened as if nothing had happened by the time he reached her.

    "So, what do you want to eat?"

    She blinked, trying to get her bearings after thatplete 180. "I don''t care. You pick."

    "Sushi it is!"

    Keeley examined him closely when they made it back to the car but couldn''t detect any of that earlier murderous intent. He really was back to normal. Sometimes she wondered if he was bipr with how quickly his mood could shift.

    "Are you really treating me to dinner just because I pretended to be Aiden for you?" she asked doubtfully.

    Aaron nodded. "My father was furious but couldn''t do a thing¡ªit was amazing. I''m in a good mood so I thought I''d spare you from having to cook tonight."

    He seemed sincere. Originally she thought he was just using it as an excuse toe pick her up from work and see her sooner. Once the darkness Ryan brought out had passed, she noticed he did seem to be in a particrly good mood. She could let it slide.

    They ended up going to one of those all-you-can-eat sushi ces and Keeley absolutely stuffed herself. It was a terrible mistake but she hadn''t had sushi in a while so it was impossible to resist going overboard.

    "If you like sushi that much I''ll order it for you more often when the new semester starts," he noted with the ghost of a smile on his face.

    Keeley sighed. She didn''t even want to think about that. She only had a month left of free evenings before her nose was back to the grindstone.

    "Don''t remind me."

    "I thought people like you loved school," he teased. "Since you chose to go longer than most."

    She shook her head vehemently. Grad students hated school more than anyone. They simply hated themselves more.

    She never would have stayed on so long if her specialty wasn''t research. It was possible to get jobs inbs with a biotechnology bachelor''s degree. She wanted the possibility of choosing what to research one day.

    That being said¡­she needed to do more than simply watch TV during her free time. Now was the time to go out and do things while she still had weekends free. The problem was that most of her friends were a) busy b) connected to Ryan or c) both.

    Keeley had plenty of acquaintances but they weren''t the kind of people she would hang out with outside of school or work. She would take a weekend and go visit Jeffrey and Keisha if she had the money but she didn''t.

    Hang on¡­she did. She didn''t have to pay rent next month. She could totally use the money that would have gone toward rent to visit them. Maybe over Labor Day weekend right around the time school started?

    That would totally work. She would have to call them over the next couple of days and ask if they had ns then.

 Chapter 234: Ive Got Nothing

    <h4>Chapter 234: I''ve Got Nothing</h4>

    Lacy Knighton was not in a good mood. She heard from her father that Aaron apparently called his absentee fianc¨¦e multiple times a day. Alistair Hale had mentioned it offhandedly as they met up to discuss business in his office.

    What was so special about that tramp? She wasn''t any prettier than Lacy! She was sorely tempted to go down to Boston and rip the chit''s stupidly red hair out.

    Unfortunately, Max, her usual source of information, had been sulkytely. He wouldn''t do her any favors. After the humiliation she endured at her birthday party he honestly thought she would marry him just so she wouldn''t end up old and alone. Ha!

    She had no shortage of marriage proposals. She certainly didn''t need one from the man she saw as a brother.

    Even that yboy Graydon wouldn''t stop flirting with her. That was probably in his nature though. He was still trying to help her get close to Aaron.

    It was slow going. Theirst several meetings he had primary been asking her about Aaron''s habits and personality.

    "Why does this matter?" Lacy asked in a huff.

    She didn''t want to admit that she didn''t know much. He hardly spoke to her and when he did it was always derisive. Everything she heard these days came from other people but even that wasn''t much. Aaron had almostpletely vanished from their circle.

    What was he up to? He would have toe back as soon as his fianc¨¦e moved to New York so he could show her the ropes.

    Not that Lacy would even give him the chance to do that. She was the Queen¡ªshe controlled all those vapid little socialites. One word from her and they would tear Bethany Carlisle to shreds.

    Secretly though. Subtly. It was the way things worked. Nobody would outwardly oppose a Hale but there were ways to make a woman feel unwanted in high society.

    Aaron wasn''t the most observant person when it came to feelings; he wouldn''t be any the wiser. Any society girl knew not toin, even one from Boston. Bethany wouldn''t be able to have her man support her, no matter how powerful he was.

    Graydon swirled his drink around in its ss and looked at her like she was stupid. "It matters because unless you know what he''s like and what he''s up to these days, we won''t be able to formte a n to trap him."

    She pouted. "It doesn''t require that much foresight¡ªI''m gorgeous. All I have to do is slip a drug in his drink at the next event and find a way to get him alone."

    He sniffed in disdain. "Is drugging people all you know how to do? I heard about that little incident back in high school. It screams of your handiwork."

    How on earth had he known about that? Keeley Hall was such a non-entity that Lacy would have forgotten all about her if she hadn''t run into her at the bridal shop earlier this year.

    "What do you know about that?" she said haughtily, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

    "I know you hate anyone who gets close to Aaron. That poor girl didn''t even like him if I heard correctly."

    "Who have you been talking to?" she demanded. "Who''s your source?"

    "Someone who wishes to remain anonymous," Graydon said with a sinister smile.

    Humph. Lacy really wanted to know where he got all of his information. He knew too much both about her and about Aaron. It had to be someone from their circle who had gone to their school and also had ties to Hale Investments, unless he had multiple sources¡­

    It would be nice if he trusted her more. They were aplices after all. He had said more than once that he didn''t want to put all of his eggs in one basket. That paranoid loser!

    "You said your source is positive that Aaron is working to destroy Alistair¡­but why would he do that?" she asked.

    She still didn''t understand it. She wasn''t particrly close to her father either but she wouldn''t do anything to deliberately harm him. Alistair Hale was a cold, terrifying man and it was no secret he was a sore spot of Aaron''s but why was that?

    "You''re the one who''s madly in love with him. Shouldn''t you know that?"

    Lacy gnashed her teeth. This man was infuriating. He kept shoving it in her face that Aaron didn''t want anything to do with her. Whose side was he on, anyway?

    How was she supposed to know? Aaron''s brain was an unfathomable mystery. His true thoughts were locked away behind at least five different steel safes. Nobody ever knew what he was really thinking.

    She always thought he was the perfect high society man but his actionstely seemed to indicate otherwise. What was actually going on in that gorgeous head of his?

    "Tell me what your source knows," she said reluctantly. "I''ve got nothing."

    Graydon shed a heart-stopping grin and gave a roundabout answer. "Don''t you find it a little strange that nearly half of the board of Hale Investments these days seems to have a direct connection to Aaron?"

    Lacy frowned. She knew who was on the board because she might need to suck up to them one day. She hadn''t thought about it before but he was right.

    Alice Kelly had been their high school ssmate, plus Aaron''s prom date, and was a member of their social circle. Roger rk, Kyle Griffith, and Cameron Singleton were all at Harvard in ovepping years with him. If he knew them in college, it was more than a little suspicious.

    "I have a theory. I think that all of those shareholders are dummies nted by Aaron to hold onto shares he acquired without his father''s knowledge."

    "How on earth did youe to that conclusion?" Lacy asked in awe. It made sense but she never would have thought of it on her own.

    "Simple," Graydon said with a scoff. "I''ve looked into those shareholders."

 Chapter 235: Well, Would You Look At That

    <h4>Chapter 235: Well, Would You Look At That</h4>

    Graydon twirled a pen between his fingers with surprising speed and agility as he listed off each person to his ally.

    "Alice Kellyes from a finance family and married into a family ofwyers. Her family, as most in your circle are, is sexist so she doesn''t have any shares in her own family''s interests. Having a powerful ally outside of them would benefit her; I''m willing to bet that was how Aaron approached her about it.

    "Roger rk and Kyle Griffith are fairly simr; from old Harvard families who don''t own businesses. They''ll get some money when their parents die but otherwise have to pave their own ways. It would be easy to offer them jobs in the headquarters of one of the most stable financial institutions in the world in exchange for their help.

    "And as for Cameron Singleton¡­he was a nobody who happened to make it into Harvard Business School after getting his undergraduate degree somewhere else. The interesting thing about him is that he''s a World Champion poker yer. He''s the real key to all of this.

    "He was the first of these dummies to join the board. Based on that, I think Aaron used his gambling skills to amass a fortune separate from his family''s to buy up shares. He''s been nning to leave the Hales for a long time."

    Lacy scowled. Leave the Hales? There would be absolutely no point in marrying him if he left! She loved him but there was no way she would ever ept leaving the circle.

    She was the socialite queen. He was the most eligible bachelor in this city. They were supposed to rule it together!

    Something seemed fishy. If he was nning on leaving high society ever since he was in college, why would he get engaged to a socialite? That Carlisle girl probably wouldn''t want to leave either.

    "Why would he do that?" Lacy asked suspiciously.

    Graydon shrugged. "Well I don''t know. That man is a mystery. His actions are traceable but that doesn''t mean they''re exinable."

    His tone seemed exasperated but in an almost fond way, as if he was talking about an old friend. She was fairly certain they had never met.

    "¡­you seem awfully interested in Aaron."

    "Well I won''t deny that but I bear him no ill will. I find him and more specifically, his actions since high school, fascinating."

    High school. That was when everything about Aaron began to change. It had to have been Keeley Hall''s fault¡ªhe changed right around the time he started hanging around her. But she imed she hadn''t seen him since graduation.

    Her eyes narrowed. "Do you know anything about a woman named Keeley Hall?"

    "I can''t say I do. Why? Is she rted to Aaron? I thought his fianc¨¦e''s name was Bethany," he said with interest.

    "It is¡­but I have this strange feeling. She went to the same high school we did and he practically clung to her. It waspletely beneath his dignity."

    Graydon pulled out his phone and typed away on his key board until he found what he was looking for. A small smile lit his face.

    "Interesting¡­very interesting. Were you aware they were friends on Facebook?"

    "What?" Lacy cried, seizing his phone. She didn''t even know Aaron had a Facebook ount!

    But it was right there in ck and white. They had four mutual friends: Cameron and Jennica Singleton, Robert Hall, and Aiden Quinn. They were even tagged in a few wedding photos together.

    That liar! Keeley said she hadn''t seen Aaron since graduation but they were in a wedding together for one of Aaron''s shareholders?! Even worse, he was friends with her father!

    Lacy immediately checked her own Facebook. She looked up Aaron''s name and found¡­nothing. This could only mean one thing. He blocked her. He specifically looked her up and blocked her!

    Her hands shook in anger. How dare he? How dare he block her but be friends with that worthless peasant!

    "What''s the big deal about this girl?" Graydon asked casually. "He''s engaged to someone else; she can''t be a threat."

    Her eyes were practically shooting sparks. "You know I drugged someone in high school but you don''t know the name of the person I drugged?"

    He raised an eyebrow and looked pleasantly surprised. "Keeley Hall, huh? My source said the girl you drugged hated Aaron. Be objectively honest. Did she?"

    "Yes," Lacy said reluctantly.

    Max certainly thought so anyway since she was always trying to avoid him. And she did smack him across the face after he kissed her at that dance.

    If she hated him so much in high school why would she be Facebook friends with him now? None of this added up.

    It was possible that they only got friendly again being a part of the same wedding¡­but Lacy ran into that woman at a bridal salon. By that point they had to have met up again during the wedding nning. And it didn''t exin why Aaron was friends with Keeley''s father.

    Facebook didn''t be popr until they were all halfway through college; there was no way he would have been friends with Robert Hall in high school when he was around Keeley all the time. He had to have been spending time at her father''s house sinceing back to New York.

    "This certainly adds a little spice to things," Graydon said in a voice dripping with amusement. "You look like you''re having an epiphany."

    She spoke through gritted teeth. "He''s friends with her father."

    "My, my. Don''t people normally only add their friends'' parents if they''re very close or dating?"

    He took his phone back to check something. "Hmm. I don''t see a Bethany Carlisle in Aaron''s friends list."

    "That doesn''t mean anything," Lacy said dismissively.

    Not everyone used social media. She had seen that woman up close¡ªshe was the real deal. Alistair had heard her voice on the phone talking to Aaron just the other day.

    "Well, would you look at that," Graydon said mildly.

    She peered over his shoulder at his phone and was astounded by what she saw. It was a picture of people dancing at a wedding. The focus was on the bride and groom but there, in the left corner, was Aaron¡ªdid he have a ck eye?¡ªsmiling softly at Keeley Hall as they waltzed together.

 Chapter 236: She Changed Him

    <h4>Chapter 236: She Changed Him</h4>

    Graydon Meyer enjoyed seeing people''s true colors¡ªespecially when they usually hid behind a fa?ade. Watching a supposedly refined socialite like Lacy Knighton chuck her phone across the room in anger was a genuine pleasure.

    "That''s quite a temper you have there. Why do you seem angrier about this woman than his actual fianc¨¦e?" he asked curiously.

    "She changed him," she hissed. "That woman ruined Aaron!"

    Ruined? On the contrary. The old Aaron had been nothing but his father''s puppet. This one was much more interesting. In a strange way, they were like allies.

    He had no intention of helping this horribly spoiled woman get what she wanted. Aaron deserved far better than a wolf in designer sheep''s clothing like Lacy. His true goal in approaching her was to see what she knew.

    She had been disappointing. She knew almost nothing about the man she was supposedly madly in love with firsthand, relying on gossip and secondhand statements from Alistair Hale.

    Although¡­this new development alone might have been worth bringing her onboard. Keeley Hall. Graydon hadn''t known a thing about her before this and he thought he knew all of the major yers in Aaron''s life.

    Alistair and Roslyn Hale. Cameron Singleton. Aiden Quinn. The other dummy shareholders. Bethany Carlisle. Lacy Knighton, the perpetual thorn in his side. He needed to add this new girl to the list.

    Where did she fit in if Aaron had a fianc¨¦e? Lacy seemed to think those two were genuinely in love. Was Keeley Hall really just a friend?

    As Lacy continued ranting about who knows what, he tuned out and decided to explore their rtionship on Facebook a bit more. Since he wasn''t friends with either of them, the information was limited. He could only see photos the two of them had been tagged in.

    Another photo caught his eye. Aaron was standing among a group of people who were eating cake, including both Aiden and Keeley. Aiden had his arm around Aaron and Keeley was happily consuming her cake. They all seemed fairly chummy.

    How did Keeley know Aiden? She appeared to be close friends with Cameron''s bride so it made sense that she would know him.

    Aaron only had a couple dozen Facebook friends total¡ªthe fact that they shared a handful of them had to mean something. Graydon was tempted to send a friend request himself if not for the fact that he knew it would be turned down. Aaron didn''t know he existed, after all.

    Lacy imed that Keeley had ruined Aaron¡­wasn''t the timing of distancing himself from his family and high society too much of a coincidence? What if¡ªand it was a pretty big if¡ªhe left for her?

    Her Facebook profile read about the same as every basic female in her twenties. She seemed average in every way possible although she looked quite pretty when she smiled.

    Assuming Aaron began making his ns to kick Alistair Hale out of thepany because of Keeley that left the question of where Bethany Carlisle fit into all of this. Was she a pawn like all of his other "friends"? Did they have an agreement to pretend to be engaged to appease Alistair?

    ording to his source on the board, Aaron was awarded an additional 10% of his father''s shares for getting engaged to a socialite. If he had known what Alistair was nning to do beforehand, a fake engagement would be quite shrewd.

    It would also potentially protect a woman he was interested in who wasn''t a part of high society. A woman, for example, like Keeley Hall?

    Everyone who spent time around Aaron regrly reported that he was a taciturn, expressionless ice cube. But the almost-smile in that photo with Keeley had been unmistakably soft. This was getting better and better.

    That is, if his hypotheses were correct. All of this was conjecture based on word of mouth and a few Facebook photos. It was still worth looking into.

    Graydon wanted more information about this woman. If she had truly captivated the great Aaron Hale, she just became the most interesting person in the world.

    ===

    Keeleyy sprawled out on the giant couch/bed hybrid in her pajamas eating goldfish crackers at 6:27 PM because she was tired from inputting and quadruple checking data half the day. Her brain had gone numb.

    Molly and Dinah had joined her and sniffed at the Goldfish curiously whenever she identally dropped one. She was too tired even to have her hand-eye coordination work properly.

    She thought she heard her name being called in the distance and paused her movie to hear better. Aaron must have just gotten home.

    "I''m in the TV room!" she hollered, toozy to get up.

    He showed up in the doorway a momentter and raised his eyebrow. "Someone looksfortable. How long have you been there?"

    "Only about ten minutes."

    "You can turn anything into a nest surprisingly quickly."

    She stuck her tongue out at him before dramaticallyying her arm across her face. "I''m exhausted, okay? My brain ispletely fried. You''re on your own for dinner."

    Aaron nced at the frozen TV curiously. "What are you watching?"

    "The first Harry Potter movie. I''m only ten minutes in; I could rewind it if you want to watch too," she offered. He had said he might be interested in watching them at some point.

    He smiled as he loosened his tie. "Thanks, I''ll take you up on that. Let me go change and get some food first. You want anything?"

    She held up her snack bag to indicate she was good.

    Five minutester, he rejoined her in his own pajamas with some reheated leftovers. Seeing her questioning stare, he shrugged.

    "You lookedfortable. I wanted to befortable too."

    Keeley pressed y and heard the familiar opening music as she dug around in her bag for another handful of crackers. It was hard to believe that the Aaron she used to know was sitting here now, in his pajamas while the sun was still up, watching a popr movie with her. He really had changed.

 Chapter 237: That Was Childish

    <h4>Chapter 237: That Was Childish</h4>

    "What did you think?" Keeley asked curiously when the ending credits rolled.

    Aaron had been paying close attention to the movie the entire time. At a nce, it seemed like he was actually into it.

    "It had an interesting premise and the movie score was pleasant. You said there are eight of these?"

    "Yeah." She hesitated a moment. "¡­do you want to watch the second one with me? It''s still early enough to watch another movie."

    "Sure. I''m going to go get water first though. You want some?" he asked as he stood up and stretched.

    Keeley nodded and headed out after he did to take a quick bathroom break. Aaron beat her back to the TV room and handed her a ss. She thanked him and sat cross-legged in her original spot after putting in the next DVD from her box set.

    When they hit the halfway point of the movie, sheughed. "You know, my dad has tried watching this movie eight times but always falls asleep right here."

    He didn''t respond so she looked over at him and saw that he had fallen asleep too. Sheughed even harder. What was it about this part that knocked people out? She had never had a problem with it.

    Figuring he would be up all night if she didn''t wake him now, Keeley crawled over to his side of the couch¡ªthis thing really was too huge¡ªand poked his face. "Aaron. Wake up."

    He scrunched his nose, twitching in his sleep, before ultimately ignoring her poking. She frowned. Normally that worked on people.

    "Aaaaaaaaron. You''re going to be up all night if you don''t wake up now," she said in a singsong voice as she nudged his shoulder. Still nothing.

    An evil grin crossed her face. Since he was being so difficult, she was going to see how much it would take to wake him up. She crept upstairs to the bathroom she had imed (the one with the jetted tub) and grabbed a bunch of makeup.

    Keeley didn''t usually wear it because she waszy but she knew how to apply it well from her high society years when makeup was a must. She held her phone in one hand to record it and began applying eye shadow with the other. Aaron was still dead to the world.

    Was this totally mean spirited? Yes. But she hadn''t put makeup on an unsuspecting male since Kaleb was alive and she was feeling mischievous.

    Surprisingly, she managed to do his eyes uppletely and put on lipstick before he began twitching. He woke up as she was putting on blush.

    "Whattayadoin?" he mumbled sleepily, blinking a few times as he came to.

    Aaron saw her holding the blush brush and her phone and instead of getting an ice storm, like she had expected when she got caught, she got the most bewildered look she had ever seen on his face. Keeley cracked up so much that she fell backward off the couch and dropped her still-recording phone.

    "Were you tickling me?"

    He still hadn''t caught on. She was wheezing, desperately holding her sides as she rolled around on the ground.

    "Why are youughing so hard?" he asked, still not understanding what was going on.

    "Go¡ªlook¡ªmirror¡ª" Keeley managed to get out as she continued tough so hard she couldn''t breathe, finally managing to grasp her phone and shut off the recording. She locked it quickly so he couldn''t steal it from her and erase it once he realized what she did.

    She heard him yelp from down the hall andughed even harder. Aaron didn''t seem particrly angry when he came back, either. His arms were folded across his chest and he pouted like a little kid, which looked even weirder considering the bright red lipstick.

    "That was childish."

    "Yeah but it was also awesome," she snickered as she finally got a little more control over herself. "You wouldn''t wake up so I wanted to see how far I could take it."

    He loomed over her and got on his hands and knees, pinning her to the ground. She was already breathless fromughing but now her heart thumped uncontrobly as well.

    "What are you doing?"

    "I can be childish too. You''re trapped here until you have properly paid for your crime," he said seriously.

    Keeley was very curious how this was going to pan out. She was not expecting Aaron to reach behind him to grab the lipstick and apply an extrayer.

    "Are youpletely nuts?!"

    "No, because this is your punishment."

    "What¡ª!" she squeaked as he leaned down and began pressing kisses all over her face. He got every inch of it other than her lips before getting off of her and sitting on the floor.

    "There. Now you look ridiculous too," Aaron said in a satisfied tone.

    She held up her phone and used the front facing camera as a mirror. There were no less than twenty full or partial lipstick marks on her face.

    "Aww this is never going toe off!" Keeleyined. Red lipstick was the worst thing to remove. Her face was still going to be tinted red in the morning no matter how hard she scrubbed.

    "Serves you right!"

    She scooted closer to him and snapped a selfie. There. Now there was proof they had both been embarrassed.

    "Delete that."

    "Nope. I''m making it my phone background," she teased.

    "¡­why do I even like you."

    She decided to use the same tactic he had a while back and rested her chin on her hands trying to look as cute as possible. "Because I''m so pretty."

    "Stay right there!" he ordered.

    "Huh?"

    Aaron pulled his phone out from between two couch cushions and turned the camera on. "Do that again. I need a new phone background too."

    Keeley rolled her eyes butplied and struck her cute pose again. They hadn''t done anything this ridiculous together since college. Or possibly ever, now that she thought about it. This was the most fun she''d had in a while.

    She peeked at his phone to make sure it didn''t look too stupid and it passed the test. He went to set it as his background and she caught a glimpse of his current one.

    It was the picture they took in their reindeer onesies on Christmas Eve where Aaron''s arms were around her and his chin rested atop her head. She felt an unexpected wave of fondness for him. That was pretty sweet.

 Chapter 238: Not Enough, My Dude

    <h4>Chapter 238: Not Enough, My Dude</h4>

    Aaron was dreamily staring at his phone background at work when Aiden burst into his office. He couldn''t believe he had done something so silly in retaliation for a prank but Keeley seemed to enjoy it.

    He had always thought she was fun to be around but hadn''t realized just how much of her personality she kept hidden so she would ''look good'' in front of him. She was a yful person; why hadn''t he gone along with it more often in the past?

    No use worrying about that now. The past was gone¡ªthe present was what mattered and he thought he was doing a fairly good job, all things considered.

    "What do you have for me?" he asked formally.

    Aiden''s face was uncharacteristically grim. "Not enough, my dude. You know what I did find? Evidence of a hacker protecting this guy''s old information. He''s not as good as I am¡ªI''ll break through the encryptions eventually¡ªbut I''m not sure how long it will take."

    Aaron brought his pointer fingers together under his chin thoughtfully. Who exactly was this man that he was so determined to keep his true identity a secret?

    "You said before that the first time Graydon Meyer popped up was as a freshman at MIT, correct? Did it ur to you that he''s the one protecting his own information?"

    The kid''s jaw dropped. "Wow, I didn''t even think of that. That would make sense¡­he is a tech developer after all."

    It also meant the man was paranoid. He didn''t trust anyone else to keep his secrets for him. Paranoid and talented was a dangerousbination. No wonder Aaron never found anything on him in his past life.

    He had heard of Meyer, of course, but only because he rocked the tabloids with scandals every other month. Aaron never would have connected a man with such a bad reputation to reputation-obsessed Lacy. It was pretty clever of the two of them, actually.

    Connecting two unlikely people was a difficult thing to do unless you really looked. He was so focused on researching her connections with high society men that he overlooked anyone else.

    He should have known better. Of course Lacy, whose target was the man at the very top of that group, wouldn''t be seen around someone else and ruin her virtuous image. People in the circle loved to gossip.

    "Has Lacy been meeting with him since west spoke?" Aaron asked.

    Aiden nodded. "Yeah. She visited his office again a couple of days ago, I tracked the GPS on her phone. Their meetings seem to be getting more frequent."

    His brow furrowed. That wasn''t good news. They might try to make a move soon. But what could they do?

    After that day Keeley helped him out by pretending to be the non-existent Bethany on the phone gossip spread throughout thepany like wildfire that the cold and stoic vice president was deeply in love with his fianc¨¦e. It had to be Alistair''s doing; he was the only one there when he made the call.

    If people further down thedder at Hale Investments knew about it, Aaron was willing to bet the news made its way to the social circle and by extension, Lacy. She was probably furious but it wasn''t like there was anything she could do. Bethany Carlisle didn''t exist.

    "Keep watching her," he ordered. "I want to know all of her movements. Where she goes and who she''s with. Meyer''s too."

    "On it, boss," Aiden said with a dramatic salute before a sly grin appeared on his face. "So¡­how are things going with Keeley? You''ve been in an awfully good moodtely."

    Had he been that obvious? This clown was probably gossiping with Cameron again.

    "They''re going fine," he said simply.

    Aaron didn''t know how to exin the state of things because he couldn''t make sense of it himself. Things had been a bit awkward living in the same space and all before they had sex but now their rtionship seemed the closest to what it had been in high school when they were best friends.

    Had doing that gotten all the weirdness between them out of her system or what? He wasn''t sure. All he knew was that he treasured being able tough with her again. It was one of the things he had missed most.

    "Just fine?" Aiden asked with a raised eyebrow. "Isn''t she living with you now?"

    "Who told you that?" Aaron hadn''t mentioned it to anyone because he knew his underlings would never let him hear the end of it.

    "Nobody had to. I put it together myself after Keeley posted on Facebook about how much she loved bubble baths. I live in her old apartment building, remember? I know better than anybody that those floorns don''t include tubs, only showers.

    "Plus I hadn''t seen her or Valentina around theplex recently. She definitely moved. Match up the timing of that with your ridiculously good mood and it''s not rocket science," he finished smugly.

    Great. Aaron ran a hand down his face wearily. "You didn''t tell Cameron, did you?"

    The kid pretended to be offended. "What do you take me for? I enjoy having more information than he does from time to time. It proves I''m your favorite."

    He ignored that. This annoying guy definitely was NOT his favorite.

    "She is but only because of her cat. Her dad is allergic so I said the cat could stay with me but ended up offering for her to stay as well since her dad lives all the way out in Brooklyn."

    Aiden brightened a bit. "Hey, practicality won out over wanting to stay away from you! That''s something, right?"

    Aaron scowled. He wasn''t wrong, but did he have to phrase it like that? Besides, Keeley hadn''t been avoiding himtely. She seemed to ept hispany more easily than she had since finding out the truth about his rebirth.

    "Aiden."

    "Yes?"

    "Get back to work," he said coldly before practically tossing him out of the office. Dumb nosy kid.

 Chapter 239: A Better Plan

    <h4>Chapter 239: A Better n</h4>

    October 2017, in another life

    The man Lacy knew as Mr. Gray was getting very annoyed with his aplice. In the nearly four years they had been working together to rece Keeley Hale very little progress had been made. He couldn''t understand it.

    She couldn''t bear Aaron any children, which was practically a prerequisite for being a high society wife. She brought no financial benefits to the marriage. Rumors had been running rampant that he wasn''t pleased with his wife. So why hadn''t he divorced her yet?

    He needed Lacy to take that woman''s ce so he could control Aaron through her. Then he would take away everything Alistair, Aaron, and all of the Hales ever worked for.

    She was such an idiot. How could she possibly think he was on her side? He was on his own side¡ªshe was nothing but a tool he would use to destroy the Hale family permanently. It was the least he could do after all they had made him suffer.

    His blood boiled just thinking about the life of luxury they got to lead at the expense of others. Especially Aaron. He had everything Gray ever wanted and didn''t appreciate any of it!

    "Your petty rumormongering isn''t working," he said as he tapped his fingers against his desk impatiently. "If you can''t find a foolproof way to take Keeley Hale''s ce, I''ll rece you. There are plenty of other women who could do a better job than you."

    Of course, this wasn''t true. Nobody on this earth was as obsessed with Aaron Hale as Lacy Knighton was. He wouldn''t be able to find someone else with the same level of dedication.

    "She''s impossible to break!" she fumed. "I would have thought even if Aaron didn''t divorce her already that she would have just up and left him by now. Yet every time I see her she has this annoyingly tranquil hostess expression on her face like nothing in the world affects her."

    Gray wouldn''t know; he wasn''t a part of high society. Everything he knew about Keeley Hale came from other people rather than his own observations. He had never even met the woman.

    "You already took away her ability to have children. What more can you take from her?"

    An evil light filled Lacy''s eyes as an idea dawned on her. "Her father. He''s the only family she has left¡ªI know because he was the only person from her side that came to the wedding way back when."

    This might actually work. Gray''s entire world had copsed when his mother died. If she became catatonic Aaron would have to get rid of her since she wouldn''t be able to attend society functions anymore.

    There was already a lot of gossip when she vanished for nearly a year following the pregnancy scheme. Too much gossip attached to the Hale name would be bad for business. If nothing else, the Hales cared about their business.

    "How are you going to do this? It can''t be suspicious," Gray warned.

    She smiled prettily. "I happen to be best friends with a wannabe racecar driver. Give me information about Robert Hall''s daily habits and he can zip in and out of there without anybody seeing. Hit and runs are one of the least solved crimes, you know."

    Hmm. Simple but effective. It would be an easy way to remove the man from the picture without causing too many ripples. People died in car idents all the time. Sometimes this woman had her uses.

    "I''ll get the information to you by the end of the week. Get it done as soon as possible," he instructed.

    It would be interesting to see how Keeley Hale reacted. Poor girl. She got herself entangled with the wrong family, just like his mother.

    ===

    April 2018, in another life

    "You said it would work! She hasn''t been to any society events in months but he still hasn''t divorced her," Lacy said crossly.

    She paced back and forth across the room, her designer heels clicking as she went. What a horrible sound. It was grating on Gray''s ears but he couldn''t say a thing because he needed to remain on this irritating woman''s good side until he could dispose of her.

    "Aaron has to be close to his breaking point," he said soothingly. Ugh, how annoying. "Now is your time to swoop in and seduce him."

    She paused and red at her ally. "You say that like I haven''t been trying. Honestly. I''m far more beautiful than she is. He only recently started speaking to me again. He''s been barely polite the past few years."

    Gray felt a rare moment of sympathy for his enemy. If he were Aaron, he would be barely polite to this piece of stic as well.

    His voice hardened. "You have to get him to sleep with you. If you have a child¡ªeven if it isn''t the next heir¡ªAaron''s parents will force him to ept you."

    Lacy rolled her eyes. "You could at least pretend to have a little faith in me."

    No, he couldn''t. She waspletely ipetent. Aaron Hale would likely rather sleep with a dead pig before he slept with this horrid woman.

    However¡­he had been spotted with her more than a few times now. If they kept things up and the rumors kept flying around it wouldn''t matter whose baby Lacy actually carried. The Hales would be forced to ept responsibility.

    Even if they did a DNA test after the baby was born it wouldn''t matter if she was already married into the family. They would hush things up to prevent a scandal since the Hale parents wanted Aaron to marry her from the beginning anyway.

    How troublesome. Gray may be forced to do this himself. Well, she was beautiful for a viper. If he ignored what she was actually like this might not be too much of a chore.

    This was a better n anyway. Aaron Hale was a cold, dead fish. Children needed affection. If Gray nted his child in the Hale household and nurtured it from the outside so it was loyal to him, taking the Hales down from within would be a piece of cake.

 Chapter 240: Hammocks

    <h4>Chapter 240: Hammocks</h4>

    Keeley didn''t end up going to Ryan''s birthday party even though Valentina texted her asking where she was. Instead, she went furniture shopping with Aaron and her dad. It was a bit strange how that ended up happening.

    Aaron asked her to help him start redecorating over the weekend like she had promised but she was worried about her dad and wanted to spend time with him.

    "Why not bring him along?" he asked. "It would probably be good for him to get out of the house."

    She couldn''t deny that but doubted he would want to go furniture shopping. She shot him a text anyway and was surprised when he agreed almost immediately. Sometimes Aaron could be surprisingly perceptive considering he was usually a blockhead about other people''s emotions.

    So that was how the three of them ended up inside a furniture store on a Saturday afternoon.

    Aaron surprised her by picking a nice but definitely not ridiculously expensive store. He exined there was no point getting super fancy stuff because of the cats. Dinah had already scratched up a few of his couch cushions.

    Keeley was overwhelmed by all the choices. She wasn''t even sure where to start.

    "¡­remind me what you want again?"

    "Furniture to fill the empty spaces and more art for the walls," he said simply.

    There was an awful lot of empty space in his house, particrly on the second floor where the entertaining was meant to happen. She couldn''t see him having enough people over to need extra seats but also couldn''t deny the rooms looked lonely without them.

    She put her hands on her hips and looked around. Still too many options. It might be better to start with something she knew he needed.

    "Let''s go to the outdoor furniture section."

    Robert was confused. "You have a yard in this city?"

    She snorted. "He has not one, but THREE terraces. It''s insane. He needs to put things up there because it''s the emptiest part of the entire house."

    Aaron smiled indulgently at her. "Are you still convinced I need a hammock?"

    "Yes! Follow me, I''ll show you how important hammocks are."

    She grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him forward in her impatience, not noticing the blissful expression on his face or the knowing smile on her father''s. The outdoor furniture selection was fairly limited considering most people in the cityck both backyards and terraces but there was still enough to work with.

    "You need to have ces to sit on all of the terraces, not just one, so you can shake it up when you feel like it. If you get tables too you can eat out there when the weather is nice!" Something urred to her. "Oh. Have you ever had a barbecue before?"

    "¡­no."

    "That''s okay, I''ll teach you! You''ll need a grill¡­oooh, what about a fire pit?"

    Her eyes lit up with excitement and she bounced up and down. "You''ve never roasted marshmallows either, have you? You have so much to learn, young padawan."

    "Nice reference," Robert said with a chuckle.

    Aaron seemed confused. "What''s a padawan?"

    "It''s a Star Wars thing."

    "I watched all of those movies and I have no memory of this."

    She tilted her head as she gauged his confusion. "Did you watch episodes I, II, and III or just the originals?"

    "The originals."

    "Ah, that exins it. The originals are better but they''re alright."

    Her father interjected. "No they''re not; they''re terrible and should not be considered a part of Star Wars canon."

    Keeley rolled her eyes. He imed to hate them and yet he still caught her reference. "Ignore him. He''s a purist."

    She pped her hands together and looked around. Where were the hammocks? That was what they specifically came for. She found them tucked away in the back of the outdoor section and raced toward them.

    "¡­is she always this excited about hammocks?" she heard Aaron ask.

    "Son, she''s always this excited about everything she likes."

    Keeley pouted. What was wrong with being easily excitable? There was so much dreariness in the world. Finding excitement in the little things helped keep her sane.

    The first hammock she tried was skinny and deep. She had a hard time getting into it and could barely even see above her because she was cocooned in fabric. That was no fun; hammocks were meant for staring at the sky.

    "Dad! A little help please!" she hollered since she was stuck and couldn''t figure out how to get out without spilling herself onto the floor. He rushed over immediately and offered a hand while Aaron held the fabric still so it would stop swinging side to side.

    "Thanks," she said sheepishly. "I don''t rmend that one."

    Keeley scanned the room. A lot of the hammocks were like that one. Why was that style so popr? The thing was a death trap!

    She found what she was looking for a minuteter. The hammock was wide, t, and even had a pillow attached. It was pretty cute too with its blue, white, and green stripes.

    She carefully climbed on and scooted her way to the middle so she wouldn''t flip. This one was pretty nice.

    "Hey Aaron,e try this one!"

    He made his way over and looked at it cautiously. "How am I supposed to get on without falling off?"

    "Do what I did and crawl to the middle," she instructed.

    He began doing so and she momentarily panicked. Not while she was still on it! They were both going to fall off that way.

    Surprisingly, though it was shaky, neither of them fell off. Keeley scooted over to make more room for him. This was a double hammock so it fit two people perfectly fine.

    "Well, what do you think?" she asked as they gently rocked back and forth. "Super rxing, right? I could do this all day."

    Aaron turned his head to look at her with a soft expression. "Yeah. I could do this all day too."

    Robert chose that moment to speak up. She had nearly forgotten he was watching. How embarrassing!

    "I would rmend holding off on that until you get it to your house. The other furniture awaits us."

    Feeling embarrassed, she immediately got off the hammock and unbnced things so Aaron crashed to the floor. She squeaked out an apology that he brushed off. Acting like nothing happened, he said he would take all of her advice and went to go talk to a store clerk.

 Chapter 241: Someone Warm

    <h4>Chapter 241: Someone Warm</h4>

    Once Aaron was out of earshot, her father decided to tease her. "You two seem awfully close these days. I was surprised when you invited me to go furniture shopping with him."

    Keeley''s embarrassment increased. He still didn''t know he was the friend she was staying with.

    "I owed him a favor for helping me move. He had been talking about wanting new furniture for a while but doesn''t trust his own taste. His ce is pretty minimalist."

    "It seems like you''re over there fairly often to know which pieces of furniture to get," Robert said shrewdly.

    She waved it off as best she could.

    "It''s easier to hang out at his ce because he doesn''t have roommates. He''s let me use his TV room a few times, it''s amazing! The TV covers half of the wall and the couch is the biggest I''ve ever seen. Three people could lie down on it side by side and still not touch."

    He smiled and ruffled her hair. "Well I''m d you''re getting along. I think he needs someone like you in his life."

    Keeley was confused. "Someone like me?"

    "Someone warm."

    As Aaron walked back over to them, she recalled a conversation they had a couple of weeks ago where he said she brought warmth into his cold world. Looking at the rxed air he gave off now she could see it. Even icebergs needed to experience feeling warm.

    Keeley never realized how much of an impact she had on him until that moment. It was a bit overwhelming and she almost wanted to cry but held herself back.

    ''Stupid. That''s a dumb thing to get emotional about,'' she chided herself internally.

    They headed back to the inner part of the store and spent the better part of 45 minutes testing out couches, recliners, and love seats. Keeley tried to stick to ck or gray to match his color scheme and rationalized that the art could be the pop of color in the rooms.

    You wouldn''t think testing couches would be exhausting but if she had to sit down and get back up one more time she might just pass out.

    "I think that''s enough for you," Aaron said as he noticed her get a bit lightheaded when she stood up, reaching out to steady her. "We can pick out art another day. Let''s pay for what we''ve already picked and set up a time for it to be delivered. I''m going to treat you both to dinner."

    "Are you sure?" Robert asked hesitantly. He wasn''t used to other people paying for his food.

    "Just ept it Dad, he doesn''t know how to take no for an answer. I can''t tell you how much food he''s brought me over the past year," Keeley said as she rolled her eyes.

    "Is that why you gave him a mug that says ''#1 Errand Boy'' on it for Christmas?"

    Aaron nodded and answered seriously. "It''s my most prized possession."

    She giggled. The tone didn''t exactly match the words, making his statement even funnier.

    Robert shook his head and smiled at them. Those two were too cute. They needed to just get together already. He noticed his daughter lit up around Aaron in a way she didn''t around anyone else since he came over for Christmas Eve.

    After checking out and setting up a delivery time for the following day, they went to that Japanese steakhouse Keeley and her father liked. Since Robert hadn''t been here in this life, he was amazed by what the chef could do over an open fire.

    She watched his enjoyment with a relieved smile on her face. He obviously needed to get out and do something fun today. Who would have thought that would happen in the form of furniture shopping? She owed Aaron one for thinking of inviting him out.

    ncing over at him as he deftly used his chopsticks (the Halls both had to use forks) she thought about how much he had changed. The Aaron she had married and the Aaron currently eating egg rolls acted very differently.

    He had be much more considerate, funny, and dare she say, normal. He wasn''t the almighty existence he had been before but she liked it better that way. It made him more human.

    He had actually be the kind of person Keeley 2.0 liked spending time with. It didn''t feel like a chore or like she was indulging him anymore. She was actually kind of enjoying herself.

    Sitting around a table,ughing and eating good food with her father and Aaron¡­this was the kind of life she used to wish for. Now she wasn''t sure how to feel about it so she tried focusing on enjoying the moment withoutparing it to the past.

    She got up to go to the bathroom at one point and on her way back identally knocked shoulders with a very tall, devastatingly handsome man she had never seen before who somehow seemed oddly familiar.

    "Sorry! I wasn''t watching where I was going."

    "Don''t worry about it," the man said with a smile. "I''m at fault too."

    Keeley forgot all about the encounter once she got back to her table, not knowing that the man was still looking at her from his own table like she was a rather intriguing puzzle.

    The food was delicious and when the meal was winding down, she noticed a glob of something green that remained on everyone''s tes. "Nobody wanted their wasabi?"

    Aaron shook his head. "I''d rather live, thanks."

    "I don''t even know what wasabi is," her father admitted.

    Her eyes sparkled with mischief. She had tasted it once before many years ago and it hadn''t affected her at all. She was going to freak Aaron out by eating a bunch of it at once and not reacting.

    She stabbed the green ball on her te with a fork and shoved it into her mouth whole right as Aaron cried out, "Keeley, don''t¡ª!"

    The inside of her mouth burned slightly but it really wasn''t so bad. She smiled serenely and decided to y dumb. "Don''t what?"

    He gaped at her like she was an alien. "¡­you just ate an entire ball of wasabi and didn''t feel anything? This stuff has to be defective. There''s no way."

    She didn''t even have time to warn him before he stubbornly ate his entire ball of wasabi as well and practically choked to death as tears streamed from his eyes. Panicked, she thumped him on the back a couple of times.

    "Are you okay?!"

    "You''re insane," he coughed. "How did you even do that?"

    Robert chuckled at both of them before trying a tiny piece of the wasabi to see what the fuss was all about. He didn''t react either. All he had to say was that it was an interesting vor.

    "Both of you are superhuman," Aaron wheezed. The Halls exchanged a nce with each other before bursting outughing at his expense.

 Chapter 242: Foreknowledge

    <h4>Chapter 242: Foreknowledge</h4>

    Graydon certainly hadn''t expected to run into the two people he was interested in most when he was out to dinner with one of his manydy friends. He did a noticeable double take when he saw them walk into the restaurant with a middle-aged man.

    His date was so concerned that she asked him if anything was wrong. He had topose himself quickly and put on his usual debonair smile.

    "Nothing at all, my dear. Shall we order?"

    But after that Graydon''s eyes remained on the little group sitting a few tables over instead of his date. He hadn''t even heard of Keeley Hall before this week and now he was seeing her with Aaron in the flesh.

    Lacy Knighton would be furious. It was better not to tell her and simply observe for himself.

    The way the three of them easily conversed with each other it was obvious they had all spent time together before. Was Aaron cheating on his fianc¨¦e? Or had the fianc¨¦e been fake all along like he suspected?

    When Graydon saw Keeley head towards the bathroom, he knew he had to time it perfectly to make his n work. He was going to bump into her on purpose and see what kind of person she was. You could tell a lot about someone based on how they treated perfect strangers.

    After he bumped into her she looked up in surprise and smiled sheepishly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sorry! I wasn''t watching where I was going."

    So she was a nice one, eh? Taking responsibility when it wasn''t even her fault. Only the kindest of people did that.

    He put on a charming smile. "Don''t worry about it. I''m at fault too."

    She seemed relieved and hurried back to her table where she happily chowed down on her food. Noticing the happy, rxed expression on the usually reticent Aaron''s face, Graydon couldn''t help but wonder what spell this girl had cast on him.

    She was absolutely normal in every way but he had to admit she was a much better match for him than that witch Lacy. He actually seemed to enjoy herpany. That was how rtionships were supposed to work.

    No, he couldn''t get ahead of himself. He didn''t know if they even had a rtionship. They might simply be old friends.

    Regardless of their rtionship, it was painfully clear that Aaron valued this girl which made Graydon value her as well. Anyone connected to Aaron could potentially be useful to him.

    A few minutester, Aaron began choking on something and Keeley was the one to frantically put her hand on his back and check if he was okay. The mystery deepened. What exactly was going on between those two? And how did Bethany Carlisle factor in?

    She wasn''t on social media but Graydon knew a thing or two about hacking. He could probably find more information on her, particrly about her rtionship with Aaron, if he dug deep enough. He wanted to know which of his theories was correct.

    ''I sincerely hope you aren''t a cheater, Aaron,'' he thought with a tinge of dismay. ''Because then I would have to destroy you too.''

    ===

    They dropped Robert off with his leftovers after Aaron recovered sufficiently from his wasabi attack so he could signal the waiter for the check. Keeley gave her dad a big kiss on the cheek as she waved him off and sighed happily as she leaned back against her seat.

    She looked toward the driver''s side with a grateful smile. "Thanks for suggesting we bring him along. I think he really needed this today."

    "No problem. I''ve always liked your dad."

    Always? He had been too busy with work to visit with her after they got married but she supposed he had seemed happy enough hanging out at her ce in high school. He really was such a softy under that emotionless exterior.

    Keeley sighed and brought up a difficult question she''d been wondering about because of her dadtely. "How did you do it? How did you keep going for so long once I was gone?"

    He turned to face her as they pulled up to a stoplight. "Is this because of your dad?"

    She couldn''t hide anything from him anymore. He saw through her too easily. "Yes."

    Aaron sighed and flexed his hands on the steering wheel before answering.

    "For the first few years I was fueled by revenge. After that I drifted along aimlessly for years, barely managing to distract myself with work, until I met someone who needed me. His name was Jeremy and I think you would have found him interesting. He reminded me of myself when I was younger."

    She couldn''t deny she was a bit curious about how his life yed out after she was gone. "Who was he?"

    "My prot¨¦g¨¦. I eventually left Hale Investments and all of my other assets to him. I didn''t have anybody else to leave them to."

    Right. Without an heir he would have had to leave thepany to someone else eventually. She assumed he wouldn''t have found someone to rece him and left the board in chaos since he didn''t typically get close to people back then.

    "Is he¡­alive right now?"

    Aaron chuckled slightly. "Yes, but he''s also only a year old. I was actually thinking about him the other day, wondering if he''ll stille work for me eventually."

    It must be so strange having so much knowledge of the future. Keeley was only six years behind the end of her original timeline now and it was weird enough that certain shows, songs, and movies hadn''te out yet.

    He lived nearly twice as long as she had in their first life. What sorts of things did he remember? How much had the world changed in those twenty-seven years?

    He wasn''t the type to pay attention to pop culture so she couldn''t even ask him how the newer Star Wars trilogy ended. She had died about six months before the final film was set to be released. Now she had to wait another six years to know the ending.

    Annoying. All that foreknowledge and she couldn''t even ask him anything useful!

 Chapter 243: Im Not Sure What To Say

    <h4>Chapter 243: I''m Not Sure What To Say</h4>

    Once the hammock was delivered, Keeley spent hours in it soaking up the sun every day for the rest of August. It quickly became her favorite thing to do. Whenever Aaron couldn''t find her, he would check the highest terrace.

    He ended up setting up his three terraces'' furniture differently. The lowest one held a table, chairs, and a grill. The middle one had a sectional couch surrounding a fire pit. The top one held the originalwn chair and the hammock.

    She tried to spend as much time as possible outdoors before being cooped up inside for the rest of the semester so she also taught Aaron how to use the grill. They ended up eating a lot of steak and chicken at the table on the lower terrace.

    Keeley also taught him the fine art of s''mores, which he didn''t quite get at first. He kept getting melted marshmallow all over his fingers and then would pull a disgusted face. She tried really hard not tough at him but he looked too funny.

    "No, no, you have to squish the other half of the graham cracker down on top of it first and then pull the stick out," she exined while demonstrating on her own s''more. "See? The marshmallow only gets on my face, not my hands."

    "¡­this is very messy."

    "Yeah, it''s kind of the point. Isn''t it good though?"

    Aaron nodded with his mouth full, making herugh again. He was actually kind of cute sometimes once you got past the tenyers of ice. In theirst life, she never would have called him cute. Ever.

    She contentedly finished off her s''more and set to roasting another marshmallow for the next one. Spending time with him like this aftering home from theb was actually kind of nice. The silences weren''t awkward anymore.

    "Oh hey, before I forget. I''m going down to Marnd this weekend. Can you take care of Molly for me?" she asked.

    Even though they lived in the same house they were still each responsible for the feeding and litter box cleaning of their own pet. It was kind of an unspoken rule.

    "Sure. Why are you going to Marnd?"

    Keeley turned over the marshmallow to examine whether or not the underside was golden brown. It wasn''t quite there yet. She would give it another minute.

    "Do you remember my friend Jeffrey? I''m going to go see him and his girlfriend. Oh wait, she''s his fianc¨¦e now. They got engagedst week."

    "Vaguely. Was he the one you went to the Valentine''s dance with? I think he was afraid of me," Aaron said a bit ruefully.

    Sheughed and patted his shoulder. "Everybody was afraid of you back then. You''re much more approachable now."

    He scowled. "I know, it''s annoying. People think they can juste up and talk to me at work."

    Small talk, an introvert''s worst nightmare. Poor thing. Although she couldn''t imagine just anyone approaching him for a friendly chat.

    "Are you referring to Cameron and Aiden?"

    "Mostly but it''s not only them. After I got fake engaged nobody would stop approaching me," he said with a genuine shudder.

    Keeley snickered. "That''s your own fault. People always get excited about things like that."

    For someone so meticulous for the most part, Aaron really didn''t know how to think things through. It was probably why he frequently found himself on the short end of the stick. You''d never notice that though unless you really knew him.

    She wondered if anyone else even did. His work friends certainly spend the most time with him but did they really understand him? It was virtually impossible to get inside his head.

    Aaron''s expression suddenly grew serious. "Keeley, do you like it here?"

    Did he mean here as in New York or here as in his apartment? Probably thetter.

    She shrugged, answering casually. "Of course I do. The mattress is great, I have pretty much full ownership of the TV remote, and get to do fun stuff like this because you have the coolest terraces ever. Why do you ask?"

    He set down his roasting stick and the marshmallow slid right off it into the fire. He didn''t seem to notice or care.

    "Do you really have to leave in January?"

    Oh. A pit formed in her stomach. The past few weeks had felt sort of like a vacation from the real world since she hadn''t done anything school rted other than buy thest textbooks she would ever need¡ªthat had been a sobering experience.

    But as soon as she got back from Marnd, school would start again and the threat of not having a job after graduation would be very real. She needed to talk to Dr. Kim about staying on but didn''t want to appear pushy.

    "I''m not sure yet," she admitted. "It depends on where I can find a job."

    "Do you have to work at a university? What if there was ab that was working on what you want to research?"

    Keeley scoffed. "Yeah, like that would ever happen. It would be too perfect."

    Aaron cleared his throat and fiddled with his hands nervously. She had never seen him this nervous before. What was he thinking?

    "Um¡­what if I funded it? So you could stay in the city. I looked into it a littlebs are always looking for backers. I could help you continue your research. I know how much it means to you. Wouldn''t it be the best of both worlds? You could stay in the city you love researching what you want to and I¡­wouldn''t have to be alone," he finishedmely.

    She blinked at him in shock. She never expected him to offer to fund her research. Every scientist dreamed of having a rich backer! But it didn''t seem fair if he was only doing it to keep her here with him.

    "I''m not sure what to say," she said honestly.

    He interlocked his fingers and finally met her gaze. "You don''t have to answer now. You still don''t know if NYU will decide to keep you on or not. Just know that it''s one of your options. You don''t have to leave the city you love if you don''t want to."

    With that deration, Aaron speared another marshmallow and began roasting again as if nothing had happened.

 Chapter 244: A Break From Reality

    <h4>Chapter 244: A Break From Reality</h4>

    Keeley had a lot to think about on the bus ride down to Marnd. She brought a book to read but kept putting it down and picking it back up. She couldn''t concentrate. Her mind kept going back to Aaron''s offer.

    At minimum, it would cost him several hundred thousand dors to convince ab to take her on and continue her research where she left it off. She was about to finish herst trial during the first couple weeks of the semester. All that would be left after that is about 100 pages of writing it up.

    It was viable research¡ªthe gene therapy had been effective in the mice¡ªbut was it really worth it to do all of that for her?

    She knew this wasrgely guilt-motivated. Aaron wanted her to be happy and live her dreams because she hadn''t been able to do it before. She knew his other motivation as well; he wanted to keep her by his side.

    It was too huge of a gift. How could she possibly ept it? It would more than make up for everything that happened between them before and would leave her feeling indebted to him forever. She didn''t want that.

    Keeley cared about Aaron. She wanted him to be happy.

    The past month and a half was the happiest she had ever consistently seen him. He wasn''t trying to hide his emotions anymore so she could inly see how much having her around meant to him.

    She was having fun but it was like a break from reality. This wasn''t how her life worked. She was a normal person getting a normal degree and trying to make her way in the world.

    If he just up and funded her research to get her to stay it would be cheating! Keeley had worked hard to get where she was but so had a bunch of other people. Bypassing the system because of money wouldn''t be fair.

    Although¡­she had to admit she was wavering. She was concerned it was selfish using his money like that but what about all the people living with cystic fibrosis? Her research might really help them. If she could get started on it five to ten years sooner it could make a difference for a lot more people.

    Her brain went around and around in circles. She didn''t know what to think anymore. Jeffrey and Keisha would hopefully help her get her mind off of things for a while.

    At least this time she knew for a fact she wouldn''t be asked to be a bridesmaid. She''d had more than enough of that for a lifetime.

    When she finally arrived at their house, she was greeted at the door by Keisha and her two excited dogs. She had a bright smile on her face as she reached out to hug Keeley.

    "So good to see you! Come on in, Jeff''s making dinner."

    She grinned as she hugged her back. "You sure it''s going to be edible?"

    A call of "I heard that!" came from the kitchen, making both of themugh.

    "In all seriousness though, he''s actually pretty decent in the kitchen. He spent about a month jobless after graduation and during that time he made all the food because I was at work. Now we usually switch off."

    They walked into the kitchen and Keeley went for a hug. "Tell me all about what post grad school life is like! I want to know what to be prepared for," she said dramatically.

    Jeffrey shook his head and bopped her on the shoulder softly with his fist. "Work is exhausting but there''s the perk of no homework."

    "That''s not entirely true! I''ve seen you read over paperwork at home before," Keisha said sternly.

    "Because it was important and my boss was on my case! Oh, never mind. My point is, you have more free time than as a student because once you''re done for the day you''re done. But I''m telling you¡­job hunting sucks."

    Keeley had already heard about his problems with that. He started looking for a job back in February and didn''t find one until the middle of July. She needed to start job hunting ASAP or she would be in the same boat.

    Oh wait. No she wouldn''t. She had Aaron''s offer to fall back on. Ugh, it was still too much to think about!

    "Yeah, I''m wondering what to do about that myself," she admitted.

    They chatted about work vs school until all of the dinner preparations wereplete. Jeffrey had made eggnt parmesan and it was surprisingly good. Keisha was right; he was decent in the kitchen.

    She wondered if Lydia knew. The two of them used to tease Jeffrey about things all the time. How was she these days, anyway? Keeley should be better about texting her.

    Being an adult and managing friendships is hard. She was lucky she was able to get away this weekend to spend time with these two. Thest time she saw them was at Lydia''s wedding in April.

    Four hours doesn''t seem like that big of a distance until you actually have to drive it. She could count the number of times she had seen Jeffrey since he went tow school on one hand.

    They sat aroundughing and talking for a few hours until Keeley brought up the potential itinerary. "I don''t know anything about Baltimore; what are the best things to see?"

    "Um¡­Fort McHenry, the National Aquarium, and the historic ships in the Inner Harbor," Keisha said. She was the one that grew up here and knew best. "We should have time to hit all of that tomorrow. Or we could split it up; your call."

    "Let''s y it by ear," she suggested. "The aquarium sounds fun. One of the guys in Dr. Kim''sb was researching seahorse gics so there was a tank in there my first year of grad school. I got kind of attached to those little guys. It was sad when they took the tank away."

    Jeffreyughed. "Why am I not surprised. Did you cry when your mice died too?"

    "I''ll have you know that only one of them died and yes, yes I did," she sniffed.

    Out of the blue, one of the mice from her fifth trial batch died. It skewed her research slightly but didn''t change the fact that most of the mice did see improvement. There was still statistical significance to her findings.

    Keisha smiled and made a calming gesture between the two of them. "The aquarium sounds fun. We''ll see what we''re up for after that. Sound good?"

    They both nodded a bit mutinously, like small children caught by their mother in an argument. This weekend was going to be fun.

 Chapter 245: A Pregnancy Test

    <h4>Chapter 245: A Pregnancy Test</h4>

    The next morning the trio set out on their aquarium adventure bright and early to beat the crowds. Keeley couldn''t remember thest time she had been to one of these. Probably when her mom and Kaleb were still alive.

    Undersea life was both strange and beautiful. Watching the colorful fish and other sea creatures glide peacefully through the water was very rxing. It helped her forget the worries she couldn''t quite leave behind in New York.

    Her favorite exhibit was probably the one imitating a tropical rainforest. Why they had that in an aquarium she wasn''t quite sure but they did that sometimes. Thest one she went to had snow leopards in it for some reason.

    Keisha''s favorite was the tunnel under the shark tank. Sharks and other fish could swim right above your head, which was both amazing and a little scary. Jeffrey preferred the jellyfish exhibit.

    They all made sure to get plenty of pictures at each. Keeley took some of just the engaged couple together and in turn they took solo shots of her. When they wanted everyone in the picture they had to ask a stranger for help. Selfies don''t exactly work if you want to see what''s in the tanks behind you properly.

    After leaving the aquarium, they wandered around looking at all of the historic ships for a while. Some of them were from the mid-1800s, which was crazy to think about. They were still afloat after more than a hundred and fifty years.

    There was a submarine too. Kaleb had always wondered what it would be like to go inside one but never got the chance. She made sure to take a picture of it for his sake and hoped he saw her do it.

    It was a lovely day until they went to a seafood restaurant near the harbor and Keeley had to run to the bathroom to puke. The very smell of fish was making her gag.

    Keisha came after her a few minutester. "You okay in there?" she called from the other side of the stall door.

    "I''ll let you know when I sto¡ª" she had to cut herself off to puke again. Gross. "Stop puking."

    "Did you eat something bad earlier? We haven''t even gotten our food yet."

    "No," she said miserably. "All I had this morning was a gran bar and an apple."

    Keisha went ''hmm'' before asking her next question. "Do you feel sick anywhere else? You were fine a few minutes ago."

    "No. I suddenly had to puke because the fish smelled horrible."

    "The fish smelled horri¡ªgirl, are you pregnant?!" she asked in disbelief.

    What little blood was left in her face drained right out of it. Not possible. She and Aaron only did the deed once and she took the morning after pill!

    "No¡­I took the pill after¡­I can''t be," Keeley mumbled before retching again.

    "When did you take it?"

    She thought back. She meant to take it right after work that Monday but then Ryan got in the way¡­she didn''t take it until Tuesday night. She missed the 24 hour window. It was within 72 hours but did that make a difference?

    "About 36 hourster."

    Keisha sucked in a breath. "Oh honey, those things are 95% effective in the first twenty-four hours but after that it drops down to 89% and after seventy-two hours it doesn''t work at all."

    So she had an 11% chance of being pregnant? That was so small and yet¡­

    "I think I need a pregnancy test. Right now," she said feebly.

    "Okay, open the door and I''ll help you. This is a girl emergency; we don''t have to exin it to Jeff. I''ll let him know we''re going somewhere for a while."

    Keeley teared up. She was being so nice about this. "Thank you."

    Her nausea had passed so she shakily got to her feet and left the stall to wash her hands. A nce in the mirror told her she looked terrible. There was no use stressing out about it yet. This might just be a coincidence.

    Keisha wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders as they exited the restaurant and headed back towards town. There was a drugstore a few blocks away.

    She picked out a box that had three pregnancy tests in it so people could triple check and stuck it in her purse after paying. Keeley followed numbly in her wake.

    Thest time she took a pregnancy test was about two years after getting married in her first life. They had been trying to have a baby for about three months when she finally missed her period. She had been so excited seeing those two blue lines appear. Now she felt sick.

    This couldn''t be happening to her. 11%. There was no way she was that much of a statistical anomaly. Except¡­she had already been reborn and the chances of that happening were way less than 11%. Statistics were not in her favor.

    They made it back to the house before Jeffrey did and Keisha ushered her into the bathroom after giving her a paper cup to pee into so it would be easier to do all three tests at once. Waiting for the lines to appear was the most stressful three minutes of both of her lives.

    Keeley was so grateful she didn''t have to do this alone. The other woman''s arms were around her the entire time as they both peered onto the counter at the test sticks.

    Pregnant. Unsure. Pregnant.

    Two of the three tests had clear results. Her knees buckled and Keisha had to catch her so she didn''t smash headfirst into the counter.

    "Calm down," she said. "Deep breaths. It''s going to be okay. Let''s get you over to the couch and we''ll figure out what to do."

    Do? What else could she do? After traumatically having her baby aborted without her consent and getting her reproductive organs removed in the process there was no way she would take a life for granted. She had to give birth to it.

    Keeley had wanted to be a mother at some point in the next few years anyway. The problem was Aaron. He would be thrilled but he would also want to marry her straightaway.

    She didn''t want that, right? Wasn''t she fighting against her old life as Mrs. Hale this entire time? Logically, she knew that Aaron had changed but she was terrified of going back to the way things were.

    She couldn''t go through all of that again. The stares. The whispers. The constant judgment. He said he would leave high society behind for her but could he really escape it? What about his parents? He wouldn''t be able to hide her forever!

 Chapter 246: Options

    <h4>Chapter 246: Options</h4>

    "Keeley, can you tell me what you''re feeling right now?" Keisha asked in a soothing voice. "I want to help you but I need to know what you want."

    Tears filled her eyes as she saw the genuinepassion on the other woman''s face. "I have to keep this baby but¡­"

    "Will the father not support it?"

    "No, he''d marry me tomorrow if he could."

    "Is he bad to you?"

    Keeley shook her head. "No, he''s very good to me."

    "Then what''s the problem here?"

    She buried her face in her hands, too mortified to be seen as she gave a rough exnation. She gave Keisha the bare facts. They were together before and he was cold, distant, and left behind a bunch of misunderstandings (though that was the understatement of the century).

    He came back and was different but she wasn''t in love with him anymore and even hated him. Over time she got used to him and considered him a friend but didn''t want tomit again in case everything was the same as before.

    Keisha furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of it all. "And you''re staying with him right now because your dad is allergic to cats?"

    "Yes," she said miserably. "And I was actually kind of having fun too. I was letting myself enjoy being with him and forgetting about all the reasons we didn''t work out in the first ce. I can''t marry him."

    ''Not again,'' she added on silently.

    "I want you to know that I''m on your side no matter what and whatever I say now is just to let you see your options clearly, okay?" Keisha waited for Keeley to nod before continuing.

    "If you keep this baby, legally, it''s half the father''s so you will have toe to some sort of custody arrangement. Even if you don''t marry him you''ll still have to deal with him regrly for a minimum of eighteen years, not includingter special events like graduations and weddings.

    "As a single mom, it will be a lot harder for you to date, hang out with friends, or have a life of your own. Even if you have friends and family members helping you it''s going to be rough, especially financially. Right now you don''t even have your own ce to live and don''t have a job lined up after graduation.

    "Even with child support, it might be rough. Your child will have to be in daycare and after school programs while you work. I''m only telling you all of this because this same thing happened to my sister. She had a friends with benefits situation going on and he said he would support the baby but wouldn''t marry her."

    She reached out to hold Keeley''s hands. "I want you to think about which would be harder for you personally. Staying with this guy who is good to you but you don''t currently love or dealing with it on your own but still having to see him to co-parent."

    Honestly, she wasn''t sure. She wasn''t able to shake Aaron anyway. The universe''s cosmic joke on her continued. It really was trying to set them back up together permanently, wasn''t it?

    She could marry him as he was now and have fun and be treated well at the risk of dealing with the wrath of her former inws once again. Or she could not marry him but still have to deal with him all of the time and the baby would be in an unstable environment.

    That wouldn''t be fair to the baby. This was her choice¡ªher stupid choice to have a one night stand with someone she knew wasn''t right for her¡ªand she had to own up to it.

    Keeley looked up at her friend ruefully. "I know what I have to do. But how do I tell him?"

    It was that moment that the lock clicked as it was opened and Jeffrey stood in the doorway, realizing he ruined an emotionally charged moment. He awkwardly ced his hand on the back of his neck.

    "I should just go."

    She sighed. "It''s fine. The major drama is out of the way anyway. It''s your house; you shouldn''t be locked out of it."

    He nervously sat on the only other avable cushion next to Keeley. "Are you alright?"

    The truth would get out sooner orter. She may as well tell him. "I''m pregnant," she mumbled.

    Jeffrey''s eyes widened. "I didn''t even know you were dating anybody."

    She leaned forward and buried her head in Keisha''s shoulder, wanting to die of embarrassment. "I''m not."

    His fianc¨¦e shot him a look and he immediately panicked because he said the wrong thing. He was quick to defend himself. "Not that there''s anything wrong with that! Um¡­should I congratte you or not?"

    "Go ahead," she said quietly. "I''m keeping it. A baby is something worth celebrating."

    "Congrattions then!"

    He was trying so hard and but his ability to make anything awkward never changed. She might haveughed at his earnestness if she wasn''t so stressed out. How on earth was she going to tell Aaron?

    Keisha cleared her throat. "Before we were so rudely interrupted¡­you were asking how to tell him?"

    She sat up straight and nodded.

    "You could always just say it casually¡­but if he wants to marry you already and knows you don''t want to get married that could spark a heated discussion¡­definitely practice what you''re going to say beforehand."

    Jeffrey squinted at them both in confusion. "Wait a second here. Who wants to marry you? Why haven''t I heard about this? I thought I was supposed to be one of your best friends."

    Keeley looked up at him with a wry smile. "I haven''t told anyone. One of my friends figured it out because he talked to her once about me without mentioning my name but that''s it."

    "So¡­who is it?"

    His fianc¨¦e reached over and smacked him on the arm. "You don''t just ask a girl who the father of her baby is!"

    She smiled to reassure Keisha. "It''s fine, he''ll figure it out eventually anyway¡­it''s just a little embarrassing because he already knows the guy."

    The squinting grew even more pronounced. "I don''t know any guys that you know."

    It hit him like a sledgehammer a momentter and he jumped off the couch in shock. "Aaron Hale?! You seriously got knocked up by Aaron freaking Hale? And he already wanted to marry you before this?!"

    Keisha didn''t see what all the fuss was about. "Who''s Aaron Hale?"

    Jeffrey was about ready to tear his hair out as he paced in circles. "You''re not from New York so you wouldn''t know but he''s one of the richest, most powerful men in the city and he was obsessed with Keeley in high school."

    He turned toward Keeley in agitation. "I had no idea you were still in contact with him! I thought you hated the guy."

    She looked down guiltily. "He''s different than I thought he was. He''s really nice to me and I have fun with him."

    He dropped back onto the couch as if his very soul had deserted him. "Nice? Fun? Are we talking about the same Aaron Hale here? He''s terrifying."

    Well, he had been when Jeffrey knew him. His reaction wasn''t too surprising. Especially since Aaron had been particrly cold to him for daring to be her date to the Valentine''s dance.

    "He''s not like that around me. He''s actually very warm and considerate."

    Jeffrey shook his head. "I''d have to see it to believe it. Hang on then¡­does that mean in the future whenever I see you I''ll have to see the Ice King too?"

    The exaggerated look of horror on his face made Keisha crack up. She wiped tears from her eyes with a grin on her face.

    "It takes a lot to scare this one. You must have caught yourself quite a man, girl!"

    Keeley scowled. She wasn''t wrong, but they were totally making fun of her.

    "He''s really not so bad. He has normal friends now. He even organized a bachelor party as someone''s best man recently and yed paintball and drinking games like an ordinary guy. And he gets along well with my dad."

    "Whoa, he hangs out with your dad? I thought you said you weren''t dating him," Jeffrey said in awe.

    "¡­it''splicated. But that''s not the point; how am I supposed to tell him?"

    Jeffrey shrugged. "If he really wants to marry you already you can make a special asion out of it. Be romantic. Let him know you''re cool with spending your life with him. Be sure not to let him know how reluctant you are! He might murder you!"

    "He is not going to murder me!"

    It would make him sad though so she didn''t want to do that. She had to find the right words. Aaron already knew she didn''t love him. If she told him she was willing to stay with him and raise their child together so long as he continued supporting her the way he had been recently it should work.

    His idea about a romantic gesture had merit though. She might have an idea. It would require waiting a little over a week but she could hold off that long.

    "I think I figured it out," she announced. "Can we please change the topic now? I want to do somethingpletely unrted to pregnancy since I don''t get to see you guys very often."

    Her friends exchanged a nce and said "sure" in perfect sync before suggesting they y board games. That could be a good distraction.

    She didn''t want to think about the life growing inside her again until she got back to New York. Right now, she needed to live in the moment.

    ===

    Keeley wasn''t able to hold off until she got back. Jeffrey and Keisha were great about distracting her throughout the rest of her trip and she had a lot of fun with them but the second she got on that bus back to her hometown the thoughts wouldn''t stop.

    She found herself cradling herpletely t stomach. This was where everything truly went wrong before. What if someone in Aaron''s family found out? They would scheme against her again for sure.

    ''Mommy''s going to protect you this time, baby,'' she thought fiercely. Even if she had to go give birth all the way in New Jersey, she would not let anyone within Alistair Hale''s sphere of influence near her child again.

    She tried to imagine Aaron''s face when she told him but couldn''t do it. The first time it happened he was still emotionally constipated and his face was about as expressive as a rock. He did his pleased little smirk but that was it. That idiot.

    It would probably mean a lot more to him this time as well because of the one they lost before. She wasn''t worried about his reaction. She was worried about finding herself trapped as Mrs. Hale again.

    She took deep, calming breaths. Aaron''s security had increased tenfold. His father didn''t even know where he lived, let alone have any servants spying on him.

    Thest society party he went to was Lacy Knighton''s birthday back in April and that was only so he could humiliate her. He wasn''t a part of that world anymore. She wouldn''t have to go back.

    He had been very supportive of her dreams as well. Since Keeley was going to agree to marry him, they would share assets anyway. She could ept his offer to fund her research.

    She would get to stay in that big, beautiful, luxurious apartment forever. She would still be able to see Valentina, Jennica, and her dad regrly because she wouldn''t have to leave New York. This was actually a pretty good deal.

    So why did she still feel hollow inside? Probably because it felt forced. Her choice in the matter had been stripped away by whatever cosmic chance reincarnated them.

    No matter what, she would be stuck with Aaron. She may as well choose the easiest way for her child. Well, her dad would be thrilled. That was something. So would Aaron. The only real loser in this scenario was her.

    Keeley would live a decent life but not the life she had chosen for herself. She was nothing but a puppet to the whims of the universe and that made her feel so powerless.

    She tried to be positive. Maybe if she started thinking about all the things she had to look forward to with this baby it would help. Last time they didn''t even get as far asing up with names.

 Chapter 247: Im Not Going

    <h4>Chapter 247: I''m Not Going</h4>

    Aaron noticed Keeley looked a little wan when he picked her up from the bus station. It looked like she had fun based on her Instagram pictures but now he wondered if she had a little too much fun.

    "How was your trip?"

    "It was good spending time with those guys," she said with a yawn. "I''m not ready for school to start tomorrow."

    "Did you get any sleep at all this weekend?" he asked worriedly.

    Upon closer inspection, she really didn''t look good. Especially the bags under her eyes.

    She let out a single ''ha'' instead of her usualugh. "Not really."

    "Let''s get you home then."

    She went quiet and he thought maybe she fell asleep but she was simply staring out the window. He frowned. Was she really okay?

    Aaron carried her suitcase up for her when they got back to the apartment building. He ced it in her room and came downstairs to find her with her face buried in her cat''s fur. Maybe she just missed Molly.

    He had to admit it stung a little that she missed the cat more than she missed him. She hadn''t texted him once all weekend. He was at least partly to me for that; he hadn''t texted her either because he wanted her to enjoy her time with her friends before school started again and she would be stressed all the time.

    But that sort of proved his point even more. She probably hadn''t thought of him at all while she was gone. If he had texted her, she probably would have replied out of habit.

    "Are you hungry? I have some leftover Chinese food in the fridge."

    "That would be great, thanks," Keeley said faintly.

    Aaron heated it up for her and brought it to where she was sitting on the couch. She picked at it listlessly.

    "You might want to go straight to bed after this."

    "I feel gross, I was on a bus for four hours," she refuted. "I''ll shower first then go to bed."

    In the end she managed to finish her te of leftovers even though it took her a while and he whisked it away to take it to the dishwasher before she got a chance. Putting it away herself was a meaningless distraction that would prevent her from sleeping.

    "Good night!" he called up the stairs behind her as she trudged slowly upward. He heard a soft "good night" in response.

    Aaron debated whether or not to check on her about an hourter to see if she was actually asleep or not. Eventually he chose to go for it and opened the door a crack. She was out like a light and both cats were curled up near her as ifforting her.

    He quietly shut the door behind him as he went back downstairs. It was still pretty early. What had worn her out so much?

    ===

    Alistair barged into Aaron''s office without knocking, like he usually did on the rare asions he bothered to make an appearance. He drew himself up to his full height and demanded Aaron be present at the birthday party he and Roslyn were throwing for him on Saturday.

    "My birthday is on Monday," he said tly. "You can''t even remember your only child''s birthday?"

    Aaron didn''t care; he simply enjoyed giving the man a hard time. He had no intention of going to that party.

    "Don''t be impertinent! People are busy on Monday nights. Saturday is easier for everyone."

    He nced at his father from over the top of the document stack he was examining. "When you say ''everyone'' you mean to include people I don''t like, such as Lacy Knighton, correct?"

    His father began blustering. "She''s a daughter of a very old and important business partner of mine; of course she has to be there."

    Whose party was it, his or Alistair''s? It had always been like this in his family. He never got to choose anything for himself. Everything was yet another asion for his parents to use him.

    "Then I''m not going. Have fun throwing a birthday party without the guest of honor."

    The temperature in the room dropped about forty degrees as two ice storms faced off. Neither was willing to back down. If anyone else had been in the room at that moment, they would have frozen solid.

    "Why do you have to be like this? You''re already engaged to someone else. You don''t have to worry about Lacy anymore."

    When Aaron spoke there were daggers in his voice piercing through Alistair''s flesh. "That''s exactly why she doesn''t need to be there. I''m engaged. It''s inappropriate to have another woman who is interested in me present while my fianc¨¦e is not."

    He couldn''t deny that logic but wasn''t willing to concede. "She won''t be there as your former fianc¨¦e candidate, she''ll be there as my business partner''s daughter."

    "And I won''t be there at all. You choose, Father. Who''s more important to you, Lacy Knighton or me?"

    He was sick of this game. He knew Lacy and Graydon Meyer were nning something against him. They would likely put it into effect at this party since he never showed his face at the circle''s events anymore. Why would he willingly walk into a trap?

    "May I remind you, I am your father," Alistair said icily.

    "May I remind you, I am a grown adult. I have said it before and I will say it again: wherever that woman is, I will never be."

    His father looked ready to hit him. Let him try. Nothing he did to Aaron now couldpare to what he had already done. He was sick of it.

    How much better would his life have been if he had been raised by a father like Robert Hall? Someone kind, warm, and supportive. Robert would never try to control his children like chess pieces.

    "You be there on Saturday or¡ªor¡ª!"

    "Or what," Aaron said boredly. "You have nothing to threaten me with."

    The temperature in the room dropped even further. Alistair the Ice Volcano was on the verge of a devastating explosion. It was because he knew his son was right.

    Aaron was the secondrgest shareholder and the contract they had signed was legally binding so he couldn''t take them back. He couldn''t demote his son either because the board would throw a fit due to the series of sessful proposals he had been pitching.

    Alistair couldn''t do a thing. And it was beautiful.

 Chapter 248: Terrified

    <h4>Chapter 248: Terrified</h4>

    It was a good thing that the professors always spent the whole ss going over the sybus on the first day because Keeley wasn''t processing a thing. Seeing Aaron yesterday knowing she was pregnant with his child was more overwhelming than she had anticipated.

    He was acting the same as usual but the entire world had changed. She was going to be a mom. She was going to be his wife again. And she was terrified of both.

    What if she couldn''t protect her child from the viciousness of a rich man''s world? What if everything happened over again exactly as it had before? She really couldn''t bear to live through that twice.

    Ever since she found out she was pregnant she had been taking extra precautions. She went out and bought prenatal vitamins immediately and looked up what she was supposed to eat and drink. She researched as many do''s and don''ts as she possibly could before making it back to Aaron''s ce.

    When she walked into theb, she affixed a surgical mask in ce before putting on her goggles and gloves. Erica looked at her like she was nuts. The masks were there for student use but nobody ever actually used them because they were annoying.

    "What are you doing?"

    "Following properb procedure," Keeley said crisply.

    She knew the chances of getting contaminated by something were slim since this wasn''t a biohazardb but it was better safe than sorry. She was fiercely protective over this child. It would be born safely and healthily no matter what it took.

    Wearing the mask definitely hindered her as she went about her tasks. More than a couple of times she was tempted to rip the stupid thing off her face and fling it away but she resisted. The baby was more important than her difort.

    She began wondering some of the same things she had the first time she was pregnant. Questions that had haunted her over the years. But this time she could think about them with a degree of excitement because she wasn''t thinking about her loss.

    Was it a boy or a girl? Would the baby look more like her or Aaron? What kind of person would it grow up to be?

    Her innocent excitement being pregnant at age twenty-four was different than her more seasoned, cautious excitement now. She may not like the fact that she felt robbed of options but she was still thrilled about the new life inside of her. She was going to get to be a mom this time!

    She really needed to set up a doctor''s appointment but she wasn''t sure where would be safe. Definitely not the clinic she went tost time since Lacy Knighton had a rat in there. Would anywhere in Manhattan be safe?

    When she took a bathroom break, she texted Valentina. She might know somebody trustworthy. She was surrounded by doctors all day long.

    ''Do you have an OB/GYN friend you would trust with your life?''

    Surprisingly, she answered within two minutes. ''You don''t text me for two weeks and this is the first thing you ask me? No ''hi Valentina, how are you'' for me?''

    Okay, that was fair. ''Hi Valentina, how are you?'' Keeley texted with a slight smile on her face.

    ''Too busy for it to be the first day of school. What do you need an OB/GYN for?''

    ''I just do. Do you know one or not?''

    ''Okay, okay, but I fully expect a proper exnation from you in the near future about why you weren''t at Ryan''s party. It was weird being the only girl there'' Valentinained.

    She sighed. She should have known this woulde up eventually. ''The name, please''

    ''Dr. Felicity Chapman. She''s one of my professors and follows protocol more strictly than anyone I''ve ever met''

    Caring about protocol was a good sign. That lessened the probability she could be bribed. ''Does she have any connections to a Dr. Jesse Rothman or Mount Sinai Hospital?''

    ''No, she works solely at the NYU medical center. Why do you ask?''

    ''No particr reason. Thanks Val. Text me when you''re free and we can catch up''

    ''I''m never free'' she texted with a series of sad face emoticons.

    Keeley had tough. That much was true. She hadn''t seen her friend since a couple weeks after Jennica''s wedding. Medical school students didn''t have much in the way of social lives. It was why doctors frequently seemed to marry each other¡ªthey didn''t have time to socialize with anyone else.

    She had been in the bathroom for longer than she could probably get away with so she stowed her phone away and headed back to theb. Everything went back on, including the irritating mask.

    She nned to call Dr. Chapman in the morning and set up a consultation before Monday if she could. Not knowing who might be out to get her, it might be best to have more than one OB/GYN.

    Aaron was even more paranoid than she was by nature. There was a very good chance he would set her up an appointment in a neighboring state the moment he found out.

    Keeley was in theb until 8 PM like she usually was and he brought her over food around dinner time without saying a word about it beforehand. This kind of consideration was what she wasing to expect from him.

    She gave him a sad sort of smile as he handed over the sandwich bag that matched her conflicted thoughts. He looked her up and down suspiciously.

    "Are you sure you''re okay? I thought you were just tired from traveling but it''s spilled over into today too."

    "Maybe I''ming down with something."

    Aaron frowned. "Well, be sure to take care of yourself properly. You can''t afford to get sick now during yourst semester. You have too much to do."

    Laughter bubbled up in her throat. She knew how busy she was better than anybody. His concern was sweet though.

    Since they were sitting up against the wall near theb door, she leaned her head against his shoulder for a moment. "I know. Thanks for caring about me."

    He hesitated briefly before twisting his head a bit to kiss her forehead. "Of course I care about you, silly girl. Who else would I possibly care about but you?"

    His words both made her feel guilty and warm and fuzzy inside. It was on the tip of her tongue to say he would care about their baby too but kept it to herself. Now wasn''t the time. She still had to eat her sandwich before her break ended.

 Chapter 249: A Nonexistant Fiancee

    <h4>Chapter 249: A Nonexistant Fiancee</h4>

    Lacy Knighton was throwing a fit to end all fits. She hadn''t been able to drug Aaron at his birthday party on Saturday because he hadn''t even been there. It had all been nned out right down thest detail! Why didn''t he show up?!

    Alistair Hale changed it at thest minute to a cocktail party but no one was fooled. They knew Aaron had ditched his family with no regard for their pride and everyone was whispering about it. She had seen Alice Kelly trying very hard to hold back hystericalughter.

    Graydon must be right; she was working with Aaron. There was no other reason she would find it so hrious. Lacy would have been jealous if she didn''t know that Alice was pathetically in love with her cheating husband.

    Everything about this party was wrong! Aaron was supposed to be there. She was supposed to slip a drug into his drink during the toast and her father would help whisk him away to another room. He would be forced to take responsibility for her and break things off with that absentee fianc¨¦e. But he didn''t show up.

    She smashed everything she could get her hands on in the room, chest heaving. If he didn''t show up to his own birthday party there was no telling when the next time she saw him would be.

    She couldn''t exactly show up at his office, either. He would get security to show her out. It wouldn''t be the first time.

    Lacy didn''t know his schedule, his habits, or even where he lived. She tried getting Graydon to look it up for her but he said his hands were tied because he paid to be unlisted. Some hacker he turned out to be.

    That man was even more useless than Max! Why she even bothered dealing with him¡­

    She whipped out her phone and dialed the familiar number. He picked up on the third ring.

    "Lacy, what a pleasant surprise," Graydon said in his silky smooth voice. "What can I do for you today?"

    "I want information about ces Aaron goes. You''re a hacker; can''t you see where he''s spending his money?"

    He ignored her question. "I do have one bit of information you might find interesting. I was on a date a few weeks ago and saw him in the same restaurant."

    "Who was he with?" she demanded.

    "Nobody. He was eating alone. You always jump straight to the worst conclusions. His pretty little fianc¨¦e is out of the country, is she not? Of course he would be eating alone."

    Lacy''s blood boiled at the words "pretty little fianc¨¦e." She was way prettier than that redheaded wretch!

    "If you don''t have anything useful for me I''m hanging up," she warned.

    Graydon had an obvious smile in his voice. She could practically see it. "But Lacy, dear, you''re the one who called me."

    She jabbed the off button and nearly threw her new phone in frustration. Talking to that man was the worst! She could find things out without him. She wasn''t the top socialite for nothing; she had brains to back up her beauty.

    ===

    Graydonughed at how idiotic that woman was when she hung up the phone. Despite what he said, he had done a fair amount of research since theyst met. He did even more once he saw Aaron dining with Keeley Hall and her father.

    The conclusion he came to was that Aaron wasn''t cheating at all because Bethany Carlisle did not exist. Nobody else would havee to this conclusion because there was proof of her existence. That is, that the Carlisle family of Boston had a daughter with that name.

    But all records about her birth, pictures, news articles, and anything with her name on it were encrypted. It took him a while to realize that the true Bethany Carlisle had barely turned nine.

    There was no way she could be the same woman that everybody saw Aaron propose to. She was a fake.

    Even more interesting was that after he looked into Aaron''s Facebook a bit further, he discovered that Aiden Quinn and the one grainy photo of "Bethany Carlisle" he managed to scrape up looked quite a lot alike. In fact, there was a picture on his profile where he stood with his arm around a girl who looked exactly like her.

    Aaron either got Aiden''s sister involved¡­or made hisckey dress up like a girl just to get Lacy Knighton''s goat. He nearly cackled with glee. He knew Aaron wouldn''t let him down!

    Since he wasn''t cheating on his fianc¨¦e, Graydon was fairly certain he knew who Keeley Hall was; the woman Aaron was truly in love with. She was the reason he was rebelling against his father and trying to kick him out of his ownpany.

    He couldn''t help but root for the man even though he couldn''t understand why he was so interested in such a normal girl. Graydon tended to lean towards breathtakingly beautiful women¡ªmodels, actresses, and the like. But he couldn''t begrudge Aaron his taste. To each their own.

    He did some research on Keeley Hall. Her mother and younger brother were dead and her father lived in Brooklyn. Her mail was currently being sent there because she no longer lived at her most recent address¡­which had been right across the hall from Aiden Quinn.

    Definitely suspicious. Aaron kept one of his best men close to her to keep her safe while she lived in a sketchy neighborhood. Well done.

    That begged the question, where was she now? ording to Robert Hall''s neighbors, he lived alone and his daughter visited about once a week. She probably picked up her mail then.

    Was she staying with Aaron? The idea tickled Graydon''s fancy. This was getting juicier by the moment.

    If he had a forbidden woman staying with him, it made total sense that he kept his address unlisted. His own parents probably didn''t know where he lived! How delightful.

    Alistair Hale had never deserved his son. Graydon was d Aaron saw that and was taking appropriate action. Anyone on Alistair''s side was a bug to be crushed.

 Chapter 250: Are You Dating?

    <h4>Chapter 250: Are You Dating?</h4>

    Keeley had a n. She hadn''t baked Aaron a birthday cake since they were in college so it was imperative she managed to keep it a secret, which was incredibly difficult to do when you shared a living space with somebody.

    She was working on making it during her usual Sunday visit with her dad. Aaron liked chocte cake but not chocte frosting so she was whipping up a simple buttercream dyed blue, his favorite color.

    Robert had already asked her why she was making a cake at his ce instead of her own. She told him that she didn''t have time to make it tomorrow so it was better to do it while she was hanging out with him. As excuses go, it was usible.

    The truth woulde out sooner orter but she felt like Aaron needed to know she was pregnant before she told her dad. Keisha and Jeffrey being the first ones to find out was a situational problem.

    "Who is this cake for again? I don''t think you said," her father remarked from his ce on the couch watching a Yankees game as soon as she turned the loud electric mixer off.

    "Aaron. His birthday is tomorrow."

    He smiled knowingly. "Not just anyone can make a man''s birthday cake. How did you end up in charge?"

    Keeley shot him an annoyed look. "You know his parents are distant. I''m¡­" She wanted to say she was the only family he had but couldn''t without giving herself away too soon. "¡­his closest friend."

    She shut up after that because he was still giving her the same dumb grin and focused on putting frosting on the cake. It was slow work because her perfectionism was activated and it drove her crazy if anything was left uneven. She smoothed the sides out multiple times until she was satisfied.

    With the remaining frosting, she added yellow dye to turn it green and piped the words ''Happy Birthday Aaron'' onto the cake. For the finishing touch she stered the sides of the cake with rainbow sprinkles because it looked too bare.

    Satisfied with her work, Keeley put it in a portable cake carrier and left it on the counter. She joined her dad on the couch and put on her best wheedling smile.

    "What is it?" he asked suspiciously. He knew that face.

    "Could you possiblye pick me up from work tomorrow with the cake and drop me off at Aaron''s ce so I don''t have to carry it around campus all day? I don''t want the frosting to get smushed."

    "Yeah, that''s fine. You don''t get off until eight though¡­is he going to have to eat dinner alone on his birthday?"

    She had already thought of this problem. Nobody should have to eat alone on their birthday so she conscripted Aiden''s help. He invited Cameron and Jennica along as well and was gleeful at the prospect of ''surprising that stone statue'' (his words).

    "Nah his friends are taking him out. He just doesn''t know it yet," she said with a slight smirk.

    "Would these be the friends whose wedding you were in recently?" Robert asked.

    "Yeah, plus one of the other groomsmen. He actually used to be my neighbor so I''m friends with him too."

    "I didn''t realize you two had the same friends."

    "Not all of the same friends," she said a tiny bit defensively. "I don''t think he''s ever spoken more than two sentences to Valentina despite being in the same wedding."

    Her father made a hesitant expression for a moment before looking her dead in the eye. He was ready to quit beating around the bush. Something about their rtionship had seemed a bit ''more than friends'' for a while.

    He had respected his daughter''s privacy thus far but they definitely seemed like a couple. If they weren''t¡­he was worried that Aaron, who was obviously in love with her, might be led on unfairly.

    "Honeybun, I have to ask¡­are you and Aaron dating?"

    Keeley froze. She had endured a lot of his teasing about Aaron in the past but he had never been this straightforward about it. What should she say?

    If she said no, that would open up a whole other can of worms when she announced they were getting married. Saying yes was definitely the better option here. She really hoped she could lie convincingly.

    "Yes."

    Robert was relieved. He let the matter drop immediately and went back to watching the game with a simple "okay."

    She narrowed her eyes at him. He was really going to let it go just like that? Her dad was usually a bit nosier than this.

    "That''s all you have to say on the matter?"

    He shrugged. "What else would I have to say? You know I like him. I was mostly worried you were leading him on since you two act more like a couple than any friends I''ve ever seen."

    Her jaw dropped. Seriously? Whose side was he on here? No worry spared for his daughter at all! She scowled. Aaron was definitely going to get favored once he married into this family.

    "Thanks, Dad," Keeley said sarcastically.

    "What?" Robert asked innocently. "You two have been attached at the hip for a while. How long has it been, anyway? No wait! Let me guess¡­after Christmas but before your birthday. Was it around Valentine''s Day? You stopped talking about him for a while after that."

    Sometimes she forgot how perceptive her dad could be. Around Valentine''s Day was when she found out the truth. It seemed like a lifetime ago now. So much had changed.

    It was easier going with his guess than making something up on the spot. "You''re a very good guesser," she said lightly.

    He grinned. "I knew it! Well, good for you guys. He''s a nice kid."

    She suppressed augh. That ''nice kid'' was mentally older than her father by about a decade. He didn''t seem like an old man though. Maybe because he had learned how to have fun and be a little goofy for her sake.

    Keeley''s heart swelled a little at the thought. He had done a lot to make things up to her. Staying with him might not be the end of the world after all.

    "Yeah. He is."

 Chapter 251: A Birthday Wish

    <h4>Chapter 251: A Birthday Wish</h4>

    All day long Keeley was a gigantic bundle of nerves. She barely managed to say happy birthday to Aaron in front of the coffee machine in the morning because she was too afraid of blurting something and ruining the surprise.

    He had continued offering her coffee all week even though she had been turning it down ever since she found out she was pregnant because caffeine wouldn''t be good for the baby. By this point he didn''t seem surprised that she settled for a ss of milk with her bagel instead.

    Since she looked so haggard from nerves, he tried insisting she have some to wake her up but she refused. ''You won''t be offering me coffee tomorrow, that''s for sure,'' she thought.

    Keeley was so anxious she couldn''t stop fidgeting throughout her sses, scribbling down notes at top speed. Every second she wasn''t taking notes she was doodling in the margins just to have something to do.

    She nced at the clock. It was only 1:48 PM. Why couldn''t this day be over with already? She had been stressing about it for over a week!

    ===

    Aaron typed away furiously at his keyboard as he worked on writing up his next proposal regarding the expansion. He had enough contacts in Canada now that he wanted to set up some branches in different provinces.

    Aside from a very hurried and anxious ''happy birthday'' from the light of his life this morning as she ran out the door, it was like any other work day. Birthdays weren''t even special to him anymore. They hadn''t been for most of his lives.

    His parents threw the big parties that were excuses towork with their associates but none of it ever felt genuine. A lot of the time the parties weren''t even on his actual birthday so when the day came, nobody celebrated it.

    The first person to truly celebrate his birthday had been Keeley.

    His birthday fell on a Saturday after the first week of school during their freshman year of college. She had been texting him all week to be sure and make time for her on Saturday. He didn''t know she even knew his birthday so he was confused why she was so insistent they hang out Saturday instead of Sunday.

    The freshman dorms at Boston University didn''t have kitchens but she still bought him a cupcake at a popr bakery downtown and stuck a candle in it. Keeley smiled brightly as she held it out to him after hiding it behind her back when they met up in the Boston Common.

    "Happy birthday, Aaron!"

    Aaron had been so overwhelmed by this simple gesture that he stared at her unblinkingly like a fish for several moments. Eventually he was able to recover his wits, thank her, and ept the treat. She lit the candle and sang the birthday song to him all by herself before he blew it out.

    "What did you wish for?" she asked curiously.

    "I''m not telling."

    It would be too embarrassing to say that he wished she would be there for every birthday for the rest of his life. Unfortunately that wish hadn''te true. He spent decades of birthdays alone.

    With how warm she had been toward himtely¡­how was he supposed to not get his hopes up that she would celebrate with him today? But s, she had to work. He was considering bringing her food personally today just so he wouldn''t have to eat dinner alone.

    Aiden poked his head in the door. "Boss man! I have a request."

    "What is it?"

    He sprawled across the couch, perfectly at home. Well, he did bother Aaron in his office at least once a day. It made sense he would feelfortable in here.

    "There''s this Korean restaurant I''ve been wanting to try out forever but nobody will go with me. As your favorite employee, pretty pleasee with me tonight?"

    If it were any other day he would have shot Aiden down immediately. As it was¡­he was lonely and wanted to be around other people on his birthday, even if that person was as annoying as this guy.

    Was this a coincidence or did Aiden know? He was an all-knowing hacker. He had to have seen his boss'' birth date at some point in time even if he didn''t remember it.

    "Does it have to be tonight?"

    "Why, are you busy?" he asked doubtfully.

    "No¡­"

    The kid smiled brightly. "Come on, it''ll be fun! I won''t even give you a hard time if you can''t eat the spiciest kimchi."

    "Alright," Aaron agreed. Spending his birthday with this clown would be slightly better than spending it by himself.

    "Excellent! I''ll text you the address; meet me there at six!"

    He scampered out of the office as quickly as he hade. Did he reallye all the way to the top floor just to ask about dinner ns? Usually he had at least some valuable information mixed in with the idle chatter.

    Aaron shrugged it off and returned to his proposal draft. It needed to be done before the next board meeting or he would have to wait an entire month to try again. He certainly couldn''t have that.

    Since proposing a headquarters in Monaco, he had been sure to have a new part of his overall expansion n ready before each board meeting. The shareholders would see that Aaron was a bright young mind leading thepany into the future as opposed to Alistair, who never came up with new ideas anymore.

    He needed to nt seeds of doubt about his father in the minds of the neutral shareholders while painting himself in a positive light. When the time came, they would be more likely to side with him that way.

    The n hadn''t been moving as swiftly as he would like it to but progress remained steady. There weren''t any major setbacks so far. Either Alistair was bing duller not to have noticed what his son was up to or he was confident that he would prevail.

    Aaron wasn''t sure which would be better news for him. Overconfidence could breed disaster but what if he was confident because he had a n to fire back?

 Chapter 252: The Best Birthday Present

    <h4>Chapter 252: The Best Birthday Present</h4>

    Walking into the Korean restaurant and being assaulted with shouts of "Surprise!" from a table to his left made Aaron jump. He hadn''t been prepared for that at all.

    Aiden, Cameron, and Jennica all waved at him before yelling "Happy Birthday Aaron!" just as loudly in perfect sync. It looked like Aiden remembered his birthday after all.

    "You nned this?" he asked tly. His underlings had never celebrated his birthday before.

    "Nah, I didn''t even know when your birthday was. Keeley told me because she had to work. I believe her exact words were ''nobody should eat alone on their birthday,''" Aiden said with a wink in his direction.

    That was even more surprising than the thought of Aidening up with this idea on his own. Aaron''s heart warmed. She was still looking out for him even though she couldn''t be here.

    "No need to be so sappy about it," Jennica teased, noticing his expression. "Sit down!"

    "You are thest person who should be using someone else of being sappy," Aiden pointed out.

    He had a point. She was currently holding Cameron''s hand on top of the table because she couldn''t bear not to be touching him at all times. She simply rolled her eyes at him in response.

    Aaron had originally thought Jennica was a level-headed individual but after seeing how much of a bridezi she had been throughout the wedding he wasn''t so sure anymore. Tonight clinched it for him¡ªshe was looking at him with a dumb, expectant look on her face just like Aiden and Cameron. She was one of them.

    "So¡­" Cameron said, drawing out the word. "Things with Keeley must be going well if she was worried about you being without her on your birthday."

    He stared at his friend nkly. "Your point?"

    Jennica''s eyes shed with excitement. "She totally likes you! She wouldn''t care one way or the other if she didn''t. Valentinained to me the other day that she didn''t bother to show up to Ryan''s birthday party because she didn''t really know anyone else there."

    Sometimes he could almost believe that but deep down Aaron knew the truth. Keeley would never think about him in a romantic light ever again. He screwed it up too badly in their first life. She was only being kind.

    Right now they were in this strange sort of limbo. They were close but at the same time he had never felt farther away from her because he knew it would never go any further.

    Thest time they were in a situation like this had been during the first half of their freshman year of college. That closeness had led to a rtionship. This would not. She had made herself perfectly clear on the matter.

    "I think she''s just being Keeley," Aaron said softly.

    Nobody else seemed convinced but they dropped it because the waiter arrived to take their orders. They stopped ribbing him after that though, instead talking andughing aboutpletely random nonsense Aaron couldn''t entirely rte to.

    He didn''t mind though. Even if it was Keeley''s idea, his friends showed up today because they didn''t want him to be alone on his birthday either. It was one of the very few times in either of his lives that he was d it was his birthday.

    ===

    Dinnersted a lot longer than he thought it would because the other three wouldn''t stop talking and then he ended up stuck in traffic. Aaron didn''t end up getting home until nearly 8:30. At least Keeley should be getting back around now. He needed to thank her.

    The apartment was still dark when he arrived so he figured he was the first one back. He nearly went up the stairs to the third floor to change out of his suit when he saw a flickering light in the kitchen.

    Candlelight.

    Keeley''s face was illuminated by the twenty-five (at least he assumed it was twenty-five; there were a lot of them) candles zing on top of a cake. Noticing he''d spotted her, she turned the light on so he could see better. The cake was blue with green letters reading ''Happy Birthday Aaron.''

    His heart nearly stopped beating. Thest time she made him a birthday cake was when he turned twenty-one the first time. That was a very, very long time ago.

    "Get over here so I can sing to you before too much wax gets on the cake," she insisted with a wave of her hand.

    He hurried over and she began singing the birthday song exactly like she had all those years ago. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Aaron, happy birthday to you!"

    He knew it was just a part of the song but the ''dear Aaron'' bit really got to him. Aaron had a lump in his throat as he blew the candles out and made his wish.

    It was the same it had been on his original 18th birthday, that she would be with him for the rest of his birthdays from there on out. He knew it wouldn''te true but couldn''t help wishing for it anyway.

    Aaron took the few steps it took to get next to her and seized her in a tight hug. "Thank you. And thank you for contacting my friends for me. I really didn''t want to have to eat alone."

    Her hands on his back trembled after hisst sentence. He wasn''t sure why but he wasn''t about toin because she held him tighter after that.

    They stood like that for a few minutes, simply holding each other. It was the best birthday present he could have received. He never wanted to let her go. It felt right having her back in his arms like this again.

    When she finally pulled away, she tucked a strand of hair behind her hair nervously. "I have a present for you."

    Aaron didn''t need anything else; the cake and her presence was more than enough. But that didn''t stop him from epting the box eagerly. Anything from her would be a treasure, even if it was a bit silly like his favorite mug.

    He opened the box and stared at its contents uprehendingly. It was a striped newborn onesie.

 Chapter 253: A Proper Proposal

    <h4>Chapter 253: A Proper Proposal</h4>

    Aaron nced up at Keeley nkly. She was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet with her hands sped behind her back. The picture of nervousness.

    The pieces of the puzzle clicked together in that moment and his eyes immediately jumped to herpletely t stomach. "You mean you''re¡­"

    He couldn''t bring himself to say it. It was too fantastical to believe. Keeley had taken the morning after pill¡ªhe had seen the box it came in sitting in the recycling bin. She had told him it would be a one-time deal and he had epted it at face value.

    She nodded, gauging his reaction cautiously.

    A bunch of emotions flitted across his face in a second. Confusion. Fear. Disbelief. Sorrow. Joy.

    Aaron never thought this would be happening again. Any dreams of fatherhood died with what his father and Lacy Knighton did to Keeley and the first baby. Was this real? Did he really deserve to be this happy?

    The bubble burst when he realized something. She hadn''t wanted this. She wanted to go their separate ways once she graduated from college. What was Keeley feeling about all of this?

    "Can you say something?" she asked with a shakyugh. "You''ve been staring at me for three minutes."

    Nononononono, he did not want her getting the wrong idea!

    "I think it''s great!" he blurted. "I''m just worried about how you feel about it!"

    Keeley practically wilted with relief and leaned against the table for support. "Ugh, don''t scare me like that!"

    Aaron rushed over to her but halted about two inches away. What was he supposed to do? Did she want to be touched right now or not? Was she angry at him? WHAT WAS HE SUPPOSED TO DO?

    She sat down at the table and gestured for him to do the same. He followed her directions wordlessly and waited for her to speak. She took a deep breath before looking at him and beginning what seemed like a nned speech.

    "I found out about this while I was in Marnd. I had a lot of time to think on the bus ride home¡­I was happy because I''ve always wanted to be a mom, scared because of what happenedst time, and sad because I knew what I had to do and didn''t want to put myself through that again.

    "Aaron¡­you''ve been very good to me this past year. I want our baby to grow up in a normal, healthy family so I''ve decided to stay with you. I really didn''t ever wanted to get married again, especially into your family because of everything that happened before. But I''ll do it if you can promise me something. Can you keep us safe?"

    Her eyes were filled with a mixture of resignation and anguish. It broke his heart. Keeley was being brave and doing thest thing she ever wanted to do for the sake of their child.

    She would stay with him to give their baby a normal life but she would never love him. This bittersweet ending was what he deserved.

    Aaron reached out across the table to sp her hands in his. They were cold and shaking slightly. He rubbed them back and forth in his to bring some warmth into them.

    "I''ll protect the two of you with my life," he vowed solemnly.

    "And Keeley...I want you to know that I''ll give you anything you could possibly want. Your friends, your career, the way we raise this child¡­you get to call all of the shots. I want you to be happy and to be able to do all the things you''ve ever wanted to with me at your side."

    She nodded, unable to speak around the lump in her throat.

    Aaron spotted a small metal ring clip holding together a pack of sh cards she was putting together for an uing quiz sitting on the kitchen counter. It wasn''t a diamond ring but it would do in a pinch. She deserved to be proposed to properly rather than simply falling into an engagement that she brought up herself.

    He stood quickly and unclipped it from the sh cards before getting down on one knee in front of her. Sheughed a little when she saw his makeshift ring.

    "Keeley Hall, you came into my life like a sunbeam bursting through an endlessly cloudy sky. I love everything about you, from your big heart to the way you find excitement in the tiniest things. You have always been my greatest source of happiness.

    "I know our past has been difficult, to say the least¡­but I promise from this day forward that I will be your number one supporter and do everything in my power to make your dreamse true. Will you marry me?"

    Her face broke into a smile as tears sparked in the corners of her eyes. "Yeah. Can you do me a favor though?"

    "What?" he asked eagerly. He would do anything she asked for, anything at all.

    "Could you maybe not get me a six carat ring this time? Even this clip would be better than that monstrosity," she giggled as she held up her left hand. The clip was more than a little big on her.

    Aaron smiled a bit ruefully. He should have known the type of ring other high society women wore wouldn''t be to her taste. "Why don''t youe pick it out with me this time?"

    "Okay, but I want it from a regr jewelry store. A retail chain," she said dramatically, as if trying to scare him with the thought of something so average.

    He scoffed. "Retail chains don''t scare me anymore."

    Keeley pped her hands together and pointed at him. "So you''re admitting they used to?!"

    He smiled indulgently as he shook his head. This girl was far too literal. He got up from his ce on the ground and asked if they could have cake now. She served up two slices with a bit of a funny look on her face.

    "What is it?" he finally asked halfway through his cake.

    "We did just get engaged. I figured you would try to kiss me."

    Aaron''s eyed widened. He didn''t even realize that was an option. "¡­you want me to?"

    "No," she denied, red-faced. "I just thought you would!"

    It appeared they were going to have to have a conversation about what this rtionship would entail. He had assumed she wouldn''t want anything physical and they would only be married in name for the baby''s sake. They had an awful lot of talking to do to figure this out.

 Chapter 254: A Beautiful Couple

    <h4>Chapter 254: A Beautiful Couple</h4>

    On Wednesday one of Keeley''s sses got cancelled because the professor had been throwing up all night so Aaron took that opportunity to leave work and take her ring shopping.

    They went to a regr retail jewelry store inside a mall like any other normal couple. The ring she chose was a one-carat square cut diamond surrounded by a halo of smaller diamond chips on a tinum band also covered in tiny diamonds.

    The style she chose was one of the most popr engagement ring trends at the time. Thousands of other women had rings just like it, which made it perfect for her.

    "Congrattions, the two of you make a beautiful couple," the salesperson told them on their way out of the store.

    Did they? Everyone had always talked about how mismatched they were in their first life.

    He had taken off his suit coat and tie in the car so he was dressed simply in cks and a crisp light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up because it was surprisingly warm out for September. She supposed he looked a lot more casual than usual and she was wearing a nice-ish blouse for school so they sort of matched.

    "Thank you," Aaron said graciously as he linked his fingers through hers.

    Keeley examined her pretty new ring as they walked. It sparkled in the sunlight giving off the impression of a thousand tiny rainbows scattering in every direction.

    Getting used to the weight on her hand was strange. She hadn''t worn any sort of ring since she had died because she had never really been a ring person. This was the second time she was wearing an engagement ring given to her by the same man.

    The very thought made her head hurt. This whole thing was weird.

    They had talked about boundaries the night of Aaron''s birthday. She wanted to ease into things slowly.

    They could share a bedroom once they were married but before that she would stick to her room. As for kissing¡­she told him to give her some time. She still needed to get used to the idea of being in a rtionship with him again.

    Aaron epted her suggestions without any fuss but asked that he at least be able to hold her hand. She saw no reason to reject that request and he had taken advantage of it constantly since then. It was as if her hand didn''t even belong to her anymore and it had only been a day and a half.

    "I''d like for us to be married as soon as possible. For the baby''s sake," he said when they made it back to his car.

    He had the right idea. She would look horrible in a wedding dress if they waited for her stomach to show. Keeley had already decided that she couldn''t elope because it would break her dad''s heart but she really didn''t want anything fancy. At all.

    The only people she cared about being there were her dad, Jennica, Valentina, Lydia, Jeffrey, and Keisha. If she added in Cameron and Aiden for Aaron''s sake that was only ten people total.

    "Having been the unofficial wedding nner filter for Jennica I really don''t care about anything other than my dad walking me down the aisle," she admitted. "I can get a dress, flowers, and cake from anywhere on short notice. I''m just worried my friends won''t be able toe without enough warning."

    "Why don''t we give it a month then? Your friends should be able to get time off with that much notice."

    She made a pained expression. "Midterms are in a month."

    "We can do it after midterms. All we''ll really need is an afternoon; maybe we could rent a boat for day and do it there. We can save the honeymoon for after you graduate. We can go to Europe like you always wanted."

    Aaron could feel the stress radiating off of her and reached over to pat her leg. "Rx. You call your friends and pick a dress, I''ll handle everything else."

    She rxed fractionally before remembering she still had to tell her dad. That could be a potentially awkward conversation. Should she bring Aaron with her or not? She wasn''t sure whether or not her chances of getting chewed out for out-of-wedlock pregnancy would increase or decrease if he came.

    Keeley was so lost in thought that she didn''t notice the drive passing them by. Before she knew it they were back at the medical school.

    "See you tonight," she said as she shut the door behind her.

    Aaron had firmly stated that he would pick her up every day now that he knew she was pregnant. For safety purposes. What if she got pushed by ident in the crowded subway station and fell?

    She had a feeling he would be like this so she didn''t protest. It got her home a bit faster anyway and she had homework to do.

    Her ring reflected the fluorescent lights of the ssroom differently than it reflected the sun so she kept staring at it throughout the lesson. It really was a lovely ring.

    Keeley had been a bit surprised he let her get something somon, considering what he was like their second senior year of high school. This ring cost about the same as that pair of earrings he bought her on a whim back then.

    Jennica''s ring probably cost a couple thousand more than hers did. A half smile appeared on her face. Aaron really had changed for the better.

    When ss ended, she texted all of the friends she cared about being present. She told Lydia and Jeffrey (who already knew what was going on) that she was getting married because they wouldn''t just fly to New York for no reason.

    It would be better to talk to Jennica and Valentina in person about this so she told them to make sure they were free the second Saturday of October because something very important was happening.

    Jennica might have an inkling of what was going on since she knew Aaron was in love with her but Valentina would bepletely blindsided. She would have to confess why she was getting married so quickly, which would be a bit embarrassing, but they were her best friends.

    They needed to be there when she got married since she didn''t have a single friend present at her first wedding.

 Chapter 255: Make Sure Shes Happy

    <h4>Chapter 255: Make Sure She''s Happy</h4>

    All week long Keeley dreaded telling her dad the truth. She didn''t want him to be disappointed in her, or worse, ask her if she truly loved Aaron. He would definitely catch onto the fact that they were only getting married because of the baby if he asked her that.

    She didn''t want to face him alone so in the end she asked Aaron toe with her. It was the right choice. To her utter shock, her dad took everything in stride. They chatted casually about wedding ns as if they didn''t have a care in the world.

    Aaron''s arm was around her on the back of the couch and she sat there in a stupor as they went on, not believing what she was hearing. He didn''t ask any probing questions at all!

    Was it just because Aaron was here? Did she have to bring him with her every time she saw her dad now for the rest of their lives to use as a shield?

    The oddest image appeared in her mind of her wearing medieval-style armor holding up a shield that had Aaron''s face on it instead of a coat of arms. The stress was definitely making her crack; her imagination usually wasn''t this wild!

    Keeley finally zoned back into the conversation when she heard her dad ask, "I know it''s early but have you started talking about baby names?"

    "We haven''t but if it ends up being a boy I think we should name him Kaleb," Aaron said.

    Tears shimmered in her eyes as she caught sight of a picture of her grinning little brother on a bookshelf. When he was in kindergarten he named a goldfish he won at a school carnival after himself, calling it Kaleb Junior. He would probably love having a nephew named after him.

    "I think that''s a great idea," she said thickly as she leaned further into his embrace. He knew her better than she gave him credit for.

    Robert nodded. "I do too. But what if it''s a girl?"

    Keeley thought about it. Monica was a bit outdated. Maybe she could keep the letter M for a middle name or something. After all, both of her mother''s children had been given K names because her maiden name was Krelman.

    "I like nt names. Something like Lily or Violet or Rose." She turned towards her fianc¨¦. "What do you think?"

    "Violet is a nice name," he said mildly.

    Violet or Kaleb. She wondered which name they would end up using. The ultrasound that would determine gender wasn''t avable for another three months. She already met with Valentina''s teacher for a short consultation during the week she was waiting to tell Aaron and everything seemed fine so far.

    Aaron wanted to go with her to her appointment next month. Keeley didn''t think it was necessary since it would just be a routine visit but he insisted.

    She didn''t have the power to dissuade him. He was just as worried about this baby making it healthily into the world as she was. Theirst pregnancy experience had scarred them both.

    What exactly was he going to do when Alistair inevitably found out? Did he really intend on hiding the fact that he had a wife and child forever? Could he even get away with that?

    Keeley was worried but she was also exhausted so she drifted off into an uneasy sleep curled into Aaron''s side.

    ===

    "Poor thing really is tuckered out," Robert clucked as he saw his daughter snoozing against her fianc¨¦''s chest.

    Aaron sighed. She had been like that a lottely. He looked it up¡ªit was perfectly normal to be fatigued during early pregnancy¡ªbut it didn''t make it any easier to see. She had so much to do still too.

    Keeley had been exhaustedst semester without being pregnant. How much worse was it going to be now? He might have to see if she could reduce her hours at theb or straight up quit once she was finished with her own research.

    He really hoped she wouldn''t fight him on this. She was going to be his wife; she didn''t need to work herself to death. With any luck, using the baby as an argument would convince her to see sense.

    It was going to be hard enough for her to finish her PhD program as is. She didn''t need anything else making it more difficult.

    "She pushes herself too hard," Aaron said unhappily.

    "Oh, she''s always been like that. You should have seen her as a toddler; such a tenacious little thing. She insisted on doing everything herself even though she struggled with her tiny fingers."

    He could easily imagine a miniature version of Keeley doing that. "Could you show me pictures? I''ve never seen any and it would be nice to have a reference forparison once our baby is born."

    Aaron was positive she would never let him look at her baby pictures while she was awake.

    Robert happily obliged and pulled out an ancient scrapbook. In the beginning there were only pictures of him and his wife, a petite blonde woman who had the same smile as her daughter. He had a sad sort of smile on his face when he saw them. After all this time he still missed her.

    His heart went out to the man. He had been in Robert''s shoes but he was lucky; he got another chance to see his wife again. And marry her again. Over the past week Aaron had wondered more than once if this was all a dream.

    The pictures of newborn Keeley showed her as wrinkly and red, like most brand new infants. She developed into a very cute baby over the following months though.

    Eventually she became a cherubic toddler with blonde pigtails sticking out like tufts on top of her head. Seeing those pictures instantly had him hoping if they had a daughter she would look exactly like her mother.

    As Aaron continued perusing the Hall family album, Robert spoke up seriously.

    "Son¡­I''ve known how much you care about Keeley for a long time now. Even though she''s always smiling, she''s been through a lot so can you promise to take care of her for me and make sure she''s happy?"

    He looked him straight in the eye and nodded. Robert didn''t even know the half of what his daughter had been through. Aaron would dedicate the rest of his life solely to making her life better.

    "She''s more important to me than anything in the world," he said softly as he nced down at her sleeping face. "Of course I will."

    Robert''s smile was relieved and they continued looking through old pictures as if nothing had happened while Keeley continued to nap. Aaron wanted to be the kind of father that Robert Hall was someday.

 Chapter 256: You Will Not Believe What Just Happened

    <h4>Chapter 256: You Will Not Believe What Just Happened</h4>

    When Keeley said she had something important happening on October 12th thest thing Jennica expected to hear was that she was marrying Aaron Hale!

    She found a few hours to go get lunch with her former roommates towards the end of September and broke the news over theplimentary breadsticks.

    "You''re pregnant and marrying who?" Valentina screeched.

    "Come on, Val, you know him! He was the best man at my wedding. The one with a ck eye?" Jennica prompted.

    She shook her head in disbelief. It was obvious that Aaron was madly in love with Keeley but how on earth had this happened? She hadn''t pegged her friend as the type to sleep with someone she wasn''t dating or at least in love with.

    "Hang on, the ex-boyfriend that made you swear off of men forever? I''m so confused."

    Valentina wasn''t the only one but Keeley refused to say more on the matter. She ended the discussion by simply stating that she was marrying him for the future of her child and that she wanted both of them to attend the wedding. They could wear any kind of dress they wanted as long as it was nice.

    They were both bursting with questions for the rest of lunch but didn''t want to piss their friend off so they kept things light. It was totally awkward though.

    "Cam, you will not believe what just happened," Jennica said dramatically as she walked through their front door, bending down to pet Ziggy.

    He looked up from his phone. "What?"

    "Keeley''s pregnant!"

    Cameron''s eyes shot wide open. He shook his head sympathetically. "Aaron''s going to be devastated."

    "No, no, you don''t get it! He''s the father. They''re getting married in a few weeks!"

    "Impossible," he dered. "Aiden has been around since this whole thing started and he filled me in. She would never marry him."

    She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "I''m telling you, she is. I heard ite out of her own mouth. Ask Aaron! He''ll tell you. We''re both invited to the wedding anyway, you''ll see it for yourself soon enough."

    "I don''t understand it at all. He wasn''t having any luck with herst I heard, even if he has been in a weirdly good moodtely. How did he end up getting exactly what he wanted?"

    Jennica had no idea. As much as they had teased Aaron on his birthday, she hadn''t heard anything from Keeley about changing her mind towards him. It was all spection. Who knew the spection would be even less wild than the truth!

    "Do you think Aiden knows?"

    "If he did, he''d be blowing up my phone right now," Cameron said dryly. "I''ll tell him on Monday and we can ask Aaron together. It''s been a while since we''ve stormed his office at the same time."

    She snorted. Those two were the perfect partners in crime despite being nearly a decade apart in age.

    "Why not text him now?"

    His smile turned flirtatious. "Because my beautiful wife just got home and I can think of several better things to do."

    "Is that so?" Jennica asked with a raised eyebrow. She made her way over to him and parked herself on hisp as her arms encircled his neck. "Think you can tell me about them?"

    ===

    Valentina could not believe that Keeley was marrying the man she had dubbed ''Crazy Person'' in her phone, let alone that she was pregnant. It was like she was living out a telenov of her own!

    She was confused by her friend''s choice but that didn''t mean she wouldn''t support it. She would probably have to trade for a night shift to get the day of the wedding off but it would be worth it.

    Besides, she felt she owed Keeley. She had been the one to make her homeless after all. Although¡­now that she thought about it, she didn''t know where her friend had been living all of this time.

    Keeley merely said she would figure things out and that Valentina didn''t have to worry about it. Now she was pregnant. Had she moved in with this man because she felt like she had nowhere else to go? Had she been coerced? Was she a kept woman? Was this Valentina''s fault?

    No, she needed to stop thinking such ridiculous thoughts. She had watched way too many telenovs. Real life wasn''t nearly so convoluted.

    Still, she had to wonder how Keeley ended up pregnant from a man she supposedly barely tolerated. She always seemed so adamantly against him. What had changed her mind?

    These were the thoughts that gued her throughout her rotation. She was reprimanded by her professor multiple times for spacing out. Whenever that happened she would hastily apologize and try to refocus. It wasn''t working very well.

    Valentina was worried about her friend. Keeley had said less than a year ago that she never wanted to get married. Based on that information, it seemed like she did it because she felt trapped. She definitely did not love this man.

    A romantic at heart, she couldn''t think of anything more upsetting. How could you marry someone you didn''t love, even for the sake of a child? She couldn''t imagine it.

    On one of her ten minute breaks, Valentina got a text message from Ryan. She hadn''t talked to him since his rather ufortable birthday party. She had shared a few sses with him in college too but Keeley was better friends with him. Not knowing anyone else there made things weird.

    ''Have you seen Keeley recently?''

    She saw her less than four hours ago. That was fairly recent. ''Yeah''

    ''How is she?''

    An excellent question. She wasn''t sure how to answer it. She couldn''t exactly say ''good'' because Keeley didn''t seem terribly happy when she exined her situation over lunch.

    She seemed tired more than anything else. Tired and embarrassed that she had to exin herself at all. Poor girl.

    Keeley and Ryan had been friends a long time¡­it would be okay to tell him what was going on, right? He would probably be invited to the wedding too. He had been at Jennica''s after all and they weren''t nearly as close.

    ''She''s tired but that''s to be expected. Pregnancy is exhausting''

    A series of messages blew up her phone. ''WHAT?!''''When did she get pregnant?''''Is it her scumbag ex-boyfriend''s?''''Why didn''t anybody tell me about this?''

    Apparently Keeley hadn''t gotten around to telling him yet. Strange. He was normally easier to get ahold of than her old roommates.

    ''I only found out today. She hasn''t told you yet? I''m sure she''ll invite you to the wedding and tell you then''

    ''She''s marrying him?! Seriously?''

    Valentina was beginning to regret answering his original message at all. ''My break is up. I have to get back to work. Talk to her about this''

    She put her phone on airne mode and got back to work, not realizing the trouble she had just caused.

 Chapter 257: Youre A Good Man, Aaron Hale

    <h4>Chapter 257: You''re A Good Man, Aaron Hale</h4>

    A week and a half before Keeley finished her dissertation research she put in her two weeks'' notice at theb, exining that she had some personal concerns that would be taking up her time. Dr. Kim was sorry to see her go since they had worked together for so long.

    "I wish I could keep you on post-graduation," she admitted. "But I''m afraid that''s not up to me. I''d be happy to provide you a letter of rmendation if you choose to go look elsewhereter on."

    "Thanks Dr. Kim," Keeley said gratefully. And that was the end of that. A clean ending.

    She had been so tiredtely that she kept falling asleep in ss. It was affecting her grades, which was a huge no-no. It was at that point that Aaron convinced her to quit.

    She didn''t need the academic credit there anymore or the paycheck so there was literally no point staying on campus an extra five hours a day. Keeley had homework to do, a dissertation to write, and a baby to grow. She was better off spending that time at home.

    Aaron was genuinely concerned about her. Btedly, she realized this was probably the same reason he wanted her to quit her job at Ace Burger back in the day as well.

    At the time she thought he was looking down on her profession rather than thinking of her well-being. How wrong she had been. Aaron always cared; he just wasn''t the best at expressing himself in those days.

    If she wasn''t in ss, doing assignments, or studying, Keeley was sleeping. She probably slept a total of twelve or thirteen hours a day. Most days when Aaron got home she was conked out on the couch and he had to wake her up when dinner was ready.

    He had gone back to his meal delivery service once she started school again because she wasn''t home around dinner. He kept using it once she quit her job to make things easier on her. Ordering for two was simple enough.

    "Hey sleepyhead," Aaron said as he gazed at her with a soft expression. "Come get some dinner."

    Keeley blinked slowly to adjust to the light. She had fallen asleep reading one of her textbooks on the couch, which had fallen to the floor and crumpled several pages.

    "What time is it?"

    "A little after six."

    She groaned. She had been out for at least two and a half hours. And that textbook chapter still needed to be read on top of a paper she had to work on.

    He coaxed her sympathetically. "I know, sweetheart. Food should help wake you up a bit. As soon as you get your minimum amount of work done you can go back to bed."

    "Okay," she mumbled sleepily.

    Why was she so tired? She hadn''t gotten this tired the first time she was pregnant. Did it vary from baby to baby or did she simply remember it wrong?

    Keeley picked at her Mediterranean chicken dish and after a few bites ran to trash can to throw up. Her morning sickness happenedpletely at random. Whoever chose to call it that was wrong¡ªit hit at any time of day without warning.

    Aaron handed her a ss of ginger ale and some saltine crackers like Dr. Chapman had rmended during her first prenatal visit. He knew the drill by now.

    "Are you okay?"

    She simply groaned in response. That was a no. She was only eating the crackers at all because she had to eat something for the baby''s sake. It was entirely possible she was going to puke again in the near future.

    "What do you need to get done tonight?" he asked, concerned she might not make it until bedtime.

    "I need to finish reading my chapter and at least gather all of my sources for the paper I need to write."

    "How long do you think that will take?"

    "I dunno, a few hours? I was halfway done with the reading."

    "I''ve written a fair number of papers in my day. I can help you find your sources," Aaron said stubbornly. "Just tell me where to look. While you read your chapter, I''ll search for things for you and you can narrow them down from there."

    Tears of gratitude filled her eyes. In that moment she felt more affection for him than she had in this entire lifetime. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, unable to hold back.

    "Thank you," she said fervently.

    He hugged her tightly in response and rubbed her back soothingly for a minute before releasing her. "Come on, let''s get this over with so you can go back to sleep."

    True to his word, Aaron diligently began looking through potential research articles to use as sources on NYU''s database once Keeley told him what she needed. She gave him specific key words to look for and told him she would go over everything afterwards.

    Getting through the reading was still difficult but she powered through it knowing she had less work to do when she finished. Sorting through those sources took her under an hour because of Aaron''s help.

    "You''re a good man, Aaron Hale," she said aloud as she snuggled beneath the covers two hours earlier than she thought she would be able to.

    His amused voice sounded from outside her door. "I''m d you think so."

    Keeley turned bright red. She didn''t think he would actually hear her! "I take it back! Eavesdroppers are not good people."

    "How is it eavesdropping if it''s unintentional?"

    She had no argument for that. "Just let me sleep."

    "Alright, alright. Good night sweetheart."

    "Night," she muttered.

    He was so cheesy. The cutesy name calling hadn''t stopped since she agreed to marry him. Aaron certainly took his oath to do everything differently in this life seriously. He had never been one to use nicknames.

    It made him sound like any other man in love. The thought made her feel a bit sweet.

 Chapter 258: A Sugar Baby

    <h4>Chapter 258: A Sugar Baby</h4>

    Because Aaron was still working when Keeley got out of ss at 2 PM, he got his driver to pick her up and take her home every day. She had nearly forgotten he even had one since he so rarely utilized his services.

    One day about a week before her wedding, she was waiting at the edge of the parking lot when someone grabbed her arm from behind.

    "What¡ª" the words flew right out of her mouth when she saw who it was.

    Ryan. What was he doing here? Shouldn''t he be at work?

    "You quit your job," he said tly. "Is that man paying your bills? Are you nothing more than a sugar baby?"

    Her eyes hardened. She hadn''t spoken to him in over a month. Her life wasn''t his business anymore.

    "I don''t see how that is any of your concern."

    "Can''t you see he''s using you? He probably has all sorts of women on the side. I''m amazed he even let you keep the child. Who hasn''t heard of the Hales in this city? They''ll never ept you. Back out while you still have the chance."

    Who told him she was pregnant? Oh, that didn''t matter now. What mattered was that for a rtively calm and level-headed person Ryan had a frightening look in his eye. This wasn''t normal for him at all.

    "You aren''t a part of my life anymore, Ryan," Keeley said firmly. "I don''t know what you''ve heard but I don''t care. Even if it were all true it still wouldn''t be your business."

    "How is it not my business when one of the people I care about most is ruining her life?" he snarled. "You''re a PhD student, show some brains!"

    Her temper red up. He had no right to be saying any of this to her, let alone be following her around. Plus his grip on her arm was getting painfully tight.

    "Let go of me, or I swear I''ll¡ª"

    "You''ll what? Your sugar daddy isn''t here right now."

    A suave voice appeared to their right. "I believe thedy asked you to let her go."

    They both looked up and saw a very tall, very handsome man who seemed vaguely familiar to Keeley. He was smiling pleasantly but his eyes meant business. He was willing to throw down with Ryan if he didn''t back off.

    But why? She was positive she hadn''t met him before.

    "Who are you?" Ryan asked rudely. "We''re talking here."

    "I believe she was done talking," the man said with a dazzling smile. "Let go or I''ll make you." The words were threatening but he said them in such a charming tone that it was a bit jarring.

    "This isn''t over," he concluded before releasing her arm and hurrying away. He called over his shoulder "You can''t marry that guy! It will ruin you!"

    Keeley sighed heavily before pasting a smile on her face to thank her rescuer. "Thanks for helping me out back there."

    "I''m always happy to help a damsel in distress. If you don''t mind my asking, was that an ex-boyfriend of yours causing trouble?"

    She snorted. "Oh please. Until about a month ago I thought we were friends but apparently he only wanted to date me. I put an end to that real fast. I''m taken."

    She hadn''t been at the time but it was easier to exin it that way.

    The man noticed the sparkle of the ring on her left hand. "Congrattions! When''s the big day?"

    "Next Saturday," Keeley admitted. "I''m actually on my way to a wedding dress fitting right now. I''m just waiting to be picked up."

    Aaron''s car pulled up and the driver rolled down the window so she could see him.

    "That''s my ride right now. Thanks again for your help! Uh¡­what was your name? Mine''s Keeley."

    "Gray." He held his hand out to shake hers. "It was very nice to meet you, Keeley. Good luck with everything."

    She thanked him one more time and hopped into the backseat. The driver rolled the window up as they left the parking lot.

    "Who was that, Miss?"

    "No idea. I was in a bit of a tight spot before you showed up and that guy helped me out of nowhere," she said with a shrug.

    The man who called himself Gray waspletely out of mind by the time she made it to the bridal salon.

    Her wedding dress was simple and cost less than a thousand dors. It was an A-line gown with a sweetheart neckline. The only embellishment was a beaded belt. She didn''t bother having a veil because it seemed unnecessary.

    Keeley had bought it a few weeks earlier but they had to take time to adjust it to fit her better. If all went well, she would be taking it home with her today.

    She turned back and forth in front of the mirror, admiring herself. A pang hit her. Her mother should be here doing this with her.

    The same sorrow had been present as she prepared for her first wedding. It was a bit different then though because she was a bit indignant, thinking about how her mother wouldn''t have let Roslyn walk all over her. No one was walking over her now.

    She couldn''t help but wonder what arrangements Aaron hade up with for the flowers and cake. Before she bought her shoes, she should text him and ask about colors.

    ''What color is my bouquet going to be?''

    He responded instantly. ''Purple. I know it''s your favorite''

    She should have known. But he needed to be a bit more specific. ''Which shade of purple?''

    ''Not sure. See for yourself'' A picture popped up right after of a bouquet consisting of light purple roses, some white flowers she didn''t know the name of, and deeper purple pansies.

    Finding shoes the color of the pansies shouldn''t be too hard. She asked the attendant to help her wrap up the dress and went to examine the shoe section while she waited. They had shoes in every color under the sun here for this exact purpose.

    A pair of open toed heels was the right shade so Keeley tried them on to see how they felt. Not too bad. She could handle walking around in these for an hour or two. She brought those to the checkout and the driver helped her bring everything back to the car afterwards.

    This was getting very real.

 Chapter 259: Please

    <h4>Chapter 259: Please</h4>

    Graydon Meyer could not believe his luck. He was checking out a new bakery near NYU for a much deserved treat after dealing with that wretch Lacy barging into his office on his lunch break. It wasn''t far from the tiron District and his employees had been raving about it for weeks.

    Who did he run into but the woman in Aaron''s life in a struggle with another man! He was quite concerned she was doing something untoward until she exined that it was a former friend who took too many liberties since she was in a rtionship.

    Noticing the ring was an especially pleasant surprise. Well done, Aaron! Getting married in a week and absolutely no one had heard a word about it. He must really not want his father to find out.

    Graydon certainly wasn''t going to tell. Alistair would get a mighty p in the face about this at some point. He couldn''t wait to see it go down.

    The only son of the mighty Hale Empire marries amoner in secret! Alistair would never live down the shame. It was deliciously poetic.

    Too bad he couldn''t give them a wedding gift of some sort. Unless¡­maybe there was something he could do. Something about Aaron''s quest to control thepany''s shares, perhaps?

    He had many connections throughout this city. Buying off shares wouldn''t even be that difficult for him. The only reason he hadn''t done it before was because he was too interested in seeing how Aaron would proceed personally.

    Why shouldn''t he buy five percent and give the man a proper wedding gift? He could send the document to someone Aaron trusted rather than to him directly in case Alistair was watching.

    Cameron Singleton should do nicely. He was a member of the board as well; it wouldn''t be terribly suspicious if he suddenly acquired a few more shares.

    ''Enjoy your wedding, Aaron. And your future takeover of Hale Investments,'' Graydon thought as heposed a simple message to send to Emilio Sandoval. His shares would be easy pickings.

    ===

    July 2019, in another life

    After the sessful murder of Keeley Hale, Gray felt powerful. Aaron, the weak link of the Hale family, was in trouble with his father for not epting responsibility for ''his'' child with Lacy Knighton.

    Apparently he had been threatened with losing his position as vice president. He deserved it. They all deserved the worst.

    He decided to visit his mother and tell her all about his victory. She would be happy to hear about it, he was sure. She despised the Hales, everyst one of them.

    Gray bought a bouquet of orchids, her favorite, and headed off to see her. He knelt down in front of her grave and set the flowers down.

    "I did it, Ma. The entire Hale family is about to crumble to pieces. They''ll pay for what they did to you. I promise. Aren''t you proud of me?"

    He sat there a while longer staring at the headstone. Mary Gray had died so young. Too young. He was only five years old when it happened.

    After she died, he was sent off to live with an uncle in the Bronx. Uncle Louie talked trash about the Hales all day and night¡ªhe had loved his baby sister dearly. He could never forgive Alistair Hale or any of them.

    In his grief, Uncle Louie turned to alcohol and drank himself to death by the time Gray was eleven. With no living family he was forced from foster home to foster home until he turned eighteen. Nobody ever wanted to keep him.

    Getting a schrship to MIT was what saved him. He vowed to make something of himself so he would have the power to fight the entire Hale family and bring them to their knees.

    Lost in unpleasant memories, he didn''t notice the man kneeling at a grave three rows ahead of him until he broke down sobbing. The death must have been recent. Poor sucker.

    "I''m so sorry, Keeley. I couldn''t protect you from them. I tried so hard to save you but¡­" he trailed off because he was crying too hard.

    Keeley? That wasn''t a verymon name. Was this broken man really Aaron Hale or was it a coincidence?

    "I''ll get back at them," the crying man vowed. "Everyone who hurt you. My father¡­the Knightons¡­I won''t let your death go unpunished. You deserved so, so much more than what you got."

    He paused to wipe his eyes a bit and stared at the sky. "Please¡­if there''s any mercy in this universe at all¡­please just let me see her one more time. Just let me tell her how much I love her and that I''m sorry any of this ever happened. Let me make it up to her somehow."

    Whoa, hang on! This was definitely Aaron Hale¡­but it looked like he was actually in love with his wife! All of Gray''s sources were wrong? Impossible!

    More importantly, he was trying to protect her from Alistair and the Knightons? Had he known about Lacy''s pregnancy scheme this entire time?

    Gray thought about it. The rumors that Aaron Hale wasn''t satisfied with his wife anymore didn''t start until after that incident. If he knew that his father had a hand in it¡­it made a twisted sort of sense he would be afraid to show her any love after that.

    Aaron had lost his wife just like Gray lost his mother, due to the greed of the ultra-rich. He felt sick. He helped this happen.

    He worked against two people in love who were trying to get out from Alistair Hale''s thumb. He was just as bad as Alistair was. Gray destroyed the wrong Hale!

    It would be wrong to continue in his revenge now. Aaron deserved that honor. Gray would back away and let him handle things. Vengeance was fulfilling. It would give the poor guy something to live for a while longer.

    "I''m sorry, Aaron," he whispered too quietly for the still-sobbing man to hear.

    Aaron had curled up on top of the grave and was too upset to care how dirty he was getting. The grave was so recent that the grass hadn''t grown in yet. Lying on a mound of dirt, he looked pathetic.

    Gray couldn''t believe it. All this time he thought the guy was a robot programmed by his father. Turns out, he was only pretending to be a robot to protect the woman he loved more than anything. Heartbreaking. Truly heartbreaking.

    Aaron deserved better. Keeley deserved better too. Burdened with guilt, he found himself wishing the same thing Aaron had shouted at the sky minute earlier.

    Please give him another chance. Let him make things up to her. Let them be happy together this time away from the evil world of Alistair Hale.

 Chapter 260: Poor Misunderstood Aaron

    <h4>Chapter 260: Poor Misunderstood Aaron</h4>

    The day before the wedding Keeley invited her out-of-state friends over for a dinner she insisted on cooking herself even though she was exhausted from just finishing midterms. Aaron wanted to have it catered because of how tired she was but she put her foot down.

    Lydia, Jeffrey, and their significant others were normal people and she was going to do this the normal way. That being said¡­it was incredibly awkward when they showed up because both of Keeley''s friends were obviously trying to hide their terror at being inside Aaron Hale''s house.

    Keisha and Collin were more curious than afraid since they hadn''t known Aaron in high school and weren''t from New York. Everything they heard about the man came directly from Jeffrey and Lydia.

    "Hey guys,e on in!" Keeley greeted as cheerfully as she could muster, reaching out to hug everybody.

    Aaron stood to the side and shook people''s hands instead. Jeffrey barely managed to ept the handshake. He was dressed down for the asion, wearing jeans and a navy blue long sleeved t-shirt but Keeley could tell he was nervous and those nerves tranted into ice.

    Nobody else would be able to detect the nervousness, just the waves of cold radiating off of him. Ah, poor misunderstood Aaron.

    "Thanks foring," he said stiffly. "It''s nice seeing you two again."

    "Yeah, it''s been a long time," Lydia said a tad faintly, making a sincere effort. "What have you been up to the past seven years?"

    "College. Work. About the same as you, I would reckon."

    Lydia and Jeffrey exchanged a nce. About the same as them? No way. He was Aaron Hale!

    Dinah chose that moment to appear and Keisha, an avid animal lover, immediately rushed over to pet her. "Ooh, Keeley, when did you get a second cat? She''s so cute!"

    Keeley thanked the heavens for a timely intervention. "I didn''t; Dinah is Aaron''s. He got her a little over a year ago."

    Everyone stared at Aaron who shrugged as nonchntly as possible despite his difort. She could tell he was trying very hard to rte to these people for her sake.

    "The apartment seemed a little empty with just me so my friend rmended adopting a rescue pet. Keeley helped me pick her out."

    "She adores him," Keeley said helpfully. "It''s really cute."

    The tension in the room smoothed out a bit and they all moved to the dining area where Keeley had set up dinner. The meal consisted of lemon and garlic chicken and oven roasted potatoes. She even made brownies for dessert.

    Her appreciation for Collin and Keisha rose tenfold because they helped keep the conversation going as the meal progressed. Collin had studied marketing in college and worked for one of the many techpanies in the Bay Area. He knew a bit about the business world and was able to keep Aaron upied while Keisha helped everyone else stay rxed andughing.

    Lydia and Jeffrey slowly realized that the Ice Demon they knew wasn''t going to do anything to them as he continued chatting with Collin with a calm expression. They were amazed how different Aaron was now.

    Especially since he gazed at Keeley with genuine affection as she sliced up the brownies and bragged about how good they were. She was a bit embarrassed at the praise.

    "I think you''re biased," she said.

    He reached over and squeezed her hand on top of the table. "Maybe a little but they''ll always be my favorite anyway."

    Keisha thought it was adorable and made no secret of it. "You two are the cutest! Why don''t you like my baking this much, Jeff?"

    "Because you can''t bake to save your life."

    She kicked him under the table and he winced, making Lydiaugh. "Tactless as ever, I see."

    Jeffrey scowled, not enjoying being ganged up on. He changed the subject quickly, talking about the two couples'' ns for the rest of the weekend after the wedding. They were going to see a matinee Broadway show on Sunday together.

    Collin mentioned it was too bad that Aaron and Keeley couldn''te and that they should join them on their next couples'' vacation. They hadn''t hammered out all of the details yet but they were thinking about going to Florida next winter.

    She looked over at her fianc¨¦ nervously. He had never liked going on vacation, let alone with other people.

    To her surprise, he responded warmly. "That sounds fun. We might want to wait until the baby is a little older though so we''ll feelfortable leaving it with Keeley''s dad for a few days. Maybe the year after?"

    "Yeah, that would work. We usually go somewhere together about once a year anyway."

    Lydia smiled, less nervous than before. "The three musketeers and their spouses, together on vacation atst."

    They began discussing possible vacation destinations and debated over the merits of cruises versus resorts. It wasn''t the most riveting discussion in the world and Keeley found herself yawning repeatedly. It was nearly 8 PM and that was around the time she usually went to bed these days.

    Aaron noticed immediately and put an arm around her shoulders. "I think Keeley is about to fall asleep so we should call it a night. Thanks foring over, everyone."

    They all stood and said their goodbyes, offering congrattions and ''see you tomorrows'' as they left. Keeley was d everything went as well as it did but she was dead beat. She remained lying on the couch as Aaron put away the leftovers and cleaned off the table.

    She was really impressed with the way he handled things tonight. He hadn''t been messing around when he said he would support her friendships. In their first life, they had never hung out with her friends but he didn''t ever say why.

    It wouldn''t hurt to ask. "You did really well with my friends tonight. Why didn''t you ever want to hang out with them before?"

    He stopped cleaning momentarily. "I would have thought it was obvious. They were terrified of me. It isn''t exactly pleasant dealing with people who think you''re the devil."

    Keeley never realized how much other people''s fear affected him. She thought he didn''t care about such things. Once again it showed how ignorant she had been of his true feelings back then.

    "Then why¡ª"

    "I promised you would have the life you want. If you want to spend time with your friends, I''ll dly make it happen," Aaron said firmly. "I really don''t mind much of anything as long as you''re there."

    He returned to wiping off the table, leaving her awestruck. That was an awfully romantic thing for someone like him to say. She pulled herself off the couch and went up behind him, wrapping her arms around him from the back.

    "You''re too good to me," she mumbled into the fabric of his shirt.

    He patted her arms. "Just doing what I should have done all along. Let''s get you to bed; we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

    Keeley nodded and released him, heading up the stairs to take a shower. After tonight she felt much less nervous about how the rest of her life would go. Marrying him hadn''t been her first choice but it was looking like a better option all the time.

 Chapter 261: A One Letter Difference

    <h4>Chapter 261: A One Letter Difference</h4>

    Jennica came over to pick Keeley up bright and early to help her get ready for her big day. She didn''t feel awake enough for this but let her friend poke and prod her face without making a peep of protest. It was better to get it over with withoutining.

    Her friend kept the makeup simple but beautiful, using an eye shadow palette that would bring out the gold in her brown eyes to her best advantage.

    Keeley''s hair was manipted into a half-up, half-down curly style thatplimented her hair length. She had chopped it to her shoulders again only a couple of months ago, preferring to keep it shorter.

    "You''re going to take his breath away," Jennica assured her as she did a few finishing touches with the curling iron.

    That was thest thing she was worried about. Once she woke up a bit more fully, she felt like she was going to throw up. What if she puked during the ceremony? Her morning sickness was totally unpredictable.

    It was entirely possible that she might puke from nerves alone. Keeley never thought she would be doing this again, let alone with her former husband.

    He was different but his family wasn''t. Lacy Knighton wasn''t. When they inevitably found out she would have to deal with the consequences and she wasn''t ready for that. Aaron promised he would keep them safe. But what if he couldn''t do it?

    What if she was making the exact same mistake she had before and would meet the same end? She tried breathing deeply to calm herself down. If the universe wanted her to marry Aaron again, it better provide a way for her to live peacefully.

    Jennica bit her lip in hesitation once they were loaded up into the car on the way to the marina. Cameron was driving but she sat in the back seat with her friend so he was more like a chauffeur than anything.

    Eventually she whispered, "Aaron isn''t forcing you into this, right?"

    It was obvious she was concerned and it made Keeley feel loved even though she was tempted tough. "No, it was my idea."

    Jennica frowned. "¡­do you love him?"

    No, but he loved her and that would have to be enough. At the very least she liked him as a person. Being with him wasn''t annoying the way it used to be.

    "I think he''ll be a good husband," she said, ignoring the question.

    Her friend caught onto her meaning and squeezed her hands to let her know things were going to be okay. Keeley appreciated the sentiment even if she didn''t necessarily agree with it.

    She was petrified of what might happen. She might be signing her own death warrant right now. No! Things were different this time. Aaron had security measures in ce. Everything was going to be fine.

    She was a wreck by the time they made it onto the yacht. Thankfully she had never been prone to motion sickness. Her earlier nausea had passed after drinking some ginger ale.

    They were thest ones to make it there aside from Aiden, who hit traffic. Jennica ushered Keeley below deck so Aaron wouldn''t see her wearing the dress yet (she was superstitious) with the rest of the women and her father.

    "Who are we waiting on?" Lydia asked. "Collin says Aaron was freaking out when you guys were the second tost here."

    Keeley was very curious what he would define as ''freaking out.'' Aaron didn''t typically show emotions in front of others. He had only recently gotten better at doing it around her.

    "Our friend Aiden."

    "Ten bucks says he was upte ying video games," Jennica chuckled. She had be better acquainted with Aiden''s habits since getting together with Cameron. "Aaron''s going to kill him."

    The word "kill" made Keeley nervous all over again. Aaron wasn''t going to kill anybody but Alistair Hale certainly would when he found out about this. Oh, she was so screwed!

    It was toote to back out now though. The boat had just left port, meaning Aiden had arrived.

    There weren''t very many people in on this. The captain, the minister, and the wedding photographer were the only people other than the guests who were even on the boat. It was highly unlikely any of them would squeal on her to the Hales.

    They couldn''t hack government databases either so they wouldn''t be able to ess the marriage records or the Social Security records once she changed her name to Hale for the second time. She didn''t want her child to feel alienated by having parents with two differentst names so once again she would be Keeley Hale.

    It would be a bit different this time though. In just a few months she would be Dr. Hale. That was very different than her title in her previous life.

    If her research continued going well, someday people would know Aaron as Keeley Hale''s husband rather than the other way around. The thought broke up the tension she was feeling enough to make her crack a smile.

    As if reading her mind, Valentina spoke up. "Isn''t it going to be weird that yourst names are practically the same? You''re only changing one letter but the pronunciation of the ''A'' is different."

    She had gotten very simr questions in her first life. Everything started because of this. A one letter difference ced them next to each other for the first time after three and a half years of going to the same school without knowing about the other''s existence.

    Hall, Hale. Hale, Hall. If not for that, their paths never would have crossed.

    Aaron would have married a socialite, likely Lacy Knighton, without ever being the wiser. Keeley would have gotten her PhD and married someone normal.

    Neither of them would have been reborn because there wouldn''t have been any unresolved business. Their lives both would have been wrapped up with a neat little bow.

    "It is a little weird," Keeley agreed, making the understatement of the century.

 Chapter 262: Until Death Do You Part

    <h4>Chapter 262: Until Death Do You Part</h4>

    The yacht stopped once it was far enough away from the marina and that was everyone''s cue to go upstairs. The only people actually participating in the ceremony were Aaron, Keeley, her father, and the minister. Everyone else was only there to watch.

    Keeley found herself left alone with her dad after all of her girlfriends patted her back or otherwise encouraged her on their way out. She had been terribly nervous about this moment because they hadn''t been alone since she told him she was pregnant and getting married.

    "I''m not going to bite," he said with a chuckle, sensing her apprehension.

    "¡­you aren''t mad at me?" she asked in a small voice.

    "Of course I''m not. You''re an adult and are free to make your own decisions. All I care about is that they''re going to make you happy. Are they?"

    She wasn''t sure. She was grateful for the chance to be a mother and continue to work towards her dreams but those weren''t the only factors at y here. Things could very easily go south.

    And the fact of the matter was she wasn''t in love with Aaron anymore. She was marrying him because she felt that she had no other choice. Like she had to sumb to the will of a power outside of her control.

    When Keeley didn''t answer, her father sighed. "That''s what I thought. Does Aaron know you''re conflicted?"

    "Yes."

    He settled further into the couch they were sitting on. His tone grew serious as he looked out the window at the wavespping against the side of the boat.

    "Marriage is about more than romance, you know. It''s aboutmitment. You and your spouse need to be a team working together against any problems thate your way. I loved your mother with all of my heart but love alone wasn''t enough to make us work. We had to work towards it.

    "I fully believe that boy will do anything to make you happy but it''s not fair to him if he''s the only one trying to make this work. I know you like him and consider him a friend. If you try to support him back I think the two of you will be just fine."

    Support Aaron? She had spent an entire lifetime supporting him and it had all been for naught. But maybe that wasn''t what her dad was talking about.

    Aaron didn''t want to be a part of that world anymore. Supporting him wouldn''t involve being a perfect businessman''s wife. What he wanted was a family. A warm one. Achieving that and kicking his father out of thepany seemed to be his primary goals in this life.

    Keeley could definitely provide the warmth he craved, since he seemed to thrive off of her very presence, but she was no businesswoman. How could she help him get rid of Alistair Hale once and for all?

    She could probably figure something out. After all, he had gone so far as helping her sort through sources for a research paper even though he knew nothing about gics. Her dad was right; he did deserve some form of reciprocation even if she wasn''t in love with him.

    She squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Dad."

    Robert stood and helped his daughter up. "You look beautiful, honeybun. I wish your mother had been here to help you get dressed up but your friend did a great job."

    "I wish they were both here," Keeley said, thinking about how her father had been her only family member present at both of her weddings now.

    "Me too. Now''s not the time to be sad though. Aaron is waiting for you."

    She lifted her skirt as she carefully walked up the stairs in her purple heels. Someone¡ªwas it Aiden?¡ªwas ying the wedding march on their phone as they spotted her atop the stairs.

    Keeley linked her arm through her father''s and walked to the nose of the boat where Aaron and the minister were waiting. His smile was even bigger than it had been at their first wedding and it made her heart ache. She couldn''t believe they were actually doing this again.

    Robert ced her hands in Aaron''s and took a seat next to Cameron.

    Aaron''s eyes were shining but he had an oddly heartbroken air about him. Probably because he knew this wasn''t what Keeley wanted. Nobody else would have caught onto it¡ªshe was the only one who knew how to read him.

    Her grip on his hands increased, trying to reassure him. She wasn''t sure he got the message.

    They hadn''t written their own vows so the minister proceeded with a short standard ceremony. Their first wedding seemed a million lifetimes away. Five hundred guests versus nine. Grandiosity versus simplicity. Love versus necessity.

    "Aaron Hale, do you take this woman to be yourwfully wedded wife for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse until death do you part?"

    "I do," he said firmly.

    The minister looked to her now. "Keeley Hall, do you take this man to be yourwfully wedded husband for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse until death do you part?"

    Death had already parted them once. She never thought she would have to see him again, let alone marry him again. It seemed like death wasn''t capable of tearing them apart. Not ording to whatever reincarnated them.

    "I do."

    "Then by the power vested in me I dere you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

    Aaron barely pecked her on the lips at their first wedding because too many people were watching but this time he had nothing holding him back. He kissed her for a full thirty seconds, causing most of their friends to catcall them. Aiden and Cameron cheered especially loudly.

    Keeley''s face was bright red when they came up for air and Aaron triumphantly raised their linked hands above his head with a crazy grin on his face. She couldn''t help butugh at his unusual disy of enthusiasm. As they would find outter, the photographer captured that moment on camera perfectly.

 Chapter 263: Go Dance With Your Wife

    <h4>Chapter 263: Go Dance With Your Wife</h4>

    Once the wedding ceremony itself ended, everyone sort of sat around talking and eating the same kind of cake Keeley had loved from Jennica''s wedding rather than participating in any traditional reception activities. There weren''t enough people.

    As a joke, Keeley purposely handed her bouquet to Valentina, the only unmarried/unengaged female present.

    Her eyes twinkled gleefully. "This means I''ll get married soon, right? It worked for you!"

    "That''s true, I totally forgot you caught the bouquet at my wedding," Jennica said.

    Lydia looked at her in disbelief. "She caught yours too? No wonder she got married so quickly! Double bouquet-catching power was at work!"

    Keeley rolled her eyes but Aaron¡ªnot a superstitious person at all¡ªwondered if maybe there was actually something to it. It was at least as usible as rebirth. Back in April when Lydia got married she still hated him. Yet here they were.

    He couldn''t believe his luck. After so many years of dreaming about it Keeley was once again his wife.

    Granted, it wasn''t the way he had hoped things would happen but he couldn''t care too much about that. What mattered was that she was here, right now, in a wedding dress smiling at her friends.

    Aaron still felt guilty how things went down. He had wanted to marry her but he had wanted her to want it as well. He would spend the rest of their lives making sure she didn''t regret her choice.

    "Congrats, my dude," Aiden said as he appeared at Aaron''s side and pped a hand on his shoulder. "I''m happy for you."

    Out of everyone here, Aiden probably understood his anguish over his fruitless pursuit of Keeley over the years best. He had been by Aaron''s side the longest in this life, beating out Cameron by a few good months.

    "Thanks," he said with a wistful smile.

    None of this would have been possible without the kid. He was the main reason Aaron even feltfortable enough to pursue Keeley again after their time apart. Without Aiden''s expertise, he wouldn''t have felt safe doing so.

    "You should go dance with your wife." He tilted his head in her direction as sheughed at something Keisha was saying.

    "There isn''t any music."

    Aiden held up his phone and shook it slightly. "I''ve got the entire inte at my fingertips right here. Make a request."

    Music had never been Aaron''s forte. He couldn''t even think of the names of any songs. Hang on though¡­there was that one that Keeley sang the other day.

    "Um¡­do you know a song that goes ''you are my sunshine, my only sunshine''?" he asked, a bit embarrassed.

    "Everyone knows that song, man! Kind of an odd choice but whatever. I''ve got your back; go get her."

    Aiden shot him a thumbs up as he walked over to Keeley a bit nervously. "Do you want to dance?"

    She raised an eyebrow. "To what?"

    The music began ying a secondter, answering her question. Her lips quirked into a smile as she took his hand. Rather than waltzing, Keeley ced her arms around his neck so he wrapped his around her back and they sort of swayed in a circle.

    A female singer sang the song slowly and sadly to guitar and piano apaniment. The lyrics hit Aaron even harder than they had the first time. No one could take his sunshine away from him now.

    "This is kind of a random song choice," she whispered with a smile.

    "It''s exactly how I feel about you though."

    Surprise lit her eyes and Keeley teased him a bit. "Why Aaron Hale, I do believe that''s the most romantic thing you''ve ever said to me."

    Was it really? He needed to step up his game, as Aiden would say. Romance had never been his forte but she deserved that from him to make up for theck of it before.

    They continued rotating in their little circle until the song ended and everybody pped, which was a bit embarrassing. The couple separated and spent the rest of the ride back to the marina chatting with various guests.

    When they made it to shore, everybody threw confetti at them as they climbed into Aaron''s car. They went straight home because Keeley was obviously exhausted. He didn''t mind. They had a bted honeymoon/graduation trip nned in January once her PhD was finished.

    She would only be five months along at that point so flying on a ne wouldn''t be a problem. They were going to go to Ennd and France to check out a bunch of really popr tourist spots that would be difficult to see with a baby or young child while they still had the chance.

    Keeley had expressed excitement about it, which made him feel relieved. He wanted her to be excited about things. He wanted her to enjoy her second chance at life to the fullest.

    Back at their apartment building, Aaron scooped her up into his arms to do the traditional bridal carry.

    "Is this really necessary?" she squeaked, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment. "People can see us!"

    "Yes, they can see how beautiful my bride is and how lucky I am."

    She grumbled about it. "You''re ridiculous."

    "Ridiculously in love with you," he said lightly as they made it into the elevator. He refused to set her down until they had made it into their apartment.

    Keeley headed up to her bedroom, slightly huffy, to get changed. He followed after her, knowing she would need help before she even asked. She emerged a momentter, blushing, because she couldn''t get the zipper on the back of her dress by herself.

    As he predicted. There were many times throughout their first marriage where Keeley needed help with zippers on dresses.

    "You don''t need to be embarrassed, I''m not going to do anything," Aaron reassured her.

    He had read up on this¡ªit wasn''t a good idea to continue having sex too early in the pregnancy. Not that he thought she would be interested even if she wasn''t pregnant.

    She rxed fractionally. Had she really been worried about that? He wasn''t an animal. Hadn''t he respected her boundaries about this engagement and subsequent marriage so far?

 Chapter 264: A Wedding Gift

    <h4>Chapter 264: A Wedding Gift</h4>

    "It''s still early," Aaron noted, checking the time. It wasn''t evente enough to have dinner yet. "What do you want to do?"

    "Well first I want to get all this makeup and hair product off," Keeley admitted. "Then maybe we could watch a movie or something."

    That worked for him. Based on her sleeping patternstely, there was a 92% chance she would fall asleep during it and he wouldn''t have to finish watching.

    He left her to take her shower while he got changed out of his tuxedo and purple tie that matched her shoes. As he changed, his new wedding ring caught his eye. Unlike his more ornate one previously, it was a in tinum band.

    They were married but nothing felt different yet. Would it ever? He couldn''t help but wonder.

    She walked into the TV room in a baggy long-sleeved pink tee shirt, her cupcake pajama pants, and striped fuzzy socks twenty minutester. Aaron''s heart thumped erratically. Even though there were bags under her eyes she looked too cute to resist.

    He patted the spot next to him on the couch and she curled up next to him after grabbing a nket to wrap herself in. Normally she sat further away from him because the couch was so massive. This was progress.

    "What do you want to watch?"

    "We never finished the Harry Potter movies," she said sleepily. "I think we were on number five."

    Keeley snuggled closer to him for warmth. Normally he would have loved it but her hair was still wet so it wasn''t the most pleasant thing in the world. She was soaking the sleeve of his shirt.

    Still, Aaron wasn''t about to tell her to move. She hade closer of her own ord and that was a big deal to him.

    As predicted, she was out cold twenty minutes in. By that point Keeley had decided it would be warmer if he spooned her so he was trapped between her body and the back of the couch. Reaching the remote at this point was impossible. He had to finish the movie.

    It wasn''t so bad though because he mostly focused on savoring the feeling of the woman he loved being in his arms. Through her t-shirt he could feel a very slight hardness to her stomach. Their baby was in there.

    Aaron held her even closer and pressed a gentle kiss against the back of her neck. He had a family now. He needed to work harder to overthrow Alistair and make sure Keeley would never have to worry about him again.

    ===

    Sunday felt like any other day they had been living together aside from the fact that Keeley had finally moved her things into the master bedroom with him. She spent most of the day doing homework. Midterms may have been over but her workload hadn''t changed.

    On Monday morning Aaron went to work with his wedding band on the pointer finger of his right hand so it would look like any other ring. Even if he couldn''t wear it how he was supposed to he couldn''t bear to part with it.

    Otherwise it would feel too much like a dream. His ring was tangible proof that Keeley was his wife. Nobody seemed to notice it.

    He was going through the stack of reports Cameron left on his desk Friday afternoon when the man in question burst into his office pale-faced.

    "What happened?" Aaron asked tly. It couldn''t be good news if he looked this distressed.

    "Someone delivered this to me by courier. Look at it!"

    Cameron held out a piece of paper, which was quickly snatched away. He read over it and immediately understood his friend''s panic. His heart began to race.

    It was a share transfer agreement from Emilio to Cameron using an anonymous middleman. Emilio had handed over all 5% of his shares in Hale Investments. This wasn''t the problem. The problem was that there was a handwritten message scrawled across the bottom.

    ''Be sure to congratte Aaron for me. This is my gift to him. -A Friend''

    Aaron mmed the piece of paper on the table. "Is this a legitimate share transfer?"

    "I had Aiden check it out before I came up here. Emilio did sell his shares to someone who just gave them to me on your behalf. Whoever this is¡­they have to know I''m holding onto some of your shares."

    Aaron was concerned that someone had figured out his dummy shareholder n but more importantly he caught onto the fact that this person was hinting at knowing about his marriage over the weekend.

    Congrattions and gifts were usually saved for special asions. There was nothing else going on in his life worth congratting right now. It couldn''t be a coincidence.

    "Someone ratted me out," he said grimly.

    "Not necessarily," Cameron mused. "This person could have found out entirely by chance. You only told me and Aiden and neither of us said anything. One of Keeley''s friends might have mentioned it. Did she specifically tell them to keep it a secret?"

    "I''m not sure."

    He considered this. Jennica knew a bit about the situation with his parents so she wouldn''t go telling anyone. Lydia and Jeffrey lived out of state and weren''t friends with anyone else from their old high school so it couldn''t havee from them. What about Valentina? Or even Robert?

    None of them would have said something to an enemy on purpose. If someone was watching him closely enough, they might have been able to figure it out with minimal information given.

    Who had been looking into him deeply enough to guess the truth about the division of the board at Hale Investments? It couldn''t be anyone connected to Alistair or he would havee breaking down Aaron''s office door already.

    He picked up his phone and barked into it the second it was answered. "Aiden! Find out everything you can about everyone Emilio Sandoval has had contact withtely. This is first priority; drop everything else."

    "Already on it," Aiden said smugly. "I''ve been looking since I saw the document. You''ll never believe what interesting coincidence I found."

    Cameron moved closer so he could hear better after Aaron put the phone on speaker. They both waited anxiously for his news.

    "Emilio''sst phone call right before he sold the shares was from the same number Lacy calls all the time. He was talking to Graydon Meyer."

 Chapter 265: Too Many Ifs

    <h4>Chapter 265: Too Many Ifs</h4>

    The room became deadly silent as the implications of what Aiden said set in. Graydon Meyer, more likely than not, was the one who sent him the shares. The man who Aaron was fairly certain had worked with Lacy Knighton to kill his wife.

    Why would he do this? And calling himself ''a friend''? This didn''t make sense at all!

    "Isn''t he that tech guy?" Cameron asked, looking to his boss in confusion.

    "He''s an enemy," Aaron said icily. "He works with Lacy. This seems like a threat to me."

    If Graydon Meyer knew about his marriage, did that mean Lacy did too? She was thest person on earth he wanted finding out. His heart flooded with panic. He hadn''t talked to Keeley since this morning. Was she okay? Had they done something to her already?

    He ordered Aiden to dig into this further before hanging up the phone. Ignoring the fact that Cameron was still in his office, he called his wife. He desperately needed to hear her voice right now.

    "Aaron? What''s going on? I''m walking to ss right now."

    There was a lot of background interference but he could still make it out. His heart heaved a sigh of relief.

    "I just wanted to check on you. How are you feeling?" he asked tenderly.

    "I''m alright. I didn''t fall asleep in any of my lectures so far today so that''s something."

    "That''s good."

    "I''ve got to go now, there''s no reception in the part of the building I''m about to enter. I''ll see you at home, okay?"

    "Okay. I love you."

    She made a noise of affirmation before mumbling bye and hanging up the phone. He was too relieved she was actually fine to appreciate the irony that she signed off the call the same way he used to.

    Cameron was looking at him a bit funny. "What was that about?"

    Oh great. Aaron forgot he didn''t know anything about the threats Keeley had faced in the past. He had acted a bit hastily.

    "I thought she might be in danger because of this message," he confessed. "I lost my head for a minute."

    "I didn''t think that was even possible for a guy like you. Why would you think that?"

    "Lacy Knighton is dangerous and Aiden has already linked the man we think did this to her. I can''t think of anything this ''gift'' could be but a warning to me."

    A thoughtful expression appeared on Cameron''s face.

    "You might be thinking of this the wrong way. If this man could force Emilio to sell so easily, he could have infiltrated thepany any time he wanted. So why didn''t he? He probably has no intention of taking over Hale Investments. If anything, it seems like he wants you to do it for him.

    "And if he truly posed a danger to Keeley¡­wouldn''t he have acted already? If he was able to figure out you got married this weekend he''s probably known about her for a while. This might sound crazy but I think this person has a problem with your father, not you."

    What he said would have made sense if not for Aaron''s belief that Graydon Meyer was the father of Lacy''s baby. Her baby daddy most definitely had a problem with Aaron personally. But he had backed off after Keeley''s death, which was still perplexing.

    Aaron always assumed the mystery man had a vendetta against him but what if it was against the Hales in general? It could exin handing over the shares. Cameron could be right¡ªMeyer might want him to overthrow his father. But that left the question of where he factored into this.

    What he really needed was that information on Graydon Meyer''s true identity but Aiden hadn''t been able to find it yet. Whoever he had used to get his fake ID was truly skilled. The switch must have been done in person, not leaving an inte trial to follow.

    He was sure that Meyer''s original identity was the key to all of this. That it would prove what grudge he held against Aaron or any of the other Hales.

    "Do you think I should ept the shares?"

    Cameron shrugged. "I wouldn''t look a gift horse in the mouth. I''m more concerned about what else he knows."

    Aaron sighed. He had a point. They definitely needed to be on guard and look into all of this further but in the meantime there was no reason not to use those shares.

    "I have been wanting an additional shareholder on my side anyway. Who should I give them to?"

    "Why not give them to Jennica? She would have fun acting the part of a high profile businesswoman. The meetings are only once a month, she should be able to make it to most of them with her schedule," he suggested.

    "It would be a bit suspicious if your wife suddenly had a bunch of shares."

    "Your father already suspects we have a connection anyway. And she doesn''t have to let people know she''s my wife. She could use her maiden name at the meetings and nobody would be the wiser. It''s not like any of these people know who I''m married to."

    Aaron hated it when Cameron had multiple good points in a row. It was like admitting defeat, somehow. He replied a bit grumpily.

    "Alright, give them to Jennica."

    He rubbed his hands together in excitement. "This''ll be great, you''ll see! What does this bring you up to now anyway?"

    "39%. I''m technically thergest shareholder but I can''t show my cards just yet. I need more than 50% to do that," he said with a sigh.

    12% away. He had never been so close but it still seemed so far away. If he stuck to his original n of convincing Alexander to sell some of his shares next year and the child Keeley was carrying was a boy it would be possible.

    That was too many ''ifs.'' What he wanted was something foolproof that would turn the tide his way without such a heavy degree of uncertainty. Aaron had to get his father out of the way for good or Keeley would never be able to rx.

 Chapter 266: Something Changed

    <h4>Chapter 266: Something Changed</h4>

    Keeley was working on a homework assignment on herputer when she needed to go to the bathroom. Upon her return to the table, Molly had taken her spot and was sprawled across the keyboard.

    "Come on, I was using that," sheined. "Move, kitty!"

    She tried nudging the cat to no avail. Molly had turned into a statue. Frustrated, Keeley was about to pick her up and move her by force when a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. Aaron was home.

    He slumped over and buried his face in her shoulder. Was he shaking?

    "What''s wrong?"

    "I might have some bad news," he admitted.

    "What kind of bad news?"

    "You might want to sit down for this." He led her over to the couch and made sure she wasfortable before continuing.

    "Someone sent Cameron a share transfer document today, telling him to congratte me and consider it a gift. Not only do they know about my dummy shareholders, they seem to know about you."

    She sucked in a breath. How? Nobody knew where Aaron lived and whenever they were out together in public it wasn''t usually the kind of ces members of high society would be.

    "But if they gave you shares¡­they must know you''re going against your father. The enemy of your enemy is your friend, right?"

    Aaron shook his head. "I would think that if not for the fact that I''m pretty sure it was sent by the man who fathered Lacy''s baby. Because he¡­he had a hand in killing you."

    Keeley''s jaw dropped. He never told her that! Come to think of it, he never told her a thing about the father of Lacy''s baby other than that it wasn''t him.

    She hadn''t given any thought to who it might be. With all the information Aaron dumped on her that day, it was low on the list of her priorities.

    "I think you''d better exin."

    So he did, beginning with how Lacy approached him begging to take responsibility for her baby because someone tricked her into thinking he was Aaron. He knew it was a load of crap from the get go. The way she approached it made him think that she knew who the true father of the baby was and that the man had put her up to this to get inside the Hale family.

    "¡­they didn''t know I was nning to send you away to be safe. I''m almost positive they killed you to pave a way for Lacy and that man''s child to end up with me. She threw a fit after you died about me not taking responsibility and my father made all sorts of threats.

    "It was a mess. Lacy didn''t back down until I demanded an amniocentesis paternity test. That was when she finally confessed it wasn''t mine. She knew she would be busted anyway and didn''t want an invasive procedure done on her. She went crazy and killed Max shortly afterward."

    Keeley had no idea so much drama went down after her death. She knew Lacy killed Max but that was it.

    "What makes you think it was sent by the father of Lacy''s baby?"

    Aaron rubbed his forehead as if warding off a headache. "Aiden looked into it. Thest phone call the former shareholder received was from the same number Lacy has been calling regrly since I publicly humiliated her in April.

    "It didn''t belong to anyone in her usual social circle so we got suspicious. I always knew the father of her baby wasn''t in the circle or I would have found him sooner. It''s still just a theory but it makes sense. I have no idea how long they were working together in ourst life but it could have been this early."

    Keeley frowned. That was an awful lot of spection but she couldn''t deny it was too coincidental. Knowing Lacy''s nature, she would never associate with anyone outside of high society without an excellent reason.

    "Who''s your suspect?"

    "His name is Graydon Meyer. Have you heard of him? He''s a big name on the tech scene these days."

    She hadn''t. Out of curiosity, she pulled out her phone and did a quick search. All of the blood drained out of her face when she saw a picture of him connected to an article. She knew that face.

    Graydon Meyer was that guy Gray who helped her with Ryan a couple weeks ago! She even chatted with him briefly about getting married because he noticed her engagement ring. But that shouldn''t have been a problem¡­unless he already knew who she was beforehand.

    "I think this might be my fault," she said in a small voice.

    "Why on earth would it be your fault?"

    Keeley exined the story briefly and the temperature in the room dropped so drastically that she shivered. She apologized immediately and he thawed on the spot.

    "No," Aaron said with a shake of her head. "I''m not mad at you. You said all you did was say you were getting married and what your first name was. There''s no way he would have been able to put that together unless he already knew who you are to me."

    But how did he know? They hadn''t exactly been high profile since meeting up against year. This man must have been looking into Aaron already. The real question was why.

    And if Graydon Meyer was involved in her death, why had he helped her out the other day? The pieces weren''t quite fitting together.

    "Do you think¡­something changed on his end in this life? A reason he wouldn''t be against us?"

    Aaron frowned. He obviously hadn''t considered that. "But then why would he still be working with Lacy?"

    That she didn''t know. She was just tossing out ideas here. None of this made sense. Besides, Aaron and Keeley were the only ones reborn into this timeline. Anyone not directly touched by them should have gone on with their lives in exactly the same way as before.

    Or¡­touched by someone who had been touched by them. There could be a ripple effect going on here.

    "I''m not sure. But what if something did change that made it so he''s on our side? You said he congratted you and gave you a gift that would actually help you out¡­what if it''s not a threat?" she guessed wildly.

 Chapter 267: Trust and Support

    <h4>Chapter 267: Trust and Support</h4>

    Keeley''s idea hung off into space for a minute while Aaron thought it over.

    "You know, Cameron actually suggested something simr. He thinks that the target might be my father, not me. Since he knows about my n and gave me something that will move it along faster," he said finally.

    "That would totally make sense! I mean, it doesn''t exin what happened in our first life but it would exin why he''s kept our secret."

    Aaron was a high profile person within the city. Everybody knew his name but not his face. News of his marriage had been a huge deal the first time around. The fact that it hadn''t leaked out yet probably meant that Graydon Meyer had no intention of saying anything.

    If Alistair Hale was his enemy rather than Aaron, discovering the plot to overthrow his father must have been a pleasant surprise. Helping Aaron instead of hurting him would be a simple thing to do if they were working against the same person.

    Was this why he wasn''ting after them in this life? He knew Aaron was working against his father from the start? But how would he even know that? Aaron had been extra meticulous about covering all of his bases.

    A thought urred to her. Even though it was more to worry about, she was really d his first reaction uponing home was to tell her what was going on. If he had done this in their first life they wouldn''t have fallen apart.

    Aaron trusted her. He saw her as a partner.

    Keeley was reminded of what her father had said the day of her wedding. They needed to support each other. Being a sounding board for things like this was a way she could support him.

    He was practically oozing stress. She scooted closer to him and put her hands on both sides of his face before nting a quick kiss on his lips. His eyes widened at the first disy of affection she had initiated since their remarriage.

    "No matter what''s going on, it''s going to be okay. You told me the truth so I know what to expect. I can help you if you let me. I''ve got your back, alright?"

    Aaron nodded and pulled her onto hisp, holding her closely until she felt him rx. It was as if she was his lifeline.

    All those years together and she never realized how much he relied on her simply being near him. Well, she could do much more than that this time. He didn''t have to shoulder his burdens alone anymore. They were a team.

    ===

    The first month and a half of being married again passed without further incident. They did not hear from Graydon Meyer again, Alistair still didn''t know his son had a wife, and Keeley had done all of her name change paperwork.

    Her social security card, bank ounts, health insurance, and driver''s license all read ''Keeley Marie Hale'' instead of ''Keeley Marie Hall'' once again. Aaron had added her to his bank ounts as well and insisted she be an authorized user on all of his high-spending credit cards.

    She tried to protest that she didn''t need all of that but he insisted. "What''s mine is yours. If you don''t feelfortable buying whatever you want, at the very least use them for groceries and other household purchases."

    He continued with a soft smile on his face. "I know you''re a simple person but please feel free to do what you would normally do if you didn''t have to worry about budgeting."

    Keeley cracked a smile at that point. "So I can buy myself any sort of treat I want at the movies instead of agonizing over whether or not I can afford popcorn?"

    "Exactly."

    Aaron won her over with that argument. She really wasn''t the type to spend to excess. In fact, in the weeks since she had been added to his cards the only unnecessary things she spent money on were constant snacks to satisfy the pregnancy cravings that finally kicked in.

    One day she suddenly woke up ravenous and couldn''t stop thinking about Cherry Garcia ice cream. It slowly and torturously consumed her thoughts until she had to run downstairs to buy it in her pajamas. She bought three containers and it only got worse from there.

    Thankfully that was her only sweet craving. The rest of the time she typically wanted pickles (endless amounts of pickles!), peanut butter, or hamburgers. She had the driver stop at the Burger Barn drive thru on the way home from school far more often than she was willing to admit.

    Aaron was very patient about her cravings. If they ran out of something when he was home, he would run out and get it immediately. He picked things up on his way home from work all the time too.

    Keeley''s stomach had finally started to show and she was surprised when it doubled in size nearly overnight. She definitely wasn''t eating enough to warrant that much of a change!

    But she ended up using Aaron''s card to buy an entire maternity wardrobe from one of the retail chain stores she normally shopped anyway. Nothing fit anymore. Now that it was fairly cold out, she wore a lot of maternity leggings and long sweaters.

    The funny thing was that if you looked at her from the back she didn''t look pregnant at all. She hadn''t actually gained all that much weight despite her growing belly. Dr. Chapman had been a bit concerned at herst visit and told her to eat more.

    Aaron loved rubbing her belly and feeling the proof of the life growing inside her. He had never shown such visible excitement about something in either of their lives. It made her smile; he was pretty cute when got like that.

    He was pretty cute period. Aaron had always been a very attractive person but it was a cold, distant sort of handsomeness. Sort of like a model giving off a disinterested look that only drew people in more.

    Ever since he started smiling more she realized that when his eyes lit up they looked a lot more blue. To the casual eye they were so dark that they appeared almost ck. But they were definitely blue. A beautiful blue.

 Chapter 268: Ultrasound

    <h4>Chapter 268: Ultrasound</h4>

    Aaron took the afternoon off work one day at the beginning of December so they could go to the doctor and have the ultrasound that would reveal the baby''s gender. Keeley, who had finally turned in her dissertation draft and was now preparing to defend it, had been looking forward to it all week.

    She was bouncing in her seat as they sat in the maternity ward waiting room. He was holding her hand tightly, his wedding ring rubbing up against her fingers.

    "Mrs. Hale?" a nurse called after what seemed like hours.

    They both jumped to their feet and followed her to an examination room. The nurse took all of Keeley''s vitals and then asked her to lift her shirt so she could check for the baby''s heartbeat.

    She checked multiple ces on the stomach to try and get the best sound but ended up doing a double take when she got to the other side.

    "What is it?" Keeley asked in a panic.

    "Nothing ma''am, your baby''s heartbeat is nice and strong. I''m going to get the doctor and she''ll conduct the ultrasound."

    Once the nurse left, her heartrate refused to slow. "She made a face, right? I''m not crazy; she definitely made a face!"

    "She made a face," Aaron agreed grimly. "But she said the baby''s heartbeat is strong so I''m not sure what the face was about. Let''s not get too worried just yet. Stress isn''t good for you or the baby."

    He got up from his chair on the side of the room and kissed her forehead as she sat on the exam table. She smiled at him gratefully for trying tofort her. She couldn''t even imagine trying to do this alone.

    Dr. Chapman came in with a smile on her face. "Hello again, you two. How are you feeling today?"

    "Nervous," Keeley admitted. "The nurse made a face when she checked the heartbeat."

    The doctor sighed. "I''ve told her a million times to control her facial expressions better¡­Let''s ease that anxiety for you by getting this done right away then."

    She had Keeley lie on her back and lift her shirt again. Aaron was encouraged to move closer so he could see the screen better. Dr. Chapman spread a strange-feeling warm goo on her stomach before going over it with a t little metal tool.

    "Well, I know why she made that face. There were two heartbeats. You''re having twins!"

    Keeley craned her neck to see the screen and sure enough, there were two babies lying back to back in there! Tears sparked in her eyes. Not one but two. It was as if the universe was trying to make up for the one she lost before.

    "Twins," Aaron whispered in a daze. He looked over at his wife with a stupid grin on his face. "We''re having twins!"

    She nodded with a stupid grin of her own. "Doctor, can you tell what the genders are?"

    Dr. Chapman peered at the ultrasound more closely. "It looks like you''re having one of each. See? The one on the right is a boy."

    "Kaleb," they said simultaneously before looking at each other andughing.

    "Kaleb and Violet," Keeley said emotionally. "They''re so tiny."

    "Twins are usually born early so we''ll have to take extra good care of you. I want you toe in every two weeks from here on out, understood? You haven''t been gaining nearly enough weight to sustain twins," the doctor scolded before turning to Aaron. "Make sure your wife always has some sort of snack!"

    He nodded vehemently. "I will!"

    Dr. Chapman exhorted Keeley to take it easy as soon as the semester was done because all of the extra stress wasn''t good for her or her children. Aaron promised he would strap her down to the bed if necessary, making Keeleyugh. She didn''t realize he was dead serious.

    They left the office with a list of advised foods and with their hearts much lighter. Twins! This was worth celebrating.

    Keeley was having a very specific craving for a steak at a chain she and her father used to go to on special asions so they headed there immediately after leaving the doctor''s office. She sighed happily as she dug into theplementary bread while they waited for their orders. It was still warm.

    Her husband gazed at her softly from across the table with his head resting on his fist as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world. She flushed. Scarfing down bread like there was no tomorrow definitely wasn''t attractive.

    It didn''t seem to matter to him. His sweet stare didn''t falter.

    "What are you looking at?" she coughed, embarrassed.

    "My gorgeous wife."

    That was an exaggeration. The bags under her eyes were so bad now that she had looked like a panda for weeks. In what way was that gorgeous?

    "I think you need to get your eyes checked."

    Aaron shook his head. "Tiredness can''t detract from true beauty."

    Tiredness detracted from a lot of things. Like her sanity. Keeley was supposed to defend her dissertation next week and was terrified out of her mind. After that, she would be free forever.

    "What if I fail my dissertationmittee?" she blurted out of the blue.

    Dr. Kim assured her that her research was solid so as long as she exined it properly she would be fine but it didn''t help with her nerves any. Standing in front of a bunch of people older and smarter than you trying to exin yourself was terrifying.

    "You won''t," Aaron said confidently. "You know what you''re doing. And you''ve been practicing what you''re going to say already. You''re going to be perfectly fine."

    He hesitated a moment before speaking again, looking slightly embarrassed. "I''ve already found ab willing to take you and your research on as soon as you''re ready to go back to work."

    Keeley hadn''t even thought about when she would go back to work. She wanted to raise her children herself, not have them raised by a nanny like poor Aaron had been. Which meant she would need to stay at home until they were about three years old.

    "Actually¡­I want to stay with the babies until they''re old enough to start pre-school. I don''t know if theb you found would be willing to wait that long."

    Surprise lit his eyes for a moment before he smirked.

    "Money is power, sweetheart. If they aren''t, I''ll find someone else. I''ll build you ab of your own if I have to. I''m going to make sure you can continue your research if it''s thest thing I do. Are you really okay with deferring your dream that long though?"

    "I always hoped to stay with my kids while they were younger, like my mom did. I''ve waited this long. What''s a few more years?"

    Aaronughed a bit self-deprecatingly. "That''s what I used to tell myself about waiting for you."

    A small smile lit her face and she teased him. "Was I your dream then?"

    "Yes," he said without hesitation, leaning across the table to kiss her.

 Chapter 269: Winging It

    <h4>Chapter 269: Winging It</h4>

    Once Keeley was happily full of steak, she was tired from all the excitement and wanted to go home and take a nap. She didn''t even make it all the way home, falling asleep in the car. Aaron carried her in princess-style because he didn''t want to disturb her.

    She woke up on the couch with Molly protectively curled up on top of her belly. The cats had been doing this sort of thing a lottely. It was almost like they knew there were babies in there.

    Another somewhat frivolous purchase she made with Aaron''s credit card wasminating the index cards she used to practice her dissertation defense so she could go over them in the bathtub without the water ruining the ink. She was so sore and achy these days that it was totally worth the expense.

    Aaron could hear her saying something and then correcting herself so it sounded better as he walked past the bathroom door. An involuntary smile appeared on his face. She was adorable.

    When she finally got out of the bath she put on some Christmassy maternity pajamas she bought that were covered in snowmen. Unfortunately, she had been too busy to be very festive so far. The only thing she had done was put up the tree and a few other decorations in the living room.

    Keeley hadn''t even started making her Christmas cookies. She would have to go on a baking spree on Sunday. Her kitchen was bigger so it might be a better idea to invite her dad here than to go to his ce like usual. They would have to clean thoroughly beforehand and keep the cats in another room though.

    "You aren''t going to be able to wear your reindeer pajamas this year," Aaron noted when he saw her walk into their bedroom.

    "Nope," she said sadly. "But I still fully expect you to wear yours."

    He shook his head at her indulgently. "Are you going to buy our kids matching pajamas too?"

    "Of course! We''re going to be the best dressed family Christmas morning has ever seen," she dered. Just like her family had been while her mom and Kaleb were alive.

    He hummed contentedly at the reference to being a family. Then he frowned, thinking of something. "Is there anything in particr you want for Christmas this year?"

    "My PhD," she joked before thinking about it more seriously.

    There wasn''t really anything she needed but was there anything she wanted? Aaron was already in the habit of buying her something anytime she so much as said it looked cool.

    She thought back to their first Christmas being married in theirst life. Of what he didn''t do. She knew what she wanted now.

    "I want you to put together a stocking for me with candy and nail polish and other little stuff like that."

    Keeley had already set next to him on the bed by that point so he put his arm around her and held her close. "I can absolutely do that for you. But if you don''t tell me what else you want I''m going to have to wing it and you know I''m not good at that."

    Sheughed. No he was not. "Alright, I''lle up with a list for you. What about you? What do you want?"

    Aaron didn''t even have to think about it. "I don''t need anything but you."

    Okay, that was pretty sweet. And cheesy. He had been like that more and moretely. Keeley reached up to caress his face and smiled softly.

    "I guess I''m winging it instead."

    He kissed the top of her head. "You''re a lot better at it than I am."

    He shut off the light and they both crawled under the covers. She moved around even more than usual in her sleep because it was impossible to stayfortable with her belly sticking out but they always started out cuddling. Aaron imed that it helped him fall asleep.

    He rested his arm on her stomach and snuggled closer happily. "I love you, Keeley."

    She wished she could say it back and mean it. She had chosen to spend her life with him but it didn''t mean she loved him. A bit of guilt weighed down on her heart every time he said it.

    "Sweet dreams, Aaron."

    ===

    "When are you defending your dissertation again?" Robert asked as he helped his daughter cut out sugar cookies.

    "Wednesday," Aaron answered on behalf of his wife. He had heard her talk about it so many times he knew the time and ce as well as she did.

    "Thanks, Keeley," he said sarcastically beforeughing. "I take it she''s been stressing out nonstop?"

    "Yep."

    "I''m right here!" Keeley protested, feeling put out that they were talking about her to her face. She pushed down on the cookie cutter with a little more force than necessary in her annoyance.

    They had been like this ever since she got married. It was like they enjoyed teaming up to give her a hard time. Jerks.

    She couldn''t really begrudge them though. Robert had missed seeing his son grow up. Aaron''s father was a horrible person. They sort of filled a void for each other. And she was d they got along. It would make things much easier as the kids got older.

    Her father had been absolutely thrilled to hear they were having twins. He was determined to be the best grandpa ever to them both. It warmed Keeley''s heart seeing him so excited about something since he had been missing her mother more and more as time went on.

    She scooped up the cut out cookie dough shapes and ced them on a cookie sheet to put in the oven. Now she had to roll the dough out yet again. It was a bit difficult getting close enough to the counter with her protruding stomach.

    "Someone want to take over for a minute?" she asked in frustration.

    "I''ve got it," Aaron volunteered. "Um¡­how do you do this again?"

    Keeley suppressed a smile. So eager to help even when he had no idea what he was doing. She exined it to him as he went. The final result wasn''t bad and it only took him two tries to get there.

    She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek in thanks, not realizing that her dad was taking a picture until he showed it to her. It actually was a pretty good picture.

    Both of them were covered in flour and Aaron was practically the heart eyes emoji. They looked like any other couple having fun. That made her happy.

    If only they could have been like this all along. Then she wouldn''t have to feel so conflicted even though everything was fine on the surface. Aaron, true to his word, was a great husband this time. So why wasn''t she in love with him?

 Chapter 270: Dissertation Committee

    <h4>Chapter 270: Dissertation Committee</h4>

    The morning of Keeley''s dissertationmittee she looked out the window and saw the terrace covered in snow. It was beautiful but she really hoped it wouldn''t hinder traffic at all.

    Dressing professionally was difficult with her ever-growing belly. She ended up wearing a long-sleeved navy blue dress with thigh-high pantyhose and ck ts. A pair of cheap gold dangly earrings adorned her ears to match the DNA ne she wore for good luck.

    "How do I look?" she asked nervously. Wanting to make a good impression, she had actually put on makeup for the first time since their wedding.

    Aaron gave her a quick hug. "Like a future scientist. You look great. You should eat something though; didn''t you say you''ll have to be there on your feet for up to two hours?"

    "That''s what I heard."

    Keeley would have to stand in front of the doctoralmittee, including Dr. Kim and many other members of the gics faculty, and defend her research. They had already received a copy of her 200+ page dissertation and had read through it so they knew the basics. They were going to ask her questions and she would have to exin herself using the visual aids she had prepared.

    Deep down, she knew she would pass. She had worked extremely hard for this moment. As long as she didn''t lose her head she would be fine.

    Her husband handed her a chocte chip muffin. "Eat in the car; we need to get going. You definitely don''t want to bete today."

    She nodded and began unwrapping it as Aaron grabbed her supplementary materials for her. They headed down to the parking garage together. In the car she was so jittery that she couldn''t stop her leg from bouncing. She needed to hold it together.

    "You''re going to pass this, you know," he said after several minutes of silence. "After graduation in a few weeks everyone is going to have to call you doctor."

    Keeley cracked a smile. Outside of professional circumstances, almost nobody used the title when talking to people. She would be Dr. Hale inside ab or university if she had underlings working for her but outside of that she would still just be Keeley.

    Her dream was about to be reality. She felt a bit sentimental when she thought about how Aaron had been a part of the process for thest half of her degree.

    It started out silly with him bringing her food. Then he saved her grade with theptop incident. And she definitely wouldn''t have been able to finish strong this past semester without his constant support. He really did care about her dreams.

    She gazed at his side profile fondly. "Thanks for supporting me. I couldn''t have made it through myst semester without you."

    Aaron seemed surprised at the praise. He reached over and squeezed her hand. "No, it was all you. I''m only doing my job as your number one fan."

    When they arrived in front of the medical school Keeley''s nerves were at an all-time high. In fifteen minutes, she was going to do the most important thing in either of her lives. Suddenly the building looked much bigger and more menacing than usual.

    She had been ready to get out and go on her own but Aaron parked rather than pulling into the drop off zone. He gathered her visual aids for her and held onto them with one hand while offering her the other. Taking it gratefully, she gripped it tightly as they walked in.

    "Knock them dead," he told her as they stood in front of the door where themittee was waiting inside. "We''ll celebrate tonight, okay?"

    Keeley nodded, her heart hammering in her chest. He turned to go and she called after him, "Are you going to give me a kiss for good luck?"

    He turned back with a slight smirk on his face. "How could I forget?"

    He gave her a short and sweet kiss before cing a hand on her stomach. "Be sure to wish your mom luck too, babies."

    She smiled. "I''ll let you know how it went when I get out."

    Aaron waved goodbye as he headed back out of the building. She turned and stared at the door in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for what was ahead and opened the door.

    The doctoralmittee was already seated at a long table. Six pairs of familiar eyes stared at Keeley as she entered. Each person was someone she knew well.

    Even though she had been Dr. Kim''s research assistant the longest, she had served as a TA for two of these other professors in previous semesters. Everyone here knew her and liked her. They wanted her to seed. All she had to do was answer some questions.

    Even though they all knew who she was, she still had to go through the formalities and introduce herself at the beginning of her presentation. She had practiced this a hundred times¡ªshe could do it in her sleep by now.

    "Good morning, my name is Keeley Hale and today I am here to defend my dissertation titled Using Gene Therapy with a Modified CTFR Gene as a Cure for Cystic Fibrosis."

    Dr. Kim raised an eyebrow. "Hale, not Hall? I thought your name on the copy of the dissertation I received was a typo."

    She coughed to cover her embarrassment. Here she was, obviously pregnant in front of people she hadn''t seen in person since before her stomach began to show with a differentst name.

    "Yes, I recently got married."

    "Oh, congrattions! Please proceed."

    Keeleyunched into the presentation she had prepared; asionally pausing to give themittee chances to ask questions. Her words were clear and concise. She may have used a few too many hand gestures in her nervousness but the visual aids were on point.

    She had looked over herminated cheat cards often enough that she knew how to answer every question with confidence. All those hours practicing in the bath had paid off!

    At the very end of her defense, she bowed slightly and thanked themittee for their time. They asked her to leave the room so they could deliberate. The thirteen minutes they made her wait were the longest she ever experienced.

    Keeley was sweating bullets by the time they called her back in and she quickly wiped it off her forehead with a tissue before rejoining themittee.

    "Congrattions, Keeley. You passed!" Dr. Kim said with a proud smile on her face.

    Her knees nearly gave out in relief. Nevertheless, she kept herposure and graciously thanked everyone as she shook all of their hands. She did it! She actually did it!

    Her mentor handed her the piece of paper they had all signed proving that she hadpleted her requirements. She would need it to collect her cap, gown, and hood for graduation.

    As Keeley walked out the door clutching her paper she barely managed to restrain herself from screaming in excitement. She needed to call Aaron.

 Chapter 271: The Heart Wants What It Wants

    <h4>Chapter 271: The Heart Wants What It Wants</h4>

    After seeing Keeley off, Aaron got stuck in traffic because several cars got into a serious ident due to the snow. He arrived at the office over an hourte and cringed. He knew dropping her off would make him a littlete since both themittee and work started at 9 AM but he didn''t think it would be this bad.

    He was never this irresponsible. If anybody found out about this¡­

    Unfortunately for him, thest person he wanted to notice his tardiness had done just that. One of the secretaries let him know that Alistair was waiting for him as he headed toward the elevator.

    Fantastic. He made his way to his father''s office ready to weather the ice storm ahead.

    "What is it?" he asked tly when he entered.

    Alistair gave off a deathly re. "How dare you be so impertinent when you didn''t bother to show your face until nearly 10:30 AM."

    Aaron shrugged. "There was a serious ident and I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for ages. Not my fault."

    His father truly couldn''t fault him for that. Though his expression was sour, he had to let it go. Instead he sped his hands in front of him giving off a rather domineering aura and cut to the chase.

    "When is your fianc¨¦eing back? It has been about five months and you said she would be gone six. It is time for her to take her ce learning the ropes about being Mrs. Hale."

    Oh boy. He couldn''t make excuses much longer. But he needed a little more time! The stock prices weren''t set to go up until the spring. His children weren''t due until then either.

    Did he have enough manpower to conduct his hostile takeover now? He would have to go over the numbers when he made it to his office. If he didn''t¡­he may have to cancel this fake engagement earlier than expected. It had bought him some time but not nearly enough.

    Lacy Knighton would pounce the second he ended things with ''Bethany.'' He couldn''t give her the chance to do that. What was he supposed to do?

    His phone rang at that moment. He was prepared to ignore it¡ªAlistair hated being interrupted and he was mad enough already¡ªuntil he saw it was from ''Wife.'' This might work in his favor.

    "Oh look, it''s her now," he lied smoothly. "Excuse me a moment."

    He answered the call and walked further away from his father so he couldn''t overhear. Keeley''s voice bubbled over with excitement. "Aaron, I did it! I passed!"

    Even in such a tense situation he couldn''t help but smile. He knew she would. "That''s amazing, sweetheart. I''m so proud of you."

    "I wanted you to be the first one I told."

    His heart beat erratically. She told him before she told her dad? It was the sort of thing she would have done back when they were young and she loved him.

    "I''m d." Alistair coughed and he remembered where he was and what he needed to do. "Listen, Bethany, have you figured out when you''reing back yet? I know your charity work is going really well and it might not be the best time."

    The line went quiet for a moment as Keeley tried to figure out what to say. He knew she caught his meaning though. He hadn''t exactly been subtle.

    "The timing is crucial right now, I can''t leave yet! I''ll need at least another three months if not more. The starving children need me," she said dramatically.

    He wanted tough. She was nowhere near as good an actress as Jennica.

    "That''s what I thought," he said, feigning disappointment. "Too bad. I was hoping to see you for Valentine''s Day."

    "I know; me too. Be sure to tell your dad hi for me!"

    Aaron nearly snorted at the false sweetness in her voice. It was unfortunate that he hadn''t put her on speaker. The person who should have been benefitting from this act wasn''t able to enjoy it.

    "I will. Love you."

    "Love you too!"

    He knew it was only because she thought Alistair was listening in but it still made his heart flutter. He ended the call and saw his father looking at him like he was ready tomit murder.

    "Looks like she won''t being back for a while longer. The project she''s funding is going well but they still need her to be actively involved. I guess we''ll have to put the wedding off until the summer or eventer."

    Alistair gnashed his teeth. "This wouldn''t have been a problem if you had chosen someone based in New York."

    Aaron heard the unspoken words "like Lacy Knighton." Ugh. If his father liked her so much, he should be the one to marry her. If he wanted her as a daughter-inw so badly it was a pity he didn''t have more than one son.

    "The heart wants what it wants," he said loftily. "Is there anything else you needed me for or was that it?"

    "It''s your mother''s turn to host the annual Christmas party. You need to be there."

    He had forgotten about that. If he didn''t show up it would be a severe p to his parents'' faces. He had already ditched his own birthday party¡­could he get away with not going? He wanted to spend the holiday with Keeley and Robert, his true family.

    "I already have ns."

    Alistair''s fury was amped up to a ten. He roared, "What ns could you possibly have that are more important than this?"

    Literally anything would be more important to him than that. Anything at all.

    Aaron shrugged. "It would be rude to cancel. Someone else asked me first. What can I say, I''m in demand. Please pass on my apologies to Mother. I''ll be sure to send her an extra gift to make it up to her."

    "Aaron Hale, I am still your father and you WILL be at that party," he growled.

    "I am twenty-five years old; I don''t have to do what you say."

    What a joke. Aaron had been alive longer than his father by now. Nothing could stop him from doing what he wanted, least of all a blustering windbag like Alistair Hale.

    Even if he didn''t have a real Christmas celebration to look forward to, Lacy Knighton would surely be there. He never wanted to see that stupid insincere face again. What he really needed was a valid reason to lock her up forever.

    Unfortunately, she hadn''t done anything illegal that he was aware of in thest few years. Aiden was still searching for evidence of her father colluding with Alistair on insider trading so once he had enough and handed it over to the police those two would go to jail. Or at the very least lose their reputations permanently.

    Lacy would likely lose her reputation as well once her father did but knowing her, that wouldn''t be enough to subdue her forever. She would try to w her way back up thedder by any means necessary. Aaron wished she would just disappear off the face of the earth.

 Chapter 272: An Enemy?

    <h4>Chapter 272: An Enemy?</h4>

    Keeley had a little time before the driver was going toe pick her up so she headed to a nearby caf¨¦ and bought herself a cherry cheese danish. Now that the nerves were gone she was starving and she was technically eating for three.

    She sat down and munched on her treat in a good mood. She passed her dissertation, bought Aaron a little more time with his father, and now she could actually focus on enjoying Christmastime.

    It was a little unbelievable Alistair hadn''t figured out that Bethany Carlisle didn''t exist yet. Everyone involved in the charade had yed their parts too well.

    Trying to think from Alistair''s perspective¡­his son had been acting out for the first time ever so there had to be a reason for it. Being in love with a pretty good reason.

    But he had no idea who Aaron was actually in love with. He must be thinking that Aaron''s behavior ofte was for Bethany''s sake.

    How would he react when he found out the truth? Knowing what he was like in her past life, probably very badly. Alistair Hale was a rigid, controlling, old-fashioned man who never epted anything different from his norm.

    He had been furious when Aaron and Keeley originally got engaged. It would likely be a lot worse once he found out his son got married and had two children behind his back. Because there would be nothing he could do to stop the situation at that point.

    After the incident regarding the shares sent over by (most likely) Graydon Meyer, Aaron told her a lot more about what was going on as he tried to take over thepany. She really appreciated it because for the first time in either of their lives she truly felt like a wife should. Like it was the two of them against the world.

    Truthfully, she was impressed by how much time and effort he had put into it already. And he had been nning it ever since high school just so they could be together without having to worry about his parents. That was actually kind of sweet.

    "Mind if I sit here?" a debonair voice asked.

    Keeley looked up and her heart nearly stopped. What was Graydon Meyer doing here? A quick nce around the room told her that there weren''t any other seats avable so it would be rude to refuse. She didn''t want to arouse his suspicion somehow.

    He obviously knew who she was but since they weren''t sure whether or not he was an enemy she wasn''t about to let him know she knew.

    "Sure," she said casually. "Gray, right? We met a while back in front of the medical school."

    He smiled bewitchingly. "You have a good memory. What have you been up to these days? Staying away from troublesome ex-friends, I hope."

    Well, he already knew she was a student at the medical school. Telling part of the truth wouldn''t hurt. She had to y it cool. Maybe she could get a little information out of him at the same time.

    "I haven''t seen him since you helped me out. I actually sessfully defended my doctoral thesis this morning. I came here to celebrate while waiting for my ride to pick me up."

    Graydon made an impressed noise. "And here I thought you were a medical student. Congrattions, Doctor. What did you get your PhD in?"

    "Developmental gics. What about you? What do you do for a living?"

    "I''m an app developer."

    Well, it wasn''t aplete lie. His empire had been founded upon the creation of a single app that took off overnight several years ago. She couldn''t help but wonder what he was ying at bying over to talk to her.

    It definitely wasn''t a coincidence. Last time they met he probably only approached her to learn more about the woman Aaron Hale was in love with. He was trying to get information out of her too. She couldn''t let her guard down.

    It was actually really lucky she had already been sitting down when he came in. From the angle he approached her, it was impossible to tell she was pregnant. Her belly was hidden underneath the table. Keeley definitely didn''t want him finding out about that in case he was an enemy.

    "Oh, I just remembered. You said you were getting married, right? How was the wedding?" Graydon asked with an amused expression.

    So this was where the real interrogation began. She''d bite.

    "It was nice. Very small, family only. My husband bought my favorite cake from a famous bakery in New Jersey for the asion. Have you seen the TV show about it?"

    "No but I''ve heard of it. I may have to check it out sometime," he said conversationally. "Your husband seems very doting."

    Keeley smiled. That was an understatement. "He is."

    "How long have you two known each other?"

    An excellent question. And one Graydon most likely already knew the answer to; at least, the answer in this lifetime. It wouldn''t be beneficial to lie. He would know she was onto him then.

    "Since our senior year in high school so it''s been almost eight years now. Time flies."

    She tried to think of a way to flip this conversation around so she was the one interrogating him but her brain wasn''t cooperating. Defending her dissertation had used up all her brain power. Now her mind was mush.

    What to ask, what to ask? She couldn''t outright ask him what he deal was with Aaron or if he had a beef with Alistair Hale. She couldn''t ask him about Lacy Knighton directly either¡­but she could ask if he had a girlfriend.

    That could at least potentially tell her how close they currently were. If he was the man Aaron suspected him to be, he and Lacy had gotten close enough to have a child together eventually. It was a straw to grasp at anyway.

    "What about you? Do you have a significant other?"

    Graydon shook his head. "I''m afraid not. I haven''t found anyone worth more than a couple of dates yet. But there''s no rush. Right now I''m focusing on my career."

 Chapter 273: Whose Side Was He On?

    <h4>Chapter 273: Whose Side Was He On?</h4>

    Graydon didn''t appear to be lying but that didn''t necessarily mean anything. Assuming he was telling the truth¡­did that mean he really didn''t have a romantic thing going on with Lacy? Then how had she ended up pregnant before?

    Keeley thought about it. He also said he was focusing on his career. Mild words until you considered who they wereing from.

    He was one of the premier businessmen in the city. If the tabloids could be believed, he had his fingers in a lot of pies.

    So was he after Hale Investments or not? Based on the way he handled the share transfer document, she didn''t think so. It was obvious he ckmailed the previous shareholder. If he had dirt on him already, he could have taken those shares himself any time.

    He chose to give them to Aaron, which made her think he supported Aaron''s takeover n. So whose side was he on? Aaron''s, Alistair''s, or his own? How would Aaron taking over thepany benefit him?

    "There''s nothing wrong with focusing on your career. My friend is studying to be a doctor and she''s doing the same thing," she rambled, trying to keep the conversation going. There had to be something else she could get out of him.

    Her phone buzzed. The driver was letting her know she was here. But she couldn''t leave now! Graydon would see her belly and know the truth. She had to wait for him to leave first.

    She sent a quick message back saying she wasn''t done yet and to head to a nearby parking garage to wait for her. Then she smiled at Graydon and lied through her teeth.

    "That was my ride; he appears to be running a littlete."

    "He? I would have thought your husband would be at work this time of day," he said while twirling his straw around in his drink.

    "He is. He''s sending someone toe get me because it''s cold out."

    "How considerate. You''re a lucky woman."

    Lucky definitely wasn''t how she would describe herself overall. All Keeley wanted was a peaceful life and it didn''t seem like she would ever get it. But she couldn''t deny that she was d Aaron had learned how to be considerate. She really appreciated all the nice things he did for her.

    She made a simple noise of affirmation in response beforeunching into her next attack.

    "So what brings an app developer to a caf¨¦ in the middle of the morning? I would have thought you would only have time to grab something and leave rather than have a conversation with someone."

    It was a simple enough statement but she was trying to get him to admit who he was. She would be able to ask more pointed questions that way.

    "That''s the benefit of being the boss. I can do whatever I want as long as the business keeps running smoothly."

    So he admitted it! Keeley could nail him now. "The boss? You wouldn''t happen to be Graydon Meyer, would you? You said your name is Gray and you''re the boss of an app developmentpany."

    He seemed pleasantly surprised. "Well aren''t you a smart one! I suppose you did just earn a PhD. You caught me. Graydon Meyer, at your service. Since you know my full name can you tell me yours?"

    So he was trying to trap her too. If she used her maiden name, he would know she was onto him. But if she didn''t, she would be confirming who she was married to.

    Aaron was nearly positive he was the one who sent over the ''wedding gift.'' Lying to him wouldn''t be beneficial.

    "Keeley Hale."

    "Hale?" Graydon''s smile grew thoughtful but she knew it was an act so it annoyed her.

    "Since we''re ying a guessing game here¡­is your husband Aaron Hale by chance? It isn''t a terriblymonst name in this city. And you did mention your husband was sending someone toe get you. Not just anyone has the manpower to do that."

    Was he onto her or was he simply going off of what she had said? It may be time to stop stepping around the issue and cut to the chase.

    Oh, she wasn''t good at this! She hadn''t dealt with sneaky underhanded people in so many years that her double-talk skills were rusty.

    At the very least, she had to be honest. This whole thing would blow up in her face the second he caught her in a lie. Unfortunately, his interrogation was going much better than hers was.

    "Good guess. We''re keeping things quiet for the moment though so I would appreciate if you kept that little tidbit to yourself," she said with her sweetest, most innocent smile.

    Graydon''s expression grew sly. "I''ll respect your wishes but why would you want to do something silly like that? Aren''t marriages happy things to be celebrated?"

    Keeley couldn''t take it anymore. This constant turnaround was exhausting.

    "Look, I''m not stupid. I already know you know about Aaron''s issues with his father. So how about a little honesty. Why did you send my husband that share transfer document?"

    He grinned with genuine amusement and pped his hands together. He was actually having fun with this. What a strange man.

    "So he''s done his research! Aaron never ceases to impress me. I didn''t think he would figure it out so soon. It''s quite simple, really. I want to see him dethrone Alistair Hale."

    "Why not dethrone him yourself?" she asked bluntly. "Clearly you''re capable."

    Graydon shook his head and smiled. "This is far more entertaining. Betrayed by his own son! The man he personally trained to be his sessor! It was too poetic to pass up."

    He seemed to be telling the truth. Keeley couldn''t sense any deceitfulness from him. He definitely had a problem with Alistair but that didn''t necessarily mean he didn''t have one with Aaron too.

    She leaned her head on one hand and narrowed her eyes at the man across from her. Was he using Aaron to achieve his own ends or supporting him? It was strange¡­but when Graydon talked about her husband he seemed almost fond of him. Like they were old friends.

    Aaron had definitely never been friendly with Graydon Meyer. She didn''t even think they had met.

 Chapter 274: Someone Interesting

    <h4>Chapter 274: Someone Interesting</h4>

    "Tell me¡­how long have you been watching my husband?" Keeley asked casually.

    Graydon was surprised by how much she had figured out. Or more urately, how much Aaron had figured out. He hadn''t expected him to keep his wife in the loop about what was going on in his life since he seemed so overprotective.

    "A while," he admitted.

    To answer her question properly, he had been watching Aaron since he first learned how to hack from his roommate at MIT. Aaron was about thirteen at the time and Graydon had been so disappointed in what he found.

    A soulless, programmed business bot. Highly aplished but without a single speck of individuality. Alistair had sessfully created a miniature version of himself.

    Aaron had no friends, no hobbies, and no goals for himself outside of what his parents wanted. Graydon almost felt sorry for the kid but mostly he was angry that Aaron would grow up, inherit the family business, and continue Alistair''s legacy. He hadn''t earned any of it.

    He was prepared to destroy Aaron alongside his parents until he found something interesting one day during a casual check into what the kid was up to. Aaron was only a freshman in college but suddenly his assets hit a million dors. His own assets, unconnected to his family''s ounts.

    Someday he would inherit all the wealth of the Hales. So why was he bothering to make his own money?

    Graydon kept a closer eye on him after that. It became clear over time that he was collecting people who were useful to him but he didn''t know what Aaron''s n was until Cameron Singleton joined thepany and became a shareholder.

    It was at that moment that he became truly intrigued by Aaron. He wasn''t his father''s puppet after all. He was nning a coup d''¨¦tat. The reason why eluded Graydon until Lacy Knighton told him about the woman sitting across from him now.

    Keeley looked at him distrustfully. She crossed her arms over her chest, on the defensive. Did she think he was after her husband? He was thest person Aaron had to worry about.

    "I''m not out to get your husband, if that''s what you''re thinking," he said smoothly.

    "That''s exactly what I''m thinking. You wouldn''t look into him without a reason."

    "Oh, I have my reasons. But they aren''t malicious. In fact, you could say I have a vested interest in your husband''s sess and happiness in life."

    Graydon absolutely supported the idea of getting out from Alistair''s thumb and living his own life to the fullest. With this little spitfire, it seems that he had done just that. She was awfully protective of Aaron.

    He deserved someone who cared about him after his cold, emotionless upbringing. Graydon was finally starting to understand what he saw in her a little bit.

    Keeley''s expression was still doubtful. "You really sent over those shares out of the goodness of your heart?"

    He shrugged. "I wanted to give him a wedding present."

    "If you''re that interested in Aaron why haven''t you ever tried to meet him?"

    Because he had no real reason to. Aaron Hale was a very private man who was difficult to get close to. He couldn''t simply walk up and say hi.

    It had be even harder to talk to him since he stopped attending high society events. Lacy Knighton was fuming that she hadn''t so much as seen his face in months. Aaron literally went to work and then back home again. That was it.

    If he was truly in love with his wife, it made perfect sense that he would want to spend all of his free time with her. And he must be. Why else would he try so hard to keep her a secret from his father?

    Graydon knew better than anyone how dangerous Alistair Hale could be. If he didn''t want a person around, they vanished. Just like his mother.

    "He isn''t exactly the easiest person to meet," he said simply. "I''m a nobody in his eyes; I can''t approach him as I please."

    "Aaron isn''t like that," Keeley defended.

    Her phone began ringing and Graydon could see the panic in her eyes when she saw who it was. He could see the contact photo filling the screen¡ªit was Aaron wearing an absolutely ridiculous reindeer onesie. What kind of power did this woman have over him?

    "Answer it. I''d like to say hi."

    She shot him one more distrustful look before doing as he said. "Why are you calling me while you''re at work?" she asked without even saying hello.

    Graydon could faintly hear the response. "The driver said you asked him to wait but it''s been half an hour. What''s taking you so long? You need to get home and rest."

    "I''m fine, but I ran into someone interesting. He actually wants to talk to you."

    "Keeley, what¡ª"

    She handed the phone to him with a sour look on her face. "There. Talk to him and then leave us alone."

    "dly," he said with a smile. "Hello, Aaron. I''ve been having a lovely chat with your wife. Did you enjoy my wedding present?"

    The iceing through the phone was undeniable. "What are you doing with my wife, Meyer?"

    So defensive! What exactly had he done to make Aaron so hostile when this was their first time speaking? Oh right, he had been looking into him. It was likely he knew about Graydon''s unfortunate association with Lacy, the woman he despised most.

    She was an annoying little twit but what exactly had she done that incurred Aaron''s wrath? Did he know she was behind the drugging incident in high school?

    "I was out to get myself some coffee and happened to run into her. It was a lucky coincidence. We''ve been having the most riveting conversation. No need to worry! I have nothing against you or your wife."

    "Really?" he asked, his voice dripping with doubt.

    These two were definitely a couple. They both had so little faith in others!

    "Nothing at all," Graydon assured him. "I''m quite interested in seeing you take over Hale Investments and deposing that old fraud."

    "What do you know about the fraud?"

    Wait, there was actually fraud going on? He was simply calling Alistair an unpleasant name. The plot thickens.

    "This is the first I''ve heard of it. I was merely insinuating that he isn''t all that he seems to be. My my, you''re truly out to destroy himpletely. How wonderful."

    "So your enemy is my father," Aaron stated tly. "And that''s why you helped me?"

    "Yes but I would also like to be your friend."

    He had longed for the day that he would be able to get closer to Aaron. He certainly hadn''t expected this degree of hostility from the get-go. Though he supposed a paranoid person wouldn''t enjoy finding out their activities were being monitored. He should have gone about this differently.

    "I have no need of a friend like you. Anyone who uses Keeley to get to me is an enemy in my book," he said icily.

    What a pity. Graydon would have to find some other way to show his sincerity. He wasn''t about to give up on such an interesting person just yet.

 Chapter 275: Stay Away From My Wife

    <h4>Chapter 275: Stay Away From My Wife</h4>

    Was he angry about Lacy Knighton? Looking at it from Aaron''s perspective, he probably thought they were plotting against him together. Graydon would never truly help that boorish woman but Aaron didn''t know that.

    "If this is about Lacy Knighton, she''s just a pawn. Not even a useful one at that. I have no intention of helping her achieve what she wants," he saidzily with a wave of his hand.

    "I don''t care what you do with that woman. Stay away from my wife."

    Graydon sighed. So much for their first interaction going well. Aaron was furious.

    "As you wish. I do hope you''ll reconsider. We have so much inmon; a friendship would benefit both of us."

    "Hand the phone back," he said in a deadly tone.

    Doing as he was told, Graydon gave the phone back to Keeley, who seemed relieved. She whispered words offort that she was fine and would be going home right away into the phone before hanging up.

    "Are you happy now?" she asked wearily.

    "Quite."

    It wasn''t entirely true. That conversation had left much to be desired but at least he had been able to hear Aaron''s voice clearly for the first time. He seemed much more real now.

    Graydon stood and gave her a charming smile. "It was such a pleasure seeing you again. I''m sure we''ll be in touch."

    There was no way he was about to let these two go after discovering how entertaining they truly were. He would find a way to win them over.

    He made it about half a block away when Keeley cautiously exited the caf¨¦. When she turned to the side to get into a ck car their defensiveness suddenly made a lot more sense. She was obviously pregnant.

    Graydon couldn''t tell how far along she was but that didn''t matter. Alistair was very particr about who he allowed into his family. There was no way he would ept Aaron''s child with an ordinary woman. That baby was in danger.

    No wonder Aaron was so overprotective! Since he seemed to think Graydon was an enemy, of course he wouldn''t want him near his wife and child.

    He nearly jumped out of his skin when Lacy Knighton tapped him on the shoulder angrily from behind. Had she seen? Did she know?

    "Hello, I''ve been trying to get your attention for the past minute," she said in an annoyance.

    "Lacy, what are you doing here?" he asked in a less pleasant tone than usual. This new revtion was too shocking; he didn''t have time or patience to deal with her right now.

    "My father said Aaron''s fianc¨¦e is going to be out of the country for a few more months. Now is the time to try and get him!" She frowned, noticing his distraction. "What were you staring at?"

    "Nothing."

    Forget Alistair; if Lacy knew Keeley was pregnant with Aaron''s child she would probably turn into a feral animal. She had already drugged the poor woman once simply for eating lunch with him at school. What would she do if she knew they were married?

    Graydon used to be jealous of Aaron''s life as a Hale. Now he didn''t want to be in his shoes in exchange for anything in the world.

    No wonder he had left high society. He wanted to live his life in peace with his little family. Graydon used to dream of the same thing as a child without a home. Now his ambitions primarily consisted of crushing those who took his family away from him.

    "Was that Keeley Hall I just saw? She''s gained a lot of weight," Lacy said with disgust. "What a loser."

    Was she really that stupid? The only weight she had was on her perfectly rounded stomach. Only pregnant people looked like that. He knew she wasn''t the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree but could she truly be that dense?

    He got his answer ten secondster. A lightbulb practically came on over her head and she made an ugly expression. "She has to be pregnant. You don''t think it''s Aaron''s, do you?"

    "Ridiculous," Graydon said derisively. "He has a fianc¨¦e he''s madly in love with. At best those two are acquaintances who happened to be in the same wedding. I saw Keeley with her boyfriend the other day."

    Well, he was a boy and used to be her friend. It counted. He couldn''t let Lacy discover the truth. They may not trust him yet, but this was the least he could do for Aaron and his wife.

    Lacy cooled her jets, having no reason not to trust his words. She clung to Graydon''s arm as they walked back to his office, babbling about how she was going to try drugging Aaron again at his mother''s Christmas party.

    Nice try. He was willing to bet his entire fortune that Aaron would be spending the day at home with his wife. She wouldn''t even get the chance.

    ===

    Keeley was so exhausted from her encounter with Graydon Meyer that she fell asleep shortly after arriving home. She barely changed into a morefortable outfit and turned on a Christmas movie before conking out.

    Aaron found her asleep on the couch underneath a mountain of nkets and both of the cats when he got home. She was alright. He could breathe again.

    Hearing Graydon Meyer''s voice on the phone earlier nearly gave him a heart attack. He was certain he was involved in Keeley''s death so why was he simply chatting with her now? And he dared to im he had nothing against either of them!

    He wasn''t happy about what happened at all. He had been ready to angrily demand what on earth she thought she was doing talking to that man until he saw her peaceful sleeping face. This probably wasn''t her fault.

    It wasn''t like she purposely sought out the man. She did the best she could given the situation. At least he didn''t seem to know she was pregnant. Aaron was sure he would have said something over the phone if he knew.

    Why exactly did he seem so happy to be talking to him anyway? If he didn''t know any better, he would have thought that Graydon actually liked him and had a sincere desire to be his friend.

    At least it was over now. Keeley survived the encounter unscathed.

    Aaron sat down next to her and gently brushed her hair away from her face before kissing her forehead. All that mattered was that she was okay.

 Chapter 276: Casual Closeness

    <h4>Chapter 276: Casual Closeness</h4>

    After running into Graydon Meyer, Keeley was afraid to leave the house for a while. Not knowing who she would meet in the streets was nerve wracking. It was safer to stay at home. The doctor wanted her to get proper rest once the semester was over anyway.

    She ended up ordering all of Aaron''s Christmas presents online. He had always been a tricky one to shop for since he could technically buy anything in the world he wanted. She got him a few ties (always a solid standby) but also wanted to get something more meaningful.

    If she wanted to be unoriginal, she could get him a watch with their new wedding date on it like she had their first Christmas in their past life. He would probably appreciate it. She could do that but she really wanted to do something new and different as well.

    Cheesy homemade gifts seemed to go over well with him. That gave her an idea. They still hadn''tpletely decorated the house yet. There was definitely a nk space where they could hang some pictures.

    The photographer had sent over a disc with the wedding photos a few days earlier. It might be fun to put together a photo coge frame.

    Keeley didn''t have a ton of pictures with Aaron because she hadn''t taken very many in this life. There were the ones from Christmas Evest year, Jennica''s wedding, the time she did his makeup in his sleep, holding up their ultrasound image at the doctor''s office, and their own wedding. That was it.

    Searching online, she found a frame that had five slots in it. She could choose one picture from each event and would be good to go.

    It took her a while to pick the best ones. The wedding photographer at Jennica''s wedding happened to get a picture of her and Aaron dancing so she picked that one. It was taken from an angle where you couldn''t even see his ck eye.

    From their own wedding there were way too many to choose from. Eventually she settled on the picture where Aaron was joyously lifting her hand in the air to show off and she wasughing out of embarrassment. There was a whole lot of personality in that picture.

    Come to think of it, there was a whole lot of personality in all of the pictures she chose. They looked like any other couple in love. Like they were each other''s favorite people in the world.

    Keeley smiled a bit wistfully. That was how it should have been all along. Neither of them should have been hiding themselves the way they did. Aaron wasn''t the only one at fault there.

    After choosing her photos, she sent them off to a one-hour photo printing service and asked the driver to pick them upter. The rest of the presents had been ordered and were on their way.

    With nothing else pressing to do, she set to work baking more Christmas cookies. She needed to have the usual treats all made or her dad would be disappointed. Aaron probably would too. For some reason he really loved her baking.

    The sugar cookies and mint brownies were already in the freezer but she hadn''t made anything else yet. She set to work on the M&M cookies since they were fairly easy. She was still working on them when Aaron came home and snitched a bit of cookie dough from over her shoulder.

    "Hey love," he said with his mouth full, making herugh.

    He had been less and less formaltely and it was really nice seeing hime out of his shell. Back in the day she used to wish for this kind of casual closeness.

    "Hey. How was work?" she asked, twisting around to try and give him a hug. It was a bit difficult with their babies between them.

    "My father won''t stop bothering me about going to my mother''s Christmas party but aside from that it was fine."

    Keeley felt sorry for him. He tried being nonchnt but she could tell the whole thing was upsetting him somehow. He told her he wasn''t going to go because he wanted to spend the holiday with her and her father.

    It must be hard for him having such a cold, businesslike family. She hadn''t realized how much it affected him for the longest time because he always acted like it didn''t matter. But seeing how much he enjoyed simple things like goofing off with her dad¡­it got to him more than he let on.

    Feeling a bit sentimental, she hugged him again, tighter this time. He wasn''t alone anymore. Albeit somewhat unwillingly, he had her. She would give him the family he always wanted.

    Aaron soaked up the affection like a sponge. "Someone''s feeling huggy today," he remarked with a smile.

    "Is it not allowed?" she teased.

    "Oh, it''s definitely allowed. In fact, feel free to do it even more."

    She rested her head against his chest and heard the steady beating of his heart. It was rxing somehow. It made her feel safe.

    Safety was never something she had equated with Aaron before. For the longest time he was a source of fear. Not anymore though. So gradually she hadn''t even realized it, Aaron had be the most consistent part of her life.

    Keeley was tempted to kiss him but decided against it. At this rate it might be possible for her to fall back in love with him someday but she didn''t want to get his hopes up unnecessarily more than she already had.

    Instead, she asked him if he wanted to help her scoop the cookies. He did so she patiently showed him how to operate the cookie scoop and space them out on the baking sheet. Once that was done she taught him how to dip pretzels in melted white chocte using a double boiler, which was her other project of the day.

    Aaron radiated contentment as they worked side by side. He frequently paused to kiss her cheek, rub her protruding belly, or y with her hair. He seemed particrly touch starved today. It made her heart ache.

    As they went to bed that night, Keeley made sure to snuggle extra close to him. His face was buried in her neck as he breathed evenly; falling asleep almost the moment his head hit the pillow. She used his arm as if it were a teddy bear and it was sofortable that she fell asleep quickly too.

 Chapter 277: The Right Choice

    <h4>Chapter 277: The Right Choice</h4>

    Christmas Eve was a simple affair that went about the same way as it had the year before. The only real difference was that it was held at the Hales'' home and that Keeley and Aaron were married. They still caroled, watched movies, and drank eggnog. Robert spent the night in one of their guest rooms after they thoroughly cleaned it to be sure all cat fur was gone.

    Keeley sleepily prepared stockings for both her father and Aaron before heading to bed. Everything else had been wrapped and left under the tree days ago.

    When she woke up Christmas morning, Aaron was stuck to her like a starfish on the side of a fish tank. She couldn''t help but smile. He was so cute when he clung to her like this in his sleep.

    She kissed his cheek before trying to free herself. "Aaron. Wake up."

    "Mm?"

    "You need to let go of me so I can go make cinnamon rolls for breakfast."

    "Don''t wanna," he mumbled sleepily and tightened his hold.

    She sighed. "Come on, I''m hungry and it''s going to take at least forty minutes for them to bake. If you don''t want to let go of me juste with me."

    His eyes snapped open and he followed her suggestion. He walked behind her like a shadow as his arms remained wrapped around her. What a dork.

    Keeley pulled the ready-made cinnamon rolls out of the freezer. All she had to do was bake them and put the frosting on once they came out of the oven. She preheated the oven before unwrapping the package and set it on the counter.

    "You should go check your stocking while you wait," Aaron suggested, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

    So he actually made her one. She shouldn''t have been surprised; it was the main thing she asked for. A nce into the living room told her it was sitting on the couch and she headed over to see what he had prepared for her.

    Purple, red, and green Skittles, just like he had given her in high school. A rainbow''s worth of nail polish. One of the best brands of do-it-at-home facial masks. Choctes from that shop on Madison Avenue.

    The most surprising thing of all was the fuzzy socks. He had noticed how often she wore them when it was cold out and got them for her unprompted. Her heart swelled with affection.

    "Thanks, Aaron! This is great!" she said happily.

    He simply smiled in response as he opened up his own stocking. She had filled it with candy and toiletries because Aaron was a hard person to shop for. He didn''t like the sort of fun little things that usually made up stocking stuffers.

    Robert came downstairs then and saw them sitting among their spoils. He reminded Keeley to put the cinnamon rolls in the oven before dumping the contents of his stocking on the ground. She got up and did that quickly so they could eat sooner.

    Theyy around chatting until breakfast was ready. Keeley prepared hot chocte for everyone in Christmas themed mugs alongside the cinnamon rolls and they all dug in heartily. Hot chocte and cinnamon rolls were a wonderfulbination.

    Robert had gotten some funny matching newborn outfits for the twins as Christmas gifts this year as well as a couple of books meant to help new parents. Keeley appreciated that because she had no idea what she was doing. Plus she couldn''t deny she was excited about dressing up her babies in adorable little outfits.

    In return, she had gotten him some movies, a few new shirts for work, and a season ticket for the Yankees'' uing season. Thest one excited him most. He could never afford to go to more than one or two games per season and the seats were never all that great.

    It had been Aaron''s idea to get him a season ticket close to the front so he could actually see the yers'' faces on the field. He knew how much his father-inw loved baseball. At this point, Keeley shouldn''t have been surprised by his thoughtfulness but she still was.

    Her dad hugged them both tightly as he thanked them for the gifts, clearly feeling emotional. Keeley felt a little emotional herself.

    She opened her gifts from Aaron next. He had gotten her a Kitchen Aid mixer, which she was thrilled about because it would make baking so much easier, a pack of funny earrings that definitely cost less than twenty bucks, a luxuriously soft nket, and some CDs she specifically asked for to listen to in the car.

    They were perfectly normal Christmas gifts to receive. The most expensive one was the mixer and it was still only a few hundred dors. Aaron had changed a lot since they were married before and actually respected her wishes by getting her the kind of presents she wanted.

    She thanked him with a bright smile on her face and gestured for him to open his. He liked the ties and watch. Her dad was there so he couldn''t say anything but she could tell he recognized the watch as the same thing she got him for their first Christmas married in theirst life by the look on his face.

    When he opened the photo coge she had painstakingly put together, he hugged it to his chest and gazed at her with an impossibly soft expression.

    "I love it."

    "Let me see, son," Robert said and he flipped it over to reveal the pictures of them. "Oh, that''s very nice. Every house needs pictures of the family that lives in it."

    Aaron nodded vehemently. "I couldn''t agree more. We''ll have to find the best ce to put this."

    He moved closer to his wife and wrapped his arms around her, conveying all of his emotions into the hug. She got his meaning. He liked it just as much as she hoped he would.

    The photo coge had been the right choice for a sentimental present. It made them seem like any other normal couple, which was exactly what Aaron wanted. She was d it went over well.

    Once all the presents were opened they spent the rest of the day rxing and watching some of the movies Keeley got her father. She curled up under her new nket in between the two remaining members of her family and was perfectly content.

 Chapter 278: Aarons Address

    <h4>Chapter 278: Aaron''s Address</h4>

    Aaron was in trouble with his father once again. He hadn''t shown up for the Christmas or New Year''s Eve parties he was expected to attend. There was nothing Alistair could do but yell at him though. He had nothing to threaten his son with.

    He had enjoyed a quiet New Year''s Eve at home with Keeley and the Singletons. They yed board games he had never even heard of until midnight hit. And for the first time since 2007, he got his kiss at midnight. This was going to be a great year!

    The babies'' growth was on track as well and Dr. Chapman encouraged Keeley to continue to rest as much as possible. She followed those instructions strictly. The only thing she even had to do within the next week was attend her graduation ceremony.

    Everything was looking wonderful. Which put Aaron on guard because things never worked out this well for him.

    He was right to be paranoid¡ªAiden found proof that his father was snooping around his office again. But he wasn''t sure what Alistair was looking for.

    He was fairly certain he knew. He was looking for Aaron''s address. Aaron had noticed more than one person following him home from work in the past couple of weeks. He always managed to shake them off by going the long way home but it was still worrisome.

    Why did Alistair suddenly want to find out where his son was living? It couldn''t be good. He likely realized his control over Aaron was slipping and he wanted to get it back.

    That wouldn''t be happening. He was finally living the life he had wanted for so long. His father could not be allowed to interfere.

    He wouldn''t allow the man within a mile of his wife and children. Keeley was stressed enough about being discovered as it was. He had to depose him as quickly as possible.

    Aaron worried about all of this as he left the office because he felt someone following him yet again. Even worse, it was thest person on earth he wanted to see. When she put a hand on his shoulder from behind he ripped it off viciously.

    "What are you doing at Hale Investments?" he asked Lacy furiously.

    She pouted before putting on her most innocent look. It made him sick. "I missed you. I haven''t seen you in months."

    "You have no reason to see me. I''m engaged to someone else. You''re no one to me."

    What was she trying to pull? Was she trying to figure out where he lived too? That would be an absolute nightmare.

    She continued as if he hadn''t spoken. "Society functions aren''t the same without you. You need toe back. You''re the king of the younger generation; you can''t just leave on a whim."

    "Whether I choose to leave or not is absolutely none of your business. I''m done with this conversation. You have three seconds to get out of here before I report you for stalking," Aaron said tly.

    Lacy lost herposurepletely. "Aaron Hale, you listen to me! You are supposed to marry me and we''re supposed to rule the circle together! What on earth is wrong with you?! Why are you abandoning all of your responsibilities?"

    Abandoning his responsibilities? What a joke. If anything, he had abandoned those horrible people in order to fulfil his responsibilities. The ones he had to himself and his growing family.

    She never really wanted him; she wanted to be married to the best of the best. She refused to settle for anyone else because she wanted to be the top socialite with the top CEO husband. He couldn''t think of anything in this world that sounded worse.

    High society had never done a thing that made him happy. Happiness came from spontaneousughter, a dazzling smile, and experiencing things through Keeley''s eyes. He wouldn''t trade what he had now for the world.

    "I haven''t abandoned anything worthwhile. I have far better things to do than y power games with the likes of you. You''re pathetic, Lacy. You always have been. I almost feel sorry for you. Go find someone else to live out your delusions with and leave me alone."

    "Me, pathetic?" she hissed. "You''re the pathetic one! What happened to the Aaron Hale I knew? The one that knew his role in the world and looked down on those who didn''t act ording to their station? He knew what he was doing. You¡­you''re crazy!"

    He nearly snorted. It was unbelievable that he ever used to think that way. But that was before Keeley came along and lit up his life. He would never go back to being such a blind fool.

    "The only crazy person here is you to think that you know anything about me. You don''t. You never have. The Aaron Hale you built up in your head all this time has been a delusion of grandeur. I don''t care about any of that. I''m a simple person with simple needs that the likes of you could never understand," he said derisively before turning on his heel and marching to his car.

    Aaron didn''t have time to deal with this psychopath today. He needed to get home. Keeley was waiting for him.

    He noticed one of the people tailing him back to his apartment but unfortunately did not notice the other that found him right as he shook the first one off. It was a car he had never seen before so he didn''t register that it was following him.

    Once he parked, he rode the elevator all the way up to the penthouse and greeted his wife. She was watching TV under the nket she got for Christmas, which had quickly be her new favorite.

    She smiled at him after he kissed her cheek. "Hey Aaron. How was work today?"

    "Tiring," he admitted. But seeing her helped all of his fatigue melt away in an instant. "How are my babies doing?"

    "They''ve been kicking me most of the afternoon. It''s like they''re wrestling in there or something," Keeley said with augh. "If you wait long enough they''ll probably do it again and you''ll be able to feel it."

    It never ceased to amaze him when he felt the babies move. Proof that they were alive in there tended to make him emotional. He was going to be a dad and nobody could take that away from him this time.

    "You''ll have to let me know when they do. Have you eaten dinner yet?"

    "No, I was waiting for you so we could eat together."

    Warmth filled Aaron''s heart. Having someone waiting for him toe home never got old. He kissed her again before going to change into something morefortable so they could eat dinner together.

 Chapter 279: Im Trying To Warn You

    <h4>Chapter 279: I''m Trying To Warn You</h4>

    Lacy Knighton had not reacted well to Aaron''s little speech in the parking garage. How dare he call her pathetic! How dare he think that he could abandon his ce in the world! What could possibly be more important than ruling high society?

    Graydon had been right. Aaron had absolutely no intention of remaining a part of their social circle. Why? Why had he changed his mind?

    A simple person with simple needs? Ha! Alistair Hale would kill him if he heard such nonsensee out of his mouth. He could never be simple; he was a Hale.

    Bethany Carlisle would not be pleased by her fianc¨¦ leaving high society. No society girl would. She would dump him in a heartbeat if she knew his true intentions.

    Lacy had to admit, there would be absolutely no point in marrying Aaron Hale if he wasn''t a part of high society. But she hade this far; she couldn''t back down now! Once they were married she would force him into submission.

    She would snare him the second Bethany dropped him. But what if she didn''t do it soon enough? Aaron had clearly hidden his intentions from her thus far.

    What reason could he possibly have for leaving? It was all he knew. He had grown up under the watchful eye of high society. Even if he didn''t like his father, he wouldn''t leave behind all he had ever known just for that.

    This all started back in high school when that worthless girl Keeley Hall made an appearance in his life. If not for the fact that he appeared to be genuinely in love with his fianc¨¦e and that she was pregnant with someone else''s baby, Lacy would suspect that she was behind his change of heart.

    She had to get to the bottom of this. At the very least, she needed to know where Aaron lived so she could enact the next part of her n.

    He was a paranoid person who had been throwing off her usual cars sent to tail him in the past couple of weeks. She decided to go outside of herfort zone and use a rideshare app rather than the private cars she was used to. He wouldn''t suspect an average looking car he had never seen before.

    Lacy instructed the driver to simply follow his car and that she would give him a hundred dor tip for his trouble. The promise of such arge tip made himply instantly. The driver managed to tail Aaron all the way to an upscale building in midtown Manhattan with tight security.

    Try as she might, she couldn''t even get the doorman to tell her which apartment Aaron Hale lived in. However, he did confirm that he lived there by the way he refused to answer her questions. She had done it!

    Telling Alistair Hale would be pointless since she was angry at him for not honoring his promise. But it might be a good idea to inform Graydon of her sess. She should give him a call.

    ===

    Graydon was dismayed to discover that Lacy had found out where Aaron lived before he even could. If she staked the ce out long enough, she would discover that Keeley was living there too and that he had lied about the baby not being Aaron''s.

    He didn''t even want to imagine what that deranged woman would do to her. She hadn''t told Alistair Hale, which was a relief, but there was no guarantee that she wouldn''t at some point.

    What could he do to warn them? They didn''t trust him. He had both of their phone numbers that he had gotten through a bit of simple hacking but if they knew it was him they would hang up immediately.

    Still, he had to try. Which one should he call first? Who among those two was least likely to hang up on him?

    In the end he settled on Aaron. He took his wife''s safety seriously. If he began the call by saying she was in danger he should listen.

    "Aaron Hale," a cool voice answered on the fourth ring.

    "Aaron, Keeley is in danger! Lacy knows where you live!" he blurted, unable to keep up his usual persona in his haste.

    "What? Who is this?"

    "Graydon Meyer but you have to listen to me! She followed you home today. She''s probably going to stake out your ce. Don''t let Keeley leave the house for a while."

    The phone line went silent for a moment before Aaron spoke up in a tone that could freezeva. "How did you get this number?"

    "Does that really matter right now? I''m trying to warn you about Lacy Knighton!"

    "Why?"

    "I told you before; I want to be your friend. I care about what happens to you and your family. If Lacy sees Keeleye out of your building she''ll know that the child is yours," Graydon said urgently.

    Aaron''s voice was cial. "I don''t even want to know how you know about that but how does Lacy?"

    "We both saw her outside that caf¨¦ a few weeks ago. I covered for you by saying I saw Keeley with a boyfriend and that the baby couldn''t be yours but she''ll know I was lying if she sees her in your building."

    Aaron sighed wearily. "I don''t know why you''re helping us but I can''t hide her forever. Her graduation ceremony is this week and she can''t miss it."

    Graydon was surprised that he was more concerned about his wife''s feelings than her safety. He of all people should know that Lacy Knighton meant business. He must really love his wife to care that much about what she wanted.

    He couldn''t stop Lacy forever¡­but he might be able to show his sincerity by blocking her for an afternoon. If he kept her out of the way during the graduation maybe Aaron would trust that he was on his side.

    "When is it? I can keep her away from your building if you tell me."

    "And why would you do something like that?"

    "I like you and want you to seed in your goals," Graydon said bluntly. "Will you ept my help or not?"

    Aaron sighed. "It''s not like I have another choice. I won''t thank you for it though. The ceremony is at 2 PM on Saturday. We''ll need to leave the house around one o''clock and won''t be back until after we have dinner to celebrate. Can you really keep her upied from noon until about seven?"

    Graydon nodded his head eagerly before remembering that Aaron couldn''t see him. "Absolutely! I won''t let you down. Once I do this¡­will you put your trust in me just a little?"

    "We''ll see," he replied frostily before hanging up the phone.

    Well, it was a start. He would get Aaron to trust him if it was thest thing he ever did. He refused to let him slip through his fingers forever.

 Chapter 280: Them vs the Problem

    <h4>Chapter 280: Them vs the Problem</h4>

    Keeley was freaking out when she found out Lacy knew where they lived. She didn''t know whether or not Graydon Meyer had a reason to lie about that. He did seem to genuinely be interested in Aaron''s friendship.

    What she didn''t understand was why. What exactly was it about her husband that caught his attention?

    "Do you think he''s telling the truth?" she asked after Aaron told her.

    He nodded grimly. "He actually sounded worried but I don''t know how good an actor he is. You can''t miss your graduation so we''re going to have to trust him just this once. He said, and I quote, ''I care about what happens to you and your family'' when I asked him why he was offering to help."

    Keeley bit her lip. If Graydon was telling the truth¡­what made him change his mind from one life to the next? He used to hate Aaron and want him destroyed.

    Her theory that Aaron must have done something new in this life that made him think differently might not be so off base. Graydon knew what Aaron was up to trying to get rid of Alistair Hale. He may have thought of the two of them asrades with the same enemy.

    That wouldn''t exin why he was so interested in Aaron in the first ce though. People don''t look into other people for no reason.

    From her limited interactions with the man, she got the feeling that he really liked Aaron and wanted to meet him. If he liked him he probably would be sincere about helping protect his wife and children from a psychopath out to get them.

    "I get the strangest feeling he actually does care about you in some capacity," Keeley admitted. "He talked about you like you were an old friend that day in the caf¨¦."

    Aaron frowned. "But I''ve never met him before. I don''t even know what the connection between him and my father is."

    It all boiled down to that, didn''t it? He had told her that ''Graydon Meyer'' was an alias and his belief that the man''s original identity was the missing piece in all of this. Whoever he really was had to have some sort of tie to the Hales.

    She brushed that aside. They would figure it out eventually. Aiden was looking into it and Aaron trusted hisputer skills.

    "I think for now we should take advantage of the fact that he''s helping us. I want to be able to focus on celebrating this weekend. We can worry about the newest development with Lacy Knighton afterwards, okay?"

    Obviously this was easier said than done. That woman was evil to the core and had a personal vendetta against Keeley. If she found out that they were married, they would be in deep trouble. Especially since Graydon said she knew that Keeley was pregnant.

    One simple sighting of Keeley in Aaron''s apartment building and the truth would be out. Lacy would know that she was pregnant with his child.

    Keeley was about five months along. Things were stable for the time being but that didn''t necessarily mean anything. Lacy had been absolutely ruthless upon finding out about the first pregnancy.

    The only foolproof safe thing would be to stay inside the apartment until it was time to give birth but she couldn''t realistically get away with that. She still had doctor''s appointments to go to. And she would lose her mind being locked up for the next four months.

    Aaron eyed her shrewdly. "You don''t look like you''re going to be able to put off worrying untilter. You''re worrying right now."

    He knew her too well.

    "Of course I''m worrying right now; I might get back on that psychopath''s radar!" she yelled, her voice breaking from the stress.

    This was exactly why she didn''t want to get involved with him again! His world was terrifying and there was no guarantee he would be able to keep her safe. All of the kindness and doting in the world couldn''t make up for the fact that she hated living in fear.

    ming him for it wouldn''t do any good though. Aaron already knew this as well as she did. Bringing it up would only cause further tension.

    She took a deep breath. Keeley and Aaron vs the problem, not Keeley vs Aaron. Just like her dad had said. She had married him again so they were in this mess together. As a team.

    "I won''t let that happen," he said soothingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Worst case scenario, she does find out but what can she do? This apartment is safe. I can even put her on a ''no entry'' list so she''ll get kicked out of the building the moment she arrives."

    Would that really help? If she found out, she would surely tell Alistair Hale and that would be a whole other slew of problems to contend with. It would mess up Aaron''s takeover ns and Keeley would be in twice the amount of danger.

    She couldn''t forget that the two of them coborated together to kill her first child and make sure she could never have another. Did Lacy still have ckmail material on that doctor? Could he somehow infiltrate the hospital when it was time for her to give birth and hurt her babies?

    "What about that doctor? She still has him in her pocket, doesn''t she?" Keeley asked in a panic.

    Aaron shook his head. "I''ve been watching that situation for a while. They haven''t had any contact that Aiden can find. Even if she does, we''ll just go somewhere outside his sphere of influence. You can give birth in New Jersey if all else fails."

    She still wasn''t entirely convinced. It seemed like he had a reasonable back up n for every concern she raised but her scars ran deep. The fear from her first life hadn''t totally left her even after so much had changed.

    All Keeley wanted was to be able to live her life in peace with her little family. She didn''t want to have to hide away forever. Aaron had a n to get rid of his father but what about Lacy? He didn''t have anything solid on her! She would always be a thorn in their sides.

    Honestly, why hadn''t she given up already? Aaron hadn''t given her the time of day in this entire lifetime. She must bepletely insane. You can''t reason with an insane person.

 Chapter 281: Dr. Keeley Hale

    <h4>Chapter 281: Dr. Keeley Hale</h4>

    Keeley''s worries hadn''tpletely faded by the time Saturday rolled around but she was determined that nothing could ruin her graduation day. She had worked herself to death these past three years in order to earn her degree. It was something worth celebrating!

    She put on a pair of pink rose earrings that matched her white and pink floral maternity dress and double checked her hair and makeup in the mirror. She looked undeniably good.

    Other than her shoes, anyway. Thefortable slip-ons that amodated her swollen feet didn''t exactly match the rest of her outfit. Pregnancy and high fashion didn''t exactly go hand in hand.

    No one would be looking at her feet so she should be fine. At least that was what she told herself to feel better. They really were hideous shoes. Oh well.

    "You look beautiful," Aaron said with a warm smile as she came downstairs.

    He was dressed fairly simply but still nice in a pair of cks and the lc dress shirt she had once borrowed. Graduations were somewhat formal asions and he had always been the type to dress the part.

    "Thanks. You look good yourself," she admitted.

    His smile grew wider. He took her hand and they walked to the elevator together, taking it all the way down to the basement parking garage.

    Keeley had to be there early in order to sign in and meet up with other students from the gics department. She was one of three students graduating with a PhD this time around but there were also a fair number of people getting their bachelor''s degrees.

    Aaron dropped her off where she was supposed to go and she finally bothered to put on her cap, gown, and hood. The gown was purple with thick ck velvet stripes on the sleeves and matching panels running down the front. This was starting to feel very real.

    He told her that he and Robert would meet up with her afterwards and to keep her phone on her. Thankfully her dress was one of the rare ones that actually had pockets. He gave her a quick kiss before walking away to go find a good seat.

    "Who was that?" Greg Benitez, one of Keeley''s fellow PhD graduates, asked. They had shared a few sses over the years but she hadn''t seen him for a few semesters.

    "My husband," she said simply.

    "I didn''t know you were married." He finally noticed her protruding belly sticking out even underneath the potato-sack-like gown. "Or pregnant. Congrattions!"

    With how long it had been since they had seen each other, he probably thought she went about things the normal way. Love then marriage then baby. She couldn''t reallyin about how things turned out though. Worrying about Lacy Knighton aside, her life right now was quite satisfying.

    She smiled. "Thanks, Greg. What have you been up to these days?"

    "Not nearly as much as you, I bet," he said with augh. "Just finishing up school and job hunting. There''s a decent chance I''m going to end up moving to Chicago for work."

    They continued catching up until it was time for all of the graduates to silently line up in alphabetical order so they could match the program. It was time for them to file into the giant auditorium and take their seats so the ceremony could begin.

    Keeley walked slowly and purposefully in tune with the music that was ying in between a couple of undergraduate students she didn''t know. When she sat down in her seat she unfortunately couldn''t see any of the guests because the graduates were in the front rather than facing the audience like when she graduated from high school.

    The speeches from the dean, department head, and a student graduating with honors seemed to go on forever. Her mind wandered as they spoke.

    She couldn''t believe she actually made it this far. The moment they handed her that diploma, she would officially be Dr. Keeley Hale. She had dreamed of this moment for so many years and now that it was finally staring her in the face it seemed surreal.

    Tears formed in her eyes when she thought about how hard she had worked to get here. It was a dream deferred in her first life that she was finally getting to achieve. All of those all-nighters studying or writing papers and the countless hours spent in theb were worth it!

    Her second chance at life hadn''t been wasted. Here she was, on the verge of having everything she ever wanted. Of course she would be feeling emotional.

    She felt a bit overwhelmed when she thought about how supportive Aaron had been ever since he discovered what her dream was. She really wouldn''t have made it through thest six months or so of her degree without him.

    He had been her rock, making sure she managed to bnce work, school, and taking care of herself. Even going so far as offering to fund her research so she would be able to aplish her goals sooner. Having your dreams supported was a wonderful thing.

    Come to think of it, he was pretty wonderful in general if she ignored all of the past bad blood between them. She had been more and moretely, trying to enjoy the present and focus on the future.

    She was actually grateful to have him in her life, extra stress and all. How strange.

    The time came where the gics students were up and she found herself following the line as they looped around the front of the auditorium and kept moving. It was all very orderly considering there hadn''t been a single graduation practice.

    "¡­David Everett¡­Jacob Fields¡­Marissa Garcia¡­Ariana Gonzales¡­Keeley Hale¡­"

    She vaguely heard her family cheering for her in the distance at the moment her name was called. The department head handed Keeley her diploma with a smile and a handshake. The dean shook her hand too and sent her off on her way.

    Once she got back to her seat she held the diploma to her heart. She did it. She actually did it!

 Chapter 282: Somebody Sure Loves You

    <h4>Chapter 282: Somebody Sure Loves You</h4>

    When the ceremony officially ended Keeley headed to the designated meeting ce Aaron texted her about. She was surprised to find that most of her friends were there as well. Valentina was probably in the middle of a rotation right now but Aiden, Cameron, and Jennica all waved at her as she approached.

    "What are you guys doing here?" she asked with a bright smile on her face.

    "I wasn''t about to miss your graduation!" Jennica replied as she hugged her friend. "Congrattions, Doctor!"

    When Keeley turned to Aiden questioningly he shrugged. "Aaron said he''d pay for my dinner if I came so here I am."

    Cameron elbowed him in the ribs but she onlyughed. That seemed like something he would do. It warmed her heart to see all of these peoplee out to celebrate her aplishment.

    "I''m so proud of you, honeybun!" her dad said as he hugged her tightly.

    Keeley ignored the snickers at her dad''s silly nickname. She was too happy to be bothered by something like that right now. She had finally done something worth her father being proud of.

    "For the record, I''m proud of you too," Aaron said as he smiled at her from behind her dad.

    After her dad released her she practicallyunched herself at her husband. She dangled off of his neck as he spun her around.

    She giggled in exhration. "Can you believe it, Aaron? I really did it! I got my PhD!"

    He kissed the top of her head. "I knew you would. You can do anything you set your mind to."

    "Quit being lovey dovey already so we can take pictures and go eat!"

    "You''re just jealous your girlfriend is halfway across the world," Aaron said with a re in Aiden''s direction.

    He reacted dramatically, clutching his heart. "Aaron, you wound me."

    Cameron thought the whole thing was hrious. Jennica merely shook her head at their antics with an amused smile on her face.

    They took a lot of pictures. By herself, with her dad and Aaron, and group shots with all of her friends. They had to find a random bystander to get a shot with all of them in it.

    Of all the pictures taken, her favorite was probably the silly face one with her friends. Cameron and Jennica had matching grimaces, Aiden was sticking his tongue out and had one eye shut, she had squished her cheeks together with her hands so she looked like a fish, and Aaron looked over the group like they were crazy.

    Her heart was full as she looked at it. She had such good friends in this life. Never again would she have to deal with being shamed or isted. She would only surround herself with people she actually enjoyed spending time with.

    "Who''s ready for some food?" she asked. "I really want steak."

    "I''ve been ready this entire time," Aiden chuckled before hurrying towards the parking lot and urging everyone else toe along.

    "Where do you know him from?" her dad whispered. "He''s a funny one."

    "He was my neighbor but he''s also Aaron''s friend."

    It was kind of interesting how their friend groups ended up ovepping. nning get-togethers like this was a lot easier because of it. She was d that the people they cared about meshed well together.

    Sitting around talking as they waited for their appetizers to show up was a lot of fun. Keeley couldn''t remember thest time she felt so rxed. It had been quite a while.

    She sat in between her father and husband in their rounded corner booth. Robert contributed to the conversation a lot more than Aaron did but he mostly just seemed happy to be there even though his friends exasperated him a bit.

    She felt an upsurge of affection for him. He set this up for her because he knew how much she enjoyed being around other people. These days he really knew what she wanted out of life and cared about her getting it.

    Keeley reached out and rubbed the top of his leg near the knee under the table. He turned to her in surprise and she simply gave him the brightest smile she could. Aaron gazed at her lovingly in response before moving his arm so it rested on her shoulders.

    Her heart stuttered slightly because of the look on his face. It wasn''t the first time he looked at her that way but somehow it caught her off guard.

    "So what are you going to do now that you''re officially a gicist?" Jennica asked as she picked up another roll from the basket on the table.

    "Nothing," she said with augh. "I want to be there for the babies when they''re little. Aaron offered to fund my research so I''m going to go back to that once they''re in preschool."

    A low whistle went around the table. Everyone was impressed by his dedication.

    "Wow, way to be supportive."

    "Somebody sure loves you!"

    She smiled softly. Yeah. He really did. Being loved by Aaron was a beautiful thing.

    ===

    Graydon didn''t want to spend his Saturday following Lacy Knighton around and making sure she stayed away from Aaron''s apartment building but he did want Aaron to trust him so here he was.

    She had the dullest life. For the past three hours she had been moving from store to store with a group of other socialites. Didn''t they have anything better to do with their time?

    At the end of their shopping spree, they tried to decide on a ce to eat. Lacy wanted to have Italian food so they ended up going to a bistro near the shopping district.

    He heaved a sigh of relief. It was nearly six and Aaron said he only needed her away from his ce until seven. Since they hadn''t gotten their food yet, they would surely be stuck here until after then.

    Today hadn''t ended up being a problem after all. He had proved his reliability. But what about in the future? Keeley couldn''t stay inside forever.

    Graydon didn''t even know how far along she was. She could be trapped inside for months before giving birth. Even after that¡­the babies would be born safely but then what?

    Lacy waspletely obsessed¡ªthere was no way she would let them live in peace. It would be better for everyone if she was out of the picture. Unfortunately, he hadn''t figured out a way to make her death look like an ident yet.

    It was the only way. Aaron could get rid of his father bypleting his n but she would always be lurking at the edges of his life unless she was dead. Graydon couldn''t allow her to ruin his happiness like that.

    He had seen firsthand how much Aaron loved his wife. After growing up under Alistair Hale''s thumb he deserved to live happily with her away from it all. That wouldn''t be possible with Lacy Knighton around.

    Getting her out of the way was the least he could do. Maybe once she was out of the picture Aaron would finally rx enough to give Graydon a chance to be a part of his life.

 Chapter 283: Take A Hint

    <h4>Chapter 283: Take A Hint</h4>

    Keeley was napping with her head on her husband''sp when he got the call from the doorman that a Lacy Knighton was here to see him. So she had finally guessed he was in the penthouse. People had to know which apartment a tenant was in to even get the doorman to call up.

    "She''s been stalking me," Aaron said icily. "Put her on the strict no entry list. If she triesing into the building, toss her out."

    "Yes, sir," the doorman said professionally. "Would you like me to contact the police for you?"

    "Not necessary at this time. Thank you."

    The police wouldn''t be able to do anything because she hadn''t made any active threats recently. Only he and Keeley knew the truth about how dangerous she was.

    He nced down at his wife''s sweet sleeping face. She had put her trust in him¡ªhe had to keep her and their children safe.

    It had been a little over a month since her graduation ceremony and she had been too afraid to leave the house, even to see Dr. Chapman. She was overdue for a visit. He had to convince her to go out somehow but it was difficult because he understood her fear.

    This house was the safe ce he had wanted it to be but it had also be her prison. Keeley didn''t want to leave it in case she ran into Lacy, Graydon, Ryan, or Alistair. He wasn''t sure why she was still wary of Graydon since she imed to believe that he meant them no harm.

    He had certainly helped them out the other day by keeping Lacy away. He texted Aaron once it was done and said that he had been watching her the whole time and that it was safe to go home. And it had been.

    That man didn''t make any sense whatsoever. He had been instrumental in Keeley''s death. Why was he protecting her now? What did Aaron do or not do that changed his mind? Was it really just because he had been actively opposing his father?

    He wished he understood what was going on in that man''s head. It would be nice if he could be positive that Graydon wasn''t a threat. But that wouldn''t happen until he found out why they had been enemies in his previous life.

    Without being able to ask, he wasn''t sure if he would ever be able to be sure about that. Deductive reasoning could only take you so far. Graydon Meyer was a real mystery.

    Aaron sighed and stroked Keeley''s hair over and over to calm himself. This was all too confusing. At least he had her to talk to about all of this. In his first life he had stupidly dealt with all of his problems alone.

    Being married to her¡­these past few months had been the happiest in either of his lives. But there was still something missing. He knew she would never love him the way she once did, even if she did seem fond of him now and then.

    In the past she had given him her entire heart and he hadn''t cherished it properly. It was fair that she couldn''t do that again but that didn''t make it any less disappointing.

    At least he knew she would stay with him. Aaron would get to enjoy herughter, sense of adventure, and closeness for the rest of his life. That was already more than he could have hoped for after she found out the truth.

    Sweet Keeley. He loved her so much but she was still suffering because of being with him. He wished he could take all of her worries away forever.

    Alistair was still a problem. ''Bethany'' was supposed toe back in two months and he still hadn''t figured out a valid excuse as to why she wouldn''t be in New York. It might be time to break off the false engagement. Maybe he could pretend she fell in love with someone in Africa and decided to stay there.

    But then he would have to deal with Lacy Knighton again. Oh, why couldn''t she just take a hint? She could marry literally anyone else; why did it have to be him?

    She didn''t really love him; she didn''t even know him. The person she was obsessed with didn''t even exist. Aaron hadn''t been what she wanted since his first time being seventeen years old.

    There was nothing he could do about her either. Even if he had proof that she drugged Keeley, the statute of limitations had passed. She couldn''t be convicted for it anymore. Technically speaking, she hadn''t done anything illegal in the past few years.

    Aiden hadn''t even been able to find evidence of ckmail. She waspletely clean. The only thing he could do to make her disappear was kill her but Keeley would never approve.

    She was a good person; she wouldn''t want to be married to a murderer. Aaron would do it in a heartbeat though if it came down to the wire. If she posed an active threat to his family, he would strangle her right there. At that point it would be considered self-defense.

    Unfortunately all threats had been passive in nature. Lacy didn''t even know that he had married Keeley. Right now she was probably plotting against his supposed fianc¨¦e Bethany without knowing that she didn''t actually exist.

    But if she did manage to find out, the target would be right back where it started. On Keeley''s back.

    Aaron wanted better for her. He wanted her to be able to change herst name and post their pictures together on social media and walk down the street holding hands without fear. That wouldn''t happen as long as Lacy Knighton was around.

    Keeley shouldn''t have to be hidden away. She wasn''t doing anything wrong; she was just living her life with the man who loved her. Why couldn''t he have been born a normal man? They could have met and fallen in love without difficulty.

    He still got to be with her in the end but more than once he had wondered what their rtionship would have been like if he wasn''t Aaron Hale. If she hadn''t had to worry about being plotted against by her own inws. If they could have lived their first life out in peace.

 Chapter 284: Blood Pressure

    <h4>Chapter 284: Blood Pressure</h4>

    Keeley finally braved the great outdoors again toward the end of February. Her due date was in mid-April and she had put off going to the doctor for a check-up for too long. Especially since she was carrying twins and they had a higher chance of being born early.

    She decided to go alone in the middle of the day while Aaron was at work, thinking that it was unlikely Lacy would stake the ce out when he wouldn''t even be there. She was right; she made it down to the parking garage where Aaron''s driver was waiting without seeing her.

    "You really should havee in sooner," Dr. Chapman clucked as she checked the babies'' heartbeats.

    "You''re 28 weeks along now. Most twins are born around 36 weeks, which is about a month earlier than the average single baby. You''re obviously stressed and you want to keep those babies cooking in there as long as possible. If your stress doesn''t go down, your blood pressure will be too high and we''ll have to induce birth early."

    She should have known that the stress would have a negative effect on her pregnancy. But how was she supposed to calm down knowing that Lacy Knighton¡ªthe woman who killed her first child, her father, and eventually her¡ªwas staking out her apartment building?

    "Is there anything you can do?" Keeley asked desperately. "I really don''t think I can lower my stress. I have some life stuff going on right now that I have no control over."

    "If you do end up with preempsia I can give you steroids to help the babies'' lungs develop but that''s about it. I would advise staying off your feet as much as possible and getting plenty of sleep, Mrs. Hale. You still haven''t gained as much weight as you should have. Are you eating properly?"

    "I am, I promise! I''ve been following all of your dietary suggestions."

    Dr. Chapman shook her head and smiled. "I guess you''re just one of those women who run small. It does happen, though it isn''t terriblymon. Take care of yourself ande back here in a week. I want to monitor you more closely from here on out."

    Keeley nodded and thanked her as she headed out the door. What a nightmare. She didn''t want her babies to be born too early and have to spend time in the NICU or have developmental problemster in life. They had to stay inside her womb as long as possible!

    She did her best to rx for the rest of the day. She ate a hearty lunch, took a nice long bubble bath, and listened to a CD of ssical music mixed with ocean sounds until she fell asleep.

    When she finally woke up, Aaron was home. He looked at her expectantly from the kitchen table. "How did it go?"

    She let out a weary sigh. "My blood pressure is a tad too high. She wants to watch me on a week by week basis from here on out. There''s a good chance I''ll have to deliver early."

    He frowned. "You''re only seven months along. Isn''t that dangerous?"

    "We''ve already passed the most dangerous period¡­from here on out babies have a 90% survival rate and it only gets higher as the weeks pass."

    He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her. "You need to rx, sweetheart. You''re safe. Lacy can''t get you."

    Logically she knew that. Lacy was a schemer and she didn''t know about Keeley yet so she wouldn''t have time toe up with anything premeditated. What she was worried about was the crazy woman doing something spontaneous like pushing her to the ground andnding on her stomach.

    One of her neighbors growing up delivered a month early because she slipped on some ice andnded on her stomach, causing her water to break prematurely. That was thest thing she wanted to happen. She wanted her babies to be born safely and healthily.

    Dr. Chapman had told her that with most twin pregnancies one or both of them had to spend at least a little time in the NICU because they tended to be smaller sharing the space. That would be nerve-wracking enough. She didn''t want them in there a moment longer than necessary.

    "I want this to be over with, Aaron," Keeley said in a small voice. "I want our babies to be safely in my arms."

    He kissed the top of her head. "I know. It''ll be over before you know it. And then you''ll have to deal with sleep deprivation and dirty diapers all the time. You should enjoy the rtive peace while you can."

    He just had to be realistic about everything. She cracked a tiny smile. Somehow his strange method of cheering her up sort of worked.

    She tried to think about happy things, like the nursery they had already prepared in what used to be Keeley''s bedroom and the fact that Molly and Dinah had both been extra protective of her stomach as it grew bigger. It was all going to be okay, right?

    "What are you going to do about your fake fianc¨¦e?" she asked suddenly.

    Aaron shrugged. "I''m hoping the babies are born by the time I have to exin myself. Kaleb will automatically grant me ten percent of my father''s shares ording to that contract he gave me when I got fake engaged. He''ll certainly be surprised that it backfired on him."

    He had told her about this before including how he was fairly certain Alistair used the phrase "Aaron''s wife" instead of "Bethany Carlisle" thinking that Lacy would be able to rece her. It was pretty ironic that it would actually help them out.

    But wasn''t he still 12% short of what he needed? Where was that extra 2% going toe from? It wouldn''t be safe to tell Alistair about the babies until Aaron had all the shares he needed.

    "What about the other two percent?" she asked nervously.

    "That¡­I''m still trying to figure out."

    Great. They were doomed. All of the stress that had gone away earlier was back full force. The next month and a half was going to be very rough.

 Chapter 285: Michael Gray

    <h4>Chapter 285: Michael Gray</h4>

    Aaron was going over the numbers for the hundredth time trying to figure out whether or not he could get the stock prices driven up early. He desperately needed Alexander to sell him that 2% he needed or he wouldn''t be able to collect those shares from his father safely and boot him out.

    The evidence of insider trading was stillpletely circumstantial so he couldn''t take it to the police but he could definitely use it to subdue his father once he was in control of 51% of thepany''s shares.

    So close. He was so close! Once he did this, Keeley would be able to rx a bit. Goodness knows she needed to. She had gone to the doctor again twice in the past couple weeks and her blood pressure problem was holding steady.

    At this rate, she would almost certainly be giving birth in March. It made Aaron even more determined to get this done.

    How exactly had Graydon Meyer gotten Emilio to sell his shares so quickly? He could use that kind of power right now. But he would rather die than ask that man for help. Especially since he would take it as a sign that Aaron trusted him and wanted to be his friend.

    Aiden burst into the office with an excited look on his face. "Boss man! I did it! I found out who Graydon Meyer actually is!"

    Speak of the devil¡­

    "Who is he?"

    "His real name is Michael Gray. He was born and raised in Brooklyn by a single mom until he was five. Shemitted suicide and he was sent to live with his maternal uncle. He died of cirrhosis of the liver when Gray was eleven and he bounced around from foster home to foster home until he got a schrship to MIT and decided to change his identity," he exined.

    "But get this¡ªno father is listed on his original birth certificate and his mother Mary receivedrge sums of money at the beginning of the month from none other than Alistair Hale right up until she died. I think this guy is your half-brother!"

    Half-brother? Aaron was stunned. That was thest thing he had imagined when he thought about what Meyer''s connection to the Hales could be.

    His father was even more ssist than he had been once upon a time. He never would have fallen in love with amon woman. But if he did¡­what a hypocrite! And he gave Aaron such a hard time about Keeley in his past life?!

    Hang on. Meyer was only five years older than him. Alistair and Roslyn had been married for nine years by the time their son was born.

    This made a sick sort of sense. Giving birth to sons was the only way women gained any status in their world. Alistair most likely thought his wife couldn''t get pregnant after being married for a few years with nothing to show for it and turned to someone on the outside to get his heir.

    If Mary Gray died when her son was five¡­that was around the time Aaron was born. There had to be a connection. Alistair got his ''pure'' heir and didn''t need his mistress anymore.

    Whether she actuallymitted suicide over the matter or was killed off to keep her mouth shut didn''t really matter so long as young Michael Gray knew her death was rted to his father. Of course he would hold a grudge against the Hales. They took his family away from him.

    Roslyn and Aaron didn''t know anything about this but to an angry child they would be easy to me. She took his mother''s ce. He took what Gray thought should belong to him.

    This would exin Gray''s grudge against Aaron in hisst life perfectly. But why had he backed off once Keeley was dead?

    "If he is my half-brother it would exin why he hates my father," Aaron said grimly. "And why he''s so interested in me."

    Keeley''s theory that he had done something different to change Gray''s mind in this life was probably right on the mark. Aaron had begun working to dethrone his father when he was eighteen years old.

    If Gray knew about his ns that early on, he would see them as allies working against amon enemy. And since he had grown uprgely in foster care, it would make perfect sense to want a connection with his only remaining family member¡­

    This was too unbelievable. The missing puzzle pieces fit but that didn''t make his situation any less strange. He had a brother! A brother who had previously helped kill his wife but was now helping keep her safe. What was he supposed to do about that?

    "Hey, on the bright side it means he probably isn''t your enemy," Aiden said with a shrug. "Didn''t he say he wanted to be your friend a bunch of times? He probably wants to be close to the only family he has left."

    So he was thinking along the same lines as Aaron. But how could he possibly allow that after everything this man did before?!

    Keeley had been able to forgive him but he wasn''t as good a person as she was. He would readily admit to that. Even though Gray was different in this life he had still been an instrumental part of hurting her the first time around.

    No, he couldn''t forgive Graydon Meyer or Michael Gray or whoever he was. The best he could do was call a truce. Because he had helped Aaron out a bit, he wouldn''t go after him as revenge for Keeley.

    "Not going to happen," Aaron said tly. "Do you remember what I told you before about how there were people who hurt Keeley and didn''t remember it? He was one of them."

    Aiden looked absolutely bewildered. "Then why would he try to be helpful now?"

    "Anyone can have a change of heart. That doesn''t change what they did though."

    He knew that better than anyone. In a way, Keeley was still punishing him for what he did in a past life by keeping her heart safely guarded despite the fact that they were married. She hadn''t forgiven himpletely and he didn''t me her one bit.

 Chapter 286: A Dangerous Man

    <h4>Chapter 286: A Dangerous Man</h4>

    "What are you going to do?" Aiden asked. "Are you going to tell him that you know?"

    Why would Aaron do something like that? It would only encourage Gray in thinking they could have a brotherly rtionship. That would never happen in a million years after what he did.

    "No. I''m going to pretend I don''t know anything. I''ll leave him alone and hopefully he''ll leave me alone as well."

    The hacker was skeptical. He leaned against the corner of Aaron''s desk before speaking again. "Do you really think that will work? This guy seems pretty obsessed with you. Like almost as much as Lacy Knighton is."

    He sighed. Why did he have to attract all of the crazy people in the world? His half-brother was a dangerous man.

    If he angered him, that could end poorly. But he couldn''t just go ahead and ept him either! That was asking for trouble.

    Gray already knew all about Aaron''s n and hadn''t whispered a word about it to anyone. Or about Keeley''s pregnancy and their marriage. If nothing else, he was good at keeping secrets. But how long would that hold up if Aaron made him mad?

    It might have been better if he didn''t know the truth about the man. A decades old mystery had been solved but at what cost? Now Aaron had even more to worry about. If Keeley found out about this, her blood pressure might get even higher.

    He couldn''t exactly keep it from her though. At least not permanently. Secret keeping had been the source of most of their problems in their first marriage. Maybe he could wait to tell her until after the babies were born?

    It was one solution but he still didn''t know what to do now that he knew the truth about Gray or about how to get thatst 2% he needed. Unless¡­he killed two birds with one stone?

    It would be risky. He didn''t want Gray near his family but if he let him do something to help it might appease him for the time being. After what happened with Emilio, Aaron believed he could find a way to get those shares.

    "¡­I may have to tell him that I know. I think he can solve a problem for me," he confessed.

    Aiden raised an eyebrow. "You''re nning on using one of the most powerful men in New York? Isn''t that a little much even for you?"

    "I don''t exactly have many options here, Aiden. I need this taken care of before my children are born and I think he can aplish this for me."

    "Your call, dude. You know I''ll always have your back. Just be sure you know what you''re getting into."

    He nodded as his friend left the office. He had a phone call to make that he really didn''t want to. This might go poorly.

    Aaron steeled himself before he dialed the number he never thought he would call. It went through almost immediately.

    "Aaron! What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?" Gray''s smooth voice asked.

    He began reluctantly. "Do you have a way of getting 2% of the shares away from any of the shareholders that aren''t in my pocket within the next month?"

    "Well yes, but it''s far more entertaining to watch you do this yourself. Otherwise I would have offered more help from the beginning."

    Now he had to y the sympathetic brother card. It was the only way he would be able to get this nut to cooperate. Aaron really hoped he would be able to pull this off convincingly.

    "I''m under a bit of a time crunch. You probably don''t know this but my wife is having twins and there is a good chance they''ll be born early. I need this done before that happens. You''re the only person who could help me¡­brother."

    He tacked thest bit on the end hoping it would elicit a positive reaction from Gray. Which it did. He sounded absolutely delighted.

    "So you figured it out! I admit, I hoped you would. I''ve known I had a little brother since I was five years old but I imagine it came as quite a shock to you."

    "It did, knowing the kind of man our father is," Aaron admitted. He paused a moment before continuing. "I''m sorry about what happened to your mother. You have just as much reason to hate him as I do."

    "I appreciate your concern. I never did quite figure out why you hate him so much though, just that you do. What did he do to you?" he asked curiously.

    "He hurt the only person I care about a long time ago. He needs to be stopped before he can do it again." It was the simplest exnation he could give without exining that his father arranged to murder his firstborn and helped ruin his wife.

    "Ah, so it was about Keeley. I did wonder. She must be quite a woman."

    "She is."

    Gray had an obvious smile in his voice when he spoke again. "In that case, allow your big brother to do you a favor. But in exchange could you do something for me?"

    "What?"

    This couldn''t be good. He knew that this conversation was going too well; of course something had to go wrong.

    "It''s nothing much¡­I simply want to spend some time with you and your family. We could go to dinner. My treat."

    Well, it could be worse. He could have asked toe over to Aaron''s house. It would be a small price to pay in order to dethrone his father permanently.

    This man wasn''t a threat to his wife anymore. He, like Aaron, just wanted a family. One dinner couldn''t hurt.

    "Deal. But only if this gets done before my children are born."

    "I take it at least one of them is a son? A little birdie told me about the contract that offers ten percent of Father''s shares once your wife gives birth to a boy," Gray said casually.

    "We''re having one of each."

    "Well, congrattions! I look forward to meeting my niece and nephew. I better go get started on getting you those shares. Have Keeley pick a restaurant, I''m interested to know what her taste is. Let''s n on next week. Talk to youter, baby brother."

    He hung up before Aaron could even get annoyed at being called a baby. He was a lot older than that man, okay? He rubbed his temples, sincerely hoping he hadn''t made the worst mistake of this life.

 Chapter 287: Is That...Oatmeal?

    <h4>Chapter 287: Is That...Oatmeal?</h4>

    Cameron was on a business trip so Jennica spent the better part of a week at Keeley''s house when she wasn''t in rehearsals. She had finally gotten a decent sized part Off-Broadway and was thrilled because once it was over they could start trying for a baby as well.

    Keeleymented that it would be fun raising their kids together and her friend agreed wholeheartedly. She was grateful for thepany. With Aaron at work most of the day and being on partial bedrest, she was bored out of her mind.

    They had movie marathons, yed board and card games, and simply sat around talking. It was really nice spending time with Jennica one-on-one again. Lately they had always been with their husbands when they got together.

    Not that there was anything wrong with that. But sometimes you just needed girl time. If Valentina was free, this would be like the good old days when they all lived together. At least she had been able toe to the baby shower Jennica threw.

    Their time as roommates seemed so long ago now but it hadn''t even been a year since they went their separate ways. So much had changed since then.

    "Do you feel ready to be a mom?" Jennica asked as theyy around on the couch eating ice cream straight out of the carton.

    Did anyone? She had read as many books about babies, child development, and parenting as she possibly could but obviously reading about something was different than putting it into practice.

    "As ready as I can be. Mostly I hope the delivery doesn''t hurt too much¡­and that my babies aren''t in the NICU for too long."

    "I can''t even imagine," her friend murmured. "You must be really stressed. We should have a destressing party."

    Keeleyughed. Jennica had the strangest ideas sometimes. "What exactly would that entail?"

    "You know, like an at-home spa day! Aromatherapy candles, homemade facial masks using recipes found online, painting each other''s nails. I even have this awesome foot bath machine I can let you use once I clean it out. We can listen to rxing music and everything."

    She jumped to her feet. "We''re doing this right now! Today is my day off anyway. I''ll run home and get the stuff we need; you look up recipes while I''m gone!"

    "O¡­kay?" she said but her friend was already gone.

    She scrolled through her phone looking up different options. There were so many to choose from! Oatmeal, honey, and egg whites¡­yogurt, orange, and aloe¡­lemon and olive oil¡­strawberry, almond, and yogurt¡­

    Eventually she settled on the oatmeal one because she had all of the ingredients on hand. Less than five minutester, she found herself nodding off to the soothing feeling of Molly''s purrs in herp.

    She woke up when the doorman called to announce that Jennica Singleton was back. She told him to send her on up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

    When the elevator door opened, Jennica was carrying a surprising amount of stuff. She got to work setting up the foot bath and asked Keeley where her nail polish was, dashing up the stairs to the bathroom as soon as she knew.

    Keeley couldn''t really do much since she wasn''t supposed to move around but she gave Jennica the mask recipe and told her where the ingredients were as her feet soaked. The water swirling around in the machine really did feel nice.

    Jennica had brought two headbands to keep the hair out of their faces as they put on the masks. They applied the oatmeal mixture, which felt rather strange, everywhere but their mouths and eyes and let it sit for fifteen minutes as they got to work on their nails.

    The aromatherapy candles and ambient music were already set up. Keeley felt herself slowly rx as the water, candles, and music did its work.

    "Isn''t this nice?" Jennica sighed happily as she set to work painting her nails turquoise.

    Keeley sunk further into the couch. This was very nice indeed.

    "You''re the best, Jen. I needed this."

    "Happy to help! Aaron''s great and all but he never would have thought of something like this."

    No, he would have sent his wife straight to a real spa for a special pregnancy massage. He had already done that a week earlier on the way home from a checkup. She couldn''t deny that it did help her rx, if only for the rest of the day.

    She rested her hands on her stomach as she let her swollen feet soak. The babies were moving around more and moretely. Like they sensed their mother''s anxiety and were getting restless right along with her.

    ''I''m sorry babies,'' she thought sadly. ''You shouldn''t have toe into this world under threat.''

    Her children deserved better than that. How long would they have to stay in hiding? When they were too little to remember anything it wouldn''t really matter but what if it took too long for things to be safe? Would they even get to have normal childhoods?

    Keeley closed her eyes for a moment and tried to empty her head of thoughts. She was supposed to be rxing right now. She needed to rx for her babies'' sake so they wouldn''te out too soon.

    "What on earth is on your faces?" Aaron''s confused voice sounded in her eyes, making her eyes fly open.

    "Homemade facials? Duh," Jennica said. "I''m helping your wife rx."

    "Is that¡­oatmeal?"

    "Among other things," Keeley muttered, embarrassed. "It actually feels kind of nice once you get past the weirdness."

    "Interesting." He plopped down next to her and loosened his tie, leaning his head against the back of the couch. "Have you been up to this all day?"

    "No, we''ve been doing this for less than an hour. We haven''t really done much today."

    She was beyond grateful that her friend was even here. It was so much less boring than spending her days alone on the couch. She almost wished Cameron wouldn''te back from his business trip a while longer.

    Technically speaking, Aaron had the power to make that happen but she didn''t want to abuse his position. Jennica missed her husband fiercely. It wouldn''t be nice.

    "Keeley, do you want me to paint your nails? I just finished with mine," she announced.

    "Sure. We should probably wash this gunk off our faces first though. It''ll mess up our nails if we try to do itter."

    Jennica frowned. "Could you get my face for me? I didn''t think of that when I started painting mine."

    "Yeah, I can do that."

 Chapter 288: Tell Me More

    <h4>Chapter 288: Tell Me More</h4>

    Keeley dipped a wash cloth in warm water and began gently swiping at her friend''s face. It took a few minutes to get all of the oatmeal residue off. She was about to get a second cloth to clean her own face when Aaron began doing it for her.

    "I could have done it myself," she pointed out.

    He didn''t even answer properly, all he did was shrug. Keeley had his number. He wanted an excuse to touch her face. Considering what a cold person he normally was, he was surprisingly touchy-feely with her.

    At any given moment he could be found holding her hand, ying with her hair, or having an arm around her. Aaron wasn''t happy unless he was touching her somehow at all times.

    He had always been more physical than vocal about his affection back in the day but he was never this bad. If she had to guess, she would say it was because of all the time they spent apart after he lost her so traumatically. It was almost like he was afraid she was going to disappear on him.

    Her heart ached at the thought. He really did love her so much. She tried to reciprocate as best she could but she couldn''t honestly tell him she loved him. Lying about that would be the cruelest thing she could do.

    "A so sweet," Jennica cooed.

    Aaron red at her but otherwise let the jab slide. He had gotten a lot better about being teased by others over time. If someone had tried to do something like that to him a year ago he would have gone into Total Ice Mode.

    "Do either of you want dinner right now?" he asked.

    "I could go for some dinner," Keeley admitted. She was getting hungry again. These days she needed to have food in her stomach at all times in order to feelfortable.

    "What do you have?" Jennica asked curiously.

    "Frozensagna or leftover stir fry."

    "Lasagna," they said in perfect sync before bursting into giggles.

    He shook his head at their antics but had an indulgent smile on his face. "Lasagna it is."

    Aaron went into the kitchen to put it in the oven while Jennica set to work on Keeley''s nails. She chose a nice soft shade of lc that had been in her Christmas stocking a few months ago. Pastels had long been her favorite.

    Once she finished, she offered to do Keeley''s toes too since she couldn''t bend down and reach with her belly in the way. It was an offer she couldn''t refuse. Her old toenail polish was chipping terribly because it had been there since before Christmas. There was hardly any left.

    It hadn''t mattered much because she was always wearing socks due to the weather but during sandal season having painted toenails was a must. That was still a while away but who else was going to offer to paint her toenails any time soon?

    Aaron had tried around Christmas time (she couldn''t reach then, either) but it looked horrible so he ended up driving her to a salon to get a pedicure. Either way she got her toenails painted red and green and that was the important thing.

    Keeley sighed contentedly as her friend worked. It could be kind of nice being fussed over at times.

    ===

    Aaron confessed what he had done in order to get the extra 2% of the shares he needed the day before they were supposed to go out to dinner with Graydon Meyer¡ªor Michael Gray, his long-lost brother.

    Keeley waspletely blindsided by the news but she had to admit the way he acted fond of Aaron without even knowing him made a lot more sense now. She wasn''t happy about having to meet with him after everything he did but reluctantly agreed that he wasn''t currently a threat.

    "What are we supposed to call him now?" she asked as they got ready to go to the dinner. She was wearing a flowery maternity blouse and ck leggings and had curled her hair and put on makeup for the asion.

    "He told me to call him Gray," he said with a shrug. "I guess he feels mostfortable with that because it''s part of both names he has gone by."

    Well, it was how he originally introduced himself to her. It made sense. She still couldn''t believe he actually did as Aaron asked for such a simple favor though. The 2% of the shares had already been handed over to Cameron.

    Once the babies were born and Aaron got the remaining 10% he would be able to kick his father out for good. Then the only person they would have to worry about was Lacy Knighton.

    She trusted that Aaron knew what he was doing but it would still be super weird having to share a meal with a former enemy, even if he couldn''t remember it. After putting on a pair of silver dangly earrings she deemed herself presentable and let Aaron help her put on her shoes. It was show time.

    The restaurant Keeley chose was a strictly middle ss Thai fusion ce. Gray hade from humble roots so he probably wouldn''t mind it and she had been craving some curry.

    He met them in the waiting area with the most genuine smile she had ever seen from him. "It''s so good to see you two! Thank you foring."

    "Thank you for helping me," Aaron said reluctantly.

    "It was my genuine pleasure. You know I can''t wait to see that man get what ising for him. This simply sped up the process."

    A waiter led them to a table. The Hales sat next to each other and Gray chose to be across from his brother. He ordered wine for the men while Keeley opted for water.

    "So. Tell me more about yourselves," he said, swirling his wine around in his ss once it was poured.

    They exchanged a nce. "Like what?"

    "Hobbies, interests, more about how you met. Anything."

 Chapter 289: I Cant Do This

    <h4>Chapter 289: I Can''t Do This</h4>

    "We met our senior year of high school," Aaron said simply. "The seating chart was ordered alphabetically byst name and Keeley introduced herself to me bymenting on how simr our names were."

    She was surprised he remembered that tiny detail. Even she had forgotten what she said during their first real encounter.

    "That was all? How did you start dating?"

    In this life or thest one? Keeley wasn''t sure how to answer that question. Thankfully Aaron took it for her once again.

    "We were best friends first. I was a bit of a statue back then but she kept talking to me and asking me to do things until we became friends. We were apart for a while during college because I was in Boston and she was still here in New York but when we met up again we sort of picked up where we left off."

    It was a partial version of both truths. As always, Aaron was an excellent liar. His poker face was second to none. Except maybe Cameron''s because he was the World Champion of Poker but Keeley had never seen his poker face in action.

    Gray seemed to buy it anyway. "No wonder you started plotting against Father your first year of college. You were already in love with her and wanted to pave a way for the two of you."

    "Yep," Aaron replied simply. "Everything I did, I did for her."

    Sometimes it surprised Keeley how readily he would admit his feelings for her, both to her and to anyone else willing to listen. It was the exact opposite of how he used to be. It was both sweet and a bit embarrassing.

    He was obnoxiously mushy sometimes. She blushed at how straightforward he was being.

    Gray smiled. "How sweet. I wouldn''t have pegged you as a romantic."

    "He''s the worst kind there is," she whispered conspiratorially, wanting to embarrass him back a little.

    He took it in stride, shrugging nonchntly. "You know you like it."

    Sometimes, but she would never admit that aloud. His version of romance now was something her much younger self would have killed for. Scheming people in his life aside, Aaron was the perfect husband.

    "Have you chosen names for your children yet?"

    Keeley nodded. This was rtively harmless conversation. Maybe this dinner wouldn''t be so bad.

    "Kaleb for the boy, named after myte brother, and Violet for the girl."

    "Late brother? My condolences."

    She shrugged it off. "It happened a long time ago. Honoring his memory like this was actually Aaron''s idea."

    He narrowed his eyes at his younger brother. "You''re a lot softer than I thought you would be."

    "Only towards my wife."

    "Oh yeah, my friends were terrified of him right up until we got married. He''s very scary," Keeley assured him.

    Aaron elbowed her and she blinked up at him innocently. Wasn''t he trying to defend his honor as a domineering businessman? She was trying to help him out here!

    The momentary tension broke as Grayughed. "You two are funny. It''s obvious that you started out as best friends."

    Was it really? It had been ages since they were best friends. Although she supposed that he had sort of wormed his way back into that role without her realizing it. Now that she thought about it, their rtionship now was an awful lot like it was back then.

    The main differences this time were that Aaron openly showed his affection and they both treated each other as a partner rather than hiding things. Plus Keeley wasn''t infatuated with him like before.

    When the entrees finally arrived she dug in with gusto. It had been a few hours since she had eaten and she was on the verge of expiring. About halfway through her curry, she felt a strange popping sensation in her abdomen and then a sudden dampness between her legs.

    "Um, Aaron?" she asked weakly. "I think my water just broke."

    His eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Now?! You''re only 33 weeks along!"

    "The doctor did warn me that twinse early," she said with a wince. Being all wet wasn''t terriblyfortable. "We need to go."

    Gray stared across the table at them in mute horror as Aaron ushered her out the door without another word. He was too focused on the fact that his wife was about to give birth to even remember that someone else was present.

    He sped all the way to the hospital so it was a miracle they didn''t get pulled over. Dr. Chapman hurried them to the maternity ward and confirmed that Keeley had indeed started the early stages ofbor. She hooked her up to an IV in preparation for her epidural.

    Keeley began sweating nervously. She had never gotten this far in a pregnancy before. Everything she had heard told her that this was really, really going to hurt. And she didn''t have her mother here to hold her hand and talk her through it as an experienced birth giver.

    "I can''t do this," she said in a panic.

    "Yes you can," Aaron replied soothingly, holding her hand in both of his. "You''re the one who said you wanted it to be over with. The sooner you do this the sooner we''ll be able to meet our babies. I''m going to be right here the whole time."

    The next few hours passed torturously slow. It all blurred together. The epidural. The contractions. The TV she watched in between them because it was taking forever.

    By the time activebor began, she wasn''t sure how long she had been sitting in that hospital bed. All she knew was that Dr. Chapman and a couple of nurses were encouraging her to push and she thought she might pop a blood vessel in her eye from the strain.

    With a pained scream from his mother, Kaleb Robert Hale came into the world shortly after six in the morning. His sister, Violet Marie Hale joined him thirteen minutester. They both weighed slightly under five pounds but were breathing fine on their own so Dr. Chapman decided to give the new parents a few minutes with them before taking them to the NICU.

    The nurse cut their cords, cleaned them up, and handed one baby each to their parents. Keeley was exhausted but she had never seen anything more beautiful in her entire life. She started to cry at the sight of her children.

    She was a mother. They had made it into the world this time.

    Aaron seemed to understand what she was feeling and gave her the softest smile she had ever seen from him before kissing her sweaty forehead. "I love you, Keeley."

    She cried even harder.

 Chapter 290: Welcome Home

    <h4>Chapter 290: Wee Home</h4>

    The Hale twins were lucky; they only needed to be in the NICU for two weeks. During half of that time Keeley was still in the hospital recovering from giving birth. Aaron refused to leave her side until she came home and pretended he had the flu to get out of work without his father suspecting anything.

    The new parents spent a lot of time doing "kangaroo care" or holding the babies with skin-to-skin contact against their chests. The NICU nurses highly rmended it to help the babies'' development but it also helped calm Keeley and Aaron down. It was proof that their children were okay.

    They got a steady stream of visitors too, starting with Valentina. Keeley gave birth in the hospital she practically lived in so the word got around that her friend was staying in the maternity ward fairly quickly.

    NICU babies had stricter visitor rules outside of parents but there were still a few hours a day where people coulde by. Robert came by almost every day to see his grandchildren but the rest of the Hales'' friends did at least once to see the babies.

    No one could agree who they looked like. The babies were so bald that they couldn''t even decipher a hair color. Keeley wondered whether they would end up blonde, chocte brown, or somewhere in between.

    Even Gray came by to check up on his niece and nephew. Aaron wasn''t terribly happy about it but couldn''t exactly turn him away because he showed up out of the blue. He peered at them with vague interest.

    "They''re so small."

    "They were born about a month early," Aaron pointed out. "I don''t think they''ll even fit into the newborn clothes we bought them."

    "They don''t sell clothes for preemies?"

    "They do but we''ll have to go out and find them," Keeley said with a shrug, identally jostling Violet, who she was holding at the time.

    Her husband shook his head in disagreement. "You need rest. We can order them online."

    Which was exactly what they did. Whenever they weren''t at the hospital with the babies, Keeley felt like she was going crazy with too much time on her hands. She spent hours looking through preemie clothes online until she found ones she liked.

    They day they were finally able to bring their children home she thought her heart might burst with excitement. Each of them was tasked with putting a baby into a car seat and taking them to the car. Getting the seatbelts to cooperate through the tiny slots for them was a bit difficult but they figured it out eventually.

    Kaleb cried in the car a bit but Violet slept all the way home. When the elevator opened inside the penthouse Keeley was relieved beyond words. They were home.

    "Wee home, babies," she said thickly.

    Aaron kissed her cheek before helping Violet out of the car seat. They had already bought everything they needed so all they had to do now was take everything out of the guest room closets.

    She sat down on the couch and began nursing her son, who was fussing again. It was about the time he was supposed to be fed anyway.

    The NICU nurses had told her that with twins it was usually best to supplement breastmilk with bottle feedings because there wasn''t always enough for both of them. To keep things consistent, she would have to switch off who got nursed vs bottle fed each time.

    Her husband set Violet down and began preparing a bottle for her using the instructions on the form can. A few minutester she was happily eating too.

    Keeley couldn''t help but think that they had a long road ahead of them. They were supposed to be fed every 2-3 hours. That was a whole lot of nursing to do.

    But she couldn''t be upset about that looking at her children''s beautiful faces. They were absolutely perfect in every way. She didn''t think it was possible to love someone else this much. She felt like her heart was going to burst every time she saw them.

    "Aren''t they the most beautiful things you''ve ever seen?" Aaron asked, voicing her thoughts.

    She smiled softly. "They sure are."

    He was still focusing on Violet when he casually said, "I hope they both end up looking like you."

    All this time sweet talking and he still managed to catch her off guard. He had gotten better and better about making her feel all warm and fuzzy inside with his words. It was obvious he was making up for lost time.

    Since they ended up together in the end anyway, they really had lost so much time. To schemes,munication issues, and who knows what else. They could have been like this all along.

    A twinge of regret went through her. There was no use dwelling on the past. What mattered now was the future of their family. Violet and Kaleb were the most important things now. Keeley would do anything for them, and by extension, for their father.

    "Would that really be best though? You''re obviously the better looking one between the two of us," she said lightly.

    Aaron turned slightly pink and she took great satisfaction in the fact that she could make him blush now. It didn''t happen often, but once in a while she managed to catch him in the act.

    "Don''t be ridiculous."

    "I''m not. To be perfectly honest¡­I hope at least one of them looks like you."

    Now it was her turn to blush. She hadn''t meant to voice that thought aloud but now it was out. Hopefully he didn''t misunderstand her meaning. She wasn''t being sentimental or anything; he really was that handsome.

    Keeley busied herself burping Kaleb and wouldn''t meet his eyes. But she did end up scooting closer to him so their arms were touching once the baby settled down back in her arms and began nodding off.

    For some reason she wanted to be near Aaron right now. It had been happening a lot since she got pregnant. He was a ratherforting presence, which was ironic considering how much stress he had caused her in both of their lives.

 Chapter 291: Keeley, Do You Like Me?

    <h4>Chapter 291: Keeley, Do You Like Me?</h4>

    Aaron turned his head to look at his wife, who was now resting her head against his shoulder as she held their son. She had been turning to him forfort progressively more over time but he wasn''t sure what that meant.

    Was she simply ying her role as his wife or did she actually like him, even a little bit? She had justplimented him in a roundabout way. She wanted one of their kids to look like him.

    He hoped they looked like her because he loved her¡­so what was her logic? Just because she found him attractive? She wasn''t that shallow.

    The curiosity had been eating him alive for a while, especially since she seemed more and more dependent on him as she got further along in the pregnancy. Did she like him or not? Aaron wanted to ask but was afraid to hear her answer.

    It was entirely possible she was only depending on him because of all the stress she was experiencing and he happened to be the one who was there for her. She may have felt like she had no one else to rely on.

    Hadn''t that been how they came to a weird sort of mutual understanding during Cameron''s wedding in the first ce? She thought that they had to look out for each other because they were the only ones who understood each other''s situation.

    Aaron had epted that she wouldn''t love him back a long time ago. He just wanted her to stay with him. But what if it was possible that she changed her mind at some point?

    He didn''t want to get his hopes up but she had been very warm to himtely. She had softened towards him once, was it so impossible that she would do it again?

    "Keeley, do you like me?" he blurted.

    She yawned and snuggled closer as best she could while still holding Kaleb. "What kind of question is that? I wouldn''t have married you if I didn''t like you, babies or no babies."

    So she misunderstood what he was asking. He didn''t mean as a person. Oh, this was so juvenile but if he didn''t make it more clear she wouldn''t get it.

    "I mean like-like me," Aaron saidmely. It sounded even stupider than it had inside his head.

    Keeley stiffened. "Is that really necessary? I thought we had a good thing going on here."

    "We do, I''m just curious. Because sometimes it kind of seems that way."

    She went silent for over a minute. That wasn''t a good sign. She was definitely going to tell him off for even asking.

    "I like spending time with you and I think you''re a good husband but aside from that¡­I honestly don''t know," she said eventually. "I think too much has happened for me to even be sure of my feelings anymore."

    Her answer was so unexpected that he unconsciously began holding his breath. Once he could breathe again, Aaron realized that it sounded like she might be wavering. Maybe she really did like him deep down.

    "That''s okay," he found himself saying.

    They had time. Endless amounts of time stretched out before them. If she was feeling like this now after less than a year of marriage she would fall in love with him again eventually, right?

    Her confusion gave him more hope than he had a right to have. He didn''t deserve to be this happy. He finally had a family; a real one filled with warmth andughter. It was too good to be true.

    Sometimes he wondered when the other shoe was going to drop. Things had been going too well for himtely. Aaron had never exactly been the luckiest person around.

    He tried very hard not to think that way but it was difficult after everything that had happened. Keeley wasn''t the only one who had been scarred by their first life. Now that he had her back, he was terrified of losing her again.

    Though he kept reassuring her he could keep her safe, he really didn''t know what to do about Lacy Knighton. Staying at home with the babies when they were too little to be going outside wouldn''t be too difficult but what about once they were older?

    She was stalking them; she would figure it out eventually. Especially once he told his father the truth and took a hold of the 10% of the promised shares and kicked him out. News would spread like wildfire that Aaron Hale was married with children.

    He was still wondering when the best time to do that would be. The next board meeting was in three weeks and that could work but what if it was too soon?

    Ideally, he would have the Lacy problem figured out before he revealed the truth. It would be the best way to keep his family safe. Conferring with his dummy shareholders about when the best time to do this might help.

    "Is it really okay?" Keeley asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "All this time it hasn''t seemed fair to you. Sometimes I feel pretty guilty about that."

    She had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. Her feelings were conflicted because he had been an idiot in the past. That was on him, not her.

    "It isn''t a matter of being fair. You have nothing to feel guilty about," Aaron said honestly. "I''m just d you''re here."

    She would never be able toprehend how much he had missed her, both when she was dead and when she was afraid of himter on. Having his ray of sunshine back was more than he could have asked for.

    "That almost makes me feel worse," she sighed.

    Aaron wasn''t sure what to tell her at that point. Why would that make her feel worse? She had to know how much he loved her by this point. He told her all the time.

    "How many times have I told you that there''s nothing to feel bad about? I know what I did. I''m dealing with the consequences of my own dumb decisions. That isn''t your problem," he said firmly.

    "I don''t deserve your devotion."

    He leaned his head down to rest on top of hers. "Yes you do. You should have had it all along. Please don''t feel bad about this, sweetheart."

    She mumbled that she would try before going silent. After a while Aaron realized that she had fallen asleep, her arms still holding up the baby. He kissed her hair.

    Someday he would convince her that she didn''t need to feel guilty about anything. But in the meantime it seemed like they both still had some healing to do. At least they would be able to focus on doing that together.

 Chapter 292: A Contingency Plan

    <h4>Chapter 292: A Contingency n</h4>

    Aaron was exhausted from waking up twice in the middle of the night to help Keeley feed the twins but he still had to drag himself out of bed and go to work. All three of them were dead to the world so he kissed each of them on the forehead before heading downstairs for a veryrge cup of coffee.

    "You look terrible," Cameron noted when he delivered the reports. "Rough night?"

    "One of many," he said tiredly. He hadn''t gotten a decent night''s sleep in the two weeks the twins had been home from the hospital.

    "So this is what I have to look forward to someday. Fun."

    "Is there anything else you needed or are you just here to mock me?"

    "Now that you mention it¡­I was wondering when you''re going to conduct your hostile takeover. You can get thest of those shares any time you want. I''m a bit surprised you haven''t done it yet."

    Aaron sighed. He had been wondering that himself. Despite being on the no entry list, Lacy had shown up at his apartment building no less than a dozen times in the past month trying to demand her way in. It was stressing Keeley out.

    He wanted to knock that horrible woman''s teeth in for making things harder on his wife when she was already so worn out from taking care of the babies 24/7. If she knew that Aaron had a hidden family in there she would probably try to storm the concierge desk by force to get the elevator key.

    Alistair was still close to Brann Knighton. As soon as he knew, he would tell his partner in crime. Who would tell his deranged daughter.

    "I still don''t know what to do about Lacy Knighton. I feel like I need to have a contingency n in ce for her before I strike."

    "That makes sense. Jen says she''s a real psycho."

    Psycho didn''t begin to describe her. It rankled more than a little that Aaron didn''t have a way to take her down legally after all this time. Overthrowing his father was within his reach and yet he was thwarted once again by that thorn in his side.

    The phone on Aaron''s desk rang. He picked it up immediately. "Hello?"

    "Mr. Hale, the CEO wants to see you in his office," one of the secretaries said primly.

    "Tell him I''ll be right there."

    He hung up and rubbed his temples wearily. He was pretty sure he knew what this summons was about.

    "Good luck," Cameron said sympathetically as he left the office. He guessed what the call had been about by the look on his friend''s face.

    Aaron made his way to his father''s office as if he were heading to the executioner''s block. His best bet at this point was to say that he and Bethany had broken up.

    Lacy would definitely pounce right away but that might work in his favor. He could use it to trap her.

    "Sit down," Alistairmanded, nearly freezing his son solid with his presence. He sat, not wanting to make things worse than they would already get.

    "Where is your fianc¨¦e? I know she came back from Africa already."

    "Actually she didn''t. She decided she liked one of her fellow volunteers better than me and stayed there with him. I got dumped," he lied, trying to look miserable.

    His father scrutinized him before snorting in derision. "No wonder you look so terrible these days. I told you that love was a waste of time. You''re twenty-five years old; I had already been married for a few years at your age. No more messing around. Lacy Knighton¡ª"

    Aaron knew this would happen but that didn''t make him any less furious. He had put it off as long as he could and the result was the same.

    "I have told you a million times, I would rather gouge out my own eye than marry that horrible woman. There is nothing in this world that you can do to force me to marry her."

    "You already failed choosing a candidate for your marriage! Look what the fianc¨¦e you chose did!" Alistair thundered. "You don''t know how to choose properly for yourself."

    If only he knew. Aaron chose happiness over business and it was the best decision he ever made. He had chosen properly for himself just fine.

    "The least you could do is give me a little time to grieve my lost rtionship before throwing the next candidate at me," he said coldly.

    If he truly had been heartbroken, his father''s reaction would have been cruel. That was the kind of man he was. Aaron was beginning to suspect that Mary Gray''s death hadn''t been a suicide after all with how fanatical he was about maintaining the purity of his bloodline.

    He actually felt a bit sorry for his half-brother. He had suffered a lot because he happened to have a little Hale blood in him. Just like Aaron.

    It didn''t change the fact that Gray had been involved in Keeley''s and probably Robert''s deaths but he could understand why the man had done it. He wanted revenge for his mother. As a vengeful person himself, Aaron rted to that much.

    "It is past the time you should have epted your responsibility as a Hale," Alistair said in a deadly tone. "Your failed rtionship has nothing to do with that."

    And the Father of the Year award definitely doesn''t go to this creep. Gray was lucky he didn''t actually grow up with him. All of Aaron''s fury about two lifetimes of Alistair''s oppression bubbled just beneath the surface.

    It was so tempting to tell the truth right now but he had to trip Lacy up first. Aaron would get thestugh. His father would lose everything that mattered to him in one fell swoop.

    Thinking about the picture of Kaleb and Violet in their matching outfits that Keeley texted him earlier helped him calm down. He had to keep his temper in check for their sakes. His family was counting on him.

 Chapter 293: Your Days Are Numbered

    <h4>Chapter 293: Your Days Are Numbered</h4>

    "I have more than fulfilled my responsibilities to thispany," Aaron said stiffly. "Our productivity and stock prices have risen more than thirty percent since I became the vice president. We''re in the process of expanding to three different countries. I don''t need a business marriage to make these sorts of contributions."

    Alistair looked like he wanted to protest but couldn''te up with a valid argument. His son had done more than he did for thepany in the past four years and he knew it. But he was a traditional man stuck in the mindset of a dying world.

    He had cared so much about carrying on his bloodline that he had destroyed an innocent woman (mostly innocent anyway, she had still gotten involved with a married man but that wasn''t worth dying over).

    He had also killed his own grandchild and abandoned one son while forcing another to be his mindless clone. It made Aaron sick. This man deserved everything that wasing for him.

    "If that''s all you have to say to me, I''ll see myself out," he said crisply, turning to go.

    His father knew his control was slipping. Aaron could feel the ice storm brewing from behind the door he just closed but there was nothing Alistair could do about it.

    Back in his office, he leaned back in his desk chair in exhaustion. He hated dealing with his father. Thankfully that wouldn''t be a problem much longer.

    Aaron''s desk phone rang again. "Aaron Hale," he said dully.

    "Dear me, baby brother, you sound awful," Gray purred in his silky voice.

    "How did you get my office number?"

    He didn''t exactly answer the question. "You weren''t answering your cell phone and I wanted to chat."

    "About what? I have work to do and I assume you do too."

    "I''m actually on my morning coffee run. The line is quite long and I wanted to see how my favorite niece and nephew are doing."

    "They''re your only niece and nephew," Aaron pointed out. "And they''re doing fine. I sound awful because they kept me up half the night."

    "And my sister-inw?"

    "She''s tired too."

    "I heard that Lacy Knighton has been stalking your building. She''s been thrown out what, fourteen times now?" Gray asked, sounded as if the answer couldn''t possibly matter to him.

    This guy had ears everywhere. He was grateful that Gray wasn''t his enemy in this life. He would be a formidable opponent.

    "Something like that. Your sources are urate as ever. Did you call just to talk about this?"

    "I was merely curious if you had a n to get rid of her yet. I notice you still haven''t acted regarding those shares. And after all I did to help you too. Tsk tsk."

    Aaron''s voice was hard when he replied. "It''s still a work in progress. She hasn''t exactly done anything illegal recently that I can prove."

    "Unfortunately, I''m afraid that''s true. She''s a ticking time bomb. Wouldn''t it be convenient for you if she just happened to disappear?" Gray mused.

    He snorted. "I wish."

    If he could get away with it, he would stick her in a box and ship her to Siberia. But he couldn''t do that morally. Keeley would hate it.

    "Give your wife my best. We should get together again soon."

    The phone clicked in his ear and he set it back in its dock. He really didn''t understand his half-brother. He had bothered to track down Aaron''s office number for a conversation thatsted less than five minutes.

    ===

    Gray knew what he had to do. Aaron sounded stressed. ording to him, Keeley was stressed too. And those tiny wrinkly babies he had only met once were in danger.

    They were the only family he had left. He couldn''t let Lacy Knighton hurt them. She had to die. The question was how. He didn''t exactly have ties to the underworld despite being a hacker.

    There had to be some way he could hire someone to take her out on his brother''s behalf. He had gone soft. There was no way he would be able to do it himself but Gray couldn''t fault him for that.

    He was happy that Aaron had someone who loved him and was able to live in the light. Gray would kill the annoying woman himself if he didn''t know that his brother would never let a murderer near his children, even a good intentioned one. He had to make it look like an ident.

    People died in car idents all the time but he didn''t want there to be any other casualties. It couldn''t exactly be on an empty back street either because that would be too suspicious.

    There had to be a way to orchestrate a fatal ident in the middle of town that didn''t affect anybody else. He had heard stories about how two cars could get into a wreck and one driver would hardly have a scratch while the other was dead.

    Lacy didn''t even necessarily have to die, per se. Bing a vegetable or a paraplegic unable to move about on her own would work just as well. As long as she couldn''te after Aaron''s family anymore.

    It might take a while to look into his options. He hoped she didn''t manage to figure out the truth in the meantime. Aaron was paranoid; there was a good chance he wouldn''t even let his wife leave the house until this was all settled.

    But it needed to be done. Gray might have done it even if he didn''t care about his brother simply because the woman annoyed him. She called him shortly after he got off the phone with Aaron, squealing about how her time hade because he had broken up with his fianc¨¦e.

    Even if Aaron wasn''t secretly married to the love of his life there was no way he would ever ept Lacy. She seriously didn''t know how to take a hint.

    Was being tossed out of his building by security fourteen times really not enough to tell her he didn''t want her within a mile of him? What kind of fantasnd was she living in?

    "Your days are numbered, Lacy Knighton," he said aloud with a wicked grin after hanging up the phone.

 Chapter 294: That Liar!

    <h4>Chapter 294: That Liar!</h4>

    Lacy was over the moon when her father told her that Aaron had broken things off with his Bostonian fianc¨¦e. The part about him telling his father he didn''t want a business marriage didn''t even register in her mind.

    She was too busy daydreaming about what it would be like being Mrs. Hale. The parties, the jewelry, the status of being the top socialite married to the top businessman in high society. Everything she had been dreaming of since she was thirteen years old was about toe to fruition.

    Around the time she knew Aaron would be getting home, she staked out the parking garage in his building. The doorman couldn''t find her down there to toss her out! He drove a ck Mercedes with a custom license te; he would be easy to find.

    After about twenty minutes of waiting around she got her chance. He had just pulled into a parking space and was carrying a bouquet of baby pink roses.

    A small frown appeared on her face. Who were those for? He had just broken up with somebody. He wasn''t the type of person to buy flowers for himself.

    Rather than confront him, she decided to follow him and see if she could discover the identity of the woman the flowers were for. He headed to the lobby, where she hid behind a pir out of the doorman''s line of sight.

    The lobby was rtively empty so she was able to make out what he was saying to the doorman at the concierge desk. "Has my wife''s package arrived yet?"

    "Yes, Mr. Hale. I have it right here."

    Wife?! What wife?! He had barely gotten unengaged!

    Lacy leaned forward, straining to read the name on the package''s shippingbel. It was too far away. She pulled out her phone and snapped a photo, nning to erge itter.

    Aaron had already made it to the elevator so she decided to leave on her own before suffering the indignity of being thrown out yet again. She had some investigating to do.

    On the ride home she zoomed in on the photo. It was blurry, but if she squinted she could made out a capital K and what looked like a few lowercase E''s. There was only one person she knew of connected to Aaron who had those letters in her name.

    Keeley Hall. But Keeley Hall had been pregnant with someone else''s baby! At least¡­ording to Graydon Meyer. Who was oddly interested in Aaron.

    "That liar!" she shrieked, startling the driver.

    There was no boyfriend! She had been with Aaron all the time! So who on earth was Bethany Carlisle? An actress? But she definitely existed¡­Lacy had seen her with her own two eyes. Alistair had heard her talking on the phone. Or someone.

    Keeley Hall? Had it really been her the entire time? Married! She couldn''t believe it. There was no way someone as high profile as Aaron Hale could have gotten married without anyone finding out about it.

    She thought about what Graydon had said. Aaron was trying to leave the circle. He had said personally that he was a simple man with simple needs. Using a fake fianc¨¦e as a smokescreen for a hidden wife suddenly didn''t seem so farfetched.

    They were scheming against her together! How dare he pretend to help her when he had no intention of getting her together with Aaron!

    Lacy had to get rid of her. But there was still a child to contend with. It was most likely born by now; the woman had been the size of a whale thest she saw her. If it was a boy, Lacy''s position would be in jeopardy. Aaron would already have his heir.

    Alistair clearly didn''t know about any of this since all of her misinformation hade from him. Would he ept an outsider as his daughter-inw just because she had given birth to a son?

    She bit her lip, unsure. None of the Hales were predictable anymore. She really couldn''t guess how Alistair would respond. He absolutely could not find out about this.

    She wasn''t sure who to be more furious at. Aaron, Keeley, or Graydon. All of them had deceived her. They were taking her for a fool. Did they really think they would be able to hide it from her forever?

    Nobody got in the way of what Lacy Knighton wanted. Nobody!

    It was unfortunate that Max had been giving her the cold shoulder these days whenever she asked for a favor regarding Aaron. She could really use his private security forces right now. How was she supposed to kidnap Keeley Hall and her child without them when she couldn''t even get into the building?

    She hadn''te out once in the months she had been staking the ce out. If she hadn''t happened to see Aaron exactly when she did, Lacy would still be in the dark.

    It was unbelievable that they had actually been together all this time. It had to have been at least since Cameron Singleton''s wedding, if not before. Hadn''t that wench learned her lesson in high school?

    Aaron couldn''t be reasoned with; she had learned that a long time ago. He was somehow stuck under Keeley Hall''s spell. He wouldn''t fulfil his responsibility as a member of high society until that woman was gone.

    She had to get rid of her in a way that couldn''t be traced. But that would require leaving the safety of the penthouse with that crazy doorman as a guard dog. Lacy needed to find a way to lure her out.

    What would make a woman like Keeley Hall go outside? A family emergency? As far as she knew, she only had a father left. If something happened to him she would definitely go running to him but that didn''t necessarily mean she would bring the baby.

    That baby had to go too, if it was a boy. If it was a girl Alistair Hale probably wouldn''t care about it. It was the unfortunate way that high society worked. Lacy was one of the rare exceptions whose father doted on her.

    She had to think. Only after that woman was gone would Aaron do what his father said and marry her¡­

 Chapter 295: A Normal Happy Family

    <h4>Chapter 295: A Normal Happy Family</h4>

    Keeley beamed at her husband when he walked through the door with a bouquet of flowers. "What are those for?"

    "Do I need a reason to spoil you?" he asked as he put them in a vase.

    Obviously he didn''t because he did this sort of thing all the time. Aaron had be surprisingly sweet.

    He held her tightly for a moment before turning his attention to the babies. They were lying side by side on a colorful mat with soft, dangling toys hanging from a bar above it and staring at the pretty things, enraptured.

    "They seem to like this thing."

    "Oh yeah, they''ve been staring at it for the past forty minutes. It was a good purchase."

    "Speaking of purchases, your package is here."

    He handed it to her and she ripped it open eagerly. Inside were a bunch of books and CDs she bought online for the babies. The parenting books she read talked about how reading to your children and listening to music helps stimte their little brains.

    Talking to them also supposedly helped withnguage acquisition so she spent a good chunk of the day talking to them as if they could actually understand what she was saying. Aaron had already teased her about the baby voice she used on them more than once.

    She couldn''t help it! Babies and animals brought it out naturally.

    Dinah and Molly had been a bit wary of the new members of the family. Keeley was pretty sure they didn''t like all of the crying. But when the babies were quiet, the cats were rarely found too far away. They seemed curious about these tiny humans and all of the baby toys.

    Violet began to cry. She probably needed a diaper change. Keeley was about to handle it when Aaron swooped in before she even could.

    "I''ve got it. I haven''t seen them all day." He kissed their daughter''s face before looking back up at her. "Why don''t you go get dinner started? I''ll watch them for a while."

    That was a simple enough thing to do. She gave the flowers a passing sniff, unable to resist, and smiled as she headed into the kitchen to make a quick and easy chicken casserole.

    She could hear Aaron quietly talking to them in the other room. His baby voice wasn''t nearly as bad as hers but he still definitely had one. What a hypocrite.

    Keeley shook her head indulgently. These days she wasn''t sure who was the favorite in this house anymore, her or the twins. Aaron had turned out to be a more doting father than she would have expected considering the way his own father had treated him.

    Maybe that was why. He could be ovepensating by being the kind of father he wished he had. The thought made her a bit sad.

    Once the casserole was in the oven and she had set a timer, she walked over and saw that he was sitting next to both of the babies on the ground and tickling them with a silly grin on his face. Kaleb and Violet brought out the best of him.

    No, that wasn''t entirely true. So did she. Now that Aaron knew how to love, he loved deeply.

    Keeley knelt down and hugged him from behind, nting a kiss on his neck. "It''s nice seeing you be such a good dad."

    He stopped tickling Kaleb to reach up and smooth her hair. "I''m d you think so. I have no idea what I''m doing."

    The baby made an indignant noise, wanting the tickling to continue. Keeleyughed. "Your son is summoning you."

    "Our son," Aaron corrected before resuming what he was doing before she came over.

    She rolled her eyes. He had way too much fun saying things like that. Sometimes it still amazed her how happy Aaron was merely by having her nearby. It was hard to believe she had that much of an effect on anybody, let alone someone generally known for being a robot.

    Looking at him now, no one could use him of being emotionless. He was like any other family man delighting in his wife and children. It was adorable.

    Her arms around him tightened and she hummed contentedly. In moments like this it was easy to forget all of the things working against them outside of their own little bubble. Right now they were just a normal happy family.

    Keeley''s attraction toward her husband grew as she watched him y with their babies. She was tempted to pull him to the ground and kiss him senseless.

    And why couldn''t she? They were married; no one was stopping her. He would probably be thrilled.

    "Hey Aaron," she called softly.

    "Mm?"

    She knocked him to the ground, making sure that it was far enough away that they wouldn''t identally hit Kaleb or Violet, and pounced on him with enthusiasm. He momentarily froze before responding even more passionately than she expected.

    It had been a while since Keeley had kissed him like this. Thest time was probably the night the twins were conceived. His surprise made sense.

    Aaron tangled his hands in her hair as they went and his heartbeat was so loud that she could hear it mingling with her own. She hadn''t felt like this in a long, long time. She couldn''t even remember thest time she had enjoyed kissing him this much.

    The casserole timer went off and she reluctantly pulled away but he wasn''t done yet. Aaron continued kissing her neck as she protested. "Dinner is going to burn!"

    "So?"

    "Aaron," she whined. "I''m hungry."

    "So am I but not for food."

    Keeley let out a heavy sigh. Well, he had been experiencing a dry spell. She should have known this would happen eventually. They were husband and wife; Aaron would expect a real marriage.

    "Can we wait until the babies have gone to bed? Please?"

    He stared at her, unblinking. "¡­you''ll allow it? For real?"

    She nodded, not meeting his eyes as her face turned bright red. She had brought this upon herself by making out with him. "Can you let me up now?"

    Aaron released her immediately and she hurried into the kitchen to take the casserole out. She was lucky it hadn''t burned.

 Chapter 296: Cabin Fever

    <h4>Chapter 296: Cabin Fever</h4>

    Time passed. The babies turned three months old and could finally fit into newborn clothes. Keeley''s days consisted of reading to them, bathing them, feeding them, and changing countless diapers.

    Aaron still hadn''t deposed his father because he didn''t know what to do about Lacy Knighton. He had Aiden drop all of his other work solely to look into every facet of her life trying to find some dirt he could use with no luck.

    Summer had arrived and Keeley''s cabin fever was so real. Aside from sneaking the babies out for doctor''s appointments while Aaron was at work, she didn''t leave the house.

    The groceries were delivered or purchased at the convenience store downstairs. To keep from going insane, she spent a lot of time on the terraces. She would bring the babies out in their bouncers and stick them under the shade of umbres as she worked on nting a rooftop garden.

    The project took her about three weeks toplete but the uppermost terrace now looked somewhat like a forest. She specifically looked up nts that grew well in containers and ended up with a variety of trees, flowers, and shrubs.

    It was nice having something to do but Keeley still wished she could leave the house freely. She wanted to take the babies for walks. She had been exercising in the gym downstairs when she had the time and energy for it but it wasn''t the same as enjoying the fresh air.

    Her father and the Singletons visited fairly frequently but it wasn''t the same as being able to go to them. Aaron didn''t want her to go out with Lacy canvassing the ce.

    She finally convinced him on a particrly sunny Saturday afternoon after giving him her best puppy dog eyes. He agreed on the condition that they go all the way out to Brooklyn, suggesting that they meet her father there.

    Keeley loved hearing birds chirping and soaking up the rays of sunlight from the ground rather than from a rooftop. Pushing the twins around in the double stroller they had bought but never actually used was quite rxing.

    She had finally lost her baby weight and could wear her old clothes again too so she took advantage of the fact that she could wear shorts and a tie-dye tank top tobat the heat.

    "This is so nice," she sighed happily.

    "You should really get out more," her dad said, unaware of his daughter''s current predicament. He thought she preferred having him visit her because it was hard packing the babies up into the car to bring to him.

    "Yeah, I should," she said with a pointed look at her husband, who pretended he couldn''t hear.

    Keeley knew he was only being so overprotective because he had lost her once before but it was getting ridiculous. She couldn''t stay in their apartment forever.

    "We could always go somewhere on vacation," Aaron suggested. "The twins are technically old enough to fly."

    She hadn''t even thought of that. It was an exciting thought; they hadn''t been on vacation together since honeymooning in their first life.

    "Can we really?"

    "My father might have a heart attack if I ask for vacation days but I do have them. Where would you want to go that''s baby friendly?"

    Baby friendly¡­she had no idea. She would have to look up ideas. It couldn''t be too far away, either. They wouldn''t be happy being in a car or ne for more than a couple of hours.

    "I''ll figure something out," she said with a shrug, suddenly energized. A vacation sounded wonderful about now.

    Violet and Kaleb babbled happily as they took in the sights of the park. They did look a lot alike but at least people didn''t mistake them as identical anymore like when they were first born.

    Violet''s hair had grown in dark and thick while her brother''s was wispy and so blonde it was practically see through. They both still had the blue eyes that most Caucasian babies were born with so Keeley couldn''t tell whose eye color they would end up with.

    She kind of hoped at least one of them got Aaron''s dark blue irises. Her brown eyes were so boring. Her brother''s eyes were blue and she had always been a bit jealous of it when he was alive.

    "Would you like toe with us Robert?" Aaron asked.

    Her father seemed surprised at being included. "Are you sure? I wouldn''t want to intrude on your family vacation."

    "You''re a part of our family too," he said with a shrug. "It would be nice having you along."

    Keeley''s heart was fit to burst when she saw her dad''s genuine delight. She wanted to kiss Aaron right there but there were too many witnesses.

    "I would love toe. When do you n on going?"

    "How about a few weeks from now? It will allow us both to get time off from work. We can go over a weekend so we''ll only be missing a few days."

    An idea suddenly hit her. "Why don''t we go to Niagara Falls? If we go by ne it should take less than two hours. It''s crazy that I''ve never been since it''s still in New York. We could push the babies around in their stroller."

    She had already gotten her passportst year thinking she would be going to Europe in January, which didn''t happen because of her unstable pregnancy. Babies didn''t need a passport to get into Canada, just their birth certificates to make it back into the United States. They would be able to visit both sides of Niagara Falls with no problems.

    "Dad, do you have a passport?" Keeley asked suddenly.

    "No, I''ve never needed one."

    "I can pay to get it expedited," Aaron reassured him. "If you get a picture done tomorrow you can go in on Monday and it will be done in time."

    They continued chatting as they circled around the park, unaware that someone was watching them with an ugly look on his face.

 Chapter 297: Clearing the Air

    <h4>Chapter 297: Clearing the Air</h4>

    Ryan Bradley couldn''t believe what he was seeing. Keeley, her father, and that cheating ex-boyfriend of hers were walking around the park pushing a double stroller without a care in the world.

    Twins? She had been pregnant with twins? The rings on their fingers told him that she had actually married the guy like Valentina said she would. Unbelievable.

    He had thought she was smarter than this. No one sane would go back to somebody who had already hurt them once. What had happened to the strong, fiercely independent career woman he knew?

    She had let herself get knocked up by someone she had sworn to avoid and now she was shackled to him forever. Such a shame. Another bright, brilliant, beautiful girl wasted her potential on a jerk.

    Ryan wanted to talk to her and try to clear the air since things had ended badly thest time they talked but he didn''t want to approach while her husband was there. The dude was a human blizzard and he valued his life.

    Luckily for him, she left the little group to go to the bathrooms on the other side of the park. He made his way over there and waited for her toe out.

    Surprise and displeasure mingled on her face when she saw him. What a warm wee from an old friend.

    "What are you doing here?"

    "Parks in Brooklyn are less crowded than the ones in Manhattan. I wanted to enjoy the weather like anyone else," he exined. "Listen¡­can we talk for a minute? I feel bad about how things wentst time."

    Keeley crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. She looked exactly like he remembered her; had she really only given birth a few months ago?

    "What, when you used me of being a sugar baby and said my husband had a bunch of other women on the side? Or when you said you were surprised he let me keep the child at all?"

    He winced. His words had been harsh that day. He was so confused and hurt by the news that he hadn''t been thinking straight.

    "I didn''t really mean all that."

    "Oh? Then what did you mean?" she asked frostily.

    Someone had taken a page out of her husband''s book. She normally wasn''t like this even when she was angry. Aaron Hale had been a bad influence on her.

    Ryan pushed that thought aside and tried to remain civil even though he hated the idea that the man had changed her.

    "I was worried you were making a mistake. He had hurt you before and his family will never ept you. And don''t lie and say they have; there would have been some sort of announcement if they did."

    She snorted. "Some way to show your worry. I really don''t have time for this; my family is waiting for me."

    Keeley turned to go and he grabbed her arm. He hadn''t finished saying what he wanted to say yet. All he wanted was some closure. They had been friends for a long time and he had cared about her deeply.

    "I''m done talking. Let me go," she said in a hard voice. She tried to shake him off but his grip grew tighter.

    "Will you just listen to me? I''m trying to apologize here!"

    "Ryan, you''re hurting me!"

    "Sorry!" he let go immediately and she rubbed her wrist, giving him a contemptuous look.

    "There really is nothing left to say. We were friends and now we''re not. I have a family now and even if you hadn''t been incredibly rude to me I still wouldn''t befortable being friends with someone who was interested in me since I''m married. It wouldn''t be right."

    "Do you love him?" Ryan blurted, unable to resist asking.

    All this time he had wondered what it was about that guy that made her go back to him after he had thrown her away. The money? His good looks? He hadn''t thought she was that shallow.

    "I don''t see how that''s any of your business," Keeley said with narrowed eyes.

    What a strange answer. Wouldn''t the easy thing to do have been to say yes? Unless she wasn''t actually in love with her husband¡­was she really in it for the money after all?

    "What does that guy have that I don''t? Why did you choose him?"

    She raised her eyebrow. "What does he have that you don''t? I''ll tell you. Me."

    She turned to go once again and smacked right into someone''s chest. She looked up, ready to apologize, before smiling brightly at him with her heart in her eyes. "Aaron! I was right about toe back."

    A dull pain settled in Ryan''s chest. She had never once smiled at him like that even though she was a pretty smiley person.

    Keeley''s husband slung an arm around her shoulders and leaned toward Ryan. His posture was unmistakably threatening despite his casual air. He meant business.

    "Who are you again? You look vaguely familiar."

    "I''m Keeley''s frie¡ª" he noticed her furious expression and changed his statement mid-word. "Former ssmate, Ryan. We''ve met."

    "Oh right, you were at Cameron''s wedding," Aaron said boredly, as if it couldn''t possibly matter.

    His nonchnce made Ryan angry. He knew this guy actually remembered him. You don''t just go and forget someone who tried to make a move on your wife right in front of you before.

    "We were just catching up," he said evenly. He refused to let this smug guy know he was getting a rise out of him.

    Keeley scoffed. "Who was catching up? You gave me a non-apology for calling me a sugar baby thest time we met."

    He didn''t think she would tell the truth. Wasn''t she embarrassed at all? Ryan realized he underestimated their rtionship when the warm summer day suddenly felt like the middle of winter.

    "He what," Aaron said in a deadly tone.

    She shrugged. "He was pretty rude to me the day I met Gray. That wasn''t even the worst thing he said. I don''t know what I would have done if Gray hadn''t showed up and helped me out."

    The temperature dropped another fifteen degrees and Ryan shuddered. This man was terrifying. How exactly had she been able to smile so brightly at him a few minutes ago? What kind of crazy rtionship did they have?

    Keeley''s husband pulled her closer as he stared straight into Ryan''s soul with those cold, dark eyes.

    "Listen here Bradley, no one and I mean NO ONE insults my wife. You think she was my sugar baby? You''re an even bigger idiot than I thought. She is the light of my life and the mother of my beautiful children. My one and only. You can insult me all you want but leave her out of it."

    He stood there petrified, barely able to nod his understanding as the temperature suddenly went back to normal. Aaron smiled gently at his wife, looking like apletely different person than the ice devil a moment ago.

    "Your dad was talking about going to get ice cream. Do you want to go?"

    She acted like nothing untoward had happened at all. "Ooh, yes! There''s a great ce not far from here with excellent rocky road¡­"

    Keeley continued chatting lightheartedly with him as they walked away. His arm was still around her shoulders and hers was around his waist. He looked like any other man in love, gazing at her with an impossibly soft expression.

    Ryan couldn''t believe his eyes. That nutcase was in love with her after all.

 Chapter 298: A Very Forgiving Person

    <h4>Chapter 298: A Very Forgiving Person</h4>

    Alistair tried to threaten his son into marrying advantageously (specifically to Lacy Knighton) by not giving him the time off he requested. Aaron reminded him that he hadn''t taken any vacations sinceing to work at thepany and that he could file a report with HR if necessary.

    Eventually his father let him go but he wasn''t happy about it. Imagining how much more upset he was going to get when he found out about Kaleb and lost his throne was even better. Aaron walked out of the office feeling oddly light.

    Down in the parking garage he found someone leaned up against his car. It wasn''t who he expected.

    "Gray, what brings you here? I would have thought you would want nothing to do with this ce."

    "I don''t but you''re a difficult person to get a hold of. I wanted to know when you''re nning on going out of town."

    He frowned. "How did you¡ªyou know what, never mind. I''ve epted the fact that you''re omniscient." His brother smiled as if he had beenplimented and waited for the answer he was looking for.

    "We''re leaving in two and a half weeks but we won''t be gone long. Only four or five days. Why?"

    "I wanted to see my adorable niece and nephew before you left," Gray said smoothly. "They have hair now, do they not?"

    "Violet does. Kaleb, not as much. I don''t know if that''s the best idea right now. Keeley doesn''t like bringing the babies out if she can help it."

    Actually that was him but Gray didn''t need to know that. He already thought Aaron was soft and he didn''t want to appear any weaker in front of this steely man.

    "Then why don''t Ie to you?"

    He wanted that even less! Just because he wasn''t an enemy right now didn''t mean Aaron wanted him in his house. But if he refused it might make him angry. Thest thing he wanted was to end up on Gray''s bad side.

    Even if he went there once it wasn''t like he would be able toe over whenever he wanted. The doorman was there for a reason. He could always pretend they weren''t at home if he decided to randomly drop by in the future.

    There was a decent chance he already knew where Aaron lived anyway. He was a hacker, even if he wasn''t on Aiden''s level.

    Sighing internally, Aaron agreed. "I''ll have Keeley make marshmallow brownies when youe. They''re delicious."

    "How delightful! How does next Sunday work?"

    He was about to say that his father-inw always came over on Sundays before realizing that having Robert there might actually be helpful. He was excellent at diffusing situations. He had done it more than once back when Keeley hated him.

    "My father-inw will be over then too, is that alright?"

    "The more the merrier," Gray said simply. "I''m quite curious what kind of man raised a woman like your wife."

    That seemed slightly ominous for some reason but Aaron let it slide. Out of all the people Keeley worried about, Gray was the lowest on the list. Both of them believed he wouldn''t cause them harm unless provoked. He, like Aaron used to, wanted a family that epted him.

    Still, he worried a little how she would react when he told her that their one-time enemy would being over for dinner. Turned out there was nothing to worry about. She shrugged it off, epting that Gray wanted to be a part of their lives because he was lonely.

    "You''re taking this awfully well," Aaron said suspiciously.

    "I thought he seemed familiar when I first met him. Once I found out he was your brother I realized it was because he reminded me a little bit of you. I mean, you do look slightly alike but the biggest simrity is that you both tend to hide your loneliness behind a fa?ade. For you it was coldness. For him, it''s that thickyer of charm."

    She continued as she began to stir the pasta boiling on the stove. "I think he''s a dangerous person but you''re the only one who never has to worry about that side of him. I get the feeling he would do anything for you. And by extension, the children and me."

    He had to admit she made a fair point. The way Gray kept showing up out of the blue¡­it was reminiscent of the way Aaron used to be back when he was desperate to be a part of Keeley''s life.

    He did it because she was the only person to ever provide him with warmth. It seemed like his brother followed him around for a simr reason. He wanted acknowledgement from the only person on earth he thought of as family.

    Aaron still didn''t like the guy. Even if he hadn''t worked together with Lacy Knighton to n his downfall in his past life, Gray was far too smarmy for his tastes. Nothing about him seemed sincere.

    Having been around fake people for the majority of both of his lives, he knew how to spot sincerity better than most. Who knew what darkness was hiding underneath that smooth, pleasant surface.

    He sighed. "I think you''re right. He doesn''t pose a present threat to us. But do you really think he likes me that much?"

    Keeley nodded. "Oh yeah, remember what I told you before? Even before he met you he talked about you fondly. If there''s anybody in this world that man likes, it''s you. So¡­try to be nice to him."

    "You do realize he helped kill you, right?"

    "Yeah but he hasn''t done anything to me in this life. He had a change of heart. Just like another certain someone I know."

    Aaron didn''t appreciate theparison. He didn''t want to be put in the same category as Graydon Meyer/Michael Gray. He had never been involved in a murder plot.

    "¡­you''re a very forgiving person, you know that?"

    He shook his head in disbelief before smiling. He had benefitted personally from her forgiving nature. If their situations were reversed¡­if Keeley had done half of the things that he had done to her¡­he wasn''t sure he could do it. He was too vengeful.

 Chapter 299: Youre Hopeless

    <h4>Chapter 299: You''re Hopeless</h4>

    As always, Aaron was insanely grateful that his wife was the best and kindest person he had ever met. Not just anyone would have a heart big enough to give him a second chance. Even after all of the stupid, selfish things he did, she still cared about him and wanted him to be happy.

    It wasn''t romantic love but it was more than he deserved. He sidled up to her and snaked his arm around her waist before pulling her close for a long kiss.

    Keeley poked him. "Don''t distract me while I''m supposed to be watching the pasta."

    "What about after?"

    "Go y with the babies, Aaron."

    Technically it wasn''t a no. He did as she said, happy to see their precious little faces after a long day.

    They had recently learned how to smile too. When he smiled at them, they did it back. Those toothless grins were nearly as beautiful a sight as their mother''s.

    Kaleb had his tiny hand wrapped around Aaron''s pinky finger while Violet kicked her legs and reached toward him. He held his other hand out to her and she ended up doing the same thing as her brother.

    "Hey Keeley, I''m ying with the babies. About that kiss?" he dared to ask.

    "You''re hopeless," she called back from the kitchen,ughter evident in her tone.

    That still wasn''t a no. He was confident he would get his kiss at some point tonight. Good. He could never get enough of her.

    Keeley was the very air he breathed. Now that he had her again, he didn''t know how he ever managed to make it so long without her.

    Aaron put their son in his bouncer and carried Violet over to tease her mother. Kaleb immediately began to wail. He didn''t want to be left alone.

    He handed the baby in his arms off to his wife, who was making the pasta sauce, and she wasn''t pleased. "What are you doing?"

    "We wanted to be closer to you," he said simply as he came back with Kaleb, who smiled because he had gotten what he wanted.

    She pulled a dramatic face. "It''s so difficult being everyone''s favorite."

    He moved closer to kiss her cheek. "It just means you''re extra loved."

    "Oh, I''m definitely feeling the love. Look, even the cats are rubbing up against my ankles now." Sure enough, they were. They had seen themotion in the kitchen and wanted in on it.

    "Can you bring the bouncers in here though? I really can''t finish dinner like this," Keeley said with a frown as she tried to support her daughter''s head and stir at the same time.

    Aaron did as he was told and everybody ended up happy. Best of all, once the pasta sauce was done and had to sit for a few minutes to thicken he got his kiss.

    ===

    "I would have pictured you as more of a minimalist," Gray remarked once he set foot into the Hales'' penthouse on Sunday.

    "You should have seen this ce before I moved in," Keeley said with augh. "It was practically empty. Aaron wanted me to help him redecorate."

    Robert, who was holding little Kaleb nearby, smiled. "Ah yes, they dragged me along furniture shopping. They were so cute."

    "Daaad," sheined. "Don''t embarrass me."

    "It''s my job! Wait and see Aaron, you''ll have a lot of fun embarrassing your kids someday too."

    Aaron simply shrugged and continued bouncing Violet up and down in his arms. It urred to him as he was standing there that he should probably introduce Robert and Gray properly.

    It was going to be a bit awkward but his father-inw knew the kind of people his parents were. He shouldn''t be too shocked.

    "Should be fun. By the way Robert, this is my half-brother, Gray. We met about six months ago."

    If he was surprised, he didn''t show it on his face. "Nice to meet you! I''d offer to shake your hand but I''m a little upied at the moment."

    "The pleasure is all mine Mr. Hall."

    "No need for formalities, son. We''re all family here."

    Gray''s smile seemed a lot more genuine than usual after that. As expected, Keeley was right on the mark. He really did want to feel like part of a family.

    Aaron ushered everyone upstairs where dinner was waiting in the Crock Pot. His wife had made a roast with carrots and potatoes. It finished cooking a while ago and was left on the ''warm'' setting.

    He and Robert reluctantly set the babies back down into their bouncers¡ªthey knew a crying fit or two would being on because those two demanded constant attention when they were awake¡ªand headed into the kitchen. Keeley began serving up the food and setting the tes down at the table.

    Everyone thanked her before they dug in. Aaron had eaten a lot of gourmet meals in his lives but somehow nothing everpared to the things his wife made for him. There was something special about it.

    "This is delicious, thank you Keeley," Gray said in his most charming voice.

    "Wait until you try the brownies," Aaron said, causing her to roll her eyes. She knew about his brownie obsession.

    "That takes me back," Robert said nostalgically. "I still remember the time Keeley made brownies for you at ten o''clock at night because you brought her scrapbooking supplies."

    "Dad!"

    He hadn''t realized she made them sote. She must have agonized over whether or not to do it at all in order for that to happen. He could easily imagine her younger self trudging to the kitchen with a resigned sigh because she didn''t want to owe him.

    Those were dark days. How horrible would it have been for him if she stayed that angry forever?

    Her eyes darted toward him, clearly apologetic and he smiled and shook his head. Keeley somehow guessed what he was thinking about. They had both been oddly in sync like thistely. It must be because they were spending so much time together.

    "How sweet," Gray said. "No wonder you liked her so much back then."

    Aaron figured it would be best to change the subject before Robert said something about how she didn''t used to like him because that would contradict what he told his brother about how they started dating. Telling people different things that were both true tended to be confusing.

    Rebirth in general was confusing but he had stopped caring about the hows and whys as soon as Keeley agreed to marry him again. None of that mattered anymore. He had what he wanted so it wasn''t worth worrying about.

    "How have the Yankees been doing this season, Robert?" he asked suddenly, sparking a lengthy discussion about sports. What a relief!

 Chapter 300: Boston

    <h4>Chapter 300: Boston</h4>

    Keeley didn''t know what Aaron had been so worried about with this dinner. Gray hadn''t done anything weird. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself if the unusually genuine smile on his face was any indication.

    She had been right¡ªhe really did like his younger brother. Well, that was good news for them. Having a dangerous person on your side was better than having them work against you.

    Everyone continued sitting around talking in the living room as she and Aaron dealt with feeding the fussy babies. Gray seemed more animated than she had ever seen him before as he and Aaron swapped stories about going to college in Boston since MIT and Harvard weren''t that far apart.

    Keeley couldn''t participate in the conversation because as far as her father knew she had never so much as visited Boston, let alone lived there. But she noticed that most of the things Aaron mentioned were ones they did together. He just happened to keep her name out of it for Robert''s sake.

    She couldn''t help but wonder what Aaron did during college in this life, aside from recruit Cameron and work on starting his takeover n. Did he ever do anything fun without her there? Had he ever revisited the ces they spent time together?

    Knowing how much of a sentimental sap he was, he probably had. A weight settled on her heart. He must have been so lonely during those years. Being constantly reminded of her everywhere he went had to have been hard.

    She reached over and mussed his hair to let him know she was thinking about him. He shed her a sweet smile and continued his conversation.

    "My roommate and I lived on nothing but fluffernutters for a week because someone gave us a huge jar of marshmallow fluff as a white elephant gift one year around Christmas time. I ended up getting a cavity," Gray said with a tragic expression.

    "I''ve had one of those before. Not quite my cup of tea," Aaron admitted. "But my friend insisted I try it because her roommate swore by it."

    Keeley rolled her eyes at the jab. She remembered that because it was one of the rare asions back then where he actually made a face at something. Usually his expression waspletely nk.

    "Have you ever had a fluffernutter, Keeley?"

    "Oh yeah, I ate them all the time in college. One of my roommates grew up in Boston and introduced me."

    "Which one was that?" Robert asked in confusion. Crap. She forgot that he knew most of the people she had lived with.

    "Someone from my sophomore year. She didn''t live with Valentina and me for long," she lied.

    "Ah, I can''t keep track of everybody. I mostly remember Valentina because you kept inviting her over on holidays." Phew! She was safe.

    She nced at the clock. It was gettingte¡ªthe babies needed to go to bed soon and they still needed their baths.

    "I may have to give you guys brownies for the road. It''s almost the babies'' bedtime."

    "I''m so d I don''t have to deal with bedtime anymore," her father chuckled. "You and Kaleb would have stayed up ying all night long if we had let you."

    She stuck her tongue out at him in response. Serving up the brownies and putting a few on two paper tes only took a minute. She handed them off and hugged her dad tightly before wishing the guests a good night.

    Keeley flopped down on the couch tiredly right after. Watching what she was saying when she really wanted to contribute to the conversation had been draining.

    "There were some close calls tonight," shemented.

    "Yes but we handled them. I think tonight went pretty well," Aaron said as he sat down next to her and stroked her hair.

    Kaleb cooed at her from his bouncer and she sighed. Baths were time consuming and she wanted the babies to be asleep already so she could go to sleep too.

    "Do they really need a bath tonight?"

    "They didn''t have one yesterday or the day before so I''m going to say yes. Come on, I''ll take Kaleb if you''ll take Violet. We''ll get it done fast so we can go to bed early."

    "You read my mind," she said fervently.

    They set up the baby bathtubs side by side in the master bathroom and got to work. Thankfully the process didn''t take much longer than fifteen minutes. Keeley was about ready to pass out, especially knowing she would be up in a few hours to feed them again.

    Once the baths were done, they put new diapers on and dressed them in their matching striped onesies before giving them each a quick bottle and putting them down in their basss. Keeley barely had enough energy to shower and brush her teeth but she did it in record time so she could lie down.

    At least the babies fell asleep fairly quickly these days. She didn''t want to imagine how much worse it would get when they were toddlers and wanted to stay up longer to y. She would cross that bridge when she got to it.

    "I''m so tired, Aaron," she mumbled into his shoulder once he climbed into bed next to her.

    He held her against his chest and kissed her hair. "I know, sweetheart. They won''t be waking us up all night long forever. It''ll probably only be a few more months before we''re back on a somewhat normal sleep schedule."

    It seemed like that day would nevere. Right now the babies usually woke them up no less than three times in the night. She had no idea how Aaron even managed to make it through work without falling asleep.

    Sometimes she managed to get away with a short nap while the twins were asleep during the day but he couldn''t do that at the office. Poor Aaron. And yet he was still so patient and loving with them when he came home at the end of a long day.

    Keeley wouldn''t have pegged him as a patient person yet here they were. She snuggled closer and fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.

 Chapter 301: I Couldnt Be Happier

    <h4>Chapter 301: I Couldn''t Be Happier</h4>

    The morning of their trip, Keeley and Aaron ran around like chickens with their heads cut off making sure they had everything they needed. Neither of them had ever traveled with babies before. They were already exhausted by the time they picked up Robert and made it to the airport.

    Violet and Kaleb didn''t appreciate being stuck in their car seats so long and started to cry while waiting in the baggage check line. Even their pacifiers didn''t help much. The car seats counted as checked baggage and got put on the conveyor belt with the suitcases. They were much happier being held.

    "You two are so spoiled," Keeley said with a sigh, watching them gurgle happily once they were free.

    "You were exactly the same as a baby," her father reminded her. "You never wanted to be put down either. They get it from you."

    She didn''t have a response for that so she chose to ignore it and busied herself pulling out rattles for the babies to y with once while they went through the security line. It was rather long today.

    Traveling with babies was harder than she would have anticipated. They got hungry right around the time their group was supposed to board the ne so they cried until everyone was seated and their parents could feed them.

    Luckily they fell asleep shortly after the ne hit the air so Keeley leaned back in thefortable first ss chair and put on a pair of headphones to listen to music. Her father did the same. Aaron pulled out his e-reader and expertly used it one-handed while holding onto Violet with the other.

    The flight was only an hour and fifteen minutes long, which wasn''t bad at all. The twins slept all the way until it was time to disembark and then they started fussing because they needed their diapers changed.

    Keeley and her father kept the babies entertained once they collected their luggage while Aaron picked up the rental car. After what seemed like hours (but was probably only thirty minutes) he finally came back and took them all to the nicest hotel in the city.

    The Hales'' room already had two little cribs set up when they arrived. The staff here was very thorough. Robert''s room was directly across the hall. They split up to unpack and make sure the babies were fed, agreeing to meet back up and walk around the city afterwards.

    Keeley flopped onto the bed, testing the mattress. It was just as high quality as the ones at home. No wonder Aaron insisted on staying in such a pricey ce.

    She found that she didn''t mind these sorts of things the way she used to. Flying first ss, staying in expensive hotels¡­it was really a matter offort rather than status. He was still willing to do cheap touristy things like visit Niagara Falls with her and that was the important thing.

    Aaron had told her over and over that it was okay she didn''t love him but it felt like their rtionship was unbnced even without factoring that in. In their first life she twisted herself into a pretzel to fit into his world but now he was doing the same thing for her.

    Although, she had to admit he seemed a lot morefortable with the change than she ever had. And he had said that he enjoyed being pulled around and experiencing her enthusiasm in the past. Still¡­

    He did pretty much everything Keeley wanted without asking for much in return. He said he only needed to be with her to be happy but was that the truth? Was he really happy?

    She nced over at him as he prepared Kaleb''s bottle. He certainly seemed content. For months now he had been a lot better about showing his emotions on his face. He looked like he was happy but she couldn''t be sure.

    "Aaron, are you really okay with all of this?"

    "All of what?" he asked without turning around.

    "My lifestyle. It''s so different from what you''re used to between my friends, my dad, and the types of things we do¡­" Keeley trailed off, feeling awkward.

    Aaron set the bottle down and crossed the room to take her hands in his. His dark blue eyes were warm. The sight of them did funny things to her heart.

    "I love the life we have now," he said emphatically. "I never truly enjoyed high society; I was just used to it because it was all I knew. Your friends are genuine, like you are. You already know I like your dad. And I''ve always loved experiencing things through your eyes. This is more than I could have possibly dreamed of so you don''t have to worry about me."

    She couldn''t doubt his sincerity but still decided to tease him a little. "Even though you don''t usually like the restaurants I pick?"

    Aaron shrugged. "That''s a small price to pay for everything else. Seriously though Keeley, I couldn''t be happier. So rx, okay? We''re on vacation."

    His words made her feel a tiny bit better. She pulled him down onto the bed next to her and rolled over to face him. They were so close together that their foreheads were touching.

    He gazed into her eyes without blinking, an amused smile on his face. He did always seem to enjoy when she did things like this. She usually wasn''t the one to make the first move.

    "Promise you''re not just saying things to make me feel better?" she asked in a small voice.

    Aaron held up his pinky and linked it through hers the way she always did back when they were dating in college. "Promise. I love you and everything thates along with that."

    He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before getting back up. Violet was upset that she hadn''t gotten her bottle yet.

    Keeley couldn''t help but smile as she watched her husband tenderly rock their daughter as he fed her. She never would have imagined Aaron being like this in their first life. When given a second chance, he broke the cycle of familial coldness he had been a part of after all.

 Chapter 302: Living In Fear

    <h4>Chapter 302: Living In Fear</h4>

    Niagara Falls was absolutely breathtaking. The second day of their trip, they took a ferry ride to see them up close. Everyone on board had to wear yellow rain ponchos because the mist was so strong.

    Robert, who had seen the waterfalls many years earlier, elected to stay inside the boat''s cabin with the babies (who were too little to be exposed to that much mist) and watch from there. He imed that the lovebirds needed some time alone.

    Keeley scoffed at the notion. Alone? There were dozens of people milling about the edges of the boat, trying to get a better look. She wouldn''t exactly call them lovebirds either.

    Aaron undeniably was but she didn''t quite know where she fell. She had a certain degree of fondness for him and it wasn''t like kissing him was a chore either but¡­

    The past couldn''t die as long as she had to continue living in fear of their enemies. When that happened¡ªif it could happen at all¡ªthings might be different. After all, even though her life right now was pretty good, it wasn''t what she would have chosen if she hadn''t felt backed into a corner.

    How could she be in love with someone she had been forced to be with by necessity? She couldn''t deny that she cared about him deeply and wanted him to be happy but that wasn''t the same as romantic love.

    Keeley, like her husband, was still burdened with a certain degree of guilt about how everything went down. Guilt and obligation wasn''t love. Wasn''t that how she had talked herself out of believing he loved her for the longest time?

    With how happy he had been with hertely she couldn''t deny that he loved her anymore but she knew his kindness wasrgely motivated by guilt. As was hers. Their rtionship was a tangled web but she had to make it work for the twins'' sake.

    Her children deserved to grow up with the kind of parents she had. And they would. She might not love Aaron now but they had the same kind of best friend rtionship they used to.

    Just looking at the way the two of them interacted, no one would ever guess how conflicted her feelings were. The more time passed, the more they seemed like any other couple.

    Thinking about this now wouldn''t do any good. She was here to focus on the waterfalls. It would be better listening to the tour guide than letting her mind wander.

    Aaron''s arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her closer to him. The action caused some of the water droplets clinging to his poncho to get onto her face.

    She pouted up at him. "You''re getting me wet."

    "You were standing too far away."

    Keeley rolled her eyes. He was so clingy! If anybody from high society heard how much of a wife-ve the formidable Aaron Hale was they wouldn''t believe it.

    Aiden and Cameron still didn''t seem to believe it now and then. She knew they still experienced Ice Devil mode quite frequently so it made sense. He was apletely different person around her and their family than he was around others.

    The boat turned so everyone on their side could get a better view of the falls. The power and majesty behind that much water nearly took Keeley''s breath away. Nature was so amazing!

    "Isn''t it beautiful?" she asked loudly so Aaron could hear her over the roar of the waterfall.

    He shrugged. "It''s just water. I''d much rather look at you."

    Oi vey, what was she going to do with this man?! She shook her head in disbelief even though there was a slight smile on her face. His cheesiness could be pretty cute.

    And he did stare at her with the same awed look on his face that the other tourists had gaping at the falls now and then. How ridiculous. She bumped him with her shoulder to hide her embarrassment.

    When the boat made it back to the dock, they took turns pushing the babies'' stroller as they walked around to get a better view of the falls from the top. The twins got fussy after a while so they took a break to feed them and change their diapers.

    After that, neither of them wanted to go back in the stroller so Keeley and Aaron were forced to break out the baby slings as they walked around. Their spoiled children were much happier that way.

    Robert insisted on taking lots of pictures. He wanted new ones to put up in his apartment and for his office at work. Keeley hadn''t been to his ce in a while but was willing to bet it was stered with pictures of his grandchildren considering how many he took every time he came over.

    She smiled at the thought. Having Kaleb and Violet around seemed to be making a huge difference in his life. He wasn''t as sad or lonely anymore having more family members to love.

    He directed her and Aaron to stand close together near the railing with the waterfall behind them to get a shot of their whole family. Aaron''s arm was around her shoulders while hers was around his waist because she was a lot shorter than him and both of the babies were strapped to their chests.

    Looking the phototer, they seemed like any other tourist family. Aaron was actually wearing khaki shorts for once (he was normally a long pants person only) with a light blue t-shirt and had a warm smile on his face.

    Keeley''s hair was in a ponytail and she wore a white shirt with pink shorts. Both hadfortable walking shoes on. Nothing in the photo indicated there was anything special about any of the people in it.

    This was exactly the kind of life she had always wanted. As promised, Aaron had done everything he possibly could to give her the normal life she craved. Everything would be perfect if Lacy Knighton was out of the way for good.

    Oh well. She shouldn''t get too greedy. It was better to be grateful for what she had than worry about what she didn''t. After all, she was on vacation.

 Chapter 303: The End of Their Partnership

    <h4>Chapter 303: The End of Their Partnership</h4>

    Lacy Knighton had been stewing in her fury at being tricked for weeks and she was finally ready to put her n into motion. It was a bit difficult since Max refused to help her. He was usually so dependable too.

    They had grown apart since Aaron''s engagement because she refused to give up. Who needed him, anyway! It wasn''t like she actually missed him or anything. Her feelings weren''t hurt at all.

    He woulde crawling back eventually¡ªhe always did¡ªand at that point she would make him sweat a bit by not epting his apology straight away. It was what he deserved for abandoning her at a crucial moment

    If Max had bothered to help her, she could have caused an ident at Robert Hall''s construction site easily. Since she was doing it herself it took a bit longer to orchestrate.

    The n was simple. A piece of equipment would go faulty, severely injuring the man. One of the men on his crew would call his emergency contact¡ªhis daughter¡ªas he was rushed to the hospital.

    Since it was the middle of the work day, Aaron wouldn''t be home to watch the baby. Keeley would rush out to see her father and bring the child with her. That was when she would strike.

    Lacy had dirt on a doctor who had a malpractice suit filed against him by her mother''s side of the family. He had given her ess to a tranquilizer. All she had to do was inject Keeley with it and she could do whatever she wanted.

    Right now she was considering dropping her off of one of the many bridges going in and out of the five boroughs of New York City. Hitting water from that height is like hitting concrete. Even if she survived the fall, she would be knocked out and wouldn''t be able to swim.

    All she had to do was find the most secluded bridge and wait until after it got dark. Corpses tended to float. Someone would find the body sooner orter.

    The tranquilizer was difficult to detect unless you were specifically looking for it on a toxicology screen. It would look like she jumped of her own ord. Aaron would buy it if the kid was dead. Mothers tended to lose their minds with grief after the death of a child.

    At that point, all of her obstacles would be gone and Aaron would be forced to listen to his father. He woulde back to his senses. Lacy was sure of it. That woman was the problem! Once she was gone, everything would go back to normal.

    She walked to the construction site disguised as one of the workers. It was a disgusting outfit but she had no choice. She didn''t want to leave a trail to follow by bribing someone else. At this point, the only person she could trust was herself.

    She looked around and didn''t see Robert Hall anywhere. He had receding blonde hair mixed with streaks of gray, the potbellymon in men his age, and wore sses with clear stic frames. He should be easy to spot.

    "Hey, where''s the boss? I need to ask him something," Lacy dared to ask one of the other construction workers passing by.

    "Didn''t you know he''s out of town until Monday? He left a memo in the trailer."

    Lacy hadn''t dared step foot in the trailer they were using as a break room on the construction site. It seemed filthy.

    "I must have missed it," she lied. "Guess I''ll talk to him then."

    Once the other worker was out of sight she kicked a spare wooden board leaning against a couple of cinderblocks and it snapped in half. No! This couldn''t be happening! She came all the way out to this cesspool of smelly workers for nothing?

    She wanted to break more than a board. Keeley Hall needed to die NOW. How dare this insignificant civil engineer postpone her ns?

    Lacy was feeling restless. Since her n to get that horrid woman out of the way was a bust, she should deal with the other half of the problem. Graydon Meyer. He had to pay for lying to her.

    For so many months he had pretended to be on her side in her quest to marry Aaron. He had approached her first with the offer only to stab her in the backter on. What had made him betray her?

    Were his intentions sincere in the beginning but he too was bewitched by Keeley Hall? There was something about that wretch that made people lose their minds.

    But Graydon Meyer wasn''t a nobody. He wouldn''t disappear as easily as she would. Lacy had already decided that the best way to deal with him was to embroil him in a scandal so terrible that his stocks would drop.

    In the past, every time he had a high profile scandal his stocks would dip for a few weeks. This time she had to catch him doing something truly unforgivable so the stocks would tank even longer and his finances would suffer for it. Being a yboy wasn''t cheap.

    The city was really cracking down on prostitution these days. If she had proof of him involved with not one but multiple prostitutes at the same time even a man as powerful as him would have to be locked up for a few hours until bail could be made.

    With his money, he would obviously be let off with a warning but it would still serve as sufficient punishment. The camera was already nted in his office from herst visit there.

    Pretending to act like she didn''t want to slit his throat that day had been particrly difficult but it had to be done. This would mark the end of their partnership for good.

    Lacy changed out of her grungy disguise and headed over to Graydon''s office. The prostitutes'' numbers were already in a burner phone she would dispose of as soon as she left Appzoid. All she had to do was stall him until the drug she prepared for him took effect and then she could call them over.

 Chapter 304: Too Late To Back Down Now

    <h4>Chapter 304: Too Late To Back Down Now</h4>

    Gray specifically waited until Aaron was out of town to execute his n to kill Lacy. He knew his brother wanted her gone but he also knew that if he had an idea what Gray was up to that he would put a stop to it.

    It was time for her to die. Not only was she a total psycho who would never leave the Hale family alone, she was preventing Aaron from finishing his n to kick Alistair out of thepany.

    Gray had been watching and waiting for years to see that gloriousness unfold. Once again, that shrew was annoyingly in the way. No one liked her anyway. He was doing the whole world a favor.

    That she thought she could trick him wasughable. Did she really think he hadn''t noticed the camera she nted in his office? It wasn''t even that cleverly hidden.

    The ''ident'' was all set up and ready to go but the people he had paid to do this weren''t avable until tomorrow. No matter. He had waited this long, he could wait a little longer.

    He hadn''t expected her to show up at his office, barely concealing her rage. He sighed heavily and put on his falsest smile. What was she so upset about this time?

    "Lacy, how delightful to see you. What do I owe the pleasure of this surprise visit?"

    "Am I not allowed to check up on the status of our n? You haven''t given me any good information in ages. If I didn''t know any better, I''d say you have no intention of helping me get together with Aaron," she said as casually as she could, gauging his reaction.

    Well, she wasn''tpletely stupid. He had been doing his best to hold her off ever since he found out about his brother''s marriage. It sure took her a while to figure it out though.

    "I''m sure I don''t know what you''re talking about," he said in his most charming tone.

    Her eye visibly twitched and he had to hold back hisughter. Messing with her was too amusing.

    "Don''t you? Because I thought we were in this together. Tell me¡­why did Aaron pick up a package for a woman he imed was his wife with Keeley Hall''s name on it after you told me she had a boyfriend?"

    All amusement drained out of him. So she knew.

    It was a very good thing they were currently out of town because he had the feeling that she was ready to storm their building. Gray couldn''t allow that to happen.

    "Are you sure you read the name correctly?" he asked mildly, trying to think.

    If they had this confrontation today, he wouldn''t be able to call her to go where he needed her to be for the ident he had orchestrated to happen. Her trust in him was lost. But she posed an active threat to Aaron''s family so she had to be gone before they got back.

    Troublesome woman. He hated getting his hands dirty. And at his office too! He couldn''t let her leave.

    Her beautiful face turned uglier than he had ever seen it. "Don''t try to throw me off, Graydon! We had a deal! How could you betray me like that?"

    Gray shrugged. "You aren''t worthy of Aaron."

    "And that woman is?! In what possible way is she better than me?!" she screeched, lunging across the desk at him.

    He twisted her arms behind her back with ease after grabbing her wrists. "I don''t quite understand it either but she makes him happy and I won''t let a scheming witch like you ruin it for him."

    "Why do you care about what happens to Aaron?!" Lacy shouted as she struggled to break free. "I thought you hated the Hales!"

    He did hate all of the Hales until he realized that Aaron had been wronged by his parents as well and was actively working to oppose them. He felt instant kinship with his younger brother after finding that out.

    What started as curiosity turned into genuine interest in his only sibling. After interacting with him a bit he realized that, though a shrewd businessman, Aaron was a softhearted sap. His brotherly instincts kicked in and he wanted to protect the shred of happiness the kid had found at any cost.

    They had both been treated horribly by Alistair Hale and Aaron had finally broken free of that. It didn''t hurt that Gray enjoyed feeling like part of a family again. Keeley and her father had been quite weing the other night at dinner.

    "I do but Aaron isn''t one of them anymore. He''s the only person in this world who holds any meaning for me and I won''t have you ruin things for him," Gray hissed in her ear.

    Lacy thrashed about until she freed one of her hands and pulled a syringe out of her pocket. She blindly tried to stab him but Gray onlyughed. Pathetic. This was how she wanted to get back at him?

    He snatched it out of her hand easily and jabbed the needle into her neck. Her eyes immediately unfocused. With a raised eyebrow he examined the syringe more closely. What had she been trying to inject him with?

    Gray got his answer when she started kissing his neck. Such a typical Lacy move. She had probably originally procured this to use on Aaron.

    He pushed her off of him in disgust. She needed to leave Appzoid before she died or the cops would be all over him.

    He called security on her and made sure she was tossed out of the building, now trying to molest the security guards, before locking the door to his office and sneaking out the back. None of his employees saw him go and there weren''t security cameras in that part of the building so everyone would believe he was still in there working.

    Gray had to find her and get rid of her while she was still out of it. It wasn''t hard to do. She was causing a disturbance on the sidewalk.

    Wearing a pair of sunsses that concealed most of his face, he pulled her into a cab with him headed toward the Bronx, which was pretty far from Appzoid. She was trying to make out with him the entire ride. So disgusting.

    Once they arrived, Gray found a deserted back street and pulled out a pocket knife he started carrying back in his foster kid days. This would be messier than he wanted but it was toote to back down now.

 Chapter 305: Youre Welcome, Aaron

    <h4>Chapter 305: You''re Wee, Aaron</h4>

    Lacy stared up at Gray nkly after he pushed her to the ground as if she didn''t understand what was going on. She tried to pull herself back up but he straddled her, preventing that from happening.

    There was no malice in his eyes. The woman was annoying but this was simply another thing on his to-do list.

    Reschedule next week''s coboration meeting. Bring flowers to his mother''s grave. Buy more toilet paper. Kill Lacy Knighton. It was that simple.

    "It''s a pity you wasted your life on delusions of grandeur. You might have actually made something of yourself otherwise," he clucked. "Sorry Lacy but you chose the wrong person to mess with."

    Gray wasn''t sorry at all. She deserved what she was getting. The apology didn''t even matter; she wasn''t lucid enough to understand what he was saying to her.

    He had better make this quick. He would need to clean himself up, dispose of the knife, and make it back to the office before anyone noticed his absence.

    A rough sh directly across her carotid artery did the job. Lacy''s head hit the concrete almost immediately and she made a horrible gurgling noise. His work here was done. Nobody would be able to save her in time¡ªit only took five minutes for that particr artery to bleed out.

    Gray examined himself and discovered a few tiny drops of blood had made it onto his shirt. Great. He would have to get rid of that too. At least he owned three other shirts exactly like it.

    He put his hands in his pockets and whistled as he made his way down the street away from the murder scene. His work here was done.

    ''You''re wee, Aaron!'' he thought with a twisted smile on his face.

    It would be interesting to see how he reacted when he found out the truth. He would likely be pleased¡­unless he suspected Gray''s involvement. That simply wouldn''t do.

    Making his way back to his apartment, which wasn''t terribly far from the Appzoid offices, he thought over how best to exin himself to the police when they eventually came calling. After all, he was one of the most frequently contacted people in Lacy''s phone.

    He had taken her phone and purse. Hopefully the police would think it was a mugging. That didn''t mean he was safe though; they could call the phonepany to get her call log. At least it would buy him a little time.

    Back at his apartment, Gray bleached the knife and his ruined shirt. He would dispose of them in a random trash can far from his home or office. Perhaps Queens might be a good ce to do it. No one would look for evidence of a murder that happened in the Bronx in Queens.

    Those two areas were covered by different police precincts so even if they were found, the chance of them being connected was pretty low. Gray wasn''t worried about the police catching him. They were all idiots.

    No one had ever connected Alistair Hale to Mary Gray''s murder despite the suspicious deposits he sent her each month. You would have to be pretty stupid not to look into a ''suicide'' victim''s finances. Didn''t most people kill themselves over financial worries?

    Even if they found Gray''s DNA on Lacy he could exin it away by telling them truthfully that she had assaulted him and been thrown out of his office. He had witnesses to back him up.

    He really was more concerned about Aaron''s reaction. This was exactly why he had wanted to use an untraceable car ident on the sted woman. People died in car idents every day; it wouldn''t be suspicious at all.

    If Aaron suspected him, he wouldn''t want Gray near his family anymore because he had morals. He couldn''t allow that to happen, not when Aaron finally seemed to be warming up toward him a little.

    The main thing he was worried about was the conversation they had on the phone a few weeks ago where he asked if Aaron wanted Lacy out of the way. He would probably think of it once he heard the news that she was dead.

    If that woman cost him Aaron''s trust after all the effort Gray had put into securing it, he would be quite put out. Ugh, even in death she caused problems. People like Lacy Knighton shouldn''t ever exist in the first ce.

    Gray disposed of the shirt and knife in two different trash cans several blocks apart in Queens before heading back to work. He snuck in through the secret back entrance that no one else knew about and continued looking through reports as if he had never left.

    His secretary buzzed him, actingpletely normal, which told him she hadn''t tried contacting him while he was gone. He knew her temper; if she had tried getting a hold of him and he hadn''t answered she would be cross now.

    Excellent. His alibi was secure.

    "What is it, Sharon?" he asked professionally.

    "Mr. Meyer, your three o''clock appointment is here."

    With all that had been going on today, Gray had nearly forgotten he was set to meet with the head of the staffing agency he got most of his intern programmers through. As a former budding programmer himself, he liked to give newbies a chance.

    "Send him in."

    He waited primly behind his desk for Charles Bower toe in. He always reminded Gray of a frog because of his wide mouth and shiny bald head. Unfortunately not everyone could look as good as he did.

    Nevertheless, he offered a charming smile to his guest and sent Sharon to fetch them both some coffee. He exchanged pleasantries with the man about his wife and family for a few minutes.

    "What about you, Graydon? Do you have a family of your own yet?" Charles asked jovially.

    Gray shook his head. "No but I''ve been rather enjoying spending time with my younger brother and his familytely."

    "I didn''t even know you had a brother."

    Sharon arrived with the coffee and the conversation shifted towards the real reason for the meeting. But Gray couldn''t help but smile wryly at Charles'' previous statement. No one knew he had a brother.

    That wouldn''t be the case for long. As soon as Aaron kicked their father out of Hale Investments, Gray would deal the final blow to Alistair''s reputation by revealing the truth about his illegitimate child. It would surely bring that cold, proud man to his knees beyond the point of recovery.

 Chapter 306: The Police Want To Talk To You

    <h4>Chapter 306: The Police Want To Talk To You</h4>

    Sophie Quinn was making her way home from school when she got a text from her mother asking her to pick up some milk. She needed it for the recipe she was making for dinner and they were out.

    She rolled her eyes. Howe she was always the one stuck with these sorts of chores? Just because she was the oldest child still living at home? Aiden was lucky¡ªhe escaped the Quinn family''s apartment and was living on his own so he didn''t have to deal with this anymore.

    She felt a bit of sympathy for him. He probably used to have to do this all the time since he was the oldest.

    Annoyed, Sophie kicked a bottle cap lying on the sidewalk. It ricocheted off a brick wall before hitting a dark shape lying on the ground in the alley. Was that a person?!

    "Hey, are you okay?" she cried in rm as she stepped closer.

    She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw all of the blood. A piercing scream escaped her throat, causing a few passersby toe running. All she could do was point at the body in mute horror.

    Somebody called 911 right as Sophie fainted.

    ===

    When her eyes fluttered open, she saw three orange heads swimming in her vision. As it focused, she recognized her family''s worried faces.

    "Mom," she croaked. "I''m sorry I couldn''t get the milk."

    Ava Quinn shook her head and sped her daughter''s hands tightly in her own. "Please don''t apologize baby, you wouldn''t have even been there if I hadn''t asked that of you! I''m the one who''s sorry."

    "What happened to Sophie, Mommy?" Jack, her three-year-old half-brother asked.

    Aiden and Ava exchanged a worried nce. They didn''t want to talk about a corpse in front of the baby.

    "I wasn''t feeling well so I passed out," Sophie lied.

    She didn''t want to spoil Jack''s innocence either. It was obvious that the older members of her family already knew. She suppressed a shudder as she thought about those lifeless sea green eyes.

    "All better now?" he persisted with a worried look on his face.

    She nodded around the lump in her throat, touched by his concern. Normally she didn''t have much affection for Jack because she resented having to be a babysitter constantly. She certainly hadn''t asked for her mom to get remarried and have a baby when she was already a teenager.

    "I feel much better. Thanks, buddy."

    A nurse came in and whispered something to Ava, who nodded her head at her oldest child as she took a reluctant Jack away. He didn''t want to leave his sister but she told him she needed help making Sophie''s favorite cookies to cheer her up. That perked him right up.

    Aiden sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed with a creased brow. It was strange seeing him look so worried since he was normally such a goofball.

    "Mom''s taking him home because the police want to talk to you. They''re waiting downstairs," he said grimly. "I''ll be right here though so don''t be nervous. You''re a minor; you''re allowed to have an adult with you."

    Normally Sophie would scoff at the idea that her video game addict brother was a real adult but she had to admit he looked awfully serious right now. She was d to have him here with her.

    She buried her face in her hands. The sight of that dead woman had been horrible. She was going to have nightmares for weeks.

    "Sophie Quinn?" a gentle female voice asked from the doorway. The voice didn''t match the owner''s appearance at all; this was one tough looking woman.

    "That''s me," she said dully.

    "I''m sorry for what happened to you today. How are you feeling?"

    "Freaked out. At least my head doesn''t hurt. My mom said somebody caught me before I hit the ground."

    The woman smiled. "That''s perfectly understandable, all things considering. I''m Detective Flynn; can my partner Detective Ruano and I ask you a few questions?"

    Sophie nodded, twisting the somewhat scratchy bedsheets in her hands nervously. Aiden ced a protective hand on her shoulder to let her know he had her back. There probably wasn''t a time she had ever appreciated herzy big brother more.

    The detectives sat down in chairs at the end of the bed. Detective Flynn began the questioning.

    "Start from the beginning. Try to include as many details, such as times, as possible," she said soothingly. "It will help us with our investigation."

    Taking a deep breath, Sophie told her story. "I got out of school at 2:45 PM. I was on my way home when I got a text from my mom asking me to get some milk for her. She sent the text at¡­"

    She checked her phone for the timestamp to make sure she had it right. "¡­3:02 PM. I was walking for about five minutes before I kicked a bottle cap on the ground and it hit the body. That''s how I found her. Um¡­who was she? Or can you not tell me?"

    Detective Ruano spoke up for the first time. "I''m afraid we don''t know that yet. There wasn''t any identification found at the scene."

    Sophie wasn''t sure whether or not that was good news for her peace of mind. Would it be better or worse to know whose cold corpse she had found on the way home from school? Knowing a name would make it seem a lot more real. But not knowing¡­it might haunt her for the rest of her life.

    "Could you possibly tell me once you''ve figured it out? Just so¡­" she couldn''t adequately exin her muddled thoughts.

    "Of course we can. Your peace of mind is important. I would rmend seeing a therapist for a while to help you cope."

    She frowned. Her mom definitely could not afford a therapist. "I don''t think I can¡ª"

    "I''ll cover you," Aiden said firmly. "I have a good job, I can afford it."

    Her mouth rounded into an ''o'' of surprise. Since when had he been able to afford anything? He lived in a crappy apartment in Washington Heights and worked in IT.

    Althoughe to think of it, he didn''t have any roommates and owned a car. Both of those things were practically unheard of for people in their early twenties living in Manhattan. How much did he make at his job anyway?

    "May we have your contact information Miss Quinn? So we can contact you with any further questions or to let you know what we find about the victim''s identity," Detective Flynn exined.

    Sophie rattled off her cell phone number and address for them before epting the detective''s business card. She never thought she would be involved in a murder case. Now she was a witness at the tender age of seventeen. Unbelievable.

 Chapter 307: Should He Tell Him?

    <h4>Chapter 307: Should He Tell Him?</h4>

    Aiden called in sick to work the next two days and spent most of his time in his family''s apartment with his little sister, who had been gued by nightmares. She had gotten so little sleep that their mother didn''t make her go to school.

    He tried to distract her as best he could. They yed endless board games and two-yer video games that Sophie actually liked (such as Mario Kart). It seemed to be helping a little but the dark circles under her eyes only got worse over time.

    Poor kid. She should be worrying about which colleges she wanted to apply to, not about a murder. Who exactly had she found, anyway? And why did that body have to be in his family''s neighborhood?

    He got his answer around dinner time two days after the incident. Sophie''s phone rang while their mother was putting a casserole in the oven. Her face turned white as she listened mutely, eventually saying thank you and hanging up.

    "Who was that?" Aiden asked with a frown.

    "Detective Flynn," she said faintly. "The body matched a missing person report that was filed yesterday and they called a family member in to identify it. Her name was Lacy Knighton."

    He fell backwards out of his chair. "Lacy Knighton?! Did she have ck hair and light green eyes?"

    Sophie grimaced remembering the blood matting that hair. "Yes. Did you know her?"

    "Sort of. My boss is the one who knew her. I only met her once."

    How could he exin that he had been investigating this woman at his boss'' request for years? No one in his family even knew what the true nature of his job was. They thought he was like any other IT worker in Hale Investments'' call center.

    "What was she like?" she asked, a bit hesitant.

    Aiden bit his lip. He didn''t want to speak ill of the deceased but there really wasn''t anything good he could say about the woman. From what little he had seen of her, he thought she was a spoiled brat but Aaron seemed to think she was the devil incarnate.

    "¡­she was really rich and loved to shop. That''s about all I know about her," he lied.

    "Oh." Sophie rubbed her forehead as if warding off a headache. "If she was really rich, how did she end up in the Bronx?"

    He had been wondering the exact same thing. Lacy Knighton lived, shopped, and partied exclusively in Manhattan as far as he had seen. She didn''t seem like the kind of person toe to such a rundown neighborhood of her own ord.

    "I have no idea," he admitted, his mind still racing.

    Had she been moved after death? Or did someone lure her here? Either way, it was highly unlikely she was the victim of a random mugging. This was premeditated by somebody smart; the murderer knew it would be harder to find her in a ce she didn''t usually go.

    But who would kill Lacy? She didn''t have any enemies that he knew of aside from Aaron.

    As much as Aiden liked joking about how his boss would kill him, he knew he wasn''t the type. If he was going to kill her, he would have done it before she could try and trap him in an engagement rather than making Aiden do that terrible favor and pose as a fake fianc¨¦e.

    Besides, Aaron was in Rochester with his family right now. He probably hadn''t even heard about this. Should he tell him?

    He didn''t want to wreck his friend''s vacation but at the same time, Aaron had gotten pissed off in the past when he was kept out of the loop on something. If he found out Aiden knew about it first and hadn''t told him¡­

    He sent his boss a text, praying he didn''t shoot the messenger. Then he tried to change the subject because Sophie was looking a little pale.

    "So¡­want to y another game of Monopoly?"

    ===

    Robert volunteered to watch the babies as they napped and told Keeley and Aaron to go spend some time at the pool. It was theirst day of vacation, after all. She was grateful for the chance to rx a bit before having to go back to worrying about their Lacy problem.

    The pool at this hotel was not only huge but also much less crowded than most pools she had been to. There were a few families with kids swimming around but there couldn''t have been more than fifteen people there total. Not bad at all.

    Aaron had fallen asleep on a deck chair. What exactly was the point of them spending time together if he was out cold?

    Keeley stood over him and he screwed up his face to recoil against the water droplets hitting his eyelids and cheeks. He squinted at her tiredly.

    "What are you doing?"

    "Come swim with me, I''m bored."

    "¡­do I have to?"

    "Yes," she said as she tugged on his hand. "You''ve never gone swimming with me."

    He frowned as he thought about it. "You''re right. How did that end up happening?"

    She rolled her eyes at him as she heaved him off the chair. "Because you were a hopeless stick in the mud. Nowe. On."

    A slightly mischievous look appeared in his eye. A secondter, he charged at her and wrapped his arms around her waist before they both fell into the deep end with a ssh. When they came back up he was smirking.

    "Would a stick in the mud do that?"

    Keeley spat out a bit of water that had gotten in her mouth since she was caught off guard. "I did use the past tense," she pointed out.

    His smirk softened. "So you don''t think I''m boring anymore?"

    "I never thought you were boring¡­" Except during high school round two when she was mad at him but there was no need to mention that now when they were having a good time.

    "Really?"

    "When we first met I thought you were mysterious. There''s nothing boring about that."

    Aaron blinked at her in surprise. "That''s why you originally liked me?"

    "Originally I just wanted to figure you out. I had never met anybody like you. The liking cameter."

    Had she really never mentioned this before? She could have sworn she said something back when they were dating in college. Maybe she kept it to herself after all. Aaron wasn''t the only one withmunication issues back then.

    He gave a simple nod and continued treading water, epting her answer. Keeley flipped over and began floating on her back. They hade an awfully long way since she first found him interesting.

 Chapter 308: Dead

    <h4>Chapter 308: Dead</h4>

    As Keeley continued floating on her back she thought about how much she did not want to go back home. Too many stressful things were waiting for her there. This vacation had been a nice break from it all but she wanted things to be normal.

    She wanted to be able to leave the apartment without fear and take the babies on walks every day while the weather was nice. To be able to post pictures and brag about her family on social media like everyone else. Only a handful of people even knew that she was a wife and mother.

    Most of all, she wanted to stop living in fear. Fear had controlled her far too much in this lifetime. As long as she was afraid of people plotting against them, she couldn''t be truly happy with Aaron, no matter how good he was to her.

    Would it ever end? Lacy Knighton wasn''t going anywhere any time soon. She would obsessively stalk Aaron until the day she died. She sighed. There wasn''t anywhere she could go to truly escape her problems.

    "What''s wrong?" her husband asked.

    "I don''t want to go home, Aaron," she said wearily. "I''m absolutely sick of being locked up."

    "I know, I''m sorry. There just isn''t any proof she''s done anything illegal. I could technically put out a restraining order because she keeps following me but everyone knows those don''t actually work."

    Keeley had read multiple news articles about people who were still murdered by people the victims had restraining orders against. He had a point. All that would do would enrage Lacy further.

    It was pretty terrible that people''s safety couldn''t be assured until after something happened. Police could only do so much. She didn''t want that psycho to get even angrier.

    "What is it about you that makes people crazy?" she asked, only half-joking.

    He had made her crazy too so many times over the years. There was just something about him.

    Aaron scowled. "You say that like it''s my fault I attract nutcases."

    "It IS your fault. We''ve already established this, remember? My entire first life was ruined because of your ability to attract nutcases."

    Since he had already acknowledged that before, he had no further argument. Instead, he reached up and wrapped his arms around Keeley, pulling her upright and getting water up her nose.

    She snorted painfully. Water up your nose was the worst feeling.

    "What was that for?" she asked, craning her neck to re at him.

    "Just reminding you that I love you and that I''m d you''re here despite the nutcases."

    She couldn''t exactly stay angry at him when he was nuzzling her neck like that. She could feel his affection tangibly surround her. It was difficult to argue with someone who was currently loving on you.

    "Yeah, yeah," she said grumpily. "I bet the babies are awake already. They''re probably hungry and my dad can''t feed them both by himself. We should go back."

    They swam over to thedder and hauled themselves out. Aaron wrapped a thick fluffy towel around her shoulders before she could even blink. He was solicitous like that. Her anger at him fizzled even further.

    He checked his phone for the time after retrieving their things out of a locker and frowned when he saw a message from Aiden. Having specifically told him not to bother him while on vacation, it must be important.

    Aaron nearly dropped his phone when he read the message. ''Lacy Knighton is dead. Someone murdered her and my sister found her body in the Bronx. I don''t have any other info but I thought you should know''

    "What is it?" Keeley asked curiously, squeezing water out of her hair with the towel.

    Wordlessly, he held up the phone for her to see and she actually did drop the towel. Dead. She was really dead? Gone? Out of their lives forever?

    She slumped onto a deck chair in shock. How had this happened? Lacy was supposed to outlive Keeley and she hadn''t died for another five years.

    The only things that changed in this life were events directly connected to her and Aaron. They already learned that when Gray turned out to be on their side this time instead of an enemy. He changed his mind because of something Aaron did differently.

    So what had Lacy been doing that was different? She was already plotting against Keeley around this time in their past life¡­there had to be a specific action she changed that led to this chain of events.

    She still couldn''t believe it. She would never have to worry about Lacy Knighton again. She could live her life freely in the light instead of continuing to hide in the shadows.

    Keeley didn''t even feel sorry for the woman and then felt guilty about it. A life had still been lost. She shouldn''t be this happy. But it had benefitted her so how could she not be?

    "What do you think happened?" she finally managed to get out.

    Aaron had resumed his default nk expression. These days he only did that when he was really stressed. "I''m not sure what would have changed¡­unless¡­"

    "Unless what?"

    A flicker of emotion appeared on his face. Indecisiveness. If she had to guess, he was debating whether or not to tell her something.

    She sighed. All this time and his first instinct was still to keep things to himself.

    "Tell me, Aaron," she said tly.

    He looked around sharply before taking her by the hand and pulling her into a unisex family bathroom where they couldn''t be overheard. He began speaking reluctantly once the coast was clear.

    "I can''t use him without proof but a while back Gray called me out of the blue at the office. He didn''t say much but he did ask if it would be convenient if Lacy should happen to disappear. I''m pretty sure I told him something along the lines of yes and he hung up shortly afterward."

    He ran a hand through his hair, giving off an icy vibe because of stress. "I didn''t mean that I wanted to kill her! If I wanted to do that I would have done it a long time ago. I didn''t want to sink to her level. But if he is behind this¡­she died because of me."

 Chapter 309: Plausible Deniability

    <h4>Chapter 309: usible Deniability</h4>

    Keeley was surprised Aaron was so upset by this considering how much he hated the woman. He was more upset than she was and usually she was the more forgiving one between the two of them.

    "You...aren''t actually missing her, are you?"

    rm shed across his face. "Are you crazy?! I''ve wished she was dead more times than I can count but I never did anything because of you!"

    "Me?" she asked in surprise.

    Aaron coughed, a bit embarrassed. "I didn''t think you would ever forgive me if I killed someone. Because you''re a good person."

    Despite herself, she smiled slightly. He gave her too much credit considering she was happy that horrid woman was dead. But it would take a special kind of person to feel sorry that the one who ordered them killed had died.

    "Then what are you stressed out about?"

    "¡­because now there are possibly two murderers I''m rted to. And one of them has been to our house! What happens if we piss him off?"

    Keeley was nearly positive Gray wouldn''t do anything to hurt Aaron based on everything she had seen. He probably did this in a misguided attempt to help his little brother if he was indeed the one behind it.

    But Aaron had a point. She didn''t want a murderer around her children either but they really couldn''t afford to make the man angry.

    It wasn''t like they could ask him either. usible deniability would keep them safe if he happened to get caught. They couldn''t be considered aplices if they weren''t positive he was the one who did it.

    "He seems more interested in you than anyone else," she pointed out. "Maybe you could go to dinner with him once a month or something and that will be enough to keep him happy. He doesn''t exactly seem like the type that likes kids. I don''t think he''s even held Kaleb or Violet."

    "I don''t want to spend time with him either!" Aaron protested. "I already told you, I don''t like him because he''s as fake as everyone I''ve ever tried to get away from but if he killed someone that only makes it worse."

    Keeley thought about it. They already knew that Gray didn''t have any qualms morally about ending someone''s life because of his involvement in her death and possibly her father''s as well. Max drove the car but Lacy ordered him because of Gray.

    Did it really make a difference that he had done the same thing again in this life? They already knew he was an aplice to murder. Though she had to admit she didn''t know how Lacy had died¡­or if Gray did it personally. He may have used somebody else likest time.

    "This is all spection right now, Aaron. We don''t know for sure that he did it. Maybe Lacy wandered into a sketchy part of town looking for a way to trick you into being with her," Keeley mused.

    He eyed her doubtfully. "Do you really think that''s what happened? Because my money''s on Gray. We already knew how ruthless he could be. If I had to guess, I think he did this personally and waited until we were out of town to do it."

    "So what if he did? I''m GLAD she''s gone. Aren''t you? I can finally stop hiding! We can worry about the rest of itter. For now, can''t we celebrate that one obstacle is out of our way?"

    Aaron suddenly seized her in a hug and buried his face in her wet hair. "I''m so sorry, Keeley. You never should have had to deal with this at all. You''re right. One thing at a time. I''m d she''s gone too. We can finally be like any other married couple."

    She tilted her head back to look up at him. "Don''t we need to get those shares from your dad first?"

    He shrugged. "With Lacy out of the way I can do that at the next board meeting. It''s two weeks from now. All I have to do in the meantime is meet with my dummy shareholders to get the shares back. I can introduce you to them if you want."

    That might prove interesting. The only people she knew from Aaron''s work were Cameron and Aiden. He had offered to introduce her to his work friends before but that was way back when they were barely starting to be friends again.

    "Sure. I bet they would want to see the babies too if they''re you''re friends."

    Aaron chuckled slightly. "They''ll all be shocked. Only Cameron and Alice know about you."

    "Alice? Alice Wheatley, your prom date?" she asked, surprised. She hadn''t realized she was one of the dummies he was using.

    "She''s Alice Kelly now but yes. She actually figured out you were the one I cared about simply by remembering the rumors in high school. She''s an interesting person."

    Alice Wheatley, huh? Keeley never even interacted with her in high school. She was one of those people whose group hung out in the cafeteria, far above the other mere mortals in the student lounge.

    She only knew Alice''s name because she was a bit put out that Aaron attended the prom without her in their first life. He tly told her that it was someone his parents picked and that she didn''t even really dance with him; spending most of the night off with her friends. That made her feel better.

    "I do enjoy interesting people," she said with a small smile. "Now that that''s settled¡­we really do need to head back."

    Aaron opened the door and an older woman passing by was scandalized that they were both in there at the same time. They weren''t wearing their wedding rings since they had been swimming and they did look pretty young. She probably thought they were crazy kids up to no good.

    They headed back up to their room and sure enough, both babies were fussing because they were hungry. Robert had started heating up the bottles but it wasn''t fast enough. They were so upset that they had spit out their pacifiers.

    Perfectly in sync, as if they had read each other''s minds, Keeley and Aaron each picked up a twin and began soothing them. Her fatherughed and called them a match made in heaven. If only he knew how much otherworldly intervention had actually been involved.

 Chapter 310: Youre A Fantastic Liar

    <h4>Chapter 310: You''re A Fantastic Liar</h4>

    The moment they stepped foot back in their apartment, the cats swarmed them in excitement, rubbing rather forcefully against their legs. Keeley stopped pushing the double stroller and scooped up the purring Molly.

    "Hey pretty girl, did you miss me?" she cooed.

    She nced over and noticed Aaron had done the same to Dinah. He was such a softy underneath all that ice.

    Now that she didn''t have to worry about Lacy stalking them¡­it was good to be home. She could go out and do whatever she wanted!

    She was definitely going to take the twins to Central Parkter in the week. Maybe to the library to pick out some more children''s books as well. The world was at her fingertips without that threat hanging over her head.

    As soon as they were unpacked, Aaron began making phone calls. He needed to finalize things for the takeover and set up a time to meet up with all of his dummy shareholders. He also wanted to know what Aiden had discovered about Lacy''s murder.

    Unfortunately, it wasn''t much. Police databases were easy for someone like him to hack but there really wasn''t enough to go off of. She had been found in the Bronx by Aiden''s sister Sophie without any identification on her with her left carotid artery cut. She bled out.

    The autopsy revealed it was most likely done using a small de by someone with experience using knives. The toxicology report showed nothing unusual but that might have been because she was given something that you had to specifically be looking for.

    That was it. The police were still looking into her phone records and gathering information about her life so they could question people and find out who hadst seen her alive.

    "They''ll probablye looking for me," he told his wife grimly. "Everyone who knew her knows about her single-minded obsession with me. We were out of town so they can''t pin this on me but I still don''t want to talk to the police."

    Keeley kissed his cheek, feeling sympathetic to his plight. Aaron really didn''t want to be involved in this.

    "It''ll be alright. The doorman can back you up on how you never even interacted with her and always had her tossed out. You''ll be fine."

    "But what if they ask me if I had any idea who did this?"

    "You don''t know for sure so it''s not really a lie¡­besides, what are you worried about? You''re a fantastic liar!"

    Aaron was disgruntled. "¡­not the kind ofpliment I''m looking for, sweetheart."

    She shrugged. "Well it''s true. You got me to believe you hated me when you''re actually an overly devoted sap. If you can do that, you can answer a few questions without mentioning Gray."

    "Thanks, Keeley," he said dryly. "You''re so supportive."

    "Can''t fault me for giving you a hard time now and then," she said with a wink.

    The fact that she could even joke around about this showed how much she had healed from the scars of the past already. It was nice knowing that she was sessfully putting the past behind her.

    ===

    Keeley wanted to make sure she looked nice when she met the other shareholders. Everyone was going to dinner at an upscale Mexican restaurant. Aaron wanted to show her what ''proper tacos'' were like. She had tough remembering his aversion to normal ones.

    She wore a sleeveless light purple blouse with dark wash skinny jeans and a pair of gold sandals. Her DNA ne and hoop earrings matched her shoes.

    The twins were dressed much more casually than she was. They both wore Yankees onesies with shorts over top that Robert had bought them. Only the matching blue headband Violet wore with a flower on it showed that she was a girl.

    Aaron had on a simple light green shirt and cks but somehow still managed to look quite formal. The Hales were a good looking bunch.

    She had to admit she was nervous though. What if these people didn''t like her? What if they thought she wasn''t good enough for Aaron just like high society always had?

    At least Jennica and Cameron would be there. If nothing else, Keeley could talk to themfortably.

    When they made it to the restaurant Jennica attacked her with a hug. "Girl, I haven''t seen you in weeks! How are you? You look great!"

    "So do you," she said with a smile.

    Her friend had recently gotten a haircut withyers that ttered her face. Plus her coral pink dressplimented her skin tone.

    "So you''re the infamous Keeley Hall, huh?" an appraising feminine voice asked.

    "That would be the infamous Keeley Hale," Aaron corrected,ing up beside her. "Keeley, this is my friend Alice. Alice, this is my wife."

    The elegant woman''s eyes widened. "You married her and nobody found out?! Hang on¡­I see baby carriers. Since when did you have kids?"

    "A little over three months ago."

    Alice shook her head in disbelief. "You really are too sneaky. I cannot believe you managed to get married and have two children without anybody finding out."

    "I knew," Cameron contributed, raising his hand.

    She rolled her eyes. "Well that makes sense. Everybody knows you''re Aaron''s right hand man."

    Jennica chuckled. "I think he and Aiden duke it out regrly for that spot."

    "Who''s Aiden?"

    "Another one of my people. Come on, let''s go sit down. We can wait for Roger and Kyle at the table," Aaron said gruffly as he carried Kaleb''s car seat.

    Once seated, Alice leaned forward and rested her chin on her hand, clearly intrigued. Keeley felt like a specimen under a microscope. What was with this woman? She was part of high society¡­did she disapprove like everyone else had in her first life?

    She had never really interacted with the woman despite being in the same circle because they weren''t in the same shopping groups. Alice tended to stick with her mother-inw''s group and some other women Keeley wasn''t well acquainted with.

    She felt very self-conscious under such intense scrutiny and shrunk back slightly.

    "Alice, you''re scaring her," Aaron said with a sigh.

    The woman smiled. "Terribly sorry about that. I''m just amazed this ice block actually fell in love with someone. I''ve been rather curious what kind of person you are for a long time now."

 Chapter 311: This Is My Wife

    <h4>Chapter 311: This Is My Wife</h4>

    Aaron wasn''t the type to share personal details. When exactly had he told this woman about her? It had to have been before they were married or Alice wouldn''t have been so surprised when he told her the truth just now.

    "How long are we talking here?" Keeley asked curiously.

    Alice smiled. "Last April. I was at that party where he got fake engaged. I was confused since I hadn''t heard he was dating anyone and he ended up confessing he only did it to protect who he really cared about.

    "I guessed who you were because he said it wasn''t anyone in our circle. You''re the only person I knew of that Aaron ever had consistent rumors with. I had no idea he would actually marry you in secret though. Congrattions, by the way. Your babies are adorable. What are their names?"

    "Kaleb and Violet," Aaron cut in proudly. "And yes, they are adorable."

    She raised an eyebrow at his unusual behavior (at least around anyone other than his family) but didn''t say anything because the other members of their party arrived together. They both did a double take when they saw their boss sitting next to an unfamiliar woman and holding a baby.

    "Hey, Aaron," one of them said cautiously. "Who''s your friend?"

    Keeley was sorely tempted tough at how nervous this guy looked. Well, her husband could be scary. He was probably afraid of being identally offensive.

    Aaron''s expression was nonchnt as he exined. "Roger, this is my wife, Keeley. We''re all meeting up today because it''s time for me to take my shares back and kick my father out."

    Roger''s jaw dropped. "Wife?! When did you get married?!"

    "Last fall."

    "Why now?" the other man, whose name Keeley just remembered was Kyle, asked.

    "Ah yes, you aren''t aware of the terms of the share transfer contract¡­when I was given ten percent of my father''s sharesst spring it also stipted that I would get another ten percent when my wife gave birth to a son, which she has," Aaron said coolly.

    Everyone''s eyes turned to Kaleb, who was happily sucking on a pacifier in his mother''s arms. Roger and Kyle were very confused and Cameron, having mercy, took it upon himself to exin the rather strange wording of the contract.

    Keeley still found it ironic how this all yed out. Aaron had told her about it after they found out the genders of the babies on the ultrasound. Alistair tried to use the contract as a way to guarantee Lacy Knighton would be able to steal Aaron away from ''Bethany'' but it ended up working in Aaron''s favor instead of hers.

    Alistair''s scheming was about to lead to his own downfall. There was something deliciously poetic about it.

    Roger and Kyle exchanged nces. "So what are we going to do after this?"

    "Not have to attend any more meetings," Cameron said blissfully before Aaron could answer.

    "He''s right," Aaron said with a shrug. "You''ll continue your jobs as usual. I have enough shares that I''ll be the CEO. I also have a bit of dirt on my father so I can use that to make sure he doesn''t cause any additional trouble during the handover."

    A slight frown appeared on Alice''s face. "What about me? I don''t have a job in Hale Investments. Those shares were supposed to be my insurance against¡­you know who."

    He was quick to reassure her. "I''ve already told you I''m your ally permanently. If they give you any grief, send them my way. I''ll deal with them for you."

    She was appeased rtively easily. Aaron Hale was a force to be reckoned with and he didn''t work with just anyone. She would be perfectly fine.

    He pulled out stacks of paperwork and handed them to everyone at the table but his wife, exining that signing these would give his shares back. All they had to do after that was show up at one more shareholders meeting when the announcement was made.

    "I can''t wait to see the look on Alistair''s face," Cameron said with a wicked grin. "All of your hard work is about to pay off."

    Keeley had nearly forgotten how long Cameron had been working with her husband. Of course he wanted his friend to seed the most out of all the dummy shareholders. She knew they met in college¡­but when in college? Beginning, middle, or end?

    If it was the beginning¡­they had been working together for eight years. She would have to ask Aaron about itter.

    Once the agreements had all been signed, everyone (minus the Singletons) wanted to know more about Keeley. It was a bit overwhelming answering all of their questions.

    How did you meet? How long have you been together? What do you do for a living?

    Some of them were a bit hard to answer because of the tangled web woven by the rebirth situation. Especially since Jennica thought she met Aaron in middle school. In the end, she used the go-to method: telling bits and pieces of truth from both lives where they fit best.

    Alice made an impressed noise. "You''re a gicist? I had no idea Aaron would marry someone smarter than him."

    Cameron nearly choked on his taco as he tried not tough. Jennica had to thump him on the back to dislodge the food.

    Roger and Kyle seemed a bit wary of herment but Aaron wasn''t offended at all. In fact, a soft expression appeared on his face. That was even more frightening since those two had never seen their boss look like that.

    "She''s brilliant," he bragged. "I wouldn''t be at all surprised if she won a Nobel Prize in medicine someday. Her dissertation research was groundbreaking."

    "Oh please," Keeleyughed, embarrassed.

    "I''m serious!" he said earnestly as he turned to look at her. "You''re going to cure cystic fibrosis and that''s a huge deal."

    Violet, who was in her father''s arms, squealed at that moment as if in agreement, breaking the tension around the table as everyoneughed.

    "She''s so cute," Jennica observed with a smile. "I think she looks like you, Aaron."

    "Just her hair color. If you''ve ever seen Keeley''s baby pictures, Violet''s face looks more like hers."

    Keeley frowned. "When did you see my baby pictures?"

    He smiled innocently. "Your dad showed me during one of your many early pregnancy naps."

    "Of course he did," she said tly, causing another chorus ofughter around the table.

 Chapter 312: Polar Opposites

    <h4>Chapter 312: Pr Opposites</h4>

    Alice Kelly was amazed how different her old friend seemed around his wife and children. She had known Aaron since she was fourteen years old and back then he was such a cold fish. He didn''t seem to care about anything.

    She epted when he asked her to the prom because her husband (then fianc¨¦) was going with his girlfriend at the time and she thought Aaron would be the best bet to make him jealous. Unfortunately, that n of hers hadn''t worked.

    By that point in time she had heard the rumors about how he kept hanging around this schrship student but she didn''t care enough to ask him about it. She never would have imagined that he would actually marry the girl someday.

    Alice was a bit worried how his parents were going to take it. He didn''t just have a secret wife, he had secret children! Two of them! Did he really think he was going to be able to get away with this without any problems arising?

    Then again, Aaron wasn''t like her. He had no attachment to his parents or the social circle. Alice wasn''t a huge fan of it either but it was all she knew. She loved her husband and her husband loved high society.

    Unfortunately for her, he also loved someone else. Everyone knew about his mistress even if they wouldn''t say anything to her face. Even her mother-inw berated her constantly for not giving birth to a son yet.

    It wasn''t her fault! Brock was rarely home and when he was he wasn''t about to sleep with his wife. He had his mistress for that.

    Her heart was heavy as she watched Aaron interact with his wife. She wasughing at something Jennica¡ªwho was apparently married to Cameron; Alice hadn''t known that¡ªwas saying. At the sight of herughter, a soft smile appeared on Aaron''s face.

    Had Brock looked at her like that even once? Probably not.

    If Aaron, the coldest person she had ever met, could fall in love and be genuinely happy with someone else¡­didn''t Alice deserve the same? She had epted her arranged marriage as an inevitable part of life as the daughter of Wheatley family.

    As a young, foolish romantic she fell for Brock more and more as they were thrown together. That was her future husband! Of course she was supposed to love him! But he had never given her the time of day.

    Seeing Aaron''s babies especially got to her. Alice wanted to be a mother someday and that probably wouldn''t happen so long as Brock had his mistress on the outside. Even so¡­no child deserved to be born into such an unhappy family.

    It might be time to finally let Brock go. Falling in love with someone she chose sounded like a novel experience.

    But how on earth was she supposed to get a divorce? The Kellys were among the topwyers in all of New York City.

    They could very easily prevent her from getting a goodwyer or even being able to be granted a divorce. The Kellys cared way too much about their image considering what their beloved son got up to.

    Aaron said he was her ally¡­did he know any goodwyers? He might be able to help her out. But she didn''t want to be a bother; he had a lot going on right now. Maybe she should wait until after the takeover.

    Alice sighed. There was a whole lot of love going on at this table. She never should have listened to her parents and married someone who didn''t love her.

    Keeley noticed with a rather pensive expression on her face. Alice didn''t expect anything toe of it but when she went to the bathroom, Aaron''s wife followed her.

    "Kaleb needed his diaper changed," she said with a smile.

    She worked on that in therger handicap stall that had a changing table in it, leaving Alice be. Yet for some reason she found herself waiting for the other woman toe out so she could talk to her. Maybe she had some advice.

    Keeley had a surprised look on her face when she saw Alice was waiting for her. The diaper bag was slung over her shoulder and she cradled her son''s head as she held him upright.

    "What''s up?" she asked casually.

    "I noticed you looking at me earlier."

    "Sorry about that. You just¡­reminded me of me, I guess. Being in a rtionship and still feeling alone surrounded by other couples."

    Alice certainly hadn''t been expecting that. This woman was surprisingly observant. But she couldn''t possibly be talking about her current rtionship; it was obvious that Aaron doted on his wife.

    "You aren''t talking about your husband, are you?"

    A wry smile appeared on her face. "No, this was someone else a long time ago. He was the kind of person who could make you feel alone even when he was right next to you. I don''t mean to pry¡­but is your husband like that too?"

    That described Brock to a T. Not that he was even around all that much. Most of Alice''s loneliness was because her husband acted as if they weren''t even married unless his parents were present. Then he expected her to be the perfect daughter-inw.

    She nodded. "I want to leave him but he''s from a family of high profilewyers. I''m worried they might get me cklisted as a client."

    Keeley raised an eyebrow at her bluntness. "Wow, and you''re telling this to someone you barely met."

    "You''re Aaron''s wife; I trust him so I trust you by default," she said with a shrug, not remotely abashed.

    Alice had been observing Keeley throughout the dinner. Her smile andugh were contagious and she smoothed out the tension that Aaron brought with him wherever he went.

    She seemed like a kind, funny, and warm person. In a way, she was the pr opposite of her icy husband. Maybe that was what Aaron liked about her.

 Chapter 313: Damaged Goods

    <h4>Chapter 313: Damaged Goods</h4>

    "I''m a bit surprised you put so much faith in him considering what he''s like but I''m sure he could find you awyer. Would you like me to talk to him for you?" Keeley asked.

    Alice stifled augh. "Are you insulting your husband?"

    She chuckled slightly as she readjusted her grip on her baby. "I only meant that he''s hard to get close to. Doesn''t exactly give off vibes that scream ''trust me.'' Most people are afraid of him."

    Her analysis was spot on but Alice was a bit surprised that she wasn''t wearing rose colored sses and could urately pinpoint what Aaron was like. Most women in love only saw the good things about their significant other.

    Goodness knows she had been like that about Brock until it was toote and she felt stuck. Honestly, she should have divorced him years ago. Or t out refused to marry him in the first ce.

    "You''re not," Alice pointed out.

    "Not now but I was in high school. He''s mellowed a lot since then."

    Mellowed? He was practically a different person! That was the understatement of the century. Ah, that was beside the point. She should answer the original question.

    "I was nning on asking him about finding me awyer but I don''t want to bother him while he''s busy," Alice admitted.

    Keeley''s expression softened. "I promise it won''t be a bother. Aaron looks out for his people. If you want, I can hold him back as everyone else is leaving and you can ask him then."

    Her initial impression of the woman was correct. She was kind. Here she was helping someone she barely met out of the goodness of her heart.

    Alice gave her a grateful smile. "I''d appreciate that, thanks."

    "We should probably get heading back before Aaron sends a search party," she joked.

    To Alice''s surprise, the joke wasn''t that far off the mark. As soon as they approached the table Aaron was visibly relieved. He kissed his wife on the cheek and asked her what took her so long.

    Keeley spared Alice''s pride by saying there was a long line in the bathroom and her already positive first impression of Aaron''s wife went up a notch. No wonder he was in love with her!

    A pang hit her when she wondered if anyone would ever think she was that wonderful. Getting a divorce at twenty-six¡­men would probably think of her as damaged goods.

    Alice hadn''t truly been in love with Brock for a while but it would still probably take her a while to heal enough to date again. And she wanted to¡ªshe wanted a warm and affectionate family like Aaron''s. He had escaped the cold, cruel world of high society. Why couldn''t she?

    The problem was that her family would be furious and might very well cut her off. She had gone to college but majored in French literature. She had never held a job. How would she find one with her degree?

    Life as she knew it was going toe crashing down around her. It would be better than dealing with Brock and his horrible family but only just. Alice didn''t know how to survive on her own.

    She watched Keeley easily interact with everyone at the table and wondered if she could possibly trouble her to learn how to adjust to a normal life. She had gotten through a PhD on her own; surely she knew how to do things like get a job and apartment.

    "Alice, are you alright?" Roger asked with concern in his voice, noticing she was spacing out.

    She put on her bravest attempt at a smile, not wanting to worry him. He had always been very kind to her during the shareholders meetings and had defended her opinion against some of the more chauvinistic members more than once.

    "I suppose I''m a bit tired. I''ll be fine. Thank you though."

    Aaron signaled for the check and insisted on paying for everyone''s food since he was the one to gather them together. The bill wasn''t huge by high society''s standards but Alice needed to stop thinking that way. A normal person definitely couldn''t afford to drop a few hundred dors on a meal.

    She had a lot of lifestyle adjustments to make. She didn''t even know how to cook.

    Everyone trailed out of the restaurant, wishing each other goodbye, until Alice and Aaron''s family were the only ones left. He got straight to the point.

    "What do you need, Alice?"

    "I need awyer unconnected to the Kellys," she said bluntly. "Do you know anyone?"

    She was more than a bit shocked when Aaron gave her a genuine smile. "I''ve been waiting for you to ask. You deserve better than Brock Kelly. It just so happens that I have a handful to choose from. I''ll send you their information tonight and you can look over it."

    She bit her lip. She definitely couldn''t afford a superstarwyer. Seeing her concern, he addressed it.

    "I told you I''m on your side and I meant it. I''ll pay for thewyer. You don''t need to worry about anything but what assets you want to try and go after, alright? With the Kellys'' fortune, you should be able to livefortably if notvishly once you''re free."

    Tears sparked in her eyes. Way back when she agreed to be a shareholder for him, Aaron used the argument that it would be nice to have a powerful person in her pocket. She never expected to actually have to use their connection in such a way.

    Keeley was right. Aaron did look after his people.

    "Thank you," she whispered.

    "No need for that," he said casually. "You''ve helped me a lot over the years. I wouldn''t have been able to make it this far without you."

    She gave both of the Hales a hurried nod and fled the restaurant, her mind flooded with thoughts about what she needed to do. First and foremost, she couldn''t act like anything was wrong when she got home. Brock couldn''t be suspicious or this would never work.

    He was waiting for her on the couch, reading a magazine. That was unusual; he was rarely home at this time of day on a weekend. Usually he was out with his mistress.

    "Where were you?"

    His tone indicated that he couldn''t care less. Alice held back a sigh and spoke lightly. She was used to this sort of treatment.

    "I was having dinner with some friends."

    "Be sure to be ready for Lacy Knighton''s funeral tomorrow; everyone we know is going to be there and it would be rude not to show up."

    Funeral?! She didn''t even know Lacy was dead! Did Aaron know about this? He had never liked her but he still had to have had some sort of reaction to her death. They had known each other since middle school after all.

    "I''ll be there," Alice managed to get out, her head still reeling at the news.

    Lacy Knighton, dead! She had crossed paths with her briefly in the shopping district less than two weeks ago. What on earth happened?

 Chapter 314: A Better Person

    <h4>Chapter 314: A Better Person</h4>

    Aaron was relieved that Alice finally decided to leave her scumbag husband. He had wished she would for a long time now. She reminded him far too much of how Keeley used to be.

    "I didn''t realize you and Alice were so close," his wifemented as she petted Dinah, who rested in herp, once the babies were down for the night.

    She didn''t seem angry; it was merely a statement of fact. For a moment there he had a flight of fancy that she was actually jealous.

    "I wouldn''t necessarily call us close. I approached her to be one of my shareholders because I needed one more person and she was the only one I could think of. She''s the most tolerable person I know from the entire social circle. We talk asionally at board meetings and the events my father has forced me to over the years but that''s the extent of it."

    Keeley raised an eyebrow. "She trusts you an awful lot for so little interaction."

    Aaron shrugged. "I''ve always followed through on my promises; she has no reason not to. You have so little faith in me."

    "I do know you best," she said in a teasing tone. "Really though, I feel sorry for her."

    "So do I. I''m d she asked for help. She actually reminds me of you¡­in our first life," he admitted. "She''s not any happier schmoozing her inws than you were."

    She seemed surprised for a moment before softening. "Look at you caring about other people! I''m proud of you."

    The words hit him like a semi-truck. He was fairly certain he hadn''t heard those words from his wife since the first run through of 2011. That was a very, very long time ago.

    Aaron leaned his head against her shoulder, reveling in her warmth. He would never stop being grateful that she gave him another chance.

    "It''s all because of you," he told her truthfully. "You made me want to be a better person."

    She didn''t reply, choosing to simply kiss the top of his head. But he understood her meaning. Keeley was touched.

    His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out to see who it was. His father. He made a disgusted face and rejected the call. Two secondster, a string of angry text messages came flooding in about how Aaron absolutely had to attend Lacy Knighton''s funeral.

    Ha. Like he would do something stupid like that. He didn''t mourn her death at all. Not going would make a statement. He didn''t care who he offended in the process.

    Aaron had hated her for two lifetimes; what would be the point of going? He could publicly state what a horrible person she was and that he was happy she was gone but that would be in poor taste. He would be the bigger person and just not go.

    ===

    Alistair was about to pop a blood vessel when he didn''t get any response from his son even after several hours. The funeral was about to start. Lacy Knighton was an important figure in Aaron''s life; noting to her funeral was extremely disrespectful.

    That worthless boy! He needed to be taught a lesson. Unfortunately, he had the board eating out of the palm of his hand these days so Alistair''s hands were tied.

    The only thing he could do is attempt to force another engagement but it seemed too soon since the woman who was single-mindedly determined to marry him was dead. He still couldn''t believe it. How had a high society woman ended up dead in an alley in the Bronx of all ces?

    Brann was furious and had put out a reward for anyone who had information about his daughter''s death that would lead to an arrest. So far the police didn''t have any leads but it had only been a few days since they identified the body.

    He had contacts in the NYPD that were keeping him informed; right now they were trying to gather phone records. They wanted to question everyone Lacy contacted frequently to find out where she had been and what she had been doing shortly before her death.

    "Where is Aaron?" Roslyn whispered to her husband as they sat down inside the church one row behind the Knightons.

    "I assume noting," Alistair replied through gritted teeth. He ought to give that brat a goodshing.

    "How could he not being? He was supposed to marry her!"

    "He''s noting because he hated her, isn''t it obvious?" a socialite sitting to their left butted in. "He made no secret of it. He''s probably happy he doesn''t have to deal with her anymore."

    It may have been the truth but it was a horrible thing to say at someone''s funeral. There was such a thing as not speaking ill of the dead. Who was this crass woman? Someone from the circle should know better than to be so blunt.

    Alistair apprised the woman who had spoken. She had light brown hair and hazel eyes and was wearing a rather expensive pearl ne over her ck mourning dress. Alice Kelly. He considered her father a rival in the financial sector though of course he had to be outwardly cordial.

    "Alice," her husband hissed. "Behave."

    "I was only being honest," she shot back before settling into silence. The pastor was about to begin his speech about death and loss.

    It was a bit ironic considering most of the people here didn''t even like Lacy. She had ruled the socialites of her generation with an iron fist¡ªthere were probably a lot of people here who had wanted her gone.

    In fact, the only mourners Alistair could even see were her parents, a few extended family members, and Maximillian Lynch. He had been nearly as set on marrying Lacy as she had been on marrying Aaron. What a pity that no one got what they wanted.

    She had died young and tragically but Alistair didn''t feel too sorry for her. Aaron had already sworn not to marry her so it wasn''t as if she was useful to him. Coming here to pay hisst respects was more of a formality than anything.

 Chapter 315: A Few Questions

    <h4>Chapter 315: A Few Questions</h4>

    Gray was looking over a proposal for a new app one of his programmers wanted to make when the police came looking for him. They worked faster than he thought. He would have figured the corpse identification would take longer, let alone finding the phone records.

    "Good morning detectives, what can I do for you?" he asked mildly as they walked into his office and sat down after shing their badges.

    "We wanted to ask you a few questions about Lacy Knighton."

    It was imperative that he kept his cool. ying dumb was his best bet at this point.

    "What about her?"

    "How about we start with how you know her," the female detective said.

    He shrugged. "We have a mutual friend of sorts. I recognized her while getting myself a drink at a bar sometimest April and we hit it off."

    It was close to the truth, anyway. The best liars knew that it was better to leave parts of the truth out than make something up entirely. It was easier to remember what you told people that way.

    The cops didn''t have anything on him. As long as he didn''t slip up and reveal anything, he would be perfectly fine. Living in the foster system taught him to hide his true feelings behind a fa?ade. It was one thing to be grateful for about that horrible experience.

    "Your secretary told me that she visits here frequently," the male detective said.

    Gray should have paid more attention to what their names were. He was a bit distracted at the time because of nerves.

    "Socialites have a lot of free time. It was easier for her toe to me than the other way around."

    "She also said that you had Lacy thrown out of here by securityst Thursday. Want to tell us what that was about?" he asked sharply.

    This was the crucial part. One wrong word and he would be toast. He had to stay as nonchnt as possible. Maybe even a little rueful. Gray changed his tone ordingly.

    "Unfortunately, Lacy overstepped the bounds of our friendship. She seemed a little out of it when she came to visit me but I certainly didn''t expect her to start violently making out with me. I had to get two security guards to help me pry her off; you can ask them."

    The detectives'' faces didn''t give anything away. He couldn''t tell what they were thinking and it increased his unease. But he couldn''t let it show.

    "What are the names of those security guards? We''ll be speaking to them as well."

    "Mitchell Swenson and Joseph Parker. They should both be in the office right now. You can talk to them once we finish up here," Gray said pleasantly; trying to appear as cooperative as possible.

    It was within his best interest to seem worried about Lacy. He put on his best concerned expression before speaking again.

    "Detective, did something happen to Lacy? Is that why you''re asking me about her?"

    "Why don''t you tell me more about throwing her out of your office, before I answer any questions. What time did this happen? And what did you do after that until 7 PM?"

    False worry creased his brow, as if he were truly concerned about that witch. Perhaps Gray missed his calling as an actor. He pretended to think about it even though he had rehearsed what to say dozens of times already.

    "What time¡­I hadn''t been back from my lunch break terribly long when she came¡­around 12:40? There should be security footage showing her being escorted out of the lobby with a timestamp on it. You might want to check with Mitchell or Joseph.

    "After that it took me about twenty minutes to refocus on the reports I was reading over but I worked on those until my three o''clock appointment, Charles Bower, arrived. We chatted for nearly two hours. After that I remained in the office until six and drove home."

    The male detective was writing down notes as the female detective recorded the conversation. The worst of it appeared to be over.

    "Can you tell me what happened to Lacy now?" he asked in a worried voice.

    The female detective looked up. "I''m sorry to tell you this Mr. Meyer but Lacy Knighton was murderedst Thursday. It appears to have been a mugging. Right now we''re trying to figure out who thest person to see her was."

    Gray put on an appropriate look of shock. "Murdered! How horrible! Poor Lacy¡­"

    "Indeed. We''ll be speaking to your security guards. If we have any further questions we''ll contact you. Please let us know if you think of anything else that might be helpful, such as if she said she was nning on going anywhere as she left."

    The male detective handed him a business card and he nodded mutely, feigning grief. Once they left he loosened his tie. It felt awfully stuffy in here all of a sudden.

    ===

    Keeley was changing Violet''s diaper when she got a call on the inte from the doorman.

    "Mrs. Hale, there are a few police officers here looking to speak with your husband. Should I tell them toe backter?"

    So they finally realized Lacy was obsessed with Aaron and wereing to question him. She should have expected this wasing but didn''t think it would be so soon. She nced at the clock. Aaron usually got home around this time of day.

    "You can let them up; he should be home within the next fifteen minutes. Tell them to meet me on the second floor. I can''t leave my infants unattended to greet them at the elevator."

    "Yes ma''am," he said respectfully.

    She still couldn''t tell if this guy was judging her about the previous incident a few days after Valentine''s Day or not. His professionalism hadn''t cracked in a while.

    The police came up a few minutester, introducing themselves as Detectives Flynn and Ruano.

    "Mrs. Hale, the doorman said your husband should be home within the next fifteen minutes, is that correct?"

    She nodded. "He''s usually back between 5:50 and 6:15, depending on traffic. May I ask what this is about?"

    "We wanted to ask him a few questions about an acquaintance of his," Detective Ruano said simply.

    So they weren''t going to confess they were here investigating a murder? Interesting. She had never been interrogated by the police so she didn''t know what kind of methods they typically employed.

    Kaleb began fussing and she quickly apologized before turning around to pick him up out of his bouncer. He probably needed his diaper changed as well but she didn''t want to do it until Aaron came back to keep the detectives busy.

    Detective Flynn gave her a reassuring smile. "Your children are beautiful."

    "Thank you."

    Just then, Aaron''s voice came floating faintly up the stairs. "Sweetheart, I''m home! What''s for dinner? I''m starving."

    He froze in his tracks at the top of the stairs, taking in the scene of his wife sitting across from two professionally dressed strangers.

    "Aaron, these are Detectives Flynn and Ruano. They wanted to ask you a few questions about someone you know," she said as calmly as she could.

    "Who?" he asked with a frown, ying along.

    "Lacy Knighton. I believe she''s a friend of yours?"

    "That isn''t the word I would use. I saw her a few times a year at social events at the most," Aaron said firmly.

    "Mrs. Hale, could we speak to your husband alone?" Detective Flynn asked.

    She nodded and took Kaleb upstairs with her. Aaron excused himself to help her bring Violet up before going back down and facing the music. She gave him a quick kiss for luck, unable to voice her thoughts in case the detectives overheard.

 Chapter 316: I Love You

    <h4>Chapter 316: I Love You</h4>

    "What do you want to know about Lacy Knighton?" Aaron asked tly.

    Who had ratted him out? It had to have been someone from high society. Everyone there knew how much Aaron hated the woman''s constant pestering.

    Detective Ruano answered his question with a question. "How long have you been married, Mr. Hale?"

    "Nine months. How is that relevant?"

    "Lacy''s father mentioned that the two of you were supposed to be engaged slightly over a year ago. How is it that you''re now married to someone else with children?"

    Aaron snorted. "Brann Knighton is out of his mind. He and my father wanted us to get engaged but I never agreed to it. I was already courting my wife at the time."

    Unsessfully, but they didn''t need to know that. Why were they even asking him this? He had an alibi! Ask him about his alibi! He felt the need to rify something. They probably thought this was a case of a rtionship gone sour.

    "Look, I never so much as went on a single date with Lacy Knighton. She was interested in me but I never gave her any indication I reciprocated. In fact, I told her to leave me alone every time I saw her."

    The detectives exchanged a nce.

    "I''ll cut to the chase, Mr. Hale. We already know of your animosity toward Lacy Knighton. We''ve spoken to your doorman and he told us she was on a no entry list and had been thrown out of this building over a dozen times. What I want to know is where you were and what you were doingst Thursday," Detective Flynn said firmly.

    "Simple. I was in Rochester with my wife, children, and father-inw. We left on Wednesday morning and didn''te back until Sunday afternoon. I can show you my airne tickets, timestamped photos of the trip, and let you talk to my friend who was watching our cats while we were gone if necessary."

    "I take it you already know why we''re here then?"

    "I''m aware that she''s dead, yes. My friend''s little sister found the body and told me about it," Aaron said bluntly.

    "He knew about how Lacy had been harassing me for years. My wife and I were actually discussing the possibility of getting a restraining order against her while we were out of town before I heard the news. I took her on vacation to get away from the stress that woman was causing by stalking our apartment building."

    "I would like to see those tickets and photos, please," Detective Ruano said mildly.

    Aaron showed him at least one photo from each day they were gone before heading upstairs to find the tickets Keeley had left on top of her dresser. The detectives were appeased by the evidence of his innocence. Thank goodness.

    "We only have one more question. Is there anyone else you''re aware of that harbored a grudge against Lacy Knighton?"

    Yeah, his half-brother. But he wasn''t going to say that because then he might be implicated as an aplice. He honestly didn''t care if Gray got away with murder. Lacy had gotten exactly what she deserved.

    He hade to believe in karma after being reincarnated. Everyone got what wasing for them.

    "No," he stated simply. "You might want to try checking with her friends. Like I said, I hardly knew her. She was the one whotched onto me."

    "Thank you for your time, Mr. Hale. We''ll be in contact if we have further questions. If you can think of anything else that might be helpful, please call us," Detective Ruano said as he handed him a business card.

    Aaron nodded before showing them out. Ugh. That was so stressful. Stupid Lacy. How could she still be causing him problems from beyond the grave?!

    He stomped up the stairs and flopped onto the bed beside his wife.

    "How did it go?" she asked.

    "I''m pretty sure they don''t think I did it. But it was still a waste of my time."

    Keeley patted his upper armfortingly. "Well, it''s all over now. You don''t have to worry about it anymore."

    Was that really true though? It was still hard to believe that she was really gone. Lacy Knighton had been a thorn in his side over two lifetimes and now she was gone before she could cause any real damage to his family.

    Everything was going suspiciously well for him right now. Aaron didn''t mean to be a pessimist but considering how many things had gone wrong throughout his existence¡­how much heartache he experienced to get here¡­it was almost like he was too happy right now.

    He was married to the woman of his dreams and sometimes he thought she might actually be able to love him again. They had two beautiful children. He actually had friends. This was far too much goodness for him to have at once.

    Would he ever stop feeling like there was something bad waiting for him? Was he really allowed to simply be happy with his family like anyone else?

    "Things are going too well for me right now," he mumbled as he covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow lying t on his back.

    "¡­you think being questioned about a murder counts as things going too well?" Keeley asked with a small giggle.

    "You know what I mean."

    She sighed. "Yeah, I do. You can''t think like that though or you''ll never be at peace. A lot of terrible things have happened to us but we''re okay now, aren''t we? That''s what matters."

    Aaron really appreciated her use of the word ''us.'' It made him feel secure. They were in this together.

    Feeling a bit overwhelmed with love for his wife, he sat up and buried his face in her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist as she continued to feed Violet. She was his anchor in this tumultuous world.

    "I love you," he said fervently.

    "I know. And you know the crazy thing? Despite everything, I might actually love you back."

    His head snapped up so he could meet her eyes, not sure if he heard her correctly. He had wondered for a while if she was wavering in her feelings but to actually hear her say it¡­

    "Really?" Aaron asked, trying not to reveal the pathetically desperate amount of hope coursing through him.

    Keeley''s smile was soft as she gazed back at him. "Yeah. Like I said, it''s crazy."

    "Can you say it again? Just so I''m sure I''m not dreaming. You have said you hate me about a hundred times in this life so¡­"

    "Would you like me to pinch you?" she asked crossly.

    "Aww,e on Keeley! Please?"

    She rolled her eyes at him while suppressing yet another smile. "You''re hopeless but alright. I love you, Aaron."

    He sighed contentedly and resumed his position with his head on her shoulder. That was what he had been waiting to hear. It had been eight and a half years since he met his wife again and he had finally won back her heart.

 Chapter 317: Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 317: Chaos</h4>

    Aaron practically floated through the days leading up to the shareholders meeting when he would finally overthrow his father. ''She loves me, she loves me, she loves me'' ran through his head repeatedly like a mantra and he couldn''t stop himself from smiling.

    All of the employees he encountered at Hale Investments wondered what on earth was wrong with their vice president. He never smiled. Ever.

    "Why are you in such a good mood?" Cameron asked as they headed into the board room.

    "She loves me," Aaron said dreamily.

    "What?!" he whisper-shouted, attracting the attention of a few of the other shareholders before lowering his voice even further. "You''ve been married this long and she only said it now?"

    "¡­we have a bit of aplicated history."

    Cameron was about to ask more, still confused, when his wife walked in and sat down across the table to maintain the illusion that she didn''t know him. The sight of Jennica sufficiently distracted him long enough for the other two missing shareholders to file in and sit down so the meeting could begin.

    Alistair began by going over monthly reports and noteworthy issues like usual. Aaron had to try very hard not to burst with excitement waiting for his turn. Revenge would be sweet. Two lifetimes of this man trying to control him and Aaron would finally be the one in control.

    "I have something to say," he finally spoke up with fifteen minutes left of the meeting.

    "What is it?" his father asked impatiently, covering the room in ice. He was still bitter that Aaron hadn''t attended Lacy''s funeral.

    "Nothing much. I simply need those shares you promised me when my wife gave birth to a son. The contract is legally binding and we''re already running behind schedule because my son is three months old."

    You could practically hear crickets chirping in the room. Everybody who didn''t already know about Keeley, Kaleb, and Violet werepletely frozen.

    Aaron took that as an opportunity to show copies of his marriage certificate and Kaleb''s birth certificate on the screen. He needed witnesses in case his father tried to back out of the contract. Then he would sue him for everyst penny.

    The next pictures he showed were copies of the share transfer agreements between him and all of his dummy shareholders.

    "That being said, once I get the shares I am legally owed, I''ll be the majority shareholder with fifty-one percent. At that point it is within my right to change the board of directors. So I''ll be recing my father as the CEO. We''ll be needing a new vice president¡­Cameron, are you interested?"

    He had actually been paying attention to the meeting for once but he was still caught off guard by the question. "Are you serious?!"

    Aaron shrugged. "Your sry will increase and I''ll stop sending you all over the world."

    A satisfied grin crossed his features. "Done."

    Jennica pped her hands together in delight. "Way to go, babe!"

    The other shareholders finally unfroze and the room dissolved into chaos. Everyone was arguing with each other until Alistair began to yell. At that point everything went silent at the frightening aura he gave off.

    "AARON HALE YOU BETTER EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

    A satisfied grin appeared on his face, which was the exact opposite of the facial expressions everyone else in the room had on. They were all terrified. But the storm didn''t affect him at all.

    "It''s quite simple, Father. I don''t like the way you do things so I began nning this my freshman year of college. I bought up as many shares as I could and handed them off to other people who would vote on my side and deflect suspicion.

    "I monitored all of your activities, so I know about the inside trading. If you try and put up a fuss about this, I''ll hand over the evidence I have to the police and thepany your family has been in charge of for generations will be destroyed fromck of public trust. Personally, I couldn''t care less. All that matters to me is my wife and children.

    "Oh, right. And Bethany Carlisle? Doesn''t exist. I got someone to pretend to be her at that birthday party because I knew what you were nning to do. The woman you heard on the phone was always my beautiful, non high society wife. We got marriedst year and had twins without you being any the wiser. I win."

    Alistair couldn''t believe what he was hearing and blustered wordlessly. It took a minute for Aaron''s words to sink in for everyone else.

    "You engaged in insider trading?" Samuel, his most loyal supporter, asked angrily. "Do you have any idea what that would do to thepany if anyone found out?"

    "Our shares would be worthless and we would lose thousands of dors each!" Carol eximed.

    "How could you be so irresponsible?" Alexander demanded.

    Once again, the room became a cacophony of yells. Aaron watched the chaos he had created with a wicked grin. Everyone had turned on his father now.

    Cameron walked over andid a hand on his shoulder. "You did it. You actually did it. There''s no way he''ll have enough guts to stay on at thepany now."

    "Definitely not," he said with augh.

    It was so satisfying watching his father desperately try to exin himself. He looked downright pathetic. Gone was that mighty presence he was known for. Alistair Hale was a cornered rat.

    The meeting ended up going on an extra twenty minutes because too many people were cursing Alistair out. Multiple shareholders imed that if he didn''t hand over the shares to Aaron and retire that they would sue him personally for breach of trust.

    This was more than Aaron could have possibly dreamed of. Revenge was sweet.

    "Why would you do this to me, Aaron?" his father asked weakly once everyone else left the boardroom and it was only the two of them.

    He let out a short, bitterugh. There were so many reasons he couldn''t say because Alistair didn''t remember doing them. At the very least, in this life he had tried controlling Aaron like his own personal puppet.

    "You tried to mold me into a miniature version of you. I don''t appreciate being controlled. Exactly how many times over the years did I tell you I refused to marry that witch? And yet you plotted behind my back to announce the engagement publicly so I couldn''t refuse. Well guess what? She''s dead and I got to marry the woman I love."

    Alistair''s pupils shrank in fear. "Did you kill her?!"

    "Of course not. I''m not that petty. I suppose I have a guardian angel."

    Or a deranged, psychopathic brother but it was basically the same thing. Speaking of Gray though¡­

    "That reminds me. Michael Gray sends his regards."

    He jumped to his feet with a ghastly expression on his face. "How do you even know about him? You¡­both of you nned this together?!"

    "No, this was my n. He just helped a little bit with the execution toward the end," Aaron said with a smirk. He pushed the share transfer document across the table. "So about those shares?"

 Chapter 318: Grays Turn

    <h4>Chapter 318: Gray''s Turn</h4>

    A pleased smile crossed Gray''s features as he saw the headline on a tabloid website. ''Aaron Hale Reces Father As CEO In Unexpected Coup d''¨¦tat'' So he finally did it. Excellent.

    Now it was Gray''s turn to mess with their father. He had prepared the article weeks ago. All he had to do was send it to a journalist friend of his and it would hit the headlines the following morning.

    With Aaron''s news already trending, the Hale family would be in the spotlight. It was the perfect time to release additional news. People ate this stuff up.

    He could imagine how the news of the two most eligible bachelors in the city secretly being brothers would make waves. Even more would be made when they found out that one of them was already married.

    He sincerely hoped Keeley was prepared to handle the news. It was inevitable that someone would figure out who she was sooner orter.

    Gray sent off the article to his friend and leaned back in his chair, perfectly at ease. The police hadn''te looking for him again, his father was getting what he deserved, and all was right in the world.

    ===

    Aaron had texted her that his takeover was sessful during his lunch break so she finally feltfortable updating herst name, marriage status, and pictures on social media. The person they were trying to hide it from already knew so there was no point now.

    Instantly, astonishedments began flooding in from people she hadn''t seen in years.

    ''Since when do you have kids?!''

    ''YOU MARRIED AARON HALE?!?!?!''

    ''Twins? You had twins?''

    ''How did you end up with the most eligible bachelor in New York?''

    To mess with them all, she simply responded with a smirking face emoji. It wasn''t really any of their business and it would be a nightmare to exin.

    The caption to her group of pictures was ''A lot has happened in the past year but I wouldn''t change it for the world'' and a heart emoji. Her post included pictures of the wedding, of the babies, and of their trip to Niagara Falls.

    A notification came in; Aaron had liked her post. Of course he did. He was probably thrilled he could show her off now. He was weird that way.

    She scrolled through Instagram and did a double take when she saw a series of pictures posted from inside her house. Of Dinah. Of the babies. And of her. She definitely didn''t post them so who¡ª?

    Her eyes flicked up to the username and saw hail.storm, her long-time follower, was the culprit. Keeley let out a frustrated noise. That idiot was following her on Instagram the entire time and never said anything?! She didn''t even know he had an ount!

    She shot him an annoyed text. ''When were you going to tell me about your Instagram ount?''

    ''I just did'' he replied with a smiley face tacked onto the end.

    Blowing out a frustrated breath, she calmed herself. This wasn''t worth getting upset over. It simply proved that Aaron was even more of a devoted sap than she thought. And she already knew he was pretty sappy.

    ''You''re ridiculous, I hope you know that''

    ''Yeah, but you still love me''

    Keeley rolled her eyes. He was going to hold that over her forever, wasn''t he? She would regret telling him if not for how happy he had been.

    It was true anyway. She wasn''t like he used to be¡ªif someone said ''I love you'' to her and she truly loved them back, she had to say so. She had punished him long enough.

    The past was dead. Aaron of the present was an excellent husband and father. He made her feel loved, made herugh, and supported her dreams. He was her best friend yet again.

    Cries came through the baby monitor and Keeley put her phone down to go check on her children. They were probably hungry; they had been napping for a while.

    Feeding them was a lot harder when Aaron wasn''t home. She had to listen to one cry while feeding the other and it both broke her heart and gave her a bit of a headache.

    "Hang in there Violet," she soothed. "Kaleb will be done eating soon and then it will be your turn."

    Violet didn''t stop crying. Of course she didn''t. She was hungry; words meant nothing. What mattered was food.

    Once both of the babies were fed, burped, and had their diapers changed, she set them down on their padded mat under a mobile and began reading to them. They listened happily to their mother''s voice and kicked their feet in the air.

    When Aaron came home the babies were in their bouncers and Keeley was making dinner. He kissed her cheek as he presented her with a pint of Cherry Garcia ice cream.

    "I thought we could have ice creamter to celebrate our victory today."

    The side of her mouth lifted. "Our victory? Pretty sure this one was all you. I had nothing to do with it. You''ve been working on this for a long time."

    He shook his head. "You were the motivation behind it all. Besides, you did help me hold him off by pretending to be Bethany Carlisle a few times."

    Still, it didn''t feel like much of a contribution. But her heart skipped a beat at the reminder that he did this all for her.

    Eight years ago. He started down this road eight years ago because he loved her and wanted them to be together safely. It had been such a long time and he never gave up.

    She abandoned the vegetables she was cutting and threw her arms around him, enveloping Aaron in a tight hug. He returned the embrace eagerly.

    "What''s that for?" he asked with a slightugh.

    "I''m d you didn''t give up on me," she admitted. "I didn''t make things easy for you."

    "And I didn''t make things easy for you so now we''re even. I''ve told you before¡ªyou didn''t give up on me when we first met so I could never give up on you."

    Keeley''s arms snaked around his neck and she kissed him until all the feelings that were ready to make her heart burst had worked their way out. She didn''t have words to describe how happy she was that they were finally able to be together safely and in love like they always should have been.

 Chapter 319: Divorce Papers

    <h4>Chapter 319: Divorce Papers</h4>

    A few weekster, Keeley took the twins on their daily walk around Central Park. Some mornings she used the stroller and others she carried them in a double wrap on her torso.

    They had recently learned how to hold up their heads so they loved being in the wrap and looking around at everything while being attached to their mother. This particr morning they were in the wrap. She liked to switch things up for the sake of her back.

    As she walked in circles around the park, she thought about how good things had been since the takeover. Sure, she got a lot of disbelievingments on Facebook and Instagram but that had been the worst of it. Neither Alistair nor Roslyn had tried contacting her, which she was grateful for.

    Keeley''s Facebook friends knew who her husband was because of how she had updated her rtionship status but her Instagram followers didn''t because she didn''t use herst name on there. Her profile had always said ''Keeley H.'' Though nearly everyone in New York City knew Aaron''s name, they didn''t know his face.

    None of her Facebook friends had squealed to the media so far either. She was able to continue enjoying her anonymity for now but she didn''t know how long it wouldst. Someone would rat her out eventually.

    But right now people were more interested in the news that Gray (at least she assumed it was Gray) leaked the day after Aaron became the CEO. She was a bit grateful to him. With everyone shocked about Alistair Hale''s illegitimate child the people were less concerned about how Aaron managed to take over thepany at age 25.

    She had seen multiple gossip rags talk about how the two most eligible bachelors in the city were actually brothers. It was hot news. Too bad they didn''t know the truth. Aaron was as far from a bachelor as possible.

    He was the most aggressively affectionate family man she had ever encountered, which was nuts if you had ever interacted with the guy. Sometimes even Keeley had a hard time believing this was the same man she married in her first life.

    The sun was beating down on her and the babies were getting cranky so it was time to head back home and put them down for their morning nap. She waited on a bench for the driver to show up. Aaron didn''t want her taking the subway with two babies by herself, which was somewhat understandable.

    She scrolled through her phone until an elegant but weary voice sounded from her left. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

    Keeley looked up and saw a rather disheveled Alice. She had forgotten that this park was fairly close to the ritzy part of town. Running into her shouldn''t have been as surprising as it was.

    "Of course not! Go right ahead. How are you?"

    Alice yawned and leaned her head against the back of the bench. That wasn''t the sort of thing Keeley would have expected a high society woman to do¡ªthis was a dirty public park after all¡ªbut she supposed the woman must be different than the other socialites. Aaron wouldn''t trust her otherwise.

    "Not great," she admitted. "I served my husband the divorce papers this morning and got kicked out of the house. He''s so furious that he won''t even let me back inside to collect my things."

    Keeley frowned. "Why is he so angry if he''s the one cheating?"

    Aaron had filled her in on Alice''s situation after he helped her get awyer. There was enough evidence of his infidelity that there shouldn''t be any difficulty for her to be granted the divorce.

    The problem would be the prenuptial agreement. It weighedrgely in Brock''s favor. Alice''s family would get their dowry back but there wasn''t much else mentioned that would help her out.

    "It''s a pride thing. Men in my social circle practically get away with murder when ites to what they do behind their wives'' backs but hardly anyone divorces. Plus he''ll probably fight against splitting assets and giving me fair alimony tooth and nail.

    "I don''t have a job though because he didn''t want me to have one. The courts will have to rule in my favor that way¡­at least, that''s what mywyer says. I was such an idiot. I never should have married him at all."

    Misery was clear on Alice''s pretty face and Keeley''s heart ached for her. She used to think the exact same way. It was all water under the bridge now but it didn''t take away the fact that she had experienced years of simr pain.

    Shefortingly put an arm around Alice''s shoulders. A bit surprised, she jolted before sinking into the other woman''s embrace. Alice rested her head on Keeley''s shoulder as the tears began to fall.

    "I don''t know what to do. I tried calling my parents but they''re just as angry as Brock is. They won''t let me stay with them. All I have now is my purse and the clothes I''m wearing."

    "Do you need money?" Keeley asked.

    She shook her head. "No, mywyer advised me to clean out the bank ount I have ess to before giving Brock the divorce papers. I moved it all to an ount in my name only so I have a few hundred thousand dors but it won''t be enough tost me long. I need to find a ce to live and rece all of my clothes."

    "You can stay with us for now," Keeley said firmly. "You''re a little taller than I am but my clothes should fit you. Provided you don''t mind not wearing high end brands."

    "I don''t mind at all! But¡­are you sure? I don''t want to be a burden."

    She let out a smallugh. "Help me out with these two rascals and I''ll consider us even. It''s hard taking care of them by myself while Aaron is at work."

    Alice''s tears only increased and she buried her face in her hands. Keeley understood what she was feeling. Unexpected kindness could be quite overwhelming, especially when you were at your lowest.

    Her phone buzzed; the driver was letting her know he had arrived. Keeley stood and offered a hand to help Alice up.

    "Come on, my driver is here. Let''s go back to my ce and we''ll figure something out. I know what it''s like to lose everything. No matter what it takes, I''ll help you get back on your feet."

    Alice epted it gratefully and smiled despite the tears in her eyes. "You''re such a good person. Thank you."

 Chapter 320: Probably Because Of His Wife

    <h4>Chapter 320: Probably Because Of His Wife</h4>

    Once the babies were down for their morning nap, Keeley helped Alice look through her job options. French literature specifically was only useful if you had an advanced degree and wanted to be a professor so she decided to search for Frenchnguage jobs. Alice was fluent after all.

    "Your best bet at this point would probably be getting a job as a tutor or a trantor. The problem is going to be your resume since you''ve never had a job. Have you done any volunteer work you can put down?" Keeley asked.

    Alice nodded and her brow furrowed as she thought about it. "I''ve organized or participated in a variety of charity drives over the years for different causes but that''s about it."

    It wasn''t much, but it was something. They could work with that. Keeley had taken a free resume building seminar in college so she could weave gold out of straw.

    Being a part of charity drives involved skills such as leadership, teamwork, and organization that looked good on resumes. And Alice did attend an Ivy League college, even though she graduated four years ago.

    "Write down a list of everything you did for those events and I''ll find a way to make it work from there," Keeley ordered. "I need a snack. Are you hungry?"

    "A snack would be wonderful, thank you!"

    She rummaged around in the fridge until she found some baby carrots and the good ranch dressing that Aaron had gotten her hooked on from a higher end grocery store. Sometimes being rich had its perks.

    Keeley pulled out two tiny bowls and poured a bit of ranch into each of them so there wouldn''t be a double dipping problem. Normally she only used one because Aaron didn''t care. They were always swapping saliva anyway.

    She set the bowls and carrots down on the kitchen table next to where Alice was diligently writing her list of duties. She looked up and smiled at Keeley gratefully.

    "There. I think I have it," she said as she held the list out.

    Keeley took it from her and examined it closely. There was definitely workable material here.

    "Leave it to me; I''m going to put together a resume no employer can refuse!"

    She crunched on the asional carrot as she worked. The resume was just about finished when she heard criese through the baby monitor. A heavy sigh escaped her. She was so close!

    "I''ll handle them while you finish up," Alice offered.

    "¡­have you ever changed a diaper before? Because they''ll probably need their diapers changed."

    "No but it can''t be too hard, can it?"

    Keeley saved her work and closed theptop so neither of the cats could walk across the keyboard and disrupt things. "It can be trickier than you would think. Let me show you how first then I''ll get back to it."

    They headed upstairs and she put on her brightest smile as she saw her children, beginning to baby talk them and tell them how much she loved them. Both Kaleb and Violet smiled and cooed in response.

    She decided to use Kaleb as the example because he was a bit squirmier in general. Violet would be easier for a newbie to handle.

    "Mostly you just need to make sure that the diaper isn''t backwards and that it''s high enough up that it doesn''t sag," Keeley exined as she went. "Do you think you have it?"

    "I think so," Alice said cautiously. "You might want to watch me just in case."

    Her work was a bit sloppy but it did the job. Not bad for the first time ever changing a diaper. It took a while to really get it down.

    They each took a twin and headed downstairs, setting them in their bouncers in the kitchen so they could be near themotion. The babies seemed to prefer being involved in anything that was going on at all times.

    Dinah walked by and gave Kaleb a cautious sniff, recoiling instantly as he reached out for her and running to hide under the couch. Poor thing.

    Keeley finished the resume less than ten minutester and told Alice she would want to print multiple copies of it so she could bring them to interviews with her but they could deal with that once it got closer. For now, they needed to focus on applications.

    She directed Alice to a few popr online job boards and told her to shout if she needed any help. It was about the time of day where she usually read to her children for a while. They always seemed to enjoy listening to her even though they had no idea what she was saying.

    ===

    Ryan Bradley was working on mixing together a new medication batch at PharmaGen when he overheard some of his coworkers gossiping.

    "Did you hear the news about Aaron Hale?"

    "Yeah, it was totally savage! He stole his father''spany right out from under him! I have a friend who works at Hale Investments as a secretary and she says Alistair Hale hasn''t even showed up at the office since it happened and that was weeks ago."

    "He''s probably ashamed. Didn''t you hear about the other news?"

    "True. I''d be pretty embarrassed if it was revealed to the whole world that I''d cheated on my wife too. It''s almost like Aaron Hale and Graydon Meyer nned this together. They must really hate their father."

    "I get why the illegitimate son would hate him, but why would Aaron?"

    Ryan was pretty sure he had an idea. This had to be about Keeley. He had known the Hales wouldn''t ept her! Did he take over thepany just because his parents rejected his wife?

    That wouldn''t make sense though. No one could topple an empire in a day. That icy freak had to have been working on this for a long time.

    He had been Keeley''s ex-boyfriend before he was her husband¡­exactly how long ago had they broken up? Did Alistair Hale y a role in that? It would exin the animosity between father and son perfectly.

    "Probably because of his wife," he contributed bitterly.

    Both of his coworkers turned to stare at him like he was crazy.

    "Wife? What wife? If Aaron Hale was married, people would know about it!" one of them eximed.

    "I''m telling you, he is. He married one of my friends from college because he got her pregnant. They have twins now. I saw them at a park in Brooklyn not too long ago."

    His other coworker eyed him distrustfully. "Prove it."

    "I''m a little busy right now," Ryan said dryly, gesturing to the chemicals he was mixing. "Look up Keeley Hale on Facebook if you don''t believe me."

    They weren''t supposed to have their phones out in theb while chemicals were present but his coworker was determined. He checked around him to be sure their boss wasn''t nearby before taking off his gloves and pulling up his Facebook app.

    "Well what do you know?" he said with a low whistle.

    A couple other people nearby who had been listening in on the conversation even if they hadn''t been participating gathered around and peered over his shoulder. The profile picture on the ount was of a blonde woman grinning in front of Niagara Falls as a tall dark haired man stood behind with his arms wrapped around her.

    Nobody there knew what Aaron Hale looked like so they weren''t convinced until they saw ''Married to Aaron Hale'' in the ''about me'' section. Her profile''s cover photo was of two babies lying next to each other on a y mat so everything Ryan said checked out.

    "Have you met him?!" one of his coworkers asked.

    Ryan snorted. "Unfortunately. The guy is a human icicle but he''s like apletely different person around her. It wouldn''t surprise me one bit if he took over thepany early because his father didn''t like her."

    Theb dissolved into frenzied whispers as the gossip only got worse and Ryan rolled his eyes. Ugh. Who cared about Aaron Hale anyway? He hoped he never heard that name again. He didn''t need a further reminder of what he had lost.

 Chapter 321: Roslyn Hale

    <h4>Chapter 321: Roslyn Hale</h4>

    When Aaron arrived home he was more than a little confused seeing Alice Kelly parked on his couch. He quickly kissed his wife before asking what she was doing there.

    "I ran into Alice at the park earlier. She needs a ce to stay for a little while and we have plenty of guest rooms," Keeley exined. "I was actually going to ask if you could watch the twins for a while so we could go get our nails done."

    His eyes narrowed. "You hate getting your nails done. You always do it yourself."

    She pulled him aside and whispered. "Alice is having a bad day; she''s lost everything that matters to her. She likes getting manicures so I want to try and cheer her up."

    A small indulgent smile crossed his face as he hugged her. She was always thinking about other people first. He was a bit put out that he wouldn''t be able to spend as much time with her while Alice was here but she could definitely use a person like Keeley right now so he would let it slide.

    "Alright, go have fun. Have they been fed recently?"

    "Yes. Their diapers will probably need changing soon. We already ate; there''s still some food left warming in the Crock Pot for you. I should be back in time to help put them to bed but in case I''m not you know what to do."

    She kissed his cheek before kissing both of the babies goodbye and grabbing her purse on the way downstairs. Alice shot him an apologetic look as she followed his wife that Aaron waved off.

    He had wanted Alice to leave her husband; he should have expected she wouldtch onto Keeley. She was the kind of person that lonely people tended to gravitate towards. Her warmth drew them to her like moths to a me.

    He shook his head and sighed. Things were about to get crazy around here. If he knew his wife, she was going to twist herself into a pretzel to help Alice until she got things figured out.

    Aaron''s attention turned to his children babbling on the floor. He squatted down next to them with a soft expression on his face.

    "Hey, babies. Daddy''s home."

    They both smiled at him and stretched their arms out wanting to be picked up. Now that they could hold their heads up he could technically carry both of them at once. He gave into their demands and they cooed in delight.

    It was good to be home. His workload shouldn''t have increased too much from vice president to CEO but there were a lot of things to settle because of the sudden change in leadership. It didn''t help that his father refused to cooperate.

    Alistair had apparently locked himself inside his house as reporters kept trying to crowd it following the shocking news Gray released. He wouldn''t answer any of Aaron''s calls as he tried toplete the handover.

    Oh well. He should have expected this. Of course his father wouldn''t be happy at being deposed.

    He had to admit he was slightly curious how his cold, proud mother had reacted to the news but he didn''t care enough about her to inquire about her well-being. After all, she had never cared about him.

    Violet tried tugging at his tie and Aaron realized he should have taken it off before picking her up. He removed it and tossed it onto the other end of the couch.

    Honestly, he should have gotten changed before picking her up too. Drool was all over his suit jacket. He would have to send it down to the dry cleaners'' on one of the lower floors of the building.

    "Ah, Violet, you''re so cute but so messy," he sighed. She smiled at him in response as if she knew what he was saying.

    He nted a kiss on her head before giving a little attention to Kaleb, who was fussing. It was difficult managing two babies by yourself. Sometimes he wondered how Keeley managed to do it day after day while he was gone.

    She was an excellent mother. Their children were happy, well-adjusted infants under her care. As they grew up, they would never doubt they were loved.

    Aaron was actually a bit jealous. His childhood hadn''t been anything like that. The only warmth he ever got was from people his parents paid to take care of him and they had a high turnover rate. He couldn''t even count the number of nannies he went through.

    Though he felt bad that Keeley''s dream had been deferred yet again, he was grateful she had chosen to stay home with their children until they were old enough to go to preschool. They needed her warmth and love while they were this little.

    He couldn''t help but wonder how different he would have turned out if his own mother had given him even a fraction of the attention his children got from Keeley. Even though Roslyn Hale''s pride was shattered to pieces right now because the whole world knew she had been cheated on he couldn''t find it within himself to spare her any sympathy.

    Aaron wondered if she was even hurt beyond her embarrassment at being publicly shamed. As far as he had seen, his mother didn''t harbor any actual feelings for his father. He didn''t think she had a heart.

    Then again, people had used him of the same thing and that obviously wasn''t true. What exactly went on inside that woman''s head? He had always assumed it was full of nothing but shallow thoughts of jewelry, clothes, and barely concealed gossip.

    What was it like actually having a good rtionship with your mother? Gray had loved his mother enough to resort to murder. When Keeley spoke of her mother, it was with a mixture of sorrow and fondness. She kept up the traditions Monica Hall had started to honor her memory.

    Roslyn Hale had never done anything as a mother to spark any kind of devotion. As far as he knew, she hadn''t been actively involved in the ectopic pregnancy scheme but she was one of the main reasons Keeley had been so miserable during their first marriage.

    Mothers-inw were people to be feared and respected in that social circle. Keeley was forced to cater to her every whim even while knowing Roslyn was looking down on her. There was no love lost between those two.

    Aaron harbored no positive feelings for her anyway because she was so distant but after Keeley died and he realized how miserable she had truly been because of his mother things got even worse.

    No, he didn''t feel sorry for her. If anything, she deserved what she was experiencing now. Karma came for everyone in the end.

 Chapter 322: The Spotlight

    <h4>Chapter 322: The Spotlight</h4>

    Keeley took Alice to a nearby nail salon that stayed opente since most closed earlier in the day. It wasn''t as fancy as the ones she was used to but Keeley refused to step into that part of town because of all the bad memories. She didn''t need the reminder of her former life.

    Alice didn''t seem to mind; she was just happy to be getting her nails done. For her, it was something familiar andforting. Her manicure involved a mixture of matte and glossy burgundy nails with one pinkish gold sparkly ent nail per hand.

    Keeley wasn''t nearly so fancy. Her nails were all yellow except the ent nails, which were white with a lighter yellow heart on each. They were bright and fun; exactly the opposite of the kind of manicures she got in her first life.

    Back then, her nails were much more subdued. They didn''t suit her taste at all. But to maintain the image of the daughter-inw of the Hale family, she had to get her nails done every other week.

    The one time she had identally chipped some of her French manicure off Roslyn had been scandalized and sent her straight to the nail salon after chastising her thoroughly. You''d think she had shed someone in public rather than dared to go shopping with a single imperfect fingernail.

    How had she ever been able to stand that kind of life? Especially now that she knew what it was like having a normal life with Aaron. She should have told him how unhappy she was. Knowing now how much he loved her back then, he probably would have done something about it.

    There was no use thinking about that now. She was happy with her current life and that was what mattered.

    "I needed this," Alice sighed contentedly. "Thank you."

    "No problem! I''m d you''re feeling a bit better. Once you have a job of your own you''ll still be able to do things like this once a month if you budget for it."

    Her face clouded over. "I don''t know a thing about budgeting. I''ve never had the need for it."

    Ah, rich people. They were a different breed. Being born rich like Aaron and Alice was very different than bing rich like Cameron and Jennica.

    People who became richter had a much greater appreciation of their money. Their roots stayed with them. They still knew how to budget; it was simply that the limits of their budget increased.

    "I''ll teach you," Keeley reassured her.

    She had made through college in two different lifetimes on a rather limited ie and had never been in debt. If anyone knew what they were doing budget-wise, she did.

    "You''re a lifesaver, Keeley," Alice said gratefully. "Thank you."

    Keeley brushed off her gratitude. She was only doing what she wished someone would have done for her when she felt trapped all those years ago. She saw a lot of her younger self in Alice.

    A woman in a sharp plum-colored pantsuit getting her nails done next to them turned their way in interest. "Keeley? As in Keeley Hale?"

    This couldn''t be good. Her voice was wary as she responded. "Why do you ask?"

    "You''re trending on Twitter, don''t you know? Everyone is calling you Cindere."

    The woman held out her phone with her non-wet nails hand and showed a few of the posts. People were either praising her for ending up with one of the richest men in the city or calling her a gold digger. Oh brother.

    Keeley sighed heavily. Well, she had known it would happen sooner orter. But who exactly ratted her out? And why did it take them a few weeks to get around to it?

    "I''m not Cindere," she said tly.

    She had been in her first life; elevating her station by getting married to a rich and powerful man. But she definitely wasn''t this time around. If anything, the situation was reversed. Were there any fairy tales where the prince went slumming?

    The woman seemed unconvinced. "How are you not Cindere? You married the prince of the financial world."

    Keeley nearly snorted. That ''prince'' was probably pulling ridiculous faces to make their babiesugh as they spoke.

    "Hate to burst your bubble, but Aaron isn''t exactly princely. He''s a rtively normal person."

    She showed a couple of random candid shots she had taken of him that didn''t exactly scream ''dignity'' to prove her point. "See? Normal. To me he''s not the mighty Aaron Hale. He''s just Aaron."

    The woman''s eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Is there really anything ''just'' about Aaron Hale?"

    Ugh, thisdy wasn''t getting the point. Keeley wanted to finish up here and go home before she got swarmed by any more of the curious horde. This woman had recognized her by her rather unique name¡­but did people know her face too?

    Alice spoke up in her defense. "He might be a brilliant businessman but outside the office and around his family he''s like anyone else."

    "Speaking of family¡­is it true he kicked his father out of thepany for you?" the woman persisted.

    "I came here to get my nails done, not be interrogated."

    Keeley quickly asked if she could use the machine to dry her nails faster so they could leave. Her manicure took slightly longer than Alice''s because of the extrayers.

    The manicurist, who had been listening raptly to the exchange between the customers, nodded and led the way. Keeley dried her nails, paid, and walked out the front door surrounded by tangible dignity with Alice in tow.

    Apparently people did know her face because she got swarmed out on the sidewalk too. She felt like she was being physically hammered by their questions.

    "Is that the woman from Twitter?"

    "How did you end up married to the most eligible bachelor in the city?"

    "Have you met your secret brother-inw? What does Aaron think about the news?"

    "Did you get pregnant on purpose to trick your husband into marrying you?"

    "What happened to Bethany Carlisle?"

    Back when Keeley''s original engagement had been announced, she got a lot of questions too but they hadn''t been quite so vicious. The spotlight had been shining on the Hales for weeks so it made sense but that didn''t make it any easier to deal with.

 Chapter 323: Dearest Sister-In-Law

    <h4>Chapter 323: Dearest Sister-In-Law</h4>

    Alice tried to shield Keeley as best she could but the crowd pressed in on them further and further. She was about ready to simply curl up like an armadillo with her arms over her head on the ground until a familiar voice yelled out.

    The crowd buzzed frantically, whispering to each other because they recognized the person who had spoken. He drawled, "Can''t we all give my sister-inw and her friend some space?"

    She had very mixed feelings seeing Gray. On the one hand, she was grateful for a timely intervention. On the other, Aaron was positive he had murdered Lacy and she was pretty sure he was right.

    Whatever he had done, he still helped her just now and she needed to be gracious about it. She couldn''t let him know they were suspicious.

    "Thanks, Gray," she said as he cleared some space for her on the sidewalk.

    "You two know each other?" somebody dared to ask.

    "Why yes, of course. Aaron and I have been aware of each other''s existence for quite some time. In fact, I was having dinner with them when Keeley had to go to the hospital to give birth. My niece and nephew are quite lovely."

    He gave off an air of casual elegance with his hands in the pockets of his designer suit. His words were simple but they gave off a very clear meaning¡ªmess with my family and you mess with me.

    Gray wasn''t cold and frightening like his brother but beneath his fiveyers of charm there was a definite darkness that people could sense in this moment. The crowd backed off a little bit after his speech.

    "Let''s get youdies home, shall we? It''s a bitte for such beautiful women to be wandering the streets alone," he said in a suave tone, offering each of them an arm.

    Well, she wasn''t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She epted and nodded for Alice to do the same. The three of them made their way to Gray''s car in a nearby parking garage.

    Keeley didn''t exactly want to get into his car but she was fairly certain he wouldn''t do anything to her for Aaron''s sake. Especially since Alice was with her.

    "Dearest sister-inw you really need to watch out for yourself," he clucked. "Aaron would be devastated if anything happened to you. You can''t let the rabble plow over you like that."

    "I know," she said with a sigh. "It caught me off-guard, that''s all. I didn''t expect people to be able to recognize me on the street."

    "You might want toy low for a while until this all blows over," Gray suggested. "By the way¡­who is your lovely friend?"

    "Alice Wheatley," she said quickly.

    Keeley shot her a look. Introducing herself by her maiden name before she had changed it back showed that she had some interest in the guy. This wasn''t good.

    Not only was Gray a suspected murderer, he was a known yboy. Thest thing Alice needed while she was lonely and vulnerable was getting involved with a man like that.

    He cranked up the charm. "The pleasure is all mine Miss Wheatley."

    Alice had already removed her wedding ring because she didn''t want the reminder. She wasn''t outside in the sun often enough to have a noticeable ring tan line. Right now she looked as single as could be.

    And she was just Gray''s usual type too, ording to the tabloids. She had long legs and a face that could grace the cover of magazines. What was a non offensive way for Keeley to tell him that she was off limits?

    It was time to get the attention off Alice. "Gray, I appreciate the save but what were you doing there?"

    "I was at the auto parts store next door. One of my taillights went out and I needed a recement bulb. You''re lucky I happened to see you in the crowd as I was leaving."

    Keeley could tell he was itching to ask how Aaron had reacted to sharing the truth about his parentage to everyone but didn''t want to while Alice was in the car. His question ended up being a bit simpler.

    "How is Aaron these days? I haven''t heard from him in weeks."

    "Probably because he''s so busy. He''s had a lot to do regarding the handover. He doesn''t like stayingte at the office though so he''s been doing a lot of work from home," she exined.

    Gray showed off his most debonair smile. "I wouldn''t want to stayte either if I had a beautiful wife waiting for me at home."

    Alice bought his line but Keeley rolled her eyes. Ugh. No wonder Aaron didn''t really like him. He was as fake as theye.

    Still, she had to remain civil because he had already proven himself to be a formidable enemy once. Keeping him on their side was crucial. She had to squash down her true feelings and be as friendly as possible.

    "You better not let Aaron hear you say that or he might get the wrong idea," she said lightly.

    He seemed pleased by the teasing because his smile became a bit more genuine. The guy really was desperate for familial rtionships.

    "Heaven forbid that," Grayughed. "I''ve already seen how protective he is of you; I''d hate to see what he''s like when he gets jealous."

    Keeley had seen it before and it wasn''t pretty. The funny thing was that if Aaron hadn''t originally gotten jealous about seeing her with Ryan on Valentine''s Dayst year, her life right now would be very different.

    His jealousy prompted her to try and end things earlier than she thought she would and she repeated one of thest things he ever said to her in their first life back to him. If she hadn''t done that, would either of them ever realize the truth about their rebirth?

    She was starting to like him back then already so they might have still ended up together eventually but the twins wouldn''t have been born. Even if they had developed a rtionship without knowing the truth, they wouldn''t have the solid rtionship they did now.

    Going through all those months of pain led to some very necessary conversations that helped them grow back together. It had been a long and difficult road but looking back Keeley didn''t wish things had happened differently.

    Things happened exactly how they were supposed to. The concept of fate had grown on her after all.

    "I wouldn''t rmend it," Keeley said back with a slight smile on her face.

 Chapter 324: A Lot Of Speculation

    <h4>Chapter 324: A Lot Of Spection</h4>

    When they made it back to the Hales'' apartment building, Gray wanted toe up and chat with Aaron for a while. Keeley shot him down.

    "It''s after eight; the babies should be asleep right now and I don''t want to risk waking them up. I''ll tell Aaron you said hi though."

    He frowned slightly. "When can Ie visit you all again?"

    She didn''t think Aaron wanted to have hime visit at all but she couldn''t exactly say that. Why was thinking of things on the spot so darn difficult?

    "Why don''t we set up a time to go out to dinner? Kaleb and Violet are pretty well-behaved for infants; we''ve taken them out to eat with us before. I always enjoy not having to cook."

    It was the best excuse she coulde up with to keep him out of her house. He seemed to buy it.

    "I''ll call Aaron and figure out schedulingter with how busy he is," Gray said as he stepped out of the car to open the door for Alice.

    The insincere show of chivalry really grated on Keeley''s nerves. So this was how he got so many women to fall for him. Pitiful.

    "Sounds good. Thanks again!" she said with a bright smile as she headed toward the elevator.

    Alice still stared back at the spot Gray''s car vacated for a minute. Keeley had to nip this in the bud before it went anywhere.

    "I know he''s charming but he''s really not a good person. I wouldn''t let myself get interested if I were you."

    She raised an eyebrow. "That''s a nice way to talk about someone who just helped you out. You say he''s not a good person and yet you still made dinner ns with him?"

    Ah, this was hard to exin. The Hales had a fine line to walk where Gray was concerned. He could be vicious and they couldn''t let him turn on them.

    But from Alice''s perspective, this would look like a simple case of ingratitude. Keeley couldn''t let her go on thinking Gray would make a good rebound though!

    "We have a bit of aplicated situation with him," she said meekly. "Ask Aaron though; he doesn''t trust the man as far as he can throw him. Truthfully, he probably won''t be happy we ran into his half-brother."

    "What is this, a case of misced jealousy?" Alice asked, still not convinced.

    "Not at all. Aaron knows what kind of person his father is. He just doesn''t like insincere people. After a lifetime of dealing with them, he knows how to spot them a mile away. You''ll see when we get upstairs."

    The second the elevator doors opened, Aaron rushed at his wife and refused to let go.

    "I saw the news and was worried you would get mobbed. I''m so d you made it home okay."

    Keeley craned her neck to look up at him. "We DID get mobbed. We wouldn''t have made it out of there if we didn''t run into Gray."

    He stiffened at the mention of his half-brother. A thinyer of ice covered the room and it was noticeable enough that Alice felt the chill. Suddenly Keeley''s words became a lot more believable.

    "What did he want?" he asked tly.

    "He wanted toe over but I deflected him. He will be calling asking about dinner ns in the near future though, sorry."

    Aaron sighed. "You did your best. I knew we would have to see him eventually but I didn''t think it would be this soon."

    "What exactly is your problem with him?" Alice asked cautiously, not wanting to provoke the ice beast further.

    He turned to look at her as his arms were still around his wife. "It''s not what you think it is. Graydon Meyer is a dangerous man. I don''t like that he''s taken an interest in my family."

    It was easy for Alice to dismiss Keeley''s thoughts on the matter but not as easy to dismiss Aaron''s since she had known him much longer. Generally he had pretty sound judgment even if he did crazy things sometimes. After all, he had aplished his goal much faster than she would have anticipated when she agreed to be a dummy shareholder.

    In this country, even the youngest CEOs of Fortune 500panies were usually in their 30s. At 25, Aaron was practically a legend. Which was why Keeley had been swarmed once people found out she was his wife.

    Alice trusted her friend''s judgment but wanted more of an exnation than that. "Why? What makes him so dangerous?"

    Keeley and Aaron exchanged a nce. She would think they were too petty if they only used the example of his ability to quickly acquire shares. Gray was a giant spider sitting in the middle of a web of informants but that wasn''t the most dangerous thing about him.

    He hid his darkness well but it was barely discernible. He had no qualms about destroying or even killing people to get what he wanted. They had learned that through two lifetimes of dealing with him.

    Aaron surprised her by telling the truth. "I have a strong suspicion he had a hand in Lacy''s death even if he didn''t kill her personally."

    He did believe Gray killed her himself but it was better to water down the usation a bit. It''s a pretty big deal to use someone of murder.

    Alice''s jaw dropped. "What? Why on earth would you think that?!"

    "Long story short, he was using her to get information on me a while back but ended up deciding he was on my side instead of hers. He imed she was annoying and helped deflect her a few times so she wouldn''t find out about my family. Eventually she figured it out and began stalking this building.

    "I think he killed her because he specifically called me to ask if I wished she would disappear shortly before we went to Rochester for several days. She died while we were gone. It''s a little too much of a coincidence, don''t you think?"

    "¡­that''s a lot of spection."

    People could be so blind. They only saw what they wanted to. It wasn''t like Aaron could exin that he knew Gray had no qualms about getting people out of the way because of a previous life either.

 Chapter 325: The Best News Ive Heard All Week

    <h4>Chapter 325: The Best News I''ve Heard All Week</h4>

    The tension in the room continued to rise as Alice eyed Aaron skeptically and he gave off even more ice. He wasn''t a fan of having to convince stubborn people of things. Keeley learned that the hard way in their first life.

    "I know my brother," he said tly. "This isn''t the first time we''ve crossed paths. His morality is questionable but I believe he would do anything for me. Like killing someone I think poses a threat to my family. You don''t have to believe me but I wouldn''t rmend getting close to Graydon Meyer."

    Alice bit her lip before awkwardly excusing herself. Aaron sighed and buried his face in his wife''s neck even though she was so much shorter.

    "I really wish he would just disappear too but it''s not like I have a second murderous guardian angel watching over me."

    Keeley snorted. "Murderous guardian angel is an interesting way to put it. As her friend, you did your duty of warning her. If she still decides to pursue him that''s her problem."

    That''s what she said but the uneasy feeling wouldn''t go away. Alice, unlike Keeley back in the day, seemed to want another rtionship to rece the one that had died a long time ago. Her loneliness made her want to try again.

    She couldn''t begrudge her the desire forpanionship but Gray was definitely the wrong person to find it in! Even if he wasn''t (probably) a murderer, he was nothing but a flirt. Who knows how many women he was involved with?

    Rumors always have some sort of basis but even if he wasn''t the type to cheat when in a rtionship, Keeley didn''t peg him as the type to evenmit to a rtionship at all. Simply put, he wasn''t a genuine person. Everything he showed to other people was a fa?ade. She doubted there was a single person alive who knew his true personality.

    "You say that but I know you''re still worried," Aaron mumbled into her shoulder. He knew her too well.

    "Yeah, but there''s nothing I can do about it. Don''t you have work to do? What are you standing around hugging me for?" she demanded.

    His hold only tightened. "Because I feel like it."

    Keeley rolled her eyes. If he didn''t get back to work now he would have to wake up at 4 AM to get it done before heading into the office.

    "Here''s an idea; what if Ie sit next to you as you work? Then we can go to bed and wake up at a normal time."

    "Okay," Aaron agreed easily enough, finally releasing her.

    She ended up scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest leaning against Aaron''s arm as he worked for the next hour. She should have realized how often he insisted on working next to her in their first life even if he never said anything.

    He just wanted to be near her. What a sap! But he was her sap and that was what mattered. Keeley snuggled closer feeling perfectly content.

    ===

    Aaron was d Keeley made him do some work before going to bed because it was hard enough waking up at his usual time. He downed two cups of coffee before stumbling out the door.

    Thankfully the babies were down to only waking up once in the night to bed fed but it always took him forever to fall back asleep. He couldn''tin too much though. He loved his children almost as much as he loved their mother.

    One small thing that made him feel better was that Cameron, the new vice president, was just as exhausted as he was from dealing with the mess Alistair left behind. At least Aaron wasn''t in this alone.

    "Your father deleted a bunch of important files seemingly out of existence before he left but Aiden finally managed to get them back," Cameron said tiredly as he barged into Aaron''s new office and flopped down on the couch.

    He had moved over to the CEO''s office partly because it was bigger and partly because it was where he had worked longer overall throughout his two lifetimes. He was slightly attached to it. Cameron had taken over his old office.

    Aaron really wanted Jeremy to take over his business again so his children would be free to pursue their dreams without feeling pressured. The best way to make that happen was to give Simon Peters, the man who would eventually see potential in the kid, Cameron''s old job ahead of schedule.

    He had proved himself a capable department head already in Aaron''s previous life so it wasn''t a big deal. Simon was in histe twenties and was both shocked and honored by the promotion. He stammered out a promise that he wouldn''t let Aaron down when the offer was made and he was tempted tough.

    Keeley had rubbed off on him. He never would have had the urge tough at work before marrying her the second time. Somehow the whole world seemed a lot brighter and more entertaining when she was around him every day.

    "That''s the best news I''ve heard all week," Aaron admitted. "It will cut our workload down by about half."

    "What do we still have to do now that the files are back?" Cameron asked hesitantly.

    "Fix the mess left by the insider trading and reach out to some more of my father''s previous business contacts. We need to see who is worth keeping and who needs to be reced. I''m willing to bet a lot of them are as shady as Brann Knighton."

    "What has he been up to anyway? I would have thought he would fight back to help your father."

    He hadn''t done it in Aaron''s first life; why would he now? Especially since he was still drowning in grief from losing his only child.

    Brann Knighton had always been a selfish, practical man. Once someone was of no use to him, he discarded them. It was how people in high society were trained to think. Alistair Hale had fallen so far that nothing could redeem his reputation so why would Brann stick his neck out for him?

 Chapter 326: Just Aaron

    <h4>Chapter 326: Just Aaron</h4>

    "Brann Knighton doubled the size of the reward asking for information on Lacy''s murderer that will never be found," Aaron said. "He isn''t a threat."

    Cameron''s brow furrowed, unconvinced that the danger had passedpletely. Aaron couldn''t me him; they had dealt with a lot of unsavory characters over the years to get where they were now.

    "Who is? Do we have anyone we need to look out for or are we good?"

    He couldn''t think of anyone they had to worry about. Max would want revenge for Lacy but he couldn''t connect that back to Aaron. Alistair would probably try to cause some sort of trouble eventually¡ªhe still had 22% of the shares¡ªbut for now he was hiding away to lick his wounds.

    The only other person Aaron could think of was his half-brother but that was only if he was provoked. For the time being they should be fine. He was enjoying socializing with the Hales and wouldn''t do anything to antagonize that.

    "I think we''re good for now."

    Cameron sighed with relief. "Great because I don''t have the energy to deal with any more enemies. Your father was more than enough of a problem over the past eight years."

    "Don''t I know it," Aaron muttered.

    With the benefit of foresight, Aaron had been able to defeat his father eight years ahead of schedule. He didn''t be the CEO until 2022 in his first life. Even so, it was a long and difficult road. Once all of the handover problems were taken care of, it should be smooth sailing from here on out.

    "How does it feel to have your rtionship out in the open after all this time?"

    He frowned. On the one hand, it was great that he didn''t have to worry about Keeley''s safety. On the other¡­he was worried about her stress levels. She hated the spotlight and had been thrust into it quite forcefully yesterday.

    "I''m mostly worried about how Keeley will handle having everyone''s eyes on her until more interesting newses along."

    "Ah right, she''s probably never dealt with anything like this before," Cameron mused. "But she''s tough; she can handle it."

    Aaron didn''t doubt she could handle it. The problem was that she didn''t want to. It was one of the things she had hated most about being Mrs. Hale in their first life. Everywhere she went people were watching her ready to judge.

    He didn''t want Keeley to experience any of the things that had made her miserable again. She had agreed to be with him on the condition that he kept her and their children safe, which he had done, but he didn''t want to do the bare minimum.

    He wanted her to enjoy everything she had missed out on this time around. She deserved a peaceful life after everything she had been through. Having to avoid mobs on the street was not peaceful.

    "She can but she shouldn''t have to," he said in wearily. "There has to be something more interesting happening in New York City than who I married."

    Maybe he could try asking Aiden to root out someone else''s scandal that was more explosive. It would take the pressure off of Keeley a bit. The idea had merit.

    "It''ll blow over eventually," Cameron said optimistically. "Anyway, which of the business partners do you want me to take from the list?"

    "They''re ordered alphabetically byst name. I''ll take A-L if you''ll take M-Z."

    He stood and nodded his assent as he snatched his half of the list off of Aaron''s desk on his way out the door. "If you need me, I''ll be working on this until I die. Man, I need a vacation."

    So did Aaron but since he literally just took one he probably couldn''t get away with it. Especially with all that was going on right now. He wasn''t the type to shirk his responsibilities, particrly where work was involved.

    The trip to Niagara Falls was the first time he ever requested vacation time aside from his honeymoon in his first life. He wouldn''t be doing that anymore. He had vacation days¡ªhe was going to use them to spend time with his family.

    Since he was too busy to take a proper lunch break, Aaron had to eat at his desk as he worked. Keeley had packed leftovers for him along with thest couple of chocte chip cookies from the batch she made a few days ago. She was a saint.

    He went to go text her a thank you for the cookies when a notification rolled across his screen. He had subscribed to alerts for certain hashtags on social media pertaining to all of the drama surrounding the Hale family so he wouldn''t be blindsided by anything.

    Aaron liked to keep himself informed. That way if something particrly offensive came up he would know what to say tofort his wife in advance in case she happened to see it. Obviously he preferred if she didn''t see it at all but sometimes these things were inevitable.

    A blogger had apparently talked to Keeley in the nail salonst night. It was a very short, spective article from a popr online forum. He read it hesitantly, bracing himself for the worst.

    ''Last night at my favorite nail salon I happened to run into the woman of the hour, Keeley Hale, getting a manicure with a friend. She wasn''t at all what I expected her to be. She tly denied being the Cindere we all dream of being; iming that her husband was a normal person like anyone else.

    ''She showed me a few pictures to prove her point and I must say looks can be deceiving. I wouldn''t have believed that it was Aaron Hale in those photos if it wasn''t his wife showing them to me. Those pictures could havee from any woman with children''s Instagram.

    ''I was still skeptical. Anyone in the financial sector can tell you that Aaron Hale is a force to behold. Thest thing Keeley had to say about her husband was "To me he''s not the mighty Aaron Hale. He''s just Aaron." I couldn''t believe that anyone could think of that man as ''just'' anything but her friend, whose identity remains unknown, jumped to his defense as well.

    ''Next I asked her the question on everyone''s mind since the rumors first burst onto the inte: did Aaron Hale kick his father out of Hale Investments for her? She refused toment and quickly left the nail salon but that screams ''guilty'' to me. What do all of you think? Leave ament below.''

    Thements were a mixture of calling Keeley crazy for thinking Aaron was a normal person and people agreeing that he must have kicked Alistair out for her. None of that registered with him. He was thinking of a conversation they hadst summer before Keeley found out she was pregnant.

    She said something along the lines of ''you''ll always be Aaron Hale'' to disagree when he said he had changed and could fit more easily into her world. His heart had cracked hearing that because Keeley had been the only person to ever think of him as just Aaron.

    Here they were, almost a yearter, and she was finally back to the way she used to be. If she were in front of him right now, he would have kissed her senseless.

    He nced at the clock. Five more hours to go. He could wait that long to let her know how much her words meant to him. Probably.

 Chapter 327: Moderation vs Opulence

    <h4>Chapter 327: Moderation vs Opulence</h4>

    A week after the nail salon incident, Keeley was tired from spending the entire morning coaching Alice on what to say during her job interview that afternoon. She wasn''t the best at teaching people things but Alice had been a decent pupil. At least she seemed to understand it in the end.

    She really hoped Alice got the job she was interviewing for. Then, with the promise of ie, she would be able to start renting an apartment of her own. It wasn''t that Keeley didn''t like having her stay but Aaron had been even clingier than usual since she arrived.

    How he had managed to repress his clingy nature in her first life, she''d never know. Or maybe it only came out after losing her and getting her back. She wasn''t the only one who had been traumatized by what happened.

    At least they were now focusing on healing together. That was what mattered.

    She stretched and let out a heavy sigh. They were out of eggs and she needed them to make fried rice for dinner. The babies were asleep so she couldn''t even go down to the convenience store inside their building until they woke up and she could bring them with her.

    Most of the people in this building hadn''t known that Aaron Hale lived in the penthouse. He hadrgely stayed away from high profile events in this life so not that many people knew his face before photos she had posted on Instagram got leakedst night along with the news.

    She had been approached by no less than three people this morning when she went down to collect the mail. So annoying. If she ever found out who was the source behind the leak she would kick them in the shin.

    Even going to get eggs would probably cause a ruckus. Why couldn''t she live her life in peace?! She would much prefer getting mobbed after winning some sort of recognition award for her research than simply because of who she married.

    It was ridiculous. Didn''t people have anything better to do with their lives than gossip about strangers?

    The inte buzzed, breaking her out of her reverie. "Mrs. Hale, the housekeeping service is here."

    "Send her up. Thank you!"

    Since the babies had barely gone down for their afternoon nap she would either have to tell J, their usual housekeeper, not to vacuum until they woke up or do it herself if they stayed asleep too long.

    Despite having grown up doing all of her own cleaning, Keeley was grateful J came by twice a week to handle the worst of it. She was tired from catering to two infants at the same time constantly.

    Since getting back together with Aaron she hade to realize that not all aspects of being rich were bad. It was nice never having to worry about bills and being able to afford going out to eat regrly and buying recements for broken things right away.

    The problem had always been moderation. In her first life she was exposed to far too much opulence to the point of being overwhelmed. That and the terrible people who followed that lifestyle.

    When J exited the elevator, Keeley told her about the vacuum problem and a few other areas that specifically needed attention, being sure to thank her before going off to watch some TV. She brought the baby monitor with her so she would know immediately when they woke up.

    Molly and Dinah both made an appearance in the TV room and wanted to snuggle as she watched the finale of a four part cookingpetition. They hissed at each other a bit trying to get the covetedp spot. Dinah won, making Molly very put out. She didn''t like having to share her mother''s love.

    When the babies did wake up, she paused her show regretfully. There were only five minutes left! But duty called and her children were more important.

    Keeley changed their diapers and put them in their stroller before heading downstairs. Hopefully she wouldn''t get stopped and it would only take a few minutes.

    Of course she had no such luck. Two different housewives she didn''t even know wanted to talk to her about her interview.

    "What interview?" she asked, bewildered.

    "With the woman from the nail salon!"

    "¡­that wasn''t an interview, that was someone eavesdropping on a private conversation and pestering me," Keeley said tly. "Do I not have the right to go do something with my friend without having to answer a stranger''s questions?"

    The housewives seemed taken aback. One of them had the good sense to be ashamed.

    "I''m so sorry. I would be driven crazy if random people kept approaching me. I guess I was so caught up in the news that I didn''t think about what you must be feeling."

    The other was more audacious. "Well if you wanted privacy you shouldn''t have married a public figure."

    Keeley was appalled. Since when did being a businessman equate to being a public figure? She could understand if she had married an actor or famous singer but even people in the entertainment industry deserved their privacy.

    "I wouldn''t call a businessman a public figure," she said coldly. "If someone randomly decided to write an article on your husband and everyone kept attacking you with questions would you still be singing the same tune?"

    "She has a point, May," the woman who apologized said to her friend. Her guilt was apparent on her face.

    May''s face turned an ugly shade of purple. She couldn''t refute.

    "If you''ll excuse me, I have eggs to buy."

    Keeley walked past them with her head held high. She looked as dignified as one possibly could while pushing a double baby stroller. She paid for her eggs and stalked out of the convenience store back to the elevator, making sure she was alone before using the key.

    She was so sick of this. When would it end? She wanted to be able to go to the park or even step foot outside her apartment without having random people approach her.

    Honestly! Where did these people''s braverye from?

 Chapter 328: Kick Them In The Shin

    <h4>Chapter 328: Kick Them In The Shin</h4>

    Keeley was still sulking when Aaron came home, refusing to return his kiss.

    "What''s wrong with you?" he asked with a frown.

    "Ask your fan club," she sniffed. "I can''t even go downstairs to get eggs without people thinking they have the right to ask me personal questions. It''s all your fault."

    He sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter. "I thought this might happen. They''ll lose interest eventually."

    "Not soon enough! It''s already been a week! How much longer do I have to wait before I can go outside normally?!"

    "What can I do to make you feel better?"

    Her anger fizzled slightly. Why did he always have to be nice to her when she was mad at him? It made it difficult to maintain her anger.

    "Find whoever leaked my information so I can kick them in the shin," Keeley mumbled with downcast eyes.

    Her embarrassment at admitting such a thing aloud increased when Aaron startedughing. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek. "You know, I can actually do that if you''re serious. I do have a hacker at my disposal."

    She had been mostly kidding but now that she knew it was possible it was actually quite tempting. She was about to say so when Alice came back upstairs, brimming with excitement.

    "Keeley, I got the job!"

    Well, at least there was one bit of good news. That happened surprisingly fast. Most job hunts took a minimum of a month as far as she had seen.

    "That''s great! Congrattions!"

    "I couldn''t have done it without you," she said with a smile.

    Keeley felt slightly proud of herself. Her resume polishing and interview coaching skills had definitely yed a part in Alice''s speedy sess.

    "When do you start?" she asked, curious how soon she would be earning a paycheck.

    "They want me to start immediately! My first day will be Monday and they''ll be training me to lead tours in French at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Ind."

    It definitely wasn''t the sort of job she would imagine a former heiress doing but at the very least she would be making a thousand something dors a month. It should be enough to cover a tiny apartment''s rent outside of Manhattan.

    She had some savings to help with things like food and eventually, once the divorce finalized, she would be receiving some sort of alimony. Alice would be just fine if she was frugal.

    Keeley would help her start apartment hunting first thing in the morning. The sooner she could get out of their hair (as Aaron would describe it) the better.

    "That''s great," she said honestly. "As long as you keep your energy up and try to be as friendly as possible I''m sure you''ll be fine."

    Alice nodded. "That''s what the hiring manager said. Aaron, aren''t you going to say anything?"

    "What do you want me to say? Keeley already congratted you."

    She shook her head at him. "You''re hopeless. I don''t even know why she likes you."

    "Sometimes I wonder the same thing," Keeley admitted with augh, making her husband pout. She patted his arm to make him feel better and he brightened almost instantly.

    She wanted to suggest they go out to dinner to celebrate but she wasn''t in the mood to risk running into more of the curious horde today. Maybe she could bake a cake. There was a recipe for chocteva cake she had wanted to try for a while but hadn''t had a proper excuse to make it.

    As she went off to prepare dinner and get started on that cake, Aaron''s phone rang in the other room. She couldn''t hear what he was saying because she was chatting with Alice more about her new job but when he came back there was a grim expression on his face.

    "Gray called. He wants to go to dinner tomorrow night."

    "Can Ie?" Alice asked slightly hesitantly, remembering how tetchy the Hales had been thest time Gray was brought up.

    "If you must," Aaron said grumpily before turning around and picking up both of the babies to calm himself down.

    Keeley was a bit grumpy herself. Did she really not care about their warnings? Whatever, it wasn''t her problem anymore. Alice was a grown woman and she was free to get involved with a psychopath if that was what she truly wanted.

    Her smile became a bit stiff as she continued her chat amid the dinner and dessert preparations. When the food was finally done, Aaron''s mood seemed to have lifted slightly. He did always seem to enjoy eating what she cooked.

    She never quite understood it since he was normally such a picky eater. Love can do funny things to people.

    "What are the cakes for?" Alice asked. Lava cake didn''t exactly go with fried rice.

    "To celebrate your new job, of course!"

    Aaron, normally a proponent and dinner and desert themes matching, didn''t have a single thing to say other than that the cake was delicious. All traces of his earlier bad mood werepletely gone.

    "I haven''t hadva cake in years," he said happily. "It was at a steakhouse and was delicious but yours is way better."

    Keeley raised an eyebrow. Was this his usual bias or was it because she used a recipe from a famous chef on the Food Network?

    She tried a bite and moaned in appreciation. The cake was indeed heavenly. Maybe he wasn''t biased this time.

    She had been trying new dessert recipes more and moretely while the twins were asleep because she had nothing better to do. Some were better than others but she was working her way through trying to find the best ones. This was definitely a winner.

    If not for the fact that she couldn''t even get groceries without causing a fuss, Keeley would have felt like any other stay-at-home mom. For the sake of her sanity, she really hoped people lost interest soon. She really wasn''t interesting enough to warrant all of this.

 Chapter 329: Brock Who?

    <h4>Chapter 329: Brock Who?</h4>

    Keeley could practically feel the eyes burning a hole through her as they walked into the restaurant to meet Gray the following day. She hadn''t dealt with this many stares since being reborn; how was she supposed to handle it?!

    Alice, used to being watched wherever she went, waspletely immune. She took Violet''s car seat from her and walked into the restaurant with the grace of a model walking the runway.

    Aaron wasn''t all that affected either but he could sense his wife''s difort and protectively drew her closer. She felt a bit safer since the stares were blocked from one side now.

    Thankfully, Gray had the foresight to rent out a private booth away from prying eyes. They only had to deal with the stares on the way to it from the front door.

    "Well, if it isn''t the most popr people in New York City! And the lovely Miss Wheatley; what a pleasant surprise," he said smoothly as they all sat down.

    "Hi Gray," Keeley said wearily. "How''s it going?"

    "Better for me than for you, I imagine. Still getting used to the spotlight?"

    "I''ll never get used to this, it''s awful."

    Gray smiled. "There, there. Another scandal wille along that''s even juicier sooner orter and all will be forgotten."

    That''s what everyone kept saying and yet she wasn''t at allforted. How soon? How much longer would she have to deal with this? This was even worse than thest time she was under house arrest!

    Sure she had to stress out about being seen by Lacy Knighton but at least she had been able to enjoy her anonymity once she was out. Did she need to invest in a wig and wear heavy makeup wherever she went?

    No, that wouldn''t work. People knew what Violet and Kaleb looked like. Ugh.

    "That''s what I''ve heard," she said dryly.

    Aaron squeezed her hand reassuringly but that didn''t help either. She wouldn''t have been thrown to the wolves if not for him. He couldn''tfort her when he was part of the reason she was stressed out.

    Gray turned his attention to Aaron. "How has the transition been going? You''re less busy now, I hope."

    He nodded. "One of my people recovered a bunch of deleted files that made a huge difference. Everything should be back to normal within a month or so."

    "Excellent! Deleted files though¡­what poor sportsmanship. He lost fair and square."

    Keeley wasn''t necessarily sure that she would describe anything that happened regarding the power struggle inside Hale Investments as "fair" since there was so much trickery and plotting involved. Regardless, she was on Aaron''s side. It was a good thing he won.

    Alistair Hale was a terrible person who deserved to be taken down a peg or two. She couldn''t believe he hadpletely shut himself away after his son''s betrayal though. He didn''t seem like the type to give up that easily.

    "Poor sportsmanship describes Alistair fairly well," Alice said lightly, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. "My father hasined about him more than once over the years."

    Gray''s interest was piqued. "Your father knows him well?"

    "They were rivals of sorts in the financial sector, though obviously the Hales have more clout."

    "Ah, of course. Your father must be Evan Wheatley. I should have recognized your surname."

    She smiled prettily at him and Keeley was tempted to gag. Don''t fall for his false charms, Alice! She should have found a way to refuse to let her join them for dinner.

    Since they were already there, she kept her mouth shut and busied herself with entertaining Kaleb. He was getting a bit fussy while his sister quietly and adoringly gazed up at her father from his arms. Violet would surely be a daddy''s girl.

    Gray and Alice continued flirting until the appetizers arrived. Keeley found it a wee relief. She didn''t want to witness an otherwise intelligent woman fall for a creep in front of her very eyes.

    She had to admit, he really knew how to work a woman. He managed toy on the charm without making it too thick (at least to the average person; someone savvy like Keeley wouldn''t be fooled though) and make his conversational partner feel like she was the most interesting person in the world.

    For someone who had been ignored by her husband again and again like Alice, falling for it would be too easy. Keeley wanted to confront Gray about his interest in her¡ªor at the very least tell her she was still technically married¡ªbut didn''t want to do it in front of Alice.

    Thankfully she didn''t have to. Alice''swyer chose that very moment to call and update her about the divorce case so she stepped outside of the private booth to take it.

    "I wonder what herwyer has to say," she said aloud, aiming it at Aaron.

    Thankfully he caught her meaning and responded. "Probably something to do with Brock trying to renegotiate the terms." He looked up at Gray, who had a hint of confusion on his face and borated. "She''s in the middle of a divorce."

    Keeley silently thanked her husband for reading her mind and carefully gauged Gray''s reaction. He didn''t reveal any signs of shock. All she could see was nonchnce that was eerily reminiscent of how Aaron used to be.

    "Brock who?" was all he asked.

    "Brock Kelly. His family owns multiple topw firms throughout the city. I helped Alice find awyer unconnected to them as a return favor for being one of my dummy shareholders," Aaron said with a shrug.

    Gray raised one eyebrow but let it fall before Alice came back, apologizing profusely for being so rude. She imed the matter was urgent but didn''t say what it was about, not knowing her friends had already ratted her out.

    Keeley didn''t even feel guilty about it. It was for her own good. Gray wasn''t the type of man she should get involved with.

 Chapter 330: Walking On Eggshells

    <h4>Chapter 330: Walking On Eggshells</h4>

    Gray gave no indication to Alice that he had found out she was still married throughout the rest of the dinner. Keeley wasn''t sure whether he didn''t care about cheating or if he simply didn''t want to make things awkward.

    Either way, his acting ability was more than a little unnerving. No wonder he had managed to get away with murder.

    Gray really was an awfully dangerous person. The current peace between him and the Hales was achieved solely by Aaron and Keeley walking on eggshells to keep him happy. Who knew how long that wouldst?

    He undeniably cared about Aaron but what if he ever offended Gray? Would he turn on them and be their enemy once more? In theirst lives that had been deadly. Things could very easily go the same way again if they made him mad.

    She wished there was something more substantial they could do about him than trying to keep him at arm''s length when he clearly wanted to be a part of their lives. It was obvious that Aaron felt the same but their hands were tied.

    The best thing to do would be pinning Lacy Knighton''s murder on him but they had no proof at all. If the police couldn''t nail him there was no way they could do it. Unless Aiden¡­?

    Didn''t Aaron say that he was the one who managed to find the evidence that locked Lacy away for Max''s murder in theirst life? Neither of them had given Gray any indication they were onto him. Lacy''s murder hadn''t been brought up in his presence at all.

    They might have Alice to thank for that. He was trying to impress her; he wouldn''t bring up such a gruesome topic.

    If Aiden managed to find the evidence that could nail Gray¡­Brann Knighton would make absolutely sure he got locked up for life. Lacy''s case was high profile because of her status as a socialite. Public opinion would also be against him.

    In jail he wouldn''t pose a threat anymore,tent or otherwise. Keeley knew Aaron had been stressing out about this. It might be a solution. Whether he was currently a threat to the Hales or not, he was still a criminal and the world would be a safer ce if he was behind bars.

    Would she feel a little guilty for helping arrest someone who had helped them in the past? Yes. But Gray had made his own choices. Aaron never asked him to murder anyone. He should have been prepared for the consequences of his own actions.

    As all of this was going through her head, Keeley managed to keep her usual smile on her face and participate in the conversation at the table as if nothing was wrong. She just had to keep it up until Alice moved out. Then she could tell Aaron what was on her mind.

    ===

    Alice wasn''t thrilled about it but Keeley had gone over her finances with her and right now the best bet was living in Jersey City, New Jersey just across the river. It was closer to her tour guide job than certain parts of New York City and was much cheaper.

    But Alice had been born and bred in New York; she didn''t want to leave. Even when she went to college it was at Cambridge. She had never left aside from going on a few vacations.

    Keeley managed to sway her once she said it was probably temporary. Brock was trying to dy the divorce proceedings currently but after they were done Alice would most likely receive enough alimony to afford to live in Manhattan again. Even if it wasn''t in the nice area she was used to.

    So off to Jersey City they went with the twins in tow. After spending a few hours searching for rentals online, Keeley had narrowed their options down to four ces.

    "I don''t know how I feel about this," Alice admitted at the first apartment.

    It was on the first floor and had bars on the window plus a security door over top of the regr front door. Thendlord admitted that there were some package theft problems but no one had ever broken in. That didn''t make her feel any better.

    "Have you ever lived in a ce like this?" she whispered to Keeley behind thendlord''s back.

    "No but my friend Lydia has in California. She never had anything stolen but she did admit that she heard a lot of car rms going off nearby."

    She probably shouldn''t have said that because Alice''s face went white but what was she supposed to do? Lie? She didn''t want her friend feeling unsafe in her own home. The next apartment should be better; it was three floors up.

    The problem with that one was that the upstairs neighbor had subwoofer speakers that were cranked up so loud that the ceiling fan shook. Even Keeley had to admit she couldn''t live in those conditions.

    The babies began to wail from the noise and it took twenty minutes of holding them both to calm them down. That one was definitely out.

    The third apartment had a cockroach problem that thendlord promised would be fixed before moving in but Alice ran out of the apartment screaming the moment she saw one crawling across the kitchen counter. Keeley had to apologize on her behalf as she hurried after her with the stroller.

    "I can''t do this," Alice said miserably.

    She was panting slightly from running and she was hunched over with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Keeley had never seen this elegant woman look more disheveled.

    "¡­I promise not all cheap apartments are like this. Maybe we''ll hit the jackpot with the next one."

    Keeley tried to remain optimistic. Transitioning to a different lifestyle was hard but she had only ever gone from rags to riches, not the other way around. Alice''s struggle was different than hers had been. She needed to be sympathetic to her plight.

    Her optimism didn''t fail her for once. Thest apartment even had the added bonus of all the utilities being included in the rent. It was small but definitely sufficient for a single person. There was even a big window in the living room overlooking a park.

    "What was it you were saying about hitting the jackpot?" Alice asked with a small smile.

    She shrugged. "Sometimes I get lucky. What do you think?"

    "I think it will suit my needs quite nicely. It''s close to a subway station too." She turned and addressed the woman who was giving them the tour. "I''ll take it."

    The rental agent seemed quite pleased. "Excellent. You''ll need to fill out our online application, show proof of employment, and provide a deposit and the first month''s rent. We can have you moved in as early as next week."

    "Wonderful! Thank you!" Alice eximed as she pped her hands together happily.

    Keeley understood her feelings. Being self-sufficient and free from a creep feels amazing.

    She had tough at herself though. She had ended right back with the man she thought was a creep and was now happily married to him. Funny how your perspective could change over time.

 Chapter 331: A Third Wheel

    <h4>Chapter 331: A Third Wheel</h4>

    The longer Alice stayed with Aaron''s family, the more she felt like a third wheel. It was made worse by the fact that Aaron''s mood subtly dropped over time.

    At first she thought she was imagining it. The overall temperature surrounding him only dropped one degree at a time rather than all at once like usual. But after two weeks he was noticeably icier than before she came.

    She had never realized before what it actually felt like being a burden to others. Everything was always handed to her on a silver tter. She was used to having other people do things for her and had never considered the toll it might be taking on them before.

    Keeley was clearly exhausted from helping her out all the time on top of juggling two babies. She was passed out on top of her husband as he sat up with his legs stretched out in front of him on the couch.

    Originally she had been sitting too but now her head was lolling to the side and Aaron had done his best to reposition and support it so her neck wouldn''t be sore when she woke up. His arms were wrapped around her and the ice king Alice knew was radiating contentment.

    It had been very strange seeing how Aaron became apletely different person around his wife at first. She still wasn''tpletely used to it even after staying with them for so long. No one from their social circle would ever believe her if she told them.

    A pang hit her when she realized that it wasn''t their social circle anymore. He had left by choice but she had essentially been banished. She didn''t miss constantly having to cater to the Kellys or double-talking her way through every insincere conversation but it was all she knew.

    What was she supposed to do now? How was she supposed to find actual friends when she had never had one?

    Alice''s only act of rebellion had been the friends she chose in high school. She hung out primarily with girls who could afford the private school tuition but weren''t a part of high society. They were well off but their families were rtively unknown.

    She spent as much time with those girls as she possibly could until she overheard them talking in the bathroom shortly before graduation. Her closest friend, Lisa, was talking about how d she was that she wouldn''t have to pretend anymore once they went to college.

    "Ugh, she doesn''t have a single original thought in her head! All she cares about is status and shopping. I only endured this long because she got me into parties where I could meet high society boys. Now that I''m going to Virginia for school there''s no need. I''ll find someone else totch onto. I always do."

    "You''re so bad, Lisa," her friend Jenniferughed. "Poor girl probably thinks you''re her best friend."

    "I am her best friend. She''s just not mine."

    Alice''s unshed tears clung to her eyshes as she hid in the stall, noting out until she was sure they were gone. Sheposed herself quickly and walked out of the bathroom to wash her hands with her head held high. She never spoke to those girls again.

    Once she got to college she was much more cautious about who she hung out with. Clearly she was a terrible judge of character so it was better to stick with the people her parents wanted her to be close to. At least she knew what to expect with those girls.

    She was friendly enough but trusted no one until Aaron came unexpectedly back into her life. Alice had seen her prom date a handful of times at holiday parties over the past couple of years but that was it since they were in different states for college. They hadn''t spoken since.

    It was about two years before she would marry Brock, but as his longstanding fianc¨¦e she was expected to cater to the Kellys already in addition to her own family''s needs at cocktail parties and such. Her future mother-inw Beatrice had been chewing her out off to the side of the banquet hall at the annual Christmas party.

    Her false smile was on and her tone was low so any onlookers would think they were having a pleasant conversation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Alice felt as tiny and insignificant as an ant.

    "You don''t have to let the Kellys walk all over you like that," a cold voice spoke up from her left.

    She turned and saw Aaron Hale leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets looking as cool as a cucumber. She had nearly forgotten how expressionless he always was. It was a bit unnerving.

    Alice was so taken aback by his sudden appearance that it took her a minute to register what he said. When she did, she was angry and embarrassed at being caught in the middle of a scolding.

    She used her best passive-aggressive high societynguage to let him know how upset she was. "I beg your pardon?"

    He stepped away from the wall and shrugged. "I have a way to prevent them from suppressing you as much, if you''re interested."

    "I''m sure I have no idea what you mean," she sniffed. "If you''ll excuse me, I have acquaintances to talk to."

    Alice stormed off as elegantly as possible while still conveying that she was storming off. As expected, Aaron didn''te after her.

    She ran into him again a weekter at a ritzy New Year''s Eve party uptown. His expression was just as nd as before and he spoke in monotone.

    "Have you given any consideration to my proposal?"

    She gave him her most disdainful look. "Your proposal is ridiculous and unnecessary. I''m doing perfectly fine on my own."

    "Suit yourself," he said nonchntly. "I merely thought you might be interested in having some of your own power in the financial sector. I know your family won''t give you any because you''re a girl. They''ll give some of their own shares to your fianc¨¦ when you marry but you''ll never get to touch them."

    Alice frowned, not sure how he knew that. It was her family''s business; she was sure her parents hadn''t discussed it with anyone outside the Kellys.

    "So?" was all she was able toe up with as a response.

    "I happen to have some shares in Hale Investments I can''t currently use. I need someone to hold onto them for me for a while."

    That sounded highly suspicious. No one just gave out theirpany''s shares and expected them to be returnedter.

    "And why would I do something as idiotic as that? First you tell me you can give me shares so the Kellys won''t suppress me then you say you''ll take them away?" she asked incredulously.

    Aaron shrugged. "It''s simple. You''ll have power and prestige as a shareholder at Hale Investments for however many years I need you to. Once I take the shares back, I''ll be your ally for life. Even the Kelly family wouldn''t dare go against a Hale."

    He had a point. The Hales were the top family in their circle. No one messed with them. It was something Alice''s fatherined about constantly. He hated being second fiddle to Alistair Hale.

    She still wasn''t convinced. "I don''t want to be caught up in your drama, Aaron. Find someone else."

 Chapter 332: He Always Got What He Wanted

    <h4>Chapter 332: He Always Got What He Wanted</h4>

    Alice had believed that would be thest time Aaron bothered talking to her. He never talked to people at events unless they directly corrted to his father''s business. She was irrelevant to him. Or so she thought.

    Aaron approached her again six monthster at a cocktail party, shortly after arriving home from Boston for the summer.

    "Hello, Alice. Have you changed your mind yet?"

    The arrogance of his wording was unbelievable. It was as if he expected her to cave into his demands all along. Well, she supposed he was Aaron Hale. He always got what he wanted.

    "No and I won''t do it," she said tly. "Whatever weird thing you''re nning¡­I don''t want to be a part of it. Why does it have to be me?"

    He blinked at her as if surprised but that was impossible. Men like him didn''t get surprised.

    "You want the truth?" Alice nodded and Aaron continued. "I don''t trust many people and you happen to be the only person in the entire circle who is half decent. Why not you?"

    She had never heard such a scathing review of the people in high society. She was shocked and yet, despite the insulting connotation of his words, was slightly ttered. He thought she was better than all of these people she didn''t particrly like either.

    His offer was strange but it wasn''t like it was illegal. Being a board member at Hale Investments would raise her status in both her own family and her fianc¨¦''s. Having Aaron Hale promise to be your ally for life was nothing to scoff at either.

    As far as she could tell, he was a cold person uninterested in humanity. He didn''t have allies; he had pawns.

    Being able to ask favors from such a powerful person was quite tempting, especially when she felt so powerless in her own life. Eventually, that was the factor that tipped the scale in Aaron''s favor and Alice agreed to be a dummy shareholder.

    That had been five years ago. Aaron had more than fulfilled his promise. She hated taking advantage of his hospitality this much but it wasn''t like she had anyone else in this city who was willing to help her.

    "I''m sorry for intruding on your life," Alice said apologetically to the man who was still sitting on the couch cradling his sleeping wife.

    Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Why apologize? I offered."

    That didn''t match the vibes he had been giving off at all. She was confused. "¡­I thought Keeley forced you into it."

    He shook his head and a wry smile appeared on his face.

    "I love my wife but I wouldn''t take in just anyone even if she wanted me to. I helped you because I care what happens to you, Alice. I told you before. I''ve been waiting for you to ask me for help leaving your scumbag husband. I would do anything to help with that even if it means I have to get used to having another person in my house for a while."

    "Really?" she asked doubtfully.

    "You''re one of the four people on this earth I actually consider a friend. There''s no need to feel burdensome."

    Alice had been fairly sure they were friends but he had never actually said the word before. It was nice hearing it. She didn''t really have friends either. In fact, Aaron and Keeley might be the only people she thought of that way.

    She was about to thank him when he spoke up again. "That being said¡­I know you and Keeley were nning on going furniture shopping tomorrow but she really needs a break. I was nning on taking care of the twins so she could spend the day rxing."

    Alice tried very hard to hide her disappointment. She could always go by herself but she was afraid of identally spending too much. She needed someone budget-conscious who knew how to find good deals to help her.

    "If you need help I can rmend someone," Aaron said, reading her mind.

    "Who?" she asked eagerly.

    "Roger. His sister is a budget interior designer, apparently."

    She furrowed her brow. "What on earth is a budget interior designer?"

    "Exactly what it sounds like. An interior designer who decorates with cheaper items. I don''t know much more about it than you do; I saw him mention his sister''s business on Facebook. Shoot him a message. I''m sure he''ll be happy to send you her way."

    Roger, huh? Did she even have his number? They barely talked at those shareholder meetings.

    "Do you happen to have his phone number?" she asked.

    Aaron recited it perfectly from memory, which was astounding. No one memorized phone numbers anymore because of the ease of cell phone contacts. The only number Alice had memorized was her own.

    "How do you know that off the top of your head?"

    "Memorizing things has alwayse easy to me," he said casually, as if it was no big deal.

    The sound of crying came through the baby monitor sitting on the counter and Aaron sighed. One or both of the twins was awake now and he needed to get up and take care of them but he was trapped.

    He whispered gently into his wife''s ear. "Keeley, wake up. The babies need us."

    She made a sleepy noise and refused to budge. A lovesick smile appeared on his face and he shook his head indulgently before readjusting Keeley so he could lift her and take her upstairs to check on the babies with him. Her eyes didn''t open once. She really was tired!

    Alice wanted tough and cry at the same time. Once again, she was the third wheel. Why were those two so ridiculously in love when she was going through a divorce?

    Well, that''s what she gets for moving in with newlyweds. They hadn''t even been married a year yet. Supposedly this was the time when couples were at their most lovey-dovey.

    Maybe someday she could find someone who would carry her because she was asleep and didn''t want to wake up too. It was awfully sweet. If she hadn''t seen it with her own eyes she wouldn''t have believed Aaron was capable of such sweetness.

    Since she had one of the most powerful people in the city wrapped around her little finger, Keeley Hale was the true powerhouse. She had tamed the ice devil of all people!

 Chapter 333: An Odd, Fluttery Feeling

    <h4>Chapter 333: An Odd, Fluttery Feeling</h4>

    Roger rk wasing out of the locker room at the gym following a satisfying workout when he checked his phone. He had two messages¡ªone from his mom asking if he wasing down to visit for his niece''s birthday and one from an unfamiliar number.

    He opened it a bit skeptically. He had been getting a lot of spam textstely.

    ''Hi Roger, this is Alice Kelly. I am about to move and don''t have any furniture. Aaron told me your sister is a budget interior designer and that I should ask you for her number''

    That text was about thest thing he expected to receive. It was surprising for a few reasons. First, he didn''t realize his boss actually paid attention to his Facebook posts. There was no other way Aaron would have known about his sister''s business.

    Second, Alice seemed a lot closer to Aaron than he would have guessed if she was asking him for help with furniture shopping. Roger hadn''t pegged his boss as the type to actually spend time with his subordinates outside of work. Alice was more like a partner than a subordinate since they were from the same social circle but still.

    Then again, he probably needed to reassess Aaron entirely after that little show in the restaurant when they all signed the shares back over. How on earth had Aaron Hale ended up being a doting family man?

    Roger nearly had a heart attack when Aaron said the woman sitting next to him was his wife. It was partly because he didn''t think the man was capable of any sort of tender feelings for another human being and partly because it meant those two babies were his. Finding out someone you have worked with for years has a secret family is rather rming.

    Seeing Aaron act not only warm but lovestruck was almost more frightening than his usual levels of ice. Roger was extremely curious how the poor woman even ended up with a man like that. Especially since she was apletely normal person.

    He had to admit he was intrigued by Keeley Hale and whatever spell she had cast over her husband. Anyone who could have that sort of effect on such a cold, emotionless block of ice had to be a force to be reckoned with.

    Thest thing about Alice''s text that was surprising was that she mentioned she was moving and didn''t have any furniture. It was weird enough that she wasn''t bringing her furniture with her but she was also nearly as rich as Aaron. She shouldn''t have needed a budget interior designer.

    The only conclusion he coulde to was that she had separated from her husband. That would also exin why she had gone to Aaron for help.

    Roger felt sorry for her but he also felt an odd, fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had been instantly attracted to Alice Kelly the moment he firstid eyes on her, after all.

    When he originally agreed to be a dummy shareholder for Aaron, he was told the names of the other people who were in on it. He already knew Kyle since they had been in the same major at Harvard and had shared a lot of sses.

    He hadn''t met Cameron but had heard his name because one of his old roommates had lost a lot of money to the guy in those unofficial dorm card tournaments. Who in the male dorms hadn''t heard of the Card King? He was surprised Aaron managed to get him on board.

    Alice, who came on about six months after he and Kyle did, was the only person he didn''t know. Aaron described her as a longstanding acquaintance and former ssmate. Roger hadn''t thought too much into it and figured she must be useful in some way despite being the only one without a job at Hale Investments.

    When he walked into the board room that day he did a double take when he saw a gorgeous, unfamiliar woman sitting primly at the conference table. Having been forewarned, he knew it couldn''t be anyone but Alice.

    Her light golden brown hair was up in an elegant bun and subtly blended green and brown eye shadow made her hazel eyes stand out. She wore a steel gray pencil dress and a pearl ne with matching earrings.

    Roger was in the middle of introducing himself when he noticed the enormous rock on her finger. So she was taken. Figures. There was no way a woman like that would be single.

    He squashed down his disappointment as they finished their introductions. Over time he remained friendly like he did with the rest of the board members aside from Alistair Hale, who was even more frightening than his son. That was a man who couldn''t be approached so easily.

    He never expected anything toe of their interactions once he knew she was married. She was excellent at hiding her feelings under a thickyer of ssiness. If not for this text message, he never would have guessed she was having marital problems.

    Roger texted her back. ''I would be happy to send you her way. Her name is Marissa rk and her number is 212-385-7765''

    He then quickly sent a text to his sister. ''If someone named Alice contacts you for help furniture shopping be sure to bring me with you. I''ll help carry things''

    ''You never offer to help me on my jobs. What''s up?'' Marissa asked suspiciously.

    Well, it wouldn''t hurt to exaggerate a little. ''She''s a friend of mine. I want to make sure she''s taken care of''

    ''I always take care of my clients and you know it! I''ll let youe on the condition that you buy me lunch. I haven''t seen you in a month''

    ''Done. Thanks sis!''

    Really, she let him off easy. It wasn''t like he couldn''t afford it; Hale Investments paid their employees very well. Marissa would most likely pick sushi anyway and he loved it almost as much as she did. In a way, this was a win-win.

 Chapter 334: You Deserve A Break

    <h4>Chapter 334: You Deserve A Break</h4>

    Keeley had thought she was going furniture shopping with Alice on Saturday morning so when Aaron told her she went out with someone else she was surprised. Had she found someone else because she slept in too long?

    Why didn''t anybody wake her up? She never managed to get away with sleeping this long; the babies wouldn''t let her.

    Aaron handed her an asiago bagel and a cup of raspberry yogurt for before turning back around to pour her a ss of milk. She smiled, feeling a bit spoiled.

    "Any particr reason you took care of the babies for me so I could sleep and handled breakfast on top of that?" Keeley asked.

    He handed her the milk and gave her a quick but undeniably affectionate kiss. "You''ve been running yourself raggedtely; you deserve a break."

    Even though Keeley had been living with him for about a year now sometimes it still astounded her how considerate Aaron could be. He was always looking out for her and being hyper-attentive to her needs.

    To be perfectly honest, he had more than made up for how he treated her in their first marriage by showering her with constant love and affection now. She was quite content with how things had turned out in the end despite the long painful road it took to get there.

    "I love you," she said sweetly before taking a bite of her bagel.

    Aaron had a blissful smile on his face, as if he could never tire of hearing those simple words. He stood behind her stool at the breakfast bar and wrapped his arms around her.

    "I love you too."

    Kaleb began to shriek, demanding attention, and he reluctantly let go to attend to their son. When Violet saw that her brother was getting picked up she began to wail as well so Aaron had to take them both back into the kitchen if he wanted to be near his wife.

    He ended up standing across from her as he gently bounced both of the babies in his arms. Keeley happily consumed her breakfast until she remembered something. Now that Alice was out of the house, she should bring up her idea on how to handle Gray.

    "Hey Aaron¡­you want Gray out of the way, right?"

    He was obviously irritated at the mention of his half-brother. "Of course I do. The man is a ticking time bomb. But I''m not like him¡ªI don''t kill people to get rid of them. Why do you ask?"

    "Since we''re pretty sure he murdered Lacy, why not get Aiden to look for the evidence to prove it? I''m sure the police would appreciate the help and it would get him off the streets so we wouldn''t have to worry about him anymore," Keeley suggested.

    His eyes widened momentarily in surprise before a thoughtful look settled on his face. It was obvious that her n threw him off.

    She wondered why exactly it was so surprising. This wasn''t the first time she had tried to be supportive and help him out. What made this different?

    "I could try but would you really be okay with that morally? I don''t like Gray one bit but I can''t deny that he has helped us on more than one asion. Isn''t it a bit too backstabbing?"

    Now it was Keeley''s turn to be surprised. She hadn''t realized he thought that way about it, but it made sense. Aaron was a very loyal person. He looked out for his own, even if they did happen to be murderous psychopaths.

    She shrugged. "It''s not like he would know it came from us. Helpful or not, he has proven to be dangerous. Who knows what other murders he mightmit someday? Locking him up is the best thing for society atrge.

    "He had to know getting caught was a risk when he did it. Since Brann Knighton is still offering a reward to anyone with information, it would probably seem like that was how he got caught. We haven''t let on that we suspect him so he wouldn''t even connect it to us."

    "You do have a point. I know a detective in one of the Manhattan precincts that''s trustworthy. If¡ªand it might be a pretty big if¡ªAiden is able to find something we can send it to him and he would make sure it ends up with the right people," Aaron mused.

    "He''s the one I gave the video to that nailed Lacy for Max''s murder. I figured I could use his help again at some point in this life but definitely wouldn''t have seen thising. Originally I thought I would give him material on my father''s insider trading."

    Though he sounded hesitant, Keeley could tell he was wavering. He really did want Gray out of the way so he couldn''te after them someday if he changed his mind again.

    She understood why he was reluctant. Gray was probably even more powerful than Aaron was in this city. He would be a terrifying enemy if this backfired.

    If this was going to work, they would need such solid evidence that the case didn''t go to trial. It would need to bepelling enough that Gray would choose to plead guilty or no contest rather than try to weasel his way out with a goodwyer. Because if he managed to get off or get a light sentence, he would be able toe after them if he figured out they were behind it.

    She had looked this all up on her phone before telling Aaron her idea. If Gray was convicted of first degree murder, meaning it was premeditated; he would get a minimum sentence of 20 years to life and a maximum of life without parole.

    But if it was second degree murder, meaning it was spur of the moment, he would get a minimum of 15 years to life and a maximum of 25 years to life. The problem with those sorts of sentences was that after he had the possibility of being released on parole for good behavior. His case would be reevaluated at that point.

    A person on parole was less of a threat than a person roaming free because they had certain rules and restrictions to follow or they would get put back in prison. Unfortunately, that didn''t necessarily eliminate the threat.

 Chapter 335: A Dumb Question

    <h4>Chapter 335: A Dumb Question</h4>

    Gray seemed like a petty person. If he managed to connect getting caught back to them he might want revenge enough to cause harm despite being on parole and not care about going back to prison. There were a lot of uncertain factors here.

    Honestly, the more she thought about it the more Keeley wondered if it was better to simply leave him alone. But she didn''t want a murderer spending time with her children! And she knew how much having him around stressed Aaron out.

    "What do you want to do?" she asked right after finishing off her yogurt.

    Aaron sighed and gestured for her to take one of the babies now that she was done eating. He looked at her seriously.

    "This is all dependent on whether or not Aiden can even find anything incriminating. For him not to trace it back to us it would have to be something the police are capable of finding on their own. Gray is a hacker as well, though not as talented as Aiden. If there are any high-level encryptions involved I''m afraid it won''t work."

    So it would have to be simple, easily attainable evidence or Gray wouldn''t fall for it. It was a tall order but she hoped it was possible. It would at least give them the option to choose whether or not to try and get a conviction.

    "That makes sense," Keeley said darkly. "I still think you should have him try. We can figure out what to do from there."

    He may have helped them a few times but Gray had proved in both this life and thest that he wasn''t afraid to use murder to get what he wanted. He really would be better off behind bars.

    "I''ll talk to him on Monday. Right now he''s probably ying World of Warcraft or something"

    She raised an eyebrow at him. "How do you even know what that is?"

    She only knew because some people in her dorm at NYU had been hardcore yers. It didn''t seem like the sort of thing Aaron would be aware of since he barely knew what Harry Potter was and that was a worldwide phenomenon.

    "¡­you have no idea how much Aiden actually talks, do you? I know more about video games than someone who doesn''t y them ever should," Aaron said with a slight shudder, which made herugh. So dramatic!

    For all his big talk about how annoying he found the guy, if Aaron really hated it he would have viciously shut him down. The fact that he knew so much about what Aiden was interested in despite not liking it personally spoke volumes about their rtionship.

    Her husband wasn''t nearly as anti-people as he wanted others to believe. He may not care widely but he did care deeply. Most people didn''t know that Aaron Hale was definitely the kind of person you wanted in your corner because they were too afraid of him.

    It was a bit sad but he seemed to prefer it that way. The people he actually liked were few in number and he didn''t care about that one bit.

    Keeley felt strangely special being the only person in this world (aside from the twins, who were too young to understand) who got to enjoy all of the hidden aspects of Aaron''s personality. She figured out the mystery behind him that her younger self was so intrigued by after all. It only took two lifetimes to do it.

    "It just means he likes you," she informed him.

    Aaron readjusted his grip on Violet and rolled his eyes. "He keeps insisting that he''s my favorite and it''s the most ridiculous thing I''ve ever heard."

    "Why is that?"

    He looked at her like she was stupid. "Because you''re my favorite. Obviously."

    Right. She already knew that. He had told her she was his favorite person back before she found out he had been reborn. It really was obvious.

    "That was a dumb question. Excuse my tired brain."

    "It''s excused. Go rx for a while, sweetheart. Read something, binge one of your shows, go down to the pool. Do whatever you want and I''ll watch the babies," he said with a soft smile on his face.

    Watching one of her shows sounded excellent right now but she didn''t want to just leave him on a Saturday. Weekends were the time they were able to hang out together the most.

    "Are you sure?"

    Aaron nodded. "You deserve it. Besides, you see our babies more than I do. We could use some bonding time."

    Keeley could practically hear the TV calling her name. She thanked him and kissed his cheek before heading to the TV room. Dinah and Molly both joined her at different points during the first episode and she basked in the peace and quiet.

    She didn''t leave the room until it was lunchtime because the babies needed to be fed as well. A quick nce at the clock told her that Alice had been gone for nearly five hours. Did it really take that long to shop for furniture?

    ===

    Alice liked Keeley and appreciated all of her help but she had to say she did not appreciate her fashion sense. Or more urately, theck thereof.

    Alice was used to wearing dresses most of the time but Keeley hardly owned any and the ones she did weren''t meant for casual wear. This was how Alice found herself going to meet Marissa rk wearing a pastel rainbow striped tee shirt, jean shorts, and knock-off yellow Converse All Stars.

    The outfit seemed too casual for her usual hairstyles as well so all she did this morning was curl it and leave it down. She couldn''t even remember thest time she wore her hair down in public.

    High society''s fashion standards were strict. She never left the house without a full face of makeup, jewelry tastefully coordinated with her dress, and high heels. Dressing down like this felt very strange.

    What was she going to do when she moved out next week? She couldn''t keep borrowing Keeley''s clothes then. She would need to buy a whole new wardrobe from discount retail chains but she didn''t know a thing about them.

    Once again, she would have to trouble Keeley to help her. Unfortunately she didn''t seem like the best person to go shopping with. After all, she did wear rainbow striped tee shirts.

 Chapter 336: This Is It

    <h4>Chapter 336: This Is It</h4>

    The Hales'' driver dropped Alice off in front of the small office tucked away in the West Vige. The sign that read ''Budget by Design'' in a flowing script was both tasteful and eye-catching, which gave her hope about this whole endeavor.

    Maybe Marissa rk would be able to help her regain the sense of what she had lost and help her decorate her new tiny apartment in a way she was used to. Alice certainly hoped so. She missed having control over her own space, though the Hales had been very weing.

    She missed her old apartment too. Brock had changed the locks on her so she couldn''t even collect her things.

    Most of it was just clothes and jewelry since she didn''t own much of sentimental value but still. Those clothes had been through a lot with her. Fashion was an important part of who she was.

    When she stepped into the office, she liked what she saw. It was somehow both cozy and open, consisting of calming neutral tones with little pops of teal here and there. No one was at the front desk so she sat on the couch that was much morefortable than it looked and waited.

    A woman with curly medium brown hair wearing a sleeveless blue and white print dress and nude wedge heels came out from the back room and greeted her warmly.

    "Hello, I''m Marissa rk. Do you have an appointment?"

    "Yes, I''m Alice Wheatley. We corresponded a few days ago."

    "Oh, Alice! So nice to meet you. Why don''t youe on back and tell me what your budget is and what you''re looking for," she said with a smile.

    "I have a one bedroom apartment and don''t have a single item of furniture to my name at the moment so I''m starting over from scratch. The absolute most I can spend is ten thousand but I would prefer it to be less. I enjoy neutral colored furniture and watercolor paintings," Alice exined.

    She had discussed the furniture and wardrobe budgets with Keeley already. She said at most, Alice should spend $10,000 on putting her apartment together and $5,000 on buying an entirely new wardrobe. Everything else should be saved because they didn''t know the alimony situation yet.

    The wages from Alice''s new job wouldn''t be enough to cover all of her costs of living so she would have to dip into her savings for that each month. She had money but it could disappear very quickly if she wasn''t careful. She was used to being able to spend whatever amount she wanted whenever she wanted to.

    "I''ll need to see your apartment before we can do anything," Marissa admitted. "Seeing the dimensions of a room in person is different than pictures. Is that alright?"

    "That''s fine. My apartment is less than twenty minutes from here if I''m remembering correctly."

    "Excellent. Let''s be on our way then."

    She told her assistant, who Alice hadn''t realized was also in the office, to hold down the fort as they headed out the door. Alice wasn''t watching where she was going and mmed directly into someone.

    "I''m so sor¡ªRoger?" she asked in bewilderment. What was he doing here?

    "Hi, Alice. I''m here to help with furniture set up," he said with a smile.

    She furrowed her brow. "But we haven''t even bought anything yet."

    "It''s easier to be here for the entire process. Marissa tends to drag people all over the city and she''s hard to track down."

    His sister scowled at him. "You''re lucky you got here when you did. We were just about to leave."

    Roger simply smiled at her and offered to drive. It really wasn''t that far at all so it passed quickly in a haze of small talk and listening to the siblings bicker.

    She felt a bit sad hearing it. Her own brother was over a decade younger than her so they weren''t close. She had been married before he was even ten years old. Now that her parents had cut her off¡­when would she ever see Sterling?

    Just because they weren''t close didn''t mean she held no affection for her baby brother. In fact, she missed him now. There had to be some way she could stay in contact with him. Maybe once he was a bit older and on social media. But that was at least a few more years away.

    Alice''s move-in date had technically been yesterday so she had the keys but she hadn''t moved over because she didn''t own anything to put in it yet. She unlocked the front door and showed Marissa the space, feeling a bit embarrassed.

    "This is it," she saidmely.

    "Not bad," Marissa mused. "I could get some rugs for these hardwood floors no problem. There''s plenty of natural light¡­"

    She continued talking to herself as she walked around, examining every nook and cranny of the small space. Alice stood in the living room with Roger trying not to feel like a useless room ornament.

    "Don''t mind her," he said, as if reading her mind. "She tends to ignore everything else when she''s in the zone."

    "Oh, she''s fine! I''ve just never done anything like this before. I didn''t even get to decorate myst apartment the way I wanted because my mother-inw hired a very expensive interior decorator."

    Suddenly she wondered if she had said too much. Roger didn''t know she was getting divorced unless he had pieced it together based on her text. He very well might have; he was a sharp one. Aaron wouldn''t have chosen him to be a dummy shareholder if he wasn''t.

    Alice had always thought hismentary during the board meetings was rather insightful anyway. She didn''t know a thing about him other than that he was intelligent, went to Harvard, and had a budget interior designer for a sister.

    Their small talk at those meetings was always the most superficial kind. Alice was used to those kinds of meaningless conversations after a lifetime of high society small talk. At least small talk with Roger was pleasant. He didn''t put double meanings into his words unlike most people she knew.

 Chapter 337: An Terribly Unhappy Person

    <h4>Chapter 337: An Terribly Unhappy Person</h4>

    Roger tactfully didn''t bring up the divorce but still addressed her situation. "If you haven''t been staying here, where have you been recently?"

    "Oh, with Aaron and Keeley. I ran into her the day I became homeless and she offered," Alice said bluntly. "They''ve been very kind to me and their children are adorable but I wanted my own space as soon as possible. Friendly advice: don''t ever stay with newlyweds."

    His eyes widened. "Don''t tell me he''s worse than he was at that dinner."

    She chuckled darkly. "So much worse. You have no idea what I''ve been through! Yesterday she fell asleep while sitting on him and he carried her upstairs when she refused to wake up. That''s only the tip of the iceberg."

    Roger shook his head in disbelief. "What did she do to him?!"

    Alice had wondered the same thing at first. After a while it came to her; Keeley made Aaron happy. Ice was only his default because he was a terribly unhappy person. High society tended to do that to people.

    She hadn''t ever thought of him as an unhappy person until she saw what he was like when he actually was happy. It was eye-opening. Seeing him like that had helped her realize how unhappy she actually was too. It was why she got out almost immediately after.

    A small smile appeared on Alice''s face when she answered. "She makes him happy."

    "That isn''t an emotion I would ever equate with him but I think you''re right, based on what little I''ve seen. Do you know how they met?"

    She didn''t know the exact details but she knew it happened during thetter half of her senior year of high school. Rumors had swirled around like crazy at the beginning of the third quarter and they only got worse over time.

    "Not exactly, I only know it happened during our senior year of high school. One day Aaron surprised everyone by not sitting in the cafeteria with the other high society kids. Instead he sat with threepletely unknown middle ss students in the student lounge, including Keeley.

    "Aaron wasn''t in my group of friends back then so I didn''t pay a whole lot of attention to him but the rumors were impossible to ignore. About a monthter I saw him kiss her at the Valentine''s dance and she pped him right across the face."

    Roger nearly choked on air. "She pped him and lived?!"

    Alice smiled at the memory. "He must have liked her already. A few weeks after that Aaron was spotted eating lunch with her every day for a month. Everyone in the whole school knew about it. The rumors died down slightly once they stopped hanging out but after the graduation ceremony I saw him taking pictures with her.

    "To my knowledge, that was thest time they ever met. Over the years, whenever Aaron showed up at an event that required a date he appeared with a different woman on his arm every time. Everyone else thought he was a yboy but I had my suspicions that he had someone in his heart.

    "Turns out my theory was right. He confirmed it for me the day he got fake engaged to get Lacy Knighton to back away, may she rest in peace. He said the person he cared about wasn''t anyone I knew so my suspicions immediately jumped to Keeley, though I couldn''t remember her name at the time.

    "Crazy, right? That means he was in love with her for seven years before they finally got together. That takes a lot of persistence. If I had waited that long to be with someone, I would probably act the same way," she finished a bit wistfully.

    Seeing Aaron and Keeley together, Alice realized that she never truly experienced what it was like being in love. She had uselessly pined after Brock because she thought she was supposed to as his longstanding fianc¨¦e andter as his wife. That wasn''t real love.

    "I''m done!" Marissa announced, walking back into the living room. She caught onto the heaviness in the room and frowned. "What are you guys talking about in here?"

    "How obnoxiously in love with his wife my boss is," Roger piped up.

    She looked at him like he had sprouted another head. "Isn''t your boss Aaron Hale? The guy you said could turn a tropical ind into a frozen tundra in two seconds t?"

    "That would be him."

    She gave him one more odd look before brushing it off. Aaron Hale was irrelevant and she had business to discuss.

    "I have a few ideas on how to fill your space. Including my consultation fee, I think I can get you everything you need for around six thousand dors."

    Alice''s smile bloomed. "Really? That''s wonderful! Keeley will be so proud."

    "Who''s Keeley?"

    "That would be the aforementioned boss''s wife," Roger contributed.

    "Ah," Marissa said as if something had clicked into ce. "Right, we have a few stores to hit. We can get the majority of the furniture in one ce but we should go somewhere else for decorations and you might want to consider getting a mattress from a mattress store specifically."

    "I trust your judgment," she replied easily. Anyone who dressed so tastefully and had such a nicely decorated office had to know what she was doing.

    Marissa was a masterful worker. She would find two to four furniture options using the general parameters Alice set and have her pick which one she liked best. A bed, dresser, couch, entertainment center, vanity table, end table, kitchen table with four chairs, and coffee table were all picked out in around an hour.

    It would have taken her hours on her own because she had no idea what she was doing. She was amazed how quickly everything was taken care of. Marissa even negotiated a deal where the store would send people to deliver and assemble everything for a few hundred dors.

    That sort of negated the whole reason Roger was there but Alice didn''t mind. He was decentpany and had provided more than one useful opinion about furniture choices.

 Chapter 338: Dont Banish Me

    <h4>Chapter 338: Don''t Banish Me</h4>

    The home decoration store was next. Given the small amount of wall space in the living room, Marissa rmended finding onerge watercolor painting and basing the ent colors on that. Alice''s new couch was a nice shade of cream and many ent colors could look good with it.

    The one she eventually chose was a soft, quaint painting of the side of someone''s house. A bicycle leaned up against the wall, the gate to the backyard and the awning over the window were turquoise, and various shades of red and pink nts were scattered throughout the painting.

    Marissa found some throw pillows that were turquoise and red-violet along with a matching set of curtains for the tiny window in the kitchen. She also found rugs and a few decorations to set on the coffee table that matched the painting''s color scheme.

    Another watercolor painting, this time depicting ake scene, was set aside for the bedroom. It would pair well with the light blue bedding set they got.

    When they made it to the mattress store, Alice patted a particrly soft memory foam one before flinging herself backward on it in an uncharacteristically childish disy. She sunk several inches into it immediately and giggled. Actually giggled!

    That wasn''t like her at all. Hanging out with Keeley, who could be a pretty silly person, so muchtely must have had an influence.

    Roger stifled augh. "Sorry, I just didn''t expect you to do that."

    "I''m not quite myself these days," Alice said a bit ruefully. "Even these clothes aren''t mine. I wasn''t able to bring any with me when I left so Keeley has been generously loaning me some of her things. They feel strange though. Her style isn''t me at all; I''m so used to dresses."

    "It isn''t that the look doesn''t suit you, it''s that you give off the vibe of being ufortable with it. I think you look nice either way."

    She cheered up a bit at thepliment. "Thank you!"

    "I''ve never seen you with your hair down before either. It looks good on you," he continued.

    She was surprised that a male would even notice her hair. Brock certainly never had. Had Roger always been this chivalrous? She hadn''t noticed.

    "I don''t wear it like this much. It''s nice not having to deal with bobby pins though."

    "¡­you lost me at bobby pins."

    Alice smiled. Of course he wouldn''t know. Men didn''t have to worry about such things.

    "They help keep updos fixed in ce. Sometimes they get stuck in there for days, even after washing your hair!"

    "That sounds terrible."

    "You have a sister, how do you not know about bobby pins?" she teased.

    Roger shrugged. "Marissa and my mom prefer to wear their hair down. If they own bobby pins, I''ve never seen them."

    Alice brushed that off and stared at the ceiling as she continued to sink. She definitely wanted this mattress. She would sleep like a baby on something thisfortable.

    She had to wonder who came up with that phrase though. Babies didn''t sleep well. She had been woken up more than once by wailsing from the Hale twins around 4 AM. She didn''t know how Keeley and Aaron handled it and still managed to function every day.

    Marissa came back from the bathroom and saw her lying there. "Did we find a winner?"

    "I think so," Alice said as she sat up, a bit embarrassed.

    Marissa''s phone went off and she groaned once she saw the message. Her expression immediately turned apologetic.

    "Alice I''m so sorry, the delivery people got held up and won''t be able to make it for another three hours. I don''t have any other clients scheduled today so you cane back to my office if you''d like."

    Alice hesitated. She had time to go shopping but didn''t have her own transportation or know how to shop cost effectively. Marissa probably did but would she even want to waste her time on a stranger?

    "This might be a bit forward¡­but could you possibly help me buy some clothes while we wait? These aren''t mine," she said as she gestured to her outfit. "I love what you''re wearing. Where did you get it?"

    Marissa seemed delighted. "This old thing? I got it for $36 at Kohl''s."

    Her jaw dropped. $36 for an entire dress?! Alice had never even spent that little on a hair essory before!

    "Can you teach me your ways?" she asked humbly. She desperately needed a budget friendly fashion icon to follow.

    The other woman''s eyes lit up. "Shopping when I don''t have to pay for it is one of my favorite things. I would love to! Roger, you can leave."

    He looked oddly betrayed. "I don''t have anything better to do either; don''t banish me."

    She raised an eyebrow at her brother. "You really want to watch us shop?"

    "Why not?" Roger asked with a shrug. "I can finally see you in your natural habitat."

    Marissaughed and shook her head before conceding. They paid for the mattress and arranged for it to be deliveredter that day before she directed Roger to take them to the nearest retail clothing chain store.

    Alice wanted to buy enough dresses for each day of the month, a few sets of cks and blouses, and a whole lot of high heels. She also, unfortunately, needed jeans andfortable shoes for work. They provided the uniform shirt.

    She was in heaven being back in a store even if it was a very different one than she was used to. Being back among countless rows of clothes felt likeing home.

    Admittedly, there were a lot less things she liked avable here. Marissa helped with that. She picked things out that she would wear herself and showed them to Alice to see if she wanted to try them on. Most of the time she did.

    They ended up checking the entire store for things to try on. The cart Roger was pushing was piled high with dresses.

    Alice tried on dress after dress with a contented smile on her face. Marissa and Roger offeredpliments or criticism on potential outfits as she went. Shopping with these two was much more fun than shopping with her mother-inw''s group had ever been.

    "Love the pattern, hate the puffy sleeves," Marissa dered about thetest dress Alice tried.

    "Yeah, it looks like something straight out of the 80s," Roger agreed.

    Alice turned back and forth a bit to get a better view in the mirror. They had a point. That one was scrapped. Out of all the things she tried on, only about half had been deemed worthy of purchasing so far.

    The next one she tried on might have been her favorite overall. It reminded her a bit of one of the dresses she left behind. It was a short sleeved maroon cored dress with a matching belt and she felt a bit sad thinking about the pair of Jimmy Choo sandals in her old closet that would go with it perfectly.

 Chapter 339: Perhaps She Had Made Another Friend

    <h4>Chapter 339: Perhaps She Had Made Another Friend</h4>

    Alice didn''t end up having time to spend all of her wardrobe budget in one day but she did get a decent start. Her purchases wouldst her at least a few weeks.

    There was still a little time before the deliverymen were scheduled toe over so Roger offered to treat her and Marissa to lunch. They went to a rather nice sushi ce that Alice liked to go to when she was by herself. Her mother-inw usually chose the lunch venues while they were out and she hated any form of fish.

    She couldn''t recall thest time she felt so rxed while out to lunch with other people. The conversation was pleasant and the overall vibe at the table was good. She had always thought Roger was a nice person and everything she saw today confirmed it.

    When they finally made it back to her tiny apartment, the deliverymen were waiting for them. Oops.

    There was quite arge group of them so everything was assembled rtively quickly and effectively. Marissa directed them where to put things as they went. She must have done this before; it looked almost like she was a traffic cop smoothly directing cars in an overcrowded intersection.

    As thest of the deliverymen trickled out and Alice looked around her apartment she was very impressed with what she saw. These shabby couple of rooms looked a million times better.

    "You''re a miracle worker," she said in awe. "Thank you so much!"

    Marissa smiled happily. She was a woman who took pride in her work. "You''re very wee! Would you like to pay with a check or card?"

    "Check, if that''s alright."

    She pulled her checkbook out of her purse and wrote one for their previously agreed amount plus a tip for helping her go clothes shopping. Now she knew where to go and how to find deals in the future.

    "What''s the extra $100 for?" she asked, confused.

    "For helping me find clothes," Alice said a bit sheepishly. "I really appreciate everything you''ve done today."

    The interior designer seemed surprised. "You didn''t have to pay me for that! I did it because I wanted to. In fact, if you ever need help shopping again feel free to call me. It was fun."

    Her heart swelled in spite of herself. Perhaps she had made another friend today.

    "I''ll definitely take you up on that!" Alice hesitated before asking yet another favor. The rk siblings had already done so much for her today.

    "Is it alright if I get a ride back into Manhattan with you two? I need to return Keeley''s clothes and pick up the spare kitchenware and old TV she said I could have. Then I''ll be all set in my new ce."

    "No problem," Roger said warmly. "We can drop Marissa off first then I''lle say hi to Aaron with you."

    ===

    Keeley had watched enough TV to satisfy herself for a while and was back to spending time with her family when the inte buzzed. Aaron was changing Kaleb''s diaper so she picked it up.

    "Hello?"

    "Mrs. Hale, Alice Wheatley and Roger rk are here to see you."

    Roger was here too? She had only met the man once so she didn''t have much of an impression of him other than that he appeared to be terrified of her husband. Most people were.

    "Go ahead and send them up. Thank you."

    "It certainly took her long enough. It''s nearly four o''clock," Aaron observed.

    "She''s not alone, either. Roger is with her."

    He raised an eyebrow. "I told her to contact him but I didn''t realize he would actually go shopping with her. I thought he would simply pass her onto his sister."

    Keeley barely had time to process that since the elevator dinged. She called down the stairs for them toe on up.

    Alice seemed happier than she had been sinceing to stay with the Hales. What was that about? Did she really have that much fun furniture shopping? Even more interesting was that Roger seemed pretty happy himself.

    Her eyes narrowed. Something here didn''t add up. Wasn''t Alice interested in Gray just a little while ago?

    It wasn''t that Roger was unattractive. He was handsome in an average sort of way, with wavy medium brown hair and gray-blue eyes. He couldn''t hold a candle to Gray, who was such a sessfuldies'' man because of how devastatingly handsome he was.

    Keeley didn''t know a thing about this man''s personality but was willing to bet it was a lot better than her brother-inw''s. Aaron wouldn''t have trusted him to be a dummy shareholder otherwise. She would definitely have to ask Alice about himter.

    "Hi Roger," she greeted cheerfully. "Nice to see you again."

    "You too."

    He looked around the house and took in its cozy d¨¦cor and the baby toys scattered on the floor where Aaron was sitting with the twins.

    "How''s it going, Aaron?" he asked casually.

    Maybe he wasn''t as afraid of her husband as Keeley thought. He was certainly acting friendly and normal now. To be fair, he did have quite a bomb dropped on him the first time they met. His reaction might have been different than usual because of that.

    "Pretty well. What brings you here?"

    "Alice asked for a ride back and I figured I could say hi and help her move the rest of her things over," Roger exined.

    His sister must be quite something for them to have gotten thatpletely empty ce ready to move into in less than a day. Keeley could immediately feel the relief radiating off of Aaron that their guest would be leaving sooner than expected and it took everything in her not to visibly roll her eyes.

    He was so desperate to have her all to himself. But he also was the type to prefer peace and quiet so having someone elseing and going all the time must be ufortable for him. He was the consummate introvert and was in love with a hardcore extrovert. Poor thing.

    "That''s so nice of you!" sheplimented. "Let me go find those things for you. I''m pretty sure I left them in one of the spare guest rooms."

    Aaron stood and shook his head. "I''ll do it. Those boxes are heavy. You stay here with the babies."

    Keeley smiled as she watched him go. Always so considerate.

 Chapter 340: What Kind Of Woman...?

    <h4>Chapter 340: What Kind Of Woman...?</h4>

    Roger wasn''t sure what to make of Keeley Hale even after meeting her twice. She was wearing a pair of light gray cotton lounge shorts and an oversized blue Yankees tee shirt.

    She was in her own home on a Saturday but the outfit that Alice had borrowed from her also helped prove she was a very casual person. Keeley seemed 100% rxed around her husband too, which was insane! Nobody was rxed around Aaron Hale!

    Granted, Aaron seemed like a different person when he was around her¡ªhe actually showed emotion on his face!¡ªbut he couldn''t have always been that way. When they met Aaron had to have been his usual self. So how had she not been scared away long enough to fall for him?

    What kind of woman could ever fall in love with someone as imposing as Aaron Hale?

    Roger had seen the articles about his boss''s wife that came out shortly after he took over thepany. In one of them she described him as ''just Aaron.'' He was very curious how anybody could ever describe him that way. He was a host unto himself¡ªthere was nothing ''just'' about him.

    As he sized up the woman who had tamed the scariest person he knew, he thought back on what Alice had told him earlier. At one point she had pped Aaron for kissing her. She had an awful lot of nerve!

    No matter how angry a person got, they shouldn''t be brave enough to p someone so frightening. It was as if she had no fear of potential consequences. Although, if Alice''s theory was correct and he was in love with her the entire time, it made sense that he wouldn''t do anything to her for that.

    Still, it was hard to wrap his head around. What kind ofplicated history did these two have? They seemed perfectly happy and like anybody else now.

    One of the twins started fussing and Keeley apologized before turning around and seeing to her needs. The only way Roger could even tell that one was the girl was because of the pink onesie she was wearing.

    "What are your children''s names again?"

    She smiled warmly and he was practically sted with sunshine and rainbows. Roger had never seen such a dazzling smile. He could almost believe Aaron fell in love with her for that alone.

    "This is Violet; Kaleb is in his bouncer."

    "Aren''t they cute?" Alice asked a bit wistfully. "I''ve had a lot of fun ying with them."

    "Once they''re a bit older and I feelfortable leaving them for a while you''re wee to babysit any time," Keeley said with augh as she bounced her daughter in her arms.

    "I''ll probably take you up on that."

    Aaron came back with the box of kitchen items and set it down with a thump before heading back to get the TV and DVD yer. That took much less time since it wasn''t as heavy.

    "Do you have everything else that you need?" he asked gruffly.

    Alice looked down at what she was wearing. "If I can go grab my toiletries and get changed I''ll be good to go. Thank you so much for letting me impose on you so long."

    "It''s fine. I''m d I was able to help. Don''t be a stranger, alright? Keep me posted on how things end up going with yourwyer."

    The reference to thewyer surprised Roger slightly. Had Aaron been the one to find her awyer? He should have realized. Despite his icy nature, he was a good boss who looked out for his people.

    She nodded and fled to the bathroom to change and gather her things. Roger eyed his boss subtly. He was dressed as casually as his wife, which was a far cry from how he normally looked. Before this, he wasn''t sure if he had ever seen Aaron out of a suit. Maybe once.

    He had picked up his son and was rocking him back and forth in a funny way, making the baby giggle. Miracles never ceased. Roger would have to tell Kyle what he had seen on Monday; he wouldn''t believe it.

    They had been acquainted with each other beforeing to Hale Investments but once they got there they were both so young and inexperiencedpared to the other employees that they tended to stick together. They even ended up in the same department.

    Unlike Cameron Singleton, who became the head of the analyst department in a few short years, Roger and Kyle started out in the nning department. They worked directly with clients helping them with financial nning.

    Apparently Aaron had originally intended to ce them both in the analyst department as well but there weren''t any open positions at the time so it would be too suspicious. The nning department had recently lost four people so putting two new ones in was a much easier thing to do.

    Roger didn''t mind all that much. He was still working a high paying job within the headquarters of one of the top financial managementpanies in the world. That was a huge dealing straight out of college. Maybe someday he could apply for a transfer if any spots opened up.

    Alice came back wearing one of the dresses she bought earlier and a pair of heeled sandals, looking much more like her usual self. She hugged both Aaron and Keeley tightly, thanking them again, before grabbing the TV and DVD yer.

    Without being asked, Roger picked up the rather heavy box of kitchen things. He was about to say that he would see Aaron on Monday but he wasn''t sure that he would.

    There was a board meeting then but he wasn''t a member of the board anymore. This would be the first one since the takeover. He was curious if Alistair would even bother to show up. He might be too ashamed to show his face after the drama that went downst time.

 Chapter 341: Thats What Friends Are For

    <h4>Chapter 341: That''s What Friends Are For</h4>

    Back in the car, Alice looked at Roger with a slightly perplexed expression. "Why haven''t you asked me about my divorce at all today? I know you must have figured it out."

    "It isn''t any of my business," he said honestly. He hadn''t wanted to prod her into talking about something painful when she didn''t want to. "But know that you brought it up¡­are you doing okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"

    "I''m struggling to adjust to the sudden lifestyle change," she admitted. "But other than that I''m fine. Honestly, I should have left my husband sooner. He never cared about me."

    Her tone was matter-of-fact but a quick nce at her showed the obvious sadness in her eyes. Alice must have been terribly lonely. She always carried herself so well that he never would have guessed.

    "You deserve better than that."

    "I know. It took me a while to see it but I finally did. This time I''d like to fall in love for real." She then flushed slightly. "I''m sorry; I shouldn''t be unloading this on you."

    "I don''t mind."

    Roger was actually quite pleased that she had opened up to him. He had always found her beautiful, intelligent, and intriguing but hadn''t realized that there was so much more under the surface until he saw hints of iting out today. He was more interested than ever.

    He couldn''t push his feelings, which had finally run free now that she was almost divorced, onto her when she was struggling. It wouldn''t be fair. But he could take this as an opportunity to get to know her better. Alice seemed like she could really use a friend right now.

    "That''s what friends are for, right?" he continued.

    A pleased smile crossed her face. "You think of me as a friend?"

    "Yeah I do. You mentioned earlier that you have a job now¡­but if you''re ever free I would love to get lunch or something."

    Alice''s smile grew even wider. It suited her more than the polite, barely-there smiles she usually had on. "You have my number. My schedule is kind of random and changes every week. Text me any time and I''ll let you know if I''m free."

    He could work with that. It seemed that she had enjoyed their conversations today as well if she wanted to stay in contact now that there was nothing connecting them anymore. He was so d he had tagged along with Marissa this morning.

    Roger set up Alice''s new TV and DVD yer for her, which was a bit difficult because Keeley had lost the manual so he had to look things up on his phone or just in wing it. She put all of her kitchen items away while he worked on it.

    They finished at roughly the same time and she thanked him profusely for his help. He yed it cool and brushed off her thanks by saying it was no problem and he would be happy to help any time.

    The image of her true smile was imprinted on his brain throughout the drive back to his apartment and afterwards. Alice Kelly¡ªno, he had to remember she was going by Wheatley now¡ªwas a fascinating person.

    ===

    On Monday morning Aaron left for work with a smile on his face despite potentially having to see his father. Keeley had been sprawled out in the funniest position on the bed when he left and Molly hadin across her face to boot.

    Things had finally calmed down enough that he wasn''t losing extra sleep over the work but he was a bit worried Alistair would try to cause a fuss at the board meeting today. He was technically still a shareholder even if he wasn''t the CEO.

    He didn''t have much decision making power and had no control over his son whatsoever though. That was what mattered. Aaron was in charge of things now. No one could ever suppress him again.

    The meeting was set for 10 AM so he still had a little bit of time to kill. He called Aiden up to ask him about that evidence Keeley wanted him to find.

    "What''s up my dude?" he asked as he walked in. "Are you finally going to give me something to do? I''ve actually had to do IT thingstely because it''s been too quiet around here."

    Aaron was slightly tempted tough. Aiden had been spoiled by being presented with constant challenges and potentially interesting things to do since working here. IT was just a cover.

    But now that Aaron didn''t need constant surveince or hacking abilities he had been forced to do the job that was listed on his employee file. He could see how that would be boring to such a bright mind.

    "This might be a little difficult."

    Aiden grinned and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Excellent! I love difficult."

    "If evidence exists that Graydon Meyer murdered Lacy Knighton I need you to find it," Aaron said grimly. "But it has to be something the police could feasibly find on their own. Think you can do it?"

    His eyes widened. "Wait, since when did you think he was the one who killed her?"

    "From the beginning. Aiden, I know your sister is still struggling with the trauma of finding the body. I feel slightly responsible for that because I''m almost certain Gray killed her for my sake."

    He plopped down on the couch and blinked in a daze. Aiden had been keeping up with the police investigation on his own for his sister''s sake, wanting her to have closure, but Aaron hadn''t said a thing about it after requesting the initial information he was able to dig up.

    He didn''t me his boss for this. No matter what Graydon Meyer''s motivations had been, he was the one who did it, not Aaron. But yikes, what a psycho. No wonder Aaron had been wary of him all this time.

    "I''ll get right on it," he promised. "If he did do this, I want to see him locked up too for Sophie''s sake."

    "Thanks, Aiden."

    The hacker went back downstairs and Aaron tried and failed to focus on his work until the meeting was set to start. Turns out he had been worrying for nothing. Samuel, Alexander, Emilio, Carol, and Bruce were all there but Alistair was not. He was too embarrassed to show himself after all.

    Aaron was quite satisfied at the thought and had a slight smirk on his face throughout the entire meeting. The rest of the board members noticed but wisely chose not to say anything.

 Chapter 342: Mrs. Hale Is Here To See You

    <h4>Chapter 342: Mrs. Hale Is Here To See You</h4>

    Once the meeting was over it was nearly time for lunch. Aaron was about to unpack what Keeley had prepared for him when his secretary called.

    "Mr. Hale, Mrs. Hale is here to see you."

    What was Keeley doing here? She had never stopped by the office before. It would be nice to see her though.

    "Send her on up. Thank you."

    When the door opened and he saw his mother instead of his wife the temperature in the room dropped thirty degrees. He hadn''t seen Roslyn since Lacy Knighton''s birthday party over a year ago.

    When he heard Mrs. Hale he immediately assumed the secretary was talking about Keeley. He had nearly forgotten that there was another Mrs. Hale in New York that he didn''t want to see.

    "I thought you were my wife. If I had known it was you I would not have let you in," he said icily. "What are you doing here, Mother?"

    Roslyn wore a royal blue pencil dress with sapphire drop earrings and a diamond tennis bracelet. Her posture was perfect and her hair didn''t have a wisp out of ce but there was a crack in her usualposure somehow.

    "¡­I wanted to see how you were doing. It has been a while since I have seen you."

    "So you finally thought you would contact your only child," he said dryly. "I''ll have you know I''m doing great. You should leave now."

    Her lip trembled. It was the most emotion he had ever seen from the woman in two lifetimes. Yet his sympathy wasn''t swayed. He didn''t have any feelings left to spare for his mother.

    "Aaron, please. Your father¡­I''ve lost everything. All of my friends abandoned me. Our reputation in the circle is in shreds. Can''t you try and fix this? If you said something everything would go back to normal," she pleaded.

    Unbelievable! Why would he do her or Alistair any favors? They deserved what they got. Everything they cared about, aside from their wealth, was gone. They were lucky he left them with even that.

    "I will do no such thing. This is exactly what the two of you deserve," he said loftily before waving her off.

    "Aaron, I am your mother! Does that mean nothing to you?"

    Aaron''s eyes hardened and an icy st hit Roslyn so hard she nearly fell over. "You may have given birth to me but you are no mother of mine. You never once told me you loved me. You handed me off to more nannies than I could possibly count.

    "The only times you spoke to me was when you wanted something from me. You were only slightly less pushy than your worthless husband. You never respected me for who I was as an individual and only wanted me to be your tool, just like he did. Clearly I mean nothing to you as a son so why shouldn''t I feel the same about you as a mother?"

    He finished coldly, staring her down. Underneath his gaze she visibly shrank. You would think after being married to Alistair Hale for over thirty years that she would be immune to ice. But no, she had always been weak.

    "Is this because we wanted you to marry Lacy Knighton?" she asked feebly. "You got what you wanted in the end; why can''t you show a little mercy?"

    Aaron was on the verge of exploding. Mercy? Had this woman ever shown Keeley any mercy when she constantly belittled her and made the light in her eyes die? Had her husband ever shown mercy when he plotted to have his own grandchild killed in the womb?

    He tried to calm himself by taking a deep breath. He couldn''t allow himself to get angry over his parents anymore. They were behind him now. He didn''t have to stand for this.

    "Yes, I got what I wanted in the end, after twenty-five years of being trapped as your and Father''s puppet." In reality it had been much longer than that but she wouldn''t understand how much anguish the two of them had caused over the course of two lifetimes.

    "You asked me how I was doing¡­but you didn''t ask about my wife or children at all," he continued derisively. "You''re always the same. Putting status and money before everything else. You never cared at all about what would make me happy, only how I could benefit you.

    "Let me tell you something, Mother. Children are not tools. They are individuals with their own hopes, dreams, and talents. My children will be able to do whatever they want when they grow up with my full support. They can love who they want and have any career or hobby that they want.

    "My wife is more than a hundred times better a mother than you could ever dream of being. I hope you''ll keep this in mind the next time you get any bright ideas about asking me favors. I don''t owe you anything. Have a nice life."

    He pressed a button on the phone on his desk to call the secretary. "Please call security to see Mrs. Hale out. She isn''t wee in this building anymore."

    "Yes, Mr. Hale," the secretary agreed meekly before hanging up to do as he said.

    Roslyn shook with anger and pointed her finger at him. "That woman ruined you!"

    He finally stood and furiously mmed his fists on the table. "I''ll have you know ''that woman'' is named Keeley and she is the best thing that ever happened to me. You and Father are the ones who tried to ruin me. Goodbye, Mother."

    Two security guards appeared to escort her out and she was clearly seething but didn''t want to embarrass herself even further in public. Aaron slumped back against his chair with a heavy sigh. He hated dealing with his parents. Hopefully this was the end of it.

    It was amazing that Roslyn still went to bat for Alistair after all he did. He was the reason so much shame was attached to the formerly proud Hale name. He was the reason her socialite friends were ostracizing her.

    Aaron had been right not to feel sorry for her. She wasn''t a victim. She was one of an endless cycle of perpetrators, beginning who knows how many generations back.

    Being rich wasn''t the problem. People like Cameron who came into moneyter in life remained humble, decent human beings. It was the mentality that being rich made you better than everyone else.

    All of high society was terrible and deserved to crumble but Aaron wouldn''t be the one to make that happen. It wasn''t his problem. He had gotten out and was happier than he would have dreamed was possible.

 Chapter 343: Of Course It Was Him

    <h4>Chapter 343: Of Course It Was Him</h4>

    It was going to take Aiden some time to find anything on Graydon Meyer, especially since Aaron told him not to look for anything that required serious decrypting. He found himself checking hours and hours of surveince footage both inside and outside the Appzoid offices.

    Scanning footage was what he was used to but that didn''t mean it couldn''t be tedious. He much preferred hacking into cameras than actually watching what was in them. A lot of the time he didn''t even find anything interesting.

    Still, getting paid handsomely to watch videos wasn''t the worst job in the world. It was better than answering dumb, technologically-challenged people''s phone calls and helping diagnose problems.

    Aiden was checking watching the footage of Lacy being dragged out of the lobby for the fifth time, trying to see if there was something he missed, when he got a text from Aaron.

    ''Before I forget, Keeley wants to know who leaked her information. She gave me an earful just now because she tried going outside to get a recement part for the auto-cleaning litter box and barely managed to get away. Take a break from what you''re doing and find that first''

    He grinned to himself. He could just imagine his feisty former neighbor chewing her husband out.

    It would be a relief taking a break from his task anyway. His eyes were starting to ze over. He had to admit there was something strange about that footage but he hadn''t quite put his finger on it yet.

    ===

    Everyone kept telling Keeley the news would die down but it had been weeks and she still couldn''t go outside without being mobbed. She was about to lose her mind.

    Did these people have any idea how hard it was to get away from arge crowd surrounding you when you had babies to contend with? It wasn''t like she could leave them at home either.

    Her dad was at work and couldn''t watch them. Violet and Kaleb were still too little for her to trust a regr babysitter. Maybe next time she needed to go outside she should try and call Jennica.

    No, that wouldn''t work either; she had rehearsals for a musical. She was going to be in an ensemble Off-Broadway and was thrilled. Keeley was happy for her friend but didn''t know of anyone else who could watch the twins for her the next time she had to go out.

    She might have been a little tetchy with Aaron when he texted her on his lunch break asking how her day was going because she was still riled up about barely escaping the mob. But she didn''t expect a text message from Aiden telling her where the leak came from.

    Her eyes narrowed dangerously. Of course it was him. Ryan experienced aplete personality shift after she rejected him.

    Oh, she wanted to storm his office and kick his shins right now! But she had the babies to contend with. Unless¡­

    Keeley called the driver and asked him to bring her to Hale Investments. She was going to pay her husband a quick visit.

    Twenty minutester, she stared up at the skyscraper that housed Aaron''spany. When was thest time she actually went inside this building? She hadn''t been there often because Aaron didn''t approve of unnecessary work visits in their first life.

    Well, there was nothing to worry about now. Alistair was gone.

    She told the driver she would be back shortly and not to go anywhere. All she really had to do was go up to the top floor and drop the babies off for a little while. The diaper bag was with her and filled with toys and spare bottles if they got hungry.

    Keeley pushed the stroller into the lobby and looked around. She nearly forgot how austere this ce was. How did Aaron even stand it? Ah right, he was a minimalist.

    She approached the front desk, where a very professionally dressed secretary was typing away at a keyboard. She looked up coolly. "May I help you?"

    "My name is Keeley Hale; I''m here to see my husband."

    Considering how much gossip there had been about her, this woman had to know who she was. The secretary subtly appraised her. Keeley was wearing a yellow floral blouse, capris, and pristine white sneakers. It wasn''t her most casual look but it wasn''t anything fancy either.

    She pressed a button on the inte. "Mr. Hale, Mrs. Hale is here to see you."

    Aaron''s voice came menacingly through the speakers. "Didn''t I tell you not to allow her back in this building?"

    Not to allow her back? She hadn''t even been here in this life!

    Oh. He must be talking about his mother. Why would Roslyn bother visiting her son after being silent all this time?

    "Sir, your wife is here. Not your mother," the secretary exined, giving off a slight hint of embarrassment.

    Aaron''s tone changed instantly. "Oh! Send her right up then."

    The secretary asked her if she knew the way and Keeley nodded. There were only a handful of offices on the top floor for upper management. She would be able to find which one was his now easily enough.

    She pushed the stroller to the elevator and rode up feeling a bit self-conscious. Not only was she severely under dressed for this building, she had brought two children with her.

    It was a very long ride to the top floor. The elevator stopped many times to let people on and off and they all looked at her funny.

    At least these people didn''t seem to recognize her face. If they had, she had no doubt they would all be trying to suck up to her now as the big boss''s wife.

    The first office she passed when she finally reached her floor was Cameron''s. She knocked on the window quickly and waved to him. Instead of simply waving back like she expected, he got up and opened the door with a confused look on his face.

    "Keeley? What are you doing here?"

    "Looking for Aaron''s office," she said a bit sheepishly. "Mind pointing me in the right direction?"

    It was a bit strange seeing Cameron wear a suit and tie since the only other times she had seen him dressed up was at his wedding and her own. Normally he wore button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up or in tee shirts. Right now he actually looked like a vice president.

    "It''s on the opposite side of the floor. If you go down the main hallway and turn left twice you''ll find it," he exined.

    "Thanks! Be sure to tell Jennica I said hi."

    "I will."

    He still seemed confused why she was even here but she didn''t borate. Keeley didn''t want to tell her friend that she was here to drop the babies off so she could go fight someone.

 Chapter 344: Here On A Mission

    <h4>Chapter 344: Here On A Mission</h4>

    Keeley wandered down the seemingly endless hallway until she found the first left turn Cameron had been talking about. How many offices had she passed, anyway? She was curious how many directors of something or other Hale Investments had.

    Aaron''s office had a fancy titanium que next to the door that had his name on it with "chief executive officer" underneath it in smaller letters. She knocked on the door before hearing a faint e in."

    He was looking through some paperwork at his desk when she opened the door but instantly stood and crossed the room once he saw her and crushed her in a hug.

    "I can''t believe you''re actually here!"

    She frowned slightly. The way he said it rankled a bit. She had nevere here because he had specifically told her not to on more than one asion in their two lifetimes.

    "I couldn''t find a babysitter and I have some shins to kick," she admitted. "Can the babies stay here for a little while? It shouldn''t take me more than an hour."

    Aaron chuckled slightly. "So you were serious about that."

    "Of course I was serious about that! Do you have any idea how many people have invaded my privacy thest few weeks?! Ryan would have deserved it anyway because of all the things he saidst fall but this takes the cake. Nobody messes with me and gets away with it anymore."

    "If you''re really going to do this, make sure you don''t have any witnesses," he advised. "I doubt he would have the nerve to spread this around considering everything he has said but someone else might if they thought you kicked him for no reason."

    Ah, such a supportive husband. And here Keeley had thought Aaron would try to talk her out of it considering how much he disliked Ryan.

    "You''re not going to try and stop me?"

    "No, but you should also bring the driver with you as backup in case he tries to fight back. That cretin does have a bad habit of arm grabbing," Aaron said dryly.

    At this point Keeley wasn''t even sure how many times Ryan had grabbed her arm when she was trying to leave. The idea had merit.

    "Alright, I''ll do that. Love you," she said cheerfully as she kissed his cheek before leaving the twins with him to head back downstairs.

    "Love you too!" he called after her as the door swung shut behind her.

    One of the other executives had been exiting his office and happened to hear what his usually formidable boss said. He stared at Keeley''s back as she returned to the elevator with something akin to awe.

    "Where to, ma''am?" the driver asked respectfully once Keeley made it back to the parking garage.

    "PharmaGen Labs, please."

    The drive took about twenty minutes. Keeley had never been to Ryan''s work before--they used to be close but they weren''t close enough for that--and she was excited despite herself. This was a realb! She would work somewhere like this in a few years!

    She told herself to snap out of it. She was here on a mission. Approaching the front desk, she asked if she could speak to Ryan Bradley for a few minutes because it was quite urgent. The secretary seemed a bit wary but asked for her name. She didn''t want rumors getting out that she hade here so she silently asked Jennica to forgive her before using her friend''s name instead.

    Ryan came out a couple of minutester and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He saw the secretary watching the two of them curiously and held back what he was going to say originally. He put on a strained smile.

    "Jennica, how nice to see you. Why don''t we take this outside?"

    Excellent. Outside would have less witnesses if they went behind the building.

    Once they made it out of anyone''s earshot the false smile dropped. ''What do you want? And who''s this guy?"

    "He''s my driver but that''s not important. I want to know why you thought it would be okay to gossip about me to the point that I can''t even leave my house without getting mobbed," she said sweetly with an unmistakable deadly undertone.

    The slightest trace of guilt shed across his face. "All I did was talk with a couple of coworkers. I had no idea it would blow up the way it did."

    Keeley scowled. It wasn''t clear whether his intentions had been malicious or not. But given the fact that he definitely held a grudge against her...she wasn''t about to give him the benefit of the doubt.

    "Sure, because gossiping is never a bad idea," she said sarcastically.

    ''Why do you care, anyway? Didn''t you bring this on yourself by marrying someone infamous?"

    She had actually been considering talking this out without beating him up until he said that. Her kick was both so unexpected and so powerful that Ryan actually stumbled backward into the wall.

    "Geez, are you crazy?!" he yelled as he clutched his leg with watery eyes.

    "That''s for making the past few weeks hell for me," she said darkly. "And for being a jerk when I thought you were one of the few people I could trust. I''ll consider us even now. Mess with me or my family again and I won''t be so merciful."

    Her demeanor changed instantly as she smiled at the driver. "Come on, Carlos. I need to get back to the office to pick up Violet and Kaleb."

    "Yes, ma''am," he said as if he hadn''t just witnessed his boss''s wife kick someone like a child getting into a scuffle on the yground.

    That had been surprisingly therapeutic. She didn''t normally advocate violence but that had been a long timeing. She really had been very hurt by what Ryan said to her after all their years of so-called friendship when she was engaged.

    Now that he knew what she was capable of, Keeley doubted he would be so quick to talk about her behind her back again. Gossiping about someone you held a grudge against was such a cowardly thing to do. She had dealt with far too much of that nonsense in both of her lifetimes.

 Chapter 345: A Needle In A Haystack

    <h4>Chapter 345: A Needle In A Haystack</h4>

    Tracing the source of the leak about Keeley had taken Aiden less than an hour. There was a lot to sort through but it was easy once he did it by date. Investigating all of the posts from the first few hours after the news hit had been child''s y.

    Multiple posts hade from people working at this tiny researchboratory called PharmaGen. From there it was easy to deduce who had said something. The only person Keeley knew who worked there was that guy Ryan who used to hang out at her apartment sometimes.

    With that out of the way, Aiden resumed his task of watching the footage of Lacy Knighton being dragged away over and over. Something about her overall movements and actions seemed off. He had spent a lot of time watching her over the years and she never acted like that before.

    What if she was acting so funny because she was drugged? If she wasn''t of sound mind (but was she ever? let''s be honest) it would be much easier for the murderer to get her to a secondary location without much fuss.

    The problem here was that Graydon Meyer or Michael Gray or whoever he was had an alibi. Aaron''s suspicions about people had never been wrong. Aiden believed Meyer had killed her too but how had he gotten away with it?

    ording to the police report, Lacy was killed sometime between 1-2 PM. There was security footage of her being thrown out of Appzoid around 12:50. Sophie had found the body just after three and it had already cooled somewhat though it was too soon for rigor mortis to set in so it had to have been there for a little while.

    Graydon Meyer''s employees swore up and down that he hadn''t left his office but no one physically saw him in the room until his appointment at three. It was entirely possible that he had slipped out, killed her quickly, ande back. But how?

    The how wouldn''t even matter if there was concrete proof that he was outside his office or with Lacy after she was forcibly evicted from Appzoid. Aiden''s next task was to check every single surveince camera on the street in front of the building to see how exactly she ended up in the Bronx.

    It was extremely difficult work because there were dozens if not hundreds of people swarming the streets in each shot. This was worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. More likely than not, it would take him days to look through each individual camera to find what he was looking for from the best angle.

    He rubbed his eyes and nced at the clock. Twenty minutes until he could go home. He was supposed to meet up with Nova and some of their in-game buddies after dinner. He could make it that long.

    ===

    Aiden didn''t get so much as a glimpse of what he was looking for over the next three days. There was a lot of footage to sort through but he also had to go back again and again, zoom in, and try to enhance the images as best he could.

    When he finally did see something, it was two seconds of footage involving a dark-haired man pulling an inebriated woman with long ck hair in an elegant updo into a cab. Unfortunately, the camera caught them from behind. The heights, builds, and hair colors matched Meyer and Lacy but that wasn''t enough to go off of.

    He wouldn''t have caught it at all if not for the fact that the cab driver hadn''t pulled all the way up to the curb so they had to take a couple steps off of the sidewalk to enter the vehicle. Otherwise the crowd would have obscured thempletely.

    When the cab pulled away, there was a split second where the license te was visible. Aiden paused the footage and wrote it down just in case. But first he needed to check to see if any cameras from other angles managed to catch their faces. He didn''t want to waste unnecessary time looking into that cab if it wasn''t the right one.

    The good news was that the same two seconds had been recorded on a different camera. The bad news was that it was even further away and required more touching up to get a semi-clear image.

    But after a bit of work he saw that the woman was definitely Lacy Knighton and the man''s featured werergely obscured by a huge pair of sunsses. That wasn''t suspicious at all.

    "Bingo," Aiden muttered under his breath.

    It had to be Meyer¡ªthey got into a cab in front of the building right next to Appzoid''s offices. Now all he had to do was look into that cab and see if he was stupid enough to pay with a credit card.

    He used the license te to find out whatpany the cab was registered to and who drove it. It belonged to a man named Harry Ramone who worked for apany called Taxi Star. A little bit of digging showed that whoever used the cab matching the timestamp on the surveince footage paid cash and didn''t give a name.

    How disappointing. Aiden sighed and was about to consider it a dead end when he thought of something that might save the lead.

    His brief search into Taxi Star revealed that they had been having some property damage issues from their clients while inside the cabs. Dashboard cameras, aka dash cams, had be more and more popr for taxi and rideshare services these days.

    With all the problems they were having¡­was there a chance Harry Ramone''s taxi had one installed? Aiden hastily typed away until he found what he was looking for. A crazy grin lit his face and he immediately locked his workstationputer so he could go tell his boss the good news.

    ''You''re busted, Meyer!'' he thought victoriously as he jumped up and practically sprinted to the elevator in excitement.

 Chapter 346: Am I Awesome Or Am I Awesome?

    <h4>Chapter 346: Am I Awesome Or Am I Awesome?</h4>

    Aaron was drafting a contract for a potential business partner when Aiden burst into his office without knocking, as usual. But this time the door opened so forcefully it hit the wall behind it with a bang, making him look up with a questioning stare.

    Aiden was flushed and out of breath, which was unusual for him. Even if something was urgent he was more likely to stroll in as if he didn''t have a care in the world.

    "What is it?" he asked tly.

    "I nailed him! I have proof that Graydon Meyer murdered Lacy."

    Aaron''s interest was piqued. "I would have thought he would cover his tracks better. You found something the police could feasibly find on their own?"

    The hacker nodded as he flopped onto the couch with an exhausted sigh. "Man, I shouldn''t have run up here. I''m really out of shape."

    "You wouldn''t be so winded if you did anything other than y video games," he pointed out. "But that isn''t important. Get on with it already."

    "Right," Aiden said beforeunching into a longwinded exnation involving all of the little hacking details Aaron didn''t care about. But he supposed it was necessary since he needed to be able to tell if the kid''s assessment about the easy essibility of the evidence was correct.

    If the police couldn''t have found this on their own, the whole n would be ruined. Thankfully it seemed to involve very simple research the police were capable of and surveince footage they would have ess to.

    "¡­long story short, I found out that the cab Lacy and the sunsses guy got into had a hidden dash cam in it. The footage is stored in Taxi Star''s main office. I had to do some shady hacking to ess it but all the police have to do is get a warrant and they can see it for themselves.

    "At one point in the video, very briefly, Lacy manages to pull the sunsses off and you can see Meyer''s whole face before he manages to get them back on. The driver probably didn''t notice his face because it was so quick but the camera did," Aiden finished smugly. "Am I awesome or am I awesome?"

    It proved Gray was lying about when hest saw Lacy and that he had taken her to the Bronx, which was fairlypelling evidence, but Aaron wasn''t entirely sure it would get a conviction.

    Lying to the police was a misdemeanor and would have very minor charges Gray could get out of due to his wealth. But since it was about a murder investigation it would negate his alibi and cause the police to look into him more closely.

    Was it worth the risk? Aaron didn''t think his half-brother would be able to connect this back to him if Aiden left an anonymous tip mentioning the video footage and Harry Ramone''s dash cam footage. He would have to leave whether or not Gray got locked up to the courts at that point.

    He needed to talk about this with Keeley and see what she thought. Originally he hadn''t cared about the man getting away with murder simply because he hated the victim. But since Gray had an abnormal interest in him and his family¡­could he really stand by and keep appeasing a murderer forever simply to stay on his good side?

    "Good work, Aiden. Let me exin the situation to Keeley and see if she wants to proceed with this information," he said.

    Aiden waspletely obscured by the back of the couch since he was lying on his back but he lifted his arm high enough to give his boss a thumbs up to go ahead.

    Aaron clicked on Keeley''s contact in his phone and began dialing. He was a bit nervous about proceeding if that was what she wanted to do but his heart calmed slightly when he saw her contact picture.

    It was from her PhD graduation and she had the brightest, most joyous smile on her face. Her entire being radiated light. It was impossible not to smile looking at that.

    "Aaron? What''s up? I was just reading to the twins," Keeley said when she picked up.

    "Aiden found evidence that might help convict Gray but I''m not sure if it will be enough. Do you still want to go for it?"

    "Oh. What evidence is it, anyway?"

    "Footage of Gray in a cab headed to the Bronx with Lacy," Aaron said grimly. "He really did kill her."

    "¡­that seems pretty solid to me but then again, I don''t know much about thew or police work. As long as you''re sure it isn''t traceable to you or Aiden I would have to say to go for it."

    Her answer was about what he had expected but he was still d he asked for her opinion. It was a sign that their rtionship was good. He had promised there wouldn''t be any more secrets or doing questionable things on his own and he had meant it.

    "That''s what I thought you would say. Alright. I''ll get on that. Hug the babies for me. I''ll see you in a few hours. Love you."

    "Love you too!" she said cheerfully before hanging up.

    Would Aaron ever get tired of hearing that? Probably not.

    "So is that a yes or a no?" Aiden asked from his ce on the couch.

    "It''s a yes. Be sure to call them from a public payphone that doesn''t have any security cameras in sight or make sure you''re disguised when you call in the tip. Gray is a hacker too but I don''t know how good of one he is. We need to do this as low-tech as possible so he can''t trace it," Aaron exined.

    Was he missing anything? All of his bases needed to be covered. If Gray wasn''t a hacker he would simply tell Aiden to email the information but since that wouldn''t work they had to do it the old-fashioned way.

    Brann Knighton''s reward might be a problem too. If Gray found out it was refused by an anonymous tipster that might be suspicious. But Gray might know what Aiden looked like since he had looked into Aaron''s people before; he couldn''t exactly walk into a police station and ept the reward either.

    They could always pay a random person to go ept the reward but that might put them in danger. This would be much easier to n for if Aaron knew exactly how much ess to the city''s grid Gray truly had.

    The man had eyes and ears everywhere in the form of human sources but was his omniscience also attributed to surveince footage like Aiden''s?

 Chapter 347: An Anonymous Tipster

    <h4>Chapter 347: An Anonymous Tipster</h4>

    Aaron rubbed his forehead, feeling a headacheing on. Perhaps the best course of action regarding the reward was for Aiden, as the anonymous tipster, to tell the police station that he wanted them to hold onto the reward for him until an arrest was made.

    If Gray was already in custody he wouldn''t be able to see who picked up the reward and they could send anybody without worry. That could work.

    Besides, hadn''t Brann Knighton said the reward was for information leading to catching his daughter''s killer? He might not give the reward out until after an arrest was made anyway. This shouldn''t be a problem.

    "Make the call and tell the police that you were a witness on the street and saw someone matching Lacy''s description being pulled into a cab and that you happened to catch the license te. If you tell them where it happened, they''ll probably check the surveince cameras anyway," Aaron advised.

    "Sure thing, boss. Should I call the detectives who have been in contact with Sophie?" Aiden asked, finally sitting up on the couch.

    "No. I have a very specific officer I''d like you to call. He''s the only detective in all of New York I''m sure I can trust. Detective Darren Johnson of the 19th precinct. Be sure to ask for him specifically. He''ll know what to do."

    Aaron trusted that he would check the footage and find what Aiden had already based on what little information was given. It was exactly what he had done in his first life when Aiden left an anonymous tip about the footage of Lacy killing Max.

    Aiden hadn''t been able to say explicitly that there was video footage because evidence obtained illegally couldn''t be used in court. Darren Johnson had to figure out that the surveince footage existed on his own.

    "So¡­when do you want me to do this?" Aiden asked.

    "As soon as possible. Not everyone is as fast as finding things as you; after getting the tip it will probably take some time to be able to move forward with the investigation."

    He stood and gave Aaron a joking salute. "You got it, dude. Is there anything else you want me to do or am I back to taking actual IT calls?"

    Aaron pitied the kid a little. He was clearly understimted being a regr member of the IT department based on the disappointment in his tone. But what was he supposed to do? He didn''t need a hacker monitoring everything anymore.

    He could hand some of his work over to Aiden¡­he always had to be a meticulous researcher before partnering with anyone. If he had Aiden look into the people andpanies instead and type up reports to give to him it would take up at least some of his time.

    "Find me all the information you can about these potential investors. I don''t want to work with them if there is even the slightest chance of it backfiring on thepany," Aaron said as he handed Aiden the list of people he had been meaning to look into himself.

    He grinned as he headed out the door, as if he knew Aaron was making up things for him to do. "Thanks boss man!"

    This would be a win-win. Aaron''s work had been piling up and Aiden didn''t have enough to do. His skills would be underutilized now that things were rtively peaceful.

    He didn''t want the kid to be poached by someone else or leave thepany if he got too bored. What if Aaron needed him again someday? There were a lot of things a tech genius could do that were better than working in an IT department.

    If this didn''t provide Aiden with enough to do, he would have toe up with something else. Maybe it was time to branch out from simply being a financial managementpany.

    Aiden broke through enough encryptions and firewalls that he should know how to strengthen them. They could open a cybersecurity division, starting with making Hale Investments'' websites imprable. There had been a lot of data breaches from other financial institutions causing mass panictely.

    Putting the kid in charge of such an important project would be enough to keep him interested, right?

    ===

    Detective Darren Johnson had been about to leave for the day when Shirley, the woman who operated the tip line, said that someone had specifically asked to speak to him. He sighed. Of course this would happen on his wife''s birthday when they were supposed to go out to dinner.

    "This is Darren Johnson. May I ask who is speaking?" he asked as politely as he could manage despite his annoyance.

    "My name isn''t important," a muffled voice said. "I have information about Lacy Knighton''s murder but I''m afraid the killer wille after me."

    What cop in New York City hadn''t heard about the Knighton case? It was a big deal because the woman was a high profile socialite who had mysteriously been in a sketchier part of town she never visited.

    "That case is being handled by the 46th precinct. I can transfer you over to them."

    "My friend said you''re the only trustworthy cop he knows. Do you want the information or not?"

    Darren barely held back his sigh. If this guy was on the level, of course he wanted the information. But did it have to be right now?

    "I do."

    "I saw a tall, dark-haired man pull Lacy Knighton into a cab in front of the building to the left of the Appzoid offices shortly before 1 PM on the day she was killed. The license te was weird so I remembered it. It''s LEG100. Can you believe they actually made a license te like that?"

    This was the kind of evidence every detective hoped for on a murder case. Wasn''t it a bit too convenient? Who was this anonymous tipster?

    It was even more suspicious that he waited this long before saying anything. Lacy Knighton had been dead for weeks. Although¡­Brann Knighton had raised the reward money for any useful information yesterday. This might be rted to that. Some people could be so greedy.

    Darren scribbled down everything the mystery man said on a notepad despite his overall suspicions. A tip was a tip and needed to be looked into, no matter how shady.

    "Thank you for the information. If this lead pans out, someone will need to be in touch about the reward offered by the victim''s father. How can we contact you?"

    "I''ll contact you about it if an arrest is made. I don''t want to collect while the murderer could be watching."

    This guy seemed awfully paranoid. Darren would bet money he recognized the face of the man who brought Lacy Knighton into that cab. Who could make him that afraid?

    "How will I know it''s you?" he asked. "We can''t give out money to just anyone."

    "When Ie to collect I''ll be wearing a World of Warcraft tee shirt," the mystery man said shortly before hanging up.

    Darren wrote that down, as well as his impressions about the caller while they were still fresh in his mind. He snapped his little notebook shut and put it back in a locked drawer in his desk.

    He would look into this tomorrow. If he left right now, he would still make it to the restaurant where he was supposed to meet his wife and some of their friends on time.

 Chapter 348: Which Category?

    <h4>Chapter 348: Which Category?</h4>

    Darren came into work with a headache the next day. He had hardly gotten a wink of sleep because he couldn''t stop thinking about that anonymous tip.

    At least he had been able to forget about it for the duration of his wife''s birthday dinner. But once the presents were open, the cake was consumed, and everybody went home it crept back in like an itch he couldn''t scratch.

    He had received a lot of anonymous tips in his day. Some were quacks who wanted to feel a part of a big case. Others were people who probably wanted to be helpful but didn''t have very useful information. Still others were criminals who were actually involved but didn''t want to go down with their bosses or partners.

    But which category did this tipper fall under? He had been oddly specific, remembering a license te like that, even if it was a weird one.

    Most people couldn''t remember full te numbers. They also usually had a hard time distinguishing between simr letters like "V" and "U" because they tended to see the tes in passing.

    The dy between the murder, the offer of the reward, and the tip being given was suspicious as well. Who waited weeks after a murder to report something and still remembered it clearly?

    But the thing that bothered Darren most was that the tipper contacted him when a precinct in apletely different part of the city was in charge of that investigation. Why him? How did the tipper even know who he was?

    He said that a friend had called Darren ''the only trustworthy cop he knows.'' It was both ttering to be thought well of and insulting to have his profession looked down on.

    The friend of this tipper must have been involved in one of his cases somehow but there had been so many over the years it was impossible to remember them all. If he saw the tipper''s friend on the street he might vaguely recognize them but that was probably the extent of it. Human brains could only retain so much memory.

    If this tip was legitimate and led to an arrest, the mystery might be solved. Figuring that part out was more important than his burning curiosity.

    Darren looked at his notes from the phone call and tried to piece things together. The tipper was male and of an indeterminate age; that sort of thing was hard to tell by voice alone, especially because people often sounded different on the phone.

    He was supposedly afraid of being found by the killer; which meant it was highly likely he had seen the killer''s face and who he was at a nce. This man could have some position of authority over the tipper. A boss, perhaps?

    Either the tipper knew the killer personally or it was someone both recognizable and powerful within the city. The victim had been a socialite¡­the murderer could be rich and well known too.

    This would be a lot easier if he had ess to Lacy Knighton''s case file. Detectives were often territorial about their cases; it was unlikely that whoever was in charge would just let him look at it since he was from a different precinct.

    He would need to be in contact with them anyway once he figured out if this tip was worth anything. He should focus on the license te number. With any luck, he could figure out who had gotten into the cab that way.

    Running tes was a simple task and Darren had a name in minutes. The cab was registered to a Taxi Star driver named Harry Ramone. He would need to go over to Taxi Star''s offices and see if they were willing to talk. If they weren''t, he would have to get a warrant.

    ===

    The owner of Taxi Star was a wizened old man who had surprisingly bright and clear eyes for his age. Darren was lucky¡ªwhen he exined that he was investigated a murder and that a suspect had been spotted getting into one of his cabs, the owner was willing to cooperate.

    So few people were civic-minded these days. Getting warrants be more and moremon over time for even simple tasks.

    "You''re looking for someone who got into Harry''s cab, right? If I remember correctly, he was testing out a new hidden dash cam¡­we''ve been having some vandalism problemstely," Mr. Wilson mumbled as he typed away at aputer.

    Darren tried to remain professional and hide his excitement. But a hidden dash cam?! That was more than he could have hoped for! He might have clear footage of the killer''s face. At that point all he would have to do was run it through facial recognition software.

    "Ah, here we go. Harry dropped someone off in the tiron district at 12:48¡­let''s see¡­his next fare didn''t give a name and paid in cash. Let me find that footage for you."

    Mr. Wilson fast forwarded through a bunch of the day''s footage, stopping it at 12:48. He turned the screen for Darren to see it and pressed y.

    A man in his forties stepped out of the cab and Harry quickly started the car again and kept going for a couple minutes until someone presumably gged him down. The dash cam only showed what was happening inside the car, not outside.

    Harry pulled up to the curb and immediately a woman with long ck hair was roughly shoved inside. Lacy Knighton. A man matching the description the tipper gave climbed into the car right after her, seeming annoyed even though half his face was hidden by sunsses.

    Lacy tried climbing onto the man and nted sloppy kisses all over his neck. He shoved her off and fastened her seatbelt, which limited her motion somewhat, but she couldn''t be deterredpletely. She stuck to the man like Velcro.

    The man huffed and told Harry to take them to the Bronx without giving a specific address. Lacy tried multiple times to undo the seatbelt and keep kissing the man but he wrestled with her for control of the mechanism keeping it clicked shut.

    This sort of thing went on the entire ride. The sunsses remained firmly in ce, which was disappointing. Darren really thought this might help once he first saw the man and Lacy get into the cab.

 Chapter 349: Sunglasses Man

    <h4>Chapter 349: Sunsses Man</h4>

    Sunsses Man abruptly instructed Harry "just let us off here" after some time so he pulled over to the side of the road and informed him how much the fare cost. The man shoved a $100 bill into his hands and told him to keep the change.

    At that moment, Lacy finally freed herself from the seatbelt and began violently kissing the side of the man''s face. He recoiled but it was toote. The sunsses slipped down his nose.

    He hastily pushed them back up before Harry could see but that didn''t matter. The camera had caught the top half of his face. Darren thought the man looked vaguely familiar but couldn''t recall where he had seen him before.

    "May I have a copy of this footage?" he asked Mr. Wilson politely.

    "Absolutely! May it help that poor woman''s soul rest in peace."

    Darren clutched the USB drive as if it were a priceless treasure. He didn''t know who the man in the footage was but the detectives in charge of the case might. They had probably interviewed a dozen people about Lacy Knighton. Sunsses Man could have been one of them.

    He decided to head over to the 46th precinct and talk to whoever was in charge. At the front desk he put on his most professional smile.

    "Hello, I''m Detective Darren Johnson from the 19th precinct. Yesterday someone called the tip line about the Lacy Knighton case and it turned out to be legit. I''d like to give the information to the detectives in charge."

    He showed his badge to prove his identity and the secretary raised an eyebrow. "Why would they call the 19th precinct when the murder happened in the Bronx?"

    "No idea. I''ve been wondering that myself."

    The secretary shrugged. "I''ll get them for you."

    She turned around and hollered, "Ruano! Flynn! Somebody has information about Lacy Knighton!"

    A pair of detectives, probably Ruano and Flynn, stopped dead in their tracks halfway down the hall. They turned around and came over to the front desk.

    "This is Detective Darren Johnson from the 19th. Somebody called him yesterday with a hot tip about Lacy Knighton."

    Interest shown in both detectives'' eyes. Of course. The trail had gone cold until now.

    "Why don''t youe on back to my desk," the female detective offered. "We can talk there."

    Darren followed them back and they introduced themselves. Once they all sat down he exined everything that had happened from the call to the visit to Taxi Star.

    They seemed as confused as he was by why the tipster had gone to the wrong office, especially since he asked for Darren specifically, but they were thrilled hearing about the footage. Darren handed the USB to Detective Flynn and she plugged it into herputer.

    She frowned as the footage yed she paused it to confer with her partner. "This doesn''t seem right. Meyer said she came onto him and that''s why he had her thrown out of the office but here it looks like she''s trying to make out with anyone indiscriminately."

    "You''re right," Ruano said. "Yet everyone we''ve talked to about her says that she''s very prim and proper¡­andpletely in love with Aaron Hale. It didn''t even make sense for Lacy toe onto Meyer in the first ce unless¡­"

    Flynn and Ruano looked each other in the eyes and spoke simultaneously. "Drugged."

    Darren waspletely out of the loop. "What''s this about being thrown out of where?"

    Ruano exined it to him and suddenly the drugging theory made sense. She had seemed pretty out of it in the car.

    Aaron Hale, huh? Everyone had heard about the scandal surrounding his secret marriage and children. He had seen a blurry, from-a-distance picture of the man somewhat recently. Hale''s chiseled jaw looked very simr to Sunsses Man''s.

    The detectives said she was obsessed with him but he seemed to hate her. Could he be the man in the cab?

    "Do you think the man who abducted her might be Aaron Hale?" Darren asked.

    "Honestly, I really thought he might have killed her at first based on how much Lacy''s acquaintances said he hated her. Apparently she tried to trick him into an engagement when he was already dating his wife by announcing it without his consent at a big party. But he has an irrefutable alibi with multiple witnesses; he left town the day before the murder and didn''te back until the following Sunday.

    "He didn''t seem at all sorry she was dead but that happens more than you''d think when questioning friends and family of the deceased. It''s pretty sad but I can''t me him. Lacy had been stalking his apartment building and stressing out his wife. If I were him I wouldn''t be sad either," Flynn admitted.

    Interesting. But that didn''t help them discover who the man in the car had been. Ruano pressed y and the video resumed.

    Darren had already seen this so he wasn''t interested in anything other than whether or not his fellow detectives knew the man''s face. He informed them about a minute before the sunsses slip happened on the video so they could be ready to pause it.

    When it happened, Flynn got to the mouse first. She squinted at the still shot of the man''s face before shaking her head in disbelief.

    "That''s Graydon Meyer! But he has an alibi!"

    "Technically speaking, his alibi is only valid at 3 PM," Ruano pointed out. "Clearly he slipped out somehow without anybody noticing right after he had Lacy tossed out of his office. Did he drug her so she would be easier to kill?"

    "He might have done it to put on a show for his employees. He was very cooperative and seemed on the level. All of that strengthened his alibi. I never would have guessed! But if you look out the window of the cab when they get out, the alley she was found in is less than a block away."

    Darren''s smile was a bit smug. So the tipper''s lead had been solid after all. They knew who the murderer was and proved that his alibi was false. He was spotted right next to the scene of the crime minutes before it happened.

    It would be better if they had the murder weapon but this would still probably be enough to get a conviction. His work here was done.

    "I imagine you two will need to question Graydon Meyer again. I have my own work to do so I''ll head out now."

    They both nodded. "Thank you so much for the help; we would never have guessed it was him without you."

    "Don''t thank me, thank the person who called me. He really nailed Meyer. I guess he''ll be getting that reward Brann Knighton has been offering after all," Darren mused before standing and heading out the door.

 Chapter 350: Under Arrest

    <h4>Chapter 350: Under Arrest</h4>

    Alice was enjoying a lovely lunch with Roger because she hadn''t been scheduled to go into work until 2 PM. It was the third or fourth time since the day he helped her settle into her new apartment.

    She hade to discover that he was exactly the kind of friend she had always wanted. It was a pity she never really talked to him during those shareholders'' meetings. She could have used a friend like him sooner.

    Hanging out with Roger was a great distraction from the anvil constantly hanging over her head¡ªthe divorce.

    Brock kept trying to renegotiate the terms in his favor but Alice''swyer was having none of it. He was determined to get her a fair settlement and she was grateful for that but she hated drawing things out. She wanted to be free from the Kellys forever already.

    Alice had done her time. She was more than ready to live life for herself now. Was she still struggling to adjust to her new lifestyle? Absolutely. But anything was better than being Brock Kelly''s wife in name only.

    The mistress got all the benefits of being loved by him with none of the drawbacks, like dealing with the inws. She couldn''t help but wonder if he would marry her. From what she had heard, he had multiple mistresses at once but the longest standing one had been his high school girlfriend.

    She never should have wasted a single second on such trash. When she got married again it would only be to someone who waspletely devoted to her and her alone.

    "Well, if it isn''t Alice Wheatley," a suave voice sounded from behind her. "Fancy running into you here. Mind if I join you two?"

    Alice whirled around and her eyes widened when she saw Graydon Meyer. She had been so interested in a debonair, charming man like him just a few weeks ago but right now she was a bit annoyed at being interrupted.

    She wanted him to leave but didn''t want to be rude so she turned to Roger. His usually cheerful face was expressionless as he answered.

    "I don''t mind. I''m Roger rk."

    He held out his hand for a shake and Graydon took it. "Graydon Meyer. Pleasure to meet you."

    "How do you know Alice?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "We were both shareholders at Hale Investments until recently."

    "Ah, so you met through Aaron. How interesting. So did we," Graydon said right before gging down a waiter and asking for some water and a menu.

    Roger turned to her in surprise. "Was this when you were staying with the Hales?"

    Alice nodded, feeling embarrassed somehow. "Keeley and I were getting manicures and got mobbed by the curious horde. Graydon saved us and took us home."

    "I didn''t realize you were so friendly with Keeley," he said to Graydon. "Aaron isn''t the easiest person to get close to. I''ve worked with him for six years and my view of him has seismically shifted recently, making me realize I didn''t know a thing about him."

    Aaron was difficult to get close to. Alice probably saw him most out of all the dummy shareholders aside from Cameron and she hadn''t even been in the loop enough to know he had married the woman he had been pining after since high school.

    She didn''t think he purposely kept things from people as a defense mechanism anymore. It was more like he couldn''t be bothered to clue people in unless it was absolutely necessary.

    He would certainly brag about his wife to anyone who would listen so it wasn''t like he was embarrassed. Alice wished somebody would talk her up to people like that someday. Brock didn''t even care enough to insult her most of the time. He waspletely indifferent.

    "He is quite an interesting one," Graydonughed lightly.

    "I take it you''ve spent a lot of time with him?" Roger asked.

    "I wouldn''t say a lot¡­he only discovered my existencest fall. But we have met a fair number of times since then. His family is lovely."

    Aaron''s family truly was lovely. Alice missed staying with them sometimes. Those babies were adorable and Keeley was such a bright, happy person to be around. She could instantly lift almost anyone''s spirits.

    But every time she thought about the horrible disys of PDA she was forced to witness, she was grateful she had her own ce now. Tiny, cramped and all.

    "I''ve only met Keeley twice but she seems like a really nice person," Roger said with a shrug.

    Alice smiled at him. She could practically hear the unspoken ''I have no idea how such a nice person ended up taming the ice devil.'' Most people were baffled by Aaron and Keeley''s rtionship at first but she understood it now.

    Aaron had been just as lonely as she was growing up and his wife filled that void for him. She was happy for her friend. She only wished she could experience something like that for herself.

    She ended up daydreaming a bit and lost track of the conversation. What would it feel like being loved by someone? Could she be as happy as Keeley and Aaron?

    Those two were obviously in love but there was more to their rtionship that that. They were best friends. They trusted each other. They were a team. None of those things had applied to Alice''s marriage.

    Being married to your best friend must be wonderful. But Alice didn''t even know what having a best friend was like. Aaron was her friend but she certainly wouldn''t categorize him as a best friend.

    If anything, the closest thing she had to a best friend right now was Roger. She had met up with Marissa and the Hales once each since moving out but out of all the people she knew, she saw him most often. Considering a person you have only hung out with a few times as your best friend is pretty sad.

    Alice observed Roger and Graydon talk for a moment. She could see how Aaron would see he was insincere now. Maybe it was just inparison to the way Roger talked since he was pretty straightforward.

    She was about to take another bite of her chicken sd when two people shing badges appeared next to the table. She was so startled when they spoke that she dropped her fork with food on it.

    "Graydon Meyer? You''re under arrest for the murder of Lacy Knighton. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court ofw. You have the right to an attorney. If you can''t afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you."

 Chapter 351: His One Phone Call

    <h4>Chapter 351: His One Phone Call</h4>

    Gray knew he was done for when the police showed up at the restaurant. They wouldn''t dare risk arresting such an influential person without incriminating evidence. But what had they found?

    The murder weapon and shirt weren''t likely¡­did somebody see him leaving the building with Lacy? Did the cab driver recognize him even with the sunsses on? How had this happened?

    All of this shed through his mind in a split second. Alice and Roger were staring at him with their jaws dropped.

    He would have felt regret at such a beautiful woman witnessing his arrest if not for the fact that she and Roger seemed unusually close. And here Gray thought he was going to be her rebound.

    Why was he even thinking about this? He was being arrested!

    He had known this was a possibility when he had done it but he had thought his tracks were covered. He had an exnation for everything. So what had they found that made them change their minds? The trail had gonepletely cold!

    He decided to use his right to remain silent. A neutral smirk remained on his face despite his inner panic. He couldn''t give these people anything. Anything he said could be twisted against him. He needed awyer; the best in the city.

    Did Aaron know any good criminal defensewyers? He had helped Alice get a divorce attorney¡­but that didn''t necessarily mean he would help his half-brother out.

    After all, once Aaron found out he was a murderer he would want nothing to do with him. It was why Gray had been so desperate to keep it a secret from him. But now the whole city was going to know. Being a public figure was so bothersome.

    Still, when he found out he would have to know it was all for him¡­they were on good terms¡­and it wasn''t like he could use anyone else for his single phone call. He didn''t know anywyers'' numbers off the top of his head.

    Unfortunately, he would have to gamble his only chance on his little brother and pray he woulde through. Gray wanted to believe his only family wouldn''t abandon him in a time of need.

    Aaron was all he had left in this world. Gray''s fortune¡­his countless femalepanions¡­none of them meant a thing to him if he didn''t have Aaron.

    It had been so nice being a part of a family again for the short time he could enjoy it. Gray never thought he would have that again after Uncle Louie died and foster family after foster family rejected him.

    Aaron, Keeley, Robert, even those toothless little babies. They had been kind to him and made him feel wanted for just a little while. Not even any of the women he was with over the years had been capable of that.

    Gray let the police lead him away right as the waiter walked over to the table he had vacated with his food. The kid seemed frozen solid as he watched a customer get taken away by the cops.

    The police sat him down in an interrogation room and tried to get him to talk. He wasn''t that stupid. He put on his best debonair smile.

    "I would like to make my phone call now."

    The male detective from before walked outside and came back with a cordless phone, handing it to him wordlessly. It was a very good thing Gray had Aaron''s cell phone number memorized.

    He wouldn''t dismiss this as a junk call, right? There had to be people in the business world with his phone number. Based on how many times he picked up Gray''s calls without caller ID, he seemed to answer indiscriminately.

    ''Pick up, Aaron,'' he thought somewhat desperately as the dial tone continued to ring. It connected on the sixth ring and he nearly wilted from relief.

    "Aaron Hale," a brusque voice answered.

    Gray did his best to keep up his usual persona. He didn''t want Aaron realizing exactly how wrong things had gone right away. He would probably be less inclined to help if he knew the situation immediately.

    "Hello, little brother. I have a favor to ask you."

    "What kind of favor?" he asked, sounding as disinterested as usual. So he wasn''t suspicious yet. Excellent.

    "I''ve gotten myself into a teeny bit of legal trouble and don''t have a defensewyer on speed dial. Could you find one for me and send them to the 46th precinct in the Bronx?"

    The phone went silent for a moment, making Gray nervous. What if he figured it out based on the location?

    "Believe it or not, I do happen to know an excellent defensewyer. His name is Neal Ashley. He owes me a favor so I''m sure he''ll drop whatever he''s doing and help you out. But¡­what exactly is going on?"

    Ah. This was the tricky part. He really didn''t want Aaron thinking poorly of him. If he ended up in prison he would lose his mind if his brotherpletely ignored him in there.

    "Promise you''ll still send thewyer no matter what I say and I''ll tell you," Gray said lightly.

    "I honestly don''t care what you did, Gray. But thewyer should probably be warned beforehand so he can help you better."

    He had a point. And he did say he didn''t care¡­did that mean he already suspected? No, if that was the case he probably would have said something. Aaron''s wife was such a straightforward person and she had clearly rubbed off on him.

    Gray took a deep breath before telling the truth. He didn''t know what kind of evidence the police had against him but if thiswyer was as good as Aaron said he should be fine.

    "I''ve been arrested for the murder of Lacy Knighton."

    He wanted to say that it was preposterous and make it out to be some sort of joke but the detectives were listening in. It was better to stick to the bare facts.

    "I see," was all that Aaron said in response after an excruciating silence. What on earth did that mean?

    "Your phone time is up, Mr. Meyer," the detective who brought him the phone said simply and held his hand out for it.

    "I have to go. But thewyer ising, right?" Gray asked with a tinge of desperation in his tone.

    "I''m a man of my word, Gray. I promised you awyer so I''m sending you one. Hang tight until he arrives."

    The dial tone buzzed in his ear. Aaron had hung up.

    Gray breathed a little easier knowing thewyer wasing. He wasn''t quite sure what his brother truly thought about his arrest but at the very least he was still looking out for him.

 Chapter 352: All He Really Knew

    <h4>Chapter 352: All He Really Knew</h4>

    Aaron couldn''t help butmend himself on his acting skills. Gray seemed utterly unsuspicious about where the evidence against him came from. He wouldn''t have acted the way he did on the phone otherwise.

    He and Keeley had discussed this possibility. As a worst case scenario, even if a goodwyer managed to reduce his sentence, there was no way Gray would be able to get offpletely. Not being found near the scene of the crime without a valid alibi anymore.

    He sincerely hoped the police would be able to prove it had been premeditated. Then Gray would be out of their hair for a minimum of 20 years. After that¡­well, they would cross that bridge when they got to it.

    He had already contacted Neal Ashley and told him the simple version of the situation. It wouldn''t do for thewyer to know more than Aaron supposedly did when he showed up at the precinct. He passed on exactly what Gray had said over the phone and nothing more.

    They had gotten an arrest but it could take a while to get a conviction; especially if this went to trial. Knowing his brother, Aaron doubted it would. He would know he was cornered and most likely plead guilty in the attempt to get a lighter sentence.

    So now what?

    All of Aaron''s enemies had been dealt with so he wasn''t quite sure what to do with himself. Lacy was dead. His father was so humiliated it would be a miracle if he ever showed his face in public again. Gray was going to be in jail for a long, long time.

    He supposed there were still Max Lynch and Dr. Rothman to contend with. But Max hadn''t been involved in any of Lacy''s schemes since the drugging incident in high school; Aiden had checked. And he was a shell of his former self now that she was dead. Perhaps he had been punished enough.

    As for Dr. Rothman¡­the malpractice suit got covered up in this life but not expunged. All Aaron had to do was force it back into the spotlight and he would probably be fired from the prestigious hospital he worked at and have a hard time finding a new job.

    Was it enough of a punishment? No, but Aaron was feeling merciful these days. It was probably because he was so happy.

    Brann Knighton''s only child was dead. He didn''t need any further punishment either.

    Aaron wasn''t even sure what to do with himself now. Aside from his earlier idea to have Aiden spearhead a new side project for thepany, there weren''t any other major changes he could think of implementing right now. The global expansion was already well underway.

    He hadn''t be the CEO for another six years in his first life. How much more growth could he implement in that time?

    The problem was that doing things too differently earlier could throw the entire progression of thepany off. He knew certain major events in the finance world that wereing but how could he act on them ordingly if the situation had changed?

    Aaron would have to n carefully before proceeding from here. Hale Investments had gone through a huge boom in the 2020s and 2030s. There had to be things he could do now that wouldn''t negatively affect that but would still benefit thepany.

    Keeley was right; he was a workaholic. He was a lot better than he used to be but he still thrived off of challenges in business. It was all he really knew.

    Waiting things out without actively working toward the expansion for another six years would get awfully dull. There had to be something he could do without affecting future events too much.

    Unfortunately, by the end of the workday Aaron still didn''t have any ideas. He pushed those concerns out of his mind. Right now it was family time.

    Keeley was in the middle of making dinner when he arrived home. He snuck up behind her and grabbed her, spinning her around. At first she shrieked in protest but then she started tough.

    "Don''t scare me like that," she scolded. "Why do you always have to sneak up on me?"

    "Because it''s fun," he said with a grin.

    Aaron hadn''t felt free enough to fully enjoy his wife''spany in their first life but now there was nothing holding him back. He could be as goofy or lovesick as he wanted and there was no one there to stop him.

    Besides, it was fun getting a reaction out of her. When she rolled her eyes at him the light would reflect off her irises, revealing specks of gold. So beautiful.

    He set her down before giving her a long kiss that she eagerly responded to for a couple minutes before pushing him off.

    "I''d like to eat sometime today," Keeley said with a smirk. "If you had your way, dinner would never get done."

    Aaron couldn''t deny it. But what could he say? He really loved kissing his wife.

    He headed to the living room and picked up both of the babies, bringing them into the kitchen so he could have all of his family surrounding him at once. They seemed happy to see him and immediately began to giggle.

    "So, tell me about your day," he said as he walked over to the edge of the counter, still bouncing the twins in his arms.

    Keeley shrugged. "It was like any other day, really. Lots of diaper changes. Kaleb was pretty fussy all day. I think he might be teething. I ended up taking them outside to go buy some teething rings and then he calmed down a little."

    "You didn''t get mobbed again, did you?"

    "Oddly enough, no. I guess the gossip finally did move onto something else."

    Aaron was pretty sure he knew what. News of Gray''s arrest had reached him before he had gotten the phone call. Apparently he got taken away in the middle of a restaurant and a ton of people eating there had posted about it. Graydon Meyer was trending.

    Yet another thing to be oddly grateful to that terrifying man for. Keeley finally got some peace. After everything that happened in both of their lives, he could finally consider them even. It was all over now.

    Well, notpletely over. Gray would probably expect Aaron to visit him in prison now and then. It would be annoying but less bothersome than having a bad rtionship if he ever got released. He wanted to stay on the man''s good side no matter what.

 Chapter 353: Somewhere Fun

    <h4>Chapter 353: Somewhere Fun</h4>

    "Did you hear the news?" Aaron asked casually.

    Keeley looked up from what she was stirring with a small frown on her face. "What news?"

    "Gray got arrested."

    She nearly dropped her wooden spoon. That would have been a nice thing to lead with! Why hadn''t he said something sooner?!

    "So it''s really over," she said faintly. "All of it."

    Aaron smiled at her with such a gentle expression that she nearly melted into the floor. After all this time she still wasn''t quite used to being looked at like that.

    "Basically. You don''t have to worry about anything but normal day to day worries anymore."

    Normal day to day worries¡­of course, Keeley had still had those throughout all of the drama that brought them to this point. It only added to her overall stress. But now she could focus on those instead of having to deal with potentially being plotted against at every corner.

    Especially now that she was able to leave the house without being mobbed. It looked like no one cared about her anymore now that the most eligible bachelor in New York had been arrested for murder.

    "That will be really nice," she sighed.

    When Aaron originally came back, she thought her chance at a normal life waspletely ruined. Especially once she had to deal with hiding from Lacy Knighton. Nothing stood in her way now.

    Once the babies were old enough to go to preschool she would be back in theb and everything she cared about would be right on track. As much as she missed working, she wouldn''t trade her time with her children for anything.

    Violet and Kaleb filled the void her first life''sck of children had left. And they wouldn''t be the only ones, either. Now Keeley could have as many kids as she wanted.

    These two were such a handful though that it wouldn''t be for a good while. Maybe once they were in kindergarten she and Aaron could discuss having another one.

    She had always dreamed about having an entire houseful of kids. It would affect her career progression taking so much time off to take care of babies but so what? She had all the time in the world. Most people didn''t make breakthrough discoveries until middle age anyway.

    Family was important. Having four kids sounded nice. Keeley wondered how Aaron would feel about it. He probably wouldn''t mind since he adored the twins but it was still worth discussing.

    "Hey Aaron, have you ever thought about how many kids you want?" she asked out of the blue.

    He blinked at her in surprise. "I thought you were going to take the lead on that. I never thought about a specific number."

    She should have known. He cared so much about what she wanted that he never really seemed to have much of an opinion on things. It was strange seeing such a formerly opinionated man be so passive.

    "I''m leaning towards four at the moment. It''s a nice even number so the kids would always have someone to y with."

    "Four would be fine. We certainly have enough bedrooms. But do you really want to take that much time off of work?" Aaron asked.

    Was he psychic or something? How did he always seem to know what she was thinking these days?

    Keeley smiled. "I really don''t mind. I have plenty of time to be a scientist but only so many years to give birth."

    "Well when you put it like that¡­"

    Sheughed at his tone of voice. His range of facial expressions and intonations had expanded a lot in this lifetime and it never ceased to amuse her. She didn''t even think he was capable of that sort of thing for the longest time.

    "I was thinking of working for a couple of years once the twins are a bit older before we try again. How does that sound?"

    Aaron leaned over to kiss her cheek, making sure he had a good grip on the babies. "That sounds great. Speaking of the twins being a bit older¡­they can probably handle staying with your dad for a couple of hours. We should go on a date this weekend."

    A date? Had they even been on a proper date since getting married?

    Keeley tried to think. They hung out a lot but it was usually at home because of how exhausted she was. They might have gone to the movies once or twice before Lacy figured out where they lived.

    Since then she had either been on house arrest or stuck glued to the babies'' sides. They definitely hadn''t been on a date since before Violet and Kaleb were born.

    "Alright, but I want you to surprise me. Take me somewhere fun."

    There weren''t very many instances in this life at all that could be counted as dates but even so, when they hung out Keeley was always in charge of what to do. It had been the same in their first life. She was rather curious what kind of ce Aaron would pick on his own. Probably a museum or something.

    Challenge sparked in his eyes. "Somewhere fun, huh? I can do that."

    ===

    When she said ''somewhere fun'' thest ce Keeley expected was for Aaron to take her to Coney Ind. She had been there countless times as a child but had only been once or twice since being reborn. College kids liked carnival games and rides too and she had gone with a big group consisting mostly of people from her dorm.

    "¡­have you ever yed a carnival game before?" she asked.

    "No but it can''t be too difficult."

    A wicked grin appeared on her face that he didn''t notice because she was turned away. Keeley was going to kick his butt in everything, unlike what she had failed to do that one time at the buffet/arcade ce. Carnival games were usually rigged but if you knew them well enough you could win asionally.

    She dragged him over to a ring toss game first. Those were nearly impossible to beat but she had done it before. She knew the secret; it was all in the wrist movement.

    Keeley bought arge bucket of rings and began flicking her wrist with precision. She managed to win a prize with four rings left. It was a soft purple monkey doll with Velcro on its hands and feet so you could wear it like a ne.

    "Your turn," she said sweetly as she turned to her husband.

    He seemed confident he could do it since she had. Yet three buckets of ringster he still hadn''tnded a single one.

    She could tell he was frustrated but trying hard not to show it. Hiding herughter got progressively more difficult as he continued to fail. She finally lost it when he mumbled something about the thing being rigged.

    When she finally managed to control herughter, tears were sparkling in the corners of her eyes from mirth. "What was it you said? It can''t be too difficult?"

    "¡­you chose this on purpose."

    "Yes. Yes I did."

    Aaron scowled and strode away, leaving her behind. Naturally, that only made Keeley crack up even more as she tried to catch up to him. He was such a sore loser.

 Chapter 354: Best Day Ever

    <h4>Chapter 354: Best Day Ever</h4>

    Aaron forgave Keeley for messing with him almost immediately so she had mercy and showed him how to win at a few other carnival games. One of the vendors had to give them a stic bag because they had collected so many stuffed animals.

    "I think Violet and Kaleb will enjoy these once they''re a little bit older," she said as she eyed the pile of bears, monkeys, cats, and even a duck that had made it into the bag.

    "Did you like them when you were younger?" Aaron asked.

    "Oh yeah, I used to have so many stuffed animals on my bed I hardly had room to sleep. My mom used to sneakily steal away the ones I didn''t y with as often and donate them because they were taking up too much space."

    One time her mother made the mistake of taking one that Keeley noticed was missing. She cried for days because she wanted her stuffed lion back. After that her mother slowed down on the animal snatching.

    Keeley grew out of her stuffed animal obsession eventually anyway. She had kept a few in a box in her old room for sentimental purposes but that was it. One was really old and gross because she''d had it since she was an infant but there were a few she got when she was older that were still in surprisingly good condition.

    She was about to ask if Aaron had any stuffed animals he was attached to as a little kid before realizing she already knew the answer to that question. Of course he hadn''t. His parents never would have allowed their son to have afort item like a normal child.

    No wonder he had asked if she liked them. He didn''t know what kids liked because he hadn''t been given the chance to be one himself.

    Feeling a surge of anger at her terrible inws, she hugged him tightly before they continued on. He didn''t even seem fazed. Probably because he hugged her all the time without an obvious reason either.

    Keeley made him go on the Cyclone with her since it was probably the most famous ride there. The ancient wooden rollercoaster was so shaky you felt like your brain was about to rattle out of your skull but it was part of the thrill. They both stumbled around a bit afterwards and Aaron needed to find a ce to sit down.

    "That was terrible," he said bluntly.

    She chuckled at his honesty. "Most rollercoasters aren''t that bad. The metal ones are a much smoother ride but this one has history so it''s still popr. It''s considered an histordmark, you know."

    "They have metal ones?"

    "Yeah, there''s at least one here. I think it''s at Luna Park."

    Coney Ind wasn''t all one attraction. It was a neighborhood in Brooklyn with multiple amusement parks, independent rides and carnival games, and a beach, among other things. Luna Park was one of the amusement parks in the area.

    Keeley had been on the big rollercoaster at Luna Park before and was willing to bet Aaron would actually scream during the big drop. They took a picture right as you started to fall, too. She definitely wanted to see that!

    She took his hand and dragged him over to Luna Park''s entrance. "We''re going to ride everything here."

    "Everything?" he gulped.

    "Everything! Don''t worry though; a lot of the rides here are kid friendly so they''re pretty mild."

    Aaron was noticeably distressed. No one else would have been able to see it but she knew his moods. Despite his calm on the outside, he was totally freaking out on the inside.

    Keeley sighed and amended her statement. "I''m going to ride everything. You don''t have to if you don''t want to."

    He shook his head. "I''m the one who brought us here. I may as well give these things a shot. But if I throw up you''re not allowed tough at me."

    She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. If he threw up she probably wouldn''tugh but there was a decent chance she would tease him about it at some pointter.

    They went to some of the lighter rides first to give their rattled brains a break. Aaron didn''t seem to mind those so much though his expression remained nk.

    He really wasn''t amused by this sort of thing but brought her here anyway. He definitely deserved the Husband of the Year award. Keeley could tell he was enjoying himself though just by watching her have a good time. He was so sappy.

    Aaron''s stoic expression didn''t break on most of the rollercoasters either despite looking a little green around the gills afterwards. But Keeley had been right about the most intense drop in the park. Thememorative ride photo did not disappoint.

    She honestly could not describe the face he was pulling. Hers was a much more typical screaming face.

    He stared at the picture on the screen at the photobooth,pletely baffled. "How is it that you manage to scream so attractively while I look like¡­that?"

    Keeley snorted. "How can a scream be attractive?"

    "Look at you! That''s your normal face except your mouth happens to be in a perfect ''o'' shape. I don''t even look like a human being."

    She examined the photo more closely. He really didn''t look like a human being.

    "I''m buying this."

    "Why?!"

    "Because I want to put it on my desk once I go back to work and be able to have a goodugh whenb equipment is giving me grief."

    Aaron sighed in resignation. "I''ll get you back for this at some point."

    "Sure you will," she soothed him even though she kind of doubted it.

    After thatst ride, Keeley was pretty hungry so they grabbed a quick snack and headed back to her father''s house. Both babies were sound asleep when they arrived.

    "So, did you have fun?" Robert asked.

    She grinned widely. "Oh yeah. Best day ever."

    Aaron simply buried his face in his hands because he knew she was going to show off the ride photo. He was right. Robert apologized forughing so hard but it didn''t change the fact that they had ganged up on him.

    Keeley knew he wasn''t really mad at her and was secretly pleased his date idea had been a sess. He lived for making her happy.

    To make it up to him, she was sure to give her husband extra special attention after the babies had gone down for the night. It was the least she could do after he nned such a fun day for her. He seemed to appreciate her efforts as the embarrassment of the ride photo was forgotten.

 Chapter 355: Tell Me My Options

    <h4>Chapter 355: Tell Me My Options</h4>

    Gray waited two hours for thewyer to show up but considering it had been ast minute thing, he was grateful it wasn''t longer. The police officers moved him to a private, unrecorded room where he and thewyer could discuss his options.

    Neal Ashley was a polished-looking man in his forties with slicked back hair. The first thing he did when they were alone was ask if Gray killed her or not.

    Was that really the sort of thing awyer should be asking? Gray didn''t know; he had only dealt with corporatewyers before. He stared nkly and thewyer smiled.

    "Mr. Meyer, I don''t care what you did. We have attorney-client privilege so I can''t tell anybody anything you say without your explicit permission. I only ask because the answer will help me know how best to assist you."

    He supposed it made sense. During the attempted interrogation while waiting for thewyer, the police mentioned that they found security footage inside the taxi he had taken to move Lacy to the Bronx. He had no idea how they had found it¡ªmaybe that cab driver saw his face after all and recognized him¡ªbut the damage was done.

    If this went to trial, he would surely be found guilty and get the harshest punishment if Brann Knighton had anything to do with it. Pleading guilty to get a lighter sentence might be his best bet. So long as they couldn''t prove it was premeditated, he would be fine.

    The fact that Lacy intended to drug him might work in his favor here. He could say it was a case of self-defense where he momentarily lost rationality.

    "I did it," Gray said tly. "There is no point in denying that since I don''t want to go to trial. Tell me my options."

    "Why don''t you start from the beginning," Neal suggested mildly, as if he hadn''t just gotten a murder confession out of his client. "I''ll need to know everything that happened."

    Gray could tell him everything but the fact that he had been nning on having Lacy die in an ident the next day when he killed her. Attorney-client privilege or not, he wanted there to be no doubt he deserved the lighter second degree murder sentence.

    "Are you aware that Lacy Knighton waspletely obsessed with my little brother?" he asked before beginning his story.

    "That would be Aaron Hale, correct? I''ve seen the news. But I didn''t know there was a connection between them aside from the fact that he got engaged to someone else at her birthday party."

    "She''s been after him for years, going so far as to drug his wife when they were in high school simply because she ate lunch with Aaron. On multiple asions she has intended to drug him before discovering he was married, believing that if she could sleep with him once that he would marry her."

    Thewyer eyed him curiously. "How is this relevant?"

    "Because Lacy''s first instinct is always to drug people she can''t control. The day I killed her, she tried to drug me. All I did was turn the tables on her and wrestle the needle away. I jabbed her with it and got people to escort her from my office.

    "Once she was gone I realized that she would never leave me or Aaron alone and that for the safety of my family, she needed to disappear. I snuck out of a hidden door in my office, pulled her into a cab, and took her to an alley in the Bronx where I thought she wouldn''t be found for a while. That''s it," Gray finished nonchntly.

    Neal straightened the papers in front of him before looking Gray in the eye. He didn''t seem at all fazed by what had been said, making Gray slightly curious how many murder confessions it took hearing to be so casual about it.

    "Mr. Meyer, you''re telling me that you chose to kill Lacy in a spur of the moment act of self-defense for the sake of your younger brother?"

    Gray nodded. "Aaron took his family on vacation because of how stressed out his wife was about Lacy stalking their apartment building. I saw a chance and I took it. I don''t regret it but I do regret getting caught."

    Thewyer actuallyughed. "You''re an honest one. Most people will swear all day long that they didn''t do it, or if they did, that it was an ident. From what you say, it sounds like this woman had iting to her."

    His demeanor grew more serious before he continued.

    ''That being said, Brann Knighton wants justice. You''re smart to not want to take this to trial. Your best bet is to give a signed confession using exact details of what you did and when, since it was a spur of the moment decision. I can probably negotiate it so you get 15 years to life."

    15 years to life. What a horrible uncertainty. Gray might get out when his niece and nephew were teenagers or he might never get out at all.

    Even though 15 years was the best minimum sentence he could expect, the thought of wasting so much time behind bars was abhorrent. When he came out, hispany would probably be in shambles. He had enough to live on if he didn''t maintain his yboy lifestyle but who would want him at that point anyway?

    Murderers weren''t exactly prime dating material. He would have to leave New York and change his name if he ever truly wanted to start over but that would be a major parole vition. Leaving would require waiting until his sentence wasplete.

    Neal spoke up again, derailing Gray''s train of thought. "I would rmend making your confession as straightforward as possible. Don''t let it be obvious that you hated her or wanted her gone. It needs to seem like you lost your head in a moment of weakness. Write it out and I''ll help you edit it."

    Gray sighed. At least this man seemed to know what he was doing. He would have to thank Aaronter, provided his brother ever willingly spoke to him again.

 Chapter 356: An Excellent Judge Of Character

    <h4>Chapter 356: An Excellent Judge Of Character</h4>

    The news broke the following day that Graydon Meyer confessed to the murder of Lacy Knighton and would be receiving a sentence of 15 years to life. Alice couldn''t believe it. Aaron had been right!

    She should have known better; he was always an excellent judge of character. It was unbelievable that she had ever been attracted to a murderer. But Alice''s judgment of others had always been poor. If her judgment was half as sound as Aaron''s, she never would have married that jerk Brock Kelly.

    A jerk who was currently trying to weasel out of giving her enough alimony to live on. Herwyer was doing his best but it was going to take a while to negotiate the terms. The optimistic estimate she had been given was six months. The pessimistic one was two years.

    She didn''t want to be married to that creep for another two years! If she had things her way, she wouldn''t be married to him for another two minutes. But she needed something to supplement her meager ie or she wouldn''t have enough to eat once her savings ran out.

    They were dwindling faster than she expected. Getting new furniture, clothes, and a used but dependable car Roger helped her pick out had already burned through quite a bit. Alice needed that alimony or she would be back in the Hales'' guestroom before she knew it.

    She felt she had already burdened them enough but she also couldn''t bear to endure that lovefest again. It was too much for a lonely, unwanted woman like herself.

    Alice''s phone buzzed. It was Roger.

    ''Did you hear the news?''

    ''Yes''

    ''I can''t believe he confessed so quickly. He was only arrested yesterday. Poor Aaron''

    Alice didn''t think Aaron had a problem with it at all, considering how much he disliked the man. He was probably thrilled Graydon was going to be locked up and out of his hair.

    Did Aaron have anything to do with the arrest? It would take an awful lot of work finding a new lead on a cold case simply to deliver an anonymous tip. He didn''t personally have the capability to hack into things but that didn''t necessarily mean he didn''t have someone in his pocket who could.

    Was he really that petty? Or was he worried about a murderer being around his children?

    She shouldn''t be thinking this way. Someone had died, albeit a nasty and unpleasant woman that nobody truly liked. It was only fitting that the murderer be punished. If Aaron was involved in this, he had done the right thing.

    ''Somehow I think Aaron doesn''t mind. He''s not a huge fan of his half-brother'' she texted back.

    ''Even so, the news will still affect him because they''re rted. I hope Hale Investments'' stocks don''t dip because of this''

    Alice highly doubted that would happen since Graydon wasn''t affiliated with thepany in any way. The stocks hadn''t been affected when the scandals about Keeley or Alistair Hale''s illegitimate child hit the stands.

    If anything, the stocks became more valuable once Aaron took over because he had shown his capabilities in front of the whole world. Hale Investments would be fine.

    But that didn''t necessarily mean that Aaron wouldn''t be affected in some way. Keeley hadn''t so much as been able to leave the house when the spotlight was focused on her. Would he have the same problem?

    ''I hope people leave him alone. He deserves a break''

    Roger replied a minuteter. ''Speaking of breaks, when is your next day off? I''ve been meaning to go to the beach but it would be more fun with friends. I''ll see if I can find other people toe too''

    A group outing? When was thest time Alice had been involved in one of those that didn''t involve shopping? She honestly couldn''t remember. It might have been in high school.

    A smile bloomed on her face. That sounded really nice. If Roger''s friends were anything like he was, she was in for a good time.

    ''I''m free next Tuesday. Kind of random, I know''

    ''I can call in sick if necessary. I never take my sick days. I''m sure Marissa would do the same. She''s the boss though so she can close up shop whenever she wants. I''ll talk to Kyle and see if he and his buddies are interested too''

    ''Sounds great!''

    Alice leaned back on the couch and sighed contentedly. Despite her ongoing issue trying to actually get divorced, life was surprisingly good right now. Work was tiring and there were certain things she missed about her old life but the freedom was worth it.

    Nobody was telling her how to dress, what to eat, how to talk, or who to kiss up to. She would never have to deal with that dragon of a mother-inw ever again.

    A vague sh of curiosity went through her mind. What kind of person was Roger''s mother? Alice couldn''t speak for all of the rk children but the two she had met were lovely. She would have to be a pretty good person herself to raise such good people.

    When she got married again, it would absolutely have to be to someone whose mother she liked and vice versa. She couldn''t live through having two terrible mothers-inw in her lifetime.

    Her phone went off again and she was surprised that it was Roger again. This time he was asking her about her day.

    Alice wasn''t used to this. Her phone had always been used primarily to make ns and meet up with people. No one contacted her just for the sake of contacting her. So why would he?

    Was this what friends were supposed to do? She supposed Keeley had checked in on her a few times but those exchanges were always only a few messages long because she got distracted by her children frequently. Alice didn''t me her for that at all; of course Kaleb and Violet would be the priority.

    Still, it was nice being cared about. A simple "how was your day" turned into a two hour long text conversation. A smile was on Alice''s face the entire time.

 Chapter 357: Baby Hungry

    <h4>Chapter 357: Baby Hungry</h4>

    Jennica had a day off of rehearsals so she ended up going to Keeley''s house and helping with the babies for a while. Her musical was going to start in two weeks and unless it somehow made it big, would run for the next four months. It would be nice to spend some time with her friend before things got too hectic.

    She had to admit, Violet and Kaleb made her baby hungry. They were adorable, rtively well-behaved infants. Jennica wasn''t sure if they were naturally calm or if it was because Keeley and Aaron were such good parents.

    The babies were pretty spoiled though. The only times they cried (other than being hungry or needing a diaper change) were when they wanted to be held. Once you gave them attention they stopped crying as if a switch was flipped.

    "If all babies were as chill as yours, more people would want kids," Jennica said with augh as she bounced Kaleb on her knees.

    Keeley smiled. "My dad keeps telling me to wait until they''re toddlers and that I shouldn''t getcent."

    That was a fair statement. Benny was adorable but he could also be a little terror. Chasing after him was always fun for a little while but Jennica was always happy to hand him back to Alison to deal with any real problems.

    Once she was a mother, there would be no one to hand a toddler back to. She supposed there was Cameron but he was usually at work. But if Keeley could manage two babies on her own while Aaron was at the office, she could handle one.

    As much as Jennica wanted to get pregnant, she needed to wait until her musical was done. Keeley''s morning sickness had been pretty bad for a while; if she had a simr problem it would not do to throw up in the middle of a performance. She could only imagine the negative reviews the show would get.

    This show needed to do well for the sake of her resume. Unlike movie stars, stage actors weren''t expected to look young and beautiful forever. Many famous stage actors didn''t get their big breaks until they were in their 30s or eventer.

    Knowing this, she was content taking a break from auditioning to care for a baby for a few years. It didn''t even matter if she ever made it big, to be perfectly honest. Her bills were covered by Cameron''s job.

    Jennica was able to act now because she loved it. When she had to pay for everything herself she did a lot of things she didn''t particrly like in order to pay the bills. Like dinner theater, ugh. She got the chills just thinking about how bad that had been.

    "Do you think they take after you or Aaron more?" she asked conversationally. She needed to stay focused on the topic at hand.

    "Aside from Violet''s hair, right now they look a lot more like my baby pictures than Aaron''s."

    Imagining Aaron as a baby was nearly impossible. She had seen the lighter side of him a few times since he and Keeley got married but the man was still intimidating. Jennica had never even seen himugh. Did he even know how?

    Sometimes she wondered how on earth her cheerful, kind of goofy friend ended up with someone like him. It was a bit baffling, really. She and Cameron had spected about it more than once.

    He was more surprised that Aaron was interested in Keeley when it was the reverse for Jennica. She supposed it was because they each knew their respective friends well. Cameron had been exposed to more of Aaron''s ice than she had, while Jennica knew how much Keeley supposedly hated her ex-boyfriend.

    She really had been worried that Aaron forced her to get married at first. Her concern lessened over time when she saw how happy and rxed her friend was around her husband. Keeley had the guts to tease him and unlike when Cameron or Aiden did it, he didn''t seem annoyed. If anything, he seemed to enjoy it.

    They had such a bizarre rtionship. Nobody knew what to think of it. But that wasn''t what mattered; Keeley and Aaron were happy, in love, and had two beautiful children. Things had worked out for them in the end, no matter how many unanswered questions their friends had.

    "I wonder if they''ll look like him more as they grow," Jennica mused.

    Her friend shrugged. "They might. Or our next child might end up being his mini me. Who knows?"

    "You n to have more then?"

    "Oh yeah, I''ve always wanted a bunch of kids. What about you? How many do you want?"

    Cameron hade from a big family but he didn''t want to perpetuate the chaos he had grown up in. But he did want more than one so their children could have siblings.

    Jennica thought that sounded like an excellent idea. Two kids would be perfect. Her childhood had been fairly enjoyable just having Brian around.

    "Probably two. I don''t have as much energy as you do," she chuckled.

    Keeley smiled. "Nothing wrong with that! It''ll be fun raising our kids together. I never had cousins and Kaleb and Violet won''t either so close family friends are the next best thing,"

    Despite the smile on her face, she gave off an obvious air of sadness. She was probably thinking of how her brother hadn''t lived long enough to see his niece or nephew. Jennica didn''t know much about the situation; only that Keeley''s mother and brother had died before she even reached high school.

    It was amazing how cheerful she managed to be despite that. Jennica honestly couldn''t say how upset she would be if she lost her mother since Anna usually drove her crazy but if she lost Brian¡­

    She worried about that sometimes since he was in the military. But he had been on countless deployments now and nothing had ever happened. There was no need to get worked up over it. He would probably be fine.

 Chapter 358: The Wall

    <h4>Chapter 358: The Wall</h4>

    Keeley shook Jennica out of her mncholy thoughts by asking if she wanted to take the babies to the park with her. She snapped out of it instantly. Going outside right now sounded like a good idea. Thinking about death made even this spacious, airy apartment seem stuffy.

    She kept a close eye on her friend as they walked around the park, trying to see if she was still upset, but Jennica couldn''t detect anything. Keeley had gone back to normal. She either wasn''t the type to stay sad for long or she hid her true feelings so deeply that no one was able to ess them.

    Considering the fact that nobody knew anything about her feelings for Aaron until she suddenly announced they were getting married, the woman was ridiculously good at hiding things. Did she really trust anybody at all?

    Jennica knew the answer to that question. Keeley clearly trusted Aaron. She had never explicitly said so but it was obvious from the way she acted around him.

    You wouldn''t notice the wall such a bright, happy person had up unless you had a point of reference forparison. Aaron was the only person the wall didn''t exist with. It was a bit difficult to put into words.

    The wall had nothing to do with being friendly, liking the person she was talking to, or even feelingfortable around them. The only way Jennica could describe it was that Keeley and Aaron were the only two people in the world who were in on a huge secret.

    If you watched them interact closely, the bonds of trust between the two of them were practically tangible. But most people probably didn''t notice that because they were too caught off guard by how lovesick Aaron was. He acted like apletely different person around his wife.

    Which one was his true self? The cold, detached business icon or the gentle family man who smiled at his wife like she was the only source of goodness in this world?

    Maybe Jennica would figure it out the more she spent time with him. After all, she still hadn''t interacted with Aaron all that much and when she did, it was usually in arge group. The more people that were present, the quieter he tended to be unless Keeley needed something.

    Seeing her friend stop and drink in the scenery of the park as the breeze gently blew through her blonde hair made Jennica smile. Keeley was happy and that was what mattered.

    "Isn''t it a beautiful day?" Keeley sighed happily.

    The sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky and filtered through the leaves on the trees casting fragmented shadows everywhere. The sounds of chatting,ughter, and cooing pigeons could be heard anywhere you turned. This scene epassed all of the good things about New York City.

    Jennica didn''t love New York as much as her friend did since she hadn''t been raised here but she had lived here long enough for it to feel like home. If she tried moving somewhere else at this point, theck of background noise would feel wrong.

    It had definitely taken some getting used to when she first moved here though. Many nights were spent tossing and turning because of cars honking at 1 AM. After a while, they were almost like a luby.

    After moving in with Cameron and experiencing the sweet silence that came with the thick windows of a quality apartment she sometimes even missed it. Sometimes but not often.

    She loved Cameron''s ce. Their ce. Even though he had lived there longer, it felt like it belonged to both of them.

    Moving to New York against her mother''s wishes had absolutely been the right decision. Jennica had met the love of her life and a couple of friends who felt like the sisters she never had. Things had never been better.

    After walking around for a while, Keeley set down a nket for the twins to lie on and took them out of the stroller. She kept her babies entertained by making funny faces while Jennica people watched. You could find all types in Central Park.

    "Do you believe in fate, Jen?" her friend asked out of the blue.

    What an odd question. Keeley wasn''t superstitious or religious as far as she knew. Why did she ask?

    "What, that certain things will always happen no matter what choice you make? Seems a bit farfetched to me."

    She let out a wry chuckle. "Yeah, it did to me too. But there are certain things that happened in my life that have definitely been outside of my control so I''m not as skeptical as I once was."

    Jennica wasn''t sure what Keeley was talking about. Could she be referring to the idental pregnancy resulting in her marriage to Aaron? Birth control failure was definitely out of her control.

    She didn''t seem regretful though. If anything, she wasughing at herself for how well things worked out in the end.

    "I suppose there are some things in our lives that happen for a reason. Literally running into Cameron at that Halloween party certainly seemed like a fateful encounter," Jennica admitted.

    Her life would be very different right now if that hadn''t happened. What are the odds that two suchpatible people would be in the same ce at the same time in order for that magical moment to take ce?

    Suddenly she really wanted to see her husband. She had been hit with a wave of gratitude for being able to meet him at all in such a huge city with so many people in it.

    "Want to go surprise our husbands at work?"

    Keeley raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever surprised Cameron at work before?"

    "No, I''ve only ever been to Hale Investments for thoseme shareholders meetings where I had to pretend I didn''t even know him."

    "We should at least have a viable excuse to go there," she mused. "Maybe we could stop by a bakery and bring them something."

    Jennica nearly snorted. She was 100% positive that Keeley didn''t need to bring anything but herself and her husband would be over the moon. She went along with her friend''s suggestion anyway. A chocte croissant sounded really good right about now.

 Chapter 359: You Actually Do Like Me!

    <h4>Chapter 359: You Actually Do Like Me!</h4>

    "You want to put me in charge of what?" Aiden asked in disbelief.

    Aaron had called him into his office to discuss the ns to redo all of the cybersecurity for Hale Investments and possibly develop additional software to sell to other high security institutions. Now the kid looked like he was about to go into shock.

    A conversation they had over a year ago popped into his head. Aiden thought he didn''t trust him. It made sense that he would be thrown off with this sudden offer that proved Aaron thought highly of him. Did he really criticize Aiden that much?

    He sighed. He didn''t want the kid to get an overinted ego¡ªhe was always going on about being Aaron''s favorite¡ªbut if he didn''t properly express his appreciation at some point Aiden might get headhunted by someone else or choose to start his own business. He didn''t want that to happen.

    "I''ve been meaning to strengthen our website''s and app''s defenses anyway because of all the data breaches going on with other banks and you''re the best person for the job."

    "¡­don''t you have an entire department of software developers for that?" Aiden asked skeptically.

    Actually he didn''t. Alistair had outsourced to create the website and app years ago. Whenever there was a problem with either of them, the IT people scrambled around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to fix it.

    More than once Aaron had made Aiden stop his monitoring duties and fix the problem quickly because customers were getting upset. Aiden was worth more than the entire IT departmentbined.

    "No. Creating one isn''t a bad idea but I would still want you to be in charge of it. Are you interested or not? You were saying that taking IT calls was boring," he pointed out.

    Aiden''s eyes widened and he gave his boss a very strange look. "You''re suggesting this just because I''m bored?!"

    Aaron sighed heavily. He may as well cut to the chase, though getting the words out was so difficult he thought he might choke.

    "I don''t want you to leave Hale Investments now that your original job is obsolete." By this point the kid''s eyes were ready to pop out of his head but Aaron continued ufortably. "With your skills you could go anywhere or do anything. I don''t want to lose a valuable resource."

    Once the impact of his boss''s words set in, Aiden''s bug-eyed look changed. He actually seemed touched. What about that had been touching? It was good business sense, nothing more.

    "You actually do like me!"

    Aaron wanted to deny it but couldn''t. The hacker had grown on him like a weed over the years. He didn''t want him to leave because he thought Aiden still had his uses but there was a tiny part of him that might even miss having his office barged into all the time.

    "Don''t let it inte your ego," he said with a scowl.

    "I won''t, I won''t," Aiden said but there was a triumphant gleam in his eye.

    Aaron never should have admitted it but he couldn''t lie to his friend. There had been multiple moments over the past couple years where he had experienced fondness for the usually annoying hacker. Especially when Aiden was protective of him dealing with that loser Ryan at Cameron''s wedding.

    He cleared his throat, feeling ufortable with Aiden''s knowing smile. "So are you going to ept the proposal or not? I can always find someone else to do it."

    "No, I definitely want to!" he said quickly. "Where do you want me to start?"

    ===

    Why was it that both times Keeley hade by the office in this life she was horribly underdressed? She and Jennica were both wearing tee shirts and shorts, which was even more casual thanst time. To make it worse, her hair was tied back in a ponytail.

    At least the secretary''s professionalism didn''t slip. Though she did seem to instantly recognize Keeley and the stroller she was pushing.

    "What can I do for you, Mrs. Hale?"

    "We''re here to see Cameron Singleton," she said simply.

    If she wanted to actually surprise Aaron they couldn''t call up to his office. Since they were on the same floor it would be easier to see Cameron first. Jennica had been the one who wanted this visit anyway.

    The secretary made a call. "Mr. Singleton, Mrs. Hale and Miss Stevens are here to see you."

    Keeley had nearly forgotten that Jennica used her maiden name to be one of Aaron''s dummy shareholders towards the end of his n. It was impressive that the secretary remembered her from those few visits to the office.

    Cameron''s voice crackled over the inte. "Send them on up but remember in the future that Miss Stevens is actually Mrs. Singleton."

    The secretary coughed to cover her embarrassment. "Yes sir."

    "Don''t feel bad," Jennica reassured her. "I used my maiden name as a shareholder so it wouldn''t be suspicious that there were two Singletons on the board."

    The secretary actually did seemforted by that before directing them to the elevator. It was a long ride up to the top floor just likest time. A few people seemed to recognize them but only one person was brave enough to greet Keeley.

    She responded as warmly as possible. How terrified were these people of Aaron anyway? Well, she couldn''t really me them. He had always been an ice devil at work as far as she knew.

    Cameron had a big smile for his wife when they walked through the door. He gave her a quick but affectionate kiss.

    "What brings you two here?"

    Jennica held out a pastry bag. "Wee bearing food."

    He moaned appreciatively. "My hero. I didn''t get breakfast this morning."

    She rolled her eyes. "Of course you didn''t. You never eat breakfast if I''m not awake to remind you to."

    He simply shrugged before devouring the chocte muffins his wife brought. Keeley couldn''t help but be amused by their antics. Her friends were too cute.

 Chapter 360: A Magician Never Reveals Their Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 360: A Magician Never Reveals Their Secrets</h4>

    "Does Aaron know you''re here?" Cameron asked with his mouth full of muffin.

    Keeley had to hold back a snort. She barely understood what he was trying to say but after talking with her own mouth full so many times in her life she could understand "mouthfullese."

    It was a bad habit she needed to break but sometimes a thought was so urgent she needed to share it before swallowing. Everyone did it at some point or another, right?

    "No, we came to see you first. I kind of wanted to sneak up on him," she admitted.

    Cameron eyed her skeptically. "How exactly do you n on sneaking up on him with a double stroller?"

    "That''s where youe in," Jennica grinned. "We talked about it on the way over here. If you walk in like you have official business and Keeley hides behind you, she can pop out and I''ll bring the stroller afterwards."

    "You guys are reallymitted to pranking, aren''t you?"

    They both nodded excitedly. Their day had been fairly boring so far, even though the weather was nice. There was nothing wrong with wanting to spice things up.

    "Alright, I''ll bite. You did bring me muffins," he said with a shrug.

    The group made their way through thebyrinthine hallways until they were close to Aaron''s office. Keeley stood directly behind Cameron as if she were his shadow and they practiced walking a few steps keeping her hidden as Jennica watched them appraisingly.

    When she gave them the green light, they approached the office and Cameron opened the door after three quick knocks.

    "I''m busy," Aaron called out irritably before seeing who it was. "Oh, it''s you. What do you want?"

    "Hey, Cam," Aiden greeted cheerfully.

    "I wanted to ask a question about the stock market reports but if you''re too busy for that¡­" Cameron improvised.

    His acting wasn''t half bad. Having an actress for a wife had its perks. She had taught her roommates a trick or two when they lived together as well.

    He continued talking until Aaron looked away for a moment and Keeley was able to drop to the ground and crawl behind the desk chair unnoticed. Well, notpletely unnoticed. Aiden definitely saw her.

    Bewilderment flickered across his face before he resumed his original expression. Thank goodness he had somewhat of a poker face or she would be done for.

    Keeley slowly got to her feet and tried to think of what to do that would freak him out the most. Should she scream? Hug him? No, that would most likely result in injury and then he would feel horrible. She settled for quickly reaching out and covering his eyes with her hands.

    "What the¡ª?!"

    Aaron''s reaction did not disappointment. He just about jumped out of his chair because both Aiden and Cameron were in his line of sight and he didn''t think anyone else was in the office. His friends immediately began a futile attempt to stifle theirughter.

    He went to grab the hands obstructing his vision and tear them off his face when he realized they felt familiar. He ran his fingers over them briefly to be sure before gently prying her hands off and swiveling the chair around to confirm his suspicions.

    The most confused expression Keeley had ever seen on his face appeared and she couldn''t help but crack up. When she lost it, Cameron and Aiden weren''t able to hold it back any longer either. The three of them continued cackling until Jennica came in with a frown on her face.

    "Aww, I missed something funny? You guys areme!"

    Aaron''s confusion hardened into resignation. He rolled his eyes. "I should have known all of you were in on it. How did you manage to get behind me without me noticing?"

    "A magician never reveals her secrets," Keeley deadpanned.

    "I''m more curious how you knew it was her," Aiden said as he wiped away tears ofughter. "There was a split second where you were ready to attack but then you didn''t and ended up holding her hands."

    "A magician never reveals his secrets," he repeated.

    Keeley smiled. She was pretty sure she knew. They held hands so often that Aaron knew exactly what her wedding ring felt like. He had to have recognized it.

    "I''m pretty sure it was my ring."

    "You''re allowed to have your secrets but I''m not allowed to have mine? I see how it is," Aaron teased.

    Everyone else in the room suddenly looked oddly like those squeeze toys whose eyes pop out. After all this time they still weren''t used to Aaron''s light, joking side that only came out around his wife. Keeley was used to the people in his life looking at the two of them with varying degrees or awe or horror.

    She couldn''t really me them. If somebody had told her that Aaron Hale would know how to goof off in even the slightest capacity before she met up with him again after her undergraduate degree she absolutely would not have believed it.

    As an objective onlooker, if she was anyone other than herself she would have the exact same reaction. Hadn''t she been in a state of near constant disbelief when he first came back into her life? His personality had changed so much he was practically a different person.

    Keeley had the most profound effect on his personality but she couldn''t deny that his friends had yed a role too. However it happened, it was a wee change. The way he was now, he was the kind of person her much, much younger self always assumed she would end up with.

    Aaron''s origins didn''t matter anymore now that he had abandoned them in exchange for a peaceful life with the ones he loved. His willingness to have fun with her meant more than she could possibly express. They did have fun back when they were dating in Boston but it wasn''t asplete as the fun they had now since there were no inhibitions between them.

    It had been a long and horrible road but she was grateful to whatever strange force had reincarnated them. They were together. They were happy. Life was better than she ever could have imagined. Fate had gotten what it wanted after all.

 Chapter 361: Simple Dinner Parties

    <h4>Chapter 361: Simple Dinner Parties</h4>

    March 2015

    As Keeley put the final touches on the twins'' birthday cake she had to take a moment and think about how crazy it was that they had been alive for an entire year. Kaleb was already surprisingly good at walking but Violet typically preferred to crawl since she was so shaky.

    Both of them knew how to say ''mama'' and ''dada'' at this point, though Violet knew a few more words as well. When Keeley and Aaron talked to their children, they referred to themselves as Mommy and Daddy; it had been a reflex from the start to coo things such as "mommy loves you" to the babies.

    Keeley had been in the middle of wiping down the kitchen counters as the babies sat up ying with toys on the floor when it first happened. She heard a small thud and an indignant screech.

    Peering over to see what happened, Violet was engaged in a game of tug of war with Dinah, who had apparently stolen her soft toy after she threw it towards the cat. It was impossible not tough at such a scene but theughter died immediately. Violet had turned to her mother for help in her feud with the cat by yelling "mama" twice.

    She blinked in shock for a moment before a huge grin crossed her face. Violet said mama first! Aaron would be so jealous; he had been anxiously waiting for the twins to say something the past few weeks based on the baby milestone books they had read.

    She immediately headed over and got the toy back from Dinah. Since the cat looked so affronted, Keeley gave her a couple of cat treats to appease her.

    Kaleb, who didn''t like being outdone, began saying "mama" over and over right afterwards because he had seen how excited his mother was. Neither of them said "dada" for another week even though Aaron encouraged them constantly after he found out.

    They stubbornly said "mama" instead each time, possibly just to tease him, until Keeley was on the terrace tending to her little garden and Aaron was inside watching them. He burst onto the terrace holding both of them and set them down, urging them to say it again in front of her. A tiny chorus of "mama dada, mama dada" made both parents a bit emotional.

    "Mama, mama, mama!" Violet cried insistently as she tugged on Keeley''s pant leg.

    She set down the frosting bag she had been using to pipe "Happy Birthday K+V" onto the cake to see to her daughter''s needs. She lifted the baby into the air and settled her onto her hip. Violet twisted around, pointing insistently in the direction of her brother.

    It was immediately apparent what had happened. Kaleb''s diaper had exploded and some of the mess had gotten onto the hardwood floor. Keeley thanked her lucky stars it hadn''t happened on the carpet.

    The smell hadn''t made it as far as the kitchen yet so if Violet hadn''te to find her it might have taken a while and gotten even worse. She sighed heavily. This needed to be cleaned up right this second. And she was almost done with the cake too.

    Keeley handled the diaper situation before tackling the floor. The grossness didn''t even faze her that much anymore. Maybe all of those years looking afterb rats had lessened her ability to be freaked out by that sort of thing.

    Once that was taken care of, she pulled out her iPad and set it to y a ten minute long video the babies liked. That should give her enough time to finish the cake.

    Practically everyone they knew wasing over for the twins'' birthday party. The Singletons, Aiden, Valentina (whose schedule actually worked out for once), Alice, Roger, Kyle, and her father.

    Since bing a stay-at-home mom, Keeley''s social circle had be depressingly small. Getting back to work and talking to different people every day would be so wonderful. Lately she had been going so stir crazy that she had been looking into Mommy and Me groups for babies and toddlers that she could take the twins to.

    The only reason she hesitated was that she was afraid people would recognize her and give her a hard time. People no longer approached her on the street but asionally when she was purchasing something with her credit card people would do a double take when they saw her name.

    The news had definitely died down following Gray''s arrest but that didn''t mean she had gone back to her previous anonymity. Unfortunately, most of New York seemed to know her name even if they didn''t know her face.

    She nced at the clock. It was nearly 5 PM; everyone should be getting off work soon. Surveying the giant living room bedecked in streamers and balloons that the twins probably wouldn''t even care about, she felt satisfied with her work.

    The baked penne dish was still in the oven along with the garlic bread and the side sd she had prepared was sitting in the fridge. This was a simple dinner among friends and family. Originally she and Aaron considered going out to eat but it would be easier to do cake and presents if they stayed in one ce the whole time.

    She had always dreamed about having simple dinner parties with friends like this in her first life. It waspletely different than the high society parties she and Aaron had endured.

    Until Alice stayed with them, Keeley never realized how much Aaron actually hated those things since he always seemed so indifferent. That idiot. Well, it was water under the bridge now.

    She had an entire lifetime of pleasant dinner parties to look forward to so the bad ones didn''t matter anymore. It was interesting how much the sting of her past life''s memories had faded the more positive memories she made now.

    The past didn''t have a hold on her anymore. Most of the time she didn''t even make mentalparisons like this anymore. She used to do them regrly. Keeley was so d she was done with that.

 Chapter 362: A Huge Mess

    <h4>Chapter 362: A Huge Mess</h4>

    The first person to arrive was Jennica (with Valentina in tow), who told her friends she was pregnant with a huge grin on her face. The three of them squealed together over the news for a good five minutes. It hadn''t taken the Singletons long to get pregnant at all after she finished her musical.

    Jennica confessed that they started trying before the musical''s run even ended since morning sickness didn''t hit immediately. She and Cameron had both really wanted to start expanding their family.

    Since she was about three months along now, the Hale twins and baby Singleton would be slightly less than two years apart. It would be nice for them to have a built in friend fairly close in age, especially once they all got old enough to really start ying together.

    They were still discussing this when the next group arrived. It was everyone who worked at Hale Investments, minus Roger, who had gone to pick up Alice.

    Aiden was ribbing Cameron about something but shut up as soon as he saw the women. It made Keeley even more curious what they were saying but she was instantly sidetracked by her husband''s ''I''m home'' kiss.

    "Hey, Aaron," she said with a smile as he slung an arm around her waist. "How was your day?"

    "It was alright. I''ve been looking forward to cake since about 10 AM though."

    "Of course you have."

    This guy''s sweet tooth sometimes could be surprising. Though it was only for things she had made personally. He was totally whipped.

    The inte buzzed a momentter. "Roger rk, Alice Wheatley, and Robert Hall are here to see you, Mrs. Hale. Shall I send them up?"

    "Yes, thank you!" Keeley responded.

    She tried to head into the kitchen to move the food out of the warming drawer underneath the oven but Aaron''s arms stopped her. She urged him forward with her. This needed to be done. Why was he always so clingy?

    As much as she griped about it, she secretly enjoyed the attention. It made her feel loved. She had gotten used to walking with Aaron''s arms around her.

    Once everybody made it upstairs, she and Aaron buckled the babies into their high chairs and gave them some finely chopped steamed vegetables and leftover unseasoned penne since they were too little to handle much voring. Seeing how they reacted to the birthday cake would be interesting since they had never had actual sugar before.

    Keeley had seen pictures of her and Kaleb getting cake all over their faces on their first birthdays. She was curious to see how her children would go about it.

    Some of the people here didn''t know her father so he was busy introducing himself as she began serving up the pasta bake. Everyone dug in eagerly, focusing more on food than conversation.

    Little chats cropped up here and there as the meal progressed. Keeley noticed that Roger was particrly attentive to Alice. She hadn''t figured out whether or not there was something definitive between them yet but the chemistry was definitely there.

    As far as she knew, the divorce hadn''t been finalized yet but Alice''swyer was optimistic things would be taken care of soon. They had a court date set and everything. Taking it to court wouldn''t have even been necessary if Brock Kelly wasn''t such a greedy pig. He didn''t want to y fair dividing up the assets.

    A random, fleeting thought crossed Keeley''s mind. If she had lived long enough to sign those divorce papers in her first life, Aaron wouldn''t have been nitpicky like that. He probably would have given her more money than she could ever feasibly spend and shipped her off to another country to keep her safe.

    Working together against his enemies in this life had been tiring and stressful but she had been so d he was trusting her and treating her as a real partner this time. He had kept her safe and in the loop; those things weren''t mutually exclusive.

    She shook those thoughts away as everyone finished eating. It was time for cake and presents. Kaleb and Violet weren''t able to open the wrapping paper by themselves so their parents had to help a little.

    They received so many toys Keeley hadn''t even seen before. Did everyone team up to raid the toddler section of a toy store or what? It would definitely help though; the twins got tired of their toys quickly so she had to rotate them out every week with another set to keep things interesting. They had very short memories at this age.

    Once the presents were done, the babies were put back in their high chairs and they weren''t terribly happy about it because the new toys beckoned to them from the living room floor. It was useless for one-year-olds to try and blow out candles but the birthday song was sung anyway before slices of cake were put on each baby''s high chair tray.

    Aaron had taken their shirts off, anticipating a huge mess, before pulling out his phone to record whatever they did to the cake. Kaleb, always the more adventurous between the two, dug his hands in first. He got a bunch on his face while trying to aim for his mouth but once he managed to taste it his eyes went wide and he let out a delighted shriek and banged on the tray.

    Violet was curious what all the fuss was about and tried some too. She didn''t shriek but she did shovel a bunch of cake in her mouth before getting even more in her hair.

    Everyoneughed at how much cake was getting everywhere but Valentina was particrly amused.

    "Aww, I could watch them eat cake all day! They''re so cute and funny. I''m really going to miss them when I leave for my residency."

    She had been epted as a family medicine resident at a hospital in Connecticut and would start shortly after graduating in June. It was nearly a three hour drive to make it back to New York City and she wouldn''t have a car. Her friends would have toe to her if they ever wanted to see her.

    "I''ve never been to Connecticut but I''ve heard it''s nice there. We''ll have toe visit," Keeley said lightly though her heart was heavy.

    It had been hard enough seeing Valentina since they stopped being roommates. Living further away would make it even worse.

    With one of her best friends moving away, it was definitely time to branch out and make more friends. Even if she did get weird looks in those Mommy and Me groups.

 Chapter 363: Finalized

    <h4>Chapter 363: Finalized</h4>

    After the babies had been cleaned up, they ended up ying with their toys on the floor of the living room and the adults all broke into small groups to chat. Keeley, Valentina, and Jennica sat closest to the babies on the couch to keep an eye on them.

    Alice, Roger, and Kyle chatted about a hiking trip they nned to take with some of their friends once the weather got nicer. Aiden animatedly told Cameron all about a new video game he had been ying. Aaron and Robert were talking about the twins.

    Keeley couldn''t help but smile at the sight. This was the most people she had ever seen inside the apartment at once. A quick nce at her husband let her know that he wasn''t even uptight about it. He was perfectly fine having this many people in his house despite liking his privacy.

    A wave of tenderness washed over her. He had truly blossomed into the wonderful husband she had always hoped he would be.

    "When is your next day off, Val? We need to hang out more before you go to Connecticut," Jennica insisted.

    Valentina sighed and leaned her head against the back of the couch. "Who knows? It''s amazing I even had a few hours off today. I do have a graveyard shift tonight though." She pulled a terrible face.

    Keeley really felt for her friend. Her schedule had been crazy ever since she started medical school and it would only get worse from here. Residents worked 80+ hours a week. She would have to learn how to survive on practically no sleep.

    It was a good thing Rico y Reencarnado was going to end before graduation because Valentina was very attached to the storyline at this point and would be crushed if she couldn''t keep up with it.

    Keeley had been watching it on herptop rather than on the TV because she was worried Aaron might see the recordings. It hadn''t gotten much better than her original impression, which was to be expected. They didn''t stick to the true story very well but that wasn''t a problem in her mind. Reality was much better.

    "Well I''m d you did," she said. "You were the first person other than Aaron and me to see them after they were born so of course you needed to be at their first ever birthday party."

    Valentina beamed. "They were so cute! They''re even cuter now though since they aren''t all red and wrinkly."

    Kaleb and Violet had been even more red and wrinkly than the average newborn because they were premature but they had still been the most beautiful sight Keeley had ever seen. Watching them y, she wondered what they would look like as they continued to grow.

    Their eye colors had changed from the standard Caucasian infant blue. Kaleb''s eyes were a warm brown but Violet''s were exactly the same unique shade as her father''s. A blue so dark that it looked almost ck from a distance.

    She looked more like Aaron all the time but he still insisted that her face was more like baby Keeley''s had been. Kaleb actually looked a lot like his namesake aside from his eyes. Their children had gotten an interesting mixture of Hale and Hall genes.

    "They don''t look very much alike," Jennica noted. "But I shouldn''t be too surprised. Brian and I are fraternal twins too and a lot of the time people don''t even think we''re siblings. One summer in high school we went to an amusement park and more than one personmented on what a cute couple we were."

    Keeley snorted. She and Kaleb probably wouldn''t have run into that problem since they definitely looked like siblings. Their hair color and face shapes were practically the same.

    His face probably would have changed as he grew but no one would ever know. Since baby Kaleb looked so much like his uncle she might be able to imagine what her brother would have grown into better now.

    "I never had to worry about that with my brother. He''s basically the male version of me," Valentina said.

    "Since he''s older, I think you would be the female version of him," Jennica pointed out.

    Valentina scowled and bopped her friend on the head with a pillow. Keeley chuckled as she watched them go. It was great having her old roommates back together again. They really did need to get together as much as possible before Valentina moved.

    About an hourter it was time to get the babies ready for bed so the guests began trickling out. Keeley gave her friends big hugs and said she would text them about hanging out again. She shook hands with the people she didn''t know as well.

    When it was time to say goodbye to Alice, theposure she had been holding up all night discreetly crumbled. Keeley felt it as the other woman melted into her arms. Apparently she really needed a hug.

    "Are you okay?" she whispered in concern. Alice had seemed perfectly fine earlier.

    "Not really. My divorce finalized today."

    She was so shocked that she nearly pulled away to look at her friend''s face but Alice wouldn''t allow it. She wanted to continue the hug.

    "I''m d you''re free but I''m sorry you''re feeling upset about it. We should talk about this tomorrow. Are you avable?" Keeley asked softly.

    "I don''t have work until 11."

    "I''lle pick you up and treat you to breakfast then. Are you going to be alright home alone?"

    Alice had seemed perfectly fine when surrounded by other people at the party. But who knows how she would feel once she wasn''t distracted anymore.

    "Yes, I''ll manage. Thanks." She pulled away and gave Aaron a quick hug as well before hurrying to catch up with Roger at the elevator. He was her ride home.

    Keeley was absentminded as she gave her father a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, telling him she would see him on Sunday. Poor Alice! She was still so young to have been through a divorce.

    Aaron caught onto her distracted state and asked her what was wrong as soon as everybody was gone.

    "Alice''s divorce finalized today. I didn''t have a clue."

    "I thought they were supposed to take the matter to court in a couple of weeks," hemented as he picked up a protesting Kaleb to take him upstairs.

    "So did I. Something must have happened."

    But what? What could have changed Brock''s mind to make him want to get rid of his wife faster? It was probably something bad based on how Alice had crumbled in Keeley''s arms.

 Chapter 364: A Good Friend

    <h4>Chapter 364: A Good Friend</h4>

    Keeley couldn''t stop worrying about her friend all throughout the babies'' bedtime routine. Once they were asleep and she and Aaron were back downstairs he managed to distract her by being in such a good mood. He sighed contentedly with his arm around her on the couch.

    "I can''t believe they''re actually a year old. We''vee a long way."

    Despite her stress, she had to smile. They really had. Neither of them had thought they would be parents together after losing the first baby. Now they had two children that were getting bigger every day and there would be more toe.

    She snuggled closer. "We certainly have. They''re so beautiful."

    "Only because they take after you," he said before pressing a kiss against her hair.

    "Oh please," Keeleyughed. "Everyone says Violet looks more like you."

    "Just her coloring. I''m sure she''ll take after you more as she grows up."

    She rolled her eyes. Aaron had been so insistent while she was pregnant that if they had a daughter, she should look like her. At this point she was willing to bet any resemnce would be subtle but she didn''t mind. She had hoped at least one of the twins would look like her handsome husband.

    "We''ll see. Personally I''m interested in seeing how much Kaleb continues to look like my brother. If you look at his baby pictures, they''re practically identical," she said casually.

    Aaron''s hold tightened. Despite her casual tone, he knew where her thoughts were going. "No matter what, he''ll be a cute kid."

    "They both will."

    They sat there cuddling for a few minutes before Aaron suggested they watch a movie. Keeley agreed on the condition that they keep cuddling. She wasn''t done soaking up the love yet. It had been a long day.

    ===

    Alice knew she shouldn''t have said anything but she couldn''t help it when she felt the warmth of her friend''s hug. She kept quiet about it throughout the entire party because she didn''t want to ruin the mood but just had to go bbing at the end.

    It wasn''t supposed to happen this soon. Brock was taking her to court because he didn''t want to agree to her rtively simple and reasonable terms. He didn''t want to lose.

    Everything was scheduled out and herwyer was confident they would win the case since they had a stronger leg to stand on and Brock was simply being petty. Out of the blue, he signed the divorce papers she had served him agreeing to her request to return all of her things and give her an appropriate amount of alimony.

    Stunned, she had asked him why. He told her that his mistress was pregnant and he wanted to marry her immediately. Alice was an obstacle in the way and he was tired of dealing with her.

    She really shouldn''t have been hurt by his words. She had always known she was unwanted. Still¡­describing her as someone he was tired of dealing with was harsh.

    Brock was such a proud, snobbish person but would rather have her out of the way quickly than keep his pride. That was a low blow.

    "Alice, are you alright?" Roger asked after several minutes of silence in the car.

    Of course he would notice something was off with her. He had been extra solicitous today. But how had he known before she let anything slip?

    "No. Brock signed the divorce papers today because his mistress is pregnant and he''s tired of dealing with me," she said bluntly.

    Her friend went silent in shock. Well, she had just dropped a bomb on him with almost no emotion in her voice. That would be fairly shocking.

    When he finally got his bearings, he sounded firm. "I''m sorry he''s such a jerk. He never deserved you in the first ce."

    Alice let out a dryugh. She got exactly what she was groomed for since birth. It wasn''t a matter of deserving it or not. Every woman in high society went through the exact same thing even though no one ever talked about it.

    Men could do whatever they wanted while women were expected to look pretty, sound smart, and cater to whatever their husbands needed for career advancement. They were nothing more than beautiful, empty-headed tools.

    "Thanks for saying that. You''re a good friend," she managed to get out rather than revealing her true thoughts.

    "A good friend, huh?" Roger murmured so quietly she nearly missed it.

    "Yeah, you''re my best friend. Probably the best one I''ve ever had."

    He had been an angel since she left Brock. Roger took her out to eat at least twice a week, taught her how to cook a few simple meals, and tried to include her every time he did something with his friends. She had spent more time with him than anyone else.

    As much as she tried to be independent, there was still a learning curve going from pampered princess to working woman. He had helped her through it by being someone she could depend on.

    Alice appreciated his help so much because unlike with the Hales, who had their children to worry about, she never felt like a bother to him. She probably depended on him a little too much to be perfectly honest. But how could she not? When her world was falling apart he took it upon himself to help her create a new one.

    Roger went quiet after that, which she found a bit odd. Normally by this point he would be joking around with her and offering to treat her to ice cream or something to cheer her up.

    She was the one whose divorce was just finalized. Why did he seem even gloomier than she did?

    When he dropped her off at her apartment he bid her goodnight and offered his standard "if you need anything, call me" before driving off. Even that goodbye, which she had heard a hundred times, sounded off to her.

    For some reason Alice felt even worse seeing him go like that than she did about the cruel things Brock had said. What was going on with Roger?

 Chapter 365: What Does Love Feel Like?

    <h4>Chapter 365: What Does Love Feel Like?</h4>

    The next morning Alice didn''t feel any better. She overslept; not waking up until Keeley was knocking on her door.

    "I''m so sorry, I don''t know what''s gotten into me," she apologized as she opened the front door.

    "You''re going through something difficult; I don''t me you for being tired," Keeley replied with a sympathetic smile. "What do you want for breakfast?"

    As always, her kindness impressed Alice. Maybe talking things out with her friend would improve her mood.

    "Crepes. I could really go for some crepes."

    Keeley loaded the babies back into the car and drove them all to a popr crepe ce not far from Battery Park. Thankfully they had high chairs avable or she wasn''t sure what she would do. It wasn''t safe for them to sit on regr chairs in case they fell off.

    Alice ordered vani bean, peaches, and cream crepes while Keeley chose fruit salsa crepes with whipped cream and caramel sauce and got a in one with whipped cream for the twins. As they waited for their food, she suggested Alice tell her everything that happened.

    She exined why Brock changed his mind as emotionlessly as she could. She didn''t want to cry in front of her friend even though she felt even more broken and unwanted than she had since the divorce began.

    Originally she thought the divorce would be liberating. She resented that jerk and all he had put her through. So why was she still sad? She was free sooner than she thought was possible and had gotten the terms she wanted! She should be thrilled!

    "Just because you got what you wanted doesn''t mean you can''t be sad," Keeley said wisely. "Human emotions areplex things. He said something terrible; it''s perfectly normal to be sad about it."

    Her words were validating, which made Alice feel both better and worse. She didn''t want to be emotional. All her life she had been taught to suppress her emotions. She wasn''t allowed to show weakness in front of others.

    But she needed to stop thinking this way. Hadn''t she been inspired to leave Brock by seeing how much Aaron had changed? He had been the Ice King! If anyone had learned how to express their emotions properly after a lifetime of suppression, he had.

    He was much happier for it. She shouldn''t let her upbringing hold her back anymore. Alice wanted to be as happy as Aaron.

    "I am sad," she admitted with much difficulty. "I''m sad and confused and even worse, I think I somehow offended Roger. He didn''t send me a good morning text today and he always does that."

    She hadn''t noticed at first because she was in such a scramble to get ready but once they were in the car she had time to check. Nothing. He had been acting weirdst night so it was impossible not to jump to conclusions.

    Keeley raised an eyebrow. "How could you have possibly offended him? That guy adores you."

    Alice''s brain froze at the second sentence but her friend didn''t notice because the food had arrived and she was busy cutting up the in crepe into little bites for her children. Adores her? Roger? That couldn''t be possible.

    She wasn''t like Keeley. She wasn''t warm or cute or fun. Men didn''t adore women like her. Alice was distinctly unlovable and had known that for a long time despite hoping she could marry again someday for love.

    Eventually Keeley looked up from her crepe and saw the stunned expression on her friend''s face. She frowned.

    "Don''t tell me you didn''t know. I don''t see the two of you together often but every time I do he''s very attentive. A man wouldn''t do that if he wasn''t interested."

    Roger had always been kind to her so Alice had thought he was simply a nice person. Had he really liked her this entire time? It didn''t seem possible.

    "Say you''re right and he is interested. What could I have said that set him off then?" she asked skeptically.

    Keeley shrugged. "I don''t know. What exactly did you say to him?"

    Alice thought about it. She told him what Brock did¡­he got indignant on her behalf¡­she thanked him and told him he was a good friend¡­ Once she told all of that to Keeley she looked at her in disbelief.

    "Alice, think about it. If he cares about you of course he doesn''t want to hear that he''s a good friend. That''s the ssic ''I''m not interested in you'' line."

    Keeley paused, a troubled look on her face. "I had a good male friend once who liked me when I didn''t feel the same. He didn''t react well and ended up saying terrible things to me because he was hurt. I don''t think Roger is that kind of person. He''s probably not saying anything because he wants to sort out his feelings and still be good to you."

    Her head was reeling. Could Roger really like her? But why? She wasn''t anybody special. She had been discarded over and over again by people who were supposed to love her. Her friends. Her parents. Her husband.

    How could she possibly believe someone would truly care about her? It didn''t make sense!

    Even if he did like her¡­Alice wasn''t sure if she felt the same way. Her only love had been twisted. She didn''t know what genuine love felt like.

    "What does it feel like when you''re in love with someone?" she blurted.

    Keeley''s eyes widened with surprise before a soft smile appeared on her face. She leaned her head on her hand as she answered.

    "I can only speak for my own experience¡­but you''re happiest around that person. They make you smile andugh more than anybody else. And you feelpletelyfortable around them."

    For a moment Alice was appalled that she could feel those things toward such a cold fish as Aaron. Happiest around him? He makes her smile andugh? She feelspletelyfortable around him? Was she really talking about Aaron Hale?!

    She had long wondered how someone like Keeley ended up with her normally reticent friend but this was too unbelievable. That being said¡­her description of love struck a chord.

    "You sound like you''re describing a best friend rather than a lover."

    "Aaron is my best friend. My mom was my dad''s best friend. Jennica and Cameron are best friends. I don''t think the two things are mutually exclusive," she said with a shrug before taking a big bite of her crepe.

 Chapter 366: A Second Opinion

    <h4>Chapter 366: A Second Opinion</h4>

    Alice wasn''t sure what to think. Keeley sounded so confident in her assessment that best friends could be lovers. Roger was her best friend¡­but did she harbor any sort of romantic feelings for him?

    He was attractive, though his handsomeness was a different kind than her ex-husband''s. Brock''s looks were shy while Roger''s were more understated.

    She clearly cared about him in some capacity because of how upset she had been when he leftst night. But as a friend or something more? She had thought it was because he was her most treasured friend.

    Roger had never judged her, never pried, and never done anything she wasn''tfortable with. He was unfailingly kind and had been there for her whenever she needed him ever since the day he apanied his sister to help with the furniture shopping.

    Throughout the raging sea of changes in her life, he had been the single constant. He was the most dependable person she knew. But was that love?

    Alice was getting ahead of herself. She wasn''t even sure that he liked her; this was all conjecture. She needed to talk to the man himself but she wasn''t sure what she would even say. It might be a good idea to get a second opinion first so she didn''t make aplete fool of herself and lose the most important person in her life.

    As Keeley happily chowed down on her crepe, Alice whipped out her phone and sent Marissa a text. ''Does your brother like anyone?''

    The reply came in three minutester as she was working on her own crepe. ''Why do you ask?''

    She decided she may as well be honest. Marissa was her friend too; she would keep this conversation a secret.

    ''I''m wondering if I have a chance with him''

    Alice wasn''t sure how else to word it. She didn''t want to say she wasn''t sure whether or not she liked him and was trying to gather as much information as possible to make an informed decision.

    ''Hang on, since when are you interested in Roger?!''

    ''It was a recent development'' she texted back wryly. She hadn''t ever considered him as a potential romantic partner until about five minutes ago.

    ''Alice Wheatley we are going to sit down and have a conversation about this at some point but I''m not sure when because I''ve been swampedtely''

    She sighed. That wasn''t an answer.

    ''Does he like anyone or not?''

    Marissa replied quickly. ''I would have thought it would bepletely obvious but I guess I''ll have to spell it out for you. Roger never helps me move furniture on my jobs. Do with that information what you will''

    Alice frowned, taking a moment for that information to click in her head. How could she say he never helps when that was how they started to get close? Oh. OH! He must havee to see her!

    She was baffled. That was so long ago and he already liked her? He had barely found out she was getting a divorce at that point.

    All this time¡­he had been nice to her because he liked her? How on earth was she supposed to process that?

    Her phone was still clutched in her hand and she saw what time it was. She needed to get going in the next five minutes if she was going to have time to change into her work uniform shirt. Quickly scarfing down the remainder of her crepe, she told Keeley she needed to get going.

    "Do you feel any better?" her friend asked.

    Alice honestly wasn''t sure. If anything, she felt more confused. But an odd, hopeful flicker of something was stirring in her chest as well. She couldn''t quite define it.

    Not wanting to get into that, she simply replied "yes" so she could get to work on time.

    Keeley smiled as she lifted her children out of their highchairs and ced them back into the stroller. "Good. You deserve to be happy, Alice. Don''t let the past hold you down."

    Thatst sentence seemed to carry a lot of weight, as if Keeley really knew what she was talking about. All she could do was nod.

    As her friend dropped her off in front of the tour office, she thanked her for both the food and the advice before shaking all pesky, confusing thoughts free. She needed to focus. There were French speaking tourists who needed her.

    Unfortunately, Alice had a really hard time concentrating at work. The entire time she found her mind wandering. At least she had done this enough times that she could practically give the tour in her sleep. It didn''t matter too much that she was distracted.

    During her fifteen minute break between tours she finally had time to think. If she was being practical, getting into a rtionship with Roger would be a good thing.

    She wasn''t currently sure of her feelings but she knew what kind of person he was. Alice was certain he would never let her down like Brock did. She enjoyed their conversations, had fun with him, and wasfortable around him just like Keeley had talked about.

    She was twenty-seven and divorced but wanted to be married again within the next few years so she could have a couple of children. She wasn''t likely to get a better offer. Would it really be so bad being in a rtionship with her best friend even if she wasn''t currently in love with him?

    Alice had fallen in love with Brock over time because she thought she was supposed to. She could do the same thing again. But would it be fair to either of them? Doing this would feel an awful lot like using Roger and he deserved better than that.

    Maybe if she exined that she was still healing and wasn''t sure of her feelings but that he was still the most important person in her life it could work. Then he could choose whether or not to ept her as she was.

    This was terrifying. If she used the wrong words¡­if she couldn''t exin herself properly¡­she might lose the one she cared about most. Letting things blow over and waiting for Roger toe to terms with things so they could continue on as friends would be easier but it wouldn''t be the nice thing to do. He deserved to know the truth.

 Chapter 367: Can You Wait For Me?

    <h4>Chapter 367: Can You Wait For Me?</h4>

    It was a miracle that Alice made it through the rest of her scheduled tours for the day. She should really find a better job that didn''t involve so much standing and walking. Her feet and lower back were really getting to her.

    Keeley told her that it was better for her resume not to jump ship so soon though. She needed to stick it out for at least a full year before trying to find something else.

    She had tried texting Roger a few times to see if they could meet up but she didn''t get any response. Either he was really busy at work or he was purposefully avoiding her.

    She wasn''t sure which option was true so she decided her best bet was to stop by his apartment after work. He had hosted more than a few game nights at his ce since they had been friends so she knew how to get there.

    The area surrounding the Statue of Liberty had almost no avable parking and if you did park, you had to pay for it. Alice almost never drove herself to work for this reason. She had learned the subway routes to get to her ce but wasn''t sure which ones to take to get to Roger''s.

    She had to study the train line map three times before she was confident enough to get on the next one. Getting on the wrong train and ending up who knows where was thest thing she needed today.

    Around 6 PM she finally made it to the right apartment building and was ready to keel over. It was a nice building with a doorman but it wasn''t nearly as fancy as where Aaron lived.

    Roger rented a one bedroom unit with a decent sized living room and kitchen. He had told her he wanted to buy an apartment someday and was currently saving for a down payment. She had noticed that he was a fiscally responsible person from all the times he helped her buy things; it made sense he would be practical about his living arrangements.

    The doorman here seemed to vaguely recognize her from all the times she had visited. Alice prayed that Roger wouldn''t turn her away when he made the call up to his apartment.

    The doorman smiled. "Go right up, Miss Wheatley."

    She practically wilted with relief before politely thanking him and heading to the elevator. Roger lived on the sixth floor so the ride didn''t take too long.

    When he answered the door he looked tired. Not only were the dark circles under his eyes, his posture wasn''t as straight as usual. He practically radiated exhaustion.

    "What is it, Alice?" he asked wearily.

    Her fear that this was a huge mistake returned. Her hands trembled as she hid them behind her back. It would be better to turn around and go home right now but if she did that she would never be brave enough to initiate this conversation again.

    "There''s something I wanted to talk to you about," she managed to get out. "It won''t take long."

    His weariness was momentarily reced by a frown. "And it was so important you figured out how to get here by subway and showed up unannounced?"

    Alice nodded gravely, feeling more nervous by the second. Roger sighed and stood aside to let her in. She sat down primly on one end of the couch and he sat down on the other, as far from her as possible.

    Normally he sat on the cushion next to hers. Of course, there were usually more people over so there was less avable space but still¡­she must have really hurt him yesterday. Her heart ached at the thought.

    She didn''t want to hurt Roger; he was her favorite person in the world. She took a deep, calming breath before getting her spiel out. This might ruin everything but it also might make things better. She had to take the chance.

    "IknowyoulikemeandI''mstillhealingandconfusedsocanyouwaitforme?" Alice asked so rapidly he couldn''t understand a word she said.

    "¡­could you repeat that?"

    She cleared her throat nervously. "I said I know you like me and I''m still healing and confused so can you wait for me?"

    That woke him up. All traces of exhaustion vanished from his face and were reced by pure disbelief.

    "What?!"

    "I''m sorry I said you were a good friend; I didn''t realize you would take it the wrong way," Alice continued while she still had momentum. "You''re the most important person in my life, Roger. I don''t want to hurt you and I can''t afford to lose you. But I''ve been damaged by everything my ex-husband did.

    "I don''t feel lovable and I''m not even sure I know what love actually feels like. Keeley had to knock some sense into me¡­My point is, I really care about you but I need time. I''d understand if you didn''t think I was worth it but¡ª"

    "Alice," Roger interrupted.

    He had a soft smile on his face that did strange things to her stomach. It felt like it was doing flips.

    He hesitantly reached out and took her hands in his. "You are most definitely worth it. Take all the time you need."

    It had been a very long time since someone had held her hand with any degree of affection. In fact, she wasn''t even sure if anyone ever had. Even her parents hadn''t held her hands when she was little, leaving that to the ever rotating army of nannies.

    Alice had been trained from a young age not to cry but traitorous tears worked their way into the corners of her eyes anyway. How could she not feel wanted when Roger was looking at her like that? Like he was happy just having her next to him.

    She was hit with the sudden thought that this was very simr to how Aaron looked at Keeley. Hadn''t that been exactly what she had hoped for?

    "Um¡­why do you like me? And for how long?" she asked curiously.

    Rogerughed a bit self-consciously. "I was interested in you the moment I first saw you, actually. You gave off a rather intriguing vibe. Then I noticed the ring and instantly shut that down. The interest came back as soon as I found out you were getting divorced but my feelings didn''t run away from me until I got to know you better.

    "You''re witty, intelligent, brave, kind, and fun to talk to. Out of everyone I know you''re my favorite person to spend time with. It doesn''t hurt that you''re the most beautiful woman I''ve ever met either."

    A wide smile crept onto her face at thepliments. Then she blushed. The most beautiful woman he had ever met? He had to be exaggerating.

 Chapter 368: She Could Get Used To This

    <h4>Chapter 368: She Could Get Used To This</h4>

    Alice couldn''t believe her ears. Roger really thought she was beautiful. Brock had never once called her beautiful. Lacy Knighton had been the true beauty in her circle who got all of the attention, may she rest in peace.

    She had been touted as a beautiful bride but that was primarily because of how much money her parents forked out for her wedding dress. People had been more interested in the dress than in her. Suchpliments meant nothing to her.

    But hearing it from somebody whose opinion she valued¡­Alice found her face turning pink.

    "Don''t exaggerate," she mumbled.

    "I''m not. You have a natural elegance about you no matter what you wear. But I personally think you look most beautiful when you''re smiling because your eyes crinkle at the corners and it makes me want to smile too," Roger admitted, looking a little pink-faced himself.

    Alice was touched. No one had ever said anything like this to her before. Emboldened by thepliments, she leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

    "Thank you."

    He furrowed his brow, confused. "For what?"

    "For giving me hope. If someone as good as you can like me I might not be that bad after all," she said with a slight smile.

    Despite her poise, her self-esteem really was quite low. That was what happened when you dealt with backstabbers who didn''t actually like you. Alice wished she could save her little brother from such a fate but her parents still refused to let her see him.

    Since no one had ever truly liked her it was a bit difficult for her to like herself. Had Aaron experienced the same thing? Was that part of why he was so different with his wife?

    Roger sighed sadly. "He really did a number on you, didn''t he?" He scooted closer so he could wrap aforting arm around her shoulders. "I guess I''ll just have to tell you how wonderful you are on a regr basis until it sinks in."

    Alice smiled contentedly and leaned into his embrace. "I can live with that."

    She closed her eyes and savored the feeling of being wanted by someone who mattered to her. She could get used to this.

    ===

    Keeley was half focused on supervising the babies as they yed with the cats and half focused on the clock. Dinner was still warming in the Crock Pot because Aaron was runningte.

    He had texted her an hour ago to let her know he got held up because a meeting ran long. He was probably stuck in traffic right now.

    She sighed. Having him home on time every day in this life had spoiled her. She wanted him home already so she could get the standard enthusiastic hug and kiss he always gave when he got back from the office.

    Yep. Definitely spoiled.

    Her phone dinged and she pounced on it. Was Aaron still being held up by something else? But no, the message was from Alice.

    ''Took your advice. It worked out pretty well''

    She was about to rify whether or not it was the advice she had given earlier today about Roger when she got another message. It was a sneakily taken selfie where his arm was around her and he was looking the other way. She had the biggest smile Keeley had ever seen on her face.

    She couldn''t help but chuckle slightly. That was certainly fast. Alice didn''t waste any time at all. Good for her. The Alices of this world deserved to find happiness.

    Keeley had been like her once. She hadn''t expected to ever find happiness in a man again, let alone the same one. After being reborn her sole focus was on her career and making friends.

    Things were so different now. She had friends, the promise of a future career, a family of her own, and Aaron''s love. Life couldn''t possibly be any better.

    As she reminisced, a hiss and a child''s cry caught her attention. She immediately looked to Kaleb, who was wailing as he nursed a scratch on his hand. He must have pulled Molly''s tail again.

    She rushed tofort her son, pulling him into herp. "Hey Kaleb, remember what Mommy said about being soft with the kitties?" He nodded pitifully and she continued. "If you aren''t soft with them, they''ll get scared andsh out."

    Keeley stood and bnced him on her hip. "Come on, sweetie, let''s get you feeling better."

    She found the little first aid kit in the kitchen and cleaned the scratch with an antibacterial wipe before putting a bandage on it. Then she kissed it, making a dramatic "mwah" sound that made him giggle.

    "All better!" she dered. Kaleb believed his mother''s words and scrambled to get down and rejoin his sister in the living room.

    What was she going to do with that kid? He got little injuries way more often than Violet did. He was far too adventurous. He was always zooming around and bumping into things. They had been forced to babyproof the entire house as soon as he could crawl. It was even worse now that he was walking.

    Kaleb was only a year old but he loved balls and had a surprisingly good throwing arm. They had set up a little ball pool in one corner of the entertaining area on the second floor and he absolutely loved it. Keeley couldn''t help but wonder if he would enjoy baseball half as much as his uncle and grandpa.

    Violet tended to prefer soft toys like stuffed animals but she also enjoyed anything that made noise. They had bought a bunch of baby''s first instruments like toy keyboards as well.

    These days poor Keeley almost always had a vague headache because too many noisy toys were going off at once. That''s what she gets for having twins. But she would take her babies over peace and quiet in a heartbeat.

    The elevator door dinged and it took all of her willpower not to leave the twins unsupervised andunch herself down the stairs at her husband. When he reached the top of the staircase she ran at him anyway and threw herself into his arms.

    Aaron returned her embrace tightly. "Seems like someone missed me," he said in good humor.

    "I did," she admitted without shame. That didn''t mean she couldn''t tease him as well. "But I''m also starving since you made me wait for dinner. Go get changed so we can eat."

    He gave her a quick kiss before leaving the mail he had collected from the doorman on the table and heading upstairs to do as she said.

 Chapter 369: Mail From Prison

    <h4>Chapter 369: Mail From Prison</h4>

    Keeley strapped the babies into their high chairs and decided to look through the mail while she waited for Aaron toe back. Most of it was junk but a letter with an unfamiliar return address and the name ''Graydon Meyer'' above it.

    She was so shocked she nearly dropped the letter. He had been in prison for more than half a year and had never reached out to them before. Why now?

    When Aaron came back down and sat at the table she held the letter out to him wordlessly before serving up the lemon rosemary chicken and potatoes to everyone. She made sure to give the twins very tiny pieces so they wouldn''t choke.

    It had been a while since she had seen even a hint of ice from her husband but now his old demeanor hade back full force. Even the babies got a bit restless because they could feel the difference.

    "What does it say?" Keeley dared to ask.

    "He wants me to visit him," Aaron said tly. "Why now? What does he want? I thought he was actually going to leave us alone."

    How was she supposed to know? Gray''s head was even harder to get inside than Aaron''s used to be. She had no idea what he wanted with them. Maybe he was bored in prison.

    She understood why her husband was upset though. If he ignored this summons, it would seem like he didn''t care about his brother. Gray could get very angry and retaliate once he got out someday far in the future. It was better to give him what he wanted and Aaron knew it.

    Since he didn''t even like the man, taking time out of his day to go and see him would feel like an unpleasant chore. He held the letter out to her and she read that visiting hours were between 8 AM and 1 PM only on weekdays. Aaron would have to miss work and drive all the way across town.

    "You know you need to go," she said gently. "He did kill Lacy for us."

    "It''s not like I asked him to," he grumbled. "But you''re right. I''ll call them and see what I need to do to be approved for visitation."

    Keeley reached out and patted his headfortingly before offering him more chicken, which he dly epted. The icepletely vanished once he had eaten and everything was back to normal in the Hale household.

    ===

    Aaron couldn''t believe he was actually doing this. The gray walls of the prison loomed over him as he stood just outside the first of the security gates.

    It had taken a week to be an approved visitor because he had to fill out a bunch of bothersome paperwork. He had written back to tell Gray when to expect him once he was given a time frame but he wished he could have just ignored the letter in good conscience.

    He took a deep breath. He was doing this for his wife and children. Staying in Gray''s good graces was imperative if things were going to remain peaceful when he eventually got out of prison.

    Pressing the doorbell, a guard buzzed him in and asked for his name, photo ID, and who he was here to visit. Those questions weren''t even necessary. It was obvious from the look on the guard''s face that he recognized Aaron. Who else would Aaron Hale visit at a prison but his half-brother?

    The guard went over the visitation rules and told him he had an hour before leading him through a set of metal detectors. They identally went off because he forgot his keys were still in his pocket. He took them out, handed them to the guard, and went through again with no problems.

    Gray was waiting for him at a table in the visitation room. It waspletely surrounded by ss windows so prisoners were under constant surveince when in contact with the outside world.

    Aaron would have thought prison would change him¡ªthat was how it was always portrayed in the media¡ªbut he looked almost exactly the same aside from being in an orange jumpsuit. His hair was still done and that false, suave air Aaron always hated was still in ce.

    Honestly, Gray looked perfectly at ease, as if they were meeting in a caf¨¦ rather than a prison. It was more than a little unnerving. The rest of the prisoners here actually seemed like prisoners. Gray seemed like he was on vacation.

    "Aaron! So delighted to see you. I''m d you received my letter. I hope your family is doing well," he said smoothly.

    Aaron didn''t trust this man as far as he could throw him but since he was here he needed to remain cordial. "They are. The twins recently had their first birthday party. They really liked the cake."

    "How adorable. A pity I couldn''t have been there. Do you have any pictures?"

    He had a bunch. Learning from the mistakes of hisst life, he made sure to record memories whenever he could. Especially on special asions.

    The guard had told him he wasn''t allowed to hand over his phone but he was allowed to show it to Gray if he was the one holding it. Aaron swiped through a few pictures from the party, making sure Gray could see.

    Thest picture was particrly near and dear to Aaron''s heart. The babies were absolutely covered in cake and he and Keeley had gotten in the shot next to them. Violet threw a bit that sttered on her mother''s cheek and the camera had gone off right as Keeley started tough.

    "You each got one that looks like you, didn''t you?" Gray asked with mild interest.

    "Violet''s face shape is more like Keeley''s at that age. And Kaleb is nearly identical to his namesake other than his eyes," Aaron replied.

    He couldn''t help it. Whenever his children came up he got more talkative than usual. Normally he was a man of few words.

    "Ah yes, I had forgotten you named him after Keeley''ste brother. How is my sister-inw doing these days?"

    "She''s doing well. She''s waiting to go back to work until the twins are in preschool so she''s a stay-at-home mom at the moment."

    Aaron was getting impatient to leave and he hadn''t even been there for ten minutes. "Is there a specific reason you wanted to see me?" he asked as lightly as he could.

    Gray smiled but it wasn''t all that genuine. "I simply wanted to see how my baby brother was doing."

    "I would have thought you would do that sooner."

    "I was a bit embarrassed. I thought you wouldn''t want your children near a murderer so I didn''t dare ask you toe until now. But my new cellmate''s sister visits every week and I was quite put out so I decided to send you the letter."

    He took those words with a grain of salt. It was near impossible to tell when Gray was lying. Whatever the reason, he was here attempting to keep the peace.

 Chapter 370: Far Too Casual

    <h4>Chapter 370: Far Too Casual</h4>

    Aaron decided it would be best to be honest. Gray always seemed to appreciate forthrightness, which was ironic considering how fake he was.

    "I don''t want a murderer near my children but my children aren''t here, are they? I don''t have a problem with what you did. I''m d that woman is gone."

    This time Gray''s smile was definitely sincere. "And that''s all that matters. I did it entirely for you, after all. It''s simply an annoyance that I got caught. Apparently someone waited until Brann Knighton''s reward went up to give the tip that nailed me. Some people can be so greedy."

    He seemed utterly unsuspicious about Aaron''s involvement in the matter. What a relief! Everything had gone exactly ording to n. Aaron would have to let Aiden know what a good job he didter.

    "I''m surprised you didn''t act a little more cautiously."

    Gray sighed dramatically. "That wretched woman surprised me, that''s all. I did have a foolproof n in ce and she ruined everything. No matter. I''m determined to get out early on good behavior. I might have lost my business but I still have my fortune. I can rebuild easily."

    That was far too casual an attitude to have about a murder sentence. Aaron felt like there was more to this matter than met the eye but what could he do? He didn''t have any control over what went on inside the prison.

    "That''s a good attitude to have about it," was all he could say.

    "Being in here really isn''t too bad. The food could be a lot better though. I would ask you to bring me some from the outside if it wasn''t against the rules. I do hope you''ll continue to visit in the future."

    Aaron knew he was trapped. If he came this week, he would have toe again. This particr prison allowed each visitor toe once a week. He couldn''t miss that much work though.

    "I will but be aware that it might be kind of random. I can promise once a month but can''t guarantee anything beyond that. Visiting hours are during the work day after all. A CEO never rests; you should know that."

    For a split second Gray''s smile turned bitter before going back to his usual debonair look. "Yes, I do. I would be happy for any time you can give me. So. Tell me what else you''ve been up to since I''ve been away."

    Aaron spent the remainder of the hour telling various stories about things the children had done. He didn''t want to talk about work in case Gray got any bright ideas about taking over Hale Investments when he got out.

    What was worrying was that he definitely had the capability before butcked interest. Now that he had lost his own empire, would he be interested ining after Aaron''ster on? It was better to be safe than sorry.

    Gray seemed politely amused by the twins'' antics. Aaron couldn''t tell if he actually cared about his niece and nephew or if he was only interested in them because of their connection to him. He was banking on the former. Gray didn''t seem like the type to enjoy children; he hadn''t even held the twins once.

    When the guard came to take Aaron away, Gray''s polished demeanor remained. He bid his brother farewell as if they had enjoyed a casual chat over drinks at a bar.

    "See you next month, baby brother! Thank you foring."

    "Bye, Gray. Take care of yourself," Aaron replied as he left.

    That had been absolutely exhausting. And he still had a mountain of paperwork waiting for him on his desk. He sighed. This was turning out to be a very long day.

    ===

    Gray smiled to himself as he watched his brother leave. When he originally sent the letter, he wasn''t sure if Aaron would actuallye. He was usually so self-righteous; why would he stoop so low as to visit a convicted murderer?

    Getting him here felt like a victory. Aaron wouldn''t havee if he wasn''t grateful. He had to appreciate the sacrifice his brother had made for his sake.

    Yes, he was in prison, but he had finally earned the trust of the most paranoid person he had ever met. Gray was on his way up.

    He was confident he could get out early on good behavior. He had carefully crafted his image as the model prisoner. A few of the guards had whispered about how they felt sorry for him; he was clearly only in here because he lost his head in the moment.

    Good. That was how he wanted people to see him. No one had to know how willing he was tomit murder again if the situation called for it. He didn''t feel an ounce of regret for what he did.

    Of course, being caught had been terribly inconvenient. If he ever found out who had ratted him out for the sake of money he would make them wish they were dead.

    Gray may have lost most of his contact with the outside world but that wasn''t too much of a problem. Prison provided a whole new world ofworking opportunities. There were now seven people in his cell block with unique talents that were at his beck and call.

    When he got out¡ªand he would get out¡ªhe could start a new empire from the shadows. He may be a tech developer but business was in his blood, just like his brother. It was the Hale way.

    He hadn''t grown up with Alistair Hale but he and Aaron still shared the urge to build, expand, and conquer. He would leave Hale Investments alone. Let Aaron live in the light where he wanted. Gray had always been morefortable in the dark anyway.

    There was a whole lot more to the business world than one Fortune 15pany. It might be fun topete with his brother a bit.

    He could create an empire in a different sector so it wouldn''t threaten Hale Investments but Aaron would still know what Gray was capable of. Perhaps he could even find it within himself to be proud of his disgraced big brother.

 Chapter 371: First Day

    <h4>Chapter 371: First Day</h4>

    September 2017

    "Mommy, do we have to go to school? I want to stay with you," Violet said with a tragic pout on her face.

    It was their first day of preschool and the day Keeley would finally be going to work at a privately funded researchb called the Department of Medical Advancement, or DOMA for short. Aaron was able to get her in by offering a veryrge donation on the condition that she would be able to use the facility to continue her cystic fibrosis research.

    She really hoped that nobody but the director knew how she got in because she didn''t want to be looked at strangely. It would be so awkward to be known as the woman who only worked there because she had a rich husband.

    "Mommy has to go to work, Vi. We talked about this, remember? You get to stay here and y with Kaleb and meet new friends for a while. I''lle pick you up at three and then you can tell me all about what you did and we get bake cookies, okay?"

    Violet was much more of a homebody than her brother. She didn''t mind being out and about as long as her mother or father were in sight but she still wasn''t particrly adventurous. Unlike Kaleb, whose adventurous nature had already caused him to break his armst year by falling off some park equipment.

    Kaleb smiled and took his sister''s hand. "Don''t worry, I''m here!"

    Keeley had made sure to register them for the same ss because otherwise she worried Violet would throw a fit. Hopefully her brother could help here out of her shell a little bit and she would be able to make her own friends.

    She would y with other kids if her mother set up a y date for her but at the yground she did her own thing while Kaleb would y with other random children who were present. Her closest friend was definitely her twin but she was also quite fond of Noah Singleton, who was nearly two years old now.

    Whenever the Hales and Singletons met up, Noah would follow Violet (and to a lesser extent, Kaleb) around like a puppy. It was pretty cute.

    Violet looked back and forth between her brother and mother hesitantly. "Come back fast, Mommy."

    Her daughter''s plea tugged at Keeley''s heartstrings. She wrapped her arms around both of her children.

    "I love you two! Have fun today, okay?"

    They both nodded seriously and walked a bit ahead of her hand in hand to meet up with their new teacher. She sighed as she watched them go. They had grown so much already. As excited as she was to get back to work, she would really miss being with her babies all day.

    She drove herself to the DOMA building all the way out in Queens, nerves and excitement warring within her. She had to think positive. This was what she wanted; it was going to be a good thing for her.

    Just before Keeley walked in the front door, her phone went off in her pocket. It was a good luck text from Aaron. Because of that little gesture, she was able to head inside with a smile on her face.

    A professionally dressed woman was sitting at the front desk. "How can I help you?" she asked, looking up from herputer screen.

    "Hi, I''m Keeley Hale. It''s my first day here; I was told to meet with Doctor Butler."

    She tried to project confidence and talked like she knew what she was doing. She wasn''t sure how effective it actually was but the woman answered her question as if she didn''t notice anything strange.

    "Ah yes, Doctor Butler said you would being. Please take a seat while I call him, Doctor Hale."

    It was the first time someone had referred to her as Dr. Hale since her graduation. Her stomach was filled with butterflies. She had earned her title; she shouldn''t be this excited about someone using it.

    Dr. Butler was the director of DOMA and had dealt with Aaron''s donation directly. Keeley really hoped he could be discreet about it. He greeted her warmly when he came through one of the side doors.

    "We''re so d to have you on board, Doctor Hale. Please follow me," he said as he shook her hand. At least he seemed friendly.

    He led her to his office and gestured for her to sit down. He went over basic weing procedure, such as telling her what she needed to do to get her ID badge. So far it seemed pretty painless.

    Then he pulled out the big guns. Dr. Butler folded his hands together on top of the desk and smiled widely.

    "Thanks to your husband''s generous donation, we have more than enough funds avable to take care of your research materials. I read part of your dissertation. I believe you were ready to move up to rabbits?"

    Keeley nodded and he continued. "I''ve already submitted a request for rabbits that have been gically modified to have cystic fibrosis. They''ll arrive in a week or two. In the meantime, everything else you need to get started is already here. I assume you have a copy of your dissertation with you?"

    "Yes, like you requested. I''ll be able to use it to replicate the method I used on the mutated CTFR gene before," she replied.

    "Excellent. I''m certain you''ll be an asset to our team, Doctor Hale."

    An asset to the team indeed. If her research managed to get somewhere, the name of theb it was aplished it would surely be mentioned in any media coverage. Donations would increase exponentially.

    Dr. Butler led her out of the office and showed her where the break room, lockers, andbs were. There were five total in the building. She would be sharing a space with two other scientists working on different projects and their small research teams.

    She had to admit she was a bit nervous being put in charge of other people. Dr. Butler had assured her that theb assistants she had been assigned were among the best DOMA had to offer.

    Keeley wasn''t worried about theirpetency; she was worried because she had never had any subordinates in either of her lives. Even though she worked at Ace Burger for so long in her first life she never got promoted to a supervisory position. She wasn''t sure how to manage people.

    It might be helpful to talk to Aaron about how to be in charge effectively. Despite the awe and fear that most of his underlings seemed to have for him, she knew he was a good boss who looked out for his people.

 Chapter 372: Worst Case Scenario

    <h4>Chapter 372: Worst Case Scenario</h4>

    When Dr. Butler led Keeley into herb, everyone stopped and stared.

    "Listen up, everyone! This is Doctor Keeley Hale and she''s going to be conducting her cystic fibrosis research here from now on. I want all of you to be weing and answer any questions she might have about how things work at DOMA," he said strictly.

    She winced internally. Great. The way he had worded things totally made her seem like a VIP rather than a coworker.

    Still, she managed to paste on a smile and wave. "Nice to meet you all. I look forward to working with you."

    She received a bunch of murmured hellos in return. Dr. Butler disregarded this and pulled two of the people who had been loitering about in the room aside after barking orders at them toe over.

    Turned out money could buy friendliness. She should have known. Exactly how much did Aaron give this guy for her to receive such special treatment? Honestly, she was afraid to ask.

    "Doctor Hale, these two will be your research assistants. I assure you, they have both been with us for years and are quite experienced," Dr. Butler said warmly. Then he changed his attitude instantly when he turned on them. "What are you standing there for? Introduce yourselves!"

    Her assistants were a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties and a man who might have been in his early thirties. The woman introduced herself hesitantly as Kate Anderson but the man simply stared at her.

    "Keeley Hall?" he asked incredulously.

    She furrowed her brow in confusion. "That was my maiden name. Do I know you?"

    "You probably wouldn''t remember me but I was one of the TAs for Dr. rent''s introductory gics ss about ten years ago. I graded a lot of your homework." He came to his senses and held out his hand to shake. "My name is Shawn Daniels."

    Honestly, Keeley didn''t remember this guy at all. There had been so many TAs in so many different sses¡­She took introductory gics back in 2007. It was crazy that he knew who she was.

    "Good to see you again," she said anyway. It was the polite thing to do.

    Dr. Butler seemed pleased that they already knew each other. "I''ll leave the three of you to get better acquainted and begin nning how to restart your research. Come by my office during lunch to get your ID badge."

    They all nodded as he left and the silence was a bit awkward for a moment. Shawn broke the silence.

    "Wow, Keeley Hall. I can''t believe how the tables have turned. I used to be your TA and now you''re my supervisor. What have you been up to thest ten years?"

    "Well, I finished my undergrad, got married, got my PhD, and had twins. They''re three now." That was the very, very condensed version of what happened. "What about you?"

    He shrugged. "I didn''t want to bother with a master''s degree so I started out working in a pharmaceuticalb. I was there for a couple of years before I got a better offer here. I''m married too and have a six-year-old son."

    Kate finally cut into the conversation. "Yourst name is Hale¡­you aren''t Aaron Hale''s wife by any chance, are you?"

    Keeley sighed. Just her luck that people would still remember her name. That news had blown over years ago; why did it still asionally get brought up?

    She supposed it was probably because Aaron''s expansion ns had been going so welltely. He had been featured in a financial magazine about a month ago. He talked entirely about business but the article still briefly mentioned his wife and children.

    "I am."

    The other woman scowled. "I was wondering why you came out of nowhere. We don''t get new research projects started very often. How much did he pay to get you epted here?"

    "Kate," Shawn said warningly.

    "What?" she snapped. "You know it''s true. I liked the other research team I was on. Nobody asked me if I wanted to be transferred to someone who bought her way in."

    The worst case scenario that Keeley had imagined while wondering how today would go was happening before her very eyes. Fantastic.

    It wasn''t like she had anything to defend herself with anyway. She had bought her way in. Well, Aaron had done it for her. There wasn''t any other way she would be able to continue her research in New York City.

    This was a big part of why she had originally nned to reject his offer to fund her research. When she got pregnant with the twins and had to stay in New York to raise them with their father there was no other choice.

    She needed to stand her ground or this woman would never respect her. She cleared her throat, getting the attention of both of her new research assistants, and began to speak.

    "My brother had cystic fibrosis so I care very deeply about finding a cure. My research with mice was viable so yes, my husband did fund it so I could keep it going and find a cure sooner than I would have otherwise. I don''t see how this is a problem if more people are able to be helped earlier than they normally would have."

    Kate frowned, unable to retort. Keeley had a valid point. It looked like she won this round.

    "So," she said sweetly. "Let''s get started."

    The next hour was spent going over the method section of her dissertation where all the information about how she had conducted the gene therapy was written. Neither of her assistants had conducted gene therapy before but they knew the theory.

    Kate was sullen but at least she did what she was told. Keeley had to believe she would win her over eventually. Maybe she could bring some of those cookies she promised her kids she would make to work tomorrow. She wasn''t above bribery. After all, she had learned from the best when it came to that.

 Chapter 373: Mommy, I Missed You

    <h4>Chapter 373: Mommy, I Missed You</h4>

    By the end of the work day Keeley was exhausted. They had barely started anything since she could only work part-time due to her promise to the kids to always pick them up after school.

    She was only at theb for six hours instead of eight like everyone else. This was probably yet another thing Kate would hold against her. It was so exhausting dealing with people who don''t like you from the get go.

    She tried to push those thoughts out of her head by the time she arrived at the preschool. She needed to be ready to focus on her children and whatever they had to tell her about their first day of school.

    When she arrived at the ssroom door, Violet spotted her first and flew into her mother''s arms. "Mommy, I missed you!"

    Keeley held her sweet daughter tightly. She had missed Violet too. Being apart from her kids was harder than she thought it would be. They had hardly been separated ever since the twins were born.

    "I missed you too, baby. Did you have a good day? Where''s your brother?"

    "He''s still ying with his new friend," she said a bit sullenly.

    "Kaleb, your mother is here!" the teacher called to the back of the room.

    Kaleb was sitting on the ground building a block tower with another boy. He hadn''t even noticed his mother arrive but once he did he ran up to hug her just like Violet, chatting excitedly.

    "Mommy, we yed blocks and learned a new song and got to ride bikes! I like preschool!"

    "I don''t like it. I want to stay with Mommy," Violet said mutinously.

    "Well, Mommy''s here now," Keeley said lightly to diffuse the situation. "Come on, let''s go home and make those cookies."

    Kaleb continued going on about what an awesome day he had on the ride home while Violet sulked. She really hoped it wouldn''t stay this difficult getting her to go to school for long. She had heard that a lot of kids struggled at first because they were too used to being with their moms all day.

    At least Violet had Kaleb. Based on her reaction today though she was jealous that he had left her to y with other kids. Keeley really wished she would branch out and try to find some friends of her own. What was she going to do when she got too old for her mother to set up y dates for her?

    Aaron had thought she would be more like Keeley as she got older but she was definitely more simr to her father. She didn''t rte well with others¡ªapparently that was a gic thing, not just the product of his terrible childhood¡ªand clung to the handful of people she did like.

    Violet was quiet, intelligent, and contemtive. She already knew how to read at age three and had begun taking piano lessons after insisting she wanted to be able to y like Daddy.

    He didn''t y the piano often but a few months ago the Hales had walked by one inside a furniture store and decided to sit down and y a tune. Violet had been enthralled.

    She was a good kid but she was a lot more shy than Keeley had been at that age so she wasn''t entirely sure how to help her daughter make friends. She was more like Kaleb, making friends wherever she went when she was younger.

    Violet was still feeling insecure from being at preschool so she insisted her mother carry her into the apartment building. She loved being held but it got harder for Keeley to manage the heavier she got. It was a long elevator ride up to the penthouse for her poor arms.

    When they finally got inside, she set Violet down and the little girl went racing off in search of the cats. Kaleb did too. They loved Molly and Dinah a lot more than the cats loved them back. They were still wary about all of the idental animal abuse that happened when the twins were younger even though the kids had finally learned to ''be soft with the kitties.''

    Keeley and Aaron had told them a million times but toddlers just can''t process things like that sometimes. The poor cats had probably been scarred for life.

    As the kids chased after their prey, she got to work getting out cookie ingredients. As they mixed together on their own, she wondered how she ever used to bake without a KitchenAid. It made things ten times easier.

    Since Aaron was a bit overbearing about Keeley not wearing herself out unnecessarily, they had a ridiculous amount of fancy cooking gadgets specifically used to shorten the amount of time it took to make things. The kitchen wasrge enough that there was room for all of them but sometimes she had tough in disbelief at how many there were.

    She smiled at the reminder of her husband''s thoughtfulness. She was a lucky woman.

    But she had to admit, she dreaded telling Aaron about her day at work when he inevitably asked. He would probably freak out and demand Kate be fired. You can''t fire someone for not liking their boss as long as the work is still getting done.

    Besides, it had only been a day. Kate might change her mind once she got to know Keeley better. She considered herself a fairly likable person.

    "Violet, do you want toe help me pour in the chocte chips?" she called once the rest of the dough had formed.

    It was better to save the easy tasks for her rather than letting her make a giant mess with the flour. Keeley had learned her lesson about that earlier this year.

    "Coming, Mommy!" Violet yelled back, slightly out of breath. "I wanna do it!"

    She handed her daughter the bag of chocte chips. The recipe called for one cup and the two-cups-worth bag was half used so she let Violet dump the entire thing in. The little girl watched in awe as the KitchenAid swirled the chocte chips around and around until they were thoroughly blended into the dough.

    Keeley also let Violet help a little bit with the cookie scoop. Those little hands weren''t quite strong enough to grip it properly so they did it together.

    "I like cookies. I don''t like preschool," she said sadly before clinging to her mother''s leg. "I want Mommy all the time."

    She stroked her daughter''s hair. "I know, sweetie. Mommy wants you all the time too. But I have to go to work so I can help people like Uncle Kaleb."

    The kids didn''t know much about their uncle, only that he was very sick and died before they were born. Violet had cried when she first heard it because she thought it meant her Kaleb was very sick and was going to die too. It took a lot of reassuring that her twin was fine for her to calm down.

    "Do you miss Uncle Kaleb?" Violet asked innocently.

    "All the time," she said a bit wistfully. "He was my best friend, just like Kaleb is yours."

    As her son grew, he looked and acted even more like her brother. Some days the memories wouldn''t stop.

    "I thought Daddy was your best friend."

    Keeley chuckled. "He is. But I didn''t meet Daddy until after Uncle Kaleb died."

    "Oh." Violet immediately changed the subject. "Can I have four cookies?"

    Ah, this kid! She loved her mother''s baked goods nearly as much as her father did. "Let''s start with one."

 Chapter 374: Rough Day?

    <h4>Chapter 374: Rough Day?</h4>

    By the time Aaron got home, Keeley was emotionally worn out from both her colleague''s rejection and how needy Violet was being after getting home from preschool. The second he came upstairs, she wrapped her arms around him and refused to let go for a solid three minutes. Soaking his love and affection into the very core of her being helped recharge her a little.

    "Rough day?" he asked sympathetically.

    "Don''t get me started."

    Aaron''s arms tightened around her and he kissed the top of her head. "I expect the full storyter."

    "Daddy, Daddy, guess what I did at preschool today!" Kaleb yelled excitedly as he circled around his parents.

    He finally released her to pick up his son and briefly toss him in the air, making himugh. "What?"

    Kalebunched into the same spiel he had given Keeley earlier in the car and Aaron listened intently with a soft smile on his face. He was so good with the kids. She fell in love with him a little more every time she saw him interact with them.

    Violet came out from the behind the couch where she had finally cornered Dinah and tugged on Aaron''s pant leg to tell him all the things she didn''t like about preschool. He picked her up too and she snuggled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

    "I don''t wanna go back, Daddy. I wanna go to work with Mommy."

    "You can''t go to work with Mommy because it''s dangerous for little kids. But if you''re really good and don''t cry about going to preschool for the rest of the week I''ll let youe to work with me on Monday, okay?" Aaron offered.

    Violet''s eyes shone with excitement. "Okay, Daddy! I''ll be good!"

    Crisis averted. Sometimes Keeley marveled at how good with kids he was considering he had no prior experience before the twins were born and didn''t have good examples growing up to boot. He was a pro.

    When he set the kids down to go change out of his suit, Violet ran off to get him a cookie even though dinner was nearly ready.

    "I helped," she informed him as she handed him the cookie.

    Aaron reached out to ruffle her hair. "You''re such a good helper! Thank you, Vi."

    The little girl beamed at him and climbed up onto the kitchen chair right next to his. Keeley had to call for Kaleb three times before he made it to the table. She served up the pasta for everyone but made sure the kids were wearing bibs before she let them eat. They might be out of highchairs but they were still pretty messy.

    The kids yed with their dad for an hour and half after dinner before it was bath time. They liked taking baths but hated what came afterwards. The dreaded bedtime. Robert had been right; bedtime was the worst time of the day at this age. Neither of them ever wanted to sleep!

    Three bedtime stories, two lubies, and a bit of cryingter the kids were asleep in their rooms and Keeley copsed onto the couch,pletely spent. Aaron joined her and she cuddled up to him immediately.

    "Want to tell me what actually happened today now?" he asked gently.

    "It was awful," she admitted. "Everybody knew I was there because I bought my way in and one of my research assistants used me of that to my face. At least the other one seemed nice. Get this¡ªhe was my TA about ten years ago and he actually remembered me. I didn''t recognize him at all."

    Her husband frowned and she knew where his thoughts were heading immediately. "Don''t worry; he''s married with a kid. I''m just surprised he remembered since I didn''t. You meet a lot of people in college; it''s impossible to remember them all."

    "Who was it that gave you a hard time?"

    Keeley recognized that tone. It was ''I''ll destroy the whole world if it would make my wife happy'' tone.

    "Actually, I don''t think I should tell you. She shouldn''t be fired simply for not liking me. That''s childish."

    Aaron scowled. "Still, somebody ought to teach her a lesson. You worked hard for your degree. You have as much of a right to be there as anybody else."

    His words made her feel validated. She had worked hard for her degree, dang it! She had pulled countless all-nighters, had no free time, and even managed to finish her dissertation while heavily pregnant. She was every bit as much a scientist as the other DOMA researchers.

    Part of the reason she was so discouraged was that being a stay-at-home mom had severely limited her socialwork. When the twins were infants she didn''t see anybody outside of her and Aaron''s small circle of friends.

    As they got a little older she could chat with some of the other moms at the yground or Kaleb''s little league ser sses but it still wasn''t much. One of the things she had been looking forward to most about going back to work was making new friends. If things kept going this way, that dream would be crushed.

    "I know that but it''s hard feeling like an outsider," Keeley admitted. "I''m going to try and bribe her with cookies tomorrow."

    Aaronughed. "Taking a page out of my book, huh? Well, it works on the most stubborn of people over time. It worked on you after all."

    She stuck her tongue out at him even though she had basically thought the same thing earlier. It had worked on her. He had slowly spoiled her until he wormed his way back into her hardened heart.

    As resistant as she had been, she was profoundly grateful now that he hadn''t given up on her. Rough day aside, Keeley loved the life she had now. She wouldn''t trade it for anything.

    She tilted her head up to kiss her husband''s jaw. "I love you, Aaron."

    He responded by giving her a long and passionate kiss on the lips. "I love you too. So much. Why don''t we go watch the first Star Wars movie? That ought to cheer you up."

    Though touched by his offer, she could think of something else that would cheer her up even more right now. "We can watch it tomorrow. Right now I want to go to bed early, if you know what I mean."

    Keeley shot him a wink as she got up from the couch and he followed after her eagerly. He definitely knew what that meant. That was an offer he could never refuse.

 Chapter 375: Office Politics

    <h4>Chapter 375: Office Politics</h4>

    The next morning when Keeley dropped her children off a preschool Kaleb was excited and Violet was reluctant but she didn''t fuss because of her father''s promise. That was one battle down for the day but the real one hadn''t even begun yet.

    Aaron was reluctant to part with some of the cookies but she managed to persuade him by promising to bake something elseter in the week. She had put some in two different stic baggies to give to her research assistants.

    When she arrived, the secretary and Dr. Butler greeted her more warmly than they did the other employees and she felt even more awkward than yesterday. Maybe she should ask them to stop the special treatment. It was only going to make Kate think worse of her.

    Keeley wasn''t used to this sort of environment in ab. She had always been friendly with her coworkers before. She and Erica were pretty good friends even though they didn''t have much time to meet up since they had worked together for years in Dr. Kim''sb.

    Kate tly refused the cookies, saying they must have been store bought because all people like Keeley knew how to do was buy things. A tic burst on her forehead at that. This woman didn''t have any idea what she was talking about!

    She felt a slight surge of affection for Shawn, who epted them graciously and said he would take Kate''s portion to share with his familyter. His son loved chocte chip cookies.

    No matter what Keeley did, she could not get her female research assistant to so much as be polite to her for three days. It wasn''t until then that she found out why.

    Shawn''s wife worked nearby so they always took their lunch breaks together. Keeley found herself sitting alone and desperately texting her husband, Jennica, Valentina, her father¡­anyone who would respond so she didn''t feel so stupid sitting by herself every day.

    On this particr day, another scientist leading a small research team in anotherb decided to sit with her.

    "You must be new; I haven''t seen you around before this week," he said with a smile. "I''m Mason Graham. I''m researching a new type of blood test to find specific autoimmune disorders."

    She was relieved that someone here didn''t seem to know she had gotten in through shady means and held her hand out for a shake. "Keeley Hale; I''m researching using gene therapy to cure cystic fibrosis."

    "Gene therapy, huh? Only the bravest scientists dare to try that since it''s so controversial. Is that what you wrote your dissertation on? I heard Dr. Butler was bringing in rabbits for somebody using gene therapy so you must have already done mice."

    This man was a sharp one. He managed to guess that so easily.

    "It is, yes. I haven''t been able to go further for a while because my children needed me at home," she exined. "I''m looking forward to diving back in. I love researching even though it can be tedious."

    Mason cracked a smile. "Tedious is a great way to describe it. But I love it too. It''s in my blood; both of my parents were college professors. I decided I preferred being in theb to teaching though."

    Keeley was the same way. She had only nned to be a professor at first because she thought it was the only way she would be able to choose what to research. She had never been a fan of the days she had been forced to teach the lesson as a TA.

    Jumping straight into research without having to be a professor wouldn''t have been possible without Aaron. She was grateful for that, even if it meant she had to deal with judgmental people like Kate.

    "I prefer theb too. I feel like I practically lived there during my PhD. I''ve missed that while taking care of my kids. Of course, now that I''m here I miss them too. My daughter has been a bit fussy about going to preschool since she''s used to having me around all the time."

    Was she rambling? A little. But she was so excited at meeting someone new and non-hostile that her natural chatterbox tendencies wereing out.

    As she talked, she felt a familiar chill aimed her way. It wasn''t quite as intense, but this was definitely the sort of ice Aaron used to give off when he was angry. Nobody could be as intense as he was though.

    Turning her head to see who it was she wasn''t terribly surprised to find Kate staring daggers in her direction. A puzzle piece clicked into ce. Maybe she didn''t hate Keeley for no reason.

    Kate had been transferred over from another research team she liked better¡­was it Mason''s? Keeley eyed him appraisingly as he asked generic small talk questions about her children, since she brought them up.

    Mason appeared to be in his early to mid-thirties, had a slightly receding hairline but still an impressive amount of dark brown hair, and wasn''t wearing a wedding ring. Her husband was infinitely more handsome but she supposed he could be considered good looking.

    If Kate liked him and had been transferred away because of Keeley, she could understand why she was being so resentful. Dr. Butler seemed about ready to lick her shoes if she asked. It might be possible to ask him to transfer her back.

    She would much prefer having someone on her team who wasn''t deeply resentful of her. But how could she bring this up in a way that wouldn''t backfire and get Kate in trouble?

    Asking her husband for a second opinion when she saw him tonight might be a good idea. Aaron didn''t have the best interpersonal skills when it came to friendships but he knew how to manage office politics better than anyone else she had ever met.

    Feeling reassured that the problem could be solved, Keeley talked freely about her children. They were afortable topic for her since she spent so much time with them the past few years.

    "You said they''re both in preschool. Are they twins or just close in age?" Mason asked.

    "They''re twins. Kaleb is very outgoing and love all things to do with sports even though he''s too young to be signed up for most of them. He was very good at the toddler-aged ser ss we signed him up for. Violet is more on the shy side. Honestly, she reminds me more of her father every day."

    "Your husband is shy then?"

    Shy didn''t seem like the right word to describe Aaron since he always seemed so aloof and above everyone to other people. But after seeing how simr Violet was to him Keeley had to admit that he probably was shy. He simply hid it well.

    Keeley smiled. "Only a little bit. He isn''t like that around me."

 Chapter 376: Different Kinds Of Love

    <h4>Chapter 376: Different Kinds Of Love</h4>

    "How do you tell your boss about someone without making it seem like you''re tattling so they won''t get in trouble?" Keeley asked without preamble as soon as Aaron arrived home.

    She blinked up at him expectantly as her arms were around his waist. He chuckled slightly and kissed her forehead.

    "That''s the first thing you have to say after not seeing me all day? You didn''t even text me at lunchtime."

    "Sorry, somebody sat by me and struck up a conversation. They helped me realize what the problem with my research assistant is."

    The kids were ying upstairs in Kaleb''s room so Keeley was able to exin things to him as she worked on dinner. Once she was done, she waited patiently for him to process what she said and offer some advice.

    Aaron thought about it a moment. She couldn''t help but notice how he looked especially handsome when he was concentrating. No wonder so many women preferred reliable, hard-working men.

    "This one is a bit tricky. If you don''t word things exactly right, your boss will think you''re trying to get rid of her because you aren''t satisfied with her work. That could get her in trouble and she would resent you even more."

    "I know," Keeley sighed. "That''s why I''m asking an expert."

    He smiled at thepliment and ced aforting hand on her shoulder. "It''s simple, really. Dr. Butler will do anything you ask. All you have to do is find another research assistant to rece her from the outside and then request she be sent back to where she was before."

    Keeley thought about it. It was brilliant and straightforward. She wouldn''t need to say a word about Kate''s attitude or performance if she wanted to bring in someone familiar that she had worked with before. She had just the person in mind, too.

    Erica recently finished some post doc work and had such a hard time finding a job that she was currently working in a vastly underpaid blood technician job at a hospital. She would be happy to get a raise and work in a prestigiousboratory.

    They had worked together before, though it might be a bit strange to suddenly be a rank above her friend. It wasn''t toote in the day to text her.

    ''If I happened to have a possible job as a research assistant for you, would you be interested?''

    She replied immediately. ''Are you kidding me? You better not be joking right now. Anything would be better than this. I didn''t spend eight years of my life in school to be handling blood samples all day''

    ''Awesome. I''ll get back to you tomorrow after I talk to my boss'' Erica simply sent a thumbs up emoji in response.

    Keeley grinned up at her husband. "You may have just solved the problem for me."

    "Does that mean I can get a kiss as a reward?"

    She rolled her eyes but obliged. He was so shameless sometimes but she secretly loved it.

    The twins came downstairs in the middle of their make out session in the kitchen. They appeared curious rather than horrified. Keeley and Aaron normally only did quick pecks in front of the kids.

    "What are you doing?"

    They jumped apart immediately at Kaleb''s question. Keeley''s face was bright red from being caught but Aaron was cool as a cucumber. He stood beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

    "Kissing. It''s what mommies and daddies do to show they love each other."

    "You love Mommy a whole lot, right Daddy?" he asked innocently.

    "Yep. I love Mommy the most."

    Violet pouted. "What about me?"

    Aaron immediately bent down to pick up both of them. "I love all of you the most. But it''s a little different because Mommy is my wife and you two are my kids."

    "What''s a wife?" Kaleb asked.

    Keeley was barely managing to keep it together. They were so young and already asking these kinds of questions! She really wanted tough. Aaron had to answer since she was sure if she spoke she would lose herposurepletely.

    "Well, there are different kinds of love. I love you two because we''re family. But if you really love someone who isn''t your family, you can marry them and they be your family too. If you marry a woman, she''s your wife. If you marry a man, he''s your husband."

    "So you''re Mommy''s husband," Kaleb concluded.

    Violet''s eyes lit up with understanding. "I wanna marry Noah!"

    That was the final straw. Keeley broke into giggles. Her innocent statement was too cute! She would have to tell Jennicater.

    "Mommy, why are youughing?"

    She patted her daughter''s head. "Because you''re cute and it makes me happy."

    Violet beamed. "I''m cute! Be happy, Mommy!"

    "Am I cute too?" Kaleb asked, feeling a bit left out.

    "Of course you are. I have the cutest kids in the whole world," Keeley said before kissing the top of his head.

    Both children were appeased and scrambled to get down and make their dade y with them. She was able to finish dinner in peace though she was still internallyughing at the conversation that just went down. Her kids really were too cute.

    ===

    Keeley stood as confidently as she could in front of Dr. Butler after presenting her proposal. She stated it in a way that made it seem like she was doing her friend a favor and that it would help her research flow more smoothly since she had worked with Erica before.

    Dr. Butler seemed eager to do whatever she wanted but he had a frown on his face. "I would love to help you, Doctor Hale, but three research assistants at a time is a bit much for your type of research."

    She shrugged as nonchntly as she could though this was exactly what she wanted to hear.

    "I was talking to Doctor Graham yesterday. I think he could use some more help with his research. Didn''t Kate used to work on his team? She could go back to the way things were."

    He bought her excuse hook, line, and sinker. Excellent. Keeley left the office with a promise to bring Erica in on Monday. Now all she had to do was tell Kate the good news. The next few days should be smooth sailing since she was getting what she wanted.

 Chapter 377: Yet Another Clown

    <h4>Chapter 377: Yet Another Clown</h4>

    When Monday rolled around, Aaron was a bit reluctant to keep his promise but Violet was so excited. He was apprehensive about how this would work out. He had never purposely brought a child to the office before.

    Keeley had visited with them a few times when they were still content to sit in a stroller but now she was older and had such a short attention span. How was he supposed to get anything done while still keeping her entertained?

    But he couldn''t say no now. She woke him up at the crack of dawn by jumping on the bed, babbling on about how Daddy was going to take her to work today. He wasn''t like his father; he kept his promises to his children.

    He walked through the door from the parking garage at Hale Investments holding Violet''s hand and got a lot of very strange looks from other employees. ''What on earth was the boss doing with a little kid?'' seemed to be stamped across their foreheads. He wanted to tell everyone to mind their own business.

    "Mr. Hale, don''t forget about the shareholders meeting today," the secretary called as he passed.

    Great. He hadpletely forgotten. The materials were already prepared but he wouldn''t be able to conduct the meeting with Violet present. He doubted she would want to leave his side either. Maybe she could be convinced to go with Cameron or Aiden since she knew them.

    "Thank you, Cheryl," Aaron said simply, not letting on that he had actually forgotten.

    Violet was enthralled by everything she was seeing since it was all so big and new. It had been so long since she had been here that she couldn''t remember it.

    When they made it up to Aaron''s office, Violet happily pulled some toys out of her backpack and yed by herself on the couch. It seemed that his concerns about keeping her entertained were unnecessary.

    They both did their own thing rtively quietly (though Violet did talk to herself every so often) for a couple hours until Aiden came barging in.

    "Boss man! I heard a rumor that you brought a kid to work today and wanted to see which one for myself. Hi Violet!"

    "Hi Aiden," she said shyly with a small wave. He had been at their house enough times that she recognized him.

    "Is that really all you came for?" Aaron asked suspiciously.

    Aiden was notorious for wasting time but he usually had something useful to say when he came to visit. Especially now that he was the head of the cybersecurity department and had people to oversee. His visits had be much less frequent over the past few years.

    "You got me," he sighed. "I actually wanted to ask for some time off. Nova is graduating from college and I want to go to her graduation."

    She ended up taking a bit longer than expected because of some scheduling issues with certain sses she needed, ording to Aiden. Aaron understood why he wanted to be there for such a special asion. Over time it had be more obvious that he was truly in love with his online girlfriend.

    "You realize you could have gone straight to the HR department to request time off."

    Aiden shrugged. "But why would I do that when I could ask you?"

    Aaron conceded his point. This kid couldn''t be reasoned with. Although he supposed he wasn''t much of a kid anymore. Aiden recently had his twenty-fifth birthday.

    He ended up having a huge birthday dinner with most of his family and friends, consisting of about eighteen people including the Hales and Singletons. It had been fairly torturous but Keeley said they had to go to support their friend.

    Even David, the man who once saved Keeley''s hard drive, had been there. He had been surprised to see them there with two toddlers, to say the least. Aaron couldn''t deny he felt a bit smug showing off that he got his girl in the end.

    "How much time do you need?" he sighed.

    "A week. The graduation is on a Friday but I want to spend a little time with her too. It''s not until December but I wanted to ask far enough in advance because I know the holidays can get busy."

    Aaron raised an eyebrow. "You''re going to spend Christmas there? Most semesters don''t end until the week before."

    Aiden nodded. "Yeah. She really wants me to so I felt like I couldn''t say no. I can fly back on the 26th and be back to work on the 27th."

    "That''s fine. Are you finally going to propose to her or not?"

    He recalled a conversation they had at Cameron''s wedding. Aiden hadn''t been sure whether or not he wanted to ask Nova to uproot her life for him back then. But over the past two years he had used all of his avable time off to visit her and she had visited him a couple of times as well.

    Since Aiden was a department head and Nova had someputer experience herself, he ended up bringing her to work with him when she visited so they could spend more time together. One summer she actually got a temporary job in the cybersecurity department as a consultant because she spent her entire summer break in New York crashing at Aiden''s ce.

    It was fairly obvious neither of them were content with the way their rtionship was now. Nova making the move to New York was the obvious choice.

    Aiden flushed slightly. Aaron didn''t think he even could get embarrassed about something like that. The only other time he had seen him blush was when he had to dress up as Bethany Carlisle.

    "I''m nning to do it on Christmas Day so she won''t expect it. The ring box will be wrapped like any other present."

    A hint of a smile appeared on Aaron''s face. It was about time. Aiden was the only one of his friends who hadn''t tied the knot yet. Well, technically Kyle was still engaged but he would be marrying his fianc¨¦e on Valentine''s Day.

    With how smitten Nova seemed during the two months she hung around the office, Aaron knew it would happen sooner orter. He had no idea what she saw in Aiden but he imed they had simr senses of humor.

    The thought of yet another clown joining Aiden and Cameron''s little posse wasn''t the most pleasant one. He would likely have to endure a lot of teasing once Nova wasfortable around him. But the important thing was for his friend to be happy and Nova definitely did that.

 Chapter 378: Too Quiet

    <h4>Chapter 378: Too Quiet</h4>

    "Are you nning on taking Violet to the meeting?" Aiden asked, changing the subject.

    "Truthfully, I was hoping you or Cameron would be willing to take her," Aaron admitted.

    Violet looked up in rm once she realized they were talking about her. "No! I wanna go with Daddy! I''ll be good. Shhhh."

    She put her fingers to her lips indicating she would be quiet and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. He couldn''t resist that face¡ªit was his weakness. Running a hand down his face in exasperation, he looked at his daughter seriously.

    "Okay but you have to promise me you''ll stay quiet. If you aren''t, I''ll send you to Cameron''s office."

    She nodded eagerly. "Okay!"

    Aiden raised an eyebrow, questioning Aaron''s judgment, but didn''t say anything since Violet was still within earshot. He turned to go and whistled on his way out, strolling leisurely with his hands in his pockets.

    Aaron checked his watch. The meeting was set to start in fifteen minutes. They should probably head down to the conference room now.

    He helped Violet pack up all of her toys in her backpack and then she demanded to be picked up by reaching up for him with her fingers spread wide. That was how the CEO of Hale Investments ended up striding through the building with a little girl supported by one hand while the other held a My Little Pony backpack.

    It was entirely obvious that people would beughing at him if they weren''t so afraid. He wasn''t the biggest fan of people being terrified of him but at the same time it came in handy. People were less inclined to give him a hard time about things if they were too nervous to speak in his presence.

    Cameron and Aiden were the only people in this office who werefortable enough to tease him, though sometimes he wondered if Roger and Kyle were getting there. Since Alice and Roger got married a year ago Aaron had seen quite a lot of them.

    The board had changed slightly since his takeover. Not only were his dummy shareholders gone, but Samuel had sold his shares six monthster. Apparently he was ashamed of ever working with Alistair, especially as gossip about him got worse because of Gray''s illegitimate child reveal.

    Two different people had bought them up; a woman in her fifties named Sylvia Harris and a man in his forties named Rowan Pierce. They were both rtively easy to work with since they understood that Aaron had vision for thispany that would take it to new heights.

    Honestly, things had been a bit too easy at work the past few years since he had the benefit of information from his previous life. The cybersecurity department had been one new challenge and he was still considering other ways to branch out.

    Sometimes he wondered if he should start an entirely newboratory for Keeley to run but she would probably hate that. She preferred blending in and wasn''t the type to enjoy administrative duties. She wanted to be getting her gloves dirty in theb.

    Aaron was so wrapped up in his thoughts as he walked into the boardroom that he didn''t even register the fact that there was an extra person sitting at the conference table. He began his opening remarks none the wiser.

    "Good morning everyone, today I happen to have my daughter with me. She''s very well-behaved but if she bes a distraction we made a deal for her to go up to the vice president''s office."

    He sat down in his usual chair at the head of the table with Violet in hisp, swiveling her head around in awed silence. A secretary handed him hisptop, which he hadn''t been able to carry because of the little girl in his arms, and he opened it to set up the projector as people whispered among themselves.

    Annoyed, Aaron nced up to see what they were whispering about. He froze in shock when he saw a horribly familiar face sitting in the seat he used to use when he was vice president.

    What on earth was Alistair Hale thinking by showing his face for the first time in over three years? And why did it have to be today of all days? He was definitely here to pick a fight and Aaron didn''t want Violet to see that.

    The children weren''t old enough to question why they only had one grandpa yet. Aaron knew he would have to tell them he was estranged from his parents eventually but he didn''t want it to be this soon when they were too young to understand it.

    Aaron couldn''t even drive him out. He was still a shareholder; he had the right to be here. It had been na?ve of him to assume that Alistair would stay away forever. He had a vested interest in thepany.

    His being here couldn''t mean anything good. Aaron was positive he was only here to cause trouble.

    "Your daughter is adorable. She looks just like you," Carolmented, breaking him out of his stupor.

    "She does look like me but she has her mother''s smile," he replied.

    Having expected his daughter to look like her mother before she was born, Aaron was grateful they shared that trait. Keeley''s smile had been melting his heart since he was seventeen years old. But even if they didn''t, he would still think Violet was the most perfect little girl in the whole world.

    Violet recognized the word ''adorable'' since Keeley called her that all the time and she beamed at thepliment. The entire table of shareholders collectively smiled at the cuteness with the exception of Alistair. He remained stone cold at the sight of his granddaughter.

    Honestly, Aaron was surprised he hadn''t tried to pick a fight yet. It would probably happenter behind closed doors. The old man still had his pride.

    He dreaded the confrontation. Things had been too quiet the past few years and he had gottencent. How could he have been stupid enough to believe his parents would leave him alone forever?

 Chapter 379: The Scary Man

    <h4>Chapter 379: The Scary Man</h4>

    Using the charts and graphs from the monthly data that he had prepared ahead of time, Aaron began conducting the meeting as Violet happily remained in hisp while holding her pink stuffed rabbit. As he went, Alistair''s demeanor grew ever more cial. Some of the shareholders began rubbing their arms to ward off the chill.

    Even Violet felt it. She squirmed ufortably, squeezing her rabbit even tighter. Eventually she turned around and buried her face in Aaron''s chest, clutching part of his shirt in her tiny fist.

    He was so angry that his father had scared her that he unintentionally let off an ice storm of his own. By this point everyone in the room was trying to stop their teeth from chattering.

    "Daddy," Violet whimpered.

    Hearing her voice immediately calmed him down. All of his ice evaporated so the room was only half as cold. Aaron made it through the rest of the meeting like that and everyone scurried away the second it was over except thest person he wanted to see.

    "Come on, Vi, we''re leaving," he said stiffly.

    She had already hopped off of hisp and put on her backpack. She held out her little hand to him, more than ready to leave the scary room.

    "Bringing a child to a board meeting was incredibly unprofessional of you," Alistair said frostily. "What is this, a yground?"

    "What do you want?" he shot back tly. "I don''t have time for the likes of you."

    "Yet you have time to gallivant around entertaining a toddler."

    Aaron could feel his temper building. "Yes I do. I, unlike you, am a half-decent father who makes time for his children. And I''ll have you know, Violet hasn''t hindered my workday in the slightest."

    Alistair narrowed his eyes. "So her name is Violet. Carol was right; she does look like you."

    Resentment rolled off of him in waves. He already didn''t like Violet''s mother but now he was even more prejudiced against her because she looked exactly like his rebellious son.

    She hid behind her father''s leg and hugged it. "I don''t like the scary man," she whispered.

    ''He doesn''t like you either,'' Aaron thought bitterly. If Alistair dared say one negative word about Violet in front of her, he would probably try to strangle him.

    "I asked you what you want. As you can see, I''m busy," he said in a hard voice.

    "I can''t see what my only son has done to mypany?" Alistair asked acidly.

    He was even more imposing than Aaron remembered him. Violet had never been exposed to someone with this kind of presence before. She was trembling with fear from the aura permeating the room.

    Aaron had been like that once too. It had taken him a long time to convince himself he wasn''t afraid of his father when he was her age. It was a lie. Little Aaron was always afraid. Why else would he do everything his parents said even when he didn''t want to?

    That horrifying level of coldness was something even a small child could sense. He had never wanted to be on the receiving end of his father''s ire so he tried his best to be a perfect child.

    His young mind''s logic was that if he was really, really good he might even get a hint of warmth from his father. That had never happened.

    He was self-aware enough to realize that he was a lot like his father. The thought horrified him so he had worked very hard to be the kind of parent he always wished he had. Aaron read every childcare book he couldy his hands on when Keeley was pregnant with the twins and had a lot of long talks with Robert about his parenting techniques.

    He was doing a fairly good job, all things considering. His children loved him and Keeley frequently praised him for being such a good dad. He couldn''t throw that away because his father was getting under his skin.

    "You''ve seen it. Stock prices are up, we''ve seen a boost in both customer numbers and customer satisfaction, and we''ve expanded to six different countries since you left. I''ve done more for Hale Investments than you ever did," Aaron said coolly. "Now if you''ll excuse me, I have work to do."

    "Aaron," Alistair said in such a frightening voice that Violet nearly jumped out of her skin. "No matter how much you''ve done for thepany, I will never acknowledge that woman or her children."

    He picked the shivering little girl up and held her close, trying to instill some warmth back into her. She curled up in a ball and buried her face in his neck. His eyes zed with fury.

    "What a coincidence. I don''t acknowledge you or your wife either. I have all the family I need."

    Aaron held his daughter even closer. He didn''t care about his parents'' approval anymore. He wasn''t the desperate child who craved the tiniest scrap of affection that he once was. Keeley had given him all the love he had ever wanted and more. So did their children.

    Alistair''s opinion meant less than nothing to him. He only cared about Violet not getting her feelings hurt. She had always been sensitive.

    "Come to next month''s meeting if you must. And any meetings after. I don''t care. Nothing you do has anything to do with me. But if you dare harass my family I will destroy youpletely. Good day, Alistair."

    Calling his father by his first name clearly drew the line between them. Aaron didn''t consider them rted anymore and Alistair knew it.

    He walked out of the board room with his head held high and called security as his father was still in earshot. "Please be sure to see Mr. Alistair Hale out; the meeting is over and he has no other business here today."

    "Yes, Mr. Hale," the head of security replied respectfully.

    Alistair finally lost it as the door to the board room swung shut. "Aaron Hale, you ungrateful brat, just you wait until I¡ª"

    He didn''t even hear the rest of the threat through the closed door. He didn''t care, either. There was nothing that man could do to him now. He had no power here. Aaron was the CEO; he was just a shareholder.

    Violet finally peeked out from where she was hiding in his neck when they were in the elevator. "Daddy, the scary man is mean. I don''t like him."

    "I don''t like him either, baby," he sighed.

    "Is that why you were scary too?"

    Of course she had picked up on that. At least she didn''t seem to be afraid of him now.

    "I''m sorry I scared you. Remember how Mommy taught you about different feelings? The scary man makes Daddy angry. But I''m okay now because I''ve got my favorite daughter right here," he said in a somewhat silly voice, making her giggle.

    "I love you, Daddy! You''re not as scary as him. You''re nice!"

    Aaron kissed the top of her head; grateful that she seemed to have moved passed the incident already. He had been slightly worried she would see him in a different light. He always tried very hard not to act like he did in the office around his family so she wasn''t used to his natural ice.

    "I love you too."

 Chapter 380: Halfway Across The World

    <h4>Chapter 380: Halfway Across The World</h4>

    Aiden sighed a bit ruefully after leaving his boss''s office. Aaron was one lucky dog. He got to have the woman he loved by his side all the time and he already had two beautiful children with her.

    It seemed like all he had done the past few years was wait. Then again, his friend had been forced to wait for his love too. Keeley hadn''t wanted anything to do with him for years. Honestly, Aiden didn''t think they would ever get married and yet here they were, blissfully in love so everyone around them felt single whether they actually were or not.

    He was happy for Aaron; he really was, especially after seeing the lengthy struggle he had to go through to get what he wanted in the end. But seeing him and Keeley together reminded him how far away Nova was.

    It hadn''t been like that at first. When they first met in a Final Fantasy XI server when he was sixteen thest thing he expected was to actually fall in love. Aiden had seen Nova''s character¡ª a pink-haired Mithra codenamed Supernova like an exploding star¡ªand had been impressed by her battle skills so he asked her to join his party.

    He hadn''t been ying the game for long at the time. Though he had been an avid gamer since he was a kid, he didn''t discover multiyer games until he was in high school. World of Warcraft had been his first MMORPG but after a while he wanted to branch out and try something else.

    One of his friends at school had rmended Final Fantasy XI so here he was. Despite ying for a month he had never managed to find a party that didn''t fall apart after a few side quests. Looking at Supernova''s stats, he had a feeling she was experiencing the same problem.

    Aiden shot her a message. ''Your skills are impressive. Want to team up?''

    Immediately she wanted to barter. ''What''s in it for me, fire boy?'' Aiden''s screen name was Qme rather than Anomaly because his ount was traceable and he didn''t want his hacker handle exposed. She was teasing him from the get go.

    He had a few items that were more beneficial to her job as a Warrior than his as a Red Mage. Offering them to her in exchange for her help wasn''t a hard decision.

    At first he thought their party would fall apart like all of the others but as time went on, other yers woulde and go but Supernova remained. After a few months Aiden proposed they get married in game so they could share items and boost each other''s XP points.

    She agreed easily enough but after their wedding she wanted to know more about him in real life. Normally they focused their chats on things relevant to the game so he was a bit surprised.

    ''Tell me ten things about yourself that are real'' Supernova requested. ''You can start with your name''

    Aiden wasn''t sure which information would be most relevant so he started with the basics. ''My name is Aiden and I''m sixteen years old. I live in one of the most famous cities in the world. My parents are divorced and I have a little sister named Sophie.''

    He was only halfway through the number of facts she had requested and he was already running out of ideas. He needed to get more creative.

    ''I''m really good withputers. I actually have a part-time job working remotely for this weird rich guy because of it. He already offered me a real job after I graduate from high school so I don''t have to go to college. I like animals but can''t have pets because my mom is allergic. Oh, and I''m American. What about you?''

    Supernova took several minutes to respond. ''I''m Nova. I live in Sweden with my parents, grandparents, and siblings. I''m the middle child out of three. I speak Swedish, English, and a little bit of Finnish. I''m fourteen and I want to be a graphic designer when I get older.

    ''I want a dog but my grandparents are allergic too. My favorite thing to do other than y video games is draw. I have a secret weakness for k?tbur; I think you would call them meatballs. And I am unusually short for my family. Everyone else is taller than me''

    Aiden had been floored to hear that she was from Sweden. With how well she spoke (or should he say typed) English he would have thought she was American. They ended up talking a lot more about their lives as they yed after that.

    Once theypleted the main storyline and countless side quests in Final Fantasy XI they decided to take a break from it but wanted to remain a team. They became friends on Facebook and ended up joining a bunch of different MMORPGs together. Whenever there was an option to get married, they did it.

    He tried to convince himself it was all for convenience. Aiden had a lot of online friends¡ªhe hadn''t even met his boss in person and they had been working together for a few years at this point¡ªso he didn''t realize he felt anything different for Nova.

    But there was one thing he did be aware of. The girl he had been crushing on from afar since he was in 8th grade asked him to help her with homework (he wasn''t sure why since his grades were mediocre at best) and he turned her down because he had promised to meet up with Nova in-game during that time.

    Aiden felt a bit funny about it afterwards once he realized the implications of what he had done. Why would he turn Jessica down? She was here; he could actually see her and touch her. The most he had ever seen of Nova was pictures she posted on Facebook.

    It bothered him for days until he realized that maybe, just maybe, he might have switched who he liked without even noticing. Nova crept up on him until he felt a noticeable difference on the days they didn''t talk.

    But she was halfway across the world. They would probably never even meet. It would be better to squash those feelings down.

    Aiden figured the best way to do that would be to go offline for a while. He ended up taking a break from all of the MMORPGs he was a part of and focused on old school single yer games for a few weeks. He needed to get her out of his head.

 Chapter 381: I Didnt Know What To Say

    <h4>Chapter 381: I Didn''t Know What To Say</h4>

    Aiden had tried his best to forget about Nova between his single yer games, uing exams, and spying on people for Aaron. But every time he checked up on Keeley, who his boss was obviously in love with, he felt a faint stirring of longing for the girl he had been ignoring.

    He was sure she had tried getting a hold of him through the game chats because she had switched over to messaging him on Facebook. Not knowing how to face her, he couldn''t respond even though she seemed worried. He had never been offline this long before and he always told her when he knew he wouldn''t be on for the day.

    Nova finally caught him one day when he was checking his email. A video call request from an unfamiliar email address popped up and he was so startled that he identally epted it.

    A beautiful blonde girl with devastatingly blue eyes immediately began cursing him out in anothernguage. At least, he assumed he was being cursed out because he caught the words ''Aiden Quinn'' thrown in there and her tone was angry.

    "How did you find my email address?" Aiden asked curiously. He had never given it to her.

    "It''s connected to your Facebook ount, you idiot," Nova sniffed. "Why haven''t you answered any of my messages? I''ve been worried sick."

    Yes, it was connected to his Facebook ount, but he had also set his privacy settings so it wouldn''t be visible. This could only mean one thing. Nova knew a thing or two about hacking as well.

    His attraction grew even stronger. She went to all the effort to track him down because she wanted to talk to him. But he tried brushing that off. He had been avoiding her for a reason.

    "I didn''t know what to say," Aiden answeredmely.

    Nova had always been easy to talk to but it was true that he didn''t have a clue what to say to her after he realized the scope of his stupid little crush. He didn''t want to like her; they would never work out. New York City was in his blood. He already had a job lined up here after graduation and he needed to help take care of his family.

    Aiden couldn''t leave and neither could she. She had a lot more school left than he did and even if that wasn''t a problem she was very attached to her family. They were in different worlds. It wasn''t meant to be so why continue talking when it would only hurt more as time went on?

    Nova clearly didn''t believe him. Her anger and annoyance were written all over her face.

    "I find that hard to believe considering how much you talk. You could have at least told me you wouldn''t be online. I thought something terrible might have happened to you!"

    He was startled when tears appeared in the corners of her eyes that she hastily brushed away. Was she really that worried about him going AWOL?

    Aiden tried to think about it from her perspective. If she had gone missing on him without a word he would have been worried too since they talked every day. He had definitely felt her absence in his life the past few weeks.

    She deserved to know the truth. He couldn''t beat around the bush forever. Knowing how he felt would probably make her even madder; it could help them make a clean break.

    "I''m sorry, Nova," he said with a sigh. "The truth is I didn''t know what to say to you because I realized I liked you. It''s never going to work out so I wanted to back away before I got more attached."

    Nova gaped at him for more than a minute. It was as if she had experienced a total system crash. When she finally spoke again, it was in a tone ofplete disbelief.

    "You like me? Really? Why didn''t you say anything sooner?! I''ve been agonizing over this ever since we got married in Final Fantasy!"

    Now it was Aiden''s turn to experience a total system crash. Since they got married in Final Fantasy? But that was nearly a year ago! Although¡­that had been when she first started asking personal questions.

    He poked his head out the door and yelled for Sophie. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

    "What?" she demanded. "I was doing homework."

    "Soph, I need to know. Do girls take things like in-game marriage proposals seriously?" he whispered.

    His sister rolled her eyes at him but answered back just as quietly. "Aiden, you''re so stupid. Of course they do. It''s a marriage proposal! Don''t tell me you proposed to a random girl without taking her feelings into consideration."

    "¡­I need to go. Thanks!"

    "Aiden, you seriously¡ª" Sophie hollered but he had already shut his door and locked it, cutting off whatever she was going to say.

    Sophie was a girl so she would know how girls think. If Nova had been wondering whether he liked her ever since then¡­did that mean she liked him too?

    Nova was scowling at him when he returned. "Where did you go?"

    "I had to ask my sister something."

    "It was important enough to interrupt our conversation?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

    He would say so. If they both liked each other thatplicated things even further. Both of them were still minors living in different countries. They wouldn''t even be able to visit each other.

    Even if his mom¡ªwho didn''t know what he got up to online¡ªpermitted it, the Quinns definitely couldn''t afford a trip to Sweden. It wasn''t like Aiden could ask Aaron for help either. He was already more indebted to the man than he could ever repay after all he did when Aiden''s dad left.

    She huffed. "So you were avoiding me because you like me. Now what? Are you going to go back to doing that as soon as this video call ends?"

    Somehow he didn''t think Nova would let him get away with that even if he wanted to. He needed to ask her straight out. At this point he wasn''t even sure what answer he wanted to hear.

    "Nova, do you like me too?"

    Her re intensified. "I would have thought that was obvious. Why else would I follow you to three other games and spend all of my free time talking to you?"

    Great. Just great. A beautiful, funny girl who was great at video games liked him and she was four thousand miles away. What was he supposed to do about that?

 Chapter 382: Torturously Slow

    <h4>Chapter 382: Torturously Slow</h4>

    They really couldn''t do anything about it, at least not until they were adults and Nova was done with college. She had already talked about how she was trying to get a schrship to a prestigious design school. That was so far away there wasn''t even a point in thinking about it.

    Aiden supposed for the time being they could simply continue as they always had since there was nothing else to be done. He told her so and she looked at him like he was stupid.

    "You really think I don''t know that? It''s why I never said anything until now. Liking you is pointless but I can''t exactly help my feelings. You''re the coolest guy I know, Aiden."

    He felt more than a little ttered to be described that way by the girl he liked. Most people thought he was a loser who didn''t try hard enough. The only reason he wasn''t aplete outcast at school was because he was considered the ss clown. Cool kids thought he was funny and would be friendly to him in the hallways.

    "What a coincidence. I think the same thing about you," he replied. He ced a hand on the back of his neck in embarrassment from saying that out loud.

    "Stop avoiding me then," Nova said as if it were the obvious thing to do.

    So he did. Their rtionship continued as usual after that. The only thing that changed was that instead of chatting in game all the time, they sometimes switched to video calls through their email service. It was really nice seeing her face.

    They carried on as friends with mutual feelings for each other until the end of Aiden''s senior year of high school when a girl in his science ss asked him to prom. He would have felt bad about turning her down even though he didn''t have any feelings for her so he agreed to it.

    Nova was so upset when he told her he couldn''t meet up with her in game like usual the night of the prom that she refused to speak to him for weeks. She used him of not caring about her feelings at all.

    What was he supposed to do? He always spent time with her on the weekends; it wasn''t like he had ever asked a girl out on a date. But Aiden didn''t want to hurt his ssmate''s feelings. When he exined that, she got even madder because she thought some random ssmate''s feelings mattered more to him than hers did.

    He hadn''t been particrly looking forward to the dance but it was even more miserable knowing Nova wasn''t speaking to him. When he finally managed to catch her online again she was very curt with him. It wasn''t until he promised he wouldn''t go on anymore dates with other girls that she finally responded.

    "You can''t go on dates with other girls," she said haughtily. "You have to promise me, Aiden."

    "Okay, I promise." He wasn''t interested in anyone else anyway. The majority of his free time was spent on her.

    Aidenpletely forgot about that conversation until a few months before Aaron met up with Keeley again. Somebody in one of Nova''s college courses asked her out and she said no because she had a boyfriend.

    He had been a bit startled because he hadn''t realized she thought of him that way. They hadn''t really talked about their feelings all that much since the original confession; they carried on as the gaming buddies they always had been for the most part.

    He figured putting abel on it or not wouldn''t really change the dynamic of their rtionship so he agreed to make it Facebook official.

    It had been awkward exining that he was dating someone he met online long distance to his mother but it was better than dealing with Nova being pouty. Over the next few months they started talking about their feelings more and having silly little ''dates'' over video call.

    The more time he spent dating her from a distance the more he wanted out of the rtionship. So when Aaron asked the most horrible favor ever from him in exchange for sending him to Sweden all expenses paid he jumped at the chance. The rest was history.

    Aiden sighed as he checked the clock. Six more hours until he could go home and meet up with Nova in thetest game they were ying together. The next couple months were going to be torturously slow until he could see her again.

    ===

    Aiden''s mom hadn''t been thrilled her oldest son wouldn''t be home for Christmas (neither had Sophie) but they both liked Nova so they didn''tin too much. At least to his face.

    Getting off of the ne after eight and a half hours he felt like walking death. The child sitting behind him had kicked his seat for most of it and he was exhausted from not getting any sleep even though it was a red-eye flight.

    All of his exhaustion melted away though when Nova charged at him and ended up clinging to him as if he was a tree branch and she was a ko. He stumbled back slightly from the weight since her legs were wrapped around his waist.

    "?lskling, I missed you so much!" she cried as she peppered his face with kisses.

    She used a Swedish term of endearment somewhat equivalent to ''darling'' or ''honey'' in English. Nova had been calling him that ever since they got married in Final Fantasy XI all those years ago as a joke (or so she imed).

    When they started dating officially he looked up more Swedish words and found out that ''?lskling'' came from the word ''?lska'', meaning ''to love.'' Once he actually visited Sweden he found out that people normally didn''t call their significant others by that term unless things were pretty serious.

    Aiden had tough a little bit at his own stupidity for not realizing how much she cared sooner. Nova had essentiallyid a im on him when she was fourteen years old and now she was twenty-two.

    "I missed you too," he told her sincerely. "Can you get off me though? People are staring and I need to get my luggage."

    She pouted but did as she was told, climbing off and taking his hand instead. She chatted with him excitedly about all of the fun things they were going to do while he was here and he responded with equal enthusiasm. Ah, he really had missed her. It would be great having her with him all the time.

 Chapter 383: Why Hadnt He Said Anything?

    <h4>Chapter 383: Why Hadn''t He Said Anything?</h4>

    Mr. and Mrs. Lundstrom were fairly traditional people who didn''t understand their daughter''s love of all things digital though they did tolerate it. They liked Aiden well enough since he had a steady job but weren''t terribly fond of the fact that he didn''t have a college degree.

    Nova had defended him fiercely when this came up the first time he visited by telling her parents how he was smart enough to be headhunted by a major corporation straight out of high school because of his talents. Aiden had told her about the true nature of his job more or less because he trusted her. It wasn''t like she was going to go and tell Alistair Hale since she was in another country.

    Hale Investments hadn''t made it quite as far as Sweden yet but when the Lundstrom parents looked it up they were impressed by how far it reached. That was why they were able to ept that he didn''t have a degree. Now that he was the head of the cybersecurity department theirints had dissipated entirely.

    Aiden wasn''t at all worried about Nova epting his proposal; he was concerned about getting her parents'' approval. They were the type of people who believed in asking permission for a woman''s hand from her parents first. He had waited until this trip so he could do it in person.

    He finally asked the question when all of the Lundstroms and Aiden were sitting in the audience at Nova''s graduation, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

    Mr. Lundstrom sighed. "I really don''t want her to move all the way to America but if I don''t give my blessing she''ll never forgive me. That girl has been in love with you for the past eight and a half years. Please take care of her for us."

    Aiden shook his hand gratefully. "You won''t regret it, sir!"

    Nova''s older sister Kristina rolled her eyes. "Finally, she will stop talking about how much she misses you all the time. It has been driving me crazy."

    Her younger brother f pouted. "But this means I will never get to see Nova ever again."

    His mother reassured him. "No, that isn''t true. Think about how often Aiden alreadyes to visit. I''m sure they will stille to see us at least once a year. Perhaps we can go to New York at some point as well."

    "You could alwayse study abroad in New York," Aiden suggested. "We would take good care of you."

    f''s eyes lit up. He still had a year and a half left of high school. His English wasn''t quite as proficient as his sister''s but that was because she had a lot of practice from her many years ying online games with Americans.

    Mrs. Lundstrom didn''t seem terribly pleased at the thought of her only son going so far away for college but the idea had already taken root. This son-inw would be troublesome. At least she knew he would treat her daughter well. That was what truly mattered.

    The ceremony went on without too much fuss. People in Sweden sat silently through graduations without cheering for individual people when their names were called, unlike back in New York. So when Nova''s name was called Aiden was the only one yelling.

    He would have felt awkward about it if not for the fact that he caught sight of her wide grin as she sat back down. She definitely knew he was the culprit.

    Once the ceremony ended Novaunched herself at her boyfriend first.

    "I did it. I''m done," she said meaningfully as she pressed her forehead up against his. She was about half a foot shorter than him so she was only able to do this because he had lifted her in the air.

    Aiden knew what she meant. There was nothing preventing her from being with him anymore now that she had finished school. She had been waiting for this even longer than he had.

    The Lundstroms took a lot of pictures before they all went out to eat. Nova hardly let go of Aiden''s hand once, even when the food arrived. She had a blissful smile on her face the entire time.

    ===

    Four days. It had been four days and Aiden still hadn''t said anything about having Nova move to New York. He was leaving in a day and a half and still hadn''t said anything! Why? What had she done wrong?

    She couldn''t think of what she might have done to make him change his mind. They had been having fun ever since he arrived and he certainly seemed happy to see her. So why hadn''t he proposed?

    They had never talked about her move directly but it had been implied many times over the years. Nova had known Aiden was the man she wanted to marry since she was fourteen years old.

    When he first approached her to create a party she thought it would be temporary like all the others. But Qme the Red Mage became a true partner. They leveled up again and again together.

    She had thought they were a really great team but since they never talked about anything other than the game she figured he was a lot older than her. Probably married. Uninterested in forging any sort of connections with strangers online outside of using their help to power up.

    Nova didn''t mind that at all until he randomly asked her to marry him in the game. Would an old married guy really ask a stranger on the inte to do that? She epted because it would benefit her character in game but curiosity about what kind of person Qme truly was nagged at her after that.

    Imagine her surprise when she found out he was an American kid only two and a half years older than her. The more they talked the funnier she realized he was.

    When they finally became Facebook friends she discovered he was pretty cute too. But Nova already had a massive crush on her fellow party member long before then simply because of their conversations in the game.

    After he told her he liked her too she was over the moon but then he never went any further than that! She had to be the one to initiate a rtionship, though Aiden was a prince among long distance boyfriends once she did.

    Getting to this point had required endless amounts of patience but Nova always told herself it would be worth it in the end because as soon as she graduated he would marry her and bring her back to New York. So much for that. He hadn''t said a word and would be leaving right after Christmas to get back to work.

    Nova eyed her boyfriend appraisingly as he showed f how to beat a difficult level on the game he was ying. If something was truly wrong he wouldn''t appear so nonchnt. Aiden had always had a very expressive face that was easy to read.

    So why hadn''t he said anything? She had tried dropping hints over the past few days and he hadn''t picked up on a single one. The frustration was too much to bear. Would she have to propose to him herself?

    As much as Nova had dreamed of a romantic proposal, she would do it if her boyfriend was too dense to make it happen himself. She had spent her entire youth loving this man and she wasn''t about to let him slip away so easily.

 Chapter 384: Lets Get Married Again

    <h4>Chapter 384: Let''s Get Married Again</h4>

    Aiden rubbed his temple anxiously sitting on the couch after most of the Lundstroms went to bed following the Christmas Eve festivities. Nova had been acting off and he had a suspicion why. She had always been a bit high strung and had the tendency to jump to conclusions. If he had to guess, she probably thought he wasn''t going to take her back to New York with him.

    That wasn''t true at all. The moment Mr. Lundstrom allowed him to take his daughter''s hand in marriage he booked the seat next to his on the flight back to New York. He knew his girlfriend; she would want to go back with him immediately and would deal with sending the rest of her things overter.

    He wanted it to be a romantic Christmas proposal but was worried she had the wrong idea. Honestly, it might be best to get this over with tonight so the holiday wasn''tpletely spoiled for her.

    Nova shook him out of his thoughts by plopping herself down onto hisp and wrapping her arms around his neck.

    "Nova, what¡ª" she cut him off by kissing him.

    She always made sure to make the most of their time together by being as lovey dovey as possible. Sometimes Aiden wondered how she managed tost the long stretches they didn''t see each other without being able to touch him.

    They had taken an online lovenguages quiz together once and hers was definitely physical touch. Poor Nova. Long distance was a lot rougher on her than it was on him and he already had a hard enough time. That was why he wanted to clear up whatever misconceptions she had right away.

    Nova looked him in the eye with an unbearably sad expression when she finally came up for air. "Aiden, you still love me, right?"

    "What kind of question is that? Of course I still love you!"

    "Then why don''t you want me toe back to New York with you?" she asked tearily. "What did I do wrong? I can''t do long distance anymore; I just can''t. I want to be with you for real but you haven''t said anything about it!"

    Ah, he knew it. It would have been better to propose right after her graduation ceremony. Aiden gently lifted her off of him so he could pull out his phone.

    "I was saving this for Christmas but you may as well know now. I have two presents for you."

    "Is this really the time?" she protested. "You didn''t answer my question!"

    ''This is the answer to your question,'' he thought with a slight smile on his face.

    "Just look at it, will you?"

    He pulled up the virtual ticket he had bought that had her name on it before handing the phone to her. Her eyes immediately filled with even more tears and she clutched the phone to heart, unable to speak.

    Aiden took that as an opportunity to fish the tiny wrapped ring box out from under the Christmas tree as well. He ripped the paper off and popped it open, revealing a sparkling diamond ring. He knew what kind she wanted by checking her inte search history. Nova had been looking at rings for months in anticipation.

    He got down on one knee and smiled at her with his heart in his eyes. This proposal needed to be better than the others. The first time he asked her to marry him in-game it had truly been motivated by convenience.

    He thought if they were married, in addition to the other perks, she would stay on as a member of his party. Back then he had been reluctant to lose her because of her skills as a yer.

    Any time after that when they got married in-game he always said something along the lines of ''we''re a great team; let''s get married again.'' He needed to be more romantic this time but he thought it might be funny and sentimental if he included that somehow.

    "My beautiful Supernova," he began, choosing to use the screen name she had used in every game they ever yed together.

    "We have always made a great team but I can''t do long distance anymore either. I need to see your radiant smile, hear your adorableugh, and be able to hold you whenever I want. I want for us to be a team by each other''s sides as we make our ways through the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me for the twelfth and final time?"

    Nova was so giddy at the prospect that she jumped up and down in ce and giggled as tears streamed down her face. "Yes, yes!"

    She held her hand out for Aiden to slide the ring on and immediately jumped on him so they both fell to the floor. She kissed him for a long, long time as he was pinned there and he didn''t mind one bit.

    Eventually she let him sit up but remained in hisp, a permanent smile on her face as she admired her new ring. "How did you know what I wanted?"

    He shrugged. "I may or may not have kept tabs on your search historytely and chosen the one with the most visited page."

    Nova giggled. "Once a hacker, always a hacker." She snuggled closer to him. "If I''m really going to be able to make it back with you, you''re going to have to help me pack."

    "I can do that."

    The grandfather clock in the corner of the room struck twelve. Midnight. It was officially Christmas Day.

    "Merry Christmas," they said to each other simultaneously before bursting into another fit ofughter.

    Aiden couldn''t imagine being happier than this. Having Nova by his side from here on out would be truly wonderful. He couldn''t wait to marry her for real. It would be so much better than simply sharing items and XP like in their many, many game marriages. All of their waiting had finally paid off.

 Chapter 385: A Bad Feeling

    <h4>Chapter 385: A Bad Feeling</h4>

    May 2019

    Keeley sat on the couch with her swollen feet propped up as she diligently finished up her research paper on her sessful clinical trials with the rabbits. It was nearly ready to be published in DOMA''s medical journal.

    Just in time, too. She was eight months pregnant with their third child and Aaron had been fussing about her going to work ever since she hit the five month mark. Honestly, she couldn''t have chosen a better stopping point.

    Once their new son was a bit older she would be able to go back and get started on the clinical trials with dogs. Dr. Butler didn''t care if she took time off considering Aaron''s ongoing generous donations.

    In the meantime Shawn would be working as a research assistant for Erica''s own research. She was a doctor after all; technically she had more school under her belt than Keeley did because of her post doc work. Things had worked out perfectly for everyone.

    Funnily enough, Keeley''s child would have several friends close in age. Nova had already given birth to her and Aiden''s first child six months ago, a boy they named Liam. Jennica''s second son Logan was now two months old. Alice was four months along with her second child with Roger too.

    Despite her rosy outlook on things, Aaron had been paranoidtely. The date she had died in their first life wasing up and he kept saying he had a bad feeling something was going to happen.

    She wanted to dismiss his worries but couldn''t deny it was unsettling to hear him talk like that. Why did he have to invite trouble?!

    Life had never been better. They had two, nearly three, lovely children, both of their careers were going well, and they had awesome friends. Why worry about something that probably wouldn''t happen?

    After all, Keeley''s father had lived through his original death date perfectly fine. Lacy wasn''t alive to orchestrate his ident. Gray was in prison. And Max had married a socialite from Boston over a year ago and moved to Massachusetts away from all of his memories in New York.

    All of the yers involved in both of those car idents were no longer around. Aaron had nothing to worry about. But she had to admit, his stress was totally stressing her out.

    She sighed and heaved herself to her feet, cing a hand on her stomach to steady herself. This baby hadn''t kicked nearly as much as the twins had. Although if she had to guess, knowing their personalities now, it was probably mostly Kaleb''s doing.

    Speaking of Kaleb, it was time to pick the twins up from preschool. There were only a few weeks left of the school year before she would have to entertain them full time and she was dreading it. How was she supposed to entertain two five year olds and take care of a newborn at the same time?

    At least both of the kids were excited about having a new baby brother. Kaleb had been excited from the start about having another boy in the house he could y sports with because Violet didn''t like them. She had been more apprehensive about sharing her family''s love with someone else but eventually was won over by everyone else''s excitement.

    Keeley wanted them both to feel like it was their baby too so she allowed them to have a vote on which name she and Aaron would pick. In the end they settled on Oliver. She thought Oliver Hale had a nice ring to it.

    When she picked up the twins, they (but mostly Kaleb) chattered on about how they had brought their mouse ear hats in for show and tell and talked about the trip the Hales took to Disney World for their fifth birthday earlier that year. She smiled remembering how much they had loved that trip.

    It had taken months of begging for them to convince Aaron to take them for their birthday. They argued that five was an important number and that because Kaleb''s friend Andrew had gone for his fifth birthday that they should be able to as well.

    In the end he caved but he hated every moment of it. It was actually pretty hrious seeing the obvious shock and disgust on his face. He had never been to any Disney parks in either of his lives so he wasn''t prepared for the ambiance.

    Keeley spent most of the tripughing at him. It was how she was able to enjoy herself despite not being able to ride most of the rides since she was pregnant. It wasn''t so terrible though; the twins were too little for her to take on any rollercoasters anyway. She went on things like It''s A Small World with them without any trouble.

    Oh, Aaron had hated that ride! He said the song still got stuck in his head sometimes. She felt a little sorry for him but it really was too funny not tough at. He was so out of his element the entire time they were there.

    Keeley even got them all matching tee shirts and mouse ears with theirst name custom embroidered on the back of the hats as souvenirs. They took tons of pictures.

    As much as he imed to hate everything, she did notice a soft expression appear on his face when he saw how much fun the kids were having. The trip wasn''t aplete waste of time for him. She knew better than anybody that his family was his soft spot and he would do anything for them.

    At least on thest day they all went to the beach and Aaron seemed to enjoy that better than their three days at Disney World. There was no rule preventing a pregnant woman from going swimming (unlike those rides) so she had fun too.

    "I wanna go to Disney World again. Can we Mommy?" Violet pleaded. She had really loved seeing all of the princesses and getting pictures with Elsa and Anna.

    Another trip this soon might kill her poor husband. "Why don''t we wait until Oliver is old enough to enjoy it?" Keeley suggested. "There are other fun ces we can go on vacation too after he''s a few months old."

    Her daughter pouted. "I hate waiting. I wanna go do fun things now."

    Five was such an impatient age. Unfortunately for Violet, they wouldn''t be going anywhere for a while because her mother was too far along in her pregnancy to travel. And then the baby would be too young for a little while. This summer vacation was going to be rough for everyone involved.

 Chapter 386: Overprotective

    <h4>Chapter 386: Overprotective</h4>

    On thest day of preschool, Keeley and Aaron had the Singletons over for a barbecue to celebrate. Noah went to the same one as the twins though he was in a younger ss.

    The men were manning the grill while the women chatted and watched the kids ssh around in a blow up pool Keeley set up for them on the terrace when it got hot. They were little enough that they didn''t care about going to a real pool yet and they weren''t the strongest swimmers anyway. Right now this was the safer option.

    In all honesty, Keeley wouldn''t have minded taking the twins to a real pool but Aaron had been so paranoidtely. His concern about her dying again somehow transferred onto the twins as well.

    It broke her heart but she could see where he wasing from. He had been so blissfully happy the past five and a half years that he was afraid of having it all taken away from him again.

    She could rte a little; having lost her mother and brother she sometimes wondered if her happiness was fleeting too. But worrying about that constantly wasn''t a way to live so she always pushed through it. Aaron wasn''t pushing through it so well.

    He called her about ten times a day at work to make sure she was alright and was glued to her side at home. He barely let her lift a finger these days. She understood that she was eight months pregnant and all but she wasn''tpletely useless!

    Keeley couldn''t be too annoyed at him though because she knew why he was scared. All they had to do was get past June 16th and everything would be okay. Unfortunately, that was a week and a half away and she didn''t think she could deal with this overprotectiveness for that long.

    "You look tired. What''s up?" Jennica asked as she nursed Logan.

    She sighed. There was no hiding anything from her friend. "You know how Aaron tends to be a bit overprotective when I''m pregnant?"

    Jennica snorted. "A bit? Last time he wouldn''t even let you out of the house! That was when Lacy was stalking you guys though so I guess it kind of made sense. Why?"

    "He''s doing it again."

    "But there isn''t an actual threat against you this time!"

    "I know. I wish I could find a way to convince him I''ll be fine," Keeley said sadly.

    He had been so tensetely and nothing she did could make him rx for more than five minutes. She couldn''t exactly tell her friend it was because he was worried about history repeating itself, either.

    Jennica rolled her eyes. "Well, it won''t be for too much longer. You look just about ready to pop. When''s your due date, anyway?"

    "June 29th. Aaron and I are about to be outnumbered. And the twins are a handful already; I''m really not sure how we''re going to do it."

    "That''s why we''re done after this one," her friend said with a smile. "It''s a bit of a bummer we didn''t end up having a girl but I don''t really mind. Boys are fun. I''m d Noah has a little brother to y with. Once Logan gets a bit bigger anyway."

    Keeley was d too. Poor Noah was always so excited to see Kaleb and Violet because he had been the only child at home for the past three and a half years.

    It worked out though; he was the only kid other than Kaleb that Violet really enjoyed being around. She seemed to merely tolerate everyone at school and in her ballet sses.

    She only wanted her brother or Noah, which was difficult because Kaleb was such an outgoing boy who wanted to y with everyone. He was the only reason she even yed group games at preschool or on the yground. Keeley worried about what would happen when they inevitably ended up in different sses at school someday.

    Her shyness and stubbornness about who she wanted to y with aside, she was a happy and well-adjusted little girl. Incredibly bright too. Aaron credited that entirely to Keeley since she had a PhD.

    She watched the children happily ying around in the kiddie pool together. Kaleb was having fun sshing his sister and friend by using a stic cup to get more water moving around. Violet was shrieking and trying to duck away from the attack while Noah bravely stood in front of her to take the brunt of the water and ssh Kaleb back.

    Sometimes she really wished Noah was in the same grade as Violet. That would solve all of their problems. When Violet was around, Noah wasn''t interested in anyone else either though he yed well with others on his own ording to Jennica.

    When Keeley and Jennica took their kids to the park at the same time, Kaleb would go y with other random children on the yground while Violet and Noah were off in their own little world.

    His mother said he wasn''t like that when she took him to the park on his own. If it was only him, he would run off to y with other kids like Kaleb did. Noah was a perfectly friendly and sociable little boy unless his shy best friend was involved.

    "I''m d they get along so well," Keeley noted after watching their kids y for a while.

    Jennicaughed. "Me too. It certainly lets us hang out more often than we would otherwise. The kids demand it at least a few times a week. Hopefully Logan and Oliver get along this well."

    "Liam too."

    The Quinns had been invited today as well but since it was Aiden''s little brother Jack''s birthday they weren''t able to make it. As much as they loved their friends, family came first. Keeley would probably see a lot more of them as Liam got older and they wanted to set up y dates.

    Nova was a fun person to be around¡ªshe was a perfect match for that goofball Aiden, honestly¡ªand Keeley had enjoyed getting to know her better since she moved to New York. Before she came back to marry Aiden, Keeley had only met her a couple of times when she stayed with him the previous summer.

    "I wonder if Alice will end up having a boy or a girl. If she has a boy there''s going to be an awful lot of testosterone around here," Jennica said with a smile.

    So far out of all of their friends'' kids, Violet and Alice''s daughter L were the only girls. L was barely two so even though she idolized Violet, she wasn''t terribly interested in ying with the younger girl. She let her tag along because her mother kept reminding her to be nice.

 Chapter 387: Like A Fly

    <h4>Chapter 387: Like A Fly</h4>

    Cameron hollered that the food was ready so Keeley and Jennica stood up to coax their reluctant children out of the kiddie pool toe eat. The table and chair set Keeley made Aaron buy when she first moved in only seated six people so as time went on they ended up buying a little stic y table and chairs for the kids to sit at when they had guests.

    Aaron rushed over to where Keeley was trying to bend and lift a protesting Kaleb out of the pool. "What are you doing? Go sit down; I''ll handle this."

    He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek and she rolled her eyes behind his back. She wasn''t aplete invalid and it was annoying being treated like one. June 17th couldn''te fast enough.

    She sat next to Jennica as Aaron made up hamburgers for the twins the way they liked them. Kaleb preferred cheeseburgers with multiple condiments but Violet only wanted ketchup on her in patty.

    "You weren''t kidding about the overprotectiveness," her friend whispered. "Does he let you do anything?"

    "No," Keeley replied sourly. "I hope he snaps out of it soon."

    "No kidding; I would go crazy. How are you going to get away with taking the twins to do anything now that school is out?"

    She wasn''t. That was the problem. She would have to keep them entertained at home for the next week and a half.

    "Have youe over every day?" she suggested hopefully. "Noah can keep them upied for hours."

    Jennica grinned. "I''m down with that. He begs me to go see ''pretty Violet'' every day anyway. If things keep going this way we might end up as inws someday."

    "Oh, stop," Keeleyughed.

    Matchmaking kids this young was all fun and games but she didn''t expect it to actually happen. People outgrew their childhood friends. She certainly had. She didn''t even remember her supposed first crush, a boy named Zack Bolton who had lived one floor down in her building when she was four.

    Her father had brought him up at the twins'' fourth birthday party watching Violet and Noah y. She thought Aaron would be jealous but he blew it off with a cocky smirk.

    "Why would I be jealous of someone so insignificant you didn''t even remember him?" he said when she askedter that night.

    He had a point. She knew he was thinking about how she hadn''t been able to stop thinking him even after their five and a half years apart, even though they were negative thoughts. Aaron had been branded onto her heart even if she had been too angry to realize it at the time.

    Once the kids were taken care of, he hovered over her a bit like a fly. "Do you need more water? Some ketchup? Pickles? I know you always need pickles when you''re pregnant. I already put four on your burger but is that enough?"

    Keeley bit back her annoyance at his smothery fretting and smiled at him. "I''m fine, honey. Thanks."

    At the pet name Aaron instantly rxed and sat down across from her. She had started calling him that a few months after she told him she loved him and meant it. He had been so pleased that his face had been pink for nearly thirty minutes afterwards.

    Ah, that sap. It was so easy to make him happy. Sometimes she liked to tease him by seeing how much it would take to make him blush. She never got tired of seeing that adorable look on his face.

    "Hey Keeley, did you finish your research paper?" Cameron asked when he finally joined everyone else at the table.

    "I did! I already submitted it to my boss and it should be in next month''s issue of the DOMA medical journal. There were a few slight differences from mice to rabbits but the overall effect was the same. I get to move onto dogs next," she said happily.

    Everything was going great. At this rate, she would move onto human trials within the next decade. She would finally be able to help people like Kaleb. She was sure he was cheering her on from up in heaven.

    They all chatted about work for a while. Cameron and Aaron obviously knew what was going on with each other''s work since they worked together so closely as CEO and vice president but Keeley hadn''t known what was going on with Jennica. Apparently she had been given a small role in amercial that called for mothers and newborns.

    Keeley had no ideamercials even did things like that but she supposed there was a casting call for everything. She was happy for her friend; she knew Jennica missed acting and hadn''t been able to do a show since before Noah was born. Amercial was but a tiny taste of what she was capable of but it was better than nothing.

    The topic eventually switched over to the kids and specifically the differences that would be happening once Kaleb and Violet went to kindergarten at an elementary school once the meal finished and the kids went back to the pool. Aaron kept a watchful eye on them as everyone talked.

    The kids had gone to the preschool with the best rating in Manhattan at Aaron''s insistence because he wanted them to have the best experience. Keeley didn''t mind since she figured that preschool was preschool no matter where you went. They didn''t run into any disagreements until it was time to sign the twins up for kindergarten.

    Aaron wanted them to go to the best private elementary school in the city but Keeley was worried that they would be surrounded by snobs trying to suck up to them because theirst name was Hale. He was absolutely against public school, which she didn''t mind because she knew private schools tended to give children better educations.

    After all, she had gone to private schools her whole life because of the trust. In elementary and middle school it wasn''t so bad because there were plenty of kids from upper middle ss families who attended and were fairly normal.

    But once she got into Westwind Academy, which was the most prestigious high school in the city, things got much more cliquey. Keeley didn''t want her children to get sucked into the world of the ultra-rich. Aaron knew that but he wanted them to have a quality education so they could go to any college they wanted.

    In the end theypromised. They chose an elementary school with a good rating that didn''t cost as much as the one Aaron had looked into. This way, high society children would be much less likely to go there.

    She also made him promise their children would never go to Westwind. Too much drama happened there. She wanted them to live normally as much as possible and he had promised her before they got married that she would call the shots on how the baby would be raised.

 Chapter 388: The Other Shoe

    <h4>Chapter 388: The Other Shoe</h4>

    The adults chatted while the kids yed until about 7 PM. The Singletons needed to get home to put Logan to bed.

    Noah really didn''t want to go. He hid behind Violet as if it would make it so his parents couldn''t see him and buried his face in her long brown hair. "I wanna stay here! Go home without me!"

    Jennica and Cameron exchanged a nce and barely managed to hold back their snickers. "Come on, baby. We''re going toe back tomorrow."

    He dared to peek out, skepticism written all over his little face. "Promise?"

    "Promise," Jennica assured him. "The sooner we go home, the sooner we cane back."

    That convinced him. He gave Violet and Kaleb big hugs before toddling over to his mother and reaching for her hand even though she was upied holding the baby.

    "Can you hold Daddy''s hand? Mommy has the baby."

    "Mommy always has the baby," he pouted. "I want Mommy."

    "I''ll take him, Jen," Cameron said, holding his hands out for Logan so she could give their older son some love.

    Jennica called "see you tomorrow!" over her shoulder as she led Noah away. Keeley returned the farewell and began cleaning up the tes before Aaron stopped her. Of course he would want to do it.

    Instead, she told the twins it was time toe in and take a bath. Her husband insisted on doing that too so she didn''t strain herself bending over. The only thing Keeley was able to do involving bedtime was read the books the kids picked and sing them each a luby.

    Putting them to bed became much more difficult after they got their own rooms. Sometimes she missed the good old days where she only had to do one bedtime routine. Aaron would read a book to one of the kids but she always had to sing the lubies because he couldn''t hold a tune for the life of him.

    The first time she had a bad cold and lost her voice when the twins were about two he tried taking over luby duty and the results were disastrous. The kids ended up crying and took even longer to put to bed. After that incident, Keeley made sure to record a couple of lubies she sang on her phone in case she ever lost her voice again.

    Once the kids were asleep, Keeley made her way to the TV room and turned on an episode of a cookingpetition show she liked. Dinah curled up in herp as she watched.

    Molly had passed on about four months ago at the ripe old age of fifteen. She had been devastated because they had been together so long but the twins were inconsble as well. Keeley had wanted to get a new kitten to fill the void but Aaron disagreed.

    His reasoning was that Dinah was getting pretty old too and probably wouldn''t live more than a few more years. She should be allowed to live out the rest of her life in peace. They could get two kittens once Dinah passed away.

    Keeley couldn''t really argue with his logic. Aaron loved his cat and wanted her to befortable in her old age. He would be as upset as she had been about Molly when Dinah eventually died.

    Aaron joined her on the couch and put his arm around her wearily. "You''d think those two would be tired after all of that ying but no. They want to stay up and y even longer."

    That was the energy level of little kids in a nutshell. She had been devastated when they imed they were ''too big'' for naps a couple of years ago. Naptime had been her one respite as a stay at home mom.

    Keeley loved her kids to death but sometimes she needed a break from being a mom. Like right now. The couple of hours after bedtime could be the best part of her day.

    Things would be even more chaotic once Oliver was born. She needed to enjoy this while she could.

    "Just wait until the baby is born; we''ll be even more tired," she predicted grimly.

    Aaron sighed. "We need to keep reminding ourselves that we''re the ones who wanted a bunch of kids. We made our bed and we need to lie in it."

    This was true. They had wanted four so Oliver would have a friend a little closer to his age. There would be a fairly sizable gap between him and the twins.

    He went quiet for a while, soaking up the rtive peace and quiet of just the two of them (technically three, with the sleeping cat). When he did speak again his voice was wracked with nerves.

    "I know you have your final checkup scheduled for the 16th already but could you reschedule it? I really don''t want you going out that day. Nothing can happen to you if you''re at home."

    Keeley turned to look at him and saw the desperate plea echoed in the depths of his eyes. "Aaron, I already tried that, remember? It''s the only day Dr. Chapman can see me and she really wants me toe in that week. I''ll be fine. Nobody is out to get me right now."

    Alistair may not ept her but he hadn''t tried to pull anything shady either. Probably because he knew it was useless. He had been thoroughly beaten.

    On the rare asions he showed up at the shareholders meetings these days he hardly spoke a word and always had a sour look on his face. ording to Aaron, anyway. She trusted his judgment when he said his father was no longer a threat.

    So why was he so worried? Did he really think the universe would reincarnate them with the sole purpose of putting them back together only to take her away again on the same day?

    Keeley used to think the force that caused them to be reborn was cruel before realizing how good her life could be utilizing this second chance with Aaron. Since it had worked so hard to get them back together she really didn''t think it would tear them apart again.

    But Aaron didn''t think that way. He had lost her before and he would rather die than lose her again, especially now that they were actually happy. Ever since she got friendlier with him again after Jennica and Cameron''s wedding he had been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 Chapter 389: Car Accident

    <h4>Chapter 389: Car ident</h4>

    No matter how much Keeley tried to reassure him that it was all real and she wasn''t going anywhere, Aaron still had his moments of insecurity that it was too good to be true. Deep down he had to believe he wasn''t supposed to be happy. Why else would the insecurity keeping back?

    She reached up to touch his face. "Aaron. I''m not going anywhere. My dad passed his death date perfectly fine and so will I. We''re going to live long and happy lives together, you hear me?"

    He closed his eyes and clutched the hand that was against his face.

    "I know, I know, it''s just¡­I can''t lose you again Keeley. I really can''t. I didn''t think it was possible for me to love you more than I did back then but every day I have you with me I fall even deeper in love with you.

    "I barely survived losing you the first time. It was horrible. I was half alive for those twenty-seven years apart. I know you''re annoyed with me for worrying so much but I can''t help it. I need you more than I''ve ever needed anything."

    Her heart ached at the reminder of what he went through after she died. Keeley wasn''t the only one who suffered the consequences from the mistakes of their first life. If she had lived alone with guilt and grief for twenty-seven years knowing it was her fault¡­she might have gone insane.

    She gently lifted Dinah off of herp and set her onto the cushion next to her so she could crawl into Aaron''s embrace. Dinah shot her an affronted look and she felt guilty but it had to be done. He needed her more than the cat did right now.

    "I know, honey. But I''m right here. I''ll always be right here by your side. So rx, okay? I need to go to this doctor''s appointment so we can safely bring our third child into the world. You''ll be d I did once we get to meet himter this month," she said soothingly as she repeatedly stroked his face.

    He had always responded well to physical affection when he was stressed. Even now she felt some of the tension release from his shoulders.

    "I love you, Aaron. I''m so d you''re mine," Keeley confessed before pressing a kiss to his lips.

    His arms around her tightened and he buried his face in her neck. "I love you too," he mumbled. "I love you so much."

    ===

    As predicted, the next week and a half was incredibly boring. The twins really wanted to go to the park but their dad had forbidden Keeley from stepping foot outside their apartment aside from that one required doctor''s appointment.

    She wouldn''t have survived it without dear, sweet Jennica bringing her son over to keep Kaleb and Violet distracted. The conversation helped too. Keeley had always had the tendency to go stir crazy.

    On the 16th Jennica had to take Noah to the dentist (apparently he had gotten into his father''s hidden candy stash) so she couldn''t watch the twins while Keeley went to the doctor. Alice volunteered instead.

    The one stiption Aaron had about letting her keep the appointment was that the driver had to take her. So he dropped the kids off at Alice and Roger''s apartment before taking her.

    They were pouty about it, wanting to y with Noah and Pancake, the dog they got after Ziggy died. Noah picked the name and Cameron and Jennica weren''t about to argue. Keeley had to tell them he was at the dentist and they could see him tomorrow before they stopped fussing enough for her to leave.

    The rks didn''t live in Manhattan because of how expensive it was; their apartment was out in Long Ind. The driver had to use the Long Ind Expressway to get back into town. Normally the speed limits within the city were very low because of all of the foot traffic but they more than doubled on the few freeways.

    A crazy speeder who had lost control of the brakes smashed through the divider on the other side of the highway and ended up causing an eight car pileup. Unfortunately, the first car that got hit was also speeding slightly and mmed into the car Keeley was in. Three other cars smashed into them on all sides.

    She groggily looked up as blood dripped into her eyes not evenprehending what happened. She could hardly see and every part of her hurt.

    "Henry, are you okay?" she asked feebly.

    There was no response from the driver''s side of the car. Keeley was sitting in the back seat on the passenger''s side and based on the ringing in her ears, had hit her head pretty hard on the window.

    She felt herself drifting in and out of consciousness after that, too weary to even lift her arm and check if the driver was alright. Thest thing she was aware of was the sound of approaching sirens in the distance before cking out.

    Keeley heard various sounds filtering through her subconscious. Paramedics barking instructions. Those sirens again. Screams of pain. People crying.

    Someone nearby cursed under their breath. "This woman is pregnant. We need to get her to the hospital right now and see if we can save her child. Excuse me, ma''am? Can you hear me? What''s your name?"

    "Kee¡­Kee¡­" she couldn''t get out anything else. She wanted to point to her purse on the floor of the car but didn''t have the strength.

    Thankfully the paramedic spotted it. As she was loaded up into an ambnce, the paramedic talked soothingly to her. "Your name is Keeley Hale and you''re thirty-one years old, correct?"

    "Uh huh," she barely got out.

    Hale. The reminder of herst name made her panic. Somebody needed to call Aaron. He would be so worried. What about her kids? What about the baby? All of the thoughts she didn''t have the energy to muster before swirled around her head frantically.

    Was she really going to die again on the same day? Could the universe be that cruel? What was Aaron going to do without her? Would he even be able to take care of the kids or would he be too depressed?

    Finally mustering a bit of strength, she grasped the paramedic''s wrist. She was not about to die here! She needed to see Aaron. She had to tell him she loved him.

    "Husband. Call my husband," she gasped with great effort.

    "I found a phone in her purse," the other paramedic in the back of the ambnce said. "There''s an emergency contact here named Aaron with a heart emoji next to it." He turned to Keeley. "Is Aaron your husband?"

    "Yes! Call Aaron," Keeley insisted with her raspy voice.

    Ugh, everything hurt so much. She just wanted to sleep. She found herself drifting off even as the paramedics begged her to stay conscious. It was too hard. Sumbing to the ckness was much easier.

 Chapter 390: I Cant

    <h4>Chapter 390: I Can''t</h4>

    Aaron had tried and failed to concentrate on work all morning. He was too nervous about what day it was. He had been progressively more of a wreck since the beginning of May, feeling like his time with his wife was about to be cut short yet again.

    He knew it wasn''t logical but he couldn''t shake the feeling. He would be fine as soon as tomorrow came. Keeley would make it through the day exactly like her father had two years ago.

    As he logged onto the inte to check something for a report he was writing, a breaking news banner shed across his screen about a huge wreck involving nine cars and multiple reported fatalities already on the Long Ind Expressway.

    He had been in too much of a daze following Keeley''s death to remember much about this but supposedly it was one of the worst wrecks in New York City history. He forgot that happened today. A seemingly insignificant car ident in a back alley elsewhere in the city had entirely consumed his being. But he wasn''t the only one who lost a loved one to an ident on June 16th, 2019.

    Needing a distraction, he decided to text Jennica and ask how his kids were doing.

    ''They''re not with me. I had to take Noah to the dentist''

    Panic flooded his heart for some reason. Not with her? Where were they? Who were they with? The only people Keeley could have possibly taken them to in the middle of the day like this were Nova or Alice. Who lived in Long Ind.

    Aaron stared at the screen in horror. No. He was overthinking things. It would be too much of a horrible coincidence for his wife to die in a car ident twice on the same day. She probably took them to Nova since she was closer.

    He was just about to text her when he got a call from Keeley''s phone. He pounced on it eagerly.

    "Sweetheart, how did the doctor''s appointment go?" he asked, trying to keep his voice casual. She didn''t need to know how far away his thoughts had flown. She was annoyed with his paranoia as is.

    "Is this Keeley Hale''s husband?" an unfamiliar male voice asked.

    Aaron''s heart dropped to his stomach. No. No way. Not again. This couldn''t be happening to him again!

    "Yes. Where is she? What happened?" he demanded, his heart rate rising in his panic.

    "Mr. Hale, your wife got into an ident on the Long Ind Expressway. She is currently undergoing emergency treatment and is on the way to North Shore University Hospital. She asked me to call you before losing consciousness."

    Emergency treatment. She was still alive. She asked for him. A tiny bit of hope fluttered in his chest even though his panic threatened to consume him.

    Even when something so horrible happened Keeley''s first concern was still making sure he was okay. His heart threatened to crack in half. It took him more than a full minute to remember she was pregnant in his panic. His only concern had been the woman he loved.

    "Is she going to be okay? Is the baby going to be okay?"

    A monitor started beeping crazily in the background and the paramedic''s voice became strained. "I have to go, Mr. Hale. Pleasee to the hospital immediately."

    "Wait¡ª!" It was toote. He had been hung up on.

    He frantically rushed out the door without remembering his wallet or keys, nearly bowling over Aiden who was about toe in.

    "Boss man, what''s the rush?"

    "Don''t talk to me, I have to go!" he hollered impatiently.

    He patted his pockets in a frenzy. Wallet. Keys. He needed those to drive.

    Aaron whirled back around and dug them out of his coat pocket before dashing back out the door. Aiden grabbed his wrist. He was about to punch his friend for holding him up when he needed to be at the hospital when Aiden took his keys away.

    "You''re not in your right mind. I''ll drive; tell me where to go," he said firmly.

    Aaron numbly made it to the car but broke down into sobs the second all the witnesses but Aiden were gone.

    "What happened?" he asked gently.

    Aaron spoke haltingly between sobs. Aiden barely understood a word he was saying. "Someone called me on Keeley''s phone. She was in that big ident¡­they hung up on me¡­there was a lot of beeping. I''m going to lose her again. I can''t do it. I can''t."

    His sobbing grew worse and he couldn''t get any more words out. He knew something was going to happen today. He knew it and he couldn''t protect her again.

    How was he supposed to live without her a second time? How had Robert done it? How did he manage to raise his daughter after losing his entire world in one horrible instant? The twins still needed him but he couldn''t go on without her.

    "Calm down, dude. I need to know which hospital we''re going to."

    Aaron pulled himself together enough to get the words out before breaking down again. Keeley. Keeley. She couldn''t leave him again. Not again.

    When they parked at the hospital, Aiden had to pull Aaron¡ªwho had already fallen apart thinking his wife was dead¡ªby the cor of his shirt to get him to the emergency room.

    "Look," he told thedy at the front desk angrily after she refused to tell him anything. "I don''t care what the procedures are or how busy you are. My friend is having a panic attack because he thinks his wife is dead and I need you to tell me what happened to her RIGHT NOW."

    Aaron had never heard the usually happy-go-lucky sound anything like this before. He was really looking out for his friend. But Aaron was too far into his grief to feel touched by that.

    "Keeley Hale is currently in surgery," the woman sighed. "That''s all I know. They can''t do anything about her injuries until that baby is out of her in case it''s still alive. Now please, go take a seat."

 Chapter 391: A Lot Of Questions

    <h4>Chapter 391: A Lot Of Questions</h4>

    Aiden had NEVER seen his boss like this in all the years he had worked for him. He was honestly tempted to panic too at seeing such a stoic person sobbing like the world had ended. Well, for him it probably had. He knew better than any of Aaron''s other friends how much his wife meant to him.

    The whole reason he even bothered taking over his father''spany¡­the whole reason Aiden ended up working for him in the first ce¡­was to take revenge for people who hurt Keeley in the past.

    He had always vaguely wondered what Aaron meant when he said only he and Keeley could remember what happened with those people hurting her. But today had kind of cinched it for him.

    Before he got too incoherent, Aaron said ''I''m going to lose her again.'' Which implied he had lost her before. Then he wentpletely catatonic after the horrible sobbing stopped. As if he had already given up on the thought of his wife being alive even though she was clearly still fighting.

    That could only mean one thing. Keeley had died before and Alistair Hale and Lacy Knighton had something to do with it. It exined everything. Aaron''s long-term paranoia, how he originally knew all those things about Aiden''s hacking to recruit him, and his weird obsession with a woman who wanted nothing to do with him for the longest time.

    But that raised a whole lot of other questions. Specifically, how? How did his boss and his wife get the chance to do their lives over? What had happened to them back then? What did Aaron do to make Keeley originally hate him so much?

    Most importantly, how and when did she die? Aaron had been on edgetely. More so than Aiden had ever seen from him. If he had to guess, it was probably around now.

    Aaron did have this weird omniscience about certain things. Living as the same person twice would definitely do that. If he was freaking out this much¡­

    "Aaron, did Keeley die today in your other life?" Aiden dared to ask.

    He didn''t even register that his secret had been outed and answered dully from where his head was buried in his hands. "Yes."

    Wow, having his suspicions confirmed was so much weirder than he thought it would be. He had a million and one questions Aaron most definitely was not in the mood for. He asked only one more.

    "Was it in a car ident?"

    Anyone would freak out if their pregnant wife got into a wreck but Aaron''s resignation about the whole thing seemed to imply this had happened before.

    "Yes."

    Aiden knew his boss didn''t like being touched (unless it was his wife) but he looked so pitiful right there that he couldn''t help but hug his friend. It was obviously a different car ident that killed Keeley; one involving either Alistair Hale or Lacy Knighton. Neither of them were a problem right now so this was obviously nothing more than a horrible coincidence.

    "Aaron, she''s going to be fine. The woman said she was having a C-section right now and then they''re going to treat her injuries," Aiden said calmly as he held the trembling shoulders of his friend.

    He hated seeing Aaron like this. This was not the man he had looked up to since he was fourteen. He was supposed to be invincible, not broken. Sure, he was cold and stiff and humorless (at least until Keeley married him) but he was a strong person.

    He held Aiden''s family together after it fell apart by finding his mother a full-time job that paid well andpletely paying off their mortgage in secret. His mother still didn''t know that all the money she put towards the mortgage had been secretly put back into her ount. She thought the extra money came from bonuses at her new job.

    Aiden would always owe Aaron for that. He couldn''t leave him alone now even if it did scare him seeing the indomitable Aaron Hale like this.

    "Aaron Hale?" the front desk woman''s voice called after what seemed like a lifetime but had probably been less than an hour.

    He was too out of it to respond so Aiden went up there for him after giving his shoulder a gentle pat. "He''s a little out of it. Tell me how Keeley is."

    "Her baby doesn''t appear to have been affected by the crash at all. It was delivered safely and they''re running tests on it now. He''s six pounds and five ounces this early so he would have been big if he made it to term."

    What a relief. He nearly wilted against the counter. "And Keeley?" he asked eagerly.

    "She lost a lot of blood and is receiving a transfusion. Has a concussion too and broke her leg. But she should be perfectly fine when she wakes up."

    Aiden was finally able to breathe. She was alive. There was no permanent damage. Aaron hadn''t lost her again after all.

    "Thank you," he said fervently before running back to his lifeless friend. "Aaron! They''re fine; they''re both fine! Your son is healthy and Keeley only has a broken leg, a concussion, and some stitches."

    Aaron finally looked up, disbelief written all over his face. His eyes were still hollow. "She''s alive? She''s really alive?"

    "Yes, now go see your kid! Thedy said you could. Keeley is still receiving her blood transfusion but after that you can see her too."

    He stood up and seized his friend in a tight hug, his tears soaking Aiden''s shirt as he slumped forward onto his shoulder. "Keeley said I had nothing to worry about. She said she would make it through today."

    Aiden wasn''t sure what to tell him. She clearly made it through the day but had gotten hurt in the process. In a way, both of them had been right and both of them had been wrong.

    Really though...what were the odds of getting into a serious car ident on the same day in two different lifetimes? Now that Aaron knew his wife and child were okay Aiden had a lot of questions. He had just been hit with something impossible after all.

 Chapter 392: This Isnt Your Fault

    <h4>Chapter 392: This Isn''t Your Fault</h4>

    Aaron wasn''t allowed to see his wife yet so they went to the area where newborns were lined up in little ss-sided beds so he could meet his son. He was still kind of a wreck so Aiden asked for him, briefly exining the situation to the nurse.

    The woman looked incredibly sympathetic and let them in after making them sanitize their hands and put on thin cloth gowns over their clothes.

    "Your son is right here, Mr. Hale. Have you decided on a name yet?"

    "Oliver," Aaron said quietly as he gathered his new son into his arms. He didn''t speak again for a few minutes but when he did his tone was sad. "Keeley should have gotten to hold him first but she isn''t even awake."

    The nurse let them have some privacy and busied herself elsewhere in the newborn room, sending the mood.

    "This isn''t your fault, Aaron," Aiden said seriously. "idents happen."

    "No, this isn''t my fault," he agreed dully. "But her first death was. Lacy Knighton had her killed, just like her father. They both died as pedestrians in car idents from the same man purposely running them down."

    He had to be talking about Max. He had previously mentioned he was Lacy''s aplice. At the time Aiden thought it was just for the drugging incident but this new information changed things. That feud went much, much deeper than he could have imagined.

    How horrible. No wonder Aaron hated that woman so much and was determined to find something to nail her with. He must have been thrilled when his half-brother killed her. Although this raised the question of how exactly Graydon Meyer/Michael Gray fit into all of this.

    "Why would she do that?" Aiden dared to ask.

    Aaron wouldn''t meet his eyes and continued gazing at his son. "Because she was obsessed with being Mrs. Hale and I married Keeley instead."

    No way. Keeley married him twice?! Things must have ended really badly for her to hate him as much as she did when they met again. You know, aside from being murdered.

    Aiden looked at his friend with entirely new eyes. What on earth did he do to her to make her hate him so much? Or for that matter, to get her to fall in love with her again? This whole thing was crazy.

    "You''re probably wondering why she hated me so much back then," Aaron said with a hollowugh. "I wasn''t a good husband. She gave up everything for me but I was still cold to her. Part of it was in a vain attempt to protect her from my father and the Knightons but it was also partly because I didn''t know anything about love. We were about to divorce when she died."

    What?! These two ridiculous lovebirds he had been forced to put up with had been on the verge of divorce? It seemed impossible but it would totally exin Keeley''s earlier issues with her husband. Geez. What a tangled web.

    "Dude, why would you go after your ex-wife again if you got a chance to start over?" Aiden blurted without thinking. He was suffering from information overload.

    "Why not? I grieved her death for twenty-seven years before I died alone, bitter, and miserable. I wanted to make things up to her but Keeley was also the only person in my life who ever showed me the slightest amount of real affection. As pathetic as it was, I clung to that. You can imagine how mad I was when she wanted nothing to do with me," Aaron said wryly.

    No kidding. Aaron turned into the ultimate ice storm when he was angry. If Keeley already hated him, dealing with that must have really pissed her off.

    Piecing things together¡­they must have both been returned to high school after they died. That was when Aaron supposedly became obsessed with her and she started to hate him.

    Wow. Knowing the truth, if not all the details, made it seem even crazier that she ever epted him back. Why get together again with someone you know hurt you before? Keeley must really love him. Well, that much was obvious to anyone who watched two seconds of their mushy interactions together.

    "Are you d you did things over the way you did?" Aiden asked hesitantly.

    Aaron had finally snapped out of his funk because he gave him a look that clearly indicated he was an idiot. It was a very familiar look.

    "Are you kidding me? No matter how hard it was getting there, the past six or so years of my life have been like a dream. I wouldn''t trade it for anything. It''s a miracle that I actually got her back after everything I did."

    He must have really screwed up. Aiden had seen firsthand how much Keeley loathed him back in 2012. She warmed up to him for a while until around the time Cameron and Jennica got engaged. Hang on¡­

    "Why did Keeley get all mad at you when Cam and Jen got engaged?"

    Aaron shot him another look indicating he was stupid. "She figured out I got a second chance as well and was pissed off at me all over again for having the nerve toe back knowing what I did. She called me a hypocrite, and to be honest, it was a fair assessment from her perspective."

    Aiden shook his head. "Unbelievable. Anybody looking at the two of you now would never guess you had such a history. I always knew there was something weird about your rtionship but couldn''t quite put my finger on it. If you hadn''t broken down like this today, I probably never would have guessed."

    He finally had the answer to his seven-year-long mystery. He had sworn he would get to the bottom of it but the truth never would have even crossed his mind.

    His friend narrowed his eyes. "You''re not allowed to tell anyone about this. There isn''t a single person in the world who knows about this other than me and Keeley. And now you."

    Dang, not anyone? Not even Keeley''s dad? Well, Aiden supposed it would be hard to believe. He was positive Aaron wouldn''t have confirmed his guess if he wasn''t sopletely out of it earlier.

    Anyone else hearing this would think they were both crazy. But to Aiden it made all of the unexinable things he had seen and experienced as Aaron''s right hand man fit together like puzzle pieces.

 Chapter 393: The Love Olympics

    <h4>Chapter 393: The Love Olympics</h4>

    "Come on, you know me. I''m a steel vault of secrets. But uh¡­you knew me before, didn''t you? In your other life," Aiden deduced. It was fairly obvious now how Aaron knew enough about his illegal exploits to bribe him into bing his eyes and ears when he was still a kid.

    Aaron nodded. "I met you in 2020. You hacked into a video feed that proved Lacy Knighton murdered her aplice Max and she ended up dying in prison. I figured it was better to get you onboard early to help me out with my ns since I knew you were out there."

    It was hard to wrap his head around. Aaron had been one of the most solid, consistent parts of his life for the past thirteen years of his life and here he was saying they weren''t even supposed to meet for another year.

    He pped a hand on his friend''s shoulder. "Well, I''m d you did. My life would have beenpletely different if I didn''t meet you right before starting high school."

    The nurse chose that moment to walk back over and she smiled at Aaron. "Mr. Hale, your wife''s blood transfusion is done. She''s still unconscious but you can visit her now."

    His eyes lit up at the thought of seeing Keeley but he frowned. "Can we move my son into her room? He needs to be with his mother."

    "We were about to do that anyway. Having him nearby might help with her recovery as well. Follow me, you can carry him over."

    They had already moved one of those little ss-sided beds into Keeley''s room. She had a neck brace on and a gauze pad taped to her forehead as shey unconscious on the bed. Her left leg was in a bulky cast under the nkets and a thin sheen of sweat covered her face. She was obviously in pain.

    Aaron sat down on the chair closest to the hospital bed and cradled his son with one arm while caressing his wife''s cheek with the other. He looked both heartbroken and ted that she was still here.

    Aiden couldn''t me him. It was hard enough for him to see Keeley like that and they were only friends. She was such a cheerful, lively person. She should be out running around somewhere, not lying battered in a hospital bed.

    He tried to imagine what his friend was feeling. The brief, horrible thought passed through his mind wondering ''what if this was Nova?'' before he acknowledged that it wasn''t the same.

    He loved his wife deeply but no love could bepared to Aaron''s since he loved the same woman enough to chase her to the ends of the earth in a second lifetime. If there was a Love Olympics somewhere, he would definitely win the gold. Aiden briefly wondered what would qualify someone to get the silver and bronze medals before tossing that thought aside.

    "Aaron, do you still need me or should I go back to work?" he asked. He was started to feel like a third wheel even though Keeley was passed out.

    "You can go back to work. But could you find Roger and tell him to let Alice know that they need to hold onto my kids a while longer because their mom is in the hospital? I just realized I left my phone in the office. Doctor''s appointments take a while so they''re probably barely starting to wonder where she is but I don''t want them to worry."

    "Sure thing, dude. Hang in there, okay? She''ll wake up soon. Are youing back to the office at all today or should I have someone send your phone over?"

    Aaron gave him the ''are you stupid'' look again, which answered that question. He would get somebody to send it over right away.

    "Tell her I hope she feels better soon when she wakes up. See you."

    He didn''t respond for a moment but Aiden heard a faint but fervent "thank you" as he was walking out the door. He smiled. As cold and prone to insults as Aaron usually was, Aiden knew he how much the man truly valued him in moments like this.

    ===

    Alice looked down at her phone in shock. Keeley got into a car wreck and was in the hospital?! What was she supposed to tell the twins? Violet had already beenining about when her mom wasing back.

    Roger sent over a second text. ''She gave birth to her baby too. C-section. Aiden said she was still unconscious when he left but that''s so be expected since she''s in a lot of pain due to injuries from the crash. Good luck''

    She scowled. Good luck? That was all he had to say when she needed to break earthshattering news to a couple of five year olds?

    "Violet, Kaleb, can youe here for a minute?" Alice called softly.

    The kids were all ying together in the living room but they stood up and heeded the summons. L wasn''t very happy about being left behind. Violet looked up at her with those intelligent dark blue eyes that reminded her so much of her father''s.

    "Why is Mommyte? She was supposed toe get us."

    "Your mom is in the hospital with the new baby. Your dad is there with her now," Alice said lightly. It was easier to exin that Keeley was in there for the baby than because she got hurt.

    Kaleb frowned. "I thought the baby wasing in a few weeks."

    "He came early but now you have a new brother! Isn''t that exciting?"

    Both of them nodded earnestly. "I want to see Mommy and the baby! Why does Daddy get to go but we don''t?"

    Alice honestly didn''t know how to answer that. Probably because Aaron didn''t want his kids to see their mother unconscious? Or maybe because small children weren''t allowed to visit recovering trauma patients? How was she supposed to know?!

    "I would ask him but your daddy doesn''t have his phone right now. I''ll try to get a hold of himter when he has his phone back and will ask then, okay? You guys can keep ying."

    Kaleb went back withoutint but Violet eyed her shrewdly. "You''re lying! Something bad happened to Mommy, didn''t it?"

    How on earth did this small child manage to guess that?! ''Ah, Aaron, your offspring is too much like you!'' Alice thought desperately.

    "Your mom is fine," she insisted.

    "Mommy got hurt, didn''t she? Daddy''s been acting funnytely like he''s all worried about her. He knew this was gonna happen. I want to see Mommy NOW," she hollered as she angrily stamped her foot against the ground.

    Violet immediately dissolved into repeated wails of "I want Mommy! I want Mommy!" and Alice had no idea what to do. This had spiraled out of her control so quickly.

 Chapter 394: Snow White

    <h4>Chapter 394: Snow White</h4>

    Kaleb, back in the living room, heard his sister''s cries and rushed back in to check on her. "Vi, what''s wrong?"

    "Mommy''s going to die and Auntie Alice won''t let me see her!" Violet shrieked.

    Whoa, nobody said anything about dying? How did the kid immediately jump to that conclusion?! Alice couldn''t help but wonder how Keeley managed to parent this girl. She was something else. Violet was normally so well-behaved too.

    Crocodile tears filled Kaleb''s eyes. "Mommy''s going to die? What about the baby in her tummy?"

    "Daddy and the baby are going to die too," Violet predicted pessimistically. "We''re going to be orphans and have to go live at Grandpa''s house!"

    "I don''t want to live at Grandpa''s house; he can''t have cats!" Kaleb wailed.

    They both rolled around on the floor banging their little fists on the ground as they cried and the only adult in the house couldn''t do anything but watch in abject horror.

    Alice rubbed her forehead, feeling a headacheing on. Everyone told her that toddlers were the hardest age until kids became teenagers. Why was it that these two were ten times worse than L ever was?

    "Hey guys, your mom isn''t going to die! She did get into an ident and got hurt but she''s going to be fine when she wakes up¡ª"

    "She''s not awake? She''s going to sleep forever and ever like Snow White if the prince didn''t kiss her?" Violet demanded, stopping her tantrum for a moment.

    Alice immediately backtracked. "No, sweetie, she''s just asleep because she got hurt and needs to rest so she can feel better. Kind of like how L needs to take a nap so she can have energy to y after lunch."

    Violetpletely ignored this. "Do you think Daddy is enough of a prince to wake her up?" she asked her twin worriedly.

    Kaleb wiped at his tears and shrugged. "I dunno. I heard Uncle Aiden talking about how he''s in charge of an empire. So I guess he would be an emperor. Is that the same as a prince?"

    "No, emperors are higher up than princes. Do you think it will still work?"

    "I don''t know! Do we need to find another prince somewhere?" he asked with a frown. "Daddy wouldn''t like that. He says kisses are only for people who love each other."

    Alice was tempted to cry tears of frustration at the direction their wild idea had gone but it was better than them both screaming on the floor. It wasn''t like they could go find some random stranger to kiss their mother awake so this was fine. She would let their imaginations go and hopefully they would forget about this whole thing.

    Was L going to be like this? She really didn''t have any experience with children before the twins were born and even then it was limited until she had her own baby. When things like this happened she wondered if she was cut out to be a parent at all.

    How did Aaron do it? His parents had been even more cold and detached than hers were and he was an excellent father. She may have to ask him for advice one of these days.

    The twins finally turned their focus back to her. "Auntie Alice, you have to take us to go find a prince to wake Mommy up," Kaleb said matter-of-factly.

    "I''m sorry; I need to stay here in case your dad wants toe pick you up. He doesn''t have his phone and wouldn''t know where to find us if we weren''t at home."

    This immediatelyunched another tantrum from both of them. That was it! She couldn''t take it anymore. Jennica spent more time with these two; she had to know how to deal with them.

    Alice whipped out her phone and sent a desperate text message. L was angry Kaleb hadn''te back to y with her and now she was crying too. Five more minutes of this and she wouldpletely lose her mind. She needed help ASAP.

    ''Jennica, are you done at the dentist? The twins are freaking out and I could really use your help about now. Keeley got into a car wreck and had to get a C-section. She got hurt but other than that she and the baby are fine. No matter how much I tell them she''s okay, the twins are convinced she''s either going to die or is in an enchanted sleep like Snow White and needs a prince to kiss her''

    ''KEELEY WHAT'' came in less than a minuteter, followed with ''I''ll be right over''.

    Less than 30 minutester, right as Alice was at her breaking point, Jennica blessedly knocked on the door and the twinsunched themselves at her legs.

    "Auntie Jen, Auntie Alice is mean and won''t help us go save our mommy."

    Alice shot her a look that clearly indicated ''see what I''ve had to deal with?'' and Jennica smiled at her sympathetically before directing her attention to the kids. She gently stroked both of their hair.

    "Hey guys. Your mom is the toughestdy I know. She doesn''t need a prince to wake her up; she''ll wake up all by herself. Why don''t we go to the park right now? As soon as your daddy calls me I''ll take you right to the hospital."

    The twins exchanged a nce. "Is Noahing to the park too?"

    "Yep, he''s still at the dentist but as soon as we pick him up he''lle to the park with us. Okay?"

    Jennica set down Logan''s car seat and helped the twins gather their toys before ushering them out the door. Thankfully they were visitors in her car often enough that Keeley had given her spare booster seats to keep in the trunk so they didn''t always have to lug them back and forth.

    She winked at Alice, who gaped at her in baffled awe, as she shut the door behind her. Jennica had years of practice under her belt from visiting Benny and Cameron''s small herd of nieces and nephews. By the time she had Noah she felt like a seasoned veteran.

 Chapter 395: An Especially Sharp One

    <h4>Chapter 395: An Especially Sharp One</h4>

    Jennica nursed Logan on a park bench as she kept a close eye on the three children ying on the yground. Kaleb, normally one to wander off with new friends, stuck close to his sister''s side as they dug around in the sand.

    Her heart ached at the thought. He was being overprotective of his sister since news about his mom was up in the air. Poor kid.

    She couldn''t me Alice for bungling things though; sometimes kids got ideas that refused to go away by reading between the lines. Violet was an especially sharp one that way. She saw right through to the heart of the matter whenever something happened.

    Jennica wondered where she got it from. Her mother was book smart but fairly dense when it came to things like that. She had been thest person to know Ryan liked her, after all. What ever happened to him anyway? They lost contact after Keeley rejected him in favor of Aaron.

    She can''t believe she ever thought they would be good together after finding out what horrible things he said to Keeley out of jealousy when she got engaged. Besides, after seeing how much he doted on his wife, Jennica was positive there was no one in this world who could possibly love Keeley more than Aaron did.

    He was probably freaking out right now even more than his kids were. He was so paranoid when he came to Keeley. If she didn''t know better, she would say he was terrified that she would die young.

    Jennica heard about the fatality count from that ident on the radio in the car after frantically leaving Noah at the dentist''s office to rush to Alice''s aid. There were nine cars involved and of the twenty-two passengers, eleven had died, three were still in critical condition, and the rest had been injured.

    Keeley hadined about how overprotective he was being the other day. Had Aaron somehow known this would happen? Jennica was a superstitious person; she believed in a sixth sense appearing in some people during times of danger. Aaron might have experienced that.

    She sighed. Poor Keeley. What a traumatic way to bring a baby into the world. Now whenever she celebrated her son''s birthday she would be reminded of a near-fatal car ident. At least she was okay.

    Provided she was actually okay. Last Jennica heard, she still hadn''t woken up yet. This wasn''t too concerning considering the nature of her injuries and the fact that she just had surgery but still¡­ She would probably be in the hospital for a week or two.

    Jennica wanted to see her friend nearly as badly as her children did. She needed to see for herself that Keeley was alright. Too bad Valentina had gone back to Perust year; she would be able to give her an urate assessment of Keeley''s condition with a single nce.

    A fellow family medicine resident had fallen madly in love with her at first sight on the first day of their program and she thought he waspletely nuts. She tried to dissuade him by telling him she was going back to Peru as soon as she finished school but that hadn''t worked. Carlos Ortez was fluent in Spanish, had no family ties since he grew up in foster care, and had always been interested in living abroad.

    Valentina did her best to ignore him for the better part of two years but fell for his charms in the end. He went back to Peru with her and they got married in a traditional Peruvian ceremony.

    They were really cute together. Jennica still had their Christmas card fromst year hanging on her fridge.

    But that wasn''t important right now. Her thoughts returned to the children worriedly poking around in the sand. She was too far away to hear what they were talking about but was sure it was nothing happy.

    ===

    "We need a n if Mommy really doesn''t wake up. I don''t want to live with Grandpa," Violet said seriously.

    Noah frowned thoughtfully as he dug around with a stick. "Wouldn''t you live with Uncle Aaron?"

    She shook her head. "No because I once heard Daddy say that if anything ever happened to Mommy he would die too. Like a magic curse."

    "Daddy is an emperor, not a prince, so he can''t wake her up," Kaleb exined sadly. "If we can''t find a prince they''re both going to die and we''ll have to leave Dinah to go live with Grandpa."

    Noah grabbed Violet''s hand and squeezed it tightly. "You can live in my room! I''ll protect you and Dinah."

    She smiled at him gratefully. "That''s a good idea. You think your mommy and daddy will let us? What about Kaleb?"

    He shrugged. "He can live in Logan''s room."

    Kaleb didn''t like this n. He kicked a bunch of sand in agitation. "I don''t want to live in Logan''s room! Why can''t I live in your room too?"

    "There isn''t enough room on my bed for three people and I want to share with Violet," Noah said bluntly.

    He pouted. "You''re always with Violet. If you like her so much why don''t you marry her."

    "I''m going to!" the other boy insisted. "But not right now. My mommy says I''m too little. We have to get big first."

    Violet sighed. This wasn''t getting anywhere. She would love to live in Noah''s room but if Kaleb wouldn''t be happy she couldn''t do it. Her brother was more important.

    Maybe they could live under a bridge with the trolls from the storybook Mommy read them. Tears filled her eyes. Mommy. She wanted one of her warm hugs right now. Somehow she could make anything seem better when she was hugging you. Or smiling at you.

    Daddy said Mommy''s smile was the most beautiful thing in the whole world. He also said Violet had the same smile as her, which meant she was the most beautiful thing in the whole world too. That had made her happy.

    "Stop fighting!" she insisted. "We could get another bed for Kaleb. Or he could sleep on the floor with Pancake."

    "I don''t wanna sleep on the floor," Kaleb muttered mutinously. "You guys are mean."

    Violet teared up again. Everything was going wrong today. First Mommy got put under an enchanted sleep and now Kaleb thought she was mean.

    Noah shot a re at her brother and looked up at her with adoring eyes. "I don''t think you''re mean. You''re the nicest and prettiest person in the whole world, Violet."

    She sniffed and managed to give him a smile. Noah always knew the right thing to say. He was her best friend other than her twin for a reason. With both of them by her side she was sure they would figure something out.

 Chapter 396: Applying Himself

    <h4>Chapter 396: Applying Himself</h4>

    Keeley still hadn''t woken up by the time a secretary brought Aaron his phone. He texted Alice to let her know he wouldn''t be back until she was conscious. She replied that Jennica had taken the kids because they didn''t handle the news that their mother was in the hospital well.

    He sighed heavily. Of course they hadn''t. Keeley was the best mother in the whole world and the twins idolized her.

    Aaron really should go check on the kids but he couldn''t bear to leave his wife when she looked so defenseless. Or the new baby, who was even more defenseless. Both of them nearly died today. He wasn''t willing to let either one of them out of his sight.

    He ended up sending a text to Jennica, asking her if she wanted to bring the kids over.

    ''Is she awake?'' she asked back.

    ''Not yet. I can''t leave until she does. I don''t want her to be alone''

    ''I''ll bring them by. If she still hasn''t woken up by bedtime the twins are wee to sleep over at my house''

    ''Thanks Jennica''

    He put his phone back in his pocket and went back to holding Keeley''s hand. Right now it was his lifeline. He needed to see the rise and fall of her chest, hear the heart monitor beeping, and feel the slight twitch of her fingers every now and then. It was all proof she was still with him.

    Oliver began to fuss. He was hungry but Aaron had nothing to feed him with because the source of milk was out cold. He ended up ringing for a nurse and exining the situation.

    The nurse ended up finding him a bottle and some newborn form used as a supplement for mothers with babies in the NICU who couldn''t breastfeed them all the time. Once he was fed and burped he went back to sleep fairly quickly.

    She scrutinized him. "Sir, have you put the baby down at all sinceing in here?"

    "No."

    "¡­hasn''t your arm gone numb?"

    "Yes."

    "Do you want to put him down in his bed? He''ll be fine," the nurse suggested kindly.

    "No, I would prefer to keep holding him."

    She looked at him like he was nuts before shaking her head and leaving. She couldn''t understand it but Aaron needed to be holding the baby to keep him sane. The second he put Oliver down, he would feel like the baby was going to disappear.

    This whole incident was going to make his separation anxiety from his wife so much worse, he just knew it. But these things did happen. Car idents that weren''t intentional murder happened every day and life went on.

    Today Keeley got hurt and the driver died¡ªhe found that out from a different nurse¡ªin ce of someone else. The original ident had involved nine cars as well. The universepensated for the gap somehow.

    People lived. People died. It was all so random and yet he and Keeley had been chosen to get a second chance. Where there other people out there like them, living out their lives over again without anyone else being the wiser?

    Aaron still couldn''t believe Aiden actually figured it out on his own. The kid was a genius though so he shouldn''t have been too shocked. He merely chose not to apply himself in most situations.

    In his first life, he found Anomaly as a twenty-six year old living with his mom who hadn''t even bothered going tomunity college. He did nothing but y video games and worked at the same shop David theputer repairman did.

    Their first encounter was because Anomaly hacked through Hale Investments'' firewalls just for fun to see if he could. When Aaron caught him and asked him why, he imed it was because he was bored and one of the other hackers in the dark web dared him to. He couldn''t resist a dare.

    At that point Aaron offered him a one-time job as a consultant strengthening the firewalls he hacked for a t fee of $10,000 if he did him a little favor first. Also paid. Anomaly hadn''t been able to resist.

    Aiden had put his brains to the test much more in this life since he started working for Aaron so young. Instead of simply messing around with other hackers online and seeing what they could get away with, he actually applied himself.

    Come to think of it, it was actually quite likely he still knew Nova in his first life from all that online gaming but they never got to meet in person because neither of them could afford it. Aaron knew he had changed the kid''s life but usually didn''t put much thought into it beyond that.

    But today had showed how much Aiden truly valued him. He felt his friend''s care rather strongly in everything he did after they bumped into each other during his frantic rush out the door. As annoying as he could be, Aaron was grateful to have him in his corner.

    Despite all the burning questions about rebirth he had to have, Aiden hardly asked any. That nosy guy hadn''t pried too deeply into Aaron''s business, which was more than a little surprising. He had read the mood and acted ordingly like a good friend.

    The people surrounding him in this life were so different than before. Cameron and Aiden were the first male friends he ever had. The love of his lives married him again and gave him three beautiful children. Almost all of the unpleasant people he ever had to deal with were nowpletely out of his life to boot.

    Aaron leaned over to give Keeley a brief kiss on the lips because of how overwhelmed with gratitude he felt to have her with him. She scrunched her nose briefly before opening her eyes.

    "Aaron?" she asked groggily.

    His heart leapt to his throat at the sound of her voice. She was awake. She was finally awake! He was about to tell her that yes, he was right here, when a gleeful little voice rang from the doorway.

    "I knew it! Daddy is a prince! Mommy woke up!"

 Chapter 397: Overactive Imaginations

    <h4>Chapter 397: Overactive Imaginations</h4>

    Keeley was struggling to break through the haze of painkillers when she felt something warm and familiar. Somebody was kissing her. There was no one else on earth who would dare kiss her while she was unconscious but her husband.

    "Aaron?" she managed to ask despite the gumminess in her throat.

    His anxious yet relieved face swam in her vision but before he could respond, Violet''s voice caught her attention. "I knew it! Daddy is a prince! Mommy woke up!"

    The twins scrambled over to her side from where they were standing in the doorway with Jennica. Keeley hissed and squinted into the bright light. Her friend saw her reaction and immediately turned the light in the room off. There was still enough to see through the slit in the curtains.

    "Mommy, Auntie Alice said you were gonna die," she said very seriously as she took her mother''s hand. "You have a lot of booboos. Should I kiss it better?"

    Keeley looked to Jennica in rm but she merely mouthed "no she didn''t; your kids have overactive imaginations" and she instantly rxed. That made sense. Violet especially had a tendency to overreact to things.

    "Sure, baby. I would love for you to kiss it better."

    "Me too!" Kaleb insisted.

    Aaron finally spoke up. "You guys can''t climb on Mommy; she hurt her tummy, her leg, and her head. Okay?"

    They both stopped trying to get onto the bed immediately. Violet settled for leaning over to kiss her mother''s cheek. Kaleb kissed the hand that wasn''t hooked up to an IV.

    "Do you feel better now, Mommy?" they asked innocently, in perfect sync.

    Physically? No. But emotionally she felt a million times better. She really thought she was going to die.

    "Lots better," she assured them. "What happened to me? Where''s the baby?"

    Keeley was suddenly frantic. She hadn''t thought about the baby at all but there was definitely an absence of baby in her belly; she could feel that much. What happened to Oliver?

    "He''s right here!" Aaron said quickly. "I''ve got him. He was delivered by C-section and is perfectly healthy. You got into a nine car wreck on the Long Ind Expressway. Henry¡­didn''t make it. You got lucky; you broke your leg and have a concussion but that''s it other than the C-section surgery needed to save Oliver."

    She instantly slumped back against the pillows, which hurt. A lot. What a relief. She really couldn''t bear the thought of losing another child in the womb.

    Then she felt guilty for feeling so relieved when Henry was dead. He had been with Aaron since before they even met up again. He was divorced with two children and had a girlfriend that he was getting fairly serious with.

    She would have to reach out to them and figure out something nice to do once she was out of the hospital. The ident wasn''t her fault but Henry wouldn''t have been there in that moment if he wasn''t tasked with driving her to her doctor''s appointment. She felt horrible.

    Trying to push those thoughts away and focus on her son, Keeley held her arms out expectantly and Aaron slowly eased the sleeping baby into her arms. He woke up at the movement and blinked up at his mother with big blue eyes.

    "He''s beautiful," she whispered with tears in her eyes.

    "He is but I can''t decide who he looks like," Aaron said lightly.

    "We''ll probably figure that out once he''s older."

    Jennica cleared her throat. "Hi, best friend here. d you''re alive. Just wanted to know what the deal is with the kids so I can get Logan and Noah home for their naps."

    Keeley blinked in surprise. She hadpletely forgotten her friend was here. "I''m so sorry, Jen. Aaron can take them home after they''re done here. Thank you so much for watching them."

    She smiled softly and walked over to squeeze Keeley''s hand. "Of course. You''d do the same for me. Call me when you get home Aaron. We can figure out a schedule for having theme over when you''re at work while Keeley is in the hospital."

    "Thank you," he said sincerely. "I really appreciate it. Could I get those booster seats from you? Aiden drove me here so I have to take a cab home."

    Aiden¡­Jennica¡­exactly how many of their friends hade to the rescue today when they were in need? A lump rose in Keeley''s throat. She suddenly felt very loved.

    Noah reluctantly waved goodbye as his mother dragged him and the baby away. Aaron followed to get those booster seats, promising he would be right back.

    "Is that our baby?" Kaleb asked curiously, finally showing some interest in Oliver. "He''s so small."

    "You were even smaller," Keeley told him with a smile. "You and Violet were over a month early and had to stay in the hospital for a little while so you could get big and strong."

    "Noah says he''ll marry Violet when they get big," he replied.

    "When did he say that?"

    "Today at the park. He didn''t want to share a room with me if you couldn''t wake up."

    She sighed. What kinds of conversations were these kids having? Poor Alice. She would have to apologize for the hassle these two causedter. There was only one reason Jennica would have ended up with them¡ªAlice couldn''t handle it.

    Jennica was nearly as good with the twins as Keeley and Aaron were. Probably because of how much time she spent with them since they were born. She was the most frequent visitor to the Hale household, even beating out Robert slightly.

    "I''m sure he didn''t mean it," she reassured him. "Noah likes both of you."

    "He likes Violet better," Kaleb mumbled sourly. "Maybe the baby will like me better. That will be fair."

    "I don''t want the baby to like you better!" Violet protested.

    The twins began arguing and it made Keeley''s head hurt. Lights and sounds were agony right now. She didn''t say anything about it but they saw the pained look on her face and were immediately contrite.

    "Sorry Mommy!" they chorused.

    "Daddy said you hurt you head. Is that why it''s dark in here?"

    "Yes, baby. Mommy needs dark and quiet to get better."

    "We''ll be super quiet," Violet whispered. "Can we get in bed with you if we''re super quiet?"

    "Okay, just be careful not to touch Mommy''s tummy or leg," Keeley said with a wince. Breathing too deeply hurt her stomach.

    They happilyplied, being extra careful not to jostle their mother or the baby, each crawling up onto one side of the hospital bed and nuzzling against her upper arms. Aaron came back with the booster seats to see them like that and a soft smile appeared on his face.

    He made sure to get a picture tomemorate Oliver''s birth. It would be one interesting story to tell someday.

 Chapter 398: Change

    <h4>Chapter 398: Change</h4>

    The next two months were the most physically miserable Keeley ever experienced in either of her lives. When she underwent that hical abortion and surgery in her first life it took about the same amount of time to fully recover but she wasn''t dealing with a broken leg or three children who needed her.

    Aaron ended up hiring her a home nurse because she really couldn''t move around with all of the stairs in their house. She was stuck in bed for pretty much everything except using the restroom.

    The home nurse handled pretty much all of Oliver''s diaper changes as well since she couldn''t exactly get up. To keep from goingpletely insane, Aaron bought arge screen TV for their bedroom but even that got old.

    And here she had been wishing she had more time to rx and watch TV. Ha. She probably wouldn''t want to watch anything for the next six months after this.

    The twins were miserable because they wanted their mom to y with them. Keeley could read books and watch movies with them but that was about it. They were used to having her initiate arts and crafts, do homemade science projects, bake, and take them out to do things.

    Aaron tried hiring a temporary nanny for them but they hated it and fought against her every day for two weeks until the poor girl quit. In the end, Jennica returned to the arrangement they had while Keeley was in the hospital. While their father was at work, they stayed with her.

    She was a saint. Keeley would never stop owing her for all of her help.

    But she hated feeling this useless. Being stuck in bed this long was even worse than when she was under house arrest for her own protection. At least back then she could move around!

    The day the doctor finally moved her from a cast to a boot she could walk in she nearly sang for joy. Getting up and down the stairs was the truly difficult part but at least she could move around. After that the twins were able to stay home with her for the few remaining weeks of summer vacation.

    Overall, it was definitely the worst summer she had experienced since the one where her mom and Kaleb died. She didn''t want to break her leg ever, ever again.

    Unfortunately, there was a decent chance she would have to get another C-section with her next child. The doctor had warned her about the possibility. But she would cross that bridge when she came to it. For now she was happy to be able to get out of bed again.

    "Mommy, do I have to go to kindergarten?" Violet asked as she helped her mother make a batch of chocte cupcakes.

    "Yes, baby. But kindergarten is lots of fun. You get to learn more things and go on more field trips than in preschool. Kaleb will be right there with you too," Keeley said encouragingly.

    She pouted. "Kaleb always forgets about me at school. Sometimes I y with Noah when we have the same recess time but he''s not going to kindergarten with me so I''ll be all alone."

    Keeley sighed inwardly. She really didn''t know how to help her daughter make friends since she had never personally had a problem with it. It wasn''t like she could ask Aaron either; he had no desire for friends when he was younger and happened upon themter in life by chance.

    Violet couldn''t just wait for other people to approach her forever. She would be very lonely that way.

    "Why don''t you y with Kaleb and his friends?" Keeley asked.

    The little girl pulled a face. "They only want to y tag or with balls. I like the slides better."

    "There are probably other kids who like slides too. You can always y with them."

    Violet snuck a bit of cupcake batter before tragically shaking her head. "They only want to climb up it. I like going down, not up."

    Keeley patted her daughter''s head, unsure what else to say. Hopefully this was something Violet grew out of. There were plenty of shy kids who found their peopleter on in life. She couldn''t depend on Kaleb or Noah forever. They had their own lives to live.

    Oliver chose that moment to make his presence known from the living room. Keeley apologized to Violet and went to see what he wanted. He was hungry AND needed a diaper change. Lovely.

    She was lucky though; he was a very rxed baby. He only cried when he needed something. She had to wonder what kind of personality he would have when he was older based on that.

    "Mommy, is there something wrong with me?" Violet''s little voice asked hesitantly as she approached where her mother was nursing the baby.

    "Of course not! Why would you think something like that?"

    Keeley saw the genuine worry in the little girl''s eyes and was distressed. Was this her fault for trying to get her to branch out and make new friends? That hadn''t been her intention at all!

    She curled up next to her mother on the couch and clung to her arm, not meeting her eyes. "I don''t fit in at preschool. The kids there don''t like me. What if it''s the same in kindergarten?"

    This was the first Keeley heard of it. She knew Violet typically stuck to herself but she never said anything about the other kids not liking her. Had she been bullied? Or did she take them wanting to do different activities as not liking her?

    Kids that young usually didn''t start excluding others yet. Everything she had seen indicated that Violet''s istion was a personal choice but she couldn''t dismiss her words so lightly.

    "Why do you think they don''t like you, Vi?" she asked gently.

    "I don''t like ying what they want to y. After a while they stopped asking me if I even wanted to," Violet confessed.

    So that was it. Conflicts at that age could be so simple.

    Keeley reached down to kiss the top of her daughter''s head. "Sometimes we have to take turns deciding what to y, sweetie. Nobody can have what they want all the time. We have to learn how topromise."

    "Compromise? I''ve heard Daddy use that word before."

    "Your daddy and I have topromise on some things when we can''t agree too. Everyone does it at some point or another. If you y what the other kids want to y sometimes, then you can ask them to y what you want the next time. Can you give that a try?"

    Violet nodded seriously. "Okay, Mommy. But I never have topromise with Noah. He always ys what I want."

    Noah was a special case. He was always on the same page with Violet. Sometimes it seemed like he was more her twin than Kaleb since he had inherited his father''s dark hair and eyes and they always seemed to be perfectly in sync.

    "That''s because Noah likes ying what you like to y," Keeley said lightly. "But we can be friends with people who are different from us. Goodness knows, your daddy and I are about as different as night and day."

    Violet gave her a skeptical look. "Really? Then why does he love you so much?"

    "He likes that I''m different."

    He had told her so countless times. That she was different than anyone else in his life had been. They were definitely a strange case of opposites attracting.

    "I don''t like things being different. I want everything to stay the same," Violet admitted.

    Keeley rubbed her head with the hand not supporting Oliver. "Change is a part of growing up, sweetie. But it isn''t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes change can be the best thing that ever happens to you."

    She shrugged and hopped off the couch. "I''m gonna go see if Kaleb wants to y Candy Land. Let me know when the cupcakes are done. Thanks for making me feel better, Mommy."

    And with that, she trotted off as if she had never been upset. Ah, the easily changeable nature of a child. Hopefully she took the advice to heart as she went to her new school on Monday.

 Chapter 399: Throwing A Fit

    <h4>Chapter 399: Throwing A Fit</h4>

    Noah Singleton was throwing a fit and nothing his mother said or did could calm him down.

    "I wanna go to school with Violet! Why can''t I?"

    He had already asked some iteration of this question a hundred times. Jennica sighed. Sometimes she wondered if she needed to separate those two more often for their own good. But Keeley was like her sister so of course she wanted to spend time with her whenever possible.

    Her son had gotten used to having Violet and Kaleb over for nine hours a day over the past couple of months when Aaron was working and Keeley wasid up in bed. He had thrown a fit the day after they went back to staying at home all day too, asking why they couldn''t just move into their house permanently.

    Going to a different school for a couple of years would probably be good for them. Noah was perfectly skilled at getting along well with other children; the problem was that he only ever wanted ''pretty Violet.''

    "You''re not old enough to go to kindergarten, sweetie. You''ll be back at the same school in two years," Jennica replied, trying not to sound as exasperated as she felt.

    She and Keeley had already talked about this; they wanted their kids to go to the same school so one of them would be able to pick the other''s kids up more easily in case of emergencies. It was why they had chosen the same preschool too.

    Because Noah was born at the end of September, he barely missed the cut-off to be one year behind the twins in school. They let him start preschool when he was two because he was turning three in a few weeks but kindergarten didn''t work the same way.

    Tears spilled out from Noah''s eyes. "Why did she have to be Kaleb''s sister? Why couldn''t she be mine so she could live with us?"

    Jennica was floored. What kind of question was that? She decided to tease him a little. "Didn''t you say you want to marry her someday? You can''t marry your sister."

    He pouted. "But I can''t marry her until I''m big anyway. You said so. At least if she was my sister I could see her every day."

    It was pointless to tell him that he already practically saw her every day. The Hales and Singletons typically got together 3-4 times a week for y dates because of how attached Violet and Noah were to each other.

    It really was the strangest thing. Violet, who never wanted anybody but her brother or parents, had been interested in Noah from the moment she first saw him as an infant. She started ying with baby dolls all the time to show her mom how good she was with babies to be allowed to hold him.

    Of course, Jennica wasn''t about to let an eighteen month old child who still wobbled around hold her newborn but it was still funny to see. And from the moment Noah could crawl, he followed Violet wherever she went.

    Because Violet and Kaleb were always together, Noah ended up being pretty close to him too but whenever he talked about going to see the Hales he only mentioned her name. It was obvious who he truly cared about seeing. Being close to Kaleb was a side effect of being close to his twin.

    "You can''t just make someone your sister. She''s Aunty Keeley and Uncle Aaron''s baby, just like you''re mine," Jennica exined. "Would it make you feel better if I called Aunty Keeley to see if we can y at their house today?"

    Noah immediately perked up. "Call her! Call her right now!"

    She sighed. She knew that would work. As much as she hated using bribery of any sort to get him to do things, Violet was the only surefire thing that worked. She silently sent an apology to her friend into the void for inconveniencing her when she was still walking around in a boot.

    "Hey Keeley, would it be possible for us toe over today for a little while? Noah really wants to see his best friend."

    There was an obvious smile in Keeley''s voice. "Again? Let me guess. You''re having the same school-rted problem I am."

    Jennica shook her head in amusement. She should have known. Those two were always on the same wavelength.

    "You guessed it. I hate to bother you though."

    "It''s no bother," Keeley insisted. "I would love to see you. I just finished making cupcakes anyway and there aren''t enough people here to eat them all."

    "Ooh, cupcakes! Just what I needed today. I''ll be over in about thirty minutes." She could really use some sugar after dealing with the tantrums.

    "See you then!" her friend said cheerfully before hanging up.

    Jennica peered down at her son, who was hugging her leg with an expectant look in his eyes. "Go get your shoes on. We''re going to see them."

    His eyes brightened and he immediately dashed off in search of his shoes. What was she going to do with that kid?

    She brought this up to Keeley as they munched on cupcakes. The kids ran off to y in Kaleb''s room the second the Singletons arrived.

    "Do you think Noah and Violet would benefit from some time apart?"

    Keeley shrugged. "They''re going to be apart more for a while anyway because they''re at different schools. Noah''s fine ying with other kids when she''s not around, isn''t he?"

    "Yes¡­but he''s always begging me to see her. Isn''t that a little weird for an almost four year old to be so attached to a girl?"

    "I''ve been watching those two for a while. As much as they say they want to get married they don''t actually know what it means. They think it''s only about living with your favorite person. I don''t think he even sees her as a girl yet," she said casually before continuing in a more serious tone.

    "That being said, I hope Violet does make some other friends in kindergarten. I think the natural separation of being in different grades at different schools will help them be less dependent on each other."

    Jennica had to admit she had a point. Caving into the tantrums like today wasn''t the best idea but having Noah make other friends too might prevent him from doing things like this again.

    It wasn''t like Violet and Kaleb were his only friends either. He took the same preschool-aged ser ss that Kaleb used to and had friends there. He had a couple of little friends in their apartment building and in his ss at preschool.

    Friends from all of those ces would be at his birthday party in a couple of weeks but chances are he would ignore them all in favor of Violet. Ah, that kid!

    He was definitely too young to know what love was but if Jennica didn''t know any better she would say her son was smitten. She really hoped Keeley was right about the natural separation thing.

    The kids had a few different after school activities they were signed up for so during the school year they would likely only be able to get together on the weekends. Jennica might have to endure a few weeks of tantrums but once Noah got used to the new schedule he should be fine. Right?

 Chapter 400: Growing Up

    <h4>Chapter 400: Growing Up</h4>

    April 2024

    Keeley and Aaron sat next to each other during the twins'' spring recital at school and tried their best to keep the younger kids quiet. They were far too squirmy and had no interest in watching their older siblings sing.

    Oliver wasn''t quite five yet and Nathan''s third birthday passed only a week ago. Those two were a lot closer in age that Keeley had bargained for¡ªdealing with two babies at the same time was a handful¡ªbut she was grateful to have Nathan. Now they were officially done having kids.

    The Singletons, sitting next to them in the audience, seemed to be somehow mocking their predicament by smiling smugly. Both of their children were involved in the recital so they got to sit back and watch carefree.

    At least the Quinns were suffering as well. Liam was onstage but their two-year-old daughter Elsa was trying to escape.

    They had ended up choosing the same school as their friends when it was time to enroll their son in kindergarten because they were toozy to look into other options. Or so Aiden imed.

    Aiden was only able to get away with private school tuition because Nova had be an unexpectedly popr graphic designer with her own business. Alice and Roger''s children went to public school and so did Kyle and his wife Selena''s.

    The fourth graders came forward to sing their song and Violet had a solo. Cameron grabbed Nathan, who was trying to run, so Aaron could film it. Keeley gave Oliver her phone to y a game on (after turning it to mute) so she could pay attention as well.

    She sang her part like an angel and both her parents had huge, proud smiles on their faces. She had always been talented at anything to do with music. Violet sang, yed the piano and violin, and did ballet because she liked the kind of music ballerinas danced to.

    Needless to say, the Hales attended a lot of recitals. And sports games. Kaleb yed a different sport every season and loved them all, though so far little league baseball seemed to be his favorite. He was pretty good too. His coached always gushed about his pitching ability.

    Keeley had never been busier, especially since she had been back to work since the school year started. Nathan insisted on going to preschool with his brother even though he was still two. Thankfully they had a ss open up for younger kids.

    Her dog trials wereing along well but she still had a few months to go at minimum before she could write her paper on it and move onto monkeys. Which was thest step before humans.

    She freaked out if she thought about it too much. Her dream was so close she could almost taste it but she didn''t want to get ahead of herself. Living in the moment was important. Her kids would only be this young once.

    Keeley pped so hard her hands hurt after the song ended and made sure to cheer extra loud. Violet heard her parents yelling her name and turned bright red though she had a slightly proud smile on her face at their praise

    When the recital ended, she gave both of her kids a big hug. "You both did great! And your solo was the best one, Vi."

    "Thanks Mom!" they chorused.

    "Did you video it like you said, Dad?" Violet asked eagerly.

    Aaron smiled at her proudly. "I did. We can watch it again when we get home if you like."

    She pped her hands together. "Ooh, yes!"

    "Good job Sissy," Oliver said as he reached out to hug her. "You sounded pretty."

    He had called her Sissy since he was little. ''Violet'' was hard for a baby to say and he heard other people referring to her as ''sister'' all the time. The name stuck. Nathan, ever copying his brother, called her Sissy too. She didn''t seem to mind.

    At least Sissy was better than Kiwi. Keeley shook her head with a slight smile at the memory.

    "Thanks Ollie." Violet looked around. "Where''s Noah? I wanted to ask him what he thought about my solo."

    Keeley was about to say she didn''t know when a small figureunched itself at Violet from behind. Noah. He had a crazy grin on his face.

    "You were awesome! Nobody sounded better than you, Vi."

    She smiled happily at thepliment and turned around to return his hug. "Thank you! You really think so?"

    "Uh huh. You sing even better than my mom," he said seriously.

    "You better not let her hear you say that," Keeley said with augh.

    Jennica went back to work auditioning once Logan was in preschool and hadnded a few major roles in Off-Broadway productions. One talent scout was so impressed they helped her get into that actors'' guild all the Broadway stars were in.

    She was currently in rehearsals for a Broadway show premiering next month. It was an ensemble role but she was too excited to care about that since hardly anyone made it to Broadway at all. She had rubbed it in her mother''s face extensively.

    Fear shed in his dark eyes. "Please don''t tell her, Aunt Keeley!"

    She reached out to tousle his hair. "I won''t. I was only teasing."

    Noah seemed relieved and immediately went back to chattering about the recital. "You were definitely the best solo but I liked the song the third graders sang too. And did you hear Logan? He was the loudest kindergartner there was¡­"

    Keeley watched them interact fondly. Noah was more of a chatterbox than Violet could ever dream of being but she always had an indulgent smile on her face when he went on. It reminded her oddly of her rtionship with Aaron sometimes.

    Those two weren''t into any of the same things but they always still found endless topics of conversation anyway. The past couple of years, any time the Hales and Singletons went to the park together Violet and Noah could be found swinging on the swings and talking.

    Whenever she was close enough to catch a bit of their conversations she was always surprised by how randomly philosophical they were. There was no rhyme or reason to their pattern at all.

    Unlike Violet, whose sole focus was music, Noah was interested in a little bit of everything. Jennica hadined more than once about how many different activities he had tried and quit.

    The only thing he seemed to ever stick with was karate. His mother was grateful because it helped get his energy out. Logan had followed in his footsteps and started karate over the summer. He loved it but his form was all over the ce.

    Keeley had been right about those two years mostly apart being good for them. They both branched out a little. Noah had more friends and Violet, still shy, had focused on learning her instruments.

    But there was nothing concerning about their closeness now. They still sought each other out whenever their lunch periods ovepped and when their families got together but they didn''t freak out when the other wasn''t around anymore. They were growing up.

 Chapter 401: Going Into Battle

    <h4>Chapter 401: Going Into Battle</h4>

    The day after the recital Aaron had a very important business function he couldn''t miss (he only went when it was absolutely necessary because he hated those things) and he begged Keeley toe along. She hated those things even more than he did because they brought back bad memories but at the same time she didn''t want to leave him to suffer alone.

    He hade to her work''s Christmas party even though everyone gawked at him so she felt the need to return the favor. She had fussed over what to wear for a solid week. As much as she hated it; she went shopping in the expensive shopping district for a dress, shoes, and jewelry specifically for the event.

    Aaron told her that wasn''t necessary and she could wear what she wanted but she was having war shbacks at the thought of being mocked by his associates'' wives. Dealing with all of those sharks definitely felt like going into battle in her first life.

    Despite how long ago it had been now, Keeley still remembered how to handle herself at such events. Nobody was going to mess with her this time.

    His jaw dropped when he saw here down the stairs in her designer dress. "You look like¡­"

    "I know," she said tly.

    She looked like she had as the wannabe socialite Mrs. Hale who never quite fit in. She wasn''t that person anymore but she needed to act like she was tonight.

    Aaron sighed and shook his head. "Go back upstairs and get changed into something you''refortable with. Nobody will dare say anything to you since I don''t intend to let you leave my side all night."

    "Do I look that bad?"

    "No, you look stunning. But I want you to look like you."

    Her heart fluttered at his words. Somehow he always knew the right thing to say since they got back together. Keeley decided to tease him.

    "Are you saying I don''t normally look stunning?"

    "Don''t twist my words. You know I think you''re the most gorgeous woman ever to walk the earth. Now go. We''re going to bete," he urged, shooing her back up the stairs.

    Keeley came back down in a simple three quarter sleeve ice blue cocktail dress. She got rid of the pearl ne¡ªshe had always hated pearls because they reminded her of darker days¡ªbut kept the diamond earrings she had bought for the asion. She put on a morefortable pair of nude pumps too.

    "That''s my girl," Aaron said sweetly before kissing her cheek. "Come on, we need to go downstairs."

    This particr business function was celebrating Hale Investments'' 100th anniversary. It was a pretty big deal. All of the employees were invited.

    Because of this, all of their friends had to find babysitters. But the Hale and Singleton children had been so insistent on having a sleepover this exact night (their parents promised weeks ago without remembering what day the party was) that they hired someone to watch them all over at Cameron''s apartment.

    Keeley offered to use their ce since it was bigger but the kids wanted to go over there because of the dog. Aaron had relented about kittens but he refused to get a dog, iming they were too much work. His argument was that they already had four kids and didn''t need another one with fur.

    The party was held in one of the banquet rooms of the za Hotel since Hale Investments'' building didn''t have enough space for this kind of event. Aaron, as the CEO, was in high demand but he didn''t let the vultures descend on Keeley.

    Their elbows remained firmly hooked together until she spotted Alice. She politely excused herself and slipped away to chat with her friend. Jennica was tied up as well since she was the vice president''s wife and Keeley hadn''t even seen anyone else she knew.

    She hugged her friend warmly. "How are you? I feel like I haven''t seen you in ages."

    "It has been a couple of months. I''ve been pretty busy between taking care of the kids and providing French tutoring. What about you? How did the recital go? I saw the pictures you posted," Alice replied.

    "Violet did amazing, as expected. She''s always loved to sing. I''m just d I was actually able to watch her solo since the little ones were all over the ce. We should have just gotten a babysitter."

    They ended up chatting pleasantly about their children for a while until it was time for Aaron''s big speech. Keeley knew the drill; she had to stand next to him, smile, and look pretty while he talked.

    The first time she ever had to do this shortly after they were married she felt like a Miss America contestant smiling and waving like that as everyone stared at her. That feeling never fully went away throughout her years serving as his arm candy.

    She actually paid attention to Aaron''s speech despite not understanding a lot of the business jargon. She got the basic gist though; Hale Investments was doing better than ever and he had the hard work of the employees to thank for that.

    It was really hard not tough knowing how insincere most of the speech was. Aaron told the people what they wanted to hear even though he didn''t believe it. Just the other day he had beenining about ckers after talking to the head of HR.

    People pped following the conclusion of the speech and they were able to step slightly out of the spotlight. She thought she was doing alright until she happened to spy her inws in the crowd.

    Alistair was still a shareholder but she didn''t think he would dare to show his face here tonight. He barely even went to the meetings anymore!

    Roslyn''s presence was even more surprising. She looked around the room haughtily with her arm tucked into her husband''s as if everyone here didn''t know she had been cheated on. She had awfully thick skin to go out with him at a public event where people knew her.

    It had been ten years since the news broke but people still talked about it whenever the name ''Hale'' was brought up. Old gossip could still circte rmingly far, especially when high profile people were involved.

 Chapter 402: Leave My Husband Alone

    <h4>Chapter 402: Leave My Husband Alone</h4>

    Aaron was busy talking to someone but Keeley needed to warn him of the impending confrontation. She gently nudged him with her hip, making him look towards her. She tilted her head in his parents'' general direction.

    It was so subtle that no one else would have noticed it but the temperature within a five foot radius of her husband dropped about thirty degrees. He definitely got her hint.

    She instantly regretted telling him before they could even approach but wasn''t it better than letting him be caughtpletely off guard? Keeley really wished they could go home already. She was tired even before those two showed their stupid faces.

    Aaron''s tone remained as it ever was but the man talking to him became so frightened by the atmosphere change that he quickly excused himself. No one else dared approach while Hurricane Aaron was still brewing.

    "Why are they here?" he growled.

    "Your guess is as good as mine. Probably to give you a hard time," Keeley whispered back.

    His expression hardened. "More like to give you a hard time."

    He had a point. Aaron had made sure she hadn''t run into her inws in this life. Aside from that one idental encounter when she was in college, Keeley hadn''t seen either of them in about eighteen years. Even all of that time hadn''t been long enough. She had hoped she would never see them again.

    "Maybe they won''te over?" she predicted optimistically.

    Her hopes were dashed a momentter. Seeing an opening, Alistair and Roslyn took it. if Keeley hadn''t pointed out they were here, Aaron wouldn''t have gone into ice mode and people might have talked to him for the rest of the night so his parents didn''t get the chance.

    No use crying over spilled milk. She grit her teeth and put on her best smile though Aaron didn''t even bother with the courtesy. He was furious and he wasn''t afraid to let them know it.

    "What a surprise," he said tly. "What do you want from me?"

    "I can''t say hello to my only child?" Roslyn replied in an equally t tone.

    Geez. This entire family was full of icicles. Keeley was covered up more than most of the women here and she was freezing in this little circle of Hales.

    Aaron''s expression grew even more disdainful. "I''m surprised you still regard me as your child since you never bothered to try and see me in the past ten years."

    As much as Aaron imed not to care about his parents, it was clear he resented theirck of warmth and love. He wasn''t as immune as he pretended to be. More than once he had said something offhand about how great a father Robert was and it didn''t take a genius to read between the lines.

    He obviously wished he had a father like Keeley''s since his own was such a horrid excuse for a parent. It was also why he had worked so hard to be the best possible father to his own kids.

    "Don''t be like that, Aaron," Roslyn snapped, her socialite''sposure breaking. "You never tried to see me either."

    He shrugged off the responsibility. "That''s because I didn''t want to see you. My life has been better than ever without your pointless interference."

    He acted s¨¦ about it but Keeley could feel the hand she was holding tremble with anger. She tried to silentlyfort him but wasn''t sure how well it was working.

    Roslyn turned towards her stiffly and looked down her nose. "I assume that''s because of this crass woman and those half-breeds you call children."

    Keeley lost her head and ended up digging her fingernails painfully into that horrid woman''s wrist in one swift motion before anyone else could even react. As she winced in pain, Keeley stepped closer to dig her high heel into the top of the woman''s foot as well.

    "You can insult me but don''t you dare insult my children," she said in a low, dangerous voice.

    "And I''ll have you know, I may be ''crass'' by your standards but I''m more intelligent than you could ever dream to be. I''m halfway to curing cystic fibrosis, you judgmental piece of trash. I actually contribute to this world instead of simply squandering countless resources that could better serve someone more useful.

    "My children are beautiful, wonderful human beings, just like the son you always ignored unless he suited your purposes. They all add more value to this world than scum like you could ever hope to. Stay away from me, but more importantly, stay away from Aaron you pathetic excuse for a mother."

    Keeley let go, stepped away, and smiled pleasantly as if nothing untoward had happened. She was speaking quietly enough that nobody but the four of them could hear.

    "The same goes for you, Alistair. You''re even worse," she said with a bright smile that contrasted with her words. "Leave my husband alone, yeah?"

    He blustered for a few moments, unsure how to respond. Aaron''s ice had evaporated because he waspletely stunned that his wife actually stood up for herself against the people she feared most.

    Keeley turned and dragged Aaron away to talk to someone else before they coulde up with a retort. He followed mutely but she could practically feel the bliss radiating off of him.

    "What are you so happy about?" she asked in confusion. "You hate dealing with your parents."

    "Yes but you defended me," he said dreamily. Well, as dreamily as he was capable of. "Nobody has ever defended me to my parents before."

    She clutched his arm tighter. That much was true. No one dared go against Alistair Hale back when he was in power. Even now that he was somewhat of aughing stock he still had a terrifying presence.

    Aaron wasn''t the only one in the wrong in theirst life. He didn''t defend her against his parents but she didn''t do the same for him either. They should have helped each other out like they were now.

    "Hopefully I won''t need to do it again," she muttered.

    She really didn''t like dealing with those two snobs. Had she gone a bit overboard? Possibly. She was subtle enough that nobody else in the room seemed to have noticed but she never verbally thrashed people like that.

    They deserved it though. They were horrible, selfish people who had made their son suffer. And they were the ones who came over specifically to pick a fight.

    "I''m not worried even if they do try to bother me again," Aaron said confidently. "I have you."

    He looked at her with such genuine affection that Keeley thought she might melt into the floor. If they were alone right now, she would have kissed him senseless. As it was, they still had a lot of people to talk to.

 Chapter 403: Bickering

    <h4>Chapter 403: Bickering</h4>

    Chaos reigned at the Singleton house with only one college student watching six children. Violet, Kaleb, and Noah watched boredly as the babysitter tried and failed to control the younger three while ying with y-Doh.

    "This is some," Violet said with a yawn.

    "y-Doh is for babies," Kaleb agreed.

    "Wanna go up to my room? I have a new Lego set we could try," Noah offered to his friends. They dly took him up on it. Anything was better than watching the sitter flounder.

    "Hey, where are you guys going?" she called frantically to them as they went upstairs.

    "To my room."

    "I''m supposed to watch all of you at the same time! Come back!"

    They didn''t heed the babysitter''s pleas. She was boring and they had better things to do. They all settled down on the floor of Noah''s room as he brought out the box of Legos.

    It was a dragon, knight, and castle set his cousin outgrew and gave to him when his family went to Pennsylvania for Easter. His cousin swore it even had all of the original pieces because he was careful not to lose them.

    "Why do our dads have to work at the same ce anyway," Kaleb grumbled. "This would be more fun if Aunt Jen was here."

    "Don''t be stupid; we wouldn''t even know each other if dad hadn''t hired Uncle Cameron," Violet said as she began sorting the Lego pieces into piles by shape and color. "He and Uncle Aiden have worked for him since before we were born. Dad has known them almost as long as he''s known Mom."

    Noah looked confused. "How long have your parents known each other? My dad says he met your dad in college."

    "High school," she replied, not looking up from her organizing.

    "Wow, that is a long time. But I''ll know you longer when we grow up because we''ve known each other since we were babies."

    "That isn''t how that works¡ªoh, never mind. Anyway, I''ll always know Kaleb the longest since we were in our mom''s tummy together."

    Noah scowled as he stared intently at the instructions. "Unfair."

    "Life isn''t fair, Noah," Violet said simply.

    Kaleb rolled his eyes as he started putting pieces together at random. He was used to their bickering. And how much of a know-it-all his sister was. He loved her dearly anyway; he wouldn''t trade his twin for anything.

    But sometimes she had a talent for making other people feel stupid. It was probably because she was so smart.

    At least he was better than her at sports. Every time she tried, she tended to get hit in the face with whatever ball was being used. Whenever this happened he wouldugh at her after checking to see if she was okay. That made her pretty mad.

    The three of them worked in rtive silence for a while, only speaking to ask for a specific Lego piece or something else pertaining to construction of the castle. In Kaleb''s opinion, it was better this way.

    Even though he was closer to Violet than anybody he had the odd sensation of being a third wheel when Noah was around. And yet everybody else said they felt like a third wheel around Violet and Kaleb. He was a little jealous that Violet always got to be an important wheel.

    At the same time, he knew he had way more friends than her. He couldn''t be too upset. She was polite enough to her ssmates and her brother''s friends but the only people she really liked were him and Noah.

    As they got older and progressed more in school they grew apart a bit since they had different sses. Kaleb knew Violet didn''t like it but he had secretly requested to be in a different ss when they were in third grade.

    It wasn''t that he didn''t love his sister; he simply wanted to be able to go to school without worrying about her. She always got so sulky when he yed with anybody else. He still saw her all the time and yed with her constantly at home. Nobody but his mom knew that he wanted school to himself.

    Well, she probably told his dad. He knew there were no secrets between those two because of the time Dad snitched on him for eating thest cookie even after Mom told him not to. She said that was how marriage was supposed to work. Whatever that meant.

    Violet''s world was limited to very few people and Kaleb didn''t want to be stuck as a third wheel forever so he went out and made as many friends as possible. Kaleb liked Noah but he knew he ranked second to his sister in his friend''s eyes.

    Wasn''t it better for him to y with people who saw him first while they could be off in their little world by themselves?

    "Kal, I need the piece you''re holding," his sister requested, holding her hand out for it.

    He handed it to her without a word and she smiled brightly at him. Violet had the same kind of smile their mom did; it made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever you saw it. She smiled at him more than anybody because he saw her most. Even more than Noah.

    For a while when they were younger Kaleb wished Noah would go away so he could have his sister''s smile all to himself. But that was a dumb thing to wish for. With Noah around, Kaleb was able to y with new friends at the park without having to cater to Violet. He got over it pretty quick.

    But as they got older, he noticed that Noah was even more protective of his sister than he was. Sometimes Kaleb wondered why. He knew why he was protective; Violet was his twin. They shared a certain bond that nothing could break.

    Noah wasn''t her twin or even her brother so why did he care so much? He clung to her like Velcro. If he were Violet, he would be annoyed by the constant attention.

 Chapter 404: Grandma and Grandpa Hale

    <h4>Chapter 404: Grandma and Grandpa Hale</h4>

    The three children working on the Lego castle heard some thuds and other loud noisesing from downstairs but nobody was crying so they ignored it.

    "This has to be the worst babysitter we''ve ever had," Violet sighed as she put together a turret.

    "Probably," her twin agreed. "I hope Aunt Jen and Uncle Camerone back soon."

    They all turned toward the digital clock in the room. It was only 9:02 PM and the party wasn''t supposed to be over until 10. It would be a while yet.

    "I hope Mom and Dad don''t run into Grandma and Grandpa Hale," she said worriedly.

    Violet had been thinking about this a lot since she found out the party was to celebrate Hale Investments'' 100th anniversary. Thepany had theirst name on it so it had obviously been in the family for a long time.

    Dad never talked about his parents but she deduced they were alive somewhere because Grandma Hall was dead and Mom talked about her all the time. She obviously missed her mother. Dad didn''t seem to miss his parents at all.

    She had wondered why for the longest time until she overheard a couple of her teachers gossiping in third grade. They had been whispering about how she was one of the secret children from a big scandal eight years earlier.

    Apparently, her dad took over thepany by force to kick his father out because he didn''t approve of her mom and wanted him to marry someone else. After hearing that it all clicked into ce. That scary man her dad argued with the day he took her to work back in preschool must have been her grandfather.

    Not that Violet cared. She had no desire to see someone who disrespected her mother or didn''t approve of her or her brothers'' existence.

    Noah tilted his head in confusion. "Why wouldn''t you want that?"

    "We''ve never met them," Kaleb exined. "My dad hates them."

    "Only because they hate us and Mom," she added quickly.

    She didn''t want Noah thinking her dad was simply being petty. He had definitely made the right choice. Violet loved her family and couldn''t imagine it being any different than it was. Her parents were perfect together; anyone who couldn''t see that was an idiot.

    "How could anyone hate you?"

    Violet smiled at the earnestness in her friend''s voice. He seemed genuinely offended on their behalf.

    "I think it''s because Mom isn''t rich," Kaleb said with a shrug. "I''ve heard people talk about Dad before. Apparently he was a pretty big deal before we were born."

    "He''s still a pretty big deal, dummy. Don''t you know he was the youngest Fortune 500 CEO ever?"

    He frowned. "No. How do you even know that?"

    "Don''t you remember when Dad had to give that interview for a business magazine? They gave him a copy and I happened to read it. Dad is super smart; he''s practically a legend in the business world," Violet said proudly.

    She thought it was pretty cool her dad had aplished so much, especially since he did it for the sake of their mom. Apparently he had always been a mushy romantic. Just looking at the way he acted around his wife and children you would never suspect he was such a big shot.

    Kaleb raised an eyebrow at her. "You read something from a grownups magazine when you were like six? Why am I not surprised."

    Violet stuck her tongue out at him. Her brother was always teasing her for how much she loved to read. She would read anything she could get her hands on, okay?

    Fiction, nonfiction¡­it didn''t matter. Books were how she survived being alone at school. Sometimes she sat with her brother and his friends at lunch but they were so noisy. She typically preferred spending her lunchtime in the library since fourth graders and second graders had different lunchtimes and she couldn''t hang out with Noah.

    She had actually run out of interesting books to read at the elementary school''s library so her mother started taking her to the public library every week to get more challenging reading material. Violet always kept one or two of those books in her backpack so she wouldn''t get bored.

    "I think it''s cool that you read so much," Noah said absentmindedly as he focused on building the Lego dragon. "You get your homework done faster than anybody because of how fast you can read. I''m jealous."

    This was true. Violet and Kaleb had roughly the same amount of homework even though they had different teachers and she always finished hers in one fourth of the time that it took him. He hadined about it more than once because she got to go y while he was still working at the kitchen table under his mother''s watchful eye.

    She shrugged. "You say that but kids call me a freak for finishing workbooks in ss so quickly. Sometimes my teachers think I''m cheating on tests too. I''m not though; I''m just fast."

    "Well that''s dumb. They shouldn''t give you a hard time for being smarter than them," Noah said as if it should bepletely obvious.

    That''s exactly what she thought, even if she wouldn''t admit it aloud. Her mom always told her it wasn''t polite to brag when she said things like that.

    "People don''t like what they can''t do themselves," Kaleb said gruffly. "That''s on them, Vi, not you."

    Violet felt an overwhelming surge of affection for her brother. Normally he wasn''t so great with words but she definitely felt his fierce love for her from those words, even if they weren''t conventional. She leaned over to kiss his cheek.

    "Thanks, Kal," she said with a bright smile.

    Kaleb turned red. "Don''t do that; it''s embarrassing!"

    She couldn''t see what the big deal was. Cheek kisses happened all the time in their family. He didn''t seem to mind when Mom did it. Then again, she normally only did it at home. Noah was watching.

    He didn''t seem happy about it either. A sulky expression made its way onto his face. "Where''s my kiss? I said basically the same thing he did!"

    "You''re not my brother," Violet said as she rolled her eyes.

    It waspletely obvious. Mom said you weren''t supposed to kiss people outside your family until you got older, advising her to save it for someone she was in love with. She couldn''t even imagine something that far off.

    Noah grumbled but didn''t have an adequate response for that so they went back to building the castle in silence.

 Chapter 405: What A Night

    <h4>Chapter 405: What A Night</h4>

    By the time the Singleton parents came back, the younger children had nearly destroyed the living room. Cushions were upended, somebody spilled an entire bag of rice on the ground, and the poor dog had y-Doh stuck to its fur.

    "What on earth happened?!" Jennica asked, aghast.

    "I''m so sorry!" the babysitter wailed. "They refused to go to bed! I tried, I really did, but as soon as I chased after one another did something else."

    Cameron touched his forehead and rubbed it in agitation. "Clean this up if you want to get your full pay. I''ll put them to bed."

    The babysitter nodded tearfully and immediately began sweeping up the rice as Logan threw himself at his father''s legs with a cheeky grin.

    "You''re in trouble, mister. Don''t smile at me like that," he said sternly. "Oliver, Nathan, you need to get ready for bed too."

    Nathan was only wearing a pajama shirt and a diaper because he had thought it would be fun to tease the babysitter and run around as she tried to put his pants on. He saw that Cameron meant business though so he quietly recovered his pants and put them on.

    "Where are the older kids?" Jennica asked the babysitter with a tint of frustration in her tone.

    She was trying so hard not to lose it on this girl who had probably tried her best. She knew the kids didn''t react well to strangers watching them.

    "Upstairs in Noah''s room."

    Had she even been trying to check in on them at all? Ugh, she really didn''t deserve full pay for this. It was a miracle the apartment hadn''t burned down with how badly things had gone.

    Jennica trudged up the stairs wearily¡ªthe party had exhausted her and she hadn''t even gotten to talk to any of her friends. She was d these sorts of things didn''t require her presence too often. Cast parties for her job weren''t nearly that bad.

    When she approached Noah''s door, it waspletely silent in there. What were those three up to?

    Jennica had to stifle augh when she saw them all passed out on the floor with a partiallypleted Lego castle in the middle. Violet''s head was pressed up against her twin''s arm and Noah''s hand was on her wrist even though the castle was between them. None of them looked terriblyfortable.

    The kids were too big for her to lift so she ended up switching duties with Cameron so he could carry them to bed. He put his son on his bed and tucked him in before pulling out the trundle for Kaleb.

    Since Violet was a girl and shouldn''t be sharing a room with boys anyway, he took her downstairs and tucked her in on the couch. Man, these kids were getting heavy! It seemed like just yesterday he could carry two of them at once.

    While he was down there, he noticed the babysitter had finished cleaning so he paid her and shooed her out of the house. Cameron definitely would not be using that babysitting service again. That girl had no child management skills.

    He went upstairs and flopped down on his bed, ripping off his tie as he went down. Jennica joined him a few minutester and could not wait to get out of her constrictive dress.

    "They all asleep?"

    "Yep. What a night," she sighed heavily. "Did you notice Keeley tell off her inws? It was pretty subtle but I happened to be looking that way when it happened."

    How could he not have noticed? After nearly two decades of working with Aaron, Cameron would recognize that ice ring up across the room in a heartbeat. There was only one thing at the party that could set him off like that; his parents daring to show up.

    He wasn''t surprised by the ice. He was surprised that his friend was glowing like the sun after the encounter. What on earth did Keeley say that changed his attitude so much in less than five minutes?

    "Oh, I noticed. Aaron was over the moon about something afterwards. She must have said something amazing. I wish I had been closer so I could have heard it for myself."

    "I feel sorry for her. Nobody should have to deal with inws that hate them. I got really lucky in that department; your family is the best," Jennica replied as she curled up next to her husband.

    Keeley wasn''t the only one Cameron felt sorry for. Aaron''s parents were horrible people, not only about his son''s choice of wife. He had dealt with Alistair Hale long enough in those shareholders meetings to know the man didn''t care one whit about his son.

    Back in 2012 when he first found out about the woman Aaron loved he had been shocked. Why would this ice statue be in love with someone so normal?

    It became fairly clear in the few years after their marriage. Keeley gave him the warmth, love, and fun he never got to experience growing up. Cameron wouldn''t have thought his boss was capable of being so sentimental if he hadn''t spent so much time with him outside of work and around his family in the years that followed.

    Aaron always seemed so happy doing average or even ridiculous things with his wife and children. So that seemingly emotionless block of ice simply wanted a family after all. People could be surprisingly simple when you really thought about it.

    Even at work he wasn''t as icy as before after marrying his wife. He had mellowed a lot over the years; all of his long-term employees had noticed it.

    He definitely still had amanding presence and could terrify anyone in the blink of an eye but ice wasn''t his default anymore. Aaron was more¡­neutral¡­now for the most part. Keeley was a miracle worker.

    "At least they have each other," Cameron said after some thought.

    "Yeah, you''re right," Jennica yawned. "Come on and get changed. I''m exhausted and want cuddles."

    That was a request he couldn''t refuse. No matter how many times he had done it, he always savored the feeling of holding his wife in his arms. It reminded him of how they met. She literally fell for him.

    Aaron wasn''t the only one lucky in love. Cameron considered himself just as lucky if not more so.

 Chapter 406: Female Role Models

    <h4>Chapter 406: Female Role Models</h4>

    October 2028

    Keeley stared at the email in front of her in utter shock. While waiting to hear back about her proposal to begin human trials she had been helping Erica with her research on gene therapy and blindness. She checked her work email ount on a whim while waiting for the centrifuge to finish running and now¡­

    "Yes!" she shrieked, jumping up and down as she broke out of her daze.

    Not only had she been approved, more than three dozen people had already signed up to participate in the clinical trials. She had expected less than ten; this waspletely insane!

    "Let me guess, you got approved," Erica said with a smile.

    "Thirty-nine people signed up, Erica! Thirty. Nine. For the very first clinical trial! When Mason started his clinical trials on humansst year he only got eight volunteers in the first trial. Once that seeded, he got about twenty. Why on earth did so many people sign up right away?"

    "Probably because of that article about you that came out on the Association for Women in Science websitest year. It mentioned all the sess you had so far and that you had just finished the monkey trials," she pointed out.

    Erica was probably right. Keeley had gotten a lot of attention from that article. She had shared her brother''s story when the interviewer asked her about hermitment to cystic fibrosis research. The interview had actually teared up listening to her.

    Especially when she asked how Keeley handled the work/life bnce and asked about her children. The interviewer nearly bawled when she found out she named her oldest son after her deceased brother. Was that really something to cry over?

    As awkward as it had been being interviewed¡ªshe hadn''t dealt with anything like that since being outed as Aaron''s wife all those years ago¡ªKeeley was d she did it. Science had long been a field dominated by men and little girls interested in the field needed more female role models.

    The first time a teenage girl recognized her on the street and asked for her autograph had been both confusing and gratifying. The girl''s mother had been terribly apologetic, not knowing why her daughter was asking such a thing of a stranger on the street.

    "Even if she is an actress you like, you can''t just bother people like that Veronica! I''m so sorry."

    "Mom, she''s not an actress! This is Doctor Keeley Hale, the featured scientist on the AWIS website fromst month." Veronica''s eyes shone excitedly. "Did you really get your PhD when you were only twenty-five? Your research is amazing!"

    "Thank you," Keeley said, startled by the praise. "I did."

    Veronica turned to her mom excitedly. "See? I told you! She was pregnant too and still finished strong. Doctor Hale, you''re the coolest! I want to be a gicist just like you!"

    That entire experience still made Keeley smile when she thought about it. That girl had been so earnest. When she told Aaron about it heughed and said, "See? I''ll be known as nothing more than Doctor Keeley Hale''s husband in no time."

    As much as she appreciated keeping a low profile, she infinitely preferred being recognized for her own aplishments rather than simply for being Aaron Hale''s wife. Veronica was the first but she wasn''t thest.

    Keeley actually had fan pages, mostly made up of teenage girls, on multiple social media sites. Her follower count on Instagram rose exponentially after that interview too.

    "I think you''re right," she told Erica.

    Immediately she began scrambling around trying to figure out where to start. There was so much she needed to do!

    First of all, she needed to set up meetings with each of the clinical trial participants. They had to sign waivers acknowledging any potential side effects and she had to exin the process to them. On top of that, she neededplete medical backgrounds and blood samples from each one.

    "If you''ll excuse me, I have thirty-nine phone calls to make," Keeley said before stepping out to find a secluded ce to call.

    Actually, she had forty. She needed to call Aaron first to tell him the good news. This wasn''t the sort of thing that could be shared over text.

    She called him but it went straight to voicemail. He was probably in a meeting. She didn''t see the point in leaving a message since she knew he would call her back the moment he saw she had called.

    Instead, she turned to her list of volunteers'' names and began calling them one by one to set up consultation appointments. She made it through four calls before Aaron got back to her.

    "Sorry sweetheart, I was meeting with a potential investor. What''s up?"

    Keeley figured it would be something like that. If it were with one of his subordinates he would have answered anyway. He had done it before.

    "Thirty-nine people signed up for my first clinical trial! I broke the DOMA record!" she said gleefully, unable to stop herself from bouncing up and down. She got more excited the more she thought about it.

    Aaron was definitely smiling; she could tell. "That''s amazing! We definitely have to celebrate tonight. Where do you want to go?"

    "Could we go to that teppanyaki ce I like? I''m in the mood to watch people y with fire. I''ll see if my dad is free too. He''ll be thrilled."

    Keeley chuckled as she thought of his reaction. Robert Hall had been very, very proud of his daughter throughout the entire research process. Now that she was this close to actually curing someone he might burst from pride.

    "Sounds good to me. I''ll make a reservation at six for seven people just in case."

    "Awesome. I better go; I have thirty-five more phone calls to make. I just wanted to tell you the good news," she admitted.

    "I''m d you did. I''m so proud of you, Keeley. You''re so close to achieving your dream!" Aaron said with obvious affection in his voice.

    No matter how many times she heard that loving tone it always got to her. The warm and fuzzy feeling inside of her intensified. He really was such a wonderful, supportive husband. Nobody cared about her research more than Aaron did.

    "Thanks, honey. I''ll see you after work, alright? Love you."

    "Love you too."

    The call disconnected and Keeley smiled to herself. Right now she felt like the luckiest person in the whole world. She really hoped nothing went too terribly wrong with the clinical trials.

    She knew her research was solid but different people reacted differently to the same treatment. Side effects were her biggest concern at this point. Unless they were able to be controlled, her treatment would never be approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a viable cure.

 Chapter 407: Teenagers

    <h4>Chapter 407: Teenagers</h4>

    By the time 3 PM rolled around Keeley was exhausted from all of those phone calls but at least she finished them. She would have an awful lot of meetings the next couple of weeks but she could worry about thatter. Right now she needed to go pick up her kids.

    It was a bit annoying having her children so spread out. Kaleb and Violet were in middle school and Oliver and Nathan were in elementary. At least it wasn''t as bad as when Nathan was in preschool. Back then she had to pick them up from three different ces.

    She picked up the twins first because the middle school let out for the day at 2:45 PM and they had already been waiting. Spotting them in front of the school building was fairly easy despite the throng of students waiting to be picked up. Though they had to wear a uniform (private school and all) they still managed to have their own style.

    Kaleb''s tie was never tied properly and he always wore several thick rubber bracelets around his right wrist. Since there was no code about shoes, he always made sure to wear the wackiest colors and patterns of sneakers he could find. Right now they were light blue covered in pineapples.

    Violet always tied her hair back in a ponytail with a different colored or patterned ribbon and wore the Tiffany bow earrings Aaron had given Keeley way back in high school pretty much every day. She was very into nail art right now and had a fancy new DIY manicure each week.

    She always wore a silver charm bracelet Noah got her for her thirteenth birthday as well. Right now the only charms on it were a pair of ballet slippers, a book, a violin, and a heart. It originally only had the heart and ballet slippers but he had given her the additional charmster.

    "Alright, you know the drill. Tell me three things about your day. One good thing, one not so good thing, and one thing you learned," Keeley said as her kids piled into the back of the minivan.

    She had bought it after Nathan was born because there wasn''t enough room in their old car for everyone to fit. Aaron thought it was hrious because he had never so much as dreamed of owning a minivan before it happened.

    Keeley told him not to make fun of her car, which she dubbed Leia in honor of her love of Star Wars. Naming cars had always been a thing in her family. The Imp her dad drove when she was in high school had been named Bertha.

    Aaron said she should have named it Chewba because it was so huge and clunky. He simply didn''t know how to appreciate a useful car.

    Kaleb answered her request first., shaking her free from her thoughts. Keeley had started this tradition when they were in fifth grade because trying to get them to offer information about their day was like pulling teeth the older they got. It was highly effective at keeping her in the loop about her children''s daily lives.

    "I made the varsity basketball team! I thought my try-out wasn''t that great but I guess they still liked me. Oh! And my teacher lit a hundred dor bill on fire in science today but it didn''t burn because he soaked it in a water-alcohol mixture first. That was super cool! As for the not so good thing¡­I bombed a pop quiz," he finished sheepishly.

    Keeley made sure to address everything he said. "I''ve seen that experiment done before, it is pretty cool. That''s great about the basketball team! The season starts in a few weeks, right? But not so great about the quiz. Which ss was it?"

    "English. It was a spelling quiz and you know I suck at spelling."

    This was true. Violet had essentially be his walking dictionary at home when he was working on homework. Unfortunately, he didn''t have her avable during ss to spell things for him.

    "Show me the words and I''ll help you make some sh cards when we get home so this doesn''t happen again," Keeley suggested. "I''ll need more information about when your basketball practices start too."

    Kaleb brightened immediately when he found out he wasn''t in trouble and his mom would help him out. "Thanks Mom! My coach is going to email you."

    She would have to check for that over the next few days. She needed to make sure she knew what was going on so she could incorporate it into their already hectic schedule.

    "What about you, Vi?" she asked.

    Violet sighed. "I got the highest score on the math test out of everyone. In P.E. I learned how much I hate pushups. And some dumb boy sitting behind me kept throwing pencils at me for some reason."

    "He probably likes you," Kaleb snickered.

    Her eyes shed angrily. "He does not! Throwing things at someone is not a sign of liking them!"

    Keeley honestly didn''t know what to think. Adolescent boys could certainly be childish when they had a crush but that also seemed like bullying to her.

    Poor Violet. She always had such a hard time at school. The only thing she seemed to like about it was having the double electives of choir and orchestra.

    Even though she was friendly to people in those sses and even ate lunch with them, she almost never got together with them on the weekends despite getting numerous invitations. Her logic was that she saw enough of them during the week and would prefer to spend her time with Noah or her family.

    Violet and Kaleb continued bickering all the way to the elementary school before she hopped out of the car to pick up the little ones from their ssrooms. Someone had to sign them out and it was easier for one of the twins to do it so Keeley could keep the car running in the pickup zone.

    When she came back, she sulked and made sure to sit as far away from her twin as possible while still being in the same car. Keeley sighed inwardly, thinking about how difficult it was having two teenagers in the house at the same time but kept a bright smile on her face as she asked the younger boys about their day.

 Chapter 408: Girls Are Sensitive

    <h4>Chapter 408: Girls Are Sensitive</h4>

    Nathan chattered happily on about his day as Keeley drove Violet to her ballet lesson. She had decided when she was eleven that she wanted to be a professional ballerina so they had to increase the amount of lessons per week.

    These days she had about an hour and a half of practice every weekday and three of those days included pointe shoes. She never onceined about how much time it took up and since she alwayspleted her homework quickly she still usually managed to have a bit of free time in the evenings.

    She grabbed her ballet bag out of the trunk with a huff and said goodbye to everyone by name except Kaleb, who didn''t get a goodbye at all. He wasn''t very happy about it.

    "Geez, all I did was tease her. Why does she have to be so sensitive?" heined.

    "She''s a girl," Oliver said as if his brother was stupid. "Girls are sensitive."

    Keeley raised an eyebrow, very curious how her nine year old son hade to that conclusion. Wasn''t he a little too young to be having girl problems already?

    "You know Vi has never really gotten along with her ssmates all that well. It was probably a sore subject," she said wisely. "Be a little more tactful next time, okay Kal?"

    "Alright," he muttered, still clearly upset at being ignored.

    Despite his teasing, Kaleb adored his sister more than anyone else. As the only girl with three brothers, Violet was universally doted on in the Hale household. She might be closest to Kaleb because they were twins but her younger brothers loved her just as much.

    When they made it home, Keeley let them all have an hour long break before it was time to start their homework. Oliver and Nathan rushed off to y their favorite video game and Kaleb absentmindedly waved around a feather toy for their cats to chase.

    Sassy and Smoky hade from the same litter ording to the people at the shelter. Smoky waspletely gray while Sassy was white with gray patches all over her body. Kaleb had named them since Violet couldn''t think of anything and Oliver was too little to speak at the time.

    It was obvious he was still upset about his sister''s reaction to his teasing. If he didn''t want her to get mad at him he shouldn''t have teased her in the first ce.

    Kaleb finally looked up as if registering something. "You never told us about your day, Mom."

    She smiled. None of her other kids had bothered to ask her that. He could be such a sweet boy.

    "I had a great day. I got approved for human trials and a lot more people than I expected signed up. Your dad is taking us to dinner to celebrate."

    That perked him up. "Where?"

    "That Japanese steakhouse we like. Your grandpa ising too."

    A bit of the worry clouding his features went away. "Awesome! Way to go, Mom."

    Keeley reached out to ruffle his hair. "Thanks. I am pretty excited about it."

    "Because of Uncle Kaleb?"

    "That''s right."

    Kaleb knew quite a bit about the boy he had been named after at this point. He had seen the pictures and a couple videos and knew they looked almost exactly alike right up until the point his uncle died.

    He also knew that they both loved baseball but that the first Kaleb hadn''t been able to y much. The beginning of baseball season coincided with a lot of people getting sick and he was usually in the hospital for part of it.

    He had learned that his mom cared so much about her career because of her brother''s illness and how he had died after that AWIS interview came out. He cried after reading it because Keeley had talked about how close they were. It made him think of the possibility of losing Violet on top of being sad for his mom.

    "Do you think he would have looked like I do now if he had lived?" Kaleb asked hesitantly.

    It was as if he was afraid of hurting his mother''s feelings. She nodded with a smile on her face. "Probably. You''re both good-looking guys."

    He seemed relieved she wasn''t upset on top of being cheered up a bit by the praise. "Well, a lot of girls at school do seem to like me."

    Keeley barely held back herughter. For a moment there he almost sounded like Aaron used to back in high school, which wasn''t his style at all. Kaleb wasn''t cocky like his father had been.

    "That''s no surprise. You''re cute, funny, and fun to be around. Everyone should like you."

    He blushed. "You''re just saying that because you''re my mom."

    "Nah, I''d say it even if I weren''t your mom," she promised. "You''re a good kid, Kal."

    That cheered him uppletely. He gave up on ying with the cats and requested his mother help him with those sh cards. Not long after, the other boys joined them to work on their assignments.

    Of course, theirs were much easier because they were still in elementary school. Kaleb was jealous.

    Keeley sat at the table working with her sons until it was time to go pick up Violet. Kaleb offered to stay behind and watch the younger boys, which she greatly appreciated. She kissed his cheek on the way out the door.

    Immediately, the other two mored for their own cheek kisses. Maybe she had spoiled her children with love a bit too much. But how could she not? She was so grateful to have them.

    It had been fifteen years since she first discovered she was pregnant with the twins. The gratitude that she was given another chance to be a mother never went away. She had four beautiful children; that was more than she ever could have hoped for.

    She knew Aaron felt the same way. Each one of their children was a blessing. He was one too. In her first life she never would have thought he was capable of being such a wonderful father. Keeley had exactly the family she had always dreamed of and she wouldn''t trade them for anything in the world, even when her teenagers were moody.

 Chapter 409: Just Like Aaron

    <h4>Chapter 409: Just Like Aaron</h4>

    Violet came home from ballet in a much better mood and was even willing to speak to her twin again. Dancing had that kind of effect on her.

    Keeley had been surprised, to say the least, when she announced she wanted to be a ballerina. Her daughter had always been so smart and bookish that she figured she would want to go into something a little more academic.

    Not that she had a problem with it. Keeley was all for supporting her children''s dreams no matter what they were. Aaron felt the same way, especially after his restrictive upbringing where he hadn''t been able to choose.

    She loved watching her daughter dance because it was the only time Violet truly seemed toe alive. She was as graceful as a swan and everyone who saw her on stage couldn''t help but be moved.

    She had already been conscripted by NYU''s dance department to participate in a few of their ballets when she was younger because they needed children to dance certain parts in the shows they were putting on. That would certainly help her out when she eventually applied to Juilliard, which was one of the most difficult performing arts schools to get into.

    Violet came back downstairs changed out of her leotard and into a pair of jeans and avender sweater. Her hair was down and more than a little messy after being in a bun at ballet practice.

    "What''s for dinner?"

    "We''re going out to eat because I''m starting human trials," Keeley exined as she helped Nathan with a puzzle.

    "Oh, nice. When do you start?" she asked as she scooped up Sassy and rubbed the top of her furry head.

    "The first consultations start next week but I have them scheduled all the way up until Christmas. Some people aren''t avable until then."

    "That''s cool. I''m d your research is going so well. I know it means a lot to you."

    Keeley smiled. She sounded even more like her father than Kaleb had earlier. Though her words were sincere, her tone waspletely t and emotionless. Just like Aaron''s used to be.

    She looked like him, she acted like him¡­Keeley nearly snorted at the thought of Aaron bing a ballerina though. That definitely wouldn''t have been the career path he would have chosen if he hadn''t had business shoved down his throat. She simply couldn''t imagine it.

    He didn''t know what he would have picked either because he had never even thought about it. Aaron knew he would be the CEO of Hale Investments since he was about three years old. She had asked him before and that was what he always said.

    Sometimes she couldn''t help but wonder if there secretly was something her husband wanted to do that he wouldn''t even admit to himself. If there was, it wasn''t toote for him to go out and try it. He was only forty. Physically anyway.

    Aaron could be so silly around his family that no one would believe he had the mind of an octogenarian. It was crazy to think he had existed for so long. At least he was finally happy.

    A while back Keeley asked him what it was like living so many of the same years over again. She had lived thirteen years over but after that everything was new. By now Aaron had lived twenty-two years over and still had eighteen to go before he wouldn''t know about major world events toe.

    He said that his personal life was so different that he didn''t care about the drudgery of knowing what was going to happen in the world atrge. He was happier than he ever thought was possible and he would dly take living so many years over in exchange for that.

    After talking to Violet about her human trials and how ballet went for roughly twenty minutes, Keeley got a text that Aaron was runningte and he would meet them at the restaurant. She gathered all of the kids up into the minivan and made her way over.

    Robert was already waiting for them and greeted his family warmly. "Congrattions on starting clinical trials, honeybun! That''s so wonderful. I''m sure your brother is happy too looking down on you."

    Keeleyughed a little and hugged him. "Yes, but he would also call me a nerd."

    "That sounds like our Kaleb," Oliver said, causing his brother to smack his arm in protest.

    "I don''t call Violet a nerd!"

    "No, because you call me a nerd instead! How is that fair? She''s more of a nerd than I am!"

    Oliver wanted to be a rocket scientist at NASA. Since he was only nine there wasn''t much he could do about it now other than join a robotics club and a club that specifically focused on building gigantic moving Lego disys.

    He didn''t want to be an astronaut because he didn''t want to get lost in what he referred to as ''the void'' after watching a space documentary a few years ago. But he did want to help other people get there.

    He was a huge Star Wars fan, like his mother and grandfather before him, and ultimately wanted to achieve their levels of spaceship tech. There was more and more researchtely about how warp speed might be possible so space travel could be more easily essible and he wanted in on it.

    "A wannabe rocket scientist is way nerdier than a bookworm," Kaleb pointed out.

    Oliver simply scowled. "You''re just jealous I''m way smarter than you, you dumb jock."

    At this point it looked like both of them were ready to get into a fistfight. Keeley was ready to step between them but before she could, Violet gave them both a chilly re. They both immediately backed down and she smiled brightly.

    She had an amazing amount of control over her brothers. And she could go back and forth between icy and sunny in less than a second. It could be a bit frightening but it was very effective.

    Keeley still felt the need to say something, as the parent. "Kaleb, if Oliver is a nerd then I am too. There''s nothing wrong with loving science. Just like there''s nothing wrong with being good at sports. Everyone has their own strengths; none of them are particrly better or worse than others. Okay?"

    "I don''t think you''re a nerd, Mom," he protested. "You don''t talk about your work nearly as much as Ollie talks about his stuff."

    Sheughed. "Not to you but your dad gets an earful."

    Speak of the devil¡­

    "Sorry I''mte, I was almost done with a report so I ended up powering through to finish it," Aaron said sheepishly as he walked in the front door. He stepped up to the hostess'' desk. "Hale, party of seven."

    The hostess smiled at him professionally even though there was that usual jolt of recognition when people met Aaron. She grabbed a stack of menus and gestured for the group to follow her. "Right this way, Mr. Hale."

 Chapter 410: Burning A Hole In The Back Of Her Head

    <h4>Chapter 410: Burning A Hole In The Back Of Her Head</h4>

    Thankfully Aaron''s arrival ended the argument between their sons. Keeley really didn''t know what to do with them sometimes. At least now they were all eager to eat.

    Nathan and Oliver were talking about how excited they were to see the fire tricks, Kaleb talked to his father about basketball season, and Violet had turned to her grandpa.

    "You''re going toe to my recital next weekend, right?" she asked primly.

    Robert gave his only granddaughter a wide smile and patted her hand. "Of course, my little flower. I wouldn''t miss it for the world."

    Violet gave him a pleased smile. "I got a lot better with my pointe shoes. They don''t hurt as much anymore either."

    "That''s good to hear."

    Keeley watched them continue to chat with a satisfied look on her face. Her father''s life had be much more fulfilling since she had the twins and it only got better over time when there were more children to love.

    He wasn''t the same miserable man mourning the loss of his wife and son that he had been around the time Keeley first moved in with Aaron. He still refused to date but at least he wasn''t as lonely anymore.

    The kids slept over at his house all the time. Robert almost always joined them on weekend outings and real vacations. He never missed a concert, recital, sports game, or roboticspetition.

    Every year Aaron got him a season ticket to Yankee Stadium and he frequently took the kids along with him so their parents could go out by themselves. He had helped fostered Kaleb''s great love of all things baseball, even going so far as coaching his little league team two years in a row.

    All of the kids loved him, as Keeley had expected. Robert Hall was a great father. It only made sense that he would be a great grandpa as well.

    He didn''t have a lot of money to spoil the kids with but he always gave them his time, attention, and interest. That was what mattered. They didn''t need any more toys anyway. Aaron more than had that covered.

    "Grandpa, do you want toe trick or treating with us?" Nathan asked out of the blue.

    Halloween was three days away. Even though Violet and Kaleb thought they were too old for trick or treating, Keeley still insisted they dress up for pictures.

    When it was just the twins, they did some sort of themed family costume every year. That got harder to do as more kids were added on. At the very least she still wanted pictures of everyone together.

    Neither of the twins were into it so they decided to be as unoriginal as possible. Violet was being a ballerina and Kaleb was going to wear his favorite Yankee yer''s jersey, baseball pants, and cleats with an imitation Yankees helmet.

    Keeley could live with that as long as they actually participated in the pictures like they said they would. She and Aaron had already decided to be vampires. Oliver was going to be Chewba and Nathan had a dinosaur costume from a popr children''s show.

    "Sure, I cane trick or treating with you. Are you doing it in your building again this year?" Robert asked.

    "Yeah, the older kids wanted to watch scary movies in our TV room. Most of our friends areing too since our building supposedly has better candy than theirs," Keeley replied with a shrug.

    "That''s because rich people give out those huge candy bars," Kaleb said wisely. "Thest time I went trick or treating I didn''t finish my stash until June."

    "I finished it before Christmasst year," Oliver groaned.

    Not only did he get a terrible stomachache, he ended up getting three cavities. Neither he nor his mother had been terribly happy about that. This year they had already mutually agreed that she would hold onto his candy until he wanted some so it wouldn''t happen again.

    "Someone got his father''s sweet tooth," Robert said with augh.

    He had only ever seen Aaron around Keeley''s baking and knew how many cookies and other goodies he ate around holidays. He really didn''t have all that much of a sweet tooth though. If somebody offered him something, like cake at a party, he would eat it but he didn''t seek sweets on his own.

    The problem with Keeley''s baking was that Aaron loved consuming anything she made for him. If somebody else offered him homemade cookies, he would turn them down in a heartbeat.

    Keeley decided to keep quiet about this. The kids were under the impression Aaron loved sweets too because of how much he loved their mother''s baking. There was no point destroying the illusion and letting them know how sappy he really was. They thought he was pretty sappy already.

    When the chef came out and began frying the food up right in front of them, Nathan''s and Oliver''s eyes went as wide as saucers. They loved this part. Violet and Kaleb were more used to it aftering here so many times and weren''t nearly as enthralled.

    The food was delicious but Keeley felt oddly like someone was burning a hole into the back of her head with their eyes. When she instinctively turned around to check she nearly jumped out of her seat. Was that Ryan?

    It totally looked like Ryan, with more wrinkles and a seriously receding hairline. And if he was staring at her¡­did he recognize her?

    But she hadn''t seen him since the twins were babies! Honestly, she thought he moved away. What would he be doing in this restaurant at the exact time she happened to be there?

    She quickly excused herself to use the bathroom so she could get a better look. That was definitely Ryan. He had a woman with him who was probably in herte thirties and a girl roughly Oliver''s age.

    Did he have a family now? Then why was he staring at her? Was he in shock running into her after so long?

    "What''s wrong, Mom? You look a little weird," Nathan noted when she came back.

    "Nothing," she said quickly with a bright smile. "Maybe I ate too much."

    Thest thing Keeley wanted was to ruin the dinner by Aaron noticing who had been staring. He had always hated Ryan and this was supposed to be a celebration. She couldn''t let this kill the mood.

 Chapter 411: Busted

    <h4>Chapter 411: Busted</h4>

    When the food was mostly gone, the leftovers were packed up, and the bill was paid Ryan finally made his move as Keeley was trying to usher her family out the door as quickly as possible.

    "Keeley, is that you?"

    She froze in her tracks. Busted.

    Robert looked back and forth between them before a flicker of recognition appeared in his eyes. "I know you. You were Keeley''s friend in college. Ryan, right?"

    He nodded. "Hi Mr. Hall. What brings you here?"

    "I could ask you the same thing," Aaron said with narrowed eyes.

    He hadn''t gone into ice mode yet. Thankfully. That would not be the case if he had noticed Ryan staring at his wife earlier.

    "I''m based in Detroit now but I had a conference and my wife wanted to see where I went to college," Ryan said with a shrug before turning toward his wife. "Leah, Keeley was my ssmate at NYU. This is her husband Aaron, her father Robert, and their kids¡­whose names I don''t know."

    Why was he acting like he had never been a jerk? How much had this man forgotten in the past fifteen years? Chances are, he was keeping up appearances for his wife''s sake. Keeley wasn''t about to mess with that.

    She was not in the mood for a confrontation and wanted this over as soon as possible. She put on a false smile and held her hand out to shake Leah''s. She seemed nice enough; how had she ended up with this nut?

    "Keeley Hale, nice to meet you," she said with a forced smile. Keeley pointed out each child as she named them. "This is Kaleb, my oldest, and his twin sister Violet. They''re fourteen. Oliver is nine and Nathan is seven."

    "Oh, how nice! We only have one daughter, Ivy. She''s eight." A thoughtful expression crossed Leah''s face. "Keeley Hale¡­by chance were you featured on the AWIS site awhile ago? I''m in pharmaceuticals as well so I''ve always loved their articles."

    "I was," she said cautiously.

    Leah pped her hands together excitedly. "What a small world! I thought your work was interesting. Have you started human trials yet?"

    "That''s actually what we''re here celebrating," Aaron cut in, unable to resist bragging about his wife. "She got the approval this morning and more people signed up than expected."

    Ryan observed the entire scene with an odd expression on his face as if he couldn''t believe wht he was seeing. Aaron bragging about his wife and all of their kids happily chatting among themselves or with their grandpa. He had been watching them the entire meal; was it that shocking that the Hales were actually a normal family?

    "How wonderful! Congrattions. Well, it was so nice meeting you but we should probably let you go. Right Ryan?" Leah asked cheerfully.

    "Yeah," he agreed immediately. "Nice seeing you guys again."

    Sure it was.

    "The feeling''s mutual," Keeley lied. "Enjoy the rest of your visit."

    She then made sure all of her kids were ahead of her before exiting the restaurant. What a strange encounter. Well, she certainly proved Ryan''s long-held assumptions wrong. He had to have seen how happy she was and that she was definitely NOT a sugar baby.

    ===

    "You ran into Ryan?" Jennica whispered in a gossipy voice a few dayster as they assembled their kids to go trick or treating.

    "Yeah it was super weird. He has a family of his own so I don''t think he was staring at me because he liked me. It was more like he was shocked I was actually happy and normal with Aaron," Keeley replied.

    Her friend snorted as she straightened Logan''s cowboy hat. "Serves him right."

    The topic immediately changed because it was time to take pictures. The Quinns, rks, and Griffiths had joined them to get the good candy in the most affluent building out of the entire group.

    First they took pictures organized by individual family. Then ones of all the kids or of kids and their particr friends, such as Violet, Noah, and Kaleb. Finally, they took pictures of the adults all together.

    Once that was done the older kids went to watch their movie and everybody else went downstairs to knock on doors with the exception of Aaron and Aiden, who stayed behind to chaperone.

    Noah had the same general idea as his friends. He didn''t want to dress up so he simply wore his karate uniform and ck belt. By this point he was a ck belt because he had been doing it for so long.

    Violet let her hair out of its bun and took off her pointe shoes but didn''t see the point of changing out of her leotard, skirt, or tights. She was used to wearing them for long periods of time. Kaleb only took off his helmet and cleats and Noah simply untied the ck belt.

    Feeling much morefortable, Violet went off to pop some popcorn while the boys argued over which movie to watch. When she came back they were still at it so she chose the one involving less gore. It was about a serial killer and was supposed to be pretty good.

    She munched on popcorn and eyed the screen nkly, though both her brother and her friend got at least a little jumpy. This was supposed to be good cinema? The only even slightly creepy thing was the music until ? of the way through when the serial killer actually began going after the protagonist.

    Although, at that point there was a jump scare and Kaleb ended up throwing the popcorn bowl so it flew everywhere.

    "Kal!" Violet protested. "I have popcorn in my hair!"

    "That wasn''t even that bad, dude," Noah said while shaking his head with a dumb grin on his face.

    Kaleb was bright red. "I hate jump scares, okay? They always get to me in those creepy video games Oliver ys."

    Their friend shrugged. "They don''t affect me because Logan has jumped out at me too many times trying to scare me. I got used to it."

    "And Violet is just a perfect goddess above us all who doesn''t get scared by anything," Kaleb mumbled sourly.

    She frowned. "I don''t get scared by dumb things but that doesn''t mean I don''t get scared."

    "Define a fear that isn''t dumb then," he challenged. "I''m very curious!"

    "Failure," Violet said simply, immediately causing her brother to shut up. He couldn''t exactly make fun of her for that.

    "Like you would fail at anything," Noah piped up. "You''re good at everything you do."

    Unlike if her brother had said it, Noah wasn''t making fun of her. He actually meant it. Sometimes she really didn''t know how to respond to her best friend since he idolized her so much. It was better to simply smile and not say anything.

 Chapter 412: A Perfect Goddess Above Us All

    <h4>Chapter 412: A Perfect Goddess Above Us All</h4>

    Aaron happened to be walking by the entertainment room to go to the bathroom when he heard a bit of conversation through the ajar door.

    "And Violet is just a perfect goddess above us all who doesn''t get scared by anything," Kaleb said snidely.

    Violet''s reply was cool, calm, and collected. "I don''t get scared by dumb things but that doesn''t mean I don''t get scared."

    "Define a fear that isn''t dumb then. I''m very curious!"

    Aaron sighed and shook his head. Those two were at it again. They were so close when they were younger but the older they got the more they were at each other''s throats.

    It was obvious they still loved each other so Keeley chalked it up to teenage hormones. He wouldn''t know because he never had a sibling growing up. Meeting Gray as an adult had been an entirely different problem.

    Aaron trusted his wife''s judgment since she had lived with a sibling for ten years. He just hoped they would stop heckling each other so much. Some days the house felt like a battle zone.

    He was about ready to head back to Aiden when his daughter''s reply stopped him cold. "Failure."

    It was true that Violet wasn''t afraid of things like clowns, spiders, or scary movies. But failure? That sounded an awful lot like how Aaron had been when he was younger and failure meant extreme punishment.

    Why would she be afraid of failure when he and Keeley had never punished their children for it? Was it simply in her nature? Or had she somehow developed aplex because people praised her all the time?

    "Like you would fail at anything. You''re good at everything you do," Noah said cheerfully.

    Aaron walked back to the living room where Aiden was waiting feeling perplexed. His friend noticed immediately and frowned.

    "What''s up with you?"

    "I just heard a rather odd conversation passing by the room the kids were in."

    He exined what he had heard, feeling more and more unsettled. Why would Violet fear failure when she had no reason to?

    None of their other children had that fear that he was aware of. They all knew if they screwed up they could simply try again. It was how Keeley had always worked with them. She wanted to instill the value of not giving up into their children and Aaron could get behind that.

    "I''ve got nothing for you, man. It might be a teenage girl thing," Aiden said with a shrug.

    Aaron knew that private schools ced a high emphasis on grades and aplishments that would prepare their students for college. Was she like this because of school? But she had brought home straight As for as long as he could remember.

    He should talk to Keeley about this. She knew more about the female mind than he did. She had been a teenage girl twice so she should know what to do.

    The conversation turned to how cute all their kids looked in their Halloween costumes. Aiden gushed about how cute Elsa was in her unicorn outfit and Aaron rolled his eyes. He wasn''t annoyed though.

    He had done the same thing when Violet was little and dressed up like a princess. They grew up so fast.

    She used to be an adorable, cherubic little girl who was quiet but ultimately happy. Now she was a moody teenager who always fought with her brother. Honestly, he had no idea how to help her or Kaleb at this point.

    The very thought of his own inadequacy troubled him, like an itch he couldn''t scratch. Violet was already far too much like him. If she feared failure on top of the traits they already shared, he worried she was in for a rough time. After all, the majority of his lives had been hard.

    ===

    "She told this to you directly?" Keeley asked doubtfully.

    Everyone else had gone home and the kids were in bed. She was busy wiping off her vampire makeup in front of the vanity mirror as her husband told her his concerns.

    Aaron sighed worriedly. "No, I happened to overhear it on my way back from the bathroom. Why would she think that way?"

    "It''s hard being a teenage girl," she said honestly. "Even the most sociable and popr girls have self-doubt issues of some sort. You know Violet has never really attached to people at school. That''s probably part of it. She might think she has to be perfect in order for her ssmates to like her."

    Keeley might be onto something. Violet''s only school friends were in choir and orchestra, which were both performance based. If she screwed up somehow the entire group''s sound would be affected.

    The same went for ballet. If one person was out of sync with the others, a routine could be ruined. Oh, why did most of her hobbies have to be such traps for perfectionists? At least reading wasn''t like that.

    This did seem like the simplest exnation but Aaron was concerned it might go deeper than that. He was afraid that this might somehow be his fault because she was his daughter and was so much like him.

    He didn''t attach to people as a child either but he thought it was because of not knowing how due to ack of attachment to his parents. Violet was very loved and didn''t have any problem loving the people who cared about her back.

    So what was it? Was a difficulty connecting to other human beings somehow gic?

    Every rtionship Aaron ever had before meeting Keeley was superficial. The people he spent time with at lunch weren''t even really his friends. She had taught him how meaningful a human connection could be.

    He hadn''t gotten that until he was seventeen. Violet had experienced meaningful human connections from birth with a select number of people. Her parents. Her twin. Noah came along only a year and a halfter.

    She was able to connect with her younger brothers too once they were born. So why not anyone else? Was this something she would grow out of or would she be gued with loneliness and a disconnect from the majority of humanity for her entire life?

 Chapter 413: Consultations

    <h4>Chapter 413: Consultations</h4>

    Keeley began her consultations the day after Halloween. She wasn''t as worried as Aaron was about their daughter since she knew what teenage girls were like but was still a bit concerned. Violet had really been having a tough timetely at school.

    She tried shaking those thoughts loose. She needed to concentrate on her first volunteer, a man in his mid-thirties with cystic fibrosis named James.

    He knew that the average life expectancy for a person with the disease was about 40 years and his lungs had gotten progressively worse over time. This was hisst ditch effort to save himself. He didn''t even care about potential side effects and signed the waiver after briefly scanning it, no questions asked.

    Keeley told him exactly what she would be doing, trying to exin vectors and cell recement in the simplest terms she could. James didn''t seem terrible concerned by the technical babble. He just wanted to be fixed.

    Many of her consultation patients were the same. They were in their thirties and fearing the end of their rope. She still had a fair amount in their teens and twenties and even one eleven year old girl whose mother thought Keeley was a gift from the heavens that could save her child.

    That had been a rough conversation. She made sure the woman knew the experimental nature of this research and that results varied even in the monkeys.

    Eventually she let the girl into the trial but it was done reluctantly. If it failed for her, the mother would be crushed. At least they had signed the waivers so they couldn''t sue her or DOMA if something went wrong.

    Keeley, Shawn, and her otherb assistant Arisa had been hard at work modifying the DNA of the cell samples the volunteers provided. It would take a while for the solution to mature so they kept creating batch after batch for the new people who had been interviewed and deemed eptable for the trial as they waited.

    Based on her previous research with other animals, Keeley and her team had decided to first test the effectiveness of the therapy by introducing the modified vectors in a certain dose once every two weeks. Volunteers were instructed to keep a journal of how they felt every hour they were awake.

    Later, when they came back for the next round, they would share the journal with the researchers andpare it to a simr journal they kept a week before getting the first treatment. That would help thempare how the volunteers normally felt during those times of day to check for potential side effects. They also conducted a physical exam each time, especially focusing on the lungs.

    An actual medical doctor had to be brought in for that part. Thankfully DOMA had one on their staff.

    Keeley''s schedule had be the craziest it had been since her PhD program. She worked down to thest minute in theb before picking up the kids. Violet went to ballet. Kaleb stayed at school for basketball. Oliver had his clubs Mondays and Wednesdays. Nathan had piano lessons on Thursdays and ser on Saturdays.

    She drove all over the five boroughs of New York City and barely had time to make dinner and sleep. She barely managed to remember to do the fun traditions her children hade to expect for Thanksgiving and Christmas to boot. At least they wouldn''t let her forget to decorate the house or make cookies or have hot chocte parties as they watched Christmas movies.

    Keeley felt oddly proud of them. Her mother''s traditions had carried on strong since the kids cared that much.

    But by the time January rolled around she was burned out and grateful the holidays were over. There had even been extra concerts and recitals. Violet had been invited to participate as a guest in the New York City Ballet''s run of the Nutcracker for a few shows. They tried to rotate and invite different young talents in.

    Keeley made sure that at least one family member attended each of her four shows. Even Noah attended one with his mom, making sure to give Violet a big bouquet of roses afterwards. She had been quite happy about that.

    "Doctor Hale? My girlfriend caught a coldst week and I didn''t get bronchitis like I usually do," James repeated, snapping her back to attention.

    "That''s wonderful! Did you catch the cold?" she asked, trying to tone down her excitement.

    "Yes but it was just that. A cold," he said with a tone of disbelief. The poor guy had probably never had something as minor as a cold in his entire life.

    "Tell me all of your symptoms as urately as you can," Keeley instructed, ready to write down each tiny detail.

    He exined it to her and he was right. That did sound like a simple cold. Nothing more, nothing less. Keeley knew better than most how awful it was to get more severe lung infections from a virus that barely affected other people. She had seen her brother experience it time and time again.

    James was actually the most sessful of her first trial''s patients. He didn''t evenin about side effects other than fatigue for a few days after receiving the treatments.

    Fatigue was a prettymon one across all of the volunteers. A few people caught infections from the vectors they used to transmit the modified DNA. They were originally viruses, after all.

    Keeley was mostly grateful nobody had showed any signs of tumors yet. That was a worrisome side effect seen in some other gene therapy clinical trials that resulted in the research getting scrapped. There was a reason this wasn''t a standard treatment yet.

    The trial finished in February and everyone showed a slowed progression of the disease. A few people hadn''t had any mucus wall buildups in months. It wasn''t an all-out cure but it was definitely working!

    Keeley was so relieved. Nobody got seriously hurt from the results of her research. Of course, this wasn''t the only trial. She had to do at least ten before she could submit her findings to the FDA and move into Phase II of trying to get the treatment approved.

    She would need to keep up with the original patients as well to see if things reverted once the treatments stopped or if the now healthy cells would rece the unhealthy ones naturally over time. It had worked in the animals but there was no guarantee it would in humans.

 Chapter 414: A Space Case

    <h4>Chapter 414: A Space Case</h4>

    "Mom. Mom. Mom!"

    Violet''s voice snapped Keeley out of her half asleep state. She was so tired. Her daughter looked at her expectantly and she realized she had probably been trying to talk to her.

    "I''m sorry, Vi. Could you repeat that?" she asked in a weary voice.

    "I said I need a ride to Noah''s house. He needs help on his science fair project," Violet replied impatiently. "What''s with you? You''ve been such a space casetely."

    Keeley couldn''t deny it. She hadn''t missed any majormitments and let her kids or friends down¡ªthank goodness¡ªbut she was pretty out of it. Her mind was either back in theb or on a tropical ind somewhere.

    She needed a vacation so badly but wasn''t likely to get one until the current trial finished. Then she might be able to take a week off.

    "Work is getting to me," Keeley confessed. "Don''t worry about it though. I''m fine."

    Violet scrutinized her. "You''re not fine. You are clearly in desperate need of a vacation. When does your trial end?"

    "The end of March."

    "Perfect! We can go somewhere for spring break. If you n this far ahead there''s no way your boss could say no. You usually have a couple weeks between trials anyway to write the report for the FDA, right?"

    Keeley sighed. Yes, but the entire two weeks was spent writing. She supposed her research assistants knew the material well enough to do most of it if she did take a week to get away. All she would have to do is triple check everything when she got back.

    She had be nearly as severe of a workaholic as Aaron had been in their first life. She needed to take time off for the sake of her sanity and to focus on her family for a while.

    "Sure, Vi. I''ll ask Doctor Butler," Keeley promised.

    Her daughter smiled and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "Great! Now take me to Noah''s please."

    Leaving the other kids in the care of their older brother, Keeley went down to the basement and started up the car. This would be so much easier once Violet and Kaleb could drive. They were only a little over a year away now!

    Aaron could obviously afford to get them each their own car. Violet could drive herself to ballet or the Singletons'' ce whenever she wanted. Kaleb could take himself to all of his sports practices. They might even be persuaded to help chauffeur their siblings.

    Would it be easier to hire another driver? Probably. But after Henry died driving the car Keeley was in she felt like she couldn''t risk anybody else''s life. Aaron hadn''t been able to persuade her otherwise.

    When she dropped her daughter off, she briefly stopped in to say hi to Jennica. They caught up for a few minutes (they had barely seen each other two days ago) and Jennica offered to have Violet stay for dinner.

    She or Cameron could drop her off afterwards in exchange for the help she was giving Noah on his project. Both of them were hopeless when it came to science, which was why he had conscripted his best friend.

    Like her mother, Violet had a natural aptitude for science. The difference was that she didn''t enjoy it. Her science grades were always at the top of the ss though.

    Keeley left Noah''s project in her daughter''s capable hands and went home to lie down. Aaron should be home soon; he could handle the kids for a little bit while she ordered some takeout. She definitely did not have enough energy to cook tonight.

    ===

    "I''ve done enough science fair projects in my day that I''vepiled a list of ideas for you," Violet said as she pulled a neatly folded piece of paper out of her back pocket.

    She handed it to her best friend who read it eagerly. As he did, she sat cross-legged on his bed and sighed. Her mom''s tant exhaustion was contagious. Now she was tired too.

    It must be hard bncing a career and a family. Her mom never missed a single event or skipped out on driving her kids to their activities even if she was a bit spaceytely. It had definitely taken a toll on her.

    To be perfectly honest, it was part of why Violet had chosen to be a ballerina. Of course she loved to dance¡ªit was her favorite thing to do¡ªbut something about the timeline appealed to her. Dancers typically retired before the age of 35.

    Violet could dance to her heart''s content for a while and then get married and focus on being a mom. Once her kids were older, she could be a dance teacher or something. Provided she was even able to find a husband.

    At age fourteen, she had never been asked on a date. Tons of other eighth graders she knew had boyfriends or girlfriends. So why did no one want her? She had specifically worked on not keeping to herself so much!

    She was at an age where she wondered what it was like to love and be loved. It was hard not to considering how lovey dovey her parents were all the time. Was it so bad to imagine having something like that for herself?

    The romance novels she had been into recently didn''t help matters. Despite her cold exterior, Violet was actually quite sensitive.

    She squealed to herself reading about all of the cute things in her novels when no one else was around. How romantic would it be if a handsome guy did those sorts of things with her? Ah, she couldn''t wait for the day she had her epic love story.

    Speaking any of those thoughts aloud was impossible though. Her brothers would never let her hear the end of it. Violet would talk to her mom about it if she wasn''t so obviously worn out; she didn''t need anything else to worry about right now.

    "What about the teeth stains one? That seems easy enough to do," Noah said, jolting Violet out of her thoughts.

    "Oh sure. Just make sure you have a hypothesis beforehand. Like which liquids would stain teeth the most ranked down from there," she said absentmindedly.

    He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you alright? You were totally zoned out there for a minute."

    "Yeah, I was just thinking about something."

    She certainly couldn''t tell Noah her worries about romance. He was a boy. He wouldn''t get it.

    At least he probably wouldn''t tease her like Kaleb did. Nobody teased more than her twin. Noah typically defended her when he did it within earshot and her brother always called him a spoilsport or a suck up orme. Violet didn''t think sticking up for someone made themme. She always let her friend know she appreciated it somehow.

    "What could you be thinking about that made you look like that?" he persisted.

    Violet hid her embarrassment by being brusque. "Do you want my help on this project or not? Focus, Noah!"

    "Right, sorry."

 Chapter 415: Her Safe Place

    <h4>Chapter 415: Her Safe ce</h4>

    The two friends went downstairs to check what kind of beverages were avable and found coffee, tea, and a bottle of coke. Perfect. The experiment called for three different types of colored drinks anyway.

    Violet brewed the coffee and tea as Noah carefully followed instructions he found online to suck the egg out of an eggshell without breaking it. The experiment specifically called for eggshells only.

    They took three cups up to his room to keep them safe from the dog and set them on his desk. She poured one drink into each cup and then dropped one hollowed out eggshell into each one.

    "It''s about 5:30 so make sure you check them the same time every day from here on out," Violet instructed. "Make a chart for each day and cup and watch the results for a week. Super simple. I can help you put together your poster board for the fair after that."

    "You''re an angel, Vi," Noah said fervently. "I never would have been able toe up with something like this."

    "That''s what the inte is for, dummy," she replied with a smile. "But I''m always happy to help."

    Noah was practically one of her brothers. He had been a vital part of her life for longer than she could remember. She couldn''t think of anything she wouldn''t do for him.

    But unlike her brothers, he never gave her a hard time about anything. They were kindred spirits; always on the same page. It was kind of funny since their hobbies were so different.

    Kaleb had different hobbies than Violet did too and he seemed a million miles away from her these days. When he was around all he did was mess with her. She missed the way things used to be.

    Sometimes when she was particrly put out she wondered why Noah couldn''t have been her twin instead. Despite their differences in pastimes, their personalities werepatible. The older they got the more Kaleb and Violet seemed like oil and water.

    "I wish I could do more for you," Noah said a bit dejectedly. "I can''t help you with your homework or drive you ces or make people at school stop being mean to you. You''re always helping me out but I can''t do the same."

    She was surprised he thought that way. Violet never thought their rtionship was unequal.

    Sure, she helped him with his homework a lot but that wasrgely because it gave her an excuse to see him. Sixth grade homework was a piece of cake so they always finished quickly and could hang out afterwards.

    Noah didn''t do much for her in terms of physical things like the ones he mentioned but that was because he was younger than her. He helped her in other ways. He was sort of like her safe ce.

    As much as Violet loved her family, she couldn''t always rte to them. They were always supportive and she knew they cared about her deeply but they didn''t get where she wasing from.

    Somehow, Noah always did. He understood what she wanted before she even said anything. He knew when to talk and when to let her sit and stew in silence and always had the right thing to say to cheer her up.

    She had never felt the need to be anybody but herself as she was in that moment with him. It was a bit hard to exin but Violet''s personality shifted from time to time. It was as if her family expected her to always be the same way she usually was.

    Noah simply rolled with the punches. He didn''t care which version of Violet was present that day. He understood them all.

    "That''s not true!" Violet blurted more forcefully than she meant to.

    "Yeah it is," he sighed. "Thanks for saying so though. I wish I was older. If we were in the same grade I would never let anybody mess with you. We could sit at the same lunch table and do our homework together. And I would totally punch that guy who keeps throwing pencils at you in the face."

    She snickered at the thought. Noah could throw a mean punch. He wasn''t a ck belt for nothing.

    "That does sound nice but I like you the way you are, Noah. You can''t magically make yourself older."

    "It would be cool if I could though, wouldn''t it?" he asked with a small, rueful smile on his face.

    He was still clearly bothered by what he had said earlier. But what could Violet say to make him feel better? She had never been all that great at cheering people up.

    "You''re my emotional support! Like¡­um¡­" she wasn''t sure how to describe her thoughts from earlier.

    Noah raised an eyebrow. "Like those emotional support dogs?"

    "No! You''re not my pet, stupid! You''re my safe ce."

    "How exactly is that better than being a pet? In either scenario I lost my humanity," he said with a slightugh.

    She scowled at him. He knew what she meant; she could see it in his eyes. Her wrongly worded exnation had actually made him feel better.

    "Noah," Violet whined. "Don''t be like Kaleb. I like spending time with you because you aren''t like him."

    That sobered him instantly. "Is he being mean to you again?"

    Not mean exactly. But there was definitely a divide between them that wasn''t there before middle school. He had long stopped inviting her to sit with his friends. It was the main reason she even bothered trying to sit with the choir or orchestra kids.

    Violet wanted to prove to her brother that she could take care of herself. She had sensed his resentment at having to look out for her at school since upper elementary. She carried on with it once he saw she was fine because she was sick of being isted and wanted a chance to date like everyone else.

    Kaleb wasn''t mean per se but he did tease her a lot more than he used to. And he hardly spent any time with her outside of family activities either. If the younger boys were ying a board game and invited them both he would y but he wouldn''t y cards with her on his own most of the time.

    Why? What had she done to make the person she loved most in this world want to throw her away? Was it really only because she had been too clingy when she was younger? She was trying so hard to be better.

    "He doesn''t seem to want much to do with me these days," she said sadly. "I miss him. I miss the way things used to be."

 Chapter 416: Everybody Grows Up

    <h4>Chapter 416: Everybody Grows Up</h4>

    Noah sat down next to Violet on the bed and reached out to squeeze her hand. He wasn''t sure how else to make her feel better.

    "Everybody grows up, Vi. I''ve actually done a little reading on twins¡­sometimes one twin resents being paired together all the time and wants to do their own thing. He still loves you, that much is obvious. But you''re good at everything Kaleb is not. I can see why he would be jealous of you. He''s probably trying to get out from under your shadow."

    She blinked at him in surprise. Kaleb didin about how perfect she was all the time. It was a big part of his teasing. Could that really be it?

    Violet wasn''t perfect though. It was all an act. She tried her very best because she was afraid of losing the love of the people around her if she didn''t.

    Everybody always told her how beautiful and smart and talented she was. Of course she enjoyed the praise but there seemed to be an unspoken expectation to be beautiful and smart and talented all the time. Like there was no room for mistakes.

    Her mom always told her that mistakes were a part of life and helped people grow but she couldn''t believe that. There was no way her famous, ultra-brainy scientist mother ever made mistakes. The same went for her famous, mega rich, Fortune 10 CEO father.

    There were so few people in this world that actually liked her. Violet couldn''t bear to lose the affection of a single one of them. Nobody at school really cared about her. She wasn''t close to anyone outside of her family other than Noah.

    If she slipped up¡­if she failed at something¡­would they stop loving her? She couldn''t handle even thinking about it.

    As for her Kaleb problem¡­he was good at a bunch of things she was bad at too! Like anything involving a ball. Or interpersonal skills. He made friends anywhere he went and she had always wished she could do the same.

    He walked through the world filled with other people with ease. Violet had to work very hard to carve a ce for herself there and even so it still felt like she was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

    "But he''s good at everything I''m not too," she said quietly. "And I''m not pushing him away. All I''m doing is pushing back when he gives me a hard time because it hurts me. I don''t want him to treat me like this. I want my twin back."

    Tears filled her eyes and she never cried. Somehow having a person she could vent all of her worries to made a dam break.

    Noah wrapped his arms around her without hesitation the moment he saw her tears. "Hey, it''s okay. You guys will work things out. No matter what you''re still family. Don''t you know that sibling rtionships are the longest ones there are? I read that somewhere. You have plenty of time."

    Violet sobbed into his shoulder since she was so much taller than him. Would time really fix this? They needed to talk but she doubted Kaleb would go along with it. He wasn''t into emotional stuff like that.

    Growing up, whenever they squabbled about something he always ended arguments by making herugh. Nothing ever got truly resolved because he wouldn''t let it be. He preferred to move on and forget rather than actually try to fix the problem at hand.

    The door opened and Jennica''s cheerful voice called, "Dinner''s ready!" She saw the girl sobbing in her son''s arms and immediately changed her tone. "Oh. I see I came in at a bad time. You alright, Violet?"

    She shook her head but was too embarrassed to speak after getting caught. Jennica was her mom''s best friend; she would definitely tell her about this. And then Violet would have to exin why she cried.

    "I made potato soup. Soup makes everything better. Why don''t I bring your bowls up here," Jennica offered gently before heading back downstairs.

    "Your mom is really nice," Violet hupped.

    She wiped at her eyes and was annoyed to find that her mascara had smeared. Great. Just great.

    Hopping off the bed, she checked her eyes in his mirror and yelped. She looked like thedy in that old movie "Mn" that her mom showed her as a kid who got an entire pot of tea poured on her head, minus the drawn on mustache.

    Noah handed her a pack of tissues.

    "I look like thatdy from Mn," she said ruefully. He would get the reference; he had seen the movie too.

    "Nah, you''re way prettier than her."

    Violet dabbed at her eyes and eventually ended up asking Jennica for some makeup remover when she came up with their soup. She disappeared into her room and came back with a makeup removing wipe.

    She thanked her and the older woman smiled before heading back downstairs. Violet and Noah sipped their soup in silence.

    To be perfectly honest, she didn''t even feel awkward crying on her friend. She only felt awkward about getting caught by his mother. That was how things were between them. There was no need to be embarrassed about anything because they got each other.

    He understood that she had aplex inner world and struggled to break out of it and rte to real people. She understood that he had the tendency to talk way too much when he was excited and had a hard time focusing on anything.

    Though they grew progressively more different as they got older, they always clicked. Violet wished she could say the same about her twin.

    The farther away she got from Kaleb, the more she worried the same thing would happen with Noah someday. What if they weren''t always like this? What if he grew to resent her too?

    Because of his focusing issues, he had never been all that great at school. He got hyperfixated on certain subjects for certain lengths of time but he bounced back and forth between that and not being able to focus at all.

    So he could tell you anything at all about dinosaurs or how airnes fly but couldn''t finish a math assignment without some serious help. His mom didn''t know how to help him and his dad wasn''t home until dinner time so Noah frequently didn''t finish his homework. And if he did, he did it wrong.

    Violet helped him whenever she could but she was pretty busy with ballet. They were usually only able to meet up and work on things around dinner time.

    "Do you resent me because I have good grades?" she asked suddenly.

    Noah looked at her like she had sprouted another head. "Why would I do that? You''re the only reason my grades aren''t worse."

    He currently had a C average, which would allow him to move onto the 7th grade. Without Violet''s help he would most definitely be flunking math. It was so much harder for him to focus on than reading homework.

    It had been a dumb question. Noah didn''t think the same way Kaleb did. There had to be a better question she could ask that would get the answer she was looking for.

 Chapter 417: Seeds of Resentment

    <h4>Chapter 417: Seeds of Resentment</h4>

    Violet thought hard. She didn''t think Noah resented her, period. At least not now.

    He wasn''t fazed by the fact that she was supposedly smarter than him (she didn''t quantify smarts by grades; he was fully capable of intelligent conversation and that was what mattered). He didn''t seem to resent that she was always around him either. In fact, he seemed to wish he could be around her more based on their earlier conversation.

    But the seeds of resentment could be nted any time. She had learned that the hard way during her ongoing issues with Kaleb.

    She tried to think of something that might cause Noah to resent her but wasing up nk. Then again, she hadn''t ever thought her twin would either but here they were.

    "What would cause you to resent me?" Violet asked seriously.

    Noah looked at her like she was crazy. "I could never resent you."

    She nced down at her hands, avoiding his eyes. "I didn''t think Kaleb could either."

    He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That''s different, Vi. It''s normal for siblings to have rough patches. We''re not siblings."

    "Yeah, which increases the likelihood of you eventually hating me! If my own brother could do it, someone unrted to me could too! You know that nobody really likes me."

    Violet sniffled, feeling the tearsing back. At least all the mascara was off now so it couldn''t run again.

    "¡­are you crying again?"

    Violet didn''t answer, feeling stupid for getting emotional again so soon. But she really couldn''t bear to lose Noah. Not when he was the only person in her life who she could bepletely herself around. Even if it was in some distant, far off future she couldn''t bear it.

    He gripped her upper arms, a hint of desperationing through. "Do you honestly believe I could ever hate you?"

    She looked up into his dark brown eyes. He was angry that she was doubting the strength of their bond. That much was obvious.

    There was something else lurking there too. Hurt. Violet had hurt his feelings.

    But why would his feelings be hurt by something like that? Noah knew she was already vulnerable and down on herself because the other most important person in her life resented her. Her worry was an understandable one.

    "No," she admitted. "But if you ever did I wouldn''t be able to take it. I wanted to know what might make you resent me so I could avoid it and be better."

    Noah shook his head. "You don''t need to be better. You''re you and that is more than enough. I promise, I could never resent you. Vi, you''re my most important person too. Never forget that."

    His words untangled a knot in her heart. Their rtionship was safe, as always. She had nothing to worry about. He wouldn''t drift apart from her like Kaleb had.

    A warm smile made its way onto her face despite her tears and Noah seized her in a tight hug before she could do anything else. He mumbled something into her shoulder that she couldn''t quite catch because it was too muffled. She asked him what he said when he released her a minuteter but he said it didn''t matter.

    They took the soup bowls back downstairs and Jennica ended up driving her home. Sensing her difort at being left alone and asked about the source of her tears, Noah volunteered to ride with them.

    A surge of affection rose within her heart. He always knew exactly what she needed without even saying anything.

    Back at home, Violet''s eyes were still puffy so she went straight up to her room without speaking to anyone. Smoky was curled up on her bed and she stroked him over and over. The repetitive motion was calming.

    Things would be okay, just like Noah said. She had to believe that.

    ===

    When spring break finally rolled around, Keeley was about ready to drop dead and was more than ready for a week in the Caribbean. They would be staying at a resort with a private beach that had a whole bunch of other things to do as well.

    Looking up at the giant buildings looming above them, she thought that all the chaos it took to get them packed and here on time would be worth it. Rxation, here shees!

    The resort had everything one could possible imagine in a vacation destination. There was a spa, multiple pools, azy river, water slides, volleyball and tennis courts, and more. They even had a kids club for children under twelve so parents could go enjoy themselves alone for a while.

    On the first day Keeleyy sprawled on a beach towel with a mystery novel in one hand and a strawberry daiquiri in the other as her children had fun. The younger boys were building an epic sand castle while Kaleb was off ying beach volleyball with some other teenagers.

    Violet chose to read a romance novel next to her parents. She seemed happier than Keeley had seen her in a while.

    After the day she helped Noah on his science fair project, Jennica told her what happened. Violet ended up tly and tearlessly divulging her ongoing problems with Kaleb. Keeley had thought something was up but hadn''t realized the full scope of the problem because those two were hardly in the same room due to their schedules.

    It didn''t seem like they had enjoyed a proper talk about their feelings yet. Ever since she found out the truth, she had been able to see the tension between the two of them more clearly.

    If anything was going to change, they would need to talk. But how do you get a teenage boy to admit what he''s feeling? Goodness knows Keeley had never figured that out. If she had, she and Aaron could have avoided a whole lot of problems in their first life.

    She looked over at him as he napped in the sun with a pair of sunsses on. If she left him like that he would get a horrible tan line. Part of her was tempted but it would be a bit too much of a prank.

    "Aaron," Keeley called softly.

    He didn''t stir. The easiest thing to do was simply to slide the sunsses off of his face. She thought he would have woken up from the sudden assault of the sun on his eyelids but he was still out like a light.

    Poor thing. He had been nearly as tired as she hadtely. It looked like all of them needed this vacation.

 Chapter 418: A Persistent Male Lead

    <h4>Chapter 418: A Persistent Male Lead</h4>

    Keeley ended up sshing around in the water and tried boogeyboarding with her sons. Violet did it exactly once before giving up because she biffed it and got water up her nose. Aaron, surprisingly, was the best out of everyone at it.

    "Wow, Dad! Show me how you did that!" Oliver said excitedly after Aaron managed to ride a wave all the way to shore.

    "Honestly, I''m not sure how I did it but I can give it another shot," he replied with a shrug.

    It definitely wasn''t a fluke because he managed to do it four more times in a row. After that all three of the boys looked at him with something akin to awe. They begged him to help them go all the way too.

    At that point Keeley rejoined her daughter on the sand. She was sipping an alcohol-free pina cda and was back to her book.

    "I''ve only ever seen you read mystery novels," Violet said after a while. "Do you not like romance?"

    She nearly snorted. She hadn''t touched a romance novel since was she originally eighteen years old. First it was because she didn''t have time and then because she was too disappointed in how her own love had turned out.

    Even after her love life was flowing smoothly following her remarriage and re-falling in love with Aaron she still couldn''t stomach them. They were so unrealistic and gave people unfair hopes. Real love didn''t work like it did in novels.

    A wry half-smile appeared on her face. "I had my heart broken a long time ago. That kind of turned me off from romance novels and chick flicks forever."

    Violet appeared intrigued. Her mother had never talked about any previous boyfriends before. "Who was it?"

    Well that was one question she couldn''t answer honestly. She wasn''t about to ruin her daughter''s opinion of her father.

    "A boy I met in high school. He had a rough home life and didn''t know how to be in a rtionship so in the end it didn''t work out. I was bitter about it for a long time. That was probably way it took your dad a while to win me over," Keeley said with a touch of irony.

    It took him so long to win her over because she wasn''t sure she could trust him again. After that it was fear about Lacy Knighton and Alistair Hale that kept her heart closed off even once he was her best friend again. It took the woman getting murdered for Keeley to realize what she should have months before: that she was still hopelessly in love with her husband.

    "I had no idea it took Dad time to win your heart. You guys are so perfect together I figured it must have always been that way," Violet said before taking another slurp from her straw.

    Keeley shook her head, feeling a bit sheepish.

    "No, it took us a while. I met him during thest half of my senior year of high school and wasn''t open to love at all because of what happened before. We were apart for five and a half years before meeting up again. Even then he still had to work pretty hard to convince me to give him a chance."

    Violetughed. "Someone should make a romance novel out of your love story. I bet people would eat it up."

    Ah, if only she knew. There was already a telenov about it. But nobody knew that except for her. It was a secret she managed to keep from Aaron somehow after all these years. She didn''t see the point in bringing it up and hurting his feelings unnecessarily.

    "People do tend to like a persistent male lead, don''t they?" Keeley asked lightly. "Your father is probably the most patient person I''ve ever met. He wanted only me and did everything imaginable to make that happen."

    "I wish someone would love me that much." Her daughter sighed dreamily before continuing.

    "The book I''m reading is kind of like that too. The characters were apart for more than ten years because she identally gave him the wrong phone number. It was one digit off. But he never stopped loving her and ended up finding her again as she was engaged to a jerk."

    That sounded like a ssic romance novel to Keeley. She didn''t think Violet was sentimental enough to enjoy that sort of thing though. She was normally so studious.

    When she was younger she read a lot of historical fiction and fantasy novels. This romance novel phase was definitely a more recent development. Well, she was at a very romantic age.

    Keeley had to wonder though. Violet said she wanted someone to love her as much as Aaron loved Keeley. Did she not realize Noah''s feelings?

    It was fairly obvious to both the Hale and Singleton parents that Noah''s childish obsession with Violet as a ymate had evolved into an actual crush as he got older. The type of love she was talking about what mushy, sentimental, and supportive. A best friend rtionship.

    Aside from the mushiness¡­didn''t she already have that with Noah? The boy went to every recital or concert she ever had and always showed up with flowers. How had she not realized her best friend liked her?

    "Vi, I don''t mean to pry into your business¡­but do you like Noah?" Keeley asked gently.

    The shock on her daughter''s face was genuine. "Are you crazy?! Liking Noah is basically the same thing as liking Kaleb!"

    Ah, the poor kid. He was going to get his hopes crushed. Keeley and Jennica had talked about it before. It waspletely obvious he liked Violet as more than a friend.

    For his sake, she hoped it passed soon and he was able to find someone who liked him back but at the same time¡­what would happen to her innocent ''I only need one person'' daughter when Noah eventually fell in love with someone else?

    "He''s my best friend," Violet continued. "You don''t fall in love with your best friend."

    She sounded so certain and yet¡­it was arge part of the reason she was alive right now. Discounting all of the reincarnation stuff that cameter, Keeley never would have married Aaron the first time if they hadn''t already been best friends.

    She couldn''t say that now though since she had already told her daughter that it took time for him to win her over. After all this time, keeping her lies straight about who knew what from which lifetime was still confusing.

    The only person who know the whole truth, oddly enough, was Aiden. Aaron had told her how he figured it out on his own the day Oliver was born. That had been shocking to say the least

    Although he didn''t know everything Aaron did because he had been too embarrassed to share how badly he screwed up with the woman he loved. But he was the only other person alive who knew about their double reincarnation.

 Chapter 419: Not Romantic At All

    <h4>Chapter 419: Not Romantic At All</h4>

    "Your dad is my best friend," Keeley said simply, unable to exin the full truth.

    Violet rolled her eyes. "Well yeah, he is now but it wasn''t like you were friends first. I''ve known Noah since we were both in diapers. That''s not romantic at all."

    She was going off of the romance novel and chick flick version of romance. It had to be big and shy and over the top for it to be real. But love could be simple and sweet too.

    Noah''s affection was definitely more of the simple and sweet variety. So Violet, who loved reading about all of the big and shy stuff, would easily overlook it.

    Keeley''s heart really went out to the kid. But she had to be on her daughter''s side here; it was the principle of the thing.

    "I''m sure you''ll get the romance you''re hoping for someday. Even if it doesn''te in the way you expect."

    Violet tilted her head in confusion. "You sound like you''re speaking from experience."

    Sheughed. Goodness knows she hadn''t expected to marry the same man twice, especially after how he treated her the first time.

    But Keeley was d everything happened exactly the way it did. She wouldn''t love Aaron the way she did now if not for everything they had been through together. Fate was never wrong. Things happened as they were supposed to.

    "I always thought I would marry someone normal," she said with a shrug. "Not somebody whose name was known by everyone in the city. But the heart wants what it wants and ultimately it wanted your father. I don''t regret my choice."

    A thoughtful expression appeared on Violet''s face as she went back to her book. She was digesting what her mother said.

    At that moment Aaron came back, soaking wet from the waves, and picked his wife up unexpectedly. She screeched in surprise and protested because she wanted to read but he wasn''t having any of it.

    "Our sons ditched me so you''reing with me now," he said simply.

    "Aaron! Put me down!"

    "Nope."

    He ended up marching all the way into the waves with her over his shoulder and made her swim around with him. Violet peeked over the cover of her book to watch with a fond and amused smile on her face.

    That. That was the kind of romance she wanted someday. She wanted someone who loved her so much that they never wanted to be apart from her for even a second.

    ===

    Kaleb ended up spending the majority of the vacation hanging out with other teenagers who were also avoiding their families. Violet felt a pit in her stomach every time she watched him leave. It felt oddly personal.

    She ended up spending a lot of time with her parents and younger brothers. Floating down thezy river, going on the water slides, and hanging out on the beach. She even went to the spa with her mom at one point.

    "Ah, it''s been a while," Keeley sighed happily as the masseuse worked her magic.

    "Have you even heard of a thing called self-care, Mom?"

    "We''re old friends. Very old. Haven''t been in contact for a while," she joked.

    Violet merely shook her head in dismay. Her mother was going to work herself to death one of these days.

    "Seriously, are you ever going to rx?"

    "When my treatment gets approved by the FDA, probably," Keeley admitted.

    She really did care way too much about her brother. Though Violet could rte. Her current issues with her brother had consumed her entire life.

    Getting approved by the FDA would take years. Her mother hadn''t even moved to the second phase of the approval process yet. By the time it happened, Violet might very well be out of high school. Was she seriously not going to rx until then?

    "Dad''s going to make you quit if you work too hard," she predicted.

    Keeley shook her head. "No, he supports my research dreams more than anyone. He wouldn''t do that."

    Sometimes Violet wondered how her father could be so overprotective of his wife but still let her run herself into the ground. By all means, it didn''t make sense.

    Passion ran in her family''s blood. Her mother was passionate about her research. Her father was passionate about her mother. Kaleb was passionate about baseball and Oliver was passionate about outer space. Nathan hadn''t found his passion yet but once he did, they would all have one.

    Hers was dance. It was the only time she felt like she could truly express herself in front of others. Ballet wasn''t all about grace and elegance. She had seen some choreographed modern ballet that was as fierce and choppy as it was beautiful.

    Sometimes she felt like ssical ballet suited her. Other times the raw excitement of contemporary ballet matched her mood better. Either way, ballet was an art form where she could get all of her feelings out.

    If her mother felt anywhere as strongly about her research as Violet did about ballet, she could understand why she would work herself to death. And if her father loved her mother enough to understand that, of course he would let her get away with it.

    "I want to take driver''s ed," Violet announced.

    She wouldn''t be able to physically get her learner''s permit until September because you had to be fifteen and a half but she wanted to start the process. Being able to drive would allow her mother some breathing room.

    "I can sign you up as soon as we get home," Keeley said with a yawn. The massage was making her sleepy.

    Good. Violet wanted to be more self-sufficient. She also wanted to be more useful to the ones she loved. Noah wasn''t the only one who felt like he didn''t do enough. Maybe if she was more useful she could convince them that she was enough, even if she did fail.

    Maybe if she wasn''t so needy Kaleb would want her around again. If she could do everything he used to do for her by herself¡­wouldn''t hee back and be her best friend again?

 Chapter 420: Dress Shopping

    <h4>Chapter 420: Dress Shopping</h4>

    May 2032

    Work got easier once Keeley hit phase II because she was no longer the only researcher working on the project. DOMA didn''t get FDA approval for new therapies terribly often so everyone was asked to momentarily drop their projects to make this happen.

    A lot more trials were running concurrently so she was able to rx a bit. Just in time, too. Junior prom wasing up and both of her children were going. She wanted to be as supportive as possible and help with the process.

    As an asker, Kaleb was in charge of providing the limo and boutonniere. He also needed a pocket square and tie that matched his date''s dress. As an askee, Violet needed a dress, shoes, hair styling, and a manicure.

    Keeley wasn''t at all surprised that her son asked a cheerleader to be his date but she was very surprised that Violet had a date. Not that she was asked but that she had epted the invitation. She had never gone to a high school dance before because she wasn''t interested.

    "The kind of dancing they do at those things is barbaric and nothing like real dance," she said simply when her mother asked her why she didn''t go to homing her freshman year.

    That had been the end of those kinds of questions. It had never been brought up again until Violet happened to say she had a date off-handedly at dinner one day.

    Kaleb had been thrilled. "Vi, that''s great! We can double if you want."

    She had smiled brightly at him in return as she agreed. And thus began Keeley''s frantic nning to make sure everything went well for her kids since they were finally on the same page about something.

    Kaleb''s tie and pocket square were red to match his date''s dress but Violet needed to pick hers out soon to let her date know what to wear. Matching was very important at these sorts of dances. Everyone did it.

    "I don''t know about this color, Mom," Violet said with a frown as she turned around in front of the mirrors to examine herself.

    She was wearing a dark blue dress that made her eyes stand out but it was more daring than anything she usually wore because of all the geometric cutouts. It made her eyes look good but it also made her look pale as a ghost.

    "You might look a little better in something lighter," Keeley admitted. "Do you want to stick with blue?"

    "I honestly don''t know."

    Violet wore a lot of pastels because they were typical ballerina colors. Lavender. Baby pink. Ice blue. Leotard colors, basically. Aside from ck, which she thought washed her out.

    Keeley decided those might be a good ce to start. Violet tried on an ice blue mini dress, a baby pink mermaid dress, and a floor-lengthvender gown that looked somewhat like a toga.

    Personally, she thought her daughter looked good in all of them but it wasn''t her choice. Violet was free to pick the one she liked best.

    "I might go with thevender one. What do you think?" she asked.

    "Thevender one looks beautiful on you. You''ll knock him dead," Keeley said supportively.

    Violet smiled so wide her eyes crinkled at the corners. "Hopefully not because then I won''t have a date anymore."

    She knew exactly why her daughter was so happy about this. It was her very first date.

    Only one other guy had asked her out before and she said no because he gave her a weird vibe. It turned out to be the right thing to do, since that guy ended up stalking some other girl and getting a restraining order against him.

    If she had gone out with him, that might have been her. He apparently began the stalking shortly after they went out together twice. The girl wasn''t feeling it and tried to let him down gently but that didn''t work.

    The incident freaked Violet out a little bit and she had Noah teach her some self-defense moves afterward. He taught her the best ones for taking down an opponentrger than her.

    "Take a picture of me in my dress?" she requested, handing her mother her phone.

    Keeley saw that there were two missed messages from Noah while opening the camera. "Noah texted you."

    "I''ll text him back in a minute."

    Violet grinned for all she was worth while striking a couple of poses. It was a very girly thing for her to do. Despite being a ballerina, she really didn''t act like a typical girl for the most part.

    Keeley handed the phone back and she texted away furiously before heading back into the changing room. She came out with thevender dress in her arms a couple of minutester.

    "Mom, Noah needs homework help again. Can you drop me off at the Singletons'' house?"

    Normally Violet drove herself ces but since they hade together they only took one car. Her mother agreed easily enough and kept the dress with her in the car to put in her daughter''s closet.

    She was over often enough that Jennica didn''t even bother calling for Noah toe down anymore. Violet simply made her way up to his room.

    Feeling yful because of her good mood from finding the right dress, she put her hands over his eyes and said "guess who?" in a very good imitation of Logan''s voice.

    "Nice try, Vi, but I know it''s you."

    She pouted. "How? My Logan impression is really good!"

    "It is but Logan would never y that game with me. It''s pretty girly," Noah said rationally. "So, are you ready to help me tackle algebra? Because I don''t get this at all."

    "Algebra is a piece of cake for me. I''ve got your back."

    They ended up working on his assignment for the next thirty minutes, slowly plodding along since Violet had to stop frequently and exin things Noah didn''t understand. They had this down to a science by now. She was his de facto math tutor.

    After finishing about half of the problems, he looked up at her with an unusually serious expression on his face. Did somebody die or something?

    "You went dress shopping today, right? For prom."

    Violet had told him about her good fortune weeks ago. She had been trying so hard the whole time she was in high school to be normal. She kept on with choir and orchestra, became a part of the yearbook staff, and even tried going to football games with her friends despite hating anything to do with sports.

    Kaleb finally got less weird around her as she took on the appearance of a normal high school student. Having him back was great. She realized she had been right that he resented her for having to take care of her all the time.

    Now he didn''t! She was plenty popr all on her own. But still, no one asked her out. She wondered if Kaleb had something to do with it. Like he was threatening anyone who had eyes on his sister.

    It sounded like something he would do. Violet had to live with an entire houseful of overprotective males. Oliver and Nathan were pretty bad too. And don''t get her started on her dad.

 Chapter 421: Overprotective Males

    <h4>Chapter 421: Overprotective Males</h4>

    Dustin Wilcox was also on the yearbook staff and apparently didn''t know Violet was the sister of the scary star of every sport he yed. Kaleb actually made it into an article on the school''s website for his various athletic achievements.

    He asked her if she wanted to go to prom with him when they were out collecting photos for a spread together. He was pretty cute and she enjoyed talking to him so there was no reason not to say yes.

    Noah hadn''t been terribly thrilled about it though. Violet could add him to the list of overprotective males in her life. He asked about fifty questions about what Dustin was like before he was satisfied.

    "Yeah, I did. Want to see? I have pictures," she said while pulling out her phone.

    She held them up for him to examine. Noah looked at them with an oddly neutral expression on his face. What was that about?

    "You look beautiful, as always."

    He had said those sorts of things a million times but somehow this time it fell t. Probably because he wasn''t smiling. Violet was instantly concerned. Noah was one of the most cheerful people she had ever met. He didn''t get upset easily.

    The only times she had ever seen him get mad were when someone was picking on her or underestimating him because of his bad grades. So what was eating at him now?

    "Noah? You alright?"

    He sighed. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

    Well, no. They had been by each other''s sides for about fifteen years after all. Recognizing each other''s tiny shifts in mood was perfectly normal by now.

    Noah leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He looked particrly worn down today. At first she thought it was because of how much he hated math.

    "I wish I was done with high school already. I hate the schoolwork. I hate the expectations. I hate that I''ve barely started and you''re already more than halfway done," he said bitterly.

    Violet blinked at him in concern. She had always known he hated school but what was with thest sentence? This wasn''t the first time he had said something like that either. Noah truly loathed the fact that he was two grades behind her.

    She didn''t see why it was a problem. It affected their ability to hang out at school but they still saw each other just as much once it ended. They didn''t share any sses and their lunch periods were at different times but so what?

    It was no different than all the years they were in different schools altogether. This year was the first year they had been at the same school since she was in sixth grade and he was in fourth. In fact, it was actually a little better because they were usually able to see each other for about twenty minutes while waiting for their mothers to pick them up.

    "Why does that matter?" Violet asked curiously. "I''m not going anywhere after graduation."

    With her grades and extracurricrs, getting into her backup school, NYU, wouldn''t be a problem. It had a fairly decent dance program even though she was aiming for Juilliard or even Columbia.

    She had no intention of leaving New York. As much as she loved going ces on vacation, this was her home base. When Violet exined that to her mom, she smiled and said she had been exactly the same way.

    Keeley Hale had never lived anywhere else, even though her husband went away for college. It was part of why it had taken them so long to meet up again, ording to her mom''s retelling of their love story.

    Noah shook his head. "That isn''t it. I''m not worried about you leaving. I''m worried about getting left behind."

    Weren''t those the same thing worded a little differently? This was one of the few times Violet didn''t understand what her best friend was saying.

    "I don''t follow."

    He pushed his chair out and stood, pacing around the room. He had finally gotten his growth spurt within thest year and now stood about five inches taller than her height of 5''6".

    It was totally strange because they had been the same height for most of his time in middle school and before that Noah had always been shorter. She was still getting used to the height difference.

    "Vi, you''re going to college in a little over a year. You''re going to meet new people, have way more homework, and not have time for me anymore. You know my cousin Gary?" he asked.

    She nodded and Noah continued his frenzied pacing. It was something he did a lot when he was stressed because it helped him get energy out.

    "Gary was best friends with his neighbor who was a year younger than him. They were practically brothers; every time I went to go visit my cousins in Pennsylvania he was over at Gary''s house. Gary ended up going to Drexel University, which is still in Phdelphia.

    "He didn''t even move out from his parents'' house but he was gone all the time. When he was home, he was doing homework. Thest three times I''ve been down to visit my cousins, the neighbor hasn''t been there. They grew apart."

    Oh. So that''s what it was. Did Noah really think he had such an insignificant ce in Violet''s heart that she would let that happen?

    He had thought she moved on without him when she got to high school because she asionally talked about the choir or orchestra kids she hung out with at lunch but that wasn''t the case at all. Those friends were all superficial. They never even saw each other outside of school.

    After exining that to him he felt a bit better. It seemed like he was mostly worried they would cut into the already limited time he was able to see her.

    Those school friends were alright but Violet only hung out with them out of necessity. They helped her seem normal. She felt no real attachment to any of them.

    "Noah, deep down you have to know that isn''t going to happen," she said gently. "Sure, I''ll be busier but I''m busy now and I still see you most days, don''t I?"

    "Yeah¡­" he admitted reluctantly.

 Chapter 422: Voice of Reason

    <h4>Chapter 422: Voice of Reason</h4>

    Violet wondered why he would worry about something so far off anyway. What was the point stressing himself out now? But Noah had always been like that. If he thought of something, he worried about it no matter how far out it was.

    She had always been his voice of reason when it came to things like that. Sometimes you need to listen to someone else tell you what you already know deep down.

    "I practice ballet for an hour and a half every weekday, have roughly two hours of homework a night, usually drive Nathan and Oliver around, and still make time for you. Do you honestly think that will change just because I''m going to college?" Violet asked in a practical tone.

    "No¡­but you won''t have time for me if you get a boyfriend," Noah said quietly.

    Ah. So that''s what this was really about. He was worried that her prom date was going to turn into something more and then she wouldn''t have any time left to spare for him at all.

    Violet honestly didn''t know what sort of time constraints having a boyfriend would put on her. But it wasn''t like she would never see her friend. Whenever her boyfriend''s schedule didn''t match up she would be with Noah, tutoring him like always.

    "Worst case scenario you''d have to get a girlfriend so we could double," she said with a shrug. "And nobody''s schedules match up perfectly; I''d still see you when I wasn''t with a potential boyfriend. But I don''t think that''s going to happen any time soon."

    Noah raised an eyebrow. "Really? But I thought you were excited about this date."

    "I am, but because it''s a date period. Not because of the guy who asked me. It''s not like I like him or anything. I thought I was undateable," Violet replied matter-of-factly.

    Up to this point, she hadn''t had a proper crush on someone thatsted longer than a few weeks. She was secretly a romantic¡ªit always fizzled after the guy didn''t give her anything to work with.

    Why bother continuing to like someone when you know it won''t go anywhere? Not everyone could be as persistent as her dad.

    "How could someone like you be undateable?! You''re pretty and smart and fun to talk to. One of these days someone is going to realize that and steal you out right from under me like a magician pulling a tablecloth without messing up anything on the table," Noah said grumpily, crossing his arms over his chest.

    She couldn''t help but giggle at the imagery that invoked. He had long been the funniest person she knew. The way he worded things sometimes was too over the top.

    Violet knew that part of his worry was because he was overprotective and part of it was that he knew he would never graduate high school without her help. Every other tutor he had ever tried didn''t have the patience to work with him.

    "Great, now you''reughing at me," Noah sighed.

    "No, no, it''s the way you worded it, not you," she reassured him. "You really don''t have anything to worry about, Noah. Even if I do get a boyfriend eventually I''ll still be your best friend. Look at our moms. They didn''t let marriage and children get in the way of their friendship."

    He looked at her like she was stupid. "Vi, they''re both women. It''s different."

    "Then I''ll introduce you as another one of my brothers or my cousin or something."

    He was practically family anyway. No guy would have a problem with his girlfriend hanging out with a cousin.

    Noah rolled his eyes and dropped the subject. "Can we get back to math please?"

    "dly."

    The conversation had taken a kind of weird turn. He couldn''t really be that worried about losing her when it was such a far off possibility, right? Sometimes he could be such a kid.

    For someone so sensitive about his age, it didn''t make sense to her that he had moments of childishness like this. Normally he seemed like such an old soul. But here he was, preemptively jealous about having to share his favorite person when nothing had even happened yet.

    Violet wished there was a better way for her tofort him because her efforts tonight seemed ultimately futile. That tension that had been there under the surface when she arrived hadn''t gone away. How could she prove to him that she wasn''t going anywhere when she graduated next year?

    ===

    The afternoon of prom, Violet missed her ballet practice because she needed to get ready. Her mom took her to get her hair and nails done and helped her with her makeup. She was so nervous that it felt like a swarm of butterflies had been set loose in her stomach.

    In order to be a normal high school student she needed to do this right. Plus if she somehow screwed things up, yearbook ss would be very awkward. She needed to be a good date.

    Dustin showed up at her apartment building so her parents could take pictures. Her mother made her promise to get pictures of Kaleb and his date when they went to pick her up as well.

    That was easy enough to do. Vanessa the cheerleader''s mom was a shutterbug and took a billion pictures of both couples. Getting her to agree to airdrop them onto Violet''s phone was simple.

    "I didn''t get the chance to say this before but you look really pretty, Violet," Dustin said a bit shyly once they were back in the limo on their way to the venue.

    "Thank you," Violet replied quietly. "You look nice too."

    It was a perfunctory response. He looked about the same as he always did. The sight of him didn''t make her heart race, which was more than a bit disappointing, but she was still excited to finally be going on a date.

    She didn''t think she was shallow¡ªafter all, she had crushed on quite a few average looking guys before because they did something she thought was cute¡ªbut she couldn''t deny she wanted her heart to race when she looked at a guy who was interested in her.

 Chapter 423: Hes Gone

    <h4>Chapter 423: He''s Gone</h4>

    Keeley was ying a board game with the family members still at home after the twins went off to prom when she got a phone call from her dad''s number.

    "Hey Dad, what''s up? Do you want me to send you the pictures I got of the kids all dressed up for prom?" she asked casually.

    "This is Robert Hall''s daughter, correct?" a sympathetic female voice asked.

    Her blood ran cold and she excused herself from the game to speak somewhere more private. Alzheimer''s ran in his family and he had begun developing it about three years ago.

    It wasn''t safe for him to live on his own anymore but he couldn''t stay with her on a permanent basis because of his cat allergy. She had been forced to move him to a care center but still visited him every couple of days.

    "Yes, this is her. What''s going on?" Keeley asked after swallowing hard.

    "He''s not doing well," the woman admitted. "We don''t think he''ll make it through the night. He isn''t lucid right now but will you stille see him?"

    Keeley had known this would happen eventually but he was stillparatively young. 71 was nothing these days, when life expectancy had been steadily climbing as medical advancements kept happening.

    "Of course," she sniffed, trying to stem the flow of tears that came out of nowhere. "I''ll be right there."

    She walked back into the living room and Nathanined about how it had been her turn for the past several minutes before seeing her face and stopping himself mid-word. Aaron looked at her after Nathan cut himself off and immediately jumped up.

    "Is he¡­"

    She knew the word he couldn''t say. "Not yet. But they think it''s happening tonight. I need to go."

    Aaron grabbed her hand as she turned to leave. "We''ll all go. I''m sure the boys will want to say goodbye and I can''t leave you to face that alone."

    Keeley nodded, unable to speak. Aaron quietly exined things to Oliver and Nathan as they put on their shoes to head downstairs. The drive to the care facility was a somber one.

    Fifteen years. She had gotten an extra fifteen years with her dad in this life. The first time around he died in 2017 in such a horrible, unnatural way. There was nothing worse than losing a loved one to murder.

    His death would be a natural one this time¡­and he would finally be reunited with his wife and son. She knew he had been sick for a long time and deserved to rest but she would miss him too much.

    Robert was thest remaining member of the family she had been born into. Once she was gone, she would be the only one left. The tears wouldn''t stop.

    She sprinted out of the car praying she wasn''t toote as Aaron pulled up to the curb. He let everyone else get out first while he found a parking space.

    Keeley frantically gave her name and who she was visiting to the person at the front desk and they let her back immediately. Things really must not be good. She practically ran down the hall even though running was prohibited.

    "Dad," she panted as she opened the door to his room. He looked terrible, pale and drawn, but he was still breathing.

    "Monica?" he asked weakly.

    "No, Dad, it''s Keeley. Your daughter," she said gently as she wrapped her hands around his gnarled one. "Your grandsons Oliver and Nathan are here too."

    They waved awkwardly from the background. Seeing their fun-loving grandpa deteriorate the past few years had been hard on them.

    "Keeley¡­I see Monica. She''s waiting for me," Robert said feebly before having a violent coughing fit.

    The tears wouldn''t stop flowing at this point but she smiled through them. She wanted thest thing he ever saw to be a smiling face.

    "You''ve both waited a long time," she said thickly around the lump in her throat. "You''ll be with her soon and then it won''t hurt anymore."

    He closed his eyes with a pleased smile on his face. His chest continued to weakly rise and fall for a few more minutes before he opened them again. He looked like he wanted to say something important.

    Keeley gripped his hand tighter. What was it? What did he want to say?

    "I''m proud of you, honeybun. You were always so kind¡­and you never gave up your dreams. You have such a beautiful family. Cherish them."

    Robert coughed so much that she barely managed to make out what he was saying. He whispered "Monica" one more time before the monitors he was hooked up to went t. He was gone.

    Shepletely broke down, resting her forehead on their entwined hands. Gone. The entire Hall family was gone except for her.

    Aaron rushed into the room at that moment and Oliver whispered to him what happened as tears of his own coursed down his face. He had aforting arm around Nathan, who was sobbing nearly as hard as his mother.

    "Keeley¡­" he said helplessly as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

    "He''s gone, he''s gone! He was the only one left and now¡ª!" she was too choked up to continue getting anything coherent out.

    "Shh, it''s okay. He''s with your mom and Kaleb again and that''s what he wanted. You''re not alone. You still have us."

    She only cried harder, finally letting go of her father''s lifeless hand as the nurse came in to check all the beeping. She buried her face in Aaron''s shirt and cried until she ran out of tears.

    "Is Mom gonna be okay?" Nathan asked his brother tearfully.

    "I¡­don''t know," Oliver replied honestly.

    He had never seen his happy-go-lucky mother be this upset. He couldn''t me her though since he knew she lost most of her family a long time ago. Like she said, her dad was the only one left.

    Oliver strengthened his resolve to be extra nice to her while she adjusted to not having her dad around anymore. Dad was right; she wasn''t alone. She still had them.

 Chapter 424: A Deep Depression

    <h4>Chapter 424: A Deep Depression</h4>

    Aaron ended up speaking to the care center directors about making funeral arrangements since Keeley was still sobbing in the corner. She may have run out of tears but that wasn''t going to stop her from crying.

    A weight settled in his heart the moment she came back from that phone call. Everybody knew Robert''s time was limited but he had hoped it could be put off as long as possible. He was a vital member of their family.

    He would miss his father-inw too. Robert had always been so kind to him and made sure he felt included even before they were rted by marriage. He had been an example to Aaron for what kind of father he wanted to be with his own children.

    But of course his pain at losing the only decent father figure in his life was nothingpared to Keeley''s, who had now lost her entire family twice. He wished there was something he could do to make her feel better.

    Last time she fell into a deep depression. It was partly because she knew that it was Lacy Knighton''s doing though. And partly because Aaron was stupidly trying to avoid her to keep her safe so she had to deal with it all alone.

    Keeley wasn''t alone this time. She had a family and friends who loved her and would help her get through this. He really, really hoped she didn''t get too depressed again.

    Trying to deal with that when she lost their first baby and the ability to have children had been nearly impossible. Even now that he was much better at knowing how tofort her he still worried he wouldn''t be able to get through to her through that haze of grief again.

    "Sweetheart? We should get home," Aaron said gently as he helped his wife out of the chair she was sitting in.

    Keeley nodded mutely, clutching his hand as if it was her lifeline. Nathan quickly sidled up to her and took her other hand, which put Oliver out a little bit. He had wanted to hold her other hand.

    When they got home, Aaron put on one of her favorite movies¡ªmaking sure it wasn''t one that she had watched with her dad¡ªand wrapped her up in nkets. Both of their sons curled up next to her and snuggled close, needingfort of their own.

    He joined them but didn''t pay attention to the movie at all. He needed to call the funeral home in the morning and get all of that taken care of so they could hold the funeral the following weekend.

    Rubbing his forehead wearily, he realized someone would have to break the news to the twins when they got home. What a way to ruin prom night.

    Would it be possible to keep it from them until the next day? Aaron didn''t want to spoil their moods. If he made sure everyone else was in bed before they got home it could work.

    Turns out that wasn''t even a problem. His wife and children all feel asleep on the couch, worn out from crying, before the movie was even over. All he had to do now was move them to their beds.

    ===

    Prom wasn''t nearly as fun as Violet had hoped it would be. The music was mediocre and overyed, the food was good but not terribly filling, and it was too loud in the ballroom to even hold a conversation.

    At least Kaleb seemed to be having a good time. It was obvious he really liked that cheerleader. Not only had he been over the moon when she epted his invitation, he was talking a lot faster than usual as they interacted.

    He always talked fast when he was nervous or excited. He''d had this habit from the time he could speak as a toddler. Violet could read her twin like a book.

    At least Dustin was a somewhat attentive date. He frequently ended up refilling Violet''s punch for her. He tried initiating conversation every once in a while but would give up after she yelled "what?" too many times from not being able to hear him properly over the music.

    The dancing had met her expectations exactly¡ªshe figured that nobody else here knew how to dance so she would end up moving in a tiny, awkward circle and that was exactly what happened.

    Violet sighed. If Noah were old enough toe to the prom, he would have been able to dance with her properly. His mother was a dancer and she had taught both of her sons how to be able to whisk a girl off her feet. After all, it was how she and Cameron first met.

    Now that was a love story! She never got tired of hearing Jennica retell the magical moment they met where she was skating backwards and fell into his arms. Their eyes met and they both felt a cosmic connection, which was enhanced by skate dancing together right afterwards.

    When she asked her mom if it was true, she rolled her eyes. "Jennica wouldn''t stop freaking out all weekend until she finally broke down and texted him. They''ve been attached at the hip ever since."

    Violet had inwardly swooned over how romantic it was while outwardly only letting a soft smile be seen. If only something like that could happen to her!

    Dustin was nice but she really wasn''t feeling the romance. How disappointing.

    She had been right about Noah not having anything to worry about. At this rate, she would never get a boyfriend and would be living out her days in her parents'' house forever, withering away under the weight of their mushiness.

    Maybe Noah was onto something about wishing he was older. If they were in the same grade, they could have juste together and at least had fun dancing. Since her prom dreams hadn''t turned out to be that romantic after all, it would be better being with someone who could make it less boring.

    Violet epted Dustin''s offer to go dance the next time a slow song came on but she really wasn''t feeling it. She was a dancer! Turning in a tiny circle didn''t cut it for her.

 Chapter 425: Comfort Food

    <h4>Chapter 425: Comfort Food</h4>

    By the time the Hale twins made it back to their apartment, the only one awake was their dad. He looked tired but asked them about how the dance was like he normally would.

    Kaleb had a lot to say, jabbering on about how much fun he had with Vanessa but Violet simply said it was fine. Prom, unfortunately, hadn''t been anything special.

    Once Aaron had thoroughly listened to everything they had to say, he excused himself to go to bed. Something definitely felt off but she couldn''t quite put her finger on it. Her answer came the following morning when Nathan whispered that Grandpa had passed awayst night while they were gone.

    No wonder the house had been so quiet when they came back! Violet''s heart was torn in two. She hadn''t been able to say goodbye to her grandpa because she went to a stupid dance she didn''t even have fun at. She would never be able to take that back.

    She locked herself in her room and sobbed into her pillow. Grandpa had been sick for a long time but still¡­Violet really thought she would be able to say goodbye. It had been over a week since she had made time to visit him. Now she would never be able to visit him again.

    Her phone rang and she nearly ignored it until she saw it was Noah. He was probably calling to see how the dance went. If anybody would understand her feelings right now, it would be him.

    She hadn''t wanted to be around any of her weepy family members¡ªespecially her mom, who was clearly the most upset¡ªwhich was why she was hiding in her room in the first ce. But being around someone who wouldn''t be crying might help her find equilibrium.

    Violet picked up and before Noah could even say anything, she sobbed his name, unable to continue.

    He went silent for a moment before saying "I''ll be there in twenty minutes."

    Unable to be inside the gloom of her apartment, she went downstairs to meet him still wearing her striped pajama pants and an oversized tee shirt. Right now she didn''t care that she looked like a disaster. She just wanted to see her best friend.

    When Violet saw him, she threw herself into his arms immediately.

    "What happened, Vi?" Noah asked gently as he stroked her hair.

    "Grandpa diedst night. While I was at the dance. I didn''t get to say goodbye," she managed to get out as tears continued rolling down her face onto his tee shirt.

    Noah held her even tighter after hearing that. He knew how close she had been to her grandpa as the only beloved granddaughter of the family.

    "I''m so sorry. What can I do?"

    His kindness made her cry harder. Violet wasn''t able to respond. But since they were making a bit of a scene in the lobby he ended up leading her down to the parking garage where his car was.

    He led her into the backseat and continued to hold her so she could cry in privacy. Going to that dance really had been such a stupid thing to do.

    How could she think it would be worth her time? Nothing was worth missing saying goodbye to someone she loved. Guilt and disgust at herself swirled around in a mental tornado with her grief.

    Finally regaining her ability to speak, Violet snorted at herself derisively. "I shouldn''t have gone to that stupid dance. I didn''t even have fun. It was all for nothing and now I''m never going to see Grandpa again."

    "He would never me you," Noah had softly. "He knew how much you loved him. You told him so every time you saw him, didn''t you?"

    "Yes," she sniffled. It was a habit to tell him she loved him as she said goodbye.

    "You have nothing to beat yourself up over. He left this world knowing you loved him and that''s what matters."

    How did he always know what to say? The knot of guilt tangled around her grief began to loosen. Noah was right. Grandpa did know she loved him. But that wouldn''t make not having him around any easier to bear.

    Until he ended up in the car facility he went to every single one of her recitals. He was at their house for dinner multiple nights a week. Robert Hall was an essential member of the Hale family. And now he was gone.

    "I know he''s in a better ce now. He''s with Grandma and Uncle Kaleb again. I know how much he missed them, especially Grandma. She died thirty-one years ago and he never stopped thinking about her."

    Violet nearly smiled through her tears remembering some of his stories about his wife after they got married. He didn''t talk about her much and when he did was always in passing. Violet wasn''t even sure how they had met or fallen in love.

    Once she tried asking him but he said he couldn''t bear to think about it. If he did it hurt too much. She hadn''t asked him again after that, though the curiosity remained.

    "Can you imagine loving someone that much?"

    Noah didn''t say anything. He looked thoughtfully out the window. Maybe he was trying to imagine it. It was a level of devotion that not just anyone could achieve.

    When he finally did speak again, he had a slight smile on his face. "Do you want a distraction orfort food?"

    He hadn''t answered her question but he did that sometimes; he tended to be easily distracted. Violet was used to it. She wasn''t sure which option sounded better right now to be perfectly honest.

    "Can I choose both?" she asked a bit sheepishly.

    "Duh. Which one do you want first?"

    "Comfort food. I haven''t had breakfast yet."

    Noah ended up taking her to go get pancakes. She ordered a chocte chip tall stack for them to split. They had been sharing food for so many years that it didn''t even ur to her that they currently looked like a couple on a date to other people in the restaurant.

 Chapter 426: Distraction

    <h4>Chapter 426: Distraction</h4>

    "What kind of distraction do you want?" Noah asked as he signaled for the check.

    They had polished off their pancakes and Violet was feeling a bit better already, though she was totally embarrassed at being caught out and about in her pajamas now. It might be best going to a clothes store to pick out a new outfit first.

    "Can I get something to wear that isn''t pajamas before we figure that out?" she asked nonchntly to hide her mortification.

    "Sure."

    Once they made it back to the car Noah drove them straight to a nearby mall. Violet ended up buying the first thing she tried on: a white spaghetti strap romper covered in sunflowers.

    The state of her bedhead was still something to worry about so as they walked by an essory store she saw exactly what she needed. It was a hair clip with a sunflower on it.

    Violet excused herself to run to the bathroom and try to smooth her hair out as best she could with water. The end result was a messy braid held together by the clip but at least now she looked boho chic rather than rolled-out-of-bed.

    When she came back out, Noah was shaking his head with an amused smile on his face. "No one would ever guess you ran outside in your pajamas this morning."

    "That''s what I was going for," Violet replied crisply, though she was relieved to hear she looked okay.

    She still hadn''t decided what kind of distraction would be best when Noah pulled into a parking lot close to Central Park. A small, nostalgic smile appeared on her face. They had spent a lot of time here together when they were younger.

    He led her towards the yground and more specifically, towards the swings. Only one was free so he gestured for her to sit on it so he could push her.

    Violetughed. It had been years since she had been on a swing. As soon as she was old enough to stay home alone, her mom didn''t drag her to the park when her little brothers went anymore.

    "If you''re trying to distract me by drowning me in nostalgia it''s working," she informed him.

    Since Noah was behind her she couldn''t see his smile but she could hear it in his voice. "Good. That was definitely my n. Plus it couldn''t hurt exposing you to some sunshine. Vitamin D is important, you know."

    She rolled her eyes. Everyone was always on her case about not going out enough. Wasn''t the time it took to get from ce to ce enough exposure to sunlight? She had better things to do inside.

    That being said, Violet did like reading in the hammock on the terrace at home. Unfortunately, she didn''t have much time to read these days. Schoolwork had only gotten more time consuming over time. Even with her speed reading skills she spent hours on it each day.

    A lot of the time she ended up bringing her homework with her when she met with Noah so they could work on their separate assignments at the same time. That way she could help him if he needed it but could also get her work done.

    Before her workload got heavier, Violetpleted everything while still at school and had plenty of time to herself after ballet practice. Life did get crazier the older you got.

    Things were so much simpler when she was younger. She didn''t have to worry about her image or her twin brother or her future. Back then all that mattered was ying with Noah and Kaleb, her two favorite people in the world.

    As much as she looked forward to the future and craved romantic excitement, Violet had always struggled with change. Going to new schools, trying to make new friends, having a new schedule¡­those things took her a while to adjust every time.

    Now she had one more unpleasant change to adjust to: life without her grandpa. He had always been an important part of her life so how was she supposed to get used to a world without him?

    "What are you thinking about, Vi?" Noah asked as he pushed her higher.

    She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that the asional feeling of his hands on her back was the only indication he was still there.

    "Change," Violet said sadly. "It''s going to be weird not having Grandpa around anymore. It was already hard enough when he moved into the care center and I didn''t see him as much but now I can''t see him at all."

    "I''m not sure what to tell you," Noah replied a bit hesitantly. "When my grandma died I was sad but I only saw her a few times a year so the difference wasn''t as noticeable. It was easier to feel like she was still alive out there like always."

    Jennica''s mother had passed away about a year ago. The funeral was all the way in Ohio so Violet wasn''t able to be there to support her friend even though she wanted to go with them. Her mother told her she couldn''t be a burden on the Singletons when they were already grieving.

    Reluctantly, she conceded her mother had a point. Jennica shouldn''t have to focus on taking care of an extra minor when she was mourning the only parent she really had.

    It was obvious that Noah wanted to make her feel better but didn''t have the right words. That alone nearly made her feel better. Her friend''s care and consideration were better than any sage advice he might have to offer.

    The little girl on the swing next to her went running back to the yground so Noah was able to join her on the swings. He sat down and rocked back and forth gently by moving his feet against the ground.

    Violet continued using the momentum his pushing had given her to pump her legs and go as high as possible. Maybe if she went high enough she could leave her mncholypletely behind.

    "I don''t need advice. I was just getting my thoughts out. You did ask, after all," she said simply.

    "Right. Sorry," Noah replied.

    "Don''t apologize! I really appreciate that you''re here with me right now. I don''t know what I would have done if I''d been forced to stay home with all of the doom and gloom."

    "Cry more?" he asked with a slight smile on his face.

    Violet rolled her eyes at him. He wasn''t wrong but he didn''t need to know that.

 Chapter 427: You Get That From Your Father

    <h4>Chapter 427: You Get That From Your Father</h4>

    Violet ended up staying out with Noah all day long even as he went to the karate dojo for his part-time job. His parents insisted he didn''t need one but he wanted to get his foot in the karate world since it was the only thing he thought he was good at.

    He was an assistant teacher for some of the younger kids karate sses the dojo offered. sses of his own continued because he wanted to strive for a higher rank and eventually run a dojo; forgoing college.

    Noah''s logic was that he had always been terrible at school anyway and if he got a few years of teaching experience under his belt while he was still in high school, it would be easier to move forward in his ns.

    More than a few people had given him a hard time for not being more ambitious but Violet thought it was a solid idea. Her friend was intelligent and knew what he was capable of. Why force himself to do something he hates?

    The style his sensei trained in didn''t allow for minors to be second degree ck belts but if it had, Noah definitely would have achieved it already. He was actually quite talented and had brought home several trophies at karatepetitions.

    Violet had attended a few and had seen his skill level for herself. As his best friend, she was rather proud of him. Karate was the one thing he had always been able to focus in.

    She watched him as he very seriously showed a group of six year olds a new kata. They tried mimicking the smooth and serious way he executed the moves without much sess. She tried really hard to muffle herughter.

    This was what she had needed today. The reminder that life went on even when you lose someone important to you. And that there were some people you could always rely on.

    When the third out of four sses finished, Noah came over to check on her. "You doing alright, Vi? You don''t have to hang out here all day if you''re bored."

    Violet shook her head. "No, this has been a surprisingly good distraction. You''re a good teacher."

    He ran a hand through his hair a bit sheepishly. "You really think so? Thanks. That means a loting from you."

    Noah plopped down next to her and leaned his head against the wall. "Saturdays are killer. I help out with the little kids'' ss right before mine on weekdays and that''s fine but doing four back to back really gets to you after a while. I guess it''s preparing me for the future."

    He was oddly conscientious about the future since he was only a freshman. Most students his age didn''t know or care what they would do after graduation yet. They typically didn''t start thinking about those things until it was almost toote.

    Despite his focus issues, Noah had always been a careful nner. Maybe it was in part to make up for them. He managed very well, all things considering.

    People tended to underestimate him and it always made Violet mad on his behalf. He was a thoughtful, intelligent person who happened to struggle with conventional learning. That didn''t make him stupid.

    "I''ll probably have to deal with that someday too," she said with a sigh. "But I don''t think I''m anywhere near as good a teacher as you are. Ie across too harsh. A few of the younger girls in my studio have told me as much."

    Noah frowned. "Well that was rude of them."

    "No, they were right. I''m too much of a perfectionist."

    "Yeah, but that''s only toward yourself. You''ve always been a very kind and patient tutor with me. They don''t know what they''re talking about," he insisted.

    Violet could acknowledge that he had a point. She was a lot harder on herself than she was on others. Her problem most likely had something to do with her natural monotone voice and generalck of facial expression.

    She hadined about how people were misunderstanding her before to her mother and Keeley had simply smiled. "You get that from your father."

    Originally she found it hard to believe because her dad always had such a sappy smile on his face around his family. But after her mom pointed it out, she started paying attention to how he acted around other people.

    Aaron wasn''t nearly as warm or expressive when her mother wasn''t in the room and he was talking to his friends. The one day she went to drop brownies her mom made off at his office because Keeley was too busy, she noticed the frigid way he spoke to his secretary when she buzzed him to say his daughter was there.

    Her mother had been right. He was like that around most people, exactly like her.

    That discovery made her feel better and worse at the same time. Violet had tried talking to her father about it and he said he had always thought he was like that because of the way he had been raised.

    Violet didn''t know much about herte paternal grandparents but she was astute enough to know that her father despised them. Apparently they had been ice cold and controlling about everything, not just wanting their son to marry a rich girl.

    Aaron had confided that Robert Hall had been more of a father to him than his own ever had. But if his taciturn nature was because of his environment as a child, what did that mean for her?

    Both of her parents had raised her with love and warmth but Violet was still like that. Talking to her dad didn''t help anything.

    Noah let out a heavy sigh, startling her out of her thoughts. "Great, myst ss is here. Hang tight, okay? We can go do something fun afterwards."

    Violet merely nodded as he got to his feet and went over to greet his students and their parents. Watching another thirty minutes of karate wouldn''t be so bad.

    It had a beauty all its own, kind of like dance. Martial arts could be an art form too.

    She didn''t mind following Noah around as he went about his day; she was more concerned about what was waiting for her at home. Violet had always hated being affected by other people''s tears.

    All she had to do now was survive until after the funeral. Hopefully by then the majority of the crying would have stopped.

 Chapter 428: Other People Who Loved Her

    <h4>Chapter 428: Other People Who Loved Her</h4>

    Keeley made it through the week in a haze. DOMA offered three days of paid bereavement leave but she ended up using two of her sick days as well. She would go back once the funeral was over and done with.

    It was still hard to believe her dad was really gone this time. For good. It wasn''t like she was going to get reborn a third time now that there wasn''t any unfinished business.

    Keeley believed she would see him again after she died but she had barely passed her forty-fourth birthday. The way medical advancements had been going to prolong life, that wouldn''t be for several decades more likely than not.

    Imagining decades without Robert Hall in her life was the most painful part of losing him. Thest time this happened, she only had two miserable years without him.

    Granted, back then he was all she had. She didn''t have any other source of love or affection in her life. His loss hit her ten times harder back then.

    This time it was difficult, as losing anyone you loved would be, but Keeley still had other people who loved her. A whole bunch of them. That was evident by all of the people who were here at the funeral with her.

    In her first life, the only people who came to her dad''s funeral were some of his coworkers and neighbors, plus one or two of those distant cousins benefitting from the family trust. Less than twenty people came total.

    Robert''s coworkers and neighbors were still in attendance, as well as some of the nurses who had cared for him at the care facility. But more importantly Keeley was surrounded by friends and family as she bid her father goodbye.

    Her husband and children were glued to her side. The Singletons, Quinns, rks, and Griffiths all came with their families. Even Jeffrey and Keisha brought their two kids up for the day from Marnd to pay their respects.

    All of these people had known and respected Robert, even if they didn''t love him the way her family did. Having them here right now meant more than Keeley could possibly express.

    "You alright, sweetheart?" Aaron whispered as they made their way into the church.

    The program was about to start. Three people were going to give a short tribute to Robert before they moved to the cemetery to watch the casket be lowered into the ground.

    Keeley was too emotional to do it herself so she ended up passing her duty off to her husband. One of Robert''s oldest friends would be saying a few words as well. And so would Violet. She had been surprised when her daughter volunteered since she hated speaking in public.

    She nodded to her husband. "I think so. I wore waterproof mascara so if I cry again it won''t matter."

    His arm around her shoulder tightened and he pressed a kiss against the side of her forehead before they sat down in the front of the church. Robert had written a will before his Alzheimer''s got too bad and he had wanted his funeral to happen in the same church where he married his wife.

    The pastor began the service but Keeley could hardly pay attention to it. She was too busy staring at the framed picture of her father that was set up behind his casket in between two bouquets of flowers.

    It had been taken at a Yankees game he took her sons to about four years ago, before he got really sick. His eyes shone brightly and you could tell how happy he was to be there with his grandsons.

    Kaleb, Oliver, and Nathan had been cropped out of the picture because only the deceased was supposed to be in the picture above the casket. But that day all four of them had been wearing matching Yankees jerseys and caps. They had all been smiling as happily as her dad was.

    Keeley sighed as her eyes filled with tears yet again. At least he was back with her mother and brother and wasn''t in pain anymore. Even though she and her family would miss him terribly, Robert was better off.

    Once the pastor said his piece, it was Aaron''s turn. He squeezed his wife''s hand before heading up to the pulpit.

    "Good morning everyone, my name is Aaron and Robert Hall was my father-inw," he began in a subdued voice appropriate for the asion. "My wife asked me to say a few words."

    The unspoken ''because she was too upset to do it herself'' hung heavy in the air and Keeley could feel a dozen sympathetic nces on the back of her head. It was bothforting and unsettling at the same time. Nobody liked being stared at.

    "The first time I ever met Robert, he immediately referred to me as ''son.'' I never would have predicted that one day that would be true but I have been truly blessed to be considered his son. He was a wonderful father, grandfather, and man," Aaron continued.

    A few people in the audience chuckled, remembering how friendly Robert had been with everyone. Some of his neighbors had heard him refer to various kids in their building in simr affectionate terms.

    Keeley let out a tinyugh despite the lump in her throat. She remembered that day, all the way back in their first life. Aaron had been so startled to be addressed that way. It was one of the rare times back then that she saw him lose hisposure.

    "From the moment I knew Keeley was pregnant with the twins, I had already decided I wanted to be the kind of father that Robert was. Kind, patient, supportive, and fun. He was such an example to me and to my children as they grew up. He was a vital part of our family and he will be missed dearly."

    He nodded briefly at the audience to conclude his remarks and sat back down between Keeley and Nathan. She immediately leaned her head against his shoulder. There was obvious respect and affection for her father in that little speech and it had made her start crying again.

 Chapter 429: Condolences

    <h4>Chapter 429: Condolences</h4>

    A coworker Robert was particrly close to spoke next of his intelligence, work ethic, and sense of humor. Those two had hung out a lot working at the construction firm but even more since they both retired.

    He had been quite upset when Robert needed to be moved to the care facility. Since he was getting on in years too, it was difficult for him to go visit but they video chatted whenever his friend was lucid and could remember him.

    After he sat down it was Violet''s turn. Even though ck wasn''t technically required at funerals, she had worn a simple ck dress and tied her hair up with a ck ribbon for the asion. Keeley was wearing ck too since it matched the color of her despair.

    "Hello everyone, I''m Violet and I wanted to speak today so I could tell my grandpa I loved him onest time. We were very close. He never missed a single one of my concerts or recitals before he was too sick to drive on his own."

    Tears filled her eyes and she continued in a choked voice. "He was there for every holiday, every Sunday dinner, and almost every vacation. My childhood would have beenpletely different without him in it. I''ll always miss him but I''m d he''s able to be with Grandma and Uncle Kaleb again. He missed them for a really long time."

    Violet burst out crying and had to sit back down, unable to finish what she had nned to say. Since she was in between Kaleb and Oliver, they both ended up wrapping their arms around her as she buried her face in her hands.

    Tears of their own stained their cheeks at her words. Robert had always supported them too. He went to almost all of Kaleb''s sports games (there were too many of them to count) and never missed any of Oliver''s roboticspetitions either.

    Those two had many long discussions about engineering over the years, even though civil engineering and mechanical engineering were very different practices. Robert had been the one to encourage his grandson''s love of building things from the time he was a toddler who loved making towers out of blocks.

    After Violet sat back down, the pastor said a few words to direct those who wished to pay their respects at the graveside to head to the cemetery. People began making their way out but most stopped to talk to the Hales and give their condolences.

    Keeley and Nathan were both clinging to Aaron, who was managing to hold it together for his family''s sake, and he shook people''s hands as his wife was barely able to nod around her tears.

    A few brave souls approached Violet, who was still sobbing into her twin''s shoulder as Oliver stood protectively next to them. One of them was L rk, Alice''s oldest daughter.

    "I liked your tribute, Violet. It captured your grandpa''s essence well," she said softly. "I''m so sorry for your loss."

    "Thank you," Kaleb said on his sister''s behalf. She was still crying too hard to speak.

    L nodded and hurried off toward her family. A few of their other family friends made their ways over as well, such as Liam and Elsa Quinn. Liam was a particr friend of Oliver''s since they were both into building things.

    Kaleb was a bit surprised Noah didn''t make his way over while they were still at the church but he supposed he knew his sister best. Noah probably figured she didn''t want to be disturbed as she cried.

    He ended up catching up with her at the graveside as she stood alone with the rose she was going to drop on her grandfather''s casket. It had already been lowered into the ground.

    "Hey Vi," Noah said gently. He held up his own rose. "Want to drop them together?"

    Violet blinked up at him with red, puffy eyes. "If I drop it then it will mean he''s really gone."

    He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I know. But we''re thest ones here. Everybody else is waiting to go get ice cream. It was your mom''s idea because she thought sugar might perk everyone up."

    She nearly smiled. It seemed like the end of the funeral had brought her mom back down to earth. Keeley Hale had been a million miles away all week.

    Violet nodded at her best friend and without even doing a countdown, they let go of their roses at the exact same time. She stared down at the pile of roses on the grave for a moment before ncing up at the headstone.

    Her mother had brought her here a couple of times before on the anniversary of Monica and Kaleb Hall''s deaths. It was strange finally seeing a death date on the joint headstone Robert had bought for him and his wife. There hadn''t been one for so many years.

    With a sad sigh, Violet let her friend lead her back to the cemetery parking lot.

    ===

    Aaron was relieved beyond words that his family finally started snapping out of their funks a little after the funeral. Keeley had gone back to work two days earlier so he felt like he was able to finally go and visit his half-brother in prison.

    Normally he went on the second Wednesday of each month but that had beenst week when his wife was still a total wreck. He had taken the week off work to stay with her, unable to leave her side when she was so upset.

    Discovering that Keeley wasn''t going to spiral back into the depression she had in their first life took such a weight off of his shoulders. So Aaron reluctantly rescheduled with the prison.

    Visiting Gray had been a monthly chore the past seventeen years but it needed to be done. The man would probably be released within the next five years and Aaron did not want him to hold a grudge when that happened. He had a family to protect.

 Chapter 430: Biding His Time

    <h4>Chapter 430: Biding His Time</h4>

    Gray seemed surprised to see his half-brother when he arrived in the visitation area. Even prison hadn''t managed to stop him from acting debonair as ever. Completely shameless.

    "I didn''t think you wereing this month," he said slyly

    Aaron sighed as he sat down. "My father-inw died. Things were a bit chaotic at home."

    "I''m so sorry to hear that. He was a good man."

    The sentiment had been shared with him several dozen times since Robert passed away but this one particrly grated on him. It was probably Gray''s tone of voice. No matter how many times Aaron visited, he could never make himself like this insincere creep.

    But he kept his true feelings to himself. He had always been good at that. Gray didn''t seem to suspect a thing, either.

    Sometimes Aaron wondered what kind of rtionship he expected them to have when he got out of prison. It wasn''t like he was willing to wee a murderer into his home with open arms.

    His children didn''t even know they were rted to not one but two murderers. Aaron didn''t want them to feel like there was something wrong with them. They were perfectly normal, good kids who happened to be rted to a couple of psychos.

    Alistair was already gone and the kids, aside from Violet, had never met him. But Gray posed a potential problem. Would he be willing to stay away from his niece and nephews or not?

    Aaron was fully prepared to cut ties despite his many years of carefully cultivating some sort of rtionship with this ticking time bomb if it kept his children away from someone dangerous. The two of them had never discussed what would happen when Gray got out of prison.

    He got the odd feeling his half-brother was simply biding his time in here. Despite being imprisoned for nearly twenty years he didn''t look much different than he had before. He was a bit paler and his dark hair had gonepletely gray but it wasn''t limp andnk like the other prisoners.

    Gray looked very good for a fifty-year-old man who had spent such a long time in prison. That made Aaron suspicious. Everyone else in here radiated an aura of defeat¡ªthey did every time he visited¡ªbut Gray never had, even in the beginning when he first got caught.

    You would think that after a while prison would have gotten to him. Doing the same rigid thing day after day would affect most people.

    His casualness about his imprisonment made Aaron think he was up to something. But how much trouble could someone cause when under so much surveince?

    "Thank you," he replied neutrally. "I''ll be sure to pass your sympathy onto Keeley."

    "How is she handling it?" Gray asked. "If I remember correctly, they were quite close."

    "A lot better now that the funeral is behind us."

    It was such a rough week for the entire Hale family. Everybody was crying all the time and Aaron, as the least teary person there, had to hold it together for everyone else.

    Life went on though. As much as it felt like the end of the world when someone you loved died, it didn''t mean your obligations went away. Dealing with his obligations barely managed to keep him alive and functioning when Keeley died.

    Aaron had to admit, seeing a coffin being lowered into the Hall family''s grave was rough. Thest time he saw that happen was when it was his wife''s.

    Holding onto her as they watched it go down helped remind Aaron that he wasn''t reliving his worst nightmare but it was still hard, especially since she was crying the whole time. Her dad had gone out naturally this time but he was willing to bet she was struggling with memories of watching a coffin being lowered too.

    Keeley had experienced so much death in both of her lives. Yet losing her father for the second time showed that you could never really get used to it.

    Aaron sincerely hoped that his wife wouldn''t have to experience any more loss. As much as he didn''t want to lose her, he didn''t want to be the first to die because she would be alone again.

    It would be best if they passed on together, like in that sappy old romance movie Violet liked. The wife had Alzheimer''s or dementia and couldn''t even remember her husband unless he told her their love story. They died holding hands in the hospital.

    Although Aaron really hoped she didn''t have Alzheimer''s, especially since it did run in her family. Both her grandmother and father had now sumbed to the disease.

    Ugh, why was he thinking such morbid thoughts now? They were still rtively young. They had plenty of time left together. Thinking about these sorts of things would only serve to put him in a bad mood.

    "Aaron? Earth to Aaron," Gray said lightly.

    He shook his head to recalibrate his thoughts. He needed to pay attention during this visit.

    "Sorry, I was thinking about my father-inw. What were you saying?"

    "I was asking how your children are handling it."

    "Not super well," Aaron admitted. "They were very close to their grandfather."

    "Well it''s good they were close to one since their other grandfather waspletely useless."

    Gray said it lightly but there was clearly venom under the surface. After all this time he still hated Alistair Hale. Even his death couldn''t change that. It was a justifiable hatred though; you never stopped loathing the ones who took your most important person away.

    Aaron understood that perfectly. It had been two lifetimes and he still hadn''tpletely let go of the anger at former enemies long dead.

    Having his family helped a lot. Most of the time he was able to forget everything he and Keeley had suffered. But once in a while it would hit him and he would be angry all over again.

    He tried to appreciate the fact that he was able to have the happiness he had been denied for so many years now. Usually it worked. But he had a hard time when his parents died because he felt their deaths were too good for them. They should have suffered more.

    As much as Keeley changed him for the better, he was still a Hale. He shared blood with Alistair and Gray, both of whom were capable of murder. Aaron never acted on his violent tendencies toward Lacy Knighton for his wife''s sake and was d he did but they had still been there.

    The universe had allowed him to be happy but that didn''t necessarily make him a good person. If Lacy had pushed him just a little more¡­if Gray hadn''t gotten to her first¡­it could very well have been him inside a prison cell instead.

 Chapter 431: Make It To The Top

    <h4>Chapter 431: Make It To The Top</h4>

    Jeremy Ward had been fascinated with business since he was a kid with a lemonade stand growing up in a poor neighborhood in a suburb of Washington D.C. The cops showed up and shut him and his friends down, gruffly saying they needed a business permit.

    He had no idea you needed a permit for such a thing. He was only trying to make enough money to afford to go to summer camp like all the other kids from school.

    It was his first taste of the realities of the business world but it was far from hisst. His high school offered a few correspondence courses through themunity college across the street and he took as many business rted ones as he possibly could from the time he was a sophomore.

    Jeremy read every article he possibly could from magazines like Forbes and Time trying to learn more about the business world. That was how he had first heard of Aaron Hale.

    Not only was he the youngest Fortune 500 CEO to date, he had taken his family''s business from a Fortune 15pany to a Fortune 10pany in only a few years. That was no small feat; Jeremy knew how difficult it was for anypany to move up in the rankings, especially once they got higher up.

    He had no doubt that Hale Investments would make it into the Fortune 5 someday and he wanted to be part of it. Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. A little research into thepany told him that almost all of the employees were graduates from Ivy League schools and it generally took a minimum of five years of work experience to even get into any of the lower departments.

    His mother told him he would never make it in. Hale Investments'' main office was nearly impossible to get a job in. He would be lucky to get a job as a teller or financial advisor in one of the branch offices scattered throughout the country.

    But Jeremy was determined. He wanted to make it to the top and meet Aaron Hale to ask him how he did it.

    In addition to hismunity college sses, he spent countless hours studying or volunteering to make his resume look better. He needed to go Ivy League, or at the very least get into a top 20 university.

    Everyone¡ªespecially his mother¡ªtold Jeremy how difficult it would be to get into an Ivy League school considering his background. He had been thrilled to prove them wrong by getting into Yale. It wasn''t Harvard, where Aaron Hale went, but it was close enough. It was still Ivy League.

    Jeremy chose to major in Economics and Mathematics, figuring it would be his best bet to eventually make it into Hale Investments'' coveted analyst department. Cameron Singleton, the current vice president of thepany, had started out there ording to his LinkedIn profile.

    From there he became the head of the analyst department in only five years and became the VP a few short yearster. That was practically unheard of based on everything else Jeremy had read about thepany.

    He couldn''t help but wonder how Singleton had done it. He had skyrocketed farther than the average person was capable of in the business world. Jeremy was nearly certain it was because of his close proximity to Aaron Hale.

    If he could just get the man to give him a tiny bit of advice he was sure he would be able to build his own empire someday. So he worked hard in college, forgoing things like dating and socializing unless it somehow benefitted his studies. All of his friends were people he had met in study groups.

    Though there were a few girls interested in him because of his ssic blonde, blue-eyed "All American" look, Jeremy didn''t have time for such things. Love got in the way of ambition. He had seen it in his mother.

    She fell in love with a truck driver of all people and dropped out ofw school to move across the country and be with him. In the end, he left her alone hauling things cross country for weeks at a time and she ended up working as a paralegal. She could have been awyer and made more than three times her current sry.

    Sometimes Jeremy resented his mother for herck of forethought. His father was gone so much that he hardly knew the man. Carl Ward was not a man worth looking up to.

    Aaron Hale on the other hand¡­he apparently had four children. They were all still living at home but ording to an interview he read they were highly aplished.

    His only daughter was a ballerina who had already danced with the New York City ballet many times over the years. His sons had won various awards for sports and robotics. Not to mention, his wife was a groundbreaking scientist in the field of gene therapy.

    That entire family was outstanding! Nothing like his. Jeremy was determined to leave his roots behind and make something of himself in New York.

    Toward the end of his junior year of college he attended a career fair. He would need to start applying for jobs within the next six months after all, since he wanted to have a job straight out of school.

    There were plenty of financial institutions dotted up and down the east coast that could work as a resume builder but Jeremy wished it was easier to get footing in New York. If he was already there it would be simpler to get a job at Hale Investments'' main office when the time came.

    Unfortunately, Wall Street was not a ce one could get a job straight out of college. Even the brightest of minds needed more work experience.

    To his surprise, someone from Hale Investments had set up a booth at the career fair. It was advertising careers working in the branch offices that helped keep it the most trusted financial institution in America. Jeremy wasn''t interested in being buried in a branch office but headed over anyway.

 Chapter 432: Who Recommended Him?

    <h4>Chapter 432: Who Rmended Him?</h4>

    The recruiter at the table was smiling professionally when Jeremy approached. "Hello! Are you interested in a career with Hale Investments?"

    Oh boy, was he! But he worried that if he ended up working at a branch office he would never find a way to get noticed. Wouldn''t it be better to start out somewhere more noticeable and work his way into the main branch from there?

    "How does someone get a job at the main office?" Jeremy asked casually.

    Of course he already knew the basics from word of mouth and online research but it might be nice hearing it from someone inside thepany.

    The recruiter barely held back hisughter. He had seen dozens of c.o.c.ky kids like this. They all thought they were worthy of working on Wall Street right out of school. Most people didn''t even get jobs there until they were in their thirties.

    "Experience is the most important thing. You''re at Yale, so your education background should be sufficient," the recruiter said truthfully. "But most people start in a low department and get stuck there. Advancement is much more likely in a branch office."

    Jeremy frowned. He already knew this. Cameron Singleton had been one of the strange exceptions to the rule.

    He wasn''t sure how he would manage to do it but he was positive that he could get somewhere if he made it into the analyst department. He had been following every bit of news about Hale Investments and was able to see that everything Aaron Hale did was something he would have done himself in that situation.

    They were kindred spirits, he knew it! All he needed was the chance to prove it.

    "Thanks for the information," Jeremy said as politely as possible. He took aplementary Hale Investments pen from a basket full of them on the table and walked away.

    ===

    A month before his college graduation, Jeremy had already received multiple job offers. He turned them all down because they weren''t quite what he was looking for. He didn''t want to be a financial advisor because that was how people got stuck in the main office!

    He had checked several employees'' LinkedIn profiles and found, to his horror, that the recruiter had been spot on. Most of the financial advisors at Hale Investments had worked in the same department for more than a decade.

    Working with clients individually sounded terrible to Jeremy. He wanted to be involved in the real numbers. And he was good at it too! His professors had all praised his brain and he was about to graduate summa c.u.mude.

    This did pose a problem though because he would need some sort of employment. He continued applying to other ces that involved actual stock trends without much sess. No one wanted a kid straight out of school.

    It was so frustrating. People overlooked him simply because of his age. Jeremy had poured hundreds of hours of his life into studying the stock market, okay? He knew what he was doing more than most!

    His mother wouldn''t stop nagging him to just take one of his offers already either. She had absolutely no right to say that to him after throwing her education away.

    Jeremy was getting discouraged. There was a decent chance he would have to take a financial advisor job to pay the bills. If he got stuck in that sort of role, all of his hard work would be for nothing.

    His phone rang and he answered it reluctantly. He didn''t recognize the area code so there was a decent chance it was a spam call.

    "Jeremy Ward," he said with a sigh.

    "Hello, Mr. Ward. My name is Emma Wilson and I''m a hiring manager with Hale Investments. A headhunter rmended you to me. Would you be interested in interviewing for an analyst position?"

    Jeremy was so shocked he nearly fell backward out of his chair. Was this some sort of crazy dream? What headhunter had even heard of him? He wasn''t done with college yet!

    Composing himself as quickly as possible, he cleared his throat and spoke calmly. He had to make a good impression on this woman.

    "Yes, I would be interested."

    Was she kidding? Jeremy had never thought an opportunity like this woulde in a million years! Getting into the analyst department was a one in a million chance. Nobody he ever heard of had been headhunted into such apetitivepany.

    "Excellent. I would like to conduct the interview over video call sometime within the next week. When are you free?"

    For such a chance Jeremy would cancel anything. He would make himself free no matter what! But he had to y it cool. He gave her several time and date options to seem flexible.

    She ended up setting the interview for three days from then at 1:30 PM. He barely managed to end the call politely since he was so freaked out.

    Three days? He only had three days to think of every possible thing they could ever ask him and make sure he sounded like the best candidate.

    Jeremy immediately began looking upmon hiring questions and reviewing every analysis-rted thing he had ever done in case they asked him what experience he had. He had an awful lot of old papers he wrote to look over.

    In the end his panic was for nothing. The interviewsted thirty minutes and the hiring manager approved him on the spot and began to negotiate sry.

    This waspletely insane. Who rmended him? Who? Was some divine force looking out for him or what?

    Jeremy honestly couldn''t believe his luck. Getting through finals was a challenge because he was so stunned by what just happened that he could hardly focus. Telling his mother hadn''t been as satisfying as he had hoped either.

    "You got headhunted straight into Hale Investments," she stated doubtfully over the phone. "You."

    "Yes, Mom," he said through gritted teeth. "They offered me a fairly generous starting sry too. I got into one of the most prestigious departments."

    "They''re crazy," she scoffed. "But good for you."

    And that was the most support Jeremy ever got out of his mother. He should have expected as much.

 Chapter 433: A Lot Of Great Things

    <h4>Chapter 433: A Lot Of Great Things</h4>

    Packing up his life and moving into a simple apartment in one of the sketchier neighborhoods in Manhattan with three roommates hadn''t been too difficult for Jeremy. He was used to bad neighborhoods. They didn''t vary much from city to city.

    He would have moved to one of the cheaper of the five boroughs if not for the fact that it would makemuting to work harder. Making a good impression was vital; he could not allow himself to bete. Ever.

    On his first day of work, Jeremy made sure to wear the better of his two suits and what he considered his lucky tie. He stared up at the skyscr.a.p.er before him in awe. He actually made it.

    The secretary at the front desk directed him to the HR department to get his badge photo taken and fill out a bit of hiring paperwork. He was finally able to meet Emma Wilson in person by doing that. She was the one who brought him to the analyst department once the formalities were taken care of.

    "Simon," she called out. "I have your new recruit."

    A man in his early fifties with a receding hairline poked his head out of one of the few offices in this part of the building. Most people had individual desks out in the open.

    He strode forward and offered Jeremy his hand to shake. "Nice to meet you. Jeremy Ward, right? I''m Simon Peters, the department head. I do hope you''ll live up to my expectations. I''ve heard a lot of great things about you."

    Jeremy was baffled but epted the praise humbly. Did this man know the headhunter who rmended him? Who was it? Would Simon be able to tell him?

    "Sir¡­do you know who rmended me?"

    Simon shrugged. "No. My orders came from the top. They probably rmended you to Mr. Hale directly."

    A bolt of lightning could have struck Jeremy in that moment; he was so shocked. Someone close to Aaron Hale had rmended him. Aaron Hale knew his name. This was the most unbelievable thing that had ever happened to him.

    "I see," Jeremy managed to get out. "Do you see Mr. Hale often?"

    "Our departments do coordinate with upper management a lot but I mostly see him in meetings with all of the other department heads. I normally report to Mr. Singleton, the vice president."

    This was a bit disappointing but not terribly surprising. Aaron Hale was at the very top; seeing him wouldn''t be so easy. But if Jeremy managed to get noticed by the vice president that would be nearly as good, right?

    Simon ended up giving Jeremy a tour of the department, showing him his desk, and giving a basic outline of what he would be doing before calling over a man who was probably in his mid-forties.

    "Kyle, I need to get back to work. I want you to train Jeremy here for me."

    The man gave him a thumbs up before turning to Jeremy. "You''re fresh out of college, aren''t you?"

    "Yes, sir."

    Kyle waved it off. "No need to ''sir'' me. I''m a pretty casual person. Call me Kyle. I know I''m your trainer but if you ever can''t find me, feel free to go ask my friend Roger over there for help."

    He pointed to a man about his age who was working diligently at hisputer. Roger momentarily looked up and smiled at them. Clearly these two were quite familiar with each other.

    Jeremy wondered how long the two of them had been working here together. Were all of the people here so friendly with each other or had they been friends for a long time?

    "How long have you worked here?"

    "Well I''ve only been in this department for about seven years. Before that I was a financial advisor for fifteen," Kyle said cheerfully. "I''m lucky I got to switch over at all. I suppose it helps when you''re friends with the big boss."

    This man was friends with Aaron Hale? How exactly had that happened if he never visited other departments?

    Although¡­there were a lot of Ivy League graduates here. Including ones from Harvard. Maybe they went to school together; they did seem to be about the same age.

    It was difficult imagining his idol once being a college student. He had probably done nothing but study, like Jeremy had. Aaron had graduated summa c.u.mude too ording to an article he read.

    "What''s he like?" Jeremy couldn''t help asking.

    "Who, Aaron? He''s a hard one to describe. I''ve known him for twenty-six years and I still don''t really understand him." Kyle called over to his friend. "Hey, Roger! How would you describe Aaron?"

    The other man shrugged. "Contradictory?"

    He mulled it over. "Contradictory¡­that''s a good one."

    Jeremy was confused. What was so contradictory about the man he admired? ording to everything he had read, the man was the silent but brilliant type and most people were afraid of him.

    These two didn''t seem terribly afraid. In fact, they were quite flippant considering they were talking about their boss. Exactly how close to Aaron were they?

    Twenty-six years wasn''t a short amount of time to know someone but at least twenty-two of them had been when Kyle was working at hispany. Based on the camaraderie between the two analysts in front of him, Jeremy was willing to bet all three of them had known each other a long time.

    He wanted to ask exactly how Aaron Hale was contradictory but Kyle had already started talking about stock market trend reports. He said that a lot of the time there was an algorithm to predict things with 87% uracy.

    Jeremy was astounded such a thing existed and his mentor noticed. Heughed. "Yeah, that was Aaron and Aiden''s brainchild. Aiden Quinn is the head of the cybersecurity department but he''s also basically Aaron''s left hand. He does a lot around here."

    He took mental notes. So Aiden Quinn was the left hand and Cameron Singleton was the right. If he ever ran into either of those two he would have to be sure to make a good impression.

 Chapter 434: Awestruck

    <h4>Chapter 434: Awestruck</h4>

    Kyle continued showing Jeremy the ropes until lunchtime, when he led him to the cafeteria. Roger came along with them. They got their trays¡ªthey were serving Mexican food today¡ªand sat down together at a table.

    A deceptively youthful man with red hair plunked his tray down next to Roger. "What is up my dudes? Cam ditched me for a business lunch with a potential investor so here I am."

    "We''re eating with the new guy," he replied. "Introduce yourself, kid."

    Jeremy was a bit stunned by this overly casual man who had joined them. It took him a moment to snap out of it.

    "Jeremy Ward, nice to meet you."

    The other man raised an eyebrow. "You''re Jeremy Ward? Interesting. Nice to meet you too; I''m Aiden Quinn."

    This guy was one of Aaron Hale''s closest associates? Seriously?! He didn''t look a day over thirty. How old was he, anyway?

    Aiden ignored the fact that Jeremy was having an internal meltdown and began talking about how his son''s roboticspetition conflicted with his daughter''s dance recital so he and his wife had to each take one. Hemented that the both children had been offended that the other parents couldn''t make it.

    He didn''t look nearly old enough to have children in the upper grades of elementary school. Jeremy supposed that baby faces never truly went away even if some wrinkles did appear. It was a bit disconcerting to say the least.

    The fact that he spoke like a surfer from California didn''t help his image at all. How on earth had such a man ended up in Aaron Hale''s pocket?

    Kyle answered that for him as they parted ways with Aiden at the end of lunch.

    "Don''t mind him; he''s been like that for as long as I''ve known him. The first time I saw him refer to Aaron as ''boss man'' unironically I nearly had a heart attack. He still does it. Apparently they''ve known each other the longest out of anyone here."

    Interesting. Very interesting. Jeremy had only been here a day and he understood even less about his idol''s character than he had before.

    As they were walking back to the analyst department, they got into the elevator. A very powerful presence was already inside, emitting so much ice that he nearly froze solid.

    The man inside was wearing what appeared to be a very expensive blue suit and was talking on the phone. He gave Kyle and Roger a subtle nod to acknowledge their presence before continuing his conversation.

    Jeremy couldn''t quite catch everything since he could only hear one side of the conversation but it appeared that the person on the other end was in trouble for screwing something up. He pitied the poor fool that crossed this kingly presence.

    He couldn''t believe he was in the same elevator as Aaron Hale. The Aaron Hale! The man he had done his best to pattern his life after!

    But he couldn''t speak. He felt like a bug under a microscope even though Aaron wasn''t looking at him. Tiny and insignificant.

    Aaron was everything Jeremy had ever imagined and more. He couldn''t breathe properly again until they exited the elevator on their floor.

    "Everyone has that reaction at first," Roger said sympathetically. "Don''t worry; he won''t eat you."

    Jeremy firmly resolved right then to never, ever upset that man. He didn''t want to be like whoever was on the other end of that phone call. His idol was a terrifying sight to behold.

    ===

    Aaron was on the phone with Kaleb, who had burned through his monthly allowance trying to impress a girl and wanted more to go to the movies, when he got back to the office. He was not happy.

    The kid was a freshman at Florida State University and had been specifically recruited to y baseball. What on earth was he thinking? Violet, who was enrolled in Columbia''s dance program, stuck to her usual pattern of studiousness and moderation. She never caused these kinds of problems.

    Keeley didn''t want their kids to be too spoiled despite their father''s vast fortune. The younger kids got $200 but the twins were graduated so she let them have $500 to go have fun with, on top of living expenses. Kaleb had a little too much fun showering a girl he was trying to impress with presents.

    This was what he got for having so many kids. Of course one of them would end up with a big head because their dad was a billionaire.

    Violet was a simple person who saved most of her allowance. Oliver blew his all on Lego sets and parts to build more robots but at least he knew not to ask for more. Nathan used his money on exotic cooking ingredients, oddly enough.

    He was a sweetheart whose primary interests were animals and cooking. He was actually pretty good too.

    Nathan took over cooking duty from his mother most nights because he wanted to experiment with new dishes. He had been like this ever since Keeley took off work to go to his parent-teacher conference and they ended up watching the Food Network together afterwards.

    Aaron had been so put off by his phone call that he didn''t get the chance to introduce himself to Jeremy for the first time in this life. He barely managed to nod at the people in the elevator with him. His former prot¨¦g¨¦ probably didn''t realize he had been included in that nod.

    He seemed a bit awestruck, which was strange. He hadn''t been like that the first time they met. But the circ.u.mstances had changed. Jeremy was twenty-six when they originally met; right now he was only twenty-one and fresh out of college.

    It wasn''t so far-fetched to think that a younger version of the man would behave a little differently. People did change as they aged. Goodness knows Aiden had beenpletely different the two times Aaron met him.

    Jeremy was probably confused about why he had been headhunted. It was unfortunate that Aaron couldn''t simply say that he already knew the kid''s capabilities because they had worked together for so long before.

    There had to be some way he could introduce himself that wouldn''t be totally weird. After all, he was the CEO. CEOs didn''t just introduce themselves to new people working in a random department.

    But he hadn''t been able to resist bringing Jeremy onboard sooner than in hisst life. With him in Aaron''s corner, they would be able to improve thepany''s ongoing expansion n faster than in his first life. The kid was a genius with numbers.

    Putting that aside, he also wanted to see how his old partner was doing. They hadn''t seen each other for nearly thirty years, after all. Not that much could have changed about Jeremy from one life to the next, right?

 Chapter 435: Far Too Quiet

    <h4>Chapter 435: Far Too Quiet</h4>

    October 2039

    Keeley was lying on the couch boredly scrolling through her phone with her head in Aaron''sp after they both got home from work. It was far too quiet around here now that the kids were grown.

    Violet and Nathan still lived at home because they were based in New York but they hardly ever spent any time here anymore. She was a ballerina with the New York City ballet and only worked about 30 hours a week but most of that was in the evenings. She was typically at home when her parents were at work.

    Nathan had barely started culinary school but between that and hanging out with his newfound friends he was always out. Oliver was pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at MIT. Kaleb had been drafted by the Detroit Tigers baseball team and was wrapping up his first season with them.

    Sometimes Keeley marveled that she had managed to produce such outstanding children in each of their fields. All she cared about was that they pursued their dreams but they were all really good at them to boot. Honestly, her expectations hadpletely gone out the window.

    Who else could say they had one kid in Major League Baseball and another in a famous balletpany? Her father would have been so proud.

    "Life has gotten really boring, Aaron," Keeleyined.

    He raised his eyebrow at her. "You actually miss the days we were running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to take care of four kids?"

    She sighed. "Sometimes. I wish something interesting would happen."

    "Speak for yourself. Jeremy is running me ragged by wanting to go above and beyond his personal assistant duties. His ideas are brilliant but they''ll take a lot of time and effort to implement."

    Keeley wanted to roll her eyes. Boohoo, he got to deal with new challenges courtesy of his mini me. She would kill for something new and fun to do like that.

    She heard about Jeremy all the time even though she had only met the man once. He seemed a lot less intelligent than he actually was at first nce. Probably because he had a baby face. So did Aiden but he was aputer genius. Looks could be deceiving.

    Aaron had his handful of slumps over the years but working together with Aiden and Jeremy at different points in time had helped him get out of them. That was the problem with living so many years over twice. You had to shake things up to keep them interesting.

    Keeley didn''t have that particr problem but she was bummed now that her research had officially been approved by the FDA back in January. Other researchers had already started using her method to create therapies for other gic diseases like hemophilia because she had figured out how to get rid of the major side effects.

    Obviously she was thrilled that she had developed a real, almost-cure treatment for cystic fibrosis like she always wanted. But what was she supposed to do now? Her goal had been met and she didn''t have a new one.

    Curing cystic fibrosis had been her goal for two lifetimes. Now that she had achieved it she felt empty, especially since she was dealing with being a (mostly) empty nester at the same time.

    None of her kids were going to give her grandchildren any time soon either; they were too busy. Kaleb was the only one who even had a girlfriend right now.

    "If you''re so bored why don''t you check every app on your phone for the millionth time," Aaron suggested dryly.

    Keeley stuck her tongue out at him. That was exactly what she had been doing already and he knew it.

    She refreshed her email app yet again, expecting nothing as usual, when she saw there was a new message from a name she didn''t recognize. When she opened it and read the first line she shot up immediately, nearly whacking Aaron''s head with hers in the process.

    "No way!" she shrieked.

    "What is it?" he asked in rm. That tone did not sound good.

    "I got nominated for the freaking Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, that''s what!"

    Keeley shoved her phone in his face in an effort to make him see it faster. He took it from her and examined it closely, reading the entire email instead of simply the first line.

    Aaron nced up at her andughed. "I think you got your ''something interesting'' happening after all. Look how much stuff you have to do in order to make it in as a serious contender."

    Seizing the phone back, Keeley read the entire email. He was right. There were a ton of forms she needed to fill out regarding her research.

    They nominated her because she had been the first person to make gene therapy readily essible and not dangerous. She had opened a door to a whole bunch of other possibilities for people to use it. Gic diseases wouldn''t be nearly as big of a problem once more people used her method to develop treatments.

    The selection process took about a year so whoever did win it wouldn''t get the announcement until the following October. The deadline to turn in the paperwork was January 31st and they would send in experts to evaluate the research over the following months before making a final decision.

    Honestly, this whole thing seemed like a dream. A crazy, unrealistic dream. She would wake up back in the bedroom she had in grad school on top of a pile of gics textbooks.

    Suddenly Keeley recalled how she and Erica used to joke about being rockstars in the field of gics. Even being nominated for such a huge, important prize qualified her as a gics rockstar.

    "I have so much to do," she said faintly, lying back down on her husband''sp in a state of shock.

    Aaron hummed in agreement as he lovingly brushed her hair off of her forehead. "You can do it though. You''re the most amazing person I know. I''m proud of you, Keeley. You worked really hard for this."

    She couldn''t deny that she had poured her life and soul into her research on and off over the past two decades. But she never would have imagined it would lead to a Nobel Prize nomination!

 Chapter 436: A Third Wheel

    <h4>Chapter 436: A Third Wheel</h4>

    Violet came home in a white tee shirt and sweats covered in stage makeup, proving herst show for the night had ended. She always left the costumes at the studio to avoid liability if something happened to it.

    When she rode the elevator up to her family''s apartment she could hear screaminging from the penthouse. What on earth?!

    Rushing up the stairs, she saw Nathan spinning their mother around as he lifted her in the air. She was the one who was shrieking as her husband simplyughed at the scene.

    "Uh¡­what''s going on?"

    "Mom got nominated for a Nobel Prize!" he said excitedly as he continued swinging Keeley around. "Isn''t that awesome?!"

    Violet was stunned. Not just anybody could get nominated for such a prestigious award. No wonder her mother was screaming. Two decades of working herself half to death had finally paid off.

    "That''s great, Mom. Congrattions!"

    "Thanks," Keeley said a bit feebly, dizzy from all the spinning. "And Nate, the next time you want to congratte me, make me dinner. Don''t spin me around. I''m not as young as I once was."

    Nathan smiled sheepishly and put her down. "Sorry Mom. I can do that but it is a bitte¡­why don''t I make dessert instead? I''m sure you''ve already eaten."

    "I can never turn down a professionally made dessert."

    "I still like your brownies the best," Aaron whispered into his wife''s ear but Violet heard it anyway.

    Those two were so mushy. If her mother actually won the prize, her father would literally never shut up about it for the rest of his life. He had gone on for months to anyone who would listen when she finally got FDA approval, being the first to do so for gene therapy.

    Keeley had been interviewed by a whole bunch of science journals after that. She had been more than a little overwhelmed by all the attention.

    It was funny how much she hated the spotlight considering her career. If you don''t want people to notice you, don''t be amazing at things. But Violet wasn''t one to talk. She didn''t mind the spotlight one bit as long as she didn''t have to speak.

    She got up and performed in front of hundreds of people every night when a show was running but she could never do what her parents did. Interviews. Even Kaleb didn''t have a problem with them, which was good considering he was making a name for himself as a rookie in the major league.

    Oliver and Nathan had chosen more low-key careers but Nathan had still been on a children''s cookingpetition show when he was fourteen. He got second ce out of a tournament consisting of a dozen teen chefs, which was pretty impressive.

    The show had been taped in New York so she went with her mother to cheer him on from backstage. Nathan was surprisingly good under pressure considering he had always been such a meek child.

    He headed into the kitchen to start making apple rose puffs¡ªthinly sliced apples manipted into the shape of a rose imbedded into a puffy pastry¡ªand Violet found herself sighing as she watched her parents.

    Her dad was smiling at her mom with his heart in his eyes and she looked as happy as he did as they held hands and swung them back and forth, gazing at each other''s faces. She felt like such a third wheel, which wasn''t an umon urrence throughout her life.

    Normally it didn''t get to her. She was happy to know that she came from such a loving union. A lot of people weren''t so lucky. Her parents loved her as much as they loved each other.

    But every once in a while, watching them made her feel very, very single. Like right now.

    Tonight''s show had been rough because every single one of her fellow ballerinas received flowers from their boyfriends but her. It was the show''s closing night but nobody Violet knew came since all of her friends and family in the area had already gone to one of the performances.

    It wasn''t like anybody wanted to watch the same ballet every night for a few weeks. Violet couldn''t me them. And when they dide, they always came with flowers. She simply felt the difference tonight of not being romanced.

    Dating in college had been fairly easy, though none of her boyfriendssted long because they weren''t what she was looking for. Things were different now that her schedule didn''t match up to the average 9-5 existence.

    Meeting people was nearly impossible. The only people she regrly interacted with outside of her parents, Nathan, and Noah were her fellow dancers.

    Male dancers didn''t make good boyfriends; she had learned that back in college. Besides, most of the males in herpany were gay. Or already dating another of the ballerinas.

    It was kind of hard seeing them as romantic partners considering thepletely tonic nature of their touches. They were always lifting the ballerinas around their waists, legs, or backs and because it was a part of work there wasn''t a spark. Even after the dancing was over and they were back in the real world.

    Noah had asked her about it once. How could she stand being touched by strange men all the time? Violet told him the truth; she didn''t even think of them as men. They were merely a part of the dance.

    Her phone buzzed. Somehow he always managed to text her when she was thinking about him.

    ''How did yourst show go? I''m sorry I couldn''t be there''

    He was currently upstate chaperoning a bunch of kids who were participating in a three-day-long karatepetition. Since he had been working diligently at the dojo long before he graduated from high school, he had now worked his way up to being the owner''s second inmand.

    The good news was that this came with a sizeable sry increase. The bad news was that it meant he now had to deal with things like this, plus administrative issues. All he wanted to do was teach karate but there was more to running a dojo than that.

    Violet shook her head at his silly message though. Why would he be sorry? He had already seen her show twice.

    Noah had gotten into the habit years ago ofing to opening night and closing night of her shows. He imed it was because he wanted to see what changed from beginning to end but she had his number.

    He felt sorry for her because all of the other girls with boyfriends got flowers on opening and closing night. Even if Violet never disclosed her wish for romance to him¡ªshe figured it would be insensitive since he had always been single and uninterested in dating¡ªhe somehow knew.

    Noah had always been very sensitive to whatever she was thinking. It was part of why they were still best friends after more than two decades.

    Kaleb, the social butterfly, had never held onto the same friends for more than five years or so at a time. His friendsh.i.p.s were fun but superficial. She had figured that out after years of watching him rotate friends.

    Violet didn''t work that way. She had attached to one person a long time ago and though other friends came and went Noah was always there. It was the same for him. They were always each other''s number one support.

 Chapter 437: Ah, Your Doting Husband

    <h4>Chapter 437: Ah, Your Doting Husband</h4>

    Violet texted her best friend back as she sat down in the kitchen to watch Nathan work. ''No need to feel bad. How''s thepetition going?''

    ''Joey already made it into the semifinals'' Noah replied.

    Joey was one of his students. He was twelve and currently a brown belt. Violet had seen him spar before; he was rather talented for his age. Just like Noah had been.

    Her friend had taken this boy under his wing. She suspected it was because he saw himself in Joey. He looked out for all of his students but every once in a while there was a kid who truly loved martial arts that he identified with more than the others.

    ''Be sure to congratte him for me and tell him I''m rooting for him'' she replied.

    Most of Noah''s students knew who Violet was. These days if she wanted to see her best friend she needed to show up at the dojo in the morning.

    He taught preschool age sses in the morning during the week. Various age groups rotated through the dojo after school but she was always in the studio by then. She knew the older kids because of Noah''s weekend sses.

    Violet would typically show up toward the end of one ss and hang out with Noah on his break between lessons as he did administrative things. The owner of the dojo didn''t mind because he imed Noah got more paperwork done when she was there.

    Actually, that might be true. She had always been able to help him focus.

    "Who are you texting?" Nathan asked as he rolled out his pastry dough.

    "Who do you think?" Violet retorted.

    "Ah, your doting husband. You''re right; it was a stupid question."

    She rolled her eyes. Why had all of her brothers gotten on the ''Violet and Noah are married'' bandwagon a couple years ago? They weren''t like that!

    It had started shortly after Violet graduated from college. On her first day of work at the ballet studio she hadn''t packed any dinner and had idlyined about it to Noah on a water break, like she always did about things that bothered her.

    What was different that time was that he had been in the middle of making himself grilled cheese and tomato soup because none of his family was home. He ended up bringing her a somehow-still-hot grilled cheese sandwich and a thermos of soup less than thirty minutester.

    Then she ended up bringing him bandages because Noah was at the dojo with a finger he had jammed in the doorway and it wouldn''t stop bleeding. Tissues could only do so much.

    They got into a pattern of visiting each other''s workces regrly after that for various reasons. When Nathan called her out on it, Violet shrugged and said that was just how they were. He used them of being an old married couple and told Oliver and Kaleb about it. The rest was history.

    Why did people always say that men and women couldn''t be friends? There was absolutely nothing romantic between her and Noah. He was practically her fourth brother. Nobody seemed to understand that.

    "How''s his karatepetition going?" Nathan asked once his urge to tease his sister had passed.

    "Pretty good. One of his students made it to the semifinals," Violet replied casually.

    Her phone went off again and sheughed a little when she read it. ''I passed your message on and now he''s swooning. He has the biggest crush on you, you know. About half of my students do''

    She couldn''t deny it; it waspletely obvious every time she visited Noah. The older boys¡ªall still under the age of sixteen¡ªwere infatuated with her. Was she really the only pretty woman these boys knew? It was baffling.

    ''Half of your students have very poor taste'' she shot back.

    Noah sent her a rolling eyes emoji. He had never been a fan of when her humor became self-deprecating. She replied with a shrugging emoji. Sometimes emojis were more helpful than words.

    He didn''t respond after that so he was probably busy. Violet turned back to watching her little brother work as he twisted the apples into a rose shape. It was amazing what he could do with food.

    Having an aspiring chef as a brother wasn''t so bad. Nathan had basically taken over the kitchen when he was in middle school and not one person in the familyined about it. He was just as good as their mom back then. Now he was unarguably better.

    He finished the puffs and put them into the oven. Now was the hardest part. Waiting.

    Nathan sat down across from her at the table. "So. Tell me about your show."

    Of course he had already seen it but what he wanted to know was how she felt about it now that it was done. Ever since he was little he loved listening to the way his sister described how she felt when she was dancing.

    So she told him. This particr show was a modern ballet that had only first been performed back in 2022. The story revolved around a caterpir surviving the odds against birds and winter and other factors to be a butterfly.

    Violet had danced the part of the butterfly. The caterpir and butterfly were separate roles because they had to appear on the stage simultaneously toward the end of the show. She was also a crow that tried to attack the caterpir in the beginning.

    While there were certain aspects of traditional ballet in this show, a lot of the movements were jerkier and more violent, like many modern ballets. It fit the theme of the show since the caterpir faced death many times before bing a butterfly.

    Violet enjoyed the part of the butterfly but what she really loved was dancing as the crow. She had channeled everything she had into appearing vicious and desperate to eat and survive in her movements. Ultimately, the entire ballet focused on survival and how futile it could be due to the food chain.

    Her character the crow had been eaten by a housecat after failing to eat the caterpir. The cat was yed by one of the male dancers and their piece together had been fun to learn.

    What she loved most was portraying the symbolism behind it all with her movements. That had always been her favorite part of dance: bringing a feeling to life even though no words were used.

 Chapter 438: Thats What Im Here For

    <h4>Chapter 438: That''s What I''m Here For</h4>

    Nathan listened to his sister''s exnation about her show intently up until the timer for the apple rose puffs went off. The only time she showed any real passion about anything was when she talked about dance. The rest of the time she could be pretty apathetic.

    Most people were under the impression that Violet didn''t care about anything but that was because they never heard her go on forever and a day about dance. The way her entire countenance lit up while talking about her passionpletely transformed her often expressionless face.

    Typically she was too embarrassed to talk about how she felt about dance with people. Noah and her family members were the only people she really feltfortable around, which Nathan thought was a pity. Violet might have more friends if she showed them how bright and lively she could be when discussing something that mattered to her.

    "The dessert''s done," Nathan yelled toward the living room where his parents were undoubtedly cuddling.

    They came in a momentter holding hands. Keeley was beaming. "It smells fantastic, Nate! I can''t wait to try it."

    Nathan beamed right back. Though he preferred cooking savory to sweet he couldn''t deny that he had been having fun in his dessert courses. They were required no matter what you were trying to specialize in.

    "These are better while they''re warm but we should still wait a few minutes so we don''t burn our mouths," he advised.

    They all sat inpanionable silence while they waited for the pastries to cool. Violet didn''t realize how worn out she was until things were quiet. She would have to wash all this gunk off her face and go to bed as soon as she had eaten her fill.

    The apple rose puffs were delicious, as expected. She decided to praise her brother even though it might give him a big head like Kaleb''s.

    "These are fantastic, Nate. Every time I eat something you make I swear it tastes better than thest."

    He smiled sweetly at her before giving her a big kiss on the cheek. "Thanks sis."

    Out of all of her siblings, Nathan looked the most like her. He didn''t have their father''s eyes exactly like she did¡ªhis were a lighter blue¡ªbut their hair was only a shade or two off of each other''s.

    Oliver didn''t particrly look like anyone. His hair was light brown and his eyes were hazel. He did have his dad''s nose but who would notice that aside from rtives?

    The Hale children were definitely a mixed bunch. When Violet was out with Kaleb or Oliver alone no one believed they were rted at first nce. It was a bit more believable when the whole family was together since most of them looked like at least one of their parents.

    Poor Oliver. He had endured countlessments about not looking like the rest of his family over the years.

    "I''m going to bed," Violet informed her family with a yawn after consuming three entire puffs.

    She would definitely regret that in the morning. Having Nathan around really affected her diet. Eating well was very important as a ballerina. Cheat days like this couldn''t happen often.

    Sometimes she experienced momentary twinges of regret over her career choice when she smelled food she couldn''t have. Then she remembered how much she truly loved to dance professionally and continued to suck it up as usual.

    After finally getting all of the glitter off her face, Violet flopped down on her bed. She had never bothered moving out despite being able to afford her own ce because she didn''t see the point. This was her home and she was used to it.

    Besides, with her schedule, if she didn''t live at home she would literally never see her parents or Nathan. It was easier all around. It didn''t hurt that the Hales'' apartment building was almost a perfect in-between point for her studio and Noah''s dojo, the two ces she frequented most.

    Why mess with a perfectly good set-up? Violet was perfectly content to continue living with her family until she eventually got married. Provided she ever managed to find a boyfriend again. She sighed at the thought.

    Her phone went off. Noah had finally replied.

    ''Seriously though Vi, you''re more likable than you think. Guys have always been tripping over themselves to get close to you''

    That seemed like an exaggeration but she had gone on an awful lot of dates in college. Very few of those men amounted to more than a few dates each though. Plenty came but none stayed. Hence her ongoing single streak the past two and a half years.

    Why did everything keeping back to how single she was today? Violet supposed that''s what she got for continuing to live with the corniest couple on earth.

    ''But only for a moment. Nobody stays'' she sent back.

    Tone got lost over text. She meant it in a matter-of-fact way but it looked an awful lot like she was bitter after sending it. Oops.

    Noah should catch onto what she actually meant, right? He didn''t know how bitter she actually was that she had never truly experienced falling in love. Crushes weren''t the same.

    ''That''s what I''m here for'' he replied.

    Violet smiled at her phone screen. True. No matter what, she always had him. Even when her own brothers went off to spread their wings and ended up being horrible about staying in contact unless she messaged them first, Noah stayed.

    ''One of the many reasons you''re my favorite person'' she texted with a smiling emoji.

    A momentter, she sent a second text. ''I''m about to pass out though so this butterfly wishes you adieu. Good luck with thest day of thepetition! Be sure to tell me how it goes''

    Turning her phone onto airne mode, Violet shut the light off and climbed under the covers. She wished Noah was back already. It was weird when she couldn''t see him for a few days.

 Chapter 439: Dug A Hole For Himself

    <h4>Chapter 439: Dug A Hole For Himself</h4>

    Noah sighed as he read Violet''sst text. He sent her one back that said goodnight but he knew he well enough to know her phone was already off for the night and she wouldn''t see it until morning.

    He knew everything about her. It would be impossible not to after spending twenty-four years together.

    She knew everything about him too except one very important detail. Violet waspletely clueless that he had been in love with her for more than half of his life.

    By all ounts, it didn''t make sense. She was such an intelligent person about everything but emotions. Ever since she was young she had been that way. She could decipher people''s intentions better than some but was clueless when it came to the basic emotions of others around her.

    Her people radar was oddly skewed in that way. Everyone else who had ever seen them interact together could see it. But Violet couldn''t no matter how much people teased them about being married.

    Noah didn''t get it. How could she dismiss her brothers talking that way and still think they were only buddies?

    He was afraid to enlighten her though. Violet dreamed of romance; the kind she read about in novels. She would never admit to it but he had seen the way she lit up around chick flicks and other sappy things like that.

    She would never see him because he had always been quietly by her side without any dramatics like those male leads she liked. He had thoroughly dug a hole for himself in that way because he was incapable of loving anyone else.

    It hadn''t mattered much so far. The few times Violet did get a boyfriend it didn''tst longer than a few torturous months.

    She kept the promise she made when they were back in high school too. Even when she was dating other people she still made time for him. Noah knew his ce in her heart was the most solid out of anyone''s in her life.

    For now it was enough. He was trying to think of a way to make her see him in a romantic light but until that happened, he was content to know he was her most important person.

    But shiness had never been his style. If Noah suddenly tried to woo her like a male lead she would think he was making fun of her. That was a downside of knowing someone too well. Any small change in behavior was noticeable.

    He had to do this right. If he didn''t, he could risk losing Violet forever. He couldn''t even imagine what life without her would be like since she had always been there.

    Ever since they were little, they had seen each other almost every day. Even when they were in different schools they still hung out on the weekends or got together on weeknights after their extracurricr activities.

    If Violet left, it would leave a gaping hole that would never be filled. Noah knew he needed to act fast before some random jerk came along and snapped her up based on her beauty alone¡ªit was what all of her other boyfriends had done¡ªbut wasn''t sure how.

    Changing his status in her heart would require meticulous nning. Noah had never been all that meticulous.

    "Why are you sighing, Sensei?" Joey asked sleepily.

    He was the only other person in the room who was still awake. Everyone was in a sleeping bag on the floor since there was only one bed and that went to the dojo owner. He was the oldest one there and had a bad back.

    "Because women areplicated," Noah replied in a weary tone. "Go back to sleep, Joey. You have a big day tomorrow."

    "Okay," the kid yawned. "But don''t worry about Miss Violet too much, Sensei. You have a big day tomorrow too."

    Sometimes kids were oddly perceptive. But Joey had never seen any other woman around him either. Violet really did act like his wife. So why couldn''t she see that?

    Noah turned over inside his sleeping back and shut his eyes, desperately trying not to worry about losing the woman who meant everything to him to someone more romantic.

    ===

    Joey ended up getting second ce in the finals. Instead of being proud of his aplishment, he had been mad he didn''t get first. Noah had to give him a pep talk on the bus ride back to New York City.

    He didn''t make it home until 10 PM because the bus ride was four hours long and they got ate start on top of having to stop for dinner. Then he had to fill out some paperwork before leaving the dojo. It had been a very long weekend.

    Tomorrow was Monday so Noah didn''t even get to rest properly. It was back to teaching sses in the morning. At least he would be able to see Violet.

    Maybe he could convince her to bring the rest of Nathan''s apple rose puffs over. Those sounded delicious. As Violet''s best friend, he had enjoyed quite a few of her brother''s gourmet meals over the years.

    Nathan should definitely open his own restaurant someday. Uncle Aaron would definitely fund it for him; he was very supportive of his children. Noah was lucky to have supportive parents too.

    His dad had offered to help him start his own dojo someday if the owner of the one he currently worked at wasn''t willing to hand it over when he retired. Cameron had never fully understood his son''s love of martial arts but he knew they did Noah good so he was all for them. Jennica was too; they had never missed one of hispetitions or belt tests.

    Both of them were lucky to have parents who loved and supported them even if they didn''t fully understand them. A lot of kids Noah had known in high school had their parents try to shove unfair expectations onto them.

    As much as he loved Grandma Anna, she had definitely done the same thing to his mom. She always picked at her daughter''s dream of being on Broadway, right up until the day Jennicanded her first Broadway role.

    If he really thought about it, his mom was probably so supportive because of what she had gone through with her own mother. Whatever the cause, Noah was grateful. Not just anyone would support their child not wanting to go to college.

 Chapter 440: Pastry Theft

    <h4>Chapter 440: Pastry Theft</h4>

    On Monday morning Violet gathered up the remaining three apple rose puffs and headed over to the dojo earlier than usual. Herpany''s new show didn''t start for another three weeks so she was back to a somewhat normal schedule, starting at 10 AM and ending around 6 PM for a little while.

    When she was on herter schedule she typically visited Noah around 10:30 but now she had to do it at 8 or she wouldn''t have time to get to work. Unfortunately for her, he had back to back toddler sses that didn''t end until the time she usually visited.

    She would only be able to talk to him for about ten minutes between sses but it was better than nothing. They were meeting up to go to dinner tonight anyway but she still wanted to do something nice for him.

    Violet knew how much Noah got worn out from chaperoning field trips. It was why she had risked Nathan''s wrath to sneak him the rest of the apple rose puffs.

    His first ss didn''t end until 8:30 and the next one started at 8:40 so she managed to catch the tail end of the ss. Those little kids were so cute because they had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

    Noah caught her eye as she walked in and she simply waved at him. He waved back before returning his attention to his students.

    When ss finally ended, four of his precious ten minutes were wasted talking to a parent so he seemed a bit annoyed when he finally made his way over to her. "Sorry about that, Vi. Unavoidable."

    "Don''t worry about it! I know it''s part of your job. I just wanted to deliver breakfast courtesy of my brother."

    "I love you," Noah said fervently as he took a bite out of the first apple rose puff. "I was secretly hoping there would be some left for me."

    Violetughed. She knew her friend too well. "Well if Nathan notices they''re gone and gives me a hard time I hope you appreciate my sacrifice for you."

    "Oh, I will."

    She was about to say something else but one of the parents of a child in the next ss had arrived early and wanted to speak to the teacher. Noah sighed heavily and she barely managed to hold back anotherugh. That was what he got for trying to socialize while at work.

    With a smile, Violet called "see you tonight" over her shoulder as she left. Btedly, she realized she still had the other two puffs with her. There was no way she could eat them because of how many she had indulged in over the weekend.

    Since her time with Noah got cut short, she had enough time to swing by her dad''s office before going to work. If she brought them to him he would surely defend her against Nathan if he decided to retaliate for the pastry theft.

    Violet didn''t visit Hale Investments terribly often¡ªher early experience running into her grandfather had effectively scared her away¡ªbut the secretary still knew who she was. She heard all the time that she was the spitting image of her father.

    Yes, he had been a handsome man when he was younger, but she was a woman! No woman wanted to bepared to their father. She would far prefer being told she looked like her mother.

    At least those same people told her that she had her mother''s smile. And it wasn''t like Violet was identical to Aaron; they simply shared the same coloring and certain mannerisms. Her features were undeniably more feminine.

    "Go right up, Miss Hale," the secretary said without bothering to look up from herputer.

    Violet made her way to the elevator and began the long ascent to the top floor. Every so often people woulde and go on different floors but she found herself alone again the closer she got to the executive management floor.

    Until four floors away, when a handsome blonde man walked in and did a double take. She frowned. What was that about?

    The elevator suddenly lurched to a stop then, stuck in between floors. Fantastic. Just what she needed this morning. Violet pressed the emergency button and was told to remain calm and that someone was on the way.

    The man''s eyes were still boring a hole into the back of her head. Unountably annoyed, she snapped, "Why are you staring at me?"

    He was immediately apologetic and snapped out of it, as ifing out from under a spell. "I''m so sorry, I didn''t mean to stare. You¡ª"

    ''Are the most beautiful creature I''ve everid my eyes on?'' Violet had heard such sappy lines from men before. Those guys never turned out to be sincere.

    "¡ªlook exactly like a female version of my boss."

    Wait, what? This guy must work pretty closely with her dad to be talking like that. Her eyes narrowed. There was only one man this young who was in her dad''s inner circle.

    "Jeremy Ward, I take it?"

    The man seemed surprised she knew who he was but smiled. "Well if you know my name you can''t be anyone other than Violet Hale."

    "Yes," she admitted. "My dad talks about you a lot."

    Heughed. "What a coincidence. He talks about you a lot too. I feel like I know you already."

    That was a bit rming. What sort of nonsense had her overly sentimental father been spouting about her? Jeremy noticed the look on her face and immediately rified.

    "It''s nothing bad! Mostly he brags about how you''re the prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet."

    Yep, that was definitely her dad. He bragged about all of his family''s aplishments. But was that really it? Someone wouldn''t feel like they already knew her if they only knew what her profession was.

    Violet eyed him a bit warily. She would definitely be having a talk with her fatherter about not gossiping about her to his underlings.

 Chapter 441: Mini Me

    <h4>Chapter 441: Mini Me</h4>

    Jeremy had beenpletely stunned when he walked into the elevator and saw his mentor''s mini me standing inside. She stood gracefully and stared straight ahead,pletely aloof. Even her attitude was just like his. It was a bit disconcerting.

    The woman was beautiful but in the same way that snow was. Serene, sparkling, and cold.

    Obviously he knew this had to be Aaron''s daughter¡ªwho else would be so simr?¡ªbut he had been surprised that she called him out for staring. Most people weren''t that direct. Yet another way she and Aaron were simr.

    It would have been awkward not to make conversation since they were both stuck in the same elevator but Violet Hale was oddly guarded. Why? She knew who he was; she had to know how much her father trusted him. He wasn''t a threat.

    He tried to change the subject to soothe her worries. "What brings you to our humble office today?"

    Violet held out a stic container Jeremy hadn''t realized she had been holding. "I''m bringing these to my dad. I''m sure you already know this but my younger brother is in culinary school. These pastries were too tempting so if they were left with me I would eat them. I have to pawn them off onto someone else for my own safety."

    "What''s wrong with eating pastries?"

    She actually smiled and it warmed her cold countenance considerably. There was endless sunshine in that smile. Jeremy''s heart thumped ufortably in his chest. What was this feeling?

    "Nothing, in moderation. But I''ve already had far too many over the weekend and don''t want the balletpany''s dietician toe after me."

    It took Jeremy a moment to recover his wits after seeing that smile. "Makes sense," he managed to get out somewhat intelligibly.

    "I would ask you what brings you here but that''s fairly obvious," Violet replied with a smallugh.

    "Uh, yeah. I practically live here."

    He stayed at work even longer than the CEO did most days because he wanted to finish his work to perfection. Aaron had given him the chance of a lifetime by training him as a sessor and he didn''t want to waste it.

    Jeremy might be a personal assistant now but Aaron told him if he kept up the good work that he could move up to CFO within the next five years when the current one retired. That would be beyond a dreame true! He might be the CFO of a Fortune 10pany before he was even thirty! Who else could im that honor?

    Overworking didn''t matter to him since it was what he loved most. It wasn''t like there was anything else that particrly interested him. Some of Aaron''s detractors had called him a "business bot" in the past but Jeremy didn''t see how that was derogatory. He was one too.

    Violet''s smile was smaller and more polite this time and she returned to staring straight ahead. Ten minutester, the elevator technician still hadn''te and she sighed.

    "Time to break out the big guns," she mumbled to herself.

    Jeremy was about to ask what that meant when she pulled out her cell phone. It was amazing that she even got reception in the elevator; his phone usually didn''t.

    "Dad, I''m stuck in your elevator," Violet said simply. "I don''t want to bete to work so do you mind making the technician speed up a little bit?"

    Jeremy could practically feel the iceing out of the phone. Aaron was probably going to kill that elevator technician as soon as he was done getting them out. Sometimes he wondered how exactly his boss''s four children had managed to survive living in an igloo.

    The elevator released them on the top floor less than five minutester. Aaron Hale didn''t mess around.

    He expected Violet to get the same kind of cold greeting Jeremy always got but couldn''t have been more wrong. His ice statue of a boss broke into a grin and hugged his daughter tightly. It was like he was apletely different person!

    Apparently his affection didn''t extend only to being proud of his family, which surprised Jeremy. He had pegged his mentor as the silent and gruff type even if he did care about someone. But that did not appear to be the case here at all.

    "Vi! What are you doing here?" Aaron asked warmly.

    "Ie bearing contraband," Violet replied as she held out the container. "Don''t tell Nate."

    He took the container of pastries eagerly and kissed the top of his daughter''s head. "Once again, you''re a solid contender for the World''s Best Daughter Award."

    That brilliant smile Jeremy saw earlier in the elevator made another appearance, doing funny things to his heart. It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his life.

    The smile alone wasn''t even what got to him. It was the fact that itpletely transformed her from someone elegant and above mere mortals into someone you wanted to get to know. Jeremy had no idea a simple smile could have such an effect.

    "You tter me," Violet said with a lightugh. "I really have to get going now though. I''ll see you tonight."

    "Will I though?"

    She rolled her eyes. "My show is over, Dad. I''m back to a normal schedule for a little bit."

    "Yeah but your favorite person is also back in town. My money is on you noting back untilte," Aaron predicted.

    Violet shrugged and turned back toward the elevator. "We''ll see. Love you!"

    "Love you too."

    She paused before the elevator door closed, remembering someone else was there. "Bye Jeremy! It was nice meeting you."

    "You too," he called back softly right as the door shut.

    The second his daughter disappeared, Aaron was all business again. It was as if a switch was flipped. A long-standing mystery had been solved; Jeremy finally knew why his friends called him contradictory back when he first joined thepany.

    Was what he had witnessed really contradictory though? It was more like a split personality! The mighty business icon Jeremy had gotten used to being around was entirely different in front of his daughter.

    But from what little he saw¡­Violet seemed to be the same way. He couldn''t get that dazzling, mysterious smile out of his head.

 Chapter 442: I Get That A Lot

    <h4>Chapter 442: I Get That A Lot</h4>

    Jeremy''s curiosity burned watching Aaron work after Violet left. He acted as if he hadn''t just disyed apletely different personality. But eventually he caught onto his assistant''s staring.

    "What is it?" he barked.

    "You''re very different around your daughter," Jeremy said honestly.

    Aaron sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I get that a lot. The first time Roger and Kyle met my wife they nearly had heart attacks. Cameron and Aiden weren''t quite that bad but they used to give me such a hard time about her."

    So it originated with his wife, huh? It made a strange sort of sense. But Jeremy had to wonder what sort of spell Keeley Hale had cast on her husband.

    He had only met the woman once in his six years of working at Hale Investments. She was runningte on the way to pick up her youngest child from school and needed to drop off an important doc.u.ment Aaron left at home.

    Their encountersted all of two minutes. When he asked why she couldn''t give it to Aaron directly (she had asked for Jeremy by name for some reason), sheughed and said that would make her even morete.

    Aaron had been in a bad mood after that but Jeremy never made the corrtion. She would have been eventer because her husband wouldn''t have let her go so quickly. Or so he assumed now.

    Based on his reaction seeing his daughter, Aaron Hale loved deeply. Jeremy wondered what exactly could bewitch the coldest person he had ever met into falling in love.

    Keeley Hale was a brilliant scientist but his impression from meeting her in person was very brief. She was pretty enough for an olderdy but that was about all he could see. Was Aaron into brains over beauty or what?

    "Why would they do that?" Jeremy dared to ask.

    Aaron scowled. "Because they thought someone as scary as me shouldn''t be in love with someone normal. But everyone falls in love at some point. Even people like us."

    Jeremy noticed how he worded that. People like us. Single-minded workaholics then. That was all he had inmon with his boss.

    He might be indifferent to most people but he wasn''t cold. On the surface he was perfectly friendly. A lot of people liked him but he usually didn''t genuinely like them back. They were merely a means to an end, like his study buddies back at Yale.

    Jeremy couldn''t imagine falling in love, since he had seen how it ruined his mother''s life. But he supposed if someone came along who wouldn''t hinder his dreams he might consider a rtionship. Someone intelligent and easy to talk to.

    "When did you?" he blurted, immediately biting his lip afterwards. Ah, he wished he could take that back!

    But Aaron didn''t seem to mind the question. In fact, a nostalgic smile appeared on his face. What kind of crazy magical power did Keeley Hale have?! Jeremy wanted to meet her again so he could re-evaluate his first impression and try to figure it out.

    "A very, very long time ago. We were seventeen."

    Seventeen?! One of the most ruthless and powerful businessmen in the western world had been in love with the same woman since he was seventeen?! How on earth could you still hold such strong feelings for someone after so long?

    Jeremy''s parents didn''t even seem happy on the rare asions they were together. They had fallen out of love but weren''t willing to do anything about it. Probably because his dad didn''t want to pay alimony.

    Since Aaron was in a good mood, he decided to probe further. "How did you meet?"

    "Her maiden name was Hall. We were seated next to each other alphabetically in literature ss. She was surprisingly friendly considering the rest of the students there were terrified of me," he said matter-of-factly.

    So he had already developed his powerful presence even back then? That was impressive. But was friendliness really enough to merit a lifetime of devotion? There had to be more to the story than that.

    Jeremy was afraid to ask anything else though in case he stepped on his boss''s toes. He would figure out the mystery of Keeley Hale eventually. Right now he was more curious about her daughter.

    "She''s a very friendly person," Aaron continued, unasked. "Our son Kaleb takes after her. Nathan too, I suppose. Oliver and Violet are a bit more selective about who they hang out with."

    He recalled that Aaron mentioned something about her favorite person being back in town in front of the elevator. She must be the type who tends to stick with one best friend rather than have a bunch of acquaintances. Not that there was anything wrong with that.

    Jeremy tended to be more in the camp of having lots of meaningless acquaintances but he could respect the desire to be close to someone. Women tended to be closer to their girlfriends than men were with their guy friends anyway.

    He had never experienced such a desire for himself but he couldn''t deny he felt strangely drawn to this contradictory woman. Would Aaron murder him if he tried to get to know his daughter better?

    "Violet is a lot like you," he ended up saying. He couldn''t think of another response to his boss''s words.

    "Yes, in a lot of ways," Aaron replied. "But she''s far more passionate than I could ever hope to be. And she has her mother''s smile."

    With that, Jeremy could almost understand the older man''s love for the same woman spanning decades. If Keeley smiled at him all the time in the same way Violet had smiled earlier¡­

    "Passionate how?"

    His boss twirled a pen between his fingers as he responded. "You would have to see her dance to understand that."

    Seeing her dance, huh? Jeremy was definitely interested in doing that if it would help him understand Violet better. He would need to look into the next show the New York City Ballet was putting on.

    He discreetly looked it up on his phone and was dismayed to discover it wouldn''t be for weeks. For some reason, he didn''t want to wait that long before seeing her again.

 Chapter 443: Cinderella

    <h4>Chapter 443: Cindere</h4>

    Violet barely managed to make it to work on time after the elevator fiasco. Rushing like that made her tired and frazzled before she even started rehearsing for the day. Joy.

    Their next show would be the ssic ballet Cindere and casting announcement were supposed to be made today. By this point, auditioning for individual parts was pointless. The director of the ballet knew everyone''s individual capabilities. He assigned them what he knew they could do best.

    "I really hope I get Cindere this time," her fellow dancer Abigail Smith said with a sigh. "But everyone knows it will probably go to you, Violet. I''ll be lucky to be one of the evil stepsisters."

    "There''s always the fairy godmother or one of the other fairies," Violet tried reassuring her.

    The stepsisters wereedic roles and likely wouldn''t suit Abigail very well. She was too graceful. In previous renditions of Cindere that Violet had seen, the stepsisters were actually yed by men to make them look even more bumbling inparison to the main dancer.

    "I suppose so," Abigail said glumly. "I got lucky he even let me dance the part of the caterpirst time."

    The caterpir had been the most important role in thest ballet because it was onstage pretty much the entire time. Abigail had done a great job with it.

    Violet may have been one of the most talented ballerinas in the dancepany but she didn''t always get the role she wanted. In fact,st year when they did Swan Lake she had been very disappointed not to get the part of Odile, the ck swan.

    She had been assigned the part of Odette instead. All of her fellow ballerinas had been more than a little bitter that sheined about it offhandedly at all. They would kill to have the main part.

    Odette was a great part but one of Odile''s dances was one of the most difficult in all of ballet and Violet had really wanted to try it out. That honor had gone to another of her coworkers, Katrina Pierce.

    "Listen up! Parts have been assigned and I don''t want to hear a singleint from any of you," the director said sternly as he walked into the room.

    All of the dancers gathered around eagerly with an air of trepidation filling the room. Announcement days were always a big deal around here.

    "Daniel, you''re the prince. Fred and Liana, you''re the king and queen. Violet will be Cindere. Abigail, the fairy godmother. Charlie and Thomas will be the ugly stepsisters. The other fairies will be¡­"

    The director droned on and on but Violet wasn''t paying attention anymore. Abigail shot her a look that said "I told you so" and she shrugged. She had been right too. Her friend was going to be the fairy godmother.

    Once everything had been assigned, the choreography team came out and began working with groups of dancers to get rehearsals started. Learning new routines were always the hardest part of her job. The choreographers were extremely strict. She was in for a long day.

    ===

    "Noah!" Violet called out as she waved at her friend from across the street.

    They were meeting at one of their favorite restaurants and he was running a littlete. It had be their most popr dinner choice because they offered so many different sds-as-meals options. Violet''s dietician was always on her case about her calorie intake.

    If she had to eat endless sds, they should at least be delicious. This restaurant offered that. Even their dressings were low fat and rtively healthy.

    Noah approached her with his hands in the pockets of his ck windbreaker. His hair was messy so he had probably parked pretty far away. It was windy today, which wasmon for fall in New York.

    Violet had long gotten used to wearing her hair up as a ballerina and it helped on windy days as well. Right now her hair was in the same sleek high ponytail from work and she was wearing a pearl gray sweater and jeans.

    "What''s up, Vi?" he asked.

    "I''m going to be Cindere," she informed him. "I found out today. And I got trapped in an elevator with my dad''s assistant."

    Noah raised an eyebrow. "You were trapped in an elevator?"

    Violet exined the situation to him briefly, ending it by saying it wasn''t a big deal. She was only dropping off the rest of those apple rose puffs for her dad.

    Heughed and flicked her ponytail, iming she was way too calm about everything. Most people would get freaked out by being trapped in an elevator. But Violet Hale had never been afraid of the things most people were.

    They made their way inside and sat down in their favorite booth by the window. Noah ordered his usual pasta dish and Violet tried to pick which sd looked best today. She ended up getting a Greek sd.

    As they waited for their food to arrive, Noah told her more about the karatepetition over the weekend and she told him more about her Cindere role. Conversation had always flowed easily between them.

    "I think Abigail might be a little jealous of me," she concluded before taking a sip of her lemon water.

    Noah smiled and shook his head. "Almost everyone you''ve ever met is jealous of you. You''re just that amazing."

    Violet stuck her tongue out at him. "I''m serious, Noah! I don''t want her to be mad at me since I tend to get along with her best out of all the other dancers. I thought we were okay on that front for a while because she got the main part in thest show. But today she was all ''you always get the good parts'' on me."

    His thoughtful expression appeared on his face. He always looked like that when she presented him with some sort of problem. Out of everyone she knew, she went to Noah for advice most with the exception of her mother.

    Keeley Hale was a wise woman but a busy one. Violet somehow always felt like she was bothering her when she talked about her problems even though her mother always assured her that wasn''t the case. She really couldn''t put her finger on why she felt that way despite constant reassurance to the contrary.

 Chapter 444: Ballet Politics

    <h4>Chapter 444: Ballet Politics</h4>

    Noah swirled his straw around inside his ss of lemonade. He wished he knew how to help Violet, who really didn''t know how to deal with interpersonal rtionsh.i.p.s. The main reason they worked as well as they did was because he understood her enough to know she didn''t actually mean any offense.

    "Have you tried talking to her about it?"

    Violet shuddered.

    "No way! You know I can''t do confrontation. Ugh, I wish things weren''t so awkward every time we got parts assigned. You know our next show is the Nutcracker. We''re having performances all throughout December. She has her heart dead set on being the Sugar Plum Fairy. I''m afraid she''ll never forgive me if I end up getting it instead."

    Ah, ballet politics. She had vented her concerns about them many times over the years. This problem of getting better roles than most of her friends had started all the way back in middle school.

    Thankfully he didn''t have to deal with anything like that in karate. Although he supposed there was a fair amount ofining when one person managed to get a trophy at apetition when another didn''t. Sore losers could be found in every discipline.

    "You were the Sugar Plum Fairyst year, right? Wouldn''t it make more sense to have you be someone else?" Noah asked rationally.

    Violet had only been a part of the New York City Ballet since graduating from college nearly two and a half years ago. The Nutcracker was performed every Christmas since it was such an important tradition for so many people to go see it.

    Her first year she hadn''t had a very big part at all. She was ra''s sister Louise in the first act and a flower in the second. Over the following year she proved her capability and ended up being a snowke in the first act and the coveted Sugar Plum Fairy in the second.

    Of course, the biggest role of all was ra since she was on the stage pretty much the entire time. But no one had ever danced ra without being at thepany for a minimum of four years. There were so many more experienced ballerinas present that Violet didn''t think she would get that role.

    "It would," she admitted. "But still. I don''t know what other part they would give me since ra is basically out. I am one of the best dancers there."

    Violet wasn''t bragging. She was simply stating a fact. The choreographers and director all said so. Even her fellow dancers said so, which was why she believed they were all jealous.

    "You won''t find out about parts until the beginning of November, right?" Noah asked.

    "Yeah."

    "Then don''t worry about it until then," he said with a shrug. "Worrying too early will only wear you out. You never know; she might be the Sugar Plum Fairy this year and then you would have worried for nothing."

    Violet sighed before giving him a gentle smile. "Always my voice of reason, huh? Nobody would believe you''re the younger one here."

    Something inside him soured at her words, which she must have thought were harmless. Noah had always been sensitive about their age difference. He was certain it was one of the reasons she wouldn''t even look at him as a man.

    She thought of him as one of her little brothers. Who would fall in love with their little brother?

    It had been horrible for him when Violet graduated from high school. He was so afraid she wouldpletely forget about him despite her promises not to.

    But Violet Hale was a woman of her word. Even on the rare asions she had boyfriends, she still tutored him or visited him at is dojo once he was working full-time. He hadn''t needed to worry after all.

    Noah hadn''t been able to defend her against bullies or be there for her when she was alone at school all because he was younger. He had to deal with his fear of being left behind because he was younger too. How many times in his life had he wished they were the same age?

    A year and a half. Eighteen months. Why did it seem like such a great divide?

    "I''m not that much younger," he said grouchily.

    Violet shrugged it off. "True. You''re an old soul at twenty-four."

    Noah had barely celebrated his birthday. He always liked the months between September and March. At that point, their ages were one year apart instead of two.

    But she had a point about the old soul thing. Both of them had always been more mature than most people their ages.

    Kaleb wasn''t like that, which was probably arge part of the reason Noah was now closer to his twin than he was. When he wasn''t actively involved in baseball season he did all sorts of stupid things young people liked to do.

    He had gotten in a tiny bit of trouble with his coach for partying too hard in college. He couldn''t exactly be kicked off the team though since he was the best pitcher the school had seen in a decade.

    Speaking of Kaleb...

    "Kaleb ising home soon, right?" Noah asked.

    Baseball season was basically over and he didn''t have any obligations ormitments again until spring training started next year.

    Violet nodded with a slight frown on her face. "He said he''de say hi for a week or so before backpacking through Europe with his girlfriend until the holidays."

    Backpacking through Europe? That seemed like a very Kaleb thing to do. It was a miracle poor Aunt Keeley hadn''t popped a blood vessel over that guy yet.

    The real question was why he would want to go this time of year when it was getting colder. Though Noah supposed he couldn''t exactly do it in the summer because of his job.

    "Isn''t that dangerous?" he asked a bit hesitantly.

    "Yes," she said with a full-on scowl. "He doesn''t give a bit of thought to anything he does. Sometimes I can''t believe we''re even rted, let alone shared a space in our mother''s w.o.m.b."

    Noah could tell how much this bothered her. When the food arrived a momentter, she stabbed her sd with an unnecessary amount of force.

 Chapter 445: Emotionally Constipated

    <h4>Chapter 445: Emotionally Constipated</h4>

    Getting her frustrations out on her sd helped Violet a little but Noah could tell she was still upset. Both at the jealousy of one of her only female friends and her wayward brother.

    At times like this he wasn''t always sure what to say, though for some reason she always seemedforted even when he fumbled his words. He supposed it was the thought that counted.

    To make her feel better, Noah ordered some grilled pineapple for dessert. Recently it was a trend for restaurants to offer healthier dessert options. Grilled fruit wasn''t against the rules in the same way traditional desserts were, which made it one of Violet''s favorites.

    She smiled at him gratefully when he ordered it after they finished their entr¨¦es. "You read my mind. I really needed a treat today."

    "It''s my duty as your best friend," he said in a mock-serious voice, making herugh.

    The heaviness that surrounded her earlier had cleared. Thank goodness. Happy Violet was always the best Violet.

    Comforting each other was a natural part of their rtionship from the time they were toddlers who got upset about stupid things like not getting to y with the toy they wanted. Usually, Noah was able tofort Violet by trying to talk things through rationally and giving her some sort of treat.

    She typicallyforted him by problem-solving for whatever was bothering him and offering encouragement. It was a mutually beneficial system. They had a good thing going; the problem was that it wasn''t going anywhere else.

    Digging himself into the brother-zone was the worst mistake of his life. Because now it might actually be toote to get out of it.

    Sure, Noah had always been there for her and cared for her more than anyone else in this world (with the exception of her family), but that meant nothing if she took it for granted. His presence in her life was as natural and constant as any one of her brother''s.

    Sometimes he wondered if it might be beneficial for him to back away for a while so Violet could see what she was missing. But he worried that doing that would make her feel like she had been burdening him all this time.

    She had the ridiculous notion that she was a burden to everyone around her. Nothing he said could make her change her mind. She didn''t feel that way around him because their rtionship was equally bnced when it came to helping each other out.

    Noah couldn''t do anything to jeopardize that but he really didn''t have any other ideas. Besides, if he did implement that n he didn''t know how he would be able to handle it either since they had always been by each other''s sides.

    Violet had been present for every major event that ever happened in his life, and vice versa. Every birthday. Every triumph. Every failure.

    He had been there for her when she didn''t get into Juilliard and she had been there for him when he made it all the way to the semifinals of a karatepetition only to not ce at all. He honestly didn''t know what he would do without her.

    Over the years Noah had gotten used to the unromantic nature of their rtionship. For a while he hadn''t even minded it as long as she remained by his side.

    But the older they got the more fear gripped him that someone else was going to take her away. He had to make a move before someone else did.

    "Vi, what sort of man is your type?" Noah asked as casually as possible.

    Sheughed like it was a joke. "Trying to set me up on a blind date?"

    Ugh, this was so frustrating! Anyone else in the world could see he would rather die than set her up with another man but Violet just didn''t get it.

    He shrugged it off. "I''m curious. You haven''t been on a date in a while."

    Noah knew it was only because her schedule ofte hadn''t worked out with meeting people. She literally went to work, visited him, and went home. That was it. There wasn''t time to meet anyone else.

    That had been quite a relief. In college Violet got asked out by her fellow students all the time. Yet none of them impressed her enough tost very long.

    What kind of impossibly high standards did his best friend have? Would he ever be able to meet them?

    Violet was clearly thinking about it. When she finally looked up at him there was a small frown on her face. "I don''t think I have a type."

    Noah raised an eyebrow. "There really isn''t any sort ofmon thread between the guys you''ve dated?"

    "Not really. I guess I originally liked them because I thought they did something cute or funny or romantic but aside from that¡­"

    So it all boiled down to romance again. Noah had done romantic things for her in the past¡ªhe did bring flowers to every performance of hers he had ever attended¡ªbut she didn''t see them that way because her brothers did that sort of thing too.

    There had to be something more he could do! Something obvious that wasn''t brotherly.

    His chance came when it was time to pay the bill. Not only did he pay for the dessert; he paid for Violet''s sd. She seemed a bit surprised since she knew he didn''t make all that much at the dojo but thanked him and moved on.

    Well, it was a start.

    They ended up hanging out at his family''s ce for another couple hours, talking and ying card games. When Violet left, Noah immediately pulled out his phone and began a search on what girls considered romantic.

    Unfortunately, most of the lists he saw werergely focused on romantic things to do when you were already dating someone. That wouldn''t help him!

    And to be perfectly honest, he was already doing a lot of those things and she still didn''t have a clue. This was what he gets for falling in love with someone emotionally constipated.

 Chapter 446: A Family Emergency

    <h4>Chapter 446: A Family Emergency</h4>

    Violet was in the middle of rehearsal when she got a rather rming phone call. Her father had gotten into a car ident on the way back to the office from a meeting and his emergency contact wasn''t picking up so they were going down the list.

    "Please excuse me director, I have a family emergency!" she hollered as she grabbed her bag and ran out.

    She barely managed to change from her pointe shoes into the ts she had worn into work. She was still wearing a lc spaghetti strap leotard with ck booty shorts and matching leg warmers, forgetting to even grab a jacket, but was too worried to focus on her inappropriate attire.

    Rushing to the hospital, a bunch of different terrible scenarios ran through her head of what might have happened. The one Violet actually encountered waspletely unexpected.

    Aaron was sitting up in a hospital bed barking orders at his assistant in the middle of a doctor sewing up a bloody gash on his shoulder. He didn''t seem particrly affected by what happened at all.

    "Dad?" she asked in confusion. "What are you doing?"

    His icy demeanor melted away when he saw her. "Violet! Why are you here?"

    "¡­the hospital called me because they couldn''t get a hold of Mom. What happened to you?"

    He sighed and rubbed his forehead in annoyance with his good hand. Jeremy stood awkwardly to the side inplete silence, not knowing what to do since his boss had stopped ordering him around.

    "Some idiot kid speeding on a motorcycle mmed into my car and broke the driver''s side window. I''m only here because I got ss imbedded in my arm and shoulder. I really don''t know why they called you since Jeremy is already here and he''s perfectly fine."

    The doctor finally spoke up. "It''s standard procedure, Mr. Hale. Mr. Ward was in the ident with you so someone uninjured has to drive you home."

    So that exined it. Violet was more than a little annoyed to have worried for nothing. Missing work was less of an issue because she didn''t mind driving her dad home. But wished someone would have told her it wasn''t serious so she didn''t panic on the way over.

    She scowled. "Whoever called me should have exined it wasn''t serious. I nearly had a heart attack."

    "Were you at work?" Jeremy asked.

    It was the first thing she had heard him say since that day in the elevator over a week ago. He hadn''t made much of an impression on her so she hadn''t really thought about him since then.

    Suddenly Violet remembered what she was wearing and she turned a bit pink. Nobody wore clothes like this outside of a dance studio. Her hair was in a very messy bun as well since she had been toozy to make it look nice this morning.

    "Yes. I ran out without changing because I thought it was an emergency," she exined, not meeting his eyes in her embarrassment.

    "Clearly I''m fine," her father said with a slight wince as the needle pierced his skin yet again. "I will need a ride home in about twenty minutes though."

    Violet smiled at him, so obviously trying to y tough even though he was in pain because other people were watching. He had always been like that.

    Though she was certain if her mother had been able to answer the call that he would be milking his injury for all it was worth to get her attention. Keeley Hale was a strange exception to all of Aaron''s usual rules, even the ones involving their children.

    "Not a problem. Do you need anything else while I''m here? Coffee, maybe?"

    "Do they even have decent coffee here?" he asked dryly.

    "I saw a Starbucks in the lobby, sir," Jeremy piped up helpfully. This fit with what little Violet knew about him. Her father always described him as an overachiever.

    "That will do. I''ll take a dark chocte mocha. Thanks, Vi."

    She turned to her father''s assistant. "Would you like anything while I''m out?"

    Jeremy smiled warmly at her. "I''ll have a cappino. Thank you for thinking of me."

    "No problem. I''ll be back soon," she promised as she headed out the door.

    Why had that man been so pleased when she showed basic politeness? Wasn''t it normal to ask other people present if they wanted something in situations like this?

    While waiting in line Violet figured it might be good to get herself a snack as well. She ended up settling on a mango and coconut yogurt bowl. Coffee was typically frowned upon by her director, though a few of the other dancers still drank it regrly in secret.

    About ten minutester she handed one coffee each to the men in the hospital room. Her father''s stitches were done and his shoulder had been wrapped in gauze.

    His arm hurt too much to put his bloody shirt back on so he walked out of there shirtless. Their oddly dressed little group (except Jeremy, who was still in a suit) got a lot of stares on their way out of the hospital.

    "Were you able to get a hold of Mom?" she asked once they made it to her car.

    Aaron frowned. "No. She usually turns her phone off or leaves it in her locker when she''s in the middle ofb work."

    He would probably get an earful from his wife when she got hometer tonight. She fretted about people even more than Violet did. And knowing him, he would probably savor every second of her babying. Her parents were so weird.

    Yet she envied them. Their rtionship was unshakable. Solid. No one looking at them could ever doubt their love for each other. She wished somebody could love her like that.

    "She''ll see the missed call from the hospital soon enough," Violet predicted. "Then she''ll probably blow up your phone."

    Aaron smiled as if he couldn''t wait. Such a weirdo.

    Rolling her eyes, she addressed the man sitting in the back seat. "Jeremy, I just realized I didn''t ask if you were hurt at all."

    "Oh, I''m fine," he replied mildly. "I got a tiny bit of whish from the impact but that''s it. The ident really was a very minor bump. Aaron''s window only broke because a handlebar went through it."

    That was good to hear. She had nearly forgotten about Jeremy because he had been so quiet the majority of the time they were together today. He tended to blend into the background.

    It had nothing to do with his looks¡ªhe was quite attractive¡ªbut he didn''t really speak unless spoken to. Did he feel awkward because she was his boss''s daughter? He had been chatty enough when they were trapped in the elevator.

    Then again¡­this time her dad was actually here. His presence had been quite suffocating before he noticed Violet was standing in the room. She was old enough to know that most people feared her father. How did Jeremy manage to deal with that all the time?

    "Thank you for asking," Jeremy added a momentter.

    Again with this surprise at basic politeness. What kind of person did he think she was from one simple encounter?

 Chapter 447: Workaholic

    <h4>Chapter 447: Workaholic</h4>

    Violet dropped her dad off at home first because their building was fairly close to the hospital. She entreated him to take it easy for the rest of the day and he agreed before getting out of the car and taking his briefcase with him.

    Jeremy moved up to the front seat as soon as Aaron vacated it, surprising her. He exined that it would be weird for her to act as his chauffeur since it was just the two of them. She couldn''t argue with that logic.

    "Where do you need to go?" she asked formally.

    Despite hearing a lot about him over the past several years, Violet really didn''t know this man and felt a bit awkward around him. The same thing happened any time she met someone new.

    "Back to the office," he replied.

    Back to the office even though he barely got into a car ident? This guy was even more of a workaholic than her mom! Though she supposed she was the same way. She poured her entire life and soul into dancing.

    Funnily enough, most of the people in her life seemed to have this trait. Weren''t most people supposed to view their jobs as simply that? A job? But all of the Hales loved their careers. Noah and his mother did too.

    Although she had to admit that Uncle Cameron and Logan leaned more toward the societal norm. Noah''s brother was currently a history major at NYU and he didn''t seem to particrly enjoy it. He picked it because he had to pick something and it seemed less difficult than math. Or so he imed.

    Not everyone could be ambitious or passionate about their work. Other people poured passion into their hobbies. Still others didn''t have any passion at all. Violet honestly couldn''t even imagine living like that.

    "Are you going back to work after this too?" Jeremy asked.

    "Yes. Our new show is opening in two weeks and we need to be ready for it. I''ll probably get chewed out for leaving when I get back even though I was gone for less than two hours," she said a bit ruefully.

    Violet dreaded it already. The director was extremely strict.

    She was lucky enough to be one of the dancers usually in his favor but he hated when people missed practice. Even if it was for emergencies. She wouldn''t be excused from that even if he liked her.

    "I''m sorry. I know you came for your dad but I feel slightly responsible since you would have made it back sooner if you didn''t have to drop me off as well. Let me make it up to you somehow," Jeremy insisted.

    Make it up to her somehow? That sounded an awful lot like an excuse to take her out on a date. Violet had heard that kind of pickup line before.

    Like Noah said the other day, it had been a while since she had been on a date. It wasn''t like she had anything to lose by epting his offer. Doing this might help her form an actual impression of her father''s assistant.

    "What do you have in mind?" she asked.

    "Dinner, maybe? I don''t know anything about ballerina''s diets," Jeremy admitted.

    Violet nearlyughed. Nobody really did unless they lived with one. Her parents and brothers had long epted her clean eating regimen imposed by the balletpany''s dietician. Noah had too since she saw him nearly as often.

    She ate small, simple meals or merely healthy snacks most of the time. Meat was a raremodity and it always had to be white meat such as chicken or fish.

    "You can buy me a smoothie after work," she offered. "There''s a great smoothie ce I know with really healthy low sugar options."

    "Excellent," Jeremy replied with a smile. "I look forward to getting to know you better."

    Her heart flip-flopped slightly at his words. It had been a long time since a man said something like that to her. She really had been single for too long.

    When they reached Hale Investments he waved her off cheerfully after they exchanged phone numbers and thanked her for the ride. She headed back to the ballet studio in a bit of a daze.

    As predicted, the director hadn''t been happy. Violet had to exin that her father had been injured in a minor car ident and needed a ride home. He couldn''t truly begrudge her that. But he did make her promise to make up the missed practice hours the next day.

    She got lucky he didn''t make her stayte tonight or she would miss her chance to go out with Jeremy. Who knows? He might end up being decentpany once she got a better read on him.

    Once rehearsals were over for the day Violet changed into a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a white tank top with a long buttonless tan cardigan. Jeremy had already seen her messy bun earlier so she left it alone after fiddling with it slightly. At least her makeup was intact.

    They had texted on one of her breaks earlier to confirm the time. She was about to turn on her car and leave when she got a message from Noah.

    ''Want to have dinner at my ce tonight? My mom is making grilled chicken''

    Aunt Jen''s grilled chicken was undeniably good so Violet turned it down a bit regretfully. ''Sorry, I already have dinner ns. That sounds delicious though. Rain check?''

    His next message was immediate. ''With who?''

    ''My dad''s assistant. They got into a car ident earlier and he felt bad I had to miss work to pick them up. He wanted to make it up to me somehow''

    ''Good luck making any sort of conversation with him. My dad says he''s a programmed business bot'' Noah replied with aughing emoji.

    Well, at least he wasn''t upset she wouldn''t be seeing him tonight. That totally sounded like something Uncle Cameron would say too. He should know since he worked just as closely with her dad as Jeremy did. They probably knew each other fairly well.

    All Violet knew about the man was that he was devoted to his job and was very good at it. But there was more to people than their careers. Even workaholics had different sides to them at home. Her dad was the prime example of that.

    ''Guess I''ll have to see. Either way, it''s free food'' she texted back.

    ''And you never turn down free food. We''ll have to get together tomorrow then'' Noah replied.

    Violet frowned. Tomorrow probably wouldn''t work either since she had two hours of rehearsal to make up. She told him as much and he said he would bring her dinner himself if he had to.

    Ah, Noah was such a good friend.

 Chapter 448: Smoothies

    <h4>Chapter 448: Smoothies</h4>

    Violet made it to the smoothie ce at 6:22 PM and Jeremy was already waiting for her. He had taken off his suit coat and tie but he was still overdressed for a smoothie joint. Most of the people in here were wearing sweatshirts.

    He smiled up at her. "Nice to see you again, Violet."

    "You too."

    They got in line and he ordered a standard strawberry banana smoothie with sorbet added. She wasn''t allowed to drink anything like that.

    Her smoothie consisted of blueberries, strawberries, mango, chia seeds, and spinach. No juice because of all the added sugars. She always had to specifically request they make her smoothies with water. It didn''t affect the vor much.

    With their smoothies in hand, they settled down at a table on raised stools. Violet sipped her smoothie happily. It had been quite a while since she had gotten one of these.

    Thest time she came here was over the summer with Noah. They ended up splitting arge because he wanted to try what he called her ballerina food. He said it wasn''t bad but he preferred the smoothies with sorbet in them.

    As expected. Most people didn''t like clean eating. Violet wasn''t the biggest fan herself but she had gotten used to it.

    When she eventually retired she had already promised herself to try a whole bunch of restaurants her dietician wanted her to steer clear of. That wouldn''t be for a while yet though. She was only twenty-five.

    "Tell me about yourself," Jeremy said after finishing a long sip of his smoothie.

    That was so unspecific! With a direction like that Violet didn''t even know where to start. Why couldn''t people simply ask what they wanted to know? She would happily answer.

    She had always loathed small talk like this but it was a necessary evil. Not everyone knew everything about her from being around her entire life like Noah. He was the easiest person to talk to out of everyone she knew.

    "Let''s see¡­I''m twenty-five. I''m a ballerina, but you already know that. You also already know about my family. So I guess all that''s left is that I love to read."

    Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "That''s really all there is to you? I don''t buy that. I suspect you''re actually a very interesting person."

    Did he? Violet wondered how exactly he hade to that conclusion after only meeting her twice. She didn''t think she was all that interesting. Kaleb had used her of being boring more than once over the years.

    "Oh really?"

    He nodded. "I could tell from the moment we met. So¡­what sort of things do you do outside of work?"

    Not much, honestly. She hung out with her parents or Nathan when their schedules matched up. Mostly she spent time with Noah.

    What sort of things did they even do? Usually they went out to eat or yed board games or talked. Definitely boring by other people''s standards but it was what she liked.

    "I''m usually hanging out with my family or my best friend, to be perfectly honest. I spend a fair amount of time with my cats as well," Violet said with a shrug.

    She took another sip of her smoothie, feeling self-conscious. Jeremy''s expectations of an interesting person had totally been dashed. Well, she shouldn''t have expected anything toe of this sort-of date in the first ce.

    "I didn''t know you had cats," he said mildly.

    "Oh yeah, their names are Sassy and Rosie. Sassy is pretty old now; we''ve had her since I was a kid. We got Rosie about three years ago when our other cat died. He and Sassy were from the same litter."

    Jeremyughed. "Sorry, I have a really hard time imagining Aaron owning pets."

    Given the limited interaction Violet had seen between him and her dad it totally made sense. He had told her years ago that Uncle Cameron was shocked he wanted to get Dinah at all. Yet now he was a staunch cat person after owning them for so many years.

    It was a little strange talking to someone who knew her dad so well but in apletely different way than she did. They had been working together for the better part of five years after all.

    "He told me once that he originally got his first cat, Dinah, to impress my mom. He definitely got attached to her though. She died when I was little and he was even more upset than I was," Violet said with a nostalgic smile on her face.

    Talking too much about her dad with his assistant felt like it would be gossipy though so she needed to change the subject. Asking about Jeremy should do the trick.

    "So I''ve told you a little about me. It''s your turn."

    He fiddled with his straw. "There''s not much to tell. I''ve been interested in business since I was a kid in Washington D.C. and ended up going to Yale for my economics degree. I always knew I wanted to work at Hale Investments and here I am."

    That was something Violet could work with. Yale was an Ivy League school just like Columbia. Asking him about college would help keep the conversation flowing.

    They ended up swapping college stories until long after the smoothies were gone. Once the awkwardness was out of the way, Jeremy was an enjoyable person to talk to. All they had to do was findmon ground first.

    No matter what different majors people chose, there were certain universal things about the college experience. The two of them were able to rte to each other because of those even though most of Violet''s sses had involved dance. She had taken enough general education courses to know what Jeremy was talking about.

    This was actually pretty nice. It had been a long time since she had talked to anyone like this aside from Noah. They always had long philosophical discussions about anything and everything but she couldn''t do that with anybody else.

    At the end of the date¡ªthey had talked for nearly three hours¡ªViolet went home with a smile on her face. Branching out wasn''t always a bad thing. It allowed her to talk to people she wouldn''t have been able to hold a decent conversation with otherwise.

 Chapter 449: Get Back Here Already

    <h4>Chapter 449: Get Back Here Already</h4>

    Keeley had been doing monotonous gene sequencing ever since she arrived at work to help Erica with her research and was ready to call it a day. Ordering take out tonight was a definite must. Her brain was too fried to cook.

    Over the years she hade to appreciate being rich since she wasn''t forced to be a part of high society. She could avoid cooking whenever she wanted, was always able to pay for fun events on the weekends, and got to go on great vacations.

    After his parents died, Aaron was shocked to discover he hadn''t been written out of the will. The entire Hale fortune was his. As a billionaire already, he didn''t need it so he asked his rather frugal wife what to do with it.

    She was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of zeroes in front of her but was eventually able to figure it out. Some of it was set aside as a trust for their descendants'' education just like the one her crazy great-great grandfather had set up.

    That only used up a small fraction of the money the Hales had been hoarding for generations. Keeley''s research had barely begun phase III of getting FDA approval at the time but she had the idea that maybe it could be used to provide cheap or free gene therapy for people with cystic fibrosis once it was approved.

    When it got approved this January she did exactly that. Hundreds of people across the country had already used what was known as the Kaleb Hall Fund to get the treatment they needed.

    Aaron thought it was a great idea. Partially because he supported Keeley''s dream of curing cystic fibrosis and partially because he knew his parents would hate the idea of their money helping regr people.

    Ah, she had married such aplicated man. She shook her head at the thought with a slight smile as she turned her phone back on. She had a few missed texts, a missed call, and a voicemail.

    One was from Aaron and it simply said ''I''m fine.'' Did he sent that to the wrong number? She hadn''t asked him anything before that.

    She got her answer a momentter when she checked the voicemail and heard it was a call from the hospital. So he got into an ident but was supposedly fine. What kind of fine though? ''Alive but in the hospital'' fine or ''at home and actually fine'' fine?

    Keeley called him immediately and he picked up on the second ring. "I got stitches in my shoulder but that''s it," her husband said without even saying hello.

    Of course Aaron knew what she was calling about and didn''t want her to worry. His mindreading skills had only gotten better over their many years of marriage.

    "What happened?"

    "Some idiot on a motorcycle broke my window and the ss cut me." An obvious smile was in his voice. "What, no asking if it hurts?"

    "That was going to be my next question and you know it," she retorted. "Are you taking care of yourself properly? You better not have gone back to work."

    Aaron chuckled. "You sound like Violet. She''s the one who picked me up at the hospital."

    "Sorry, my phone was off," Keeley said guiltily.

    That should have been her job. Violet was a busy young woman with her own life. She shouldn''t have to worry about taking care of her parents like that.

    It was bad enough she was twenty-five and saw no reason to move out. But it wasn''t like Keeley was about to kick her daughter out of the only home she had ever known. She knew Violet was a homebody and a creature of habit.

    Since graduating from college she hardly ever got together with anybody other than Noah outside of work. Since she saw her coworkers so much she didn''t like hanging out with them. Once in a blue moon she would meet up with her college buddies if their schedules matched up.

    Sometimes Keeley wondered if the girl would ever change her habits. Would she still be living at home when she was forty and miss out on having a family of her own?

    Noah was obviously hopelessly in love with her but had never done anything about it. At this point it seemed likely that both of them would be living at home and being best friends forever without bothering to get married.

    She marveled at how her daughter hadn''t caught on yet. But it honestly wasn''t too surprising. When it came to emotions, Violet was nearly as dense as her father had been in his first life.

    "Don''t worry about it; I understand. Are you on your way home?" Aaron asked hopefully.

    "Yeah. I was going to order takeout. Anything in particr you want? I''ll let you pick since you''re hurt," Keeley offered.

    "All I really want right now is to hold you. So get back here already," Aaron demanded.

    She rolled her eyes. Of course that was all he wanted. He always imed that simply having her in his arms made him feel better.

    "Alright but I have to hang up to do that. See you at home. Love you!"

    "Love you too."

    Keeley ended the call and made her way home, still worrying about Violet. Based on Aaron''s reaction on the phone he really was fine and didn''t need to be worried about.

    She wished her daughter would meet someone who would shake things up for her a little. Violet had always been a creature of habit and a homebody. If someone could change that for her it would be great for her growth.

    That being said, she would be equally happy if Noah finally got his act together and asked his best friend out. Those two had always been good for each other. There was nothing wrong with a calm and simple rtionship.

    He probably wouldn''t challenge her out of herfort zone much because he doted on her and thought everything she said was right. But there wasn''t anything inherently wrong with that.

    If those two wanted to be predictable andfortable together they were wee to it. As long as they finally moved out of their parents'' houses like a.d.u.l.ts.

    When she made it back to her building the doorman had a stack of mail for her. Most of it was credit card offers but there was also one from the prison. Gray''s correspondence hadn''t stopped over the years just because Aaron visited him once a month. A letter from him was the cherry on top of a very bad day for her poor husband.

 Chapter 450: A Team

    <h4>Chapter 450: A Team</h4>

    "I''m home," Keeley called up the stairs once the elevator doors opened.

    Aaron was lying on the couch in the living room with a nket over him and sat up the moment he saw her. The nket fell off to reveal he wasn''t wearing a shirt.

    "Why aren''t you wearing a shirt?" she fretted as she approached and wrapped the nket back around his shoulder. "It''s cold outside; you''re going to get sick."

    "I can''t lift my arm," he admitted. "It hurts too much."

    Keeley sighed as she hugged his non-injured side. "What am I going to do with you?"

    "Help me put a shirt on?" Aaron suggested hopefully.

    She honestly wasn''t sure how to do that if he couldn''t lift his arm at all. A button-up one might work as long as he didn''t have to do the buttons himself. Those were the kinds of pajamas he liked anyway.

    Keeley hurried upstairs to get him a pair of pajamas and helped him change into them. He was still wearing his work pants and a belt even though he had probably been home for hours.

    As she helped him change she ended up fussing over him and could tell he was enjoying it. This sap. They had been back together for twenty-five years now and he was even more ridiculously in love with her than before.

    Not that she wasining. Being loved by Aaron Hale was a wonderful thing. Their life together was a very happy one.

    "You feel better now?" she teased once he waspletely changed and they were cuddling on the couch with his uninjured arm.

    He sighed contentedly and kissed her temple. "Much better."

    Suddenly Keeley remembered the letter. "Not to ruin your good mood or anything¡­but you have a letter from Gray."

    She pulled it out of her pocket, where she had stuck it after putting the rest of the junk on the table. Aaron took it from her with a grimace.

    He scanned the entire contents of the letter with a progressively darkening look on his face. Uh oh. What did Gray want this time? He only got like this when the man was requesting something from him that he didn''t want to do.

    "What is it?" she dared to ask.

    "He''s getting out next Wednesday and needs me toe pick him up and take him home," Aaron said sourly. "He wants me to get his ce habitable too. Basically I have to do a ridiculous amount of things to help him get his life back because he can''t do it himself from inside the prison. Why hiswyer can''t do it himself¡­"

    Gray''s originalwyer had retired a long time ago and handed his case over to someone else in thew firm. His original sentence had been fifteen years to life. The newwyer hadn''t been able to negotiate any sooner than twenty-five years but Gray would be free and clear once he got out.

    Unfortunately, he wasn''t willing to do more than that. He had a full case load and reasoned that since Gray still had family who visited regrly, they could help him get back on his feet.

    Keeley wished she knew how tofort him. Both of them had known this day woulde eventually¡ªit was too much to hope that the ''life'' part of the sentence would hold up¡ªbut it hade faster than they expected.

    At least all of their children were grown. Obviously they didn''t want their kids to know they were rted to a murderer but if they did find out it would be easier to exin than if they had been younger.

    Neither of them wanted Gray near their kids at all but he was clearly going to want to be involved in Aaron''s life somehow. They thought they had more time to figure that out.

    "I''ll go with you," Keeley volunteered.

    She didn''t like the man much either but she needed to be hospitable. He had gone to prison because of them after all.

    "We can take him to lunch or something and exin that we don''t want him near the kids together. I think he''ll be fine as long as you still agree to have some sort of rtionship with him."

    Aaron leaned his head against the back of the couch in defeat. "You''re probably right. But I really don''t like that man. Prison hasn''t changed him at all; he''s as smooth and insincere as ever."

    He had mentioned his suspicions that Gray was merely biding his time in prison and had something nned before. Keeley knew her husband had a lot more experience with him than she did so she couldn''t write it off as paranoia.

    All she really cared about was that any sinister ns Gray had didn''t involve them. Their lives had been so peaceful while he was out of the way. It was a selfish way to think but she felt it was justified after everything she had been through in both lives.

    Didn''t she deserve to live the remainder of her days out in peace with the people she loved? Hadn''t she been through enough? What more could the universe want from her?

    "I don''t like him either but we''re just going to have to deal with it or everything you''ve done over the past twenty-five years to keep him happy would be in vain," Keeley said bluntly.

    "I know." Aaron scowled before slumping over so his head rested on her shoulder. "At least you''ll be with me. Keep the conversation flowing if I can''t, okay?"

    That was what she was good at. She could do that much for her sweet husband who really hated talking to most people.

    They had been a team for over a quarter of a century. Their twenty-sixth wedding anniversary passed without incident a week ago. They went out to dinner and a Broadway show to celebrate; saving their bted anniversary trip for the beginning of December when things slowed down for Aaron a bit at work.

    Keeley had convinced him to take her on a European cruise that hit multiple countries in the Mediterranean. The shore excursions would involve an awful lot of hiking through ruins and historical sites. She couldn''t wait!

    Their kids had never been interested in vacations like this, preferring to spend time at the beach. The one year they all went to Ennd together they had been dreadfully bored for most of it, with the exception of Violet.

    She could appreciate history. But she alsoined about having bad cell signal so she couldn''t talk to Noah about the cool things she was seeing pretty much the entire time.

    As much as Keeley adored her children and all around family time, there were certain things she preferred to do with only her husband.

 Chapter 451: The True Violet

    <h4>Chapter 451: The True Violet</h4>

    Jeremy thought about his encounters with Violet Hale the following morning at work with an absentminded smile on his face. Seeing that elegant, poised woman he met in the elevator look so frazzled as she rushed into the hospital room in training clothes had been amusing.

    She regained her cold andposed air once they were in the car alone after she dropped her father off despite her casual attire. It was rather intriguing how quickly she could go back and forth. Which side was the true Violet?

    He still didn''t manage to figure it out as they talked over smoothiester in the day. She seemed ufortable, as if she didn''t know what to say, at first. Was she not used to describing herself to others?

    As soon as they started talking about college herposure was back. Though sheughed and smiled asionally it was entirely perfunctory and different from theughter and smile she disyed while talking about her family.

    Though Jeremy had enjoyed talking to Violet, it wasn''t because she was a riveting conversationalist. It was entirely the sort of small talk he had perfected while dealing with acquaintances in college.

    He liked talking to her because he could tell there was much more under the surface. He was willing to bet when she wasfortable around someone that she was rather intelligent and well-spoken. He wanted the two of them to get to that point.

    Violet definitely seemed like a tough nut to crack. She mentioned that her new show opened soon and would run for two weeks, with evening performances Thursday through Sunday and matinees on the weekends.

    If he showed up on opening night that might make an impression, right? He wanted her to open up to him so he could find out what kind of person she actually was. Jeremy had never been so curious about a woman before.

    "What are you so happy about?" Aaron grumbled as he caught his assistant smiling to himself. "Pay attention to your work."

    "I am paying attention. In fact, I just finished the paperwork you gave me," Jeremy replied lightly. "But if you must know, I had a datest night."

    His boss raised an eyebrow. "How old are you now, twenty-seven? It''s about time you got yourself a girlfriend."

    The evaluation, though harsh, was valid. Jeremy hadn''t been on any dates sinceing to New York five years earlier because he hadn''t seen the point. He dated some in college but it was always the women he studied with who asked him out. He didn''t want to offend them and lose a study partner.

    Dates weren''t too much of a bother but a girlfriend definitely would be. Girlfriends required time and attention that would detract from time he could better spend advancing his career.

    Although¡­the right girlfriend who had simr interests and conversational topics might not be too bad. For some reason Violet shed through his mind. She probably wouldn''t be too terrible of a choice.

    "I''ll take it under consideration," Jeremy said. "But if I may return the question¡­what are you so mad about?"

    It was a daring thing to ask but Aaron normally wasn''t in this bad of a mood first thing in the morning. He could get grouchy after dealing with idiots all day but normally he was less icy first thing. Jeremy realized now it was because he had barely left his wife and was still in a good mood from seeing her.

    His boss actuallyughed. "You have guts, kid. Let''s just say I have to deal with someone very annoying that I thought I would never have to deal with again starting next week. I found outst night."

    That only made Jeremy''s curiosity worse but he didn''t dare get more personal than that. If Aaron had wanted to tell him who it was, he would have.

    He trusted his prot¨¦g¨¦pletely when it came to business but hardly ever talked about his personal life aside from asionally bragging about his children. When Kaleb had made it into the majors he mentioned it to everyone in the office at least once over the following week.

    Once he saw the difference between how Aaron acted in front of everyone at work and his daughter, he looked him up on Instagram. It wasn''t a private ount so he could see the pictures.

    Jeremy couldn''t have been more shocked. There were tons of pictures on there¡ªhe posted multiple times a week¡ªdating back decades. Each one was of his family or their cats but he hardly ever put captions on them.

    A quick peek at his wife''s Instagram was quite different. Of course she posted about her family as well but she also posted pictures of friends, coworkers, and objects or ces. Her Instagram looked fairly average but Aaron''s was entirely focused on gushing about the same couple of people.

    Unbelievable. He really was an entirely different person where his family was concerned.

    After his date with Violetst night, he decided to look at hers as well. She posted a lot of artistically posed promotional ballet photos from her work but there were also a lot of food photos and pictures of her cats.

    Most of her pictures didn''t actually have people in them but when they did it was usually on holidays or other special asions. Going further back there were some pictures taken with rotating groups of people from college and high school.

    The most consistent faces that made an appearance on her profile were those of her parents, who Jeremy recognized, and four young men. He couldn''t match faces to names but they had all appeared on Aaron''s Instagram with Violet at various points. But didn''t he only have three sons?

    He was willing to bet the dark haired young man in most of the pictures with Violet on Aaron''s profile was her twin brother, Kaleb. They seemed particrly close.

    There were a lot of candid shots of those two where they seemed to be off in their own little world. Jeremy had heard of cases where twins had a special connection like that before though he had never seen it firsthand.

    Maybe in his quest to figure Violet out he should get friendly with Kaleb Hale. He was stationed in Detroit right now and traveled a lot during baseball season but Aaron had said something about himing for a visit soon the other day.

 Chapter 452: I Can Wait

    <h4>Chapter 452: I Can Wait</h4>

    Noah hadn''t been terribly concerned when Violet told him Jeremy Ward was treating her to dinner. His dad had previously described the guy as ''Aaron 2.0'' because he was even more business-minded and didn''t have any attachments to other humans whatsoever.

    He probably thought of it as nothing more than repaying a debt. People could be weird about not wanting to owe anybody sometimes.

    Since Violet wasn''t going to get out from rehearsals until 8 PM the following day, Noah decided to bring her dinner. A turkey sandwich on wholegrain bread ought to do the trick. As a dancer, she had to eat a whole lot of protein to repair constantly damaged muscles.

    Over the past couple of years he had been to her studio dozens of times to drop things off so he knew his way around. The person up front let him go right back. It was a few minutes to six so all of the other dancers were packing up for the night but Violet was in the middle of a dance sequence.

    She had a joyous smile on her face and pranced around in a rather cheerful manner. At first Noah wondered how she was able to dance with no music before realizing she had a set of wireless earbuds on.

    That was actually really smart. Everyone could practice individual parts if need be without distracted other people.

    Of course he knew that the majority of rehearsals were done as a group to get the entire scene flowing smoothly¡ªViolet had told him¡ªbut he couldn''t deny it was a neat trick. She had probably started practicing her part by herself when everyone else began turning in for the day.

    Noah assumed her song ended when her smile immediately dropped and she began massaging her cheeks. He couldn''t help butugh at how the illusion had been broken so quickly.

    Violet was about to start another dance sequence when he called her name. She looked up, startled, before smiling more naturally at him than she had been while dancing.

    "You actually came! My hero."

    "I told you I would. A turkey sandwich for the smiling Cindere," he said with anotherugh.

    She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, Cindere has too many facial expressions. I have to look tragic when she''s being bullied by the stepsisters and smile constantly during the transformation sequence with the fairy godmother. That''s only in act one! My face can''t take it!"

    Noah sat down next to her against the mirrored wall. "You realize you don''t have to do facial expressions until the dress rehearsals, right? You''re going to kill your cheeks if you do it the whole time."

    Violet pulled a face. "It helps me get into character when I''m trying to memorize a sequence. I don''t do it all the time though."

    She dug into the sandwich gratefully and sighed with contentment. He was d. He knew she didn''t always eat enough during rehearsals. Nuts, her mostmon snack, couldn''t fill you up.

    Honestly he wondered how she could torture herself like this for her craft sometimes. Dancer''s diets were rough. But he also knew that his best friend poured her heart and soul into dancing. She had been the most enthusiastic kid there in her first ever ballet ss and that never changed.

    It was impossible to remember that far back but Noah had seen the video footage that proved it. At Violet''s very first recital the other kids weren''t quite managing to stay in sync with the teacher but she executed everything perfectly with a huge grin on her face.

    She had loved to sing and y the violin too but once they conflicted with her ability to dance she dropped those activities for the most part. She still sang along to the music she listened to in the car and would y a piece on the violin every so often so she wouldn''t forget everything she learned but that was the extent of it. Dance had taken over her life.

    Noah thought it was good for her. She had never been the best at expressing herself in words but she could do it through dance perfectly.

    He had attended her senior showcase in college and the solo piece she choreographed managed to capture every contradictory aspect of her personality. It was beautiful, calm, chaotic, joyful, and fearful all at the same time.

    People in the audience weren''t allowed to film the student showcase because the dance department had recorded it themselves. They wanted to sell the footage to help boost their budget for things like costumes. Noah had bought a copy solely to be able to watch Violet in her truest form again and again.

    "How did your date with your dad''s minion go yesterday anyway?" he found himself asking.

    Noah really didn''t think he had anything to worry about based on what his dad said about Jeremy Ward but Violet had always told him about her dates. It would break their pattern if he didn''t ask.

    She swallowed her bite of sandwich and shrugged. "It was super awkward at first but then we ended up talking about college for a while and that was kind of fun. I haven''t had a conversation like that since I graduated."

    Noah''s heart sunk slightly. She didn''t seem terribly invested in Jeremy¡ªas expected; she wanted romance and he was a machine¡ªbut they could talk about things that he couldn''t. He usually didn''t have a problem with the fact that he didn''t go to college but when Violet talked about it sometimes and he couldn''t rte¡­

    He never felt inferior to her despite her higher education because she treated him like he was her equal. They had deep conversations about countless topics over the years and she always said he was the only person she could talk to like that.

    When he was younger, it made him feel special. At this point Noah realized they had the rtionship she wished she could have with Kaleb. It was likely arge part of why he got brother-zoned.

    "I bet it was nice reminiscing," he said mildly, concealing his true feelings on the matter.

    "It was. People are normally so difficult to talk to but he wasn''t so bad after the first five minutes or so," Violet replied before finishing off her sandwich. "Ah, that was exactly what I needed. Thanks! But now I need to get back to work. You don''t have to stick around if you don''t want to."

    It wasn''t like Noah had anything better to do. If he went home now he would probably end up watching a movie with his parents and he didn''t always appreciate their genre choices.

    Violet had gotten him into horror movies ages ago but his parents preferred spy flicks and the like. The fight scenes in those movies could be so unrealistic. His time would be much better spent hanging around watching her dance until they could y games.

    "I can wait," Noah said casually. "I still need to beat your winning streak in UNO."

    Her smile grew c.o.c.ky. "I would love to see you try. Suit yourself. I''m going to use the loudspeakers in the room now though since everyone else is gone."

    He shrugged. "Have at it. You know I enjoy ballet music."

    Having a ballerina for a best friend and going to so many shows had helped him get a feel for the genre. Noah normally listened to more pumped up songs, like the ones they yed in the gym, but when he wanted to dpress he would listen to ssical ballet pieces. They helped him rx.

 Chapter 453: Stand In

    <h4>Chapter 453: Stand In</h4>

    Violet pranced around as lightly as a fairy for a good forty-five minutes, only stopping to sip from her water bottle, before she put her hands on her h.i.p.s and frowned. Noah looked up at her in confusion when the music stopped.

    "What''s up?"

    "The next part I''m supposed to practice is with the prince but he''s not here. The director was especially giving me a hard time about missing my practice with him yesterday," she sighed.

    Her eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. "Could you be my stand in? You don''t have to do theplicated parts, mostly it''s hand touches and holding me as I spin. Though you would need to lift me a few times¡­"

    "You want me to what?" he coughed.

    "Come on, Noah! You''ve been a stand-in before!"

    Yeah, but that was during a college ballet performance of A Midsummer Night''s Dream where literally all he had to do was hold her hand to escort her across the stage and do a dramatic cape swish at one point as he walked off of it. No actual dancing was involved.

    There hadn''t been enough male dancers and someone needed to y the part of Theseus. The student director had asked Violet, who was dancing the part of Hippolyta, if she knew of any guys who might be willing to be a stand-in.

    Oliver and Nathan tly refused so she had been forced to ask the only other guy she was close with. Their logic was ''I''m not marrying my sister, even in a ballet.'' The marriage happened off-stage anyway¡ªit was only implied¡ªbut they still wouldn''t do it. It was the principle of the thing.

    "I think this is a bit different," Noah said a bit feebly.

    What if he tried to lift her and ended up dropping her? Karate teachers used different muscles than dancers! He was strong but no one was manlier than those male ballerinas. They could lift an entire woman over their heads with one hand while spinning. That was practically inhuman.

    "I only need a rough approximation," Violet pleaded. "It doesn''t need to be perfect. I have a video clip of the choreography on my phone; I can set it on top of something and you can watch it as we go. Please?"

    Noah sighed. He could never say no to her. "Alright, but let me watch it a couple of times first."

    "Thank you! You''re the best, Noah!"

    The first thing the prince did in the video was walk with Cindere over his head. Noah was allowed to use both arms, right? Then he had to do some weird thing with his elbow while Cindere rolled over his back. What kind of nonsense had she been spouting about him not having to really do anything?!

    It did get much simpler after that though, doing the things Violet had described. Okay. He could probably do that part.

    He knew how to ballroom dance, to an extent, and how to dance on rollerskates courtesy of his parents but despite watching a ridiculous amount of ballet he couldn''t dance like that. This would be very interesting. He really hoped she didn''tugh at him too much.

    "Hey, Vi? Can we skip the first little bit? I don''t want to kill you," Noah admitted.

    "Sure," she agreed with augh. "Even the prince nearly dropped me on the elbow roll the a couple of days ago."

    Violet set the music to start and they waited a few seconds to skip that bit before Noah did his best to follow along with what he had watched. It wasn''t so bad at first.

    The lifts weren''tpletely over his head so they were totally doable. All he had to do was a small, slow spin as she kicked out into the air. After that he had to spin her by her waist as she was on pointe.

    It felt totally weird because Noah wasn''t used to touching her in this way. They hugged each other but that was different. Very, very different. How on earth did she get used to random people touching her like this?

    Cindere and the prince ended up touching each other''s faces and necks a lot in this sequence as they spun around and Noah really hoped his face didn''t look as red as it felt. Violet didn''t touch his face. That wasn''t how they worked.

    He was so fl.u.s.tered that when the next overhead lift came where he was supposed to havepletely straight arms, they gave out on him. She fell and he managed to catch her¡ªbent elbows were fine since they weren''t locked anymore¡ªand they stared at each other for a moment before she let out a partially concealed snort.

    "Don''t worry about it, you were doing great. I''ll rewind the music and we can try from the next bit," Violet said cheerfully.

    As she rummaged with the controls, Noah couldn''t believe she was acted like nothing had happened when he felt like he was about to spontaneouslybust. She was just in his arms. Princess style¡ªno, bridal style! And she wasn''t affected at all!

    The next bit involved the prince''s arm being wrapped around Cindere''s waist and partially carrying her across the dance floor. His execution was clunky at best but Violet didn''t seem fazed by it. She carried on as the consummate professional.

    After that came walking towards/away from each other while touching alternating hands before more half-way up lifts happened. Then spins while holding hands and a side-by-side short sequence that Violet said he didn''t have to do. He only had to be ready to take her hand again fifteen secondster.

    More lifts. More spinning her on pointe by having him move her waist. Even more spins and lifts where he had to grasp her upper arms. Noah struggled with those a bit too.

    Geez! What weight training regimens did these male ballet dancers have and where could he sign up?!

    The next part of the dance had another overhead lift but this time he was supposed to spin and catch her in mid-air and then turn while holding her up with one hand around her waist and one hand under her thigh.

    "I can''t do this next part, Vi!"

    "Yes you can," Violet urged. "This is the part I need to practice most!"

    Noah took a deep breath and did the lift. Thankfully Violet managed the spin on the way down by herself. All he had to do was let go and catch.

    This position felt very sensual andpromising to him but she didn''t bat an eye. Of course. This was a daily urrence in her world.

 Chapter 454: Trying To Kill Him

    <h4>Chapter 454: Trying To Kill Him</h4>

    A lot more waist spinning and lifts followed as they moved across the stage. Noah was barely able to follow along with the video at this point.

    Then came the part that really got to him. Cindere and the prince were supposed to fake kiss; in the video their faces got so close their lips almost touched but not quite. And then the prince spun away from underneath Cindere''s nose.

    Violet''s face got close enough to his that their lips actually brushed for a millisecond before he jerked back, unable to perform the spin. She didn''t notice how affected he was and continued dancing around him.

    Thankfully Noah recovered his wits in time to follow along with the next part of the video. More waist spins. Having Violet dr.a.p.e herself across his hands during an overhead lift as he walked across the floor. At least he didn''t drop her that time.

    The whole thing ended with a dip, more waist spins, and the prince wrapping his arms around Cindere''s waist as she dramatically leaned into him on one foot. Noah''s heart was aplete wreck by the time it ended.

    Violet pped her hands together, pleased. "Wow, I can''t believe that was your first time doing those overhead lifts! Most people can''t do that. I can''t tell you how many times I got dropped in high school."

    "I don''t break boards in half for nothing," he joked, trying to cover how much that one dance had affected him.

    In their entire lives together Noah had never touched Violet like that. They nearly kissed! And to her, it was nothing!

    Suddenly he understood why she held romance to such a high standard. She had been surrounded by men from a young age and had been dancing out romantic scenes like that without batting an eyelid. Typical intimate gestures didn''t even faze her because they were a part of her job.

    Violet waspletely immune to touch. What made him a blushing mess didn''t so much as make her heart skip a single beat.

    She had told him she was affected by seeing guys do cute things but she always changed her mind shortly thereafter. No wonder they didn''t measure up once the original cuteness stopped! She wanted her heart to race like in the novels but how was that supposed to happen when she waspletely used to being touched?

    Noah really had his work cut out for him. There had to be something he could do that would make her heart race. Compliments, maybe? But she was used to beingplimented. People had beenplimenting her for her entire life.

    Ah, why was this so difficult?

    "Can we go again?" Violet asked sweetly with pleading dark blue eyes. "I want to do this part at least three times before I move on."

    She was seriously trying to kill him. Noah sighed and put on his best approximation of a smile. "Sure, Vi."

    ===

    Violet was amazed by how good of a sport her best friend had been by the time the prince and Cindere''s sequence was finished. He was no ballerina but he had caught onto the basic gist of what was needed as a stand-in surprisingly quickly.

    Noah had always gotten his katas down about as fast as she memorized dance steps but that was in apletely different type of physical activity. Both required a lot of exertion and artistry though.

    Maybe that was part of why they had always rted to each other so well. Their passions were simr at their core.

    "What do I owe you for today?" Violet asked as she stretched in preparation for her next practice sequence.

    "The year of my life I lost when I dropped you," Noah said with a wheezyugh. "Seriously, that was terrifying."

    She reached out and patted his shoulder. "I''m okay though. Really, what can I do for you?"

    He looked at her seriously. "Come to Coney Ind with me on Saturday."

    "Ooh, it''s been forever since we''ve gone! That doesn''t seem like all that much of a favor though."

    He shrugged. "I want to do something fun to make up for the stress of nearly killing my best friend."

    Violet rolled her eyes at him. What kind of logic was that? But if he wanted to go to Coney Ind she would happily oblige. It was a fun ce to go, especially with all of the thrill rides.

    "Alright, enough with the nearly killing me thing. I''m alive, you''re alive, and we''re going to Coney Ind. I still have about thirty minutes of rehearsal left and then I''m going to kick your butt in UNO!"

    The next half an hour passed quickly. Since Violet was thest one in the building, she figured it would be easier for them to y cards there and then go their separate ways when it was time to go to bed. She could lock up when they were done ying.

    Her c.o.c.kiness hadn''t been off-base. Shepletely destroyed him five rounds in a row.

    "Earth to Noah! Are you even paying attention?" Violet demanded, waving a hand in front of his face.

    "Sorry, I guess I''m a little tired," he apologized.

    She frowned. "You do look a little out of it. Were those lifts too much for you?"

    "Something like that. I better call it a night. You can continue destroying me in UNO tomorrow after work."

    "Sure thing," Violet replied, biting her lip.

    Suddenly she felt guilty for making him help her. It really had been a lot of help though! The practice had been necessary. Tomorrow things with the prince would flow much smoother because of it.

    As they made their way to their individual cars and bid each other goodnight Violet was still worried about him. Noah had seemed pretty out of it during the dance practice too, even before getting tired out from all of those lifts.

    She wondered what his deal was. Something one of the few male dancers in her high school ballet ss suddenly came back to her.

    "I only joined ballet because it would give me the chance to touch pretty girls all the time."

    That guy had been a total creep. No one liked being his partner.

    But Violet had forgotten something fundamental about men and women since bing a ballerina. Most of the men she danced with were gay so touching a pretty girl didn''t affect them at all.

    She was used to being touched from years of practice but Noah might have been a little weirded out from having to touch her waist and having his face touched. It was strange when a random person touched you for the first several times.

    But she wasn''t any random person, right? They were best friends. They hugged, shoulder patted, high-fived, and even held hands sometimes forforting purposes. Why would it be weird for them to do dance touches to each other?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 455: Not Dating Either Of Them

    <h4>Chapter 455: Not Dating Either Of Them</h4>

    On Friday Violet was in the middle of rehearsing her scene with the fairy godmother and all of the mice footmen when she was suddenly grabbed from behind. The only lifts in this scene were supposed to be done by all of the footmen lifting her above their heads together so she swiveled her head around, realizing something was wrong.

    "What the¡ª"

    She was greeted by the beaming face of her twin brother. "What''s up, Vi? Aren''t you happy to see me?"

    "Kal! What are you doing here? I thought you wereing home next week."

    He pulled a dramatic, wounded face andined in a low voice. "I don''t see you since Easter and this is how you greet your favorite brother?"

    Violet rolled her eyes and turned around to hug him properly. "You idiot. I missed you."

    Abigail eyed the two of them curiously from several yards away before approaching her and whispering into her ear. "Violet, is this your boyfriend? I thought you were dating that guy with the dark hair."

    "I''m not dating either of them!" she hissed before speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. "This is my twin brother, Kaleb."

    "Twins? You guys don''t look anything alike," Paul, one of the footman noted.

    They exchanged a nce before simultaneously saying "We get that a lot."

    Kaleb, who towered over his sister at 6''4", slung an arm around her shoulders and grinned. "I look like our mom, she looks like our dad. Funny how that works out, isn''t it?"

    Violet nced at the clock, and realizing there were still five minutes left until six, she apologized to her fellow dancers and asked her brother to wait until they finished their scene. He shrugged and sat to the side, being oddly obedient.

    They managed to finish the dance sequence without any further issues and everyone gathered their things to knock off for the day. Kaleb hadn''t wanted to deal with traffic during rush hour and figured his sister could drive them back home so he took the subway over.

    She didn''t bother changing; simply pulling a pair of sweatpants on over her long-sleeved leotard and tights because he was waiting for her. It was good seeing his face again for the first time in nearly a year.

    Of course, Violet saw it on TV semi-regrly because her family recorded all of his baseball games, but that wasn''t the same. As annoying as he could be sometimes she really missed him when he was gone.

    "So, tell me about what your first season in the majors was like," she instructed when they made it back to her car.

    Kaleb sighed heavily. "Traveling. Lots of traveling. Of the 162 games we yed, half of those were ''away'' games.''

    The Hales had been lucky that the Tigers were ying the Yankees at Yankee Stadium over Easter weekend. Otherwise he wouldn''t have been able to join them for a quick dinner that day. For the most part, he had to stay with his team.

    Easter had been the only time everyone was home this entire year so far. Oliver had driven up from Massachusetts for the weekend.

    "Didn''t leave a lot of time for you to hang out with your girlfriend, now did it?" Violet teased.

    "No, which is probably why she broke up with me," Kaleb said matter-of-factly. "And when there were only two weeks left of the season too. Looks like I''ll be sticking around longer than I thought. All my off-season ns got dashed and I need to make some new ones."

    He didn''t even seem upset about the breakup, which wasn''t terribly surprising. Since high school he had changed the girl he liked more times than she could count. He had probably had more than a dozen short-term girlfriends by this point.

    Kaleb wasn''t a cheater¡ªtheir mother would have killed him¡ªbut he did change his mind quickly and every time he did, he dropped the girl like a hot potato. This most recent girlfriend was one of the few who had dumped him over the years.

    "I''m sorry," Violet saidmely, not knowing what else to say.

    "Nah, don''t be. She was too clingy anyway." A bright smile appeared on his face. "Besides, this means I have more time to hang out with my favorite sister. I know you have the day off tomorrow. What should we do?"

    She frowned. She was supposed to go to Coney Ind with Noah tomorrow. She didn''t really think he would mind having Kaleb along since they were all friends but still¡­Violet told him her ns and he didn''t see the problem.

    "Ah, it''s been a while since I''ve seen good old Noah. I think it was around Christmasst year. What''s he up to, anyway?"

    "I suppose you can ask him yourself tomorrow," Violet said while inwardly sighing.

    Noah might not be happy about this development. Kaleb had been on his bad side pretty much since high school when he started drifting away from his sister because of how hurt she had been.

    They continued chatting and catching each other up on their lives until they made it back to their building. Keeley pounced on her son immediately, fussing over whether he was eating and sleeping well and asking how long he was going to stay.

    Kaleb exined that his girlfriend dumped him so he would probably be here until after Christmas at minimum. That certainly made his mom happy. Aaron was happy to see him too and asked him a whole bunch of questions about how baseball season had gone.

    Violet took that as an opportunity to slip away and change out of her leotard, exchanging it for a tee shirt. She kept the sweats since she was at home and took her hair out of its bun. It was always so freeing letting it down after the end of a long day.

    While she was upstairs she texted Noah to let him know what was going on. ''Hey, Kaleb came home sooner than expected and he really wants to hang out with us tomorrow. Can hee?''

    He replied immediately. ''I''m not going to say no to your twin, Vi. I know how long it''s been since you''ve seen him''

    She nearly wilted with relief. Noah was so understanding. ''Thanks! See you bright and early tomorrow''

    ''See ya''

    Violet rejoined her family downstairs and they ended upughing and talking until Nathan came home around 9:30. He tackle hugged Kaleb in his excitement and the same standard ''what have you been up to'' questions began anew.

    When he mentioned he was going to Coney Ind with Violet and Noah tomorrow, Nathan was immediately jealous. "What?! And you didn''t think to invite me?"

    "It was supposed to be just Noah and me at first. Kaleb invited himself," she said with a shrug, making Kaleb give her an affronted look.

    "And here I thought you loved me and wanted to spend time with me."

    "Of course I do! I''m simply stating a fact."

    "Well if you two are going I''m going too," Nathan said stubbornly. "You can''t exclude me because I''m not your twin."

    Violet sighed. Her brothers'' possessiveness over her never changed. She supposed this was what she got for being the only girl in a family full of boys.

    Once Nathan heard his fill of baseball talk he wanted everybody to y cards since it had been a long time since they had five people to y a specific game that was more fun with more yers. That was how the Hales ended up spending the rest of their night;ughing and giving each other a hard time out ofpetitiveness.

    It reminded Violet of her childhood and she had a smile on her face the entire time. No matter how distant Kaleb could seem sometimes, he was still her brother.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 456: Battle For Her Affection

    <h4>Chapter 456: Battle For Her Affection</h4>

    When Violet met up with Noah the following morning, she was wearing a white sweater, skinny jeans, tan boots, and a sheepish expression. She hadn''t told him Nathan wasing too because she thought it was toote to text him at that point.

    He didn''t seem at all surprised. He knew how the dynamics between her brothers worked when it came to having her time and attention.

    She mouthed the word ''sorry'' at him when her brothers'' backs were turned and he simply shrugged in response. At least he didn''t seem mad. Then again, it took a lot to make Noah angry.

    "I''m going to win you something, Vi!" Nathan dered. "What kind of prize do you want?"

    "Uh¡­" she didn''t know what to say when put on the spot like that. "What about a keychain?"

    It was the first thing she saw after scanning the carnival games. The ring toss was giving out keychains as the lowest level prize.

    "I bet I can win it first," Kaleb bragged with a challenging glint in his eye. "I''m not a professional pitcher for nothing."

    Violet rolled her eyes and stood back with Noah as they went at it. "You''re not going to join them in the battle for my affection?" she teased.

    "Are you kidding me? I suck at those kinds of games," he said with augh. "Besides, nobody beats your brothers when ites to determination. It''ll be more fun to watch than y."

    He had a point. It was rather amusing watching them waste about twenty dors on buckets of rings since neither of them were having any luck. They got progressively louder and more aggressive every time they failed.

    She desperately tried to hide her snickering in the background but shepletely lost it when Kaleb almost managed to nail a ring on a bottle but didn''t and nearly tore his hair out like a cartoon character. He noticed her cracking up and immediately his ire melted away and he smiled fondly at his sister.

    While he was doing that, Nathan managed to actually win the dumb keychain. He cried out triumphantly and waved it in front of her.

    "I did it! Take that, Kal!"

    Violet didn''t want to take sides in this war so she simply thanked him and attached it to her key ring without another word. Kaleb was rather grumpy as they moved on but his mood improved when they made it to the Cyclone.

    Because of the early hour and how cold it was outside, there weren''t many people waiting in line. They were able to snatch the coveted front car of the rollercoaster easily.

    Nathan, as the winner of the keychain, insisted on riding in the very front with his sister. Noah and Kaleb sat right behind them in the same car. The ride rattled their brains terribly but it was still fun.

    Violet thought the ride photo was so hrious¡ªmostly because of Nathan''s face¡ªthat she ended up buying it. A bug flew into his mouth right as the photo was taken and he was clearly seen trying to spit it out. Everyone got a goodugh out of that.

    Kaleb, still feeling inferior from the keychain incident, took a picture of the printed photo and posted it on Instagram. Nathan wasn''t terribly thrilled about that. As a public figure, Kaleb Hale had a lot of followers.

    "You''re the absolute worst, Kal," he grumbled. "If I go viral because of this I''m going to kill you."

    His brother simply grinned in response.

    They continued working their way through rides and carnival games until lunchtime. Violet watched everyone else eat hot dogs with a longing expression. She had packed herself a healthy sandwich so the dietician wouldn''t get on her case. Red meat was definitely against the rules.

    However, she did sneak a bite of Noah''s strawberry shortcake funnel cake. Strawberries were healthy so she felt it was justified. And it was only one bite.

    Kaleb was a professional athlete with dietary restrictions too but he thought it was okay to cheat right now because the off-season had barely started. He said he would go back to eating healthy after Christmas. It would give him a few months to get back in the habit before baseball season started again.

    Violet was jealous. There was no off-season for ballerinas. Shows ran on and off all year long so they were always rehearsing for something.

    As they approached one of the most thrilling rides in the park once their lunch had settled, Kaleb grabbed her wrist and dragged her along. "Come on, I wasn''t able to convince you to ride this with me as a kid but we''re doing it today."

    Violet stared up at the sling shot ride with trepidation. Thrill rides weren''t a problem for her but this particr one was a bit much. It involved being harnessed into a round metal cage and flung upwards 150 feet as the cage spun around.

    The name of the ride came from the fact that the cage was attached to bungee-like cords on each side like a real sling shot. Violet had never wanted to ride it before because she knew she would scream. She never screamed on rides.

    "Do I have to?" she asked.

    "Yes."

    With a sigh, Violet resigned herself to her fate. What Kaleb wanted, Kaleb got. She didn''t see him very often so she may as well try to be a good sister.

    Before they headed into the ride''s waiting area she wished Nathan and Noah a final farewell in case the bungee cords snapped. She was more than a little nervous. This thing didn''t look safe.

    "If I die be sure to me Kaleb in my eulogy," she said tly.

    Nathanughed. "Here lies Violet Hale, whose twin brother was an adrenaline junkie who dragged her down with him."

    Violet red at him and he immediately shut up. Noah reached out and squeezed her hand to reassure her.

    "You aren''t going to die. Make Kaleb ride the carousel or something after this as retribution and take a video of it," he suggested.

    That was actually a brilliant idea. Kaleb hatedme ''girly'' rides like that. He hadn''t been on a carousel willingly since he was about six years old.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 457: Kals Home

    <h4>Chapter 457: Kal''s Home</h4>

    The minute they had to wait to be shot up after being strapped into the sling shot ride was the most terrifying minute of Violet''s life. Kaleb was grinning to himself in excitement but she felt like the world was about to end.

    She had never even properly been in love! She couldn''t die now because of a faulty contraption!

    "If I die without being able to get married because of you, I will haunt you from beyond the grave," Violet said through gritted teeth.

    Her twinughed it off. "What do you need to get married for? You already have a husband waiting anxiously for you to get off the ride in one piece."

    Noah was gripping the guard rail by the exit fairly tightly but Violet couldn''t see that from where she sat. She sighed. Were her brothers ever going to stop with that joke? They better when she actually got a boyfriend or he might get the wrong idea.

    She was about to tell him to quit teasing her when the ride suddenly shot upward. The words died in her throat, reced by a horrified scream that didn''t stop until they were back on solid ground.

    "That was awesome!" Kaleb crowed as they got off. "I''m buying the ride video."

    "You do that," Violet said feebly as she wobbled her way toward the exit.

    Her knees wouldn''t stop shaking. That was the most terrifying thing she had ever done in her life. They gave out on herpletely close to the exit and she pitched forward into Noah''s chest.

    His hands steadied her and a concerned look crossed his face. "You alright, Vi?"

    "Remember how you said dropping me earlier this week took a year off of your life? That ride took one off of mine."

    Noah helped her straighten up and walked her to a nearby bench with an arm around her waist for support. He untwisted the cap from a water bottle in his backpack and handed it to her.

    "Here. Hopefully this helps."

    It did. Noah always knew how to fix things. He was the most reliable person Violet knew, unlike her crazy twin who nearly killed her just now.

    Kaleb appeared genuinely apologetic when he saw what a bad state she was in. He hadn''t realized it would affect her so negatively; he only wanted to make her have a little fun. She had always been so uptight in his eyes.

    "I''ll let you pick the next ride," he said by way of apology.

    A mischievous grin appeared on her face, bringing a bit of color back to her cheeks. "I have the perfect one in mind."

    As they approached the carousel Kaleb groaned but he had made his bed and needed to lie in it. Violet wanted him to ride a pink unicorn right next to her purple one and instructed Nathan, who chose to sit on one of the non-moving seats, to film them.

    He was more than happy to do so. Payback for the Cyclone picture was sweet. He ended up posting the video to his Instagram and tagging his brother for all the world to see.

    Kaleb''s expression was one of great boredom and disgust. Violet couldn''t stopughing the entire ride.

    They were all getting pretty tired from walking back and forth between the various parks and attractions in Coney Ind so they decided to hit three more rides before calling it a day. Thest one they went on was the ferris wheel to round things off in a more rxing way.

    "Everybody huddle up," Violet instructed. "I want a picture of all four of us."

    Everybody moved quickly to one bench, making the carriage lurch a bit. She was in between Kaleb and Noah. Nathan sat down on the ground in front of her so they could all fit.

    She grinned for all she was worth. Today had been pretty great, putting the sling shot incident aside. The only thing that would have made it better was if Oliver had been there too.

    The picture turned out nicely. Everybody''s smiles matched their personalities pretty well. Kaleb''s was mischievous and he was winking. Nathan smiled so big that both of his eyes were closed. Noah''s was happy and rxed.

    Out of all the pictures Violet took today, she decided to post that one online with the caption ''Kal''s home'' and a heart emoji.

    ===

    Jeremy was going through some paperwork Aaron needed done before the end of the day Monday when his phone dinged with a notification from Instagram. He had followed vi.loves.dance after originally discovering her page.

    It looked like Violet had a new post for the first time since herst show started. The second most recent picture was of her striking a pose on pointe dressed up like a butterfly.

    The new one was a picture of her squished in between three of the men who showed up in her photos most frequently with the caption ''Kal''s home'' and a heart on the end. So her professional baseball yer brother finally made his way back to New York.

    He really couldn''t tell which one was Kaleb Hale though. The photo was tagged but the tags were all squished into a corner rather than on top of the individuals in the picture. The handles that were tagged included natethegreat, kal_can_pitch , and karatekid4lyfe.

    If Jeremy had to guess¡­he would still say the dark-haired man on Violet''s right was Kaleb, which would make one of the other two her brother Nathan due to the tags. All four of them seemed quite close andfortable with each other. Would that make the remaining one their brother Oliver?

    He knew that Oliver Hale was studying mechanical engineering and wanted to work at NASA but didn''t know anything else. Like where he went to school.

    Maybe the next time Jeremy saw Violet he should ask. She seemed the type who was morefortable talking about her family than most subjects.

    The bright smile she disyed in the photo was so full of joy that he was nearly blinded by it. Having more information about her brothers would definitely help solve the mystery that was Violet Hale.

    That smile always did funny things to his heart. He hoped he could see it again in person soon.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 458: Growing Older With Aaron

    <h4>Chapter 458: Growing Older With Aaron</h4>

    Despite having Kaleb home to visit, Aaron''s mood remained overall sour until Wednesday when he had to pick up his psychopathic brother from prison. Keeley had taken the day off toe with him as promised.

    "We don''t have to do much," she told him. "We pick him up, take him to drop his things off at his apartment, and buy him lunch. That''s it."

    "I know but it''s still annoying," Aaron grumbled. "If I had to take a day off I would rather be ying video games with Kaleb."

    Keeley patted his hand. "You can do that afterwards. It isn''t like lunch is going to take the entire day. We''ll be here a few hours at most."

    He sighed, unable to argue with his wife''s logic. It was better to get this over with. He needed to be civil for just a little while and then he could get back to his life.

    Gray was waiting for them behind the guarded gate in front of the prison wearing the same outfit he had been arrested in all those years ago. One of the guards opened it for him and told him not to do anything that would result in himing back here. He shot the guard a charming smile and nodded before making his way to his family members.

    "Keeley! What a pleasure it is to see you again. Time hasn''t diminished your beauty," heplimented.

    She nearly snorted at the suaveness he hadn''t lost after all these years but managed to hold it back. "Thanks, Gray. You look pretty good too."

    He really did. His hair had gone gray so now it had a salt-and-pepper look to it but aside from that he had hardly aged at all. You would think a man who spent twenty-five years in prison would have more deeply set wrinkles.

    Gray had a mature, distinguished look to him. He reminded Keeley of some actor that much younger women still swooned over when she was a kid.

    Aaron looked a lot better though in her opinion. He had aged like fine wine. His hair was still mostly chocte brown with random sprinklings of gray and in her eyes he was as handsome as ever.

    In their first lives she hadn''t been able to grow older with him. It had been a novel experience doing so this time.

    Keeley hadn''t changed all that much either. The gray hairs she did have blended in with the rest of the blonde ones and she had more pronouncedugh lines around her mouth and eyes but that was about it.

    That was something she loved about growing older with Aaron. He had those sameugh lines because he was genuinely happy. She was willing to bet he hadn''t had them at that age in his first life because he had been so miserable once she was gone.

    "Good to see you," Aaron managed to get out as he held his hand out for his half-brother to shake.

    "You too, baby brother. So. Where are we going?" Gray asked smoothly.

    "We''re going to take you to your apartment first and then go out to eat," Keeley pitched in helpfully. "Is there anywhere in particr you would like to go?"

    He thought about it a moment. Prison food really hadn''t been all that great. The options were very limited.

    "I could go for some sushi," Gray admitted.

    "No problem!" she replied cheerfully.

    The walk to the car was pretty awkward. Keeley had no idea what to say to this man she hadn''t seen in a quarter of a century and Aaron had never exactly been the talkative type around people he didn''t like. It was up to her to keep the conversation flowing.

    "Aaron told me your research got approved by the FDA. Congrattions," Gray said once they were on the road.

    "Thanks! It was a long timeing. I had to take breaks a few years at a time when all the kids were born and all. Plus treatments of this magnitude take longer times to test than traditional medications. A lot longer. But hundreds of people have essentially been cured now.

    "If there are any problems in the future all they have to do ise back and go through the treatments again. I wish my little brother could have lived long enough to see this daye. I did it all for him, after all."

    Keeley was babbling but since Aaron was driving the car inplete silence she felt like she had to. She knew Gray didn''t want to talk to her; he wanted to talk to his brother. Sending ''say something!'' thought projections at her husband weren''t working.

    "How fascinating. I''m sure there''s a lot of technical parts of the process I wouldn''t understand but could you simplify it for me?" Gray asked out of politeness.

    She was grateful he threw her a bone. She could go on about gene therapy all day. It managed to help them get to his old apartment building anyway.

    Once they were there and Gray was speaking with the doorman, she yanked her husband towards her and hissed in his ear. "I said I would help you but I can''t do all the talking! Say something!"

    "But I already used up all of my conversational ability with him for the month when I saw him a few weeks ago," Aaron shot back.

    They immediately straightened and acted as if nothing was wrong when Gray turned around. He only had a small trash bag filled with the belongings that had been returned to him once he left the prison, such as his wallet and keys.

    Aaron, as his only rtive, had to hire someone to deep clean the ce before he got out. It had been sittingpletely empty for more than two decades and a bunch of food had expired. The entire fridge had to be hauled away because of all of the nastiness inside of it.

    Why Gray hadn''t asked for that to be taken care of when he first got arrested, he would never know. Maybe it slipped his mind.

    There were insect and dust problems too. The blinds and carpets had to be entirely reced, as did most of the furniture. Gray said he would pay Aaron back but he told him to forget about it. He did owe him for killing Lacy after all.

    Basically the entire penthouse had been redone to make it habitable for human beings again. Aaron tried to keep the color schemes and furniture as simr as possible.

    A lot of the clothes had deteriorated over time as well but that was where Aaron drew the line. He didn''t even like clothes shopping for himself.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 459: Catching Up

    <h4>Chapter 459: Catching Up</h4>

    "I like what you did with the ce," Gray said mildly. "You stayed true to the integrity of the original."

    "Thanks," Aaron replied gruffly.

    He didn''t do this looking for thanks. He only cared about maintaining his brotherly image so whatever the man had been nning in prison wouldn''te back to bite himter on.

    Keeley knew what her husband was thinking because of how much he hadined while hiring people to take care of the disaster of an apartment for him. She figured it would be best to get this lunch over and done with as soon as possible.

    Kaleb was still hanging out at home and was curious why they both took the day off. They brushed him off by saying there was an errand they had to run together that could only be done during the week. He bought it easily enough and returned to watching football in his pajamas,pletely unbothered.

    "Shall we go get sushi now?" Keeley asked sweetly.

    "An excellent idea," Gray replied as he strode back toward the elevator.

    He had needed to talk to the doorman downstairs because they had changed their elevator in the time he was gone and his key was no longer valid. After showing his ID as proof that he owned the penthouse the doorman gave him the new one.

    They made their way to a popr sushi ce that opened up a few years ago and told Gray he could order whatever he wanted. He hadn''t had sushi since before he went to prison and Japanese food used to be his favorite.

    As they waited for the food to arrive, the topic inevitably turned to their children. Keeley inwardly sighed. This would be a tricky topic to navigate. Keeping the details simple would be best. At least Aaron knew that already, since he took this one.

    "Kaleb is the pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. He''s enjoying the beginning of the off-season by rxing. Violet is a part of the New York City Ballet. Her new show opens next week and she''ll be dancing the main role. Oliver is studying mechanical engineering at your old alma mater. He wants to work for NASA. And Nathan is in culinary school."

    He had avoided talking about his children for the most part over the years because he felt ufortable sharing too much information. He would say things involving everyone, such as when they all went on vacation, but avoided giving personal details.

    But that was unavoidable now. All he needed to do was get the words out. Aaron took a deep breath before speaking again.

    "Gray¡­I truly mean no offense but I hope you won''t tell my kids you''re their uncle. I don''t want them knowing they''re rted to a murderer."

    Gray actuallyughed. That wasn''t the reaction Aaron or Keeley had been expecting.

    "You think too lowly of me, baby brother! I guessed as much before I even got arrested. I''m truly not offended. I struggled knowing I was rted to a murderer for most of my childhood; I wouldn''t upset the equilibrium of their delicate little worlds."

    He waved his hand dismissively. "I''ve already thought of a solution. I was nning on going back to my original name anyway. Nobody knows who Michael Gray is; all of the publicity surrounding the murder was with my alias. Since I look much older nobody will make the connection."

    The Hales exchanged a nce. They hadn''t seen thising. He actually wanted to be involved in their children''s lives now? He hadn''t been terribly interested in the twins as babies.

    Exactly how much did he want to be involved anyway? The kids already knew who all of their parents'' friends were. It would be suspicious if they suddenly introduced somebody new who starteding to family events.

    "Why not take things slow," Keeley suggested. "You could go see Violet''s new show when ites out. She always has visitors opening night so she would probably appreciate someoneing to one of the matinees."

    The dancers always came out to do meet and greets with the fans after the show was over. She would be safe since there would be so many witnesses. Meeting in public seemed like the best option right now.

    "Excellent suggestion, Keeley," Gray said in his usual debonair voice. "I might go ahead and do that."

    She was relieved. At least he wasn''t being too pushy abouting over to their house. Then again, he had only visited a handful of times before he went to prison. It wasn''t like they were terribly close anyway.

    He may want to maintain a connection with the only family he had but he wasn''t a family oriented person. Back then Gray hadn''t wanted to be involved in the minutiae of daily life because he didn''t know a thing about babies.

    It might be different though now that the kids were grown. Keeley really hoped not. She wished he would keep his distance as much as possible.

    "So, what are your ns now?" she asked, changing the subject.

    "Catching up on everything I missed, first and foremost. Movies¡­music¡­technology. I imagine it''s changed quite a bit," Gray replied casually.

    That much was true. Smartphones now had the ability to disy holograms and hands-off tech that connected to them was much moremon. The phone merely had to be in the vicinity to make them work.

    Virtual reality games were also the mostmon video games these days. The Hale boys had gotten really into them because all you needed was a headset. No controllers were required.

    For someone who used to be at the cutting edge of technology, it would probably be a rough transition for Gray as he found out everything he missed. Keeley actually felt a little sorry for him.

    "That''s a good idea," she saidmely.

    She was spared from having to say anything else because the food arrived. Well, this little lunch could have gone a lot worse. Aaron was obviously not enjoying it but she couldn''t tell what he was actually thinking. She would have to ask him when they were alone.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 460: I Hope He Knows His Place

    <h4>Chapter 460: I Hope He Knows His ce</h4>

    Gray thanked them for the meal after they dropped him off and they agreed they should meet up again ''soon.'' Keeley''s exhaustion shot through the roof the moment he was gone.

    "Ugh," Aaron groaned, voicing her thoughts exactly. Ugh indeed.

    "I don''t think he expects to be a part of our holiday celebrations so I think you''re safe on that front," she informed him.

    "He better not. I don''t even like the idea of him meeting our kids at all. But the idea of having him go to one of Violet''s shows was clever; he won''t be able to get her alone there."

    Keeley smiled briefly at the praise before s.u.mbing to her weariness and leaning her head against the back of the seat. She really hoped they wouldn''t have to see Gray terribly often. And that it could usually be without any of the kids present.

    Violet and Nathan were fairly busy these days but what about Kaleb? He barely got dumped; he wasn''t in the mood to go out and socialize, no matter how much he yed the break up off.

    Keeley knew her son. He wouldn''t have been moping around in his pajamas all day every day and begging his siblings to hang out with him ever since he got back if he wasn''t upset.

    He had always been a very social person. If he was in a good mood, he would be out taking part in New York''s nightlife every night. Poor kid must have really liked this girl.

    "It should be fine. Besides, there''s a decent chance someone else will go see her at the same performance. You know most of our friends go to a few of her shows a year," Keeley reasoned.

    "You have a point," Aaron sighed. "But I hope he knows his ce and doesn''t get act too forwardly."

    She reached out and patted his thigh tofort him. It really should be fine. Gray wouldn''t risk doing anything that would make Aaron hate him; she was certain of that.

    When they got home, Kaleb was still watching TV and they offered to y a VR game with him. He immediately brightened and went to get out his headset. Spending time with their oldest son should perk both of them up. It was so nice having him home.

    ===

    Noah was more than a little annoyed that he hadn''t seen Violet alone once since Kaleb got back into town. First he crashed what Noah was going to use as a date to try and get her to see him in a different light. Then Kaleb prevented her from going out to eat with him unless he came along.

    Their casual talks and game ying were invaded by Kaleb as well. What was he even doing? Normally when he came home to visit he was off doing his own thing with the exception of a few family dinners to appease his mother.

    Noah was ready to lose his mind by the time the opening night of Cindere rolled around. At least he knew Kaleb wouldn''te to this. He hated ballet so if he dide to support his sister, it was always to one of theter showings after much internal debate.

    Her parents usually came toter shows as well because they reasoned less people came out to support the ballerinas at that point. Opening night and closing night were always the crowded ones.

    But Noah liked being there at the beginning and the end. Violet always seemed happiest during the first andst shows.

    As he sat in the audience and the lights began to dim, he did his best to focus on his best friend''s performance. He appreciated the artistry behind her dancing, as always, but this time he had to restrain himself fromughing when he noticed some of her facial expressions.

    They reminded him of the conversation they had the night he crashed her rehearsal. She had looked so cute the way she massaged her face in irritation after smiling too much. Normally she was much moreposed than that.

    ''Cute'' wasn''t a word that most people would use to describe Violet Hale. Typically people thought she was elegant, intelligent, beautiful, or aloof. She only showed her cute side around her family, and by extension, him.

    Noah considered himself lucky to be able to enjoy Violet in her full glory. She let him see what other people didn''t get to. Even her family probably didn''t know her or understand her as well as he did; she had told him as much.

    Violet did really well as Cindere. She took her craft seriously, even if she did have to put on a sad or happy mask while dancing.

    Noah found himself turning bright red during the scene dancing alone with the prince, remembering his brief tenure as a stand-in. Especially when she and the prince performed the almost kiss that had kept him up at night for a solid week.

    Since Violet had dated before and he hadn''t, Noah already knew she had kissed a few people. But that tiny lip brush during her dance practice had been his first.

    It wasn''t like he hadn''t tried getting over her but it never worked. When he was younger he fully expected they would get married someday because his parents talked about how they were each other''s best friends. Little Noah figured marrying your best friend was the standard thing to do.

    The older he got, he realized that the love of his life treated him like one of her brothers. He had been devastated at first.

    Once she started getting boyfriends, Noah realized that most men didn''t trust a woman with a male best friend. He came to the conclusion that if she ever married someone else, he would need a girlfriend of his own to appear nonthreatening and be able to stay a part of her life.

    But that was a horrible thought. He didn''t want to be with anyone else! He couldn''t even see other girls. Their faces passed in and out of his head without leaving any meaning behind.

    Trying to get a different girlfriend was pointless. Noah came to that conclusion a couple months after Violet broke up with herst boyfriend a few years ago.

    She was his one and only. No one else would ever get him the way she did. All he had to do was make her see that they were meant for each other romantically, not merely as best friends.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 461: It Means A Lot To Me

    <h4>Chapter 461: It Means A Lot To Me</h4>

    At the end of the performance, Noah cheered loudly and gave Violet and her colleagues a standing ovation. He yelled her name as she and the prince came forward to take their bows and for a split second she met his eyes and beamed at him.

    As soon as she joined the New York City Ballet officially, Noah bought a season ticket in one of the VIP seats up close to the stage so he had the best view in the house. He wanted to be able to see her facial expressions as she danced.

    It was a worthwhile investment solely for the end of each show when she looked out into the audience, saw him cheering her on, and the corners of her eyes crinkled with genuine delight. She only did that when she was at her happiest.

    A few minutester Noah met her out in the lobby as she was graciously epting people''spliments. He handed her the bouquet of colorful gerber daisies and smiled.

    "You killed it out there, Vi. How did they manage to change your costume so quickly during the transformation scene?"

    Violetughed. "A lot of practice, let me tell you. I''m always worried I''m going to somehow miss my cue. I''ve seen it happen to other people before."

    Herughter died down and a serious expression crossed her face. She hugged him tightly and he savored every second of it.

    "Thanks foring, Noah. You never miss an opening night and it means a lot to me."

    "Consider it part of my job description as your best friend. I''m d it makes you so happy though. You''re always the prettiest when you smile," Noah said softly.

    She pulled back and gave him a puzzled look before getting distracted by someone else calling her name. A tall blonde man was approaching her with arge bouquet of red roses. Violet had told Noah about flowernguage a long time ago¡ªred roses meant romance.

    He had made the mistake of bringing her red roses to one of her high school recitals and she shook her head at him andughed. "You don''t give red roses to your best friend, dummy. Yellow roses stand for friendship. But thank you. They''re beautiful."

    Noah hadn''t given her red roses since. He tried to shake things up since he brought her flowers about twice a month, hence the gerber daisies.

    So who was this guy who thought he could get away with giving her red roses? Violet would surely set him straight.

    He was surprised by how wrong he was. She smiled at him serenely¡ªit wasn''t her dazzling, joyful smile but it wasn''t her detached and polite one either. It was somewhere in between.

    "Jeremy! I didn''t know you wereing to my show."

    Jeremy? As in ''business robot who never did anything on the weekends but work ording to his dad'' Jeremy? Hadn''t they literally met three times? What made him think he could show up with red roses?

    Noah was panicking where he stood. Neither of them seemed to notice.

    "I knew you were a ballerina and was curious. You danced beautifully," Jeremy said as he held out the flowers to her. "Here. I didn''t know someone else would be giving you flowers tonight and thought the star of the show deserved some."

    He turned toward Noah, finally acknowledging his presence. "I''m Jeremy Ward. You''re Kaleb Hale, right?"

    No words were able to make it out of his throat. How did this guye to the conclusion that he was Kaleb? Wouldn''t the first guess seeing a beautiful woman receiving flowers from another man be about a boyfriend, not a brother?

    "Kaleb almost neveres to my shows," Violet said with a shake of her head. "This is Noah Singleton, my best friend and most avid fan. He always brings me flowers on opening and closing nights."

    Jeremy appraised him in an entirely different way once he found out his name. "Noah¡­Singleton? Your father wouldn''t happen to be Cameron Singleton, would he?"

    "Yes," Noah said almost defiantly.

    He wouldn''t stand for being looked down on by this guy who didn''t know how to do anything but suck up to Uncle Aaron. What was his interest in Violet, anyway? Was he trying to date the boss''s daughter to solidify his position? Because that was low.

    His dad didn''t like Jeremy much. Cameron would readily admit the man was brilliant but he treated people based on what he thought they could do for him. In that way he was even worse than Aaron supposedly was before Keeley came along.

    He also felt like Jeremy was trying to steal his position as vice president. Cameron didn''t want thepany; he did was Aaron told him to workwise out of habit. His friend had never steered him wrong before. He only became VP because Aaron needed someone to take his ce when he became the CEO and asked him first.

    But he believed the younger man thought he was trying to steal thepany away even though Aaron clearly said he was training Jeremy to be his sessor. His dad figured if he and Aaron didn''t retire at the same time that the first thing brand new CEO Jeremy Ward would do was rece him, even after all his years of dedicated service to thepany.

    Noah already wouldn''t have liked him for that. Trying to make a move on Violet crossed his bottom line.

    "Interesting. And here I thought the two of you were siblings because of all the pictures Aaron has posted of the two of you together," Jeremy said with narrowed eyes.

    "We''re as good as," Violet replied. "Since our parents are best friends we grew up together."

    Noah tried to ignore how much her statement weighed on his heart. He wasn''t her brother, okay?! They weren''t rted at all! Why couldn''t she get that through her thick skull and see him as a man?

    Jeremy rxed fractionally. "I see. I work with your father on a regr basis. Come to think of it¡­you actually look a lot like him."

    "Yeah, I know. I get that a lot," Noah said evenly.

    Could this guy leave already? He hadn''t been done talking to Violet about her performance yet.

    Other people hade to opening night before; usually it was one of the Quinns or rks. But because they all knew each other well it felt natural to include them in the conversation. Right now Noah felt like he was being examined under a microscope.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 462: Cameron Singletons Son

    <h4>Chapter 462: Cameron Singleton''s Son</h4>

    Jeremy had never particrly been a fan of the arts but he couldn''t deny being curious about seeing Violet in her element. It was why he bothered to go to the opening performance of her new show.

    He couldn''t deny she was extremely talented in her craft. The natural grace and elegance she disyed in her daily life was apparent in her movements.

    What truly intrigued him was how much her character changed throughout the story. Sometimes Cindere danced slowly and sadly, other times she leaped around cheerfully, and still others she was obviously in love with the prince. Violet somehow managed to capture each emotion perfectly as she danced.

    He suddenly understood what Aaron had said about her dancing. Aside from having the same natural grace, the ballerina on stage almost didn''t seem like Violet at all. She had a lot more expression on her face as she danced.

    At the end of the performance he pped loudly. Jeremy had been riveted not by the story but by the ever deepening mystery of Violet Hale.

    During the meet and greet with the dancers afterward he saw her from across the room talking to that man who appeared with her all over Instagram. He knew her twin was home so it was natural for him to assume that was who it was.

    Finding out the man he assumed was Violet''s brother was actually Cameron Singleton''s son had been a bit of a shock. Well, he knew Cameron was close to Aaron and had been since they were both at Harvard. It made an odd kind of sense that their children would be close as well.

    Jeremy still had a hard time believing Aaron actually hung out with people from the office outside of work, even after seeing Cameron and Aiden sshed across Keeley Hale''s Instagram.

    He hadn''t thought Aaron was the type to have actual friends. He saw those two at work; wasn''t that enough interaction for him? Especially since they seemed to annoy him so frequently.

    What was even more interesting was that this guy Noah seemed to resent Jeremy''s presence right off the bat. Had Cameron said something? Jeremy had disliked the man ever since they met and the feeling seemed to be mutual, though Aaron was too emotionally dense to pick up on it.

    He didn''t take his work seriously. Jeremy had no idea how such a person ended up keeping the position of vice president at such a prestigious institution for so long.

    Cameron had no ambition and yet, heaven forbid, if something happened to Aaron right now he would end up in charge simply because of his job title. Aaron had promised thepany to Jeremy after he had more training as a part of upper management¡ªhe had it in writing¡ªand he wouldn''t let anyone take that from him.

    Bing the CEO of Hale Investments¡­carrying on Aaron''s legacy for him¡­it was more than Jeremy ever could have dreamed of when he was younger. Even after being thoroughly exposed to his mentor''s habits and odd, changeable personality, Aaron was still his idol.

    He didn''t understand how such a cold, proud, intelligent man was close friends with people like Cameron Singleton and Aiden Quinn. Aiden was undoubtedly aputer genius but his personality! He supposed his usefulness was why Aaron kept him around but Cameron made no sense.

    And yet Violet, clearly the apple of Aaron''s eye, had been close to Cameron''s son her entire life. Meaning Aaron and Cameron were even more closely tied than Jeremy originally thought.

    She described Noah as her ''best friend and most avid fan.'' On the day they first met, Aaron mentioned her favorite person would be back in town so she probably wouldn''t be home untilte. And on their smoothie date she had mentioned how she spent most of her time with her family or best friend.

    All this time Jeremy assumed her best friend would be a girl. Didn''t most women have female best friends? Yet her social circle seemed to be entirely limited to her family and the man in front of him.

    Violet imed he was as good as one of her brothers. Yet none of her brothers had shown up at her show tonight. Noah clearly cared more than a brother would.

    There was only one reason a man would show up with flowers to a woman''s performance. Noah Singleton was interested in her too. Jeremy almost felt sorry for him, being dismissed as a sibling right in front of a romantic rival.

    Based on all of those pictures he had seen, they truly had been raised like siblings. Noah was in pictures with Violet and the other Hale siblings dating back decades. If Violet didn''t see him as anything other than a brother now, she never would.

    Jeremy rxed. This man wasn''t a threat to his interest in the only woman who ever managed to intrigue him. He decided the best course of action was to ignore him.

    "Violet, I would love to talk to you more about your performance tonight. Can I take you to lunch tomorrow?"

    A small smile appeared on her face. "It will have to be more like a brunch. I have rehearsals starting at one."

    "Not a problem," he agreed easily.

    Noah''s face practically turned green with envy. It took everything within Jeremy not tough. This was too fun!

    "Great! Text me in the morning and we''ll figure out a time and ce," she replied before waving him off and thanking him foring.

    She immediately turned back to her friend and talked to him as if he hadn''t just had his hopes dashed right in front of his eyes. Noah was clearly trying to hold it together for Violet''s sake.

    These two were quite entertaining. Jeremy was interested in Violet but he might be even more interested in seeing how this soap opera yed out. Plus he had to admit, snatching something a Singleton cared about right from under them was appealing.

    He had already been considering Violet Hale as girlfriend material. She was beautiful, intelligent, and had a dazzling smile.

    Getting closer to Aaron and his seemingly perfect family as a result would only be a bonus. Jeremy had always wished he had a family like the Hales. Violet was the only woman he had ever truly found interesting but the bonuses from getting close to her were too much to ignore.

    There was nothing wrong with taking advantage of a win-win situation. He had always excelled at finding those.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 463: Practical

    <h4>Chapter 463: Practical</h4>

    Violet had received a lot of flowers in her life but never from anyone outside of her family or close family friends. Jeremy had certainly surprised her.

    Maybe she was reading too much into it, but he brought her red roses. Red roses symbolized passion, romance, and love. Surely someone as well-educated as him would be aware of that.

    That on top of the fact that he asked her out a second time¡­did he like her? It had been a long time since a man had shown interest in her that way. She couldn''t deny her heart raced when Jeremy held out the roses to her.

    But could Violet really find her long awaited romance in her father''s assistant? She supposed getting trapped in an elevator together could be considered one of those clich¨¦ fateful encounters.

    Hadn''t there been an old, cheesy Christmas movie rerun she saw once where that exact thing happened? Except in that movie there had been mistletoe in the elevator and the male and female leads ended up kissing.

    She was getting ahead of herself. One date at a time. Putting too many expectations on the early part of a rtionship always ended badly for her. Nobody measured up when she did that.

    Violet hadn''t felt an instant connection with Jeremy the way that Noah''s parents had with each other. He had actually been quite forgettable at first. But that wasn''t the only way to fall in love. Her own parents had taken years to get there; at least her mom had.

    The way her mom told the story, her dad was actually a lot like the male lead in a romance novel she read in high school called Only You. But most of the books she read focused on chance meetings and cosmic connections the moment people''s eyes met.

    As much as Violet wanted a cute, romantic meeting story like the Singletons'' she supposed what really mattered was that she ended up with someone who made her happy and understood her.

    Her parents'' goofy, lovesick rtionship had made her want something simr. It was obvious to anyone who saw them how much they adored each other.

    Only recently had she realized how much of an effect her mom had on her dad. He waspletely different around her (and by extension, their children) than he was around anyone else. Nobody knew how to love deeper and more fully than Aaron Hale, except maybe his wife.

    Their love was the kind people cooed about during chick flicks. Was it so much to want the same thing for herself after growing up around the pinnacle of romance?

    Violet was still thinking about all of this as she went to meet up with Jeremy for their brunch date. She needed to stop it so she could focus on living in the moment.

    They went to a ce that had two halves of a menu: the healthy half and the non healthy half. Jeremy ordered an egg and sausage sandwich stuffed inside a croissant while Violet got the healthy equivalent; a sunny side up egg made inside the hole of a whole grain slice of toast.

    "I wanted to ask you more about your performancest night but your friend was there so I couldn''t," he said casually.

    "Sorry about that. Noah can be a bit overprotective. All of the men in my life are like that," she replied before taking a bite of her toast.

    Jeremyughed. "I can only imagine, between three brothers and your dad."

    "Sometimes it feels like they''repeting for my attention," Violet admitted, before smiling nostalgically as she remembered the keychain incident the other day.

    She ended up telling him the story and that spiraled into a bunch of other stories involving her brothers. The three of them had always been like that. Noah was overprotective but he had never gotten involved in that pointlesspetition when he was around her family.

    As she talked, she felt herself rxing. Jeremy was a good listener and he seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say. Every so often he would pitch in asionalments or side stories from his own childhood but for the most part he let her talk.

    She apologized for monopolizing the conversation, feeling suddenly embarrassed, but he smiled and shook his head.

    "No need for that. Your childhood seems a lot more interesting than mine. Probably because I was an only child. I ran around with the neighborhood kids a lot but it''s not quite the same as having siblings."

    Violet couldn''t even imagine how different things would have been without her siblings. There was never a time she was an only child since Kaleb was born a few minutes before her.

    Were all only children alike? ording to Noah, Jeremy was supposedly a carbon copy of her dad at work and Aaron was an only child as well. Her mother wasn''t but she had lived as one for most of her life because her only brother died when she was twelve.

    From what she had seen, people with siblings were a lot moreid back and adaptable. They learned how to roll with the punches since they were around other people simr in age all the time. Goodness knows Violet had learned that dealing with her often ridiculous brothers.

    "You said you always wanted to go into business¡­did that start when you were running around with the neighborhood kids?" she asked.

    "Actually, yes. We got a lemonade stand shut down by the cops because we didn''t have a permit and I wondered why," Jeremy replied. "What about you? Did you always want to be a ballerina?"

    That particr career choice hadn''te to her until she was in fifth grade. Before that she wanted to be a singer. But around that time she began to realize that a lot of people knew who she was because of herst name. People were always talking about Aaron Hale.

    When she was younger she didn''t realize her dad was sort of famous; he was just her dad. Violet heard himin about it a lot because he hated being approached by random people. If she became a famous singer random people would approach her too and that sounded awful.

    Ballerinas were on stage all the time but they typically didn''t get famous. Most people could name a few famous baseball yers or businessmen but they couldn''t name ballerinas. She preferred the anonymity.

    Since singing was still one of her passions, she continued with choir all the way through high school. There simply wasn''t time for it in college so her singing was limited to one-woman concerts in the car as she drove around the city.

    "Originally I wanted to be a singer but I figured being a dancer would be more practical," Violet said simply.

    Jeremy tilted his head, intrigued. "Practical how?"

    Ah, this was embarrassing to admit but if she phrased it bluntly as if she wasn''t embarrassed it should be okay. She put on her best neutral expression and tried not to blush because it was kind of personal.

    "Dancers typically retire before the age of thirty-five. I wanted a career where I could quit to raise a family and thene back as a part-time dance teacher," she admitted.

    Thankfully he didn''t seem to think she said anything untoward. His expression didn''t shift at all.

    "You''re right, that is practical," Jeremy said and left it at that.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 464: Something About That Guy

    <h4>Chapter 464: Something About That Guy</h4>

    Violet was relieved Jeremy didn''t press further. Nobody but her parents and Noah knew that was why she had be a professional ballerina instead of dancing only as a hobby until now.

    She had been praised for her intelligence since she was a little girl; she could have gone on to do anything. Her teachers had been surprised when the career consultations came around in high school and she said she was going to be a ballerina. Her science and math grades were so high they expected her to go into some sort of academic field.

    While she did have her mother''s natural aptitude for such things, they didn''t interest her one bit. She preferred the emotional release that came from dancing. Not every smart person could be a scientist.

    Unfortunately, people tended to expect more from Violet since she was the daughter of two intellectual powerhouses. Even Kaleb, who she thought would understand since he wanted to be a baseball yer, gave her a hard time for it since he was always jealous of her good grades.

    "You got into an Ivy League school, why would you waste it on dancing?" he had asked incredulously.

    That had hurt more than she could ever say. She had to stop Noah from going out and kicking her twin''s teeth in when she told him.

    The way she saw it, Kaleb seemed to think he only got into college because he was good at baseball. He studied history only because he had to pick something; his real goal was to get scouted by the major league. He figured that someone as smart and good at school as his sister should take advantage of her brains.

    Knowing his logic didn''t make it hurt any less though. Violet hated being looked down on by the few people she actually liked.

    The fact that Jeremy hadn''t given her the same reaction most people did was a point in his favor. Her parents hadn''t cared what she did with her life, which wasn''t terribly surprising since they had always been supportive.

    The only other person who had instantly supported her career choice was Noah. When she asked him why he wasn''t questioning her desire to be a ballerina he shrugged it off and said something that had engraved itself on her heart.

    "You love it and you''re really good at it. Why not?"

    His simple reasoning became a shield that she used against anyone from then on who asked her why she was wasting her brains. She would hold her head high, look them straight in the eye, and repeat what he had said. No one ever had a response for that and the matter was always dropped.

    Not having to use her go-to exnation on someone was refreshing. And Jeremy had been highlyplimentary of her dancing. Her heart was softening a bit toward him already.

    "I need to get going," Violet said a bit ruefully after checking the time. "But I enjoyed myself today."

    Jeremy signaled the waiter for the check before turning back to her. "I did too. Would you like to get together again next week?"

    Her heart flipped. A third date.

    "I would love to. I doubt our schedules match up very well but I''ll text you and we can figure something out," Violet replied warmly. She couldn''t wait.

    ===

    Noah sighed as he saw thetest message from his best friend. She had already gone out with Jeremy Ward no less than six times in the past two weeks.

    The man was a sly one. Looking back, Noah was sure that Jeremy had been nning on sneakily sliding his way into the usually reclusive Violet''s life from the beginning.

    First taking her out to ''make things up to her'' after she helped him. Thening to her show with roses and getting another date out of her by saying he wanted to talk about the performance. It only spiraled from there.

    These days it seemed like every time Noah asked her if she wanted to hang out, she already had ns with Jeremy. It was driving him crazy.

    They didn''t even end up watching horror movies together on Halloween like usual because Jeremy had the bright idea of going to a Halloween party downtown and asked her first. Violet had felt really bad about breaking tradition and promised to make it up to him.

    Unfortunately, Noah didn''t think anything could make up for the feeling of being left behind. She hadn''t been like this with any of the other guys she dated. In college she always made sure to see him every few days, boyfriend or no boyfriend.

    Noah hadn''t seen her for a solid week. It was unnerving. Violet was such a constant presence in his life that he truly felt her absence. She still texted him like usual but it wasn''t the same.

    "You alright, Noah?" his downstairs neighbor Kristen McKinney asked in concern.

    Well, he was leaning his head against a pir in the parking garage of their building. He looked like an idiot. That could be considered concerning.

    "Not really," he confessed with a sigh.

    She smiled at him sympathetically and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I think you need a pick-me-up. Come on, I''ll take you to get some hot chocte."

    That was an offer he couldn''t refuse. He needed to vent to somebody and nobody else was offering.

    Kristen looked at him expectantly once they sat down with their drinks in a caf¨¦ across the street and Noah unloaded the entire thing.

    How he was in love with Violet but she was too dense to see it. How he really didn''t trust the guy she was unofficially seeing. How he felt like he was losing her even though she usually still made time for him while she was dating. All of it.

    Saying it out loud somehow loosened a knot in his chest. It actually made him feel a little bit better.

    "This is the girl who is always at your ce, right? I''ve seen her in the elevator a bunch of times over the years," Kristen said.

    Noah nodded and she pursed her lips thoughtfully. He ended up drinking his hot chocte while he waited for her to say more. When she did speak again it was with obvious hesitance.

    "Have you considered it might be different this time because this guy is ''the one''?"

    Jeremy Ward, ''the one''?! No way. A guy like that would never make someone like Violet happy. He knew his best friend; someone as calcting as Jeremy would never be able to give her more than superficial romance.

    Noah had watched more than a few romanticedies in theaters with her over the years. Based on her reactions to them, she liked warm and fluffy romance. Jeremy couldn''t give her that in a million years.

    Honestly, he wasn''t even sure why she was even epting so many dates from this guy. What sort of emotional payoff was he offering?

    Violet lost interest in people quickly; he had seen it a dozen times. He wanted to believe the same thing would happen here but there was something about that guy that set his teeth on edge in a way none of her past boyfriends had.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 465: Youre Pitiful, My Friend

    <h4>Chapter 465: You''re Pitiful, My Friend</h4>

    Kristen was looking at him the way a person would look at a sick puppy. Noah could almost tell what she was going to say before she said it.

    "Noah¡­this is the time of life when people fall in love. You might want to try finding someone who will appreciate you the way you deserve rather than waiting for something that might never happen."

    He sighed. If only he could.

    And it wasn''t that Violet didn''t appreciate him. She did. She told him so all the time. But it was in a best friends kind of way, which wasn''t the way he wanted.

    In fact, she probably appreciated him as a person more than anyone else in this world did. He always feltfortable, needed, and important when she was around. It was how their rtionship worked for longer than he could remember.

    "You say that like I haven''t tried," Noah said in a tone tinged with frustration. "I''ve been hanging out with other peopletely trying to fill the void she left but it hasn''t done anything."

    It started on Halloween. He got back in contact with some of his friends from high school that he didn''t usually hang out with anymore and crashed their party. Even though they were watching the same kinds of movies he usually watched with Violet it feltpletely different.

    After that, every time she was busy with Jeremy when he wanted to hang out he hit up one of them to see if they wanted to get dinner or y board games or catch a movie. Sometimes they were avable and other times he ended up at home watching TV with the dog.

    Noah was ambivalent about people. Growing up, if he wasn''t with Violet he was cool doing his own thing or hanging out with friends from school. It all depending on whether or not people asked him.

    He had fun with those other people but if he had to choose between seeing them or seeing his best friend he would pick her every time. Once he graduated, most of his friends went away for college. He ended up hanging out with Violet and her fellow dance majors a lot since he didn''t have any coworkers near his age.

    She was an introvert who only seemed to branch out to others in an effort to be more like her extroverted twin. Her entire life, all she had truly wanted or needed was a couple of people she felt close to.

    Noah fulfilled the role of ''her person'' perfectly. He wasn''t exactly the same way she was since he genuinely enjoyed other people''spany. But he would always prefer hers.

    If he saw her ten times for every one time he saw other friends that was totally fine with him. Right now it seemed to be the other way around and it wasn''t working out.

    "Have you ever tried telling her about your feelings?" Kristen asked with a raised eyebrow.

    "No because I''m afraid I might lose herpletely if I do that," Noah said miserably. "She''s a hopeless romantic and only sees me as a brother. I''ve never known life without her. I can''t let that happen."

    She shook her head at him sadly. "You''re pitiful, my friend. I really don''t know what to tell you."

    "Thanks," Noah replied sarcastically before sighing. Kristen didn''t deserve that. She was only trying to help. "I''m sorry. I haven''t really felt like myselftely."

    She shrugged it off. "No worries. But if you ever need somebody to hang out with when she''s ditching you for that guy, my boyfriend and I have a lot of free time. You''re wee to join us. We y a lot of video games."

    This time his thanks were more sincere. That was really nice of her.

    Once they parted ways, Noah came to the conclusion that he needed to be a bit more aggressive if he wanted some of Violet''s time. Tomorrow she had a short break to go to dinner between her matinee performance and the evening one.

    He knew where she always went since it was close to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts where all of the performances were held. It was the only ce near there with healthy options. He would simply have to meet her there.

    ===

    As predicted, Violet headed toward her usual restaurant between shows¡ªtoday was thest day of Cindere and he figured he would catch her to have dinner before attending closing night. She always took a shortcut through a couple of alleys to avoid the crowds even though Noah always warned against it.

    He could see her turning into one a few hundred feet ahead of him. Some older man followed closely behind her. That was definitely suspicious.

    Noah picked up his pace to make sure the guy wasn''t going to try and pull anything. The man followed Violet through two different alleys before finally trying to reach out and grab her shoulder.

    His protective instincts kicked in and he leaped forward, knocking the guy to the ground with a single kick. Violet nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the man prone on the concrete.

    "Noah! What¡ª"

    "This guy was trying to grab you," he exined a bit sheepishly.

    "Who are you?" she demanded with her hands on her h.i.p.s, looking cold and fierce.

    The man on the ground groaned and held his stomach. "Sorry to scare you. I was only trying to say hi. I watched your show and thought you did a great job."

    That wasn''t any less creepy. Stalking her after her show? That sounded like something a deranged fan would do.

    "You didn''t answer my question," Violet said frostily.

    The manughed. "For a second there it seemed like I was talking to your father twenty-six years ago. He used to give me the same attitude. I should have introduced myself; my name is Michael Gray and I''m an old friend of your parents''."

    She eyed him suspiciously. An old friend of her parents''? Noah didn''t buy it either. He knew all of her parents'' friends and he had never seen nor heard of this man.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 466: A Bad Influence

    <h4>Chapter 466: A Bad Influence</h4>

    Violet had a hard time believing the man calling himself Michael Gray was actually friends with her parents. She knew their friends. They had never mentioned him.

    That being said¡­her mother had told her she acted like her father when she wasn''t happy with people. So he was probably telling the truth about Aaron giving him attitude. But twenty-six years ago? That was before she was even born.

    If he had been friends with her parents after she was born, she was sure she would have heard of him. The friendship must have ended before then.

    "Why haven''t I ever heard of you?" Violet asked bluntly.

    Michael Gray gave her a debonair smile. "Probably because your dad thinks I''m a bad influence."

    A bad influence, huh? What on earth had this guy done to get branded with that sort ofbel? She didn''t trust him. Something about this guy seemed awfully insincere to her. The best way to test whether or not he was telling the truth was to call her dad.

    "One moment please," Violet requested as she dialed his number.

    "What''s up, Vi?" Aaron answered cheerfully. "I thought you were in between shows right now."

    "I ran into someone iming to be an old friend of yours. A man named Michael Gray. Ringing any bells?"

    Her father went silent for a moment before answering in a resigned voice. "Don''t tell me; he followed you out of the performing arts center without introducing himself beforehand."

    "Yep. I take it you do know him?"

    "Unfortunately," he muttered so quietly she almost didn''t catch it.

    Violet knew her father wasn''t terribly fond of most people but she had never heard him sound like this. Michael Gray was definitely bad news.

    "Put him on speaker," the man requested.

    Violet acquiesced, curious what her dad would say.

    "Hello, Aaron," he said smoothly.

    Her father''s voice was a bit grumpy but not nearly as much as it was before she put him on speaker. "Gray. Did you have to scare my daughter like that?"

    "I do believe herpanion scared me more than I scared her. He knocked me to the ground out of nowhere. Most uncivilized," the man sniffed haughtily.

    Gray, was it? Her dad typically didn''t refer to people by theirst names. What sort of rtionship did these two have?

    Violet''s curiosity burned but she couldn''t ask her dad about it now. Gray''s tone was light, pleasant, andpletely insincere. Her dad hated insincere people the most; she had seen it firsthand.

    "Is Noah with you?" Aaron asked.

    Noah moved closer to the phone and answered that one for him. "Hi, Uncle Aaron."

    Violet could detect a hint of relief in his tone. "That''s what you get for sneaking up on people, Gray. Be more mindful next time. Violet didn''t know you; you should have approached from the front like a normal person."

    "Noted," Gray said lightly. "Lovely talking to you, as always. We still need to n a time to have dinner. Give Keeley my best."

    "I will. Bye. And good luck on yourst show, Vi. Love you," her father said, sounding softer than he had since the beginning of the call.

    "Love you too."

    She hung up, more confused than before. At least this strange man hadn''t been lying. He did know her parents.

    Unsure of what to do, Violet stood there inplete silence for more than thirty seconds. Noah jumped in to save her by linking his arm through hers.

    "If you''ll excuse us Mr. Gray, we were on our way to get dinner before she has to get back for her next show. It was nice meeting you."

    Thankfully he could take a hint. "I understand. Best of luck. You were a wonderful Cindere. I''m sure I''ll be seeing you around."

    Gray brushed himself off and turned around before heading back the way he came. Violet was relieved to see him go. What a strange man! If her dad didn''t like him, that was good enough for her.

    She thanked Noah for his help, which he shrugged off, saying it was nothing. They walked to the restaurant and ate their meal as if nothing weird had happened. She really didn''t have time to hash out how unsettling that had been in detail and he knew it.

    That was the great thing about Noah. He understood her better than anybody else so he knew when she wanted to talk and when she didn''t.

    "I''ll let you know what my dad says about that man once I ask him," Violet said in between bites of her dinner.

    "Something about him was definitely off," Noah replied with a frown. "I''m d he didn''t catch you alone."

    "What were you doing there anyway?"

    "I missed you," he said straightforwardly, looking her dead in the eye. "Am I not allowed to see my best friend who never has time for me anymore?"

    Guilt pricked at her heart. She had been awfully caught up in spending time with Jeremytely. She had a feeling he might ask her to be his girlfriend soon and was leaning toward saying yes if he did.

    The one problem was that he seemed like the kind of man who would end up monopolizing her, unlike her previous boyfriends. She couldn''t leave Noahpletely out in the cold. Not after everything they had been through together. He was her family.

    "I''m sorry," Violet murmured. "I still need to make it up to you for missing Halloween. I won''t be able toe by the dojo though because I''m back on my 10-6 schedule tomorrow due to the show ending. Why don''t youe over to my ce for dinner and cards?"

    Noah smiled, his earlier ire vanishing. "Deal."

    Once the food was gone, he escorted her back to the Lincoln Center and told her he would see her after the show. She managed to put the issue of Michael Gray out of her mind as she danced. What she couldn''t get out of her head was the way her best friend had looked when he said he missed her.

    Violet nced out into the audience. Noah sat in his usual VIP seat only a few rows behind the orchestra pit. Her heart felt full. He had been there for her since they were toddlers, through thick and thin.

    Nobody else, not even her parents, ever sat through two performances of the same ballet but Noah did it every time. He was the only one who knew how much dance meant to her. That was why he went to the first and thest so he could talk to her about the entire process and truly understand it.

    She had always done the same for him with karate; attending all of thepetitions where he was a participant and all of his belt tests. Support was a two-way street after all. Even so, Violet was grateful to have him in her corner on a permanent basis.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 467: Someone I Cant Afford To Offend

    <h4>Chapter 467: Someone I Can''t Afford To Offend</h4>

    Violet managed to catch her dad alone after the show by cornering him on his way back upstairs after going to get a drink. She didn''t think he would be as forting with answers if any of her brothers were around.

    She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrow at him. "So¡­what exactly is your rtionship with Michael Gray?"

    Aaron sighed and ran a hand through his hair in agitation. "Let''s just say he''s someone I can''t afford to offend. I tolerate him the best I can."

    Someone her father, arguably the most powerful man in this city, couldn''t afford to offend? What kind of crazy dangerous person was this?

    Violet had gotten a bad vibe off of Gray right away but that didn''t mean she was afraid of him. She didn''t really get scared of things normal people did and she knew her dad was the same way. He was overprotective and overly cautious when it came to his family but didn''t get scared of things outside of that.

    So if he thought this man was someone he couldn''t afford to offend¡­Michael Gray must pose some sort of threat to his family. It was the only thing she could think of. Aaron Hale feared nothing except losing his family.

    He never said it in so many words but he did worry a lot when little things happened. And she could never forget how upset he had been when her mother got into that car ident the day Oliver was born.

    She was only five but she had been able to feel her father''s anxiety every time they visited her mother in the hospital. He really thought he was going to lose her for some reason.

    That was the worst instance Violet could think of but she had noticed over time that her dad preferred having her mother in his sight at all times. Aaron would almost imperceptibly rx the second she was back near him.

    He was a bit too safety conscious when it came to things like teaching his kids how to ride bikes or drive and his wife always had to talk him down. Almost all of Violet''s required driving practice hours had happened with her mom as a result.

    "He said you might think he was a bad influence on us and that''s why you never mentioned him. Is he dangerous?" Violet asked bluntly.

    Aaron shook his head at her indulgently. "You''re too smart for your own good. He is dangerous, but he also really likes me. As long as I don''t do anything to jeopardize that, he won''te after my family. You don''t have to worry about it."

    She narrowed her eyes at him but he wasn''t willing to tell her anymore. He simply ruffled her hair and walked back up to bed.

    Violet would have to tell Noah what her dad had said. Maybe he could make more sense of it than she had been able to. He was usually a pretty perceptive person.

    She tried pushing the matter out of her mind for now. She needed to go to bed too. Two shows in a day was exhausting.

    ===

    Jeremy was not pleased. He had texted Violet on his lunch break Monday morning to ask her to dinner and she already had ns. She imed she hadn''t been spending enough time with her friendstely.

    He had her number. She was hanging out with Noah Singleton. She didn''t have any other friends.

    He really wondered what the appeal was there. What kept her so close to him after all these years? Most people outgrow their childhood friends over time, don''t they?

    Noah and Violet were so different. What could an uneducated, uncultured karate instructor have that made her enjoy spending time with him? Jeremy had looked the man up on social media after their first encounter and wasn''t impressed.

    She was such a lovely, interesting person. The more time Jeremy spent with her, the more time he wanted. It was so hard to find someone on his level to have a quality conversation with but Violet kept up with him perfectly now that she hade out of her shell a little.

    It didn''t hurt that her smile¡ªthe genuine one, not the polite one she did most of the time¡ªdid funny things to his heart either. He was definitely falling for her. And anyone falling for a woman would not want to share her with another man.

    Jeremy thought they were alike; that they craved intelligent conversation. There was no way she got that from someone who didn''t even go to college. So what was it?

    Violet imed she saw him as a brother and based on the way she talked it was obviously the case. But she didn''t spend nearly as much time with her own brothers as far as Jeremy could tell.

    Speaking of her brothers¡­he wanted to meet them. She was perfect girlfriend material and if he was going to be her boyfriend he would need to have an in with her brothers. He knew how important to her they were.

    Since Kaleb wasn''t busy during the off-season right now it might be best to start with him. Aaron had mentioned how he was loafing around the house offhandedly the other day. Getting to know her twin would likely be beneficial.

    He had no desire to get to know Noah Singleton but he did need to know how his rtionship with Violet worked if he was going to break it apart. Once they got into a proper rtionship Noah definitely had to go.

    Jeremy didn''t think it would be too big of a problem. Propriety would be an issue there and Violet seemed like a loyal person. After all, nobody wanted their girlfriend to be close to another man.

    It wouldn''t be a weird thing for him to ask of her, especially if he slowly weaned her off of seeing Noah beforehand. All he had to do was step up his game. Everybody knew people in rtionsh.i.p.s didn''t have time for their friends anyway.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 468: Seven Up

    <h4>Chapter 468: Seven Up</h4>

    Noah came and went from the Hale household so frequently over the years that he didn''t even need to ask to call up anymore. The doorman recognized him on sight and turned the elevator key for him without a word.

    None of the Hales batted an eyelid seeing him either. Keeley always asked him how his day was like she did for all of her other children.

    He liked being at Violet''s apartment. It felt as much like home as his own did.

    Once dinner was announced, Kaleb plunked himself down at the table in an oversized white tee shirt and id pajama pants. He had an impressive amount of stubble growing in so it looked like he hadn''t left the house in weeks. Maybe he hadn''t.

    Violet had confided in him that she thought his breakup was hitting him harder than he let on. He had been at home ying video games or clinging onto his siblings the entire time he had been back in town.

    "I want to y Seven Up after dinner, who''s in?" Kaleb asked loudly.

    She turned to Noah to see if he was interested and he shrugged. He hade here to y cards anyway; it didn''t matter if other people were ying.

    "I''ll y," Nathan volunteered. He had barely gotten home from school and seemed nearly as worn out as his brother.

    "I''m in too. It''s been a while since I''ve yed Seven Up," Keeley said with a smile. "Aaron?"

    "Sure."

    Just like that, everybody was ying. But they had to eat dinner first. Keeley made wholegrain linguini for Violet''s sake. Everybody else poured on liberal amounts of cheesy alfredo sauce but her portion had a very small amount of tomato sauce instead because it was less fatty.

    Once the tes were cleared away, Rosie jumped up on the table to sniff all of the cards Nathan was dealing out. She did this almost every time Noah yed cards at Violet''s house. You''d think after a while she would know what the cards were and lose interest.

    The rules of Seven Up were fairly straightforward. It was a card game the Singleton family had yed for longer than he could remember.

    The goal of the game was to have no cards at the end of the round. You couldn''t start the game without a seven and during each round yers got to put down one card a piece. But you couldn''t put down just any card; you had to put down the next one in the suit going either up or down from seven.

    If a seven of diamonds was yed first, the next yer could only put down a six or eight of diamonds or a seven of another suit. From there it went five, four, three, two, ace on the six and nine, ten, jack, queen, king on the eight. This worked for all of the suits.

    The trick to this game was strategically holding onto your cards so other people couldn''t y theirs. But you weren''t allowed to skip your turn unless you really didn''t have any cards that were yable. At the end of each round, each card left in a person''s hand counted as one point.

    The closer the card was to seven, the better the holder card it was because it prevented more people from ying their other cards. There was a bit of luck involved but for the most part this was a strategy game. It was possible to win even if you had a multiple low or high cards if you nned things out right.

    Noah preferred ying cards with the Hales to his own family because his dad always won. It wasn''t even fun ying with him knowing you would always lose.

    In fact, after a while his mother banned her husband from ying cards with either of their sons because someone always ended up crying. Noah didn''t find out the truth behind his father''s unnatural card skills until he was a teenager.

    How was it fair for a multiple time World Champion of Poker to y cards against a couple of kids? That was around the time he started teaching the games his dad taught him to Violet, hoping for a fair game. The Hale kids got really into card games after that as a result.

    Kaleb''s poker face was horrible so it was easy to guess when he was the one holding onto a card everyone else needed. Not that anyone could do anything about it butin.

    He would simply snicker, grin, and hold off ying it as long as he possibly could. It didn''t make him very popr but it wasn''t like it was against the rules. But it was smarter to not let other people know you were holding onto certain cards so you could blindside them.

    Noah felt himself rx as he heard Nathan and Kaleb bickering about the nine of clubs thetter was obviously holding onto. Thest couple of weeks had thrown him off big-time but this sense of normalcy put him at ease.

    He belonged here. He would always have a ce in Violet''s life, even if she was currently seeing someone he was certain didn''t like him.

    It appeared that once again, he had waited too long. It was obvious from the way that she talked that she was interested in this guy. Honestly, he didn''t have a clue why. Jeremy Ward was kind of a snob.

    Back when Violet got her first boyfriend Noah promised himself he wouldn''t be a jerk about it and interfere. But since they weren''t official yet things were fair game, right? He had a bad feeling about this one more than he did with the others.

    Jeremy was a calcting person. Noah was certain he could manipte his friend into a romantic rtionship while putting in the minimum amount of effort. But that wouldn''t be fair to Violet, who had such a tender sentimental heart underneath her cold exterior. She deserved better.

    He doubted Jeremy even sincerely liked her. Everybody else who had ever shown interest was only interested in her looks. There was so much more to Violet than that!

    If Noah had to guess, he would say Jeremy approached Violet with ulterior motives. He was already Aaron''s chosen sessor but he probably thought dating his boss''s daughter would tie him even more closely to thepany.

    Why couldn''t she see that? Was shepletely blind to the kind of person he actually was because she liked him?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 469: Was He Seriously That Petty?

    <h4>Chapter 469: Was He Seriously That Petty?</h4>

    The game went on for several rounds until Aaron, who had never been all that great at cards, hit fifteen points.

    "That''s it, I give up," he said while throwing his hands up in defeat. "If anyone needs me I''ll be wallowing in my defeat in the other room."

    Laughter bubbled around the table and Keeley ended up bowing out too, joining her husband on the couch in the living room. After those two left, the group switched over to a specialty card game meant for four yers.

    Noah liked this game but he wasn''t able to y it much at home since there weren''t enough people now that Logan was away at college. They yed about five games of it before Nathan copped out too.

    "I need to hit the sack. I have a long day tomorrow," he yawned. "Night guys."

    "Night," they all chorused back.

    The three remaining people at the table all looked at each other before looking at the clock. It was a little after 9:30. They wordlessly debated whether or not to y another game simply through their facial expressions.

    Violet might be his best friend but Noah had spent nearly as much time with Kaleb over the years so he knew him pretty well. It was how they were able to have their near-telepathic conversation.

    Kaleb eventually stood up from the table and excused himself. "I''m gonna go watch some football. You two do whatever it is you do when you''re alone."

    Violet stuck her tongue out at her brother''s back in retaliation for his teasing. Her brothers had been giving them a hard time about their friendship for years, going so far as to refer to Noah as her doting husband, and she still hadn''t caught on.

    Her brothers were right. He did act like a doting husband because he wanted to BE a doting husband. Hers.

    At this point Noah wondered if he would even get the chance or if he would be her friend on the sidelines for the rest of his life. He needed to say something before Jeremy took her away from him forever.

    "Hey Vi, are you seeing Jeremy again tomorrow or can we hang out again?" he found himself asking, dreading her answer.

    An apologetic expression crossed her face. "I''m sorry Noah, he asked me to dinner earlier and I had to say no because we had ns. He''s already asked for tomorrow."

    "What about the day after that?"

    "¡­he wants to get together every night this week."

    Great. Jeremy was definitely making his move. But he hadn''t thought of what to do yet! What was he supposed to say?

    Noah hadn''t been so afraid of being left behind since Violet first went to college. Her other boyfriends in the past had tolerated his presence in her life because they were too busy to pay her mind all the time. But it almost seemed like this guy was purposely blocking her from hanging out with anyone else.

    Or¡­him specifically? He had gotten the feeling Jeremy thought poorly of him from their first meeting. And he already knew he didn''t like his dad.

    Was he seriously that petty? Trying to separate someone from their most important friend because of a grudge with someone else was pretty low. Was Jeremy really that bad of a person or was Noah overreacting because he was jealous that someone else was taking up Violet''s time?

    He had always treasured his time with her, ever since he was very young. He used to beg his parents to take him to y with her and throw tantrums when they wouldn''t. Not his finest moments, but he was really little. It was all he knew how to do at the time.

    Noah had learned how to keep his disappointment and frustration hidden over the years. He had yed the good, calm friend card too well. Now Violet didn''t have a clue how he actually felt.

    "Do you really like him that much?" he blurted.

    She turned slightly pink and looked down at her hands. "I don''t know. Maybe. It''s still a little soon to be sure, isn''t it?"

    His heart lurched at her words and posture. She was definitely embarrassed. She wouldn''t be embarrassed if she didn''t like him at all, simply annoyed like how she was when her brothers teased her about him.

    "You''re not going to forget me, are you?" Noah mumbled.

    Violet looked at him like he was stupid and reached her hand out to grasp his on top of the table. The simple action made his heart flip over in his chest even though they had done things like this a million times.

    "How could I ever do that? No matter what, you''ll always be my best friend."

    Noah wasn''t able to hold back his worries despite her reassurances. If she truly fell in love someday, that person would be her best friend. Not him.

    His parents were each other''s best friends. So were hers. It was the kind of rtionship she had been exposed to most. Of course she would only marry someone she could have a best friend kind of rtionship with.

    If he never confessed to her¡­or if she rejected him¡­Noah would be reced.

    He shook his head sadly. "Not necessarily."

    "You''re family, Noah," Violet said firmly. "That won''t change."

    And that was exactly what he was worried about. His heart felt like it had been forced through a blender at her words. No, it wouldn''t change. If he said something now he would only lose her sooner.

    Even thinking about telling her the truth had been stupid. She didn''t see him that way. She never would. If he wanted to remain in her life at all he had to stay in his assigned role as surrogate brother.

    Noah stood and let go of her hand. He needed to leave before he gave himself away.

    "It''s gettingte. Do you have any time to spare for me this weekend or have you already been booked?"

    "I''m wide open on Sunday. I''m all yours," Violet promised.

    All his. He internally scoffed. If only that were true.

    Barely managing to fake a smile, Noah turned to go. It was going to be a very long, lonely week without her. He better reach out to his other friends right now so he would have something to do other than wonder how her dates with that jerk Jeremy were going.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 470: Another Point to Jeremy

    <h4>Chapter 470: Another Point to Jeremy</h4>

    Violet hardly heard a peep from Noah all week after they yed cards. He had seemed a little off when he left but she chalked it up to being tired. It waste after all.

    But days went by and he never texted her first. He barely managed to text her back when she asked about his day on her breaks at work. Something was clearly wrong. She would have to ask him about it when she saw him on Sunday.

    Aside from worrying about her best friend, her week had been going great. The casting announcement had been made and she was ra! Even though it was only her third Christmas season with thepany!

    Violet excitedly told Jeremy over dinner that night about how that was practically unheard of and he seemed impressed as he congratted her. The look on his face as heplimented her aplishment made her all warm and fuzzy inside.

    Despite what she had told Noah, Violet did like him the more she saw him. But he was so much more sophisticated than she was. She was afraid of liking him because he worried she wouldn''t be able to be her whole self around him.

    Having Noah around had spoiled her. She didn''t have to worry about how she acted around him because he always liked her as a person no matter what. The same didn''t extend to other people¡ªshe had learned that early on in life.

    Kaleb didn''t like her for a while because she was too clingy. People in middle school thought she was a goody two shoes. It wasn''t until she only showed people what they wanted to see that she was able to make friends in high school.

    Jeremy was a good conversationalist but Violet got the feeling he wouldn''t enjoy something as mundane as ying games with her brothers. Maybe she should test him before she got more attached.

    "I know you''ve already asked me out for dinner for the whole week¡­but could Kaleb and possibly Nathan join us tomorrow?" she asked out of the blue as they worked their way through their entr¨¦es.

    He smiled and leaned his head on one hand. "Sure. I would love to meet your brothers. What about Oliver?"

    "He''s at MIT, didn''t I tell you? He''ll be home for Thanksgiving in a few weeks though."

    "Oh, right. It''s hard to keep track of all of your siblings. I don''t know how your mom does it," Jeremy joked.

    And that was that. The harder part was convincing her brothers to go along with it.

    Kaleb had been stunned to find out she was dating someone, let alone their dad''s assistant. All this time he had really thought she had a thing going with Noah. She crossly set him straight.

    Once he realized she was serious, he immediately went into overprotective brother mode and asked a million questions. Not only to her but to their dad. That had opened a whole other can of worms.

    "You''ve been dating Jeremy?!" Aaron waspletely thunderstruck and sunk into the back of the couch for support.

    "Yes?" she said, wishing it didn''t sound so much like a question.

    "How long? What have you guys been doing? He hasn''t done anything inappropriate, has he? Because if he has I''ll kill him!"

    It had taken more than fifteen minutes to calm her dad down after exining that it was very casual. Especially since he found out Violet wanted to introduce him to her brothers. That was a sign of things getting more serious.

    She had a headache by the time she managed to get both Kaleb and Nathan, who were acting an awful lot like guard dogs, to agree toe and behave. Originally they wanted to give him the third degree.

    Both of them ended up taking the Subway to meet her at her studio and drive over to the restaurant together the next day. Kaleb had actually shaved and tidied his hair so he didn''t look homeless anymore.

    He and Nathan had both dressed up and put on their most intimidating looks. Those idiots. They had been like this with every boyfriend she ever had.

    Oliver had too. He would probably be just as annoying about it when he came home, provided Jeremy managed to pass the brother test and they were still going out. Violet really hoped she hadn''t made a huge mistake by inviting them.

    "Behave yourselves or you''re dead," she hissed as she yanked both of them down to her level to hear her better. Why did they have to be so stupidly tall, anyway?

    They nodded and rubbed the ears she had grabbed as they walked into the restaurant. Jeremy was already waiting for them.

    "Hey, Violet," he greeted cheerfully.

    He reached out for a hug but Kaleb stopped him with a hand and a re. "Don''t you think you should introduce yourself first?"

    Jeremy stepped back and held a hand out to shake. "Jeremy Ward, nice to meet you. I assume you''re Kaleb?"

    "How did you know?"

    He shrugged. "Lucky guess. I had a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right."

    Kaleb scowled. "I suppose that''s fair. You probably already know this is our brother Nathan then."

    Nathan waved wordlessly when his name was mentioned. The atmosphere was so tense Violet could feel it pressing down on her. She stered on a smile and ushered everyone into the restaurant.

    "So," Kaleb began in a somewhat threatening voice once the waitress had taken their drink orders. "Tell us more about yourself, Jeremy."

    He remained as calm as ever,pletely ignoring the fact he was being threatened. That earned him brownie points in Violet''s book. She hadn''t even warned him an interrogation wasing and he was already handling it well.

    "I grew up in Washington D.C. as an only child and studied economics and mathematics at Yale. I enjoy reading and doing word and number puzzles in my free time."

    Nathan''s eyes narrowed. "What free time? My dad says you''re always working."

    Jeremy remained unperturbed. He waved his hand casually as he replied. "I take pride in my work but that''s still an exaggeration. If I was really ''always working'' I wouldn''t have had time to hang out with Violet, now would I?"

    He grumbled and conceded the point. Violet was surprised. Nathan was usually more argumentative but he had been neatly put in his ce. Another point to Jeremy.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 471: An Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 471: An Invitation</h4>

    Jeremy knew that winning over Violet''s brothers was half of the war. Especially after he got a rather foreboding chewing out from his boss earlier in the day.

    He was a bit surprised she told him they were dating already but supposed it was a good thing. It meant she was serious about it. He got the feeling she was a very private person and wouldn''t say such a thing if she wasn''t serious.

    Honestly, in all his years of working for Aaron the ice storm his boss was infamous for had never been directed at him before today. That man was frightening when he wanted to be. And yet he was a meek little sheep in front of his family¡­

    Jeremy''s curiosity about how Keeley Hale managed to tame him only intensified after that brutal interrogation. How on earth had she gotten past the tenyers of ice to even get to know him?

    But that wasn''t important right now. What was important was that he didn''t screw things up with Violet. Aaron''s final warning from earlier today still rang in his ears. If he hurt her, he was toast.

    The sane, career-focused part of him wondered if it might be better to back away now before things got more serious than they already were. Jeremy may have bitten off more than he could chew and he didn''t want to lose Aaron''s trust after all the hard work he had put into proving himself.

    But the emotional part of him that really liked Violet didn''t want to let her go. He truly believed she would be the most sensible match for him out of all the women in the world. How could he let that gorgeous smile leave his life?

    Jeremy was confident he could win her over. It only required a little strategizing. Violet may be the most interesting woman he had ever met but deep down, women were all the same. They wanted to be wooed.

    Wooing her would be child''s y. The holidays wereing up and it was considered a rather romantic time of year. All he had to do was take advantage of the natural ambiance of the season.

    If he could manage to score himself an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner at her ce and meet the rest of her family members that would be even better. Establishing himself as a part of her life would be vital to driving Noah Singleton out.

    Once Kaleb and Nathan rxed enough to stop interrogating him¡ªtruly, Hale men were too overprotective¡ªJeremy was able to sit back and watch them interact with their sister, which had been why he wanted to meet them in the first ce.

    It was obvious how much she cared for them. Her genuine smile had made an appearance more frequently tonight than all of the other times Jeremy had seen herbined.

    He felt a sudden twinge of jealousy. That halfwit Noah probably got to see it all the time. No wonder he was in love with her. Anybody would be struck down by that smile. Jeremy certainly had been. And so had the indomitable Aaron Hale, if what he said about Violet having her mother''s smile was true.

    Violet wasughing at a story Nathan was telling about how inconsistent his ss times were. He literally had to wake up at 2 AM to bake bread along with a ss full of other zombified students.

    Jeremy had to admit the situation itself wasn''t that funny but the way Nathan told the story was. He found himselfughing right along with her.

    He had been watching the Hale siblings trying to figure out their dynamic. Nathan was definitely the goofball of the group. Maybe that came from being the youngest. As an only child, he wouldn''t know.

    Violet clearly doted on him and Kaleb was very obviously jealous of it. These two had been going back and forth vying for her attention all night. So she was the most popr sibling¡­no wonder they were so overprotective.

    Figuring Kaleb out was a little harder. He was loud and outgoing, like Nathan was, but there was something else lurking under the surface that Jeremy couldn''t quite put his finger on.

    Kaleb didn''t seem like a total meathead despite being a professional athlete. Well, he had attended college. Violet told him that he got recruited by major league baseball right after graduation. Even so, he didn''t disy the same level of intelligence that his sister did when she spoke.

    Jeremy was quite curious how Oliver fit into this dynamic. He was studying mechanical engineering but that was all he knew about the man.

    Although at least twice since being here tonight Kaleb had referred to him as a ''nerd'' so it was safe to assume he was more of the intellectual variety like his sister. This wasn''t terribly surprising. They were Aaron Hale''s children after all. His wife was no slouch either, having been making waves in the scientificmunity for years.

    "I''m sorry for the interrogation earlier," Violet apologized on her brothers'' behalf when they briefly left to go to the bathroom at the same time.

    Jeremy smiled at her. "No need for that. Your brothers are funny."

    Entertaining was a more urate word but he figured that might have a negative connotation, as if he wasughing at them at their expense. He got the feeling she was as protective of them as they were of her. Insulting them by ident would not do.

    A soft expression appeared on her face. "Yeah. They are. I wish you''d been able to meet Oliver though."

    This might be his best chance to shamelessly invite himself over. Or at least to hint at it so she would do the work for him.

    "You said he would be home over Thanksgiving weekend, right? Maybe you could introduce him to me once the festivities are over," Jeremy suggested.

    "That could work! What are you doing for Thanksgiving, anyway?"

    "Nothing," he admitted. "I only have Thanksgiving Day off so there isn''t enough time to travel home."

    While that was true, it wasn''t the whole truth. Jeremy hadn''t gone home to visit his parents during the holidays in years. He didn''t see the point in enduring days of awkward silences in between arguments.

    When his dad was even home, that is. A lot of the time he was out on deliveries and Jeremy was left alone with his mother. Which was even worse in a way.

    Concern clouded Violet''s expression. "You''re going to be alone on Thanksgiving?"

    He shrugged it off. "It''s no big deal; I''ve been alone pretty much every year since graduating college."

    Before then, people in his study groups who also weren''t able to go home would host their own Thanksgiving dinners and he was usually invited. Jeremy wasn''t one to turn down free food.

    A slightly embarrassed look appeared on her face. "Um¡­would you like to join us? Nathan took over most of the cooking years ago and he''s really good at it. We''re pretty casual though so I would understand if you don''t want to¡ª"

    "I would love to," Jeremy cut in.

    Violet smiled in relief. "Great. I''ll text you the details when it gets closer. My mom is always happy to have extra people over; we usually end up inviting at least a few friends."

    Excellent. He would finally get the chance to appraise Keeley Hale in person. Maybe he could figure out the mystery behind his mentor''s inconsistent personality.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 472: Reminders

    <h4>Chapter 472: Reminders</h4>

    Noah did his best to keep himself busy until Sunday rolled around but it was difficult because reminders of Violet were everywhere. Especially at work. More than one of his students had innocently asked him where Miss Violet was.

    He had to exin to them that she was busy. Not all of them took it so easily. His students adored her.

    "But it''s been more than a month! She alwayses to visit us for at least a few weeks at a time¡­" one of them said sullenly.

    The kid wasn''t wrong. Normally Violet dropped by every day she had a show going on since rehearsals startedter in the day. She hadn''t during her run of Cindere and he wondered why that was.

    It wasn''t like she could go visit Jeremy while he was at work; her dad would never let her get away with that. Unless she used the excuse of visiting her dad¡­

    Ugh, he really didn''t get it! What was so great about that guy? Was she so desperate to feel loved that she would take it from anybody? The thought made Noah feel even worse because it meant that he was too much of a nobody to even be considered an option despite how obvious he thought his feelings were.

    Noah did end up hanging out with Kristen and her boyfriend several times that week because he had nothing better to do. They were nice people. Plus their rtionship was so casual that he didn''t even feel like that much of a third wheel.

    His mom noticed something was off with him though because whenever he dide home, he was gloomier than usual. He wasn''t like that when he had been hanging out with Violet.

    "Noah? Sweetie? Are you alright?" she asked kindly.

    When he shook his head, unable to even articte his tangled thoughts and feelings, Jennica simply wrapped her arms around him. She was tall for a woman but was still several inches shorter than he was so her head rested on his shoulder as they hugged.

    He tightened his hold on her and buried his face in her neck, needing thefort. His voice broke as he finally managed to speak.

    "Why aren''t I good enough, Mom?"

    Jennica pulled back and looked up at him, gently caressing his cheek. "Now what idiot went and told you that?"

    Her fierce tone didn''t match her gentle actions and he couldn''t help but let out a tinyugh. She had always been protective of the people she loved. Noah was lucky to have her as his mother.

    "Nobody said it," he admitted. "But if I were good enough Violet wouldn''t be dating someone else. Again."

    She sighed and ruffled his hair. "Ah, sweetie, you can''t think like that. People can''t control their feelings. Whether or not somebody likes you isn''t your problem. If Violet can''t see how wonderful you are, it''s her loss."

    That didn''t make him feel any better. It wasn''t her loss. It was his.

    Maybe Noah really would be better off avoiding her until this all blew over. But not seeing her at all was definitely worse than seeing her with someone else. He had learned that in college. He wasn''t sure what he was supposed to do.

    ===

    On Sunday Noah met Violet at a nearby arcade. They had refurbished a bunch of ancient video game machines in addition to offering the moremon VR ones. A lot of people liked the retro games for nostalgic purposes.

    As expected, despite the misery he had experienced all week knowing she was with someone else, he was happiest being around her. Being in love with someone who didn''t love you back truly was the worst.

    But he loved watching how hard she concentrated while ying the games and the exhrated look on her face when she won something. It was easier to push thoughts of Jeremy out of mind and pretend that this was a normal day of them hanging out together.

    That n came to a screeching halt when Violet told him about her Thanksgiving ns.

    "You invited him over? Seriously? Isn''t it a little soon?" Noah asked skeptically.

    "I couldn''t let somebody be alone on a holiday," she replied a bit defensively. "Besides, it''s not like he''s a stranger. My dad knows him really well. And you know my mom likes taking in people who have nowhere to go on Thanksgiving."

    That much was true but did it have to be Jeremy? That was too much like boyfriend territory, not taking-in-a-stray-for-the-day territory. Things were more serious than he originally thought.

    Noah was so upset by this news that he ended up knocking the air hockey puck into his own goal three times, allowing Violet to win. Sheughed in delight because usually she couldn''t beat him at that game.

    "So what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" she asked once they started their second game of air hockey.

    "Going down to the naval base in V.i.r.g.i.nia to spend it with my uncle Brian''s family," Noah replied dully.

    "Why do you sound so upset about it? I thought you liked those cousins."

    "I do. It''s something else," he said crisply, refusing to give more details. Telling her why he was upset would be tantamount to a confession.

    Violet frowned and stopped the puck with her paddle before scrutinizing him. "You really don''t look good. What is it?"

    Noah sighed. How could she see right through him about most things and still be too dense to know he was in love with her? She had always been like this. She was astute about everything and everyone unless she was personally involved.

    "You wouldn''t believe me if I told you."

    "Try me."

    "It really isn''t a big deal, Vi," he lied.

    As long as she liked someone else, Noah didn''t want her to know about his feelings. He knew he didn''t have a chance and it would only make things awkward between them. That was one thing he could never do. His easy rtionship with her was something he wouldn''t sacrifice for anything in the world.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 473: Im Not A Child

    <h4>Chapter 473: I''m Not A Child</h4>

    Violet knew something was wrong with her friend when he said it wasn''t a big deal. Noah only ever said that when something truly was a big deal. Usually he ended up spilling what it was eventually after some coaxing but this time he kept his mouth firmly shut.

    How horrible could it be that Noah couldn''t tell her? Was he dying or something?

    His tension carried over throughout the rest of the time they hung out. It was affecting his game; he was normally a lot better than this but he kept losing at everything he yed. That was an obvious sign of distraction.

    She stood on tiptoe and leaned close to his face to see if she could decipher his expression better. He was so startled he stumbled backwards.

    "What are you doing?" Noah stammered.

    "Trying to read your mind."

    He rolled his eyes at her, seeming more like his normal self. "Everybody knows mind-reading doesn''t actually work, Vi."

    "I''ll achieve it someday," she said confidently, making himugh, which was her goal all along.

    Violet didn''t get silly often but she knew Noah enjoyed it when she did. He thought she was funny even though no one else in her family did. Nathan and Kaleb frequently battled it out for the position of ''the funny one.''

    It was gratifying having someoneugh when you''re trying to be funny every now and then. Truthfully, it was gratifying having someone like Noah validating her all the time in more ways than just her sense of humor. He always understood what she was feeling.

    As someone who frequently felt on the outside of things even with the people who loved her, that ability of his was a priceless treasure. Violet valued Noah''s friendship more than almost anything.

    So when he continued his pattern of almostpletely avoiding her texts in the weeks following their time at the arcade, she was more than a little disappointed. Even trying to go to his house didn''t yield any results; Jennica apologetically said he wasn''t home.

    What could he be doing that he wasn''t home at nine o''clock at night on multiple different days? Had he found himself a girlfriend and didn''t tell her? But why? Violet always told him about her boyfriends; she would be happy for him!

    Even spending time with Jeremy pretty much every day and getting even closer to him couldn''t dispel her gloom at not knowing what was going on with her best friend. What was his problem? Hadn''t he always told her what was going on with him before?

    ===

    The day before Thanksgiving, Violet''s father pulled her aside with a tragic expression on his face.

    "Okay don''t judge me¡­but I couldn''t manage to convince Michael Gray not to want toe over for Thanksgiving dinner. He already said he wouldn''t impose on me for Christmas and I figured it would be better to do it now since Jeremy will be here too and he won''t be the only guest."

    "Dad! You''re seriously letting someone you consider dangerous into the house?!" she asked incredulously.

    "It''s not like it''s the first time," Aaron muttered. "He''s been here before, back when you were a baby."

    Violet really didn''t get it. None of this made sense. And since she had only seen Noah twice since they originally ran into Michael Gray she hadn''t had the chance to ask him what his thoughts were about her dad''s rtionship with him yet.

    Now she didn''t know if she would considering he seemed to be avoiding her. No, that was stupid. He had never avoided her before. He probably really was busy. She couldn''t get paranoid now.

    "Dad¡­what aren''t you telling me about this guy?" she demanded with her hands on her h.i.p.s.

    "Please don''t ask me that," he pleaded. "Just don''t say anything to your brothers, alright?"

    Aaron had never asked anything of her like this before. He really didn''t want anyone else to know. What was so horrible about this man that he couldn''t tell the people he loved most?

    Maybe Violet could get answers out of her mother. So she sweetly agreed not to press him about it anymore and he seemed relieved.

    "Thanks, Vi. You''re the best."

    About an hourter she was able to make her move as her mother watered the nts in the rooftop garden. It was cold enough that they had already lost their leaves for the season but it hadn''t rained or snowed in a couple weeks so she felt the need to give them moisture.

    "Why is Dad so afraid of Michael Gray but still invited him over for Thanksgiving?" Violet asked casually.

    Her mother didn''t even look up from her nts. "Oh, he didn''t. He invited himself."

    Wait, what? Who would have the nerve to invite himself to Aaron Hale''s Thanksgiving dinner?! This was getting even more confusing!

    "I feel a bit sorry for him. Your father is his only real friend and he doesn''t even like him," Keeley continued. "Don''t mind Gray too much, alright? I don''t like it much either but he wants to be at least minimally involved in your father''s life. We won''t have to see him very often."

    Violet''s confusion grew even worse. She knew her mother would know more about this mysterious man but didn''t think she would have even more questions than answers after talking to her. She didn''t like this situation one bit. She had always hated being out of the loop about things.

    "I''m not a child," she sniffed. "You can tell me what the actual deal is. It''s not like I''ll go bbing to the boys."

    Keeley finally looked up from her nts and smiled ruefully. "I know you aren''t. But your dad¡­he doesn''t want you guys to have to worry about ghosts from his past."

    Ghosts from his past? Violet knew his rtionship with his parents had never been good¡­she had never even officially met her Hale grandparents. That one brief encounter when she was in preschool was more than enough to tell her what kind of people they were.

    But Aaron was an only child. He didn''t have any other family. Right?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 474: The Mother Test

    <h4>Chapter 474: The Mother Test</h4>

    Having gotten such a cryptic answer out of her mother, Violet was determined to keep her eye on Michael Gray at Thanksgiving dinner and see if she could figure out the connection between him and her father for himself. She sent Noah a ''Happy Thanksgiving'' text out of habit and was slightly surprised to get one back since he had been AWOL for so long.

    She tried to engage him in conversation by telling him that Michael Gray wasing over for dinner and she was nning on trying to figure him out but didn''t get a response. He must have been busy helping prepare dinner.

    Goodness knows Violet was. Nathan had taken over the kitchen and was ordering people around to help with less important tasks like peeling potatoes and putting the rolls into the oven. Kaleb and Oliver, who had arrived homete the night before, were on the verge of mutiny.

    She didn''t mind it. Nathan was in his element and she bowed down to his superior knowledge. Even their mother, who had been cooking Thanksgiving dinners much longer, let him do his thing.

    "So I hear your boyfriend ising over for dinner," Oliver said gruffly as they peeled potatoes side by side.

    Of course the rest of her siblings had been gossiping about her. How annoying.

    "He''s not my boyfriend," Violet insisted. "At least not yet."

    Oliver''s eyes narrowed. "Why would you invite someone who isn''t even your boyfriend to Thanksgiving?"

    "He had nowhere to go! I felt bad!"

    Their mother cut in before things could get more heated. "It''s not a big deal, Ollie. I used to invite friends to Thanksgiving all the time. She''s allowed to bring someone she''s dating casually."

    Aaron suddenly scowled and muttered under his breath. "Don''t remind me."

    Violet nearlyughed. Somebody was still jealous about something that must have happened long before she was born. He really was such a sucker where his wife was involved.

    She had to admit she was nervous about how Jeremy would fit in. Obviously he knew her dad well and had met most of her family members at least once but still¡­if he didn''t fit into her family dynamic there was no way she could continue dating him no matter how much she liked him.

    Her family was important to her. Violet could never be with someone who didn''t get along with them because that would result in them drifting apart. Like how Noah seemed to be drifting away from her right now¡­

    It really did bother her more than she let on. Her family (minus Oliver, who hadn''t been there) had all asked about him more than once in the past couple of weeks because they had never gone so long without seeing him. Neither had she. It was disconcerting.

    Violet missed him. Really missed him. There had to be a way she could corner him after he got back from his vacation and ask him what on earth had been going on since he ghosted her.

    Michael Gray arrived first with a blueberry pie obviously purchased from a bakery downtown. He seemed quite pleased to be there. His smile was more genuine than it had been the first time Violet saw him.

    "Aaron! How nice to see you again. Care to introduce me to your children?"

    Her father had a neutral expression on his face, which wasn''t what Violet was used to seeing from him at all. Normally he was quite expressive.

    "You already met Violet. Everyone else is in the kitchen." He pointed everyone out by name and they all stared on in confusion.

    "Who''s this?" Oliver asked.

    "An old friend of mine."

    Aaron''s tone was t but Violet could tell he had said it grimly. They were fairly simr in their mannerisms after all. He really, really didn''t like this guy. But no one else would be able to tell because he was outwardly cordial. Well, her mother probably could. Those two practically had a psychic connection.

    As her brothers puzzled out what this random person they had never heard of was doing here, the inte buzzed again. Jeremy had arrived. Violet took the opportunity to escape the awkwardness and tell the doorman to let him up.

    When he stepped out of the elevator her breath caught in her throat. She had never seen him dressed so casually before because they usually got together right after he was leaving work or was dressed nicely for their dates on the weekends.

    Right now he was wearing an olive green sweater and jeans. And he looked really, really good in them.

    "Hi Jeremy," she managed to say despite her inner turmoil. "Come on up. Everyone''s already here."

    "Who else came?"

    "Somebody my dad knows."

    It was the best way to exin things since Violet didn''t know much else about the man. She only knew her father was afraid of him and that both of her parents referred to him as Gray. Wasn''t it kind of random to refer to him by hisst name instead of his first?

    Jeremy introduced himself to the people he hadn''t met yet and Violet could already feel the death vibes radiating off of Oliver. Oh boy. Here they go again.

    Oliver asked him the same kinds of questions Kaleb and Nathan had the other day and he answered all of them with ease. He had passed the brother test, which came as a relief to Violet. Now he had to pass the mother test.

    Keeley had only met Jeremy once before in a work context as she dropped something off for her husband so she hadn''t had much of an impression of him. At least that''s what she told Violet when she said she was inviting him over for Thanksgiving.

    She was normally a fairly good judge of character. Violet was quite curious what she would think of him after they shared a meal together.

    Her impression of him only got more positive as time went on. He was handsome, smart, and rtively easy to talk to (which was a big deal in her book because she didn''t always have the best time making new acquaintances). So far she hadn''t seen anything that would give her reason not to continue liking him.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 475: Many Forms

    <h4>Chapter 475: Many Forms</h4>

    Keeley hadn''t had such an awkward Thanksgiving since her first life when she had to attend those awful catered events the Hales put on. Aaron was clearly ufortable having Gray there, the kids were confused, and Jeremy¡­she couldn''t quite figure out.

    He was very polite and engaged everyone in conversation as the meal preparations were finished up but something about him rang false. She was still trying to decipher what it was when it was time for the traditional going around the table saying what everyone was thankful for.

    "I''m thankful for my family," Aaron said like he did every year.

    "I''m thankful that baseball season is over."

    "I''m thankful that I got toe home for a little break before finals hit."

    "I''m thankful that we''re about to eat."

    Keeley stifled augh at Nathan''sment. It was such a typical thing for him to say. "I''m thankful that my treatment got approved by the FDA this year."

    Technically speaking, she wasn''t allowed to tell people she had been nominated for a Nobel Prize because of all the secrecy involved in the selection process. Her immediate family knew but she made them all swear they wouldn''t tell anyone about it.

    Otherwise Keeley would have used that as what she was most thankful for this year. She honestly never would have imagined making it this far in the science world. Her dream hade true more than she ever expected it would already, even if she didn''t win the prize.

    "I''m thankful to be here," Gray said mildly.

    His words held a deeper meaner than anyone but Aaron and Keeley would catch onto. He was grateful to be here with his family and out of prison.

    If he wasn''t such an insincere person who posed a major threat if he ever discovered Aaron was the one who got him locked away she might like him more. The poor guy really didn''t have anyone, which was sad, but he had kind of brought it upon himself.

    Even before Gray hadmitted murder he had been a shady person involved in who knows what. Aaron had spected he had connections in all of the unsavory ces in the city before his arrest. And that he had even more after being in prison.

    Keeley wanted to believe it was his paranoia acting up again but had to admit the tone of Gray''s letters had not sounded like someone who resented being locked up. If he was taking it as an opportunity towork with even more criminals, they would be in serious trouble if he turned on them.

    Jeremy cleared his throat before going next. He spoke in apletely matter-of-fact tone even though his words were obviously meant to be romantic.

    "I''m thankful I had the chance to get to know Violet this year."

    She turned bright red and looked down at her te. Poor girl. She had it bad.

    "I¡­I''m thankful to be dancing the part of ra in The Nutcracker," Violet said quietly.

    That didn''t seem like the reaction of a happy person even though the one she liked had basically confessed to her in front of everyone. What was she upset about?

    Keeley thought she might know. When she was younger, Violet frequently said she was thankful for Noah and everyone ended up teasing her about it so she eventually stopped. She might be remembering that now that she hadn''t been talking to himtely.

    She was a bit worried about the kid. He was probably pretty upset that Violet was dating someone else since he was in love with her.

    Both Jennica and Keeley had figured that it was a crush that would pass with time. He had been too young to know what love was at four or ten or thirteen. But now he was twenty-four and he had still never liked anyone else as far as his parents could tell.

    Noah was definitely in love with her daughter and she didn''t have a clue. Of course she would be upset and confused that he suddenly pulled away. She wouldn''t understand that he most likely did it so he wouldn''t have to see her be happy with someone else.

    It was about time. The poor guy had been there for her through all of her other boyfriends. He deserved to have a life of his own. If distancing himself now allowed for a clean break when things got more serious between her and Jeremy, Keeley thought he was justified.

    Still, it was sad. Those two had been thick as thieves their entire lives. Everyone figured they would grow apart as they grew up but it hadn''t happened until now. It was strange not having Noahing and going from the house all the time.

    Everyone dug into the food but Violet picked at hers halfheartedly. Thanksgiving was one of the few cheat days she allowed herself a year but she wasn''t as into it as usual. She must really be upset by Noah''s absence.

    Even though she had liked a bunch of different boys over the years Keeley always had the sense that Noah was more important to her at the end of the day. So why hadn''t she acknowledged that to herself?

    Love came in many forms. She couldn''t have it both ways; dating other people and still regarding another man as her favorite person in the world. It wasn''t fair to anyone involved, including herself.

    Violet most definitely loved Noah Singleton on a profound level. She simply wasn''t IN love with him.

    Keeley furrowed her brow as she ate her candied yams. Noah understood Violet better than anyone and had always treated her well. Would Jeremy be capable of doing the same?

    Further observation of the man hadn''t revealed much. Years and years ago Aaron had said that she would find Jeremy, who was barely a year old at the time, interesting. He imed it was because Jeremy was a lot like he was when he was younger in their first life.

    Back then Aaron had been ssist, business obsessed, and didn''t know how to show his feelings. He only got close to people who could benefit him somehow. Thatparison alone made her uneasy now. Was this young man using Violet''s feelings for him to cement his position as Aaron''s heir or what?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 476: Seal The Deal

    <h4>Chapter 476: Seal The Deal</h4>

    Jeremy felt like the day was going quite well when everyone settled down on the couch to watch football as the food digested. Based on how Violet blushed when he said he was thankful for meeting her felt like a total victory.

    She liked him. Maybe even as much as he liked her. All he had to do was seal the deal with a little romance now.

    Michael Gray was surprisingly interestingpany as well. He thought Aaron''s only friends had been the handful of people he knew at Hale Investments. Then again, it would be a stretch to call him a true friend since Aaron had been so obviously annoyed that he was there.

    Jeremy had be quite adept at reading the different levels of Aaron''s ice and indifference over the years. Most people wouldn''t be able to tell because he acted the same around nearly everyone but he definitely didn''t like Michael.

    So why invite him to Thanksgiving dinner? Had it been Keeley''s idea?

    Speaking of Keeley¡­she wasn''t at all what Jeremy expected her to be. He figured she would be someone clinical and detached like the few other scientists he had met. But she was a warm, bubbly person who smiled a lot.

    Aaron had been right. It was the same smile his daughter had. He also noticed that every time Keeley did smile that Aaron melted a little. He must love her an awful lot.

    When they moved over to the couch and started watching TV, his arm went around his wife''s shoulders and he ended up pulling her into hisp. No one else batted an eye at this but Jeremy waspletely bbergasted. It must be a regr urrence for none of the Hale children to react.

    How far the almighty had fallen! He couldn''t believe his icy boss was so physically affectionate with his wife in front of other people. It was too bizarre.

    Michael didn''t seem terribly fazed by it either. He must know the Hales well, which was strange considering how much Aaron seemed to be irritated by his presence. If he didn''t know any better, Jeremy would think he was a rtive they couldn''t get rid of. But he knew Aaron didn''t have any other family.

    He was an only child and his parents had passed away years ago. Jeremy had already been working at Hale Investments at the time and remembered all of the gossip because Aaron didn''t even bother to go to the funeral.

    He hadn''t seen what the big deal was. He had no ns to go to his parents'' funerals either. What would be the point? Why pretend to mourn people he didn''t even like?

    Their mutual issues with their parents was yet another reason Jeremy felt such kinship with Aaron. They were so simr even though one of them had been born into wealth and the other had been born into poverty.

    He had admired the man for so long because he felt like they were the same underneath it all. And in the workce, they definitely were. But seeing Aaron interact with his family was somewhat like witnessing a zoo animal in its natural habitat rather than in a cage. It was quite different.

    All this time Jeremy had figured that work was his natural habitat and his family was incidental but after today he could tell it was definitely the other way around. They definitely had simr characters¡­so what had made Aaron change?

    Jeremy couldn''t imagine himself as a devoted family man even if he did end up having children someday. He would obviously try to be better than his own parents had been but a certain degree of that involved providing for their physical needs.

    Sending them to good schools. Providing a nice ce to live. Making sure they weren''t wearing old, out of style clothes that would get them made fun of. Progressing his career was vital for that.

    If it ever came down to the wire and he had to choose between his career and a family he would choose his career, hands down. Jeremy supposed that was the main difference between him and Aaron. He had a feeling that if his wife wanted it, he would leave his empire behind in a second. Unimaginable!

    Was Keeley Hale really such a powerful influence? Her husband and children definitely loved her based on what he had seen today but he couldn''t see exactly what was so special about her aside from her smile.

    Come to think of it¡­should he be trying to act more like Aaron right now? He had never been a particrly touchy-feely person but if Violet was using to seeing that sort of thing as a model of romance he might want to give it a shot.

    Jeremy was sitting next to her anyway, he may as well put his arm around her shoulders. She seemed surprised but pleased when he did it and ended up scooting slightly closer to him. So she had wanted it. Interesting.

    It wasn''t exactly a chore, especially after seeing the way she smiled at him. He could stand to do this more often.

    The game on the TV was the Detroit Lions vs the Las Vegas Raiders. Everyone was cheering for the Lions since that team was based in the same city as Kaleb''s baseball team. Kaleb and Nathan both jumped up and yelled when the Lions scored a touchdown but everyone else wasn''t nearly as into it.

    Aaron seemed more interested in his wife. Michael seemed more interested in the sports fans'' reactions. Oliver was ying around on his phone and rolled his eyes at his brothers'' antics. As for Violet¡­she seemed tired.

    "Are you alright?" Jeremy whispered.

    She looked up at him and gave him one of her polite smiles to reassure him. "Yes, I''m fine. I suppose I''m a little worn down from rehearsals."

    The Nutcracker opened the following day and ran Thursday to Sunday until the day before Christmas Eve in order to give the dancers time to spend the holiday with their families. That was only because Christmas Eve was on a Friday.

    If it had been a Saturday or Sunday, they would have offered a matinee earlier in the day. Violet said the balletpany usually worked that way in the past. She was dancing the main role so she had been rehearsing like crazytely.

    Whenever Jeremy saw her after work she seemed tired. But today''s tiredness was something different. He couldn''t put a name to it exactly but it was concerning. He wished he could cheer her up somehow. Seeing her like that was surprisingly distressing.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 477: Shame

    <h4>Chapter 477: Shame</h4>

    Even though Violet felt like Thanksgiving had been a sess overall, she felt listless. Michael Gray had seemed oddly fond of her father and her family in general while he was at their house. Their rtionship seemed almost sibling-like even though they didn''t appear to be all that close.

    She knew her dad didn''t have any siblings though. Unless her grandfather had cheated on her grandmother and had an illegitimate child¡­but why wouldn''t her dad tell her something like that?

    Aaron Hale valued his family above all else but he had tossed his snobby parents aside like they were nothing. He could easily do the same for a half-sibling. Still, it seemed too farfetched. She wanted to ask but had to wait until everybody had gone home.

    "Spit it out, Dad. Is Michael Gray rted to you somehow?" Violet demanded once she caught him alone.

    Her brothers were all ying VR games after eating more pie than should be humanly possible. There was no danger of being overheard.

    Aaron''s eyes narrowed. "Did your mother tell you that?"

    "No, I figured it out on my own. She did say that you didn''t want me to know what his deal was though even though I''m an a.d.u.l.t."

    He sighed and rubbed his face wearily. "You''re right, I don''t. I''m afraid it will affect you negatively. Can''t you leave the past in the past? It doesn''t matter who he is."

    It mattered to her, alright? Her curiosity had been eating her alive. Plus she was still concerned he might be dangerous. His exnations had been too cryptic and Violet needed to know the truth to decide for herself.

    "It matters to me. Will you please tell me? I promise I won''t tell anyone else." Except Noah, if he ever answered her texts. But he kept secrets better than anyone else she ever met so he didn''t count.

    "Fine but if you tell any of your brothers I''ll never trust you again," Aaron muttered.

    Shame flooded his face, startling her. The situation with the man he called Gray must be a lot worse than she originally expected to be making a face like that! Her dad never seemed to be ashamed of anything. Although he did never speak of the family he had been born into in general¡­

    "He is my father''s son by another woman and I didn''t meet him until after I had already married your mother. You wouldn''t understand¡­the world I left behind was terrible. I have never once regretted my decision to leave high society and my parents. But they do things differently there¡­or at least they did twenty-six years ago."

    Aaronunched into a brief exnation of the importance of sons and how his father had been obsessed with bloodline purity. Violet was horrified to hear that he tried to make his illegitimate son disappear into the foster system by getting rid of his mother once his pure heir was born.

    Her dad''s expression grew progressively more miserable as he continued exining things. She had no idea that he used to have a psychotic stalker. This all sounded like something out of a mystery novel. Even more surprising was discovering that the suave man she had felt so ufortable around had murdered said stalker solely for his brother''s sake.

    "Do you see, Vi? I don''t like him but I''m the only person he actually does like. He killed Lacy Knighton and went to prison for me, his only remaining family. He would never do anything to jeopardize our rtionship so even though I don''t trust him as far as I can throw him, you guys are safe as long as I asionally do something to keep up the farce," Aaron finished.

    Violet was surprised he was so forting. Being blood rted to two murderers was no joke. No wonder he hadn''t wanted to say anything.

    "Why did you tell me so much about this? I only wanted to know who he was."

    A wry smile appeared on his face. "I know how you think. The second you found out he was rted to me you would''ve looked it up online and found all of the old gossip from when you were a baby. I figured it would be bettering from me than from the inte."

    Violet could respect that. And he was right about her looking things up when they were done talking. That had been her n. Her dad understood her need to know everything because he suffered from the same affliction.

    But wow¡­despite telling her Gray''s story in minimal detail, she could tell her father''s life before her mother came along had been fairly miserable. His family was a total wreck. It made perfect sense that he wanted nothing to do with them, even if you didn''t factor in their disapproval of the woman he loved.

    Violet suddenly felt an upsurge of affection for him. His life had been hard but he was still the best father and husband in the world. He didn''t let that hold him back.

    She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. "I love you, Dad."

    Aaron stroked her hair as he returned the hug. He seemed to understand what she meant. "I love you too."

    With one mystery solved, Violet''s thoughts turned to the progress she had made with Jeremy and herck of contact with Noahtely. She really wanted to know if it was because he met someone. If he had, they could double date like they always used to joke about.

    If it wasn''t¡­something was definitely wrong. She tried grabbing his interest by texting him what she had learned about her uncle.

    ''I figured out who Michael Gray was. It''s a doozy''

    His curiosity must have gotten the better of him because he replied almost instantly. ''Who is he?''

    Ugh, Violet should have tried appealing to his natural curiosity ages ago. It was something they had inmon. They both always wanted to know as much about the world as possible, ever since they were little. Most of their conversations involved some sort of philosophical significance.

    So she told him what her dad had said almost word for word. There were no secrets between them.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 478: Even Lamer Than Usual

    <h4>Chapter 478: Even Lamer Than Usual</h4>

    Noah was sprawled across the couch tiredly as his cousin Ben''s two toddlers ran around him screaming. Thanksgiving dinner had been delicious, as expected, but it may as well have been ash considering his state of mind.

    You can''t enjoy something fully if your mind is somewhere else. His was back in Manhattan, wondering how well Jeremy Ward was fitting in with the Hale family today. Violet was close with her family so she wouldn''t continue dating someone who didn''t mesh well. He knew that much.

    "You''re evenmer than usual, Noah," Loganined as he pushed his brother''s legs off the couch to make some space for himself. "I haven''t seen you since this summer and you won''t even y video games with me."

    Noah sat up with a groan. Four slices of four different pies was definitely too much.

    His brother''sint was a valid one. Noah had been spaced out ever since they arrived herest night. He needed to be more present for Logan''s sake since they really didn''t see each other all that often since he went off to college.

    "Sorry. I''ll stop beingme now. What do you want to y?"

    Logan brightened immediately. "Can we y that game with the ice tunnels where you have to dig your way out before you freeze to death?"

    "Sure," he agreed easily before inwardly sighing.

    That game was so morbid. Lots of VR games these days were. There were ones involving being an epidemiologist stopping a gue, surviving being trapped in a building with multiple serial killers, and more. Noah and Violet had a long discussion specting on why VR games were so focused on death a couple of months ago.

    He ran into this problem no matter what he tried to distract himself with. Every facet of his life had been touched by Violet in some way. Not being reminded of her was impossible.

    Noah yed that ice tunnel game with his brother for over an hour before Logan lost interest and went off to bother their aunt Alison about more pie. He went back to his position on the couch, miserably wondering what to do. He hated not talking to Violet but he was trying to distance himself for both of their sakes.

    When she texted him saying she had found out the truth about Michael Gray he couldn''t help but respond. He was missing her too much. As soon as she said he was not only her uncle but a murderer who had spent the past quarter century in prison he sat up so quickly it made his head spin.

    What?!

    Noah replied at top speed, wanting the full story, and she told him. Geez, what a bomb to drop on somebody. No wonder her dad hadn''t wanted to tell her. It was too much to process.

    ''How are you handling this?'' he asked nervously.

    If it were him, he would be pretty upset. In fact, he was upset on her behalf right now. Being rted to not one but two murderers! Violet was always too hard on herself anyway; Noah was concerned she might internalize this.

    ''It made me realize how amazing my dad is''

    Her message came as a surprise. But he supposed it shouldn''t have, considering the way Violet viewed the world. Noah could see how learning about how her father overcame his circ.u.mstances would increase her respect for him.

    She was such a good person. Instead of selfishly yet understandably being upset by distressing news, she was thinking about other people. Most people didn''t realize how deep Violet''s kindness and concern for others ran because she was so shy. But if she cared about you, you really felt it.

    Noah wanted to immediately apologize for being AWOL and promise he would never go anywhere ever again but he couldn''t do it. She was dating Jeremy. He was the one who should be concerned about her now, not him.

    He backspaced his original reply to that message and sent something else. ''You''re a really good person, Vi''

    ''How so?''

    ''Your first thought in this situation is for someone else''

    It took her a little while to respond. ''Well, I get the feeling my dad really didn''t want to talk about it and I made him anyway. It would be hard not to think of him first. You don''t have to worry about me though. If my dad doesn''t consider these people family then I don''t either. You can''t help who you''re rted to''

    That was a relief. He had been worried she would think there was something wrong with her sharing blood with such people.

    Murdering for somebody else because you didn''t want them to be stressed out¡­that''s a really twisted way of viewing love. Violet said her uncle grew up in the foster system after his mother was murdered but still. Clinging onto Aaron like that was nuts.

    He probably hated it. In Noah''s many years of knowing Aaron Hale, he hade to know that the man tolerated most, liked few, and loved only his wife and children. He actually felt sorry for him having to deal with such a troublesome rtive.

    ''That''s a good mindset to have'' he sent back. Simple and to the point.

    Noah really didn''t know what else to say to her. Usually he didn''t have this problem but the subject had basically been closed and he really didn''t want to hear her gush about how well bringing Jeremy home had gone.

    He set his phone to airne mode and shut his eyes. He didn''t want to deal with anything else right now. Maybe he should just go to sleep. That is, if Ben''s kids ever stopped screaming.

    "You alright there, Noah? You''ve seemed half-dead all day," his uncle Brian noted as he sat down on the other couch.

    "Violet is dating someone else," Logan contributed helpfully from the kitchen.

    "Ah."

    All of Noah''s family knew about Violet since she had been present at every major event in his life that had ever happened in New York. All of his aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins had met her at some point or other.

    He grabbed a throw pillow and covered his head with it, trying to disappear. There really was no escaping thoughts of Violet.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 479: Sorry For Bothering You

    <h4>Chapter 479: Sorry For Bothering You</h4>

    Violet danced her part perfectly on opening night but her insides twisted every time she caught sight of the VIP rows because Noah''s seat was empty. He had never missed an opening night before.

    She didn''t me him at all; she knew he was still down in V.i.r.g.i.nia with the rest of his family. But it felt wrong. Nobody hade to see her because Jeremy said he woulde to thest performance before Christmas.

    Oliver dragged Kaleb along with him to the matinee the day after but it wasn''t the same. There were five performances total that weekend and at least one person she knew came to the rest of them but it didn''t make her feel any better.

    On Monday she showed up at Noah''s dojo unannounced for the first time in a while and all of the little kids in the ss he was teaching swarmed her excitedly. "Miss Violet! Miss Violet!"

    "I missed you very much," one of the little boys confided with a shy smile.

    She couldn''t help but smile in return. "I missed you guys too. Sorry I''ve been busytely."

    Noah seemed absolutely exhausted, though his katas were as wless as ever when she walked in. He frowned slightly when he saw her.

    "What are you doing here?"

    The question stung. It used to be as natural as breathing to show up at each other''s jobs without warning. Why was he asking her that with such an expression on his face now?

    "I missed you," Violet said lightly. "You''re a hard person to get a hold of these days."

    His gaze was unfathomable. "Sorry about that. I''ve had a lot going on."

    The silence between them was deafening. What was going on? Things with Noah were never like this! Violet wanted to ask him what was going on with him but she felt so stifled by the awkwardness in the room that she was more tempted to flee.

    "Sorry for bothering you then," she said thickly around the lump in her throat. She could not cry. Not here, when he was acting so weird.

    Hurrying out the door with hasty goodbyes to everyone present, she barely managed to hold back her tears. That whole interaction felt wrong! Violet ended up curling up under the covers with a romance novel she couldn''t concentrate on and her cats until it was time to go to rehearsal.

    ===

    Her poor mood remained throughout the beginning of December even though her shows were going well and Jeremy took her to do a bunch of fun Christmassy dates. They went ice skating at the Rockefeller Center, to see the holiday window disys downtown, and to a concert on one of her nights off.

    Violet needed to snap out of it and be a good date. This was the sort of Christmastime romance she had always wanted after watching all of those cheesy Hallmark films her mother hated over the years.

    Right now they were riding in a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park. She had always wanted to do this but never had a boyfriend this time of year. She huddled under the nket they provided for warmth and gazed at the lights hung throughout the park.

    "I''ve always loved Christmas lights," she remarked casually, breaking the silence that had pervaded since they got in the carriage.

    Jeremy was a good conversationalist but today it seemed like she wasn''t the only one with something on her mind. He had hardly spoken a word since they got here.

    "I''m d you get to enjoy more of them then," he said before clearing his throat and continuing a bit nervously. "Violet¡­the past couple of months with you have been some of the best of my life. I would like to keep seeing you in a more official capacity. Will you be my girlfriend?"

    Violet turned toward him and her mind went nk for a moment. Really, she should have seen thising. They had been practically attached at the hip for over a month now. And she did like him. There was no reason to freeze up like this.

    Recovering her wits about her, she smiled. "I would love to."

    Jeremy smiled softly before leaning forward to kiss her. It was a perfect, romantic moment¡­and she was still feeling the same gloom as earlier. What was wrong with her?

    When Violet got home at the end of the date she posted a picture on Instagram of them in the carriage with a simple heart emoji as the caption. Jeremy had social media ounts but never used them so there was no point trying to get him to change his rtionship status online. This picture would suffice for people to know she had a boyfriend.

    Violet vaguely entertained the idea of texting Noah about it before deciding against it. She hadn''t dared try to contact him again after that awkward day in the dojo. He hadn''t reached out to her either.

    The angry, indignant part of her tried to tell herself things like ''who needs him anyway!'' but they were empty words. Not talking to or seeing her best friend of twenty-four years felt wrong. She didn''t know why he seemed to be mad at her either.

    What had she done? She couldn''t think of anything she said that would be offensive.

    Maybe Noah had finally gotten sick of her clinginess like she used to worry about when all the drama went down with Kaleb. But he had promised he didn''t think she was clingy. So why was he avoiding her?

    Violet hated this. She should be happy that she was finally dating again; she shouldn''t be this hung up on how weird her best friend had been actingtely. If they were even still best friends at all. The thought that they might not be threatened to crush her.

    Noah had been there her entire life. He was as important to her as any of her family members. She couldn''t afford to lose him. But what was she supposed to do when he had already been avoiding her texts before she ran out on him?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 480: Go Get Her

    <h4>Chapter 480: Go Get Her</h4>

    The house felt too quiet to Violet. Jeremy was at work, Nathan was at school, and even Kaleb had finallye out of his funk enough to socialize practically 24/7. Her parents had finally gone on their bted anniversary trip so she was all alone with the cats on a Friday morning.

    She tried watching one of her favorite cheesy holiday romance flicks to cheer herself up but it didn''t work. She had felt so offtely.

    Her difficulty focusing continued into her performance that night. Despite practicing a hundred times, shended one of her jumps wrong and felt a horrible popping sensation in her knee.

    Tears of pain swam in her eyes but she couldn''t stop dancing mid performance. It would be unprofessional and she was the lead dancer.

    Unfortunately for her, this happened in the middle of Act I. She still had more than an hour before she could go get it checked out.

    Violet cked out momentarily several times as she continued to dance but she managed to carry on by muscle memory alone. During the intermission when it was time to change costumes she massaged her knee with a grimace.

    "Do you hurt yourself?" Paul asked with concern. He had been standing nearby when the ''pop'' happened and probably heard it.

    "Yes," she said miserably.

    "Violet, you need to tell the director! Don''t strain yourself."

    She shook her head. The understudy for ra was out sick with the stomach flu. Nobody else knew the part.

    A lot of the second act involved sitting in a carriage with the Nutcracker. Making it through a handful of dance scenes wouldn''t be the end of the world. The show must go on.

    Nina, the understudy, said she would be back tomorrow no matter what. Violet had to make it through this one show and things would be fine.

    That was what she said but trying to dance without wincing was incredibly difficult. She didn''t want to ruin the magic of the show for the people who had paid to see it so she gritted her teeth and smiled as best she could.

    After the final bow, she gracefully made her way off stage and promptly copsed from the pain. A few of her fellow dancers who had seen rushed to her immediately.

    "Violet!"

    "What happened?"

    "Are you alright?"

    She came to quickly and tried to reassure them that she was fine. Abigail hurried off to fetch her phone.

    "You can''t drive home like this," she insisted. "Call someone toe get you."

    Nobody else could take her because there was still the meet and greet with the dancers following the show and the director insisted everyone else make up for the fact that ra wouldn''t be there. Violet dialed Jeremy''s number first and was dismayed that it went straight to voicemail. His phone was either off or on airne mode.

    Kaleb didn''t answer after calling him twice and Nathan''s phone was off since he was in ss. Tears looked in her eyes. There was no one else she could call.

    Noah wouldn''t answer. She knew he wouldn''t. It had been two weeks and he hadn''t even bothered to see her show for the first time ever. It was stupid to even try and yet...

    The familiar dial tone rang in her ears for over a minute but he did pick up.

    "What is it, Violet?"

    Violet, not Vi. That wasn''t encouraging. Noah had been calling her Vi for most of her life.

    Though she was tempted to simply hang up and deal with the humiliation of being carted off in an ambnce for something that wasn''t that big of a deal she pressed forward in a small voice. "I got hurt during my show and can''t drive to the hospital by myself. Nobody else is picking up their phones."

    "Not even your boyfriend?" he asked tly.

    "His phone is off."

    Noah sighed heavily. "I''ll be there in twenty minutes. Wait for me."

    "Thank you," she replied softly before he made a sound of affirmation and hung up.

    Violet leaned her head against the wall and shut her eyes. She couldn''t think about how serious the injury might be or how her career might be over. Help wasing. She would be okay.

    ===

    Avoiding his best friend so Noah wouldn''t have to hear about her boyfriend was working. The forgetting about her so he could move on part¡­not so much. He hadn''t seen her since the day he had been too thrown off by her sudden appearance to know what to say and she ran out a minuteter.

    Why bothering if she wasn''t even going to say anything? What was even the point of that? All it did was make him miss the way things used to be even more.

    He was ying that gue epidemic game with Kristen and her boyfriend Scott when his phone rang. He considered letting it go until Kristen, who had briefly taken off her headset to get a drink, said it was Violet calling.

    Violet was a texter; she didn''t call unless it was urgent or there were too many words to type out. That, coupled with the fact that neither of them had contacted each other since that day in the dojo made him nearly panic. He dove for his phone.

    "What is it, Violet?" Noah asked, trying to keep his cool.

    Her response was nervous and that cut him to the core. She never sounded nervous when she talked to him. "I got hurt during my show and can''t drive to the hospital by myself. Nobody else is picking up their phones."

    So she was calling him as ast resort. Before Jeremy came along and ruined everything he would have been the first person she called. He wasn''t entirely to me though. She still might have called him first if he hadn''t been trying to avoid her to get over his stupid, pointless feelings.

    Hang on though¡­if nobody else was picking up, that meant Jeremy wasn''t either. "Not even your boyfriend?"

    "His phone is off," Violet said with a hint of sadness.

    Noah sighed. Ditching his friends mid-game wouldn''t be cool but duty called. His favorite person needed him.

    "I''ll be there in twenty minutes. Wait for me."

    "Thank you," she said so quietly and vulnerably that he could have kicked himself. All he could do was say ''mm'' in response before hanging up. He never should have avoided her. That was a stupid idea.

    He was about to exin himself to Kristen and Scott but she seemed to get the gist of what was going on from hearing his half of the conversation. She waved him out the door with a half-smile on her face.

    "Go get her."

    Needing no further encouragement, Noah barely managed to put on his jacket as he raced out the door. His heart pounded with anxiety. Exactly how badly had she been hurt? This wouldn''t affect her dancing career, would it?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 481: A Total Jerk

    <h4>Chapter 481: A Total Jerk</h4>

    By the time Noah arrived at the performing arts center, Violet had fallen asleep against the wall. It looked horribly ufortable. One of her knees was bent but the other was straight out in front of her and obviously swollen. So that was what she had hurt.

    "Vi," he said softly as he shook her shoulder. "Can you get up on your own?"

    Her eyes fluttered open and she rubbed at them before wincing. Some of the stage makeup had rubbed off.

    "I¡­don''t think so," she admitted. "I can''t bend my knee."

    Noah bent down and awkwardly tried to lift her without making her injured knee bend. It worked out in the end but the arms Violet had wrapped around his neck for support were choking him a little.

    She was still wearing her costume¡ªa simple white dress meant to look like a 19th century nightgown, white tights, and pointe shoes. Her hair was curled and partially pulled back with ribbons in it.

    He suddenly felt really guilty that he never went to see her show. ra was one of the most famous and sought after roles in the ballet world. He shouldn''t have let his unrequited feelings get in the way of being a good friend.

    "How did you end up on the floor like that?" Noah asked once they were in the car.

    "I passed out."

    He nearly mmed on the brakes in rm. She passed out?! That would have been a good thing to mention over the phone!

    At the next stop light Noah got a better look at her. A light sheen of sweat covered her face and she was grimacing because of the pain. It seemed pretty serious. What kind of terrible boyfriend was Jeremy Ward to not answer his phone when his girlfriend needed him?

    Noah had backed away because he thought Violet would be happier getting the romance she wanted and he didn''t want to have to see that. But if this guy wasn''t going to take care of her he didn''t deserve to call himself her boyfriend.

    "What happened?" he asked.

    She let out a weakugh. "Inded wrong and felt this horrible pop. Can you believe it? I''ve jumped exactly like that thousands of times and just had tond it wrong this once."

    Ouch. That wasn''t a lot of detail but it still sounded pretty bad. Violet had never been injured while dancing before. At least not more seriously than simply being sore from working out certain muscles so much.

    What exactly had made hernd her jump wrong? Was her mind somewhere else? She was normally so focused when she was dancing.

    "Peoplend their jumps wrong all the time," Noah said to reassure her.

    From being around a dancer so long, he knew that was one of the mostmon causes of injury. Violet was normally more careful than that though.

    She had seen one of her fellow dancers sprain her ankle bynding a jump wrong back in middle school. The girl ended up having to miss their uing recital. After seeing that, Violet had never wanted to experience the same thing.

    Of course it would happen right in the middle of her dancing the lead role too. What rotten luck. Noah really hoped this was something that could be fixed easily and rtively quickly for her sake.

    When they arrived at the entrance of the emergency room Violet still couldn''t walk so Noah had to carry her in. It was a bit awkward that she had to exin her situation to the person at the desk while still being princess-carried.

    She had fainted so she was higher priority than someone who appeared to have a broken arm but hadn''t lost consciousness but her case was still considered less important than people with impossibly high fevers or blood loss. They ended up having to wait for nearly an hour in the waiting room before she was seen.

    For most of that time Violet didn''t even try to initiate conversation. She tiredly leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, trying and failing to nap.

    Noah didn''t speak; not wanting to disturb her but also not knowing what to say. He hade rushing to the rescue like always after weeks of radio silence. What was he supposed to say after that?

    ''Sorry I was avoiding you but I was trying to get over you since you have a boyfriend you''re pretty serious about?'' That wouldn''t work. He really wished he could think of something to say that would make her feel better. She did look pretty miserable and he didn''t think it was entirely because she was in pain.

    It was obviously because of him. If the situations were reversed, Noah would have been devastated if Violet started avoiding him out of the blue. As it was, he was still pretty devastated and he was the one doing the avoiding.

    Jeremy Ward was different than the rest of Violet''s past boyfriends. For one, he moved a lot faster. The two of them also spent so much time together that she practically forgot Noah existed. That had never happened before; even when she liked someone else she always made time for him.

    She was twenty-five now; people tended to fall in love for real during that time of life. His mom had fallen for his dad when she was twenty-six and gotten married less than a yearter.

    Cameron was older than Jennica. Jeremy was older than Violet. She had only ever seen Noah as one of her younger brothers so he had thought it was finally time to try and forget about her even though it hadn''t been working. At all.

    The guy was a total jerk though. How busy could he be on a Friday night that he couldn''t answer the phone when his girlfriend got hurt? He wasn''t cheating on her so soon, was he?

    No, that didn''t make sense with everything Noah''s dad said about the guy. He described Jeremy as being married to his work, the way Aaron had been before Keeley came along. Chances are he was probably still at the office.

    Aaron was a bigshot businessman but he always put his family first because he loved them. If Jeremy really was working overtime right now and ignoring Violet''s calls he probably didn''t care about her all that much.

    Anger gripped his heart. That man did not deserve his best friend''s love.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 482: Dont Make Me Watch

    <h4>Chapter 482: Don''t Make Me Watch</h4>

    "Hey, Noah?" Violet asked softly, finally giving up on trying to sleep.

    "Yeah?"

    "Thanks foring to get me. I''m not sure what I did that made you hate me¡­but whatever it is I''m really sorry. You don''t have to wait with me. I''m sure someone else will answer their phone by the time I get out of here," she said with a tired attempt at a smile.

    Hate her?! He could never! But Violet had always been sensitive to the way other people acted towards her. In her mind, his avoidance could definitely be misconstrued like that.

    "I could never hate you!" Noah blurted. "I was just¡­I only¡­I¡­"

    "You what?" Violet asked dully. "What other reason could you possibly have for not answering any of messages for weeks and then not reaching out at all when I stopped trying? No matter how busy you''ve been before, you''ve never done that."

    Ah, he really couldn''t exin himself without telling her the truth about his feelings that he had kept hidden for about half of their friendship. If he told her now, she might never want to speak to him again. But it wasn''t like they had been talking anyway¡­

    All of this had happened because Noah kept things to himself for too long. If he had been less of a coward he would have confessed to her years ago. But was it really okay to tell a woman you love her when she''s in a rtionship with someone else?

    Maybe if he used different words¡­ He didn''t have to specifically say he was in love with her. He could make this about Jeremy.

    "You ignored me first," Noah pointed out. "I didn''t want to get in the way of your rtionship so I took a step back but Vi¡­that guy is no good. He didn''t evene to take care of you when you got hurt."

    Confusion and hurt lit Violet''s eyes. "You''ve never had a problem with my boyfriends before. Was that really it? You avoided me for the first time in our lives because you don''t like Jeremy?"

    It would be so easy to say yes and let this whole thing blow over. What should he do? If Noah added on something like ''he was taking you away from me'' he would sound like a child. That was thest thing he wanted.

    Nothingsted forever. This was always going to have to happen one way or another. The time had finallye to tell the truth.

    If he didn''t, he would have to carry on pitifully as a little brother figure for the rest of his life. Even if he got rejected now it needed to be said. Tiptoeing around like this wasn''t fair to either of them.

    Violet didn''t like change; she never had. Neither did Noah. They werefortable with each other and so they stuck together for thest twenty-four years. But they weren''t siblings and they couldn''t keep acting like they were when his feelings for her were anything but brotherly.

    If he didn''t say this now, he would never even be able to try moving on for real. There would never be anyone else like Violet but he couldn''t hold her back anymore.

    "You think I want to hang around watching you be with someone else again? I''m sick of it, Violet. I really can''t take it anymore. I know I never said anything¡­but it really isn''t fair to make me wait around for you forever," Noah began.

    Once the words starteding, they wouldn''t stop. All of this had been building up inside of him for over a decade.

    "Everybody else around us can see it but you. Your brothers haven''t been teasing you about me for no reason! They know I''ve been in love with you for most of my life! So please¡­I know you don''t feel that way about me but at least don''t make me watch as you''re with a guy who is all wrong for you and expect everything to be okay."

    Violet gaped at him,pletely dumbstruck. She opened her mouth several times, looking like she wanted to say something, but wasn''t able to get the words out.

    A nurse called her name and came out with a wheelchair to whisk her away into an examination room and she still continued craning her neck to stare at Noah wordlessly as she was taken away.

    Great. He hadpletely blown everything but at least it was out now.

    Now what? Noah really didn''t want to leave her alone not knowing if someone else was actually going toe pick her up once they were done looking at her. So he found himself remaining seated in the hard stic waiting room chair even though he dreaded hearing what she might have to say when she came back out.

    Noah had already tried calling Kaleb and Nathan but neither of them were picking up their phones. He didn''t have that jerk Jeremy''s number. Calling her parents wouldn''t do any good since he knew from social media that they were currently on a cruise in Europe.

    And so he continued to wait. And wait. And wait some more. What on earth was taking them so long?

    Noah hadn''t even picked Violet up from her show until nearly 10 PM so it was after midnight now. Normally he would have been asleep by now but right now he was too keyed up after finally telling her how he felt. He wasn''t tired at all.

    Dread filled him at the thought that Violet would cut ties with himpletely because of what he said tonight but wasn''t that better than wasting away at her side as she was with someone else? It was a lose-lose situation no matter what.

    If she broke up with Jeremy, Noah would probably fall back into their old pattern of friendship in a heartbeat if that was what she wanted because it was what he was used to. But at this point he doubted she would want that.

    Who would willingly keep someone next to them that harbored unrequited feelings for them? He had lost her either way and now he would have to get used to life without her on a permanent basis.

 Chapter 483: The Biggest Bomb Of Her Life

    <h4>Chapter 483: The Biggest Bomb Of Her Life</h4>

    Violet made it through the initial examination by the nurse in a daze. Name, age, height, weight, having her blood pressure checked¡­none of it registered with her. She was still trying to process the biggest bomb of her life being dropped on her.

    Noah was in love with her?! Noah. Her best friend. Practically one of her brothers. How could this have happened?

    He said he had been in love with her for most of his life. She couldn''t even fathom it. When? When did it start? None of this made any sense!

    Yeah, people had been teasing them about their rtionship for years but that was only because Noah would throw tantrums when he was a toddler if he didn''t get to see Violet. She was like his favorite toy back then; she had overheard her mom and Jennicaughing about it when she and Noah were teenagers.

    A three-year-old couldn''t know what romantic love was. It definitely didn''t start that early. Violet suddenly found herself trying to sift through decades of memories to see if there was any clue¡­any indication anywhere for what he had said.

    "Miss Hale? Can you please tell me about your injury?" the doctor repeated.

    Based on the look on his face, this wasn''t the first time he had done so. She hadn''t even realized he hade in to rece the nurse from earlier. She really needed to focus.

    "Sorry. I''m a ballerina; I was performing in the Nutcracker tonight andnded one of my jumps wrong. I felt this horrible pop in my knee and then it was hard to move it. I had to continue dancing until the end of the show so when it ended I passed out from the pain," Violet said a bit sheepishly.

    The doctor was probably judging her for continuing to dance on an injured leg. She cringed at the possibility that she might have made things worse for herself. Earlier in the waiting room she had wondered about that too but that waspletely forgotten after Noah''s revtion.

    The doctor tried moving her knees back and forth and pressing on them in various spots. It was horribly painful. Her right knee couldn''t move in any direction without hurting.

    He ended up asking Violet a few more questions before getting a nurse to wheel her to the x-ray room. The technician in there very painfully arranged her knee in a variety of different ways to get images of multiple angles. The pain was the only thing keeping her thoughts from wandering back to Noah.

    Violet waspletely exhausted¡ªit was one o''clock in the morning by the time she was done with her x-rays¡ªand they ended up telling her she didn''t break anything and needed an MRI. They rmended she go to a clinic and try to get an appointment for the following week.

    Immediately she began to panic. No! She couldn''t wait that long to find out what was wrong! This needed to be fixed right now!

    "Please just do it here," she begged. "I know they have MRI machines in hospitals. I need to know if I need surgery or not so I can start physical therapy as soon as possible. Dancing is my life."

    "That goes against protocol, miss," the nurse said sympathetically. "The healthcare system involves a lot of waiting, I''m afraid."

    The ''rich and famous parents'' card was not one Violet liked to y but desperate times called for desperate measures. Her mother had connections with this hospital and she needed to use them.

    "My mom!" Violet blurted. "My mom is Doctor Keeley Hale; I know she provided a lot of funding to this hospital to help your staff administer gene therapy treatments to cystic fibrosis patients. Please do this for me once."

    The nurse''s eyes widened. All of the staff here knew about Dr. Keeley Hale''s contributions to medical science since she had used this hospital as the first one to test her FDA approved treatment.

    "¡­I''ll go speak with my supervisor. Hang on a minute."

    Violet heaved a sigh of relief. Her mom was considered a VIP here; they could do a measly rush order on that MRI, right? That was all she needed.

    Five minutester the nurse returned and apologized profusely. She said that the MRI department wouldn''t reopen until 7 AM the following day but that they had prepared a VIP room for her to rest in until then.

    It was amazing what the power of a name could do. The room they gave her was a suite that looked like it could have been in a hotel if not for the hospital bed and machinery next to it. The nurse fussed over her, helping her change out of her costume and into a hospital gown.

    Violet undid all of the bobby pins holding her hairstyle together and sighed and she leaned against the pillow. Her knee was elevated with an ice pack and they gave her pain medication to help her sleep.

    Once the nurse left, she fumbled through her bag to find her phone. Ballerina costumes didn''t exactly have pockets. There were tons of missed messages from Kaleb and Nathan and one from Jeremy asking why she had called.

    It appeared that Noah had told her brothers what was going on. Kaleb left a message instructing her to call him back no matter what time she saw it so she decided to do it rather than face his wrath.

    "Vi! Noah said you got hurt; what on earth happened?" he asked anxiously without even saying hello.

    "I did something to my knee bynding a jump wrong. They''re keeping me overnight to do more scans in the morning and see if I tore something that requires surgery." Violet bit her lip, hesitating before asking what she really wanted to. "When did Noah call you?"

    "He tried calling me about four times before I actually heard it¡­I was in a nightclub and they''re not exactly quiet ces. I told him I''d pick you up so he could go home."

    Her heart ached. Noah waited for her even though she hadn''t been able to do anything but stare at him like an idiot after he told her that he was in love with her. She really didn''t think he would stay after that.

    It was a good thing Kaleb sent him home because she really didn''t want him to stay up sote when he had sses to teach in the morning. Plus she had no idea what she would say to him.

    How did you respond to your best friend telling you he loved you? ''Thanks''? ''Are you crazy?''''Why me of all people?''

    Noah knew her best so why would he feel that way about her? He knew all of the deepest, darkest parts of her heart. All of her insecurities. All of her weaknesses. Who would be in love with that?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 484: Torn Meniscus

    <h4>Chapter 484: Torn Meniscus</h4>

    "I''ll call you in the morning when my scan is done, Kal," Violet promised. "Will you be awake then or too hungover?"

    Her twin grumbled. "I''m no lightweight and I really didn''t drink that much. I''lle get you no matter how early it is."

    She managed to smile slightly. Always so overprotective. "Alright. I''ll see you in the morning then."

    Violet ended the call and sent Nathan a quick text to let him know she was fine¡­if he was even still awake. Even though she really had no clue what to say to Noah''s confession she still needed to thank him and let him know what was going on in case he worried.

    ''They''re keeping me overnight to do an MRI in the morning and see if I tore anything. Thanks for contacting my brothers for me''

    After a lifetime of friendship she knew she owed him more than that. But her thoughts were racing too wildly to formte a proper response right now. What did she even want to say to him? He had been right when he said she didn''t think of him romantically.

    How could she when they had known each other since they were in diapers? They had seen each other at their absolute worst too many times to count. How had he ever managed to develop romantic feelings for her despite that?

    Noah saw her when she was missing most of her teeth and the year she tried to cut her bangs herself and they looked horrible, not to mention when she had rubber bands on her braces and couldn''t even open her mouth all the way.

    There were even pictures of them in the bath together when they were toddlers after they made a huge mess! They were practically family so how¡­?

    But if Violet pushed the confusing and gigantic question of ''how'' out of her mind¡­it did exin a lot of things. Why Noah always preferred spending time with her over his other friends. Why he would drop everything ande running when she needed it. Why he was the only one who attended two different performances of the same show every time.

    And he had worried so much when she was going to graduate from high school about being left behind. He hadn''t wanted her to get a boyfriend and forget about him. All this time she had his motivation wrong!

    She thought he was worried about losing his best friend but that wasn''t it at all. He was jealous. Jealous about her! What a crazy thought.

    Noah was the most important person in her life. She had no idea she had been hurting him by confiding in him about boy problems all of these years. Wanting space as she dated someone else seriously was perfectly understandable.

    But she selfishly didn''t want to let him go. Violet loved him. She wasn''t IN love with him because she had thought they were like siblings this whole time but she undeniably loved him more than almost anything.

    It wouldn''t be fair to make him be her friend when she was with Jeremy. She liked Jeremy, she really did, but was he worth losing Noah over? Would Noah even want to stay her friend if she wasn''t with Jeremy now that he had confessed?

    Violet''s thoughts wouldn''t stop so even with the pain medication and a sleeping pill it took her a long time to fall asleep.

    ===

    The doctor informed her she had torn her meniscus pretty badly after her MRI was done. Violet would need toe back for knee surgery on Monday once the orthopedic surgeon came back to work (he had weekends off). After that she would need a whole lot of physical therapy and with luck would be able to dance again in 3-6 months.

    The words ''with luck'' rang in her ears long after Kaleb picked her up. That meant there was a possibility she might never be able to dance again. She wouldn''t be able to live with that!

    Shey miserably on the couch with her knee propped up under an ice pack watching a doc.u.mentary on penguins as Sassy curled up on her stomach. Today had been too awful.

    First, she might be losing Noah forever. Violet still hadn''t figured out what to do about that whole mess. She couldn''t move on her own either; she had to holler for Kaleb to fetch her things and help her get to the bathroom. He was taking it like a champ but it was still embarrassing.

    Jeremy had said he woulde see her to cheer her up once he found out she got hurt but hadn''te yet and it was mid-afternoon. And she still hadn''t been able to get a hold of her parents to tell them what was going on.

    They must be at sea. If they weren''t, her parents'' phone n would allow international calls no problem. Her dad had made sure of that a long time ago because he had to go on business trips over seas a few times a year and wanted to be able to call home easily.

    More than anything right now, Violet wanted to talk to her mom. She had always been the most solid source of advice in her life aside from Noah. Obviously she couldn''t talk to him about any of this.

    "KAAAAAAL!" she yelled down the hall.

    Her twin came running with a slightly panicked look on his face. He panted as he leaned onto the doorframe for support.

    "What is it? Are you in pain? Do you need more ice?" Kaleb fretted.

    "Could you get me a snack? Something super unhealthy since I won''t be dancing for a while."

    Violet tried to say it lightly but it ended uping out like lead. Who knows if she would even be able to dance professionally again. Her knee might be ruined for good.

    Tears filled her eyes and she ended up sobbing for the first time since this whole mess happened. Startled, Kaleb immediately rushed forward to wrap his arms around her. It was a bit awkward since she was stuck on the couch.

    He hadn''t seen her cry since their grandpa''s funeral; of course he would be startled. She always tried being strong in front of him because of how much he hated her clinginess when they were younger.

    That didn''t matter right now though. Right now she buried her face into her twin''s shoulder and cried as if she was the same four-year-old girl who didn''t want anybody but her brother at preschool.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 485: How Long Did You Know?!

    <h4>Chapter 485: How Long Did You Know?!</h4>

    "Vi¡­" Kaleb said helplessly. "It''s gonna be okay. The doctor already said it''s repairable, right? You wouldn''t lose mobility in your leg permanently unless he had to remove the meniscus entirely."

    Violet was surprised he actually listened to the doctor''s exnation when he came to pick her up. She didn''t think he had been paying attention. She certainly hadn''t been at times because she was so out of it from hardly getting any sleep.

    She sat back and desperately wiped at her eyes. Maybe she could talk to him about Noah since he had always been teasing her¡­did he really know this whole time?

    "It''s not only that," she admitted. "Last night Noah told me he was in love with me."

    Kaleb blinked at her in shock. "Seriously? He finally fessed up?"

    So he had known! Why didn''t he ever say anything? With all of that joking around she hadn''t been able to tell he was being serious!

    "What do you mean finally? How long did you know?!"

    "Uh¡­probably since we were like fourteen? You really never so much as guessed he had feelings for you? It really was so obvious. No adolescent boy avoids girls the way he did unless they''re stuck on someone else," Kaleb said in a tone that clearly indicated she was stupid.

    Maybe she was. That was twelve years ago and Violet hadn''t seen iting at all. She really should have though in hindsight. Noah didn''t ever show interest in other girls and he always made every possible excuse to see her.

    And he was so hung up on being younger than her back in high school especially. He said he would have taken her to the prom if no one else asked if they were the same age.

    That moron! Why hadn''t he said anything sooner? If Kaleb was right, Noah had been holding his feelings in for at least twelve years. Twelve years where they had seen each other pretty much every day! How had she never caught on?

    Probably because he acted the way he always did. Violet never suspected him in the beginning so why would she suspect himter if he acted the same no matter what happened?

    "I really didn''t know," she said softly. "I can''t lose him¡­he''s my most important friend¡­but I''m with Jeremy. I don''t want to hurt him but I don''t see how not to. I''m not in love with Noah."

    Kaleb raised an eyebrow. "You''re closer to him than the rest of your familybined but you say you''re not in love with him? We all know he''s your favorite. He surpassed me back when we were in elementary school."

    Violet looked at him questioningly. He seemed almost bitter about that. But he was the one who pushed her away! How could he expect to remain her favorite person when he ditched her? She had to turn to the only other person she was equally close to forfort.

    "¡­Kal, you were the one who didn''t want me around," she said tly. "Noah did. I was a shy, needy child who only cared about a few people and one of them thought I was a nuisance. Of course I ended up closer to the one who wanted to spend time with me."

    He sighed and sat down next to her on the couch, running his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "And I regret that¡­I loved you but I also felt suffocated. Since you and Noah were off in your own little world a lot of the time anyway I figured you would be okay."

    Violet wasn''t okay. His distance had hurt her more than she could say. They were twins and she had thought the world of him back then. Kaleb was her other half. How was she, as a little girl, supposed to react to that?

    But that was beside the point right now. He doubted her im that she wasn''t in love with Noah. She wasn''t though! Wouldn''t she know if she was in love with someone?

    Besides¡­she couldn''t be in love with Noah if she harbored romantic feelings for Jeremy. What on earth was she supposed to do about him? He hadn''t been the most reliable boyfriend the past two days but before that they were having a good time together.

    "I wasn''t," Violet said crisply. "I did have Noah but it wasn''t the same. You''re my twin brother; nobody can rece you."

    A small smile appeared on Kaleb''s face and he reached out to tousle her hair. "Thanks for saying that. Getting back to the point¡­the reason we all joke about you two being married is because you act a lot like mom and dad do."

    Wait, what? That wasn''t true at all! Her parents were the mushiest couple alive; she and Noah weren''t like that!

    Seeing her obvious confusion, Kaleb shook his head andughed. "Not in the touchy feely way. You two seem to practically read each other''s minds the way mom and dad do. You get each other. You''re always there for each other. You''re the perfect team without even trying."

    Violet couldn''t even deny it. They had worked together seamlessly helping each other out since before she reached high school. They had always been each other''s greatest support, with the exception of their parents.

    She had thought it was because they were best friends. Did most best friends not work that way? She always knew her approach to rtionsh.i.p.s was weird. She only needed one or two people to be close to and everyone else was incidental.

    "That''s because we''re best friends," Violet said hesitantly.

    Kaleb scoffed. "Mom and Dad were best friends too."

    "That isn''t the same and you know it! They didn''t be best friends until shortly before they got married!"

    "They were still best friends."

    Violet frowned. It wasn''t the same at all. They met in their senior year of high school but only knew each other for six months before being separated for five years. They were definitely a.d.u.l.ts when they got to know each other for real.

    How could that bepared to someone she had known since she was eighteen months old? Noah was so firmly in the friend zone that she had thought of him as one of her brothers. She was positive her mother never thought of her father as a brother figure.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 486: The Way A Man In Love Should Act

    <h4>Chapter 486: The Way A Man In Love Should Act</h4>

    Kaleb patted his twin''s good knee and smiled wryly. "It''s obvious how much you care about Noah. You''ve never tried thinking of him as a man before¡­how would you know it''s impossible if you haven''t tried?"

    Think of Noah as a man? How could Violet even try to do that when she was dating someone else? Someone she liked?

    "What about Jeremy?" she asked.

    "What about him? He''s not that great. Haven''t you always worried about not being perfect enough in front of a boyfriend and letting him see the real you? You wouldn''t have to worry about that with Noah because he already thinks the world of you," Kaleb said with a shrug.

    She hadn''t realized her brother disliked Jeremy. Once his overprotective big brother instinct faded a bit he had been perfectly cordial to him.

    "I thought you were okay with him."

    His face hardened. "I''m not okay with someone who doesn''t answer his girlfriend''s emergency call or make more of an effort to get in contact with her afterwards. He sent you what, one text?"

    Violet nodded. It really had been quite disappointing. She had left him a voicemail mentioning she hurt her knee and needed a ride to the ER and he didn''t get back to her until hourster. His message simply said ''you okay?'' and left it at that.

    "Even if I disregard that¡­he seems insincere somehow. He doesn''t act the way in man in love should act," her twin exined.

    She tilted her head, confused. "How should a man in love act?"

    "Like the woman with him is the most important one in the world," Kaleb said with a tinge of bitterness in his tone. "I didn''t do that and it''s why I got dumped. I should have cared about her needs more. Just like Jeremy should be caring for yours."

    So Violet had been right. His breakup really had bothered him despite his casual attitude about it. But she had to admit he had a point about Jeremy. He did a lot of romantic gestures on the surface but when it came down to the wire he didn''t back it up by being there for her.

    Noah hade to her aid despite not talking to her for weeks just because she needed help. That was how a man in love should act, ording to her brother. She honestly didn''t know what to think.

    "It was only this one time," she said uneasily. "I''ll wait to hear his exnation before I pass judgment."

    Kaleb looked at her seriously. "It''s your call. But I want you to think about who you would choose if a choice had to be made. I''ll go get you that snack now. How does some doughnuts from that shop a block away sound?"

    "That sounds amazing. Thanks, Kal."

    Once he was gone Violet pondered his parting question more seriously. Noah didn''t ask her to choose. He only said he needed some space to try and get over his feelings since she was dating someone seriously. She was the one who had thought about making a choice.

    He cared about her too much to ask her to give up someone she liked for him. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed. He really was such a good friend.

    ===

    Jeremy had been doing his best to pick up Aaron''s ck while he was out of town. He wanted to show up the vice president and prove that he was more capable in the role of future CEO.

    As a result, he ended up workingte on a Friday night with his phone on airne mode so he wouldn''t be disturbed. Violet was going to be at her show untilte anyway so it wasn''t like he needed to be contactable. It would be fine.

    Or so he thought. When he finally stopped burning the midnight oil and bothered to check his phone, he had a voicemail from his girlfriend.

    It waste and he was exhausted so he didn''t bother to check it. He simply sent a text asking if she was alright and went to bed. He didn''t listen to the voicemail and find out she was hurt until morning.

    Of course Jeremy called her immediately after that and promised toe over to visit her but he needed to finish some of this paperwork first. Based on how calmly she spoke in the voicemail it couldn''t be that serious.

    By the time he finally made it over to her ce he picked up some flowers on the way. Hopefully that would improve her mood so she would forgive him for being busyst night.

    He ran into Kaleb carrying a pastry bag in the lobby. The other man, who had been cordial enough to him on Thanksgiving, was shooting daggers out of his eyes.

    "Look who finally decided to show up," he said sarcastically. "I bet you didn''t even know your girlfriend was in the hospital overnight and needs surgery on Monday."

    Jeremy blinked in shock. It was that serious? But she hadn''t even sounded like she was in pain in the voicemail! Then was the pastry bag for Violet? She normally couldn''t eat sweet, fatty foods like that because of her dancer''s diet.

    If she was eating junk now it must be pretty bad. He might be in bigger trouble than he anticipated. She loved to dance; this probably really upset her and he hadn''t been there.

    "I can''t know what she doesn''t tell me," he said lightly before following Kaleb into the elevator.

    When Jeremy found Violet she was on the Hales'' obscenelyrge couch looking thoroughly disheveled. Her hair was down for once and she wasn''t wearing any makeup. Plus she was unexpectedly wearing a matching pair of Mickey Mouse pajamas.

    She looked up at him dully and barely managed to smile when she saw the flowers. "Thanks. I''ll get Kaleb to find a vase for themter since I can''t exactly move."

    "What happened to you?" he asked sympathetically.

    "I tore a meniscus in my right knee and it needs to be operated on. After that I''ll have to do three to six months of physical therapy before I can dance again if at all."

    Yikes. Violet didn''t sound terribly optimistic either. It was as if she had already given up. His heart twisted seeing such a graceful, elegant woman reduced to this. This wasn''t like the Violet Hale he knew at all.

    Jeremy sat down on the couch next to her and gestured for her to lean against his chest. Sheplied and closed her eyes, looking sad and defeated. He didn''t like it one bit.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 487: Ive Made My Choice

    <h4>Chapter 487: I''ve Made My Choice</h4>

    Violet wasn''t the liveliest person Jeremy had ever met¡ªhe wasn''t terribly fond of lively people anyway¡ªbut he had never seen her like this. He had thought they were the same; she wasn''t supposed to ept defeat so easily.

    He hadn''t thought he would fall for a weak, ordinary woman but that was how she was acting right now. She really needed to pull herself together. Knee surgery wasn''t the end of the world! She would be able to dance again if she put her mind to it.

    Everyone told him he would never make it out of his bad neighborhood back in D.C. but here he was on track to be the CEO of one of the most respected and well-known businesses in the world.

    Jeremy hadn''t given up even when no one believed in him. How could his girlfriend give up on herself so quickly when there was still hope?

    "It''ll be okay, Violet. Trust in your doctor; he went to a lot of school to be able to help people like you," he said in his mostforting tone.

    Violet spoke up in a small voice, finally opening her eyes. "I know but I''m scared. Dance means everything to me. If I can''t dance I won''t even be me anymore."

    Ridiculous. Someone as smart as her could do anything she set her mind to. Sure, she was an excellent ballerina, but it wasn''t like it would be the end of the world if she needed to change careers. She was still young. There was time.

    Besides, hadn''t she been the one to say she wanted to retire and have a family? Why not simply do that a little sooner than nned?

    It was too early in their rtionship for him to propose but it would be appropriate at some point within the next year. Jeremy could make her wish happen whenever she wanted.

    It wasn''t like Violet even needed to work; if she married him he could provide for her with his current sry perfectly fine. Aaron paid his employees quite generously. She could sit around and do nothing but crossword puzzles if that was what she wanted.

    "If the doctor said you''ll be able to dance in three to six months you''ll be able to dance in three to six months. Working yourself up about something that probably won''t even happen doesn''t do you any good," Jeremy said rationally.

    Violet cracked a small smile before looking even more miserable. "¡­you sound like Noah. He was always my voice of reason growing up."

    Jeremy supposed she meant it as apliment since she held that imbecile in such high regard but it was incredibly insulting to bepared to a love rival. Noah needed to be out of her life already.

    He tried to keep things nonchnt despite his boiling anger. "Well you don''t need him for that now, do you? Since you have me."

    "I suppose not," she replied in an unfathomable tone.

    What did that mean? Her statement made him uneasy. "You suppose not? You aren''t sure?"

    Sitting up, Violet turned to look at him. "He''s my best friend. I''ll always need him in a way."

    The conversation was going in a direction Jeremy didn''t like one bit. It was time toy down thew. He would not share his woman with another man, even if she didn''t think of Noah as one.

    "A woman in a rtionship doesn''t need a male best friend," he said firmly. "It''s highly inappropriate."

    She gave him a wary look. "Jeremy, he''s been my best friend for the past twenty-four years. I can''t just drop him like a hot potato."

    "Well you''re going to have to if this rtionship has any future!" Jeremy snapped, unable to control himself. "I won''t share you with someone else who obviously has feelings for you!"

    Violet''s expression immediately went nk. She shook her head in disbelief. "You knew too?"

    Hang on¡­thest time they had any sort of discussion about Noah she had firmly thought of them as siblings. When had that dunce confessed? He had seen her on Thursday and she didn''t say anything! It must have beenst night at the hospital. Oh, why had he turned off his phone?

    "Well it ispletely obvious," Jeremy said dryly. "I was honestly surprised you didn''t. But know that you do know you can see that it''s even more inappropriate to maintain a rtionship with him."

    Her eyes hardened. "So what you''re saying is I have to choose between you."

    No, that wasn''t what he was saying. Jeremy wanted her to ditch a useless third wheel and grow up. That man was nothing more than a childhood crutch. He was obviously a better match for her since they had more inmon.

    But he didn''t want toe across too overbearing so he simply nodded. Violet picked up the flowers from beside her and shoved them back at him.

    "I''ve made my choice," she said coolly. "Get out."

    What? That wasn''t how this was supposed to go at all! Jeremy had seen all the signs; she was definitely falling for him. Why on earth would she make the wrong choice? Had he pushed her too soon?

    She did get bad news this morning. Her frame of mind might be affected. He immediately tried to backtrack.

    "Hang on, Violet, why don''t we talk about this when you''re feeling a bit better? You''ve had a rough day and¡ª"

    This time she let off a chill that might even put her father to shame. Jeremy was used to it by this point so he managed not to shudder. But he had never expected to see this from her; normally she was such a calm and unppable person.

    Her tone when she spoke again could freeze mes solid. Violet was absolutely Aaron Hale''s daughter.

    "Yes, I have. And you know who was there for me? My best friend, who has been there for me every time I needed him for my entire life. There''s absolutely no question. Of course I would choose someone I''ve loved for twenty-four years over someone I''ve merely liked for a couple of months."

    Her words stabbed him like a knife. Someone she has loved for twenty-four years? She couldn''t be serious. There was no way she was in love with someone so beneath her. She was obviously interested in him!

    What Jeremy didn''t understand was that there were certain bonds that couldn''t be broken. Romantic love wasn''t the only kind. He had never experienced any other kind of love so he couldn''t understand the power of a long-standing and unshakeable friendship.

    He couldn''t formte a response, especially since Kaleb was listening in at the door and was ring daggers at him. What was wrong with these siblings? They were out of their minds!

    Jeremy ended up drawing himself up to his full height and walking out with the shattered remains of his dignity. Aaron was going to kill him.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 488: Pep Talks and Pancakes

    <h4>Chapter 488: Pep Talks and Pancakes</h4>

    It was a miracle that Noah made it home in one piece considering how dazed he was after leaving the hospital. If Kaleb hadn''t ordered him to go home, he probably would have spent the entire night in that waiting room chair at a loss.

    He managed to make it home and flopped onto his bed in his jeans. He was still staring at the ceiling when his parents woke up and he heard puttering around as his mom went down to make breakfast.

    Somehow he forced himself to shower and change into a pair of sweatpants. Noah didn''t want them to worry about him being out half the night.

    "Morning Noah! Want some pancakes?" his mother asked cheerfully.

    Eating something might be a good idea. "Sure, Mom."

    After pouring the batter onto the griddle she eyed him critically. "You look awful. What happened?"

    Hiding anything from the all-seeing Jennica Singleton had always been impossible. Noah buried his face in his hands and told her the truth. It wasn''t like she didn''t know about his hopeless unrequited love. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

    "¡­I told Violet I loved her. All she did was stare at me before a nurse whisked her away in a wheelchair."

    She raised an eyebrow. "A wheelchair?"

    "Violet got hurt at her showst night and asked me to take her to the ER but that''s not important," Noah said with an impatient wave of his hand. "I screwed up. I really screwed up. She likes that jerk Jeremy and now she''s probably never going to speak to me again."

    Jennica flipped the first pancake over and leaned leisurely against the counter. "I thought that was what you were going for since you were avoiding her and all."

    Noah was about to ask her how she knew before realizing this was the longest it had ever been since Violet had been to their house. Of course she had noticed. Nothing got past her.

    He had been avoiding her but that didn''t mean he never wanted to speak to her again! He was only trying to give himself time to get over her so they could continue their friendship without things hurting so much.

    Now he had probably ruined it forever. Things would be too awkward even if she did decide she was still willing to talk to him. The easiness that had always existed between them would be gone.

    "I was avoiding her to try and get over her so we could still be friends," Noah mumbled. "You know she''s the most important person to me. I could never give her uppletely."

    Trying to talk himself into going cold turkey hadn''t worked. He had been nning toe back¡­eventually. When Jeremy Ward was out of the picture or he felt secure enough in his feelings to be around her without it hurting.

    His mother sighed before smiling sympathetically at him.

    "My sweet boy. I think we both know you''re never getting over her. You''ve been in love with her since before you even knew that the word meant. Don''t forget, you told me you were going to marry her about a million times when you were little."

    Noah turned red. Did she have to bring that up now? It was never going to happen.

    She had fallen for someone else who didn''t like him. Jeremy had already done his best to tear them apart and he had yed right into the man''s hands. He was such an idiot.

    "Why are you making me feel worse," he mumbled, resting his head on the counter.

    "That''s not what I''m trying to do. I''m trying to tell you to go for it. You know Violet better than anyone else; I''m pretty sure you know how to win her over," Jennica said as she ced the pancake in front of him on a te.

    Was his mother crazy? He wasn''t about to go after someone who had a boyfriend!

    "Are you encouraging me to be a homewrecker?" Noah asked incredulously.

    "I''m encouraging you to be patient. They won''tst."

    The confidence in her voice surprised him until he remembered his mother knew Violet nearly as well as he did. She had been in and out of their house for his entire life after all. But he didn''t want to get his hopes up about her assessment.

    He had seen with his own eyes how much Violet seemed to like Jeremy. What he didn''t understand was why. That guy was a total phony! She was normally a better judge of character that that.

    "Are you really sure about that? I think she really likes him," Noah said glumly.

    "She may like him but she loves you," his mother said cryptically. "Think about it. She''s had boyfriends before but still referred to you as her favorite person while they were dating. If there''s anybody in this world that girl cares about other than her family, it''s you."

    Noah frowned. She made Violet sound so heartless. She wasn''t; she just had a hard time connecting with most people. That didn''t mean she didn''t care.

    Nobody else seemed to understand that. She cared deeply, if not widely. His best friend had always been misunderstood. She had always told him how grateful she was that he got her without her having to try.

    Did he really have a chance? He should know better than anyone where he stood in Violet''s life but her actionstely had shaken his confidence big time.

    "Eat your pancake, sweetie. Food makes everything better," Jennica said with a wink. "You''ll figure things out better on a full stomach."

    Noah stood and walked over to hug his mom from behind. "Thanks, Mom."

    "Anytime. My pep talks and culinary expertisee free of charge."

    He felt a tiny bit better already. But after finishing his food he should really try and get some sleep. There was no way he would be able toe up with a n to woo Violet properly after being awake for more than twenty-four hours straight.

    "¡­can I have two more pancakes?" Noah asked sheepishly.

    His motherughed and tapped his arm with the spat she had been using to flip the pancakes. "That''s my boy. Sure thing."

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 489: Love Is Blind

    <h4>Chapter 489: Love Is Blind</h4>

    Keeley had been having the time of her life on their bted anniversary cruise. They couldn''t really swim on deck because it was too cold but the temperature was perfectly fine for sightseeing in all the ces they stopped during their week at sea.

    The food was fantastic, the historical and tourist sites they visited were breathtaking, and she had a lot of fun exploring with her best friend. Traveling with Aaron had be one of her favorite things now that the kids were grown.

    He had taken her all over the world in the past twenty-six years together. They went to a new ce every year for their anniversary. Exploring new cultures together was always fun.

    Sometimes Aaron had been to those ces before with his parents or on business trips but he said he always discovered something new having her there. When on business, he only focused on business rather than sightseeing.

    Today they had stopped in Florence, Italy. It was their second tost destination before they would be heading back home and Keeley was determined to see as much as possible.

    She put on a pair of sturdy walking shoes, her favorite windbreaker, and a Detroit Tigers baseball cap Kaleb had given her to keep the sun out of her face before they left the ship. Checking to make sure they had everything they would need, she grabbed Aaron''s hand eagerly and dragged him behind her to the port.

    "I never get tired of this," Keeley sighed contentedly as she breathed in the salty sea air.

    He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Neither do I. Traveling with you is a hundred times more fun than doing it alone."

    Keeley beamed at him and urged him forward. "Come on, we''re only here for a day and there''s lots to see! I fully expect you to direct me towards the best tasting Italian food too."

    Aaron put on his most serious expression and saluted her. "Aye aye, captain."

    She rolled her eyes at him before taking his hand again and swinging it as they walked. The novelty of walking around like this with her husband never seemed to wear off. Nobody here knew who they were or cared; they were like any other tourists in their matching windbreakers, hiking boots, and baseball caps.

    Keeley insisted on taking pictures in front of everything noteworthy. The architecture. The art. Cute little shop signs out on the streets. Anything she could think of that was interesting.

    Aaron was more interested in taking videos of his wife as she narrated their adventure walking through the streets of Florence. Sometimes she would be mid-sentence talking about what she was seeing and then turn and notice he was filming her.

    He could be so ridiculous sometimes. What was he filming her talking for?

    "You know there are a lot more interesting things to film than me," Keeley said dryly.

    Aaron shrugged. "You know I like hearing your opinions about things. I want to remember your impressionster on."

    There was no arguing with him. He had only be more sentimental as time went on. Ever since the twins were born he liked doc.u.menting random little moments from their lives as much as possible on film.

    Most likely it was because of theck of videos he managed to get in their first lives. She couldn''t me him for it so she let him be. Besides, it was fun for the kids to be able to go back and watch all those home videoster on. She enjoyed it too.

    They needed to be back on the ship by 10 PM because they would set sail around 11 and go through the night to get to Rome, their final destination. It was a pity because there was so much more Keeley wanted to see.

    Unfortunately, all of the museums closed much earlier than that. So the Hales had ate dinner around 8 PM, which was absolutely delicious, and made their way back to the ship around 9.

    They were nning on heading up to the hot tub¡ªit wasn''t cold until you had to get out of it¡ªwhen Keeley''s phone rang. Violet. It was about 3:30 back in New York on a Saturday¡­what was she calling for?

    At least there was still reception because they hadn''t hit the open sea yet. She picked up cheerfully.

    "Vi! So good to hear from you. What''s going on?"

    "You didn''t see any of my missed calls?" Violet asked in a dull tone.

    Missed calls? They didn''t even register in her phone. Ah,ck of reception was so annoying.

    "Sorry honey, I didn''t. The reception out here is spotty at best but I have a little time before the ship leaves the port. Tell me what happened," Keeley encouraged.

    Violet knew the reception wasn''t good out here. When she and Aaron had gone on cruises in the past, their daughter had never even bothered trying to call. Something had to be going on for her to make the effort to contact her mother. She sounded terrible to boot.

    Sheunched into a lengthy exnation of everything that had happened over the past day and a half, speaking rapidly and stumbling over her words. That wasn''t like her. Normally she was so articte.

    Keeley listened patiently and tried to think of the best thing to say. Obviously she had known Noah was in love with her daughter but she didn''t think he would suddenly blurt it out after keeping it a secret for so long. Or that she would break up with Jeremy over it.

    Secretly, she was relieved. She hadn''t thought Jeremy was a good match for her anyway. He was too much like Aaron was in their past lives. But it was clear as day that Violet was hurting over it so she couldn''t be 100% relieved.

    "Jeremy made me choose and I wasn''t about to pick someone I hardly know over someone I''ve known my whole life," Violet finished with a sniffle. At some point in her monologue she had started crying.

    "Of course you weren''t," Keeley said soothingly. "You made the right choice. I never liked that guy anyway."

    Her daughter let out a strangled sort ofugh. "Kaleb said the same thing. I guess I''m the only idiot who couldn''t see what kind of person he really was."

    "You aren''t an idiot! Love is blind. Believe me, I would know. I felt like an idiot after going along with a rtionship that wasn''t any good for me when I was young too. It''s going to be okay, Vi."

    Violet snorted. "Is it really? Because I can''t lose Noah; he''s such a huge part of my life. But I''m not in love with him so I don''t even know what to say now. The only thing I''ve said to him since he confessed was thanking him for contacting Kaleb for me."

    Ah, Keeley really wasn''t good at advice like this even after being a parent for so long. She needed to say the right thing to help her daughter as she was struggling.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 490: Childhood Friends

    <h4>Chapter 490: Childhood Friends</h4>

    Keeley was still trying to formte an appropriate reply when Violet spoke again, her wordsing out in a rush like before.

    "I don''t even know why he would like me like that! We grew up together; we''re practically siblings! How could anyone ever see their childhood friend in a romantic light? Nobody actually marries people they''ve known since they were little kids!"

    She frowned. Did her dad really never tell Violet about how he met his wife? They had been childhood friends too, though they met when they were a little older than Violet and Noah. And he had missed her until the day he died.

    "My parents did," Keeley said simply.

    Thispletely derailed Violet. "What? Grandpa never said anything about that!"

    "It''s true! They were pretty much the only kids somewhat close in age living in their apartment building so they yed together all the time. My mom was his best friend for most of his life; it''s why he was never able to move on after her death," Keeley informed her.

    There was silence on the other end of the phone for a full minute before Violet thanked her and hung up, telling her to have fun on thest day of her cruise and to say hi to Dad for her. Keeley was pretty sure she knew what that silence meant. She was thinking it over.

    Her husband looked up from scrolling through his phone on the bed. "What did Violet need?"

    "She broke up with Jeremy because Noah told her he was in love with her and made her choose between them. She needed some motherly advice."

    Aaron sighed. "I should have known something like this would happen sooner orter. Did Vi seem upset about the breakup?"

    "Not as much as I would have thought considering she supposedly really liked him. I think she was more upset about the thought of losing Noah," Keeley admitted as she sat down next to him.

    He shook his head with a small smile on his face. "Well, it''s about time Noah said something. It''s been what¡­twelve, thirteen years?"

    Honestly, she thought it was longer. That boy had been glued to Violet''s said since they were toddlers. Even before he knew what love was it was obvious that he loved their daughter more than anything.

    "I hope everything works out okay," she worried. "Losing Noah would crush her. You know he''s basically her only real friend."

    Aaron patted her hand. "You''re worrying for nothing. If she already chose him over her boyfriend she''ll realize she''s actually in love with him sooner orter. You and I both know that he''s the only person she''s 100%fortable around. Kind of like I am with you."

    He was right. Violet''s personality had always been quite simr to her father''s. Both of them were ''one person only'' kind of people. She wouldn''t risk losing her person for anything.

    Everything would work itself out¡­probably. There was no point worrying about it when they were on a different continent. Violet was an a.d.u.l.t capable of making her own choices.

    Keeley smiled at her husband and leaned down to kiss him. "You might be right. Come on. The hot tub beckons."

    ===

    Violet couldn''t believe it. Her grandparents had been childhood friends?! How could that be when Grandpa was so deeply in love with his wife that he never got over her? She had always thought they must have had the love story of the century.

    Robert didn''t talk about his wife much except in passing because it had been too painful for him to talk about. Most of what she knew about her grandma came from her mom. But when he did talk about her he had the same kind of soft expression Aaron did when he looked at Keeley.

    She had read a lot of romance novels and watched a lot of chick flicks over the years. Most of the characters met and fell in love as a.d.u.l.ts. Even high school sweethearts were rare.

    Her dad had fallen in love with her mom as a senior in high school but didn''t actively pursue her until he was done with college and she was working on her PhD. The majority of the happily married couples she knew of had met as a.d.u.l.ts as well.

    Technically the Quinns had met in high school as well but hadn''t started online dating until after graduating. No one she ever met had fallen in love with a friend from early childhood. Except her grandpa, apparently.

    Since Robert was gone now, there was only one way to investigate this properly. She needed photo albums and home videos her mother had brought over from her dad''s apartment after he passed away.

    "KALEB I NEED YOU!" Violet yelled. She still couldn''t get up.

    He appeared less than a minuteter. "You rang?"

    "Could you find Mom''s old photo albums and home videos for me, pretty please? Make sure you find the ones from when Grandpa and Grandma were kids too. I''ve never seen those ones before."

    Kaleb raised an eyebrow. "Kind of a random request but I guess if you''re really bored¡­they''re probably in the top of a closet somewhere. Wish me luck not getting buried in falling things from the top shelf."

    "Good luck, soldier."

    He shook his head andughed at how seriously she took his words before walking out the door. Ten minutester he came back with a stack of albums and DVDs in clear stic cases. He eyed the ancient tech in distaste.

    "Mom really needs to transfer these over to digital files. It''s lucky we even still have a DVDpatible yer lying around. Anyway, have fun looking at old stuff. What do you want for dinnerter?"

    Violet thought about it for a moment. "Something with red meat. It''s been ages."

    Kaleb nodded before heading back out of the entertainment room. "Shout for me when you need someone to put those DVDs in."

    "I will, thanks Kal. You''re the best." Violet blew him a kiss and he blushed slightly before muttering under his breath about how she was too mushy.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 491: Hall Family Albums

    <h4>Chapter 491: Hall Family Albums</h4>

    Violet went through the newest albums first. It had been years since she had seen her mother look through these on the anniversary of her family members'' deaths. She had been vaguely curious about what the grandmother and uncle she had never met looked like and took a peek over Keeley''s shoulder.

    Kaleb looked a lot like his namesake had when he was younger. The biggest difference between them was the color of their eyes. As for her grandma¡­she had the same smile her daughter and granddaughter had and was blonde like her children.

    The albums including the entire Hall family started back in 1983 when Robert and Monica got married and went through 2001 when she and Kaleb died. Violet wanted to look at those ones first before she got to the older ones from her grandparents'' childhoods.

    The outdated puffy sleeves and ridiculously fluffy hair from Monica''s wedding dress were a bit funny to see but the love in her eyes as she gazed at her new husband was undeniable. She was only neen when she got married; she must have wanted to be with him more than anything.

    The rest of that album was filled with pictures from holidays and various other outings such as hiking and to the beach. The Halls had been married for nearly five years before their daughter was born and from the pictures it was clear that they enjoyed that time alone together.

    In every photo Monica had on that same familiar bright smile. And Robert looked happier than Violet had ever seen him in real life.

    Her heart suddenly ached for her grandpa. He looked at his wife the exact same way her overly sappy father did and he had to live without her for decades. Exactly how long had he lived with her as opposed to without her?

    She wanted to know exactly how old they had been when they met so she set the Hall family albums aside and opened up one from her grandpa''s childhood. It took her a while to find anything since there were so many albums. Her great-grandmother must have really loved scrapbooking.

    The first picture she found of the two of them had the caption ''Robby and Monica, Halloween 1969.'' He had dressed up as Spiderman and she was dressed up as Cindere. Violet did the math based on the birthdates she had seen on their headstones. In this picture he was eight and she was five.

    Robert had been an only child so his albums were entirely focused on him, with a few pictures of cousins and friends mixed in as well. Based on that information, they probably became friends around the time the Halloween picture was taken.

    After that first picture of them together, Monica appeared in his childhood albums a lot. Wearing elf hats and tacky sweaters at Christmas time. Making a mess of things in the kitchen. ying on the yground and at the beach.

    Despite the differing clothes and hairstyle trends, their pictures together looked an awful lot like ones taken of Violet and Noah when they were younger. Her grandparents must have spent a lot of time together as kids.

    The photos continued through middle school and high school. Though other people appeared in Robert''s albums as well, Monica was the most frequently photographed friend. There were even photos together at school dances from the one year they were in high school at the same time but not prom since that was for juniors and seniors only.

    She noticed that there didn''t seem to be any prom photos in there. Had he not asked anyone since Monica couldn''t go? The way they looked at each other in the photos had subtly changed over time.

    They had probably fallen in love at some point in middle school or high school. But there weren''t any photos of them kissing or acting like a real couple until Robert was in college. Had they both had feelings for each other all that time but never said anything? What was the real story there?

    Violet wished her grandpa was still around so she could ask him. Tears filled her eyes. From what she had seen in these albums, he had loved her grandma so much! No wonder he could never bring himself to talk about her once she was gone.

    They met in 1969 and Monica died in 2001. They were at each other''s side constantly for thirty-two years and then he had to live the next thirty-one without her. Violet had the rather romantic notion that Robert couldn''t bear living without her longer than he lived with her and that was why his body finally gave out.

    As silent tears ran down her face, she checked Monica''s albums and saw basically the same thing she saw in Robert''s. She was also an only child and from the time she was five years old, he was the most frequently urring friend in her photos.

    Birthdays, holidays, random days¡­there were so many pictures of the two of them! It looked like they practically lived at each other''s houses. Just like Violet and Noah.

    How had they ever fallen in love though when they were so close they were practically siblings? The pictures really did make it seem that way. Neither of them had siblings so they filled a void for each other as ymates.

    Pictures didn''t tell the whole story. Violet finally called for Kaleb to put in the first DVD she could find. Her mother had already switched it over from the VHS tapes that existed when she was little. Technically really did change so much over time since DVDs had practically be obsolete now.

    The first home video was actually taped at Monica and Robert''s wedding. The video quality was terribly grainy but Violet supposed it was a product of its time.

    Both of them looked so happy together! People teased them about how they ''finally tied the knot'' during the recording of the reception. And during their first dance together Monica rested her head against Robert''s chest with a look of pure bliss on her face.

    The next home video was aption of clips from various daytrips the Halls took before Keeley was born. They teased each other and seemed perfectlyfortable together, which made sense considering how long they had known each other.

    Violet was startled to find simrities in the way they interacted to her own friendship with Noah. They had seemed so lovey dovey in the photos and wedding video but the trip footage proved that they really were best friends.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 492: Robert and Monica

    <h4>Chapter 492: Robert and Monica</h4>

    Violet spent the rest of the weekend watching all of the home videos she could involving her mother''s family. It helped distract her from thoughts of her impending surgery. There were years and years of footage to go through.

    Most of the time Robert wasn''t in the footage since he was busy filming his wife and daughter. Once Kaleb came along and got a bit older they switched off being the one holding the camera more often.

    The Halls seemed like such a happy family. The parents loved each other, the siblings were close, and they all had a lot of fun together. It was no wonder her mother made sure her own family was the same way when she grew up.

    A newfound appreciation popped up in Violet''s heart for her mother. After watching all of these videos¡­Keeley must have been absolutely devastated losing two of the most important people in her life at the same time. Yet she was still probably the happiest person Violet knew, except for possibly her father.

    Both of her parents had difficult lives before they met each other. Maybe that was why they worked together so well.

    Thest of the home videos was filmed on Independence Day in 2001, a few short weeks before their family broke apart. Keeley and Kaleb were wearing American g shirts and waving sparklers around next to a pic table full of traditional barbecue food.

    Monica was messily eating a hot dog at the table, facing outwards to supervise her children ying with fire. She noticed the camera was on her and red at her husband.

    "Rob, do you have to film me when I have mustard on my face?"

    "Why not? Mustard doesn''t make you any less beautiful," he replied cheekily off-screen.

    A soft expression appeared on her face as she rolled her eyes. "You''re ridiculous, you know that?"

    "Yeah but you love me anyway!"

    "Yeah. I do." She smiled brightly at the man behind the camera and the focus resumed on the ying children before the video cut off.

    That was it. There wasn''t anything else to see because the smiling woman andughing little boy had died. Violet felt a horrific sense of loss for people she had never even met. She had gotten so attached looking through those pictures and watching those videos.

    She used to think it was so romantic that her grandpa never got over her grandma but now¡­it was absolutely heartbreaking. That was his best friend. His lifelong best friend. The person he had grown up with.

    Robert didn''t only lose his wife and child that day. He lost his oldest and closest friend. Violet couldn''t even imagine how horrible it must have been for him. No wonder he had never moved on! How could he when he had suffered such a huge loss?

    Honestly, it was a miracle he even managed to be the rtively cheerful person he had been when she was a child. How had he ever recovered enough to keep living when Monica was gone? How could someone even survive losing their best friend like that?

    "Hey, Nathan''s making something fancy I can''t even pronounce for dinner. You want any?" Kaleb asked, appearing in the doorway.

    He saw the tears streaming down her face and was instantly rmed. "Whoa, what happened?"

    "Grandpa loved Grandma so much and he lived without her almost as long as he lived with her," Violet sobbed. She barely managed to get the words out.

    Her twin didn''t seem to understand why she was so distressed. "Well they''re together now. Why did you watch all of this stuff if it was going to upset you this much?"

    It wasn''t like she knew beforehand that it would upset her! She only wanted to know whether or not it was truly possible to fall in love with someone you grew up with. The answer she had gotten was a resounding yes.

    "Grandma was his Noah," she murmured. "Didn''t you know? They grew up together."

    Kaleb eyed the disaster of photo albums and home videos spread out all over the entertainment room floor. "You went through all of his junk because they were childhood friends?"

    Ah, she couldn''t exin herself to him! He wouldn''t get it. Her twin was about as unromantic as theye. Violet went through all of those old memories because she needed answers and she had gotten them, if not in the way she expected.

    Robert lost his best friend of thirty-two years and never recovered. Was she really about to let her best friend of twenty-four years walk away because she cared about something and stupid and insignificant as a storybook romance?

    Noah understood her better than anyone in this world and vice versa. Their rtionship had always been easy,fortable, and fun.

    Violet loved him. Undeniably. She wasn''t in love with him yet but at the very least she could try, couldn''t she? Who would be better to spend her life with than her best friend? She had been blinded by her own stupidity.

    He was the one who was always there for her. He cheered her up when she was down. He had beenplimenting her the way a boyfriend would for over a decade and she had dismissed it because he was ''just Noah.''

    She was an idiot. She wanted to talk to him more than anything but this was something that needed to be said in person. It would have to wait until her surgery was over and done with and she had some mobility back.

    At the very least, Violet needed to tell him she broke up with Jeremy. But she couldn''t find the right words. She was afraid he of what he would say. That might have to wait until she could see him in person too.

    If only she wasn''t stuck on the couch with this stupid busted up knee. She would march right over to Noah''s ce right now, throw her arms around him, and tell him how much he meant to her. He had already waited this long¡­he could wait a little bit longer for her, right?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 493: Im Just Glad Youre Here

    <h4>Chapter 493: I''m Just d You''re Here</h4>

    Noah knew he ran the risk of running into Jeremy at the hospital but went anyway. He still didn''t know what he would say to Violet but he couldn''t let her deal with something as scary as knee surgery alone.

    Kaleb had told him what time it would be happening and that it would take about an hour for the surgery toplete. After that she would have to stay in a hospital bed until she was able to walk with crutches, then they would let her go. He had already dropped her off and had gone to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription for pain medication ording to the text update he sent.

    He wasn''t sure why Kaleb was telling him all of this to be perfectly honest. When he asked, the message he got in response was ''She would want you to know.''

    What did that mean? Did Violet not hate him after all? She still wanted to see him even though she had a boyfriend and knew he was in love with her? Noah didn''t understand it at all.

    Yet he still found himself in the waiting room right alongside Kaleb on a Monday morning, having called in sick at the dojo. Technically speaking, someone was sick/injured even if it wasn''t him.

    Kaleb boredly scrolled through his phone and tapped his foot impatiently as they waited. It seemed like he was really worried about his sister.

    "You know, you don''t have to wait here if you don''t want to. I can get her back home if you have something else to do," Noah offered.

    He seemed slightly offended by that. "What could I have to do that''s more important than making sure my sister is okay? If you want alone time with her, say it straight out. No need to beat around the bush with me."

    That wasn''t exactly what Noah meant but he couldn''t deny he did want the chance to talk to Violet despite not knowing what to say. It might be in his best interest to y it off like nothing happened. He didn''t want to make her ufortable.

    "I didn''t meant that¡­I don''t even know what I would say," he confessed.

    Kaleb huffed. "You''re kind of pathetic, you know that? You two need to work out whatever issues you have so Vi can get back to normal. She was crying all weekend watching ancient home videos about our grandparents for some reason but I know it had something to do with you."

    Huh? How would watching old home videos have anything to do with him? Noah was about to ask when the surgeon came out in a fresh pair of scrubs.

    They both immediately jumped to their feet with matching anxious expressions. The surgeon smiled at them and did his best to reassure them as quickly as possible.

    "The surgery went as well as it possibly could. The rest is up to her; how well she takes care of her sutures and follows the physical therapist''s instructions. She should be ready to go hometer today. Which one of you is her family?"

    "I''m her brother," Kaleb said. "I can take her home."

    The surgeon nodded. "You''ll have to fill out the discharge paperwork for her. She''s awake right now but can''t feel anything from the waist down at the moment. You need to wait to take her home until she can move her legs again."

    He pointed to the room Violet was resting in down the hall and both of them thanked the surgeon before heading over. Kaleb stopped Noah from opening the door and looked at him seriously.

    "I''m still the responsible party here but I''ll let you talk to her alone first. I''m sure she''ll want to see you."

    "Does she really?" he asked in a smaller voice than he would have liked.

    Noah really shouldn''t be this nervous. This was Violet! He had never been this afraid to talk to her in his life.

    "Just go," Kaleb said, shoving him into the room abruptly right after opening the door.

    Violet blinked at him in shock. "Noah! What are you doing here?"

    That wasn''t terribly encouraging. Hadn''t her twin said she wanted to see him? Noah stepped slightly closer to the hospital bed and ced a hand on the back of his neck, unable to meet her eyes.

    "Um¡­I wanted to make sure you were okay."

    Unexpectedly, her most dazzling smile lit her face. "You did?"

    Why was she smiling at him like that? Wasn''t she angry? Or at the very least upset with him? This didn''t make any sense at all but it was encouraging. He grabbed a chair and moved it next to the edge of her bed before sitting down.

    Violet looked tired and her eyes were red and puffy; evidence of what Kaleb said about her crying all weekend. She wasn''t the type to cry casually. There must have been something truly upsetting on those old videos.

    But what was it? And why was she staring at him like that? Noah honestly didn''t have a clue what was going on. He cleared his throat and answered her question.

    "Duh. You''re my best friend. How could I not show up when you needed surgery? I didn''t bring a get well card or flowers though¡­I should have done that. Sorry. I can do itter!" he eximed quickly.

    Ugh, he was such an idiot. Why did he have to ramble on? She wasn''t going to bite.

    Violet shook her head. "No need for that. I''m just d you''re here."

    His heart warmed at her words. Kaleb had been right; she did want to see him. Their friendship meant as much to her as it did to him, even with her creep of a boyfriend in the way. That reminded him¡­why wasn''t Jeremy here?

    Even a workaholic should take time off to make sure their girlfriend was okay after surgery. The fact that he hadn''t did not reflect well on him. Maybe Noah''s mom was right about things between them being doomed to fail.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 494: Its About Time

    <h4>Chapter 494: It''s About Time</h4>

    Violet continued staring at him and Noah felt distinctly awkward about it. He looked anywhere but her face to avoiding those piercing dark blue eyes. She had never looked at him like this before. What on earth was she thinking?

    "I broke up with Jeremy," she said out of the blue. "He wanted me to stop being friends with you. It was a no brainer; of course I would pick my lifelong best friend over a guy I''ve only known a couple of months."

    He was so startled he stopped avoiding her gaze. Seriously? She broke up with that creep so easily? Hadn''t she really liked him though?

    "Why?" Noah blurted out without thinking.

    Violet red at him furiously. "What do you mean why? I love you more than anybody else, you idiot! I know I''ve been a bad friendtely and I really regret that¡­but you have to know how important to you are to me. Right?"

    Once the re died down her expression seemed almost pleading. She seemed to desperately want him to understand that. His heart soared before crashing back down to earth.

    Noah had already known how much she cared about him. That didn''t change anything. She had broken up with her boyfriend for him but only because he was her closest friend. She didn''t have real feelings for him so he shouldn''t be getting excited right now.

    "¡­yes?" he managed to get out.

    Violet slumped back against the pillows in defeat and buried her face in her hands. "You must think I hate you. I swear I don''t. I''m not mad or weirded out at all! I was confused but only because I couldn''t understand how you could be in love with me despite being the person who knows me best. I''m really not that great."

    That wasn''t even slightly true! He always knew she hid her low self-esteem under her perfectionism but did she really think she was that unlovable because she had a hard time interacting with others on a meaningful level?

    Noah hesitantly reached out and pulled her hands away from her face, holding them tightly. She looked up at him with hints of shame in her eyes. His heart sunk. She really did think that lowly of herself.

    "Vi," he said gently. "You''re the best person I know. Because I do know you best it was impossible for me not to fall in love with you. I never said anything because I knew you only thought of me as one of your brothers."

    Violet turned red and wouldn''t meet his eyes. "About that¡­it appears I''ve been gravely mistaken about something. I didn''t think it was possible to fall in love with somebody you''ve known since you were a kid but then I found out my grandparents were childhood sweethearts."

    Her grandparents? He knew almost nothing about her mother''s mother because Grandpa Robert hardly ever spoke of her. What little Noah did know was that she was killed by a mugger back in 2001 and that he never got over it.

    Hang on¡­was that why she was watching all of those videos and crying this weekend? What exactly did that mean?

    "Uh, Kaleb said you were crying over home videos all weekend and said it was my fault," Noah hedged. "Was it?"

    Violet finally met his eyes. "Yes and no? They became friends when they were five and eight and were together for thirty-two years before Grandma died. I knew my grandpa loved her deeply because he never so much as looked at another woman after her death. But I didn''t realize how much until I watched those videos and looked through all their old pictures¡­

    "Noah, those pictures looked like ours. They were best friends just like we are and even thinking about losing you was too horrible to contemte. I don''t want to be like my grandpa, missing my best friend for the rest of my life."

    An explosion was happening in his brain. It was difficult topute what she was saying. It sounded an awful lot like she was considering actually responding to his hasty confession from Friday night.

    But why would she do that when she obviously wasn''t in love with him? She had been dating someone else rather happily only a few days ago!

    "Vi, what¡ª"

    Noah had been about to ask what she meant by that when he was suddenly yanked forward by the cor of his shirt. Violet mmed her lips against his almost violently. The kiss onlysted two seconds but he sunk back into his chair in a daze.

    She kissed him! She initiated it! What on earth was she thinking?!

    "Can you give me some time?" Violet pleaded. "I don''t care about stupid, unrealistic notions of romance anymore. All I know is that I can''t afford to lose you because you''re the most important person in the world to me. Please stop trying to get over me."

    Noah was so overwhelmed he burst outughing. Here had had thought he would have to work to woo her but she was practically begging him not to stop being in love with her.

    She wanted time? He could give her as much as she needed! He had already waited for over half of his life, more time wouldn''t make a difference. Especially since he would be able to spend it with her testing out being a couple.

    "Why are youughing?" she cried in frustration. "I''m baring my soul here!"

    "I''m sorry," he said as he tried and failed to get a hold of himself. "I thought this would be a lot more difficult. I had already nned on trying to win you over after I couldn''t keep my stupid mouth shut but I didn''t end up having to do anything at all."

    Violet crossed her arms over her chest and gave him her frostiest re before melting. There was definite affection in her smile as she chastised him.

    "Dummy."

    Noah couldn''t deny that. This could have happened so much sooner if they had onlymunicated properly. But he counted his blessings that she was even giving him a chance at all.

    He gently stroked her cheek with his thumb and she turned slightly pink. He had always wanted to do that. There were a lot of things he had wanted to do with her that he hadn''t had the chance to as merely her best friend.

    Althoughe to think of it, they hadn''t rified what to do next yet. He needed to make sure they were on the same page here.

    "Hey Vi¡­are we dating now or what?"

    Violet smirked at him before leaning over to nt a kiss on his cheek and whisper in his ear. "What do you think?"

    "I''ll take that as a yes," Noah stammered, bright red from the slight intimacy. He wasn''t used to this at all!

    "It''s about time!" Kaleb hollered from the other side of the door.

    How long had he been eavesdropping?! They both exchanged a nce, blushing heavily, before bursting outughing at the same time. No matter what, they were still best friends who knew how tough together.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 495: I Wont Let You Down

    <h4>Chapter 495: I Won''t Let You Down</h4>

    It had been a couple of days since Violet agreed to date him and Noah still couldn''t believe it. He was on Cloud 9. Aside from working and sleeping, he was constantly glued to her side. Kaleb joked that he appreciated his willingness to take over as Violet''s ve when he came over, making her stick her tongue out at her twin.

    Noah didn''t see it that way at all. He was taking care of the woman he loved as her boyfriend. There was absolutely nothing else he would rather be doing, even though he was tired from work.

    Violet didn''t need all that much help anyway. She only asked for things once an hour or less. They spent most of his time visiting talking, watching movies, or ying cards like usual.

    The only thing that had really changed was that he was now allowed to be more physically expressive with his affection. When they watched movies, Noah''s arm was around her shoulders. He was able to get away with kissing her cheek and ying with her hair too.

    Violet hadn''t kissed him on the lips again yet but he could be patient. He had waited this long and didn''t want to overload her with too much at once.

    When Aaron and Keeley returned from their vacation, they greeted Noah as casually as always when passing by the entertainment room before doing a double take. They realized Violet was asleep with her head in hisp and that he was twirling a strand of her hair around his finger.

    A knowing grin appeared on Keeley''s face. "It''s about time."

    Noah flushed slightly. He knew his love for her was obvious but it was still a bit embarrassing being called out on it by a woman he considered one of his aunts.

    "Yeah, I think so too," he said as he gazed softly at the sleeping woman in hisp.

    He was surprised Aaron didn''t have anything to say on the matter since he was so overprotective. The older man noticed and addressed it with a wry smile. "You think I''m going to try and scare you off? I know you as well as I know my own sons, Noah. I know you wouldn''t do anything to hurt her."

    He and his wife left the room without furtherment and Noah couldn''t help butugh a little. Aaron had a point. There was no reason to give him the ''don''t you dare hurt my daughter'' speech. He had to know how much Noah cherished her from watching them interact over the past twenty-four years.

    It drove home the point that Violet and Noah already knew everything about each other''s lives, families, and personalities. There was no reason to drag out being boyfriend and girlfriend since dating was time meant to get to know the other person.

    He had already decided; the moment she told him she was in love with him for real, he was going to propose to her. There wasn''t a point in putting off spending the rest of their lives together if they both loved each other.

    Noah didn''t know how long that would take but he had somewhat impulsively gone out to buy a ring already for when the day came. He couldn''t resist doing so the very day she said she would give him a chance.

    Knowing he was her favorite person already, all he had to do now was keep loving and supporting her the way he always had and throw in some more romance. He knew her love for him as a person was unshakable and had only been waiting for her to see him in a romantic light. He was fairly confident it would happen eventually.

    Noah was very good at waiting.

    ===

    Jeremy dreaded his bossing back to work because he was sure Violet would have told him what happened. He was dead. Not only would he likely get fired, he would probably get murdered as well.

    Aaron Hale loved his family more than anything and Jeremy had thoroughly screwed up with his only daughter. He may as well start writing hisst will and testament right now. Or so he thought.

    When Aaron arrived at the office for the first time following his vacation, he was in a surprisingly good mood. Hours passed in a state of anxiety where Jeremy was left wondering when the good mood would pass and he would snap.

    "Jeremy! Quit spacing out. I know you got dumped but you can''t let it impact your ability toplete simple tasks," Aaron barked.

    Startled, he jumped in his seat and looked at his boss in bewilderment. "Sir?"

    That usually piercing dark blue gaze softened imperceptibly. He got up from behind his desk and pped a hand on his prot¨¦g¨¦''s shoulder. Jeremy waspletely frozen in shock at this point. Here ites; the death blow!

    But it didn''t. Aaron''s voice was slightly less gruff than usual when he spoke again. "I''m not mad at you, if that''s what you''re worried about. Just because you weren''t the right person for my daughter doesn''t mean you aren''t the right person to take over my legacy."

    He slumped back in his chair in relief. His boss didn''t hate him. He wasn''t about to get killed for hurting Aaron Hale''s precious daughter.

    Honestly, that helped him feel a lot better. Jeremy had fallen for Violet but he miscalcted a few things. The strength of her rtionship with Noah Singleton. His ability to put another person before work. How much his boss actually valued him.

    He and Aaron were alike in a lot of ways but the major difference between them was how they handled their rtionsh.i.p.s with other people. Jeremy was married to his job; no feelings for a woman would ever be strong enough to change that. Aaron took pride in his work but he would throw it all away in a heartbeat if the people he loved needed him to.

    All this time Jeremy thought things would work out because he and Violet had simr intelligence and education. He tried to make her fit into a perfect scenario he concocted for his life that still revolved around his job.

    It never would have worked because she was far more sentimental a person than he could have imagined. His first failed rtionship stung but it was more about how wrong he had been about everything than actually missing her. Work had been a fairly sufficient distraction from his thoughts of Violet the past few days.

    He hadn''t been spacing out because of heartbreak; he had been terrified of losing everything he had ever worked for. Now that he knew that wasn''t going to be a problem he was able to rx enough to be even more productive than usual for the rest of the day.

    "Thanks, Aaron," Jeremy said gratefully, regaining hisposure. "I won''t let you down."

    A slight smile appeared on Aaron''s face as he patted the younger man''s shoulder a few more times. "I know you won''t, kid."

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 496: Spontaneous Combustion

    <h4>Chapter 496: Spontaneous Combustion</h4>

    Christmastime wasn''t terribly fun for Violet since she was stuck on the couch for the most part. At least she was able to eat all the things her mother baked as much as she wanted for the first time in years.

    She started physical therapy right after the holiday and it was excruciating. Kaleb or Nathan drove her to her appointments since everyone else was at work but sometimes Noah was able toe pick her up from them.

    Violet followed every instruction to the letter¡ªshe absolutely would not stand for the possibility of screwing up her own recovery by being the slightest bitx or by pushing too hard too soon. Her physical therapist was impressed by her dedication since most people didn''t follow the rules so strictly.

    More than anything, she was determined to dance again. The director of the ballet hade to visit her while she wasid up at home, exining that he could hold her ce in thepany for a maximum of twelve months. Any longer than that and he would be forced to rece her.

    Her physical therapist said her mobility should bepletely restored in the original 3-6 month time frame she was given but that it might take longer to be able to build her muscles up to where they were before. Dancing on pointe would probably take her more like 6-9 months.

    Violet didn''t care how long it took as long as she didn''t destroy her knee permanently and was still able to make it back into the New York City Ballet before her year of leave was up. She tried her best to remain optimistic but losing the ability to dance forever threatened to destroy her.

    After one particrly painful and difficult day at physical therapy, she broke down sobbing in Noah''s arms.

    "What if I really can''t ever dance properly again? Then what am I supposed to do with my life? I won''t be me anymore if I can''t dance."

    He gently stroked her back as he spoke in a calm, soothing voice. "I really don''t think that''s going to happen, Vi. Your physical therapist seems confident in your progress even though you feel like it''s going too slowly."

    "But what if it does?" she sniffled.

    "Then we''ll figure something else out. Even if you can''t dance professionally, you should still be able to move around enough to be a dance teacher. All you would have to do is push your ns up a little earlier than expected," Noah pointed out rationally. "Like I said, I don''t think that''s going to happen though. You''ll be the prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet again in no time."

    His words were exactly what she needed to hear. Especially ''we''ll figure something else out.'' Noah included himself in her problem like they were a team. He had always been like this but somehow things felt different now that they were in a rtionship.

    He wasn''t only her best friend helping her out. He was her partner, like her parents were partners. It was Violet and Noah against the world even more than before.

    Many times over the years she had wondered what on earth she would do without him when things got hard but she had never thought that more fervently than when she was recovering from her surgery.

    Noah was the only thing keeping her sane when anxiety about the future threatened to destroy her. As always, he continued to be her safe ce.

    "And Vi?" he spoke up again.

    "Yeah?"

    "You''ll always be you, no matter what your job is. And I''ll always love you."

    Violet gazed up at him through her tears and could see the earnestness on his face. How had she ever missed it every time he supported her over the years? He was looking at her the same way her father looked at her mother. Like she was the entire world.

    She didn''t know what she was supposed to say to that. Their romantic rtionship really hadn''t progressed that far in the weeks they had been together. She got the feeling he didn''t want to scare her by moving too quickly, which she appreciated.

    Changing a lifetime of feelings wasn''t something that happened overnight. But she had to admit, she didn''t think she could possibly love someone more than she loved Noah in this moment. If he kept being his wonderful self, she would fall in love with him for sure.

    Since the day she told him she couldn''t bear to lose him, they hadn''t kissed again. Violet was fairly certain he was waiting for her to make the first move.

    There was no time like the present. Overwhelmed with feelings of affection and appreciation, she tilted her head up to nt a kiss on Noah''s lips. He was surprised for a moment and pulled back to look her in the eye.

    "Hey Vi¡­I don''t want to overstep your boundaries or anything¡­but I really, really want to kiss you right now. Properly. Is that okay?" he asked a bit nervously.

    Violet nearlyughed. The look on his face was so cute! She smiled and gently caressed his cheek, feeling emboldened by her earlier surge of affection for him.

    "Yes, Noah. But you know, you didn''t need to ask."

    His eyes widened, pleasantly surprised, before he leaned down to kiss her again. She had been kissed before but it had never felt so sweet. Despite his obvious inexperience, Violet could feel all of Noah''s love for her pouring through his kisses.

    Her heart pounded in her ears and when they finally broke apart, she buried her face in his neck, unable to look at him. This was Noah. The man she had thought of as a brother up until a few short weeks ago. How could he possibly be making her heart pound like this already?

    "You don''t look veryfortable," Noah pointed out. "Do you want to move?"

    Violet''s leg, still in its brace so she couldn''t bend it, was sticking out somewhat strangely as she sat on hisp. With a ming face, she swung it around so she could sit next to him instead. How embarrassing!

    "Want to y Scrabble?"

    He spoke nonchntly, as if they hadn''t barely finished making out. She really wondered how he could be so cool and collected about this when she was such a visible mess.

    Noah had always been the most rxed person she had ever met, but still! If he was really in love with her shouldn''t he have some sort of reaction? He had been such a wreck when she made him be a stand-in for the prince¡­

    Violet narrowed her eyes at him. "How are you so calm right now?"

    He cracked a smile and confessed, "My calm is an illusion; I''m actually about to spontaneouslybust. You can feel my heartbeat if you don''t believe me."

    Shey a hand on his chest and sure enough, it was thrumming so rapidly there was almost no pause in between heartbeats at all. She let out a small snort. It was nice knowing she wasn''t the only one freaking out going into uncharted territory.

    "Do you really want to y Scrabble?" Violet asked doubtfully.

    "Truthfully, I''d rather continue down the path of spontaneousbustion."

    This time she couldn''t contain herughter. What an interesting way of saying he wanted to kiss her again. Noah had always worded things so hriously.

    Violet stood up and offered him her hand. "Well, if you truly want to spontaneouslybust I''m not going to stop you. Since I can''t bend my leg though it might be easier to stand."

    He epted her hand eagerly but as they were about to start kissing again they both burst outughing because of the awkwardness of it all. Theyughed so hard that they ended up touching foreheads for support. This was definitely going to take some more getting used to.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 497: Picture Frame

    <h4>Chapter 497: Picture Frame</h4>

    Violet didn''t get her brace off until the end of January. By then she had nothing to do but physical therapy so she ended up spending most of her free time hanging out at Noah''s dojo and helping him with administrative tasks.

    Spring training didn''t start until the end of February but Kaleb finally found a group of people willing to take that backpacking trip he cancelled after getting dumped so he was currently in Europe. Sitting around at home alone had been driving her crazy so she begged Noah to give her something to do.

    He talked to the owner of the dojo, exining her situation, and he didn''t mind letting her help with Noah''s paperwork. The owner had known Violet since Noah was still in high school and knew how efficient she was at helping keep him on track so he allowed it.

    Noah''s students loved seeing her every day. Some of the older ones asked her why she was around more often and she replied that it was because she was their sensei''s girlfriend now.

    Joey, one of the boys who Noah imed was crushing on her, seemed confused. "I thought you were already Sensei''s girlfriend."

    That one was a bit hard to exin. Thankfully she was saved by Noah calling him over to help set up some of the practice dummies. He scampered off easily, freeing Violet from answering that question.

    She truly was such an idiot. Everyone had seen it except for her!

    Well, there was no use fussing over it now. Violet was with Noah and they were getting better about being less awkward when it came to things like kissing. She was confident that once they passed this hurdle that she would be able to consider herselfpletely in love with her best friend.

    Once thest ss for the day left, Noah still had some paperwork to do that Violet hadn''t been able to finish. She wandered around his office staring at various trophies and ques from karatepetitions in years past. This particr dojo had resulted in a lot of champions since it was founded in thete 1980s.

    Violet paused when she noticed something new on the corner of Noah''s desk. It was one of those folding picture frames with three slots for photos.

    The first slot held a picture of the two of them when they were four and two years old. Noah''s arms were wrapped around Violet and he was grinning cheesily with his eyes closed as she beamed at the camera. The second had one of them at thirteen and twelve, shrieking withughter as the Singletons'' dog soaked them with soapy bath water as they tried to get her clean.

    Violet remembered that day. Jennica asked Noah to bathe the dog because she had to take Logan to pick up some supplies for a school project. It did not go well and she ended up walking in on the chaos thirty minutester, just in time to snap that picture.

    Thest photo had been taken at the closing night of Violet''s very first show after joining the New York City Ballet. She and Noah each had an arm around each other''s back as she clutched the white-and-pink roses he had brought her.

    That show wasn''t particrly memorable. It had been Romeo and Juliet and Violet had danced the part of Juliet''s nurse, who didn''t have many scenes. At the time she was too excited to be a part of a real balletpany to care even though she was barely mentioned in the program.

    Nearly everyone she knew came to support her on opening night but the numbers steadily dwindled until no one at all came to thest few shows. Then on closing night Noah surprised her bying a second time. His seat wasn''t a great one so she hadn''t seen him in the audience and had beenpletely blindsided when he showed up at the cast meet and greet with roses.

    That began his tradition ofing on both opening and closing nights. He bought his VIP box seats for the very next show she was in. Violet smiled fondly at the memory.

    "When did you get this?" she asked, gesturing to the frame.

    Noah nced up. "Oh that? I''ve actually had it ever since I moved into this office because I wanted something to decorate my desk with." He smiled a bit sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, hid it every time I knew you wereing over because I didn''t want to weird you out. No point in that now."

    That was definitely something out of a romance novel. He could be surprisingly sentimental sometimes.

    Violet bent down to kiss his cheek and ended up massaging his shoulders as he continued reading through the paperwork.

    "You''re sweet," she informed him.

    "d you think so."

    As Violet continued massaging her boyfriend''s shoulders, her mind went back to that picture frame. Noah said he had it ever since he moved into this office¡­but that was a little over two years ago!

    All this time¡­he had loved her so much for so many years and she never noticed a thing. Regret filled her heart. How much different would things have been if she had known about his feelings sooner? Would it have helped them get into a rtionship sooner? Or would she have been too young and stupid to appreciate his feelings and brushed them off?

    Things probably worked out the way they were supposed to. Her mother always said that everything happens for a reason. In this case, she might be right.

    When Noah finally finished his paperwork they ended up going to a sushi ce for dinner. As much as she missed dancing, she couldn''t deny it was nice being able to eat whatever she wanted (within reason). She definitely looked forward to this part of being a dance teacher someday.

    As they sat down, Violet could have sworn she saw someone she recognized out of the corner of her eye but when she looked again she couldn''t see anyone she knew. She must have been imagining things.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 498: Who Could Love Someone Like Me?

    <h4>Chapter 498: Who Could Love Someone Like Me?</h4>

    Gray was mildly surprised when he saw his niece walk into the restaurant where he was experiencing a somewhat boring date with a gold-digging divorcee. She was holding hands with a tall, dark-haired man Gray recognized but had never met personally. Noah Singleton, the son of Aaron''s right hand man.

    He frowned. Wasn''t Violet dating someone else only a few months ago? Not that he had any room to judge, since his girlfriends had neversted more than a few weeks at a time.

    But Jeremy Ward was set to inherit her father''s business so he was definitely a better match ording to Alistair Hale''s standards. Gray smiled wryly. Aaron never cared about that man''s philosophies; he wanted to live simply and happily with the one he loved. Of course he would allow his children the same freedom.

    Gray knew a fair amount about Noah Singleton. He had seen pictures of the boy many times over the years included in the ones Aaron showed him during those prison visits. He had obviously been close to Violet and the Hale family since he was in diapers.

    His brother likely wouldn''t be pleased if he knew how thoroughly Gray had investigated his family. A man of few words, Aaron was always so stingy with the details about his life and family.

    Looking into what the Hales had been up to over the past twenty-five years had been one of the first things Gray did after getting out of prison. He wanted to know everything about Aaron''spany expansion, Keeley''s career as a rising star in the field of gics, and what sort of people his niece and nephews were.

    Noah Singleton, as the most frequently appearing person on Violet''s social media ounts, warranted investigating as well. Gray didn''t know what was so appealing about a karate instructor but he supposed he hadn''t understood Keeley''s appeal when he was younger either.

    Now that he was older, he understood it a little more. It had been a very long time since he was jealous of his little brother but Gray couldn''t deny that spending Thanksgiving with Aaron''s family had brought those old feelings back.

    He wasn''t jealous of Aaron''s sess or wealth. Goodness knows, he had more than enough of his own money. His ns to build another empire were well underway too.

    No, what Gray was jealous of was how his brother had managed to find meaning in his life outside of work. He had warmth and love toe home to every day. His wife cuddled with him as they watched TV. His sons horsed around with each other while watching football. Every single member of his family seemed to get along for the most part.

    The Hale home was absolutely nothing like Gray had ever experienced. His mother had loved him deeply but the house had been pretty empty with just the two of them. Uncle Louie wasn''t the warm type. And his many foster homes were various degrees of chaotic. No one ever really wanted him there.

    Even as an a.d.u.l.t when he had been in rtionsh.i.p.s those women were only in it for the money, his body, or both. No one had truly loved him since Mary Gray died.

    He wasn''t na?ve enough to believe Aaron actually cared about him. It was obvious he only tolerated Gray''s presence on the fringes of his life out of a sense of guilt and obligation.

    Not that he really minded. Gray had known his brother was a cold fish ever since he first started spying on him way back when Aaron was in middle school. Keeley was an anomaly. All of Aaron''s affection was reserved for her and her children.

    Given the way Aaron was raised, Gray understood it somewhat. If Aaron truly hated him, he wouldn''t give him the time of day. He believed that based on their early interactions.

    But he had written and visited diligently, albeit reluctantly, the entire time Gray was in prison. And since getting out, the Hale brothers had lunch or dinner together every few weeks. That had to count for something.

    Gray wasn''t dissatisfied with his rtionship with his baby brother. He merely wanted to have the same thing Aaron had. His entire life had been spent either trying to get revenge or attempting to build an empire bigger than Alistair Hale''s.

    For the longest time he didn''t mind it. As a Hale, business was in his blood. He still had no intentions of slowing down on rebuilding from the shadows but after getting out of prison he realized he wanted more out of life than that. Gray wanted someone who loved him.

    ''Who could love someone like me?'' he thought wryly. Certainly not the woman sitting across from him right now.

    Cynthia Bush was a forty-six year old former beauty queen with a teenage daughter who wasn''t satisfied with her alimony and child support payments and wanted to live in style. She was only here because of Michael Gray''s carefully put together online dating profile.

    It was mostly false anyway. The only true things on it were his birth name and his financial status. How else was a convicted murderer supposed to get a date?

    The chances of someoneing into his life and epting him the way he was without ulterior motives¡ªlike Keeley had with Aaron¡ªwere one in a million. In his mid-fifties now, it wasn''t impossible for him to have children though it was much less likely. Having a family like Aaron''s almost certainly wouldn''t happen at this point in his life.

    Sneaking a peek at his niece''s table, Gray nearly sighed. What would it be like to have a child adore him the way Aaron''s children obviously did?

    He had gotten sentimental in prison. If someone had told him at age twenty-nine that he would wish for a wife and children after everything he went through growing up, he would have called them crazy.

    Gray had loved his lifestyle of going to the best parties, having the most attractive woman on his arm, and enjoying the finer things in life that he felt were owed to him for being denied his birthright. But now a home-cooked meal prepared by someone who smiled at him like he was the best thing in the world appealed to him more and more.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 499: Plenty Of Fish In The Sea

    <h4>Chapter 499: Plenty Of Fish In The Sea</h4>

    Cynthia was thering on about something Gray didn''t particrly care about but he continued to smile and nod as his mind wandered. Fertility technology hade a long way in the decades he was locked up. If he did manage to find a woman it wouldn''t bepletely impossible to him to be a father¡­

    The idea of finding someone to give birth to a child for him simply to fulfil his desire of having a family wasn''t appealing. Gray truly would prefer if someone like Keeley Hale, who miraculously managed to love her ice-cold husband, fell into hisp. But the odds of that happening were practically zero.

    Even if a woman did fall in love with him, he would have to keep his true nature a secret for the rest of his life. Did he really want that?

    Gray had used a charming, insincere tone when he spoke ever since he was in college. He had to work hard to stop using his old Brooklyn ent but it still tended toe out when he visited his mother''s grave. There was no telling what a woman would think if she stuck around him long enough for him to slip up.

    If only he could find someone simrly minded. Was it possible to advertise for an attractive female murderer online? No one would go for that.

    "Are you even listening to me?" Cynthia demanded.

    Gray dropped the pretense. He didn''t want to see this woman again so there was no point cating her. "No, I am not. You''re too boring to pay attention to."

    Infuriated, she sshed the contents of her water ss all over him before storming away. ''What a drama queen,'' he thought distastefully as he tried to dry himself with a napkin.

    At that moment Violet got up from her table to go to the bathroom and halted when she was about to pass Gray''s table. She gave him the slightest hint of an incredulous look, seeming so much like her almostpletely expressionless father that he had to hide hisughter.

    "Hello, Violet. Fancy meeting you here."

    "Why are you all wet?" she asked bluntly.

    Gray waved it off airily. "Ah, my date didn''t go so well. No matter. There are plenty of fish in the sea."

    He said that but finding the right subspecies of fish for him might not even be possible in this lifetime. Bitterness filled his heart but he did his best to keep smiling for Violet''s sake. It wasn''t like he could ask Aaron to set him up with someone either. He would never pair one of his precious wife''s friends up with a murderer.

    Violet''s eyes narrowed warily. Yet another way she was like her father. They didn''t trust so easily. Had Aaron told her the truth about him? And here Gray had thought he didn''t want any of his children knowing about their wayward uncle.

    "Whoever your date was has no manners. Better luck on the next one," she said coolly.

    Gray smirked at her. Talking to Violet was almost exactly the same as talking to her father. How fun. Maybe he should try and run into her more often. Except Aaron might give him a hard time about that. Ah, appeasing him could be so difficult!

    But he had to follow the rules Aaron had set if he wanted to be involved in his family''s lives at all. No matter. He would let her get on with her own date without causing any trouble.

    "Thank you," he replied graciously before waving her off.

    Violet continued walking toward the restrooms as if nothing had happened. She was definitely Aaron Hale''s daughter. Gray''s desire to have a child increased. If anyone could understand him, his own child could. His niece was proof of that.

    ===

    "You ran into your uncle?" Noah asked with a frown once they were back in his car after dinner.

    Violet nodded grimly. "He imed to be on a date. Can you imagine dating a convicted murderer?"

    "I couldn''t imagine dating anyone other than you."

    She rolled her eyes, unable to suppress her smile. He had always been at least a little cheesy with his straightforwardpliments but it had gotten ten times worse once they started dating. Noah was more of a romantic than she would have thought.

    They ended up heading back to her ce to watch TV in the entertainment room. The Hales'' TV and couch were a lot bigger than the Singletons''.

    The two of them spooned under a nket as they watched because it had been pretty chilly when they were out earlier. Violet was still getting used to this kind of closeness. None of her previous boyfriends hadsted long enough to get to this point.

    It wasn''t that she wasn''t used to being around Noah. When they were younger they would do things like hold hands and hug all the time. The feeling of having his arms around her was a familiar one. Just¡­not like this. Noah''s embrace had never made her heart beat faster until a few weeks ago.

    Aside from a few awkward attempts at acting like a real couple, their rtionship remained as it always had. Despite the new changes to how they interacted, Noah was still Noah. She felt asfortable with him as ever, despite asionally bursting into hysterical giggles about how strange it was to be dating him now.

    He had to be the world''s most patient person. Even her father hadn''t waited for her mother toe around for as many years as Noah had for her. All he wanted was to be around her, even when he thought that they would never be more than best friends.

    Her heart swelled at the thought. Nobody valued her exactly as she was the way that Noah did. Violet would always cherish that.

    She couldn''t consider herself in love with him yet¡ªit was still an adjustment thinking of him as her boyfriend instead of her surrogate brother¡ªbut neither of them were going anywhere. They had all the time in the world to get this sorted.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 500: New Research

    <h4>Chapter 500: New Research</h4>

    Keeley walked by the entertainment room and saw Violet and Noah cuddling through the crack in the door. She couldn''t help but smile at the sight. It appeared those two had always been meant for each other after all.

    There was no doubt in her mind that they would get married eventually now that Noah had finally made a move. Violet and Noah had always been perfectly in sync, which was a big part of why her brothers had always teased her about being married to him. They had been acting like husband and wife for a few years now. It was only a matter of time before that actually happened.

    She shook those thoughts free so she could finish up her paperwork meant to be submitted to the Nobel Prize judges. The deadline wasing up and she wanted to get it done sooner rather thanter.

    Sometimes it was still hard to believe this was actually happening to her. Keeley knew her odds of actually winning were slim¡ªtons of people got nominated every year¡ªbut it was still an honor to even be considered.

    She had done her best and the rest was up to the panel of experts who would evaluate her work. Her dream of helping people with cystic fibrosis had already been fulfilled.

    There had to be some other project she could get started now that she was nearly done with her paperwork. Helping Erica with her research was better than nothing but Keeley wanted to lead her own team again. The problem wasing up with an eptable topic.

    A scientist of her standing couldn''t pick any old research project. Her reputation had preceded her too much already. If she didn''t do something else groundbreaking, her fans would be disappointed.

    Keeleyughed out loud thinking about the fact that she actually had fans. That certainly hadn''t ever been something she considered when she chose this as her career.

    Herst project had taken more than twenty years toplete, though admittedly she did take several long breaks from researching. There had to be something she could do that would take less time. She hadn''t thought about still working in ab in her sixties. Aaron would probably want to retire by then.

    As much as she loved her work, she had to admit the thought of retirement and spending the rest of her life traipsing around the globe with her husband was appealing. But that was a very long time away. She shouldn''t be daydreaming now when there was paperwork toplete.

    Over an hourter Keeley stretched with a satisfied smile on her face. She had sent over the doc.u.ments to the appropriate people and now all that was left was waiting for the results. If she won, she would be informed in October though the award ceremony wouldn''t be for another two months.

    "You seem awfully satisfied with yourself," Aaron said with an obvious smile in his voice as he leaned down to hug her from behind. "Finished with your paperwork?"

    Keeley craned her head to grin at him. "You know me too well. Nowes the best part¡ªwaiting on the edge of my seat for almost ten months."

    He kissed the top of her head. "I think I know of a few ways to distract you."

    She raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Do enlighten me."

    "It''s a secret. But if you really want to know¡­" Aaron trailed off suggestively.

    "Violet and Noah are here!" Keeley hissed, catching onto his meaning.

    He shrugged before beginning to give his wife a shoulder massage. "I checked on them on my way up here; they''re both asleep."

    That sounded so much like days gone by when the Singleton kids were sleeping over at their house. She had tough. Some things never changed. But since they were asleep there was no reason to reject Aaron''s suggestion. Keeley pulled him closer for a kiss and allowed her husband to distract her.

    When she woke up the next morning and began preparing breakfast she realized that she didn''t ever hear Noah leave the night before. It was around 7 AM and he usually needed to be to work at 8 ording to Violet.

    Keeley didn''t want to infringe on their privacy but if he was still here, he really needed to wake up. She hesitantly made her way to the entertainment room and covered her mouth to stifle herughter when she saw how they were sleeping. They used to fall asleep on the floor in a very simr position when they were little.

    "Vi," she whispered as loudly as she could.

    Her daughter stirred, her torso about six inches away from Noah''s and her arm stretched out across his neck as their legs were tangled together. How on earth was thatfortable enough for them to stay asleep?

    "Wha?" Violet asked sleepily.

    "Noah has work today, doesn''t he? You might want to wake him up. It''s nearly seven," Keeley pointed out.

    That woke her up. She immediately began shaking her still unconscious boyfriend as her mother discreetly slipped away. This was the first time Noah had stayed overnight since they had started dating but Keeley had no doubt that since it had happened once it would now happen more often.

    The hazards of living together with your parents while dating was that they could walk in on you any time. It would be nice if one of them could get their own ce before Keeley or Aaron was forced to witness something they would rather not see.

    They were a.d.u.l.ts. Violet was around the age Keeley had been when she gave birth to the twins. Once the awkward puppy-love stage passed, she was sure they would engage in more a.d.u.l.t activities.

    Ugh, it was so weird thinking of your child and a child you thought of as your own doing that. Keeley could still remember them chasing after each other when they were babies. She was willing to bet at this point that they would be having babies of their own within the next few years. Ah, her little girl was growing up.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 501: Moving Out

    <h4>Chapter 501: Moving Out</h4>

    Violet''s mother had woken her and Noah up too many times to count. But never was it as awkward as that particr morning. The difference was that this time her mom knew they were dating and probably thought they had done more than they actually had.

    She felt wronged. They literally fell asleep! Nothing else had happened!

    It was difficult getting her mother''s knowing smile out of her head. Like an itch she couldn''t scratch, the thought festered all the way through physical therapy. Eventer, when Violet sat around watching Noah teach his after school sses, it continued to bother her.

    She had never once entertained the idea of moving out after bing an a.d.u.l.t. The penthouse was her home and had been since she was born. But if there were going to be more awkward encounters like this morning could she really maintain herposure around her parents?

    There wasn''t a shadow of a doubt that her father would buy her a huge fancy apartment if she breathed a single word about being interested in moving out. The question was whether or not it was the right time.

    Her parents would know she was only doing it to have privacy with Noah, which would be terribly embarrassing. Even worse, he would probably think the same thing. She wasn''t ready for that yet! Not when kissing was still somewhat weird to do.

    Violet had essentially decided to spend the rest of her life with him already so they would have to get a ce together eventually but now was definitely too soon. Though she couldn''t deny it would be nice not having to go back and forth visiting all the time¡­

    So lost in her internal debate, she didn''t even notice when ss ended and Noah plopped down next to her.

    "What are you thinking about?"

    She jumped slightly from the unexpected noise. "Geez, you scared me!"

    It was embarrassing to admit what she was actually thinking because he would know the reason behind it for sure but she didn''t want to lie to him. They had always been honest with each other (aside from Noah hiding his feelings for her for over a decade).

    "Actually¡­I was wondering if I should finally move out of my parents'' ce," Violet admitted.

    She squeezed her eyes shut because she was too embarrassed to look at him. She didn''t want to see his reaction. What if he thought she was interested in sleeping with him? Her intentions were innocent! At least for now.

    He surprised her by casually replying, "I''ve been wondering the same thing myself. It''s been easier to stay at home up until this point but twenty-four really is a bit old to be living with your parents."

    Violet was both confused and relieved by his response. The way he said it took the pressure and expectations she had been worrying about off of her. He made it sound like it was a natural part of growing up rather than because they were in a rtionship.

    But if he really did intend to marry her someday there would be no point in both of them getting their own apartments. It would be better for one of them to move out so they could have privacy when warranted while the other stayed where they were when it wasn''t.

    Logically speaking, it made more sense for Violet to move out. Aaron could definitely afford prime real estate better than Cameron could and there was no way Noah could buy a decent sized apartment on his sry.

    They had only been dating a little over a month; why was she already thinking about the future like this? Though she supposed there was no reason not to since her decision had been made.

    She knew Noah as well as she knew herself. The only real obstacle to their rtionship was physical attraction. He was a good-looking man but she had never considered him as anything other than family until recently so she was still adjusting to her changed mindset.

    "That makes sense," Violet managed to say. Embarrassing as it was, the rest of her thoughts should probably be tossed out into the open as well. "I''m sure my dad will help me find a ce. We could hang out there for the most part but you wouldn''t need to move out."

    Noah cracked a smile at her obvious difort. "Sound like a good idea, Vi. Would you mind helping with some registration forms? My next ss is about to start."

    He kissed the top of her head before walking away and she found herself rxing. No matter what he was thinking about this, he wasn''t going to tease her about it. That wasn''t his style. There was a reason he was her favorite person; she got far too much teasing from her brothers at home.

    Violet was able to put the issue aside as she diligently worked on the registration forms. The rest of the day passed dully and she wished she could be back to work in her own field. Paperwork wasn''t nearly as enjoyable as dancing.

    Her progress in physical therapy was slow but steady. They said she should have regr function back within the next two months but after that she would need to work with someone trained in dance rehabilitation specifically. That seemed so far away!

    She sighed and stretched as she got up a couple minutes before the dojo was set to close. Noah had disappeared into the bathroom to change out of his uniform. His aunt was visiting so he had a family dinner to attend right after work.

    He emerged wearing a nice button-down shirt and cks. Normally he preferred much more casual clothes. Violet''s heart skipped a beat at the sight. She quickly kissed him and told him to have fun on their way out the door.

    Noah smiled contentedly and said he would see her tomorrow. She was a bit dazed by that smile. Seeing him so happy these days was one of her favorite things about their updated rtionship status.

    Violet headed home humming cheerfully to herself.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 502: Never Too Busy For You

    <h4>Chapter 502: Never Too Busy For You</h4>

    Aaron had to deal with more idiots screwing things up than usual at work so by the time he got home he practically melted onto his wife''s shoulder. Keeley reached up and patted his head indulgently.

    "What happened this time?"

    "Three different department heads failed to coordinate their proposals so the meeting today was a wreck. Jeremy and I spent the rest of the day trying to get them to fix their paperwork but it had us running all over the office," Aaronined. "I''m getting too old for this nonsense."

    He might be fifty physically but he had existed for nearly a century now. He would hand off his empire to Jeremy in a heartbeat if not for the fact that Keeley''s career mattered to her so much. Staying at home all day while she was at work would drive him insane.

    Aaron had already decided he would retire the second she did so they could spend their remaining years together all the time. He doubted they would get another chance at rebirth so once this life was over, that was it.

    There were so many things they had been able to do already that they hadn''t in their first life. But he wanted to do everything he possibly could with Keeley regardless.

    He had been all over the world for business between his two lives but it wasn''t the same as walking around actually seeing the sights with his wife''s hand in his as she eagerly pulled him along andmented on everything she saw. Traveling with her was one of his favorite things to do.

    Even that couldn''t beat the casual moments of closeness they experienced while raising their family together. Knowing she was waiting for him at the end of every day¡­seeing her brilliant smile as she yed games with their children¡­being able to hold her whenever he wanted¡­Aaron never tired of it.

    Beingforted when he had a long day was wonderful too, like right now when Keeley led him to a chair and began massaging his shoulders and reassuring him.

    "I know it''s exhausting, honey. But you know as well as I do that you''d go nuts if you weren''t working. Why not give Jeremy a bit more of the responsibility? It might help you rx a bit and he would probably love it," she suggested.

    Keeley made a valid point. Jeremy thrived on working and since he no longer had a girlfriend, would likely be thrilled to have more to do on the weekends. He was the rare breed that preferred work above all else.

    People used to think Aaron was the same way but that was never true. When he was younger he did what his father expected of him because he didn''t know better. Later he worked to try and prove himself but ultimately failed to do anything but drive his wife away.

    In this life he only worked hard to overthrow Alistair. Once that was done, his focus was his family and any improvements to Hale Investments werergely incidental as he waited for Jeremy toe along and seed him.

    Aaron''s happiness and fulfilment in life came from his wife and children, not his business. It was nothing to scoff at¡ªhe was proud of his aplishments to an extent¡ªbut it wasn''t his priority. Frankly, he was more proud of what Keeley had done with her career.

    She was the first person to make gene therapy a viable treatment. Someday she would likely end up in history books alongside other famous scientists, such as the man who discovered penicillin. As a Nobel Prize nominee, she had already more than achieved her dream.

    "I think I''ll do that. You always have the best ideas," Aaron sighed contentedly.

    Keeley leaned over to kiss his cheek in response. "tterer."

    "It''s not ttery if it''s true."

    Sheughed and continued her massaging. All of the tension in his shoulders seeped away from her touch. This was the life. Waiting all those years for her toe around after their rebirth had absolutely been worth it!

    He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against his wife''s stomach as she worked, not bothering to open them until he heard the elevator door open. That had to be Violet; Nathan had ss tonight.

    "Dad, are you busy?" she asked a bit hesitantly once she arrived at the top of the stairs and saw his position.

    Aaron sighed inwardly that the massage had to be cut short but put on a smile. "I''m never too busy for you. What''s up?"

    A relieved look crossed her face and he knew he had said the right thing. Unlike his own father, he always tried to be there for his children when they needed him. He had never broken their trust once and intended to keep it that way.

    Violet sat down across from him and very seriously asked, "Will you help me find an apartment? It''s time for me to move out."

    Instinctively, Aaron and Keeley exchanged a look. Violet, moving out? Their homebody daughter who didn''t even want to try living in the dorms during college? There was only one thing that could have inspired her to do this.

    He should have known this wasing from the moment she started dating Noah. Those two had always tended to be off in their own little world but it was never a big deal because there was nothing romantic between them.

    They and the Singletons knew nothing woulde of it when they were younger so they let things be. But now¡­

    Because Noah was around all the time, he practically thought of the kid as one of his own. Aaron liked him and trusted him with Violet''s well-being but he was also a man who had years of pent up feelings built up inside. Having been there, Aaron knew it was only a matter of time before things heated up.

    "Of course I will, sweetie. But you have to promise me you''ll use protection," Aaron said in a grave tone.

    Violet immediately covered her face with her hands and protested. "Dad! What''s wrong with you?! I want to move out, not build a love nest!"

    "I''m just saying," he replied innocently. "In case you do happen to¡ª"

    "I am not talking about this! If you aren''t going to take my request seriously, I''m going upstairs."

    It was then that Aaron realized his daughter truly hadn''t harbored any intentions of that sort. He breathed a sigh of relief; she was still fairly innocent. But who knows how much longer that wouldst?

    "I''m taking it seriously," he promised. "Why don''t you tell me what you''re looking for?"

    And thus began a lengthy discussion between father, daughter, and mother (who made the asional contribution from the kitchen as she cooked dinner) about what would constitute Violet''s dream home.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 503: I Wonder Where She Gets That From

    <h4>Chapter 503: I Wonder Where She Gets That From</h4>

    It seemed a lot like Violet wanted an apartment simr to the one she grew up in, including terraces and arge entertainment room. Aaron couldn''t help but smile to himself as the conversation went on. He and Keeley had seeded in building a warm,fortable home for their children since their daughter wanted her new ce to be the same.

    He had no such thoughts when he moved out from his parents'' ce all those years ago. His first house with Keeley had been opulent, sure, but there weren''t any things from the house he grew up in that he thought were worth keeping. Everything there was simply an object without any true meaning behind it.

    But Violet wanted terraces because of all the fun they had barbecuing and roasting marshmallows and wanted an entertainment room because of all the family movie nights they had enjoyed over the years. She wanted a ce that seemed like home because she was happy there.

    That was perhaps his greatest aplishment as a parent. Aaron felt a bit choked up as they continued searching through the options.

    After narrowing it down to five different ces, he hugged his daughter tightly and told her he loved her. She brushed it off with a "yeah, yeah, love you too Dad" before fleeing upstairs but he was certain she caught his meaning.

    Keeley couldn''t hold back herughter anymore as soon as Violet was out of earshot. "Did you have to tell her to use protection? Her face was beet red the entire time you two looked at apartments!"

    "How was I supposed to know that wasn''t a concern?" Aaron demanded. "And even if it isn''t now, it will beter! The twins were an ident, as you well know. I don''t want her to have to end her career or get married before she''s ready because of that."

    The twins weren''t stupid; as they got older, they realized that their parents'' anniversary was only a few months before they were born. Keeley never told them the truth. When they asked, she said she and Aaron were already engaged when it happened. She didn''t want them to think they had trapped her into a marriage she didn''t want.

    Yes, she had felt trapped at the time, but once Lacy was dead and she didn''t have to worry about being attacked anymore she never once regretted marrying Aaron. Breaking her children''s beliefs about their parents'' happy marriage was unnecessary.

    Keeley sighed and shook her head. While there was definitely fatherly concern in his tone, there was a trace of guilt as well. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and nestled her head on his shoulder.

    "Violet''s a big girl; she''ll be fine. And if something happens, it happens. Everything happened for us exactly the way it was supposed to," she said soothingly.

    Without the twins, she wouldn''t have given Aaron a real chance at her heart. And the past twenty-six years of happiness never would have happened. Keeley didn''t regret the way things went down at all. Fate knew what it was doing when it brought them together.

    Aaron already knew she didn''t regret her life with him because she really wasn''t that great of an actress. If she had been resentful, he would have seen it. He had every reason to believe she was genuinely happy and in love with him.

    Still, it was nice to hear it from her own lips. He reached up to grip the arms that were wrapped around him.

    "I know. But as her father, I''m obligated to give her the speech. It''s the same one I gave Kaleb when he started showing an interest in girls. You know none of Violet''s previous boyfriends were ever serious enough to get past basic kissing," Aaron pointed out.

    Keeley rolled her eyes. Oliver was too busy building things to care about girls but Nathan, no doubt, had gotten the same speech from his father when he was in high school. She couldn''t deny that it needed to be done but Aaron could at least try to be a bit more tactful. Or subtle.

    Subtlety wasn''t exactly his strong suit anymore. Once he started showing his emotions, she realized he was actually pretty straightforward. Violet got her bluntness from him.

    Keeley peered over his shoulder at theptop screen. There were a bunch of saved listings on the real estate page. "Are you taking her to see these tomorrow?"

    Aaron nodded. "Yes. Noah has family in town so she wants to get it done while he''s busy. I''ve never met someone so devoted to a single person in my entire existence."

    "I wonder where she gets that from," she said sarcastically.

    He shrugged and grinned at her. "No idea."

    The casserole timer went off and Keeley rolled her eyes as she went to go check the oven. It looked like needed a few more minutes. She leaned against the counter and sighed, her mind wandering back to the problem of what to research now.

    It had been bothering her for weeks and she hadn''t been able toe up with anything solid. Everything had either been done or was in progress. She needed something else groundbreaking.

    She had been toying with the idea of trying to eliminate carrier genes for certain diseases but wasn''t sure if it was possible. Thus far, people who were carriers were able to get eggs extracted and tested to make sure they didn''t have the genes but then had to do IVF in order to get pregnant.

    If it was possible to use modify the carrier genes within the body, bypassing IVF, people could get pregnant naturally without having to worry. It sounded like something out of an old science fiction movie from thete 1990s Keeley had seen in middle school but technology hade a long way since then.

    Over forty years'' worth of new technology might make it possible. At the very least, it was worth looking into. She should check the scientific literature and see if there was anything usable within it. Every research idea had to start by going over what had already been done.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 504: Lost In Genetics Land

    <h4>Chapter 504: Lost In Gics Land</h4>

    "Keeley, you need to take the casserole out," Aaron reminded her, shaking her out of her research-rted thoughts.

    She scrambled for the oven mitts and pulled it out right before the cheese would have started to burn. Getting lost in Gics Land wasn''t a good idea when she was supposed to be focusing on something else.

    "Sorry," Keeley said sheepishly. "I was thinking about a possible new research topic."

    Aaron smiled. He knew how much she had been struggling toe up with something new. "Oh? Do tell."

    "After dinner. Will you go get Violet for me?"

    He nodded and marched upstairs to let her know the food was ready. Keeley sang one of her favorite songs as she set the table and served up slices of casserole for her family. She was in an excellent mood now that she might have a straw to grasp at in her research.

    Violet ate quickly, thanked her mother, and disappeared to her room immediately afterwards. She was still clearly embarrassed about earlier. Poor thing.

    Keeley and Aaron took their time eating and then retired to the couch, where she outlined her possible ns for him. He listened intently, as he always did, even though the technical terms were still a bit confusing to him.

    After being married to a gicist for so long, he knew a lot of the lingo but wasn''t as fluent as his wife. She had to frequently stop and exin terms whenever she talked science to him.

    Aaron didn''t mind one bit. He loved seeing her eyes light up when she talked about her passion. Even if he was confused, he did his best to keep up with the conversation so he could ask relevant questions and keep it going.

    "I know it might seem a bit silly," she said when she finished her exnation. "I really would need to check the literature to see if it''s even possible. I don''t keep up with the reproductive side of gics as much since I''ve been stuck on gene therapy for so long."

    "It''s still worth looking into. I haven''t seen the movie you mentioned though," he admitted. "Is it any good?"

    "Yeah, it''s one of my favorites! I can''t believe I''ve never shown it to you. Want to watch it now?"

    Keeley''s eagerness was impossible to resist so Aaron found himself watching an ancient science fiction movie with his wife. The concept was intriguing but even after so many years watching movies for her sake he still wasn''t ever as into them as she was.

    He watched movies with his wife and children because they wanted him to and usually it wasn''t too much of a chore but he wasn''t the type to choose to watch a movie on his own. This one wasn''t nearly as bad as some his children had made him watch over the years. It was actually pretty decent.

    Halfway through the movie, his phone buzzed with a text from Gray. He groaned. It was time for another of their awkward brotherly dinners.

    With how gung-ho Keeley seemed about this new research idea, Aaron was willing to bet she would work overtime tomorrow and wouldn''t be able toe out to eat with them. He would survive, as he always had with those solo prison visits, but it wouldn''t be pleasant.

    Aaron texted him back, saying he could go the day after tomorrow because he already had ns. Violet definitely trumped Gray in terms of people he would rather spend time with and he had already promised to take her house hunting.

    "Who was that?" Keeley asked, not bothering to tear her eyes from the screen.

    "Gray. He wants to go to dinner tomorrow but I told him I couldn''t because I''m taking Violet to look at those apartments."

    She finally turned to look at him. "Oh. Do you want me toe with you?"

    Yes, but Aaron also knew that if she dide she wouldn''t even be any help because her mind would be miles away in theb. It was better that she got her literature research done so she wouldn''t obsess over it anymore.

    "No, you can go ahead and focus on your literature review. I know you''ll be busy with it until it''s finished," he replied.

    Keeley kissed him with a soft, loving look in her eyes. "You know me too well. But let me know if you change your mind."

    That gentle gaze was worth going to deal with his least favorite person alone. Aaron snuggled closer to his wife and tried to pay attention to the movie. He needed to be able to at least summarize it once it was over so he could converse with her about it.

    ===

    House hunting with Violet was an interesting experience. Aaron had never gone with somebody to pick out a property before, having always done it by himself. He thought the first two were fine but she always found something wrong with them.

    Violet liked the third but thought it didn''t have enough space. How was four bedrooms not enough space for a single person? He supposed she was thinking in the long-term but still. How many children did she intend to have?

    The fourth didn''t have a big enough terrace for a fire pit, grill, and table/chairs. The fifth fit all of her specifications but she didn''t like the way it was painted.

    Aaron was getting slightly exasperated. Her mother had never been this picky about things! He tried his best to keep his frustration out of his voice and speak as patiently as possible. Making her feel guilty for wasting his time wouldn''t do.

    "Vi, I can hire a painter. If there''s something you don''t like about any of these ces I can get someone to fix it for you. But you need to make a choice first, alright?" he urged gently.

    She crossed her arms over her chest and walked around the apartment one more time. It was a penthouse in a building about twelve blocks from the Hales'' ce. It had two floors with a terrace on each, six bedrooms, and an entertainment room.

    The building itself had many of the same amenities their building did, including a convenience store inside it. This ce seemed perfect. So why wouldn''t she pick it already?

    Buying his apartment had been so much easier. He went to the most highly rated real estate agency in Manhattan, gave his specifications, and liked the first one they rmended. No fuss at all.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 505: Ignored

    <h4>Chapter 505: Ignored</h4>

    "Do you think the kitchen is big enough?" Violet asked as she squinted at the cupboard space.

    Aaron sighed quietly. It was almost the exact size as the one they had at home and she wasn''t even much of a cook. Why did she care how big the kitchen was? That seemed like something Nathan would be picky about but not her.

    "Yes. Is that all?" he asked slightly impatiently.

    "No, I want to check out the second floor again," she replied before speeding up the stairs.

    He could faintly hear her debating something with the poor real estate agent who had to be as exhausted as he was by now. Ten minutester, she came back down with a satisfied look on her face.

    "Alright, I want this one. But I do want to repaint and get different carpet."

    "Done," Aaron said eagerly. Anything to get them home and off their feet. House hunting took a lot more walking than he would have anticipated.

    Violet blinked up at him innocently. "Dad, will you help me find furniture?"

    No! Absolutely not! He would buy this ce with cash here and now but he would not walk around a sted furniture store as she hemmed and hawed over what she wanted anymore. That was Keeley''s domain; she was the decorator of the family.

    He meekly suggested that she ask her mother because she was better at that sort of thing and she took his word for it. Thank goodness.

    Once everything was signed, the real estate agent handed over the elevator key. Aaron may have bought the house but he put it in Violet''s name so the key went straight to her. There went nearly $5,000,000 but he wasn''tining since it was a drop in the bucket.

    Anything for his baby girl. She always asked for so little. Buying her a nice ce in a safe building so she could continue the not-so-high-paying career that she loved without worry was the least he could do.

    "Thanks, Dad," Violet said fervently as she wrapped him in a tight hug. "You''re the best."

    A lump formed in Aaron''s throat. His little girl was actually moving out on her own. When would he ever see her after this? He spoke gruffly. "I love you, Vi. You bettere visit us a lot."

    "Of course I will! No matter what, I''ll always feel at home with you and Mom," she reassured him.

    They stood there hugging for a while until Violet''s phone rang. Her eyes lit up when she saw it was Noah. She excused herself and walked a little farther away beforeunching into a monologue about how great this apartment was.

    Aaron felt gratified that he had been able to do something to help his daughter out but also a little disgruntled knowing that between researching for that literature review and helping Violet pick paint, carpet, and furniture that his wife''s attention would not be on him for the next few weeks.

    Keeley kept telling him to get a hobby for when she was busy but he wasn''t interested. Maybe he would end up tagging along furniture shopping merely to have something to do. The prospect filled him with dread.

    ===

    "All alone tonight?" Gray asked with a raised eyebrow as they sat down at an expensive steakhouse.

    Aaron scowled. Normally Keeley came with him so it was a natural thing to ask but he still didn''t like the reminder that she was too busy to spend time with him. Ever since he and Violet got home yesterday, every spare second was spent discussing decoration ideas and color schemes. He couldn''t get a word in edgewise.

    "Keeley is busy."

    His brotherughed. "Well I can see that. You''re always in a terrible mood when her attention isn''t entirely on you, baby brother."

    His scowl grew even deeper. He wasn''t wrong, which made his mood worse. He didn''t like it when Gray saw right through him. It made him worry that one day he might figure out the truth about who had put him behind bars.

    Gray hadn''t seemed the slightest bit suspicious in all this time but you never knew what could happen. Aaron had to do his best to keep this man happy even when it meant inconveniencing himself.

    "You wouldn''t understand," he sighed. "Too many people demand her attention. Right now it''s split between a new research project idea and Violet''s impending move. I helped her buy an apartment and now she insists on her mother helping her decorate it."

    That jerk actually had the nerve tough. "How delightfully mundane. I wish I had a wife and daughter who ignored me in favor of decorating as well."

    Aaron raised an eyebrow. Gray had never once talked like this; as if he actually desired a family of his own. That didn''t fit with anything he knew about this oily man. All this time he had seemed perfectly content having contact with his only brother and sister-inw.

    What had made him change his mind? It couldn''t be that he was actually jealous of Aaron''s life as a regr old husband. That didn''t seem like him at all.

    "You, the perpetual bachelor, want a wife? I thought you were having fun with your various dates," Aaron couldn''t resist saying.

    Normally he was much better at keeping his true thoughts to himself but Gray didn''t seem offended. Instead he smiled much more genuinely than usual, as if he was d to be criticized.

    "It makes you happy. Why not? Empire building hasn''t made me happy in a while. I thought it might be worth it to give what you have a go. If I can ever find someone interested, that is," Gray said airily.

    Finding someone interested wouldn''t be the problem. Gray was rich, had a fake well-bred persona, and was attractive for his age. His personality was the problem. He could never have a genuine rtionship so long as his entire life was a fa?ade.

    Since when had this materialistic man even wanted someone genuine? Aaron always thought he was content with his false, frivolous lifestyle. Graydon Meyer had been tied with him for the most eligible bachelor in New York once upon a time. His false sincerity attracted women like flies to honey.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 506: You Want To Fall In Love?

    <h4>Chapter 506: You Want To Fall In Love?</h4>

    "You want to fall in love?" Aaron asked incredulously. "You."

    Gray should have known his little brother wouldn''t believe his sincerity. He was always so distrustful and ready to think the worst of everyone. Yes, he wanted to fall in love, was that really so hard to believe?

    He wanted someone to understand him and ept him as he was the way Keeley had epted Aaron more than almost anything. It was frustrating that he wasn''t able to buy his way to happiness like usual.

    If he wanted something real and genuine, he wouldn''t be able to go about this the way he normally found dates. Even so, he couldn''t think of any woman who would ept him as he truly was. She would run the second she saw a hint of his inner darkness.

    Gray shrugged casually but the hard look in his eyes betrayed his true feelings. "They say there''s someone for everyone but somehow I doubt they included convicted murderers in that statement."

    An oddly sympathetic look crossed Aaron''s face. Did he actually feel sorry for him? How novel. Gray couldn''t remember thest time someone actually cared enough to feel sorry for him. Probably back in foster care.

    After the first few foster families sent him back he stopped even trying to attach to them. That made them send him back even faster. No one¡ªnot the parents nor the siblings¡ªin those houses seemed to care about him at all or even try to. At least not until hisst foster home when he was seventeen.

    There was a little girl there, probably five or six years old, who was also a foster child. These particr parents ran more of a group home than anything else for the particrly difficult cases. They had seven different kids living with them, all with different biological parents.

    Gray had been through too many foster homes to remember the names of the people he had lived with but he did remember that little girl because she followed him around like an imprinted duckling. It had been quite annoying, actually.

    One day he snapped at her for disturbing him when he was working on some AP Computer Science homework and asked why she kept following him. She blinked up at him with big blue eyes and said something he never expected.

    "Mikey, you''re the nicest person here."

    Nobody had called him Mikey since Uncle Louie died. That, coupled with theughable notion that anyone could consider him nice, made him reevaluate the girl.

    After that he let her hang around when he did homework without furtherint. Sometimes he even let her have the rare candy he managed toe across or told her howputers worked.

    "Computers are the future," he used to say. "I want to be a part of them and make so much money that I can do anything I want."

    She would crawl into hisp and ask, "Will you take me with you?"

    Gray would simply ruffle her hair and not say anything. There was no way he would ever let a little kid tag along with him forever. As long as he got into a good college, he would change his name and never look back.

    The day he got his eptance letter to MIT, including the full-ride schrship, he whooped with joy and was so overwhelmed by his sess that he actually lifted the little girl and spun her around. She giggled and asked him what made him so happy.

    He waved the eptance letter in her face and grinned. "This is my ticket out of here! Michael Gray is on his way up!"

    The little girl frowned. "Mikey, you''lle back to see me, won''t you?"

    Gray looked at her like she was insane. "I''m nevering back here! You''ll be fine without me; you''re tough."

    She burst into tears and ran out of the room. He didn''t fully understand why at the time but after that she kept her distance. He never really thought of her again after he graduated and made his way to a new life in Boston. Until now.

    Why did the random memory of a little girl who seemed to care about hime to mind now? That girl had to be in her forties by now. That or dead; a lot of foster kids ended up on the streets and didn''t survive.

    He had been so lost in thought that he hadn''t noticed Aaron was scrutinizing him. He had probably broken character for a moment and made a weird face. Oops.

    The fa?ade went back up immediately and he smiled. "No matter. I''m happy to be out in the world. There really are so many fascinating things I missed. It''s been nice catching up on them. Do your sons y virtual reality games? I can''t quite get the hang of them myself."

    Aaron''s expression rxed and he responded easily. "They do. Kaleb and Oliver like them the most but Nathan is still into them. Violet was never the biggest fan but she''ll y if her brothers ask her too. She prefers physical games, like cards."

    Cards, eh? That muste from spending so much time with the son of seven-time-winner of the World Series of Poker, Cameron Singleton. They did seem to be dating based on what he had seen the other day.

    He was quite curious but wasn''t sure he wanted to ask. Aaron was awfully touchy when it came to his family. Was that simply a family man thing or was his brother unusually overprotective?

    It was hard to tell, honestly. Gray kept the conversation firmly on video games so he wouldn''t rock the boat.

    As a former tech developer, he knew the history of video games even though he hadn''t had much time to y them as a child. They hade a VERY long way since he was young. The differences in technology were astounding.

    Graymented on that and Aaron shrugged, saying he hadn''t ever yed video games until he met Keeley and she took him to an arcade. After that he only yed them when his children did.

    Even as a foster child, he had the chance to y video games with other foster siblings or friends from school. Ever thinking Aaron lived a life of privilege worth being jealous over was a mistake. He hadn''t been allowed to be anything but Alistair Hale''s perfect puppet. Imagine a child not being allowed to y video games!

    Aaron had gotten the chance to do childish things with his own children, which was better than nothing, but it was still a sad existence. At least Aaron had gotten his happy ending. Gray probably never would. He sighed, unaware of the pair of eyes following him from across the room.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 507: The Classy Guys

    <h4>Chapter 507: The ssy Guys</h4>

    Amanda "Mandy" Applegate was barely scraping by. Why she had bothered to stay in New York all these years she would never know. It would have been easier to build a life for herself somewhere else¡ªanywhere else¡ªbut she couldn''t bear to leave.

    She was born and raised in Brooklyn and never bothered to go anywhere else. It didn''t help that she didn''t have the funds to move after ending up homeless with a baby in tow before even graduating high school.

    Her daughter was now twenty-seven and living a good life in Long Ind with herwyer husband and their two-year-old son. Raising her daughter into a decent person was the only good thing Mandy ever did.

    Ironically, Brittany met her husband after he was appointed to be the court-appointedwyer recing Mandy''s original one while she was in prison. She rotted in there for nine years all for defending her daughter''s innocence against her sc.u.mbag ex-husband.

    At least Britt was grateful for what she did and still allowed her to be around her grandson. Britt, her husband Jason, and little Eli were the only light in her life. They gave her a ce to go on holidays and Sunday dinners but they were pretty busy and couldn''t help her out financially.

    Mandy didn''t me them. Burdening a young family in an ever-more-expensive city wasn''t something she wanted to do. But it did mean she was stuck living with five roommates, most of whom were struggling showgirls, and had to wait tables to pay her bills.

    Commuting all the way to downtown Manhattan was time-consuming but if you managed to get a job at the coveted expensive restaurants, the tips were more than worth it. That was what got her out of bed every day and made her continue to strain her back by standing for hours at a time while carrying heavy trays.

    Mandy was forty-three and waitressing was a young girls'' game. If she had managed to graduate from high school on time her life would bepletely different. She could have gone onto college like Mikey and made something of herself.

    Sure, she had her GED now, but it had taken decades to get it. Her firstwyer advised her to get it done while she was in prison. It helped kill time anyway.

    Whatever happened to Mikey? He always talked so big and made her believe that life could get better. But it never did. He went off on a full-ride schrship and was never heard from again. Sometimes she wondered if he actually got the life he wanted or if he had failed too.

    She pushed those thoughts away and focused on the people at the table in front of her. While she took their order, she caught a bit of the conversation at the table behind her.

    Two ssy looking guys a bit older than her hade in and sat in her section a while back and she could tell with one nce that they would be excellent tippers. Customers like those were her favorite.

    "You want to fall in love? You," one of them said in disbelief.

    The other answered wryly. "They say there''s someone for everyone but somehow I doubt they included convicted murderers in that statement."

    Mandy was startled enough by someone admitting they were a convicted murderer that she didn''t hear what the customer was ordering. She apologized and asked him to repeat himself, much to his annoyance.

    As she scurried away with the order, she heard the second ssy guy speak again, sounding much more insincerely cheerful than before.

    "No matter. I''m happy to be out in the world. There really are so many fascinating things I missed. It''s been nice catching up on them. Do your sons y virtual reality games? I can''t quite get the hang of them myself."

    It sure sounded like he had barely gotten out of prison. And that he had been in there a long time. Mandy could rte. When she finally got out, Britt had graduated from college and was engaged to herwyer. Everything from fashion to music had changed.

    She walked over with the ssy guys'' wine after delivering the other table''s order to the cooks and did her usual spiel. "Here are your drinks. Do you know what you want to order or do you need a little more time?"

    Mandy smiled and tucked a strand of hair that hade loose from her ponytail behind her ear. She didn''t look great after getting out of prison, pale with limp hair and lifeless eyes, but her wrinkles weren''t too bad. Britt had gone to school to be a beautician and fixed her up real nice. Now she didn''t look a day over thirty-nine.

    One of these men was wearing a wedding ring but the slightly handsomer of the two wasn''t. Maybe if she flirted with him a bit she could get a bigger tip.

    "I''ll take a filet mignon, medium rare, and some crab cakes," one of them said.

    Based on his voice, it was the man who wasn''t the convicted murderer. Well, that made sense. He was the one with the ring and had been talking about ying video games with his sons as she walked away. He seemed like a normal, stable family man.

    As for the other¡­he wore a carefree debonair smile on his face and looked immacte between his designer suit and perfectly coiffed hair. But there was a familiar look in his eyes. Hungry. Desperate. Lonely.

    He had the same eyes Mandy had after ending up on the streets when she was pregnant with Britt. Her foster parents at the time kicked her out the moment they discovered she had been knocked up because she said it was their teenage son who did it against her will. He vehemently denied everything and, of course, they took his side.

    She didn''t think this man was the type to murder because he enjoyed it. He might be like her, who had stabbed her ex''s eye out after he pawed her teenage daughter. The divorce was granted while she was in prison because he managed to get everyone to think he was an innocent victim.

    It was only because Britt was too terrified of him to testify. He said he would kill her if she told the truth so she kept her mouth shut.

    Mandy didn''t me her for it; she med herself for ever marrying that creep. Losers attract losers after all.

    "I''ll have a T-Bone, also medium rare, and a Caesar sd," the convicted murderer said with a slight smile. "Thank you, Mandy."

    Her heart skipped a beat when he said her name. Sure, it was on her name tag and she had introduced herself when they first sat down, but no one ever remembered or bothered to address "the help." He seemed far too nice to have spent a lot of time in jail but hey, so had she.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 508: Phone Number

    <h4>Chapter 508: Phone Number</h4>

    Though Mandy served a bunch of other people in her section during the time the ssy guys were at the restaurant, her eyes always ended up back on them. The murderer was smiling and talking in a light, suave tone but he seemed undeniably sad to her. She wondered why that was.

    And the way he smiled at her when she delivered the appetizers! Her heart waspletely out of control.

    What was wrong with her? She was too old to be acting like a schoolgirl with a crush. Just because it seemed like there was a rich, handsome man who might actually understand her didn''t mean he would actually be interested. That was all wishful thinking on her part.

    Yet she still found herself clinging to a tiny, pathetic scrap of hope as the meal progressed. He gave her that same dazzling yet slightly sad smile when she brought over their steaks.

    Mandy found herself praying that he would be the one to pay the bill at the end so she could at least get his name. Luck was on her side because when she came back and delivered the check, he was the one who pulled out his wallet, insisting that tonight was his treat.

    If he had been in prison for a long time yet still had the kind of cash that allowed someone to dine here, he must be loaded! If only she had been so lucky before she ended up in jail. When she came out she didn''t have anything to her name.

    She collected the check and made sure to get a peek at his name when she ran his card through the register. Michael Gray.

    Mandy was so shocked that she dropped the credit card. She picked it up with trembling fingers to examine it again, making sure she wasn''t crazy. It was definitely Michael Gray. How many men in their fifties in this city would share the same name as her old friend Mikey?

    He had disappeared nearly forty years ago without a trace, going off to college in Boston. What would have brought him back to New York? Was it the same desperate desire for belonging that prevented her from ever leaving?

    Without being 100% positive it was him, she still plucked up an uncharacteristic amount of courage and left her phone number on the back of the receipt. She brought it back to their table and shed him her best smile, thanking them both foring in.

    Mandy didn''t see them leave butter that night when her tip was calcted, she was shocked to find that Michael Gray had left her a $500 tip on a slightly less than $200 bill. Was he crazy?!

    Did that mean he liked her? Or was this some sort of rejection to let her down easy? Did he do this because he saw her phone number on the back? The question haunted her for the rest of the night. She desperately waited for him to call or at the very least text her but her phone remained distressingly silent.

    ===

    Gray was dumbfounded when he saw the waitress''s phone number written on the back of the check. For one, it was a pretty gutsy thing to do when she had no idea if he was in a rtionship or not. And that he obviously wasn''t a part of the same working ss as her based on his suit and the fact that he was eating at this rather expensive steakhouse.

    Second, he was shocked that someone as young and beautiful as her was interested in someone like him. Her financial situation probably wasn''t great but still. Daring to do something like that at work when you might get fired or at the very least reported to your boss¡­

    Not that he had any intention of ratting the woman out. He was intrigued. Even if she did turn out to be every bit as much of a gold-digger as his other recent dates, she was the first one to approach him like this.

    No fake dating profiles. No oozing buckets of charm. At best, Gray smiled tiredly at her a few times because his conversation with Aaron was draining him.

    The jealousy about his brother''s family was eating him alive and¡ªwould you believe it?¡ªmaking him sad. It had been decades since he experienced such a basic emotion. And yet this woman was somehow interested in him.

    Gray wasn''t sure if he had the energy to try and go out with another boring gold-digger at this point but he was willing to leave her a big tip for amusing him. If she was working at a ce like this at her age, she probably needed it. Most waitresses were in their twenties but she appeared to be in herte thirties.

    That phone number bothered him long after he parted ways with Aaron. Was it worth giving her a call? Mandy might turn out to be different from the others. She did seem as normal as could be, not unlike Keeley Hale.

    He wanted a Keeley of his own more than almost anything. Could a steakhouse waitress really ept him exactly how he was? He wasn''t sure but was debating whether or not he should try.

    Three days of intense debateter, he finally shot her a text. He was hardly able to concentrate on his work and figured he wouldn''t be able to focus until he got this over with.

    ''Hey Mandy, it''s Michael Gray. You know, the one whose number you wrote on the back of his receipt a few days ago''

    Gray honestly couldn''t think of anything better to say and cringed. Normally he was much smoother than that. The awkwardness of the message didn''t faze her though. She replied immediately.

    ''Hi! Good to hear from you. I thought your tip was a pay off because you weren''t going to contact me haha Thank you for that by the way''

    So she''d caught onto that, had she? This waitress was oddly shrewd. That was a part of the reason he had left it. He really hadn''t intended to contact her at first. But what was a shrewd, beautiful woman doing working as a waitress?

    ''My pleasure. Always happy to help out a beautiful woman'' he replied.

    There. That was more like his usual self.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 509: Mike or Michael?

    <h4>Chapter 509: Mike or Michael?</h4>

    Gray''s phone went off again. Mandy had replied. ''Does that extend to taking a beautiful woman out for a drink? Tonight''s my night off''

    He actually smiled. Widely. Her courage knew no bounds. He would bite. If it was terribly boring he would abandon ship like usual.

    ''Sure. There''s a pub a block from your steakhouse. Meet me there in an hour?''

    ''It''s a bit of amute for me so make it two'' she responded before sending a second text. ''See you then, handsome''

    Ah, it was gratifying to be praised no matter who the praise came from. His other dates had been more interested in his money than his looks. Of the two, he tended to prefer thetter because it was fractionally less shallow.

    Two hourster Gray found himself sitting at the bar waiting for her to show up. She was ten minuteste. A bit of amute indeed.

    "I''m so sorry I''mte, I missed my connecting train," Mandy said breathlessly as she blew in the door.

    Her subtly highlighted dark brown hair was windblown and she was wearing a slightly frayed gray wool coat over a pair of navy blue cks. Her appearance was neat and pretty but it was obvious her clothes were bought cheap.

    "That''s alright," Gray said. Somehow he found himself speaking in a more subdued, natural tone than usual.

    Why would he bother with that when he was so firmly entrenched in his false persona that nobody had heard his real voice in years? For some reason he didn''t want to do that where this woman was concerned.

    Maybe that was the trick. He needed to act like his real self in front of his dates and see if they still liked him when he wasn''t acting like Graydon Meyer. If he even still knew what that real self entailed anymore.

    Mandy smiled at him. It was a nice, warm smile. And somehow familiar. But who would he have ever met who smiled at him so genuinely? That wasn''t the kind of life he led.

    "So," she began. "Do you normally go by Mike or Michael?"

    Gray was startled by the question. Though he had been using his real name again after getting out of prison, the only people he really interacted with were his underworld associates helping him rebuild and Aaron. Both called him Gray.

    When he was very little he went by Mikey. After that it was Michael until he went off to college and became Graydon. Not one person in this world had ever called him Mike, which was probably why he was so thrown off by this.

    "Actually, I normally go by Gray," he found himself admitting. "But please call me whatever you''re mostfortable with."

    Mandy tilted her head, taking that information in. "Gray, huh? I''ve never met someone who goes by theirst name only before. But who am I to judge? My name is Amanda and I''ve always gone by Mandy. It''s a bit sad to never be called by your first name. I think I''ll call you Michael."

    Gray couldn''t get a read on this woman. No one had ever talked to him like this. What on earth was she thinking, conversing with him so easily? The people he interacted with didn''t act like this!

    "This is pretty random," she began. "But by chance did you go off to MIT on a full-ride schrship in 2002?"

    If he was startled before, that was nothing on what he felt now. This person knew him. Actually knew him. From before he became Graydon Meyer. Michael Gray had been a nobody, unwanted by all. Who on earth would remember him from his senior year of high school?

    The look on his face must have given him away because Mandy pped her hands together in delight. That confused him even more. Who was this strange woman?!

    "I knew it!" she eximed gleefully. "You are my Mikey!"

    "You''re the kid from myst foster home," Gray said faintly.

    His head was reeling from the shock. He had been thinking about this woman during that dinner with Aaron and she happened to be their waitress? The odds of that happening were impossibly low.

    That foster home had been in Queens. Gray had bounced back and forth between all five boroughs back then since no one wanted him. And apparently that little girl¡ªhe had forgotten her name was Mandy¡ªhad stayed somewhere in New York City after he left. Or maybe she came back like he did.

    It was astounding that she had remembered him enough to recognize him by the name on his credit card. Was it possible that the only reason she left her number was because she remembered him?

    If that was truly the case¡­Mandy wasn''t a gold-digger trying to pick up a rich man in a restaurant. She was someone who actually cared enough about Michael Gray the abandoned foster kid to try and meet him again.

    Gray didn''t understand that at all. Sure, she had said he was nice a million years ago, but she was the one who pulled away before he left. Why would she bother to meet him now?

    "I don''t understand," he confessed with a frown. "You remembered me and still wanted to meet up? Was that why you left your number?"

    Mandy nodded with bright, shining eyes. "Of course! I always wondered what happened to you. It broke my little heart when you went off to college."

    She was serious. How could she be serious? His leaving actually broke her heart? That wasn''t possible; nobody cared about him that much. At least not since his mother died. This woman¡­he would kill to know what was going on inside her head.

    If she really had always wondered what happened to him, that meant all those years he thought he waspletely alone there was someone who cared. All those fake rtionsh.i.p.s, all those insignificant flings as he tried to fill the void in his heart and there was someone who hadn''t wanted Michael Gray to disappear the whole time.

    Gray narrowed his eyes suspiciously. This was too good to be true. He had been lonely and wishing for a rtionship like Aaron''s and someone who had once cared about him happened to fall from the sky?

    "Then why did you stop clinging to me after I got my eptance letter?" he asked usingly.

    She coughed, slightly embarrassed. "Well you had just told me you were leaving and nevering back. I was mad at you. In my five-year-old mind, I figured you would give into my tantrum eventually and not go. Obviously I was wrong but I was devastated for a while.

    "Actually¡­those foster parents tried to kick me out about six monthster and I put up a big fuss because if I moved you wouldn''t know where to find me if you ever came back. Silly, huh? I really loved you back then."

    He may as well have been stabbed in the heart since he couldn''t feel it beating anymore. Mandy had loved him. Gray never had a clue, since he had forgotten what being loved felt like at that point.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 510: Grays Story

    <h4>Chapter 510: Gray''s Story</h4>

    "You¡ª" Gray sputtered, entirely at a loss. "Why are you telling me this?"

    Mandy smiled softly at him. "Oh, I don''t know. Clearing the air, I guess? You were unfinished business for a very long time. Tell me, what have you been up to the past thirty-eight years? I want the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

    That was awyer line. Gray hadn''t gone to trial for Lacy''s murder but knew enough about the legal world to be aware that those words were part of the oath you made before you testified. Had she been arrested before and gone to trial or was this a coincidence?

    "I went to MIT," he began uneasily.

    He had never told anyone the whole truth about his life. The basics should suffice, right?

    "I graduated in 2006 and moved back to Manhattan. I worked for Apple and helped develop some of their tech. When apps started bing popr, I developed a couple on my own and they made it big. I became a millionaire from the second one and decided to open my own app-makingpany."

    All of that was fairly innocent but he didn''t include all of the stalking he did of the Hales as he tried to figure out how to overthrow them. Or everything he did in the dark to have enough power to do that. Or how he changed his mind and decided to let Aaron overthrow their father for him once he figured out what he was up to.

    Mandy raised an eyebrow. "That seems pretty innocuous. How''d you end up in prison then?"

    Gray choked on his drink. How on earth did she figure out he had been to prison? Unless¡­had she overheard his conversation with Aaron in the restaurant? If so, exactly how much?

    "How¡­" he coughed. "How do you know about that?"

    She shrugged. "I happened to hear you talking to your friend. Interestingly enough, that''s something we have inmon. I spent nine years locked up because my creep of an ex-husbandid a hand on my kid and I stabbed his eye out. Makes me real popr with the men, let me tell ya."

    The light in her eyes grew teasing toward the end of her little speech and he was stunned. The surprises never stopped with this one. She went to prison? She stabbed someone in the eye? She had a kid? That was a lot of information from a single sentence!

    All Gray was able to get out after that was "You have a kid?"

    "Yep. She''s twenty-seven and married with an adorable two-year-old son. I got knocked up by a real loser of a foster brother when I was sixteen and was kicked out. Britt and I lived in a women''s shelter for a while but that''s not important," Mandy said with a wave of her hand.

    If that wasn''t important, what was? What kind of life had his one-time foster sister lived?

    It suddenly urred to him that Mandy might be the one person who would actually understand his full story. She had stabbed someone without regret (or so it seemed) for the sake of her family. There was a decent chance she wouldn''t judge him for what happened with Lacy.

    Could he really be himself for once and really, truly talk to someone? Even Aaron didn''t know everything about him. It was obvious he didn''t trust him so why would Gray bother to tell someone uninterested?

    Not one person alive knew the full story. Letting it all out to someone who could get it might be nice. It wasn''t like he had anything to lose anyway.

    Gray found himselfughing. "Alright, you got me. What I told you is the tip of the iceberg. You want the real story? It''s not as pretty."

    Mandy shrugged. "Who needs pretty? I want to know what you actually went through."

    A tiny piece of the stone surrounding his heart chipped away at her words. So he told her.

    His days hacking into his biological family''s life to get revenge for his mother''s murder. Trying to fill the emptiness in his life with money and women because he thought it was what someone of his father''s station would do. How he hated his brother until he realized they were on the same side.

    Getting involved with Lacy Knighton trying to learn more about Aaron only to discover that woman was a threat to the only family he had left. Caring enough to act on it. Murdering Lacy. Getting caught and going to prison.

    He finished by telling her about building up his empire again from the inside, Aaron''sckl.u.s.ter prison visits, and how lonely and jealous he had been since getting out and seeing how happy his brother had been the past twenty-five years.

    "Pathetic, huh?" Gray asked ruefully. "Pretty sure my sob story is even worse than yours."

    "So you have family but he only tolerates you because you went to prison for him and doesn''t seem to want you near his perfect little family. Geez, Mikey. Your life sucks," Mandy said with a slightugh.

    Her expression grew more serious and she gripped his arm. The touch was somehow rough andforting at the same time. Gray couldn''t recall thest time anyone''s touch could be consideredforting.

    "I''m sorry you went through all that. It must have been terribly lonely. Must still be terribly lonely."

    Half of a smile made it onto his face. She was trying to make him feel better when she had been through a nightmare of her own. "What about you? Your life hasn''t been all that great either. But at least you have a family that wants you."

    Mandy''s eyes clouded. Her hand moved from his arm to his hands. She sped his hands in hers and met his gaze earnestly.

    "You don''t have to be alone, you know. Even if your brother doesn''t care, I do. I always have."

    Gray''s heart skipped a beat at the implications. Did he really not have to be alone? Mandy hadn''t given him a horrified look after hearing all he had done. Her sympathy and kindness remained.

    She wasn''t offering her heart romantically but she was offering him a type ofpanionship. At least that''s what he thought. What was she offering exactly?

    Gray pulled his hands back. "You don''t have to do that because you feel sorry for me. I don''t need anybody''s pity. My life is unfulfilling but at least I have my money. I can go anywhere and do anything."

    He was trying to make himself feel better while simultaneously attempting to salvage his wounded pride. Mandy saw right through him in a second.

    "Uh huh but who will you do those things with? People aren''t meant to be alone, Mikey."

    It was weird being called Mikey again. It made him feel five years old. But at the same time it was grounding, in a way. Someone remembered him from a time he had long tried to forget.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 511: A Beautiful Phrase

    <h4>Chapter 511: A Beautiful Phrase</h4>

    Gray frowned, still unsure what she was trying to say. He decided to be uncharacteristically blunt. He was so used to ying mind games with people but it was different with Mandy. She wouldn''t stand for that so he had to be honest.

    "I don''t understand. What exactly are you offering here?" he asked.

    Mandy smiled at him in a way that made his heart flip in his chest. She ced a hand on the side of his face and gently caressed it. "Me. I''m offering me. You never did take me with you or evene back to visit but now that I found you again I have no intention of letting you go, Michael Gray."

    She leaned forward on her barstool and nted a gentle kiss on his lips.

    I have no intention of letting you go¡­Gray wasn''t sure he had ever heard such a beautiful phrase in his entire life. His heart was racing but it was in a different way than when he had been turned on by a supermodel in the past. This woman¡ªthe one little girl in the foster system who had ever liked him¡ªhad made his heart race because she touched him with her words.

    He pulled back from the kiss and ced his hands on her shoulders to be sure he wasn''t dreaming. The look in her eyes was questioning but not judging. She was wondering why he had stopped kissing her.

    "You really want me?" Gray asked seriously.

    Mandy smiled and shook her head at him indulgently. "Yes. I would have thought that was obvious. You''re mine from now on, got that?"

    No one had ever dared to im him as theirs before. The women he fooled around with as Graydon Meyer knew he wasn''t going to stick around and usually hadn''t even dared to call themselves his girlfriend. His reputation always preceded him.

    But Mandy knew the truth about his darkness and had still staked her im. She wanted him. He was hers. How could he possibly argue with that?

    Gray hopped off of his stool and lifted her from hers, making her grunt in surprise.

    "Uh, Mikey? What are you doing?" she asked.

    "Well," he said lightly. "If I''m yours then my things are yours too. We''re going back to my ce. I think you''ll like it; Aaron refurbished it for me before I got out of prison."

    Mandyughed, a hint of exasperation in her tone. "I get that but do you have to carry me? People are staring."

    "Who cares?"

    He didn''t anymore. His public image had already been destroyed decades ago. It would be better to live quietly with someone who loved him than to care about decorum. Suddenly he understood his brother''s lifestyle a lot better.

    Things felt different when someone truly wanted you around and understood you. Even if the rest of the world saw you a certain way, the right person would always see through to your soul.

    That must be the reason Keeley fell in love with that ice block. She saw all the way through to his soul and liked what was there.

    Gray had always wondered why those two loved each other. Over time as he saw how content Aaron was simply being near his wife he thought he understood a little. He thrived off of the warmth she provided him. But that never exined why she loved him back.

    Now he was pretty sure he understood. There truly was someone for everyone; even people like him and Aaron.

    When they made it back to his apartment, Mandy looked around in awe. "So this is what a millionaire''s apartment looks like? My ce looks like a broom closetpared to yours. You''ve been living here by yourself all this time?"

    Aside from a bunch of one-night stands and few-week-long flings, yes. It really was too much space for a single person. Gray had only bought it because it was befitting of his status as the most ideal man in New York City.

    "You don''t even have a pet fish or a housent! This is too depressing, Mikey. We need to change that," she continued as she made her way around the apartment.

    It was a bachelor pad for sure; a two-story ce done up in neutral tones with minimalist furniture and decorations. There were four bedrooms, an entertainment room, a hardly-used kitchen, and ess to the roof.

    Gray could practically see the wheels turning in her head on how to make this ce more homey. Normally that sort of thing from a date would have grated on his nerves but this time it was different. Mandy was thinking long-term. She wanted to stay and he wasn''t about to stop her.

    Or so he thought. He wanted to be sure they were both on the same page here. She might simply be a fan of interior design.

    "I''m open to your suggestions," he said graciously. "But¡­in what capacity are you advising I make changes to my house?"

    Mandy blinked at him innocently. "Well it has to look less depressing if I''m going to live here, doesn''t it? I told you. You aren''t alone anymore. Besides, getting out of my crappy apartment into a ce like this is a dreame true. I''m sharing a two bedroom ce with five girls in their twenties! Do you have any idea what that''s like?!"

    Gray began tough at her honesty and once he started he couldn''t stop. This woman really was something else. He couldn''t think of anyone else who would admit that to someone else they hadn''t even officially started dating.

    She pouted and began fiddling with her hair as she sulked. It was obvious he wasughing at her.

    Once he finally got a hold of himself he grinned. Honestly, he couldn''t remember thest time heughed like that. If he ever had. He pulled her closer to him and sweetly kissed her lips.

    "Don''t be mad, you''re too cute to resist. It''s refreshing to be around someone who speaks their mind," Gray wheedled.

    Mandy scowled at him momentarily before cing a hand on his chest and returning the kiss. "I didn''t think you were the type to tease."

    "I''m not. I guess you brought out a side I didn''t know existed."

    Suddenly she preened overdramatically and flipped her hair. "Well I guess that makes me special, now doesn''t it?"

    Heart pounding, Gray wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. He had never once felt like this towards anyone. She certainly was special. Now that he knew what this was like, he never wanted to let her go.

    He answered her question by kissing her more fervently. Mandy responded with enthusiasm, getting carried away right along with him.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 512: Ridiculous Goldfish

    <h4>Chapter 512: Ridiculous Goldfish</h4>

    The following morning Gray woke up and the sheets beside him were empty. He was used to being walked out on in the middle of the night but never before had he been struck by such panic.

    She said she was going to stay! How dare she toy with him like that when he had actually believed her?

    Barely managing to put on a pair of pants, he rushed out to the living room and rxed instantly when he saw Mandy. She was wearing one of his shirts and her wet hair dripped onto the tile floor as she rifled through his kitchen cupboards.

    Mandy looked up and smiled when she heard him approach. "Morning! You really need to get some groceries. I was going to make you breakfast but there is literally only a banana and some yogurt in your fridge. That''s pretty sad, Mikey."

    Gray seized her in a hug, his heart still pounding. "We can go grocery shoppingter. You still need to help me pick out a housent."

    "And a fish," she reminded him. "I don''t really have anything to get changed into though."

    That wasn''t a problem. He could get someone to buy him a dress from a nearby boutique as long as he knew her size. He told her so and her eyes widened. She gave her head a brief disbelieving shake before thanking him as he called one of his people.

    This wasn''t the first time Gray had to call someone to bring women''s clothes to his ce but it would hopefully be thest. He really wanted to believe Mandy wasn''t going anywhere.

    Once she had a simple teal long-sleeved dress on and he had bothered to put on a shirt, they headed out. She said they were going to a nursery first to pick out a nt, then a pet store, then a grocery store. He followed all of her instructions withoutint.

    Mandy picked out a couple of spider nts in pots that matched his apartment''s general color scheme at the nursery, iming they were nearly impossible to kill. She oohed and ahhed over different types of flowers too.

    But when Gray offered to buy them for her, she imed they were beyond her skill level and would die a horrible death. That made him snort. Out loud. For possibly the first time ever.

    This woman was surprisingly funny. He had alreadyughed more in the less than twenty-four hours they had spent together than he had in years.

    At the pet store, Mandy offhandedlymented on how she had always wanted a big fish tank but could never afford it as they walked past a bunch of pretty ones that held over a hundred gallons of water. Gray informed her that she could pick any one she liked, bringing on another of those glorious smiles.

    "I want to see what kind of fish they have first before I decide," she said. "Come look with me!"

    Gray was examining some neon tetras and thinking how tiny they looked when Mandy tugged his arm and pulled him over to check something out. A wide grin was on her face andugh lines formed at the corners of her eyes.

    "Look at these ridiculous goldfish! I want seven."

    They truly were ridiculous, with giant puffy pouches beneath their eyes. The que said the breed was aptly named Bubble Eyes. He couldn''t imagine keeping such creatures in his house but had to admit he would probably chuckle slightly every time he walked past them.

    He went off to find an employee who would know what kind of other fish to put in a tank with these odd-looking things when he bumped directly into thest people he expected to see. Violet Hale and her boyfriend had been everywheretely.

    "What brings you here?" he asked in his real voice before forgetting he wasn''t talking to Mandy anymore.

    Violet blinked at him in surprise at the voice change and he winced internally. Toote to take it back now.

    "I recently moved into my own ce and my mom wouldn''t let me take the cats so I''m here to adopt a new one," she exined.

    She pointed to an area right next to the aquarium section filled with cats on loan from the local animal shelter in an attempt to get them adopted by people going to the pet store for something else. Quite a maniptive move if you really think about it.

    Gray was still trying to think of something to say other than "oh" when Mandy came to see what was taking him so long.

    "Did you find someone to ask about those bubble eye goldfish?" she asked. Realizing there were other people present, she turned back towards him with obvious questions in her eyes. "You know these people, Mikey?"

    Noah barely concealed a snort after hearing Gray be called Mikey but he was still too baffled by what was happening to care about that. "Yes, this is Violet Hale and her boyfriend Noah Singleton. Violet is my¡­"

    He panicked, forgetting that Violet probably didn''t know the truth about how they were rted. Aaron would kill him if he spilled the beans without permission. Well, not literally but he would give off enough ice to freeze him solid. That was certain.

    "Niece. I''m his niece," she said, surprising him.

    So she did know after all. He had his suspicions a while back but wasn''t positive. Interesting. This girl was as sharp as a tack.

    "Ooh, so you''re Aaron''s daughter! Nice to meet you, I''m Mandy Applegate. Your future aunt," Mandy said with a bright smile, holding her hand out to shake.

    Future aunt? One day together and she already nned on marrying him? Not that Gray wasining but he was still in a state of shock that any of this was happening at all. What sort of Twilight Zone was he currently living in?

    Violet''s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between the two of them. "Future¡­aunt?"

    Gray knew what she was thinking. Thest time she saw him, a bad date had unceremoniously dumped water all over him. That was only a few weeks ago. Nobody within their right mind started dating someone seriously enough to consider marriage in only a few weeks.

    He wanted to open his mouth and try to exin himself but there truly was no exining this. Mandy ignored his internal panic and wrapped her arms around one of his, scooting closer so her face touched his upper arm.

    "Yep! We''re here picking out a fish tank because quite frankly, his ce is unfit for female habitation. There''s lots of work to do but that''s what I''m here for; livening it up! Right, sweetie?"

    "Sure, whatever you say," Gray found himself agreeing. That actually was why they were here so that part wasn''t a lie. He would have to ask her about the ''future aunt'' thingter.

    Violet looked as bewildered as he felt and it was tempting tough at this entire situation. She decided that excusing herself was the least awkward option.

    "Well I can see that you two are very busy so I''ll let you get back to picking out a fish tank. I''ll tell my dad you said hi," she said a bit ufortably.

    Noah''s arm went around her shoulders to reassure her as they moved closer to the cats to choose one. Mandy steered Gray towards an employee who could help them and that was the end of that extremely awkward encounter.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 513: I Did You A Favor

    <h4>Chapter 513: I Did You A Favor</h4>

    Gray felt like he had been caught in his underwear. Completely exposed. He didn''t even use his real voice around Aaron but had done it in front of his daughter without thinking. Violet would surely report back to him about this and his image would be ruined.

    Once the employee told them everything they needed to know about bubble eye goldfish, they leisurely perused the other tanks for the rmended tank mates for them. Gray turned to Mandy slightly usingly as she examined some ck moors.

    "What on earth was that back there?"

    She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, my little show? That was fun. I didn''t realize she knew you were rted since you said Aaron doesn''t like having you near his kids."

    "I''m still trying to figure that one out myself," he admitted. "But that isn''t what I meant. What''s with this future aunt business?"

    Mandy snickered. "Imagine how much Aaron will freak out when he hears. I''m willing to bet he''ll approach you first for once wanting all the juicy details. I did you a favor."

    Gray frowned. While that was almost certainly true, he didn''t want to lie to his brother about something like this. Aaron would expect a wedding invitation at some point in the near future for a wedding that wasn''t going to happen.

    She couldn''t go around casually tossing her words like that either. She had nearly given him a heart attack! That kind of false hope wasn''t fair.

    "Don''t say things you don''t mean," he said sharply.

    Mandy turned away from the fish tank to face him. "Who said I didn''t mean it? You''re the one who said you were mine so your things were mine and brought me to your house. How else was I supposed to take that but as a deration that you n to marry me at some point?"

    His jaw dropped. He honestly didn''t have a response for that. Yes, he had meant he wanted her to stay but didn''t think she would immediately jump to marriage. This was all happening so fast it was making his head spin.

    "I''m going to stay with you anyway," she continued as if it were obvious. "Why not make it official sooner thanter and freak your brother out? I think it would be fun."

    Gray hadn''t realized what a mischievous little imp this grown woman with a grown daughter was. He remembered her as being such a quiet,cent child. But people changed. Goodness knows he had.

    But it actually did sound slightly fun to mess with Aaron since he was usually so unppable. He wanted to show off how he had managed to find the perfect woman for him so quickly. A sort of ''so there, you aren''t the only one who can be happy'' to his brother who had such an idyllic life.

    A thought urred to him that wasn''t the sort of thing he would normally care about. Normally he was much more selfish when it came to getting what he wanted.

    "What about your daughter? Won''t this freak her out too?"

    Mandy brushed it off. "Nah, she''ll be happy to get me out of her hair. I know she worries about me between my apartment and my job. I''ll tell her we''re old friends who met up again and realized we still loved each other and she''ll buy it."

    Gray raised an eyebrow. That wasn''t quite the truth. "I didn''t love you though. You were six. And a pest. I tolerated you."

    She shrugged. "Tomayto, tomahto. And that''s not a very nice thing to say to your future wife, you know. I''m wounded, Mikey."

    "Must you call me Mikey in public?" he asked with a sigh. It was embarrassing. He was supposed to be more dignified than this.

    "Would you prefer Mike? You looked weirded out when I suggested that before."

    "Mike is infinitely better than Mikey," Gray said fervently. Mikey was the name of a small child, not a fifty-five-year-old man.

    Mandy sighed. "You''re no fun. I''ll save it for when we''re at home if it bothers you that much. You can be Michael in public, Mr. I-Care-Too-Much-About-My-Dignity."

    He thanked her and they returned to browsing for fish. Twenty minutester, they walked out as the proud owners of a gigantic fish tank on a wooden stand and a ton of fish. The tank wouldn''t fit in the car so they had to get someone from the store to deliver it to the apartment.

    They made sure to get the fish nice and situated in their new home before going to the grocery store. Mandy picked out a bunch of basic items such as sugar and flour in addition to eggs, milk, bread, and various spices.

    She dered that when they got back, she would make the pancakes she had intended to make in the morning but didn''t have ingredients for. Gray hadn''t eaten homemade pancakes in more than forty years.

    He ate out at gourmet restaurants fairly often but found himself looking forward to her home cooking with great anticipation, hoping she was half as decent in the kitchen as Keeley was. She was the only person whose food he had eaten outside of restaurants in decades.

    There was no need for him to worry. Mandy was just as talented, if not more so.

    Gray thanked her, noting how delicious the food was, and she smiled and kissed him. This all felt far too good to be true. But it wasn''t. He really had a woman here taking care of him who was willing to marry him. Eager, even.

    He pinched himself under the table to be sure he wasn''t dreaming. Mandy came into his life like a whirlwind and made herselffortable there as if it was the natural thing to do.

    Once the pancakes were consumed, Gray insisted they go out again. She was confused why until he brought her to a jewelry store. If she really was going to follow through on her idea of marrying him quickly, she would need a ring.

    Her eyes lit up in delight. "I''ve never seen such pretty sparkly rings before. The one my ex-husband got me was a dud."

    "Price isn''t a problem," he assured her. "Choose whichever one you want."

    And she did. Mandy liked a simple solitaire diamond on a tinum band for herself and found a matching tinum band for Gray. She admired how her new ring sparkled in the light as they walked out of the store.

    "Let''s go home for good now," she said with a slight chuckle. "I''m tired from going in and out all day. We could watch a movie or maybe stare at our ridiculous fish."

    Anything sounded wonderful to Gray as long as she was there with him. Nobody had told him ''let''s go home'' since he was very young. Having someone to go home with properly was all Aaron made it out to be and more.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 514: An Entirely Different Person

    <h4>Chapter 514: An Entirely Different Person</h4>

    Violet was still in a state of shock after running into her wayward uncle in the pet store. She could hardly concentrate on trying to choose a cat.

    Noah could tell something was up and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "What was that all about? I thought he was a convicted murderer. How did someone like that end up with a fianc¨¦e? Do you think she knows?"

    That wasn''t even what she was concerned about right now. It was the fact that there was absolutely no way he could be engaged to someone as quickly as he supposedly was.

    Had that woman Mandy desperately thrown herself at him because of his money? But, if so, why was he going along with it? None of this made sense. Gray was such a false, unpleasant person¡­there was no way someone could fall in love with him that quickly. It had to be a rtionship of convenience.

    "I''m not sure but honestly I''m more confused because I ran into him when we went out to dinner a few weeks ago and he got water dumped on him by a different woman. I don''t see how he could have started dating someone this quick, unless he was cheating on the woman before¡­but it didn''t seem that way to me," she said with a frown.

    It wasn''t really any of her business but Violet knew her dad should probably be informed of this. He was always wary of his half-brother and needed to stay ahead of the curve.

    She tried pushing those thoughts away. This wasn''t important right now. They hade here to get her a new pet and that was what she was going to do. Her mind couldn''t be wandering when she was making a decision like that.

    Yet her eyes still trailed the two of them looking at fish tanks. Mandy was running around choosing fish while Gray stood back with a pleased smile on his face watching her go. A genuine one.

    Violet had never seen him smile genuinely before; it was always more of an insincere smirk. And what was with his voice earlier? That wasn''t his usual voice at all. If she hadn''t see his face, she would have thought she was speaking to an entirely different person.

    Noah snapped his fingers, trying to get her focus back on the cats. She gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry, were you saying something?"

    "I was saying that guy is definitely a creep no matter what but it isn''t your problem so you should stop worrying about it. What do you think of this one? He''s trying to reach through the ss to us but the air holes aren''t big enough."

    Arge orange cat was rubbing up against the ss and purring, trying to catch their attention. Violet smiled. That was pretty cute. They ended up asking an employee to hold that one and she told them about the cat''s history as Violet petted him.

    "He''s a sweetie! Hisst owners got rid of him because they were having a baby, isn''t that sad? He had been with the mother since she was a teenager and is friendly and docile as can be. I can''t believe the nerve of some people. Pets are for life!"

    Violet was inclined to agree. Molly, the first cat her mother ever had, was abandoned by her original owners as well and she was a great cat. It had been devastating for little Violet when she died.

    The orange cat purred in her arms as she continued stroking his back and she knew that he was the one. By the time the paperwork was finished, Gray and his supposed fianc¨¦e had already left the store.

    She tried not to think about how weird today had been. The next time she saw her dad she could tell him what she saw and put it behind her.

    "What are you going to name him?" Noah asked once they made it into the car.

    They had already bought everything she would need for the cat (except for a giant cat tree she had ordered online to be delivered) and put it in the trunk before moving over to the adoptions area. This cat was ready to go aside from having a proper name.

    The shelter had called him Trevor but he didn''t look like a Trevor to Violet. She was still thinking of what name he did look like though.

    "This is prettyme but I might call him ze, because of his fur color. Too childish?"

    Noah shook his head. "Nah, I think that works."

    When they arrived back at Violet''s new ce, they set up all of ze''s things in one of the spare bedrooms on the first floor, like at her parents'' house. He was quite cautious at first as he moved around the room sniffing everything but within fifteen minutes he had fallen asleep inside a strawberry-shaped cat bed.

    Satisfied that he was doing okay, she slumped against the wall and sighed. Running into people you know but don''t like is exhausting.

    As always, Noah was in tune with her mood and sat down quietly next to her so she could rest her head against his shoulder instead of the wall. Violet sighed contentedly. Aside from the cat tree that should be arriving in the next few days, her ce was as put together as it could be for now.

    She had to admit it was strange not seeing her parents or Nathan at all when she came home but it had been nice doing her own thing without being teased or disturbed in any way. But whenever Noah wasn''t here it felt very lonely.

    It had been less than a month but Violet found herself visiting home for dinner frequently. Her mom was a much better cook than she was and it felt wrong not seeing her parents every few days.

    Physical therapy was going well but she was losing her mind doing nothing but paperwork at the dojo. She had already reread every book she owned and then some while she wasid up with her knee brace so that was out as a way to keep her from going insane with boredom.

    She toyed with the idea of visiting her dad at work since her mother''sb was too high security for a casual visit but didn''t want to risk running into Jeremy. That would be awkward. So now she had to avoid Hale Investments like the gue.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 515: A Burden

    <h4>Chapter 515: A Burden</h4>

    If not for Noah keeping herpany whenever he wasn''t working, Violet would have gone stir crazy long ago. He was such a solid, constant presence in her life and always had been. She would forever be grateful for that.

    Valentine''s Day had already passed uneventfully but she wanted to do something nice for him to let him know how much she appreciated him. They had done what they always did by ordering pizza and watching a movie at home.

    When they were kids, Noah and Violet always gave each other Valentine''s cards and candy because that was what you did with your friends. As they got older and she got more depressed about being single on the worst day of the year the tradition changed.

    They started hanging out that day when she was in middle school and most of her ssmates had boyfriends. Noah had said they could be single together or something like that. Looking back, he had probably always thought of her as his Valentine''s date.

    The main difference this year was receiving flowers and a ne in addition to the usual choctes they exchanged. In return, she had gotten him his favorite author''s newest book. Well, the gifts and the kissing were different but that was it.

    Violet wanted to do something that would make Noah feel loved. She really wouldn''t have gotten through physical therapy so far without his constant encouragement.

    Plus he had spent an entire weekend helping her unpack when she moved. Right now it seemed like she was getting a lot more out of this rtionship than he was and that needed to change.

    "Is there anything you need help with, Noah? Or anything you want?" she asked.

    "No," he replied, sounding confused by the questions. "Why do you ask?"

    She should have expected as much. Her best friend had never been the type to hesitate asking for help when he truly needed it, which was why she spent so much time tutoring him from middle school onward.

    They had always had each other''s backs when the other was in any sort of trouble so things always evened out eventually. But it was different now that they were dating.

    Violet didn''t think she was giving as much as she was taking. Noah loved her deeply and she still hadn''tpletely sorted through her feelings. It didn''t seem fair to her but she couldn''t rush how she felt.

    With a sigh, she sat up straight to face him. "I don''t think I''m doing enough for you as your girlfriend."

    He raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that?"

    Ah, how to exin this¡­She supposed it wasn''t terribly different from back when she was in high school and he was in middle school. Noah had been upset that he couldn''t help her with her friend problems like she was helping him with his studies.

    No, that was an age thing. This was more of an emotional burden problem. Violet felt like she was taking advantage of him somehow.

    It would be terrible to say "you''re more in love with me than I am with you" out loud but how else could she phrase it? She did love him, more than she loved anybody else. But it wasn''t the way he wanted.

    Aside from asional kissing and cuddling, their rtionship was about the same as it had been when they were simply best friends. They both knew things were going so slowly because of her mental block.

    Noah said he was willing to wait for her to figure things out forever as long as he got to be by her side but that didn''t seem fair. He deserved better than being stuck in rtional limbo.

    Violet sighed. She was the one who asked him to wait for her but now she was almost regretting it. She couldn''t afford to lose him but making him wait like this¡­

    She buried her face in her hands and mumbled, "I feel like I''m taking advantage of your feelings for me because I''m taking a while to sort things out."

    "Ah, Vi, you don''t need to feel bad about that!" Noah insisted. "The past couple of months have been the best of my life. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Like I said, I can wait as long as you need."

    That was exactly the problem. Violet didn''t want to make him wait but was still having a hard time making out with him without bursting into uncontrobleughter over how weird the whole thing was.

    His earnestness was making her feel worse. He shouldn''t be this nice or understanding about her muddled feelings because his were getting hurt in the process.

    Sometimes she wondered if it would be better for everyone if she disappeared and stopped burdening them. Especially now that she was on leave from work. Throughout her recovery she had aplished absolutely nothing.

    Noah noticed her expression and gently knocked on the top of her head. "I know that face. That''s the my-favorite-person-is-daring-to-think-badly-of-herself-in-front-of-me face. What''s wrong now?"

    "I feel like a burden to you and everyone else," Violet said in a small voice. "My recovery is taking too long and my head is a mess."

    He reached out and cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. His dark eyes were soft with emotion.

    "Nobody thinks you''re a burden, least of all me," he reassured her. "You''re going through something difficult right now so it''s normal that your head is a mess. I have your back no matter what, you know. You would do the same for me."

    Violet would do the same for him but wasn''t sure that really applied in this situation. Because she had never been in love with him secretly for years while he was oblivious to it. She never had to wait for him toe around.

    Her feelings of dejection over that wouldn''t go away but at the very least she was able to believe she wasn''t burdening Noah. Those thoughts floated away as his arm went around her shoulders and he pulled her closer.

    No matter how much the world was falling apart, Noah''s embrace had always made her feel safe. That would never change.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 516: Your Own Key

    <h4>Chapter 516: Your Own Key</h4>

    Noah didn''t know how to make his girlfriend feel better. She refused to believe that he was okay with waiting for her.

    It really hadn''t been that long though. They had lived like siblings for twenty-four years and had only tried dating for about two months. He understood that it might take her a while to get used to the change since change had never been her strong suit.

    Yet here she was, unnecessarily beating herself up again. Why did she always do that? Noah had never understood Violet''s long-standing self-esteem issues. He knew they had something to do with Kaleb thinking she was too clingy back when they were little but that had been years ago.

    He couldn''t fullyprehend why that wound went so deep. Violet felt things more intensely than most people did but he thought she and Kaleb had worked out their issues while she was recovering from surgery.

    Those two were the only ones home all day while Noah was at work so they had spent a lot of time talking. She had told him things were essentially resolved so why was feeling burdensome still her first instinct?

    He supposed that she had felt that way for so long that it was ingrained at this point. Unfortunately, there wasn''t much he could do aside from supporting her through it when she got like this.

    "I wish you could see how wonderful you are," Noah murmured into her hair.

    "What was that?" Violet replied sleepily.

    "I said I wish you could see how wonderful you are. Come on, you''re falling asleep sitting on the floor. At least move to the couch."

    She rubbed her eyes and blinked several times. "But what about ze?"

    The cat was still asleep in his strawberry, looking perfectly content. "He''ll be fine," Noah reassured her.

    He scooped her up and carried her to the living room where he gently set her down on the couch. There was no point staying if she was asleep so he turned to go. Violet stopped him by reaching out to grab his arm.

    "Can you hold me for a bit?" she yawned. "I don''t want to be alone right now."

    Noah could never refuse that. Heid down next to her and wrapped her in his arms. After a while her breathing became even and her jaw went ck so he knew she was asleep. Asfortable as this was, he was far too wired to take a nap with her.

    Being near Violet since they had started dating had been rather stressful for his poor heart. He wasn''t used to this much physical contact so he had to work hard to keep his cool in front of her.

    Even so, he wouldn''t trade what they had now for the world. They were close¡ªso close!¡ªto being together forever. All he needed to do was be patient a little longer.

    For years Noah had thought he would be satisfied simply being her best friend as long as no one came along to snatch her away. Not only was there no longer a danger of that, he got to cuddle and kiss her whenever he wanted.

    He had meant it when he said he could wait forever. As long as she didn''t leave him for someone else he could handle anything.

    ===

    Violet didn''t wake up until it was nearly dinner time and Noah was a bit cramped from lying there so long. Not that he wasining; cuddling her that much had been great. But now he definitely needed to stretch.

    She blinked at him adorably. "You stayed the whole time I was asleep?"

    He nodded, the lump in his throat preventing him from speaking for a moment. Her unintentional cute attack had dealt a critical hit. As did the brilliant smile that followed.

    Ignoring the fact that her boyfriend was on the verge of spontaneouslybusting yet again, Violet began rummaging around in the kitchen and talking to herself as she searched for food. Ultimately she settled on ordering takeout.

    ze wandered out of the cat room because of the noise and began exploring more of his new home as they waited for the takeout to be delivered to the lobby. Violet watched him go with a fond expression. She really did love cats.

    Noah''s family had always had dogs around but he was used to cats from all the time he spent with the Hales. They were more low-key animals, which suited Violet''s personality. She didn''t have the energy to chase after a dog all the time.

    The handful of times over the years that the two of them had been tasked with walking or bathing the dogs had never gone terribly well. Violet enjoyed ying with dogs for short periods of time but had never desired to have one.

    He knew this and didn''t mind it. They were a lot of work. If he wanted to y with a dog in the future, all he had to do was visit his parents.

    When the food arrived, Violet headed down to fetch it. She plunked the takeout bags onto the table and pulled something out of her pocket, holding it out to him. She wouldn''t meet his eyes as she did so and seemed terribly embarrassed.

    Peering at the object in her hand, Noah saw that it was an elevator key. He blinked at her in surprise.

    "You''re over so often anyway that I figured you should have your own key. You know, so you don''t have to wait for me in the lobby if I ever beat you here," she exined.

    Noah epted it gingerly. This shouldn''t have felt like as big a deal as it did. He had been on the ''automatic entry'' list to the Hales'' apartment for years. But things felt a bit different here because this was Violet''s ce alone. There were no family members to potentially run into.

    He knew better than to think this was an invitation to move in but it showed how much she trusted him. His heart warmed and he smiled at her.

    "Thanks, Vi."

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 517: Transition

    <h4>Chapter 517: Transition</h4>

    After Violet gave Noah a key to her apartment, they sat around ying games, talking, and watching movies like usual until it was time for him to go home. Shey in bed with ze on her stomach once he was gone, wondering why things weren''t getting any better with their rtionship.

    Noah was her most cherished person so why was this so difficult? More than anything she wished she could speak to her grandpa or even the grandma she had never met.

    They knew how to transition from lifelong best friends to lovers. They might have some good advice. Violet could really use some advice right now. Could she talk to her mother about this? Would Keeley Hale understand what she was feeling?

    It wouldn''t hurt to ask. Her mother was easier to get a hold of while she was doing literature review research than when she was locked away in herb. There was a decent chance Violet would be able to stop by her office during lunchtime.

    She stopped staring at the ceiling and attempted to close her eyes and sleep. Hopefully her mother would be able to help.

    Things felt too simr to when they were best friends. Violet knew Noah wasn''t changing their dynamic too much because he didn''t want to freak her out, which she appreciated, but at the same time it was preventing romance from blossoming properly. They didn''t even go out on Valentine''s Day.

    Did she need to act first by orchestrating some extravagant romantic gesture? Would that even do anything to help her situation? At the very least it would make Noah happy.

    Her mom and dad had the most solid rtionship of anyone she knew. Even if Keeley wouldn''t understand her conflicted feelings, she should know a thing or two about romantic gestures men liked. With thatforting thought, Violet was finally able to drift off to sleep.

    ===

    Keeley diligently continued her search through various online scientific journals. If only she were a faster reader! She had been at this for weeks and still didn''t have enough information to write her proposal.

    There was definitely enough research out there to at least attempt what she was interested in but wading through it was proving frustrating. At times like this she wished she could download information straight into her brain.

    Scientists 50 or 60 years from now might be able to get away with that based on how much technology had advanced already. She had been born too soon. Research had tomence the old fashioned way.

    At least everything was avable online now. When she first went off to college, not everything had been digitized yet. A lot of the time during her undergrad she had to sift through physical research journals, hoping to find one tiny useful article. Using a search bar was much easier.

    Her phone had been on airne mode so when the secretary buzzed her office saying she had a visitor, Keeley was surprised. The only person who ever visited her at work was Aaron and that didn''t happen terribly often because he was busy having business lunches most of the time.

    "Send them back," she requested.

    A momentter, her daughter appeared in the doorway. "Hi Mom."

    Violet had never visited herb before so she was just about thest person Keeley expected to see. Nevertheless, she held her arms out and greeted her with a warm hug. It had been strange not having her around the housetely, though she was d that her twenty-five year old daughter had finally grown up enough to move out.

    "Vi! What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?"

    Herposure discreetly crumbled after the hug. Keeley knew that look. That was the ''I need my mom'' look. She gestured for Violet to sit and the moment she did, words spewed forth in a rush. She must have been holding this in for a while.

    "Mom, it''s been months and I''m still not IN love with Noah. I don''t know what to do because I love him so much and can''t bear not to have him in my life but things are still awkward and I don''t know why I''m so stuck!

    "It isn''t like he''s ugly; he''s actually really handsome but I still feel so awkward whenever we kiss. Noah says he can wait for me forever but that isn''t fair to him and I don''t want to hurt his feelings by being wishy-washy.

    "Our rtionship hardly feels like it has changed at all aside from some more cuddling and kissing and I don''t know whether that''s a good thing or not. I really wish I could talk to grandpa about how to transition from childhood friends to lovers but I can''t and I''m so confused."

    At the end of her little speech, Violet seemed to wilt against the back of her chair. How long had all of this been festering? Having it out exhausted her but there was also a tiny hint of relief on her face that someone knew how she had been struggling.

    Keeley smiled sympathetically. Her parents had fallen in love with each other around the same time in high school so even if he was alive, Robert wouldn''t be much help. Ironically, she understood what Violet was feeling better than he would have.

    Back when she and Aaron were growing closer following Jennica and Cameron''s wedding, she felt like she was using him too. He was so in love with her and she had only wanted to leave.

    Even once she decided to stay after getting pregnant, their entire rtionship felt like she was going through the motions. She used to feel really guilty about not being in love with Aaron when he was so obviously smitten with her.

    You couldn''t simply make yourself fall in love with someone you were in a rtionship with. That happened naturally on its own as you spent time together. Or it didn''t at all.

    Keeley didn''t think that would be a problem with Violet. Her feelings for Noah, as confused as they were, were already stronger than the ones she had for Aaron when they were friends back in 2013. Their best-friend rtionship was unshakeable.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 518: Using Herself As An Example

    <h4>Chapter 518: Using Herself As An Example</h4>

    Keeley couldn''t tell her daughter what she needed to hear using herself as an example. She had already said too many partially-true things about the bizarre way she and Aaron had ended up together. But she could invent a fake college friend.

    The only college friends of hers Violet actually knew were Valentina, Jennica, and Erica. Exining her former situation using someone who didn''t exist would be simple enough.

    "Your situation sounds a bit like one of my old college roommate''s," Keeley said lightly. She could tell Violet''s interested was piqued so she continued. "She had known this guy for a long time and had a bunch of misunderstandings with him so she thought she could never consider him in a romantic light.

    "But she did care about him as a person and wanted him to be happy since they had been through a lot together. When she found out he was in love with her, she was shocked and ended up rejecting him. They stayed friends because he wouldn''t give up trying to be a part of her life. He loved her too much to leave her even though she didn''t love him."

    Violet frowned. "That doesn''t sound like my situation."

    "I''m getting there!" Keeley reassured her. "Anyway, my roommate ended up spending more time with this guy and reached a point where she epted his sincerity even though she wasn''t in love with him. She cared too much to hurt him. She went through the motions of being his girlfriend for months and felt horrible guilty about it even though he knew her feelings and said it was okay. Is this part sounding familiar?"

    Violet nodded so she went on. "The more time she spent being loved by this man, the more her feelings started to change. Every reason she ever had for not loving him slowly melted away until one day, she realized her affection for him was romantic love."

    Keeley had to water down her story leaving out details like his family not epting her and them only getting together because of a pregnancy because Violet might pick that up. She was a sharp girl and always had been.

    She could see the wheels in Violet''s head turning as she mulled over the story. Eventually she looked up at her mother and hesitantly asked, "What happened to them?"

    "Oh, they''re happily married with kids. They''ve been together for more than twenty years now."

    Twenty-six, to be exact. Keeley couldn''t believe how much time had gone by. The days where she agonized over her conflicted feelings for her formerly ex-husband seemed a lifetime ago now.

    Sometimes it still amazed her how well everything turned out. She and Aaron had both suffered so much to get where they were now. In her past life, she never would have imagined being this happy with him.

    She had loved him then but loved him so much more now since he cared enough about her feelings to change and grow as a person. No one from Aaron''s first life would ever believe he would be a devoted family man if they could see him now.

    Keeley used to wonder if things would have been different if Lacy hadn''t conspired to kill their child and prevent her from having any more. Then she realized that they wouldn''t have been.

    Aaron likely would have treated their children the same way his father treated him because he didn''t know any better back then. They would have been raised under the cold, harsh restrictions of high society. And she still would have had to deal with the constant rejection of the people around her.

    No, they wouldn''t have been happy then. It took losing his wife for Aaron to see the error of his ways. And it took being able to freely fulfil her dreams for Keeley to ovee her trauma enough to give him another chance.

    "How long were they together before she fell in love with him?" Violet asked a bit nervously.

    Keeley had to think about it. She decided to stay with Aaron in September and that was when they started acting like a couple. But she didn''t realize she was in love with him until Lacy was dead, which hadn''t happened until the following summer.

    "About nine months, if I remember correctly. You can''t rush love, Vi. You and Noah have only been trying this couple thing for two months. I know it''s frustrating for you but you need to be patient with yourself."

    "About that¡­I actually wanted to take the initiative and try to do something romantic for him. Do you have any suggestions? I''m drawing a nk," Violet admitted.

    Keeley''s smile grew as she saw how earnest her daughter was. She really did love Noah even if she didn''t realize it yet. It was obvious the way she talked about him. Anything to help move things along. That poor boy had waited long enough.

    "That''s a great idea," she replied. "Give me a minute to brainstorm."

    With that, they spent the rest of Keeley''s lunch break trying toe up with ideas. Violet thanked her profusely and gave her a big hug as she made to leave. She hesitated a moment at the door.

    "Hey Mom¡­could you pass a message to Dad for me?"

    "Sure thing, sweetie. What is it?" Keeley asked.

    She took a deep breath before speaking again, as if she really didn''t want to say what she was thinking.

    "Gray is engaged. I ran into him at the pet store yesterday where he was picking out a fish tank with a woman I''d never seen before. He was acting weird¡ªhis voice was different than usual¡ªand it makes absolutely no sense that he''s engaged that fast.

    "I saw him a few weeks ago on a bad date while I was out with Noah and wished him luck with the next one. He said it was fine and there were plenty of fish in the sea. It seemed like he had a pretty casual attitude about dating, making this supposed fianc¨¦e even more suspicious. I know Dad doesn''t trust him. I don''t either but I trust that woman even less. They might be up to something. Let him know, will you?"

    Keeley was stunned. None of what she had said sounded like the Gray she knew at all. Aaron wouldn''t be happy about this development since he had thought he was up to something ever since he was in prison. Did this woman have something to do with that?

    "I''ll pass it on," she promised. "Have a great day and good luck with your surprise for Noah."

    Violet nodded with a slight smile on her face as she shut the door behind her.

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 519: Awfully Domestic Of Him

    <h4>Chapter 519: Awfully Domestic Of Him</h4>

    Keeley didn''t know what to think about what Violet had told her regarding Gray''s mysteriousdy friend. She put it on the back burner by returning to her research after lunch but it began bothering her again on the drive home after work.

    Aaron actually beat her home today so she snuck up behind him and ced her hands over his eyes. Heughed at her antics.

    "Keeley, I know it''s you. You can''t pull this trick anymore since we''re pretty much the only ones left at home."

    She released her hands and shrugged. "There''s still Nate."

    "Nate is always at school this time of day," he pointed out. "Anyway, how was work?"

    A troubled look crossed her face. "Violet told me something rather disturbing at lunch today."

    Keeley ryed everything Violet had told her about Gray, trying to remember it all word for word. Her biggest concern was that the fake fianc¨¦e might be a bad influence on an already dangerous man.

    Aaron appeared more thoughtful than worried, which surprised her. Normally he was the one who was the most suspicious of his half-brother. So why didn''t he seem all that concerned?

    "She said his voice was different?" Aaron asked curiously. "And he was shopping for a fish tank?"

    "That''s what you''re concerned about?"

    He still didn''t seem bothered by the news. "That seems awfully domestic of him. Gray has been talking about wanting to fall in lovetely. It is ridiculously fast but I think he''s probably serious about this if he isn''t using his usual suave tone."

    Falling in love?! That long-time yboy? Keeley couldn''t believe it. Men like him weren''t capable of settling down.

    "Since when has he even cared about something like that?" she asked incredulously.

    A half-smile appeared on her husband''s face. "I think that might be your fault, actually. He''s seen how happy we are and wants the same thing for himself. It''s only a guess but I''ve been observing him whenever he''s with us. asionally his facade breaks for a moment and I swear he looks jealous."

    She hadn''t noticed. Could it really be that simple? He was such aplicated man; she never would have guessed his desires were anything like an average person''s.

    Keeley was the first to guess Gray was interested in family ties because of his obsession with Aaron back in the day. But she never would have thought that would extend to wanting a wife and children. He had seemed perfectly content having a rtionship with his brother.

    If Aaron was right, he might be desperate for love and feel like he was running out of time because of his age. It would exin settling for the first woman who came along to a point, despite the fact that he had always been picky when it came to women.

    What it didn''t exin was what kind of woman would want to marry someone as dangerous and insincere as him. Though Violet did say his voice was different...was he actually being more genuine with his fianc¨¦e? Even if he was, she couldn''t possibly know the truth about his time in prison.

    Keeley couldn''t imagine any woman epting someone who had murdered before. If it were her, she would always worry about getting hurt if he happened to get angry.

    Gray didn''t seem like he even got angry about things though. His darkness was calm rather than fiery. Which might be more frightening, to be honest. There would be no way to tell when or if he would strike.

    This woman was probably a gold digger. Distasteful as it was, there were plenty of woman in New York City who would eagerlytch onto a rich and avable bachelor no matter what kind of person he was.

    Not for the first time, she felt a bit sorry for Gray. Nothing in his life was real. Not even himself. Thest bit was of his own doing but it was still a sad way to live.

    "But who would love him?" Keeley blurted.

    It was a rude thing to say but it wasn''t like Aaron hadn''t ever said worse about his brother. He had never liked how fake the man was at all. She couldn''t help but wonder if it would have made a difference for their rtionship if Gray had been more genuine with Aaron from the start.

    Probably not. He had still been a former enemy and had proven time and time again that he was dangerous. Aaron didn''t like people in general but his least favorite ones were those he knew he couldn''t trust.

    Aaron surprised her byughing. "I really doubt it''s love. He''s been lonely and desperate but nobody falls in love that fast. Gray has always been a shrewd one; he probably weighed his options and epted the least offensive candidate."

    He had a point but that made Keeley feel even more sorry for the guy. If he truly wanted love like Aaron thought, there was no way he could find it that fast.

    Gray''s uncharacteristic behavior must be because he was lonely after getting out of prison. People tended to get more sentimental in his time of life anyway. This was quite possibly his version of a midlife crisis.

    A thought urred to her. "Hey Aaron, he probably expects you to call him. He knows our family is close-knit and that Violet was likely to tell you what she saw."

    A dark expression crossed his face. "You''re right. He would expect me to call him. I better do that now and get it over with."

    Aaron made the call and a female voice answered on the third ring. He and Keeley exchanged a look. This had to be the fianc¨¦e. If they had been picking out fish tanks they were probably already living together but he would have thought a man like Gray would guard his phone more carefully. He had a lot of dark secrets to hide; why would he want someone getting into his phone?

    More importantly, wasn''t it a little rude to answer someone else''s phone for them? Why would she do something like that?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 520: Fl.u.s.tering People

    <h4>Chapter 520: Fl.u.s.tering People</h4>

    Michael Gray was in the bathroom when his phone rang. Mandy would have ignored it if it were anyone other than Aaron Hale, her fianc¨¦''s notoriously snobby half-brother. He had seemed genuinely sad when he talked about how Aaron wanted nothing to do with him but pretended to anyway.

    She giggled slightly to herself as she crossed the room to pick it up. Messing with this man could be fun. It was the least she could do for Mikey.

    "Hey there, future brother-inw," Mandy greeted cheerfully. "Mikey''s busy at the moment. Can I take a message for him?"

    "He actually lets you call him Mikey?" Aaron asked tly. "Sorry, forget that. I was going to ask him to have dinner with me but since you''re here I may as well invite you too. My wife and I would like to meet you."

    She snickered at how he had blurted the first thing that came to mind instead of keeping his cool. And Mikey said he was always such a cold fish! Fl.u.s.tering people like that was particrly satisfying.

    Aaron didn''t question the fact that she called him her future brother-inw. So Violet had told her parents about their awkward encounter in the pet store after all.

    He had slipped up in the beginning but had recovered his decorum quickly. No fun. She would have to tease him a bit more. Take it as slight revenge for hurting the feelings of the one she cared about.

    "And I''ve been dying to meet you," Mandy said in an indecipherable tone. "Mikey has told me so much about you and your family."

    There. That would leave Aaron wondering exactly what he had said.

    It was a good way to keep people on their toes. She had learned how to put on different faces with different people the same way her fianc¨¦ had. It was yet another thing they had inmon. Mandy could only be genuine with Britt''s family and now Mikey.

    "And I know absolutely nothing about you but your name," Aaron replied coolly. "We''ll have to rectify that."

    "Oh sure, I''m an open book," she said sweetly.

    At that moment the toilet flushed and Mandy knew she was running out of time. What else could she say to get under his skin before Mikey came back and wondered why she was on his phone?

    While she frantically tried to think of something clever, he came back and smiled at her before noticing what she was doing. His eyebrows furrowed as the smile dropped immediately.

    "What are you doing?"

    She gave him her most innocent look. "Aaron called and I wanted to say hi."

    Mikey let out a soft snort before indicating that she should put him on speaker. So he wanted to y her little game with her. Excellent.

    "Hello there, baby brother," he said in the falsest voice she had ever heard. "I see you''ve met my lovely Mandy."

    Mandy could barely hold back herughter. Was this how he always talked to Aaron? If so, that was too funny. Based on the way he responded a momentter, she figured that it was. He didn''t question the tone at all.

    "Unofficially. When exactly were you nning on telling me you were engaged? I would have congratted you sooner."

    "The next time we went out to eat, of course," Mikey responded smoothly. "Why don''t you bring my sister-inw along so we can all get properly acquainted?"

    "That sounds nice," a female voice spoke up from Aaron''s end.

    He must have put his phone on speaker as soon as they did since this voice hadn''t made an appearance until now. Mikey hadn''t said much about Keeley Hale aside from the fact that Aaron was obsessed with her, iming she was the only reason he decided to overthrow their father.

    She had a pleasant voice. Mandy wondered how someone who sounded nice could be so heartless to her poor fianc¨¦. Perhaps she was going along with what her husband wanted. Or it might be because Mikey''s suave voice was fairly off-putting.

    It was hard to believe he actually talked like that to everyone else. Did people actually buy that? Nobody sounded that smarmy without trying.

    "Keeley, I didn''t know you were in on this call. What a pleasant surprise. How have you been thest month? I''m afraid our usual gathering sorely felt the absence of your charming presence," Mikey ttered.

    Mandy bit back anotherugh. Did he always treat his family like this? If she didn''t know any better, she would have thought he was trying to make them feel ufortable on purpose.

    "Sorry about that; I had to work. New project and all," Keeley apologized. "Why don''t we set a time to get together? We could go to that sushi restaurant you like."

    Mikey was about to say yes when she mped a hand over his mouth and shook her head. She had a n. The best way to show off would be if she cooked a fancy dinner at their newly redecorated apartment.

    Since moving in, he had let her have (almost) free reign over making things more homey. Now his bachelor pad looked more like a ce where a couple lived. She nned to put up a framed picture of the two of them before the Hales came over to confuse them even further. Maybe even more than one.

    "I''m not the biggest fan of sushi but I am a pretty decent cook. Why don''t the two of youe over here for dinner?" she suggested. "Keeley, you could bring the dessert."

    "She makes amazing desserts," Aaron said with a hint of pride in his otherwise t tone. "Set a date and we''ll be there."

    Mandy removed her hand from her fianc¨¦''s mouth so they could finalize the arrangements. She felt pretty smug by the time they hung up. Putting her full n into action would take a little bit of work but she had a feeling Mikey would go along with it.

    After all, he had wanted to show his perfect little brother that he was capable of being as happy as he was. What better way to do that than put on an epic show?

    **If you are reading this work on a site other than , it has been stolen. Please support the author at this link #Run%2C-Girl-(If-You-Can)

 Chapter 521: You Want To Annoy Him

    <h4>Chapter 521: You Want To Annoy Him</h4>

    Gray eyed the smug woman sitting next to him somewhat apprehensively. He knew she had a n but wasn''t sure what it entailed. Why invite the Hales over to their ce? They had literally only been there once before.

    "Care to exin what that was about?" he asked, returning to his normal voice now that there was no one to act around.

    "I will," Mandy promised with augh. "But first, do you really use that voice all the time? Doesn''t it hurt your vocal chords?"

    A little, but he had gotten used to it over the years. That voice had attracted people to him far better than his old ent had. It made him seem powerful and charming, neither of which had been the case when he was growing up.

    Gray shrugged. "I''m used to it. You have no idea how hard I had to work to get rid of my ent in college. Sounding refined suited my needs better at the time. You''re actually the first person who has heard my natural voice in decades."

    She snuggled up against him with a sigh. "Well now you''re depressing me. But I have a n to confuse your family even more. All we have to do is dress up in a bunch of different outfits and take pictures in ces all over New York. We''ll put up picture frames and make it seem like we''ve been dating a lot longer than we have."

    Gray didn''t understand her point at first. Why bother doing something so silly? Then he realized that most people who were engaged or married did have family pictures all over their homes.

    Aaron might not recognize her as the waitress from theirst little dinner but he would certainly know they hadn''t been together for more than a week based on their conversation that day. Putting up pictures like they had been dating forever would definitely confuse him.

    It would drive him crazy not knowing the truth; he knew that much. Aaron liked to be informed about everything around him, which was why he had originally hired genius hacker Aiden Quinn. Knowing something bizarre had happened but never getting a proper exnation would get his goat.

    "You want to annoy him," Gray surmised. "Why?"

    Mandy smiled up at him innocently. "Well, he''s always barely polite to you when you actually care about him. The way I see it, it''s an eye for an eye. What do you say?"

    His heart skipped a beat as the implications of what she said set in. She was put out that his brother didn''t treated him right and wanted payback. Nobody had ever been so mindful of his feelings before.

    Had anyone ever been indignant about the way other people had treated him? He didn''t think so. This was definitely a first. A wonderful first.

    Gray picked her up and moved her to hisp so he could hold her more easily. He may not know what love was supposed to feel like but if anyone had ever truly loved him, Mandy did. That much was clear as day.

    And if he was even capable of loving someone else, he loved her. It felt wrong to say it now even though they were nning to get married. He had only met her again a couple of days ago. Insane.

    "Let''s do it," he replied.

    ===

    Gray hadn''t pulled a prank since he was approximately twelve years old because one of his foster brothers kept pranking him and he wanted to get revenge. That had ultimately failed because his retaliation prank was a tad more severe than he had anticipated. His foster parents shipped him off to someone else immediately afterwards even though their son started it.

    Mandy nned everything out herself so all he had to do was follow her lead. Wear this. Pose like that. She dragged him all over the city for the sake of a few pictures.

    At least she was enjoying herself. She spent half of the time they were outughing. He couldn''t entirely hate their little exercise because of how much he loved seeing herugh but it was still exhausting. He never did anything like this.

    "This is thest one, I promise," she assured him as they headed into a photo studio.

    Five minutester, they found themselves in front of a green screen. He had a fairly good idea what she wanted to do with this. Mandy was most likely going to make the background be somewhere overseas and touristy that they couldn''t have possibly visited within the past week and made it back in time.

    She threw her arms around his waist and snuggled close with a wide grin on her face in a stereotypical couple pose. Gray shook his head indulgently and hugged her back with a grin of his own.

    Once they had a shot Mandy was satisfied with, the photographer showed them various scenery options they could use. The top of the Eiffel Tower¡­the Great Wall of China¡­the Sydney Opera House¡­all of these were pretty popr tourist destinations.

    "What do you think?" she asked. "Which one seems least likely we could have visited since you saw Aaronst?"

    Gray checked what the flight times were between all of those ces and New York City. You could say a lot of things about him but when hemitted to something he gave it 110%.

    "Probably Australia. A flight from here takes nearly twenty-four hours," he informed her.

    Mandy pped her hands together. "Great! Australia it is."

    An hourter, they were back at the apartment hanging up the picture frames. Mandy''s artistic eye had already decided how to arrange them and she had ced Gray in charge of the hammering. He had never hammered anything in his life so he hit his thumb more than once.

    Each time it happened, she would grab his hand and kiss it ''to make it feel better.'' That was something his mother did when she was alive. He hadn''t been kissed like that ever since.

    Maybe it was a mom thing. Mandy did have a young grandson after all; it was probably a force of habit. But it still stupidly made his heart race.

    Every minute Gray spent with her made him more and more reluctant to let her go. Not that he actually had. These days his empire building was done almost entirely from thefort of his apartment. Since she quit her job, she had been glued to his side the past few days.

    All these years he had been used to spending time by himself but he had been spoiled this week. He didn''t ever want to let Mandy out of his sight now that he knew how wonderful having someone special around could be.

    Aaron''s clinginess where his wife was concerned made a lot more sense these days. At this point, Gray could see himself bing just as desperate for his woman''s attention.

 Chapter 522: More Similar Than He Thought

    <h4>Chapter 522: More Simr Than He Thought</h4>

    Aaron was baffled that his half-brother had such a bubbly fianc¨¦e. He didn''t seem the type that would tolerate that sort of thing for more than a date or two. He was even more baffled that he and Keeley were invited over to Gray''s apartment.

    Keeley had only been there once but he had been a few times during the course of the renovation. Gray had been invited (or invited himself) over to the Hales'' ce a few times but had never once asked them over to his.

    As Keeley made her signature marshmallow brownies, Aaron paced around the kitchen in agitation. He didn''t want to go. Socializing was exhausting enough when it was with people he actually liked.

    He would much rather spend his coveted Saturday evening ying video games with Nathan, who was actually at home on the weekend for once. All of his ns had fallen through and he was a bit put out that not even his parents could hang out with him.

    "I guess I''ll have to go be a part of the love fest if I want to do anything tonight," hemented loudly. "Noah has gotten fifty times mushier since he and Violet started dating."

    Aaron honestly couldn''t tell whether or not that was true. He had hardly seen the two of them since then because they were always at Violet''s new ce. What was so wrong with a man being unafraid of showing how much he loved his woman anyway?

    He supposed Nathan was still young and uninterested in rtionsh.i.p.s. Lately he had been much more invested in hanging out withrge groups of friends than going on dates.

    Which was perfectly fine by him. The less rtionship drama in this house, the better. Kaleb hadn''t been himself while he was getting over his most recent breakup and that had been hard to see as a parent.

    "If the ''love fest'' as you call it gets too terrible to bear you can always invent an emergency so we can leave early," Aaron suggested hopefully.

    Keeley smacked his shoulder. "Be nice. Aren''t you curious about Mandy at all?"

    "Not particrly. If she makes him happy, good for him. If she keeps him too upied to want to go out to dinner so often, good for me."

    Nathan raised an eyebrow at that statement. Oops. He had been too blunt. Violet was the only one who knew about their rtion to Gray. The other kids hadn''t paid much attention to the man who had joined them on Thanksgiving because they were too preupied with Jeremy.

    "Who is this you''re having dinner with again?" he asked.

    "One of your dad''s acquaintances. He recently got engaged and is introducing us to his fianc¨¦e. You know him¡ªhe came over to our house for Thanksgiving this year," Keeley said without looking up from the brownies she was frosting.

    "Oh, right. Isn''t he a little old to be getting married?"

    She shrugged. "No one is too old to get married, Nate. Some people still get married in their 80s. Love has no age."

    Not that either of them actually thought love was involved in this union at all. Curiosity was Keeley''s primary motivator to go but Aaron didn''t care. Let Gray marry someone who was only in for his money if he wanted. He was a grown man; he could take care of himself. It wasn''t any of their business.

    Once the frosting was on top of the marshmallows, Keeley wrapped the disposable pain in aluminum foil and gave Nathan a kiss on the cheek on their way out, telling him to say hi to Violet and Noah for her.

    He gave her a "yeah, yeah" in response but still had a tiny pleased smile cross his face from getting kissed. No matter how old you get, you always secretly love affection from your mom.

    "Do I look alright?" Keeley asked.

    It was a habitual question that didn''t really require an answer. Aaron always told her some variation of how beautiful she looked. Today was no different.

    "If by ''alright'' you mean ''stunning''," he replied.

    She really did look stunning in her dark wash jeans, navy blue peacoat, and low-heeled boots. Diamond cascading drop earrings adorned her ears and her face was bare aside from some tinted lip balm.

    It never ceased to amaze him how she could look good in literally anything. Dressed up, dressed down, in her pajamas with bedhead¡­there was no look Keeley Hale couldn''t pull off in his eyes. He especially loved seeing her all messy first thing in the morning because it was a reminder that she was his forever. Only he and their kids got to see her that way.

    Keeley beamed at Aaron in response to hispliment and squeezed his hand, pulling him toward the elevator.

    When they arrived at Gray''s building the doorman unlocked the elevator to the penthouse floor for them. Aaron wasn''t sure who he was expecting to be standing behind the doors¡ªa young and hungry supermodel type, maybe? Gray was rich and handsome enough to attract a trophy wife¡ªbut it definitely wasn''t who he found.

    Mandy Applegate was a pretty, if understated, woman who appeared to be in herte thirties or early forties. Her hair was in loose curls and she wore a teal sweater with jeans. The only jewelry she had on were a pair of pearl earrings and her rather simple engagement ring.

    Keeley''s eyebrows rose fractionally when sheid eyes on her. She was shocked too. This woman looked way too normal to be engaged to someone like Gray, who was known for having notoriously high standards.

    She greeted them with bone-crushing hugs, which was slightly rming. "Oh, it''s so good to see you two in person! I feel like I know you already. Come on in! The food is nearly ready."

    Keeley set the brownies down on the counter as Gray walked into the living room and said hello. "You brought your famous brownies, I see. It''s been a while since I''ve had the privilege to enjoy one of those."

    He wasn''t dressed up as much as usual either. Aside from his sweater being steel gray and the fact that he wasn''t wearing any jewelry, his outfit was identical to his fianc¨¦e''s. Most of the time when Aaron saw him, he was wearing a designer suit.

    Had this woman tamed the beast or what? He knew that some of his friends thought that way about him and Keeley and he had to work to hide his frown. Maybe Gray was more simr to him than he thought.

 Chapter 523: Category Three

    <h4>Chapter 523: Category Three</h4>

    This was weird. Really weird. After Gray''s bitter words about not being able to find anyone even though he wanted to settle down, Aaron fully expected that this woman would be in it for the money. People didn''t up and get engaged when they weren''t even dating someone a week ago.

    And as much of a phony as Gray was, he wasn''t good enough of an actor to feign jealousy and desperation. His acting was the kind that made him seem more pleasant than he actually was. That day in the restaurant had been one of the rare moments were his real feelings slipped out for a moment.

    Aaron had figured this entire thing was a farce and that Gray was desperate so he settled for the first person who came along. It wouldn''t be the first time that someone had offered money to have the kind of rtionship they wanted.

    But Mandy Applegate didn''t give off the aura of a kept woman. For one, she hadpletely transformed this formerly barren space into a family home. There were even pictures of the two of them all over the walls.

    It didn''t make a lick of sense how all of those could have been taken in such a short period of time. Especially the one in front of the Sydney Opera House. Gray would have had to leave the day after having dinner with Aaron and only been there for a day or two, which would not be worth it considering it took an entire day to fly there.

    He supposed it was feasible, if not likely, but why would his brother randomly go to Australia? Had he met this woman there? She didn''t have an Australian ent though.

    Trying to think too much about that made his head hurt so Aaron stopped trying after a while and attempted to focus on what everyone else was saying. The group had made their way to the table as Mandy moved all of the food over to the center of it.

    That was another thing. She was fully engaged in hostess mode and smiled frequently and naturally. She was perfectly at ease around Gray, as if she had known him forever. He wasn''t exactly the type of person that screamed ''trust me'' so how had he managed to inspire that level of trust in only a week?

    Who was he kidding? Aaron couldn''t focus at all. Seeing that woman smile so freely at a man who didn''t have a genuine bone in his body was oddly irritating.

    Did she have any idea what she was getting into? Did she have a death wish deciding to mess with a man who could kill her in the blink of an eye with no remorse? Or was she a victim of Gray''s lies?

    Aaron spent most of the dinner hardly tasting the food, trying to decide whether Mandy was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. After much thought, he decided there were only three things she could be.

    A na?ve woman who had fallen in love at first sight and gotten swept away, a cunning con woman who was acting like she loved Gray to get his money, or someone as messed up as he was who had be his partner in crime. Aaron wasn''t sure which one it was. Or which would be ultimately worse to deal with.

    "This prime rib is fantastic, Mandy," Keeleyplimented between bites. "Where did you learn to cook?"

    "Oh, I picked it up here and there," she replied airily with a wave of her hand.

    Gray smiled more genuinely than Aaron had ever seen before. "Isn''t she wonderful?"

    He didn''t even bother to try and disguise the admiration in his eyes. That was a first. Had the infamous former yboy Graydon Meyer actually fallen in love so quickly? It would exin why he had moved so fast¡­if he met someone he actually cared about, he wouldn''t want them to get away.

    That still didn''t ount for why Mandy was here. Which of the three options was it? Love-struckmb, con artist, or evil genius?

    It urred to Aaron that the first option would be bad for Mandy, the second would be bad for Gray, and the third would be bad for his family. Keeley''s worry about her being a bad influence might not be so far off.

    "When did you two meet?" Aaron asked because none of this made sense.

    Mandy batted her eyshes at her fianc¨¦. "Sometimes it seems like it''s been forever, sometimes it feels like it''s only been a few days, doesn''t it?"

    Gray nodded and Aaron''s frustration grew. That wasn''t a real answer. He was beginning to think this woman was toying with him on purpose, which would ce her firmly in category three. The most dangerous one.

    The conversation moved to Mandy''s career, interests, and family. She said she wasn''t working at the moment but that she loved to try new things and had a daughter with a family of her own living nearby. Not a lot of information to work with.

    Not having a job pointed more towards category two but Aaron conceded that Gray seemed invested enough in this woman to pay for her needs regardless of which type she fell under. The more she said, the less he knew.

    Aaron hadn''t thought he would care what Gray was doing with his life but he had to admit that this threw a wrench into his beliefs. If he was happy with this strange woman, good for him, but if she had more sinister motives¡­

    He kept an eye on her throughout the rest of dinner and dessert, barely remembering to participate in the conversation when Keeley prompted him with her eyes. He hated to admit it but he was rattled. It had been a long time since anyone other than Gray had rattled him. Maybe he and Mandy were a match made in heaven after all.

    As the Hales made to leave at the end of the dinner, Keeley promised to help with the wedding preparations any way she could. Aaron hadn''t realized that was what they were talking about now.

    "Thank you," Mandy said graciously. "I''d hate to bother Britt about this since she has a toddler at home. We want to keep things small since neither of us have much family left."

    "Ipletely understand; our wedding only consisted of about ten people. Give me a call when you need help. Gray has my number."

    Gray''s arm was around his fianc¨¦e''s waist as they waved goodbye. He looked happier and more content than Aaron had ever seen him. There had always been a certain greed behind his eyes as if he was never satisfied with what he had but it wasn''t there now.

    Maybe she really would be good for him. Aaron was leaning toward option number one as the elevator doors closed. That is, until he heard hysterical male and femaleughter behind the doors on the way down.

    Laughter? Gray didn''t do things as human asugh.

    "They were messing with us the entire time!" he cried indignantly.

    Keeley let out a tinyugh herself. "Actually honey, I think they were messing with you."

    Aaron scowled. Mandy Applegate was definitely a category three. His only hope was that she didn''t suddenly decide she wanted revenge against the Hales. Gray had been a frightening enough opponent on his own in their first life. Who knows what horrors he could wreak upon them with a cunning woman whispering in his ear?

 Chapter 524: Date Crashing

    <h4>Chapter 524: Date Crashing</h4>

    Violet had her romantic gesture all nned out and ready to go. Noah would being over in less than an hour and she hoped he would be able to feel the depth of her love and appreciation for him.

    Nobody had been more supportive of her as she went through the excruciating process of trying to heal her knee. Physical therapy could be both brutal and frustrating to the point of despair. Some days, she felt like she would never be able to dance again.

    Noah was the one who held her and told her that everything would be alright each time that happened. Ever since they were young, he had been able to look at her problems rationally and help her calm down. His perspective was helpful but so was his presence.

    He had always been such an easy-going person that even being around him was rxing. He was the perfect match for his sometimes high-strung best friend.

    Girlfriend. Violet was his girlfriend now. Her thinking needed to shift or this rtionship was never going to get anywhere. And she wanted it to, she really did! She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Noah, whatever that might entail.

    When the elevator door opened, she took a deep breath and steeled herself for the romantic evening ahead. Right up until she saw her little brother.

    "Nate! What are you doing here?" she coughed, quickly blowing out all of the candles she had lit and turning on the lights.

    He walked toward her and dramatically slumped over onto her neck. "Everybody in the world has abandoned me the one time I''m not working through dinner. You won''t kick your favorite brother out, will you Vi?"

    Nathan craned his neck to look up at her with his best puppy dog pout. It had gotten him out of many sticky situations over the years because it was too cute. She really couldn''t kick him out when he was guilting her like this but in this moment, he was definitely her LEAST favorite brother.

    "Fine," she sighed. So much for a romantic evening. "Get off already, you''re crushing me."

    He acquiesced immediately with a bright smile since he got what he wanted. Violet did he best to hold back a scowl. He had obviously borrowed the spare elevator key she left with her parents in case of emergencies. Oh, why couldn''t he have called ahead?

    Even worse than interrupting things with Noah, Nathan was a culinary student. No doubt he was going to mock her attempts at cooking a fancy meal due to his superior experience.

    She got up in his face and threateningly wagged her finger at him. "I made dinner tonight and if you say a single word about how bad it is in front of Noah, you''re never stepping foot in this apartment again. Got it?"

    Nathan rolled his eyes. "I knew he would being over since the two of you are even more like Velcro than usualtely. I won''t say anything but make no promises about not pulling weird faces at you behind his back."

    Violet supposed that was the best offer she was going to get. She epted before screaming inwardly in mortification. Even if he didn''t nitpick about the food, he would realize he had interrupted what was meant to be romantic because of her menu choices.

    After looking up ''best date night recipes'' online, she ended up making balsamic nk steak with potatoes and a strawberry mousse cake that took most of the day to finish. Nathan had made one before for one of his dessert sses and hadined about the number of steps and wait times involved.

    Noah might think it was merely a fluffy chocte cake imbedded with berries but Nathan would know the hours of effort that had gone into it. If she didn''t die of embarrassment by the end of the meal it would be a miracle.

    The next time the elevator door opened, Violet rushed over and threw her arms around her boyfriend so she could tell him about the change of ns without Nathan overhearing.

    "I''m so sorry, Noah! Nate showed up out of the blue and guilt tripped me into hanging out with us tonight," she whispered. "I promise I''ll make it up to you."

    He tightened his arms around her andughed a little. "I feel like your brothers crash our dates way too often."

    This was the first time it had happened! What was he thinking of? Oh. That day he asked her to go with him to Coney Ind but Kaleb and Nathan decided to tag along. That was before she had even started going out with Jeremy though¡­had he been trying to woo her then?

    Violet felt pretty stupid for not noticing it. Noah totally had been, even going so far as paying for her half of their usual dinners.

    He had been trying to work up the courage to tell her how he felt even before the whole Jeremy mess happened. Her heart ached at the thought. Noah loved her so much and he had been willing to back away so she would be happy.

    Looking back, she was confident that her rtionship with Jeremy would have fallen apart eventually even if he hadn''t asked her to make a choice between him and Noah. Their personalities and goals in life were too different.

    If Noah hadn''t confessed and had stuck to his original n of backing away until he could ept her rtionship with another man, things would have gone back to the way they used to be as soon as they broke up. Violet never would have been any the wiser.

    Would he have ever gathered the courage to try and pursue a romantic rtionship with her again? Or would they have spent the rest of their lives in an awkward cycle of hanging out as best friends until she got into an ill-fated rtionship that would never work out until the day they died?

    Violet hadn''t realized it earlier but after a couple months of dating Noah it became clear that he had subconsciously set the bar for her rtionsh.i.p.s. She had wanted romance, yes, but she had also wanted someone who supported her and who she feltfortable with. Someone she couldpletely be herself around.

    The only person who had ever fit all of those criteria was Noah and she had been too caught up in the notion of romance to notice.

 Chapter 525: Pretty Pretty Princess

    <h4>Chapter 525: Pretty Pretty Princess</h4>

    Violet led Noah to the table with her hand in his and called for Nathan to get off the couch ande eat. Her countenance grew icy to hide her mortification once her brother gave her weird looks about the food.

    Nathan was a man of his word. He didn''t say anything about how her steak was slightly tough and the potato skins weren''t as crispy as he could have made them. At least not at loud. The face he pulled after taking the first few bites said it all.

    Thankfully, Noah wasn''t as picky as that connoisseur. He seemed perfectly satisfied with the meal and made sure to thank Violet for her effort.

    As embarrassed as she was, everything was going fine until the dessert was brought out. Her idiotic brother looked horrified at first, realizing what he had done by showing up unannounced, but then he decided to y wingman. Which was even worse.

    "Hey Noah," Nathan said casually. "Have you ever had a strawberry chocte mousse cake before?"

    Noah didn''t seem to catch onto his suspiciously nonchnt tone as he replied. "Yeah, my dad buys one for my mom from a bakery every year for Valentine''s Day."

    "They take for-ev-er to make. Because of how long it takes, I had to do it as homework once and bring it back for the teacher to taste rather than make it during my dessert ss. I''m surprised Violet chose to make something so time-consuming. I suppose she must be bored having nothing to do other than physical therapy."

    His tone was still maddeningly casual but he shot his sister a wink, making her want to bury her face in her hands. Somebody kill her now.

    Violet knew that the Singletons always got one of those cakes for Valentine''s Day. She had gotten a prized slice once or twice over the years while visiting Noah. He and Logan always used to fight over who got to have the leftovers since their parents typically ate most of it.

    It was why she had chosen to make this particr cake. Partly because she already knew Noah liked it and partly because of the romantic connotation. She had hoped he would get it before her nosy brother got involved. Now she wanted to sink into the floor.

    Knowing this was a Valentine''s cake was bad enough. But Nathan just had to go and tell him how time-consuming it was to make it. Noah''s eyes widened slightly as the implications set in.

    His girlfriend, who was by no means a baker, had followed a ton of tiny, intricate steps throughout the course of the day to make him a cake he liked. Denying the romance intended in that sort of gesture was impossible.

    If she survived the rest of the night, Violet was going to murder her brother.

    "Your time was well spent," Noah said lightly. "The cake is delicious."

    Nathan seemed smug and shot her a ''thumbs up'' under the table, which only made her want to disappear even more than she already did. He would pay for this. But how? There had to be some way she could make him wish he had never intruded upon her evening.

    A wicked grin crossed her face for a split second when she thought of the perfect way to make him want to leave. A vintage board game her mother had yed as a child identally ended up with Violet''s things when she moved and she kept forgetting to return it.

    When they were younger, she used to make her brothers y it with her all the time and they always hated it. Which made sense, because the game was called Pretty Pretty Princess and involved wearing costume jewelry to win.

    Her mother found the whole thing so hrious that she secretly filmed them once. Oliver came across that old footage when he was a teenager and all of her brothers were so embarrassed that they made a pact to never bring it up again.

    Violet hadn''t been a part of that pact. If she yed her cards right, she could trick Nathan into thinking she wasn''t out for revenge.

    "Nate, I''m feeling nostalgic," she said simply. "I want to y one of mom''s old games. Will you y with us? My favorite brother?"

    She added on a thickyer of sisterly charm, knowing it would make him do whatever she wanted. Her brothers were foreverpeting to be the favorite, which she found ridiculous because she loved all of them.

    Nathan fell for it hook, line, and sinker. But Noah knew that gleam in her eye and barely managed to muffle hisughter. Whatever she was nning must be good so he was willing to go along with it.

    Violet headed over to the closet where she kept the games and ced it on the table right in front of her brother once the cake was cleared away. An innocent, happy smile lit her face so he was smiling too right up until the moment he saw the name of the game on the box. His expression immediately turned to one of panicked horror.

    Pretty Pretty Princess. The bane of his childhood. Back then, he had been too little to even understand what his sister was making him y. Oliver was too but Kaleb had worn the fake jewelry despite his tattered pride because he didn''t want to be left out.

    "Isn''t it funny that this somehow ended up mixed in with my games when I moved?" Violet asked, holding back a grin. "I found it the other day when Noah and I were looking for a card game and I''ve been dying to y.''

    Nathan gulped. "Does it have to be this game?"

    She made her expression as sad as possible before meeting his gaze. "I thought it would be fun. I always loved ying this game with you. If you really don''t want to¡­"

    Her tragic act worked. He was putty in her hands. "No! It''s fine. We can totally y. As long as you don''t take any pictures."

    Violet made the motion of crossing her heart but there was a catch. She had promised not to take any pictures but that didn''t mean Noah couldn''t. By the look on her coconspirator''s face she could tell that he had caught onto her n. Vengeance would be sweet.

 Chapter 526: Im Sorry About Tonight

    <h4>Chapter 526: I''m Sorry About Tonight</h4>

    The basic gamey of Pretty Pretty Princess was both simple and humiliating (if you happened to be male). Using a spinner, yers moved around a circr board trying tond on squares that would allow them to collect jewelry.

    The yers could choose to be pink, purple, blue, or green. To win, one had to collect a pair of earrings, a ne, a bracelet, and a ring in their color plus the only crown. There was also a ck ring that automatically made a yer lose at the end of the game even if they had all the other jewelry pieces. The goal was to collect everything but the ck ring to win.

    Violet went with purple, as she always did when purple game pieces were avable, because ages ago Kaleb had said she should because of her name. It was habit now. Noah chose blue and Nathan went with green because it was less embarrassing than pink.

    Though it was obvious that he would rather be doing anything but y this game, Nathan ended up winning and bing the Pretty Pretty Princess. He let hisposure slip for a minute to brag about winning and that was when Noah managed to sneakily snap a picture that Violet would hold over her brother''s head for years toe.

    Feeling that her revenge wasplete, she let Nathan choose what video games they would y until he nced at the clock and realized their parents would be home.

    He stretched as he stood to leave. "Well, it''s been fun lovebirds but I feel like less of a third wheel around Mom and Dad. Which I never thought I would say. Ever."

    Violet rolled her eyes. Their parents were a million times mushier than she and Noah were, okay? Nathan knew it too. He probably felt at least a tiny bit guilty about intruding and wanted to get out of their hair, which she appreciated.

    She gave him a hug before he left, feeling more goodwill toward him than she did earlier. He may be a tease but he wasn''t actually her least favorite brother. They were a lot closer than most siblings who had thatrge of an age gap.

    Once Nathan left, Noah grinned at her. "I will dly y any and all little girls'' games to get ckmail material on Nate. Usually he''s the one messing with people."

    That summed up her brother pretty well. Kaleb was excellent at teasing as well but Nathan had a slight edge up. The two of them spent a lot of time striving to annoy the other intopliance over the years. When that happened, Violet and Oliver tended to watch them with a mixture of amus.e.m.e.nt and disdain.

    She was d that something good hade out of this disaster of an evening. At least Noah didn''t seem upset. He was such a good person.

    Violet sighed heavily and leaned against his shoulder. "I''m sorry about tonight. I meant to do something nice to show you how much I appreciate everything you do but Nate sort of ruined it."

    He twisted his head to kiss the top of hers. "Don''t worry about it, Vi. I had fun. And it means a lot to me that you put so much effort into cooking and baking considering you almost never do it for yourself."

    This much was true. She and Noah had a longstanding tradition of going out to eat at least once a week and she had mooched off of her mother''s cooking the whole time she was living at home. It was impossible to bepletely inept in the kitchen after helping other people cook most of her life but she had never prepared anything like this on her own before.

    Since moving out, Keeley frequently brought over containers of leftovers to ensure her daughter wasn''t starving. If Violet wasn''t eating those, she was typically making simple meals out of a box mix.

    She had been enjoying being able to be on a less strict diet but if she expected to rejoin thepany in the next 6-7 months she would have to get used to eating like a dancer again. It wasn''t that she had gained much weight since being out ofmission since she was still exercising regrly but dancers have to eat differently because of the way they overexerted their muscles.

    Violet would have to go back to her tragically limited diet as soon as she moved over to working with the dance rehabilitation specialist. With the way things were going now, she still had a couple months to go. So she had a little more time to eat like a normal human being.

    While she still could, she really should practice cooking more. She would need those skills someday even if she was getting by okay right now without them. As a mother she would be expected to feed her children three meals a day.

    The thought made her feel a bit strange. She was nearly twenty-six years old; a lot of people her age had children. Her mother had given birth to her and Kaleb when she was the same age Violet was now.

    But to have children she would need to be married. To Noah. Who she was still getting used to kissing.

    He had always been great with kids, as proven by how much his karate students loved him, so she knew he would be a good father. Thinking about this was too weird! Whenever she imagined her mythical, far-off future family in the past it was never with Noah!

    Violet had decided to spend her life with him but thinking of him as a potential husband and father of her children was a different matter. Though she had to admit that any child of Noah''s would probably be adorable. He had been a super cute kid.

    Her cheeks heated and she was d he couldn''t see her face from the angle they were sitting. Admitting what she was thinking about couldn''t end anything but awkwardly.

 Chapter 527: Serves Him Right

    <h4>Chapter 527: Serves Him Right</h4>

    After Aaron and Keeley left, Gray and Mandy had a goodugh over how obviously unsettled and confused Aaron had been throughout the dinner. Between the two of them, he was more amused because he knew what his brother was usually like but Mandy still seemed like she had fun pulling the wool over their eyes.

    "Did you see his face?" Gray asked gleefully, dropping his false voice once the elevator went down. "I have never seen him sopletely out of it before. Keeley was doing her best to keep him engaged but he may has well have been in outer space. I think you broke him."

    "Serves him right," Mandy said with a twinkle in her eyes. "That''ll show him not to mess with us in the future."

    Aaron wasn''t the type to ''mess with'' anyone. His problem wasplete indifference to all but a handful of select people. Gray had admitted before that he knew his brother didn''t actually care about him but it didn''t even hurt. He was used to people not caring; it was what he hade to expect from everyone. Until Mandy came along that is.

    But she had felt indignant on his behalf even though technically Aaron hadn''t done anything other than be his usual stone-cold self. He was like this to everyone outside his wife and children, not only Gray.

    He was curious what she thought of his family now that she had met them. Casually leaning back on the couch, he asked her what her impressions were. A thoughtful expression crossed Mandy''s face and she took a moment to mull it over before responding.

    "You were dead right about Aaron being a cold fish. Keeley seemed nice enough so I wonder how she ended up with a man like him. Even though we were totally hamming it up she didn''t even seem fazed. Either she''s a fantastic actress or she has excellent people skills."

    Gray smiled. "My money is on thetter. She''s a very straightforward person but she doesn''t always reveal her true thoughts in order to be polite. She knows when and when not to say something."

    He had noticed that fact about his sister-inw since the day he met her in a caf¨¦ and she called him out on his identity, asking him point nk what he wanted from her husband. Keeley had obviously been tired of their game of cat and mouse so she quit beating around the bush immediately. Someone as crafty as Aaron could never show their hand right off the bat.

    She had been the same way ever since, moving through any social situation with ease even though her eyes and bodynguage sometimes gave away her true feelings. At least as far as he had seen. He hadn''t spent all that much time with her over the years since he was in prison.

    It was interesting to see how little people could change over time. The Keeley before he went to prison and the Keeley after he got out hadn''t changed a bit aside from subtle signs of aging. She still put on a friendly face despite being wary of him and appeared to be one of the primary reasons Aaron continued their rtionship. That was the impression he got anyway.

    It was a bit sad, really. They felt like they had to be nice to him because he killed Lacy despite obviously not enjoying hispany. He would tell them not to bother if not for the fact that he still wanted to be a part of his brother''s life.

    Gray really shouldn''t have expected anything different. He had never once been genuine with either one of them.

    Mandy seemed to think that the reason he hadn''t gotten close to anyone before she came along was that he never revealed his true self. She had told him multiple times that the real Michael Gray was much more likable than the fake persona he usually put on.

    Was it toote to be more genuine with the only family he had left? Aaron would probably be annoyed with him for quite a while over the little prank they had pulled.

    Mandy pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on top of them. "Why do you look so deep in thought?"

    He hadn''t realized he had been spacing out. She had probably been trying to get his attention for a while. Offering her a slight smile, he shrugged. "I was wondering if Aaron doesn''t like me because I''ve never been genuine with him."

    She shook her head indulgently. "Based on his reaction earlier, I''d say that''s highly likely. I can''t believe it''s taken this long for it to cross your mind. Do you really always talk to him like that?"

    "¡­yes."

    "Ah, Mikey, you can''t expect people to open up to you when you put on a thickyer of fake charm. Especially people like Aaron. You told me that he left high society for his wife¡­she seems as average as can bepared to what he''s used to. He probably loves her because she gave him a taste of something real.

    "If I had to guess, he probably hates insincerity the most. Pretty sure you dug your own grave there. I''m not saying that he shouldn''t have tried harder to be a good brother but try to think about it from his perspective. If a slick character working with a known enemy came out of nowhere when he already didn''t like slick characters it would make sense that he would keep them at arm''s length," Mandy finished gently.

    Gray hadn''t thought about it that way before. He had been having too much fun watching his baby brother''s exploits as he worked to overthrow their father to consider what Aaron might be feeling. He had wanted to meet him for so long¡­why didn''t he act more genuinely with him?

    Probably because he was too deeply entrenched in his false persona back then to even realize that it would make him seem untrustworthy. His real self had been so long forgotten that the thought didn''t even cross his mind.

 Chapter 528: First Impressions

    <h4>Chapter 528: First Impressions</h4>

    Gray continued to let Mandy''s words sink in. Would it have made a difference if he had been more sincere with Aaron from the start?

    Probably. He had been too amused by watching Aaron''s ns to destroy their father to think of him as anything outside of the context of the game they were ying. He had cared about his brother¡ªenough tomit murder for him¡ªbut he hadn''t even considered how Aaron felt.

    First impressions were difficult to change and Gray had not made a good one on Aaron. After all, when they first met he was investigating him for being involved with Lacy. Ever trying to get information out of her was a horrible mistake that had cost him twenty-five years of his life.

    He tried to imagine what things might have been like if he had gone about meeting Aaron differently. He knew about the kid''s existence when he was thirteen years old. Thinking he was a worthless clone of Alistair, Gray never revealed himself.

    But once Aaron was eighteen and started obviously nning his hostile takeover¡­if he had introduced himself then and offered his help¡­

    Cameron Singleton and Aiden Quinn were Aaron''s most valued friends and they had originally been nothing but his tools to overthrow their father. If Gray had gotten involved earlier he might have ended up as one of the people his brother cared about too.

    The thought never would have crossed his mind back then because he was young, twisted by thoughts of revenge, and thought of everything as a game. Even if he hadn''t offered help sooner, if he had only managed to kill Lacy in a less conspicuous manner¡­

    Gray wouldn''t have gone to prison. He would have been involved in his niece and nephews'' lives and with time he could have won Aaron over by showing his sincerity.

    It all boiled down to sincerity in the end. Here he was wishing his brother had been sincere with him when he hadn''t been sincere either. Was it even possible to fix more than two decades'' worth of false interactions?

    "I don''t know how to act like my real self around him," Gray said quietly.

    The only person who had brought out that long-dormant part of him was Mandy because she epted him as he was, darkness and all. He already knew Aaron didn''t ept his dark side because of his deep love for his wife.

    Aaron had gone as far as admitting that he would have been tempted to kill Lacy himself if not for Keeley. She would never love a murderer, which was perfectly understandable. That was why they didn''t want a murderer around their children either.

    What Gray found interesting was that Aaron had his own share of darkness that he worked hard to suppress. Well, they were both the sons of a murderer. One had given into the darkness while the other fought to live in the light.

    Mandy reached out to squeeze his arm and smiled at him sunnily. "Well, why don''t you practice on Britt''s family? You need to meet them anyway."

    His eyes widened. It was to be expected that he meet her family now that she had met his but he didn''t know the first thing about getting people to like him withoutying on a thickyer of false charm.

    "You''ll be fine," she said, reading his expression. "Britt is pretty easygoing."

    ===

    Brittany was not as easygoing as her mother imed. The first thing she did after answering the door a weekter was run her eyes up and down Gray with an appraising frown after giving her mother a bone-crushing hug.

    "So you''re my mom''s boyfriend."

    He cleared his throat and did his best to put on a real smile as he corrected her. "Fianc¨¦, actually. I''m Michael Gray. Nice to meet you."

    She reluctantly shook his hand. "Brittany Holt, as you probably already know. Mom told me about that. We''ll be having a long conversation about itter. Come on in."

    The Holts'' three-bedroom apartment had an open, spacious feel to it despite nearly every inch of wall space being taken up by picture frames or other decorations. It was a bit much for Gray''s taste but the overall effect was undeniably homey.

    The smell of chocte chip cookies filled the air and toy trucks, cars, and trains were scattered all over the floor. This was the home of a happy, well-adjusted family. The kind Gray used to dream about having when he first ended up in foster care.

    All signs pointed to Brittany and Jason being solid, upright people. That type usually didn''t like him. He could already tell he was in for the first of many long and difficult visits but tried to think positive anyway.

    "Your home is charming," Gray said truthfully in his real voice. That kind ofment would most likelye off as insincere if he used his more affected tone.

    She eyed him shrewdly, trying to gauge his sincerity before softening a tad. "Thank you."

    A small blur came out of nowhere andunched itself at Mandy''s leg and began chattering about showing her his new firetruck. Her grandson, Eli. He was a chubby cheeked toddler with big blue eyes and curly light brown hair.

    Gray never had much interest in children until he wanted one of his own but he knew how much Mandy doted on her only grandchild. It was important to make a good impression on the kid. He also suspected that Eli was the key to getting Brittany to like him.

    He bent down to get on the child''s level and smiled at him. "I would love to see your firetruck too. Can you show me?"

    Eli tilted his head quizzically. "Grammy, who''s this?"

    Mandy petted his head affectionately. "This is Michael. He''s going to be your new grandpa."

    He grinned up at Gray, epting this without question, and ran off to get his firetruck. That was easy. The trust of a child was so simple. Normal, healthy children in good environments epted a.d.u.l.ts'' words at face value.

    He and Mandy hadn''t enjoyed that luxury. A.d.u.l.ts were not trustworthy and only had their own interests in mind when they grew up in the system and even before then. Uncle Louie had used his own hatred of the Hales to turn his young nephew into a weapon poised at the people he thought ruined his sister''s life.

    Alistair had certainly done that by ever getting involved with Mary andter by killing her but his wife and child hadn''t been involved. Not really. Uncle Louie was the primary reason Gray had spent so many years hating Aaron unnecessarily.

    He thought that Aaron had taken away everything that was supposed to be his. Looking back, he was grateful not to have been the one forced to be Alistair''s little business bot. If he and Aaron had grown up together, they would have been forced topete for nonexistent affection from their father.

 Chapter 529: Empire Building

    <h4>Chapter 529: Empire Building</h4>

    As Eli came back with his firetruck and babbled on excitedly about thedder on it, Jason finally made an appearance. He wasn''t as obviously distrustful of Gray as his wife and ended up greeting the man on the floor with his son cheerfully enough.

    Mandy continued admiring Eli''s toy as Jason asked Gray questions about himself. They were a bit tricky to answer. Giving the basic rundown about his degree from MIT and how he used to own an app developmentpany was easy but what came after was more dicey.

    "¡­I ended up retiring from that early and now I work in recruitment," Gray finished somewhatmely.

    It wasn''t technically a lie. The underground empire he began building in prison was all about recruitment, mostly involving mercenaries and others with rather specific skillsets.

    He had intended to create an empire that could rival Hale Investments but the public face of this business was quite small despite its extensive reach. Hiswork of mercenaries extended up into Canada and down into New Ennd.

    Now that Mandy was in his life, it would be within his best interest to hand it off to someone else. He didn''t want to do anything that would risk him ending up back in prison now that he had something to live for.

    All he had ever done was focus on empire building. Without that, he would likely get terribly bored. Permanent retirement wouldn''t suit him. It might be time to brush up on all of the technology he missed and get back into app and game development.

    Computers had been his one respite while in foster care. He had found more enjoyment in coding and creating than anything else. But once his first few apps took off and he had the chance for fame and fortune he focused more on the management side of things.

    How long had it been since he had personally created something? Catching up on everything he had missed could be a delightful new challenge.

    Brittany raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest, the picture of mistrust. "Why would you give up apany you created to work in recruitment of all things? That''s pretty random."

    Gray smiled at her and tweaked the truth only slightly. "I like a challenge. Finding new talents and putting them to use where they can benefit others the most isn''t as easy as managing a business."

    She couldn''t find fault with his words so she let it go, beginning her next line of attack. "Do you have any family? Ex-wives or children?"

    He supposed it was a bit strange that he didn''t at his age. No ex-wives or children meant that her mother wouldn''t have to deal with potentially not being epted by people close to him, which was good. But it also meant that there was probably something wrong with him since he had never been in a long-term rtionship before.

    No matter what he said, she would likely find fault with it. Gray tried to be as light and pleasant as possible while being honest.

    "No, but I do have a brother living nearby. He''s married with four children. I enjoy my visits with them."

    Brittany''s eyes narrowed slightly and she continued her line of questioning. "What are their names? What are they like? Have they met my mother yet?"

    "Not all of them live in New York so the only ones who have met Mandy are my brother Aaron, his wife, and their daughter. My nephews are busy with school and their careers. One is a professional baseball yer, another is studying to be a rocket scientist, and the third is in culinary school," Gray told her.

    He was hesitant about giving names. Most people in New York City knew who Aaron and Keeley Hale were even if they didn''t know of their children. If Brittany knew he was Aaron Hale''s brother, she would know about his alias and how he had been arrested for murder.

    Brittany wasn''t about to let this go. "Their names?" she prompted.

    Gray sighed. The cat was going to be out of the bag eventually anyway because she would surely meet Aaron and Keeley at the wedding but on the first meeting? His luck was terrible.

    "Violet, Kaleb, Oliver, and Nathan."

    Thankfully, she didn''t seem to recognize the names. He was safe. For now. Mandy seemed to recognize he was in distress and finally found a break in Eli''s monologue about his trucks to jump in and help without cutting the little boy off.

    She looked up at Brittany with an unperturbed smile. "The ones I''ve met are lovely. Violet is a ballerina, can you believe it? I know how much you love ballet. Once she''s out of physical therapy for her knee injury we should all go see one of her shows together."

    The young woman softened at the mention of doing something she enjoyed with her mother, even if it did mean her fianc¨¦ had to tag along.

    "If she''s a ballerina I''ve probably seen her dance before." She turned to Gray and acknowledged him with less hostility this time. "I went to see Cinderest fall. Which part did she dance?"

    He was infinitely grateful that he had actually been at one of those performances and knew the answer. If she had asked him about any earlier shows, he would have been doomed. Maybe his luck wasn''t so terrible after all.

    "She was Cindere," Gray said. "She danced wonderfully, didn''t she? I saw one of the matinees on a Saturday. Violet is quite talented; I hope she recovers soon so she can get back to work."

    The conversation flowed more easily after that until it was time for Eli to go down for his nap. Brittany beckoned her mother toe with her while Jason led him into the kitchen for some cookies.

    Ah. So they were dividing and conquering. Gray was willing to bet that ''long conversation'' would be happening as soon as the little boy was asleep. More than anything he wanted to be able to listen in.

    He chatted pleasantly with Jason about his job as a criminal defensewyer in a mid-sized firm in Brooklyn for about twenty minutes. Figuring Eli must be asleep by now, he excused himself to use the bathroom.

    It wasn''t far from the room where Brittany and Mandy were talking. He couldn''t be gone long¡ªJason would be suspicious¡ªbut he had to hear at least a little of what they were saying.

 Chapter 530: Her First Love

    <h4>Chapter 530: Her First Love</h4>

    As expected, Britt pounced the moment Eli was asleep. Mandy really should have seen thising when she told her daughter she was getting married but she had been too optimistic.

    "I get that you''re lonely and he seems like an okay guy but Mom! You can''t marry someone you hardly know! There''s no guarantee he isn''t putting on a front for you like that creep you married before," Britt said heatedly. "I don''t want you to get hurt."

    Mandyughed indulgently. Mikey was thest person on earth who would hurt her since they hade to a mutual understanding. He had never said the words but it was obvious he was in love with her even after such a short time.

    "You''re sweet, Britt. But I wouldn''t say I hardly know him. He was my first love. We lost contact for a long time but when we reconnected everything clicked right away."

    Her daughter was stunned. "Your first love?! You didn''t date anybody when I was growing up until Lucas¡­was this guy before my dad?"

    Britt knew the basic truth behind her birth. She had tried to hide it when her daughter was little to spare her feelings but when she was eleven she had demanded to know why she didn''t have a father like everyone else, since she already didn''t like her sleazy stepfather.

    That had been a difficult conversation. Britt had carelessly told her mother that if she didn''t want to stay in contact with an ex that she shouldn''t have had a child with him. It was nothing but the product of childish angst but Mandy couldn''t keep the truth from her any longer after that.

    The girl had been horrified and apologized immediately with tears in her eyes. After that she was extremely overprotective of her mother.

    Throughout the rest of Mandy''s marriage, Britt begged her to leave her husband because she could see how poorly he was treating her. Lucas was a nasty drunk and had hit Mandy on multiple asions but she couldn''t afford to leave.

    She always told herself that everything would be fine and she could stick it out as long as Britt had a roof over her head, clothes on her back, and food in her stomach. But that changed in an instant when the man tried kissing her fourteen-year-old daughter.

    Lucas had thought he was being sneaky while Mandy was in the kitchen finishing up dinner. He hadn''t realized that she could see him. Or that the kitchen was where the knives were.

    Knowing she didn''t have any family and not wanting her daughter to go into the system if anything ever happened to her, Mandy''s will had stated that Britt would go into the care of one of the kind older women who had volunteered at the women''s shelter she went to as a pregnant teenage runaway. They had be quite close during that time to the point that Mandy thought of her as a mother.

    Belinda had been true to her word and took care of Britt while Mandy was locked up until she died when Britt was neen. The prison didn''t allow minors to visit unless an a.d.u.l.t was with them so Belinda had also been the one to help her visit her mother each week until she was eighteen. They exchanged letters too.

    It wasn''t much, but Britt''s fierce determination to keep her mother in the loop about her life even though she was in jail helped ease the ache of missing so much a little. Mandy didn''t get to see her go to prom, graduate high school, or get into beauty school.

    She offered motherly advice in her letters and visits as best she could but it wasn''t the same as raising her daughter for thest four years of her adolescence. Yet Britt remained as loyal to her mother as ever. She appreciated Belinda for everything she did but never once thought of her as a recement for her mom.

    Mandy smiled at her brave, beautiful, overprotective girl. She knew Britt would ept Mikey at some point, however begrudgingly, because he made her happy.

    "Yes," she replied honestly. "Long before your father."

    Britt frowned in confusion. "How old were you exactly?"

    When she first met him? Five. Normally a child that young wouldn''t have been in a group home but Mandy had been a little terror.

    Her mother had been a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e and died of AIDS when she was three. Unable to ept this fact, sheshed out violently in every home that tried to adopt her. So she ended up in a st resort'' home for severe cases with six other children of various ages.

    None of them gave her the time of day. As much as Mandyshed out, she wasrgely ignored. Muchter, she understood this was a tactic to get her to stop since a.d.u.l.ts believed tantrums were a way of trying to attract attention. The foster parents were busy people so she ended uprgely shunted to the side.

    The closest child to her age was an eight year old girl who thought she was a nuisance and shoved her away forcefully any time she came near. After a while she stopped trying. The ten and eleven year old boys followed suit.

    The other kids in the house were fourteen and sixteen year old girls. Preferring to be with their friends, they were hardly ever home and when they were, they ignored Mandy.

    That left only one person in the house. The oldest boy, Michael. He was quiet and hardly spoke to the others. Apparently he had lived in this ce for about a year and had immediately gotten a job after moving in and spent all of his free time there.

    One day he quit without warning. The foster parents had been confused and asked him why. He told them that he had only gotten a job to buy a usedputer. Now that he had one, he didn''t need to work anymore.

    Mandy didn''t know what he had done exactly to make it happen, but he was the only person in the house who had his own room. The only times she saw him were at meals and when everyone left for school.

 Chapter 531: The Only Nice Person

    <h4>Chapter 531: The Only Nice Person</h4>

    One day Mandy dared to knock on his door. Michael stuck his head out and was about to shut it when he didn''t see anyone.

    "Wait!" she yelled. "I''m down here."

    A vague look of surprise crossed his face. "What do you want?"

    Encouraged that he hadn''t mmed the door on her, she dared to ask what she had been trying to do for days now. Nobody else had been interested or had been ''too busy.''"Will you y Candy Land with me?"

    Michael looked at her like she was crazy. "Isn''t there anyone else who could y with you? Why me?"

    "Everybody else already said no," Mandy said matter-of-factly. "Please?"

    He debated internally for about thirty seconds before saying he would. With a big smile on her face at seeding in her task, she ran downstairs to the closet to get the game. They ended up ying three games because she won the first and he wanted a rematch, which he won. The third was to decide the ultimate victor.

    It was obvious that he hadn''t wanted to do it when she approached him. He was probably every bit as busy as everyone else because she heard the older girls talking and knew they had a lot of homework. But he made time to y a silly little kids'' game with him anyway.

    After that, Mandy was convinced. Michael was the only nice person in this house. She tried to stick to him as much as possible to avoid the ire of the younger kids and the neglect of the older ones.

    When their foster mother picked them all up from school in her fifteen passenger van, she told him about her day. At the dinner table she always sat by him. When he went up into his room to hide away, sometimes she would knock on his door and ask to hide from the other kids. He would let her as long as she was quiet.

    When Michael worked on his homework or fiddled with hisputer, Mandy would sit on the floor and draw or read picture books. Being near him was the safest she had felt since her mother died.

    Very quickly, she began thinking of him as a friend. Her only friend. The kids at school who only asionally included her in their games on the yground didn''t count. In her heart, she began thinking of him as Mikey.

    Friends gave nicknames, didn''t they? Her mother had called her Mandy but everyone else always called her Amanda. She didn''t think her real name was as cute.

    She didn''t dare call him by his secret nickname until the day he finally snapped when she asked him a ton of questions about his homework as he tried to finish it.

    "Honestly, Amanda! It''s just homework; there''s nothing interesting about it! Why do you alwayse to my room, anyway?" Michael demanded.

    It happened to slip out because she was startled, thinking the answer was obvious. "Mikey, you''re the nicest person here."

    Of course she would want to be around the nicest person in the house. Away from the busy a.d.u.l.ts and indifferent or mean children. He didn''t give her a ton of attention but whenever he did it wasn''t the negative kind and she soaked up the tiny bit of kindness like a sponge.

    He blinked at her as if in shock. "Why did you call me that?"

    Mandy looked at the ground, suddenly embarrassed. "Because we''re friends. Friends give nicknames."

    Michaelughed at that. She had never once seen himugh before. It was a pleasant sound and the apanying smile made his handsome face seem much warmer. She didn''t think what she had said was funny but couldn''t be mad because of thatugh.

    "Friends give nicknames, huh? Alright then. Mandy," he said casually.

    She beamed at him. Nobody had called her that in a very long time.

    He ended up exining his homework to her after all and even gave her a pink Starburst candy. After that, Mandy spent all of her time at home hiding out in Mikey''s room listening to him talk about anything and everything. He was an interesting person who had a lot to say.

    Over the next year or so they came to a mutual understanding. If she didn''t prevent him from doing his homework or things on hisputer, he would y games with her or read her books once in a while. And when she was sad or tired, she would crawl into hisp and fall asleep as he typed away.

    She had loved him with all of her little heart and had been devastated when he said he was leaving her behind. All of his kindness couldn''t be a lie! He cared about her; he had to! She was convinced that if she gave him the cold shoulder for a while that he would realize what he had done wrong, apologize, and take her with him. But he didn''t.

    When months turned into years, she gave up on the thought of her friend returning though she still thought about him from time to time. After so many years of radio silence, Mandy never would have dreamed that she would find him again, let alone be getting married to him. Yet here they were.

    "I was six," Mandy told her daughter with a slightugh. "Can you believe it? We were in the same foster home for about a year. During that time we became very close. He was the only person who had cared about me since my mother''s death. Everyone else thought I was too much to handle."

    Britt raised an eyebrow. "What happened then?"

    "He went off to college and left me behind. He and his brother came into my restaurant a while back and he paid the bill so I recognized his name. I ended up leaving my phone number on the back of the receipt and the rest is history."

    Her daughter mulled this over for a moment. Getting engaged to someone you were close to before and lost contact with was slightly less crazy that getting engaged to a total stranger out of the blue.

    "Does he know about Lucas?" She understood that Britt was asking about both what Lucas did as a terrible husband and how she had ended up in prison.

    Mandy nodded. "Yes. And I''ll have you know, he''s nothing like him. Mikey gets me because of our simr life experiences and he''s very kind. He goes along with what I want to do even when it''s silly. He loves me, Britt. Nobody else has ever treated me this well."

    She sighed and threw her hands up in resignation. "Fine! I won''t protest this. But can you do me one little favor? Please wait at least six months to get married. If he hasn''t shown anything to be worried about by then I''ll neverin about him again."

    Six months was generous. Considering how incensed her daughter was at the beginning of the conversation, Mandy had been worried she was going to want them to wait years. It wasn''t like she was getting any younger.

    And she had the feeling that Mikey wanted to have a child of their own. He had never said anything¡­but someone who talked about his brother''s family with a trace of longing in his voice had to at least be thinking about it.

    Mandy wasn''t too old for in-vitro fertilization treatments. She knew plenty of people who had done it and had children in their forties or even fifties. Medical technology had advanced a lot in the past few decades.

    "Deal," she said. "Now, should we go back to the men now? They''re probably wondering what''s taking so long."

 Chapter 532: Call Me Crazy

    <h4>Chapter 532: Call Me Crazy</h4>

    The found the men in the kitchen and Mikey seemed more rxed than he had since they stepped foot in Britt''s ce. Mandy wasn''t sure if Jason was a miracle worker or if the cookies had gotten to him but she was d.

    Especially since she would have to exin her daughter''s condition on epting their marriageter and wasn''t sure how it was going to go down. Her impression thus far was that he would be okay with anything as long as she stayed with him the whole time.

    Finding the boy she had spent most of her life wondering about had been a wonderful surprise. She had expected they would have a simple conversation and move on with their lives going into it. Her original reason for contacting him was wanting closure, after all.

    But when he told her everything that had happened while they were apart and she saw how horribly lonely he must be, her rationality abandoned her. She couldn''t let the only person who showed her kindness during a period of vulnerability be alone.

    Her long-buried feelings for him came rushing back when she realized how simr they were. She had meant it when she said she wasn''t going to let him get away from her again. The odds of finding another person who would understand her life were practically negligible.

    It was both cute and sad how much of a state of disbelief he was in the first few days they were together. Like he couldn''t believe someone actually wanted to be with him. That strengthened Mandy''s resolve to stay by his side.

    The past few weeks had been the best of her life. She was living infort having fun with someone who adored her who she adored back. Her marriage of necessity with Lucas was absolutely nothing like her rtionship with Mikey.

    He was exceedingly gentle with all of his expressions of affection and seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say, like she had been toward him all of those years ago. And sometimes he looked at her like she was the only person in the universe.

    She had never expected anyone to look at her like that. Ever.

    He wasn''t the most verbally affectionate person. He had called her beautiful on multiple asions but had yet to say ''I love you'' even though it waspletely obvious. He had fallen for her hard and fast based on the way he acted.

    Her heart swelled with affection for him as she saw him converse easily with Jason and Britt about the odds of the Yankees doing well in the uing season. No matter what he had done with his lifeter, deep down he was still the kind boy she had fallen in love with.

    Britt seemed to be much more epting by the time they left and waved them off cheerfully, inviting Mikey toe over for Sunday dinner next week too. He had already started to win her over.

    He cleared his throat once they were back in his car and confessed something in a guilty tone. "I, uh, overheard the tail end of your conversation with Britt earlier. The part where you said I was your first love¡­and where you said nobody had ever treated you so well."

    Was that why he was so much more rxed when they came back? He must have taken off before Britt gave her conditions of eptance in order to make it to the kitchen without getting caught.

    Mikey continued. "It made me realize that I have done a lot of things that would give you that impression but I never said it. I suppose I''m not used to it yet¡­I''ve never told anyone I loved them before¡­but I do. Call me crazy but I''m in love with you, Mandy Applegate. I''m so grateful you''ve chosen to stay with me."

    Ah, he was too cute! Looking at the earnest expression on his face as he was driving made Mandy want to tackle him right there. Not wanting to cause a wreck, she refrained from doing so. She would do it as soon as they got home.

    Before that, she should tell him how the rest of the conversation went. Mandy really hoped he wouldn''t have a problem with it.

    She reached out to touch his arm. "I love you too. Is it okay if we wait six months to get married though? Britt''s a little worried about me and thinks we''re rushing things."

    He let out a smallugh. "Six months is nothingpared to thirty-eight years. Besides, you''ll be with me the whole time. I don''t mind. It will give you more time to n the wedding anyway."

    Oh please. She didn''t have anyone she cared to invite beyond Britt''s family and a few volunteers from the women''s shelter that she had kept in touch with over the years. nning something that small wouldn''t require six months.

    However, Mandy did have every intention of inviting Keeley Hale to help her set things up. It would continue their prank but Mikey also seemed to want to reconcile with his family. She had a feeling that getting her on their side would be a major point in their favor.

    He would need to sit down and have a real conversation with Aaron at some point but there was still time for that. Life wasn''t over for those two brothers yet. Their rtionship wasn''t beyond repair.

    "I don''t think I''ll need that long," Mandy said. "But I do want Keeley''s input on it. Maybe while I''m out doing wedding things with her you can finally have a proper conversation with Aaron about how you want your rtionship to be."

    Mikey frowned. "You say that as if it''s easy. Aaron is probably the most difficult person to get close to that I''ve ever met."

    Sheughed. That was really something,ing from him. Aaron must be an imprable wall of ice if her extremely closed off fianc¨¦ thought he was that bad. They were more simr than either of them were willing to acknowledge.

 Chapter 533: I Want...

    <h4>Chapter 533: I Want...</h4>

    Aaron was lying on the couch with a cat on his stomach, trapped. He had learned long ago that if a cat chooses to sit on you that you aren''t allowed to move until it is ready to leave. It was one of the unspoken rules of cat ownership.

    So that was how he had been lying on the couch for ten minutes after waking up from his nap unable to move. He wasn''t sure where Keeley had gone because she had been cuddling him when he originally fell asleep. Calling out to her had yielded nothing so she was most likely upstairs.

    She came back down wearing her swimsuit with a towel wrapped around her waist and her hair in a high bun, clearly on her way down to the fitness center. "Oh. You''re awake. I''d ask if you''d like to join me but Rosie obviously has you pinned."

    He sighed. "Yes she does. If you''re still down there when she gets off of me I''d be happy to join you."

    As if hearing him, the cat suddenly yawned, stretched, and jumped off of him before sauntering away. Sweet freedom!

    Keeleyughed. "Hurry up! I won''t wait for you forever."

    With that encouragement, Aaron headed upstairs to get changed and grab a towel. They took the elevator down to the fitness center and put their things in their assigned locker. Keeley tended to prefer water aerobics these days and did that while he swamps.

    After a while they stopped their respective workouts to rx in the hot tub together. Aaron chuckled slightly to himself when he saw how his wife naturally sunk into the water with a pleased sigh. She had always loved anything warm.

    She leaned her head back against his arm, which rested on the edge of the hot tub behind her, with her eyes closed for a while seeming perfectly at peace. Her eyes shot open without warning and she sat up straight.

    "Before I forget, Mandy asked me to go wedding dress shopping with her and her daughter a few Saturdays from now. She thinks you and Gray should go to lunch while we''re out and entertain each other."

    "Joy," he said dryly.

    Why would this woman ask someone she had only met once to do this sort of thing with her? Aaron would never understand the female mind. Why did they need people to go with them to pick out clothes? Keeley had picked out her wedding dress alone with no problems.

    She sighed. "I know, I''m a little wary myself. I don''t know anything about her other than that she enjoys messing with people. At least you know how to deal with Gray. Doesn''t that old saying go ''better the devil you know than the devil you don''t''?"

    Once she got past the initial amus.e.m.e.nt of the prank Gray and his fianc¨¦e had pulled, Keeley worried what sort of other tricks Mandy Applegate might try to pull. She said she didn''t mind what those two did as long as that woman didn''t try to spur Gray into taking revenge on them.

    Aaron was of the same opinion. His first impression of her was that she was too much like Gray and would be trouble if provoked. So now they had to worry about appeasing two sleeping beasts.

    He tried to put the issue out of his mind. He would find out more about what Gray''s fianc¨¦e was really like over time. His half-brother wasn''t an idiot, even if he was desperate. This woman wouldn''t be able to pull the wool over his eyes¡­right?

    ===

    Aaron and Gray met up for sushi as the women went to a bridal salon. He seemed lessposed than usual somehow. Almost as if he was nervous. Gray didn''t get nervous. At least not in front of anyone. He was always suave and confident.

    "What''s with you?" Aaron asked, figuring it was better to get whatever he wanted to say out of the way so they could enjoy the food.

    Gray sighed and looked up, more serious than Aaron had ever seen him. When he spoke, it wasn''t with his usual silky smooth tone. His voice was lower and rougher but much more natural. Was this his real voice?

    "I''m afraid I''ve shot myself in the foot. You see, I got so used to pretending that I thought it was real. I''ve acted like an idiot in front of you and it is past time I rectified that. Is it toote to be sincere with you, Aaron?"

    It took a moment to process what this normally oily man was saying. The look on his face was more sincere than ever and he was using what appeared to be his real voice in front of him for the first time. The one Violet said she heard when she ran into him and his fianc¨¦e together.

    This essentially proved that he actually was sincere with her and that the act they put on the other day was entirely at Aaron''s expense. He had already suspected as much but having it confirmed was annoying.

    That was beside the point. Gray sounded like he was trying to apologize. For what? Acting like the fakest person alive? That wasn''t exactly something worth apologizing for.

    "I''m not sure I follow," Aaron admitted. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

    Gray looked down at his hands and shifted in his seat. He was definitely nervous. Whatever he was trying to get across, it meant something to him. That alone made Aaron more inclined to take him seriously.

    "I expected you to be sincere with me when I wasn''t sincere with you. Since I realized you were working against our father, I have held no ill intentions toward you at all. I wanted us to be friends but went about it the wrong way. All of my rtionsh.i.p.s with people were shallow at best back then¡­I didn''t know how to do anything else.

    "I know you don''t particrly like me, and I''d say that''s fair considering the circ.u.mstances we met through. You''ve more than fulfilled your duty as my half-brother all of these years as I was in prison and I''m grateful for that. But now that I have my priorities straight¡­can we start over?

    "Not as allies with amon enemy. Not as someone you tolerate out of a sense of guilt or obligation. I would like to be your brother for real. You don''t have to tell your boys who I am but I want us to actually be friends. I don''t want to be Gray anymore. I want to be your brother Michael."

 Chapter 534: Men Like Us

    <h4>Chapter 534: Men Like Us</h4>

    Aaron was stunned by what was being said. He knew he wasn''t particrly good at hiding his distaste for others¡­in hindsight, he should have known his ''good brother'' act was transparent.

    It was true. He didn''t like Gray. He never had.

    He had the kind of falseness about him that Aaron had hated about every single person in high society. Those people never made their true intentions clear because their entire lives were surface-level lies.

    He had never been able to trust the man as far as he could throw him so how was he supposed to like him? Especially since he had been involved in Keeley''s and Robert''s deaths in his first life.

    Going into their rtionship already feeling like Gray was an enemy¡­even if he had acted more sincerely, Aaron probably wouldn''t have epted him for real. How could he have when he was working with Lacy in a seeming repeat of what happened before?

    But that was a long time ago. He wasn''t sure if it was prison or this woman who had changed Gray but he had dropped his fa?ade and wasying his feelings bare. Aaron couldn''t help but respect that. It was a pretty big risk after all.

    Gray was right. Neither of them had been sincere. He couldn''t hold it over the man''s head without being a hypocrite.

    Keeley''s death had been so long ago. He hadn''t done anything to harm her in this life and had even killed Lacy for them. The life he had now wouldn''t have even been possible without this man''s sacrifice.

    Gray was dangerous¡ªthat much was undeniable¡ªbut if he truly desired to change, Aaron couldn''t fault him for that. He hadn''t exactly been the best person either but Keeley had forgiven him and allowed him the chance to be better.

    "You''re right," Aaron admitted. "I don''t like insincere people. I grew up around them and they tried to control my life until Keeley gave me a reason to get out. But if you''re willing to be honest with me, I''ll be honest with you Michael."

    His brother''s smile grew until it threatened to swallow his face. He seemed like apletely different person when he wasn''t putting on airs.

    "Yes, of course! What do you want to know?" he asked eagerly.

    "Mostly I''m curious what''s going on with your fianc¨¦e and whether or not you''re involved in anything shady that mighte back to bite meter," Aaron said bluntly.

    Gray¡ªno, Michael¡ªactuallyughed so hard he ended up wiping tears from his eyes. A momentter he sobered to reply seriously.

    "I suppose I deserved that. Rest assured, I''m going straight now that Mandy is a part of my life. I don''t want ''anything shady'' toe back and bite her either. I was thinking about getting back into the tech world. There are so many fascinating new advancements now.

    "As for Mandy¡­we knew each other before I became Graydon Meyer. She was my foster sister during my senior year of high school and we spent a lot of time together. Apparently she was in love with me, isn''t that crazy?"

    A self-deprecating look appeared on his face and he continued. "I remembered her but not her name¡­she was our waitress thest time we went to dinner. She recognized my name from the bill and left her phone number. We ended up catching up on the past thirty-eight years together and have a lot inmon. She quite forcefully said that I was hers after that and now we''re getting married."

    Of all the possible ways they ended up together, Aaron definitely hadn''t expected that. So she was genuinely in love with him. Since Michael said they had a lot inmon, he was able to read between the lines and understand that she knew the truth about him.

    Mandy knew what he had done and what he was capable of and still loved him. He had been right about her being a second troublemaker.

    "Okay, I get that, but what was with the prank?" Aaron asked.

    Michael appeared a bit sheepish. "Oh that. That was Mandy''s idea. She was a bit put out that you don''t actually like me and wanted to mess with you."

    Wow. He really had told her everything if she even knew theplicated history between them. Not that she knew the full story¡ªeven Michael didn''t understand why Aaron had been so convinced he was an enemy at first because that had to do with terrible things he couldn''t remember from another life.

    "That''s fair," Aaron said begrudgingly. "I take it she''s the one who suggested you be honest with me about what you want?"

    Michael nodded. "Yes, she''s quite something, isn''t she? Isn''t it amazing that men like us could both find such outstanding women?"

    Men like them¡­as much as he hated to admit it, they were simr in more ways than one. Keeley had been right when she once said that they both hide their true feelings well. Aaron''s were hidden under a thickyer of ice while Michael''s were underneath all of that phony charm.

    Neither of them knew what warmth or love was from the way they had grown up either. And they both had an inner darkness that came from being Alistair Hale''s sons. Aaron had squelched his so he could have his happily ever after with Keeley and it seemed like now a woman had inspired his brother to try and do the same.

    "Amazing indeed," Aaron said thoughtfully.

    The real Michael Gray might not be so terrible after all. It would likely take a while to get over his preconceived notions and properly get to know his brother but that didn''t matter. What did was that he finally knew that he had never been a threat after all.

    Guilt squirmed in his stomach. He wouldn''t be this magnanimous if he knew Aaron was the reason he had ended up in prison. Well, he probably already felt that way because he killed Lacy for Aaron''s benefit but if he knew that his brother had personally been the one to get the evidence that convicted him¡­

    Aaron knew what he had to do. Michael wanted them to be like real brothers so the only way to make things up to him was by doing that. He needed to put genuine effort into their rtionship from here on out.

    This wasn''t the first time he had to work to make things up to someone. Keeley had taken a long time to say the score had been settled after all he did to her in their first life. Since Michael could never know the truth, Aaron would have to spend the next twenty-five years being a proper brother to square things away between them.

    He held up his wine ss with a slight smile on his face. "To brotherhood."

    Michael returned his smile and clinked sses with him. "I''ll drink to that, baby brother."

 Chapter 535: An Inconvenient Wedding

    <h4>Chapter 535: An Inconvenient Wedding</h4>

    Months passed in a blur of physical therapy for Violet. A few hours ago her dance rehab therapist told her that at this rate she would be able to go back to work in a few weeks. She was so relieved she nearly broke down in tears because the year her boss had given her would be up in less than three months.

    Noah had been endlessly supportive as she worked on healing and retraining her muscles after so much disuse and had been with her every step of the way. She doubted there was another man on earth who would ever go to such lengths for her or make her feel so cherished. It was impossible not to fall in love with him after all of that.

    She was going to tell him today, as soon as they got back to her ce. Now that she was sure of her feelings there was no reason to keep him hanging. All they had to do was get through the next few hours and the air would finally be clear.

    Violet wasn''t sure why, but her dad seemed to have buried the hatchet with his dangerous half-brother since he had asked her toe to his wedding. Which was how she found herself wearing a coral pink wrap dress (the bride had requested everyone wear the color to match her bouquet since there were so few guests) and matching heels, marching into a hotel conference room arm in arm with a sharply dressed Noah.

    Aaron may have made his peace with Gray, who he now called by his first name, but Violet wasn''t so sure about him. She had only seen him a couple of times in thest six months but his fianc¨¦e seemed to have given him a personality transnt.

    "I know you don''t like him, Vi¡ªI''m still working on getting used to the changes he''s making myself¡ªbut it would mean a lot to him if you came today because you''re the only one who knows he''s your uncle," her dad had pleaded.

    So here she was. Unwillingly. If she didn''t have this wedding to worry about, she could have told Noah she loved him right after physical therapy.

    But the timing didn''t seem right and she had only realized it earlier today on her way home from her appointment. It was better to wait until they were alone because she was sure Noah would think of it as a big deal.

    Violet and Noah were the second tost people to arrive. Aaron was in charge of picking up the cake so her parents were still out doing that.

    A woman about her age with curly brown hair and smiling eyes approached them curiously. "You''re Violet, right?"

    Taken aback, she wondered how this woman knew who she was. "Yes, and you are?"

    "Oh sorry, I''m Brittany. Daughter of the bride. Michael told me you''re a ballerina and I''ve been dying topare shows with you because my husband and I go a few times a year. I''m sure I would recognize your work."

    It had been so long since anyone had talked to her about her performances since herst show was that short-lived run as ra at Christmastime. Violet returned the woman''s smile and they began discussing shows.

    Brittany had seen her performances as Cindere, Odette, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and some ensemble roles but she wasn''t recognizable in those. The other woman seemed a bit star-struck and it lifted Violet''s spirits considerably. She was d she came here after all.

    Eventually they remembered that they still had significant others nearby and hastily introduced them. Noah seemed particrly amused because of how caught up in the conversation Violet got. He knew what she was like when dance was involved.

    Aaron burst into the room at that moment with the cake and his wife in tow, announcing that they could get started as soon as he set it down. The bride, not wanting to be seen by anyone in her dress, had yet to make an appearance.

    Brittany headed over to the side room where she was waiting to let her know it was nearly time toe out. Michael and the officiator stood at the front of the makeshift aisle as Jason yed the wedding march on his phone.

    The door opened and Mandy walked slowly and purposefully forward, beaming for all she was worth. To Violet''s surprise, her uncle was smiling every bit as widely as he saw here down the aisle.

    She had truly enchanted him in order to make him turn his life around like he had. Good for him.

    The music shut off when they took each other''s hands at the front of the room and the officiant began speaking. Violet''s mind wandered throughout the ceremony. She couldn''t help but wonder what it would be like when she married Noah someday.

    She would want to invite her entire balletpany since she spent so much time with them. Some college buddies too. And all of their family friends since she didn''t have any cousins. Maybe she could invite Brittany and her husband too; she could see herself bing friendly with a fellow ballet enthusiast.

    When the time came for the bride and groom to kiss, apuse and catcalls startled her out of her thoughts. She made sure to p right along with them.

    After the ceremony concluded, Mandy wanted to dance. The ylist Jason had put together consistedrgely of songs she and Michael had grown up listening to. Violet knew a lot of them because her mother liked to listen to music as she cooked or cleaned and she had grown up in the same generation.

    A song she was vaguely familiar with called "I''ll Be" by Edwin McCain came on right after the couple had their first dance and since other people were joining the floor, Violet held her hand out to her boyfriend with a slight smile on her face.

    "Shall we put my dance rehab training to the test?"

    "dly. High heels are only a step away from pointe shoes after all," Noah replied.

    "Ballerinas everywhere would disagree with you," she said with augh as he spun her into his arms.

    Unlike the other couples in the room who moved in small, slow circles these two had been ballroom trained. Noah whirled her around using moves from a Viennese Waltz. They hadn''t danced together often over the years but their natural familiarity with each other and the type of dance made their moves as seamless as if they had practiced dozens of times.

 Chapter 536: Yours

    <h4>Chapter 536: Yours</h4>

    As the words of the song sunk in, Violet thought about how much she hade to love Noah''s face. Over the years it had been as familiar to her as her own. She knew the exact location of the chicken pox scar on his left eyelid and the spot on his chin where he used to get zits frequently as a teenager.

    But it wasn''t until they were dating that she truly studied his face, searching for something. While doing so she noticed the fondness in his dark eyes every time he looked at her that she hadn''t paid attention to before and the fact that his lips were soft and full.

    Even now, going along with the magic of the music, Violet found herself getting lost in the depths of those eyes. The line ''I''ll be the greatest fan of your life'' yed and she nearly broke form to throw her arms around him.

    Noah had been the greatest fan of her life since she was a child. And she had been his. They had supported each other through everything both drastic and insignificant. Nothing could ever break the bond between them, she was sure of that.

    How had she ever thought their rtionship was sibling-like? None of her siblings had ever supported her the way Noah had. None of them had ever been as patient or kind or adoring. He had always thought the world of her and she had stupidly dismissed it as teasing for so long.

    Right now her love for him was so overpowering she felt she might burst. But they had to make it through the rest of the wedding.

    At the end of the dance the music changed to something upbeat and Violet threw her arms around her boyfriend unable to hold back another moment, burying her face in his chest. He hugged her back immediately but seemed concerned.

    "Vi? You okay?"

    "I''m fine," she insisted. "I wanted to hug you, that''s all."

    There was a definite smile in his voice when he responded. "Oh, alright. You know my arms are open to you any time."

    She did know that. They always had been, though she rarely took advantage of it before they started dating. It was her loss. Inside Noah''s arms was a wonderful ce to be.

    Violet remained distracted through the rest of the party but they couldn''t get away with leaving because there were so few guests. But being there with her feelings bottled up was killing her. She picked at the cake even though it had been purchased from one of the best bakeries in New York.

    Her mother noticed, frowning in her direction as they all chatted around a table set up in the corner. "Are you feeling alright, sweetie?"

    Now would be the perfect time to bow out. She silently thanked her mother for the opportunity before speaking. "Not really. I think it might be in my best interest to go home and lie down."

    Turning to the happy couple, who was too wrapped up in each other to pay much heed to anything else, she gave them the sincerest congrattions she could muster. "You make a beautiful bride, Aunt Mandy. I wish both of you a lifetime of happiness."

    They both beamed at her. Coming from Michael Gray, it was a bit disconcerting; nevertheless, she smiled back. Noah gave his congrattions as well on their way out the door.

    Once they were outside the conference room, he raised an eyebrow at her. "I thought you said you were okay earlier."

    "I was a bit antsy to get outside," Violet saidmely.

    He led her by the hand to an atrium to the left of the main lobby. It was surprisingly empty for a Friday night. Everyone must be at dinner. They sat down on a stone bench behind a fountain.

    "This isn''t exactly outside but there are enough nts in here that the air should be fresh," Noah reasoned. "What had you antsy? Is it because you don''t like your uncle?"

    She shook her head. That wasn''t it at all. They weren''t at home yet but she supposed here was a better ce than the middle of someone else''s wedding reception. There was nothing holding her back now.

    Violet gently rested a hand on the side of his face and smiled sweetly at him. Here goes nothing.

    "It was because I was thinking of how much I love your face¡­and the rest of you. You''re the only one for me, Noah. I can honestly say that I''m in love with you and my feelings overwhelmed me a bit back there. It took everything in me not to hug you before that first dance was over."

    He blinked at her for a moment beforeughing out of pure happiness. "So that was it, huh? I truly can''t tell you how long I''ve been waiting for you to say that. Now I can do this."

    Noah slid off the bench and onto one knee, pulling a ring box out of his pocket. Violet''s hands flew up to cover her mouth out of instinct. He was proposing to her? Here? Why on earth was he even carrying that around at someone else''s wedding?!

    Noah looked up at her as if she were as beautiful as the stars in the night sky as he popped the box open. A beautiful but understated ring twinkled there. Exactly her style.

    "Marry me, Violet," he said simply. "I''ve loved you since before I knew what that even meant and I promise to continue loving you until the day I die. I have been, am, and always will be yours."

    Tears sprang to her eyes at the simple but true words he spoke. He had always been hers, even if she didn''t know it. He was hers now. And he would be for the rest of their lives. That promise was all she needed.

    She couldn''t stop herself from tackling him to the ground before he even had the chance to get up. "Of course I''ll marry you," she practically sobbed.

    Noah held her tightly and pressed his lips against her hair several times, unable to help himself. When she tilted her head up to look at him he switched to kissing her lips instead. Violet responded to his kisses eagerly,pletely forgetting that they were in public.

    They came to their senses eventually and broke apart, giving Noah the chance to slide the ring onto her finger. Violet admired it as it sparkled in the light.

    "When did you get this? And why did you happen to have it on you?"

    He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Believe it or not I bought it on impulse the day you said you would give me a chance. I''ve had it on me at all times ever since because I never knew when you would finally tell me you loved me, wanting to do it then."

    Sheughed in disbelief. "Seriously? What if I had told you I loved you the day after? Would you have only dated me for a day before getting engaged?"

    He shrugged. "I didn''t see a reason to dy it. Dating is meant to be used as a time for people to discover whether or not they''repatible. I know practically everything about you after a lifetime together. There wasn''t a point in waiting."

    Violet supposed she could see his point. They had been acting like they were dating for years before they actually were due to the natural closeness of their rtionship. There was no reason to wait.

    Now that she knew she loved him, she didn''t want to dy starting the rest of their life together either. She would marry him tomorrow if she didn''t know her brothers would never forgive her. That meant waiting at least until baseball season was over and Oliver coulde home from Boston to visit.

    "Let''s get married in November," Violet said suddenly. "Everyone will be home for Thanksgiving anyway and it''ll give us just enough time to send invitations out to the people living farther away."

    "Works for me. But we should probably wait to tell our families until tomorrow. It''s bad form to get engaged at someone else''s wedding," Noah replied with a smirk.

    She rolled her eyes at him. They had already left the wedding before getting engaged. But it wouldn''t kill them to wait a little longer so she conceded.

    Without any warning, he scooped her up in his arms and began walking toward the underground parking garage. Her face heated when she realized people were staring at them but Noah didn''t care. He practically floated to the elevator, looking happier than she had ever seen him before.

    The second the elevator door closed he mmed his lips on hers and they kissed all the way down to the third bas.e.m.e.nt level. Violet was pretty sure she knew where this was going but she didn''t care. She loved him. Really, truly loved him. Anything was fine as long as she got to be with Noah forever.

    ===

    Neither set of parents was surprised at their announcement or how quickly they wanted to get married. This had been a long timeing and everyone knew it.

    Keeley and Jennica got to work helping with wedding preparations right away. First they focused on getting engagement pictures taken and announcements sent out. Then came booking a venue, band, cake, and so on.

    A ridiculouslyrge amount of female family friends came along to help Violet pick out her wedding dress. She was fairly certain that every woman in the Quinn, rk, and Griffith families came along with her, her mother, and Jennica.

    Everyone oohed and ahhed over the potential choices until she settled on an off-shoulderce princess-style gown. Elsa Quinn, L rk, and her fellow ballerina Abigail were going to be her bridesmaids and they picked out their dresses, which would be ballet-slipper pink.

    Violet thought she was going to lose her mind over all the tiny details such as flowers and centerpieces for the tables. It was going back to work that saved her sanity.

    She showed up in the middle of rehearsals for thest show of the year before The Nutcracker so she was given an ensemble part but was too excited to care. Any part was better than nothing!

    It felt like every moment outside of rehearsals was spent nning the wedding. She hardly even saw Noah unless he was helping her make insignificant decisions. It felt like the whole thing had gotten wildly out of her control but she reminded herself again and again that it was only one more month. Then she would never have to worry about getting married again.

    One night she and her mother had stayed up sote trying to figure out venue decorations that they fell asleep on the couch together. Aaron had moved them to proper beds in the middle of the night so Violet was in her old room when she was awoken by an earsplitting shriek.

    Disheveled but suddenly wide awake, she ran downstairs and saw her mother sobbing and kneeling on the floor with her phone clutched in her hand.

    "What is it? What''s wrong?" Violet demanded, right as her father joined her with his shirt only half buttoned and a panicked look on his face.

    Keeley grinned at them through her tears. She held out her phone for them to see. A press release filled the screen that read ''The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute has today decided to award the 2040 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Keeley M. Hale for her discovery of a viable form of gene therapy to treat gic diseases.''

    "You won," she said faintly, letting it sink in.

    Her mother had devoted decades of her life to her research and now she had received one of the most prestigious awards in the world for it. Since it''s conception in 1901, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine had gone out to less than 300 people in the entire world. And now Keeley was one of them.

    Aaron snapped out of his shock first, lifting his wife in the air and spinning her around with a crazy grin on his face. "You did it! I knew you could!"

    She continuedughing and crying at the same time, trying her best to wipe away the onught of overjoyed tears. "I can''t believe it. The announcement came out a while ago because Sweden is six hours ahead of us but I didn''t see it until now. You''d think they''d give me a little warning beforehand!"

    Keeley checked her email and saw that she had already been sent tickets and instructions on attending the award ceremony in December. Violet''s face fell. December. One of the ballet''s busiest times of year. There was no way she would be able to get time off to see her mother get the award in person.

    Unless¡­ She frantically checked her phone calendar. December 10th was a Monday. The Nutcracker always ran on the same schedule, Thursday-Sunday. If she could get the director to give her the matinee and evening shows off that Sunday, she would be able to fly to Stockholm the day before and see her mother''s moment of glory.

    Violet asked him the moment she breathlessly arrived at rehearsals. He looked at her like she was an idiot.

    "Violet, your mother just won a Nobel Prize. Of course that''s more important than a couple of performances here. I haven''t even assigned parts yet but I''ll make sure someone can cover you that day."

    That was much easier than expected. Kaleb was able toe no problem because it would be during his off-season. Oliver would have to miss a couple of days of ss right before finals but his professors agreed not to penalize him because of the unique circ.u.mstances. The same went for Nathan. All of the Hales were cleared to go.

    As for Noah, who would be Keeley''s son-inw by then, the dojo owner agreed to let him have the time off too. Everything seemed to be falling in ce, though everything got crazier for Violet''s poor mother once the announcement was made.

    She did her best to continue bncing work, helping her daughter wedding n, and dealing with swarms of curious people on the street who had heard the news. When she and Violet went out for a dress fitting they were mobbed by no less than twenty avid science fans.

    Keeley was as polite as possible at first, trying to answer people''s questions as best she could but when someone identally knocked Violet down she went into total Mama Bear Mode.

    "Look, I''m here trying to help my daughter prepare for her wedding and we don''t have time for this right now," she growled as she helped her up.

    Sensing her malice, the crowd dissipated immediately. Violet rolled her eyes and smiled indulgently. "It''s rough to be a celebrity, isn''t it?"

    Her mother sighed wearily, sagging as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. "You have no idea. I love science but all I''ve ever wanted is a peaceful life. First I was famous because of your father. Now because of my research. Someone as normal as me isn''t worth freaking out over, honestly."

    She gave her mother a side hug. "Someone as talented as you can''t be considered normal, Mom. You better get used to it."

    ===

    Things settled down a little in the weeks following the big announcement. As Violet''s wedding drew closer, she ended up spending a lot of time with Kaleb, who had finallye home when the season ended.

    When he first saw her he gave her a big hug andughed. "I''m gone for a few months and the whole world turns upside down."

    Of course he still stayed in contact with his family as best he could while on the road but he still hadn''t been present for two of the biggest events to ever happen in his family. Everyone told him what happened afterwards but it wasn''t the same.

    The weekend before the wedding, Noah had a karate tournament to chaperone so Violet was lounging around her apartment with her freeloading twin. He had decided to stay with her rather than their parents to spend more time with her until she was, ording to him, ''gone forever.''

    "I''m always with Noah anyway," she informed him irately. "It isn''t like things are going to be all that different."

    Kaleb sighed dramatically and rolled over on the couch. "You say that now but wait until you have cute little baby Violets and Noahs running around. Then you''ll never have time for me anymore."

    Violet scoffed. "Please. You''re busier than I am for half of the year. And the other half will likely be spent loafing around at my ce or mom and dad''s until you find a girlfriend."

    His expression turned sour. "We can''t all marry someone tailor-made for us after a lifetime of best friendship, Vi. You have no idea how hard it is to find someone who likes me for me rather than my fame."

    A pang of guilt went through her. It was true that she didn''t know what that was like. She had been too flippant with him. Shey a hand on his arm as constion.

    "I''m sorry, Kal. I didn''t mean to bring up something painful. I''m sure you''ll find somebody someday; maybe after your baseball career is over."

    "People can stay in the majors until they''re in their forties! I don''t want to be single that long!" he protested. "You''re making me feel worse."

    "If you want to go the childhood friend route there''s always L or Elsa," Violet suggested, resulting in her twin throwing a pillow at her head.

    She supposed she deserved that for teasing him. His problems were so out of her element that she didn''t know how to offer him valid advice though. Her career wasn''t nearly as in the spotlight as his was and she had always had Noah waiting in the wings for her. Her situation was entirely different from his.

    "Why do I even bother with you," he grumbled.

    Violet grinned at him. "Because you love me."

    Kaleb said and dr.a.p.ed his arm over his eyes. "Whatever. At least I probably won''t be thest one in our family to get married. Oliver has no interest in girls; he''s married to engineering."

    She thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. He loved his intended career path as much as their mother loved gics and she had managed to have a happy and healthy marriage. The only catch was that he would need to find someone to support his career the way their father supported Keeley''s.

    He was going to be insufferable from here on out, going on about how his wife had won a Nobel Prize to anyone who would listen. He was like that every time she made a ssh in the science world but this was more like a tidal wave than a ssh.

    Sitting up, Kaleb became more serious. "I am happy for you though, Vi. Don''t mind my bitter grumbling. Noah is probably the best guy I know and he''s always adored you so you''re bound to be spoiled rotten for the rest of your life."

    Violet did feel pretty spoiled already but she wasn''t about to give him the satisfaction of saying so. She mussed up his hair, resulting in a minor scuffle. They hadn''t mock-fought like this in years and the nostalgia made her smile.

    Yes, she was getting married and starting a family of her own, but her brothers would always be her family too. Despite his bitterness about being single, she was sure Kaleb knew that.

    ===

    Thanksgiving fell on the 22nd of November that year and Violet wanted to be sure that their anniversary was never on the day of the holiday, which was always the fourth Thursday of the month. So they chose to get married the Sunday before since their brothers were home from college.

    The bridal shower (held by her mother) and the bachelorette party (held by Abigail) were done and all she had to do was show up the following morning and it would be all be over. She and Noah were going on a honeymoon to Jamaica and then they would finally be left in peace.

    The holidays were normally one of the craziest times of year for ballerinas considering the poprity of The Nutcracker but her director had been surprisingly considerate this year. Because of her impending marriage, the fact that she had barelye back to work, and that she would be missing a few performances, Violet had been assigned the simple role of a snowke in the first act and a flower in the second.

    He had told her not to getcent though; as soon as they got back to work on their next show in January he had confided that she would be one of the leads again. "Nobody dances quite like you, Violet. We''ve missed your talent around here while you were recovering from your injury," the director had confided.

    It had made her smile. He could be an overly harsh man at times but he still knew how to appreciate the hard work his dancers put in.

    Violet sighed as she stroked the cat in herp. Her mother was having her stay overnight at her old home so it would be easier to help her get ready in the morning. It was strange to think that this would probably be thest time she ever slept here.

    Kaleb had orchestrated an entire day of sibling bonding between the four of them that consisted mostly of ying board and card games. They had rounded it off by watching some home movies from when they were kids. Weddings tended to make people nostalgic.

    He and Nathan had fallen asleep already so only she and Oliver were left watching. The scene on the screen now was from when Violet was ten. She was ying the violin while Nathan, still a toddler, spun in circles to the music until he got dizzy and fell down on top of a sleeping cat. That hadn''t ended well.

    Oliverughed and shook his head when that clip merged into the next one. "Our poor cats have been through so much over the years."

    She nced down at Sassy in herp. She had been the victim of that particr episode. Poor thing. It was good that she had found peace in her old age. Since she and Noah didn''t n to have children for at least a few more years so she could continue dancing, the cat most likely wouldn''t live long enough to be tortured by toddlers again.

    "Yeah, they have," Violet agreed.

    The next video had been taken at Oliver''s sixth birthday party. Aaron had rented out an entire fun center for the day because of how many people hade. All of their family friends were there on top of most of his kindergarten ss.

    This particr clip was of bumper cars. There weren''t enough for each child to have their own so most cars seated two. Some of them zoomed by in pursuit of people to bump. Others kept running into the wall.

    Oliver, who was paired with Liam, had been particrly set on getting revenge on Kaleb and Logan since they kept bumping their car. Those four were the focus of the video but in the background you could see Violet and Noah''s car spinning wildly out of control until they bumped into a wall.

    "That''s it; I''m driving," she insisted breathlessly.

    She took over the wheel, even from the strange angle she was at, and expertly maneuvered the car so they bumped some of Oliver''s school friends and caused a five cat pileup. Everyone started shouting at her but she only looked smug.

    This made Oliver crack up even more than thest video had. "You really were something, sis."

    Violet shrugged, a small smile on her face. "If you say so."

    Suddenly he grew more serious. "It really is crazy how many of these videos Noah is in. We''ve been watching for nearly an hour now and he''s in about half."

    To be fair, most of these videos had been taken on special asions. The Singletons, as some of the Hales'' closest friends, had been present for most of those. But Noah did show up in more of these videos than his brother because he had always been glued to Violet''s side.

    He was in most of her childhood pictures too. From the time Noah could crawl they were usually found by each other''s sides. The ones he was in with her tended to have Kaleb too. They had been the three musketeers for a good chunk of their lives even though her brother imed he always felt like a third wheelter on.

    Once he started doing his own thing, they hung out by themselves much more frequently. But those asions were so casual that there usually wasn''t a reason to take pictures so the majority of their pictures remained as group shots.

    The way Oliver said it reminded Violet of how he had teased her about being married to Noah too back when she was still oblivious. "Did you know that Noah had feelings for me too?" she asked curiously.

    He looked at her indulgently. "Pretty sure you were the only one who didn''t, to be perfectly honest. Nobody spends all of their free time with one person if they aren''t in love with them. I had him pegged when he was in middle school."

    She should have known. Noah had been a constant in her life for longer than she could remember. Since she was the type to prefer one close friend over a bunch of casual ones, she had thought he was the same and that was why they clicked.

    As it turned out, Noah was a lot more social than she was but preferred herpany over all others and that was why he always made time for her. That was actually pretty sweet.

    "He''s basically part of our family anyway so if you had to marry anyone, I''m d it''s him," Oliver continued. "I don''t have to give him the third degree like with your other boyfriends because it''spletely obvious he would never do anything to hurt you."

    Funny how every male member of her family had said something like that since she and Noah started dating. She supposed that was a benefit of marrying someone who had been around your entire life.

    "Yeah, he wouldn''t," she agreed before changing the subject. "So¡­do you have your eye on anyone these days?"

    Her brother snorted. "Please. I''m gone with general ed so all of my sses are high level engineering ones. Do you have any idea how many females major in mechanical engineering? There are maybe ten in the whole major and they all have boyfriends."

    That sounded an awful lot like an excuse to her. He did practically live in the engineering building but school wasn''t the only ce to meet girls.

    Violet raised an eyebrow at him and he caved. "Alright, alright. One of my neighbors is pretty cute. We usually doundry at the same time in the bas.e.m.e.nt of our building and she always smiles at me. Happy?"

    "Tell me more," she requested.

    Tomorrow was going to be all about her and Noah. Right now she wanted to hear more about the life of the brother she saw the least often. Since Kaleb was typically home for months at a time during the off-season, she had seen him a lot more than she had seen Oliver in the past few years.

    They ended up talking about everything from his crush to how he hadnded a coveted spot interning at NASA in the spring and eventually both joined their brothers by falling asleep on the gigantic couch.

 Chapter 537: Our Babies Have Grown Up

    <h4>Chapter 537: Our Babies Have Grown Up</h4>

    Keeley''s heart was full when she came downstairs in the morning and found all four of her children asleep on the couch in the entertainment room. Thest time this had happened was probably when the twins were in middle school.

    Feeling sentimental, she snapped a picture of the cuteness before gently waking her daughter up. They needed to get ready so Violet wouldn''t bete to her own wedding.

    Sleepily, she let her mother lead her upstairs to the master bathroom and remained quiet andpliant as her hair and makeup were done. Keeley had to stifle augh. She waspletely out of it and probably didn''t even register what was happening.

    "Eat something before putting on lipstick," she encouraged.

    Violet consumed a banana with her eyes still half-closed, acting as if on autopilot. Howte had she stayed up with her brothers anyway?

    She didn''t fully wake up until it was time to change out of her button up shirt and into her wedding dress. At that point she stared at herself in the mirror with a smile, twirling back and forth to admire the view from every angle.

    "You look like a princess," Aaron said in a slightly choked up voice.

    Keeley hadn''t noticed hime in. He must have been wondering what was taking them so long. He was already in his tuxedo and looked quite dashing.

    Violet beamed at him. "Thanks, Dad."

    He immediatelyposed himself and addressed his wife. "Sweetheart, you need to get ready. The boys are already dressed."

    She excused herself and changed into the matching purple ''mother of the bride'' dress that she had gotten with Jennica. It was crazy that their babies were getting married. To each other. Where had the time gone?

    It felt like the days when the two of them had been visiting each other''s houses nearly every day because little Violet and Noah would throw fits if they couldn''t y together weren''t that long ago. But now those kids were all grown up and starting a family of their own.

    By the time Keeley made her way downstairs, her sons were a visible mess. All of them had gotten emotional seeing their only sister in her wedding dress.

    "I know the wedding photographer will probably take a million picturester but I want to get onest one of the Hale siblings together before one of them bes a Singleton," she said.

    Normally her kids weren''t at all cooperative about group photos but this time theyplied. Perhaps because it was a special day. Nathan, being the goofball he was, tried to lighten the mood by picking his sister up.

    Kaleb caught onto what he was doing immediately and gestured to Oliver so they could all hold her up together. Violetughed at their antics and ended up doing an uncharacteristically silly pose while being suspended in the air.

    It was a great picture, truly capturing the essence of the rtionship between the four of them. Keeley was going to put this one in a frame on the wall for sure.

    Realizing they would bete if they didn''t leave right now, she hustled her family out the door and down to the parking garage. They arrived at the venue only fifteen minutes before the wedding was going to start. Everyone else had arrived but them.

    Violet was ushered into a side room by her bridesmaids, most of whom were already holding their bouquets. L fussed over the hem of her dress before handing the most borate bouquet to her friend.

    "You look gorgeous, Violet. You''re going to knock him dead," she informed her before tearing up. "You two really are perfect for each other. I''m so happy for you."

    She hugged L tightly, feeling the emotional charge of the moment. Keeley watched the two of them fondly before Jennica came in and reminded her that she needed to be in her seat.

    The immediate families of the bride and groom were sitting together at the front with the exception of those involved in the ceremony. Keeley and Jennica were sandwiched in between Cameron and Oliver and whispered together before the ceremony started.

    "Can you believe we joked about this for so many years? I can''t believe it''s actually happening," Jennica said thickly.

    Keeley understood what she meantpletely. It waspletely obvious those two would get married eventually once they started dating but before that she had never dreamed it would actually happen.

    Violet had been in denial about her feelings for so long. She held back self-deprecatingughter when she thought about how that particr character trait must run in the family. She had been in denial about her love for Aaron for a very long time.

    "Our babies have grown up," Keeley replied with the same amount of emotion in her own voice.

    Cameron caught onto the conversation and ended up patting his wife''s arm tofort her. Everyone quieted as soon as the music began.

    A couple of Noah''s younger cousins had been chosen to be the flower girl and ring bearer. They came down the aisle first and were followed by L and Kaleb, Logan and Elsa, then Abigail and Noah''s friend James.

    The music changed to the bridal march and Violet appeared at the top of the aisle arm in arm with her father, looking like an angel. Her smile was brighter than Keeley had ever seen it and her heart was fit to burst seeing how happy her daughter was.

    A nce towards the front of the room showed that Noah had teared up at the sight of her. Ah, those two were so cute!

    Aaron gruffly handed Violet off to him and took a seat between his sons after she kissed his cheek. Keeley reached behind Oliver to pat him on the shoulder. She could tell he was feeling the same way she was now. Their baby was getting married; any parent would get emotional about that.

    The bride and groom had written their own vows and parental tears started flowing freely once Violet and Noah earnestly looked into each other''s eyes and began to profess their love for each other.

 Chapter 538: Vows

    <h4>Chapter 538: Vows</h4>

    Violet said her vows first.

    "Growing up I wanted to have a rtionship like my parents'' someday without realizing I already had that with you. We have had each other''s backs since we were toddlers and you are the one person in this world who truly understands me.

    "I have always loved you for that, Noah. You''ve always been my voice of reason, my favorite person to talk to about anything and everything, and the best fan a ballerina could ever hope for. I have more fun with you than anyone else but I feel the most rxed when I''m with you too."

    Sheughed slightly before continuing. "In terms of supporting each other, I suppose a best friend and a spouse really aren''t that different. I promise to retain my role as your best friend but I also promise to show you how wonderful you are and how much I love you for the rest of our lives."

    Noah''s grip on her hands grew tighter and his wide smile threatened to crack his face. Every second since she had appeared in front of him wearing her wedding dress seemed like a dream. This was actually happening after so many years of hopeless wishing.

    He had to clear his throat before starting to say his vows because he was getting choked up looking at his bride. Something about her had been radiant ever since she was a child but it was even more apparent than usual today as she beamed at him with her heart in her eyes.

    "After we got engaged, my mom teased me a lot about how I used to say I was going to marry you all the time when I was little. Violet, I''ve been in love with you since before I even knew what that meant.

    "You are the kindest, most beautiful, most talented person I have ever had the good fortune to meet. Every day by your side has been a blessing. I can honestly say that I wouldn''t be the person I am today if I hadn''t been your best friend. I promise to spend the rest of my life proving to you that you made the right choice in marrying me."

    The officiator concluded the ceremony once the vows were said and Noah was allowed to kiss his wife. He dipped her backwards as his arms tightened around her and the kiss deepened. It was a really good thing she was wearing smear-proof lipstick.

    Cheers and catcalls (probably from their brothers) arose from the crowd, bringing Noah back to earth. They still had to get through the reception before he would be able to continue where they left off.

    There were dozens of people to talk to, a luncheon to eat, and a program to follow. Everything passed in a blissful blur up until it was time for their first dance as a married couple.

    The one thing Violet refused to let anyone take from her during the nning process was the ability to choreograph her own first dance. They had practiced on the slick hardwood floor of the kitchen in her¡ªnow their¡ªapartment.

    It was during one of those casual dance practices that she informed him he threw her off her groove. "You aren''t like any of my other dance partners. My heart races when I dance with you."

    In a strange way, it was the highestpliment she could give him. Noah knew all too well how she regarded all of her male partners over the years as nothing but another part of the dance. He had seen it first hand before she had fallen in love with him¡ªhe was a wreck from how close they were and she hadn''t been affected at all.

    The fact that her opinion had changed meant she truly did love him as a man rather than as a friend. He had been so touched by it that he couldn''t resist breaking the flow of the dance they were practicing by pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

    Violet''s eyes sparkled as they glided across the dance floor to a love song that had been popr when they were teenagers. She hadn''t stopped smiling at him since the music began.

    The depths of those dark blue eyes pulled him in. Noah never wanted to stop gazing into them but the song ended and other people joined them on the dance floor both to dance and to chat.

    Kristen and Scott shot him synchronized not-so-subtle thumbs ups from a few yards away. He rolled his eyes but grinned at them anyway.

    So many people had shown up to celebrate today. The rks, Quinns, and Griffiths were all there because they were as good as family. His uncle Brian''s family and the majority of the extended Singleton n had shown up as well.

    Violet''s uncle and his wife chatted off in the corner with Aaron, Keeley, and the rest of Mandy''s family. Most of her fellow dancers from the New York City Ballet were here as well. Plus the dojo owner and a few of Noah''s older students.

    People from all parts of their lives hade here in honor of their love. Though it was exhausting trying to ept everyone''s congrattions, Noah was touched by how many people came.

    When he was little, he wanted to marry Violet because he thought it meant he would be able to see her all the time like his parents did. As he got older and fell deeper in love with his best friend he became more confident it would happen since they were closer than anyone else.

    Until she started dating other people and he realized he was in real danger of being left behind. Figuring having her in his life at all was better than not, he let himself sit back and wait until he thought he would lose his mind.

    Noah was actually grateful for all of the heartache that had yed out over thest year. Without it, his long-standing dream of marrying his best friend wouldn''t have evere true. Nobody was happier or more at peace with the universe than he was that day.

 Chapter 539: A Father-Daughter Dance

    <h4>Chapter 539: A Father-Daughter Dance</h4>

    Aaron didn''t want to admit it, but he had been an emotional wreck from the moment he met up with his baby girl at the top of the aisle. He didn''t cry through sheer force of will. Keeley started bawling during the ceremony and her tears were nearly contagious.

    Once the first dance was over, a few faster paced songs were yed so the couple had time to chat with people. Michael and Mandy were in the middle of telling the little group they stood in about their month-long honeymoon touring Europe when the next slow song came on and he excused himself.

    A father-daughter dance hadn''t been scheduled in the program but he wanted a few minutes alone with his little girl on her big day. Things were going to be different after this since she would have a family of her own that would take priority now.

    "Mind if I borrow her for a moment?" Aaron asked Noah gruffly.

    He handed her off cheerfully and went off in search of his mother so they could dance too. It had been decades since he had danced formally at a high society event but he still remembered the basics and was able to do more than move in an awkward circle.

    Violet was surprised, to say the least. "Dad! I didn''t know you could dance."

    "I''m a man of many talents," he said dryly.

    Aaron didn''t want to ruin the mood by exining how and why he had learned how to ballroom dance. She was so happy right now and didn''t need to be reminded of his negative past.

    She simply smiled at him and his heart twanged. Violet really did look so much like her mother when she smiled, even though the rest of the time she resembled him more. Their little girl had grown into such a beautiful, wonderful young woman.

    He couldn''t believe the time hade to let her go. Unlike her brothers, she never had any real desire to branch out. She was perfectly content to stay at home with her parents where things werefortable.

    Sometimes Aaron had wondered if she would ever move on. He had wanted that for her¡ªeveryone had to leave the nest eventually¡ªbut now that she had, he felt the loss acutely.

    They would still probably see each other a few times a month since they were in the same city but she wasn''t a Hale anymore. As a married woman, her husband and eventual children would be her new priority.

    He smiled softly at his daughter. "Be sure to visit us, okay Vi?"

    Sheughed lightly. "You''re acting like I''m moving away instead of getting married. We''ll still be in and out of your house taking advantage of mom''s cooking all the time."

    Violet grew more serious as they continued waltzing around the floor. "I hope you know how much I appreciate you and Mom. You guys gave me the best childhood I could''ve had and have loved me and supported me through all of my decisions.

    "You especially¡­you didn''t have good role models but you''re still the most amazing father in the whole world. It couldn''t have been easy for you but you didn''t let your past hold you down. Thank you for that. I love you, Daddy."

    It had been years since she had called him that; iming it was too childish. But right now she was looking at him with the same amount of adoration she had when she was little.

    Aaron hadn''t told his children much about his past, not wanting to burden them. Violet knew the most because of all those questions she had asked about Michael when she was suspicious about their rtionship so her praise meant the world to him.

    Now he was in the most danger of crying that he had been all day. "I love you too, Vi."

    At the end of the song, they hugged for a full minute before she went bouncing off back to her husband''s side. A sense of satisfaction flooded through him. He had truly done it. The past waspletely behind him, in more ways than one.

    Thest piece of the puzzle had fallen into ce when he and his brother started mending their strained rtionship. It had been awkward at first and he wasn''t entirely sure he could trust the changes Michael imed to be making.

    But Mandy was an excellent influence on him. He had quit dealing with his contacts in the underworld cold turkey and had gone back to school to catch up on today''s technology in hopes of getting back into app development.

    With his false persona gone, he didn''t seem nearly as sinister as he once did. Michael smiled much more since his wife came into his life and showed that he actually had a decent sense of humor that didn''t involveughing at other people''s expense.

    The real Michael Gray wasn''t half bad. Spending time with him wasn''t a chore anymore; it was something that Aaron actually looked forward to a little bit. Just like with any of his other friends.

    Aaron rejoined the group he had left to dance with Violet and found that they were talking about the Nobel Prize award ceremonying up in a few weeks.

    "You shoulde with us," Keeley said. "Families of theureates are all invited to the banquet and I don''t have any rtives left outside Aaron and the kids. I''m sure brothers-inw count."

    Michael seemed genuinely touched by the invitation. "We would love to be there. We don''t have anything going on then, right Mandy?"

    His wife shook her head. "The only thing we have going on in December is spending Christmas Day with Britt''s family. They''re with Jason''s parents on Christmas Eve every year." Brittany nodded along to attest to what her mother was saying while still keeping an eye on her young son.

    "You shoulde to our house then," Aaron contributed lightly. "Keeley always makes too many treats for us to possibly finish on our own anyway."

    His brother grinned at him. "That would be great."

    Aaron felt himself rxing as he thought about how all of the people he cared about were happily forging ahead on the paths they had chosen. No one would ever control his children the way he had been controlled.

    Not following in his father''s footsteps had produced a ballerina, a baseball yer, a rocket scientist, and a chef. Following their passions was much more important than inheriting the family business. Jeremy would do a great job keeping Hale Investments on top without having to burden his children.

 Chapter 540: The Single Losers Table

    <h4>Chapter 540: The Single Losers'' Table</h4>

    The Hale brothers watched their sister feed her new husband bites of cake without much of an appetite. They were happy for her¡ªof course they were¡ªbut felt an odd sense of loss.

    Logan plopped down at their table with his own slice of cake and sighed, noticing where they were staring. "Family gatherings are going to be fifty times mushier now that Violet loves Noah back. Those two really know how to make a guy feel single."

    All of them could agree with that. Oliver was considering biting the bullet and asking out his neighbor as soon as he got back to Massachusetts. He had never been on a date before because he had always preferred machinery to women but Cindy was both pretty and funny so he figured it was worth a shot.

    "Ah, don''t be like that Logan! I think they''re cute," Elsa said.

    Their table had quickly be a gathering ce for the children of Aaron and his former shareholders. Natalie Griffith and her brother Damien were off at another table with their significant others and Jonathan rk, who was a good friend of theirs.

    Liam was off flirting with a ballerina and his younger brother Alex and Macie rk were hanging out with some of Noah''s karate students since they were still in high school. But everyone else was here eating cake with people they knew instead of mingling properly like the single losers they were.

    "That''s because you''re a girl," Logan said dismissively. "It''s different if you''re a guy."

    Elsa rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You can go ahead and rain on everyone''s parade if you want to. I happen to think Violet and Noah are perfect for each other."

    "No one''s disputing that," L pointed out. "I called it happening ages ago."

    Nathanughed and waved a forkful of cake around. "We all did. Those two have been velcroed to each other''s sides since before I was born."

    "Since before any of you were born," Kaleb said a bit sourly. "It''s like they were tailor made for each other."

    L jokingly patted his hand to make him feel better and he blushed. She looked awfully pretty today in her bridesmaid dress. He had never noticed that before. His blush grew worse when he remembered how Violet had teased him about going for either L or Elsa.

    Elsa was Nathan''s age but L was only a couple of years younger than him. Since he was usually hanging out with the newlyweds at group activities growing up he hadn''t spent a lot of one-on-one time with her. She had trailed after the older kids for a while but after getting ignored too many times she tended to stick with Liam, Logan, and Oliver.

    She had been on the periphery of most major family events in his life. Since the Hales didn''t have any extended family, the rks, Quinns, Singletons, and Griffiths had ended up filling that role.

    L had been at a lot of barbecues, beach trips, dinners, and birthday parties growing up but Kaleb didn''t have much of an impression of her. He might have to ask Oliver more about herter and survive the inevitable ribbing that followed.

    "Maybe I should try dating too," Nathan said with a yawn.

    Elsa scoffed at that. "You''re too immature to date anyone! Try growing up a little first."

    He stuck his tongue out at her in retaliation, effectively proving her point. Conversation and joking around flowed naturally at this table because of everyone''s familiarity with each other.

    Kaleb sighed. He really was happy for his sister and friend. They belonged together. But more and moretely he felt like there would never be a person like that for him. He was too famous; women only wanted to be with him for the bragging rights.

    Once the cake was eaten, the bouquet and garter tosses were up next. Most of Violet''s ballerina friends, Elsa, L, and some of Noah''s cousins eagerly grouped up to see who would catch it.

    The bouquetnded right in L''s open arms and her face lit up. She shook it above her head victoriously, which made Kaleb''s stomach flip flop for some reason.

    When it was time for the garter toss, Noah identally flung it directly into Kaleb''s face. He was beet red since the scrap ofcy fabric had been around his sister''s thigh less than a minute ago. Too weird!

    "Well now you two have to dance together," someone yelled out.

    Apparently it was a tradition for the people who caught the bouquet and garter to share a slow dance. Kaleb was a bit awkward about it but L didn''t seem to have a problem so off they went, joined on the dance floor by a bunch of other couples.

    He cleared his throat ufortably. "So¡­what have you been up totely?"

    Lughed at his attempt at conversation. "Still working the same dead end PR job, still living with my parents to save on rent, and still single. You?"

    "I''ve been subjected to death by wedding nning sinceing home when baseball season ended. But I''m going to Sweden in a few weeks to see my mom take home one of the most prestigious awards ever, so that''s cool I guess."

    She tilted her head curiously. "What do you normally do during the off-season?"

    Kaleb shrugged. "Take trips with friends if I can find anyone willing to go. Reconnect with people here. y a lot of video games with Nate and third wheel with the lovebirds. Not much, honestly."

    L pursed her lips. "Then why have you never tried to reconnect with me? I''ve hardly seen you since you went off to college."

    He blinked at her in surprise. He hadn''t bothered because they weren''t particrly close. Not that he was particrly close with any of the people he usually went out with but still¡­ It sounded almost like she was put out about that.

    "I didn''t know you wanted to," Kaleb said honestly. "Sorry about that. Do you want to go do something fun next weekend?"

    "Fun like what?"

    "There''s a group of people I went to high school with that frequently do escape rooms¡­you''re wee to join us." L didn''t seemed satisfied based on the look on her face so he amended his statement. "Or we could get dinner or something. Or both! Whatever you want."

    She smiled at him as the song ended and dropped her hands away. "Both sounds good. I can tell you all about my terrible job and you can tell me about life in Detroit and on the road."

    Kaleb liked the sound of that. When they returned to the single losers'' table he felt much more lighthearted than before.

 Chapter 541: Flawed Logic

    <h4>Chapter 541: wed Logic</h4>

    Violet''s wedding had been a beautiful experience but Keeley was d it was over. She had been running herself ragged in preparation for her daughter''s big day ever since they got engaged. The time in between the wedding and the trip to Sweden for the awards ceremony wasrgely spent dpressing.

    Until now, the day before, when she had to scramble around like a chicken with its head cut off to get everything done. Aaron originally wanted to go to Stockholm a few days in advance to look around and get used to the time difference but none of their kids could leave until the day before the ceremony. Keeley wanted everyone to go together so she could enjoy the experience of celebrating her greatest aplishment by spending time with her family.

    It would be a bit colder there than New York so they couldn''t exactly pack light. Hence the scrambling.

    "Do you have everything you need?" she fretted as Oliver worked on packing his suitcase nearby.

    "I forgot my beanie in Boston," he said sheepishly. "Do you happen to have an extra I could borrow?"

    "Yes, but it''s bright purple."

    "I can live with that," Oliver sighed, brightening when his phone dinged. He read the text with a half-smile on his face and responded immediately.

    Keeley raised an eyebrow. He normally wasn''t the type to be glued to his phone. "Who are you texting?"

    He flushed slightly. "My neighbor Cindy. We''ve gone out a few times since I got back from Thanksgiving break. She''s a bit like you, actually. She''s majoring in biology because her older sister has cystic fibrosis. She''s been using your treatment and is doing a lot better so Cindy is really excited about your Nobel Prize win."

    She had never once seen her son get fl.u.s.tered about a girl. This might be serious. "Does she know I''m your mom?"

    Oliver nodded. "She asked me for your autograph. If you don''t mind, I mean! I don''t want you to feel weird about it."

    Keeleyughed and tousled her son''s hair. "I''ve given a few autographs in my day. I''d love to do one for your friend."

    He seemed relieved and stuffed the offered purple beanie in his suitcase after thanking her. Young love was such a cute thing to witness. She wondered which of her sons would end up with a girlfriend first, Oliver or Kaleb. Thetter had been spending a surprising amount of time with L rktely; he was still out with her right now.

    She surveyed the living room, which had be the packing zone, and thought that everything was finally done other than things like toothbrushes that still needed to be used before their flight in the morning. Violet was a meticulous person; Keeley was sure she and Noah were already packed and ready to go to at their ce.

    Everyone would be meeting up at the airport in the morning. Aaron had reserved all of first ss so they would befortable since it was a long flight.

    Now that she was done packing, she was practically shaking with excitement and nerves. The whole world would be watching her soon. She had never gotten used to press coverage but it had always been minor before.

    As Mrs. Hale in her first life, she was only covered by local papers and tabloids. As Dr. Hale up until now, she had been featured in minor scientific journals. But the Nobel Prize awards were covered by media sources from all over the world. This was the biggest thing she had ever done.

    Oliver looked up from his phone long enough to see his mom start to hyperventte a little andid a hand on her arm. "Breathe, Mom."

    She let out all the air she had been holding in with a whoosh. "This is okay. I''m okay. I''m totally okay."

    Keeley wasn''t okay at all.

    ===

    She didn''t get a wink of sleep the night before they headed to Sweden despite Aaron''s best attempts to get her to rx. She was too wound up to even think about something like sleep! As a result, she was half-dead when they stumbled to the airport at 6:45 AM after picking up Violet and Noah.

    The rest of her family seemed tired too but they didn''t look nearly as bad as she did. Michael and Mandy met up with them at the gate thirty minutes before boarding began and he frowned after looking her up and down.

    "You don''t look like someone who is about to win one of the biggest awards in the world."

    His wifeughed. "I think she does. Couldn''t sleep due to nerves?"

    Keeley nodded. "Not a wink."

    Mandy linked arms with her and marched her over to the nearest coffee shop. Airports always had at least five of them scattered throughout to help weary travelers on their way.

    "This''ll help keep you awake long enough to board the ne. After that you should try to sleep the whole time. Tomorrow is a big day after all," she said gently.

    The coffee didn''t help. If anything, it made her more jittery. It was a good thing Aaron rented out all of first ss though. Once the effects of the coffee wore off, she was out like a light due to the rtive peace and quiet in the cabin.

    Most of them ended up sleeping for at least part of the flight. If they weren''t sleeping, they were watching movies or quietly talking among themselves. There was no guarantee it would have been that quiet if more people were in first ss.

    When they finally arrived, it was nearly 9 PM because of the time difference. The jetg really threw everyone off so they ended up going to dinner before trying to go to bed. They needed to be at the Stockholm Concert Hall pretty early the next day.

    Aaron had reserved a couple of adjoining suites at the nicest hotel in Stockholm so everyone would have their own bedrooms but still be close by to coordinate things. The Singletons, Grays, and Nathan were in one while everyone else was in the other.

    With both sons engrossed in their phones, Keeley had nothing to distract her and ended up lying on the king-sized bed and staring at the ceiling. She couldn''t believe this was actually happening.

    Tomorrow she would meet some of the most influential people in the entire world AND royalty. Royalty! All because of her research!

    "I don''t deserve this," she mumbled. "It''s too much."

    Aaron sat down next to her and gently brushed her hair off of her forehead. "Yes you do. You''ve worked extremely hard to get to where you are today."

    She sat up and looked down at her hands, voicing something that had been nagging at her for a few days. She had been too excited about the win to think about it before then. "Somebody else was supposed to earn this award, Aaron. I took their ce."

    To her surprise, heughed. Why was heughing? She was being serious!

    "Keeley, your logic is wed. If you think about it differently, in my past life that person only won because your superior research hadn''t been around. If you had lived before, you still would have won."

    He smiled softly at her. "Thinking about it like that is almost the same as thinking that all of the people who have been born because of the decisions we''ve made weren''t supposed to exist. Do you really believe our children and those of our friends aren''t supposed to exist?"

    When he put it that way she felt silly. Of course they were supposed to exist! This life was different than theirst one because the universe had allowed them to fix things. Keeley believed that everything happened the way it was supposed to in order to right a cosmic wrong.

    But she hadn''t thought much about the way other people had been affected. Alice had stayed married to Brock Kelly until she died. Aiden and Nova never met in person. Cameron and Jennica and Kyle and Selena might not have met either because their jobs had been different.

    She took a deep breath. "Thanks for being the rational one for me."

    "Anytime, my love," Aaron replied. "Go ahead and get ready for bed. The most important day in either of your lives awaits."

    That was something she didn''t need to be reminded of. Keeley did as she was told and curled up in the arms of the man she loved, trying her best not to overthink so she could get the sleep she desperately needed.

 Chapter 542: Two Lifetimes

    <h4>Chapter 542: Two Lifetimes</h4>

    The awards ceremony was white tie and Keeley had agonized over what to wear since she would be on live television in front of the entire world. In the end she settled on a seafoam green floor-length gown withce sleeves and Swarovski crystals bought in the shopping district she loathed. She wore the earrings she had bought for Hale Investments'' 100th anniversary party and the DNA ne Aaron had given her in high school for luck.

    The families of theureates and other honored guests sat near the very front of the concert hall. Theureates, speakers, and the royal family of Sweden were on the stage. Keeley couldn''t believe she was seated less than a hundred feet away from royalty.

    As the orchestra stopped ying the music for the royals to enter, everyone was finally able to sit down and the ceremony could begin. As the announcer for the day began outlining the program, she felt incredibly overwhelmed by all of the famous people in the room. She was ab rat, nothing more!

    Her eyes sought out her family sitting in the audience. They all noticed her looking and offered forms of encouragement such as smiles, nods, or subtle thumbs ups.

    The presentation of the prizes were given after a speech honoring eachureate''s work. Keeley was ted to go second tost of the five prizes. She wasn''t sure which she was more nervous about; shaking hands with the King of Sweden or giving a short speech at the banquetter.

    She struggled to keep her face nk with all of the cameras on her. If any focused on her face while she was stressing out it would be mortifying. She smiled and pped along when the asion called for it until it was her turn. Oh no.

    Someone whose name she couldn''t pronounce (she didn''t know Swedish) began their speech in honor of her achievements.

    "Doctor Keeley Marie Hale began her research into gene therapy as a cure for cystic fibrosis as a PhD student at New York University to honor the memory of herte brother, Kaleb Hall. She persisted where many have failed, moving through countless trials with different animals before making it to human trials.

    "She was the first to discover how to conduct gene therapy without causing tumors in the recipients, opening the door to countless gic diseases being able to use gene therapy as a treatment. Using her method, thousands of people with cystic fibrosis have essentially been cured since her treatment was approved over year ago. Clinical trials for other ailments such as sickle cell disease are already underway using her research as a basis. For this great achievement, we award her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine!"

    Keeley stood and walked over to where the medal was ced around her neck. Thunderous apuse echoed in her ears as she robotically made her way to the King of Sweden, who personally presented her with the apanying diploma.

    For a moment she stood there facing the audience as they continued to apud. It was surreal. Hundreds of people were pping for her.

    Cameras shed in her eyes, blinding her a little, but once she blinked the light away she saw her family. At such a prestigious and serious event catcalling was uneptable but they were pping as hard as they could with crazy grins on their faces.

    Violet. Noah. Kaleb. Nathan. Oliver. Even Michael and Mandy, though their reactions were a bit more reserved than her children''s. And dear Aaron.

    Her heart thudded erratically in her chest. For a split second it was as if all the sights and sounds had been stripped away. She saw nothing but him, beaming up at her and mouthing the words ''I love you'' when he caught her eye.

    None of this would have been possible without him. She never would have gotten the funding she needed to continue her research without his help. And he had been with her every step of the way, listening to her technobabble and helping her with the kids so she could achieve her dream.

    When Keeley started out, all she had wanted was to help people like her brother live normal, healthy lives. No one should have to spend their life going in and out of the hospital all the time or live in fear over a simple cold.

    She had never imagined getting this far. It had seemed like a dream¡ªa crazy, impossible dream. But she supposed winning a Nobel Prize wasn''t as impossible as reincarnation.

    When she was first reborn, Keeley''s sole focus had been fulfilling the dream she had abandoned to be the perfect socialite wife. She had thought that if she never met or interacted with Aaron that she would be able to get her PhD and hope to cure cystic fibrosis someday after an entire lifetime of dedicated work as a professor somewhere.

    What if she had never met Aaron in the first ce? Her options as a professor would have been much more limited. She probably wouldn''t have aplished a treatment until she was in her 60s, if at all.

    No one else would have been able to support such a goal-driven workaholic so even if she had married someone else it likely would have ended in divorce. Aaron understood her dream and wanted her to achieve it almost as much as she did after realizing the mistakes he made with her in their first life. Only he could support her dedication so fully.

    It had taken two lifetimes to stand here on this stage but everything had happened exactly the way it was supposed to. All of the pain she suffered in her first life only fired her up more about bing a gicist when she was reborn.

    Keeley had more than achieved her dream. She had a beautiful family who adored her. Life could not possibly be better than this.

    It was crazy how much a single moment could change the entire course of your future. Aaron had told her once that the reason he was initially interested in her was because she had offered him pencil lead without asking during the middle of a quiz. Such a simple, tiny action that set off a chain reaction spanning two lifetimes.

    So many people had been affected by the her persistence in trying to be friendly with a taciturn boy who seemed to want nothing to do with her. Some were born. Some died early. And many, many others lived longer. All because of the actions of an insignificant high school girl.

    The apuse began dying down as she made to return to her seat but Aaron was still grinning at her with eyes swimming with tears of pride even as the speech honoring the nextureate began. Their eyes remained locked on each other as she sat back down.

    Keeley was certain that her mother, father, and brother were watching her from wherever they were. She had always believed the loved ones who passed on were able to see them somehow down on earth even though she wasn''t particrly religious.

    More than once she had wondered if her mother or Kaleb had something to do with why she was reincarnated. If they had seen everything she went through in her first life and wanted everything to be reset so she could do it over right and pleaded with whatever force had been in charge of her and Aaron''s rebirths.

    Maybe she could ask them when they met again someday in the afterlife. In return, if they were to ask her if she would still reach out her hand to a cold, proud boy who had never had a real friend knowing the horrors she would face, Keeley would say yes. Without hesitation.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!