A/N: Just because it's Friday and I adore my readers to the moon and back, here's another update!

Enjoy!!! ♥

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~Aiden~

I sat in my car for hours. I just couldn't bring myself to drive home. My thoughts were only of her. Love wasn't supposed to be this hard. If it was, then what I had with Jewel wasn't love. I finally convinced myself that I needed to go home, take a shower and get some sleep to clear my head. I would see Breanna tomorrow.

But it was when I pulled onto the road that something kicked in and I realized I definitely wasn't going home. Pulling up to the parking lot of the apartment she'd mentioned she was staying in, I parked as best I could. And as fast as my body let me, I stumbled out of the car, my feet urgently trying to get me where my heart was telling me to go.

I couldn't understand why I was in such a hurry, but all I knew was, it was as if my life depended on getting there. There was not a sensible thought in my head about what I would say or do as I knocked on the door, but I waited for it to open. It seemed like hours had gone by when it finally opened and her head came around the door.

Her brows furrowed in confusion and she opened the door to see me standing there. She was wearing frilly shorts, fuzzy socks, and an Avengers tank top over which she wore an open-knit cardigan. Breanna's hair was in a glorious mess at the top of her head and her bright eyes questioned me.

“Aiden” there was surprise in her voice, “What are you doing here this late? Is something wr—”

“I grew up in North Finchley” I cut her off, lowering my eyes to my feet. “My father was a factory worker and my mother—”

“Aiden stop,” she told me.

I looked up at her and she shook her head.

“You don't have to do that.”

“But I do, Brie” I whispered.

I'd finally figured out what I needed to do. She needed to see how vulnerable I could get. I needed her to see that.

“I need you to see and know all of me,” I told her.

She opened the door wider and moved out of the doorway.

“Would you like to come in?”

Relief washed over me that she wasn't going to turn me away. I nodded and took a few steps into her apartment and she closed the door behind us.

“Whenever you're ready, Aiden” her voice was soft.

I gulped.

“My mother was unemployed” I continued. “We didn't have much but we were comfortable.”

I turned around to face her and she gestured to the couch in the living room. I shook my head and gave her a small smile.

“I was an only child till my mother got pregnant with Iris. It was a big surprise because I was old... too old in everyone's eyes.”

“Ten?” she asked.

I met her eyes. They held some amount of desperation in them.

“I wish,” I told her, sarcastically shaking my head. “Almost fifteen. And I was the happiest little boy on earth.”

Breanna's shoulders dropped and she closed her eyes and nodded, letting out a deep exhale.

“I'm sure you were,” she said, opening her eyes again.

I nodded.

“I was. But that didn't quite last like I hoped” I said with a dry laugh. “Our mother fell asleep and never woke up again. The previous night was a normal Friday night. She didn't look sick, and she never complained of any kind of pain. She just... died.”

Breanna took a small step toward me but she stopped herself from moving any closer.

“Our father, heartbroken, disappeared. It was normal for a grieving man to want to be alone. But the hours turned to days and the days turned to weeks and then months passed and I realized, he had abandoned us. I was a nineteen-year-old with a four-year-old sister I had to take care of. And so did just that.”

“Aiden” she called out. “Would you like some Bourbon?”

I gave her a little smile and she nodded.

“I'll be right back.”

She strutted away and my eyes followed her like the tide followed the moon. She quickly returned and set the whiskey down on the coffee table. I took a seat, poured myself a glass and when I took a sip, I realized how much I truly need it.

“I'm really sorry about your parents, Aiden. I had no idea” she whispered.

I shook my head.

“I'm just glad Iris was too young to really understand all that was happening around us.”

“She's an amazing person, Aiden. I've never seen Roman get this attached to someone who's not family before. And so you did an amazing job raising her and putting her through school. She's a lawyer, Aiden. And you should be proud of yourself.”

I smiled, but it didn't reach my eyes.

“It wasn't that easy, Breanna” I sighed. “I was a high school grad with such a huge responsibility. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I did” I nodded. “I did odd jobs... all the time, just to make sure she was safe and healthy and happy. It wasn't going so well as she got older. But I met Warwick Rodwell, my father's old friend from the factory and he got me a job at Westminister.”

Breanna's eyebrows shot up and I chuckled.

“Don't get excited. I was only going to be a gardener” I said, faking the seriousness in my voice.

She chuckled.

“A gardener?” she questioned, taking a seat on the opposite side of the couch.

I nodded.

“But the money was good and I got to live in the servant's quarters of the fancy house with Iris so it was worth it.”

She smiled a little.

“Then what happened?”

A chill ran along my back and I exhaled deeply.

“Then I met my wife.”

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

~Brie~

“Then I met my wife” he let out, making me immediately regret my curiosity.

“Jewel” I muttered.

He nodded.

“Jewel.”

I quickly got up, suddenly feeling guilty.

“Breanna...”

“Would you like some dinner?” I asked Aiden, “I made a lasagna last night and I was going to finish it before you arrived so... would you like some?”

As I asked the question, I wasn't sure whether he was going to see through my act or not. I just wanted to be doing something while he spoke about his dead first love. Aiden looked at me and shrugged.

“Sure.”

“Great. I'll be right back,” I said and quickly ducked into the kitchen.

Calm down, Breanna.

I wasn't even worried about whether or not he'd like my lasagna. I knew talking about a dead family member wasn't exactly easy. I found it hard to talk about my divorce and he was here in my living room just willing to spill everything to me because he loved me.

“Can I help you with the lasagna?”

I looked up and he was standing by the archway.

“No, no it's fine. I got it.”

“I insist”.

I gestured to him to come over as I took the dish out of the refrigerator. Aiden wordlessly passed me a baking tray that stood on the counter.

“Are you that terrified to hear about Jewel?”

I looked up from the lasagna I was cutting.

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Your eyes do. And they're telling me that you're... scared”

“I'm not scared, Aiden” I pressed, putting the two pieces of lasagna I'd cut on the tray.

Aiden turned to preheat the oven.

“Well I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.”

I shook my head.

“You're not making me uncomfortable either Aiden” I sighed. “I just don't want you to feel like you need to make me believe you or something. I don't want you to push yourself into talking about something you're not ready to talk about.”

“But I am Breanna. I am ready to talk about her and I'm ready to move on... with you if you'll let me.”

I got out two glasses and poured us two glasses of water and I handed one to Aiden.

“Thank you,” he said.

I nodded at him.

“Whenever you're ready,” I say again.

He nodded and took a sip of his water.

“I'd heard tales of how wealthy the Barretts were, but I never believed it.”

“Even though you were living in their house?” I asked.

“I didn't know it was their house because when I got there, the family hadn't returned from one of their many, many travels” he replied.

We stood in the kitchen, waiting for the oven to preheat. I sipped my water.

“If anyone had told me that in a few months, I'd be married to the young heiress I'd call them crazy.”

But it happened.

“What made it so unbelievably?” I asked, almost in a whisper.

“A farmhand and an heiress, Breanna. This isn't a fairytale” he chuckled. “If it was the other way around, maybe it would have been believable.”

I shrugged.

“I doubt it,” I said. “If I were the farmhand and you the heir, I don't think I'd believe you'd notice me either.”

“Well, you should.”

“Why?”

“You are extremely attractive, Breanna,” he told me, taking a step toward me.

I didn't move.

“So are you, Aiden,” I said. “And I'm sure every maiden in that fairytale would be fighting over you.”

He laughed.

“Are you saying you would fight over me?” he asked challengingly.

My eyes widened.

“No,” I said, too quickly.

Aiden arched a brow.

“I mean...”

I was at a loss for words and he laughed at me, putting his water down on the countertop. I shook my head.

“Continue,” I said, trying to hide my smile.

He breathed deeply.

“Just like her name, Jewel was precious. Everything about her was.”

I knew it wasn't right for me to be jealous of his dead wife but right here in my kitchen, I was jealous of his dead wife and I felt petty.

“Except her attitude” Aiden chipped in, snapping me out of my thoughts. “She wasn't the nicest person around.”

Flaws... okay.

“I mean I didn't care and it would be a good thing if she changed. It would be for her own good. But I knew my place and so I kept my mouth shut. Until she attacked Iris.”

My eyes popped.

“Attacked?”

He chuckled.

“Not really. She just took out her frustrations on a little girl who happened to be my sister and I wasn't going to look past that one.”

“So you attacked her back?”

“I did.”

“And it didn't bother you that you'd get fired and not be able to put Iris through school anymore?”

Aiden smiled and straightened himself before taking a few slow steps toward me.

“No one gets to treat the people I care about badly and not have to face the consequences.”

“No matter what?”

“No matter what” he replied. “I protect those I care about and I didn't care if I'd lose my job then and I don't care if the board agrees with what I feel for you now. I did the right thing then and I'm doing the right thing now.”

He stood right in front of me, staring down at me convincingly, making my heartbeat race. I felt like a deer caught in headlights and I couldn't even move. I just stared back at him.

“Aiden,” was the only thing that managed to escape my lips.

He leaned down to me. He was so close. Closer and more intimate than any of our little moments before. I held my breath and waited for him to make the move.

“Can I get the baking tray?” he asked, softly, looking away from my lips and staring right at me.

I blinked.

“What?”

“The oven is preheated. Can I get the tray?” Aiden asked, motioning to the oven with his head.

Oh God!

Realization dawned on me and my cheeks felt hot.

“Err yes, yes,” I said quickly, turning because the tray was on the counter behind me.

I picked it up and turned around so fast that I bumped into Aiden. He laughed.

“Calm down,” he said, soothingly and took the tray out of my hands. “I told you, I'm not going to force you to do anything you're not ready to do.”

I stared at him. He lifted a hand and tucked a strand of my hair back into its place.

“Breathe” he whispered and I realized I'd stopped breathing again.

Aiden stepped away from me and I watched as he opened the oven, put the tray in, and set a timer. I picked up my glass of cold water and downed the whole thing. I walked to the sink to wash it and I could feel Aiden’s eyes on me.

I couldn't deny my attraction to him. There was a lot of sexual tension in the room with us. I had always wanted him to reciprocate my feelings and now that he was openly doing it, I was terrified. 

I looked at him as I dried my hands and he was toying with an oven mitt.

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~Aiden~

“Did she fire you?” she finally asked, putting away the napkin she had wiped her hands with.

I smiled.

“No” I replied. “She felt too ashamed to have had her shit called out by the gardener to do it” I scoffed. “Everyone was thrilled I dared to finally do what the lot of them couldn't ever do. I was going to get fired, but she didn't let the housekeeper do it.”

“Lucky you,” she said. “Not everyone gets to keep their job after calling their boss out.”

I smiled.

“You did... countless times.”

She laughed.

“You make it hard not to Aiden. Trust me.”

I smiled.

“She hardly laughed,” I said.

Breanna's laughter slowly died down and she smiled.

“That bad huh?”

I nodded.

“After the... incident, she tried to make it up to Iris. Every morning, she'd ask me to bring her into the house for breakfast.”

“Wow, wooing the farmhand through her little sister, smart woman.”

I chuckled.

“And you fell in love?”

I shook my head.

“Far for it” I replied. “She tried to commit suicide.”

Breanna winched, leaning with her hipbone on the counter.

“Why?”

I sighed.

“She wouldn't tell me when I asked.”

“You... found her?” Breanna whispered.

“Unfortunately no. Iris did.”

I could see the muscles in her neck tighten as she caught her breath.

“But she was fine, right?” Breanna asked softly.

“She laughed.”

Breanna chuckled, rubbing her neck nervously.

“Come on, Aiden. Was she fine?”

I gave her a small smile.

“Yes. And she promoted me.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” I nodded putting away the oven mitt I'd been fiddling with. “I got to be her lapdog.”

Breanna frowned and I smiled, chuckling a little.

“Just kidding. She was much nicer to me” I said.

And it was just her being nice and nothing more.

“You... fell in love with her when she changed didn't you?”

I looked up at her.

“I wouldn't have agreed to marry her if I didn't... even when her family disagreed.”

She nodded.

“Was it scary?”

I shrugged.

“I barely knew her, she barely knew me. Yet she wanted me and even when her family tried to reason with her, she refused to listen and insisted we married” I said. “Breanna, we didn't even belong in the same social class.”

“You should never let other people think that you're not good enough,” she chipped in as the oven timer went off.

I smiled and walked over to the oven and took the tray out. Breanna came over to me, carrying two plates.

“I know” I muttered.

“But her family came to like you, right?” she asked, passing me a fork.

“Throwing us out the second she died? Not by a long shot.”

Breanna sighed.

“C'mon,” I gestured to her.

We walked back into the living room and sat down.

“How'd she die Aiden?” Breanna whispered. “Was it in her sleep too?”

I winched a little.

It would have been easier that way.

“Her cancer came back.”

Breanna stopped chewing.

“She had cancer?” she asked after swallowing.

I nodded.

“And it had spread to areas farther away from where her cancer was first located” I explained. “They called it—”

“Metastatic cancer” she finished for me.

I gave her a surprised look.

“I didn't know you were secretly a doctor.”

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

“My dad's a retired doctor... and I used to help Aubree study for her medical and residency exams so I picked up a little.”

“Impressive” I commented. “But that's not what killed her, no.”

Breanna shifted her weight.

“I didn't know she had cancer. She never told me. After her suicide attempt, she became nicer and we bonded and I fell in love.”

“You fell in love?” Breanna asked. “Shouldn't that statement be 'we fell in love' Aiden?”

I scoffed.

“I don't think it was love, Brie,” I said. “She mistook pity for love and because she had gotten attached to Iris and me, I don't think she questioned what she felt until we got married and a few months later, her cancer came back.”

Breanna cradled her plate.

“She wanted a baby.”

She met my eyes and fidgeted in her seat before lowering her eyes to my equally empty plate. She immediately picked it up and moved to the kitchen. I followed her and insisted I helped her with the dishes.

I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. It didn't take long for us to finish up.

“That's good right?” Breanna spoke up, indicating it was okay for me to continue. “A baby is always good.”

As she turned to take the last plate from my hand, she walked right into me. At the angle her head was at, she was immediately focused on my lips, and me on hers. She had hers slightly parted, almost inviting.  Breanna quickly raised her eyes to meet mine.

“Thank you,” she said and reached out to take away the plate.

Our hands touched and my heartbeat raced, making me feel like a schoolboy. I looked down at her, as her touch lingered against my hand. She withdrew her hands hastily and I held the plate toward her with a smile.

“It is” I finally answered.

She passed me a napkin and I wiped my hands.

“But she couldn't carry a child because of the chemo.”

“Oh,” Breanna let out.

“So we got a surrogate who agreed to give us her egg and carry the child.”

Breanna's eyes lit up.

“Oh,” she let out more lively this time. “That's great!”

My heart sank.

“Where's the baby then? Did her family keep him?”

She assumed it was a boy.

Jewel wanted a girl.

I shook my head and smiled sadly as she pushed herself up onto the counter.

“I don't know, Breanna. I...” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “The surrogate... she ran away.”

Thank you for reading! ✨