Chapter 17
Aaron rested his back against the glass wall of the rooftop loungers, his head downcasted, looking at nothing in particular, yet all he could see was the one woman who wouldn't leave his mind.
Katherine.
His lovely Katherine.
Her voice. Her words. Her look. The way she turned her back on him without hesitation like he once did. The way her eyes flared when she spoke about the twins, her voice vibrating and resonating with pain and anger. Her body trembled and gaze sharp.
The look in her eyes wasn't just pain—it was betrayal. Maybe even hate. And God, he deserved it because he betrayed her, hurt her, and abandoned her, as she mentioned earlier.
Aaron dragged a hand through his scalp, exhaling sharply as he closed his eyes, her statement echoing within him.
She said they weren't his.
And yet he didn't believe her.
Because he couldn't. Not when Hanith's mismatched eyes mirrored Katherine's, and the russet reminded him of himself.
She didn't even deny being their mother—she said, they aren't yours, not they aren't mine.
And not after Jasmine called her "Mommy."
He clenched his jaw. With the amount he was clenching his jaw, he hoped all his teeth wouldn't be removed. Katherine could deny it all she wanted, but that little girl didn't lie.
If the twins weren't his—then where was Katherine's child? The one she cried about six years ago, clinging to her stomach in the rain while he—like a fucking coward—threw a ring and walked away?
He pressed his palm against the railing until his knuckles whitened. That memory haunted him like a nightmare. And now that she was here, real and breathing and still hurting—his world tilted again.
She had every right to resent—maybe hate—him. But he was never going to stop chasing her. Not this time.
Aaron pushed himself off the railing, running a hand down his face as he made his way toward the elevators. He needed to cool his head. Figure out how to start his chasing. He wouldn't give up nor relent.
He stepped out on his floor and walked toward the private lounge near their suite—only to hear Amanda's voice just inside the room. It was soft, agitated, almost like a mumble. His ears pricked, wondering what she could be saying. The moment he entered, Amanda jolted to her feet like a guilty child caught stealing Christmas chocolate.
"Aaron," she gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. "You scared me."
He raised a brow but didn't comment. "It's our floor."
"I know, I just… wasn't expecting you to be back now." Amanda reached for her glass of water, her hands trembling just slightly. "You don't come back by this time."
Aaron didn't say anything. He moved past her to the small private bar and poured himself a drink. He didn't even know when he started seeking solace in liquor, but he needed it—and it helped him think… and at least forget.
Amanda paced slowly, her towel falling slightly from the valley of her breast, the outer robe slipping off her shoulder.
Aaron rolled his eyes noticing it, but didn't react nor say anything. She could make herself naked like he cared, but how she was fidgeting and behaving made him irritated and he couldn't help but ask—what was her problem?
"What's wrong with you?" he asked after a while, not looking at her.
Amanda blinked innocently, tugging the robe tightly, seeing it was falling off. "What do you mean?"
"You're… fidgeting and it's disturbing. Do you have anything to say?"
Amanda hesitated, her legs wiggled and she shook her head. "No," she laughed awkwardly. "Definitely nothing."
"Okay." He dropped the empty glass on the counter with a small thud and picked himself up. He looked at her one more time and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You—" Aaron paused when he saw her eyes flicker in hesitation.
"Who is she?" she asked, staring at him.
Aaron quirked his brow in confusion. "Who is who?"
"You know who," Amanda responded, swallowing the lump in her throat, her voice higher at this time. "You know damn well who I'm talking about—Katherine Prescott."
"That's none of your business."
Amanda was shocked. She thought Aaron would react at the name, but all she met was silence. "Excuse me?" she asked.
"I said, it's none of your business," Aaron repeated, enunciating each word clearly, his voice giving no room to any questions. But Amanda didn't drop it. Her body trembling with anger.
"I'm your wife," she hissed, stepping closer. "I have every right to know who the woman is that you keep following with your eyes. That you keep stalking all the time!"
Aaron caressed his forehead. Here they go again. "Amanda, I've told you—don't delude yourself. What I do is none of your concern, and what you do is none of mine."
"How can you say that?!"
"It's stated in the contract, dammit! Both parties don't interfere with each other's personal life!" he said. "And I expect you to do so."
"We are married, Aaron," she said in a small voice.
"A marriage that will end in six months."
Amanda huffed, her nose flared in anger. "How dare you—"
"How dare you ask about things that don't concern you?" he bit out. "You knew what this was before entering the agreement with me. You signed the papers. Don't act like this was something it never was."
Amanda's face twisted in anger. "I know!" she yelled. "I know the goddamn thing I signed but at least—" her voice cracked at the end.
"I told you not to hope," Aaron responded calmly. "And if you did… that's on you, because I never for once led you on."
A lone tear rolled from her cheek as she blinked to pull the tears back, yet she harshly wiped the trace of the bead of tear rolling down. "I know Katherine was that lady—" she sniffed, but Aaron didn't say anything.
Amanda took a shaky step back, staring at Aaron who looked at her like she was nothing. She laughed bitterly at her predicament, but she needed Aaron to feel an ounce of pain she was feeling. So she opened her mouth.
"She left you. She fucking ran away and hid here while you go crazy over her." Amanda noticed Aaron's expression changing and she liked it even though she was hurting more. "She abandoned you, she doesn't love—"
"I left her," Aaron said quietly, refuting Amanda's claim. "I told her I needed space. I listened to others and I abandoned her."
Amanda stared at him, gobsmacked—her heart breaking more. "So you regret marrying me? All of this?"
"I regret not believing her then," Aaron replied without hesitation. "I regret letting my immature emotions get the better of me then."
Amanda swallowed hard, her throat dry. "Then why did you marry me?" Amanda hoped maybe he liked her a little bit—that was why he agreed. Maybe—maybe just an atom of attraction to her.
Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose. "You wanted marriage to inherit your father's company, and I needed your company partnership for mine. And a leverage to get my mother back off from matching me with ladies."
"You used me?!"
"We used each other for mutual benefit, Amanda," in a deadpan tone. "You gain, I gain. No loss."
"But—"
Aaron didn't let her finish, his eyes tired. "I'll make sure we end what we started smoothly. And I move on—with or without the contract ending."
"It remains six months!" Amanda yelled. She wouldn't agree to the contract termination. Her achievements were so near. Her legs weakened and she sat heavily on the couch, her hands trembling. "You'll throw everything away for a woman who might not even want you?"
Aaron looked away, his gaze distant. "I don't care." Yet a faint sad smile was on his face. "I already walked away from her once," he said, voice low. "And I've hated myself for it every damn day. I'm not doing it again."
Amanda didn't reply. She couldn't. Her mind was spinning and her world was tilting. Amanda swallowed the lump in her throat and for the first time in years, she realized Aaron Knight had never truly belonged to her.
She had only been deluding herself.