Chapter 142

Aria’s POV

I waited until I was back at Cathy’s at the end of the day to pick up her phone and call Jasper. Of all people I knew with the connections I needed, he was the one I could most depend on. Silas was still in Moonglow, too far away to help me, and I wasn’t ready to face Lucian again so soon.

So I dialed his number and, while Cathy and the kids were watching television, I stretched the phone cord so that I could talk to Jasper from the general privacy of the hallway beyond.

“Aria,” he said, after we said hello. “To what do I owe this great pleasure?”

I rolled my eyes at his over-sweetness. “I was hoping you could help me organize something.”

He paused a moment, like something was on his mind. It was odd for him to not jump at the chance to help me, so some concern grew inside of me. Was I asking too much? I had rejected him. Perhaps what he needed now was space.

“Does it have to do with Lucian?” he asked me.

I blinked, surprised by his words. “No. Why would you think that?”

“Ah,” he said, and laughed lightly. “Nothing. Never mind. Whatever you need, I am at your service, of course.”

“Thank you, Jasper. I mean it,” I said, hoping he could hear my sincerity. “I want to arrange a press conference.”

“As Dr. A or as Aria?” he asked.

“Well, that’s the thing,” I said. “The answer is both.”

When he realized what I wanted to do, Jasper was eager to assist me, and helped me arrange a press conference for the next day. It was only when I arrived to the event location, a hotel banquet hall, did I see that many of the seats out in front of the podium were taken not just with press, but also with some nobles, particularly those that had been unkind to me.

Jasper looked somewhat sheepish as I approached him in the set-up room behind the main banquet room. I was already in my Dr. A disguise, which hid most of my features, but he must have been able to tell anyway that I was glaring at him.

“Is it so wrong to want to see the shock on some of these pompous jerks faces?” he asked in his defense. “They should know how wrong they mischaracterized you. Let the whole of the pack know they had the world’s most capable Luna and didn’t know it.”

“You should have asked me first,” I said, but he shrugged.

Cathy and the kids were back at her place. I’d asked her not to let the kids watch the broadcast, afraid of what might happen. I didn’t think my revelation would be handled negatively anymore, as Cathy had been right. As Aria, I had generated much goodwill, especially after all the drama with Sheila came to light.

Even so, I couldn’t take chances with the kids. They would be too young to properly understand why the pack might hate their mother, for keeping this secret or for any other reason. I didn’t want them to have to yet face the reality that life, and people, could be needlessly cruel.

Piper was here though, and gave me a hug as she came closer.

“I’m so excited for you,” she said with her typical jubilance. “Don’t worry about anything. This is going to go great, I’m sure of it.”

I could only hope she was right. Inside, I wasn’t as sure. This pack had treated me harsh in the past, and though attitudes changed closer to my leaving, I didn’t maintain the same confidence that Piper had in these people. Especially as Jasper had packed the place with people who already hated me.

Still, I was no coward. I had already made my decision to tell the truth and I was going to see that realized no matter what happened next.

I was ready to be both Aria and Dr. A at once, with no more secrets. No more deception. No more lies.

Lucian’s POV

As I often did at this time of week, I went to visit my parents at their house. My mother greeted me at the door with a hug, while my father waited for me in the lounge chair. He was having some trouble getting around these days.

I sat down in the living room and we proceeded with our typical visit, catching up on various things that have been going on with each of us.

I avoided talking about Aria as much as I could. I was still reeling from the revelation, as well as still trying to discover who the father of the kids could be.

But, Mom and Dad had always been close with Aria, so I thought they should know she was in town, in case they wanted to see each other.

“I don’t know if you heard,” I told them, “But Aria is back in town.”

“Yes,” Mom said. “She came by with the kids the other day. They are delightful.”

That surprised me. “You’ve… already seen her?”

“Yes,” Mom said, not noticing my reaction. “I ran into her at the hospital and…” She trailed off, realizing what she said. “I mean…”

Something else clicked into place in my mind. “You knew she was Dr. A.”

Mom and Dad both looked at me with wide eyes. Now it was their turn to be surprised.

“You finally see it?” Dad asked.

“How long have you known?” I asked.

“A while,” Mom admitted. “When your dad first started going to the hospital, back before Aria left.”

“Did she tell you?” I asked.

“We guessed,” Dad said with a shrug. “She didn’t deny it.”

Just like Jasper, my parents had been able to see Aria in Dr. A all on their own.

How ashamed I felt, that I had been the only one incapable of seeing it. I had claimed to love Aria. I was her husband. Yet I was the only one close to her who couldn’t see her for the real person that she was.

“You didn’t tell me…” I said. It was one thing for Jasper to keep the secret from me, but entirely another for my own parents not to tell me the truth.

“She made us promise to keep the secret,” Mom said, frowning. “We tried to convince her to tell you the truth, but she was adamant that she didn’t want to. Sometimes I felt like she was living the double life just to keep you from knowing the truth.”

I had been suspecting that as well, and it hurt me more than I cared to admit.

Still, perhaps I could use this new revelation to my advantage. If my parents knew Aria’s secret, even back then, perhaps they knew other things about her as well. Things I had been far too blind to see for myself.

“Mom,” I asked her. I searched her face so that I could properly detect any hint of deception. “Do you know who the father of those kids is?”

Mom looked back at me with surprise and then confusion. She and my dad shared a look, before she returned her gaze to me.

“Lucian. Aren’t you the father?”