Chapter 79

Lucian’s POV

As the family gather was at my place, I had to make sure that Sheila was previously occupied and unaware of the event occurring. Giving her my credit card and no budget, I believed myself free from her for the evening.

I even had Ben organize a few loyal guards here and there to ensure that Sheila remained busy and to attempt to alert us if she appeared to be leaving.

With that set, the remaining servants worked hard to clean and decorate for the party. I’d agreed to pay them three times their usual rate to convince them to help this evening. The caterers would handle the food and service, but there was certain to be messes. I needed staff on hand to help with those.

In this way, Sheila continued to be a thorn in my side. But with no real way to remove her from my life, I had to take these extra steps to maintain the peace.

With my father’s health as fragile as it was, I couldn’t risk Sheila and Dad being in the same room.

At the gathering, I stood near the door, greeting all of the guests. When my parents arrived, many of the other guests had already entered, so I felt comfortable leaving the door to speak with them as they wanted to talk.

In the living room, I joined my parents where they stood near the bay window. My mother’s face, in particular, was scrunched up, seemingly for a fight. I braced myself, expecting another argument.

“This foolishness has gone on long enough,” Mom said as I approached them. “This is Aria’s home as much as it is yours. She should be here as hostess.”

“I invited her,” I said.

“Not good enough,” Mom said, shaking her head. “You need to make more of an effort. The two of you should have patched things up by now.”

“That’s not likely to happen, Mom,” I said.

I certainly wished things could have been different, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. Maybe Aria had wanted to be with Jasper, or maybe she had just wanted to be free of me. I wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter. I had given into her request, we had mutually rejected each other, and the divorce was looming.

Glancing at Dad, I tried to gauge his health. He seemed okay for right now. He was listening intently, but his face wasn’t scrunched up like Mom’s, with stress and concern. Even though I was certain he agreed with her, his features were calm.

“I’m sorry to tell you both this,” I said, saying the words as gently as I could. “But the divorce is coming, sooner rather than later. We all need to adjust ourselves to that.”

Mom’s outrage slowly drained from her face. She could see then that I was serious. “Oh, Lucian. What happened?”

Voice low, I told her, “She wanted out, Mom. What was I supposed to do?”

“Fight for her,” Mom insisted.

She didn’t understand. Aria wanted something from me I wasn’t sure I could give. While I’d struggled over it, she’d found someone else who could give her what she wanted and needed.

“She was miserable with me,” I said. The hollow spot in my chest ached. It took all my willpower to keep my arms straight at my side and not attempt to rub that ache away. I already knew it wouldn’t do any good.

“That can’t be,” Mom said, though her face dropped further.

Dad lifted his arm and placed his hand on my shoulder. He didn’t say a word, but something passed between us. It was almost like he knew somehow about this new hole inside of me.

I didn’t question how that could be possible. Maybe my father was just more observant than I gave him credit for.

I nodded my head at him in thanks. He forced a smile for a moment, though it fell quickly.

“Oh, there’s Jasper,” someone nearby said.

My entire body tensed at once. Turning, I expected to see Aria on his arm. Instead, Jasper sauntered into the house all on his own with his usual excessive swagger.

“Didn’t Aria arrive with him last time?” asked one of the party goers.

“She’s not with him tonight,” said someone else.

“King Lucian,” said my third cousin, who walked up to me directly. Like Jasper, she was one of the bolder of our number. “Is Aria coming tonight?”

“Lila,” snapped another party goer, Lila’s mother, who gripped her by the elbow and, after giving me an apologetic smile, started to pull my third cousin away. In a whisper-yell, still loud enough for me to hear, she scolded her college-aged daughter. “You know better than to ask about Aria.”

“I like Aria,” Lila replied, not nearly so quiet.

Her mother shushed her.

“Ignore them,” Mom said to me. “Aria will be here. You invited her, so she will come.”

“Sure,” I said, but I didn’t believe it.

I could hear the whispers as well as Mom could. Most of the attendees here tonight were well aware of Aria’s long absence from the public eye, and wondered if she would make an appearance tonight or if she would continue to hide.

That she hadn’t arrived with Jasper didn’t bode well for the chances she would come.

Worse, though, were the musing people thought I could not hear. Perhaps they had forgotten how acute an Alpha’s senses were.

“He supported Sheila, even after the things she said about the Luna. Can you blame Aria for not wanting anything to do with Lucian anymore?”

“It’s overdue. Aria was never worthy of Lucian anyway.”

“But Sheila is? Didn’t you hear the things she said about Dr. A?”

A darkness passed over my mind, dragging me down in unhappiness. I wanted to lash out at those guests and their whispers, but how much would it reveal? I couldn’t give into the gossip, even to oppose it. That would only add more fuel to the fire.

Having stepped out of the public eye, Aria deserved her privacy. I would not stir the flames that would only make that more difficult for her.

Perhaps that was why she chose not to come with Jasper tonight. Likely she wanted to keep their relationship a secret.

I could appreciate their discretion, at least. It saved me some measure of humiliation.

I could easily imagine the cruel whispers of my relatives. Lucian lost his wife to a playboy.

And they’d be right.

I couldn’t hold onto Aria. I couldn’t make her happy. But Jasper, apparently, could.

A low growl escaped my throat without my realizing it.

“Lucian,” Dad said lightly.

Realizing what I was doing, I immediately stopped. The annoyance remained, however. Sometimes the constraints of my station were almost too much.

To be a good King, I needed to hide my emotions, from anger to happiness. The pack needed a level-headed King, who would always be reasonable without bringing his personal feelings into his decision making.

Repressing my emotions had made me a good king. That had to be worth the other collateral damage.

Like the loss of my wife to my playboy cousin.

“Oh! She’s here!”

“Aria. Aria’s here!”

Excitement generated, accumulating like the rising whispers in the room.

Turning my head, I catch sight of a vision entering the front door.

Aria, dressed in a floor-length gown, walks into the room. Her hair held is up, tucked tightly behind her neck. With the low scoop of the dress, her long neck is on clear display, as are her collarbones, and the top swell of her breasts.

I must have been dreaming, because I’d never seen anyone so beautiful.