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“I’m happy for you man.” He claps a hand on my shoulder.
I smile, only for it to drop when I remember the call from my father. “Calvin called,” I say through gritted teeth, meeting Ryker’s eyes. His brow raises in silent question. “He wants me home. The Parkes have requested a dinner so we can discuss the engagement and wedding.” I snort.
Ryker smirks. “Oh, yes. I forgot you are engaged. Have you told Aria?”
I flip him off. “I’m not fucking engaged.” My voice is strong. Because it’s the truth. My father may think otherwise, and that’s fine, but there is no way I am marrying that girl. “So,myprincess doesn’t need to know anything about that.”
This time, Ryker snorts. “You are engaged until we get rid of your father. And honestly, Bishop, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I am going to give you my advice anyway.” He pins me with a no-nonsense look. “Tell her. If you want things to work out with Aria, you need to be honest with her. You have already been through so much together. It’s best to be candid with her. Something tells me she will appreciate it.”
I mull his words over in my head. I should tell Aria. But I don’t want to rock the boat when our relationship is already in unsteady waters. I am hoping the engagement will be over before it’s even started, so why upset her over something that is irrelevant? I look him in the eye, my next words leaving no room for argument over this. Aria is mine, and I will deal with her as I see fit. Why hurt her further when there is no need to? “I will be honest with her about most things, but she doesn’t need to know about something that is a non-issue. The engagement is not real—well not on my behalf anyway. And I have every intention of getting rid of Stacey Parkes in the next couple of months, along with my father. I don’t want to focus on any of that while I am with Aria and my son. I don’t want to taint them with the shitshow that is my life. When I am with them, I am Bishop. When I am with the brotherhood, I am Xander. So, why trouble her over something that isn’t even going to happen?”
Ryker sighs. “I get that, I do. But come on. You can’t be one hundred percent sure that we are going to get rid of your father.” He pauses and clears his throat. “If we can’t, man, you will have to marry Stacey Parkes. He has already threatened Aria, and I am sure if he starts digging into her life, he will soon find out you have a son. That’s if he doesn’t know about him already.”
My chest tightens, and my fists ball at the thought of my father harming Aria and Baron. I will kill him before I ever let that happen, no matter the consequences that would follow. “I won’t ever let him touch my family,” I growl.
“And me and the boys will help you protect them. But Bishop, you need to consider that it’s a real possibility—him finding out or knowing about Baron. You having to marry Stacey—I just think Aria deserves to know all this so she can prepare for what may be thrown at her. It’s clear that you love the girl; anyone could see that. But relationships are about trust, and if you want to get her back, she needs to trust you and vice versa.” He pushes to a stand. “Think about it. Just in case things don’t go our way.” With that, he leaves the room, leaving me to ponder on his words.
Again, I consider telling her. But I know it will only make things worse. I can’t have that. And yes, what Ryker says is right. There is a possibility of not overthrowing my father. But as long as I have air in my lungs, I will fight for my family.
There is no other way.
Calvin Hastings is a dead man.
* * *
The next day, I arrive at Aria’s penthouse just before eleven—an hour earlier than we planned. I know Aria is out with our son and will be back in around an hour, but it’s Mr. Maxwell I am here to see. He mentioned wanting to talk with me, and I owe him the respect to do just that.
The door to their penthouse opens, and Christian Maxwell appears with a face void of emotion. He looks ready for a showdown. Christian has always been a fair man despite his wealth and power, but I did betray his trust, and I expect the conversation we are about to have is going to be anything but pleasant. “Bishop.”
I smile. “Mr. Maxwell.”
“Come in. We can go to my office and talk before Aria and my grandson get back.”
Trailing behind him, I enter his office, a place I have been many times while I was working for the family. But today is different. Today is personal. Waving me inside, I take a seat as he closes the door, then rounds his desk to take his own seat. He stares at me for a long beat before clearing his throat. “You know why I want to speak with you, don’t you, Bishop?”
I nod. “I do. I wish I could apologize for crossing that line with Aria while I was assigned as her personal guard, but I can’t. I will never say sorry for my relationship with her. I will never apologize for loving her because that means I would never have experienced what it feels like to be in love. It means my son would not exist. So, I can’t regret anything that transpired between us. What I will say is that I am sorry for betraying your trust, but you can’t help who you fall in love with, sir. And I did love Aria with everything inside me. I do still love her.”
His gaze narrows in on me as his glare intensifies. Christian Maxwell probably thought I would come in here begging for forgiveness and telling him that I am sorry. If I had, it would be a lie. I meant what I said. I will never be sorry for loving my princess or for making our baby.
Sighing, he leans back in his chair. “You broke the terms of your contract. But worse than that, you broke my daughter’s heart.” I go to speak, but he holds his hand up, stopping me. “Bishop, I don’t know what happened or the reasons for why you left, but I’m going to give you another chance. And that is because you saved Thalia. As you know, my family is everything to me. With that said, if you hurt Aria or Baron, then know that there is nothing on this earth that you can say or do that will stop me from coming for you. I may be a reasonable man, but I will protect my family at all costs. My daughter and grandson deserve everything. She is a brilliant mother to that little boy and is more than capable of doing parenthood alone, but you deserve a chance, and Baron deserves a father. But you get one chance. So don’t fuck it up.”
I run a hand through my hair, blowing out a breath. “I respect you protecting them, Christian, but there is no need. I won’t hurt them again. They mean everything to me. Both of them. I want us to be a family, but I know it will take Aria a while to trust me again. I deserve her anger and more. I can’t say too much about what happened, but just know, I left to protect Aria. If me leaving hadn’t been for her own protection, then there is nothing in this universe that could take me away from her.”
“And now? Are those things sorted?”
I shake my head. “Not yet, but they will be. I am working on it now.”
A door opens somewhere in the apartment, and footsteps sound. Christian pushes out of his seat. “That will be my wife, daughter, and Baron. I trust you will keep our conversation to yourself?”
“Of course.”
ChapterEleven
ARIA
Making my way down the hallway with Mama and Baron, I come to a stop when I see my father stepping out of his office, followed by Bishop. Narrowing my eyes, my gaze moves from my ex to my father suspiciously.
Why is Bishop here early?
