Who's wife?
The sound of his voice only aggravated me as I continued to walk down the hall. He practically chased after me and then blocked my way.
"How long are we going to keep doing this? How long are you going to keep ignoring me? We need to talk."
I folded my arms, my eyes meeting his. "I don't know what it is with you and not understanding the concept of no. I'm not interested in having any conversation with you, I want nothing to do with this. Stop bothering me."
He scoffed, "is that why you sent your husband to my house yesterday? Because you didn't want to talk to me?"
This was new news to me and I was a bit taken aback. "What exactly are you talking about?" I asked, barely hiding the irritation in my voice.
He laughed. "Oh, your husband didn't tell you? He barged into my mansion and accused me of sending you an inappropriate text message."
I recalled the day that I received that text. In all honesty I had confided in Liam and shared with him my thoughts. I told him that I suspected Aiden was behind the text because it only made sense.
Today I ran into my ex-husband, I received a text saying it wasn't over yet. Throughout my years in this city I have never made any enemies, so of course Aiden was my only natural suspect.
However I didn't know that Liam had gone to threaten Aiden.
"I didn't know that." I raised my head. "I apologize for the inconveniences caused, now if you'll excuse me I have other places to be."
He wrapped his fingers around my elbow as I attempted to walk past him. I snatched my arm away from him forcefully. "Let me go! The next time you touch me, you're not going to like what's going to happen."
A man who was walking past slowed down, looking between the both of us suspiciously. "Is everything okay here?" He asked, obviously concerned.
I was about to speak but Aiden beat me to it. "No sir, everything is fine, she's my wife."
His statement had left me so dumbfounded that I could not even bring myself to utter a single word. The man nodded and then walked away.
"Wife?!"
Never in my life had I felt so repulsed and irritated. I felt it down to my core, my stomach twisted and if it was possible I would throw up right now on the spot.
"Who the hell did you just call your wife? I don't see Ava here with us."
"Olivia, you were declared dead, that was the only thing that dissolved our marriage. If I prove that you're still alive, then it means that we're still legally married which means that you're still my wife and I'm still your husband."
I suddenly felt nauseous, it was as if the world around me had begun spinning. My knees threatened to buckle under my weight. I was fully aware of the implications of my being alive, but I never expected Aiden to throw it in my face like this.
"Are you threatening me?" I asked furiously.
"I'm only stating facts."
"Just what are you trying to achieve by telling me all this? Aiden, my husband was and still is one of the best lawyers in this country. I'm not afraid of a little legal battle, so don't think you have any leverage over me."
My face was less than an inch away from his and I felt nothing but disgust for him. "Keep it professional and stay away from me."
I spun around and strutted out of that situation feeling like I had completely taken control. Though I couldn't hide the fact that I was still shaken by what he said.
For the past 6 years I've been building in your life with Liam and my children. To hear him say something like that shook me to the core.
If heat vision was real, by now I'd have to round holes penetrating my back because I could still feel the heat of Aiden's gaze on me as I entered the elevator.
My mind was still racing with so many thoughts and I was trying to appear composed even though I was falling apart from the inside out when a voice suddenly penetrated.
"Hi, you're that designer my daughter always talks about aren't you?" An elderly looking man spoke.
I blinked a few times. "What?" I muttered.
"Yes, I've seen you on TV, you're Ava Tan. My daughter loves your designs."
The mention of my sister's name made my heart sink instantly. My face twisted into a small frown as the elevator door parted open. "Sorry I'm not the one," I replied, trying my best to keep a polite tone.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that you look so much like her, are you two sisters?"
"No, no relation." I took a deep breath after rolling that lie out my tongue.
My ride was already waiting for me outside the building so I slipped into the car and shut the door. George, my driver adjusted the rear view mirrors. "Are we headed home ma'am?"
I nodded. Throughout the entire drive I stared out the window at the city, my finger in my mouth. Chewing my fingers when I was anxious was a bad habit that my father had tirelessly tried to correct while I was growing up.
But it never just seemed to leave my system. When I got home I got down from the car and headed straight inside.
Liam was seated on the floor playing with the children. "Skye, Lorraine, please go to your room. I want to talk to daddy."
The twins might have sensed the seriousness in my voice because they exchanged a worried look before they headed upstairs.
Liam let out a sigh. "Aiden told you, didn't he?"
"Why would you do something like that?"
"Listen, Bianca I'm sorry I just… I just lost it when I saw that text. And when you said Aiden was your only suspect I couldn't just sit back and not do anything."
All the anger I had built up suddenly dispelled. I couldn't stay angry at Liam. "Honey I know that you're just looking out for me and you love me and everything, but please carry me along in your decisions."
He pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, just promise me you won't do something rash like that."
"I'll try."
"Trying is good enough for me."
We pulled apart from each other. "Did you see… Ava?" I could barely bring myself into saying her name so it came out as a whisper.
"Yes."
"How was she?" Even though the anger I had for my sister was a flame which was burning bright in my chest, a small part of me still felt like there was a logical explanation for everything.
I remember when we were kids and we pinky promised to each other that we would always be there for each other no matter what.
I wondered where everything went wrong. When did we fall apart like this?
"She was fine, she looked okay, just very shaken by the news of you still being alive."
"As expected." I swallowed. "I hear she now has a huge fashion line, I think I saw her building on the day I came to New York but I wasn't quite sure if it was hers."
"Ava signatures, one of the biggest fashion brands in the states right now."
I faced him with teary eyes. "It was her dream, growing up she was always interested in fashion and things like that. I remembered my father always telling her that fashion won't put food on the table, but look at her now."
Liam held my hands gently. I tilted my head backwards. "I'm not gonna cry," I said to myself.
"It's okay to cry," Liam said in a low voice.
"I know, I'm just not gonna. I've cried enough for her, for them."
I moved near the sofa and sat down. "Liam, there was something Aiden said today. Actually it's something I've been thinking about for a while but hearing him say it today really affected me."
"What is it?"
"Everyone thought I got hit by a moving vehicle and my body was dumped in a river and I died. Then they found a body and assumed it was me and I was declared dead. But since I'm not dead and I have a new identity and everything, I don't know…"
"What did Aiden say?" He pressed on.
"He said that I was still his wife and that if he proved I was alive, it would mean that he and I were still legally married. Liam, that would make our relationship to be considered as adultery. I can't lose you, I can't lose our marriage. I can't be Aiden's wife!"
"And you won't be, not while I'm here."
"I'm just worried what the legal implications of all this could mean, what if they put you in jail for forging documents? What if they put me in jail for faking an identity? What would happen to the kids?" I bursted out crying again, burying my face into my cupped palms.
"I'll take care of everything." From the corner of my eyes I saw Liam leaving the house.