Aiden's POV
I watched Marian as she spoke those words, her expression light and free in a way I hadn't seen before. It was subtle, but something had shifted in her, like a weight she'd carried for far too long had finally been lifted.
"I'm glad," I said softly, meaning every word. "You deserve that, Marian."
She gave me a small, genuine smile—the kind that reached her eyes—and it struck me how rare it was to see her this at ease. For as long as I'd known her, there had always been this invisible barrier, a guardedness that stemmed from whatever wounds Jayden and his family had left behind. But now? Now she looked… radiant. "You mean the Jones family, right?"
" Yeah, sorry. The names in my head are too many." I said with an awkward chuckle.
Marian burst out laughing, "I was just pulling your legs. The family name is Hawthorne, not Jones, that's my family name.
