Aaron arrived home well past midnight, his mind still processing the evening's dramatic events. The house was dark and quiet, with Sarah already asleep upstairs. He moved through the familiar halls of The King's Castle, feeling the weight of the night's revelations settling over him like a heavy cloak.
The next morning, Aaron woke to the sound of voices drifting up from the kitchen. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was just past nine on Saturday morning. Sarah's voice was clear, engaged in what sounded like animated conversation with someone he didn't immediately recognize.
Pulling on a robe, Aaron made his way downstairs, his frown deepening as he approached the kitchen. Through the doorway, he could see Sarah sitting at the marble island with Emma Chen, the two women apparently deep in comfortable conversation over coffee and pastries.
Emma looked up as Aaron entered, immediately standing and moving toward him with arms outstretched. "Aaron! It's so good to see you again," she said, embracing him warmly. "You left in such a hurry last night."
Aaron's body remained rigid during the hug, his confusion evident. "What are you doing here, Emma?"
"I came to visit my best friend, of course," Emma replied, gesturing toward Sarah with a bright smile.
Sarah looked between them with obvious curiosity. "Aaron, you didn't tell me about Emma. She's been telling me the most interesting stories about your high school days."
Aaron felt a chill run down his spine. "There wasn't much to tell. We lost contact years ago."
"Could I speak with you outside for a moment, Emma?" Aaron asked, his tone carefully controlled.
"Of course," Emma agreed, though her smile faltered slightly at his serious expression.
They stepped out onto the terrace overlooking the mansion's grounds. The morning air was crisp, and Aaron could hear the distant sound of the fountain in the formal gardens.
"What do you want?" Aaron asked directly, dispensing with pleasantries.
Emma's demeanor shifted, becoming more earnest. "I want to catch up, Aaron. To reconnect after all these years."
"That's not what it looked like yesterday. You had plenty of opportunities to 'reconnect' during the reunion."
"I wanted to talk to you, but I couldn't do it in front of Chad and the others. You have to understand—"
"I'm not interested in reconnecting with you," Aaron interrupted. "Whatever this is, I'm not buying it."
Emma's face fell, and she looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry about how our friendship ended, Aaron. I really am."
"No, you're not," Aaron replied coldly. "If you were truly sorry, you would have apologized years ago. You wouldn't have said all that shit yesterday at the reunion, playing along with their little games."
"That's not fair!" Emma protested. "Chad was the reason I acted that way. In high school, he forced me to be his girlfriend. All this time, I've been too afraid to leave him because—"
"That's bullshit," Aaron cut her off harshly. "As soon as you started getting attention from the popular crowd, you abandoned me. I would call you, and you wouldn't answer. I would visit your house, only for your mother to say you weren't there when I could clearly see you hiding inside."
Emma opened her mouth to protest, but Aaron continued relentlessly.
"I was bullied by Chad so many times, and not once—not fucking once—did you stand up for me. You just watched it happen, or worse, you pretended not to see it at all. So don't come to my house now, after I've shown that I have power, and try to rewrite history."
"Aaron, please, if you would just listen—"
"How did you get out of the hotel situation last night?" Aaron asked suddenly.
Emma looked surprised by the change of topic. "I... I sold Chad's things. His watch, some of his suits, his golf clubs. I managed to scrape together enough money to cover my portion of the bill."
Aaron stared at her for a moment. "Get off my property. Now."
"Aaron, you don't understand—"
He turned and walked back toward the house, slamming the door behind him before Emma could finish her sentence.
In the kitchen, Aaron began making coffee with deliberate, controlled movements, trying to channel his frustration into something productive.
"Where's Emma?" Sarah asked, looking toward the door.
"She left."
"That was quick. Why didn't you ever tell me about her? She seems lovely."
Aaron poured water into the coffee maker with perhaps more force than necessary. "She was just someone from my past. We lost contact, and I only saw her at the reunion last night."
Sarah's eyebrows rose. "You went to a reunion? You never mentioned that."
"I didn't think it would interest you."
"You don't know that. I might have enjoyed meeting your old classmates."
Aaron turned to face her. "Would you have come if I'd asked?"
Sarah paused for a moment, considering. "Well, I was busy with the Crimson Valley project, but if I'd had the time, I would have considered it."
"Aaron, we're married. You can't just keep being secretive about things."
"Are we really married, though?" Aaron interrupted.
Sarah stared at him, taken aback by the question. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Aaron leaned against the counter, his voice becoming quieter but more intense. "I haven't felt like a husband in this relationship. I've felt more like a slave."
Sarah's face showed genuine shock. "Do you really think that?"
"Yeah, I do," Aaron replied without hesitation. "Since marrying you, all I've been is a servant. Cleaning, cooking, taking insults from your family while you just act indifferent to it all."
"That's my family you're talking about," Sarah said defensively. "They wouldn't treat you like that if you would just stand up for yourself instead of acting like a coward."
The word 'coward' hung in the air between them like a slap.
"Fine," Aaron said quietly. "If that's how you see me, then let me ask you something else. I wasn't forced to marry you, Sarah. So if I feel like a slave in this relationship, why don't I just leave?"
Sarah looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to answer his own question.
"Because I love you," Aaron said simply. "The question is, do you love me?"
The silence that followed was deafening. Sarah opened her mouth several times as if to speak, but no words came out. She looked at Aaron with an expression that mixed confusion, surprise, and something that might have been panic.
Aaron waited for what felt like an eternity, watching his wife struggle to find words that apparently didn't exist.
Finally, he nodded slowly, as if Sarah's silence had answered his question more clearly than any words could have.
Without another word, Aaron walked out of the kitchen, leaving Sarah sitting alone at the marble island, staring after him with a stricken expression on her face.