Aaron's POV
The wedding invitation sits in Aaron's hand like a bomb waiting to explode.
He's been staring at it for an hour. Natalie Hayes and Daniel Park request the honor of your presence. The words blur together. His hands shake so bad he almost drops it twice. The invitation is cream colored. Expensive. Elegant. Everything Natalie touches becomes beautiful and he hates himself for noticing.
"You're not going to do this," James says.
James stands across the penthouse office with his arms crossed. He's been Aaron's assistant for eight years. He's seen everything. The rise of Blake Enterprises. The success. The collapse. The breakdown. And now this. James knows what Aaron is thinking and he's trying to stop it before it happens.
Aaron doesn't respond. He can't. If he opens his mouth he'll either scream or cry and he won't be able to stop either one.
"Aaron, listen to me," James moves closer. "You show up at that wedding and you destroy everything. Your company. Your reputation. Everything you built."
"I don't care about the company," Aaron says quietly.
This is the first time he's said it out loud. The first time he's admitted what's been eating him alive for three years. He doesn't care about Blake Enterprises. He doesn't care about the billion-dollar empire. He doesn't care about any of it.
James stares at him like he just spoke in another language.
"What did you just say?"
Aaron looks at his assistant. Really looks at him. James is a good guy. Loyal. Smart. He tried to stop Aaron from making mistakes for years. But there's nothing James can do to stop this because Aaron is already drowning and has been since he signed those divorce papers three years ago.
"I watched her," Aaron says. He holds up his phone and scrolls through Natalie's Instagram. Photos of her designs. Photos of her smiling. Photos of her with Daniel at restaurants and galleries and on trips. "I've been watching her for three years. Every single day she gets more beautiful. More confident. More everything. And she's marrying someone else today."
"So let her," James says but his voice is softer now. "If you love her, let her be happy."
"I can't," Aaron whispers.
He can't because he's dying. Literally dying. Not in a dramatic way. But in the slow way where your body stops working correctly because your mind is broken. The panic attacks started six months after the divorce. He'd be in a meeting and suddenly his heart would race so fast he thought it might explode. He'd get dizzy. He'd sweat. His doctor gave him medication. It didn't work.
Then the nightmares started. He'd dream about Natalie leaving him over and over. Each time she'd leave it was worse. Each time he'd beg her to stay and she'd just walk away. He'd wake up gasping for air.
Then he stopped being able to eat. Food tasted like ash. He'd sit in restaurants trying to force himself to eat and he'd just stare at the plate feeling empty.
His therapist says he's depressed. His doctor says he needs to accept the divorce and move on. His mother says he's being pathetic. But none of them understand. None of them know what it feels like to destroy the only good thing in your life and then have to keep breathing anyway.
Aaron has been surviving. Not living. Just surviving day to day hoping that somehow things would get better.
Then the invitation came.
Sophia sent it. Natalie's best friend. She probably meant it as a final goodbye. A way of saying Natalie has moved on and Aaron needs to too. But Aaron read it differently. He read it as his last chance.
His only chance.
"You'll ruin her wedding," James says desperately. "You'll embarrass her. You'll embarrass yourself. You'll destroy what's left of your reputation."
"Good," Aaron says.
James looks shocked. Aaron understands why. Aaron Blake has spent his entire adult life protecting his reputation. He carefully controls every image. Every appearance. Every public moment. He's built a brand around being successful and powerful and in control.
But he's tired of control.
Control is what destroyed his marriage. He controlled Natalie. Controlled what she wore. Controlled who she spent time with. Controlled what she said at business dinners. He controlled her until she couldn't breathe anymore and then he divorced her for not fitting into his controlled life.
"I'm going to that wedding," Aaron says.
"No you're not," James moves toward him.
"Yes I am," Aaron stands up. He puts the invitation in his jacket pocket. He walks toward the elevator.
James follows him. "You're having a mental breakdown. You're not thinking clearly. Give me the invitation. Go take your medication. Sleep."
"I haven't slept," Aaron says. "Not really. Not in three years. I close my eyes and I see her face. I hear her crying when I told her she wasn't good enough for my world. I see the moment she realized I was serious. I watch her heart break over and over."
The elevator doors open. Aaron steps inside.
"If you do this, you lose everything," James says. He puts his hand on the elevator door trying to keep it open. "Your job. Your company. Your mother will disown you. Is she worth all of that?"
Aaron looks at James. His loyal assistant. His friend. The only person who actually believed in him when everything was falling apart.
"She's worth everything," Aaron says.
James's hand falls away from the door.
The elevator closes and Aaron is alone. He presses the button for the lobby. As the elevator descends, he catches his reflection in the metal walls. He looks terrible. Hollow. Like a man who's been haunted by his own choices.
He knows what he's about to do is crazy. He knows the media will tear him apart. He knows his mother will be furious. He knows his company will suffer. He knows people will think he's unhinged.
But three years of slow death has to end somehow.
And if Natalie is going to move on then he needs to fight for her one last time. He needs to show her that he's not the man who divorced her. That he understands what he lost. That he's willing to destroy everything just to prove she matters more than anything else.
Even if she says no. Even if she marries Daniel anyway. Even if she has him arrested for crashing her wedding. At least he'll have tried. At least he'll have fought instead of giving up like he did three years ago.
The elevator doors open in the lobby.
Aaron walks out. He can feel eyes on him. His security recognizes him but doesn't try to stop him. Nobody tries to stop the boss from doing what he wants.
He walks toward the parking garage. His car is there. A sleek black Mercedes that feels like a prison. He gets in and sits for a moment with his hands on the steering wheel.
For three years he's been a ghost. Going through the motions. Building a company that feels empty. Dating women who mean nothing. Pretending to be fine while slowly falling apart.
But today he stops pretending.
Today he either wins Natalie back or he finally accepts he's lost her.
Either way, today he stops dying.
Aaron starts the car and drives toward the church. Toward Natalie. Toward the woman who will either save him or destroy him completely.
Traffic is light. It takes twenty minutes. He's not sure what he's going to do yet. He hasn't planned anything. He just knows he can't let her marry someone else. He can't watch the love of his life promise forever to another man.
As he gets closer to the church, Aaron's heart rate picks up. His hands start shaking again. This is it. This is the moment that changes everything.
He pulls up to the church and parks.
There are photographers outside already. Security. Guests arriving in fancy cars. This is a big wedding. Important wedding. And Aaron Blake is about to crash it spectacularly.
He steps out of his car.
He straightens his jacket even though it's wrinkled. He runs his hand through his messy hair even though it doesn't help. He knows he looks terrible. He looks desperate. He looks like a man who's lost everything.
Good.
That's exactly what he is.
Aaron walks toward the church doors. His heart pounds so hard he thinks everyone around him can hear it. This is his last chance. His only chance. The moment that will define whether he's brave enough to fight for love or whether he's a coward who gives up.
He takes a breath.
Then he pushes open the church doors and walks inside.
Everything else disappears. The cameras. The people. The noise. All he sees is Natalie at the top of the aisle in a white dress looking like an angel. And in that moment, Aaron Blake knows he's made the right choice.
Whatever happens next, at least he's finally fighting for something that matters.