Page 54 of Aidan (The Doherty Mafia)
I didn’t know what I would do next. What was left to do?
Aldo Baron needed to be dealt with. I had far bigger problems now than him being a pain on my side. But for that, I would have to get the rest of the family involved.
I didn’t know if I was ready to tell them everything. Despite what Leah had done about the baby, I still wanted to protect her from the shower of hatred and rage she might have had to face if I told my brothers the truth.
Just when I was so close to making the biggest decision of my life—just when I had an opportunity to have a future with the woman I was in love with—everything was ruined.
I didn’t know if there was any coming back from that.
Twenty-Eight
Leah
Four days passed since Aidan walked out of my apartment and I still hadn’t heard from him.
I didn’t even know why I still held out hope that I would ever hear from him again.
I was in shock that he hadn’t taken a more drastic approach to my revelation. I deserved much worse than this silent treatment. I deserved to pay for my actions the same way he would make any business associate pay when they wronged him.
Since Aidan left, I hadn’t done anything with my time in town other than visit Mom at the hospital. Her condition hadn’t improved but the hospital staff took good care of her and kept her medicated. It was the best I could have hoped for her.
“You’re thinking about something, honey, what is it? I want you to tell me what’s on your mind,” Mom said. I had been sitting in silence next to her hospital bed for a while. The TV was on mute and she was sitting up, reclined, breathing softly.
In the last few weeks since my return, we had become accustomed to each other’s silent company. There was a sort of comfort in that.
I turned to her with a blank stare. I had so much on my mind that I wouldn’t have known where to start.
Aldo Baron and his men would come looking for me any day now. Time was ticking. I was an idiot to assume they’d forgotten about me. They were probably watching my every move.
I’d already deleted all those photos I took of Aidan’s documents on my phone. They’d have to kill me if they wanted to, but I wasn’t going to betray Aidan again. Not even for my Mom’s sake. I’d made that decision already.
I sighed and shook my head.
“It’s nothing, Mom. You just relax,” I said.
“Honey, I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, and you don’t know how much I hate myself for that. But right now, I want you to tell me everything. I want to know. I don’t want to die not knowing how you are or what you’re going to do with your life.”
Her lips quivered and my breath caught in my throat. She looked so pale and frail. When she reached for my hand, I didn’t pull away. It was strange to have my mother be kind to me when the only real memories I had of her were those in which she threatened and manipulated me.
Well, what could she do now?
She didn’t scare me anymore.
Even if she disapproved of all the things I felt, I wouldn’t let her manipulate me again. I wasn’t that naive girl anymore.
I breathed in deeply before I said the words I knew were going to shock her.
“I’m in love with Aidan Doherty. I’m not sure if I ever fell out of love with him.”
Mom’s nostrils flared and finally, I saw a flush of color on her cheeks.
She gulped, then nodded.
“I should have known it was real,” she replied.
It was like all the people in this town had made a pact together or something—they would shock me with their subdued reaction to the secrets I revealed to them.
I stared at my mother with my mouth hanging open. I expected a whole speech on how disappointed she was in me. Her rambling about how much she disapproved of Aidan, no matter how foolishly smitten I was.
Instead, Mom smiled at me softly.
“I will always regret not taking the opportunity to get to know him. I should have given you credit when you told me about him back then. I should have known you would find the right man for yourself.”
I was relieved and upset at the same time. Couldn’t she have had this epiphany five years ago? It would have saved everyone a lot of misery.
She must have noticed the stoniness that took shape in my eyes.
“I’m truly sorry for everything, Leah. I know I made a big mistake and I wish I could change everything. I would have wanted you to be happy, rather than stop you from being with the man your father didn’t approve of. I’m sorry, honey.”
