Desired by All and He Threw Away 31

Aiden’s pov 

I hadn’t really noticed her room before, but now her bed looks too oft, too small, too real. 

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It’s strange being somewhere that actually breathes–walls close enough to touch, air carrying that faint mix of lavender and warmth that feels almost human. 

Taylor’s room catches me off guard. Books lean against each other by the window, spines bent from use.how did i miss that? Wax has dripped down half burned candles on her desk frozen in id melt like time decided to linger here.Everything in this space whispers her–unfiltered, unarranged. 

Intimate in a way that makes my penthouse feel even colder its symmetry too clean its silence too polished. she stands by the door in her princess pajamas her fingers resting lightly on the switch. “Its getting late,” she says her voice barely above the hum 

of the room. 

“we should get some rest- we have got a long drive back to the city tomorrow.” there is softness in her tone but something steady underneath when she adds, “you can take the bed. Ill take the couch..” 

i fold my arms pretending its a casual gesture when really its armor.saying no feels safer than saying yes.the bed looks like it could swallow me whole- too comfortable too inviting like it might trick me into feeling at home. 

Taylor laughs the sound is soft but edged with teasing. “Please. Your ass has probably never slept on a couch in your life. And as your former therapist, I don’t recommend testing it out–not with that old injury of yours.” 

pull a reluctant grin out of me. i tilt my head letting the smirk linger.“so… youre saying I will be sleeping next to you 

Her word tonight then?” 

yhe effect is immediate― color rushes to her cheeks a faint rose blooming up to her temples.she tries to hide it rolling her eyes but the twitch at the corner of her mouth betrays her. “no, i will not. Ill be sleeping with my little sister–in her room.” 

“shame,” i murmur shifting to lean against the doorway voice low enough to sound dangerous if she wants to hear it that way. i was starting to think this recovery thing had some perks.” 

she lets out a laugh the kind that sounds like she is trying not to give me the satisfaction. “Youre impossible,” she says but there is a bit of warmth behind her words- a flicker that almost feels like nostalgia or something close to it.” 

“I’ve been told..” for a beat silence stretches between us gentle and easy.the tension that used to hang between us -sharp and uncertain but has also softened into something else. Something warmer. I catch the faint sparkle in her eyes before she turns to leave. 

“Well,” she says, brushing her hair over her shoulder, “goodnight Mr. kinciad.” 

“Goodnight, Miss. Reed.” 

the door clicks softly behind her leaving me alone in the quiet hum of her world. i sink onto the edge of the bed the mattress letting out a soft sigh beneath me. her scent lingers in the sheets i smells like citrus and something sweet like vanilla caught in sunlight. 

It wraps around me before i can stop it stirring something in my chest I would rather ignore. Ridiculous. Its just a smell. Nothing more. i drag a hand through my hair trying to shake it off. then my phone buzzes against the nightstand sharp and insistent snapping the spell in two. Marcus. My agent. 

Marcus: *Final draft of the divorce settlement. Review before moring.” 

The screen glows cold against my face, filled with rows of numbers and clauses that mean nothing outside of money and loss. I scroll until I reach her name–Ella Walker. It lands like a bruise. 

The last time we spoke, her voice wasn’t syrup–sweet or rehearsed–it was pure venom. She’d called while I was on m way back from the game, her words cutting through the call like shards of gloss. 

“You did this, didn’t you? You released it the sex tape of me and dyan!” every syllable trembled between fury and desperation. i 

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Chapter 31 

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can still hear it- the uneven rhythm of her breathing the crack iner voice when rage started to sound like fear… 

But before during the half time, she’d been different. I still remember the way she leaned across the table fingers tracing the rim of it her smile was so soft and practiced. “Maybe a cruise,” she had said, het eyes glinting with something that wasnt affection. “One last memory before we close the chapter.” I’d agreed–because it was easier to sign away peace than to start another fight. 

Then came Dylan. And the lies. And the kind of betrayal that doesnt end with words–it lingers, quiet and heavy, even now as her name stares back at me from a screen. 

I stare at the line item-$30 million lump sum. 

Too much. Too easy. 

“Wait,” I mutter under my breath, half to myself. “If I give Ella that much money, she might just get scammed by Dylan.” 

the words hang in the air sharp and empty echoing in the quiet like something already broken. then a laugh slips out its rough, dry, stripped of anything resembling humor. Figures. i once thought we could save.us work but now i dont know. watching her charge headfirst into the flames with dylan, i realize she is the one who needs saving- from herself. 

i drop the phone beside me and lie back my arm draped over my eyes.the ceiling above me is painted a pale cream edges soft in the lamplight. Its not grand not designer- but it feels human. Honest.the kind of space where people actually breathe. 

I can still hear a faint movement down the hall–Taylor’s voice is gentle coaxing her little sister to sleep. There’s laughter. Light, unguarded.it threads through the thin walls it soft as a lullaby. i let it wash over me grounding me in a world that isnt made of headlines or money or betrayal. 

for once, Im not thinking about the empire i built, or some tacis to win a game, the cameras or a contracts waiting to be signed. Im thinking about the sound of her laughter in the dark. about how she looked at me earlier- not like i was a brand but like i was a man she might actually trust. 

The scent of her shampoo drifts up again it is warm and faintly citrusy. i breathe it in, slow and deliberate the tension in my chest is loosen and the tight coil of anger and exhaustion finally beginning to unwind. 

the sheets are cool against my skin. outside the rain has stopped replaced by the rhythmic whisper of crickets and the occasional drip from the leaves.the world feels muted softer than it has in years. 

i close my eyes. 

for the first time in a long time, Im not getting work up about a foo ball match or an argument with Ella or replaying a scandal. Im not building defenses in my head. im just here- half sunk into a small bed, surrounded by the quiet pulse of something I dont dare name. 

Peace. Thats what it is. Simple, undeserved peace. as sleep begins to pull me under my last thought drifts through the haze this is the first time in years i let myself rest. 

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