Chapter 139

Aria’s POV

Lucian’s question wasn’t unexpected, considering all he had witnessed up until this moment. However, that did not make it any easier to answer.

This secret of my identity was one that I had kept for so long, lately just to stop Lucian from learning the truth.

It had become more habit than not to keep the secret from him. Yet now, just as I feared, the truth had finally caught up with me.

Even if I lied outright to his face right now, I wasn’t sure he would believe me. There’d been too many coincidences, too many instances to prove what he was guessing to be the truth.

To lie now would only make everything worse.

So, after a moment’s reflection and a deep breath, I lifted my hands up, gripped the edges of my mask, and removed it.

In my mind, I whispered, “It’s alright, Luna. Bring down the disguise.”

“Very well…” Luna said, caution in her voice in my head. Yet still, she did as I asked. We’d both kept up this front for too long. It felt unnatural to reveal the truth now.

But perhaps it was long overdue.

Lowering my mask, I watched as the ends of my hair change into their lighter color. I could feel my body’s natural scent return, pushing through the sterile, scentless blockers my wolf had in place to disguise us.

Lifting my gaze, I looked at Lucian and saw his shock clearly on his face.

Lucian’s POV

Dr. A and Aria were the same person.

Even though I had suspected, even to the point of being mostly sure, it still stunned me to have the truth finally and fully presented to me.

All this time, I had purposefully turned the other direction, not allowing myself to see what had been so plainly in front of me. I’d made excuses, I disbelieved my own eyes and my own heart.

I hated that it had been so difficult for me to see, to believe, just how special my wife had been. All those years, I had thought her nothing more than a homemaker. At the time, I hadn’t even realized how effective she’d been at that.

Now, I could see that not only had she been an effective housewife, but she had also had the skills of a world-class doctor. If I had known, would it have changed things for us?

But how would I have known? We had fallen into habits as soon as we were married. I had been so busy with work, and Aria had adopted the life of a homemaker.

If only I had paid more attention… If only I had seen all that she had given up to be my wife, doing what she thought was best for our marriage…

“You never told me,” I said, but I wasn’t accusing her, not really. I only had myself to blame for everything that had gone wrong between us.

“I didn’t know how,” she said. “I couldn’t trust what kind of reaction you’d have…” Her gaze fell away.

Once more, I hated myself for having given her reason to doubt me.

Looking back now, I could see everything different. How much had Aria faced all on her own?

We had been going through a divorce, yet all the while she’d been working with me in a professional capacity to help bring health care to the less fortunate. How difficult it must have been for her to be beside me at that time.

And then there was the whole ordeal with Caleb. She did her best, facing everyone, making the best decisions even though they weren’t popular. And she did it all on her own, proving herself to be not just an amazing Healer, but also an exceptional woman.

I had discounted her so much in the past, unable or perhaps unwilling to see the diamond she truly was.

My regret was immeasurable, as deep as the deepest ocean. If I had a time machine…

But I didn’t. That meant I had to fix things now, in the present. There was no going back. There was no changing the hurtful things I had done in the past. Now, I could only strive to do what was right in the present.

And that meant handling this situation with the grace Aria deserved.

She was tense, looking at me nervously, like she expected me to lose my temper, to shout or yell, to blame her for keeping this secret from me, even though it was me who gave her little reason to trust, and less reason to reveal this secret to me.

I hadn’t been worthy of knowing in the past.

Now that she had taken the chance and revealed it to me, I needed to act in a way that would not disappoint her, or myself.

“Thank you for telling me,” I said. “I’m sorry I didn’t figure it out sooner.”

Thinking back, I thought of Jasper’s recent proposal.

“Jasper knew,” I said, realizing.

“Yes. And your parents,” she told me.

It hurt, that she had given them that information but not me. Jasper, especially.

“They figured it out on their own,” she said. “I only told Piper and Jasper. Paul, Frank, and Harry knew because I don’t keep the secret in Moonglow. There, everyone knows Aria and Dr. A are the same person.”

That alleviated some of the hurt, but not all of it. For Jasper to have figured it out when I couldn’t…

Gods, maybe I truly was unworthy of this woman.

I couldn’t accept that though. I had failed many times in the past but I wouldn’t in the future.

“Aria,” I said. I was still so in awe, taking in the full picture of her. Her true self and all of her glorious achievements. She was such a special person. “I’m sorry I couldn’t see you for who you were.”

She glanced up at me with curiosity.

I pounced on that, pressing my words forward, eliminating any doubt.

“Please allow me to romantically pursue you,” I said. “I’ve failed you so much in the past, but no longer. Never again. I will do right by you this time, I swear it.”

Her eyes turned a bit sad, a bit pitying, as she looked closer at me. “I want to believe you,” she said, “but I don’t know how. You let me down so many times in the past, Lucian.”

“I know that, Aria, and I’m so sorry for it. Things will be different this time.”

“I don’t know, Lucian…” Her pause gave me hope. She was at least considering things, which was more than I ever would have dreamed of until now. “I need time,” she said.

“Take all the time in the world,” I told her. “I will wait for you, Aria.”

A faint blush dusted her cheeks and she looked away from me. Grabbing her mask, she placed it back on her face. Then, with a rush, she walked out of the room. As she went, I watched as her hair turned darker and sniffed as her scent entirely disappeared.

Someday I would have to ask her how she accomplished that.

For now, though. I needed to figure out how to convince her that I was worth trusting.

I vowed to myself, here and now, that I would do whatever it took to convince her to give me another chance.

I would love her correctly this time, and forever.

That was a promise.