Leon settled into the back of his car and the driver pulled away into traffic when his phone rang. “Hello, Leon Opus.” “Leon, what the hell is going on? My people are in an uproar.” Aria’s father was on the phone. He’d called Leon to vent. “What has your people in an uproar? I’m unsure what you’re referring to. Your people may have overlooked several things I can think of. But don’t worry about it. I’m dealing with it right now. You can continue to wash your hands of all of it.” Leon wanted to avoid her father’s interference. Weeks ago, he’d said what he’d thought exactly of the senator to his face. Leon took the kid gloves off for this one again. “You sold me damaged goods, and instead of returning those goods, I’m making improvements.” “What are you talking about? I didn’t wash my hands of Aria, and what goods did I sell you? I’m not following.” The senator groused unhappily in indignation. “You set me up to take Aria off your hands

“Michael, I’m not sure you understand this. But just because I’m easy to get along with isn’t necessarily how our child would act. Everything is random, our differences are more likely going to be different. A male will present different symptoms to a female. That’s why it took them so long to diagnose me. When I was a child, they didn’t believe girls could have ADHD or autism. Treatment for women is less understood than for men. What’s effective for men may not be effective for women. Different body makeup and size differences contribute to medications being too strong for women. Also, women’s symptoms are simply different. We learn to hide our symptoms until we no longer can. That’s what makes us appear ill.” “I have never shirked my duty or backed down from a challenge.” “Is that what I am? A duty and a challenge? Is that what our child would be?” “There you go, twisting my words against me.” “No, I’m not Michael. I’m trying to und

“Julie, why are you trying to take the blame here when it’s clearly mine? It makes little sense, love.” Michael turned his phone off and put it down. He took hers and repeated the action. Then before she could do more than protest, his taking her phone. “No. I think it’s time these disappeared. We’ll deal with this now.” He pulled her into his lap and used his arms to hold her and keep her close. “You aren’t at fault in this. You’ve consistently portrayed me as a decent person to others. Though I haven’t done the same for you. You never stopped caring, no matter how horrible I or anyone else was to you. I judged you solely based on your appearance and my preconceived notions about women. I overlooked what was right in front of me, prioritizing the opinions of others. You endured not only that, but also everything else people threw at you. I’m the one that used your generosity to prevent you from dating selfishly all while I paraded my lovers in front of you. Hell, you planned my weddin

Julie sat up in bed while Michael returned from completing his nightly routine and she had to admit he never had to worry about his appearance. His body rippled with toned perfection in every way possible. She loved just watching him casually, going about his day. These were the times she could forget how poorly he’d acted earlier. Now Julie’s thoughts wandered back to the changes in Michael’s behaviour. Would they continue and could she forgive and forget the past? To her, she felt like she was with someone new, and they were bonding. When Michael heard her analysis of his past, she feared any connection they’d made disappeared with his feeling of hurt. Her fears never came to pass. Instead, he did something she’d not expected and held her. Just held her, leaving several kisses on her temple and sat there with her on his lap. Michael said nothing for the longest time. Julie was unsure about pushing him to share his thoughts. To her, Julie felt if this was any

“Good morning, Stephen. To what do I owe this early morning call?” Julie’s day would go downhill if her morning routine ended up interrupted. In the last month, it’d changed so much with Michael’s interest in her changing as it had. He’d returned to work again in his office, so she finally had time for herself. It evoked a blend of positive and negative emotions. She still struggled to get her writing ready for Mike, her editor, to work his magic with it. The idea of what she would do with her novel once Mike completed it caused her to wrestle internally. Michael may assume her publisher would retract their decision, but she’d heard nothing after the meeting and the few words online. “Julie, I know you, and I wanted to check in with you. Please inform me if you need anything or have any good news to share.” “I’ll survive if that’s what you mean, Stephen.” “How is that husband of yours?” “He’s fine, as far as