The Desolated Two

// forty one //

Aaron's POV

The day I despise falls upon my heavy eyes and I sigh, stirring my body awake even though my mind never rested last night. I might have slept for an hour or two, and even during that I woke up enough times to come back to the shocking reality of the day.

Diana is a mother.

She hid it from me.

And then, I walked out on her.

You know what the worst part is? She didn't try to stop me, not that it would have mattered anyway but she didn't even make a single effort to keep me in her life. I mean, why would she? She clearly doesn't need me.

Just yesterday morning I woke up beside her beautiful face, and then the whole night I was haunted by the thought of how I ain't ever going to be the reason behind the smile that she wears to enlighten my day.

A loud sigh escapes my lips as I force myself out of the bed, and get under the shower. The events from yesterday unroll in my mind as I let the hot water hit my back. Except the huge shocking morning I had yesterday, the rest of the day went pretty eventless. All I did was come back to my apartment, did the dishes and watched Criminal Minds enough to shut out her thoughts away from my own mind.

Did it help? Not even slightly.

I take my time in doing the morning rituals before I settle down on the kitchen counter to have breakfast. I have to literally force the cereal down my throat just to feed myself enough to get back my energy to face her at the office today.

The inevitable.

To be honest, I kind of understand why she didn't stop me. She told me that I had my free will, and she would respect my decision but it still didn't prevent the hurt. Just when I thought I was falling for her, she pushed me away. And she did it in such a way, that I might not ever be able to bounce back to her.

After locking the apartment behind myself, I take just a minute to get to my car in the parking basement. I'm glad when I don't run into Connor or Ella, I don't think I'm ready to face either of them and have a heart to heart about my decision. People may call me wrong for walking out on her, because her having a child shouldn't be a problem, and that definitely isn't. The trouble here is the lack of trust, from both the sides.

And, how she lied to me deliberately!

She could've confided in me and prevented all this but, she chose her own path and right now, I'm choosing mine. It may be wrong, but from where I stand, this is my free will and I choose what I think is best for me.

It takes me twenty minutes to reach office and when I get into the elevator, I can practically feel the anxiety rising in me because I know I can't get to my cubicle without passing the front desk where she will be. Taking a deep breath, I step out and almost involuntarily my eyes land Diana. She's wearing a white dress, formal enough to pass for the office and she looks as beautiful as always.

Her eyes shoot up and they meet mine just for a second before she glances away, almost scoffing and I realise that I've been ignored. Well, this isn't how I imagined this going. I straighten out my composure before I get to my cubicle, not sparing her another glance, praying that my facial expression don't give away the hurt I feel.

My desk is loaded with five files and I sigh, knowing that it will be keeping my mind occupied enough to not think about her presence just few feet away from me. If I think about it, I'll end up talking to her and that's the last thing I want to do today.