“I thought you would have been happy to win your wager now,” Judith scoffed.
Oliver rounded on Aaron. “Wager? You placed a wager on my sister?” he spat.
“It was a silly game. Judith, please, do not make this more… Please. I just want to talk to you, that is all.”
“He placed a wager on my getting married by the time you returned. Although I suspect you changed it now to make it that I won’t get married? Or what is this? I do not understand,” Judith huffed, her words tumbling out one over the other.
Aaron met his friend’s gaze, the tension between them escalating. “The wager was a mistake. Much of what I did was a mistake, but not this. Oliver, I care about Judith. I can’t stand by and watch her make a mistake. Listen to me, please. Hear me out. I ask for five minutes of your time, not more.”
Just as it seemed the situation might escalate further, Oliver took a deep breath and gestured toward the parlor. “Fine. We have been friends all our lives, I suppose I can allow that.”
“Oliver,” Judith said, desperation creeping into her words.
“No, we will talk about whatever this is and get it out of the way.” Oliver pointed at the door. “Follow me.”
Aaron nodded, grateful for the chance to explain.
As they entered the parlor, the tension remained thick. The grandeur of the room, with its heavy drapes and ornate furniture, seemed to close in on him.
Judith followed her brother in, her eyes wary and filled with curiosity and panic.
“It is Judith I want to talk to,” Aaron insisted again.
Oliver sighed deeply. “Very well, I shall sit over yonder, but I will not leave the two of you alone, unless Judith wants it,” he relented, looking at his sister.
“Stay,” she said quietly.
Oliver nodded, taking a seat next to an old knight’s armor which stood at the back of the room.
Aaron’s heart raced as Judith approached. She looked more beautiful than ever, but the look in her eyes was one of pain and betrayal.
“Aaron, what is this about?” she asked.
Aaron took a deep breath, his hands shaking. “Judith, I need to tell you the truth. About everything.”
She crossed her arms, clearly trying to protect herself. “I’m listening.”
Aaron looked down, gathering his thoughts. “It is true that I kissed you because I love you. I couldn’t help myself. I’d felt it for a while, and I was struggling to contain those feelings, but that night, when I introduced you to Graham, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I knew you would make a good match and that I’d lose you.”
She tilted her head to the side. “So, the day you saw me talking to him at the lake, you told him you did not know who I was?”
“I didn’t want to tell him because I wanted to keep our close connection.”
“But why didn’t you just tell me?” she asked.
Aaron felt Oliver stare daggers into his back. “I was afraid, Judith. Afraid of ending up like my parents. Their marriage was so lifeless, so boring. I didn’t want that for myself, or for you.”
Judith’s eyes softened slightly, but she remained silent.
“And then there was Amelia,” Aaron continued, his voice heavy with regret. “I believed that I had ruined her life. She made me think that I caused her downfall, that I was destined to failanyone I married. I thought I was protecting you by pushing you away. But then I could not stop myself from kissing you, after all.”
Judith’s brow furrowed in confusion. “But why did you say those awful things to Graham about me?”
Aaron sighed, his heart aching at the memory. “I thought if Graham believed there was nothing between us, he would court you. I wanted you to have a chance at happiness, with someone who wasn’t as flawed as I believed myself to be.”
Judith shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “Aaron, that doesn’t make any sense. You hurt me so deeply.”
“I know,” Aaron sighed. “I never would have said any of it had I known you would overhear us. I was a fool. I kissed you because I love you, Judith. I’ve loved you for so long. But I was too scared to admit it, even to myself.”
