Chapter 194
Aiden
Harrington & Lowell had one of those offices that screamed old money and quiet power.
Leather, dark wood, old books worth more than my car. Men who made athletes and CEOs sweat just by straightening their ties. They listened to everything I told them—Noah’s father, the protective orders, the relocation work William’s team had been handling, the possibility of William withdrawing his aid.
The senior partner, Martin Lowell, barely looked up from Noah’s file before exhaling slowly, the way someone does when they already know their answer but want to dress it in sophistication.
“Aiden,” he began, folding his hands, his expression grave, “you’re asking us to take over proceedings that are currently being handled by William Hart’s legal team.”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “If he withdraws, Noah’s mother will need immediate representation.”
Lowell nodded slowly, politely. “And that is precisely the issue. Hart’s name alone shuts more doors than it opens.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
He offered a sympathetic look that felt like a rehearsed performance.
“When a titan like Hart enters the arena, every attorney in Houston watches. And when someone of his stature suddenly withdraws—especially from a domestic violence protection case—any reputable firm will assume one of two things.”
He raised two fingers.
“One: that the case is poisoned. Meaning it carries hidden liabilities we cannot yet see.”
“Two: that he will remain involved behind the scenes.”
My stomach tightened. “It’s nothing like that. Noah is reconsidering the wedding, and if that were the case, Mr. Hart assured him he would drop his legal help to the family.”
Lowell smiled politely. “I see the situation now. Aiden, let me be honest here. Men like William Hart don’t step back. They reposition.”
He closed the folder.
“And if he’s repositioning, few firms in this city—if any—will risk running straight into him. Neither will we. His lawyers are connected, influential... I am sorry.”
When I finished, Mr. Lowell folded his hands and simply asked, “And the second concern?”
I almost didn’t want to say it.
I was already bracing for the answer.
But I pushed the words out anyway.
“Is there any legal way,” I said, “to break Noah’s career-management contract with William Hart? Any angle at all?”
Lowell sighed. The kind of sigh that stripped the hope right out of you.
“Aiden,” he said, voice low and uncomfortably honest, “if for the right amount of money, with the right liability waivers, and sufficient time, there could be a lawyer willing to take over Noah’s family case, eventually….”
He paused, then shook his head once—firm, final, leaving no room for hope.
“No one—and I mean no one in this state or any other—will go against a binding contract written and reinforced by William Hart. And even if someone tried, no one would ever win. Not against a man with his resources. Not against a document his legal team drafted.”
He didn’t soften it.
“Attempting to challenge that contract would be professional suicide for any attorney. And a guaranteed loss for your boy.”
The room felt colder.
Smaller.
Like the walls were closing in.
Lowell finished with a quiet brutality that left nothing to interpret:
“Understand something, Aiden. The contract stands. The agreement stands. And as long as William Hart wants him bound to it, there is no legal path out. Not now. Not soon. Not ever.”
Just like that, the truth hit me like a punch to the throat.
We had been dreaming the impossible.
There was no escape route.
No loophole.
No secret clause.
No miracle lawyer waiting in the shadows.
And I had no idea how the hell I was going to tell Noah that.
Noah
My half-hour lunch was the highlight of my day—hell, of my life at this point. Hearing his voice, even for a few minutes, grounded me. Let me breathe. Let me be myself again, if only for the length of a sandwich and a lukewarm energy drink. Everything else felt like wearing someone else's skin. But those minutes… those were mine.
I knew he was talking to scouts, lawyers, anyone who could possibly help us, pushing through every damn wall he could find. And that was the one thing I couldn’t do. I could pretend. I could smile. I could train until my body shook. I could plan a wedding with my fake fiancée and put on a fucking show for the cameras. But that was the limit of my abilities. Building our future—that was up to Aiden. And every time I asked him how things were going, he tried to sound confident, but the tone behind his words told me enough. It wasn’t easy. Nothing was.
That morning, knowing he was meeting with the best lawyers he had managed to find, I couldn’t focus on anything. I was freaking out through every class, hoping, praying, biting my nails—one of my nastiest habits—until lunch finally came and I practically ran to the lockers with the secret phone in my pocket.
The second he answered, my entire chest unclenched.
“Hey, baby,” he murmured, soft and relieved, the way he always sounded when it was just us. “God, it’s good to hear you.”
I felt my smile before I realized I was making one. “Hi, love. What are you doing?”
“Thinking about you,” he said without hesitation. “You?”
“Missing you,” I whispered. “Like crazy.”
He laughed a little, and the sound warmed something frozen inside me. We talked about nothing for a bit—what I was eating, what he had for breakfast, the stupid joke Hale had made the night before, the little details we clung to like lifelines. But my heart was pounding the whole time, waiting, waiting, waiting… until I finally worked up the courage.
“So…” I said quietly, “how did it go yesterday? With the lawyers?”
There was a pause. Not long. But long enough to tell me exactly how bad it was.
Aiden exhaled, voice steady but careful. “Baby… they weren’t optimistic.”
My stomach dropped. Completely.
He kept going, gentle, trying to cushion the blow. “They didn’t think anyone would take over the case if William pulled out. And as for the contract… Noah, they were clear. It’s airtight. No one in the state wants to go up against him. No one thinks they can win.”
My heartbeat stuttered, and something cold spread behind my ribs.
“So then… our plan?” My voice came out small, almost childlike. “How am I supposed to oppose him without risking everything? My family… my father will kill us all if he finds them again. And if I can’t break the contract… does that mean I have to marry her? Sign with his team? Be… without you?” My breath shook. “How are we going to escape, Aiden? How?”
“Baby—breathe.” His voice cracked on the word. “We’ll figure it out. I swear we will. I’m already calling other lawyers. I’ll get a fifth opinion, a sixth, a tenth. Someone has to know something we don’t. And if I have to sell it all to keep your family safe, I’ll fucking do it. Just hold on. Please.”
His voice was trembling now too. Hearing him like that—my Aiden, who never broke—nearly wrecked me.
“No, no… hey—Aiden, love, listen to me.” I wiped at my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “I’m sorry… It’s okay. We wait. Football players don’t get golden seasons forever. So… we wait. I’ll play a year. Maybe two. By then, we’ll be safe. My family will be safe. I’ll make money. I’ll do what he wants. I’ll marry her, whatever. We’ll just… postpone it. I’ll wait a little longer. I’ll wait for you forever…”
He inhaled sharply, the pain in that sound almost physical. “Don’t say that, baby. Don’t.”
“I have to,” I whispered. “I need you to know.”
We both went quiet. I heard him choke on a breath. And that was it—that was all it took for my own tears to spill again. We were ruining each other through a phone line.
“I need to see you,” I blurted, the words ripping out of me like a wound opening. “Aiden, I can’t do this without seeing you at least once. Please—I can’t—”
“Baby boy…” His voice was so soft I felt it down my spine. “I know. I know, love. But, right now, we can’t. It will be a while before it’s safe, but we’re not letting go. However long it takes, I’ll wait for you too. No matter what, Noah—I’ll wait for you… forever.”
I squeezed the phone so hard it hurt. “Promise?”
“On my life,” he whispered. “Hold on for me. Please, baby boy… just hold on.”