The CEO's Rejected Wife And Secret Heir novel Chapter 132

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Mercy or Revenge?

Aria’s POV – Few Days Later

"Mama, did Aunt Vivian ever say sorry?"

Noah’s question came out of nowhere during breakfast, his spoon paused halfway to his mouth, milk dripping back into his cereal bowl.

I exchanged a glance with Damien, who’d frozen mid-sip of his coffee. We hadn’t talked about Vivian in days, not since that conversation where Noah had found out about her existence.

"No, baby," I said carefully. "She hasn’t."

"But you said we have to forgive people when they say sorry." Noah set down his spoon, his little face scrunched with the same confusion from days ago. "You told me that when I fought with Mark."

"That’s different, sweetheart"

"Why?" Noah asked. "You said family is important. And she’s your sister. That makes her my aunt, right? So she’s family."

My chest tightened. We’d had this conversation before, but clearly Noah had been thinking about it, processing it in that way kids do.

"Sometimes it’s more complicated than that with grown-ups," I said.

"But Mr. Peterson says family forgives each other." Noah’s voice was so earnest, so innocent. "He says even when people make mistakes, if they’re family, you gotta try to fix it. ’Cause family is the most important thing."

Damien coughed. "Mr. Peterson says a lot of things, and he’s usually right. But buddy, what Aunt Vivian did—it wasn’t just a mistake. She hurt Mama on purpose. Multiple times."

"Did you ask her why?" Noah took another bite of cereal, speaking around it in that way kids do. "Maybe if you ask her why she hurt you, she’ll explain and say sorry. Then you can forgive her."

"It’s not that simple, sweetheart," I said.

"Why not?" Noah looked genuinely confused. "When I hit Mark at school ’cause he took my dinosaur, Mrs. Cora made us talk about why I was mad. Then I said sorry and we’re friends again. That’s what you’re s’posed to do."

"Adults are more complicated than kids," Damien said gently.

Noah shrugged, going back to his cereal. "Being mad is hard. Saying sorry is easy. I think you should at least ask her why she was mean. Maybe she’s sad like I was when Mark took my dinosaur."

After breakfast, after we’d gotten Noah ready and I dropped Noah at preschool, I couldn’t shake his words. They echoed in my head all morning, through conference calls and contract reviews and strategic planning meetings.

Maybe she doesn’t know how bad she hurt you.

Being mad is hard. Saying sorry is easy.

By lunch, I was irritable and distracted enough that Olivia noticed immediately when she arrived with takeout.

"Okay, what’s wrong?" She set down Thai food on my desk. "You’ve been staring at that same spreadsheet for twenty minutes without actually looking at it."

"Noah asked about Vivian this morning," I said.

"Oh." Olivia sank into the chair across from me. "What did he say again?"

I repeated the conversation. By the end, Olivia was smiling despite herself."That kid is too smart for his own good," she said.

"He’s not wrong though." I pushed the spreadsheet away. "About forgiveness. About family. I forgave Damien for worse things than Vivian did. So why can’t I forgive her?"

"Because Damien earned forgiveness," Olivia said immediately. "He did the work. Changed his behavior. Proved himself day after day, has Vivian done any of that?"

"No." I picked at my pad thai. "She’s been hiding. Sending taunting texts. Probably plotting her next attack."

"Exactly, so why are you feeling guilty?"

"Because Noah looked at me with those big eyes and basically called me a hypocrite for preaching forgiveness but not practicing it." I set down my fork. "And he’s not wrong. I am being a hypocrite."

"No, you’re being human." Olivia leaned forward. "Aria, there’s a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, you can forgive Vivian—let go of the anger, stop seeking revenge—without reconciling with her. Without letting her back into your life."

"Is there though? Isn’t forgiveness meaningless if it doesn’t lead to reconciliation?"

"Absolutely not." Olivia’s voice was firm. "Forgiveness is for you, not her. It’s about releasing the poison of anger so it doesn’t eat you alive. Reconciliation is about rebuilding relationship, which requires trust and changed behavior from the person who hurt you. You can have one without the other."

I was quiet, processing that.

"You told me once," Olivia continued softly, "that revenge is a poison you drink hoping the other person dies. Remember? When I was furious at my ex for cheating?"

"I remember."

"You were right then. And you’re living it now." She reached across the desk. "You’ve been drinking that poison for months, Aria. Plotting Vivian’s downfall, systematically destroying her life. Has it made you happy?"

"No," I admitted. "It’s made me hard. Mean. Someone I don’t recognize."

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