Too Late Mr. White! I'm Married To Your Rival Now novel Chapter 180

Elena's POV

I thought tagging along to this golf outing would give me a chance to get a word in with Aiden, but no such luck. Ryan wouldn't shut up the entire time, and Aiden barely spoke—except to Aria. Always to Aria.

Ryan kept rambling on about some business deal or another, leaving me zero opportunity to join the conversation. Michael, standing off to the side, was his usual quiet self, offering no help whatsoever.

By the end of the round, the only thing I'd touched was my damn golf club.

Ryan and Ethan had a different experience altogether. Those two lost a bet and got stuck with the dare—having to tell random strangers "I love you" with their golf clubs in hand. God, so juvenile.

Ryan's luck was particularly terrible. He approached some hot-headed guy who ended up chasing him around the green with a club for a good few minutes.

Meanwhile, Aria filmed the whole ridiculous scene on her phone, with Aiden standing right beside her, his eyes never leaving her face. Not once. My stomach twisted as I watched him watching her, that intensity in his gaze that he'd never directed at me.

"Elena."

I jumped at Michael's sudden voice beside me. "What?"

"You dropped your club."

I looked down, embarrassed to find my golf club lying at my feet. As I bent to pick it up, Michael added, "Do you always covet things that belong to other people?"

His tone was lazy, but his meaning couldn't have been clearer.

I pulled my gaze away from Aiden and Aria, facing Michael with what I hoped was a neutral expression. "I'm not sure what you're implying."

"A man who isn't yours will never be yours, no matter how much you stare."

I forced a smile. "Do you really think Aiden could fall for someone like Aria?"

"What I think doesn't matter. It's Aiden's choice that counts."

Michael wasn't playing the gentleman today. "Since you arrived, Aiden barely glanced at you once. After that initial look, you haven't even existed in his peripheral vision."

My cheeks burned as he continued, "When Aria changed the subject earlier, Ryan jumped in, and Aiden followed her lead. Not one of us has acknowledged you. Have you asked yourself why?"

He made a dismissive sound. "I can't stop you from humiliating yourself, but your pathetic display is ruining everyone's mood."

I felt like I'd been slapped. No one had ever spoken to me like this—no one. I'm Elena Pierce, for Christ's sake. My father practically owns half the real estate in this city.

"Aiden has a first love, you know," I snapped, grasping for something to wound him back.

Michael looked at me with pitying eyes. "Have you ever met her?"

"No, but I know Aiden's been looking for her. Aria's just playing a role. Are you all really falling for it?"

Michael suddenly laughed, the sound grating on my already frayed nerves. "Have you considered that Aria might BE Aiden's first love?"

His words hit me like a wrecking ball. For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The possibility had never occurred to me, and I hated how much sense it made. The way Aiden looked at her...

But I recovered quickly—I always do. "If Aria were Aiden's precious first love, then Diana Hayes would never have been in the picture all these years."

I flipped my hair over my shoulder with practiced confidence. "I may not have met Aiden's first love, but I know for certain it isn't Aria."

I said it with absolute conviction, even as doubt gnawed at my insides.

Michael just shrugged. "Believe whatever you want."

I could tell he didn't enjoy talking to women like me—women he thought couldn't hear the truth. Women he believed lived in self-created fantasies.

If he hadn't been worried about me ruining their precious little golf outing, he wouldn't have bothered saying anything at all.

Without another word, Michael walked away, rejoining Aiden and the others.

I stayed rooted to the spot, my fingernails digging into my palm as I watched Aiden lean down to whisper something in Aria's ear, making her laugh. My grip on the golf club tightened until my knuckles turned white.

What if Michael was right? What if I'd been chasing a man who was already found?

No. I couldn't accept that. Wouldn't accept that.

Still, as I watched them together—the easy intimacy, the way they moved in perfect sync without even trying—something cold and heavy settled in my chest.

After a few more minutes of torturing myself, I turned and walked away. But this wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

Aiden Carter would be mine. I just needed a new strategy.

Aria's POV

I thought I'd be able to enjoy dinner with Aiden and his friends after the golf game. Quick bathroom break first—that's all I needed.

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