Chapter 41 Aiden
Chapter forty-one
Aiden
I’m pacing.
Shirt ironed, hair fixed, tie in my pocket because, despite tying them a million times over the years, my fingers won’t steady enough not to mess it up. Every minute that ticks by tightens something in my chest.
What if she hates the dress once it’s on?
The jewelry?
Did I forget something?
What if it’s too much?
What if I’m too much?
Sasha clears her throat loudly, and the world—every sound, every thought—just drops away.
She’s wearing the dress. My dress.
I didn’t know I could be jealous of fabric, but the satin clings to every line of her body like it’s worshiping her.
The slit is revealing just enough to tempt me to skip the event altogether, and the neckline frames her in a way that should honestly be illegal. Her hair. Her makeup. Her—all of her.
Matt doesn’t even try to hide his smile as she holds his arm. “Told you.”
She gently slaps his arm, but they don’t stop walking toward me. Her eyes are hesitant but hopeful, like she doesn’t understand she’s just redefined my entire world.
“…Ana.” It’s barely a word, more like an exhale I’ve been holding for a lifetime.
Her face flushes. “Do you like it?”
“I—no. I don’t like it.” I can hear the roughness of my voice. “I love it. I love you in it. I—fuck, Ana.”
Matt murmurs, “He’s malfunctioning.”
Probably. Because all I can do is stare.
“You…” I swallow hard. “You look—fuck, I don’t have the right words.”
Taking her hand from Matt, I memorize every inch of her, terrified this might all be a dream.
“You’re perfect,” I whisper. “You’re everything. My everything.”
Her eyes sweep over me, heat sparking in them. “You’re looking pretty irresistible yourself there, Ace.”
Matt coughs loudly. “PG-13, please. At least until Sasha and I are out of the vicinity.”
“Don’t be jealous, I’m sure you have your own fun night planned,” I retort before Sasha calls for pictures.
“Oh, I’m not jealous; I’m just praying you don’t end up breaking something tonight.”
He winks at me, and I know I’ll want to strangle him before he continues, “You know. A bone. A table. Each other.”
“Pictures!” Sasha screeches, and we fall into line before she has to tell us again.
We each take our turns having individual photos with Annalise before Sasha grabs a Charlie Company recruit who’s passing by and convinces her to take several shots of the four of us together. It’s exactly what I imagine kids who actually go to prom have to go through with their parents.
Like she’s directing the royal family’s photos, not just two recruits headed to the same gala that happens every six months, Sasha insists we needed several more couple poses with the change in lighting.
Having photos of Ana smiling up at me like I hung the moon, not just picked out a dress, is worth all the time in the world.
I make a mental note to thank Sasha later for even remembering to take pictures at all.
I still haven’t had a clear thought since Ana walked into the courtyard, but I want to remember Ana just like this forever.
Thirty minutes later, we’re finally released for the night.
After she hugs them both and Matt gives me his ‘behave yourself and keep her safe’ scowl, I guide Ana to the car, my hand at the small of her back. I can't help but smile as she leans into my touch, her body already knowing where it belongs.
With Sasha finally out of sight and not able to yell at me not to mess up her hard work, I finally steal a few kisses before shutting Ana's door and moving back around to the driver's side.
“Why are you nervous, Honey?” I ask, hearing her little hums as I look for the perfect playlist for the drive.
“Hmm? Who said I’m nervous?"
“Ana.” I glance over as I pull out of the lot, the last of Scion's lights glinting across her cheekbones. “Talk to me.”
She exhales softly, watching the stoic guards at the security gate as we pass by. “It’s stupid.”
“Nothing you say is stupid.”
“It’s just—I haven’t been to a formal function since the last Governor's Ball I went to with my dad. I’ve never gone to a fancy event where I wasn’t playing pretend happy family at.
I’ve never gone as anyone’s date, and I’ve definitely never worn a dress like this.
” She gives a little laugh—soft, and nervous, “What if I embarrass you?”
“Sweetheart, you could make a gods damn scene: flip tables, take over the dance floor in the nude, whatever makes you happy, and I wouldn’t be embarrassed.
” I pause, letting her hear the sincerity in my voice, before continuing, “All the men who look at my girl naked would leave without their eyes, but I’m willing to make that sacrifice. ”
She snorts, her lips pulling into a disbelieving smile. “Overly protective much?”
“When it comes to you? Absolutely.” I shoot back, taking her hand over the center console, and I catch her smile turn fuller in the moon’s light.
“Now, can I turn on some music we’ll actually like before we listen to the awful DJ the academy hired?
Or would you like me to go into detail on the ways I would torture any of the men if they thought to touch you? ”
“No, thank you,” she says immediately, “We can save that for—never.”
“Your loss,” I say, tapping play on Eamon’s "Fuck It". Five seconds in and we’re doing all-out car karaoke. It’s the exact song she needed to get out of her head and give her the confidence boost to go into tonight without the shadow of her past haunting her all night.
Nailed it!
The Thandroan Gallery of History doesn’t just look different tonight, it looks enchanted.
The moment we stepped through the double glass door entrance, Annalise had stopped beside me, her breath catching as the four-story Grand Atrium unveiled itself.
Deep blue and amethyst light wash up the iron-laced vaults, turning the glass arched ceiling into a celestial wonder all its own. The marble beneath our feet reflects it all in mirrored shards, like we’re standing at the edge of a starlit pool.
Overhead, two dancers dance on silks suspended from the rafters with orchid ribbons unfurling around their bodies as they arc, twist, and drop.
They execute every trick in perfectly choreographed movements.
Each time one swings lower, their shadows brushing across Annalise’s face, her fingers tighten around mine, completely captivated.
Round tables fill the atrium floor, draped in charcoal linens that make the surrounding colors pulse and glow brighter.
Floral arrangements of varying heights blanket the table like we’re in a dark, enchanted garden.
Blood-red roses are perched high while indigo orchids and silver-dusted branches litter the center of the table.
Candles stand as tall as I am, flicker in crystal holders, their flames steady in a way only possible by someone whispering a spell or two to keep them from caressing the plants surrounding them.
A hundred people in their finest clothes glide through the room around us, their voices a soft, shimmering hum beneath the music the live orchestra is gracing us with.
Annalise takes the smallest step forward as the silk dancers plunge into a dive, stopping themselves mere feet above our heads. Her eyes widen, and her lips parted in an unguarded wonder she probably doesn’t even realize she’s showing.
“I feel like I’m in a dream,” she whispers.
And seeing her like this, the light catching in her hair and her dress, the jewels on her neck sparkling like a meteor shower, and the soft shape of her lips while she smiles?
I know exactly what she means.
I’m grateful for the open seating plan when Antonio and James spot us and wave us over, offering the empty seats at their table beside Antonio’s little brother and their parents.
But watching her slip so effortlessly into conversation with the guy’s parents hits me harder than I expect.
The way she smiles at something James's mother says, or how she listens so intently to Antonio’s father’s stories—it sparks a twist of jealousy low in my ribs.
Not at them, but at the simple, impossible wish that she could be sitting like this with my family.
Laughing with my mom. Sparring with my dad and his dry humor. Winning them over without even trying.
Even if circumstances were different, each recruit only got two extra tickets, and my parents would have argued over who should take the open seat because Ana not being by my side was never going to be an option.
So, since their attendance was impossible, Antonio’s little brother ended up with my spare, an easy decision, and the right one.
Still—as I watch Ana laugh with them, warmth blooming across her face, I can’t stop thinking about how much my family would’ve adored her.