Run, Girl (If You Can) Chapter 312 - Polar Opposites

Alice Kelly was amazed how different her old friend seemed around his wife and children. She had known Aaron since she was fourteen years old and back then he was such a cold fish. He didn't seem to care about anything.
She accepted when he asked her to the prom because her husband (then fiancé) was going with his girlfriend at the time and she thought Aaron would be the best bet to make him jealous. Unfortunately, that plan of hers hadn't worked.
By that point in time she had heard the rumors about how he kept hanging around this scholarship student but she didn't care enough to ask him about it. She never would have imagined that he would actually marry the girl someday.
Alice was a bit worried how his parents were going to take it. He didn't just have a secret wife, he had secret children! Two of them! Did he really think he was going to be able to get away with this without any problems arising?
Then again, Aaron wasn't like her. He had no attachment to his parents or the social circle. Alice wasn't a huge fan of it either but it was all she knew. She loved her husband and her husband loved high society.
Unfortunately for her, he also loved someone else. Everyone knew about his mistress even if they wouldn't say anything to her face. Even her mother-in-law berated her constantly for not giving birth to a son yet.
It wasn't her fault! Brock was rarely home and when he was he wasn't about to sleep with his wife. He had his mistress for that.
Her heart was heavy as she watched Aaron interact with his wife. She was laughing at something Jennica—who was apparently married to Cameron; Alice hadn't known that—was saying. At the sight of her laughter, a soft smile appeared on Aaron's face.
Had Brock looked at her like that even once? Probably not.
If Aaron, the coldest person she had ever met, could fall in love and be genuinely happy with someone else…didn't Alice deserve the same? She had accepted her arranged marriage as an inevitable part of life as the daughter of Wheatley family.
As a young, foolish romantic she fell for Brock more and more as they were thrown together. That was her future husband! Of course she was supposed to love him! But he had never given her the time of day.
Seeing Aaron's babies especially got to her. Alice wanted to be a mother someday and that probably wouldn't happen so long as Brock had his mistress on the outside. Even so…no child deserved to be born into such an unhappy family.
It might be time to finally let Brock go. Falling in love with someone she chose sounded like a novel experience.
But how on earth was she supposed to get a divorce? The Kellys were among the top lawyers in all of New York City.
They could very easily prevent her from getting a good lawyer or even being able to be granted a divorce. The Kellys cared way too much about their image considering what their beloved son got up to.
Aaron said he was her ally…did he know any good lawyers? He might be able to help her out. But she didn't want to be a bother; he had a lot going on right now. Maybe she should wait until after the takeover.
Alice sighed. There was a whole lot of love going on at this table. She never should have listened to her parents and married someone who didn't love her.
Keeley noticed with a rather pensive expression on her face. Alice didn't expect anything to come of it but when she went to the bathroom, Aaron's wife followed her.
"Kaleb needed his diaper changed," she said with a smile.
She worked on that in the larger handicap stall that had a changing table in it, leaving Alice be. Yet for some reason she found herself waiting for the other woman to come out so she could talk to her. Maybe she had some advice.
Keeley had a surprised look on her face when she saw Alice was waiting for her. The diaper bag was slung over her shoulder and she cradled her son's head as she held him upright.
"What's up?" she asked casually.
"I noticed you looking at me earlier."
"Sorry about that. You just…reminded me of me, I guess. Being in a relationship and still feeling alone surrounded by other couples."
Alice certainly hadn't been expecting that. This woman was surprisingly observant. But she couldn't possibly be talking about her current relationship; it was obvious that Aaron doted on his wife.
"You aren't talking about your husband, are you?"
A wry smile appeared on her face. "No, this was someone else a long time ago. He was the kind of person who could make you feel alone even when he was right next to you. I don't mean to pry…but is your husband like that too?"
That described Brock to a T. Not that he was even around all that much. Most of Alice's loneliness was because her husband acted as if they weren't even married unless his parents were present. Then he expected her to be the perfect daughter-in-law.
She nodded. "I want to leave him but he's from a family of high profile lawyers. I'm worried they might get me blacklisted as a client."
Keeley raised an eyebrow at her bluntness. "Wow, and you're telling this to someone you barely met."
"You're Aaron's wife; I trust him so I trust you by default," she said with a shrug, not remotely abashed.
Alice had been observing Keeley throughout the dinner. Her smile and laugh were contagious and she smoothed out the tension that Aaron brought with him wherever he went.
She seemed like a kind, funny, and warm person. In a way, she was the polar opposite of her icy husband. Maybe that was what Aaron liked about her.