Chapter 93. Happy Birthday

Aaron POV

Joan was acting weird. These past few days, her entire attitude had shifted, and trying to understand her was becoming impossible. Worse still, she wouldn’t even tell me what was going on. I hadn’t pushed further because, well, she was the type to recoil into herself when pressed. So, I waited, hoping she’d come to me in her own time.

And, well, that wasn’t happening either.

I’d stayed up the whole night—not because I couldn’t sleep, but because I was anxious. It was Joan’s birthday today, and while I’d planned an entire party for her, that wasn’t the only thing on my mind. I was going to ask her to be my wife. Now, I wasn’t so sure she’d say yes because, fuck, I barely understood her anymore.

I glanced at my side, where she lay curled up... on her own. We always cuddled in bed—something I once hated but learned to love because Joan was involved. But last night, she asked me for space, said she wasn’t comfortable with me breathing down her ne