Aiden is still panting hard. His grip on my upper arm is so tight that it hurts and makes me wince. When he realizes it, he immediately lets me go.

My heart is beating fast as I stare at his condition. Sweat trickles on his face like he just ran a marathon. Whatever it was he was dreaming about, it must have been horrible.

I'm too stunned to speak. Aiden grips his chest harshly, as though it's hurting him to the core.

"Another nightmare?" Ashton is the first one to break the silence. A sigh leaves his lips. "It's still bothering you, isn't it? It always comes again after a few months."

Aiden says nothing, still trying to calm his breathing. I can feel the air getting tense.

Ashton starts again, "It's about time that you visit your doctor and therapist--"

"No," Aiden cuts off harshly.

I'm becoming even more speechless.

Doctor?

Therapist?

What is going on?

"You can't let it happen again," Ashton insists. "You can't let them do this to you. It's about time that you forget Olivia--"

"Ashton," Aiden snaps. From his expression, I can only see pain and anger, as though he would do anything to not hear her name again.

My heart sinks so low. I swallow a lump in my throat when the realization hits me.

Aiden was having a nightmare about Olivia, who left him on their wedding day two years ago.

The pain is still haunting him.

He looks down and runs his fingers through his hair. His chest is still heaving up and down. The sight breaks me, but I don't know what to do.

I don't know what I should do to make him feel better. If only I could do something to make him forget his nightmare, even just for a while. He looks so tortured right now.

"Aiden," I blurt out, and he looks up. The next words I'm going to say might sound stupid. "Um... Do you need any drink--"

"Just leave," he says icily, and my heart sinks even deeper.

Irritation crosses his expression, as if my existence here annoys him and makes it even worse for him.

The room turns silent again. It seems like everyone else is also taken aback after hearing what Aiden said to me.

I nod slightly and stand up from the couch, trying my best to not be affected by his sudden coldness. It fails miserably because I feel like crying. I don't know why it hurts so much.

While I'm about to walk to my room, Ian's voice stops me, "Miss Nevaeh."

I give him a questioning look, and he gestures for me to follow him into the kitchen.

Ashton's voice echoes from the living room as he talks to Aiden. Distinctly, I can hear those words again. Doctor. Therapist.

My heart becomes more restless as reality comes crashing down on me. The incident two years ago has broken Aiden worse than I could imagine, to the point that he still needs therapy after all these years.

When I arrive in the kitchen, the words Ian says to me snap me out of my thoughts, "Hot chocolate."

I look up at him. "Sorry?"

"Hot chocolate," he repeats. "He likes it. I'll show you how to make his favorite drink."

I'm still staring cluelessly when Ian opens the cupboard.

"This might be surprising for you, but he likes it with marshmallows." Amusement fills the old man's voice, and when he returns to me with a cup in his hand, a warm smile spreads across his face.

I watch as he puts the cocoa powder, sugar, milk, vanilla, and marshmallow jar on the counter.

Before I know it, I'm making Aiden's favorite drink. I listen to Ian as he talks about Aiden's preference for the drink. By the time I finish making the hot chocolate with marshmallows, Ian stares at it with a satisfied smile.

"It smells so good." I stare at the drink too. It really does.

"Now, you can bring it to him," Ian says.

I freeze. Uneasiness stirs inside me again.

"But he doesn't want me there." I still remember how he wanted me gone.

Ian sighs. "He just didn't like that you saw him in his most vulnerable state. Don't take it to heart."

"Had the nightmares not stopped?" I ask, unable to hide the worry in my voice. "Is it always that bad?"

Sadly, Ian nods. "As you can see, it affects him that badly. It's always that bad. The woman Ashton was talking about, Olivia, was Aiden's bride. She left him at the altar two years ago."

Remembering that incident makes me want to collapse, so I can't imagine what Aiden is feeling.

"She left him for his best friend, whom she later married in Switzerland," Ian says. "It was a huge blow for Aiden."

I almost hit the counter behind me due to the shock. "They're married?" I stutter.

"Yes." Sadness fills Ian's eyes. "Shortly after she flew to Switzerland with him, they got married. They've been staying there since then."

I shake my head in disbelief and turn around. My eyes squeeze shut as I grip the edge of the counter to control my emotions.

The scene I witnessed two years ago plays in my mind, and I want to disappear from this world.

Why is it so unfair? Why does Aiden have to suffer this much?

"You might want to give the drink to him now before it gets cold," Ian reminds me softly, and I take a deep breath.

My hands are shaking when I take the cup. I'm afraid that I would drop it, but I'm trying my best to compose myself.

Slowly, I walk toward the living room. My heart breaks again as I see Aiden sitting on the couch with his arms on his knees. His eyes are focused on the ground.

"I made hot chocolate." I place the cup on the coffee table carefully while Aiden looks up at me.

I don't know why, but I can't bring myself to look at his face.

"I just wanted to bring this to you," I say in a small voice. Without waiting for his response, I quickly add, "I guess I should go now."

Just when I'm about to leave, I feel his hand on my wrist stopping me. My heart thumps as I see the serious look on his face.

"Stay," he says. "I'm sorry. Please forget what I said earlier. I didn't mean it."

His eyes are begging, and relief washes over me. Only when I finally sit next to him that he lets go of my hand.

He takes the cup of hot chocolate in his hand and stares at it in awe, almost like being hypnotized. He then inhales the aroma of the hot chocolate before taking a gulp of it.

I swallow nervously. When he sighs in satisfaction, I know that he likes it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask carefully.

Even though there's a high chance that he doesn't want to share his nightmare, I just want to let him know that I'll be here to listen if he needs me to.

Now that he doesn't respond, I know his answer.

"I've heard from Ian that it's your favorite drink," I change the topic in a cheerful voice. "Hot chocolate is the best, isn't it? Especially with marshmallows."

A small smile forms on Aiden's lips, and I feel like flying into the clouds. He's smiling.

"It is," Aiden says before slurping his drink again. "It's my comfort drink."

"Comfort drink?"

"Yeah." He turns his head toward me. "It's something that makes me contented when I need it the most. Don't you have any?"

Wow. I've thought that he's more of a coffee person, but it turns out that I was wrong.

His question, however, makes me think hard. "Tea." It pops up in my head. "It's tea for me, then."

Chamomile tea always makes me calm.

"Why hot chocolate?" The question slips from my mouth.

It just doesn't fit into his image. Aiden, and hot chocolate. I've thought that most men would prefer to drink alcohol when they feel stressed.

Aiden sighs, and I feel even more relieved that the tension on his body is gone. He looks way more relaxed now.

"I don't know. It's more than a drink for me," he says.

The look in his eyes tells me that he's reminiscing something precious.

"When I was very young, I went to this town called Hallstatt with my parents," Aiden says. "It's a small town in Austria, and it's our favorite place. The weather was always very cold when we went there, and the hot chocolate tasted even better during the cold. Since then, it has always been my favorite drink."

I listen intently. It's just a simple story, but it brings warmth to my heart.

"I think what made it even better was what we felt that day," Aiden says. "My family finally reunited again after all that we'd been through. It was a special moment for us. The drink reminded me of that taste. Happiness. I was just a kid who thought that it was the happiest day of my life." Aiden chuckles before adding, "It really was."

Now that I'm staring at the smile on his face, I can't look away. It feels unbelievable that he just had a nightmare. A cup of hot chocolate and a flashback of his childhood can make him forget the pain for a while, and I'm grateful for that.

I'm glad that he feels better now.

Aiden places the cup of hot chocolate back onto the table, startling me. Have I been staring at him longer than I'd thought?

"Thank you, Nevaeh," Aiden whispers, looking into my eyes.

Something stirs deep inside me, but it feels so complex that I can't even explain what it is. And because of that, I only respond with a smile.

I tie my hair into a ponytail and stare into the mirror with a smile on my face. I'm ready to go to college today.

When I look at my watch, I notice that I still have enough time for breakfast with Aiden before going to campus. I grab my backpack, humming as I step out of my room.

Ian is the first person I see when I step into the dining area. "Good morning," he greets me behind the kitchen counter.

"Morning," I say cheerfully, looking around.

Unfortunately, Aiden is nowhere in sight.

"He left a minute ago," Ian says. "He said that he didn't have time for breakfast. His office called him about something urgent."

My shoulders sag with disappointment, but I know that Aiden is a busy person. I just thought that we could have a chat for a while before starting our days, since we usually eat breakfast together around this hour.

"He made you something," Ian adds. "It's on the table."

My gaze darts on a cup of hot tea. It's still hot, freshly made.

My heart almost bursts. Aiden has prepared this for me even though he was in a hurry.

A soft smile touches my lips when I bring the cup closer to my mouth. I take a gulp of the drink and can't help but sigh dreamily.

Oh, God, it tastes so good.

It's like the warmth flows right into my heart and instantly makes me calm. My whole body feels so warm, so contented.

I wonder why this tea tastes better than usual. It brings me so much happiness, and I don't know why.