AN: Sorry it took so long to update. It's been a rough few weeks. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Aria's POV

After a long ride through the heavy rain, Caleb and I finally arrive at West Point. As soon as my friend helps me off Freedom, I see Ezra out of the corner of my eye. Before I can react, my husband comes running towards me. At first I think Ezra is going to hit me again, but he doesn't. Instead, Ezra envelopes me in a hug.

"Oh, darling! Thank goodness you are okay! Oh my! Your eye is completely black! I am so sorry, Aria. I am so sorry." Ezra says as tears begin to flow out of his eyes.

Wow. Ezra seems genuinely sorry for his actions. For half a second, I forget that he's a bad man. I must snap out of this. Ezra is only expressing kindness and affection because his peers are around. As soon as we get back to the estate, he will surely hit me again.

"Caleb, what ever can I do to repay you? Thank you so much for bringing my sweetheart home. I was so terribly worried about her and the baby." Ezra says as his eyes dart over to Caleb.

"Do not thank me yet, General Fitzgerald. The three of us need to have a serious chat before I allow Mrs. Aria to go anywhere with you. Please come with me to my office." Caleb instructs.

The men in the room begin to whisper among themselves, but Ezra does not looked phased in the slightest. He was probably expecting Caleb to react like this. What decent man would not?

"Yes. I completely understand. Take us to your office." Ezra instructs.

Caleb nods, and walks us through West Point. Ezra keeps trying to make eye contact with me, but I do not allow him to do so. If I stare into those pleading blue eyes, I will fold. I will not let him manipulate me. Not anymore at least. As soon as we enter Caleb's office, he motions for us to take a seat on his couch. Ezra and I oblige, and Caleb takes a seat on the chair across from us.

"Ezra, Aria told me exactly why her eye is black. Would you care to explain yourself?" Caleb asks as he glares at my husband.

Ezra does not respond with words. Instead, he bursts into tears. Oh my goodness. West Point men are not supposed to cry in front of their peers. Ezra sure is desperate to maintain his "nice boy" image if he is willing to lose Caleb's respect.

"I just- I just want to tell Aria how sorry I am. Aria, I love you more than anything in the entire world. I will never forgive myself for hurting you, and I will go to my grave trying to earn your forgiveness." Ezra says through his tears.

"That is touching, Ezra, but you cannot merely apologize after you have stricken your woman. What in the world were you thinking? You have everything to lose here, Ezra. Not only is your place at West Point in jeopardy, but so is your marriage. You must explain why you did such an unforgivable thing to the girl you supposedly love." Caleb says as he begins to raise his voice.

"Aria, I never meant to hit you. I want trying to explain that to you, but you left before I could. Do you remember when I told you about that nightmares I have been enduring?" Ezra questions as he turns to face me.

"Yes." I tell him shortly.

"Well, they have gotten worse. Every time I close my eyes, I see the most horrific images. Last night after supper, I went upstairs to our bedchamber and fell asleep right away. I started having the most terrible dream. I dreamt that I was back in the war and a Confederate soldier had kidnapped you. He was grasping you, and you were grasping our baby girl. I tried to save you, but I could not. The man shot you right in front of me, and then he threw the baby into the fire. I was- I was so angry. I started running towards the man, and then I punched him in the face. When I opened my eyes, the man was gone. I realized that I had punched you." Ezra says as he buries his face in his hands.

"Huh. How very strange. My cousin from Pennsylvania came to visit me last week. He was also a prisoner of war, and he has been suffering from flashbacks and nightmares as well. This also seems to be present in many of our West Point Men. Did you really not mean to hit her, Ezra?" Caleb asks as his voice begins to soften.

"Of course I did not! Aria, you know I would never hurt you intentionally. Don't you?" Ezra asks as he looks at me with those blue eyes of his.

"Intentionally or not, you hurt me. What would have happened if you had hit my stomach instead of my face? Our baby could have been hurt, Ezra. I am so sorry, but I cannot be with a man who is dangerous." I say as I try to fight back tears.

"I understand. The last thing I want is to hurt our child. What should we do about this?" Ezra asks as he focuses his attention on Caleb.

"I think you ought to speak with a doctor or something, Ezra. Aria, you ought to be patient with Ezra. He obviously loves you a great deal, and he obviously does not want to hurt you." Caleb says as he glances at me.

A second chance? I already gave him a chance, and he showed his true colors. Why is Caleb so willing to let me move back in with Ezra? Perhaps he only promised to protect me so he could bring me back and receive all the glory. Stupid man.

"Caleb, earlier you were telling me all about Ezra's temper. Care to explain your outburst at West Point and the way you treated your men during the war?" I ask Ezra in an accusatory tone.

"Aria, I will admit that I had a terrible temper growing up. Jake drove me wild, and I hated him enough to murder him. I ashamed to admit it, but that is the truth. As for my men, I did not always treat them like I should have. I have told you this many times, but I was not born to be soldier. I think I was beginning to realize that during the war, and I took my frustrations out on my men. I know it was wrong, but I could not help myself. I just- I have felt empty for the entirety of my adult life. That is, until I married you. When I am with you, Aria, I feel truly and genuinely happy. For the first time, I feel as though I have a purpose." Ezra says as he stares into my hazel eyes.

Half of me wants to forgive Ezra and pretend like this incident never happened. The other, more logical side of me knows that I cannot do such a thing. How will I feel safe sleeping in the same room as the man who hit me? How will I prevent my child from getting beaten? I cannot forget this incident. I will not make the same mistake twice.

"Ezra, I appreciate that you told me those things but it does not change what you did. Regardless of how sorry you are, my eye is still black. I might have been able to forgive you, but I cannot because of the child. I want- I need to stay as far away from you as possible." I say as I try to fight back tears.

"I- I understand." Ezra says as he begins to cry even harder if that is humanly possible.

"I do not know what we should do. Aria, I suppose I must call your father. If you are leaving Ezra, he will be responsible for you and the baby for the rest of his life." Caleb says with a breathy sigh.

"F-For the rest of his life?" I ask as my eyes grow wide with shock.

"Why, yes. You are no longer married, and I highly doubt you will ever marry again." Caleb informs me.

"Why not?" I ask him softly.

"You are no longer a virgin, Aria. Since you have given that part of yourself to Ezra, few men will be fully satisfied with you. It is tragic, but it is the truth." Caleb says as he avoids looking into my eyes.

Of course. How could I have possibly forgotten? I am now soiled goods. I lost all of my beauty and value along with my virginity. Now I will have to live with my father for the rest of my life. Surely he will beat me just like Ezra would have done. Perhaps the only thing divorcing Ezra will do is destroy mine and my child's reputation.

"Caleb, I think I have reconsidered. Ezra, I know you never meant to hurt me. It is just- I never expected you to lay a finger on me. Please receive the help you need and return me to your estate." I say as I try to keep the frustration out of my voice.

"Aria, this is not want you want." Ezra says as he shakes his head slowly.

"Yes, it is. Please just trust me." I say as I stare into those blue eyes of his.

"I personally think you are making the appropriate choice, Mrs. Aria. I know I spoke some harsh words about Ezra earlier, but I only said those things because I was shocked. I did not want to believe that a man who hurt his wife could trick me into liking him. The truth is, Ezra has been one of my dearest friends for as long as I can remember. He helped me pay my bills earlier this year shortly after your marriage. He is truly one of the most generous persons I know, and I am confident that he will right his wrongs." Caleb says with a slight smile.

"I am as well." I say, lying through my teeth.

Ezra's POV

Aria insists that she forgives me, but I know she does not. As soon as we arrived at the estate, I lead her past my screaming mother and into our bedchamber. Charlotte gave her some dry clothes to change into, and Aria put them on immediately. My wife is currently laying on our bed and trying to sleep, but she is failing miserably. Every time I wrap my arms around her or kiss her forehead, Aria pushes me away. This feels like our honeymoon all over again.

"Aria, can we please talk?" I beg with desperation in my voice.

"There is nothing more to say. We worked out our differences with Caleb earlier. What happened last night has already been forgotten." Aria tells me cooly.

"B-But it is not. You are not letting me hold you like you normally do. I am trying to give you love and affection, but you keep pushing me away. Obviously you are still upset with me Aria." I say with a breathy sigh.

"Ezra, you are mistaking anger with change. Our relationship has changed, and things will never be the same between us again. I know that it not the response you wanted to hear, but it is the truth. I finally see marriage for what it is now; a consensual business agreement." Aria tells me flatly.

A business agreement? Our marriage did not used to feel like a business agreement, and I certainly do not want it to start feeling that way now. Is this honestly what Aria wants?

"Darling, that is simply untrue. There is so much more to our marriage than that. There is commitment, passion, and love." I say as my voice begins to soften.

"I am committed and passionate about our child and withholding the family name for his sake, but I do not love you Ezra. Not anymore at least. Loving you was a mistake. I see that clearly now." Aria says as she begins to raise her voice.

Her words cause my heart to throb. Yesterday before the incident Aria claimed she loved me, but now she denies her affection. How is this possible? Can feelings really change this quickly? My feelings have not changed. I still love my wife more than anything.

"If you feel that way, why are you still here? Why did you not go back to your father while you still had the chance?" I question.

"Ezra, I have kept many things from you through the course of this marriage. I do not dislike my father because he is cold and conceited. I dislike him because he beat my mother on a daily basis. After she passed away, he started beating me instead. Had I been borne to a decent father, I probably would have already left you. However, I do not have a decent father. I know if I go back, he will beat me as much as you will. Not to mention, my son's reputation will be destroyed. After carefully weighing the pros and cons of the situation, I have decided that staying with you is in everyone's best interest." Aria says with no emotion in her voice.

W-What? Aria's father beat her? No wonder it took me months to earn her trust, and merely one hit to destroy it. I feel even worse about hitting Aria now. Another man in her life has disappointed her. I must find a way to gain her trust back and make this up to her. It is the only way I can redeem myself.

"Oh, Aria. I do not know what to say other than that I am so sorry. No woman deserves to be beaten, and your father had no right to lay a finger on you or your mother. Now I understand why you were so terrified of me at first. I feel horrible that I broke your trust, and I will do everything in my power to earn it back. I am not like your father, Aria. I would never beat you or our child. I value and respect you both, and I love you more than life itself." I say as tears begin to form in my eyes.

Aria doesn't respond. At first the room is silent, but after a few minutes I hear the sound of her sobs. Good God. Why does the universe have to be so cruel? I would give anything to avoid witnessing Aria's tears.

"Darling..." I say as I try to pull her in for a hug.

"Please do not touch me, Ezra. As you can see I am hurting a great deal right now. I am hurting, but I want to hurt alone. Can you please sleep on the couch tonight? I no longer feel safe sleeping in the same bed as you." Aria says with a sniffle.

"Of course. Anything you want, Aria. I will do whatever you want. Believe it or not, I will prove you wrong. Someday, you will learn to trust me." I murmur before climbing out of bed and laying down on the uncomfortable couch.

AN: What did you think? Aria agreed to move in with Ezra, but she obviously doesn't forgive him. Why did Aria finally decided to tell Ezra the truth about her father? What will Ezra do about it? Please review and tell me your thoughts.