He tried hard to please Ashley over the years, mentally and physically. She never asked much out of him, in fact she never asked him for anything. He knew that Ashley was an independent woman. She worked and she took care of the children at the same time. She had inherited the house from her father, so they didn’t have house payments. They paid their own car payment, and she used her trust fund to pay the utilities. He was just there as her companion, someone who wouldn’t leave the girl, someone she could lean on.

There was no doubt in the dark haired man’s mind that he wasn’t a wonderful father. He loved his children more than anything or anyone, including himself. It breaks his heart when he yelled in front of his children. He didn’t want to intentionally do anything to disappoint or hurt them. It amazed him that he had all this love in his body for the two children. When they had Ashden, the love was overwhelming and he wanted to stay with his son all the time. He remembered how he would always check up on his son in his bassinet next to their bed. He just wanted to make sure the little boy was breathing. When he found out Ashley was pregnant again, he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to love the new baby as much as his son. Like most parents, this was a worry for them.

When Teigue was born, he was amazed how his heart instantly grew to love her just as much as Ashden. Aiden chuckled at the thought of his children. Staying up all night with them, changing diapers, and all that was easy compared to naming his children. Ashley needed original and out-there names. Aiden had wanted to name Ashden after him and Ashley simply denied it before it came out of his mouth. She met him in the middle with the mix of both their names. With Teigue, she had it already figured out and Aiden didn’t argue with her.

To any other woman, he was the perfect man. He was a magnificent father, an astonishing lover, a brilliant husband. He was in all aspects of the word ‘perfect’. But the man knew that he wasn’t the one she wanted. He knew that he was just her safety net.