With A Touch Of Magic (Larry Version)

6. Point of view change

"He was bloody married, Ari".

Pacing up and down in his living room, Louis felt his pulse going through the roof yet again only because he was trying to tell his best friend about what had happened yesterday. He still couldn't believe it. He had been completely blindsided.

"I got that the first time. I just don't get what exactly triggered you enough to kinda lash out at him" Aria was sitting on his couch, only watching him walk circles in front of her.

"Are you for real right now?" Louis stopped in his tracks to stare at her in disbelief but she didn't move one muscle. "I just told you that he was married and is divorced now. I didn't expect that".

"Of course, you didn't" Aria's face softened for a moment before focusing on his face again with an emotion he didn't like. "Please, tell me you didn't react too badly to that information".

"I ..." Louis stopped himself from lying to make himself look less like an asshole. "I wouldn't call it a good reaction, if I'm being honest. But I didn't mean to react like that. I was just shocked to hear that he's had a whole husband before. My brain stopped working from then on. It short-circuited".

"Which can only mean you snapped at him for something else than being divorced, which makes me wanna punch you a little bit less now" Aria still sounded highly disappointed.

"Gee, thanks" Louis crossed his arms over his chest offended.

"Quit acting like a child and finally tell me what the bloody hell happened for you to be so mad at him. I thought you liked him and then you sent me all those angry texts. Something must have happened if you claim not to have overreacted" Aria rolled her eyes at him, totally unfazed by his usual antics.

"I never overreact" Louis pouted dramatically, receiving the middle finger from Aria in return. "Whatever. If you must know, I found out that he knew who I am the entire time but acted as if he didn't. He lied to me".

"How did you find out?" Aria hooked calmly, visibly trying to stop him from exploding again, which would lead to mindless rambling.

"He knew about Beth" Louis let her know curtly, digging his nails into his palms to stay as calm as possible. The feeling was oddly enough relaxing him, so he didn't question it.

"And with that, you mean ...?".

"When he didn't answer my question of how long he's been divorced because we got interrupted by a cat, he deflected and asked me if only my daughter wanted another hot cocoa or me too. He referred to me as a single father as if he'd known that to be a fact without having to ask" Louis enlightened her, hearing his words clearly in his head. "There you have it. He knew all along".

"I have to admit, this doesn't really look too good" Aria replied after being silent for at least an entire minute, killing Louis with the suspense. "But it also could've just been an assumption".

"What? So, you just randomly assume someone's a single father and ...".

"Louis" Aria cut him off, beckoning him to finally take a seat and stop pacing. With a huff, he sat down in the armchair opposite her. "You chose to show up to his bakery with Bethany. Did you really think he wouldn't assume she's yours?".

"I mean, she could've been my younger sister or my niece or my god-daughter or a friend's ch ...".

"You're thirty-two, Louis. You don't have a seven-year-old sister" Aria wasn't buying his poor attempts of deflecting. "And yes, the rest is a bit more likely and he shouldn't have assumed ...".

"He didn't assume shit. He knew" Louis reminded her strongly. Before she could say anything else, he just kept talking. "I asked him if he knew who I am and he admitted it. He knew, Ari".