Gray continued to let Mandy's words sink in. Would it have made a difference if he had been more sincere with Aaron from the start?
Probably. He had been too amused by watching Aaron's plans to destroy their father to think of him as anything outside of the context of the game they were playing. He had cared about his brother—enough to commit murder for him—but he hadn't even considered how Aaron felt.
First impressions were difficult to change and Gray had not made a good one on Aaron. After all, he was investigating him for being involved with Lacy when they first met. Ever trying to get information out of her was a horrible mistake that had cost him twenty-five years of his life.
He tried to imagine what things might have been like if he had gone about meeting Aaron differently. He knew about the kid's existence when he was thirteen years old. Thinking he was a worthless clone of Alistair, Gray never revealed himself.