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Chapter 17: Reflection
publish date:
2026-02-10 12:40:07
Latest chapter
Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 72
I didn’t say anything. I just sat there, my arms wrapped around my knees, my heart a heavy, painful drum in my chest. I was a fortress, and my walls were up. I wasn’t going to let her in. I wasn’t going to let anyone in. It was too dangerous. It hurt too much.Dr. Evans didn’t seem bothered by my silence. She just sat there, her posture relaxed, her expression open and patient. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable, but she didn’t rush to fill it. She just waited, a calm, steady presence in the face of my stubborn defiance.My fingers found the leather cord of the bracelet on my right wrist. It was a simple, braided thing Jude had bought for me at a beach fair last summer. I started twisting it, the rough texture a familiar, grounding sensation against my skin. Back and forth, over and over, a rhythmic, repetitive motion. My fingers traced the edge of the leather, pushing it against the thin, silvery scars that were etched into the skin beneath. It was a nervous tick, an old,
Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 71
The final bell was a shrill, unwelcome intrusion, signaling the end of the school day and the beginning of the part I dreaded most. I gathered my books slowly, my movements sluggish, my mind a million miles away. It had been two weeks since the hospital. Two weeks since my world had shattered. I’d gone back to school a week ago, a ghost haunting the hallways, my smile a brittle, fragile mask that cracked a little more each day.Roxy and Marco were waiting for me by my locker, their familiar presence a small, welcome comfort. “Hey,” Roxy said, her voice a soft, gentle murmur. “How was it?”“The usual,” I said, my voice a flat, dead sound. “A whole lot of nothing.”Marco slung his arm around my shoulders, his touch a light, friendly weight. “Come on, Rossi, don’t be like that. I saw you crack a smile in history today when Mr. Henderson’s toupee started to slip. It’s progress.”I managed a weak, half-hearted smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. It was a valiant effort, but it was like try
Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 70
The tea was a chamomile blend, my mother’s go-to remedy for all manner of ailments, physical and emotional. It was warm and fragrant, but it tasted like paper in my mouth. I held the mug between my trembling hands, letting the heat seep into my cold, aching fingers. My mom sat in the armchair in the corner of my room, watching me with a hawk-like intensity that was both comforting and unnerving.“Just a few sips, Aria,” she said softly. “It will help.”I managed a small sip, the warm liquid doing little to soothe the churning in my gut. The silence in the room was heavy, thick with all the words we hadn't said yet. But I knew the reprieve was temporary. The other shoe was about to drop.My mom took a deep breath, her expression hardening with a familiar resolve. She picked up her phone from the nightstand. “Okay,” she said, her voice a low, steady murmur. “Let’s get this over with. I’m going to call your father.”My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic, terrified rhythm. “No,” I
Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 69
The world outside my bedroom window was a muted gray, the sky heavy with unshed rain, a perfect reflection of the storm that had finally broken inside my room. The silence that followed my mother’s embrace was different from the suffocating quiet of the past week. This silence wasn't empty; it was full. It was filled with a fragile, tentative understanding, a new and terrifying reality we now had to face together.She didn’t let me go. She just held me, her hand stroking my hair in a slow, rhythmic motion, a gesture she hadn’t made since I was a little girl with a scraped knee. I could feel the steady, reassuring beat of her heart against my cheek, a grounding force in the midst of my own chaotic, shattered world.Finally, she pulled back, her hands gently cupping my face. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her own tears now tracing paths down her cheeks, but her expression was one of fierce, unwavering resolve. “We’re going to get through this, Aria,” she said, her voice a low, steady murmur.
Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 68
Aria POVThe world stopped. The clatter of the tray, the splash of the tea, the frantic pounding of my own heart—it all faded into a dull, distant hum. The only thing that was real was my mother’s face, her expression a mask of confusion and dawning horror that was slowly, terrifyingly, crystallizing into understanding.“What baby?” she asked again, her voice a hoarse, choked whisper that was barely audible. She took a step into the room, her eyes locked on mine, wide with a terror so profound it mirrored my own. “Aria… what baby?”I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. The lie I had so carefully constructed, the fragile shield of a simple broken heart, had just shattered into a million pieces at my feet. There was no more hiding. There was no more pretending. The truth was out, raw and bleeding and impossible to deny.Roxy was frozen by my bed, her face a mask of panic, her eyes darting between me and my mom like a trapped animal. She opened her mouth, then closed it, her mind racing,
Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 67
Jude POVThe campus felt like a foreign country. The familiar brick buildings, the sprawling green lawns, the constant, low-level hum of student activity—it all seemed like a movie set for a life I was no longer a part of. I went to my classes, I went to practice, I ate my meals in the dining hall, but I was just a body going through the motions. My mind was a million miles away, trapped in a sterile white hallway and a greasy spoon diner.Spring Break was over. It might as well have been a lifetime ago. The world had moved on. The guys on the team talked about their wild weekends, about the girls they’d met, about the parties they’d gone to. I just sat in the corner of the locker room, my headphones on, my gaze fixed on the wall, a silent, brooding presence that everyone had learned to avoid.Liam tried. He’d drag me to the dining hall, he’d try to get me to talk about my classes, he’d invite me to play video games, anything to break through the thick, suffocating wall I had built ar
Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 28: Hope filled with popcorn & Next Day
The rideshare back to my house was filled with a strange mix of emotions. Relief that I had escaped the confines of my own fear, and a burgeoning sense of hope. He'd made me laugh, really laugh, for the first time since... well, since before everything.But as the city lights blurred past the windo
Last Updated : 2026-03-22Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 25: Sanctuary Found, Scars Unseen
Aria POVThe moment the door clicked shut behind me, the façade of strength I'd managed to maintain crumbled. I leaned against the solid wood, my body trembling uncontrollably, sobs wracking my frame. I was safe, I was home, but the alleyway, the leering faces, the violation...it was all still ther
Last Updated : 2026-03-21Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 26: Hearing things
Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. "Aria?"I froze, my heart leaping into my throat. I recognized the voice, but I didn't want to turn around. I was afraid of what I might see, of who might be lurking in the shadows."Aria, it's me, Roxy," the voice said, closer now. "What's going on?"I slowly t
Last Updated : 2026-03-21Aria: Scales of Love Chapter 30: The Arcade
The rideshare pulled up in front of the Galleria Mall Arcade a few minutes before 7:00. The neon lights of the arcade spilled onto the street, painting the sidewalk in vibrant hues of pink, blue, and green. The bass of the music throbbed through the air, a palpable vibration that resonated in my ch
Last Updated : 2026-03-22
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