LOGINAriana POVFor the first time in days…I woke up without thinking about him immediately. It felt strange. Not bad. Just… different. I stretched slightly and stared at the ceiling. My room looked the same. Everything was the same. But something inside me felt a little lighter. I reached for my phone. A habit. One I hadn’t broken yet. My screen lit up. Notifications. A lot of them. More than usual.I frowned slightly and unlocked it. Instagram. Messages. Mentions. Followers. I blinked. Then blinked again. "What…?"My follower count had gone up. Not by a little. By a lot. I sat up quickly. Scrolling through my page. Refreshing it. Again. And again. "This has to be a mistake," I muttered.But it wasn’t. The numbers were real. Still going up. I opened my notifications. People were liking my posts. Commenting. Sharing. Some even tagging their friends. My chest tightened. But this time…not in a bad way."Oh my God," I whispered.I clicked on one of my videos. The one where I was baking. It ha
Nick POVI stared at my phone for a long time before calling her, too long. My thumb hovered over her name, moving away, then back again. I had already opened our chat three times, typed something, deleted it, and locked my phone. Then unlocked it again.I didn’t know what I was doing anymore, or maybe I did, and that was the problem. I needed to tell her, everything. No more hiding. No more half-truths. No more "it’s fine" when it clearly wasn’t.I leaned back on my chair and closed my eyes for a moment. Just tell her. It’s not that hard. But it was. Because the moment I said it out loud…everything would change. My phone felt heavy in my hand. Still, I pressed call. It rang once. Twice. Then..."Hello?"Her voice sounded soft and familiar. And suddenly, everything inside me tightened."Hey… Kitten," I said quietly."Hi," she replied.There was a pause, not awkward, but not the same either."Are you busy?" I asked."No," she said. "I just got back.""From work?""Yeah."Another pause
I thought I was doing better, I really did. I told myself I was fine. That I was moving on. That I was focusing on myself. But Sofia saw right through me. It was a quiet afternoon at the shop. Not too busy. Just enough people to keep us moving. I was behind the counter, wiping a glass that was already clean. I didn’t even realize I had been doing it for almost a minute."Aria."I froze slightly. I knew that tone. I slowly looked up. Sofia was staring at me. Not smiling. Not joking. Just…watching. "What?" I asked, trying to sound normal.She folded her arms. "Are you serious right now?"I blinked. "About what?"She stepped closer. "That," she said, pointing at the glass in my hand. "You’ve been cleaning the same thing for ages."I glanced down. Oh. I dropped it immediately and reached for another task."I’m just tired," I said quickly.Sofia didn’t move. "Stop it."My hand paused. "Stop what?" I asked.She shook her head slowly. "Stop pretending."I let out a small breath and turned aw
Ariana POVSomething was changing. I didn’t know exactly when it started, or how, but I could feel it. I stared at my phone again. Nick’s last message was still there."I’ll call you later."That was hours ago. I had replied. "Okay." Short, simple, that was it. Before, I would have sent more. I would have asked questions. I would have waited. I would have cared more. Now? I just…didn’t. I dropped my phone on the bed and leaned back against the wall. My room felt quiet, too quiet. But this time, it didn’t feel peaceful, it felt empty.I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath. Why does this feel different? That question had been sitting in my chest for days now. Ever since everything started. The videos, the attention, the tension in his voice, the way he kept saying everything was fine, when it clearly wasn’t. I wasn’t stupid. I could feel it. Something was wrong. And no matter how many times he said he had it under control…I didn’t believe him, not fully.My phone buzzed. I opened m
Nick POVI had not slept, not even a little. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, my eyes open and dry. Every time I tried to close them, my mind started running again. The same thoughts. The same problems. Over and over. The videos, the pictures. Ariana, Laura, Her father.Everything felt like it was crashing together at once. I turned to my side and grabbed my phone. The screen lit up immediately. Notifications, too many. I stared at them for a few seconds before unlocking it. Bad idea. Very bad idea.My name was everywhere. Posts, blogs, sports pages, random accounts, people I didn’t even know were talking about me like they knew my whole life. Some of the headlines made my chest tighten."Rising football star caught in scandal.""Mystery girl exposed.""Is this the end of his clean image?"I clenched my jaw and scrolled faster, hoping it would get better. It didn’t. If anything, it got worse. People were adding their own stories. Twisting things. Making it bigger than it was.
Ariana POVIt was late, too late to still be awake, but I was. Lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. My room was quiet, too quiet. The kind of quiet that makes your thoughts louder. And mine were very loud. My thoughts drifted to Nick again. Of course, it was always him.His voice from earlier kept replaying in my head and how he has assured me everything is under control. I turned to my side and sighed. “Why does that sound like a lie?” I whispered. I didn’t want to think like that. I didn’t want to doubt him. But something felt off. And no matter how hard I tried to ignore it…That feeling wouldn’t go away. My phone was beside me. Screen dark. Silent. I kept glancing at it. Waiting. I didn’t even know for what. A message, a call, something, anything.“Stop it, Aria,” I muttered. “You’re overthinking.” But even as I said it…I knew I wasn’t. I reached for my phone and unlocked it, yet no new messages, no calls, just silence. I exhaled slowly. Then locked it again and dropped it bes
My hand delved between us, needing to tease him, to pleasure him. I wanted to touch and feel every inch of him.Instead, he grabbed my hair tightly, as he pushed our bodies closer."You think you deserve my cock?" He growled against my ear, the warmth of his breath making me shiver. "You're lucky I
Nick* * * *I loved this part. I loved meeting the fans, loved the selfies and jokes and words of praises. I loved the look in all of their eyes as they looked at me, it told me that I wasn't just a player, I was part of their lives. And I lived for it.The team and I walked into the crowd a
Sofia and I decided to have a sleepover at her house since we haven't had one of those in a while and it was also the only way of getting Nick out of my head. We decided to watch a marathon of sisters because it's the only show we could agree on watching. Sofia popped down next to me on her comf
I was stuffing my books into my backpack when a sudden knock on the door pulled my attention."I'm coming!" I yelled, as I dragged myself to the door, and pulled it open.I blinked, taking aback on seeing Eve, Nick's mom"Ariana," She faked a smile as she eyed me from head to toe, sizing me up. I r







