LOGINNick POVI had not slept. Not even for a second. My eyes burned, my head ached, but I could not rest. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again. Ariana. Her face. The way she looked at me the last time we spoke. And now…She had seen everything. The proposal. The video. There was no going back from that. I sat on the edge of my bed, my phone in my hand. I had tried calling her. More times than I could count. No answer. I sent messages. No reply. She had cut me off. And I could not even blame her.A knock came on my door. “Come in,” I muttered.My manager stepped inside, looking serious. “We need to talk.”I let out a dry laugh. “When do we not?”“This is not a joke, Nick.”I rubbed my face. “I know.”He walked closer and dropped a file on the table. “The situation is getting worse.”“I can see that.”“Your engagement helped a little, but not enough.”I frowned. “What do you mean?”“The media is digging deeper.”My stomach tightened. “How deep?”He hesitated. “Deep enough to start as
Ariana POVI did not sleep. I tried, really did. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, turning from one side to the other, closing my eyes, opening them again, but nothing worked. My mind kept going back to that call.That voice. “I think we need to talk about your father.” Over and over again. Who was that? How did he get my number? And why did he sound so sure? I sat up slowly and rubbed my face. The room was quiet, too quiet, and it made everything feel louder inside my head.My phone was on the bed beside me. I stared at it for a long time. Should I call back? No. What if it was a trap? What if it was just someone trying to mess with me because of everything happening online? But…What if it wasn’t? My chest tightened. What if this was the truth I had been looking for? I grabbed my phone quickly and checked the number again. Unknown. No name. No profile. Nothing. “Damn it,” I muttered.I stood up and began to pace around the room. My father. That word alone was enough to make m
Ariana POVI did not cry, that was the first thing I noticed. I stood there, staring at my phone, staring at the video that refused to leave my screen, and for some reason, no tears came. Just a tight feeling in my chest, like something was slowly pressing down on me, making it hard to breathe.Nick on one knee. Laura smiling. A ring. People cheering. It felt unreal, like I was watching a movie I did not sign up for. “Ari…”Sophia’s voice came from behind me, soft, careful, like she was scared I would break if she spoke too loudly.I blinked once, then twice, and finally locked my phone. “I’m fine,” I said.My voice sounded strange. Too calm. Too empty. Sophia did not believe me. I could feel it in the way she stepped closer, in the way her hand hovered around my arm before finally resting on it.“Ari, you don’t have to pretend.”“I said I’m fine.”This time, my tone came out sharper than I expected. She went quiet. For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. The only sound was the faint
Nick POVMy phone kept ringing, over and over again. I didn’t even need to check to know who it was. Ariana. My chest tightened every single time her name flashed across my screen. I ran my hand through my hair and paced around my room like I had lost control of my own body. Because I had.Everything was falling apart faster than I expected. “Pick up,” I muttered under my breath. “Come on, kitten, just pick up.”The call ended. Silence stretched. Then another call came in. I picked up immediately this time. “Ari...”The line went dead. She declined it. My heart dropped. “No… no, no…”I stared at my phone like it had just betrayed me. She never ignored me like this. No matter how bad things got between us, she always answered eventually. But this time…she wasn’t. And I knew why. The video. The proposal. Everything was already out. Everywhere, trending. Every news page. Every sports blog.Nick Carter proposes to longtime girlfriend Laura The headline made my stomach turn. “Longtime girl
I didn’t know the exact moment everything shifted. Maybe it was already building. Maybe it had always been there. But that morning felt… off. The air felt heavy. My chest felt tight for no clear reason. Even the smallest things annoyed me, like the sound of my alarm or the way my blanket refused to stay in place.I sat up slowly on my bed and rubbed my face. “Get it together, Ari,” I muttered to myself.It was just another day. That’s what I told myself. Just another normal day. But deep down, I knew that wasn’t true. I reached for my phone. Big mistake. The moment the screen lit up, my heart dropped. Notifications, too many. Way too many. Messages, tags, mentions. My fingers froze for a second before I unlocked it.“What now…” I whispered.I opened my social media and everything changed. The first thing I saw was the video. It was pinned everywhere. Trending. Shared over and over again. My breath caught in my throat. “No…”My fingers moved on their own as I tapped it open. The video
Ariana POVI didn’t expect to see him again, not today, not when everything in my life already felt like it was slipping out of place. The café was busy, louder than usual. Orders kept coming in, people kept talking, machines kept running. Normally, I liked this kind of noise. It helped me forget things. It kept my head from going too far.But today, even the noise couldn’t save me. Because no matter what I did, my thoughts kept going back to the same person; Nick. The way he sounded on the phone. The way he avoided things. The way everything about him felt…unfinished. “Ari.”I froze. That voice didn’t belong in my thoughts. It was real. I turned slowly. “Mark?”He stood there like he had always been there. Like he hadn’t disappeared for weeks without saying anything. His hands were in his pockets, his expression calm, his eyes fixed on me like he had been watching me for a while.“You finally noticed me,” he said with a small smile.I blinked, still trying to process it. “How long ha
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
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
"She's gay." He blurted out.I narrowed my eyes. "Gay?""Yes, she's involved with some girl, okay! We're just pretending to be a thing because her parents doesn't approve her sexual choices, and I need her father's influence in growing my career."I swallowed. "But that only complicates this... wha
With my eyes closed, my thoughts drifted to last night, to the memory of his hard, hot body holding me tightly in his massive arms. I recalled how his large hand had touched me. Not to mention, it was hard not to notice how big his... ahem, how big he was. Like really big. Hard to miss when it felt







