LOGINMelissa’s POVI left Jason’s room with my iPad, my heart was beating with so much pent up anger, I’ll have to beat someone up soon.I pushed open my bedroom door and stopped short.Aria was awake, sitting on my bed, already dressed in a cream sweater and jeans. Her purple hair was pulled back in a loose bun, and she’d tried to cover the bruise on her cheek with makeup, though I could still see the shadow of it beneath.She looked up when I entered, and her smile was tired but genuine.“Hey,” she said softly. “I should probably head home. My parents are already blowing up my phone.”“Already?” I set my iPad on my desk. “Yeah, but you know how they are.” She stood, brushing invisible wrinkles from her jeans. “Can’t have their precious investment going rogue for too long.”The bitterness in her voice made my chest ache.“You can stay longer,” I offered. “As long as you need.”“I know.” She crossed to me and took my hands in hers. “But I need to face them eventually. Might as well be now
Melissa’s POVI woke to sunlight streaming through my curtains and Aria’s soft breathing beside me.For a moment, I just lay there, watching her sleep. Her purple hair was a mess. Her makeup was smudged. But she looked peaceful for the first time in hours.Carefully, I slipped out of bed without waking her. My body ached everywhere. My neck. My hip and the worst of all my lips.I stretched slowly, wincing at the soreness, then padded to the bathroom.The mirror showed exactly what I expected…and worse.My lip was swollen, the split visible and angry. But it was my neck that made me freeze.Dark purple bruises. Fingerprints. They were clear and unmistakable where he’d gripped my throat.I touched them gently, and pain flared.Hmmm, I signed before I grabbed my toothbrush and brushed my teeth like a robot, still staring at the bruises in the mirror.Who had that been last night? It looked like Gavin. Sounded like Gavin. But something had been off. Or is that who he just is?I rinsed my
Melissa’s POVI made my way back to the gala on shaking legs.The corridor felt longer than before. Each step was an effort. My lip throbbed. My neck ached. Everything hurt and I wanted nothing more than to go home.When I pushed through the doors, the party was still in full swing. Music played. People laughed and danced like nothing had happened. Like the world hadn’t just tilted sideways.I scanned the crowd, searching for Aria.I found her near the bar with Kane, her burgundy dress was like a beacon. She was pale, her arms wrapped around herself, looking small and lost.I pushed through the crowd toward her.“Melissa!” She turned when she saw me, relief flooding her face. Then her expression changed. “Oh my God, what happened to your face?”Her hands came up to cup my cheeks, her eyes scanning the split in my lip, the smudged makeup, the marks I knew were forming on my neck.“I’m okay,” I said, trying to force a smile.“You’re not okay.” Her voice was firm. “Who did this? Was it…”
Melissa’s POV“Gavin?” I whispered again, my thumb brushing across his cheekbone.He was quiet. Too quiet. Just staring at me with those dark eyes that seemed different somehow. Less guarded. “Are you okay?” I asked softly. My hand was still on his face, feeling the tension in his jaw. “Gavin, what’s going on? What’s with all those symbols? And who is Lord Zeus?”He didn’t answer. Just kept looking at me like I was something he was trying to memorize. Then, in a voice rougher than I’d ever heard from him: “Do you love me?”I blinked. “What?”“Do you love me?” He repeated, his hand coming up to cover mine against his cheek. His touch was different. Warmer, maybe. Or was I imagining it?“Are you okay? What’s wrong with…”“Do you love me, Melissa?” His voice cracked slightly on my name, and something in his eyes looked almost… desperate.I looked around the empty corridor. This was so sudden. So unlike him. Gavin didn’t ask questions like this. He didn’t ask.But those eyes… they were
Melissa’s POVKane stood immediately, his movements fluid and controlled. He looked down at us. His eyes swept the empty hallway, lingering on the shadows like he could see something we couldn’t.“We should go inside,” he said quietly. “Before anyone sees you like this and starts asking questions.”He was right. Aria’s cheek was already showing the red mark from Christian’s slap. My dress was wrinkled from tackling him. We looked like exactly what we were…two girls who’d just been in a fight.Kane extended his hand to me first. I took it, letting him pull me to my feet. Then together, we helped Aria up.She was trembling. I kept my arm around her waist, holding her steady.“Can you walk?” I asked softly, reaching out to arrange her hair.She nodded, but I didn’t believe her. Still, we didn’t have much choice.She leaned heavily against me as we walked. Kane followed close behind, his presence somehow both comforting and unsettling.When we pushed through the doors back into the main h
Aria’s POVI stood against the wall like a decoration.A pretty, expensive decoration in a burgundy dress . I watched couples swirl across the dance floor. Watched waiters glide past with champagne. Christian was everywhere. Every time I turned around, he was there. His hand on my elbow. His breath on my neck. His voice in my ear, reminding me to smile, to stand up straight, to stop looking so miserable.“You’re representing both our families tonight,” he’d whispered earlier. “Try to look like you’re not attending a funeral.”But that’s exactly what this felt like. My funeral. The death of any future I’d ever wanted for myself.I caught Melissa’s eye across the room. She was dancing with Jason, Gavin’s son, and even from this distance I could see the tension in her shoulders. We were both trapped in our own particular hells tonight.At least she had someone who looked at her like Gavin looked at her…like she was the only person in the room, like she was worth burning the world down f







