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Aria’s POVFifteen minutes.That’s how long I sat there....knees drawn up, sheet clutched like a shield...staring at the closed door while the coffee turned completely cold and the rose dropped one petal onto the tray.Fifteen minutes of silence that wasn’t silence at all.I could hear them.Not clearly, but muffled through walls and doors...but enough to make my blood boil.Ethan’s low, steady voice: “Deep breaths… that’s it… tell me where it hurts most.”Sophia’s soft, broken replies: “Here… and here… it’s worse today… I’m scared, Ethan…”A rustle of fabric. A quiet gasp. The creak of the bedframe as someone sat.Then his voice again, gentler than I wanted to hear: “I’m right here. You’re not alone.”My stomach twisted.I knew that tone too well, I’d heard it last night when he carried her away. I’d heard it in the dark when he held me after we fought. It was the same voice he used when he meant every word.I pressed my palms to my eyes until spots danced behind my lids.He’d
Aria’s POVWe stayed tangled like that for what felt like hours—legs intertwined, his heartbeat steady under my cheek, my fingers tracing idle patterns across his chest. The burnt toast sat forgotten on the tray, the coffee cooling into something that would probably taste like regret if we ever drank it.Ethan shifted slightly, just enough to pull the sheet higher around my shoulders.“You cold?” he murmured, voice still husky from sleep and laughter.“A little,” I admitted, even though I wasn’t. I just wanted his arms tighter.He obliged immediately, wrapping both arms around me like he was trying to fuse us into one person. His chin rested on top of my head, and I felt him exhale slowly, like he’d been holding tension in his lungs all night.“I could get used to this,” he said quietly. “Waking up with you. Feeding you terrible breakfast. Hearing you laugh at me.”I tilted my head back so I could see his face. “You make it sound like a routine.”“I want it to be.” His thumb brushed m
Aria’s POVI woke up slowly, the way you do when your body registers comfort before your mind catches up. The bed was warm. Too warm to be empty. My muscles felt loose and heavy, that dull, pleasant ache reminding me exactly how the night had ended.Sunlight slipped through the half-closed curtains, landing in uneven lines across Ethan’s back. He was lying on his side, facing me, his arm draped loosely around my waist. His thumb moved in absentminded circles against my skin, unhurried, familiar.He was awake.I didn’t open my eyes right away. I just stayed there, breathing him in, letting the moment stretch. There was something fragile about mornings like this. They always felt borrowed, like if I moved too fast or spoke too soon, reality would snap back into place.Then the mattress shifted.His arm slipped away. Cool air replaced the warmth at my side. I opened my eyes just as he stood, pulling on yesterday’s sweatpants and running a hand through his hair. He didn’t say anything. Ju
Aria’s POVThe house had finally gone quiet from all the chaos.The kind of silence that presses against your eardrums and makes every small sound feel like a warning. I hadn’t slept. How could I? My phone still sat dark on the nightstand—no reply yet from my contact, but I knew it was coming. The waiting felt like holding my breath underwater. Every tick of the clock reminded me that the rest of the world was still spinning outside this room, while inside… Inside, I was trying not to fall apart. I had changed out of the emerald dress hours ago. It lay crumpled on the floor like a shed skin—beautiful once, ruined now. I wore one of his old T-shirts instead, the soft gray cotton that still smelled faintly of his cologne. A small, desperate act of possession. I was sitting on the edge of the bed, knees drawn up, staring at nothing when the door opened without a knock. Ethan. He looked wrecked. Hair disheveled, shirt untucked, sleeves rolled to his elbows. Shadows under h
Aria’s POVThe words were right there.Balanced on the edge of my tongue—sharp enough to draw blood, precise enough to end everything Sophia has been planning.It would take is one sentence and one revelation. The proof sat heavy in my purse downstairs, medical reports that would rip the mask off Sophia’s face and expose her sickness for what it really was: a lie carefully rehearsed and endlessly rewarded.I opened my mouth.And then she broke instantly, clutching her body like someone spilled hot water on her.Sophia’s body went slack in Ethan’s arms, her face crumpling as if something inside her had finally shattered. A sob tore out of her chest—raw, ugly, desperate. She clutched at her side, folding into herself, fingers digging into his jacket like she was holding on to the last thing keeping her upright.“It hurts,” she cried, voice trembling violently. “Ethan… it hurts so much...My body hurts so badly. I—I’m sorry. I didn’t want to ruin tonight. I just wanted you to be happy.”T
Aria’s POVMy heart had been racing long before the low rumble of his car finally broke the silence outside.I stood on the upstairs balcony, fingers smoothing the edge of the crisp white tablecloth for the third time, even though it didn’t need it. "Oh gosh, I hope he loves this." I said anxiously, I wanted to do something nice for him, I had prepared a golden watch that I neatly placed on the decorated table, along with tasty meals that I had the best chefs-Le Romanas, you need to book them weeks to months before, but them being my grandparents personal chefs, they could never refuse my request. Fairy lights glowed softly along the railing, casting warm halos against the dark. Candles flickered in their glass holders, flames bending with the night breeze, and the rich scent of grilled steak and rosemary lingered in the air—comforting, hopeful.Everything was ready. Thought through. Carefully planned.Too carefully, maybe.I exhaled slowly, pressing a hand to my chest as the engine







