Chapter Twenty: Like Nothing Happened

ARIA

He didn’t say anything else. Just turned and walked toward the door, motioning for me to follow.

I hesitated. Just for a second.

But when he looked back, his eyes were already darker, more dangerous. I followed.

He led me down the hall—silent, smooth steps, like this was routine. Like he’d walked this exact path before.

And when we stopped in front of the door, I knew it.

It was the same room. The same one I’d stayed in the first time I came here.

I stepped inside and he left without another word. The door clicked shut.

I didn’t sleep. Not a single minute. Time bled out into nothing. It wasn’t just fear or confusion—my brain refused to shut off.

Even after he left, even after the door locked behind him, I just lay there, wide awake, staring at the ceiling like it had answers I needed at the moment.

The room was spotless—like someone had come in right before me and scrubbed it top to bottom. Everything looked like it was waiting. Like I was expected.

Too neat. Too quiet.

And that