LOGINAria's POV
I woke up to the soft, golden light of the morning filtering through the heavy velvet curtains. The space beside me was empty, but the sheets were still warm. Lucien was gone, likely forced into a medical check-up by an anxious Marcus, but the heavy, suffocating tension from the night before had lifted.
I sat up, pushing my hair back, an
Aria's POVI laughed, the sound bright and out of place against the tension of the last twelve hours. Lucien caught my eye, and for a fleeting second, tmhis cold and pensive aura was completely gone. There was only the man who had traded his empire for a weekend of macaroni and sea air."Then macaroni it is," Lucien said, his voice dropping that authoritative edge for something softer, almost tentative. "Though I suspect the orange cheese is a culinary level I have yet to master.""I’ll supervise," I promised, moving to the counter.The kitchen, which had been a site of a pasta massacre only twenty-four hours ago, transformed into a sanctuary of warmth. Lucien rolled up the sleeves of his fresh white shirt, his powerful for
Aria's POVMia stiffened. She looked at me, then back at her brother, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to find a definition for us. To her, we were the source of the storm and the umbrella all at once."They’re... they’re the ones who brought us here," she finally said, her voice small. It was the only truth she could settle on, a simple kindness in a world that had offered her none.I walked over, keeping a respectful distance. "We’re the people who are going to make sure you don't have to go back to that shed, Leo. My name is Aria."Leo looked at me for a long beat, then his eyes drifted toward the balcony again, watching Lucien’s commanding form. "He looks like a ki
Aria's POVWe marched into the lobby, a sight that surely defied every protocol of the elite clinic. Lucien, a titan of New York finance, was covered in dirt and salt spray, cradling a feverish child in a yellow raincoat. I followed, wrapped in a quilt, leading a street urchin who looked ready to bolt at the slightest sound.The head nurse behind the desk began to stand, a polite, professional rejection already forming on her lips. "I’m sorry, sir, we are a private facility and…"Lucien didn't stop walking. He didn't even look at her. "Call Dr. Aris. Tell him Lucien Blackwood is in the trauma room and he has ten seconds to arrive before I buy this building and fire everyone in it."The nurse’s jaw dropped. The name work
Aria's POVThe silence that followed was deafening. The girl didn't know who Lucien was. She didn't know she was crying to the man who sat at the very top of the pyramid that had crushed her family. She just saw a man in a sweater who smelled like expensive soap.Lucien closed his eyes for a long while. When he finally opened them, the Simple Life was gone. The holiday was dead. But the Dark Lord didn't return either. Something else was there, something raw and painfully human."Aria," he said, his voice a low, vibrating chord. "Take the girl to the car.""Lucien?""Do it," he commanded, but his eyes were on the sick boy. He knelt down, his expensive navy sweater soaking up the filth of t
Aria's POV.She wasn't looking for money for candy or toys. There was a hollow look in her cheeks that spoke of a hunger far deeper than a missed meal."Why did you take it?" I asked softly, reaching out. She flinched away from my hand, pressing her back harder against the shed."I don't have to tell you nothing!" she spat, but her lip trembled.I looked at Lucien, then back at the girl. My intuition was screaming at me. This wasn't just a rebellious child looking for a thrill. There was a story behind those wild eyes, one that felt uncomfortably close to the shadows we were trying to escape."Lucien," I whispered, my gaze fixed on the girl’s oversized boots. "Look at he
Aria's POVBy the time the sun began to dip toward the horizon, painting the salt marshes in hues of bruised purple and burnt orange, my stomach had finally stopped its violent rebellion. The chocolate was gone, the cat socks were still cozy, and the silence of the cottage, once peaceful, was starting to feel a little too heavy.Lucien looked at the empty box of pasta from our previous night’s disaster, then at me. I could see the calculation in his eyes. He was hungry, I was recovering, and neither of us had the culinary stamina to attempt another "Aglio e Olio" massacre."Aria," he said, his voice hesitant. "I believe that if I attempt to use that stove again, the local fire
“This is an agreement I've had my lawyers draft. It's quite simple, really. You have six months to conceive an heir to the Blackwood fortune. If you succeed, you'll continue as Lucien's wife with all the privileges that entails." She paused, letting that sink in. "If you fail, yo
"What's that?" His voice was carefully neutral, but I could hear the tension underneath.My heart stuttered. "Nothing. Just... something your mother left."Lucien's hands dropped from my face as he moved toward the desk. Every step was measured and controlled, but I could see the rigid set of his s
I spent the next few hours pacing the length of the room until my feet were sore. The plush carpet felt like sandpaper against my skin, and every time I caught my reflection in the darkened window, I saw a woman I barely recognized. I wasn't the cold, calculating Aria who ha
Aria's POV.Helena circled me slowly, like a jeweler examining a stone for flaws. I felt her gaze catalog every detail, my casual clothes, my minimal makeup, my simple ponytail."Hmm," she said finally, and the sound conveyed volumes of disapproval."Mother," Lucien's voice held a warn







