Chapter 12 : Orbit

Aria

The smell of cinnamon and caramel danced in the air, warm and sharp like memory. My kitchen was loud with laughter and clattering trays… chaos in its purest, most comforting form.

“Hugo,” I called over the noise, “if you keep piping like that, I’m going to enter you into the next city bake-off.”

He grinned, smearing icing across a cake like it owed her money. “Only if you promise not to come and steal the prize, boss.”

“Me? Never,” I said with mock offense. “I’m far too humble for that.”

A ripple of laughter spread through the kitchen. Beryl was flipping pancakes like he was auditioning for a cooking show. Serena was dancing between two timers, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like Beyoncé lyrics.

It was normal. Easy. Safe.

Until Maeve poked her head through the swinging door and said the words that sent my heartbeat into a nosedive.

“They’re here.”

I didn’t ask who. I didn’t need to.

I wiped my hands on a towel, straightened my apron, and walked out into the front of the bakery like I wasn’t seconds away from unravelling.

And then I saw him, Theo, beaming up at the display case, eyes wide like it was Christmas morning and all the gingerbread houses were his.

“There she is!” he said when he saw me, running up and wrapping his arms around my waist. “Miss Aria! I’ve been waiting all week!”

His hug loosened something in my chest. “Well, happy almost-birthday, Theo,” I said, crouching so I could meet his gaze. “You ready for your cake?”

He nodded so enthusiastically it made me laugh. “It’s going to have space ships, right? Not the fake kind--real ones. Like the ones the humans have never seen.”

“I wouldn’t dare disappoint you,” I said. “Want to see the kitchen while we finish boxing it up? Maeve’s in there. She’ll show you how the frosting gets its swirl.”

“Yes!” he shouted, already halfway to the door before I added, “But no touching anything, agent.”

He giggled and darted off.

I straightened slowly, already feeling the weight of what I was about to do. Damien stood quietly by the entrance, dressed in dark grey, his hands in his coat pockets, watching me like I was a storm he wanted to step into.

“Can we talk?” I asked, voice low.

He nodded.

We moved to the back of the shop where the last table sat tucked away…quiet, private, familiar. I slid into a chair. He sat opposite me, his body too large for the space, his knees brushing mine, but it wasn’t the sitting arrangement that felt tight, it was the air between us.

He looked expectant, almost hopeful.

I looked away.

“What do you want from me, Damien?”

His reply was immediate. “You.”

The word landed heavy.

“I want you to look at me the way you used to,” he said softly. “I want you to see me not this version of me you’ve built in your head out of hurt. I want the guarded look in your eyes to go away. I want the space between us to stop feeling like punishment.”

I blinked, hard. “No, Damien. You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to want anything from me.”

His jaw tensed.

“You’re married,” I said. “You’ve been married. You’ve had a whole life for six years while I..” My voice cracked. I swallowed. “While I had to teach myself how to breathe again.”

“Aria--”

“No,” I snapped. “You disappeared. You didn’t write. You didn’t call. You didn’t even try. And now you’re showing up with flowers and chocolate and your son like we’re picking up where we left off. That’s not how this works.”

He leaned in, voice low and rough. “Vivienne isn’t my wife.”

I stared at him.

“Not anymore,” he added.

My heartbeat didn’t know what to do with that. “And I’m supposed to what? Fall at your feet? You think that changes anything?”

“I’m not asking you to fall at anything,” he said. “I’m asking you to stop pretending like you don’t feel it. This pull. This... thing. It never went away.”

“Feelings aren’t enough,” I snapped. “Not when they show up six years too late. You didn’t even call me after graduation Damien”

He looked like I’d hit him.

“I don’t know what you expect from me,” I said, softer this time. “Forgiveness? Closure? A redo?”

“I expect nothing,” he whispered. “But I hope.”

I stood up, heart pounding.

“I think we need to stop orbiting around each other,” I said. “I think we both need to move on.”

“Aria...”

“We’re stuck in a loop. A past that won’t stay buried and a future that won’t come. I can’t keep doing this.”

His eyes never left mine.

And then Theo’s voice pierced the moment. “Miss Aria! You gotta see the frosting,it’s blue! Like alien blooddd!”

I stepped away from the booth as Damien stood up, adjusting his coat.

He followed me silently toward the front counter, where Maeve handed over the box. Theo squealed, cradling it like treasure.

Damien paused, his hand grazing mine for the briefest second.

“You’re it for me,” he said, his voice soft enough that only I could hear. “So no, you don’t get to ask me to move on.”

And then he turned, one hand resting gently on Theo’s back, and walked out the door.

The bell jingled behind them.

And I………

I just stood there, every piece of my armour caving in.

Because the worst part was, I didn’t know if I wanted him to come back...

Or if I wanted to finally learn how to let him go.